A bar on the mainland- Tuesday night

[notconflicted]

Sia wasn't entirely sure it was the best thing for her to be here, and not just because she was worried about taking a night off from her nonstop terrible job for once. It was just that she and Atton had not had a great year, relationshipwise, and then there'd been an added depression-inducing complication with terrible timing when Sia already wasn't sure how to navigate things yet. She didn't like feeling unsure.

But she was deciding that was background. They were friends, and she worried about him, and she was at least a reason to get him out. Off island, even, to a bar they'd been to before, where Sia asked, "Are you going to roll your eyes if I ask you what I'm drinking tonight?"


[For Atton!]

Comments

[notconflicted]

"Which would leave others in a similar situation to yours now," she said.

She was beginning to need a drink of her own again.

[suitably_heroic]

"You don't need me," Atton said quietly. "You're strong. And a much better person than I'll ever be, too."

[notconflicted]

"Yes, I do," she said.

[suitably_heroic]

"I ran off on you for nine months and now that I'm back, all I do is argue with you or bum around like a sad sack," Atton said. "Not that it's not flattering to hear that, and not like I'm not a very attractive sad sack, but..."

[notconflicted]

"I promise I'm not trying to guilt you when I say this," she began, "but the reason those months were so hard was because I needed you. It's also why I forgave it that easily."

There were still plenty of issues there, and it wasn't like it didn't still sting, but having him back around was more important.

[suitably_heroic]

His answer to that probably shouldn't be "Why?", and yet.

[notconflicted]

Her answer came slowly, choosing her words carefully. "You keep me grounded. Always have. You've never cared about what I am, never been afraid to call me out when I'm doing something I shouldn't, and guide me or listen to me when I don't know what to do. I trust you, more than just about anyone, and I know you won't judge, just be honest, and I can be honest right back. You're the one who volunteered to help me for years, and when I finally asked, you came through immediately, without question. And when you're not around... I just miss you."

Ugh, feelings.

[suitably_heroic]

"Oh."

That was probably also one of those things he wasn't supposed to say, but, well. Atton looked a little pole-axed.

[notconflicted]

He'd asked.

Sia shrugged. "So when you think it doesn't matter that you're here, that our lives would be better off without you, I know for a fact that you're wrong."

[suitably_heroic]

Atton sighed and slumped in his seat.

"How about you order the drinks this time?" he said. "So you'll know I'm not running."

[notconflicted]

"We'll end up with more margaritas," Sia warned.

[suitably_heroic]

"Just get us lavender ones, we'll get this figured out," Atton advised.

[notconflicted]

"I'll be right back," she said, getting up to head to the bar. She wouldn't even check to make sure he didn't leave, either.

[suitably_heroic]

Atton wasn't going anywhere. He was finishing up Sia's drink, attempting to get his head on straight, at least to the point where he could get through this night and have a decent time instead of arguing with Si the whole time.

He still didn't know what to do with what she'd said.

[notconflicted]

She returned a couple minutes later with two purple margaritas, and maybe she wasn't sure about the color she chose anymore.

"Supposedly," she said, setting them Dian, "these are strawberry with something blue."

[suitably_heroic]

Atton pulled a face. "Should've told you to get them with Creme de Violette, specifically," he said. "Better luck next time, I guess."

[notconflicted]

"And this has why I generally let you choose the drinks," Sia said, taking her seat.

[suitably_heroic]

"It helps I'm a bartender now," Atton admitted. "Sometimes I try to get us the crazy liquors so I can figure out new cocktails."

[notconflicted]

"So what you're saying is I need to come in on one of your nights sometime," she said.

[suitably_heroic]

"If you want someone who fixes you fancy weird cocktails instead of getting you a vodka like some kind of uncivilized brute, yeah," Atton said, besmirching the reputation of all his fellow bartenders in one swoop without caring.

[notconflicted]

"Of course I would choose the civilized fancy drink," Sia decided. "Unlike your brute coworkers."

[suitably_heroic]

"Well, if you warn me up front the next time you visit Caritas, I'm going to go dig up something crazy for you," Atton promised.

Look, he needed some banter for a while to get his bearings back.

[notconflicted]

"It might be a while. We'll both have to remember," she said, sipping her drink, and managing not to make a face. It could be worse.

[suitably_heroic]

"Aw, I bet your steel-trap of a memory is better than mine," Atton said. "Me, I forget where my socks are the second I take them off."

That was a lie.

[notconflicted]

"Well, you are getting up there," she said lightly. "That's to be expected."

He wasn't, and it wasn't.