🐉: “I came here for Lilia, but recently I find myself staying for you. How peculiar. The food is not even that good. And terribly unhealthy.”
🌸: “Then you must be sick of dining here so frequently.”
🐉: “Hm? No, that wasn’t what I meant—”
🌸: “— So I was thinking, maybe we could eat somewhere else. You know, as a change of pace. I could even treat you to steak if you want— I’m getting a pay raise next week.”
🐉: “That’s… That’d be lovely. It would be my pleasure to dine out with you.”
🌸: “So… Saturday next week? Meet me here?”
🐉: “Yes. Definitely. I’ll be here.”
🌸: “Great! Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have to clear out those tables.”
🐉: “I am… also getting a pay raise the week after next. So if you’d like…”
🌸: “Ramen. I’d like to go for ramen then.”
🐉: “Perfect. And I’ll be getting another pay raise the week after that.”
🌸, laughing: “What? How many pay raises are you getting? Are you secretly the heir of some multigenerational wealth?”
🐉, grinning: “And then the week after that…”
🌸, laughing harder: “I guess I’ll have to revamp my workout routine to make up for all the calories I’ll be piling.”
Manager: “YUU! CUSTOMERS ARE POURING IN! THE TABLES, PLEASE!”
🌸: “See you, Hornton! Duty calls!”
🦇, winking at his boy: “Didn’t I tell you? That there’s a pretty girl out here I’m sure you’d get along with? I’ve been telling you to hang out here sooner.”
🐉, chuckling: “I’m quite glad I managed to brave my trauma of your cooking, then.”
🦇: “Oh you rude— My cooking is not bad! I know it’s much better than the slop you eat here— oops, nobody heard me say that.”
Malleus wanted to say he’d rather die early eating diner food every day than have another bite of Lilia’s “specials”, but he was in a particularly good mood today. So he stood up, rifled through his wallet, and slapped down a particularly hefty stack of bills enough to pay everyone’s wages for a day. “Please, send my regards to all the staff,” he bid to Lilia as he sauntered his way outside of the restaurant.
Lilia smiled. His baby boy, usually so dour, had a chipper bounce to his steps; much unlike the gloom he wore for the past how many years.