Yzak had gotten trapped in another late meeting and neither of them needed to be there, but what had obviously started as a battle of wills and persistence was gradually changing.

Shiho had decided what they were having delivered for dinner, before every restaurant in the city closed for the evening, and Dearka had pulled out his tablet to show her some of his favorite videos.

They ate, they laughed, they talked more and more about things that weren't their work or Yzak and...

Another aide took coffee and snacks into the meeting, offering nothing to them. It didn't matter; they'd prepared. They'd both darted to the all-night store for all sorts of goodies, and a spare charger so they could keep watching whatever seemed interesting.

Shiho had two new bands to listen to, and Dearka liked her taste in comedy. Snacks were easy enough to share, which wasn't actually a surprise after dinner had basically been an exercise in getting the other to try things gingerly offered with takeout chopsticks.

Yzak was their common interest, of course, and that certainly was in no danger of changing. But by the time the clock ticked to the next day and there was no sign of going home but quite a bit of yawning, Shiho was pretty sure this was the best date she'd been on in a very long time.

Now... Could she say something like that?

"Lean on me if you're tired," Dearka said softly before patting his shoulder. Had she been drifting? Shiho blinked and then nodded. Perhaps for a few minutes...

"We should do this again some time. Without the hard floor and the uniforms. Ah..." Shiho hadn't meant it to sound quite like she was suggesting they...

Dearka laughed.

Really, it sounded like a perfectly good idea.