Work Text:
The wind blows gently, the sun shines warmly, today, on the lands of Baltigo. The waves of the sea hit the shore gently, and the headquarters of the revolutionary army feels quiet, somewhat. However, you are surrounded by paper work. Your desk is messy, papers scattered everywhere like leaves outside the walls, on the ground. You press your fingers against your temples at the sight before you. You had nothing done. Everything felt like — too much. Your heart felt heavy, your throat already had a lump formed, your eyes devoid of any shimmer.
It wasn't the paperwork that made you feel like it. You just felt like everything was too much — missions, paperwork, friends, family, and the world itself. You didn't know what to do with these feelings which had taken birth in your heart without any reason. Anything and everything seemed.. kind of pointless. What was the point of all this anyway? What will you be even getting out of it? “It’s all useless.. isn't—?”, the sound of a knock against the wooden door from the other side reached your ears, putting a pause to your thoughts.
“Come in”, you managed despite the heaviness in your heart, your chest. The door creaks open with slowness, Sabo — the man with dusty blonde and curly hair, cunning and sweet smile, a scar on the left side of his face, wearing his usual perfect attire with his black hat enters. This man had become your safe spot — your close friend with whom you could open up without being judged and without fear.
He enters your messy space, boots clicking softly against the floor. Shutting the door behind himself, his gaze falls upon you, he drinks in the sight of you — messy, untidy unlike yourself. “Are you done with the report?”, he asks softly, even though the sight before him answered his question clearly. The state of the room was anything but ideal, unlike you who loves to keep everything organized, well-put, and tidy.
You exhale softly, shaking your head, “No”. Clearing your throat, you looked at him with puppy eyes. He knew what exactly it meant — you wanted more time, time to finish your work. “Looking at me like that won't earn you more time, y/n”, he smiles, almost teasingly. You know he could grant you more time, he was teasing you, wasn't he? But you didn't have the energy to counter respond this time. Normally, you'd play along with him until he gives in. “Come on! Just one more day”, you whine at him. He was being cheeky, usually you didn't mind catering to his teasing nature however, today wasn't one of those days.
“No y/n, it's not possible. More importantly, what's with you and your room today? So unlike you”, he says looking around at the room — an utter mess of a state. Then at you; messy hair, shirt and skirt unmatchable, earrings mismatched. You just stare at him for a moment, clenching the pen tighter between your fingers, avoiding his gaze. You didn't like it being mentioned.. so openly. You hated the state of your room, your desk, and yourself. Your heart felt heavy, too heavy to do anything. Nothing makes you feel like yourself even your own body felt.. not yours.
He steps closer to you, the sound of his boots clicking against the floor fills the room. You avoid his gaze, glancing at non-existent words on the papers in front of you. Once at your side, his fingers brush against the shell of your ear, slowly coming down to gently fiddle your earring, “Your earrings are mismatched. You wore the wrong pair”, he speaks gently and warmly. Your eyes dilate at his words, you didn't know why but his voice wasn't doing any good to your emotional state right now. “I didn't had the time”, you blurted out. Your voice felt heavy, your heart heavy, everything around you was a mess — it felt heavy and overwhelming. This wasn't you, wasn't like your room or your space. You felt alienated from your own room and body.
The messiness around you overwhelmed your senses, Sabo's presence was merely just there; it didn't bring a change but a sense of belonging was surfacing in your heart. “If you can't give me more time, then leave”, you say to him, not bothering to look up at him. Sabo stares down at you with a concerned gaze. It wasn't like you to be so mussy, even if you were busy you'd take care of yourself — atleast your looks. He has known you enough, for years, he has seen you. He knew when you needed supported and right now, you definitely weren't yourself.
“What's wrong? Something is up, isn't it? You are never this sloppy”, he speaks in a gentle and concerned tone. When you didn't offer a response, he rests his on the backrest of your chair spinning it so you would face him. He kneels down infront of you, you didn't know why he, the chief of staff — second in command of revolutionary army, was kneeling before you. You had no idea why he was doing it. You just focused on avoiding his gaze, tears are prickling in the corner of your eyes and you felt like you would break down if you looked at his face right now.
Your eyes stayed fixed on your knees just enough to avoid his gaze, he spoke again in a warm melodic voice again which struck at your heart, “Look at me”, you shake you head adamant on avoiding his gaze. “Don't wanna”, you reply with barely sturdy voice. You could feel the lump in your throat, your eyes felt watery.
“Alright, then just listen and answer me. okay?”, he says in the softest and gentlest voice you have ever heard. You nod in response, one of his hand rest gently on your knee — a silent support to your heavy heart. “Are you feeling okay?”, he asks softly. He patiently awaits your response, you didn't know if you could tell him that everything felt heavy; felt too much. You ponder for a moment, finally, you shake your head in response. “Alright, did something happen?”, he asks gently, his voice felt something like a warm summer day — warm and comforting. You, again, shake your head in response. You felt like speaking would give away your emotions, you felt like your voice would crack in the middle of speaking.
“Did I do something wrong?”, he asks softly. Your eyes flutter at his words, why did he assume he did something wrong? Your gaze lifted up slightly, not much — just enough to meet his. You're met with his concerned gaze. “How do you even-n come to that conclusion?”, you ask with a low tone, voice cracking slightly at the end. Staring at him with watery eyes, he looked so put-together, so perfect unlike you right now. “Just thought I might ask”, he replies with a smile, exhaling softly as you finally met his gaze after avoiding it for so long.
“N-no, you-u didn't”, you stutter out. Clearing your throat to speak smoother, you gulp. The heaviness in your heart was still there, the overwhelming feeling was rising in your chest. “Do you need my help?”, he asks softly. He doesn't question what was wrong or what happened; He didn't need to. He knew you would tell him if you felt like it. You respond by shaking your head, he exhales softly, “Then, do you want me to help?”, you stare at him for a while. Shifting your gaze from him, your hand reaches out to tug at his sleeve. That's all he needed. He didn't need to hear anything from your lips, he already got his answer.
“I got it”, he speaks giving you a warm smile. He glances around, to your bed, before rising to his feet. Your bed was a mess, clothes scattered everywhere still you hadn't put on a decent outfit, sheets not made, several items splaying on the mattress. He lets out a soft exhale as he glanced at the bed. “Give me a minute”, he speaks softly, almost reassuringly. You tug at his sleeve as he turns to step away, “Where are you going?”, your voice sounded vulnerable but you didn't care right now.
“I'm not going anywhere. Just give me a minute alright?”, he pats your head softly with his gentle touch. Striding towards your bed, he turns the bed into a better, more human like, state. Keeping things at their place, and tidying up the sheets. You felt uneasy, as if you should've been the one to clean up your mess and not him. You fiddle with your pen while waiting for him to he done. Once done, he comes back infront of you, you look up at him with unsure gaze.
With a swift moment, he lifts you up in his arms, the pen falls down to the floor with a clatter. Your arms, instinctively, wrap around his neck. A startled gasp leaves your lips, “Wait- what? I can walk y'know.”, you respond, almost cheekily. He doesn't bother giving you a response, he just carries you as if you weighed nothing. The scent of his cologne and something him fills in your senses, you felt dizzy. Being in his arms made you realize just how good he smells.
Once reaching your bed, he gently lets you down. His actions gentle and soft, as if carrying an infant. He gently tucks you in the blanket, “Now, rest. Leave everything to me”, he speaks in his reassuring and soothing voice. Just being in your bed spins your head. You can't fall asleep, you had to complete your work. But the warmth and comfort of your bed had you defeated to sleep.
~ After few hours ~
You had forgotten about everything for some reason, once asleep, you just let yourself be engulfed by the comfort of your blanket. You open your eyes, all the heaviness has been lifted — you felt lighter and much better. You sit up on your with anew you, stretching your arms you look around the room. It was clean, tidy and well-organized as if the mess never existed to begin with. You almost thought that you had dreamt about all the messiness, heaviness and overwhelming feelings but no, that's not it.
You slowly step down from the bed, walking towards your desk. Nothing like the chaos you had left behind. The papers were stacked together neatly, the materials kept in their places, and the report? It was kept infront of your desk; completed. The atmosphere felt more like you now, everything seemed to indicate, yes, it is your room. However, you still felt lingering heaviness in your chest. And most importantly, where is he?
You heard the rough steps of boots, turning to the source of sound, you see him; Sabo. He smiles at you fondly, “You're up!”, you nod in response. Unable to gather words to thank him for everything he has done. He gazes at you gently as you struggle to form words in your head, your head felt light, too light to think. “You don't have to speak, atleast not right now.”, he assures you. His blonde hair shone golden in the light, his hat discarded on the side of your pillow as if giving a silent reminder that he is here, which you hadn't notice before.
“Get changed, you'll feel better. Besides, that outfit doesn't suit you at all”, he points to a set of clothes he had kept on the bed for you to wear when you wake up. You finally glance at the pair of garments. Your gaze flicker down to your outfit, which indeed wasn't like your usual ones. Taking up on his offer, you grab the set of clothes he has chosen for you, “Uh-huh”, you carry them to your bathroom. After changing into the clothes he chose for you, you felt like you had revived from dead. Sabo knew what exactly would make you feel better right now, and he certainly wasn't wrong.
You step out of the bathroom, you felt your confidence retort in the new clothes. Your face had lightened up, the glow on your skin was undeniable. A good sleep, waking up to better room, a set of new clothes was all it took make you feel better. Sabo was sitting crossed-legged on your bed waiting for you. When you step out of bathroom, he glances at you, his lips curl up in a grin, “That's more like you”, dressed exactly like you usually do. He had put in effort to choose the clothes which had a touch of you in them. Dressed in a white shirt as base, a black vest over it, an elegant plated black skirt; you felt like you.
You nod with a smile, “Mhm definitely! Thank you sa—”, before you can complete your words, he is already dragging you towards your mirror. Getting you seated infront of the mirror, “Shh, I have got more”, you blink in surprise. Turning your head to have a look at him but, he gently turns your head towards the mirror. He meets your gaze through the reflection, “Just relax”, he murmurs softly. With careful touch he takes off your mismatched earrings, firstly from left side then moves over to right side.
He picks up a new shimmering pair, with his nervous and unskilled hands he tries to put them on. You chuckle at his terrible attempts at putting them on, “You're terrible at this. You just have to pass it through the hole.” He smiles warmly at the rich sound of your chuckle. He was dying, dying to hear it. Once done putting on the earrings, he rests his hands on his waist giving a proud glance at you in the reflection of mirror. “Hm, just a bit more”, he says before rummaging through your drawers looking, looking for something. You give him a soft look, “What are you looking fo—”, you reach out to help him but, he gently stops you. “No, you just relax”, he speaks, hands searching for something.
He finally finds what he was looking for; the comb. Coming back behind you, he starts to untangle your hair. How long has it been since someone made your hair? You don't remember the last time someone did it, it was probably ages ago. His calloused hands felt ever so warm and gentle against your hair, you felt a shiver run down your spine at his slight touches. It felt good, too good. You leaned back into his touch, “Mhm”, a soft satisfied murmur leaves your lips.
Next 15 minutes were spent with you laughing at his terrible attempts on making your hair and him trying his best to make them. In the end, you made your hair yourself and Sabo could just spectacle from nearby to learn it for future. “You were terrible at this”, you couldn't help but laugh recalling his awful attempts. “Next time, I'll practice”, he replies with confident tone. “And you'll practice on?”, you ask with a small grin on your lips.
“On you”, he replies. You felt your cheeks heat up at his straightforward words. “Fine, maybe I'll let you.”, you chatter back.
“And for the next part.. sit here”, he says guiding you to sit on your couch. You plop at the soft couch. Glancing at him as he brings a pair of boots for you to wear, he knew you like the back of his hand now, doesn't he? He sets the boots beside your feet, before you can reach for them, he is already kneeling infront of you. “Wa- what?”, you ask confused. Why the hell is he giving you special treatment? It just occurred to you but, this was hell of a special treatment for someone he just considered a ‘close friend’.
“Just relax”, he replies. Taking in your foot in his hand, your cheeks turn red at his actions, palms covering your face. Gently slides your foot into the leather boot, and zips it up. “You don't need to do this. I can wear them myself y’know?”, you reply peeking at him from between your fingers. “I want to”, he replies firmly, sliding in your foot into the boot and zips it up carefully. “All done”, he says with a smile. Standing upto his feet, fists to waist, he glances at you. Cheeks flushed, face covered with your hands.
“Feeling like yourself now, are you?”, he teases upon seeing your cheeks painted with a tinge of red. “mhm yeah”, you nod bringing your hands down to your lap. “Are we done now? Or is there more?”, you ask with a shaky voice; from nervousness. “Not done”, he replies, taking your hand, he gets you on your feet. “There's more, y/n”, his voice sent a chill down your body. Were you hot? cold? or both?— You didn't know.
He takes your hand, guiding you through the hallways of the headquarter, he leads you to an open balcony on the top floor. It has the best view to the island, the sea, the sun. The sea looks calm, almost immersing you into the calmness of it. The waves hitting the shore gently; the only sound that can be heard. You rest your arms at the stoned railing of the balcony, the salty gentle breeze hitting your face giving you belonging of home, of yourself.
Sabo smiles, coming back with a tray. Setting it on the railing between you and him, two cups of tea and choco chip cookies you are fond of. “How do you feel now?”, he asks. “Couldn't be any better~”, you reply munching on the cookies with a soft satisfying hum. He stares in your direction with fondness in his gaze as you revive your energy. Everything else forgotten in the moment under the golden ray of sunlight, soft laughs, gentle breeze, and soft sounds of gentle waves.