A/N: I'm back. Chapter 1101 reinvigorated me. Somewhat. I can't say for sure that Dragon would do the things he does in this chapter if placed in the same position in canon, but yeah.

ONE-SHOT 4: LONGER THAN A MINUTE, SHORTER THAN A MOMENT

(And never enough.)

Before Garp could tell Luffy about him, Dragon just so happens to cross paths with Luffy.

Warnings: None

"Pirate ship incoming."

Someone had peered down his binoculars while he was standing by Dragon's side. He'd noticed as well, of course, the approaching ship far in the distance.

"So it's a pirate ship," he said, his voice low in thought.

"Shall we change our course?"

Dragon kept his eye on it, and spoke a few moments after, "No. Let us see first who they are."

Orders were shouted around him and all along the ship inched closer. He watched it as he stood on a balcony feeling the wind on him, calm. Not bearing any expectations. Just a memory of a report floating in his head, of the admiral Aokiji having clashed briefly with the Straw Hat Pirates not far from here.

He ended up hearing them before seeing their jolly roger. It was what was best described as a commotion over there — of yells and screams and laughter. It echoed in the salty air all around their ships, and, he just realised, amidst the silence of the small group he'd brought with him. But he didn't turn to them until he saw for himself which crew was approaching them.

A straw hat. The skull on their flag was wearing a straw hat.

And before he could say anything, a shout rang out towards them.

"Hey!" One of them was waving, and not much could name who they were from this distance save from a hat on top of their head. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy, who are you?"

He was pulled down by a couple of his crewmates before he could even think to answer, and at that, something tugged at his lips.

"…Shall we make a turn, sir?" someone asked, bemused.

His answer came in the form of an order to stop their ship.

Luffy was… loud. Both his presence and his voice. The Straw Hats' ship did not stop for much longer than a few seconds before their captain was already hopping onto their railing, crouching down on that to look across at them. Just like that, he was significantly closer to their unknown ship than the rest of his crew, while still keeping his own distance, knowing he couldn't trust them just yet.

His crew was a lot more subdued, watching Dragon and his own people intently with wary but mostly cautionary faces. Cat Burglar Nami was obviously a little intimidated, but she stood her ground just as well as the others. Pirate Hunter Zoro and Black Leg Sanji stood out amongst them, both more than ready to attack should anything unsavoury happen. And Nico Robin… there was a flash of something. Their eyes had met briefly for the briefest of moments when he swept his glance over them, and it was something he could almost name conflicted.

Luffy's carefree chuckles broke the silence, a shishishishi that was more than familiar, that settled the uncertainty within him despite himself. "Ah, we don't really get the chance to see another ship out in the ocean like this! Say, what's with your flag? Where's the skull?"

Dragon hadn't explained why he'd ordered them to stop, and he suspected this was why their eyes turned to him for an answer. He didn't even know yet himself, if this had been a bad idea. Nico Robin, though, appeared to know who they were. As expected. She turned to Luffy as if she wanted to tell him something, but her eyes slid to him suspiciously.

Someone like Nico Robin, who'd been on the run since she was eight, trusting a pirate captain? Something must have convinced her, and it must have been the same way Luffy had recruited almost all of his crewmates. It was something he'd chuckle at if alone, had done so when he'd read newspaper after newspaper of Luffy's exploits.

Inwardly shaking away his thoughts, Dragon finally responded, "We're not pirates. We are freedom fighters." Using that name as a cover gave him a strong sense of nostalgia, now, with not even Ivan to accompany him. It almost tricked him into believing himself, if not for that more than familiar face right in front of him.

It hadn't quite had the effects he'd liked, however. Nico Robin was almost resigned, while Cat Burglar Nami's eyes snapped to him as if she hadn't noticed him before. Aside from that, everyone else remained the same and Luffy looked… thoughtful, as he looked deeply into his eyes.

It was a second of irrational panic shooting into his veins, a flash of the thought — had father spoken of him? — before a grin, as wide as the one he'd seen on his bounty posters, filled Luffy's face.

"That's so cool!" Luffy earnestly gushed.

It was a reaction Dragon had somewhat expected, but never been prepared to see. It… soothed him, as if he'd wanted that validation, even if the thought was laughable. Luffy wouldn't be so pleased if he knew just who he was, Dragon guessed— no, knew that much.

"Hey, I didn't get your name, what was it, Tattoo Old Man?"

Slightly caught off guard by the sudden nickname, he said, "…We should get going. You kids probably have somewhere to be, as well." He couldn't say his name now. Luffy's own crew might tell him directly after this, but if he could delay it as long as possible, he'd take that chance. And right now, he didn't look away, couldn't look away. It'd be a long time before he could see him again. It was enough that he'd talked with him for the very first time.

Luckily, what he said was effective in grabbing his attention. Luffy's grin widened even more, and he said, "Yeah! We're on an adventure to find the One Piece, because I'm the man who's going to become the pirate king!"

The sudden declaration brought him back to Loguetown like nothing else, where the skies above were dark as ink and rain was pouring down on them. Luffy, up on the execution stand about to be killed, and then himself, seizing the jitte before the marine could do anything, looking down upon Luffy, who had been unaware of him. Himself standing on the roof, watching as Luffy sailed away.

Luffy was fated for something big, and no matter what Dragon desired, it didn't include him, not now. Maybe not ever.

"Then go on," Dragon said, inclining his head in the direction of where the Straw Hats were going before he forced himself to turn away, facing the opposite, "the world is waiting for you."

Luffy parted with a shishishishi that was louder than the waves lapping at their ships. A strong wind caught him and his crew by surprise, so much so that Dragon could still hear them even when they put more than enough distance in between theirs and his ship. They really were a boisterous crew. He smiled now, when he kept to the railing and only the sea could see him.

It was a shame, though, that he couldn't capture the sounds of his son's laugh in a photo.