The time to return to revolution was returning. They can't abandon their duties, even though they were working from a far distance. The revolutionaries needed their leader and right-hand man. The marines were getting feisty and were trying to find what and where Dragon was, which to no doubt they were failing miserably. Dragon was even informed by Kuma, that cipher pol agents were searching desperately for him.
Luffy had already started walking or more like running. He was a brat full of energy. Dragon and Ivankov even sometimes can't keep up with the boy. They have to wonder from where he gets that much energy. But they did have a rough idea. Even though the toddler was only a year old, he ate as much as a grown-up man!
Luffy loves jumping, running, and playing around. He loves looking at new things with curiosity and awe-filled eyes. But above it all, he loves visiting the ocean and running through the shorelines, making Dragon and Ivankov keep an eye on the boy. The boy was a trouble magnet. If he was left unattended for even ten seconds, they would find him in trouble, always.
Once when Dragon was too busy with his work and Ivankov was sleeping, Luffy had crawled upstairs, giggling and babbling, where he found a snail and blabbered nonsense in it.
Later they found, that he had called some higher-ups, whose number he was able to manage to dial, and they considered that Luffy, the one who only could speak two-three words like Papa, Iva, and food, blabbered absolute shit to them, which was considered as high tech information, with highly coded language, used by the revolutionaries. Dragon and Iva had laughed their asses off that day when they realized that the call had apparently connected to a cipher pol agent.
Though they did change their location after that, not taking their chances of their location being identified. They did learn their lesson to never leave the kid alone after that.
And hence, another beautiful, and memorable year passed...
Luffy was running with his two small feet on the shoreline today. Dragon and Ivankov were there watching him carefully when they saw Luffy jump into the ocean. They both panicked. Being a fruit user, denied both of them any movement in the ocean.
"Luffy!!" Dragon yelled at the top of his voice and ran towards the shore. Luffy resurfaced from the ocean, but he was sitting on top of a sea king, giggling happily and laughing hard. Dragon quickly picked the boy from the sea king, who bowed down, allowing Dragon to get a hold of the boy. His heart beating like crazy, he had felt that he lost his boy. The sea king seemed to smile at Luffy, which made Dragon feel amazed and a little confused. Luffy waved his hand back at the sea king.
"Bye! Bye!!" The little kid said followed by a giggle and gummy smile. He could feel Ivankov startled. They have never seen anyone, much less a kid getting a ride on a sea king!!"L-Lu?" Dragon tried to gain the attention of the kid.
"Don't jump in the ocean." Dragon hugged the boy tightly, afraid that he will again jump in. When they separated Luffy tilted his head sideways in confusion.
"Why?"
"It's dangerous!!" Dragon said, trying to contain his worry.
"Mom not dan-je-rus!" Luffy said with puffed cheeks. It took Dragon and Ivankov to register what the kid had said. Ivankov gulped, thinking what the heck the boy meant! Dragon's breath felt stuck in his throat. He took a deep breath.
"Lu, who is your Mom?" Dragon asked. He felt stupid for asking that question. But he knew that he had never told the kid anything about Mom. Because he himself wasn't sure. Ivankov looked at Dragon as if he had grown two heads.
Luffy again tilted his head sideways, cutely, before pointing to the ocean. "Mom!"
Dragon felt his breath knocked out from him as he felt his unspoken suspicion come true. Luffy was the child of the ocean, the sea and now that he thinks about it clearly, many things make sense.
"Right." Dragon felt himself say as he let the boy down and saw him running around again.
"Dragon-boy, you are hiding something," Ivankov asked. He really didn't like the idea to ask, but he was attached to Luffy, and he was curious to know what that all was about. Dragon nodded and then shook his head, his eyes never leaving Luffy. He himself felt confused, shocked at the turn of events. But he didn't speak a word.
The next day, they were disguised as normal citizens walking around the town. His red tattoo, hidden with makeup, courtesy of Ivankov himself. He wore a black T-shirt and blue jeans, with a cap covering his face well and black shoes. Luffy wore a red hoodie, blue shorts, and a sandal. The boy apparently didn't like shoes. He always kicked them off saying 'yucky'. Dragon's hands were holding Luffy's tiny little hands securely, as the boy didn't want to be carried. He wanted to run and climb on the stalls which were lined up. Dragon couldn't help but smile seeing the toddler climb onto him.
That was when a powerful haki flared at a distance. Dragon wasted no time in carrying Luffy and making his way to an alley, as swiftly as possible, without raising any suspicion. He heard a marine saying to another marine that Dragon was spotted on this Island and was probably there. He could easily defeat them but... His gaze went to Luffy, who was painfully quiet. He had never thought the boy can be quiet. Even in his sleep, he had heard his boy smiling, giggling, and babbling some words. They needed to get out of here, now. He reached for his den den mushi and dialed Ivankov and informed him about the situation. Ivankov agreed to meet him in the alley, with all the necessary documents stashed in the house, they were living in. It was after ten whole minutes, he felt Ivankov's haki. He felt him approaching him. Ivankov handed Dragon his green coat and a blanket to hide Luffy in. Dragon wrapped the boy carefully in the blanket."Papa..." He saw the cheerful boy on the verge of crying. It broke his heart.
"It's ok. It will be fine, Lu." He tried to assure the kid as he carried him in his arms. The blanket worked perfectly to hide the boy from the eyes of the World.
They soon found themselves with CP0 agents on their tail. The second Dragon felt killing intent and aimed his way with his haki, he held Luffy tightly while Ivankov shielded Dragon and Luffy. Dragon had by now easily disguised Luffy as if he was carrying something other than a small kid. But it caused more trouble. The bastards probably felt that catching them was impossible, so they aimed for the 'thing' Dragon was holding, probably thinking of it as some important documents or pertinent Revolutionary Army files or valuable items. Dragon's instincts told him to run. The bastards were aiming for his son, his precious son, who was crying into his chest, scared at the sounds of the gun, scared of what was happening, unable to know or comprehend.
For the first time in his life, Dragon, instead of facing his enemies, and his adversaries, decided to run. To protect his son. Because his son mattered more than anything in the world. And so he did, with Ivankov. He did, making the agents miss their mark. It took a day to lose the World Government agents and it was a bitter retreat. But Dragon won by not giving up Luffy's existence. That was a close call. He wasn't able to protect his son completely. His son was not safe with him. He learned that by the bitter truth.
It was a very close call, he can't keep him to himself if he wants Luffy to be safe. He was in the middle of a revolution, he can't raise a child. He can't completely assure that he could keep Luffy safe or this won't happen again. If the World came to know his existence, he would be hunted, even if he was a kid. That was the reason why he had never married or fallen in love! That was the reason he never dreamed of a child in the first place. The only reason, the World Government could use them against him. The terrifying thought was enough to keep him away from his family. Heck, no one even knew his last name! Everyone knew him by Dragon 'The Revolutionary' not by Monkey D. Dragon!
But Luffy, his son, his treasure, had made a place in his heart. He can't imagine living a day without him. But he had to decide. He had to decide what he wants for Luffy. Either keep him and have more close encounters like this or let him grow peacefully without violence. He tried to search for the best course of action he could and the only answer was 'Garp'! But he would know in an instant. He always seems to know much more than he let others think. But that was the only safe option for Luffy. He grabbed the nearby den den mushi and dialed a number, a number that he never thought he would call, waiting for a soft click.
"Vice-Admiral Garp here!" He could hear the crunching noise coming from the snail. He smiled as he saw Luffy's head perk up at the sound from his chest to the snail. He felt his mind squeal, 'So cute!!'.
"It's me," Dragon replied.
Garp was a bit stunned to see his son smile. He had not seen him smile ever since the day when he had found out about the horrible crimes of the World Government. It was a huge shock for him. But he steadied himself as he frowned.
"Why did you call me?" Garp asked, trying to sound annoyed. As he masked away the feeling of happiness he felt by seeing the snail smile. What he would not do to see Dragon smile again?! Though they were on opposite sides, he was still his child, his blood.
"I want to ask you a favor," Dragon said, his eyes never leaving the baby, "I want you to raise my child." Dragon's voice came out forced. He didn't want to give Luffy. He felt a sob choke his throat.
"WHAT?!" Garp felt a mixture of emotions flowing through him. It hit hard! The first emotion he felt was a shock, then it changed to happiness and it lastly changed to panic.
"Where are you?" Garp asked. He knew if the kid was revealed to the world then he will be hunted without mercy. He would be used against Dragon. It would be Bartilla again. He can't let that happen again. Not when he knew it beforehand this time. He understood the smile Dragon gave him now! He was happy!
"I will send you the coordinates." That was all Dragon said before disconnecting.
The last days with Luffy were bittersweet. He knew their time together was over, something he had never even thought about. He saw Ivankov getting sad at the idea. He knew he even was attached to the boy. Somehow, he felt that Luffy knew that he was about to be separated.
Dragon was sad that he wouldn't be there to see his son growing. He felt a lump grow every time he thought about it. But he focused the last days with Luffy, playing as much as he can, giving him his endless love. Giving the kid his favorite candies, being ready to struggle and care for a hyperactive boy.
Dragon and Ivankov did their best to not feel sad in front of the kid, but the kid seemed to know their sadness. He seemed to understand their pain. Whenever he was carried by them, he would snuggle a bit closer, if it was possible, and hug them with his small limbs. Dragon can't imagine how horrible the upcoming days would be. He can't imagine the horror he will face to know that he can't see those gummy smiles, can't hear the soft giggles and the laughter. He would feel his world crumble, he felt. But he knows better than to not crumble in despair.