Silence | Book 1

3-6: Gifts

Sam, Liz and Killian went to find a table upstairs, while Tristan stuck with Hibiki to place their order and carry all the food up once it was ready. Although it was a Sunday, it was lunchtime, and in a city as big as London things were never truly quiet. If anything it could be considered pleasantly crowded, with the majority of the tables taken. After a short look around, Killian spotted a suitable table off in a corner. They took off their wet coats and bags and put them in a pile on the side, before sitting down. It took a while for the damp from the outside to settle and dry, making for a rather uncomfortable feeling against the fake leather seats.

"So what do you think?" Killian asked abruptly.

"Huh?" Liz asked, not sure what he meant.

"About those two." He pointed down. "They've been awfully buddy-buddy, you know."

"Well yes, they are friends." Sam replied.

"Don't tell me you haven't seen, Triss is smiling like an absolute moron whenever he's around. Am I really the only one getting that vibe? I thought girls were good at this."

"I've seen it, but it's not really our business is it?" Liz responded.

"Isn't it? We're his friends, if this is big for him it should be for us."

"Why would it be big for him?"

"Cause Hibiki's a lad?" Killian rebutted.

"Oh wait, you mean... like that strong? you really think that's what is going on?"

"You don't know that for certain." Sam responded, looking up from scrolling through her phone at the both of them.

"Well, if they are, I don't think it's an issue. All that matters is whether they're happy." Liz nodded to herself.

"I'm not saying I have anything against it. Just that Triss may have some trouble, cause he was raised so religious? His maw sounds right loony."

"Does she?"

"He doesn't talk about it much but it's never been anything positive. She doesn't care, doesn't agree, and last year there was that whole plate incident at Christmas."

"Oh right, wasn't that how you met in the first place?"

"I spent a whole hour cleaning and glueing that shut when he came back, he should be glad I went light on the pints that night, otherwise his face could've been proper focked up."

"So what you're saying is his mom...?"

"There's something focked, I swear. The insecurity, all that panic when he fails, the things he says and doesn't say about her, they just don't add up to anything good. I'm glad he's getting less nervous, but if he's into Hibiki for real then he might be afraid?"

"Because of his family?"

Killian pointed at Liz and nodded.

"Exactly. And even if he's not, we should be there to catch him when it all goes tits up. I'm staying over in Oxford for Christmas, so if he gets back hurt again we know there's definitely something going on. Hibiki looks like he has got those panic attacks down, so we can watch after all the other trouble."

"I can try and make sure he doesn't overwork himself? Give him some breaks with debate and all that, since he's been doing all the planning."

"I don't think I'm best suited for dealing with this, if I'm being frank." Sam added, well aware that she wasn't the warmest of people. "But I'll try if it's necessary."

"You just keep doing you, whack me 'round the ears when I become too insufferable or something."

"I can do that." Sam nodded.