Chapter 17

A lovely night

"What about a second storage room? What do you think?"

"Anything's doable, bro! I got enough wood, you decide!"

"Hm…"

Franky observed the cook immersed in the study of the plans of his future restaurant at his side on the grass of the Sunny. A few steps away, Nami had settled down to analyze the weather reports of the islands they had crossed for the past few weeks and a little further, Chopper and Robin were grinding herbs and keeping an eye on potions intended for medicines under the sun of this lovely afternoon.

"The cold room must be next to the kitchen, it's imperative," The blond continued, focused. "The storage room of the main foods must also be nearby because we'd waste time during preps… On the other hand, I think it'll be too small in view of the stocks we'll need," He added with a sigh. "As long as there's no regular link with the outside, some ingredients will be hard to find and we'll need a lot…"

"A second storage room then!" The cyborg nodded.

"Yes, but where? If it's placed near the kitchen, the building will be too elongated and less aesthetic."

"What about upstairs?"

"It'd make sense but it's not practical. It'd be necessary to organize rigorously to be sure that the most used ingredients are the most accessible. It's extra work and at the beginning, there may not be many of us…"

Sanji frowned in front of his sheet and the shipwright let him think for a few more moments, his gaze drifting across the deck to Robin who was leaning over a book with the little doctor. Franky observed her closely under his sunglasses.

Lately, he had the impression of regularly intercepting the young woman's gaze on him, but when her eyes met his, she didn't turn away, in no way embarrassed. The flicker of amusement he perceived made him all the more curious and the mysterious side of the archaeologist didn't help him to decipher her true motive. Robin had been a real enigma since day one, but he didn't mind. He had immediately been intrigued by her elusive personality and this new game made him want to see through her.

At that moment, the cook mumbled beside him and Franky turned his attention back to their task. He then pointed at a point on the plan. "What if I put the second storage room just above the first?" He suggested. "With a freight elevator, that'd be the easiest way, wouldn't it?"

Sanji considered his proposal, his lips tight around his cigarette butt. "Why not, it'd avoid walking back and forth with arms full…"

"I can do the same for the cellar in the basement!" His friend showed him enthusiastically.

The blond finally nodded and removed his cigarette from his lips. "Yes, that'd be ideal. And if possible, I'd like the entrance to the cellar to be on the ocean side. We could set up a tasting area in this way."

"No worries, bro!"

Franky grabbed his pencil to write down the changes on his plan. He was looking up to ask what was next when Nami's voice sounded. "The weather is changing." All the crew members turned their heads towards the navigator who was looking up at the sky, wary. "I think a storm is coming," The young woman then added, observing her barometer.

Franky glanced instinctively out to sea. "The tide's rising."

Nami nodded as she put away her instrument. "The pressure's dropping like crazy and the water's probably gonna come inland. I wouldn't stay out if I were you," She concluded as she gathered her things.

"We must warn Zoro, Brook, Usopp and Luffy!" The little reindeer immediately got alarmed, leaping to his feet.

"They're probably still on the beach," Robin remembered.

"The inhabitants are outside too, they haven't finished the harvest," The shipwright reminded them.

At these words, the navigator winced. "They won't have much left to harvest very soon. A storm like this, there'll be intense gusts of wind and hail for sure…"

"In how long?" The archaeologist inquired. Her friend took out her barometer before studying the sky again for a few moments. "Thirty minutes tops," She then replied.

"It's a disaster," The blond murmured darkly, "Their harvests are their only possibility of stocking up over the year and their only chance of trading some goods…"

The cyborg got up in turn, determined. "Let's go see them then; we can help get fruits in as much as we can before the storm!"

The wind was picking up and dark clouds were gathering in the All Blue sky. Above the valley covered with orchards, Luffy clutched his straw hat so it wouldn't fly away. In doing so, the huge bag at his feet inflated by the gusts almost escaped him and he barely caught it.

"Hold it tight, Luffy!" The sniper shouted not far from him over the wind. "If we need to pick them up off the ground, we'll never get it done!" His captain nodded and grabbed the bag harder.

After the crew had announced to the villagers the imminence of the storm, everyone had gone to the harvesting areas at full speed to try to save what could be, and in particular the most fragile fruits. Usopp, Chopper, Zoro and Luffy had been designated to collect the maximum number of plums and while the first ones were in charge of the picking, the straw hat boy was in charge of receiving the fruits as they went.

The increasingly violent gusts made it difficult for the four friends and while Usopp had hoisted Chopper on his shoulders to make him reach the highest fruits, Zoro was annoyed by the slowness of his gathering in the middle of the branches which scratched his hands and even his face because of the power of the wind.

After an umpteenth plum bursting in his hands when he grabbed it, the fencer gave up. He positioned himself in front of the line of trees and raised his swords.

"Zoro, what you doing?" His captain wondered in the middle of the wind.

"I'm fixing this problem," The man grumbled, "I'm sick of plum compote."

"Cool!"

"Wait, you can't damage the tre-"

The sniper didn't have time to finish his sentence because the attack of the first mate of the crew was already gone. His Thirty-Six Pound Phoenix technique created a blade of air much more concentrated than the wind swirling in all directions and it knocked most of the fruit from the nearby plum trees. The swordsman smiled with satisfaction. However, before he could take advantage of his success, a powerful gust violently blew the plums still suspended in the air and they charged towards the four friends in the form of a return attack.

The sniper and the little reindeer screamed and Zoro winced, not knowing how to react. If he sliced the fruit, the harvest was ruined, but letting them hit his face wasn't going to help. Like a response to his indecision, Luffy leapt to his side and handed him the edges of his gigantic bag, his huge grin on his lips. Without being asked, the swordsman grabbed it and stretched the bag hard enough between them so that almost all the plums landed in it.

Usopp and Chopper then caught their breaths in relief while Luffy was jumping in joy. "Great, Zoro! Let's do it again!"

"I got a bad feeling," Sanji grumbled among the blackberry and raspberry plants.

"Did you say something?" Brook asked him from a few steps away, his afro hairstyle shaken by the wind.

"I'm saying that leaving these four bozos together to pick the plums was a bad idea," He repeated a little louder to be heard. The skeleton laughed and next to him, Nami shook her head. "Blackberries and raspberries are much too delicate for them, it'd have been worse," She pointed out to him.

"You're right, Nami-san, but there's a whole field! I wonder if they'll make it…"

The young woman pushed a lock of hair from her face, focused on her task. "It'll be better than nothing. Moreover, the ones we really have to feel sorry for are Robin and Franky. I don't know how they'll manage…"

Sanji nodded and stopped his cigarette butt from flying away by gritting his teeth. Feeling the first drops of rain hitting the ground, he increased his speed, worried.

They needed to hurry. The storm was approaching.

"You ready?"

"Whenever you are," She confirmed.

"On my mark: three, two, one, zero!"

Arms folded in front of her, Robin closed her eyes and her many hands went to work amid the raindrops: positioned on the vineyards stretching as far as the eye could see, her hands quickly cut the juicy bunches one by one before moving on to the next plant. For his part, Franky has taken his Franky Tank form on which the villagers had placed a large wicker basket. The shipwright then rushed at full speed among the vineyards to recover the grapes at the rhythm of the harvest from the hands of the archaeologist.

All the inhabitants were surrounding them anxiously. The vineyards were what they had in greatest number and in the past, they had already dealt with the climatic events which had sometimes ruined the work of all their year. They placed a lot of hope in the Straw Hat Pirates they were beginning to know since they were now taking part in the big evening meals they shared since the start of the harvest. So, after learning to appreciate the blond cook, they were learning to discover the generosity of the entire crew.

Suddenly, lightning streaked the black sky and the rumble of thunder didn't take long to be heard. Fortunately, Robin's hands and the Franky Tank were well advanced when the wind increased and the first hailstones began to fall. Instantly, Lily shouted something to the crowd and soon, an umbrella came up towards her. The young woman opened it and protected the body of the archaeologist who was trying to concentrate in the middle of the downpour.

Within seconds, a cascade of hail was unleashed amidst the lightning, and Lily ordered her friends to take cover. The villagers then grabbed their own baskets and fled towards the buildings, leaving Liam, Lily and Tori to brave the elements alone while waiting for the two pirates to complete their mission.

A few minutes later, Robin opened her eyes again, a smile on her lips despite some red marks on her hands due to hail. The Franky Tank tumbled down soon after, sending the now muddy earth flying under his chains and immediately, Lily handed him another umbrella as he resumed his appearance. For their part, Tori and Liam grabbed with difficulty the huge basket filled to the brim with grapes to go down to the village.

Thunder shook the ground beneath their feet again, and Franky pushed the umbrella away to help the two men lift the heavy basket he had brought. "Let's get outta here, it ain't gonna get better!" He then yelled through the hail.

Nodding their heads in the middle of the lightning, everyone began to run to reach a shelter as quickly as possible.

"It was phenomenal! There were hands everywhere harvesting all the grapes in an instant!"

"And the tank was picking up the grapes at the same time!"

"In a few minutes, everything was brought back!"

"The vineyards may be damaged but the harvest is saved!"

"You're amazing, Robin-chan!"

The young woman stifled a laugh behind her hand in the middle of the praises of the villagers who told their exploit to the cook of the crew. In the evening, the usual big meal had taken place in the village hall and it was an opportunity for everyone to tell what they had seen without forgetting to rejoice for the food saved. The archaeologist and the cyborg were then in the spotlight since all the inhabitants had witnessed their action.

Sanji never tired of showering the young woman with compliments and the little reindeer by his side was hardly different since he kept asking the inhabitants for details to better express his admiration. Not far from them, Nami, Brook and Zoro were finishing eating while chatting with other inhabitants and a little further, Franky and Usopp had just sat down, one with his arms full of cola and the other with desserts.

That's how when he was finishing a bottle of cola, Franky froze as he intercepted Robin's wink at him. He was surprised then suspicious when he noticed she was now looking at him with a smile.

"She's doing it again!"

"What?" The sniper raised a questioning eyebrow at his friend while swallowing another slice of plum pie greedily.

"Robin. She's looking at me weirdly."

Usopp frowned and glanced over to where the young woman was standing. Surrounded by Sanji, Chopper and the villagers, she didn't seem to mind them at all. "I don't think so…"

"I'm telling you she keeps doing it! She does it on purpose when no one else is looking!"

Usopp didn't reply and took another bite, shrugging. "If you say so. So what?"

"So I don't know why she's doing it and it's driving me crazy!"

"Knowing Robin, maybe that's what she's really trying to do," The gunner agreed, "She got funny ideas sometimes…"

The cyborg uncapped another bottle of cola while settling a little more comfortably in his chair, suddenly in a daring mood. "There's no way she continues to have fun on her own, I'll make her spill the beans," He decided as he fixed his gaze on her figure.

"Good luck with that," His friend grimaced.

"Maybe she's into me!" The shipwright added with a big smile.

At these words, Usopp wrinkled his nose. "You sure? Don't you think she's testing deadly new techniques without you knowing?"

"Who knows. But if she's got a little crush on me, I wouldn't mind."

His friend shook his head and helped himself to another piece of pie. "Of course. If you have suicidal tendencies."

"Come on! She's super nice!" The cyborg insisted.

"You need to like her creepy side and chilling humor, I guess," The sniper muttered.

Franky burst out laughing and gulped his bottle down in one go. "Yeah, it's decided, I'm gonna make her talk later!"

"How? If she hasn't said anything so far, why would she tell you tonight?" The gunner pointed out to him.

"I won't go head-on, I'm gonna steer the conversation unnoticed and she won't even see me coming!"

"It's Robin, dude, she's bound to see you coming," He growled.

"Of course not, it's gonna be great!"

Usopp watched as the shipwright hurriedly got up to join Brook who was improvising a few dance moves alongside Lily in the middle of the village hall. He then planted his fork resolutely in his piece of cake, stifling a sigh. "There's not a good one in the lot on this ship…"

"It really was a lovely night!" The cyborg rejoiced.

"Indeed."

"Seeing how they treated us, one might think we totally saved their lives!"

"This is probably how they feel."

Franky had decided to keep the archaeologist company when they returned to the Sunny. Everyone had gone to bed given the late hour but Robin had wanted to stay and enjoy the night air and the shipwright had seen a perfect opportunity to concretize his new resolution. He hadn't missed Usopp's curious glance when he had closed the door of the boys' quarter a few moments earlier. Confident, the cyborg had nodded reassuringly before walking away towards the young woman leaning on the rail on the ocean side.

"But still, given the quantities we eat at each meal, they won't have much left despite what we have been able to save," He continued, smiling at the memory of their captain's appetite.

"Let's hope that our latest discoveries will help Liam to create trade with other islands," The archaeologist approved.

"In their place, the first thing I'll do when they can negotiate with them is to buy clothes!" Franky asserted. "Getting a proper look is super important and being classy takes work!" He added, very serious.

Beside him, Robin chuckled. "You are very elegant," She reassured him.

"This shirt is super!" The shipwright added, delighted. He then glanced around as silence fell. The water was calm around the Sunny and an infinity of stars were shining in the night. No lighting disturbed the intensity of their brightness, which stood out all the more in the dark sky.

Franky smiled slightly. Robin was giving him the opportunity to talk about the subject he wanted on a silver plate. "This super meal and this beautiful weather are the perfect kind of night for lovers!" He noted cheerfully.

Robin looked at him questioningly and he nodded. "Yeah, imagine Nami and Luffy! Nami would love to show him the constellations and Luffy would go crazy trying to distinguish them!"

"Quite possibly."

"And Zoro and Sanji! The cook would drag him to the beach for a candlelight dinner, that's for sure! And Zoro… Well, he'd let him do, Zoro. He'd have no choice."

The archaeologist nodded, this time smiling. "Most likely."

"It's a totally romantic atmosphere and I know a thing or two about romanticism!" The shipwright insisted. "Too bad they don't take advantage of it and it's just you and me tonight…"

Robin didn't answer, just staring quietly at the waters of the All Blue and Franky frowned. However, he decided not to be discouraged. After all, the young woman's smile proved that she hadn't disagreed with him so far. "Yeah, because an atmosphere like that is really an opportunity to have a good time with the person you like so they feel good and…"

The archaeologist suddenly turned her head towards him, puzzled, and Franky panicked. Maybe he actually got the wrong idea. Maybe Robin's looks were just friendly because they were on the same crew, like she would do with anyone. Maybe he was seeing what he wanted and not the reality…

"I'm just sayin', you know!" He resumed hastily. "I mean, I'm a romantic person so I know it'd be cool but it's not like it's about us, right? Just something I came up with because of the atmosphere and our return, that's all!"

"You mean that according to you, our presence here tonight could lead to confusion?" Robin asked him, curious.

"Uh… I don't really know, maybe…"

"It is true that we had a great evening and that the night air encourages relaxation and confidences."

"Oh! Yeah, I-"

"And I must admit that your company is very soothing," She added serenely. "It'd certainly make the hearts of all the women spending the evening with you capsize."

"Really?"

"Absolutely. But as you said, Nami and Sanji would enjoy this evening with their companions much more than us."

"Ye-Yeah but-"

"It's such a waste when you think about it," She cut him off quietly.

"Oh. Probably…"

The cyborg sighed and took off his sunglasses to gaze at Robin who was watching him again, smiling. At first, talking with the archaeologist about it had seemed fun and a good way to find out her intentions. But just like Usopp had predicted, he was now totally lost because the young woman had obviously flipped the conversation and now he didn't know if she was sincere or laughing at him.

However, he wasn't a man to back down in the face of obstacles. "Okay, so let's be clear: we're in a super romantic mood and you think I'm super cool but you don't feel anything in particular?"

Robin's smile widened. "Nothing different from usual," She confirmed.

"Okay then… Why are you glancing at me?"

"Glancing?"

"Yeah, earlier during dinner. Or when we're on the deck."

"Oh. I apologize for that, I'm in a dreamy mood right now."

"Dreamy?" The cyborg repeated, suspicious.

"Yes. I often like to imagine that I'm alone, I'm not comfortable in crowds and lately, it's hard to find a moment to be alone."

At those words, Franky shook his head. "Okay, okay, I get it. I won't bother you any longer. If you wanna be alone, that's fine."

Trying to hide his disappointment, the shipwright walked away towards the boys' quarter but halfway up the deck, he felt something patting his right shoulder. He turned his head and saw an independent hand of the archaeologist that had grown there. He then turned more widely towards the rail he had just left to question her, but to his greatest surprise, Robin had already joined him. Climbing on her own arms that she had arranged like a staircase to be at his height, Franky had no time to be stunned when she leaned towards him to press her lips on his cheek.

The cyborg froze before staring at her, frankly confused, and Robin smiled apologetically. "Forgive me, Franky, I've probably been a bit too playful in addition to being dreamy lately."

"Playful?"

The young woman nodded, a sincere smile now lighting up her face. "If I often think of being alone, it is to better imagine you can join me so that I can enjoy your company. Indeed, I always find it charming and if this evening, I don't feel anything different compared to the other moments, it's because I always feel the best around you."

The cyborg took a few seconds to process her speech and past the stupor, an appreciative smile stretched his lips. He had just remembered why he liked the beautiful archaeologist so much: she was surprising and fascinating. He then wrapped one of his huge hands around her waist confidently.

"I see. So you're saying I'm a super charming guy? Because I must say you look real good too, Nico Robin." The young woman chuckled and Franky gazed at her. "If you don't mind being alone with me, the sea scooter ain't far away."

The archaeologist's blue eyes twinkled mischievously in return. "I'd love to. It is such a lovely night…"

Musical inspiration: A lovely night - Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone

The quirky side of the song inspired this totally unexpected chapter at the time!

It was nice to change.