X Drake x heart disease!Monkey D Reader, Modern Au
Reader is the youngest daughter of Garp and the sister of Dragon, with a 22-year age difference between her and her brother. She is currently 33 years old.
In the past, she decided to join the Marine Academy solely to make her father happy. However, compared to her classmates, she couldn't keep up with the harsh physical training. On the other hand, she excelled in theoretical lessons, though she couldn't fully comprehend the military concept of justice. Since she was a child, Reader had a deeply reflective mind and a great talent for writing. Jinbe, her elementary school teacher, pointed out this predisposition to both her father and her brother: while Garp never cared, Dragon always considered it a genuine talent.
During her years at the Academy, Reader formed a close-knit group of friends: Smoker, Hina, and Kujaku (her childhood friend and Tsuru's granddaughter, Tsuru being a close friend of Garp), as well as X Drake, Rosinante, and Bellmere, the latter two being slightly older. During this same period, Luffy was born, and Reader found herself taking care of the baby along with Dadan.
Toward the end of her Academy years, Reader began to feel constantly tired and exhausted. She would sleep for hours on end, skipping meals and lacking the strength during training, often remaining seated. Despite fainting a few times, she didn't pay much attention to it until one Sunday afternoon, when she accompanied Hina to a barbecue with Whitebeard's family (Hina was dating Marco, and Reader already knew the family, particularly Thatch, Izo, and Vista). Shanks' crew was also present (Shanks, Benn, Hongo, Lucky Roux, Yasopp, Banchina, and Makino). Reader and Shanks had known each other since childhood because of the friendship between their respective fathers, Roger and Garp, and Shanks was now dating Makino, another of Reader's childhood friends.
That afternoon, due to the oppressive heat, Reader remained seated for a long time, visibly sweating, until she fainted with violent convulsions. Marco was forced to step in with a defibrillator and call the hospital immediately. After undergoing emergency surgery, Reader was fitted with a pacemaker.
From that moment on, Reader's life changed radically. Forced to abandon her career as an active Marine, she became the secretary for the entire command. Strict medical limitations were imposed on her: she could not run, get scared, overexert herself, handle hot weather, have children, get angry, drive a car, or drink alcohol. Furthermore, she had to take numerous pills daily and undergo invasive medical check-ups every four days.
Over the years, however, Reader broke several rules:
She ran after Luffy and Zoro when they were children.
She drove a car during an emergency to take Rouge to the hospital to give birth.
She experienced a deep phase of anger toward herself, her father, her brother, and her friends because no one seemed to understand how limited she felt due to her physical condition.
With time, the anger faded, but it left behind a massive emotional barrier. Reader closed herself off, avoiding any kind of romantic relationship or one-night stand, which led to Hina and Kujaku teasing her about it. Currently, she still lives in the same house with Garp, Ace, Sabo, and Luffy.
Drake's Return and a New Beginning
After five years undercover as a spy inside Kaido's company, X Drake made his return to the Marines. This led him to hang out around his old friends' usual spots again, even though the group's dynamics had changed. The circle had expanded to include Koby, Helmeppo, Prince Grus, Tashigi, and Hibari, while Rosinante and Bellmere were now adults with teenage children (Law and Nami).
Due to work dynamics and social gatherings, Reader and Drake often found themselves spending a lot of time together. While the others drank and partied, the two of them would stay on the sidelines chatting. Drake confided in her about his five years away from home: what it was like being friends with Hawkins and Who's-Who, Apoo and Queen's weird music habits, Ulti's high-pitched voice, and many other anecdotes. The two also started gossiping innocently about people they mutually knew, making fun behind the backs of figures like Kidd, Killer, Law, Luffy, Zoro, and Koby.
This bond, growing far from everyone else's eyes, brought them closer and closer, laying the foundation for the beginning of their love story.















