Devil's Nest | Thursday Evening

[defenderofdesmoines]

It would have been bad news for most people to discover that most of the Valentine's candy had been picked over.

But Annie, of course, was not most people, and so she was both delighted by the selection, and --

"You have to hide these," she said brusquely to Tiny about an hour into her shift, thrusting piles of Charleston Chews at him. "I mean, I still want to take them home -- no one else wants them, obviously -- but I can't have them in my sight anymore or I'm gonna eat them all."

It wasn't even like she was stressed out. They were just great, and there were so many left.

~*Specials*~
Almond Joy
Bit O'Honey
Charleston Chewie

[open with a big ol' SP warning. RL is dumb.]

Comments

[sword_chocobro]

"Just when I start to think I'm actually getting familiar with drinks around here," Gladio commented as he came in for the usual Thursday shirtless drinking, leaned on the bar, and just sort of shook his head at the specials board, not realizing how grateful he should probably be that none of them sounded all that familiar. But he quirked a chin up at Annie, knowing she wouldn't dare steer him wrong. "Which one's the best?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"These," Annie told him solemnly, "are cocktails modeled after my favorite candy bars. So, like, I think they're all pretty great? But if I had to recommend one...."

She did, indeed, have a favorite, which was why she had to ask Gladio a very serious question -- one that separated the men from the boys, or some other, less-sexist but equally-serious distinction.

"Do you like coconut?"

[sword_chocobro]

Gladio considered, then shrugged a shoulder. "I don't hate it," he offered.

So where did general indifference place a person on the boys-to-men scale?

[defenderofdesmoines]

Hey, at least he didn't hate coconut. There would be, like, a debate in that case. Or a lecture. Maybe more of a, like, soliloquy.

"We're gonna start with the Almond Joy, then," Annie decided, getting stuff together for it. "Because it's my favorite for a lot of reasons, and it's also totally the most, like, mainstream acceptable of those three. For some reason people really don't like Bit O'Honey and Charleston Chews."

Because they were gross, Annie. It wasn't, like, a mystery.

[sword_chocobro]

There was a pause as Gladio was just sort of giving Annie a dubious look.

"You know that's just going to make me more curious about those ones now, though," he said, "right?"

But he supposed he could just work his way through all three of them, and maybe that how she planned to get him roped in on it, at that.

[defenderofdesmoines]

To be fair, Annie did not know she was looking at the very reason that the bar had such an array of Cup Noodle tee em beverages.

"In that case," she said dubiously, carefully replacing the coconut liqueur and reaching for the butterscotch, "we're gonna try the Bit O'Honey. No one likes these but me and 89 year-olds, or so I am constantly assured by everyone around me."

[sword_chocobro]

"Damn," said Gladio, shaking his head with a grin as he watched Annie working on the drink, "makes me really wish Specs....I'm sorry," he paused, corrected himself with a lifted hand as he remembered who he was talking to, "Shoe Guy...wasn't still back home nannying Noct to make sure he can surive a whole week while we're all on vacation, I'd make sure he made it back in here to try that, considering he's basically an old man trapped in a twenty-two year old's body."

And, considering where he was, Gladio very briefly wondered if he should clarify that he meant that metaphorically, not literally, as he wouldn't be surprised if that was a thing that someone around here might have to deal with, but...nah. It was more fun to leave that speculation open.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Well, if it meets with your approval -- or, really, if it seems geriatric enough for him -- I'll keep the recipe handy," Annie decided. "Also, Diego's brother is literally an almost-sixty year-old man in the body of a teenager, and he does love all this stuff, so...."

Again: not the testimony you thought it was, Annie.

[sword_chocobro]

See? Not even a few minutes in, and Gladio's suspicions were already confirmed.

"Oh, man," he said. "This is going to be an interesting one, isn't it?"

Gladiolus. Sir. You drank noodle-inspired soda and vodka.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I hope so," Annie declared, brandishing a chilled glass at him and carefully layering the drink. "Or maybe you'll be a convert, and I'll finally have someone on my side when my candy taste gets brought into question."

Because it happened so often, really.

She presented the drink, setting it on the bar before Gladio with a little, "Ta da!"

Like, if nothing else, it did look kinda cool.

[sword_chocobro]

And the presentation alone! Gladio grinned, nodded in approval, and then lifted the drink in a toast in appreciation.

"Here we go, then," he said. "Let's see what this old-person-and-Annie candy drink tastes like."

He took a considerable gulp, not just some mild sip to better get the full effect and...

"...well," he decided, looking at the glass a little, "that's...a drink."

Very helpful, Gladio, thank you.

[thatwaslucky]

Rey got back tonight and decided she didn't really want to be in her apartment just yet- still playing a little bit of an avoidance game there- so Annie was getting a visit.

"And what's a Charleston Chewie?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"It's based on a candy bar," Annie shared, grinning when she saw Rey come in. A candy bar that no one liked but her. (And Five, but that wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement, either.) "They all are, actually. There's a ton of leftover candy if you want some."

Most of the good stuff was gone, of course.

"A Charleston Chew is like, vanilla-y chewy stuff covered in chocolate, so the drink is like those flavors but also booze."

[thatwaslucky]

"I think I have to try it," Rey said. "If only to say it's in honor of my Chewie."

Of course she would have to take a picture to show him.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"You know what? It can be in his honor, I just decided," Annie declared, getting together the drink's ingredients. "How are things at home?"

Presumably Chewie continued to be amazing.

[thatwaslucky]

Chewie could never be anything but.

"All right," Rey said. "No missions this week, so I just hung around the base. A lot of training, waiting on the big stuff."

Also a lot of ignoring stuff. Soooo much pretending going on.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Those are good days to have," Annie offered. "Gives you kind of a breather for when the big stuff does come along."

Though quiet might have made the ignoring stuff harder than if there were, like, explosions all over the place.

[thatwaslucky]

"Usually I'd agree, but I'm finding quiet to be a lot lately," Rey admitted. "I'm sure at some point that gets easier."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"In my experience, it does," Annie replied carefully. "Just kinda takes time. Is training helping?"

Annie herself gotten kinda ripped after the whole Drummer Boy thing. Lemons into lemonade, at least.

[thatwaslucky]

"Actually, yes," Rey said, brightening. "I felt like I was tapping into something before John left, and I've been focusing more on it, so I feel like I'm doing better and can try harder things. And now the warehouse has gravity controls."

That was going to be how Rey got ripped.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Rey, that's great." Annie set the finished drink before her with a little flourish, sincerely glad that there was a silver lining in all of this. "So like, wait, do you mean like you can float or whatever?"

Like space camp??

[thatwaslucky]

"Not that much, though I can with some tweaks," Rey said, with an appreciative nod as she took the drink. "Right now it starts with extra gravity which is awful and switches up throughout the course."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"And I assume it's random?" Annie prompted, equal parts impressed and kind of wanting to try it. "So you can't predict which parts are the 'oh god my limbs are a thousand pounds' parts for next time?"

[thatwaslucky]

"Not entirely. I only got to run it a few times before I went home, but I could remember about when it would change," Rey said. "But I guarantee Master Skywalker has changed it by now so it will throw me off completely when I do it tomorrow."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Is that something you'll run into in the field?" Annie wondered, a little concern. "Like, gravity being different on other planets and stuff?"

[thatwaslucky]

"Maybe. I haven't run into it so far, but I know it happens," Rey said. "Mainly I have to rework how I think and handle it. It's actually pretty fun. I even agreed to using remotes."

She got so shot up!