Disclaimer: All rights for Midnight Poppy Land go to the wonderful and amazing LilyDusk. Check her out on Webtoon.

This scene takes place in Chapter 15 when Tora heads to the restroom at the restaurant.

Tora had enough of the awkward tension and decided to give the two of them space and headed to the restroom. She was obviously acting suspicious but he could work it out later.

However, as he returned from the restroom, he stopped and watched in increased fascination as Poppy uninhibitedly indulged in the food. Her rosy cheeks were slightly puffed as she chewed doing a dead on impression of a hamster he had accused her of being. There was a shine in her eyes that hid nothing at her reaction to each mouthful. He didn't know there was this many expressions to convey something was delicious. She was extremely animated and he couldn't help being amused. Cute lil' hamster. His hand twitched to touch her soft cheek again.

Something still held him back from interrupting her so he continued to watch, masked in the darkness of the room. Her body language was far less defensive and relaxed with him not there. To the point that she was stretching her arm behind her head and making happy noises after a sip of wine.

Not surprising, there wasn't many who relaxed when he was around. Why would they? The dark thought echoed at the back of his mind. If she was a hamster, he was like a bird of prey. He gritted his teeth and then brought his attention back to Poppy.

As he continued to observe her a strange thought occurred to him. When was the last time he felt that kind of hunger? Hell, food had been pretty tasteless of late. It was just another task in a series of other mundane daily tasks. He hardly ever ate in general anymore preferring to stick to quick fixes like protein bars.

While Poppy enthusiastically continued her meal, something began to nag at him. A want to have that enjoyment of taste back. Accompanied by a stab of uncomfortable sense of longing which made him feel unsettled.

A musical sigh of content snapped his attention back to see she was finished. The woman seemed to be glowing in the low restaurant light as she leaned back licking her fingers daintily.

Tora felt something shift within him as his eyes were drawn to her movement. Her actions were innocent in nature but it still caused an immediate rush as his blood warmed.

And there it was. A sharp and dangerous hunger he hadn't felt in ages. Only this was one that had nothing to do with food.

Once again surprised at himself, he shook his head to try to rid his mind of that line of thought. He had a mission. He didn't get distracted. Distractions were only for idiots. They caused death or worse.

Tora finally headed over to Poppy and loomed above her still unnoticed. He took in their dinner table and couldn't contain a slight smirk. One quick glance confirmed that all the plates were nearly licked clean. Maybe he wasn't dealing with a hamster after all.

"Generous of you to leave so much food for me." he said teasingly over her with his arms crossed.

Her soft eyes met his momentarily and he couldn't help but be caught by the fleeting unexpected warmth.

Yes, he had missed out on this meal.

At that moment a traitorous thought whispered in his mind.

But...maybe I could still get a taste.

-End-

**Thank you so much for reading. All my works are unedited and just for fun. For some reason this scene stood out to me and I wanted to get into Tora's thought process. Hope you enjoy!**