Thanks MyLadyDay and VerginaSPVA for beta ing

Hack turned his face around the corner of the door. "That was my work. I need to pick up something. Would you mind finishing up here by yourselves?"

Sabo, who had just finished stacking up a pile of planks he had knocked over, stretched his back and wiped his forehead. "Of course not. We'll be fine, right, Koala?"

Koala muttered something he didn't hear and continued sweeping the floor.

Sabo raised an eyebrow. She'd been acting funny ever since she and Hack had picked him up, or rather, ever since she wouldn't tell him on the phone what had happened with Marco. She'd been avoiding him as much as she could without raising suspicion. Suspicion with Hack, that is, because to Sabo, it couldn't be more obvious.

They could hardly discuss things in front of Hack, though, but since he was leaving anyway, Sabo would take that opportunity to clear the air. He wasn't going to lose Koala over this.

"Don't make it too late," Hack added. "Just make sure the walls are free for when the painters come tomorrow."

"Sure thing." Sabo sighed when Hack had disappeared and leaned on the stack of planks, almost knocking them over again. Koala still hadn't said a word and was instead sweeping like her life depended on it.

"So, are we going to talk about why you're avoiding me?" Sabo asked. Without mats in the hall, his words echoed through the room.

"I'm not avoiding you," Koala said, though she suddenly seemed to want to go through the floor with her broomstick, so hard she swept.

Sabo sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was so tired of all this, of all the secrets. Ever since Ace told him the truth, he had done nothing but lie, especially to Koala. And now she lied to him. He hated that feeling, and he didn't want to do it to her anymore either. She didn't deserve that.

"I know what happened with Marco."

The broomstick clattered on the floor, an almost painful sound echoing through the hall.

"N-nothing happened with Marco," Koala stammered, but she stood frozen, her back turned to Sabo.

"Yeah, it did." Sabo crossed his arms before his chest. "He told Ace what happened. What you saw. And either you think you didn't see what you saw, or you're protecting him, but either way, you're lying to me."

Finally, she turned around, her face pale. "You know?" she whispered after what felt like forever.

He wasn't sure if she meant just about Marco or about mythological creatures in general, but he nodded.

Her bottom lip trembled, and she threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in its crook. "I'm so sorry for lying to you," she whispered. "I thought…"

"That you were crazy?" Sabo filled in when she trailed off.

She stepped back, letting go of him. "No! I mean, I've never seen anything like that before, but I have… I mean, I have- I am…" She sighed and turned away from him again. "Can I trust you?"

It hurt a little that she had to ask, but Sabo had a feeling which way this conversation was headed, and while he dreaded it, he wanted the lies to stop. So he stepped forward and took her hand. "Of course you can."

She nodded, biting her lip. "I need to show you something."

Sabo's heart was beating in his chest, waiting for the inevitable transformation, so he was a little thrown when she walked away.

From the corner, where it had been carefully placed on the ground, Koala retrieved her bag. She hesitated, but then stepped forward to show him the content. While he had been taught never to look inside a woman's bag, curiosity got the better of him and he peered over the edge. He was confused about what he saw, though, and perhaps a little disappointed. He wasn't sure what he had expected, it wasn't this.

"A leather, what, coat?" he asked. "An odd kind of leather, though. What is it, pig skin?" He reached out to feel the material, but she pulled her bag away.

"It's not pig skin. It's…" She sighed. "It's my skin."

"Your skin? What do you…?" Sabo trailed off when he flipped mentally through all the books about mythological creatures he had been reading since Ace came out. "You're a selkie," he finally concluded.

She looked away, the bag pressed against her chest as if he was going to try to wrestle it away from her.

"Wait, does that mean you can change into an actual koala bear?" Sabo asked.

She raised her eyebrow. "What? No. Who would name their child after their species? That's just child abuse."

Sabo shrugged. "I don't know why your parents called you Koala."

"So there's something wrong with my name now?"

"No! Anyway, we're getting off track. You should have told me," Sabo said accusingly.

She looked away again, pressing her bag closer against herself. "I know, and I wanted to. But you know all those stories about men stealing selkies' skins so that they can marry them? To me, they're tales of caution. You know, like not leaving your drink alone when you're out?"

"Ugh," Sabo said. "Men are disgusting."

"Yes, they are." Koala put her bag down and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him on the cheek. "I'm glad you know now. You're okay with this?"

"Of course I am. I've seen you naked, I know everything is on the up and up."

She hummed, pleased, and buried her face in his neck. Then, suddenly she pushed him away. "Wait a minute! How do you know?"

Sabo smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "Well… I'm human, but… Ace is not."

Koala rolled her eyes. "Ugh! I should have known when he gave me the third degree about being a vampire! But with humans, you never know. Why didn't you tell me?"

Sabo stared at his toes. "It was a secret."

"So you lied to me too."

They both became silent.

"So," Sabo finally said, "since we both lied to protect someone, should we just pretend it didn't happen and start over?" He held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Sabo. I'm human and my brother is a werecat."

Koala's lips curled into a smile as she took his hand. "Hi, I'm Koala and I am a selkie."