"My apologies, but what did you just say?" You ask, interrupting Ichiji.

The morning had been a flurry of getting breakfast cooked, and lunches packed as everyone scampered off to work, and then you had taken a nap. Sleeping in the tent had been comfortable enough, but none of you had slept very long before you had to get moving again.

Sabo had ensured that you didn't need to go to work today, and promised he would be back as soon as he could manage. You had his number and the emergency number for Dr. Law in case anything went wrong while you were home alone.

Aside from the expected call from Ichiji, the only thing you needed to do today was take it easy.

The conversation with Ichiji had started out well enough. You apologized for having to be short with him yesterday, and after realizing that your mother had made him aware of your "illness" you had told him how you had been in the hospital that day. You avoided specifics, which was easy enough. Nobles had a tendency to talk in circles by default, so answering without truly answering was second nature.

Ichiji agreed to a second date, not this coming weekend, but the one after, and it was during that agreement that he said something that had caused your blood to run cold.

"Your mother informed me that a new medication had been developed." He repeated, before continuing on. "One with less side effects than those you currently suffer."

Your mouth was drying up, but you did your best to keep it hidden, infinitely grateful that you were having this conversation over the phone and not face to face.

"I'm surprised to find I'm aware of this before you are." He admits, and you snap into focus.

"She likely just found out recently herself." You say quickly. "She probably wanted to have them in her hands before she said anything to me."

"How kind," he says, and you can almost swear you can hear the doubt on his face. "You have quite the doting mother."

"Indeed." You answer flatly. You never exactly sang your mother's praises, being that there was nothing worth praising her about, but you did try to avoid bad-mouthing her. Words traveled faster than light among nobles and antagonizing your mother would only result in your own misery. "I expect I'll receive a package and a letter later today if not tomorrow."

You try to say the words as though you're happy about it, but after yesterday's revelations all you can really muster is anger.

"My apologies." He says suddenly, and before you can ask what he means he continues. "I didn't mean to step ahead of you in this news. It must be a little alarming to hear it from me versus your mother."

"It's... I appreciate your intent, Prince Ichiji, but it is still good news, so thank you." You say a little stiffly.

The conversation wraps up afterward and you're sitting in the middle of the floor just staring at the middle distance for a long time. Anger will only wear you out, but you don't know what else to feel at this point.

Relief, perhaps, that you know the truth behind the "medicine" already, and aren't going to have your hopes raised by some medication that's tainted in a different way.

You aren't sure how long you sat in the middle of the living room floor staring at the back of your eyelids, but you heard the door unlock. Sabo was calling from the foyer before you could see him.

"You awake, lil' spark?" He questions.

"Unfortunately." You admit a little more morosely than you intended.

"Did mother call?" He prompts, stepping into the living room and crouching in front of you.

"Ichiji." You grumble. "But he's apparently talking to her."

Sabo's eyes go wide. "Oh?"

"Yes, and mother decided to tell him all about my illness, and to reassure him that a new and improved medication is on its way to me, and the side effects should be much less, and he shouldn't be concerned about any issues." You explain, snapping the words off at their bones in your anger.

You sit quietly for a few minutes with Sabo. Your hands clench and unclench, you're struggling to keep your composure, and your brother is giving you time to either let it out or tuck it away.

"That... that bitch!" You finally let your anger out. "That manipulative, useless, two-faced, utter failure of a mother! How dare she!" You cry and Sabo sits with you. "How dare she peddle poison as hope! I can't – I can't stop thinking about how I would have been grateful! Honestly grateful!"

Sabo hugs you and you nearly wail into his shoulder. "I would've thanked her! If not for yesterday, I would have thanked her for poisoning me less!"

For a few minutes you let your rage and frustration out. Sabo holds onto you, hands twitching as you're sure he's become as angry as you have, but he sits with you quietly. You cry until you're hoarse, and Sabo steps away long enough to bring you some water and tissues before he resumes sitting on the floor with you.

You drink some water, and clean up your face, taking a few deep breaths before you nearly whisper the next words. "What're we going to do?"

"Stick with our current plan." He says, grabbing your shoulders and giving you a reassuring look.

"Revolution seems a bit extreme." You say, though you're not arguing against it.

"If it were just for us, then yes." Sabo says. "But there's far more at stake than our freedom."

"I know." You say with a sigh.

For years, you and your brother had spoken of revolution. At first it had been a way to simply release the pressures you were under, but as time had gone by, your ideas had become more concrete. It wasn't just ideas shared between you and Sabo either, you knew he spoke to Luffy and Ace about it, and you were 99% certain that the firm he worked for had its hands deep into the idea.

Honestly, they likely had long before even you and Sabo had begun talking on it yourselves.

At the very least, Sabo's plans and ideas had become far more detailed and well grounded since he began working at the firm. He kept his conversations with you focused on gaining freedom for the two of you, vs trying to take on the weight of freeing the world. Part of that was for your own sanity, you were sure, but also it was likely for your safety.

Revolution was treason, and treason was not a charge anyone was safe from, not even those who counted themselves as Celestials.

Initially you had just planned on exposing all of the dark secrets you were aware of among the Nobles and Royals, using that knowledge to fan the fires of revolution and start breaking down the misconceptions around the nobility and the government.

Now, you might have a better spark. Rather, you may be a better spark. Sabo had called you his lil' spark for years because your words had been the first to spark change in him – turning his frustrations into something he could act on.

Right now, you didn't have the energy or capacity to worry about the possibilities of revolution. You were already dreading the risks of detoxing from years of poison, how it would or could impact your capacity to work, and the issue of Ichiji. Holding him off until you were ready to go public with everything could become a tight timetable.

If there was a way to make him walk away without saying any more than you needed to, that would be ideal.

"Ichiji." You say after a few moments of silence.

"I don't think you need to worry about him right now."

You shake your head. "With everything that's happened, I keep forgetting that I wanted to try and talk to Sanji about him."

Sabo tilts his head. "Why Sanji?"

You make a circular motion around your eyebrow. "His eyebrow twirled the same way. Well, no, I think it was in a different direction, but it was so similar. I was hoping, that if there was something useful to know about Ichiji, Sanji might know."

Sabo considers it for a moment. "I'll talk to Luffy. I know he mentioned that Sanji left his family behind some years ago, but if we're talking royalty, then Luffy might not even know the details."

"The Vinsmoke family is from the North Blue too, I can see Sanji coming all the way to the New World for the same reasons we did." You admit. "But I also don't want to risk him just for information. Ah, can you help me stand, my legs have gone to sleep."

Sabo helped you get to your feet, letting you hold onto him for a few minutes while all the pins and needles went down your legs. He teased you for it, as siblings do, and the topic of conversation turned to lighter things between the two of you.

When Luffy returned home you talked to him about Sanji. He only knew Sanji was originally living and working on a restaurant boat out in the East Blue before he had come to the New World with Luffy and a few others. Everyone'd had their own reasons for coming to the New World, but the journey had brought all of them together.

Sabo and Ace had left before Luffy, but everyone had reunited in the New World. In that way, everyone had gathered their own odd collection of friends – the three brothers acting as a kind of hub between the groups.

"As a matter of fact," Ace says in the middle of dinner. "For a few months I thought Sabo was dead."

"I had thought the same of Ace." Sabo admits.

"What happened to cause that?" You question, absently smacking Luffy's hand away from your plate.

"Big storm." Ace and Sabo reply at the same time.

"A big wave knocked me off the boat." Sabo admits. "Ace couldn't jump in to try and help me, and by the time the storm settled he was adrift on what was basically a raft."

Ace nods. "Man, I was so lucky Thatch and the fourth were out on leave. Double lucky they decided to take the Whaler out."

"The Fourth? A Whaler?" You question.

"The station's home to sixteen divisions. The city's divided into eight districts." He explains. "We use the main station the most, but there's satellite stations that have crews too. When everyone was there for Ducky's birthday, that was still barely a third of the crew, but you need enough people on standby, cause you never know when a fire will happen. Thatch heads up the fourth division."

Ace takes a few bites and then continues. "Pops – ah, the fire Captain, he has a few boats. He was kind of a wanderer when he was younger, but he lets us use the boats when we need or want to. So sometimes people will take vacations just cruising on them, or sometimes it'll be for travel to other islands. The Whaler has a white whale vibe going on. Its proper name is Moby Dick, but, well, you know how a bunch of rough neck guys can get. Everyone just calls it the Whaler."

"I see, thank you." You say, before turning to face Sabo. The look on your face causes him to flinch. "You know, brother dear, you never mentioned a storm."

Luffy and Ace freeze, looking from you to Sabo for a moment.

"I – I – I couldn't exactly send such news back h-home." He stammers his answer out hastily. "And then, well, I mean, afterward it was all done and passed, right? So, n-no need to dwell on such matters, yes?"

"Is Sabo... nervous?" Luffy questions Ace quietly.

Ace nods, but you don't let your focus shift. "You could've told me when we started talking about me moving in. I knew your journey couldn't have been entirely safe, but lost at sea during a storm is a bit more than I had assumed. Brother. Dear."

"I survived!" Sabo says, nearly squeaking the words. "The event was done, there wasn't anything else for it."

You sigh. "You're right. I just... I don't want you to shelter me from bad news. Sometimes it can feel like people keep me in the dark because of my... er... condition, I suppose."

Sabo's nervousness melts away and he smiles. "Lil' spark, I will not coddle you, I promise. I certainly won't keep things from you under some false belief that you're weak or anything like that."

"I appreciate that." You smile, sliding your plate toward Luffy now that you had eaten as much as you could.

A knock at the door causes Ace to get up. "I got it." He says, motioning for you and Sabo to stay seated.

You hear the door open and a few muffled exchanges of words before Ace calls your name down the hall.

"(Y/N), there's something you need to sign?" He says in confusion.

There's a second of confusion on your face before you sigh and you and Sabo go to the door. You sign for the package, and thank the courier, before glowering at the box. Giving it a small shake you can hear the pills rattle inside.

"The new medicine." You grumble. "I imagine Chopper will want to have it."

Your phone starts to ring, and you make an even more frustrated sound. Pulling it out of your pocket you look at it and turn it toward Sabo.

"Can I ask you to answer this?" You ask, showing him the screen with Mother showing on the front. "I don't know that I could feign joy right now."

"My pleasure." Sabo says, grabbing the phone with a strange glint in his eye as he presses the accept button. "Ah, mother, how are you?"

"Yes, yes, she is fine. Resting now. Work has been taking a terrible toll on her, as you predicted." He says exaggeratedly. He rolls his eyes as he listens to her say things you can't make out on the other end. "Oh yes, we did receive a package, just a few moments ago... Oh it is new medication? How fortuitous! Of course, of course, once she is struggling against things less it will be easier for her to work."

Sabo gives you a smile and you can hear panic in your mother's tone, and your brother's words clue you into what you expected. "Oh, you hoped it would aid in her dating Prince Ichiji? Of course, I am certain that it will also have a positive effect on that relationship. Mmm, mm-hm, yes. Yes, I did have the chance to meet him, quite the fellow. I am again amazed at your skill, mother dear, finding such an exemplary royal for our dear, sweet, (Y/N)."

Sabo's expression goes flat and he's making a gagging motion, sticking his finger in his mouth and sticking out his tongue. You put your hand over your mouth to stifle a laugh, and you can hear Ace snort as he and Luffy are trying to keep quiet.

"Yes, of course. I will most assuredly let her know you called, and I will be sure she takes this new, improved medication sent with all your love, mother dear." Sabo promises, free hand flourishing in the air as he lets the lacey words spill out. "Indeed, indeed. All my love. Yes, okay, thank you – good bye."

Sabo hangs up the phone and hands it back to you.

"Fuckin' hells, I need a drink." He says, walking off to the kitchen.

"Don't forget to turn your contractions back on, brother dear." You tease, following after him.

Luffy and Ace trail behind you and just as Sabo turns toward you all, the two of them start bowing toward one another.

"After you, Luffy dear." Ace says in the snottiest accent he can muster.

"After you, brother dear." Luffy says, eyes closed as he tips his favorite straw hat.

"Stuff it down both your throats." Sabo says, his mock growl turning into a laugh despite his efforts as he pours himself a drink. "Ugh, I forgot how oily it feels to have to talk to her."

"You can get away with only once or twice a year." You say, pulling his drink toward yourself and leaving him to pour a second one. "I get to have that call almost every month."

"Do you hafta talk like that every time?" Luffy asks as Sabo starts pouring a drink for everyone.

"Yup." You answer before taking on an accent earlier to what Sabo had been using. "Contractions are the gateway to ineptitude; one must not fall victim to such reckless discourse." You roll your eyes. "That was some of what was in those books we plastered against the wall at the station."

You pause for a moment. "I almost feel bad about it."

"About what? Soaking those awful tomes into oblivion?" Sabo questions.

"Lil' bit." You admit. "I mean, it's not the book's fault someone wasted ink on that awful dribble. If anything they're good examples of what not to think."

"Or do." Sabo adds.

"Or say, really." You agree.