“Yunaka,” Zelkov calls her name not because he feels he needs to inform her of his presence, but because it's simply more polite than expecting her to know his footfalls. Whether or not she was aware it was him approaching specifically is another question entirely, and Zelkov would not assume such a compliment to himself.
“I do not expect you would want a fuss made of today,” he says slowly. There's nerves to him that he's sure she'll notice. Even if he prevents himself from shifting his weight to the other leg too many times, there's tension in his shoulders beyond what is normal for merely holding a hidden gift behind his back.
“Still, I came to offer you my best regards, and, a gift.”
With that said, he withdraws the small box from behind him.
There are so many things to Yunaka he still doesn't know, despite how intimately they are acquainted. He would like to know them, but still, because of these unknown quantities, he tread choosing a gift for her carefully.
The package he presents her with is a thin box carefully wrapped in a red color similar to Yunaka's hair. At some point, it had been hand painted by black and white stars in a similar style, and a golden ribbon tied into a bow to hold it together. Inside sits a hand-made decorative comb. It's made of silver, and styled to look like a similarly decorative knife. If one were to thread it into their hair, it would seem as though the knife were sitting on their hair, small and ineffectual, but shining blatantly in the light.
He modeled it after an s-curve, shining one side specifically to look as though it were the cutting edge, despite its bluntness. The hilt and handle is where he really decorated it - from the pommel is chained a tiny star charm, and a few gems of red and blue help shape the grip.
“I had hoped to capture your interests while avoiding the faux pas of the implications of giving an actual weapon… I hope you can enjoy it.”
Zelkov's face is flushed red, their closet-bound conversation at the forefront of his mind. He doesn't want to bring her attention to it, but he hadn't quite been able to suffocate his own feelings yet.
She totally does recognize his steps, by the way. If you care. She'd taken her time at the Somniel to memorize as many sets of footsteps as she could, always ready to dart away and avoid those who might've caused her problems if they knew who she was. Some of them had faded a little in the time she'd been on her own, but Zelkov's always stayed familiar. They were just like hers, after all.
She's thankful for the warning all the same, knowing that it's his way of being considerate. She smiles to herself and lets him get a reasonable distance into her office before putting down what she was reading to greet him with a bright smile. "Hiya, Zelkov! Fancy running into you here."
She doesn't expect a fuss. But she doesn't really expect much of a celebration either. Her birthday isn't a secret or anything but...well, she doesn't really expect people to take the time out of their day to celebrate her. It's nice. She likes it. She is grateful though to be found in private and not made into some big spectacle, the last thing she needs is people gawking at her.
She thinks he probably wouldn't want that either, if the awkward way he was holding himself was any indication. She's soooo tempted to poke at him until he loosens up a little, but she refrains.
Instead, her face breaks into a bright smile, beaming with childish excitement as she sees the gift he finally presents. She drums her hands on the top of her desk before holding her hands out to take it from him. "Aw, you didn't have to get me anything at all! Just taking the time to come and see me is plenty sweet of you as is. I appreciate it though."
She's careful as she unwraps it, not wanting to tear up his obvious hard work to shreds right in front of him. The little stars make her giggle as she taps a few of them before undoing the wrapping. When she opens the box, she lets out a soft gasp as she admires the prize within.
"Oh, Zelkov, this is gorgeous!" It's not a real weapon, but she squeals over it all the same. She takes it out carefully and turns it every which way to look it over from this way and that. She taps her finger against the falsely sharp tip before turning to inspect the hilt - not larimars or unakites, thankfully. She nods in approval. She takes a moment to playfully bat at the little star charm before turning her bright grin back to him.
"I love it! Thank you so much. Oooh, I'll need to figure out a cute way to wear it! I'll probably have to rearrange a few of my stars to make it look better..." She mumbles to herself thoughtfully for a moment before giggling. "You'll be sure to tell me how good of a job I do modeling your work, right? I need to make sure I show off what a precious piece of art it is properly."
