Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The phone was ringing. The small red rotary phone that collected dust in the corner and never received calls ever. Was ringing.

“Bo? Has that ever rang before?” Ace had come in from the coop, he was covered in hay and smelled like he had been rolling around with the chickens, which he had likely been doing.

“Nope.” Sabo popped the P before drying his hands and walking towards the phone. “Hello, Sabo speaking.”

‘SABO!!!!” The response was so loud, Sabo nearly threw the phone away from his face and Ace cackled, making his way to the kitchen to finish what Sabo had started.

“Lu! It's good to hear from you!” Sabo returned the phone to his face, a smile spreading so far it hurt his cheeks. “We miss you.”

“Bo guess what day it is!” Across the line a quiet laugh could be heard, a laugh neither man had heard in the three years since they had moved to the farm.

“Hmm.” Sabo let out a thoughtful noise, scratching his chin and tilting his head a little upwards. “Its the beginning of strawberry season, isn't it?”

“It's Marco the chicken’s birthday!” Ace shouted from the kitchen, holding a pan with half fried eggs still sizzling.

“Nooo you're both wrong!” A cheer was heard from the phone, despite both wrong answers the voice seemed very excited. “It's my birthday! My 18th birthday! You know what that means!”

Sabo laughed, sliding off his gloves and running his fingers through his hair. “Really? Man time really does fly! Have Makino and Dadan given you the good to go?” He had already known what day it was, he just wanted to tease his brother.

“Noo, Makino said I should check with you and Ace, make sure you’re ready over there.” The voice whined, Sabo could almost picture the younger deflating into the old arm chair that sat next to the phone.

“Would you mind putting Makino on the phone?” Sabo could hear his brother’s loud groan, imagining the rolling eyes as he heard the shout of Makino’s name.

“Sabo? What's up?” Makino’s voice always seemed to calm him down, probably because she had been with the boys since the beginning.

“Hey Makino! I wanted to tell you about the present we prepared for Luffy.” Sabo smiled at the sound of the woman's small gasp, “Yes we are prepared to take him in, we had Franky build him his own room and he fixed up our old treehouse!”

“Awww that's lovely, I'm sure Luffy will be excited to hear.” The smile could be heard in Makino’s voice, she was truly very excited. “I think when we drop him off me and Dadan will spend the night, is the guest house still there?” Sabo’s curse could be heard not only across the farm but across Makino’s home too.

“Haha, it’ll be prepared when you get here!” Sabo covered the bottom half of the phone, turned his head to the kitchen and shouted. “Ace, we gotta get the guest house ready!” He returned to the phone. “If you guys leave tomorrow morning you’ll be here around lunchtime, that should work.”

Makino, who had been laughing, caught her breath before humming in agreement. “I think Luffy’s been packed for weeks in preparation. But I'll tell Dadan. Would you like to talk to Luffy some more?”

“Yeah, but not for long.” while the phone was being passed back to Luffy, Ace wandered over, a grin spreading across his sunkissed freckled face. When Luffy had the phone back the two took a synchronized breath.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUFFY! WE”LL SEE YOU TOMORROW!” Luffy laughed, they said their goodbyes and the phone was returned to the dusty stand.

“Shit Sabo, when was the last time we even went into the guest house?” Ace wiped a hand across his forehead, clearing the sweat that had accumulated in the time he spent in the kitchen.

“I think the week we moved in. Remember? Lu, Makino and Dadan stayed there while we all got the farm up and running again,”

“So three years?”

“Yeah give or take.”

“Shit well I guess I know what we’re doing today.”

{🌑}

“Are we there yet?” Luffy leaned forward from his seat in the back of the car so his face was between Makino and Dadan’s seats. They had been on the road for a few hours, the landscape going from the bustling busy city to calm grassy planes and mountain ranges. It had been 5 hours, and Luffy was bored.

“Stop asking brat, we’ll get there when we get there.” Dadan was behind the wheel, leaning her arm over the open window, hair tied back and a lit cigarette hanging from her mouth. Makino had told her not to smoke with Luffy in the car, but they had compromised with the window after Luffy ate all the trip snacks before even leaving the city.

“We have about 30 more minutes, Luffy.” Makino smiled at him, reaching over to ruffle his hair. “Why don't you rest your eyes for a bit?” She had been trying to sleep for the majority of the trip, but with Luffy unable to sit still or be quiet she had resigned herself to knitting instead.

“But that's boring.” Luffy leaned back into his seat, surrounded by candy wrappers and bags of his own luggage. He had packed up the majority of his belongings and stuffed them into the trunk, but a few bags had to be sat on the backseats with him.

Luffy pressed his face into the glass of the window, watching the world fly by around him. He was excited, overwhelmingly so, he was returning to the farm he grew up on. He had spent eight years on the farm before his grandfather died and he moved to the city to live with Makino and Dadan. Right before Garp’s death, he left the farm to his three grandsons, to be taken care of when they were old enough to do so.

Ace and Sabo had left to the farm to take care of it when they had turned 18, and Luffy said he would move to the farm when he was 18 to join them too, that was their promise. Luffy couldn’t wait to see his brother’s again, it had been three years with only letters and the occasional phone call.

“Alright Luffy, we’re here!” The truck came to a screeching halt right behind the old bus. Standing between the trees on the old dirt path waiting for him were Ace, and Sabo. Before the car was even properly parked Luffy had launched himself out of the open door and wrapped all two of them in a crushing hug.

“Sabo! Ace! I missed you!” Luffy’s eyes welled with tears but his smile stretched from ear to ear and shone brighter than the sun. Ace stumbled when Luffy crashed into them but recovered with a loud laugh, Sabo stood firm, his smile widening as he wrapped an arm around Luffy.

“We missed you too, Lu!” Ace ruffled his brother’s hair, pushing back his straw hat to hang on his back.

“We’re excited to have you with us, it'll be like old times.” Both Ace and Luffy nodded enthusiastically. Sabo turned his attention to Dadan and Makino, who were standing off to the side. “Hi Dadan, hi Makino.”

“Oh Makino! Dadan!” Ace exclaimed, he had not noticed them standing there. “Come on, join the hug!” Luffy popped his head out of the tangle of limbs and smiled, nodding enthusiastically.

“No, it's just so sweet to watch, we’ll get our hugs in later.” Makino gently shook her head, strands of hair falling from under her bandana.

“You brats are helping carry in all of his stuff.” Dadan pointed her cigarette at them and then the truck, still full of stuff.

“I brought all my stuff.” Luffy laughed, letting go of his brothers to scratch his neck. He wasn’t at all sorry, he planned to spend the rest of his life on the farm, why wouldn't he bring everything?

Sabo and Ace just laughed. “Yeah we’ll bring all his stuff in later. Why don't we all go to the house and have some lemonade?”

“We also have booze.” Ace interjected, a smirk growing on his face.

“Ace it's barely noon.” Sabo rolled his eyes, hands planting themselves firmly on his hips.

“It's five o’clock somewhere! C'mon let's go!” Ace grabbed Luffy’s hand, all but dragging him down the dirt path. Makino laughed, patting Sabo’s shoulder before pulling him into a hug.

“Its good to see you Sabo, you've grown. Ace has too.” Makino smiled, releasing the hug. “Dadan come- oh she already left.”

“The promise of booze must have really gotten to her.” Sabo mumbled, his brows pinching together in slight annoyance. “Well we should catch up with them.”

“I suppose so.” Makino laughed softly, making her way down the path to the farm, Sabo hot on her heels.

The farm itself was vast, bordered on all sides by forest, only broken by the paths to the north, south and east, and two small clearings separated by a patch of trees. Every part of the farm was organized, no doubt by Sabo, there were two different crop fields, separated in the middle by a lake. Just above the lake was a patch of trees, grown in neat orderly rows, and below the lake was the animal area, full of a lot of different animals. In one of the far clearings grew a large tree with a treehouse nestled between the branches, and in the other clearing was a guest house and play area.

“Wow Ace this place looks awesome!” Luffy couldn’t see very far as he was dragged to the porch of the old farmhouse, where the old porch swing was. He remembered the farm how Garp used to have it, the layout had been slightly different, more boring.

“Thanks! Me and Bo spent ages getting it to look this good.” Ace oozed pride as he spoke, because it was true, it had taken the majority of two years to get everything in place, and an extra year to get into the flow. “And a lotta money but don't tell Makino.” Luffy nodded seriously, knowing that if Makino asked he wouldn't be able to lie to her anyway.

Ace quickly unlocked the front door of the farm house, dragging Luffy inside, and being followed by Dadan, not that they really noticed her. The inside of the farm house was large, to the left a kitchen with a connected dining room, and stairs down to a cellar, and to the right, a living room, with a staircase going up and a short hallway going further right.

The decor of the house was eclectic, but clean. It was obvious the two residents of the house couldn't agree on decorations and both did what they wanted. It was not recognizable as the house Luffy had once grown up in.

"Oh hey pops.” Luffy turned to Ace, who was speaking to a large, old, great Pyrenees dog wearing a purple collar. The dog walked right past Ace, over to Luffy, sniffing him. Luffy giggled, crouching down to let the dog sniff his hands. “Lu, this is Newgate, or Pops as we call him. He's our farm dog.”

“Why do you call him pops?” Luffy began petting him as soon as he was allowed, scratching behind his ears and under his chin. “He looks like he has a mustache.”

“The old guy who runs the ranch said he acted like a dad to all the animals down there. When we took him to retire up here he kept doing it to our animals so we called him Pops.” Ace was now also petting him, running his hand over the soft fur of his face.

“His health is surprisingly really good despite his age.” Sabo cut in, finally coming by with Makino. “Hes usually pretty lazy.” Pops slowly made his way over, sniffing Dadan first before sniffing Makino, accepting pets from both the women. “Ace, I hope you didn't start the tour without me.”

“Nah, Pops distracted us before we could start.” Ace took off his hat, scratching the hair underneath and throwing the orange cowboy hat onto a stand by the door. “But now we can start!”

The tour started with the kitchen, all the basic amenities, a fireplace and a coffee maker. There was a round table with four seats in the middle. “The kitchen! Sabo does most the cooking but I make a mean sunny side up egg.”

Down the kitchen stairs was a cellar, filled to the brim with barrels and sparsely decorated. “This is the wine cellar. We age our wine here for 2 seasons. It makes the quality and the price go way up.”

Back in the kitchen, but to the left, was what could be assumed to be a dining room, but was instead taken over and turned into a game room. Two low to the ground tables with 4 pillows on the sides, a fish tank, two retro arcade machines, a bookshelf overflowing with board and card games, a fireplace and a couch, and a door with a sign helpfully saying ‘BATHROOM :)’ hanging from it. On the wall was a chalk board tallying up how many times Ace and Sabo have won against each other, it was very evenly matched. “This was a dining room but with just the two of us we changed the space to be more cozy for game nights.”

Back tracking right, they went to the living room, a TV stood on a low shelf, flanked on both sides by two cabinets full of Garp's old antiques, there were two couches, one black with orange pillows and one white with blue pillows, as well an old weathered brown arm chair, all around a small coffee table, in the corner was a small table with the old rotary phone. “The living room, we watch TV here, and Pops likes to sleep on gramps’ old chair even though he has a bed.”

Through the hallway to the right was a room full of book cases and comfortable chairs, there was a retro box TV in the corner, as well as a couch and a very large dog bed. “I brought a lot of books with me, they needed somewhere to go.”

There was a small stairway going down from the book room. The room itself was small, a continuation of the book room with more shelves and couches. But to the left of the door was a glass case with a sword in it, and to the right a fossil. “The sword was Roger’s, apparently he gave it to Gramps before he kicked the bucket.”

There was another staircase in the book room, going up. Through the door at the top was a bedroom that was clean and very neat. There was a bed with dark blue sheets and blankets, a nightstand between the bed and the wall with a clock and a book on it, next to the bed but under a window was a desk with a laptop and papers neatly stacked, between the desk and the wall was a lamp, at the foot of the bed was a dresser and a chair, there were also book cases lining the walls. Everything was in darker colors, blues and blacks with white accents. “This is my room! It's usually messier but I wanted to clean it for you guys.”

Through the other door in the room was a thin hallway, on the right side there were two doors, on the left there was a thin, small cabinet with a ship in a bottle, a photo album, and an old dusty family picture, and on the walls on both sides were paintings, some of people, others of landscapes. “Some of the paintings were here when Gramps was alive, as you can see from the one of him with Mr Roger, and another with the governor. Others are new! Like this one of Ace and Yamato!”

Through the first door was a full bathroom, a shower, clawfoot tub, toilet and two sink vanity. The tiles on the floor were alternating black and white in a chessboard pattern, and the tiles on the walls had flower patterns. Everything in the bathroom was weirdly decorated with flowers, except for the blue and orange respective towels and hygiene products. “We didn't change anything about the bathroom when we came, it's still the old man's weird flower bathroom.”

Through the second door was another bedroom, this one noticeably more messy. In the center of the far wall was a bed, with orange sheets and red pillows, on the left side of the bed was a desk that was more orderly than the rest of the room, on the right side was bedside table with a clock and lamp, at the foot of the bed was a dresser, there was also a book case on the wall next to the desk, not full of books, a table to the right of the bed and a couch. Everything was in warm tones of orange, yellow and red. “Behold! My bedroom! So much cooler than Sabo's.”

The end of the hallway led to an open room, with two staircases, one leading back down to the living room, and the other leading up. But the room itself was cozy, two couches around a fireplace, a bookshelf and a piano. It was all Garp's old things, including old nick nacks that littered the mantle and the shelves.

“And now, the grand finale.” Sabo turned to Luffy, a smile wide on his face.

“Luffy, to prepare for your arrival we had Franky build a new room.” Ace rested his hand on Luffy's back, gently shoving him towards the stairs.

“Happy birthday Luffy.” The two said in sync as Luffy rushed up the stairs.

The room itself was the same size as Ace and Sabos, an empty bed on the right wall, a dresser, a desk and an empty book case. It wasn't decorated at all, left open until Luffy's arrival.

“So what do ya think?" Ace was leaning on the door frame, arms crossed over his chest. Sabo stood beside him, hands planted on his hips.

“We didn't decorate it at all, that's your job! We'll eat a snack and then get your stuff from the oof-” Sabo's voice was cut off when he was rammed into by Luffy, who was hugging him tightly. “I take it you like it?”

Luffy gave no verbal response but eagerly nodded his head. Ace joined the hug on the other side of Luffy, ruffling his hair.

“Let's go join Makino and Dadan downstairs. We still have work to do today.”

{🌒}

The day had been eventful, after lunch they got Luffy's stuff and gave a tour of the farm, but now they were relaxing around a dimming campfire in front of the guest cabin, Dadan and Makino having already retired for the evening.

“We were gonna sleep in the treehouse, right?” Luffy was sat upside down in his seat, hair hanging just out of touch of the grass and feet hanging over the top, already missing shoes. “Thats what you said we'd do Ace.”

“I did say that, didn't I?” Ace laughed, slapping his knees before standing up. “Bo, you put the spare blankets up there, right?” Sabo, who had been nodding off in his chair, hummed in the affirmative before slowly stretching to stand up.

“I even put spare snacks for you and Lu.” He groaned, stretching his hands over his head. “We heading over?” At Ace's nod, Sabo put out the remnants of the fire.

The walk to the treehouse was calm, one they had taken since they were itty bitty kids. Garp had said the treehouse had been there since he was a boy, and had renovated it for Dragon, and then again later for Luffy, Ace and Sabo. When Ace and Sabo had returned it had been unstable, they said they would fix it, but hadn't had the time. When planning for Luffy’s arrival they knew it would be perfect. The inside of the treehouse was generally unchanged, barely big enough to fit the three of them grown, but they would sleep in a pile, as they had done when they were kids.

“So what was the plan for tomorrow?” Luffy asked, laying on his stomach between his brothers. His straw hat laid just out of reach, on the wooden bench that sat underneath one of the windows.

The response he received from Ace was loud snoring, Sabo however had a real response. “Well Makino said Dadan said they'd leave right after lunch. I think after they leave we'll go into town, there are some people you should meet, and we should visit Dragon and Shanks, let them know you're back in the Valley.”

“That sounds busy.” Luffy looked out the windows to see the stars, rolling onto his back for a better view. “It'll be cool to see Shanks again!” Luffy laid his head against Sabo's shoulder. “And dad too.”

“Mhm. And there's a lot of people in the valley who weren't here 10 years ago.” Sabo rested his head on top of Luffy's. “I think tomorrow we'll prioritize shop owners, like Franky, Mihawk, Jinbe, Kid and Kaido, they run the carpentry shop, general store, fish store and blacksmith and ranch. It'll be busy but we'll have fun.” Sabo paused when he heard Luffy snoring, looking out of the corner of his eye to see Luffy sound asleep.

Chapter Text

Ace was awake first, sliding down the ladder and walking on the wooded path to the coop and barn. Pops was already trotting through the grass, followed by the chickens and ducks.

“Good morning everyone.” At the sound of his voice the animals' heads turned toward where he stood. He laughed, jumping over the fence and heading to the coop with a basket of food. Marco stood on top of the coop, cocking his head at Ace. “Geez Marco, I'm not helping you down this time if you get stuck.”

Ace had been in charge of the animal side of the farm since they had arrived. He loved it, taking care of the animals. They accepted him without any judgement. He went about his morning chores, listening to Marco call out as the sun rose. He collected the eggs, petting Thatch, Izo and Vista, the other chickens, ducks and rabbits had already moved outside. So when Ace went out to milk the cows and goats he pet them too.

Across the farm Sabo woke up to Marco's call. Stretching his arms over his head and looking down where Luffy was sprawled out next to him. He smiled, brushing the hair away from Luffy's face.

“Hey Luffy, i gotta get to work, do you wanna come?” Luffy stirred, opening one eyeball to look at him before closing his eye again. “Okay Lu, I'll get you after Ace and I are done.”

Sabo climbed down the ladder, landing on the grass in a crouched position. His chores wouldn’t be very bad, the strawberries had been planted already and the sprinklers took care of watering them. So he made his way to the two sheds that stood between the second crop field and the green house. In the first shed he checked the wine and other ales. Over the winter with no new crops growing they had to use leftover crops from other seasons that hadn't been processed. The wine and jam weren't ready yet, but there was a batch of dehydrated salmonberries ready to be jarred and stored. After refilling the machines he went to the second shed, where the furnaces and other machines were stored.

“I guess we have to plan a mines trip, shit.” Sabo grumbled, looking at their dwindling coal stores. He groaned, putting the remaining coal into the furnaces with some iron and gold. “I'll talk to Ace about it, Lu will probably want to come, but Dragon will kill me if Lu gets hurt.” He ran a hand through his hair, his brows pinching together in concentration.

“Knock knock!” Ace didn't actually knock, instead announcing his arrival with a shout instead. When he came in, Pops wasn't far behind. “Lu still sleeping?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Sabo nodded, petting Pops when he wandered over. “Are Makino and Dadan?”

“Probably, I didn't see 'em around at all.” Ace shrugged, making his way over to a chest to deposit the animal products that hadn't been put into machines yet. “You done with your chores?” Sabo hummed in the affirmative, nodding his head.

“We need to plan a trip to the mines.” Sabo pointed to the furnaces. “I just used to rest of the coal for those.”

“Ah, that's no good.” Ace shook his head, planting his hands on his hips and scratching his chin. “We'll talk about it over breakfast, I'll go wake up Lu and the ladies.”

“I guess that means I'm cooking again?” Sabo smirked, laughing. “Dont want Lu to have burnt pancakes and eggs yet?”

“Cmon if I cook for him he'll leave right back to the city and never come back.” Ace laughed and shook his head before turning on his heels and walking out of the shed. Pops didn't follow him this time, instead following Sabo to the farm house.

Ace made his way back to the treehouse, climbing up the ladder with a soft hum. When he got to the top he saw Luffy sprawled out, mouth comically wide open and dripping drool. The only sound inside were his soft snores. Ace smiled, crouching down and pushing hair away from his brother's forehead.

“Luufffffyyyyyy.” Ace sang his brother’s name, pulling the younger man's arms up so Luffy was kind of sitting up, but his eyes were still firmly closed and he was snoring still. “Cmon Luffy.” Ace shook him with his own arms. “Geez i forgot how hard it is to wake you up.” Ace pursed his lips, thinking hard while still shaking his brother. An idea came to his head, a smile spreading over his freckled face. “Sabo is making bacon.”

Luffy's eyes shot open, looking up at his brother. “Bacon?” Ace laughed, pulling his brother fully up and into a crushing hug.

“You're so funny, Lu.” He ruffled Luffy's hair with a fond smile. “Yeah, Bo is making pancakes, bacon and eggs. A good hearty breakfast to welcome you back.” He could feel Luffy's wide smile where his face was smooshed into his chest, and he smiled. “We've gotta get Makino and Dadan before we can eat though.”

“Whaaaat?” Luffy looked up, a comical pout on his face. “But I'm hungry.” His stomach growled, proving his point with perfect timing. Ace just shook his head, smiling.

“I know I know. Not fair at all, how dare we.” He released Luffy from his hold and led him down the ladder. The walk to the guest house was not at all quiet, once Luffy was fully awake he was back to talking Ace’s ear off about anything and everything he thought about, especially bugs. If there was one thing that had been consistent across when Garp ran the farm and when Ace and Sabo ran the farm, it was the bugs, they were everywhere.

After picking up Dadan and Makino, the four of them made their way to the farm house for breakfast. As they approached the house they saw a man standing in front of the door, making conversation with Sabo while Pops glared at him but still accepted the pets. The man was tall, well built, and missing an arm. From the back his face couldn't be seen, what could be seen however, was his mop of messy, recognizable, red hair.

“SHANKS!” Luffy screamed the older man's name, abandoning his conversation with Ace to run at the older man at full speed and ram into him in an aggressive hug. Shanks's laugh turned into a wheeze as Luffy knocked the air out of him.

“Hey kid.” Shanks caught his breath and used his hand to hug Luffy back. “Long time no see, huh? I see you've kept the old hat safe.” He lifted his arm to flick the hat off his head, making it hang around the back of his neck.

“Yep!” Luffy looked up at him, eyes wide and shining with excitement. “I kept it super safe! It's my treasure!” Shanks just laughed. “Did you come here to see me?”

“I did, I also came to tell you happy birthday.” Luffy’s smile could rival the sun with the way it grew bigger and brighter at Shank’s words. Shanks had been there when he was a kid, he was technically the reason for the scar under Luffy’s left eye, not that anyone actually blamed him for it, Luffy is an unmovable object when he really wants to be and nothing will stop him.

“Shanks, do you want to join us for breakfast? I'm sure there's a lot to catch up on.” Ace smiled, patting both Shanks and his brother on the backs. Luffy nodded excitedly, dragging Shanks into the farmhouse behind him.

“Ace, get the extra chair from the cellar.”

“Sabo, we don't have any extra chairs.”

“Well you’re the one who invited Shanks. So figure it out.”

{🌓}

Breakfast was chaotic to say the least, Luffy was excited to have all his favorite people in the same room again, and so he literally could not shut up, even with his mouth stuffed with pancakes. After breakfast Shanks left, quoting “Mayoral Business’ with a smirk but everybody knew he was not going to do that. Shortly after Dadan and Makino also made their departure back to the city, with tears and hugs they drove off.

The walk back to the farm was quieter than it had been since Luffy’s arrival. Luffy wasnt talking, instead he was looking up at the sky with a smile. When they reached the farm he turned to his brother’s, tilting his head to the side. “Bo said we were gonna go meet people today.”

“Mhm!” Sabo nodded.

“Did he?” Ace sighed with a smile. “Well that's a lot of people to meet, we should start now.”

“Let's start up the mountain.” Sabo checked his watch, making sure they'd be good on time.

The three of them made their way up the northern path, and through the backwoods. While they walked, Ace and Sabo told stories of their time in the valley, mostly short dumb stories of them being idiots and making their brother laugh. When they reached the base of the mountain, Sabo took the lead and lead them to a house nestled in between the smaller mountain cliffs. The house itself was large, two stories and made of a dark wood with blue accents.

“This is the carpentry shop, Franky lives here!” Sabo explained as he walked up to the door of the shop. “So does Lilith, she also builds and repairs things. They share the house with Doctor Kureha and Chopper, two doctors.”

As Sabo opened the door Ace whispered to Luffy. “Kureha is kinda crazy, I think she’s got some weird wild past. Sometimes she leaves the valley for whole months and nobody hears from her.”

“Ace, stop gossipping.” Sabo held the door open for the two of them. Ace shot Sabo a glare and Luffy laughed as Sabo dragged Ace inside, Luffy hopping in behind them.

The room inside the house was large, a counter with knick knacks and a cash register sat in the far corner, and a workbench took up most of the left wall. There was a man working at the workbench, his back was turned and he was hunched over but his gaudy bright pink hawaiian shirt was very visible.

“Hey Franky!” At Ace's shout the man abruptly stopped his work, turning to look at the trio. His face and hair were covered by some sort of welding mask. Franky yanked off this mask, revealing his face and bright blue hair.

“Hey little bros!” The man stood up, he was very tall, and half naked. “Super good to see ya! What can I do for you on this fine Wednesday?” Franky was an interesting man in appearance alone, dressed only in a hawaiian shirt, speedo and gold chain around his neck. He had blue star tattoos on his forearms, and his nails were painted gold and red.

“Actually we wanted to introduce you to our little brother, Luffy!” Ace pushed Luffy in front of them, who was smiling wide, and had been since he saw the man.

“Hi!” Luffy waved his hands excitedly.

“OW! Hey Little Bro Luffy!” The man flicked on a pair of sunglasses, giving Luffy finger guns. “Good to meet ya little bro!”

“You're so cool!” Luffy's eyes were sparkling and he was bouncing on the balls of his feet. “So you build stuff?”

Franky blinked a moment before spinning and striking a pose with his arms together over his head. “You bet brother!” He smirked, laughing loudly. “Nearly everything on your farm was built or fixed up by yours truly!”

“Woah!” Luffy copied the pose Franky did, smiling so wide. “That's awesome!”

Luffy and Franky continued their back and forth for a moment before a dog ran into the room, a large golden retriever with a red fringed bandana around its neck. It beelined straight for Luffy, jumping up so its paws were on Luffy's chest.

“Sunny!” Franky exclaimed. “You can't just jump on new people, it's impolite.”

Luffy, however, didn't mind at all. Already petting the pup and smiling even wider. “Hi Sunny!” He crouched down to pet the dog, who was wiggling and wagging and licking Luffy all over.

Franky sighed, shaking his head. “She loves people wayy too much.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“Say Franky, is anyone else home? It'll be easier for Luffy to meet everyone now.” Sabo had to make an effort to look away from Luffy and Sunny. Ace however, was still staring, with a fond smile on his face.

“Sorry bros, I'm the only one in today. Chobro's in the clinic with Law today, not sure where Lilith and Doc are though.” He scratched his chin, looking thoughtful.

“Ah alright, I'm sure we'll see them around.” Sabo nodded, looking back at where Luffy was still petting Sunny. “Well thanks for talking, we should probably go to meet everyone else.”

“What?!” Ace turned to Sabo, looking incredibly offended. “But look at them!” He pointed to Luffy and Sunny. “It's too cute! We would be evil to cut it short!”

In the end, Sabo won, the three of them waving at Franky and Sunny as they walked down the path to the town's main area. Ace was giving Sabo a comical glare, and Luffy was animatedly talking about how cool Franky and Sunny were. When they reached the main town square there were a few people milling about, Luffy recognized a few of them from when he was a kid, the others were pointed out by Ace or Sabo. They entered the general store, where there were shelves on shelves of food and seeds and supplies were neatly organized. Next to the counter at the back of the store, two men were having a hushed conversation.

“Hi Baba!” Luffy shouted and waved, causing the taller of the two men to turn abruptly. He was tall and broad, his face seemingly permanently curled into a scowl with a jagged scar cutting across his face and nose. His scowl softened when he saw Luffy, a small sigh escaping him.

“Luffy.” The man nodded, opening his arms in an invitation for Luffy, who took it and wrapped his arms around the man's torso. “I was planning to visit you on the farm tomorrow.”

“But we found you first!” Luffy laughed, and the man nodded. He looked over at where Ace and Sabo stood.

“Ace, Sabo.” The man nodded in greeting.

“Crocodile.” The two nodded back at him.

Sir Crocodile was one of Luffy's parents, who tried to be present in his life despite not being able to raise him. After Garps passing, he would travel to the city to visit for holidays and Luffy's birthday.

“Have you visited your father yet?” Crocodile looked down at Luffy, running his hand through his son's hair. Sabo cursed, turning to Ace and whispering aggressively.

“Nah, we were gonna but i dont know where he is.” Luffy shrugged, tilting his head. He looked over at Sabo, who honestly looked like he was going to start pacing any second. Crocodile sighed.

“You should go do that, he'll be happy to see you.” He pat his son's shoulder. “When was the time you saw him?” Luffy scratched his neck, thinking for a moment before shrugging, mumbling something about a few years. Crocodile felt a little smug about it, being more active in Luffy's life than Dragon.

“Well we came to introduce Luffy to Mihawk-”

“I already know him.” Everyone turned to the second man, who had been quiet up till now. He was not as tall as Crocodile, but his shoulders were broad and he had very creative facial hair.

“Yeah ive known him since i was a kid, you guys should've known since he's Baba's friend.” Luffy shrugged, looking at Ace and Sabo who seemed shocked at the information. Crocodile and Mihawk just nodded.

“Now, go visit Dragon, he'll get pissy if you wait too long.” Crocodile gently pushed Luffy towards his brothers, but he gave him one more hug before bouncing over.

“Dragon won't get pissy.” Sabo mumbled, opening the door before waving goodbye to Crocodile and Mihawk. Ace also waved, calling out a curt goodbye before dragging Luffy out.

“I didn't expect to see Baba! When he came over last week he said he was spending most his time in the desert.” Luffy just talked while they walked over to a clearing of grass to plan.

“You saw Crocodile last week?” Ace looked at him, raising an eyebrow. He wasn't the biggest fan of Crocodile, despite being the parent of his younger brother.

“Yeah he came early for my birthday.” Luffy crossed his arms behind his head, leaning back to look at the sky.

“We'll visit Dragon tonight.” Sabo had been tuning out Luffy and Ace, as he also did not like Crocodile. “But we have more people we should meet first.” Ace and Luffy nodded in agreement before they continued walking south.

“Are we visiting Jinbe or Kid first?” Ace looked over Luffy's head to Sabo, who checked his watch with a furrowed brow.

“Kid closes before Jinbe does, so we should probably do that first.” Sabo sighed, he wanted to meet more people today but that might be difficult. Not that Luffy cared, he was having an amazing day with his brothers.

They passed Shanks house, where he was sitting on his porch with a drink and the newspaper. He waved hello as they walked by, his cat, Griffon, was laying lazily next to him in a sunbeam. They turned left, walking across a bridge where a boy was fishing. He was sitting on the railing, dressed in basic brown overalls, an olive green shirt and a bandana wrapped over his curly hair.

“Hi Usopp!” Luffy immediately recognized the boy, as he'd lived there at the same time Luffy had, with his father. Usopp looked over his shoulder.

“Hi Luffy- LUFFY?!” Usopp jumped off the railing, putting his fishing rod down to point at Luffy. “What are you doing here!”

Luffy laughed, hugged Usopp and smiling. “I live here now! Isn't that great!” He let go of Usopp, turning his attention to the old dog that slept by Usopp’s feet. “Hi Merry!” The beagle lifted her head slightly, barking once at Luffy before going back to sleep.

“She's been tired lately, but she still comes to fish with me.” He smiled, looking down at Merry before turning back to Luffy. “If you wanna say hi to dad, he's in the trailer.” Luffy scrunched his nose at the idea of seeing Yasopp, who he did not like. Ace and Sabo laughed at Luffy's terribly hidden reaction.

“Nah, we're on our way to see Kid.” It was Usopp's turn to make a face, he was not a fan of Kid and his abrasive personality. “Well we'll see you, Usopp!” Ace and Sabo started walking, letting Luffy hug his childhood friend one more time. When they reached the stone building, there was a blonde man sitting on a bench by the door, reading a book, a large rottweiler with a spiked collar chewing on a bone at his feet.

“Hey, Killer!” Sabo waved at the man, who looked up and waved back. “Is Kid around?”

“No, his prosthetic was bothering him so he went to the clinic.” Killer shrugged, his long hair covering half his face and cascading down his back and shoulders. The dog was not paying attention.

“You're shitting me.” Sabo groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. “Well guess we'll wait another day. Killer, this is Luffy.” Killer turned his attention to Luffy, who was smiling happily at the dog.

“Nice to meet you.” Killer nodded to Luffy, who looked at him and smiled.

“I like your hair! and your puppy!" The man paused, looking between Luffy and his brothers, and then down at the dog, who was still chewing a bone, completely unbothered.

“Thanks.” Killer nodded, he looked down at the dog. “This is Victoria, but we call her Punk. She isn't very friendly with strangers.” Punk looked up at her name, looking between Killer and the three of them before going back to her bone, unbothered.

“She’s cute.” Luffy nodded. Killer let out a breath through his nose, almost like a laugh. “Well it was cool to meet you! And Punk!” Punk didn't bother looking up as the three of them departed with a wave. “He was nice.”

“Killer isn't usually in the main square, he lives up in the mountains in a tent by Franky’s place.” Ace explained as they passed by Usopp and Merry again. “But he’s known Kid since they were kids so he hangs out with him a lot.”

“He’s not the friendliest with strangers, but he’s got a lot of knowledge about the local fish and wildlife.” Sabo led them down to the beach, where the lowering sun reflected across the water and made the sand radiate warmth. There was a cabin on the side of the beach, where a woman sat on a chair reading with a peaceful expression.

“Hi Robin!” Ace and Sabo called, waving in sync at the woman. She looked up from her book with a calm smile, closing it and resting it on her lap gently.

“Good afternoon, Ace, Sabo.” She looked over each of them before looking at Luffy. “You must be Luffy, I've heard quite a lot about you.” Luffy laughed, smiling wide.

“Thats me! Monkey D. Luffy!” He rushed to stand next to her, offering his hand for her. She stood up, taking his hand to shake it. She was quite tall, her bangs covering her forehead and her hair cascading down to her shoulders. She was tan, and her eyes were an all knowing blue.

“Im Nico Robin, its nice to meet you.” She shook his hand. “Ace and Sabo have talked quite fondly about you,” she laughed softly behind her hand, “I’m glad you were able to come stay with them.” Luffy nodded, smiling at her.

“I am too! Are you friends with them?” He tilted his head slightly. She smiled, nodding her head.

“You could say that.” Luffy laughed.

“Thank you! For being a good friend to them.” She looked taken aback for a small moment, but she was quick to recover.

“Good to see you Robin, but we gotta catch Jinbe before he closes.” Sabo and Ace, who had been standing by quietly, interrupted them. Robin nodded.

“Of course.” She sat back down. “I’m sure he’ll be ecstatic to meet Luffy.” She opened her book, giving them a kind smile as they said their farewells.

“She looked sad.” Luffy looked over at Ace, and then at Sabo, who both looked taken aback at his statement.

“Well, that's really none of our business.” Ace lowered his hat slightly, looking anywhere but at his brother’s.

“Luffy,” Luffy looked at Sabo, “she moved here for a reason, and maybe she’ll tell you that reason, but for now I don't think you should worry about it too much.” Luffy stared at his brother before nodded and looking out at the sea.

“Can I go fishing?”

“Tomorrow.”

“You’re so mean to me.”

The rest of the walk down the beach was relatively quiet, until the reached the docks, when the creaking and crackling of the old wood under their feet joined the crashing of waves and the song of the seagulls. At the end of the docks was a shop, surrounded by barrels and crates. On the door of the shop was a sign in the shape of a sun, a smaller sign hung from the sun that said ‘Open’ in friendly letters.

“Luffy, you’re gonna love Jinbe!” Ace was back to his smiling self, his arm thrown over Luffy’s shoulders. “He’s so cool and he’s strong and he’s smart!” Sabo laughed, opening the door and sounding a small bell. “He’s gonna love you too!” Ace dragged the laughing Luffy into the small store. “JINBE!” Ace’s shout caused the man behind the counter to jump. Luffy recognized the man from the pictures in Ace’s room.

“Oh Ace, its good to see you-”

“Jinbe! This is Luffy!” Ace picked Luffy up by his armpits, presenting him to the older man. “Say hi Lu!”

“Yo!” Luffy waved with his hand, the other hand hanging limply next to him.

Jinbe blinked at the pair, before laughing loudly. He shook his head, walking around the counter. “I’ve heard a lot about you.” He had a warm smile, and a very friendly face.

They spent the evening with Jinbe, having tea and talking about anything and everything. Luffy really liked the older man, he thought he was awesome, and he really got along with him. When Sabo saw the sunset outside of the window, he stood up abruptly and swore loudly.

“Thanks for having us, Jinbe! But we gotta meet with Dragon.” Sabo stood up, pulling both Ace and Luffy by the arms. Jinbe laughed, nodding and standing up from the table.

“What?!” Both Ace and Luffy looked at Sabo with wide, very offended eyes. “But we were having fun!” Luffy pouted, whining and clinging to Sabo’s jacket. Jinbe pat Luffy’s shoulder, laughing.

“You can always come back, it's important to see your father.” He opened the door for them. “If you come by tomorrow, I'll give you some fishing tips.” Luffy let go of Sabo, standing in front of Jinbe.

“Okay! Lets go see dad, and then we can come back tomorrow!” Luffy walked out of the shop, turning back to wave at JInbe. “Bye JInbe! Cya tomorrow.” Ace sighed, shaking his head dramatically.

“Thanks for having us, Jinbe.” Ace hugged the older man before following his brothers.

They walked back up the beach, passing Robin’s cabin where she no longer sat. When the reached the grassy paths of town, they saw Shanks was still sat on his front porch, this time Yasopp was sat with him. When they passed, Yasopp yelled out a greeting, but Luffy only waved.

“Guys, I'm hungry.”

“Hi hungry, im Sabo.” Both Ace and Luffy groaned at Sabo’s shitty joke.

“I’m hungry too, Sabo.”

“Wow i didnt know both my brother’s had the same name! You learn something new everyday!” Despite Sabo’s teasing, he led them both into a building with a sign saying ‘The Stardrop Saloon’ The inside of the building was warm, dim lighting and a few tables scattered around the bar. Ace led Luffy to sit at a booth in the far corner next to a fireplace while Sabo went and spoke to the older man behind the counter.

“This is the saloon, it was here when we were kids but it was bought by a guy named Zeff a few years after we left.” Ace explained as Luffy looked around. “He’s pretty cool. Sanji also works here.”

“Sanji?” Luffy tilted his head at the change in his brother’s tone when he said the name. Ace laughed, smiling wide and pointing to a blonde man behind the counter, he was nursing a cigarette and mixing a drink.

“That’s Sanji, he’s the best damn chef ever, you gotta try his enchiladas, they’re the best I've ever had!” His eyes sparkled and his mouth watered at the memory of the food Sanji had made for him. Luffy’s mouth was watering at the thought of such a good meal, and his stomach growled.

Sabo came back and sat next to Ace and across from Luffy. “Ace i ordered your usual and Luffy i ordered you a few different things to try, mostly meat based dishes.”

“Yes! Thank you, Bo!” Luffy launched across the table, hugging his brother before being pushed back into his seat.

“Yeah yeah, I also ordered you a lemonade.” Sabo shook his head, smiling. “And no, Ace, I did not order you a beer. We’re going to see Dragon, you aren’t allowed to be drunk.” Ace frowned deeply at his brother.

“Yknow i dont think i like you anymore, Bo. Luffy, you’ve been upgraded to favorite brother.” Luffy was not listening, instead looking at the blonde man preparing drinks at the bar. “Nevermind, neither of you are my favorite brother anymore.”

Sabo just laughed, slapping Ace on the back. “You can get drunk when we get home.” Ace shook his head, continuing to sulk dramatically.

“Here are your drinks.” The blonde approached the table, setting down three drinks of very distinct colors in front of each of them. Luffy's was a strawberry lemonade, extra strawberries, Ace had a cream soda and Sabo got an raspberry iced tea.

“Thank you, Sanji.” Sabo reached across Ace, grabbing a few sugar packets for his tea.

“Yeah, thanks!” Luffy smiled up at Sanji, before reaching into his drink with his fingers to pop a strawberry into his mouth.

“Yes, thank you, Sanji.” Ace smiled at the man, causing the blonde to sputter before storming off. Sabo elbowed Ace's rib.

“You didn't even give us a chance to introduce him to Luffy.”

“We can when he brings the food.” Ace rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Let me have a little fun.” Sabo just narrowed his eyes at his brother before shaking his head.

While they waited for the food, Luffy asked a few questions about the people in the valley, where he learned that the people who lived here were a very eclectic bunch, ranging from a very mean middle aged man taking care of his son and 2 nieces, to a pair of sisters whose mother was traveling the world, and even a super tall guy who claimed to be a wizard. Luffy was excited to meet everyone, after all strangers were just friends you haven't met yet.

After a while, Sanji brought over the food. He put three plants in front of Luffy and three in front of Ace, making a comment under his breath about insatiable appetites, and one plate in front of Sabo.

“Sanji, this is our baby brother, Luffy!” Sabo gestured to Luffy, who was already stuffing his face with stars in his eyes “Luffy- have manners.”

“Thish food ish sho good!” Luffy looked up at Sanji, quickly swallowing his food. “This is the best food I've ever eaten!” His smile was so wide and so bright, Sanji blinked at him for a moment.

“I'm glad you like the food.” He seemed shocked by how fast Luffy went from complimenting the food to then shoving more food than should be possible in his mouth. “You're definitely Ace's brother.” Sabo laughed, looking between Ace and Luffy who were both stuffing their faces with food. “If you need anything just wave me over.” Sanji walked away, leaving the brothers to finish their food.

When they finished their food they quickly introduced Luffy to Zeff, the burly old chef who took Luffy's insatiable appetite as a challenge. They left, and outside the sun had set and the stars twinkled behind the streetlights. Luffy smiled the whole walk up the mountain. They passed Franky's house and went right, walking around the lake and following the path to a mossy building Luffy vaguely recognized.

Dragon had taken over the adventurers guild when he was a teenager, and when he had Luffy he let him come to the adventurers guild when it was quiet and the sun was out. Luffy didn't like it much, he enjoyed the fighting, but he didn't like the rules and how dusty the building always was. Sabo had joined the guild as as soon as he had returned to the valley, Dragon had saved and taken care of him, after all.

Dragon sat at a desk, organizing papers. Next to him was a woman with orange hair and a red hat. Dragon stood up when the three of them entered. Ace stood off to the side as Luffy and Sabo hugged the man, he liked Dragon enough but didn't consider him a father like the other two did.

“Hi, dad! I missed you!” Dragon nodded, wrapping an arm around his son.

“I missed you too, Luffy.” Dragon hadn't been able to visit Luffy as often as he liked, but he visited for birthdays when he could.

The visit with Dragon went well, Luffy learned the other members of the Adventurers Guild, including Koala, who seemed very fond of Sabo. They left after an hour of talking and catching up before they decided it was time to go home. The walk home was peaceful, full of conversations about how cool the day had been and how Luffy was excited to meet the others. When they got to the farm, Ace and Sabo went to do some chores and Luffy went to bed on the couch cuddling Pops.

Luffy had always had weird dreams, they started when he was a child, whispered voices among warm sunny flower fields. Sometimes the flower field was drowned in shadows, the flowers turning to stare at him with red eyes as their centers. They were most often when he was a child, and slowed down as he grew up in the city. Makino had always told him not to worry about it, dreams were just dreams. He trusted her, and by the time he was 15 he didn't have the dreams anymore.

So when he found himself standing in a field of sunflowers, he didn't question it at all. He followed the sun, the flowers turning to face him as he walked. There was no sound except a drum beat that followed his every step. As he walked, the whispers began, hidden under the flapping of butterfly wings as they flew past his face to land on the flowers he passed. He was able to identify the type of butterflies they were, blue morphos, monarchs, agrias, and more.

At the end of the flower field was a cliff, a sheer drop into an endless blue ocean. Luffy had never been a fan of swimming, he couldn't hold his breath long enough and the water always felt like a heavy pressure against him. He stumbled back from the cliff, turning around to see the sun suddenly and rapidly setting in the wrong direction, the shadows that descended in the absence of the sun turned the sunflowers to a deep crimson, turning away from Luffy so he couldn't see them anymore. He felt a pull towards the other end of the field, and heard his name being whispered in the wind.

He woke up with a start to Pops licking his face and applying pressure to his chest. He realized then that he was sweating and hyperventilating. “Sorry, Pops.” Luffy forced the words from his throat, it felt drier than the calico dessert, he took a deep breath, standing up. “It was just a dream.” He pet the dog before getting water from the kitchen. Pops followed him, standing by his legs and looking very worried for a dog. Luffy would have time to think about the dream tomorrow, for now he went back to his own bedroom, Pops still hot on his heels.

Chapter Text

Ace was confused, to put it simply. Pops, who had always joined him for his morning chores, was nowhere to be seen. Even the animals seemed to notice the absence, looking around for their furry friend. Ace felt the worry gnawing at his chest, Pops had only missed a day when Sabo had to rush him to the emergency vet in the city, and even then it was only a few days before he came back to accompany him. 

“Bo, have you seen Pops today?” Ace leaned over one of the chests in the shed, head in his hands as he watched his brother catalog the materials they had. 

“No, he’s usually with you, isn't he?” Sabo raised an eyebrow at him, a hint of concern in his tone. If Pops wasn't with Ace, where else would he be? 

“No. I didn't see him in the living room when I left, or by the coop.” Ace furrowed his brow and frowned. “I thought maybe he’d be in the fields, but if you haven't seen him then I don't know.” 

“He’ll turn up, don't worry.” Sabo gave his brother a side hug, smiling. “Even if he didn't join you for morning chores, he never misses breakfast.” 

“Yeah, you’re right.” Ace shook his head, taking his hat off to run a hand through his hair.  

The walk back to the farm house was tense, both brothers looking across the farm for a peak of white fur. When they reached the farm house, Sabo went to the kitchen, and Ace went to wake up Luffy. He knocked on the door, pushing it open when he heard Luffy’s snoring. He let out a sigh of relief, seeing Luffy’s head resting on the mess of Pop’s fur. Pops looked up when Ace opened the door. 

“There you are, Pops, I was a little worried.” Ace walked over, petting the dog and then looking at his brother. “Wake up, Luffy, it's breakfast time!” Luffy blinked groggily at his brother before rolling out of bed. 

“Good morning, Ace!” Luffy hugged his brother before running downstairs. Ace shook his head, smiling, before turning to Pops. 

“I was worried about you, you silly dog.” Ace hugged Pops. “Bet you had a reason for staying with Luffy, man I wish you could talk.” 

During breakfast, Ace tried to ask Luffy why Pops had stayed with him, but Luffy just shrugged his shoulders and continued eating his bacon as if everything were normal. Ace decided it didn't really matter, everything seemed fine, so why should he worry? 

“I think today we'll go down to the forest, and meet Cora and Kaido.” Sabo sat at the table, while Luffy and Ace did the dishes. “And then go into town and meet Sanji's family and Nami and Nojiko, and top it off with a visit to the clinic to meet Chopper and Law. Sounds good to you guys?” He looked over his shoulder to his brothers, who evidently, were not listening and were too wrapped in a sudden arm wrestle. “Did either of you hear what I said?” 

The two froze, looking at Sabo like deer in the headlights. “Yes.” They both lied in unison, their eyes squinting and lips sticking out slightly in their lying faces. 

“Whatever, just finish dishes so we can get going.” Sabo shook his head, pouring himself another glass of orange juice. 

Before long they found themselves walking through the sparse trees and bushes of the cindersnap forest. Luffy remembered playing in the woods a lot as a child, hiding behind the huge oak trees from Garp and trying to fish with his hands in the small lake in the middle. What he didn't remember, however, was the large stone tower nestled onto a small cliff surrounded by trees. They approached the wooden door, Sabo knocking three times on it. 

Just behind the door there was the sound of crashing and a man shouting to hold on just a moment. The door swung open, the man behind the door was really tall, and lanky, it looked like his body had been stretched, and he wore a heart patterned button up, a black feathered coat and a red hat with dangly hearts. He had strange makeup, blue spikes under one of his eyes and a smile across his cheeks. 

“Oh! Hello boys!” The man smiled down at the three of them. “It's good to see you! To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Good morning, Cora! It's good to see you too!” Sabo smiled, pulling Luffy forward in front of him. “This is our baby brother, Luffy!” 

“Hi Mr Tall Guy!” Luffy waved enthusiastically. 

“Oh hello Luffy! I'm Donquixote Rosinante, you can call me Cora.” Cora smiled, reaching out his hand for Luffy to shake. “Your Garp's grandson, right?”

“You knew Grandpa?” Luffy tilted his head, hat flopping to the side slightly. 

“Uh, kind of. Would you boys like tea?” Cora opened the door further for them. 

“Thank you for the offer, Cora, but we've got places to be.” Ace shook his head slightly. “We've got half the town to meet today.” 

“Ah, that's too bad. If you see Law today tell him to come over for dinner. Do you guys want some candy for the road?” Luffy nodded enthusiastically, causing Ace and Sabo to laugh. 

“If all goes to plan we will!” Sabo smiled. Ace and Luffy got their candy, and then they were on their way, back up the path and to the ranch. 

Ten years ago the ranch had been owned and operated by a polite man named Fujitora. He moved away when Luffy was 5, after he went blind and couldn't take care of the animals anymore. Some time after Luffy moved, it must have been bought by a different man, one who was much more mean and scary, but who loved animals just as much.

Luffy did not like the man, he glared too much and he seemed to permanently frown. Luffy did however, really like Kaido's son, Yamato, who hugged him tightly and smiled brightly, and Kaido's two nieces, Toko and Tama, who took to calling Luffy big bro, like they did Ace. Kaido, very quickly, kicked the group of them outside, saying they were killing businesses. 

Luffy sat with Toko and Tama in the grass. Tama was doing his hair, braiding little flowers into it and Toko sat in front of him, telling him about anything and everything. Luffy found out a lot about their family, he felt strange to know so much about people he didn't know, or met today.

“Me, Tama, Yamato, and Momo are all cousins!” Toko was holding Luffy's hands, moving his fingers and giggling. 

“But Momo didnt wanna come live here, he stays here during the fall and winter though. We all have to share a room, it's so fun!” Tama giggled, braiding his hair into tiny braids. Luffy listened to them talk, also learning that their uncle Kaido, was an alcoholic, and seeing a court ordered counselor.

Ace and Yamato stood off to the side, Yamato's shirt was lifted up to his chin, revealing two scars running across his chest, puffy and red. 

“How long did yours take to stop being so sensitive?” Yamato was frowning, his eyebrows furrowed.

“It takes a while Yamato! Ya gotta be patient.” Ace smiled, shaking his head. “Mine looked like that too once upon a time.” He opened his own shirt, showing off his fully healed scars. 

Sabo, unlike his brothers, took this time to buy some supplies for the animals. He was the only of the three that Kaido tolerated, nobody really knew why, maybe because he wasn't as noisy as the others. But Sabo hated Kaido, and only dealt with him to buy his stuff. 

“Okay guys, we have stuff to do, let's go.” Sabo would stay on schedule, even if he had to drag his brother’s kicking and screaming down the path. Thankfully, Ace and Luffy agreed to go with minimal complaints, exchanging hugs with Toko, Tama, and Yamato before making their way into town. 

In town, they met Sora and Reiju, Sanji’s mother and sister, who were gardening in their yard. They stopped to chat for a while, sharing pleasant conversations until Luffy got hungry. At the saloon they met Zoro and Perona, who were loudly arguing about something stupid at the bar, and Nami and Nojiko, who were eating peacefully at a booth. They were served by Zeff, as Sanji was too busy picking a fight with Zoro. 

When they finished their very late lunch, they headed to the clinic. Luffy remembered the man who used to run the clinic, Crocus, who always scolded Luffy for getting hurt and ending up in the clinic. But by the time they reached the clinic, the door was being closed and locked by a boy who seemed only a little younger than Luffy. 

“Oh hey Chopper!” At the sound of his name, the boy turned to look at the trio, and he smiled. 

“Hi guys!” Chopper waved after he put the keys into his pocket. 

“Chopper, this is Luffy, we came to introduce him to you and Law.” 

“Its a pleasure to meet you, Luffy! But I'm afraid Doctor Law doesn't see anyone unless it's an emergency after three pm.” 

“You’re kidding.” 

“Its been that way since he took over the clinic.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

With their plans ruined, the three brothers decided they would spend the rest of the day fishing with Jinbe on the beach. Luffy did a lot of fishing as a kid in the valley, it was one of Garp’s favorite things to do, and it was easy bonding between the four of them. Luffy didn't do it much after Garp’s passing, only on occasions when Makino took them to the beach or the lake, which was only for very special occasions, or the one time Luffy asked Crocodile to take him, and they both almost drowned. 

The three of them got home around midnight, Ace had the bag of fish slung over his shoulder and quickly went to deposit them in the shed to be roasted and then sold. Sabo decided to do some late night reading, sitting in the living room under the lamplight. Luffy went straight to bed, Pops settled at the foot of his bed in case he had another nightmare. 

Luffy’s dreams were once again full of flowers, and the rhythmic beating of a drum somewhere in the distance. Luffy walked in the opposite direction as he did in his previous dream. The path through the flowers was winding, turning and twirling in all directions, and worn from use, something he didn't understand. The path led him from the flower field to a sparse forest, trees growing taller and thicker the further he walked, until he was surrounded by huge redwood trees on both sides, blocking out the sun. The path ended suddenly, in the stone ruins of a once large city. He looked around, unsure of where to go now, especially with the light fading quickly underneath the canopy of trees, but the beating of drums grew louder, and louder, and louder. 

{🌔}

It was raining heavily the next morning, the pitter patter on the roof woke Luffy up with a start. The clock on the wall read 7am, and he heard no noise from downstairs, his brothers likely having already moved on to doing their chores, as well as Pops. Luffy still made his way downstairs to the kitchen, dressed up slightly warmer than he often would, in sweatpants and a longer sleeved shirt. He sat on the couch, turning on the TV to watch the news and wait for his family. 

Ace was struggling, he was not the biggest fan of the rain. He stayed in the barn longer than necessary, petting the cows and grumbling about the weather. Pops however, was quite enjoying the rain, sitting outside the fence on the wooden paths and letting his fur get soaked through. 

Sabo was in the sheds, replacing the fruit in the kegs and moving the wine into the chests to be aged later. He wasn't particularly bothered by the weather, it didn't hinder his ability to work at all, it just gave him constant background noise while he worked. 

“Knock knock.” Ace came into the shed, Pops not far behind, both soaking wet and Ace looking miserable. 

“Hey, Ace, you look awful.” Sabo held in his laugh, seeing how his brother shot him a glare. 

“Har har. Whatever.” Ace rolled his eyes, shaking off any excess water on him. “I’m going to the mines today.” 

“Good idea, i would go with you but i wanna catch some catfish down in the woods today.” Sabo leaned against a furnace. “Which do you think Lu will wanna do?” 

“Probably the mines.” Ace shrugged, organizing the cheese and mayo from the previous day’s animal harvest. “He’s never been there before and you know he’s probably itching for adventure.” 

“If he does pick the mines, I'll give him my sword and pickaxe to borrow.” 

“You sure you wanna trust, Luffy, with your good sword?” 

“I never said I'd give him my good sword, we have spare swords.” 

They all but ran back to the farmhouse, startling Luffy as they slammed the door closed behind them. 

“Yo!” Luffy waved at them from over his shoulder, smiling wide and snickering at the sight of his brothers soaking wet and frazzled. 

“Oh hi Luffy! You’re up early!” Sabo smiled, walking over to the couch to greet his brother properly. Ace waved at Luffy quickly before going upstairs to shower and change clothes. 

“Yeah, I don't know why either, it's weird.” Luffy shrugged his shoulders. “I thought about surprising you guys with breakfast, but the panty was locked.” 

“Thats exactly why the pantry is locked you little menace.” Sabo ruffled his brother’s hair. “How do waffles and hashbrowns sound?” 

Over breakfast, Luffy confirmed that he would go mining with Ace, so Sabo gave him a pickaxe and a bone sword and told him good luck. Ace left a little earlier than Luffy did, saying he’d meet Luffy at the mines. Luffy left after Sabo prepared him a lunch to take to the mines. Luffy decided to take the path through the town, simply because he was enjoying the rain. 

Luffy ran into Shanks in front of the old community center, the older man was staring wistfully at the dilapidated building, only looking away when Luffy stood next to him. 

“This place used to be really great back when Roger was the mayor, and for a bit afterwards.” Luffy nodded, he didn't remember it when it was popular, but when he was a kid it wasn’t falling apart like this. Shanks led him into the building, out of the rain. 

“It smells dusty.” Luffy sneezed, making Shanks laugh. 

“Yeah, nobody’s been in here since way before you left the valley.”  Shanks shook his head, leading Luffy further into the building. Shanks continued talking but Luffy was distracted, staring into a dark hallway, where he thought he saw something. “You okay, Luffy?” 

“I think there’s something over there.” He pointed down the hallway, where he saw a flash of green before Shanks turned to look down the hallway too. 

“Probably rats, or racoons.” Shanks scratched the scruff on his chin, sighing. “I’ll leave the door unlocked in case you wanna do some exploring or something. There’s probably some cool things sitting around collecting dust.” Shanks gave Luffy a wonky one armed hug before leaving the community center. 

Luffy waved him off before making his way into one of the old rooms, looking at the dusty old tables and shelves. There were old papers strewn about the floor, but what caught his attention was a scroll on the center of the floor, it had a weird language on it and no dust. Luffy picked it up to read, tracing over the strange letters before putting it back down with a shrug. 

“Weird.” He left the community center, making his way up the mountain trail and past the lake to get to the mines. He waved at Killer, who was fishing at the edge of the lake before entering the cavern that was the mines. 

“Jeez Lu, I almost thought you bailed on me!” Ace pulled Luffy into a hug, before pushing him away and grumbling about how soaked he was. 

“Hehe sorry Ace!” Luffy laughed. “I saw Shanks on the way and we got distracted. But let's go!” 

Ace showed Luffy the ins and outs of the mines, showing him all the different monsters and the easiest ways to slay them. Luffy was having a great time, learning everything he could from Ace, and he decided that later he would ask Sabo and Dragon all they knew too. 

“Okay, we got enough copper, let's go down a few floors to get coal and stuff.” Ace wiped the sweat off his forehead before dragging Luffy into the elevator by the ladder and pressing the button for the 40th floor. “Bo would kill me if we didn't return with a shit ton of coal.” 

When the elevator doors opened Luffy felt a shiver shoot down his spine, why was it so cold? Especially since he was still a little wet from the rain. He decided he hated the ice floors, but he liked all the dust sprites, they were silly. They continued down the floors, collecting coal and iron and slaying monsters. 

They were making very good time, until their ventures came to a sudden halt when Luffy was attacked by a skeleton, and Ace freaked out. He carried Luffy down from the mountain, much to Luffy’s complaint, all the way to the clinic. 

“Doctor! We need a doctor!” Ace’s voice made Chopper jump, his head shooting up to look at the door. “Luffy’s hurt!” 

“Ace, I'm fine.” 

“Oh no! Somebody call a doctor- LAW!” Chopper ran through the door behind his desk, before he came out through the main door. “Bring him into the back, Law will look at him.” 

“I don't need to be looked at!” Luffy squirmed in his brother's hold, but failed to escape until he was deposited on a hospital bed. Chopper got straight to checking his vitals, trying to calm Luffy down, who out of everybody in the room, needed the reassurance the least. 

“Alright, so what happened?” Doctor Trafalgar Law, who was tall, dark and handsome, splotches of white scattered across his skin and dark hair peaking out from a spotted furry hat. He wore a yellow button up shirt, the first few buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, revealing tattoos sprawling across his skin. 

Luffy was frozen, eyes wide and staring at the man before him. He looked so cool. But Ace’s voice interrupted his train of thought. “We were in the mines when we got attacked by a skeleton and- and Luffy got hurt.” Law huffed out a sigh, taking the clipboard from Chopper. 

“I told you to be more careful.” He turned his attention to Luffy, who was awestruck when he saw Law’s golden eyes. “Where are you hurt, strawhat?” 

“Uhm, I don't know.” Luffy shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not that hurt.” 

“Oh no what if he’s concussed! I need to call Sabo.” Ace rushed out of the room. Law sighed through his nose. 

“I’m going to check you for a concussion, Strawhat.” Law shone a light in Luffy’s eyes, which he did not apologize for, and also felt around Luffy’s head for any possible bumps. “Okay, now for some questions.” 

“Okay.” 

“What is your name?” 

“Monkey D. Luffy.” 

“Where do you live?” 

“The farm.” 

“Whats the name of the farm and the city?” 

“Dawn Farm, Pelican Town, Stardew Valley.”

“Who is the current mayor?” 

“Shanks! Hes so cool-” 

“You’re not concussed, and your injuries are mild.” Law turned around, writing some things down, when Ace and Sabo burst back into the room. 

“Is he dying?” 

“Oh please tell me he’s fine.” Law stared at the two of them, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Your brother is in near perfect health. Now get out, all of you.” Law glared at the two of them, before directing his glare to Luffy. 

“Wait, I didn't get your name.” Luffy pouted, slapping the straw hat back on his head. 

“Doctor Trafalgar Law.” 

“Tra-traf-Traaa… Torao!” 

“Not even close- just call me Law.” Luffy firmly shook his head, smiling widely at Law, who scowled back at him. 

Sabo led Ace and Luffy back to the farm house, scolding the two of them about being careful in the mines, not that either of them were really listening, Luffy was thinking about his new friend, and Ace was spiraling just a little bit. At the farmhouse, Sabo had to drag both of them into a bath, they were covered in dirt, rainwater and blood, but Luffy refused baths and Ace simply didn't want to. Taking a group bath raised their spirits, making all of them forget the day they had. 

They decided to sleep in a group, throwing all their blankets and pillows down in the living room after moving the coffee table. Pops joined them. That night, Luffy’s dreams were not full of flowers, and instead were full of golden eyes and tattoos. 

{🌕}

Luffy got mail! For the first time since he had come to the valley. Sabo came in with the mail, calling Luffy down from his room. He opened the letter with the biggest smile ever. 

“Cora’s inviting me over for lunch.” 

“Oh? Does he say why?” Sabo and Ace were looking over his shoulders. 

“Nope! Just that he wants to chat with me alone over a snack.” Luffy shrugged. “But I was gonna go talk to Torao today.” Luffy frowned, 

“Yknow, Cora is Torao’s dad.” 

“WHAT!?” 

“He adopted Law when he was a kid, Law doesn't talk about it but Cora does.” Luffy stood up, Sabo and Ace stepping back. 

“Maybe Cora will tell me about Torao! I gotta go!” Luffy started walking but Sabo grabbed the back of his vest, stopping him in his tracks. 

“Not until you eat breakfast Lu, we should curb your appetite so you don't eat all of Cora’s food.” 

“You’re really smart, Bo.” 

So they ate breakfast, apple cinnamon pancakes and sausage with fresh strawberry lemonade. Sabo also employed Luffy’s help in refilling some machines before sending Luffy on his way to the woods. Luffy spent the walk singing and playing ISpy with the different birds and bugs. When he reached the tower he knocked three times, just like Sabo did, but instead of Cora answering the door, the door opened by itself. 

“Cora!” Luffy called out as he walked into the tower. The decor was not interesting at all, except the bubbling cauldron in the corner. 

“Oh! Luffy!” Cora came down from the stairs, dressed in an apron and oven mitts. “I’m almost done, just take a seat.” Luffy didn't listen, instead following him up to the kitchen. 

Luffy sat down at the table, watching Cora prepare something to eat, it smelled good. It turned out to be slightly burnt pepper poppers. Cora must have been aware of Luffy's appetite, as he made quite a lot extra. 

“So Luffy, I heard you saw the old community center.” Cora rested his head in his hand, leaning on his elbow as he spoke. Luffy nodded. 

“Yeah, Shanks showed me!” Luffy smiled, popping the last pepper into his mouth. 

“Did you see anything strange?” Cora watched Luffy's reactions carefully. Luffy thought for a moment. 

“A rat, or Shanks said it was a rat.” He took a sip of the tea Cora had poured for him, a sweet iced tea with a fruity flavor he couldn't quite place. “There was a little hut, but Shanks thought that Toko and Tama were playing in there. Oh!” Luffy clapped his hands, causing Cora to flinch just slightly. “There was a weird paper with words I couldn't read on it.” 

“A paper? Hm.” Cora looked thoughtful for a moment, before standing up. “Would you excuse me, for a moment? I'd like to see it for myself.” Before Luffy could say anything at all, Cora disappeared in a shimmer of pink light. 

“Cora?!” Luffy jumped up from his seat, whipping his head around to look for the man, before he rushed back down the stairs to see if he was there. “Coorrraaaaa!” Luffy called out to him, looking around. 

“I apologize if I scared you.” Luffy jumped when Cora walked through the door, before sighing in relief. 

“How did you do that?” Luffy ran up to Cora, staring up at him with wide eyes. The fear was gone, just pure curiosity and admiration now. 

“Oh, did Sabo and Ace not tell you?” Cora took a drag from his cigarette. “Im a wizard.” 

“Woah!! That's so cool! What else can you do?” Cora laughed, patting Luffy's head with a smile. 

“I can show you later, for now I have some different questions.” Luffy frowned but followed him towards a summoning circle that sat on the floor to the left of the door. Cora held out his hand, fingers sparkling until suddenly a small creature stood in the circle, round and green with thin arms and legs. “Have you seen these creatures before?” 

“Woah!” Luffy clapped his hands, smiling even wider. “I think I saw one in the community center! But Shanks said it was just a rat?” Cora chuckled, letting the creature disappear. 

“Those creatures are called Junimos, spirits of the forest. They don't let just anyone see them, which is why Shanks probably assumed you just saw a rat.” Cora blew the smoke from his cigarette out through his nose, his eyebrows slightly furrowed as he thought deeply. “The paper left in the community center you saw, it was a message from them.” 

“A message?” Luffy tilted his head. 

“Yes. Would you like me to tell you what it said?” Luffy nodded, so Cora cleared his throat. “It was a little difficult to translate, but this is what it said. ‘We, the Junimos, are happy to aid you. In return, we ask for gifts of the valley. If you are one with the forest then you will see the true nature of this scroll.’ and that's it.” 

Luffy's nose was scrunched up, thinking deeply about what the scroll could mean. “What does one with the forest mean?” 

“Im not fully sure.” Cora tapped his foot, moving his hat to scratch the hair under it as he thought deeply. After a moment he snapped his fingers, his smile widening. “Ive got it! Come here, Luffy!” Cora grabbed Luffy's arm, pulling him towards the bubbling cauldron in the corner. The smoke coming from it smelled awful. 

“Why- whats this?” 

“This cauldron contains things found in the forest! Here, drink!” Cora dipped a cup into the cauldron, the liquid was green and had a weird darker green shimmer to it. He forced the cup to Luffy's mouth, making him swallow the disgusting liquid. Once all the drink was gone, Cora threw the cup behind him, watching Luffy closely. 

“Gah! Cora! That was so yucky!” Luffy's tongue hung out of his mouth, his skin turning slightly green as his stomach grumbled and he began feeling sick. 

“Dont worry, it's all for the best.” Cora’s gentle voice and his kind smile was the last thing Luffy saw clearly before his head began to spin and his ears began to ring. His vision turned swimmy, and green, hallucinations of trees and flowers swam across his vision. He could swear he heard drums as well. 

He must've passed out, because when he came to he was laying down on Cora’s floor, the man sitting next to him with a focused expression. He blinked his eyes slowly, his vision returning to normal, and the ringing in his ears coming to a halt. 

“Cora?” Luffy's throat felt dry, his voice coming out slightly raspy. Cora jumped slightly, looking down at Luffy.

“Hey, Luffy.” He helped Luffy sit up, gently handing him a bottle of water, which Luffy eagerly swallowed down entirely. “Sorry about that, I didn't think you'd sleep for so long.” The man laughed nervously. “But on the upside, you're now one with the forest! Isn't that neat.” Luffy nodded, not really paying attention. 

“Is it true you're Torao's dad?” Luffy looked at him, adjusting his hat so he could see him fully without having to tilt his head too far. 

“Torao? Do you mean Law?” Cora seemed to be holding back a laugh once he realized it was a silly nickname. At Luffy's nod, he let out the laugh, leaning back on his hands to steady himself. He caught his breath, smiling wide. “He doesn't call me dad, but I adopted him when he was still young. Did you finally get to meet him?” 

Luffy nodded excitedly. “Yeah! He was so cool!” 

Luffy and Cora spent the rest of the visit talking about Law. Cora was excited to gush about him, and Luffy was eager to learn as much as he could about the grumpy man. Luffy left when his stomach started rumbling in hunger, saying a quick goodbye to Cora before running off into the woods. 

On his way home he ran into Yamato, who gave him a back breaking hug before letting him continue on his way. He entered the farm from the southern entrance, running up the wooden paths until he ran face first into Ace's bare back, causing both of them to fall down, and Sabo to laugh at them. 

“Jeez Luffy! What the hell was that?” Ace sat up, pushing the laughing Luffy off of him. 

“Sorry Ace! I was just hungry.” He scratched his nose, standing up and then helping Ace up. 

“How was your visit with Cora? You were there for a while.” Sabo pat Luffy's shoulder, tugging him slightly towards the farmhouse. 

“It was weird. You guys didn't tell me he was a wizard!” 

“Oh yeah I forgot he was.” Ace laughed. “He's so clumsy it's hard to remember he's a super serious wizard.” Sabo shook his head. 

“Sorry, Lu. We would've told you eventually. But why did he tell you?” 

“Cuz he up and disappeared!” Luffy spoke with his hands, throwing them around as he spoke. “And then he scares the crap outta me when he walks through the door! He also gave me this super gross drink that tasted like lawn clippings and sap and then we talked about Torao.” His dramatic expression was replaced with a smile at the mention of Law.

“Wow, sounds like you had a busy busy day, Lu!” Ace opened the door to the farmhouse for him and Sabo, letting them both walk in before he did. 

“Sounds interesting. Do you have any requests for dinner?” 

“Meat!” 

Luffy's dreams that night were even stranger, but not unpleasant. In the field there was no path, and the flowers went on as far as the eye could see. The sun seemed bigger than it should be, dwarfing the majority of the sky in its light. But the sunflowers that surrounded him were not facing the sun as they usually would, they were all peering at him. He began walking, picking a direction at random and beginning his walk, pushing flowers out of the way so he could walk. The beating of the drums beat along with his heart, syncing up with the erratic beatings. He never knew where the drums came from, wherever he went in these dreams the drums were always consistent and the same volume everywhere. 

There was consistent movement among the flowers, but when he turned his head the movement would stop, and he felt the feeling of being watched. To quell the feelings, he decided to start singing, singing an old sea shanty Shanks taught him. It didn't help him feel as much better as he thought it would, it seemed like the flowers swayed along, but there was no wind. He continued on, walking until he saw a flower that looked weird, the tips of the yellow petals were decaying and at the center of the bud was an eyeball, whose iris was red. 

“Lluuuufffffyyyyy….” A whispered voice called his name, the voice seemed to have layers to it and a strange echoey quality, the drums halted as the voice spoke.

“Hello?” Luffy called out, turning away from the weird flower to look around for the source of the voice. But he saw no one, not that he could see through the tall stalks of the sunflowers, but all the movement of the flower field had stopped. 

There was no response to his call, and silence descended on the field once more.

Chapter Text

 Over the next few days Luffy learned a lot about the forage around the valley, Sabo had been happy to tell him about what could be found in different seasons and where, so he had no trouble finding the four for the junimos, who accepted them happily and showed him even more scrolls with more things to bring them. Sabo even let Luffy have his own sprinkler to grow crops in the green house, which was incomplete and only half full so it was no problem.

 It was Wednesday when Usopp invited him to the saloon, he said that some of the younger people in the valley liked to have lunch together every few weeks, and they all agreed Luffy should come too. Normally Ace and Sabo would also come, but they unfortunately had a lot of work to do.

 That's how Nami found herself crammed into a corner booth, Usopp on her left and Robin on her right. She prayed to whatever god could hear her to give her strength when Zoro and Sanji began bickering across the table about something stupid she didn't quite catch between all the insults.

 “Did you guys hear Shanks has been leaving the old abandoned community center open?” Yamato leaned over the table, smirking when Usopp flinched. 

 “Isnt that place haunted?” Chopper, who had been previously fiddling with the cone of his cotton candy, looked over to Yamato, who simply laughed. 

 “If it's haunted we have to go see it!” Perona stood and leaned over the table, her hands planting firmly on either side of her drink, accidentally knocking against Zoro, who elbowed her in the side as revenge.

 “Uhmmm that would be cool and all but I have- uh- CantGoIntoHauntedBuildingsItis, it's very serious you know, Law diagnosed me and everything.” Usopp clung to Nami, shivering at the mere thought of ghosts.

 “Yeah, ghosts give me the creeps!” Nami shivered, holding onto Usopp at the idea of seeing a real ghost.

 “Ghosts aren't real, idiots.” Zoro shook his head, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat.

 “Oh shut up mosshead! How would you even know.” Sanji glared at Zoro, who glared right back. 

 “I think that's a super idea, right Robin?” Franky put down his cola, grinning at the woman next to him. 

 “Yes, I quite agree. It would be an interesting experience, ghosts or no ghosts.” Robin finished off her tea, smiling. “And if there are ghosts, well I'm sure they'd be happy to drag us down into the depths with them!” 

 “Dont say such creepy stuff with that smile, Robin!” 

 They agreed to meet up at the community center at sunset, it was Perona's idea for them to explore when it would be darker out, ‘for the atmosphere!’ she had claimed, she was the resident ghost expert, of course she would know. 

 Luffy stopped by the clinic, waltzing right into Law's office, where the man was working on his computer. 

 “Torao!” Luffy shouted, plopping down into a chair by the desk. Law ignored Luffy, continuing to type on the keyboard, this was the second time this week that Luffy had barged into his office without an invitation. 

 “We're gonna go ghost hunting in the community center tonight, you should totally come!” Luffy rocked back and forth in his seat, smiling. 

 “Ghosts aren't real, strawhat.” Law looked at Luffy briefly before returning to work. “And I'm busy, so get lost.” 

 Luffy stayed until the clinic closed, talking to Law about this and that, even though Law barely responded and hardly even looked at the younger man. Before leaving, Luffy presented Law with a small yellow shell he had found in one of Sabo's chests. 

 “Its the color of your eyes!” Law froze when Luffy said that, blinking slowly as he processed the gift and the statement. He just huffed, taking the shell and shoving Luffy out the door. “See you tomorrow, Torao!” 

 “I think Torao likes me.” Luffy sat at the kitchen table, rocking back and forth on the chair while Ace cooked him a ‘Ghost Hunting Lunch Box’ which consisted of ghost shaped rice balls, which looked nothing like ghosts, and some small kebabs with different kinds of meat on them. He'd make sure Luffy brought a water bottle too, the big metal one covered in stickers. 

 “Oh yeah?” Ace looked over his shoulder, smirking at his brother. “You still trying to woo him?” Luffy nodded, smiling. 

 “He's kinda like a beetle.” 

 “Dont tell him that, Lu, you'll scare him off.” 

 Luffy just frowned. “How would you know.” 

 “I'm an expert in wooing people, little man.” 

 “Sabo said you had to beg Yamato-” 

 “Dont listen to him.” 

 Ace sent Luffy off with a high five and his lunch box. Luffy met up with Perona, Zoro, Sanji and Yamato, who were there first. Perona was dressed darker than usual, forgoing her usual pink dresses for black jeans and a tank top with white bats on it, Zoro, Sanji and Yamato were dressed the same as earlier at lunch.

 “Oh did Sabo make you a snack?” Yamato was resting his arm on Luffy's shoulder, leaning towards him slightly, and pointing at his lunch box. Sanji was also listening, as Perona had dragged Zoro away from him. 

 “Nope! Ace did!” Luffy smiled. Yamato and Sanji exchanged glances, both looking slightly pale and wide eyed at the idea of Ace cooking. 

 “Ace…. cooked?” Sanji crossed his arms. “Are you sure that's safe to eat?” Yamato nodded, agreeing with Sanji. 

 “Yeah, his cooking has gotten way better since he moved here! When we were kids he once burnt a cup of soup he was making for me, it looked like charcoal and tasted super bad. Makino nearly had a heart attack because it set the fire alarms off.” 

 “He did?” Yamato held in a laugh, picturing the scenario in his head. 

 “How the hell do you burn a cup of soup?” Sanji was dumbfounded, Ace had burnt the most simple, ready to eat meal ever. 

 “He forgot water.” Yamato burst out laughing, leaning down and holding his stomach. “Dont tell him i told you guys, he gets embarrassed when we talk about it.” 

 “Oh no way, he's never gonna live this down!” Yamato slapped his hand on Luffy's shoulder, wiping the tears from his eyes. 

 Sanji just shook his head. “I can't believe his cooking could have been worse. “ 

 Everyone else arrived shortly afterward, Usopp dressed to the nines in his ‘ghost hunting gear,’ and Chopper having a golden cross around his neck. Nami was holding onto Robin's arm. 

 “Okay, we'll draw straws to see who goes in first!” Perona was grinning widely, holding a collection of sticks in her hand. “Im obviously going in with group one,” she held one of the painted stick in her other hand, “group 2 will be the unpainted sticks.” 

 After everyone drew their sticks, they revealed what they had pulled. Luffy, Usopp, Nami and Robin had pulled the painted sticks, Usopp and Nami were close to tears, holding on to each other, and Robin had a smile on her face. Luffy felt rather indifferent, he knew what was in the building already. 

 Sanji, Yamato, Chopper, Zoro and Franky had pulled the non painted sticks. Chopper felt immense relief, he was in the group with some of the bravest people he knew! Yamato and Franky were very excited, they wanted to see some ghosts. 

 “Chopper!!” 

 “Please! Switch with us!” Nami and Usopp shook the younger man, who shook his head and refused. 

 “Ugh, I can't believe Usopp is in my group.” Perona crossed her arms, frowning. She didn't like Usopp after an incident involving bugs the year she had moved to the valley. “You guys better not slow me down. Come on.” 

 Perona opened the door, turning on her hot pink flashlight and shining it into the building, dust particles floated through the beam of light. The darkness through the door swallowed the light, nothing could be seen in the darkness, even with the last rays of the setting sun shining through the trees to the building. Usopp and Nami stood behind Robin and Luffy, who stood behind Perona. 

 Perona led the group into the building, focusing the flashlight on different parts of the room. The light settled on the hut on the corner. 

 “What is that?” Robin led them closer, crouching next to it. 

 “It looks like a small hut, made of branches and leaves.” She stood back up. “It's not dusty at all, so it's either brand new, or,” she trailed off, her smile widening just slightly, “or used very often.” 

 “Robin stop smiling so creepy!” Usopp was hugging Nami, the pair of them shaking hard. 

 “Why would ghosts want to use something so uncute?” Perona frowned, grumbling under her breath. 

 “Well ghosts aren't always cute, Perona!” Nami pointed a shaky finger at Perona, who just rolled her eyes. 

 They went to the other side of the room, where there was a broken fish tank surrounded by glass on the floor and a boarded up window above it. Luffy’s stomach grumbled, making Nami and Usopp jump and Perona to glare at him. 

 “Do fish get to be ghosts?” He asked out loud, opening his lunch box and beginning to eat. “Could you eat ghost meat?” 

 “You dumbass! That's not funny!” Nami slapped his shoulder, letting go of Usopp to shake Luffy. 

 She continued to shake him, whisper yelling at him. Perona and Robin were looking down the right hallway with the flashlight. Usopp was shaking, looking back and forth frantically. 

 “AAAAA!” Usopp screamed, latching back onto Nami, pointing shakily to the far hallway, still shrouded in darkness. “THERE'S SOMETHING OVER THERE!” Tears were streaming down his face. 

 Perona rushed over to the other hallway, the others following close behind. She shone the light into the room where Luffy first saw the scroll for the junimos. The light swept across the room, illuminating the messy floors and dusty tables. What was strange to Luffy, was the scroll was gone, only an outline in the dust where it once sat. 

 They moved on to the other room, a pantry and kitchen with a few empty shelves and a decrepit table with a few chairs. The scroll that used to be there was gone, an outline of dust where it used to be. 

 Perona huffed, turning to Usopp and moving the flashlight, about to say something when in the darkness the sound of something clattering to the floor made everyone freeze, the line of the light slowly moving to see that one of the chairs had been knocked onto its back. Perona opened her mouth to say something, being cut off by a second chair being knocked over into the light. 

 Perona dropped her flashlight, being dragged out of the building by a screaming Nami and Usopp, who also dragged Robin with them. Luffy, whose hands had been full of his lunchbox and fork, still stood in the kitchen, watching a small Junimo hop up and dance on top of the knocked over chairs. 

 “Yo.” He waved with his fork, leaning down to pick up the flashlight before leaving the community center. Outside, Nami and Usopp were crying, Perona had a huge smile, and Robin stood looking thoughtful behind them. 

 “Luffy! Why didn't you run out with us?” Nami shook his shoulders, tearing up. Luffy just swallowed the last of his rice ball. 

 “Cuz I was eating.” 

 The evening continued with group 2, plus Perona and Robin, going in. Perona was angry she didn't get to see all the rooms, and Robin wanted to see if she could see anything more. Chopper and Sanji stayed outside with Luffy, Usopp and Nami, who were still shaking from what they saw. Luffy was hugging them both, helping them calm down by talking about something completely unrelated and much happier.

 When group 2 came out, they had nothing interesting to report. Franky said a painting had fallen off the wall, but he thought it was likely due to a draft coming in through the window. Perona was huffy because she didn't see any actual ghosts, just a chair falling over.

 Upon Luffy's return to the farmhouse, he was dragged into a bath by Sabo, who didn't want him bringing all the dust and dirt into the house. 

 “So you went ghost hunting? Was it fun?” Sabo was washing Luffy's hair, letting his brother lean into him. 

 “Yeah, it was kinda cool. A chair got knocked over.” Luffy's eyes were closed. “Usopp got really scared.” 

 “Yeah, ghosts aren't his strong suit, huh?” Sabo rinsed off Luffy's hair, moving onto his own. 

 “Yeah, he doesn't like scary stuff, I'm surprised he agreed to come.” 

 “If i hadn't been so busy, i would've gone in his place. I would've loved to see some ghosts.” 

 Luffy went to bed after eating a quick meal with his brothers, telling them about his ghosty adventure. 

 In his dreams that night, he was not in the flower field, he was on a boat, a large, empty, pirate ship. The sails and flag bore the symbol of a white sun, rippling and distorting with the wind. He walked up to the edge of the ship, looking out into the vast endless ocean. He didn't feel afraid as he usually would be, he felt comforted by the warm ocean breeze, and the smell of salt in the air. He roamed around the ship for a while, memorizing the cracks in the wooden planks. 

 The wind carried the sound of laughter, faint enough to be from far away. Luffy ignored it, hopping down the stairs into the galley searching for any dream snacks he could find. The galley was empty, no tables or chairs or any furniture at all. Just a large empty room with portholes on the wall. 

 “Man this ship sucks.” Luffy walked back up the stairs back into the sunshine of the deck. The wind had stopped, but the laughter continued. 

{🌖}

 The Saturday after the ghost adventure was the Egg Festival, a festival that lived in Luffy’s memories very fondly. He was awful at the egg hunt, always coming in dead last between Sabo, Ace, Uta, Usopp and Koby. But he loved the food, the variety of egg dishes provided never ceased to amaze him, and fill his stomach! And unlike the Flower Dance, there was no dress code for the event, so he wore his usual outfit with the difference of a softer blue tshirt. Sabo and Ace must have had a similar idea, Ace wearing an orange hawaiian shirt with a pattern of bananas wearing cowboy hats, and Sabo wearing a short sleeved white polo shirt and blue jeans, the burn scars on his left arm were showing, something Luffy was slightly worried about. 

 Sabo was busy preparing deviled eggs, so they had simple peanut butter toast for breakfast. 

 “So why are you making so many deviled eggs?” Luffy tilted his head, scratching the scar under his cheek. 

 “Its a potluck Lu, everybody brings something different. I signed up to bring deviled eggs.” 

 “Its because they’re Koala’s favorite.” Ace leaned over the table, smirking over at his brother. 

 “They’re not Koala’s favorite? She doesn't even like eggs.” Sabo stared at Ace, whose smirk quickly fell. 

 “Oh shit.” Luffy burst out laughing, pointing at Ace. 

 The walk into town was full of Luffy and Sabo teasing Ace, who would be the butt of many jokes for a very long time. They reached the town square, where there were tables set up everywhere, and all the townspeople milling about, eating and talking and having a grand time. From the entrance into town, Luffy could see where everyone was and who they were with. 

There was a table where Dragon, Koala, Kuma, Ginny and Bonney were sitting, Bonney seemed to be shoving her face with more food than possible for a twelve year old while the adults watched on in what must have been amazement. 

At the table next to theirs were Nami, Nojiko, Robin, Franky, Jinbe, Chopper and Usopp. The ladies and JInbe were engaged in quiet conversation while Usopp and Franky were engaged in loud conversation about their recent gadgets while Chopper listened with wide eyes.

There was one more table, where Mihawk, Perona, Crocodile, Sora and Reiju were sitting, as well as Zoro and Sanji, who were a bit preoccupied with an impromptu arm wrestle. 

There were also smaller tables, seating two to three, where Kid and Killer, Law and Cora, and Kaido and Yasopp at their own tables. There were also tables stacked with food, where Zeff was dutifully organizing and serving anyone who walked over, mostly Lilith, who was indecisive about what she wanted to eat. 

Further into town, Yamato was playing tag with Toko and Tama, chasing the two girls between tables and people, all three of them laughing with wide smiles. Shanks was standing by the bunny cut out, periodically telling the girls to be careful but not doing much else. 

At the entrance to town, was a stand where a very bored looking Doflamingo was sitting. He came to town every Friday and Sunday to sell stuff, Luffy had no idea he also sold stuff at festivals too. 

“Hi Mingo!” Luffy waved, walking over while Ace and Sabo went to do their own thing. “Why aren't you sitting with baba?” 

“Luffy,” Doflamingo’s smile was strained, clearly unimpressed by the nickname he was given, “I’m afraid I’m working the festival today.” 

“That's too bad, seeya Mingo!” Luffy waved, running off to talk to anyone else. Crocodile had introduced him to Doflamingo a year ago, and he was not impressed with the tall flamboyant man. He didn't know what his father saw in him, and refused to think about it at all. 

“Hey, Luffy!” Cora waved the boy over with a smile. Luffy ran, excited to see Law. 

“Hi Cora! Hi Torao!” Luffy waved at each of them, but spent a moment just smiling at Law, who was deadset on pretending he didn't exist at all. 

“Can I ask you a question, Luffy?” Cora seemed a little more serious than he had been before when he spoke to the young man, so Luffy gave him his full attention with a nod. “How do you know Doflamingo?” 

“He’s Baba’s boyfriend.” The answer came with zero hesitation, taking Law and Cora aback. “But I don't like him.” 

“Crocodile is dating Doflamingo?” Law was in disbelief, convinced Crocodile must be suffering some serious brain disorder, perhaps a brain eating amoeba. 

“Oh… that's good for him, I suppose.” Cora took a drag of his cigarette. 

“Do you know Mingo too?” Law snorted at the nickname, considering himself lucky with his own nickname. 

“He’s actually my brother.” Cora grimaced, it was clear to tell he did not like his brother. Luffy just nodded. 

“So Torao, are you gonna do the egg hunt?” Luffy smiled at Law, who sighed and shook his head. 

“Aren't you a little too old to participate in the egg hunt?” Law tapped his nails on the table, watching Luffy's reaction. 

Luffy stared at him for a moment. “No I'm not.” He sounded mildly offended. 

“Yeah you are.” Law smirked. Luffy stuck his tongue out at him, and Law flipped him off, making Cora laugh.

“Sorry Luffy, what I think Law meant was that you'd have an unfair advantage against the younger kids.” Cora tried to calm the two down. 

“If he did participate it would be the first time he'd ever win.” Ace suddenly cut in, slapping a hand on Luffy's shoulder with a grin. “When we were kids he was so bad at the egg hunt! He'd always lose.”

“Hey! Thats not true! I won once.” Luffy shoved his brother, not hard, but hard enough to get his point across. “I got the prize and everything.” 

“Mhm, sure, and why don't I remember this one time?” Ace smirked, crossing his arms. “You’re just a sore loser, Lu.” 

“Sabo!” Luffy grabbed Ace’s arm, dragging him along to find Sabo, who was having a peaceful conversation with Dragon and Kuma. 

“Do you think he’s actually going to try to compete?” Cora looked at Law, who was pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. 

“I wouldn't put it past him, it looks like he’s going to drag Ace and Sabo into it too.” 

Law was right, of course, thats exactly what Luffy was going to do. 

“Lu, we can't compete!” Sabo protested, now being pulled along by Luffy's free hand. Sabo did not want to compete, he didn't want to ruin the event for the younger kids. 

“Yeah, you're just gonna make a fool out of yourself.” Ace was grinning, following behind Luffy. He didn't mind doing the egg hunt, but he didn't want to hurt Toko and Tama’s feelings if they lost, he knew Bonney would be offended about them participating, but he didn't particularly care. 

“Shanks!” Luffy ignored his brothers, instead shouting out to the red haired man, who looked at them with a smile. 

“Hey Luffy! Ace, Sabo. What can I do for you kiddos?” He had a drink in his hand, a can of beer with tape over the logo that read ‘go go juice’ with a little sun smiley face. 

“Shanks, we want to compete in the egg hunt!” Luffy stood determined, grinning with Ace and Sabo behind him on both sides. Shanks just raised an eyebrow before he burst out laughing. 

“Yeah okay, it starts at noon. Remember the rules?” The three of them nodded, they could never forget the rules of the egg hunt, even after ten years away from the valley. 

All the festivities paused when the actual egg hunt began, so everyone stopped eating just so they could watch some kids run around and grab poorly hidden eggs. It felt kind of stupid thinking about it, most of these people didn't have kids so why would they stop everything just to watch them? 

“And the winner of the egg hunt is,” Shanks paused for dramatic effect, enjoying the silence of everybody's attention, “Bonney!” Cheers rang out across the valley as the young girl jumped up and down, pumping her arms in the air triumphantly before running up to Shanks to get her prize. 

“Well we shouldn't be surprised.” Sabo just laughed, gently shaking his head. 

“Yeah, she was way faster than we ever thought to consider.” Ace shrugged, sighing dramatically. 

Luffy was just giggling to himself, he had a wonderful time even though he lost. 

After the egg hunt they sat back down to enjoy some more eggs and other festivities until the festival ended. There were some smaller games planned, all egg themed, but none of the three really felt like participating in those. During the rest of the festival people came over to talk to the three of them, Crocodile came to scold them about the egg hunt, and how it could have taken away from the younger kids' enjoyment. Dragon however, came to tell them he thought it was hilarious how three grown men were beaten by a twelve year old girl. 

“Why’d you guys compete anyway?” Yamato had joined them, taking the seat next to Ace. His hair was tied into a high ponytail, and he was dressed in a white tank top, jean shorts and red sneakers. 

“It was Ace’s fault for teasing Luffy.” Sabo mumbled between bites of deviled egg. 

“Nuh uh!” Ace sat up straighter, tipping his hat back slightly. “Law was teasing him first!" He hit his hand on the table, startling the ladybug that had settled onto his unused fork. 

“Its your fault, not Torao’s.” Luffy stuck his tongue out at Ace, who flipped him off in response.

Yamato sat with them until the festivities came to a close, smiling and laughing like he was a part of the family. It was truly a very lovely day for everyone.

It was dark by the time they made their way back to the farmhouse, Pops was waiting for them by the door, looking exceptionally close to a disappointed father. Sabo gave him a treat and made the three of them a little snack before bed since they ate so much at the festival. 

That night Luffy was back on the ship, still completely empty. The sea around him was stormy, the clap of thunder held the undertone of laughter and the lighting shone white, leaving his vision with spots of red if he happened to look at it. But despite the raging storm and howling wind, the deck remained completely dry, and so did Luffy, it seemed like the rain was avoiding hitting the ship. 

Luffy took shelter in the barren galley, sitting in one of the corners with his knees to his chest as he shivered. He wasn't afraid of the water, or the storm. Some part of him knew he would be completely fine in the situation he did fall overboard, he still didn't want to risk it. But now he was bored, there was often some sort of direction in these dreams, a path, a weird smell or something else to follow, but all the rooms on this ship were completely empty. 

Maybe he should ask Law about weird dreams, he seemed smart enough to know how to help or explain anything about the dreams. Luffy bet if Torao were here everything would be way better, they could talk about bugs or something cool like that. The storm was beginning to slow down, the lightning and thunder more sporadic and rain slowing from a downpour to an aggressive drizzle. The sound of laughter was louder than it had been when hiding under the cracks of thunder and pouring rain.