Category: Mild Romantic Fluff

Characters: Nico Robin, Trafalgar Law

Requested By: Anonymous User

"No!"

The scream tore through Robin's throat like a serrated knife, spreading the iron tang of terror over her tongue, as she bolted upright in bed. Her blue-violet eyes stretched wide but were unseeing as the terrifying images of her homeland exploding under cannonade slowly faded into the darkness. Once they dissolved into the black, her eyelashes fluttered wildly to clear the clinging ghostly haze before her entire body sagged. The fingers that painfully clutched the sheets gradually uncurled, and she swiped her tongue over her chapped lips. Her head slumped forward, spilling her midnight blue hair over her face. "A dream," she reassured herself softly. "It was only a dream."

Robin peered out of the gaps in her pin-straight hair to see Nami grumbling and rolling over to snuggle against the wall. Robin found herself relieved her cries had not awoken the navigator; too often did they awaken in the night to each other's sobs or shrieks. Let her sleep, she resolved while slipping out of bed and wriggling her feet into her slippers. A walk will serve you just as well. Quietly, she picked her way across the room, avoiding the squeaky floorboards she memorized so as not to awaken her slumbering roommate. When the bedroom door clicked shut behind her, she exhaled deeply and slumped against the cold metal. The explosions still rang dully in her eardrums, punctuated by wails of agony. Be quiet, she groaned and clamped her hands over her ears, but it just made the horrible noises louder. Please. I don't want to remember!

She didn't recollect running, but she found herself outside on the deck. The salty ocean breeze skimmed over her skin, making the thin sheen of perspiration coating her person gleam. Gulping in the oceanic air, she slowly wound herself down from the manic high. Shuddering from both the atmosphere of doom clinging to her and the chilly night, she rubbed her hands repeatedly over her arms. Just a dream, she reminded herself hollowly. Dream or not, it haunted Robin nonetheless.

"Nico-ya?"

Robin jumped as she was abruptly addressed. She glanced over her shoulder to see soft yellow light spilling out onto the grassy deck from the ajar kitchen door. Standing in the threshold was Law, gazing at her curiously with a fresh mug of coffee in his hand. She could tell it was coffee, not only from its robust aroma mingling with the salt spray, but also because she had never seen him drink anything else. "It's almost three in the morning… A little late to be taking a jaunt around the Sunny, no?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and sipped his coffee.

"I could ask you the same," she answered as she turned to him. His lips curled up into a smirk, and he smiled sardonically at her over the brim of the mug.

"It's pretty obvious what I'm jaunting around for. One begs the question, however, why a decidedly non-insomniac archaeologist is traipsing around during the Devil's Hour." Robin knew he hadn't meant to insult her blatantly, but she still cringed at the insinuation. The epithet "devil child" still stung her terribly, even well into her twenties. Law did not miss her wince, and his eyebrows crept up his forehead. "I didn't mean to offend."

"No," she interjected and turned such that her side was to him. She crossed her arms and dipped her head a little, closing her eyes to focus on the swirling wind currents rather than the illusions running amok in her mind. "It's all right." She could feel his prickling gaze training on her as she stood there, trying to squash the panic threatening to rise in her once more, but he didn't inquire for quite a while. Either he was too polite or deciding whether to care or not.

Finally, he uttered, "Must've been some nightmare."

Robin's mouth twisted into a self-piteous smile. Smart man. She cracked an eye open to peek at him through her peripheral vision. He now leaned against the doorjamb, sipping at his coffee with his golden eyes glimmering meaningfully. "Not that I'm the authority on friendship or anything, but if you'd like to talk…" he began to propose, trailing off. A faint pink hue rose to his cheeks, or it could have been the heat of the beverage blooming across his face. "… You can talk to me. I'll listen."

Robin had to admit that her heart swelled at the kind gesture. Law was most certainly not the epitome of consideration or goodness; nevertheless, he had offered to comfort her. A walk had not served its purpose at all, so she soon found herself sitting on the bench alongside Nami's tangerine grove, a warm mug of coffee in her hands and Law seated beside her. There, in the little veranda perfumed with citrus flowers and bathed in the starlight, Robin recounted the destruction of her homeland. As promised, Law only listened to her venting; he never uttered a word but attentively harkened her tale. By the time she reached the end of her dismal story, she was hunched over clutching the mug in a white-knuckled grasp, tears dripping off her lashes to fall into the brown-black liquid.

"The World Government murdered the entire island for their selfish reasons," she sniffed and swiped the back of her hand over her eyes. Tears smeared over her skin, glinting in the moonlight.

"Yeah," he snorted derisively. "They're good at that kind of thing."

Nodding, Robin eased herself back into a sitting position and sipped at the long-cold coffee. Its bitter flavor still eased her sorrows somewhat, but more so did the presence of the aloof man beside her. She knew the details of Law and the Amber Lead, so she knew that he understood her misery excruciatingly well.

He had finished his coffee some time ago and set the empty mug down on the wood boards. He had his arms stretched out across the bench, with his left one just barely tucked behind her shoulders. Law's eyes had been trained on her throughout her story, but he was now looking straight ahead, just over the balustrade at the thin stripe of sapphire sea sparkling with reflected moonlight. Robin smiled slightly as she side-eyed him, appreciating how attractively his blue-tinted hair and tanned skin shone with the night's light.

"Thank you for listening."

He reached up to rub the base of his neck awkwardly, flicking his gold eyes to her and then back to the horizon.

"Sure. Do you feel better?"

"Yes."

"Treatment success, then," he smirked playfully, then leaned down to retrieve his empty mug. "Back to my regularly scheduled plotting and scheming, I suppose." Robin giggled and reclined against the bench, quirking her eyebrow at him.

"You've already toppled Doflamingo. What more could you have to scheme?"

"Only the complete dismantlement of the World Government, of course," he grinned riotously while twirling the coffee cup in his hand. The lingering dregs of liquid splashed out, spattering over the deck. "If you're so insistent on staying up, I suppose I could use a scheming partner," he posed as she smiled mischievously at him. Robin languidly rose to stand in front of him, nearly chest-to-chest as she flirtatiously peered into his face. To his credit, he didn't retreat, only tipped his chin up challengingly.

"Oh? They used to call me the Devil's Child, you know. Are you sure you can handle the wicked inner-workings of my mind?" Law's grin widened gleefully, and as he placed a hand on his hip, he purposely bumped his chest against hers. His head leaned dangerously close, so close that Robin could smell the black coffee on his breath.

"Wickedness is preferable in schemes such as mine. Why don't you enlighten me to your malevolence, Miss Devil's Child?" Robin purred roguishly. It was only now that he was right in front of her, engaging in her banter, that Robin realized how devilishly handsome he was. She tipped her head up impudently, just barely brushing her lips against his and tickling his goatee with her chin.

"Well-"

"If you two are going to flirt, do you have to do it where I can see it?"

The two of them sprang apart, placing several feet between them. Zoro was hanging out of the window of the crow's nest, eyeing them crossly. He was clearly disgusted with their coy little exchange. Robin flushed and put a hand over her mouth, mortified that the swordsman had borne witness to their courtship, while Law scowled irately.

"What makes you think we were flirting, Roronoa-ya?!"

"Please. You were literally undressing each other with your eyes, and practically kissing. Disgusting," the green-haired man grumbled. "Did you two sneak out here for some stupid midnight rendezvous?"

"No!" they yelled simultaneously, cheeks burning identical shades of red. Zoro cackled in amusement and shouted, "Goodnight, lovebirds!" before retreating into the observation dome. Law growled and muttered some very unflattering curses under his breath, while Robin could not help but laugh.

"What's so funny, Nico-ya?" the golden-eyed man griped and rounded on her.

"You're cute when you're embarrassed. Such a lovely shade of pink you are right now," she teased. Law's scowl deepened, and he pointed a threatening finger at her.

"You're on thin ice, woman."

"Oh, but I am so excited to know what happens when it breaks." His face flushed darker at her obvious insinuations, which made her laugh more. She walked forward to clap a hand on his shoulder, sighing contentedly, before brushing past him. "Thank you for tonight, Law."

"Where are you going?" She had to smile at the obvious disappointment in his voice and the way his body turned to follow her movement.

"Sorry, no scheming for me tonight. How about a rain check?" Robin called over her shoulder as she descended the stairs to the main deck. Law mumbled irritably and strolled to the balustrade, leaning on it and watching her recede into the bowels of the ship. Robin skimmed her fingers over her lips, feeling the tingles of his mouth barely against hers, and she smiled warmly. The best coffee is left to steep for a while, after all, she sniggered when she pictured Law's dissatisfied expression. Her heart skipped a little in her chest, like a that of a teenage girl fantasizing about her crush. It was a new sensation, but not an unwelcome one.

The taste of coffee and salt and citrus blooms sparkled on her tongue like fine champagne. Yes, she thought, looking back over her shoulder though Law was no longer in view. I'm very looking forward to some scheming over coffee sometime soon, Law.

Until then.