I could honestly watch Luna enjoy food all day long and not get bored by how cute she looked. Her facial expressions were just marvelous and it made me smile like one hell of a lesbian fool. Sadly for me, and for her, the food in front of her could not last an entire day without being eaten up to its last crumb.

“You enjoyed that one a lot, didn’t you?” I chuckled.

“Could you tell?”

“No, it was just a hunch.” I smirked to which Luna pouted. What a cutie.

I finished my apfelstrudel too and after I was done the server came back to collect our plates. “I hope you had a nice meal.” She smiled.

“We did, compliments to the chef.” Luna replied.

“We would like to order a drink, and while we are at it, we’d like to give a drink to you and your chef as well.” I said with a nod.

“You really don’t have to, madam.” She smiled politely back at me.

“I know I don’t, but I want to anyway.” I chuckled once more. “It’s to thank you both for the great service.”

“Thank you so much.” She gave me a light bow.

“You can pick anything off the menu, you don’t need to look at the price.” I continued. “But please don’t pick the cheapest thing on it either because you feel obliged to. That would disappoint me.” I was kidding of course, which I confirmed to her with a wink. But they had been providing a great service to me and my girlfriend and I think that should be rewarded. It’s not like these train staff were paid badly, but I just like to show my appreciation. “As for me, I’ll just take your homemade orange soda please.”

“I’ll take the homemade lemonade.” Luna added.

“That will be coming right up, and thank you again.” She bowed once more and then walked off to the counter where she started to hold a conversation with the chef.

“Was that part about the disappointment necessary?” Luna asked quietly, leaning over the table a little bit.

“I just wanted them to accept my kindness by force.” I whispered back with a grin. “I really don’t want them to hold back just because it’s on my tab, you know. It’d be somewhat of a shame if they just used the opportunity to get some tap water.”

“There was tap water on the menu?”

“No, because it's free, but I meant it figuratively.”

“Oh.”

By the time Luna had leant back the lady had returned with both of our drinks. “The chef would like to thank you for the drink.” She said as she nodded to the left, over her shoulder. Behind her I could see the chef raising a champagne glass to us, filled with a bubbly purple drink. She mouthed ‘thank you to us’ and toasted. “Don’t worry, it’s non-alcoholic.”

“Hey, don’t hold back for me. This must be your final trip of the day, right?”

“Yes.” She nodded. “We’ll get switched out once we reach the terminal. But that doesn’t mean we can drink alcohol on company time.”

“Oh, I guess that’s understandable.” I nodded.

“What did you pick, if I may ask.” Luna looked up curiously.

The waitress chuckled and nervously scratched behind her ear. “Some Japanese beer. It’s my favorite brand…” She blushed a little when she said so.

“Is that also alcohol-free?”

“No…. I’m keeping it till after my shift…” She blushed even more.

I laughed. “Well, I hope you’ll enjoy it.”

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“I definitely will.” She nodded. “If you need me again, just raise your hand and I’ll come over.” She skedaddled with a smile and got behind the counter again.

“I have the feeling she’s a rather fun person to go to a bar with.” I commented, quickly followed by a kick to my shin and a pouty Luna in my face. “Hey, don’t worry, she’s not my type. Only you are.”

“Hmmm.” Luna kept pouting while a blush crept up her cheeks. She tried to hide it by drinking some of her lemonade, but it wasn’t working.

After a while of just being silent and looking outside the window at the water we were now crossing, Luna looked back at me. “Can we sit here the entire trip and just relax with a drink?”

“I don’t see why not.” I shrugged. “The two behind the bar would probably not mind. We just need to go back five minutes before we reach the station, just so we can get out swiftly to catch the next train to my hometown.”

“Oh, alright… then I think I prefer staying here till then.”

I leant in and whispered. “Even though that means we can’t cuddle as intimately?”

Luna blushed and her pout reappeared real fast. “Myeah… I just like the view here… Even though it’s just water for the moment. It’s still something I haven’t seen often…. Besides…” She lowered her voice as well. “We can cuddle as much as we want once we get to your place.”

“Hehe, then we’ll stay here, I don’t mind either.” I lifted my glass to my lips and took a swig. This homemade stuff was really good.

Albeit, I almost choked on it as in the distance I could see the signs of what I had said earlier, would be very improbable she’d see on the train… The Aurora Australis. The sciencey light show up in the night sky, provided to us by our good old sun.

“Luna!”

Luna was already staring outside of the window. Her eyes sparkling. “I see it… It’s beautiful. How long does it last?”

“Uh… Between fifteen to thirty minutes usually, but it can last longer too.”

“I’d love to see it while being outside…”

“Do you want us to turn the lights down?” The chef called out to us from behind the counter. “We are not supposed to do that but since you are the only two here.”

It would be more impressive… that’s true…

I thought it through for a second but before I had an answer ready the other lady chipped in as well.

“I’m sure the company won’t mind.” She gave me a smile.

“Then I’d like to take you up on your offer.”

I had only just said it and the chef pressed something below the counter, dimming the lights in the wagon, making it pretty dark inside. Only the emergency lighting on the floor still worked but that really didn’t disturb at all.

The dimming of the lights gave us the intended effect. The reflections from inside the car disappeared and it made the lights outside look even brighter.

“Woah!” Luna gasped. She was pretty much glued to the window.

“It’s amazing isn’t it?” I looked outside as well. “When I was a child I oftentimes ran out of the house and into the garden, just to stare up at this spectacle. Sometimes I’d even run out without a coat. My mom really didn’t like that.”

“Little Lauren sounded like a handful.” Luna giggled.

“I was. But I wasn’t going to let the cold stop me from getting a good look at these. They are just so wonderful. And they really don’t lose their magic, even after all these years.”

“I can definitely believe that.”

We continued gazing outside for about half an hour. That's when the aurora slowly started to fade away. It was sad to see it go but it had been a relatively long one and we’d definitely see more of them during our stay. We were about to start running through cities and villages anyway so there would be a bit more light pollution. Not to forget that hitting land meant that we’d only have a twenty minute ride left to the terminus.

Our two amazing caretakers flipped the lights back on. “Would you like to have one last drink?” The server asked.

“I’m fine. What about you, Luna?”

“I’m fine as well. Thank you.”

“Alright.” She got back to her business.

“How about we already go and pick you a nice warm jacket from my bag? That way we can take our time.” I proposed.

“Sounds good to me.” Luna yawned.

“Hey, don’t get too tired, we’re not home yet.” I chuckled.

“Sorry, it’s been quite the day and my nap didn’t help that much.”

“Mhmm. I understand.” While I wouldn’t say I was tired, I could definitely feel the events of the day starting to press down upon me. With Luna in my bed this night, I’d sleep like a log… As long as Luna wanted that too of course.

I got up from my seat with Luna swiftly following behind me. We carried our empty glasses to the counter where I paid our bills. The food was mostly included with the ticket prices so it was really cheap and the drinks didn’t break the bank either.

“Thank you for the service, it was really lovely.”

“No problem at all.” Both the chef and the waitress replied in choir.

“We hope to see you again.” The waitress continued by herself.

Luna and I walked on and headed back towards our seats in the next car over. While it would be nice to have these people serving us again. I did hope it would not be that soon. I think having some time off from traveling wouldn’t hurt. It meant more relaxation time with the girlfriend after all.