Chapter Text
Luffy huffed as he tried to wrangle his 2-year-old into appropriate clothes for their trip to the mainland. Ace had gone to help get breakfast ready with Sanji, leaving his husband to get their son ready for the day.
“Mama, no, no mama,” Jack whined trying to wiggle away from Luffy.
“You know, Jack-Jack, little ones who don't behave and stay still don't go island exploring,” Luffy said trying to get his shirt over his head.
Jack, ever the one for dramatics, gasped and stopped moving, “I good boy Mama I stay still. Go exporing?” Jack said, his puppy dog eyes staring up at Luffy. Luffy giggled, finally getting his arms into the sleeves and pulling onto Jack. He pulled over the straps on his overalls.
“Yeah, you're a good boy Jack. Let's get your shoes on and then we'll eat ok?”
“OK mama” Jack giggled. Once his shoes were secured, Luffy scooped a giggling Jack up and headed to the dining area, toddler on his hip.
Everyone was already gathered in the dining room and helping themselves when they arrived. Luffy set Jack in his booster seat by his seat in case he needed help cutting up his food. Like his fathers, he had a big appetite, but since he was still small, he had to learn to eat slower than them.
“Good morning, how are my boys today?” Ace said, coming over and receiving a kiss from Luffy as he set their food in front of them.
“Good as anyone can be wrangling a squirmy toddler. Thanks for that by the way. Don’t think I won’t get you back for that, mister.” Luffy said while spearing a sausage and pointing it at him. Ace laughed and winked at Luffy.
“Just name the time and place, baby,” he says while running food to the table. Luffy shook his head, then turned his attention to Jack who was becoming frustrated from being unable to cut his sausage. The angry face was definitely all Ace.
‘Cute,’ Luffy thought to himself before he started cutting up the sausage.
“There you go, Jack-jack,” Luffy said, ruffling Jack’s black hair.
“Tank you, Mama. Yum-yum, see?” Jack held a piece of sausage up for Luffy to see before stuffing it in his mouth.
“Yep, it's very yummy. Eat up so you can grow up to be big and strong like Papa and me, ok?” Luffy said, starting in on his own meal. Ace placed a plate on the table next to Luffy, leaning down to kiss Jack’s forehead.
“What your Mama said. Eat up, kiddo. You’re gonna need the energy for your adventure on the island today,” Ace said, taking a big bite from his plate of meat. Everyone laughed as Jack became excited about the upcoming trek.
“You sure you don’t want me to come with you guys? The call to Pops and Marco can be put off for a bit longer. They’d understand,” Ace asked, turning his attention to Luffy, who had taken a big bite out of the piece of meat he was eating.
Luffy shook his head, “Nah, it’ll be ok. Besides, I know you’ve been excited to talk to the old man and pineapple head. It’s been a while since you last talked to your crew. Just come and meet us when you’re done. I’m sure this spawn of ours will want to see the entire island, so there’s enough time for it. Sound good?”
“Yeah, all right. Sounds good, Lu.” Ace pecked his cheek and then returned to his own meal.
Once breakfast was over and one messy toddler was cleaned up, the two were off while everyone else had their own plans for the day.
“All right, I’ll come to meet you guys once I’m done here. Jack, come here, buddy,” Ace gestured for him to come over to him and bent down to Jack’s level, “Now, while you’re on the island, you stay close and be a good boy and listen to Mama, ok?”
“Ok, Papa. I be good boy. Play later?” Jack asked. Ace nodded and scooped him in a big hug, making him giggle.
“Yeah, buddy, I’ll play later with you and Mama, ok? Have fun. And you.” Ace stood and reeled the rubber man into his arms, content to have his boys in his arms, “You try to stay out of trouble.” Luffy laughed, kissing him.
“It’s an uninhabited island. What trouble can I get into, really?”
Needless to say, he would later come to regret those words.
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Ace waved to Luffy and Jack as they left for the island, a smile on his face. This was the life. Living life to the fullest with his family by his side, his brother actually being alive and not dead like they thought, and just living freely.
“Oi, Ace, Marco is on the snail for ya,” Sanji yelled down to him, disrupting his thoughts. Taking one last look at the silhouettes of his precious treasures, he turned and ran up to the dining room, where the Whitebeard’s Den-Den Mushi sat, Marco’s features coming out on the snail.
“Marco! Hey, how you been, brother! Haven’t heard from you in a while!” Ace greeted, picking up the mouthpiece.
“Aw, man. I was hoping to talk to Jack, not my numbskull of a brother. Oh, well I guess you’ll have to do for now,” Marco said, teasingly. Ace let out a mocking laugh.
“Haha, you jerk.”
“Ah, I’m kidding. Everything’s been good here. Pops and Thatch are healed up and back to their old ways, though Pops has stopped drinking altogether. He says it's cuz of the second chance he has now that he’s completely healthy, but we all know it's to do with a certain squirt that looks like you.”
Ace was grateful to hear that. Their pops had already drank excessively before he was healed 100%. The crew was worried he’d go overboard, but it seems like, thanks to Jack, he’s taking his health seriously.
“Where is Jack, anyway? Usually, when he hears me talking, he comes running. Same as your other half.”
“Oh, Luffy and Jack are having their own little adventure on the island we docked at. Seems like it's uninhabited too, so we won’t have to worry about any trouble.”
Marco started laughing, “You’re a family with the initial D in your names. Trouble comes naturally to all of you. What island are you guys at?”
Ace laughed along, knowing full well he was right about that. D’s have an unnatural talent for getting into trouble no matter where they go.
“Some no-name island. There wasn’t a sign or anything like that. Seemed safe enough to stop at and relax for a while.”
The smile slid off Ace’s face when Marco’s voice came through the snail, super alarmed, “Were there a lot of rock formations all around the island? Barely touching the surface, making it hard to see them?”
“Uh, yeah, actually. Franky got pissed when he realized that the Sunny got scratched by them. Marco, what’s wrong?” Now, Ace was super worried.
“Ace, listen to me now! You need to find Luffy and Jack and get them off that island. It's extremely dangerous. The signs must've come off because of the waves.”
“What? Marco, what are you talking about!?!?” Ace shouted, now even more worried. His shout drew the attention of the others, who came into the dining room.
“Ace, what’s going on? Is everything ok?” Robin asked. Marco’s voice came back through the mouthpiece.
“That island was made uninhabitable because of how unsteady it is. There are rockslides, avalanches, and earthquakes that happen all the time, making the island super unstable. You need to find Luffy and Jack now before they get caught in a rockslide or something worse! We’re not far from your location. We’ll meet up with you, just find them before it's too late!” Marco could be heard shouting orders to get ready to set sail before he disconnected.
Ace hurriedly hung up and stood, “All right, Luffy and Jack shouldn’t be too far from shore. Let’s split up into two teams. Zoro, Sanji, and Robin, you’ll come with me. Jimbei and Franky, you’ll stay with the Sunny until Marco gets here. Usopp, Chopper, Nami, and Brook, you go in the opposite direction to cover more ground. Make sure to pay attention to your surroundings. As you heard Marco, this island is unstable. Watch each other’s backs. Got it?” This wasn’t Luffy’s husband or goofy brother talking; it was the Second Division Commander Fire Fist Ace talking. The crew was impressed that he came up with a plan that quickly.
The crew geared up. They made sure to have flare guns on their persons just in case they found Luffy and Jack, and needed help, as well as mini den-dens to keep in contact.
As the two teams ventured onto the island, they all had one thought running through their heads, ‘Luffy, Jack, please be ok.’
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Luffy huffed, trying to keep up with Jack. Jack was pretty quick for a two-and-a-half-year-old and would tire his parents out when he was hyper, like he was now. And though Luffy had his reservoir of energy, chasing after said child drained him more than any fight.
Ah, the life of being a parent.
But it was worth it seeing the look on Jack’s face while taking in the sights of the island. All the different animals and greenery that grew. Luffy sat down on a fallen tree log, watching Jack poke at the flowers just ahead. The sun’s rays shone through the tree leaves, warming the top of his head. Luffy tilted his head back, soaking in the warmth as much as he could. They’ve been pretty busy the last couple of months, with all the traveling and avoiding the Marines when they could. It didn’t leave much room for relaxation, so when they had found this island, Luffy took the opportunity to give his crewmates a bit of a vacation.
“Mama, flower!” Jack suddenly appeared next to him, startling him. He held a sunflower in his tiny hand, holding it out toward Luffy.
“Wow, Jack! What a pretty flower!”
Jack giggled, “Pretty like mama.” Jack clumsily placed the flower in Luffy’s hair.
“Aw, thank you, Jack-jack.” Luffy lifted him and hugged him, rubbing his face against Jack’s chubby cheek, causing him to squeak and giggle before hugging back. Man, this kid is definitely gonna be a heartbreaker just like his dad.
Their little moment was ruined when a rumbling under them started, startling them both. Luffy stood, Jack held tightly in his arms. Jack wrapped his little arms around Luffy’s neck, fear in his face.
“Mama!” Jack cried, hiding his face in Luffy’s neck.
The ground started cracking under them. Tightening his arms around Jack more, Luffy took off like a rocket, dodging debris as he jumped from place to place.
Luffy came to a sudden stop, staring in disbelief at the sight before him. There was a huge open cavern, and normally, Luffy would have no problem stretching and slingshotting himself across it. But he couldn’t do that with Jack. It was too much of a risk.
While Luffy was trying to figure out how to get him and Jack out of their situation, he didn’t see the humongous rock falling towards him. Jack peeked out from where he was hiding, and his dark eyes widened in fear. He tried to warn Luffy,
“MAMA!”
But it was too late. The rock collided with Luffy’s back, knocking both him and Jack into the cavern. Before hitting the bottom, Luffy turned his back to the ground, and Jack was above him.
He hit the bottom of the cavern, hard. His head bashed against the ground, and blood started to seep from his head. Jack shook where he lay in Luffy’s arms. Scared, but safe with not one scratch on him. With that last thought, Luffy fell into the darkness of unconsciousness.