" so ... i'm thinking pizza tonight. or maybe chinese. you know i'm an absolute sucker for those egg rolls they do . " the crew had just come back from a call. thankfully nothing drastic. but it had certainly pushed through their lunch, and almost their dinner. which meant that carson was starving. and to say that he got a little cranky when he was hungry. well, that was an understatement. which meant, that since their shift was almost through. he would be dragging ollie to the nearest restaurant. because why eat alone ? when one could have company to watch them shovel food into their mouth .

"Both." The answer is simple, a decision made before he's even fully aware of it. There are few things that have been constant in Ollie's life: firefighting is dangerous no matter how simple the call is and firefighters will always be hungry. So when their call pushes into dinner territory, it's a miracle more of them aren't calling up dispatch and demanding a break for food. "One of us gets pizza, the other gets Chinese. And then we split them and boom, best of both worlds." He hangs his gear up, turnouts on the floor for when they get back. "I'd go as far as saying combining the two but I'm not about to find out what happens when you put egg rolls on a pizza. I ain't getting kicked back to Texas for disrespecting pizza."

Honestly, Amara loved the markets. The array of fresh fruit and vegetables, to the artisan sourdough, jams and honeys — she’d never been short of options. Mercedes’ leash hung loosely around the span of her fingers, a baguette tucked beneath her arm, as she consulted the stall about their grapes. A usually well-behaved dog, Mercedes seemed to be getting restless, and when Amara’s attention strayed, she made a break for it — her leash trailing behind her, picking up dirt and dust, moving at astonishing speed. Yelling a frantic apology over her shoulder, she chased after her, somehow avoiding near-misses and head-on collisions with the gathered crowd, maneuvering through bodies; the only telltale sign she was going in the right direction was the excited bark that seemed to call to her owner like a taunt. You can’t catch me! ——- Then, almost suddenly, the barking came to a stop, and she slowed. She was at his feet, on her back, barking at him for belly rubs. Amara’s eyes stared down Mercedes, yet to register the stranger she decided to settle at; shaking her head in embarrassment, a slight breathlessness in her speech, "I'm so sorry about my dog; she's not usually like this!"

The Farmer's Market isn't usually Ollie's typical haunt. Firefighting had taught him to make quick meals or grab whatever was nearest on the little breaks they had throughout the day. Then one of the boys who did cook needed ingredients, and demanded fresh ones at that, so here he was. But he hadn't account for how many herbs there could possibly be in the world, and just how similar they'd all looked. He'd been so close to asking for help from the elderly woman running the stands when a sudden, excited barking draws his attention away. There's a dog by his feet, belly up, and Ollie swears he knows this dog. And then there-- the one person Ollie had quite literally ran away from. Moved hours away from home and abandoned everything but what he could pack into his truck and fled. And it hits him that she's really there, Mercedes at his feet. Amara hasn't noticed him yet, hasn't looked up from the dog at his feet and for the briefest moment Ollie considers rushing off. Letting the crowd around him conceal him as he makes his getaway. But he rushes into burning buildings for a living, he can hold a conversation with the woman that shattered his heart like any normal person could. "Something must've spooked her." Ollie bends down, his full attention going to the dog at his feet while he combs through the familiar fur. It isn't fair to Mercedes to ignore her, she'd probably been just as confused at the break up as he'd been. "But you don't gotta tell me she's the best dog in the entire world." If he keeps his focus on Mercedes, the wagging tail and the way her leg starts if he finds that one spot., he might be able to do this. "The real question is why she's not in Texas where she was the last time I saw her."