Work Text:
Pikero had always enjoyed observation. He preferred observations that resulted in data and numbers, of course, but he also quite liked just watching people for the sake of it. That was how he managed to learn each and every habit of his Lord; observation, day and night. After a short while, he was able to make a complete schedule of everything Lord Keroppi did—what time his Lord ate, what time he slept, and what time he liked to play, along with what exactly he played and ate and how he did so. It really didn’t take long at all.
However, being away from his Lord for as long as he had been, Pikero had decided to take a further interest in the people around him. He had glanced between most of the other members of the Noir Bouquet, but none of them were particularly interesting or odd enough for any kind of long-term study.
However, he did find one exception.
Tuxam.
Tuxam was interesting. His schedule was, as expected, quite predictable, but it held Pikero’s focus just the same. Initially, he had expected Tuxam to stick rigidly to his schedule, down to the minute just as he used to, but… In this kingdom, while preparing for Badobarm’s Accolade, he seemed to have become a little more forgiving over time. How fascinating.
And as Pikero got closer to him while they worked, he couldn’t help but notice some of Tuxam’s habits. They were… a little adorable, Pikero had to admit. They were a break from Tuxam’s slightly stiff movements and robotic tone of voice, and reminded Pikero that, despite Tuxam’s desire to be a dignified gentleman at all times, he was still just a human, just like the rest of them.
Tuxam didn’t seem to notice he had them either, which only made things better. Pikero decided not to bring them up, to keep this little secret to himself. He was fine without anyone else knowing, until one day, when the large bronze statue of Badobarm and Batz-Maru had finally been completed.
“Perhaps right there will work, yes?” Pikero asked, turning to Tuxam. The statue was to be placed in the front of the castle, but the next question had been exactly where to put it. Tuxam tilted his head to the side, trying to get a better look at the current placement of the statue. He reached up to the back of his hair, twirling it as he thought for a moment, and then he shook his head, as if clearing away his thoughts. Pikero smiled a little as he watched this sequence.
“Yes. The current placement is fine.”
“Are you sure? You look like you have something to say.”
Tuxam lowered his hands from his hair and turned toward Pikero. “I did, but… no, it doesn’t matter. The statue is fine where it is.”
Pikero raised an eyebrow. “Truly? You were twirling your hair as though you had an important opinion to share, so I simply thought I’d ask.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
Ah. Right. Pikero had never explained this to him, and it was clear that he hadn’t ever noticed this before. Well, Pikero supposed, now was as good of a time as any. Pikero allowed a smirk to cross his face as he spoke.
“I’ve noticed that when you have something to share that you deem important, you grab the back of your hair and start twirling it. You actually have different tells for when you’re going to say different things, you know.”
This was clearly news to Tuxam, but Pikero couldn’t stop himself from enjoying the sight of the blush spreading slowly across Tuxam’s face. He obviously hadn’t anticipated being this easy to read.
“What? Really? What are they?”
“Hmm… are you sure you’d like to know?”
“Pikero.”
“Alright, I surrender,” Pikero said with a smile. “First of all, you grab the back of your hair and twist it around like this when you have something important to say,” Pikero explained, mimicking the motions as he pointed them out. “When you’re just listening to someone, you grab the front of your hair on your left side with both hands and start running your hands through it, like this. When you’re speaking, but not trying to make a specific point, you take your hair on your front right side and just start twirling it around your finger like this.”
Tuxam was silent for approximately twenty seconds after the explanation, staring at Pikero as the blush on his face darkened. Pikero had to admit to himself that, in all honesty, he was having quite a lot of fun with this.
“How did you… I hardly ever notice when I’m doing it, so the fact that you noticed it is…”
It was rare that Tuxam was entirely lost for words. Pikero shook his head, as if to dismiss Tuxam’s questions. “Yes, I gathered that you hadn’t noticed it. I simply thought I’d point it out to you. Perhaps I shouldn’t have, as you will now simply be more aware of it, but at the same time I can’t help but wonder if—”
“Pikero!” Tuxam interrupted, cutting Pikero off in the middle of his speech. Quite rude, but Pikero had to admit that he could understand the reason.
“We still have many things to prepare surrounding the Accolade. Follow me, there is surely much more work to do within the castle.”
“Of course, of course,” Pikero agreed, following Tuxam back into the castle. Tuxam seemed to be making sure to stay ahead of Pikero, not allowing him to see his face. Quite curious indeed.
Ordinarily, this sort of thing would have prompted Pikero to do more research. However, Pikero thought with a smile, he could likely already form a hypothesis with the information he had.
Tuxam was likely trying to hide the remaining blush on his face, so that Pikero wouldn’t see him so flustered.
In a usual experiment, it would be time to test that hypothesis. However, this time Pikero contented himself with the mere idea as he followed Tuxam into the castle.
Maybe he’d test that another time. Now, however?
Tuxam was right. There was still much more work to be done.