The first time Rogue met a pirate, the boy wasn't even a pirate yet.
Rogue stayed close behind the marine in charge of him and his older brother, his blue eyes wide in fascination. The was the first actual island he had been on since leaving the South Blue, and it was small. But everything was different than his home island and it captured his attention easily. Roland, two years older than him at ten years old, was looking at everything with a suspicious glare. Rogue had only just gotten better from the sickness, so Roland was still a bit protective.
"Mister Vice Admiral?" Rogue asked, voice quiet and hesitant. The marine grunted, looking down at him without moving his head. "What are we doing here? There isn't a marine base here."
"We're stopping to check up on my grandson." The marine said, gruffly.
"You have a grandson, Mister Vice Admiral?" Rogue gaped. He hadn't been expecting that.
"He's one year younger than you." He said with a nod. They approached a bar labeled Party Bar. Rogue perked up at the thought of meeting someone near his age. There was no one else in the Marines even close to his age, aside from Roland.
"Roland, did you hear that?" Rogue turned excitedly to look at his brother. Roland smiled at Rogue's enthusiasm. The youngest looked back at the marine. "Is he going to be a marine too?"
"Not yet, he still needs more training."
With that, the marine stepped inside the Party Bar, leaving his two prodiges outside. Rogue, still short from his growth spurts being stunted by sickness, stood on his toes to look in the window, but couldn't reach. Pouting, Rogue gave up and walked over to his brother. A smile lit his face suddenly as he looked at Roland.
"Do you think Mister Vice Admiral's grandson will be our friend?" Rogue asked, bouncing on his toes now. Roland smiled down at Rogue.
"Maybe." He said with a took that as a yes and beamed at the Party Bar door.
The door slammed open, and the Vice Admiral was back, dragging a boy by his cheek. Rogue's mouth fell open as he saw how far it stretched. The boy was complaining, his scar under his cheek stretching.
"Rogue, Roland, this is my grandson Luffy." The gruff man said. He pulled the boy harder, growling down at him, "Say hello, Luffy."
"He'o." The boy said, his stretched cheek making the word come out weird.
"You three stay here. I have to make some arrangements." Vice Admiral said. He let go of Luffy's cheek, causing it to snap back with a painful sound. With one last warning glare at his grandson, the vice admiral went back into the Party Bar.
"Hi, I'm Rogue!" Rogue said, smiling shyly at Luffy.
"I'm Luffy, do you wanna be my friend?" Luffy said, bluntly with a huge, impossible grin. Rogue blinked in surprise.
"Sure!" His grin grew even wider at Rogue's reply. "Are you going to be a marine too?"
"No." Luffy said, his mouth turning down to a defiant pout. Rogue looked up at Roland in surprise, receiving the same look from his brother. "I'm going to be a pirate!"
"A pirate?" Rogue's head tilted curiously to the side, frowning at the unfamiliar word.
"Shishishi, yup! Pirates are the freest people, and that's what I'm going to be!" The strange boy was grinning again.
Free...that thought intrigued Rogue, sparking an idea in the back of his mind that he forced back. No, Roland was going to be a marine and Rogue stayed with Roland no matter what. Without conscious thought, Rogue's hand reached up for Roland's sleeve as he thought. The two brothers were always together. They even slept in the same room, Roland demanding it from the marines.
"Pirates are nothing but dirty criminals." Roland's voice came out strict and irritated, surprising Rogue. Unknown to Rogue, Roland had mistaken his brother's grab for his sleeve as distress.
"Shanks isn't a dirty criminal!" Luffy yelled, glaring at Roland. Rogue flinched at the loud noise, not used to yelling.
Roland just scoffed, rolling his eyes. Rogue frowned, knowing that his brother had major attitude problems as well as anger problems, so this wasn't unusual. Once Roland has made up his mind about something, nothing could convince him otherwise. Rogue was the opposite, his ADHD making him always jumping thought trains and opinions.
"Sorry, Roland doesn't mean it." Rogue said, giving Luffy an apologetic smile. Roland ignored Rogue, not wanting to start a fight that would leave Rogue crying again. "I'm sure your Shanks is a nice man."
"He's the best!" Luffy said, grinning. Rogue wasn't deterred by the random change in emotions. The boy touched the straw hat on his head that Rogue just noticed. "He gave me his hat! When I'm a strong pirate, stronger than him, and when I become Pirate King, I'll give it back to him! That's my promise."
Rogue smiled at thought. "Well, then, I hope you will reach that goal. Maybe someday I'll help you."
Luffy giggled, and grabbed Rogue's arm. Rogue almost jumped at the movement, only used to Roland being this close. The other boy looked in his eyes, cocking his head in thought. "Will you be my nakama?"
"N-nakama?" Rogue stuttered, caught by surprise.
"Yeah! We can sail together, and achieve our dreams!" Luffy exclaimed. He paused. "You have a dream, right?"
The answer was yes, Rogue did. It was the reason he joined the marines. He wanted to finish his mother's dream for her.
"Luffy! Stop corrupting my students!" Vice Admiral suddenly appeared, hitting Luffy on the head. The other boy let go of Rogue to grab his head, pouting. "Roland, Rogue, stay here, I have one last errand, then we will head for the marine base."
"Yes, sir." Roland nodded obediently. Rogue was silent, still thinking about Luffy's words.
Free….nakama...dreams….
Those words circled in Rogue's mind. Luffy was being dragged off when Rogue was suddenly brought back to reality. For a second, he watched Luffy be dragged by his cheek again. A grin lit up his face, his hand falling from Roland's sleeve. Rogue brought his hands to his mouth to amplify his shout, now that Luffy and the vice admiral were farther away.
"Luffy!"
Vice Admiral paused, still pinching Luffy's cheek, letting Luffy stare at Rogue in acknowledgement. Rogue's grin grew wider even as his brother got more and more confused.
"Remember your offer!" He shouted. "Okay?"
Luffy's face lit up in surprise and glee.
"Alright!" The boy shouted in response. "You remember it too, Rouge!"
Rogue giggled at the mispronunciation of his name, nodding.
He would remember. Every single night, for ten years, he remembered. Rogue will always remember the boy with the strawhat and his offer.