evocation | ⚡ ML INBOX

Shut up.

[She reaches across the bar to swat at his arm.]

I'm the one in charge of free drinks, remember?

[ You're only encouraging him, Kyna. ]

That mean I'm getting another?

[Her lips quirk up.]

Maybe. Depends on what you want.

Gimme whatever you want.

Sure.

[She hesitates for a moment, drumming her fingers on the bar before taking away his empty glass.]

I'm glad you came to visit, you know.

Thought I wasn't gonna?

[ Neutrally, the kind of neutral he says easily but means carefully. ]

Yeah. I mean, not because of you, just because...

[She bites her lip, shrugs a little awkwardly.]

I didn't handle everything... You know. Great.

[ Sam waves a hand dismissively. ]

S'water under the bridge.

[ He went past their usual flirting into making her tell him again that she's not interested, and it's not exactly something he's jonesing to hear a third time. So if they just ignore that it happened, it'll be fine. Completely fine. ]

[She shoots him a warm, grateful smile.]

Thanks.

[And then she turns away to make him that second drink. This one's a little more involved, but after a moment or so, she plunks an old fashioned down in front of him.]

It's okay that you don't want to help. I think I get it.

[ Aaaaaand here's why he's being cautious, right here. He still is. ]

Huh. [ Extremely eloquent. He's already attempting to escape the conversation by picking up the lowball and taking a sip. ] This, uh, this is good, y'know.

[She senses that discomfort, so she just tilts her head and lets him change the subject.]

Thanks. Do you feel fancy?

Sure.

[ Are old fashioneds fancy? Who knows. All that matters is that they're not talking about him anymore. ]

Too bad you're working, I'd tell you to join me.

I can join you later. My shift is pretty short.

[But, that brings up an important question:]

What kind of fancy drink do you think I'd like? I'm gonna judge your answer.