A bar in Baltimore- Wednesday

[notconflicted]

Sia didn't typically cop to things like needing a break, but privately at least she had to admit that the last few days here had been really helpful. Turns out that being surrounded by war and politics all the time might be detrimental, especially when you didn't actually want to be doing it. Who knew.

Well, okay, Atton knew, and had been telling her that for a while, but that was not the point.

She was out with him tonight, hitting up some bar off island, and that felt really needed, too. For a lot of reasons. So once they got there and found a table, Sia asked, "So what drink are you having me try tonight?"

[For Atton!]

Comments

[suitably_heroic]

"What, I was supposed to come ready with a list here?" Atton said.

Honestly, if you'd told him a week ago he'd be hitting up the bars with Sia kriffing Fel, he'd have declared you insane. But here they were. "I have a life, you know. There's a limit to the amount of research I can fit into my busy week."

He had a list. He was complaining because he was Atton, and he'd missed her, and the sudden reemergence of her into his life these past few weeks was still mildly befuddling.

[notconflicted]

"Do you really need to do that much research?" she asked. "If I'm supposed to pick out my own drinks this is going to take much longer."

It wouldn't. But it was the easiest thing to give Atton a hard time.

[suitably_heroic]

"Or you could just pick something random off the menu like a normal person," Atton said. "Lazy royals."

[notconflicted]

"I'm not normal," Sia pointed out. "And I trust your guidance more than my random pick."

[suitably_heroic]

"Don't let anyone hear you say that," Atton said, settling back. "I hear that's a bad life choice."

[notconflicted]

"I'm allowed to make those sometimes," Sia said. "It builds character, or something."

[suitably_heroic]

"All right, but I'm telling anyone who asks me," Atton said, reaching for the liquor menu.

[notconflicted]

"That's fine. I'm not sure how many people would believe that anyway," she told him.

[suitably_heroic]

"I hate that your reputation is better than mine," Atton grumbled. "Okay, what are you in the mood for? Sweet? Sour? Something else?"

[notconflicted]

"Let's try sweet this time," she answered.

[suitably_heroic]

"How about..." Atton studied the menu. "...A pink cosmopolitan for you?"

[notconflicted]

"I'll allow it," Sia said, not that she knew or cared what was in it. "Are you getting something else?"

[suitably_heroic]

"What, you want me to get the fruity girly drink?" Atton asked.

Beat.

"... I'm getting the fruity girly drink."

[notconflicted]

"I wasn't pushing fur anything but I'm glad you're going this route," Sia admitted.

[suitably_heroic]

"Why?" Atton asked, waving at a waitress. "Afraid I'll poison you otherwise, princess?"

[notconflicted]

"While that would be a fitting end to my week, no. I just appreciate that you didn't need me to talk you into it," she said.

[suitably_heroic]

"You know why you're the worst?" Atton said. "Because you always have a rational explanation for everything."

He looked up at the approaching waitress. "Two pink cosmopolitans, please."

[notconflicted]

"And here I thought that was a strong point," she teased.

[suitably_heroic]

"A little irrationality is good for the soul," Atton returned. "People stop making sense if you try to be rational about them all."

[notconflicted]

"I have had the complete opposite experience there," Sia admitted. "Though then they sometimes make too much sense."

[suitably_heroic]

"How does that even work?" Atton asked, as the waitress came back with their drinks. "There's never sense with people. Ask any being."

[notconflicted]

"Have you never found out new information about a person and thought 'oh, that's why they act like that?'" Sia asked.

[suitably_heroic]

"No," Atton said frankly. "Nobody reacts to anything the way anybody else would. Some people get traumatized and they go evil, some decide to do good. Most people just do something, and then reason out why they did it afterwards."

[notconflicted]

"I'll grant you that a person's motivations might not be obvious at the time something is happening," she said. "But if they reason out why they do something, couldn't someone else come to the same conclusion about them?"

[suitably_heroic]

"Sure," Atton said, shrugging. "The question is, how much does that mean? They could do the complete opposite thing next time and still figure out some way to have it make sense to them."