I OWN ABSOLUTELY NOTHING BUT THE IDEA.

Sabo loved both of his brothers dearly. It was just sometimes he wanted to slaughter them and hide all the body parts because both of them were idiots. That's all Sabo could think of as he watched his older brother let his anger take over. Ace had always been the angry child, his temper just as quick to ignite as his flames. So now he stood slightly behind the older boy, far enough back to not get burned. Not that his brother would ever let fire burn him. Though he was really angry at Ace, he did not take his eyes off of the man who had insulted their adopted caregiver.

Luffy had awoken at some point and had clumsily climbed onto the bar counter to stand behind him. His smaller hands had sneaked out and grabbed onto the back of his shirt. Sabo wanted to cry. Luffy who was so small and so much more innocent to the world should not be here.

Sabo tensed waiting for it to start and he wasn't disappointed. He really wished for once he would be.

"FREAKS!"

The whispering spread throughout the bar. Mutants, freaks, demons, were just a few of the favored insults thrown around the bar. Sabo saw some people run out the door and he knew; he knew it was a matter of time before the cops and government were here to take them away. He inched closer to his brothers.

Three men pulled out guns and were shakily pointing them at Ace. Luffy squeaked but took a step forward. As much as Sabo hated it, and as much as he knew how innocent Luffy was; he also knew this wasn't the first time a gun had been pointed at his brothers. Sabo knew that Ace and Luffy were pretty much bullet proof… he, not so much. While he really just wanted to protect his younger brother, when guns came out, he had to step back.

A gun fired. His ears rang and he felt Luffy flinch from the sound. The bullet made contact with Luffy's skin, which stretched back, just missing Sabo by a millimeter. His skin quickly snapped forward, sending the bullet flying into an unsuspecting victim. Upon realizing where the first bullet had struck, Ace's flames began to increase in length, as if they were trying to grab their distant assailants. However; the heat began to subside to its original place as a barrier around his body when he remembered his little brother remained unharmed. Sabot on the other hand, felt especially bad for the guy as he was the only one that had not suddenly backed away from the bar and or drawn a weapon. Sabo watched the man go down, his knee giving out as blood flowed from the new hole in his leg.

The other men shrieked as they quickly backed away. "There both mutants!"

"Kill them!" Another screamed.

"I have a knife" the one closest to them threatened, swiping his arm out as if they were right next to him and not ten feet away.

"ENOUGH!" Makino screamed. Sabo pulled Luffy closer, hissing at Ace to get closer to Makino. She had brought out a shot gun and was aiming it directly at the guy who had fired the gun. Her face was set in a furious manner that he knew didn't fit on the kindly bartender that had taken them in. It made him feel guilty that they were the reason she had to go against her own gentle ways.

But seeing Makino like this made Ace finally get the picture. He turned sharply around, putting his back to the men, as he carefully made his flames die down until the only ones left were across his shoulder and some fly-aways in his hair. He grabbed both of their hands and tugged them forwad, pushing them off the bar and then behind Makino, close to the back bar door if the need to run became unavoidable.

"Sabo?" Luffy whispered, his voice small and trembling. "Are we going to have to leave again?"

"Shut up, Luffy." Ace hissed, pushing them behind him.

Luffy let out a breathy whine between his sealed lips and Sabo knew, he just knew his younger brother was seconds away from crying.

"Shush Lu, shush. Everything will be fine. You'll see. As long as we stay together…"

"But Sabo, grandpa said if he has to move us again he'd separate us."

Dawning realization sank in at those words. He had forgotten his grandfather threat from three months ago. His blues eyes shot to his older brother's silver and the panic and horror he saw just made him feel worse. This was it. They were going to be separated. This was it. No more Ace to wrestle with or little Luffy to bring him beetles.

Ace did it before him. Snaking his arms out to grab his two younger brothers. Ace's anger would go unchecked without them there, Sabo knew this. He knew if they were separated Ace would be found and killed. Luffy? Luffy who was naïve and stupid and didn't understand that people didn't think his mutation was cool or funny. They'd call him monster and Ace and he wouldn't be there to console him and tell him otherwise. And him? What would he do without his brothers? Without the comfort of knowing they were there…?

Then something unexpected happened.

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