Koala's Type of Guy
By: rennomiya
It's no secret to anyone in the Revolutionary Army that their young Chief of Staff had been harbouring affections towards the Assistant Fishman Karate Master, Koala. Everyone cheered them on the sidelines; sometimes, accidentally leaving them alone in the meeting room to work on boring tallies. Hack was the one who started noticing Sabo's secret longing looks towards the caramel-haired girl. And he was also the one who made the fact known to other members.
Even Dragon ships them.
Neither of the two were aware of this, however. So Sabo was undeniably shocked when Hack made a passing comment about it.
"H-Huh?! W-Wha—no! I… i-it's not like that! Where did you even get the idea?!" Sabo spat, his shoulder tensed and his eyes looking everywhere but Hack's eyes.
"I suppose in human standards, Koala is cute. It's not that inconspicuous, Sabo-kun." Hack crossed his arms with a smile. He watched as Sabo continued on fretting about, seemingly lost in his thoughts, and didn't even hear Hack's reply.
"I mean yeah, she's always with me… and we're close… but that doesn't mean that I like her that way… What I feel for her is… completely… platonic…"
"Suure, you do," Hack laughed and made a move to the door.
"Wait!" Sabo grabbed the Fishman's shoulder and turned him around. His cheeks abruptly turned red, and him keeping his face from being embarrassed amused Hack greatly. He looked as if he accepted the fact that Hack was aware of his feelings for the girl. "Do you… think she…" he mumbled and the last words were too low to hear. The blond revolutionary gulped and he was visibly sweating. "… she… you know, likes me…?"
The Fishman tried his best not to chuckle because he knew this would faze the young one more. "It's hard to tell. Why don't you ask her her type instead?"
Sabo's grip on Hack tightened, alerting the Fishman since he could destroy his shoulder effortlessly. "Uhm, Sabo-kun… Your hand…"
The younger one swallowed a lump in his throat and removed his grip from Hack's shoulder. "Can you do it for me?" For the first time since the conversation started, he stared directly into his companion's eyes.
Hack, on the other hand, avoided his eyes and sprinted to the door. "I'm sure you could handle it. I've got work to do. Bye," he stated abruptly.
The door shut on Sabo's face, who attempted to chase after Hack but failed, leaving him in his office alone. He huffed and crossed his arms. "That cheater! I can't believe he ran away from his friend in need!" he told no one in particular.
He rubbed his chin and paced back and forth. He thought of how he could ask Koala about her type of guy and how to insert the topic in a conversation without giving away his ulterior motives.
A few minutes had passed and he still hadn't thought of how to do it so he resigned and sat down on his desk in defeat. He absentmindedly flipped the maps and papers on his desk, thinking about how Koala would react if she found out he has a crush on her. The thought of it was enough to embarrass him. He sighed tiredly and rested his head on his gloved hand.
Koala probably doesn't see him that way, so why bother. He was almost sure she thinks of him like a brother and nothing more. Maybe his babysitter at times. Who knows. He decided to drop the idea and lowered his head on the desk, using the piles of paper as his pillow.
Just then, he heard a knock on his door. He drawled out a lazy, "It's open," and continued staring at nothingness. "What is it?"
"What the—! Are you slacking off again?!" Koala entered the room and put her hand on her waist as soon as she saw Sabo. She approached him in angry strides and pulled his ear. "I think you're forgetting that you still haven't finished the paperwork I asked you to do that was due two days ago!" she screamed on his ear.
Sabo was used to this. In fact, he would be suspicious if she was calm. "I know, I'm on it. Quit pulling my ear," he slapped her hand away and shifted to the paperwork on his desk. He stared at the pile blankly and could feel the girl's death glare on the back of his head. He carefully looked at Koala and confessed guiltily, "I forgot what you asked me to do."
He anticipated a violent lash but instead he only got a single punch on his face. He held his aching nose while Koala pulled another chair and sat down next to Sabo. She shuffled the papers on his desk and began arranging them in an order. "Why did I even think that you'd remember this task?! I'm an idiot! Why do I always have to clean up after your mess! Next time I report to Dragon-san, I'm definitely telling on you. I should be promoted for all the things I do for you. This is way beyond my duty," she complained and took out a pen.
Sabo stole a glance at her as she wrote something on one of the maps on her hand. He listened to her continuous insults and mumblings and found her voice oddly soothing. He found himself smiling before he even knew it.
Koala pouted as she noticed his boyish grin. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing." He waved his hand and pretended to help her with the task he still has no idea about. "Say, have you met with Hack a few minutes ago?"
"I saw him on the hallway before I came here. Why?"
"Did he mention something about… personal stuff?" he asked, hoping that Hack really asked her about her type of guys for him.
She looked up for a second, seemingly thinking of her encounter with Hack, before replying, "No. He just told me that you're in here. He looked happy though." She was struck with curiosity and asked, "What did you two talk about?"
He quickly averted his gaze. "… Guy stuff."
"Oh." Koala appeared indifferent and resumed her writing on a piece of paper. "Guys will be guys, I guess."
Sabo forced a smile and cleared his throat. He felt awkward. He didn't know how he could start the topic he wanted to talk to her about. Should he just randomly talk about it, or let a totally different conversation drift into it? He gathered up his courage and decided on the former.
"Say," he started, "there's this cool-looking guy back at Dressrosa who was protecting his girlfriend from falling rubble. You know, the rubble from Pica's stones after he was destroyed by Luffy's nakama, the Pirate Hunter Zoro. As expected of Luffy. He has the ability to choose the best people for his crew," by this point, he doesn't know where this conversation was heading.
"What's this about?" she asked, not fully paying attention to him.
There was a few seconds of silence. "About the Dressrosa citizen. He's good-looking and it looks like the girl was really impressed with her boyfriend. Made me think how they got together." He was pretty sure this had gone away from what he really wanted to talk to her about.
"Well, Dressrosa is known to be a passionate country. Romance is pretty common there," she commented offhandedly.
"Romance! Yeah, romance!" Okay, hope was not lost. They were getting there. He could turn this into an engaging conversation. "Have you ever thought about romance?"
He noticed a slight change of colour in Koala's cheek. He couldn't help but blush as well. Koala still wasn't looking at him. "Yeah," she replied honestly.
"… With who?"
"No one in particular. Just general things."
"… Ah. Then," Sabo gulped and hoped for the best, "What's your type of guy?"
Koala paused from her writing. Her eyes sparkled and her overall appearance looked dazzling. She smiled as she rested her hand on her cheek. He was sure she appeared love struck. "Someone tall."
Sabo's height is one hundred eighty seven centimetres. No doubt, taller than her.
"Round eyes."
He has round eyes. His hopes were rising.
"… Notably compassionate, caring, and understanding. A charming man, who is responsible and isn't reckless."
He was starting to think she was describing him. He ran his hand through his blond hair.
"Has black hair."
Oh. Well, he could dye his hair black.
"Red skin…"
Uhm, what?
Hearts started floating around Koala. "Someone like Uncle Fisher Tiger." Her face completely turned red and she began swinging back and forth on her chair as she squealed like a fangirl. She began daydreaming about said Fishman.
Sabo did NOT expect that coming. She still has a crush on her saviour, apparently. "How about a human?"
Koala's fangirling and squealing abruptly stopped and she suddenly looked impassive. "Nah…"
Sabo slammed a hand on the table and sulked. He turned away from Koala and laid down his head on the table.
"Geez, what's your problem? No need for tantrums, little brat." Koala glared at him and tried on making him sit back up. "Come on, help me do your work." She waved the paper she was holding near her companion's face.
"I don't want to," he stubbornly said.
Koala furiously pulled his head from the table. They argued relentlessly and were almost unable to finish their work.
Fortunately, they finished the paperwork three hours later.
The whole time, Sabo was pouty and moody.
The whole time, Koala was confused by this.
.End.
A/N: Yeah, Sabo, you're definitely a responsible person and NOT reckless at all. He should've seen that coming already.
Anyway, I've been into Saboala/SaboKoa recently and am thirsty for fanart and fanfics (which is not a lot in this fandom, apparently) soooooo... yeah.
I'm not even going to make an excuse about my other fanfics. I'll just apologize m(_ _)m
One Piece © Oda Eiichiro