When the Nights Are Starless

by x the sleeping insomniac

She had gotten used to running away when the starless sky stretched above her, threatening to swallow her up if she slipped and fell. Now she had her nakama. /drabble

Been awhile since I've updated. Not that I haven't been writing but.

I actually read a formal prompt that inspire this one. It was "She woke, shivering, in the dark of night." And then for some reason I got to thinking about Robin and the mental state she was probably in after the Ohara incident. So here's some drabble. Again.

I feel like I write about mental illness to frequently. Oh well. :D

Spoilers: Water 7/Enies Lobby, Robin's past

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, nor am I earning profit as a result of writing this. All the copyrights associated with One Piece belong to Eiichiro Oda.

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when the nights are starless.

by: x the sleeping insomniac

The nightmares had only just started going away. Robin wasn't exactly sure why, but she would put her money on the fact that after the Mugiwara had proved that they really cared about her and that when they said they would die for her, they damn well meant it, that she felt a little safer when she slept at night.

She had gotten used to running away when the starless sky stretched above her, threatening to swallow her up if she slipped and fell. Now she was surrounded by a strong crew who, although they might not come out and say it, loved her and really just wouldn't let her run away anyway. The incidents that occurred at Water 7 and Enies Lobby told her that much.

But if she looked back, she could still remember the nightmares as clear as the day.

Crocodile had found them to be an annoyance. They kept her up at night and that prevented her from doing her job as thoroughly and cleanly as he would've preferred. But he was the only person she had ever stayed with until the Mugiwara who had ever caught on about her nightmares, she had never stayed long enough in one spot for them to find out.

She remembers fearing to fall asleep, afraid that memories of her past would haunt her and make her relive everything that she had seen back on Ohara.

Before the Buster Call, she used to have nightmares, too. Nightmares that her mother would never come back and she would stare at the sea for hours longingly until the day she died and her flesh rotted where it sat. She had nightmares that her foster parents would lock her in her room, never letting her out to go to the library while rate crawled through the floorboards and ate her alive, and even while she was screaming they still wouldn't let her out.

But those were nothing compared to the nightmares she had after the Buster Call.

Those were the real nightmares. They were the reliving of the most horrible moment of her life, where she had watched her mother die and her homeland burn. She even dreamed about the kids who had called her a freak and had left her feeling lonely her whole childhood. At first, she would always wake up screaming. Then, as if she got used to them, she would only wake up with tears pouring down her face and her heart racing in her chest with her skin layered in gooseflesh. She remembered that the most, the shivering. She'd shiver for hours, until the sun rose again and casted bright rays of light onto her face and reassured her that she would live another day.

Luffy ran across the Thousand Sunny's deck laughing as Chopper chased him and yelled about his hat. Robin chuckled to herself and watched her nakama, wondering if there was anything better in the world to have than them.

"Robin-chwan, would you care for a drink?" Sanji asked, coming over to her chair and holding out a tray of red-colored drinks. As always, he was wearing a brilliant smile for the dark-haired woman.

"Of course, thank you, Sanji-kun," she took a glass from the tray and took a modest sip. "This is delicious," she told him.

His eyes lit up, "Anything for you, Robin-chwaaaaan~!" and he twirled away, leaving Robin giggling. He always did managed to amuse her with his, what some would say over-exaggerative, courtesy when it came to the ladies.

As the blonde cook floated across the ship to offer Nami-san a drink, Robin wondered how she had even thought of leaving them back in Water 7. She sipped her drink and returned to her book, coming to the conclusion that living was the best decision she had ever made.

And the bonus was that she didn't have any more nightmares. Maybe she'd never have one ever again.

To Nico Robin, that didn't sound all that bad.

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One day I'll write something serious, I promise.

Once I decide to stop being lazy, maybe.