Work Text:
Ava ran her fingers through her hair, which she tended to do when she was thinking.
Noodles, oil, sauce, nerf nuggets…oh, dank ferrick, she’d forgotten the onions.
She’d wanted to make Correllian buckwheat noodles, a popular cuisine in its place of origin, as well as the planet Denon, that she’d read about on the HoloNet. However, the last required ingredient she needed was a layered vegetable called an onion. As far as she knew, even the vast greenhouses of the Tantiss facility didn’t grow any onions.
Oh, well. She’d just have to make due without it.
It didn’t take long for the pot of water on the stove to start boiling, and the dry noodles became a nice, soft texture in reaction to the heat. In a second bowl, she began to mix the oil, sauce, and vegetables together to create a broth, trying not to think about how some chopped onions would have added the perfect hint of savory to the dish.
Ava wasn’t the best cook in the galaxy, not by a longshot. Most of the time, she would grab a quick meal from the dining hall and go right back to work afterwards. Sometimes she even brought the food back with her so she could spend as little time as possible away from her research.
Royce was the same way, if not worse. The man was basically the definition of a workaholic. Sometimes, she had to be the one to remind him to take a break and consume something other than caf.
That was why she’d decided to make dinner that night. She knew he was working late that day, as had become typical for him lately, and she wanted to surprise him with a warm, home-cooked meal.
That must be him now, she realized as she heard the pneumatic door slide open with a soft hiss.
He didn’t seem surprised when he entered the kitchen and the stove was on, which in turn surprised her. Was she really that predictable?
“Did you need these?” He asked, holding up a bag that had a strong smell.
“You knew all along!” She pointed at him accusingly, although they both knew she wasn’t really upset.
Royce shrugged, holding his hands out in a gesture of mock innocence.
“How did you know I needed onions?”
Royce chuckled.
“You left the recipe tab open on your datapad.”
She smiled sheepishly. He was always so observant about what she needed…
“Thank you, love.”
She gave him a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek, before grabbing the bag of onions. They smelled stronger than she’d thought they would, but hopefully that would lessen once they were cooked.
“Could we eat outside?” She asked as she added the onions into the broth cooking on the stove. “It looks so nice out today.”
Royce hesitated. Wayland’s connection to the Imperial databanks was strongest on Tantiss, and he likely wouldn’t get any signal if they went out. Ava’s shoulders sagged slightly when she noticed his hesitation.
“It’s alright, we can just eat here.”
She watched him cradle his gloved left hand in his bare right one, a habit of his that she knew meant he was thinking.
“How about the terraces?”
Ava beamed. Why hadn’t she thought of that? They would still be close enough to access the databanks, but they could still get a breath of fresh air and appreciate the planet’s natural beauty. No one on Tantiss would have guessed it, but Royce was actually quite thoughtful when he wanted to be. She wrapped her arms around him, giving him another quick kiss.
“That sounds wonderful.”