The Return Of Joyboy!

Chapter 5

"Let's get you in the bed, Lu," Dragon offered the smaller with a warm smile.

"Don't wanna!" The boy whined, holding his father's hand tightly. "Please don't go. Want Papa to stay!" The boy whined, as if he had caught on what would happen if he went to sleep right now.

It broke Dragon's heart, and he knew he would have to break it further soon when he did have to return to the revolution. It would break his own heart knowing that Luffy's would be destroyed, but there was little he could do. He wanted to be selfish. He wanted his son to stay by his side and always keep smiling but he knew he couldn't do that. Not now the very least, when he knew that his son can't be seen with him, not right now.

"I won't go," Dragon responded, thinking to stay just one more day.

The next day, they played together in the fields and the beaches. He helped him reading the stories from the storybooks in the grassy fields under the sun. He bathed the little gremlin who kept on splashing water to him.

One day turned to another day as Dragon couldn't bring himself to drop the inevitable. Days turned into a week and soon two weeks had already passed.

He needed to return to the revolution but the sight of son clinging to him more than before, made him unable to say the parting words.

With a heavy heart, he crouched to his son who had eavesdropped on his and Makino's conversation of how he had to leave. The bawling boy was begging him to not leave him alone. The sight was enough to make his eyes gain a glassy shimmer and Makino to cry at the sidelines.

"I'm sorry, Lu," Dragon spoke in his own cracked voice. Luffy's crying would never fail to make Dragon cry with him. Whenever Luffy would cry, it would seem like the whole world is sad!

"Don't leave me, Papa!" The boy wailed louder, hugging the man with all his strength.

"I will come again," Dragon tried to make Luffy stop crying. Luffy wailed louder, a heartbroken sob coming out of his throat. His sunshine like son seemed to be having an eclipse right now with the way he was crying. "I promise!" He brought his pinky towards the boy to show that he would return again to him.

"P-Pro..mise...?" Luffy's teary eyes looked at Dragon, questioning him of the authenticity.

"Yeah, promise!" Dragon's pinky was clasped in the little pinky of his son. "Till then read the story books. I'll be back until you finish those and will have lots of stories to tell you."

Luffy nodded, sucking his wobbly lips. Dragon ruffled the younger's one hair proud of his son. He grinned as wide as he could, when a small smile cracked on the crying child's face.

"I want to hear about pirates!" Luffy mumbled, but it was enough for Dragon to hear. Dragon kissed the crown of his son in response and promised to do so. With that, he stood up and vanished in the strong winds. He could feel Luffy growing sad and teary but he had promised to come again. And he will do it.

.

As the days, weeks, months, and years went by, Makino saw Luffy grow up, smiling happily, jumping around, and bringing smiles to the faces of everyone he met. She was glad that whenever Luffy was close to feeling lonely, his father will appear to cheer him up, though he was visiting less and less.

She had witnessed Luffy opening up his locket whenever he would feel alone and sad in the absence of his father. She watched Luffy play with his Dad for days, making the man relax with him. She could swear that Luffy was his stress and pain killer. He was his sunshine.

But sometimes, the timings would horribly go wrong, making Garp arrive at the time when Dragon would be visiting his child. Luckily the man would escape with a 'fist of love' and some 'training'. The former was something which both Dragon and Luffy would get. It was almost funny to see the 'World's Most Dangerous Criminal' pout with his son to his father.