This story was written for the opscifiandfantasy event on Tumblr. As the name suggests, it's an event that encourages production of One Piece sci-fi and fantasy AU fanworks, both stories and art. Don't forget to support all the other lovely works!
Summary: As a normal human, Rouge had never imagined that she would end up living with a ragtag family of dragons (and becoming the adopted mother of a pair of energetic hatchlings) in their mountain home. But here she was, living every day experiencing new and wonderful things she never even dreamed of before. And she wouldn't change it for anything.
"Ray, I'm taking Rouge to go visit Eddie!"
The only response the silver-scaled dragon had to Roger's parting call was to flick his tail idly in acknowledgement, the thick appendage then coming down heavily to quash any of the two hatchlings' plans to make a break for it. It unsurprisingly earned him a cacophony of whining from said young dragons.
"But Master Rayleigh…!"
"It's been so long since we went to visit Thatch!"
Amused blue-gray eyes glanced down at the two younglings. Shanks and Buggy turned their most beseeching expressions on their mentor. Wholly immune to the boys' tricks by this point, Rayleigh just let out a snorting breath from his nostrils at the sight.
A light giggle from the side turned the dragons' attention to the lady standing nearby. Rouge's eyes twinkled as she tied back her strawberry blond curls in preparation of the journey. Her dress was one of soft wool, dyed a pleasant sky blue color, but thick enough to withstand the journey and afford her warmth in the chilly spring air.
The boys found their new target, shifting their twin puppy-eyed looks to her. "Please, Miss Rouge! Please~"
If someone had told Rouge less than a year ago that she, a normal human, would be part of this ragtag dragon family, she would have thought them crazy. But here she was. And the prime reason was none other than the maroon and gold dragon ambling up behind her. Roger's towering dragon body shrank before her eyes, scales fading into tanned skin until he stood in his human form with his onyx eyes only a few inches above her own. Only scattered patches of red-gold scales hinted that he wasn't really human. That said… Rouge rolled her eyes as she picked up the nearest robe and threw it at his buck naked form.
Her lover grinned at her, bright and white-teethed as he caught the robe and slung it on. Roger had never managed to pick up Rayleigh's skill of conjuring up clothes when morphing. A lack of sensible human modesty did not help matters.
"What do you say, Rouge, my dear, shall we bring these two troublemakers along?"
Rouge smiled. "Well they do seem eager…"
The two younglings perked up visibly at that, eyes brightening as they looked between Rouge and Roger.
"An opportunity to train their wings is not a bad idea," Rayleigh finally acquiesced when their eyes fell back on him. "The distance to Edward's mountain should be a reasonable one." The moment he let the pair up, Shanks and Buggy jumped up with loud cheers, dashing straight to the sun-drenched ledge at the mouth of the cave that they called home.
"Are you coming with us, Ray?"
Rayleigh yawned lazily, silver-blue form stretching out. "I'll pass. Since you've released me from babysitting duty, I'm going to take a well-deserved rest."
Roger chuckled in response as he followed his boys' excited calls to the exit. Out in the open, he shifted back into his dragon form, crouching down to allow Rouge to climb onto his back. Once certain that she had settled comfortably between his shoulder-blades, he unfurled powerful gold-tipped maroon wings and took off into the sky. The smaller bright red and cerulean blue forms of Shanks and Buggy respectively launched after them, still immature wings beating furiously to catch up. With a rumbling chuckle Roger slowed down into a relaxed glide to match the younger dragons' pace.
Over the months, Rouge had gotten used to flying on Roger's back, but this was the first time they had ventured out on a trip beyond their usual relaxed spins looping around the mountain. But even so it took no more than half an hour for them to reach the towering mountain that was their destination. The tip of this mountain reached up past the clouds, and the greenery-filled cavern that they entered from an opening at the side was even larger than the one in their mountain.
Countless dragons of different colors and sizes milled around freely below, weaving between lush forests and a river that curved gently through the center.
"Amazing..." she gasped, stunned at the beauty of the place. She felt Roger's hum of agreement beneath her hands.
Roger landed lightly in a clearing by the riverside, scattering a bunch of tumbling hatchlings. The little dragons paused in their play to stare at them. Shanks and Buggy made their landing much less elegantly, but to their obvious delight both managed to land on their feet this time.
"It's good to see you, Roger. It's been awhile."
The dragon who greeted them had an ebony black body with a delicate, almost blossom-like decoration of white and red scales down his back. A few of the gathered hatchlings scampered behind him as he stepped forward. His companion, who stayed behind due to his movements being impeded from being half buried under a pile of rambunctious hatchlings, was a chestnut brown dragon with smiling dark eyes. "Yo, Roger!" he called out with a big grin as their eyes fell on him. "And Shanks and Buggy too, damn, you've gotten big, brats!"
Rouge didn't have to see the dragon's face to know that Roger was grinning widely. "Izo! Thatch! You've grown since I last saw you. You're practically adults now! How's your old man?"
Izo gently nudged the hatchlings back to their play. "He's well enough, we're all thankful. Father was feeling a little under the weather last week, but he's much better now. Do pass on our thanks to Crocus next time you see him, the medicine he brought did wonders. Father usually takes a nap around this time of the day, but he might be awake for you to see him. Give me a moment to check."
The black dragon reared his head to utter an airy whistle in the direction of a hill that rose up not too far from the riverside clearing. A melodious trill came in response, a sound that surprised Rouge. In the months that she had lived with Roger and the others, she had never heard them make that kind of call.
It seemed to be the reply that Izo had sought, however, for he nodded at them. "He woke up. I'll bring you to him." They left Shanks and Buggy with Thatch, Roger following the ebony dragon between the trees towards the hill with Rouge still on his back. The hill sat in the middle of another clearing, filling the smaller space. Izo stopped just shy of it. "Father, Roger's here."
A warm rumbling laugh followed the announcement, feeling like it was coming from the earth itself. It was only then that Rouge realized that the hill rising in front of them wasn't a hill at all, but the curled form of an enormous ivory white dragon. A flourishing forest of evergreen trees grew on his back mingled with smaller ferns and flowering plants, all swaying with the gentle rise and fall of his breathing. Aged brown eyes, each the width that Rouge could stretch out her hands, opened to look at them.
"Now what brings you here today, Roger?"
"What, can't I drop by just for a chat, old friend?" Roger shot back in a friendly teasing tone. The earth rumbled again as amusement lit the old dragon's eyes.
"I know you too well for you to try to sham me, brat. You're up to something."
The fire dragon just grinned in response, not at all put off by that observation. "You've caught me. But it's no mischief this time, I wanted to introduce you to someone." He sat down on his haunches, allowing Rouge to slide down from his back. The old dragon's eyes followed her, and she curtsied politely in greeting.
"This is my Rouge," Roger said proudly.
Warm brown eyes crinkled. "Gurararara, so you finally found a lady willing to put up with you, Roger?"
"She's a gem," was the totally unabashed response that made Rouge blush. "My gem," Roger added with a roguish smile.
Edward laughed warmly again. "Well I wish the both of you happy."
As Edward and Roger continued to chat, Izo offered to bring Rouge on a quick tour of their home. The dragon had morphed into a slender dark-haired man with delicately painted lips, whose graceful movements were only accentuated by the exotic flowing garment of shimmering purple fabric that he wore. He shooed away a bunch of dragon hatchlings who had crowded around them with obvious curiosity with an imperative wave of his hand.
"Don't let the hatchlings bother you, Miss Rouge. They can be right nuisances sometimes."
"Oh no, they are no bother at all! And there's no need for all this 'Miss Rouge' business, just Rouge is fine."
The dragon smiled at her. "You must also just call me Izo, then. I think we can become good friends, Rouge."
Rouge returned the smile warmly. "I would like that."
A crashing sound made them pause just in time to avoid being bowled over by a gaggle of shrieking dragons running across the path, most of them hatchlings. Rouge recognized Shanks' vividly red form and Buggy's distinctive blue body and red snout in the pandemonium before they were all gone in the distance with trails of laughter flitting back in the wind.
Izo wore an expression of perfected exasperation. "For goodness sake, Thatch…! Whenever those three get together, there's nothing but chaos to expect. I wonder how you can deal with two of them, especially with Roger himself to add to the mess."
Rouge's eyes twinkled, knowing it to be truth. "I really don't know how I could manage if not for Rayleigh."
The dragon snorted. "That's the famed water dragon patience for you. He's been with Roger for decades and hasn't gone stir crazy. That says something. The only ones who can beat water are earth dragons, it's almost like they're physically incapable of being angry. I don't understand how they do it sometimes."
"You're not an earth dragon, Izo? I'm afraid that I don't really know much about all this."
"I'm an air dragon. We're known to be a bit more of a flighty sort, and tend to be migratory in nature. I'm a little odd in that I've decided to make my permanent home here, but I do still get the itch to travel every now and then. I got this garment from my travels to the East, the locals called it a kimono and I simply fell in love with it."
"It's absolutely lovely," Rouge agreed, rubbing the fabric of the sleeve between her fingers at Izo's invitation. It was smoother than any kind of cloth she had encountered before, and dyed such a beautiful vibrant color with delicate flowers painted down the side.
Izo continued talking as they walked on. "Father is an earth dragon, of course. Namur over there is a water dragon," he nodded towards a pale blue dragon who grinned at them with long sharp teeth as they passed. "The elementals - fire, water, earth, air - make up most of the dragon population, but there are also smaller groups such as the crystal dragons, like Jozu." Rouge followed his gaze to a dozing dragon whose body seemed completely made out of a clear crystalline material that glittered in the sunlight. "We have all kinds of dragons living here; most of us aren't actually born of Father's blood, but he calls us his children nonetheless. He accepts all who wish for a home and a family, regardless of race."
Suddenly Izo stopped in his tracks, head tilting to one side listening for something. Whatever it was that the dragon heard, it made his eyes light up in a smile. Painted lips curving softly upwards, Izo gestured for Rouge to follow him down a smaller path winding between the trees to their right.
As they wound down the side path, Rouge's ears caught a dull tapping noise that had probably been what had drawn Izo's attention. The sounds became louder as they stepped out into a shaded clearing that had been hidden from the main walking path. A large earthy green egg, speckled with splotches of bright forest green, sat nestled within a swath of moss and leaves. It was shaking slightly, and as Rouge followed the ebony dragon to move closer she saw hairline cracks over its top, which were spreading with every tremor. The knocking sound was clearly coming from within the egg, and a small collection of dragons, mostly the older hatchlings who had been rough-housing earlier, had gathered around to watch it.
Izo's smile was warm as Rouge turned questioning eyes to him. "That child will be hatching soon. Would you like to watch?"
Rouge couldn't contain her excitement as she nodded eagerly, eliciting an indulgent smile from the black dragon. A dragon hatching! Rouge had never imagined that she would have a chance to witness one, let alone today.
The gentle bump of a warm snout against her side made her look over to see Shanks and Buggy padding up next to her, all eyes rapt on the quivering egg. She smiled, running her hands down their necks in a familiar motion, feeling their pleased rumbles in response under her palms.
Rouge watched with wondering eyes as a tiny dragon hatchling finally emerged from within the patterned shell, damp with sticky clear fluid that clung to its dark brown body. The hatchling tottered as it looked around at its surroundings with unrestrained fascination.
The chestnut brown dragon who had been with Izo earlier – Thatch, Rouge remembered both Roger and Izo calling him – came forward to nudge the hatchling gently with his snout. The baby dragon uttered a little shriek as it happily rubbed its head back against the older dragon. Izo, back in dragon form, approached as well as Thatch began to clean up the hatchling with his tongue, humming softly. Together the pair guided the hatchling down a mossy path until they reached Edward's towering form. The tiny dragon was completely unfearful even when faced with a being so much larger than itself, already going forward without prompting to sniff at the great dragon. The warm blast of air that came when Edward uttered an amused snort made the small dragon stumble a little from its might but in no way deterred the hatchling.
The old dragon's rumbling laughter came again, tenderness in his timeless brown eyes. "Haruta. Your name will be Haruta, young one. Welcome to this world and to our family."
A warm calloused hand wrapped around hers and Rouge turned to smile at Roger. He pressed a soft chaste kiss to her lips before they turned back to watch the scene.
"Marco," the great dragon called.
A flickering flash of blue appeared between the evergreens on Edward's back. A slender long neck emerged from within the forest, brilliant blue topped with a golden plume and the unmistakable form of an avian beak. A bird? The newcomer shuffled further out into the open, revealing a graceful feathered body that burned with vivid blue flames mixed with gold. There was only one creature in the books on legends Rouge had read about that matched this description.
"Marco is a phoenix," Roger told her, confirming her guess.
"I never imagined that phoenixes really existed," she breathed.
Roger chuckled at her wide-eyed awe. "You've lived amongst dragons, but still thought of phoenixes as a myth? There's still much about our world that you are to learn about, my dear."
The birdsong-like trill from before, different from the dragons' whistles, must have been made by the phoenix, she realized. Haruta was now curiously nosing the ringed plumes of Marco's long tail feathers. The bird allowed the hatchling to do so without complaint, fluffing out feathers with blue flames that burned without heat.
Izo had returned to Rouge's side by then, back in human form. "Usually hatchlings are a little wary of species different from their own. Natural preservative instincts," he explained. "Marco's stayed with us for so long that our scents have rubbed off on him, but it's still good for the children to get used to him early on." Izo's lips twitched in a smirk. "Once they do, however, they have a tendency of sticking to him like glue. It's part of the reason why he hides out in Father's forest whenever he can. The poor guy just doesn't know how to handle kids. It doesn't help that Thatch delights in leading the hatchlings to play pranks on him."
A burst of laughter came from around as Haruta decided it was a good idea to pounce onto the blue phoenix, the pair of them tumbling to the ground with an indignant squawk. Izo joined in on the laughter, head shaking in amusement. "Oh we have a new troublemaker on our hands already. Thatch is going to have so much fun with this child."
Marco managed a maneuver that succeeded in leaving him upright again though looking rather more ruffled than before, but Haruta collapsed in an undignified heap nearby. Half-lidded eyes softening with resigned fondness, the phoenix gently pushed the hatchling so that Haruta sat upright again. The hatchling stood up rather woozily, staring up at the phoenix and then suddenly yawning widely, energy spent. Clearly used to such a situation, Marco seemed to let out a huff before herding the hatchling closer to Edward's side, where the child obediently curled up against the old dragon's warm side and settled down to sleep.
The crowd had mostly dispersed by then, and Roger drew her forward towards Marco. Before her eyes the phoenix morphed into a blond man with the same hooded eyes, wearing a simple attire of shirt and loose pants, the only accessory being a golden belt with a ringed pattern similar to his tail plumes. Marco held out his hand with a smile, shaking Rouge's hand at Roger's introduction.
"It's nice to meet you, I'm Marco."
"Likewise, the pleasure is all mine."
Shanks and Buggy came barreling up to them then, crashing into each other as they failed to stop as tidily as they wanted. It didn't deter them though, had never done. "Miss Rouge, have you seen the waterfall? We're going there with Thatch and the others, let's go together!"
A brunette with his chocolate brown hair styled in a pompadour and a crescent shaped scar under one eye came to sling an arm over Marco's shoulder with easy familiarity. "You coming with, bird-brain?"
The way Marco rolled his eyes told that it was a very common occurrence for him. "Thatch, I am a phoenix. We're made of fire, obviously swimming is a bad idea." He shot the dragon a deadpan look. "And don't think that I've forgotten about that time you threw me into the river in my human form."
"We never expected that you really couldn't swim at all! Come on, I fished you out and said I was sorry, didn't I!? Give it a rest already." Thatch was very obviously pouting, which did him no good against his phoenix friend. "I promise not to dunk you this time?" The way he trailed it off as a question was not at all reassuring though.
"No."
"Aww, come on, Marco…"
Meanwhile, Shanks and Buggy were squabbling about who would have the honor of carrying Rouge on his back to the waterfall. They'd been doing so for a good five minutes now without progress, but when Rouge cast a look back at Roger he only gave her a smirk which said that he was too amused to by the situation to intervene. She crossed her arms and shot him a pointedly raised eyebrow. Roger's dark eyes lit up with laughter at the command before he obediently returned to his dragon form, walking up to the arguing pair to unceremoniously bowl over the two smaller dragons with a well-aimed swipe of his tail.
Rouge fought the urge to giggle, knowing that it would do no good for the boys' pride. "Roger would like to go as well, so I'll just ride with him. Why don't you boys guide the way? We'll be counting on you to bring us there," she told them with a remarkably straight face. That seemed to appease the pair somewhat, and Rouge got onto Roger's back without incident, the three of them setting. The leathery rustling of wings behind them made Rouge look back to see Thatch following him, along with a resigned-looking Marco. This time she let her laughter bubble loose. It was already clear how the dynamics in that family worked.
"Having fun?" Roger asked her with a rumbling laugh of his own under her hands.
"Yes, lots," she told him truthfully, leaning her cheek against the warm scales of his neck as she admired the sunlight dancing rainbows off the waterfall they were approaching. There was so much beauty in this world in this world of magic and wonder, in the things that she had seen and that had taken her breath away, and much more that she had yet to see. She hoped that just like now she could continue to experience those new and beautiful things with those she loved by her side.
"Miss Rouge, Miss Rouge, over here!"
And so with a bright smile she lifted up her skirts to wade into the crystal clear waters after her boys, laughing all the while.
Thanks for reading, I hope that you enjoyed it! Do leave a review to let me know what you think.
Just a piece of shameless self-advertising: I will be releasing the backstory of how Roger and Rouge met in this dragonAUverse as a part of the upcoming Tumblr event share-the-love-month in August, so stay tuned! It will be posted as a separate story from this one.