Hello and happy Valentine~ :D
Flaversei here with a kinda angsty story of Roger and Rouge~

Making this fic was hard and confusing, since we know nothing about the relationship between Roger and Rouge. In addition, the timeline confused me so much that I decided to improvised on my own ._.
But well, I tried!
Please do correct me if I made any mistakes... xD

I liked Rouge so much, but since there's hardly any story about her, I decided to make one :)
I hope you like it!

Pairing: RogerRouge.

Enjoy!

Dear My King

Disclaimer.
One Piece © Eiichiro Oda

-x-

South Blue – Baterilla.

Two figures stood on that hill, side-by-side, gazing at the endless sea in front of them. One was the most infamous man in his era, Gol D. Roger the Pirate King, while the other was his lover, whom he called his Queen, Portgas D. Rouge.

Roger put his arm around Rouge with the utmost care, like someone taking care of their most valuable treasure. Rouge leaned on his chest, smiling contently as if she had experienced the world's greatest joy.

Far below the hill, hidden on the beach, the legendary ship Oro Jackson was docked, surrounded by a bunch of pirates having the time of their life partying and drinking and laughing like there would be no tomorrow. And indeed, there truly was no tomorrow for their life of piracy. Roger had considered disbanding his crew very soon.

Roger took a deep breath. He was happy. He had obtained wealth, fame, power, and everything the world could offer. He might as well be the happiest man in the world right now, yet he felt a pang of guilt and regret deep inside his heart. He knew his time was going to end soon, very soon. He had to let go. Of everything.

Rouge understood. She knew her beloved was having a hard time. She knew his struggles, his pains, his story, his sadness — everything. She knew how hard it was for him to had a constant battle against his own incurable disease, pain and enemies. She knew she had to let go soon, very soon.

Rouge realized his slightly trembling hand and reached up to hold it tightly with her own delicate hand. Despite his trademark grin and cheekiness, this man was still a crybaby after all.

Rouge looked up to the man she loved, straight into his eyes, and upon realizing the slightly swollen eyes, Rouge smiled a soothing smile.

"Roger, dear. It's okay to cry. I'm here with you."

Roger held back his tears. He was considered the strongest man alive, how could he let his beloved Rouge worry about him?

"It's fine. I'm—"

Rouge tightened her grip as she leaned closer.
"No. I know you're not. You don't have to act strong now. I understand. You've done enough, Roger."

Roger couldn't hold it in anymore. In an instant, he embraced her delicate figure in his arms, afraid of letting go.

"I'm sorry," were the words he whimpered out with trembling voice.

Rouge didn't make any effort to shake him off. She rubbed his back slowly, hoping to at least soothe his suffering a little. Her man was suffering and Rouge couldn't help but to curse at her own helplessness.

"I'm sorry, Rouge. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I don't want to, but… I have no other choice…"

Roger's hand moved to caressed Rouge's belly where their future baby laid in wait for the right time to come out, to see the world in all its glory.

"I… I can't… I want to stay… I want to be with you, to protect you, to spend the rest of my life here with you, to take care of our child, to raise a little family of my own… but—"

His sentence was abruptly cut off with uncontrollable sobs and tears. It was tears of regrets. The lump in his throat had taken his freedom of speech as he struggled to find the right words.

His mind was filled with images of their future happy family, yet that delusion was soon changed into an image of despair in which he saw his own death and Rouge being all alone. Roger cringed.

He wasn't afraid of death. No, what made him cry was the realization that he had to left behind his loved ones, alone. He cried because he knew people would target Rouge and their child and he won't be there to protect them. Those tears fell because he, who had obtained everything, couldn't guarantee a happy life for his dear family.

He wanted to blame the world, the cursed government, his illness - everything. Sure, he was the Pirate King. Sure, he had done things considered evil by people, but they — Roger kissed Rouge's forehead as he saw the trace of tears on her eyes — his beloved Rouge and their child had done nothing wrong!

Heck, Roger would be willing to give his everything — wealth, fame, power — if it meant happiness for his dear wife and child. But no, he couldn't. The strongest man was helpless in the face of death itself. All he wanted was for them to be happy, was that so wrong, world?

As Roger cursed his inability, he was caught off guard when Rouge cupped her gentle hands in his face, gazed straight into his eyes with the most beautiful smile Roger had ever seen, and said,

"Thank you."

"But—"

Before Roger managed to speak another word, Rouge had put her finger upon his lips.

"Sstt. No more apologies. Thank you Roger, for everything. For being the man who changed my life. For being my King, for teaching me the wonders of the sea, of the countless adventures out there. Thank you. For staying with me until the very end. I love you. I really do."

Her smile didn't falter even when she felt her heart shattered into pieces. She didn't let her tears fall nor did she let her voice tremble.

"Roger. There is not a single thing that I regret ever since the day that I met you. I love every second being with you, you should know that. And here I am, with the Pirate King as my man and our little baby in my belly. Do you think I could ever be happier than this?"

Roger opened his mouth yet no word came out.

There was a moment of silence, and the two just looked at each other with such a longing gaze and a tender smile. Words were left unspoken, but they understood each other. They had to let go, but it's okay. Because just like the way the sea is blue, Roger and Rouge were meant to be together.

-x-

The sun moved ever so slightly and began to merge with the ocean, and there they were, sitting atop that hill, side by side without a care about the world.

Roger put one arm around Rouge while his other hand caressed her belly. His smile was a mixture of genuine happiness and a raw sadness as images of their unborn child ran through his mind, imagining what would they look like.

His thought was interrupted when Rouge chuckled and asked, "What do you think our child's name should be?"

Roger face went blank for a second before a wide, wide grin crept to his face.

"If it's a girl, Ann. If it's a boy, Ace."

Upon hearing the names, Rouge smiled in delight. Ah, what a simple-minded man. "Ann, Ace. I like it."

-x-

When the sun shone high up in the sky the next day, Rouge was standing at the shore, watching quietly as the Oro Jackson slowly drifted away.

Roger was there, standing at the figurine head, with his men cheering loudly behind him. He put on his best grin that matched Rouge's sweetest smile.

Even as the ship drifted further away, the two locked gazes, neither wanted to avert their eyes from each other.

It was, as a matter of fact, their last time seeing each other's face.

-x-

Days passed by, yet each and every single day, Rouge stood there on that hill. She had believed that her beloved would come back. People who knew had told her to give up, to just let him go, because there was no way the Pirate King would come back for her.

But Rouge had faith in him.

Indeed, the chance might be small and it would certainly be easier for her to give up, but she wouldn't. Because she knew that the only place where she belong, the only place that felt like home was by his side. And she was homesick.

There was not a single day when Rouge didn't took her time to read the newspaper for a news about her King, or didn't gaze into the distant sea, or didn't constantly went through her belongings just to look at the things they found together during their adventure.

No matter how much it pained her, Rouge never shed a tear. She held it in, because she knew Roger wanted her to be happy.

Though, to be honest, she was afraid.

-x-

Ah, how long has it been? Months had quickly passed by and as days go by, her anxiety had grown stronger. There were days when she woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of waves, hoping that her beloved would be there on the coast, grinning widely as she welcomed him. There were days when she mistook people in the town for Roger. There were many days when she had dreams about their happy family.

Rouge missed him. So much that it hurt.

She had heard a rumors, or maybe a myth, or simply an old story, that if you put a letter on a bottle and sent it to the sea, the sea itself would deliver it to your beloved ones. Rouge had never believed that, but she was almost desperate.

So one night, she sat on her desk, writing a letter to her beloved one out there. She wrote everything — her daily activities, the progress of their unborn child, the dreams she had, things she found washed away to the beach, things she read on a book — everything. She smiled when she finished writing and read it again.

At the end, though, a lump formed in her throat and she choked on tears.

The reality was cruel. There was no way this letter would reach him faraway in the distant sea.

As she clutched the letter, tears fell down her cheeks.

"I miss you... Please... Come back..."

But when she caught a sight of Roger's wanted poster from the corner of her eyes, Rouge swallowed her tears. The poster portrayed him grinning widely, happily, and Rouge calmed herself with the knowledge that Roger would be fine. He was having fun out there and someday he would come back to her. So she wiped her tears and put the letter inside an empty bottle, then let it be swayed by the waves the next morning.

-x-

On a one fateful day, Rouge was uneasy all day long. An unknown fear had consumed her and she found herself standing on that hill all day long, eyes never leaving the sea for a sign of a certain man.

The baby in her stomach was unusually restless. It kicked and moved uncontrollably in her belly, and Rouge could only pray that Roger was fine out there.

-x-

On the other side of the world — Loguetown, the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger stood firm on the execution stand. Blades were pointed straight to his heart, hundred thousands of people mocked and cursed him, but there he was, grinning like a madman in front of his own death.

When the blades went through his heart, his last thought was of home - a distant land in South Blue called Baterilla, a house on top of a hill, his beloved Rouge and their child.

The last image he had in his mind was Rouge's beautiful smile.

When the darkness consumed him, Gol D. Roger was happy.

-x-

At the end of the day, for a yet unknown reason, tears streamed down Rouge's face as she felt tremendous pain in her heart.

-x-

It was the day after tomorrow that she felt her world crumbled.

Right when the newspaper was in her hand, her legs went weak and it felt as if her heart was crushed, shattered into pieces as the cruel headline, the cruel fact was thrown right into her face.

Gol D. Roger had been executed.

Her beloved was no longer in this world. The man she loved so much had died. He had gone, leaving her behind.

No words would be able to express how broken she was. Saying that she was sad would be an understatement.

But still, she refused to give up.

When she felt the baby in her belly kicking, she knew that she hadn't lose everything. This child that they loved so much must live. She had to made sure that this child alone will live, and that their child shall inherited Roger's will.

So when the Marines started coming to investigate, Rouge was up for the challenge. She won't give up. You may throw anything at her, but still, she won't give up, world.

Days, weeks, months passed by quickly. When the pain started becoming intolerable, Rouge reminded herself of her King. He must be watching her from somewhere and she didn't want to let him down.

-x-

"Do you want our child to be a pirate?" asked Rouge the night before the pirate crew departed.

Roger smiled fondly as he caressed Rouge's belly. "I have no rights to decide that. Whether this child will hate me for being a Pirate King or aim to be like me, that is their own decision. An unborn child held no sins, so this child should not be labeled a criminal for family ties. Let the decision be made by their own."

When he felt the child moving, Roger laughed. "But well! Let him decide that when he had seen the wonders of the sea out there!"

Rouge gave him a confused look before asking, "Him? What made you so sure that our child will be a boy?"

"Nah, just a wild guess. Just look at how energetic he is! Moving and kicking his mother's belly like that. What a cheeky brat."

Rouge chuckled. "Then I can see him as the younger you, Roger."

Roger grinned in response. "But ah, it will also be nice if we got a girl. Then I bet she'll be as beautiful as her mother."

As Roger leaned down to kiss Rouge on the forehead, she smiled as she held his hand tightly.

-x-

An excruciatingly painful twenty months later, when the island was clear of Marines, Rouge gave birth to their child.

Upon seeing the sight, she was overwhelmed with happiness that she ignored her pain and embraced the child and cried tears of joy.

It was a boy, just like how Roger had predicted.

She hold the baby with the utmost care, like someone taking care of their most valuable treasure. And indeed, this boy here was her treasure. She recalled the night when Roger named their child and murmured it with trembling voice, "If it's a girl, Ann... If it's a boy, Ace... That's the name he had chosen for our child..."

Rouge embraced him tightly as she imagined Roger there, grinning and laughing and crying at the sight of their child.

"Gol D. Ace."

The sound of Ace crying echoed through the room as she looked at the Marine that stood in the doorway, Monkey D. Garp. She smiled at the man, acknowledging his presence then kissed Ace's forehead.

'I did it. Ace is our child, Roger.'

When the darkness consumed her, Portgas D. Rouge was happy.

-x-

When she opened her eyes, she was in a field, sun shining brightly on the sky and the air smelt like seawater.

When she stood up, she saw a figure in the distance. A man with a dark curvy mustache and a grin plastered on his face.

At that time, Rouge knew.

She was home.

-THE END-

aaand that's it! How was it? Did I messed up? ;-;

I pictured Roger as Luffy, and actually I was planning to write about his stupid antics, but nah, I didn't know where to put it. xD

Anyway, thank you for reading! ^^
Would you mind posting your thoughts on the review box below? :D

-FVsei-