Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Garp’s Ship - On Route to Loguetown

Garp didn’t know what the fuck was going on. After not speaking to him for some years, Roger just showed up out of the blue saying he was handing himself in. That he had disbanded his crew and gave everything up. Garp couldn’t believe it. Roger was never one to give up on anything. 

Garp needed answers.

Now.

Garp swiftly marched down to the holding cells and told the guards to screw off for a little while. They all quickly scrambled to get out so as to not anger Garp further. Once they were all out, Garp quickly locked the door and shut the air vents. He took a deep breath and then he turned to Roger.

“What are you planning Roger?!” Garp yelled at him, shaking the cell bars, “You disappear off the face of the earth for a couple years and you only come back to surrender?!”

Roger just sat there, saying nothing and looking at the ground. This just made Garp more pissed off.

“Well?! Aren’t you going to say something?! You, Rayleigh, and Rogue just leave me behind and–”

“I’m dying.” Roger said quietly.

Garp paused, “What?”

“I’m dying.” Roger told him again, “My disease finally caught up with me and I don’t have much longer.”

Now that Garp wasn’t in a blind rage, he did notice that Roger looked smaller than the last time he saw him. Exhausted as well.

“I don’t have many regrets, but leaving things the way we did is one of my biggest.” Roger told him softly, finally looking at him, then he continued, “I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry for hurting you. We all are. It’s just… I was told that I only had a couple of years left and… I just wanted to do one last thing before I go. I should have told you.”

Garp closed his eyes and sighed, slowly letting go of his death grip on the bars. After a moment, he looked at Roger again.

“And did you?” Garp asked, “Did you find it?”

“Yes.” Roger replied, “And it was a great last adventure.”

“I’m glad.” Garp told him.

“Really?” Roger asked, surprised.

“Yeah.” Garp said while sitting down, “I’m sorry too, for what I said back then. I was just worried about you and everyone else. What the government would do to you when they found out.”

Roger gave Garp a sad smile and reached his hands out for Garp to take them. Garp did. His hands were bonier than Garp remembered, but no less gentle.

“Is that why you turned yourself in?” Garp asked him while softly rubbing the back of Roger’s hands.

“Yes.” Roger told him, “I don’t want to die from this stupid disease. If I’m dying it’s on my own terms.”

“Wouldn’t expect anything less from you.” Garp said wetly.

“Are you crying?” Roger asked cheekily, some of his old fire returning.

“Oh fuck you.” Garp told him, wiping some tears away, “I was coming down here to beat the shit out of you!”

Roger threw back his head laughing, “Wouldn’t expect anything less from you.”

“Where is everyone else?” Garp asked after a moment.

“We slowly disbanded.” Roger said, “Everybody had someplace in mind they wanted to go to, so they were all dropped off slowly. Shanks and Buggy were dropped off before we even made it to Laugh Tale.”

“Really?” Garp was surprised. Beside Roger, those two were the most excited to find the One Piece.

“Yeah.” Roger said, “Buggy caught the flu. We had already dropped off Crocus so we set up Buggy and Shanks in a sheltered town with a lot of treasure to last them for a while.”

“What about Rayleigh and Rouge?” Garp asked.

“Rayleigh went to Saboady and Rouge… she went to the South Blue.” Roger told him. He looked like he was contemplating something. Garp knew that look, he had it when he told Garp about going to find Laugh Tale.

“What?” Garp asked urgently, “What is it? Is she in trouble?”

“She’s pregnant.” Roger told him solemnly, “She’s having my baby. I’ll never get to meet them.”

“Shit. The rumor is true?!” Garp exclaimed. Then he winced. That probably wasn’t the right thing to say.

But Roger knew Garp and just laughed at him, “Shit is right. I passed out when she told me.”

This made Garp laugh with him. 

“The baby is actually something I wanted to ask you about.” Roger said after they calmed down.

“What is it?” Garp asked him.

“They know I have a kid out there, but they don’t know Rouge’s the mother right?”

Garp nodded, “Yeah. There was just a rumor going around Marineford that you got someone pregnant. It was even in the paper.”

“Good.” Roger said while nodding and then he asked, “If anything happens to Rouge, would you take care of the baby for us?”

“Of course.” Garp told him without any hesitation.

“Good.” Roger nodded again. Then he softly told him, “Thanks again for loving me despite everything.”

“Thank you for doing the same.” Garp replied.

~~*~~

Baterilla - South Blue

After watching one of his closest companions be executed and hung to rot, Garp booked it to the South Blue immediately. He had to get to Rouge before anyone else did. Sengoku told him that the World Government ordered the South Blue to be locked down. That any woman that matched the description in the paper was to be killed if they were pregnant and did not have an iron alibi. 

If they didn’t, they would be killed along with the child.

Sengoku tried to reason with them, but there wasn’t much he could do despite being the Fleet Admiral. He was just the scapegoat with a pretty label for the World Government to use for the public to place the blame on.

So Garp loaded his ship with his most trusted crewmates and headed to the South Blue. He knew it wasn’t going to be pretty, but he wasn’t expecting such a hellscape. That so many people would turn on each other just to save themselves.

Paranoid neighbours were saying it’s the family next door. Strict parents placing the blame on their unwed daughters for having children outside marriage. Friends abandoning each other for the safety of their own families. Men, fathers themselves, turning on their own wives and children. Mothers who were all too ready to give up children they never wanted in the first place for their own lives. Children, no infants, being murdered for simply being born after Roger’s died.

Garp spent almost two years in that hell trying to find Rouge. While he did this, he tried his best to save as many as he could. Some of the marines were much too happy to be murdering children and terrorizing women. The search had ended some time ago, the government thought both child and mother were dead by now.

Eventually, he made it to Batterilla. It was one of the last places he needed to look. He was hoping that Rouge made it out of the South Blue with the baby by now, but he was making sure everywhere was checked before he moved to look outside the South Blue borders. 

Luckily and unluckily, he found her in a cottage by the sea while he was on his own.

She had no child living with her.

Garp hoped he wasn’t too late.

“You made it.” Rouge said calmly upon recognizing him. She was outside hanging up some laundry. She didn’t look any different than when Garp last saw her.

“Are you alright?” Garp asked, “Where’s the–”

“Shush you idiot!” Rouge exclaimed while smaking him on the head, “Get in the cottage before someone hears you!”

Rouge grabbed the empty basket and pulled Garp by the ear into the cottage. It was small, but very cozy. It only had one room besides the bathroom across from the entrance. There was a bed against the right wall under a window and a small kitchen to the left. Other than a closet, a bookshelf, and some wall decor, there wasn’t much else in the house. No sign of a child or anything child related. Garp started to worry. 

“Where’s the kid?” Garp asked her.

“Still in me.” Rouge told him.

“Oh, okay.” Garp nodded, then he choked, “What? What do you mean it’s still in you?!”

“The will of D is an amazing thing Garp.” Rouge told him as she did the dishes, “I’ve been stalling them for as long as I can. But I fear I don’t have much left in me.” 

“Oh Rouge…” Garp said softly. He slowly placed a hand on her shoulder and gently guided her to sit at the small table she had. She sat down without much fuss which worried him even more. The Rouge he knew would punch anyone if she was treated delicately.

Now that he had a closer look at her, she looked just as exhausted as Roger did almost two years ago. She was also silently crying. He never saw her cry. Ever.

“How much longer do you think you’ll last?” Garp softly asked her.

“A month. Maybe two. They’re almost full term.” She said, weary from the hell she had been living in.

“Well, no matter how long it is. You’re not alone anymore, I promised Roger I’d take care of you.” Garp told her, “Both of you.”

“Thank you.” Rouge quietly said before finally breaking down sobbing and holding onto Garp.

He gently picked her up and placed her in the bed. Once she was comfortable, Garp went to do the dishes. Later he would find a book about childbirth on Rouge’s bookshelf and thoroughly study it. Just because he gave birth to Dragon doesn’t mean he knows how to help someone else give birth.

~~*~~

Garp had spent a month with Rouge before she was ready to give birth. It was a couple days after Christmas when she started to feel pain. Garp helped her walk laps around the house outside. He also told her about when he gave birth to Dragon to try to help her through it. He even got a couple of good laughs out of her. But he could tell she was starting to fade.

On December 31st, she was ready to start pushing. Garp coached her through it and after a whole day of labour, a baby boy was born on January 1st. Garp made sure to loudly shout it to her so as to keep her awake. He quickly snipped the cord and cleaned the squalling baby up, wrapping him in a blue blanket Roger had bought when he first found out years ago.

“Let… Let me hold him.” Rouge wearily demanded. Garp quickly helped her to sit against the headboard padded by pillows and gently set the baby in her arms. The little boy quickly calmed once he knew it was his mother holding him.

“Oh my baby. My little angel.” Rouge said while crying, “You’re so beautiful, I love you so much. Your father would have loved you so much. You look just like him.”

“Did you pick out a name?” Garp asked after he had cleaned up both Rouge and the birth supplies.

“Yes.” She told him, “Roger wanted to name him Ace.”

Rouge lived until January 4th. She died in her sleep holding Ace. The baby was holding a piece of his mother’s hair. Garp left with Ace after he confirmed with Sengoku that what was left of Roger would be secretly sent to Baterilla to be buried alongside Rouge.

~~*~~

Garp didn’t know what the fuck he was supposed to do now. He was too old to be waking up for midnight feedings. He was old enough to be a grandpa for christ sakes.

A grandpa…

Garp had a plan. He only had one kid who wanted children and hopefully Dragon would agree.

~~*~~

Dawn Island - East Blue

It’s not that Garp doesn’t have faith in his son, it’s just that he doesn’t have faith in his son’s romance skills. It’s just that he is pretty sure that Dragon will die alone at the rate he’s going. 

His son is 33 and hasn’t had a date in his life, although he’ll admit it’s not for a lack of trying on Dragon’s part. He’s just really intimidating to some people and it didn’t help that he inherited Garp’s eyebrows. Although Dragon did start to shave them off some years ago, so maybe his son has some game now. He doubts it though.

So Garp thought he would help his son along in life and get him in a better headspace. He has noticed that Dragon has become more withdrawn after Roger’s death, the massacre of Baterilla, and the sacking of Ohara.

Maybe giving Dragon a kid will help him focus on life rather than all the death of the past few years. It will also help Garp worry less of his son being alone if anything ever happens to Garp or his siblings. 

So Garp brought Ace to Dragon who was taking a break back home on Dawn Island. He had already called ahead to Sengoku and told him what was going on so Sengoku would give Dragon the break for “working too hard.” A load of bullshit really, which Dragon probably knew, but he was Garp’s son and so he wouldn’t deny a free vacation.

“What do you need, dad? This was supposed to be my break.” Dragon asked opening the door for his father. He was in his pajamas and trying to rub the crust out of his eyes.

Garp quickly moved to sit on the couch and quickly made sure Ace was still sleeping where he was hidden in his coat. Dragon shut the front door and sat on the chair across from him, still not paying all that much attention to him.

Good. 

A sleep deprived Dragon will have a late reaction, so Garp will be able to escape.

“Now Dragon, I know we’ve talked about children before and you’d said you would have them later.” Garp said slowly, “But I’m getting on in my years and I worry about you. You know you don’t need to get married before you have kids right?”

“Yes dad! I know!” Dragon replied, pinching his nose. He was tired of having this conversation with his father, they’ve been having it since he was 25 and his father told him he wasn’t a “spring chicken” anymore. “Maybe I don’t want to be a single parent and share the experience with someone I love?”

“Yes, I know you’re a hopeless romantic.” Garp said, “But I’m old and I want grandchildren before I die.”

“What do you mean?! I’m not a hopeless romantic! Who told you that!” Dragon exclaimed. Shit he was alert now.

“You did.” Garp stated.

“No I didn’t!” Dragon replied.

“Well not directly.” Garp said, “But you did write about it in your diary a lot. I mean you dedicated a whole twenty pages to your dream wedding."

“I can’t believe you!” Dragon yelled standing up, “Those are private!”

“Yeah well I missed you!” Garp yelled back, “Now sit back down, I’m not finished.”

Dragon huffed, but he sat back down in the chair and crossed his arms. Garp would have made fun of him for pouting, but he had to keep being serious.

“You remember Roger?” Garp asked him.

Dragon looked surprised but answered, “Yeah why?”

“Remember how the government announced they killed his child?” Garp continued.

“Yes?” Dragon sat up straight wondering where this was going.

“They lied.” Garp said while revealing Ace, “This is Ace. Rouge stalled her pregnancy for almost two years and died four days later holding him. Roger and Rouge entrusted him to me.”

Dragon didn’t know what to say to this. He met Roger and Rouge years ago. They were so lively and encouraged him to do what he thought was right. 

“Now I’m too old to be taking care of him.” Garp said, “So I thought that you might be willing to take him.”

“Wait me?” Dragon exclaimed, “I don’t know anything about babies!”

“No first parent does!” Garp said joyfully, “It’s part of the journey! You can just say he is the result of a one night stand!”

“Why can’t you?!” Dragon asked.

“I got my uterus removed after I had you.” Garp told him.

“Wait… Then where did Kuzan come from?” Dragon asked, confused, “I know Dadan was adopted, but I thought you birthed Kuzan?”

“I told you I found him in a field!” Garp said laughing.

“I thought that was an euphemism!” Dragon said.

“Nope.” Garp said, “Look, I know this is short notice, but Roger and Rouge wanted Ace to have a safe childhood like any other child. You can give him that. So please think about it. Otherwise I’m giving him to your sister.”

“No! I’ll take him.” Dragon said without thinking. It’s not that Dragon thinks Dadan would be a bad parent, it’s just that she lives in the jungle and she doesn’t want children of her own.

“Great!” Garp said before handing Ace over to Dragon, “I’ll go get the supplies! And don’t worry about calling Sengoku for parental leave, I already did!”

Before Dragon could think about what he just agreed to, Garp was out the door and out of punching range.

He jumped a bit when he felt a little hand grab his finger. He looked down and melted at what he saw. Ace was making little coos and his little hand didn’t even go around half of Dragon’s finger. He was the cutest thing Dragon had ever seen.

Shit , Dragon thought, I guess I’m a dad now.

Chapter Text

Six Month Later - Dragon’s Quarters - Marineford

Taking care of Ace was turning out better than Dragon thought it would considering that he: 1 - didn’t know a thing about children, 2 - he was secretly building an army to go against the World Government, and 3 - he had to keep up with the story regarding how he got Ace, Gol D. Roger’s son. 

The story Garp and he were going with was that Dragon had Ace after a drunken one night stand and Dragon was able to hide the pregnancy due to his size. The other father was long gone, never to be seen again. Everybody was pretty accepting of this, if a bit curious about why Dragon didn’t tell anyone he was pregnant, although most assumed that was just due to Dragon being a private person and wanting to keep the baby safe from enemies. 

The only person that wasn’t accepting was Akainu, but that was due to him being a bigoted jackass. That wasn’t anything new, so Dragon figured they were in the clear, but they would keep an eye on Akainu just in case.

Ace himself was rather easy to handle. He ate, he slept, and then Dragon had to change or wash him. That was pretty much all Ace did for the last six months. Although it did take some time to figure out which cries meant what. But Dragon found that as long as he held Ace in a sling or Dragon was in eyesight, Ace was content. According to the parenting books Dragon bought, the sound of his heartbeat was what kept Ace calm and that it made him feel safe. He eventually got a recording of it to play for Ace at night so he would sleep in his crib.

During the day, Dragon kept Ace in the sling unless he had to take care of him or put him down for tummy time. When that happened, Dragon would lay down on the floor with him and do his paperwork or take a break. Most people would probably be annoyed to have to carry their baby around all day, but Dragon didn’t mind it. He knew Ace was safe and he loved to see how Ace reacted to everything. And it wasn’t like Ace weighed much, it was like holding a couple of grapes for Dragon.

It honestly scared Dragon how fast he got attached to Ace. He was constantly worried that something would happen or that someone would find out about Ace being Roger and Rouge's child. He thought about them often and what they might say about Dragon raising their son. He hoped they would be alright with it. It’s better than Garp “raising” him in the jungle and trying to train Ace into a marine at least. He did feel guilty about calling him Monkey D. Ace and calling himself Ace’s dad though. Dragon didn’t want to erase Rouge or Roger, but it was for Ace’s protection and he was planning on telling Ace everything when he was older. 

He knew he couldn’t keep Ace in the dark or keep him hidden from the world forever, but he hoped that he’d at least be able to tell Ace how wonderful his parents were before the world could tell him that they were monsters and before they told Ace he was a monster too. 

No child should be told that the world wanted them dead for simply being born. Dragon wanted Ace to know how loved he was by his parents and that he was loved by the Monkey Ds. He wanted the world for Ace and he learned to move past the guilt of calling himself Ace’s dad. Ace could have more than two parents and Dragon would make sure Ace knew that he was wanted. He would work hard to make the world a better place so Ace and everyone else could live freely. Where Ace could be the one to choose who he wanted to be and what name he would go by.

But those plans can come later, for now, Dragon would focus on the present. When he would think too many dark thoughts, he would pick Ace up and just hold him while sitting in the rocking chair, listening to the soft sounds Ace made while he was dreaming. Dragon knew these moments wouldn’t last, Ace would grow up and not need to be held all the time. So he would treasure these moments while they last and keep his hand on Ace’s chest so he could feel his heartbeat. It soothed him as much as it did for Ace to hear his.

Chapter Text

Dragon’s Quarters - July - Marineford

It was a nice day outside.

Not too hot and a light breeze to keep you cool.

Too bad Dragon was inside doing paperwork.

Despite being on parental leave, he was still expected to do paperwork since he was an admiral. Which meant that Dragon was stuck inside.

It wasn’t all bad though. Ace was enjoying it at least.

The baby was laid on a jungle themed playmat, giggling while he tried to hold onto the wooden animal toys above him. Dadan had found it in the attic of the Monkey D residence on Dawn Island. The same one Dragon had used.

Ace noticed that Dragon was watching him and started fussing, wanting to be picked up. He could be a very clingy baby at times, but not the worst according to the pediatrician.

“You’re right, I should take a break.” Dragon sighed, before standing up to pick up Ace.

“Are you hungry?” Dragon asked, gently bouncing the baby in his arms, “Want some banana mush?”

Dragon took Ace’s babbling and hair pulling as a yes.

He walked into the small kitchen and sat Ace down in his highchair. Then he grabbed the jar of banana mush out of the fridge and pulled up his own chair.

“Here you go Ace.” Dragon said, feeding Ace some of it on a little spoon, “Freshly mashed yesterday.”

“Bah!” Ace yelled, slamming his little hands on the tray.

“Yes, delicious.” Dragon chuckled, “Did you hea

That was something new, Dragon talking to Ace like an adult. The parenting books he had picked up said it was good for a child's development. Why? Well he forgot that part, but he found that it was also helping him too.

It was nice to have someone to talk to that wouldn’t argue back.

Just then Garp burst through the front door.

“Well look at that!” Garp exclaimed, “Seven months in and the kid isn’t dead!”

Dragon rolled his eyes at his father’s antics and just continued to feed Ace.

“Gee thanks for the support dad.” Dragon sarcastically commented, “I’m waiting for him to get a bit bigger before I cook him.”

“Ah, shut up.” Garp said, slapping Dragon on the back, “You know what I mean. How is the little shit?”

“Dad! Don’t swear in front of him.” Dragon scolded as Ace giggled.

“Oh he’s fine! He won’t be able to talk until he is at least one.” Garp told him, “Besides, I swore in front of your siblings and you all the time. You guys turned out fine.”

“Dad, we were telling people to go fuck themeseleves when we were five.” Dragon said in a deadpan tone, “I don’t think that's what most people would consider fine.”

“Ah I'm sure those people had it coming.” Garp laughed.

“Our kindergarten teacher would beg to differ.” Dragon told him, feeding Ace some more bananas.

“She was a wackjob.” Garp grumbled, “Wanted me to get you tested for something.”

This made Dragon pause for a moment.

“What do you mean she wanted to get me tested?!” Dragon exclaimed, “What for?!”

“I forgot.” Garp said, shrugging, “But you turned out fine, so it’s not like it mattered.”

Dragon stared at his dad in disbelief.

“What the fuck dad?!” He exclaimed.

Before he could say anything further, Ace decided to interrupt.

“Fuck!” Ace yelled, clapping his hands.

Unknowingly to the two adults, Ace had been trying to say something during the argument.

Hearing Ace very clearly swear made the both of them freeze.

“I thought you said babies weren’t supposed to speak until they were one?” Dragon asked in a quiet tone.

“He’s not.” Garp told him while leaning down to be eye level with Ace, “Maybe he’s broken.”

“Dad!” Dragon yelled, slapping him.

“Oh calm down.” Garp grumbled.

He poked Ace in the forehead, which made the baby whine and try to get away from him. Dragon took pity on him and picked the baby up out of the highchair. Ace immediately latched onto Dragon’s hair and cuddled into him.

Garp leaned back in his chair and thought about it for a moment.

“Maybe it has something to do with what Rouge did.” Garp pondered.

Dragon looked up at Garp confused.

“What do you mean?” Dragon asked.

“Well, his brain could be developing faster because of it.” Garp said, “He’s growing physically at a regular pace. I wouldn’t worry too much about it.”

“You sure?” Dragon questioned further, still unsure.

“Yeah, it’s just a couple months too early.” Garp said, patting his son’s shoulder, “As long as he doesn’t start speaking latin in the middle of the night.”

“Dad!” Dragon yelled, hitting his dad.

Garp just laughed, glad that he could help his son worry less.

~~*~~

Late September - Monkey D. Residence - Dawn Island

It was now September and so far there hadn’t been any more surprises. According to the parenting books, Ace had been growing at a normal rate. 

Besides talking at least.

It seemed like every week Ace would learn at least three new words. For example, he could now say the basics like daddy, gramps, auntie, uncle, no, yes, and fire. The last one was his favourite to say.

And despite Garp saying it as a joke, Dragon did catch himself staying awake at night to see if Ace said anything in latin. The parental paranoia and the regular paranoia were working together to make him miserable it seems.

Other than that, Ace was a healthy nine month old. He had started crawling a month ago which made Dragon have to buy a playpen. Or as Dadan liked to call it: Baby Jail.

Currently, they are at the Monkey D residence on Dawn Island, celebrating Dadan, Dragon, and Kuzan’s birthdays. Since the dates are all relatively close together and they live far away from each other, they just celebrate on the same day.

Dragon was busy making snacks for the party when Kuzan came into the kitchen with distressing news.

“I lost your kid.” Kuzan said in a deadpan tone.

“Okay.” Dragon replied before realising what his brother said, “Wait, you what?!”

“I lost your kid.” Kuzan said again.

“What do you mean you lost him?!” Dragon asked, shaking his brother by his shirt collar.

“I looked away for a second and then he was gone.” Kuzan told him, trying to pry Dragon’s hands off of him.

“Why didn’t you put him in the play pen?” Dragon asked while frantically searching the living room for Ace.

“I couldn’t open it.” Kuzan told him, jestering to the half unfolded playpen.

“Well then why didn’t you make one?” Dragon exclaimed while he looked behind the couch.

“With what?” Kuzan asked as he started looking too.

Dragon looked at his brother like he was stupid. Which he was at the moment.

“You have ice powers.” Dragon told him, “Make one out of ice.”

“Oh right.” Kuzan mumbled, sticking his head further under the chair to hide his embarrassment.

As they were searching, Dadan came into the house from the front door.

“Hey guys!” Dadan exclaimed, “Look who I found outside!”

“Not now Dadan.” Dragon said, “We are trying to find Ace.”

“Daddy!” Ace yelled as he toddled over to his dad.

Dragon watched in amazement as Ace walked towards him.

“Oh my god.” Dragon whispered as he picked Ace up, “You’re not supposed to do that yet!”

“He sure is growing fast.” Dadan laughed, “I saw him crawling out the doggy door and then he tried to eat the tulips.”

“Little shit.” Kuzan said while pinching Ace’s cheek.

~~*~~

Early February - Dragon’s Quarters - Marineford

Dragon had been enjoying the day. He didn’t have any paperwork or backed up chores. Ace had been fairly well behaved and had gone down easy for a nap. 

Dragon had been looking forward to reading the book Dadan had gotten him for Christmas.

But alas, the devil came for a visit.

As soon as Dragon had sat down in his chair, someone was knocking at his door. He sighed and got up to answer it.

“Better not be more paperwork.” Dragon sighed, opening the door expecting to see a cadet with a stack of papers.

Unfortunately, it really was the devil knocking at his door.

“What are you doing here Akainu?” Dragon asked, tense at being near the other man.

“I’m here to see my son.” Akainu told him, glaring at Dragon.

“For the last time Akainu, Ace is not your child!” Dragon yelled, “I slept with someone else.”

Ever since Akainu had heard about Ace, he had been bothering him about the one night stand they had before Ohara was destroyed. Dragon had been sitting in a bar angry at the world and Akainu had walked in. He represented everything Dragon hated in the world currently, so he decided to use him to let off steam. Next thing Dragon knew, he was waking up beside him. 

Dragon will admit, it was a cruel thing to use Akainu like that and he had regretted it the next day.

After he heard about Ohara however, he didn’t feel bad about it anymore and decided to forget about it. For the next nine months, Dragon avoided Akainu as much as he possibly could. 

Unfortunately, Dragon hadn’t remembered that night when coming up with a story for who Ace’s dad was with Garp. So the whole ‘Ace is the result of a one time stand’ really shot him in the foot and sent Akainu further into delulu land.

The poor planning resulted in where they were now.

“Oh so you’ll sleep with just anyone?” Akainu yelled, grabbing onto the door.

The way Akainu was acting honestly scared Dragon, but he didn’t show it and stayed firm.

“Yes.” Dragon stated, “You’re not special, I just needed to let off steam.”

Akainu looked at Dragon like he was about to explode before he let go of the door and stepped back.

“Fine.” Akainu calmly said, then he walked away.

Dragon watched him leave before closing the door and locking it. He took a deep breath and rested his head on the door, trying to calm himself down.

“It can’t be that easy.” Dragon whispered, “He would never give up that easily.”

Before he could spiral, he heard some shuffling behind him.

“Daddy?” Ace sleepily questioned him, rubbing his eyes, “You okay?”

Dragon could have died of cuteness right there. Ace looked adorable in his dragon patterned onesie.

“I’m fine Ace.” Dragon sighed, turning to face his son, “I’m sorry that I woke- Wait a minute… How’d you get out of your crib?!”

“I climbed.” Ace giggled.

Well there goes the crib , Dragon thought, So much for being climb proofed .

“How about we take a nap together?” Dragon sighed, giving up on reading his book.

“Yay!” Ace cried, jumping to be picked up.

“Okay.” Dragon chuckled, picking his son up.

Maybe the day wasn’t ruined after all , Dragon thought as he walked to his bedroom with Ace already falling asleep in his arms.

Chapter Text

Dragon’s Quarters - Marineford

The past two and a half years have been wonderful. Dragon has been enjoying the light workload from the marines, it has given him more time to work on the Revolutionary Army and take care of Ace. His Parental Leave is over now though and Dragon is currently pacing a hole into the floor of his office at Marineford.

“I can’t just leave him with anyone dad!” Dragon told his father.

“Why not? I started leaving you alone at the age of 4! How is he supposed to learn to take care of himself?” Garp replied. He was sitting in an armchair and bouncing a giggling Ace on his knee.

“He’s two! You can’t leave a two year old alone!” Dragon yelled, then he stopped pacing to look at Garp, “Or a four year old! I didn’t even remember that, I must have blocked it!”

“Oh you worry too much!” Garp told him, then he turned to Ace who was pulling on his beard, “Your daddy worries too much about everything. I should’ve left him in the jungle more often.”

“I think I worry a good amount for someone in my unique position thank you!” Dragon huffed, “And you leaving me in the jungle is probably why I have anxiety in the first place!”

“Daddy!” Ace exclaimed while reaching out for Dragon. The yelling was making him agitated.

Dragon quickly picked Ace up and held him close, “See, even Ace thinks it’s a bad idea!”

At the sight of Ace tightly clinging onto Dragon’s hair, Garp caved.“Oh fine! How about I find someone both of us trust? Would that work for you?”

“I guess it’ll have to do. Who do you have in mind? And please don’t say Kuzan. It’s not that I don’t trust him to keep a secret, I just don’t trust him to watch a toddler without falling asleep.” Dragon replied while Ace was trying to pull his nose off.

“Do you remember me telling you about Sengoku’s brat?” Garp asked, “He just got back from a long mission and won’t be going on another mission for a while.”

“The really good sniper?” Dragon said, “Can we trust him?”

“Yeah,” Garp replied, “He’s good at keeping things to himself.”

Dragon took a moment to think it over. This is Sengoku’s son and Sengoku already knows everything. Sengoku also wouldn’t send his own son on missions he wouldn’t be able to handle so he must be responsible. Dragon took a deep sigh, “Alright, go ask him.”

~~*~~

Early Morning - Dragon’s Quarters - Marineford

Dragon didn’t know what he was expecting. He had never met Sengoku’s son before, only heard about him from Garp. He didn’t even know the man’s name. All Dragon knew about this man was that: 

• He was Sengoku’s son (or brat as Garp liked to call him).
• He was very clumsy.
• He was a great sniper and spy.
• Garp trusted him with his life.

If Garp said he trusted him with his life, then Dragon trusted him too because it’s not something Garp would joke about. Garp never trusts anybody easily despite what others might think. Most people considered his father to be an oblivious idiot.

So here Dragon was, waiting in his office for Sengoku’s son to arrive so he could go on a day trip for work. He was handing Ace his breakfast at the little table in his office when he heard a bang in the hallway.

“What’s that?” Ace asked while shoving apple slices and bacon into his mouth.

“I don’t know. Stay here, I’ll see what it is.” Dragon replied before patting Ace on the head.

When Dragon opened the door, he didn’t see anything, until he looked down. On the floor was a very tall man lying face down. He was wearing a lavender sweater and blue jeans. Dragon almost thought he was dead before the man started groaning and sitting up, rubbing the back of his neck. This must be Sengoku’s son, Garp did say he was pretty clumsy when not in the field.

“Hah, sorry about that!” The man said while getting up, “You must be Dragon? Garp told me you needed a babysitter?”

It took a minute for Dragon to comprehend what the man was saying because he was too busy staring at him. Calling this man beautiful would be an understatement, he reminded Dragon of depictions of angels he’d seen in books. His blonde hair looked soft and fluffy, with his eyes being a warm brown colour like leaves in the fall.

When Dragon finally snapped out of it, the man was standing up and awkwardly fidgeting in front of him with his arm stretched out for a handshake.

“Oh, uh, sorry about that, I didn’t sleep well last night. Not really all here right now.” Dragon hoped he sounded convincing. He took the man’s hand in his and gave it a firm shake. His hands were softer than he expected.

“It’s okay. I understand how hard this must be for you, but I promise I’ll take good care of Ace for you.” The man told him cheerfully.

“If my father said he could trust you with his life, then that's enough for me.” Dragon told him sincerely. 

“He really said that?” The man asked quietly. He looked like he was about to cry.

“Yeah, just don’t tell him that you know. He’ll probably punch the both of us.” Dragon told him jokingly, “And thank you for doing this on such short notice.”

“No need to thank me. It’ll be more fun than training with Akainu.” The man said laughing.

“Come in and I’ll introduce you to Ace.” Dragon said while stepping to the side, “Oh, by the way, what is your name? My dad always called you Sengoku’s brat.”

The man paused for a moment before he burst out laughing, “Sengoku’s brat? That’s new. He usually calls me the ‘Weeping Wonder’ because I cried every time he tried to train me. My name is Rosinante.”

“Nice to meet you Rosinante.” Dragon then directed him over to Ace, “Ace, this is Rosinante, he will be watching you when I need to attend boring meetings. Rosinante, this is my son Ace, he’s two.”

“And a half!” Ace exclaimed while chewing on apple slices and Dragon quickly wiped up the fruity mush that came flying out. He should probably work on teaching Ace some table manners, but it might not even stick due to the ‘D’ genes.

“Wow! Two! And a half! You are such a big boy!” Rosinante said. 

“I am!” Ace giggled.

“Yes, you are. A very brave one too.” Dragon said, “Do you think you’ll be okay with Rosinante today?”

Ace looked down, seeming unsure, then he faced Rosinante, “Can we play pirates? Gramps doesn’t like pirates, but daddy said I could play whatever I want.”

“Of course we can Ace!” Rosiante told him cheerfully.

“Yay! Bye daddy! Love ya!” Ace quickly grabbed Dragon’s face and placed a sloppy kiss on his left eye, “I’ll get my toys!”

With that, Ace toddled off to his room to collect his toys. Dragon didn’t know whether to be happy or sad that Ace was so quick to leave him, “O-oh, okay… bye Ace. Love you too.”

“Don’t worry. He’ll probably miss you later on.” Rosinante told him. Both men stood up and walked over to the door.

“Thanks.” Dragon said before sighing, “Well, I’ll be off now. Help yourself to the food in the fridge. I cooked some chicken earlier for Ace, he also likes apples and it’s best to give him lunch before naptime.”

“Will do Dragon. Enjoy your trip!” Rosinante told him, “Or at least try to!”

“I’ll try.” Dragon said laughing before he remembered something, “Oh, almost forgot, but if Ace grabs your hair and won’t let go that means he likes you. My father and I think it soothes him. Just rub the back of his hand if he tugs too hard.”

“Okay thanks.” Rosinante said.

With that, Dragon walked out the door and shut it behind him. It was hard to leave Ace with someone else other than his father, but if his father trusted Rosinante, then Dragon would trust him too. Ace seemed to like him enough anyways.

And Rosinante is very handsome.

Dragon paused suddenly at that thought. No Dragon! You’re not supposed to think the babysitter is cute, handsome, beautiful, or anything of the sort! This is strictly professional Bad Dragon! Dragon quickly shook his head and kept walking towards the port. The faster he got this trip over with, the quicker he could get back to Ace. 

And Rosinante.

Chapter Text

Late July - Marineford

Rosinante isn’t a very good marine. 

Not that he is a bad person, quite the opposite in fact, it’s just that he is very clumsy. He trips while marching, is constantly setting himself on fire (even when it couldn’t possibly happen), he got tangled in the barbed wires when learning to army crawl, and he used to cry when being yelled at by superiors. Actually, he still cries sometimes, just not in front of people.

Like when the massacres in the South Blue happened.

Or like when Ohara was sacked. 

When both of these events happened, he went to his father angry. He had never yelled at his father before, not even when he was a child. But Rosinante didn’t join the marines to destroy lives. He wanted to help people, not completely obliterate them and their children for the crime of existing or seeking knowledge. So he asked his father why the hell he chose to okay this cruelty and how he could let this happen. That if it was him being hunted, would he allow the same thing to happen?

That was when he learned how little power his father actually held as a leader and how strong he really was as a person. It both horrified and comforted him that the destruction wasn’t on his father’s orders, but rather the Celestial Dragons. He didn’t know how his father could handle being the world’s scapegoat. 

It made Rosinante lose hope for a little while. 

If his father, the Fleet Admiral, couldn’t do anything about it, what chance did Rosinante have? 

His father just told him to do his best.

So Rosinante threw himself into training and found that he was great at espionage. Nobody would expect a clumsy goofball like him to be a spy. The criminals he spied on certainly didn’t. Especially all the people he arrested by accidently falling on them and knocking them out. The devil fruit he ate certainly helped too since he could now silence himself if he needed to hide or silence himself falling.

He also didn’t have to be on active duty all the time, since spywork usually meant longer missions. These rarely come up and are usually handled by CP9. So he spent most of his time at Marineford helping his father with paperwork and other small things. Which was fine by him, the less time he spent around Akainu and people like him the better.

So Rosinante was in his father’s office when Garp came rampaging in and yelling about babysitting. He was surprised that Garp and his son would consider him responsible enough to babysit, but he was happy to do it.

He had never met Dragon before, despite knowing both his father Garp and younger brother Kuzan. They did tell him many stories about Dragon. So he knew that he was grumpy sometimes, hardworking, but also very kind. He remembers hearing the rumors going around Marineford when everyone found out he had a kid and that the other father was nowhere to be seen. He almost punched Akainu when he heard some of the horrible remarks he was saying.

Instead Rosinante just hid some shrimp in Akainu’s office and laughed as the man went insane trying to find the source of the horrible smell for weeks. The man was almost sent to the doctor for a psych evaluation. Eventually Rosinante just snuck back in and removed the curtain rods with the shrimp in them.  Afterwards Kuzan, Smoker, and Bellemere took him out for drinks after work for a celebration of Akainu’s brief insanity.

All in all, Rosinante respected Dragon a lot despite never meeting the man. He thought that it must be hard to be a single parent while also being a high ranking marine and trying to make a difference in the world. So Rosinante wasn’t too nervous when he went to meet Dragon and Ace. He was embarrassed that their first meeting started with Rosinante face planting on the floor though.

But that was for the best because if he saw Dragon standing up, he would’ve fallen anyways. He wasn’t expecting a man that is Garp’s son by blood to be so handsome.

No Rosinante! You’re not supposed to think he is handsome! You work for this man now! Rosinante ignored that little rational voice in his head. It’s not like anything would come out of a silly little crush anyways.

{Little did Rosinante know that fate had other plans. That this meeting changed the course of history. A history he wouldn’t have experienced otherwise.}

~~*~~

Rosinante enjoyed babysitting Ace, he was a bright little boy. Very adorable too. He could do without the near constant heart attacks though. 

The kid acted like he was made out of rubber or something with the way he jumped around. Rosinante nearly killed himself from rushing to save Ace when the kid decided to climb up the curtain to declare himself “The Greatest Pirate Ever” before losing his grip and falling. Thankfully Ace wasn’t hurt and laughed hysterically when Rosinante crashed face first into the floor.

Rosinante then quickly and gently suggested that maybe they should do something else for a little while. Ace, ever merciful, got his art supplies. So they quietly coloured on the floor together for a couple hours while Ace asked him questions.

“Why are you so long?” Ace asked.

“Uhh… I didn’t eat enough vegetables when I was little.” Rosinante replied cheerfully while Ace made a disgusted face at the word vegetable, “So I became long like spaghetti; makes it hard to spy on people when you can’t hide very easily.”

“You spy on people?! Like a ninja?!” Ace asked him excitedly, quickly forgetting about the mention of vegetables.

“Ah, well, sort of.” Rosinante told him sheepishly, “I’m not as cool as a ninja, but I get the job done.”

“I think you’re cool.” Ace told him while pouting, “You played pirates with me. Nobody else but daddy wants to play pirates, not even the other kids!”

“Well then thank you Ace.” Rosinante said while ruffling Ace’s hair, “You’re probably the only one who thinks I’m cool. Most people think I’m a clown.”

“Well you are silly.” Ace said giggling.

“I am, aren't I?” Rosinante said, laughing along with Ace.

They continued to colour until Ace started chewing on the crayons. So Rosinante told him to clean up while he got lunch ready. Ace quickly did so, by shoving everything under his dad’s desk, before sitting at the table and kicking his legs. 

Now, when Dragon said that he made chicken for Ace, Rosinante was expecting a couple of chicken strips or something. Not two whole chickens. Although, considering his grandfather is Garp, he should have expected this. He knew people with the D initial were crazy, but maybe the Monkey D’s were just a whole different category of their own.

After pulling both of them out, he noticed a third chicken behind the first two. 

Three chickens?! For a two year old?! Just what are these people made of?!

Then he noticed a note on the outside of the plastic wrap and that it had his name on it. 

It read:

Rosinante,

I don’t know what your eating habits are exactly, but I was told you don’t like bread. Since I was already cooking chicken for Ace, I’d figured I would just make a third for you. Help yourself to anything else if you want.

• Dragon

Rosinante could feel himself smiling and he had a warm fuzzy feeling in his chest.

Handsome and considerate. Rosinante thought fondly. Then he realised where his mind was going and quickly shut it down. Bad Rosinante! He’s your boss! You can’t be one of those babysitters who falls in love with their boss! It’s unprofessional!

Rosinante quickly shook his head and plated the chicken along with some apple slices for Ace and some tangerines for himself. He then carefully carried it all to the table one at a time. By the time he got there with his food, Ace had already devoured half of one of the chickens.

Yep, he definitely takes after Garp. Rosinante thought before chuckling to himself and digging in before Ace could eat his food too.

~~*~~

Rosinante thought that Ace wasn’t going to finish those two chickens, but he did. The kid ate so much the bones were shiny. By the time he was done, he looked like he was ready to pass out at the table. 

I see, Rosinante thought to himself, put the kid into a food coma so he takes a nap . 

Rosinante let Ace sit there and try to fight off the sandman while he cleaned up the table. After he washed the dishes, he went back to a half asleep Ace.

“Hey Ace, I think it’s time for your nap.” Rosinante softly said while gently patting Ace’s shoulder.

“Nooo… wanna play more.” Ace whined into the table.

“We can play some more after your nap, okay?” Rosinante told him while chuckling.

Ace whined some more before sitting up and making grabby hands, “Up.”

“Okay, come here.” Rosinante sighed. He picked him up and brought him to his room.

It wasn’t a very big room, but still quite spacious. To the right of the door was a wardrobe, laundry hamper, and a toy chest. Although it looked like most of the toys were scattered around the room. Directly across from the door was a comfy window seat looking out into the Marineford harbour. Next to the window on the left was a small bookshelf and a rocking chair. The farthest wall from the door had a bunch of sailboats painted on it. Ace’s bed was placed on that wall with a table next to it. The bed was more like a nest of colourful blankets and stuffed animals.

Rosinante gently set Ace down in the little toddler bed and covered him with his blankets.

“Have a good nap Ace.” Rosinante told him softly. He patted his head and got up to walk out when he heard whining. He looked behind him to see Ace sitting up and looking sad.

“Where’s daddy?” Ace asked.

“He’s still away on his trip.” Rosinante replied. He sat back down beside Ace’s bed, “He’ll be back soon though.”

Him telling Ace this didn’t seem to comfort the child because he just pouted some more and hit the bed.

“I want my daddy!” Ace exclaimed. The kid was on the verge of tears.

“I used to miss my dad a lot when he went away.” Rosinante said while patting Ace on the head, “I’d sit by the window and wait for him until he came back.”

“Really?” Ace sniffled.

“Yeah, I would just sit there and read while waiting for him to come back.” Rosinante told him, “And you know what? He always came back no matter what.”

“Really?” Ace asked unsure.

“Really.” Rosinante told him sincerely, “And if you go to sleep, time will pass by faster. And when you wake up, your dad might be home.”

“Mmm.” Ace was still unsure, “Can- can you sing? Daddy does that when I can’t sleep sometimes.”

“Of course I can.” Rosinante said sincerely, “Which song do you have in mind?”

“I don’t know. You pick.” Ace told him grumpily.

“Okay.” Rosinante said laughing. Good thing Ace didn’t mind because he only knew two songs. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star , it was the only song Sengoku knew, and one his mother used to sing to him that he doesn’t remember the name of.

He started singing the latter.

~~*~~

When Dragon came home, he was expecting an over excited child bouncing around and a marine ready to pull his hair out. But the apartment was silent. This made him worry because the apartment was never silent even when Ace was sleeping.

So Dragon quickly got his keys and barged in. There were a few toys pushed off to the side and he could see Ace’s art supplies shoved under his desk. Nothing out of the ordinary there. He checked their small kitchen that was to the right of the door. It was spotless and the dishes were drying on the rack. That was out of the ordinary, but Rosinante must just be a neat person. He quickly walked over to Ace’s bedroom and quietly opened the door.

There, on the floor, was Rosinante. Dragon thought the man was dead at first, but then he saw his chest moving. He was resting his head on the bed and there Ace was, holding the man’s head like a stuffed animal. 

Dragon chuckled at the sight. Rosinante’s hair does look like it would have the same texture as a duckling's feathers. Soft and downy. Dragon quickly shook his head. Bad Dragon! You’re not supposed to think the babysitter is cute or want to run your fingers through his hair… 

Dragon then decided that he needed to quickly take a cold shower.

~~*~~

By the time Dragon was out of the shower, Ace and Rosinante were already up. The two were sitting at the table and talking. About what? He didn’t know because as soon as Ace saw him, he abandoned the table and ran to him.

“Daddy! You’re back!” Ace happily exclaimed. Dragon caught him and picked him up before he ran into his shins.

“Hello firefly.” Dragon said while bouncing him, “Did you have fun?”

As Ace was telling his dad all about his day, Rosinante was having a crisis. Dragon had come out of the shower wearing a fitted silk shirt and equally tight slacks. The sight was making him dizzy. It felt like his head was about to explode from how hot it was. Like a pot about to boil over. Rosinante just picked up his glass of water and started chugging.

“Did he make you dehydrated or something?” Dragon playfully asked, pointing towards his glass. Ace was told to bring his art supplies out from under Dragon’s desk and back to his room.

“Oh- a little.” Rosinante told him, “Nearly gave me a heart attack a couple of times.”

“He has a tendency to do that.” Dragon chuckled, “Thank you again for watching him.”

“No problem.” Rosinante told him, “He was a delight. Although I’ve never seen a toddler devour two whole chickens before.”

“It’s the D genes.” Dragon told him, “We’ve all got black holes for stomachs.”

“I know, I’ve seen your father eat.” Rosinante said while cringing. 

Dragon just started laughing and Rosinante had to calm himself down because he thought Dragon looked beautiful when laughing. Not that he wasn’t handsome when he wasn’t, but it felt like Rosinante was seeing something others rarely get to see.

“So you’ll watch him again?” Dragon asked after he calmed down.

“Yes, of course.” Rosinante replied.

“Great.” Dragon said smiling, “I have to go back sometime next week. Is that alright with you?”

“Yeah, I can do that.” Rosinante told him. He would’ve taken it regardless if was busy or not.

“Well… I guess I’ll be seeing you off now.” Dragon said after a little awkward silence.

“Yeah…” Rosinante said while standing up, “I better go see if my dad is pulling his hair out after dealing with Akainu and Borsalino all day.”

“Oh god.” Dragon had his head in his hands, “I’m so glad I missed that.”

“Me too.” Rosinante said laughing.

“Ace! Come say goodbye to Rosinante!” Dragon yelled.

Ace came toddling in from his room, “You’re leaving?”

Rosinante bent down before him, “Yeah, I gotta go now, but I had a lot of fun spending time with you and I’ll be back soon.”

“Really?” Ace asked.

This time Dragon answers, “He will. I have to go back next week, so you’ll be with Rosinante. Is that alright?”

Ace took a moment before answering. On one hand, his dad was leaving. On the other, he’d get to see Rosinante again. 

“Yeah, that’s alright.” Ace said while smiling brightly, “I can’t wait!”

He quickly hugged Rosinante, making the man fall backwards, before running back to his room shouting about making a pirate hat for Rosinante.

Good , Dragon thought, he likes him. Dragon then helped Rosinante off the floor and walked him to the door.

“See you next week Rosinante.” Dragon said smiling.

“See you next week, Dragon.” Rosinante said cheerfully before walking down the corridor.

Dragon softly shut the door behind him and then went to check on Ace. The toddler was trying to fold a piece of dark pink paper into a hat. Dragon sat down beside him and pulled him into his lap. He held the paper together so Ace could tape it together.

“So, do you like Rosinante?” Dragon asked Ace as he watched his son work.

“Yeah!” Ace replied, “We played pirates and then we coloured!”

“Wow! Really?” Dragon exclaimed, “I wish I could’ve been here. I had to go to a boring meeting with grandpa.”

“Eww.” Ace faked gagging before going back to smiling, “Well I had lots of fun!”

“I’m glad.” Dragon smiled.

Chapter Text

Mid August - Marineford

It went on like that for weeks. Dragon and Rosinante doing a semi awkward dance along the line of professionalism. If you wanted to cut the tension, you’d have to find the world’s greatest swordsman to do it. 

Everyone around them was either oblivious to it or thought it was about something else. Sengoku and Kuzan thought that the ever stoic Dragon scared the shit out of Rosinante. Ace was a child and while he did notice something was going on, he didn’t know what it was. Garp was just happy that Dragon was “making more friends”, something he’d been worried about since his son was a child. The cadets were too scared to ask. Bellemere had some idea of the situation.

Dadan was the only one who knew what was going on. Mostly because Dragon would call her in the middle of the night “complaining” about the “handsome clumsy fool” that was his child’s babysitter. If she wasn’t a whole ocean away from him, she would have strangled him by now. Younger brother be damned, she needs her beauty sleep.

Tonight was one of those nights.

Dragon doesn’t drink much or really get the opportunity to at least. But after dealing with both Garp and Sakazuki all day he needed something. So after tucking Ace into bed and saying goodbye to Rosinante; Dragon decided to have some of the liquor Dadan gave him. He was supposed to only have a glass or two.

He ended up drinking the whole bottle.

Then he drunkenly decided to call his sister. At midnight.

~~*~~

Now Dadan doesn’t have many regrets in life, she is quite content with how she lives her life, but she feels like if she hadn’t started making her own liquor, she wouldn’t be listening to her brother rambling about his crush at who-the-fuck-cares-am.

Dragon being drunk while he’s pining has got to be one of the worst things she has ever had to listen to. She’d rather be in Impel Down. Sure it would be torture, but at least he wouldn’t be able to call her from there. 

She thought that Dragon would pass out after 30 minutes, an hour at worst.

That was 2 hours ago. 

It is now 2am and Dragon is STILL talking about his son’s babysitter. She’s heard all this multiple times already, so she’s decided that a hangover tomorrow is better than remembering tonight and started drinking herself.

Never should have started making moonshine , Dadan thought, the biggest mistake of my life. 

“He’s just so kind Dadan!” Dragon whined, “I could spill hot soup on his face and HE would apologise! And he’s so good with Ace!”

“Yes, Dragon.” Dadan told him monotonously. 

“And he’s so tall too!” Dragon told her while waving his arms around, “He’s taller than me! I wouldn’t mind being the big spoon, but I want to be held too! He could cradle me!”

“Yes, Dragon.” Dadan told him again with her head in her hands.

“And he’s so handsome too!” Dragon whined some more, “He looks like an angel! I want to kiss him so bad!” 

“Then kiss him already!” Dandan finally yelled.

“But I’m too old!” Dragon cried, “He deserves better!”

Dadan was stunned as she listened to her 35 year old brother wailing over a man he’s known for a little over a month like a teenager that just got dumped by their first love. Just what did this guy look like to cause such a reaction?! Was he like Dragon said he was? Surely Dragon must have exaggerated at some point. Dadan needed to find out.

“Ok, he seriously can’t be as good as you say he is.” Dadan firmly told him, “Surely he must have some issues.”

“He is clumsy.” Dragon said, “But I find it endearing.”

Good god he’s whipped , Dadan thought. 

“Fine then, how about you just tell him how you feel?” Dadan suggested, “What do you have to lose?”

Dragon thought about it for a moment, What does he have to lose? He’ll be leaving soon anyways…

“You know what… I might actually take your advice for once.” Dragon quietly said.

Thank fucking goodness , Dadan thought before promptly hanging up on him.

~~*~~

Meanwhile, at a bar in Marineford, Bellemere and Smoker were having a similar problem with Rosinante. His two friends had decided to take him out to get his mind off of Dragon, but it appears to have made it worse. The blond was drunk and having a meltdown over his feelings. Currently he had his arms crossed on the table in front of him and was sobbing into them.

“Good god, you’re seriously crying over him?” Bellemere judged him.

“You don’t understand! He’s so hot!” Rosinante told her, “He’s such a softie too! You should see him with Ace, it’s so cute!”

“So you’re attracted to dilfs?” Bellemere asked amused. Smoker gagged at the mention of “dilfs”.

“No, just him.” Rosinante sniffed.

“You’re seriously attracted to that doofus?” Bellemere asked, trying to see if Rosinante was genuine.

“I don't know how he could be, the man has stupid hair.” Smoker said before Bellemere smacked him.

“I like his stupid hair.” Rosinante quietly mumbled. Smoker rolled his eyes which got him another smack from Bellemere.

“Fine.” Bellemere sighed after a moment, “I’ll help you.”

“Really?!” Rosinante asked, he looked like an excited puppy, “You’ll help me with Dragon?!”

“Yeah, I’ll give you some pickup lines you can try to use.” Bellemere replied laughing.

“Oh, thank you Bellemere!” Rosinante exclaimed. He got up to try and hug her, but as soon as he got up, he passed out.

“Seems he had one too many.” Bellemere observed before turning to Smoker, “Well start chugging kid, looks like we’re gonna have to drag him back.”

“This is going to be a disaster.” Smoker groaned.

~~*~~

Neither of them made a move the next time they saw each other.

It was like an immovable object had met an unstoppable force. Making it so everything stayed stagnant for a while. Until one day, when Rosinante was watching Ace, the toddler decided to speak his mind.

“My daddy thinks you’re handsome.” Ace nonchalantly said while colouring. He was laying down on the floor and kicking his legs in the air as Rosinante watched over him from his spot at the table. He was drinking lukewarm coffee and reading the newspaper.

Or at least he was until he started choking upon hearing what Ace had said. 

“Wha-wha do you mean?!” Rosinante squeaked out before he started coughing some more.

“My daddy thinks you’re handsome.” Ace told him again in a cheerful tone.

“Oh… really?” Rosinante asked him softly after he stopped coughing, “He actually said that? When?”

“He did!” Ace replied before standing up, “He was talking to Auntie Dadan. He said you were handsome and kind.”

“O-oh.” Rosinante could feel his face heating up, “Well… I think your dad is very handsome and kind too.”

“Really?” Ace asked earnestly.

“Really.” Rosinante replied before putting aside the paper and picking Ace up to set him on his lap, “What else did he say about me?”

“He told Auntie Dadan that you look like an angel.” Ace told him, “And that he finds you enderming.”

“Do you mean endearing?” Rosinante asked. His face felt like it was on fire.

“Yeah! Endearing!” Ace said, “He also likes that you’re tall.”

“Oh really?” Rosinante asked, “Why?”

“Yeah! He wants you to cradle him!” Ace exclaimed, “Like a baby!”

Rosinante laughed at that, “Well I’m sure that isn’t true.”

“It is!” Ace pouted.

“Okay, okay.” Rosinante tried to placate him, “But I’m sure your dad is too busy.”

“No he’s not.” Ace told him, “All he does is work and spend time with our family.”

“Really?” Rosinante asked, surprised. He expected someone as handsome as Dragon to have someone in his life.

“Yeah. I think he gets lonely sometimes.” Ace said quietly while fiddling with Rosinante’s sweater.

“Oh?” Rosinante was surprised to hear that.

“Yeah. He gets really quiet and looks at the ocean at night.” Ace explained, “He looks really sad too.”

“Well, everybody gets sad and lonely sometimes.” Rosinante explained to Ace.

“Even you?” Ace asked.

“Even me.” Rosinante laughed, “But it passes. You shouldn’t worry about it. You focus on being a pirate, okay?”

“Okay!” Ace giggled and went back to colouring on the floor.

Rosinante sighed and went back to reading the newspaper. Or he tried to at least. After his conversation with Ace, he started to wonder about Dragon. If what Ace said is true, maybe I do have a chance! Rosinante thought.

Rosinante continued to daydream while Ace coloured. Until the door opened, startling the both of them.

“Daddy! You’re home!” Ace shouted running into Dragon’s legs.

“Hi firefly.” Dragon said while bending down to pick up Ace, “Did you have fun today?”

“Yeah! We went to the park and played pirates. Rosi fell down a lot.” Ace excitedly explained. Rosinante went red at the mention of him falling; it didn't help that Dragon laughed.

“Oh no!” Dragon faked gasped, “Was he alright?”

“Yes, I helped him.” Ace proudly told him.

“Good job.” Dragon said before putting Ace down, “Why don’t you clean up your art supplies? We’re having dinner with Uncle Kuzan and Gramps tonight.”

“Okay!” Ace shouted before clumsily picking up his stuff and running to his room.

Once Ace was out of sight, Dragon went over to Rosinante, “Seriously though, are you okay? You’re redder than a tomato.”

“Ah, I’m- I’m fine.” Rosinante stammered, “It’s just a little hot today.”

“I suppose.” Dragon said, “But I grew up in a humid climate so I’m used to it.”

“Oh yeah, you grew up in the East Blue right?” Rosinante asked, “What was that like?”

“It was alright.” Dragon replied, “Except for when dad decided that my siblings and I need to train to be marines. When he got into one of those moods, he sent us into the jungle to fight animals.”

“He really did that? I thought Kuzan was joking.” Rosinante said surprised, “I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised though. Your dad is insane.”

“Yeah he is.” Dragon laughed, “When my sister said she wanted to travel instead of being a marine, dad made her fight a boar.”

“He made your sister fight a bear?!” Rosinante exclaimed, “How old was she?!”

“Eight.” Dragon said nonchalantly, “She won though and then we ate it for supper.”

Rosinante sat stunned at what he just heard, “If I didn’t know your father, I would say you were lying.”

Dragon laughed, “I would too, but the man is unfortunately that crazy.”

“No kidding.” Rosinante said, “I remember when he first met me he wanted to run me through drills.”

“I’m so sorry.” Dragon genuinely told him.

“It’s not your fault your dad is nuts.” Rosinante laughed, “It just makes me more thankful for mine.”

“You lucky bastard.” Dragon said playfully. This made Rosinante laugh harder before he calmed himself down.

“I better get going.” Rosinante said while standing up, “Don’t want to keep Kuzan and Garp waiting.”

“No, I suppose not.” Dragon mumbled. If Rosinante didn’t know any better, he would have thought that Dragon was sad to see him go.

Probably just doesn’t want to have dinner with Garp , Rosinante thought, Sounds like a nightmare.

While Rosinante was lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice that he was about to step on a ball Ace forgot. As soon as he put pressure on it, the ball slipped out from under him. 

Along with his legs.

Rosinante tumbled backwards and he would have hit his head on the back of a chair if Dragon hadn’t caught him. The other man went down too though. 

So now here Dragon was, cradling Rosinante’s head in his lap as he looked down at him worriedly. Rosinante couldn’t hear what he was saying, he was too busy looking at Dragon’s face. Then, before he knew it, Rosinante let one of the pickup-lines Bellemere gave him slip out.

“I think I fell for you, so it’s only fair that you pick me up.” Rosinante mumbled.

“Excuse me?” Dragon asked confused before thinking, Is he flirting with me?! No he can’t be, probably just concussed.

“You’re so beautiful that you made me forget my pickup line.” Rosinante deliriously told him.

“Oh god you are flirting with me.” Dragon said.

Hearing this caused Rosinante to snap out of it and immediately feel his face go hot at the realization that he just flirted with Dragon.

“Oh- Oh my gosh.” Rosinante said embarrassed, “I’m sorry, it’s just that I find you incredibly attractive and very sweet and I just- oh my god why do I keep talking- I’m so sorry-”

As Rosinante continued to ramble, Dragon was short circuiting. Does he actually like me? ME?!, Dragon thought. 

He then looked down at Rosinante fondly, I should probably put him out of his misery before he combusts.

“Somebody better call God. He’s missing an angel.” Dragon said.

“I- What?!” Rosinante asked, stunned, Was Ace telling the truth?

“Did the sun come out, or did you just smile at me?” Dragon told him, smiling.

“You actually like me back?” Rosinante asked shyly, “Ace was telling the truth?”

“Ace?” Dragon asked, confused about what Ace had to do with this.

“He told me that you thought I was handsome and kind.” Rosinante explained, “He said he overheard you talking with Dadan.”

“Oh, that… Yeah I said all that.” Dragon told him, “I called my sister drunk and rambled about you for almost three hours.”

“I did the same, but with Smoker and Bellemere.” Rosinante said, “Bellemere is the one who gave me the pickup-lines.”

“Mine came from my sister.” Dragon laughed.

They stayed there quietly for a moment. With Rosinante’s head still in Dragon’s lap. Dragon eventually got curious and started running his fingers through Rosinante’s hair. 

“It’s just as soft as I thought it would be.” Dragon mumbled.

“You’ve thought about my hair?” Rosinante playfully asked.

“I wasn’t joking when I told my sister I thought you looked like an angel.” Dragon firmly told him. 

“Oh.” Rosinante felt his face warm up again, “Well… Does CP0 know about you? Because if looks could kill, you’d definitely be a weapon of mass destruction.”

Dragon laughed, “Would you consider yourself destroyed right now?”

“My face does feel like it’s melting off at the moment.” Rosinante said while rubbing his checks. 

Dragon laughed again and started to help Rosinante get up off the floor. He helped dust off the other man too. Not that there was dust, Dragon just didn’t want to let go.

Rosinante didn't want him to let go either.

“Do you- I mean would you like to go out sometime Dragon?” Rosinante asked nervously. 

“I would like that very much, Rosinante.” Dragon replied, “How about this friday? Garp is taking Ace anyways.”

“Really?! I- I mean great!” Rosinante exclaimed, bouncing in place, “Can’t wait! See you then!”

Rosinante turned around and immediately hit the door frame.

“Oops.” Rosinante laughed nervously before opening the door, “See in two days!”

After the door closed, Dragon rested his head on it. Holy shit! I actually have a date! , he thought, Oh my god what do I wear?!

Before he could spiral further, Ace came running back into the room. Dragon turned around to look at his son and crouched down in front of the bouncy child.

“I’m ready!” Ace shouted, “I put everything away and I even put it in the right spot this time!”

“Good job Ace!” Dragon said, “I’m proud of you.”

Ace just giggled, until he noticed Rosinante was gone, “Did Rosi leave?”

“Yeah, he had to go do some work.” Dragon told him before picking him up.

“Oh.” Ace mumbled a little sad that he wasn’t able to say goodbye.

“Don’t worry, you’ll see him again soon.” Dragon quickly reassured him, “He’s coming back on friday, so maybe you’ll see him before you leave with Gramps.”

“Why is he coming if I’m leaving?” Ace asked, a little confused.

“Well… We’re going to hang out together.” Dragon tried to explain.

“So you won't be lonely?” Ace asked.

“Lonely?” Dragon questioned him back.

“You look sad sometimes.” Ace explained, “Rosi told me that everybody gets sad and lonely sometimes.”

“Oh… Well I’ll admit that I haven’t been feeling great lately.” Dragon told him, “But I’m fine now, okay?”

“Okay.” Ace said a little unsure. Dragon noticed Ace’s hesitancy and tried to take his mind off of it.

“You know, I really have to thank you for this Ace.” Dragon said slowly, “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be hanging out with Rosinante this friday.”

“Really?” Ace asked brightening up.

“Really.” Dragon told him sincerely, “Now, let’s go meet Gramps and Uncle Kuzan for dinner.”

“Yay! Dinner!” Ace cheered while squirming to be let down.

Dragon set Ace down before opening the door. Ace ran around in circles while Dragon locked it behind them. Then they made their way over to Garp’s for dinner.

God I can’t wait for Friday , Dragon thought smiling as he watched Ace run around.

Chapter Text

A Friday in mid August - Marineford

“Make sure he eats his vegetables.” Dragon told Garp, “Don’t just feed him meat, he needs fiber.”

“I know what kids need! I raised you!” Garp barked.

“Yeah and all you fed us is meat.” Kuzan commented from his chair.

“Bah! You were fine!” Garp insisted while waving him off.

“Didn’t you try to feed blended meat to Kuzan in his bottle?” Dragon asked, “And then he puked on you?”

“Okay, maybe that was a mistake.” Garp said, “But you ate it just fine when you were a baby. How was I supposed to know that every baby is different?”

“You what?!” Dragon exclaimed horrified.

“Ah you were fine!” Garp told him, waving him off.

Before Dragon or Kuzan could say anything more about their father’s questionable parenting methods; Ace came running into the room with his backpack.

“I’m ready! Let's go fishing!” Ace yelled, “Bye dad!”

“What? No hug?” Dragon asked before kneeling. 

Ace giggled and ran to give Dragon a hug goodbye. Then Garp took him out to the hallway. Kuzan got up and walked over to Dragon.

“Sure you don’t wanna come along?” Kuzan asked.

“Yeah I’m sure.” Dragon replied, “I got some paperwork I need to do.”

“Well I don’t envy you admiral.” Kuzan laughed before slapping Dragons back, “See you on Sunday.”

“See you on Sunday.” Dragon replied before closing the door behind him.

After he closed the door, Dragon took a deep sigh and then did a giddy little dance before quickly composing himself. He was just so excited to see Rosinante tonight. He then ran to his room to get ready. 

They had decided to go to the Lose Your Berrie Pub, a bar that wasn’t too well known, but still popular among the locals. So Dragon wanted to look nice, but not so much that he would stand out. Despite being an admiral, he was never one for the spotlight. Eventually he decided on wearing his leather jacket and a nice pair of dark jeans. 

If Garp was here, he’d tell him that he looked like a thug. So Dragon knew it was perfect.

Dragon was brushing his hair when he heard a knock on the door. He ran over to the door and had to take a moment to compose himself before opening it. Good thing he did because Rosinante looked amazing.

The blonde was wearing light blue pants with a white sweater covered in sunflowers. 

Dragon thought he looked beautiful.

“Are you ready to go?” Rosinante asked, he was nervously fiddling with the bottom of his sweater.

Dragon shook himself out of his stupor, “Oh, yes. Let’s go.”

The sun was setting as they walked down to the pub and talked about their lives. They started off mostly talking about marine business and current world events, but eventually the conversation moved onto their private lives.

“Wait, you have a sister too?” Rosinante asked surprised, “I thought it was just Kuzan and you?”

“Nope.” Dragon said laughing, “Her name is Dadan and we’re the same age. Kuzan is the baby.”

“Oh, are you guys twins?” Rosinante wondered, trying to imagine what a female version of Dragon would look like.

“No, Dadan was adopted like Kuzan.” Dragon explained, “Dad adopted her after she tried to pickpocket him when she was four. Dad was impressed and said she would make a great spy for the marines.”

“Really?” Rosinante laughed, “Did she become a marine?”

“Nah, she wanted to go exploring.” Dragon told him, laughing at the image of a disgusted Dadan in a marine uniform, “Just recently she decided to settle down on our home island. She makes her own alcohol and sells it. Paintings too sometimes.”

“Really? That’s so cool!” Rosinante exclaimed, “Is business going well?”

“Yeah, she sells it to the local bars and the rich in the Goa kingdom nearby.” Dragon explained, “Although, when she sells it to the upper class, she is usually asking for ten times the actual price and ripping them off.”

“Good for her.” Rosinante laughed.

“Yeah, I’m proud of her for doing what makes her happy.” Dragon said solemnly.

“What about you?” Rosinante asked, noticing the sad look on Dragon’s face, “Are you doing what makes you happy.”

“Yes and no.” Dragon stated with a deep sigh, “I joined the marines in order to make the world a better place, but… with the things that happened in the past couple of years… I don’t really know anymore.”

“I know the feeling.” Rosinante told him while patting his arm, “I was so mad at my dad for everything, but it turns out he doesn’t have as much control as the public thinks.”

“Yeah, orders come from the Celestial Dragons.” Dragon stated, spitting the words out like they were poison themselves, “It makes me sick to my stomach to see all the disgusting things they do and have to pretend everything is okay.”

“Yeah.” Rosinante said quietly, “I know that personally.”

“How so?” Dragon asked curiously before he mentally slapped himself, Great job Dragon, bringing up past trauma is a pErFeCt date idea.

“You don’t have to answer that.” Dragon quickly said, “I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay.” Rosinante reassured him, “Let’s just say that life wasn’t kind before Sengoku found me.”

Dragon pulled him into his side for a hug and Rosinante leaned into his shoulder. Well, more like his head considering Dragon is 8.5ft and Rosinante is 9.7ft. But neither of them minded.

They quietly walked in silence the rest of the way to the pub, content with each other for the moment. When they got there, they sat in a booth hidden away in a corner for some privacy, they continued their conversation from earlier. 

“It’s cool that your sister paints.” Rosinante told him, “Whenever I tried to, it always ended up with a giant mess.”

“Ah come on, I’m sure you’re not that bad.” Dragon insists.

“Say that to my dad’s carpet.” Rosinante laughed, “Looked like someone killed a clown. It’s why I stick to photography and the couch is diagonal.”

“Oh you do photography.” Dragon questioned.

“Yeah, I got my camera for my eleventh birthday and blinded myself with it.” Rosinante told him.

Dragon burst out laughing at that and started choking on his drink.

“I’m sorry for laughing, but how the hell do you blind yourself with a cam-snail?” Dragon said while hitting his chest with his fist.

“Well, I was really excited to use it.” Rosinante explained, “So I went to go take a picture of Merriweather, but I didn’t realise it was backward.”

“Oh my god.” Dragon said with his  head in his hand, “If I didn’t know you, I wouldn’t believe you.”

“It’s okay, I wouldn’t either.” Rosinante laughed with him, “But now you owe me an embarrassing childhood story.”

“Oh god, okay, give me a moment.” Dragon said before trying to think of something, “Okay, I got one. When Dadan and I were eight and Kuzan was two, our dad forgot us on an island.”

“Garp forgot you on an island.” Rosinante exclaimed, I knew Garp was irresponsible, but to forget his kids?

“Yeah, there was a pirate crew attacking the other side of the island and he thought we were back on the boat.” Dragon explained, “Anyways, we were wandering around and Kuzan started to get whiny. Eventually we found this weird fruit and gave it to him.”

“Oh no, is this going where I think it is going?” Rosinante asked, “Was it his-”

“Devil Fruit? Yes.” Dragon told him, “We gave our two year old brother a devil fruit and he immediately threw a tantrum that froze everything in a six kilometer radius. Thankfully, it was a hot day and Kuzan passed out, so we were only stuck for about thirty minutes. But our dad had to bail us out of jail.”

“They jailed you?!” Rosinante exclaimed.

“Well, to be fair, they did think we were terrorists.” Dragon stated, “Eventually they let us off with a warning after dad argued with them for two hours.”

“Your story was way better than mine!” Rosinante laughed.

“Well I think yours was sweet.” Dragon said sincerely, “Besides, it wasn’t the last time Kuzan accidentally froze something. He froze our birthday cake too.”

“Ours?” Rosinante asked, confused.

“Our birthdays are in August, September, and October.” Dragon replied.

“Ah, so you guys all share a party?” Rosinante questioned further.

“Yeah, it started when we were kids. We would do something special on our birthday and then have one big party for the people that had to travel.” Dragon explained, “So we just continued that into adulthood since it’s hard to line up all our schedules. Saves a lot of time and money on travel too.”

“That must be really fun.” Rosinante commented fondly, “Having a big family like that.”

“Yeah, it is until one of them pushes you out the window.” Dragon chuckled, “Do you have any siblings?”

“Ah, no.” Rosinante quietly said, “Though, I wish I did sometimes. I liked how peaceful it was with just dad, but it could get lonely sometimes. ”

“I know what you mean.” Dragon stated, “I was a bit grumpy when dad adopted Dadan because I had to share everything, but after a little while, I couldn’t imagine a life without her or Kuzan.”

“Aw, that’s so sweet. I’m going to tell Kuzan the next time I see him.” Rosinante teased.

“That’s fine.” Dragon laughed, “As long as you don’t tell Dadan, she’s as emotionally constipated as our dad. It’s why I give her presents just before I leave, so he won’t be able to affectionately punch me.”

“Only your family would call a punch affectionate.” Rosinante laughed, “I remember dad having to pull me away before Garp landed one on my head.”

“The fist of love is a unique experience.” Dragon stated while lifting his glass, “A Monkey D. specialty.”

“You crazy bastards.” Rosinante said while lifting his own glass.

They both laughed and clinked their glasses together.

~~*~~

Saturday - Mid August - Marineford

The next morning, Dragon woke up with a headache and a weight on his chest. At first he thought it was Ace, but then he remembered that Ace was gone for the weekend. 

Then what the hell is on me? Dragon thought. He looked down to see a mop of blonde hair and his bare chest, Oh god did we…

Dragon felt around and found that they were indeed both fully clothed. Or Rosinante was fully clothed and Dragon had his pants on.

“Oh thank god.” Dragon heaved a sigh of relief.

“What?” Rosinante asked, looking up at him.

“You’re awake?!” Dragon exclaimed.

“Yes?” Rosinante asked while whining, confused and his head aching at how loud he was.

“Ah, sorry.” Dragon said, “I just panicked because I thought we had sex.”

“Would it be a bad thing if we did?” Rosinante questioned cautiously, a little insecure now.

“Not necessarily, but I would like to remember our first time together though.” Dragon reassured him.

It must have worked because Rosinante just huffed and snuggled into Dragon's neck before quietly saying, “Good thing I remember last night.”

Dragon blinked before pulling Rosinante closer with his left arm.

“Oh really?” Dragon playfully asked, “Do you mind telling me?”

Rosinante sat up and sat himself on top of Dragon. With a playful look on his face and a hand on either side of Dragon’s head, the blonde leaned down to talk to him.

“Well… we had a couple of drinks, maybe a little too many because I spilled a drink on you after I took a picture of us together.” Rosinante explained, “I felt bad, so I brought you to the bathroom to try damage control and we ended up-”

“Making out in the bathroom.” Dragon finished as his memory started coming back to him, “You were holding me up against the wall and then the owner kicked us out because someone complained about-.”

“The two men trying to swallow each other’s faces.” Rosinante finished for him this time, “Then we came back here. So we almost had sex in a bathroom, but got kicked out and then passed out as soon as we got here.”

Dragon felt his face burning, but pretended he didn’t, “Well it’s still the best date I have ever been on and that’s out of the other three.”

“Really?” Rosinante asked surprised, “Did Ace’s father take you out at all?”

Dragon cringed, “Ah, no. Our relationship wasn’t like that.”

“I’m sorry.” Rosinante said, “Both for asking and for how you were treated.”

“Oh Rosi.” Dragon said, putting a hand on the blonde’s cheek, “Thank you, but it’s quite alright. I wouldn’t change anything.”

“Why not?” Rosinante asked.

“If things were different, I probably wouldn’t have you.” Dragon explained, “My life has been much better with you in it. You're like sunshine.”

“Dragaaan… That’s so sweet!” Rosinante whined before burying his face back into his neck again.

Dragon just wrapped his arms around him and held him close. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Rosinante slowly lifted his head up.

“Hey Dragon?” Rosinante whispered.

“Yes Rosi?” Dragon replied.

“Wanna have sex now?” Rosinante asked, grinning brightly.

“Fuck yes.” Dragon replied, rolling them over so he was on top.

As they would later find out, having sex when you both have a hangover is not a good idea. 

But they both decided it was worth the pain.

Chapter Text

Thursday - Mid August - Marineford

Dragon and Rosinante had decided to keep their relationship a secret for the meantime. The both of them agreed that it would be a disaster if either of their fathers found out about them right now. Sengoku for being overprotective of his only child despite Rosinante being a literal spy and Garp for being over involved in his children’s lives despite them being, well, his children. 

He did raise them in the jungle after all. You’d think he’d know by now that they can take care of themselves.

Anyways, things for Rosinante and Dragon were going well. They were far less awkward around each other. They even already went out on their second date.

They had gone back to the Lose Your Berrie Pub on the following Sunday afternoon after their Friday date, although this was mostly to apologise for the bathroom incident. The owner took it well enough and let them off with a warning. 

This time around they didn’t get black out drunk and instead just talked. Rosinante had even brought his camera along to capture the moment. The photo was of them sitting at the bar and looking upwards at the camera. With Rosinante leaning his head on Dragon’s. 

They parted ways afterwards, Rosinante giving Dragon a kiss on the cheek before heading home and Dragon went back to his apartment to do paperwork before Ace got back that night.

Neither Garp or Kuzan noticed anything that might be off about Dragon; despite the usually grumpy man looking well rested and happier than normal. They both thought that he was just excited to see Ace again. 

Kuzan might have noticed that his brother looked happier than usual if he wasn’t so utterly exhausted. Don’t get him wrong, he loves his nephew, but he didn’t envy Dragon in the slightest. The kid was a chaos monster sometimes.

And said chaos monster was the one to notice.

The toddler was quite perceptive for his age. Dragon assumed that it was something to do with Rouge holding him in for almost two years. 

Ace was also very honest. 

Which was very unfortunate sometimes.

“Daddy?” Ace asked, tugging on his shirt while he was reading the newspaper.

“Yes Ace?” Dragon replied, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Do you love Rosi?” Ace asked, rocking back and forth in front of him.

Dragon choked and quickly spit his coffee back into the mug.

“Are you okay?!” Aces yelled, trying to climb onto his lap.

“I-I’m good.” Dragon wheezed, while pulling Ace into his lap, “Sorry about that Ace, what was your question?”

“Do you love Rosi?” Ace asked again.

“I-Well… Um… I do like him a lot.” Dragon told him awkwardly, “Why do you ask?”

“Your face gets all red when he’s here.” Ace explained, “You look like Uncle Kuzan when he sees ladies with big chests like gramps.”

Dragon didn’t know whether to laugh or cry in response. 

He decided to just put his head in his hand, sigh, and move on.

“I suppose I do get all red don’t I?” Dragon wondered, “Do I look like a tomato?”

“Yes.” Ace laughed, “A big one!”

“Well thank you.” Dragon huffed, laughing, before he took on a more serious tone, “Can you do something for me Ace?”

“What?” Ace asked, confused.

“Can you keep me liking Rosi a secret for now?” Dragon asked.

“Why?” Ace asked, even more confused.

Dragon took a moment to try to figure out how to word something so complicated.

“Do you remember when you told gramps that you liked pirates?” Dragon started cautiously, “And then he went all… feral?”

“Like a dog? I remember.” Ace told him, “It was kind of scary, but funny too.”

“Yes it was.” Dragon agreed, “But he’ll do that again if he finds out about Rosi.”

“Why? Does he not like him?” Ace wondered.

“No, he does. He’s just really… overprotective sometimes.” Dragon explained.

Overprotective is an understatement , Dragon thought, But it’s the only child appropriate answer I have .

“Oh… Okay I won’t tell.” Ace said.

“You won’t?” Dragon was surprised at how easy it was.

“No, gramps is scary when he’s feral.” Ace stated, hopping down to the floor before turning around and asking, “Want to colour?”

“Sure.” Dragon replied.

~~*~~

Saturday - Late August - Marineford

It was supposed to be Dragon’s day off, but some idiot screwed up and paperwork was literally dropped on his doorstep. The ensign that delivered it thought Dragon was scary and decided to just run after knocking. 

Dragon could still see him peeking around the corner though, he just pretended not to notice and took the paper inside.

Thankfully, Rosinante was already going to come over, so Ace was preoccupied and wasn’t too disappointed. Dragon just made up for it by letting him have two scoops of ice cream for dessert instead o 

It was late now. Rosinante had decided to stay for dinner since Sengoku was away for business. Dragon had just put Ace to bed after he collapsed from his sugar rush and was finishing some leftover paperwork while Rosinante put away the dishes.

Rosinante put the last dishes away when he saw a newspaper that was left on the counter.

“Hey, is this paper from today?” Rosinante asked, walking into the main room.

“Oh, yeah.” Dragon said, looking up, “Completely forgot about it, haven’t gotten a chance to read it yet.”

“Do you mind if I read it then?” Rosinante asked.

“Go right ahead.” Dragon replied, then in a teasing voice said, “Just don’t spoil the ending for me.”

“I’ll try to contain myself.” Rosinante laughed while unfolding the paper.

He looked down and froze when he read the headline.

This can’t be , Rosinante thought, I thought he was dealt with.

Dragon heard a rustling noise and looked up to see that Rosinante was shaking.

“Rosi? Are you okay?” Dragon asked worriedly, the blonde looked like he saw a ghost.

Dragon got up and gently took the newspaper from him.

The headline was: A demon has taken over Spider Miles!

The newspaper went on to say: A young upstart from the North Blue has been making big waves! His name is Donquixote Doflamingo, captain of the Donquixote Pirates. He is ruthless, cunning, and determined to take control. Just recently he has taken over an island called Spider Miles. We assume that he will be using it as his home base. 

Will he be the next Pirate King? He sure thinks so. See more on page 3.

There was a picture of a blonde man in a pink feathered coat and oddly shaped sunglasses. The angle made it seem that he was looming over the camera as the picture was taken. His smile or smirk rather made Dragon very uncomfortable in a way he couldn’t quite explain.

“I… I need to go.” Rosinante said quietly, rushing out the front door before Dragon could stop him.

Dragon was left standing in his living room confused.

~~*~~

Rosinante rushed back to his place to call his dad.

He felt bad about leaving Dragon without telling him why, but he couldn’t help it.

Panic and fear had already set in.

His heart was beating so fast that it was the only thing he could hear and he felt his chest tightening. Rosinante was sure he was on the verge of a panic attack.

He got home and was fumbling to get his keys out, swearing like the sailor he was. When he finally got the right key in the lock, he almost tore the door off its hinges. 

Rosinante quickly locked it and rushed over to his den-den-mushi, dialing his dad’s number.

“Please pick up. Please pick up.” Rosinante begged while trying not to cry, “Please pick up!”

Then he heard a click.

“Rosinante? What’s wrong?” Sengoku asked worriedly, they had already had their scheduled call yesterday, so something must be wrong for Rosinante to call him so late.

“Did… Did you read the newspaper?” Rosinante sniffled, trying to breathe.

“Oh… Yes, I did.” Sengoku said calmly, “I’m sorry Rosi, I hoped you wouldn’t see it until I got back. You never read the paper and the one time you do… I’m so sorry.”

“I thought he was dead.” Rosinante choked out, still trying to hold back his tears, “How did he survive?”

“Apparently that’s what this meeting was about.” Sengoku told him, sighing as he did.

“What?!” Rosinante asked, shocked.

“When he came to them with… his offering. They turned him away, expecting him to suffer a slow and painful death.” Sengoku explained, “But then he became a pirate and now he’s black mailing them somehow. We are being ordered not to interfere or get involved with him and his actions.”

“So you can’t arrest him?” Rosinante asked in despair.

“No, I can’t. I’m sorry.” Sengoku replied, “I don’t even know how or what he is using to blackmail them with.”

“He’s the first born.” Rosinante whispered.

“What? What does that have to do with anything?” Sengoku asked, confused.

“There are alot of secrets in Mary Geoise and they are told to the first born of every family.” Rosinante explained, “I remember asking Doffy about what he did on those trips, he always bragged and said he couldn’t tell me.”

“So that’s it. I wonder what's so important that they’d agree to his terms.” Sengoku pondered.

“Me too.” Rosinante said.

The two were quiet for a moment, both thinking about what could be hidden away in Mary Geoise. It had to be something life changing for the Celestial Dragons to react to Doflamingo in such a way.

“Are you okay Rosi?” Sengoku asked after a moment, “Are you following those breathing exercises?”

“Yeah, I’m good.” Rosinante replied, “Guess I just needed a good cry and talk.”

“You sure?” Sengoku said, “I can stay up longer.”

“No you can’t.” Rosinante said, “It's already past your bedtime.”

“Hey! I’m not that old!” Sengoku grumbled.

“Yes you are.” Rosinante laughed, “Remember New Years? You fell asleep on the coach before nine!”

“You’re never going to let that go are you?” Sengoku sighed.

“No, never.” Rosinante teased.

They both laughed at that

“When then goodnight Rosi.” Sengoku said, sighing, “I love you son. And don’t worry too much about your brother, we’ll be keeping tabs on him in the meantime.”

“Thanks dad.” Rosinante said, “I love you too.”

He then hung up and just sat on the floor for a bit.

He didn’t even know when he started sitting on the floor.

Rosinante groaned and got up, his butt hurting from sitting on the wooden floor of his apartment.

He locked the door and just rested his head on it for a moment. The cold wood felt good on his feverish skin. He didn’t even realise he was sweating buckets.

His mind drifted, trying to over everything that just happened in the past thirty or so minutes.

Oh god Dragon , Rosinante thought suddenly, He must be so worried!

He rushed back over to the den-den-mushi and dialed Dragon.

Dragon picked up almost immediately.

“Rosi! Are you okay?!” Dragon exclaimed.

“Yeah, I’m good.” Rosinante tried to reassure him, “Just needed to talk with my dad.”

“What happened?” Dragon asked.

He didn’t want to lie to Dragon, so he just didn’t tell him the whole truth.

“Just saw something in the paper that reminded me of bad childhood memories.” Rosinante explained. 

“Oh, I’m sorry Rosi.” Dragon softly said, “How are you doing?”

“Tired.” Rosinante replied.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Dragon offered.

“No, I just wanted to apologise for running.” Rosinante explained.

“Oh you don’t have to apologise for that Rosi.” Dragon told him, “It’s okay, I understand. I was just worried about you.”

“Thanks Dragon.” Rosinate said, “I’m gonna go to bed.”

“All right, take care of yourself.” Dragon told him.

“I will.” Rosinante replied.

He hung up and fed his den-den-mushi some lettuce.

Then he kicked off his shoes, breaking something in the process, and literally fell into bed.

He was snoring in a matter of seconds.

~~*~~

Early September - Marineford

They didn’t talk about what happened.

Until one rainy night in September.

The two of them were laying in bed together. Dragon was on his back with Rosinante laying on top of him. Dragon was playing with Rosinante’s hair while the blonde was listening to his heart beat. They peacefully laid in silence until Rosinante spoke up.

“Dragon?” Rosinante whispered.

“Yes Rosi?” Dragon asked, he looked down to see the blonde playing with his chest hair.

“Remember how you asked about my life before Sengoku?” Rosinante questioned him cautiously.

“Yes? What about it?” Dragon replied, starting to get a little worried about Rosinante’s tone.

“I want to tell you about it.” Rosinante said softly.

“You don’t have to.” Dragon tried to reassure him, “I don’t need to-”

“No!” Rosinante shouted while sitting up, before calming down at the sight of the shocked look on Dragon’s face, “I’m sorry, but I need to tell you.”

“Okay.” Dragon quietly said before sitting up as well, “Take as much time as you need to.”

Rosinante sat up against the headboard beside him. He sat with his knees touching his chest and his arms wrapped around his legs with his head on top. After a moment, Rosinante mustered up the courage to continue.

“I… I wasn’t born here.” Rosinante started, “I… I was born up there, in Mary Geoise.”

“What?!” Dragon asked shocked, “How’d the hell did you end up down here?”

Dragon mentally kicked himself when he saw Rosinante wince and curl into himself a little more before the blonde continued his story.

“My father didn’t want to live up there anymore. He wanted us to live like everyone else. He didn’t want to own slaves or hurt people.” Rosinante told him, “So he moved us to a little town in the North Blue, but he was very naive.”

Dragon tried to figure out where this was going and as he would come to learn; it was far more horrible than anything he was imagining.

“I have an older brother. He wasn’t like dad or mom, he was like the other Celestial Dragons. Violent, cruel, and demanding that the town’s people obey him or kneel in his presence. When they didn’t, he threatened to make them slaves.” Rosinante explained, “That’s how the town’s people found out about where we came from.”

Rosinante jumped a little when he felt Dragon wiping away his tears. He didn’t even know he was crying. Dragon just pulled the blonde into his lap and held him close. Rosinante tucked his head into Dragon’s neck and continued.

“I was only six at the time, so while I noticed the tension when we went into town, I didn’t really understand anything. Our parents tried to tell my brother that what he was saying wasn’t right, but he didn’t apologise or change.” Rosinante told him, “One night, a mob came to the house and burnt it down. We luckily got out in time, but we had to start living in the junkyard.”

Dragon started to recall a story his dad had told him years ago. Of a family that was hunted down in the North Blue. 

Rosinante let out a deep shuddering breath and Dragon softly patted him on the back to sooth him. 

“It’s okay.” Dragon whispered into Rosinante’s hair, “You don’t have to continue. I understand.”

“No.” Rosinante choked out, “I need to, for myself.”

“Okay.” Dragon told him soothingly, “Take your time.”

Rosinante took a moment to compose himself before speaking again.

“My dad tried to get us back to Mary Geoise, but they denied us. So we built a little shack for ourselves. Our parents found food when they could and made sure that we ate the stuff that wasn’t spoiled or wasn’t too moldy.” Rosinante quietly said, “A year later, mom got really sick and passed away in her sleep shortly after. My brother blamed our dad for everything. I think my dad did too.”

Rosinante took another breath and kept going before he lost his courage.

“A year later, the town’s people finally found us. They strung us up on a building and started shooting arrows at us. They told us about everything that the Celestial Dragons did to them, about everyone that suffered or was taken as slaves.” Rosinante told him, “One of them shot my brother in the eye and that made his Conqueror's Haki wake up. All the people attacking us collapsed and we managed to cut ourselves down.”

Dragon could understand why the villagers would take out their anger on Rosinante’s father, even if he did recognize that the Celestial Dragon’s mistreatment of others was wrong and decided to change. But the children? Dragon knows grief can make you do crazy things. Especially when you have been subjected to such horrendous treatment your entire life. He didn’t tell Rosinante any of this though, it wouldn’t help, and he probably already knew this anyway.

Dragon motioned for Rosinante to continue.

“That wasn’t even the worst part though.” Rosinante sniffled, “A little later, my brother came across a man that gave him a gun and a devil fruit. He came back and shot our father in the back of the head while he was holding me.”

Dragon’s breath caught in his throat, he was horrified at what Rosinante was telling him. He knew that it was going to be bad based on what Garp vaguely told him years ago and with how Rosinante was acting, but he didn’t think it would lead to patricide.

“Then… then he cut off his head.” Rosinante choked out, Dragon just pulled him impossibly closer, “He took it back to Mary Geoise, hoping to be let back in. He wanted me to come with him, but I refused because I was scared of him. Sengoku found me crying in the junkyard and I didn’t hear anything about my brother until recently.”

Wait, what?! Dragon tried to remember anything that might have happened recently that could connect to Rosinante’s brother. North Blue - psychopath - blind? - terrible personality and values… no… it can’t be!

“Your brother is Doflamingo?!” Dragon yelled, Oh that’s why he got so upset about that newspaper article .

Thinking Dragon was angry at him, Rosinante jerked away and curled into himself.

“I’m sorry.” Rosinante said while sobbing, “I didn’t mean to lead you on but-”

“Lead me on?” Dragon asked confused before softening upon realisation, “Oh Rosi, I’m not mad.”

“You aren’t?” Rosinante choked out between sobs, “But you hate Celestial Dragons!”

“Yes I do.” Dragon said calmly, “I hate their beliefs and their way of life.”

Before Rosinante could pull away further, Dragon grabbed a hold of his shoulders and made him make eye contact.

“But I adore you.” Dragon told him, “You are proof that a person’s birth place or station does not define them and I hope there are more people like your father in Mary Geoise.”

Dragon once again pulled Rosinante into his lap and held him close.

“Perhaps a younger generation that wants to break the cycle.” Dragon said into Rosinante’s hair, “Things wouldn’t heal instantly, and we probably won’t see a united world in our lifetime, but it would be a start in the right direction.”

“I want that, a better world.” Rosinante whispered into Dragon’s chest, “I wish my brother could change.”

“Me too.” Dragon agreed for Rosinante’s sake, “But his actions are not your own, so don’t feel responsible for him, okay?”

“I’ll try.” Rosinante said, “It isn’t easy.”

“I know, nothing that is worth it ever is.” Dragon told him, “But I’ll be here to support you, okay?”

Rosinante just nodded his head and snuggled into him further.

They laid back down again and drifted off to sleep, both feeling a little lighter.

~~*~~

Mid September - Marineford

It was now the middle of September and Dragon was getting ready to leave for his annual trip back home.

Rosinante was over helping Dragon and Ace pack. The blonde had invited himself over so he could spend some time with them before they left.

They had already packed up Ace’s bag and were now in Dragon’s room. Ace was bouncing on the bed while Dragon and Rosinante folded clothes.

“Are you excited to see Auntie Dadan again Ace?” Dragon asked the excited toddler.

“Yeah! And I wanna go bear hunting with gramps!” Ace yelled, making bear noises as he did so.

“They have bears on Dawn Island?” Rosinante asked while folding one of Dragon’s shirts.

“Yes, they're the same size as the ones found on the Grandline.” Dragon explained, “There are also oversized tigers, alligators, snakes, and vultures.”

“Really? That sounds terrifying.” Rosinante said, imagining himself tripping and getting eaten by one.

“It’s alright when you know how to fight them.” Dragon told him, “Dad would give us metal pipes and we would go out hunting.”

“Metal pipes?!” Rosinante exclaimed, “Why don’t you just use guns or spears or swords?”

“Dad says it would be too easy and that we needed to be tough to survive.” Dragon explained, “He also says everything tastes better when you hunt for it with your bare hands.”

“So your dad is a caveman?” Rosinante asked jokingly.

“You’re only realising that now?” Dragon joked back.

Ace then decided to interrupt them by diving into the piles of clothes.

Thankfully, Dragon caught him before he could undo all of their work.

“Now just what do you think you’re doing firefly.” Dragon asked the giggling toddler.

“Flying!” Ace exclaimed while flapping his arms.

“Why do you want to fly?” Dragon asked.

“So I can see everything!” Ace replied, going on about what he would like to see if he could fly.

Rosinante had a fond look on his face as he watched the father and son talk.

Dragon sure did make a cute kid , Rosinante thought as he watched Ace babble, I wonder what ours might look like?

As soon as that thought finished, Rosinante felt his face grow extremely hot.

Why am I thinking about that? We only started seeing each other a month ago! Bad Rosi! You’ll scare him off!

Rosinante was broken out of his spiral by Dragon poking his temple. Ace had run off to do something else.

“You okay there Rosi?” Dragon asked him in concern, “You kind of spaced out for a bit.”

“Oh sorry.” Rosinante said, “Was just thinking.”

“What about?” Dragon asked, sitting down beside him on the bed.

“Just how much I’m gonna miss you guys.” Rosinante replied.

“Aw, I’m going to miss you too.” Dragon said, “But it will only be for a little over a month. We’ll be back before Halloween.”

“I know.” Rosinante pouted, “I guess I just got used to being around you all the time. It’s been… less lonely.”

“I know what you mean.” Dragon agreed, “I’m very thankful to have met you Rosinante.”

“Thanks, I think the same about you.” Rosinante said while scratching the back of his head, “To be honest, you’re one of the few who think that.”

“Nonsense.” Dragon told him, moving his head so Rosinante met his eyes, “Don’t sell yourself short, you are a wonderful person Rosi and an extraordinary spy. Just gotta believe in yourself more.”

“Thanks Dragon.” Rosinante said, hugging him.

They held each other close until they heard a crash from the living room.

“Oops, sorry!” They heard Ace yell.

“Ah, that little shit.” Dragon huffed laughing, “I hope he broke that hideous vase Borsalino got me.”

Dragon went to get up, but Rosinante stopped him.

“You pack your stuff.” Rosinante told him, “I’ll go clean it up.”

“You sure?” Dragon asked.

“Yeah, you stay here.” Rosinante told him, “I know you just told me to believe in myself more, but we both know that doesn’t automatically give me organisational skills.”

“Fine, just don’t hurt yourself with the mess.” Dragon jokes.

“I’ll try not to.” Rosinante laughed as he walked out the door.

Dragon waited a moment until he was sure Rosinante was out of hearing range, then he got up to close the door.

He then went over to his bedside drawer on the right. 

Dragon moved it to the side so he could access the floorboards. He pulled the floorboards up to reveal the hidden storage unit he made to safely keep anything to do with the Revolutionary Army in.

There were tensions rising in Marineford. Only the highest stations knew about the Revolutionary Army. Everybody else thought that the attacks, robberies, and protests over the past couple of years were done randomly.

Which was true for most of them.

But the rest were organized by Dragon and his RA associates. 

He made sure to space everything out and make it seem like they were mere coincidences. So that the marines wouldn’t find any evidence or connect anything back to him if they did.

Dragon was planning to leave the marines after New Years. That way Ace could spend one more birthday with family.

He felt bad for dragging his son into his mess, but he wasn’t about to instill abandonment issues into him either.

He had started this a year before Ace was born. He wasn't expecting to have a kid literally thrusted into his arms. He could’ve said no. 

But he didn’t.

Now he was ripping his kid away from everything he knew.

Maybe I should have let dad give Ace to Dadan , Dragon lamented as he put the documents into a hidden compartment sewn in the inside bottom of his bag.

No I couldn’t, not when I almost cried holding him for the first time, Dragon thought as he packed his clothes.

Then he thought about Rosinante. 

If I’m not instilling abandonment issues in Ace; I’m instilling them in Rosinante.

Maybe it was true that all dragons were selfish creatures.

~~*~~

Ace had indeed broken that awful vase Borsalino gave him and Rosinante had it cleaned up without hurting himself.

Dragon called it a win either way.

He set his bag down next to Ace’s at the front door.

“Well this is it.” Dragon sighed, pulling on his coat.

“See you in a month.” Rosinante said, tugging on his own coat.

“Bye, bye Rosi.” Ace said, a little muffled by his scarf.

Rosinante crouched down to hug Ace, “Bye, bye firefly. See you soon.”

The toddler then grabbed his bag and dragged it out the door while waving goodbye.

Dragon grabbed his bag and pulled Rosinante into a hug when he stood up. Holding him tight to his chest. He felt the blonde do the same.

“Come on dad!” Ace whined from outside, “We’re gonna be late!”

The two men pulled away from each other. Stepping outside so Dragon could lock the apartment door.

“Well I better get going before the boss starts biting me.” Dragon told him, “Stay safe Rosi, I’ll be back.”

“You too Dragon.” Rosinante laughed, “I’ll be waiting.”

They gave each other a smile and parted ways.

Rosinante to his own apartment and Dragon towards the docks.

{Little did either of them know, but they wouldn’t be meeting again soon. In fact, it would be almost a year before they see each other again. All thanks to a certain magma man. It seems Dragon wasn’t as careful as he thought.}

Chapter Text

{The Revolutionary Army was created by Monkey D. Dragon, son of the Marine Hero: Monkey D. Garp, after the death of the Pirate King: Gol D. Roger.

Dragon created it with a group of like minded individuals with the goal of dismantling the corrupt government that ruled over them. Their main focus being on the Celestial Dragons. The group was originally called the Freedom Fighters, but as Baterilla became bloodier, their operations became larger.

People, seeing the destruction or experiencing it themselves, joined at a rapid rate. 

Even more so after Ohara.

So they became the Revolutionary Army.

A very effective threat against the marines. It helped that their leader was an Admiral and thus was able to gather valuable information.

But Dragon was not planning to stay with the marines forever.

If he was caught, he wouldn’t be able to escape Marineford alive. So he was only planning to stay until the Revolutionary Army was stable enough to leave.

Unfortunately, fate had other plans.

In an impulsive move, Dragon had agreed to raise Ace, son of Gol D. Roger and Portgas D. Rouge. The reason the marines were causing all the suffering in the first place.

Dragon didn’t regret adopting Ace, he could never regret his little firefly.

But he did wish things were different.

So his plans changed, Dragon made new plans to leave after Ace’s third birthday.

It should be enough time to plan for the disappearance of two people rather than one.}

~~*~~

Mid September - Marineford

Every now and again, Dragon would tell the other revolutionaries to drop “evidence” in a certain location. 

This was so the marines thought they were following the correct trail to a hide out or a drop site. They were also instructed to always keep their faces covered and to use code names.

This had worked for the past couple of years, marines thinking they were finally getting a breakthrough only to find an empty warehouse or were just missing them. Meanwhile the revolutionaries were on a completely different island or had left weeks before the marines had even heard of the location.

Even CP0 couldn’t find anything.

Unfortunately, routine can make people too comfortable which in turn causes some slip ups.

A week after Dragon, Ace, Garp, and Kuzan left for Dawn Island; Sengoku called for a meeting with Kizaru and Akainu.

The three of them were in Sengoku’s office discussing what information they had on the Revolutionary Army.

Which wasn’t much.

“It’s almost been five fucking years and we still have nothing!” Sengoku yelled, banging his fist on his desk, “We don’t even know who the leader is!”

“We know his nickname though!” Kizaru pointed out, “They call him The Insurgent Serpent!”

“Yes, thank you Kizaru.” Sengoku sighed, pinching his nose, “But that’s not good enough. We need to find a base of theirs! Or hell, even a ship will do at this point!”

“I might have something.” Akainu spoke up, “A couple weeks ago I got word from a base in the East Blue about a suspicious ship lurking around.”

“Was there any markings on it?” Sengoku asked, intrigued at the possibility of gaining an edge.

“No, considering how careful they are, it's not surprising.” Akainu told him, “But the ship was as plain as can be and has been making frequent stops on Needle Island.”

“Needle Island?” Kizaru asked, confused, “I’ve never heard of that place before.”

“It’s just a small stopping point before the Grandline.” Sengoku explained, “It’s not very popular because Loguetown is a much better place to go to.”

“Which makes it great for criminals who don’t want to be noticed.” Akainu supplied.

“Oh, I get it.” Kizaru exclaimed, “You think it’s the revolutionaries.”

“Exactly.” Akainu said, “It’s an unmarked ship repeatedly coming and going from an island known for criminals.”

Sengoku contemplated it for a moment. Akainu did have a point and it couldn’t hurt to check it out. Even if it wasn’t the revolutionaries, they could still have the chance to remove other criminals from the populace.

“Hmm, we’ll check it out.” Sengoku said, stroking his beard, “Even if we don’t get the revolutionaries, it could be smugalars or something of the other.”

“Great, when can we contact Garp?” Akainu asked.

“Garp?” Sengoku asked, confused, “No, we won’t be contacting him or the other Monkey’s. They deserve to have their break uninterrupted.”

“If not Garp, then who?” Akainu asked, confused.

“Yeah, who will we be sending?” Kizaru asked, equally as confused as Akainu.

Everybody knew that the East Blue was Garp’s territory. The man always wanted to know what was going on there so he could be the one to deal with it. If he wasn’t there already dealing with the issue or the cause of it that is.

“Well since Akainu is the one who brought it up, he’ll be the one to deal with it.” Sengoku stated, surprising the both of them.

Akainu had not been allowed off base since Ohara. While the burning of the refugee ship didn’t cause him to lose his title, it did make Sengoku lose faith in the man. Especially since the Celestial Dragons were the ones stopping him from firing Akainu. They were quite happy that the civilians were killed.

“But it’ll take weeks for me to get there!” Akainu shouted, “They could be gone by then!”

“Then you should set sail as fast as possible.” Sengoku calmly told him while looking him in the eyes, “Besides, who knows when you’ll get another chance of getting off base.”

Akainu huffed and stood up, swiftly walking towards the door.

“Oh, and Akainu?” Sengoku asked, making him stop, “Try not to kill any civilians this time.”

Despite his calm and even tone, Akainu knew that Sengoku was threatening him.

“Yes sir.” Akainu gritted out, trying not to break the doorknob in his hand. He quickly gave a stiff salute and walked out, shutting the door behind him.

“You’re really not gonna call Garp?” Kizaru asked, turning back towards Sengoku.

“No, I will.” Sengoku replied, sitting down in his chair, “But I’ll let him enjoy some family time first.”

“If you’re gonna call him anyways, why send Akainu?” Kizaru questioned further, curious about the man’s intentions.

“Hopefully they’ll arrive at the same time and Akainu will learn a thing or two about real leadership.” Sengoku explained, “Garp may act like a fool most of the time, but he is actually quite tactful when he wants to be.”

“So… you want Akainu to learn from him?” Kizaru tried to clarify.

“Yes.” Sengoku told him, leaning back in his chair, “Hopefully by the end of it, Akainu will have learned how to complete a mission without civilians being murdered.”

Kizaru gulped at Sengoku’s brutal honesty.

Poor Sakazuki , Kizaru thought, He really is going to be a mad dog by the end of this.

~~*~~

Akainu’s Quarters - Marineford

Little did Sengoku know, but this was exactly the result Akainu was hoping for.

Akainu finally had the chance to expose Dragon as the Insurgent Serpent.

He had been suspicious of Dragon for a couple of years now. It just didn’t make sense to him how the revolutionaries could know when to attack a Celestial Dragon or raid a base.

The only explanation could be that a high ranking marine is either working with them or is their leader.

And Dragon fit the profile.

He was very outspoken about his distaste of the Celestial Dragons, not to mention the injustice of Baterilla and Ohara. The man was highly intelligent and a fantastic strategist. Not to mention that he was also incredibly secretive. 

There wasn’t anybody else in Marineford that matched.

Or maybe you think it’s him because he wants nothing to do with you , his subconscious told him, Just like you’re convinced Ace is yours .

Akainu had never believed the story Dragon told everyone else. That Dragon had slept with someone other than him and that the father was a nameless nobody nowhere to be found.

Or maybe you can’t handle the fact that it meant nothing to him , the little voice spoke up again, Who's to say he didn’t do the same with someone else that didn’t matter?

Akainu refused to believe he wasn’t important to Dragon. He had always thought that Dragon was someone to be admired and it took a long time for him to admit to himself that he did indeed love the man.

He got even more furious when he saw Sengoku’s brat getting close with Dragon and their his child. 

That brat can’t even walk without tripping and Dragon thinks he’s responsible enough to watch Ace!? Akainu had thought when he found out, Why didn’t he ask me!? I’m probably the kid's father!

But unfortunately for Akainu, Dragon thought he was nothing more than a mistake and a monster to avoid.

So if Akainu couldn’t have him, then he’d arrest him.

~~*~~

Late September - Monkey D. Residence - Dawn Island

“Auntie Dadan!” Ace yelled, running up the pathway to Dadan.

“Firefly!” Dadan exclaimed, catching the toddler and swinging him around, “Oh my! Did you get taller?”

“Yeah! Three inches!” Ace told her while holding up three fingers, “I can reach the doorknob now!”

“Wow!” Dadan said, “You’re such a big boy! Soon you’ll be just as tall as the rest of us. ”

This made Ace giggle and bashfully tuck his face into her neck. He started fiddling with her necklace as they watched the others come up the hill.

Dadan had come down from her house in the mountains to clean up the Monkey D. residence before they arrived. 

The house sat on a hill overlooking Windmill Village and backed up to the forest. There was a garden and a treehouse in the newly fenced backyard. The fence had to be put in because Ace was a runner.

So were Dragon, Dadan, and Kuzan, but Garp had actively encouraged them to fight the wildlife so he didn’t feel the need to put in a fence before.

The house itself was a little weathered, but well loved. Garp’s grandparents had built it themselves when they got married and it had housed the past five generations of their family. There was a master bedroom on the ground floor, four bedrooms on the second, and a converted attic room. 

The house hadn’t been consistently used since Kuzan joined the marines. Dadan preferred to live away from the village in Pop Pop Monkey’s old hunting lodge. It allowed Dadan and her bandits to have the privacy they needed to run their business and steal from the rich folk in the Goa Kingdom.

But she also made sure to come every now and then to run maintenance on the house.

Or clean it up before the rest of the family comes back.

“Did you repaint the siding?” Garp gruffly asked, while setting down his luggage.

“Gave it a fresh coat last week.” Dadan told him, shifting a wiggling Ace to her hip, “I also fixed the hole in the attic.”

“Looks good.” Dragon told her, “Did you find anything dead in the gutters this time?”

“Surprisingly no.” Dadan replied, “There was a nest or two, but nothing disgusting.”

“Maybe those rats with wings finally learned to stay away.” Garp huffed, crossing his arms.

Garp didn’t mind birds, but they sure did make a mess of the house in the spring. And much like the other wildlife on Dawn Island, the seagulls weren’t normal. They went everywhere and got into everything. Often falling down chimneys and smashing into windows.

Maybe Garp had a point when he called them rats with wings.

“At least there won’t be any chirping at 6 o’clock in the morning.” Kuzan huffed, flopping facefirst onto the couch.

Ace then immediately jumped on his back and started using him as a trampoline, laughing like a maniac as he did so. 

Kuzan would have pushed him off if he wasn’t already snoring.

“Okay, how about we stop abusing Uncle Kuzan and put away our stuff.” Dragon suggested as he grabbed Ace, “We’ll be back down in a minute.”

“Ah take your time.” Garp told him, waving him off.

“Relax a bit, Dragon.” Dadan laughed, “There’s no rush.”

“Fine.” Dragon sighed, before turning to go up the stairs.

~~*~~

The stairs were to the right of the entrance and opened onto a landing. Connected to it was a long hallway with five doors and two staircases at the end of it. There were three doors on the right and two on the left. As for the staircases, one led back downstairs to the kitchen and the other led up stairs to the attic/guest/rec room.

Emphasis on the rec.

Dragon’s room was the first door on the right. The windows looked out onto the front lawn, farmland, and Windmill Village in the distance. It wasn’t a very big room, but it also wasn’t very small either. 

It was cozy with its wood paneling and green accents. 

God I’m going to miss this , Dragon thought, thinking of when he’ll be leaving the marines.

Before he could get anymore melancholy, Ace started wiggling to get down. Dragon gently set him down on the bed and watched as Ace started to jump around.

“Look! I’m a bunny!” Ace yelled, waving his little arms around.

“Oh yes, look at you go.” Dragon laughed, setting their bags to the side and closing the door. 

Dragon sat down on the bed and quickly took off his shoes. Then he turned around and caught Ace to help him do the same.

“Hey! I was jumping!” Ace whined as Dragon took off his shoes.

“I know, but how about we take a nap instead.” Dragon gently suggested, “That way supper will come faster.”

“Oooh, okay!” Ace easily agreed. The toddler then squirmed off his lap and over to the pillows. 

Dragon laughed as he watched his son burrow himself under the blanket. He got up and shut the curtains before climbing into bed himself.

I’m going to miss this when he learns the concept of time , Dragon thought while tucking Ace under his chin.

They both fell into a deep sleep as the afternoon sun reached its peak.

~~*~~

Late September - Marine Docks - Marineford

Back at Marineford, Akainu was setting off for Needle Island.

He had been planning this trip for two weeks. Starting the very minute after Sengoku assigned him. 

He was not going to fail this assignment. He would find something. Whether it was files, ship debris , or an enemy soldier in a bodybag.

Akainu was not going to leave empty handed. He was known to be a determined man. 

He also wasn’t stupid.

Akainu knew that Sengoku would still be calling Garp. The man would go feral if he knew someone else was in his territory.

But if he could prove that Dragon is the Insurgent Serpent, Garp wouldn’t be a problem anymore. 

He would either have to arrest his son or die trying to save him.

Akainu was honestly hoping for the second option. 

With Garp and Dragon out of commission, who would take care of Ace?

His lazy uncle? His petty criminal aunt? An old man and his walking safety hazard of a son?

None of them would be viable options. The most obvious answer would be his other father of course.

~~*~~

From afar, Sengoku and Rosinante watched as Akainu boarded his ship. 

“Do you really think this is a good idea?” Rosinante asked, turning towards his father.

“Garp will keep him in check.” Sengoku sighed, “Everything should be fine.”

Although, when he said that, it sounded like he was trying to make himself believe it.

“I’m sorry about yesterday.” Rosinante said, looking down at his broken arm, “If only I didn’t slip.”

Sengoku had planned to send his son along as an extra babysitter, but Rosinante had an unfortunate time on the stairs and broke his left arm. This resulted in him not being able to go on the mission.

“You have nothing to apologise for.” Sengoku firmly told him, “Never apologise for what you can’t control.”

They both knew he was referring to the irreparable damage caused by the torture and the malnourishment in his youth.

Sengoku quickly pulled his son into a hug to reassure him as they watched Akainu’s ship pull out of the harbor.

~~*~~

{Most of the time it is our own actions that guide us. Every choice we make causes a reaction. Even the smallest choice like the colour of a shirt can lead to tidal waves.

But every once in a while fate likes to pull a fast one.

Almost like marionettes, we are pulled into situations we never imagined we’d be in.

This often leaves us with thoughts of: What if?

In Garp’s case: What would have happened if he never agreed to Roger’s terms? What if he found Rogue earlier? 

In Dragon’s case: What if he left the marines early? What would have happened to Ace? Would he still have met Rosinante?

In Akainu’s case: Would Dragon be with him if he wasn’t such a lap dog?

In Rosinante’s case: What would have happened if he went with Doflamingo? Would still be the person he is today? What about yesterday with the accident on the stairs; would his presence on this mission cause less heartbreak?

We unfortunately can’t see what’s ahead. So we have to make the best decisions we can make in the heat of the moment and accept the results.

Whether it ends in joy or heartbreak.}

Chapter Text

Early October - Monkey D. Residence - Dawn Island

Dragon has been enjoying his vacation. 

It was nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of Marineford.

Not to mention the anxiety he got from being there, being a revolutionary leader and all.

So yes, it was quite enjoyable to be in the fresh air of Windmill village and being able to spend more time with Ace.

Speaking of the toddler, it was now the day of the joint birthday party and Dragon was trying to get Ace dressed. 

Garp had taken the toddler out earlier to fish, but Ace had decided it would be quicker to catch fish by jumping in and grabbing them. Thankfully Garp was able to fish him out before he drowned. One panicked Dragon and a bath later, Ace was ready for the party.

Or almost ready at least.

Ace seemed to be going through a “no shirt” phase.

“Are you excited for the party Ace?” Dragon asked, while trying to put a sweater on the wiggling child.

“Yes!” Ace yelled, “I wanna eat cake!”

“Okay, how about we make a deal?” Dragon sighed.

Ace stopped wiggling and turned to Dragon.

“If you keep your sweater on, I’ll give you two pieces of cake.” Dragon said.

Ace thought about it for a moment; he looked adorable pouting.

“Three!” Ace told him, putting on a serious expression.

“Two.” Dragon tried to reason.

“Three!” Ace pressed, huffing.

Maybe he has a future in negotiations , Dragon thought, or a lawyer.

Then he thought of something his dad used to do.

“Three.” Dragon said.

“No! Two!” Ace whined.

“Fine two!” Dragon agreed, “But only if you wear the sweater.”

“Deal!” Ace exclaimed, holding up his pinkie finger.

Dragon wrapped his own finger around Ace’s and then wrangled the toddler into the sweater. It was black with a pumpkin on it and Dragon wanted him to wear it before he outgrew it. The toddler had been going through a growth spurt lately.

He used to be so little , Dragon reminisced, Soon he won’t need or even want me to carry him everywhere .

He could feel himself tearing up at the thought and quickly wiped away the tears.

God what is wrong with me , Dragon thought, I’ve been so weepy lately .

Before he could ponder further, Ace broke him out of his thoughts.

“Wait, you tricked me!” Ace yelled, turning around and pointing an accusing finger at his dad.

Dragon laughed at the facial expression Ace was making and just guided the toddler to the door.

“Too late, we already made a pinkie promise.” Dragon teased, “And you can’t break those. Now let's get to the party”

“Fine.” Ace pouted.

Dragon was going to miss being able to do this. He dreaded the day Ace became a moody teenager.

~~*~~

Only their closest friends in Windmill Village were invited to the party. 

So really it was only Wood Slap, his granddaughter Makino, and Dadan’s bandit family.

So there were still quite a large number of people there. Although Dadan did make fun of her brothers for having no friends or love life.

Dragon had almost mentioned Rosinante, but quickly realised that would just cause a bigger scene. So he just decided to pout with Kuzan on the couch.

Other than that, the party was going great. It had started at 6pm and it was now nearing midnight almost

Half of Dadan’s friends had lost a drinking contest to Wood Slap and were passed out on the floor. Thankfully they had thought ahead to set aside some pillows and blankets for them. 

Dragon was quite impressed to be honest though. He didn’t know how old Wood Slap was, Garp said he was old when he was young, but the little man could put away a barrel or eight by himself.

Kuzan was now trying to defeat him with Dadan, Dogra, and Magra cheering him on.

Ace and Makino had long since passed out in the arm chair together. The eleven year old girl had been keeping Ace busy the whole night playing pirates. Dragon was glad that Ace had another child to play with, there weren’t many kids around Ace’s age where they lived at Marineford.

It would be nice for Ace to have a sibling , Dragon thought before logic tapped in, What am I thinking?! I’m already bringing Ace down with me!

But it would be nice to have a baby again , a little voice in the  back of his head said, Maybe with Rosinante?

For some reason the thought of having a baby with Rosinante made him tear up. Dragon got up off the couch and made his way over the many bodies on the floor to the tissue box.

It was set up on the table near the door to Garp’s bedroom. Dragon peaked in to see Garp on the den-den-mushi in his room. His father looked happy for a moment, before his expression turned sour and he quickly shut the door when he noticed Dragon watching him.

Must be Sengoku complaining about something Garp forgot to do , Dragon thought before turning back to the kids, Maybe I should put them to bed .

Dragon picked up Ace and Makino, bringing them upstairs to sleep more comfortably.

~~*~~

Unlike the rest of the family, Garp was not having a great night. Sengoku had called to bother him about something.

“What do you want?!” Garp yelled, making the snail shake, “I’m spending time with my family! Just forage my signature if I forgot to sign a paper!”

“Garp, we have a situation.” Sengoku told him.

“What kind of situation?” Garp asked, immediately going into marine mode upon hearing Sengoku’s tone.

“It’s the revolutionaries, they’re on Needle Island.” Sengoku said, “I’m sending Akainu to check it out and I want you to go too.”

“Ew, why’d ya have to send him!” Garp whined, “Couldn’t you have sent Rosinante?”

“Rosinante is a spy, not an admiral.” Sengoku said, “And he broke his arm.”

“What’d he do this time?” Garp laughed, “Roll down a hill? Have a tree fall on him?”

“He slipped on the stairs.” Sengoku sighed.

“Ah, poor brat, but why do I have to babysit the bastard?” Garp asked, getting serious again.

“First of all, you’re always saying the East Blue is yours.” Sengoku stated, “Secondly, you have my full permission to kill Akainu if he decides to harm civilians.”

“Really?” Garp asked, grinning, “You’d go against the Celestial Dragons?”

“Yes.” Sengoku stated without pause, “Make it look like an accident.”

“Alright then.” Garp laughed, excited at the thought of killing Akainu.

“Only if he tries to kill civilians, Garp!” Sengoku was quick to remind him.

I can’t believe I’m worried about that bastard's safety , Sengoku thought, Damn you Garp.

“Now, where do I need to go again?” Garp asked after a moment of thinking of the various ways to kill Akainu.

“Oh for fucks sake.” Sengoku groaned, “Get your sons, they are going with you!”

“What why?!” Garp whined, “I can do it!”

“No you can’t! Your memory is shit.” Sengoku snapped.

The two of them continued to argue while the rest of the family slept.

{The choice to include Dragon and Kuzan in this would end up haunting Sengoku for a while.}

~~*~~

Garp’s Ship Heading to Needle Island - East Blue Ocean

Needless to say, Dragon and Kuzan were both pissed that their vacation was being cut short.

Dragon wanted to spend more time with Ace and Kuzan wanted to sleep more.

Alas, duty calls.

So they packed up their luggage a week early and set off for Needle Island.

“I wanted to stay with Auntie Dadan longer.” Ace pouted, looking towards where Dawn Island was shrinking on the horizon.

“I know.” Dragon sighed, “But Christamas and your birthday is in a couple months. You’ll see everyone again then.”

“But I wanted to see them now!” Ace whined, stomping his feet.

“I know, I know, I’m sorry.” Dragon said, while picking Ace up to sooth him, “But when we get back to Marineford, we’ll see Rosi again.”

“Rosi?” Ace sniffeld, wiping his eyes with his little fists.

“Yeah. He’ll be there when we get back.” Dragon told him, gently swaying side to side, “How about we go get something to eat?”

“Can we get ice cream?” Ace asked.

“Only if you eat some vegetables first.” Dragon bartered, walking towards the mess hall.”

“Fine.” Ace pouted.

Dragon and Ace spent the next hour eating. He didn’t know where it all went, but Ace could pack away enough food for five grown men. Dragon himself was eating about the same, which wasn’t usual. 

Normally he had more decorum, but lately he had been feeling like he was constantly starving all the time. He just chalked it up to stress or the D genes being super active at the moment.

After the mini feast they called lunch, they took a nap in Dragon’s quarters. Ace safely snuggled in his father’s arms, the both of them dreaming of seeing Rosinante again.

~~*~~

Akainu’s Ship Entering the East Blue - East Blue Ocean

As the Monkey D’s were leaving Dawn Island, Akainu’s ship was entering the East Blue ocean.

“Sir! We’ve just entered the East Blue!” A cadet yelled while rushing into Akainu’s quarters.

“Good, how far is Needle Island now.” Akainu asked, looking up from his papers.

“About a week sir.” The cadet replied.

“Excellent.” Akainu told him, “Prepare the ship for battle.”

“Yes sir!” The cadet saluted before rushing back out, happy to be away from the admiral.

Akainu watched the cadet leave before going back to his planning. It didn’t matter anymore if Dragon turned out to be the revolutionary leader or not.

Akainu was planning to kill him and take Ace either way. 

Chapter Text

Needle Island - East Blue

Needle Island got its namesake from the sharp rocks that portured outwards from the island on all sides. Except for a small portion that acted as a natural port for ships. The island itself was mostly made up of rocky terrain and only the hardiest of vegetation could grow there.

There was only one village on the island. It was located by the port and it's where most of the small population was. Some people did live an even more isolated life on the small mountain or in the forest surrounding it.

It had only taken the Monkey D family three days to get to Needle Island. And it wasn’t until they arrived that Dragon was told why they were there.

“What do you mean the revolutionaries were spotted here?!” Dragon exclaimed, he had thought they were there to stop a riot or the island needed support after a bad storm.

“The marine base located west from here spotted an unmarked ship lurking around.” Garp explained, “Sengoku just wants us to check it out. If all goes well, we can go back to Dawn Island.”

“Okay, but why was Akainu sent here?” Kuzan asked.

“Because Sengoku thought he could learn something from us.” Garp told them, waving his hand around, “Something about proper leadership or whatever.”

We also might have to kill him , Garp thought, Not that we’d be too broken up about it .

Meanwhile, Dragon was panicking and thinking about killing a completely different person.

I swear Ivankov , Dragon thought, if you’re behind this I’m killing you .

He was only half joking.

~~*~~

Unfortunately for Dragon, Ivankov was indeed the one behind this, but not in the way he thought. He thought Ivankov was throwing another “recruitment party” to get more people to join the revolution. 

However, the real reason was that the ship needed repairs and they were stuck on the island for the meantime. It was mainly minor repairs, but there were a lot of them. Without these repairs, the ship wouldn’t make it in the Grandline.

Currently, Ivankov was sunbathing with Inazuma on the deck of the ship. Which was docked on the other side of the mountain in a hidden bay near the house of an ally.

“Shouldn’t we have moved on by now?” Inazuma said, while sipping on wine, “I.S. said to never enter the East Blue unless we absolutely had to.”

“Oh calm down Ina, nobody comes to this island.” Iavankov waved him off, “Besides, it’s not like any marines know about this island and the repairs will be done by tomorrow anyways.”

“Even so, we shouldn’t get too comfortable.” Inazuma cautioned.

Ivankov just hummed and leaned back, soaking up the sun.

Inazuma just sighed and resigned themselves to their fate, pouring another glass of wine.

~~*~~

“God dammit! How did they beat us here?!” Akainu yelled, slamming his fist into the ship’s railing.

“Well they do live in the East Blue sir.” A man named Henry timidly said beside him.

Akainu turned and glared at Henry so hard, the man swore he felt his soul leave his body. He quickly looked down at his shoes so as to not anger Akainu further.

“Shut up!” Akainu told him, turning back to watching Garp’s ship.

Through the binoculars he could see Garp and Kuzan on the dock talking.

Where the hell is Dragon? Akainu thought, He better not have stayed behind .

Then he saw movement to the right of Garp and Kuzan.

And there was Dragon in his admiral coat, holding Ace and pointing things out to the toddler.

Wait… ACE?!

“Why the hell is Ace here?!” Akainu yelled.

“Well they did get called away from their vacation and the mission is just to check out an unmarked boat.” Henry told him, “It would be safe to assume they brought Ace so they didn’t have to go all the way back for him if the mission takes longer than expected.”

When he didn’t hear an answer, he looked up to see Akainu looking at him with a face of murderous rage.

“Shut up Henry!” Akainu yelled at him.

Henry went back to looking at his shoes, wishing this mission would be over already so he could go back to his wife and kids.

Why did I have to become a marine? He thought, Should’ve just taken over my father’s bakery like he wanted. But no, I had to be stubborn.

Meanwhile, Akainu was cursing out Dragon for ruining his plans. He didn’t want to kill Dragon in front of Ace, but he would if he had to. 

I just hope it doesn’t scare the kid too much , Akainu thought, Don’t want my own son to be afraid of me .

~~*~~

“Ah look, here comes trouble.” Garp huffed when he spotted Akainu.

Akainu’s ship docked on the other side of the port from where Garp’s ship was and the Monkey D family watched as the magma man stepped off, walking towards where they were waiting.

Henry and a couple cadets were walking slowly behind Akainu. Keeping a safe distance away from him as if he was the devil himself.

Which, if you asked them, he was. Especially in Dragon’s eyes.

Akainu stopped when he was about a meter away from Garp and to everyone’s surprise, made a slight bow to Garp.

Everyone was unsettled now.

“Vice-Admiral Garp.” Akainu greeted him, “A pleasure to be working with you sir.”

“Wish I could say the same to you.” Garp said, not missing a beat, then he gestured to Dragon and Kuzan, “You know my sons.”

Akainu gave a curt nod to both Dragon and Kuzan. Then his eyes rested on Ace. It was only his second time seeing the child, the first time being when he was only a few months old. He had just been a squirming bundle with no defining features back then. 

Now that he was older, the child looked a lot like Dragon, minus the silver eyes and freckles.

Hm, I wonder who he got those from? Akainu thought, Neither of us have those .

When the toddler noticed the man looking at him, he immediately glared at Akainu before turning away and tucking his face into Dragon’s neck, holding onto a piece of his dad’s hair for comfort.

Dragon glared at Akainu as well and wrapped Ace in his coat in order to hide him. Kuzan noticed his brother and nephew’s reactions out of the corner of his eye. So he stepped in between them and Akainu, blocking the latter’s view of them.

“Ah yes, that’s my grandson Ace. He doesn’t like very many people.” Garp told Akainu, “Anyways, you listen to me. Got it?”

“Yes sir.” Akainu quietly agreed, making everyone even more nervous.

Akainu was never one to agree to something so easily, especially when it was a subordinate telling him what to do. Everyone that worked under him was constantly living in fear of Akainu exploding. 

Sometimes metaphorically and sometimes literally due to having the Magma-Magma Fruit.

Maybe he’s just being polite because he respects Garp , Henry wondered, He certainly doesn’t respect me, I’ve been his second in command for years and he still calls me a cadet .

Akainu didn’t respect Garp, he hated that he had to answer to someone lower ranked than him, but he knew he was on thin ice already with Sengoku. Not to mention his own plans were at stake if he slipped up.

“If I’m not around, you listen to Dragon and Kuzan.” Garp continued, “Understand?”

“Yes sir.” Akainu said, feeling his temperature rise.

“You're not going to throw a hissy fit or question me?” Garp asked.

“No sir.” Akainu told him, still standing firm.

Garp squinted his eyes and turned his head sideways. He looked at Akainu for a moment before shaking his head.

“No that won’t do, I need to hear you say it.” Garp stated.

Akainu quickly pushed the feeling of murderous rage down and took a deep breath.

“I will listen to you and your sons. I will not throw a hissy fit. Nor will I step out of line.” Akainu stated.

“Good, good.” Garp said, then he clapped his hands and turned to everyone else, “Now let's go investigate. First stop is anywhere that sells food.”

“Dad, we just had lunch.” Dragon sighed.

“Food?” Ace asked, perking up.

“That’s right Ace! We’re getting food!” Garp told him, completely ignoring his son.

“Yay!” Ace cheered, popping out of Dragon’s coat.

Garp then turned and walked into town.

Dragon and Kuzan gave each other a withering glance, then turned to follow him.

Akainu watched them walk away, trying to calm himself down.

“Uh, sir? Your hand is smoking.” Henry nervously told him, pointing to his left hand.

Akainu opened his clenched fist to see that he had started to burn a hole in the palm of his glove.

“Shut up Henry.” He quietly said, before he took off both of his gloves and tossed them into the water. 

Then he started to follow the Monkey D family.

Henry just sighed and motioned for the cadets to come with him.

I wish I was dead right now , Henry thought, Or transferred, Impel Down would be more peaceful than this.

~~*~~

The group wandered around the little village looking for clues of revolutionary activity. 

Well, everyone except for Garp at least. He was wandering from market stall to market stall with Ace, both of them laughing as they did so. They seemed to be the only ones having any sort of fun.

The rest of the group was trailing behind them, a tense feeling between them.

Kuzan was still acting as a buffer with Akainu on his right and Dragon on his left. He did not like the way Akainu was looking at his brother and nephew. Especially with the way the man was watching his nephew like a hawk hunting a rabbit.

Dragon was also watching Ace while fighting the urge to attack Akainu. He didn’t like that Akainu was so close to his son, let alone looking at him. But Dragon knew that attacking him wouldn’t solve anything.

Just focus on Ace , Dragon thought to himself, Don’t even look at Akainu .

Meanwhile Henry was suffering behind them. He had already sent out the cadets to scout the area, so he was walking alone with just his thoughts as company. He had stayed behind in order to make sure Akainu behaved, but the tension between the others was killing him.

The only reason Henry hadn’t quit his job was because he knew nobody else would last as Akainu’s second in command. Either they’d kill themselves or they’d kill Akainu.

That being said, he wouldn’t mind a break from him.

I wonder how much time I could get off if I “accidentally” shot myself in the foot , Henry wondered, A year away from Akainu would be worth it .

~~*~~

Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, Ivankov was trying to convince Inazuma to come into town with them.

“Oh come on, it’ll be nice to eat something other than rations!” Ivankov whined, “Don’t you want to try the local cuisine?”

“No, it’s already bad enough that we’re stuck here.” Inazuma told them, “We have to keep a low profile.”

“Well now you’re asking the impossible from me.” Ivankov said, crossing their arms, “I can never keep a low profile, unless it’s physical.”

Inazuma just rolled their eyes and sighed.

“Fine. I’ll come.” Inazuma said, “But only to make sure you don’t cause any trouble.”

“Hee-haw! Let's go!” Ivankov yelled, grabbing Inazuma before jumping off the ship onto the dock.

Inazuma just sighed again and got comfortable on Ivankov’s shoulder.

At least I still have my wine , they thought.

~~*~~

Back in the village, the group decided to rest for a bit.

The Monkey D family were sitting under an old oak tree while Henry and Akainu checked in with the cadets.

So far they hadn’t found anything revolutionary related yet, which Dragon was thankful about.

Please just be an unmarked fishing boat , Dragon thought, I don’t want to have to arrest or kill any of my friends .

Dragon was leaning against the tree with his eyes closed, trying not to panic. Ace was in his arms, passed out from his eating binge with Garp. Holding his son helped calm him down a little.

Garp was also asleep, face down in the grass and snoring.

Kuzan was leaning against Dragon’s shoulder, still awake and thinking.

“Hey Dragon?” Kuzan quietly asked.

“Hmm?” Dragon hummed, “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t like the way Akainu was looking at you.” Kuzan whispered, “Or Ace. I think he’s planning something.”

That caught Dragon’s attention. He quickly opened his eyes and looked at his brother.

“What do you mean?” Dragon whispered back, trying to hide the tremble in his voice.

“He’s been staring at you two for the entire day.” Kuzan told him, “Almost punched him, but I stopped myself.”

Dragon snorted at hearing that.

“Better than me, I was ready to kill him.” Dragon let out a little laugh, then he got serious again, “What do you think he might be planning?”

“Definitely something to do with you.” Kuzan said, “Why’d you sleep with him anyway? You must have poor taste.”

“I do not have poor taste!” Dragon exclaimed, offended, “I was simply angry and had a lapse in judgement. I hated myself immediately afterwards, thank you very much.”

“Good, I’d be questioning your sanity next if you didn’t.” Kuzan told him, “But seriously, don’t go anywhere near Akainu alone.”

“I’ll try my best not to.” Dragon promised, wrapping his arm around Kuzan and pulling his brother closer, “And thank you for looking out for us.”

“What are brothers for otherwise?” Kuzan laughed.

They sat quietly under the tree for a moment before they saw Henry and Akainu walking towards them.

At the sight of them, Kuzan quickly kicked Garp awake. Then he got up and started dusting himself off so Garp wouldn’t notice.

“Hm.. Wha? Who hit me?!” Garp yelled, startling awake.

“Akainu and Henry are back.” Dragon told him while carefully standing up so Ace stayed asleep.

Garp groaned and stood up.

“I hope they didn’t find anything so we can leave.” Garp grumbled, “This is starting to get boring!”

Dragon just hummed in agreement, his eyes focused on Ace cradled in his arms. The toddler was curled up like a kitten, softly snoring away. Dragon gently rubbed his son’s cheek and Ace just tucked himself in closer.

Hopefully this mission results in nothing , Dragon thought, I don’t want Ace to see any carnage just yet .

Dragon knew he couldn’t keep Ace hidden away from the world forever, especially with who his biological parents were. It would be like trapping a wild animal in too small of a cage. 

He just wanted Ace to enjoy childhood first.

Then off in the distance, Dragon heard a familiar voice.

“Hee-haw! Would you look at this fabric, Inazuma?” The familiar voice asked, “Look at the pattern!”

“Yes, it is very nice.” A second familiar voice agreed, “But we should be headed back to the ship now.”

Goddammit Ivankov , Dragon thought, Why are you here?!

{It seems like Ace will be seeing carnage sooner rather than later.}

Chapter Text

Needle Island - East Blue

While Dragon was panicking internally, the others were jumping into action.

Akainu and Garp ran into the market with the others trailing behind them. At the corner of a building, Akainu and Garp leaned to look around it to see where the laugh had come from. Next to a stall they saw the two revolutionaries standing there looking at the fabrics. 

Akainu was about to walk forward when Garp yanked him back by his shirt collar.

“Oh no you don’t!” Garp said, “We need a plan first!”

“But they’re right there!” Akainu yelled, “We can kill them quickly if we catch them by surprise!”

This earned him a fist to the head, the force of which made him crumple to the ground.

“There are civilians here, idiot!” Garp yelled back at him, “And I know their lives don’t mean much to you, but they do to me! Also, that’s Ivankov, one of the generals! They could give us more information.”

Akainu didn’t say anything, just rubbed his head while glaring up at Garp. It was true that the lives of the civilians didn’t matter to him, but that was due to him thinking everyone on this island was a criminal for allowing pirates to freely move around. 

In other words, Akainu didn’t quite understand economics. People need to make a living somehow afterall. 

Akainu just really wanted to kill the bedazzled twerp.

Garp looked up to see Dragon at the back of the group with a panicked expression on his face. Well, Garp could tell he was panicking at least. His son was doing a good job of hiding it, but any decent parent knows their child’s tells.

“Henry, you are going to go with Dragon.” Garp said, “You help keep Ace safe, okay?”

“Oh, sur- I mean, yes sir!” Henry exclaimed, a little startled at being addressed, “I’ll do my best!”

“You better.” Garp told him, then he turned to the other two men, “Akainu and Kuzan, you’re coming with me. We’ll tail them until we can get them away from the civilians, okay?”

“Yes sir.” Kuzan lazily said.

“Yes sir.” Akainu grumbled before getting off the ground.

~~*~~

Henry and Dragon silently made their way back to the docks. It was an awkward silence due to neither of the men feeling quite comfortable with the other. For all Dragon knew, Henry could be just like Akainu. So he tried not to look at him and kept his gaze on the harbour in the distance.

Henry on the other hand was slightly intimidated by Dragon. He had heard of Dragon’s many accomplishments and after today, was glad to find he wasn’t as stuck up as some of the cadets thought. Right now though, he could tell Dragon was quite nervous.

Probably because of Akainu , Henry thought.

Henry had heard many of the rumors regarding Dragon and Akainu, especially the ones about Ace.

Many people had speculated that they had been together before Ohara and that Akainu was Ace’s other father. But after… he blew up the civilian ship, Dragon broke up with him and kept Ace away from him. Which the majority of people agreed with because they also thought Akainu was a monster afterwards.

Henry was there himself, and had even cried at the sight of Akainu sinking that ship, as did many others. He had already felt terrible about destroying the island, but the ship being set on fire almost made him quit the marines. For weeks all he had dreamt about was the screams of the civilians as they burned and drowned. He had only stayed because the pay was good.

In the end, whether the rumors were true or not, Dragon had his full support.

But Henry was a nosy bastard like his father before him and wanted to know the truth. Also, shitting on Akainu seemed like a good topic to ease the awkward silence between them.

“Hey Dragon? Can I ask you something?” Henry quietly asked.

“Hm?” Dragon hummed in reply.

“Were you and Akainu together?” Henry asked him, “Before Ohara?”

Dragon froze at the question before letting out a deep sigh.

“No, we were not.” Dragon told him, “Why?”

“He seems to be obsessed with you.” Henry replied, “And the kid.”

Dragon seemed to curl around Ace even more than he was already.

“Ace isn’t his child.” Dragon said quickly in a strained voice, “I only slept with him once out of spite. Then he became delusional after I rejected him and won’t leave us alone.”

“Wow, you must be really good.” Henry jokes, before saying in a more sincere tone, “I’m glad you were never with him and Ace isn’t his son. He doesn’t deserve either of you.”

Dragon looked at Henry with a shocked expression on his face.

“What? Surprised that I hate him too?” Henry asked, trying not to laugh, “Because I do.”

“Why do you stay then?” Dragon questioned him, confused at this revelation.

“The pay is good and I know that if I quit, the next person will either kill themselves or kill Akainu.” Henry stated bluntly, “Hell, I almost killed him at Ohara, but then I realised that he’s not worth going to jail for.”

Hearing all this, Dragon burst out laughing. He was also crying slightly.

“Are you okay?” Henry asked, worried, “I’m sorry if I upset you, I just couldn’t take the silence anymore. I figured bad mouthing Akainu would make you laugh.”

“No, it’s okay. I’ve just been a bit weepy lately from stress.” Dragon sniffled, “And thank you for telling me about Akainu. It makes me feel less insane.”

“Oh, you’re welcome.” Henry said, smiling, “And to be honest it’s nice to talk to someone who doesn’t care about Akainu finding out. All the cadets are absolutely terrified by him. I pretend to be afraid because I know it makes him want to punch me less.”

Dragon snorted at that and patted Henry on the back.

“You should be paid more.” Dragon told him, “You deserve it.”

“Well thank you Dragon!” Henry exclaimed, “That’s high praise coming from you!”

“You’re welcome Henry.” Dragon said, smiling back at him.

Then they both heard a tiny whimper.

Dragon looked down to see Ace squirming around trying to get away from the sunlight shining on his face. So Dragon readjusted him so Ace’s face was in his neck instead. Ace quickly went back to sleep now that he was comfortable

“He sure does sleep a lot.” Henry commented, “I wish my kids did that more.”

“You have kids?” Dragon asked.

“Yeah, two boys.” Henry replied, “They’re a little older than Ace. The older one is clumsy as hell, but a hard worker. The younger is kind of lazy and likes to make fun of his brother a lot, but has a kind heart. My wife, Lavender, and I have been trying to get the older one to be more confident and get the younger one to be more responsible.”

Sounds kind of like Rosinante , Dragon thought.

“That must be tough to manage.” Dragon commented, “I know I’m lucky that Ace has been quite easy compared to some of the horror stories I’ve heard.”

“Well let me tell ya, it doesn’t get any easier, but it’s worth it.” Henry told him with a weary smile, “I don’t want them to grow up, but I also can’t wait to see what they’ll accomplish.”

“I know what you mean.” Dragon said while smiling down at Ace.

The two men continued to talk about their families as they made their way down to the harbour.

But the fear of being found out and his friends being hurt or worse was still lingering in the back of Dragon’s mind.

~~*~~

In the opposite direction, Garp wasn’t having such a fun time. If he wasn’t dragging Kuzan with him, he was reeling in Akainu from pouncing on the revolutionaries. It was honestly a miracle they hadn’t been noticed or lost them yet.

“Kuzan! Stop trying to fall asleep!” Garp yelled before turning to Akainu, “And you! Stop trying to fight them!”

He was dragging Kuzan by holding his wrist like a child and Akainu by the back of his coat collar. Garp had to do this because if they stopped, Kuzan would try to fall asleep somewhere and Akainu would wander off to kill the revolutionaries before they could talk. 

They couldn’t fight them here, there would be way too much property damage and destruction.

Not to mention the risk of civilians getting hit in the crossfire. For such a small island, the market sure was packed. It was way too risky to start a fight with them here. They needed to get the revolutionaries to a secluded location before trying to arrest them.

Up ahead, Garp could see the two revolutionaries quickly duck into an alley for a few moments and then run back out in the direction of the harbour. 

Shit! They’re heading towards Dragon! , Garp thought, We have to catch up!

He quickly readjusted his hold on Kuzan and Akainu before rushing after the revolutionaries.

~~*~~

They had in fact been noticed.

The two revolutionaries were aware of being watched for a long time. It’s hard not to notice when it’s Garp following you. The man could make a dog’s ears bleed with how loud he was sometimes.

And with his tracking skills, he might as well be one himself.

Inazuma and Ivankov were trying to get away, but just couldn’t shake them. Everytime they tried to duck behind a stall, Garp and his colleagues were right behind them.

“I told you this was a bad idea!” Inazuma hissed, “That’s Garp! The goddamn Marine Hero! Not to mention Akainu the Civilian Murder!”

“How was I supposed to know that they were here?!” Ivankov whispered back.

“It’s the East Blue! Everybody knows Garp has some weird claim on it!” Inazuma told them, “Also, I.S. told us not to come here!”

“Look, as long as we can escape them, I.S. won’t find out.” Ivankov calmly said, “If we can get to the outskirts of town, we can disappear into the woods.”

Before Inazuma could say anything, they heard a ringing coming from their coat pocket. The two revolutionaries quickly ducked into a nearby alley and answered the den-den-mushi. Inazuma held it up so Ivankov could answer.

“Hello?” Ivankov asked, “What seems to be the issue?”

“The boat is fully repaired and we’ll be able to set off today!” The ship’s engineer replied, “Where are you guys?”

“Oh, that’s fantastic!” Ivankov exclaimed, “We’re in the village at the moment. We’ll be right there!”

“Nonsense, we’ll come pick you up. We have to grab some things from that warehouse anyways.” The engineer told them, “Meet us at the harbour in an hour.”

Then she hung up.

“She hung up on me!” Ivankov exclaimed, “The nerve!”

“Yes, you can chew her out later, right now we need a plan.” Inazuma said in a deadpan tone, “Right now the sun is setting, by the time the boat gets to the harbour we’ll have some night cover, but not much. We need to figure out how to get rid of those marines.”

“Garp seems to be having trouble with those two other men. We could just make a run for it and find somewhere to hide.” Ivankov suggested.

Inazuma thought about it for a moment, We definitely aren’t strong enough to fight all three of them.

“Good idea.” Inazuman agreed while shoving the den-den-mushi back into their pocket, “Let’s go!”

The two revolutionaries ran out of the alley and in the direction of the harbour with Garp’s group lagging behind them.

{The lagging was due to Kuzan going limp and Akainu struggling to break free from Garp’s grasp, thus slowing Garp down.}

~~*~~

Back down at the docks, Dragon and Henry had found a small beach to sit at. Ace had woken up from his nap and was playing on the edge of the water while they watched him. On the horizon the sun was slowly setting.

“I wonder how the others are doing.” Henry said, “I don’t hear any screaming or explosions so they must have not caught them yet.”

“Yeah, I’m surprised we haven’t heard anything from them.” Dragon added while watching Ace playing with some rocks.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Henry was fidgeting with his cape.

“Are you alright Henry?” Dragon asked.

“Yeah, it’s just that, well… Is it bad that I don’t want the revolutionaries to be caught?” Henry pondered nervously, “I mean, what they are fighting for is good, right? The end of the Celestial Dragon’s corruption?”

Dragon tried to hide the shock he was feeling, but Henry must have already seen it because he was fidgeting some more.

“No, that isn’t bad at all. Wanting the world to be a better place could never be a bad thing.” Dragon quickly reassured him, “I agree with you. I think that what the revolutionaries are doing is what we can't do; proper justice for all.”

“I guess I just hate that we can’t do that.” Henry softly spoke, “We have to arrest people even though they did nothing wrong, but actually tried to help.”

“I know what you mean.” Dragon told him quietly, “You feel hopeless and defeated.”

Henry nodded in agreement with a distant look in his eyes as he watched the water.

Before either of them could say anything else, Ace had decided he was done with the water. He toddled over to Dragon and whined to be picked up.

Dragon picked him up and set him down on his lap, wrapping Ace up in his coat as he did so.

“All done firefly?” Dragon asked.

“Yeah, it’s cold.” Ace told him.

“Yes, it is getting a little chilly isn’t it?” Dragon laughed, then he noticed something in Ace’s hand, “What’s that? What did you find Ace?”

“A rock!” Ace exclaimed, “It looks like Rosi’s eyes!”

The rock was what looked to be a piece of brick, smoothed down by the water over time. And it did indeed have the warm brownish orange colour of Rosinante’s eyes.

“Oh, it does. What are you going to do with it?” Dragon asked.

“I’m gonna give it to Rosi cause it’s pretty like him.” Ace told him.

“You’re right, it is pretty like him.” Dragon said without thinking, “I’m sure he’ll like it.”

Henry, watching this sweet interaction, smirked.

“Well someone likes the babysitter.” Henry laughed, budging Dragon in the shoulder.

“I- I mean-” Dragon sputtered, “It’s not like that! We just-”

“Daddy thinks Rosi is beautiful! They kiss all the time!” Ace exclaimed.

“Ace! I told you not to tell anyone!” Dragon said, embarrassed.

“No you didn’t!” Ace said like Dragon was stupid, “You told me not to tell Gramps or Uncle Kuzan because Gramps will go feral and Uncle Kuzan will make fun of you.”

Henry burst out laughing, making Ace laugh too. Dragon just groaned while putting his hand over his face to try to cover his blush.

“Little traitor.” Dragon said while pinching Ace’s cheek, making the toddler whine.

“Oh relax Dragon, I won’t say anything, but you sure hit the jackpot.” Henry teased him.

Dragon could feel his face burning even more.

“Yeah, I did.” Dragon agreed smiling.

Then, from behind them, a familiar voice called out, “Hey I.S.! I didn’t know you were here! Have you come to help?”

Dragon whipped around to see Ivankov and Inazuma behind them.

God fucking dammit! , Dragon thought.

~~*~~

The two revolutionaries had finally lost the marines. It took a lot of winding through back alleys, hopping fences, and almost getting their capes caught on said fences, but they did it.

They had made it to the harbour. 

Ivankov and Inazuma were creeping up towards the back of the warehouse holding the revolutionary army’s supplies, when Ivankov spotted a familiar face on the little beach behind it.

“Hey! It’s I.S.!” Ivankov exclaimed, “He must have come here to help!”

Before Inazuma could stop them, Ivankov called out to Dragon, making the man jump and look at them with a shocked face.

There was also another man sitting there beside him. A very average and unremarkable man in a marine uniform. He looked just as shocked as Dragon to see them.

“What the hell are you guys doing here?!” Dragon exclaimed.

“The ship needed a bunch of minor repairs after a tough storm we went through, so we stopped here.” Inazuma explained, shrugging, “And Ivankov got bored.”

“Holy shit! You’re the Insurgent Serpent?!” Henry yelled, “Oh my god! That makes so much sense! How the hell has nobody figured this out?!”

“People can be quite stupid.” Ivankov told him, then they turned to Dragon, “Do we have to kill this guy?”

“What?! No! He’s a friend!” Dragon exclaimed while standing up, before realizing he only met Henry today, “Wait, you’re not going to try to arrest us, right?”

“I don’t get paid that well.” Henry laughed, slightly hysterical, “I’ll even help you. What do you want me to do?”

“Hee-haw, I like this man!” Ivankov said, “Let’s keep him.”

“We could do a lot with him.” Inazuma stated, “He is like a blank slate.”

Now it was Henry’s turn to be flustered and he quickly hid behind Dragon.

“Henry already has a wife.” Dragon told them.

“Damn!” They both said.

Before Dragon could question them further, the two revolutionaries noticed Ace in Dragon’s arms.

“Oh! Look at you! Aren’t you adorable!” Ivankov cooed and poked Ace’s nose, “You must be Ace! You look just like your daddy!”

“Is your hair made out of cotton candy?” Ace asked.

“Nope! But thank you!” Ivankov replied, “It’s styled by the greatest hairdresser around, Inazuma!”

Then they gestured to Inazuma beside them with jazz hands. Inazuma did not look impressed.

“Hey, uh, this is fun and all, but shouldn’t we get you guys out of here?” Henry questioned, “You know, before the others get here?”

“Yes, thank you Henry.” Dragon said, “Where’s the ship?”

“Making its way around to the harbour.” Inazuma told him, then nodded to the warehouse, “They need to pick up some things from there.”

“Then let's go in there while we wait.” Dragon suggested.

~~*~~

Meanwhile, Garp was throwing a fit.

Akainu and Kuzan were sitting on a bench while Garp berated them.

“I can’t believe we lost them!” Garp yelled, “If you hadn’t been so lazy and if you didn’t have such murderous tendencies, we would have caught them!”

Kuzan could feel Akainu glaring at him.

“Why are you glaring at me?” Kuzan asked.

“Maybe you should start sleeping at regular hours and then I won’t have a reason to glare at you.” Akainu told him.

“Better than murderous tendencies.” Kuzan huffed, rolling his eyes.

“Would you two quit it! We need to find those revolutionaries!” Garp told them, “Now, last we saw them, they were heading to the harbour and there are three roads to get there. I’m going to lend you some trust and split up. Do not disappoint me, understand?”

They both knew that the last point was directed at Akainu. Mostly.

“Yes sir.” The two men said.

“Good. I’ll take the main road.” Garp said while pointing to the road in the middle, “Kuzan, you take the road to the left and Akainu will take the one on the right. If you find them, do not engage, just keep an eye on him and stay out of sight. Do you understand?”

“Yes sir.” The two men said again.

“Great, let's go.” Garp exclaimed, then he started running down mainstreet.

Akainu huffed and went to the road on the right.

Well this is going to be a disaster , Kuzan thought, before he too got up off the bench.

~~*~~

Finally, I’m away from those idiots , Akainu thought as he stalked down the road, Now I can get my own justice .

The road he was on had a couple of shops with alleyways spilling out onto the street. Up ahead he could see that it curved back around to the harbour with a couple of residential houses. He could also see that there was a beach at the end in between the houses and a warehouse.

It was starting to get dark, but there on the beach, a group of familiar people stood.

It was Dragon talking with the two revolutionaries.

I knew it! , Akainu thought, Dragon is the Insurgent Serpent!

Akainu quickly hid in an alleyway and watched from around the corner.

He watched as the revolutionaries started interacting with Ace.

Get your filthy criminal hands off my child! , Akainu thought.

The group talked for a little while before moving towards the warehouse. As they did he saw Henry come out from behind Dragon.

Akainu was waiting for Henry to shoot Dragon and the revolutionaries, but he didn’t. He went with them.

Henry is one of them! , Akainu realised, That fucking bastard! He’s been spying on me the whole time!

As he was spiraling, an unmarked ship docked next to the warehouse and crates had started to be loaded onto the ship.

I need to work quickly , Akainu thought, I won’t get another chance like this anytime soon .

Slowly, he came out of the alleyway and silently made his way to the warehouse’s entrance.

~~*~~

Inside the warehouse, the revolutionaries on the ship were quite shocked to see Dragon there. Many people had come up to thank him for starting the revolution and helping to fight against the Celestial Dragon’s control.

Dragon had told them there was no need to thank him, but they insisted. So he just took their gratitude with a soft smile.

While the crates were being loaded onto the ship through the docking doors, he was being informed of the maintenance that had been done while they were on Needle Island and went over what improvements could be done.

It took a little longer than a normal briefing would due to Ace constantly asking questions, but the head engineer, Mako, didn’t seem to mind and she gently explained everything to him.

Out of the corner of his eye Dragon could see a flustered Henry being swarmed by Ivankov and Inazuma. It seems they had taken his hat and were trying to style his shoulder length hair.

Maybe we’ll make it out of this okay , Dragon thought, Maybe I was panicking for nothing .

And that is when Akainu decided to barge in through the back door.

He had a look of absolute, murderous rage on his face and his hands were already dripping with magma.

“Monkey D. Dragon! I’m arresting you for treason!” Akainu yelled.

Before he could even think of what he was doing, Dragon shoved Ace into Mako’s arms.

“I know we just met, but take care of Ace for me. I’ll catch up later.” Dragon told her, then he yelled, “Everybody get to the ship!”

“Yes sir! I’ll do my best!” Mako promised, taking Ace and holding him tight. 

“Daddy, don’t leave me!” Ace cried, scared and confused.

“I’ll see you soon Ace!” Dragon yelled, “Be good for Mako!”

Mako ran with the crying toddler and most of the other revolutionaries to the ship.

A small group stayed behind to help Dragon, Henry, Ivankov, and Inazuma to fight off Akainu.

They didn’t stand a chance.

{On October 9th, a warehouse on Needle Island in the East Blue blew up killing an estimated twenty people.

This included Admiral Dragon, Dragon’s son Ace, and a marine named Henry.}

Chapter Text

Mid October - Marineford

The soldier’s graveyard in Marineford looked more like a bank than a place to bury your loved ones. It was a tall church-like building built out of thick stones. The inside had many walls that winded like a maze and were covered with little doors that made them look like filing cabinets. 

The doors were for storing the ashes of soldiers with no home to send the remains to or soldiers who had lived on Marineford. Each door had the soldier’s name, birthday, death date, and how they died. 

In the centre of the building was a large circular room with a high ceiling and rounded skylight. It was the room they used to hold funerals in.

Today, they were holding a ceremony for Dragon, Ace, and Henry. Although Henry would be the only one buried here because Garp had already sent the remains of his son and grandson back to Dadan on Dawn Island to be buried.

There was quite a large crowd gathered, mostly made up of people that worked with Dragon and Henry or were friends with them.

At the front, the family members were seated. On the left side of the aisle was Garp and Kuzan. On the other side, a tall woman with a tan complexion and a short brown bob sat with two young boys. It was Henry’s wife Lavender with their two sons, Thomas and Edmund.

And at the back of the room, Borsalino stood with Akainu next to the entrance doors. 

Borsalino had originally been sitting near the front, but had assigned himself to babysitting duty when he saw Akainu slip in before the doors were locked. 

His presence made the room’s atmosphere tense. Nobody would look at the back of the room or wanted to stay longer than they had to.

Sengoku was the one giving the speech, standing at the podium in between the pictures of the deceased. The picture on the right was a candid shot of Henry having dinner with his family. With the picture on the left being Dragon and Ace playing at the beach this past summer.

Rosinate was sitting beside Kuzan, stiff and unmoving.

He was staring straight ahead at the photo of Dragon and Ace with a glazed over look in his eyes. He was holding the wrist section of the cast on his left arm and had such a tight grip on it that he thought it might shatter. Through the haze, Rosinante could faintly hear his father start the eulogy.

“We are all here to honour Admiral Dragon and his beloved child Ace who were tragically lost in a warehouse fire while on an emergency reconnaissance mission.” Sengoku began, “He was a loving father, son, brother, and friend. He was an amazing strategist and worked hard to make the world a more peaceful place for all. His son Ace was a delightful little boy that had a bright future ahead of him. A moment of silence please.”

Everyone bowed their heads for about a minute before Sengoku continued.

It took everything Rosinante had not to burst into tears over the fact that no one would know of Dragon and him. That their happiness would never be known and was quietly killed.

“There was another honourable man that we lost in the same accident. That person was Captain Henry.” Sengoku spoke, “He was also a wonderful father to his sons Thomas and Edmund as well as a loving and supportive husband to his wife Lavender. To his subordinates, he was a friend they could look up to and depend on when they needed him most. This was the same for myself and other higher ranked individuals as well. A moment of silence for him as well please.”

Another moment of silence passed and Rosinante could feel himself start to break inside.

I want this to be over , Rosinante thought, I just want to go home and fall apart .

But Sengoku still had more to say.

“Both of these tragic losses will be felt for years to come with the missing presences in birthdays, milestones, and holidays in the coming years. The pain will never lessen, but we will grow around it.” Sengoku told them, “Now, does anyone else have anything they want to say?”

Akainu was about to step forward, but Borsalino quickly grabbed hold of him. His fingers were digging into the hidden wound underneath the right shoulder of Akainu’s jacket.

“Don’t you fucking dare.” Borsalino hissed, “You’ve already done enough damage.”

Akainu just glared at him and huffed. He knew that Borsalino was right. Everyone thought that he was the one that caused their deaths. 

And they were somewhat correct.

“Okay, since nobody has anything to say, thank you for coming everyone.” Sengoku said, before stepping down from the podium.

The doors were unlocked and Borsalino quickly pulled Akainu from the room by the back of his shirt collar. 

Everyone followed after saying their condolences to the two grieving families. Soon it was just Henry’s family, the remaining Monkeys, Sengoku, and Rosinante.

Lavender got up from her chair and motioned for her boys to do the same. Then she turned to Sengoku.

“That was a very lovely speech, Fleet Admiral. Thank you for your kind words.” Lavender told him, then she turned to Garp, “And I’m sorry for your loss as well, Vice Admiral. To lose not only your son, but your grandson as well. I can’t imagine what you must be going through.”

“Just Garp is fine Mrs. Kelly and I’m sorry for your loss as well. The pain of losing a spouse is far too familiar to me. If there is anything we can do for you or you need to talk, please let me know.” Garp offered.

“Thank you, Garp. I appreciate your kindness.” Lavender thanked him, before leaving with her sons.

Sengoku and Garp waited for them to leave the room before speaking.

“Come with me to my office.” Sengoku told him.

“Why?” Garp asked, confused about why he would need him.

“I need to make a phone call and you’ll stop me from doing something stupid.” Sengoku replied.

“How would I stop you from doing something stupid.” Garp questioned him further, even more confused.

“If I’m alone I’ll act stupid like you.” Sengoku explained, “But if you’re there; I’ll have to remain being the sane and responsible person.”

Garp wanted to be offended, but he knew Sengoku was right.

~~*~~

Akainu’s Quarters - Marineford

After the funeral, Borsalino dragged Akainu back to his apartment and left him there without a word.

Good riddance , Akainu thought, Glorified night light wouldn’t even let me speak at my own son's funeral .

Akainu took off his boots before he walked into his living room and sat down on the couch. Then he started to carefully take off his shirt, groaning as he did so. Looking to the right, he could see that there was blood seeping through the bandages placed there.

Shit, I’ll have to redress it. Where the hell did I leave the first aid kit?, He pondered.

As he looked around his apartment for it, he didn’t notice the dark shadow coming through the front door. 

This was due to the door not opening at all. 

As the figure walked down the short hallway of Akainu’s apartment, it left behind burnt footprints on the hardwood floor.

Meanwhile Akainu was in the kitchen, having finally found the first aid kit, when he heard it.

The sound of a child laughing.

What the fuck was that , Akainu thought, There shouldn’t be any children here .

“Of course there wouldn’t be any children here.” A voice that sounded like Dragon’s snarked, “Who would let their children around a monster like you?”

Akainu shot up out of the kitchen chair and rushed to the living room. But there was nobody there.

He quickly checked the bathroom and bedroom. There wasn’t anybody in either of those rooms.

I’m imagining things , Akainu thought as he walked back to the living room, I’m just tired .

Then he felt a hot searing pain shoot through his foot.

Akainu let out a hiss as he leaned against the wall and grabbed his foot. It felt like he had stepped on hot coals or something. 

Looking down, he saw the footprints burnt into the wood. They looked like they belonged to marine issued boots.

What the hell? Where did those come from? Akainu pondered, They’re not my size and there is no one here besides me .

“That’s where you’re wrong, sir.” A voice whispered into his left ear, making him jolt from how close it was.

Akainu frantically looked around the room, but there was still no one there.

He felt a chill run up his spine. 

It felt like he was being hunted; a feeling he hadn’t felt since he was a child.

Then he felt a hand grab the back of his neck and slam him down into the floor.

Akainu wheezed as he felt all the air leave his lungs and his vision went blurry.

Through his tears, Akainu could see a shadowy figure standing over him, holding him down by his neck.

As the figure leaned down, Henry’s half burnt face materialised. 

The left side of his had burn scars in the shape of a hand, stretching out to cover from his mouth to his ear. The scars were so deep, you could see the teeth and bone underneath. His left eye was squished into the back of the socket from when Akainu pushed it in, melted down and charred.

“Well, well, well Akainu.” Henry laughed in a low raspy tone, “Who’s the top dog now? Bet you thought you saw the last of me, huh?”

Akainu certainly had not. 

He tried to push himself up, but Henry just tightened his grip on his throat, making him choke.

Then he saw another shadow out of the corner of his eye. It was child sized and running over to another shadow on the couch.

“Oh, you’re seeing them too, aren’t you?” Henry whispered.

When Akainu focused back on Henry, the man’s half charred face was two inches away from his.

“You are so fucking stupid, you know that?” Henry told him with a manic grin on his face, “If you weren’t such a piece of shit, you could’ve had them, but instead you just destroyed everything you claimed to care about.”

Akainu wanted to tell him to fuck off, but he couldn’t breathe enough.

“You know, when we first met, I thought you were one of the greatest soldiers we had. A man that truly upheld justice to the highest standard.” Henry started with a flourish of his burnt arm, “But over the past couple of years, I’ve realised that you are just a sad, lonely man that has no empathy for anyone.”

Henry yanked Akainu up by his neck and dragged him to the bedroom, throwing him onto the bed. Then he turned around and walked to the door.

“Don’t worry about any of that though. Just like in life, I’ll still be here to take care of you.” Henry smiled as he leaned against the door frame, “Except this time, you’ll be the one who’s miserable.”

He then flicked off the light switch and Akainu passed out.

~~*~~

Sengoku’s Office - Marineford

After the funeral, Sengoku had decided to call the five elders regarding Akainu’s actions, hoping to get him fired.

But it was not going well.

In their eyes, the mission was a success. 

Who cares if there was a loss of life on the marines side? The revolutionaries had lost so much more. 

Who cares if a child died? You could always make another.

“You don’t understand, if he continues, there could be greater losses in the future.” Sengoku tried to reason.

“Then train him better.” One of the elders told him, “Put a collar on him if he’s so difficult. It works on my wives.”

Sengoku cringed at that. Even for a bastard like Akainu, he didn’t deserve that. No one did.

“It isn’t a matter of training him, the man is simply unstable.” Sengoku explained, “He just causes death and destruction wherever he goes.”

“That just sounds like an effective soldier to me.” Another elder stated, “Send him to one of those countries infested with pirates to clean out the rats.”

Sengoku just sighed and put his head in his hands.

“Look, if you don’t want this job, we can easily find someone else.” The lead elder stated, “We could even give it to Akainu seeing as he is doing such a great job.”

“No, that won’t be necessary.” Sengoku said emotionlessly.

“Glad to see you’ve come to your senses.” The lead elder said before hanging up.

After he heard the click of the den-den-mushi hanging up, Sengoku stood up and threw an empty, haki infused coffee cup at the wall. Not only did it shatter, but it left behind a hole too. 

Thankfully, it was the wall connected to his private bathroom.

“Wow Senny, that was a great throw!” Garp laughed, “It went right through!”

“How can you be so calm at a time like this?!” Sengoku yelled, “We have a mad man in our midst!”

“Relax, we will be fine.” Garp told him, “We’ll just keep doing what we’ve been doing; keeping a close eye on him. Like you told me, we can always kill him and make it look like an accident.”

“Yeah, and what happened to that plan exactly?” Sengoku asked, glaring at him, “You had the chance to kill him on Needle Island, but you didn’t!”

Garp’s face turned sour.

“I was more concerned with the way he was watching my son and grandson.” Garp grumbled, “Not that it did any good.”

Sengoku softened at that.

“I’m sorry, Garp.” Sengoku sighed as he sat back down, “Do you think we should tell him now?”

“No time like the present.” Garp huffed before standing up.

~~*~~

Outside of Sengoku’s office, Rosinante was sitting with Kuzan on some chairs. Rosinante was staring at the wall while the other man was fast asleep.

How can he sleep at a time like this? Rosinante pondered as he side-eyed Kuzan, His brother and nephew were probably just brutally murdered by a man walking free. How can he be so calm when it feels like I’m falling apart?

If Rosinante was thinking clearly and was at least somewhat emotionally stable, he would remind himself that everyone grieves differently. That maybe the loss hadn’t hit him yet.

But all he could feel right now was a deep resentment for Akainu. As well as a deep sadness for Dragon and Ace.

Poor Ace, he must have been so scared , Rosinante thought while sniffling, At least they are both away from him now and somewhere better. But now I’ll never be able to see them again.

Rosinante could feel some tears about to spill over and quickly wiped them away. Then he looked at his broken arm.

Why am I even here? Rosinante thought, I can’t help, I can’t do anything right. I was supposed to go with him and then I slipped. It’s my fault. If I was there, maybe they’d still be alive.

Before he could spiral any further, Garp opened the door.

“You two, get in here.” Garp ordered, before grabbing Kuzan and pulling the startled man into the room.

Rosinante just sighed and got up, walking in behind them. Once he was in, Garp locked the door and motioned towards the seating area where his father was sitting with a now awake Kuzan.

Rosinante sat down on one of the chairs across from his father on the couch. 

“Thank you for coming Rosinante, I know this is a lot, but we have something we need to tell you.” Sengoku said, “You see, Dragon is-”

“Dragon and Ace are still alive.” Garp cut in, “They won't be coming back though.”

Rosinante snapped to attention at that, looking at Garp with a shocked expression.

“What the hell do you mean they’re still alive?!” Rosinante shouted, absolutely bewildered.

“Garp! I told you we were going to break it gently to him!” Sengoku yelled.

“Well you were taking too long.” Garp mumbled through the crackers he was eating, “And I was gentle, I didn’t yell at all like you’re doing.”

Sengoku made a choking motion at Garp when he wasn’t looking before sighing and turning to Rosinante.

“I wanted to be gentle about it, but Garp is telling the truth. Dragon and Ace are still alive.” Sengoku told him, “And they can’t come back.”

“What? Why not?!” Rosinante asked hysterically, “Why can’t they come back? Is it because of Akainu? Fire him!”

“I tried to fire Akainu, I have been trying for years, but the five elders won’t let me. They think that the mission was a success and the loss of life means nothing to them.” Sengoku explained.

“Well of course not!” Rosinante laughed, “Nothing means anything to them unless it’s in their favour! But what does that have anything to do with Dragon and Ace?!”

“Well, the circumstances are very unusual.” Sengoku calmly stated, “It is important for their survival to fake their deaths because-”

“Dragon is the Insurgent Serpent.” Garp interrupted, “He’s the one leading the Revolutionary Army.”

“Goddammit Garp! Stop interrupting me!” Sengoku yelled at him again.

“What?!” Rosinante asked, shocked and refusing to believe it, “That can’t possibly be true!”

But when Rosinante thought back on their conversations it made a lot of sense…

“I joined the marines in order to make the world a better place, but… with the things that happened in the past couple of years… I don’t really know anymore.”

“Yeah, orders come from the Celestial Dragons. It makes me sick to my stomach to see all the disgusting things they do and have to pretend everything is okay.”

“Perhaps a younger generation that wants to break the cycle. Things wouldn’t heal instantly, and we probably won’t see a united world in our lifetime, but it would be a start in the right direction.”

Rosinante felt both rage and confusion well up inside him, but grief took over both of those feelings.

“Oh god, it is true.” Rosinante whispered with a hand over his mouth, “He really is the Insurgent Serpent.”

“Yeah, he told me he wanted to make a difference in the world.” Garp said, “And said that it just wasn’t possible to do while being a marine. Now both of their heads are on the chopping block”.

“Excuse me for a moment.” Rosinante softly said as he started to feel himself hyperventilate.

He quickly got up and ran to the bathroom, locking the door behind him.

“Why is he so upset? We told him they’re alive.” Garp asked.

“You’re an idiot! Rosinante is an empathetic person. That’s why I told you we needed to do it gently!” Sengoku hissed at him.

“Well maybe your kid needs to toughen up.” Garp huffed, crossing his arms.

Sengoku looked at him for a moment before lunging at him and trying to choke him for real this time.

“Hah! Jokes on you, but I like this!” Garp choked out which Sengoku made a disgusted face at.

Kuzan watched them struggle on the floor for a moment before rolling his eyes and freezing the both of them. Then he got up to check on Rosinante.

“Hey, can we talk?” Kuzan asked while softly knocking on the door.

He heard the door unlock and opened it to find Rosinante sitting beside it against the wall crying into his hands.

“Look, I know you’re upset, but I want you to know that my brother really does love you.” Kuzan said, sitting on the ground beside him, “He wanted to tell you about the Revolutionary Army, but… shit happens I guess.”

“You knew about us?” Rosinante asked, looking at him shocked, “He told you?”

“No, he didn’t, well not until after the mission. But I had an idea before that, I just thought he looked happier since he met you.” Kuzan told him, “And he wouldn’t have been that happy doing just ‘paperwork’ as he so claimed.”

Rosinante let out a little wet laugh at the air quotes when Kuzan said paperwork.

“Yeah, I noticed that too.” Rosinante quietly said.

They both sat there quietly for a moment before Rosinante spoke up.

“What exactly happened on Needle Island?” He asked Kuzan, “Tell me everything, don’t leave anything out.”

Kuzan let out a deep sigh, before beginning the story.

“Well I wasn’t there until after the fact.” Kuzan said, “But this is what they told me.”

Chapter Text

Flashback to Early October - Needle Island - East Blue

As Dragon and Henry were talking with the revolutionaries and waiting for the ship to be loaded with cargo, Akainu burst in through the back door.

He had a look of absolute, murderous rage on his face and his hands were dripping with magma.

“Monkey D. Dragon! I’m arresting you for treason!” Akainu yelled.

Before he could even think of what he was doing, Dragon shoved Ace into Mako’s arms.

“I know we just met, but take care of Ace for me. I’ll catch up later.” Dragon told her, then he yelled, “Everybody get to the ship!”

“Yes sir! I’ll do my best!” Mako promised, taking Ace and holding him tight. 

“Daddy, don’t leave me!” Ace cried, scared and confused.

“I’ll see you soon Ace!” Dragon yelled, “Be good for Mako!”

Mako ran with the crying toddler and most of the other revolutionaries to the ship.

A small group stayed behind to help Dragon, Henry, Ivankov, and Inazuma to fight off Akainu.

“So you’re trying to make our son into a criminal now, are you?” Akainu asked Dragon with a glare.

Dragon just rolled his eyes at him.

“For the last time, Ace is not your son!” Dragon yelled, “He doesn’t even look anything like you!”

“Yes he does!” Akainu yelled back at him, “He has my hair!”

“No he doesn’t!” Dragon yelled again, throwing his hands up, “God, you are so delusional! This is why I never dated you in the first place! You are such an asshole!”

“Well it’s better than being a whore!” Akainu sneered.

The whole room went silent at that. It was so quiet that a pin dropping would have sounded like a bomb.

The revolutionaries didn’t know where to look.

Everyone was just very uncomfortable as Akainu and Dragon stared at each other with rage painted across both of their faces.

“This is like watching my parents divorce all over again.” Inazuma whispered to Ivankov.

“They do have that divorced energy.” Ivankov commented while nodding and making a circular motion at them, “They definitely fucked at least once.”

Finally, after far too long of a silence, Dragon spoke.

“Well being a whore is better than murdering innocent people.” Dragon said through gritted teeth.

“This again? Nobody in Ohara was innocent. They were going against the world government, just like you are.” Akainu told him, “And you will die just like them!”

Akainu went to punch Dragon, but Henry stepped in the way. 

Using his bayonet, Henry stabbed Akainu through his right shoulder as Dragon dodged the punch.

Akainu yelled in pain, clutching his wound. Then he looked up at Henry who was standing protectively in front of Dragon and the revolutionaries, who had their guns pointed at him.

“I knew you were pathetic Henry, but I never thought you’d side with criminals.” Akainu hissed, “But fine, I’ll just kill you too.”

Akainu could see that some of the younger looking revolutionaries were shaking as they pointed their rifles at him. 

Looks like they’re either not used to combat or they know bullets won’t work , Akainu noted, Perfect .

Acting fast, he grabbed Henry’s rifle and snapped it in half by melting it.

Then he put Henry in a headlock using his right arm. 

It hurt like hell, but he couldn’t afford to show weakness.

“Henry! Let him go!” Dragon yelled, “Your fight is with me Akainu! Don’t be a coward!”

“If you don’t give up, I’ll kill him.” Akainu calmly told them as he choked the man with his bicep, “Surrender now and I’ll just arrest you.”

“Like hell we will!” Ivankov yelled, “There is no way we’ll surrender! Right Dragon?”

When there was no response, everybody looked at Dragon to see he was staring at the floor with a troubled expression on his face.

This is my fault , Dragon thought, If I hadn’t been so careless or put off leaving the marines, none of this would be happening right now. There is no way we can physically hurt him. If I give myself up, maybe the others can make a break for it.

“If I give myself up, you won’t arrest the others?”Dragon quietly asked.

“Dragon! Don’t just give up!” Ivankov yelled, “We can fight him!”

“No, we can’t Iva.” Dragon said, “I can’t let you guys get captured or killed for my mistakes.” 

“But it’s not your fault! It’s ours for not listening!” Inazuma tried to reason with him.

Before they could argue further, Akainu interrupted them.

“I promise.” Akainu told him, “As long as you surrender and come with me, I won’t hurt anybody.”

And maybe I can finally convince you to love me as much as I love you , Akainu thought.

Henry felt Akainu relieve some of the pressure on his throat and took his chance.

“Don’t listen to him, Dragon! You know as well as anyone that his words mean nothing!” Henry choked out, “He says he stands for justice and yet he is just a cruel puppet!”

“Shut up!” Akainu yelled, “What would you know anyways? You’re a coward Henry and that’s all you’ll ever be.”

“Yes, I am, but you are so much worse! You just go along with what you’re told, no matter how bad it is! You’ll kill innocents based on charges you know are false! You think that the Celestial Dragons are always right! You’re just their lap dog!” Henry cried, “And I’m so sick of it! I should’ve killed you when I had the chance to at Ohara! You don’t deserve Dragon or Ace!”

Akainu saw red.

Without thinking he put his right hand over the left side of Henry’s face and activated his devil fruit.

The revolutionaries could only watch in horror as Henry screamed in pain, the left side of his face starting to melt away. 

Henry tried to get away, but Akainu had an iron grip on him and dug his thumb into the smaller man’s eye socket. He could feel his eye melting away and also felt magma dripping into his left ear, making Henry feel like his brain was on fire as well.

“Akainu stop!” Dragon yelled, “Let go of him! Just take me!”

“No, I’ve lost my patience.” Akainu sneered, “You’ll all die here.”

Everybody tensed as Akainu raised his fist to attack, but the sound of tiny footsteps interrupted them. 

Turning around, they were shocked to see Ace.

“Daddy!” Ace cried, running towards his father.

“Ace?! What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be with Mako!” Dragon yelled, picking up the toddler.

“I bit her and ran away!” Ace replied just as fiercely, “I want to help you fight the melty man!”

“I appreciate the bravery Ace, but it’s not safe for you!” Dragon told him, wrapping him up in his coat, “You needed to go with Mako!”

“No! I want to help you!” Ace pouted.

Akainu watched as the two interacted, jealousy starting to build up inside him.

I want that , Akainu thought, Why can’t I have that?

Henry, whom Akainu was still holding, saw the odd pensive look on his face through his tears.

Almost as if he could read his mind, Henry whispered, “You can’t have them because you don’t know how to love unconditionally.”

Akainu glared down at him before throwing him violently onto the ground.

Everyone was in shock as they watched Henry hit the ground with a sickening crunch.

“How about this? Hand over Ace and I’ll let you go.” Akainu offered.

Dragon had always been a gentle person at heart or “too soft” as Garp would say. That’s why he would tell the revolutionaries to just sink ships or sabotage plans. He didn’t want to enter a new era of peace with bloodshed. 

But Akainu was really pushing him to his limit.

Henry is right , Dragon thought as he looked at his lifeless form, Akainu would never stay true to what he says. Why did I ever think otherwise?

Because you want to believe that nobody can be truly evil , a voice that sounded like a younger Dragon said, That even a man like Akainu has some kindness in him.

There is no such thing as a peaceful war , Garp had told him, People will die eventually.

I guess a war without casualties really is just a child’s dream , Dragon thought.

“No.” Dragon firmly told him, “I will not.”

“Excuse me?” Akainu asked, angry that Dragon wasn’t giving in, “You’re going to sacrifice him?”

“No, we’re going to kill you.” Dragon calmly said, then he yelled, “Fire!”

Before anything more can be said, the revolutionaries started shooting at Akainu.

Despite being outnumbered, Akainu was quickly cutting through them to get to Dragon.

The bullets did not do much damage as Akainu just activated his devil fruit and melted down the bullets.

Inazuma tried trapping him with cut up pieces of the warehouse floor, but he just kept melting through them.

Ivankov tried to use their death wink to block some of the attacks, but they were only mildly effective.

One by one the revolutionaries were being cut down.

Soon it was just Ivankov, Inazuma, Dragon, and Ace.

Inazuma quickly put up a thick shield made out of what was left of the floor and Akainu started throwing magma punches at it, slowly getting through it.

As this was all happening, nobody noticed the melting remains of Henry’s gun set some oil that had been spilled while loading the ship on fire.

And the fire slowly trailed to the leftover gunpowder barrels.

In a matter of seconds the barrels were sparking and then blew up.

Akainu was flung backwards towards the town while the others were thrown into the ocean through the open docking doors.

~~*~~

While Dragon was fighting for his life, Garp was wandering around town looking for the revolutionaries.

He had been looking everywhere for them on main street, but had found nothing to be suspicious.

I hope Akainu hasn’t found them, they’re no good to us dead, Garp thought, And where the hell are my boys?!

He would never admit it, but Garp was starting to get worried.

Suddenly, an explosion sounded off from the right of him.

Garp looked over just in time to see three familiar figures get flung out of a burning warehouse into the ocean.

He recognised them by their very unique hairstyles.

Holy shit! That’s my stupid kid and his stupid friends , Garp realised.

Then he remembered that two of them can’t swim and immediately jumped into the water. He swam out to where Dragon and Ace had popped up above the surface.

Dragon was quite surprised to see his father coming towards him.

“Dad? What are you doing here?” Dragon asked, shocked at seeing his father swimming towards him.

“Saving you and your stupid friends.” Garp told him.

“What? What do you mean?! They’re not my friends! They’re revolutionaries!” Dragon tried to lie as he panicked.

“Dragon, I didn’t give birth to you for thirty hours just so you could lie to me. I’ve known for a long time, a parent always knows when their child is lying to them after all.” Garp told him with a deadpan stare, “Now get your stupid ass to shore before you both get sick.”

With that he dived underwater to go rescue Ivankov and Inazuma. Thankfully, they were quite easy to find due to the aforementioned hairstyles standing out from the darkness of the water.

How the hell did they become spies with such stupid hair?! Garp thought as he grabbed them.

When he surfaced, he saw Dragon on the docks trying to comfort a crying Ace. 

Slowly, with a revolutionary in each arm, he paddled to shore. When he got there, he tossed both of them onto the dock. The two revolutionaries started to cough up water, but were still slightly dazed and confused.

“Okay, now tell me what the hell happened, Insurgent Serpent.” Garp told Dragon, “Leave nothing out.”

Dragon felt like a little kid again getting caught doing something he shouldn’t. 

Fidgeting under his father’s harsh glare, Dragon told him everything.

About when he started the Freedom Fighters, how it evolved into the Revolutionary Army, and about what happened in the warehouse.

“Henry is really dead?” Garp asked in disbelief, “Damn, he was a good man.”

“Yeah, he was.” Dragon agreed, “I don’t think we would’ve made it if he hadn’t stabbed Akainu.”

“Oh? Akainu’s dead? Great! Mission accomplished!” Garp exclaimed.

Dragon looked at him confused.

“As far as I know Akainu is not dead and what do you mean? I thought we were searching for, well, them.” Dragon said as he gestured to the two revolutionaries still lying on the dock.

“Oh we were, but Sengoku also wanted us to kill Akainu.” Garp explained.

“What? Why?” Dragon asked, “If he wants him gone, can’t he just fire him?”

“If punishing Akainu was possible, then he’d be in jail for killing the Ohara refugees.” Garp stated, “But since the five elders like him, he gets to keep his job and freedom. Even killing you won’t get him punished.”

“Killing me? What do you mean?” Dragon questioned his father further.

“You and Ace are safer dead than alive.” Garp bluntly told him, “Akainu knows you’re the Insurgent Serpent now, right? You really think he’ll keep quiet about that? With the five elders backing him?”

Oh god… he’s right, Dragon realised, Just like Akainu said, they’ll kill me for treason.

He looked down at Ace who was clutching his legs and realised another horrific thing.

I am so selfish, Ace will be condemned to death for a second time because of me. I’ve failed Roger and Rouge.

Dragon started to cry at the thought and scooped Ace into his arms.

“I’m sorry Ace.” Dragon cried.

“Why?” Ace asked confused, “You didn’t burn the building, melty man did.”

Before Dragon could say anything, Garp stepped in.

“Don’t mind him Ace, your dad is just a crybaby.” Garp laughed, “He’s worried about nothing.”

“Dad! This is serious! He’ll destroy us!” Dragon shouted.

“No he won’t. Like I said, you're safer dead. So we’ll just fake your deaths and you can continue on as the Insurgent Serpent.” Garp told him.

“You really think that’ll work?” Dragon asked.

“Who would ever question a grieving father?” Garp questioned him back, “And if anybody finds out you’re alive, I can just say I didn’t know.”

It’s not a bad idea, Dragon thought, Way better than just running away.

“Okay.” Dragon agreed, then he asked, “You’re not mad?”

Garp let out a deep sigh.

“I’ll admit I was disappointed, but due to what has been happening the past couple of years, I can’t blame you.” Garp told him, sitting down on a box, “At this point, I’m just angry at myself for not being strong enough to make the world better.”

“Dad… It’s not your fault.” Dragon tried to reassure him, sitting down beside him with Ace in his lap.

Garp just grunted in response.

They sat there in silence for a moment before Garp spoke again.

“I’m sorry about your other friends in the warehouse.” Garp told him, “I’m sure they were great people.”

“Thanks.” Dragon quietly said.

Another moment of silence passed with Ace slowly falling asleep.

“Were you ever going to leave the marines?” Garp asked, “Or were you going to spy on us forever?”

“I was going to leave, but then you gave me Ace. So my plans changed to me leaving after this Christmas.” Dragon explained, “That way Ace could have one last birthday with all of us together.”

“What?! Who says we can’t still do that?” Garp yelled, “There’s no law against families spending time together!”

“I’m a criminal dad! If anyone found out we’d all be killed!” Dragon yelled back at him.

“Then don’t get caught!” Garp told him as if it was obvious, “Now let’s go hide you on my ship and get you to the revolutionaries.”

“What?! Someone will notice!” Dragon exclaimed.

“Well, you won’t really be hiding. It’ll be like normal. I trust everyone on my ship, they’re loyal to me, not the government.” Garp explained.

“Do you trust them that much? They won’t tattle on you to Sengoku?” Dragon asked, “He won’t come after us? He won’t hunt us down? Like they did with Rouge and Ace?”

“Boy, these are the same people that helped me smuggle people out of the South Blue. They won’t tell anyone.” Garp stated, “Which Sengoku knows about by the way. I’ll also be telling him about you when I get back. Sengoku never wanted to hunt for them, that was the government’s idea. And if everyone thinks you’re dead, there's no reason to investigate further.”

“Do you really trust Sengoku and your crew that much?” Dragon asked, not fully convinced.

“Of course I do. I don’t tolerate disrespect or suck ups. Why else do you think I got Bogard after Richard disappeared under mysterious circumstances?” Garp asked, “Bogard is loyal to a fault, but isn’t afraid to call me stupid.”

Dragon had to take a moment to process what Garp just told him, especially when he made air quotes when saying mysterious circumstances.

“Dad, did you kill Sir Richard?” Dragon carefully questioned him, astonished that his dad would kill one of his own men, “Didn't he die of a heart attack?!”

“Well he was a dick, both figuratively and literally. He took great joy in terrorizing the people in the South Blue and went against my orders far too many times, but we couldn’t get rid of him due to his father funding us.” Garp explained, “So we poisoned him with something that would disappear from his system before they could test him and tossed his body in the cooler.”

Holy shit, my dad killed a marine! Dragon thought, A corrupt one, but still surprising!

Then they both heard coughing and looked down to see Ivankov and Inazuma waking up.

“What the hell happened?” Ivankov asked.

“You were launched out of a burning building and almost drowned.” Garp bluntly told them.

“Garp?! What are you doing here?!” Ivankov exclaimed, “Oh no, we really are going to jail aren’t we?!”

“Relax Iva, this is my dad. He’s going to take us to the revolutionaries.” Dragon told them.

“Won’t the marines come after us though?” Inazuma asked.

“No, dad is going to fake our deaths.” Dragon explained.

“What?!” Ivankov and Inazuma exclaimed.

“Look, I’ll explain everything once we’re on the boat and dried off.” Dragon sighed, “Now come on before Akainu or his soldiers show up.”

So Garp led them to his ship where he explained what was happening to a confused, but willing Bogard.

Kuzan was also there as he gave up searching a long time ago.

After the plan was put into place, Garp took a couple of his soldiers to go look for Akainu and sent a messenger to Akainu’s ship.

Then ended up finding Akainu awake, but dazed with his clothes slightly charred in the rubble of the warehouse.

When he saw Garp, Akainu asked him, “What the hell happened old man?”

“You went against my orders is what happened you damned fool!” Garp barked as he picked Akainu up by his shirt collar, “Not only have the revolutionaries gotten away, you also killed my son and grandson! You even killed your own second in command!” 

“What?” Akainu asked, still dazed and confused, “They’re dead?”

Christ, this man is infuriating , Garp thought.

“Of course they are! You made an entire building explode!” Garp growled before turning to a cadet, “Put the handcuffs on him and bring him to his ship!”

The soldiers came forward and put seastone cuffs on Akainu before hauling him away.

Once he was out of hearing range, Garp turned to the others.

“Start digging out the bodies.” Garp told them, pulling out a list of names and descriptions Dragon had given him, “We’ll be making arrangements for them to be buried here. Except for Henry; get some firewood for him.”

~~*~~

Present Time - Mid October - Marineford

“So yeah, that’s what happened.” Kuzan said, “And the jackass walks free because all the witnesses are dead criminals.”

Rosinante didn’t know what to say, he was absolutely stunned that Akainu could get away with murder.

Don’t be surprised, he’s done it before, Rosinante’s subconscious told him, Don’t expect anything good from someone the Celestial Dragon’s favour.

“So they’re really not coming back, huh?” Rosinante asked.

“No, it’s not safe.” Kuzan confirmed.

A moment of silence passed as Rosinante tried to accept the reality of the situation.

“Why didn’t he tell anyone?” Rosinante asked, “Why didn’t he ask us for help?”

“Well, rather unfortunately, he takes after our dad when it comes to dealing with difficult emotions. We all do.” Kuzan told him, “When we were kids Dragon would stay in the woods at Grandpa Wrench’s treehouse for a couple days. Eventually he took up journaling, but he stopped when he found out dad was reading them. He thinks he has to deal with his issues by himself without any help.”

“He’d just run away? And Garp was fine with that?!” Rosinante asked in disbelief, “He didn’t care?”

“No, he did, just doesn't know how to articulate it properly. It also doesn’t help that dad keeps things to himself unless he thinks it’s important, most of the time he just assumes we know things.” Kuzan explained, “I remember Dragon ran away from home at thirteen because he thought dad wouldn’t accept him. He was missing for months. He only came back when dad was finally able to track him down and they got into a big fight. That was when we found out that dad is trans too.”

“Wait, Garp is trans? Then who is Dragon’s other parent?” Rosinante asked him.

“No idea. Probably why he has these issues in the first place.” Kuzan shrugged, “And I’m not saying you should forgive him or wait for him or anything, that’s completely up to you. In fact, I’d be fucking pissed if I were you. Just know that he’ll come back. He always does after he gets his head out of his ass.”

Another moment of silence passed before Rosinante whispered, “Do you really think he’ll come back?”

“Well thankfully dad wasn’t stupid about it this time and made it clear Dragon could still ask us for help, he does have dad’s number.” Kuzan told him, “Either something important will happen or he’ll reach his breaking point.”

Well that doesn’t sound hopeful at all, Rosinante thought, It actually made me more depressed.

“Oh, I almost forgot. He told me to give you this.” Kuzan said as he pulled a letter out of his coat pocket, “Hide it from Garp or he’ll go berserk.’

 Then Kuzan walked out of the bathroom to slowly unthaw Sengoku and Garp.

Looking at the letter, it was quite messy due to having been written in a hurry and then stuffed inside Kuzan’s pocket for a couple days. But Rosinante could still make out the message.

It read:

Dear Rosi,

Kuzan has probably already told you about the mess that happened on Needle Island.

I’m so sorry for all this, I never wanted to hurt you. I was indeed planning on leaving this Christmas, but then I met you and forgot about my plans. You just made everything brighter and happier.

I don’t deserve you. Not your kindness or your love.

For your own safety, please just forget about me. I would never be able to forgive myself if you died because of my mistakes.

Love, From,

Dragon

Dragon you idiot , Rosinante thought as he cried, I’ll never be able to forget you.

~~*~~

Ivankov’s Ship - Entering the Grandline

Currently, Dragon was in the quarters he was given on Ivankov’s ship, just as devastated as Rosinante was in Marineford.

He had just gotten back from the memorial service they had held for their comrades that died on Needle Island and were now heading towards Momoiro Island.

Dragon could feel the guilt eating away at him as he read over some reports. He felt like he was going to vomit with how upset he was, so he tried his best to focus on reading the papers in front of him.

Behind him, Ace was playing with some of his toys they had brought from Marineford for their trip to Dawn Island.

Ace had been very upset when Dragon had explained to him that they wouldn't be going back to Marineford to see Rosinante.

The toddler had also been quite overwhelmed with everything that had happened. They had both needed a good cry.

“Daddy?” Ace asked.

“Yes Ace?” Dragon replied, turning around in his chair, “What’s wrong? Do you need something?”

“I’m bored.” Ace pouted.

“I know firefly.”  Dragon sighed, “I’ll be done soon. Then we can do something together, okay?”

“Fine.” Ace huffed.

Dragon went back to his paperwork, but only for a moment as Ace spoke up again.

“I miss Rosi.” Ace whispered.

Dragon sighed again and turned around to pick Ace up.

“I know, I do too firefly.” Dragon said as he rubbed Ace’s back, “Maybe we’ll see him again someday!”

Ace just burrowed himself into Dragon’s shoulder.

“Daddy?” Ace quietly asked.

“Yes Ace?” Dragon replied.

“Can I have a brother?” Ace asked. 

“Yes, I’ll get you one after– Wait what?!” Dragon exclaimed.

“A brother!” Ace “Like you and Uncle Kuzan! Or a sister like Auntie Dadn!”

“Ah, well… Maybe in the future, but not right now.” Dragon told him, “Why do you want a sibling?”

“I want somebody my age to play with.” Ace said, “It’s boring here.”

Dragon felt himself break a little inside and was going to reply, but then he felt his stomach violently twist.

“Excuse me for a moment Ace.” Dragon hurriedly said as set down Ace, “I just need to use the bathroom.”

He then ran to the bathroom connected to their room and vomited into the toilet.

God this guilt is really killing me, Dragon thought as he panted.

“Ew.” Ace said with a disgusted face as he stood in the doorway, “That’s gross.”

Before Dragon could say anything further, he heaved and vomited into the toilet again.

Chapter Text

{Like Kuzan said, it did indeed take Dragon a long time to pull his head out of his ass.

Almost seven months in fact.

In that time he had not seen or spoken to his family or Rosinante.

There had been moments where Dragon was tempted to call his father, especially around Christmas and Ace’s birthday. 

But between the feelings of guilt and shame along with the stress of having a child in the Revolutionary Army, he just never did.

“There’s no law against families spending time together!” Garp had said on Needle Island, but there sure as hell were laws for treason and rebellion which lead to deadly consequences.

And Dragon was not willing to risk his child’s life.

Needless to say, it had been a rough couple of months for him.

For about two months after he left he could never keep anything down. Then he was just constantly tired from the anxiety keeping him up at night. Now he felt bloated and was constantly forgetting where he put things.

And all through this, he felt so emotional all the time.

For example, Ace had grown out of his favourite shoes and Dragon just started bawling in his room while holding them. Crying about how Ace was growing up and wasn’t a little baby anymore.

Everyone, including Dragon himself, just thought that he was upset with how he left things with the marines.

Especially Dragon when it came to Rosinante. Some nights he’d stay up late in the kitchen eating whatever was in the fridge. Although most of the time he would just take anything with meat in it.

Then, on May 4th, Dragon had woken up that morning with what felt like a severe stomach ache. It felt like his stomach was twisting itself in knots and squeezing to be the smallest shape possible at the same time. But he just decided he had to push through it until either the meds kicked in or the day was over.

The revolution doesn’t just stop because he is not feeling well after all.

So, at the end of day after he tucked Ace into bed and went to navigation, he was definitely not expecting what came next.

After being in the navigation room and planning their next move for about two hours; Dragon collapsed in pain and peed his pants.

This had sent everyone into a panic, with Ivankov being the head of it.

I’m not coming back from this, am I? Dragon thought as Ivankov carried him to the ship’s infirmary, My reputation is ruined.  

When they got there, he wasn’t expecting the RA doctor to tell him the pain was him in labour and that the “pee” was his water breaking.

So now here Dragon was labouring through the night and now on the dawn of May 5th, about to give birth to his second child, feeling like an idiot for not having figured it out before.}

~~*~~

Dawn of May 5th - Revolutionary Flag Ship - Somewhere In The Grandline

Dragon was desperately trying to focus on pushing while fending off a panic attack, but all his efforts were for not.

He couldn’t hear anything clearly, it was all muffled. Even Ivankov screaming what they thought were encouraging words in his ear sounded far away.

The only thing he could hear clearly was his heart beating rapidly. It was so beating so fast, it sounded like a machine gun to him and it felt like it was about to explode like a cannon.

What am I even going to do with a baby? I was fine with taking Ace because he’s not totally defenseless, Dragon thought as he panicked, Ace was able to run before he could even crawl thanks to his stupid D genes, not to mention the fact that he’s going through a biting phase.

Dragon could feel an immense pressure in his lower body move downwards. It felt like he was being torn open from the inside out. It didn’t help that they didn’t have any medication they could give him.

Should I send the baby off to dad? Ace too? Dragon thought, No, not with how he raised me and I don’t want to just abandon them. Not to mention how horribly wrong that could go if the wrong person found out.

Suddenly, there was a burning sensation in Dragon’s nether region. Like something was splitting him open. Dragon winced in pain, but kept going.

Even if I called, would Rosinante even want us? Dragon wondered, God I miss him, he was one of the few people who didn’t mind my occasional grumpiness. He probably hates me now.

He felt something give and slide, but then it got stuck. Another burning sensation coursing through him.

What am I going to do? What if there are complications? Dragon panicked again,  What if I die like Rouge? What happens to my children then? What if-

Then he heard crying.

A baby’s cry.

“Here you go Dragon, a somewhat early but healthy boy.” The RA doctor said while placing the baby on Dragon’s now bare chest, “Make sure to support the head.”

Dragon stopped his doom spiral and looked at the now silent tiny person in his arms.

Actually, calling the baby tiny was an understatement. Looking at him, it was no longer a surprise that he didn’t know he was pregnant, the baby was the same size as Dragon’s hand when curled up.

And despite all the bodily fluids he was covered in, he was absolutely adorable!

The last time Dragon had seen something so beautiful was when his father handed him Ace. 

Oh god, I have two children. Dragon realised,  Two very young children. I’m running a revolution with two small children.

Before Dragon could spiral into an actual panic attack, the baby made a noise of displeasure and started squirming, flailing its little limbs around. It was then that Dragon realised he was crying onto the baby. He couldn’t blame him for being grumpy, he’d be the same way if someone was crying onto him.

“Shh.. It’s okay, I’m here,” Dragon hushed the baby while gently patting him, “You made quite an entry didn’t you? You're going to cause a lot of problems aren’t you?”

Dragon could have sworn he saw the baby smirking, but he decided it was just the hormone infused whiplash he was currently experiencing making him see things.

God I need a nap and some pain killers, Dragon thought before passing out.

Thankfully, Ivankov saw this and picked up the baby before he dropped him.

~~*~~

Ace was scared and confused.  

Ace woke up this morning and was told he couldn’t see his dad for a while. That he had to stay with Inazuma and Mako for now.

And he did not take it well.

Ace was never told that he couldn’t see his dad. Even when Rosinante watched him, he was never told that. He was always told that his dad had to leave for the day, but he’d be back later.

This situation reminded him of the Needle Island incident, but Inazuma and Mako had reassured him that the melty man was not here when he asked.

It was a very rough morning for all three of them; not that they could blame Ace. 

They understood that, for the toddler, it felt like it’s been forever since he’s seen Dragon and that he’s scared.

Inazuma and Mako had tried to distract him with toys or food, but Ace would not budge.

So after a couple of minor temper tantrums and threatening to bite, Ace was put down for what he felt was a very unneeded nap.

Afterwards, Ace went back to pouting and watching the door for Dragon.

I want daddy, Ace thought, Daddy said I could come see him when I’m scared, so why can’t I see him now?

Ace was trying very hard not to cry, but it was getting harder to hold it all in. He was feeling very big emotions that were far too much for his little body to hold.

The toddler felt like he was overflowing but trapped at the same time. All he wanted was his dad’s cuddles and to know that everything was okay. He was going to burst into a full on meltdown soon if Ace didn’t see his dad soon.

Then Ivankov walked into the room.

“You can go see him now, Ace.” Ivankov told him, looking a little haggard.

Ace snapped to attention and tried to rush past them into the hallway, but Ivankov scooped him up before he could get very far. 

Ivankov then carried the squirming, biting Ace to the ships infirmary where Dragon was.

“Hold still would you?! Stop trying to bite me!” Ivankov told Ace while struggling to not drop him, “I know you’re upset, but you’ll see your dad in a minute!”

Dragon was very hormonal at the moment and would probably go through with his, usually as a joke, threat of killing if Ace got hurt right now. So Ivankov set Ace down outside the door and was about to tell him that he needed to be quiet, but Ace finally got a bite in before bursting into the room. 

Thankfully, the baby seems to be a heavy sleeper after eating.

Ace ran straight to Dragon and crawled up onto the bed. Face planting onto Dragon’s stomach as he did so.

“Oof, Ace be careful please.” Dragon told him while groaning. 

He gently moved Ace up towards his chest and started rubbing his back, trying to sooth the crying child.

“I didn’t know where you were!” Ace sniffled while burying his face into Dragon’s neck, “I was scared! They told me I couldn’t see you!”

“I know, I’m sorry, but I have a surprise for you. You want to see?” Dragon asked while hushing Ace. 

He waited until Ace nodded before he motioned Ivankov to get the baby from the makeshift bassinet.

“Remember when you asked for a sibling?” Dragon questioned him. 

Ace slowly nodded his head, a little confused, but curious.

“Well turns out there was a baby on the way.” Dragon told him while receiving the bundle from Ivankov, then he showed it to Ace, “This is your little brother Luffy.” 

Ace looked at the squishy thing in the blanket and was even more confused. He thought babies were supposed to be cute. 

The baby looked more like a squashed worm with blonde curls on top.

“He’s ugly.” Ace bluntly stated as he pouted.

Dragon let out a small laugh, “Most babies are at first, you want to hold him?”

Ace nodded his head, still a little unsure about Luffy. With a bit of help from Ivankov, they adjusted the pillows so Ace was now holding Luffy with Dragon’s arms helping to support him. Luffy let out a little grunt and wiggled before settling.

“Luffy’s really small.” Ace said.

“So were you Ace, all babies are at first.” Dragon told him, “He’ll get bigger just like you and you can help teach him how to do things.”

“Really? Can I teach him how to fight?” Ace asked sweetly, getting excited now.

“Not for a while, but sure.” Dragon replied, sighing and hoping Ace would forget later.

While they were talking, Luffy was moving his arms around, looking for something to hold onto. Ace was a bit startled when Luffy’s little hand latched onto his fingers. Ace looked down at his new brother and thought that maybe he wasn’t so ugly after all.

~~*~~

Two days later, Dragon was settled back in his room.

He was laying in bed with Ace fast asleep next to him and Luffy sleeping in an empty dresser drawer that was acting as his crib for now.

As he watched his children sleep, Dragon decided it was time for him to stop being a coward and that he would call his father in the morning.

Chapter Text

May 8th - Revolutionary Flag Ship - Somewhere In The Grandline

It has been three days since Luffy had been born and Dragon was resting in his room on his ship. 

Well, he was physically resting, mentally he was running in circles trying to figure out what he was going to say to his dad.

Dragon had promised himself the night before that he would stop being a coward and call the man, but his anxiety was trying to get the best of him.

What if he hates me now? Dragon had thought that morning, I know he said he didn’t, but it’s been months since then. Rosinante definitely hates me.

Thankfully the kids hadn’t caused any trouble that morning, well, Ace was behaving. All Luffy could really do at the moment was cry, eat, and sleep. Especially eating, the kid was like a black hole, which Dragon should have expected to be a given due to him having the D genes.

Eventually, it was lunch and then nap time for the kids. They went down easy enough with only a little bit of fussing.

Dragon was supposed to napping too as per the doctors orders, but he was actually having a staring contest with his den-den-mushi while trying to muster up some courage.

Taking a quick glance back at Luffy and Ace sleeping, Dragon let out a deep sigh before picking up the receiver. 

It’s now or never, Dragon thought as he dialed his dad’s personal number, Even if they all hate me, they should know about Luffy.

Dragon then waited for someone to pick up.

~~*~~

Garp’s Ship - Somewhere In The Grandline

Garp was in his quarters furiously doing paperwork and mentally cursing Sengoku out for giving it to him.

They were coming back from a warlord meeting and Garp was given paperwork to make sure he didn’t cause any trouble. The man had become quite a headache for Sengoku since Dragon had left.

It also didn’t help that Dragon had been the only one in his family doing any paperwork, he had even written his dad and brother’s papers when he was in the marines as he had “better handwriting”. So there was some backlog from him leaving.

Needless to say, Garp was not having a great time. He missed Dragon and Ace, so much so that he had started sleeping with his den-den-mushi waiting for his son to call.

Said den-den-mushi was now sitting on the corner of his desk and was trying to eat some of the documents on his desk.

“Stop that!” Garp yelled while swatting at it, “I need these for Sengoku the Prick.”

Suddenly, the den-den-mushi started and Garp scrambled to pick it up before it vibrated off the desk.

“Hello and what the hell do you want?” Garp gruffly asked, “You better not be one of those weirdos trying to sell me something!”

Then he heard a familiar laugh come over the phone and saw the snail change its appearance.

“Never change dad, never change.” Dragon chuckled.

“Dragon?!” Garp gasped, “Where the hell have you been? And why haven’t you called me! It’s been seven months!”

“I- I know, I’m sorry.” Dragon quietly said, “I’m sorry for being so stupid about it, but I was afraid. I didn’t want to risk being captured and Ace being killed or worse.”

Garp softened slightly at that, but then he heard sniffling and watched as the snail started tearing up.

“Are you crying?” Garp laughed, “You missed me that much?”

“Yes, I missed everyone.” Dragon sniffled, “And stop laughing, I’m incredibly hormonal right now.”

“Hormonal? What do you mean?” Garp asked, confused about what his son meant.

Dragon was quiet for a moment before he whispered, “I had a baby.”

“You what!?” Garp exclaimed, absolutely stunned by the revelation.

“I had a baby.” Dragon said a little louder.

“Like it came out of you or you found it?” Garp asked, thinking it might be a situation like him finding Kuzan in a field.

“Yes he came out of me!” Dragon yelled, the snail taking on a pissed off expression, “I just didn’t know I was pregnant!”

“Oh it’s a boy? Congratulations!” Garp told him, then he asked, “Can I train him to be a marine?” 

“No, you can’t train him to be a marine! He’s only three days old! And he gets to decide his future!” Dragon replied huffing, totally exasperated at his dad, “His name is Luffy by the way!”

“Luffy? That’s stupid! You should have named him Hurricane or Garp Jr.!” Garp grumbled.

“I’m not taking name suggestions from you!” Dragon firmly told him, “You named me Dragon and named yourself Garp!” 

Dragon couldn’t believe his dad sometimes. Although, he’ll admit that Hurricane did sound like a cool name, not that he’ll ever tell Garp that.

“Both of our names are perfectly respectable.” Garp huffed, “That kid is going to get bullied, kids will call him Goofy Luffy.”

“They will not!” Dragon exclaimed, “Luffy is an adorable name and fits him just fine!”

The snail was pouting now, so Garp decided to change the subject.

“Who’s the other dad?” Garp asked, “Do you know who he is?” 

“Of course I know who the dad is! I’m not you!” Dragon replied, a little angry that his dad would just assume that he wouldn’t know.

“Hey! I have a general idea of who your father is, thank you!” Garp yelled, “Three names in fact!”

“Oh really? Who then?” Dragon asked, he had been wondering about it as he got older.

“Roger, Rayleigh, or Whitebeard.” Garp said without hesitation, “Pretty sure it’s Roger, but we did have that threeway with Rayleigh right around the same time. And then I saw Whitebeard right after.”

Dragon had to take a moment after hearing that his dad, a man who did not like pirates, had relations with three of them at the same time. Meanwhile, it took Dragon until he was in his thirties to even have one steady relationship, if he could call it that.

Although, looking back on his childhood, it did make a lot of sense. Sometimes they’d cross paths with the Roger Pirates or the Whitebeard Pirates and hang out with them instead of fighting. Well, Garp fought, but everybody else was busy partying together. He also remembers a couple times where he and his siblings were forced to babysit Roger’s boys.

It also explains why Garp had helped Rouge.

Then Dragon realised how good of an opportunity this was to make fun of his dad.

“You mean to tell me that you had a relationship with the three biggest pirates on the Grandline? You’re a terrible marine!” Dragon said laughing, “Maybe we should call you ‘Garp the Pirate Fucker’ instead of ‘Garp the Fist’!”

“Oi! Watch it boy! I’m still your dad!” Garp yelled at him, “And when am I gonna meet the little bugger? I want to see Ace too!”

“Can we meet at home in Windmill Village?” Dragon asked, “It should be safe there and I am about three weeks away.”

“Sure, I’ll meet you there!” Garp agreed and then was about to hang up before he remembered, “Hey wait! You didn’t tell me who the other dad is!”

“Oh, right. It’s Rosinante, bring Sengoku and him with you, I want them to meet Luffy too.” Dragon replied before hanging up. 

Dragon didn’t want to hear what his dad had to say about it, he knew it would be something crude and marine related.

Garp sat there silently for a moment, while still holding the den-den-mushi, before he started laughing. 

My son had a baby! A biological one! Garp thought, Here I am thinking my son will die alone and he is out there making a baby! With a marine! I can’t wait to tell Sengoku about this!

A sharp knock on his door snapped him out of his happy stupor and he quickly composed himself before yelling, “Don’t just stand there, get in here!”

The door opened to show Sengoku with Rosinante behind him holding a tea tray. 

“I hope you didn’t forget about our meeting today, Garp.” Sengoku said while holding the door open for Rosinante and then locking it.

“Of course not!” Garp replied slightly offended, but then an idea popped into his head, “I would never forget a meeting with my in-laws!”

“Good. Maybe your memory isn’t so shi- wait… in-law!?” Sengoku sputtered out, hoping this was just one of Garp’s antics, “What the hell do you mean by that!?”

“Your son knocked up mine, Dragon gave birth yesterday!” Garp told them with a shiteating grin, “Congrats Sengoku, you’re a Grandpa!” 

Suddenly a loud crash came from the sitting area, Sengoku and Garp looked over to see a passed out Rosinante.

“At least he set the tray down before fainting.” Garp stayed. 

Sengoku sighed and then smacked Garp.

“Ow! What did you do that for?!” Garp whined.

But Sengoku just grabbed his shirt collar and dragged him over the desk.

“Are you telling the truth, Garp?” Sengoku calmly asked him.

“I swear I’m not lying!” Garp told him, “Dragon didn’t know he was pregnant and just called me to meet up with us on Dawn Island.”

Sengoku looked shocked and let go of Garp’s shirt.

“Holy shit, I’m a grandfather!” Sengoku exclaimed, “I’m too young to be a grandfather!”

“Hey! We’re the same age!” Garp yelled offended.

Before their fight could escalate further, they heard Rosinante groan.

“Wha- What happened?” Rosinante asked, his voice a little slurred.

“Dragon gave birth to your son!” Garp yelled, “You’re a dad now!”

Rosinante looked at him for a moment before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he promptly passed out again.

“Wow, your kid is weak as shit Sengoku.” Garp commented.

This of course earned him another smack.

Later, while Sengoku and Rosinante were still trying to process things, Garp directed the ship to Dawn Island.

Chapter Text

May 26th - Monkey D. Residence - Dawn Island

Since the bombshell that had been dropped on him almost three weeks ago, Rosinante had been trying to pull himself together and figure out what the fuck was going on.

Actually, he knew exactly what was going on, everybody in the Monkey D family was fucking insane! 

Well it was mostly Garp, but that’s beside the point!

Rosinante had just experienced some of the worst months of his life, had only just started to let go of the hope that Dragon may be coming back, only to find out now that they have a son together?!

What the hell is wrong with this family?! Rosinante had thought after fainting, Why are they so emotionally constipated all the time and leaving everything until the worst possible moment?!

Truth be told, while Rosinante had been quite pissed with Dragon at first, he had forgiven him a long time ago. 

The incident on Needle Island was definitely traumatic for Dragon and he was placed in a precarious position thanks to Akainu. Rosinante knew that Dragon had to think of himself and his son’s life first. So couldn’t blame Dragon for faking his death or leaving the marines. It was really the only option for them.

But god did he miss them.

Rosinante was honestly just angry at Garp in the end for never mentioning important information unless asked for it and giving his kids such shitty coping skills. At least Kuzan had the common sense to explain some things to him or Rosinante would have gone berserk and would have tried to kill Akainu himself despite knowing it was impossible.

So yeah, Rosinante had forgiven Dragon and he was excited to meet their baby, but he was still confused about some things. He wanted to know if Dragon was ever going to tell him about the Revolutionary Army or just leave him behind without a word. He also wanted to know why Dragon hadn’t called earlier if he was pregnant. 

Rosinante had spent almost the entire trip to Dawn Island pacing in his bunk room and worrying about what Dragon thought of him now.

Does Dragon not like me anymore? Does it have something to do with my heritage? Rosinante wondered, Is that why he didn’t call earlier? But if that’s the case, why did he want me to come now? Dragon also didn’t seem to care about that at all, so why?

Now though, as they were approaching Windmill Village, Rosinante was starting to get incredibly nervous. He could feel his hands get really sweaty, so he quickly wiped them on his pants, his eyes never leaving the village.

I have a kid, a son! Rosinante thought, I wonder what he looks like? Does he look like me or does he take after Dragon?

As soon as the boat hit the dock, he started running in the direction of the Monkey D residence with Garp and Sengoku following at a much slower pace behind. Rosinante felt like his heart was about to explode with how fast he was running and it was a miracle he didn’t trip or crash into anything.

Up ahead Rosinante could see the house come into view and he had to take a moment to catch his breath before he burst through the front door, startling Dadan who was resting in the living room after fighting to put Ace down for a nap.

“You’re the other father I assume? First door on the right.” She told him while pointing to the stairs.

Rosinante quickly thanked her before he stumbled up the stairs to where Dragon was. After face planting on the floor, he got up and stood in front of the door, hesitant to knock. 

What if Dragon really does hate me now? Rosinante thought, What if he resents me for getting him pregnant? What if-

“You can come in, Rosinante.” Dragon told him from the otherside of the door, he sounded exhausted.

Rosinante cringed before slowly opening the door and stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him. Then he looked up and saw the most beautiful sight.

The midday sun was shining through the window as the only light source on a rumbled and exhausted looking Dragon laying in bed. The sunlight made him look so soft and warm. Rosinante wanted to just pull him close and never let go.

Shit, what was I going to say again? Rosinante thought, My mind has gone blank!

“How’d you know it was me?” Rosinante asked breathlessly.

“My father wouldn’t have been quiet or polite enough to ask, Dadan just put Ace down for a nap, and Sengoku probably needs a minute to comprehend everything.” Dragon told him while he slowly sat up against the headboard, “Also, I heard you fall up the stairs and fall in front of the door.”

Rosinante cringed again and rubbed the back of his neck feeling awkward, “Heh, sorry about that. Are you- Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good, are you?” Dragon asked cautiously.

“I’m fine, just overwhelmed?”  Rosinante rambled, “I mean I’m not mad, but why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant?”

“Didn’t my dad tell you? I didn’t know I was pregnant until I gave birth.” Dragon told him as he fiddled with his blanket, “I thought I peed myself.”

Rosinante quickly cursed Garp in his head before focusing again on Dragon.

“You really didn’t know? I thought you didn’t want me anymore or hated me for getting you pregnant.” Rosinante said, relieved that it wasn’t because Dragon resented him or about his past. 

Dragon finally looked up at him, shocked at the thought of him hating Rosinante.

“I could never hate you! I thought I was sick from the guilt of leaving you behind. I wanted to leave you a note, but I also didn’t want to endanger you or make you think I was using you for information. I didn’t want you to hate me .” Dragon said in a panic, “I also didn’t want to make you feel like I was taking advantage of you. I’m too old for you, I didn’t think you’d actually want me.”

“I could never hate you either Dragon and you’re not too old for me! If you were, I would have never tried to use all those horrible pick-up-lines Bellemere gave me or pulled you into the bar bathroom!” Rosinante replied sitting down on the other side of the bed, “Then Garp told me why you left and I can’t hate you for trying to make the world better. I just wish you had called sooner or told me about your plans to leave at the end of the year.”

Dragon let out a relieved sigh and wiped away some tears before offering his hand for him to take. Rosinante quickly accepted and held the other man’s hand to his chest.

“I’m so sorry, I should have told you about when I was leaving. I wanted to tell you about the revolution, I really did.” Dragon earnestly told him, “But whenever I was with you, it seemed like all my problems just vanished, like I was free from everything. Free from the constant hiding and making sure I didn’t say something around the wrong people, I could just be myself around you.”

Rosinante quickly moved closer to Dragon and hugged him tightly, trying not to burst into tears.

“Dragon, you idiot, I feel the same way when I’m with you.” Rosinante whispered, “Please don’t ever do something like this again. If you do, I’ll hunt you down and chain myself to you.”

Dragon pulled back to look at Rosinante with surprise.

“You mean you still want me?” Dragon asked, “After everything I did?”

Rosinante grabbed Dragon’s shoulders and pressed their foreheads together.

“Of course I do.” Rosinante told him, “Will you take me as I am? An honest, clumsy fool who loves you?”

“Of course I will, I love you too.” Dragon replied, “But how are we going to be together? I’m a criminal and you're a marine.”

“Your dad is insane and mine is the Fleet Admiral, I'm sure we’ll work something out.” Rosinante confidently replied, “Just promise me that we tell each other everything from now on, no more secrets.”

Dragon laughed wetly, thinking that maybe some of Garp’s insanity rubbed off onto Rosinante.

“I promise.” Dragon said before kissing him.

Rosinante's hands moved to gently cradle Dragon’s face and they melted into each other. Who would have thought that heaven was kissing your lover in his childhood bedroom.

Unfortunately, Dragon pulled away far too soon.

“I have one more thing to tell you.” Dragon whispered.

“What is it?” Rosinante asked, confused about what else Dragon had hidden away.

“It’s about Ace’s father.” Dragon told him.

“Do we have to talk about Akainu right now?” Rosinante whined, “He’s the reason I lost you for so long.”

Dragon rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Akainu isn’t Ace’s father.” Dragon stated, “Gol D Roger is.”

“What?! You slept with the king of the pirates?!” Rosinante exclaimed, nearly falling off the bed, “Wait, that doesn’t make any sense! Roger was dead two years before Ace was born!”

“I know it’s confusing, but let me explain.” Dragon calmly said, trying not to laugh at Rosinante’s bug eyed expression, “I didn’t sleep with Roger and I didn’t give birth to Ace either, Portgas D Rouge did. She used the will of D to slow down her pregnancy for two years until my dad was able to find her and she died four days later from it.”

“Oh my god, that’s horrible!” Rosinante gasped, “But wait, why do you have Ace if you’re not related to him?”

“Dad promised Roger he would take care of Ace and then gave him to me because he thought he would die before any of us gave him grandchildren.” Dragon told him as he shrugged, “Also, Ace might be my brother.”

“Wait, what?!” Rosinante yelled, “What do you mean he might be your brother?!”

“I just found this out when I called him three weeks ago, but apparently my father had polyamorous relationship with Roger, Rayleigh, and Whitebeard up until Roger died.” Dragon bluntly told him, “Which makes a lot of sense looking back on things.”

Rosinante had to take a moment to process all of that, but at this point, he felt like he was losing it.

“Well for a man that hates pirates he sure did fuck a lot of them!” Rosinante huffed, “Does this mean that Shanks and Buggy are your siblings?”

“Well, we did babysit them a lot, so I guess?” Dragon said, “I haven’t really thought about it, I was more focused on seeing you again.”

“Fair enough.” Rosinante sighed, leaning against Dragon again.

They quietly held each other for a moment, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere and being able to hold eachother again.

Then a shrill cry broke the silence making Rosinante go stiff.

“You want to meet our son?” Dragon asked him as he laughed.

Rosinante will never admit it, but he forgot that was why he was here. He nodded his head so fast he almost fell off the bed, but Dragon thankfully caught him.

“Sit against the headboard and I’ll get him.” Dragon directed.

Rosinante situated himself against the headboard and watched as Dragon went over to the bassinet he missed at the end of the bed. A tiny, squirming bundle was lifted out of it. Dragon gently unwrapped the baby and then adjusted Rosinante’s arms.

“Hush now Luffy, it’s time to meet your papa.” Dragon whispered as he placed the baby in Rosinante’s arms.

Rosinante tried not to cry as he looked at the tiny baby in his arms, well more like his hand actually. He had never seen a baby so small, he met Ace when he was a toddler, this baby fit in his hand! 

And he was so adorable too!

Luffy was in one of Ace’s old onesies that had monkeys and bananas on it. Curled up in Rosinante’s arms and wiggling to get comfortable. He had Rosinante’s blonde curls and big round eyes the same colour as Dragons, which were curiously looking up at him.

Luffy was perfect and Rosinante couldn’t believe that he was half of him.

“Hi Luffy, I’m your papa.” Rosinante cried, “You’re so beautiful, I love you so much. I promise to do my best to look after you, your brother, and your dad.”

Then he started to hear sniffing to the left of him. Looking over, Rosinante saw that Dragon was crying too.

“I’m sorry, all my hormones are just super weird right now.” Dragon cried, “Do you like his name? We can change it.”

Rosinante carefully adjusted Luffy so that he was holding him with one arm and used the other to pull Dragon close to him.

“No, it’s perfect, thank you Dragon.” Rosinante reassured him, before kissing his temple.

Dragon hugged Rosinante tight and nuzzled into his shoulder. 

Maybe everything will work out after all.

Suddenly, they heard a bang outside and the bedroom door was pushed open, banging against the wall slightly. In came a fussy Ace who had just woken up from his nap, rubbing his eyes as he walked in.

The toddler didn’t even notice Rosinante was there as he crawled up the bed to get to Dragon.

“Daddy, I want hugs!” Ace demanded as his dad picked him up.

“Hello firefly, did you have a good nap?” Dragon asked the whiny toddler.

Ace just huffed into Dragon’s neck as an answer and clung to him tighter.

“Well if that’s the case, I suppose you don’t want to see Rosi then do you?” Dragon teased him while pointing to Rosinante.

Ace’s eyes shot open and he looked at where his dad was pointing to, shrieking with glee once he saw it was indeed Rosinante sitting there.

“Rosi!” Ace cried as he jumped onto the man and latched onto him, “I missed you! Daddy did too! I saw him cry!”

Rosinante laughed at the flushed look on Dragon’s face and pulled them both to him.

“I missed you guys too.” Rosinante told him, “I missed you both so much.”

With the three people he cared for the most in his arms, Rosinante felt complete for the first time in months.

Chapter Text

May 25th - Monkey D. Residence - Dawn Island

Dadan knew her brothers were stupid, but this was outrageous.

What was Dragon thinking?!

He made her worry for almost seven months for absolutely no reason other than he was being a stubborn idiot. To go through all that worrying only for him to call her in the middle of the night to tell her had a baby and that everyone was going to meet at home.

Needless to say, Dadan chewed him out for almost two hours before asking about what the hell he has been doing the past seven months and why he just disappeared. 

After hearing his story, she did cut him some slack because of the situation he was placed in, but still, he couldn’t have written her a letter at least to let her know they were okay? Asshole.

Currently, she was making dinner for when Dragon arrived, but with how angry she was, it was starting to look like a crime scene. 

Maybe dad giving the fist of love to stupid people isn’t such a bad idea, Dadan thought as she brutalized a potato, And how did that idiot not know he was pregnant?!

“I swear, if the first thing he says to me isn’t an apology, I’m stagginling him!” Dadan huffed as she threw the mutilated vegetables into the pot, “He’ll be lucky if I ever let him leave home again!”

Dadan then slammed the lid onto the pot and let the stew simmer.

I hope that man of his rips him a new one, Dadan thought as she stomped out to the living room to look for something to do, And why didn’t he tell me that he was running a revolution?! Doesn’t he know how much dirt I have on the Goa nobility?! 

Just like with bartenders or servants, the upper class didn’t see Dadan as a threat. She was just somebody they could vent to and then buy what they thought was high grade liquor from her. Which it was, but Dadan upped her prices by three hundred percent when she sold it to them.

And it was amazing what they’d say to her when they’re drunk or think they’re talking to a boot licker! Dadan had all the information about people’s affairs and on goings in their homes. Which made it far easier to steal from them because she knows exactly what possessions they won’t miss and when they won’t be home.

Was stealing bad? Sure, but not when it’s from people who would call the marines just because you looked at them the wrong way.

All in all, Dadan was a successful business woman and thief. She’d make a great revolutionary spy too if her brother would just ask her to join. In her opinion at least.

But she’d make her brother beg a little first because it was funny.

As she looked around the living room, she realised there was nothing left to do other than wait for her brother to come home. Letting out a deep sigh, she let herself feel the weight of what stress cleaning the house for three weeks brought on and flopped face first onto the couch.

Maybe I can take a little nap? Dadan thought, I left the stew to simmer and they shouldn’t be arriving for at least an hour.

Dadan felt herself start to drift off, but that was unfortunately all she got as the door burst open. Then she felt a small weight jump onto her back and jab her painfully in the ribs.

“Auntie Dadan!” Ace yelled in her ear, “I missed you!”

Dadan smiled and laughed as she rolled over to grab Ace. 

“I missed you too!” Dadan cried, “Look how big you’ve gotten!”

Dragon smiled as he watched his sister and son talk to each other. Then he carefully took off his cloak and shoes, putting them next to the front door along with Ace’s things. As he did so, he jostled the sling on him a little which made Luffy let out a whine.

Looking down at the bundle in his arms, he saw that Luffy was awake and staring at like Dragon has personally offended him.

“Hush, it’s okay.” Dragon told him as he pulled Luffy out of the sling, “I’m sorry, did I move too fast?”

The baby pouted in response and flailed his little arms around like he wanted to fight his dad for waking him up.

Dragon just put him on his shoulder and gently patted Luffy’s back to calm him. It still surprised him how tiny Luffy was compared to him, not even Ace had been this small. To be fair though, Ace hadn’t exactly been a normal pregnancy. 

Dragon could hold Luffy with one hand on his shoulder and when he patted his back, his whole hand covered the baby. Dragon was constantly afraid that he would hurt Luffy with even the slightest movement and it didn’t help that Luffy seemed to be an easy crier.

“What’s wrong with you now?” Dragon asked as he swayed with the fussy baby, “You're dry and I fed you before we got off the ship.”

Once Luffy had seemed to settle, Dragon went over to sit beside Dadan on the couch.

“So that’s Luffy.” Dadan said when she noticed Luffy, “I was expecting something a little bigger.”

“I was too when he was splitting me open.” Dragon laughed, “Do you want to hold him?”

“Absolutely!” Dadan exclaimed.

They carefully switched kids, Ace going to sit on Dragon’s lap and Luffy being held by Dadan.

Looking at the baby squirming in her arms, Dadan came to the conclusion that he was quite cute despite the fact that he still had that newborn ugliness. Luffy’s little blonde curls and pout were especially adorable. Not to mention that he was dressed in a handmade onesie that had a rainbow pattern with the word “surprise” written in white letters on the chest area. 

“Where did you get this?” Dadan laughed as she pointed at it, “It’s adorable!”

“My friends made it.” Dragon explained, “They’ve made him a whole wardrobe already, it’ll last him until he’s at least six months old.”

Dadan was happy to hear that. Her brother had always struggled to make connections with others. Especially ones that would last.

“I’m glad that you’ve found friends that care about you so much.” Dadan told him, “But we are definitely talking about everything later! Also, I already set up Ace’s bassinet in your room along with his old things. Although, you might not need the clothes thanks to your friends.”

“Thank you Dadan.” Dragon said while trying not to cry, “I’ll still take the clothes too even though they might be a little bug on him.”

“Don’t mention it.” Dadan told him, waving him off, “Now, tell me about who’s coming here because all I know about the guy is that he is clumsy as hell and you think it’s endearing.”

“I also told you he is extremely handsome.” Dragon told her, missing how she rolled her eyes, “Luffy got his adorableness from him after all. His name is Rosinante, he’s coming with dad and Sengoku.”

“Wait, why is Sengoku coming?” Dadan asked, confused about why he would want to come.

“To meet his grandson.” Dragon stated as if it was obvious, “Didn’t I tell you? Rosinante is his son.”

Dadan was silent for a moment, processing that piece of information that Dragon definitely did not tell her.

“You fucked Sengoku’s son?!” Dadan screamed in shock.

Before Dragon could say anything about it, Luffy started crying from the noise.

“Auntie, you made Luffy cry.” Ace whined, “Now he’s being loud.”

Ace hadn’t quite adjusted yet to having a baby brother and didn’t like when he was being loud.

“Ah, I’m sorry little one.” Dadan softly said to Luffy, “Blame your idiot dad.”

“Hey! I’m not an idiot, I’m just tired.” Dragon exclaimed.

He was about to go on, but then he smelt something from the kitchen.

“Is something burning?” Dragon asked.

“Oh no! The stew!” Dadan yelled.

She got up from the couch and was about to run into the kitchen when she realised she still had Luffy. Dadan quickly turned around and gave him back to Dragon before rushing out.

“Is she okay?” Ace asked, looking up at Dragon with a worried expression.

“Yeah, she will be.” Dragon said as he smiled down at his kids, “She just needs some time.”

Ace nodded as if he understood, before looking at Luffy with a disgusted expression.

“Daddy, Luffy smells.” Ace whined, trying to get away.

Dragon was confused for a moment, but then the smell hit him too.

“Ah, Luffy!” Dragon yelled while holding the baby away from him, “What the hell did you eat?!”

Luffy just kicked his legs and blew a spit bubble at him in response.

~~*~~

The next day, Dadan was lying on the couch again, bandaging her fingers after putting Ace down for a nap.

“Damn, that kid sure can bite.” Dadan mumbled, “Were Roger or Rouge part fishman? Maybe part mink?”

Before she could ponder about it further, a tall and gangly blonde man burst in through the front door. 

This must be Rosinante, Dadan thought, Not what I was expecting at all. I guess Dragon has a thing for blonde twinks.

“You’re the other father I assume? First door on the right.” Dadan told him while pointing to the stairs.

Rosinante quickly thanked her before he stumbled up the stairs to where Dragon was. 

Dadan winced as she heard him fall on the landing upstairs.

I sure hope Luffy doesn’t inherit that, Dadan thought, He seems like a hazard to humanity.

~~*~~

May 26th - Monkey D. Residence - Dawn Island

As Rosinante ran to the house, Sengoku and Garp were following behind him at a much slower pace.

“You need to get out of the office more!” Garp yelled, “You’re slowing me down!”

“Shut up!” Sengoku yelled back at him, “I have to carry Merriweather!”

Which was pretty hard to do as the goat was trying to eat Sengoku’s beard as he carried her under his arm.

“Well, I’m leaving you behind!” Garp told him as he picked up the pace.

As he was cresting the hill, the front door opened to show Rosinante holding Ace on his hip and waving to him.

“Slow down Garp!” Rosinante called out to him, “He’s not going anywhere.”

“Hush you hypocrite!” Garp hissed, then he gestured for Rosinante to hand over Ace, “Now give me my grandson.”

Rosinante quickly passed Ace over to Garp so as to not anger him further and then stepped to the side to let him in the house.

“Hi gramps!” Ace exclaimed, “I missed you!”

“I missed you too brat.” Garp said, kissing Ace’s forehead, “Now where’s your dad at?”

“He’s busy.” Ace told him.

Well that didn’t tell him much of anything.

“Luffy needed to be fed.” Rosinante clarified, “He's still in his bedroom.”

“Ah, I sure don’t miss that.” Garp laughed, “Here go back to Rosinante for a moment, I’ll be right back.”

Garp handed Ace back to Rosinante and then went upstairs to see how Dragon was doing. The bedroom door was opened slightly, just enough for him to peer in and see his son holding a little bundle upright.

Ah, he’s trying to burp him, Garp thought. 

“You’ll need to hit him harder than that if you want all that air out.” Garp told him as he opened the door, “You won’t get anywhere with that soft tapping!”

Both Dragon and the baby startled a little bit at the noise, with the little one starting to fuss.

“Dad! You scared him!” Dragon scolded him, “And I’m doing just fine thank you! You remember this isn’t my first kid, right? Or are you going senile?”

“Oi, watch it!” Garp huffed, “Now hand him over, I want to see him.”

You could at least say please, Dragon thought as he rolled his eyes and handed Luffy over to his dad.

Garp carefully took the baby into his arms and sat down on the bed before looking down at the little thing.

He couldn’t believe this was his newest grandson he was holding. 

Seriously, what the hell was this thing? This couldn’t be Luffy. It was a tiny, deformed,  squirming potato in a blanket. In Garp’s mind, there was no way his son made this baby because how could HIS son make such an ugly baby? 

“Are you sure you didn’t pick him up off the side of the road?” Garp asked.

Dragon kicked him in the knee for that.

“Ow! What was that for?!” Garp whined, “I was just asking a question!”

“A very rude one!” Dragon huffed, “Of course I made him, I was in labour for eight hours!”

“Well, are you sure you got the right one? He could’ve been switched.” Garp suggested, “You’d be surprised how often it happens.”

That earned him another kick to the shin.

“Well there wasn’t another baby on board, so yes I did get the ‘right one’.” Dragon told him, “Now give me back my baby! Your holding privileges are being revoked.”

Garp huffed and rolled his eyes, but he did give Luffy back to Dragon without further fussing.

“Well to be fair, I didn’t know if you knew how to make a baby.” Garp laughed, “I guess those drawings I made for the puberty talk really did help, huh?”

Dragon cringed at the memory of Garp teaching him and Dadan about how babies were made. Instead of showing them from a book like normal parents would, Garp made his own drawings, which while accurate, were rather crude and Dragon unfortunately had a photographic memory.

Seeing that his son wasn’t going to answer him, Garp changed the subject.

“Hard to believe it took you hours.” Garp commented as he wiggled his fingers above Luffy, “With how small he is I would have figured he popped right out of you.”

That made Dragon break out of his haze and actually laugh.

“Yeah, Dadan said something similar.” Dragon said as he watched Luffy try to grab onto Garp’s fingers, “Doctor said he was born a little early, so he might stay small.”

Garp just hummed in response as Luffy let out a little coo and grabbed Garp’s middle finger, trying to pull it off.

This might not be so bad. With such a strong grip, maybe he could train Luffy into a fine marine someday and he won’t have to worry he’ll cause world changing problems like his dad.

The kid is still butt ugly though, Garp thought, I guess it must come from Rosinante’s genes, just look at his older brother!

~~*~~

As Garp was meeting Luffy, Sengoku was sitting downstairs in the living room. He was in a chair that was placed by the front window. A comfy chair is always nice when you need to contemplate your life choices and figure out where you went wrong.

Sengoku just couldn’t believe this was happening. 

His son had a kid. 

A kid with an older man who happens to be the most wanted criminal in the world at the moment. Garp’s marine deserting, revolutionary starting son who is much older than Rosinante. 

Goddammit, what has my life come to? Sengoku thought, Out of everyone in the world, why did it have to be him?

Dragon being older than Rosinante wasn’t really the problem. 

Sengoku would be a hypocrite if that is what he focused on, but he also isn’t about to tell his son about his own past relationships and “meetings” in coat closets. It was a miracle Garp hadn’t brought any of that up on the way here.

The problem wasn’t even that Dragon was a criminal. 

Sengoku has a lot of regrets from his career, so he understands where Dragon was coming from when he started the Revolutionary Army. He knows that Dragon is a good man at heart and that he would treat Rosinante well. Would he have liked Rosinante to be with a civilian or a marine? Sure, but he just wants his son to be happy.

No, Sengoku’s problem with this whole situation was that Dragon was GARP’s son. 

That means that they are in-laws. Now not only does Sengoku have to see Garp at work, he has to have family dinners with him too! 

Again, no offence to Dragon, but he would’ve taken literally anyone else OTHER than Garp to have as an in-law. Not only that, but if he did his maths right, Dragon might also be Gol D Roger’s son as well. Dragon is also raising Ace, which means he’s now Sengoku’s grandson now too. 

I am now the grandfather to the son of the pirate king, Sengoku bemoaned, And potentially the in-law of the other. God, I have never wanted to drink more. 

Now as he is sitting stiff in the Monkey D. house on Dawn Island, contemplating if he should just let himself sink into the ocean, Rosinante carefully walks over with a wiggly little bundle.

“Look Dad! Isn’t he cute?” Rosinante cheerfully asked, “You should hold him!”