Chapter Text
SOULMATE
“Well, what are you waiting for, silly? Open it!”
“Now? Shouldn’t I open it in front of the others? I’m sure they would like to see what it is too.”
“You’re too patient, Nico Robin!” Franky said as he took a seat on the bed, right next to her. “Besides, I told them all about it before I even wrapped it! They already know what’s in it!”
“Oh my, you must have gone all out with this then, haven’t you?”
The Straw Hat Pirates were currently out in the middle of the ocean, sailing through the New World during a break between their adventures. The weather, in terms of how the weather in the New World normally behaves, was relatively calm. This allowed the Straw Hats some time to unwind and relax. Currently, Sanji was preparing dinner in the kitchen while Brook was seated on the swing of the ships desk, writing a song that was likely about one of his favorite things: tea, the ocean, friendship, or woman’s panties.
Nami was at the helm, keeping an eye on the ocean current while Zoro napped against the side of the deck. While it was nearly impossible to tell where Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper could be at this time of day, one could safely assume that the trio were playing a game somewhere on the Thousand Sunny.
Lastly, Robin and Franky were in the woman’s quarters, with Robin holding a small present in her lap.
The archeologist grabbed the red ribbon that was tied on top of the box, releasing it with a tight pull. She then opened the box to reveal its contents.
Franky nudged her shoulder, wiggling his eyebrows in anticipation, “Well… what do you think?”
She paused for a moment, choosing to smile thankfully as she lifted the Hawaiian shirt up to get a full look at it. It was a vibrant purple color. Decorating the shirt was an array of yellow flowers, which Robin recalled to be sunflowers.
“It’s lovely. Thank you, Franky.” She said after a brief examination of the gift. “But don’t you think this is a little more… your style?”
“Exactly! What’s more fun than couples who wear matching outfits? NOTHING! That’s what!” He said, standing up and puffing out his chest to show off the signature Hawaiian shirt that he was proudly wearing.
“Ah, of course.” replied Robin. She also stood up, grabbing the now empty box to set it on the nightstand while she took another moment to examine the present she was given.
It had been a long time since she was given a present, and even when she was given something, it was usually just a sun hat or a pair of sunglasses that was given to her by someone who clearly only gave her a gift out of obligation or thanks for the work that she assisted them with. Never before had she received a gift that had as much thought put behind it as this one. Even if the thought behind it was simply it pairing well with the many, MANY shirts that Franky currently owned.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” The cyborg asked, moving himself in front of the woman, “Let’s see you put it on! I promised the others that I would have you model it during dinner!”
Robin shook her head and chuckled, she could never get tired of Franky’s pride when it came to showing things off; whether it be his latest inventions or the successfully chosen present he got for his girlfriend. She gave the shirt to Franky, turning around and allowing him to slip it through her arms and over her shoulders. Currently, she was just wearing a black midriff top and a pair of denim shorts, so the purple Hawaiian shirt should actually pair quite nicely with her current attire. Once Franky helped her put the shirt on, she turned back around to face him.
“Should I button it, or leave it open like you usually do?” Robin asked.
Franky put an iron finger to his chin, tapping it a couple of times in thought, “I vote to leave it open, but it’s your call!”
“Open it is then” She replied, leaning up to give him a quick peck on the lips. She walked over to the full length mirror propped against the wall, taking a moment to examine her appearance. As far as Robin could recall, this would be the first shirt of this style she had ever worn.
“You know what I think, Nico Robin?” Asked the cyborg as he moved to stand behind her, holding her hips and placing his chin on the top of her head.
“Do tell.”
“I think you look super.”
"You say that everyday, Franky."
"Well... you look super everyday! I can’t help what I see."
She laughed at his response as two stood there for a moment, staring at their reflection. Robin thought about her life up to this point. Her past was something she didn’t look at with lament anymore. She now felt that it was merely just a rough chapter she would reminisce about during her present journey. The life she used to curse being given was now a life that only the luckiest could say they get to experience. Not everyone could claim they got to sail the seas with eight of the most inspiring and wonderful people on the planet. She also counted herself lucky that her soulmate was one of the ones she was on this adventure with. None could make her smile quite like Franky did and none could make her sigh in outwards annoyance yet inner joy the way her soulmate Franky quite often did. Before Robin met Franky and the rest of her crew, she used to scoff at that the word.
‘soulmate’.
To her, it used to be a word that blind, foolish people used to make meaning out of a random encounter with someone they had a romantic attraction to. Robin used to think that if she ever were to find a ‘soulmate’, it would be purely out of a desire for security and protection, never for love.
Oh, how thankful Robin was that she was wrong. Nowadays, the word took a different meaning. To her, the word soulmate means a person who she would willingly give her soul, her life, for. It meant she treasured that persons life as if it were their own. Robin felt that from the moment the two met, their lives were destined to follow the same path.
The peaceful moment between the two was interrupted by the voice of their cook, calling out across the ship that the garlic butter tilapia he was cooking for dinner had finally been done and ready to be eaten.
“We’d better get going, I need to make sure I get a full plate before Luffy has it his way.” Robin said, lifting her hand over Franky’s to give it a gentle squeeze. Their eyes were fixed on each other’s through the glass mirror.
He hummed in response, giving the top of her head a quick kiss before stepping back.
The two exited out of the woman’s quarters, witnessing Usopp and Chopper scampering to keep up with Luffy, who was already halfway across the lawn moving towards the kitchen.
As Franky reached to open the handle to the kitchen door, he turned around to face Robin.
“Hey, Robin…”
“Yes?”
He grinned, giving her a thumbs up.
“Happy birthday!”
COMMEMORATION
Robin was seated on the deck of the Thousand Sunny, reading through the newspaper which was just dropped off by a news coo. She chose to keep watch on the ship while the rest of the crew went out to go shopping on the island they stopped at. She flipped through the pages of the newspaper, scanning through the various stories. Most of the time, the newspaper articles were just government propaganda mixed with the occasional bounty poster, but Robin still took it upon herself to read every paper she got, just to stay updated on current events.
Today’s newspaper, however, was quick to grab the woman’s attention.
“A KINGDOM RESTORED: TODAY MARKS THE DAY THAT ALABASTA HAS FINISHED RECONSTRUCTION AFTER THE TYRNANNY OF FORMER SHICHIBUKAI CROCODILE”
Nico Robin read that title over and over again for many minutes. It had already been about five or six months since the incident at Alabasta. The crew had already left that island behind and were well on their way to the Sabaody Archipelago. Her previous life as Miss All Sunday was something that the crew chose not to talk about, mainly out of forgiveness for Nico Robin. Of course, they didn’t really have to forgive her for anything, so it only made sense that everything was okay, right?
Yet everytime Nico Robin thought of the Princess of Alabasta, she felt guilt coiling throughout her stomach.
It’s not to say that Robin thought about Nefertari Vivi all the time, but it was hard not to think of the girl when the rest of the Straw Hats still held her so close to her heart. The girl in question was featured in a photo that accompanied the news article. Robin took note of her smile, she looked happy; she looked content.
It was an unanimous decision amongst the crew that once they finished their voyage and Luffy became the Pirate King, they would make a return trip to Alabasta and share their stories with the crew member who they had to leave behind. Robin occasionally felt nervous about officially meeting the girl not as Miss All Sunday, but as who she really was; Nico Robin. The reassurance of the Straw Hats who were present in Alabasta concluded that Vivi would never hold any ill feelings towards Robin once they meet in person. Still, the archeologist couldn’t help but feel bad for the part she played in bringing Vivi’s country to near ruin. The fact that Alabasta had finished repairing all of the damages of Baroque Works was a relieving fact, but also something that turned Robin’s mood a bit solemn due to the reminder of the part she played in the event.
“HEY! ROBIN! CHECK IT OUT!”
Robin looked up to see her captain bounding towards her, with Chopper and Franky in tow.
All of them had tattoos covering their face and body.
Luffy skidded to a halt besides the woman, crouching down to her eye level and pointing a finger at the tattoo on his left cheek. “Look here Robin! Franky says that this bird is called a robin! I’ve got you on my cheek! Shishishishi!”
Sure enough, the small black and orange bird tattoo on the boy’s face was that of a robin. Robin (the human, not the bird) almost would laugh at the sight if not for the fact that she was a little baffled by the ten or so other tattoos that marked up various places on the boy’s body. Due to the vibrant colors of said art as well as the fact that Chopper (an underaged reindeer) had tattoos as well, Robin concluded that these weren’t actual ink tattoos, but merely rubbed on fakes.
By now, Chopper and Franky had caught up to the excitable boy and were also showing off some of their favorite tattoos. Chopper took particular pride in the ice cream cone that was covering his belly. Meanwhile, Franky took a moment to flex his right bicep, showing off his muscles as well as the various sea turtles that decorated his arm.
Robin took a moment to smile at the younger two boys and comment on how nice they looked with animals and various food products decorating their body, but ultimately turned to look at Franky with a relatively stern look.
“Franky, these temporary tattoos are fine and all,” she folded up the newspaper, placing it at her side, “But this seems like a lot. I don’t want the boys to get influenced into getting REAL tattoos. Too many tattoos will make for a tasteless look. Besides, I can’t imagine Nami is going to be very happy to hear you spent so much of your allowance on tattoos.”
Franky waved his arms in front of his face defensively, “Hey now, Nico Robin, tattoos are cool, even if they are fake and even if you have too many of them! And this was Usopp’s idea! Not mine! ” He retorted, referencing the sniper who was likely still off somewhere decorating every inch of his body with the fake tattoos.
“And I doubt Nami will throw a fit about this! She’s got a real tattoo herself! How mad could she possibly get?” Added the stubborn cyborg.
Robin sighed in response, choosing not to start an argument with the shipwright over something that would fade away with warm water and 7-8 days of patience.
Chopper had since skipped away from the group to go show off his temporary tattoos to Brook, who excitedly claimed he couldn’t wait to mark his own skin with these colorful drawings. To no one’s surprise, the musician quickly remembered that the last of his skin had shriveled off his body ages ago, so there was no way he could possibly get a tattoo. Meanwhile, Luffy had taken notice of the newspaper by Robin’s side and quickly swiped it into his hands, recognizing the photo of a certain girl on the back page.
“Hey! It’s Vivi!”
By the time Robin realized her newspaper was snatched by the captain, he had already begun calling out to everyone to come take a look at the news article about Alabasta’s restoration.
Franky stood behind Luffy, glancing over his shoulder to take a peek at what he was talking about. “Holy moly! Look at her hair! It’s almost as blue as mine! Say, Luffy, this little friend of yours… has she ever mentioned anything about a long-lost older brother who just so happened to be a cyborg?”
Before Robin could explain that even if Franky and Vivi were related she could never know about Franky’s cyborg modifications, Luffy took note of Robin’s gloomy mood.
“Hey... Something’s bother you.” He stated bluntly, staring into Robin’s eyes with a stern, yet worrying look.
She caught her breath. If there was one thing Robin knew about Luffy, after months of being on his crew, it’s that he was a master at reading the emotions of others. She put a reassuring arm on his shoulder and smiled gently.
“I’m relieved Alabasta is rebuilt into what it formerly was, it’s just…” She couldn’t quite find the words to explain what she was feeling, she just stared silently at Luffy and then at Franky. Neither of them said anything, but they understood that the situation was still a little awkward for her.
By now, the rest of the crew had come to see what Luffy had call them for. The boy quickly forgot about what he was talking about and joined the rest of the crew to read out the article about Alabasta (occasionally asking Nami to help him pronounce some of the larger words).
Meanwhile, Franky knelt down beside Robin.
“Hey, listen…” He said, scratching at the taco tattoo on his forehead as he tried to come up with the right words. “I know I don’t need to tell you this- because the others have said so plenty of times already, but this Vivi girl won’t hold anything against you. I know I’ve never met her, but I can only imagine she is a really great girl if the others hold so much admiration for her. Hell, even Zoro talks about her like she’s a sister. And… I mean… it’s not like you need to go down on your knees and apologize for everything that happened. Hell, you don’t need to say anything at all! Saying nothing is what you do best!”
He paused to rub the back of his head, realizing maybe that wasn’t the best choice of words.
“Listen, Nico Robin. What happened in Alabasta isn’t on you. NONE of that was your fault. That damn Crocodile-bastard is the one to blame.” Franky felt like he could go on forever, firing words at the woman in hope of easing at least a little of her worries.
She stared at him for a moment, fixing her eyes on his own, then to the dinosaur tattoo on his right cheek, and then back to his eyes. As strange as Franky’s antics might be, he could still turn on that mature, fatherly side of himself in a flash; almost as if he built a switch somewhere in his body that could change him from pervert mode to sensible mode.
Robin chose to do what she does best; not say anything at all. She just stood up, gave Franky’s shoulder a gentle squeeze as a thank you, then went over to help Luffy pronounce the word ‘commemoration’.
SUNSHINE
Franky opened his eyes to a ray of sunshine so bright it took a moment for his eyes to adjust. He jerked his head up, realizing he must of fell asleep last night during the party the Straw Hats had. They had just finished fending off a couple Marine battle ships that caught up to the Thousand Sunny. The battle was long, but thankfully the crew got out of it with only a few minor injuries. As Zoro always says (to Chopper’s disapproval), booze can heal any battle wound, so soon after the Marines fled with their tails between their legs, Sanji decided to bring out the alcohol and cola so the Straw Hat’s could throw a little celebration for yet another successful escape from the clutches of the Marines. Franky couldn’t quite recall all of the events that took place the night before, but from the sake and cola bottles that were littered around his feet, he could only assume the party was nothing short of SUPER.
Franky went to sit up from the bench he was resting on, but quickly realized he had the head of a certain archeologist resting on his broad, metallic shoulder. She was still clearly asleep, the sounds of her breathing could go almost undetectable if you didn’t pay close attention.
Franky smiled down at the woman, deciding that maybe a couple more moments of rest wouldn’t be too bad for now.
A couple of hours later, Sanji would come out of the men’s quarters to clean up and prepare breakfast. He immediately took witness of his Robin-Chan resting with her cyborg-lover. At that moment, Sanji felt slight respect for the man, but mostly felt unwavering jealousy and sorrow.
A couple of weeks later, Franky would apologize for stealing one of Sanji’s girls by installing the most expensive oven he could find in the kitchen.
BODYGUARD
Franky stood nervously outside of the infirmary. He felt guilty, he felt stupid, he should have known that man was a bounty hunter the moment he laid eyes on him. Robin knew he was, Robin ALWAYS knows EVERYTHING and of course Robin always knows because she has had to worry about bounty hunters coming for her for the past twenty years of her life and Franky was just too invested into what that creepy man was saying to notice his true intentions and why he had randomly found himself coming up to the duo when they were in the middle of the woods.
Franky rubbed his forehead, telling himself, “Just be thankful it ended the way it did, be thankful she was there.”
Just a short hour ago, Robin and Franky were taking a stroll through the woods, not far away from the village the crew was stopped at. A townsperson mentioned something about some worn down temple deep in the woods, which instantly peeked Robin’s curiosity. She told the crew she was going to head out to take a look, and Franky immediately took it upon himself to follow her as a “bodyguard”.
“Some bodyguard you are…” Franky muttered to himself.
The two were wandering through the woods for quite some time, neither saying anything but both enjoying the view of an endless thicket of trees with the occasional wild squirrel scurrying past. It didn’t take long for a strange man wearing a long coat to come jogging up to the two, introducing himself as a guide who escorts tourists to the ruins. While the man went on about facts that were mostly likely random lies in retrospect, Franky did most of the talking during the walk while Robin stayed silent, occasionally averting her eyes to their nearby surroundings.
For most of the walk, Franky remained completely unaware of anything suspicious about the man, at one point even turning to Robin to ask why she wasn’t more involved about the information they were being told about the architecture.
Franky was caught completely off guard when their “guide” stopped in his tracks, turning towards the cyborg with a wicked grin.
“NOW!” The man hollered out loud, whipping out a knife from a hidden sheath in his leg and taking a swipe at the shipwright.
“The hell!?” Franky yelled, quickly jumping back to avoid the attack. The man went for a second strike, but Franky was faster and much more prepared. He quickly grabbed the man’s arm, apprehending his attack and used his free hand to punch him in the side of the head to knock him unconscious.
“Tsk,” Franky scoffed, turing his attention towards Robin, “As if I’d ever-“
“Seis Fleur!”
Franky heard a gasp of surprise right behind his neck, he whipped his head around, seeing a second man with a blade just a few inches from Franky’s back. The arm with the knife this attacker was using was being held back by two arms reaching from his torso. Four other arms formed out of the ground underneath him to restrain his legs.
Before Franky could give this new attacker his due justice, the assailant used his other hand to reach into his pocket, producing a small switch blade that he stabbed into one of the arms that was holding onto him.
Robin cried out in pain but kept her hold on the attacker. Franky cursed out loud upon seeing the arm that was now bleeding severely. He pulled back his right fist to quickly take down the cloaked man, but before he could deliver his attack, a seventh, much larger arm, sprouted out from directly underneath the man, grabbing him and lifting him high into the air.
The man screamed as his body was lifted up by Robin’s ability. He let go of the blades he was holding due to the force of being lifted several feet above ground. Before he could beg to be let go, Robin used all of her might to whip him around and slam his body directly into a tree.
As the large arm faded into a burst of pink petals, the man’s body slid unconsciously onto the ground, he wouldn’t be getting up for a while.
Franky caught his breath, looking around to make sure there were no more attackers before facing the devil fruit user.
“Good job! You showed that bastard-“ Franky stopped abruptly upon witnessing the sight of Robin wincing in pain, clutching her bloody left arm.
The next few moments were a blur to Franky. All he could recall was ripping the right sleeve off of his shirt to wrap around the wound, picking Nico Robin up in his arms, and sprinting back towards the Thousand Sunny.
Back in the present, Franky cursed out loud as he played that scene over and over again in his head. The second that infirmary door opens, he would apologize five-thousand times over before forgiving himself for being careless and allowing Robin to get wounded like that.
As if on cue, the door was opened by the small reindeer doctor. The archeologist followed behind him, her arm wrapped in gauze.
“It’s not as deep as it looks, it didn’t even come close to reaching her bones.” Chopper said as the two walked outside. The rest of the crew weren’t even back on the ship yet, they had yet to hear about the incident and were likely still out shopping or eating.
Franky breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that the damage was minimal. “Robin… I...”
The woman lifted up a hand (the hand not connected to her wounded arm). “Franky… don’t blame yourself for that. That man was purposely trying to lower our guard.”
“You didn’t fall for it though, you knew something was up the minute he approached us, didn't you?"
“I think you're more worried about this than I am, Franky.” She sighed, taking a step towards the cyborg. “I’m more upset that we were interrupted before we could take a look at those ruins. I was curious about what we would find.”
Franky stared blankly for a second, then let out a quick chuckle. Only Nico Robin would be upset about the missed opportunity to explore some old dusty ruins.
“Ah yes… this is yours.” She said, giving him a torn up, bloody piece of cloth that used to belong to the sleeve of his shirt.
At that moment, Franky remembered he was currently rocking a one-sleeved Hawaiian shirt. He grabbed the torn cloth, making a mental note to toss this shirt away later.
“I’ll tell you what…” Franky said after a moment of silence, “I have some maintenance to do around the ship tonight, but since we were planning on docking here for the night anyway, how about we pick up where we left off tomorrow morning? We should have plenty of time to check out the ruins before we set sail. Does that sound okay?”
Robin’s smile grew brightly, “That sounds wonderful, I’m looking forward to it!”
“I’m coming too!” Chopper yelled out, growing from his tiny brain point form into his larger heavy point form, “You guys will need me as a bodyguard to make sure no more crooks come around to try and take you guys on!” Chopper puffed out his chest, making an aggressive face to show just how ready he was to protect his friends.
Robin (who knew that she would be fine going by herself) smiled as her two bodyguards gave each other a fist bump.
FIREWORKS
Robin climbed down the ladder into Franky’s workroom. She used her powers to grow two extra arms from her shoulders, carrying one cup of coffee and one bottle of cola.
Twist. Twist. Twist. Twist. Twist.
Robin stood beside the cyborg, who was currently in the middle of tightening a screw onto some cylinder-shaped object. She set the cola bottle down on a nearby table and pulled up a chair, taking a seat while she sipped on her morning coffee.
Franky said nothing. Robin began to wonder if the man even noticed she was there.
Twist. Twist. Twist. Twist. Twist.
“Hi.” She said after a minute that felt more like an hour.
The cyborg stopped, glancing over at the woman and giving her a smile.
“Hello!”
Twist. Twist. Twist. Twist. Twist.
Robin leaned forward, trying to get a closer look at what Franky was doing. She noticed a box filled with similarly shaped devices on the other side of the man.
“Franky, I brought you some cola.”
He looked up at the bottle, nodding his head upon seeing it.
“Oh... Thank you! I was just thinking I could use cola right now.”
Twist. Twist. Twist. Twist. Twist.
Robin stared at the man silently, taking the occasional sip of her drink.
Twist. Twist. Twist. Twist. Twist.
Twist. Twist. Twist. Twist. Twist.
Twist. Twist. Twist. Twist. Twist.
“Franky… you do know it’s three in the morning, right?”
Franky stopped tightening the bolt on his device, blinking some sleepiness out of his eyes that he suddenly noticed was there, “Oh… it is? I haven’t been keeping track of the time.”
“I can tell…” Robin thought to herself.
After a couple more minutes of Franky tightening the screws on these devices, Robin gave up on playing the patience game with him.
“May I ask what you’re making?”
He stopped what he was doing, setting the device on the ground and turning towards the woman.
“These are fireworks. The boys were saying how it’s been a while since they’ve seen a firework show, I figured I would make some to set off tonight.”
Robin furrowed her brow, taking another look at the contraptions.
“These… don’t look like fireworks.”
Franky grinned happily. “I know right? These are my Super Franky Fireworks! They don’t look like fireworks but they are! I’m gonna set them out on the deck tonight during the party! Everyone is gonna be all like ‘Franky? What are these?’ and I’m gonna be all like ‘FIREWORKS!’ and then I’m going to set them off and it’s going to be a super fun show and everyone is going to love it!” He said enthusiastically.
"I see..." Robin replied, sipping her coffee.
“Not to mention, these are powered by cola, not dynamite, so we don’t need to worry about setting the Sunny on fire!”
Franky grabbed the cola Robin gave him then opened up a compartment on one of his Super Franky Fireworks to dump the liquid inside.
Robin nodded her head, it had been a while since she herself has witnessed a fireworks display. She was looking forward to it.
She stood up, taking her now finished cup of coffee and preparing to climb back up the ladder. “If that’s the case, I’ll leave you to it, I’m excited for the party tonight. But Franky, please make sure you get some rest, you’ll be the man of the hour after all.”
Franky turned to look back to the woman, smiling brightly. “No need to worry, Nico Robin!”
Twist. Twist. Twist. Twist. Twist.
As Robin reached to climb up the ladder, she turned around, facing Franky.
“Hey Franky…”
“Yeah?”
She grinned, walking over to him to throw her arms around his shoulders, giving him a peck on his cheek and whispering into his ear:
“Happy birthday.”