So, draches requested Garp meeting his great grandson, and not only have I never WRITTEN Garp before, but I decided to do the damn drabble from his point-of-view. This thing wasn't a challenge, it was a bloody MARATHON, considering we've seen like... zilch... of 2YL Garp to know how the events of the past few years have changed him, and for the purposes of this story, I had to write 8YL Garp. Oh my god. But seriously, my beta liked this and he's usually super nit-picky about canon, so hopefully I did it justice, because I've been getting so much lovely Crossfire artwork from draches (go look at it on my LiveJournal page!) and absolutely had to do this request for her.
xxx
After issuing a stern promise to render both men bleeding and unconscious and therefore incapable of causing further mayhem if they DARE damage any of her furniture, even second-hand as it is, Dadan wanders off to hunt down a bottle of whiskey and another cigarette, leaving Pirate King Monkey D. Luffy and former Marine Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp staring silently at each other from their respective sides of the room.
I think he's gotten taller, the white-haired man muses as he studies the reproachful scowl aimed in his direction, strongly aware that this is the first time he's actually seen Luffy in person since Marineford. When he'd burst through Dadan's front door, shouting loudly for the mountain bandit boss to put down her scrapbooks long enough to join him for a round or two at Makino's bar, he never expected to find his own grandson perusing the heavy volumes with the old broad, despite the paper's recent reports of the Pirate King's fleet leaving the Grandline for East Blue.
I'll be damned if the little brat didn't go right ahead and do exactly what he claimed.
He's seen the photographs, of course- the paper's been inundated with images of the new sovereign of the seas ever since the claiming of One Piece, and every time he's flipped open the latest bundle of newsprint or Coby's most recent and heavily censored communications, his eyes have been immediately drawn to that familiar visage and straw hat, but now that they're finally face-to-face, Garp's somewhat disturbed to find that he barely recognizes the young pirate currently sitting stiffly on the tattered sofa across from him. Or rather, he barely recognizes the young pirate's expression, which is openly hostile and rife with mistrust.
The hint of fear doesn't surprise him - his son's son has always been slightly leery of him, and rightfully so, considering his herculean efforts to properly train the boy - but he's taken aback by the blatant aura of anger radiating from that slim and normally congenial figure.
Roger's son. Does he blame me for Ace's death?
The loss still smarts even eight years after the fact, and he's startled by the realization that so much time's passed, because it seems like only yesterday that he was facing his enraged grandson on the execution platform, closing his eyes and steeling himself to take the blow of the Gear-powered fist swinging towards him. He's opening his mouth to ask if it's really true, if the young man facing him is really TWENTY-FIVE now and where's the time gone, when he hears the murmur of voices and mismatched footsteps in the hallway, and Luffy's gaze instantly flashes in that direction and although it doesn't seem possible for the Pirate King's already ramrod-straight spine to tense anymore than it already has, he shoots upright in his seat, nostrils flaring.
Why's he so damned jumpy?
"You wash 'em? BOTH of 'em?"
"Yeah!"
"Good. Can't have you getting crumbs in those photo albums, 'cause they're important. You remembered to dry your hands, right? C'mon, hold 'em up so I can see- uh uh, forget it, I'm not gonna chase- OI! Getcher ass back here, you little-!"
There's a faint giggle and one set of footsteps speeds up abruptly.
"ACE! What'd I say about running inside? Didn't Dadan threaten to break your ankles if you bust any of her shi-?"
Garp's not sure who's more surprised: himself or the grinning one-eyed pirate who's just rounded the corner in pursuit of the small dark-haired child who's laughing out loud and ducking to elude the hand outstretched to snag him by the collar.
Regardless, Roronoa Zoro - impossible to mistake because his bounty's skyrocketed following his defeat of Hawk-eyes a few months ago, resulting in a flood of speculation and new wanted posters, and it's not like there's too many other green-haired swordsmen traipsing about the globe to begin with - recovers and reacts first, the smile freezing and dropping instantly from his face as he surges forward with almost unnatural speed to sweep the small boy behind him in one practiced motion even as he brings two swords ringing free of their sheaths to cross defensively before him.
"Luffy, what the hell's this bastard doing here?"
"Daddy? Who's the big man with the beard, and why's Daddy got his swords out? Is Daddy gonna cut him?" This from the child currently peering around the Pirate Hunter's hip and glancing worriedly between him and Luffy, much to Garp's confusion, because although the brat's clutching insecurely at the back of Roronoa's haramaki with one hand, he sure looks a lot like-
The former Marine actually does a double-take, checking the sofa to make sure that his grandson's still there, because for just a second he can't remember whether Luffy is twenty-five or FOUR and glances about half-expecting to find Ace and Sabo peering at him from the relative safety of the hallway or the cramped space beneath the coffee table.
"Ace, go to Luffy."
"But Daddy-"
"Now!"
The boy reluctantly retreats across the room as instructed, and the rubber man perching nervously on the edge of the sofa immediately sweeps him up without a trace of hesitation, and although the swordsman's edging between them, Garp can't help craning his neck to continue staring at the uncanny resemblance between what his brain insists must be father and son.
"There were rumors," he says dumbly, eyes locked on the child, who's boldly peering back at him from the protective circle of Luffy's arms. "Vague reports of- living on your ship- Coby said- but I never thought-"
"Luffy, we should go," Roronoa mutters tersely, diverting the older man's attention as he adjusts his grip on his weapons, and Garp's eyes widen slightly in surprise as he notices for the first time that the World's Greatest Swordsman is missing the last two fingers on his right hand.
Looks like an old injury too- how in blazes did he defeat Hawk-Eyes with a maimed hand?
"Not without the pictures Dadan promised me. And we should say goodbye."
"Daddy, who IS that?" The child demands, pointing unabashedly at their bewildered elder. "And why are you and Daddy both mad at him?"
"I think-" Garp says slowly, "I think I'm your great grandfather."
Luffy doesn't acknowledge this statement, but he doesn't deny it either, and the way Roronoa's eye darts fleetingly towards his captain to judge his response confirms it.
"Yes, yes, I think that's right, boy- I'm your great grandfather!" He rises from his seat, drawing a low growl of warning from the Pirate King's first mate, but he barely notices, too absorbed and excited by the knowledge that he's meeting his great grandson for the first time. "Come here and-"
"Stay away from my son." "Leave Ace alone." The two other men warn him simultaneously.
"You named him Ace? His name is Ace?"
The pirates glance at each other, then at the confused little boy fidgeting in the arms that have tightened around him, holding him securely on his father's lap despite his valiant efforts to squirm free, and Garp's more confused than ever, because while the child - Ace? - clearly resembles Luffy, it was Roronoa who just referred to the brat as his son.
That's funny; I knew the two of 'em were bed partners, have been for a long time, but I didn't think- what kind of crew's my grandson running, that his lover would claim the child as his own? Never gonna understand these pirates- are they all banging each other on that ship? Is this another thing he learned from Red-haired Shanks, that lousy-?
"Yeah, we named him Ace," Luffy agrees reluctantly, eyeing him warily.
"Who's his mother?" Garp looks about, as though expecting to find a petite female pirate peering shyly at him from the next room- maybe that red-headed navigator-
What do they call her- ah, the Cat Burglar. Gotta be her, unless he's got some woman waiting for him in a village somewhere on the Grandline; brat looks like he's four, maybe five, so it had to be someone already with his crew and not with the fleet he's rumored to be gathering, and Dragon's boy might be ambitious, but I don't see him bedding Nico Robin. She's more his father's type and-
"Are you talking about me?" Ace asks, tugging at his parent's arm and peering curiously at the white-haired man frowning at him. "Sanji-ani says I should call Daddy 'Mama Momo' but it makes Daddy yell and then Nami-aneki yells too 'cause they fight and break stuff. I like Nami-aneki 'cause she lets me color in my fort under her desk if I'm really good and quiet while she's making maps, but she's scary when she yells. She hits really hard too- even Daddy tries to hide when she gets mad!"
This proclamation draws stifled noises from both men, and Garp's brow furrows more deeply as he stares at them, because his grandson's snickering and the corners of Roronoa's mouth are twitching as though he's trying to hide a smile although he's also grumbling and calling "Sanji-ani" a shitty bastard.
"Are you really my great grandpa? Daddy said I had one - and a grandpa too - but he gets sad when he talks about them."
The former Vice Admiral sinks slowly back into his chair. "Yes, yes, I suppose he would. It's been a long time since your daddy and I saw each other- several years before you were born, I imagine, and we didn't part on very good terms, I'm afraid. We both lost someone we cared for very much."
"Lost? Didn't you look for him- like we do when Daddy gets lost trying to find-?"
"No, kiddo," Roronoa says softly, taking a moment to resheathe his swords before easing Ace out of his suddenly pale-faced captain's arms. "It wasn't that kind of lost."
The swordsman fixes Garp with a calculating stare, surprisingly menacing considering he's only got the one eye with which to glare, apparently decides he's not a threat - at least not for the moment - and joins Luffy on the sofa, draping one arm casually around the younger pirate's shoulders while the other firmly corrals the child attempting to slide from his lap. There's no mistaking the gesture as anything other than a warning: my family, so hands off.
They LOOK like a family. I don't know if I can remember Dragon ever spending more than a few minutes with the boy, before he asked me to take him, and he was NEVER as comfortable with Luffy as what I'm seeing now.
"How old is my great grandson?"
The Pirate King takes a deep breath, resolve surfacing on his face. "Ace is five. And he's NOT going to be a Marine, so don't even-"
"I should think not."
"-not going to throw him off cliffs or in quicksand or make him fight wild animals or any of that other crappy- huh?"
"If you recall, I resigned." Garp says stiffly, his fingers tightening on the chair arms. "I'll not lose any more family members to-"
He stops, staring, because Roronoa is laughing and it's unlike any laughter he's heard from the man before- cold and bitter and strained.
"Yeah, well, your fucking Marines almost-"
"Zoro."
The Straw Hat captain's first mate falls quiet, his jaw clenching as he tears his gaze away to glare at the floor.
"Daddy doesn't like those people- the ones who chase us in the ships with the birds on the sails," Ace explains solemnly, abandoning his quest to reach the floor in favor of wriggling upright to wrap both arms around the older pirate's neck. "He always makes me hide when they come, and sometimes at night, he has bad drea-"
"That's enough, Ace," the Pirate Hunter murmurs, hugging the boy tightly and ruffling his hair, and leaving Garp to wonder what exactly they're not saying.
"Luffy, Roronoa...san-?" He's not quite sure how to properly address the man, but from the way that single eye's just widened almost imperceptibly, he supposes he chose wisely. "May I speak to my great grandson?"
The younger men exchange a look, gazes locked in silent conversation, and then the swordsman sighs, settling back against the cushions and tugging the sheathed swords that have been poking him in the side free of his belt so he can lean them against the sofa's arm. "Up to you, Sencho. And- no, Ace, don't touch. You wanna play swords, you wait 'til we get back to the ship and I'll let you try out the new one Usopp made for you."
"But I like Daddy's better."
"I know, but they're sharp, and there's a lot of things that are a hell of a lot easier to do when you've got all your fingers." Roronoa glances over at the rubber man beside him, who's flushing slightly and trying to hide a grin.
"Like buttons."
"Exactly," the green-haired man coughs. "Sorry, kiddo, no katanas for you."
"Awww..."
"Oi, you can make puppy-dog eyes at me all you want, but I'm not changing my-"
"It works for Daddy."
"Couple of manipulative little bastards- both of you!"
"Shishishi-" "Nee hee!"
"He's good with him," Garp remarks to his snickering grandson, and he's surprised and quite pleased when Luffy grins back at him.
"Yeah, Zoro really loves Ace."
"So I get that you and Roronoa do the joint custody thing, but you're going to introduce me to the boy's mother, right? Where is the young lady?"
"Ah, well-"