Chapter Text
A pair of revolutionaries walk down the hallway and Ace quickly ducks into a supply closet to hide. His legs shake and he almost stumbles, but luck is on his side. The men walk past him and Ace lets out a breath of relief and goes back to his sneaking—As well as you can sneak anyway, when you move like a baby that is still learning to walk.
Since there is no one around to witness it, Ace gives in and steadies himself by putting a hand on the wall as he shuffles along.
“Could have been worse.” Ace tells himself. It is something he often reminds himself these days. It could be worse. He could still be paralyzed from the chest down—Hell, he could be dead.
According to Trafalgar Law, he actually was for a bit.
If Jinbe hadn't grabbed both Ace's body and Luffy, and if Trafalgar hadn't had his weird devil fruit, and hadn’t decided to save Ace on a whim… No other doctor could have done it. Surgeon of Death might be a misnomer. It should at least be Surgeon of Life & Death, considering what he'd done with Ace.
So yes. Ace is learning to walk again, and it is a slow, frustrating, and often painful process. But at least he will walk again.
Not to mention, if Ace hadn’t been declared dead by the world at large, Ivankov wouldn't have agreed to bring Ace back to Baltigo to hide him, and he'd never have been reunited with Sabo.
Finally Ace spots his destination and hurries towards it as much as he can.
“Hi Sabo, surprise!” He yells as he barges in. “Now don't be mad, but I—”
The office is empty. The only hints of Sabo's recent presence are the piles of half completed paperwork, and a lukewarm mug of coffee.
Sabo drinks a lot of coffee. Side-effect of being Chief of Staff, Ace supposes.
Ace shuffles into the room and closes the door behind him. He picks up the mug and tilts it back and forth so the brown liquid slosh around. Placing the mug back down, he glances over the piles of paper. It looks like a pain to get through.
When Ace had still been Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, he had also suffered through paperwork. Weapon requisitions, loot distribution/wages, leave requests… Burning down enemy ships was a lot more exciting than the surrounding humdrum.
If Ace didn’t hate the taste of coffee with a burning passion, he'd probably also be addicted to the stuff.
Well… these days Ace supposes he is gaining a slight appreciation for it. Or at least for Sabo's coffee flavored kisses.
“I guess I could go get him a fresh cup.” Ace mumbles, and goes to turn around, only to stumble. He catches himself on the corner of the table and curses. Fucking legs. He keeps forgetting that they still won't move like he expects them to.
On second thought, in his current condition, carrying a mug full of hot coffee back from the cafeteria sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.
Scowling, Ace straightens up, moves around the desk, and sits down in Sabo's chair.
He just wants to help. Even if it's just with a little thing. Is that too much to ask?
Maybe it is.
These days, Ace is nothing but a useless burden. Not even a part of the RA, and only given sanctuary here thanks to Luffy's and Sabo's connections. A should-be-dead pirate stealing all of Sabo's time and attention.
When the nurses and doctors fuss around him, while Sabo lingers at his side and asks questions about his rehabilitation, Ace often wonders if they secretly hate him for wasting their resources and distracting their Chief of Staff.
A few of the lower level soldiers have sneered at Ace, calling him ‘Pirate Prince’ under their breaths like a curse. Ace pretended not to hear them and hasn't told Sabo. What good would it do? Ace's identity has been revealed to the world. You can't count the sheer number of people that now hate him for having Roger's blood. It is even more impossible to beat them all up about it, no matter what his child self once had thought, and Sabo still believes.
Voices from the hallway drag Ace out of his thought spiral. The door remains shut though: it is just some people walking past.
Ace's gaze once again falls on the cold mug of coffee, and he lets out a dry, mirthless “Ha.”
How pathetic. He can't even go get a fresh mug of coffee for his boyfriend— Can't do anything these days, except be the catalyst that brings down any group he becomes a part of and puts anyone he cares about in danger. The Spade pirates hadn't lasted a full year under Ace's captaincy. The Whitebeards had gone to war and died for him. Pops had died. Luffy had almost died. All because of Ace.
Now he is here, in Baltigo with the revolutionaries, reunited with Sabo, and Ace can't help wondering when he will next bring disaster down on all their heads.
“I guess I can at least heat this back up…” He mumbles as he picks up the mug and holds it between his hands. It is a trick he had often done on the Moby Dick, for himself and others, during long and cold night watches.
The power of his devil fruit rolls under his skin and rises to the surface, flames licking around the outside of the mug as the liquid inside quickly starts to steam.
The door opens with a bang as Sabo charges in, looking wild-eyed.
It startles Ace, who looks up in surprise. His flames rise higher than intended, there is a sharp crack, and then the mug in his hands shatters—coffee and shards splattering all over the paperwork.
Sabo stops and stares. Ace goes completely still and also stares at the mess he has just made.
Then Ace quickly looks up again and says, “I'm sorry! I didn't mean to—this usually never happens. I've done this trick a lot. The mugs don't usually explode.”
Sabo blinks once, twice, and then seems to regain himself. He softly closes the door behind him and walks over to Ace, gaze gliding between him and the desk. “...Ship mugs are usually made from metal, to prevent breakage during storms.”
Ace's eyes widen as he realizes that Sabo is right. Then his gaze flies back down to the ceramic mug shards spread out over his hands, lap and table. “Oh.”
Sabo doesn't mention the mess—doesn't even spare it a second glance. He just moves around the table and gently takes hold of Ace's still raised wrists to examine his hands. “Did you hurt yourself?”
“No. Logia, remember?” Ace says, not quite meeting Sabo's eyes. Not that being a logia actually makes him impervious to boiling liquids, but the ‘baptism’ he'd gone through in Impel Down was a million times worse, and makes the current sting on his hands barely worth mentioning.
Sabo doesn't reply, just frowns as he pulls out a handkerchief and gently dabs it against Ace's reddened skin.
“The nurses informed me that you'd disappeared.” Sabo says, apropos nothing. Though that does probably explain why he'd barged into the room the way he did. Sabo still gets twitchy when he doesn't know Ace's whereabouts or health status.
They are both so fucking messed up from Impel Down and Marineford. Even though Ace survived in the end and Sabo hadn't even been there—which of course is half of Sabo's issues about it in the first place.
“The room was stuffy, so I went for a walk to see you.” Ace says, finally pulling his hands back from Sabo's grip.
Ace gazes sadly at the messy work desk. “Sorry… I wanted to get you a fresh mug of coffee, but I can't with these fucking legs.” He gestures angrily at his own thighs, “So I figured I'd at least heat this one up, but I managed to fuck that up too.”
“Ace…” Sabo sighs.
Ace doesn't look at him. His sight of the desk and ruined papers starts going blurry. “I wanted to help. But Instead I just caused you hours of added work.” He smiles bitterly, lips trembling, “Typical, huh? I can’t fucking do anything right.”
Glowed fingers curl around his jaw and pulls Ace's head around to face Sabo, and then—
“Ouch!” Ace yelps as Sabo flicks him sharply on the forehead, using haki too, the bastard.
“Don't talk about yourself like that.” Sabo tells him with a frown, then leans in to kiss the place he'd just flicked.
He pulls back again, looks at Ace for a moment, and then lets out a sigh. “I'm not even mad, so stop beating yourself up about a silly accident. Besides, look,” He turns and reaches past Ace, picks up a paper and flicks it so that a couple of ceramic shards and drops of coffee fall to the floor. “Probably only two or three papers really got hit. The rest are still legible. I'll dry them and it'll be fine. Won't even be the first time I file something with coffee stains—or worse.”
“But—” Before Ace can voice his protest, Sabo spins the chair around and darts in to steal a kiss. Ace makes a muffled sound of protest against his lips, but doesn't try to get away.
When Sabo eventually pulls back, he smiles softly at him and says, “Thank you for coming to see me, Ace.”
Ace bites his lower lip and tells himself that his eyes aren't wet. Sabo raises a hand to gently cup his cheek and Ace allows himself to close his eyes and nuzzle into it.
“Though next time, please tell the nurses where you're going first?” Sabo begs him, and Ace, overwrought yet exhausted from the trip and his thoughts, just nods in compliance and leans in to hide his face against Sabo's chest.
“I'll help you clean it up.” He mumbles into Sabo's shirt.
“That's alright.” Sabo says, running a hand through Ace's hair and down his back. “I'm the one wearing gloves. I'll get it.”
Ace bites his lip again and doesn't say anything.
One day he'll be healed and able to be of use again, instead of just being a burden. One day, he might stop hating himself for the blood in his veins, and the suffering his mere existence has caused. Ace has promised that he will try at least, and he means it. After almost breaking his promise to Luffy by dying, Ace is very conscious of not making any promises that he has no hope or no intention of keeping.
One day, Ace will be able to keep hold of what he had felt up there on the execution scaffold, seeing his family fight for him.
The feeling of wanting to live, and being happy that he was born.
But until then, Ace has Sabo around to flick him on the forehead when he needs to be reminded.
Chapter 2
Notes:
Prompt sent to me by niichanism, who asked:
oooh,,, acesabo break up/make up? 🤭
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Ace is down. Immobilized on the floor. He is losing. In that moment, all he can think is ‘not again.’
He barely managed to survive Marineford. Getting taken out by one of Kaido's goons right after he finally healed and rejoined society is such a fucking stupid way to go.
The creepy spider zoan laughs, loud and shrill, as she scuttles closer. Ace grits his teeth and prepares to feel the pain of her venom bite.
There's a rush of wind, a pipe whistling through the air, and the spider woman is sent flying with a scream.
It takes Ace a second to focus his blurry vision on the figure suddenly standing protectively in front of him. For a moment he is certain that his concussion is making him hallucinate. Then the figure turns around.
Sabo's expression flickers with awkwardness for a brief second, then it's gone and he is all nonchalant smile and cool tone as he says, “Hi there, Ace. It looks like you need a hand?”
Ace stares. Then his expression twists into a scowl and he spits, “What the fuck are you doing here? Weren't you gonna be oh so busy with your army's big important plans?”
“Well…” Sabo steps closer, eyes rowing over the mess of spiderwebs that Ace is caught in. “Can't you burn those off?”
“There's a seastone nail lodged in my shoulder.” Ace snaps, glaring at his ex-boyfriend and still idiot brother.
(One thing they don't tell you: breaking up with your sibling is super awkward.)
“Remember how you said I'd be better off not getting involved with you?” Ace asks caustically as Sabo starts yanking apart the web with haki endowed hands. “What happened to that? Oh mister Chief of Staff?”
“That's not exactly what I said…”
“I guess revolutionaries are just too busy to bother with unimportant stuff. Like their families. Take after your teacher much? Huh, Sabo?”
Sabo just sighs and doesn't bother defending Dragon. It's a lost cause with Ace anyway.
Soon Ace is unwrapped enough for Sabo to locate the nail and pull it out. Ace wastes no time burning off the rest of the sticky mess and getting up. He straightens his yukata as he glares at his ex.
Sabo is rubbing the back of his head and not looking directly at him. “Would it help if I told you I'm sorry?”
“Are you?”
Sabo winces, but when he finally makes eye contact his expression is steady. “...No. Not really. I didn't want you anywhere near Mary Geoise, and I don't regret keeping you away.”
Ace scoffs, crosses his arms and glares sullenly at the floor. “You're still treating me like an invalid.”
“You were. For a bit.”
“I'm better now!” Ace snaps as he whirls on him and gets in his face. “I'm healed! I can fight! I'm not weak!”
Sabo stays infuriatingly calm, though the corners of his mouth do dip down. “I know. Of course you're strong. I'm sorry if I ever made you feel otherwise.”
The agreement takes the winds out of Ace's sails. He turns away again, arms still crossed, and grumbles unintelligibly.
The truth is that Ace's reconvalescence with the Revolutionaries was rough on both of them. Ace was a crappy patient that hated needing help with anything. Sabo was a hoovering, over-protective mess, still dealing with the guilt of not remembering ‘in time’—As if not recovering from brain trauma inflicted amnesia on demand was somehow his fault.
“Ace,” Sabo says softly, but with that low jitter-inducing intensity he has. He takes hold of Ace's arm and gently pulls him around, “I am sorry about that fight. I let my fears get the best of me.” He sighs, blue eyes dimming, “I felt like a moron afterwards. Of course you'd be in danger no matter what path you chose, be it as a pirate or a revolutionary. I just—”
“I'm sorry too.”
Sabo's head snaps up, eyes wide as he stares at Ace.
Ace twitches and looks away as he mumbles, “I'm sorry too, alright? I gave you a hard time taking care of a cripple for almost two years, only to blow up at you the second I was semi-healed and you still wouldn't let me join a high profile mission. I guess I wanted to prove something to myself… but I was being stupid and unfair about it.”
“Taking care of you was never a hardship. I spent every day being grateful that you lived.” Sabo tells him, blue eyes flaring with intensity. Then he sighs, “But I understand.” Sabo shakes his head as he steps closer, hand gliding down Ace's arm to hold his hand instead. He squeezes it. “You are strong, Ace. Honestly you could probably have helped, but… If you'd gone too, I'd have been compromised. I wouldn't have been able to focus on the mission.”
Ace purses his lips and looks at him. Sabo looks back. They're both silent for a moment. Then Ace rolls his eyes and shifts his hand to weave their fingers together.
“I forgive you. Provided that you get used to the fact that you don't need to protect me anymore.”
“Hmm.” Sabo hums dubiously as he shifts his gaze from the broken webs on the ground and then towards the direction he'd sent the spider lady flying.
“Oh shut up.” Ace says, cheeks going hot. “She got in a lucky shot. That's all.”
Sabo's eyes shift back to him, “Do I still get a shot?”
“...I guess you do.” Ace says, quickly ducking closer to place a kiss on his cheek. He pulls back and warns with a mock-serious scowl, “Don't waste it.”
Sabo squeezes his hand and smiles widely as he promises, “I won't.”
Notes:
Picture Onigashima castle burning down around them as they have this talk. Kings of worst timing ♡
achuanw on Chapter 1 Mon 23 Sep 2024 05:25AM UTC
Comment Actions
Thesaurus_with_no_words on Chapter 1 Mon 23 Sep 2024 10:47AM UTC
Comment Actions
AphrodaiSaboAce on Chapter 1 Thu 26 Sep 2024 10:36AM UTC
Comment Actions
AphrodaiSaboAce on Chapter 2 Thu 26 Sep 2024 10:40AM UTC
Comment Actions
Depressionitself on Chapter 2 Sun 10 Nov 2024 12:21AM UTC
Comment Actions
golden_kaori on Chapter 2 Sun 10 Nov 2024 05:52PM UTC
Comment Actions