Hallo and welcome back!
Whelp, turns out I'm full of shit, as you see, it's not Wednesday, but I figured we all can do with a little love during this time so here you go!
As you know, there's now a baby on Sunny. We're now a few months into the new dynamics and things are kinda back to normal. Today's episode? Babysitter Brook (As if you couldn't have guessed that from the Chapter title ^^') Have fun!
In all the years he'd been drifting around the sea on his own, he'd never even dreamt to have a crew again. A crew that for all intents and purposes would function as a family. The only thing keeping him from going into the water had been his promise to Laboon, the vague hope to find a way to him, to come across some ship that would carry him far enough to make it on his own.
Not once had he thought to get an actual family that would fight for his dream as if it was their own. But the Strawhats had taken him in as family without reserve. Adjusting to the company hadn't been easy after years of only his own voice echoing back from the rotting planks of their doomed ship, or after the horrifying despair of hopelessness when he'd been shackled to Thriller Bark because of an enemy he couldn't defeat. He'd done his best. Because he owed it to them. The future king of the pirates, that had offered a place on the crew after seeing him just once, the soon to be greatest swordsman that had defeated Ryuuma and made it possible to join them, and the rest of the crew that had given everything in their power to defeat the one responsible.
It hadn't taken long for him to realise that he didn't have to feel bad for the quirks he had acquired over years of near madness, because they had accepted him as he was, apart from the occasional whack over the head by their navigator, which seemed to be more of an expression of love than anything.
And now, that young man who he admired so much, who he owed so much, trusted him with his daughter. His incredibly ugly daughter that didn't at all look like her beautiful mother.
He'd never thought he'd get a crew again, a quasi family, and now he sat there on the floor with a sleeping baby like an actual grandfather or something. A real family. Something most pirates didn't even think about. Something he'd vaguely wished for a lifetime ago… only to now realize actual family was incredibly boring. The child just slept. He'd sung her to sleep, but now he couldn't sing anymore because as much as he loved the girl's mother's company over tea, he did not want to draw her wrath on him for waking the girl up from her nap before the time.
But maybe… maybe just a little nudge? Not more than what could be brushed off as a harsh wave hitting Lion-chan from the side? Nobody would have to know? Of course he should expect Robin's prying eyes and ears everywhere, but she was busy right now. Preoccupied if you will. He could feel her energy jumping all over the place, while the young swordsman was a steady presence reining her in. He was sure the others would disagree, but in their private times the boy was an artist. A conductor directing the millards of usually hidden clashing emotions of a healing soul into a soulsearing concert. It was a beautiful thing to witness even though it always felt as if intruding on them, not that he could help it if he was anywhere near the ship. He blamed his devilfruit. Ever since his awareness of the souls around him, their songs had become much more prominent. He was sure that the others couldn't see their dance as he could. The vibrant colours.
Ah, she definitely wouldn't see, so he gripped the black fluffy blanket with the pink skulls on it in his bony hand and tugged just enough to make the snoring baby roll a bit. He should have known better. Of course she wouldn't wake from that. She was like her father in that, would easily sleep through a storm that would throw her through the room if it wasn't for Franky-san's self-stabilizing crib. Her father woke up if he was really needed, though. The girl didn't, left him alone in his boredom, leaving his mind to wander and listen in on things that were none of his business.
He knew the others were mildly annoyed by this. And he'd been called a gossip more than once. It wasn't his fault. Decades alone, one just started to talk to themselves. And he might also add that there was no other choice than to spill the tea when Nami-san asked for it. Orange with blue dots. Yohohoho, he should not spill this knowledge. He had never seen Robin-sans panties though, not even on the laundry line. Ah, he guessed they were for the young swordsman's eyes only… What a shame, he was sure, that he couldn't cherish them as much as he could. The boy lacked a sense of aesthetics most of the time, scoffed at it if anything.
Loud purple burst from the crowsnest above. Powerful like a scream but somehow calm like a whisper yet soaring to the sky like a bird finally free from its cage. Loud, strong, and unashamed yet lost and swaying in the wind. It was a harsh reminder that he didn't give the swordsman enough credit. He just valued other aesthetics than he did. That calm green, tiny in comparison to the billowing whisper of his wife, and yet it seemed to be the only thing keeping her tethered to this world.
He supposed he didn't need her panties. In fact, he probably had more than enough with all the fanmail he still received. But just like the singing, like the joking and the talking to himself… He had yearned for anything feminine for years, and the pair of panties that had floated past his lonely prison had been the only thing that had helped him remember the warmth of a woman's embrace in his dead cold bones. He was happy with his new family, and he would always have a special bond towards the younger swordsman who had freed his shadow, but as beautiful as their expression of their love was to witness, he couldn't help the slight jealousy gripping his heart, for he would never be able to have that… although, he didn't have a heart, yohohohoho.
Oh, he'd been talking aloud again, he realized at the quiet gurgling in front of him. Blue eyes focused on him as much as they could. Yohohoho, finally.
Now what could he play to engage this boring little loaf? Something cheery probably. But simple. He didn't want to upset her, after all. She perked up at the first strum of his guitar. Yes, it was never too early to learn their hymn. She gurgled and cooed, almost as if she wanted to sing along even though she lacked any intonation but maybe… yes, maybe she could make music with him. He pushed that tiny toy with the tiny bells into her tiny chubby fist, and after a few moments of blinking her eyes at it, she gave it a good shake. Eyes widened in confusion at the sudden noise it makes. Oh what a shame, it seemed she had her father's intellect, but… He chanced another look at the rhythmic pulse of purple dancing across the sky. He was convinced there had to be some artistic skill inside this child. And who was better to coax it to the surface than the Soul King himself?
Yohohoho, yohohoho. He gently clasped his cold, boney hand around her warm and soft fist, gently shaking hit in tune to his humming. Yes, just like that, little loaf! Just like that! Yohohoho, yohohoho…
Carefully, very very carefully, he let his hand slip away, hoping she wouldn't really notice and just keep the motion going. Yohohoho, Yohohoho. Ah, there was hope, yohohoho yohohoho. Just like that, little loaf.
"Bink's no-" And after that, the little rattle smacked against his jaw, with just enough precision to dislocate it. Big blue eyes stared up at him, his jaw hanging on his skull, and even though it shouldn't be possible at her age, he could swear he saw humor dancing across her features… although he didn't have any eyes, yohohoho.
Maybe he hadn't given the little loaf enough credit. There definitely was something of her mother in there, and if it was only that penchant for dislocating bones.
"Alright, little loaf, no music." It was fine, really, it wasn't as if music made his heart beat, altho- nah… it just wasn't the same like that.
Ah… for how long would the girl stay like that? A year? Two? He really didn't know much about babies. None of them actually did, despite their doctor's best efforts. None of them had ever been even close to a child this age… apart from some alleged baby-sitting in Water 7, but that had been before his time. Her parents took that with relative ease. Surprisingly enough. Especially from the young swordsman, they had expected differently. But as it stood, their betting pool just grew on the older the girl got because not once he had come running in absolute unfounded panic because he feared his daughter's safety. When she had screamed for hours on end, he'd just shrugged his shoulders assuming she just had to poop. And when that one horrible storm had hit, he'd just laid her in her crib, fully trusting that it would protect her, and just hitched up the sails and continued to secure the cargo as he would have before. Ah, just as boring as the girl herself. With another heavy sigh, he rolled her on her tummy as he'd been told to do now. For training purposes.
It was a pity that she was too young to share any interests with any of them. Most of them seemed kind of upset by that, but to their great surprise, the one who actually really didn't seem to mind was their captain. The one who they'd all thought they'd have to rein in with his enthusiasm. But the young boy seemed completely content just talking to her for hours and making faces. Sometimes he would put on his thinking face, which would make everyone just a tiny bit uneasy. It would give him goosebumps if he had skin. Yo ho ho.
Oh, this boredom could kill a ma-
What? He turned his attention back on the child, chubby arms pressing against the ground. Could it be? Her upper body pushed from the fluffy blanket. YES!
He scrambled to his feet, his soul tensed around his bones, making them perfectly straight as he smacked his head against the tree on deck. From the corner of his eyes - although he didn't have any eyes, yohohohoho- he looked at the little bird on the ground. She still had some training to do, but this pose was unmistakable.
A loud laugh bubbled along his spine. "Yohohohoho, 45°!"
Humongous thanks to Rexica for beta reading.
All in all I have to say that I absolutely love this child. I'm aware that this is completely selfindulgent and I'm having an awful lot of fun coming up with new ideas and actually writing them and I'd be very happy if some of you could love her too (Even though right now she's still just a boring loaf of meat).
I'll have you know, that there's an excel sheet with -as of now- 89 Ideas for chapters throughout this ugly child's life. Some of those might be fused together, but there's a lot of ideas to keep this going for a while. The next 5 (?) chapters are done and waiting for beta, but as I mentioned in my other fic, progress is slow right now. Would you prefer I upload them unbetaed every two weeks, as long as I have them in stock? Or rather wait? Let me know in the comments! Stay safe and healthy!
Next up: "A Cockatoo's First Word(s)" Where you'll learn a bit about Zoro's relationship with his adorable daughter!