It had been a couple of weeks since Ann joined the ship and it had been a rough transition. Ann was still traumatized by what happened to her mother and being passed on to another crew soon after left her wary and withdrawn. As such, she was having trouble sleeping, her fear summoning nightmares. So Robin acquired a few children's books at their last port and started reading to her before bed as a way to settle her down. This worked beautifully, lulling the frightened little girl into peaceful slumber. However, on the fourth night after Robin starting reading her bedtime stories, Ann took the book from the older woman and marched over to Luffy with it. She then presented the book to Luffy and chirped, "Read, please."
Luffy, stunned, stared at Ann. Ann lifted the book up and said again, "Ji-kun, read, please."
Robin chuckled as Luffy continued to stare uncomprehending. "Luffy, she wants you to read to her tonight," she explained.
"Huuhhh?! No way! Why can't you do it?" Luffy cried.
Robin sighed then called to Ann, "Luffy doesn't want to read right now, but I would love to, Ann."
Ann stomped her feet and put the book on top of her head in a mini tantrum. "No! I want Ji-kun! Ji-kun! Ji-kun!" She bounced with each cry, emphasizing her demand.
Luffy looked down at his niece and flinched. Ann was glaring up at him from beneath the book, green eyes glittering with suppressed tears, her lower lip trembling with barely contained disappointment and stubbornness. Luffy glanced at his crew for support only to find them staring back at him as if he were the scum of the earth, each one clearly believing he should read Ann a bedtime story instead of Robin. Luffy's eyebrow twitched then he straightened his shoulders, preparing to stand his ground on his decision when he glanced back at Ann. The book was now resting its end on the ground, held up right by one hand. The other hand was getting its thumb sucked as Ann leveled her brilliant, shiny green eyes on him in a soul-full pleading gaze. Puppies could not have begged harder.
Luffy's resolve dissolved and, with an exasperated sigh and tossing a nasty look at his now grinning crew, he picked up the book. Ann immediately brightened then giggled and ran in circles around him in delight. He headed into the cabin, shoulders slumped, pouting the whole way. He stalked over to Ann's little bed as she clambered onto it, snuggling into the sheets and pulling her stuffed bear into her lap. Luffy gagged as he hesitated to join her. Her bed was a mess of pink and frills and all things girly, courtesy of Nami. Nami spending money on anyone but herself without so much as a whine was unheard of and Luffy wondered at the power of Ann. Ann saw his hesitation and leveled another soul-full gaze on him. He sat down next to her without another word. She was truly a frightening child. Satisfied, she curled up in the crook of his arm, leaning her head against his chest. Luffy opened the book and grimaced at the page. It wasn't that he couldn't read but he never did it enough to be able to read quickly nor easily. He only ever had to read signs or at most short sentences. Though, the story book was more pictures than words, there were still more words in one space than he usually dealt with.
"Good luck, Luffy," called Robin from outside the door. She had taken a seat next to the entrance where she could peek in without being inside. Why did she have to sit there? This was embarrassing enough without having an audience. Not that true privacy was possible on a ship. The sounds of snickering floated through the open door. Robin was not the source of the suppressed mirth. Gritting his teeth, he stared at the page again and began reciting the words aloud. "On-ce u-ponnn a time... there was an e-vil qu- qu- *pause* queen. She was the most beau- beau- uh? beau-ful-"
"Beautiful," corrected Robin. Luffy turned red. Did she have the book memorized? He wouldn't put it past her, she was always reading when she wasn't cracking heads in her spare time.
"It must be really hard when the only words you really know revolve around food," called Zoro from somewhere on deck. Another outbreak of snickers.
Turning an even darker shade of red, Luffy shouted, "Shut up!" He had half a mind to toss the book and order Robin to read it and Ann to just suck it up. He was a pirate! A captain! He was going to be the Pirate King! Why did he have to read a little girl bedtime stories?
He glanced down at his niece. Ann was looking at him in concern and flinched. She was sucking her thumb again and hugging her bear, drawing away from him subconsciously like he might bite if she moved too quick or stayed too close. The stuffed bear was white and wore an orange jumpsuit, strongly resembling the mink from Law's crew. It even had the Heart's Pirate symbol over its heart.
Luffy hadn't noticed before. Had someone on Law's crew given Ann the bear? Ann hadn't been onboard the Heart's Pirates' submarine for long but they had given her a bear to make her feel safer and more comfortable. Luffy felt his annoyance fade. Law hadn't needed to do that. He had no relation to the girl. Veronica has been working with outdated information when she had asked Law to take Ann. She hadn't realized the Heart's Pirates and the Straw Hat Pirates were no longer allies. Law could have abandoned Ann anywhere. Instead, he had chosen to find Luffy as soon as possible and bring Ann to him. He had delayed his own journey to find the One Piece to find a rival and give him this little girl that had been dumped on him without explanation. And someone on the crew had gone to the effort to make her a stuffed bear so she could feel safer and more comfortable.
Ann was Luffy's dead brother's daughter, the brother he had failed to save at Marineford, Ace. And he was annoyed with her. Annoyed with his beloved brother's little girl who just wanted her uncle to read her a bedtime story. Annoyed because it was hard. Because he never bothered to do more than the minimum to appease Makino and his grandfather. Everything in his life had been hard. Nothing had come easy to him, he had always had to work to get what he now had. Reading was no different than anything else, he just never bothered to try because it was never interesting. Now he had a niece who wanted him to read to her and he was annoyed because it was hard for him to do and not interesting.
Ace had been annoyed by him when they were small. Because he was weak and a crybaby. Because he couldn't fight. Because he was causing him trouble. Ann just wanted to snuggle with her uncle and be read a bedtime story. Compared to what he put Ace through when they were young, this was nothing. Luffy felt ashamed of himself.
With a sigh, he turned back to the book and started again.
It was the most painful hour he had ever spent as he crawled his way through the fairy tale, Robin pitching in when Luffy stumbled over the words. He heard Nami berating the others when they started taunting him again and was grateful that at least someone on his crew was willing to cut him some slack.
When he got to the end he closed the book with a relieved and exhausted sigh. He then looked down at his niece. She was laying against him with her hand holding his shirt, asleep. Luffy reached down to gently lift her off him and onto the bed when he realized she was death-gripping his shirt. Luffy barely suppressed his cry of surprise and tried to work her fingers loose. This only succeeded in getting her to sleepily cling tighter and grip harder.
Oh-no...
Robin chuckled at the sight of Luffy's dismay when she entered the cabin to see what he was doing now that he wasn't reading. "I'll get you an extra pillow and blanket," she said.
Luffy scowled but there was nothing they could do short of waking Ann up. And if he woke her up he would have to read to her again! Luffy decided one night sleeping in the pink princess bed was not going to kill him. He growled, though, when he saw the pillow and blanket Robin brought him, pink and frilly! Seriously! How much did Nami get on her shopping spree that they had spare sets for Ann!
Robin smiled at his furious scowl. "Good night, Luffy!" she said after she placed the pillow behind his head and tucked the blanket around him, careful to avoid the area Ann was snuggled against. Luffy just glared.
Robin was just plain evil sometimes.
Rule 1 of Parenthood: Be a good sport.
/dbre9bd