Chapter 1
The "Thousand Sunny" was slightly rocking from side to side in the waves, reaching the rather calm waters of the nearing "Sabaody Archipelago" welcoming them with a warm almost summerly weather.
The sun was just beginning its journey across the sky and nobody was on deck just yet.
In only 2 or 3 more hours this surely will change and the ship will naturally be filled with all the crazy and lively atmosphere the Straw Hats seemingly always
carry around, namely a certain Captain.
While it appeared just like another normal day the sight of Nico Robin sitting in the kitchen sipping on her coffee was rather odd.
Taking her fitful sleep into account it wasn't unusual for her to be still or already awake, uncommon or rather unknown of was, that she had not been in the ship's library, which can be considered her private place, and she wasn't even carrying a book around.
Nico Robin without a book in her vicinity was as exceptional as Luffy not wanting to eat meat, solely by this fact you could guess that something was demanding
all of her attention.
She wore her usuals calm and collected face, through the recent years or maybe her entire life it has developed to a natural part of her personality and still an attentive observer might be aware of the dense atmosphere covering the room.
She held the mug of her precious coffee with both hands pretty close to her lips, almost embracing the beverage with her slender hands as if she was trying
to absorb the radiating warmth.
Her elbows leaned on the table slightly supporting her upper body, she kept her arms close to the chest, curled up like this she sat there, deeply in thoughts.
She felt an intense fear, a fear about the inevitable confession to the person she cared so much for.
The importance of the Swordsman appeared to her a while ago he wasn't just a Nakama, understanding her through mere reason, he understood through reason and by heart or at least that was her impression.
She once read a book which concluded everyone was having a soulmate as a person of natural similarity you were eventually bound to meet, but she had never experienced something comparable.
She thought of it as some spiritual nonsense, most unlikely to be true, to dreamy to be true, and now she finds the word is hitting right on the spot with her feeling.
The more she thinks about it the more she worries.
You wouldn't need to know Zoro all that well to anticipate his reaction, she knew it was gonna get tough and tried to prepare as best as she could.
In fact she hoped this wouldn't havoc their relationship.
She couldn't bear the possibility of losing the bond they shared without despair welling up inside.
Keeping it a secret from him wasn't an option either.
She could surely convince the Navigator if she wanted to, but it seemed plain wrong and would strain the whole matter all the more.
Her mind was constantly circling around these thoughts, coming to no conclusion which left her restless and axious.
Eventually the ship's crew woke up and she tried her best to hide her current state, waiting patiently for a chance to drag the Swordsman
to a more isolated spot on the ship.
She is standing on the balcony on front of the kitchen facing the main mast.
Most of the crew left a short while ago to explore Sabaody Archipelago where they have landed around noon, leaving only herself and Zoro.
She sighed, saying to herself "it's now or never"
She hadn't found an opportunity earlier in time, trying to secretly avoid the crew while eagerly searching for the right moment, was stressful, even for her.
She had tried her best to go unnoticed, apparently successful as nobody had questioned her behaviour, that is until a certain Swordsman enters the deck by jumping down from the crow's nest.
The sudden thud of his bodyweight hitting the deck slightly startled her but she relaxed seeing it was Zoro only to feel her body tightening again when he caught sight of her and started closing in.
"Oi Robin, what are you still doing here?" he asked, slightly emphasizing the you, sounding surprised.
"Nothing" she replied wearing her usual smile as a façade.
He looked at her, blinking two or three times as if he considered to express his doubt.
"Anyway, we should get going" was all he said turning around with the intention to leave the ship.
"Z- Zoro-san.." she spoke with a hint of hesitation slightly losing control of her voice.
She tried to cover her nervousness by slowly walking down to him.
"Something is definitely odd about this" he said to himself as his instincts started to kick in.
She stood close to him now as she spoke softly "can we have a word?"
He looked closely at her, caught a glimpse of her eyes and saw the sincere request in them, not that he would have refused anyway he only nodded.
With this she grabbed his right hand and turned around dragging him to the back of the ship while her grasp was continually tightening on their way.
"Something definitely is wrong here" he thought when they reached the platform located in the rear.
"Oi Robin, what's getting you so down?" he said.
Showing a hint of annoyance he loosened his grip while she kept hold.
She faced him, took a breath considering her next step and started to put her feelings into words.
"I.. I want you to know that I am very happy that.. we really warmed up for one another...a.. and I am deeply grateful for.. for the trust you have in me"
She kept gaining confidence and the words started to form more easily now so she continued.
"But I am afraid that I have abused your trust, I.. I am so sorry about myself, that I feel ashamed but.."
Zoro had lost his patience at this point.
He was nervous enough anyway, constantly rubbing the joint of his index finger with his thumb.
He felt he became more and more angry "just spit it out!" he snorted in a rough tone.
"The very first impulse I had before I knew better was a stupid bet, I.."
She wanted to continue but gasped when she saw his face, his eyes.
Her heart felt like it had refused to work, and her chest felt as if a heavy weight has been put on it.
Strangling her, making it incredibly hard to breathe, she had never seen a feeling like this in his eyes.
Hurt...Pain... so intense her body became numb.
When her hand lost contact, and his arm fell back without any feelings in it, that was when the time stopped.
He had heard the words, and he wanted to forgive, but his reason refused to work.
It was dark, he felt turned away from Robin without himself noticing.
At that point her words could barely reach him anymore, she felt tears welling up inside, wanting to be released.
She tried to find words, anything..., something to make him believe her, but it remained silent.
All that he could hear was Robin's voice, barely a whisper "Please, believe me"
She sounded so fragile but all his mouth could hardly pronounce with a breathy voice was "Sorry.."
and after a long pause "make me".
And with that he turned around leaving the ship.
Oh god I feel like I am way to hard on poor Robin
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