#19: On the Rocks

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They wandered down the hallway, still without meeting another soul. The path eventually led to a massive opening with escalators and stairs. They hadn't realized they'd been on the upper floor.

"C'mon!" Fumi dragged Tsukiko onto an escalator.

They looked around and spotted many more shops, but they were all still empty. Still, a sign pointing to a food court seemed promising.

The food court was similarly empty. There was fresh made food waiting for them. A bakery had fresh bread, and a ramen shop seemed to have dozens of bowls, lined up and ready for them.

"Let's take a break." Tsuki slowed down.

"Why?" Fumi pouted.

"I'm getting hungry just looking at this stuff." Tsuki rubbed her stomach.

Tsukiko led Fumi to a small burger shop. A bell on the door rang as they entered. Like all the other places, this restaurant had food waiting for them on the counter.

"Burgers?" Fumi grabbed one and looked at it.

"What? I like 'em." Tsukiko grabbed one and dug through it to pull out the pickles.

"I don't even know why they put those in." Fumiko laughed.

"Some people like 'em, I guess."

Fumi took the bun off of her burger. "Well yeah, pickles are edible, but they're still god awful."

"Yeah, they're too damn sour." Tsuki took a bite of a cheeseburger.

Fumi sat down next to her and laid her head on her knight's shoulder. "You're too sweet."

Tsukiko's mouth curled into a small smile. "Heh."

"You said such sweet things last night, too." Fumi teased.

"Yeah... I was... emotional." Tsuki's face went red.

"Barely awake, too." Fumi nudged her.

"Can you blame me?" Tsuki took another bite.

"I'm just glad you're doing better now." Fumi sat back up.

Fumiko grabbed a plate of fries and started eating them one by one.

"I meant what I said, Fumi." Tsuki muttered.

"I know you did." Fumi took a bite of her burger.

"Huh?"

Fumi turned toward her, still chewing. "You're more honest when you're out of it."

"Am I?" Tsuki chuckled

"Lying's hard when you can't think straight." Fumi laughed.

They ate for a while in comforting silence. The food was all fresh and delicious. There seemed to be no way for this to be possible. Still, questioning it felt like it would spoil the fun.

"Y'know." Fumi looked down at herself. "I was thinking earlier of getting a new look, y'know?"

"Ask Aurelia."

"Nah, I don't wanna change it just yet. You bought me this jacket, remember?"

Tsuki turned to look at the now rather worn olive green jacket. It wasn't exactly the right size, a bit too big. The fabric was thin and it had a single breast pocket.

She hadn't stopped to look at Fumiko in a while. She had always loved to show off her legs. Dark tights with spandex shorts. They led down into brown boots made her look at least somewhat classy.

Her top half was definitely more casual. The jacket only ever loosely covered what she was wearing underneath. She almost always wore a deep red ribbed sweater underneath. Only during the hot season would she switch to just a blouse or t-shirt.

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