AN: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda!
Office AU for megaME! ^_^ Hope you like it! It is FLUFF! YAY! XD Sorry for so much angst!
(Lines are change of POV - mainly Robin, with input from Sanji and a little bit from Zoro ;P )
"Oi! Marimo! Wake up!" Came a muffled voice from one of the other cubicles.
"Shishishi, Zoro, you'll get in trouble if Robin catches you sleeping again!" Came a second voice, slightly clearer, as he started to stir.
"Sleeping on the job again, are we, Mr Roronoa?" She asked, smiling down at the dozing green haired man.
"OI! ZORO! WAKE UP! MS NICO IS TALKING TO YOU!" Her orange haired assistant yelled, Robin only just stopping the young woman's fist from making contact with the young man's head.
"You didn't need to shout, Damn Witch!" The man snapped, rubbing his ear.
"Shall I repeat myself, Mr Roronoa?" She smiled, watching the green haired man tense as the other two laughed quietly at him from their cubicles.
"I figured I'd use my break for a nap – it's not as if I have to use it for a smoke." The man replied, shooting a glance across at the blonde.
She giggled as she watched the glaring contest start, hearing her assistant sigh next to her. She leant forward and laid a hand on his shoulder, ending the cute contest as fast as it had begun. She looked as his computer screen, reading its contents to check if she had an excuse to drag her adorable, younger employee into her office. He had indeed finished his task, only leaving her with one potential excuse to drag him away.
"And when did this fifteen minute break start, Mr Roronoa?" She asked teasingly into his ear.
"Thirteen minutes ago, Nico." He grunted, gesturing to the timer on his desk.
"Well, I hope you return to working, rather than sleeping, when your time is up." She smiled, trying to hide her disappointment at the lack of reaction from the handsome young man as she started pulling back.
She smiled at the other two men before dismissing her assistant and disappearing into her office, watching the green haired man close his eyes again. He seemed so sweet and cute whenever they were alone in the office after everyone else had finished, but he seemed so uninterested whenever she flirted with him. She loved making him blush, but he seemed so detached around the others, well, towards her anyway. She couldn't decide if he was even remotely interested in her or not, and it was driving her curiosity wild.
"Lucky bastard." He grumbled, glaring at the green haired man out the corner of his eye.
It wasn't fair. Their tall beautiful boss kept flirting with the idiot, and the idiot just ignored her every time she did! Was he seriously that ignorant?! He could be having romantic meals and passionate nights with the beautiful woman, and he acted as if he wasn't even interested! He had to be gay – there was no other reason he could be so blind! Then again, he could be as immature as Luffy when it came to things like that, right? The idiot was supposed to be about his age, so surely he'd had at least a few dates with women?
"Oi! Marimo! You've been on a date, right?" He asked, throwing a scrunched up ball of paper at the other man.
"What the hell?! I've still got another thirty seconds, Spiral-Brow!" The man snapped, throwing the paper back and glaring at him.
"I was asking if you've ever been on a date, Asshole!" He snapped back, narrowly dodging the piece of paper as it flew past his ear.
"Of course I've been on a date! What the hell brought that up?!" The guy whisper-yelled back, reminding Sanji of the beautiful young assistant at the desk directly behind him.
Sanji turned in his seat to smile at Nami, earning a sarcastic smile back as she crushed the ball of paper in one hand, making Sanji gulp. He hoped it hadn't hit her, but if it had, they would definitely have known about it by now. It must have landed on her desk, thankfully. He would never dream of hurting a beautiful young woman, never mind Nami. He sighed, turning back to the matter at hand – his apparently oblivious work colleague.
"You know that Ms Nico keeps flirting with you, right?" He asked, gritting his teeth as the idiot shrugged. "It's rude to ignore a beautiful woman, Marimo. If you're not interested, tell her, Bastard."
"I'm not ignoring her, Shitty-Idiot – we're at work." The green haired man growled, turning his attention back to his computer in an obvious attempt to ignore Sanji.
"Does that mean you are interested?" Cooed a voice from behind Sanji.
"I didn't say that, Witch." He grumbled, not looking away from the screen.
"But you're not denying it." Nami returned, and Sanji didn't have to turn around to see the knowing smile on her lips.
"Shishishishi, Zoro hangs around after everyone else so that he can leave with her." Luffy grinned, earning a death stare from Zoro.
"You sneaky bastard! You've been making me hang around in the parking lot for you to finish when you've just been trying to be alone with Ms Nico!?" Sanji exclaimed, his jaw dropping at the thought of his idiot colleague actually being cunning enough to think of the idea.
"Are you saying I intentionally finish late, Shitty-Idiot?! I can't have a drink 'til I get home!" Zoro snapped, turning to glare at him.
"Shit...Marimo...are you saying you actually give up drinking time so you can watch Ms Nico...?" Sanji asked disbelievingly – just how serious was the idiot?
"I nev-"
"-Cutty!" Nami interrupted, the elevator doors opening as everyone instantly returned to work.
"You guys look SUPER busy! Nico really drives you hard!" Called the tall, sky blue haired man as he stepped into their office, closely followed by his curly haired, long nosed assistant.
Sanji smirked over at Zoro, earning a glare from him as the silent joke past between the two men. He knew the idiot's big secret now. He barely ever said anything, even when he was giving him a lift home, but now the working later than everyone actually made sense. The idiot may not have confirmed it, but he hadn't denied it, and he'd even admitted to giving up his drinking time – the Marimo had to be interested in their boss.
What if more than flirting happened when the two of them were alone up here? What if he was sitting in his car waiting on the Marimo, when the idiot, or not-so-stupid idiot, was up here having sex with their boss? In her office? On her desk? What if he marched in there, the second that the three of them left, just shoving everything off her desk and laying her over it?! Maybe he picked her up and shoved her against the glass wall between her office and the main office? The bastard was waiting until after they left and then having his way with her! And he was stuck sitting in his car waiting on them finishing!
That shitty bastard! Like hell he was going to keep hanging around for him to finish having sex! That shitty, lying bastard! He was going to leave without him! How dare that shitty, lying, hormonal bastard take advantage of him like that! They argued constantly, but the bastard could have at least told him something about him seeing their boss! He actually waited on him! Like hell he was going to keep waiting on him!
"Ah, Cutty, I wasn't expecting you." She smiled, greeting the man walking into her office, her attention drifting to the five people chatting in the main office.
"You should really be careful, Nico, if I didn't know better I'd think you wanted to be out there with them, rather than in here with me." The man joked, dropping into the seat opposite her.
"Fufufu, no, it's just that they get a little distracted whenever you bring your assistant with you." She replied, her attention drifting back to her computer. "He seems to be quite the comedian."
"Yeah, he can be SUPER funny, but he's SUPER handy too!" The man grinned at her, leaning forward onto her desk. "Are you busy, Nico?"
"Hmm, a little." She hummed, glancing at him past the black plastic monitor.
"I was hoping you'd be able to help with something." He replied, leaning in closer with a smug grin.
"And how can my Research Department help your Development Department?" She smiled sweetly, knowing that her colleague fully understood her warning.
"Well, we have some SUPER heavy lifting, and I remembered you commenting on how SUPER strong one of your guys was." He replied, sitting back out of her reach.
Robin sighed and stood up from her seat, knowing the fastest way to get peace from the Engineer was to just give him what he wanted – it would help the company anyway, speeding up the work of the Development Department, even if it set her department back slightly. She knew that Cutty would lend her one of his employees, once they were done, to make up for it. She'd have to do without having her green haired man to look at through the glass though. She'd even made sure that the cubicles were angled perfectly for him to be sitting in front of her office –her excuse was, of course, so that she could catch him if he started sleeping when he should be working.
"Mr Roronoa, can you come into my office please?" She called as she opened her office door.
She watched him turn to look at her, a mildly surprised expression on his face before he got up and took the five steps towards her. She'd wanted an excuse to get him into her office, but this wasn't quite what she'd wanted. How could she approach him with Cutty there? Not to mention she was about to hand him over to Cutty for some undetermined length of time. Oh well, if he wasn't here, she couldn't get caught staring at him by her boss later.
"Cutty, this is Mr Zoro Roronoa, the man I was telling you about." She began, stepping back into her office, followed by the man in question. "Mr Roronoa, I believe you've met my colleague, Mr Franky Cutty. He'd like to borrow your strength for a while."
"It's SUPER great to meet you – Nico's told me a lot about you." The Engineer grinned, getting up from his seat to shake her employee's hand. "You look like you'll be SUPER handy! Don't worry about missing too much work – I'll make sure you're back by lunch! It shouldn't take more than a couple of hours if you're as SUPER strong as Nico says you are!"
"He's certainly one of the strongest men I've ever met." Robin smiled, placing a hand on his bicep. "His strength is rather like that of the monsters you read about in books – he's almost demonic."
"Well, hopefully he's stronger than he is talkative!" Cutty joked, grinning down at the silent green haired man that was yet to say anything, or even react to her hand on his arm.
Zoro stood silently in the elevator, warily watching the boy next to him. He'd seen the boy several times before, and he'd even had a few conversations with the kid. He was pretty energetic and chatty considering how quiet and reserved his mother was. It was kind of hard not to feel awkward though whenever he remembered that the boy was only nine years younger than himself. He'd had a stupid crush on the boy's mother since he'd started working there four years earlier, and the fourteen year old had no intention of helping him – not that the kid tried to make things harder, just the kid seemed completely oblivious to how much he was helping him.
Yup, her own son was unknowingly helping him win over Robin Nico.
"You're back again then?" Nami smiled as Zoro stepped into the office.
"Yeah, they just wanted me to hold stuff while they added some screws." Zoro yawned, stretching his arms up into the air as he walked towards his desk.
"Have fun, Marimo?" Sanji grinned, watching the boy disappear into his boss' office. "I see you had company in the elevator – have a nice little chat with him so that he'll put in a good word with Ms Nico for you?"
"Shut it, Spiral-Brow." Zoro growled, quickly falling into his seat and taping loudly on the keyboard as he logged back in. "And 'He' has a name."
"And does Tony have any idea you have plans on his precious mum?" Sanji teased, receiving a look that would have killed him in half a second if looks really could kill.
"I don't have 'designs' on Nico, Shitty-Moron." Zoro grumbled, turning back to his computer.
Sanji watched Robin staring at the two of them, an awkward smile on his lips. Well, she had terrible timing, or maybe it was Marimo who had the terrible timing? Either way, their boss now knew what they'd been talking about, and she'd heard the Marimo tell him that he wasn't interested in her. If the idiot was, Sanji had seriously just messed things up for him. He noticed the idiot give him a confused look and nodded in the direction of their silent boss, standing behind the idiot in her office doorway. The idiot turned his head to nod to her, acknowledging her presence, but not denying what she'd just heard.
"Nami, I've just sent you an email with that document I wanted you to print – can you do that before you leave for lunch?" Their boss smiled at her assistant, quickly disappearing back into her office.
He'd just helped the idiot hurt a beautiful woman. Even if she had seemed completely un-phased by their conversation, the way that she flirted with him, there was no way she wasn't at least a little hurt by the Marimo's denial of having feelings for her. In fact, if the idiot had been hanging around after work to do things with her, then she'd be pretty pissed. Why had she pretended that she wasn't interested in their conversation?
They were at work. She had to be professional, not to mention the fact that her son was in her office. Did her son know anything? Maybe that was why the kid liked spending so much time talking to the Marimo? Maybe Marimo was always over at Ms Nico's? Maybe Tony already thought of the Marimo as his dad? Maybe Ms Nico hadn't been phased because they'd agreed to keep their relationship from everyone in the office? Maybe that was why he'd just nodded to her? Maybe it was to check that she was ok?
"Saaanji. Sanji!"
"Huh? What?" Sanji blurted, suddenly aware of the voice calling him. "Sorry, Nami~! I was just thinking about something~!"
"Are you coming for lunch? Luffy's coming, but Zoro said he was going to stay behind to catch up with some of his work – he doesn't want to have to stay too late tonight. I said we'd bring something back for him." Nami explained, smiling over at Zoro as he nodded his thanks to her.
"Sure, Nami~! I'll just log off~!"
Robin smiled as her assistant waved in through the glass as they left, leaving Zoro alone in the main office. She could speak to him now without the others listening in. She stood up and patted her son's head as he tucked into his sandwiches at her desk. She glanced at her own untouched sandwiches, reminding herself that talking to Zoro should only take a few minutes, and maybe she'd feel like eating them after she had. She couldn't disappoint her son now by not eating his perfectly balanced healthy sandwiches that he'd made her.
"Mr Roronoa?" She called as she opened her office door.
"Yeah?" He replied, turning in his seat to look up at her.
"I just wanted to thank you – Tony says that you dealt with someone who was bullying him last week?" She smiled, aware of her grinning son sitting behind her.
"Oh, he told me he was having some problems with another kid, so I just went over during my lunch break – you really don't have to thank me." He stated, turning back to his computer to continue typing.
"I really am grateful – I wasn't aware of it, or I would have dealt with it myself." She explained, walking towards him and laying a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it lightly.
"It was nothing – he's a good kid." Zoro grunted, ignoring her advance as he continued to type.
"It wasn't 'nothing' to me, and it certainly wasn't 'nothing' to my son." She smiled, leaning down closer to him, her large chest brushing his arm. "But I'm very glad to hear that you think he's 'a good kid', Mr Roronoa."
"Anyone who's met him would think that about him." He replied emotionlessly, just as a ping echoed across the otherwise empty main office.
Robin stood up, removing her hand quickly from Zoro's shoulder as Cutty stepped out of the elevator. He had to appear now, didn't he? Had he caught her? If he reported her, she could lose her job. Cutty wouldn't report her, right? He was her friend, wasn't he? She could just say that she was checking on how long it would take him to catch up – it wasn't as if Cutty could see exactly what she'd been doing to Zoro. She could deny everything.
Unless Zoro backed him up.
"Cutty." She smiled, greeting the giant man for a third time that day. "What brings you here?"
"I was just coming to check that Zoro came back, but I wasn't expecting the two of you to be alone in here – shouldn't he be away for lunch?" The Engineer replied, an almost suspicious look in his eyes.
"We're not alone – my son is sitting in my office with his lunch – and Mr Roronoa decided to stay behind to catch up on the work he'd missed." She returned, giving her colleague a reprimanding look.
"I forgot your SUPER cute son has his lunch here with his SUPER mother." The Engineer grinned, turning to wave into her office at the teenage boy now looking wide-eyed at him.
"And I should get back to my lunch, if the two of you don't mind?" Robin replied, looking between the two men, noticing how tense the younger had suddenly become.
"Sure! I'll send one of my guys up to help Zoro after lunch – he was a SUPER help! I'll email the boss later to let him know!" Cutty called as she walked back into her office to eat her lunch with her son.
...
"Oi. It's 'Tony', right?" Sanji called as he spotted the teenage boy standing leaning against a midnight blue estate car.
"Yeah...?" The teenager replied nervously. "...a-and smoking is bad for you."
"I ain't got anything better to do while I wait on the Marimo." Sanji grinned, putting his cigarette out and dropping it into the bin next to him before approaching the kid. "What do you think of the Marimo?"
"Marimo?" The boy frowned, clearly not understanding him.
"The green haired guy that works for your mum?" He explained, stopping next to the teenager.
"Zoro?" Tony grinned, suddenly realising what Sanji was asking him. "He's really cool, and Mum really likes him! He actually got the boy in my year to stop bullying me last week!"
"So your mum really does like him...Has he ever been over to your house?" Sanji asked, smiling kindly down at the over excitable boy.
"...No? He's been to my school though! ...That's where he spoke to the other boy..." Tony explained shyly, shuffling his feet awkwardly.
Robin stepped into the elevator, the green haired man following her in. Should she say anything to him? Why had he tensed up earlier? He'd told Sanji that he wasn't interested, so why would he be upset at Cutty catching her flirting with him? Was he worried about his job? If either of them was at risk of losing their job, it would be her – she was his superior, and Cutty had no reason to think that Zoro was reciprocating. If anything, his ignoring her advances made it perfectly clear that it was completely one-sided.
"Mr Roronoa-"
"-Zoro."
"Zoro." She smiled, watching a slight blush appear across his cheeks. "I hope I didn't embarrass you earlier...I was out of line, and I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable."
"Nico, I-"
A ping sounded as the doors opened, presenting her boss.
"Yohohoho! Ms Nico! How wonderful to see you twice in one day!" The unbelievably tall man greeted, stepping into the elevator. "May I see your panties this time?"
"Oi! Don't ask her shit like that!" Zoro burst out, glaring threateningly at her afro haired boss.
"Zoro!" Robin exclaimed, horrified at his response to her boss – he could get fired for saying something like that! "I'm very sorry, Mr Brooke! I don't know what came over Mr Roronoa, but I'm sure he didn't mean to be rude."
"Yohohoho, he does have a point though, Ms Nico!" The man laughed, looking at her employee before looking back at her. "But if you wouldn't mind, I really would like to see your panties! Yohohoho!"
"Look-"
"And I will give you the same answer as always, Mr Brooke." Robin replied sternly, giving the much older man a warning glare.
"I live in hope, Ms Nico." The man winked, giving her a polite bow as he pressed the button for the floor he wanted.
The three of them stood silently, Robin wishing her boss would just get back out as the elevator continued its descent. She wanted to talk to Zoro, but how could she with her boss there? She couldn't let him know. She sighed in relief as the elevator finally stopped, signalling that it had reached his floor. She smiled as he left the confined space, leaving her alone with the man she wished to talk to. The doors closed and she turned on the green haired man, her hand slamming unceremoniously on the stop button.
"Zoro-"
"Start the elevator again, Nico." He demanded, not looking back at her, his cold stare focused straight ahead.
"Zoro, I just-"
"I said start the elevator again." He snapped, turning his head to look at her, an angry look in his handsome dark eyes.
"No. I need to talk to you, Zoro." She returned, a frustrated look in her icy blue eyes.
"Nico, you're my boss." Zoro sighed, his own frustration clear. "Start the damn elevator."
"How do you know what I'm going to say?" She asked, increasingly annoyed at his demand.
"Don't get me wrong, I really like you, and I think Tony's great, but I'm not going to let you risk your job for me – you have your son to think about." He replied, turning fully to look at her, his face completely unreadable.
"Of course I think about my son." She replied, turning away from him angrily.
"Then why are you risking your job for me?" He returned, surprising her. "Franky almost caught you flirting with me earlier, and everyone in the office has noticed. This has to stop, Nico."
"Has it ever occurred to you that I have already tried?" She asked, glancing over her shoulder at him.
"What?" He replied, looking completely dumbstruck.
"I know that my job is at risk, but I can't just ignore you – I have tried, Zoro." She sighed, turning to look at him properly. "It only makes it harder when I see you getting along so well with Tony, and when he starts talking about you...When he told me about last week...that was when it became completely impossible. I like you very much, and my son completely adores you...You even go out of your way for my son, and you work so hard for me...you always stay late..."
"I did it so I could spend a couple of minutes with you in this elevator – really stupid, huh?" He laughed quietly, looking down at the floor.
"No, completely adorable, Zoro." She smiled, stepping up to him, her chest pressing lightly against his.
"You should really start the elevator again." He grunted, his cheeks brightening by the second.
"I supposed I should." She giggled, reaching behind her to start it again. "We do still have a few moments before we reach the parking lot."
"What do-"
She cut him off, her lips pressing against his. She'd wanted to kiss him for so long. She smiled as he began to kiss her back, relieved that he hadn't pushed her away. Just one kiss. One kiss to show him how much he meant to her. She'd have to stop when they reached the parking lot, but she just needed him to understand, even if he refused to let their relationship become anything more. If only she wasn't his boss, but if she hadn't been, she would never have met the wonderfully perfect young man, the young man that worked so hard for her, that made her laugh and smile, that doted on her son so much, that was adored in return by her normally shy son.
The elevator pinged, signalling the opening of the doors. She pulled back reluctantly, registering the dazed expression on Zoro's face as she did so. She felt a tug on her arm, lips closing on hers. One more kiss. He'd kissed her, even if only for a brief moment. She turned to the open doors, the image of his smirk as they'd pulled apart again etched into her mind. Maybe they could find a way around the problem of her being his boss? She had to find a way around it – she couldn't just let him go.
"-He's really cool, and Mum really likes him! He actually got the boy in my year to stop bullying me last week!"
"So your mum really does like him...Has he ever been over to your house?" Sanji's voice echoed through the car park.
Oh no.
"...No? He's been to my school though! ...That's where he spoke to the other boy..." Her son's voice replied.
Oh no.
Robin stepped out of the elevator.
"Really?"
Robin could see her blonde employee standing over her teenage son, every inch of her body fighting the urge to scream at the man to get away from her son, aware that the man was coaxing the truth from him.
"Yeah! I'm really hoping he'll become my dad! Since Mum likes him, I was hoping he'd like her just as much, and then maybe, if he really likes me too, he'd like to marry my Mum!"
Robin froze, the world around her crashing down. She'd lose her job if Sanji repeated to anyone what her son had just told him. Would he do that? Wasn't he Zoro's friend? He wouldn't do that to them, right? And what if Zoro had heard what Tony had just said? Of course he'd heard – he was directly behind her. What if he was freaking out? He'd just admitted to liking her too, and then he'd kissed her after she'd kissed him, and now he'd just heard her son saying that he wanted him to become his dad? What was going through his head?
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea," came a husky voice over her shoulder, inches from her ear, as the man's breath caused her hair to tickle her neck gently, "but we've got a few things to sort first."
Robin giggled as she reached behind her to pull gently on the man's tie, signalling to him to follow her. He wasn't upset. If fact, he wanted to be a part of her family. No-one had so openly welcomed both her and her son before. If they got past her dark sense of humour, they always ran when they found out about her son. If they knew her through her son, then they ran from her dark sense of humour. Any man that liked her and stayed that showed any sign of not liking her son had less than five seconds to get out of her front door, and her son was the same with any man that tried to change her. He could put up quite the fight for a fourteen year old.
"Tony, why don't you invite your new friend for dinner? He certainly seems to have taken quite an interest in you." Robin smiled innocently, approaching her son, having released her hold on Zoro's tie. "I was planning to invite Mr Roronoa as a thank you for helping you with that mean boy last week – I'm sure Mr Roronoa would feel much more inclined to join us if his friend was there."
"Zoro's coming for dinner?!" Her son beamed, practically bouncing on the spot at the news.
"He hasn't agreed yet – he seems to think it could be read wrong." She explained, watching the blonde blush, rubbing his neck awkwardly.
"Why?" Tony asked, a look of disappointment instantly replacing his excitement.
"Well, Tony, you see, your mum here is my boss, and if anyone thought there was anything going on, she'd get into a lot of trouble." Zoro explained, shooting Sanji a warning glance as he smiled apologetically at the teenager.
"Oh..." Tony sighed, looking down at his feet as he pulled on the strap of his heavy-looking backpack.
"Hey, look, I'll come have dinner with you – then I can vouch for nothing happening between Zoro and your mum, ok?" Sanji rushed, glancing across at Zoro, as he tried to cheer the boy up.
"Really?!" Her son smiled hopefully up at the blonde.
"Really." Sanji reassured the boy, earning a smug grin from Zoro.
"We really need to do something about that red tape." Zoro muttered quietly into her ear before stepping around her to put an arm around her son.
She watched Zoro and Sanji laughing with her son, the happy smile on her lips reaching her ice blue eyes. They really did need to do something about that red tape. She gave Sanji her address and told him to be at hers in an hour with Zoro so that the four of them could have dinner. Tony waved the two men off enthusiastically as Sanji's red convertible pulled out of its parking space and disappeared out of the underground parking lot. Robin climbed into her car, her son climbing into the passenger seat beside her, both clicking their seatbelts in.
"Tony, I have something to tell you." She began with a smile as she turned her key in the ignition. "If Zoro can get transferred to another department, you might actually get your wish."
She laughed as her fourteen year old son's face lit up.
He'd never had a dad before, but if things went well, he'd get the dad he'd always dreamed of, and she'd get the man she'd been slowly falling in love with for the last four years.