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"This HAS to stop!"
Hands slam at the table in front of Sabo, making him wince at the noise. He lilts his head leisurely, eyes trailing up until he looks Koala in the face.
"I don't know what you mean," his voice starts to slur at the edges, just a little bit.
It's not like that matters. He's still speaking clearer than some other people he knows, and even like this he's capable of running missions.
He doesn't see any issues. Koala, however, clearly does.
"You're drunk!"
"I've been drinking," Sabo nods, bringing his cup up only for her to slap it away.
The sake spills over the ground, cup dancing around until it rolls back against Sabo's boot. His brows furrow as he tracks the spreading spill.
"That," he points to it, looking back towards Koala with accusation ringing clear in his voice. "Was a waste."
"It's an intervention!" Koala's glaring at him, but Sabo can't really bring himself to care about that. He's got immunity to that; If not after the decade in the Revolutionary Army, then after the half-decade with Ace-
He swallows, his mouth growing dry. The taste of sake curls into something bitter on his tongue; No longer the fresh taste of brotherhood, now it's the taste of betrayal, of the ultimate let-down-
Sabo scrambles for the inside pocket of his coat, unscrewing the cap of his flask before it's even fully out. He brings it to his lips with desperate hurry, taking a large mouthful and just... holding it in.
Letting the sharp tang of alcohol spread over his tongue.
It never failed to sting, to heat up his mouth and bring to mind those peaceful summer days. Ace had always loved to sprawl under the sun, bathing in the hot rays like a cat. In a way, it was no surprise at all to learn he had gotten the Mera Mera no Mi.
A small smile dances on Sabo's lips at the memory of his brother. His face is blurry in memory, though, freckles washing into each other and eyes turning into blobs of an unspecified colour.
It's been too long since he last saw Ace. Why had he let it be this long...?
He catches Koala's gaze, anger and worry mixing on her face.
"What?" Sabo asks, taking another swing before pocketing the flask for now. Then, he decides he doesn't really care. "Whatever it is, I don't have time for it. I need to-"
His head swims when he gets to his feet and he has to pause. Leans over the table with his elbows braced, waiting for the vertigo to end.
That's pretty weird. Does someone have a new Devil Fruit they haven't got the hang of yet? Sabo should get someone to give them some tips; It'd be hard to function when one's unable to walk in a straight line.
"Sabo," Koala's voice pulls his attention. "You're not well."
Sabo blinks, the words taking a second to register. His head feels like it's filled with cotton, it's so hard to think. He moves his leg to brace himself better, his boot knocking against a cup.
Someone seems to have spilled a drink-
"You need help."
"I don't need help," Sabo snorts, straightening out. "I'm perfectly fine. All I need is to see my brothers-"
"You can't keep living this delusion," Koala's voice is sharp, cutting through the fog of his mind as she says- "Firefist is dead. You need to accept it."
There's ringing in his ears as Sabo refuses to compute the words. No, that can't be- That's his brother, Sabo can remember the taste of sake from the ceremony that made them so, he has to be alive still-
His hands claw at his coat, struggling to get to the inside pocket. Koala grabs at his wrists, stilling their desperate search.
"Drinking yourself into oblivion isn't going to change reality."
"It'll change my reality," Sabo's voice is scarcely more than a hoarse whisper. "As long as I can taste it- As long as the ceremony's fresh on my tongue, he's still here. He's still-"
The weight of reality falls upon his shoulders, fills every single inch of his body until it feels like it's made of lead.
His knees hit the floor, fabric of his pants growing wet.
Head bowed, his hair fall into the puddle, and the smell-
It smells like the best summer. It smells like brotherhood.
It smells like the only reason to keep on living.