Sanji seemed to notice Nami's return not long after Robin did, as it brought his attention back to them. How… kind of him to notice them again.

"Ah! I'm sure you remember me talking about my crew: Robin-chan, Nami-san," he gestured.

"Oh, you're Robin-chan!" Leah eyed Robin up and down with great interest. "I thought you'd be younger."

Robin's knuckles were bone-white as she gripped her glass, but her pleasant smile never faded. "Pardon?"

"Well, it's just, you know, because of the honorific, '-chan'? I just assu—"

"Leah, here, is an actress," Sanji hurriedly, and loudly, interjected.

"An actress!" Nami jumped in without missing a beat, faux-recognition dripping from her tone. "You must be the opera singer."

"Oh, no, I—"

Sanji also attempted to interject, knowing exactly where this was going, but Nami steamrolled right over him; he was barely able to get a noise out.

"My mistake, you're the one who does all those musicals, right?"

"Hah, no, I actually can't sing—"

"Ah, so sorry! You must be the kabuki performer, then."

"N-no, I can't really dance, either."

"Huh," Nami tapped her chin, putting on a performance of her own as she mocked confusion. "Gosh, there's just so many of you… hard to keep track. You must be new, then."

"Um… I… I guess… so…" Leah was smiling, but it was a very nervous one. "Know a lot of actresses, do you, Sanji?"

"Oh, yes," Nami replied before Sanji could, leaning forward over the table as her smile became sinister. "Very well."

Nami quickly glanced at Robin and flashed a knowing smile.

Robin's iron grip on her glass immediately started to relax as she hid her soft laughter behind the back of her other hand as she turned her head. Whatever would she do without Nami in times like these…

"Nami-san!" Sanji erupted in artificial laughter. "Aren't you just…" His curly eyebrow twitched above his big, fake grin. "Y'know what, I think we've had enough introductions for one—"

"GUYS~!" Luffy called out from the crowd as he ran up to the table, shoving patrons out of the way. "People keep throwing money at Brook on stage!" He slammed into the table, slapping a heap of cash onto it. "This isn't even all of it! We're gonna be rich as SHIT."

"Wait, you know that guy? …Skeleton?"

Luffy turned to Leah, blinking a few times. "Who's this?"

"Our captain, Luffy. Luffy, this is Leah—"

"Leah's an actress friend of his," Nami offered, taking a sip of her drink.

"The one that does all the singing and tap dancing?"

"For fuck's sake…" Sanji grumbled under his breath in defeat.

"Um… so this guy…?"

"Oh. Yeah, I know him. Brook. He's in my crew; he's our musician."

Her eyes grew as she took a moment to think. "This is probably going to sound a little weird, but um… well, here goes!"

"I'm in a theatre company here on the island, we're doing an adaption of 'Something Borrowed, Something You.' There's this scene that takes place in a club, with a singer in the background performing a song. The guy who normally plays that part canceled at the last minute, and we're a small company, so he doesn't have an understudy, and we've had a hell of a time trying to find someone who can sing and play guitar…"

"Brook would champ at the bit for something like that," Sanji grinned.

"Really? We wouldn't be able to pay in actual money… just theatre tickets… but there's no lines for him to memorize, it's all singing, so—"

"Ninety-nine percent sure he'd do it for free. No stressing about money, alright?" He nudged her chin with a pointer-finger knuckle.

Her big, golden eyes started to well up with tears. "Sanji! You're the best!" She leapt into him for another hug, nuzzling her face into his chest as he laughed, patting the top of her head.

"If I had ears, they'd be burning~!" Brook was able to sneak up on the group, Chopper in-tow, carrying all of Book's earnings (there was so much of it that he looked like a pile of cash with legs).

Sanji had been completely correct: once Brook got the rundown from Leah, he absolutely lit up. Of course, he had to put on a big show about how he couldn't possibly take on such a role… how could he ever do it justice on such short notice? After all, he was but a humble musician, and certainly no actor…

After maybe twenty seconds of convincing by the group, Brook was on board.

Once Leah ironed out the details of when and where Brook needed to meet up with her theatre company, she began making motions to leave. "If you all need somewhere to stay, there's a great place near the theatre. It's brand new, real swanky… looks like you all can afford it," she winked, glancing at Brook's impressive earnings. "Great running into you, Sanji! See you at the show!"

Once she was gone, everyone's attention was on Brook, excitedly musing about his newfound career path as a thespian.

"Hey, Robin," Nami nudged her shoulder with Robin's.

Her eyes grew a bit, and she turned to Nami and smiled. If not for the physical contact, Robin might not have noticed her call at all, as she'd been deep in thought.

"Looks like we're gonna be distinguished patrons of the theatre, now." She punctuated 'the theatre' with an over the top, upper-crust Shakespearean accent.

"Certainly, yes," she laughed.

Nami's casual smile grew into a mischievous smirk as she waggled a tantalizing eyebrow. "You know what that means, right?"

She actually didn't, at first. But that only lasted for a moment before realizing that she very much did.

.


.

"…but I still can't believe her. 'I thought you'd be younger,'" Nami mocked from behind the curtain of the clothing boutique's dressing room.

Shopping. It meant shopping. Because, of course it did.

"Ugh, rude much? I mean–" Nami started to make a few frustrated huffs and puffs. "Hey, would you mind giving me a hand with this zipper? I think it's stuck."

She waited for Robin's arrival, or for a disembodied arm to spontaneously appear somewhere on her body, but neither occurred. Puzzled, she poked her head out from the curtain. "Robin?"

Robin had left her seat near the dressing room and was staring out a shop window nearby. She didn't seem to be staring at anything in particular; it was like she was staring at a fixed point somewhere a million miles away.

Nami called out to her again, and Robin jumped a bit, having finally heard it.

"I'm so sorry, were you—did you need something?"

Nami explained her predicament again and Robin rushed to her rescue, determined to intently listen as Nami repeated what she'd just been talking about.

"And to think you almost missed out on my amazing impression of her."

"Crisis averted," Robin laughed from over Nami's shoulder in the dressing room as they both looked in the mirror at one another, carefully helping straighten out the finer details in the evening dress she was wearing. "You know, perhaps it was just… a misunderstanding."

Nami raised an incredulous eyebrow at Robin in the mirror.

"…But yes, it was incredibly rude and I absolutely hated it."

"Aaand…?"

"… And… I'm… very glad you stepped in."

"You're damn right you are! It was hilarious~! The look on her face, on Sanji's, just perfect…" Nami reminisced for a time about her little performance, not noticing that, at the mention of Sanji's name, Robin's stare into the mirror became incredibly distant… barren, even.

"…but I dunno, black's always been more your color than mine, don't you think?"

Nami had moved on to chatting about the dress she'd tried on, but was met with silence. Again.

This had happened several times since they'd left the tavern, and it was honestly starting to concern Nami. Robin had always been a pretty private person, even after all these years with the crew, so the idea of Robin keeping something inside like this wasn't exactly new. And yet… there was something… different about it this time around. Something Nami couldn't quite put her finger on, but different, nonetheless.

"Robin? Is everything okay? We can call it a day and head back to the inn if you need to."

"Wh—no, it's—no, I mean, yes, I'm fine. I—I'm sorry. I've just been…"

Nami waited for her to finish her thought, but she simply trailed off, either unwilling or unable to continue.

She whipped around to face Robin, her evening dress fluttering dramatically behind her, and clasped both Robin's hands in hers. "I'm always here. Don't forget." She squeezed her hands with a warm smile.

Despite how she'd clearly been feeling, Robin was somehow able to return it. "Never."

"You sure you don't want to head back? I know clothes shopping isn't really your thing, anyway." Nami had come to learn that Robin was something of a minimalist when it came to anything other than books and artifacts. "You can just have one of the dresses I bought, it's no problem at all."

"Absolutely not. I rather enjoy going on these little excursions with you."

"What, really?" Nami always figured Robin was just being polite whenever she agreed to go shopping with her.

"Of course," she laughed. "I always have."

"Well, in that case…" Nami flashed a sly grin before yanking a wide-eyed Robin along by the wrist and bursting out of the dressing room with her in triumph. "Let's get you a freaking dress~!"

.


.

Bang-bang-bang.

"The hell's taking so long in there? We're all ready to go."

Zoro had been sent to collect Nami and Robin that evening from their hotel room, lest they be late for Brook's big theatre debut.

"Oh, relax. We've got plenty of time before the show starts, and we're almost done, anyway," Nami called out from the other side of the door.

"I'm not coming back up here."

Nami rolled her eyes. "Like I said, we'll be down in a minute. The more you stand out here arguing with me, the longer it's gonna take."

She heard him click his teeth before his heavy footsteps faded away.

"Need any help, Robin?"

Robin was behind a partition, but wasn't coming out. "I was thinking I… might just stay here."

"Over my dead body are you staying here, alone, in that dress." There were limits to Nami's willingness to indulge in Robin's solitary nature. "You're all dressed, right? Let me see!"

After a few beats of silence, Robin finally emerged.

The dress they had landed on was all-black lace: floor-length, high neck, long sleeves, and figure-hugging until it flared out at the knees. Deceptively modest, though, because the other side of it revealed that it was almost entirely backless, coming to a deep V right at her tailbone.

"I did a low bun instead of a high one, I was thinking it'd probably block everyone's vi—"

Nami positively squealed. "I knew it! I knew this was the one! This is fierce; it's like… I'm afraid of you, but also attracted to you, so really this thing has your name all over it. Oh, and the back! The detailing, oh my gosh, I didn't notice these beads earlier. You have a great back, by the way, has anyone ever told you that?"

"I—"

"Actually, don't answer that. We're getting the hell out of here and I don't wanna give you the chance to talk your way out of it," she winked as she grabbed Robin's hand and hastily led her out the door and to the elevators.

Once inside, Nami turned to Robin. "Oh! One last little thing." She reached into her clutch and pulled out her rouge, putting some on her finger before quickly dabbing it on Robin's lips. "There~"

As soon as her rouge was back in her clutch, the elevator doors opened, and there was the crew, milling about the lobby: drinking, goofing off, the usual.

Zoro noticed them approach first. "Took you long enough."

"Why, yes, we do look amazing, thank you for the compliment, Zoro~" Nami retorted without missing a beat.

Sanji had been looking down, about to light a cigarette, but when his glance shifted to Robin, every muscle and bone in his body completely froze in place. Aside from his jaw, which was slack enough for his cigarette to fall right out of his mouth and hit the floor.

Eyes completely transfixed on her, he then tried to light a cigarette that wasn't there, slowly, robotically clicking his lighter, over and over again, waiting for that phantom cigarette to catch a light.

Robin didn't approach him, instead choosing to get into conversation with the others as they ooo-ed and ahh-ed, making some lighthearted jokes at their expense as everyone made their way out the door.

But she did see the whole thing, out of the corner of her eye.

The theatre was only a few minutes' walk away (thankfully for Robin & Nami's heeled feet), but for each and every one of those minutes, Robin would swear that she could feel pinpoints of heat in various places on her back where Sanji was piercing her with a white hot gaze. She would see him come in and out of her peripheral vision, clearly waiting for her to pull back from the main group to walk with him, as they so often did.

But Robin didn't budge.

She was thinking.

She'd been thinking all day, really.

What had actually been bothering her the most was a deceptively simple fact:

This had never happened to her before.

Unlikely though it may seem, for her entire life up until now, Robin had never had to deal with… well, it was jealously, wasn't it? Yes, it must have been.

Out of necessity, of self-preservation, of pure survival (both emotional and physical), Robin had mastered the art of emotional detachment over the years. Attachments meant vulnerability, which, in her former line of work, was not a luxury she could afford. Naturally, this lack of emotional involvement meant she was free from the shackles of envy when it came to the men who came and went, and that suited her just fine. Better than fine, really. In a way, she had come to embrace it; she'd had enough issues plaguing her mind at the time, so she'd been grateful for any type of respite she could get.

However… this also meant that she was woefully unprepared for the emotional assault that was currently taking place within her. It was one of the worst sensations she'd experienced in a long, long time. And this was without taking into account the… implications… of these brand new feelings, either, which she didn't even want to touch with a ten foot pole, right now.

She sighed. Sanji probably thought she was upset with him, which… well, she was, but she was more upset with herself, in a way. She didn't feel at all entitled to these… feelings. There was a sense of… shame attached to all this. She just—

"Can't say I'm a gambling man…"

She took in a sharp, quiet breath. She'd been so deep in thought that she hadn't realized they'd just stepped into the lobby of the theatre. She'd separated from the bulk of the group just long enough for an eagle-eyed Sanji to swoop in just behind her, like the bird of prey he was. A soft, strong hand splayed against her back as he walked beside her, slightly leaning in to her ear.

It wasn't as if this was the first time he'd ever touched her like this. Even before they were… whatever they were, he'd always been a very physical person. He'd even touched her in this exact way, before; when they were nakama and nothing more. But now… so often, these simple little acts that previously meant so little took on entirely new meanings and sensations that Robin never quite felt fully prepared for.

"But if I were…" He hand slid downward, just a little. People could see them, after all.

She hated how little it took. How very little it took to make her just… forget. Forget about everything. Forget about how she may have been upset with Sanji. Was she even upset with him? Maybe not. Maybe everything was fine. Maybe they could just go somewhere and—

"I might have to wager that you've been avoiding me, Robi—"

"Hey, you made it!"

For what was sure to be the only time in her life, Robin as glad to see Leah.

She bounded up to the Mugiwaras with Brook in tow, so bubbly and bright it almost made Robin ill.

"Sure did," Sanji grinned. His touch left Robin and the spell was blissfully broken.

"Wow, look at you two!" Leah glanced to Nami and Robin, wide eyes quickly scanning them. "Hope you don't feel… overdressed. Probably should'a mentioned our theatre isn't exactly an opera house. But don't be too embarrassed; I'm sure no one'll notice."

"Well, Layla—it is Layla, right?" Nami's little persona from the tavern had returned.

"Hah, well, close. It's Leah."

"Of course! Layla was the spoken word poet, wasn't she, Sanji? I'm telling you, you're all just so gosh darn similar…"

Sanji knew better than to attempt to put a stop to this, so instead he just grimaced in resignation.

"Anyway, we appreciate your concern, we really do, but we're just peachy. Maybe we just approach things differently, but really the only way I could imagine feeling embarrassed would be if I'd arrived in… well, something like what you've got on, I suppose!" Nami's smile was sickly sweet.

"Oh! That's… um…" Robin could see the wheels slowly turning in Leah's head as she unraveled what had actually been said.

And with that, she excused herself to explore the theatre a bit. But not before sharing a secret glance with Robin, wherein they both had to fight back laughter.

"Ah, Robin!" Suddenly, Brook was at her side. "You've read the book this play is based on, correct? I'd like to pick your brain on it, if you don't mind…"

From here, everyone separated into small little pairs or clusters in isolated conversations. Robin was with Brook, and Sanji was with Leah; far enough away that Robin was able to focus on other things without hearing what they were saying, but close enough that she could hear every word if she simply tuned Brook out.

Which she very much did.

Most of what she overheard was just your standard fare chit-chat, and it went on that way for quite some time.

After a while, though…

"…you should come to mine and stay with me! My traveling actor's troupe days are over; I've got an actual apartment, now, can you believe it? Way nicer than the caravan we were in last time… and… a lot… roomier~"

Robin swallowed. Of course they had slept together. Well, in truth, she'd already figured that out, the moment she first saw them interact. But actually having it crystalize right in front of her, manifest in reality, into an undeniable, inescapable fact… was another matter, entirely.

"LEAH HARPER." The voice was so commanding and loud that every patron in the lobby turned to look. The woman was tall, angular, and lean, dressed in all black with a clipboard in one hand and a transponder snail on her wrist.

She must have been the stage manager, Robin thought.

"Showtime's in TEN. You and your skeletal friend need to be backstage RIGHT FUCKING NOW or—"

Leah looked absolutely petrified. "S-so sorry, ma'am! I must have lost track—"

"I don't want to fucking hear it. Just get your asses back there, NOW."

Leah hastily grabbed Brook by the wrist, mumbling more apologies as they ran towards the backstage entrance, the stage manager right at their heels with an intense, rapid stride.

Everyone in the lobby started to make their way to their seats, and Robin stood, watching.

How long were plays, typically? Two, two and a half hours tops, right?

She took a long, deep breath.

Let's just get this over with.