Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. I don't own "Mischievous Smile" too. bAsAn owns it and I asked permission. :P
Chapter Eight
Teasing
Nico Robin slowly opened her eyes as her body clock awakened her. She was lying down on the bed of Chopper's infirmary for he had just finished treating her a few hours ago. She sat up on the bed and found Chopper sleeping in his chair with his head resting on the table. He must have fallen asleep looking after her. She got up and slowly wrapped her arms around the cute reindeer, lifted him up gently and went out of the room. It was early in the morning, around 5:30 am. The sun was starting to rise on the horizon and it was a beautiful sight. No one was found outside so she concluded everyone was still asleep until she heard the sound of metals being waved at the crow's nest. She looked up at the said room while holding Chopper firmly in her arms and hypothesized that Zoro was having his morning work-out.
Robin walked in the boy's cabin and gently lay Chopper down in his hammock. She looked around the room and found Zoro was missing which confirmed her hypothesis. She saw Lassy too, sleeping peacefully along with her snoring friends. She smiled as she went out of the room and went at the library to get the book Chopper bought her back at the Fishman Island. It was entitled as "Mischievous Smile" and Chopper thought that Robin can relate to it since she always smiles. She was happy that her furry friend bothered to buy her a book instead of buying his own. She didn't know but Chopper didn't bother to look what kind of genre the book was and only liked it because of the title.
The raven-haired archaeologist went out of the library and headed to the crow's nest. She knocked on the trap door before opening it, popping her head out, she asked "Good Morning. Mind if I join you for a while?"
"I don't mind. You know my rules anyway. 526, 527, 528…" Zoro said as he pushed himself up and down using only his thumb.
Robin pulled herself up and closed the trap door. She sat on the comfy couch and opened her book. She liked staying there not only because Zoro doesn't bother her, but also because she's comfortable with him. His presence was enough to make her relax. She didn't know why but ever since of what had happened last night, she couldn't take the green-haired swordsman off her mind. Then she realized one thing. Her feelings for him were starting to grow back again. The feelings she tried to forget during the two years training. The feelings that will ruin everything. "This can't be happening again. Especially because he's here." Robin thought as she started to read the first chapter of her book.
Zoro got the hang of it that Robin almost always stays with him while he trained whenever she had the time. He felt peaceful whenever she's around, not only because she doesn't bug her, but also because of the same reason why Robin likes to hang out with him, the feeling of being comfortable with her. "997, 998, 999, 1000." Zoro counted and finished his push up. He stood up and got his towel, wiping off the sweat trickling down his well-formed muscles. He glanced at Robin and his functioning eye widened a bit as he stared at her. Her cheeks were flushed but she still had that calm expression on her face. "What's happening to her?" he asked himself as he sat down beside her with one of his eyebrow raised. "Oi." He interrupted her reading which made her to close her book quickly.
"Yes?" She turned to him with an obvious fake smile and a faint blush on her cheeks. It wasn't because of the matured part of the book that was making her blush; it was the thought that was forming inside her mind. Mature scenes were not new to her. It's just that the characters in the story have the same features and characteristics that she and Zoro have. She was imagining her and Zoro making love, which was actually prohibited. Why? Because they are nakamas and she had enough of those lovey-dovey things. Another reason why she was blushing was because of the thought that the person she was imagining making love to her was only a few inches away and that she's starting to have feelings for him again.
"Are you okay? Do you have a fever? You're cheeks are red and that's not normal at all." he somehow worriedly asked.
"Of course, I am fine." She said as her cheeks went back to normal.
"What are you reading, anyway?" he thought that might be the reason why she was acting weird.
"Oh this? Just a romantic novel." She handed him the book.
"Heh. I thought you only read history stuff." He smirked and opened the book. As soon as he opened a random page of the book, his eye widened and shade of pink spread upon his cheeks.
"Sometimes, I read novels. Chopper was the one who bought me this book."
"I didn't know he has interest with this stuff." He said as he blinked and read some steamy scenes of the book, turning him on a bit.
"Do you want to read it? I can lend it to you, if you want. Especially when you… Fufufu~ Never mind." Robin teased.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean!?" Zoro's functioning eye widened as he blushed furiously and threw the book on the couch.
"Relax. I'm just asking if you wanted to read it when you have nothing to do." She giggled as she stared at his blushing face and picked up the book.
"Tch! Whatever." He rolled his eye to the side, staring outside.
"Have you ever touched a woman before?" she smirked.
"What the fuck are you asking!?" he asked with the same reaction but he was blushing like a tomato.
"If you already touched a woman, like this." She got a hold of his hand and placed it on her arm.
Zoro was so embarrassed he wanted to hide himself from her. His cheek was as red as a tomato and it was not good for his image. He had to think of some way to escape. "Yeah, I did. Lots of times." he smirked as he uttered those words, not removing his hand from her arm.
Robin stared at him blankly as she tried to interpret what he meant. Somehow she got irritated with the last sentence he said but she went with the flow. "I'm sure I'm better than them." She muttered, only to be heard by her.
"What did you say?" he asked as he squeezed her arm gently.
"Nothing." she smiled.
"You said something about being better?" he smirked.
"You're hearing things. Go train again, I'm going to read."
Zoro slightly heard the words she uttered but she won't tell it at all. So he stood up and went back to his side of the room. "Tch! Fine. Read your 'erotic' book."
Robin opened her book and looked for the page she was reading earlier for she didn't manage to place a bookmark in it. She was trying to force herself not to think about her and Zoro in the scenes of the story, but she can't help it. Some of it was sweet while most of it was erotic. Then she thought what if they turned out to be together someday but she set aside that feeling and thoughts because she knew that a crow's feathers turned white already but Zoro will still have no feelings towards her.
Zoro sat on the floor and started meditating, in order to clear off his mind. He kept glancing at Robin whenever he got his focus distorted. He can't help but to found it cute because it was very rare to see Robin blushing. In fact, this was the first time he saw her blushing.
"I didn't know I'm the new subject for concentration." Robin raised her eyebrow with a sly smile and shifted her gaze towards Zoro.
"Be quiet. I'm concentrating." He said as his eyebrow twitched with his eye closed.
"Okay." she chuckled softly and shifted her attention back to her book.
After a few minutes, Zoro took another quick glance at Robin but she was gone from her position. He fully opened his eye to take a second look but she wasn't there, only her book was found at the couch. "Where did she go?" he asked himself as he scratched his head with eyebrow raised.
"She disappeared?" a familiar voice asked beside him.
"Yeah…" he agreed and with a split of second, his eye widened and he quickly looked to the direction of the voice, only to see Robin was sitting on the floor next to him. "Why the hell are you there!?" he asked as he moved back with a shocked face.
"I might melt, if you kept staring at me." she giggled.
"Tch! Stop interrupting me." he sat back properly and faced front.
"I'm not interrupting you. You were the one who went to look for me when you shouldn't have done it." she smiled and imitated him.
"Whate—
Suddenly, the trap door opened making the attentions of the two straw-hats to be shifted there; it was Brook. "Ahhh. Am I interrupting something romantic? Yohohoho~!" he asked as he stared at Zoro and Robin.
"No, there's nothing romantic happening here." Robin smiled while Zoro grunted.
"Sanji-san said that it is breakfast time and Nami-san said she has some announcement about the next island. Yohohoho~ Luffy-san is very hungry too."
"We'll be right there." She smiled.
"One more thing Robin-san…" Brook showed his finger, signalling number one.
"What is it?" she asked.
"May I see y—
"We'll be heading down, Brook." Zoro stood up and fixed his clothes properly.
"Yohohoho~!" Brook closed the door and left.
"I guess we should get going." Robin stood up and looked at Zoro.
"Yeah." he got his robe and wore it.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaah! I updated! Sorry! I only made this quick because I'm really busy! I'm so busy I can't reply to your reviews! All I want to say is thank you for your reactions! This is just a simple chapter but the next one, will be better because the time I'll post is my Christmas break and the real story will start! It will be on next Saturday! Yay! What do yah think of this chapter? Review please! ^^
