"That sounds so good," Marian told him, and then wrapped her arms tightly around her friend- she would have done so even if he hadn't brought cake. "I feel like I haven't seen you properly in ages," she told him. It wasn't true, of course. Marian had been hanging around the soup kitchens as well as the church, eyes peeled for trouble and hand ready to go for her knife. But watching Tuck's back and being on guard, was not the same as just getting to hang out.
"Let's go down," she said, after breaking the hug and gesturing back down the stairs. "I just got a new keg so we can crack it open together."