Renovating the Heart (FFXV)

XII) Connection

"I feel like I haven't seen you in ages," Relir greeted as Rue finally joined her three friends at an outdoor table at their favorite restaurant. Eren scooted over on the bench to give her more space, smiling warmly. "How's the new job?"

"Fine," Rue shrugged, looking across the table to Dex. "How're you healing up?"

"Not bad," he shrugged back. "Those healers know what they're doing. I'll be pain-free within the next few days."

"That's really good," Rue raised her eyebrows. Eren nodded, touching the frames of his glasses and running a hand through his hair.

"I know! No kid's gonna take down our Dex, that's for sure."

"#$%^ no," Dex snorted, nudging Relir with his elbow. "Could you imagine? Me, killed by some little trigger-happy punk?" She laughed, shaking her head. Rue chewed on her lip uncomfortably, suddenly realizing these two likely had the same "kill them all" attitude as Alexander. "Anyway, enough with work $%^#. It's time to kick back 'n relax."

"We don't have time for that," Relir sighed, rolling her eyes as her fiancé threw an arm around her shoulders. "We ordered without you, but it's a big tray of stuff; you know the drill."

"Fine," Rue shrugged indifferently. It wasn't like she would eat much of it anyway. Dex seemed to read her thoughts as Relir gnawed on a toothpick to his left. His brow creased and he pushed his shoulder-length hair out of his eyes.

"Uh, listen, Rue..." Relir and Eren immediately shot him warning glares as if by instinct—at this point they knew exactly when the guy was going to cross the line. He, as always, ignored them. Rue sighed, directly her eyes elsewhere; was he good at pretending he couldn't see them or was he really that stupid? "I know it's none of my business, but as your friend—don't kick me, babe—I just wanna make sure you're okay." He leaned forward, lowering his voice. He looked genuinely concerned, and from a man who hardly emitted anything but cocky jock-like confidence, that meant a lot. "This isn't about the, uh, body image stuff again? Cuz, I mean, we're all here for you, but if you're having problems again, I think you should talk to someone."

"I'm fine," Rue insisted, crossing her arms and shuddering as a blast of cold air rushed through the alleyway they were tucked into. The beginning of spring was a joke—it was merely false hope as winter struck its final, and sometimes hardest, blows.

"Yeah, you say that, but you never eat."

"Dex," Relir hissed, kicking him again.

"What? You expect me to pretend nothing's wrong when obviously something is?"

"Really, Dex, I'm fine," Rue butted in, forcing a smile. "Honest. I'm just a little stressed about all these changes lately. It's not... the same as before."

"You sure?" She nodded firmly. "Okay." Dex straightened, though he didn't seem quite as satisfied as he tried to show he was. "How was the meeting, Eren?"

"A little tense," Eren admitted, rubbing the back of his neck and taking a drink from a steaming mug that warmed his hands. "Rue was there in place of Ignis."

"Really," Relir huffed in disbelief. "You know how hard it is for the Glaive to get in there? You're one lucky duck."

"Yeah, well," Rue muttered, lifting one shoulder in a half shrug. "It wasn't all that great. Kind of boring." She paused, frowning. "Actually, it really wasn't. It was kind of unnerving."

"Yeah, takes a bit to get used to," Eren agreed with a soft laugh. He watched her shiver again with concern glimmering in his hazel eyes. He offered his mug. "Wanna try? It's chai."