Sabo had only moments to prepare himself for Luffy.

They'd been on the open ocean for a week after escaping from Mariejois - after Sabo touched down on their boat amidst the storm, they had immediately set off. Away from that hell, he was feeling more himself - he had his undershirt, his vest, his cravat, and even his coat, all thanks to Koala. The only thing he missed was his hat, which Koala absolutely refused to tell him its whereabouts.

They'd first escorted the Tontatta pirates back to Dressrosa - Leo and his people had done much and even relaxed the escaped slaves, but Sabo couldn't keep them forever. They had done their part, so it was time to send them home.

Though Sabo was rather sad to see them go - Leo reminded him of Luffy.

After that, they set their course to the nearest revolutionary base to drop off the escaped slaves. Then, after that, they'd be headed towards Wano - Dragon had called in and informed them that he was already headed there, and they were to meet him, as well as a certain blue haired princess.

It was when Sabo saw the Sunny he knew he was in trouble, yet a grin widened on his face as he heard incoherent yelling come closer and closer to him -

Luffy slammed into Sabo, rubber arms and legs wrapping around him several times, and Sabo took a step back, instinctively wrapping his arms around his brother.

"Luffy," he said, trying to sound stern. "You know you can't swim so why did you launch yourself across the ocean -"

"Sabo's here!" Luffy cheered, interrupting him. "Your card was burning but you're okay!"

He froze. Damn, Luffy had his vivre card - had he worried Luffy too much, which what occurred in Mariejois? If he hadn't escaped, would Luffy had tried to bust in to save him....? A cold relief shivered through him. He didn't want Luffy anywhere near that place, much less near Im....

Koala yelped and jerked away, fumbling with her drink as she stared at Luffy. "Straw Hat Luffy? How did you..."

Sabo smiled at her from around Luffy. "Don't worry, he does this a lot."

She arched an eyebrow. "That's supposed to be reassuring?"

Luffy laughed and untangled himself from Sabo - the Sunny settled its anchor next to the revolutionary's own boat. "Hey guys!" Luffy shouted with a wide grin. "This is Sabo, my brother!"

Robin waved a hand in greeting, her face warm but her eyes searching - she was one of the smartest people he knew, so he wouldn't be surprised if she figured out what had happened if they hadn't received the papers.

"We've met," Zoro said with the same kind of calm as Robin possessed.

"Really?" Luffy sparkled. "So cool!"

"Wait a minute," said Sanji, his brow drawn in confusion. "This is Sabo? Your brother?"

"Yep!"

Sanji stared at Sabo for a moment. ".....We've met before as well."

"You have, Sanji-bro?" the cyborg Franky gaped at Sanji. "That's SUPER!"

"Hold on," Luffy's navigator - Nami - interrupted. "I understand everyone else knowing Luffy's brother, but how do you know him Sanji?"

Sanji shrugged and lit a cigarette. "He came by the hell Kuma shot me too -"

"The one with Iva!" Luffy grinned.

"Shut up, idiot captain," Sanji exhaled a puff of smoke. "But yeah, that hell. Anyways, we talked a bit, asked me some questions, then went to talk to Iva for business." Sanji directed a frown to Sabo suspiciously. "It sounded less like business and more like a party."

Sabo shrugged - he'd come by hearing that Iva had escaped from Impel Down. Imagine his surprise when he not only met up with Iva again, but one of Luffy's own crew members - the second one he had met, at that point. "I hadn't seen Iva since he rescued me when I was ten, what can I say?"

Meanwhile, Sanji had continued frowning. "If you're part of the revolutionary....and so is Robin.....does this mean I could've seen my beautiful Robin-dear? I could've seen an angel in that hell and you didn't bring her -"

"Oi, shut up ero-cook."

"What's that?"

"Wanna go?"

The two started clashing and Sabo smiled, taking in the whole crew - with the addition of the ex-warlord Jinbei.

"Oh," Koala said, her shock from the Straw Hats sudden appearance quickly dissipating. "By the way, Soul King - Sabo and I both thought your performances were very good. We went to one of your concerts and it lived up to our expectations."

The skeleton practically materialized next to Koala. "Such kind words from a beautiful lady....if it's not too much to ask, may I see your panties?"

Koala's fist was already moving forward, slamming Brook to the opposite end of the boat. "Nope." She popped the 'p'.

"Yohohohoho," the skeleton laughed, dusting himself off as he stood up. "I felt that right down to the bone!"

"Anyway," Sabo cleared his throat. "What've you guys been up to? I heard about Big Mom - I've got to say, I'm impressed. But I'm just glad that you're all okay."

"The road was not paved without sacrifice," Jinbei declared. "And we will honor each of those that continue to lead us towards our goal."

Luffy nodded, head bouncing up and down and up and down and up and down - "Yosh!"

"Actually, that brings us to something we wanted to discuss with you," Zoro said, his one eye trained on Sabo warily.

"As the Chief of Staff, we get that you have to go into danger!" Usopp, the sniper said - it was nice actually seeing the other man's face unblemished, as the last time they saw each other Usopp had many, many wounds in Dressrosa. "I go into danger all the time, bravely, so I, Captain Usopp, totally understand how you must feel -"

"But your life has more value than to just the revolution," Nami continued. "Just as you value Luffy, don't you think that he values you the same way?"

"We're not saying to stop doing whatever crap it is you're doing," Sanji said. "It's not like we haven't picked fights with the most dangerous people on the ocean."

"But that doesn't mean you can't be careful!" the reindeer, Chopper, added.

"Yeah!" the cyborg shouted. "Bro, family, has to take care of family, so we've got you if you need it!"

"Most definitely," Brook said, staring at Sabo. And despite his lack of eyes, Sabo could feel the emotion the man was radiating. Determination. "What is sacred to our captain is sacred to us as well."

"Guys..." Luffy looked at his crew next to Sabo, smile slipping into something more serious.

"All we want to say," Zoro said. "Is that when you were at Dressrosa, you told us to look after Luffy. So we would like a favor."

Then the man turned to Koala.

"Take care of the brother for us," he said, the whole crew now staring at Koala.

Koala sat there, and blinked, still sipping her drink through the straw. She swallowed, then smiled at the crew. "Of course."

The tension released from the crew, and he found himself surrounded by them.

"I think this calls for a party!" Luffy declared.

"Straw Hat-ya, no," said a new voice. "You had one literally just this morning."

"Traffy!" Luffy laughed. "You're here!"

A man appeared on the other side of the boat - taking a closer look, Sabo could see that he was standing on the top of a submarine. He scowled. "You can't just disappear like that, we have things to do and a plan -"

Some of the Straw Hats burst into laughter at that, and the man - Trafalgar Law - sighed aggravatedly. "There are still things to do in Wano -"

"Yeah!" Luffy agreed. "But Robin said Sabo was going to be here soon so we went to see Sabo."

Law put a hand to his forehead as if he were having a migraine. "Straw Hat-ya -"

"Traffy," Luffy said, a mock serious expression on his face. Then he brightened. "You should party with us!"

".....Whatever."

Sanji had up a whole feast pretty soon, and the three groups filled up on all of the liquor and meat they could get their hands on. He had to admit - he missed eating with Luffy, even though his little brother had grabby hands whenever it concerned food on other people's plates.

Had he ever been able to actually sit down with Luffy, and actually enjoy the other's company?

He didn't think he had, not even in Dressrosa. He hadn't even given his brother a proper goodbye.... What an awful brother he was - he wasn't even exactly sure how to be a good older brother. He was good at improv, but he couldn't make things up on the fly forever. But somehow, Ace had done it. And since Ace couldn't be there to be the better older brother, Sabo would have to do.

Eventually, the party died down and they sailed together to Wano, which had apparently been opened up to the rest of the world. Sabo and Koala elected to bunk in their boat as the moon was already peeking out from behind the clouds. Luffy had protested, but Robin convinced him with the promise of stories.

Sabo collapsed onto the bed. He felt worn out, but in a good way. Luffy was always a whirlwind of excitement, and Sabo was glad that he had found a crew that could keep up with him.

The door closed with a click, signifying Koala's entrance. She was holding something behind her back.

Sabo arched an eyebrow from where he lay. "What's that?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," she teased. "What if it's your least favorite food?"

"Lies," he grinned, sitting up. "I don't have a favorite food."

She smiled, then brought the object from behind her back - his beloved hat. The clothes he wore weren't his, truly - only just recently bought from Dressrosa, they weren't his usual wardrobe. But the hat... "I figured I ought to give it to you now," Koala said. "I brought it with me - I just thought that you should have it. I should have given it to you earlier, but...there wasn't ever a right time."

In answer, Sabo tipped his head ever so slightly. And so Koala gently placed his top hat on his golden curls - the simple weight of the hat, as well as the love of his brother, courage of his partner, and determination of the Straw Hat pirates making Sabo feel more at ease than he ever thought he could be.