Pairings~ Sabo x fem!reader
Synopsis~ Your call, somehow, connects to the chief of staff — Sabo.
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Yesterday was a disaster and there was no other way to describe it. You would have lost it if it wasn't for Sabo helping you. You would have spent the entire night outside. You are glad that he was there.
At the moment, you are laying on your bed scrolling through your phone when you get an incoming call— sabo's.
“Sabo!”, you chime happily.
“I'm sorry.. hic.. hm..”, his speech slurred. He sounded too light headed, not like himself, words barely coherent— he sounded drunk..
“Coukdn't prote- you-uw”, he mumbles in a low slurring tone.
“Are you drunk?”, you ask with a grin. You didn't know he could get so drunk. You thought he was an uptight person who rarely drinks.
“N-not dru-vnk-hkd”, he replied. Like hell, he wasn't. He is clearly drunk and doesn't even know what he is saying, probably.
“Yeah whatever! Like I'll belie—”
“Sowwyy, couldn't help you.. jst like Ace..”
Your heart drops at his words, why is he saying that? You feel your heart squeeze at the mere thoughts of him thinking like this.
Did he always felt so conscious of everything?
Every time he wasn't here, with you?
Did he always think that he failed?
“Sabo.. it's not like that. You helped me quite a lot yesterday remember?”, you reply with a heavy heart trying to sound convincing but it wasn't easy when you are both divided by universes.
You have always found it heartbreaking that Sabo had to go through all those feelings of loss and gain at the same time in the series, but hearing him associate those with you was more heart shattering.
“Did-en't.. wa-usn't there.. w-vith you”
“It's fine! You can't be here. That's how it is!”, you bite down on your lower lip. That wasn't a good reply now, was it? That sounds like he can't be with you even if he tries. No, he shouldn't try. You shake your head in an attempt to get away with all those useless thoughts.
“W-vll.. I ne-vver see you? Just like A-sce?”, he asks, not in that soft tone he always wears but in the shaky vulnerable tone he, maybe, never allowed anyone to witness.
“I-”, you didn't had an answer to it. What are you supposed to tell him? Running a hand through your hair, you let out a soft sigh.
What can I possibly say to make him feel better? There's really no way he can see me.
“You-u don't know-w right?”
“Swworryy, can't protec-, can't be thewe.. justtt like Ase..”
“Stop, Sabo. That's not how it is”, you know he is drunk and speaking gibberish but it has to be on his mind for him to be speaking like this.
“Cant reachw, suchh a loser. Alvwus loosinghh. Alvahs”
Now, your heart is burning with the desire to hold him, to soothe him, to comfort him, to never let go.
Did he also felt the same last night? You wonder.
“Will yov alzo dispvear like hibm?”
“I won't”, you reply almost involuntarily. It left your mouth before you could even realize.
You didn't know why you ended up saying to never leave when you aren't even together in any way. Where could you even possibly go?
“vut you see me as character.. noh a persn..”
“Huh?”, your heart thumping loudly in your chest. Too heavy, too loud.
“Wfat I don't habve a persn doesh?”
“I geh hurf like a persn”
“Hov am I- diffrn frm a persn?”
The words hit you like a punch, he is right. He is a human, not a character of your favourite series, not anymore. Like this, when you can converse, he is a person— a human.
Maybe it's time I stopped treating him like a character.
“I know! You're human, Sabo! I don't see you as a character anymore”
You hear him mumble that and snore on the other side after that.
Did he fall asleep already?
“Sabo?”, no response. He has fallen asleep, definitely.
You hang up the call but his words still linger in your head like a plague. Is that how he thinks of it all? Regarding the situation in same way as Ace? That can't be good.
You run a hand through your hair, in frustration, clenching at the ends of the locks, “it's like I'm making him suffer..”
You don't know what took over you, you decided to search up for similar situations on the internet. You needed to know. You came across a certain thread talking about this. You scroll through various threads and articles, trying to decipher how you can communicate with someone from a different universe— a character, No, a person.
After spending several hours on this, you realized one thing, it wasn't just you. Many people had this encounter, but they mostly dismissed it or didn't care about it. It happened with people who had bought the same model as your phone's.
“It has to do something with this model”, you mumble to yourself.
You come across an article which talks about the company experimenting to create a communicating device that can help to connect with other universes as well. However, they completely refuse to have done such experiments on their recent technologies.
Letting out a soft sigh, you turn off your phone, “What the hell am I even doing..?”
Sabo woke up with a ringing pain in his head, he hated it. He drank too much, though he was the one who wanted to drink. He was so preoccupied in thinking about her and how to get to her that he ended up drinking away his thoughts.
All those thoughts had swarmed his head and he couldn't seem to relax at all so, he decided to drink it all away. It took a lot of time for him drunk due to his tolerance that he built up for missions.
He thought it would help, make him feel better. But he felt worse. And he can't remember what exactly he did after getting drunk.
Nevertheless, he got ready for work. Dressed in a clean slick coat, hair styled perfectly to his left side of face.
He runs into koala on the hallway, “Gosh! You drank too much yesterday and rambled some incoherent bullshit, Sabo!”, she said with a grumpy tone.
“Sorry about that. Didn't mean to cause trouble though..”
“Hmph”, she pouted with her arms crossed.
His hands immediately fling to his den den mushi picking up the receiver so fast that it left koala wide-eyed.
Is he even capable of picking up a call, let alone so quick?
Sabo had started carrying his den den mushi with him, particularly because he didn't want to miss any calls that came from her. And it was hers.
“Good morning, y/n”, he chirped like his head isn't throbbing from hangover leaving koala surprised at his soft tone.
“fuck good morning, don't you have a hangover? You drunkard”, she yells at him from the other side. He can't help but smile softly at her concern and words.
Koala just eyes him as he even forgets that she is standing next to him. A smile tugging on his lips, not the polite kind but the raw and genuine kind.
“How did you know?”, he asks with a soft smile playing on his lips.
Koala has rarely seen him smile like that. That pretty smile like he is enjoying himself, like he wants to be there, like he is letting himself loose. He rarely allowed it— she knows it more than anyone. She has been with him since they were kids, of course, she knew his habits.
“You called me last night. And you were drunk, idiot. Rambling on and on”
“Oh? And what did I speak of?”, he asks in that playful and teasing tone with smirk. Koala couldn't help but let out a sigh from relief. He seemed to be enjoying, but wait, who is this woman on the other side?
“You don't remember?”, she asks with a surprised gasp.
“Nope”, he replied rather nonchalantly.
Silence followed from her side. Koala watched his expression change instantly from playful to serious.
As the silence stretches on, his breath gets caught in his lungs. Wait, what did he spoke? What did he say in drunk state? To her?
Did I say something about the research?
Something about trying to get to her?
Fuck it, why can't I remember anything?
I hate these gaps in my memory!
“What did I speak of? Did I say someth—”
She cuts him off almost immediately, “You made such bad jokes that I felt like I would pass out from hearing them”
“Is that all?”, he is clutching at the receiver like the reply mattered a lot.
His heart thumped loudly in his chest. What if he really had spoken of trying to find something to make it to her?
What if he had spoken of him researching and trying to find a way? She would be livid but she doesn't seem so, so maybe he didn't.
“Huh? Uh, yeah”, she replied.
“Good to know”, a sigh of relief leaves him as she confirms.
Thank god, I didn't spew any nonsense.
“Alright, I just wanted to check up on you. Make sure you get something for your hangover, you probably have it”, she hangs up with that.
A soft smile tugging at his lips as he turns and is met with Koala's playful gaze, “So, who is she? You like her, don't you?”
“Huh? What-?! I don't—”, he stammered.
He never even considered the possibility to begin with.
Just from hearing her voice?
“Oh? Come on, who is she?~”, Koala persists.
“No one you need to know”, he replies before starting to walk away. He can't tell her, not yet. It isn't the right time for it. Not now.
Koala pouts at his words, “Fine, go ahead keep your secrets. I'll find it out anyways”, she replies.
You turn the handle of your front door, entering the place with a sigh from relief. The tiredness seems to wear off as soon as the air of your room hits you, removing your footwear and keeping them aside.
Walking inside, you step closer to your bed. Dipping your phone on the plush of your bed, screen up. Your fingers softly start unbuttoning your shirt.
Your ears pique up at the sound of your phone's incoming tune. Your gaze falls on the name flashing across the screen 'Sabo' but that's not what surprises you.
"Incoming video call" flashing over the name is what makes your heart drop for a second, eyes wide, lips parted as you instantly pick up your phone from its respective spot.
You squint your eyes to confirm whether what you're reading is correct or not.
“What the hell? A video call?”
A/n~ I was confused whether to keep the video call part here or not, then I settled on this cliffhanger. Sorry~ (not sorry lol)
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