My Grandsons, My Happiness
Disclaimer: A decent amount of spoiler-ness involving Luffy and Ace's pasts, and the Enies Lobby incident are in this fic (so stop reading if you're not caught up because I will continue rambling!)…and oh! All things One Piece belong to Oda-sensei.
I'm sure everyone is feeling absolutely terrible for Luffy lately since Ace was brutally murdered by that damn Akainu (I hope you plummet to the fiery depths of hell!), but what about Garp? I bet he's thoroughly depressed with the recent events involving his family. He may not always show it, but I believe Garp truly loves his grandsons.
This story takes place right after Garp goes back to Marine Headquarters after seeing Luffy in Water 7 and right before he finds out about Ace. It's written from Garp's POV where he reflects on life, duty, and family.
Vice Admiral Garp was sitting at his oversized desk slowly sipping his hot tea as to not burn himself. He seemed to have a knack for ignoring his work because the overflowing stacks of paper on his desk did not seem to faze him at all. Instead, he was enjoying the gentle sea breeze that came flowing through the window and gently rustled the papers on his desk as it made its way over to tickle his cheeks. He sipped some more of his tea, and continued reading the newspaper. The majority of it, including the front page, told about none other than the Enies Lobby incident and how the Mugiwara crew had waged war against the World Government. He noticed Luffy's wanted poster with his new bounty. Only his grandson could look so non-threatening while having a bounty as high as 300,000,000 beli.
He softly chuckled to himself as a giant, toothy grin appeared on his face. "That's my grandson for you…" If Sengoku had been there, Garp would've received a harsh scolding for being even the slightest bit proud of his wild family. Yep, his family. Dragon, Ace, Luffy, they were all his crazy family.
Garp leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He let the warm, salty air fill his nostrils as he took a deep breath. His mind wandered to that old, but familiar memory. It was of that day when Roger told him to look after his and Rouge's child. It certainly was a preposterous idea, a Marine helping a Pirate, and he kept telling Roger that he would never do such a thing. However, when he found out that the child was finally to be born, he had traveled to that island in South Blue without giving it a second thought. There, he met her for the first and last time, the strong and kind woman whom Roger fell in love with, Portgas D. Rouge. She certainly was beautiful with her long, wavy hair, but very accessible at the same time because of her playful freckles, the freckles her son would inherit. She fought hard to give birth to her child, and when she finally did, she used the last of her strength to hold him and name him. His name was Ace, Gol D. Ace, son of the late Pirate King. And with that, she too, passed away.
As a Marine, Garp would never have been able to properly care for Ace. Under the circumstances, he had to leave the infant in someone else's care in a secluded area. Otherwise, Ace's true identity would have been discovered, and the child would have been executed. And Garp did agree with Roger on this one. The child did no wrong by being born into this world, and he deserved to live a life free of prejudice. That was why he left Ace with Dadan. It certainly wasn't the easiest place to live, but he knew it would make Ace grow into a strong individual, able to handle any troubles that came his way. At least, that was his hope.
He didn't live with him, and he certainly didn't raise him. But whenever he visited his hometown, he would always go out of his way up that treacherous mountain path to see the little bugger. Occasionally, he would bring a gift or two because that child's bright smile when he greeted him filled his heart with gentle warmth. As soon as he reached Dadan's house, Ace would always grin and jump into his large, blocky arms for an embrace. After that, Ace would run off and Garp would chase him. They would tackle each other and wrestle. Their play always ended with bursts of laughter.
During those first few years, he would always refer to himself as "Uncle" Garp around Roger's son. And it was when Ace was three years old, that his first grandchild came into the world. He was given the name, Monkey D. Luffy. When he held that tiny, giggling child for the first time, he had a feeling, a feeling he knew he felt before. It was a feeling of pure love and joy, but it was also a feeling of the heavy weight of life in such a tiny little bundle. It was different from the time he held his son for the first time. Yeah, it was definitely different than that. And it dawned on him. He had the same feeling when he held the newborn Ace in his arms. He realized that Ace wasn't just some kid he looked after; he was his family. Luffy wasn't his first grandchild; Ace was. He wasn't just "Uncle" Garp; he was "Grandpa" Garp. They weren't related by blood, but that kind of trivial thing didn't matter. He had established a strong and wonderful bond with the boy, and he would be damned if he were to lose it. After that, he began referring to himself as "Grandpa" around Ace, and Ace began calling him "Gramps."
He made it seem as though the reason for dragging Luffy to Dadan's hideout was to make his grandson stronger, ultimately into a proud Marine. However, maybe the real reason was for his two grandsons to meet each other, and to teach them, especially Ace, how vast the world really was. From a very young age, Ace had to deal with the complexity and darkness of life. It was only natural that he grew up bitter, believing that he never should have been born in the first place. Luffy was much simpler than that, and that's what made him wonderful. His thinking, if you could call it that, was incredibly black and white with very few shades of grey. He liked what he liked, and disliked what he disliked, and it was as simple as that. He didn't understand notions of prejudice, and rarely held a grudge. And Garp knew that Luffy would love Ace from the start; he always wanted a big brother. Perhaps Luffy would make Ace realize that it was okay for him to exist in this world, that he was wanted and needed by someone else. And Luffy did just that. Initially, it seemed like they had their difficulties, but he was persistent in becoming closer to Ace. They overcame their differences and became inseparable. Ace slowly grew into a kinder boy, who, for the first time in his life, sincerely wanted to live. For the first time, he had something, someone he needed to protect, and that was more than enough to make him want to wake up every morning and face the world. It made him happy, and he began smiling more often, especially around his little brother. And seeing his two rambunctious grandsons cause trouble together made Garp grin with pride. Sure he was angry that they weren't more disciplined in their ways, but then again, he wasn't much for obeying authoritative figures either. He was just happy that they were happy together.
Since he was a kid, his son never listened to a word he said. When he became a teenager, he left his hometown and traveled the world to his liking. He caused trouble along the way, and to be honest, Garp didn't mind it much. He was much prouder of the fact that his son could hold his own out in the rough seas. And then his grandsons, whom he trained to become powerful marines, went and became damn pirates! He was disappointed, but they were his grandkids with the same reckless, wild streak he himself had; it was inevitable. He wouldn't have been able to stop their destinies that were already in motion. A part of him always knew that they would never become marines. In truth, he wanted his son and grandsons to live lives filled with freedom and no regrets. They weren't the kind of troublemakers that should have been bound to one place for their entire lives. But Garp was only human, and so it was only natural that he worried about his family, especially his grandsons. He wanted them to become marines so that he could keep them close and protect them. It's never easy to let go of something precious, but seeing how happy they were living their lives the way they always wanted, made it slightly easier. In the end, maybe that was all he wanted for his grandsons, for them to be happy, for them to smile each and every day.
It didn't matter that Ace was the son of a "demon." And it didn't matter that Luffy was the son of the "most wanted criminal in the world." It didn't matter that they were wanted, hated criminals themselves. It didn't matter that he was a Marine, and that they were Pirates. None of it mattered because they were his grandsons…his family, and he loved them. And nothing else was more important…
BAM!
Garp's thoughts were cut short when one of his subordinates suddenly entered the room in a panic.
"Vice Admiral Garp! I apologize for the intrusion, but it's about Portgas D. Ace…"
Author's Note: Man! It's been soooo long since I've written anything (and this is only my second fic!). So please be nice if you do review.
Sorry if it sounded like Garp was rambling, but these are supposed to be his thoughts and many thoughts tend to be random. Anyway, the end is basically where Garp is about to find out about Ace, and how his grandson was defeated by Kurohige and was taken to Impel Down.
I absolutely adore the relationship between Garp and his grandsons, and I thought it deserved more lovin'. Hope it wasn't too awful and that you guys liked it.