Chapter Text
You are sitting with your friends from the army in an unused room, chatting away about usual stuff. It's been 6 months since you joined the Revolutionary Army, you were someone who was tired of seeing the dark realities of world government — the manipulated news, the exploitation of people, the utterly ridiculous laws and how they perceived to be justice itself. You wanted to change it, your heart was exploding with rage and that was when you decided to join the Revolutionary Army. You weren't sure if it was a good choice, even though you are young, you realized a bit too much to stay calm. Your lessons on learning how to fight came in handy, you were able to get hold of everything fairly easily and managed to rank up massively and became a commander in a short time.
You had been getting along with the women in the army quite well. Though, most of the time, people doubt your strength because of you ranking up so fast but you didn't care. You had a small circle and you enjoyed their company. You didn't care as long as the people you loved didn't care. Just like right now, you are enjoying your usual chat with them.
All of you are talking about random stuff when Sabo enters the room, you didn't hear him enter until he was standing in front of you. You were too immersed in the conversation to notice anyone around. His gaze was fixed on your smile, for some time, he didn't say anything. He just stood there, watching you smile as if capturing it in his heart. “y/n”, he calls out softly and gently. Your gaze turns to the source of sound immediately. Sabo has started relying on you a lot, not just for missions, but also for advice and suggestions. However, you didn't think of it as anything much. It was just because you had capabilities or so you thought.
Your friends however, didn't think of it as just him ‘relying on you’, they thought he was catching feelings for you. Typical thought process, you didn't like that they came to such assumptions for no reason. They whisper to themselves, “it's him again!”. You roll your eyes at them, turning your attention back to the blond man, “Sabo!”, you smile at him. He crosses his arms, returning your smile, “I was looking for you.”
“Hm? Really? Why is that?”, you reply. “Sorry to interrupt your conversation ladies, but can I take her for a moment?”, Sabo asks gently, almost gracefully. Your friends nod at his request giving you a knowing smile, which you hated. You rise from your seat, leaving the room with him. “I wanted to ask for your advice on something”, he says without wasting another second. You nod, “Sure, what is it?”, you reply softly.
He discusses the situation with you as you both walk down the familiar paths of hallways. The soft clicks of your and his boots echoed in the hallways, it was mostly empty at this time of the day. It was like a soft and gentle walk with him. You listen intently to him, and provide him with intellectual responses as usual. You loved that he relied on you, it was fun to be around him. His presence felt different — calming, surreal and comforting.
He insists on walking you back to your friends, so you oblige. You both share small talk on your way back. His eyes had been fixed on your smile, but you hadn't noticed it. Upon reaching the room where your friends had been, you end up overhearing their conversation. Standing just outside the room, near the doorframe, you could hear their voices clearly. You didn't plan on it or intended to do so either, however you ended up overhearing it anyways. The conversation wasn't something you had ever imagined in your life, nor could you believe it.
“It has to be it! I'm betting on it. Y/n must have used some other means to rank up”, one of them chirped. Others agreed with the statement, “It has to be Sabo, right? She is always with him.”, they added. “Of course, there's no way she became a commander in a span of 6 months.” You froze, your brain couldn't process the words yet. You just listened — no thoughts, no speaking, no reaction.
“Yeah, and she is all goodey with the higher ups too, especially men.”
“It's fucking unfair. We all worked hard and she gets to be commander just like that?!”
You knew what they meant; that you didn't earn the spot — you stole it, bought it with something. Your brain started getting fuzzy, you don't know how to react to this. You have been getting along with them, they have been sweet and nice, haven't they? Is that how they thought of you? Is that how they talked of you? You wish it wasn't real at all. What were you supposed to do with this information anyways? You loved them too much to believe any of this.
“y/n, are you okay?”, a familiar voice reached your ears, soft and comforting but laced with something more you couldn't quite tell. Sabo was looking at you with a concerned gaze. You had almost forgotten he was with you, that he was also here, listening to all of it as well.
“She must have seduced them”, “definitely”, “what a bitch”, the voices of your friend from inside the room reaches your ears, echoes in your mind. You felt something break, break inside you. You didn't know what it was that broke. It can't be right. It has to be a mistake. Was what you heard even correct? No, you must have misheard it, right? There's no way they would speak like that about you. Yeah, it's not possible, you misheard, yeah that has to be it. You looked at Sabo, who is fuming with anger now, whose eyes are flaring with fire — of anger, of rage, of you don't know what. Ah, you haven't misheard anything. It was how they saw you, perceived you, talked about you, thought of you.
“I'll tell them off right now”, Sabo says, his voice low and unforgiving as if he was going to fight an enemy. You can't imagine what he would do if he goes in looking like that. His expression says that he doesn't mean to just ‘talk’. You immediately stop him from doing so, standing in his path, scared of the anger he's showing. He looks down at you, fuming with anger. He looked more angry than you, why was that? You didn't know, didn't want to know, right now you just had to stop him. He looked like he would kill everyone in there.
“It's alright. I'm fine. You don't have to”, you reply. Your voice sounded weird to you, why was that? It was different, what was different though? You couldn't tell. “Your voice is cracking, y/n. You need to be more convincing. You're not fine”, his gloved hands grab your shoulders gently. Ah, that was the reason, your voice was cracking, you were almost on the verge of breaking down. Your fingers were getting cold and all you knew was you can't let Sabo go in. For some reason, you knew that if he did, it wouldn't be pretty. “It's alright. You don't need to get involved in it”, your voice cracking through your throat.
He sighs for a second, running a hand through his shinning blonde hair, almost frustrated, “Get aside y/n. I won't repeat. I need to get in there and—”, you cut him off instantly with a cracking soft tone, “please?” why were you protecting them? You don't know. You just want to talk to them yourself instead of having a third party involved.
He exhales softly at your words, he can’t just ignore your words for some reason. “Fine, but make sure you take care of the situation”, he says firmly, he doesn't want you roaming around with such double-faced people ever again. He doesn't want to see hurt again. Did you even know how you looked right now? What face you were making? How your eyes were filled with tears? How you looked like something inside you had broken? The sight made his heart wrench. He wanted to tear apart the mouth that spoke ill of you, that had broken you.
His hands fall to his sides, clenching into fists tightly. “Go in, talk. I'll wait here”, he says, his voice still laced with comfort and concern but hid a tinge of anger beneath it. “Huh? Uh, alright.”, you reply. You probably couldn't tell him to go back. You had the idea that he wouldn't listen to you. So, you walk in, slowly, bracing yourself for the conversation — to confront them. You didn't know what expression you were wearing, you hoped that it didn't reflect your pain, the chaos inside you. You walked, slowly, but you couldn't do it. You stop just before the entrance. You cover your face with your hands, “uh, I can't. I don't know how to do it”, you speak, more to yourself than Sabo.
“you don't have to if you can't”, he murmurs softly, reassuringly. You turn to face him, he stands close, close enough for you to feel heat radiating off him. His scent fills in your senses, something sweet, something manly. He doesn't waste any time, wrapping you in his strong and comforting arms. Your head rested on his chest, you could feel yourself relaxing, his body felt warm, comforting, relaxing. He didn't know if you liked the proximity or if it helped you in any way but that was all he knew. He didn't know how else he could console you, he wasn't good at this or maybe he just didn't know when it came to you.
~After sometime~
You are in your quarters with Sabo, who has been comforting you for a while now. Right now, he is in the kitchen doing something you don't know. “Ne, Sabo! What are you doing?”, you ask curiously. You couldn't tell what he was doing from your seat on the couch. You wait, dangling your feet ‘cause you don't know what else to do. Your eyes spark up to Sabo as he approaches you with two cups in his hands. You could tell it was something warm. “Here you go”, his voice was soft and comforting as he hands you one of the cups. You take it from him carefully, as to not spill it’s contents. Bringing it closer to yourself, it was hot cocoa with cream and chocolate shavings as topping, just the way you like it.
“Woah! How did you know I like it this way?”, you ask, curious to know how he had known how you liked it. He ponders for a moment, searching for the correct way to put it. Guess there was none, “Uh, I saw you having it often. So, I figured you liked it”, he replies. Your eyes dilate in surprise. He remembered just from watching you? You take a sip of it. The rich drink warms you up, you exhale softly, savouring the taste. “You remember just from that?”, you take another sip, you couldn't deny it tasted good and even something like love, maybe. Sabo nodded, taking a sip from his own cup.
For a while, you both drink in silence. He looks at you while doing so, the way your shoulders relax, the way you hum, the way a small smile forms on your lips, the way you let out a soft exhale with each sip. He was glad he learnt how to make this. He didn't know it would come in handy so early. He liked that you could relax, that you could enjoy something you loved. However, your mind still pondered on what had happened before.
“Sabo, I never really cared what everyone around thought of me, until the ones I loved knew the true me”, you speak softly unlike before your voice isn't cracking. Maybe, it was because of the hot cocoa sabo made or his presence itself. You didn't know. “But I didn't know, they themselves thought of me like that”, Sabo takes the cup from your hands, silently, keeping it on the table. Huddling up, cradling your knees to your chest, “What am I supposed to do now? How am I supposed to face them again?”, you ask. It felt like you were questioning yourself more rather than him. Resting your head on your arms, “I am really bad with stuff like this. I wish I hadn't heard it at all. I would've liked that. It's useless to know it anyways..”
Sabo didn't know how to answer this, he wasn't exactly familiar with situations like this. All he could manage was, “That's up to you to decide, y/n. Whether you confront them or not. Whether you let them in again or not. Just know that, I'll be here for you no matter what you decide!”, his voice was relaxing and smooth as if he put every ounce of gentleness he could in his words, every ounce of reassurance he could muster up to tell you — you had him.
“Take your time and rest. It doesn't have to be now”, he pats your head gently. You found yourself leaning into his touch. Why was that? It felt comforting and pleasant. You felt like no matter what happens you would be fine. Because you had him.