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Robin awakens, her entire back soaked with sweat and her forehead is coated in a similar sheen. It’s mid-August aboard the Thousand Sunny, one of the hottest times of the year. The thick, balmy air hangs heavily over the ship, the humidity of the sea adding to the overall heat of the summer night. Her blue eyes blink in the darkness as she fully comes to her senses after awaking from a peaceful slumber. The archeologist of the Straw Hat Pirates takes a hand to wipe the sweat from her brow, her lips parting as she lets out a long, shaky exhale. She attempts to sit upright, but a strong force pulls against her, bringing her back down to the bed.
“Zoro,” Robin whispers in the darkness, the swordman’s strong arms clutching her tightly, encircling tenderly around her waist as he feels his wife moving in the bed.
The swordsman always begins their night together with his arms wrapped protectively around her waist, drawing his wife as close to his body as physically possible, fitting their bodies together like puzzle pieces. Zoro has a sense of extreme duty towards his wife, always on alert and prepared to leap to her defense if required. The love he harbors for her only adds to that dedication and sense of desire to protect her with every fiber of his being. This protection and devotion have only expanded in the past two years since they welcomed their son Keiji into the world, growing their little family by ten fingers and ten toes. Unbeknownst to most of the world, Roronoa Zoro, the World’s Strongest Swordsman, is a cuddling fanatic behind closed doors, at least where his wife and son are concerned. Zoro can often be found on the deck of the Thousand Sunny collecting Keiji into his arms, cuddling his green-haired son to his chest, tucking the toddler’s head in the crook of his neck as he bounces the boy up and down. He similarly can be found winding his arms around Robin’s chest and waist, pulling his raven-haired wife into his warm embrace at every chance he gets. However, it is these times behind the closed doors of their cabin that Zoro, in all his shirtless splendor, cuddles Robin as physically close as possible to his body. He loves inhaling the scent of cherry blossoms in her hair that seems to follow the archaeologist everywhere she goes. His chin can normally be found resting atop the groove between Robin’s shoulder and neck while his arms wind around her waist and stomach, holding his wife against his chest.
Although Robin typically adores the warmth, security, and safety that her husband’s sleepy hold gives, this night is rather different. Robin has always been a warmer sleeper, typically sleeping in either a nightgown or a tank top and cutoff shorts, even on the coldest winter nights. Roronoa Zoro, whether because of his muscular frame or his own internal temperature, has always radiated heat off of his body, acting as Robin’s own personal furnace even when he sleeps solely in a pair of shorts during the snowiest nights. Tonight, however, due to the warmth of her husband’s embrace coupled with her current hormones and the absolutely oppressive heat wave outside that works its way underneath the closed cabin door, Robin can feel her body nearly dripping with sweat. She does her best to stretch her spine and back in the confines of her swordsman husband’s grasp, one of own her delicate hands coming to rest at the apex of her stomach, rubbing rhythmic circles over the spot where she just felt her and Zoro’s newest addition kick her quite harshly.
“All this heat has you uncomfortable, too, hmm?” Robin gently whispers to her growing baby, only a month away from making his or her appearance into the world. “Well, we need to wake your Papa and brother up in order to try and make our situation better,” she continues, casting a glance first at Keiji, her son’s hand wrapped firmly around his mother’s even in his sleep.
His tiny mouth opens as his chest rises and falls softly, completely at peace in his current surroundings. Robin then glances to her other side at Zoro, the swordsman cuddled against her, a serene look on his face since he knows his wife and child are safe in bed beside him. Pure love emits from Robin’s tender gaze as she takes in her husband’s and son’s sleeping forms and she feels another kick from the baby inside of her as if to agree that the Roronoa family is indeed a wonderful place to be.
“Zoro,” Robin whispers again, although this time her voice is louder as she adds in a shake to the swordsman’s shoulder while conjuring a Flower Flower hand to light the candle across the room.
His one brown eye opens nearly instantly, although bleary with sleep. A sleepy smile immediately overtakes his face, tenderness overtaking his features.
“Robin,” Zoro whispers back, sitting up immediately in bed next to his wife, blessedly taking some of his heat with him, cooling Robin down several degrees nearly instantaneously. “Something wake you, darling? Do you need a snack or something to drink? I’ll go raid the cook’s kitchen because I’m sure he’s sleeping in case the girls….” Zoro continues, his brown eye locking on his wife’s face as he brings one calloused hand up to cup Robin’s right cheek, referring to Sanji and Nami’s twin two-year-olds, Belle and Sora, who are only five months older than Keiji.
“No, I don’t need a snack or anything to drink.”
“Well, then is it the baby? Do I need to get Chopper or go to draw you a warm bath for those cramps you’ve been having?” Zoro inquires, his voice thick with sleep but still adoring and filled with love for his wife and unborn child.
“No, I just needed a little space and relief from all this summer heat,” Robin admits, already feeling better now that she is not wrapped up in Zoro’s arms where she had been absorbing all the swordsman’s body heat. “The baby and I woke up because it was too hot for us to even sleep,” she continues, grinning widely as Zoro settles the hand that was on her cheek down on her stomach instead.
At the exact time that Zoro’s hand makes contact with the bare skin of her lower belly, their unborn baby delivers a kick to Zoro’s hand, as if excited to know of the presence of Papa.
“Oh,” Zoro murmurs, a sheepish smile and slight crimson tinge coming to his face. “I suppose Keiji and I did something to contribute to that as well,” he reasons, that loving look still overtaking his face as his brown eye lands on Keiji, still tucked securely beside Robin, his small hand still tightly gripping Robin’s larger hand in his own.
“Well…” Robin sheepishly agrees, sighing contentedly as Zoro places a small kiss to the crown of her head as he strokes his fingers across Robin’s stomach, delighting in the feeling of fluttering kicks from their baby.
“You should’ve woken me up sooner,” the swordsman admonishes, detaching himself from Robin before moving further down in the bed, leaning across Robin’s legs to collect Keiji in his arms. “Keiji and I can move to make you and the baby more comfortable, love.”
“I didn’t want to wake either of you. I know that Keiji and I’ve been keeping you busy lately with me nearing the end of my pregnancy and since he’s getting more rambunctious now that he, Belle, and Sora are all two years old.”
“Yeah, he’s quite the adventurous scamp, isn’t he? I wouldn’t have him any other way,” Zoro admits, cradling the sleeping boy in his arms and pressing a light kiss to his son’s forehead. “And don’t ever apologize for needing help with tasks. Even if you weren’t pregnant and we didn’t have our son running about the Sunny, you know I’d still always help you if you asked. I’m your husband, so that’s kinda my job, you know? You know I take that particular job extremely seriously since it’s one of my favorites I’ve ever been given.”
“You do an amazingly good job in your role of Papa as well,” Robin gently says, carding her hand through her husband’s bright green hair.
Keiji begins to stir in Zoro’s arms, knowing that he can no longer feel his Mama next to him.
“Shhh, Keiji. Papa’s got you,” Zoro assures, pressing a kiss to his son’s forehead. “You’re safe, kiddo. Mama and Papa will never let anything or anyone hurt you,” he vows, settling their son down on his side of the bed, the swordsman turning to wrap his body around Keiji’s, pulling the boy flush against his chest where he can still enjoy the safety of sleeping next to his parents in their bed.
Robin and Zoro have always made their cabin very accessible to Keiji, always telling their son that he is allowed to come and find Mama and Papa for any reason, even in the middle of the night. Tonight Keiji simply started in Zoro and Robin’s bed, wanting to simply stay to protect his Mama alongside his Papa since Zoro has already begun to instill the traits of duty and honor to those you love, especially towards Robin as his Mama, in their son. Although some on the Grand Line may disagree heavily with their parenting techniques, both Zoro and Robin are haunted in their own ways by their pasts, with Robin having lost her mother so tragically in the great bustercall fire of Ohara and Zoro having seen that children can be taken away at such a young age due to accidents such as falling down stairs slick with rain. Nami and Sanji have a very similar parenting style with their girls, but alas, that is a story for another day.
“You know I’d love to have you cuddle me all night, but with being eight months pregnant in this heat, you just got too hot being pressed against me, especially with Keiji in bed with us as well.”
“I understand. No need to explain to me. Besides, that means I’m doing my cuddling exactly how it should be done.”
Keiji rolls over in his sleep, tucking his head underneath Zoro’s neck, his head turned upwards towards the ceiling, allowing both his parents to see his peaceful sleeping face.
“I can’t see how this could get any more perfect,” Zoro remarks, his voice a deep rumble as both he and Robin prepare to join their son back in slumber. “You and Keiji are my whole world.”
“I agree. But, we’ll soon have another member of our little family to add even more happiness to this perfection,” Robin whispers, her blue eyes growing heavy as she settles back down into bed, dousing the candle in the process. “Not to mention we have all of our amazing nakama.”
“You’re right. I can’t wait to add our newest little one, especially in these quiet moments with just us. Is it wrong for me to say I hope we have a little girl this time around?”
“Why would that be wrong, Zoro? You’re an amazing father to Keiji. You’ll be just as amazing whether we have another son or a daughter this time.”
“Well, I see how enamored Sanji is with Belle and Sora and how much Belle looks like Nami. I think it’d be pretty special to have a little girl to be your mini-me, Robin.”
“As long as you’re not only wanting to outdo Sanji, then I think it’s incredibly sweet to know you want a little girl. You’ve been a very caring uncle to Belle and Sora, so I can only imagine what a brilliant father you would be to our own daughter if we have one.”
“Why does everyone think everything I do is just to one-up Sanji?” Zoro grumbles, slight anger in his voice.
“Because everything you do in the view of the crew typically is,” Robin murmurs, a smirk overtaking her features.
“I had to explain to Usopp after we announced to the crew you were pregnant with Keiji that I wasn’t just trying to one-up Sanji after he’d become a dad before me.”
“And did you explain to him that Nami is ten years younger than I am so that my fertility journey was bound to take longer than hers from the start? Because I do seem to remember we started trying for a baby before Nami and Sanji even got married.”
“His pea brain wouldn’t have understood that, Robin. I’d have broken his brain trying to explain that,” Zoro laughs, a rumble passing through his chest.
“His wouldn’t have been the only brain that was broken,” Robin trails off, mischief shining in her blue eyes.
“What exactly is that supposed to imply, woman?”
“Oh, nothing, husband. Goodnight,” Robin teases, pressing a quick kiss to Zoro’s and Keiji’s foreheads before she rolls her back against Zoro’s own broad back, sleep quickly finding the Roronoa family once again.