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Mark didn't wait for Eduardo to show up before he ordered his Diet Coke, but since the waiter brought it over, he had barely touched it. It was a cutesy little cafe, the kind of place that might not have carried Diet Coke if it had been any cutesier, but they made a decent panini, and that was good enough for Mark

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[brazilianprince]

Eduardo sighed and clasped his hands. He felt his palms becoming sweatier by the moment, which, in retrospect, was a bit ridiculous. Not so ridiculous however, to prevent it from happening. He paced around the hotel room, finally leaving about fifteen minutes before noon. He put his hand in his pocket and fished around for his phone, reading the address Mark had sent him for about the fiftieth time. Luckily, even with traffic, it wasn't too long of a drive to the cafe, and Eduardo ended up arriving just a few minutes past twelve.

He put his hand to the door and waited, preparing himself. He had spotted Mark already there through the window, sitting alone, waiting as well. He looked...alone, and for a brief moment Eduardo felt a bit like he did back at Harvard, before the whole deposition mess. He took a deep breath and opened the door, hearing the jingle go off. He waved awkwardly for a moment before striding over to tablet where Mark was seated. He noticed he had already ordered something to drink.

"Hey." he said.

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Mark looked up, doing his best not to let his face betray any emotion. "Hey," he said noncommittally, drawing his drink a little closer and pulling his limbs in from where he had spread out underneath the table. "You're not very late at all."

He avoided looking at Eduardo out of anything other than the corner of his eyes. Knowing that he was coming and seeing him there, in the flesh, were two different things entirely; Mark wasn't entirely sure that he wouldn't falter if he tried to look Eduardo directly in the eyes. "Did you...find the place all right?"

[brazilianprince]

Eduardo nodded. That was good. Being not very late was good. However, he noticed something that looked like Mark trying his very best not to look straight at Eduardo. It kind of hurt, but he brushed it off for the moment, hoping as they talk more, they would both feel more at ease.

He pulled out the chair across from Mark and sat down, tapping his fingers on the table. "Yeah, it wasn't too far from where I was," he replied awkwardly, not exactly quite sure where they should start. It had been far too long.

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Mark nodded a little jerkily and paused for a moment, letting his eyes flicker around the table nervously before signaling the waiter over again. "Are you ready to order?" he asked Eduardo quickly, realizing that he'd barely given the other man time to look over the menu. "There aren't that many options, I mean, it shouldn't take that long for you to decide."

He ordered a caprese sandwich that barely appealed to him but looked cheap enough, before looking at Eduardo expectantly. "We could wait, too, if you want. I don't care."