Chapter Text
Makino smiled while watching Luffy going further and further away from the shore, his sunny 'D' grin taking half of his face, as he's shaking both of his rubber arms in the air from one side to the other to wave them all goodbye.
The Sea King of the shores is swimming in circles around the boy’s boat, but she’s not worried. She knows what her brother can do with those pistol fists of his; and she shares an amused look with the two boys that Luffy had decided to wellcome into his family years ago, when the villagers scream in panic as the creature jumps out of the water to try and eat the young pirate.
As expected, the boy only laughs with that bright drums-and-bells giggle of his and punches the Sea king straight in the jaw, making it whimper in surprised pain and swim away to hide back into the depths of Foosha’s shores.
Ace and Sabo both laugh loudly and cheer on their older brother, waving back at him while clenching onto their goodbye gifts.
Makino smiles fondly at them, staying silent about how glossy their eyes are, and the way their hands are slightly shaking. They are going to be just fine thanks to each other, she knows it.
She looks back at the Sea and laughs when she sees Luffy still waving at them in the distance. She lifts both arms high in the air and waves back, screaming her brother’s name and farewell wishes with the rest of Foosha until she can’t make out his face anymore, and then some more.
By the time they finally stop screaming, Luffy is nothing but a small dot far away in the horizon. She, Sabo, and Ace are the only ones left on the shore, the others long gone back to their daily life.
The boys’ smiles drop a little, and she can still see big tears gathering in their eyes. She pretends not to notice them, and instead asks if they want to sleep in Luffy’s old room for the night.
They look at each other and seem to come to an agreement, because they both follow her in silence when she walks towards her bar instead of running back to wherever they came from.
The two boys are walking as close as possible to each other, holding hands and looking around the village with suspicious faces that have no right to look as adorable as they do on the two teenagers. It wasn’t the first time they came to Foosha, but they usually didn’t stay for long enough to see that many people, and the villagers weren’t exactly being subtle with their curious glances into their direction.
Makino smiles, and thanks the Seas and Sun once again for letting her meet her brother’s adorable younger siblings.
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The three years that came after that were relatively peaceful.
Makino saw the twins more often than she used to. They now came to her bar for one or two days every month, instead of only once in a blue Moon, whenever Luffy decided he wanted to see her.
The barmaid made sure to always buy two copies of every newspaper in which Luffy and his crew appeared, and she gave one of them to Ace and Sabo when they visited, in exchange for some help to clean the bar; as the News Coo didn’t come up on the mountain often.
About five months after Luffy left, Ace had asked her to teach him some manners; because he wanted to thank Shanks properly for saving his older brother. Makino laughed and agreed to help him out. Sabo had been interested in the offer too, and the young woman ended up with two jungle children to teach manners to. She also made sure to tell them about the few pirate traditions and courtesies that she remembered from the Red Hair crew’s three years on Foosha.
The boys were soaking up every information she gave them like sponges, and Makino couldn’t help but see Luffy in his brothers’ eagerness to learn about things they found interesting. It was sweet, and nostalgic in a way. After all, she couldn’t deny that she did miss her little brother sometimes.
Makino was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts by the Denden ringing.
Ah, is it time for the information sharing already?
She picked up the snail, which took the face of her long-time friend and ‘gossip partner’. His ice-blue eyes seemed as mischievous as ever, and she smiled when she recognised the playful cocky grin on his lips. It seemed like her friend had found out some interesting new tea flavors to share with her.
“Why, hello Captain. I wasn’t expecting a call so early. What’s got you so eager to talk today?”
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Makino smiled as she watched the twins sail away from Floosha's shores in a little fishing boat, much like their older brother did three years ago. They were both grinning from ear to ear with that familiar ‘D’ shape, laughing and screaming their farewell wishes to her while swinging their pipes high in the air to wave her goodbye.
She laughed and waved back at them with a smile, screaming her own goodbye blessings back to them.
When she finally stopped screaming, the boys’ ship was only a small dot in the horizon. She smiled, and went back to her bar.
She had a call to make, to tell a certain blue haired friend of hers about the two young pirates that had just sailed away. She was sure he would appreciate the warning, this time.
After all, “ ‘D’s bring a storm” ; and this time, two of them were out on the Sea together, even if they didn’t intend to stay on the same crew for too long.