Chapter Seventeen
Warmth
Later that night, around 9:45 pm at Zoro and Nami's room…
Zoro opened his functioning eye as he rose carefully and peeked on the wall clock across the room. It was a good thing Nami got tired after meeting up with the others at the candy house so she went to sleep right after dinner around 9 pm. She also allowed him to sleep back in their room but only on the floor. Zoro held his breath as he grabbed his swords and tip-toed towards the door, quietly leaving the room. He had to make sure Nami stays asleep because it will be a recipe for disaster and blackmail. Zoro let out a sigh as he leaned on the wall beside Alex and Robin's room and closed his eye, patiently waiting for her.
At Alex and Robin's room…
Robin shifted her body at the edge of the bed as she sprouted an eye above the headboard and looked at the time. It was already 9:44 pm but Alex wasn't even tired yet. He was answering a book of Sudoku puzzles and he didn't even look tired after finishing five puzzles. "Why won't he sleep?" Robin thought to herself. She had to think of some way to make him sleep or else she has to use her powers to clone herself and go out with Zoro. But that's the only choice she had. It seemed Alex didn't even want to sleep; he was too caught up with his puzzles. "Is he guarding me or something?" She thought. Robin closed her eyes and concentrated. But before she could even clone herself outside, Alex spoke.
"Robin, are you still awake?" He asked as he closed the book and placed it on top of the table next to his side of the bed.
She didn't respond. She thought maybe it was a good idea to clone herself and pretend to be asleep while Alex tire himself out.
Alex sighed as he stared at Robin's flawless back. He was having the urge of touching her sleeveless arm but then he realized he might wake her up because she was a light sleeper. His sight travelled from her head down to her bottom as he slightly lifted the sheet covering them. She was beautiful and sexy. That heavenly body he used to embrace, her sweet shoulders where his lips used to delight, and her waist his hands used to caress were just a short stretch away from him. That flowery fragrance that always intoxicated him brought him into a delusional state. He was fantasizing about her. Every time he wanted her, he would just grab her wrists and pin her down the bed. But that was before; he's prohibited from touching her ever since she found out about his little secret. He missed her touch, her lips, her body, and everything about her. Suddenly, Alex snapped out of his thoughts and quickly turned around to place his hands in between his legs as he felt the heat building up in his groin. "Shit! How am I supposed to sleep like this!?" He cursed under his breath as he tried to think of something that would cool his lust. But no matter what he thought of, Robin kept flashing through his mind. Alex decided to get-up and go to the bathroom to take a cold shower.
Robin could not believe what her phantom eye saw as she covered her mouth. She was disgusted. She didn't know what his purpose was for coming back into her life. If it was a coincident that they found the Thousand Sunny while travelling or if they were really heading for their ship, she wasn't sure. Robin tried to calm down as she closed her eyes. It was already 9:58, and Zoro could have been waiting outside. She would have to diminish what she saw earlier and deal with it after her meeting with Zoro. The raven-haired female took a deep breath to concentrate while she sprouted herself outside of the room, leaving her clone inside.
After a few moments, Alex came back from the bathroom, exhausted. He gazed back at the raven-haired woman before going back to bed and slept.
At the corridors of the hotel…
Zoro watched as Robin's body bloomed from the floor in front of the door to her room. It was the second time he has witnessed her whole body bloom out of nothing and he thought it was impressive. "Why didn't you just use the door?" He asked.
"Alex is still awake. I had to clone myself to meet up with you. So, what is our agenda for tonight?" Robin smiled and crossed her arms under her chest.
"I didn't really have anything in mind. I just want to explore the island. We can do that some other time." Zoro said as he scratched the back of his head and went to hold the door knob of their room.
"Okay, let's go." She said as she walked towards the elevator.
"You're not listening to me!" Zoro exclaimed as he slapped the air.
"I need some fresh air too." She smiled and pushed the down button of the elevator.
"Tch!" He scratched the back of his head and walked towards the elevator.
As soon as the elevator opened, Zoro and Robin rode the machine and pushed the desired floor button. Since it was already evening, there should not be any people interrupting the ride. Or so they thought. Just at the ninth floor, the elevator stopped and four people went inside. Robin's irritation grew as she realized that the two pairs that entered were all men. They seemed to pick her as their topic and the guy in front of her was looking at her maliciously; almost as if, he was stripping her inside his head.
"Hello, Baby-Chan~ Wanna join me and my men over here?" The man snickered with his friends as he licked his lips.
The raven-haired archaeologist looked at the men and smirked. She crossed her arms in front of her chest to sprout hands from their bodies and crack their spines one-by-one. But before she could summon her powers, Zoro called out her name which gained her attention.
"Hm?" She gazed at him and grew enough limbs to bind the four men.
"Is there a store here where I can get cleaning supplies for my swords?" He watched as the men struggle in her phantom arms.
"I think there is a shop here that sells different kinds of weapons. We might find something for your swords." Robin clutched her hands, commanding the extra appendages to slowly writhe the men's bodies.
"Good. I want to check that out."
"Twist."
After a few seconds, the doors slid open and the couple went out of the elevator, leaving four broken men inside the elevator. Zoro and Robin went out of the hotel and walked their way to the said shop. As they walked together, the green-haired swordsman can't help but to recall the conversation he had with Usopp earlier at the candy house.
Flashback…
"Hah? What kind of question is that?" Usopp asked while he busily tried out the different types of candies that were free for sample.
"I have no idea. Someone asked me that a while ago." Zoro made an excuse.
"Why are you even bothered by that question?" The long-nosed sniper wondered. Why would Zoro ask such question? "Such a lame excuse." He thought. For a second there, he thought that maybe Luffy's deduction earlier was correct. That maybe Zoro and Robin were dating. Or another possibility is that instead of Robin, what if Zoro was dating Nami? It could be possible since they share the same room and were always together since they entered the island. It would be nice though, if Zoro would fall in love with one of them. He would have little nephews and nieces to play with.
"Are you going to answer or not?" The green-headed swordsman interrupted the sniper's train of thought.
Usopp brought his fingers together into a shape of a gun and placed it under his lips. "Hm… Well if you already held hands with her, I think it's already automatic that you should hold each other's hand again after that."
"Is that so?" The swordsman raised a brow.
"Yeah. Oi, have you already held Nami or Robin's hand?" The long-nosed sniper asked as he raised a brow as well.
"I told you, someone asked me that question earlier!" Zoro walked away to hide his flushed face.
Back to the present…
Zoro's eye shifted directly from the road down to his and Robin's hand next to him. They were only a few centimeters apart and he didn't know whether to take Usopp's advice or not. Of course he wanted to hold her hand, but she might tease him again as a pervert. He wanted to feel her soft hand against his again. To squeeze it, rub it, he wanted to caress it.
Zoro swallowed his pride and bet on his instinct. He slightly tapped her hand with his knuckles and slowly reached for her index finger with his pinkie. He felt a subtle jolt her hand made after his little finger wrapped around her forefinger. His calloused fingers ran their way across her palm until he was fully able to hold her hand, her soft and cold hand. After a few moments, Robin responded and intertwined her fingers with his. A smirk slowly crept on the green-headed swordsman's lips as he rubbed his thumb on her hand.
"Is this what you learned from Usopp?" Robin teased.
"Tch! Stop eavesdropping on other people's business." He scowled.
"Old habits die hard."
"Oi, are you feeling cold?" He asked out of the blue.
"Why do you ask?" She raised a brow.
"Your hand is cold."
Robin paused for a while and smiled. "If I say I am, what will you do?"
The green-headed swordsman swiftly travelled in front of the female archaeologist and grabbed her other hand, causing her eyes to widen slightly. He pressed her cold hands on both sides of his warm cheeks as he closed his functioning eye to let them warm up. Robin felt the heat that pooled in her stomach rush through her cheeks and ears as her heart beat faster. Her fingers wanted to explore his features more but his hands were obstructing her to do so. She wanted to touch the scar on his eye; the scar that intrigued her the most. She bit her lower lip, eyeing his nose, lips, jawline, neck, collarbone, down to his chest as her breathing became heavier. She wanted to touch them too; rather, she wanted her lips to leave marks on them. She didn't imagine he would do such a thing. She was just teasing him. But what he did was right though, she felt warmer. More likely, she felt hot. Robin wanted to seize the moment by moving her face closer to his but Zoro suddenly felt chills and opened his eye.
"Damn, your hands are cold. Oi, do you feel warmer now?" He innocently asked.
Instead of an answer, Robin just giggled and hid her flushed cheeks by facing away from him.
"What's so funny, Woman?" He raised a brow.
She continued to giggle and faced him as her cheeks went back to normal. "You never fail to amuse me, Zoro."
"Tch! Just tell me if you feel warmer." He rolled his eye.
"I felt hot." She bluntly stated with a smile and pinched his cheeks.
"O-Oi! Stop it! Let go!" He demanded as he tried to remove her hands from his blushing cheeks.
"That was for teasing me." She let go and giggled.
"Wha— I wasn't teasing you!" Zoro glared at her as he rubbed his redden cheeks, secretly liking what she did.
"Did it hurt?" Robin removed his hands away and cupped his jaw while rubbing her thumbs on his cheeks.
"Oi, don't treat me like a kid. And don't even try pinching them again." He threatened her.
The raven-haired archaeologist continued to rub his cheek before planting a kiss on it and walked away. "Let's go, it's getting late."
The swordsman paused for a moment as his heart pounded like hell. Once again, the devil's child successfully stole another kiss from him. He could not help but to smile as her soft lips still lingered on his skin. He needed to think of a comeback from the kisses she stole from him. He needed to steal a kiss from her as well. With a smile, the swordsman ran and caught up with her before holding her hand again. "It is late, Idiot." He mumbled.
"What did you call me?"
"Nothing."
After a few minutes of walking, the duo finally arrived at the weapons shop. The store was lined and stacked with different varieties of weaponries as what the female archaeologist implied. The green-headed man went directly to the counter to ask about his purpose of arrival while the raven-haired lady looked around the room.
Robin let out a faint sound of amusement as she examined the lined daggers, knives, rapiers, swords, axes and other blade-type weapons. Some of them were antiques in which quickly absorbed her interest. But there was one sword that caught her attention which was caged in a transparent glass. She lifted the glass and removed the sword. It was heavy. She wasn't good at telling whether the blade was good or not, that was their swordsman's expertise. The design didn't matter that much to her; she was more interested with the blade. Robin unsheathed the sword slowly, having the light reflected on the steel to her eyes. She didn't know why, but it amazed her. She plucked out a strand of her raven hair and let it fall on the blade, easily cutting it.
"Can you wield it?" The green-haired swordsman asked as he leaned on the wall with a bag of cleaning supplies he just bought in-hand.
Robin faced Zoro as she gripped the handle with two hands, pointing the sword towards him. "Of course." She confidently uttered.
"Getting cocky, huh?" He raised a brow as he unsheathed his Shusui.
"Here I go." Robin charged and slashed at Zoro but it was easily deflected by him which sent her sword flying towards the wall. He quickly turned his sword, exposing the back of the blade, and tackled her with it with one swift move that knocked her down. Her heart skipped a beat as she felt his strong arms wrapped around her before hitting the ground. It felt like it already happened before. She wasn't quite sure when but she felt secure.
The swordsman laid her down and sat next to her while pressing the back of his blade to her neck. "You lost."
"It was obvious." She giggled and moved his sword away from her.
"You should at least know how to hold it right." He sheathed his sword and stood up before offering his hand to her.
"Was I holding it wrong?" She asked as she stood up with his assistance.
"A little bit, yeah." He pulled the sword off the wall and gave it back to her.
Robin observed as she held the katana again. She knew how to hold a sword thanks to her life on the run; nevertheless, she wanted to Zoro to teach her. It would be nice to learn about the technique from the man she likes.
The green-haired swordsman grunted as she held the katana poorly. "Left-handed or right?" He asked as he went behind her.
"You know the difference?" She giggled.
"Tch! Of course, I do!" He exclaimed and peeked from her shoulder.
"If you say so. I'm right-handed."
"Okay, now this one goes here." Zoro placed his arms on both sides of her arms from behind and held her wrists. He moved her left hand above while her right hand went below it and rested his chin on her shoulder to ease his tutorial.
Robin giggled and let him do what he pleased. "So I grip the sword with my non-dominant hand and support it with my dominant one?" She confirmed what he did.
"No, you grip it with your dominant hand."
"This is my dominant hand." She wiggled her right hand.
"I thought you were right-handed?" He exchanged her hands and moved closer, letting his chest to touch her back.
She took a deep breath as she felt his warmth press against her back, then feeling the heat running to her cheeks. "I am." She exhaled as she found it hard to concentrate.
"Now keep it away from you and lift it up just… right there." He guided her arms up until her left hand was eye-level to hers and closed his eyes as her scent carried a wave of calmness through his body. Her back felt warm. He slightly squeezed her arms as he fought the urge of letting her arms go and to wrap his arms around her slender waist. He wanted to pull away to stop his cravings but it felt like he was glued to her. "Dammit."
"What's wrong?" She asked as she looked at him from the corner of her eye, only to see his blushing face. She felt his heart pounding on her back as his breathings became shallow and huskier. She knew he was resisting as well.
"Nothing. Now, use your non-dominant hand to force the blade down—
Zoro stopped as he felt her hands grabbing his, guiding it towards her stomach. The sword was left hanging in the air with the female archaeologist's phantom hands holding it. His stomach felt like it was about to burst as heat enveloped his whole body. He moved back a little, just to keep a short distance below, as he felt her bottom pressing against his manly desire. It felt good. His mind was starting to become clouded.
He couldn't take it. He wanted to pull away from embarrassment but Robin was hindering him from doing so. "Don't let go." She pleaded, her words calming him down. He came into his senses as soon as he heard her voice. His lustful needs subsided as his feelings for her overwhelmed him. He never felt anything like this before. He wanted to enjoy her presence.
Everything was enveloped in silence. The tension in Zoro's hands subsided and Robin felt his pressing and brushing her abdomen. She bit her lower lip and let him do as he pleased with her hands resting on his arms. She closed her eyes as he explored the curves of her body, causing shivers to run throughout her spine. His fingers felt like a wave of golden heat with every touch even with the restriction of clothes. It felt good. She let him touch anywhere he wanted. She didn't mind at all. But even with that consent, he never laid a finger on her chest. Robin let out a very faint moan as the swordsman found her sensitive spot, just below her belly button and held his hand.
"Not there." She begged, drawing his hand to a different spot.
Zoro found her cry erotic. He wanted to hear it again but he didn't want to offend her by not obeying her request. It wasn't the right time and place to do such things to pleasure her. Even if he wanted to hear it badly, he had to respect her. The swordsman planted a kiss on the lower part of her neck as he slowly ran his hands on her waist, pulling her into his warm embrace.
The raven-haired female tilted her head to the side and shifted her face towards him to plant a kiss on his temple, only to see the time. It was almost midnight and the shop they were in will soon be closed. The female archaeologist frowned as she ran her fingers through his mossy green hair. She wanted to spend more time with him. If only they were partners, they could spend every single day together. But they were not.
"Zoro." The female archaeologist broke the silence as she rubbed his head gently.
"Hm?" He opened his eye as his mouth was buried on her shoulder.
"It's almost midnight and we have to leave." She rubbed her thumb on one of his arms around her.
"Tch!" He stubbornly hugged her tightly and buried his face against the nape of her neck.
"We can meet again tomorrow night, if you like." She tried to keep her composure as she felt his breath on her nape.
"I'm not letting you go."
"Let her go, mister. I need to close the shop. My wife said you can have that katana for free." The shopkeeper stated as he approached them behind the shelves, holding what Zoro bought a while ago.
He slowly let go of her. "Tch! Fine." He took his stuff from the shopkeeper.
Yooo! Sorry for the late update! I was busy with all the consecutive exams and quizzes that were piled up after vacation! Anyways, how was it? Review what feel about this chapter! I don't even know if I still have readers! There still lots more of it! More fluff on the next chapter! Hahaha Review please! ^_^
