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Marlin pushed open the door of the bakery, appreciative of the smells that even at this late hour wafted towards him. The decision to stop by the bakery had been half impulsive and half planned.

It was impulsive in that after a fairly busy day at the shop where it had felt like there had been customers from the moment he opened, to pretty much when he'd been about to close up, he had fancied a hot chocolate and remembered that this bakery did a particularly nice one but also planned in that Marlin had brought along a small box with him containing a couple of ears of corn. It wasn't much and he knew it - what with the shop and his efforts to help the Resistance in his own small way, it meant that there was very little left over, even with his own personal needs being small. Marlin doubted that a couple of ears of corn would be begrudged though and thought that Arias might like the multi-coloured kernels that was a characteristic of this particular variety of the corn.

Walking towards the counter he looked around for Arias, wondering as he did so whether the other man's day had been as busy as his had been.

Marlin had settled in to wait until Arias appeared, but he had only had to wait about a moment before the other man appeared behind the counter. He shook his head at the other's attempt to apologise "I haven't been waiting long at all" he said, admitting "I've pretty much only just got here." A rueful note crept into his cheerful voice, "I can sympathise - it's been pretty busy at Dig In today" and by pretty busy he meant that it had felt like pretty much half the city had decided that they wanted to buy fruit and veg today. "And I'd love a hot chocolate if it's not too trouble." After all given that it looked like Arias had had a similar day to his own, Marlin figured that he could make do with the sachet stuff - even if it was nowhere as good.

As Arias moved to pull out some of the baked goods, Marlin remembered the small box and placed it on the counter "By the way, I brought something for you." Adding as he opened up the box to reveal the two ears of corn inside "I know it's not much, but they're fresh picked today and although they're best roasted, they still taste nice after being popped in the microwave."

Marlin had been about to make a comment about not wanting to put Arias out, however at that moment his stomach had decided to loudly remind him that it had been a long time since his hastily grabbed lunch - a small sandwich that he'd ended up munching on in between sales.

"Sorry" For a moment he looked slightly embarrassed as he admitted. "Lunch kind of ended up being on the shop floor today and I wouldn't mind a croissant to go with the hot chocolate, if you're sure they're leftover." Or maybe even two, since they really smelt good. It wasn't that he couldn't cook, since he could and could do so well enough to feed himself and others without poisoning them, no it was more that Marlin knew that Arias' baking was a much better than anything he could rustle up given that basic stuff was pretty much his limit.

"By the way how have you been?" He continued, adding "Well apart from the shop busyness?"

"Better is good" Marlin said simply, accepting Arias' lack of elaboration by not pushing. "And I think a lot of us do that - take each day as it comes." He certainly did a fair deal of it himself. It was hard to believe sometimes that he had never planned to do shop work back when he returned to Destiny City having left to attend college especially when he had ended up working in two - first as store manager for his father and now, now that Fancy a Change was long gone, as manager for his stepmother's cousin. Although given that it was highly dubious that Lisa's cousin was going to come back, Dig In had pretty much become his shop.

He reached for one of the croissants, bit in and made an appreciate sound - Arias made damned good croissants, made damned good hot chocolate too.

It didn't take long for him to finish the first croissant and he was on his second one when Arias asked him about goings on in his own life.

"Well I'm not sure whether many will consider it fun, but those blue tomatoes that I put in are still pumping out, enough so that I'm considering trying to ketchup some of it." That or tomato sauce, although he was leaning towards tomato ketchup more since blue tomato ketchup sounded fun. "And the pineberries are still cropping too" at least the white strawberry like fruits that he had planted in the garden at the back of the shop were still cropping and cropping well, unlike the plants that he had tried planting on Falias.

He reached for another croissant, his third and offered "If the ketchup goes well, I can bring some along for you to try." Adding "That is if you'd like some."

"Well back when Dad and Lisa were still living in the city I used to help her out with the garden and back when Dad still had the costume shop I used to grow tomatoes" Marlin admitted "So I guess you can say the growing's a continuation from that." He smiled "And I like tomatoes - at least the non red varieties" because there was something boring about putting the effort into growing red tomatoes when you could grow green ones, purple ones, yellow ones and even blue ones - particularly as they not only looked good, but also tasted good.

He sighed his voice dropping as he admitted quietly, "I just wish that the things that I planted on Falias grew half as well as the stuff in the garden did."

He drank some of the hot chocolate, then some more and appreciative note slipping into his voice as he said "And I wouldn't sell yourself short - you know I can't cook more than the basics" well apart from the ketchup which Lisa had taught him how to do. "And you make a mean hot chocolate" and given his partiality for pretty much all things chocolate he should know.

"I guess" Marlin said in response to Arias' comment that he could always hire someone to cook for him, even though he knew that he wouldn't. He smiled "Although if I did that then I wouldn't have an excuse to drop by and drink your hot chocolate."

At the other's comment about preferring hot chocolate over vegetables, the smile turned into an outright laugh "Well it's not like I can comment given the amount of occasions that I've been guilty of reaching for the chocolate bar" or for the mug of hot chocolate or for anything chocolate really. "About the only thing that rivals chocolate are cherry tomatoes - at least the non red ones - although I guess they're technically fruit."

"I'll definitely continue to take you up on that" Marlin said with a laugh, "You know you're always welcome by Dig In" his voice turned serious "Both in and out of official shop hours." There was a distinction between the two, official shop hours being for shop stuff - the every day things that was both a business and a cover.

Outside hours was for non civilian stuff and for things that would most likely get him shipped to one of Kedavradite's prisons, at best, at worse? Well Marlin tried not to think on too hard on the consequences of getting caught - about what they'd do to him. After all his choices had been made a while back. He wasn't about to change them now.

He shook his head mentally, wishing that he could shake thoughts of the war away so easily and finished the last croissant, chasing up the last crumbs with some more hot chocolate.

Arias really did make excellent hot chocolate.

He drank some more of said hot chocolate before adding "I'll show you the garden if you come over and the pine berries."

The white strawberry-like plants that tasted somewhat like pineapples made him think of helping his stepmother with the garden back in the days when she and his father had still lived in the city but it was years since he'd heard from either of them.

It was deliberate decision, one that he'd made when he'd made the decision to stay and one that he'd stuck by - because in this day and age it was safer not knowing.