Re: coffee: sam & neil
Being called predictable didn't bother him. There was a certain sense of comfort in familiarity, and maybe that had more to do with stability than safety, or maybe it was a mix of both. But for a long time his life had been the exact opposite of stable, and he didn't want to lose all the progress he'd made. "I know," he agreed mildly. When it came to something as simple as coffee, his reasoning was why stray from what he knew he liked? He smiled when she asked if awkward was better, one that said he didn't mind either way. "If you prefer abbreviated versions of words, don't let me get in the way." It took some getting used to, Lin's way of speaking, but Neil had picked up on it quickly enough. "Sure. Hella is pushing it a little." Teasing, of course.
Maybe it's been a while was an understatement. The jingling of her bracelet caught his attention momentarily, at least until she accused him of jinxing them. "Oops. Well, feel free to blame it entirely on me." It was easy to joke about, but part of him hoped she was wrong. He was done with crises for now, thank you. He stopped his doodling when she asked, albeit in different terms, what was wrong, and he hesitated. Silence followed, at least until the waitress set down his coffee; that sound seemed to help him make a decision. He sighed.
"Louis's situation is still... uncertain," he sighed. "And things with Meredith and I aren't the best. She feels out of place. Like she doesn't belong. I'm not sure how to fix that." Maybe he shouldn't have been discussing his relationship problems with her, but why not? And, perhaps noticeably, he didn't mention Micah. He'd opted to think of that as something that had needed to be done and leave it there.