Chapter 4: Somewhere In The Heavens, God Is Laughing His Ass Off
Donquixote Rosinante never takes count. To him, taking count means reliving all of the events in his life: the good, the bad, and the Doffy. Taking count meant reliving all the times Rosinante fell face first on the ground while he and his family were running from an angry mob of villagers (156). How many days he and his brother stayed by their mother's deathbed as her sickness slowly overtook her (4). How many arrows were shot at him, his father, and his brother when they were dangling from a 3 story building (he didn't have an exact count because he was blindfolded, but Rosinante felt at least 10 arrows thrown at him). The number of nightmares Rosinante had after Sengoku found him-a crying 8-yr-old kid covered in his father's blood after his demented brother shot and decapitated him-and took in as his own (WAY too many to count). But taking count also meant reliving the number of times Rosinante had to break up "debates" between Sengoku and Garp (so far, 37). The number of times his jacket caught on fire whenever he lit a cigarette (17). The number of bars he, Kuzan and Smoker went to, got shit-ass drunk and caused mayhem (9 times Sengoku knows about, 16 times Garp knows about, and 45 times nobody knows about. Those three were party animals). Rosinante could count the number of times he's snuck longing glances at Bell-mere (117). The number of times he comforted her whenever she got homesick (20). Or the times she comforted him whenever he had nightmares (30). Or Rosinante's favorites (if he counted them) the number of dates he and Bell-mere had (24 so far), the number of times they frequented The Watering Hole and spent time with Magdalena and her family (over 50). And the number of times they kissed (A LOT).
But Rosinante never takes count. He couldn't. For there was a lot to unpack in his life, despite being the ripe young age of 22. Also, a lot can happen in three years, so Rosinante never kept track. One things for certain though. Rosinante and Bell-mere have been in a loving relationship for three years. And those were the best three years of their lives.
But there was another reason why Rosinante never takes count of the moments in his life. It was a realistic reason, albeit a sad one: Nothing last forever. Especially the good moments.
Rosinante was enjoying a daily cigarette break outside his apartment when he heard someone call out his name. He looked up to see his Bell-mere running towards him, with a panicked look in her eyes.
"Rosinante! Rosinante, Come quick!"
Rosinante ran to meet his girlfriend halfway when his jacket caught on fire and he tumbled down the stairs trying to put it out. He landed on his back and saw Bell-mere staring down at him.
"I would tell you to stop clowning around, but I feel like that would be redundant." She remarked.
"I thought you found my clumsiness adorably charming, Belle." Rosinante pouted.
Bell-mere giggled as she planted a soft kiss on Rosinante's forehead. "Any given day, I would cuddle you right here, but we need to head to South Quarter now."
"Why, what's the matter?" Rosinante asked.
"Abigail called me. Some low-grade pirates broke into the Watering Hole this morning." Bell-mere explained. "They kidnapped Magdalena."
"What!?" Rosinante exclaimed, jumping up to his feet (and getting vertigo in the process). "Where did they take her?"
"Some bystanders saw them heading towards a tavern by the docks. We gotta hurry, Roci, before they leave with her."
"What would a band of pirates want with a 70-something year old woman?"
"Who knows? You got your pistol?"
Rosinante nodded as he took out his standard issue pistol and gave what resembled a mix between a shit-eating grin and a devilish smirk.
"Let's go uphold some justice." He growled.
Bell-mere's green eyes went wide as she saw her boyfriend take off like a man on a mission. "I don't know if I should be scared or turned on." She muttered. "Who am I kidding? I'm so freaking turned on right now."
Magdalena simply watched as the band of pirates were loading all of their cargo on their ship, laughing and bragging about how they made the biggest score of their lives. Despite the frightening situation, the old woman wasn't the least bit afraid. In fact, she was surprisingly calm when the pirate crew, known as the Mayhem Mercenaries (horrible name for a pirate crew, sounds like baseball team), barged in her family's restaurant. They trashed the place, demanding money and Magdalena. Her son, Jean-Baptiste, fought the Captain and was overpowered. Not wanting to put her son and granddaughter in danger, Magdalena willingly surrendered herself and went with the Mercenaries. But not without giving Abigail a cryptic message to call Bell-mere and Rosinante:
"Call my giant child." She told her granddaughter. "Tell him we need some more spitfire for tonight's dinner rush or things will be dire."
It's safe to say Abigail got the message. She immediately called Bell-mere and informed her of what happened. So, Magdalena wasn't afraid. That's why she simply looked on as the Captain of the Mayhem Mercenaries (Again, horrible name) kept gloating to his crew about how rich they were going to be once they reach the Sabaody Archipelago.
"You sound very pleased to have me as your captive, young man." Magdalena observed.
The Mercenary Captain looked at her smugly. "That's because you're a gold mine." He explained. "Not only are you a Gullah Medicine Woman, but you also possess a very rare Devil Fruit power; one that even the Celestial Dragons want to get their hands on."
"Hmm, I had no idea I was such a commodity. Too bad, you went through all of this effort for nothing."
"You think someone will come to your rescue? I am Flynn Carson, Captain of the Mayhem Mercenaries. (I cannot stress enough how horrible that name is for a pirate crew) Marines cower by my name! We're going to Sabaody, taking you to the slave auction and making a whole lotta money."
"We will see, Mr. Carson." Magdalena calmly said. "We will see."
While that conversation was taking place, two young Marines approached the side of the tavern to spy on the pirates. One of the Marines possessed a Devil Fruit that allowed them to sneak undetected.
"Is she in there?" Rosinante asked.
Bell-mere nodded. "Yeah. She doesn't look hurt or injured. She's actually surprisingly calm."
"The captain didn't tie her up?"
"He put Sea Prism Stone handcuffs on her and is bragging about taking her to Sabaody. That can only mean one thing, Rosinante."
"He's gonna take her to the slave auction and sell her to the highest bidder." Rosinante's eyes flashed angrily. "How're your sneak attacks?"
"Do you even have to ask?" Bell-mere smirked.
Rosinante smiled as he gingerly touched Bell-mere's shoulder. "Calm."
Suddenly a dark blue bubble formed around Bell-mere.
"You ready?" Rosinante asked. Bell-mere nodded. "You take the front; I'll take the back."
Bell-mere ran to the front of the tavern while Rosinante stayed still. He took a deep breath, willing himself not to have any clumsy accidents. After a few calm moments, Rosinante snapped his fingers.
"Silence."
Suddenly the dark blue bubble formed around the tavern, effectively cutting out the sound inside and outside the tavern. Flynn and his crew suddenly froze at the lack of sound.
"What's going on?" Flynn demanded. "Why is everything so quiet?"
"We don't know, Captain." One of the Mercenaries replied.
"Go see who's behind this!"
The pirate nodded and proceeded to leave the tavern when he was knocked out by a roundhouse kick that nobody heard. Rosinante approached the back of the tavern and ignited a flash grenade, blinding everyone there.
"What happened?" One pirate asked.
"I can't see!" Another pirate cried.
"Keep on your toes, men!" Flynn demanded. "Make sure that old hag doesn't get away!"
"Well, that was uncalled for." Magdalena scoffed.
Before the Mayhem Mercenary pirate crew could even attempt at an attack, half of them were knocked out unconscious by silent attacks coming from every direction. Determined to keep his cash cow, Flynn grabbed Magdalena and headed to his ship.
"I'm getting my money one way or another!" He declared.
But when he approached the dock, Flynn saw that someone lit his ship on fire. The captain looked at the burning vessel in shock.
"My ship!" He screamed. "I didn't even hear it explode, how is this happening?!"
"Turbulence."
The invisible silent bubble dispersed and suddenly Flynn was face to face with his attacker: a 9ft tall Marine soldier with blonde hair and red-brown eyes that looked almost demonic. The sounds of Flynn's pirate ship burning to the ground and his crew groaning in pain finally echoed in his ears. Magdalena smiled widely as she looked into the eyes of her savior.
"My Giant Child!" She exclaimed.
"Are you all right, Magdalena?" Rosinante asked.
"I am now."
Rosinante gave Magdalena a small smile before he turned back to Flynn, giving him a death glare that would rival Akainu's.
"Didn't your mother ever tell you to respect your elders?" He growled.
"She did, but I never listened to her." Flynn snickered. "What do the Marines want with this old hag?"
Rosinante shrugged. "Nothing really. However, this woman is very important to me, and if you think I'm gonna let you take her to Sabaody to be some Celestial Dragon's slave, you're sorely mistaken."
"Do you have any idea what type of powers this woman has? She possesses one of the rarest Devil Fruits in the world and she's a healer. The payout will be sensational."
"I bet it will be. It's a shame you can't cash her as your meal ticket."
"And what are you going to do about it, Marine?"
"Oh, I'm not gonna do anything." Then Rosinante smirked. "But she is."
Flynn felt someone tap his shoulder, which was odd for him because he didn't hear anyone sneak up on him. He turned around to see Bell-mere smiling at him, before knocking him out cold with the hilt of her rifle.
"Nice one, Belle." Rosinante complemented.
"Thanks, Roci." Bell-mere beamed. "Did you have to torch their ship though?"
Rosinante looked back at the burning ship. "Oops. Guess I got carried away." He shrugged.
Bell-mere shook her head as she proceeded to unlock Magdalena's handcuffs. "Are you hurt, Mags?" She asked.
"I am fine, Bell-mere." Magdalena replied. "That man posed no threat to me. And the name of his pirate crew is an abomination (an extreme abomination)."
"Well, we're glad you're not hurt." Rosinante said. "I'm gonna call Kuzan and inform him of what happened. He'll be able to clean up this mess."
"Good idea." Bell-mere nodded. "Let's get you home, Magdalena. Jean-Baptiste and Abigail are probably worried sick about you."
"Let's get something to eat first. I heard this tavern makes a fine jambalaya."
Rosinante and Bell-mere looked at each other curiously. This woman had just been kidnapped and on the verge of being sold into slavery. Any normal person going through such an ordeal would want to go home right away to their family. But these young Marines have realized three years ago that Magdalena was no ordinary woman.
"Are you sure you're up to it, Magdalena?" Rosinante asked.
"Of course!" Magdalena insisted. "I'm more worried about your well-being than mine. You two must've been worried sick."
"Rosinante was more worried than me." Bell-mere revealed. "I knew you could handle yourself."
"I was not!" Rosinante whined. "I worried a good amount."
"Yes, I'm sure the burning ship can attest to that." Magdalena mused. "Come, let's eat."
After conversing with Kuzan and arresting Flynn and his pirate crew for attempted kidnapping, Bell-mere, Rosinante and Magdalena were sitting in the tavern, eating jambalaya, laughing, and talking as if the last couple of hours never happened. Kuzan arrived in the tavern soon after.
"Commander Rosinante, the pirate crew have been taken into custody and I informed Magdalena's family of her safety." He informed.
"Aww, were they worried about me?" Magdalena cooed.
"They'll always worry about you, Mags." Kuzan said. "Anyway, I gotta get this report to Sengoku."
"Stay Kuzan!" Magdalena pleaded. "We're having jambalaya and talking about our best laid plans."
"Sounds scary. Count me in." Kuzan grabbed a chair and sat down at the edge of the booth. "I hear a happy birthday is in order, Belle."
Bell-mere blushed furiously. "Did Tsuru tell you?" She asked.
"Nah, your boyfriend."
Rosinante comically spit out his beer. "Kuzan!" He exclaimed. "You're not supposed to say anything!"
"Today is your birthday, dear?" Magdalena gasped. "I didn't know."
"It's not a big deal. I just only turned 20."
"In the Gullah culture, 20 is a girl's coming of age. The parents would give her a special gift for reaching adulthood."
"Sounds nice. Too bad both of my parents are dead."
"Well, I will be happy to fill the role for them."
Bell-mere gave a genuine smile. "Thank you, Magdalena."
"So, what would you like, Bell-mere?" Magdalena asked. "What's your biggest desire?"
"Oh, that's easy. Bell-mere wants kids." Kuzan replied.
"Kuzan!" Bell-mere snapped. "Magdalena asked me, not you. Last time I checked, you're way past 20-years-old."
"My bad but I'm not lying. You always going on and on about how you want to be a mother." Kuzan explained.
"Yeah, we always talked about it, Belle." Rosinante added. "How many kids we would have, who would they look like. We even picked out names."
"You already have the names of your children picked out?" Magdalena said. "You must really want to be a mother."
"I do…but I know it's not gonna happen." Bell-mere said.
"Why do you say that?"
"I…I can't have any children. Genetic disorder."
There was a moment of shocked silence. No one expected Bell-mere to reveal such a vulnerable secret. Without thinking, Rosinante wrapped his arm around Bell-mere, pulling her into a hug.
"I'm sorry, Roci." She whispered, tearfully.
"You have nothing to be sorry about, sweetheart." Rosinante whispered. "This news isn't gonna make us love you any less."
"Rosinante's right." Kuzan agreed. "You're still the same Bell-mere who can drink all of us under a table and love tangerines to death. Nothing is gonna change."
"I've always thought you were brave, Bell-mere." Magdalena added. "But now, you are the bravest woman I've ever met."
Bell-mere sighed in relief. "Thank you. It's not something I share with just anybody so…it means a lot to me."
Rosinante's embrace became tighter as he gave Bell-mere a loving kiss on the top of her head.
"Hey, you know I've always wanted a son." He started. "Yeah, if I ever had a kid, I would have a son."
"You don't have make me feel better, Rosinante." Bell-mere objected.
"I'm not trying to, honest. My father was such a good man. I've always wondered if I would ever be a good of a father as him."
"You'd make a great dad, Roci." Kuzan complemented. "Let's hope your kid don't inherit your clumsiness."
"If Roci has a boy, he's going to definitely inherit his clumsiness." Bell-mere laughed.
"Oh, come on!" Rosinante groaned. "Give me some credit!"
"Leave my giant child alone." Magdalena scolded, laughing. "Don't listen to them, Rosinante. I'm positive your son will be just like you."
"I hope so but I wouldn't mind if he ends up like Bell-mere."
"Rosinante, I told you that I can't have kids."
"There are other ways to have kids, Belle. We can adopt and I wouldn't mind one bit if Felix ends up being just like you."
"Who's Felix?"
"That what I'm gonna name my son."
"You want to name your son Felix?" Kuzan said incredulously.
"What's wrong with Felix?" Rosinante shrugged.
"I thought you'd want to name your son after you."
"Nah. Don't want to burden my kid with that name."
"Your name is not a burden!" Bell-mere objected. "If I ever had a son, I would name him after you."
Rosinante snickered. "Well, if I ever had a daughter, I would name her after you."
"Absolutely not! Our daughter is gonna be named Norah."
"Norah?!" Kuzan exclaimed.
"You gotta problem with the names of our kids, Aokiji?" Bell-mere challenged.
"Not really, no. They're just…old-fashioned names."
"There's nothing wrong with old-fashioned, Kuzan." Magdalena said. "Sometimes, old-fashioned can be sturdy."
"I think Felix and Norah are solid names." Rosinante mentioned. "Whoever's kids are born with those names, are going to live extraordinary lives."
"I hope so." Bell-mere said. "Too bad it won't be us."
Magdalena suddenly reached for Bell-mere and Rosinante's hands, squeezing them tightly as she could. "There's an old saying amongst my people: If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. Nothing is set in stone. If God sees fit for you to be a mother, Bell-mere, He will make it happen one way or another. The same with you, Rosinante. Don't lose hope."
Rosinante and Bell-mere looked at each other and smiled. Somehow, Magdalena always found a way to make them feel better. This is one of the reasons why they cared about her so much. Kuzan gave a small chuckle. He could see why his friends gravitated to the old woman. The tender moment was interrupted by a cadet running towards them.
"Vice Admiral Aokiji! The pirates have been apprehended and taken into custody." He informed.
"Good work, Officer." Kuzan complimented. "Is there anything else?"
"Yes, Fleet Admiral Sengoku is requesting to see Commander Rosinante as soon as possible."
Rosinante sighed. "Well, so much for taking you home, Mags."
"Don't worry. Kuzan will accompany me. That won't be a problem, would it?"
"Not at all, Ma'am." Kuzan nodded. He turned to Rosinante. "You and Bell-mere head back to base. I'll make sure Magdalena gets home safely."
"Thanks, Kuzan." Bell-mere smiled. She and Rosinante let go of Magdalena's hand and got up from the booth. "Roci and I will check on you tomorrow."
"There's no need to." Magdalena objected. "I'm perfectly fine."
"I know you are but it'll make us feel better." Rosinante insisted.
"All right, if it will make you feel better." Magdalena conceded.
She reached out to give the two young Marines a hug, which they gratefully reciprocated. "I'm blessed to have met you, my little spitfire and my giant child."
"So are we." Bell-mere and Rosinante said.
After parting ways with Kuzan and Magdalena, Bell-mere and Rosinante walked back to the base in silence. After a few minutes, Rosinante said what was on his mind.
"I wonder what Sengoku would want to see me about?" He mused.
Bell-mere shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he got you a birthday present."
"My birthday is in July, Belle."
"Oh yeah, that's right."
"Hey, what if our kids shared the same birthday as one of us? Or their birthdays are like a combination of ours: December 15th or July 3rd?"
"Did the last 15 minutes go straight pass your brain?" Bell-mere laughed. "I told you I can't have kids, Rosinante."
"And I told you, Bell-mere, that there are other ways to have a kid."
"I know but…"
"But what?"
"It won't be ours. They won't have my eyes or my hair. They won't have your enormous height or your infectious yet beautiful smile."
"I don't care about all of that, Bell-mere." Rosinante said, taking her hand. "One of my biggest dreams is to become a father. To love someone unconditionally. If it means adopting a child, then so be it. I want to have a family with you."
Bell-mere stopped in her tracks and looked at Rosinante in shock.
"Are you serious?" She breathed.
"Yes, I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Rosinante got down on one knee and held out a ring with a blue diamond in the middle. "Will you marry me, Bell-mere?"
Bell-mere gasped, tears suddenly flowed down her eyes. "Oh my God." She cried.
"I know my last name carries a lot of…turmoil. And it's perfectly okay if you don't want to take it…"
"Of course, I'll marry you, Donquixote Rosinante! I want all of you, last name and all!"
Rosinante laughed and proceeded to stand up but he tripped on his feet and fell on his face. (are we really surprised at this point?) Bell-mere laughed as she turned her boyfriend over on his back.
"You're such a clumsy fool." She giggled.
"As long as you're happy."
Bell-mere knelt beside Rosinante, gently brushing his fluffy blonde hair out his face. "Are you gonna put the ring on my finger?"
Rosinante sat up and took Bell-mere's hand in his, slipping the ring on her finger. Then he placed a gentle kiss on the back of her hand.
"I love you so much." He whispered.
"I love you too." Bell-mere replied.
The two kissed deeply and rested their foreheads against each other. They stayed in that loving position for five minutes until Bell-mere stood up, brushed off her pants, and held her hand out to Rosinante.
"We should get going, Roci." She said. "You don't want Sengoku to send a search party out for you."
"Yeah, we don't want that." Rosinante agreed as he took Bell-mere's hand and stood up. "Come over my house tonight, yeah?"
"Sure thing."
Fleet Admiral Sengoku was going over some incident reports involving Ohara when he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in." He permitted.
The door opened and Rosinante's head popped out. "You wanted to see me?"
"Where have you been, Rosinante?" Sengoku chided. "I've been looking for you all day!"
Rosinante fully entered Sengoku's office and sat down. "Sorry, Dad. There was an incident involving Magdalena and Bell-mere and I…"
"Kuzan informed me of the situation. Is Magdalena all right?"
"Yeah, she's more than okay. She wanted to eat jambalaya after almost getting sold into slavery."
Sengoku chuckled. "Yes, that does sound like her."
"I get the feeling that's not all you wanted to talk about." Rosinante observed.
"You're right. But I'm afraid that you won't like what I'm about to tell you."
"This is about my brother, isn't it?"
When Sengoku didn't reply, Rosinante had his answer.
"Where is he now?"
"According to my intel, he has made quite a name for himself in the North Blue." Sengoku replied. "His pirate crew is based in Spider Miles. Call themselves the Don Quixote Pirates."
"Doflamingo was always a narcissistic bastard." Rosinante scoffed.
"It's rumored that Doflamingo is preparing to take over a kingdom located in the New World. He's even recruiting children to his crew."
"Children?" Rosinante exclaimed. "What kingdom is he trying to rule that he has to go so far as to recruit…" The younger man stopped mid-sentence, as if he just figured out the answer to his inquiry. "Shit!"
"What's wrong, Rosinante?" Sengoku asked, concerned.
"Dressrosa. He's trying to take over Dressrosa." Rosinante shuddered.
"Do you know the reason why?"
"Dressrosa was the kingdom my ancestors ruled over before the formation of the World Government…and then they moved to Marie Jois."
Sengoku's eyes grew wide. "Are you saying that your family were…Celestial Dragons?"
"I know I should've told you sooner, Sengoku." Rosinante apologized. "I tried to block that period in my life because of them. My father tried to do right by us, he loved us and my brother…"
Rosinante turned his head away from Sengoku so he wouldn't see him cry. However, a son can't hide his emotions from his father, no matter how hard they try. Without hesitation, Sengoku got up from his desk and walked over to Rosinante, wrapping his arms around his son and held him close. The young man sobbed openly.
"It's alright, son." Sengoku soothed. "You don't have to accept this assignment if you don't want to."
"I have to. My brother will hurt a lot of people if I don't." Rosinante sniffed. "It's just the timing sucks!"
"I'm sure Bell-mere will understand, Roci."
"I…kinda proposed to Belle this afternoon."
Sengoku broke his embrace, his eyes growing wide again. "How do you "kinda" propose to someone?!" He exclaimed.
"We were talking about our future plans and then I realized that I want to have those plans with Bell-mere."
"You're right, the timing is bad." Sengoku sighed. "But this decision is completely up to you, Rosinante. You don't have to infiltrate your brother's pirate crew."
"Like I said, Sengoku, Doflamingo will hurt a lot of people if I don't do something about it. When do we leave?"
"Tomorrow morning."
Rosinante cursed. "Damn timing sucks ass."
"You're going to do what?!"
"Infiltrate my brother's pirate crew."
Bell-mere slumped on the bed, trying to process the last ten minutes. She didn't expect coming to her now fiancé's apartment and hearing the news that not only is he leaving Navy HQ on a convert operation but he's leaving tomorrow morning. Rosinante's hands fidgeted as he was looking for a cigarette. He caught his girlfriend's look and stopped his ministrations.
"Can you please say something, Bell-mere?" He whined.
"What do you want me to say, Rosinante?" Bell-mere argued. "Not even three hours ago, you proposed to me and now you're saying you have to leave to be a Marine spy?"
"I don't like this any more than you do."
"Then why tell Sengoku that you would take on this assignment? He basically gave you an out!"
"I have to! My brother is a menace, he needs to be stopped. He killed our father in cold blood! He was a good man. Even when he knew what Doffy was going to do, he apologized and asked for forgiveness. He didn't have to, he never needed to! Now Doflamingo is going to take over an innocent country, a country with good people and a good king…" Rosinante's emotions began to get the best of him as he pounded his fist on a side table…and end up breaking it.
"Roci, be careful!" Bell-mere pleaded.
"That really hurt." Rosinante cried.
Bell-mere sighed as she made her way to the bathroom. "Sit on the bed, I'll go get the first aid kit."
Rosinante nodded as he trudged his way to his bed, sitting on the edge. Seconds later, Bell-mere came back in the room with a first aid kit in her hands. She sat next to Rosinante and took his injured hand in hers. The lanky man watched as his girlfriend gently tended to his wounds.
"I don't want to leave you, Belle." Rosinante sighed. "If it was any ordinary covert operation, I would've turned it down on the spot. But…this is my brother."
"You're not him, Rosinante." Bell-mere reasoned. "The only similarities you two have are your last name and your ridiculous height. You are the sweetest, kindest, most honest man I've ever met. You're not responsible for Doflamingo's actions."
"That may be true, but if I don't do something, people are going to suffer. You know that."
"Yeah, I do. As much as I hate to admit it, you're the only one capable of taking down Doflamingo. It's just…the timing sucks!"
"Yeah. It sucks ass."
Bell-mere looked at Rosinante before bursting out laughing. Rosinante followed suit and the two were laughing uncontrollably. It was nice to have a little bit of humor in an already heartbreaking situation. After a few minutes, the laughter died down and Bell-mere rested her head against Rosinante's shoulder.
"I just wished you didn't have to go so soon." She whispered.
"I know. Maybe it was a bad idea to propose to you."
"Nah, that was the best proposal ever. Even Hina agreed."
"She did?"
"I believe her words were: 'Hina is impressed. Utterly impressed.'"
Rosinante laughed. "Well, I feel better. I'll come back to you after this is over. I promise."
"Well, actually…"
"What?"
Bell-mere sighed. "Admiral Tsuru is going on an excursion in the East Blue. She asked me to come with her."
"For how long?"
"Two years max."
Rosinante gasped. "And you literally gave me crap about going to the North Blue on a covert operation?!"
"Your thing is ten times worse than mine!" Bell-mere argued.
"How exactly?"
"Uh…. well…. you're gonna be part of a pirate crew."
"Yeah. As a spy." Rosinante shook his head. "We can argue about this till we're blue in the face, Bell-mere. It's not going to change the fact that we're both leaving Navy HQ on different missions."
"And the fact that we may not see each other for a while." Bell-mere added.
"I'll call you every chance I get." Rosinante promised. "I'll write to you as well and once our assignments are over; we'll get married and have the wedding night you've always dreamed of."
"Actually, I want to have our wedding night right now."
Rosinante's eyes widened. "A-are you sure? You said that you wanted to save yourself until you get married."
"You're the only man I ever want to be with, Rosinante." Bell-mere explained. "And you made it clear that you want to spend the rest of your life with me. Besides, who knows what could happen to the both of us? I don't want to live with regrets. I want to make love to you."
Rosinante cupped Bell-mere's cheek and looked at her with half-lidded eyes.
"Is this really what you want?" He asked huskily.
"Take me, Donquixote Rosinante." Bell-mere proclaimed.
Not a single word was said after that as Rosinante took Bell-mere in his arms and kissed her very deeply. Their already strong love affair was consummated that night.
It took every ounce of willpower in Bell-mere to not jump off the dock and swim to Rosinante's ship, carrying him to the North Blue. The morning of Rosinante's departure, Bell-mere helped him pack and walked him to the docks.
"Don't give Kuzan a hard time." Rosinante admonished. "And make sure Garp goes easy on the young trainees."
"Of course." Bell-mere laughed. "Don't rough those kids up too much."
"Oh, don't worry. I'll just throw them off of a building."
"Roci!"
"I'm just kidding, Belle." Rosinante laughed. "I'll just scare them off a little." After a brief silence, Rosinante added: "Can you…say goodbye to Abigail, Jean-Baptiste and Magdalena for me? And tell them I'm sorry for not being there to say it myself."
"I'm sure Magdalena will understand." Bell-mere said.
"Still, can you tell her?"
"You got it."
Bell-mere held back her tears as she wrapped her arms around Rosinante's waist. The older man held his girlfriend tightly. "I'm gonna miss you, Bell-mere." Rosinante said, tearfully.
"I'm gonna miss you too, Rosinante." Bell-mere cried.
They stayed in their embrace for what felt like an eternity (it was really 10 minutes) when their moment was interrupted by Sengoku calling out Rosinante's name.
"We're about to depart soon, Rosinante." He announced. "Say your goodbyes quickly."
"Yes, sir." Rosinante replied. He reluctantly broke his embrace with Bell-mere and wiped the tears from her face. "Take care of yourself." He said.
"And you try not to die." Bell-mere admonished.
Rosinante chuckled as he leaned forward and gave Bell-mere a deep, loving kiss which she wholeheartedly reciprocated. The kiss lasted for two minutes before breaking apart and resting their foreheads together.
"I love you, my Clumsy Fool."
"I love you too, my Little Spitfire."
Bell-mere watched with tears in her eyes as her sweet, clumsy giant boyfriend gently kissed her forehead, grabbed his things and headed to the ship (after falling on his face at least four times). She waved at the departing ship, watching as Donquixote Rosinante disappeared from her line of sight. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around to see Tsuru beside her.
"It'll be alright, Bell-mere." The Vice Admiral assured. "If it's meant to be, you and Rosinante will be together again."
"I hope so. Magdalena was right, though." Bell-mere sighed.
"Right about what?"
"She told me and Rosinante a quote her people used to say: If you want to make God laugh, then tell Him your plans."
Tsuru chuckled lightly. "Well, I bet God is laughing his ass off somewhere up there."
Bell-mere looked up at the sky and smiled. "He probably is."
Rosinante watched as the image of his beloved Bell-mere grew smaller with each increasing distance. Sengoku watched his son smoke his cigarette and looking out at the ocean. He decided to ease Rosinante's tension by engaging in small talk.
"I heard the weather in the North Blue is lovely this time of year."
"You and I both know that's not true, Sengoku." Rosinante scoffed.
"You're right, son. Sengoku chuckled. "Are you ready for this?"
Rosinante exhaled deeply. "No, I'm not. But this has to be done, so I gotta man up."