A/N: Welcome to my new and not quite serious piece! This is just a little distraction, whenever I don't feel like writing on my other story - ASL reset (title still in works). That one has a lot more backstory and thought put into it, which can sometimes be a tiny bit exhausting to write. Feel free to check it out, though! I'm planning on releasing a new chapter before the end of this year.
Anyways, advertising done, get started on this one and tell me what you think!
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I still don't own One Piece.
xXx
When Luffy woke up in a strange room he'd never seen before, he didn't freak out as any normal person would have. He didn't frantically start to search his memories of the previous night in an attempt to figure out what the hell was going on.
Then again, he didn't really need to. Usually, when he woke up in a place he'd never seen before, he'd probably died. And that was bound to cause another headache for several days. Getting used to new universes and deciding on the course of his new life was always a pain.
Groaning and whining dramatically to himself, Luffy swung his legs out of the bed, strolling around the room to figure out where and when and who he was. The last question might seem a bit weird to the inexperienced dimension traveller, but Luffy'd definitely learned his lesson after waking up as his one-year-old, very female self in his fourth life. That sure had been confusing.
Stepping in front of the full-length mirror, Luffy critically scrutinized his appearance. Boobs? Nope. Thank God. Not that he had any problems with women in general, but he preferred not to be one. In his experience, it tended to be very difficult to get all those rough and tough pirates to acknowledge a Queen. Though free food from an eager Sanji could almost make up for that setback.
Scars? Check. Interesting. It had been a while since he'd woken up in a body that resembled his own. Both the mark of his own bravery underneath his left eye, and the mark of his failure on his chest marred his skin. Did that mean he was an add-on to this universe? Considering that his age fit the one before his first death (read: execution), it was highly likely.
Grabbing his cheek with his right hand, Luffy pulled, the skin stretching easily to an inhuman length. He grinned. It was nice to have his original Devil Fruit again. Maybe this new life wouldn't be this bad – at least he didn't have to figure out another fighting style.
Straw hat? Missing. Damn. Luffy ran his hands through his thick, wild, black hair, deeply yearning for his treasure. With a pout, he resigned himself to another life of running around naked. Well, that's what it would feel like to him, in any case.
Continuing his examination of the room, Luffy moved over to the cupboard to look for some clothes. It would be sort of weird if this room didn't belong to him, and its owner came back to find a stranger in his home wearing only briefs. Frowning at its contents, Luffy grabbed a pair of trousers, pulling them on only to realise they were far too large for his size.
Rummaging through the clothes further didn't improve his luck, unfortunately. Whoever this bedroom belonged to, or whoever he'd been before Luffy'd woken up, seriously needed to get a bit of variation in his closet. Though if said person always wore one of the countless thick cloaks taking up way too much space, he could understand why he didn't bother.
Finally grabbing a moss green shirt, a pair of light blue jeans and a yellow sash, Luffy moved over to the desk, throwing the numerous sheets of paper onto the floor so he'd have some room to work. At least he didn't have any problems finding a scissors to cut off a good deal of the trousers' legs.
Pulling on the adapted clothes, Luffy made his way back to the mirror, admiring his handiwork. He almost felt nostalgic looking at the image offered to him – it was basically the same way he'd dressed when he'd first set out for the New World. Only the colour scheme was lightly different, and his precious straw hat was missing.
Well, it would have to do for now. Strolling back to the desk, Luffy looked through the few papers remaining on the desk, hoping to find a calendar somewhere. Huh. March 15. If there was another version of himself out there, he'd be twelve right now. Though Luffy sincerely hoped that was not the case. It was really creepy to have a double, even if the kid would need a few more years to resemble the 26-year-old Monkey D. Luffy.
"What the heck –" a deep voice grumbled from the door Luffy'd ignored so far, narrowed eyes landing immediately on the young man sitting at the desk after taking in the mess in the room.
A bright grin lit up Luffy's face as he realised he was not alone. "Hey, Dad!" he exclaimed cheerfully as Dragon closed the door behind him, never taking his eyes of the other man for even a single second.
"What did you just call me?" the presumed revolutionary snarled suspiciously, keeping a wary distance to the unexpected visitor, his body tense, ready to jump into action at any moment. Not that Luffy intended to fight his father, of course. He didn't want to destroy an island on his first day here.
"Oh, you don't have a son, then? My bad," Luffy replied, his previous grin changing into a mischievous smirk. "Well, you have one, now. Monkey D. Luffy, son of Monkey D. Dragon, dimension traveller extraordinaire," he introduced himself as he jumped onto the table, staying crouched on the surface, waiting for his father's response.
"Right," he responded, obviously torn between incredulity and resignation. Luffy encountered those two emotions rather frequently, now that he thought about it. "Do you have anything to back that up?"
Luffy almost sighed in mild annoyance and nostalgia. Ah, the Revolutionary Army and their obsession with proof. Or was it the Marines? Why did these big organisations never simply believe his words? It was common knowledge that he couldn't lie to save his life – well, in his first life, at least. He'd gotten slightly better over the decades.
"Nope, I don't," Luffy cheerfully stated. "I mean, I could tell you all sorts of facts about your various lives, but all those don't need to be true for you. I could tell you a lot about the ancient weapons and their locations, but those tend to switch around a lot, too. Oh! I could tell you all about Mariejois' dirty little secrets, but then, we'd still be here tomorrow!"
If Dragon was as overwhelmed as he usually was when he first met his son, this one didn't show any inkling of it. He never did. It had taken many years spent in his father's company for him to confess part of his past feelings, and that had been hard work.
"I think," Dragon ground out, though he didn't appear as hostile as before if Luffy's honed senses were to be trusted, "the two of us need to have a long talk." He sat down on one of the chairs in front of the desks, clearly normally meant for visitors. He didn't seem uncomfortable in the position, though. "What are you doing here, Monkey D. Luffy?"
"No idea!" Luffy replied, still grinning broadly, sitting down cross-legged on the table. "It's not like I plan those trips, you know. They just sort of happen. Still don't know how," he explained, omitting the tiny detail that he needed to die in order to enter a new universe. Past Dragons hadn't exactly reacted too well to that fact. "Hey! If you don't have a son, does that mean you don't have any children?"
"No, I have a daughter, Lucy, she's twelve," Dragon mumbled almost absent-mindedly, surprisingly willing to share. Apparently, Luffy'd already convinced him of his trustworthiness. According to Robin, it was his face. Far too cute to hide bad intentions. "If you don't know your purpose, why don't you tell me everything you know about the Ancient Kingdom and the World Government? You'd contribute to a good cause, at least."
"Ah, do I have to? That stuff's so boring!" At Dragon's incredulous and somewhat insulted look, Luffy continued his whining, "No, seriously! I should know! I led the Revolutionary Army once, you know, but it just sucked! I don't know how you do it, being all hero-like and stuff all the time. It's exhausting."
Trying to steer the conversation towards a more interesting topic, Luffy focused on the girl he could probably call his little sister now. "So, Lucy, does she live in East Blue? Dawn Island? You did give her to Gramps, right?"
Dragon threw him an annoyed look at the change in topic, but briefly indulged his curiosity. "Yes to all three. If you led the revolution yourself, I'm sure you understand the importance of these matters. I can't just let this rest, even if your information might not be accurate in our world."
Luffy groaned, hiding his face in his hands for a moment, before looking up at his father with suffering eyes. "Alright, alright, fine! I'll tell you everything I know, if you tell me everything about Lucy! Deal?"
"Sure," Dragon answered smugly, the triumphant expression on his face already making Luffy regret his decision. "Why do you want to know about Lucy, anyways?"
"Because!" Luffy shouted, before continuing more quietly, "she's obviously a younger, more female version of myself. Of course, I want to know about her!"
"I see," Dragon replied in an indifferent voice, probably not understanding his newly proclaimed son at all. "Do you want some tea while we talk?"
Luffy shook his head vigorously. "Make it meat and I'm sold!"
After seeing the young man eat, Dragon never doubted their relation again.