A Moment of Peace

The fluff I promised you guys! This was intended for day 1 (affection) of SaboLu week, but I missed that deadline pretty spectacularly... but anyways! Have some purely self-indulgent fluff of our two favorite bros ^^ Enjoy!

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Heavy breathing and weary bodies were all that remained of the victors after the battle. All around lay the bodies of defeated enemies, and a joyful cheer rose up above the worn, stucco buildings. They had won.

A smile quirked Sabo's lips as he rested his hands on his knees, still panting from the exertion. He'd had complete faith that they would win, of course, but even he had to admit that there had been a moment where he hadn't been sure their victory would be a clean one.

"Chief!"

Sabo turned, waving off the concerned medical staff with a cheery smile as he hefted his pole onto his shoulders. "I'll be fine guys, go worry about the others."

His injuries weren't the most serious out of everybody who had fought, and the team reluctantly backed off, trusting their leader would alright like. Sabo chuckled to himself, placing his staff back against the ground and leaning against it as he observed the battleground. Buildings lay in ruins - mostly his handiwork - but Sabo felt he could safely say that this battle had been a decisive victory for the Revolutionary Army.

Breathing finally slowed, Sabo began his compulsory search around what remained of the town, searching for civilians in need of treatment or shelter. He'd found a couple dead bodies as well, and he did his best to cover them in sheets for the sweeping team to properly bury later. It had been difficult to find flowers in this dry, arid town, but Sabo managed to find enough for each body, determined to give the dead the respect they deserved.

By the time he'd finished his rounds, the moon was high in the sky. He'd found a total of 27 civilians, several of which had pledged themselves to the cause after being freed from the tyranny that had ruled their country for so long. And only when Sabo was certain all of his allies had been cared for did he allow himself to receive medical attention of his own. His underlings liked to think of that particular habit as him being selfless and brave, but it was simply a matter of needing to keep moving for Sabo. After a difficult battle like that, his body would be filled with restless energy that wouldn't let up until he'd done everything he possibly could.

There was a particularly troublesome injury on his hip where he'd been caught off guard by an enemy with a sword, but it was nothing to be too concerned about as long as he took it easy the next couple days. Sabo smirked as he stretched out in his cot, unwinding after the long, hard day.

As if anybody here believed he would actually take a few days off for such a minor injury. Koala would yell at him for it, sure, but that was standard procedure by this point. He'd do something stupid and reckless, Koala would yell at him for it, Sabo would agree to be more careful, and then go right back to whatever it was he was doing before.

He couldn't wait to see her again. Sabo chuckled softly as he imagined her reaction, eyelids sliding closed as he finally slipped into a light sleep.

He was up again before the sun had risen, moving about and waking all the others with a sense of purpose that had even the laziest of morning people climbing out of their cots with little more than a grumble or two. Sabo estimated it would take about an hour for everyone to get up and eat, and another hour or two to break camp and load the ships. And then finally he would be on his way home.

As he stood off the side, monitoring the progress they were making in loading the ships, Sabo felt a presence behind him. He turned around, only to be met with the sight of his little brother racing towards him. Sabo barely had time to drop his pipe and brace himself before Luffy's body crashed into his own, sending the two of them sprawling into the dirt.