.
.
.
.
"Luffy!"
.
He screams until his throat is hoarse, until his breath wisps out into nothingness before him, until it feels as if there is no more blood left within his lungs.
The charred corpse of that bastard rests as his feet, lumps of charcoal that's resemblance to a human isn't even a sure thing any more.
It doesn't matter though.
Nothing matters anymore because once again Sabo has failed.
It's always the not knowing.
He hadn't known he had a brother, that he had two brothers until suddenly he did.
Until suddenly there was only one left, one he loved more than anything, one he clung to with all the strength of a dying man clinging to life.
Even that hadn't been enough.
.
Sabo's not all there when Koala's arm wraps around his shoulders, when she shuffles him back to the ship.
He's not all there when a blanket is laid across his shoulders, when a tattered, burnt and threadbare strawhat is presented to him. Sabo can't bring himself to rest his fingers upon that frayed brim.
He's not there at all.
He can't be.
.
Luffy can't be dead.
.
Weeks pass, weeks and weeks and Sabo is unresponsive.
Nothing matters anymore, not even the Revolution.
What's the point? What's the point when there's no Ace, no Luffy. What's the point when he has no brothers left, when he's all alone in this world?
He can't even get his revenge; he's already scorched Akainu, Blackbeard already dead by Luffy's hand.
His little brother's last act, that titanic fight. It'd been the prime opportunity for Akainu to sweep in, striking Luffy when he was down.
And Sabo, Sabo'd just lost it.
.
It's all gone.
Everything that was ever important in his life. It's gone and he can't find the willpower, the strength to carry on.
Not when there's no one to share a success with.
.
A like without regrets is what Ace had once said.
.
Sabo has nothing but regrets.
.
A year passes, a full year and all Sabo can think is that Luffy has no grave. He hadn't even been left a body, left some part of Luffy to bury.
All that remains is the strawhat, the one Sabo can barely bring himself to look upon, never mind touch.
Today though, today it sits proudly upon his head.
.
It doesn't suit him.
.
Sabo kneels before the grave, his eyes lingering on that weathered orange hat, that pendant that had seemed so very foreign and yet so very Ace, all at the same time. It's a sunny day; it always seems to be a sunny day here. It's his third visit here. It'll be his last.
"I'm sorry," Sabo chokes out, his knees pressing into the cold, wet grass that seeps into the fabric of his pants, "I'm so sorry, Ace. I failed. I couldn't keep him safe."
The sake bottle quakes in his hand, dropping with a dull thud to the earth. There's still three cups laid out there, the physical memoirs from his last visit. His hands are shaking, fingers trembling.
He can't even grasp the bottleneck, never mind pour the alcohol.
The world's gone to shit. It's all gone to shit and Dragon and the Revolutionaries are still fighting but it's not enough.
Luffy inspired so many, so very many. In the wake of his death, they're all crushed.
Shanks' on a seemingly one-manned missing to ruin as much marine-property as possible.
The Heart Pirates have disappeared off of the map with the escape of Doflamingo.
Sabo lost track of the Strawhat Armada months ago, right after one of the division commanders, the former prince, had been publicly executed.
"I was right there and I couldn't keep him safe." His voice is rusty from disuse, scratching against the sides of his throat, like a monster clawing its way out.
He wants to throw himself down, beg for forgiveness from the man whose Devil Fruit he now utilises. He wants to fade into obscurity, disappear so that his mistakes may cease to exist.
So that Ace and Luffy still draw breath and keep fighting.
If he'd bene there for them, been there when they needed him the most, then maybe they'd still be here now.
Now when he stands upon a razors edge and there's no one there to pull him back.
He's alone, that bond of brotherhood, the one he'd once sworn would be broken for nothing…
There's nothing at the other end. e He
.
He's tied to nothing, there's no Ace and there's no Luffy. There's no ASL anymore.
Only Sabo.
"I'm sorry, Ace."
Pressing his forehead to the island grass, the tang of salt water drifting through the wind, Sabo allows the tears to roll.
They cascade down his cheeks, clumping eyelashes together, gathering at the tip of his noble (cursed, he was born cursed, must have been) inherited chin.
.
There's nothing left for him here.
It's why he's reached out to that contact, the one who'd tried to bury himself from all notice, who'd tried to hide and shied away from the world.
It doesn't matter if the power is unstable, if it puts his life at risk.
Sabo hasn't got much of a life left here.
.
There's nothing for him here without them.
He'll never get to see Luffy strive those last few steps to becoming the Pirate King. He'll never get to see Ace's new dream, his validation for living.
He won't get to see his fiery brother with the Whitebeards because those bastards Blackbeard and Akainu picked them all off one by one.
Sabo won't get to see any of it because it doesn't exist anymore.
It's all been cut down before it could even begin.
They say the good die young.
It speaks volumes that Sabo, Sabo who failed both of his died-too-young brothers, is still here.
He won't be for much longer.
Ace and Luffy are still there, still alive in the past.
This time, this time Sabo'll see to it they make it past twenty.
They will.
.
"This time, I swear. This time you'll both live."
.
.
.
.
Sabo wakes in the medical bay. The Baltigo medical bay. The Baltigo medical bay that had, in Sabo's last experience, been destroyed six months ago.
His fingers run over the sheets; the same rough cotton, the same fabric softener scenting the air but failing to do any actual 'softening', the same Koala sitting by his beside.
Guilt surges in Sabo's chest, a painful reminder that yes, here is his friend, his friend who tried so hard to put him back together again.
But there are just some things that a man cannot recover from, just some things that push a person too far. The loss of Luffy, of Ace dead well before his time (before Sabo could even remember him), it'd ruined him.
Part of him wishes he could offer the Koala of his time an apology, for her certainly owes her one.
That'll never happen though, he'll never meet that Koala again.
Koala will never become like her, will never wear that sad face as she looks at him.
Because Sabo's not going to be broken this time. He's not going to be broken and battered and a bad brother.
He will keep Ace alive. He will keep Luffy alive.
Even if it kills him.
(God, he hopes it doesn't kill him. Please, please, just this once, let the world work out the way he wants it to).
"Sabo! You're awake! I was so worried."
No.
No, that sounds far too familiar.
"Wha-" he breaks off with a rasping cough, grimace pulling at the tight skin of his scar, "what date is it?"
"Sabo, forget th-"
"What's the date, Koala!"
His raised voice has her flinching back and more of that guilt floods into his stomach, burning hot and aching and it hurts to see her like this.
Time is no longer his friend, however, not since he refused to concede to their fight, not since he cheated it, since he reset the battle.
After only a moment of hesitation, Koala announces the date and Sabo sinks bonelessly back into the bed.
Nowhere near Marineford, months to go yet.
He did it. He's back in time.
He can save Luffy and Ace.
He can save them both.
"Sabo-"
"I'm sorry, Koala. I shouldn't have yelled at you."
"Yeah, you shouldn't."
She pinches his cheeks between gloved fingers, pulling the flesh out and he grimaces through the pain. Nothing he doesn't deserve, after all.
"I have a brother," Sabo declares, though the forceful distortion of his mouth means it takes her a moment to register his words.
"You've got your memories back?!" She gasps, clapping her hands together, blinking bright blue eyes rimmed red. She's been crying for him.
God, he's so blessed to have a friend like Koala. Despite all the shit that she's been put through in her life, despite all the hell the World Nobles gave her, she still finds it in her heart to accept him into her affections; even though he was born a noble himself. He's an ungrateful little shit.
"I've got my memories and two brothers," Sabo says wistfully.
As soon as the words leave his mouth he grins; it's the first real grin he can remember.
He has two brothers.
Two living brothers. This is fantastic.
It's real. They're really real now, out there somewhere, alive and causing all sorts of storms as Ds are wont to do.
"Brothers," Koala says slowly, watching him cautiously and Sabo laughs.
Of course. When Dragon brought him aboard, all his boss had known was that he was a dissatisfied son of a noble, one who was ashamed to have ever been born to them.
"Adopted brothers, sworn brothers," Sabo clarifies quickly, forcing his body up and out of bed, running a hand though his hair and he needs to go and find a comb.
His hair's a mess, a huge mess and that needs fixing.
"Sabo! Where are you going?!"
"Where am I going? They think I died! They don't know I'm alive and they're out there doing stupid things all the time. I'm the responsible one, I'm the one that needs to keep them safe! I need to go check in on them, need to make sure they're okay!"
Silence lingers in the air between them now and Sabo swallows hastily, guiltily around the lump in his throat.
"I need to go and check that they're okay, Koala. It's been," Ten years. Two years. Two blinks of an eye and two lifetimes. "It's been too long," Sabo finishes, his perception skewered. It doesn't matter how long it's been, he doesn't need to worry over that.
Ace and Luffy are alive, they're not dead and all that matters it keeping those fact the same, making sure that those are truths. Ace and Luffy cannot die.
Sabo won't allow it.
"At- at least tell Dragon-san where you're going!" Oh, that's right, he has obligations. He cannot just shut down right now; in the before (the after? The future or his past?) Koala and Hack had been around him long enough they could od his job. That hasn't happened here.
The world goes to shit without Luffy, and Luffy's world goes to shit without Ace. The Revolution needs those two. Sabo needs those two; they're so important, more important than either of them will ever know (Luffy) or believe (Ace).
They are the hope and the inspiration, the blazing fires that light the way for so many others. They are a force of nature, a storm powering onwards; they are change, they are men that cannot be ignored.
Their lives are burning bright and strong and Sabo will never let them be put out again, will never let those flames be suffocated.
He might not be a D, he might not carry their undying will, but he has his own drive, his own determination. His brothers will live.
Which means, right now, he needs to go and change things.
Making a nuisance of himself in Whitebeard territory will be a good start.
.
.
.
.
Despite his years in the Revolutionary Army, Sabo has never once been to Fishmen island. Not once. He'd never had need to; the Tenryūbito may have a far-extending reach, but not once had they ever been capable of swallowing Fishmen Island within that ever-expanding grasp. It'd been protected for too many years, first by Whitebeard, then by Big Mom, then by Luffy himself.
Perhaps the reason he finds himself here of all places is that this location meant so much to his dear brother, was linked to Jinbe, who had joined Luffy's crew.
Sabo could have picked any other territory belonging to the World's Strongest Man, but it was here he'd chosen to plant himself, the one island that is perhaps the most difficult of all to get to.
Barring Raftel, of course.
.
Digging into the shijimi clam pizza he'd ordered, Sabo slouches a bit more into his seat, eyes flicking around, taking in every last person within the café.
It shouldn't be that hard to find someone carrying Whitebeard's mark, and if worst comes to worst, he can always go as accost whomever is in charge and get them to ring Whitebeard; surely, they'll have the Yonko's Den Den Mushi number? It's a number Sabo feels like he should probably have, but by the time he'd had need to contact the World's Strongest Man, he'd already died.
Along with Ace.
Ignoring the sharp barb that strikes at his heart, the blond quickly devours the last of his pizza. He's startled right off his chair when he looks up and meets burning blue eyes.
"Holy hell!"
His pipe is in his hand a second later than usual (he can't just go to attack with Ace's signature move anymore, he's not the flame Logia anymore, he needs to remember this) but the woman doesn't make a move to attack.
No, the merwoman just keeps staring at him, and expression upon her face that Sabo doesn't quite know how to interoperate.
"What did you do."
"Excuse me? I haven't done anything, I don't-"
"It's all changed."
Slowly lowering his weapon from where he had (quite rudely, but totally justifiably) been pointing it within the lady's face, Sabo gives her a quick, sweeping glance and understanding smacks him right in the face.
Of course, this is the fortune teller. The one who predicts the future with a crystal ball, the one who predicted Whitebeard's death.
Luffy's crew had told him all about their adventures on Fishmen Island, about the fortune teller who tried to predict Luffy and fell flat for her efforts.
"The future that was once so clear to me… I cannot see the same visions. All I see when I look upon the cause, when I look upon you, is darkness."
Oh brilliant, that doesn't sound promising at all.
Swallowing hard around the lump in his throat, Sabo shoulders his pipe and pockets his free hand, drumming up the best smile that he possible can.
"But Ace'll live, right? Fire Fist Ace?"
The fortune teller (for the life of him, Sabo can't remember her name) hums slowly, head tilting to a side as she considers him.
"We all die in the end," she finally murmurs, nails dancing upon the table-top that Sabo'd had hastily abandoned. "Will Fire Fist live longer than before? Perhaps. I do believe I am done searching for answers. I dare say I cannot deal with another fright that would come about should the future disappear once again."
In the very least that is promising for Sabo's goal.
The only reason Whitebeard died when he did is because he'd gone to save Ace.
If Ace doesn't need saving, then Whitebeard won't die.
It's as simple as that.
"You are searching for Whitebeard, correct?"
"That is true, Ma'am. I don't suppose-"
"He's back in the New World now, you missed him by a month."
Well drat.
Still, given that Sabo landed months before Ace's execution, he can hardly complain about being a month short of meeting Whitebeard.
Luffy's not even on the Grand Line yet, there's nothing to worry about on that front.
It's his big brother (even if he's only two months Sabo's elder) that he has to look out for right now. Because Ace might be older, but he's also so much more of an idiot than Sabo is. His rampant belief that he shouldn't be alive is a clear enough indicator of that.
"Here."
Staring at the small slip of paper that is presented to him, Sabo slowly reaches for the little offering, running his fingers over the rough texture of the paper.
"It's Namur's Vivre Card," she muses, running one graceful hand through her hair, "the Eighth Division Commander. Do ask Namur to stop by again and get him to bring that back with him."
"Will do, Ma'am. My thanks."
He's not going to ask the lady's relationship with one of the Whitebeard pirates, even if he's curious. It's not his business.
All that matter is now he has a way to get to the ship, or in the very least, one of the division commanders. He's that little bit closer to getting to Ace, to doing… well, something.
All he knows is he has to see his brother, to see the adult he has become. He has to see that Ace is happy, to know that he can protect that happiness. It's the whole reason he came back, after all.
Ace and Luffy mean the world to him.
.
.
.
.
Armed with a Vivre Card, finding the Moby Dick within the vast waters of the New World is made infinity easier.
Sabo checks in with Dragon via Den Den, guilt squirming in his stomach with just how much work he's blowing off, but Ace and Luffy are even more important than his work with the Revolutionaries. The Revolution is his atonement for his birth, for being born a noble. It's his way of correcting that.
His brothers are even more important than making amends with the world though.
Dragon clearly doesn't quite understand why that is, but he does accept Sabo's priorities. He's given the Revolution ten years of his life; that's a lot of time to build up holidays to use, apparently.
There's no such thing as a true break though; Sabo's under instructions to try and feel Whitebeard out for potential partnership with the Revolution. He's the Yonko that's most likely to go for it, according to Bunny Joe's recruitment profile.
He might always be a pirate, but Whitebeard is someone who would potentially consider working with them.
.
Tying his boat to the small, out of the way dock, Sabo's eyes flicker over to look at the Moby Dick that is nestled just off shore, perhaps with a skeleton crew to keep it ready for departure.
The vast majority of the Whitebeard Pirates are all ashore; the people of the island are celebrating their visiting protectors.
Already Sabo has… appropriated some clothing from washing lines; a horrendously flora tee-shirt that's giving him flashbacks of Garp that're better left buried, and some simple swim-shorts. It's just a shame the latter is Luffy red.
Smoothing down the material, Sabo twists his pipe between his fingers, weighing up the risk of bringing that along or substituting it for the collapsible staff.
On one hand, he's good enough with Haki that the staff's wooden properties won't be a hindrance, but on the other hand… the pipe's nostalgic. It might not be the same one he'd used on Dawn, but it's the same shape, the same kind of design. If a metal pipe could even have a design.
Sabo leaves it very begrudgingly in the hollow of a tree near his little slip of a boat, making sure that his temporary weapon is easily accessible before he heads off towards the source of the noise.
.
The party's in full swing by the time Sabo arrives, sunglasses perched upon the bridge of his nose and his tophat waiting back on the skiff; it's too noticeable to wear and he really doesn't want to face Ace until he's mentally prepared himself.
Ace thinks he's dead. It's a reoccurring chant that bounces around in his head. Ace thinks he's dead.
It'll freak him out big time to have (what he thinks is) a Sabo-lookalike suddenly attack him with a hug and start sobbing on his shoulder.
The blond's still not sure how he kept himself together during his reunion with Luffy, not sure how he managed to bite back the tears until he called Koala.
He's never gonna manage it with Ace; Ace who'd been dead to Sabo, who Sabo had never got to meet again until suddenly he can.
Because he's just over there by that campfire, wearing a hat that Sabo'd only ever seen sitting atop a gravestone before.
His breath catches in his throat and Sabo has to force his legs to keep moving, to keep going and not stop because that'd draw attention he doesn't want or need.
But god, Ace looks so happy.
He's sitting hunched over on a log by the campfire, one that the locals have set up in the middle of their town square, chatting away with another blond that Sabo slowly recognises as Marco the Phoenix.
He's gesturing wildly with his hands, little licks of flames are scorching at his fingers and Sabo remembers a time when fire had embraced his every gesture too.
His body doesn't know how to miss that power, but his soul sure does and Sabo beats the feeling back mercilessly.
It's not his power anymore, it was never his power. Fire has always belonged to Ace; Sabo'd just been borrowing that.
Even then he'd failed, unable to carry out Ace's will and protect Luffy. He's not a D, of course he'd fail such a momentous task.
This time though, he's going to make sure these two idiots are there to pull each other out of their messes.
Even if it kills him.
It doesn't matter if he dies, as long as Ace and Luffy live; Sabo'll die with no regrets then.
Ace laughs, loud and boisterous and Sabo's chest crumples, the rib clenching in and organs squeezing.
He can't face him. Not yet. Not in front of all these people.
His heart is pounding, so excited, so eager to see Ace again.
That angry, self-loathing child he'd met so many years ago looks so happy now. He's smiling and laughing along with a family he's found all by himself. Older brothers who'll look out for him in a way Luffy isn't able to, being the youngest among them.
He doesn't need Sabo, doesn't need him to interfere with his life but that's what the blond's going to do anyway.
Just, just not yet.
He cannot ruin this fantastic party, cannot bring the mood crashing down.
Ace is alive; there's no rush for Sabo to present himself before him.
One more night will have to do, he can wait one more night.
The party won't last too long; the Whitebeard Pirates have too many locations to protect to spend too long partying on a single one.
Which means they'll be boarding the Moby Dick soon to set sail.
It's a good thing that Sabo's a member of the Revolutionary Army and well-trained in stealth; he's going to need every last ounce of skill to sneak aboard. He doesn't imagine stowaways are treated too kindly aboard a pirate's ship; best not to risk having the crew prove him right.
.
With one last, long look at Ace (Ace who laughs as he tears into meat and grins so brightly), Sabo turns on his heels and heads off to go retrieve his pipe and hat.
.
.
.
.
Sabo'd never really considered just how big of a ship the Moby Dick was, not until he found himself climbing it, that is.
Grunting, the blond comes to a stop on one of the decorative ledges, feet firmly planted upon the porthole of a window, chest heaving and arms burning from the strain.
Any other day he'd have simply zipped up to the top, but this is a matter of stealth. He can't let anyone know he's here, not until he's ready to face Ace.
Finding the idiot's room shouldn't be too hard; he'll just look for the one with an abundance of shorts and boots, yet with a clear scarcity of shirts. Simple.
Reaching up with steady fingers, Sabo pulls himself up ever so slightly, peering through the railings but the deck is clear of any personal.
A quick burst of energy and he's hauling himself up and over, ducking low and rolling to hide behind one of the many cannons on deck.
Why they need so many cannons when their captain can create earthquakes with a flick of his wrist, Sabo'll never know. It's not his place to ask those questions, and honestly, it's not like the missing information is going to bother him for the rest of his life.
Footsteps echoes cross the wood of the deck and Sabo freezes, shoulder-blades pressing into the cold metal of the cannon to his back; it's a good thing he redressed in his usual gear, that flora shirt would've never kept him as warm as his usual ensemble is capable of.
Reaching into his waistcoat, Sabo retrieves the pocket watch that resides there, angling the mirrored surface just so in order to spot his company.
It's a large man, dressed in white and sporting a magnificent pompadour. Very impressive indeed.
It reminds Sabo of bath time at Dadan's, that one day they managed to flinch some bubble-bath and wasted an hour or so distorting their hair into as wild and weird a style as they could manage.
The memory has his lips quirking up at the corners even as his shoulders roll and relax into the weaponry at his back.
Tilting the watch surface in order to keep track of the Whitebeard Pirate, Sabo stills as another figure enters the picture, one he knows all too well.
He's up and rolling before the thought has even crossed his mind.
All he can see if the flash of the knife in Marshall D. Teach's hand, the wild grin of his chessboard like teeth, and all he can think of is Luffy.
Luffy who died because this man pushed him to the limit, left him unable to defend himself against Akainu and this is Sabo's chance to strike him down, a pre-emptive move.
His pipe comes up, catching the edge of the knife in a stalemate, both pirates spinning around to stare at him in surprise.
"Wha- Who're you?!"
Sabo doesn't have time to answer because the bastard Blackbeard shoots Pompadour in the leg,
Pompadour who releases the fruit he'd been holding in his hand on instinct.
There's a still moment of silence as they all watch the dark purple form bounce down the deck, rolling to a stop against the mast and then they explode into motion.
"Teach?! What the hell?!"
"Get out of my way?!"
"You fucking bastard!"
For once in his life, it's Sabo who has the most vulgar thing to say, it's him who swings his pipe with the full intention of decapitation and if this is the kind of anger Ace feels daily then it's no wonder he has such poor impulse control.
Blackbeard jolts just out of Sabo's reach, driven that little bit further away from the fruit (he can't get that fruit, not if it's what Sabo thinks it is, he can't have it) just as Pompadour proves the smartest of them and slams a sword into the deck, springing one of the floorboards free and catapulting the Devil Fruit into the air.
Seeing it arching above his head, Sabo doesn't really think. Not in the slightest.
One moment he's on the deck, the next he's in the air, snatching the fruit up as Blackbeard howls with untold fury beneath him, already powering himself up off the deck but it's way too late.
Panicked and with no real option (not one that doesn't dictate running and fleeing for far too long and then he'd miss Ace which is not acceptable, damn it!) Sabo does the first thing he can think of.
He eats the fruit.
If the silence was loud before, it's nothing compared to the complete absence of sound that blankets the Moby Dick as Sabo lands upon the deck once again. Even the waves crashing against the hull seem quieter than usual.
He's barely paying any attention though, because while what his ears sense is bad, what his mouth is telling him is even worse.
"Bleurgh! That was awful!"
Sticking his tongue out, Sabo makes to wipe the awful flavour off with his sleeve before recalling where he is, what he has just done. His face goes blank, because, because-
"Oops."
The roar of potent rage that Blackbeard lets out has Sabo snarling, angling his pipe as one Haki-coated hand draws back, fingers curled for his own signature move.
"Thatch?! What's going on, that doesn't sound like a spar!"
The call from beneath deck has all three of them tensing.
Then Blackbeard is fleeing, leaping over the edge and every part of Sabo screams to give chase, to cut the bastard down before he can ruin everything, before he can ultimately set Ace up on the chopping block, before he can become the instrument for Luffy's death.
A hand clamps down on Sabo's shoulder before he can make it completely over the railings.
"Wha- Let me go!"
"Woah there, friend, you haven't even introduced yourself yet!"
.
.
.
.
"Let me go, let me go! The bastard's getting away!"
"You just saved my life! Teach- he was going to- and you-"
Pompadour wraps his thick arms around Sabo and squeezes, effectively immobilizing him in his hold and Sabo knows jack squat about his new powers (holy fucking shit that was not part of the plan, what the hell happens now?!) so they're hardly gonna help.
"And you ate my Devil Fruit! Cough it up, cough it up!"
The arms around him suddenly start squeezing that much harder in a bastardised variation of the Heimlich manoeuvre, squeezing Sabo's midriff and fuck he hasn't actually eaten much of anything is absolutely ages. Nothing but that crappy fruit.
The one little bite he'd gotten comes right back up but even then, Sabo's aware he still has the powers; can feel them sitting tight in his core.
"Shit, kid, I was only joking, you didn't need to throw it back up. Pretty sure it doesn't work like that."
Pompadour drops him, at long last, but Sabo's legs are weak beneath him, almost caving before he manages to catch himself.
Reaching out with his Haki, he finds Blackbeard is out of his striking range and it's not exactly like Sabo can go swimming after him. Fuck, he knew he should have rowed his little boat out here but he'd been going for stealth and it's not exactly like he'd planned on taking on the hammer properties that come with being a Devil Fruit user. He's stuck here.
Damn it.
"I don't suppose you've got a skiff I could borrow, do you?"
"No way, kid, you're not going anywhere until I get some answers. What're you doing here?"
Sabo's a liar, he always has been, always will be. He's capable of twisting his words, twisting his expression; he learnt quickly as a child.
The common-folk of the Grey Terminal hadn't liked his posh manners, his well-rounded speech; it'd all but screamed his noble heritage in their faces. He learnt how to hide it, to hide the tells, learnt how to lie through practice.
One of the few times he'd gotten it wrong, one of the thugs had knocked a baby tooth clean out of his mouth. That'd taken ages to grow back.
It's an acknowledge fact that Sabo can lie.
But this is Ace's family, and he doesn't want to.
"It's nice to meet you, my name's Sabo," he finally chokes out because that tight grip on his stomach fucking hurt.
"Sabo," Pompadour repeats, lips twisting in a slight frown before he gives a deceptively delicate shrug for such a broad-shouldered man. "Nice to meet ya', kid. Name's Thatch, Fourth Division Commander."
He offers one burly hand, the skin nicked with long-healed cuts and the blond happily shakes the man's hand.
"Now what brings you here."
"Revolutionary Army business," Sabo snaps out, spine straightening under the surprised stare he gets in return. "I'm the Chief of Staff and Dragon-san wanted me to speak with your Captain."
"Well shit, they're recruiting young, aren't they?"
"I'm twenty," Sabo deadpans, removing his hat to run a hand through his hair and peer up at Thatch. He's not that much taller than him actually, no more so than a foot, take an inch or two. It's that ridiculous hairstyle that adds to his height.
"Well it's a damn good thing you showed when you did, I just- I can't believe- Teach had-"
Thatch of the pompadoured hair breaks off, glancing away, betrayed wrote very obviously upon his face and Sabo's heart goes out to him, it really does.
Sabo's lost both his brothers once, but they had been real. They had been his real brothers and there had been no pretending with him.
Teach had been a Sea King in the waves, one Thatch hadn't seen coming until it was almost too late.
"Thatch, my son. What has happened?"
The deep, deep voice to his back has Sabo freezing in place, fingers clenching hard around the brim of his tophat. Shit, he hadn't even sensed them approaching.
"Holy shit, Thatch! You've been shot!"
That voice is so much deeper than he remembers, but the childish dulcets are still there, buried beneath.
Nonono, he was supposed to have more time than this! He's not ready yet.
"It was Teach. He- He wanted the Devil Fruit- Fuck, if he'd asked I'd just given it to him- I-"
"It was Teach?" Whitebeard's voice is quiet, but there's a mounting fury behind it; he believes every word from Thatch's mouth.
That doesn't surprise Sabo; the pompadour-sporting ginger has an honest face.
"Yeah. Came at me with a knife- I'd be dead if it weren't for our Revolutionary friend here."
Sabo cringes slightly, shoulders hunching up and in towards his neck.
Why did he draw attention to him? Can't he see Sabo's not prepared for this?
God- God he thought he could do this but he can't. It's been ten years, more than ten years for Sabo with both of them thinking the other was dead (Ace was dead, he was but now he's not and he never will be if Sabo gets a say), but suddenly they're both alive and well and this has all come on way too quick.
"Hey, don't be shy! You're the one that wanted to meet Pops. Pops, this is Sabo, Sabo, Pops."
The stricken whimper that crawls out of Ace's throat hits Sabo like a storm-fuelled wave, a sudden crest of seawater and he's drowning, it's so fucking hard to breathe.
But breathe he must, he must because Thatch is looking really concerned which means Ace (Ace who's here, Ace who's right behind him if only Sabo could stop being a fucking coward and turn around) must look worse than he sounds.
And that crushed little whimper couldn't have sounded more broken, not to Sabo.
Swallowing hard around his dry-dry-dry throat, Sabo flips his hat around in his hands, planting it upon the crown of his head and chancing a glance over his shoulder.
It's exactly as he feared, as if he's torn Ace's heart right out of his chest.
The hair's still the same, black waves framing freckled cheeks, he's tall, they might be the same height or one might be slightly taller than the other.
The eyes though, they're the same. So warm now, just as they'd been when Ace finally opened up, when he entrusted to both he and Luffy he's deepest, darkest secret.
It's Ace and Sabo's hands are fucking shaking.
"Hey, Ace," Sabo chokes and it sounds hellishly awkward to his own ears, so fuck knows how this sounds to their audience.
"So, I'm not dead. Surprise?"
.
This has been ready since the 22nd, but ffnet didn't want to let me make a new story for some reason, so here's my late 'Happy One-Piece day' fic. (Otherwise known as my wish-fulfillment fic)
So, title for this is taken from 'Start a Riot' by BANNERS. (Seemed appropriate); I might write the fallout of this in the future as a second chapter, but right now, this' stays a oneshot.
Hope you guy's like this one,
Tsume
xxx