The rest of the Revolutionaries had agreed that it was right to pick up the poor shipwrecked child, lost in the sea with no memory, how could they let him go? It was a different question, though, once he was safe and settled at headquarters.
“You WHAT?” Ivankov’s voice pierced through the halls as Dragon mindlessly reorganized his desk. Maybe if he seemed to be busy, Iva would just take the decision as final and turn in for the night. He should have known better.
“Sabo should stay, raised here with us,” Dragon’s voice was unchangingly calm. Some part of him had known as soon as they picked Sabo up that he would be letting the kid grow up here, grow up a Revolutionary under his own guidance.
“Huh,” Iva paused for a moment before grinning in the wide, wild way he did, “The Monkey D. Dragon actually deciding to be a father—never thought I’d live to see the day.”
Father. He was one, technically, though he doubted Luffy even knew he existed. Realistically, that was for the best—he deserved to grow up safe, not chased down as the son of the most wanted criminal. It is what his mother would have wanted. And Garp, well, Dragon never saw eye to eye with him but trusted him well enough to know that he would not put Luffy in any undue danger.
But Sabo had no family that Dragon would feel comfortable returning the young boy to. Not when he had clutched so desperately to Dragon and begged to not go home. So there had been really no other option but to keep the child. But become his father? That had been far from his mind.
And yet now the word somehow felt right.
“Da—Dragon, we have an update from Alabasta,” Sabo slid the stack of paper across the desk, a long transcription from one of their contacts. Dragon didn’t blink when Sabo had almost called him ‘Dad’; it was not the first time it had happened and it likely wouldn’t be the last. Instead, he thumbed through the document quickly, catching only a few words as he did ‘Crocodile’ ‘pirates’ and ‘princess’. He would go through it all in more detail later.
For now Sabo continued, “Quick overview is that Crocodile has been ousted by some new pirate crew, arrested by the marines, and they just reinstated Cobra again.” Sabo had said it so quickly and with such certainty that Dragon had to blink a few times before the meaning sunk in.
“A new crew deposed a warlord?” He spoke slowly, as if trying to walk deliberately through the story that was no doubt more detailed the pile of papers on his desk.
“The Strawhats. Captained by some kid named Luffy, reports say he’s made of rubber and can’t be more than 18 years old, but still beat Crocodile one on one,” Sabo rattled off some more facts that had been loosely gathered about the crew, but admittedly Dragon paid it no mind.
Luffy had brought down Crocodile, his son had deposed a dog of the military. There had been no knowing in Lougetown what sort of pirate Luffy would become. And even in such a short time, he had unknowingly made Dragon proud to share a surname. Calling himself Luffy’s father felt like too much given how little he had been around, but Dragon could tell now that the resemblance was undeniable.
The night Sabo remembered was terrible beyond words. He became a crying and furious mess from when the dusk till dawn, raging at the Marines, at Akainu, and mostly at himself for forgetting his brothers. At least that’s what Dragon assumed considering Sabo had done nothing but pace around the office as the tears ran rivers down his cheeks.
“They’ll find the Flame-Flame again and use it,” Sabo’s voice cracked as rattled through his logic, “It’s become a symbol of defiance now, the Marines are not going to let it fall into the hands of someone that’ would use it against them again, no they’re going to try and control it just as they’re controlling the narrative of the war because—“
Dragon interrupted with a hand to Sabo’s shoulder, stopping the planning and pacing, “Sabo, we can make plans tomorrow. You don’t need to right now.”
Dragon had not realized it would break the floodgates open again. Sabo clung to him like a child again,, mourning the brother he had forgotten, the life never lived. He would never know that pain, but he would at least let Sabo sob into his chest, would wrap his arms around him and assure him it would be alright in the end.
“D-dad, I can’t do this,” Sabo eventually got out and every part of Dragon’s heart shattered.
His arms squeezed tighter around Sabo, around his son, “You can. Not today maybe not tomorrow but you can get through this.”
Years passed and Luffy had disappeared only to make his grand reappearance at Sabaody. It was around then as well that rumors had leaked about Doflamingo’s possession of the Flame-Flame. Seeing the message come in, it was only a matter of time before—
“I’m going and you aren’t stopping me.” The door to his office slammed open and Sabo stood with the message in his hand, more certainty and fire in his eyes than Dragon had seen in years.
“Luffy might go after it too, it’s a good lure for him and Doflamimgo is smart enough to use it,” Dragon said plainly before letting a grin cross his face, “I’ll trust my sons can take care of that.“
Sabo turned pink in embarrassment but smiled nonetheless. “We will,” he nodded before rushing out the door.
Dragon sighed as the door rattled behind Sabo. For a man who had never pictured himself as a family man, he could not be happier to be the father to two of the biggest threats to the World Government.
Yes, he was a proud father.