Day 5: Trip to Wall Sina

Nikolo did not like this, didn't like this at all. Just why had Sasha asked him of all the people to accompany her to wall Sina? Actually, forget that. The real question was why on earth had he agreed?

"Because she was making such an adorable face" Nikolo thought, but shook his head to get rid of the thought immediately afterwards. No, he mustn't think of things like that. She was a freaking Eldian!

"Nikolo, you okay?" Sasha asked after noticing the guy shaking his head. She could tell he was nervous, constantly glancing around, probably trying to detect danger. But Wall Sina was perfectly safe, aside from some pickpockets of course.

"I'm fine" he said, ashamed that he'd let his weakness show. Not that it was the first time, but still.

Sasha didn't quite believe him, but she wasn't sure if she should press him, either. She knew that despite no longer being hostile to her, he was still wary, he didn't trust her. But they got along better than they used to and Sasha really didn't want to ruin that.

"Okay, just… tell me if something does start bothering you" she wondered if even that was too much "Okay?"

"…Sure" Nikolo said, wondering if Sasha was genuinely worried about him or if this was her way of trying to get information out of him "No, it's probably the former; she doesn't seem to be very smart."

That was a good thing; it would be a lot more stressing being stuck with a very perspective soldier who wouldn't miss a single word or move. Not that Nikolo was planning on doing anything, but some other soldier could be paranoid or read too much in to something that wasn't there. But not Sasha, he supposed, she was too much of an airhead. That realization helped him to relax a bit, and he actually started to look around the unfamiliar city as they walked.

It was bigger than the place he had been assigned to, and also fancier. It made him feel a little self-conscious in his plain clothes… not that Sasha fit in any better, but she didn't seem bothered by it. If it was because she was simple minded or because she was one to hold her head high wherever she went or what she wore, he couldn't tell. Fortunately, though, no one really paid them any mind. He supposed the locals were used to tourists and other kind of visitors from other areas… which reminded him, what were they even doing here?

"Sasha, why are-?" he was about to ask Sasha why were they in Sina in the first place, but when he turned to look at the woman, she was gone. He forced down the small panic that was about to surface for being left alone. Not that he thought he'd get in trouble right away; it's not like strangers would be able to tell he was a Marleyan. But what if he didn't find Sasha at all and would get in trouble for wandering around a town he wasn't assigned to? Even if he had some benefits from cooperating, he was still a war prisoner! "Or what if I run in to a military police soldier who recognizes me?"

That'd be no good; most of the MPs were rude to the Marleyans and always looking for ways to get them in trouble. Some were down right cruel, too.

"Calm down and think! What would get Sasha to suddenly leave without saying anything?" Nikolo wondered. The idea that she had planned to get him in to trouble from the very beginning surfaced in his mind, but he forced those thoughts away. No, Sasha wouldn't do that. The other Survey Corps soldiers might, but not her. She must've seen something that caught her attention… "Of course"

He knew what tended to distract Sasha: food. She must have been lured away by the sight or smell of some food stand. Now having an idea of what to do, he was much calmer. Looking around the area, he could see many food stands. And standing in front of one of them, staring at the goods, was Sasha.

"That greedy little pig" Nikolo mumbled in annoyance, making his way to Sasha in order to not loose sight of her again. Sasha just finished buying two of the same products when Nikolo reached her and she noticed him immediately "Oh, there you are!"

"More like there you are" Nikolo snapped "At least tell me before you walk off!"

"Sorry" Sasha said sheepishly before grinning, extending her hand to give the other treat to Nikolo "Here, this is for you!"

Nikolo blinked, not expecting that. Of course, normally one would since she bought two same things, but she was Sasha the Greedy; he was fairly convinced that sharing food wasn't really her thing. Still, he was a little hungry, so there was absolutely no reason to refuse.

"Thanks" he said, taking the treat and examining it. He could tell it was some kind of vegetable, but what, he wasn't sure. That was unusual; normally he was good at identifying foods… but well, this one was heavily coated with some kind of sauce and, judging from the smell, was heavily spiced, so it was no wonder. Cautiously, he took a bite.

"This… is a potato" he said in surprise. The spices and the sauce had strong taste, but there was no mistake about what lay underneath.

"Yep!" Sasha said with a grin, mouth full of her own food "Good, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" Nikolo couldn't deny it. He did think that the cook had overdone it with the amount of spices, but it didn't exactly taste bad or anything.

After they were finished, Nikolo asked: "What exactly are we doing here?"

"You see all the food stalls here, right?" Sasha asked. When Nikolo nodded, she continued: "You can't find this large variety of foods anywhere inside the walls aside from this part of Wall Sina, so here we are!"

Nikolo had no heart to tell her that this kind of selection of food wasn't rare in the outside world; she looked so excited. However, there was another thing he did dare to say: "So you dragged me here because you wanted food?"

"What? No!" Sasha was quick to deny "I took you here because I thought you might want to get to know the local dishes!"

She thought right, and if it was anyone else but Sasha, Nikolo would have believed her. However, since this was the food loving soldier he knew, he just raised his eyebrow, staring at her.

"…Okay, I admit it: I wanted to eat!" she finally cracked under his stare "But that's only half of it; I also wanted for you to have fun!"

Well, he supposed he could believe that.

"Alright, where to next?" he asked. Sasha smiled, taking his hand. Nikolo wanted to protest of course, but the surprise towards her actions killed the words before they came out, making the woman able to drag him around.

XXXXX

Nikolo hated to admit it, but he had had fun. The food had been good for the most part, excellent on one occasion as well, and he had managed to banter some new recipes from some fellow cooks-

"No, not fellow cooks" he reminded himself with a frown "I'm a soldier, not a cook!"

"Did you have fun?" Sasha asked, hoping that he would say yes. Or well, she had a feeling Nikolo wouldn't outright admit it, but something that proved that it hadn't been a complete waste of time in his opinion would do, too.

"…It was better than listening to Grior's complaining" Nikolo said after a while, regretting it as he saw Sasha's face fall. Not that he blamed her; after all, what wouldn't be better than listening to Grior's complaining. Wanting her to smile again, he added: "Maybe you can take me somewhere else next time?"

Sasha blinked, but immediately cheered up "Yeah!"

Nikolo blushed, unable to help it. She looked so cute when she was cheerful like this…

It was wrong to think so, he knew, but at that moment, he didn't care. He was allowed to think what he wanted as long as no one found out. And with how bad cards life had dealt him, it had no right to complain if he enjoyed the beautiful sight of this Eldian woman's smile.

And he sure as hell would.