"You don't have to be so overcautious..."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

Jun shot a side glance at Juto who kept a hand firmly on his shoulder. Called out like that he squeezed it tighter and pulled Jun closer to himself.

"What do you expect, I'm on your territory. Can't be cautious enough."

"Your lack of trust is offending..."

"Been a soldier long enough to learn a thing or two."

The guerrilla carefully reached out with his arm behind their backs to grab the machine gun dangling on the other man's shoulder, but Juto tugged at the strap and moved it out of reach.

"You're one to talk..."

"Hmph."

So far the walk wasn't so bad. The soldier thought people will stare at him for standing out since he's wearing some foreign space-like skintight suit for no reason, but so far nobody seemed to care. No highlights except for some kids that ran by them and called him an astronaut.

Though soon enough something else occupied his mind.

Jun grunted when Juto's hand held him in place. He was about to voice some complaints about the abrupt halt and almost dislocating his shoulder, when he understood what's going on. They stopped in front of a small restaurant with some local cuisine. It was lunch time and the smell of cooked food filled the air, while the dining places around were gradually filled with people.

The tall soldier seemed absent minded for a moment, before turning to Jun.

"Hm...? You said something?"

The companion opened his mouth but wasn't able to say a word when Juto continued.

"Man I feel hungry... Hey..."

He leaned closer to Jun, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

"My buddy, my dear friend~"

"What's with that sweet tone?"

Jun squinted at him and crossed his arms.

"Say, how 'bout you'll be so kind and treat me to a meal?"

"You're taking this fake friendship too far."

"Look I wouldn't ask if my wallet wasn't miles away from me."

"Hmph."

Jun was hesitant when a thought flashed through his mind. It would be much easier to ambush the soldier if he's distracted with food in an enclosed space, especially if Jun can secretly notify his friends to help him with it. He just had to pick the right dining place. And he knew plenty.

"Well... I kinda feel hungry too. So fine, I guess."

Juto smiled wide and ruffled Jun's hair, using the same sweet tone as before.

"You're such a good guy~"

"Yeah, yeah. I know a great place, follow me!"

He exclaimed maybe a bit too energetic, he grabbed the tall soldier by the arm and pulled to some alley, then stopped by some cozy, neat little restaurant. The waitress there noticed Jun through the windows and waved at him, he waved back.

"This is my favorite. Nice service and you'll like the food here I'm sure."

He was about to open the door when Juto stopped him, pulling back.

"I dunno..."

"Hey, what's wrong?"

The mech pilot had a bad feeling about it. He wasn't sure how to respond, and his gaze fell at the blackboard with the menu of the day mentioned on it. Something about fish and crustaceans.

"I just... don't really like seafood."

"That's because you didn't try their cooking, you'll change your mi-"

"Let's go somewhere else."

Juto turned back to the main street. The guerrilla cursed under his breath and caught up with the man.

"Ok, ok then how about pizza? I know the owner, he can give us a discount and some extra toppings, it's gonna be great~!"

"Hmm..."

Juto hummed just walking ahead without slowing down. Again, a bad feeling. He didn't like the fact Jun was good friends with the people serving them, so he made it his goal to find a place that would be unknown to him. Jun kept proposing some other places he knew until he gave up and threw his hands in the air.

"Then what the hell do you DO want, you damn choosing beggar?"

"Well..."

The soldier stopped and looked around.

"How about this?"

He pointed at a small open place serving varieties of soups, most likely the equivalent of a ramen shop. It had a counter with row of seats at the outside and some booth tables inside. It was pretty empty save for a couple people at the booth and the middle aged bald cook behind the counter cleaning some stuff.

"Eh? Soups?"

Jun scratched the back of his head.

"Yup. Light and nutritious. Got any recommendations for the food here?"

"No, I... didn't eat here before."

That was enough to convince Juto.

"Well then, it will be a great new experience for us both~"

He slapped the little companion on the back in a friendly manner, with a smile that was obviously fake.

"Y-yeaaah."

Jun returned an equally fake smile. 'You sly shit, you...' went through his head.

They sat at the counter in the open right at the entrance, each grabbed a menu card and checked the options. Juto's eyes stopped at a rather amusing dish name.

"'Salty Midget' huh? I have one sitting right next to me."

He mumbled as if talking to himself and smirked when he heard his companion let out an offended huff.

(The dish referred to a local bird dubbed midget which was served cooked whole and resting in the middle of a nest made out of thick noodles and seasoned mainly with salt.)

It didn't take long for Jun to retaliate with another mildly offensive dish name.

"'Soggy Hunk' sounds like that loser I found today at the beach."

(A large piece of beef half dipped in the broth next to ingredients like egg and croutons, seasoned with the basic spices)

"Haha touche"

"He almost ended as 'Drowned Chunks'."

(Diced pork at the bottom of the broth, noodles on top)

"Ow, that hurt."

They both laughed in unison at the "Hot Shots" which was hot beverage spiked with some alcohol.

"Can I have this one? Is the price fine with you?"

Juto asked leaning over to Jun and tapped at the card. The short man nodded and went over to the cook to make the order.

In the meantime, the soldier turned around and watched the street life. There wasn't much going on as the alley was a bit away from the main street, but you could still hear the hustle and bustle coming from that direction. Faint music came out of some radio through open windows in some nearby apartment. Some women gossiped on the side, a stray dog passed by. The buildings stood in the sun in various colors, some cracked or covered in impressive ivy bushes.

Overall it looked peaceful, a nice lazy afternoon in a small cozy town. A place untouched by war.

"It's gonna be ready in 10 minutes."

Jun came back and took his seat. He sighed. He had an urge to claim the machine gun sitting there while Juto was distracted, but he didn't want to risk the situation turning against him in case the soldier decided to play the victim in front of all the unfamiliar people.

"Huh? Oh, alright."

Juto snapped out of his thoughts and leaned back.

"What were you thinking?"

"Nothing... just appreciating the calm atmosphere."

He made a vague hand gesture at the scenery around them.

"How's the life on your side?"

"I live at the military base since a while, but the cities I know are always busy and in rush. Also you can feel the tension of war looming around and people just don't shut up about the news and politics... I honestly forgot how it feels to be so... carefree."

He looked up at the sky. In the distance a toy plane was making circles in the air. Jun leaned against the counter and looked in the same direction.

"I see. Yeah the town is pretty calm. You still get some dark alleys and some people obsessed with the conflict, but that's a given. Not as bad as in big cities though."

"Did you grow up here?"

"Not really. I moved here from a different part of the island when I was 15. But I often came to visit a family member here before the move. I had a couple friends and we were quite the troublemakers..."

Jun paused, realizing he completely forgot to whom he was talking. He didn't really have any reason to open up to Juto like that. He huffed and turned around resting head in his palm.

"Well that was over 10 years ago. Who cares."

"I grew up on a small farm. Had a gang of mischievous friends as well, good times."

The soldier chuckled. Their chit chat was interrupted by the cook who served the food soon after. Jun removed his bandana from the neck and tied to his arm, while Juto picked up the piece of cutlery and examined it.

"What's that...?"

It looked vaguely like a spork except for the spoon part being deeper and the fork part longer.

"It's a ramen spork, never saw it before? Look you can skewer the bitey parts with the fork part and scoop the broth with the spoon."

"Wait... am I supposed to fit it all in my mouth or-"

"Pfft, if you can! Locally we use the spoon part from the side, like this."

The small man made a demonstration of how it's done properly with the other leaning over and looking carefully.

"I see. Peculiar. Well, let's dig in."

They moved almost in synch, making sure to blow at the steamy hot food first. They both hummed in delight at the taste. A couple minutes of silence went by when Jun got reminded of something.

"Oh, yeah... before I forget again..."

Juto wasn't even able to ask what it was when an elbow lodged itself right in his ribs. He inhaled sharply and started to cough, almost choking on the food. The other people in the restaurant looked over with concern. He moaned in pain and rubbed the sore spot.

"What-..."

"That's for teasing me earlier, you dick."

Jun said without even batting an eye and continued with his meal. He referred to the time Juto made him squirm by caressing his tender neck.

"I've never seen anyone react so intense to a mere touch. Couldn't help it, sorry. You didn't have to be so violent, damn..."

"As if YOU don't have a sensitive spot."

"Well I don't."

"Lies."

"It would be nice if you'd believe me at least once."

The soldier pouted. Jun glanced at him while Juto stuffed a big serving of noodles in his mouth, then his gaze moved lower to the waist.

"I bet you have one, like right here."

He poked his side with his index finger. His companion twitched and shifted slightly at the touch but that was it, no severe reaction. He chuckled in response.

"Nice try, midget."

He gave him a smug grin and slurped some of the broth.

"Is that a challenge? Well then, how about here?"

Convinced it's a safe bet, Jun reached lower and caressed Juto's inner thigh, moving the hand towards his crotch. That hit the spot. Surprised at that bold move, Juto jolted in his seat and spat his soup. He gasped and wiped his mouth, eyes open wide while Jun leaned back, cackling in delight.

"What the fuck!?"

He snapped at the little guerrilla who had tears in his eyes from laughing too hard.

"Serves! You! Right! HAHAHA!"

Jun's hand smacked the top of the counter with every word. The people around, inside and outside the shop looked over in confusion.

The two apologized sincerely when the cook himself appeared in front of them with a huge (rather solid looking) ladle in hand and a really annoyed look. He advised them to sit at the opposite ends of the counter and finish the meal in silence, which they humbly did. They complimented the chef profusely after they finished eating and left the shop.