reunion

[mekachu04]

Usopp was checking the boys over while nami looked over robin and chopper. luffy was doing his best to stay calm and out of the way - busing himself on ship tasks and keeping watch.
Robin tolerated nami's prodding but offered no information and no trust. she didn't seem to know any of them at all, only that they hadn't run from her powers. After Nami was sure she wasn't hurt, she showed her to the small wash room and went to find her something clean to wear.
Nami isn't sure if that was because they trusted them or if it made her more wary of them.
Little chopper was as oblivious to all of it as a newborn would be, but was clearly starting to hit the limits of that his baby self was able to tolerate and was getting very cranky.
 "Pōkiʻi is probably tired. and hungry," robin supplied, the name thoughing nami for a moment,
"Who?"
Rabin pointed at chipper, "the baby."
the baby was indeed looking hungry, "well - the two of you look okay otherwise. lets see about some food." Nami agreed, picking up chopper and waiting for Robin's response. SHe stood up as well. okay them. abbay's steps.
"WHo told you his name was  pōkiʻi ?"
Robin opened her mouth, but then stopped, nami paused too. Robin looked thoughtful, before getting upset. "I never asked his name. the bloody boy."
"Hmm." zoro then. "ANd what's your name?"
Robin shrugged, her face looking lax, "Aneki." she said simply. Nami snorted.
"I'm guessing that was his name for you too?"
Robin nodded. Nami wondered if she should be telling them who they were or if that might be bad. she'd have to talk to usopp.
The boys were all in the galley when she arrived, usopp and luffy attempting to whip something up for them to eat while sanji critiques them unhelpfully from the table. usopp looked like she was the morning sun after a long night, "Oh - thank you nami." he breathed
"What's going on?"
He waved to the two small boys, "mostly they are okay - but zo.... but they both desperately need a bath. and food. and then probably a nap. but I can't trust Luffy to help with either of the first two....."
nami chuckled. "that.. that sounds right. okay... a=uhh.." she looked around. luffy caught her gaze, smiled and then nodded to usopp before wandering over to robin and the boys.
"Usopp?"
"They don't know who we are." he murmured, keeping voices low. "And.. and I don't know that they know who they are either."
nami nodded. that seemed to track with her conversation with robin. "Do you think it's okay if we tell them?"
"I think it would be okay for some things, but let's keep it simple. We - "
"WHO CALLED YOU THAT!?"
they spun over to where robin was looking horrified at zoro, who looked sad but not otherwise unmoved. Sanji looked horrified. The look only got worse when Zoro pointed a thim. Robin turned to look at the tiny cook in anger. "WHY?"
Luffy was waving them down, "hey hey hey hey. Let's calm down. it's okay, look at it."
"It's not okay! why would you call him that?"
"Who called who what?" Nami asked, kneeling at Robin's side.
"I didn't mean it like that...." sanji whispered, zoro pipping up, and nami turned to look at the tiny boy as she wondered if she was stoking. he was talking, but she didn't understand it. she tough she maybe caught a word, but none of it was common. a word sounded like it might be Shimotsuki but otherwise....
Robin did it appeared, and she still did not look happy. "it's cruel" she insisted, and Sanji looked so ashamed. Zoro shook his head, turning and sanji "Kaina, ce n’est pas grave"
Sanji looked at him like Zoro hung the moon - which was... a vibe Nami wasn't expecting but Zoro missed it completely as he turned to reassure Robin. Luffy was rubbing Robin's arm comfortingly.
"It's cruel" she insisted, turning to Luffy this time, "I won't call him that."
"You don't have to if you don't want to. You usually call him mr swordsman anyway."
"I have swords!?" zoro pips up, while robin tilts her head to luffy, "but.. i don't.. know. him." she says carefully, though each word feels like a lie and she doesn't know how to feel about it.
Usopp claps his hands, breaking the mood. "SO! now that nami's here - she can start making lunch and we can all wash up before eating!"
The boys - including Luffy - all groaned, but no one fought him as Usopp shuffled them off for a bath. sanji was covered in mud and zoro in blood and yes. They both needed a bath.
"Do.. DO i know them?" Robin asked from where she sat with the fussy chopper while nami poked around the kitchen. it had been a while since anyone but sanji had been in here and she wasn't sure where he'd moved things.
"You do." Nami said finally, setting things out on the counter. "I Know you know what devil fruits are." Robin flinched, :But I don't know if you know there are more than one kind?" she hedged
Robin looked thoughtful. "I don't think I've thought about it - but that makes sense. Is that what happened?"
"it is. from what luffy and usopp found out - it should wear off in time, but we're not sure how long we have to wait. or the other side effects. the bounty hunter got away before we could ask him directly."
"hmmm.." Robin pondered this. Chopper was whining at her, and Nami had turned back to the fridge, so Robin took a moment to stick her tongue out playfully at the baby. he gave a high pitched giggle.
"if i give you some milk, could you help chopper while i get something made for lunch?"
"Chopper?"
nami froze with the sippy cup.
"Is that Pōkiʻi's real name?"
name  moved to sit next to them. "Yeah. Tony Tony Chopper. he's a reindeer that at the Hito Hito Fruit. he's our doctor."
"tonyTony Chopper" robin tried that name out. The baby grinned up at them both.
"what does.. What does Poki mean? did ..." what had robin called zoro again, "'the bloody boy' call him that?"
"It means little sibling."
Nami smiled. that.. actually sounded right for zoro. stupid man was soft at heart."Kaina means little brother. the words are from the south blue."
huh. That's not what she expected. "I think Sanji might be older actually. but not by much. and definitely do not tell them that."
"Sanji is which one?"
"Kaina. And Zoro is our dear directionally challenged friend." Nami set the sliced meat down, diving her whole attention to her friend. "And your name is Nico Robin."
By the time Luffy And Usopp escort freshly bathed and clean clothed sanji and zoro to the galley, robin has learned all their names, and in turn explained why she'd gotten upset earlier.
Sanji had called zoro /le gamin./ slang for street-rat. While it was still within insults they'd be likely to throw at each other later in life it did seem - in robins words - cruel at his age.
but robin also admitted that it could just mean an unformaial boy. It was a chance that sanji was just a small boy using a world that he didn't understand the weight of.
"tackar tackar, agch" zoro cooed when she set the sandwich in front of him. nami could only look at him confused.
Honestly, she'd wondered if Zoro was illiterate as an adult - he /could/ read but it was often slow. but the man had a head for math - better than her if she was honest. and she was surprised everything luffy read anything so she tried not to judge them for the lack of any schooling they had growing up,
But.. but maybe the problem was he had too much rattling around in his head. She'd known people who hadn't started learning common until adults, they sounded slow, but that's because they had to translate everything all the time.