Chapter Text
Robin sat on the deck as she usually did, book in hand, sunglasses balanced on her head, parasol shading her from the sun.
Every so often, Sanji would come by to check if she needed any sustenance; regardless if her glass was half full. Nami sunbathed in the deck chair parallel to her, soaking in the rays gleefully, her ginger hair flowing over her shoulders. Across the deck, Zoro bench pressed comically large weights, the ship shaking as he threw them down, narrowly avoiding a carefree Chopper. Jinbe calmly held onto the helm, ensuring the ship didn’t veer off course with the vibrations of Zoro’s weights. All the while, Luffy and Usopp sat fishing on the edge of the deck, serenaded by Brook in the background.
Robin smiled as she took in her surroundings, enamoured by her found family. She treasured every single moment she’d shared with them, cherishing each day as if it were her last. Robin sighed with content as she prepared to continue her book, taking a quick sip of the drink Sanji had once again topped up. Just as she settled, a familiar trill began to sound from the table next to her; the transponder snail.
“Hello?” Robin answered, sitting upright. The sudden disruption to the peacefulness of the ship caused the rest of the crew to avert their attention to the raven haired beauty, listening intently,
“Robin? Is that you? It’s Sabo!” The excited voice replied, the transponder snail’s face changing to match its owner. Robin’s face lit up as she heard the voice of the Revolutionary,
“Sabo!! It’s good to hear from you!” She smiled, as the crew gathered around her, “What can I do for you?” There was a brief pause as the air grew heavy, Sabo’s lively tone shifting to serious,
“I need to talk to Luffy. Is he there?” Luffy’s head swirled round the ship, popping up next to Robin before his body bounced alongside it, a grin etched onto his face,
“Sabo!!” The rubber man exclaimed, overjoyed to hear his brother for the first time since they’d left Dressrosa, “Where are you?”
“Luffy!” Sabo’s voice, although still sounding stressed, came across as elated, echoing his brother’s excitement. He paused briefly before continuing in his pensive tone, “It doesn’t matter where I am right now, Luffy; what does matter is who I’m with.”
Sabo hesitated, almost intentionally waiting for a response from the motley crew. When he didn’t receive one, he continued, clearing his throat,
“I’ve found an artificial devil fruit user; one that can bring back the dead. I know it sounds insane, but I’ve seen it with my own eyes!!” The blond’s voice nearly pleaded, the Straw Hats continuing to listen with anticipation, “Luffy,” Sabo tried to swallow the lump in his throat, “We could bring Ace back.”
The crew turned towards Luffy, knowing the gravity of the words Sabo had spoken. Ever since that fateful day just over 2 years ago, there hadn’t been a day Luffy hadn’t thought about his older brother.
Their shared youth.
Their reunion in Alabasta.
His death.
Luffy was not one for dwelling on the past, as was evident by his lack of talking about it. Whilst, on an individual level, the crew had often offered a hand of support to Luffy, each time he had denied it. His aloof personality often hid any emotional pain he was experiencing; in spite of that, whenever he accidentally referenced Ace, his eyes glazed over with a sort of mourning, a yearning for his brother to be alive! A fleck of guilt for being the reason that Ace had died.
His eyes once again, conveyed those feelings.
A heavy air overshadowed the crew as they waited for Luffy’s next words. Jinbe knew better than anyone how distraught and anguished Luffy had been at the sight of his brother bleeding out; even he couldn’t predict what Luffy would or wouldn’t say.
“Sabo,” Luffy started, his eyes hazed and his voice low, “We’ll anchor in at an island. Come to us.” It was, by far, a command rather than a request.
“On my way, Luffy.” The transponder snail clicked off as the group awaited their orders.
“Nami,” Luffy addressed, as Nami brought herself to attention, “Plot us a course to the next island; we’ll dock there.”
“Got it, Luffy!” Nami smiled, her answer prompting the rest of the crew to tend to their positions, ready to set sail to the next island.
🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️
Sabo kept watch of Luffy’s vivre card as the small boat rocked with the force of the waves. Since inheriting Ace’s devil fruit, he had (with the help of Lindenburg) attempted to replicate the flame powered boat that Ace had sailed solo on the seas with varying levels of success. The current model had been the most prosperous version thus far, however, the problem seemed to lie with its driver! Sabo, although seemingly quite proficient with the flame-flame fruit, still had some training to do concerning polishing his manoeuvring skills. Still, as long as he was getting both himself and David from A to B, nothing else mattered.
“So,” David interrupted the peace, clearing his throat, “Where are we travelling to?” Sabo continued to gaze intently at the horizon, a warmth appearing on his face,
“We’re off to meet with my little brother,” he smiled, suddenly taking a moment to rethink his words, “Well, hopefully, brothers!” Sabo had realised he hadn’t explained to David what his favour was going to consist of, so hoped this was enough of a hook for him to bite.
“Ah, I suppose I’ll be resurrecting your parent, then?” David nodded knowingly, his legs and arms crossed.
‘Seems the hint wasn’t quite obvious enough.’ Sabo shrugged, settling himself to retell his brothers’ stories.
David watched with intrigue as Sabo reminisced the tales of his youth spent alongside his brothers, glossing over the time spent without them. The old man could sense the love Sabo had for his brothers; smiling with him as he told of happier times, the same smile fading as Sabo recounted the day he’d regained his memories upon learning of Ace’s death. However, as Sabo continued his story, his face once again brightened as he recalled his time in Dressrosa, his reuniting with Luffy, and his inheritance of the Flame-Flame fruit. Once the revolutionary had concluded, he took a moment to recompose himself before pivoting towards David,
“So yeah, hopefully my brothers!” He beamed, placing emphasis on the plural. David reciprocated the smile, turning away for a moment as he collected his thoughts.
“Do you have something sentimental from your brother? A personal item; a piece of clothing, a trinket perhaps?” David pondered, wondering what physical item could equal the worth of Ace’s relationship with his siblings. Sabo smirked awkwardly, one hand behind his head, the other placed over his heart,
“Well, me?” Sabo paused for a second whilst David looked at him in a confused manner, “I did eat his devil fruit after all; each one contains parts of its previous users!” David scratched at his beard, turning away from Sabo and looking out towards the ocean,
“Let me sleep on it,” He announced, bringing his knees up and lowering his head to his chest, “Wake me up when we get to your brother.”
The revolutionary once again turned his attention to the sea, clutching the fluttering vivre card.
‘Am I even doing the right thing?’
‘Will Luffy agree with this?’
‘If it works, will Ace agree with this?’
The questions seemed to carousel through his mind, never once waiting for an answer. Sabo shook his head in an attempt to alleviate his anxieties, once again focussed on getting to his brother.