Chapter Text
Law was drinking his fifth beer.
It's been a whole week since the day he witnessed that event. Although Zoro had sent him quite a few messages asking why he hadn't visited him, and even suggested meeting up to talk, Law had brushed it all off, using his busy work schedule as an excuse. Every day, Law buried himself in work. Occasionally, while working, he would catch glimpses of Robin from a distance, but he didn’t have the courage to go up and say hello or exchange even a few words. He didn’t know what to say, nor did he know what he should do. His mind was overwhelmed by all the thoughts running through it, and his heart ached so much that he could no longer make sense of anything.
Now, he's sitting in a bar near his home, drinking his beer in solitude, filled with frustration. He can't avoid it any longer—Zoro is getting discharged from the hospital the day after tomorrow. Before he is discharged, Law needs to talk to him. Law had decided that he had to tell his friend that he's fallen for his girlfriend. No matter if Zoro decides to punch him, curse him, or end their friendship, Law is prepared to silently accept it.
The bartender, noticing Law's dejected expression, walked over to chat with him.
"Law-san, this is your fifth drink. You don’t usually drink like this," The bartender, a man in his forties, slim, dressed in formal attire, had an eye-catching afro and wore round glasses. His tone was overly polite as he spoke. “Are you troubled by something?”
Law didn’t respond, quietly continuing to drink his beer. Rather than talk about his troubles, he preferred to drown them in alcohol.
"Talking about it might make you feel better." the bartender said gently while wiping a glass.
Law downed his fifth beer in one go and tapped the table, signaling for another round. Without hesitation, the bartender filled Law's glass. As he placed the sixth beer in front of him, Law finally talked about his frustration.
"I think I fell in love with my friend’s girlfriend." Law didn’t look at the bartender but stared at the foam on his beer as it gradually dissipated.
Brook—the bartender—didn’t react at all. After hearing countless similar stories, his face remained unchanged, showing no expression. He simply said, "So what happened after that? What led you to drink yourself into this state?"
Law looked up in confusion and asked, "Why don't you ask why I did this to my friend? Why don’t you say that I’m an unfit friend? Why is it that, out of so many people, I need to fell in love with my friend’s girlfriend?"
"People can't control their feelings, only their actions. As a doctor, you should know this better than anyone,” Brook smiled and said. “Besides, if you were really such a bad friend, you wouldn’t be sitting here drinking alone."
Law didn’t respond, quietly sipping his drink. Brook glanced at him, sighed, and asked, "Does the girl like you?"
Law paused for a moment, setting down his glass. After thinking for a while, he said, "I don’t know."
Although Law still remembered the gentle touch of Robin’s hand holding his, and the captivating look in her eyes, the way he saw her behave with Zoro shattered the idea that Robin might like him. Maybe she just needed comfort at that moment?
"Does she like your friend?" Brook asked again.
Law had never considered that question before. He tried to recall, and indeed, Zoro and Robin acted very close, they lived together and spent a lot of time together. But it is true that it didn’t seem like Robin and Zoro had feelings for each other, yet the things that happened in the hospital room...
"Doesn’t matter. I saw them being intimate..." Law said.
"Law-san, feelings aren’t something you observe with your eyes," Brook interrupted, tapping Law’s chest with his finger. "you feel them with your heart."
Law was taken aback.
"I think you should talk to your friend before coming back for another drink. The outcome might be better than you think." Brook smiled. Without saying more, he moved on to serve other customers.
After Brook left, Law downed his sixth drink in one gulp.
After receiving who knows how many messages from Zoro, Law finally found himself standing once again in front of room 1111. No matter what happened, he had to talk things through with Zoro. He had to face his feelings honestly. Brook was right—he needed to have a conversation with Zoro, maybe the outcome wouldn't be as bad as he thought. He deliberately chose a time close to evening, knowing that Robin would likely have gone home by now, leaving Zoro alone. With nervous steps, Law took a long sigh, opened the door and hoping he wouldn’t walk in on the same scene as last time.
To his surprise, he found someone else in the room with Zoro, but it wasn’t Robin. Instead, there was a girl with orange hair, interacting with Zoro in a way that seemed just as intimate. She was cutting an apple for Zoro, feeding him piece by piece, and they were laughing and chatting throughout the process. Seeing this, an unexpected wave of anger rose in Law’s chest.
He hadn’t expected his friend to be such a player. Zoro already had someone as perfect and beautiful as Robin, yet here he was, getting close to another girl?
Without saying a word, Law approached them. Zoro, noticing him, didn’t look pleased either. Law figured he might have already heard something from Robin. The girl, upon seeing Law, also stopped joking with Zoro. She gave Law a quick up-and-down glance, and though Law didn’t understand why, he also sensed some hostility from her.
Suddenly, the girl stood up and said to Zoro, "I’m going to the bathroom." before silently walking into the washroom.
Zoro seemed like he also wanted to say something, but before he could, Law crossed his arms and, with a heavy tone, asked, "How could you do this to Robin?"
Zoro looked confused by the question, tilting his head. "What?"
"What’s your relationship with that girl? Did you meet her behind Robin’s back?" Law’s mind was clouded with anger, unable to think clearly. All that remained was the rage boiling inside him. He couldn’t understand how his friend could fail to appreciate Robin.
"Huh? What are you talking about? That’s my friend Nami, she's Robin's friend too." Zoro responded, still confused by Law’s accusations, though his tone grew more frustrated. "Wait...I should be asking why you’re treating Robin that way back in the press release."
Law was also frustrated with Zoro’s response. He couldn’t understand what Zoro was implying.
Suddenly, Law heard a chuckle from behind him. He turned around and saw the orange-haired girl, Nami, walking out of the bathroom, still laughing. Law was startled by her reaction, not understanding why she found the situation funny.
"Zoro, he thinks you and Robin are a couple!" Nami said, laughing even harder, covering her mouth with her hand. “That makes so much sense now.”
Zoro sat up from his bed, letting out a loud, surprised "What?!" His eyes widened as he stared at Law in disbelief. Law, confused and lost in the moment, muttered, "Aren’t you?"
"Trafalgar Law, you idiot! Robin is my sister!" Zoro shouted, scolding him with an exasperated tone.
Law’s brain stalled upon hearing Zoro’s response. Robin and Zoro were siblings? How had he missed that?
"Did you forget? When we were in college, I told you I had a sister who went abroad for an archaeological excavation!" Zoro exclaimed, clearly frustrated by Law’s lack of memory.
Law’s mind raced as he finally remembered Zoro mentioning that he had an adopted sister, taken in by his parents when she was eight. They had lived together ever since. Zoro even showed a picture of her to Penguin and Shachi back then, and they were jealous about Zoro having a “hot” sister but Law wasn’t curious enough to look at it. Now he regretted it deeply, realizing that had he seen the photo, he would have recognized Robin as Zoro’s sister.
Running his hand through his hair in frustration, Law muttered, "Why didn’t you mention it more often? How was I supposed to remember that?"
“How was I supposed to know you were this dumb?” Zoro snapped back.
"And Robin’s been abroad for four years! She only came back the year before, and by that time, we’d already graduated!" Zoro shaking his head in disbelief. “I thought you were the smartest one among us, but you’ve really outdone yourself with this stupidity.”
Law thought it over seriously, and indeed, everything he had been suspicious of made perfect sense now. Robin and Zoro being siblings explained their close interactions. Of course, it made sense that they had met Chopper together and often took him out as a group. The reason they lived together was now clear, and Koala saying Robin didn’t have a boyfriend suddenly made perfect sense too. The only thing left...
Scratching his head, Law asked, "But last week...Why was Robin leaning on you?"
"It was you! I was wondering why I heard someone come in and leave," Nami said, wiping away the tears from laughing so hard. "That idiot Zoro was trying to sneak out to a fencing competition despite being in this condition, and Robin didn’t want him to get up."
Law glared at Zoro, "You idiot, trying to compete in that state? You wanted to collapse in the middle of the match or something?"
"Robin said the exact same thing." Nami added with a sly grin, exchanging a knowing look with Zoro.
Law's face started turning red as he listened to Nami.
"Robin nearly killed me, and then you go and misunderstand the whole thing," Zoro grumbled, clearly annoyed.
"And you have the nerve to call me stupid? You have no idea how much effort I put into trying to set you two up," Zoro not holding back. "From day one, you two were flirting right in front of me. I even secretly asked Robin if you were her type, and she blushed right away." Zoro continued his rant. "Do you know how many times I pretended to be asleep just so you two could talk about your nerdy boring stuff?"
"I bet you were really asleep most of the time." Law couldn’t help but interject.
"Trafalgar, shut up! I’m not done, and you don’t get to talk!" Zoro snapped, clearly irritated. "You showed her those stupid coins that took up all the space back in the dorm. You really thought I was sleeping, huh?"
Law felt the blood rush to his face, turning it even redder. He hadn’t expected Zoro to have been awake all this time.
"And then I went through all the trouble of coming up with an excuse for you to go to that conference with Robin, and you idiot ended up pushing her away. You’re too dense for your own good..." Zoro’s chest heaved with frustration. If he weren’t injured, Law was sure Zoro would’ve jumped out of bed to punch him.
Remembering how he had brushed Robin's hand aside that day filled Law with deep regret. For the first time, he truly realized Zoro was right—he was being incredibly foolish. How could he just assume that Robin is his girlfriend?
At this point, Nami chimed in, nonchalantly eating her apple with her legs propped up on Zoro’s bed.
"Zoro, you can’t blame him entirely," Nami said. "Back in high school, you were like a bodyguard for Robin. All the boys around her were terrified of you. It wasn’t until she went off to college, away from you, that she was finally able to date anyone."
"Tsk, none of those guys were any good." Zoro scoffed.
"You really need to get over this sister complex of yours." Nami teased.
"I was protecting her." Zoro insisted.
"The right word is overprotecting." Nami replied with an exaggerated eye roll.
"And by the way, with that overactive imagination of yours, don’t get the wrong idea about me and Zoro being a couple." Nami suddenly shot a casual glance at Law. "We’re just friends."
Zoro rolled his eyes and retorted, "Who’d want to be with you, you greedy witch?"
In response, Nami smacked Zoro across the face with a swift palm. "Remember to pay up. That apple-feeding service just cost you 100,000 berries."
Zoro rubbed his now reddened cheek with a hand, sighing in exasperation. "I'll transfer you money later. I asked her to come because Robin hasn’t rested while taking care of me. I sent Robin home to rest, but hiring this woman for a day is gonna drain my savings."
Law stared speechlessly at the scene in front of him. He suddenly remembered that Nami was the female friend Zoro had mentioned from his high school days. As Zoro had described, she was indeed money-minded, hit Zoro at the slightest disagreement and didn’t hesitate to bicker with Zoro over the smallest things. Zoro had complained about her several times before, and now, everything was playing out exactly as he had said. Law had a long sigh realizing how dumb he is.
Zoro glanced at Law who was obviously in full of frustration, he asked Law seriously. "You thought I was her boyfriend, and that's why you pushed her away?"
"Yeah." Law responded.
"And that's why you've been avoiding us?"
"Yeah."
"And were you planning to tell me that you like her?"
"Yeah." Law sighed.
Zoro locked eyes with Law, his expression firm. "Trafalgar Law, You're dumb, but you're a good friend. I'll accept it," Zoro then leaned forward slightly, his gaze unwavering and asked. "Do you truly like Robin?"
Law stared back at Zoro, knowing that there was no need to hide his feelings anymore. He no longer had to avoid his feelings or worry about any complications. He, Trafalgar Law, truly and sincerely liked Nico Robin. With a nod, he said, "Yes."
"Then don't mess it up again. Don't push her away anymore. Go ask her out," Zoro said with a smile. "She's probably at home, you know where she lives, right?"
Law nodded, and as he was about to leave the hospital room, he turned back to Zoro, took a deep breath and said, "Thank you, my friend."
When Law arrived outside Robin's apartment, his heart was racing uncontrollably. It had been a while since he felt this nervous. Though Zoro had hinted that Robin might like him too, Law couldn’t help but worry. After ignoring her for a week and acting distant, what if she couldn't forgive him and rejected him?
He had already texted Robin, saying he needed to talk to her, and she had replied that she’d come down after changing. Every minute of waiting felt torturous to Law. He felt like his heart was going to explode. After about 15 minutes, Law finally saw Robin emerging from the elevator, lightly jogging towards him. Seeing her again made his heart race even faster.
Robin was dressed simply in a white T-shirt and jeans, her hair loose over her shoulders. Even in such casual attire, Law thought she was the most beautiful person he had ever seen.
Out of breath, Robin reached him and asked, "Is something wrong with Zoro? We can head to the hospital right now if we need to."
Hearing her mention Zoro no longer stirred anything in Law.
Robin looked worried, her face full of concern, as she started to head toward the car. But Law quickly reached out, grabbed her hand and pulled her back. "I’m here to see you. Zoro’s fine, don’t worry." he reassured her.
Robin's eyes widened in surprise, clearly not expecting that. She turned to face him completely. "You... wanted to talk to me about something?"
Law let go of her hand, scratched his head nervously, and took a deep breath before saying, "I thought you and Zoro were a couple."
Robin paused for a moment, then burst into laughter. Her cheerful expression made Law feel even more embarrassed. His assumption had been so ridiculous, and now he realized how foolish he had been, caught in his own overthinking.
After laughing, Robin tilted her head slightly and said, "I thought Zoro would at least mention me. Turns out my little brother forgot all about me."
"No, it’s just me being stupid. And I am the one calling him half-brained this whole time." Law brushed his hair again to hide his awkwardness.
"You were like having a room-temperature IQ." Robin teased with a smile as she took a step closer, Law slightly startled by her action, but he didn't step back.
"Like a fork in a world of soup." Law added with a chuckle, also stepping closer.
"Not the sharpest knife in the drawer." Robin replied, her eyes gleaming as she looked into Law’s eyes.
"And stupid like Zoro." Law muttered, running out of things to describe how clueless he had been. At that moment, all he could focus on was Robin—her beautiful eyes, without any need to hide his feelings.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed you away," Law said softly. "I shouldn't have avoided you, and I shouldn't misunderstand you and Zoro.”
Robin couldn't hide her chuckle. Law gazed at Robin with complete openness, just as he had in the library before. It felt as if the surrounding noise slowly faded away, leaving only the two of them in the world. The only sound they could hear was the rhythm of each other's heartbeats. Brook's words echoed in Law's mind, and he could feel a profound connection between his heart and Robin’s, a feeling that couldn’t be seen but only sensed. Taking a deep breath, Law realized just how deeply this connection ran.
"I like you, Nico Robin.” Law continued, his heart racing as he looked at her directly. “Will you go on a date with me?"
"You're asking me on a date now?” Robin smiled softly and replied, “Shouldn’t we finish what we left off last time?"
Law was a bit unsure of what Robin was trying to do, but when he finally realized it, Robin already wrapped her hand around the back of Law's neck, pulled him closer to her, stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. Law’s eyes widened, feeling a jolt of electricity rush through his body. Without hesitation, he placed his hands gently on Robin’s waist, pulling her closer into his arms as he deepened the kiss. Time seemed to slow down as the weight of the moment settled in.
There was no doubt left. The moment felt inevitable, like everything in his life had been leading to this.
After a while, Law released Robin from his arm, and gently held her hand, “I will never let it go again.”
“You better.” Robin smiled.
A few months later, Zoro had fully recovered. On a weekend, Law, Zoro, and Robin accompanied Chopper to a medical convention. As soon as they arrived, Chopper, excited to explore the booths, tried to run off, but Robin grabbed him and told him not to wander by himself. Meanwhile, Zoro yawned loudly the moment they entered the venue.
"Can't you guys go on dates without dragging me along? I don't want to be the third wheel." Zoro complained.
"Chopper said he hadn’t seen you in a while, so we brought you along. Trust me, I didn’t want to bring a pig with us either." Law quipped.
"I'm a pig? Trafalgar, did you forget who helped set you two up?" Zoro snapped back.
"Roronoa, isn't it about time you start calling me your brother-in-law now?" Law retorted with a smirk.
As Law and Zoro bickered, Law didn't notice that Robin’s face had turned bright red. She looked at them both and quickly stepped in, saying, "Alright, enough. I’m not here to babysit three little brothers."
Law felt a bit embarrassed after Robin’s comment, while Zoro stuck out his tongue at him and teased, "Come on, little brother, give your big brother a shout-out."
Law rolled his eyes, ignoring him, and took Robin’s hand as they entered the exhibition hall. Robin sighed, clearly amused. "Why do you two spend all your time arguing?"
"Haven’t you heard the saying 'Friends are often made after a fight'? That’s how we became friends—by arguing. It’s just our way of getting along." Law explained.
Robin chuckled. "I still don’t know how you and Zoro managed to survive four years of college together."
"Good thing we made it through, or I wouldn’t have met the one I’m destined to be with." Law said with a smirk on his face.
"When did Dr. Trafalgar starts believing in something like ‘The One’ where you couldn’t find the definition in books?" Robin asked playfully.
"The moment I met you, I started believing." Law replied, smiling as he held Robin's hand a little tighter.
Law realized a while ago, Robin wasn’t the wrong one after all—she was
the best one,
the perfect one,
the one.