The car door slamming behind him signified the loss of any of the meager freedoms Sabo had managed to collect over the years, and the delirious rush of choice he'd faced over the last few months. His conversation was dictated by his fear, tongue heavy in his mouth, and his father continued to talk, nonsensical, useless babble filling the car as he idly told Sabo about what had happened that day, as though Sabo hadn't been gone for months.

And then they'd arrived at his house.

With another quick flick Sabo's father had dismissed the driver and the mustached gardener hovering around in the main hall, directing them to his main maid. Sabo had followed dutifully, 'encouraged' by the guards hovering at his back but unable to do anything more than try to remember to keep breathing.

The door clicked shut behind the florist, and Sabo suddenly found himself on the floor, his cheek smarting. Surprise reined more than pain did, but it still stung and he clutched it, staring at his father.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" his father asked, and for a moment, Sabo was still stuck reconciling what had happened. His father threateningly raising his hand made Sabo grit his teeth, however, and he spat proudly,

"I'm not sorry."

Another sharp crack filled the air when his father's palm met his cheek, and he was sent sprawling again, barely able to hold onto his defiance.

"Get to your room." His father growled, "Immediately!"

Sabo arched his chin, letting a sneer grow on his face, and though he was shoved forwards and lost his balance again as he got up, he still held his spine straight, refusing to bow like he'd done for so many years.

The stairs beneath his feet were polished and shined and safe, and all he wanted to see was rotting wood instead of marble. Every step he took made him feel like he was being pulled further and further away from Ace and Luffy, and though he knew he'd likely never see either of them again, the feeling still made him want to turn around and bolt past every guard his father sent to stop him.

His room had been ransacked.

For a moment, Sabo felt angry despair bubble in his chest; the one place he'd ever considered his, and his father had brutally destroyed it, as though it could point him in the direction Sabo had gone. His journals, for years so carefully hidden, lay sprawled on the desk, and he could see pages viciously ripped from the middle.

He was prodded inside, and then the door slammed shut behind him and Sabo finally let himself collapse, his legs sinking beneath him. He'd buried his head in his arms and bit his knee in an effort to stop any sound, but sobs still escaped him, and tears stained his scuffed pants.

That had been the last time he'd allowed himself to cry.

He'd barely been able to leave his room for almost a week, only allowed out for meals that he had to spend with his family. Guards stayed stationed outside his door, ready to report on any of his activities, and every time he so much as looked towards anything his father considered improper, he found a hand adorned with rings brought down on his cheek.

His cheek still stung, and Sabo tried to distract himself by tracing patterns in the dark roof, pushing every lonely thought from his head.

A creak sounded outside his window, accompanied by hushed whispers, and he bolted upright in bed. "No," he breathed, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and hurrying to the balcony. He threw open the doors, and Ace and Luffy stared back at him in surprise, before Luffy's face split into a wide grin.

"Sabo!" he cheered, scrambling over Sabo's balcony and latching onto him.

"Wh- what are you doing here?" he stammered, his eyes darting between Ace and Luffy, and Luffy peeled off him, hands still latched on Sabo's shoulders.

"We're here to save you!" he said, and before Sabo could even think of protesting had added, "And Ace has something to say."

Ace flushed in the darkness, his shoulders flying to his ears, but under Luffy's disapproving look he choked out, "I- I'm sorry, Sabo. You're our brother and I- I should never have let something as stupid as your blood come between us. We were brothers in the first place without thinking of it."

Sabo clenched his fists, sharp pinpricks of pain digging into his palm.

They-

They thought he was their brother?

His heart soared for a second, but the knowledge of his situation crashed into him seconds later and he had to stop himself from heaving a dry sob. Almost choking on the words, knowing how much they would hurt Ace and Luffy but knowing that unless he could get rid of them then Luffy and Ace were going to get hurt, Sabo spat out bitterly, "I'm not your brother."

"What?" Luffy said, frowning, and Sabo pushed Luffy's hand off his shoulders roughly, trying to untie the knot in his throat.

"I was never your family."

You wouldn't want someone like me as your family.

"Yeah you were!" Luffy cried, expression heartbroken, and Sabo tried desperately to stop the prickling sensation at the corner of his eyes. "Please Sabo, you're our brother. Come with us!"

He couldn't do this – he couldn't.

It had been hard enough living and knowing that his last words to Ace had been angry, he couldn't live now and know that his last words to the both of them had been more lies.

But he couldn't tell the truth.

If he told them how much he wanted to go back, to be their brother again, then he knew they'd never leave. Sabo couldn't stand being the reason they lost their freedom.

"You're a goddamn liar," Ace hissed. "You wanted to be our brother, so stop saying bullshit like that! You're our brother and that's the last of it!"

"I'm not!" Sabo yelled back, trying to be angry, but all he could feel was a slowly growing hollow in his chest. "I live here. I'm the son of a noble and you two-"

"Are the only family you have, because you hate your parents!" Luffy argued back, "You told me that, and I didn't forget it."

"It doesn't matter!" Sabo said, his hands shaking as he ran them through his hair, "Look, you don't understand why I'm here-"

"You're right, we don't." Ace shot, and Sabo let out a strangled cry.

"Stop it!" he said, "Shut up! Just leave me alone, just leave!"

"Not without you," Luffy replied stubbornly, and Sabo let out another unintelligible snarl.

"Sabo, come on," Ace said, hand outstretched, but Sabo just shook his head, unable to try and articulate words that would make them leave.

"I can't."

"Yeah you can, just jump!" Luffy said, as though it were that simple. Sabo could jump, but then where would he be? Hunted down by his father again, but this time bringing Ace and Luffy into danger.

"I can't!" he repeated, hands clenched, "get the hell out of here!"

"We're not leaving without you," Ace growled, jumping off the balcony into Sabo's room, and Sabo felt like screaming.

"Yeah you are!" he yelled, trying to shove Luffy and Ace off his balcony, but they only grabbed his hands, forcing him to follow. "Let go!"

The door behind him ruptured inwards, a stream of guards filling his room, and Sabo felt his stomach knot like he was going to be sick. Luffy and Ace shied away, uncertainty and panic clear on their faces, and Sabo desperately hoped that a lifetime of staying away from any figure of the law would convince them to leave.

When Luffy's expression only became determined and Ace stepped in front of him, Sabo felt his heart sink. They couldn't do this! They just couldn't! Why hadn't they left him alone?

"Luffy," he heard Ace order, "grab Sabo and let's go."

A chorus of clicks could be heard in the room, and when his father's guards levered their guns, Sabo couldn't help his impulsive action.

"No!" he yelled desperately, jumping in front of the barrel of the closest guard's gun. His eyes squeezed shut on instinct, and he felt his heart hammer in his chest, fear desperately trying to keep him alive.

"Sabo," he heard his father growl, "get out of the way. No-one will miss them."

"I WILL!" he hollered, body shaking, "They're my brothers!"

Stunned silence met his words, his father's astonished gaze caught on him, and for a moment Sabo almost though that his father would understand the depth of Sabo's feelings for Ace and Luffy.

Then, his father's expression narrowed, and Sabo's heart sank like a lead weight. "Even more reason for you to get out of the way." His father said, and his voice was so cold Sabo felt frozen.

There was another beat of silence, Sabo's courage wavering in the gap, but he forced himself to stand tall and stand up to his father like he never had before, "…no."

"Get out of the way now!" his father ordered, anger now evident in his tone, and Sabo flinched. Every time his father had sounded that angry before he'd usually followed it up with a slap that'd left Sabo reeling, and now the instinct was buried so deeply within him he couldn't help it.

Footsteps pounded on the floor, and Sabo's eyes flew open when he realised where they'd come from. Luffy lunged past him with a growl, and Sabo's fingers just grazed his red shirt, unable to stop him.

There was a sharp bang, and Sabo couldn't do anything but watch in horror as Luffy faltered before losing his balance, knees thumping against the floor.

"Luffy!" he heard Ace scream, but the sound was muffled like Sabo had cotton wool in his ears.

What had- what had just happened? Luffy couldn't have-

Sabo watched as Luffy's fingers fluttered over the dark crimson stain, the patch steadily growing from Luffy's side.

Sweat-

It was only sweat staining his shirt a darker colour, surely-?

Luffy pulled his red hand away from his side, and Sabo's mind suddenly kicked back into gear, panic roaring uncontrollably as his shock broke. That was blood!

Ace skidded past him, catching Luffy as he slumped to the floor, and pressed his hands to Luffy's side to try and stop the bleeding. Desperate words fell from Ace's lips, nonsensical, panicked mumbles running into each other. Broken from his shocked stillness, Sabo rushed forwards to try and get to Luffy, but was stopped by the barrel of a gun again.

The hard metal pushed into his chest, and he tilted his head up to stare at the guard holding the weapon, anger in his eyes. "Get out of the way!" he growled, trying to move past the guard, but the pressure of the gun didn't change and he was forced back a step.

"Sabo," he heard his father say calmly, and though he didn't want to tear his gaze away from Luffy in case Luffy vanished before his eyes, Sabo turned. His father looked unruffled, uncaring of the boy bleeding out on his floor. "He'll die."

The realisation had hit him a few seconds before, but hearing it come from his father's mouth in such a flat tone made his heart stop. Luffy couldn't- he couldn't-!

"Please," he found himself saying, "please, you have to let me help him- he has to get help-"

"Well he can't get help here now can he?"

It sounded like a joke.

Like his father was making a joke.

Sabo felt surging hatred erupt in his chest, desperate, agonised fury, but his father was unbowed by Sabo's glare. It fact, he was smiling as though Sabo had given him a gift, languid and amused. "Come now Sabo, this ruse may have fooled them but you can't truly care. They're so much lower than us!"

He could see from the corner of his eye that Ace looked almost heartbroken, staring at Sabo like he truly had betrayed them, and Sabo clenched his fists. "They're my brothers! They're more my family than you ever were, and that means that they're not lower than me!"

"Sabo," his father growled, his smile flickering into a frown, "Honestly, it was funny the first time, but I'm starting to get irritated with this-,"

"Good!" Sabo yelled, a hysterical half-laugh bubbling to his lips, and now his father's expression was furious.

"I'm not above using force to get what I want!" his father strode to the nearest guard, yanking their gun from them and then levering it at Ace. "They either leave and you stop acting like a spoilt brat, or-" the gun cracked again, and Ace and Luffy jolted back. A tiny smoking hole now rested in the floorboards of Sabo's room, and his ears rung from the sound. His father grinned at the sight, before turning to face Sabo again. "Well let's say that neither of them will be leaving."

"You can't do this!" Ace cried out, trying to stand up, but at Luffy's cry of pain he quickly moved back, keeping pressure on Luffy's wound.

Sabo's father completely ignored Ace. His challenging glare was locked on Sabo, daring Sabo to say anything that would prompt him to pull the trigger, but Sabo couldn't speak, heart in his throat. "Don't-" he begged.

"Don't what?" his father asked evenly, levering the gun away from the floor and aiming it at Ace's head. Sabo saw Ace's eyes widen, body shying away, but he couldn't move lest he make Luffy's wound bleed even more profusely.

"Don't hurt them! Please!" Sabo cried, trying to move forwards, but the gun at his chest stopped him and he desperately continued, "Please, I promise I'll do whatever you want just- don't hurt them! Don't hurt them!"

"Sabo don't you dare!" Ace yelled, but with a languid wave of his father's hand a guard stepped forwards, cracking down the butt of their gun on Ace's shoulder.

He cried out in pain, and Sabo tried to lunge forwards, this time stopped by hands wrapping around his shoulders and dragging him back. "No!" he said, struggling frantically, "No, don't! I said I'd do anything!"

"Sabo, no-" he heard Luffy say, but the sound of his little brother's shaking voice didn't do anything but solidify his resolve.

"Please," he begged quietly, head feeling too heavy for his neck as he bowed it, "please just- just get them help. I'll do anything, just please let Luffy get help-"

There was a moment where Sabo was afraid that his father wouldn't listen to him, but the hands loosened from his shoulders and he couldn't help but breathe a shaky sigh of relief, shoulders slumping.

His heart ached in his chest, like with every beat it was trying to burst from under his bones, but he shoved it down, trying to convince himself to look at Ace and Luffy. He needed to know that they were alright, but their expressions-

God, he didn't want to see their expressions.

Sabo could see their bodies moving, slowly, but then Luffy whirled and tried to reach him again, hand outstretched. Sabo flinched, stepping back and catching sight of the desperation on Luffy's face, but then one of the guards stepped in front of him, grabbing Luffy's fingers and bending them backwards. He cried out in pain, and Sabo tried to reach him, but guards made him stop again.

"Luffy!" Ace cried out, thrashing against his own guards.

"I'm being generous, here," his father spat, "Sabo-"

The unsaid threat made him jerk as though he'd been zapped with electricity and he straightened. "You said-!" his father's glare cut him off, and Sabo clenched his hands. "…leave." He said to Ace and Luffy, eyes fastened on the ground, and saw Luffy's fingers scrabble against the floor, clutching for his shoes. "Leave!" he yelled and the word ripped a hole straight through his heart. "Stay the hell away from me! I don't want to ever see you again so just leave!"

Screwing his eyes shut, he lifted his foot and stomped.

Luffy's fingers flattened under his boot, a strangled yell filling the air, and Sabo felt as though someone had punched him in the gut, his desperate heaving breath just short of tears. His body shuddered, a roiling rise of detest boiling in his chest, but in a few short minutes Luffy and Ace had been herded from the room and his father was the only one left with him.

When his father laid his palm against Sabo's shoulder, Sabo could only just barely resist the urge to slap it off. "I'll see to it that they get treatment. Let it not be said that I'm not a man of my word. But they won't be coming back here again. Is that clear?"

His father's hand slipped off his shoulder, and Sabo wanted to throw up.

"Perfectly…Sir."

Sabo spent most of the next few days in a haze, appearing when told and making polite conversation with anyone his parents directed him to. His thoughts were filled with Ace and Luffy's pained expressions when he'd betrayed them, and Luffy's cry when Sabo had almost broken his fingers. He could barely banish the haunting memories, or the sick feeling in his stomach.

The last day of his freedom arrived and Sabo was shoved into a suit and then shuffled into the car. The trip passed too quickly, Sabo's heart sinking lower and lower as pavement passed under the car's wheels. He had time to admire the pastel flowers scattered around and the huge, intricately decorated cake, but his appreciation for them was muted like he'd been stuck in a tangible fog. The ceremony passed in a blur, words he'd been coaxed and trained to say coming automatically to his lips.

Sabo knew what came next, 'does anyone have any objections?' and though he could barely bear it, hope twisted in his stomach. He'd dreamed about Ace and Luffy coming in and shouting 'we object!', in the few moments he'd had between what he knew would really happen, and those half-hopes came to him now. He knew he'd be crushed by the belief when no-one spoke up, but God, he couldn't stop himself from wishing.

The pastor began to speak, and Sabo tried to crush his hopes before they killed him. "Does anyone have any-"

"I object!" a familiar voice called, and Sabo felt his heart stop. That- that had to be his imagination, surely. That couldn't be Izo, that was just his head playing tricks- "I object!" Izo called again, and Sabo's breath hitched into a sob, "That boy's not getting married today, no matter how beautiful that bride looks."

He turned, barely able to believe it, but his eyes confirmed what his ears had heard. Izo was standing in the middle of the crowd, proud and defiant and looking as elegant as he always did.

"On-" the pastor said from behind him, sounding obviously confused, "on what basis?"

Izo shrugged, but when the pastor started to continue speaking, held up a neat finger. "He doesn't want to get married. So we're committing a marriage jail break."

The pastor paused again, trying to sort through what Izo had said, but then asked, "We?"

"Yes," Izo said, and grinned. "We."

The cake suddenly seemed to explode, splattering icing on the nearest guests, who shrieked, but all Sabo could think was Luffy!

Bandaged and covered in various bits of cake but healthy, Luffy grinned as he raced across the grass, ducking around guards and guests and laughing like he was playing tag.

Luffy skidded to a stop in front of the altar, eyes dancing as he said, "Hey Sabo!"

"Hey- hey Luffy," Sabo replied, still in absolute shock, and Luffy grinned even wider.

"Izo wanted to do it the dramatic way," Luffy explained, and though Sabo could feel the first dregs of panic in his chest the sight of Luffy grinning at him easily beat it back.

"It certainly was dramatic," he agreed, his own laugh bubbling to his lips. Luffy darted up the short stairs and grabbed onto his wrist with a sticky hand, and Sabo let himself be pulled along, tipping his hat to his stunned bride. "Sorry for leaving you at the altar!" Sabo called, but he could see her grin and begin to laugh before the crowd cut her from view.

Luffy darted around fleeing guests and over chairs, dragging Sabo after him until Sabo realised where they were headed and was able to get his feet working. Several people grinned at him as he passed by, and Sabo was able to recognise a few as members of the Whitebeards.

Izo was soon in front of them, hands on his hips as he surveyed the chaos Luffy's arrival had caused. "Good, you rescued pretty boy." He said, and then kicked Sabo in the stomach. Sabo gave a startled grunt of pain, doubling over. Those pointed heels hurt. "That is for lying!" Izo said angrily, before stepping down from his chair and enveloping Sabo in a hug. "This is because I'm glad you're okay."

Sabo gave a weak chuckle, still cradling his sore stomach. "Thanks Izo," he mumbled, slowly straightening with another groan.

Izo stepped away from Sabo and waved off the praise with his hand, before his eyes caught sight of someone over Sabo's shoulder and he grinned, indicating with his chin for Sabo to turn around. "Go say hi."

He turned, about to ask 'say hi to who?' but his eyes caught on Ace before he could finish speaking. Ace's shoulder was bandaged, and there were bruises over his side that Sabo knew had to have come from his father's guards, but Ace still smiled when Sabo's gaze landed on him.

His heart skipped a beat when Ace began to grin, and he couldn't help but rush forwards, meeting Ace in the middle of the crowd. Ace's arms were soon wrapped around him and Sabo spun them around, feeling as though he could fly.

Impulsively, when he stopped he dipped Ace, hands wrapped securely around Ace's back and delighting in Ace's joyful half-yelp. "Could I give you that token of favour now?" Sabo asked, grinning.

"I wouldn't argue," Ace said laughingly, before pressing forwards and kissing Sabo.

The word was silent around him, void of anything but the warmth of Ace's body against his own and the pressure of Ace's lips. Sabo wanted to stay there forever, feeling so exhilarated that the past depressing few days had practically been erased from his memory, but his arms were beginning to get sore and he slowly pulled them to a standing position again. He was breathless when Ace eventually leaned away, and happiness let the odd laugh still escape him.

His senses returned when Izo wolf-whistled, and Sabo remembered with a sudden surge of embarrassment that they had a huge audience. Luffy's laughter only made it worse, and Sabo buried his head in Ace's uninjured shoulder, feeling Ace's chest jump as he laughed.

"You guys made up!" Luffy said, grinning, but all Sabo could see was the collection of various appalled elderly and other astonished faces behind Luffy.

His father was going to kill him-

"SABO!" he heard his father roar, and though still held comfortingly in Ace's arms, he couldn't help the surge of panic and fear that made him tense. Ace let him go, hands sliding down Sabo's shoulders till he could tangle their fingers together.

"What are we going to do?" Sabo asked helplessly, eyes darting between Ace and Luffy, and Luffy flashed a grin at him, grabbing his other hand.

"Run."