Day 42, Noon: The Twin Pine Restaurant

[thatdamnedninja]

Yuffie took the long way around, practically making it a tour of the entire town. She collared--not literally, since the nurses would've thrown fits--a few random citizens along the way, asked as many inconspicuous sounding questions as possible, and then moved on. Wash, rinse, repeat. Sneaking a few covert glimpses into stores and windows

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[secret_orchard]

Armand's hands and face were getting numb from the cold, but the rest of him ached slightly from using under-worked muscles. He was glad when TK called a halt to their training, presumably so everyone could eat. Armand didn't really like modern fast food, so he suggested the nicer restaurant and was happy that TK readily agreed. The agreement was so fast Armand wondered if there was another reason the big soldier wanted to avoid the burger restaurant, but he didn't mind. Not at all.

Despite it being the busy time of day--the restaurant was full of patients and townsfolk enjoying their meals--they were able to be seated rather quickly. Armand hung his heavy coat over the back of his chair. The t-shirt didn't seem very appropriate here, but what could he do? The Institute didn't dress the patients for fine dining, and this wasn't quite that level anyway. He sat down and blew warm breath onto his cold hands, not even looking at the menu yet.

"I hope the food here is better than that other place." The one time he'd been here before, he really hadn't eaten.

[loyal_soldier]

622 hadn't wanted to work the two all that hard so they could be ready to move when the night started, but it would be good for both of them to build some endurance. And besides, there was food to eat after training. Food that smelled really good, from what he could tell so far. That was a nice set-up, as far as he was concerned.

Seeing what Armand did, he took off his jacket and put it over the back of his seat, looking at the menu. Almost all of it was indecipherable to him, but at least he recognized the word 'steak'. "The stuff at the other place tasted pretty good, but it wasn't healthy."

[secret_orchard]

"Likely not," Armand agreed. Seeing some of the choices here, he wasn't sure this was much better, but the set plates seemed to offer vegetables as sides and he recognized the kinds of meats listed. His fingers were still cold, so he tucked one hand up against the back of his neck, under his hair while he manipulated the menu with the other. His cold fingers shocked his warm neck, but they'd warm up soon enough, and he'd be able to switch hands.

"I wonder if we can get hot tea to drink here."

[loyal_soldier]

Well, by virtue of ignorance, he'd already chosen what he wanted to eat. "That would be nice." Or maybe just a cup of caf. That sounded pretty good right now, although he'd accept pretty much anything, as long as it didn't taste too terrible.

[secret_orchard]

After searching the menu, Armand had to settle for hot chocolate, which he ordered cheerily enough when the waitress came to take their order. As for the rest, he just imitated what TK wanted, thinking that after he'd had his fill, the soldier could eat the leftovers. Armand was mostly interested in the vegetables, the chocolate and a very small portion of meat.

When both his hands were warm, he wasn't sure what to do with them, so he fidgeted with his napkin, keeping his chin down. "Do you think there's hope for your students?" he asked suddenly, after the waitress had left.

[loyal_soldier]

622 asked for the stake and hot chocolate, since that was the only other thing he could identify, not quite sure what the side dish he was getting was, but it would be edible, whatever it was.

"Yes. Training can take a long time for anyone, but the more you practice, the better you'll become." Even with flash training, it took quite a while for clones to learn everything. Not as much time as it would take a civvie in the same situation, but still.

[secret_orchard]

"I remember a little bit of sword work, but there never was much time to practice, and Percy didn't want us in a pinch where we'd have to fight." He frowned slightly, and glanced up. "Do you understand that? I'd like us, our friends and the couriers, to be as prepared as we can, but Percy was right. We should avoid fighting as much as possible."

Until someone came up with a final plan to take down the Institute. "In the end, I think everyone will have to fight Dr. Landel and the staff, but until them, it's just wasting time and energy to fight the monsters and minions if we can get away otherwise."

[loyal_soldier]

"It's what usually happens in this sort of situation anyway. You don't plan to get into fights, but you can plan for how to deal with them. I don't want anyone getting unnecessarily hurt. And it's going to be quite a while until anyone attempts an assault, but people working non-combat support positions will probably still be needed." It felt odd to be discussing this in the middle of a restaurant that was so obviously within the Institute's control, with the nurses within view, but there wasn't really any place that things could be discussed without it likely being overheard or monitored somehow.

[secret_orchard]

"If there's a place for that, then I want it." He looked back down at his hands, still nervously twisting the napkin. With a sigh, Armand thought they may need to change the subject. "On another note, I think I had that steak thing when I was here before. It's breaded and fried. I don't remember much else."

It was easier to talk to TK than almost anyone else at the Institute, except perhaps Bridget. He didn't feel the need to censor every thing he said so much, although he still kept away from politics. "I hope you like it. I'm sure you'll be able to have at least half of mine."

[loyal_soldier]

622 was more than happy to talk about food. "I don't know what 'breaded' is, but it still sounds good." It wasn't like he knew how to cook beyond making sure whatever it was wouldn't make him sick.

"I definitely will. And don't give me any if you want it. All this food is spoiling me." He needed to make sure to keep doing daily exercises when he got the time to do it. He didn't want let himself get out of shape just because the military structure wasn't here.

[secret_orchard]

"I'm never very hungry. I'll be fine." He smiled, trying to make himself sound convincing. He knew he was telling the truth, but that may not get past his friend's overprotective intentions. "I can decide how much I want to eat on my own," he added.

[loyal_soldier]

"I just don't want to take anything that you might need, especially after that training session." It hadn't been a hard one by any definition he knew, but maybe that was just him. He couldn't help but feel protective for some reason.

[secret_orchard]

Armand bit his lip. "I am smaller than you. I simply don't need to eat as much, even when I've been exercising." He reached across the table, planning on patting the back of the soldier's hand. "Please don't worry so much for me. If I need it, I'll eat it."

[loyal_soldier]

622 nodded, looking down at the table in front of him. "Alright. I just wanted to make sure." Because he did care for his friend, and wanted him to have the best chance to remain fit and unhurt.

[secret_orchard]

"I--" Armand drew his hand back, unsure now whether he should touch his friend. "Thank you for your concern." Their hot chocolate arrived, and Armand welcomed the distraction to savor what he had in his cup. It was both sweeter and thinner than he expected it to be, but it was chocolate. Even at the Institute, Armand hadn't seen much of it in his life.

He wasn't certain what to say now.

[loyal_soldier]

The arrival of the drinks was a happy distraction. 622 took a careful sip of the hot liquid, surprised at how good it tasted. The only stuff he'd had before had tasted a lot more like water than whatever chocolate was supposed to taste like. "I didn't realize this planet had chocolate." It was pretty rare. There were only a few planets that produced it, if he remembered correctly.