Cas shrugged when Iris said the suite was too expensive. After he’d been to Tongsen, he understood why she wasn’t used to dropping large sums of money on things like this, but it was normal to him. The room he’d booked was the most lavish at the resort with the best view overlooking the pool below and the vast city sprawling into the horizon. His father may have chased him off with threats of admitting him to an asylum, but he wasn’t going to let the king force him into a hovel. While he was hiding out, he was going to at least try to enjoy himself. He felt like he deserved that much, especially after the emotional rollercoaster Atlas had been imposing on him for the past couple weeks.

[color=#b97703]“Yeah, I can call the front desk and ask for them to send dinner to our door,”[/color] he confirmed when she asked about room service. Watching her approach the window, his expression softened slightly. He was struck again with gratefulness that she was with him during this uncertain time. Not only was it nice to have someone else around while he was feeling lost, but it was also the first opportunity they’d had to truly be alone since they’d gotten back to the capital. The closer they became, the more he was coming to realize that he depended on her as a refuge from all the turmoil around them. He’d never loved anyone else as much outside of his own family.

Warmed by the thought, he walked over to stand behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle, pressing a kiss to her neck as he took in the view of the city lights. For a few heartbeats, he merely held her, enjoying the moment before he said softly, [color=#b97703]“I think we should order food even if you’re not hungry. I noticed you skip a lot of meals, Iris… You need to eat something.”[/color] He touched another kiss to her cheek and smiled at her affectionately. [color=#b97703]“I don’t know what I’d do if you wasted away to nothing. Come on.”[/color]

Giving her a quick squeeze, he let his arms fall away from her and took her by the hand to bring her with him to the kitchen at the back of the suite. With his free hand, he felt around the wall until he found the light switch, which he flipped to turn on the lights over the quartz countertops. Every hotel he’d ever stayed at had a menu book so, letting go of Iris, he ambled over to the small collection of brochures, pamphlets and other things the resort had for its guests to browse during their stay. As expected, the menu was among them, and he picked it up to bring to her to look through.

Leaning back against the edge of the counter, he gestured for her to stand next to him and opened up the thin book. [color=#b97703]“Pick whatever you want and ignore the numbers,”[/color] he told her, nudging her shoulder playfully with his own. [color=#b97703]“I’ll just charge it to the room. Whatever you don’t eat, we can just put in the fridge and have for breakfast in the morning.”[/color]

Taking his own advice, he skimmed the dishes on the list. Since they were staying at a luxury resort, each item on the menu costed no less than fifty credits, and many had italicized suggestions for wines that paired well with the flavors in the meals. Cas eyed a description of a seafood plate with lobster tail and oysters that sounded especially good as well as a bottle of Spanish red wine on the drink menu that they could share. [color=#b97703]“What are you in the mood for?”[/color] he asked, glancing up at Iris once he’d made his decision. [color=#b97703]“Just let me know, and I’ll put in the order for us.”[/color]