A bar on the mainland- Saturday evening

[notconflicted]

It had been months since Sia had been able to go out unescorted (even Jessica technically served in a professional capacity), and she only had to go to a whole other galaxy to do it. And the reason why she was here was pretty unexpected after all these months.

She found a table- not the bar since she didn't really want to deal with a bartender as a third party today- and sat down to wait. She wouldn't say she was nervous; maybe wary of how things would go? But if they'd gotten to this point they'd probably be fine.

And if not, she was already in a bar.


[For one!]

Comments

[suitably_heroic]

"Fancy seeing you here."

Maybe opening with a joke was a bad idea? But Atton was nervous, so jokes she got as he slid into the seat.

[notconflicted]

Honestly, she'd expected nothing less.

"Funny how that happens," she said, giving him a little smile. "I should actually thank you for getting me out here."

[suitably_heroic]

"Yeah, I'll bet it's been a while since you saw an actual bar with actual people in it instead of security guards," Atton said, reaching for the drinks menu.

[notconflicted]

"Actually, I found a way to sneak out for that. I just have to bring Jessica, just in case," she admitted. "Though it could eventuallly go very badly if I did it too often, so I don't."

[suitably_heroic]

"Depends on how many wigs you want to buy," Atton drawled. "Jess is still over there?"

[notconflicted]

She nodded. "She's leading a stormtrooper squadron of her own, happily upgrading tech. I'm sure she won't be around forever, but it's good to have her there for now."

And Sia was very much dreading the day Jessica left for somewhere else.

[suitably_heroic]

There'd been a real danger of Sia getting lonely back before... the thing had happened. But bringing that up now was a bad idea, even if it was the first thing to jump to Atton's mind.

"I'm glad to hear it," he said. "She's always been too stubborn for her own good, so you two are pretty much the only ones who can keep each other from doing anything stupid."

[notconflicted]

"I appreciate that confidence in us," she said dryly.

[suitably_heroic]

"Hey, last time I visited, you guys had a war," Atton said idly. "What'll you be having? I'm making a trip to the bar."

[notconflicted]

"You're the one that picks my drinks," she reminded him. "It hasn't been that long."

And he'd been doing it so long that she had a weird dislike for figuring out her own.

[suitably_heroic]

Yeah, but they'd had a long while of things being strange between them, and Atton didn't want to default to anything. "Fine, let's get on this roulette wheel, then."

He padded up to the bar and ordered two Virgin Marys, returning with them a moment later.

[notconflicted]

Sia eyed the glasses. "And what is this?"

[suitably_heroic]

"Something with tomato juice in it," Atton said. "If it's terrible, it'll be a good reason for us to wash it down with a better drink later."

He set one glass full of red stuff down in front of her.

[notconflicted]

"This feels like a trust exercise," she said, but took the glass anyway.

[suitably_heroic]

"You told me to order for you," Atton said, sliding back into his seat. "That's what you get."

[notconflicted]

Sia took a tentative sip, and decided, "This was a trust exercise."

And she would finish it, because she was stubborn.

[suitably_heroic]

"Beats falling backwards to see if anyone will catch you," Atton said cheerfully, and took a sip of his own.

[notconflicted]

"I suppose." Especially since she realized that she'd be hypothetically wary about that scenario. "So. How have you been?"

She kept it vague, since she wasn't entirely sure how much he wanted to talk.

[suitably_heroic]

Atton shrugged. "Going to work every Sunday," he said. "Apparently Sparkle's involved in some big drama involving photographs and a douchebag back on the island that I'm ignoring?"

So, you know. He was alive.

[notconflicted]

"I absolutely don't want to ask followup questions to that, do I?" Sia asked.

[suitably_heroic]

"I wouldn't be able to answer followup questions," Atton said, "Because that's basically what I said to the guy who started giving me the details about it. Except without the question mark."

[notconflicted]

"Smart of you." There was always the possibility that she'd end up with more information than she wanted the next time she contacted Sparkle. "You're back on the island full-time, then?"

[suitably_heroic]

"For now," Atton said, tapping his foot against the floor. "Until everyone's sympathy runs out and I get Mira's workload shoved on me."

[notconflicted]

"As long as you get time before that happens."

She'd been through a lot of thoughts in the last eight months, but she hadn't stopped caring.

[suitably_heroic]

"Right now is time," Atton said, after a pause.

And then took a gulp of his drink big enough to drown himself with.