He brought her to the same place as before.
Not because he thought she needed bribing, or because he was trying to force familiarity, but because he remembered the last time they had been here, how her whole mood had shifted the moment she ate something decent, and how easy it had been to talk after that.
Food and honesty worked on Amelia better than any speech, and Soren didn't see the point in complicating what already worked.
They were seated near the back again, away from the loudest groups.
The warmth of the restaurant wrapped around them, the smell of cooking meat making the air feel heavier in a way that was almost comforting, and the noise of other students settled into a background hum rather than something that demanded attention.
Soren slid the menu across the table out of habit.
Amelia looked at it like it was a tactical manual.
Her eyes moved quickly, focused, almost severe, scanning the page as if she were searching for the optimal route to victory rather than deciding what to eat.
Then she pointed at the largest meat platter on the page, finger landing with the certainty of someone who didn't negotiate with hunger.
"I want that."
Soren leaned forward, read it, and smiled.
"Good choice."
Amelia's gaze narrowed.
"Why are you smirking?"
"I'm not?" Soren said, but his smile didn't fade. "I was just thinking about how you're consistent."
That seemed to satisfy her, because she didn't argue.
She stared at the menu again for a second, as if confirming there wasn't an even larger option hidden somewhere, then set it down like the decision was made and the world should accept it.
Soren ordered something simple for himself, mostly because he wasn't starving and partly because his mind was still sitting on the earlier moment, Amelia walking up to him like it was nothing and saying "Eat" like she was throwing him a rope and refusing to admit it was effort.
While they waited, a quiet settled between them.
Not awkward or strained.
The kind of quiet that existed when neither person felt the need to perform.
Soren found himself watching her hands resting on the table, relaxed, still, not clenched the way they had been lately when he caught her hovering at a distance like she was afraid of stepping wrong.
He didn't want to prod her.
He didn't want to turn this into him forcing her to explain what was going on, especially not when she had clearly decided to take a step forward on her own.
But he also didn't want to pretend he hadn't noticed.
He didn't want to leave her alone with whatever had been twisting her up for the past week if she was giving him a chance to be near again.
So he chose the gentlest approach he had.
"Are you… feeling better?"
Amelia blinked once, and to his relief she didn't look away.
"Yes."
Then, after a beat, as if the single word wasn't honest enough…
"…A bit."
Soren nodded once.
"Okay."
Amelia stared at him, and he could practically see her deciding whether saying more was worth the annoyance it would cause her pride.
"I was being stupid," she said finally.
Soren shook his head immediately.
"No, you weren't."
Her eyes narrowed like he had contradicted a fact.
"Yes, I was."
Soren sighed and leaned back in his chair, letting the breath out slow so it didn't come out like frustration.
"Amelia."
"What?" she asked, already ready to bite.
He kept his voice even.
"You didn't hurt me. You didn't do anything wrong. You didn't—"
He paused, then chose the simplest truth, because Amelia respected simple.
"You made yourself feel worse, and now you stopped doing that. It's as simple as that."
Amelia went quiet, staring at the tabletop as if it had personally offended her.
Soren didn't push.
He didn't add "and I'm glad you're here" because that would make it heavier, and Amelia had just stepped over something heavy to get to this table.
The last thing he wanted was to stack more weight on top of it.
The food arrived before the silence could turn sharp.
Amelia stared at the platter like it was a reward for surviving something unpleasant, then immediately started eating with the same efficient focus she used in fights.
It was honestly impressive how someone could look so happy while consuming enough meat to feed a small group.
Soren ate more slowly.
He wasn't starving, and watching Amelia enjoy food was… oddly satisfying.
It was like watching someone unclench without realising they were doing it, her shoulders settling by small degrees as she ate, her ears easing from that tight, irritated angle into something more excited.
Halfway through, Amelia paused and looked up.
"You're staring."
"I'm not," Soren lied shamelessly.
Her gaze narrowed.
"You are."
Soren sighed.
"Fine. I am. What of it? You just look happier when you eat."
Amelia stared at him like he had said something pointless, then went back to eating.
But her tail gave a small wag under the table, quick and involuntary, and Soren felt a ridiculous little warmth spread through his chest at the sight of it.
He smiled to himself and returned to his food.
After a while, Amelia spoke again, quieter.
"I don't like that feeling."
Soren didn't ask what feeling.
He already knew.
"Me neither."
Amelia's eyes lifted to his, and there was something annoyed in them, not at him exactly, more at the fact she was admitting anything at all.
"I didn't know what to do," she said.
Soren's smile softened.
"I figured."
She exhaled through her nose like she hated that he could figure things out without her explaining them, like it was unfair that he could see her so clearly when she couldn't.
Then she said, blunt as ever, and the words hit harder than they should have.
"Next time, I'll just come."
Soren paused mid-bite.
The sentence wasn't dramatic, and Amelia didn't deliver it like a confession, but it landed with weight anyway because it was a rule.
Amelia didn't do "maybe."
If she decided something, she decided it like it was a technique she planned to use again, something she intended to repeat until it became instinct.
"Okay," Soren said quietly. "Next time, just come. I'll be waiting."
Amelia went back to eating like the conversation hadn't mattered.
But it had.
Soren finished his meal, paid without making a big deal of it, and when they stepped back outside into the cooler air, Amelia finally spoke again, her voice low.
"Thanks."
Soren glanced at her.
"For food?"
Amelia's ears twitched.
"…For not making it weird."
Soren stared at her for half a second, then laughed once, short and real.
"You're the one who made it weird in the first place."
Amelia's tail flicked.
"That's true…" she said, sounding faintly annoyed at the agreement more than anything else.
They started walking again, back into the weekend traffic.
And without seeming to notice she was doing it, Amelia drifted closer, half a step, then another, until their shoulders brushed with each step.
Soren didn't move away.
He didn't comment.
He simply matched her pace and let the closeness exist like it belonged there.
Because it did.
————「❤︎」————