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Nahida hummed to herself, feet dangling off the edge inside the Sanctuary of Surasthana, carefully crafting a puzzle out of a block of wood.
It wasn't like she couldn't go out and get any toys or books or puzzles she wanted now, but even if she knew the solution to them, old habits died hard and she enjoyed the process of making them.
Not to mention she now had someone to solve them.
She giggled, remembering Wanderer's focused face, tongue slightly hanging out in concentration as he solved one of the puzzles she had laying around while waiting for her.
"Ha!" he had let out a mocking laugh, holding the now-solved puzzle with one hand, the other on his waist, a triumphant smirk across his face. "Is that really the best you've got, oh Archon of Wisdom?" she had laughed then too. Puzzles really were a lot more fun with someone to solve them.
"Good job" she had hummed, handing him half of the candied ajilenakh nuts she was eating as a reward in a spur-of-the-moment decision, stifling a laugh at his expression.
"I'm not a fu-freaking kid!" he had complained, face flushing with embarrassment as stomped forward, in what Nahida thought was a rather childish motion, holding back another laugh.
"If you need a reminder, despite my appearance, I'm not a kid either Wanderer. You can say fuck in front of me." she had smiled instead, her eyes narrowing and turning her expression into a mischievous smirk as she pulled back the treat, just out of his reach. "If you don't want it, I'm going to eat it myself." Wanderer had pouted, taking the candy back, looking to the side, face still red as he mumbled something about neither of them needing to eat anyway before he took a bite.
It became sort of a routine after that - if Wanderer solved her puzzles or won against her in games when she managed to rope him into playing with her or did little tasks for her she passed him parts of candied ajilenakh nuts or her carefully put-together Halvamazd, him protesting slightly before biting into it, complaining about the overly sweet taste, but still eating it, bringing bitter green tea for the both of them after to 'wash down' the flavor sticking to his teeth and mouth. She did mention to him that he didn't have to eat it if he didn't like it as she slowly brought the cup to her lips one day, Wanderer only mumbling something uncomprehensible before quickly chugging his tea and changing the subject to an angry rant about what a design flow was the fact that he could still burn his tongue on hot foods. Nahida had decided to let it go then, making a mental note to research how would the confection taste like or if it would keep its soft, chewy texture with less honey or sugar in it.
"Hey! Buer!" she looked up, letting out a surprised sound, too caught up with her reminiscing to realize Wanderer had entered the Sanctuary until he called out to her. "Are you really that easily startled, oh great Lesser Lord?" He let out a laugh at her reaction and she narrowed her eyes, giving him a small, annoyed glare.
"Yes, yes, you successfully sneaked up on me. Truly, a marvelous achievement. I would have to recommend trying to make your presence known instead of sneaking up on people though." she sighed, continuing her carving with a pout. She was going to make this puzzle extra hard, she decided, digging the tool maybe a bit harder than she should on the piece of wood.
The Wanderer stayed silent for a couple of moments before clearing his throat, slowly hovering next to her, demanding her attention. Nahida looked up from where she was sitting, expecting to see the usual half-scowl and him asking her about something before rolling his eyes at the answer, only to be met with him extending his arm at her, holding a clumsily wrapped package in his hand, face half-hidden behind his hat.
"EHEM" he cleared his throat again, pulling his hat even lower with his free hand. Nahida could already hear his rant about the red flushing his cheeks with embarrassment, what 'another useless design flaw' it was for a puppet with no blood. "I made this for you," he continued. "As a thanks. Or an apology, I suppose. And because I don't eat crap like this." he huffed. "I was just dragged to a cooking class again and it would go to waste otherwise, so I thought you would appreciate it if I did not waste food or - Whatever, I don't particularly care if you don't want it or-" he started babbling, and Nahida giggled, wrapping her small hands around Wanderer's outstretched hand.
"Thank you very much," she smiled earnestly, cocking her head down and to the side so she could look up at Wanderer's face hidden underneath his hat. "I'll gladly accept your gift." she said, taking the package and squeezing his hand slightly in appreciation before she stepped back.
"You're-" he straightened his hat, looking away to the side, face still red, with a small frown "You're welcome or whatever," he mumbled, putting his arms to his hips.
Nahida carefully unwrapped it, her head tilting to the side, looking at the food in front of her, examining it for a second, staring at the stuffing that had started to overflow from the sides
"...Cabbage rolls?" she questioned and Wanderer took a deep breath.
"Well, technically-" he shook his head. "It doesn't matter, yes it's cabbage rolls, and I brought you the ones that I didn't wrap correctly on purpose!" he let out a small laugh, as if it was some kind of victory and Nahida resisted the urge to mention that all of them seemed to be badly wrapped and completely not on purpose. She hummed as she dug into the food. It didn't taste bad, per se, but -
"Hmm, how should I put this..." she started, but one look at Wanderer's expectant expression, staring at her waiting for her reaction made her stop in her tracks. She took a deep breath and smiled. "It tastes lovely. Thank you." Wanderer's expression turned sour, seeing through her.
"You don't have to eat it if you don't like it!" he huffed, moving closer to her, but Nahida just stuffed her face full, quickly invading him.
"Nope!" she held the container away, quickly swallowing it down. "I love it!" she giggled, taking small bites between laughs as Wanderer continued to chase her around the room, face red, his shouting echoing around the previously quiet chamber.