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For the past few months, maybe 3, Plum noticed that Bamboo Blade began lingering outside the grove, talking to a strange cookie. They seemed to be close with the way they gave each other warm smiles.
“It’s rude to spy on people!” Peach chuckled, and nudged the other. He jumped before sighing with relief that it was just her. Plum paused, before glancing back towards Bamboo Blade and the other cookie.
“I know! Shifu Prune said that, however.. Don’t you think Bamboo Blade and that cookie seem close?” At that moment, they both suddenly disappeared from view. His mouth gaped open, before searching the area. Peach rolled her eyes.
“I think,” Peach giggled, “We leave them both alone, unless we see something we aren't supposed to!” Plum immediately connected the dots and his face turned redder than his hair.
“You don’t mean to imply-!”
“That Bamboo Blade has a secret lover~!” Peach giggled, and sat down against the wall. Plum doubted it heavily, however.. He did see the strange cookie kiss Bamboo Blade’s hand..Although, he didn’t take it as something romantic. It did make sense though. Once, without the intention of spying, he saw them late at night, appearing to be stargazing. Bamboo Blade was resting against the strange cookie, and he accidentally locked eyes with them. He assumed the cookie would’ve told Bamboo Blade and he would have to explain himself, however when dawn arrived Bamboo Blade merely said good morning to Plum cookie, before going off to do the usual strange methods of training with his disciples. Honestly, Plum didn’t think twice of it. He just assumed the strange cookie was kind enough to let Bamboo Blade rest her head, however.. Now that he thought of it, they did seem to be holding hands too. A bit unusual, but it seemed friendly enough.
..They did kiss, but it seemed like a friendly peck. Kisses like that were friendly enough, right..? He never thought of Bamboo Blade to indulge in PDA, after all.. Usually, she was focused on ensuring the safety of the grove. Wouldn’t that distract her from her goals? Speaking of.. All the times he spotted them together, the strange cookie always seemed wide awake. Maybe they were keeping watch whilst Bamboo Blade was asleep? They seemed to trust each other a lot, perhaps they had a strong connection. It was really sweet now that Plum cookie thought about it.
“Helloo? Earth to Plum?!” Peach cookie poked his side, and he flinched.
“I was thinking about Bamboo Blade and that other cookie.” Peach hummed, and grinned.
“Well, if you’re that curious….Why don’t you ask? Instead of spying, it’ll solve all the mysteries!”
“You.. raise a valid point, but-”
”Hey, is that not them over there?” Peach cookie pointed towards the strange cookie standing next to Bamboo Blade’s residence, however Bamboo Blade was nowhere to be found, and Peach cookie nudged him forward. “Take the chance to ask now, if you’re so scared to ask Bamboo Blade!”
Plum rolled his eyes. “I’m not scared! Just.. Okay, I’ll go!! Only if you go with me, I’m not going to get caught alone!” Peach nodded, and waved her hand. They began making their way towards the strange cookie, although Plum cookie kept looking around in case Bamboo Blade appeared out of nowhere, and a sudden sense of fear began growing by the minute. Bamboo Blade wasn’t that scary, just.. Plum would prefer to remain on her good side, that’s all..Deep in thought, he ignored Peach’s warnings, and bumped into something.
“Ow, why didn’t you warn me that a tr-” Plum rubbed his head, before looking up to lock eyes with the strange cookie he had been secretly observing for the past month.. And he froze. Peach caught up as she glanced towards the cookie. She offered them a warm smile, and waved.
“Oh, hello! I’m Peach! Sorry for Plum.. I tried warning him, but he was deep in thought.” The strange cookie chuckled, before granting a warm smile back.
“Xylitol Nova.” They looked towards Plum, eyes scanning his face before nodding. “You must be the cookie that I saw that night. Don’t worry, I didn’t tell Bamboo Blade. She was so absorbed in telling me the grove’s history that she didn’t even notice you.” Plum didn’t know whether to cry or laugh, but a simple nervous chuckle was the choice he decided on. Xylitol Nova, was it? Plum thought for a second, before registering something. There were dark blue lines running down their eyes, and he paused. Xylitol Nova must’ve noticed this with the way they folded their arms. At this motion, Plum also took note with how stiff their limbs were, and he glanced towards Peach.
“If you’re wondering about the dark blue lines, don’t worry too much about it.” They chuckled, and glanced up towards Bamboo Blade’s residence. However, Peach’s eyes lingered on them more. She held her hand in her head, as if she was deep in thought. It didn’t last for long as Bamboo Blade remerged with some wires, and what appeared to be a.. circuit board..? She gave a warm smile towards Xylitol Nova, before registering the other’s presence. “Ah, hello Plum.. Hello Peach, what are you doing here?” Xylitol Nova let out a chuckle, before looking away. Bamboo Blade glared at the two with a suspicious look.
Peach gave a bow, and Plum quickly followed. “Ah, Bamboo Blade!- We-”
“Peach came to me asking where Plum went earlier, and so I offered to help find him.” Xylitol Nova glanced back at them, trying to hide back a chuckle. “They’re good disciples, really.” Bamboo Blade shifted the suspicious glare towards Xylitol Nova, and they just glanced at everything but her. Plum took this as an opportunity to escape, and Peach quickly followed.
“..You know, there’s a flash in your eyes whenever you lie.” Xylitol Nova still feigned ignorance, and hummed.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, muru.” Bamboo Blade rolled its eyes at the sudden term of endearment, before interlocking its hand with the other, leaning up to kiss their cheek. “Relax, I wasn’t going to make them run 90 laps.” Xylitol Nova chuckled, before poking its cheek.
“That cookie.. What’s his name again..? Ah right, Plum. I saw him looking at us from the grove… Ever since I came here actually.” Bamboo Blade paused, and sighed.
“My apologies, I-”
“Oh, don’t worry about it!” Xylitol Nova chuckled, and rubbed the other’s hand. “I didn’t mind at all.” Bamboo Blade raised an eyebrow, and looked up towards the sky. She paused then sighed.
“Well, Plum aside.. I believe it’s going to start raining soon.. And I'm pretty sure you don’t want your circuits malfunctioning?” She returned to her teasing expression, and began stepping up into her residence. “Better hurry up, robo-boo.” Xylitol Nova coughed at the nickname, before joining the other. They grew familiar with how the hut looked, considering how often they visited. They glanced at Bamboo Blade, sorting out everything she needed.
“One of these days, I’m going to mix up these wires.” She chuckled, and watched as Xylitol Nova gave her a glare. “Aii..Don’t look at me like that!” She waved her hand. “I wouldn’t dream of it. You’d probably haunt me afterwards, too.” Xylitol Nova chuckled, before sitting down on the bed.
“I trust ya anyways.. However, I’ll definitely take you up on the ‘haunting dreams’ part.” Bamboo Blade muttered something akin to ‘of course you would.’ before joining the other on the bed, and began touching blindly, looking for the circuit board.. “Make sure you-”
“Don’t mix up the wires! Seriously.. I make one joke and suddenly you think I’m trying to kill you!” Xylitol Nova rolled their eyes, before watching her hand search for the circuit. She let her hand linger a bit longer than necessary, before beginning to replace it. Honestly, she did think about mixing up the wires, but a sharp jolt snapped her out of it.
“Yes, Yes!! I know novaboo, the red wire comes first, then the blue..”The only sound for a few minutes was the slight buzz, and it was calming in a sense. Bamboo Blade finished up, yawning as she closed the board before moving back to the storage basket. It took a quite a few seconds until Xylitol Nova finally spoke up.
“I’m surprised you haven’t passed out yet from the shocks, Muru.” Bamboo Blade gave them a glance backwards, before returning back to the bed.
“I almost passed out the first time. Keyword, almost.” She poked the other's arm, and laid her head down. Xylitol Nova pinched her cheek before getting up, beginning to walk to the exit. “I thought you’d stay the night? Besides.. It’s raining.” Xylitol Nova peeked outside, and true to her words, it was still pouring down. Xylitol Nova noticed the other immediately move to the other side of the bed. “Why don’t you sleep over here for the night? You only stay for a few hours before going back. I’m sure the planet won’t explode if you sleep over here.. And, before you say anything, you told me the same thing.” Xylitol Nova seemed to think about it for a while, before sighing and moving towards the bed, sitting down onto the bed.
"Fine, fine.. I'm leaving as soon as dawn arrives, however." Bamboo Blade wrapped an arm around them muttering something, before dozing off. She wasn't that much of a deep sleeper, so Xylitol Nova tried getting comfortable, without disturbing here, although they doubt she would wake up that early. Finally, they just stared at the ceiling, squinting. At least Bamboo Blade was comfortable enough to sleep.. Well, this was her grove after all. They would be a bit worried if she couldn't, and considering how she mentioned not sleeping sometimes, was honestly enough to let Xylitol Nova relax.