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"Nami said to remind you to keep an eye on those clouds off the port side. If they darken, we're supposed to wake her," Zoro explains to Brook, climbing down from the topsail where he sat during his shift of watch, the frigid January air blowing roughly through his spiky green hair, the breeze causing his three identical golden earrings to flutter against the side of his neck.
"Let's hope for all of our sakes that they don't darken, then," Brook's low voice comes, his even temper always a breath of fresh air. "I know she and Sanji are absolutely exhausted with getting up all hours of the night with Belle and Sora," the skeleton continues, speaking of Sanji and Nami's two month old twin daughters.
"Yeah, I know. Sanji nearly was falling asleep stirring the hashbrowns for breakfast this morning," Zoro lightly chuckles, the sight of the blonde cook nearly slumped over the stove quickly coming to his mind. "I thought Luffy was going to start trying to steal food from the fridge again," the swordsman smirks, knowing their Captain to have the propensity for letting his stomach lead him into trouble.
At nearly two in the morning, the Thousand Sunny is wrapped in a peaceful lull, the sounds of the waves lapping against the hull and the shrill wind the only audible noises. During times like this, it's easy to reflect on the time spent with the Straw Hat crew, to think of how lucky Roronoa Zoro truly is that his Captain, the rubber idiot as the crew continues to lovingly call him, found him all those years ago strung up in the yard of the Marine base. During times like this, it's easy to realize how their journey has nearly ended prematurely many times over, particularly during their stint on the Sabaody Archipelago. During times like this, it's easy to fall into darker thoughts as well, wondering how different a life he would have led if they hadn't reunited two years after the battle of Marineford. Although he'd like to believe that he could still count on the fact he'd be the World's Strongest Swordsman as he is currently, Zoro can't help but think of just how lackluster his life would be without his crew, his nakama, and without his life. Robin.... Robin had truly taken his life by storm in the most unbelievable way, and he absolutely wouldn't trade the absolute adventure of their unexpected relationship for the world.
"Hopefully you and Robin are using your last few months to stay ahead on your sleep, yo-ho-ho!" Brook comments, slapping Zoro on the back as he takes the swordsman's place on watch.
"We're trying to," Zoro affirms, brown eye shining with pride at the mention of his pregnant wife, still not completely able to believe the fortune that has been bestowed upon him. "I've still been havin' to drag Robin to bed some nights to keep her from staring at those ancient texts all night," Zoro laughs, his eye creasing at the corner. "Can't keep her from being an archaeologist even after we found Laughtale."
"You're doing right by her," Brook softly says, respect continuing to grow for the first mate of the Straw Hat Pirates as the green-haired swordsman has begun doting on Robin in full sight of the crew now that the raven-haired archaeologist is pregnant with her first child.
Prior to her pregnancy after nearly a year of trying to conceive, both Robin and Zoro preferred to be more private with their relationship and affection towards one another, often solely just exchanging soft smiles and looks of trust when in view of the crew or outsiders. In fact, no one outside of Nami had known the two were involved romantically until they married pretty swiftly following the conclusion of the battle in Wano. Nami only was privy to their change in relationship since she formerly shared a room with Robin and Zoro would either be in bed with the archaeologist or Robin would come to spend the nights in the crow's nest with the swordsman.
"Now, go to her and get some rest. I've got it from here," Brook dismisses the much younger man, wrapping a blanket around his bony shoulders before settling in for his shift of night watch.
"Thank you, Brook. For all the words of wisdom you and Jinbei have given me," Zoro gently remarks, climbing down the ladder to head into his and Robin's room for the night.
"Any time, Zoro. Any time."
As he slowly cracks the door open to his and Robin's room, Zoro carefully removes his black boots, hoping to quiet his steps so as not to wake his slumbering wife. Upon entering the threshold, Zoro softly closes the door, setting his boots down next to the door before peeling his shirt off and changing into a pair of black shorts he had placed on the top of his dresser prior to his shift of night watch. Roronoa Zoro then pads quietly over to their bed, using his swordsman talents to muffle his steps and movements as he slides underneath the covers, preparing to gently wrap Robin in his protective embrace as he has done every night ever since they first slept in bed beside one another.
"There you are," a distinct voices comes from the other side of the bed, rocketing Zoro's heartrate up by at least thirty beats as he forcibly exhales.
"Gods above, woman! You scared me half to death!" Zoro practically screams, his breaths coming out more quickly than they had not more than thirty seconds before. "Don't do that! I can see why they call you the Devil Child," he murmurs under his breath, feeling the pulse point in his neck beating rapidly.
"You're one to talk, Roronoa Zoro the Demon," Robin smirks, moving closer to Zoro in the bed, placing both of her hands on either side of his face, having become very accustomed in locating her husband in the darkness of their bedroom in the eighteen months they have been married.
"Touché," Zoro murmurs, burying his face into the back of Robin's neck, pressing a kiss along her pulse point before gently nipping the area of skin at the top of her neck since they're both already wide awake anyway.
Robin arches her back, humming in response to the feeling of her husband's lips on her olive skin. She then turns her body into her swordsman's bulkier frame, her six month pregnant belly pushing into Zoro's upper pelvis.
"Why are you even still awake?" he sleepily inquires, running one of his hands through Robin's raven hair, causing the cherry blossom scent of her shampoo to permeate the air.
"Your child won't let me rest with all this constant movement," Robin dramatically sighs, resting her left hand on her swollen stomach, moaning quietly as their unborn child lands a rather forceful kick to her ribcage.
"Why is it that they're always my child whenever they're causing you to be uncomfortable, hmm?" Zoro asks, a lazy grin appearing on his lips but the expression going unnoticed by Robin in the complete darkness of their room.
"Because your child is currently doing somersaults in my stomach and kicking with enough strength that I fear I'll soon have bruised ribs," Robin deadpans, grabbing one of Zoro's larger, calloused hands in her own and settling it on her bump. "Feel for yourself."
"Wow," Zoro breathes, utilizing his haki to lock in on the sound of their child's movements and heartbeat, isolating all sounds until all he can hear is the steady drumbeat-like sound that is the heartbeat of his and Robin's unborn child.
They lie there for at least five minutes in complete silence, Robin having become accustomed to Zoro taking at least two or three opportunities a day to use his haki to become in tune with their child. She, of course, thinks it is incredibly sweet and absolute proof of what an amazing father Roronoa Zoro will be despite the crew's not so subtle fears regarding the swordsman's future as a parent. Zoro had explained it as being his time for forming an unbreakable bond with their unborn child in the way that Robin has with growing their little one in her womb. Although Zoro knows nothing will compare to the bond Robin has from carrying their child within her for nine months, he firmly believes that their son or daughter can feel him reaching out with his haki and know that Zoro is their father checking in.
"Ah, so you're saying my strength and need to constantly be on alert is being passed down to our little one?" Zoro inquires, going back to the conversation at hand once he finishes his reverence in caressing Robin's stomach with his right hand as he utilized his haki. "I can't think of anything wrong with that," he softly laughs, earning him a slap on the naked chest from Robin.
"Ah, but I can. Bruised ribs being just one possibility, but also a detrimental lack of sleep on my part," Robin counters, feeling the baby do another somersault in her stomach, making her feel slightly nauseous and queasy, a sensation she hasn't felt since the early days of her first trimester.
"Well, perhaps, since it's nearly two in the morning, your child is taking after you since you like to stay up all hours of the night reading or translating ancient texts," the swordsman counters back, pressing their foreheads together as he slows his hand to a stop at the base of Robin's stomach, gently lifting upwards to help relieve some of the pressure and weight Robin has to endure from carrying his child.
"That is entirely different and you know it," Robin retorts, a slightly offended tone to her voice as she can't believe Zoro would remind her of her frequent late night studies.
"Is it?"
"I'd say so."
"Agree to disagree, sweetheart. I seem to remember that I had to practically carry you to our room just two nights ago because you were so engrossed in whatever murder mystery you were reading."
"Can you fault me for wanting to see if the sleuth discovered the red herrings being thrown his way?"
"Woman, you know you've already lost me on keeping up with that book's plot," Zoro snorts, rolling over onto his back and pulling Robin down on top of him, moving Robin to where she is now straddling his pelvis, her pajama shirt rising to reveal a sliver of bare skin.
"Ah, yes. You prefer when I read ancient history books and recount those to you instead," Robin laughs, not entirely sure if this is indeed true information.
She knows that Zoro will always listen to her rave about her historical finds and interests, but rather he actually prefers them to hearing her speak of works of fiction, the archeologist cannot say with any degree of certainty.
"I prefer the delighted and passionate expression on your face when you explain 'em to me, yeah," Zoro reveals, his voice slightly husky as Robin begins to brush her natural hands down Zoro's sculpted chest, her fingers dancing around his cross-body scar as one of her conjured Devil Fruit hands pulls softly at the tuft of hair at the nape of the swordsman's neck.
"Well, same goes for you when you explain your newest training techniques and accomplishments of bettering your haki," Robin admits, a flush appearing on her cheeks as Zoro begins to gently pull at the waistline of the archaeologist's fluffy sleep pants, his other hand gripping the back of Robin's neck, anchoring her into his muscled body.
"Oh, yeah? Well, I'll keep doing it, then," Zoro whispers in her ear, nipping the gentle skin of her earlobe before he presses passionate kisses down the side of Robin's neck, lingering at the sensitive middle of her throat as Robin gasps under his touch.
"Please," Robin manages to gasp, her voice thick and heavy with need.
They lie in one another's arms, not quite yet abiding by Brook's suggestion for the two of them to get some rest before the arrival of their baby in three months' time.
"We should probably decide on names," Robin reminds, her head resting comfortably on Zoro's chest, the steady beating of his heartbeat pulsing underneath her ear, offering some of the greatest comfort the sole survivor of Ohara could have ever imagined.
"Probably would be a good idea," Zoro smirks, his arms wrapped protectively around Robin, one draped across the top of her chest and the other resting at the bottom of her waist, cradling her pregnant stomach between his arms, a silent vow of his devotion and love for keeping his family safe. "Don't wanna just go around calling 'em "kid" for their entire life."
Robin lightly smacks Zoro's chest with a conjured hand, causing the swordsman to laugh heartily at his obviously failed attempt at a joke at the expense of the Captain of the Kid Pirates.
"I've always liked the name Kaito for a boy," Robin reveals, her blue eyes closing as she settles into her swordsman's embrace, sleep threatening to claim her before the conclusion of their all-important conversation.
"Sounds too similar to that damn bastard Kaidou," Zoro gruffly opposes, thinking back to the grievous injuries he and Luffy suffered in Wano, injuries that made the rest of the Straw Hats fret over them for several months following the aftermath of the battle.
"Well, yes, but I didn't know of him at the time I started liking that name."
"Still a no for me."
"Okay, well, I think I still like the strength in a name starting with K. I'm not entirely sure why, but those names have always held such charm to me," Robin explains, another well-placed kick catching her in the ribs from their baby.
"What about Keiji, then?" Zoro suggests, sticking with the 'K' name criteria Robin has asked for but giving a better option than having their child nearly share a name with the former Emperor of the Seas that had nearly killed Zoro and Luffy amongst many others during the crew's stint in Wano.
"Meaning respect, honor, and reverence?" the female archaeologist inquires, knowing that the particular name can have several variations in meaning.
"That's the one," Zoro confirms. "Sounds like a wonderful name for the son of the World's Strongest Swordsman and the Devil Child of Ohara, doesn't it?" he softly says, pride shining in his voice.
"Roronoa Keiji has a wonderful ring to it. If this little one ends up being a boy, that name alone will set him on the right path, not to mention his upbringing with us as his parents and the crew as his family."
"Keiji it is, then. I'm glad you liked it."
"Now for a girl's name," Robin prompts, snuggling further into Zoro's side, a yawn overtaking her lips but she knows she can't quite fall asleep since they are trying to decide on names for their unborn child.
"Maybe Olvia after your mother?" Zoro questions, grasping Robin's soft hand in one of his much larger calloused ones, stroking her fingertips delicately and pressing a kiss to her knuckles, knowing that her mother's death was one of the most influential parts of Robin's life that started her life on its current course nearly twenty five years ago.
"Oh, Zoro, I'm honored that you'd like to keep her name alive by bestowing that name upon our daughter if we have one," Robin begins, a breathless tone to her voice as she presses a kiss to Zoro's cheek to thank him for his thoughtful suggestion. "But I was thinking we choose names that match if you're okay with that. Kuina, perhaps?"
"It wouldn't bother you having our daughter named after my childhood best friend that I may have grown up to love if life played out differently?"
"You made a promise to her, a promise you uphold with the same fierceness as you do your commitment to Luffy as his first mate and as you do with your wedding vows to me. What better of a promise to make to our daughter?"
"Then it's settled?"
"I think it is, swordsman. Keiji for a boy and Kuina for a girl."
"I love 'em. Now, can we finally go to sleep already? It's nearly 3:30 and I'm exhausted after such a long day of babysitting Luffy and Usopp's shenanigans."
Robin's light laugh fills the air and she rolls onto her left side, Zoro following soon after, wrapping his wife tightly in his protective grasp, never allowing her to go through the world completely unloved or alone ever again.