And the lights go down, and they dance real close, and for one brief instant, they pretend they're safe and warm

“You know,” Carly said, taking a bite of her greasy hamburger, “after such a nice lunch hand-cooked by Dani, and Gina, and Mary and Holly, there’s something to be said for mediocre fast-food. It just satisfies a craving, you know?”

The juices rolled down her chin, and she swept them away with a napkin, relishing the taste of muscle and fat oozing in her mouth.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin clearly agreed, judging by the massive smile on her face. The swift nod she gave suggested similarly. Her eyes were sparkling with delight as she devoured her burger, and she flashed a smile towards Nick as if to say she was having a wonderful time.

Nick could appreciate bad food every once in a while. Mary and Holly spoiled him every chance they got with delicious and healthy meals that were prepared with loving care, but every so often, he got those same cravings Carly was talking about. So, when she had proposed they go to a restaurant in the Shopping District that would be of such a low quality it would almost be insulting to compare it to his wife’s cooking, he decided that it might be okay to try something different for a change.

And he was more than happy to let Mary and Holly take the night off from cooking for him after they had worked so hard on Rose’s dessert today.

“Morgana, what do you think?” Nick turned to Morgana, who had been her usual quiet self through the meal. None of this mattered if she wasn’t having a good time- it was her date, after all, so she should be the one having the most fun.

Morgana looked up from her burger and smiled a small smile. “It’s okay,” she said quietly, her eyes telling a slightly different story. “It has been a while…”

This was the sort of food that Morgana would have eaten back when she was a recluse. Her mother would always chide her for wanting to eat fast-food all the time, but they couldn’t stop her from sneaking out of the house at night, borrowing the family car, and driving down to the nearby 24/7 drive-thru for some food that would have given her mother a heart attack out of sympathy if she saw Morgana eating it.

That’s right, some high school seniors snuck out of their homes to go to parties or make out with boys, Morgana snuck out to get cheap fast-food.

She was such a rebel.

“If there’s something wrong with this, we could go somewhere else,” Carly said, setting down her burger. She picked up on the same tension that Nick had sensed, and that was no good. Morgana shouldn’t have to force herself for their sakes! That wasn’t fair at all!

“No, really, it’s fine!” Morgana shook her head. “I really do like the food, it’s just, well… …I’ve never been to a fast-food restaurant with friends before… it’s a whole new experience for me, so I’m a little nervous,” she admitted.

Most of the meals she’d eaten here at the hotel were in the Banquet Hall. She wasn’t the kind of girl by nature to go out and find new restaurants all on her own, after all. But being around the others, she just got swept up in their excitement.

Now, she wasn’t sure if she was even having a good time or not- but she was trying to do her best all the same.

Morgana forced herself to smile, knowing that she WAS enjoying herself, just having a hard time showing the others. The last thing she wanted was to make anybody worried about her, after all.

“Well… if you’re sure, Morgana, that’s good enough for me,” Carly said with a smile, flashing her teeth to the other girl. “Same with you, right, Nick?”

“Yeah, I don’t mind food like this,” Nick agreed, popping a fry into his mouth. “And I’m just happy that you’re enjoying a good experience for your first time.”

“That’s right!” Carly clapped. “It’s your first time having fast-food with friends! Nice, greasy cheeseburgers! Delicious, I’ll bet!”

Then Carly gasped and turned around in her seat. “Oh, wait, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin, this is a first for you, as well, isn’t it?” She asked. She had no idea if the assassin had ever eaten at a fast-food restaurant before, but at the very least, she was pretty sure that the other girl hadn’t done so with friends.

Did Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin even have friends, prior to coming to the island? Carly had no idea, and she doubted anyone else on the island did, either.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin had a guarded expression on her face. She slowly nodded, and took another bite of her cheeseburger.

Nick noticed that she wasn’t smiling nearly as brightly as she had been just a second ago. It makes sense, he thought, feeling a wave of guilt roll over him. It seems like she doesn’t appreciate being reminded of the past.

He understood that feeling all too well. Before coming onto this show, if anyone had tried to get Nick to talk to him about his past, and how much pain he’d gone through as a result of the women he had known, he would have shut down on the spot. Things were better now, of course, he wasn’t nearly as haunted as he used to be- but he still felt that sting of uncertainty in his gut, on occasion.

It was why he’d taken so long to get therapy. He’d tried to just not talk about it.

And while Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin may not have been able to open up about her painful past in the traditional sense, he knew that it wasn’t impossible for her to share her feelings with others.

She just needed to trust someone enough to open up to them. And he would like to be that person, if she would let him.

“Hey, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin, if you’re not happy about eating here, Carly’s right, we can go somewhere else,” he said. Nick knew that this was Morgana’s date and her wants should be prioritized, but it also didn’t sit right with him that someone else would have to have a bad time for her sake.

He was pretty sure Morgana wouldn’t want that, either.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin let out a silent sigh and turned her head. She looked over behind the counter, towards the machines in the back of the restaurant, and shook her head with a glum expression on her face.

Wait. So she wasn’t upset about being reminded of her past? She was upset because…

“Don’t tell me you’re bummed out that the ice cream machine is broken!” Carly’s mouth dropped open in shock. She covered her mouth, trying to keep from bursting out laughing. “Well… that’s not what I expected, I’ll say that much!”

“I don’t see why that would even be the case,” Morgana mumbled. “I mean… this island is magic, right? Why would the ice cream machine just be broken like that?”

Nick was pretty sure it was an act of petty spite on the part of the producers. Or maybe even one of the hosts. It could be Echo, or Dakota, or even Sylvia could have been responsible for it, way back when she ran things.

All part of making the “authentic” fast-food experience.

“Well, how about we get ice cream when we’re done here?” Nick suggested. “Assuming everybody still has room for dessert.”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s entire face lit up and she nodded enthusiastically.

Carly lowered her hand and let her smile naturally sit on her face. “Well, I guess somebody likes that idea,” she said with a laugh, rolling her eyes. “Can’t say it’s a bad one, either. A nice treat before we head back to the Master’s Suite.”

“I love it!” Morgana nodded. She looked almost as excited as Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin, which was a surprise because Nick doubted anyone could like ice cream as much as the mute assassin did.

“Then it sounds like a plan,” Nick agreed. They finished off their meal with renewed vigor, and left to go get ice cream.

…What a convenience!

“It’s right next door,” Carly said, her voice dripping with irony. “What a pleasant coincidence! Don’t you guys think?”

“Just how the Shopping District works,” Nick replied, looking at the ice cream parlor that had magically appeared right next to the burger joint. He distinctly remembered the restaurant being at the end of the block, but apparently the street had expanded slightly to accommodate their change of plans.

How about that?

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin wasted no time, running over to the doors and practically mashing her face against the glass. Morgana laughed and followed after her.

“It’s strange,” Carly murmured, watching the two of them as they headed inside.

Nick turned to her, wondering what she was talking about. “What’s strange?” He asked. “Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin?”

“Well, yes, but not in the way you’re thinking,” Carly replied, shaking her head. She had a ponderous look on her face. “What I mean is… well… …Think about it like this. That girl… it’s like she takes in everything she experiences with such passion and awe; it’s almost like she’s a child.”

Nick felt like he needed to be very careful about how he approached this. “…She does have a lot of whimsy,” he conceded, remembering how enamored the assassin had been with sculpting clay back on their last date. “I wouldn’t go so far as to say she seems like a child, but-”

“No, you’re right,” Carly admitted. “That isn’t really the right comparison.” She stroked her chin thoughtfully. “I guess it’s just… I didn’t expect her to be so… innocent.”

Ever since Emmy was returned to her, Carly had changed. She was more parental now, more maternal. And a lot more perceptive about the actions and moods of the people around her. Nick appreciated that aspect of her personality, but he also found it to be worrying. He didn’t want Carly to get so invested that she overthought everything.

“I’m not just saying this because I’m a mother,” Carly clarified. It was like she was psychic sometimes, Nick swore she could read his mind.

The sharp look in her eyes, like she was staring right into his brain, certainly didn’t help with that misunderstanding.

“What I mean is that she reminds me of Emmy. The way Emmy is so eager to learn so many new things, you know?” Carly tried to explain, but it was difficult for someone who wasn’t around Emmy as much as she was to understand.

“I guess I get what you mean,” Nick said, trying his best to see things from Carly’s perspective. “Emmy missed out on a huge chunk of her life; she’s basically learning how to be an adult for the very first time, right?”

“Exactly,” Carly said, nodding. “And it’s not easy for her. That’s sort of what I’m seeing with Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin. She’s experiencing so much of this stuff for the first time, it’s like… she’s finally getting a chance to enjoy her life.”

Carly smiled at the thought. She remembered seeing Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin looking sullen at lunch. She’d wanted to say something, but she was afraid of distracting Rose from her big day. But luckily, Mary had been there to try and break the ice.

That was one of the things she appreciated about Mary. While the other girl wasn’t as social or as outgoing as Carly was, when there was something she wanted to do or something she wanted to say? Nothing could stop her.

It was an admirable quality.

“Hey!” Morgana stuck her head out of the door and looked at the two of them. She was frowning. “Are you guys coming, or what?”

“Right! Sorry!” Carly called to her. She felt a little sheepish. She’d been thinking so hard about Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin that she’d forgotten that they were supposed to be enjoying themselves on a date!

That wouldn’t do at all.

“Come on, let’s go,” Carly said, reaching to grab Nick by the hand. But she caught herself just in time. “…Whoops!” She yanked her hand back. “Don’t want to get too touchy-feely- at least, not yet,” she giggled, wiggling her eyebrows.

She didn’t want to accidentally take on one of Nick’s fetishes and then have the rest of the day degrade into a sexual frenzy again- there would be time for that later.

Right now, she just wanted to preserve the atmosphere of childlike innocence that Morgana and Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin seemed to be cultivating.

“You know,” Nick said, “when I proposed that we could go get ice cream after dinner, this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.”

Nick was fine with ice cream. He loved ice cream!

But there was ice cream, and then there was the monstrosity of a banana split that Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin had ordered.

The bowl looked big enough for a dog to take a bath in it. Three scoops of ice cream, vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, all rested in a row. Only they seemed more like bowling balls in terms of their size than “scoops”. They were sandwiched between two bananas that were so long Nick suspected that there was an intentional innuendo being made, and slathered in enough syrup to drown somebody in. Maybe an entire bottle’s worth of chocolate, caramel, and strawberry. Not to mention the veritable blizzard of peanuts sprinkled all across the surface of the dish, three mountains of whipped cream, and a cherry on the very top big enough to pluck off and bite into like it was a peach.

Nick couldn’t imagine anyone eating that and not getting sick. Even Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin. But she seemed to appreciate the challenge, judging by the eager grin that broke her face in half.

“Hey, I asked her if she changed her mind when I brought it to her,” the faerie at the counter said with a shrug. She had hair in rainbow streaks like sherbert, and a cool expression on her face, like it didn’t matter to her either way.

“…You know she’s mute, right?” Carly asked the faerie.

The small pixie grunted and shrugged her shoulders. Clearly it wasn’t a high priority for her.

Comparatively, Nick and the other girls had gotten much more modest dishes. Carly got something surprisingly basic for her- frozen yogurt.

“Not gonna get ice cream?” Nick asked, looking at the frosty dish of chocolate-flavored yogurt swirled up in a bowl in front of the cosplayer.

“Nah,” Carly said, shaking her head. “Ice cream’s great and all, but frozen yogurt is where it’s at, if you ask me.”

Nick glanced down at his dish. There had been so many flavors, he hadn’t been quite sure what to get himself. At the counter, it had felt like every time he turned his head, a new flavor that he hadn’t seen before had appeared.

Considering that the ice cream parlor itself had popped into existence in the middle of the street not that long ago, he couldn’t say for sure that he was wrong.

“What flavor did you get?” Morgana asked him curiously.

“Oh, uh… not anything special, just French Silk,” Nick responded, dipping his spoon into the chocolate and vanilla blend. “I had a craving.”

“Thinking about Rose, eh?” Carly wiggled her eyebrows and flashed a smug grin. Nick didn’t bother dignifying that with a response.

Obviously, he was thinking about Rose when he picked it out. She’d done an amazing job of worming her way into his head and making him care about her, today had been so focused on Rose that he sometimes forgot it was just the first day of the round, so much stuff had happened.

“What flavor did you get, Morgana?” Carly asked curiously, looking at the bowl of black ice cream sitting in front of the goth girl. Thematic as always. It was too dark to be chocolate; it really looked as black as night. “Don’t tell me it’s licorice flavor, because… ugh. Gross.”

Morgana shook her head. She was never making that mistake again. “It’s not,” she said, taking a bite of it and sucking on her spoon contemplatively. “But it’s really good.”

She looked timidly over at Nick. “Would you… like to try it?” She asked hesitantly. He could see a hopeful look brimming in her eyes.

“Uh, sure,” Nick agreed, nodding.

Morgana smiled a little and stuck her spoon into the ice cream, handing it to him. It was darker than Nick had expected- he really hoped it wasn’t licorice.

Nick brought it up to his nose and sniffed. The aroma was familiar, but-

“Are you going to perform an autopsy on it next, or something?” Carly wasn’t familiar with science terms, but she assumed her point had gotten through. “Just eat it, Nick, come on! It’s not going to bite you,” she laughed.

“I know, I’m going to bite it,” Nick replied, doing just that. He stuck the spoon into his mouth, and slurped up the black substance.

The flavor stood out even more than the aroma. Very mild, with a bit of sweetness, it almost reminded him of…

“Eh?” Nick nearly choked taking the spoon out of his mouth. Not because he disliked the flavor, but because of the surprise. “It’s coconut! Coconut ice cream?”

Morgana shyly took back her spoon and nodded. “I was surprised, too,” she said. “Usually it’s supposed to be white, but…”

She glanced at the black ice cream in her dish. “I don’t know why they made it black. But I’m not going to complain.”

Nick wasn’t going to complain, either. The ice cream had tasted better than he expected! He turned to his own ice cream before it melted, only to see another spoon jammed in his face.

Holding the spoon was Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin, wearing an insistent expression. She narrowed her eyes.

“Oh, you want me to try some of yours, too?” Nick knew that the assassin could be competitive, but even he was surprised that she would voluntarily give him some of her ice cream.

He wasn’t going to complain about that, either, though. He let her feed him the ice cream, and when the spoon passed his lips, her whole face lit up with glee. Definitely worth it.

“Yours is good, too,” he said after he finished the taste. “Good choice with that sundae, I bet it’s delicious!”

What was left of it, anyway. To the whole table’s surprise, Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was well on her way to finishing the whole thing.

Nick had to admit- it was pretty impressive. Comparatively, the rest of them were savoring their desserts, he noted.

“Hey, don’t look over here,” Carly said with a grin, playfully putting her hand between him and the bowl. “You’re not getting a bite of mine- share with those two,” she teased, wiggling her eyebrows at him and then rolling her eyes.

Nick laughed. Yeah, getting ice cream was definitely the correct choice.