Last chapter! Enjoy~

"Another skewer, Luffy? You should branch out. Meat isn't the only thing to eat every day."

Luffy paid the vendor his stolen money and ate the kebab with beef on it. "Meat is my favorite. I'll eat it for every meal if I got to," Luffy told the man he regularly visited. "I'll probably be back later, so save me some chicken, please. There's lot's of tourists right now. Lot's to pickpocket."

"Good luck, like always. Maybe you could try and get a ride somewhere with this group of people," the vendor said in good spirits. Over the two years, he and Luffy had become acquaintances. They talked sometimes, but usually it was just about his food.

"I'm still waiting," Luffy replied, chewing the last piece of his kebab.

"Always waiting. When will you move on?" the man asked the child with a sigh.

"I won't," Luffy said and walked away. "They'll find me someday." Luffy headed towards his little camp, which was in one of the bubble trees of Sabaody Archipelago, the island he'd been living on for the last two years after Reighley had saved him and brought him back to his home island. Luffy was offered to live with the man, but he'd declined, and said he was waiting for someone to come and find him.

So, as a six year old, Luffy had been thrust into the position his brothers had been in. He was homeless and had no family. He fended for himself, though in a strikingly different way than his brothers had. Luffy didn't hunt or beat people for things. He pick pocketed and sneakily snatched things. He'd never hurt anyone, or gotten caught. He wouldn't know how to hurt someone, anyways.

His hair was shaggy and his clothes were faded. He was able to snag a sturdy outfit when he raided a passenger ship once. He'd had to that time. Right now, as an eight year old, he wore boots, loose pants with many pockets, and a simple red vest. He'd never shown the scars his wings had once been to anyone but Reighley, and even that wasn't voluntary.

He had a scar under his eye now, but still had his positive personality. At first, he'd been depressed and devastated, but he believed one day his brothers and papa would come to this island, wanting to go to or leave the New World, wherever they were. They would one day visit this island. He knew it, and he'd wait for them.

Though he was still mostly himself, he could be cold and intimidating if he was in a bad mood. He hadn't done a very good job, but he'd made his home in the tallest tree, like his brothers had. It was more like a nest than Ace and Sabo's treehouse. Luffy had only dug slats into the side of the tree as his ladder up. He used the bubbles as a bed, and it was the best place as a look-out for pirate ships.

But no ship as big as the Moby Dick had come. He had hope that the ship had been salvageable. And that everyone was okay. Did they miss him? Still, after two years? He assumed they thought he was dead. Had they forgetten about him yet?

By the time it was dark out, Luffy took out his blanket from one of the bubbles keeping it safe, and wrapped it around himself, looking at the night sky, hoping that the next day would end his waiting. He was growing tired of it. He had stopped staying down all day, and on some days didn't come down at all.

The people at Sabaody were laid back, and even the officers who enforced the laws on the island left him alone. He stayed in an unpopulated area, so he wasn't bothering anyone, and he was perfectly polite to others, even if he stole things sometimes. But he never hurt anyone or broke any serious laws. Sabaody Archipelago was a convenient place to be stuck on. It was a place he knew the Whitebeard Pirates would visit some day.

The next morning, Luffy debated going down at all before he heard shouting from below his tree. He saw Reighley on the ground, beaming at him up in his little nest. Luffy couldn't hear what he was saying and was wondering what the man was so happy about.

"What?" he called down. Reighley just pointed to the left. Luffy looked in that direction and beamed. There it was. The thing he'd been waiting to see for two whole years. Luffy slid down the tree's thick and slippery trunk, saying nothing to Reighley and sprinting away.

Luffy was in a slight panic mode as he sprinted into town on his way to the ship. What if they missed him and he'd been waiting in vain, missing his only chance? What if they didn't want him back, or had forgotten all about him. It had been a long time ago, after all. And they must have moved on from his "death" like he had his parents and brother.

The town was busy, regardless of the strongest man in the world being docked there. Then Luffy saw him. The giant who'd become his second father. He saw Marco's strange haircut as well. Luffy pushed through the crowds, crying as he shouted for papa.

"Papa! Marco, it's me!" Luffy cried as he got closer. He knew he looked a lot different and probably didn't give off the warm feeling he used to, but if he got them to just listen to him for only a second, maybe they would recognize him.

He grabbed for Marco's hand, but Luffy probably just looked like some homeless kid grabbing his hand. Luffy's hair was long enough to block some of his face if he hadn't moved the hair away from his eyes. Marco shook his hand off, and Luffy was swallowed into the crowd again. But he didn't give up.

"Papa!" he screamed, but the man didn't hear him at all. Luffy turned to the left and ran off and pulled out his sharp spikes that he kept for creating things, not hurting anyone. There were no predatory animals on this island.

He stabbed the sharp blades into the soft tree trunk and climbed his way up, shoving the tools into one of his pockets, bouncing from one tree's bubbles to another. He made his way around until he saw Whitebeard and Marco standing still at a vendors booth. He took a deep breath and jumped.

"PAPA!" he screamed as he fell, landing on the giant man's shoulders. On instinct, Whitebeard grabbed his small body and flug it off of him like he was nothing. But Luffy wasn't hurt and picked himself up easily. "Papa! Do you remember me?!" Luffy shouted as he ran towards the captain. Whitebeard's face was blank in shock. Luffy grabbed onto his pant leg. "It's me! It's Luffy! Do you remember me?!" he practically begged for papa to remember him. "I know I look different now, but it's me!"

"Luffy?" Marco asked in shock. Luffy smiled in hope. They remembered him!

"Yeah! Yeah, it's me!" Luffy shouted, tears running down his cheeks. He blinked in surprise when Whitebeard fell to his knees, grabbing Luffy and pulling him close, tightly.

"Of course we remember you, Luffy," he said, getting choked up. But then, when he pulled away, he frowned at what Luffy looked like. His wings were gone, his back completely flat. He was dirty and his hair was longer and shaggy. Whitebeard was furious that someone had stolen Luffy's beautiful wings, but that would have to wait.

"Are Ace and Sabo here, too?" Luffy asked in hope. He missed them the most. "They're here, too, right?"

Marco stood from a short distance with a big smile he rarely wore. Luffy was alive. That little boy they'd picked up was not dead. Marco hadnt found Luffy's remains that terrible day because he wasn't there. Somehow, he had gotten away. Well, seeing his wings were gone, meant that he was probably abducted. By that ship that set their home on fire. They cut off Luffy's wings. He wanted to kill them each painfully.

He turned around and walked through the crowd, looking for those that had lost their smiles.

Ace and Sabo walked down the path between all of the booths, both eating a skewer of chicken and beef. Neither looked happy or even content. Just bored and slightly angry. They always had that look ever since Luffy had "died".

Marco walked up to them with a smile. "Hey grumpy brats. Pops and I got a surprise for you." They both glared at Marco. Even Sabo had lost his politeness over the two years. Now, they mostly interacted with others in fights or sparring. The only time they could forget the pain of knowing Luffy burned to death some place inside their home. They didn't know where. Hell, he could have burned to death in their own room. But they didn't like thinking about that.

"What." Sabo said with a frown. Why would he be smiling? It was extremely uncharacteristic. Marco said nothing, just lead the teens to where Whitebeard was standing with a boy. Ace and Sabo started to grow angry. Were they finding a replacement for Luffy? They knew it had been two years, but still. There should never be anyone younger than Ace and Sabo. Not after Luffy had been on that ship with everyone.

"Luffy, look at who is coming over," Whitebeard said to the eight year old. Luffy turned around and saw Ace and Sabo coming nearer, both looking slightly angry. Luffy wondered why. He left Whitebeard behind as he sprinted across the grass and flung himself at both of them, one arm wrapped around each neck. Luffy started to cry.

The teens were shocked when the random human kid jumped them. They almost threw him off until they heard him say, "I MISSED YOU!" and the hug got tighter. Both teens looked down at the messy hair of this boy much shorter than them.

"L- Luffy…?" Ace whispered. He looked at Luffy's back. No wings. But this voice belonged to Luffy. Luffy pulled his face away, and Sabo and Ace saw the face they'd missed so much. They burst into tears. They couldn't help it. He looked the same as he had two years ago besides the scar on his face and the absence of wings. They couldn't focus on how furious they were with the beautiful things missing from his back.

Marco and Whitebeard watched from a short distance. Marco had never seen his father and captain shed any tears, even when Luffy had "died". Then, he just had a horrified look on his face, also filled with despair. But no tears had fallen. He needed to stay strong for his family, especially his next youngest children, who were never the same after the fire.

"We missed you, too, Luffy. So much it physically made us sick for so long. We're sorry we werent there to save you. So sorry," Ace said softly, his voice breaking. Sabo tightened his hug around them.

"Maybe then we could have saved your wings," Sabo mumbled miserably. Luffy shook his head.

"It doesn't matter anymore. I waited for you here for two years. I never even thought about leaving to go anywhere without you. I guess it was the right thing to do, right?" Luffy asked, trying to get them off the subject of his missing wings. "My wings won't ever come back, so there's no use in thinking about them… I don't even miss them anymore. So everything is okay."

"Okay, Luffy. Let's all go home. Your family missed you," Sabo said with a true smile, something he hadn't doned for years. "You're back, and things will be like they used to be. I know it will."

"Good!"

The three walked to their father, holding hands like they used to, Luffy still short in between both older boys. Things were okay now. And they'd never separate again. They'd make sure of that.

I hope everyone enjoyed this story. It was hard writing some of it because it was sad, but that was what I was going for anyways. Thanks for reading!