Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Two years. It had been two long years since his captain had been executed by the World Government. Rayleigh truly thought he had made his peace with it. His captain's time had been up, they all knew it. The crew had disbanded at Roger’s command, and were committed to honoring their captain’s wishes.

For his part, Rayleigh had set himself up on Sabaody, content to live out the rest of his days as a ship’s coater (with the occasional adventurous excursion). A retirement of sorts. He occasionally shared his house with Shakky; she was heaven-sent, helping him out of his thoughts whenever he sunk too deep. He shook his head, realising he was on the verge of drifting back to memories of brighter days once again.

His doorbell rang. 

Rayleigh wasn’t expecting visitors - aside from Shakky hardly anyone knew he lived here. He absentmindedly wondered who it could be as he made his way to the door. 

As it turned out, Rayleigh had not made his peace with anything. There, on his doorstep, was Vice Admiral Garp holding a very small bundle of blankets that really could only contain one thing. The blankets shifted in Garp’s arms, Rayleigh was almost certain there was a baby swaddled amongst all that fabric.

Garp smiled at him ruefully, and jostled the bundle in his arms so he could wave at Rayleigh. Rayleigh wondered what would bring Garp to his doorstep—and for that matter, how Garp had found his particular doorstep in the first place. He cast out his Observation Haki, but he could sense no other Marines, or anyone for that matter, in the immediate vicinity.

“You gonna invite me in, ‘O Dark King?” Garp asked, grinning.

Rayleigh rolled his eyes at Garp's theatrics. “That depends,” he said, still suspicious. “Why are you here, and what are you holding?”

Garp held out the bundle of blankets, and all but dropped it into Rayleigh's arms. Rayleigh caught it on reflex, and cradled it instinctually. His assumptions were correct (as they often were). There was a very small, very cute baby wrapped up in the blankets. It was still sleeping, somehow, even after being nearly dropped by Garp. Its little face was the only thing visible from the bundle, and Rayleigh's heart ached - the baby was adorable.

“This young lad is Portgas D. Ace,” Garp announced, rocking back on the balls of his feet. 

Rayleigh felt his heart drop into his stomach. All he could do was stare at Garp, who for his part seemed completely nonplussed about the huge bombshell he had just dropped onto Rayleigh's life.

“Portgas,” Rayleigh murmured. “As in Portgas D. -”

“Rouge, yes.” 

Rayleigh looked down at the baby, at Ace. He sighed. “I think you had better come in.”

“About time,” Garp grumbled. “You know, I've been looking for you for four months? You're a hard man to find.”

Rayleigh waved that statement away, dismissing Garp with a small shake of his head as he closed the door behind him. He gestured in the direction of his living room, which Garp had no trouble finding and making himself at home in. Rayleigh took in the image of Garp lounging on the couch with his arms spread across the backrest, his legs crossed languidly and posture relaxed. He could surely say this was not what he expected to happen when he got up this morning. Garp was completely at ease, and sure, Rayleigh could feign that ease were he in Garp’s position, but he could tell that Garp didn’t need to put on any kind of farce for this.

Rayleigh sat himself down in his usual armchair, arranging the bundle in his arms in what he hoped was a comfortable position for the baby. It had been a while since he'd interacted with children this young. His thoughts briefly wandered back to Oden, Toki, and their children. Roger had so loved Momo and Hiyori. He’d delighted in playing games with them, entertaining them so that Oden and Toki could catch a few well earned breaks. The baby in his arms would never experience that from Roger. 

Rayleigh closed his eyes. After a moment, he spoke.

“So Roger did have a son.”

Garp nodded.

“He looks so-” Rayleigh paused, contemplating, “young.” 

Roger had died over two years ago, and Ace didn’t appear much older than a newborn. He didn’t think Garp would lie about something like this, taking the trouble to turn up on his doorstep with a baby for a practical joke, but there had to be something more going on here.

Garp nodded again. “That Rouge, her determination really was something. She carried him for nearly twenty months, she was adamant the World Government would not kill her baby.”

Rayleigh blinked. Twenty months? He didn't doubt that it was the truth, but carrying a baby for twenty months was unheard of. If anyone was going to pull that off though, it’s no surprise to him that it was Rouge.

“Where is she?” Rayleigh asked, knowing in his heart of hearts he wouldn't want to know the answer.

“Twenty months is a long time.” Garp paused for a moment before continuing. “It put a strain on her body. Rouge passed shortly after giving birth,” Garp said, the usual jolly boisterous tone gone from his voice.

Rayleigh closed his eyes, letting the words wash over him. He had assumed, of course, that with Roger dead the Marines would be looking for Rouge, and even he didn't know where Roger had hidden her. He had thought the Marines had found her first. To think she’d been alive, hiding and suffering, all this time. 

And alone, his mind prompted. His heart twisted uncomfortably in his chest.

“She lived long enough to name him,” Garp said, breaking Rayleigh out of his spiraling thoughts.

“She wanted to call him Gol D. Ace, but that name is too dangerous.” Garp stretched, and made to get up. It appeared he was done with this conversation.

“You're leaving?” Rayleigh asked. A flash of annoyance sparked inside him. The audacity of that man, dropping all of this on him and then just upping sticks.

“Yeah, I'm just the delivery guy.” Garp barked out a sharp laugh. The noise cut through the quiet house like a whip. 

Rayleigh looked down at Ace, worried the sudden noise would have woken him, but the little boy remained sound asleep. He stood as well, he was too shocked to say anything, so he just followed Garp back to the front door to see him out.

Garp was halfway through the open door before he turned around.

“These were the last wishes of Portgas D. Rouge and Gol D. Roger, I'm duty bound to see them carried out,” he said, face solemn. 

He patted himself down, searching through his pockets before producing a slightly crumpled envelope.

“From Rouge,” he said, then felt around in another pocket and pulled out an even more crumpled letter. “From Roger.”

He handed them both to Rayleigh, who shifted Ace to one arm so he could take the letters with a shaky hand. Rayleigh stared down at the envelopes, the last words of his loves. 

When he looked up again Garp was already quite a distance away. That man was fast - or, more likely, Rayleigh had been too caught up in his emotions to realise exactly how many minutes had passed.

Rayleigh looked down once again, this time to the baby in his arms. Ace was breathing softly, his tiny eyes shut peacefully. His son. 

Chapter Text

Ace didn’t stay peaceful for long. Soon after Garp left, Ace awoke and performed some truly impressive vocal exercises with his tiny lungs. Rayleigh spent the better part of an hour rocking and comforting him, trying to get him to quiet down. He couldn’t blame him, Ace had woken up in a new place, in the arms of a stranger, his only known caretaker gone with no sign of returning. 

Eventually, Ace did run out of steam, quieting down to soft whimpers. Rayleigh rocked him gently, the baby seemed to like the soothing motion. He sighed in relief and decided he ought to buy some ear plugs next time he was at the market - Ace was loud .

On that note, Rayleigh realised he needed to buy an awful lot of things for Ace. Garp had handed him a baby in a blanket and nothing else. He didn’t even have a change of clothes for him, or anything for Ace to eat. The reality of the situation was slowly dawning on Rayleigh - he had quite forgotten just how much work goes into raising a baby.

Rayleigh could feel the beginnings of a headache twinge at his temples. He ignored the pain and instead picked up the receiver of his den den mushi to dial Shakky’s number. He tapped his finger against the mouthpiece of the den den until he heard it connect with a click.

“Hi Ray.” Shakky’s voice floated down the line.

Rayleigh’s shoulders sagged. Her voice always relaxed him, and he hadn’t realised just how much tension he was holding until it all fell out of him at once.

“Shakky-” Rayleigh began.

“What happened?” Shakky asked, concerned. “I know that tone, something happened.”

The ghost of a smile crossed Rayleigh’s face, Shakky was too damn sharp. “Something did happen.” Rayleigh agreed.

There was silence on the other end of the line. Rayleigh knew Shakky would wait as long as it took until he told her what transpired. In hindsight, he really ought to have thought of a way to tell her all of this before he called her, but he had wanted to hear her voice too much to wait until he’d figured that out.

“I had a… visitor,” he said cryptically. It wouldn’t do to reveal too much over the phone line, one could never be sure who else might be listening.

“Do I need to come home?” Shakky asked, concern still evident in her voice.

“I think that might be best.” 

“I’ll be there soon.” Shakky promised. 

The click of the den den mushi disconnecting echoed around the living room. He hadn't even had a chance to say thank you. Shakky was always ready to drop everything and come to him no questions asked and today was no different. He was glad to have her. 

Rayleigh sat back in his chair with Ace still cradled in his arms. He couldn’t find it in him to put him down anywhere. He’d met Ace less than an hour ago but already he was fiercely protective of the child. Not to mention he didn't want to risk the little foghorn waking up again. The safest place for Ace was in his arms, so that is where he would stay.

-

Rayleigh was awoken some time later by the sound of the door latch clicking. He was somewhat surprised he had dozed off. He hastened to rub the sleep from his eyes, dislodging his glasses in the process. 

Shakky walked into the living room and spotted him like that, the worry on her face replaced by a fond smile when she found no immediate danger threatening him. Her smile only grew when she spotted the baby in his arms. She walked over and sat on the arm of Rayleigh’s chair, crossing her legs over the edge of it. She lent into Rayleigh's space and gently caressed Ace’s sleeping face.

“And who is this?” she asked, looking at Rayleigh. Her eyes were full of curiosity, but he could tell the phone call had rattled her more than she wanted to let on. Ordinarily she wouldn’t be hovering over him like this. He regretted not planning that conversation more, he hadn't meant to worry Shakky like that. Unfortunately, he was about to give her even more to worry about.

Rayleigh smiled faintly. “His name is Portgas D. Ace.”

“Oh,” was all Shakky said.

“Yeah.”

“I see why you were reluctant to say more over the den den.”

Rayleigh inclined his head.

“It's too dangerous to keep him here,” Shakky said, ever practical. “The Celestial Dragons are too close, and there’s a large Marine presence on this island.”

Rayleigh hummed in agreement. She was right, of course. Shakky had lived on Sabaody long before he had and knew the archipelago well. It was no place to raise a child, especially not one with Ace’s parentage.

“Listen,” Shakky began. “I’ll go out and get you some supplies, but you should prepare to leave as soon as possible.”

Rayleigh nodded, it was a sensible suggestion. He started making a mental list of the possessions he'd want to take with him and what could be left behind with Shakky. The full extent of her words caught up with him a moment later.

“Hang on, I should leave? What about you?”

Shakky leaned down against Rayleigh, their shoulders pressed together in a sort of parallel hug. “It’s better if I stay on Sabaody. I can be of more help here, keeping tabs on the Marines and the news.”

Rayleigh knew there would be no arguing with her. It was rational, and having her to tell him what islands to avoid and to keep him up to date on world events would be invaluable. This is where she wanted to be, and there’d be no changing her mind. Shakky did as she pleased, and that is what he loved about her. 

“I’ll miss you.”

Shakky turned his face to hers and gently kissed the corner of his mouth. “I’ll be just a den den mushi call away.”

Rayleigh shifted Ace in his lap so he could take Shakky’s hand in his own.

“I know. It won’t stop me missing you though.” He kissed the back of her hand and Shakky squeezed his hand in response. Rayleigh clung onto that comforting gesture with everything he had. Shakky could always moor him with just a touch. He squeezed back before letting go.

“I’ll go and get everything you might need, we should aim to get you gone by tonight.” Shakky stood up and headed toward the door.

Rayleigh made no move to get up, simply watching her leave from his armchair.

“You should get your things together too,” Shakky prompted him gently.

“I will,” Rayleigh promised. “Thank you, love.”

Shakky blew him a kiss and winked playfully at him before she left, closing the door gently behind her. Rayleigh was grateful for that. He would rather Ace stayed asleep for the moment - he did not want a repeat of the one man concert Ace performed earlier.

Rayleigh set Ace down carefully on his lap so that he could make full use of both his hands. He picked up the two letters Garp had given to him before he left and turned them over several times as he contemplated them.

The letter from Roger was older and more weathered. His name was written on it in Roger’s spindly handwriting. The one from Rouge was in slightly better condition - but only slightly. His name was written on it in her small neat script.

He set down Roger’s letter for the moment and forced his hands to remain steady as he broke the seal of the envelope containing Rouge’s. It held just one sheet of paper and Rayleigh cradled it like it would shatter at the slightest nudge. He began to read.

Rayleigh, my love.

I am entrusting you with our son, Ace. I fear I will not live long enough to see his first words, his first steps, or the man he will become. 

You know Roger and I loved you, we still love you. I know you’ll raise our son well. He’s your son too, I hope you know this.

Rayleigh’s grip on the paper tightened. He forced himself to relax and keep reading despite the pang in his heart. Ace was his son.

Tell him how much we love him, Rayleigh. Tell him every day for us. There’s a lot about my life I would change, but I would never change this.

Tell him I am sorry.

Thank you Rayleigh, my heart will belong to you and to Roger, even after it stops beating.

-Rouge.

Rayleigh let the letter drop onto the coffee table in front of him and pushed it away before any of his tears could smudge it. He once again looked down at the sleeping baby in his lap.

“Your parents love you Ace. We love you.” 

Before his emotions got the better of him Rayleigh picked up the other letter. He opened even more carefully than Rouge’s. The envelope was in a far worse state, and the paper inside was not faring much better. He took a deep breath, and began to read.

My dear Rayleigh,

One sheet of paper is not enough by far to convey everything I want to say to you, but then again, you probably know it all already, you damn smart-ass.

I must ask you for one last thing, I’m not your captain anymore, so I’m asking as your equal. Rouge is pregnant, and I’ll be dead before the baby arrives. Take care of her, and our child. I won’t be able to see our baby grow up, so you must do me that honour instead.

I’m not sorry for asking, or for having to ask. I know you will be a wonderful father to our child. 

I love you, Rayleigh.

-Gol D. Roger

Rayleigh gently set the letter down next to the one from Rouge. He stared at where they lay on the coffee table, unwilling to touch them again. He knew deep down he’d read them time and time again until he could repeat them verbatim, but not now.

Ace began to stir in his lap, his little hands poking out of the bundle of blankets he was swaddled in. 

Rayleigh reached down to rearrange the blankets but before he could Ace’s tiny fist had grabbed onto one of his fingers. Rayleigh tugged gently but the boy had a strong grip, he would not be letting go easily. Rayleigh found he didn’t want him to. His son, their son, could hold onto him for as long as he needed to.

Chapter Text

The oars cut through the water easily, propelling the little boat towards an unassuming island in the middle of the Grand Line. Rayleigh rowed with practised ease, the motions familiar and repetitive to him after a life spent at sea.

The small island in the distance was silhouetted against the orange and purple hues of the setting sun. Rayleigh picked up speed. Ideally he had hoped to get back before night truly began to fall. He continued rowing, and the island grew steadily closer until the little dinghy scraped against the shallows.

Rayleigh hopped out of the boat with a splash. The island had no jetty, and there was no river to take the boat further inland, so he had to get out and wade through the water. The evening chill had extended to the ocean, and the water came up to his shins. He shivered. He often wore cropped trousers and sandals for this exact reason - they would dry much faster than heavy boots and trousers. Walking around with wet and cold material slapping at his ankles was a fundamentally unpleasant sensation that he would rather avoid.

Roger had often teased him for his fashion sense (or lack thereof) but Rayleigh always countered that function ought to be prioritised over fashion. He was content to let Roger be the one who caught everyone's eye, he was the captain after all. 

He dragged the boat onto the shore, hiding it from view amongst the brush of the treeline. He kept a tarp in the storage hold of the boat for this exact purpose, which he retrieved along with the supplies he’d just collected from a neighbouring island.

He set aside the supplies for a moment so he could throw the tarp over as much of the boat as possible, which more or less concealed it. Rayleigh shrugged, good enough. The sun had well and truly set now, and he just wanted to get back.

He picked up the supplies he had brought and set off through the sparse trees. He felt Ace stir against him where he was strapped to his back. His tiny limbs barely had any force behind them, but he knew Ace would keep fidgeting until they got home. Rayleigh smiled, he should've known that the absence of the gentle rocking of the boat would wake Ace up shortly after he disembarked.

The island he was on at the moment was completely uninhabited. It was small, no more than a spit of land in the vast ocean surrounding it, which made it the perfect place to hide from both the Navy and passing pirates - it wasn’t even worth anchoring at. 

It was the third island he had temporarily made his home on since leaving Sabaody almost a year ago, and thankfully he had not had a single visitor the entire time he'd been there. This was largely because the island was incredibly boring. It held no dangers, the few predator species that existed on the island were no bigger than dogs, and they did not bother Rayleigh. Not that it would have been any great effort for him to fight them off, but he was relieved he didn't have to. Raising a baby was turning out to be a full time job with no overtime pay.

Ace was really starting to squirm now, getting impatient for attention. 

“We'll be home soon,” Rayleigh said over his shoulder.

At the sound of his voice Ace calmed slightly, but only for a few moments. It wasn't long before he was trying his best to convince Rayleigh he had shape-shifted into an octopus while he wasn't paying attention. 

The small hut he had built came into view. It hadn't been far to walk; the whole island took about ten minutes to cross on foot end to end.

The hut was a simple thing, he’d thatched the roof himself and built the walls out of wood from the surrounding trees to better obscure it from view. It had few creature comforts, and only one room and basic furnishings - though he’d hung a tattered old curtain as a partition to give the illusion of a private bedroom space for himself. The bare aesthetics of his house didn’t bother Rayleigh overly much, he spent most of his time outside with Ace anyway. The boy was fascinated with the world around him and he wanted to encourage that as much as he could.

When he got inside he put the supplies on the table. As he did the sack split and half the things he brought tumbled out onto it. Wonderful. This was a problem for later; Ace was getting agitated and Rayleigh needed to comfort him before he entered full tantrum mode. A hungry Ace was not a happy Ace.

He unstrapped Ace from the makeshift harness he had constructed so he could bring the boy with him wherever he went. There was not a chance in hell Rayleigh would leave him by himself for more than a few minutes while he was still this young. Where he went, Ace went too.

He had thought this would make hunting for food quite difficult, but Ace seemed content to watch him with wide eyes as he spent hours fishing or making traps. Perhaps the boy didn't mind because Rayleigh spoke to him the whole time, telling him what he was doing, or telling him stories - some factual and some completely fanciful. Most would call him mad for explaining in all seriousness what the benefits of each kind of fishing bait were to a baby, but Ace seemed to like the sound of his voice at the very least. It didn't really matter what he spoke about.

He set Ace down in the highchair he'd built a week or so after docking on this island for the first time. Immediately, Ace reached for the sack of supplies on the table, clearly wanting one of the bread sticks that had rolled out when Rayleigh had set it down. 

Rayleigh chuckled and passed the bread stick to Ace, who began chewing on it happily.

Ace was, by his best reckoning, a year and four months old now. He knew Ace's birthday of course - Shakky had mentioned a bundle of baby supplies had shown up outside his house a few weeks after he left. Along with it was a letter, presumably from Garp, which mentioned Ace’s birthday. The letter was brief, but Rayleigh was grateful for it - he was glad he wouldn’t have to make up a fake birthday for his son. However he wasn't sure what the current date was, so he could only estimate Ace’s current age. Finding a calendar wasn’t high on his priority list.

It had been one hell of a year. Dodging marines was enough of a task without having to do it while keeping a baby safe and happy. He was truly glad Ace’s last few teeth had finished coming in - there had been some close calls with Ace’s teething cries nearly giving away their location. Although now Ace had canines , and that was a scary thought. 

A few months ago, Ace had discovered biting. It was now his favourite thing to do, or at least it seemed that way to Rayleigh. He’d been assured by some village locals on his latest supply run that this was completely normal behaviour for a baby - they like to explore things with their mouths. Ace, however, had bypassed exploring and progressed straight to conquering.

Rayleigh had tried to find harmless things for Ace to gnaw on, while also being robust enough to withstand his tenacity. So far, nothing he had tried had lasted more than a few weeks.

Rayleigh’s hand had been the victim of one such ‘exploration’. On instinct he’d activated his Haki when he sensed Ace was about to bite down too hard. The next thing he knew Ace was wailing because he'd bit into the hard surface of his armoured skin rather than the squishy texture it was supposed to be. Rayleigh had been so sleep deprived at that point that he hadn't fully registered what he had done, and when it dawned on him he felt terrible.

Ever since, he had been making a conscious effort to fight his instinct to use Armament Haki when he sensed Ace about to bite him, and as such his hands were often littered with tiny teeth marks. He didn’t mind so much, better his hand than Ace chewing on the furniture and getting splinters in his gums. Dealing with that was a nightmare Rayleigh didn’t want to even consider.

He sat down opposite his son and fished a breadstick out of the bag for himself. Rowing always made him hungry. 

Ace noticed him eating too and made a happy sound. Rayleigh chuckled. Despite having sailed with the Kozuki children on the Oro Jackson he didn’t remember much about babies' developmental stages. He’d been more focused on the logistics of their journey than on the children accompanying them. So he wasn’t sure how much Ace really understood about what was going on around him, but he liked to think Ace enjoyed it when they did things together.

With that in mind, Rayleigh began to tell Ace a story.

“Now Ace, did I ever tell you about the first time your father nearly set the whole ship on fire?”

Ace made a delighted cooing noise in response.

“No?” Rayleigh asked, feigning surprise. “Well, let me enlighten you.”

He began to weave his tale, which was largely true but embellished with silly noises and funny faces to make Ace laugh.

—

He’d just gotten Ace to settle down for the night when the encrypted den den mushi Shakky had given him before he’d left Sabaody rang. Rayleigh remembered the way she’d pressed it into his hands while she kissed him one last time. His heart stung, oh how he missed her. 

Before the ringing could continue he picked up the receiver and headed outside, he didn’t want to wake Ace up when he’d only just drifted off.

“Weather’s nice this time of year,” Rayleigh said.

“It’s been lovely lately,” Shakky agreed.

Rayleigh let out a sigh of relief. They had agreed to begin all calls like this, with Shakky’s comment on the weather indicating whether or not she was in any immediate danger, or if she were being spied on. Shakky’s paranoia had kicked in and she’d insisted if she ever answered his statement by saying a thunderstorm was approaching he was to hang up immediately and relocate to another island without telling her where.

“I’m glad,” Rayleigh murmured. “I miss you.”

“Sap,” Shakky laughed, but Rayleigh could hear the warmth in her voice. “I miss you too.”

“How have you been?” 

“I’ve been alright,” Shakky said. “But listen, I ought to keep this brief. There’s a Super Rookie headed your way, and the Marines are right behind them. It’s unlikely they’ll pass by your precise location but-”

“But it’s better to be safe than sorry,” Rayleigh agreed, finishing her thought.

Rayleigh sighed, he’d grown quite used to the peace and quiet of this island. It was a spring island, so its climate was fairly mild, and he’d never had to struggle to find food or clean water. Uprooting himself so often was getting tiring. He hoped it would get easier as Ace got older, but as it was right now, it took so long to get Ace to settle whenever they got to a new place.

Shakky could likely sense his mood, because she tried to comfort him. “I know it's a pain, but caution will reward us far more than risks at this point in time. He’s still so young.”

“You’re right,” he agreed. Of course, in matters like this Shakky was rarely wrong. She was shrewd, calculating, and was the most level-headed person in Rayleigh’s life. “I’ll leave first thing in the morning, which way should I head?”

“The rookie is coming from an island to your east, so head west.”

“Aye aye,” he mock saluted.

“You just saluted me, didn’t you?” Shakky asked, the smile evident in her voice.

“Aye,” he said, grinning.

“I love you, you daft old man.”

“And I, you. I’ll call you after we find a new place to settle.” 

“Okay, be safe Ray.”

“I promise. Goodbye, darling.”

He hung up the den den and leant against the wall of their little hut. He cast his eyes to the sky and found the stars were particularly bright. He liked to imagine Shakky was doing the same, half a world away on Sabaody. Roger and Rouge too, wherever their souls were resting. They were all enjoying the starlit sky tonight.

Chapter Text

The West Blue was a far less daunting sea than the Grand Line. Rayleigh had decided to head there after Shakky’s last warning call a year ago. The Grand Line was too unpredictable; too many upstarts trying to make their name and inconveniencing him by bringing the Navy closer than they would otherwise come.

Although the type of people here were not nearly as bizarre as some of the people he’d encountered on various islands in the Grand Line, the West Blue still had its oddities.

The people of this region tended to favour a cowboy aesthetic; the preferred weapons were guns and most people could be seen in boots with spurs on the heels, along with wide brimmed hats. It seemed novel to Rayleigh at first, but after a while he had grown accustomed to the culture of the West Blue and found he was quite charmed by it.

Not long after arriving, Rayleigh had bought himself one of those hats to fit in. He ended up quite liking it, the West Blue was fairly hot and the hat came in handier than he’d anticipated. It was orange, sturdy, and most importantly - cheap. He’d been getting by these last few years by selling excess meat from animals he had hunted, and doing a few odd jobs here and there when he suddenly needed extra cash. This hat was one of the few little luxuries he had allowed himself. He wasn’t hurting for money, but it wouldn’t do to waste it on unnecessary frivolities for himself. 

For Ace it was a different matter, if his son wanted something Rayleigh would do everything in his power to get it for him. Which is why they were currently walking through a market in a small coastal town with Ace clutching a toy tiger that had green buttons for eyes. Ace had spotted the toy at a market stall earlier and promptly let go of Rayleigh’s hand, running over to it as fast as his little legs could carry him—which was a startling speed given his size. 

A spike of panic lanced through Rayleigh's body when he realised Ace was no longer in his line of sight . Breathe , he scolded himself as his Observation Haki flared over the crowd, relief sinking in when Ace pinged on his radar a mere moment later. He pushed through the crowd in a hurry. 

Thankfully, Ace was transfixed by the toy stall and Rayleigh found him quickly. Once he'd found his son he crouched down to his level and tried very hard to explain the concept of running away and why Ace shouldn't run from him.

He wasn't sure if Ace understood him, his son's attention had still largely been drawn by the toy tiger he had spotted. Rayleigh had caved and bought it for him, delighting in the pleased smile Ace gave him as he hugged his new toy. 

Ace was old enough now to walk beside Rayleigh when they went on excursions into town, but by the end of the afternoon he often got tired and had to be carried home. Instead of the harness Rayleigh used to carry Ace in, he could simply let Ace ride on his shoulders these days. The boy was strong enough now to hold on to him and balance. Ace would often spend the whole journey home garbling unintelligible sounds to Rayleigh, who would respond to these enlightened statements with phrases such as ‘Really?’ and ‘Well I never!’

That day, they were only halfway through their shopping when he heard Ace’s stomach rumble. 

“Dada.”

Rayleigh stopped dead in the middle of the street. 

Ace, who was holding his hand, tugged on it.

“Dada,” he said again. “Meat!”

Trying very hard not to lose his mind about his son’s first ever words in the middle of the marketplace, Rayleigh picked up Ace so they were eye-level. “You want meat?”

“Meat! Meat meat meat!” Ace chirped.

Rayleigh laughed, still in shock. “Well, that’s dinner decided then. Meat it is.”

“Meat!” Ace repeated happily. His stomach accompanied that last demand with another rumble.

—

Their table at the small restaurant they ended up in for lunch had three chairs so that Ace’s toy tiger could have a seat as well. He would not part with it, and Rayleigh hoped to all the gods ever conceived of that his son never lost it.

Ace tore into his pork chop with unrestrained enthusiasm and Rayleigh chuckled, keeping a careful watch to make sure he didn't choke on his food. He was so very glad Ace had more or less grown out of his biting habit. Now he only bit Rayleigh when he was having a strop.

The pork chop did not last long, Ace may have all his teeth now but he hardly seemed to need them with the way he inhaled food.

Ace had nearly finished eating when his head started to lull. His body listed to one side and Rayleigh gently caught him before he fell off of the chair. His son had a somewhat concerning habit of falling asleep at odd moments, especially during mealtimes. 

He gathered Ace’s small body onto his lap, and Ace shifted, curling up in Rayleigh’s lap and snoring gently. Rayleigh stroked the hair out of his son’s eyes - it was getting rather long now. Idly he wondered if he ought to cut it. Though, that had the potential to become a very eventful day; something told him Ace would not tolerate Rayleigh messing with his hair.

He waited a little while, but Ace showed no signs of waking, so he eventually paid the bill and left with Ace in his arms. 

—

That evening, Rayleigh sat on the porch of their little shack—this one was a bit more permanent than their hut on the unnamed spit of land they’d been living on in the Grand Line. He’d wanted some permanency for Ace’s early developmental years so he’d left the Grand Line, figuring the West Blue would be a nice, innocuous place to raise the son of the Pirate King.

Ace had woken up for dinner and promptly fallen asleep again a little while ago, and now that Rayleigh was sure he was completely asleep he could finally pick up the receiver of his den den mushi. He dialed Shakky’s number, pleased he still remembered it. He hadn’t dialed it since he left Sabaody - promising not to call unless it was an absolute emergency. Ringing her would make her worry, but he had to tell her about this. Moreover, he missed her.

Shakky picked up almost instantly.

“Nice weather lately,” she said breathlessly, worry lacing her voice.

“Beautiful,” he agreed.

“Rayleigh,” Shakky said sternly. “What happened? You’re not supposed to call unless-”

“Unless I’m in terrible mortal danger I know,” Rayleigh interrupted her. “But darling, Ace said his first words today.”

“He did?!”

“Yeah, ‘Dada’ and ‘meat’, one right after the other.” Rayleigh chuckled at the memory of earlier. He still couldn’t quite believe it.

“He called you Dada,” Shakky said softly.

“He did.” Rayleigh wiped his eyes. Tears were welling up and he was determined not to let them fall.

“Are you crying?” Shakky asked, the tone of her voice suggested she already knew the answer.

“You know I am, must you make me admit it?” Rayleigh whined.

“You’re the most softhearted bloodthirsty pirate I’ve ever met.” 

“And you love me for it.”

“I do.”

Rayleigh smiled and said nothing, contenting himself with their shared silence across thousands of miles. 

A few moments passed before Shakky spoke again. “I should go.”

“I know,” Rayleigh said. He didn’t want her to.

“Goodbye Ray, I miss you.”

“I miss you too dear, more than anything.”

The den den mushi clicked. Rayleigh stayed on the porch for another hour, maybe more, staring off into the desert.

Chapter Text

“And then!” Ace yelled, waving his hands above his head, “A huge wave crashed over the ships and they all capsized! Every single one!” Ace jumped about as they walked, moving his arms to mime ships crashing and sinking.

“Did they now?” Rayleigh asked, listening to the story his son was telling him with amused interest.

“Yeah! And there were no survivors!” Ace spread his arms wide, a grand finish to his tall tale.

“No survivors hmm? Then how do we know what happened?”

Ace pondered his question.

“Someone must’ve seen it,” he said eventually.

“Ah,” Rayleigh held up a finger, looking Ace in the eye. “But you said the ships were out in the middle of the ocean, who could have been there to see them?”

Ace went quiet again, scuffing his feet against the dirt path as they walked.

“Dunno,” Ace kicked at a rock on the ground. It skittered to the edge of the path before rolling to a stop.

“Ace,” Rayleigh said softly.

Rayleigh stopped walking, and Ace stopped too, following his lead.

He crouched down so that he could be face to face with his son. “I liked your story Ace, I wasn’t trying to pick holes in it on purpose. But you’ve got to remember to think about what you’re told. Lots of people like to lie.”

“Like the people who lie about dad?”

Rayleigh nodded. Ace’s question pulled at his heartstrings. 

He remembered the first time Ace had asked him if his father was a bad person. They’d been at the market and Rayleigh hadn’t been paying proper attention to his surroundings. His Observation Haki was active, of course, but there were no viable threats and so he hadn't been paying particular attention to the people around them, or the things they were saying.

However, Ace had been. His grip on Rayleigh’s hand had suddenly tightened, and when Rayleigh looked down his son had a face like thunder. He didn’t know what was wrong, but he had left the marketplace with Ace before anything else could happen. The last thing he had wanted was for Ace to cause a scene and draw attention to them both.

He’d had to explain to Ace that the Marines had told a lot of lies about his father, as well as some truths, and because they’d nested the lies within the truths people were more inclined to believe them. 

Rayleigh sighed, knowing that they were about to rehash the same discussion they’d had that day in the market.

Ace screwed his eyes shut and shook his head. A telltale sign Rayleigh had come to recognise as meaning Ace was unhappy with the current state of affairs. Rayleigh put a hand on his son’s shoulder to ground him in the here and now.

“People shouldn’t lie. It’s wrong.” Ace jutted his chin out, a decisive set to his jaw.

“Sometimes people have to,” Rayleigh reminded him. “Remember, if anyone ever asks you who your parents are-”

“It’s just you and no one else,” Ace finished.

“Yes,” Rayleigh took Ace’s hand and squeezed it. “And you know why we tell that lie?”

“To keep ourselves safe.” His son still sounded sullen.

“But we know the truth, even if everyone else doesn't, and that’s what matters. Hmm?”

“I guess,” Ace muttered.

Rayleigh squeezed his hand once more, and they set off once again along the path into town. That was about as much success as he sensed he was going to achieve with this conversation. He almost missed when Ace was a baby, parenting was so much easier without all the questions.

—

They’d been living in the South Blue for nearly half a year now - the longest they’d managed to stay in one place for quite a while. It was a relief, and good for Ace to have some stability in his childhood for once. Not to mention, it was coming up to Ace’s sixth birthday and Rayleigh finally had the means to do something fun for him.

He had organised a surprise. Now that his son was older his birthday was much more of an event, and Rayleigh wanted to make it special for him. After all, you only turn six once.

He had brought an old shoddy sailing boat from someone on a neighbouring island. It had more holes than solid parts, no sails to speak of, and a broken rudder. Rayleigh had been fixing it up at night while Ace slept. So for the past several weeks he had been running on minimal sleep and his higher functioning was suffering for it. Even though he’d never been a true shipwright, he’d spent enough time around them to know how to fix basic things like a small sailboat.

He'd had the idea a month or so ago, to let Ace be a ‘pirate’ for the day. He’d also decided to carve a small wooden cutlass and make a pirate coat from one of his old cast offs.

He’d managed to keep it all a secret, though not without great effort. Ace loved to ask questions, especially ones Rayleigh had no idea how to answer. ‘Because I said so’ was not an acceptable response to Ace’s ears. He wondered if he’d ever driven his own parents mad with endless ‘but why’s’. It was quite likely, Rayleigh could never leave well enough alone.

Despite Ace’s best efforts to investigate, he’d kept the secret safe. It was going to be a full surprise for his son when he woke up on the morning of his sixth birthday. Rayleigh couldn’t wait, Ace was going to love it.

—

“Really!? I get to be Captain?” His son’s eyes were wide as saucers, he was overjoyed.

Rayleigh laughed. “Just for today, it's your birthday after all.”

Ace jumped and punched the air. He picked up the toy sword Rayleigh had gifted him and ran down the rickety old jetty, waving it at invisible enemies as he went.

“There's one last present Ace,” Rayleigh called.

Ace stopped running and jogged back to him, an expectant look on his face. He was trying to hide his excitement, and doing a wonderfully terrible job of it.

Rayleigh held out the overcoat for him to put on. January was cold, even on islands in the West Blue. The coat had been a stroke of foresight on his part for sure.

Ace slid his little arms into the coat and turned around to face Rayleigh.

“How do I look?”

“Like a proper pirate captain,” Rayleigh assured him.

In truth, he looked like his father. The glint of adventure shone in his eyes, and Rayleigh hadn't realised until Ace put it on, but he'd modelled the coat after the one Roger used to wear. He cursed his own subconscious and swallowed those memories down; it wouldn't do to dwell on them now, he had a birthday boy to entertain.

“What are your orders, Captain?”

“Set sail immediately!” Ace yelled, running once more towards the little sailing boat.

He followed, jogging to keep up with his little captain.

Seeing the boat now, Rayleigh was pleased with how well he’d been able to fix it up. He’d found some quality white fabric to make the sails, and looking into the bottom of the boat he could see no trace of any leaks at all.

Ace hopped onto the boat with enthusiasm, nearly slipping in his haste to get on. Rayleigh was ready to catch him immediately, arms outstretched before he could even think, but Ace righted himself easily.

“Come on dad!”

“Aye Captain.” Rayleigh saluted. Ace beamed at him.

“What’s our heading, Captain?” 

Ace thought for a moment, his face screwed up in concentration. He pointed north. “That way!”

“Good choice Captain, the winds are favourable for us in that direction.”

Ace grinned at the compliment. Roger continued to shine through Ace, the excited look in his eyes was one Rayleigh had seen a thousand times past. It worried him somewhat, if Ace followed in his fathers footsteps he’d live a dangerous life, and he wouldn’t always be able to be there to keep his son safe.

He’d lamented to Shakky about his worries when they had last spoken. He had been telling her about his surprise plans, and voiced his concerns that Ace would grow up wanting to be a pirate. Shakky had laughed and called him an idiot and reminded him that he was also a pirate.

Rayleigh had corrected her, stating that he was a retired pirate, thank you very much, and his primary job title now was ‘dad’. 

Shakky went on to remind him that if he coddled Ace too much, Ace would end up resenting him, and break away to follow his dreams anyway. He had to concede she made a good point. At six Ace was already showing he had inherited the iron will of his mother and father - there had been some fierce discussions about what constituted a reasonable bedtime - so Rayleigh didn’t doubt Ace would do as he pleased when he got older.

The best thing he could do now was make sure Ace was prepared. Which at this point in time involved playing pirates with his son.

He made the sails ready to make way and cast off while Ace stood at the bow of the ship, one leg up against the edge of the boat and hand shielding his eyes as he looked across the horizon.

Ace whooped with joy as the ship began to move through the water. His son had sailed before of course, but always as a passenger, and never for fun. They had always had to leave for a new place in the dead of night, hushed and hurried. Ace had never been able to sail for the joy of the journey. 

Rayleigh saw now how much he'd been limiting Ace by trying to keep him safe. His son belonged at sea.

Chapter Text

The den den Rayleigh kept by his bedside table garbled, startling him awake. He felt about for the receiver with a hand made lethargic by sleep.

It had to be Shakky, no one else had his number.

“How’s the weather?” he rasped, his voice dry and throaty.

“Fucking terrible Ray, you need to move - now.” Shakky’s voice was shrill and panicked. It pierced right through Rayleigh and woke him up more effectively than any alarm could have.

He sat bolt upright in bed, wedging the receiver between his ear and his shoulder as he secured the straps of his sandals.

“What do I need to know?” he asked. There was no time to exchange pleasantries.

“Three marine warships, no word on if there are any Admirals on board, but you can never be too careful.”

“You’re damn right about that,” he muttered.

“Don’t tell me where you’re going yet, wait a while once you get there and then contact me,” Shakky instructed.

Rayleigh saluted. “Aye aye.”

Shakky huffed an incredulous laugh. She knew him well enough to figure out what he just did. “You’re about to be staring down three marine warships, and you still find time for silly antics.”

“What better time for them, my love?”

“Be safe, Ray,” Shakky said softly.

“I’ll try my very best dear.”

The line cut off with a click.

He grabbed his emergency satchel - he’d prepared one a few years ago at Shakky’s recommendation. It had everything he might need for a couple of days; clothes, food, money, maps of the surrounding area. He kept it stocked and up to date precisely for situations like this.

Ace had one too, under his own bed. Rayleigh hurried down the hall and knocked on the door to Ace’s bedroom. Ordinarily he’d wait for permission before entering, but there was no time for that today.

“Ace, we have to go, right now.”

Ace grumbled and pulled the covers up over his face.

“Ace,” Rayleigh said sternly. He used the tone of voice he rarely had to bring out. He always felt mean doing it, but Ace had to know how serious the situation was.

Ace sat up and looked at him. “Again?” he asked.

“I’m afraid so son, come on.”

He fished the go bag out from under Ace’s bed, and grabbed a few other keepsakes from around the room while Ace put his shoes on. He ushered his son out of his bedroom, and Ace understood the urgency and followed without complaint.

He paused for just a moment to grab his hat from the hook by the front door. He no longer lived in the West Blue, and likely wouldn't ever again, but he'd become fond of the hat and it would feel wrong to leave it behind.

They crept out of the house and Rayleigh picked Ace up, who immediately protested.

“Dad, I can walk by myself.”

“Not right now kiddo,” Rayleigh hushed him.

He told Ace to hold onto him as he ran towards the cove their escape boat was stowed in. Unfortunately, the fastest route there was largely across fields - far too exposed for Rayleigh’s liking. He decided to chance it; taking a detour to head through the woodland was time he did not want to waste. Besides, it was the middle of the night - that would afford them some cover at least.

It felt like far longer than the fifteen minutes it took for them to get to the cove, with Rayleigh constantly looking over his shoulder to make sure they weren’t being followed. So far, there was no sign of any pursuers, but he knew firsthand how deadly overconfidence could be.

There was a torch he left concealed by the cove’s entrance specifically for times like this. He put Ace down so he could still have one free hand if he needed it. Once he lit the torch he took Ace’s hand and they entered the cove together, taking care not to make any noise.

Their escape boat was sitting exactly where he last left it. It was the small sailing boat he and Ace had sailed for the first time on his birthday two years ago. It had held up well, only needing minimal repairs since he’d first done it up. The sails were looking a bit worse for wear, but they would serve for now.

Rayleigh tossed both his and Ace’s bags into the boat and handed him the torch. He told Ace to get ready for them to cast off. He was glad he’d ignored his worries about teaching Ace the business of sea-faring. It meant Ace could hold his own in times like these and Rayleigh didn’t have to worry (as much). It also meant he could go ahead and scout their exit route, he could trust that Ace would have the boat ready to go in good time.

He neared the mouth of the cove and stopped dead in his tracks. His Observation Haki was picking up someone far too close for comfort, and they were getting closer by the second.

A figure moved into his line of sight. Rayleigh couldn’t make out much, the person was silhouetted against the light of the moon, but the cut of a marine’s coat was unmistakable. Rayleigh’s eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light of the cove - he’d left the one torch he had with Ace.

The marine regarded him, seemingly unwilling to make the first move. Rayleigh did not move either, and they remained in that stalemate for a few moments until Ace’s voice rang out.

“Dad! The boat’s ready.”

Rayleigh closed his eyes for a moment. Curse his wonderful, idiotic son. 

“Dad?” Ace called again, clearly concerned after not hearing an immediate reply.

“When I say go, you go, Ace,” he instructed. His voice echoed throughout the cove, he knew Ace would hear him - he just hoped he would listen.

The Marine had shifted into a fighting stance, and Rayleigh mirrored it. If they wanted a fight, he’d damn well give them one.

They were fast, he’d give them that. Small needle-like objects whooshed past his ear which he barely had time to dodge before another barrage of them were thrown his way. They were propelled with such force that most of them embedded themselves in the rocky wall behind him, only a few bounced off and fell to the ground. He was very glad he’d spent so many years honing his Observation Haki; forty splinters at once was not his idea of a fun night.

He had the disadvantage on ranged attacks, he knew needed to get closer to his opponent. It was a gamble; they might be even more prickly up close, but he was getting nowhere only dodging their attacks.

Utilising the adapted shave technique he’d picked up years ago he dashed at his opponent. He’d never fully mastered shave, but he had a good enough handle on it to take his opponents off guard. This one clearly did not expect him to know it, they could not conceal their surprise as he appeared in front of them quite suddenly.

He armoured his fist as he pulled back to strike, and it was a good thing he did because the marine was covered in spiny needles. That explained the projectiles from moments ago. The marine was thrust backwards with the force of his punch and Rayleigh allowed himself a small smile - he still had it.

Predictably, the marine was not deterred by just one punch. Rayleigh shook his head, taking up a fighting stance again. These marines had more bravado than sense.

He ran again and feinted, pulling back his fist to make it seem as though he was about to strike again. The marine moved to block, leaving their stomach wide open for Rayleigh to bring his knee up into. He heard the marine grunt and splutter as they doubled over.

Rayleigh took this opportunity to clasp his hands and bring both his elbows down on the back of the marine’s neck. The force had them crumpling onto the floor.

“Now, Ace!” he shouted.

Regrettably, his shout gave the marine renewed vigour, they tried to get up but he held them down. It was a contest of strength, and Rayleigh was winning.

He picked up the marine by the hair and slammed their head against the wall of the cave. They went very still. He knew they wouldn't be getting back up.

He didn't really mind if they lived or died, they surely meant to kill him if they could. However, he did worry what Ace might think if he saw.

“Dad!” His son's voice echoed throughout the cove.

The small boat was coming closer, illuminating the area around it with the torch he'd left in Ace’s possession.

Rayleigh took a running jump and leapt onto the boat. It swayed dangerously in the water for a moment before stabilising.

They were already close to the mouth of the cove, the entrance was bathed in moonlight. Rayleigh grabbed the torch and snuffed it out over the side of the boat. All it would do now was draw attention to them if he left it lit.

He couldn't suppress the nerves that clawed at him as their boat emerged onto the open ocean, he hadn't been able to scout further than the entrance of the cove, anything could be waiting for them beyond it.

Ace was evidently scared too. He was busying himself with securing the sails, but Rayleigh noticed him jump at every little noise, and if Ace stopped moving for too long he could see his son's hands were shaking.

Thankfully, it seemed the marine was a lone one. He could hear noises of a skirmish to the East, so he adjusted the sails, they'd head North.

He had no idea what had brought a force of Marines that ferocious to the sleepy island they had been living on. He wondered if he’d ever find out. Perhaps Shakky knew, although he wouldn't get a chance to ask her for a while - they had to get somewhere safe first.

—

“Pleaseeeeee,” Ace begged.

“You want to learn how to fight, eh?”

Ace nodded enthusiastically, practically vibrating with excitement.

“It was so cool when you looked like you were about to punch them but then you kicked instead!”

Rayleigh stopped untangling the mess of rope he had been working on. He set it on a hook attached to the mast of their little ship and turned to face his son.

“Ace,” he said slowly, “you shouldn't have been able to see that from the boat.”

Ace said nothing, but he suddenly seemed to find the floor very interesting.

“Ace,” Rayleigh repeated, stern.

“I wanted to watch!” 

“Ace,” Rayleigh reprimanded. He shook his head, the boy had too much of his father in him. He loved him for that, but goodness it didn't half drive him up the wall sometimes.

Ace stood his ground. He folded his arms and stared him down. Rayleigh stared back, but his son did not back down.

“Teach me, I need to know,” he insisted.

Deep down, Rayleigh knew he was right. Truthfully, he ought to have started sooner - on the basics at least. He hadn't wanted to end Ace’s childhood so soon. The moment he started was the moment he felt like he'd start to have to let Ace grow up, and eventually let him go. He hadn't quite reconciled with that yet.

“Daaaaad,” Ace said with a whine that all eight year olds have effortlessly perfected.

Rayleigh chuckled. “Alright, when we get to the next island, I’ll start teaching you.”

Ace whooped with joy. He jumped about, play-fighting an invisible enemy while shouting at it. Rayleigh let him be and instead tended to the sails to make sure they stayed on course. He did keep half his attention on Ace though, he had to make sure his son’s overzealous enthusiasm didn’t turn into a saltwater bathtime.

He supposed he ought to be glad, the fight had completely taken Ace’s mind off of the fact that they would be re-locating yet again.

Chapter Text

This island was great. Ace had lived all over the world, but he'd never been allowed to really explore wherever he was. It was always ‘too dangerous’. Ace knew his dad was right, but that didn’t change the fact that he longed to explore. Nowadays, his dad still gave him a curfew, but he was allowed out from dawn to dusk most days and he was enjoying his newfound freedom gleefully.

Today, he was wandering through the jungle on the island somewhere north of where their house was. He’d gone up and down the coast a fair few times already, and now it was high time to explore inland. He’d found a path, slightly overgrown but still walkable, that took him up a fairly steep hill. It would give him a good view of the island when he got to the top.

They had settled somewhere in the East Blue this time, his dad had told him it was the calmest and least dangerous of the world's seas. When Ace had asked why they didn't just settle here from the beginning his dad had said that's what the Navy would expect from them - they had to give them a good run around first, until something else drew their attention.

Apparently, enough time had passed that anyone who thought he existed had started to doubt it, and anyone who doubted in the first place no longer believed at all. 

Ace wasn't sure how he felt about that. He’d heard the way people talked about his father, with contempt, disgust, and outright hatred. It made him angry. Even though his dad told him so many stories that proved his father was not like that at all, it still hurt to hear his father spoken about like that. From the stories he'd heard about his mother he doubted she'd ever love a man who was as awful as rumours declared him to be. He still couldn’t quite comprehend why people would speak that way about someone they’d never even met. Every time he brought it up to his dad he'd been reassured that while other people might not know the truth, they do, and that had to be enough for now.

Lost in thought as he was, Ace crested the hill sooner than he expected to. It had gotten quite steep near the top and he was a little out of breath. 

The hill was covered in tall, sparse trees. Perfect for climbing. It didn’t take him long to find one with low branches and he picked his way up the trunk easily; climbing wasn’t hard at all. He used to hide on the roof from his dad, before he realised that his dad could somehow sense him wherever he was, and only he let him think he was hiding. Ace was burning to know how his dad could sense him, but his dad kept insisting he’d be able to learn when he was older. He was ten now, wasn’t that old enough? His dad was impossible sometimes, and he was really starting to get fed up of the phrase ‘when you’re older’.

He reached the top of the tree with little effort. From there he could see so much in every direction. Largely it was just more jungle, accompanied by rolling fields and a few mountains in the distance. Further north, however, he spotted what seemed to be a giant scrapheap. It was the most interesting thing he’d discovered on his expeditions so far, he had to investigate.

He looked up, the sun was still high in the sky - it had barely even reached midday yet. He had plenty of time before curfew.

—

The scrapheap was huge. He knew it was large, it had covered a good portion of the landscape from what he was able to see from his position up on the hill. Being within it was quite a different feeling however. Scrap and rubbish piles towered around him precariously. Metal glinted in the sunlight and small critters skittered about, making their homes amongst the rubbish.

People were everywhere too. They looked tired and dirty, and no one seemed very happy at all. Ace moved deeper into the scrapheap and spotted giant stone walls in the distance. Had these people been kicked out from whatever was beyond those walls, he wondered. He started walking again and headed toward them, wanting to get a better look.

“Oi! That's mine!” someone yelled. It had come from somewhere to his right.

“Finders keepers!” a young voice jeered. 

Ace looked around, surprised to see someone his own age atop one of the piles of scrap clutching something shiny. Everyone else he'd seen so far had been an adult, and he wanted to know what this boy was doing here.

The boy nimbly jumped off the scrap pile. He fumbled his landing a little and rolled to compensate, scrambling to his feet with the shiny thing still in his hand. Then he took off at a run. 

Ace decided to follow, curiosity would always get the better of him.

The boy clearly knew this part of the scrapheap well, he wove through the pathways with ease and slipped through gaps Ace wouldn't have spotted unless he knew they were there already. There were a few moments Ace was sure he'd lost him, but the boy was too distinctive to disappear so easily. He was shorter than Ace, and dressed in very fancy looking clothes with a top hat as well. Somehow the clothes suited him, but they did not make it easy for him to blend in. 

The boy had shaken off the pursuit of the grown up who had been chasing him, Ace had seen him veer off in the wrong direction several minutes ago. The boy seemed to realise this as well. Eventually he slowed his run and turned to face Ace. He grabbed a metal pipe from a nearby pile and thrust it at Ace in a jabbing motion. The boy was trying to look threatening, but he was acting more like a cornered animal.

“Stop following me!” he panted, his chest rising and falling with every breath.

“I just wanna talk to you,” Ace said.

The boy looked skeptical. “Why?”

Ace shrugged. “You're the only other kid I've seen here. What is this place?”

“You don't know?” the boy asked. 

“I wouldn't be asking if I did.”

The boy’s posture relaxed, he still held the pipe but it was no longer levelled at Ace’s chest. Ace counted this as a victory. He took a few steps towards the boy, and he was pleased when he did not back away or try to run.

“I’m Ace.” 

“Sabo.”

Ace grinned. “Nice to meet you, Sabo. So, where are we?”

Sabo seemed confused for a moment by Ace’s question, but humoured him. Ace figured it must sound like a silly question, anyone who was already here would know where ‘here’ is, except for him.

“This is the Grey Terminal, it's where all the junk the people in the city don't want gets tossed. We sort through it for stuff to sell,” Sabo explained.

Ace pointed at the great stone walls he’d noticed earlier. “That’s what's behind those walls?”

Sabo nodded.

Right away, Ace could tell he would not like the city beyond the walls. The people in it were wasteful. His dad had taught him to make use of everything, and here was an entire Kingdom throwing away perfectly usable wood and metal.

Ace walked up to Sabo and stuck out his hand. “Wanna see what else we can find?”

“Okay,” Sabo said, smiling at him.

They picked a direction and started walking. After a moment Ace realised Sabo was still holding the pipe.

“How come you're keeping that?” He pointed at the pipe.

“Just in case that guy from earlier comes back.”

That was a good point, one Ace hadn't considered. He turned around and ran back to where they had just been. There was a whole pile of those pipes and he snatched one up for himself. 

He rejoined Sabo and brandished the pipe above himself, grinning. Today was gonna be fun.

—

They'd been poking about in a creek for the better part of the afternoon but now it was starting to get dark. Ace sighed, he should head home otherwise his dad would start worrying.

“Hey Sabo,” he called over to his friend who was knee deep in the stream, lifting up rocks to peer underneath them.

“Did you find something cool?” Sabo asked.

“Nah, not since that wasp spider we found.” Ace stood up and wiped his hands on his trousers. It didn't do much to clean them, the trousers were as dirty as his hands, but it dried them off at least.

“We gotta go, my dad's gonna be wondering where I am.”

“Oh.” Sabo looked down, he didn't say anything else.

Ace headed to the steep wall of the creek. Getting down into it had been easy enough, getting back up would be a bit more difficult.

“Sabo, come give me a boost. If we're gonna get back to my house for dinner we need to get out of this creek first.”

“We?”

“Well yeah, why? Don't you wanna?”

Sabo shook his head quickly. “No! I wanna.”

“Well come on then, you give me a boost then I'll pull you up. I'm strong,” Ace boasted, grinning.

Sabo nodded once and got up to join Ace. He also dried his hands on his trousers, which weren't much cleaner than Ace’s. Together they helped each other up the steep wall of the creek with ease. Ace had found exploring was much easier when you had a friend to do it with.

“Come on, it's this way,” Ace said, pointing south.

He retrieved their steel pipes, which they'd left on the grassy verge near the creek, and passed Sabo his one. Sabo took it with thanks, and they headed off in the direction Ace had pointed.

Along the way they only got distracted a little bit. The nocturnal insects had started to emerge and the two of them couldn't help but stop and admire the fascinating insects they rarely got a chance to see.

As they got closer to the house Ace noticed Sabo was starting to slow down. He was dragging his feet, finding any excuse to stop for a moment. 

“Sabo, what's the matter?”

“What if your dad doesn't like me?”

“I like you, so my dad will too. Don't be silly.”

“You've known me less than a day.”

“So?”

Sabo sighed and relented. Ace nodded to himself. Of course his dad would like Sabo. Sabo was great!

They carried on back to Ace’s house. It was getting rather late now, but that didn’t concern Ace too much. His dad would be worried, but he was fine so his dad couldn’t be too mad at him. Besides, they’d absolutely had to stop to examine the hawk moth that had been resting on a tree trunk a while back. His dad would understand.

Chapter Text

Rayleigh was worried. Ace had been out all day and night was falling fast. Since they had settled on Dawn Island he’d been letting Ace explore on his own; he didn't want to stifle his son as he grew up. But he always made sure to have Ace promise to be back by sundown.

A voice at the back of his mind tried to reassure him, Ace was ten years old and as such was prone to adventure - and to worrying Rayleigh when he forgot about the time. A much louder, more anxious voice was telling him every possible terrible thing that could have happened to Ace between the time he said goodbye to his son that morning and right now.

He’d give it another fifteen minutes, and then he'd go and look for Ace. This was a quiet island, and there'd been no word from Shakky about any potential dangers here. Of course, he couldn't just rely on her - she was not infallible - but it did help to put his mind at rest somewhat.

The next quarter of an hour passed with anxious fretting and worry. When the clock finally ticked over Rayleigh was up, gathering his things ready to go and look for his son.

Mere moments after he had he grabbed his sword and shrugged on his cloak he heard the door latch click open. He kept his sword in his hand and braced himself. He cast his Haki out and felt a blip on the edge of his awareness. He was certain that was Ace - he could pick his son out of a group of thousands with his eyes closed and ears deafened. There was another signature too, one he was unfamiliar with. He wondered who was with his son. Their aura didn’t seem threatening, but his excessive caution had kept them both safe so far and he wasn't about to let his guard down now.

The door creaked open and his son’s face peaked around the doorframe. Ace looked unharmed, and Rayleigh sagged in relief.

“Dad?” Ace questioned.

“I was about to come and look for you, you should have been back an hour ago,” Rayleigh chastised. 

“Sorry I made you worry, but dad-” Ace cut himself off, and let the door swing all the way open.

A boy stood halfway behind Ace. He was slightly shorter than him, he had blond hair and wide eyes, and bizarrely, a top hat.

“Can Sabo have dinner with us tonight?”

Rayleigh looked Sabo over, the child fidgeted, hiding behind Ace and toeing the ground nervously. He smiled at Sabo, hoping to put him at ease.

“Of course.” 

Rayleigh set his sword down. He realised this probably was not the most welcoming impression to give to Ace’s new friend. He took off his cloak and hung that up as well, while Sabo followed Ace into the house.

It was then that he noticed both of the children were carrying weapons; metal pipes taller than they were. They must have been play-fighting. At least, he hoped it was just play-fighting. Whatever they had been up to didn’t matter for now, his son was home safe and that was what he cared about most.

“I’ll get started on dinner,” he said. “Leave your weapons by the door and go wash your hands, then lay the table.”

They both nodded, propping their metal pipes up next to the door. Ace took Sabo’s hand and headed further inside, dragging his new friend in the direction of the bathroom. He could hear their muttered conversation floating down the hall, but he did not eavesdrop. He was curious about his son’s new friend of course, but he knew he would hear the whole tale over dinner. He left the two boys to it and headed to the kitchen. 

Dinner was quick to finish, he'd started it before it had gotten dark, and it didn't take long to reheat the sausages and mashed potatoes he'd been cooking earlier. All that was left to prepare were some carrots.

“Woah! Smells good dad!” 

Ace and Sabo had come into the kitchen, now with clean hands. Their hands were the only clean thing about them though, their clothes were still very grubby, but Rayleigh would take what he could get. He'd learned years ago that keeping a young child neat and clean was an uphill battle one quickly got tired of fighting.

“Go on and set the table, I'll plate up.”

Ace ran to do as he was told, he was always fast when properly motivated by his stomach.

“Sit down Sabo, you’re the guest,” Ace said, smiling at his friend.

Sabo sat, his hands gripping either side of the chair. His posture was rigid and proper. Rayleigh hoped he’d feel more at ease once they started eating together. In his experience everyone always felt a little more comfortable after sharing a meal.

Rayleigh set down their plates and when Sabo saw his plate his eyes lit up. “Bangers and mash!”

Rayleigh joined them at the table. “Go ahead,” he prompted, when he realised they were waiting for him. Ace was not usually one to wait, more often than not he’d be halfway through his dinner by the time Rayleigh sat down with his own. He must be wanting to give a good impression to his new friend.

Now they had permission they both picked up their forks and proceeded to inhale their food at a great speed. Whatever they were doing today they must have worked up quite an appetite.

“So how did you two meet each other?” Rayleigh asked.

“Treasure hunting!” Ace said with a grin. “I was exploring, and so was Sabo. It's way more fun to explore together.”

Rayleigh smiled, he thought of himself and Roger. Exploring the New World without him wouldn't have been worth it in the slightest. And telling all those tales to Rouge later, living the adventure all over again with her. And now he was living the adventure one more time as he told those stories to Ace most evenings. A good chunk of them at least, though some of the tales would have to wait until his son was a little older. Some he would never tell, those ones were just for himself, Rouge, and Roger. 

“And guess what dad! We found a huge spider, it was this big!” Ace gestured with his arms, indicating the width of a very large spider.

“Do you know its species?.”

Ace shook his head. “No, but I’m gonna find out. Sabo’s clever too, he’ll help.” Ace looked to Sabo, who nodded. The boy was smiling shyly at the offhand compliment Ace had given him. Rayleigh was so pleased Ace had made a friend. Sabo seemed sensible, or at the very least more sensible than his own son. 

Ace set down his cutlery and yawned. Rayleigh knew this meant his son was about to pass out, so he gently moved Ace's plate out of the way. Now if his son fell forwards he would not wake up with mashed potato in his hair. 

Sleep hit Ace like a ball to the face and he was out like a light. Sabo looked at him, bewildered. 

“Don't worry,” Rayleigh reassured him, chuckling inwardly at the shocked expression on the child’s face, “this happens often.”

“Oh.”

Rayleigh laughed. “It’s okay, you carry on. We have leftovers if you’d like.”

Sabo shook his head. “No thank you, I'm full.”

Rayleigh was not entirely convinced, but he did not press it. It was clear Sabo was not comfortable asking for more yet. It seemed the boy was not used to generosity. Rayleigh decided he would do what he could to change that; he had a feeling his son would be bringing his new friend to visit often, and whenever he did Rayleigh would be sure to cook extra.

“He'll wake up shortly,” Rayleigh gestured toward Ace, “you two can do the dishes, and then you're welcome to stay the night. It's already dark and you shouldn't be walking home by yourself.”

“Thank you uh-” Sabo cut himself off, and Rayleigh realised the boy didn't know his name.

“I'm Rayleigh.”

“Thank you Rayleigh,” Sabo said. 

Rayleigh smiled, his son had made a friend. He couldn't wait to tell Shakky.

Ace continued to snore, slumped over at the table. 

—

The next morning his son and his new friend had disappeared shortly after breakfast. They had grabbed their pipes and were through the door and off to explore before Rayleigh had even cleared their plates from the table.

They'd been gone the whole day, up to who knew what, but Rayleigh was determined not to become the sort of parent that hovered, so he left them to it. It afforded him a little peace as well, which he intended to make the most of.

Last time Shakky had called him she had said that while calling was still to be reserved for emergencies only, enough time had passed now that it was safe to send letters. Nothing with any compromising information of course, but the small matters of life would be just fine.

He sat at the kitchen table, preparing to pen a letter. It had been so long since he'd been able to say everything he had wanted to say to Shakky, often having to cut himself short lest their call be intercepted. Now that he had the opportunity, he found the words would not come.

Absentmindedly, he tapped his pen against the table. He thought about Ace, and his new friend Sabo. The East Blue would be good for them, some stability was sorely needed in Ace's life and Rayleigh hoped he could provide it now. With that in mind he began to write.

Dearest Shakky,

This place is calm, and I could not be happier about that. A has already made a new friend, we’ll call him S. They showed up together last night and already seem inseparable, they've only known each other for a day! 

Writing about his son was easy, but writing about himself took a more concentrated effort.

I envy the fast friendships of children. I have acquaintances here of course, but no one who I would call a true friend.

I miss you.

I hope you are well. I know you can take care of yourself, but I still worry. If circumstances allow, I would love if you could come to visit. I just know A would love to meet you.

I have so much to tell you, but now that I have the chance I find it hard to know where to begin. The past ten years have had a background of anxiety and tenseness that I have so loathed. It is only now that I am starting to breathe again.

I think it is better here for A too. I mentioned he made his first friend, and he's become bolder and more outgoing since I let him explore the island most days. Now that I've given him those freedoms it's even harder to get him to sit down and learn his maths and history. He can read easily now, though I must tell you I had no idea how to go about teaching someone to read, so that was a first for the both of us.

Every day he reminds me of both of them. He has his father’s looks, and his mother’s smile. I am always glad to see him happy, but sometimes it makes my heart ache.

It's not just the physical resemblance, he acts like them too. I did not think stubbornness to be a genetic trait, but I am proven wrong every time I try to argue with him about bedtime and vegetables and curfew. 

I remember how impossible it was to talk his father out of anything, once he got a bee in his bonnet about it. Of course, if it had been possible to talk R out of anything he wouldn't have been the man he was. His mother too, you wouldn't think to look at her but that woman was as stubborn as a mule.

Now that I think about it, you as well dear. My life has been full of iron willed people. For better or worse, I wouldn't have it any other way.

I have rambled for too long, I'm going to cut myself off before I start to sound even more like a corny old man. 

With all my heart,

Rayleigh.

He read the letter a few times over. He had more to say, but he only had so much paper. It lightened his heart to know that the letters would become regular correspondence. It had been harder than he had thought it would be to only contact Shakky in emergencies. Now, finally, they could talk to each other. He couldn’t wait to hear from her, and to tell her all about Ace’s antics and adventures.

Chapter Text

It wasn’t long before Ace came home with another new friend, a child called Luffy. Apparently they’d met him while he was fighting a tiger. The kid was seven! Rayleigh had half a mind to find his caregivers and give them a piece of his mind. Leaving a child that young unsupervised in the jungle, who would do such a thing?

The most concerning thing was that Luffy seemed completely unbothered about almost being killed by a tiger. Rayleigh supposed he ought to be concerned with the casual nature his son, as well as his son's best friend, had mentioned saving Luffy from the tiger. It had been a dual effort, apparently. He was proud of them, but he would most certainly be talking to them both later about proper tiger-fighting techniques. He needed to make sure they were being safe.

Had he been so irresponsible as a child? Not for the first time he willed an apology out into the universe for his parents. Now that he was on the other side of parenthood he found himself looking back on his childhood with new eyes. He shuddered to think what Roger or Rouge’s parents went through raising them. He would not be surprised if all children with the D. initial argued as fiercely about their bedtimes as Ace did.

Regardless, Rayleigh was pleased Ace had made another friend. While Sabo was often dressed in the clothes of a young gentleman, Luffy was the opposite. Dirty shorts and a t-shirt that had seen better far days. Wearing flip flops on his otherwise bare feet and a hat that was far too big for him. There had to be a story behind that hat - it looked suspiciously like the one Roger used to wear. It couldn’t be; that hat belonged to Shanks now, but it was still eerily familiar regardless.

The scar under Luffy’s left eye must have a story too, but Rayleigh wasn’t one to pry on the first meeting. He’d find out eventually, the boy did not seem predisposed to subtlety. Of course, not many seven year olds were, but Luffy gave the impression of a child who was far too trusting and carefree.

Currently, Ace, Sabo, and Luffy were all sitting in his kitchen eating breakfast. Breakfast consisted of practically everything in his pantry and even then the kids were still asking for more. He’d have to adjust his food budget; Ace ate a lot but it was manageable when it was just the two of them. Now it appeared he’d have to reassign a large chunk of his money to food for Ace’s friends.

“What are you kids going to do today?” Rayleigh asked.

“We’re gonna explore the creek some more!” Ace said, words muffled around a mouthful of food.

“Ace,” Rayleigh said sternly, “what have we talked about.”

Ace swallowed with a concentrated effort. “I shouldn’t talk with my mouth full, sorry dad.”

Beside him Sabo muffled a giggle. Ace shot him a glare, somehow managing to look fierce while spooning another heaping portion of cereal into his mouth. Or rather, as fierce as a ten year old could hope to look. Rayleigh could only see the child he had raised from a baby, who slept with a stuffed tiger and played in mud pits. Sabo was similarly unintimidated.

“The creek?” Luffy asked.

“Yeah! We’re gonna catch fish!” Sabo said, miming swinging a net. Or at least, Rayleigh assumed that was what he was miming. Perhaps he meant to clobber the fish with that lead pipe he was so fond of.

Well, at least they were having fun. It was a relief, now that Ace had made some friends Rayleigh found he worried less. They'd look out for Ace when he couldn't.

—

The creek was just as they’d left it every other time Ace had been there with Sabo. It was a beautiful spot, with the added bonus of being very quiet. No one from the surrounding villages bothered to stray far enough off of the beaten track to pass by, and therefore no one bothered them. It was a perfect place for Ace and his friends to play uninterrupted for hours.

Ace slid down the steep valley wall of the creek. He used one hand to balance himself against the dirt wall, slowing his descent. He was followed by Sabo and then Luffy. Sabo was as practised as Ace at getting down into the creek, but Luffy lost his grip and fell over himself, tumbling forward before landing on the ground in a heap. He got up smiling though, he claimed physical hurts meant little to him because of the Devil Fruit he had eaten.

Ace and Sabo both shrugged, Luffy seemed fine, and no one wanted to waste the day - there were fish to catch after all. They waded into the shallow water of the creek while Luffy perched on a rock nearby.

It was slow going, the fish were more elusive than they had realised and it was more than an hour before they had their first success. Ace was glad they hadn’t given up. In all of his dad’s stories his father had never given up, even if what he was doing seemed stupid or hopeless. Even though they were just fishing, Ace was determined to live like his parents.

Ace held up the fish he finally managed to snag. It wriggled in his grip, trying its best to get free, but Ace’s will to hold onto it won out.

“Woah! Do you know what species it is?” Sabo asked, awed that Ace had finally managed to catch something.

“Yep! Dad taught me about all sorts of fish, this one's a Dace,” Ace said proudly.

“Can I see?” Sabo asked, holding his hands out.

“Sure.”

Ace passed the fish to Sabo and wiped his hands off on his trousers. His dad always used to get annoyed at him for doing that, but Ace kept doing it anyway and now his dad didn't seem to care. Besides, fish were slimy.

Sabo held the fish with both hands, focusing intently on not dropping it. It was still squirming quite a lot, and his face was scrunched up in concentration.

“There’s a sea-king four hundred times bigger than that fish outside Foosha! And when I become a pirate, I’m going to fight it and win,” Luffy declared, pointing at the fish Sabo was still struggling to keep ahold of.

Sabo nearly dropped the fish in surprise. “You’re gonna be a pirate?” he asked.

“Of course. I promised Shanks,” Luffy said, as if that explained everything.

“Who’s Shanks?” Ace asked, curious.

Ace’s attention was stolen for a moment as the fish Sabo had been holding slipped out of his grasp and fell back into the water with a plop. He wiped his hands on his trousers just as Ace had done; clearly he hadn't expected a freshly caught fish to be so slimy. He turned back to Luffy, who was speaking excitedly.

“He gave me this hat! He said I can only give it back when I become a great pirate, so until then I have to keep it safe and grow up so I can be a pirate too.”

That explained a lot, especially why the hat was so big for him, and why he never took it off.

“Is Shanks your dad?” Ace asked.

“No.” Luffy shook his head, while absentmindedly tracing his finger across the rock he was sitting on. “I don’t know my dad, I don’t think I have one.”

“Silly. Everyone has a dad,” Ace said.

“Well I don’t,” Luffy replied. “Sabo, do you have a dad?”

Sabo shook his head. “Not anymore.”

“Oh. Did he die?” Luffy asked, blunt and tactless. Ace thought about saying something but Sabo didn’t seem to mind the question, thankfully. Sabo smiled at Luffy gently.

“No, but he didn’t want me. And I don’t want him. So he’s not my father anymore,” Sabo said with an air of calm certainty that left no room for questioning him. Ace wasn’t going to, Sabo’s ex-father sounded like an idiot, who wouldn’t want Sabo? This was no good; his friends needed better dads.

“Well. I’ve got a dad and he’s great, so you guys can share mine!” Ace declared confidently. It was the logical solution.

Luffy nodded enthusiastically, but Sabo looked a little more pensive.

“Would that make us brothers?” Sabo asked.

“I’ve always wanted brothers!” Luffy said with a laugh. He was smiling widely, sitting on the edge of his rock and kicking his feet in the water.

“I’ve got an idea.” Ace said, grinning wide enough to match Luffy’s smile.

“Oh?” Sabo asked, curious. He leaned towards Ace, eager to hear what he had to say.

“I know how we can become brothers.” Ace beckoned them both forward and began to explain his plan.

—

His dad had gone into town that evening. Now that Ace had friends to keep him company he let Ace stay home with them, as long as he promised not to leave the house unless it was an absolute emergency. Ace figured that they technically hadn’t left the house, since they were sitting on its roof. They were on top of it, which still counted as in the house, if you asked him. If his dad were to get pedantic with him, he would argue his infallible logic.

Ace had stolen a bottle of sake from under the loose floorboard where his dad kept the things he didn’t think Ace knew about. He’d been sorely tempted to look at the other stuff his dad had hidden in there, but he got the feeling that his dad would be very upset if he did. Perhaps if he asked his dad would show him anyway. It couldn’t hurt to try, and he resolved to ask the next time he got the chance. As well as the sake he’d also taken three cups from their cupboards and carried them up onto the roof where Sabo and Luffy were waiting.

Ace sat down and looked at his friends. Luffy had said he’d always wanted brothers, and Ace couldn’t agree more. He was glad that Sabo wanted to be their brother too.

“One day, I’m gonna be a pirate,” Ace announced. “Like my dad and my father.”

“Rayleigh was a pirate?” Sabo wondered aloud. “I suppose that makes sense, he did have a sword the first time I met him.”

“A sword? Cool!” Luffy’s eyes lit up, and Ace knew as soon as they got down from the roof Luffy would go looking for it.

“Not just him, my father too.”

“I thought Rayleigh was your father.” Sabo asked, confused.

“Rayleigh is my dad. My father was-” Ace stopped, he’d promised his dad he’d never tell anyone the truth. But they were about to become brothers, if he couldn’t tell them, then what was the point of their shared brotherhood? “You can’t tell anyone this, ever. But my father was Gol D. Roger.”

Sabo’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped comically. Luffy gasped so loudly Ace reckoned he might blow up like a balloon.

“We have to keep it a secret,” Ace stressed. “But you’re going to be my brothers now, so you should know.”

They both nodded solemnly.

“What about you Sabo, me and Luffy are both gonna be pirates.”

For once, Sabo didn’t think about his answer. “Me too. I want to be free like all pirates are.”

“That’s settled then,” Ace declared. “We drink this, and it makes us brothers.”

He poured out the sake into three cups and passed them to Sabo and Luffy.

“This way, when we become pirates, even if we’re not on the same ship, we’ll still be brothers,” Ace said.

Sabo and Luffy nodded. They each drank down the contents of their cups. Ace had to repress a grimace, it was not an entirely pleasant taste. He finished his cup and set it down, Sabo and Luffy did the same.

“From now on, we’re brothers,” Ace said.

They all laughed, it felt right to say it.

Chapter Text

Rayleigh had returned home in the small hours of the morning. Their house, which was off the beaten track and therefore rather isolated, was quiet. He walked indoors, taking care to not make too much noise as he set his things down and hung up his travel cloak. It had taken him longer than he anticipated to get home, he had stopped to help a couple with their cart and before he knew it night had fallen. Now dawn was not far off, and he was tired. He would sleep soon, but first he needed to check on Ace and his friends.

Since his son had made friends with Sabo and Luffy the three of them had been sharing Ace’s bedroom, often choosing to sleep tangled up in the same bed together. It warmed Rayleigh’s heart whenever he saw them cuddled up like that. He decided he had best go check on them before he went to sleep himself.

Rayleigh crept down the hallway and gently opened Ace’s bedroom door. Panic lanced through him when he did not find Ace and his friends in the bed as he expected to. In fact, the bed looked like it hadn't been slept in at all. He resisted the urge to call out for his son and his friends and tried to stay calm - Ace couldn’t have gone far. A quick casting out of his Haki told him that, for some reason, his son and his friends were up on the roof.

He willed his frantic heart to calm down, they were just on the roof, and they were likely fine. He needed to check and make sure though - he couldn’t leave the three children up on the roof. He’d have to climb up there and get them down. He had to admit, this is not what he expected to be doing in the early hours of the morning. He just wanted to go to bed. 

Instead, he was climbing the side of his house using a trellis one of the residents of the nearby village had gifted him in thanks for him re-tiling their roof. That made it easier, at least - more handholds. On the roof he found the three boys all nested together, cuddled close in their sleep. He caught sight of an empty bottle of sake nearby - had his son been drinking? He didn’t think his son was the type of child to do something like that, he was only ten. He’d hoped to not have to deal with things like this for a few years yet. Rayleigh’s eyes narrowed, he recognised that sake. It was his, and he hadn’t even opened it yet. Moreover, it was supposed to be hidden - how had Ace found it?

He’d have to find out later, for now he decided to get a little revenge. If Ace was going to steal his sake, he was not going to get a good night's sleep until he apologised. Perhaps he could also embarrass his son in front of his friends too. As a dad it was his job to embarrass his son, surely? So he got down from the roof and started speaking in an overacted, somewhat panicked voice.

“Oh! I wonder, where could my son and his friends be? They’re not in their beds!”

He paused for a moment, listening. He could hear whispering voices on the roof. He smiled to himself, and continued.

“I’m sure I told them all not to leave the house, so where are they?” he wondered aloud in his exaggerated voice.

“Daaaad,” Ace whined from up on the roof. “I know you know we’re up here.” A pause. “Help us down?”

“Not until you tell me why you’re up there in the first place,” Rayleigh said, his tone returning to normal. He put his hands on his hips and looked up at the roof expectantly.

Luffy’s face popped over the edge of the roof and he peered at Rayleigh with big eyes and a bigger smile. “We became brothers!” he said happily.

Well, that explained the sake. Why up on the roof, though?

“You made a vow?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Ace said, popping into view as well, “we’re brothers now.” The way he said it made it clear that he was willing to argue the point if he had to. Rayleigh saw no reason to make him, instead he just laughed.

“Well then, it looks like I have two more sons.”

Ace’s face broke into the most blinding smile. Sabo appeared beside him looking happier than Rayleigh had ever seen him, and Luffy was laughing and hugging his brothers with arms longer than they ought to be. It had taken him a while to get used to Luffy’s ability. He’d seen all sorts of things when he’d been sailing under Roger, but mostly from adults, and Luffy was still so young - it was rather jarring.

“You know,” Rayleigh said conversationally, “Last time I became a parent unexpectedly I only got one son, this time I got two. Next time do you think I’ll get three more sons?”

Sabo snorted, Luffy looked confused, and Ace groaned. “Daaad, that’s such a lame joke.”

“You forget Ace, as a dad it’s part of the job description to make lame jokes,” Rayleigh reminded him.

“No it’s not,” Ace argued petulantly.

“Is too,” Rayleigh argued back, matching his tone.

“Is not,” Ace huffed, “now please can you help us get down?” 

—

That evening both Sabo and Luffy had already fallen asleep, but Ace was wide awake. He couldn’t stop thinking about the other stuff he'd seen under the floorboard, and since both his brothers were asleep now was the perfect time to ask his dad about it. He felt a little strange, waiting for them to be asleep before he went and asked. They were brothers now, so they should share these things. He didn’t want to keep secrets from them, but he felt as though this was something he needed to ask his dad about by himself first.

He crept into the kitchen and found his dad sitting at the table reading over a letter he had just written. His dad noticed him and set the letter down, turning to face him. Ace squirmed a little under the attention. His dad had a way of looking at him that made him feel as though he couldn’t hide, even if he wanted to. It was at times like this he felt as though his dad knew what he was going to say before he said it.

“What is it, son?” his dad asked.

“Well, you know I took the sake from that floorboard, which I’m sorry for stealing but also I’m not because it was important that me and Sabo and Luffy got to become brothers.” Ace sped through his sentence before pausing, but his dad just smiled and nodded, inclining his head to indicate that Ace could continue. “Well, there was other stuff under the floorboard which I didn’t look at I promise but I’m really curious so please can you tell me what it is?” Ace asked in a rush, his words tumbling over each other in his haste to speak.

His dad laughed. “Can’t leave things well enough alone, eh?”

Ace looked down at the floor and shook his head.

“Hey, none of that now, curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back, after all,” his dad reminded him with a sly smile. “That’s what your father often used to say, your mother too. One of them would start the saying, and the other would always finish it.”

His dad was smiling at him with crinkles in the corners of his eyes. He told Ace to wait there and headed out of the room to fetch the things he kept hidden under the floorboard. Ace scrambled into a dining chair and waited, tapping his feet against the chair legs. Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait too long, his dad returned after just a few moments, with his arms full of keepsakes. He placed each object in his hands on the table with great care.

“You can pick these up, Ace, but be careful, they’re the most precious things in this house.”

Ace looked at the objects, they were a collection of trinkets more than anything else, as well as two very old envelopes that looked like they might flake into pieces if he touched them. He didn’t doubt that they were worth more than all of their other possessions combined.

“It’s all the memories I have of your parents, all the physical ones at least,” his dad said, tapping his temple, “the rest are up here.”

Ace’s eyes were drawn immediately to a red pearl necklace. It was beautiful, and he held it in his hands reverently. The soft candlelight that illuminated the kitchen glinted off the pearls, which shone brilliantly even after years kept hidden under dusty floorboards and in other such hidey holes.

“That belonged to your mother, do you like it?” his dad asked.

Ace nodded. He couldn’t take his eyes off it. The only things he knew about his mother were things his dad had told him, but it made sense to him that she would’ve worn beautiful things like this.

“You can have it, if you want. I know she’d want you to.”

Ace looked at his dad in shock. “Really?”

“Really,” his dad assured him.

He put the necklace on, it was a little big but he didn’t care. He loved it. He would never take it off after this, he could say that with absolute certainty. 

His dad went on to tell him about a few of the other keepsakes, some Ace even recognised as mementos from stories he’d heard over the years, and some had new stories attached to them. Ace listened carefully, taking it all in. Moments like this were the only time he got to feel truly close to his mother and father, and he treasured every second.

Eventually the only thing left on the table yet to be mentioned were the two envelopes.

“These are the last wills of your parents Ace, would you like to read them?” his dad asked gently.

Ace looked at the envelopes, unsure. Would he? He wrestled with his emotions for a moment before deciding that overthinking this was pointless, when was he gonna get another chance to read something written by his mother or his father?

He picked one of the envelopes at random, opening it with cautious, careful fingers. The letter was fragile, and he held it gently. The handwriting was neat and small, but easy to read. His eyes skipped to the bottom of the letter - these were his mother’s words. He read them in silence and put the letter down, reaching for the other.

His father’s letter was in a similar state, though it was shorter than his mother’s and harder to read - his handwriting was as if spikes had made an alphabet. He read it closely though, taking care to concentrate on every word. When he was finished reading he set the letter down, quite overwhelmed. He fiddled with the pearls of his mothers necklace, they were smooth and cool and it grounded him. 

“They really loved me,” he finally said. “How could they love me, they never even met me.”

The look on his dad’s face was unreadable, but Ace thought it might be something close to pity.

“A parent loves their child from the very first moment,” his dad assured him, “you might learn this yourself one day.” His dad paused. “You know, they’d be so proud of you, Ace.”

Ace didn’t say anything in response, but he did get up and hug his dad, burying his face in his chest. If his dad felt his tears through his nightshirt then he had the good grace not to mention it.

Chapter Text

Now that he had acquired two more children overnight, Rayleigh had to reassess his priorities somewhat. The first thing he did of course, was tell Shakky. He’d have to wait a few weeks to read her response, but he didn’t doubt she’d be happy for him - and full of questions too.

The children had also informed him, in a very sincere manner, that it was their life's goal to grow up and become pirates. Apparently, the phrase ‘like father like son’ even applied to newly adopted children. They were completely serious about it, and Rayleigh was not one to discourage anyone's dreams - especially his own sons’. It would have been wildly hypocritical of him to turn around and forbid them from becoming pirates. 

It was inevitable that he would worry about them no matter what they chose to do with their lives, and so the best way he could think of to mitigate that was to make sure they had the proper tools to survive before they went out to sea. 

That was why he was standing in a field with his three sons, all of whom were holding their steel pipes and were ready to train. The boys had found a third pipe for Luffy, who was very pleased to match his big brothers. It was rather cute to see them all standing there, holding pipes taller than they were themselves.

“Who wants to tell me what we’re here to learn today?” he addressed his children, who were all looking at him with wide, expectant eyes.

“How to fight!” the three chorused loudly. Luffy was punching at an invisible enemy in front of him, and Sabo looked ready to murder someone - steel pipe or not. Ace looked excited, and just a little unhinged. 

For a brief moment he reconsidered these lessons - just what was he about to unleash on the world? He had promised them though, and he couldn’t disappoint them now.

He chuckled. “Eventually, yes. But today we’re going to learn how to dodge.”

“Why?” Ace pouted, “If we can fight properly we won’t need to dodge.”

Rayleigh smiled; what a typical thing for his beloved, headstrong son to say. “Ace, might I remind you that you are ten years old. You’re going to come face to face with people who are beyond your ability to fight, even when you’re older. There will always be someone more skilled, more experienced, more of a threat than you. You need to learn not only when it’s time to fight, but also when it’s time to dodge and block, so you can keep fighting.”

“I don’t wanna learn how to be a coward!” Ace said indignantly. He could tell his son was getting worked up; they were quickly veering towards temper tantrum territory, and Rayleigh would not tolerate that. He crossed his arms, staring his son down. If Ace wanted to throw a strop, he could, but he’d do it when he wasn’t in one of Rayleigh’s lessons.

“Follow my lesson or don’t, but I won’t be teaching you anything else until you learn this first.”

Ace grumbled under his breath, but said nothing else. Rayleigh would take that as a win. He liked to think of himself as a fairly lax parent, but he wouldn’t allow his son to talk back to him like that. Usually Ace didn’t, but if he had to guess, he’d attribute it to his son being both excited and nervous about finally starting his combat lessons.

“Luffy, may I borrow your polearm?”

Luffy, bless him, looked at his arms in confusion. “They’re not poles? They are round though, I guess.”

Sabo shook his head beside him. “A polearm is a word for any long cylindrical weapon. He wants your pipe.”

Luffy’s mouth morphed into a comically round ‘o’. Then he smiled and handed Rayleigh his steel pipe. It was a solid weight, but not so heavy that it was difficult to wield. It was good quality steel, too. Whoever was throwing these away was rather wasteful. They could be stolen, he supposed, but he didn’t think his boys were the type to steal without reason. He hoped not, at least. They were going to be pirates one day, of that he was certain, but until then he’d rather not have the local law enforcement knocking on his door.

Rayleigh thanked Luffy and told the boys to line up. He explained that he was going to swing at them and they would have to try and dodge. They’d keep dodging until they got hit, and then they’d move to the back of the line.

Luffy went first, and Rayleigh did go easy on him. He knew Luffy had devil fruit powers, but he wasn’t sure what the extent of the boy’s physical abilities were - he was only seven after all. He swung in wide arcs, easy to anticipate. Luffy jumped out of the way, laughing - at least he was having fun. Time to take it up a notch, he thought.

Rayleigh increased the speed of his swings a fraction, and started varying the height at which he swung at Luffy. The kid clearly wasn’t prepared for the sudden switch up, and was hit easily by the pipe. Rayleigh felt a little bad, Luffy was so small. 

For his part, Luffy was completely unbothered. He just laughed again, and took his place at the back of the line behind Sabo and Ace. 

Sabo was up next, and since he was a few years older than Luffy, Rayleigh started with faster, more unpredictable swings right off the bat. Sabo was also taking this far more seriously than Luffy had been. His face was screwed up in concentration, and he was clearly trying to track Rayleigh’s movements to anticipate where the next swing would come from. He didn’t fare much better than Luffy though, only managing to dodge a few swings before Rayleigh got him with a low tap to the ankles.

Unlike Luffy, Sabo looked disheartened at being struck out.

“Chin up, son,” Rayleigh tried to reassure him, “this is just a practice round, I need to see what everyone is capable of and then we can start practising in earnest.”

Sabo perked up, nodding at Rayleigh before joining the queue behind Luffy. Ace was up next.

Ace still didn’t look the happiest, but Rayleigh wasn’t concerned about that. His son would learn to dodge and protect himself, whether he liked it or not. He’d had enough of Roger’s recklessness to last a lifetime, he would not be suffering the same from Ace.

Rayleigh watched Ace ready himself - at least it looked like he was going to take this seriously. He had a better idea of what Ace was capable of, having play-fought with him plenty of times before. He swung at his son, who dodged easily, so he brought the pole back around in an arc, in an attempt to catch Ace off guard. 

He was not successful, Ace turned around just in time to see it and duck out of the way. Rayleigh smiled in approval - he knew his son was capable. He kept at it, Ace managed to hold out for a decent amount of time before Rayleigh landed a light strike against his back. Admittedly, it had been a dirty move, but he was teaching his sons survival, not honour.

Ace accepted his defeat, panting slightly. He’d put up a good effort, and Rayleigh was proud of him. He was proud of all of his sons - even though they had just gotten started he could tell they were going to give this their all. Now he had some idea of their abilities and limitations they could properly begin. 

—

Sabo approached Rayleigh by himself later that day. He wondered where Ace and Luffy were; it was rare to see one without the other two, these days. He glanced around and spotted them crouched on the ground, poking about in a hole a little ways away from the house and laughing. They seemed to be filling the hole with… worms? Well, at least they were enjoying themselves.

He looked down as Sabo tugged on his hand.

“Can I ask you something?” he said hesitantly.

Rayleigh nodded. “Of course son, what’s up?”

Sabo looked at the ground, digging his feet into the dirt. He was clearly anxious about something. Rayleigh crouched down and got on Sabo’s level, hoping to make him feel more comfortable. He thought about putting a hand on Sabo’s shoulder, but he wasn’t sure how the boy would respond to that, so he held back.

“You, you called me son,” Sabo said haltingly, “two times now.”

“I did, yes,” Rayleigh said. He had a sneaking suspicion he knew where this was going. He’d let Sabo get the words out for himself though.

“You weren’t joking, before? About having two more sons?”

“That’s not something I would joke about Sabo,” Rayleigh promised him, “I might not have raised you from a baby the way I did with Ace, but that doesn't mean you aren’t now my son as well. Luffy too.”

Sabo looked at him with big, round eyes. He could tell the boy was on the verge of tears. Rayleigh opened his arms to welcome Sabo into a hug. The boy went, relieved, burrowing into his embrace. Rayleigh stroked his back in a repetitive soothing motion until Sabo calmed a little.

“Thank you,” Sabo said, his voice unsteady.

“This isn’t the sort of thing that needs thanks for,” Rayleigh said gently. Not for the first time he wondered about Sabo’s history. What had his family been like, to make him this emotional at the smallest hint of being treated like a son? Why had he run away? It wasn’t right to pry, but Rayleigh knew if he ever met Sabo’s birth family he would get answers one way or another, though he doubted he would like them.

They stayed in that embrace for a while longer. Thankfully, Ace and Luffy were too interested in their hole of worms to notice Sabo and himself. He didn’t want Sabo being embarrassed for seeking comfort. He shouldn’t be, of course, but who knew what nonsense he’d grown up hearing from his birth family?

“You know, Sabo, now that I call you son, will you return the honour and call me dad?”

Sabo pulled away from their hug in shock, eyes wet and shiny with tears. His small hands still gripped the fabric of Rayleigh’s jacket, and he let him hold on. The boy obviously needed something to ground him at that moment.

“Okay, dad,” Sabo said, his voice a little thick and shaky.

Rayleigh’s smile felt like it was going to split his face in two. He pulled Sabo back in for another hug, unable to stop himself.

“Dad, you’re crushing me,” Sabo’s muffled voice came from against his chest.

Rayleigh made himself let go of his son. He put Sabo’s clothes to rights, smoothing out the wrinkles and setting his little top hat back on straight. He smiled at his son, who smiled back with a big gap-toothed grin. 

“Dad!” Luffy’s voice carried from across the field. “What's for dinner?”

Rayleigh laughed, and so did Sabo. The tender moment was gone, replaced with an exuberant Luffy bounding over to them, followed by a relaxed and happy Ace.

“You two have fun with your worms?” Rayleigh asked them.

“We’re having worms for dinner?” Luffy looked at Rayleigh. He didn’t seem disgusted at the prospect, just curious - and hungry.

Rayleigh laughed. “Only if you found enough for all of us.”

Luffy shook his head, forlorn. “Not even enough for an appetiser.” 

“Well, in that case we’ll just have to resort to our back up and have fish and chips.”

“Yesssss!” Luffy punched the air. He ran toward the house, no doubt so that he could stand by the stove and watch Rayleigh cook the entire time, and try to sneak things out of the pan when he wasn’t looking. Naive little boy, he was always looking. Luffy would have to get a lot sneakier before he could best him in a contest of food theft.

Chapter Text

Ace ran as fast as he could across the meadow that surrounded their house. His brothers were close behind him, trying to keep up but not quite succeeding. He laughed and kept running, jeering at them to try and catch him. They yelled something back at him but he couldn’t tell what they were saying, they were too far behind for him to properly hear.

He broke through the treeline of the forest near their house and started to dart through the trees. There was no beaten path through this part of the forest, hardly anyone came here, so he had to pick his own way through the dense trees and plants. It slowed him down a little, but he was nimble enough for it not to be too much of a hindrance.

It was fun just to run for the sake of running. Their dad had given them a day off from their lessons, and even though Ace wanted very much to carry on and learn more about how to fight, some of his dad’s lessons could be really boring. He talked about sensing your opponent and feeling their aura and Ace just found it kind of stupid. The game of tag they were playing was much more fun.

A gorge appeared in his path, but he was running too quickly to stop or change direction. He did the only thing he could, and lept to try and clear it. He managed it, barely, rolling hard as he landed on the other side before scrambling up and sprinting on.

He heard a thump as one of his brothers - Sabo probably, he was faster than Luffy - cleared the gorge as well. He didn't turn around to make sure, he didn’t want to run into a tree or trip over a rock. He kept running.

A sudden yell startled him and he slowed down. Something wasn’t right.

“Ace! Come back, Luffy didn't clear the gorge!” Sabo shouted through the trees.

Ace paused, could this be a trick? His brothers might just be trying to get him to stop running so they could tag him. He very nearly started to run again when he heard what sounded like rockfall, and then a big splash. Shit.

He ran back and found Sabo holding Luffy by his vest, which looked like it was about to tear in two. It hadn’t been in the best condition before Luffy fell, and now it was coming apart at the seams. Sabo was straining, he had his leg hooked around a big tree root as he tried with both hands to pull Luffy up.

Luffy’s yells for help were desperate and tear tracks cut stark lines through the dirt on his cheeks. His arms were over-stretched, and his body was halfway to the river below. He didn’t seem to be able to pull himself back up.

Ace hurried over and leant over the edge of the gorge, about to try and reach for his little brother when the ground under him shifted. He had to scramble backwards as the loose soil and rocks gave way and fell into the river far below. 

Luffy screamed louder.

“Luffy, shut up! We’ll get you out of here!” Sabo tried to quiet him down. Ace couldn't blame him for yelling at Luffy, he was scared, and Luffy's screaming was stressing him out too.

He had to try something else. He looked around frantically, there was no time to run and get their dad - Sabo wouldn't be able to hold on that long, and he doubted Luffy’s vest would last that long either. A thick looking vine lay on the forest floor a few meters away, that would do nicely.

He hurriedly copied one of the knots his dad had taught him a few years ago, making a circular handhold for Luffy to grab on to. Fortunately, the vine was quite long so he was able to toss it over the edge of the gorge from relatively stable ground. He didn’t want to have to go back to the edge of the gorge again, if he fell in too they’d all be done for.

“Luffy! Hold on to that loop! Sabo, you grab on too!”

He waited until Sabo yelled back that they'd both done as he asked. Then he pulled, and kept pulling. His brothers were heavier than he expected, but maybe he just needed to get stronger. It took a while, since he was already tired from having run so much, but eventually Sabo managed to get his feet under him and he was able to help Ace pull Luffy up.

They all scrambled far away from the edge of the gorge. Ace made sure the ground under them wasn't about to crumble away at a moment's notice. That had been far too scary. His heart was hammering in his chest and his breathing hadn’t yet returned to normal. That was that round of tag over, he supposed.

Luffy was sitting next to them, crying and hugging his knees with arms back to their usual length.

“You okay Lu?” Sabo asked his little brother.

Luffy shook his head.

“It's okay Luffy! You didn't die!” Ace tried to comfort him. It didn't work though, Luffy just cried harder.

“What Ace is trying to say is that he and I saved you!” Sabo reassured Luffy, while glaring daggers at Ace. He just shrugged back, he didn't get why Luffy was so upset - not dying was a good thing!

Luffy nodded, unable to get words out through his tears. He reached for his brothers and they both reached back, embracing each other in a tight, rather muddy hug. Luffy's sobs slowed and eventually stopped completely.

“You better now, Lu?” Sabo asked again.

Luffy sniffed and nodded.

“You wanna go beetle burrowing?”

Luffy perked up at that. He nodded and got up, though his legs were still a little wobbly. They began to walk away from the gorge, and turned back when they noticed Ace wasn't following them.

“Ace?” Luffy asked.

“I'm sorry Luffy.”

“What for?” his brother tilted his head, confused.

“If I hadn't jumped that gorge you wouldn't have fallen in it, it's my fault.” 

“Silly! I could’ve made that jump easy, I just tripped.” Luffy folded his arms across his chest and nodded in a self-important manner.

He was fairly sure his brother was lying to make him feel better, but before he could question it Luffy had grabbed his hand and was pulling him along with Sabo towards their favourite beetle hunting spot.

—

The boys had returned home even dirtier than they usually were. Luffy in particular looked rather ragged, his hair was caked in mud and his vest looked like it was about to fall off him.

Ace and Sabo were in far less of a sorry state, so after getting them to wash their hands he told them to prepare the things for dinner, since he’d have to give Luffy a bath. No son of his was eating dinner with mud and goodness knows what else matted into their hair.

Rayleigh had filled the wooden tub they kept in the bathroom with water and a little soap. All his children seemed averse to keeping clean, much to his chagrin. It took some coaxing, but eventually he got Luffy into the tub, while Ace and Sabo tidied up before dinner.

He was combing through the knots in Luffy’s hair, to his son’s great displeasure. He was tolerating it, at least. Rayleigh tried to distract him and asked him what he'd gotten up to with his brothers today.

“I fell down! But it's okay, Ace and Sabo saved me and I didn't die!” Luffy said cheerfully, blowing bubbles into Rayleigh's face.

Rayleigh paused in his combing of Luffy’s hair. “Were you in danger?” he asked carefully.

“Nope! ‘Cause Ace and Sabo were there! It was scary though. And the hat Shanks gave me got dirty, can you help me clean it? I tried putting it in the river but it made my hand all weak and then I nearly lost it, Ace had to get it back for me.”

“Of course son, I'll help you clean it,” he said. Then the rest of Luffy’s words caught up to him.

“Luffy, did you say Shanks, just then?”

Luffy nodded, grinning widely. “Yep! He gave me that hat and told me not to give it back to him until I become a great pirate! So I'm gonna find the One Piece and become the King of the Pirates, and then I can give Shanks his hat back!”

Rayleigh couldn’t believe it. He had known that damn hat was familiar, but he’d never thought Shanks would give it up - for anyone. It was tough to imagine Shanks as he was today. He’d seen him since Roger’s crew had disbanded, of course, but he couldn't picture him as anything other than the lanky youth who worked aboard the Oro Jackson and got into petty arguments with Buggy every day.

He knew that Shanks was an Emperor in the New World now, but it was still hard to reconcile that image of him with the child he’d known. To think that now his own son looked up to Shanks the way Shanks had admired Roger, it made him feel just a little old. 

Luffy splashing him with bathwater brought him back from his thoughts.

“Well, you'd better keep it safe until then,” Rayleigh told his son as he carefully washed the suds out of his hair. He’d learned from previous baths that if Luffy got soap in his eyes the entire village would know about it. If Ace was loud when he was displeased then Luffy was deafening. He was finally clean, though Rayleigh doubted it would last. If he didn't know better he'd be tempted to say Luffy had eaten the dirt-dirt fruit.

Luffy handed his hat to Rayleigh. “Thanks dad!” He scampered off, no doubt to go and find out what was for dinner. 

“Luffy, come back! You need to put clothes on!” he called after his son. He knew it was useless - food was involved, and he’d be a fool to think Luffy cared more about propriety than food.

There was a loud crash from the kitchen and Rayleigh sighed. His sons truly lived to keep him on his toes - and his feet. He felt a little guilty for excusing them from their lessons today but he'd just needed a little time to himself. Just a little peace and quiet. He could only field Sabo’s endless ‘but why’ questions for so long.

As he made his way to the kitchen to investigate the extent of the damage of the crash he'd heard it occurred to him he ought to contact Shanks. If Shanks meant that much to Luffy, Luffy had probably wormed his way into Shanks’ heart too. He’d want to know how Luffy was doing. He would also have to ask his other sons exactly what happened to Luffy today, but that could wait until after he’d dealt with the mystery disaster, and dinner.

—

Red Haired Shanks,

Or as I used to know you, Shanks the little terror. It’s been too long, but I can see you've been making a name for yourself. 

I do not think it is presumptuous to say that he would be proud of you; you've done well for yourself. I have also come to discover that you are taking on his role of inspiring the next generation of pirates.

Recently, I encountered a boy with your hat, I shan't name him lest this letter fall into unfavorable hands, but I'm sure you remember him. He's not the kind of child one easily forgets.

I was surprised to find that you gave him your hat, the one you got from him. I was also surprised to hear the conviction with which he spoke. He's determined to give it back to you one day.

I am writing to let you know that he is safe, and in my care now. He’s become the son of my heart, and I also think I am not being presumptuous when I say he is likely the son of your heart as well. If he's not, well, then I think perhaps you may not have a heart at all.

-S.R.

He wondered if he would receive a reply from Shanks. He doubted it, which was why he hadn't told Luffy he was writing to him. He knew Luffy would want to write something too, but if he didn't get a reply it would hurt him, and Rayleigh couldn't bear that. It was best he didn't know. At least that way if Shanks did reply he could surprise Luffy with it. For now though, he was going to bed. Who knew being a single parent of three was three times as tiring as being a single parent of one.

Chapter Text

The sun wasn’t yet past midday, and Ace and his brothers were already at the Grey Terminal. They’d set off in the early morning to get a full day’s worth of treasure hunting done. A little while after they had become brothers they had decided they would sell what they found here to fund their beginnings as pirates. All three of them knew that if they asked, their dad would help them, but this was something they wanted to do for themselves.

They’d been scavenging at the Grey Terminal for several months now, and slowly but surely they were gathering the funds they needed. By the time they all turned seventeen they were confident that they’d have more than enough money to start their journey, if they kept this up. Today however, Ace had only found a couple of trinkets, barely worth more than five hundred beri. He changed tactics, swapping to a fresh pile of scrap. 

He felt a drop in temperature, and realised a towering figure was casting a shadow over him. He froze, and then cursed himself - he’d just given away the fact that he’d noticed the person behind him, there’d be no element of surprise for him now. A yelp came from somewhere off to his right, alerting him that Luffy was likely in a similar predicament to himself. 

He heard nothing from Sabo - which could have been good news or bad news, he had no way of knowing. 

Ace didn’t wait for the person above him to attack first. That was one of the most recent things his dad had taught him: if you know you’re going to be attacked, don’t let them dictate the parameters of the fight, get the first strike in and make the fight go your way. With that in mind Ace bolted for his steel pipe - he’d set it down on the ground nearby while he was scavenging. He was relieved the three of them had the good sense to never come to the Grey Terminal unarmed; plenty of people there saw them as easy targets given their age, and they lived to prove them all wrong. They would this time, too.

His hands closed around the cold metal of the pipe and he gripped it tightly. He swung it in a low arc, taking out the knees of the person standing over him with a satisfying crunch, they fell with a grunt, obviously not expecting the strength behind his strike. He gave them a whack to the head for good measure - his dad had taught him that too; it was good practice to make sure your enemies would go down and stay down. He looked to his right, and saw that Luffy had dispatched his assailant similarly, and was now blowing raspberries at him.

“Luffy,” Ace hissed, “where’s Sabo?”

Luffy stopped blowing raspberries at the unconscious man and looked around, worried.

A mere second later, Sabo’s voice sounded from somewhere a little further away, and Ace reacted immediately. He grabbed Luffy by the arm and dragged him along behind him. “Come on!”

From afar they spotted Sabo, completely surrounded by at least six people. Luffy made to run into the fray to protect his brother, but Ace held him back; there were too many to take on directly. They needed the element of surprise. 

Noticing a barrel nearby, an idea came to him. 

Sabo was trapped, penned in by piles of scrap and thugs much larger than he was on all sides. But a plan was forming in Ace's mind: strike quickly, and blindside their opponents by hiding in the barrel while it was rolling down the slope. His dad always told him to use his environment to his advantage, and to do things to throw people off. This was exactly the kind of situation to put that lesson to the test.

Ace started moving the barrel into position and Luffy cottoned on quickly, helping him to shift it. Once they were both inside, Ace kicked against the ground with his foot, setting it in motion. He braced himself against the sides of the barrel as it rolled, but unfortunately that didn’t stop him from getting quite dizzy. When the barrel lifted off the ground entirely, a little voice at the back of his mind suggested this may not have been the smartest battle tactic. 

He had no time to regret it though, because in the blink of an eye the barrel crashed into something solid and broke apart. Ace and Luffy dropped to the ground from a few feet in the air and Ace noted with satisfaction that the barrel had broken against the face of one of the mean looking guys who promptly collapsed.

“We can beat them if we work together!” Ace said, confident. They’d already taken out one of them, they could handle five more. No one would mess with his brother if he had any say in it.

“Yeah!” Luffy yelled, enthusiastic. “We’ve already beaten the big tiger in the jungle, and all the alligators!”

“Get them!” Ace shouted, rallying his brothers with a battle cry. Beside him, Sabo readied himself into a fighting stance; Ace recognised it as one their dad had been teaching them. Ace mimicked him and grinned - this was a chance to test themselves for real.

The three of them ran forward, brandishing their steel pipes. Ace swung his pipe into the first man he reached, feeling ribs crack beneath the impact with a spark of satisfaction, then hastily ducked to evade suffering the same treatment from a second thug. He was loath to admit it, but his dad’s dodging lessons were proving very useful. Beside him, Sabo and Luffy were holding their own as well. Luffy’s imperviousness to physical attacks due to his rubber body came in handy in a fight; attacks literally bounced off him — meanwhile Sabo was nimble, jumping and ducking attacks until he could find an opening to strike back.

In no time, there was only one more enemy left, but he was the most intimidating of the lot. He was much taller than the rest, wearing a royal blue coat that was too well tailored and far too clean for the place he was in. He glared at them.

The brothers shared a look, and then charged. Together they could take him down easily.

Ace did not expect the man to pull out a gun, and he only narrowly managed to dodge a shot aimed at his feet. The sound was much louder than he anticipated, setting his heart beating like a jackrabbit in his chest. That had been far too close. 

The shot forced the three of them to scatter in different directions, diving for cover behind various piles of scrap. 

However brief, the pause in their attack had given the man’s allies time to recover, and Ace found himself grabbed from behind before he could do anything about it. He struggled in the hold, but the arms of the man who caught him were strong and unrelenting and he couldn’t break free. Worse, they had Sabo and Luffy captive too. Ace seethed. How dare they put their hands on his brothers!

They struggled desperately to escape their captors as a group of armed men walked toward them with purpose. At the front of the group was a well dressed man in a suit, looking every inch the slimy aristocrat he surely was, complete with a thin, greasy moustache.

Sabo gasped in shock. “That’s my-that was my dad,” he said through rasping breaths. The man who held him captive had his forearm clamped around Sabo’s neck, and was clearly making it hard for him to breathe, let alone talk.

“Let us go!” Ace yelled, struggling against his own captor. Elbows and knees, elbows and knees, he repeated to himself. His dad had taught them that if they were ever in a brawl, those were the hardest parts of the body to hit with that caused the least pain to the one doing the hitting. He tried fruitlessly to find the right angle to get an elbow into his captors chest, but it was no use. He was too tightly held.

Moustache man ignored Ace, and focused instead on Sabo. His gaze turned cold and he sneered, looking down his nose at Sabo. Ace hated him already. 

“To think I had to hire pirates to find my own son. Good work, Bluejam.” 

Bluejam, the arsehole who had shot at them, nodded and crossed his arms with a self-satisfied expression. Sabo glared at them both and said nothing. Ace could see the rage in his brother's eyes though, the man before him was one he truly despised. 

Moustache man turned his attention to Ace and Luffy. “So you’re the ones who tempted my son to run away and become a petty thief,” he said, voice full of scorn.

The way he looked at them made Ace feel like he was something underfoot, something to be squashed or disposed of. Anger burned deep in his gut.

“Fuck you,” Ace spat.

Moustache man looked horrified, and took a step back, as if physical distance would change anything. Good. Ace didn’t know if the man objected to his language, his glare, or his general demeanour, but he didn’t care. He hated him and his stupid face and he was going to make sure that he knew it.

“He’s not your son, he’s our brother!” Luffy yelled as he fought against the man that was holding him. 

The man shoved Luffy into the ground, silencing him. 

Ace cast a worried glance at Luffy, who was struggling in the dirt, beating his fists against the packed earth while his captor’s much larger hands pressed down on him. Luffy will be okay, he told himself. He turned back to Sabo; Ace couldn't help but feel he was the one in real danger now.

Sabo had managed to wiggle his way out of the hold his captor had on him. Ace watched as his brother stood before the man he had once called father. He was shaking slightly, but he held his gaze resolutely. His hands were clenched into fists at his sides, the knuckles on his right hand starkly white around the grip of his steel pipe.

“No one tempted me, I ran away of my own will.”

Moustache man waved his hand, dismissing Sabo. “Nonsense.” 

Ace wasn't sure why, but that angered him more than anything else the man had done. He claimed to be Sabo’s dad but he didn't even care to listen, and still expected Sabo to treat him as a father? What a joke.

Sabo was about to argue back — Ace could see him open his mouth in preparation to speak — but his ‘father’ cut him off before he could. He snapped his fingers, and two of his armed guards grabbed Sabo and hauled him away.

Ace could only watch as his brother, his first true friend, was dragged away. He saw Sabo’s body twist in an attempt to look back over his shoulder. Their eyes locked for a fleeting moment and Ace could see the panic and fear in his brother’s eyes. His heart ached, he felt helpless and he hated it. 

One of the guards hefted Sabo off of the ground, probably getting annoyed with how much resistance he was putting up. They continued toward the walls of the city and Ace could do nothing but watch them go. He felt useless. Struggling was pointless but he persisted anyway, until he could no longer see even their silhouettes in the distance. 

Sabo was gone.

Ace let out an anguished scream. It was futile, but he couldn’t hold it in. They’d taken his brother, and it was the worst pain he’d ever felt in his life. 

“Shut it, brat,” Moustache man sneered. 

Ace longed to bite him, make him bleed. He had no right to take Sabo from them! Sabo was his brother. His! The anger gave way to a righteous fury; he would get Sabo back. He’d make this man hurt, too. For what he did to Sabo and what his guards were doing to Luffy. No one treated his brothers like that.

“No! Screw you! Sabo has a new dad now and he’s better than you!” Ace yelled furiously.

“Oh?” Moustache man asked. “I struggle to believe that; you look no more than a peasant child in those rags - your father must be the same, or worse.” He sniffed, looking down at Ace, condescension dripping from his words. The man’s attitude made Ace so angry his chest hurt. How dare that man assume he was better than him and his dad, just because of their clothes. He wasn’t worth the dirt on Ace’s shoe.

Before he could argue further, Moustache man sighed, as if he’d grown bored. 

“Take them away, I don’t care what you do with them, but I want them gone from my sight. They’re unseemly,” he said in a bored tone.

The guards holding him and Luffy obeyed without question. He couldn’t fathom why these people were obeying this awful man. Surely they could see that what he was doing was wrong? The train of thought was quickly dispelled from his mind as he was thrown roughly over the shoulders of one of the guards who carried him off in the opposite direction to the way they’d taken Sabo. 

He couldn’t see his younger brother, but he could still hear the noises of Luffy’s struggling, so that meant that they weren’t being split up at least. The thought of being separated from Luffy as well as Sabo was too much to bear, Ace didn’t even want to consider it.

What felt like hours later, two of them were unceremoniously dumped at the edge of the Grey Terminal. Ace landed hard on the ground, with Luffy thrown nearly on top of him, and he wondered if this is how they were treating Sabo too. He sorely hoped not. Ace was going to break the hands of every man who laid a finger on his brothers, it was no less than they deserved.

“Don’t come back here,” was all one of the men grunted, as the group of guards — a generous overstatement, really, they acted more like hired thugs — turned away. They didn't even watch their backs as they retreated, obviously not perceiving Ace and Luffy as threats. Their audacity made Ace’s blood boil.

Then Luffy groaned in his lap, and Ace's gaze snapped down to find his brother looking up at him with an expression that left his heart broken for the second time that day. Luffy always wore his heart on his sleeve, and in this moment it was more obvious than ever. Tears streaked his cheeks, which were red and blotted from crying. His fists were bloody and bruised from pounding the earth and anyone who he could reach. 

And Ace couldn’t help him - but he knew who could.

“Come on, Lu, we’ve got to go and get dad,” Ace said, getting up. He didn’t know what else to do; he knew that sneaking into the city would be nigh impossible, and finding Sabo in that massive labyrinth of a city would be even harder. All he knew was they had to get their brother back, somehow.

Luffy sniffled, but nodded. Taking the hand Ace held out to him, they began to run through the jungle back to their house.

Dad will fix this, Ace thought desperately, he’ll find Sabo.

Chapter Text

Rayleigh was splitting logs with a small hatchet when he sensed his sons approaching. He looked up, the sun wasn’t anywhere close to setting yet - they were back uncharacteristically early. Alarm bells began to sound in his mind when he noticed only two small figures making their way towards him. As they got closer he could make out Ace and Luffy - but where was Sabo?

He set his hatchet down, meaning to wait for them, but the closer they got the more he could feel the distress that emanated from them in waves. Something was very wrong. He ran toward them, and felt their relief crash over him when they caught sight of him.

Immediately, he crouched down to their level and asked what had happened. They both looked awful; ripped clothes and bloody hands, dirty skin and tear stained cheeks. Rayleigh felt a burning anger begin to boil in his gut. Whoever had done this to his children was going to pay, and pay dearly.

“They took Sabo,” Ace said, his voice sounded flat, and far away. 

“Who did?” Rayleigh asked.

“Sabo’s old dad, the one he ran away from.” 

Rayleigh was shocked, he had assumed the boy’s parents had abandoned him, and let him run away. There had never been any indication that they’d been looking for him before.

“I don’t understand,” Ace said, so quietly that Rayleigh almost didn’t hear it.

“What don’t you understand Ace?”

“Why did his old dad want him back now? It’s been ages, and they never cared until now, what changed?”

What indeed, Rayleigh wondered. He listened carefully as his son told him what happened, growing steadily angrier as the events were recounted. Once Ace had finished, Rayleigh found he had to rein in his Haki to avoid scaring his sons.

“Dad, you’re gonna go and get Sabo back, aren’t you?” Luffy finally spoke up. His voice was rough - presumably from shouting or crying, or both.

“Of course,” Rayleigh said, because there was no question about it. 

Sabo was his son, he wouldn’t surrender him to anyone. Certainly not to a man who cared so little for his own son, so much so that he didn’t bother to look for him for six months. Sabo hadn’t outright said anything about his previous family, but it didn’t take a genius to work out that they did not care for him, not in the way a son ought to be cared for.

“It will be dangerous, and I need you two to stay here,” he said, giving Ace and Luffy a pointed look. Both of them opened their mouths to argue but he held up a finger. “I will get Sabo back, I promise. But I can’t do that if I’m worrying about you two as well, so I need you to stay here, okay?”

His sons nodded reluctantly and he smiled in an attempt to reassure them. It didn’t work very well - they both still looked so distraught. It pained him to see them like that, so he swept them into a fierce hug and held them close. His boys hugged him back tightly, clearly desperate for comfort and reassurance. He gave as much of it as he could, but eventually he had to untangle himself from their arms; he couldn’t delay any longer.

“I promise,” he repeated, for their sake and for his own.

—

Rayleigh knew roughly where the Grey Terminal was. It wasn’t hard to find - a huge grey blight on the landscape outside the city walls was hard to miss. It was far from their house, and he was quite impressed his sons had managed to make it there and back in the time that they did. As he got closer he noticed the city appeared to be glowing, a pale orange light shone above it. Something solid formed in the pit of his stomach, he did not have a good feeling about this - no city was this brightly lit at night.

As he got closer he realised what he thought was light from the city beyond was actually coming from the Grey Terminal itself. The smell of smoke hung faintly in the air, along with the acrid scent of burning metal and plastic, which were much more pungent. 

Something was very wrong.

He broke into a sprint, he had to get there as fast as he could. He was very glad he’d kept up his training regimen - he used to be able to beat Roger in a dead sprint even though the man charged like a bull, and he reckoned he still could. Of course, keeping up with three young boys felt like more than enough exercise, some days. Hyperactive didn't even begin to cover it when it came to his sons.

In no time, he was standing on the edge of the Grey Terminal, which was being consumed by raging fire. The stench of smoke and molten metal was overpowering, and he had to push down his instinct to gag. He had to focus; pragmatics, Rayleigh, he thought to himself.

Sabo was in there, somewhere, beyond the fire.

He ripped off a piece of his cloak to use as a makeshift mask for his face. It wouldn’t protect him completely but it was better than nothing. He gripped his sword tightly and braced himself to enter the fire.

He had underestimated just how hot the inferno would be. It was a burning heat, flames threatened to lick at his heels with every step he took. He had kept his cloak on for protection against the flames, but he wrapped it close to himself. The last thing he needed was to have that catch fire.

The stench grew more intense the further into the Grey Terminal he went. It smelled toxic, and he knew it would linger in his nose for days. He kept his body low, to avoid the worst of the smoke plumes that by now were reaching high into the evening sky.

In truth, his safety was of little consequence. He only had one thing he needed to worry about now, and that was Sabo. 

As Rayleigh had been preparing to leave, Ace had told him he’d seen Sabo being taken toward the city walls. That was one small relief in all this - had he not known that his son was inside the city, and presumably safe from this fire, he would have gone ballistic. He was barely holding onto his composure as it was.

This was not an accidental fire, he had no doubt about that. He’d seen wildfires, and they did not burn like this. This was planned. The fire, coupled with Sabo being taken back into the city could not be a coincidence. He had no time to dwell on it - he had to concentrate on getting through this blaze and getting into the city. 

If he happened to come across the ones who had dared to come between him and his son on the way there? Well, then they would die.

—

It had taken longer than he would've liked to reach the gates of the walled city. Largely because pathways he had picked out were suddenly consumed by flames and he’d had to reroute himself more than once. The doors to the city were closed, and he was not surprised. He'd heard about how the city of Goa was wasteful, elitist, and selfish. They would not risk the lives of their people nor their resources to help those out here stuck in the fire. He was on his own, but he had been on his own since the Roger pirates parted, so that suited him just fine.

His attention was drawn by a group of people banging on the doors, wailing and demanding to be let in. No one answered them. If they lingered much longer the inferno would consume them too.

He inched closer - he had yet to be spotted, and he would prefer to keep it that way for the time being - and was at last able to make out what they were shouting above the roar of the flames around them.

“Oi! You promised us! We did the dirty work here, we set this in motion. Now let us in or we’ll die! Please, save us!”

Rayleigh’s blood ran cold. These were the men that started this fire, there was no doubt about it. People had died because of them, and more people would yet; the flames were still raging fiercely. They likely wouldn't burn down to embers until the morning. 

He shifted his grip on his sword slightly and strode forward with grim determination.

The men remained ignorant of his presence. He didn’t say anything, he just lifted his sword and in one clean arc parted the head from the body of the man closest to him. The group turned around in shock and he smiled, though there was no good humour in his expression.

“There’s no saving you,” he said.

The men took one look at their headless comrade and himself, standing before them with a bloody sword and a face like thunder and scattered. If they preferred to take their chances with the unpredictable raging flames rather than the certain death Rayleigh offered them that was their prerogative. A pity, he’d at least kill them painlessly. They were too dull witted and panic-blind to realise that.

Only one man did not run. He wore a blue military style coat, and was at least half a foot taller than everyone else. He was almost certainly the ringleader.

“Before I kill you,” Rayleigh said, lowering his sword, “tell me, have you seen a ten year old boy, blond, wearing a top hat?”

The man’s eyes widened in recognition. He shook his head frantically though, and Rayleigh tutted.

“You really ought to master some control of your expressions if you’re going to tell such obvious lies,” he admonished, “I’ll ask again, have you seen a ten year old boy, blond, wearing a top hat?”

The man nodded. Rayleigh made a motion with his hand as if to say ‘go on’.

“His father hired me, wanted me to bring him back to the city before tonight. He knew this was gonna happen, everyone in the city knew. It’s cause the celestials are coming to the Kingdom and they’d be displeased with how unsightly the Grey Terminal is, so we had to cleanse it, or everyone would die-”

Once he had started talking, it was like the man couldn’t stop. Fear and adrenaline had that effect, sometimes. Rayleigh did not care, he cut the man off.

“I’m his father. The man who hired you was simply present for his conception, nothing more.”

The brute had told him all he needed to know, Sabo was safe in the city, and this man was the one behind all this. Well, the puppet at least. It looked like whoever was manipulating him from within the walled city had just severed his strings, so Rayleigh decided to take it upon himself to finish the job.

He ended his life slowly, slashing his throat to make him choke on his own blood as he bled to death. Rayleigh didn’t stick around to hear his last breath, he wasn’t worth the time. He had to find a way into the city and get to his son, but first he had to do something about the fire.

He couldn’t let any more innocent people die - on the way to the city gates he’d already seen several burnt and twisted bodies on the ground. He tried not to think too hard about it, but the images were still fresh in his mind and they turned his stomach. People were frantically trying to put out the fire, but the blaze was just too fierce. The best bet for the people here now was evacuation, and to simply let the fire burn up all its fuel and die out on its own.

He got to work, grabbing whoever he saw and running with them to the edge of the Terminal. It was exhausting, but no one else was going to do it. The city had turned their backs on these people, but he would not.

One of the people he came across trying to flee the flames was one he recognised from the throng of thugs at the city gates. That particular man wasn’t lucky enough to make it out of the blaze.

He would help here tonight - he couldn’t let the people of the Grey Terminal die. Sabo was safe inside the city, according to the ringleader of those hired thugs. It was a small comfort, and he clung to it desperately. 

As soon as the fire died down Rayleigh would get his son back. Failure was not an option.

Chapter Text

Dawn was cresting the horizon by the time the fire had finally begun to dwindle to embers. The stench of smoke still lingered in the air, and Rayleigh kept his makeshift mask on. At least the smoke wasn’t as thick anymore, and with the improved visibility he could see a clear, climbable path up the city walls. It would require a few acrobatic feats, but nothing that was beyond his ability. 

He was up and over the wall in what felt like no time at all.

The city itself was bustling, people were going about their business as if a terrible tragedy hadn’t taken place outside their walls just hours before. The atmosphere was so normal—it was that which unsettled Rayleigh more than anything else. Just how disconnected from the world around them were these people? He wanted to yell at them, shake some sense into them, make them see what they refused to. 

But he couldn't - not if he wanted to find Sabo. He couldn’t risk getting kicked out of the city, which he was certain would happen if he disturbed the peace even slightly. Not that anyone could keep him out of anywhere he wanted to be, but it would slow him down, and he wanted to avoid that if he could. 

So, he kept his mouth shut, and began his search by casting out his Haki. Oceans below, there were so many people. He knew Sabo’s aura well, but he’d been awake for over twenty four hours by this point, and he was starting to feel the toll. The thought of missing a sign of his son because he was careless was unthinkable.

He pushed aside his tiredness and began to scale one of the buildings - he’d be able to travel faster by rooftop, and he could search the city section by section instead. It would take longer, but it would be more thorough and less overwhelming.

He hadn’t been settled on the roof for long when he noticed a trend in the crowd below: everyone seemed to be heading toward the docks. It took his tired mind a moment to connect that observation with what the brute he’d encountered last night had said about the Celestials. They must be arriving today. Dread settled like a lead weight in the pit of his stomach - he needed to get to the docks.

He flit across the rooftops, glad he didn’t have to deal with the throng of people below. He stopped on top of a building close to the water's edge and began to scan the crowd. It was tough; there were so many people tightly packed into the marina, but he grit his teeth and powered through the headache that was steadily forming at his temples.

Someone in the crowd gasped and pointed, and several others followed suit. Rayleigh looked to see what had them so shocked and nearly lost his footing on the roof he was perched on. On a tiny boat, one that couldn’t have been much bigger than the one he’d gotten Ace for his sixth birthday, was a little blond boy in a top hat. 

Sabo.

His Sabo. 

The boat was flying a homemade jolly roger, a blue ‘S’ with two bones crossed behind it. He wondered briefly where Sabo had found the time to make that, he certainly hadn’t had it with him when he’d left the house yesterday morning. Despite the worry twisting in his gut, he chuckled to himself. Of course his son would make a pirate flag for his great escape. 

More gasps came from the crowd, and Rayleigh’s attention flicked away from his son’s little boat to a ship on the horizon - the Celestials. Shit. 

He hadn’t noticed it before, too caught up in making sure Sabo was okay. 

The Celestials’ ship was approaching quickly, it was well made and well engineered, and the wind was in its favour. Rayleigh didn’t have much time. He jumped from the roof, landing on a balcony below before swinging off of that and deftly dropping to the ground. No one noticed his little acrobatic display, the crowd was too busy gawking at the Celestials’ ship to pay him any mind. 

The crowd’s distraction worked in his favour. He started to push through them, trying to get to the water’s edge. He shouted desperately for Sabo, but no one took any notice of him. Unfortunately, neither did his son. The crowd was drowning his voice out long before it could reach Sabo’s ears.

Finally, he made it through the crowd. By then, Sabo had sailed well into the middle of the harbour, and the Celestials’ ship was fast approaching. It pulled up beside his son's tiny sailboat too soon, Rayleigh was still nowhere near the water's edge.

A figure on the deck of the Celestials’ ship aimed a gun at Sabo's little boat, and then– 

An explosion sounded throughout the harbour. The crowd’s loud rumblings quieted to nothing, a dull murmur, and then raucous shouts once more. They could have been singing hymns for all he cared. He couldn’t hear them, his ears were ringing and he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the place on the water where his son’s boat had floated just moments before.

A second explosion shook the harbour; the Celestial had just fired again, further reducing the smouldering wreckage of the boat to splinters and not much more. A strangled cry escaped Rayleigh’s lips. His son. His son. 

He jolted into action, shoving aside those around him. He kicked off his shoes and abandoned them, along with his cloak. He kept his sword though, just in case. A little seawater damage was negligible, and something to worry about at a later point in time - he couldn’t spare a single second now. He dove into the water, not caring if the Celestials’ ship had cleared the wreckage yet. 

He had to find his son. He had to.

The water was so frigid it caused his muscles to seize but he forced himself to keep going, swimming as quickly as he could to the edge of the wreckage. The Celestials’ ship had moved on by the time he got there, callous to the life they had just- 

He couldn’t think like that. Not yet.

The water was littered with debris, chunks of splintered wood and scraps of unidentifiable charred rubbish. He pushed through it, searching for something, anything.

There was nothing, so he dove.

He dove again.

And again.

And again.

The deep abyss of the harbour reached into his soul, a haze of darkness encroaching on his vision. He couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead of him in the murky water, but he kept going. It was possible that Sabo was only a few feet away in the water and he just couldn’t see him.

His lungs burned; he had to surface soon. 

Just a little deeper. 

He kept going.

There! He felt something brush up against his hand. He forced his fingers to move and held onto it for dear life as he swam with hard kicks directly upwards. His vision was starting to spot, he could tell he was about to pass out from a lack of oxygen. He kicked harder, he wouldn’t be defeated by a fucking harbour, of all things.

He broke the surface and heaved huge lungfuls of air. His head was spinning, but that hardly mattered. What really mattered was what he had dragged up from the depths of the water. Fear started to encroach on his heart - what if this wasn’t his son? What then? Or, what if it was and he wasn’t- 

No.

He pushed those feelings down; every second he delayed was a precious moment wasted. He heaved the thing up above the surface and relief rushed through him when he saw his son in his arms once more. 

Sabo’s face was battered and still bleeding, with skin hanging off of the left side of his face in large flaps. That must’ve been the side closest to the explosion. The fabric of his clothes was all burned away on that side too, leaving his left arm covered in burns and welts.

With a jolt he realised Sabo was barely breathing. He was in the middle of the harbour, there was nothing he could do for him out here. His son had never felt so fragile. He held him close, making sure to keep his head above the water as he swam to the shoreline as fast as his body would let him.

With Sabo clutched in his arms, probably a little too tightly, Rayleigh stumbled out of the water onto the shore. He fell to his knees, still cradling his son and laid him down on the stony shoreline. He looked as small as he felt and Rayleigh’s heart burned painfully in his chest in a way that even drowning couldn’t mimic.

Sabo’s lungs gave a weak, barely audible rattle that spurred Rayleigh into action. He bent over his son and began pressing down on his chest and counting. Every thirty presses he breathed air into his son’s lungs twice before continuing to push, willing his son to breathe, to live.

He lost track of how long he did that for. His arms ached, whether from this or the swimming or the climbing or the carrying he could not tell. His whole body begged for rest but he would not let it, not until he heard Sabo breathe with clear, strong lungs.

Finally, finally Sabo coughed and water spilled from his lungs and stomach. Rayleigh sat him forward and massaged his back, avoiding the parts of his skin that were burnt and raw. He could barely hold back his tears, Sabo was so badly hurt and it was all his fault. If he had gotten there sooner, if he hadn’t spent the night before helping the people of the Grey Terminal, if he’d tracked him better. But, all the ‘if’s’ in the world wouldn’t change a thing.

He was alive, at least, and Rayleigh clung to that like a lifeline.

Sabo turned his head to look at him, wincing as the movement pulled against the burned skin of his face and neck.

“Dad..?”

He devolved into a fit of coughs, bringing up more water. His voice was dry and throaty, it must’ve hurt for him to speak.

“I’m here son, I’m here. You’re okay now, you’ll be okay. I promise you, you’ll be okay,” Rayleigh said over and over, reassuring himself just as much as his son, who passed out shortly after speaking.

Rayleigh continued to speak to his son, willing his voice not to break. He’d heard that unconscious people could still hear what was going on around them, sometimes. He needed Sabo to know that he was there for him, and would continue to be there for him for the rest of his life.

When it became clear Sabo would not regain consciousness anytime soon he gathered up his too-small body in his cloak and began to head home. He’d barely spared a thought for Ace and Luffy this entire time, which he couldn’t help but feel guilty about. He hoped they had been okay without him, and he truly hoped they had not done anything stupid, like try to follow him.

—

The Grey Terminal was desolate and silent as he walked through it. Here and there people picked through the wreckage, looking to salvage anything that they could. They did not look to be having much success. He kept Sabo close to his chest, the boy still felt so fragile. He was afraid that even the slightest sudden movement would shatter the delicate equilibrium Sabo was in, so he walked with a slow purpose towards home.

A blip on the edge of his consciousness alerted him to Ace and Luffy. He would’ve noticed them earlier, had he been less tired and more alert. They were wandering through the wreckage of the Grey Terminal, both with their steel pipes in hand. Luffy spotted him first and ran to him with Ace following close behind.

The sombre quiet of the Grey Terminal was shattered by Luffy yelling as soon as he got within earshot of Rayleigh. “Did you find Sabo?”

Ace’s eyes zeroed in on the bundle in Rayleigh’s arms. He didn’t say anything, but Rayleigh knew what question was at the forefront of his mind.

“He’s breathing,” was as much as he could manage to say.

“He’s hurt?” Luffy asked, confusion and worry thick in his voice.

“Badly,” Rayleigh confirmed. “We have to get home, I’ll tell you what happened while we walk.”

Both boys nodded and fell into step beside him. They were clearly tired, their shoulders slumped and Luffy was dragging his steel pipe in the dirt behind him. He wondered if they’d gotten any sleep at all. In all likelihood, they’d been awake as long as he had.

“What happened to Sabo?” Ace asked in a flat voice.

“A Celestial Dragon. There were too many people, I couldn’t get to him in time.” I failed.

“Will he be okay?” Luffy asked, looking up at Rayleigh with big, uncertain eyes.

“I hope so.”

He wanted so desperately to say yes, but the reality was he truly did not know.

—

They didn't go home. As they walked it became clear to Rayleigh that Sabo's injuries were beyond his skill to heal. Instead he headed to Foosha. He knew, realistically, there would be more talented physicians inside the walled city, but going back there was the last thing he wanted to do. He also wanted to keep Sabo as far away from his birth family as possible - it was better that they believed him dead.

—

Sabo did not wake up, and so Rayleigh did not sleep.

He sat by his son's bedside, along with Ace and Luffy. They couldn't stay awake the whole time, though they put in a valiant effort. They fell asleep most often in chairs beside Sabo's bed and Rayleigh would jolt out of his vigil long enough to tuck them in with blankets and pillows placed carefully under their heads.

Dimly, he was aware Ace and Luffy needed him to be present, to be real, but he just felt so far away.

After a week of Sabo showing no signs of waking sleep finally claimed Rayleigh, but it was fitful and tense and he woke up with a racing heart and sweaty palms. He didn't remember what he had dreamed about, but it wasn't hard to guess.

With shaky hands he reached for his son's little hand, the one without bandages. There was no response, and he closed his eyes. His tears had long since dried up, but he knew that right now he'd be crying if he could.

He let go of his son's hand and reached for a pen and piece of paper from the stack on the bedside table. One of the nurses had brought them for Ace and Luffy to draw on to keep them entertained, but neither of them had touched it. Rayleigh picked them up now and began to pen a letter to the only person he could.

He had no crew to rely on, not anymore. But he had Shakky.

Shakky, my love,

I don’t know how to tell you, something terrible has happened. You remember S? A’s first friend? My son. He’s hurt, badly. There’s more to it, but I can’t-

I can barely look A & L in the eyes. It’s my fault it’s all my fault.

He’s only ten. He hasn't woken up yet and it's been a week and he's only ten years old.

What do I do now? How can I be a father? My son might never wake up.

He was so full of life and now he's just so small.

I can’t break down, but I have gone away, A & L are depending on me. I'm failing them too. 

What do I do, Shakky?

Yours, always
Rayleigh.

—

Shakky was relaxing with the morning paper when she noticed the bird tapping against her window with its beak. Her eyes lit up - it must be another letter from Ray. She hurried to the window to retrieve the letter the bird had in its satchel eagerly. She thanked it and sent it on its way with a tip - a handful of nuts she kept by the window for this very reason.

She broke the seal of the envelope and as she read the letter her excitement turned to dread. The letter was stained with tears, the penmanship was rough and shaky and several parts had been crossed and scribbled out beyond legibility.

She’d never met S, never known him, only knew him from Ray’s letters. But she knew Ray, and he needed her. It was time for her to go to the East Blue, caution be damned.