Eric sat at the promenade, one of the nicest restaurants in all of Venezia that he still considered affordable. It had been three months since they had escaped. He sipped from a small cup of coffee as he waited. Damn he loved coffee.
He set the cup back down on the red table cloth, brushing his hand over the silken material as he returned it to his lap.
He looked at his watch. It read eight O'clock. You're la-
Even as he thought that, he saw a smaller form limp through the door. The person was talking to the waitress, before she nodded and gestured in Eric's direction.
Kel looked ten times better compared to when he had last seen her. The two of them had been keeping up with calls but Eric hadn't been able to actually talk to her in person since Planet 4612C.
Her face was no longer burnt, though the scars were still a little visible, her left side in particular looking like a melted candle. She was limping, but from their previous conversations, he knew that it would heal just fine. What truly threw Eric off was her clothes. They were loosely looped bands of cloth that covered her entire body, something that almost reminded him of a desert traveler. This only surprised him given that he truly had never seen her outside of some kind of combat gear.
Eric stood up as she approached. They looked at each other from the bottom up, examining their features, till they each stopped at the face. A stillness hung in the air despite the buzz of the restaurant around them. Then it broke and they both breathed out.
"Eric, it is… good to see you."
"That's all ya got?"
Kel looked around the place until she shrugged her shoulders and shook her head; without further warning, she lunged forward and pulled him into a hug. "Thank you."
Eric laughed as they parted the embrace and sat down. "For what?
"For ignoring me."
"Ah, anytime."
Eric glanced around to his right. There was a family glaring at the two of them and suddenly Eric realized why Kel had been hesitant. Even though aliens were fairly common on Venezia, most people, humans especially, didn't necessarily take kindly to displays of camaraderie, affection, friendship, love, or other such actions between different species and their own kind. Well screw them then.
The waitress came over at that point, asking for orders. Of course, this being primarily for human tastes, Eric practically ordered for Kel, though she insisted on just hot water for her drink.
When it arrived, he asked the obvious question building in his throat. "So why hot water?"
"Because I finally found this," she answered, taking out a small box and dumping its contents into the drink.
"Wait a sec. Tea?" he asked incredulously.
"I talked to a native merchant from T'vao yesterday. It didn't come cheap, but why should I care?"
"Because as far as I know, we're both dirt poor?" He spoke the truth there. They hadn't exactly gotten paid in their escape, so now they were left with almost nothing to their names; that wasn't even mentioning the medical bills.
"Mm, technicalities."
"Sure."
"How are your legs?"
"Better. What about your face?"
"Asshole."
Eric chuckled a little. "Cluck all you like about it, you didn't answer my question."
Kel sputtered slightly. She had not expected him to reverse words on her. "There is a phrase that you humans use that I think answers your question."
"Oh yeah? What's that?"
"Screw you."
"Touche."
"Touche?"
Eric thought for a moment. "Acknowledging an apt or clever response."
"I see."
"I'm glad to see that everything's back to normal. How are you feeling?"
Kel shook her head, looking down at her plate as their food arrived. "So this is a doily."
"Huh, yeah I guess it is. You were saying?
"I still have nightmares almost every night."
"Man… I'm sorry Kel."
"Mm, don't be. Talking to you helps."
"Really?" He actually was a little stunned at that, but he kept going. "I mean, I'm always thinking, hey Eric, don't you mess this up!"
"You don't, now eat."
The two of them paused to taste the food and Eric had to admit, whatever it was that was on his plate was damn good. He wasn't sure how curry made from some alien farm animal was going to turn out, but overall, he was pleased.
Kel stopped in between her bites, swallowing and smacking her chops. "What are you doing now?"
"I lined up a job with the Brookman Security Office downtown. They don't pay great, but it's better than nothing. I'm telling ya, you should join up there; great way to kill the time."
"Is there shooting?"
"Nothin yet, though I guess the threat of it comes with the job description."
"I might do that."
"Because there isn't shooting, or because there could be?"
"Both I suppose."
"Mm, Maybe after that we can start planning about what we actually want to do."
Kel looked up from her plate, her expression roughly equivalent to the quirking of an eyebrow. "We?"
"Well yeah. It's not like I've got any other buddies. They are all either dead or a hundred lightyears from where we are now. Kel, right here, at this moment, you're the best friend I've got."
The Kig-Yar smiled slightly and looked left. "What is it you say? When you wish to express the same?"
"The feeling's mutual?"
"Yes, that. The feeling is mutual."
He pointed at her tea. "Mind if I take a sip?"
"Give me your coffee."
The two traded drinks and Eric set his lips against the other side of the cup. The tea was thick, almost like it was milk based, though the actual taste had almost no comparison. It tasted like some kind of exotic spice, not bad by any means, but absolutely bizarre.
Kel sputtered at the other end. "I can't believe you drink that."
"What?
She pushed the coffee back and reached for her own cup. "Give."
"Eh, more for me I guess."
"Plebeian."
"Wrong insult."
"Close enough." After a brief pause she asked another question. "What are the others
doing?"
"Well, Vickenson just disappeared into the woodworks and I think Drake and what's left of his guys just finished with their last funeral, so they will probably be getting back to it."
"I see."
Eric let them both stew in silence after that as they finished their meals. There was something on his mind. "What about us?"
"I'm sorry?"
"What are our plans after this? After we decide to ditch this place, go out on our own? That's… assuming you still want to stick together?"
"Eric, does there have to be a plan?"
"I mean-"
"The answer no."
He nodded. "Not necessarily."
"Right now, I just want to spend time with the only friend I've made in years and sleep without waking up every five hours. Once I do that, then I will start planning."
The former ODST only grinned as he took the bill from the waitress."After the shittiest job I've ever had, how could I say no to that?"
