Parental Pressure (3)

Kyro's expression was normal, though. He didn't seem to think that he had done anything out of ordinary. As if everything was as it should be, he simply leaned back and started to walk down the corridor.

When she didn't follow, he turned back with a puzzled expression. "Something's wrong?"

She shook her head and caught up to him. "Nothing."

'Nothing besides that you're becoming dangerous. Next time think about my fragile heart,' she complained in her head while putting a hand over her heart. It was beating at an unprecedented rhythm.

Luckily, Kyro was walking with his fast steps, so she was slightly behind and he couldn't see what damage his simple words had wrecked. That helped Iris calm down by the time they reached the parking lot and got into his car.

It was strange to sit in the passenger seat like a human, and she shifted her gaze out the window. The sun was still high up, but it had to be late afternoon by then. There was no way only a few hours would have passed since she had left the house.

They didn't talk more, and Iris had expected that to last till the end, so she was quite caught off guard when he said, "Do you want to go somewhere to eat?"

"What?"

"I thought I'll treat you to a meal for acting like a jerk when you came for my sake. Would you like that?" he asked in a light voice, glancing at her while standing at a red light.

Her nod was instinctive, before she could even think about the offer.

Inside, she screamed at herself for acting like an overeager fool, but it was too late to change it. She just nodded again, slower this time, and smiled. "It'd be lovely." After a moment, she added, "Just nothing too fancy, okay? I'm not dressed for… much."

His eyes shifted to her for a second, then returned to the road ahead. "You look fine. Don't think so much."

A butterfly or two fluttered in Iris' stomach, and she swiftly looked away as well. His words were simple, but the way he said them made it seem like she would have to be crazy to look down on her appearance. It was such an obvious matter that there was no point in wasting any words to say anything.

In some ten minutes, the car stopped in front of a small establishment. It was an old two-story house with a hanging plate to the side with a name 'Iron Pin'. There was nothing on the outside besides that.

When Kyro noticed her surprise, he grinned. "You said you didn't want anything fancy. It's a place I found that was close enough to reach after lectures, but far enough and out of the way so that no one familiar would bother me."

"I see." Iris nodded and got out of the car.

Together, they entered, and Iris was immediately overwhelmed by the atmosphere inside. There was country music playing softly in the background while the whole interior was like something from the frontier.

Everything was made of wood and seemed ages old. The planks on the ground were cracked and had a smattering of dust, the tables were round, the chairs simple, while the walls had few ornaments. There were dirty glass partitions between some places for an illusion of privacy.

Only a few people were sitting to the right, and they seemed to have come here more to chat and spend away the evening than just eat and leave. They glanced at the newcomers once, then looked away and returned to their own conversation.

Kyro led Iris to the other side, behind a glass partition. It would hide them only from one side, but that side was exactly where the other customers were sitting.

The moment they sat down, a rotund fifty or so years old man walked over to them. He wore a chef's apron, so Iris guessed he was someone who worked around here.

"Kyro! I thought you'll never come visit again!" the man said in a loud baritone, and Kyro greeted him with an off hand comment about being busy. "Right, right, I know. Still, it hurts to lose my favorite customer. Your presence here every day paid most of my bills."

Iris covered her mouth to hide a laugh, but her action still attracted the attention of the owner. "And who are you, beautiful lady?"

She smiled at him. "Iris, nice to meet you."

"Lucky guy, here," the owner said, patting Kyro on the shoulder. "Give me a moment, I'll bring the menus over."

While he was gone, Iris asked, "You know him well?"

"Not really," Kyro said, shaking his head lightly. "This place is always this empty, so I got to interact with him a bit in the two years of coming here almost every day. His name is Billy, or so he tells everyone. I'm not convinced it's his real one, but well, that's his choice. And he's obsessed with the frontier and certain that he was born too late."

"Of course I was!" the man himself ascertained, passing them a pair of small menus. There were only a few dishes in each section inside it. "But I won't bore you with my woes. Call me when you choose what you want."

Upon reading through her choices, Iris lifted her head at Kyro. "I seem to be in need of your assistance… What should I order?"

"There's only three choices," he said with a laugh.

It was clear he knew full well that it was impossible to choose, yet he still acted innocent. How evil!

After all, what kind of names for main dishes were "Golden Flight", "Crimson Spine", and "Last Stand"? There were no descriptions or ingredients anywhere, so one could only make a blind shot and hope for the best.

With a glare Kyro's way, Iris closed her eyes and moved her finger a bit before aiming for the main dishes section. Her first try landed on Last Stand, but it sounded dangerous. What if it was something outrageous, forcing the customer to the precipice?

She closed her eyes again and tried again. 'Flight or Spine, Flight or Spine.' This time, she was a bit unsuccessful and hit the dessert section and something called "Red Tears". "Not what I was looking for," she muttered and repeated her actions.

Finally, she hit Golden Flight. "Okay, I'll be ordering Golden Flight," she said, rising her head to look at Kyro. His expression was straight, but she could see his lips twitching with suppressed mirth. "What?" she demanded.

"What was that just now?" he asked, circling his finger in the air in a mimicry of her previous actions.

"Me choosing what to eat," she stated in a deadpan voice, as if he was being obtuse.

They stared at each other for a moment, both intent on proving their point, then Iris' mask of seriousness cracked, her upper lip curling up slightly, and they both burst out laughing. "It might have been a bit silly," she admitted.