#coradrag

-

Early November - Monkey D Residence - Dawn Island

They spent a couple days getting Sabo settled in. Getting his meager belongings from Dadan, patching up his clothes as well as getting him new ones, and bringing down the parts from the attic to make Ace’s bed into a bunkbed.

Sabo himself seemed to be doing well. He hasn’t stabbed anyone (yet), he’d been eating regularly (mostly ramen, he really liked it), and he was getting along with Ace. They had also brought him to Doctor Ito to get Sabo his vaccinations and a rabies shot.

They were a little afraid Sabo would try to fight them or run off, but he took the doctor visit really well. Said that the needles didn’t even hurt. Which was concerning considering a toddler shouldn’t have such a high pain tolerance, but since no one was bit, they’d call it a win.

And with Sabo doing well, that meant it was finally time to call their fathers.

It wasn’t going well. Sengoku had heard the words “new kid” and immediately assumed that Dragon was pregnant again.

“You knocked Dragon back up already?!” Sengoku yelled, “Good god, Rosinante! Luffy just hit six months! Give the poor man a break, he needs at least two years to heal before you put another one in him!”

They could hear Garp yelling in the background too, but Sengoku was keeping the den den mushi away from him.

“No dad, just listen.” Rosinante huffed, “A somewhat feral child was found living in Dadan’s attic and she dropped him off with us.”

“Are you being sarcastic with me?” Sengoku questioned him.

“No, he’s telling the truth.” Dragon told him, “Dadan found a kid in her attic and dropped him off with us. He’s the same age as Ace. Say hello, Sabo.”

“Good day to you sir, mighty fine day we’re having isn’t it?” Sabo asked.

The den den mushi looked surprised and then it transformed into Garp’s angry face.

“Why does he sound like one of those posh cousin fuckers from Goa?” Garp barked.

“Um… He is from Goa.” Dragon told him, then after a bit of hesitation said, “He was being abused and ran away. He was living in the junkyard and then Dadan’s attic.”

Sabo gave him a curious look after he said that, but didn’t say anything.

“Oh… So he is one of those cousin fuckers.” Garp said.

“Dad! I’m sure not every noble person is related to each other!” Dragon exclaimed in an exasperated tone, “That could be a stereotype!”

“My parents were third cousins.” Sabo stated.

The room was silent at that.

“Ros- Rosinante?” Dragon weakly asked, hoping that his father was wrong.

“Sorry my dear.” Rosinante replied, shaking his head and patting his partner’s shoulder, “My parents were second cousins and my great grandparents were siblings, but my grandma was new blood at least. Well, she was actually from a distant family branch, but she was so far removed she was basically new blood.”

“Oh god.” Dragon groaned with his head in his hands.

“See! Calling nobles cousin fuckers isn’t a stereotyping!” Garp laughed and then in a more serious tone said, “But seriously, your family tree is fucked kid. Although… At least we know why Luffy is kind of ugly now.”

“Dad! That was just when he was a newborn! And it was cute” Dragon scolded as his dad laughed, “Also, you do know he looks like you, right?!”

“What?! No he doesn’t!” Garp argued, “I don’t look like a mole rat! And-”

There was a clanging sound over the den den mushi and what sounded like Sengoku berating Garp. As Dragon tried to break up the fight, Rosinante sighed and picked Sabo up, stepping out of the kitchen.

“Okay, they’re going to be fighting for a while.” Rosinante told him, setting him down on the stairs, “So how about you go play with Ace.”

“Are they always like that?” Sabo asked.

“Eh… Yeah.” Rosinante replied, not even bothering trying to lie, “But they've been friends for so long it’s like a game to them. You’ll get used to them.”

“I do like that they’re insane.” Sabo nodded, “Okay, I’ll give them a chance.”

Then he ran up the stairs, leaving a baffled Rosinante behind.

-

Back in the manor, Sabo’s room was huge, empty, and cold just like the rest of the soulless building. All he had was a bed, a chair, a desk, and a wardrobe. His parents didn’t allow him to have toys because he didn’t deserve them and Stelly would always hit him if he got too close.

Here in the Monkey D. house however, things were warm, bright, and filled with things. There were family photos, comfy furniture, and toys everywhere. The clothes weren’t itchy and the food was always good.

And, most importantly, they were kind.

Sabo wasn’t hit and told to be grateful if he didn’t like or didn’t want what was offered. Instead they asked him what he wanted and what his opinion on something was. Ace didn’t yell at him to go away, he wanted to be with him.

In fact, Ace insisted that they share a room, which was very strange, but the bunkbed was interesting. Sabo had the top part and it was like sleeping in the attic again. The small space made him feel safe and the soft leaf patterned quilt he picked out of the closet was warm. He also had a leopard plushie that Ace gave him which was nice to cuddle.

The bedroom itself was the complete opposite of Sabo’s old one. It had only one window and was much smaller. There was a closet near the end of the bed, a bookcase with a rocking chair, a dresser, a toy chest, and an old dollhouse.

Which was what they were playing with now. Apparently Ace’s great grandpa had made it for his gramps. It kind of reminded Sabo of the pretty manors he had to go to for parties with its three floors filled with ornate furniture and details.

Sabo was afraid to touch it at first, not wanting to accidentally break something and get in trouble. But Ace had reassured him that if something broke, they’d just glue it back together. He also had to teach Sabo how to play, but it wasn’t all that hard after he got the hang of it.

Playing with the dolls and the dollhouse was basically just acting out the stories he made in his head. Right now they were telling a story of wild animals breaking into the house and eating the people.

“Oh no! The tiger is mauling Princess Rosella!” Ace exclaimed, mashing the tiger and the princess doll together in the dining room, “Someone help!”

“Worry not, princess!” Sabo proclaimed, holding another doll that had a sword, “For I have come to slay the beast!”

“Bah!” Luffy yelled as he swung a doll around by her leg.

Luffy was sitting just out of reach of the dollhouse so he wouldn’t eat the small parts and had pillows surrounding him. The pillows were there in case he lost control of his head and fell as he only just got strong enough to sit on his own. But Buggy was just down the hall if they needed actual help and came to check on them from time to time.

“Yeah! What Luffy said! Kill the tiger, Sabo!” Ace encouraged him.

Sabo made his doll stab the tiger toy repeatedly until they decided it was dead.

“Horray! You saved me!” Ace cheered, “Thank you, Princess Luciana! Let’s get married!”

“But what about Prince Antonio?” Sabo asked, “Weren’t you supposed to marry him?”

“He’s died like a coward in the living room.” Ace told him, “He threw me right in front of the tiger and ran! But the tiger followed him and ate him.”

“Oh… Well let’s get married then!” Sabo laughed.

They made the dolls kiss and then put them in the same bed.

“And they lived happily ever after!” Ace exclaimed, clapping his hands before turning to Luffy, “Did you like our story?”

The baby squealed and flailed his arms some more; the poor doll he was holding hit her head on the floor multiple times as he did so.

“I think he liked it.” Buggy said from the doorway, “So how did the story end?”

“Prince Antonio died and Princess Luciana slayed the tiger.” Sabo explained, “Then Princess Rosella and her got married.”

“Good, I never liked Prince Antonio.” Buggy said in a relieved tone, “He was incredibly bland looking. He would look much better with red hair.”

“Well he doesn’t have actual hair like the other dolls, so we could just paint it.” Ace suggested, not knowing his uncle was projecting his love life issues onto a doll.

“Nah, it’s okay.” Buggy said before asking, “Do you want me to take Luffy?”

“No, we’re good.” Ace replied.

“Okay.” Buggy shrugged, walking out the room and shutting the door.

They started cleaning up the doll house and getting it ready for the next story. Which would be about ghosts and murder when Sabo broke the silence.

“Ace… Why is your uncle a clown?” Sabo asked.

“He’s not actually a clown, he was just born that way.” Ace shrugged, “Although he does like doing really bad magic tricks sometimes, but I always tell him they’re great so he doesn’t get sad.”

“He really just looks like that? Wow.” Sabo commented, “He was pretty cool when he taught us how to throw knives the other day.”

“Yeah.” Ace giggled, “It was also really funny to see Daddy and Papa freak out.”

Sabo watched as Ace laughed himself silly over the memory of his parents freaking out, but he was confused about something.

“I don’t get it.” Sabo whispered, “Why do your parents care about you so much?”

Ace stopped laughing and looked at him with concern.

“What do you mean?” Ace asked, “They’re supposed to.”

“I just… My parents never cared about me, they only ever cared about their image and what I could do for them.” Sabo explained as he averted his eyes, “Isn’t that how it’s supposed to be?”

He really hoped it was and that the Monkey D. family were just weird outsiders, but…

“NO!” Ace shouted, “Why would you think that?! Parents are supposed to care about you and hug you! And play with you! And read to you! And keep the monsters away! They’re not supposed to be mean!”

Sabo still wouldn’t look at him.

“It- It’s just that… If my parents aren’t normal, then that means that there was a chance of them loving me and I screwed it up somehow!” Sabo cried.

“That isn’t your fault!” Ace stated, “Daddy said some parents are just mean for no reason and don’t deserve their kids! Like my Uncle Drake!”

“Who’s Drake?” Sabo asked.

He hadn’t met anyone named Drake. Maybe they lived in another house down in the village?

“He’s my papa’s… Brother? I’m not really sure, but he lives with Grandpa in Marineford, so I think he is papa’s brother. They talk a lot on the den den mushi.” Ace explained, “Anyways, Uncle Drake’s daddy was really mean and… What’s the word? Oh! He abused him and Uncle Drake didn’t do anything to cause it. His daddy just did it because he felt like it and I think your parents are the same way because you’re really nice like Uncle Drake.”

That was the word Dragon had used earlier. So Sabo wasn’t a bad person? He was kind?

“How do you know that?” Sabo questioned, “That I’m kind and didn’t deserve it?”

“You have really kind eyes.” Ace stated.

“What?” Sabo asked, “That’s not true! Stelly said I have creepy bug eyes!”

“Well they do look like bug eyes, but they’re not creepy.” Ace told him, “They’re kind like papa and Luffy’s eyes.”

“You think I look like them? That’s ridiculous!” Sabo yelled, “I don’t look like them at all!”

“Yes you do!” Ace laughed, “All three of you are blonde, have the same eyeshape, and you’re all weird.”

“Weird? How?” Sabo questioned.

“Well everyone in the family is weird, but papa is clumsy and accidentally sets himself on fire sometimes.” Ace told him, “Luffy is-”

“Pmfp! Ah, blah blah!” Luffy babbled, blowing a raspberry at them before starting to chew on his doll’s leg.

“Yeah, Luffy is Luffy.” Ace continued, “And you make up really good stories.”

“How is that weird?” Sabo asked, bewildered.

“Most kids our age are pretty stupid.” Ace bluntly stated.

That… That wasn’t what Sabo was expecting.

“They- They are, aren’t they?” Sabo wetly laughed, still crying a little, “Stelly can’t even count to ten.”

“Really?!” Ace gasped, “I knew how to do that when I was one!”

The both of them started laughing for a couple minutes with Luffy joining in before settling down.

“So are you going to stay with us?” Ace asked, “It would be nice to have another brother. At least I can play with you without worrying about you choking.”

“Pah!” Luffy yelled, smacking the pillows around him.

“It’s not my fault you eat everything in sight!” Ace scolded him, “Your own hands aren’t even safe from your mouth!”

Sabo watched as Luffy let out some angry babbles and Ace scolded him some more.

Is this how brothers are supposed to be? Sabo thought, Loving and playful. He scolds him, but it’s out of love rather than hate and he’s always gentle.

I want that.

The thought had surprised him, but he really did want siblings like this. Maybe… Maybe he could stay here.

“I want to stay here.” Sabo said earnestly before he could stop himself, “I want to stay here and be brothers.”

Ace paused in his scolding and looked at him surprised.

“Really?! You want to stay?!” Ace exclaimed before leaping on him, “I’m so glad to have a brother I can play with! No offense, Luffy.”

Luffy did in fact take offense. Letting out some angry grunts and then a foul odor was in the air.

-

Down the hall, Buggy was enjoying some peace and quiet. Which was a rare thing in this house, so he made sure to enjoy every second of it as he read some magazines.

Emphasis on seconds.

“Uncle Buggy!” Ace screamed, “Luffy smells bad!”

“I really need to find my own place.” Buggy sighed as he got up.

Or at least get some noseplugs because for someone so small Luffy smelt fucking awful.

-

Ace and Sabo quickly ran down the stairs. Giggling as if they hadn’t just left Buggy to die in Luffy’s fumes. But toddlers weren’t known for being merciful or loyal, so that was really on the clown for having such high expectations.

Anyways, the two ran through the living room and slipped into the kitchen unnoticed as Rosinante and Dragon were still on the phone.

“Dad, we can't just kill all the nobles in Goa!” Dragon argued.

“I thought you were a revolutionary!” Garp retorted, “Don’t you want all corrupt officials dead?!”

“Well I would like to try reformation first and then prison before death, but I’m not going to do that to Goa right away unless things get worse.” Dragon explained, “I have three young children whose lives I don’t want to abruptly uproot.”

“Fine, I’ll just hunt down those parents and cause a ruckus myself!” Garp huffed.

“Oh no you won’t!” Dragon firmly told him, “Or I’ll handcuff you to the stairs! It’ll be just like when Dadan got her first girlfriend and you wanted to crash the date in order to interrogate the poor girl.”

“Fine.” Garp pouted, “But if you end up going after them-”

“We’ll make sure that you’re invited.” Rosinante told him before another round of arguing could happen.

“Great, we’ll both come.” Sengoku agreed.

Rosinante and Dragon shared a tired look with each other. Neither of them knew whether to be happy or exasperated with their fathers. On one hand, it was sweet that they got attached to Sabo without even meeting him in person and on the other, negotiating with them was exhausting.

No wonder Tsuru did all the work in regards to hostages and spy work. These two were impossible to work with.

“Can I talk with Grandpa and Gramps?” Ace suddenly asked from behind.

Dragon and Rosinante both jumped in their seats before turning around to see Ace and Sabo behind them.

“Hello boys, when did you get here?” Rosinante chuckled.

“Right when Dragon said we can’t kill the nobles in Goa right now.” Sabo stated, “Which is fine by me because I need to get stronger before we do it.”

“You… You want to help?” Dragon asked.

“YES!” Sabo yelled with a vicious grin, throwing his arms in the air, “Viva la Revolución!”

Hearing that sent Garp into hysterical laughter.

“If- If I didn’t know any better, I’d say this kid was Ace’s long lost twin or something!” Garp choked out between laughs.

While everyone was focused on making sure Garp didn’t choke and die. Ace crawled up into Rosinante’s lap as Sabo did the same with Dragon. Then Ace grabbed the den den mushi receiver.

“You’re dumb Gramps.” Ace stated, “Twins have to be born on the same day, the same year, and have the same parents. But Sabo is my brother though.”

That shocked the adults. They were kind of expecting Sabo to put up more of a fight.

“So you’re staying then, Sabo?” Rosinante asked with a soft smile.

“Mhm.” Sabo nodded, “It’s safe here and you’ve all been really nice.”

“Good, we’re glad.” Dragon told him.

“But I can leave at any time I want, right?” Sabo asked.

“Of course.” Rosinante and Dragon replied at the same time.

Not that they would ever want him to leave and if he did end up leaving someday, they would be keeping track of him.

But if it gave Sabo reassurance that he was in control of his life (which he was, to an extent), then they would agree.

“Whoo-hoo! We have four grandkids now, Senny!” Garp cheered.

“Four? Robin is just yours.” Sengoku said, confused.

“We can share.” Garp offered, “We see her more often than not.”

“Whoo-hoo! We have four grandkids!” Sengoku cheered.

Well, looks like there was another monkey added to the barrel.

-

The Dollhouse:

-

Garp in this chapter was based off my Grandpa talking about Queen Elizabeth and her cousin/husband.

Ace and Sabo continuing the tradition of not giving a fuck about Ken and always him being the first to go in a crisis.😂 I only started caring about him when I got a second ken doll and made them be together.

Also, I hope any Canadians here had a good Family Day and if you're not Canadian, I hope you had a good day as well.

And Happy Chinese New Year!🐎

Thank you for reading!❤❤❤❤❤

-

January 1 - Monkey D Residence - Dawn Island

Despite staying up until midnight, Ace woke up with the sun. Silently bouncing out of bed so he wouldn’t wake Sabo up and getting himself dressed. Even went so far as to brush his teeth and hair. He was a big boy now after all; a whole four years of age!

Daddy and papa are going to be so surprised when they see I made breakfast all by myself! Ace thought, I’ll even get Sabo some because I’m a responsible older brother! Maybe then I can stay home alone like Robby and Uncle Drake do sometimes!

Slowly and quietly, Ace creeped down the hallway to the stairs. Making sure to avoid all the creaky floor boards because responsible people don’t wake everyone else in the house up.

Once he was down the stairs though, Ace didn’t bother with being quiet. Gramps was still snoring away in his bedroom. It sounded like a bear choking on a rock.

Unfortunately for Ace, all his hard work went down the drain once he saw who was in the kitchen.

“Grandpa! I wanted to make breakfast!” Ace whined, putting his hands on his hips as that’s what his daddy did when scolding gramps.

His grandpa jumped and then turned to look at him; his surprised expression quickly turning into a smile.

“Good morning to you too, Ace.” Sengoku chuckled, walking over to kneel in front of him, “Why do you want to make breakfast? It’s your birthday!”

“Yeah! And I’m a big boy now!” Ace stated, “I wanna show everyone that I can take care of myself!”

“Oh Ace, we all know you can take care of yourself.” Sengoku told him, patting him on the head, “But it’s okay to have help from people. You know that, right? You are a very smart and big boy after all.”

“Yeah, but I wanted to do it on my own!” Ace pouted.

“You can still do that. Why don’t you pull up a chair and we can cook together?” Sengoku suggested, “You can do one thing and I’ll do another. How does that sound?”

Ace thought it over for a second before agreeing as he knew that he didn’t know much about cooking anyways.

“Okay!” Ace nodded, “Let’s work together!”

“That’s the spirit!” Sengoku cheered, “Now go get that chair and you can cook the eggs.”

Ace buried to pull a chair up to the counter and got to work. Mixing bowls, putting toast in the toaster, and flipping the eggs. As he did so, Ace quickly became aware of just how much work went into cooking for a small army and decided he would never become a chef.

-

By the time they got done with breakfast, everyone else had woken up. None of them fully recovered from staying up so late. Bleary eyed and stumbling, Dragon was the first to make it into the dining room. 

“Hm? Wha- Did you make all this, Ace?” Dragon asked when he noticed all the food on the table; not sure if he was still dreaming or not.

“Uh-huh!” Ace nodded, “I’m a big boy now!”

Behind the toddler, Sengoku silently mouthed “I helped” to calm the other man’s worries.

“Thank you, Ace.” Dragon softly said, crouching down to Ace’s height, “That was very nice of you to do. Especially on your birthday.”

“You’re welcome!” Ace exclaimed before pointing his finger at him, “But don’t think I’m doing this everyday, this was a lot of work! My gift to you!”

“Oh I’m sure it was.” Dragon laughed, thinking about how Rosinante and him do all the cooking normally, “It’s nice to have help though, right? Maybe you can help Papa and me sometimes?”

“Hm… Maybe.” Ace said, pretending to think really hard about it, “But I take cookies as payment.”

“That’s fair.” Dragon nodded before opening his arms, “Now come give me a hug or are you too old for that now too?”

“Never!” Ace yelled, jumping into his arms.

As Dragon held him in his arms, it was hard to think that Ace used to be so small. He had never been as tiny as Luffy, but he did used to fit comfortably in Dragon’s hand. Now he had to use his whole arm to hold him.

“Happy Birthday, Ace.” Dragon mumbled.

“Yeah, Happy Birthday!” Rosinante called from the dining room archway.

“Hello son, got some tired passengers?” Sengoku greeted him, referring to the yawning Sabo and pouting Luffy in his arms.

Seeing the three of them like that, it was easy to imagine that Sabo had always been theirs. Sabo’s blonde curls sticking up in every direction just like Luffy and Rosinante’s hair.

“Eh, Sabo was already up.” Rosinante shrugged, giving the blonde toddler to Dragon so he could set Luffy down in his high chair, “Luffy however woke up a bit grumpy.”

“Bah!” Luffy cried, reaching for the food on the table already.

“Okay, I’ll get you some banna yogurt.” Rosinante laughed as he buckled him in and sat down to feed him, the baby trying to grab the spoon each time he brought it close.

As he did that, Dragon sat down across from him with Sabo and Ace in his lap, the two of them eating from the same plate.

-

Sabo quietly ate and observed everyone as they came into the dining room to eat. Watching as each of them told Ace “Happy Birthday” before getting their plates.

Is this how birthdays are supposed to be? Sabo thought, Just a quiet day with family?

Sabo never had a birthday party, or at least he didn’t remember he did, but Stelly did. There had been a band, lots of rich people, fancy food, and a huge pile of presents. Sabo had hid on the upstairs balcony overlooking the ballroom for a bit, finding it odd how everyone was fawning over Stelly for simply existing, before he was locked in his room.

Seeing all that had made a weird feeling well up inside him and made him feel ugly. He was pretty sure it was jealousy, but he didn’t know what he was jealous about. Sabo didn’t want those rich weirdos poking and proding him. Sabo didn’t want all those presents as he knew overconsumption was a waste. Especially on him. But looking around the dining room in this cozy house, Sabo realised what he was jealous about.

Love.

Sure his parents probably didn’t love Stelly unconditionally, but it was the closest they were ever going to get.

But these people… They loved Sabo.

He knew this because when he made a mistake, daddy and papa didn’t yell at him. Just gently explained things to him and helped him clean his mess up. They got him things he liked and let him talk about stuff he was interested in.

Ace shared his things and played with him. Robby read books with him. Uncle Drake taught him how to navigate using the stars. Luffy always wanted to cuddle.

Uncle Kuzan made the best ice fortresses. Uncle Buggy taught him how to throw knives. Aunt Dadan showed him how to track animals. Gramps and Grandpa were always doing silly things.

Sabo loved these people.

“Happy Birthday, Ace.” Sabo whispered.

“Thank you.” Ace told him with a bright grin, “Here have some more bacon.”

Sabo happily took the bacon and continued to enjoy the love surrounding them.

-

Once everyone was done with breakfast, they split up into groups. Dadan, Kuzan, Buggy, Drake, and Robin went out into the woods to explore. With Dragon and Rosinante taking the boys to the park.

Which left Garp and Sengoku to clean up the mess left behind. Not that they mind. It was nice to deal with normal chaos rather than the chaos caused by their children.

Plus someone had to bake the cake and Rosinante had been put on an oven ban after the gingerbread house disaster.

“Hey, has the paper come yet?” Garp asked, “Tsuru said the birds are always on time, but I’m starting to think the birds hate us.”

“That’s because you keep trying to eat them and call them rats with wings.” Sengoku huffed, “But yes, the paper did come. I just hid it so Buggy wouldn’t see it and be upset.”

Garp stopped washing the dishes and gave him a confused look.

“Why would Buggy be upset about the newspaper?” Garp questioned.

“Ah- Well- Um… Okay, I’ll show you, but you can’t say anything until the kids are in bed.” Sengoku told him, “Seriously, promise me!”

“Relax, it can’t be that bad.” Garp laughed, waving him off.

Sengoku didn’t say anything, just gave him a stern look that made him cave.

“Alright, alright.” Garp huffed, rolling his eyes, “I won’t say anything!”

“You better not.” Sengoku warned before he reached into the back of a cupboard and pulled the newspaper out, handing it over to Garp.

Garp flashed him a cocky smirk and then flipped the newspaper open. That smirk was quickly replaced with a shocked expression and utter stillness.

“HOLY FUCKING SHIT!” Gapr yelled, “Is this true?! Because the future is FUCKED if it is!”

“The future is not fucked and I don’t know.” Sengoku scoffed, “You know how Morgans is! He writes whatever seems like a good story! You should know after what happened with God Valley!”

“Ugh, don’t remind me!” Garp growled, “I hate that stupid title he gave me and you know it!” “Then take this ‘news’ with a grain of salt and don’t tell anyone until later!” Sengoku ordered, “Especially Buggy!”

“Yeah, the kid is going to blow a gasket.” Garp said, folding the paper back up and hiding it again, “Good things he’s here and not out there. We’d have to bail him out of prison for murder.”

“No, I’m pretty sure the government would want to recruit him.” Sengoku sighed, “Don’t get me wrong, I love the kid, but if he ever becomes a warlord; I’m retiring!”

“Oh really?” Garp asked, that cocky smirk back on his face, “How much are we betting?”

Sengoku shot him a dirty look and punched him in the side.

“Shut up and get back to washing!” Sengoku hissed.

God he hated the sound of Garp’s laughter sometimes.

-

A couple hours later, everyone was back at home and sitting in the dining room again. With Ace at the head of the table and the lights dimmed. Everyone sang the “Happy Birthday” song out of tune as Garp and Sengoku brought the cake in.

It was a chocolate cake with chocolate sticks and hard candy in the shape of a campfire. Ace bounced excited in his seat as they sat it down in front of him.

“Okay Ace, make a wish!” Dragon urged.

Ace thought very carefully for a second before blowing out all five candles. Everyone cheered as he did so. Drake and Rosinante captured the moment on both of their cameras.

“What did you wish for?” Sabo asked.

“I can’t say.” Ace shrugged.

“Why not?” Sabo pouted.

“Becasue it won’t come true if I tell someone.” Ace told him, “It’s a rule!”

“Really? That’s a lot of power.” Sabo said, “Can you wish for anything?”

“Yeah, but it might take a while.” Ace replied, taking the plate Dragon handed him with a slice of cake on it.

“Huh… I guess I should start thinking about my birthday wish then!” Sabo stated, taking his own plate of cake.

As the two of them dug in, Dragon started counting the plates and noticed they were short on a few.

“Hey, Buggy.” Dragon called, “Can you grab a couple more plates, please?”

“Sure!” Buggy replied, heading into the kitchen.

Unnoticed by everyone else, Sengoku and Garp froze.

Then a crash came from the kitchen.

“Here, Rosinante.” Dragon sighed, passing the knife off to him, “I’ll go see what happened.”

“Well at least we can’t say I’m the only clumsy one.” Rosinnate joked.

Dragon gave him a fond, but suffering look and went to the kitchen. In there he found a shocked Buggy holding the newspaper and surrounded by shattered porcelain.

“Buggy? Are you okay?” Dragon softly questioned.

Buggy looked up at him and then shoved the newspaper into his hands.

“Birth is a curse, existence is a prison, and love doesn’t exist!” Buggy cried as he pushed past him and ran upstairs.

Dragon stood there, absolutely bewildered, before looking down at the paper.

“Oh.” Dragon simply said.

It was all he really could say to such a shocking headline. One he hoped really wasn't true. For Buggy’s sake.

-

Across the sea, on an island called Kuraigana, Shanks was sitting in an armchair by a cozy fire and being lectured by his sister-in-law.

“What the fuck is this, Shanks?!” Marie yelled.

The “this” being a newspaper with the headline reading:

Pirate Captain Red Haired Shanks: A Father?!

The notorious playboy Shanks was caught spending time with two red haired children at a Christmas market. Are these children his? If so, which of the many women he’s rumoured to have been with are the mother? Did the red haired flirt finally settle down or do they have different mothers? More on page three!

Below that was a picture of Shanks holding his niece, Uta, as his nephew, Kid, was climbing his leg.

“Aw, come on Maire.” Shanks said, “The only true thing in that blurb is that Uta and Kid have different mothers! I never slept with anybody let alone kiss someone other than Buggy! And that was on the cheek!”

“What if Garling sees the newspaper?!” Marie snarled, rolling up said newspaper and whacking him over the head with it, “What if he comes for them?!”

“Ow! Stop hitting me!” Shanks whined before scooping up Uta who was toddling past, “Hey! You can’t hit me when I’m holding a kid!”

“That’s cheating!” Marie hissed but she did stop smacking him, “Now what are going to do about this?!”

“Marie, Garling thinks you’re dead and he didn’t know you were pregnant when you left.” Shanks pointed out, “Therefore, he doesn't even know Kid exists.”

“Yeah, neither does Shamrock.” Maire muttered before asking, “But what about Uta? Garling knows she exists and that she went missing!”

“Relax, Garling probably doesn’t give a shit since she’s a girl.” Shanks told her, “If anything, Shamrock should be the one worried. And besides, they’re not going to know it’s her! You can only see the red part of her hair! They won’t know it’s her!”

Maire glared at him, but let out a deep sigh and flopped into the armchair next to him.

“I hope you’re right.” Marie huffed, “Because I’m going to kill you otherwise.”

Shanks flashed her a smile and lifted Uta up in front of his face.

“No! Don’t kill Uncle Shanks!” Shanks pleaded in a high pitched voice, “Kill Grandpa Garling! He’s a little bitch!”

“Yay! Bitch!” Uta giggled, clapping her hands.

“Stop teaching my kids how to swear!” Marie groaned, taking the toddler from him, “Kid already swears like a seasoned marine!”

“Gee, wonder who he got that from Miss Shells ‘Jackass’ Maire.” Shanks laughed.

Marie didn’t dignify that with a response, pushing his chair over instead and making Uta burst into another fit of giggles.

-

Ace's Birthday Cake:

-

Sorry for missing last weekend, I forgot it was Easter.

Thank you for reading!❤❤❤❤❤

-

Plot Points:

Coradrag Humor + Tragedy

Happy Coradrag AU

Actual Story:

Holding Ace

Summary: Garp gives Ace to Dragon because he wants grandkids and with the way Dragon is, Garp thinks he'll die before Dragon even gets a date.

Heartbeats

Summary: Dragon has been raising Ace for six months, these are his thoughts on raising Ace.

Ace's Milestones

Summary: Ace is growing up faster than Dragon expected.

Meeting Rosinante

Summary: Dragon has been doing well at parenting, but soon he has to go back to work. That means he needs to figure out child care for when he can’t take Ace with him. Enter Rosinante: a handsome, trustworthy marine that’s good with kids. Dragon might have more problems than he thought.

Doomed Love Anyone? (Part 1) - (Part 2) - (Part 3) - (Part 4)

Summary: Rosinante and Dragon falling in love.

This gonna be real happy and then real sad. Also very long, so it had to be split into three four parts. Each part is about ten pages, so I was a fool for thinking I could fit it all into two parts at first.

The Insurgent Serpent (Part 1) - (Part 2) - (Part 3) - (Part 4)

Summary: It seems that Dragon was not as careful as he thought he was. 

Dragon’s secrets are revealed and his plans foiled. He is forced to leave the marines early and Rosinante without an explanation.

Ghost of You

Summary: The marines hold a funeral for Dragon, Ace, and Henry. Rosinante learns about Dragon's involvement with the revolutionaries. Akainu and Rosinante are both haunted, but in vastly different ways.

Rewind

Summary: Kuzan tells Rosinante what happened to Dragon, Ace, and Henry on Needle Island.

Suprise!

Summary: Dragon calls his dad to tell him about Luffy. Somehow it turns into talking about Garp’s relationships and which ones might be Dragon’s other dad.

Garp's Exploits / Original Version / Poll / Chart

Summary: Dragon calls his dad to tell him about Luffy. Somehow it turns into talking about Garp’s relationships and which ones might be Dragon’s other dad.

Holding Luffy / Original Version

Summary: Rosinante reunites with Dragon, meets his son, and is sick of Garp’s shit.

Familial Perspectives

Summary: It's now Dadan, Garp, Sengoku, and Kuzan's turn to hold Luffy. There are many different opinions. (Originally part of the old version of Holding Luffy).

Delayed Shovel Talks

Summary: Sengoku and Garp have some opinions about this whole ordeal. The family talks about how they'll move forward.

Masterlist #2 - Tumblr only allows thirty links per post.

Extras

Garp & Tsuru: Working with Sengoku in the CSIS. All three of them were in the military together.

Roger+Rogue+Garp+Whitebeard+Rayleigh+Shakky: The polycule is alive and doing well. They have three cottages and they share all three backyards (they tore down the fences between and made it a big one). They bought the cottages when their kids (Dragon, Dadan, Kuzan, Buggy, and Mihawk) were little. Roger and Rogue live in one. Garp and Whitebeard live in one. Rayleigh and Shakky live in one.

Rayleigh is a mechanic and Shakky runs a bar.

Roger and Rogue like to travel a lot (they write for a travel magazine or something). Ace is not their son in this au.

Garp is in the CSIS and Whitebeard helps troubled youth.

Garling: Dead - He choked on a grape while he was home alone. Was an abusive father and husband.

Aisling (Red Haired Mom): After Garling died, she took over his insurance company. Raised Shanks and Shamrock by herself.

Shanks: Married to Buggy, Roger and Rogue's adopted son. Is also a teacher while Buggy is a performer with Cirque du Soleil.

Shamrock: Married to Marie. They have Kid and Uta together as well as adopting Killer later. Marie owns a gym and Shamrock has a bookstore/cafe.

Usopp: His parents are still together. His mom is an engineer and his dad is a park ranger.

Mihawk: Shakky and Rayleigh's son. Is an Olympic fencer and used to do ballet. Is a dance teacher now and married to Gekco Moria, a movie director who makes a lot of horror/thriller/historical movies. Their kids are Perona and Zoro. They never got divorced because Moria never went after Kaido. Oh, and they also get custody of Kuina.

The 5 Elders and other Celestials: Gang Leaders/Mob - doing illegal stuff like human trafficking, drug making, smuggling weapons, etc. Sengoku, Garp, and Tsuru are trying to take them down. The 5 Elders are the kind of mobsters that live all over the globe and have illegal stuff in countries they don't live in. So it makes it hard to convict them.

Dragon: Was in the CSIS. He quit to be a teacher (History+Social Studies+Law+English) and do non-profit work. He works with Ivankov and Kuma to help poorer communities as well as LGBTIA+ kids and other vulnerable communities.

Kuma and Ginny are married and raising Bonney.

Ivankov owns a night club.

Kuzan: Olvia and him had Robin on accident, tried to make it work, but untimely separated with no hard feelings. Olvia is doing archaeology work around the globe, so Kuzan has primary custody of Robin. Olvia comes to visit on holidays and takes Robin with her during summer vacation (July+August). Kuzan is a desk worker at the CSIS. Got married to Crocodile, a casino owner.

Dadan: A business woman as you said. Runs a distillery and some other businesses with some illegal stuff on the side. Single and childfree, until she meets Bellemere.

Bellemere: Used to be in the CSIS, but was unable to work with them further due to breaking her leg in three places. She is now raising Nami and Nojiko. Is a business partner of Dadan, maybe more in the future.

Henry: Is alive with his wife and kids. Is a psychologist in the same department as Akainu. Once used Akainu as a study for a paper he was writing.

Akainu: Dragon and Akainu used to be together, but then they split when Ace was a newborn because Akainu is a workaholic/wasn't there a lot due to being in the military and Dragon was experiencing some post-partum depression. He is now a cop. So he still works a lot, but at least he's not travelling anymore. He tried to get Dragon back and promised to be better, but the promises kept falling through/he never showed up.

Timeline:

Surprise pregnancy.

Akainu isn't around much and Dragon doesn't feel good about himself.

Ace is born.

Akainu never took any paternity leave.

Dragon leaves Akainu when Ace is a month old.

Divorce was finalised when Ace was three months old.

Akainu is finally able to leave the military and become a police detective when Ace was three. So he wasn't consistently in Ace's life until then.

Akainu was pissed when he came back and found out Dragon had moved on.

The only reason he didn't go completely insane is because Dragon threatened to get a restraining order and the Judge made him do supervised visits at first.

Rosinante: Met Dragon when he was still in the CSIS and they saw each other in passing. Dragon's usual babysitter got sick and Rosinante volunteered. They kept talking and eventually started dating. Then they had Luffy accidentally and moved in together. He quit the CSIS due to his injuries after almost being killed by Doflamingo and was a stay at home parent for a bit before he started helping with Dragon's non-profit group.

Ace: Is Dragon and Akainu's son. He visits Akainu every other weekend.

Luffy: Was an accident, but a happy one. A crybaby like both of his dads. Loves his family and friends.

Sabo: His parents were charged with child abuse and that led to the authorities finding out that they were also working with the 5 Elders. So they are in jail for life. Dragon and Rosinante adopted him.

Shachi & Penguin: Their parents were killed due to racism (they are half fishmen in the Happy Coradrag au). Dragon and Rosinante adopted them.

Bepo: His parents are long gone because they had Bepo when they were old. His brother was killed by the mob boss Big Mom.

Law: If his family is alive, they are neighbours with Dragon and Rosinante. If they are dead, Dragon and Rosinante adopted him.

Mom, Dad, and Lami Trafalgar: If they are alive, they are doctors and collaborate with Dragon on non-profit work. If they are dead, maybe they treated someone who betrayed Dolfamingo so he killed them.

Homing & Mom Donquixote: Tried to leave the Celestials, but you can't get out of the mob once you're in it. They were killed and their children were presumed dead.

Doflamingo: A Mob leader of course. He killed Law's family (if you want them dead). Rosinante tried to take him down, but Doflamingo shot him and was then protected by the Celestials over seas. Eventually gets arrested.

King+Kaido: Running a biker gang (+ bar) together and have their son, Yamato. They beat up weirdos, racists, and homophobes in the neighbourhood. They also have a friendly beef going on with Oden who runs a rival bar/restaurant, well Kaido does, King just drinks tea with Toki as they watch their stupid husbands fight and kids playing together. When Yamato eventually brings Ace home, they think they're getting arrested because Akainu is the one to drop him off in his police car (he wanted to interrogate Yamato).

Queen & Caesar+Judge: Queen dies in jail. Caesar and Judge get out after 30 years and live somewhere out in the woods together because they can't live in a big city due to the amount of restraining orders they have on them. The get married for the tax benefits and eventually die by getting blown up by an explosion in their makeshift lab together. Ah, romance.😂

Blackbeard: Harassed Ace and tried to kill him after Ace turned him down, but then he died in a "mysterious accident" (Kaido and King got him once they found out he lived in the same neighbourhood).

-

Happy Coradrag AU Masterlist

-

December 25 - Monkey D Residence - Dawn Island

Dragon woke up slowly to the feeling of a tiny hand grabbing his nose. Cracking one eye open, he saw Luffy was the one grabbing him. Smiling around his pacifier and excitedly kicking his legs when he saw his daddy was finally awake.

Right, we bright him to our bed to give Buggy a break, Dragon remembered, reaching up to gently make Luffy let go of him.

“Hello sunshine junior.” Dragon cooed, kissing Luffy’s hand, “Did you have a good sleep?”

Luffy made some happy gurgling noises and scooted over so he was closer to Dragon.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Dragon chuckled, kissing his baby’s head and patting him on the back.

Dragon closed his eyes again, hoping to go back to sleep, but Luffy had different plans. The tiny baby spit out his pacifier and started whining. Roughly tugging at Dragon’s yellow t-shirt.

“I guess it was stupid of me to think you’d let me sleep some more, huh?” Dragon laughed, “Okay, let’s give you some breakfast.”

Dragon sat up against the headboard and took his t-shirt off. Then he picked Luffy up and settled him against his chest, the baby latching onto his chest all by himself.

“You’re so greedy.” Dragon mused, poking Luffy’s belly and making him whine, “Careful, you might just explode.”

Luffy whined some more and kicked at his hands before going back to his milk.

“Dragon, stop bullying our baby.” Rosinante groaned beside him.

Looking down to his right side, Dragon saw the blonde peaking up at him with a smile.

“Good morning sunshine senior.” Dragon chuckled, “I would lean down to kiss you, but that would make Luffy upset and you told me not to bully him. So…”

“Smartass.” Rosinante huffed as he sat up and kissed his cheek, “But a handsome smartass.”

“Hm, thank you.” Dragon hummed, wrapping his right arm around him, “You’re not too bad yourself.”

“Aw, thanks.” Rosinante laughed, “I’m surprised we got to sl-”

“DAD! PAPA!” Ace screamed as Sabo and him burst through the door, “WAKE UP! IT’S CHRISTMAS!”

Rosinante was then trampled by two tiny bodies as the toddlers jumped onto the bed.

“Ugh! My body!” Rosinante groaned as he was used like a trampoline.

“There’s a lot of presents downstairs, can we open them?!” Ace yelled, jumping on the bed.

“Yeah! Can we?! Can we?!” Sabo urged.

“Not until everyone else is up.” Dragon told him, “How about you go get them?” 

“OKAY!” Ace and Sabo shouted as they ran out of the room.

Dragon laughed as he watched them go and then he looked down at Rosinante.

“Are you okay?” Dragon asked.

“I feel like I was attacked by a herd of deer.” Rosinante whispered, reaching up to gently tug on Luffy’s leg, “You won’t do this to me, right?”

Luffy kicked his hand off and curled into Dragon’s chest some more.

“So that’s a no.” Rosinante huffed, “Our kids are either going to paralyze me or kill me.”

Dragon laughed again and started burping Luffy before putting his shirt back on.

“Well if we don’t get downstairs soon, it will definitely be the latter.” Dragon joked, “Come on, I’m going to go change Luffy’s diaper and then I’ll be down.”

“Can I have a kiss first?” Rosinante asked.

“Sure.” Dragon nodded, slowly leaning in to kiss him.

He should’ve been faster.

“DAD! PAPA!” They heard their children scream from downstairs, “WE GOT EVERYONE UP!”

The two of them shared a long suffering look and got up.

-

Not even thirty minutes later and the living room was a mess. Piles of wrapping paper were beginning to be eaten by Merriweather, dissected stockings were thrown over furniture, and there were seven tired adults on the couches watching a horde of kids playing on the floor.

A picture perfect christmas if you will.

“Look! I got a bunch of sweaters for Priscilla!” Robin cried as she put one of them on her caiman.

“I didn’t just get one top hat, I got two!” Sabo shouted, “And five journals!”

“I got the Odette doll from the Barbie of Swan Lake book!” Ace shouted, jumping up and down excitedly, “And look Luffy! Santa brought a baby for you!”

Ace sat the baby doll in the playpen and Luffy crawled over to the doll. Snatching the doll’s bottle away from it and trying to drink it, only to realise nothing was in it. So he got mad and started chewing on the doll’s arm.

“Rosi! I got the Sora vs Dracula series!” Drake shouted, waving the book around too fast for Rosinante to see.

“Hold on.” Rosinante laughed, “I can’t see.”

“Ah, sorry.” Drake sheepishly said.

“Hey dad! Can you show me how to ride my bike?” Robin asked, shaking Kuzan awake.

“Sure.” Kuzan yawned, “Here, give Priscilla to Aunt Dadan.”

“Okay!” Robin cheered, carefully handing her caiman over to Dadan before grabbing her purple bike.

“I still can’t believe your ex gave your kid a live caiman.” Dadan laughed as she pet Priscilla.

“Neither can I.” Kuzan groaned as he got up.

Meanwhile Garp and Sengoku were watching Luffy in the playpen.

“Get ‘em, Luffy!” Sengoku urged, egging the baby on as he “fought” the new doll he got.

“Rip it limb from limb!” Garp yelled.

“What are you two doing?” Dragon asked as he walked past, “Please tell me you're not teaching Luffy to kill people at seven months old.”

“Then we won’t say anything.” Garp and Sengoku replied.

Dragon rolled his eyes, but left them to it. 

“Hey Dadan.” Dragon said, sitting down next to his sister, “Why do you look so tired?”

“Let’s just say I did a very good deed.” Dadan told him, “Completely free of charge.” Huh, maybe Dadan did something nice for the village, Dragon thought.

-

As the Monkey family celebrated, Sabo’s old family was in a panic.

“What is that disgusting creature?!” Didit screamed as she stood on a table.

“Why the hell would I know?!” Outlook the Third yelled as he stood on a chair.

“EW! IT SPRAYED ME WITH SOMETHING THAT SMELLS DISGUSTING!” Stelly cried.

“SERVANTS! KILL IT!” Outlook the Third ordered.

The servants tried to grab the skunk, but they ended up getting sprayed as well. One of them almost nailed it with a shotgun, but the skunk had jumped out the window and ran off to the forest.

-

Seven year old Trafalgar Law wasn’t having all that great of a Christmas.

There had been an outbreak of some strange illness and his parents had been hard at work in the hospital trying to find the source as well as a cure. It’s been months and so far they’ve only managed to mitigate the symptoms. 

They did have a lead today however, so they spent Christmas morning with their kids and then left them with a neighbour as they investigated the sewers.

“Stupid disease making mama and papa busy.” Law muttered as he read his medical textbook, “Stupid Santa not letting me dissect him. Asshole wouldn’t even give me his appendix, what does he even need it for?!”

As he cursed Santa out in his head, his five year old sister Lami came into the room.

“What are you doing down here?! You should be in bed!” Law scolded her, “Do you want to get better or not?!”

“I miss mama and papa.” Lami whispered, “When are they coming home?”

Law sighed and took his sister by the hand, leading her back upstairs.

“They won’t be back for a while.” Law told her, “They’re investigating something that may have caused the illness we all have, remember? They left after we opened our presents?”

“Oh, right.” Lami pouted, “I was just hoping they would be back to read me my bedtime story.”

“How about I read it?” Law suggested, “I’ll even do all the stupid voices.”

“Really?!” Lami gasped, “Even the really silly ones?!”

“Sure.” Law laughed, “I’ll be my Christmas present to you.”

Law got his sister settled back into her bed and grabbed a random picture book before crawling into bed with her.

-

Today was one of Sora’s good days where the pain was minimal and she didn’t feel like constantly throwing up.

Too bad her husband wouldn’t let her see the children, she would have loved to spend Christmas with them. When Reiju was little, she got to spend a few Christmases with her, but then she got pregnant with the boys and… She got sick.

I wish I was just allowed a few minutes with them, Sora thought, Why did things get so bad? I know Judge was a little rough around the edges, but I never thought things would ever get like this. Will I ever get better? Will I ever be able to see them? Snaji and Reiju visit me, but I know Judge gets mad about it. Maybe I should-

Sora was broken out of her sorrowful thoughts by the bedroom door opening.

It was Sanji. 

He looked tired and sad.

“Hello my darling.” Sora cooed, reaching out for him, “Why do you look so sad?”

The two year old’s face crumpled and he ran to her bed, using the sheets to climb up. Once he was on top, he curled up into her side and started sobbing.

“Mom- Mommy?” Sanji cried, “Am I a bad boy?”

“Good heavens no.” Sora firmly stated, shocked that Sanji would say that about himself, “You are a very good boy. Why would you say that?!”

“Be- Because I left food out for Santa and he didn’t give me anything!” Sanji wailed.

Upon hearing that, Sora felt a sinking feeling in her gut.

“Oh honey… I’m so sorry.” Sora cried, “I’m sure Santa appreciated the food you made for him very much and left something for you, but… I’m afraid that your brothers might have destroyed it.”

It was something that she had seen them do before. Sora had tried to throw a nice party for their first birthday, but the other boys had just destroyed everything. She had tried to scold them, but Judge had then reprimanded her for trying to make them soft.

If the boys hadn't destroyed Sanji’s gifts, then she was sure Judge had.

“So I’m not a bad boy?” Sanji sniffled.

“No, I don’t think you could ever be a bad boy.” Sora stated.

“Then why does daddy and my brothers hate me?” Sanji asked.

“I- I don’t know.” Sora answered honestly, “Just know that mommy and Reiju love you very much.”

“Okay.” Sanji nodded, already half asleep from exhaustion. Sora desperately hoped that she’d be able to get better and get them out of here, but a part of her that she tried not to think about knew that things were only going to get worse.

-

Eustass Kid was going to fucking kill Santa Claus.

Why?

Because not only did the jolly beach ball of a man not take his sister; the sick bastard gave her a fucking drumset.

“Look Kitty!” Uta squealed as she smacked the drum, “I’m making music!”

“For the last time, my name is Kid!” Kid snapped, “And quick banging that thing next to my ear!”

“Kid, she’s only three.” Killer scolded as he gently moved their sister to sit beside him instead of Kid, “She doesn’t know any better.”

“Yes she does!” Kid insisted, “Zoro knows what my name is and he’s stupid!”

“He is not stupid!” Killer firmly told him, “He just has a little trouble telling his left from his right which is okay for a two year old still learning! Tell him, Perona!”

“Sorry, but I’m not a liar!” Perona stated, “My brother is stupid. He keeps trying to eat rocks, leaves, and dirt when papa takes him gardening.”

Killer let out a long suffering sigh and dragged a hand down his face. Then he looked over at Zoro who was trying to eat one of the plastic swords he got for Christmas.

Maybe he really is stupid, Killer thought before flinching when Uta banged the drum next to his ear, And maybe Uta is doing that on purpose.

He watched as Uta got up and toddled over to Zoro, letting him use his mouth sword to bang the drum and get drool everywhere.

Or maybe toddlers, especially these two, really were just the germ infested heathens Doctor Aunt Maggots said they were.

-

Thank you for reading!❤❤❤❤❤

-

August 31 - Monkey D Residence - Dawn Island

Robin was sitting at the bow of her gramps’ ship as they arrived at Dawn Island, excited to see a new island.

And she was somewhat disappointed.

You see, based on the stories her dad and gramps were telling her, Robin was expecting to see some kind of overgrown jungle city where giant wild animals roamed free.

Instead, Windmill Village was a beautiful, picturesque countryside town with the jungle starting at the end of some fields in the distance.

Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to explore the jungle later, Robin thought, I still have to meet my cousins anyways. I hope they’re nice.

They probably were considering Ace was three years old and Luffy was three, almost four, months old. 

Slowly, the ship rolled into port and Robin got her luggage. She had more than just one ratty backpack this time. They had made a quick stop at Loguetown to get her some new clothes and other items.

Well, Robin and her dad did. Gramps stayed on the ship, saying the place made him sad. Which just reminded Robin of how convoluted the family tree was and also eased her nerves of them accepting her.

If they could have the child of the Pirate King in the family, then they could have the Devil Child of Ohara as well.

“Come on, Robin.” Kuzan gently told her as he helped carry one of her bags, “We got a bit of a walk ahead of us.”

Robin just silently nodded her head and walked behind gramps and him.

-

Robin didn’t know what she was expecting when she saw the old, wooden Monkey D house sitting on top of a small hill close to the forest, but it definitely wasn’t a toddler running around in the front yard with a human head.

An alive human head.

“Give me back my head you little shit!” The head screamed as the person’s headless body stumbled after the child, “C’mon kid! I’m gonna be full of bruises! Do you want me to look like a dalmatian?!”

“You can’t catch me!” The toddler giggled.

It took a moment to register what she was seeing, but when it did, Robin realised this must be her cousin Ace and Uncle Buggy.

“Hey kid! Drop the head!” Garp yelled as he dropped the bags and did a dramatic pose, “Or I’ll arrest you!”

“Uncle Kuzan and Gramps!” Ace shrieked in happiness, tossing the screaming head to the side, “You’re here!”

“You brat!” Buggy screamed as his head bounced onto the grass, his long blue hair wrapping around his face, “I’m gonna have ants in my hair!”

Ace didn’t care about what Buggy was saying because he was already jumping into Garp’s arms. So the clown just sighed and rolled his eyes as he started putting himself back together.

“Hi, firefly!” Garp greeted Ace as he picked him up, “Have you been good for your dads? Where are they by the way?”

“Yup, and Daddy is with Auntie Dadan in the kitchen making lunch.” Ace replied, “Papa was too, but then he caught himself on fire again, so he’s with Luffy now.”

“Hah! I bet that was funny!” Garp laughed, “Anyways, there is someone you gotta meet!”

Garp bent down in front of Robin and turned Ace around so he was looking at her. Kuzan also knelt down beside Robin so they were all on the same level.

“This is your cousin, Robin.” Kuzan told Ace, “She’s my daughter.”

Kuzan then gently nudged Robin forward.

“He- Hello.” Robin nervously said, “It’s nice to meet you.”

Ace just looked at her in childish wonder for a moment before jumping out of Garp’s arms to hug her. Robin stumbled, startled by the hug before she hugged him back.

“Hi Robin! I’m Ace!” Ace exclaimed, “Do you want to play with me?”

Robin looked a little unsure and looked at Kuzan.

“Go play, I’ll bring everything inside.” Kuzan told her.

“Okay.” Robin quietly said with a small smile.

Ace excitedly took Robin’s hand and dragged her over to Buggy.

“Do you like horses?” Ace asked, looking at Robin’s shirt that had a pony on it.

“Yeah, they're cool.” Robin shyly replied.

“Great! Uncle Buggy, horsy ride.” Ace demanded Buggy.

“Aw come on kid, you’ve been abusing me all morning!” Buggy whined.

“Please! Please! Please!” Ace begged.

“Ugh, fine.” Buggy huffed, getting down on all fours.

Garp and Kuzan watched fondly as Buggy played with the kids before they left him to his misery as they brought the bags inside. Both were glad that Robin was having fun.

R.I.P to Buggy’s back though.

-

Meanwhile, the other residents hadn’t heard them arrive as they were busy fighting in the kitchen.

“I’m telling you it says two cups! Not fucking six!” Dragon huffed.

“How do you know?! You’re not Great-Grandma Alessandra!” Dadan yelled.

“Well at least I can read her handwriting!” Dragon shot back.

“Oh fuck off! You’re lying!” Dadan shouted, “Nobody can read this cursive, chicken scratch bullshit!”

The two of them continued to fight over how to bake a cake as Rosinante sat wrapped in bandages at the kitchen table with a fond look on his face.

Call him crazy, but he wouldn’t trade this chaos for anything. These were his psychos.

“Your Auntie and Daddy are very silly aren’t they? Yes they are!” Rosinante cooed to Luffy.

The baby was laying in his bouncy chair, laughing away at the noise as he kicked his legs and waved his teething ring around. He had been unbearably angry recently since his first tooth had started coming in a little early.

Keeping his poor dads up late into the night as they tried to sooth him. Dragon especially had been feeling the pain as Luffy had started biting him when he fed him and Luffy got even more angry if they tried to only bottle feed him.

Right now though, he was as happy as could be.

Then Garp and Kuzan came in.

“What’s all this yelling about?” Garp barked, startling everyone.

“Oh, hi dad. Kuzan.” Dragon said, nodding to them, “When did you get here?”

“Thirty minutes ago.” Garp told him, “Now why are you idiots fighting?”

Now Garp was bickering with them as they continued to fight over Great-Grandma Alessandra’s cookbook.

Kuzan watched them for a couple of seconds before rolling his eyes and walking towards Rosinante.

“Ah, home again, home again.” Kuzan sighed as he sat down next to the blonde at the table, “How are you, Rosinante? I heard from Ace that you got blown up again.”

“It was merely a small grease fire that caught onto my sweater sleeve.” Rosinante told him, lifting up his right arm, “Just a first degree burn that needed some aloe bandages. I’ll be fine.”

“Great.” Kuzan said, “And how’s this little shit? He’s got more hair than last time.”

Luffy indeed had more hair than the last time his uncle saw him. Now at almost four months old, Luffy’s hair was thick golden curls instead of the pale wispy curls he was born with.

“He does.” Rosinante nodded, “It’s cute, but it sucks when he gets snot or drool in it from waving his teething ring around and it gets crusty."

“Ew.” Kuzan grimaced, quickly retracting his hand from the baby’s head, “That’s disgusting."

“Yeah, I love him, but be glad that you skipped this stage.” Rosinante sighed, “Speaking of which, where’s your daughter?”

Upon hearing Rosinante say that, Dadan and Dragon snapped out of their fight and left Garp to figure out the recipe.

“Oh yeah! Where is the kid?” Dadan asked, “What’s she like?”

“More importantly, what’s her name?” Dragon questioned.

“Well, she likes horses, reading, gardening, purple is her favourite colour, and she has a morbid sense of humor.” Kuzan told them, “She looks nothing like me, has the Hana Hana no Mi devil fruit, and her name is Nico Robin.”

“Aw, that’s sweet- Wait, what?!” Dragon exclaimed as Dadan sat in shock, “Nico Robin?! You’re her dad?! What the fuck, Kuzan?!”

“Wait, wait, wait… So that historian you met in the bar… She was Nico Olvia?!” Dadan yelled, “How did that happen?!”

“We were both sad and drunk.” Kuzan shrugged, “Things happen.”

“ThInGs HaPpEn.” Dadan scoffed, “It should’ve been me dammit!”

“What? Did you have a crush on her or something?” Kuzan asked, bewildered.

“Don’t give me that weird look!” Dadan yelled, “You still have a picture of Big Mom on your wall.”

“Oh right, I’ll have to take that down.” Kuzan sighed, “What a shame.”

Beside him, Rosinante was quietly laughing to himself.

“Hey! Can we please focus?!” Dragon shouted, “How did you find out Robin is your daughter?”

“Borsalino found some of Olvia’s journals in one of the basement archives.” Kuzan explained, “Then he got rid of all the evidence they existed and broke into my apartment to give me the journals. I started reading them and that’s how I found out.”

“Wow, I wouldn’t have expected that of him.” Dragon commented, slightly speechless.

“Isn’t that the giant light bulb man?” Dadan asked, “The one that looks like he’s from the mafia?”

“That’s the one.” Kuzan confirmed, “Which is why I feel so confident about bringing Robin there.”

“What?! You’re bringing her to Marineford?!” Dadan, Dragon, and Rosinante shouted in surprise, “Are you crazy?!”

“Relax, it’ll be fine.” Kuzan reassured them, “Akainu is vulnerable and I have blackmail on Borsalino since he left me a note. We also already called Sengoku and he’s all for the plan.”

Dadan, Dragon, and Rosinante were about to say something else, but Ace had suddenly barged into the room with Robin.

“Daddy! Uncle Buggy passed out on the lawn!” Ace yelled, “But it’s okay because Robin used her cool powers to put him on the couch!”

Upon seeing everyone looking at her, Robin let go of Ace’s hand and froze in the doorway. Looking like a deer ready to run.

-

When Ace had dragged her into the kitchen, Robin wasn’t expecting so many people to be in there. The sight of them all staring at her made her want to bolt out the door and run back to the ship.

“It’s okay, Robin.” Kuzan reassured her as he got up to gently nudge her towards the table, “They won’t harm you.”

Thankfully, one of the adults took the lead.

“Hello Robin! I’m Rosinante, or just Rosi.” Rosinante, a very tall blonde man with a bandaged right arm, softly said to her, “I’m Ace’s Papa. This is your Uncle Dragon and Aunt Dadan.”

“Hi Robin, it’s very nice to meet you.” Dragon said.

“Yeah! And it’ll be nice to have more women in the family.” Dadan laughed.

“Speaking of, where is Tsuru?” Garp asked, “I saw her ship was still in port.”

“Getting her ship ready to leave.” Rosinante replied, “But she’ll be back before supper.”

“Ah, okay.” Garp shrugged, turning back to the cake batter.

As the adults were talking, Robin quietly moved towards the table and curiously looked at the baby bouncer on top of the table. She couldn’t see anything due to the angle, but she heard a baby cooing.

“Do you want to meet Luffy?” Dragon asked, making her jump a little.

“Oh, um, yes.” Robin replied.

Robin was moved to sit on a chair while her Uncle Dragon picked the baby up and carefully handed him to her.

“There we go, just support his head.” Dragon told her.

Robin nodded and grew some extra arms in order to hold the baby more securely. He was very tiny, but surprisingly heavy.

And he was so cute.

Luffy looked like the cherubs she saw in art books from the Oharan library. All chubby cheeks and blonde curls. The little blue onesie with the lion face on it was cute too.

“Hi Luffy.” Robin whispered, “I’m Robin.”

Luffy just giggled and wiggled around.

“He’s really cute.” Robin commented, smiling at her cousin, “Even if he’s covered in drool.”

“He is, isn’t he?” Dragon said.

“Not when he poops!” Ace yelled from where he was sitting on Dadan’s lap.

“No, but we still love him.” Rosinante laughed.

The group of them continued to peacefully talk and ask Robin about her interests when Buggy stumbled into the kitchen.

Upon seeing him, Luffy burst into tears.

“Ah! Did I do something wrong?!” Robin gasped.

“It’s okay, he just doesn’t like Buggy.” Dragon sighed, taking the crying baby from her, “Hush Luffy, it’s just your uncle. Stop crying.”

“Well I like Buggy.” Robin said.

“Really?! Thank you!” Buggy exclaimed, hugging her before turning to Dragon holding Luffy, “See! The baby is just defective!”

“Oh stop that.” Dadan reprimanded him, “I’m sure he’ll grow out of it eventually.”

Buggy huffed and started muttering about "disrespectful babies” as everyone laughed at him.

{Luffy in fact did not grow out of it. Especially after he met Shanks a couple years later.}

-

Later in the evening, after supper and having the cake, the family was now all gathered in the living room. Even Auntie Tsuru who had come back before she had to leave later that night.

Apparently the day before was Auntie Dadan’s birthday and they had just moved the celebration to today so they could all celebrate together.

Robin liked both of her aunts. They were both very kind to her and nothing like her Aunt Roji from Ohara. Auntie Tsusu was stern, but fair and she also liked the colour purple. Auntie Dadan had even promised to do a bit of gardening with her next week and explore the jungle a bit.

And her dad was right about her uncles being crybabies. Uncle Rosi and Uncle Dragon had both cried a little after hearing about her travelling on her own.

Uncle Buggy was really silly and he also had a "weird" devil fruit too. Robin thought it was cool and even wondered about how far it could go. Theorising in her head if he could separate himself layer by layer or if it was just his limbs.

Robin wanted to ask him about it, but the blue haired man seemed a bit squeamish, so she decided to ask him later.

As for her cousins, well Luffy couldn’t do much right now, but he was adorable. Ace on the other hand was fun to play with and laughed at her jokes, so she was sure he liked her as much as she liked him. They had spent the rest of the night playing Go-Fish together with Uncle Buggy.

Eventually, the night winded down and it was time for bed. Both of her aunts said goodbye to her and left. Dadan to her house in the jungle with her bandits and Tsuru to her ship.

Uncle Buggy and Gramps went to their rooms while Dragon and Rosinante put their kids to bed. Then Robin was brought to her dad’s childhood bedroom where she would be sleeping.

“Here, the bathroom is just next door.” Kuzan told her as he tucked her into bed, “I’ll be upstairs on the pull-out-couch in the attic if you need anything.”

“Okay.” Robin nodded, holding her stuffed horse.

“Do you like it here?” Kuzan asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

“Yeah, it’s fun.” Robin replied, “Uncle Buggy and Ace said my devil fruit abilities were cool.”

“Good, I’m glad.” Kuzan sighed, “We’ll be staying here for a couple weeks before we go to Marineford. Are you still sure you want to go there?”

Robin quickly nodded her head yes.

They had talked about it on the boat ride there. Robin could either stay with her uncles here on Dawn Island and have Kuzan visit her when he could or she could come with him to Marineford.

Robin immediately chose Marineford despite how much it scared her because she did not want to lose another parent just after she got to meet them. Also, the village did not have an extensive education system.

It was one school house with three rooms and it stopped at age thirteen. People would then go on to become apprentices to learn the family trade or some other profession in the village.

Most people that were born here, died here. The only way out was to save money for travel, go to the Goa Kingdom, or to become a pirate or a marine.

Robin didn’t want that. She wanted to learn about the world. So to Marineford it was. There she could study and travel with her dad thanks to the academy allowing children of marines to do long distance learning.

“Okay, I’ll talk with Sengoku in the morning." Kuzan yawned, patting her on the head, “Anyways, have a good night kid, love ya.”

“Love you too.” Robin whispered, already falling asleep.

Kuzan one last look at his daughter before turning off the light and leaving the door open a crack, heading upstairs to the attic.

Life wasn’t going to be easy, but at least they had each other.

-

Robin's Stuffy:

-

Alessandra is a name from Brazil that means: People's Defender

I thought it was very fitting for someone in the Monkey D Family.

Thank you for reading!❤❤❤❤❤

-

November 1 - Monkey D Residence - Dawn Island

He had only been with them for an hour, but Sabo had already decided that these people were really weird.

First the man with the long black hair had given him a bath to get the lice out of his hair and all the dirt off his skin. To most people this wouldn’t seem strange and the bath itself wasn’t. Sabo had been bathed by the maids plenty of times. 

No, what was strange was that the man was gentle. He didn’t tug on Sabo’s hair, he didn’t hold Sabo down until his skin bruised, he didn’t scrub him until his skin was raw, and he didn’t get any soap in his eyes or dunk him under the water.

In fact, the man warned him when he was going to pour water over his head and covered his eyes with his hand so soap wouldn’t get in them. Then he left Sabo to clean himself and play with the toys.

He had never had many toys and never had any in the tub before. So Sabo just washed himself and stayed still until the man came back. Just watching the plastic fish, ducks, whales, and a boat drift around him.

Then the second weird thing happened, the man picked him up out of the tub and wrapped him in a towel that was yellow and had a hood on it. The hood had eyes and an orange beak on it. 

Sabo thinks it was supposed to make him look like a duck, but he just looked silly.

It was very soft though. Usually the maids used the scratchy ones because his parents said he didn’t deserve the “good” ones. So Sabo didn’t mind looking silly.

After he dried himself, the man helped into some even softer clothes. Some fuzzy orange socks, corduroy pants, and a blue sweater with a big star on it. There was some writing on it, but Sabo couldn’t understand what it said as it was upside down.

The new clothes were the third weird thing that happened to him that morning. He was used to noble clothes that were itchy and too tight. They always made him feel like he was suffocating. 

He must have been making a face while thinking about it because the man knelt down beside him and nudged his shoulder.

“Do you like it?” The man asked, “I can get you something else if you want.”

“No, this is nice.” Sabo replied, “Thank you, sir.”

“Oh you don’t have to call me that.” The man told him, patting him on the head, “My name is Dragon. Just call me that.”

Now that was very strange.

When he was still with his parents, they demanded him to call adults by their formal titles or he’d miss supper. He wasn’t even allowed to call them mom and dad. It was sir and ma'am or a sharp slap to the face.

So Sabo just nodded his head and let himself be picked up again.

It was nice to be held, he couldn’t remember that last time he was held without it hurting.

-

Back in the kitchen, Rosinante was making ramen for the kid Dragon was bathing upstairs. 

All kids like noodles right? Rosinante thought as he gathered what he needed, I can do that! We can have ramen for breakfast!

An hour earlier when Dragon had called out to him about needing help, Rosinante thought that the man had fallen or was having a medical emergency. So in a panic he had run (tripped) down the stairs and slid into the kitchen expecting the worst.

Instead he found Dragon in the kitchen with a scraggly blonde toddler in a sack. Apparently the kid had been living in Dadan’s attic for sometime and was in the junkyard before that. She had caught him in a cage the night before after he terrorised the bandits and her.

Upon hearing that and noticing that the kid was wearing torn up noble clothes, Rosinante had felt his chest become tight. He had to sit down and try to breath properly again. Then Dragon was kneeling in front of him and patting his chest.

“I’m sorry, Rosi. I wasn’t thinking.” Dragon had apologised, “You stay here, we’ll be right back.”

He then watched as Dragon picked the kid up and took him upstairs. As he listened to the sound of the bathtub running, Rosinante focused on the sound of the tub being run in order to calm himself down. 

He didn’t know why he had even been sent into such a panic. Sure, the kid looked a lot like he did when Sengoku found him, but he had worked his issues out years ago. So why was it bothering him now?

Meh, it was probably just the shock of it, Rosinante told himself, I certainly wasn’t expecting it.

Rosinante just shoved those feelings down and focused on the pot of noodles. He would deal with those later; right now he had to make sure he didn’t burn the kitchen down.

-

As Dragon carried him back downstairs, Sabo looked at the pictures on the wall over the man’s shoulder. There were a lot of old pictures in black in white near the top and some newer ones near the bottom of the stairs. He didn’t get a good look at any of them, but he caught that the newest ones had Dragon and that panicky man, Rosinante, in them with some kids.

Oh, they have kids, Sabo realised, That must be where these clothes came from. Will they be mad that I’m wearing them? Stelly always told me to go nowhere near him or his things.

He’d also tattle to their parents about things Sabo didn’t even do or say and then Sabo would be locked in his room without supper.

But maybe these kids were different from Stelly.

Sabo was suddenly torn from his thoughts by the feeling of Dragon setting him down on a chair.

“You can sit here.” Dragon told him, “Do you like ramen?”

“What’s ramen?” Sabo asked.

He was confused about what this ramen stuff was, but he hoped it was good. All that crazy lady with the bandits had was vegetables and dried meat.

“Hm, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.” Dragon shrugged, “But if you don’t, just tell us and we’ll get you something else.”

Wow, these people were really different from his parents. Not only did they make their own food, they wouldn’t make him eat anything he didn’t like. Or at least that’s what they said. Whether or not they’d follow through was yet to be seen and he wasn’t willing to risk a free meal.

Sabo watched as Dragon and Rosinante worked together to put noodles, eggs, and some meat into bowls. They were also whispering something to each other, but he couldn’t hear what they were saying. Then they grabbed three bowls and sat down at the table with him.

“Here you go, Sabo.” Rosinante said with a smile, “Be careful, it’s hot.”

Then the man started eating his own food and let out a loud gasp.

“Ouch! Hot!” Rosinante whined.

“I’ll get you some water.” Dragon sighed.

The man sounded annoyed, but he was smiling as he got the blonde water from the fridge and gave it to him. The blonde man gave him a grateful smile and gulped it down.

“Are you guys a couple?” Sabo asked.

“Hm? Oh, yes.” Dragon replied as he started eating.

“But you’re not yelling at each other and threatening to kill the other?” Sabo said, even more confused, “Are you sure you’re a couple? Aren’t couples supposed to hate each other?”

Dragon and Rosinante both looked surprised and gave each other a look. This made Sabo fear that he had already messed up and was bracing himself, but the blow to the head he was expecting never came.

The two men must have noticed because they immediately became even more worried.

“Did- Did your parents fight all the time?” Rosinante tentatively asked, “Did you ever hear them say ‘I love you’ at all?”

“No, my mother said that if she knew adoption was an option, she would have never had me.” Sabo bluntly told them, “They didn’t talk to me unless they had to and it was usually to yell at me.”

Sabo didn’t know that they had meant him hearing his parents saying ‘I love you’ to each other, not if they said it to him or not. But what he said was still good info to know. 

“Um… I… I see.” Rosinante slowly said as he was at a loss for words, “Is that why you… Ran away? Because your parents were fuc- Awful to you?”

“Yeah, they replaced me with another kid and suddenly I was locked in my room most of the time.” Sabo told him, “I also left because I hated being rich.”

“What do you mean?” Dragon questioned, “Why did you hate being rich?”

“Well… I don’t think it’s fair that people in Goa have everything while everyone else has nothing.” Sabo explained, “I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but it’s suffocating. I saw how people lived in the junkyard, there's a lot of sick and poor people there.”

“Sabo, wanting things to be fair isn’t you being ungrateful.” Dragon stated, “It’s you being kind. And-”

“How long were you in the junkyard for?” Rosinante blurted out.

“Oh! Um… Since April?” Sabo replied, “I’m not really sure. My birthday is March twentieth and I escaped about a week after that.”

“You’ve been on your own for almost seven months?!” Dragon and Rosinante loudly exclaimed.

“It’s been that long?” Sabo asked, “Wow, I noticed it was getting colder, that’s why I went to that crazy lady’s attic, but I didn’t think it was that long.”

The two men didn’t say anything, so Sabo decided it was safe to start eating. 

Wow! This ramen stuff is really good! Sabo thought, I wish I could eat this everyday, but I’ll probably have to leave after this.

“What did you do before the attic?” Dragon asked tentatively.

“Well I knew that nobles were always throwing out perfectly good things, so I got lots of stuff that looked valuable.” Sabo explained, “I think I got ripped off a couple times, but that was nothing a knife through the hand couldn’t fix.”

Sabo had stabbed a lot of people during his time in the junkyard. He wasn’t sure if he killed anyone as he mostly stabbed people in the hands, legs, and butt as those were the places he could reach. He did stab that one guy in the throat though so who knows.

“Uh, that is very resourceful of you.” Rosinante commented, “You are a very smart kid.”

“I am?” Sabo asked, usually he was called stupid and slow.

“Of course you are!” Dragon told him, “You’ve been surviving by yourself for seven months and you’re only three!”

“Three and a half.” Sabo pouted.

For some reason that made both of the men start laughing.

“You sound just like-” Rosinante started before he was cut off by someone at the kitchen door.

“Papa! Daddy!” Ace whined as he sleepily rubbed his eyes, “I want food!”

“Good morning, Ace.” Dragon softly said, “Did you sleep well.”

The kid, Ace, didn’t say anything. Just whined again and ran over to crawl into Rosinante’s lap, the blonde man holding him close. Meanwhile Dragon got up to get Ace a bowl.

As he did, Sabo studied the other kid. He looked to be around his age with black hair and grey eyes. He was wearing red pajamas with dinosaurs on them. He looked well cared for, so that eased Sabo’s nerves a bit, but he knew that looks can be deceiving.

Then Ace locked eyes with him.

“Who’s that, papa?” Ace asked, pointing at Sabo.

“That’s Sabo.” Dragon told him as he set down Ace’s bowl, “He was living in Grey Terminal and then in Aunt Dadan’s attic.”

Oh no, that hag is related to them?! Sabo thought, There definitely going to-

“Oh! So you’re a trash baby like papa!” Ace exclaimed.

“Pardon?” Sabo gasped, almost choking on a noodle.

“I was found in a landfill.” Rosinante explained, “My family renounced their noble titles and wanted to live like everyone else, but it didn’t go well. Then I was found by my adoptive dad.”

“Really?” Sabo asked, “You used to be a noble?”

“Yes, I was a little bit older than you at the time.” Rosinante told him.

At first Sabo thought he was lying since he didn’t look like a noble. He wasn’t ugly or sickly looking, but Sabo didn’t look like a noble either so he couldn’t judge based on looks. Rosinante also looked really sad when he said it, so he decided to stay quiet.

“Ace, why don’t you get to know Sabo?” Dragon suggested, “I need to talk to papa for a minute.”

“Okay!” Ace agreed, moving to his own chair, “How old are you?”

“Three and a half.” Sabo replied, “My birthday is in March.”

“We’re the same age?!” Ace shouted, “We must be twins!”

“But we weren’t born on the same day.” Sabo said, “Wait, when is your birthday?”

“January first!” Ace excitedly told him before realising, “Oh, so we aren’t twins.”

“No, we aren’t.” Sabo nodded, unsure about why this kid looked so sad about not being related to him.

Stelly always told him that having Sabo as a brother was a curse and that he was better off dead.

“Can we be friends?” Ace asked with a hopeful look.

“What?!” Sabo gasped.

“Can we be friends?” Ace reiterated.

“Why?” Sabo questioned, “I’m not good enough.”

“Yes you are!” Ace insisted.

“How do you know?” Sabo scoffed.

“Your eyes are very kind.” Ace nonchalantly stated before he started eating his food.

Sabo was stunned at hearing that. He had always been told he had bug eyes and that they were creepy. Never kind.

“Okay, let’s be friends.” Sabo quietly said before he could think about it.

“Yay!” Ace cheered.

Then he got off his chair and hugged him tightly. Sabo didn’t understand these people at all, but he decided he wanted to try if it meant more things like this.

-

As Sabo and Ace interacted in the kitchen, Dragon was talking to Rosinante in the living room.

“I’m sorry again about earlier.” Dragon told him.

“Dragon, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Rosinante reassured him, “I was just surprised.”

“Are you sure?” Dragon asked.

“Yaah, I’m good.” Rosinante nodded, pulling him into a hug, “And we’re keeping him, right?”

“Do you want to?” Dragon questioned.

“Of course.” Rosinante replied without hesitation, “Do you?”

“Of course.” Dragon said, making the blonder laugh, “We’ll have to ask Sabo about what he wants though.”

“Yeah.” Rosinante agreed, “But I hope he says yes.”

Now it was Dragon’s turn to laugh.

“Og god, we're going to have three kids under four.” Dragon groaned, “And one of them stabs people.”

“Well Ace is already a little arsonist in the making.” Rosinante shrugged, “At least stabbing doesn’t risk the house going up in flames.”

“That’s true.” Dragon nodded.

They’d figure it all out later, for right now they would just keep an eye on Sabo and not give him any knives. They turned around and were about to go back into the kitchen when they heard a noise.

There was crying coming from upstairs.

And cursing.

Since Luffy had learned to roll over, he had been moved to his crib in the nursery. The same room Buggy was staying in. After months of their faces being the first thing Luffy sees every morning, he was very pissed off over Buggy now being the first thing he sees. So the wailing and cursing had been a common occurrence over the last couple of weeks.

“Buggy can get him.” Dragon and Rosinante both said at the same time, making them both laugh again.

Did they feel a little bad about leaving Luffy to Buggy? Yeah, but if they were going to be roommates, they needed to learn how to get along.

Besides, it was really funny to watch a grown man and a literal infant be mortal enemies.

-

Sabo was just finishing up his breakfast when a clown came in with a blond baby in his arms. The baby did not look happy to be there. 

“Here’s your shitty baby.” The clown huffed, handing the baby to Dragon before getting his own food.

“Thanks Buggy.” Dragon said, giving the baby a kiss on the head, “Did you have a good sleep, Luffy? Were you happy to see Uncle Buggy?”

The baby, Luffy, made some angry noises and slapped Dragon on the chest. Showing that no, he was not happy to see the blue haired charlatan. Then he started tugging on his dad’s sweater and whining.

“Okay! I’ll feed you in a minute!” Dragon told the impatient baby, turning him around to look at Sabo, “Luffy, this Sabo. Sabo, this is Luffy.”

“He- Hello.” Sabo shyly said.

The baby perked up at the sight of someone new and babbled with a smile on his face. He tried to reach out and crawl across the table, but Dragon kept hold of him.

Buggy, who was half asleep and heard none of this, turned around to sit down at the table with the rest of the family. And he just so happened to sit right beside Sabo.

“Hey Ace, hello- Who the fuck is this?!” Buggy exclaimed.

“That’s Sabo, Dadan found him in her attic.” Rosinante told him, “And be nice.”

“Let me guess, you’re adopting him?” Buggy asked.

“Ah- Well… Only if Sabo wants to stay.” Dragon answered as he fed Luffy.

“You’re allowing me to stay?!” Sabo yelled in shock, “Wait, you’re not going to sell or eat me are you?”

“What?! No! Of course not!” Everyone yelled.

“Hm, I guess I’ll stay then.” Sabo shrugged, “But I’ll be keeping an eye on you.”

Well then, things were certainly going to be more interesting with Sabo around.

-

The Towel:

-

Apparently ramen is Sabo's favourite food.

Thank you for reading!❤❤❤❤❤