Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece
The Years Before - II
…
Life is stuck on hard mode.
…
"I really like you, Sabo."
Five simple words, but when arranged in that order they made him brain dead. She was his friend, but she liked him like that? For how long had this been going on? They barely knew each other. Or perhaps he just didn't know much about her. What he knew of her, he learned from Koala or from Kuma. The only things he had actually found out from the woman herself were few. She liked to annoy him, she loved to laugh, she answered calls, she went on missions, she could be talkative when she wanted to be and she cared for the Revolution's cause. He wondered if she knew more about him than he did her. That was likely. Would she still say those words if she found out that he was once a noble – those the Revolutionary Army -he- hated and fought against?
But when he thought of those words, when he replayed them in his mind, all those other useless thoughts left him. Life stopped. His breath hitched. The world ceased to exist and he did the only thing he could.
He avoided it.
Only thing was, she persisted.
"You know," Kuni cornered him inside his office. She was frowning. "You've been avoiding me."
He had been working on something that needed to be finished up immediately. The get done as soon as possible kind of business. His DenDen Mushi was constantly ringing and in the one moment that it finally stopped, that was the time Kuni had decided to come in and question him. He didn't know how to respond to her words though. He never really thought of her – of anyone in that way.
They were friends, co-workers. Nothing more, everything less.
She said those simple words and his mind reeled, his mouth shut up in an instant. Almost as if she had taken him by the tongue, pressed down and squeezed. It wasn't a pleasant feeling. But the fact that she could nail his ass to the wall with a few words impressed him, somewhat. Most women thought that they could get him to listen with the sheer loudness of the words they hurled.
They were wrong.
"Is it because of what I said?" She asked. That brutal honesty of hers was really grating on his nerves. Why did she even say those words to him? How did she want him to react? How was he supposed to keep their friendship intact?
"No," he looked down at the mountain of papers on his desk. Anything to distract him from her. "I've just been busy lately."
"Then take a break," she said, easily.
"People are dying, you know?" He raised an eyebrow at her as if wondering why she was even here in the first place. Though, he knew the reason why.
"People are always dying," she shrugged, carelessly.
"And I'm trying to do something about it," he frowned and looked back up at her. "Why don't you help me?"
"Can I?" She asked. A happy smile on her face. Sabo's face flushed and he quickly looked back down at the papers, something that Kuni noticed. "Hey, I like you." His eyes widened and he looked up at her for a split second, before looking back down. How could she just say that so casually? Like it didn't even matter.
To a point, at least.
"But, it's not like I'm expecting you to come out and profess your undying love for me," Kuni said with a shrug. "I don't like being avoided."
His eyes widened.
"Sorry," he muttered, fully turning to face her. He gave her one of his usual grins and offered the only word he wanted to be with her, "Friends?"
She nodded, smiling.
Now that he thought about it, maybe that decision wasn't really for the best. He never answered her feelings properly. Half-heartedly suggesting being friends was his way of avoiding it because he wasn't sure how to react to such an unreal event. She accepted it with ease, of course, and things continued on. They did their routine again.
Same old, same old.
But, like any relationship, things slowly changed. Nothing could ever remain exactly the same, after all. Now, unlike usual, he'd unconsciously blush at some of her words and at times, she'd say things that a part of him felt good hearing. But that wasn't the big difference, the one major change was in the air between them. Somewhere there, her words lingered. But those words went ignored. Shoved to the corner where they didn't belong, where no one's feelings belonged. Sabo had always been the smartest one out of his brothers, but he never really felt that way. Okay, maybe when he was around Luffy he did, but that was another matter. Now, he was just another guy that didn't know what to do with a girl that had feelings for him. He didn't want to lose her, but he also didn't want to become anything more.
At least, that's what he thought. Weeks turned into months and months turned into years, and as days piled upon days, he thought that maybe his initial answer may have been an answer he hadn't really thought out properly. She stayed by his side, like Koala, like Hack, like Dragon. But was that really it? Perhaps he'd been too rash, too thoughtless, too disturbed at the time of his quick decision because he was finding it more and more difficult to calm his racing heart, to ease his worry, to fight the urge to keep her in his sights. She wasn't one of his brothers, so this was a strange sensation. Did he finally come to see her as family? Just as he saw the others he was close with? No. That wasn't it. This was different. Was it? He wasn't sure anymore.
All he knew was that their instances together continued.
He didn't go out of his way to ask her out and she didn't either. He asked more about her, sure. He now knew her birthday, her preferences and even her more strange habits. But he never got –or let himself get- to the point where he asked her to go somewhere not involving something work related. So, their relationship merely barreled onward.
Instances.
That's all it was.
"Damn," Kuni complained, rubbing her arms. Her cheeks and nose were a bright pink. "It's cold."
The two of them were on a Winter Island, wrapped in about ten extra layers of clothes. They had gone off on a surveillance mission and he needed her expertise. That useful Devil Fruit of hers. The Amp Amp no Mi, a Paramecia fruit that allowed her to increase and lower sounds. Only problem was that she was only an amp to herself. Which meant that she could sneak silently by, but she couldn't help others do the same. Kenbunshoku Haki users were also a problem, but that was why she was trained to fight. Though, in her case, sometimes it was best to run. Her fruit made her a great solo field agent in Paradise and in certain parts of the New World. Featherstep Kuni was one of Ivankov and Kuma's favorites; and during times like these, she was one of Sabo's as well.
"This is a Winter Island, after all," he said, standing from his seated position and getting down to business. "How'd it go?"
"Here," he could see her breaths as she handed him an eternal pose and a small map.
He took it from her, eyes running across the worn piece of paper. He mentally nodded to himself, before grinning. "Nice work."
"You got it Chief," she saluted, jokingly.
"I'm not chief yet," he told her.
"Yet."
He shook his head, snow falling from his hat. That's when he realized that she had no headgear to speak of. Her ears were already turning the same shade of red as her nose. Sabo instinctively reached out and patted the snow off her head. He didn't even register it, taking care of others came naturally to him. Maybe because he had always helped Ace take care of Luffy? Yeah, that was probably the reason why.
Luffy was a handful, but he missed him.
He wondered how he was doing. He'd be setting off in a few years. Sabo hoped that he'd find himself a great crew. Unfortunately, Sabo was the only one that wouldn't become a pirate, but that didn't really matter because he had still become someone free. Sabo patted the rest of the snow off of Kuni's head, only now registering how close he actually was to her. He could somewhat feel her body heat and he could easily kiss her if he just leaned down a bit more… Or he could also just flick her forehead like usual. She'd stumble back and he'd apologize, smiles on both their faces.
"You can't just do that, Chief," Sabo looked down at her, she was staring blankly up at him. Her breaths small. "It'll get my hopes up."
Sometimes that was enough.
Something inside him clenched. He ignored it. He didn't have time for matters like this.
"That was an accident," Sabo stepped back, rubbing the back of his head and blaming the sudden redness of his cheeks on the cold. "I couldn't help myself. You know me…"
"Always taking care of people," Kuni shrugged and ran her hand on top of her head. There was no more snow, it was as if she was trying to get rid of the feeling of his touch. She gave him that strange grin, clearly she was going to ignore his previous action. "Don't get all self-conscious on me, Chief."
This time, he really did flick her forehead and just as he expected, she stumbled back. Rubbing the abused spot with a frown. "I'm not Chief," he insisted.
"Yet."
He shook his head, disapprovingly.
Chief.
Now, that word had a nice ring to it.
He wanted to become Chief of Staff soon. That way he had more power around Baltigo and could do his own thing, only taking orders from Dragon seemed like a great thought. Right now though, he still had to do the things Ivankov or any of the other seniors suggested he do. They didn't order him. Only strongly suggested. He was glad to be of help, but he had his own unique way of doing things. His own pace that he didn't like changing, not that he did change it. He couldn't be or act like anyone else. He didn't try to.
Sabo was Sabo.
He didn't change for anybody.
He looked to the side of his table, seeing a multitude of DenDen Mushi that for once, were quiet. All sound asleep. In the middle of them sat Kuni. Three empty coffee mugs by her head. She was leaning on his table as dead to the world as the transponder snails before her. Just a few moments ago she was busily picking up calls and assisting him with his work, but now she lay motionless. Sabo looked over at the clock and his eyes widened. Those few moments were apparently a few hours because it was almost midnight. He looked over at Kuni, contemplating if he should wake her.
Her hair was a mess around her and he reached out to run his hand through the light strands, but before he could Dragon walked into his office. Sabo immediately dropped his wandering appendage and looked up at the most wanted man in the world.
"Still here, I see," Dragon said, sparing Kuni a glance.
"Dragon-san!" Sabo stretched his arms and gave him a close lipped smile. "Just finished actually."
"Working hard is good," though he said that, his face was so serious that Sabo had to stifle a laugh.
"Yea," Sabo replied, then gestured with a thumb at Kuni. "Let me wake her."
"Leave her," Dragon said. Sabo's hand was already on her shoulder about to shake her awake, but at his words his hand stilled. "Let her sleep. I have to speak to her and she needs to be at her best when she hears what I have to say."
"You need to say something?" Sabo asked.
"Just a few suspicions, you'll be updated soon," Dragon said, turning to walk out the door. Sabo, though, saw him eye Luffy's bounty picture that was up on his wall.
"Is it only Kuni you need?" Sabo couldn't help himself from asking. Why he was, he didn't try to find out. Both Kuni and Koala had been by his side through the years, but this was the first time Dragon had specifically called her for something that he couldn't tell him.
"No," he answered, vaguely.
Dragon walked out the door without another word.
Sabo watched him leave, the door closing behind him. His eyes drifted to Kuni's sleeping form as he let his hand trail up her shoulder and go through her hair, an unconscious gesture. One he didn't notice. He let his hand fall to his side, questions running through his mind as he continued to stare at her for a few moments longer. He thought about waking her to tell her to go to her room, but ultimately decided against it. She'd be okay here. No one was stupid enough to go into his office and disturb her. He didn't know about the state of her neck in that position, but she'd just have to deal with it tomorrow.
She understood that.
How long had she been in love with him, he wondered. Was she still in love with him or did those feelings die the moment she had agreed to remain friends? She never said any words of like or love to him again, so perhaps they had. An innuendo here and there, but nothing as serious as confessing. Were those feelings of hers buried or were they still lingering somewhere in the air between them?
He didn't know.
But, he couldn't feel them in her aura anymore. That atmosphere she had whenever he entered the room was actually something he only noticed after she had told him her feelings. But, the air of a woman in love was something she no longer exuded. That thought had a burning sensation erupt and spread through him. A disease. It started in the pit of his stomach, spread and left a vile, poisonous sensation in its wake. He didn't like it. That was an understatement. He detested it.
Sabo took his overcoat from his seat and placed it around her shoulders.
"Are you going somewhere, Kuni?" He whispered into the air between them, lingering for a moment, before dropping his hands from her shoulders.
He left without another look back.
A/N: There are previews up on my LIVEJOURNAL. The link is on my profile.
Shamless Plug-In Time: I've released an UTAXOC story, for all those Tokyo Ghoul fans out there! :D Check it out if you're interested.
PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!
