milliways_bar | (no subject)

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The door opens, and two tired-looking young adults drag themselves into the Milliways. It's been a long, hard couple of days and right now all Dani and Enzo want is a change of scenery and some food that's not candy.

Dani doesn't even notice that they haven't been given costumes this year until they've plopped down at a table.

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Enzo flails an arm vaguely at a waitrat.

"Protein. And vegetables. No sugar."

"Fruit too, please," Dani chimes in.

"And some unsweetened tea."

The rat looks as sympathetic as a rodent can and scurries off.

Enzo's just gonna wait for his food with his face on the table, 'kay?

That'll be fine. Dani is resting her head on her folded arms, and she just might doze off while waiting.

A polite squeak will alert them to the arrival of a salad with chicken, cheese, and apple slivers.

"Thanks." Enzo levers himself off the table with some difficulty and accepts it.

"Dani. Food."

"Hmm?" She lifts up her head, blinking. There's a red mark on her cheek from where it was pressed up against her arm. "Oh. Oh. Good."

Dani grabs a fork and starts to dig in, chewing mechanically. It might take a few bites before she starts to taste it.

It takes Enzo a moment of inhaling tea fumes to gather the strength to pick up his fork.

The food starts to help almost immediately, though (probably because of psychology). "Code, that's better," he mumbles around a mouthful of greens. "I was still tasting chocolate."

"Me too." She pauses to take another bite of salad. "Caramel, too."

"Never thought I'd be sick of chocolate." It feels like sacrilege.

As does: "Thank goodness for that one house handing out toothbrushes."

"You can always count on Dr. Muller to be as tooth-conscious as possible, especially on Halloween," Dani says.

"Well, it's probably 'cause of him we still have any, so I guess it paid off."

"Think we ought to thank him?" Dani wonders.

"Yeah... but discreetly, or the kids in your neighbourhood might turn on us."

She says, tongue-in-cheek: "Maybe a fruit bouquet?"

"'From our mouths to yours.'" Beat. "Ew. I really need some sleep."

"That makes two of us." Beat. "I wonder if my old room here is still available?"

"Probably. I hope so. Salad, then sleep. I just hope I don't dream of skeletons."

"You and me both."

He strokes her hair. "Well, if we do, we can fight them off together. ...which would be a lot more romantic if we hadn't just... yeah. Sorry."

"It's okay; I know what you meant." She gives him a small smile.

He smiles back and fills his mouth with salad, since it seems to be working properly for that.

Food, and sleep and cuddles, and in the morning he should have a functional brain again. It is enough.

Lucas, on the other hand, has missed Halloween shenanigans in general. (It's for the best, really. What good would come from it?) But the kid does have to eat and finds himself downstairs at some point.

"Hey Enzo!" he calls. "Geez, you look beat." He offers a polite smile and a, "Hey!" to Dani, hand held up in greeting.

The Dark Dragon seeps through the air in what he hopes is comforting warmth, much like when Lucas was recuperating before.

"Hey, Lucas. Hey, Dragon. Dani, this is Lucas. And the Dragon."

In explanation of their condition: "Skeletons."

"Nice to meet you both," Dani says politely.

"LOTS of skeletons."

"Likewise," Lucas and the Dark Dragon say together, one with the human voice and the other with a deep rumbling directly to the mind.

"There were skeletons?" the boy asks. "Sounds like somethin' that'd be in old Osohe Cas-" His verbal stop is accompanied by another look to Dani. "Oh hey! You're-" He smiles wider. "Hey, I should say congratulations to you, too, since I already told Enzo. Even though it's late, congratulations on you guys gettin' engaged!"

Enzo smiles a bit. He'd respond more enthusiastically, but skeletons.

"Some engagement anniversary, huh?" he asks Dani.

"I could have done without the skeletons," Dani comments mildly. "Made me miss Youngblood."

"Ghosts're better company," Lucas adds, thinking mainly of the ones that used to populate Osohe Castle and Kumatora's stories about them. "You guys get it all taken care of? Y'don't need any help, do you?"

It would only be fair after all the help Enzo gave Lucas, the Dragon comments.

"It's over now, but thanks. Right now we just need rest."

"And food that isn't sugary or chocolate."

"You guys're gonna make me hungry thinking about it."

He snags the table next to theirs and waves over a waitrat for a grilled cheese and extra crispy fries.

The two are so overloaded on junk food after their Halloween battle, they went for a nutritious salad without a second thought.

"I don't think I ever really understood about moderation until now. Candy does not make good field rations."

Dani nods in agreement. "Sugar crashes suck."

"Oh man, that sucks. Who even thought of that?"

"It's just what there was. We couldn't catch a break to eat real food and one thing that's always available on Halloween is candy."

"I don't think I'm going to be able to even look at a piece of chocolate for a while," says Dani. "Dad's going to be really disappointed."

Too bad Dani is too tired to care right now.

Lucas frowns with a fry halfway to his face.

"But you guys did what you set out to do. Why would yer dad be disappointed?"

Or is she another member of the club nobody wants to be in?

Better for her to explain. "Hey," he notes, "it means more for him."

"Because he really, really likes fudge," Dani explains to Lucas.

To Enzo: "That's true."

Lucas makes a "pfft" before he keeps eating. "That doesn't sound like a problem to me."

"Yeah, I'd call it a win for him, at least."

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