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"Hey, Uncle Nanu!"
His back turned to her, he couldn't help but smile softly at the sound of her voice, but quickly reverted back to his stoic demeanor when he looked over his shoulder at the girl standing in his doorway.
"Great," he said in his usual monotone voice, "here comes the noise."
Acerola giggled and took that as a sign to come in, carefully brushing past the Meowths at her feet and sitting a bag on the coffee table. He slowly got up from his desk to lumber over to the couch and take a seat next to her. He tried to keep a little bit of space between them but she eagerly scooted within what she called 'snuggling distance' - which he called an excuse to invade his private bubble - and began to open the bag as he watched with dull interest.
"So what have you drug up here now? Another Ghost-type to scare the Meowths and leave a mess for me to clean up?"
"No, silly! I spent the day cooking with Mallow and she found a new recipe for Lava Cookies," she chimed, "we made a big batch so she let me take some to share!"
She pulled a plastic container out of the bag and opened the lid, pulling out two cookies, holding one in her mouth and offering him the other.
"They're still a little warm, too," she took a bite of hers and chewed, "go ahead, try it!"
He was never really big on sweets, but they looked and smelled pretty good, and it was hard to say no to a face like hers, so he took a small bite and crunched lazily. For this to be her first attempt, these were actually better than most of the store-bought Lava Cookies he'd tried before. There was that same old singed taste that gave it its namesake but it wasn't burnt like most of them are, and it was sugary without being overly sweet - if the rest of the batch was like this then she and Mallow did a great job.
"What do you think? Mallow said we should have left them in the oven a little longer but I think they're just right."
"Not bad at all," he glanced over at the rather intimidating amount she'd filled the container with, "and it looks like you've brought just enough to successfully put me in a diabetic coma."
The girl covered her mouth to laugh, trying not to drop any cookie crumbs, her lavender curls bouncing as she did so.
"Oh, Uncle Nanu, you're so weird!"
"You have no idea."
"One more thing! I almost forgot there's something else I wanted to give you," she reached back into the bag, "you know how you're always saying that sleeping on the couch makes your neck ache?"
"Nonstop."
"Well, this should help!"
She pulled out a large pillow and held it in front of her triumphantly, it appeared to be brand new judging by the fresh pillowcase.
"I know it's not much but I found this at the Hau'Oli mall," she smiled, putting it behind his head and coaxing him to lean back, "Isn't it nice? It's made of real Swanna downie, you can't even find those in Alola! It's special designed for tired old bones, just like my Uncle Nanu's~!"
"Old is an understatement," he tried to hide the smile tugging at his lips, "but this is nice.. This ought to make sleeping here a little more comfortable until one of the Meowths decides it's a toy."
She chuckled and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, while he wasn't the affectionate type he returned the sentiment with a gentle pat on the head. He sank back into the pillow she gave him, it seemed to be doing its job already - usually he couldn't lean back like this without his neck feeling like it was going to snap in half. He calmly shut his eyes, but he must have accidentally dozed off, because he was awoken by a tap on the shoulder moments later.
"Uncle Nanu? You're sleepy," she giggled softly, "I think it's time for a nap."
"Oh? Well," he yawned and tried to get up, "I've just got a few things to do and-"
He winced slightly when he felt a pain in his hip, carefully sitting back down. Acerola stood up and gently pushed him down into a lying position, rolling him over so he wasn't putting any pressure on his bad hip. She took the pillow, fluffed it, and slid it under his head, taking his police jacket off of the hanger and placing it over him like a blanket.
"Whatever you need to do can wait," she smiled, "my Uncle Nanu has to rest his tired old bones~"
She leaned over to give him a soft kiss on the forehead and he blushed lightly - he didn't like being babied or reminded that he was old but he appreciated the love of his niece. No matter how gloomy and cynical he was, she always adored him and greeted him with a smile. Whereas most of the family saw him as a depressive hermit and paid him no mind, she understood that he was different and tried to make him feel like others still cared about him.
He watched through half-lidded eyes as she promptly tidied up the coffee table, listening to her hum softly as she put the lid back on the container and set it in the area he used as a kitchen. She walked around and poured food into each of the Meowth's bowls so he wouldn't have to worry about them later. Before she left, she made sure to lean over and hug him one last time.
"I love you, Uncle Nanu~"