She laughed a little.  "You don't have to call, this will be our place, so we might as well lean into that."  She didn't want him to feel like he was a guest or a stranger here, not if this was going to be their home together for the foreseeable future.  It was hard not to agree with him, she didn't think the punishment would be lifted either, but she had been surprised to hear that he still wanted to do this, even without the council's involvement.<br/><br/>"Yeah, we are."  She nodded.  She noticed his eyes on the food, and she shrugged her shoulders.  "I figured you might want to eat, and we could sort of make this our second date."  Even if this was not a real relationship, they both seemed to be interacting and treating it as if it was.  She walked over to one of the cabinets and pulled out a couple plates, before returning to where he was and offering him one.<br/><br/>"My mother...I get the feeling she may try to pull me out of this, but I think you're right....Mending fences between our families is the right way to go."  Eve was about to get some food for herself, when she turned back to face him.  "Do you want more though?  More than just a political alliance that will make the lives of the council easier?  I mean, I know you probably weren't planning on settling down right away, and don't get me wrong, I'm finding myself more and more glad each day that I get to be with you, but if we could find some wiggle room in this...Should we try?"<br/><br/>The words hung in the air a moment and she almost wished she could take them back.  "I mean--- I'm--  I know this is all very new and unexpected, but our date and everything so far...it's been a lot nicer than I expected.  It's felt...good.  Right, even."