"This seems to be the address" the young woman said to herself. She turned off her GPS app and began to gather the dish she had brought. A special meat dish she had her mother help her make. 'He's probably going to love it knowing him' the dark-haired woman thought with a smile. If you would have told Nico Robin that she would be in a two-year relationship during her college career, she wouldn't have believed you. Yet here she was standing outside the family home of her boyfriend, one Monkey D. Luffy. She smiles as she remembers the conversation, she had with him about this situation.
(Flashback one and a half weeks ago)
"You want me to meet your family?" Robin asked her boyfriend. They were sitting in her dorm she shared with their mutual friend Nami. Her sitting on the sofa while he had his head in her lap as she ran her fingers through his messy hair.
"Yeah! My brother Ace finally graduated from college and my family is having a big get together!" The young man said with his trademark smile. "Everyone is going to be there. Ace, Sabo, Gramps, Aunt Dadan and all her kids, Big Sis Makino and her son as well! Even my dad is gonna be there too!" Robin was surprised about that last person. While she knew that Luffy's mother had passed away when he was young, he rarely talked about his father. She remembered how early in their relationship he said he could count on both fingers how many times he's seen his father.
"Hmm, are you sure? It seems like it'll be quite the family affair" the young woman chuckled. While she knew Luffy had what some would call an "interesting" family dynamic, she also had no idea what a normal family was. She had been raised by her mother Nico Olivia and her uncle Saul. Her uncle died when she was 8 so it had mostly been her and her mother since. While her mother was an archaeologist of some renown, she always made sure to spend time with her daughter. Robin admired her mother and decided to follow in her footsteps and become an archaeologist
"Well…I wanna bring home my girlfriend to meet my family. They have been bugging about when I'll introduce them to the woman who managed to take my attention away from meat" Luffy said with a small blush on his face. "Plus, Ace and Sabo still think you aren't real and that I could get a girlfriend since they think I'm still the immature little brother" he said as he puffed his cheeks out. Robin giggled at how adorable her lover looked.
"Of course, I'll go Luffy, I'd be happy to see your family" Robin smiled at her boyfriend.
"Shishishi, thanks Robin!" he then raised up his head and gave her a quick kiss on her lips. Robin felt her cheeks warm up afterwards and smiled at him. "I'll send you the address and everything so you can head there. It isn't far from here so it shouldn't be too big of a trip."
(present)
She smiled as she remembered how happy Luffy was when she accepted. She walked up to the porch and knocked on the door, her hands carrying the dish she had brought. She heard a muffled "Be right there!" as she heard some footsteps followed by the opening of the door. The person she saw was a woman. She had green hair and had the smile that would seem to soothe any child. Around her legs was a boy around the age of 6, holding on to his mother's pants,
"Ah you must be Robin! Luffy told us you would be coming today." She said with a smile. "Please come in! everyone else is here now, we may have had some other guests arrive but the more the merrier right?" the woman chuckled. She then looked down at the boy. "This is my son Roger. Say hi Roger" she said encouraging her son. Being a shy boy, he hid behind his mother, watching this new person with a curious look. Robin crouched down and gave him a smile.
"I'm Robin, it's nice to meet you". The boy looked at the young woman with the same look he had before. Robin doesn't have much experience with kids, unless you count the one time in high school she babysat for her neighbors. The boy, feeling confident, came out from behind his mother and introduced himself.
"I'm Roger! It's nice to meet you Aunt Robin!" the boy said with a grin. Robin froze as her face turned crimson. 'A-A-Aunt!?' she thought to herself. Makino saw the expression on the young woman's face and decided to do something
"Roger why don't you go see if your Great Aunt Dadan needs help with the decorations"
"Okay Mama! It was nice to meet you Aunt Robin!" the boy said as he ran back into what Robin assumed was the living room. Makino could only give a sigh as she smiled at Robin
"Sorry about that. He's just excited to meet you. Luffy talks about you all the time, guess he wanted to see who this person was that caught his uncle's attention"
Robin had recovered from her embarrassment over the child's statement. "No, its fine. I'm just surprised is all." She looked past Makino when she heard someone running and saw a familiar face.
"Robin! You're here!" Luffy said as he ran towards his girlfriend. He pulled her into a hug and gave her a kiss. "I'm glad you made it!" Robin smiled at her boyfriend's antics.
"Of course. I wouldn't want to miss this after all" she then reciprocated the kiss Luffy gave her. "It's a special day for my Gummy and his family"
"Gummy?" Makino said as she tried to stifle a laugh. Robin and Luffy were suddenly pulled out of their little moment as they both turn and saw Makino hovering her hand over her mouth to try not to laugh at what she guessed was a pet name for Luffy. Both lovers were red from the woman's reaction to it.
"W-Well you know how I'm more flexible than an average person, Zoro brought it up one day after a workout we had" Luffy said remembering the conversation. He then put his head down and lifted it back up. He ran his hair to expose his forehead and then had a serious face. "Its like your made of rubber man, its so weird" he said doing his best Zoro impression. Robin couldn't hold in her laughter as she laughed at the impression their friend. Luffy joined in on her laughter as well
"When he brought it up, I made the comment of him being like rubber as a joke. Then I started calling him my Gummy as a nickname for him." Robin said calming down from her laughing fit. Luffy never told her, but he loved her laugh a lot. In fact, her laugh was one of the main reasons he fell in love with her. Unlike their mutual friends Sanji and Brooke, Luffy wasn't a pervert. He knew many beautiful women, but Makino and his Gramps sayings of always treating women with respect was something he followed. When he met Robin in their first year of college in a course about the Pirate Age, he was smitten by her beauty. Her long black hair and she carried an air about her of a serious and calm woman. Of course, he wouldn't deny she had a nice body (Don't tell Brooke or Sanji) but he knew there was more to a potential partner than just looks. One day walking into the library, he saw her there and asked her for help with some of his other subjects. She gave him a smile and a nod of her head. They studied and while Luffy wasn't the sharpest knife in the toolshed (He thinks that's the saying) he managed to ace his tests for those classes. He walked up to her after the class had ended and thanked her.
"If it weren't for you, I would have had my seagull cooked!" he exclaimed. Robin, finding the butchering of the saying funny, laughed at the young man's antics.
"It's goose Luffy, you would have had your goose cooked." She said, explaining to the young man the correct idiom.
"Goose? Goose don't live anywhere close here. We are close to the sea so all we see mostly is seagulls." He said with a tilt of his head, a confused look on his head. Robin laughed once again at the boys' antics. Luffy for some reason also found himself laughing hearing her laugh. "Shishishi, I like your laugh, Robin! It's cute" he said as if it was a natural thing to say. Robin could only blush at his bluntness. Afterwards the went to a restaurant to eat as a celebration of sorts. One thought ran through both of their minds. 'I wouldn't mind spending more time with him/her'
"Aww, our little Luffy sure is a charmer" Makino said after hearing the story. "Well why don't you come in. Everyone should be in the living room". She reached out and offered to take the dish that Robin had and proceeded to head to the kitchen. "I'll let you know when dinner will be ready." She left through the swinging door and disappeared into the kitchen. Luffy looked at Robin and held her hand. "Come on, I wanna introduce you to my family." He said as he pulled her into the living room. Walking in she saw two people sitting on the sofa, having some drinks. One was an older man with white hair and beard. He was a giant of a man, probably 6' 6" if she had to guess. He wore a Hawaiian shirt and some cargo shorts. He was having a hearty laugh with the woman who sat next to him. She was an older woman as well, as big as the man she was sitting next too. She had bright orange hair and what looked like a cigarette. She was wearing a blouse with some pants. She was shaking her head, probably to do with the man's laughter
"Oi Gramps! Aunt Dadan!" the young man yelled walking in. The older gentleman stopped his conversation and looked at his grandson. He got up and even Robin admitted the man had an intimidating aura to him. The man raised his hand and balled it into a fist only to bring it down on the young man's head. With a yelp, the young man grabbed the area where his grandfather had hit him. "Oi Gramps, the hell was that for!?"
"Don't you know its rude to interrupt people when they're having a conversation!" the older man yelled. As the two men were about to get into an argument, Robin's laugh brought them out of their feud. The two men looked at each other and proceeded to laugh as well. 'She really has such a beautiful laugh' Luffy thought to himself. After the laughter subsided, Luffy started his introduction.
"Gramps, Aunt Dadan; I want you to meet my beautiful girlfriend, Robin!" he said as did a jazz hand motions to her. Robin could only blush as her lover introduced her in such a bold manner. Though, this was Luffy she was talking about, he always does things like this and one of the things she loves about him.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Nico Robin." She said as she introduced herself. Suddenly, the older man pulled her into a hug, surprising Robin.
"AHAHAHAHA no need to be so formal young lady." The man put her down after finishing his sentence. "We aren't too fond of formality here in this family so you can relax." The man said giving a smile reminiscent of Luffy. The man pointed to himself "My name is Monkey D. Garp! You can call me Garp or perhaps you'd prefer Grandpa" the joyous man said. Robin could only blush at the man's statement.
'Grandpa!? Does this mean he accepts me as Luffy's future wife? No, we are still finishing up our classes and have our careers first." Robin said while feeling her face heat up at her thoughts. She began to fluster, trying to come up with a reply when Garp was hit over the head with a club causing the man to fall down. Robin gasped and looked at who had hit him. She saw the woman from before with the club in her hand.
"You old bastard, don't you know you can't be saying stupid stuff like that! Poor girl is redder than a tomato!" the woman said yelling at the man. She then turned to the young woman and Robin saw the mean look the woman had. "Names Dadan." She said in a rough voice. "I helped raised that troublemaker right there along with this old geezer as well. Don't mind him, he's going senile and tends to say whatever comes to his mind." Not missing a beat, Garp jumped up from the floor, and proceeded to yell at the woman.
"Old Geezer! I still got more spunk than a majority of those rookies out of the police academy! That's why I'm still the captain!"
"Yeah, well could have fooled me. Especially with those three subordinates you got. A coward, a rich boy and a lazyass who can't even stay awake!"
"Take that back, Kuzan is the best lieutenant in the entire force" Garp said feeling offended his star pupil was being insulted.
"He didn't even bother to defend Koby and Helmeppo from her insults" Luffy whispered to himself. The fighting stopped when everyone heard noise coming down the hall. Inside ran two young men, a little bit older than Luffy. One of them was a blonde hair boy. He was wearing a blue dress shirt and black pants. He had some boots on but what stood out was the top hat he wore. The other was a black-haired man with a Hawaiian shirt that was open unlike Garp. He wore black shorts and sneakers and just like Luffy and and the other boy he wore a hat, a cowboy hat with accessories on them. Robin saw her boyfriend run past her and to the two boys. "Ace! Sabo! It's so good to see you two!" the young man said as the three brothers hugged.
"Hey Luffy! Long time no see!" the blonde man said laughing at Luffy's antics.
"Long time no see little bro. You haven't been causing trouble for Gramps, Dadan or Makino, have you?" the black-haired man said. They then began to rough house as some teasing was done between the three watched the interaction and was about to ask herself a question when Garp spoke up behind her.
"They aren't brothers by blood" Garp said taking Robin out of her thoughts. "Ace is the son of an old friend of mine and Sabo was kicked out by his family at a young age. Me and Dadan raised these boys and somewhere down the line they started to bond and said they were brothers." Garp said with a smile on his face.
"Yeah, after making a pact by sharing the last of my most expensive sake I had." Dadan huffed, clearly annoyed by it. Robin was shocked. She never knew these two men weren't his actual blood brothers, but seeing the way they acted, you wouldn't have known. She saw Luffy head over with the two other men. He stepped aside and did the jazz hand motion he did earlier.
"See! I told you she was real!" Luffy said. "She's right here in front of you guys" the two boys could only laugh at their younger brother's antics. The blonde one stepped forward and offered his hand to Robin.
"My name is Sabo, nice to meet you!" Robin took the Sabo's hand and shook it. The black-haired man stepped up next and introduced himself next.
"Name's Ace, nice to meet you Robin" the man said with a smile. Robin took his hand and shook it as well.
"Ace, Sabo. It's nice to finally meet you. Luffy has talked about you a lot." She said. The two boys got two different looks on their faces. Sabo was one of curiosity and Ace's was one of mischief.
"Does he now? So what does our knucklehead of a little bro say about his two older brothers" Ace said, hoping to get some material to tease Luffy. Sensing the true intent of Ace, she answered in a way where that wouldn't happen.
"Nothing but praise about his older brothers. How much he wants to just as good as you two." She said with a smile on her face. Ace and Sabo were both taken aback, but deep down felt happy that Luffy was proud of them.
"So…how'd our dense younger brother manage to get a polite and pretty girl like yourself?" Ace said trying to go back to teasing his little brother and his girlfriend. Robin blushed at Ace's question.
"Hey! I'm not dense!" Luffy said as a he got angry. Ace laughed at his brother's reaction
"Yeah, you are, Did you forget about that girl Hancock who wouldn't leave you alone back in highschool?" Ace said. Sabo nodded in agreement at Ace's statement.
"He's got a point." Sabo said "She was all over you. She always brought you lunch, made sure you were doing ok after some fights you got into. Remember that time when she even asked you to marry her after you graduated?" Sabo said. Robin didn't know why, but she felt a pang of jealousy inside of her.
"Luffy, how come I've never heard anything about this Hancock girl?" Robin said in a normal tone. Luffy jumped at the tone and turned around, seeing the neutral expression the young woman had. Luffy knew this look, it was the look Robin normally had when something made her upset or annoyed. He's heard it a few times and began to panic. He remembered what happened the last time this has happened.
"S-She was just a friend of mine!" Luffy said putting his hands up. "I refused her proposal and always thought of her as a friend of mine. You know the only girl I love is you, Robin!" Robin blushed a little at him saying that. Even though she's heard it many times, it never failed to make her heart flutter. Ace and Sabo burst out laughing making the two face the brothers.
"Aw man she's got you wrapped around her finger" Ace laughed making Sabo laugh even harder. Luffy then started to get mad. Seeing a chance, Robin then put her hand on his shoulder as Luffy turned to look at her.
"Is something wrong Gummy?" Robin said, making a concerned face. The brothers laughing fit only got louder as they heard the pet name for their little brother.
"Gummy? AHAHAHAHAHA" Sabo said holding his sides as he fell to the floor.
"G-Gummy! Oh man he isn't living this down that's for sure!" Ace said as he leaned on the table of the living room slamming his hand on it trying to hold himself up.
"Betrayed by my own girlfriend? How could you Robin." Luffy said as he dramatically felt on his knees, hands on the ground. The two brothers continued to laugh harder at their younger brothers' antics. Robin was at her limit and let out a laugh as well
"Dereshishishishi" Robin laughed seeing her boyfriend's comedic response. "Dereshishishishi" She hadn't laughed this hard in a long time. Suddenly, Ace and Sabo stopped their laughing and looked at her. Luffy raised his head and turned to her as well. Robin stopped laughing and realized all eyes were on her. Her face turned red with embarrassment, and she turned her head to hide her quickly reddening face. Luffy then proceeded to smile and ran up and hug her. She then turned to face the straw-hat wearing boy.
"Robin! That was the cutest laugh ever! I loved it!" he said then gave her a quick kiss. "You should laugh like that more often! Robin was happy to hear that she enjoyed her laugh. Before he could ask about it, they heard Makino call from the kitchen.
"Ace! Sabo! Can you help me set the table? I'd ask Luffy to help you as well but I think he'd eat the food before it would reach the table". Hearing the request from their adoptive older sister, Ace and Sabo got up and proceeded to head out, knowing that they wanted to give their little brother some privacy with his significant other. Now, alone in the living room, Luffy and Robin stood in each other's arms.
"Do…Do you really like that laugh?" Robin said with a bit of hope in her eyes. Luffy smiled at her
"Of course! I've never heard you laugh like that." It was true, the 3 years they knew each other including the 2 years they have been dating, he'd never heard her laugh like that.
"It's how my uncle taught me to laugh." Robin said as she started to remember a bit about her dear old uncle. "When I was young, I was a pretty serious girl and got picked on a lot. Some kids at school picked on me because I liked reading and kept to myuself. I told my Uncle Saul one day and he gave me some advice that day." Robin then had a happy look on her face as she remembered the advice her uncle gave her, when she was crying about how sad she was a lot of the other kids were treating her." 'You know, laughter is the key to happiness!' he would say. I remember giving him a weird look and asking him why." Luffy looked on interested in finding out more. " 'Why? When you're happy or feel joy, you laugh. So, naturally it follows that you'll be happy if you laugh! When times are tough or you feel sad, just laugh!' I thought he was weird for thinking that and thought I'd look stupid if I did that" she said with a smile remembering just how gloomy she was as a kid. "He then told me to laugh like he did and sooner or later it stuck with me, that weird laugh my uncle had. I guess it came out when I saw you and your brother's having fun." Luffy looked at her with a caring look in his eyes. He then wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug.
"Robin, I love you. I love everything about you. So never feel embarrassed about that laugh Robin. I love it and I love you." Luffy whispered in her ears. She never heard anyone say that about her unique laugh. Many made fun of her for it as a kid and after her uncle died, she rarely laughed like that. Only can this man, Monkey D. Luffy, mange to bring it out of her and say he loved it. She really was the luckiest girl in the world.
"I love you too Gummy" she said as he pulled him in for a kiss. The two stood there and in their own little world. A clearing of a throat is what caused them to break out of their own world.
"I hope I'm not interrupting something important, Son" the man said.
"Dad? You came?" Luffy said as he looked up at the man in the room. He was a tall and intimidating man. He had long black hair, he wore a dress shirt that was red with black slacks. He wore a long coat that almost looked like a cape or cloak on him. The thing that caught Robin's attention was the tattoo that covered half his face and the serious look on his face. 'This is Luffy's father' Robin thought to herself. ' He looks like the complete opposite of Luffy'
"Of course, Ace is still a son to me, I wouldn't miss any celebrations of my sons." The man said with a slight smirk on his face. He then turned and noticed the woman in his son's arms. " I take it you are Nico Robin? My son has mentioned you many times during our phone calls." The man bowed a bit. "My name is Monkey D. Dragon, a pleasure to meet you." The man said. Robin soon loosened her grip around Luffy and bowed as well.
"It's an honor to finally meet you sir" Robin said a bit nervous. The man held his smirk and turned towards his son. "Beautiful and well mannered, I'm impressed Luffy." Robin was surprised hearing this praise from him. Luffy was also surprised by his response and nodded towards his father.
"I think Makino was going to ask you to help her wrangle Roger in for dinner. You don't mind if I have a moment with Mr. Robin here, do you?" Dragon asked
"Of course, not dad" Luffy said with a nod. He then turned and kissed Robin on the cheek." I'll see you at the table, save me a seat and make sure Ace and Gramps don't eat all the meat!" he said as he ran to the backyard. Standing alone with this giant of a man, Robin began to feel a rush of nervousness in her.
"Please, lets have a seat" he said as he pointed to the sofa. He sat on the single chair as Robin sat on the sofa. "I have some questions if I may ask you "
O-Of course sir." She responded, a crack in her voice. 'Is this that infamous questioning that parents do on their children's significant other?" Robin thought. 'I thought those only happened in movies and shows'
"I want to ask a few questions about you. Firstly, what are you studying at New World University?"
"I am studying Archeology sir. I want to be an archeologist." She said with a hint of pride. The man caught this and smirked.
"I assume just like your mother am I correct?"
"Yes sir"
"How long do you know Luffy?"
"We met in a class over the age of pirates. He asked me for help in his other classes and we became friends. We found out we had a mutual friend that was my roommate.I met his other friends over time and they became my friends as well. A year after being friends, we started dating." Robin said with a longing look in her eyes. The man didn't miss it and asked her the final question.
"What intentions do you have with my son?" Dragon asked. Robin was thrown off by this question. 'Don't fathers ask this when it's a boy dating their daughter?' Robin asked herself.
"Um, I'm not sure I understand sir?"
"Let me rephrase that question. As you know, my son isn't exactly the smartest boy around. I have always worried about him and his wellbeing, even if others seem to think I don't. I want to know if this a serious relationship and you aren't leading my son on." Robin was a bit offended by the question. She loves Luffy and wouldn't deny it
"My feelings for Luffy are genuine sir. I love him with every fiber of my being. He's been a ray of sunshine in my life and I feel like he helped me come out of my shell a lot with his antics he and his friends usually get themselves into." She laughed remembering a lot of the things they've gone through. "I can't imagine my life without him. I want to spend my life with him, I mean it from the bottom of my heart. I love your son and nothing will make me deny it." Robin said with joy in her voice. Dragon had his eyes closed and nodded his head. He got up from his seat and approached the girl. He then offered her his hand which she took and shook.
"Thank you, Robin, I am happy to hear that. I'm glad my son was able to find a partner like yourself." the man said. "Now, why don't we head over to the dining room and have dinner. I'm sure you'll enjoy Makino's cooking." He said as he proceeded to head to the dining room. Robin stood up and bowed deeply to the man
"Thank you, sir,"
"Please, call me Dragon." The man said as he walked out. What Robin didn't see was the small smirk and mischievous look the man had on his face. "Or Father if you'd like Robin." The man said turning to the young woman. Robin could only turn red when she heard what the man had said and the implications of it. The man then let out a small laugh seeing her reaction.
"Shishishi" Dragon laughed, soft enough that only Robin could hear. As he walked out only one thing ran thorough the young woman's mind. 'Yea, that's Luffy's father alright. She then walked over to the dining room where everyone, but Luffy and Roger were seated. True to her word she saved a seat for Luffy as he came in after washing up from playing a bit with his nephew. Dinner came and went and Robin saw firsthand where Luffy got his appetite. Between him, his grandfather, and Ace, they would have made a few buffets run out of food. She listened to stories the family told and would laugh at stories of Luffy when he was younger and the trouble, he got in. After dinner, they proceeded to move their conversations to the living room where more stories were told. Dragon was the first to leave as he said he had some business to attend to and then Sabo went to bed as he said he had a date with his girlfriend Koala and excused himself. Garp and Ace had fallen asleep on the couch after drinking throughout the night and Makino and Dadan started to clean the dishes after Makino had put Roger to sleep. Luffy and Robin stood by the entrance to the house, as she grabbed her bag and keys. The exited the house as Luffy walked her to her car.
"Thanks for coming Robin, I was happy you could come over and meet my family."
"It's never a dull moment with you and your family. I had a fun time. I hope to visit again soon." Robin said with a smile. She then got in her car and rolled the window down to speak with him. "I'll see you soon Gummy. I love you," she said. Luffy smiled "I love you too Roibin." She turned on her engine but before she left, she turned to her lover. "Oh, and let Father know it was a nice to finally meet him." She said with a smile. Luffy only reaction was to have his mouth agape as his brain could only process what his girlfriend had said.
"F-F-Father!?" Robin got the reaction she wanted to get, and she enjoyed it.
"Dereshishishi" Robin laughed as she pulled out of the driveway and left her boyfriend standing there. He recovered seeing that his girlfriend had left and could only laugh his trademark laugh. 'Yeah, that's gotta be the cutest laugh ever' he thought to himself as he walked back in the house to help Dadan and Makino clean up after the festivities.
I'm alive! Hey, it's been a long time since I lasted posted here but I'm back! Lot of stuff has happened recently in my life but now I'm back and got some of those ideas I wanna write down. Sorry if this isn't as good, it's been almost 7 years since the last time I wrote one of these. Got inspired to write this after starting to reread One Piece again. Still, I got more coming just need to find the time to write them down. Hoping you enjoyed it because I had fun writing it. See everyone soon!
-TsundereGuy