Ominous

Pack


Sabo woke to a gentle breeze carrying birdsongs through a crack of a nearby window and a soft mattress under him. He opened his eyes—eye, one eye, the only one that he could open—confused and disoriented, drowsy mind unable to tell him where exactly he was.

Something creaked.

He couldn't contain a flinch at the sound, his heart reaching a frightening speed. Porchemy was coming back, and he didn't want to be hit again and again, it hurt, hurt so much, nononono—

Another creak.

Sabo's head turned towards the sound, despite his protesting muscles and splitting headache and—

The passing gust of wind pushed an open window. Its hinges creaked.

The blond stared at the darkened sky, splashed with colors of the rising sun. A window. An open window. The breeze carried in the refreshing, salty scent through it. His body went limp as if all of his energy was zapped out of him in an instant.

There were no open windows in that place. Neither was that nasty stench in this place.

Sabo mustered enough strength to look to the other side. Walls covered with charts. Cupboards and tables with various medical equipment. And two small forms hunched against the wall at the end of the cupboard.

Ace and Luffy.

Eyes closed, chests steadily rising and falling under the blanket that someone must have draped over them—they were both asleep. The straw hat squished between her and the wall, Luffy's head rested on Ace's shoulder, drooling on it. Similarly, Ace's head lay on top of hers, stray strands of her black hair fluttering with his every breath. Both of their faces were dirty, Luffy had distinct smears of blood too.

Sabo's eyelids felt so impossibly heavy. He was powerless to stop himself from slipping back into the blissful unconsciousness.


The next time Sabo woke up, it was to the sun warming the room and murmur of voices nearby.

"—too hard for him to swallow. Didn't you hear the doctor, Ugly?"

"What do you know, Buttface? He might not be able to eat it, but they'll definitely make him smile."

His body was still weak, limbs too heavy to lift, but pain dulled into the bearable ache and he felt much more alert this time. Turning his head towards the voices, he once again saw Ace and Luffy. They were clean now and too preoccupied with their individual tasks to notice Sabo watching them.

"He'll need lots of vitamins after such a severe blood loss," Ace said as he squeezed the juice out of an orange, frowning in concentration to get every single drop into the glass.

Luffy smiled lightly as she added another apple bunny to the ones already on the plate. "Makino once said a good mood is as important as medicine," she stated, picking up another slice and starting carving it.

Ace glared at her. Luffy glared back. Sabo huffed out an amused sigh.

Both Ds whipped their heads around. Immediately, their faces lit up like bonfires. "Sabo!" they exclaimed, dropping everything and rushing to him. They pushed and nudged to get a better spot next to Sabo's bed until settling down to not agitate him.

"You want anything?"

"You need anything?"

They shot each other a dirty look after speaking together.

"D-Drink…" Sabo croaked, feeling his dry throat almost crack on that single word.

Ace ducked back to the cupboard and returned with a glass of fresh orange juice. He lifted his friend's head, every touch careful and action measured, and pushed a straw between his parted lips.

After he drank enough, Sabo nodded, indicating that he was done. "Thanks," he said.

Ace grinned at him. Feeling Luffy's gaze drilling a hole into him, he glanced at her and his smile tipped on one side into a lopsided smirk.

Luffy wrinkled her nose in disgust at his obvious complacency.

"T-Those are very cute," Sabo blurted out before these two started a fight. He had witnessed their accidental meetings in the past and it never ended up friendly. How they managed to stay in one room without trying to claw their eyes out was quite a mystery. "I'd love to eat them once I can."

Luffy blinked. Her eyes flicked to her apple bunnies, then back to the blond, and her lips stretched into a bright, hundred-watt grin. "I'll make more!"

In the past, that fanged smile would have sent shivers down Sabo's spine. Now, he found it quite adorable.

Of course, when Luffy flashed her toothy grin at Ace, it contained nothing but smugness. The boy just scoffed and grumbled something under his breath.

Sabo couldn't figure them out. Did they… Did they try to one-up each other or something? Regardless, he had a more pressing matter to discuss. Even if he could feel his eyelids getting heavier already. "Ace," he called out, his voice still wispy, "I'm sorry."

Ace's brow furrowed. "What for?"

"I—I couldn't—I told them." He wasn't making any sense, going by the other boy's baffled expression. Sabo gulped, taking a couple of seconds to gather his thoughts in line. "I stole the money from someone I shouldn't have… Bluejam's thugs."

Ace's eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything, letting Sabo continue. The latter never noticed those black irises glowing red for a split second at the mention of his possible torturer.

"They ambushed me and I—I told them," Sabo choked out, fingers curling into the sheets as the guilt swelled inside him like a tumor. "I told them where our treasure is… I-I couldn't—I just wanted it to end… 'M sorry…"

Luffy sprung forward, wiping stray tears that escaped Sabo's eyes with a silent, "Shhh…" and gentle hand brushing through his hair.

Ace stood frozen. His face morphed from confusion to realization and then to absolute horror. "You idiot!" he screamed suddenly, earning a warning growl from Luffy when Sabo flinched. "Is that why—" he cut himself off, fists balled so tightly that his nails dug into his palms.

The longer he stayed silent, the more Sabo felt the guilt wrapping around his neck, threatening to strangle him.

"You should have told them immediately!"

Sabo spluttered out of surprise, "W-w-wha-what?"

Ace folded his arms, looking deeply upset with his friend. "You're an idiot," he repeated. "Idiot." Twice, to really drive his point. "Who cares about the money?!" he all but snarled out then, a mix of anger and self-loathing. His eyes were now red and creepy as he glared at Sabo. "You almost died! The whole world's treasure isn't worth you losing your life!"

Sabo stared. He couldn't form a coherent thought, much less a word.

Ace never showed that he cared. Of course, he always came, swooping in like the damn hero, when Sabo found himself in trouble, but the blond assumed it was because they worked so well together. Sabo was useful to Ace. Deep down, he hoped that their partnership wasn't the only reason, but he smothered that hope every time it reared up. He had been let down so many times in his life with an illusion of love and family, he didn't need another disappointment and betrayal.

There was a burning desire to know, so Sabo asked, "Is it… Is it because I'm a—a Pack?"

Silence. Ace shifted. A slight blush slowly crept on his freckled cheeks when he nodded.

Sabo had heard that term before, but not even Luffy ever explained what exactly it meant. "What is a Pack?"

"Family!" Luffy cheered.

"More than that…" Ace mumbled, barely audible.

Sabo's throat closed up. His parents provided for him, but never really loved him. After running away from home, he all but gave up on experiencing it. And now, in the face of such unrelentingly protective concern and love, he didn't know what to do.

"You're mine," Luffy purred into his ear, soft but bursting with affection.

Ace instantly reacted with a rumbling, "Sabo's mine!"

Their possessive claim on him sounded so inherently different from the same words on the night Sabo was hunted for food by Luffy, it filled him with comforting warmth and a feeling of safety. The girl kept stroking his hair and it lulled him further into sleep.

Seeing it, Ace and Luffy shot from their spots with a perfectly coordinated, "I'll get you an extra blanket!"

"Go away, Buttface!"

"Out of my way, Ugly!"

Sabo listened to them argue, throwing insults at each other. In the end, Ace won by virtue of being the first one to find extra blankets in the cupboards. However, Luffy was the one to tuck the blond in.

Sabo's consciousness started to drift away with the murmur of their hushed voices. He picked on a few words, but the topic of their conversation eluded him. He wondered what those two were planning to do with a bloody jam tonight as he slowly fell into dream-free sleep, a small content smile curled in the corner of his mouth.


A/N

Sabo is precious and needs more love. Ace and Luffy are ready to shower him with all the love and affection their little bodies can contain. Because that's just how Ds roll in this AU.