Category: Romantic Fluff

Characters: Sabo, Koala

Greetings, all! Here's my story for Day Five of Saboala Week, for the prompt "Traditional Outfit." Enjoy!

Koala's lips were pursed with displeasure as she stared out of the hotel window down at the street below. It was humming with traffic as small crowds jovially meandered towards the center of town, from where tinny carnival music was drifting. It was later in the evening, allowing the bright and round fairy lights that were strung from light poles and building balconies to glow softly like little suns suspended on strings. Groaning miserably, she propped her chin on her crossed arms, watching as yukata-clad men and women joyfully rushed to partake in the festivities of the seasonal celebration that was happening. The town had a heavy Marine presence due to the magnitude of the tourism happening at the moment, and so, as a member of the Revolutionary Army, Koala and the rest of her cohort were of course stuck inside.

"This bites!" she cried angrily and slammed her fists down on the windowsill. "I wanna wear a pretty yukata and go eat candied apples!" she wailed with tears streaming down her cheeks as she turned to pout at Sabo, who was sitting at the desk of her room working on something, for once. His room adjoined hers, and to stave off the boredom of confinement, he was currently in her room watching her miserably sulk. He turned around in the desk chair, crossing his arms behind his head as he smiled sympathetically at her.

"If Dragon catches us sneaking out, we'll be in for it for sure. Especially if we get caught."

"Since when has that ever stopped you?"

"Good point. Shall we?" Normally, Koala didn't entertain Sabo's rebellious tendencies of sneaking off and doing as he pleased, but it was so mind-numbingly boring in the hotel room that she just had to instigate. As he hopped up from the chair, Koala threw the window open to jump out of the window down to the cobblestone street below, startling a few passersby. Sabo landed lightly behind her and fixed his ruffled coat before pulling the brim of his hat down over his face. "First, yukatas. We can't be going around sticking out like this."

Thankfully, the stores weren't sold out yet, and they were able to purchase a pair of appropriate garments. Sabo chose one of dark indigo with a black sash, simple and plain to keep from arousing suspicion. Koala was a bit more festive, however; hers was a summery yellow that brought out the natural gold highlights in her hair, with an orange sash that complimented the rest. The fabric was patterned with orange and red outlines of flowers that gave the arrangement a summery flair. Sabo looked at her in approval as she twirled happily in front of the body-length mirror. "It suits you."

"Oh~? You sound as if we're on a date~" she teased as she sidled up to him, eyelashes flashing demurely as she snuggled up into his side. His cheeks became dusted with a haze of pink and he looked away with an airy laugh, tugging at one of his bright blonde strands of hair.

"You're in an awfully good mood…" A good mood equaled much teasing, unfortunately for Sabo; she was in the highest of moods now that they had managed to escape the hum-drum of being confined to the hotel, so poor Sabo was in for it. Koala was still prancing along beside him after they paid for their clothes and walked back out of the shop.

"Come on, Sabo, humor a girl, will ya?" she said with pouty lips and puffed-out cheeks. He gave her a look of mixed amusement and derision. "It'll be good for blending in, too! The Marines won't think twice about a cute couple wandering around a festival~" she trilled as she hugged his arm and fluttered her eyelashes up at him again. Sabo rolled his eyes but relented, offering his arm to her. Koala purred and wrapped her dainty hands around the solid muscle of his bicep, which she gave a squeeze and stuck out her tongue at him playfully. "Ooh, my, Sabo, have you been working out~?"

"Oh, yes. I have to look my best for you, dear," he laughed with a toss of his head, deciding to play along. Koala cooed and nestled her head into the crook of his shoulder, playing the perfect part of a girl head-over-heels in love. It was all in jest, naturally; they could never compromise their work relationship with personal matters. It was all just pretend. As she pressed close to his body, she was suddenly hyper-aware of the way his muscles rippled underneath the thick fabric. Just pretend, she reminded herself with a gulp.

Boy, she was already paying the price for breaking the rule and Dragon had nothing at all to do with it. Karma was a conniving bitch.

The fairy lights guided their way to an open marketplace, which had been converted to a collection of specialized vendors and games for the evening. At the center was a bubbling fountain decorated with blooming lilies; the big green pads slowly turned in the rippling water, making the white flowers spin slowly as if they were dancing. A band was playing a happy beat in a corner, and many a people were gathered around the fountain- laughing children enjoying games like marbles and tag, young ladies chatting amiably to each other, and of course, young couples huddling closed together as they basked in the ambiance of the little festival. Koala felt her heart lurch as she saw a man lean down to kiss his suitor on the cheek, watching the way her face lit up with an elated smile. She peeked out of the corners of her eyes at Sabo. He was looking everywhere else, it seemed, either ignorant of or completely ignoring the implications of Koala hanging off his arm. Just pretend…

"You said you wanted candy apples, right?" he said suddenly. She gasped as he grabbed her by the wrist and tugged her over to a red booth that was selling the confection. "I'll take two please!" he told the vendor and handed over the money, thanking him as he took the two candied apples. "Here!" he said with his mouth already full of the glistening sugar, holding out the other to Koala. She flushed lightly as she took it from him.

"I could have paid for it."

"It's a date's job to buy his partner food, right?" he responded as he chomped down again on the succulent sugar-covered fruit. He didn't think anything of it, she thought, unsure what that meant. He's just going along with the act, she reminded herself as she bit down into the solidified red sugar that covered the apple.

Koala did her best not to focus on the way her little teasing was slowly backfiring on her as she ate her candy apple and explored the rest of the festival. Thankfully, there was enough going on to thoroughly distract her- games and contests and plenty of local food. By the time she was nibbling the core off the little stick, she was smiling happily and tugging Sabo around the various attractions of the festival. It was small, but still filled with plenty of good things to eat and fun things to do, and they easily spent a full two hours partaking in the various activities. Koala was on her third candy apple by the time she plopped down on the rim of the fountain with a content sigh, pausing to give her aching feet a break.

"I didn't realize how long we've been here. My feet kinda hurt!" she laughed before ripping a section of the sugar off the red apple. "Mhmm… So good…"

"You really do love those things, huh?" Sabo chuckled beside her. She nodded vigorously and smiled up at him. He was leaned back on his hands, lounging comfortably as he watched the people walking back and forth enjoying the festival. "I want the whole world to be like this, Koala," he sighed suddenly, expression softening as he watched them. "Everyone smiling, laughing… Not having to worry about anything…" Koala blinked and turned to look at the crowd, crunching on the sugar. Everyone sure did look happy and peaceful. There wasn't a frown or look of worry among them. She bit into the apple, sucking up the juice that leaked out of it before swallowing the succulent fruit. Yeah, she thought with a smile, it would be a pretty nice world, if I could sit here and eat candy apples with Sabo like this without a care in the world.

Her own subconscious threw her for a loop. She was suddenly painfully reminded that things were not that simple. A frown appeared on her face as her hand dropped into her lap, the half-eaten candy apple dropping the crystalized sugar and leaking juice onto her pretty yukata. It's all just pretend, she thought hollowly, staring down at it. Had she really somehow convinced herself that this little outing was more than just a way to kill time for Sabo? "I'm sorry, did I kill the mood?" he laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of her neck. She shook her head stiffly.

"No, I… just remembered something, that's all," she answered vaguely. "We should get back to the hotel," she said. She knew she should finish the candy apple, but suddenly it looked so unappetizing that it made her nauseous. She spied a barrel serving as a trashcan nearby and rose to go throw it away, but she only made it halfway before Sabo caught her by the wrist. "Hey, what are you-?" she gasped, then blanched as he pulled her hand up to his face so he could take a big bite out of her half-eaten candy apple. She turned bright pink at all the various implications of the action.

"Isn't it the job of a date to finish food a girl can't?" he smirked as he chewed on the sweet. There was some kind of fire in his eyes that made Koala unsure if he was paying her back for her teasing earlier, or actually serious. She could only stand rigid as he kept a firm grip on her hand, finishing off the candy apple bite by bite and keeping his gaze locked on hers all the while. When he finished, he plucked the stick from her hand and tossed it into the barrel, while she just continued to stare owlishly up at him. "That was good," he said nonchalantly as he licked his lips. Just pretend. The words were unconvincing as they rang in her chest. "Koala?" he said as he turned back to her. "Are you sad? I thought you didn't want it!" he began to fret. Koala shook her head hurriedly and broke away from him, scurrying back over to the fountain. She needed a minute to breathe.

Lilies floated around her reflection as she stared down into the constantly shifting water. Her face sure did look sad. What the hell was she sad about? Tears prickled at the corners of her eyes. You're pathetic, Koala. Despite all her repetitions of this little venture being a pretend thing, she had still managed to twist it into something real and was now sorely disappointed at the outcome. She flinched slightly as she heard soft footsteps behind her and Sabo's reflection appeared over the shoulder of hers. "Koala…?" Her hands curled into fists at her side. Suddenly, his fingers reached up to tease hers away from her palms, intertwining them together before tugging at her arm. She looked down at their linked hands, then slowly up at him, hurt and confused. "Dance with me?" he asked with a sweet smile. Koala was suddenly aware of the slow, soft rhythm of a love song playing in the background and dancing couples around them. A fire alit on her cheeks as she stared at him in bewilderment, but her feet obeyed as he began walking backwards, pulling her away from the fountain into the plaza proper. He pulled on her hand and her arm and body followed, allowing him to snake his other arm around her wrist to hold her close. Their linked hands were now held up in the air.

"Sabo… I don't get it…" she whispered as he coaxed her into a set of small movements, moving their bodies slowly in circles as they danced to the gentle beat.

"Isn't dancing the best way to end a date?" There was a low huskiness to his voice that sent a strangely riveting shiver up Koala's spine. As she grew rigid under his touch and tone, he pulled her a little closer, their chests now pressing together. Her wide, round eyes continued to stare up at him, swimming with confused hope.

"But it's all just pretend," she choked out. Her teeth clenched as she fought back the urge not to cry, partially to keep from looking pathetic and partially out of old habit. "It's just pretend," she repeated, almost wishing it to be true because she was scared of the way he was looking at her, excited but terrified of how everything was changing so quickly. Sabo brought his face close to hers, tip of his nose brushing over the bridge of hers, and she instinctively sighed at the way his hot breath ghosted over her face.

"I wasn't pretending."

Koala saw the kiss coming but still couldn't prepare for it. His black eyes were boring into hers as he pressed his lips to hers, insistently but gently. His expression slowly hazed into darkness as her eyes fluttered shut, and she almost groaned at the way her senses heightened. His lips were so soft as they moved against hers, perfectly in time with the pace of him still guiding her slowly around the plaza in the slow dance. The hand that was holding hers guided it up to the back of his neck, where her trembling fingers found purchase, so he could grab her lightly by the chin and angle her head so he could kiss her more deeply. As she parted her lips, silently begging for him to take more, his tongue slipped through to tangle with hers. She could taste the lingering sweetness of the candy apples alongside the intoxicating taste of him, and it had her head swimming like she had just downed an entire jug of sake. As she slumped against him, he stopped moving, focusing solely on kissing her as completely and passionately as he could. By the time he pulled away from her, eyes lidded as he gazed intensely at her, the idea that they were pretending was the furthest thing from Koala's mind.

"Um," was the only thing that she could think of to say. He gave her a lopsided grin. She blushed and looked away shyly, not quite sure how to handle how their relationship had developed so suddenly.

"Still wanna go back to the hotel?" There was a suggestive edge to his voice that had Koala squeaking and burying her face into his chest. His body shook with laughter; he was definitely paying her back for the teasing now.

"No… I wanna stay out a little longer…" His big arms enveloped her in a hug and he dropped a kiss into the top of her hair, and she smiled as she felt him smile against her scalp. He began to rock her back and forth in a little dance again, humming along to the tune of the band. Koala relaxed in his embrace, content to just enjoy the evening with him without a care in the world… and she could do with another candy apple, too.