Such a Deadly Luxury (300 words) by thesavagesabretooth
Summary: Upon Nico Robin’s betrayal, Crocodile muses on the nature of trust.
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The subterfuge was a formality. It was almost a politeness.
Crocodile knew that Robin was lying to him.
And she knew that he knew she was lying to him.
Well. He’d always known that it would end up this way. From the moment that she had signed on with him, he had been expecting it. It was simply the nature of people to pursue their own goals. His and hers had been aligned for four years— now they reached the time where those goals parted.
It was simply the nature of things. The way of the world.
He said he wasn’t angry. It was true. How could he be angry? It was simply the way of the world. It was like being angry at the sun for setting.
But he supposed there was a small part of him that was… disappointed. She was intelligent, witty, skilled– excellent company. He’d allowed himself to enjoy that. He’d allowed himself to rely on her. He even respected her.
But trust? Hardly.
Trust was a fairytale. Trust was a folly for children. A naivete that led to nothing but despair and ruin. Men could not afford such a deadly luxury as ‘trust’.
He had always known that she would put herself first. All creatures did, in the end.
But maybe there was a part of himself he’d allowed to hope that their goals would remain aligned– a little longer. Maybe indefinitely.
He had hoped. But he had never trusted. Never would he be so foolish.
It was a disappointment he had steeled himself for, for a long time.
But it was still bitter on his tongue. Like ashes. It always was. How he dearly hated to be proven right.
“I forgive you, Nico Robin. For Everything. After all, I never trusted anyone from the start.”