MementoDei
R.I.P
Liore
Considering how bubbly Phoenix was, it really surprised him to hear her slide in the kind of comments he'd only expect out of Sophia. Granted, that woman was far more direct with her flirting, and those she teased the most were officers. Every time, she'd be the first to know who was a cop in plain clothes in any given room. Perhaps it was the privilege of growing up in a place where she probably had ex-cops acting as her bodyguards. Not even twenty-four hours had gone by and he already kinda missed that loud woman. He would rather have her banter instead of having a nymph clinging to his arm like they were a couple. It was their best cover, sure, but he'd prefer to keep some damn personal space after having her head on his lap all night long.
He swung the door open for them and they sat down at a table near the window, the closest they could to where their car was parked. Phoenix rested her head over her left hand, leaning over the table as she tapped her fingers over it with her free hand. The place was mostly empty, with only a couple of people spread across the place here and there. The androids were only in charge of the kitchen, from the looks of things.
"Order first," she said with a yawn. "I'm bored."
She was quite adaptable, almost frighteningly so. Liore activated his Oculus, and he saw a small QR code appear on the table. A few seconds later, the menu was displayed on a hologram that hovered over his side of the table.
A pair of blue eyes turned toward him, and the woman in front of him began to pout.
"You want me to order for you, right?"
She looked away from him, straightening up before crossing her arms. "Hmph!"
The young man raised an eyebrow. What was that supposed to mean? After a moment, she peeked at his menu again, but the moment their eyes met, she hmphed again and turned her attention away from him. What could she want? Good god, he had passed so much time as a single man he had forgotten most women were like this. Sophia was truly an exception to all the rules, and mostly for the better. An elven girl sat on the table in front of them, casually eyeing them with the kind of curiosity Liore really didn't want on him at this very moment. He took his Occulus off and flipped the hologram over to her side.
"Fine. Hmph all day if you like, just order something for yourself, and be quick about it."
Her gaze lit up and she began to scroll down the breakfast options, going way past the egg section. Her whole attention had been absorbed by the pictures of pancakes and waffles. So, all this time she wanted the menu. She could've just said that and been done with it.
"Didn't you want eggs, Phoenix?"
"Hm..." she said as she finally made her choice. Field berry pancakes. "But you really owe me pancakes after last night."
Liore did not have to look towards the elven girl to know exactly what kind of expression she might have and what kind of thoughts were going through her head. He still kept his cool, taking back the hologram to his side to order a cup of black coffee and some toast with peanut butter. "Okay, sure. You're right. Let's talk about that part later."
She gave him a bright smile, nodding enthusiastically at him. "Sure! We got all the time in the world, don't we?"
It was too late now. Phoenix had made their cover take a weird turn and there was no coming back from this. At least not until they were out of this place once and for all.
Their meal was mostly silent, and though Ren did do her best to eat as if she had eaten pancakes all her life, there was this little spark in her eyes that let through just how much she was really enjoying every bite. It was endearing. Just slightly so.
After he paid cash, they left just like they had come. Once both of them were at the back of the car, Liore turned on his Oculus again to set their route to the safehouse. As soon as he was done, the car drove itself out of the parking and set down the small neighbourhood street the diner was on.
"Oh, Liore. I noticed an elven girl was staring a lot at us. But I think she was staring at you the most. Do you know her?"
"No," he answered, "But I know exactly why she started to watch us like that."
The nymph tilted her head, "So why would she do it? Is she some scout from the cops?"
"I don't think so." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Phoenix, you just gotta understand you can't just say I owe you pancakes like that."
Phoenix did not seem to have any idea of what he was talking about at all. "But why not? Is it not a way of saying 'Thank you'?"
"Oh, it's a way of saying 'thank you' alright. A morning-after kind of thank you." he said, turning his attention to her.
The nymph froze in place, and even through her disguise, her face grew red by the second. "Ah. Okay, uh, wow." She cupped her cheeks with her hands. "Goodness, that must've been so awkward for you. I'm so sorry, Liore."
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