Rooftops At Sunrise

31

Damian cannot help but wonder how many cooking devices Lucas has been keeping hidden within his van's various compartments—though, in this case, he supposes it is a good thing, for it is hard to tell how they would have cooked pizza without the small, portable oven, that he is currently showing off to Aoi.

They are parked further inside the small town, a tad farther away from the nearest boutiques; Lucas did not want them getting into trouble for cooking near their establishments, he decided then, that he would move the van a few feet away in order to be on the safer side.

Aoi's shoulders tense as she observes the young man working away at a meal that is soon to be hers.

"Having second thoughts?"

She parts her lips. A gasp escapes her. "Huh?" Aoi turns to face Damian's voice. She pushes up against the van, and stops leaning against the vehicle. "No..." The young woman averts her gaze. Her fingers curl into fists once more. "Not really..." she mutters, before letting out yet another sigh. "I just—" she bites her lip. Her palms join together behind her back. "I know that technically, maybe, it'll be fine? I-I mean, the noodles didn't harm me. So... I'm probably... worrying for nothing. A-also, I'm really hungry right now. And that's never helpful."

Damian pulls her in for one of their signature side-hugs. He rubs her shoulder, as if he is trying to warm the skin beneath her dark, emerald sweatshirt. "You'll be okay," he tells the young woman, even when he does not truly believe it himself—he wants to hope, that nothing bad will come of this odd experiment.

Aoi steps away from him. "You don't know that." She squeezes her arm, until Lucas waves her over next to the end of the van, and calls out the words, "It's ready, guys!"

Damian and Aoi briefly look at each other.

The young woman is the first out of the two, to leave and walk toward their lunch, whose smell she does find quite pleasant.

Her mouth waters; Aoi's hunger gets the better of her. She thinks, for once, that it truly will be fine. And she believes it. For she is starved—and at this point in time, the young woman finds that anything would be better than the current aches driving phantom swords into her belly.

She grabs a paper plate from a nearby pile Lucas made. She sits herself down, away from the cables that connect the portable oven to the van's battery, and closer to Lucas, who is now cutting his work of art—Aoi's pizza.

Aoi's stomach grumbles at the sight.

"So," Lucas clears his throat. "I just want to confirm with you, you're sure that—"

"Yes, please," she groans, as he hands her a reusable fork. "I'm so hungry, Lucas! Maybe I'll throw up after, or have a bad time in the bathroom, but I can't keep eating air. It's messing up my stomach. I swear, it hurts so much. Too much."

Lucas purses his lips together and cringes at the idea of having a sick passenger on board. Again.

He serves her a slice of pizza anyway. "Well, okay, if you say so. But, uh... if it goes worse than that, what do we do then? Do you have medicine on hand?"

"Of course, I do!" Aoi furrows her brows. "Who do you think I am—an idiot?"

The young man stares at her in silence.

She blinks. "Uh... sorry about that. I didn't mean to snap at you. Just..." Aoi sighs. She stares down at her slice of pizza; her stomach rumbles. "The meds are in my backpack. And if there is a worst-case scenario, just call an ambulance. They'll know what to do." She watches doubt weave itself into Lucas's features. "No, before you ask, I'm almost a hundred percent sure that we won't need any of this, if my treatment is working correctly."