Cedric seemed to jump about a foot when Greylock threw the door open with dramatic flair. "Must you always do that?" Cedric asked as he dusted himself off, reminding Greylock of a bird trying to de-fluff its ruffled feathers. "You're starting to rub off on Sofia, you know. She did that sometime last week."
So Cedric was talking about Sofia again, that was… a sign of some kind. Much as Greylock liked the girl, he hadn't been sure which way would be the better outcome for that tension. After the first session last week it had been clear they had enough issues to work out without him being there, so he'd been avoiding intruding on them during such time. Today, however, was an off day, so here he was.
"Ah, you know, the more the merrier!" Greylock said, and sat down across from Cedric.
They sat and studied insilence for a bit, though Greylock seemed to be making more headway in his reading than Cedric was in his own work, given the tapping of Cedric's pen - still Greylock's immature joke pen, Grey was pleased to see - and the way Cedric held his face in one hand, with a rather pained expression.
As Greylock was looking at Cedric over the top of his textbook, Cedric's stomach growled, and he -flinched?
...Oh, dear. Greylock had been trying to keep an eye on Cedric this past week, but had been looking for things that Cedric was doing, not for what he might not be doing. No herbs so no dangerous plans, at least, and no obvious marks of self-harm, though wrists and anything that left marks had never been Cedric's go-to method.
What Greylock now realized he hadn't seen Cedric do was eat anything.
Greylock closed his textbook with a clap, causing Cedric to jump again. "Well," Grey said, "I'm not making much progress, I've read this passage at least five times and still. Nothing." Not entirely a lie. "I'm a bit peckish. And by a bit, I do mean distractingly so."
Cedric scowled at Greylock. "All right, move along and cease distracting me."
"Iii'm also rather lonely," Greylock said, "so you're coming with." He stood up and walked around the desk, offering a hand to Cedric to help him up.
Unsurprisingly, Cedric didn't take it. "I need to work on this paper, as a matter of fact. It was due-" Cedric looked away and coughed. "Never mind when it's due. I need to finish it."
The paper in front of Cedric had a very fancy illustrated 'T', followed by two normal letters; 'The' was the only word on the page. The edge of the paper had several dots where Cedric had been tapping the pen.
Greylock only had to raise an eyebrow at Cedric for him to sigh and push away the page. "Still, I've got an awful headache, I don't want to go out and about."
"So trying to do homework on an empty stomach during that headache is supposed to be better?" Greylock beckoned with his outstretched hand. "Just come along already."
"I-I-I'm no such thing!" Cedric protested. "I just ate, around an hour ago."
Greylock folded his arms as he looked down at Cedric, and scrunched his mouth in thought. "Good to hear, what was it? And was it any good?"
Cedric looked to one side and said, "I, ah. Forget."
It took a considerable amount of effort to smile at that, but Greylock managed. "Well, at any rate, you're not making much headway here. You need to get out some more, Head-sick, and you're coming with me whether you like it or not." Greylock held out his hand again. As Cedric looked between it and Greylock's face, Grey added, "I will pick you up and carry you bridal-style if I have to." ...That was only a joke but now that Greylock had said it, he almost hoped Cedric would refuse.
Cedric, however, rolled his eyes and took the offered help to stand up. He still ended up pulling on Greylock's hand a little harder than expected, and Cedric's face was closer to Grey's own than they'd been for - possibly ever. It was hard to be too enthralled by that though, given Cedric's pained expression, and just why Greylock was proposing this outing in the first place.
"Off on the quest for good grub!" Greylock said, turning to leave the tower but not letting go of Cedric's hand. "Destination: Café Hex!"
"That's not its name and you know that," Cedric mumbled, and let himself be pulled along.
"Well, it hasn't got one already, so I'm calling it that and you can't stop me."
Certain tasteless jokes could be made about the fact that Greylock had ordered mushroom soup, but he chose the variety for Cedric's interest more than his own. They weren't Merlin's, but Cedric was partial to all mushrooms, unless his tastes had changed while Greylock wasn't looking.
Greylock took a slice of the bread that came with the meal and dunked it in the creamy soup, fished out a mushroom with it, and held it up to his nose for an exaggerated sniff. "Oh, this seems just delectable," he said, and watched Cedric's eyes follow the morsel in his hand.
He took his bite and put the rest of the slice back on the plate and scooted it and the bowl of soup towards Cedric. "You're welcome to have some if you'd like," Grey said with his mouth still partially full, "I didn't expect quite this much when I asked for an extra order of bread." That was actually true, but he'd have said that regardless.
Cedric rolled his eyes and said, "Swallow your food before talking. I'd ask if you were raised in a barn but I know that's not true."
Greylock shrugged. "So, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly is the situation with you and Sofia, currently?" Either Cedric would answer the question and Grey would know where they all stood, or-
Cedric startled, and took a piece of bread from Greylock's plate as he turned away to nibble on it. Good, finally. And now that the initial barrier was broken, he'd likely continue eating at least off an on, regardless of whatever thought patterns put Cedric in this state in the first place.
Greylock took a bite - a spoonful? How were you supposed to refer to eating soup anyway? …At any rate, there was food in his mouth now, and not just as an excuse to stall. Cedric might actually answer, he figured, given a moment to think, and Greylock did still want to know the lay of the land. One or the other outcome was technically a win, but why not both?
Cedric took too long to chew his piece of bread, longer than was really plausible, but had to swallow eventually. ...There was another immature joke there, Greylock thought, but not now - Cedric was starting to talk.
"We're… I'm not sure. Back on proper speaking terms, anyway." Cedric shrugged, somewhere between noncommittal and given up, maybe?
Well, that was vague. "That's good," Greylock said, then paused for a moment. "Wait, I- I don't think I realized you had been on non-speaking terms. Wasn't it difficult to tutor as such?"
Cedric nibbled on his bread again, but didn't use it to stall (much) this time. "I was strictly business. Anything not related to lesson was entirely off the table. I…" he sighed, and took a few more bites of his bread, finishing it off. He grabbed another, and continued, "I couldn't handle her being- I- I don't know. Sh-she knows, about-"
As Cedric choked on his words (thankfully not literally), Greylock said, "Yes, that. If you don't want to talk about this here, that's all right." Greylock hadn't expected all this, not that he minded for his own sake.
Cedric shook his head and took another bite, this time dunked in the offered soup, which allowed him a moment to cool down. "I'm- I'm all right. She, she nearly drank- that, and even without-" He waved his hand in the air, gesturing broadly. "-I'm still, well… You know how I am. I thought it wise to quit this ill-advised dalliance, return to knowing each other in an official capacity, but as nothing more." Cedric looked away, and took a deep breath
And another. And… That clearly wasn't the end, but given the circumstances, Greylock needed to practice that rarely used tactic: caution. "Steady on there, Cedric. If you'd like to talk of something else, or nothing at all, that's all right."
Softly, Cedric said, "I forced her away. Th-that as the point, wasn't it? But when she- I couldn't-" A gasp of breath, nearly a sob though his face was dry. "Pathetic lump that I am, c-couldn't bear to lose one of my only friends, her safety be damned, I guess."
Greylock reached across the table and touched Cedric's hand. "There's no shame in wanting friends, Cedric. You're my most steadfast and loyal friend, and there's nothing that could make me feel any differently - but even I know that's not enough, not really. I can't be there for you all the time, don't fulfill the same niches." Much as Greylock wanted to fulfill several of them, that wasn't in the cards. "And that's okay. Perhaps proceed with caution, but I'm glad you've worked things out." Mostly.
Greylock had honestly been leaning a little towards hoping she'd be out of Cedric's life, he realized. Not that he had anything against her for herself, but she didn't seem to be doing Cedric any good, and with him not tied down in a relationship - well, Greylock never had any chance to begin with. But in convincing Cedric of the virtues of knowing Sofia, he'd made a surprisingly good case to himself, as well.
Cedric interrupted Greylock's moment of introspection by taking Grey's hand in his own, and giving it a squeeze. "Acknowledged," he said, and Greylock chuckled a bit as he squeezed Cedric's hand back.