the-babbering-dabber

[the-babbering-dabber]

Reunion ♥

Set after this comic about Ace waking up on Momoiro!

[the-babbering-dabber]

looked a little too sober on punk hazard compared to sabaody

[the-babbering-dabber]

Zaun vik and Jayce

[the-babbering-dabber]

Ok I have thoughts and I'm gonna put em here in a clumsy outline narrative format bc i got a headache :\ :

The minute Crocodile's allowed in the room he sand drifts over to Ace's bedside because he just can't get there fast enough. Maybe Luffy was allowed visitors and obviously awake before Ace or something so he's been able to hug and hold Luffy and fuss over him. Luffy could be sleeping now, and Crocodile had fussed over the blankets and shoulders and neck and feet because "he might get cold" and "there's not enough blankets to keep his feet warm". He'd brushed his hair back until it was greasy and someone had to physically remove him so Luffy could get some rest without being stared at constantly and adjusted every two seconds.

He was sulking in the hallway when Ace was given the all-clear for visitors. He had been tempted to defy the young doctor and slip through the vents or cracks in the door if Ace's life wasn't already hanging on by a half fray-ed thread. That's the only reason Crocodile was looming over the doors to the room Ace was in. And then they opened, and Law came out. And he left the door open and unlocked. He didn't say much, just mumbled about how "there's not much more he can do" and that "it's up to Fire Fist now" and that Crocodile should "be careful with him".

Trafalgar hadn't even finished speaking before grains of sand were ripping through the stale submarine air towards his eldest son. He understood why Trafalgar had warned him, why he'd warned caution. Ace looked dead; he really did. His usually tanned skin was ashen and cracked, marred with reddish brown, purple, and black stains, some peeking out from under thick layers of bandages.

He let this happen. He was right fucking there with Ace and Luffy and he couldn't do shit. He was fine. Barely fucking scratched. And his sons...Luffy's scarred for life and had almost died and Ace...fuck, Ace was actively dying. He had died. Trafalgar had brough him back again, and again...and once more. It should be him. He's the one who should have one foot in the grave, not his child. Never his child--any of his children.

For the first time in a long time, Crocodile wished he had both hands, if only to feel for himself Ace's pulse, breath, and faint warmth--proof he was alive and here and that there was still a chance. He was exhausted himself, having no energy to cry or scream, or even raise his voice.

He looked over Ace, facing the consequences of his failure. He failed to protect them. Dragon would be furious. Sabo would...god, what would Sabo think?

An oxygen mask distorted the lower portion of his face, doing a shit job of hiding the dark, sunken circles around Ace's eyes. He looked fucking exhausted despite having been still for so long. The spatter of freckles were still dusted across Ace's skin as they'd always been, like nothing was wrong, like everything was fine and right in the world, like everything wasn't cold and dark now, like Ace wasn't fucking dying.

It's ridiculous, really, that it wasn't the blood, bandages, bruises, oxygen mask, gray skin, or sunken cheeks that breaks Crocodile, but freckles. Ace's freckles that wouldn't ever leave his skin because they were quite literally part of his body--like his ribs and lungs and fucking spine and heart and blood and bones and skin and-

Crocodile attempted a deep breath, focusing on Ace's own mechanical breathing--the breathing that somehow did better than his own pathetic stuttered gasping attempt.

Crocodile frowned as he traced Ace's features with his vision. His son's hair was a mess of wild, dirty waves and matted, greasy streaks. Didn't look like they'd even let him shower in prison, like they'd wanted his body as it would be after death--filthy, rotten, and disgusting.

He reached out his hand slowly and gently--oh so gently--brushed a strand of hair from Ace's eye. Suddenly that's all he could do, detecting another wild frizz of hair, sooty matt, or greasy wave sticking to Ace's skin. Ace would hate that. Would hate that it was tickling his face and curled in his ear and that his baby sideburns weren't straight and that his bangs weren't equally framing his face. He'd hate that his hair part was uneven and mussed, that hair was even touching his ears, that it was curled under his jaw onto his neck and tickling his shoulders, that it was sticking up above his head and staining the pillow with a black streak. He'd hate that his colics were acting up and springing his curls straight out.

Crocodile brushed strand after strand of hair away from his face, tucking them behind his ears, smoothing the sides, and swiping a loose eyelash away.

Oh god, the blankets. They weren't even covering Ace's chest, pulled down to his hips and barely covering his feet. Crocodile unfolded the scratchy blanket and brought it up to Ace's neck, covering the already blood-soaked bandages as much for his own comfort as it was for Ace's. He reluctantly moved away from Ace's shattered chest towards the end of the bed to a cover his legs and feet fully. Crocodile lingered, running his hand over each shin and rubbing circles into the soles of his feet.

Ace's feet and ankles always hurt from the scrunched crouched perches and harsh jumps he did--ever since he was little. He used to spot little scars and cuts on his feet when he first came to Crocodile, but they'd since faded and paled. But Crocodile knew they were there. He knew because he was Ace's father. His Baba. His Baba that failed him.

Crocodile took another breath and looked around for another blanket. Ace would be so cold; he needed to be warm. He couldn't get better if he wasn't warm. Without a single blanket or sheet in sight, Crocodile drug a stool over to Ace's side, perching on the uncomfortable, small metal circle. He reached his useless hook across Ace's chest and rested the first bit of skin and muscle of his arm on Ace's bicep. If there weren't any blankets here, he'd keep Ace warm himself.

Hair had been blown on Ace's skin again, dusty grains of grime marring his skin all because Crocodile looked away. He let this happen too. With the same care as before, he reached up to brush his hair away, smooth it down with gentle pets, and thumb the dirty off his cheek.

Crocodile frowned as it didn't budge, liking the pad of his thumb and rubbing at the dirty spot once more. Nothing. Trying again, this time more firmly pressing, his frown furrowed as he made no difference. Oh. It was a bruise. Tearing through his chest hadn't been enough, they had to bruise his son's face, too? His little boy? His young, barely alive, beautiful, intelligent, strong boy who had just started living his life?

Brow pinched and creased in concern, mouth tilted and tight with sorrow, Crocodile shook his head silently. It should be him. Raking his gaze over Ace's face once more, he realized the blanket had slipped. It wasn't covering his shoulders and collarbones. And the corners weren't draping over the bed, allowing drafts to slip under the pitiful cloth. The so-called blanket wasn't even tucking in around Ace. He tucked the fabric in along Ace's side, pulling the blanket up to his neck, and straightened out creases and folded corners so it would fully cover Ace's sleeping frame--not, not sleeping, dying. Ace's dying frame.

Crocodile cupped his son's cheek again, stroking his temple, brow, and cheek with his thumb. He eased his head down on Ace's shoulder lightly, careful not to press on any of his injuries. This way he could hear his heartbeat, feel his breath, and see the little puffs of air against the plastic mask.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there, head resting on his baby's shoulder and hand giving the only soothing comfort he could right now, but he wouldn't be moving for a long time, not until they reached Dragon.

---------

Law leaned against the doorway, watching a father mourn a half-dead son. He'd done all he could but...only time would tell. Time and Ace's will. He arched a singular brow as the ex-warlord fussed with the blankets again, smoothing them and tucking them around Ace's shoulders exactly as they had been.

He averted his gaze as Crocodile lowered his head on Fire Fist's shoulder and cupped his son's face. It seemed too intimate of a moment to witness, like it wasn't his place to him to see. After a few moments, when Law hadn't heard anything, he peered up once more. Neither of them had moved--Ace too drugged up and body not able to support an awake brain, Crocodile frozen. No, not frozen, sleeping.

Law snagged a pen from his pocket and switched it with the father's heavy fur coat, stepping silently over to the pair.

He peeked under the blankets and checked Ace's vitals--still stable as they could be--before draping the coat over Crocodile's shoulders. He'd leave them be, they both needed their rest. Law took once last look before closing the doors. If he was certain about one thing in this world and one thing only, it was that Crocodile loved his sons more than anything or anyone in all of creation.

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Lol i lied have a whole ass story ig.

IM IN LOVE WITH UR LATEST ART (the on where Crocodile holds Luffy AND especially where he's with Ace)

it's very sweet and precious. I'm wondering if Crocodile fusses over him as best he can. Like I have this picture in my head of him obsessively smoothing his his from his face or fixing his blankets for the THIRD time in like fifteen minutes

and maybe when he's a little more stable, like he crawls into. bed to cradle him, idk I feel like he would fuss over him as much as he could so he wouldn't feel helpless.

and then I'm wondering...how their reunion goes after Ace wakes up? Like did he visit Ace when he was with iva and Dragon and recovering before he woke up? did he struggle to leave him? what does Luffy know? I have so many thoughts and questions and I love the stinky child au with my whole heart and soul <3

Thank you!

I love the idea of Crocodile fussing over him...! ;w; I think once Ace is stable enough Law is taking him to Momoiro where he'll either wake up or he won't. There's not much more Law can do for him.

I don't think Crocodile could bear to visit him and just watch him for months, hoping that he'll wake up. After Luffy has decided to train with Rayleigh Crocodile probably goes into the new world. He too has to keep moving, has to keep busy, can't think about his children out there in a world that is going to get more and more dangerous to them.

But when he hears that Ace woke up, he's going to travel to him right away! (I haven't drawn this reunion yet, partially because I cannot make up my mind if Ace will have lost his devil fruit and what he's going to do now. Will he join Luffy's crew? Join the Revolutionary Army? Join Cross Guild? Get a new crew? Many options...!)

And either Luffy doesn't know that Ace woke up or Dragon tells him (I assume that depending on what his devil fruit is he can fly.)

I am happy that you like the Stinky Child AU! I do too! And there are still so many things to explore in comic or fanfic form! ;A; I'm always open for ideas for this AU~

[the-babbering-dabber]

[CCAU] dip and pip reference in my youtuber au? surprised it took this long!

not chronological whatsoever to the current storyline but probably somewhere in that "not publically dating but certainly not being subtle about it either" ballpark

[the-babbering-dabber]

Okay, now you're killing me with the sabo being desperate to go to his brothers but Dragon knowing he can't let him go because (yeah he's not ready but also) it's the only one of his kids he has a ability to keep out of this danger. Sabo begging him to just let him go, he'll go alone wont drag anyone else into it, and even though it's killing Dragon to hear his pleas he NEEDS Sabo not to go, for his saftey but also "I can't lose you all at once Sabo, please!".

My heart breaks just thinking about the two of them honestly thinking they've lost Ace, Luffy's soon to follow and Croc is on his own watching this happen. I might actually cry.

;w; Yes, exactly. It's angst like this I live for...! (Sorry, but we know that the anguish and despair is temporary.)

And it's true that Sabo is the only child Dragon can keep safe. I'm sure that Crocodile is praying on that ship sailing towards Marineford that Dragon will stay away, keep himself and Sabo safe. That he won't come. Crocodile can't be afraid of losing them too.

;w;

[the-babbering-dabber]

Dragon standing in the middle of the card store trying to find anything remotely close to a "Sorry I missed the near-death of 2 of our sons, incited by my father" card

Oh no, poor Dragon.

[the-babbering-dabber]

One of my favorite fanon things about Crocodile is the idea that not only is he good with animals, but a bit of a Snow White when it comes to them. Thinking of how others react to that is always comedy gold to me. Petty officers losing carrier pigeons because Crocodile came to the warlord meeting, any Marine pets, like ship cats, always end up sneaking onto Crocodile’s ship so they have to search the ship throughly before Crocodile leaves every time. Finally Sengoku asks him to stop coming to meetings so frequently because every time he does Sengoku’s goat won’t leave Crocodile alone and even tries to curl up in his lap.

Ahahaha, poor Crocodile is kept from doing his job because he's so popular with the animals~

[the-babbering-dabber]

you’ve changed (for the better)

for @where-does-the-heart-lie ‘s fighting game au I love ur designs I love them dearly

[the-babbering-dabber]

Luffy, Croc and Ace going through so much physically and emotionally in/escaping and after impel down whilst Dragon and Sabo on Baltigo like "our family is doing what now?!"

What Dragon and Sabo are doing while all these things happen is one of the big questions I still have to figure out.

Imagine you're Dragon. Against your husband's wishes you let your youngest enter the Grandline because you trust in the wind of destiny or whatever more than you trust in your husband's judgment about Luffy's ability to master the challenges of the Grandline after just a couple of weeks of sailing the East Blue.

And yeah, sure, you get shouted at, but not just because you enabled your son's anarchistic tendencies but because Crocodile can tell that things in Alabasta are coming to a head AND it's absolutely a given that Luffy is going to get in the middle of it, especially since he picked up the Princess of Alabasta.

And you're not really all that worried but you're very quickly regretting it when your people tell you that some rookie called Straw Hat Luffy took out the Warlord Crocodile, who most likely was responsible for the unrest in Alabasta. And of course, you're Crocodile's husband, so you know that Cipher Pol sent the Dance Powder into Alabasta, with the expectation that Crocodile is going to either make something with it to remove King Cobra or take the fall if it gets exposed. And take the fall he does.

And maybe you have plans to intercept the prison transport from the holding prison to Impel Down, because shit, Crocodile knows too much, they're going to send them down to Level 6 for sure and once he's there he's not getting out easily.

But before you can do that (and also keep Sabo from hearing about it) you get wind of another massive problem: Ace has been chasing Blackbeard and not only got defeated, but also got captured.

And while you are trying to figure out what to do about that because the marine was going to make the most of this, most likely stage a public execution as a trap for Whitebeard, news about the Strawhat Pirates being utterly defeated and scattered over the globe reach you.

Your husband is in Impel Down, Ace is being transported there to await the execution order that is surely to come, Luffy has disappeared and Sabo is climbing the walls.

You do get a call from your mom Rayleigh that Kuma sent them away to protect them (and fuck, Crocodile was right, their child was not ready for the dangers of the Grandline!) but that doesn't tell you where the hell Luffy is.

There are so many fires to put out Dragon doesn't even know where to start, besides, once it becomes clear that a battle will happen at Marineford, Dragon has to decide what to do. Can he put being a father and saving Ace over the needs of the Revolution? He cannot drag the RA into a personal battle, this would destroy years of progress for them and they cannot afford that. Besides, who's going to strap Sabo to a bed to prevent him from barging into a battle he's not ready for?

I think he decides not to go even though it's killing him inside. Ace made his choice and Whitebeard will be there, he has to trust him.

And then he hears that Crocodile and Luffy escaped from Impel Down (how the fuck?!) and are on their way to Marineford. But by the time he has this information he probably can't get there in time anymore.

So he's helpless to watch and hope and Sabo is probably rioting, trying to leave Baltigo to save Ace.

In the end, it's over almost too quickly and all he hears is the official information: Ace has died, Whitebeard has died, Luffy was fatally wounded and has disappeared. The war is over and Dragon is probably sitting in his office crying, not even bothering to say anything to Sabo's screaming accusations that they should have been there, that they should have helped!

And then before he can sink too deep into despair Iva calls ;w;

[the-babbering-dabber]

Luffy, Croc and Ace going through so much physically and emotionally in/escaping and after impel down whilst Dragon and Sabo on Baltigo like "our family is doing what now?!"

What Dragon and Sabo are doing while all these things happen is one of the big questions I still have to figure out.

Imagine you're Dragon. Against your husband's wishes you let your youngest enter the Grandline because you trust in the wind of destiny or whatever more than you trust in your husband's judgment about Luffy's ability to master the challenges of the Grandline after just a couple of weeks of sailing the East Blue.

And yeah, sure, you get shouted at, but not just because you enabled your son's anarchistic tendencies but because Crocodile can tell that things in Alabasta are coming to a head AND it's absolutely a given that Luffy is going to get in the middle of it, especially since he picked up the Princess of Alabasta.

And you're not really all that worried but you're very quickly regretting it when your people tell you that some rookie called Straw Hat Luffy took out the Warlord Crocodile, who most likely was responsible for the unrest in Alabasta. And of course, you're Crocodile's husband, so you know that Cipher Pol sent the Dance Powder into Alabasta, with the expectation that Crocodile is going to either make something with it to remove King Cobra or take the fall if it gets exposed. And take the fall he does.

And maybe you have plans to intercept the prison transport from the holding prison to Impel Down, because shit, Crocodile knows too much, they're going to send them down to Level 6 for sure and once he's there he's not getting out easily.

But before you can do that (and also keep Sabo from hearing about it) you get wind of another massive problem: Ace has been chasing Blackbeard and not only got defeated, but also got captured.

And while you are trying to figure out what to do about that because the marine was going to make the most of this, most likely stage a public execution as a trap for Whitebeard, news about the Strawhat Pirates being utterly defeated and scattered over the globe reach you.

Your husband is in Impel Down, Ace is being transported there to await the execution order that is surely to come, Luffy has disappeared and Sabo is climbing the walls.

You do get a call from your mom Rayleigh that Kuma sent them away to protect them (and fuck, Crocodile was right, their child was not ready for the dangers of the Grandline!) but that doesn't tell you where the hell Luffy is.

There are so many fires to put out Dragon doesn't even know where to start, besides, once it becomes clear that a battle will happen at Marineford, Dragon has to decide what to do. Can he put being a father and saving Ace over the needs of the Revolution? He cannot drag the RA into a personal battle, this would destroy years of progress for them and they cannot afford that. Besides, who's going to strap Sabo to a bed to prevent him from barging into a battle he's not ready for?

I think he decides not to go even though it's killing him inside. Ace made his choice and Whitebeard will be there, he has to trust him.

And then he hears that Crocodile and Luffy escaped from Impel Down (how the fuck?!) and are on their way to Marineford. But by the time he has this information he probably can't get there in time anymore.

So he's helpless to watch and hope and Sabo is probably rioting, trying to leave Baltigo to save Ace.

In the end, it's over almost too quickly and all he hears is the official information: Ace has died, Whitebeard has died, Luffy was fatally wounded and has disappeared. The war is over and Dragon is probably sitting in his office crying, not even bothering to say anything to Sabo's screaming accusations that they should have been there, that they should have helped!

And then before he can sink too deep into despair Iva calls ;w;

[the-babbering-dabber]

I can’t imagine Crocodile doing his laugh when he sees and reunites with luffy in stinky child au. Is he freaking out instead?

In Impel Down? He was freaking out before, when there were rumors that Luffy broke into Impel Down because Luffy's just a child and this is Impel Down, no way was he going to survive just with his dumb luck alone. He was freaking out when Ace was put into a cell and got taken away to be executed. (And they couldn't even talk properly, he couldn't even comfort him.)

But when Luffy's standing in front of him? Together with Iva? I think he feels relief. Because Luffy survived this long and now Crocodile can make sure he's going to survive escaping too.

Luffy's pretty upset that Crocodile was sent to Impel Down though. He thinks it's his fault, but they don't have the time to unravel that trauma right now.

Bonus Iva

[the-babbering-dabber]

Bon appétit (bo-na-pay-tee) .

[the-babbering-dabber]

Save a horse, ride a cowboy

[the-babbering-dabber]

i'm MELTING at the sight of luffy crying in crocodile's arms 🥺 (but now it's also making me imagine croc holding a dying ace in his arms 💔💔)

He's not dying...! ;w;

(Well, okay, maybe he died for a bit, but he will get better and survive! You can see Ace waking up here~)

[the-babbering-dabber]

Nobody said it was easy

[the-babbering-dabber]

I can’t stop thinking of that one scene you made with Crocodile and Jimba, where Crocodile is on the verge of a panic attack of Luffy’s actions against the government and Jimba, not sure what to do, trying to comfort him.

I got to ask, what was his reaction when he learned that Crocodile was Luffy’s other parent. Bonus, if Jimba was standing there both dumbfounded and awkward as Crocodile scolds Luffy. He was sure that Crocodile hated the kid for defending him

"...! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry...!"

"Shut up! I'm not crying!"

"Of course not, my bad."

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Doodle quality art but I hope you can forgive me X3