Disclaimer: I do not own any of the One Piece characters or franchise.


After the two of them finished trying on clothing they returned to the ship with Sanji in tow carrying their multiple purchases. A friendly question at the checkout line had earned the girls the name of a popular dance club, complete with directions. Even better, a bright smile from Nami, with more than a little cleavage flashed while she was flirting with the cashier, got them a 10% discount! The girls chatted happily on the way back to their ship, debating which outfit to wear.

Sanji noodled as he helpfully offered to give his advice if the beautiful ladies would put on a small fashion show for him. They politely declined, saying it was only because they would not want to monopolize his time and cause dinner to be late. Sanji glanced at his watch and yelped, noticing that it was much later than he had thought. Luckily they had just arrived, and with some sharp cooking and multitasking skill he could still serve dinner in time before the crew headed out for a night of fun.

Robin chuckled as she boarded the ship, glad to be able to pick out her outfit for tonight in peace. It was nice to show off a bit sometimes, but hearing endearments and compliments for everything she tried on was a bit tedious after awhile. She decided to go ahead and make her decision before dinner, that way she could get changed quickly, and wouldn't risk getting food on her new clothes. It's not that she was a messy eater, it was just that any meal where Luffy was involved was likely to end with everyone covered in bits of food as he snatched it off of serving platters and fought with the other male-crew members when he tried to steal theirs off of their plates. Robin laughed as she remembered one particular meal when she had first met the Straw Hat Pirates, where she found a leek and a chicken wing bone in her hair after it was all said and done. She treasured those memories. Yes her nakama were loud, messy, violent, and sometimes downright pervy, but she loved them, and she wouldn't trade them for the world.

Nami headed straight to her cabin, picking up the bags that Sanji had thoughtfully deposited outside her door before he rushed off to prepare another scrumptious dinner. She set them down on her bunk and turned to close the door, catching a glimpse of Robin walking into her own cabin further down the hall. Nami felt herself blush again as she remembered just what she had been thinking about earlier in the dressing room, and she just knew that tonight she was going to wear that dress. On the walk she had been torn between 3 or 4 outfits, but she felt the perfect opportunity to wear it was tonight. Those other outfits would work for several things, and there was no guarantee that any of the nearby islands would offer the same opportunities that this one did. But she had a small problem, she just couldn't bring herself to ask Robin for help again tying the ribbons. Maybe I'll ask chopper at dinner if he'd be willing to help me after we eat. Yeah, that should work, he's too innocent to be pervy about it, and he has good hand-eye coordination as a doctor. With that settled Nami set about laying a few selections of jewelry out, waiting to get dressed after dinner. Then she would check and see what jewelry would look best with it. When she was done with that she put the rest of her purchases away neatly and decided to take a stroll out on the deck. Maybe some fresh air will clear my head.

As Robin walked through her doorway she sneaked a peek down the hallway at Nami's room. She was rewarded with catching a slight blush on Nami's cheeks. The door snicked closed and Robin let herself smile. Relieved once again that Nami was still there. She hadn't told anyone, but that day on the beach had really shaken her.

"Run!" Robin snapped as soon as her mental calculations indicated that the beach space Nami and her were occupying was about to become a crater. She immediately turned and sprinted towards the safest direction, given the creature's trajectory, trusting that Nami would keep up. Nami always was quick on her feet, probably a survival trait considering the hell she went threw while growing up. A loud crash echoed across the beach, and Robin felt the ground shudder under her feet. She half skidded, half stumbled to a halt in the sand at the impact, and cast a glance over her shoulder to make sure nothing else was going to come flying at them. As she scanned the beach for threats she noticed something that stopped her heart.

Nami was hurtling through the air like a limp rag doll. Robin quickly took in the situation, her eyes skimming the ocean surface and gauging Nami's landing point. This wasn't good, there was only a shallow layer of water over a rocky reef. Robin was well versed in ocean knowledge, and she knew that reefs consisted of razor sharp coral that would surely inflict serious, if not deadly harm on her nakama. The thought that there was a very real chance that Nami could die made Robin panic. Miss cool, calm, and collected under pressure, felt a sudden surge of fear.

There's just enough time, just barely, I think... Robin was overwhelmed by a rush of emotion. What would she ever do if she lost one of her nakama? What would she do if she couldn't save Nami? If she had to watch as Nami struck the surface, screaming as razor sharp ridges of coral tore into her skin and blood flowed out into the water, staining the ocean with her nakama's life? Robin gasped as the pain of that loss surged through her. She felt her blood run cold at the thought of never hearing Nami laugh again as she manipulated Sanji into doing her will. The thought of Nami never appearing to knock some sense into their captain's thick, apparently indestructible skull made Robin feel sick. Never seeing that slight teasing smile that Nami got as she stared out into the horizon at dusk, with the fading sunlight casting it's last rays, highlighting Nami's bold hair, adding to her beauty...

Robin activated her power out of instinct, fighting down her emotions as she watched arms sprout, each arm growing another as fast as the eye could follow. But Nami was still falling. Five feet above the water...Four...Three. Robin was pushing herself to the limit to reach far enough, while still maintaining enough strength to be able to catch and hold Nami. Nami was two feet above the potentially deadly surface... An arm catches hold of Nami's ankle, but that's not enough. One foot above the water and another arm chain has grown which promptly wraps around her torso, holding her tightly, at the very least, maybe Robin can protect her heart and vital organs on impact. Another chain sprouts off from the base and grabs Nami's arm to help spread the pressure that the sudden stop is going to cause.

Inches. Robin managed to save Nami when she was mere inches from serious harm, or even death. The relief that Robin felt as she knew Nami would not die was immense. She actually got a little light headed as all her muscles unclenched and her heart decided to settle back where it should be after being lodged in her throat. A smile of relief broke out on Robin's face and was answered by a smile from Nami when she finally opened her eyes. It was going to be okay, Nami was going to be okay.

Robin shook it off. Just thinking about that day was enough to send a chill through her. There was no sense in torturing herself with the past, especially a past that hadn't even ended badly. But there was something nagging her, something about that incident that kept lurking in the back of her mind. She had saved nearly every one of her nakama before, why should this time have such an impact on her? None of the times she had saved the other crew members had affected her this way...

That was it! That's what was bothering her. Not the fact that the incident had messed with her so badly, but the fact that she had only felt this way when she saved Nami. Now why should I feel so differently when Nami's life was in danger? Do I feel this way because it's another woman? NO! The fact that Nami is female and the rest of their crew mates were male made no difference to Robin. She was not some sexist prick. So what was it? Just because Nami had rapidly become as close as a little sister to her? Robin enjoyed their time together, no doubt about that. Sharing secret smiles as they humored Sanji, or laughing together when Zoro and Sanji exchanged insults. Or those nights where they stayed up in one or the other's room, talking about their dreams, their hopes and fears. Robin cherished those nights, nights spent laying on the floor together amongst a nest of pillows and blankets, nights where they stayed up telling stories from their past like two kids on a sleepover.

Robin loved her nakama, but maybe, just maybe, she...loved Nami a bit more. Love, is that what I felt?

***Author's Note***

I hate to leave you all on such a cliff hanger, but I can't help it, I'm ornery sometimes ;)

But don't get too down, you can look forward to to the next chapter. Coming soon, some Straw Hat panic at the...club (sorry I'm pretty sure disco is copyrighted).

I hope you all are enjoying the story so far, I know the thoughts of what could be like to pop into my head at random times and entertain me. As always, review if you have any thoughts for improvements, or just to let me know if you like it.