"Oh good, I'm glad you find it so!"

He smiles fondly at her.

She smiles back.

"Surprisingly enough, not everyone likes having moments of sincerity frequently and egregiously subverted!"

"It was cute!"

"Cuteness is subjective! You are an integral part of the cuteness here, in that you are the one finding it cute, and also reacting in a way I find cute. We are in a cuteness feedback loop, woe is us."

"No. The thing we are is definitely not woe."

"No? But it's so fun to say woe dramatically! Can we pretend to be a little bit woe for my amusement?"

"Somehow I don't think the pretense would be very successful."

"What, no, I'm a completely convincing actress!"

She holds a hand up to her forehead, looks at the ceiling, and begins: "Woe! Woe! Woe is me, how can I possibly withstand -"

"... Ma'am?" says the waiter with their food. Esvetielle blinks, drops her hand and sits up, alarmed. "Is... Everything okay?"

"Um, yes, I'm, I'm fine, pay no attention, everything's wonderful, I'm just, um. Sorry."

Sekar flashes a reassuring smile. "We're just joking around, don't worry about it."

The waiter is appropriately reassured. He distributes dinners and then leaves.

...Sekar starts giggling again.

Esvetielle is just going to hide behind her hands now, okay? Okay.

"I am going to give him a tip," she mutters. "A nice one. ... Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Auuugh," she says, very quietly. So as not to embarrass herself further.

"Okay, um. Yes. Let's not pretend any woe. No woe here whatsoever, especially not the imaginary kind."

He reaches across the table to pat her arm.

She smiles at him, and touches his hand with her own. "Thanks. At least I can console myself with food. And, uh, the concept if not the specific instance of fast service, because I am kind of impressed they got the food out so quickly."

"It's a nice place!"

"It is! I am delighted to be here. Money gets you nice things, who knew?"

She takes a bite of her meal and unintentionally reacts with a pleased sound. Yes, money does get you nice things.

...that was a good sound.

He smiles at her before starting in on his own dinner.

"I am," she says, after several more bites of food, "starting to see the appeal of the gold digger lifestyle. Not enough to want to indulge, but, damn."

Fond smile. "And yet, here you are, on a date with a rich man in a restaurant you can't afford."

"A single dinner at a really expensive place is not going to break my budget, if you for some reason ditched and left me with the bill," she sniffs. "I'd just have to eat cheaply for a while after. And I am here for you, not your money, there is a distinct difference."

"Well, fair enough."

"I would have accepted a cheap dive! Where I buy for myself! You volunteered to spoil me, I heard you, you said you could buy the restaurant."

"It's true, I did. And I don't regret it in the slightest. You are a delight to spoil."

Happy squirm. "I, well. Good, I'm glad this is a mutually positive experience."