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There were only a few seconds to react when you heard a small yelp to your left. Your neck swiveled to get a look, only to see a wide-eyed Sun staring down at the floor. He had dropped one of the eggs. Again.
You cringed, you’ll have to clean that up soon. “Sun, are you sure you can handle this part? I know you really wanted to help but-”
“Oh, No-! Nono no, Sunshine, I’ve got it perfectly handled! It just - uh…” He seemed to think for a moment, still looking at the remains of the egg that should have ended up in the bowl on the counter. He peered up at you. “...slipped?”
You didn't know how a robot could look sheepish, but somehow Sun embodied that expression easily without changing his static smile.
You gave him an understanding look. “Well, make sure you clean that up before you start again. I don’t want to slip on that later.”
Sun bolted upright at your words, giving you a mock salute. He seemed to want to move on from the situation as soon as possible.
“Aye, aye, cap’n!”
You turned back to mixing your bowl, shaking your head. Your apron was already speckled with the batter that happened to escape your whisk. It was almost done, you just needed to add the eggs, really. But Sun couldn’t help but want to help you. You were halfway done when he had appeared, and had immediately become enchanted by what you were doing. The idea of baking wasn’t foreign to him, but he never really got to see it in action. It wasn’t long before he asked to help you, with a tone you couldn’t quite place. You had eagerly accepted the help, giving him small instructions on adding the wet ingredients, but that was before you realized his large hands made it difficult to do most of the tasks.
A sigh escaped you. At least you had some company, and Sun managed to make any activity just a little bit brighter when you were with him.
You heard his jingling bells long before his footsteps as he approached the counter. After a glance at the floor you noticed he had cleaned up the spilled egg, and he had just come back after returning the cleaning supplies.
You continued whisking, not paying him much mind. You were mentally checking off the ingredient list in your head, and hadn’t noticed when two metal arms gently snaked around your torso until two yellow sun rays came into your peripheral. Your hands came to a stop.
Your brows furrowed at the bowl in your hands. “Do you mind?”
A chuckle, deep and robotic. “Not at all.”
You sighed and waited for a moment. It didn’t seem like he was about to move from this hug-from-behind, so you started whisking again, albeit with more force than necessary.
Sun stayed hugging you, his head gently perched over your shoulder to peer down at your mixing. He didn’t make a sound, not even trying to initiate small talk. The only hint that he was still aware of the moment were the gentle squeezes that came from his hands every few moments.
It wasn’t… uncomfortable, you would say. Even with him being made of metal and wires, his gentle presence behind you didn’t weigh you down one bit. He seemed comfortable: his internal fan kept a soft rhythm, almost in tune with your whisk as you mixed the batter. It felt really… domestic.
You placed the bowl down after a minute or two of mixing and let out a breath at the work. All you needed to do was add the eggs that Sun had generously left alone and pop it in the oven, and then wait for the smell of fresh banana bread to fill the air.
You paused. “Sun, I need to get the eggs.”
“Hm.” He didn’t move.
You almost huffed at him. “Sun, seriously-”
Your words stopped when you saw Sun slowly reach over to the box of eggs, his other arm still comfortably rested over your stomach. With bated breath you watched as he gently scooped three eggs out of the container, opting for that instead of picking each one up individually like before. They rested still in his palm as he brought his hand back to you, hovering just inches from the bowl you intended to crack them into.
“Here they are.”
His voice was soft and just above a whisper, almost as if he was scared to break the quiet atmosphere you two had unintentionally created. You couldn’t see his face, but you imagined his expression was just as gentle as his voice was right now.
You looked down at the eggs, debating on whether to fight this little act of service or to just let it be. You chose the latter, and gently reached forward, making sure not to touch his hand as you plucked one egg from the nest in his palm. You could sense his eyes narrow at that, but you focused on cracking the egg into the bowl to finish up the batter.
The rest of the eggs met the same fate, and you made quick work of mixing them in before pouring the contents of the bowl into the tray beside you. Sun kept his gaze on the tray as it was filled by batter, his arm returned to drape across his other one around your torso. You shook the bowl a bit to get the rest out, and gently placed it on the counter with the whisk inside to be washed later. Now you just had to-
“Wha- Sun-”
Sun had just unceremoniously plucked the tray from your grasp and started to walk toward the oven. He only needed to pinch it between his thumb and finger to hold it in place, and so his other hand stayed at your side and gently pulled you along with him.
He hadn’t said anything, just guided you to the end of the counter with only his bells to fill the silence. He stopped and opened the oven’s door, bending down to inspect the inside. You stood to the side, shifting a bit as he gave a small nod before sliding the tray into the oven and softly closing its door.
He turned to you, expression unreadable as you looked up at him. He didn’t break eye contact with you as he pressed the buttons on the top of the oven to set the appropriate timer, the small beeps being the only thing your ears picked up at the moment.
After his hand fell back to his side you looked away, unsure of what had happened to the air between you. Why wasn’t he saying anything? It was just banana bread, is he mad about you cracking the eggs while he just sat and watched?
You heard his bells approach you, and soon your vision was filled with his silhouette. He stopped in front of you, which gave you time to look up at him again. He held your gaze for a few moments before his hand came into your vision. You flinched away on instinct, your eyes closing for a second before you felt gentle fingers on your cheek, just below your eye.
Surprised, you stilled and opened your eyes to see Sun looking down at you, his eyes soft.
“You had a little something, right there.”
His finger wiped off the last of the small speckle of batter that had made its way onto your face, flicking it away. You just stared, dumbfounded. His eyes turned to his finger, the residue of the batter still on it. A moment passed before he opened his mouth and stuck his finger inside, savoring the small treat before sliding it back out, and the batter was nowhere to be seen.
You didn’t process what had just happened before he spoke up, his voice lighter now.
“Well, I haven’t tried much banana bread in my time, but I’m sure this one takes the cake!”
After a few empty seconds you realized you should respond and not stare at his finger like a complete idiot. You blinked rapidly to clear your thoughts before clearing your throat. “Y-yeah, thanks Sunny.”
The nickname slid off your tongue easily amidst your hurried thoughts but that didn’t make Sun’s reaction to it any less pronounced. His rays rotated a few inches before stiffening, making his brightened eyes seem even brighter as he looked at you.
“You know…” He stepped closer.
Metal fingers cupped your chin and your eyes were dragged up his face. His grin somehow grew larger.
“You’re really adorable like this.”
Your brain sputtered and your voice reflected that. You were torn between pushing him away and glaring at him.
“Like what?” You asked incredulously. He held you in a very undignified position: you standing up straight as a pole while he arched over you, your chin still in his hand…
He leaned down so his mouth ghosted behind your ear, you could only stand still as he bent down lower to whisper…
“ Flustered. ”
You jolted, and Sun retracted his head, a soft chuckle leaving him that he obviously tried to hide.
“Y-you, uh-” You automatically tried to counter his words, but quickly realized it was futile. Your face scrunched up in thought as Sun stared down at you, bemused.
You decided to huff and cross your arms. “Who wouldn’t be!? With you standing so close like that?” It was a weak argument - you both knew it - but Sun was gracious enough to let you win this one.
He let out a small sigh at your words and offered you his hand, an olive branch extended in good faith.
“Let’s go relax while we wait for the bread to finish, hm?” His head tilted to the side, and you could hear his voice becoming mellow in preparation for Moon to come out, it was getting dark, anyway.
You fought a smile and hesitated before you placed your hand in his, trying but failing to keep up your offended demeanor in defense of your ego. He turned to lead you, which he seemed to do a lot, over to your couch in the living room.
“Fine. But I get the first slice.”
Another laugh. “Of course.”