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Franky was nodding off on his lookout post when Robin's usually-soft footfalls stomped up to him. He looked over his shoulder, expecting a scolding, but she looked at him with eyes that didn't seem to see.
"Oh. Didn't realize you were still awake, girlie." It felt like the temperature had dropped ten degrees. The sweat on his back felt clammy.
"I don't think it's wise for me to be alone right now." She sat down beside him, wrapping her arms around her knees.
"Oh, hey. Can I do anything? Do you want some cola?" His hand was already on his stomach.
"Actually yes." Her eyes were fixed on the horizon, perhaps waiting for the sunrise that was still an hour off.
He took out a bottle and broke the cap off with his teeth. "Don't do that without metal teeth, it'll break 'em." He handed it to her, and waited for her gentle grip to tighten before he let go.
She drank shallowly. Eyes down now. Nose in the bottle, absorbing the sizzles and pops of the carbonation.
Franky placed a hand on her back and rubbed gently.
"Cross your legs."
His hand stilled. "Eh?"
And she got up and sat in his lap.
Her butt was still mostly on the ground, on account of how thin Franky's legs were, but it was still a shock. He wasn't sure where his hands should go.
She knew fine though. She reached an arm up and felt the stubble on his chin.
"What are you feelin', Robin?"
"I'm trying hard not to feel anything."
"Oh boy." With one arm he reached under her folded knees, and with the other he held her behind her back.
Then he squished her against him. "Squish," he said.
She folded her arms over her chest. "Do it again."
He did, and she giggled.
Now full of energy, and not just the nervous sort, he stood up, hoisting her in his arms and squeezing her rhythmically. "I'm squishing up my baby Ro-o-bean, won't my mommy be so proud of me~"
She squirmed in his arms, hugging herself and kicking her feet. "Did you know your mom, Franky?"
"Nope!" he chirped as he continued dancing. "As far as I know, I was grown in a lab."
"A baby-growing lab," Robin sighed, and he was sure her imagination was off.
"Actually, uh, a regular one! My dad was a scientist."
"Oh? Did he modify himself as well?"
"Yeah! Well, I think? It's hard to remember." She didn't have to know Franky knew his dad had acquired a robot arm at some point, nor did she need to know that it was superrrrr cool. "And how about your family?"
"I could have been from a lab too; I only new my mom. Or maybe I hatched from an egg."
"Was your mom an egghead just like you?"
A smile graced her lips. "She was well-read. She did plenty of field research as well."
"Oh, an explorer?"
"Mmm. My mother just wanted to know everything. And she took good care of me despite that, for the time that I knew her." She bent her head back, again looking to the east.
"Sounds like a smart lady. Way smarter than my old man." He hoped that was the right thing to say. He let her down, and the second her feet touched the deck she was pushing him down to sit on the deck again, and clambering back on his lap—facing him this time. She clung to his front like a sloth, or a baby.
He held her there for awhile. Her heartbeat wasn't going down. Hmm.
He lay one arm over her back, one hand on her head, with his legs steepled on either side of her, and brought them al together. "Superrrrrr Franky Squishing!"
He could feel her face changing against his shoulder. Predictably, the air filled with the smell of flowers, and hands pressed down on him just about everywhere. "Superrrrr Robin Squishing."
"Shay ih wiff more forfe," Franky encouraged, despite her pushing his cheeks into his lips in a silly approximation of a fish's.
Yet another set of arms sprouted from her back and she performed the rolling motion and wrist touching required from a proper Super. "Superrrrrrr Robin Squishing!"
The volume was still quiet, but the passion was certainly there. "I like the rolling on the R's!"
She let go with most of her arms, simply hugging with a few of them.
The waves hit the side of the boat gently. At last, she seemed much calmer. A lady with a brain as big as hers shouldn't be up this late. It needed to recharge or something, right?
"Are you feeling betterrrr now?"
She nodded. And raised her head, and closed her eyes slowly at him.
"Should I take you to your bed?"
After a moment of consideration, she nodded sheepishly.
"No need to be shy. You can come cuddle with me any time."
Her hands, down to two by now, curled up on his back as he picked her up.
She looked behind him, at the line of the horizon, slowly going from black to gray.
Beneath the hull he settled her into her bunk, tucking her in tight. "Sleep well, sweet Robin." She opened and closed her hand before burying her face into her pillow.