Author's Note: Okay this takes place in the OP universe, sort of; kind of...this is still an AU. Anyway, sorry for this being uh sort of angsty...? I was having some asl brotherly feels and I like writing in Sabo's perspective a lot of times. This is an ASL oneshot. I don't see me continuing this, it was just on my mind today and I felt like writing it out. I'm not sure if it could be continued anyway? Haha. I'm not creative I apologize. Onto the story~

All he could hear was distant laughter coming from outside the door. The laughter sounded oddly familiar, but at the same time different. One of the voices simply sounded like his younger brother Luffy, but the other voice, whose was it? Before he walked over to open the door he looked around and realized he was on a ship, but this ship wasn't his own. Wait, what? He couldn't have been with his fellow revolutionaries, so was he on Luffy's ship? He looked at a nearby mirror; well he at least was still himself wearing his usual clothing. He grabbed his top hat that was sitting on one of the nearby drawers and this time around opened the door. The bright sun blinded his sight for a few seconds until his eyes adjusted and that nice fresh ocean breeze, what a beautiful day it was. The nice blue ocean water, the waves splashing against the ship, the seagulls flying about, and the sound of cheerful laughter, it was all so contagious, but he was really perplexed. As happy as the atmosphere was, where was he? Because he could have sworn he was still in Dressrosa assisting his younger brother in any way possible.

"Ace! Shishishi~" An energetic Luffy said tackling an all familiar person down affectionately nuzzling him.

Ace…?

He apparently heard correctly because the man he saw being tackled to the floor by Luffy was indeed Portgas D. Ace, his other sworn brother. It must have been a dream. No, it must have been life's way of tormenting him, toying with him, because the Ace he dearly loved wasn't around anymore. The Ace he knew was taken away from him. The Ace he knew was just simply a cherished memory that he would avenge no matter what. How bitter was the taste of reality, the sea of emotions he kept contained constantly, but when it came to his precious cherished brothers, he was no match. They would always be his strength and yet weakness at the same time because he couldn't keep that composure he was so confident about around them.

Ace? Ace…

He continued looking at the scene before his eyes. He looked at those all familiar freckles on Ace's face, saw him grumbling beneath Luffy's cheerfulness and laughed right after tickling Luffy. This sight was absolutely beautiful. It was something he longed to see while growing up unable to meet up with both his brothers. He wanted to run to them, he wanted to touch them, tackle them as well and tell them how much he loved them and missed them, how he never stopped thinking of them. He could cry. Wait, was he crying? He felt a warm wet tear trail down his cheek and—

"Sabo?" Ace asked a bit confused as to why his brother was still standing at the door.

Crap.

"Saboooo!" Luffy yelled as he got off Ace and stretched his arm over to Sabo standing there dumbfounded. He pulled himself to Sabo and well, that didn't go as smoothly as he thought it would because Luffy accidentally (it wasn't accidental, Luffy just miscalculated taking Sabo by surprise) flung himself and Sabo to the bedroom wall seeing as Sabo hadn't fully walked out of the room.

After Luffy got off of him he was able to slowly get over the pain of practically being slammed against the wall at full force, because honestly, his younger brother had ridiculous strength that he wasn't aware of in any world. It was then that Ace came into the room looking at both his brothers and whacked Luffy on the head.

"Hey! What did I doooo?!" Luffy protested.

Ace pointed at Sabo. "You almost knocked him out that's what."

Huh?

Right, he was still here and Ace was still here, right in front of him at such a close proximity and—

"Sabo, you alright?" Sabo asked in a concerned tone while placing a hand over his shoulder.

"Sabo's being weird~" Luffy bluntly stated. "He's being really quiet too." A pout followed afterward.

Sabo hid his face under his blond locks of hair. He couldn't believe this, it was real. He could clearly feel Ace's touch despite him wearing a long coat. He couldn't breakdown now, he just couldn't. Ace would probably make fun of him…

"Hey, Sabo?"

He couldn't help but look up at Ace, see the concern etched on his features. Sabo just had to fully believe that this was all happening. He sure wanted it to be true.

"Oi, are you cry—"

"Ace…"

The first croaked word out of Sabo's mouth was his fallen brother's name. It sounded nice saying it without feeling remorse, because that's what he felt despite vowing to protect their younger brother in Ace's steed. It shouldn't have been that way. They could have protected him together but Sabo wasn't there for Ace or Luffy… He couldn't have been there and he will forever live with that and he accepted it. As for how their younger brother was able to continue day by day with all of that pain while sincerely smiling for his crew, well, Sabo had to admire that, but he knew his heart was far from healed.

"Okay, Luffy's right. You're being really weird, even for you."

"S-Sorry." His words sounded a bit choked up as he continued. "I-It's just been a while."

The tears started flowing out slowly but surely as he spoke but he absorbed the image of a happy Ace into his mind. He would surely remember him this time around and cherish these moments as best as he could. Whether this was a dream or some twisted alternate universe, he wouldn't let his time spent here be in vain. Ace took his hand off of Sabo's shoulder not knowing what to say because what? A while? But they had been hanging out with Luffy's crew for the past day. It was nothing to get too emotional about unless…

Luffy continued watching his other brother and strangely enough he felt like he somehow understood what was going on. He got the sudden urge to hold onto him tightly and so he did.

When Sabo felt his younger brother embrace him in a tight hug, all he heard were whispered words.

"We're real and we're not letting Sabo go ever again."

It was true. He was under Dragon's care for the past 12 years and he longed to see them because he always had the feeling that they were alive and somewhere else safe and sound. But really, sometimes Luffy's empathy went beyond logic. How he knew exactly what Sabo felt, and how he gave the most reassuring embrace he had ever received simply made the tears roll down much quicker. Ace was the one who was simply dumbfounded this time around. There was clearly something he was not understanding about all of this. Why was Sabo breaking down if they were all together again?

Sabo noticed a deep scar on Ace's bare chest. He assumed that must have meant that the events of Marineford possibly still occurred only with luckier outcomes, possibly. It didn't matter to him anymore; those questions could simply be answered later. He wanted to soak up every single detail. Sabo proceeded to taking off his gloves and placing them in his pocket. He ruffled his younger brother's hair and then looked at Ace once more. Sabo figured Ace must have been very confused at his reactions. He couldn't help it and ran his fingers through the dark wavy locks of hair in front of him. Ace froze more at the touch. He didn't back away though as Sabo continued on. He ran his hand lower to caress heated cheeks. Ah, right, Ace got easily embarrassed when it came to any sign of affection. He caught sight of those adoring freckles that couldn't belong to anyone else but him. This was a bit ironic, he wasn't one for much affection himself, but when he told himself he would cherish the moment, Sabo meant it. He would not regret it. He'd remember every small detail, every mark etched on Ace's skin, the texture, everything.

Ace didn't really like his freckles because he felt they were childish looking. Sabo thought he was dumb for thinking that. They were an endearing gift and not to mention they were a reminder of his mother whom he should have been more thankful to for them. He loved them and he knew Luffy did too. Those dark eyes that gleamed in joy when he was with his loved ones, this was all Ace and he wanted to continue seeing him like this.

Ace would have punched Sabo to knock some sense into him, but right now at that moment he couldn't do it. Sabo looked so damn vulnerable, for lack of a better term. He didn't even know why and he even wanted to shake him and ask him what the hell his deal was, but just seeing Sabo so…well, just seeing Sabo like that was something new to him. Sure, when he first ran into him again after so many years thinking he was dead, well, it was a heartfelt moment that eventually led to a joyous reunion (and some possible fighting here and there) between brothers but the way he was being looked at was just something completely different. It was like Sabo had come back from the dead and he was trying to absorb reality and engrave it into his mind.

Sabo noticed the strange look Ace was giving him and-

Oh right…

He didn't belong there, but he wanted to stay. Was that so bad? These people were still the Luffy and Ace he knew and grew up with. They were still pirates and he seemed to be the exact same seeing as they didn't react differently to him. He felt a bit of guilt wash over him though. Ah, there was that pesky conscious of his. It felt like he was taking his other self's reality away. He wouldn't want to be separated from his brothers ever if he still had them both with him. He at least still had Luffy in his reality, and he vowed to protect him at all costs. Not just for himself but for Ace too because he's all he had left. Sabo would always love his brothers, always, no matter the universe but the fact one was cruelly taken away from him and he was powerless to do a thing… He couldn't find himself wanting to go back. This was all too good to be true though. His logic told him this wasn't right, or rather his instincts told him this wasn't right. Screw logic. None of what was happening was logical, but oh, feeling Luffy's warm hugs and seeing Ace…

He got to see Ace. After internally struggling with himself about whether he should tell them something Sabo felt his cheeks being pulled roughly and yelped in response.

"You're being a WEIRDO! SMILE already you idiot!" Ace pulled some more out of sheer frustration.

"OWW! You jerk! I'm not Luffy!"

"Shishishi!~ Sabo's not rubber."

After his brother let go of his cheeks Sabo rubbed them and pouted.

"Finally! You said something else. The hell is going on with you?!"

"Nothing." Sabo smiled and laughed. He laughed some more to himself and Ace was starting to get pissed off at even worrying in the first place. Luffy then joined in, tackling Sabo to the floor. Okay, Ace wanted to just knock them both out now. Why did he feel left out? But seeing that radiant smile off his brother, it was really nice. He hadn't seen Sabo smile like that in a while. It was such an honest and joyful smile. He couldn't stay mad and instead piled on the other two who were on the floor.

Meanwhile, outside of the room, Nami could only smirk to herself.

"Well, it seems those three are back to their cheerful selves." Robin said as her lips curled into a smile as well.

"Yeah. I had no idea what was going on but I couldn't find it in me to interrupt them to let them know that Sanji made snacks." Nami said to her fellow nakama.

"I don't think Luffy will be too happy about that though."

"Hm, this case was special."

"You're probably right."

The rest of the crew had been told to stay away from the men's quarters for a while and while they were curious, when Nami gave the word of it involving Luffy's brothers they understood to stay away. As friendly as Ace and Sabo were, Usopp was still terrified of them for reasons. The rest of the crew just figured it was something between them and it was none of their business unless Luffy felt like talking about it, then they would gladly hear their captain out. When the girls left, Usopp was sent (not on his own will) to tell the three brothers of snacks being saved for them. Well, their affectionate moment was cut off as an ecstatic Luffy flung him and his brothers out of the room to go get food.

Sabo wondered when he'd go back to his own time or world or whatever he could call it. A part of him still wanted to hold onto this for dear life, but Luffy needed him in his own reality too. As painful as it would be to go back to being without Ace, he needed to help his younger brother. He felt ashamed for letting his emotions get the better of him and for hoping for this to never end, but he shrugged it off. Maybe the next time he'd wake up, he'd somehow be back in Dressrosa where he would fight whoever stood in his brother's way.

End Note: I always end up writing more than I originally want to. I guess my feelings just kind of get carried away.