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There was no denying it. No matter how many times she closed her eyes or slapped her cheeks to a stinging red, the plus signs from the pregnancy tests sprung to her.
She couldn’t hide from it or pretend it wasn’t there.
Nico Robin was pregnant.
As much as she didn’t believe it, the signs came together. Robin noticed for a small while that she couldn’t keep the contents of her food down and craved dishes that seemed completely out of her realm. She noticed that things started to irritate her more than usual. At first, she thought of it to just be a temporary illness. Perhaps a side effect of the times and the island she inhabited.
But nope. She was pregnant. It all made sense.
Robin put her head in between her hands as she tried to breathe steady. It wasn’t as if she didn’t want a child. Rather, the contrary. After the lonely childhood with only books to hold her close, Robin wanted to be a mother. Call her selfish, but she wanted a child that she could hold hands with as they walked down the street or teaching the child all about the world and passing on the stories of adventure so one day they could conquer the parts of history she couldn’t. All the things Robin dreamed as a girl to do with her mother was what she wanted to do with her future children. It might have been silly to an outsider but it was one of the many dreams that she had.
The only problem is….well, her husband wasn’t a normal human being. He started off as a normal human but he mostly died and then came back as a cyborg. Two years after their initial encounter, Luffy encouraged everyone to get stronger and her husband did just that, adding more metal to his body to create a being that could do virtually anything. He disowned the original name of Cutty Flam and filled more into the name of Franky. Yet, while most females retracted away from him, Robin only fell in love with him more and more. And Franky shared that same love back to her. They stole kisses under the moonlight, whispered sweet nothings that tickled in their ears, allowed their hands to roam until one day, they placed rings on their fingers, vowing to stay together for the rest of eternity.
Robin loved every inch of Franky. Metal or skin, she loved him for who he was and everything that he stood for.
So when the topic of children originally came up, Franky broke it to her that there was a high chance that his body wouldn’t be able to function like that. Over the years, he made so many modifications that the likelihood he could have kids was almost 0%. Not impossible but very close to it. Robin was disappointed, sure, but that didn’t matter to her. Their lives showed that blood didn't define parental love. If they couldn’t share a child together, then they would bring one under their wing that needed a home. As long as Robin was with Franky, then nothing trivial like that mattered to her.
But this….this threw everything off.
Realistically, while it hadn’t been in their plan to bring a child in yet, Robin knew that they could handle it. They had enough funds to last them and Franky could build anything. So, in theory, this surprise wasn’t so bad. Not the timing they wanted but also not bad at all.
However, that didn’t stop the fears running rampant in her head.
Are we ready to be parents so soon?
Is this area safe enough for a child?
Can we handle the pressures of our goals while raising a child?
Do we even know how to handle a child?
Will Franky think I cheated on him?
Will he think this child isn’t his?
The last two thoughts probably brought the most fear to Robin. While his chances weren’t an exact 0%, it also would have been a miracle to be impregnated with his child. Which, apparently, seemed to happen. A rare miracle but one that happened.
There was no way that this child wasn’t his. No way. Robin wouldn’t do that to him. She would rather throw herself in water and succumb to her weakness than ever think to be with someone else.
But….would Franky believe her?
That was the true question.
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The sounds of running water swirled in Robin’s ears as she laid in bed, resting on her side with her back turned to the door. Normally, she would be facing the door, a dreamy look in her eyes as Franky joined her in bed, most often than not, loving her until they screamed each other’s name in the shared darkness. But tonight, Robin couldn’t face him. Nerves wound her stomach into knots that amplified her nausea even more. She knew she had to tell him. This fear would go away when she saw his true reaction. However, the makeshift one ran around, making it much more worse than what would probably happen.
Soon, the door to their bathroom opened and Robin could smell a musk scent coming closer. “Ah! Nothin’ better than takin’ a shower after working in oil and grease all day!” Franky loudly spoke out. Robin didn’t respond. She felt their bed give a tilt and the sheets ruffling until the extra warmth wrapped around her. Metallic fingers lightly squeezed her shoulder. “You know, I haven’t seen my super wife all day, which in my opinion is too long. Did ya do something fun today? I wanna hear about it,” Franky started like he did every night. He would always ask her about her day and always be excited for the things she did or learned. It was a part of the routine that made her smile but tonight, only made her curl into herself more. Robin could sense the frown on his face. “Robin?? Is something wrong?” She didn’t answer. His fingers shook her shoulder. “Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?” Robin immediately shook her head against the pillow, though she did press her face into the plush fabric to hide away the tears that budded up in the corners of her eyes. “Then did something happen? You know you can always talk to me. I know you’re pretty strong but it’s not super to bottle everything in, you know that.”
A tear slipped down Robin’s cheek. Oh how she loved him so much. Oh how he was so perfect in so many ways. Another tear threatened to fall and she turned, hugging him with arms around his neck and her face pressed into his shoulder. Smelling his scent calmed any emotions that coursed her body and she wished that time stopped to this position. It was as if the concaves of his body were meant for her. “Robin?” Franky called out to her again. Robin could feel the vibrations of his lungs and it soothed her enough to pull away. Her blue eyes connected with Franky’s worried ones. His mouth opened to speak once more until she froze any other statements.
“Franky, I’m pregnant.”
And that was truly when time stopped.
Robin could barely hear Franky breath and he seemed just like a statue that lost any sense of control. Like a robot that was turned off. His expression didn’t have anger or excitement, it was a weird mix of surprise and confusion and just things that Robin couldn’t put into words. “Did you hear me, Franky? I said I was pregnant-”
That was enough for Franky to turn away. Now it was his turn to have his back to her. Robin felt acid burning through her throat. She wanted to speak, yet words kept getting twisted on her tongue. Her hand moved to touch his shoulder blade but he swerved away. “When did you find out?” He asked dryly, emotion devoid from his voice.
“Earlier today, when you were out.”
“And the test was for sure positive?”
“....Well, I will have to visit a doctor soon but, I did take a few and they were all positive.”
“I see.”
I see? That wasn’t a Franky response to anything. That wasn’t him. He never responded to anything she said like that. This was so wrong and off and Robin could feel herself fumbling in the awkwardness. “I know that this is hard to believe, but I promise that I am and that this child is yours-”
Franky raised a hand to stop her. Silence fell and after a few seconds, he stood, his back still facing her. He grabbed one of his signature floral shirts and harshly put it on, something like agitation in his movements. “I don’t want to cut you off but I think I need to step out for a bit.” Franky slightly turned to give her a smile that Robin immediately could tell was off. “Don’t worry, I won’t be out long. Just try to sleep in the meantime, ok? We can talk more in the morning.” And before Robin could stop him, he walked out of the room, leaving her alone in the bed that they shared together.
The door slammed and Robin’s heart stopped for a moment until a scream that belonged to Franky made it beat faster. She threw off the sheets to run towards their door but when she reached the door, Franky was nowhere to be found.
Experiences of the past whispered in her ear but Robin pushed that away. Maybe if things were different, then she could believe those thoughts and fall into them. But Franky wasn’t like that. If he told her he would back, then she trusted him. He kept his words, always and forever.
So she closed the door and went back to bed, waiting for her husband to come back home.
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Robin couldn’t sleep. Anytime she got enveloped in sleep, daunting memories and fears woke her up and she had to calm down a bit before her body would let her rest.
When it grew to the risings of early morning, Robin decided that it was futile to stay in bed any longer and she got up. A quick check around showed that Franky hadn’t returned yet but she also knew that his definition of mornings wasn’t a part of the norm so she had a bit of time before he would come home.
After taking a needed shower and dressing up, Robin decided to step out and visit a local coffee stand. A lot happened in the past 24 hours inside the house and it would have been nice to have to breathe in different air.
Walking along the main road, Robin greeted the residents and they did the same back, except this time….they whispered to each other or looked away with a smile. She was confused and did try to ask but they would brush it off by saying that she radiated a beautiful glow today that wasn’t there before. Somehow, it felt like they knew something that she didn’t know.
“Ah! Good morning, Ms. Robin!” The coffee stand owner greeted, smiling and giving her a hearty wave. “You’re looking as lovely as ever this morning!”
“Oh you flatter me so,” she responded as she came closer. “Just make sure that my husband doesn’t hear you.”
“With all due respect Ms. Robin, I think that he would agree and probably add a class on top of that. He is quite smitten with you after all.”
“You know, you’re probably right. I’m sure he has notes somewhere that he would use.”
They both laughed, knowing that they weren’t too far off the mark with their jest. “You picked a good one, Ms. Robin. Now, would you like the usual?”
She gave a nod and the owner went to work. The sound of coffee grinding into a fine powder and stirring into the liquid was like music to Robin. The owner’s every movement mesmerized her, allowing her to forget about the night previous for that short moment. They moved in a way that just took her mind away from it all for a small bit. But they started creeping up when he finished the coffee, though she could temporarily push them down with the smell of the fresh brewed coffee. “There you go, Ms. Robin!” He happily said, handing her the cup.
“Thank you so much.”
“Of course! And, before I forget, congratulations Ms. Robin!”
That got her attention. “Huh? For what?”
The owner laughed. “Why, for your child of course!”
“I….How did you know? I didn’t tell anyone except Franky last night….”
“When I tell you that man could write a whole speech about you, I really do mean it! He was out here running around like a mad man last night, screaming that he was going to be a dad. Whenever we tried to stop him to ask him more, he just started crying and screaming more in happiness. I’ve never seen him get like that before nor any man for that matter but I guess he was really just that excited. So congratulations to the both of you, Ms. Robin! I know you’ll be mighty fine parents!”
Oh.
Oh, Franky.
“Thank you for the wishes. I’m sure Franky will be happy to hear that.”
Last exchanges were given and Robin quickly went straight home, wanting to wait for her husband to come back.
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Except….well…..she didn’t make it much past the door when-
“ROBIN!” Franky shouted, running towards her to pick her up and give her one of his famous hugs (though, she noticed immediately that it was a lot more delicate than usual). “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?”
“I should be asking you that,” Robin retorted back, trying to push back enough that her lungs had enough air to speak. Then she immediately noticed the stacks of books and paper on the table. “What’s all of that?”
“OH, I’M GLAD YOU ASKED!” He put her down and ran over to the table like a giddy child wanting to show off all the goods they recently acquired. Franky picked up a book and Robin immediately noticed that they were either pregnancy or parenting books, some thicker than others but still on the general topic. “So I know you’re the type to research EVERYTHING and read about EVERYTHING so I got you some books! I couldn’t decide on which one to get but then realized that overtime, you probably would have gotten all of them anyways because you just want to learn everything you can so I got all of them! Don’t worry I managed to get a deal on all of them. And then,” Franky put down a book and pushed papers towards Robin. She grabbed them gingerly and noticed right away that they were blueprints. “As I was skimming through the books on the way back, inspiration just HIT! This child is going to have legendary Straw Hat Pirates as their parents, they can only have the most super items! So I made blueprints of some stuff that we might need for the baby! These books had a lot of information and I want to make sure that we cover ALL THE BASICS. I even went to the scrap yard to see if I could find some metal to work with and sure enough I did! I already have everything in my workroom! Oh! And I also got you these!” He said as he picked up a bottle that Robin could imagine were possibly prenatal herbs and medicines to help.
As he got overwhelmed last night, the same feeling appeared in her. Her eyes carefully scanned the details of the blue prints and Robin could see that he thought of everything. The baby crib and carrier were designed with mobility and durability in mind, even to the extent of having hands within the main frame to detect if the child needed something and provide that in the case a parent couldn’t do so. And if she didn’t look carefully, she would have easily missed the creative exterior that would be a memory of Thousand Sunny. It was so detailed that there it would have been a one of a kind invention made for their family.
Tears once more lined Robin’s eyes and she rubbed them away, trying to calm her emotional spike. “Is that why you didn’t come at any point in the night?”
Franky’s cheeks turned slightly red and he looked away from Robin with his hand scratching the back of his hand. “Uhh, yea, sorry about that….I really just meant to get some steam out and go to the bookstore before they closed but then I got kinda distracted with all of this that I didn’t realize it was morning. Sorry about that Robin….”
“And the scream?”
His cheeks flushed a deeper red. “Ahh...you heard that?? Sorry, I just….couldn’t contain it all in. This house isn’t like the Sunny where there are open areas to shout like that and I was feeling too many things that I needed to let it all out, which is why I took a run with it too.”
“And why you were crying and telling the whole village that you’re going to be a father?” At that, Franky froze up and his whole face became a shade of red that Robin only saw one time when they first started to make love. Seeing that made Robin smile a bit. “The coffee stand owner told me when I went to get coffee this morning. Don’t worry, I’m not mad. In fact….I’m more relieved than anything….”
“Relieved?”
“Well yes. Truth be told, I was so scared to tell you and when you left so suddenly, I grew worried and-”
“Why were you scared to tell me?”
“Because I wasn’t sure if….well….It was a very miniscule chance that you could have children and I didn’t want you to think that-”
Robin didn’t finish what she was saying for Franky grabbed a hold of her and held her close to him, picking her up off her feet so they could see each other clearly in the eyes. “I will be honest, the news did overwhelm me a lot when you said it last night. To have a child is a miracle, such a low chance, but it happened anyways. That’s a lot to take in when there isn’t much of a chance but it happened and Robin….I’m so happy. Really, I am.” His serious expression morphed into his signature smile. “You’re my super wife! And you’re just so cool and super that I’m in love with you Nico Robin! As long as I know that you trust me, then I trust you with anything! You’re the only one I want Robin and you made me the happiest man on Earth by telling me that you’re carrying our child!”
“Oh Franky,” Robin cooed under her breath before wrapping her arms around his neck, pushing herself more into him. “You know that I’m not for words but I do love you too. I wouldn’t want anyone else to be by my side.”
“Ah! That’s my super wife!! Always making me blush!” Franky laughed out before giving Robin one of his kisses on her cheek that always made her giggle and feel like a small child inside. Their heads came closer and they kissed, melting into each other’s lips. The taste of Cola and coffee mixed together, making Robin desire more of her husband. The past hours were painful and full of emotional turmoil but anything she felt before washed away with the kisses of Franky. He always made things better. When the world seemed bleak and dark, he managed to make it light up and it now seemed silly in retrospect to have been nervous telling him something like this. As long as Franky was by her side, there was no need to be afraid. He trusted her like she trusted him and she should have known that.
With happiness tearing away any worries that Robin had, her body wanted a bit more of Franky than just the kisses they were having. Or maybe a lot more. Yea definitely a lot more.
Franky gave a hitch against her lips. “Looks like someone is getting feisty,” he commented, giving a small moan as Robin continued to sprout arms that felt all parts of him.
And she loved it. When she said she loved every inch of Franky, she really did mean it. “Well, we had to put a hold on our activities last night and I kinda missed it.” A seductive grin spread across her lips as she accented her point with a squeeze that made him hiss in pleasure.
“You know, I kinda missed it too. Plus….the books did say that it would be ok, so I don’t see why I can’t give the beautiful lady what she desires….”
There was a second of silence and then they shared a chuckle that resumed their previous kiss. Franky gripped onto her tighter, bringing her to their bedroom to spoil their wants. True, they needed to go over all the things Franky brought home and maybe a trip to the doctor would have to be in order. There was a lot that needed to be figured out and those books wouldn’t read themselves and Franky sure would want a sparknote version from her.
But….that could wait a bit. They’ll figure all that out….after a bit of fun.