map that leads to you

"Were the cosmopolitans not enough?" he muttered. Robin grunted beside him, her head limp in her hands. She signed to the bartender.

"To a week on the field!" She clenched her fist in a toast. Saul watched wordlessly as the bartender hustled behind the counter. "Back to the ruins, my playground in Alabasta—to the sand dunes and my expeditions."

Saul rolled his shoulders, jolting awake. He felt his pockets for his phone and brought it out. "That's enough. I'm calling your girls."

"Hey, hey . . . . " Robin raised her head, eyes half-lidded. She rested her cheek on an open palm. "Let's enjoy the night! I'll fill them in later."

"We've enjoyed enough," he said. Robin scowled.

"I have room for more . . . more until Tuesday," she insisted. She wanted to celebrate her return to the field after weeks on office duty, when all she did was answer emails and entertain phone calls in between archival work. She loved the job and earned plenty, but office tasks as an archaeology consultant were a huge letdown when an adventurous soul like her belonged on the field.

By heaven's grace, a new consulting party had urgent business on Sandy Island, which Robin happened to survey many moons ago. She was hired to co-lead the expedition immediately, and was scheduled to leave on Tuesday.

Today was Sunday, and she felt the need to kickstart her week with a whole lot of fun: alcohol and (now-eaten) jam sandwiches.

Saul navigated to his contact list and rang your number twice. The line cut off mid-ring on the third call.

"Dear me," he mumbled as his screen turned black. "Give me your phone, Rob."

The woman chuckled. "Oh, oh . . . . Did you change your mind?"

He frowned. "No, my phone's dead. The call didn't go through."

"Ah." Robin looked down at the table, where her phone was hidden under her arm. She slid the device toward him. "We have a group chat. It's more convenient to call."

Saul's stubby hands unlocked the device and scrolled to your chat group. Robin had a full battery, but there was no signal. He pursed his lips.

Having noticed his predicament, the woman smirked.

"Oh my. No signal?"

Saul waved at the bartender and pointed at the phone. "Is there free WiFi here?"

The bartender shook his head. Robin stretched her arms to the sky.

"Well, guess it's time for another drink," she mused.

"No." Saul abruptly locked her phone and stalled the bartender from approaching. He looked behind his shoulder, peering across the bar where a smoking lounge stood. Outside the room was a charging station.

"Something caught your eye?" asked Robin.

"A charging port. Come with me."

"We're leaving early?" she whined.

Saul gestured to the bartender and closed the tab. Although at odds with his decision, Robin didn't protest. She could get drunk all she wanted, but she would listen to Saul at the end of the day. He always seemed to know best, second to her mother.

With a couple thousand berries charged to her name, Robin followed her friend out of the bar and into a small recess across the room, where the charging station stood. Saul hooked his phone to a vacant socket after spending a costly fee, then held his hand out expectantly.

"Give me your cell. I'll find signal while you stay here," he ordered.

Robin shrugged, her phone now deep in her pockets. "Why can't I do it?"

"You're intoxicated," the man stressed. "My dear Olvia would not approve of you going outside alone."

Robin smiled, poking her cheek with her tongue.

Saul liked to talk about Olvia. They were old friends before Marine occupation tagged her for rebellion and shot her down. It had been many years since then, but despite the pain, Olvia remained alive in every passing conversation and waking moment. Sometimes Robin felt that her mother was watching from afar, like Olvia was just right around the corner and waiting for the right time to come back into their lives. With Saul's fatherly senses acting up, she wondered if Olvia was watching right now, too.

Suddenly, she raced to the door. Saul squealed. He tried to reach out to her, but Robin was quick. The man struggled with the charging ports before following her out of the bar and stumbling into rush hour hell.

Robin managed to run a few blocks ahead, swerving through street vendors and foot traffic before winding up at a calmer street. She held her phone above her head and watched as the signal returned. Notifications rushed one after the other as work emails and spam messages piled into her inbox, but she didn't miss the most important of them all—with a total of four notifications, the missed calls from you.

"Mrrao."

Robin looked at the ground. A cat not above two feet tall meowed about, its tail swaying in the air as it stepped closer to her knee-high boots. She sunk to her knees and patted its head. The cat rubbed itself against her touch, feeling the warmth of her hand.

Then she noticed its eyes. Its copper eyes were hidden by hazy white clouds behind the lenses. Despite its condition, the cat stared at her, almost like it could see her through the haze.

With a free hand, Robin swiped open her messages. She texted:

Robin: Hi darling can you pick us up

You read the message immediately. Robin knew that Nami wasn't going to let her slide for tonight's bad behavior, so she texted you instead. The perks of having two partners.

You: heyy, i got you! are you good? and saul? You: you both weren't picking up Robin: I'm O.K. But not with saul. Battery died You: oh alright You: you said "us" tho?

The cat purred as Robin rubbed its cheek, its eyes falling close and its whiskers bending forward. It was clearly a street cat with a heartbreaking condition and no place to call home. Robin's shoulders loosened as the cat's black coat rubbed against her boot.

She replied to your text.

Robin: I adopted cat You: you adopted /a/ cat? Robin: Da You: …so you're at the adoption center? Robin: Nyet Robin: Sidewalk You: ??? Robin: Cat-aract You: idek why i asked, you're drunk… You: can you please send me your loc and stay there before i freak out? lol

Robin did as you asked and sat there in silence, the cat now cradled in her arms. She had a soft spot for cute things, and cats were one of her weaknesses. Her only problem with this whole adoption thing now was your approval and Nami's, but it shouldn't take too much convincing for you to officially own one . . . or so she thought.

You were in the middle of making dinner when your phone vibrated on the counter. You hadn't realized that Saul rang you twice before then. When you noticed, the ringing stopped.

It was your turn to call, but he didn't pick up. Robin was your next resort.

"Come on, Rob. Pick up," you worried. You knew that she was out tonight with Saul to celebrate a work achievement, but that was about it. Robin should be generally safe wherever she and Saul may be, but it worried you that the man called twice.

Saul never called twice. He would only call you with this much urgency if something went horribly wrong, which had only happened once. (He and Robin were stranded on the road when a snowstorm hit, and the nearest bed and breakfast was seventeen kilometers away.) Considering that you hadn't heard from her the entire evening, it got you thinking if anything terrible did happen, and you just missed all of it.

With that, you rang them a few more times before pre-writing a text message to Nami, whom you shouldn't be bothering at a time like this, but Robin texted before it went through.

Robin: Hi darling can you pick us up

As soon as you learned about the cat situation, you hopped into your car and drove to the neighboring city. By the time you pulled up to Robin's location, she had reunited with Saul. She held his jacket in her arms, a pair of black ears peeking from the garment.

You parked across the street and raced toward your girlfriend. "I thought you weren't with anybody," you said, bending down to match Robin's crouched position. The cat purred as you approached it, and you gasped upon seeing its visionless eyes. "Poor little thing! That explains your cataract text."

Robin giggled. Saul sighed beside her, his hands falling to his hips.

"Sorry for letting her run away," he apologized. "Your man is getting old."

You smiled reassuringly. "All good. Nobody was harmed, and Robin even bagged a cute cat."

You reached out to pet the animal, but it avoided your touch. You tried to rub its head.

Suddenly, it attacked you.

"Ow!" you screamed, jumping away.

The cat scratched your hand the moment you tried to pat it. Robin drew the cat close to her chest, shielding it away from you.

Saul looked aghast as the cat continued to hiss. You wept while the pain settled in, a thin shallow mark forming on the back of your hand.

"I didn't know it was hostile!" Robin exclaimed. She looked down at the cat, perplexed. "It couldn't see . . . . Maybe it sensed danger?"

You groaned, rubbing the fresh wound. "Yeah, the danger being me? Geez." Your phone buzzed in your pocket. "One sec."

Nami: robin did what now

"It's Nami," you told the two.

You: okay pretty, don't freak out. it's just a cat You: a cat that scratches… but it's whatever Nami: scratches? You: it scratched me :( Nami: you're telling me that robin adopted a grumpy cat after running away from saul ?? You: yes You: wait, how did you know about saul? Nami: he has a phone too yk Nami: he called meee You: ah, i didn't think he would Nami: what is that supposed to mean ??? smh Nami: anyway i was rlly worried but i'm omw. sit still pls You: okay, okay. aren't you at work tho? Nami: not anymore ! dismissed the kids early

"Nami's coming," you announced. You helped Robin back up on her feet while you avoided the cat in her arms, then pointed at your car. "Let's go elsewhere while we wait for her."

You drove the three of you to the nearest convenience store and waited in the parking lot, with Robin and the cat occupying the backseat. Saul looked behind him in worry, having noticed the cat's constant meowing throughout the ride.

He unbuckled his seatbelt. "I'll find the cat something to eat. Do you want anything?"

"A bottle of water for the lady behind me would be nice. And maybe something for the scratch wound?" you said. He nodded, then left. As the door shut closed, you turned around to face the cat. "You think it's still mad at me?"

Robin lulled the cat to sleep, its eyes closing in defeat. It felt safe enough to welcome fatigue now that it was nestled in her arms with Saul's warm jacket. She shrugged. "I don't know."

You sighed. You loved animals as much as your girlfriends did. It never crossed your mind to own one together, but you weren't opposed to it. Unfortunately, the one animal that Robin would love to keep didn't seem to like you very much, and it frankly broke your heart that it was adverse to your touches.

"Do you actually want to adopt it?" you asked.

Robin stared blankly. Then she blinked, her cerulean blue eyes glinting in the low light. "Do you?"

"Oh, you— you just returned the question." She smiled cheekily. "I would love a cat at home to keep me company. You and Nami aren't exactly around most of the time."

Robin raised the cat to her face and rubbed her cheek on its head like a mother would. The cat purred. You seemed welcoming of the adoption, which she was thankful for. Since you and Nami moved into her flat, you had been doing most of the housework given the work-from-home setup at your newest job. With Nami's freelance tutoring and Robin's consultant position, you three had a lot of time off from each other to spend by yourselves, but Robin understood just how lonely it could get. It didn't surprise her that you craved company whenever they were gone.

"Well, I look forward to the day it warms up to you," she said. "That's one down. All that's left is Nami's approval."

You nodded. "She'll approve of it, surely. She likes cats just as much as you do."

Suddenly, your phone vibrated in your hand.

Nami: i'm here !

"Nami's here," you quoted. You looked out the window and saw Nami crossing the street, her bookbag slung across her body.

You and Robin piled out of the car as she ran toward you. With arms wide open, she engulfed you both in a hug before feeling the animal press against her chest.

"Oh," said the girl, having noticed the cat a second too late.

"It's a blind cat," Robin chirped.

Nami bent down to meet the animal. The cat peeped from Saul's jacket and looked her in the eye, its feeble limbs holding onto the fabric as its ears perked up. Nami stared back, noting its visually impaired state.

Then she gasped.

"Where did you find this cat?" she asked.

"Uh . . . . " You turned to Robin.

"Sidewalk," answered Robin. "Blind cat by the bar."

"And it approached you alone?" Nami asked further. Her girlfriend nodded. "Oh my goodness."

Your eyebrows furrowed. "What— what's wrong?"

"Rob, this is a miracle!" Nami summoned her phone and navigated to a digital photo album, one that you've passively seen on her phone before. She clicked on an old photo and flashed Robin her screen.

"Your brightness is too high," Robin complained as she shielded her eyes, but she saw the photo before anything else. "Oh. Is it really?"

"What in the world are you looking at?" You leaned into Robin to see the photo, and there it was: a scrawny black cat in a soggy cardboard box, drenched in rainwater as flood overflowed behind it. Its copper eyes were similar to the cat's in Robin's arms, but the white clouds behind its lenses were merely a pearly-white sheen that glossed over its irises.

"It's the cat I used to feed at my old apartment," Nami explained. "It showed up during a thunderstorm with three others, but they disappeared overnight and left this one behind. It ran away from the complex weeks before I moved out."

"I take it that the others were fine?" you assumed.

"The rest were abled, but there's no telling what happened after they disappeared." She tried to pat its head, and the cat let her. It nuzzled its face into her palm. "It remembers me! Robin, you work miracles!"

"Guess I'm a cat repellent then," you mumbled bitterly.

Saul exited the convenience store with a paper bag of canned goods and necessities. Robin, still hammered from all the alcohol she drank, let Nami take the cat as she emptied half a bottle of water. Saul got the memo after you filled him in, and he led you to a public restroom to nurse your scratch wound.

When you came back, Robin was noticeably giddy. She teased the cat as she bit into a pre-packaged box cake, while Nami swung the animal around in glee.

It was when Robin tried to feed it a spoonful of chocolate cake that you called it a night.

"Alright, we're going home." You tugged Robin's sleeve to pull her away from the animal, then stabilized her when she tripped over her feet. "No, Robin, you cannot feed the cat chocolate! Geez! I'm getting the car."

"And I'll find this cat a box." As you led Robin to your car, Nami stalked down the back alley with Saul in search of cardboard. Saul spotted a small soda box and placed the cat inside the temporary dwelling.

Some time later, you parted ways with Saul after you drove him home. On the ride back to your city, Nami agreed to adopt the feline.

"I'm sure we can make it work," she said. "Not all cats are friendly at first meeting."

"If it makes you feel better, the scratch was practically nothing," you reassured. "As long as it doesn't go feral while I cook dinner, everything is going to be okay. Speaking of dinner, does take out sound fine? I don't feel like cooking after this."

Robin shot you a thumbs up from the backseat, chocolate cake finished, and the cat box on her lap.

"You were cooking dinner?" asked Nami.

"For us," you replied. "Don't worry about the house burning down. I checked the kitchen before leaving."

"No, it's just, what were you cooking?"

"The pantry is overflowing with tangerines after last week's harvest, so spicy chicken and citrus dishes." You had a tangerine grove in your backyard after Nami transplanted a bunch of trees from her sister's farm. You had invented many recipes since the first harvest.

Shifting in her seat, Nami grabbed your hand and brought it up to her nose. "That's it!"

You made a face. "Girl, what? We're sniffing hands now?"

She shook her head. Robin laughed from behind.

"Cats hate citrus. They loathe the smell of acid. The cat probably smelled tangerine on your fingers and got scared," Nami reasoned.

"That makes sense. It scratched you to protect itself since it couldn't see," Robin added.

Stunned by the news, you sighed in relief.

You were not the problem.

"Does that mean we can't let the cat outside?" you asked.

Nami caressed her cheek in thought. "Backyard is off-limits, but there's a park nearby where it should be safe. We'll figure it out in time."

As you pulled up to your home, Robin and the cat were fast asleep. You carried Robin to your room, while Nami hauled the cat in a cardboard box and the bags of takeout from the trunk.

The night ended quietly thereafter, with a new addition to your quaint home.

All thanks to Robin's ventures at the Cat Scratch Lounge that Sunday.

-

i'm not poly so i can't perfectly capture what it's like being in one, but a tumblr oomf suggested a robin x reader x nami fic for pride month and i couldn't say no :P thank you to @sin-namonroll and @lawfem for the suggestion <3 it's a week overdue for pride month but i wanted to give the dynamic justice, hence the late post. this throuple honestly worked so well bc robin and nami are such sweet, sweet girls, and i hope the readers think that too