Bruises.
He woke up with bruises.
They were barely noticeable, but they were everywhere. Ace couldn't recall any accident.
He looked to the side, instantly becoming worried as he realized Sabo's side of the bed was empty and cold.
Strange, he hadn't come home last night...
Ace jolted up in bed; his head pounding and making him fall before he could make it to the door. He let out a groan of pain. He had a sickening feeling in his gut. Had he not been looking for Sabo, he would have simply curled up in agony.
Sabo.
He was sure he would find him passed out on the couch. Yes. He probably came home late last night. He had done that before. Ace realized that he was only trying to convince himself as he begrudgingly stood up. He pulled on his shorts and grabbed his hat before leaving their room. Just because he hadn't woken up with Sabo at his side didn't mean something was wrong.
It just meant that he would search the city grid by grid until he found him.
Living room empty.
The tension left his shoulders immediately as he noticed the t.v. was on and heard movement in the kitchen. Right. He was awake so, of course, Sabo would be awake. He always woke up first. "Sa-" His voice caught in his throat as a straw hat peeked out from behind the counter.
"Ace!" His little brother's doe eyes widened as he was caught stealing from the kitchen.
"... Luffy." Where was Sabo?
"Hey, I made breakfast for you!" It was an obvious lie, but Ace couldn't care less at the moment.
"Not hungry."
Luffy stood frozen in his brother's kitchen as he rushed out.
Not hungry?!
He was back in seconds to grab the car keys he had forgotten in his distress. Ace didn't see Sabo's jacket or his hat anywhere in the array of winter clothes they had set near their door. Frost assaulted his bare skin the second he steped out of their apartment. It was snowing, and people were giving him looks for forgoing the bare minimum of a shirt. He got in his car and was about to pull out of the driveway when he realized he hadn't the slightest idea where to start looking. He decided now wasn't the time for technicalities as he just started driving.
It felt like hours before he saw the familiar blue top hat.
He pulled the car to a halt, not even parking correctly; it wasn't a busy street, and not many people were out that time of day anyways.
"Sabo..." The thin layer of snow over his lover's unconcious form told Ace he must've been there for hours; maybe even the whole night... Why someone would just leave him propped up against an alley wall like he was nothing caused rage to run up his spine. No one did that to his Sabo and walked away with it unscathed. Not if he could help it.
'But I couldn't...' Ace realized with a jolt. He wasn't there. Sabo had been alone, and there wasn't anything he could do about it.
He picked up Sabo's limp frame with the intention of bringing him to the car and putting the heat on blast, only for his black and blue tainted skin to become much more apparent. His vision became blurred as Sabo moved to hold onto him tightly, letting out a groan of pain as he did so.
"A-Ace?" He tried to answer only to choke on his words. Sabo looked around in confusion, his eyes falling back on him. "What happened?"
"I... I j-just found you here... Y-you don't remember?" Sabo chuckled as he tried to stand on his own.
"No, I mean what happened to you. You're covered in bruises." Ace stared at him, shocked, as a tear slid down his face. Sabo immediately moved to wipe it away, only for his hand to be grabbed tightly. He was soon in a bone crushing hug. All he could do was grip Ace just as tightly. Eventually, he heard a chuckle come from the raven.
"I guess... I guess we match then." He smiled.
"Yes. I suppose we do..." Sabo then realized that he was indeed forgetting something. He pulled away, momentarily standing on his own, before falling.
"Sabo!" Ace was immediately crouching on the ground by his side with a hand on his shoulder. He grinned, cupping the raven's worried face.
"Merry Christmas." He said as loudly as his weak voice could manage. Ace's visage slowly turned into a smile, before he was pulled in for a demanding kiss.
"Merry Christmas."
XXX
For Ty
merry christmas my friend. I hope you like this.