[ crying or not, sabo aims to comfort ace all the same and doesn't do anything to break the silence before ace does. nor does he put up any resistance when ace pulls away and for, what sabo assumes is a better look, only offering him a warm smile and relaxing his hold on ace. sabo's expression continues to soften when ace caresses his face and leans into the touch resisting the urge to close his eyes to fully bask in the touch. photos only allowed for so much. though, he briefly avoids ace's gazes when he passes over the scar. he's not ashamed of it but he isn't a fan of it either.

sabo eventually caves and closes his eyes when their foreheads touch relishing in a touch that he'd tolerate from no one else.

well, up until ace pinches his cheek where he lets out a small yelp. it hardly hurts compared to the beating he would get from other ill-meaning people but it was the fact of the matter. nevertheless sabo doesn't complain too much about it; a pinch was preferable compared to a fist to the face, especially when ace follows up with an "apologetic" touch. ]

Maybe you should; I came a long way to save you.

[ he mutters under his breath pretending to be upset with ace, but shifts his tone to being akin to what he'd use whenever he was giving a report—addressing things simply and directly. it lacks the strict authoritative and no nonsense attitude by being still casual and with how he takes a hold of ace's free hand, threading their fingers. ]

We're currently on an island that the Red Hair Pirates suggested might be a good place recoup until we're ready to sail again. [ the air quotes clear in his voice just before he chuckles to himself about his next point. ] And I'm not exactly sure of why, but a pirate known as the Surgeon of Death decided to tag along and help treating everyone.

He's gone now but you can be sure that Luffy thanked him.