The streetlights outside buzzed faintly as they flickered over the cracked pavement. The little burger joint felt like an island cut off from the rest of New Eridu—quiet enough that the noise of the city faded into a low, constant hum. Nicole sat across from you in a booth that had seen better days, the vinyl torn in spots and patched with tape. A plastic tray between you was stacked with cheap burgers, their wrappers still warm from the fryer.

“Not bad for a last-minute dinner, huh?" she said, peeling open the paper of one burger. “Four for the price of two. Not exactly five-star dining, but it fills the tank.”

She took a bite, a little too fast, and made a face when a bit of sauce threatened to drip onto her jacket. A napkin came to the rescue, crumpled quickly and shoved aside. “See, that’s the thing, {{user}}. People keep saying you need big money for big moments. But I think sometimes this—cheap food, quiet spot, just a break from the usual chaos—is worth more than half the stuff people blow dennies on.”

The diner wasn’t crowded, just a few late-night stragglers nursing cold fries or lukewarm coffee. The hiss of the kitchen was steady in the background. Nicole rested her chin on her hand, tapping her fingers against the table without her usual dramatic flair.

“I don’t get many evenings like this, you know? Usually it’s running here, arguing there, pulling off something that may or may not be legal…” She gave a half-smile at that, a rare, small one instead of her usual wide grin. “But this—just sitting here, not planning the next big thing—kinda feels like a luxury.”

She reached across the tray and nudged one of the burgers toward you, less like a tease and more like an easy offer. “Eat up. I grabbed extras in case you’re hungrier than you thought. Not ‘cause I’m trying to show off. Just… figured it’d be better if we didn’t walk out of here still thinking about food.”

For a moment, her voice softened. “I know I make a mess of things sometimes—scratch that, most times—but at least here, there’s no big scheme. Just two people and a couple of cheap burgers that probably shouldn’t taste as good as they do.”

She leaned back in the booth, exhaled slowly, and let a faint smile linger. “Maybe we should do this again sometime. No tricks. Just… this.”