Almost a year later
The late morning sun was streaming in the open window, the curtains blowing gently in the breeze. Robin took a deep breath, closing her eyes as the wind brushed her face. Zoro stirred beside her, rolling over. She smiled as he snuggled closer, kissing her neck as he pulled her against him.
"Good morning." She whispered, so which he barely grunted in response, not fully awake. She turned back to the window, listening to the sounds of the street below. The chaos of the city washed over her, somehow a peaceful back drop to a wonderful morning.
A rattling at the hotel room made her turn. "Is that Nami already? We probably need to get going soon." She pushed herself up, gently sliding out from under Zoro's arm. Their clothes were in a heap on the ground, and she fished a shirt out before hearing the door open.
"We're just getting up, sorry if we're late." She called, pulling the shirt over her head.
"Don't move!" A very young, nervous voice snapped. She stopped, then turned around slowly. The intruder looked like she was fresh out of training, her arms tense as she held her gun high. Zoro turned over, and leaned up on his elbows, looking more than a little pissed.
The girl motioned them out of bed. "Don't move too fast! I'm here to arrest you."
Robin and Zoro just watched as the gun was snatched from her hands, and Nami's hand closed over her mouth, pulling her backwards. She held the girl against her, and twirled the gun in her hands. "Sorry. But no, you're not." She grinned, backing out of the room with the young detective.
Zoro sighed, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "How many is that this month? Four?"
Robin tossed him his pants, "Five, if you count the ones that recognized us at that cafe last Tuesday."
He nodded absentmindedly, sliding into his clothes.
"Boa said we should leave at noon, so we've got to get everything packed up in the next—" She checked the time, "—two hours. Chopper and Franky left last night, said they'd meet us there. Everyone else stayed with Luffy, so they're already gone."
Zoro nodded again, stretching. "How long are we staying?"
She shrugged. "As long as we want. Since it's one of Luffy's places, no one's going to come running in blindly after us."
"But we're top priority, remember?" He chuckled, "And that didn't stop them last time."
She shook her head, walking over to pull the curtains open. "Well, last time, they had you on their side."
His walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He leaned down to rest his chin on her shoulder. "I'm just that great, I guess, hm?"
She rolled her eyes, lacing her fingers into his.
They stood like that for a moment, sharing in each others warmth.
"Alright, come on." She turned around to give him a kiss before sliding around him. "We've got to go."
The elevator dinged, and she walked through the doors, the click of her heels adding to the clamor of the hotel lobby. Zoro was right behind her, throwing his backpack over his shoulder. Sanji waved from the receptionist's desk, and they made their way over.
"Nami's coming, she had to run back upstairs to grab something." The desk assistant handed him some papers, and he turned his attention back to her.
Robin rolled her suitcase against the wall, and Zoro dropped his backpack next to it. A mother and her daughter walked by, and Robin's eyes met the little girl's. She stopped, and they looked at each other for a moment. They Robin smiled, and the girl looked away shyly.
"You're pretty!" She blurted out before turning away. The mother gave Robin an apologetic smile, "Come on, Kacie, Daddy's waiting for us upstairs." They slipped away, and Robin watched them for a moment.
"I want a daughter." She said absentmindedly, turning back towards Zoro.
He blinked, "You want a baby?"
She paused. She hadn't ever thought about it before. She smiled, a little bitterly. "Not while things are still like this"
He nodded, an odd look in his eyes.
"Okay! Got everything! Let's get outta here." Nami came to a stop, bouncing on her heels. "Boa and her crew left about 20 minutes ago, but she said there's a car waiting for us out back." She reached out to take Sanji's extended hand, and they headed toward the doors.
Zoro nodded, hauling his backpack up. Before Robin could grab the handle of her suitcase, he snatched it from her. He grinned, offering his elbow. She smiled, sliding her arm through his. They left the hotel, arm in arm.
The car ride was quiet, but comfortably so. Robin watched the buildings whiz by, detail lost in the speed.
"You're going to the funeral when we get there, right?" Zoro's voice broke the silence, and she glanced over at him.
"Yes, I told you I was. And you know you can't come, we have an agreement."
He inhaled sharply, frowning. "I know, but I still don't like it. You going all by yourself. It's not safe."
She looked him in the eye, and he met her gaze. She smiled, and reached over to take his hand. "It will be okay." He barely only nodded in response before looking away.
It had gotten remarkably colder later in the day, and the wind wasn't helping. Robin's face stung, and she pulled her collar up further around her neck to try and keep out the chill. The graveyard stretched out in front of her, rows of cold, grey stone. The small crowd of people stood out like blood on snow, and she took a deep breath before heading towards them. It was quiet, her footsteps seeming to echo in the silence.
She searched the crowd for him, scanning for his face. She slowed as she got closer, unwilling to venture into what was probably mostly police. She caught sight of him on the other side, standing away from everyone else. He looked even sharper than she remembered him, a scowl chiseled onto his face.
She went to his side, and he barely glanced at her as she joined him. They stood in silence, watching the people all pay their respects to the black coffin that stood in the center.
Finally, he took a deep breath.
"We promised 'until we die'." He sighed, sounding like he had aged a thousand years.
She nodded, without looking at him.
"You were right." Something of a smile crept into his voice, "I am tired."
She still didn't say anything.
"Let's finish it then."
She glanced up at him, tensing momentarily.
He didn't make any move, he just sighed again. "He's dead now. There's nothing left, no reason to keep this up."
He looked over at her. "I'm finishing it, since he couldn't."
She only watched him.
"Raven is dead. From now on. I'm declaring Raven dead. You can live freely. Just lose that name, and you can go forward." He smirked dryly, "Although I don't think that's your name anyway."
She smiled.
"I've always been curious, where did it come from? 'Raven'?"
He looked up at the sky, suddenly looking very distant. But then he laughed and shook his head. "It was a piece of paper they found in the mansion. 'My raven escaped today after the children left its cage open.' A journal entry, I think."
She blinked. Years of thinking the name was a curse, and she had been named after a bird. She laughed too.
"Once you leave here, you're a free woman. I don't think I'll see you again."
He turned toward her fully, and offered her his hand. She stared at it for a moment, then reached out to take it.
"Goodbye, Raven."
She looked him in the eye for the first time.
"Goodbye, Spandam."
He nodded, letting her go, and turning to leave.
She stood alone for a few more moments, letting the wind toss her dark hair around for a while. Then she left, walking by the new grave. It was still open, a gaping whole in the ground, with a headstone still new and very official looking.
Sengoku.
The name almost made her lips curl back.
Commander.
She turned away, and didn't look back.
She pushed the revolving doors open, making her way into the very ordinary hotel. The receptionist smiled as she approached him, "Welcome to Sunny Hotel, will you be staying with us today?" She pulled out the card Luffy had given her, and showed him. He barely even blinked.
"Thank you so much for your business. The elevator at the end of the hall will take you to your room." He motioned to the side, and she nodded, thanking him.
There were four elevators for normal guests, but the fifth was set apart, and unwilling to open without a specific card. She reached to scan hers, but before she got the chance, the doors slid open, and Chopper hopped out.
"Oh, hi Robin! Glad you made it!" He smiled cheerfully, then trotted around her.
She smiled, she hadn't seen the little doctor in a while.
She slid into the elevator, and hit the floor number Zoro had sent to her. They had dropped her off at the graveyard, then driven the rest of the way in to town. The 20 minute walk had been refreshing, despite the cold.
The doors slid open, and she stepped out, glancing at the room numbers. On her way to their room, she passed by quite a few gangsters and other criminals she recognized. They all nodded at each other, a tense kind of peace in the air. She scanned herself into their room, looking around at the spacious room. As she reached the end of the entrance hall, a pillow smacked her in the face, and she froze.
"Oh! Sorry, I thought you were Sanji." Nami laughed, a big smile on her face. Robin gave her a look, and fixed her hair, smiling a little.
"Is this all ours?" She motioned to the giant room.
Nami nodded, tossing the pillow onto one of the couches in front of a giant tv. "It's one of the luxury suites, and because we know Luffy personally, he made sure it was kept open for us."
She nodded, impressed. The young gangster had built quite a reputation for himself in the last year, and as carefree as he was, he had several business-minded people who worked under him. The Sunny hotel line was thriving, in both the civilian and criminal world.
"I'm going to go find Sanji, he said he was going to check for a pool, but he's been gone for a while."
She nodded, pulling her coat off to settle onto one of the couches.
She lay in silence for a while, letting herself relax.
A gentle kiss on her forehead made her opened her eyes. Zoro smiled down at her.
"I'm glad you're back." He walked around the couch, and sunk beside her. "So how'd it go? What happened?"
She smiled, leaning over to kiss him. "What happens is that we can have that baby sooner than we'd thought."
He leaned back a little, a small smile one his face. "Do you want a baby?"
She bit her lip, and nodded.
He blinked. Then his smile grew, and he kissed her passionately.
She giggled as his arms slid around her, and he lifted her up, walking back towards their bedroom, their bodies warm against each other.
Like Home.