Chapter Text
Luffy didn't hesitate when Robin asked to join the crew. He had one of those feelings that told him someone was good deep inside, especially after what happened in the cave of the poneglyph back in Arabasta.
Some members of the Strawhat pirates were a bit more skeptical, thinking that Robin would be a pretty serious, no-nonsense person.
Colour them surprised when it turned out that, while she was a rather quiet and calm woman, she was really sweet and kind, having seemingly unending patience with the younger members of the crew, even Luffy.
Usopp, Chopper and Luffy were playing tag on the deck of the Going Merry.
Sanji and Nami were inside doing inventory, Zoro was napping on a corner, and Robin was on a sunbed enjoying the sun.
Then, when Luffy was running away from Usopp, he accidentally knocked over the small table next to her, spilling on Robin the lemonade on top.
"I'm so so sorry, Robin!" Luffy exclaimed, quickly getting down to pick up the fallen cup. "I didn’t mean to, I swear!"
You could see the poor teen freaking out, his hands hovering over her, not really knowing what to do. Robin stood startled, not about the beverage all over her, but regarding the reaction of her captain.
"You can punch me if you want!" He blurted, closing his eyes and bracing himself.
Behind him, Usopp and Chopper looked at Luffy, then at each other. They've never seen their captain act like that. If something happened, he, at most, apologised and continued his merry way. They didn't understand why he reacted this way.
Robin's eyes held worry in them, but she smiled comfortingly. "It's ok, captain," she said softly. She reached out to ruffle his hair—it was subtle, but she felt him flinch before slightly leaning into her hand. "How about you help me choose some clean clothes, and we both clean this up, sounds good?"
The boy nodded and grabbed her offering hand, walking to the women's chamber. The scholar glanced back and made a gesture for the other two onlookers to keep quiet.
After that, Luffy approached Robin even more. The woman was always open and eager to help Luffy with anything he wanted, even playing the weird games that he thought up.
"Robin, Robin!" Luffy shrieked from the crow's nest.
An arm appeared, flower petals alerting Luffy. The hand pointed down, towards the kitchen door. There, softly chuckling, was his archaeologist.
"The boat is not that big, captain."
The rubber pirate propelled himself off the crow's nest, landing in front of her and—not before waiting for her permission—hugging her.
"But this way I found you faster!" He cheered.
She placed her hand on his hair; his smile widened. "True, however I don't think the swordsman would be too happy about you clamoring around the Merry while he rests."
Luffy pouted; nevertheless, he brightened in a second like the sun. "I thought about a new game that you would like! Wanna play with me?"
"Of course, what is it about?"
The teen let go and started to bounce in place. "You hide body parts around, and I have to find them!"
"You mean to use my powers or to hide corpses in the ship?" Her smile sharpened a bit. "We would have to find a couple of marines first, though."
Behind Robin, Luffy could see Usopp making a grimace, sitting at the kitchen table.
"Shishishishishi, Robin is so creepy. How about you hide a couple of your hands, and if I find them, I high five them? Make it hard, though!"
"That sounds fun, let me relocate to the deck and we can play."
"Awesome!"
Her presence was even beneficial for the rambunctious captain.
The black-haired woman was peacefully reading near Nami’s tangerine trees. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Zoro walking near, poorly pretending that he wasn't spying on her.
Despite Luffy welcoming her with open arms, some crew members had their concerns, primarily the first mate. Howbeit, she couldn't blame them, she would've behaved the same way.
"Mr. Swordsman, while I do find your dedication commendable," Robin declared. "I believe there would be better ways to spend your time."
"Better than making sure the former assassin who intruded on our ship and is spending a lot of time alone with our captain, despite being only part of the crew for less than two weeks, doesn't kill said captain?" Zoro quipped.
Robin closed her book and tilted her head. "Can't I spend time with my new energetic captain?" She inquired. "Are you implying that our captain was mistaken in taking me in?"
Zoro bristled. How dare she imply something like that? He would die and kill for Luffy with only a word; he just wanted to make sure his crew was safe.
The sound of chuckling interrupted the swordsman from his spiral. "I am only teasing Mr Swordsman. I understand the need of wanting your loved ones safe," Robin then stared at the distant horizon, sea breeze fluttering her hair. "I enjoy spending time with him, he makes me feel alive again."
"LUFFY, DON'T DO THAT!" Could be heard from the deck, followed by screams of Luffy saying "I'M GONNA DO IT, YOU CAN'T STOP ME."
Both Zoro and Robin hurriedly made their way towards the bow of the ship. There, you could see Chopper and Usopp trying to keep Luffy down, Nami yelling at him, Sanji supporting her, while Luffy tried to wriggle his way out.
Apparently, as they were fishing, a sea creature ate his catch and then mocked him. Making him want to throw himself overboard to fight it.
"Do you want to drown, stupid??" Exclaimed Usopp.
"Will you please stop being an idiot already?" Nami yelled.
"I don't wanna!" Luffy replied petulantly.
"Captain," Robin called out. The teen immediately stopped thrashing. "How about we go read inside for a bit as we wait for lunch time?"
Everyone expected the rubber pirate to loudly declare his negative and continue his struggle. Instead, he effortlessly threw off the two on top of him, said "Ok," and went with the archaeologist inside, telling her some story about a huge bug he caught once.
The Strawhats were flabbergasted. In all the time they knew Luffy, no one had managed to make him actually listen—outside of emergencies.
But now he just—went with her, no complaints, no whining, only eagerness to—read??
"I don't know whether to be surprised or worried," Zoro mumbled, ignoring Sanji's screams of praise towards Robin.
"I say we just accept this miracle and worry about more pressing matters, like finding a shipwright so we can get the Merry fixed up," Nami countered.
You could even say that maybe he was helping her, too.
The crew of the Going Merry was still pretty shaken up with their encounter with Admiral Aokiji. They were waiting until both Luffy and Robin felt better so they could continue sailing.
Robin was reading in her room, a blanket covering her while she drank some hot chocolate Sanji brought her. A soft knock interrupted her.
"Come in."
Her captain entered slowly, dragging behind him the blanket he had wrapped around him.
"How are you?" He asked. Luffy was uncharacteristically solemn.
"I am great, thanks for asking," she smiled, trying to better his mood. "I can't heal as fast as you, but with Chopper's care I'll be better in no time."
Luffy didn't answer; he just stared at the floor. When she concluded that he would not move on his own, she patted the spot on the bed next to her. When he sat, she summoned an arm to gently push him to lean on her.
"I saw you didn't react well when Aokiji mentioned your grandfather. Would you like to talk about it?"
Robin was a bit preoccupied with her own demons, but she did notice how Luffy tensed and tried to reflect Usopp's question at Aokiji's remark.
The teen didn't answer, instead he looked her in the eyes with an intensity he only used in important fights. The kind that left your soul bare and made you feel you were being judged.
Whatever he was looking for, he must've found it, because he next asked. "Was Robin too scared?"
It did catch her a bit off guard, but she recovered quickly with a smile. "Not really, I trusted that you guys would defrost me in time—"
"Not that, Robin looked so scared when she saw Aokiji. Normally she's so calm, but when he started saying those mean and weird things about her, she looked so afraid."
Monkey D. Luffy truly was more perceptive than others gave him credit for.
"I don't care what Robin has done before. I know you're good, don't listen to that frosty guy."
She had definitely found the best captain anyone could've asked for.
"Would you—" he yawned, "like to talk about it?"
The woman hummed. "No, not yet at least, but thank you. You guys are so good to me, I don't know what I must've done to deserve a crew like this."
"I'm sorry we didn't take your concerns seriously at first," Luffy mumbled before falling asleep.
Robin wanted to cry; however, this wasn't the time. She had a captain to tuck into bed.
This was just the beginning of the fondness between the Future King of the Pirates and his archaeologist.