Been a while, folks! Hope you enjoy this latest installment to the crazy adventures of our favorite Marine old timers.
Midlife Crisis
Summary: Sengoku read it once. He read it again. The words didn't change even after the third time. "GAAAAARRPP!" In which Garp is being, well, Garp, and Sengoku is not amused. At all.
It all started when Sengoku found a list of names on the floor just outside Garp's office, titled "Guest List" with the note "Must remember to send invitations!" in a very familiar messy scrawl. His memory supplied him with the reminder that Garp's 50th birthday was coming up in a three weeks' time.
Under different circumstances, he would have simply replaced the sheet of paper on the desk and put a paperweight over it for good measure to prevent a repeat of its predicament. But this was Garp's, after all, and he had to admit that he was rather curious about his best friend's plans.
He cracked a small smile as he saw Tsuru's name and his own scribbled at the very top, followed by some other officers that he knew Garp was fairly close with. The sixth name down almost made Sengoku's eyes pop right out of their sockets. Disbelievingly, he ran his gaze quickly down the rest of the list, picking up outrageous names one after another.
The Vice Admiral chose that moment to stroll back into his office, whistling merrily. His eyes lit up at the sight of his friend. "Oh, Sengoku! Did you want something?"
"Garp…" he intoned darkly. "Just what do you mean by this?"
Garp, as always, was completely unfazed by Sengoku's threatening manner. "Oh, that's my birthday party guest list! You're invited, of course."
"Yes, I am aware. I'm also aware that you seem to be wanting to invite certain…other individuals as well."
Garp stuck a finger in his nostril idly, contemplating what had made his friend all riled up. A light bulb blinked to life. "Oh, you mean them."
Sengoku's tone was downright scathing, but he could have been humming for all the effect it had on Garp. Still, he had to try, if just for the principle of the whole thing. "Yes. Them."
Garp shrugged, yawning a little. "Anyway I just got back from sending off the invitations. So it's not like anything can be changed, you see. Not that I want to in the first place." He slanted a cheeky look at Sengoku just to see him explode. The other Marine didn't disappoint.
"Are you %&*$# insane!?"
"But Senny…" Garp pouted. He actually pouted. What kind of fifty-year-old pouted? Sengoku's eye twitched violently. "It's my birthday."
"You can't make me believe that the Fleet Admiral actually authorized this," Sengoku said flatly.
"But you see, Sengoku," Garp said with a half-fake-innocent half-triumphant face, "Old Kong doesn't have to authorize this, because it's not going to be held on Marine grounds."
Sengoku's urge to punch something, preferably Garp's smirking face, intensified by a hundred degrees. "And where, pray, might you be planning to hold the party, then?"
"Sabaody," Garp answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Sengoku twitched. Take deep breaths, he told himself.
"So let me get this straight. You're throwing your birthday party in a bar in Sabaody – somewhere in the lawless area, too, knowing you – and you've invited marines and pirates alike. And not just any pirate, but the most notorious ones including Roger who you've been chasing for the past five years."
"Yup, that sounds about right."
Sengoku made a strangled sort of noise in the back of his throat, threw his hands up in the air and stalked off.
Watching him storm away, Garp idly wondered what Sengoku's reaction would be when he found out just who owned the bar that he was holding the party at. Oh well.
A few days later, on a certain pirate ship…
"Roger," the first mate said in a way that clearly voiced out his disbelief. "What in the name of Davy Jones is this supposed to be?"
The captain blinked in surprise before his gaze focused on the card Rayleigh was waving in front of his face. His face broke into a grin. "Oh, that! An invitation to a party!"
"Yes, that is quite obvious," Rayleigh said drily. The card in question was, after all, a rather atrociously colored thing with a large 'PARTY!' printed on top. "It's also quite obvious who it is from."
"Nice of him to invite us, isn't it?" Roger responded cheerfully.
Rayleigh raised an incredulous eyebrow at his captain, but when it was clear that Roger was not joking, he sighed. "You wouldn't be seriously planning to go, would you?"
"Of course I am! I just told Mackie to change course for the Red Line."
The first mate pinched the bridge of his nose. "Have you considered that it might be a trap?" he ground out.
Roger remained nonchalant. "Nah. It's Garp," he said, as if it explained everything. Though in a way it really did.
"Still, you really expect us to just waltz into Marineford for a birthday party?"
Roger grinned, eyes twinkling with a private joke. "You didn't take a proper look at the venue, did you?"
Rayleigh raised an eyebrow before flipping the card open again. That was true, since his brain had derailed when he had seen Garp's name, not that he could blamed for that. The first mate burst out laughing. "Well I'll be. He's got some nerve."
Now that his first mate's wrath had dissipated, Roger folded his hands behind his head, eyes still dancing. "Think she actually agreed to this?"
It didn't even need an answer. Knowing Garp, Shakky wouldn't even be informed until the whole lot of them barged into her bar on the day itself.
Rayleigh sighed, but he couldn't keep the fond exasperation from his voice as he shook his head. "You guys are completely insane, you know that?"
The captain just winked. "What fun would it be otherwise?"
Two Marine Vice Admirals, an Admiral and three pirate captains walk into a bar owned by an ex-pirate captain.
The start of a bad joke? Perhaps.
You know the drill. ;) Reviews are very appreciated!
By the way, I know I said at the beginning that this collection will have 7 chapters, but that plan derailed somewhere halfway and so I'll still be updating sporadically like I have before, so stay tuned!