We said our goodbyes to Lauren’s parents, holding ourselves to a little quiet moment again, and then made our way back downstairs to grab our clothes to go brave the outside once more. While we hadn’t been here long, I noticed that Lauren was a lot more cheerie and as for me, it made me happy that I used the opportunity to learn more about Lauren’s views of the world as well. We hadn’t been a couple for long after all, and learning something new about someone was always a fun thing in my opinion.

With our clothes back on we walked back outside to the hover tram station, waiting for a tram only Lauren knew the current destination off.

“I take it we won’t be riding the tram for very long either this time?” I asked, digging myself a little bit deeper into my scarf as a gust of wind sent the shivers down my spin.

Lauren chuckled and rubbed my back, warming me up a little. “Ye, there’s a nice neighborhood on the outskirts of the city center that has a lot of cozy eating spots. I discovered it one day while I was just roaming around after a visit, just to clear my head. It’s a spot only foodies know of.”

I nodded as a tram landed in front of us, Lauren however, did not get in. I looked up at her and pouted.

“Hey, unless you want to go to the real cold parts of town, you really don't want to take that tram.” She chuckled once more. “We need the next one.”

I started wobbling from side to side to keep myself warm. Having come out of the very cozily heated dome definitely made the contrast a lot bigger. And this was supposed to be a relatively warm day too! “I can’t wait for that vacation to warmer resorts…”

“We’ll look into it soon. I promise.” She kissed the top of my head.

Luckily for me, the next tram didn’t let us wait too long on it, lifting us off to our next destination with a breeze. Again I was treated to a quick change in scenery as this tram line seemed to just travel around in a circle, using the city center as its anchor point. The mainly residential building now made room for more mixed-use medium sized buildings.

Lauren squeezed my hand to signal it was here that we had to get off our tram. And just like that we were standing in the middle of a calm yet very cozy looking street. They had opted to go for an orange lighting, which made everything seem a little bit warmer, especially since the streets weren’t very wide either. But what I could also immediately tell when we got out of the tram, was the different smells that hit my nostrils. A mixture of herbs, grilled meat, garlic… just about everything you could think of when it came to food. A true mystery to how it all just impacted me all at once. Surely this was some kind of sales trick to make me even hungrier than I was getting. And it was working too…

“Watch out, Luna, I can practically see you drooling.” Lauren chuckled.

“Oh.” The corners of my mouth had definitely gotten a bit drooly while I wasn’t paying attention.

“Don’t worry, that was my reaction at first too. Quite a pleasant surprise, don’t you agree?”

“Is there that many different food places here?”

“You bet. If I didn’t know any better, I would consider this place to be the food capital of the world.”

“What are we waiting on then, show me all the foods.”

“Alright.” Lauren started pulling me along once more. “You don’t need to tell me that twice.”

She walked me past multiple little restaurants before stopping for a smaller restaurant, from the outside it also looked to be more of a romantic, cozy restaurant rather than the more hip well lit ones we have just passed.

“What’s this place?” I asked.

“It’s a vegan place I found during my second visit here, it’s very cozy inside, they have like these cushions in their boots that are super soft.”

“Cushions!”

“Yeah.” Lauren smiled. “And the food is really good too. I generally don’t eat vegan stuff, but I was pleasantly surprised with their menu. In my opinion, it’s a good gateway to eating vegan. So, are you interested?”

“You had me at cushions, not going to lie.”

Lauren laughed. “Okay, let’s go in then.” She opened the door for me and I stepped through into a room with dark purple walls, lit up by the same cozy orange lighting from outside. There were a couple of people eating here, most of them rather young-looking. Maybe in their early twenties. Some of them gave us a quick glance when we stepped in but they all went back to their own business just as fast.

A lady, also in her early twenties, wearing a black and purple apron, walked over to us. “How can I help you?”

Lauren took a step forward. “We would like to have a booth for two if that’s possible. I didn’t reserve beforehand, though.”

“That’s no problem at all, miss. Come this way, please.” The lady guided us to a booth at the back of the restaurant, a bit out of the way from the other guests and sat us down, handing us a menu quickly after. “Call me over once you’ve decided on what to order.” She smiled and left us alone again. Leaving Lauren and myself to look through the menu card she’d given us. There were not too many items on the menu, only ten or so, but what was on it, interested me quite a bit.

“What about we get a plate of jazz?” Lauren asked.

“The music?” I tilted my head in confusion.

“No.” She laughed and pointed at the middle of the menu. “It’s a combination of all the above tapas. So you get a couple of pizzette’s, seasonal croquettes, pretty much everything on the tapas menu. Just as a bit of a rich starter.”

“Oh, that does sound pretty good to me, yes.” I nodded. “And what are you going to do for the main course, then?”

“I think I’m going to go for the burger. It’s a black bean burger with pickled veggies, lettuce, ketchup and some other sauces together with some sweet potato fries on the side. I at that here last time and I enjoyed it quite a lot.”

“Then I think I’ll go for that too.”

Before we called over the server to our table again, we took off our jackets. When the waitress then finally appeared, it seemed as though that did intimidate her a little bit. But she took our orders nonetheless with a smile.

“Did she also look a bit nervous to you?” I asked Lauren when the lady had walked off.

“Yeah, a bit. I don’t think people here are used to seeing many military types.”

“But you have come here before, right?”

“It is the first time in uniform.”

“Oh. I thought you always went to the cemetery with your uniform on.”

“Nah, I’ve done it a couple of times, but I mostly keep that for special occasions, when I want to look the best I can. Like introducing my new girlfriend, for example.” She leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “But whenever I’ve come here, it was always on occasions when I wasn’t wearing my uniform.”

“They don’t hate us, right?”

“Nah, I think they just didn’t expect two people, of whom one has a lot of medals hanging from her chest.” She pointed at the row of medals and ribbons on her uniform.

“I guess it is rather impressive.”

At that point, the lady came back with the drinks we’d ordered and put them on the table. “These drinks are on the house.” She commented with a smile.

“That’s really not necessary.” Lauren was quick to reply. “I’ve been here a couple of times before, you really don’t need to make an exception.”

“No, really, I insist. My dad would not allow me not to give it to you for free.” The lady continued. “My parents survived the war only thanks to soldiers like you. It’s the sole reason why this little bistro is here now.”

Lauren fell quiet for a couple of seconds before she nodded. “Okay, I’ll accept it this time. But next time I am paying for the drinks, alright?” She smiled.

The lady also nodded in return. “I will bring your food over shortly.” And just like that, she left again.

“It’s not like I dislike the appreciation at times, but it is quite annoying at times too. I just want to support businesses like this, you know.”

I nodded and thought for a second. “Well… there’s nothing stopping you from giving a sizable tip at the end of our visit, is there?”

Lauren smiled brightly at my short reply. “That’s an idea I can get behind. I actually hadn’t thought about that before.” And once more, Lauren leaned in for another kiss.

-How could I not come up with ideas like this when I keep getting rewarded with something like that?-