recap:
Robin opened her mouth, "Zo- "
Suddenly there was a flurry of movement. Some of the townspeople had woken up and tried to move in on the three Strawhats. Robin gave them a taste of her clutch and, in the end, Zoro had whipped out his swords and quickly ended his duel with the large opponent. He earned a small graze wound on his cheek from a flying bullet–barely a kick in the shin to him–but it delayed him from stopping the Small One's counterattack. Apparently, the little dude had some knowledge of pressure points and went for the kill. Luckily, Usopp shifted at the last second but still hit the ground. He saw Zoro cut down the tiny man, thought, Did Robin almost call Zoro by his name? and promptly passed out.
Usopp blearily opened his eyes to the back of Zoro's shirt and to the sounds of a familiarly irate navigator and the typical ruckus of the Strawhats.
"-ahaha! Wari wari!"
"Ugh! Just forget it. Oh, Robin! You found them!"
"There they are!"
"What took so long! I bet Zoro got lost again."
"I did not."
"Ah! Usopp, what happened!"
"He was hit in the head."
"Chopper can see that, onna," Zoro nodded at the obvious bump as he let the sniper down on the infirmary bed.
"He may have a concussion…" Chopper was rummaging around in his cabinets. "Robin, can you get him an ice pack from the kitchen?"
"Of course, Doctor-san."
"Mmm…Ugh, damnit…" Usopp slurred.
"Just be quiet, Usopp. Don't move...here...and then…"
Usopp faded back into the blackness.
When the sniper awoke, it was some hour in the very early morning. He had a searing headache and a parched throat and, as he discovered a few seconds later, a cranky stomach. Damn it. I missed dinner, didn't I?
Usopp swung his legs over the cot and rubbed at his eyes, opening his mouth wide for a yawn and then wincing at the fuss his head was making. He didn't feel much like sleeping though and his tummy was practically screaming at him to raid the fridge. Padding onto the deck barefoot, Usopp breathed in the fresh sea air and shivered a bit. It had been so warm in the infirmary–
Why were the lights on in the kitchen?
When Usopp swung the door open, he came face to face with a scene he'd never imagined he would see. Robin was getting coffee–or making coffee–and Zoro of all people was standing right next to her, one hand bearing his weight on the countertop and the other casually around the neck of a sake bottle!
The beverages match, but why are they standing so close together? Usopp stared. Zoro looked up.
"Oh, Usopp. You awake?"
Robin busied herself with her coffee but added in, "Sniper-san, I'm glad to see that you're up. How is your head?"
Usopp stared.
"Oi. Usopp."
I'm in a dream, right? What's with that calm response?
Seemingly brushing off Usopp's slightly dopey expression as the result of medication-induced sleep, Robin continued in a manner that made it clear that she was, by all means, the mature one in the Strawhat crew. "Chopper said to give you painkillers when you wake up," she left her coffee and walked over to the far cabinet to grab a glass. "Come, sit on the barstools." Robin placed two capsules in Usopp's hand. "These will knock you out for a bit–" Usopp's stomach gurgled– Robin smiled, "I'm sorry, would you like to eat something first? Cook-san left you some leftovers in the fridge."
She walked over to the padlocked box, bumping Zoro on the way. "And Zoro has something to say to you."
Again, with the real name? I'm definitely dreaming.
Zoro tossed Robin a glare and scratched the back of his neck, "Um, sorry."
Robin hummed in the background.
"Tch. Sorry that you got hit." he muttered quickly. "If I had just ended the fight sooner it wouldn't have happened."
Ah, my head… Usopp groaned, forgetting his hunger, and lay his forehead down on the countertop. There's no way Zoro would be apologizing like that…
"Sniper-san?"
"Oi. Usopp."
Usopp murmured something under his breath and frowned.
"He's asleep."
Robin giggled and gently placed the food back in the fridge. "Should we wake him?"
"Nah. He's probably too tired to eat anything anyway." Zoro sighed and shoved off the counter, leaving his bottle a bit reluctantly. "He had some medicine already, he just doesn't remember it." The muscled swordsman lifted Usopp easily and carried him back to the sick bay while Robin smiled that small, knowing smile of hers.
Author's note: Ah! Thanks for the support, everyone! As expected, reviews inspire me to write and I've done more editing than I'd originally expected.
Also! I forgot–silly me–to mention that I'm co-writing a fanfic with shinjojin. The story centers around "Rokushiki Robin" or, in other words, Robin as the product of a WG program (Black Rose) similar to CP9. shinjojin got me emotionally invested in his long-term project and he knows his complicated story like the back of his hand! I mostly rewrite what he's written and fill in holes that he misses. (check out OP fanfiction "Shadow Blossom") I've also officially become a beta reader, so if anyone would like me to beta for them, that is an available option as well.
...so I forgot kind of a lot. Anyway! (even though that isn't grammatically acceptable...) I hope you're all enjoying this story as much as I am. I've decided to combine multiple shorts of mine and actually make this a longer fanfiction, technically my first! Watch out for a summary alteration in the near future~
