Chapter Text
Late July - Marineford
Rosinante isn’t a very good marine.
Not that he is a bad person, quite the opposite in fact, it’s just that he is very clumsy. He trips while marching, is constantly setting himself on fire (even when it couldn’t possibly happen), he got tangled in the barbed wires when learning to army crawl, and he used to cry when being yelled at by superiors. Actually, he still cries sometimes, just not in front of people.
Like when the massacres in the South Blue happened.
Or like when Ohara was sacked.
When both of these events happened, he went to his father angry. He had never yelled at his father before, not even when he was a child. But Rosinante didn’t join the marines to destroy lives. He wanted to help people, not completely obliterate them and their children for the crime of existing or seeking knowledge. So he asked his father why the hell he chose to okay this cruelty and how he could let this happen. That if it was him being hunted, would he allow the same thing to happen?
That was when he learned how little power his father actually held as a leader and how strong he really was as a person. It both horrified and comforted him that the destruction wasn’t on his father’s orders, but rather the Celestial Dragons. He didn’t know how his father could handle being the world’s scapegoat.
It made Rosinante lose hope for a little while.
If his father, the Fleet Admiral, couldn’t do anything about it, what chance did Rosinante have?
His father just told him to do his best.
So Rosinante threw himself into training and found that he was great at espionage. Nobody would expect a clumsy goofball like him to be a spy. The criminals he spied on certainly didn’t. Especially all the people he arrested by accidently falling on them and knocking them out. The devil fruit he ate certainly helped too since he could now silence himself if he needed to hide or silence himself falling.
He also didn’t have to be on active duty all the time, since spywork usually meant longer missions. These rarely come up and are usually handled by CP9. So he spent most of his time at Marineford helping his father with paperwork and other small things. Which was fine by him, the less time he spent around Akainu and people like him the better.
So Rosinante was in his father’s office when Garp came rampaging in and yelling about babysitting. He was surprised that Garp and his son would consider him responsible enough to babysit, but he was happy to do it.
He had never met Dragon before, despite knowing both his father Garp and younger brother Kuzan. They did tell him many stories about Dragon. So he knew that he was grumpy sometimes, hardworking, but also very kind. He remembers hearing the rumors going around Marineford when everyone found out he had a kid and that the other father was nowhere to be seen. He almost punched Akainu when he heard some of the horrible remarks he was saying.
Instead Rosinante just hid some shrimp in Akainu’s office and laughed as the man went insane trying to find the source of the horrible smell for weeks. The man was almost sent to the doctor for a psych evaluation. Eventually Rosinante just snuck back in and removed the curtain rods with the shrimp in them. Afterwards Kuzan, Smoker, and Bellemere took him out for drinks after work for a celebration of Akainu’s brief insanity.
All in all, Rosinante respected Dragon a lot despite never meeting the man. He thought that it must be hard to be a single parent while also being a high ranking marine and trying to make a difference in the world. So Rosinante wasn’t too nervous when he went to meet Dragon and Ace. He was embarrassed that their first meeting started with Rosinante face planting on the floor though.
But that was for the best because if he saw Dragon standing up, he would’ve fallen anyways. He wasn’t expecting a man that is Garp’s son by blood to be so handsome.
No Rosinante! You’re not supposed to think he is handsome! You work for this man now! Rosinante ignored that little rational voice in his head. It’s not like anything would come out of a silly little crush anyways.
{Little did Rosinante know that fate had other plans. That this meeting changed the course of history. A history he wouldn’t have experienced otherwise.}
~~*~~
Rosinante enjoyed babysitting Ace, he was a bright little boy. Very adorable too. He could do without the near constant heart attacks though.
The kid acted like he was made out of rubber or something with the way he jumped around. Rosinante nearly killed himself from rushing to save Ace when the kid decided to climb up the curtain to declare himself “The Greatest Pirate Ever” before losing his grip and falling. Thankfully Ace wasn’t hurt and laughed hysterically when Rosinante crashed face first into the floor.
Rosinante then quickly and gently suggested that maybe they should do something else for a little while. Ace, ever merciful, got his art supplies. So they quietly coloured on the floor together for a couple hours while Ace asked him questions.
“Why are you so long?” Ace asked.
“Uhh… I didn’t eat enough vegetables when I was little.” Rosinante replied cheerfully while Ace made a disgusted face at the word vegetable, “So I became long like spaghetti; makes it hard to spy on people when you can’t hide very easily.”
“You spy on people?! Like a ninja?!” Ace asked him excitedly, quickly forgetting about the mention of vegetables.
“Ah, well, sort of.” Rosinante told him sheepishly, “I’m not as cool as a ninja, but I get the job done.”
“I think you’re cool.” Ace told him while pouting, “You played pirates with me. Nobody else but daddy wants to play pirates, not even the other kids!”
“Well then thank you Ace.” Rosinante said while ruffling Ace’s hair, “You’re probably the only one who thinks I’m cool. Most people think I’m a clown.”
“Well you are silly.” Ace said giggling.
“I am, aren't I?” Rosinante said, laughing along with Ace.
They continued to colour until Ace started chewing on the crayons. So Rosinante told him to clean up while he got lunch ready. Ace quickly did so, by shoving everything under his dad’s desk, before sitting at the table and kicking his legs.
Now, when Dragon said that he made chicken for Ace, Rosinante was expecting a couple of chicken strips or something. Not two whole chickens. Although, considering his grandfather is Garp, he should have expected this. He knew people with the D initial were crazy, but maybe the Monkey D’s were just a whole different category of their own.
After pulling both of them out, he noticed a third chicken behind the first two.
Three chickens?! For a two year old?! Just what are these people made of?!
Then he noticed a note on the outside of the plastic wrap and that it had his name on it.
It read:
Rosinante,
I don’t know what your eating habits are exactly, but I was told you don’t like bread. Since I was already cooking chicken for Ace, I’d figured I would just make a third for you. Help yourself to anything else if you want.
- Dragon
Rosinante could feel himself smiling and he had a warm fuzzy feeling in his chest.
Handsome and considerate. Rosinante thought fondly. Then he realised where his mind was going and quickly shut it down. Bad Rosinante! He’s your boss! You can’t be one of those babysitters who falls in love with their boss! It’s unprofessional!
Rosinante quickly shook his head and plated the chicken along with some apple slices for Ace and some tangerines for himself. He then carefully carried it all to the table one at a time. By the time he got there with his food, Ace had already devoured half of one of the chickens.
Yep, he definitely takes after Garp. Rosinante thought before chuckling to himself and digging in before Ace could eat his food too.
~~*~~
Rosinante thought that Ace wasn’t going to finish those two chickens, but he did. The kid ate so much the bones were shiny. By the time he was done, he looked like he was ready to pass out at the table.
I see, Rosinante thought to himself, put the kid into a food coma so he takes a nap .
Rosinante let Ace sit there and try to fight off the sandman while he cleaned up the table. After he washed the dishes, he went back to a half asleep Ace.
“Hey Ace, I think it’s time for your nap.” Rosinante softly said while gently patting Ace’s shoulder.
“Nooo… wanna play more.” Ace whined into the table.
“We can play some more after your nap, okay?” Rosinante told him while chuckling.
Ace whined some more before sitting up and making grabby hands, “Up.”
“Okay, come here.” Rosinante sighed. He picked him up and brought him to his room.
It wasn’t a very big room, but still quite spacious. To the right of the door was a wardrobe, laundry hamper, and a toy chest. Although it looked like most of the toys were scattered around the room. Directly across from the door was a comfy window seat looking out into the Marineford harbour. Next to the window on the left was a small bookshelf and a rocking chair. The farthest wall from the door had a bunch of sailboats painted on it. Ace’s bed was placed on that wall with a table next to it. The bed was more like a nest of colourful blankets and stuffed animals.
Rosinante gently set Ace down in the little toddler bed and covered him with his blankets.
“Have a good nap Ace.” Rosinante told him softly. He patted his head and got up to walk out when he heard whining. He looked behind him to see Ace sitting up and looking sad.
“Where’s daddy?” Ace asked.
“He’s still away on his trip.” Rosinante replied. He sat back down beside Ace’s bed, “He’ll be back soon though.”
Him telling Ace this didn’t seem to comfort the child because he just pouted some more and hit the bed.
“I want my daddy!” Ace exclaimed. The kid was on the verge of tears.
“I used to miss my dad a lot when he went away.” Rosinante said while patting Ace on the head, “I’d sit by the window and wait for him until he came back.”
“Really?” Ace sniffled.
“Yeah, I would just sit there and read while waiting for him to come back.” Rosinante told him, “And you know what? He always came back no matter what.”
“Really?” Ace asked unsure.
“Really.” Rosinante told him sincerely, “And if you go to sleep, time will pass by faster. And when you wake up, your dad might be home.”
“Mmm.” Ace was still unsure, “Can- can you sing? Daddy does that when I can’t sleep sometimes.”
“Of course I can.” Rosinante said sincerely, “Which song do you have in mind?”
“I don’t know. You pick.” Ace told him grumpily.
“Okay.” Rosinante said laughing. Good thing Ace didn’t mind because he only knew two songs. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star , it was the only song Sengoku knew, and one his mother used to sing to him that he doesn’t remember the name of.
He started singing the latter.
~~*~~
When Dragon came home, he was expecting an over excited child bouncing around and a marine ready to pull his hair out. But the apartment was silent. This made him worry because the apartment was never silent even when Ace was sleeping.
So Dragon quickly got his keys and barged in. There were a few toys pushed off to the side and he could see Ace’s art supplies shoved under his desk. Nothing out of the ordinary there. He checked their small kitchen that was to the right of the door. It was spotless and the dishes were drying on the rack. That was out of the ordinary, but Rosinante must just be a neat person. He quickly walked over to Ace’s bedroom and quietly opened the door.
There, on the floor, was Rosinante. Dragon thought the man was dead at first, but then he saw his chest moving. He was resting his head on the bed and there Ace was, holding the man’s head like a stuffed animal.
Dragon chuckled at the sight. Rosinante’s hair does look like it would have the same texture as a duckling's feathers. Soft and downy. Dragon quickly shook his head. Bad Dragon! You’re not supposed to think the babysitter is cute or want to run your fingers through his hair…
Dragon then decided that he needed to quickly take a cold shower.
~~*~~
By the time Dragon was out of the shower, Ace and Rosinante were already up. The two were sitting at the table and talking. About what? He didn’t know because as soon as Ace saw him, he abandoned the table and ran to him.
“Daddy! You’re back!” Ace happily exclaimed. Dragon caught him and picked him up before he ran into his shins.
“Hello firefly.” Dragon said while bouncing him, “Did you have fun?”
As Ace was telling his dad all about his day, Rosinante was having a crisis. Dragon had come out of the shower wearing a fitted silk shirt and equally tight slacks. The sight was making him dizzy. It felt like his head was about to explode from how hot it was. Like a pot about to boil over. Rosinante just picked up his glass of water and started chugging.
“Did he make you dehydrated or something?” Dragon playfully asked, pointing towards his glass. Ace was told to bring his art supplies out from under Dragon’s desk and back to his room.
“Oh- a little.” Rosinante told him, “Nearly gave me a heart attack a couple of times.”
“He has a tendency to do that.” Dragon chuckled, “Thank you again for watching him.”
“No problem.” Rosinante told him, “He was a delight. Although I’ve never seen a toddler devour two whole chickens before.”
“It’s the D genes.” Dragon told him, “We’ve all got black holes for stomachs.”
“I know, I’ve seen your father eat.” Rosinante said while cringing.
Dragon just started laughing and Rosinante had to calm himself down because he thought Dragon looked beautiful when laughing. Not that he wasn’t handsome when he wasn’t, but it felt like Rosinante was seeing something others rarely get to see.
“So you’ll watch him again?” Dragon asked after he calmed down.
“Yes, of course.” Rosinante replied.
“Great.” Dragon said smiling, “I have to go back sometime next week. Is that alright with you?”
“Yeah, I can do that.” Rosinante told him. He would’ve taken it regardless if was busy or not.
“Well… I guess I’ll be seeing you off now.” Dragon said after a little awkward silence.
“Yeah…” Rosinante said while standing up, “I better go see if my dad is pulling his hair out after dealing with Akainu and Borsalino all day.”
“Oh god.” Dragon had his head in his hands, “I’m so glad I missed that.”
“Me too.” Rosinante said laughing.
“Ace! Come say goodbye to Rosinante!” Dragon yelled.
Ace came toddling in from his room, “You’re leaving?”
Rosinante bent down before him, “Yeah, I gotta go now, but I had a lot of fun spending time with you and I’ll be back soon.”
“Really?” Ace asked.
This time Dragon answers, “He will. I have to go back next week, so you’ll be with Rosinante. Is that alright?”
Ace took a moment before answering. On one hand, his dad was leaving. On the other, he’d get to see Rosinante again.
“Yeah, that’s alright.” Ace said while smiling brightly, “I can’t wait!”
He quickly hugged Rosinante, making the man fall backwards, before running back to his room shouting about making a pirate hat for Rosinante.
Good , Dragon thought, he likes him. Dragon then helped Rosinante off the floor and walked him to the door.
“See you next week Rosinante.” Dragon said smiling.
“See you next week, Dragon.” Rosinante said cheerfully before walking down the corridor.
Dragon softly shut the door behind him and then went to check on Ace. The toddler was trying to fold a piece of dark pink paper into a hat. Dragon sat down beside him and pulled him into his lap. He held the paper together so Ace could tape it together.
“So, do you like Rosinante?” Dragon asked Ace as he watched his son work.
“Yeah!” Ace replied, “We played pirates and then we coloured!”
“Wow! Really?” Dragon exclaimed, “I wish I could’ve been here. I had to go to a boring meeting with grandpa.”
“Eww.” Ace faked gagging before going back to smiling, “Well I had lots of fun!”
“I’m glad.” Dragon smiled.