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Lorne nodded along, a little sheepishly. It might have sounded silly (he wasn't even in touch with Nadia, for goodness sake), but he didn't think it was. It was something that mattered to him. One day they would get him back, and he didn't want Ploutonion to think that he'd been forgotten. When things are different, let's visit your wonder as we did mine. He would say things like that. If there was one thing he could set right -

He smiled at the reassurance, squeezing his friend's fingers again warmly, not too hard but not so soft that it couldn't be felt.

At the stumble, though, Lorne immediately moved to try and help even if it wasn't needed, resting a hand on his back. "Are you alright?" he breathed out before blinking. "Oh, I - I yes, I hadn't wanted to trouble him, but... he came to visit anyway, so I would give him the letters then."

Still, this was Lorne; to Lorne, being as flighty and sometimes swayed by as little as a breeze, a tremor might as well have been an earthquake. Immediately, his hold tightened. Not a vice, but an embrace short of being a full-bodied attempt, his lips pursed and a soft breath leaving his lips.

Personally, he didn't enjoy crowds. He had learned to handle himself in them, and in some contexts, even to enjoy himself. Take for instance kids rushing by in their way to an assembly in a gym, or just before recess. Adults were harder to deal with. Adults were innately more malicious than children, and immediately, he wished they were elsewhere.

Especially with how Auguste had just reacted.

"I see a cafe, " he remarked softly, almost inaudibly, and for once asserted his will faintly over the situation, cheeks burning and inwardly pleading that his friend would not mind. "Ce sera plus facile de parler à l'intérieur. Oui?"

Initially, it broke Lorne's heart to see such a look in Auguste's eyes. Though with some more thought, it would come as something of a relief. Not that he wanted his friend to be lonely or pained, but that Lorne was still in such regard with his friend to be allowed to glimpse it, even for those few seconds and nothing more. He didn't want his friends to hurt, wanted to do everything he could to fix it - but he felt honored to be allowed to see it.

He squeezed Auguste's fingers again.

"Je vais acheter pour vous, " he murmured sweetly as they stepped inside. Not that it was a high end place or anything, and not that money had ever really been a huge issue for Lorne; but now that he had a proper job, it felt better being able to take care of people he loved without feeling like a burden on his parents. Independence was hard, but worthwhile in many ways. "Commandez ce que vous voulez."

The funny thing was, Lorne was much less prone to stuttering in French. It wasn't that he never tripped over his words, but if anything was more prone to drawing words out for longer than they should be, as if mulling hard over what would come next. Both languages came easily to him, but he still presented himself differently. (Still, he loved being able to switch between the two with his closest friends, especially when things had been at their best - and how Nadia had reacted - his heart panged a little at the memory.)

Lorne knew what he was going to ask Auguste about, eventually; why did Colin elicit such a reaction? But he didn't want to push too hard and definitely not too fast, not when he was just seemingly calming down and - honestly, Lorne being the way that he was, if he understood one thing it was giving space to breathe when it was needed.

"Oh, " he said suddenly, as if he'd forgotten that Auguste wouldn't know. His cheeks flushed, although his smile was as pleased as it was sheepish. "I always intended to come back, I - I had a fellowship outside of the city. For t-teaching, " and he laughed, suddenly, "which - I know how that sounds, a-and it's a bit of a challenge, but I really like working with the kids, and - I don't think I'm terrible at it?"

He kind of smiled. "A-anyway, I'm certified now, so I'm back to teach here. I'll start with some summer classes in a few days."

With that, he reached out to touch Auguste's hand, just lightly. "How about you? What are you doing now? Pasha has gotten so big, too...!"

Lorne wondered if it was surprising, and that's why he was reacting the way that he did. Then when Auguste said what he did, though, a flush of color spread across his cheeks and he immediately gave a sheepish laugh, his eyes dropping and then rising again, lips curled in that awkward way they always did when someone said something kind. "I, uh - I don't know that I'm especially - but t-thank you, " because if anything, Colin's persistent influence in his life had done good. Like his friend's voice in his head then, reminding him to learn to take the compliment. By rejecting it, he reminded himself, he was rejecting the other person's feelings as valid - whether or not he thought he was especially kind, if Auguste had said as much, a close and dear friend, he should try to accept it whether or not he believed it.

Really, he desperately wanted to know what it was about Colin that had triggered this kind of response in Auguste - but it was not time yet.

"How was it, living on Thrymr?" Lorne had to wonder if anyone had asked. He hoped someone had before now. "Was there food there, or did you bring it with you? I-I often wondered how you were, but - " As if it just occurred to him, Lorne suddenly stared at the ring on his finger and made a soft sound that was as pitiful as exasperated, slapping himself lightly in the forehead with his palm. "Oh mon Dieu. J'aurais pu t'envoyer une lettre tout ce temps. Stupide, " he mumbled, more to himself than to Auguste.

But then, reaching out to other people he thought wanted space had never exactly been his strong point either. If he'd known Auguste was lonely - had he been, though? Now it seemed as much, but -

"A-anyway, " his cheeks were bright red again. "Please do tell me about it, I - " With another sheepish laugh, he admitted, "I was r-really about to offer you a place to stay, but... I'm in a hotel myself, " and Lorne had to laugh at that; it was just too silly, right?

So there'd been a lot of pre-planning involved. A tiny part of Lorne thought to himself that if he'd planned so much, it would have been nice to know - but he also knew that was a selfish thing to think, his cheeks coloring a bit as he smiled. "I'm glad you didn't have any trouble, at least... " And because he would have immediately assumed just what Auguste had expected, his smile brightened a bit at the subtle reassurance.

Although.

The vacancy worried him, but with it gone, Lorne couldn't stop the question from spilling out.

"Was it easier for you to remember?" he asked, leaning forward just a bit. "I mean, by staying there, did it - w-was it better than just going to visit?"

He thought back to the white haired specter on Mont Blonc (was it him?), of the visions and ghosts that seemed to linger just around every corner. Lorne just... not that he was thinking about spending so much time on his wonder, it would just be nice... not to fear it?

That aside, though. His cheeks reddened again and he gave a sheepish laugh. "Not nearly as good as you, Auguste - it's so good to see you, " and he really meant that, squeezing his friend's hand warmly.

Then, he blinked. "From here? You mean after our lunch? I - I suppose that depends, I - would you like to do anything else?" He gave a sheepish, although hopeful smile. "O-or anything, really, I - don't really have anything especially in mind for today?"