One day you'll wish you hadn't
"Mom!" Sabo arrived shouting as if the world were collapsing on their heads. Rouge hurried to see what her boys had done now.
"What happened?"
"Luffy turned into rubber!"
Rouge blinked, confused, looking at Sabo for a moment without processing what her boy was saying.
"What?"
"Shanks, Luffy's pirate friend, brought a strange fruit to the bar. Then there was an argument with some idiots, and Luffy got mad because Shanks didn't do anything. When Luffy gets mad, Luffy eats. The fruit was there, so Luffy ate it, and now he's made of rubber," he explained hurriedly, hopping from one foot to the other.
Rouge should have known, she should have known that something like this, if it were to happen to anyone, would happen to her three hurricanes. She threw her apron to the ground, angry with herself, and picked up Sabo to stride towards the bar. When Sabo told her that Luffy had made friends with a pirate, she got a little worried but didn't pay much attention because Makino assured her that Shanks was a good man. Considering that she had known Makino forever and that Sabo and Ace were always with Luffy, she tried to stop being a helicopter mom and let Luffy grow. And now this happened? She was sure that what Sabo was talking about was a devil fruit... oh, she was going to kill that pirate when she got her hands on him.
She was almost at the bar when she saw Ace running towards her with a panicked face.
"Mommy." Her baby threw himself at her as soon as he saw her. Rouge managed to catch him without letting go of Sabo.
"Where's Luffy?"
"Luffy is stupid, he wanted to go after the bandits who bothered Shanks. I told him no, so he ran away from me and I can't find him, Mom," Ace said, completely stressed about not being able to find his little brother.
"Go to Makino's bar," Rouge ordered seriously, putting her children on the ground and wildly releasing her observation haki as she ran to find her baby. When she heard the detonation of a gunshot, she ran even faster. When she arrived, she saw a pirate crew fighting with some bandits, or rather, a man from the pirate crew beating up the bandits, while another had the audacity to be stepping on her Luffy.
"LET GO OF MY SON!" Rouge ordered furiously, releasing her Conqueror's Haki. Higuma and all the bandits collapsed like cards, although to their credit, the pirate crew remained standing while Luffy looked at her with wide eyes, his chin beginning to tremble, threatening tears that the little one was trying not to shed. Rouge ignored everyone, running to her boy and picking him up in her arms, kissing his face. "Everything's okay, my child, Mom is here, to take care of the bad people." She rocked him, feeling his little arms around her. Then she looked seriously at the pirate crew who were staring at her, evaluating her. She walked towards the red-haired Shanks and placed her son in the arms of the red-haired captain who looked at her puzzled.
"Give me that gun," she ordered one of the armed pirates. A dark-skinned man looked at Shanks, who nodded while holding Luffy. Rouge didn't even hesitate to turn around with the gun and shoot the unconscious Higuma in the head. Once done, she felt a bit more at ease and returned the gun to its owner while taking Luffy back from Shanks's arms.
"Makino, Sabo, and Ace went to your bar," she began to say upon seeing the woman there... "never mind," she interrupted herself, frowning as she saw the two boys arriving, running with their pipes in hand, ready for a fight.
"Luffy!" Both boys exclaimed, running to their mom who was holding their little brother. The two kids anxiously tugged at their mother's shirt for her to lower Luffy and give him to them. Rouge leaned down so Luffy could be at their level. Luffy insisted on hiding his face in his mother's shoulder, embarrassed to look at his brothers after losing a fight.
"Luffy," Ace and Sabo grabbed him from their mom, hugging and kissing his face like two worried older brothers. Rouge smiled a bit seeing them before standing up and looking at the redhead.
"Shanks!" She raised an eyebrow, looking at her husband's former cabin boy. "You've grown, Red... Blue is no longer with you, I see."
Shanks looked at her with a furrowed brow, not recognizing the beautiful woman, although it was obvious she knew him... Red and Blue was how they used to call him and Buggy when they were cabin boys on Gol D. Roger's crew. But looking at her closely, the image superimposed with that of a woman with the same face, a few years younger, a much more innocent look, and a hibiscus flower in her strawberry blonde hair.
"Hibiscus Rouge," he recognized the legendary thief Spade... if he wasn't mistaken, his captain had a relationship with that woman.
"Portgas D. Rouge now, you can call me that, Red," she nodded. "Thank you for taking care of Luffy. But... why don't you come to my house for dinner... we need to have a conversation," she said with a chilling smile, still thinking about beating the redhead for letting Luffy eat a devil fruit.
-o-o-o-
"I see you've earned it," Rouge laughed, serving another round of food while Luffy had claimed Shanks' lap and was devouring the meal from the redhead's lap. Garp was going to hate this with all his guts.
"Anchor is quite easy to love... the other two firecrackers too," admitted Shanks, watching Sabo and Ace sitting between Ben Beckman, his first officer, who had insisted on joining him and ended up as a wall between the two boys to prevent Ace from stealing food from Sabo's plate.
"Yes, my boys are like that," Rouge smiled proudly. Shanks was a smart man, just feeding Luffy silently. Rouge didn't have to tell him anything; once he knew who the mother was, the rest was easy to figure out. Ace was a perfect copy of her former captain and Rouge. Sabo was obviously adopted, given that he was the same age as Ace. As for their Anchor… his name was Monkey D. Luffy, which left either Garp or his son as the boy's father and Rouge as his mother. Most likely Garp, considering that Roger had been Rouge's type, Garp was more along those lines.
Rouge took the dessert out of the oven, and Shanks had to admit that he couldn't stop being surprised that his Anchor could eat so much and that Ace could keep up with him.
"You came to protect him, didn't you?" Rouge teased Ben Beckman. The pirate said nothing, but it was obvious. Before Rouge could say anything else, Luffy spoke with his mouth full of food.
"Swallow first, I can't understand you," Ace scolded him, his mouth equally full of food.
"You shouldn't talk with your mouth full, Ace," Sabo chided after swallowing. Luffy swallowed audibly before repeating himself.
"Mom should marry Shanks, and then we could all go with Shanks." Luffy smiled at his brilliant idea.
"Sure, because Grandpa Garp is going to let Mom go with a pirate… you're an idiot," Ace said, giving himself adult airs.
"I don't want to share Mom," Sabo said directly. "Besides, we have a dad, Grandpa Garp's son," Sabo reminded them.
Oh, so that solved the question of who Luffy's father was then. It wasn't Garp.
"But Dad isn't here, I want another dad," Luffy demanded, looking from Shanks to Rouge with the biggest puppy eyes he could muster. Rouge laughed, shaking her head.
"That's not possible. Shanks was like a son to your dad Roger," she told Ace, patting his head as she passed by him. "Which makes him, in a way, your older brother… it would be very strange to be with him… it would be like being with Sabo and having to call him Dad." The horrified looks on the three boys' faces made the three adults laugh uncontrollably.
"Wait… so I'm not the oldest brother anymore?" Ace looked absolutely devastated, staring at Shanks as if the latter had inflicted great harm on him. Ace enjoyed his status as the older brother, not wanting to be a middle child like Sabo.
"Oh, and not just Shanks, there's another one, little Blue with his red nose," Rouge teased Ace, making her son look even more devastated to learn that there was another one besides Shanks for his precious spot.
"No, I don't need a dad or brothers from that dad!" Ace shouted completely furious. "I'm the oldest brother!" This time even Luffy and Sabo laughed at Ace's crisis.
-o-o-o-
With Ben Beckman having the dubious/honorable task of reading a story to three hyperactive children and putting them to bed, Rouge handed Shanks a glass of wine and sat on the porch with a beer.
"What are your plans, Red?"
"I'm heading to the New World," he said, taking a sip and leaning his hips against the porch railing. "It was… like…"
"I extended the pregnancy, and it almost cost me my life," she responded, knowing he wanted to ask about Ace's age. "If he had been born when he was really due, I fear that even for Garp, it would have been difficult to keep us alive."
"So in the end, it was a Marine who saved the descendant of Gol D. Roger. Quite ironic," the redhead commented.
"Well, you know Garp has always been… his own kind of Marine."
Shanks couldn't deny that, so he just raised his glass and toasted with the woman.
"Your trip to the New World… is it urgent, or could you do a favor for the old woman of your ex-captain?"
"It's not urgent. What can I do for you?"
"I want you to take us to the South Blue."
"What could you want from there? Do you want to go to Baterilla?" he asked, knowing that the woman was from there. Rouge shook her head.
"No, I want to go to the Kingdom of Sorbet."
"Sorbet? Why?"
"Don't ask questions, boy. Can you take us or not?"
"Us…?"
"Well, you don't think I'm going to leave my children unsupervised, do you? We're all going," Rouge smiled angelically. Shanks didn't buy that angelic smile for a second, but he still nodded.
-o-o-o-
"Let Yassop or at least Ben go with you," Shanks requested, his eyes never leaving the three children running across the deck.
"It's not necessary. Stay hidden; I'll be back before dawn."
"Rouge…"
"Shanks, my boy… I am perfectly capable of defending myself. You're looking at the woman who outwitted the World Government and the Marines to keep my man's bloodline alive," she reminded him. Shanks sighed but still handed her a pistol.
"For my peace of mind," he asked her to take it. Rouge accepted it with a smile, hiding it in her cloak as Luffy ran up and threw himself onto Shanks.
"Shanks, Shanks, I want to climb the crow's nest. Take me, take me," Luffy pleaded.
"Sure, Anchor," the redhead laughed.
-o-o-o-
"Ginny the Revolutionary." The pink-haired woman, cradling her baby wrapped in blankets, startled at the figure emerging from the shadows of the church, cloaked and knowing her name.
"Who are you?" she demanded, clutching her baby closer to her chest. It had taken everything she had to get here; she wanted to return to Kuma before dying.
"Are you really okay with this? Resigned to die, leaving little Bonney and Bartholomew Kuma alone? Resigned to die without avenging the scum who enslaved you, abused you, impregnated you, and then discarded you and your daughter like trash?" The woman with strawberry hair adorned with a hibiscus flower asked as she removed the hood from her face.
"Of course, I'm not, but what can I do?" the pink-haired woman screamed in fury. She didn't want to die; she wanted to live, to take revenge, to be happy with Kuma. But none of that was possible; she was going to die, and her baby… she could only trust Kuma with her.
"Swear your loyalty to me, and I will save you." Ginny expected many things, but not those words, not spoken with such confidence.
"You… can save me?" she asked, her mouth agape, while the woman with strawberry hair and charming freckles nodded. "What do you want from me?" she asked warily. She preferred death to being a slave again or betraying Kuma and the revolutionaries.
"Simple, help me bring down the World Government and kill the nobles. I intend to kill every damn Celestial Dragon in this world."
"Why?"
"Because that's the only way my son can live in safety," she said directly, looking at her from one mother to another.
"You'll never ask me to betray my own?"
"Never!" she swore, looking into her eyes. Ginny approached her with trembling steps but a determined gaze.
"Save me… I want to see Bonney grow up, I want… I want to look Kuma in the face and tell him I love him… I want to stay with him and my daughter… I want to have a family with him."
"Good… then we have a pact. Let's watch the nobles and their shitty government fall together," the pink-haired woman smiled, extending a hand toward Ginny's face, touching the blue gems on it. The woman smiled and leaned in, kissing Ginny with the baby between them. Ginny's eyes widened in shock before she felt a sharp pain, followed by the greatest relief she had ever felt. The woman pulled away from her, and when she extended her hand, there was a blue orb in it. "Your illness," the woman confirmed what the orb in her hand was.
"I'm cured…"
"You no longer have the sapphire scale disease," Rouge nodded, pocketing the orb.
"Is it a Devil Fruit?" Ginny whispered the question to distract herself; otherwise, she would break down in tears of relief.
"No. In this world, we Nerona have the power of… 'theft.' Everything we have, we've stolen. I stole your illness; we can take whatever we want, put it in these spheres, and use it later. We were born with this power. Of course… it's not the only power I have; there's another, but that's not your concern," she smiled calmly.
"Nerona?"
That name sounded familiar to Ginny, though she couldn't quite place it.
"One of the 20 noble families… no, not just one, it's THE noble family that stands above all."
"The 19 govern equally…"
The woman interrupted Ginny with a laugh.
"And there's no sole governor, and the throne is empty," she recited amusedly. "Propaganda, dear, pure propaganda. I assure you, this world has a governor in the shadows, a king over everyone, even the Tenryuubito… even over Saturn."
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn, Bonney's father, the noble who enslaved her, forced her into marriage, and then discarded her when her illness appeared.
"How do you know?"
"Rouge." The strawberry blonde introduced herself, sitting on one of the church pews. "Portgas D. Rouge. Once known as the infamous Hibiscus Rouge, the thief Spade."
"You're a D." Ginny whispered. "But… your power."
"I'm a D… and also a Nerona. Imu once had a sister, a sister he considered betrayed him when she gave herself to a D out of love," Rouge shrugged, letting Ginny piece it together and believe what she wanted.
"Will I really see Bonney grow up? Will I be with Kuma?" she asked, sitting beside her.
"That depends on you. The only thing I can assure you is that the sapphire scale disease… won't take you," Rouge said, standing up. She pulled something from her cloak and handed it to Ginny, a Den Den Mushi. "Use it if you ever need me… when I need you, I'll call you on it."
"Hibiscus Rouge… let's burn those damn nobles together," Ginny said, giving her savior a smile.
"Let's do it, Ginny. Let them regret the day they underestimated and hurt women like us." Rouge nodded, starting to walk to the exit. "Oh, and Ginny," she turned back to her before leaving the church, "Don't let go of the man you love… or you'll regret it your whole life… Hold on to your happiness; it's a good way to spit in those nobles' faces."
Without another word, the woman left. The enormity of what had just happened finally hit Ginny, and she let out a sob, hugging her baby. A miracle, it was a miracle.
-o-o-o-
Over my dead body will I allow Kuma to suffer so much again in my fic; that big sugar lump doesn't deserve such cruelty. And since this is my self-indulgent happiness fic, not only will I give Ace, Sabo, and Luffy a happy childhood, but I'll also let Kuma keep his love and his daughter.
I also apologize for possible errors; I didn't have much time to correct them. You see, I just finished my final exams and can officially say that I finished university. On the 3rd is the nursing graduation ceremony, on the 11th is the ecumenical graduation ceremony, and on the 18th is the general graduation for all university graduates, regardless of their major. Additionally, I've been reading the Green Creek and Dark Rise series, so I've been busy and short on time. ^^