Disclaimer: Oda (yup, the one in JAPAN) owns One Piece, not me.

AN: An older brother hopes to meet a deadline and arrive on time :)

"Dammit! C'mon! Faster!" the blond muttered under his breath as the steam motor he'd rigged up to his boat droned in the background. His hand was stuck in the engine, powering it with his Devil Fruit like there was no tomorrow. Unfortunately for him, the motor had a limit on just how fast it was supposed to go – and he'd managed to go above that one by far too much already. Sabo knew he'd need to let it rest for quite a bit once he was there, but he wouldn't – couldn't miss the event he was powering towards at speeds that probably weren't healthy for his still-recovering body.

The sun was setting already. It was nearing the end of the day. Another curse escaped him, before his eyes set upon his goal, a dark speck in the distance, with the sun's colours lighting up the sea around it. Unmistakeably, that had to be his brother's ship. Nigh unconsciously, with the goal in sight, he slowed the boat a tad as he powered down his Fruit's help with the journey, giving the motor a bit of leeway. He might have overdone it this time, he thought, as he regarded the engine critically. Steam was coming out of every open crevice, the creatively enhanced device not used to such abuse. Eh, as long as it'd still work for a little bit after he left Luffy, it'd be fine. He still had the sails and if worst came to worst the rudders as backup, after all.

Checking on his possessions with a quick glance, he ascertained that everything was where he'd put it and in the previous state of being, as well. Good. Wouldn't do to lose anything, now.

The engine roared suspiciously for a second – making him scrutinize it with narrowed eyes – before silencing and continuously bringing him closer to the pirate ship. Nothing out of the ordinary, then. Letting his shoulders relax, the blond let the motor puff out when he was a hundred meters away, the boat gliding over the waves for the last bit with the rest of the speed it had accumulated already.

"HEEEEEEEEY!" the shouting reached him, having been going on for a while, it seemed. He smiled.

Pulling his hat and bowing, he asked, politeness personified, "Permission to come aboard?"

Luffy's hand appeared in front of his body once he looked up again. Knowing the spiel well, he shook it and held on for dear life as he was drawn on board, and fast. Predictably, they landed in a heap on the floor, tangled beyond belief because Luffy's limbs sometimes just went nowhere in particular, especially when the rubber man was excited. Pushing a wayward arm up out of his face, he could see an army of candles on an enormous cake that was towering above a table on his right, lights and lit-up balloons all around, decorations hanging from every surface that was anywhere near grabbable (with Luffy as their captain? It was a wonder there was any surface left that wasn't filled with ornate colours and lights). Gracefully, he gathered himself before he stood up from the floor.

"Sabo-san, welcome!" "We're glad you could make it." two of his brother's crewmates spoke one over the other. Meanwhile, Luffy was laughing in the background. His little brother had found a playmate in the fluffball that was his doctor and they were rolling around on the floor a bit apart of the festivities. Probably a sensible decision on the part of their navigator. Sabo saw her side-eyeing the two with an approving look on her face, before turning to him. "Would you like some cake?"

His posture relaxed minutely, as he took in the chaos that was his little brother's birthday party on the sea. Funny, it reminded him of Makino-san's efforts when they had been younger. There were the candles, the presents, the table, the guests, the atmosphere…

When all was said and done and the lights were dimmed considerably in the early night sky, Luffy brought out three familiar cups and a bottle. The two of them, surrounded by quiet conversations and his brother's nakama leaving them the privacy they desired, drunk to their bond, two instead of three brothers reunited to celebrate a birthday, with Ace watching them from above.