So I started this fic over a year ago. It's like my baby. I've worked so hard on it and put so much time, thought and research into it, so I'm nervous about posting it. I really hope it's well-liked since I think there's no other story like this one. Please review.

Disclaimers:

1. In no way do I think that raising a child, especially a handicapped one, is easy. This is just the way Zoro thinks for the plot.

2. All FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome) children (and adults) are different, but everything I've made in Luffy's actions and behavior has to do with his disability and is medically accurate, even the medications used later on.

3. I'm not well versed in the foster care system, so some facts might be off, like how quickly a decision is made to adopt a child/children.

4. Includes some past child abuse.

5. Includes intense, but brief, scenes to some.

6. This is a relatively long fic, as it follows years of Luffy and Zoro's growth.

7. Some things that might not make sense at first will be explained later.

8. I completely disregarded anything having to do with school, like I have for some of my other fics. School would get in the way. Please ignore little plot holes like Zoro knowing how to read but never going to school.

Songs: A Million Dreams (the song Zoro sings to Luffy), I Dreamed a Dream, Red Swan, The Name of Love

Anyways, please enjoy~

"Do you have experience with a disabled child?"

"No, why?"

"Then you're not right for us. Sorry," Zoro said as he turned Luffy around in his lap, taking his easily lost attention back to Zoro. The couple who was just interacting with the cute toddler looked confused with Zoro. They had been getting along well for the last half hour, and suddenly the foster child turned away from potential adopters. When they tried talking to Zoro again, he completely ignored them and kept his little brother's attention on him. Zoro gave Luffy his worn giraffe stuffed animal and started telling him a story he'd read that Luffy liked to listen to.

The couple gave up after a few moments of trying to get the brothers' attention again. But Zoro ignored them and kept Luffy focused on himself. Luffy popped his thumb in his mouth as he watched Zoro, his gaze straying a bit. But Zoro kept speaking about the magic pony. Once the couple was gone from view, Zoro set Luffy back down on the floor in front of him and built cities with him out of his treasured blocks.

The other foster children stared sadly at the brothers. That's how it went every single time someone paid attention to the two. Zoro let them speak with the two for a while before he suddenly asked whether they had experience with anyone with any type of disabilities. Zoro didn't know what was exactly wrong with Luffy's brain, but he'd always been different, and Zoro knew the cause.

Luffy didn't grow as fast as he should, could barely talk at all and got distracted easily. Not to mention his consistent clumsiness. Zoro always held his hand when they went anywhere. Though Luffy was different, Zoro never saw him as an inconvenience and enjoyed taking care of him, though he knew a professional might be better.

Luffy and Zoro's abusive former mother had been a drunk while she was pregnant with Luffy, which was the cause of his differences, though the little boy had never been tested because he and Zoro bounced from home to home often. The other kids knew Luffy was distracted easily and was clumsy, but they werent around him enough to see just how different he was.

Luffy smiled as he built his block city.

There were only a few things he always paid attention to: The Lion King, and any music. That's why Zoro sang him to sleep, because it was easier to get him asleep when he was focused on something. He'd always had sleeping issues since he was born.

Their parents rarely interacted with Luffy, so Zoro became his parent. He was only ten and Luffy was three. He had been the one to take care of Luffy even when his mom didn't breastfeed him. Zoro refused to let her breastfeed while she was still a drunk, plus, she never offered. So he spent money to buy Luffy all of his necessities. And he stole some of it.

He didn't tell anyone about their home life, and that might have been a mistake, but Zoro was terrified he'd be separated from Luffy. Luffy was all he had. The only good thing he'd had in his life. Luffy was his life.

Many visitors approached the two, because Luffy was so cute. And the toddler was overly friendly, trusting everyone he met. That's why Zoro kept him close at all times, not to mention for his safety. He'd stumble and fall if he wasn't around anyone to catch him. Zoro was Luffy's caretaker. More than a brother.

Now, Zoro didn't mind their relationship, because he loved Luffy and Luffy loved him. He was Luffy's rock, and sacrificed much for his sake. At their original home, they werent given much food because of the siblings' neglect. Zoro had given a large majority of his own food to Luffy to help him grow, since he just stayed so small. He was almost four, and he was the size of a newly turned three year old.

Zoro had potty trained him, taught him how to walk, and fed and bathed him.

The rest of the day went by slowly.

The couple had left without interacting with the other children. Zoro knew they had a slim chance of getting adopted, but he wouldn't take Luffy to a home that wasn't suited for him. And he refused to be separated from him.

Dinner that night was what Luffy had chosen, so they had pancakes. Luffy always wanted pancakes and was so happy every time they had it. Over all he was a happy kid, grumpy days aside. He just got lost in his thoughts a lot, which made his face relax and he sometimes lost his smile. But Zoro was skilled at making that smile come right back.

Everyone at the dinner table enjoyed having Luffy happy, though it took him a while to finish a meal because he had trouble using the fork correctly. Zoro always cut Luffy's food into bite sized pieces. Luffy even got special treatment when it came to other food. Such as pasta. Dadan, their current foster mother, bought the small kind. The mini butterfly noodles or shell pasta so Luffy could eat it easier.

When Zoro put Luffy to sleep after singing his favorite song, he crawled in next to the boy. They were always the first two to go to bed so the others went to sleep easier without Zoro singing. Everyone made sure to stay quiet to not wake up Luffy, because he had trouble falling back to sleep after waking up. It was how it'd always been. Zoro appreciated the other children being understanding.

Zoro had never told anyone about Luffy being an alcohol baby. It didn't affect them and knowing it would change nothing, so why share something so personal? But even not knowing what exactly was different, not wrong, with Luffy, they still were friendly with him, taking time to include the toddler in activities and giving him a handicap.

When they played outside, they tossed Luffy the ball gently, more like rolling it to him. Then they made no reaction that Luffy couldn't throw the ball a long distance and without good aim. They enjoyed hearing Luffy's giggle, the only sound he really made that was his voice, besides the handful of words Zoro had drilled into his mind. Like names and "help", "hungry", "sleepy", "hi", "potty" and "yes" or "no". Those were usually enough words he knew the meaning of to get through the day.

Zoro knew Luffy could understand much of what Zoro was saying, but he couldn't communicate back, only the words Zoro forced him to learn and pronounce correctly.

And if Luffy didn't understand when Zoro was telling him sometimes, just his voice kept the little one's attention a lot of the time. Zoro was an expert when it came to anything Luffy.

The next day, Luffy woke up before Zoro and moved to lay on top of Zoro's chest. Zoro, on instinct, put his hand on Luffy's back to keep him from somehow falling off. Zoro woke up right when Luffy crawled on him. He suddenly started tickling the boy, who erupted into quiet giggles. Luffy knew to be "shhh" when the others were sleeping, so he kept the giggles very quiet.

"Want to go take a bath?" Zoro asked quietly. Luffy nodded and crawled off Zoro to get off their bed. Zoro made sure to help him get down and take new changes of clothes from their shared dresser.

Everyone was still asleep, including the foster mother, so Zoro and Luffy stayed quiet until they closed the bathroom door behind them.

"Want bubbles?" Luffy smiled and nodded.

Soon the tub was full of bubbles and shallow water, surrounding Zoro and Luffy. Zoro made sure no suds got in Luffy's eyes as the little one messily washed his own hair.

A bath in the morning usually made Luffy have a good day. Most days he was happy, but sometimes he was sad and grumpy all day. Zoro couldn't really do anything about it sometimes, since he knew it wasn't just that Luffy was sad about something. Zoro wished he could help Luffy more than he already could.

The two ate cereal, Luffy actually not making a mess. Zoro praised him and Luffy beamed. So, while they waited for the others to wake and start the day, Zoro set up a movie in the living room that Luffy always loved, one that kept his attention the whole movie, even after seeing it over and over. They watched The Lion King while snacking on Cheerios before everyone ate and came to the living room to do whatever they wanted.

There was another couple coming to visit, and Zoro was tiring of this. Tired of getting Luffy's hopes up and then shutting them down because Zoro didn't see anyone fit. Luffy seemed to like everyone he met, but did not show sadness when they left and didn't come back. But Zoro knew Luffy must know something sad happens when Zoro turns him around and the little one never sees the nice people again. Zoro was so glad Luffy didn't know he was the reason Zoro would shun the adults.

A tall man with blond hair and a curly eyebrow came into the house with his wife, a red head, both looking happy. Zoro sat with Luffy in his lap as Zoro made his own story to a picture book Luffy liked.

The couple mingled with the children, both open to any age and gender. No one really clicked with them as they worked their way around the room. The two brothers were sitting in a corner, Zoro sitting against a pillow against the wall. He looked up warily at the duo as they came closer. The woman smiled at Luffy who was listening to Zoro talk. Luffy didn't really notice them until Zoro closed the picture book and stopped talking gradually, slowing his words and volume. Slowly adjusting Luffy to something else helped him not be confused.

"Hello," the redhead said. Luffy said, "Hi," with a smile. Every time Luffy spoke, Zoro rewarded him with a kiss on the head, which he knew Luffy liked. Luffy couldn't see the tired frown on Zoro's face behind him. Might as well get the question out already instead of Luffy bonding with them only to be deserted again.

"What's your-" the woman began to say, until Zoro cut her off.

"Do you have any experience with a disabled child?" he asked flatly, the words flowing off his tongue so easily, having been said dozens and dozens of times.

"My sister is. Why?" the red head told him. Zoro relaxed and said nothing, letting Luffy take their attention again.

"Just wondering," Zoro said and watched Luffy interact with them. "Do you wanna play with blocks?" Zoro whispered in his brother's ear. Luffy then pulled his sack of blocks over and invited the couple to play. The woman was enjoying playing with Luffy, while the blond man watched Zoro somewhat suspiciously. But eventually he focused on the little black haired boy.

The kid looked normal enough, but when he stood up from Zoro's lap, he stumbled a bit, but went back to normal when Zoro gently supported his back to stand up straight up again, it made Sanji more suspicious. But he just smiled as his wife played with the child, who had given some blocks to her, the light behind her eyes back after so long of being gone.

"What's your name?" she asked Luffy.

"Luffy," he replied simply. Zoro knew his conversation was now ended since he couldn't speak much more than his name and a greeting here.

"My name is Nami and this is my husband, Sanji. How old are you?" But Luffy just smiled. Zoro scooched forward and whispered "three fingers" and Luffy held up his little fingers. Sanji furrowed his eyebrows at this. Was something wrong with Luffy? "What's your name?" Nami asked Zoro, but Luffy answered with his name again. Zoro smiled at this.

"She was asking me," he whispered in Luffy's ear again. "Zoro," he answered Nami.

"Are you two related?" Zoro nodded and informed her they were brothers. "How old are you?"

"I'm ten," Zoro told her and patted Luffy's shoulder to bring his attention back, since he was now staring out of the window from seeing a bird fly by. "Luffy, play with your blocks," he said gently. Luffy's smile came back and he continued to build things with his blocks like he hadn't been distracted.

"Is there something wrong with him?" Sanji asked Zoro, meaning no offense. But the room went silent. All of the children stopped speaking or making any noise as they watched Zoro scowl, wondering how he'd reply. This didn't go unnoticed by the adults, but Luffy didn't notice the change in the room.

"There's nothing wrong with Luffy," Zoro snapped harshly. Luffy then turned around to look at Zoro, hearing the anger in his voice. Luffy may not notice change in others' faces and voices, but he did with his brother.

"I didn't mean it negatively. Sorry," Sanji said with a calm voice. But both he and Nami recognized Zoro's voice. Nami had sounded like that when someone asked that kind of question for her sister. "Is there something different about him?" he asked, trying to calm Zoro's obvious anger.

"He's slow. That's all you need to know right now," the green haired ten year old said curtly. When Sanji started to say something, Nami cut him off.

"That's fine," she said, looking pointedly at her husband. She didn't stare or make any move that she heard Zoro tell Luffy to focus on his blocks again after smiling at him kindly. But Luffy was done playing with his blocks and reached to the side to pick up a book he liked from the basket of objects dedicated to the younger kids. The toddler handed the story to Nami and held his stuffed animal as he waited for Nami to read, since when he gave the book to Zoro, he would read the story.

So Nami took the clue and started to read the book, Sanji now sitting next to his wife, smiling at her. Ever since she found out she was infertile, she'd been down. And at each foster home they checked, she never felt like she clicked with any of the children. They had all been somewhat closed off, but Luffy just beamed and was completely open when Nami approached. Even the young children at the other homes had looked at her and Sanji in question at the beginning.

As she read, she could just tell there was something different about the boy. How he lost attention often and stared at nothing, like he was lost in thought, only to come back when Nami raised her voice a bit while she read the story. He didn't understand all of it, but he enjoyed listening to Nami's voice.

Zoro was impressed that Nami was able to bring his attention back by raising her voice a little bit. It was obvious she had encountered someone that wasn't normal. Zoro didn't like the word, but Luffy was not normal.

Sanji stayed back while Nami played and read to Luffy. He was watching the little boy, trying to figure out what was wro- different. Zoro ignored him as he watched Luffy and Nami. His brother seemed pretty infatuated with her already. The little one was usually pleasant with whoever came to play with him, but he'd never had one of the visitors read to him or play with his prized blocks.

Luffy walked the few steps to Zoro and sat in his lap to listen to Nami read and popped his thumb in his mouth. Sanji couldn't help but smile at this; he really was cute.

Luffy began to close his eyes sleepily, but Zoro made sure he stayed awake. He didn't need his sleep schedule messed up. "Luffy, if you sleep now you won't tonight," he said quietly. Luffy opened his eyes wider to stay awake, and frowned when Nami stopped reading.

"Luffy's getting tired. Should we go for today?" she asked Zoro.

"Will you come back?" was his reply.

"Yes." Zoro smiled.

"Then you can leave whenever you want. Just make sure to tell him you're coming back," he told her. Luffy adjusted his giraffe stuffed animal as he got distracted by the window again. No one brought his attention back as Nami and Zoro spoke.

"Sanji, let's go for now," Nami told her husband. They had some talking to do. Sanji nodded and stood up, smiling at Luffy and nodding to Zoro.

"Bye bye, Luffy," Nami said sweetly. "We'll come back tomorrow." When she began to leave, Luffy frowned and tried walking to her, but she continued to walk away. He turned right around when Nami didn't look back and had teary eyes with a deep frown.

"Luffy, they'll be back tomorrow. You don't have to cry," Zoro said kindly. The couple heard this.

"We'll see you tomorrow, okay Luffy?" Nami said as she looked down at him. But Luffy didn't want her to go. She was nice and had a good voice and smile. He walked over to her for a hug, Zoro trailing after him in case he face planted. Nami knelt and hugged him gently. "I will see you tomorrow, okay?" Luffy nodded and waved goodbye happily.

The rest of the day, Luffy was happy, as was Zoro. He felt bad, but at the same time didn't because Zoro was never going to let Luffy go to a new home if he wasn't with him. It just wasn't an option. And he hadn't exactly left a good impression on the couple, but no one was going to say something was wrong with Luffy and not be snapped at. Zoro just wouldn't put up with someone saying that about his brother.

Nami was still grinning when she and Sanji got in their car. They were both silent for a moment.

"Nami…" Sanji began.

"He's so cute and sweet! Oh, I want him!" she gushed, still feeling Luffy's little hug in her arms. Sanji smiled at her, and didnt want to burst her bubble, but there were things that needed to be talked about while she had a level head. Their conversation could wait until they got home and Nami was calm again. Now, she was not calm as she talked about the little one and how sweet he was. Sanji just listened to her and said "I know" or "Mhm" at the right parts.

By the time they got home, she was done gushing and just had a small smile on her face.

"Nami. Luffy obviously has something not right. We don't know what it is," Sanji told her calmly. "Before we even come close to making a decision, we need more information and get to know him better. And I doubt we're going to even get a chance of taking Luffy home without Zoro coming with him."

"I don't mind taking Zoro home, too," Nami said quickly. "We have enough money-"

"Nami, this isn't just about money. We've never had a child before, and adopting two, one with obvious mental issues… it just might be too much to begin with."

"But…"

"We just need to think it over carefully," Sanji said reasonably. "We'll see them again tomorrow, and we can get to know them more and have Zoro tell us what's up." Nami sighed and nodded.

"It's just… none of the kids we've seen so far was so open and happy. And he was sad to see us go," Nami said, a small smile back on her lips.

"Well, you. I didn't even get to visit with him. You hogged him the whole time," Sanji accused.

"You got to talk to Zoro, though," Nami replied. Sanji scoffed at this.

"Yeah I got my head bitten off. That sure is bonding," he said as he rolled his eyes. "I know why he snapped, but it wasn't a very good first impression. For either of us I'd say."

"Don't worry. There's always tomorrow."

Please review! Aww Zoro is such a loving brother.