Chapter 12: Show Him Your Love
Everyone was eating breakfast in their usual routine, but a silence fell over them as Luffy asked a question: "Hey Zoro, what were you doing in the crow´s nest with Robin yesterday?"
Brook and Franky burst out laughing, knowing what their captain meant. It took a while from the others, but once they got it they burst out laughing, too.
"What´s so funny?" well, of course their little doctor didn´t get it.
"I´m going to kill you guys" Zoro muttered as he continued to feed his son, deciding to ignore Luffy´s question. Robin however, had other plans.
"We were doing what you and Nami did that one time at Fishman Island" she said calmly, making the whole group shut up.
"ROBIN!" Nami screamed her face red. The others turned to look at her, causing her face go even redder.
"Oh, so that´s what you were doing" Luffy said, ignoring the others.
"…what the hell you´ve done to my little brother?" Sabo asked from the navigator, who decided to ignore him as she took a hold of Luffy´s throat and dragged him outside, slamming the door shut behind them.
"Now that was interesting" Zoro said with a chuckle. Sadly everyone else had heard it too, which meant that he couldn´t blackmail Nami to forget his debt with this.
"Nami-san…" Sanji mumbled, still in shock.
"Guys?" Chopper asked "What are you all talking about? I don´t get it"
"You don´t need to get it yet, Chopper bro" Franky said and everyone, except Chopper of course, agreed. End of the conversation.
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After breakfast Sabo, Nora and Sanji were standing in front of the door to women´s cabin, trying to listen to what the navigator and the captain were talking about. The only one who could hear things clearly was Nora; after all she was a devil fruit user, zoan type at that.
"Don´t you guys have anything better to do?" Zoro asked the three of them, who just muttered to him to be quiet. Sighing, the swordsman turned to look at Chopper and Kôkogaku, who were building a castle with the blocks Usopp had made. Speaking of the long nose, Zoro had seen him following Robin to the library. Otherwise Zoro would have been surprised, but he had heard how Usopp had told Robin that he needed to talk to her. That however, led to another question: what did the long nose want to talk about?
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"What is it, Usopp?" Robin asked as she sat down on the couch in the library. She really wished this wasn´t just about some "heroic story" of his. Usopp stayed quiet for a moment, wondering how he should start, so he said: "Well you see, when I was a kid-"
"Usopp, if this is some "heroic story" of yours, then save it for Chopper. I´m not in the mood." Robin cut him off. She should´ve known.
"It´s not" the long nose said, making Robin raise an eyebrow "Now can you please listen without interrupting me?"
The archeologist nodded, deciding to listen what this was about.
"So, when I was a kid my dad left to the sea, and I haven´t seen him since. Because of this I often wondered if he cared about our family at all."
"Where are you going with this?" Robin asked, although she had a feeling that she already knew.
"What I´m trying to say is that your kid might end up thinking the same way" Usopp told "Sure I understand that you want to continue sailing, but the problem is that you don´t seem very close to him even when he´s here."
Robin looked away; she had guessed right.
"I know that, but…" she trailed off, not knowing what she should say.
"You need to show your son that you love him" Usopp said "Otherwise he´ll grow up to be a grumpy brick wall like his father."
Robin chuckled at that.
"I´m trying my best"
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After lunch Zoro had suggested that he and Robin would go to the town with Kôkogaku since they had stayed behind last time, and Robin agreed, so now they were walking on the street.
"Where do you want to go?" Robin asked from Zoro who was carrying their son.
"I don´t really have any plans…" the swordsman said "The park? Surely there has to be one here."
"Sounds good" Robin said, taking out the map of the town she had gotten from Nami and pointed to the right "That way."
"Alright" Zoro said and went to the left.
"Zoro?"
"Yeah?"
"This way" Robin said with a chuckle, pointing to the right direction.
Zoro mumbled something and Kôkogaku laughed, reaching for his mother with his hands.
"Lead the way" Zoro muttered, taking a firmer hold on the toddler in his arms so that he wouldn´t fall. Once they got to the park Zoro put the squirming toddler in to a baby swing, pushing it back and forth. Robin sat on the swing next to Kôkogaku´s, smiling at her laughing son. She couldn´t help but think that they probably looked like a completely normal family to passer bys… well, excluding the three swords Zoro had with him. Swords weren´t really that unusual, but there weren´t many swordsmen with three sword style around.
"Robin"
"Yes?"
"Your turn" Zoro said, moving away from behind Kôkogaku. Before Robin could protest Zoro said: "Just push the swing; there´s no way he could fall off of it."
Robin was a bit uncertain, but got up and went behind Kôkogaku´s swing anyway. Zoro smiled, taking Robin´s place on the other swing.
"He won´t fall off" the swordsman repeated, chuckling at their son who was trying to get the swing to move on his own. Robin still looked doubtful, but pushed the swing anyway. Kôkogaku laughed as he moved back and forth in the swing, his laughter making Robin more relaxed. The three of them stayed at the park ´till late at night, when Kôkogaku was already asleep.
A.N: I´d say there´s two or three (short) chapters left… review?
