He took a seat across from her and reached for his fork. "It's not exactly gourmet," he said, half-smirking, "but it's edible. I think."
She gave a little smile. "Looks good enough."
They started digging in.
The silence wasn't weird this time, just chill. A peace neither of them had felt in a while.
After a moment, Zayden said, "So… you're really good at slipping away."
She fumbled with her fork a bit, surprised.
He kept his eyes on his plate. "You move like someone who's always watching their back. Like you're always thinking a few steps ahead."
She swallowed her food. "You sure pay attention."
He chuckled. "Comes with the territory."
A small laugh escaped her before she could hold it back.
"That's the first laugh I've heard from you," he said quietly.
She looked down at her food. "Probably because I don't have much to laugh about lately."
He chose not to push it. "Well… It's nice to know I'm not totally useless."
She met his gaze, a bit shocked. "You're not useless."
