A.N: Alright, time for NikoSasha again!

Day 3: Fluff

"What's wrong?" Sasha asks from the doorway, almost making Nikolo drop the pan he'd been drying in fright, for he had not heard her coming "You look kinda down."

"I'm not down" Nikolo replied hastily, not meeting her eyes "I'm just a little… tired."

Sasha stared at him, Nikolo knew that, but turned his back and went back to work, hoping she'd drop it. But she didn't.

"You're lying to me" she stated, it was not a question "What's wrong?"

No answer. Sasha pouted, walking over.

"Nikolo" she said, forcefully turning the man to look at her "Tell me."

Nikolo had no intention to talk, but when Sasha leaned closer, he felt his resolve waiver. She was way too close! He had to get her to go away somehow!

"It's nothing you need to worry about" he tried to convince her "I'm not going to cause any kind of trouble, I swear."

"That's not what I'm worried about" Sasha said, much to his surprise. Taking Nikolo's hand in hers, she says: "I trust you."

"Then can't you just drop it?" if she really trusted him, why pressure him like this?

"No" she said firmly, frowning "Because I'm worried about you."

"Are you really?" Nikolo couldn't help but wonder, still feeling that an island devil, something that he had been raised to hate all his life, couldn't possibly worry about others like this, especially not a Marleyan soldier like him. Even so, he had to admit that she sounded genuine, looked so as well. Perhaps she was an exception to the rule?

"It's nothing, really" he hesitated "I'm just… a little lonely, I suppose."

Sasha blinked, tilting her head "Lonely?"

"Yeah…" Nikolo said with a sigh. Now that it was out, he might just as well tell her "I know I have Grior here with me, but he doesn't exactly talk much and when he does, well, he's not the nicest person to be around."

Sasha couldn't deny that; the guy was a jerk, though she had thought he only treated her and the other Eldians badly. Apparently not; he must've been born with a stick up his ass.

"Focus Sasha; Nikolo needs you" she scolded herself "Are you homesick?"

"A little" he said with a shrug. Sasha chewed on her bottom lip, knowing that there wasn't really anything she could do for him. They couldn't let another Marleyan here besides him and Grior; the ones that weren't already positioned elsewhere were too hostile to be let out of the prisoner camps. She couldn't visit more often, either; she was already risking pissing off her superiors with how often she snuck in here. Besides, she wasn't sure if her presence even helped with Nikolo's loneliness in the first place; she could tell he was still wary of her.

"Well, that's just how life is" Nikolo said, smiling a little uneasy smile "Now, what brings you here?"

Brightening up, Sasha cheered: "You promised to make cookies!"

Nikolo laughed.

"Yeah, I did"

XXXXX

Sasha was deep in thought, trying to figure out how to help Nikolo. He'd seemed relatively cheerful for the rest of her visit, even when Grior showed up, stick up his ass like always, but something told Sasha that it wouldn't last. She needed to find a bit more permanent way to cheer him up.

"Maybe I could help him make friends with people who live near the restaurant?" she wondered "No, he probably wouldn't be too keen on that. Neither would his neighbors, at least not when they'd notice that he doesn't actually want to make friends with them."

What could she do?

"Eep!" Sasha let out in surprise as a mouse ran out from under her bed. Not that she was afraid of mice, but it startled her. It was weird though; Levi forced them to keep the place so clean. Maybe she should find a cat-

"Ah!" a sudden realization hit Sasha; she knew what to do. With a grin she ran out of the door, ready to solve Nikolo's problem.

XXXXX

"Nikolo!" Sasha calls out as soon as she slams the door open, giving Nikolo a scare again.

"Stop doing that!" he hisses at her as he turns around, raising a sceptic eyebrow as he sees Sasha hiding her hands behind her back "What are you hiding?"

"I have something that might cheer you up" she grinned, bringing her hands out "Meet Kitty!"

Nikolo stared. In the woman's arms, there was a small black and white kitten, clearly trying to get away from Sasha, clawing at her already scratched hands. She should clean those wounds before they got infected.

"Is that thing even tame?" he asked, eyeing the angry little creature "Where did you get it from, anyway?"

"From a farmer outside of the city" she said, shrugging "I'm sure she'll warm up to you once she gets some food!"

"Just like you?" that was the first thing that came to his mind, and he just blurted it out. Sasha blushed, glaring at him "I think I'll just call it Sasha, after you."

"You can't!" the girl protested "Her name is Kitty!"

"You have a poor imagination" Nikolo said with a laugh. It was genuine, and to Sasha he looked really happy "Fine then, Kitty it is."

"Yay!" Sasha cheered, her hold on the cat loosening as she did, causing the kitten to jump off and run to the other side of the room "Oh no! Come back, Kitty!"

Nikolo watched in amusement as Sasha panicked, chasing the cat all around the room. If he didn't already know, he'd never believe it if someone told him that this cute airhead running around his kitchen was one of Paradis' best soldiers.

"Wait, cute?" he thought, shaking his head. No, he mustn't go there. It was the cat, the cat was the cute thing running around his kitchen, not the soldier. No, certainly not the soldier. Realizing that he needed something to do to get his thoughts in order, he stopped Sasha when she tried to sprint by him, saying: "That's not how you catch a cat, you know."

Turning to him, Sasha asks: "Then how do I catch it?"

"I'll show you" Nikolo says, getting some meat from the storage. Seeing the look on Sasha's face, he clarifies: "This is not for you."

"I know that" she huffs, watching curiously as Nikolo crouches down, putting the meat down at an arm's length "Now what?"

"Now we just wait" the cook told her. One might think Sasha was bad at waiting, but that was obviously not true. She used to be a hunter; knowing how to patiently wait had been part of her job.

When the cat started walking towards the piece of meat, she asked: "So we nab it when it reaches for the meat?"

"No" Nikolo denied "We'll let it get used to us."

Sasha watched mesmerized as Nikolo patiently waited for the cat, slowly extending his hand a little bit when it finished eating, but not enough to actually touch the cat. He just waited for it to come to him, which it soon did, smelling his hand. Nikolo was petting it in no time "Whoa, you're good at this!"

"I know" Nikolo said, perhaps a bit too proudly "It worked with you too, didn't it?"

Sasha swatted him on the head, laughing "But I never got any pats."

Nikolo blushed hard, choosing to ignore that comment to avoid further trouble. Geez, that woman.

"Can I try too?"

"Sure, but move slowly" Nikolo said "You probably scared it by moving too fast earlier."

"Kinda like I always do with you?" Sasha teased as she crouched down, laughing when Nikolo glared at her.

"Don't act like I'm the only one who gets startled by your hyperactive nature" he hissed, his attention shifting to Kitty as it pushed its head against his palm. Smiling, he considered it safe enough to scoop it up, doing so slowly. It didn't seem to mind "See? She's tame; you just didn't handle her right."

"I know" Sasha said with a pout, reaching out with her hand but instantly pulling it back as Kitty hissed "She doesn't like me!"

"Seems like it" Nikolo said, sweat dropping "Maybe we should call her Grior instead, then?"

Sasha laughed, and so did he.

"But she's a girl" Sasha protested, suddenly frowning and looking at her hand. One of the scratches was bleeding "She really doesn't like me."

Seeing the blood, Nikolo put the cat down immediately.

"Let me see that" he said, taking Sasha's hand in his without waiting for a permission, observing the wound.

"It's fine; it's just a little cut" Sasha insisted. Nikolo looked at her face, asking: "Are you sure?"

"Yep!" Sasha smiled cheerfully and, suddenly, Nikolo became aware of just how close her face was to his. She was cute, beautiful… he wanted to touch that face. And he did, carefully cupping her cheek.

"Nikolo?" Sasha asked, startled by the sudden touch as heat started to rise to her cheeks. However, she didn't pull away. Instead, she just stared at him and he stared right back. He leaned a little closer. So did she. Sasha saw him close his eyes and followed suit. Their faces were now very close to each other; she could feel his breath on her face and-

"Ow" Sasha suddenly blurted out, causing Nikolo to jerk away like he had been burned as he opened his eyes, looking at Sasha in alarm "What? Did I hurt you!?"

"No" Sasha said, glaring down at her lap "Not you."

Nikolo followed her gaze, seeing Kitty on her lap, nails digging through the fabric of her skirt.

"The little fur ball needs a lesson" Sasha hissed. Before she could get a hold of the cat, it jumped off and ran away, Sasha following right after it. Nikolo stared at the woman and the cat for a while in disbelief before chuckling, a fond smile finding its way to his face. It was a little lonely here, but he'd survive. He wasn't alone.

…

Still, he should probably do something before the devil killed his cat.