In which Garp is displeased, and Rouge becomes equally displeased.
Garp shifted in his seat at the kitchen table as Rouge stared at him with thinly veiled distaste.
"The mountains?"
"Ah, yes?" Garp answered, less certain then he'd been when he started, "I have an acquaintance up there that they'd stay with for the weekends."
"They'd stay with? On their own? You want me to let the boys wander up through the forest, into the mountains, and stay with this, 'acquaintance', that you've never mentioned in the ten years that I've lived here, on their own."
Garp may have done a lot for her, but there were some days where she wondered if she and Ace would have been better off if she'd chanced it on her own. Then Luffy would bounce past, and Rouge knew that there was no way she could have left her precious younger son to Garp's mechanisms. It would have been a miracle if Luffy survived the past three years if he'd been outside her care. Especially if Garp's backup plan was to leave him up in the mountains.
"Yes?"
Rouge raised an eyebrow at Garp's response.
"Yes." Garp tried again, dropping the questioning infliction in his voice.
The affirmation strengthened Garp's resolve on the issue as he explained his case further to an irritated Rouge.
"I'd go up with them this weekend of course. Show them the way up, introduce them to Dadan, and then make sure they know the path on the way back. Ace is plenty old enough to remember the way and watch out for Luffy."
"And Dadan is…?" Rouge questioned with narrowed eyes.
"Ah… she may be the bandit leader in the mountains…"
Rouge remained severely unimpressed.
Bandits.
He wanted to her sons to spend their weekends with bandits.
The man who wanted her boys to grow up to be 'big, strong marines', wanted them to spend their weekends with bandits.
…Roger had entrusted Ace to this man should the worst have happened to her. There were a few choice words she had for him if they met again in an afterlife...
Garp wanted them to train in the forest, surrounded by bandits and she was almost completely certain it had to do with one red haired pirate, that still remained Luffy's favourite topic of conversation months later.
"And this has nothing to do with how Luffy hasn't stopped talking about Shanks since you've been here?"
A growl rumbled through Garp's chest as his hands clenched dangerously tight around his teacup.
Garp forced his fingers to relax their hold of his teacup. This particular cup was from a set that had been bought by his wife, and was Rouge's favourite amongst the assortment of crockery that had remained, and been added, to the household's collection. Breaking it would not win him any favours from Rouge.
His thoughts didn't dim his frustration though.
Almost every second sentence that Luffy had spoken since he'd arrived had been, 'Shanks said', or 'and then Shanks', or 'Shanks is so cool', with every alternative sentence being filled with other piracy nonsense. It was enough to make him nearly weep with despair.
The boys were bound to be the best marines that had entered the training academy since he walked through the doors. He just had to stop all this talk of delinquent behaviour. Starting their training early was the best way to go about it. On this he was sure. He had been planning to wait for Luffy to turn ten, but, the sooner the better!
Now he just had to get it past Rouge…
Somehow.
Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed Colour of My Love, I really love writing Rouge, and I'm glad to hear that others are enjoying it as well!
