Authors Note: I'M BACK! And with the first of the one shots from my Same Difference verse that I promised readers months and months ago. I can only apologise for the huge delay in starting these, but real life needed priority and while the situation is by no means resolved, it's certainly improved and my motivation and energy have return! I don't know how often these will be updated, probably only when the muse strikes so there's no posting schedule.
SPOILER WARNING for Same Difference, I suppose, as these won't make a lick of sense unless you've read that first and chapters will probably jump all over the place in the timeline, so I encourage you to go read Same Difference if you haven't already :D
Happy reading!
Dedicated to the wonderful Mithril who I adore beyond words!
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Chapter 1: A Light in the Dark
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It was the middle of the night when Ace returned from a scouting job at one of the islands previously under Whitebeard's protection. The locals had reportedly been suffering some trouble with a pirate gang, and with the Whitebeard Pirates stretched to the limits, trouble seemingly cropping up on nearly every island formally under Whitebeard's protection since the old pirate had died, Ace had had no choice but to go alone. Marco hadn't been at all happy about the plan since the news of Ace's parentage had made him even more of a target to the World Government than before. It wouldn't just be the marines or pirate hunters interested in him anymore.
It had taken some persuading from both Ace and Izo to convince the new captain that a small scouting mission wasn't going to end up with Ace being captured by the marines. That hadn't stopped Marco from wrangling a personal promise out of the mera mera no mi user that he would return within three days ("Or else, Ace!").
It was now the fourth day, and Ace was only just sneaking back aboard the Moby Dick. All hope that Marco wasn't on watch waiting for him was lost when Ace spied the blond stalking towards him from the shadows.
Cringing, Ace held up his hands and offered what he hoped was a placating smile. "I know, I know. I'm late," he acknowledged when Marco came to a stop a few feet away and Ace could see the man checking him over for any injuries. "I would've contacted you but there was a storm, and -"
"I know," Marco interrupted. "Namur informed us yesterday a storm was brewing."
"Oh, good," Ace said, relaxing slightly. "Wait, so if you knew I was gonna be late, why are you waiting for me when it's not your turn for night duty?" he asked, a little puzzled. If Marco hadn't waited up to yell at him, there must be another reason. "What's happened?" he asked, apprehensively.
Marco sighed, raising one hand to rest it on his hip. Ace wasn't fooled by the posture one bit. He could easily see how tense Marco looked.
"Marco?" Ace prompted.
Marco stared him dead in the eye. "Your brother's here. He arrived early this morning."
Ace frowned. Luffy still had six months of training with Rayleigh left before he reunited with his crew, which ruled out his youngest brother. "Hm, wonder what brought him to the New World?" Ace asked, curious but also a little pleased. While Ace and Sabo spoke as often as possible on the den den mushi, they hadn't had a reason to seek the other out since the pair had left Luffy on Rusukaina eighteen months ago.
"He didn't say, yoi," Marco said. "I just sent him off to your cabin. He didn't look too good," he admitted.
Ace's brow immediately knit with worry. "Was he okay?" he asked sharply, quickly striding off towards the cabins without waiting for Marco's answer.
"He wasn't injured, that I could see anyway," Marco informed him, easily falling into step with the Commander. "He just looked tired, so I sent him to your cabin to rest. I took him some food a little while ago and he managed to eat nearly as much as you do." Ace nodded, relaxing a touch because if Sabo was well enough to eat, it was hardly going to be a physical ailment that had drawn Sabo to Ace.
"Thanks, Marco," Ace said gratefully as they reached his cabin.
Marco nodded and slapped him on the shoulder. "No problem. Just let us know if you need anything," he added before disappearing around the corner.
Ace stepped into the cabin quickly, not bothering to turn on any lights and tossing his bag and hat into the corner. In the dim light, Ace easily spotted the figure slumped on his bed. It looked like Sabo had simply sat down the edge and flopped backwards, since his feet still rested on the floor, his pipe propped up next to him within easy reach. The only thing Sabo had managed to do was put his top hat onto the hook that rested above the headboard, where Ace usually put his own.
"Hey," Ace greeted, not bothering to keep his voice down. It was easy to see from Sabo's breathing that his brother wasn't asleep, merely resting quietly, just as Ace suspected he would be. For all that Sabo trusted his crew, he was still on an unfamiliar ship and wouldn't let himself rest easy without Ace aboard too.
"Hey," Sabo returned quietly, not bothering to remove the arm he'd flung across his eyes as Ace came to a halt and stared down at him. "You're late," he muttered.
Ace rolled his eyes. "Well, if I'd have known you'd be dropping by, I'd have tried to leave before the storm hit. So, what brings you here?" he enquired, quickly giving his brother a visual once over. It was as Marco had said; Sabo was apparently uninjured.
Sabo didn't reply for several long minutes before he finally pulled his arm away from his face. "I'm tired," he said softly. Ace smiled sympathetically, although internally he was wincing at the large black shadows underneath heavy blue eyes, and if possible, Sabo's naturally pale skin looked even whiter than normal.
"What have you been doing?" he probed gently.
Sabo shrugged weakly. "The usual. We were on the trail of some arms traders and we reached the handover point too late. The weapons had already been handed over and an entire town had been ransacked. They didn't even let the kids escape," he whispered.
Ace frowned, staring down at Sabo's clenched fists. Granted, he had seen plenty of horrors in the years since leaving Dawn Island that had sent even his strong stomach rolling, but Ace couldn't even pretend to understand the darkness that Sabo had seen. The blond had witnessed the deepest, darkest places of the world's underbelly and he still threw himself back in with a ferocity that Ace could only admire and aspire to duplicate. Sabo was so self-sacrificing Ace often felt like strangling his brother in a bid to make him realise he couldn't possibly save everyone. But that was Sabo, and Ace wouldn't change him for the world. He could only make sure he made himself available in the aftermath, to remind Sabo that he didn't have to shoulder his burden alone. Just like Sabo had done for him when they were children.
"Come on, up. You can't sleep like that," Ace gestured, but Sabo remained stubbornly still. Ace sighed and grabbed the lapels of Sabo's black coat and hurled him upright. The blond swayed where he sat, as limp as doll while Ace wrestled him out of his jacket and cravat, both of which were discarded onto the floor with the pipe, an action what ordinarily would have had Sabo tutting, but he only stared at the items dumbly. Ace needed to nudge him lightly in the shoulder before he flopped backwards again. Ace yanked off both their boots before pushing and elbowing to make some room for himself on the cramped cabin bed.
"Move over already, I'm gonna fall off," he grumbled. Sabo didn't shove back at all, which set off the twentieth warning bell in Ace's head that his brother really was struggling with the outcome of his latest job. "Go to sleep, you look terrible," he tried to joke lightly.
"Always the charmer," Sabo muttered but he made no move to close his eyes.
"Sleep usually comes better if you don't stare at the ceiling," he pointed out helpfully.
"I don't wanna sleep," Sabo admitted. As close as he was, Ace was able to pick up on Sabo's increased breathing. "I can't get them out of my head!" he gasped. "They'd just left the bodies in the street for their families to find! One kid found his brother impaled and it just…He wouldn't stop crying and… we couldn't get him to let go…He reminded me of Luffy…"
Ace's heart clenched at the raw pain he could hear in his brother's voice. Helplessness threatened to overwhelm him until a thought appeared. There was nothing Ace could do about what had happened, but he might be able to help Sabo stop picturing the horrors he'd witnessed. Then maybe his brother could finally get some much needed rest.
Carefully, because the bed really wasn't big enough for two fully grown men, Ace rolled onto his back and raised a hand towards the ceiling. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Sabo watching him curiously, his own eyes suspiciously wet. Ace let his fire, always a steady hum just beneath his skin, rise to the surface of his palm. In an instant, dozens of small green lights were floating above their heads, much like the fireflies that gave them their name.
Ace chanced a look at the blond and was pleased to see that he was mesmerised by the small glowing lights, a look of peace finally settling across his tired face. Ace was content to keep Hotarubi going until Sabo finally succumbed to sleep, but his brother had other ideas.
"Tell me a story," he whispered, never drawing his eyes away from the display dancing above them.
"A story? Who are you? Luffy, or something?" Ace teased, but he was already racking his mind for an appropriate tale. "Anything in particular you wanna hear?"
Sabo shook his head, so Ace settled for telling him about the Whitebeard Pirates. Anything and everything he knew, he shared with his brother, mindful to stay away from the more violent anecdotes. Whenever Ace started to falter, Sabo would quietly whisper for, "Another," and Ace complied, sensing Sabo was seeking his voice to drown out screams of anguish only he could hear.
"…knocked on my ass. Although, it was better than being tossed into the ocean again. I tell ya, if Namur had had to rescue me one more time, I'd never have lived it down. Even back then, Pops didn't go easy on me. Although, I guess he could've been testing me, seeing whether I was really cut out for it."
Voice hoarse from the hours of whispered storytelling, Ace trailed off, hit with a sudden realisation. Instead of the gut-wrenching pain that had been present for the past several months, there was only the sense of affection. It didn't hurt to talk about Whitebeard anymore. Ace smiled and turned to Sabo, eager to share the thought, even if it did mean admitting Sabo had once again been right that the pain wouldn't last forever. He paused abruptly, however, when he saw the blond's eyes had finally drifted shut.
Sighing with relief, Ace released Hotarubi and the light display disappeared, plunging the cabin into complete darkness. He let his own eyes slide close, intending to catch some rest himself when a shrill, but muffled cry rose up from the floor.
"Purupurupurupuru. Purupurupurupuru!"
"Shit!" Ace cursed, almost falling off the bed in surprise. He scrambling around in the dark until he found Sabo's jacket, nearly setting several things on fire with his hand, which he set alight in order to see in the pitch black. With another curse, he finally found the den den mushi disrupting the silence. He hit the shell with more force than strictly necessary, connecting the call, even as he checked to see that Sabo was still sleeping.
"Whoever this is had best bear in mind that if you wake up my brother, I will personally see to it that you are set on fire!" he hissed threateningly.
"Ace?" The hesitant voice of Koala echoed softly back at him and Ace was pleased she had heeded his warning.
"Koala," he acknowledged in return, rising to his feet and stepping away from the bed in an effort to keep their voices from troubling the revolutionary. "Can I help you with something?"
"Not now I know that Sabo found his way to you," Koala admitted, the relief tangible in her voice. Ace shook his head, a fond smile flickering across his face as he stared down at his sleeping brother, completely unsurprised that Sabo hadn't bothered to tell anyone where he was planning on disappearing to.
"Yeah, Marco said he arrived this morning," said Ace. He didn't feel the need to explain why Sabo had sought him out. Koala would be well aware of why.
"Good," Koala replied. "Tell him when he wakes up, he doesn't need to rush back. He earned himself a break, Dragon-san's orders. You get to keep him for a little while."
"Oh, lucky me," Ace retorted, not letting on that he hadn't actually planned on letting Sabo leave until he had satisfied himself that Sabo was actually alright.
"Take care of him, Ace," Koala implored.
Ace huffed. "Of course I will, he's my little brother," he reminded her. Ace was still revelling in the knowledge that when he and Sabo had finally had the opportunity to compare birthdays, he had ended up being the elder big brother. He couldn't gloat over the fact too much though, as whenever he did, Sabo would bring up that he was taller than his 'big' brother. "It's not the first time I've had to pull him out of a rut," he added.
Koala laughed gently. "Right, got it. Goodnight."
Ace dropped the den den mushi back to the floor when the call disconnected and clambered carefully back onto the bed, mindful not to knock into Sabo who had taken the opportunity to spread out without Ace next to him.
"Night, little brother," he whispered into the darkness.
"'m no' little. Lu's the…little one…" Sabo slurred, making Ace jump slightly.
"Yes, he is," Ace agreed, amused by his brother's sleepy response. "But so are you," he reminded the blond. Sabo grunted once in response before settling back down. Ace shook his head fondly. Little brothers, he mused, they always had to have the last word.
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I hope it was worth the wait. Please remember to review and let me know what you think, it's always appreciated :D
One of the most popular requests was Sabo to meet the Whitebeard Pirates and I am working on it, but as I said, updates on this will be sporadic.