[He freezes at that, and his eyes narrow. He answers, but very carefully, devoid of jokes, or his usual charm, or any dismissive smile.]
Only love is forever.
No. I will not live... forever. But the difference between us two... is vast. She is a historian, so it is not that she will never understand the history and things I have already lived through, but there are many more things I have no choice but to survive and she will get to avoid.
[He gestures idly with a hand though and gazes out from his seat.] That could be said of any couple however, could it not? [It's almost a real question, maybe it really is a question, because he's not sure the answer. And he's not used to being unsure about anything.]
It is... a very big deal for pirates, for my world, for people to choose their deaths. To make their deaths mean something. To commit to changing the world's unfortunate state of existence.
Robin knows this as well as anyone in my family, because of what she has seen, of how she has lived.
Please, do not tell her. I was first drawn to her, not just because of her reputation and to see if it was all true, but because when we met, I sensed that about her. That there have been times... [He trails off again. It's not something he can share. He hasn't even discussed it with Robin after all.] Sacrificing oneself to save one's nakama, one's family, is one of the best and most noble things anyone can do. Robin and I are not in a position where we can do that. We would, but our nakama need us alive. It is incredibly difficult sometimes.
I do not know that I will outlive Robin. I do not wish to. [His eyes narrow darkly.] But I did not wish to outlive my father and always knew that I would. I never wanted to outlive Ace, most of all, but that was not a choice I was allowed to make.
If I must outlive Robin, I want to see to making the world's new era as she would like. As my father, as Ace, would have liked.
So far as I am concerned, just because I may be stuck in the world in a physical way, they are the ones who will wind up living longer, because I will be the one to carry on their memories, and more importantly, their dreams.
no subject
Only love is forever.
No. I will not live... forever. But the difference between us two... is vast. She is a historian, so it is not that she will never understand the history and things I have already lived through, but there are many more things I have no choice but to survive and she will get to avoid.
[He gestures idly with a hand though and gazes out from his seat.] That could be said of any couple however, could it not? [It's almost a real question, maybe it really is a question, because he's not sure the answer. And he's not used to being unsure about anything.]
It is... a very big deal for pirates, for my world, for people to choose their deaths. To make their deaths mean something. To commit to changing the world's unfortunate state of existence.
Robin knows this as well as anyone in my family, because of what she has seen, of how she has lived.
Please, do not tell her. I was first drawn to her, not just because of her reputation and to see if it was all true, but because when we met, I sensed that about her. That there have been times... [He trails off again. It's not something he can share. He hasn't even discussed it with Robin after all.] Sacrificing oneself to save one's nakama, one's family, is one of the best and most noble things anyone can do. Robin and I are not in a position where we can do that. We would, but our nakama need us alive. It is incredibly difficult sometimes.
I do not know that I will outlive Robin. I do not wish to. [His eyes narrow darkly.] But I did not wish to outlive my father and always knew that I would. I never wanted to outlive Ace, most of all, but that was not a choice I was allowed to make.
If I must outlive Robin, I want to see to making the world's new era as she would like. As my father, as Ace, would have liked.
So far as I am concerned, just because I may be stuck in the world in a physical way, they are the ones who will wind up living longer, because I will be the one to carry on their memories, and more importantly, their dreams.
Understood?