Authors Note: Hi folks! I just couldn't leave my regular reviwers hanging for too long as you all left such lovely reviews and so without further ado, what you've all waited so patiently for :D Enjoy!
A massive thank you to the wonderful Wordlet for beta'ing!
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Chapter 7: Younger Brother
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"- wanted to be the captain but obviously I'm the captain! He's a really good shot though. Oh! And his dad is Yasopp! He's Shank's sniper and he's really cool and Usopp kinda looks like him. Ah! Did I tell you where I met Zoro yet? He was tied up outside a marine base – I forget why – but he can fight with three swords and fought this hawk guy and now has a really cool scar running all the way along here and did I tell you about Sanji yet? He's - "
Ace wasn't entirely sure that Luffy had even paused for breath once since he finally opened his eyes several hours after his abrupt arrival. Luffy had taken one bleary eyed look at his big brother before practically jumping out of bed in his excitement, still healing injuries be damned. Ace had been quick to reassure him that both his nakama – Sanji and Nami, as their names turned out to be – were recovering well. He had heard Kureha storming down the corridor less than ten minutes before Luffy had woken up and from the fact that he could hear her grumbling about idiots who would follow through with her aftercare or else, he summarised that both Luffy's crewmates were on the mend.
Ace had to admit that Sabo had probably had the right idea to let him break the news of the blond's survival to their little brother. Luffy had been animated enough without that added excitement.
Speaking of the blond, Ace noted he hadn't seen him since he had told him that he had found the food. He'd disappeared pretty quickly, with the reassurance that he would only be a few rooms away.
Ace had been relieved. He was concerned that he had upset the blond with his stupid mistake earlier. He scolded himself harshly for forgetting that Sabo didn't have any memories. It was harder than he thought to remind himself that Sabo didn't know everything that he used to, and that they were technically getting to know one another all over again, despite all that they had shared as children. It was just so easy to fall into their old patterns.
Luffy wouldn't do that, Ace was certain. Luffy adapted quicker than anyone else the pirate had ever met to new situations and he had amazing instincts, even if he did occasionally open his mouth before engaging his brain. He wasn't too proud to admit – now anyway, his ten year old self would probably vigorously deny it – Makino might've taught him manners, but it was Luffy who had ended up teaching him the most about dealing with people.
It was obvious to Ace that Sabo was concerned though. He had looked like a man waiting for the other shoe to drop. Granted, Ace had spent the last couple of days trying not to let on that he kept catching Sabo staring at him, in disbelief most of the time. It was like he couldn't believe that he had a family. It made Ace's heart both ache with longing and rage at the world.
He would forever regret not having the power to protect Sabo from his father. If he had, Sabo would never have needed to leave, he wouldn't have been injured so severely and they could have grown up together, like they should've in the first place. Whitebeard's offer of joining his crew hadn't just appealed to him because he had craved the stability of family that Luffy that provided and spoilt him with. Whitebeard was also powerful. Being aligned with him gave him an influence few other pirates would know. He would command respect because of the Jolly Roger on his back and he would never let anyone take away his family again.
"-ce! ACE!"
"What?" he started out of his thoughts. He jerked back when Luffy prodded him in the forehead. "Stop poking me!"
"But you weren't listening! You just staring at nothing," the younger pouted.
"Sorry, Luffy," he apologised sheepishly. "What were you saying?" He internally berated himself as soon as the words were out. He was delaying telling Luffy about the very important person only a few rooms away, simply because he wasn't sure how to raise the subject. If someone - even Luffy - had walked up to him and said "hey, by the way, Sabo's alive", he would have punched them. He'd have been cursing them with the same ferocity he cursed Gol. D Roger if they'd even dared to speak such words.
"Ah, doesn't matter. You'll meet the rest of my crew later. You will, won't you?" Ace nodded eagerly. Of course he wanted to meet the crew who were crazy enough to sail with his brother. Luffy practically beamed.
"I'm surprised you managed to get this far so fast with only the five of you," Ace admitted.
Luffy laughed. "Yeah, Nami said we were making good progress. I didn't think I'd run into you this close to the Red Line though. I thought we wouldn't see each other for ages yet. I hoped to be the Pirate King before we did," he admitted.
"That's gonna take you years! You were seriously willing to wait that long before you ran into me? 'Cos I hate to break it to you, but I don't think even the Grand Line is big enough for you to avoid me for that long," the older pirate snorted, not at all surprised Luffy wanted to have achieved his goal before prioritising seeking out his brother.
"Of course! Besides, you said it didn't matter where we were in the world, or that we were on different crews, we'd still be brothers. But I'm gonna be the Pirate King!" Luffy grinned widely, asserting his claim.
Ace drew in a deep breath. Luffy couldn't have given him a better opening if he'd tried. He rose from the chair beside Luffy's bed to settle on the fluffy mattress at his brother's feet. Luffy watched him curiously, his dark eyes suddenly much more alert.
"Right, funny you should say something like that," he started.
"Are my nakama okay?" Luffy butted in, his brow furrowed in concern.
"What? Yeah, they're fine. I already told you that," he explained, suddenly worried his brother might've hit his head on the way up the mountain and he was still confused if he couldn't remember what Ace'd said barely twenty minutes earlier.
"Oh, I know you did. You just looked so serious, I thought it must be about them," the younger pirate admitted.
"Sorry, it's nothing to do with them. It's actually about someone else we know."
"Gramps?" Luffy asked, eyes wide and a heavy dose of fear on his face.
Ace shook his head quickly. "No! No, no! By some miracle, I haven't actually run into him since I left Dawn Island. Have you?"
"No," the other admitted. "So, who were you talking about?"
Ace's stomach churned uncomfortably with a mixture of nerves, excitement and relief that he could share with Luffy one of the most miraculous things either one of them could've wished for.
"Okay, Luffy, I'm gonna need you to stay calm and not run off before I've finished explaining the entire situation. Do you think you can do that for me?" Ace pleaded. For both his brothers' sakes, he needed Luffy to listen to the whole story before they went to find Sabo. It would make everything much easier if they were all on the same page.
Luffy stared at him, his face a picture of concentration and he nodded slowly.
Ace drew in a deep breath. "It's about Sabo."
"Sabo?" Luffy scrunched up his face in confusion, which was justified in Ace's opinion. It was rare for either of them to mention their blond brother – firstly because it had been too painful, and secondly because they had both had the bad habit of turning to speak to him and finding he wasn't actually stood next to them. It had made it easier on them both to just not speak of him, and Dadan and the bandits had followed their example. Though that hadn't meant they had ever forgotten him, not at all. Ace was very aware Sabo had never been too far from their thoughts over the last ten years.
"What about Sabo? Did you find out something about who killed him?" he asked.
Ace could tell from the dark glint in Luffy's eyes that if Ace said yes, he had found the person responsible for taking Sabo away from them, Luffy would willingly drop whichever path he was currently on, the consequences be damned.
"Luffy… Sabo's alive," he said softly, a small smile breaking out on his face.
"Huh?" The little colour Luffy had managed to recover since coming in from the freezing mountain rapidly drained from his cheeks. "Sabo…what?"
"Sabo's alive," he repeated.
Ace had naturally expected an explosion of excitement and explanations – Sabo had explained his encounter with Luffy in Logue Town, and there was absolutely no way Luffy would've missed the familiarities between their 'deceased' brother and the blond man who had assisted him – but Luffy remained worryingly quiet and unnaturally still, with his fringe falling forwards to shield his eyes from his brother's gaze.
"Luffy?" Ace finally prompted, unable to take the silence any longer.
The younger raised his head and tears were streaming down his face. "Sabo's really alive?" he sniffed, ignoring his damp face and staring imploringly at his brother, the disbelief clearly audible in his voice.
Ace couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face, steadfastly ignoring his own damp eyes and nodded. Only Luffy could possibly understand the enormity of their current situation and Ace reached for the younger, dragging him into a bone crushing hug. "Yeah, he's alive!" Ace muttered, liking the words more and more with each moment. Now he could finally share the joy with his little brother, it was finally beginning to feel real.
Luffy squirmed in his arms, pulling back, his face a picture of delight and Ace had to grab his arm to stop him falling straight off the bed in his enthusiasm.
"Where's Sabo? I wanna see him!"
"Whoa, whoa! Luffy, you need to hear the rest of it first!" Ace implored. "It's important!"
Luffy cocked his head, curious, and sat back down, at which Ace released a sigh of relief. "The rest of it?"
Ace took a deep breath and started talking.
xxx
Soft voices just behind the closed door drew Sabo's attention away from the book he had been trying in vain to read. One he recognised as Ace, which meant the other was certainly Luffy, since he doubted Ace would leave the younger's side until he was satisfied he wasn't suffering any ill effects from his trek up the mountain.
The door handle turned slowly, and the voices fell silent. Sabo gently laid the book down on the table and rose to his feet, unconsciously tilting his head until his hair fell across the scar. Ace stepped through first, leading the way and the blond noticed he immediately gave the room a subtle sweep– an unconscious motion Sabo had noticed him doing many times upon entering a new space.
A round face, his hair still in complete disarray from his prolonged rest, peered around Ace eagerly. Sabo was pleased to notice that Luffy's cheeks were flushed with a healthy rosy glow, a stark improvement from when they'd found him outside, and he had changed back into his clothes.
There was a moment's pause as the two studied each other, Ace hovering nervously in the middle. And then Luffy started talking.
"It's really Sabo! You're not dead! Wait until Dadan hears you're alive! NO! Wait until Dogra hears you're alive! He'll be really happy! He saw it happen, ya know. Hey, that's a really cool scar! Is that from when your boat exploded? Can you see out of your eye? Does it still hurt? I hope it doesn't 'cos that'd really suck. Is that why you have a mystery memory problem? Ace told me that you don't remember us, and might not ever, and I don't care! I mean, it sucks that you don't remember building our tree house, or that time we went hunting! Oh, wait – we hunted every day. Never mind then! We had ramen once, do you still like it? You used to really like - "
Sabo was alarmed. He wasn't quite sure what he had expected but Luffy attempting to talk his head off was not it. He shared a dumbfounded glance with Ace, who looked stunned as the blond felt, and he shrugged helplessly as if to say he had no idea what to do about the continuous stream of words coming from his brother either.
Sabo felt his concern growing, because he wasn't entirely sure that Luffy had drawn a single breathe since he entered the room and he could see small trembles starting to wrack the small, lithe frame. Sabo wasn't sure if it was the aftereffects of his earlier physical exhaustion, or something else.
He turned back to Luffy, who was still talking, seemingly undeterred that he had momentarily lost Sabo's attention.
Oddly, Sabo found his attention being drawn to Luffy's hands. From the few minutes he had had in the presence of the headstrong pirate back in East Blue, and the tales Ace had told him, he had pictured Luffy as someone lacking in spacial awareness. He had imagined him waving his arms all over the place and bouncing on the spot, but instead, Luffy stood nearly motionless, the only movement being his hands, which thanks to his devil fruit, he had quite literally twisted into knots, presumably because he was nervous.
The blond was struck with the sudden clarity that Luffy was in a very similar position to himself – they were both meeting all over again, with preconceived ideas of the other, thanks to Ace, who had told each of them about the other and unknowingly causing them both to ponder the same question.
What if I don't live up to what Ace's told him?
The realisation calmed Sabo's nerves immediately.
"- yelled when we stole her sake. She - "
"Luffy," Sabo interrupted.
Luffy immediately fell silent, but the trembling continued, and if anything, seemed to increase. The elder finally recognised it for what it was though; a valiant effort on the pirate's part to hold himself back.
Sabo smiled softly and opened his arms. It was all the invite Luffy needed and he threw himself across the room and into his brother's arms, large fat tears flowing unheeded down his face.
As a general rule, none of the Revolutionaries were overly affectionate, instead choosing to focus on getting the job done. One might get a firm handshake, or a congratulatory slap on the back every now and then, but rarely did they hug, so Sabo had no real comparison to go on. But he could admit to himself with some certainty that the hug Luffy had him quite literally wrapped up in was easily the best he'd ever received. True, it was a little painful, he privately confessed; Luffy might've been skinny, but he was shockingly strong. It was also more than a little wet from the tears that drenched the front of his shirt, but he had never felt so loved.
Once again, the rush of affection he felt towards the teen was overwhelming, but Sabo pushed it aside. He would have time to work through his own muddled thoughts later, when they had all calmed down. Luffy gave his affection so freely, it was impossible not to taken in by him, and as Luffy continued to sob into his shoulder, he thought he finally understood why Ace adored the kid so much.
He glanced over to the other dark-haired pirate in the room, who had been suspiciously quiet during the other two's interactions and who was trying to discreetly wipe away the fresh tear tracks dampening his own face. But what amazed Sabo the most, was that Ace had possibly the biggest grin he'd ever seen. Even as the blond returned it, he wondered why the idea of Ace experiencing such joy seemed odd to him.
Ace finally approached them and gently tapped Luffy atop the head.
"Hey, come on, let Sabo breathe a bit, yeah?" he teased.
Luffy sniffed loudly and finally released Sabo from the tight grip he had him locked in. He scrubbed his face roughly before raising his head, and grinning widely.
"Hi, Sabo!"
Sabo burst into laughter. "Hi, Luffy!"
"Most people open with that!" Ace snorted, amused and he ruffled Luffy's hair affectionately.
Sabo hummed thoughtfully. "You didn't. If I recall correctly, you knocked me over and a small mob ended up chasing us. At no point do I remember you saying hello."
"I apologised for that!"
"You did. But you still didn't say hello."
Luffy laughed joyfully, but he was cut off abruptly when his stomach growled loudly. He patted his stomach forlornly. "I'm hungry!"
"What a surprise!" Ace teased.
"I wonder how many meals I missed? I hope it wasn't too many."
Sabo opened his mouth, ready to explain he had found some supplies in the kitchen a few floors down but the door to the study opening cut him off.
They all turned to see a tall, lanky young man, his blond hair partially obscuring part of his face, practically collapse into the door frame, which looked to be about the only thing holding him upright. He held himself stiffly, as if he was in pain, with one arm wrapped protectively around his midriff and he looked just as surprised to see them, as they were to see him.
"Sanji!" Luffy cried excitedly, while Sabo shared a mystified look with Ace behind the younger pirate's back. Ace didn't look like he expected to see Luffy's crewmate on his feet so soon either, which was reassuring.
Sanji nodded in greeting and – gingerly, Sabo observed, like he was unsure his knees weren't going to buckle at a moment's notice – stepped inside.
"Are you okay now?" Luffy asked.
"Yeah. Well, I feel like my back's been wrenched but yeah, I'm fine," he said, eyes darting around the room quickly. "Where's Nami-swan?"
"Nami-swan?" Ace muttered quietly, looking thoroughly bemused at the apparent endearment. Sabo had to try not to laugh; he wondered what Koala's reaction would be to someone calling her 'Koala-swan'. In fact, Sabo mused, he didn't need to, he knew what would happen and it would probably be very painful.
"I don't know where Nami is, I haven't seen her yet."
"WHAT?!"
Sabo had to forcefully stop himself from taking a half step back at ferocity of Sanji's shout. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that Luffy remained completely motionless, barely even flinching at the volume directed towards him. Sanji was clearly more bark than bite, or at least he was when with his captain.
"You left her alone?! In this huge, creepy castle? Anything could happen to my precious Nami-swan!" Sanji groaned, patting his shirt and finally pulling out a crumpled packet of cigarettes and a lighter.
"Ace said she was fine. A mystery doctor has been looking after her," Luffy shrugged, unconcerned.
Sanji frowned, confused. "Ace?" he asked, finally appearing to realise that it wasn't just Luffy in the room.
Ace saluted the blond in a lazy greeting. "That'd be me."
"I'm still hungry! Sanji! Cook me some meat!" Luffy demanded, practically bouncing around to his crewmate. He reminded Sabo of an overeager puppy.
Sanji huffed out a plume of smoke. "Stupid captain! Does this look like a kitchen? Where the hell am I meant to get meat right now?"
"AH!"
Sabo was pleased to realise he wasn't the only one who jumped at the unexpected exclamation. They all turned to the still open door and Chopper was stood, staring in disbelief. His little black eyes were darting frantically back and forth between Luffy and Sanji.
"You shouldn't be up yet! Either of you! Oh, what if the doctor saw you out of bed already? You both need to get back into your rooms and rest and…" he trailed off uncertainly.
Luffy and Sanji were both staring unblinkingly at the little creature. Sabo frowned at the pair, unsure of what to make of their expression. He caught Ace's eye and nodded minutely.
Ace sighed and stepped forwarded. "Luffy, this is - "
"MEAT!"
Chopper shrieked and shot out the doorway, Luffy hot on his heels, and Sanji, still rather wobbly, not far behind.
Ace stared dumbly at the spot of air Luffy had just vacated, before huffing, annoyed. They both grimaced at the crashing, banging and shouting that echoed back towards them.
"Hurry up, Sanji!"
"Luffy! Hold up will you? I need to cook it first!"
"HEY! Wait! Meat-san, stop running!"
Sabo rubbed his forehead, trying to ward off the headache he could feel creeping up on him.
"Hey," Ace said, draping an arm around the blond's slumped shoulders. "How long do you reckon we have until the good witch doctor tosses us out of here on our arses?"
Sabo considered the question thoughtfully, pointedly ignoring another crash, this one sounding even further away. "Not long if Luffy decides to eat her assistant," he concluded sagely.
Ace heaved a sigh and Sabo staggered slightly as he slumped his weight against his side. "I figured. Guess we'd better go rescue him."
Sabo wasn't at all fooled by the put out act, though. He could clearly see from the badly hidden upturned corner of his mouth that Ace was secretly delighted, and possibly more amused than he had any right to be, by Luffy's energetic antics. And Sabo couldn't deny it was good to see Luffy looking so animated again.
"Which 'him' do you mean? Chopper or Luffy?" he asked teasingly and ducked out from under Ace's arm sharply, almost causing the other to stumble at the sudden lack of support.
"Luffy, of course. He's quick, but he's never actually managed to catch a deer before."
"Actually, Chopper's a reindeer."
"Whatever, Mr Know-It-All."
xxx
"BROTHERS?!"
Even as Luffy laughed at his crewmates' twin shouts of shock, Sabo, leant unobtrusively against the bookcase in the rather pleasant room Kureha had allocated to Nami, wondered when the novelty of people referring to him a brother to Ace and Luffy would wear off, if it ever did. It has so far taken him some embarrassingly long seconds each time he was introduced as such to realise that Ace and Luffy were in fact referring to him. He hoped that passed quickly, it was like experiencing emotional whiplash every time it occurred, because it was still such a jarring thought.
Ace, however, seemed to revel in the recognition, dipping into a small bow and smirking at the others' shock. He also seemed to enjoy showing off, Sabo had discovered, because he had caught Luffy and Sanji in what was probably a record time and had easily manhandled them into Nami's room when Chopper announced, very nervously, that she was awake. The little creature had made himself scarce, which was probably for the best, because even after a quick meal, Sabo was sure he could hear Luffy's stomach still growling from the other side of the room.
"Yep! This is Ace, and that's Sabo!"
Sabo tipped his hat in greeting when two pairs of eyes snapped towards him. Neither one were particularly subtle in their roving eyes and he could see them both taking in the so very obvious differences in appearance, and he had to resist the urge to squirm. With his pale skin, blond hair and bright blue eyes, he was as light was to shadow when compared to Ace and Luffy who, with their much darker features, could very easily pass for blood relatives – although Ace had admitted to Sabo, as soon as he'd cottoned on to the different surnames, that they weren't actually related, as far as they were aware, anyway. Ace hadn't been able to explain the shared initial but considering both his parents had died before he was even a day old, he had been confident in his assertion.
Nami and Sanji brushed past the more obvious queries – either out of politeness, or maybe they just didn't care, Sabo wasn't quite sure – and immediately launched a flurry of questions at their captain, Nami's voice finally rising above the other's.
"Why didn't you mention that you had two brothers who were both on the Grand Line?" she demanded, and somehow despite the fact she was sat in bed with half a dozen blankets piled on top of her, and her cheeks were still flushed with the aftermath of her illness, she struck quite the intimidating figure. "Do you realise how helpful it would've been to have some first-hand accounts of what to expect when we crossed over the Red Line? We might not have hit that whale!"
"Oh, you hit Laboon? Bad idea. He doesn't like that," said Sabo. Luffy shrugged sheepishly.
"See, that's the advice I'm talking about!" Nami snapped, gesturing towards him.
"Laboon? That thing has a name?" Ace asked, surprised.
Sabo nodded. "Yeah. He followed a pirate ship to the cape after losing his pod. They had to leave him behind though, since the Grand Line was too dangerous for such a young whale."
Ace stared at him, the expression on his face one of complete bemusement. "How do you know this stuff?"
"Because I talk to people, Ace," he teased. He had crossed the Red Line many a time over the years and it was always a pleasure to see Laboon and Crocus, who had some of the most awe-inspiring tales that Sabo had always itched to put onto paper, but the old man had politely asked he defer until he was no longer around to deal with the fuss and bother that they might cause. Crocus had actually been pretty instrumental to Sabo's healing after the tenryuubito attack. He had insisted the Revolutionaries spent at least a week at the cape, worried that the rough seas and possible threats were a real danger to Sabo potentially ever making a full recovery, and Dragon had conceded to his medical advice.
"Kids," Kureha muttered darkly from her spot at the small table. She took a deep swing of her sake, before tossing it aside to join the other empties and producing another from who-knows-where. Sabo seriously wanted to examine the underside of all the tables and chairs because the bottles just kept appearing.
"Hey!" Luffy cried, spinning on the spot to face Kureha. "You're a doctor. We need a doctor. Join my crew, Oba-chan!"
Kureha's gaze darkened alarmingly fast. "Oba-chan? Who the hell are you calling Oba-chan?! I'm a spry one hundred and thirty-nine!" A booted foot landed squarely atop Luffy's head and he hit the floor with a loud thump.
"Wow," Sanji drawled. "She's not wrong. She is spry."
Luffy groaned and sat up on the floor to stare forlornly up at the doctor glaring down at him. "You're mean, Oba-chan!" Sabo winced as Luffy took another hit and added 'absolutely no sense of self-preservation' to the list of things he'd learnt about Luffy in the last twenty-four hours.
"He's not very quick on the uptake, is he?" Sabo observed, somewhat despairingly.
"Nope!" Ace grinned. "When we first met, I spent the first three months finding new and inventive ways of tossing him off the mountain and he still kept coming back. None of your ideas worked either, by the way."
"Seriously?"
"Shouldn't you know that?"
Ace and Sabo both swivelled their heads towards the young woman still sat primly in the bed. There was a deep set frown on her face.
"Know what?" Ace asked.
"Shouldn't Sabo've known that about Luffy, since you're brothers," she said, somewhat haltingly.
"Sabo has anaemia!" Luffy cut in quickly, surprising them all.
"Amnesia! It's amnesia! Anaemia is something completely different!" Kureha snapped briskly, dropping back into her chair with a huff.
"Yeah, that!" Luffy grinned, unperturbed at the doctor's anger of his butchering of medical terms.
"How…" Nami started, tentatively, before cutting herself off, realising how rude the question might be.
Sabo smiled at her softly. "I had an accident when I was ten. Ace and Luffy didn't realise I'd survived it," he explained, ignoring Ace's grumblings of "some accident".
"Are you both pirates too, then?" Sanji asked, speaking up before an awkward silence could descend upon them.
"I am," Ace smirked.
"No," Sabo admitted.
"What?!" Luffy whirled around to him, surprise written across his face. "You're not a pirate? How come? You always wanted to be a pirate!"
Sabo smiled sadly. "Luffy, I don't remember ever wanting to be a pirate. I work with the Revolutionary Army."
"The who?" chorused three confused voices.
"Well, you all sound crazy to me. Who in the world wants to live a life on the sea," Kureha broke in with a grumble.
Luffy whirled around, immediately distracted, much to the blond's relief, since it would take a long time to answer everyone's questions about the Revolutionaries and he honestly wasn't one hundred percent sure Luffy would fully understand the implications regardless. And Sabo had the odd desire not to let Luffy, or even Ace, fully understand the dangers of being involved with the Revolutionaries. It wasn't like being a pirate, where if you had enough of a reputation you were offered clemency in the form of the shichibukai. If Sabo was ever caught, he was going to the execution platform, and probably only after an uncomfortable spell in Impel Down where CP9 would no doubt torture him within an inch of his life to find out what secrets he had uncovered.
No, Luffy and Ace didn't need to know the full extent of such a possibility, Sabo thought to himself.
"Hey," Ace nudged his arm, dragging him from his thoughts. "Is he meant to be hiding, or what?"
Sabo followed his gaze to the doorway, where Chopper hovered nervously, his face partially obscured but his back end remained fully in sight. Sabo could see Ace was staring at the little creature thoughtfully, but he couldn't work out what Ace was seeing in him. Deciding not to pry, Sabo shrugged, undeterred by the noise of Luffy and Sanji streaking past the pair of them in yet another effort to catch the reindeer.
"It's the meat again!"
"Luffy, seriously! You need to let me cook it first!"
Kureha looked downright furious, and reached under the table. "I'll cook the pair of you!" she snarled, rising to her feet, a butcher's knife of all things in her hand.
Nami looked suitably alarmed, but Ace calmly stepped forward and snatched the blade from her hands, tossing it over his shoulder to Sabo, who caught it easily and set it upon the top of a bookshelf, high out of Kureha's immediate reach.
"No need for any bloodshed. I'll go sort them out." He turned a stunned Nami and bowed deeply. "Sorry for disturbing your rest."
"Amazing," Nami muttered, as Ace ducked out the room.
"What is?" Sabo wondered.
"Luffy's big brothers are actually polite! Are you really brothers?"
Sabo could only laugh.
xxx
Deep in the shadows of the corridor, Ace stood with his bare back lent against the freezing stones, uncaring of the chill, and arms crossed.
Chopper was slowly walking towards him, his little hooves making a reassuring click against the floor. Ace couldn't help but notice the heavy set of the reindeer's shoulders, like the weight of the world had suddenly been rested upon them.
In the distance, their voices echoing off the walls and carried on the icy wind that whipped through the castle, Luffy and Sanji were chatting excitedly to one another, their quest to catch Chopper halted abruptly with a single piece of knowledge.
"Hold on a minute, did that thing just speak?!"
"Huh, yeah! And it was standing on two feet!"
"MONSTER!"
Chopper actually flinched as the word bounced off the walls around them, and hunched down, as if trying to shield himself from its very meaning.
The sadness flickering across the furred face reminded Ace sharply of another young boy who had stood before his brothers, his face shielded by the rim of his top hat, and admitted he was a born noble. The looks of shame and dismay were identical, despite the decade that stood between them.
Ace shifted against the wall, the motion catching the reindeer's attention. The little creature paused before raising his head bravely, despite the tears threatening to overflow. Ace continued to peer down at him thoughtfully.
"What?" he snapped, defensively.
Ace shrugged and let himself slide down the wall until he was crouched and eye level with the reindeer.
"Nothing, you just remind me of my brother," he revealed.
Chopper's eyebrows shot up in disbelief and he glanced over his shoulder, back towards where Luffy could still be heard shouting excitedly.
Ace snorted at the silent communication. "No, not that menace. Sabo, you remind me of him."
"How?" Chopper frowned.
The pirate smiled gently. "Because neither one of you fit the mould you were born into. Sabo was born a noble," he explained, and Chopper's eyes widened in shock. "But he was so different to those other snot nosed bastards who called themselves his parents that he left."
"Why are you telling me this?" Chopper asked, confused.
"He saved himself by leaving - both times," Ace grudgingly admitted, because while he hated the circumstances surrounding Sabo's departure of Dawn Island, he could understand why he'd done it. And why he hadn't returned to them in the forest. Ace had been fooling himself as a child that they could've stood up to Sabo's father, but the reality was that they had been completely powerless and no one had understood that better than his brother. "He had the courage to walk away and accept who he is. You could too," he said.
Chopper stared at him, and for a second, Ace didn't think his words registered with the reindeer, before he snorted in disbelief and made to brush past Ace's knees. He didn't get a chance to reply, though, before Luffy's voice blasted down the corridor.
"MONSTER! Join our crew!"
Chopper froze, Luffy's words freezing him into place.
Ace smirked at his little brother's once again impeccable timing.
"You should seriously consider that offer," he advised, and pushed himself back to his feet. "Luffy won't steer you wrong and he won't care what you are, only who."
Now only able to see the top of Chopper's pink hat, Ace smiled fondly when he heard a loud sniff, and the reindeer reached up to scrub at his face quickly.
"How…how do you know that?" he asked the pirate softly, and Ace was reminded of just how young Chopper still was.
"Because that's Luffy," Ace said with a casual shrug. "Think about it. But not for too long because Luffy doesn't ever take no for an answer."
"There he is! Monster! Come here!"
Chopper shrieked and dashed around Ace, who had to flatten himself against the wall in an effort not to get run over by Luffy and Sanji. Ace chuckled to himself and followed sedately in the trio's wake, confident that there was no rush now that Luffy had discovered that Chopper was potentially more interesting than just food.
They all missed the figure concealed in the darkest shadows, not far from where Ace had hidden himself only minutes before.
Sabo tugged the rim of his top hat, agitatedly. "Noble, huh?" he whispered, silently acknowledging that Ace had omitted a few details when telling him about his family. The idea wasn't new though, all those who had assisted in his rescue and recovery had had their suspicions. And it really didn't change a thing, Sabo concluded, forcing himself to put one foot in front of the other, and search out with his haki to find where the others had disappeared to. He was a Revolutionary and by Ace's account, he had left that life behind more than once. If it took them believing him to be dead for him to attain that freedom, then Sabo really didn't regret leaving. The only remorse he felt was that he couldn't have kept the knowledge of Ace and Luffy's existence. If he had, he might've been able to write to them, to let them know he had made it; that he had survived.
The blond froze, distracted by the sense of yet more people approaching the castle. Sabo rushed to a window, unable to comprehend that there were even more people atop the mountain. Kureha was going to pitch a fit when she realised.
He squinted through the misted up window, trying to determine the identity of their further unexpected guests, thankful that Ace's mera mera no mi had kept the snow at bay.
"Doctor!"
Sabo jerked around, surprised to hear such panic in the little reindeer's voice.
"Doctor! It's Wapol! He's back!"
XXX
Next Chapter: Conflict at the Summit
I hope you all enjoyed the brother's reunion. I'd love to hear what you all thought because honestly, that reunion scene had been something I'd been thinking about for ages and then we were given chapter 794 and it finally had a place!