the brothersā reunion contd. for @pxrtgasdace
Sabo looked at Ace, unsure if his brother had understood yet, despite the crying he had not been too responsive at all but your brother coming back to life were news hard to take in.
But then their eyes met again and Ace breathed Saboās name, grabbing his shoulder and pulling his brother into another hug, not quite as crushing as the previous one, gentler, more tender. With his face pressed against Aceās skin, Saboās eyes were wide in surprise. They were prickling dangerously but stayed dry as he concentrated on the heartbeat he could hear pounding through Aceās torso.
Sabo could feel something wet dripping and soaking into his locks as his brother nuzzled his head, chanting that he was alive. Hopefully, finally with the truth of those words sinking in.
He could not see Aceās face in their current position but it almost sounded as if he was smiling and just the thought of it broke Saboās heart. An illogical emotional reaction, right? Shouldnāt his brotherās delight bring him happiness too? Instead another wave of sadness swept over him.
He should have done it way earlier, he should not have waited a decade for this reunion. Why had he not returned to Luffy and Ace immediately? Regret and guilt were crawling inside Sabo, clawing at his insides, churning stronger than ever before.
Ace was gently carding through Saboās golden locks and suddenly the brotherly touch was too much for the blond, it was too sweet a gesture. He was undeserving of such affection. Ace felt hot, too hot now, Sabo could not stay like this or he felt like he would burn again.
The next moment though, Sabo was plunched into the icy cold of fear again, his heart stopping for a moment, shrinking, when Ace muttered once again āYouāre aliveā but this time it was not a mere repetition of the chant. This time it sounded like an accusation and a verdict of guilty at the same time.
It was in this moment that Sabo knew Ace had finally understood and accepted that he was alive, it also meant that he finally realized the brotherly betrayal of keeping such a secret for so long.
Sabo immediately withdrew from the embrace, sitting back, just looking at Ace in the darkness of the alley. He sniffed once and wiped all the remaining wetness from previous tears off his face with a swipe of his sleeve, just like he used to wipe away the dirt and sweat from their adventures as a boy, not caring at all about ruining the fabric.
Sabo looked right into Aceās eyes. He had known this would happen, he had been prepared he thought. Like hell he was.
āYes....I am.ā Was all he could reply to the accusation of being alive, it was as good as pledging yourself guilty before a judge. And here Sabo was sitting, broken but determined to face the punishment that he deserved. Waiting for Ace to deal it to him.
He opened his mouth once just to immediately close it shut with an audible click of his teeth clashing against another. Sabo could tell his story, let Ace know that he had been picked up by the Revolutionary Army. Tell him that he had to be nursed back to health first, how weak and pathetic he had felt when he had regained consciousness. How he wanted to contact Luffy and Ace but the revolutionaries advised him against it, Luffyās own father even....How Sabo had believed the reasoning, had truly thought it was best to keep himself a secret, to train and grow stronger first before he could reunite with his brothers. Sometimes he even thought it would be best to just stay dead in their eyes, just so he never had to hurt them again. But most of the time Sabo truly believed that he could face them as soon as he was strong enough to protect them, to not make the same mistakes again.
Stupid! Sabo had believed this for a decade, doubt creeping in on him every once in a while, always getting crushed by his reasoning, but now that he was facing Ace again it all sounded so dumb and like a weak excuse. There was no sense in defending himself, Sabo knew he had hurt Ace in the worst way possible, he was guilty no matter how much he regretted it.
So Sabo stayed silent, waiting for Ace to decide what to do with him first. Yell at him? Hit him? Tell him he was the worst? Sabo would take it all, there were thousand more reactions he could imagine and all of them were as likely and justified as the other. The one thing Sabo feared the most though was that Ace would cut their bond over his betrayal. If Ace decided that his true brother had died those 10 years ago, what good was it to be alive still?
