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Heart pounding in her chest, Robin slowly brought her right hand up to rest on her clammy forehead. The women’s quarters of their new ship was quiet, save for a certain navigator’s soft snoring nearby, and in an attempt to calm her racing heart, Robin opted to study the ceiling above her. Expertly polished wood stared back at her and despite the small smile that formed at the reminder that she was really here and sailing away with her friends, her nakama, the images wouldn’t leave her. Vivid sensations of thick smoke in her lungs, screams in the distance, and earth-shaking explosions continuing to plague her mind, Robin let out a shaky breath. The destruction of Ohara occurred twenty years ago and yet even after all this time, the memories still tormented her at night. If anything, Robin felt that her nightmares had gotten worse as of late.
She sighed. It seemed she wouldn’t be getting much sleep tonight. Unfortunate.
Shifting her focus away from the ceiling, Robin instead surveyed the entire room while she waited for herself to fully recover from the nightmare. It was difficult to truly make out and appreciate all the details and intricacies of the room in the dark but even still, Robin could tell that like the rest of the Thousand Sunny, a lot of love had gone into every inch of this room.
She’d listened intently while Franky had given the grand tour and she’d meant to learn in depth everything she could about their new ship and the reasoning behind every design choice but with all the excitement of the day, she hadn’t quite gotten that chance to be alone with him. She would have to rectify that at the earliest possible time.
Feeling like her body had finally calmed down, Robin let her right arm fall back to her side before looking over at Nami in the bed next to her. Relieved to see that she was still fast asleep, Robin smiled to herself and after a moment, turned towards the door. Perhaps she could get a start on reading the books in the library.
Careful not to aggravate any of her injuries, namely her bruised ribs, Robin sat up in bed before slowly swinging her legs over the side and slipping into her slippers. Mindful not to wake up Nami, she crept to the door and stepped outside.
Her attention immediately zeroed in on the lush grass deck past the stairs, a vast improvement from the simple wooden deck of the Merry. Having traveled on far too many ships to count, Robin could safely say she’d never been on a ship with a deck quite like this. Moonlight bathed the Thousand Sunny, the light highlighting each blade of grass even from where she was standing. It was truly a lovely ship.
A soft breeze brushed past her, the sudden chill causing her to shiver a little, but she hardly minded. There, under the stars and standing in her new home, Robin allowed herself to fully relish the moment before her. Nothing could dampen her spirits, not even a sudden storm that would leave her drenched and freezing. She was alive, and while she suspected that the transition from an entirely survival focused mindset to one of freedom would take some time, she decided that enjoying each and every moment felt like a good start.
A feeling of pure bliss spreading over her, she turned, intending to make her way over to the library when to her surprise, she spotted familiar styled-up blue hair out of the corner of her eye. She stepped closer to see that across from her down on the deck was Franky standing there, leaning against the railing with his back turned to her. Her plan of spending her night in the library forgotten, she descended down the staircase onto the grass deck and approached their newest crewmate. With how intently he seemed to be staring out into the calm waters, Robin didn’t think he would notice her heading his way but as she got closer, his lips pulled back into a smile and he straightened, his large hands still resting on the railing.
“Evening, Nico Robin,” he said without turning his head.
“Good evening, Franky,” she returned the greeting as she stopped beside him. She looked up at him curiously. “How did you know it was me?” she asked, wondering if he’d implemented sensors into his body that kept him more alert of his surroundings.
“Lucky guess.”
She smiled. “I see.”
A silence settled between them as Franky looked back to the sea and once more began leaning against the railing. Robin found herself studying his expression, that distant look in his eyes. Considering it was only his first night out at sea with them, she surmised that he must be feeling homesick. A pang of sympathy struck her and she leaned forward too, her arms over the railing, mirroring his position. Robin was content to stay like this, just two crewmates enjoying the serenity that the endless expanse of water all around brought them, but stole another glance at Franky and frowned slightly.
“This ship…” she began, “it’s truly quite remarkable.”
That earned her one of Franky’s trademark grins. “Right? It’s super! One of the best ships to ever set sail, that’s for sure!”
“Not the best ever?”
“Well,” he scratched the back of his neck.” I don’t know about that. Sunny is definitely up there but who knows, there could be other ships like her. I’d love to meet their shipwrights if there are!” He patted the railing. “What I do know is Sunny here will carry us all the way to the end of the Grand Line. She’ll be like the Oro Jackson.”
“Gol D. Roger’s ship?”
“That’s right. Y’know, my mentor Tom built that ship.”
“Impressive.” She turned to him. “I’m afraid I no longer have any books on the subject but if the next island has a bookstore, perhaps I could pick up a book about the most technically impressive ships ever built for you?”
“Aww, you don’t have to do that.”
“It’d be my pleasure,” she assured him. “Consider it a welcome gift from me.”
He clicked his tongue. “You’re too kind, Nico Robin. Well, if ya insist.” He smirked. “Though, to be honest, I feel like you kinda owe me anyway. What with your way of forcing me to join you guys.”
Robin shrugged. “It worked, didn’t it?”
“Surely there was another way!” he complained lightheartedly.
“You were being rather stubborn.”
“That I was…” His demeanor suddenly grew more serious. “I’m glad I’m here and all but… I know they can take care of themselves just fine but I still miss them, y’know? It hasn’t even been a day and yet…” He sighed. “Being away from them… it’s got to get easier, surely.”
Thinking he was just making a passing comment, Robin didn’t say anything in return but upon realizing he seemed to be looking for some sort of reassurance, she tried to recover with a, “oh- well, I’m not… entirely sure.”
Her eight-year old self had certainly never envisioned living a life on the run, forced to keep her guard up at all times. No, she’d innocently imagined her mother returning from her studies to be with her and doing everything a family was supposed to. Unfortunately, the world had other plans. If it had been an option, she would’ve run right back to Ohara and clung onto everyone she’d ever loved, refusing to ever let go.
Except there was no one to return to.
Some days were better than others but that pain of losing everyone never fully went away. In Franky’s situation though, although it took some convincing, he’d willfully left Water Seven, so Robin wasn’t confident that her leaving Ohara translated as well to what he was feeling.
“I know you were on the run and all, probably couldn’t trust just anyone but you still had to leave people behind, right? People you cared about?”
She shook her head. “Not really. When I was younger, there were people that took me in that I did care about. Until they tried to betray me. I didn’t feel bad about leaving in those cases, just… regretful that they weren’t different like I hoped they were.”
“What about any crushes?”
That made her pause. “What?”
His somber expression quickly shifted into one of mild embarrassment and Robin could practically see the gears turning in his head as he struggled to form words.
“What I mean by that,” he began sheepishly, “is that… like you couldn’t trust anyone and that’s super sad.” His voice wavered at the end, clearly feeling emotional about what she’d told him, and yet the look he gave her wasn’t one of pity. It was honestly refreshing to see. He cleared his throat. “So you would be thinking that you couldn’t get too close to anyone but emotionally you might’ve gotten attached anyway? Like the mind and the body don’t always cooperate, y’know what I’m saying?”
Robin laughed softly. “Yes, Franky, I believe I understand. To answer your question,” she said, “no, I’ve never had a crush on anyone.”
His eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Really?”
Robin hummed. “Yes.” The amusement she’d been feeling faded and she continued, “I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help although I do imagine you’ll feel less homesick in due time. Plus I’m sure our captain would gladly visit Water Seven again in the future, if you ask.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I’m sure he would. I probably just need some kind of distraction right now. Tried getting some work done earlier but it wasn’t helping too much.”
“In that case,” she stepped away from the railing to properly face him. “Perhaps you could give me another tour of the Sunny? There’s a lot I’m curious about.”
He visibly brightened. “One special tour coming right up! SUPER!” He did his signature pose and grinned down at her. “Where to first, Nico Robin?”
Robin couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her. “You lead the way. I’d like to hit every room if we can. That is, except the sleeping quarters right now since they’re occupied.”
“You got it!”
Brimming with excitement, Robin trailed behind Franky as he began his special tour, first on the deck where they already were. While she was delighted at all the information she was learning, in the back of her mind it occurred to her that they could be talking about anything in the world and she’d still be enjoying herself. Franky was just good company, she realized.
A smile on her face as she listened to Franky, she silently decided that if he was ever awake again like her late at night, she’d have to seek him out.