Sano loved the sound of Robin's laugh, though he was used to the dark humor of the common soldier. He found himself preferring light sided humor just to hear her. Truth be told he was surprised to watch Robin just lean down to his proffered snack and take a bite. He swore that it was purposefully sensual.

Taking another chunk of the bar he holds it out again, "You can have the rest."

"Thank you."

"Some new joes had recently deployed to my FOB, one of them happened to have a 'hooah bar' in their meal. Course the kid didn't take me seriously when I told him that joke, but he ended up hurting his teeth." He chuckles, "I couldn't help saying 'I told you so, next time you'd wise up and listen to what an old man like me has to say. Afterall I didn't get my Sergeant stripes from winning a beauty contest.'"

Robin once again amused laughs, "If you're old, what does that make me?" She turns to the man with a grin.

In fact Sano was actually just one year her junior.

"Please sweetie, you'd make any woman jealous with your drop dead body and beauty." He nonchalantly waves a hand.

Robin blushes at the compliment.

Nami down below couldn't help a giggle, 'Good one.' Being a woman herself age is a 'no-no' topic, and the rough around the edges man had walked through the minefield with ease.

Robin tracing her finger along the rim of her bottle looks up at the man, "Do you miss your world?"

He leans against the wall and softly sighs, "There are some things I miss yes...but there really wasn't much for me there other than my profession. I became a career soldier." Sano shrugs, "I enjoyed it, and I was also damn good at it too."

Robin nods, she'd seen that side of him a number of times, a slight shiver coursing through her from the memory of his commanding voice.

'That commanding voice and hard look that rivaled Zoro's...it was just so...damn.' Robin simply didn't have the words what kind of effect it had on her.

"You, were orphaned...so you don't even have family?" Robin softly asking unsure if she was pushing her luck.

Sano goes silent and closes his eyes, "That was probably one of the reasons why I chose to stay in the Army, even if I got out I had no where to go, and it would be even harder to integrate into a normal society."

Robin takes a gulp of the alcohol understanding that feeling very well. Hesitantly she starts talking.

"Did you know that I had earned a bounty on my head when I was eight years old?"

Sano about to take a swig of his bottle lowers it to look at the woman, his heart breaking at the sad expression she carried and unable to find words to respond.

"I come from a country that had literally been wiped off the face of maps by the World Government. I became a threat to the world because I was an Archaeologist, even the innocent residents were permanently silenced to keep the whole ordeal quiet."

"Up until recently I've been on the run, people were more than happy to take advantage and attempt to claim the bounty. On the run, and getting involved with a government assassination organization called CP9."

"Did you know I almost gave up on this world myself?" Robin locks her eyes with Sano.

He could only shake his head.

"I have this crew to thank, especially Luffy. He brought me back to life, and everyone saved me from the brink of destruction at Enies Lobby." She sighs, "And you know...for the first time in my life I actually felt like I had a home. Even with the island I came from I was ridiculed and shunned because of my powers." Robin forms a hana hana no mi, then lets it disappear.

"Everyone on this ship is unique, I'm really glad I had ended up here. However it's not the ship that feels like home, but the people who live on it. We have adventure after adventure, there's never a dull moment, we live more like a family than just a crew. I can honestly say I love it here."

Sano smiling that Robin had cheered up, her demeanor showing she meant every word.

Franky and Nami wiping away tears coursing down their cheeks at Robin's emotional words. Even Zorro taken aback by the soft-spoken woman's words about the crew, he'd seen her a new light. Especially when he trusted her the least amongst the crew for the longest time.

"I'm happy for you."

"Thank you."

Sano takes a swig of the alcohol, "When I graduated high school, I gave thought to going to college somewhere. After all in my world, in order to have a career it was best to have a college education. But I could never decide on a profession that interested me." He runs a hand through his hair.

"I suddenly decided to go to a recruiters office, one of the biggest factors was that I simply didn't have the money to attend a university, and I was just getting tired of living day to day. The idea of seeing the world was very interesting, and to learn a job skill of some kind in the process, it was hard to turn down. Not to mention the military provided a service where they would pay for college."

Sano chuckles, "Course, when the military says 'See the world' they certainly don't tell you it's mostly on foot."

Robin giggles.

"I decided to push myself to the limit by joining the pros. I've fought in deserts, jungles, and cities, I found a sense of accomplishment and pride when I completed my mission and kept my boys alive."

Sano suddenly sighs, "But I never felt a sense of belonging...You know what nickname I got from the guys?" He looks over at Robin shaking her head.

"Behind my back I was called the 'Grim Reaper'." Sano looks down at the bottle clasped in his hands.

"I seemed to have a serious case of Murphy's Law following me when on mission, many times we'd be wounded during firefights, or sometimes would be KIA."

Sano frowns, "For some reason we'd always see heavy action, it was difficult to keep my men alive, though in the process my team always had the highest number of confirmed kills."

"I know I had become cold, I couldn't afford to be distracted, I had my own life on the line but also men under my command. The most difficult thing about a leadership position was having to send someone to their veritable death."

Robin places a hand on Sano's back softly rubbing it in comfort.

"Life can be a real bitch ya know."

"I was surprised as hell when I woke up on this ship, I had really thought I'd gone crazy or the enemy was experimenting with hallucinogenic weapons. But somewhere inside me things felt like it was gonna be okay. I don't feel like I have the right to call anywhere home, but this is the first place for me that felt like it was okay to be here. So I can understand what you feel."

Robin had unconsciously started running her fingers through his hair, he kept it short like Mr. Swordsman, but it was deceivingly thick, she found herself greatly enjoying the texture across her hands.

Sano had started on his second bottle of booze. His mind trying not to get lost in Robin's gentle caress.

"Can I ask you another question?" Softly asking.

"Well, I think today is the day of questions." Sano grins, "Fire away."

"I notice that you are pretty wary around alcohol, especially consuming it. Why is that?"

Sano looks down the opening of the bottle as if looking for an answer.

"Now that's a long and depressing tale." He grimaces.

"Well...then how about your scars? Mind talking about them? I've always been curious." The look in Robin's eyes telling him he didn't have to force himself to say anything hurtful.

"I think that's just an excuse for me to take off my shirt." Sano grins at the woman with half lidded eyes.

Robin opens her mouth flustered and shocked, but unable to stop from blushing. Sano let's out a low rumble of a chuckle to her reaction.

"Well I think I can grant you this favor." He puts down his bottle and strips off the white top.

Robin inhales a sharp breath, she hadn't been this close to a topless Sano, and it was causing her heart to thump loudly.

He turns his back towards the woman, "Most of this was actually done at the same time. My team was pinned down by heavy fire, someone on the other side seemed to have some sort of epiphany. He decided to cook off a grenade, apparently he didn't have the timing down so instead of the frag detonating right in the middle of us. It did an airburst right above. I took the brunt of the hot shrapnel, and thankfully that day I was wearing my Kevlar helmet, otherwise it woulda split my melon." Sano laughs, "Man it was a bitch, I couldn't reach most of it so the shrapnel ended up digging more into my skin and burning it. I had decided to let the medics take care of me back at base. Ended up laying on my front for like two weeks to make sure it was healed up all the way."

Sano suppresses a gasp as he feels one of Robin's hands slowly trace his back, feeling an electric buzz as her hand maintained contact. He closes his eyes and relishes her soft and smooth hand touching the permanent markings.

Robin herself was trying not to drool as he slide her hand over the sculpted body, memorizing every mark on his back.

"What about this one?" She finds a small pucker.

"Hmm that one sucked. We were sent to provide cover for a team of regulars that made contact. We were the closest form of any support. They had a trigger happy FNG on the team, he ended up shooting me in the back."

"FNG?" Sano feels Robin's warm breath on his back making his heart accelerate.

"Fuckin New Guy."

Robin laughs, "I see."

"Thankfully the slug missed any organs, hurt like a motherfucker, um pardon the language. I was bleeding pretty bad, but I still ripped that kid a new one. Even made him cry." Sano shakes his head.

The next sensation took his breath away, Robin had laid her cheek against his back, he could feel as if the warmth of her body was flowing into him.

'Poor thing. Being a soldier really isn't an easy life.'

Sano began to chuckle and Robin throughly enjoyed the vibrations she could feel from his chest.

"At least I'd finally learned my lesson after that, first the shrapnel, and then friendly fire. I hated wearing the body armor, but I didn't take it off since then. That's why I like to sleep without a shirt, I hate the restricting feeling."

"But still, it doesn't really stop high velocity sharp objects like shrapnel from a mortar round." He lifts his right arm and fingers a diagonal cut along is side with the left hand.

Robin leans down to lightly stroke the thick scar, "That must have hurt."

"You bet it did, that time I really thought I was gonna die." Slowly he turns around.

"Because I got this one at the same time." Pointing out a shorter mark across his abdomen.

"I was scared shitless to move when I got hit, I was afraid that my guts would spill out."

Robin could feel herself salivating as she got a close view of his fully sculpted rock hard abs. Hesitantly she reaches out to trace the newly discovered mark.

"The others here you know about already."

Sano gives Robin time to slowly absorb his body as her eyes slowly trace upward, touching as she went along.

Robin could feel an urge driving her to jump on the man and ravish his body.

'Control, control yourself.' But it was difficult to ignore the fire glowing in her loins, and to keep from running her hands up and down his god like body.

Finally her azure eyes met his, Sano could see her dilated pupils, lust burning deep within. Robin panting slightly from the effect he was having on her. Sano had to resist the desire to smother her mouth with his.

"This one...well I got into a fight, guy had a knife and managed to a good cut in before I finally broke his arm." Sano points to his eye.

Automatically shutting his eyes as Robin began to touch from the bridge of his nose, brushing against his eyelashes and then to his brow.

Robin taking the opportunity to trace his masculine jaw, then finding the very faint line she'd managed to see before.

"What about this one?" Her voice almost a whisper.

Sano's eyes shoot open unable to mask the hurt in his expression.

Robin snatches her hand back as if she'd caused the pain.

"I-I'm sorry."

His eyes seem to finally focus, "Why are you sorry? There's nothing to be sorry about." He looks down, "It's just part of the same depressing story that involves the answer to your alcohol question."

Sano stands up pulling the shirt back on and strolls to an open window, Robin could tell from the air around him that he was brooding.

Robin fights back the burn of tears wanting to form, 'So close, oh so close. He was opening up, and I made him close back up.'

She sits in silence, her hair covering her face as Sano peered into the inky darkness of the sky.

"I guess I shall retire for the night." Robin's voice trembling.