"Over here, Queens!"

  As she got out of the car, Ren turned her head to see Riku waving them down from the restaurant. She smiled and waved in reciprocation - Sota simply sighed from nearby and got himself out of the car.

  "I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to chow down!" Riku continued once they closed the distance.

  Ren wasn't particularly hungry - given the tension of the morning - but she wasn't going to say that now. She just giggled and nodded in acknowledgement.

  "What about you, birthday boy?" Riku questioned. "Planning to eat your fill?"

  "Something like that."

  "Excellent!"

  The three of them had chosen a buffet-style restaurant to eat at. Once they had picked out their table and gotten their plates, Riku immediately began bombarding them with questions and conversation topics. Ren smiled and talked with them - but her attention was primarily focused on Sota. His posture and mannerisms seemed a bit different than normal. It wasn't as if he was sad or depressed, but he wasn't really relaxed and happy either. The best she could describe it as was "distant".

  "I'm going to go grab a second plate," Sota chimed in after some time had passed.

  He got himself off and headed back towards the buffet stands, leaving Riku and Ren to continue working on their half-eaten plates.

  "Senpai is able to eat so fast," Ren noted aloud. "Or maybe we're just slow..."

  She turned her attention to Riku. He was smiley and extravagant for a couple more seconds - right up until Sota turned the corner and was out of sight. Almost like a light switch, his expression hardened and his attention turned to Ren.

  "Alright, girl - what's going on?"

  "Huh?"

  "With our birthday boy," Riku noted. "Something's up - got any ideas? Has he mentioned anything?"

  Ren wanted to dismiss the question, but it was clear Riku had sniffed out that something was amiss. She could try to dismiss it and play defense until Sota returned - but that would create awkwardness for the rest of the birthday celebration.

  "My grandfather sorta ambushed him this morning," she admitted. "When Senpai came inside to pick me up, he was bombarded with questions. Senpai was able to fire back pretty easily and get the situation settled, but he had already switched modes by the time it was over."

  "Switching modes, huh?" Riku chuckled. "I guess that's an accurate way to describe it."

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "Do you call it something else?"

  She waited for an answer, but realized after a moment that Riku didn't intend to give one.

  "We had chatted on the way here about it. He told me he wasn't upset about it, and that we could talk in more detail later today about why he responds the way he does. He told me he wasn't upset about it anymore, but I'm not so sure..."

  "I would take him at face value when he says that."

  "You think so?" Ren questioned, surprised by the interjection. "Didn't you just say something was up?"

  Riku couldn't argue with that, but he hesitated a bit before giving an answer. Ren could see that hew as trying to figure out what was okay to say and what would be crossing the line.

  "To answer your initial question, I tend to view it as a fight-or-flight response," he finally spoke. "If a tiger attacks you and you survive, it's not as if you're upset. If anything, you're glad that things worked out...but that doesn't mean you just whip back into your normal persona."

  "That makes sense, but isn't that a survival mechanism? If it really is that, it seems like an intense reaction. Maybe it made sense that day my grandfather showed up at our lunch, since Senpai had no background context...but this morning? It definitely wasn't pleasant, but why would something like that be enough to warrant it?"

  "That's a story for him to tell you, not me..."

  With Riku word's, a chill of cold seemed to settle over the table. It was something about the way Riku had said it - the way it was clear that he felt Sota was justified in how he reacted. If that was the case...

  She didn't have a lot of time to dig into her thought before a plate was set on the table next to her.

  "I'm back," Sota announced as he sat down. "Did I miss anything?"

  "Boring girl chat," Riku laughed. "Does the birthday boy want all of the juicy details!"

  "I think I'll pass..."

  ***

  The rest of the meal went by in a flash. Sota became more and more present as the meal went on, and things were mostly back to normal by the time the check was brought over.

  "I suppose I'll be a kind date and cover this for the birthday boy," Riku announced. "I'll be right baaack!"

  With that, Riku got up and made his way towards the register where the hostess was stationed. Sota leaned back a bit in his spot and exhaled. Although he was in better spirits at this point, Riku's extroversion was still clearly a draw on him.

  "Well?" Ren questioned, smiling. "How has Senpai's birthday celebration been so far?"

  "Not too bad, all things considered. If we can get out of here without Riku having them sing a birthday song to me, I'll consider it a win."

  "I'm sure you would love that."

  They both chuckled. Ren was glad that things had returned to normalcy - but she still had questions that she was hoping she could get answered. She wanted to try and find a way to extend their day. Partially to get Sota to open up, but also because she enjoyed any time she could spend outside of the house.

  "Sooo," she began. "Can I admit something?"

  "Sure?"

  "I didn't have any opportunity to go out and get you a gift," she admitted. "That being said, we're out and about now! Any chance you'd be willing to take me someplace with interesting shops?"

  "You don't have to do that," Sota responded promptly. "This has been enough for me..."

  "There will be none of that here!" Ren declared teasingly. "Unless of course, you're tired of hanging out with me?"

  "Really?" Sota sighed, rolling his eyes. "You're going for that bit?"

  He waited for a response - she just sat there with a fake-pout quivering lip.

  "I suppose I don't see why not..."

  "Great!" Ren immediately exclaimed. "Some place quieter than the mall, too! It has a lot of options, but I'm also hitting my limit on louder places..."

  More importantly, she knew that a quieter place would make it more likely that Sota would be willing to speak at length about things. It was the best shot she could think of to get a better understanding of things.

  "I guess...we could head up north a bit," he decided. "There's a boardwalk up that way along the lake that's usually pretty quiet at this time of day - and it has some interesting shops."