Eventually Cricket breaks for lunch. He can collect chicken livers and raw tuna from the fridge himself.

Haru - stops hovering. "What do you want for lunch?"

Blinkblinkblink.  "Uh... what do you have, again?"

"I'm leaning ramen but we have sandwich stuff... admittedly it's not mostly vegetarian sandwich stuff unless you want just, like, sprouts and cheese and maybe hummus if it's still in date... I think I remember how to make chickpea salad, there's always KD..."

"Is the ramen vegetarian?"

"We have a variety pack, I'm sure some of it is." Pantry rummaging. "Even the chicken flavor might be fake actually."

"Sounds good if so."

The chicken flavor is fake. Haru goes with the spicy sesame for himself.

Sure, yeah, chicken.

"I'm really sorry about..." him "that."

"I'll be fine, Cricket can talk to me when you're not up for it. That's like, his day job, because June doesn't talk to me either."

"That's... not the part I was apologizing for.  Or, not the main one."

"...I guess it was also confusing to be told you - he? - didn't care if I guided faster and then promptly hear a care about that but not in a way where I think it called for an apology."

"I think - he thought that you would have a strong enough opinion that saying that he didn't would be enough to get you to do the thing."

"I think it is medically indicated to guide you a lot but if I'm consulting my own selfish preferences I really like being able to read. And by visible indicators 'curled up with me on the couch making a stressed facial expression' isn't an emergency." The microwave completes Julien's ramen and he sticks his own in. "I can approach things differently but you seem to be a variety pack of backlash flavors and some of them are liars so I'm guessing a lot."

"I also am guessing a lot.  It's... it's also rough being the liars.  Not that - I don't mean - ....I don't know."

"I get it. I know you're having a rough time and it's not about me basically at all. Just trying to explain."

"Thank you.  I think I just mean - I also don't have a flowchart of what you should do about me being various ways.  And I'm sorry for that.  If I were in your place that would be the worst part for me, not knowing what to do."

"I'll cope, but also both of us have a few days to pick up practical experience," Haru shrugs. "I found practice mattered a fair amount managing mine."