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Coco was fidgety. She had been fidgety all night. She was starving. Typically Qifrey was a spectacular cook. Well, he was a spectacular chef! But… Coco couldn’t help but hate fish. She was never the biggest fan of seafood to begin with, but the worst possible thing… was definitely salmon.
Qifrey had served a beautiful looking dish, a slice of salmon topped with the tang of a green lemon and a wonderful looking sauce. And Coco reallyq did think it looked amazing! But when she tried it… No. Absolutely not. She was totally certain of it after today. Coco hates fish.
But now she had to suffer with the consequences of pushing her food onto Tetia’s plate… she was so hungry.
Curled up in bed she had tried to go to sleep. If she could just make it until morning, Qifrey as usual would have something delicious whipped up for her and the others by the time they woke up. But she couldn’t sleep. Her tummy kept making funny noises and it just felt too empty.
Eventually, she gave in. She snuck out of her room, meaning to go raid the kitchen for some sort of midnight snack, but when she stepped onto the landing of the stairs, she noticed the lights were still on in the kitchen. She paused. For about two seconds she debated aborting her mission, but she decided against it. Tummy comes first.
She padded down the stairs and tip toed until she stood in the living room. Qifrey rose from behind the island counter, holding a bucket of water filled with dirty dishes. He quickly drew a spell on the bucket and the water bubbled before settling. When he pulls out a plate it was sparkling clean.
She took a step forward and the floor creaked. Unfortunately this caught Qifrey’s attention (though it was inevitable), and he glnced behind him.
“Coco?”
“Uhm… Hi master Qifrey…”
“Ah… Well good evening to you too? Why are you awake?”
“I’m… erm. I’m a bit hungry.”
“Coco…it’s not good to eat this late int the night. You should be in bed now, dear.”
“I… I know, I’m sorry Master… I’m just…” her belly grumbles and she shifts awkwardly, holding her tummy. “I’m just hungry…”
Qifrey pauses, drying his hands on a tea towel and leaning over, putting his hands on his knees. “How about something light to help you sleep? Perhaps oatmeal? Or I can dice up a banana? How’s that sound?”
Coco hesitated. Maybe 10 bananas plus some oatmeal would help. Not just one… Twiddling her thumbs, she glanced at the counter. A basket of eggs. An egg sounded very good… Her eyes trailed to the sourdough. Oh my goodness… Her tummy grumbled again, louder. She smacked a hand over her tummy as if that would help, embarrassed by the noises.
Qifrey sighs, putting his hands on his hips. “Your stomachs rumbling that much? Dear me, did I not feed you enough at dinner?”
“Uhm… No, it was quite enough… I…” she hesitated. She wasn’t quite sure how exactly to bring this up. Could she really just go up and say oh master Qifrey, what you spent so long cooking for me last night was awful! Coco chewed on her cheek, glancing away.
Qifrey sighs and walks over, crouching down in front of Coco, reaching out a hand to lightly pet the top of her head. He smiled gently, tilting his head. The warm gaze made her feel slightly more at ease, sighing gently to herself.
“I didn’t… particularly like what you served—“ she paused, realizing how her words might come across, exaggeratedly waving her hands, flustered. “U-Uhm! Not to say it was bad! I-I mean it looked wonderful, and everybody else loved it—”
Despite herself, she felt the prickle of tears. How embarrassing.
“Coco..? Oh, don’t cry! It’s nothing to feel sorry for. I understand. Oh you poor thing, you must be so hungy… getting emotional because I didn’t feed you properly… This is my fault, alright?”
He pushes himself up and pats her head. “What can I get you to eat then, hm?”
“I… I wouldn’t want to trouble you…” she paused when Qifrey gave her a look, teasingly waving a pan at her as if to bonk her on the head. He didn’t, of course. “Uhm… Maybe… Can I have a sandwich..?”
“Oh, that’s easy! Of course!”
“With an egg on it?”
Qifrey nodded and happily got to cooking, frying two eggs. He quickly assembled two sandwiches. Toasted sourdough, leafy greens, bacon, a slice of tomato, an egg and a generous dollop of hollandaise sauce on top. “How about some soup, hm? We have leftover tomato in the pot.”
Coco nodded eagerly and Qifrey obliged, pouring two small bowls of tomato soup. He put a sandwich on each plate with a small dish of soup beside it, sliding the two plates onto the table.
“Two? You’re eating as well, master?”
“A little midnight snack won’t hurt, don’t you think, Coco?” He said, cutting each of their sandwiches into halves, yolk running onto the plate.
Coco flushed slightly and nodded. Looking down at the plate her mouth immediately began to water. She picked up her sandwich, dunking the corner in the tomato soup before taking a large bite. She moaned softly and leaned back into the wall behind her. Soooo goood…
They eat in silence for a while until she finally clears her plate, belching. She covers her mouth and Qifrey chuckles.
“Was that to your taste this time, dear?”
Coco nodded enthusiastically.
“That’s good… Though if, and hopefully this won’t happen, if there is a next time whrre you’re apprehensive about what I serve you, please don’t be afraid to ask for something else. I’m more than happy to be in the kitchen, so don’t hold back.”
“Mmm… Then for breakfast can we have tacos?”
Qifrey let out a loud laugh, tossing his head back. “That settles it then!”