Category: Mild Romantic Fluff

Characters: Sabo, Koala

Greetings, everyone! I hope everyone is safe and well. Here is my first story for Saboala Week's Day One prompt, "Cake." I hope everyone enjoys it! ^.^

Koala's hat bobbed cutely up and down as she springily strolled down white-paved streets, a hum purring from her chest and a pleased smile gracing her round face. Her hands were primly pointed, fingers pressed together in planes, as she swung her arms jovially with every step. Koala just couldn't help but be in such a pleasant mood; on this summer island the Revolutionary Army was temporarily hiding out in, the sun was constantly shining and the air was warm with butterflies and bumblebees bobbing about in the overabundance of flowers everywhere. It was a relatively small island, far off the radar for Marines and their ilk, and so Koala didn't have to scurry around like a marauder in an ugly dull cloak. A rebel girl had to take her little victories where she could!

Koala stopped in her tracks as a delicious, absolutely mouth-watering scent graced her nostrils. Sweet… she thought blankly as the delectable aroma thoroughly numbed any and all of her thought processes. She swiped a wet tongue across her lips as it tingled with the need for sugar. Like a beast prowling its prey, Koala stalked her way down the sidewalk following the saccharine perfume until she arrived at the source- a quaint little bakery wedged between a bookstore and a flower shop. One of its glass windows was open, allowing the aroma of fruit-filled pastries and sweet frosting and robust breads to seep out into the street. Koala's fingers wiggled as she held them up in front of the doorknob. What she was smelling must be cake! Oh, how long it had been since she had partaken in a good cake… Constantly being on the run and all, such delicacies were very few and far between. Her eyes flashes with insane need as she wrenched the door open and ran right up to the glass display case, crouching down to press her face into the glass and smear hot breath and drool all over its clear surface.

"Smells so good…" She growled. Her stomach chimed in agreement with a twist in her belly.

"Hehehe, I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I ask that you please not tap the glass. It scares them," came a light laugh from above her. Koala glanced up to see a pretty young woman in an apron leaning over the counter smiling at her, cheek leaned in her hand. Koala detached herself from the glass and wiped off her spit that she had so grossly spread all over it.

"Sorry. They just look and smell so delicious!"

"Why, thank you. What a high compliment to receive from a tourist."

"Is it that obvious?" Koala laughed as she stood and rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. The woman laughed good-naturedly.

"This town is very close-knit. Everyone knows everyone, especially since we get a flood of tourism due to the climate. We all help each other out to promote our businesses."

"Oh! How very nice!" Koala clasped her hands together as her eyes sparkled with admiration. What could she say; she just loved some good camaraderie. Enough small talk, however; Koala was on a mission! "I would like to buy some cake. What would you recommend?"

"Well, that depends. What are you in the mood for?"

"Something light and fluffy and sweet!" Koala grinned widely. A bubble of drool began to leak from the corner of her smile; she could practically taste the sweet buttercream melting over her tongue, feel the soft, moist texture of spongey cake oozing with honey… Koala dissolved into pastry fantasies, chortling under her breath, and the baker had to snap her fingers in front of her face a few times to return her to reality. "Sorry. It's been a long time since I had a really good dessert…"

"I understand," the woman laughed. She turned to crouch down behind the counter and begin rifling around in the various options. "I have a few options for you. Since you're such a lovely young lady and it's your first time here, I'll give you three slices for the price of one. You have to make me a deal though; if you like them, you have to come back again real soon and bring your friends!"

Koala nearly collapsed in gratuitous tears. She slumped over the counter as blissful tears rolled down her cheeks, watching with reverence as the baker packaged the three slices of cake for her in a pastel pink box and tied a thin red ribbon around it.

"You are an angel… I can never repay your kindness."

"Hehe, the only repayment I need is you enjoying this to the fullest!" Koala took the box and handed over the appropriate amount of change before hugging the cake box to her chest protectively. It was a long journey back to the ship and she had to defend her treats at all costs! She could eat them now, but the necessity companion to tea was sweet milk- which she would have to return to the ship for. Koala bid the very nice baker a jovial farewell before bounding out of the shop, running back towards the docks- but not too fast, so as not to jostle her cake.

She had to collect all her willpower to keep drool from dribbling down her chin and soaking through the top of the box. She was so excited to see what selections the baker had given her! She had no doubt that she was going to enjoy them to the fullest, and was already anticipating a return trip. What a lucky break for her that she had stumbled upon the bakery on her morning walk!


Koala was trouncing victoriously down the hall with her cake box in one hand and a jug of milk in the other when she suddenly stopped in her tracks, one leg still hiked up in mid-step. Sabo's door was closed. It was almost never closed; it was at least always cracked. A caramel eyebrow began to creep up her forehead. Could he actually be working?

"Sabo?" Koala called as she knocked lightly on the door to his room. Though their ship was nothing too out of the ordinary to keep from arousing suspicion, the important officers all had their own quarters so they could do light workouts or work on tasks in relative peace. Her hand fell down to the doorknob to turn it when Sabo grunted for her to enter. She poked her head curiously through the crack she made in the doorway, eyes slightly widened; normally, he would jump right up to throw open the door and greet her because it was an excuse to get away from his desk for five minutes. It seemed that Koala had stumbled across one of the rare instances where he was actually motivated. His back was to her as he sat hunched over his desk sitting beneath the small circular window, stacks upon stacks of papers piled up around him. His pen was wobbling frantically as he scrawled ink all over a piece of paper before shifting it to a pile and grabbing another. Koala smiled softly at the sight. When he actually did want to get down to business, he was very hard-working and efficient. "How long have you been in here?"

His ben stopped as he tilted his head back to tally up the time. He rubbed his chin with a gloved hand before she saw the muscles of his jaw clench in a grimace.

"Several hours, at least." He winced as his stomach growled angrily, so loud that Koala could hear it for the doorway. "Ehe… I don't think I've eaten since this morning," he laughed bashfully. Sabo was an early riser; undoubtedly, he had been up since at least six. It was now approaching noon. "I'll just finish these few documents and then I'll head down to get something," he said to himself before looking over his shoulder at Koala. "Did you need something?"

The door was still covering her hands, which held the milk and cake. She glanced down at the box with a complicated look. Three pieces of cake sure was a lot for one person… And Sabo loved sweets. He was working so hard, even depriving himself of food in favor of finishing his task at hand. Koala ought to be a good person and offer some to him. He wasn't a brute that would abuse her generosity and steal all her cake. Smiling, she kicked the door open with the toe of her boot and walked into the room. He turned around in his chair with widening eyes fixed on the cute box. "What's that?"

"Special delivery- cake from a bakery in town. Would you like some, Sabo?" she offered kindly. The childish glint of glee that alighted his black eyes did not go unnoticed to her, nor did the way his eyes followed the cake box as she carried it over and set it down on his desk. He shoved the piles casually aside to make plenty of room, allowing her to set down the pitcher of milk and cups and forks she had brought along as well. She untied the string and pulled the box open, and the two of them just stood there stupidly for a second, mouths open and watering as they beheld the masterpieces contained within.

"Smells yummy," he rumbled in admiration. He looked for a second like he was going to pounce, then flickered his gaze to her and sheepishly sat back in his seat. "Ah-ahem, you bought them, Koala, so you pick which one you want first," he offered politely with his chin upturned regally. Koala giggled as his upper-class instincts bled out a little. She took a fork and jabbed it into the whole strawberry sitting on top of what looked like a strawberry shortcake, plucking it from the hold of the white icing to bring it to her mouth. She jumped up to sit slightly on the corner of the desk, legs crossed and just bumping against his arm as she relished in the sweet creation.

"It's so delicious~" she purred as she ascended to the heavenly plane. Sabo laughed and set to eating what appeared to be vanilla confetti cake. She felt bad that Sabo couldn't try it too. Well, actually, why not? She scooped up some of the cake and then pressed the fork to his lips. His eyebrows arched in surprise and he just looked at her, cake resting against his lips. "Try it, Sabo!" she insisted, pushing the fork into his mouth a few times. Eyes locked on her face, he slowly parted his mouth to enclose the cake in his mouth, teeth scraping over the fork as he pulled back. He continued to watch her as he chewed thoughtfully.

"'S good."

"Isn't it?" she trilled before shoving another bite in her mouth without thinking. She then stiffened when she realized what exactly had transpired, teeth clamping down on the fork with enough force to shatter it. That was… Pretty much… An indirect kiss, right? Of course! That's why Sabo had been so weirded out by the gesture! Face flushing pink, she peeked out of the corners of her eyes at him to see him calmly eating the rest of his confetti cake. He didn't seem to be too bothered… Maybe she was overthinking it and he was just a little surprised?

Despite her attempts to reassure herself, she still fidgeted uncomfortable on the desk. After all, there was no denying Sabo was incredibly handsome, capable, and above all, kind. Every woman's dream! Koala didn't want to muddy their professional relationship with any personal endeavors, but she was still a girl- a girl that was crushing hard on Sabo. Most of the time she was able to bury it and act all aloof and unbothered, but it was times like these that it managed to escape its cage and run rampant through her system. With shaky hands, she tried to pour herself a glass of milk and down it like a shot to use it as a placebo for her nerves; thanks to the tremors, she ended up spilling half of it down her front and choking on the rest. Sabo jumped up with a yelp as she doubled over hacking and dripping the white liquid onto her clothes and the floor.

"Koala? You okay?"

"Wr-wrong pipe," she wheezed, trying to play it off. He grabbed the closest thing, the towel he had probably used for his bath that morning, and pushed her up by her shoulder to begin wiping the milk off her front and chin. Her face blazed a shade darker as the towel passed under her nose, brining with it Sabo's scent of cologne and parchment with the faintest hint of soot. With an involuntary squeak, she jumped back, making the piles of paper wobble precariously.

"Sorry, did I press a little too hard?" Sabo blinked obliviously down at her. The towel still hovered in front of her face as he awaited her permission to continue. Instead, Koala grabbed the towel from him and scrubbed her face and blouse herself, still bright pink.

"N-no, it just tickled a little," she lied lamely. When she was sure she had dried herself the best she could, she let the towel fall down into her lap and slumped her body in a weary sigh. I just have to go and make a fool of myself, she thought broodingly. As her lips poked out in a dour little pout, she glanced back at Sabo, who was crouched down on the floor mopping up the puddle of spilled milk there. He must have felt her staring, because he craned his neck up to peer at her. "Um… Thanks, and sorry…"

"Hehe. No problem. It was kinda cute." He also knew that Koala was gonna kick him for that, because he threw up his arms to defend his head before her boot even moved. "Ahaha! I'm sorry, but it was!" he laughed as she prodded the meat of his bicep with her pointed boot. Her leg fell back down as he stood up with a contented exhale, grabbing the towels and tossing them into a bin in the corner. "It's no big deal, really. It certainly livened up my afternoon," he chuckled before looking back at her with a warm smile. Koala flushed, unable to meet his gaze, and looked back down at her lap with quivering lips. Dammit, why was Sabo so attractive to her? All the butterflies in her stomach weren't sitting well with her cake. She was too nauseous to eat more! Stupid Sabo and his stupid pretty face… "Hey, Koala," he said, and despite herself she instinctively looked up at him. She froze at how close his face had come suddenly; he was leaned over her, the tips of their noses only separated by a few inches.

"Wh-what?"

"You're all red. Are you running a fever?"

"No!" she cried and planted her hands over her face to try and hide the gradually reddening hue to her skin.

"Then why's your face all red?"

"Because of you! Stupid! Stupid attractive Sabo!" she cried before she could even think about what words were coming out of her mouth. Her mind caught up with her rambling tongue a few seconds later, and as she froze solid with her body burning from head to toe, a cold rush of mortification rippled through her. Her eyes shook behind her fingers. Did I really just come out and say that? That's it, I have to quit the Army, take a rowboat to a deserted island and live out the rest of my days cakeless and in shame-

Sabo began laughing. Curiosity got the better of her and she parted her fingers only slightly to peer at him. His shoulders were jumping up and down as he held his belly and shook with raucous laughs.

"What a Koala thing to do, insult me and compliment me in the same sentence," he laughed as a gloved thumb wiped away the little tears that had bloomed in the corners of her eyes. When they fixed back on her, she squeaked and closed the barrier to her vision again. Nope, she wasn't gonna look at him and he wasn't gonna look at her, nope, nope, nope-

She whined in protest as he hands fixed themselves around her wrists and easily pulled them away from her face. Her gaze shifted everywhere but on his face. Oh, this is so embarrassing! What does he think of me now? "Koala, won't you please look at me?" His voice was so soft and pleading and kind that her eyes couldn't help but obey; slowly, they rolled in her sockets until she was peering nervously into his black irises. His lips set in a thin line as he obviously considered something. His words? Surely, he was trying to figure out a way to let her down gently without upsetting her. Her mind was spiraling so forcefully into panic that she didn't notice his face approaching until his soft lips met hers in a chaste kiss. Her eyes widened and crossed, transfixed by the way the tip of his nose brushed so gently against hers. Her fingers twitched by either side of her head as Sabo's hands still held hers up. It was just a light kiss, nothing worthy of a romance novel, but still… It was so sweet and light that it made happiness bubble up in the pit of Koala's belly. When he pulled back, her eyes followed his and watched in wonder as they alighted with love and joy. "You're too cute," he snickered at her probably dumbfounded expression.

"Erm," she responded eloquently.

"You're welcome," he laughed before dropping her hands and sliding back down into his desk chair. Koala continued to exude her thousand-yard stare on the corner of the desk, until he abruptly grabbed her by the hips to pull her down onto his lap. She was lucky that she didn't send all the contents of the desk flying with the way her arms flailed from the quick sensation of falling; they landed around his broad shoulders, fingers digging into the thin fabric of his white undershirt.

"What are you doing?"

"I have to get back to work but I want more cake, so, feed me~" He grinned. Oh, his look was so innocent but his eyes were practically devilish as they sparkled at her. Koala turned bright pink as she short-circuited for a moment, neurons desperately sparking to connect the wires of her fried brain. When they finally did, she puffed out her cheeks defiantly and grabbed the fork, only to take a good half of his remaining confetti cake and shove it into her mouth.

"I paid for it. 'S mine," she groused through stuffed cheeks. Sabo laughed heartily and picked up his pen to begin scrawling over the paper again.

"I can sit her and look at your sweet little face, too."

"Sabooooooo!"

Curse a pretty man with a clever, scheming mind, but thank God for cake.