Anne waits anxiously by her den-den.

Today was the day.

It has been two years since Ace went away (taken) to Dawn Island. No calls, no contact, no visiting.

(The World Government has somehow gotten wind of a rumor saying that the Pirate King had a son. They scoured the earth for said son, and many children paid the price because of it. Anne reads the newspapers. All of the West Blue had devastating amounts of child murder on their hands. So did the North and South. Somehow, the East (Dawn Island in particular) had been spared.)

The den-den rings.

She picks it up immediately.

"Hello?"

There is breathing on the other side.

"Laranjinha?"

"Maçã." A trembling, soft, childish voice says.

Anne could've wept.

"Oh thank God, thank God—Laranjinha, how are you? How is Dawn Island? Are you alright? Are you getting enough to eat? Hey—"

"Maçã."

She pauses, cupping the den-den with both hands, concern written across her face.

"Laranjinha?"

"Is it good that I was born?"

"What?" Anne asks, uncomprehendingly. "Laranjinha, what in the world—"

"Is it good that I was born?" He demands, the face of the den-den before her morphing into a twisted, scared reflection of Ace's. "Maçã, is it good that I was born?"

There is a deep festering in Anne's chest, and she's not quite sure she's ever felt such rage.

"Ace, you are my precious nephew. It is good that you were born; and if anyone tells you otherwise you have my permission to kick their ass to next Tuesday." Anne grits her teeth.

Ace is six years old, and he's asking her if it was good he was born.

She's too old for this.

"Ace, did you hear me?"

"…Yeah."

"Do you believe me?"

There is silence on the other side of the phone and she clicks her tongue.

"Look here, you little brat. I would die for you in a heartbeat. You're life is immeasurable to me, and the fact that you don't think so is just…just…oh, Ace, what am I supposed to do here?" Anne ran a hand over her face. She sighed and shook her head. "I'm coming to visit."

"What?" The snail's face is overcome with shock.

"You heard what I said. Give me a week. I'm coming to visit you, whether Garp likes it or not. No way in hell is my nephew gonna be saying those sorts of things without repercussions." She growled. "Garp better be ready for an ass-kicking, that's for sure."

"Maçã, you're crazy." She can hear sniffles, and that somehow makes her feel better and angrier all at once.

"Yes, I am. Now, Ace, you go and think about what a stupid idea you've thought of, and when you see me in a week, you tell me why its wrong."

"Wait, Maçã—"

"Yes?"

He must be embarrassed, because the way that the den-den's cheeks go red is hilarious to her. She holds in her laughter as he gathers his words.

"Maçã, I made a friend." He says firmly, eye averted from her.

Anne lets her laughter go, and she laughs and laughs and laughs.

"Then I'll have to meet him, no?"

The den-den's eyes brighten, and all Anne can think of is how much she wants to see that look on his face in person.

"Yeah!"

She hangs up and Anne feels the overwhelming need to strangle her husband.

She dials Garp's number and it rings twice before he picks up.

"Annie—"

"Monkey D. Garp, my nephew just called me and asked me if it was good that he was born, which I'm taking as is it good that he is alive, and I am absolutely livid. Who the hell is telling him that he shouldn't have been born? You've good a lot of explaining to do, and if you think you can stop me from going to visit this poor boy, you are sorely mistaken, you idiot." She takes a breath, her face bright red with the amount of rage she had boiling in her chest. "And where the hell are you, by the way? You better say you're with our grandson and our nephew. If you're anywhere else, I'm actually going to kill you."

Garp squeaked.

Her eye's narrowed.

"Garp, where are you?"

"…On my ship…?"

Her eye twitched.

"Tell me, sweetheart, how often do you go to visit the boys?"

"Look, Anne, I swear I'm usually there, with Luffy especially, but I was called away on urgent business. I can't say no or it looks suspicious, you understand."

"And what do you have to say about Ace then?" She looks at her clock on the wall, appraising the soonest she could be ready to set sail.

"When do you want to go visit Dawn Island?"

She nodded. "Excellent answer."

"Also, Annie, you can't just call me out of the blue like this—I might not be in my office one day and we'll be in deep shit."

She sneered. "You're my husband, I can call you as I damn please. If the World Government wants me, they better try harder. So far, they can't tell their elbows from their assholes, much less where I am."

Garp sighed. "Dragon gets all his rebelliousness from you, I swear."

"He gets all his stupidity from you."

"Hey!" Garp cried out, obviously offended by such an accusation.

"Then don't say I'm rebellious like its a bad thing. If I wasn't rebellious then I wouldn't have married you, and if you weren't stupid you wouldn't have married me, so we're both at fault."

He blew a raspberry at her through the den-den.

"I'll be on Dawn in a week. Are you and Luffy living in our house?"

"Yes."

"Whose taking care of him?"

"Erina."

"Oh, good choice."

"I know."

"I love you."

"Until then, Margarida."

Anne arrives on Dawn Island and is transported to another world, another time.

The windmills are still there, and the dock is the same as it has always been.

She didn't realize how much she missed it. She alights from her boat (a simply merchant vessel that agreed to give her a ride from an island she rowed to on a dingy), and strolled through town. Anne smiled at all the little housed that didn't change, and the curtains that rustled in the wind, with the same patterns that filled her early days of family life.

She breathed in the sweet air of Dawn Island and wished that things were simpler.

She shakes the thought out of her head and continues down her path. The roads never got repaved, and the overground ivy that littered every single house made her feel immediately at home.

Her feet bring her to the cemetery.

There she kneels in front of the graves of her Mother and Father in-law, and Monkey D. Lucy and Monkey D. Aurelius. She bows her head and prays.

The moment is gone just as soon as it came, an Anne is back on her feet, ascending a tall hill. As she climbs it the scent of lavender and lemongrass assaulted her nose. She smiles, and soon enough, the responsible herbs come into view. They are untrimmed, wild, and a small part of Anne sighs in a deep sorrow that her beloved garden had received so little tender care over the years. She walks up to her own front door, knocks, and hums until a familiar face opens the door. A young girl of perhaps fifteen opens the door, and just behind her is Erina.

Erina gently pushes the girl away, all smiles, with Luffy at her hip.

"Anne, what a pleasant surprise!"

She laughs. "Erina, how I've missed you! And Luffy, my darling, come to your Maçã!"

The babe stared at her with wide eyes, eyes that she remembered so vividly from Marion. He reaches towards her in a hurry, and is instantly in her arms, cooing at her with babbling excitedly at her in words she could understand and many she could not.

She makes out Grams, though, and her heart warms for a brief moment, glad that Garp had made sure Luffy knew who she was.

Erina ushers Anne in, "Come, come, I'll make tea and we can talk."

"I don't have that much time," Anne says over her shoulder, taking a seat in the kitchen, "I've got to go visit Dadan after this, it's very urgent you see."

Erina hums nonchalantly as she puts on a kettle. "You have time to spare for some tea. Makino, go get the tea out of the pantry for me, would you?"

In an instant Anne rounded on the quite girl who had been hanging around so politely in the background.

"Makino?" Anne exclaims in a gasp. "You're so grown!"

The girl blushes from the apples of her cheeks to the tips of her ears. "Anne-san." She bows, stumbling off to the pantry.

"Wow…time really does fly by, doesn't it?" Anne comments, watching Makino's back disappear around a corner.

"Indeed it does, Anne-san."

Luffy smushes Anne's cheeks and she laughs.

"Hello Velinha! How are you this fine day?"

"Grams!" He babbles, a wide grin on his face, "Grams, Grams, Grams!" and Anne hums, bouncing him on her knee.

"No, no, no, it's Maçã, say it with me, Ma-çã."

"Grams!" He screeches with laughter, burying his face in her hair.

"Here you are." Makino come in with cups and saucers and a pot.

"Thank you!" Anne chirps, serving herself. She notes how it smelled distinct, and was certainly barley tea. She grinned. "You remembered my favorite tea, Makino-chan! I can't thank you enough."

The girl waved a timid hand. "It's really nothing Anne-san."

Luffy appears as though he is gauges Makino before he speaks: "Meat." He announces from Anne's lap.

Makino frowns.

"Luffy-kun, we ate lunch thirty minutes ago."

"Meat." He repeats, his face blank as stone, and once he figures Makino is a no go, he looks up at Anne. "Meat."

"Better luck next time, Velinha."

Luffy's bottom lip just out, and tears fill his eyes before Anne pinches at his cheek.

"Hush you. You'll eat when you eat. Don't throw a fit."

His lip teeters even more, Anne clamps them together, laughing as Luffy's big eyes widened with surprise.

"Hush or no meat."

Luffy was wise enough to know what 'no meat' meant and returned to hugging his grandma's waist.

Anne slurped her tea.

Erina smiles, and picked up her own cup. "It's unusual to see you around these parts, Anne."

The woman nodded, considering the statement. "Well, it's come to my attention that Garp isn't around all that often." Anne gauges Edina's reaction. The other woman grimaces, the lines on her face prominent, and Anne curses her husband silently. "So it's true. He made it seem as though he was home with some degree of regularity."

Erina frowns. "Well, it's not untrue, persay. Garp-san is most certainly about and around Dawn frequently, just...he is here half the time, and gone another half. I suppose it's natural, given is position l, but Luffy is only three..."

Anne pinches her nose, sighing. "Well, I didn't think he was lying, but it seems he's just an idiot. Nothing I'm not used to. Just a bit miffed."

Erina sets her cup down with a clattering of porcelain. "And you're back for good?" Erina whispers, an edge of hope to the words.

"Not for good." Anne chirps. "I...Well, I haven't heard from Charla a while now. The last time I spoke to her was about four years ago and I recently sent her a letter..."

Anne doesn't finish the thought completely, but Erina quickly pressed her lips together, her brow furrowed with acute worry.

"You want to look for her."

Anne doesn't answer, but the intention was clear. She stands, handing over Luffy to Erina.

"I'm off to see Dadan."

Erina nods.

The scenery was familiar to her, with lush trees, and chipping birds that summed the majority of her life as a mother into a single sound. She sighed, and sighed again, and the sunshine shone on her face for a brief moment.

She ends up exactly where she needed to be.

Anne looks up; it is a dilapidated place, a shack, really, but she couldn't hold it against those wretched bandits.

She knocks on the door.

The person who answers it is a woman of a sturdy build, with curly red hair. There is a sneer on her face, and she reeks of booze.

"Who the hell are you?" Comes the quite expected demand.

Anne laughs, and waves her hand.

"Come now, Dadan, I know it's been twelve years, but I haven't changed that much!"

There is silence.

The two woman stare at each other.

Dadan's mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water, and Anne can only watch bemusedly.

"ANNE!"

The woman laughed, nodded joyfully; "That's me!"

Dadan ushers her in with extreme haste, and shouts toward the kitchen something about getting lunch ready as soon as possible. Dadan lays out a nice pillow for her to sit on, and a fat man with black hair comes stumbling in with a tea pot and some cups. The beverages are set before the two, and the man scuttles out, obviously terrified.

"Where is Ace?" Anne asks with a hum, looking at her hands with extreme interest.

Dadan snorts. "Brat should be home in a few. He never misses the chance to steal some lunch from us."

Anne laughs. "A troublemaker?"

"You don't know the half of it, Anne. That boy is hell on wheels, I'll tell ya."

"It's a family trait," Anne remarks, suddenly infinitely more comfortably, "I was just like that when I was young. So was my brother. Nothing could tame the two of us; nothing at all…" Anne sighs, looking that the shabby clock on the wall.

"Is that clock right?"

Dadan poured the tea out into the cups.

"Hell no. It's for decoration."

Anne laughs loudly and takes a sip of tea. "How I've missed you, Dadan! It's just not the same without you coming over for dinner every Tuesday. Awful lonesome, I must say."

Dadan blushes, and fiddles with the leg of her low-table. "Dawn Island misses you, Anne."

It's Anne's turn to blush. "That was a bit to honest for my liking." She pauses, glaring at the clock. "When is he going to get here, that rascal?"

Dadan wave her concern off as it were a mosquito, "The brat won't be here until he sees fit, so let's talk, yeah?"

And talk those women do.

Dadan complains about Ace, about Garp, about Dawn Island, and about a variety of things that made Anne laugh out loud.

It's similar to the old days—when Anne was Dadan's loosely put business advisor and a manager—and honestly refreshing.

Anne had had enough of brooding away on a remote island about how her boys were doing, or how her village was fairing.

The door opens behind her and Anne twists around (uncomfortably).

Ace is there, looking entirely took much like Roger and Rouge for her heart to bear. His face is hard, brows furrowed, with a scowl deeply set in his cheeks. He stares for a moment, but just as soon as his brain could process that it was his Maçã, he charged forward.

Ace dove into Anne with the force of a lion, and she laughed out her lungs as he buried his face into the crook of her neck, his arms clasped at her nape.

"Laranjinha!" She grinned, embracing him tenderly, maneuvering just so in order to press a kiss into his messy black hair.

She can hear him mumbling, but she doesn't particularly mind that she can't understand him. Her heart moves with the heat of his cheeks, and Anne's soul stills for just a moment, and is at rest with him in her arms.

She hadn't realized how much she had missed him.

She can feel his head shift, and his cheek is against the slope of her collarbone.

"Maçã." He murmurs, wiggling around, sitting cross-legged on her own crossed legs. He mushes her cheeks together and his lips tremble. "I missed you."

Anne hums, gently moving his hands. She kisses both of his cheeks, and wipes the faint tears at his eyes.

"I missed you too, Laranjinha." Anne glances at Dadan, who looks troubled. Dadan stand promptly, and leaves the room.

Anne's jaw clenches as she picks Ace up, sets him beside her and they both dangle their feet at the filthy genkan.

"How are you?" Anne rubs the back of Ace's palm, and he lights up, and the touch is welcomed to a point that Ace entirely gives up his left hand for Anne to hold.

"Maçã, Sabo and I had so much fun today—I mean, Sabo is my friend, the one I told you about—we went Grey Terminal, and we managed to trick this hustler who thought he could rob us 'cause we're little and—"

Anne leans in, smiling at the dirt on Ace's face, and the mud caked at his feet. His shirt is ripped, and the cargo pants he's wearing are certainly not the color they were originally.

Ace goes on, recounting adventures in the jungle, of crocodiles and tigers and boars the size of bears. He speaks elatedly, always have one more thing to say, always having one more story to tell.

He talks until the sun starts to set, and as Anne is watching him slowly get more tired, she feels ever more nostalgic.

"Ace—" she interrupts on a particularly slow part of his escapades into the caves of Mount Colbo, "—let's take a bath and get you ready for bed, okay?"

Ace is too tired to grumble about baths, and Anne picks him up, thankful he was still young enough for his to prop on her hip.

(She hadn't been absent for his whole childhood, at the very least.)

Bright and early, Anne awakens with Portgas D. Ace draped over her stomach like a blanket.

(Her proper blanket is crumpled up on the opposite end of the room, but at least Ace was preventing a cold.)

She chuckles, and shakes her nephew awake.

"Laranjinha, it's time for breakfast."

Anne has to hold in a laugh as his eyes shoot open, and Ace is clamoring over her, looking for for a shirt and running around the room.

"Maçã, let's go!" He declares, bouncing up and down before her eyes.

Anne shakes her head, and stand up with a heave. (She wasn't as young as she used to be, that was for certain.)

"Alright, alright, just let me get some clean clothes on, would you?"

Ace rolls his eyes, as if the concept of waiting was in and of itself a tiresome and very old fashioned thing. It slightly amused Anne, and also made her lament the passage of good manners into her nephew.

Anne, in her plain fashion sense, opts for a simple sundress and a shawl to cover her shoulders. She beckons to Ace, who has been moping in a corner, and he quickly raced over to her, accepting the hand that was offered. They walk to the genkan, put on their shoes, and are off.

Naturally, Anne wanted to share a meal with her grandson and nephew, so the most logical thing to do was to head home and see if Erina and Makino were willing for another guest or two.

They arrive at home in about twenty minutes, with Ace talking Anne's ear off, and Anne patiently listening to his every word.

"Maçã, whose house?" Ace asks suddenly, looking up at his aunt with big grey eyes. Anne hums, ruffling his hair.

"This is my house." She says lightly, knocking on the door.

It opened quickly, Erina with Luffy on her hip, all smiles and blue aprons.

"Anne! You're back! And—" Erina glanced down at Ace, who scowled at her, "Who might you be?" Erina handed Luffy over to Anne, who accepted him graciously. Erina bent down on her knees, delicately tucking her dress beneath her bottom. "My name is Erina." She extended her hand, a gentle smile illuminating her features.

Ace stole a look at Anne, who nodded encouragingly.

"Ace." He says shortly, shaking her hand somewhat miserably.

Anne smiled approvingly and ushered the young boy inside. Erina disappeared into the kitchen as they took their shoes off.

Ace frowned at Luffy, who stared at him with wide eyes.

"What's it's name?" Ace asks curiously, cautiously.

"I don't know." Anne glances as Luffy, setting him down on the ground. "What's your name?"

Luffy stares at her with obvious confusion, and immediately call it out: "Grams know." He pointes at himself. "Luffy."

"Right, now say it to him." She turns Luffy to face Ace. The toddler stumbles briefly, his feet awkward and unsure.

Luffy blink big dark eyes at his cousin.

"Luffy." He says shortly, though his eyes sparkled. Anne knew the "I'm about to make a new friend" look very well.

Ace looks at her, hesitant.

"Well?" Anne prompted, "Introduce yourself."

Ace grumbled briefly, but nodded.

"Ace."

Luffy stares at Ace intently, widely smiling in a baby-tooth grin before teetering over to the older boy, clearly about to latch onto him. Anne hides a smile as Ace evades Luffy in quick order, his face scrunching up with decided confusion.

"Stop it." Ace asserts, glaring at his cousin.

Luffy tilted his head, big eyes wide. "No."

Ace looks baffles as Anne scoops Luffy in her arms, much to the boy's delight. He shriek an out laughter, and Anne blows a raspberry on his cheek before setting him on her hip, and motioning for Ace to hold her free hand.

Ace complies easily, and Anne leads the two of them into the kitchen.

Erina is cooking rice and miso soup, and Makino carefully watches the mackerel on the stove. Anne put the boy's in their respective seats—Luffy in his booster chair and Ace in a regular one—and she begins to set the table.

Plates, chopsticks, and glasses are all places where they should, and Anne placed out the cucumber and daikon tsukemono that Erina had sitting in the pantry.

In quick order, there was a sizable feat in front of everyone.

Erina and Makino took off their aprons, and Anne clapped loudly.

"Itadakimasu!" She exclaimed, Erina and Makino quickly following with the same phrase.

She gave Ace a look as he picked up his chop sticks, and even Luffy said it before Ace.

Ace frowned.

"Itadakimasu." He muttered as Anne grinned and everyone dug in.

It was an exceptionally good morning.

With breakfast eaten and dishes done, Anne motioned for Ace and Luffy to go play while the adults had some tea.

Naturally, Ace whined about Luffy being a snot-nosed brat, but Ace only had to attribute him some responsibility and the "Ace, I'm entrusting this to you" line and he grumpily complied.

When the boys went running off (and after Anne had told them not to cause too much trouble) she turned her attention to Erina and Makino, who wee both sipping their tea in relaxed delight.

"Anne, you get Luffy to listen to you so easily." Erina remarked, setting her cup down. "And Ace as well. Really, you need to come over more. He may be cute, but your grandson is a terror."

Anne laughed. "Well, thank you for the praise! I did raise three sons after all; I should be good at this sort of thing."

Erina smiled. "I suppose so."

"So—" Anne turns to Makino, "Makino-chan, I hear you're eighteen already."

"Yes ma'am." Makino bows her head politely. "I turned eighteen two months ago."

"So polite! Anne is fine, really, though I do enjoy the respect." The woman waved a nonchalant hand before taking another sip of tea. "Do you have plans for the future, Makino-chan?"

The girl perked up, smoothing our the lower bodice of her dress in an attempt to calm her excitement. "Well, actually, I've worked at the Party Bar since I was fourteen. I just got promoted to manager—not really promoted so much as everyone listens to me. Anyway, I like it there. It gives me a good opportunity to see everyone in town and talk to them about their day."

"Ahh," Anne taps her lips in contemplation, "Your grandfather opened the Party Bar, if I recall correctly?"

"Yes!" Makino laughed. "It's in the blood, I suppose."

"That are has been here forever—even before me." Anne winked. "And that's a long time, let me tell you."

Erina scoffed, "Anne, you barely look a day over forty. Gives us people who age normally a break here, would you?"

"I can't help my good genes." Anne pursed her lips in the attempt to hold back a smile. "My point still stands; sixty-two is a long time to be on this earth."

"Perhaps, but you make it look good." Erina's eyes twinkled mischievously, and Anne shook her head.

"Erina, you dog."

"Only for you, Anne."

Breakfast concludes, and Anne kissed Luffy goodbye.

She walks Ace back to Dadan's. She knows he holds her hand a little too tightly.

When they see the hut, Ace stops, pulling at the hem of his shirt.

"You gonna leave?" He croaks, the tears already gathering in his big grey eyes, and Anne crouches down to wipe them away. She presses him close to her heart.

"Yes. I have someone to look for, you know. But I'll be back."

"You promise?" She hears, through the muffled sound of cloth.

Anne hums and rubs circles in Ace's back.

"I promise."