Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.


Ocean's froth, he missed her.

Hearing Robin's voice, but not being able to actually hold her in his arms was nothing short of torture. Law stared at the transponder snail modelled after her in his room. Its purple body bore the mark of the Strawhat Pirates, and its snow white shell was outfitted with the bell-brimmed hat that she wore back when they were in Dressrosa. The snail was asleep now, but he knew that it would wake up sometime within the next hour for food.

Law, ever prepared, had already placed a bowl before it. Transponder snails could be a pain if they weren't being fed properly, and the last thing he wanted was for this one to run out on him while he was off on some adventure. It had already been acting up due to the extremely cold temperatures of the last two islands they'd visited. If it whined any more, Law didn't doubt that it would jump right out of his submarine in retaliation.

A part of him hated how sensitive they were. It wasn't like he went out of his way to foster an awful working environment for it; the New World's weather was just appalling. A snowstorm had been following them for the last month. That it kept up with them for so long was so coincidental that Law seriously considered the thought of former Marine Admiral Aokiji tracking them. Before he could go out and look for evidence, however, the storm dissipated.

Where did they put it? Law thought, while searching for the crate that he ordered Bepo to leave in his room. He found it a moment later. It was plain, save for the words, ALIVE: HANDLE WITH CARE, stamped across the top in red. There were tiny air holes all over that he didn't bother peeking through. Law simply popped open the lid and grabbed the fat, white snail inside without a second thought. He placed it right beside a new baby transponder snail that he'd just gotten, then hooked all three of the ones on his desk together.

It took a moment for him to get it just right, but once he did the snails made a unified ka-cha sound that satisfied him to the core. There was something oddly gratifying about fixing simple things like this.

Law quickly dialed Robin's personal number into the baby snail, before falling back into his seat. He leaned back with his feet propped up on the table.

It was approaching midnight, but hopefully she'd pick up.

Purupurupurupuru…

Purupurupurupuru…

His anticipation grew the longer the phone rang.

Purupurupurupuru…

Ka-cha.

The baby snail opened its eyes, mimicking Robin's expression perfectly. A moment later, the snail projected her face in the open air above him.

"Law!" Robin said, delighted. She was in a dim room inside of the ship. There was a cracked door behind her that illuminated the outlines of what looked to be a library. He heard the telltale signs of a banquet coming from the other side of the door. Law even caught a glimpse of Luffy doing some elaborate bouncing trick with his rubber body. "It's been a while."

"We've been sailing with a blizzard recently," he explained. "The snails have been acting up."

"Ours have, too, but only because of the deathly heat. When did you get a visual transponder snail?"

"I've had it for months. It was getting a spare white snail that was tricky. The last thing I want is for the Navy to intercept these calls."

"Why? Are you afraid they might see something that would damage your reputation?" she asked with that playful grin of hers. "Perhaps you don't want them to know that the infamous Surgeon of Death actually goes out of his way to schedule house calls?"

"If you call what we do house calls, then I wouldn't mind arranging more." Law smirked. "But it's better to keep our relationship out of the papers. I don't need that kind of scrutiny. I get enough of it from my crew."

"I'm sure they have more important things to write about."

"I doubt it. I visited a news station hub once. A big one in Water Seven, and they all looked bored out of their minds. They were all just waiting for the latest gossip from a big name to drop."

"What kind of juicy gossip do you think they'll hear from our calls?"

"Who knows?" Law shrugged. "Do you have anything juicy to show me?"

Robin did a graceful twirl for him, and he noticed how differently she was dressed tonight. Was she entertaining the others? There were way too many voices for it to just be the Strawhats out there. With how much her hyperactive captain liked to party, he didn't doubt that they likely invited the entire island they were docked on. But while Luffy could command the attention of thousands of men, he couldn't quite hold it the same way as a woman.

"Were you dancing?" Law asked, amused and envious all at once.

"For a bit. I haven't worn this outfit in so long." She reached into her shirt and pulled out a photo. His eyes widened at how young she looked. The words, Dock Island, were scribbled along the bottom. "I had to get a bigger size."

"How old are you there?"

Robin only smiled. "I'll give it to you next time we see each other. Maybe I'll even let you read our log about that adventure."

"This was while you were with the Strawhats?" he asked, doubtful. "Did their antics age you?"

Law's chest heated with unexpected affection when Robin's grin widened, and then suddenly, she was laughing.

Her distant mirth seemed to attract the attention of her captain because not a moment later, he heard the boy shout, "Robin! ROBIN! Why are you back there? Come out and party!"

"I need to go," she said, entirely too bittersweet for his liking. "Unless you want to speak to Luffy?"

"I don't need a headache."

Her knowing smirk affected him in ways that she would never know. "Then I'll call you in the morning."

Luffy came barreling inside to get her before he could answer.


A/N: Please review.