"(Name)..."

You gasp at the man standing behind Ace. He had blonde hair, dark eyes, and not to mention...he was shirtless. You couldn't help but scream. "SABO!!!" You rush over and tackle him down with a death hug.

Ace laughed as Sabo began to choke from you crushing his ribs. "(N-Name)...can't...breathe..." He gasped. Instead of complying with his request, you only hug him tighter.

"NO. I refuse to let you leave me again!" You blurt out.

Sabo gave a bittersweet smile from the unexpected confession and from the pain you were giving to his sides. "But you're the one who left me." He manages a light laugh, trying to pull away from your bone crushing arms. You looked up at him to say otherwise but froze as it was his turn to hug you. "I think I was more worried about you than you were of me."

His tone was clearly relieved and worried at the same time. It made you smile a bit that he would be concerned for you. Before you could hug him back, a loud growl caught your attention.

You grab Sabo's shoulders and pushed him away from you. He frowns from the sudden move but noticed you were looking around frantically. "What's wrong?" He asks.

"I heard something." You answer in a hushed voice, warily scanning the surrounding area until your eyes meet Ace. You opened your mouth to question him but stop after hearing another growling sound.

Ace looked at his stomach and frowned. "I'm still hungry." He deadpans.

Sabo laughs while you turn red with anger. "Damn it, Ace! I thought it was that stupid beast from the woods!" You growl at the laughing raven haired boy then turned to the blonde and punched his shoulder. "You are in no position to laugh either, Sabo, I thought you were dead!" You scolded.

~

*Ace's POV*

The three of them returned to the dorms for the rest of the day but not before (Name) gave both Ace and Sabo a good friendly beating.

She was still pissed at them when she went back to her room. Ace felt a little bad for laughing, she was obviously freaked out earlier. Maybe I should apologize to her. He thought while pouting, rubbing the bump on his head.

He got out of the shower and placed a towel over his neck. The steam from the hot water fogged the mirror, he frowned as he tries to wipe it away with his arm. His reflection stared back at him and he lightly touched the area on his chest which you had poked earlier.

"Strange, huh?" He muses, vaguely remembering what you had said to him. "Good enough for me." He chuckles, quickly putting on his night clothes and drying his hair.

He exited the bathroom and saw Sabo staring at the window with a far off look in his eyes. It was pretty clear that he was thinking about her. Ace sighed, his brother is such an open book.

He flopped down on his bed and turned his head to face Sabo. Ace smiled knowingly at the expression of worry in his brother's face. "You wanna go see her?" He muses.

Sabo spun his head to the direction of Ace's voice and smiled meekly. "Yeah, I kinda do." He admits with a chuckle, returning his gaze back to the direction of the girls' dorm.

Ace couldn't help but laugh as he remembered something, making Sabo throw him a quizzical look as he grinned mischievously. "I have an idea." Ace snickers.

The afternoon was dull and unexciting after Sabo's reappearance. Students were still in preparation for the festival taking place the day after tomorrow.

"Ready?" Ace asks, although he was already climbing up the fire escape.

"No?" Sabo mutters, glancing a hesitant look at (Name)'s window on the second floor. (Name) is going to murder them for this.

Sabo climbs up after his brother and stood in front of the door. Ace gave him a wink and twisted the knob open then peering in the hall to make sure no one was watching.

He slipped inside with Sabo behind him. The raven haired teen smirked as he saw your room number, "Room 275." He smiled at Sabo, who was still unsure about the whole idea.

He was about to back out when Ace suddenly knocked on the door, making him immobilized in fear. A small thumping sound was heared then a few clicks of unlocking the door locks. A pair of blue eyes stared at the two young men in front of her.

She looked at Ace in surprise before turning to Sabo and realizing the situation. "She's in the shower. I was about to head back downstairs to help Usopp." She whispers, pulling up her boots and heading for the door as the two walked in quietly.

"Koala, are you leaving?" (Name)'s voice echoed inside the bathroom.

Sabo's face paled while Koala gave Ace a wink before silently closing the door, leaving the two boys inside the room.

"We are going to die." Sabo hissed. Ace grins as he saw (Name)'s bed and proceeded to jump on it. Sabo warily looked around the bedroom.

Ace snuggled up to the sheets and hugged the soft pillow with a faint of (Name)'s scent on it, earning a glare from Sabo as he smirked at him. Before Sabo could scold his unruly brother, (Name)'s voice spoke up from inside the bathroom.

"Koa, you there?" She asks. The boys look at each other. "Would you mind getting my underwear for me? It's in the drawer."

Ace kept on a straight face while Sabo steamed red from embarrassment. He covered his eyes and tried to erase the floating images of you naked from his mind while Ace went to retrieve your underwear.

He opened a drawer and saw it was full of neatly folded panties. He took out the top most pair, a pink lacey one with a tiny red ribbon in the front, and walked to the bathroom door and knocked lightly.

Sabo's eye twitched in annoyance. How come Ace was so calm about this?

The bathroom door opened slightly and (Name)'s hand poked out from the crack of the opening. "Thanks." She says after grabbing her garments and shutting the door.

Ace glances at his frowning brother. "Something wrong?" He asks, raising an eyebrow.

Sabo gritted his teeth to keep himself from shouting. "Why did you go through her underwear drawer?" He sighs in exasperation. Ace just shrugs, "Because she needed underwear?"

Sabo facepalmed.

Ace just stared at him, wondering why he looked both upset and annoyed, when the bathroom door swung open and (Name) came out with wet clothing in her hands.

"Damn it. Koala, you won't believe this. My clothes fell into the tub and now they're we—" She halts to a pause and stared in shock at the two boys in her room.

Ace grinned, jumping into your bed, while Sabo awkwardly waves and gives a sheepish smile. "Hi." They said in unison.

(Name) screamed.

~

*Sabo's POV*

Sabo swiftly covered his eyes and started running towards Ace's direction while dodging flying objects and shouting "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!!!". Ace, on the other hand, was using (Name)'s pillow as a shield against the objects she was throwing at them. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!?!" (Name) screamed as she grabbed a table lamp and threw it at Ace and Sabo, who were now both huddling together behind the pillow shield.

"It was Ace's idea!!!" Sabo yelled, eyes still closed and covered by one hand, and pointed accusingly at Ace with the other, who glared at him before getting knocked on the head with an alarm clock.

A shrill ringing alarm sounded, making Sabo shout in surprise and running across the room to Koala's side and ducking under her bed.

(Name) panted, tired from the vicious object throwing and grabbed a sleeping shirt and a pair of comfy shorts. She hurriedly slipped them on before Sabo peeked out from under the bed to make sure the coast was clear.

"(N-N-Name)?" He calls, cautiously coming out of his hiding place and setting his eyes on the furious girl sitting beside her bed. She rested her head in her hands and pouted, blushing in a million shades of red. "(Name)?" Sabo called again, softer this time as he approached her.

She took one look at Sabo before scowling and turning her back on him. Sabo pouted and proceeded to sit behind her. She was so mad now.

Sabo sighed, rubbing the back of his neck in thought. He glanced at Ace, who was still on the bed, and sighed after noticing that (Name) had knocked him out with the alarm clock from earlier. It looks looks like he was on his own.

"(Name), are you angry?" He asks quietly, careful not to say anything stupid.

"Of course I'm angry! What kind of stupid question is that?!" She says angrily, peering over her shoulder to glare at him disapprovingly before hmphing at him and turn away again.

So much for that. Sabo sighs inwardly.

He stared at her back for a while in silence, waiting for a few minutes to pass so that she could cool down a bit.

Once her shoulders relax, he scooted closer to her and hesitantly hovered his arms beside her in debate. She could still be angry and jab him with her elbow if he proceeded with his next move but he would feel guilty if he let this shyness take control of his life.

Sabo leaned over a bit to get a glimpse and blinked as he saw her red face. He frowned and made his decision.

(Name) gasped at the weight on her shoulder and a warmth on her back. Two strong arms snaked their way from behind before locking her in an embrace, a pair of legs appeared from either side of her.

Sabo peered at her face with a worried pout and nuzzled the side of her neck using his nose, making (Name) gasp and squeak from the unexpected gesture. Her face turned a darker shade of red as she could feel his gaze on her.

"(Name)?" He whispered to her, almost pleadingly. She knew that she should continue to ignore him so she clenched her jaw and refused to say anything or even move. Call her stubborn but (Name) simply refused to back down.

Sabo pouts again, she was completely ignoring him now.

He pulls himself away from her neck and rests his head on her shoulder again. He could feel her body relax at this.

So she was tense from that. He murmured to himself in thought.

(Name) continued to look straight ahead with a scowl on her face, a sign showing that she was still angry. Sabo blinked, staring at her profile and tilted his head in thought. She could feel his stare but did nothing.

Sabo leaned in and smiled, sticking out his tongue. (Name) frowned as she felt a hot breath against the side of her face. She wanted to ask what he was doing but then her eyes went wide.

She squeaked, feeling a warm and wet tongue licked her cheek, and her head snapped towards Sabo's direction. He was grinning happily.

"Sabo, what the hell was—?!" (Name) screamed at him in anger but was cut off by a pair of lips crashing into hers. She stared and froze stiff at the sudden kiss.

It wasn't long but to her it felt like an eternity passed. Sabo pulled away and released his hold on her. (Name) frowned, suddenly missing his warmth.

None of them spoke for a moment. Sabo was blushing with a pout, avoiding the surprised stare of the girl he just kissed. In return, (Name)'s eyes were in a daze, still unsure if that had really happened, and touched her lips.

"Why?" She finally asked. Her voice was soft, hushed, and confused. Sabo looked at the floor...then looked at (Name).

"Because you were ignoring me..." He responded before averting his gaze from her again.

His sudden shyness made her giggle. How can someone be so bold one minute then so shy the next?

"(Name)? Are you still angry?" Sabo inquired, blushing furiously now. She gave a simple nod with a slight frown.

He nodded in understanding, taking in a deep mouthful of air before speaking. "To make it up to you, w-would you like to go on the festival with me for a date?" He said rather quickly in one breath, immediately shocking (Name) speechless.

"U-Uhh," She stammered, trying to process what he had said. "S-Sabo, the annual festival is a three day festival, you know." She pointed out.

He nodded again in understanding. "I know. It'll be a three day date. I...I want to spend more time and...get to know you better..." He stated, rendering you once again speechless.

"What do you say, (Name)?"