Chapter Twenty Two

So Close, But Still So Far

It was awkward. As soon as Robin unlocked the door and they made their way inside of the room, Zoro already felt the consequences of sleeping in the same room with her. It was like the heat building up between them was gradually flooding his whole body as he walked inside the room. He even felt the perspiration that formed on his forehead as the moonlight shone against the back of the raven-haired beauty in front of him, causing it to seem like he was in the middle of a dream. He noticed her head turned slightly to the right as a smile crept upon her lips before she turned the lights on, causing brightness to envelop the whole room. "What is she smiling about?" The green-headed swordsman asked himself as he tried to shrug off the anxiousness building up in his chest.

The room wasn't that big. It had a big bed where two individuals could fit in, two bedside tables with lampshades on it, a huge closet, a vanity table near the bed, and its own bathroom. It was as if the room was perfectly made just for the two of them, unlike the two other rooms which were big enough for a group of eight along with two queen-sized beds for each room.

"Will you lock the door, Zoro?" The female archaeologist requested with a smile as she looked around the room.

"W-What?! Why?!" The swordsman stuttered as he leaned back a little, feeling nervous with what she just said.

She chuckled as she turned her head to gaze at him. "It would be troublesome if the others were to find only the two of us here, wouldn't it?" She explained with a smile before she went to the bed and dusted it.

"Ahh yeah…" He scratched the back of his head as he closed and locked the door. "Damn it… I'm overthinking this…" He thought in his head as he tried to calm himself down. Suddenly, Zoro's heart skipped a beat as he turned around to see what the raven-haired female was up to, causing him to step back slightly with a blush smeared upon his cheeks. Right before his able eye was Robin, crawling towards the pillows to fluff them, with her butt directly facing him and subtly swaying as she moved, like she was inviting the animal in him to go wild and tackle her on the bed. "What the hell is she doing?! And why am I so fucking tense?!" He thought in his head as he stared at her, feeling his sweat trickling down his temple.

"I'll take this side, you take the other." She suggested as she slid herself in the thick comforter. The female archaeologist's smile turned into a confused look as soon as she gazed into the swordsman's reddened face. "You look nervous, Zoro." She teased before giggling.

"Tch! I'll sleep here." Zoro declined her offer as he sat on the floor next to Robin and rested his back on the bedside table. He decided to sleep on the floor from the earlier embarrassment. Furthermore, he didn't know what he might do once he was that close to her, especially with what he just saw a few moments ago. He might not be able to hold back, mainly because he knew there was a very low risk of being caught together.

The swordsman took pride in his self-discipline. He knew he could control himself but if he would allow such act, he would just torture himself. Also, there was a high chance that Robin would tease him to the point that he might lose his mind and give in. It already took a lot of willpower just so he would not grab and kiss her as soon as they entered the room earlier. But it didn't mean that he did not want to sleep next to her. In fact, he wanted to hold her because they rarely got the time together. "It's because… Hm… I'm helping her to sleep? Yeah, that's right! I'm helping her to fall asleep. If I would hold and kiss her, it won't help at all." Zoro thought of an excuse in his head, concealing the fact that he was afraid of the consequences of being too close to Robin.

"Why? The bed is big enough for the two of us." She tried to convince him as she leaned forward to gaze at him, only to find his able eye closed.

"I'm fine here." He insisted as he crossed his arms across his chest and tried to doze off.

"Alright. Have a good night." The raven-haired female complied with a low tone as she lay on her side, facing Zoro. She grabbed the pillow behind her and hugged it tightly, hoping it would fill up the emptiness she felt. She sprouted a hand near the light switch and turned off the lights, causing the moonlight to act as the only light source for the whole room.

After thirty minutes…

The raven-haired archaeologist, Nico Robin, didn't know why but she still hadn't felt the hypnotic presence of drowsiness ever since she wished Zoro good night. It seemed as if the sandman forgot about her and carried on with the others. It felt like even if she closed her eyes, they were still wide-open. She was already tired and her eyes felt heavy but her thoughts were keeping her up. It was frustrating.

Aside from that, she kept on gazing at the green-headed swordsman sitting on the floor next to her. He was so close, but it felt like he was still so far. The thought of not being able to do anything while he was just there, was keeping her up. But she had to admit, it was better than being separated from him for two years. She was thankful that she was finally able to interact with him again along with some bonus of intimacy. Robin let out a soft sigh as she closed her eyes again, trying to help herself to fall asleep.

"Damn it… I can't sleep…" Zoro thought in his head with annoyance. He, as well, could not put himself to sleep for his brain already decided to flash thoughts about Robin in his head from time to time. He was actually enjoying the thought of her, but at the same time, it was annoying and he wanted it to stop because he was trying his best to sleep. He never had a problem in falling asleep before because it was his past time whenever he was not training and he was used of sleeping anywhere. It was annoying. But thanks to that, he was able to understand the frustration Robin must have been feeling earlier for being awake when you don't want to.

"Is she asleep already?" He thought as he turned his head to gaze at her, only to find her asleep with a pillow in her arms. He could not help but not to remove his sight from her as he found her appearance adorable. Although he wouldn't use the term itself, but that was how he saw her. "Damn… She's already asleep and here I am wide awake." He cursed in his head as he tore his gaze away from her, trying to contemplate whether he should go and lie down next to her or not. The urge of sleeping on a warm bed next to her was overwhelming him and he could not take any more sleepless minutes to pass by. "Why do I feel like I will fall asleep faster once I go lie down that damn bed with her? But I already told her I would sleep here. If I take it back, that would just prove I have no stand with my own words! Damn, this is frustrating!" He thought to himself, still trying to decide.

Zoro stared back at her and furrowed his brows. Sleeping in a nice soft bed wasn't bad at all. Aside from that, Robin was already snoozing and she wouldn't be able to tease him anymore, except if he was not careful and woke her up. There were a lot of benefits that he could get once he decided to sleep next to her. He might be able to fall asleep faster and better. Robin's scent would calm him to the point that he would fall asleep. The bed looked so warm and cosy. Nothing inappropriate would happen anyway unless they crossed their limits. But even with those advantages, his pride kept on disagreeing with him breaking his words. "Ah, what the hell, I want to sleep." He stood up as he was finally able to resolve his dilemma and went around the bed quietly, trying not to wake her up.

"She took the pillow." He thought as he gazed at the pillow-less side of the bed. Zoro shrugged as he quietly slid himself in the thick comforter and felt his exhaustion escaping from his body as it immersed in the soft bed. He could not help but to smile with the marshmallow-like softness of the warm mattress as he slowly closed his functioning eye and let the stress relieved his whole body. Aside from that, he could feel Robin's warmth beside him even though he wasn't having direct contact with her. He was having the urge of embracing her tightly as the drowsiness hit him but he had to resist because it would wake her up, since helping her to fall asleep was the reason why he was there in the first place.

Suddenly, Zoro's eye shot opened as he felt Robin moving beside him, her hand slithering across his chest. He quickly turned his blushing face to gaze at her as she wrapped her arm around his chest with her other arm serving as a pillow for her head and to the swordsman's relief, her eyes were still closed; she was still asleep. Even so, he could not deny the fact that he doubted whether she was doing it on purpose or if she was really just asleep. But he it felt nice that her arm was around him, he was already longing for her touch.

After a few seconds, the swordsman's cheeks became redder as he realized the female archaeologist's chest was gently pressing against his upper arm as she hugged him in her sleep. She was so close to him to the point their bodies were already touching. Zoro moved the arm that was touching her upward and used it as a pillow for his head as he shifted his body to face her, wrapping his other arm around her. He didn't care anymore if his actions would wake her up or not, he wanted to hold her and besides, she was the only one enjoying with the hug. He noticed that her body had adjusted closer to him as her hold became tighter, causing him to kiss her forehead.

Zoro could not help but to smile as he admired the harmless façade of Robin as she slept in his arms. She looked so peaceful and innocent, it was difficult to believe that she was a former assassin. He was starting to realize how lucky he was that he was the one next to her and the one she had feelings for. There were a lot of guys that were compatible with her, like Law, but she still chose him. He couldn't help but to feel proud of himself because he knew how uncaring Robin could be when it came to such topic. Yes, she would join-in the teasing, but she wouldn't get serious with like how she was serious with him. He was glad he could express his feelings for her without her retaliating from it. Suddenly, a soft giggle escaped from the raven-haired beauty, causing the swordsman to panic slightly, for he was in an awkward position with her. "Did I wake you?" He asked as her eyes slowly fluttered opened.

"No, I haven't fallen asleep, don't worry." She smiled as she handed his supposed pillow to him.

"Tch! Why didn't you tell me?" He protested as he took the pillow and laid his head on it.

"Would you still have lain down if you knew I was awake?" She asked as she moved closer to him to bury her face against the crook of his neck.

"No." He placed his hand on the back of her head and started stroking her hair.

"Then that's my answer." She giggled and closed her eyes.

"Tch!" He grumbled as he closed his able eye.

"It feels better to sleep on a bed, don't you think?" The female archaeologist asked with a low tone as she was already feeling drowsy.

"Yeah. This is the first time I have ever laid on a bed ever since we docked here." He answered as he yawned, feeling tired.

"Really? Nami never allowed you to sleep next to her or after she wakes up?" She asked as the topic hit her curiosity.

"Yeah. I don't want either anyway." Zoro kissed her head and tried to doze off.

"I see." Robin smiled.

Suddenly, a question bothered the heavy-eyed swordsman. "Do you let that Alex guy sleep next to you?" He asked as his functioning eye opened slightly, hoping for her to decline.

"Yes, he sleeps next to me." She answered in a low tone, almost falling asleep.

The green-headed swordsman's functioning eye widened, causing him to sit up and exclaim, "Are you fucking serious?!"

"Yes, and don't worry; he's not doing anything wrong." The female archaeologist uttered as she sat up as well and placed her hand on his, rubbing her thumb on it to calm him down.

"For now, he doesn't. Wait till he gets the chance." He gazed away with a serious look, feeling pissed.

"I won't let him. And besides, I can take care of myse—

"Tch! Robin, you're still a woman. Even if you have devil fruit powers, he could just easily take advantage of you! What if he has those sea-stone handcuffs? What are you going to do then?!" He blurted out whatever came into his mind, cutting off the raven-haired female's words.

"He's not like that, Zoro. I know him, he would never do that." She answered as she still tried to calm him down.

"Tch! Don't you defend him, Robin. You're just showing you like it too."

"Why are you saying things like that? Don't you trust me?"

"I trust you, but I don't trust that guy."

"Saying those things make it clear that you don't trust me. You even assumed that I like sleeping with Alex. After all this time Zoro, I can't believe you still haven't learned to trust me."

"Tch! This isn't about me, Woman. It's about you letting that bastard sleep next to you. Why are you even letting that guy do what he wants?!"

"I keep on telling you, he's not doing anything wrong. He's just sleeping on the bed he's supposed to sleep on. I thought we already fixed this earlier? I already told you, I am only yours. Why are you still jealous of him?"

"How many times do I have to tell you, I'm not jealous of him?!"

"Then why are you so mad at him?!"

"Because he's there sleeping peacefully with you while I'm there stuck on a cold floor with that orange-haired witch!"

"That can't be the only reason! I know there's more to it than that!"

"Fuck it, Robin! He is your fucking ex! You've kissed him! You've hugged him! Hell, I don't even know if you already had sex with him!"

"I never had sex with anyone! Stop assuming things like that! And even if I did have sex with him, that would be in the past and is completely irrelevant now!"

"Do you even expect me to believe in that?! You've been seducing me all this time to do it with you! You can't blame me for thinking you have been doing the same thing to him! You sleep with him every freaking ni— Robin slapped him on the face.

"That's enough! Don't blame your perverted thoughts on me! I never tried to seduce you! And how will I even do that to Alex when I'm out with you every night!" She exclaimed as she breathed heavily from the pressure she felt at the moment before getting off the bed and walked her way to the bathroom to cool down, leaving Zoro alone.


Yoooo! Damn! I almost forgot to update! Hahaha Sorry, sorry! Anyways, that went down quickly! XD How was it? Tell me! This chapter was hard to write! Review please! ^_^