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Gawain sat in his chair and waited patiently as Barghest set the table.
"Thank you again for agreeing to do this, Sir Gawain." Barghest said.
He gave her a smile. "Of course! I'm always happy to lend a hand."
Today's dish was a huge bowl of mashed potatoes, still steaming hot. It looked like something that should have been able to feed multiple people, but Barghest fully intended for it to go just to him.
If anything, this was probably the smallest meal Barghest had given him - or maybe it just felt that way since it was one of his favorite foods. His hand brushed up against his stomach, letting him feel the little bit of pudge that had been forming overtop his abs.
Barghest scooped a huge glob of mashed potatoes onto his plate. At first, he'd been confused she was asking him for this. Sure, he could cook, but he wasn't usually the first guy people came to for culinary help. She'd explained that she was just adjusting some recipes, and needed "a big man with a big appetite" to taste-test the results for her, and that was all the convincing he needed.
Gawain took his spoon and scooped a bite into his mouth.
"How does it taste?" Barghest asked, voice full of anticipation.
"It's good!"
"Good! I'm glad you like it…"
The two stood in silence a bit while Gawain kept eating.
"S-So… What do you like about it?"
Gawain went quiet, thinking for a moment. Barghest asked this question at every meal, and every time he struggled to answer; he wasn't someone who really thought about the intricacies of why some food was good while some was bad. He could tell the difference, most of the time, but not the logic that lead to it. Barghest was used to this by now, so she took a seat next to him and waited patiently for him to think it through.
He took a few more bites, furrowing his brow. "It's… creamy." he said, after much thought. "Smooth. Very smooth. It has a nice consistency to it!"
"I see… Good consistency…" Barghest mumbled, blushing at his praise. She knew, intellectually, that it didn't mean much. She could've crushed a potato with her bare hands and Gawain would've said it was yummy; part of her suspected that was how Gawain made his own mashed potatoes.
"And, there's a slight hint of… something, in the back. Like some kind of seasoning? I can't place what it is…"
She'd intentionally left it a bit simple, out of fear that Gawain wouldn't like something too flavorful. He was used to his own cooking after all. The only spice in it was a bit of black pepper and salt, if those even truly counted as spices.
"Thank you so much for your help, Gawain." she said. "Like with last time, help yourself to the rest."
Gawain ate a bit more of the plate, but after a little bit, he stopped.
"Barghest." he said, tone flat.
"Hm?"
Gawain leaned forward in his chair. "Potatoes… You don't normally make those, do you?"
"Well… I suppose not, but there's a first time for everything, isn't there?"
"And you've been a bit more fidgety today. You were so studious and serious during our other taste-testing sessions… But then you get nervous when you're offering me my favorite food?"
"I don't know what you're implying…"
"Oh, I think you do." He smirked. "There's another reason you asked me, specifically, for this. Isn't there?"
Before Barghest could stop herself, she averted her gaze, confirming it.
"Aha! I knew it!" He sat up straight in his chair from excitement, like Sherlock Holmes after cracking a difficult case. "So, what's the true reason for all of this?"
Gawain was beaming. This would be the moment. The time Barghest finally confessed her true feelings for him!
It took her a slow, labored moment to respond, as she thought over her next words very carefully.
"It's about your cooking."
In an instant, Gawain's excitement turned to confusion. "Huh? About my… What about my cooking?"
Barghest sighed. Better to rip the bandage off quickly. "Everyone hates it."
Silence fell over the room as Gawain stared at her, wide-eyed, breath caught in his throat.
"They… They do?" Far from the energetic, boisterous shout from before, Gawain's voice was meek and soft.
"I'm sorry… You just get so excited about providing for people, nobody had the heart to tell you before now! The Knights of the Round Table, they really care about you… They didn't want to hurt you by saying it."
"My fellow knights… Even my king…"
He was trying his best to remain stoic, but he couldn't hide the sad look in his eyes. Barghest could tell he was absolutely gutted by this revelation. The sight almost brought a tear to her eye…
"And, this taste-testing… It was you trying to get me to realize I should give up on cooking? Show me something better so I realize-"
"NO!" Barghest shouted, jolting up from her chair. "No, no! I wasn't trying to embarrass you, or show you up, or anything like that! I…"
Realizing how loud she'd gotten, she sat back down, trying to calm herself.
"I was just hoping that I could inspire you to be a bit more adventurous with your cooking. Try out some things you hadn't before! Maybe I could give you some pointers and help you improve."
Gawain was still reeling, but he smiled a bit. "I… I would appreciate that. I would appreciate it very much." he said. "To be honest… I was considering asking you for a while now. You really are fantastic at what you do."
His hand drifted back down to the little bit of belly he'd gained over their time together. He laughed. "Even Percival's stuff isn't as good as yours! If I could manage even a fraction of what you can do, that would be… just incredible."
Barghest was used to being praised for her culinary skills, but hearing it come from Gawain made it a million times more intense. It felt like there was lightning in her stomach, her heart hammering like a drum. She reached out a hand to Gawain, which he took.
"Of course. I would be more than happy to help you." she said, with all the seriousness of a love confession.
The two sat there for a moment, hands clasped… until a sound filled the air.
Gawain's stomach growled.
He blushed, giving an awkward chuckle. "Heh, sorry… The potatoes just smell so good!"
Barghest laughed back. "Well, there's plenty left for you…"
"…Why don't we share it? I mean, if you're going to be my cooking teacher, we'll be making more soon anyway, so…"
She stopped in her tracks. "Is that… A date?" she asked, before she could stop herself.
Gawain looked away, a little embarrassed himself. "It could be. If you wanted it to be."
Several days passed…
Gawain stepped into the meeting room of the Knights of the Round Table, a huge bowl in his hands. "My king!" he shouted, excitement plan on his face. "Here. I brought you lunch!"
The sight of Gawain holding a bowl of mashed potatoes was enough to make Artoria's stomach turn on sight, but she remained as stone-faced as she could. "Thank you, Sir Gawain." she said. Ironically enough, she'd been getting hungry, and was just about to go get something to eat herself when Gawain had burst in; now her appetite was totally dead.
As he sat it down in front of her and started to serve it, she noticed something different about him.
"You seem very…" she started, trying to figure out how to phrase it politely. "…healthy."
Chubby. The word she'd been looking for was chubby. Her nephew's formerly trim waist had been filled out with a belly, enough to round it out and make him seem less top-heavy. He wasn't enormous by any means, but compared to how cut he'd been before, it was a huge shock to see.
"Ah, well… I've been trying out some new recipes! Had to do a lot of taste-testing."
"…I see."
That just made Artoria more nervous. New recipes? With how horribly Gawain's every attempt at cooking had been before, she felt a sense of dread at what she was about to experience…
She took a spoonful, and then bit into it.
Her eyes lit up with surprise.
It… wasn't bad.
Not great. Maybe a 4/10 at best. But compared to what Gawain had made before, it was an unbelievable improvement.
"It's good!" she said, giving Gawain a smile.
Gawain's heart fluttered at the sight. He knew people tended to let him down easy… but seeing his king actually smile at his efforts, instead of stoicly eating without any expression at all, convinced him that this was genuine praise.
"Thank you, my king." he said. "I've been… taking lessons from my-"
He stopped himself. Was he ready to say 'girlfriend' in front of her yet?
"…cooking. teacher." he mumbled out, awkwardly enough to make it obvious what he was about to say.
Artoria gave a slight chuckle, knowing him well enough to understand. "She's taught you a lot, I can tell. I encourage you to keep seeing this teacher of yours." she said, with a nod.
"Of course, my king. I look forward to making better things for you in future!"
The rest of the knights gathered around, shocked to see Artoria eat something of Gawain's without looking like she was being marched towards an execution.
The meal may have been below-average, but relative to what he'd made before, Artoria enjoyed it like a meal from a five-star restaurant. For the first time she could remember, she actually looked forward to what Gawain might make next.