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The stars shone in the night sky, providing plenty of light despite the lack of sun. Robin, wrapped in a blanket and leaning against the main mast, was thankful she was able to watch the sky and the seas at the same time, both enjoying the view and keeping an eye out for enemies. She occasionally checked on Luffy on the other side of the ship as well, as he was prone to falling asleep on night watch even if someone was there to talk to him, and at that moment they were on opposite sides of the boat.
She was so distracted that she didn’t notice the intruder until he was just inches away.
“Hey.”
She jumped, standing up and drawing in a breath to yell before she saw who it was.
“Geez, sorry,” Franky exclaimed, holding up both hands in surrender, though each hand held a mug of something hot. “Didn’t mean to scare you. Thought you might like some company.”
“Oh,” Robin said, embarrassed. “Yes. Thank you.”
He offered her one mug, and she took it, wrapping her hands around it and letting the warmth flow down her arms. It was coffee. It was slightly watered down, she noted as she sipped it, and she wondered if that was to cut down on the bitterness or the caffeine.
“What’s yours?” she asked, noting the unusual smell from Franky’s mug as he sat next to her.
“Hot cola.”
She made a face.
“What? It’s good. Try it.”
She pushed the proffered mug away with one hand. “No, thank you.”
“Fine, drink your bean juice. I’ll have the connoisseur’s beverage.”
She laughed and took another sip of coffee. “You couldn’t sleep?”
“Too many thoughts,” he said, tapping his head. “Cola helps sometimes. And talking.”
“Mm.”
“Hey, sorry if this is a bit forward, but when did you realize you were a woman?”
She started, nearly spilling her cup. Her hands clenched involuntarily. She wanted to get up, to run away, but her legs wouldn’t move. Her feet were rooted. Her hands were locked around the mug. She stared straight ahead—
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” came Franky’s voice, gentler than normal, she noticed. A hand landed on her shoulder and she jolted again, this time spilling a few drops of coffee onto the blanket. “Sorry, I guess I’m on a roll with scaring you tonight. I just asked because I’m the same.”
She didn’t know when she’d stopped breathing, but it came back to her all at once as she exhaled, her hands relaxing again. She set the mug aside, slowly, to avoid any further accidents, and turned to look at Franky, whose face was full of concern.
“You good?” he said.
“I’m fine now,” she said, bringing a hand out from under the blanket to rest it on top of his. “What do you mean, you’re the same? You’re a woman, too?”
“Oh, hell no,” he said. “No offense, y’know? But I’m the other way around.”
“Oh,” she said. She couldn’t help but look his body up and down. “I never would have known.”
“Really? I thought I told you. I’m a self-made man.”
“You didn’t mean the whole cyborg thing?”
“It can mean two things.”
They smiled at each other.
“I’ll go first,” he offered. “I was always a bit weird, according to other people.”
“You don’t say.”
“Anyway, I’d always walk around with no shirt, no pants or skirt or anything. Never thought much of it till I was grown. It was right around that time when . . . when I got myself hit by the train. I mean, it was a bit before that I started really thinking about myself in a different way.” He sighed. “Kind of good that that whole thing happened when it did. When I built myself a new body, I decided, ‘To hell with my chest, and to hell with all that other crap.’” He gestured to himself. “Now I look super.”
“You do,” Robin agreed with a smile.
“Your turn. If you wanna.” He sipped his drink, staring at Robin in a way surely meant to be encouraging, but which very much was not.
“Alright,” she agreed, turning her head away to avoid catching his intense gaze. “I think I always knew. Back when I was little . . . being a boy never felt right. I’d get hit for secretly trying on my cousin’s dresses. I’d run away whenever my aunt tried to cut my hair. I think the only good thing about having no friends was that the other kids in the town thought I was a girl.”
Franky took a gulp of cola and coughed. “Geez,” he got out, his eyes watering.
“The scholars were more understanding, but I could never work up the nerve to admit I’d rather be a girl,” Robin continued. “Then, when everyone died, I realized there was a silver lining. It was my chance to start over. I could grow my hair long and wear dresses, and no one would know any different.” She smiled. “Kids of all genders look more or less the same, you know? I had to put in a little extra work once I hit my teens, of course, but by then everyone already assumed I was a woman from my wanted poster before they even met me.”
She heard a noise and looked over to see tears pouring down Franky’s face.
“What is it?” she said with a small laugh.
“Your story!” he exclaimed, rubbing his face roughly. “It’s not like I’m gonna cry over it, y’know? But wow! Nico Robin! What a gal!”
“Your story’s nothing to sneeze at, either,” she replied, smiling. “How many of us can say they wanted a new body, and so they built themselves one?”
“Just me, baby. I’m one of a kind. Though, come to think of it, if you wanted me to, I could—”
“Perish the thought. I could do without rocket launchers in my shins.”
“Now that’s an idea! How about built-in flashlights? They could come out of your—”
“Franky, I’m going to ask you to stop right now.”
They shared a laugh, and both fell silent for a minute, sipping their cooling drinks.
“Have you ever told anyone?” Robin asked, staring into her mug. “Besides me, and your loved ones back home.”
“I didn’t ever properly tell Iceburg or the others, come to think of it,” Franky admitted, staring up at the sky. “When we met again later, I guess they all just assumed everything. They probably had a better idea of it than I did, before the train.”
“Some people are like that. They have a sense for it, but most people don’t bring it up in case they got the wrong idea.” She gave Franky a pointed look. “Most people aren’t forward like that.”
He pressed his lips together and looked away. “It would’ve been super awkward if I was wrong, huh?”
“Indeed. Back to my question, does anyone on the crew know? Usopp, perhaps?”
“Nah, I never told even him,” Franky said, risking turning his head back to face her halfway. “Don’t see the point. Like, ‘Hey, everyone, I used to be a girl.’ ‘Um, okay, cool, anyway.’ You know?”
“I see what you mean,” Robin said. “And you only told me because our situations are similar?”
“Yeah. Thought it’d make you more comfortable.”
“You were right. Thank you.”
“And I guess no one knows about you, either?”
She shook her head, clutching her mug and bringing it close to her, pressing it against her chest to warm her body. “No. Well . . . Nami knows.”
“Oh?”
“With a roommate and no surgery, it’s difficult to hide something like this. She was a little confused at first, but I think she’s come around now. Of course, she can keep secrets when she wants to, so she hasn’t spread the news.”
“She’s a good kid,” Franky agreed. “So . . . what now?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not gonna tell anyone, probably, but what about you? Think it’s time?”
She hesitated, and then shook her head slowly. “No . . . no, I don’t know if I’ll ever tell the others, if I can help it.” She smiled at her mug. “They’re wonderful people. I think—I’m sure they’ll carry on like nothing was different. But it’s like you said, what’s the point?”
“Wait, shouldn’t the deer know?”
“His name is Chopper.”
“Shouldn’t he know? He’s a doctor.”
“I hadn’t considered that.” She shrugged. “I suppose I’ll tell him if something comes up. And you’re exempt from that, aren’t you?”
“Well, everything that’d be an issue, I took out. So yeah, I don’t have to tell him.”
“That seems unfair.”
“Okay, make you a deal. If you end up telling him, I’ll tell him.”
She smiled at him. “You don’t have to. I was just teasing. Thank you, Franky.”
He scowled. “For what? Falling for your joke?”
“No, for talking with me. I’ve never done this before. It was nice.”
“Oh. Hey, yeah. No problem.” His face softened and he returned her smile. “Always ready to lend an ear, you know?”
“I’ll do the same for you. Anytime.”
Franky lifted his mug to his lips and drained the rest of it in one go, turning his head to let out a belch away from her. He stood up, tossing the mug between his hands, ceramic clinking against metal each time it landed.
“I’m off,” he said at last. “Want to join me?”
“Your workshop?”
“Yeah. Gonna tinker a bit before bed.”
“Maybe if you’re still up later. I need to finish my night watch shift, and keep Luffy awake.”
A distinctive snore from the other side of the ship made them both laugh.
“Alright, then,” Franky said, grinning. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Get some sleep.”
“You, too.”
He swaggered off toward the kitchen, still catching his cup between his hands, and stumbled to run after it when it fell and bounced away. Robin covered her mouth, stifling laughter, and closed her eyes, flexing her hand as she concentrated, using her ability to shake Luffy awake from afar.
Franky straightened up when he heard a soft, familiar voice drift from the shore. He spotted her right away. Her silhouette he didn’t recognize, but there was no mistaking that face, even after two years.
“Who’s that beautiful woman?!” he shouted, striking a pose. “Could it be Nico Robin?!”
Her silence gave him pause, and he held the pose, a bead of sweat running down his face. Maybe he’d gotten the wrong person?
Her laugh told him otherwise. “You haven’t changed a bit, Franky.”
“Yes, I have!” he exclaimed, indignant and relieved as she walked onto the ship on a bridge made of her own limbs. “Do you not see this fabulous body? I put a lot of work . . . into . . .”
He trailed off as she approached, her smile lighting her face. There was no doubt she was Nico Robin, but . . .
“Hot damn, speaking of fabulous bodies,” he said, lifting his sunglasses. “All this in just two years? What kind of drugs did you find? Or was it a really great doctor?”
“Neither, though the second one is closer,” Robin said, still smiling. “I met someone with the most wonderful Devil Fruit ability. She sensed my situation right away and asked me straight up if I wanted a new body. I said yes, we discussed specifics, and here I am. That was over a year ago.”
“Wow. Wow!”
“You’re staring.”
He lowered his sunglasses again, blushing, and turned around, folding his arms. “Anyway, you look great! I’m super happy for you!”
“Thank you.” Robin set down her bag and placed a hand on her hip. “If you’d like, I could put you in touch with the person responsible. I’m sure she’d manage to find us.”
“For wh—? Oh. No, no thanks.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah.” He turned back toward her, hoping his eyes were well hidden behind his sunglasses. “I may not have been born with the body I wanted, but I’ve got it now. I like what I’ve done with myself.”
“You have done a marvelous job,” Robin agreed, her eyes traveling up and down his figure.
“Now who’s staring?”
“You still are.”
He turned around again. “Damn you.”
A hand rested on his back, and he heard the smile in her voice when she said, “It’s good to see you again, Franky.”