It was the afternoon, sun still high in the sky heating everything below. Earlier today their dad called in saying he was going to be coming home for a while, he didn't have any jobs or missions and so he decided it was Wyvern's turn to start training, much to Dragon's displeasure. After hearing that, Dragon walked away from the den den, taking Wyvern with him, into the garden where they have been for the last three hours.

Wyvern thought it was hilarious. He was playing in the sandy area closer to the water with merry, while Dragon was just lounging. He had his feet on the outside table crossing over each other. One arm on his stomach and the other falling to the side off the chair, and his head was back over the top of the chair looking at the sky. Pants curled up from wading in the water with Wyvern and hair pulled back into a braid, courtesy of Wyvern, and a half buttoned dress shirt.

Wyvern, in both lives, had never seen him look so uncaring. Hell, the gods could come down from the skies and tell him he was the chosen one and he'd tell them to come back later. Giggling Wyvern walked over, "Liz, Liz! Look what I made!"

Dragon looked over and saw his little brother holding up Merry with a small flower crown on her head. "Oh? Did you make that?" Dragon took his legs off the table and pulled Wyvern onto his lap.

"Yep! Do you like it?" Wyvern chirped, giving Dragon a bright smile.

Dragon chuckled, "Yes it's very good, do you want to make some more to give to dad when he comes back, I bet he'd love'em." Wyvern looks into his brother's eyes beaming at the idea.

"Yeah that's a really good idea!" He jumped off his brother and started to go back inside for his shoes. Dragon got up and looked at his brother strangely. Why was he going inside? Before he could ask he came back out of the house with a basket and Merry plopped on his head. "Yosh! Time to go!"

Despite not knowing where they were going, Dragon still followed his brother, "may I ask where we're going?"

Wyvern turned, looked up and giggled, "to the flower fields out by the windmills!" Wyvern moved back next to his brother and gripped onto his pant leg. "Come on! Let's go!"

—-

The flower fields were huge, the flowers covered the ground everywhere you looked and when the wind blew the flowers rippled like waves in the ocean. Wyvern, the moment they got to the fencing around the area started running then stopping to pick up flowers to put in his basket.

"Liz, hurry up!"

Dragon sighed, "coming!" He started walking through the flowers, all different colors and types littered the ground. Once he reached the area where Wyvern sat down he started to weave them together. "So how many are you going to make?"

Wyvern looked up with stars in his eyes.

—

Wyvern was on the floor trying to stand up while Dragon was trying his best not to laugh at what was in front of him. After they were down in the fields they came home to find their dad at the docks. After they walked home and started talking Wyvern said he had a present.

"Hey dad! I have a gift for you that me and Dragon made!" Holding up the basket filled with the crowns.

"Really?! Bwahahaha! You really are the best Vernie! Even getting your brother to help!" Wyvern just giggled.

A few minutes later and here they were. Their dad was covered head to toe in flower crowns, so many in fact you make out his face.

"Alright! Now that you got to have your fun, it's time for training!" And at that pure horror swept across Dragon's face. Fuck.

—-

While training, besides running away from their dad and dodging fists of love, Wyvern was also trained in the basics of starting was one of the few things dragon was less worried about for their training, mostly because of the fact that Wyvern had been using haki before he could walk.

Breaking tables left and right and always knowing when someone was at the door or something was going to happen before it did. And Dragon was no idiot so after a while, he figured out the kid was a natural at using it and thus was, less worried about the training for it.

But this is the monkey family and he shouldn't have let his guard down. "I knew it! Of course my kids' a natural! If you're going to be a good marine one day you'll have to train even harder! Bahahaha!" Dragon just about strangled the man. God dammit.

"NO!" Dragon looked up to see a pouting Wyvern and a confused Garp.

"What do you mean no?!"

"I ain't becoming a marine! Too many damn rules! It's boring! There's no adventure!"

Dragon's mouth curved into a warm smile, of course that's the reason he doesn't want to become a marine, and in all honesty they probably wouldn't have enough food to feed the little black hole.

Of course after that they kept going back and forth about what was fun and not fun about the marines, which is nothing, but Dragon just ignored them.

—-

After they went back home and were done cleaning up after eating, Dragon went outside to find Wyvern standing in the shallow water. Rolling his pant legs up he walked over and into the water as well.

"Hey vernie?"

Without looking up Wyvern replied, "hmm?"

"I was wondering, since you are definitely not becoming a marine, what are you going to do in the future?"

Wyvern without thinking was going to shout 'pirate king' when it hit him in the gut, hard. All the emotions and memories of his past life flooded in like a broken dam. Every emotion he bottled up came crashing down. He was alone. Sure he had his brother and grandfather turned dad, but Garp has the marines and hardly comes home and Dragon has to leave to fix what's wrong in the world.

He sees it, in his eyes, the burning passion of freedom and righteousness for the world that has been growing each year as more is put in to feed the fire, soon, it's going to need to spread.

So what was Wyvern going to do? All the people he left behind were either not born yet or don't know him. The feeling of his friends and family still left a gaping hole in his heart. And it really fucking hurt, like wanting to cry but only for it to get caught in your throat. Family. "There's no need for words… just answer one question for me, Ace… was I a good father?!"

"It doesn't matter who your parents were! Everyone is a child of the sea!"

"It's wrong to resent a child for the sins of his father!"

Dragon was getting worried, Wyvern had been staring at the water for a while now when a tear rolled down his face, "Wyvern!? Are you ok!?"

Quietly Wyvern whispered, "family."

Dragon locked eyes with his younger brother, "what was that?"

"I want a family." Wyvern said, holding onto merry harder.

The words fit right. They rolled off the tongue perfectly. Smooth and clear like the breeze carried on by the waves. A family that he will protect, no matter what.

Dragon knew that day was when his brothers' own fire burst into flames, and he was scared to see what family his brother would create and what they would do to this world.