AN: Aaah I'll upload these every day until I run out of drabbles. They all have a different theme/AU/pairing. And damn I am really proud of this one~
Pairing: SaboLu
Theme: Fugitive
Sabo's lungs burned, but he kept running.
He had to. He couldn't be caught again, just couldn't, he'd be damned if he allowed it to happen. His pursuers were hot on his heels, practically dogging his every step, instilling a sense of hopelessness within the blond – but still, he kept running.
He would never return to that place. Never.
He rounded a corner, not paying attention to anything beyond the need to escape, and ran head-first into someone, causing them both to fall to the ground. Sabo let out a pained yelp as he hit the cobble-stone hard, banging his already pained shoulder. His legs hand tangled with the person he'd run into, a boy with large eyes and a straw-hat hanging around his neck, and when Sabo's gaze caught the boy's, he froze.
The boy blinked at him, bewildered, and said rather belatedly. "Ow. Watch where you're going, mister!"
Sabo came back to himself, and struggled to get to his feet. He wheezed out, "A-ah, my most sincerest apologies, I wasn't-"
The sound of shouting interrupted him, and again, Sabo froze on the spot, terror overriding his flight instinct. The sound of pounding feet got closer and closer, and the blond stared at the corner he'd turned before with horror, knowing – just knowing that he was going to be caught again, dragged back to that horrid place where he'd rot away for the rest of his life and –
A hand curled around his own, and suddenly Sabo found himself yanked into a house, the door slamming shut behind him. And abruptly he was pushed against a wall by thin, frail looking arms, a hand slapped over his mouth.
That boy was staring at him. "You need a place to hide, yeah? Someone's after you? 'S why you were running." He gave a knowing nod, and grinned. "It happens a lot. You can hide here for a bit, Ace won't mind, shishishishi!"
Sabo could only stare at him in shock, blue eyes wide – he couldn't speak because of the hand over his mouth, but he wasn't exactly inclined to pull away either. As he stood there staring, he could hear what sounded like many people running past outside, and Sabo was nearly shaking with fear. And hope. If… if they ran past…
There was silence. No banging on the door, no soldiers demanding they search the premises. Blessed silence.
The strength left Sabo's legs and he slid down the wall, and the boy crouched beside him, staring with that wide, carefree grin.
"W-why-" The blond licked his lips. "Why are you… helping me?"
The boy tilted his head, pouting – as if Sabo had asked a stupid question. "Because you needed it, silly. Did you not want it? I can go get the guards if you want."
Swallowing, the Sabo shook his head, and the boy grinned again and held out a hand. "Good! I'm Luffy by the way."
"Sabo." The blond replied, hesitantly taking it. "I… thank you…"
Luffy hauled him easily to his feet, despite his weak looking stature, and giggled. "No problem. Hey Ace! We have another one!"
As the boy dragged him into a different room, Sabo's head spun, and he wondered, 'others…?'