Garp was sitting in his office going over reports; it had been five years since Roger was executed and it seemed like a new pirate crew emerged every day. Garp usually avoided paperwork at all costs but these new reports were about the red-haired cabin boy from Roger's crew, he was starting to make quite the name for himself and he was only 20. The current report he was reading detailed the brat's most recent fight with another upstart everyone was calling "Hawkeyes". As he was reaching the final paragraph of the report his transponder snail began ringing. Garp answered with a heaving sigh.
"Vice Admiral Garp. What do you want?" He asked. There was silence on the other end of the line and just as Garp opened his mouth to berate whoever decided to disturb him an all too familiar voice spoke out.
"I need a favour." Garp's hand tightened around the receiver and he took a deep breath before responding.
"Hold on." Was all he said before stepping away from his desk and checking the hallway outside his office; there was no one there and with a glance at the clock showing it was nearly 3am Garp wasn't surprised. He locked his office door for good measure and sat back down, once again picking up the receiver.
"You've got a lot of nerve asking me for a favour after all you've done you ungrateful brat." Said Garp as he glared at the blank expression on the snail's face.
A sigh could just barely be heard before the man on the other line spoke his next words. "Love you too, dad." The blank expression on the snail held a faint look of annoyance.
Garp rolled his eyes at his son's behaviour, "always so dramatic". He thought to himself. "Well, Dragon, spit it out, what do you need?" Garp watched the expression on the snail's face curiously as he awaited a response. Dragon had always been hard to read, which made the look of unease the snail was mimicking that much more concerning. After what seemed like an eternity Dragon finally answered.
"I have a son."
Garp was silent for a moment as he processed the simple phrase and the unspoken request behind it. "You want me to take him." Garp wasn't sure if he was phrasing that as a question or not but still he waited for an answer.
"I don't trust anyone else to take him." Said Dragon.
Garp was both surprised and touched at his son's words. It had been a long time since the two of them had seen eye to eye on even the simplest of matters. Garp took a moment to come up with a plan before speaking again.
"Do you remember the cove back home where I taught you how to swim?" He asked. Dragon hummed in agreement. "Meet me there on the evening of June 15th, that should give you plenty of time to get there from wherever the hell you are. It will also give me time to get special leave. Don't be late." Dragon again made a humming noise in acknowledgement and Garp hung up.
The sun was setting on Dawn Island and Garp was making his way to the secluded cove just a short walk from the village. He'd been on the island for about a week spending time with Ace and it was finally the day he would meet his new grandson. He'd come down from the mountains that morning and had informed Whoopslap of the reason behind his visit before spending the afternoon at Party's Bar entertaining the villagers and especially Makino with his many stories. Walking down the path the cove came into view and a small sailboat was docked there. Garp approached cautiously the wind blowing strongly, rustling his clothes. Dragon stood on the deck of the small boat a bundle of blankets held in his arms. Garp walked over to his son who at some point had outgrown him.
"Hello son."
Dragon stared blankly at him. "You're getting careless in your old age." Garp opened his mouth, ready to fight. "You were followed and didn't even notice." Garp deflated. He looked around but couldn't see anyone.
"Come on out, Makino." Dragon called.
After a rustling in the bushes Makino's head popped up, yellow bandanna tied tightly around her hair. Despite having been caught there was a wide smile on her face as she ran over to the shore. Dragon stepped off his boat just in time for Makino to crash into his legs, hugging him tightly. She was 12 now and had grown a lot since his last visit.
"I missed you Uncle Dragon!" She beamed.
Dragon shifted the bundle in his arms so he had a free hand. He gave Makino a pat on the head and smiled down at her. "I missed you too Makino. I see you've gotten sneakier since last time, good work."
Makino beamed with pride. "It's all in a day's work for a junior revolutionary spy!"
Garp was tempted to ask about the whole spy business but he thought it would be best to get back to the matter at hand. Makino's schemes could be dealt with later. "Makino, if you don't mind, Dragon and I have some things to discuss."
Makino then walked about ten feet away to sit on a rock. She faced away from them and pretended not to listen. Garp sighed but didn't tell her to leave, she was smart enough to figure everything out anyway. Turning back to Dragon, Garp stared at his son and grandson with a mix of displeasure and love.
"So." He said.
"So." Dragon echoed.
"What's his name and who's his mother?"
"His name is Luffy." Was all Dragon said.
Garp sighed. "Well, to be honest I didn't really expect an answer to the second half of that question. But, let me ask another. Why are you giving him to me?"
Dragon didn't respond right away, seemingly contemplating his answer. "My work is dangerous, I don't want to put him at risk. Besides, if he were to grow up with revolutionaries his path would be decided for him. I want Luffy to have the freedom to live his life how he wants; I don't want him to feel obligated to join my cause."
Garp took a deep breath and ran a hand over his hair. "You don't want me to tell him about you." It wasn't a question, but it wasn't not a question either.
"No, not until he's old enough to protect himself."
Dragon looked down at his sleeping son and brushed a tuft of hair away from his forehead. He whispered something neither Garp nor Makino could hear and handed Luffy over. Before Garp could speak Dragon walked over to Makino and knelt in front of her, hands on her shoulders. Makino looked up at him quizzically and waited.
"Makino, I need you to promise me something." Makino nodded, steely determination in her eyes. "Promise me you'll take good care of Luffy for me. Be the best big cousin you can be. Garp won't always be around for him because of his job, so when he's out at sea I'm counting on you to keep Luffy safe, okay?"
Makino put a hand over her heart and stared Dragon down. "I promise! You can count on me Uncle Dragon. I'll take extra good care of Luffy, I won't let you down."
Dragon smiled softly, a smile he reserved for kids. He gave Makino another pat on the head and stood up. "Good." He said.
He walked back over to Garp but was looking at Luffy. "I can't thank you enough for taking him. I wish I could stay but the longer I do the more danger he's in."
"I understand. Now, get outta here, you brat, before someone sees you!"
Dragon smirked and walked back to his boat. "Love you too, dad." He muttered, just loud enough to hear.
Makino waved goodbye as the small boat grew farther away and when it was too far to still see Dragon she stopped and walked over to Garp. She asked to see Luffy and Garp knelt down so she could get a good look. Makino smiled then started skipping back toward the path exclaiming that it was getting cold and they should get Luffy somewhere warm. Garp soon followed and in a matter of minutes the trio was walking through the doors of Party's Bar. No one questioned why Garp suddenly had a baby in his arms, they just accepted it and continued on as normal. Some patrons came by to take a look at the kid and congratulate Garp on his new grandson but Dragon's name was never spoken, even by those who remembered him. The bar was so busy Garp hadn't even noticed when Makino slipped away upstairs.
Makino kicked off her shoes and jumped onto her bed. She could clearly hear the sounds of the bar downstairs, laughing patrons, cutlery scrapping against plates, and her father cheerfully greeting the mayor as he walked through the creaking batwing doors. She glanced one at her door to make sure it was closed before reaching up to her bandana and pulling out the paper that had been placed there. She unfolded it and smiled at what was written. In Dragon's neat handwriting there was a transponder number and but three words, "keep me updated". And Makino would.