[suddenly having enough social room to breathe again does make him a little giddy, so it's easy to giggle along with Tonic when he plays up the drama.]

Are they your favorite things? I had no idea.

[it's almost as if he has spent time getting to know his friend well enough to be able to choose the two things that would cause him the most effort in the world to choose between. theoretically, it will help keep his mind off of anything that might still be bothering him or causing him anxiety, and will have the biggest payoff at the end.]

Excellent choice. And the walk there is a little longer than the other one, but you'll get to see more of the town.

[if there's no objection, he'll set off for the main street heading away from the square, comfortably arm-in-arm with his date.]