A/N: Sorry for the delay of this chapter, it was really hot this week and that demotivated me quite a bit as I'm bad with heat. Enjoy the chapter!

Someone asked when the romance would begin and that is a difficult for me to answer. To make it easier for you to imagine, it's like when you like someone and you don't really realize it. You do know you care about them and they're important but for it to be interpreted as love, it's quite a leap. Also, for what I've planned for this story so far, the romance isn't in your face. It's subtle and probably feels more slashy than actual romance. Hope this clears things up!

"No."

"That's what I thought…" Ace rubbed his neck and looked to the side. "You wouldn't want to on some other pirate's ship when you want to be captain…" Well, he expected this from Luffy. It wasn't in his character to obey someone or be on someone else's ship.

"What pirate ship?" Luffy asked, blinking at him.

"Huh, Whitebeard's ship. I just said didn't I?" Luffy over-tilted his head, his head almost touching the ground.

"Who's that?" He sprung back to sit perpendicular with the floor, his hand tracing his chin.

"My captain…I told you that before too you know…." Ace sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It's, you know, I want to take you with me."

"Why?" Luffy blinked his round eyes, mouth in a thin line. Ace had troubles thinking of excuses on the spot. He was sure Luffy would outright decline—which he did—but it seemed like there was a spark of hope if he was asking.

"If you stay here, the next time Gramps comes, he'll drag you to join the Marines," he said.

"Really?!" Luffy shouted in a whisper, sweat beading his forehead. Ace was bad at this, he couldn't lie to Luffy.

"No, that was a lie."

"What?!"

"Will you come with me?" Ace asked again. Luffy stared at him and folded his arms.

"Will there be meat?" Ace lit up, back straightening.

"Yeah." There was a pause. He deflated, was Luffy going to refuse after all?

"Does Ace want me to go?" Luffy's stare was unmoving and Ace felt there was no reason to lie here.

"I want you to come," Ace stated, his voice resolute. Luffy grinned.

"Then, I'll go."

"Really?" Ace broke into a bright smile. Luffy nodded, very sure.

"But I'm not listening to those guys on the ship." Ace laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, that's good, you don't have to listen to them." The younger snickered and latched onto Ace, in which the older returned as an embrace.

"And you have to train me!" Luffy was giddy, he didn't have to apart from Ace!

"Yeah, sure, if you can keep up that is."

"I can and I will." Luffy pretended to pout, which made both brothers burst into laughter.

Sabo shut his eyes, clutching the covers wrapped around him. He heard, he heard the words he didn't want to hear. He awoke to a sunny morning, finding himself alone in the room. Sabo found it odd his two brothers were no where in sight and went downstairs. No one was here, not even the bandits, not Dogra, not Dadan, no Ace and Luffy. Was there something going on today?

The floorboards squeaked as he stepped on them, creeping towards the door. Sabo pushed the door open with caution.

"Ace? Luffy?" he called. The rustling of a nearby bush startled him and he froze. The bush rustled more and Sabo stood still, peeking past the slightly open door. When he saw a person emerge from the bushes, he exhaled in relief and stepped out the door.

"Dadan," Sabo said and the woman faced him. She was holding a basket full of mushroom and greens in her hand.

"Brat, you didn't make breakfast today so we all had to go into the forest and pick fruits and mushrooms. We got your share too." Dadan noticed the peculiar expression the man wore and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing, thanks for getting my share too…" Sabo fidgeted, pulling on his gloves. The unusual quietness of the forest was unsettling. "Um…" His gaze wandered around and Dadan was close to telling him off, but Sabo was faster. "Where's Ace and Luffy?" He wasn't sure why he was hesitant in asking—it was normal for the brothers to be gone for the whole day and be back by dinner. What was this feeling?

Dadan scratched her head, "They left already." Sabo could feel something in him sink.

"Where…did they go?" he asked.

"Back to, what was his name, Whitebeard's ship?" Dadan gave Sabo a look. "I thought Ace told…" She dropped the basket and clapped her hands over her mouth. "Was I not supposed to let you know," she said aloud to herself.

Sabo blinked slowly, processing Dadan's words. He looked down at the ground, at his boots. Ace and Luffy were gone? They left. He grasped at his shirt, hearing only his accelerating breaths and heartbeat drum in his ears.

Am I alone?

I'm alone now. They left, they're gone.

They're not here.

The ground grew closer to him, or was it Sabo that was growing closer to the ground, he couldn't tell. Everything was fuzzy and it couldn't have been due to the lack of oxygen—he was breathing, he could hear it.

"Right, there was a man looking for you," Dadan said. Sabo wasn't paying attention, stressed by Ace's decision to leave without saying a word. Why would the man do that? He stumbled backwards, his back hitting the door behind him. Sabo leaned on it, his body too heavy for him to hold up. Was it because….

A man wearing a black top hat with a golden feather pin on it amble beside Dadan. He tipped his top hat, revealing dark eyes.

"Sabo, I've been searching for you." The man smiled, walking towards Sabo, opening his arms.

Father…

Sabo narrowed his eyes at Outlook, his fingers digging into the door. That fake smile. He felt a twinge in his head and he brought a hand to support it. He couldn't go home, he wouldn't let his father drag him into that household again. He turned, stumbling away from Outlook before a hand grabbed his shoulder. Sabo shot a glare at his father.

"Now, now Sabo, do not look at your father like that," the man said, still eerily smiling. Sabo panted, his heart quickening, sweat beginning to form and drip down his face.

Did Ace and Luffy leave him because…

"Sabo," his father's voice deeply echoed in his ears. Sabo looked at his father's face carefully for the first time since Outlook got here. His eyes widened.

Is it because I'm a noble?

He grit his teeth and yanked away from his father's arm. Sabo took off, staggering into the forest. He wasn't like him, he wasn't like his parents or like his adopted brother. He was different from the nobles in High Town who thought they were the privileged and those who weren't of nobility were disposable trash that needed to be cleaned up. Nobles who didn't bat an eye when Gray Terminal was set ablaze. Sabo's family couldn't see it, rather they didn't see a problem in how they did things. He squeezed his eyes shut, blindly running through the thicket, jutting branches grazing his cheek. There was something wrong with all of them.

Sabo's legs gave out on him and he tripped into a stream. He got up on his hands and knees, staring into the clear running water. He watched the water in his hair drip into the stream listlessly. He saw his reflection and slammed a palm in it, distorting it. The ripples were washed away by the stream and he huffed, sitting back on his heels. It wouldn't change, the fact that he was born a noble would never, could never be changed. Sabo looked at the sky for awhile and it seemed to grow darker. He shivered as a chill ran throughout his body.

He turned to the direction he came from. That's right, he had to leave now. His father had found him and there was no way he was going back. He picked himself up, treading through the water. Sabo had to set sail now—it was now or never. A small boat would be easy to find in Gray Terminal. As he moved, he thought and thought. Could he leave the island, could he really do that now when he couldn't before?

All of a sudden the area was pitch black. Sabo looked left, right, up and down. He couldn't see anything. He looked down again at where his feet should be and panic struck him when he couldn't see what he was standing on. He hunched over, clutching at his chest as he wheezed.

I'm scared.

Sabo's eyes snapped open, darting left to right until they laid on Ace in front of him. He relaxed, fatigue hitting him.

"Sabo!" the man yelled and he winced at the volume. Sabo limply pushed Ace's face back, turning onto his side, snuggling the sheets.

"What is it, you're so loud…" he mumbled.

"What you say, you were moaning and tossing and turning in your sleep!" Ace shook him by his shoulders. "You okay?"

"What do you mean?" Sabo glanced at Ace, finding a desperate expression scrunch the man's face. His eyes widened and he touched the spot below his eye. It was wet. Images flitted through his mind and he remembered the situation he was in. Sabo shoved Ace, his other hand now pushing the man's face back with more force.

"What're you doing?" came a muffled question. Sabo shook his head, shutting his eyes. This was a dream. It didn't make sense—Ace left with Luffy already.

"Hey, Sab—" Ace's words were cut off by an elbow knocking his chin upwards. He tried to stop Sabo by grabbing his arms but he fended his attempts off by flinging his arms in random directions.

"I got the water Ace!" Luffy said, carrying a bucket filled with water. Ace turned to his younger brother.

"Dump it on him," Ace struggled to say, as the man underneath him thrashed about. Luffy pattered next to Sabo's head and dumped the water onto his face. Sabo stopped his frenzy movements and stilled, gasping and coughing. The two brothers watched him, waiting for Sabo to come to his senses. The water soaked Sabo's hair and his face was drenched. It was cold. He tensed. He was in the stream, that was right, he had to get off the island soon or his father would catch up and he would end up in that detestable household again.

Just when Ace and Luffy thought Sabo was fine, the man started panting. They shared a worried glance.

"Sabo?" Luffy tried. The interval in each breath Sabo took was shortening. "Ace, this doesn't look good…" He hugged the empty bucket tightly.

"I can see that!" Ace bit the inside of his lip, brows furrowing. He stared at the shaking figure of his brother. "Doesn't this seem like he's hyper.."

"Ventilating?" Luffy finished.

"Yeah, that…" What did people do when others were hyperventilating? Ace scratched his head with both hands in exasperation. He heard Sabo groan and he let his hands fall to his side. It definitely looked like he was hyperventilating and it made Ace feel useless. Sabo was grasping at his chest—his shirt—tossing his head left and right with a pained expression, breathing harshly.

Sabo couldn't breathe, was he drowning in the stream, was he going to suffocate to death? He pulled on his shirt, feeling his chest was being constricted with not enough oxygen. He kept taking in short puffs of breaths that felt like they weren't nearly enough.

Ace couldn't stand seeing Sabo like this and he could see Luffy couldn't either, though they both hadn't a clue of what to do. He bent down, his hair tickling the man below him. He cupped Sabo's face and whispered, "Sabo…" Ace frowned deeper. He noticed Sabo's body jerk.

"Sabo…" Luffy whined, hoping whatever Ace was doing would help.

"Sabo," Ace said again, stilling his brother's head in his palms so Sabo would look at him. Sabo's eyes were darting frantically again and his pupils were dilated. Ace watched Sabo's face a little more and leaned down further until their noses touched and his forehead thumped against Sabo's. He breathed, closing his eyes.

"Wha..who?" Sabo's vision began to clear, the fuzzy, lightheadedness dissipating.

"Sabo, calm down…" Ace chanted Sabo's name over and over, telling him to calm down because that was the only thing he could do. "You're breathing too much, breathe slower."

It caught Sabo's attention and the man stopped struggling, looking at Ace. He held his breath, exhaling after some ten or so beats. Ace realized this and opened his eyes, hopeful whatever was plaguing his brother was gone. Sabo was staring at him, slowly making his way to fix on Ace's eyes. His breathing was rough but better than earlier.

"Sabo," Ace murmured, "what's my name?" They stare at one another, Sabo's breaths filling the room. Built up tears in his eyes fell as he blinked. His lips trembled.

"Ace…" he whispered. Luffy brightened up. So Sabo was fine now! He glanced from Ace to Sabo, back and forth. What did Ace do? A mysterious treatment, he concluded, nodding to himself and grinned. Ace chuckled.

"You're fine now huh?" he said. As he pulled away from Sabo, the other clung onto him. "Sabo?" Sabo had both his arms wrapped around under Ace's arms, his face buried in the man's neck.

"You're here…" Sabo mumbled. Ace blinked.

"I am," he answered. He motioned Luffy to sit beside them and the younger did. He poked Sabo's cheek and giggled. Ace felt the upturn of Sabo's mouth on his neck and smiled. He brought a hand and stroked Sabo's blonde locks. "Sleep, it's in the middle of the night." Sabo nodded, letting Ace's voice lull him to sleep.

Ace and Luffy were here and what happened before was a dream. But, they'd have to leave in a few more days. The warm sensation weighing on his chest where Ace had fallen asleep first on top of him would also disappear. The weight on him made it harder to breathe and he didn't complain. He looked over Ace's neck and saw Luffy dozed off beside him. Sabo laughed quietly and closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to take him.