Entropic Invigoration

@"King"

Murphy shook off his potential embarrassment and grinned. There were already going to be rumors, no real sense in worrying about it yet. "Well then, shall we go?" he motioned towards the school gates. "Would you uh, like anything in particular? Or just onions?" He recalled their first meeting at that horrible little Italian place... only a few days ago? Odd, it felt like so much longer than that. Ah well, like Cynthia used to tell him, 'take it in stride and enjoy the ride'.

@"King"

It wasn't a long walk to where they were going, the diner just outside the school was a popular and affordable place to get a quick bite between classes. As they entered he held the door open for her and nodded to the proprietor when they sat themselves. It occurred to him that he'd never really seen Milk eat, other than the one time she'd asked for a completely raw onion at the Italian place.

He placed his order with the waitress that came by, a burger for him and whatever it was that Milk wanted, and then turned his attention to his dining companion. He had a bunch of questions all of which vied for to be asked first. With most people he would have danced around the subject for a while, but Milk wasn't most people. "So... I guess I may as well ask now. What happened when we were out in the forest?"

@"King"

It wasn't a long walk to where they were going, the diner just outside the school was a popular and affordable place to get a quick bite between classes. As they entered he held the door open for her and nodded to the proprietor when they sat themselves. It occurred to him that he'd never really seen Milk eat, other than the one time she'd asked for a completely raw onion at the Italian place.

He placed his order with the waitress that came by, a burger for him and whatever it was that Milk wanted, and then turned his attention to his dining companion. He had a bunch of questions all of which vied for to be asked first. With most people he would have danced around the subject for a while, but Milk wasn't most people. "So... I guess I may as well ask now. What happened when we were out in the forest?"

@"King"

The chocolate milk was in interesting choice, he'd have never pegged her to be someone who liked anything sweet. No strawberries though, huh... he filed the information away for later.

He tried to find a way to word his questions delicately while remaining straightforward. "Well, I mean you changed when we fought it. Not only physically mind you, but you seemed...gah, how do I put this... you seemed to fly into a rage. Usually you're collected and very reserved yet you leapt to the other end of the spectrum during the fight. Do you usually do that?"

He waved a hand quickly, "Not that there's anything wrong with that mind you. I just wanted to make sure something didn't set you off... like something I said.."

@"King"

Murphy nodded, "I didn't mean to joke about your past, I made a poor assumption and I apologize. I will do my best not to do so again. That said.." he motioned back at her, "Threatening me with consequences after one occurrence is equally bad." He braced himself. He'd had a lot of time to think about this, and he thought he had a fair grip on Milk's character. As long as he was honest and straightforward with his beliefs there should be little issue.

"I will admit that I am clumsy when it comes to social propriety, and I shall do my best to avoid such mistakes in the future. I've come to trust you, to an extent, and I'd rather not build a relationship based on threats and fears. Does that make sense?" He took a sip of water as it arrived, giving her time to answer. He cared about her, and respected both her strength and her relentless approach to life... but he refused to live his life afraid of someone he wanted to be closer to. He'd already made that mistake too many times.

@"King"

He raised his glass in salute, "Of course, any promise regarding emotions is unfair to push on another. If we both do our best that should be fine, just let me know if I end up bringing up a sensitive subject so I can alter my choice of words." Further talk was belayed by the arrival of food, and he tucked into the meal with gusto. Damn, it was really good, better than the remnants of meals he kept getting because of his class schedule.

He ate in silence for a while simply enjoying the other's company, though he did wonder about the onions. Ah well, to each their own taste.