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Devil's Nest | Thursday Evening

Annie had a headache, but there wasn't anything particularly mysterious about it. You'd probably have a headache, too, if you were dealing with Maryland weather's inability to make up its goddamn mind.

Annie also did not want to talk about what the humidity was doing to her hair, thanks.

~Specials~
Mojito
Bahama Mama
Pina Colada
Painkiller

[open, the OCD got frozen over in yesterday's ice storm.]

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“Annie, hey,” Will greeted as he came in and sat down. “How’s it going?”

"Mostly good! Except for how I'm like, green with envy about this trip everyone's on," Annie pointed out with a slightly-sheepish grin. "How're you, Will?"

"Right there with you on being... right here with you, instead of on said trip," Will said with a laugh.

"My specials are definitely not at all a product of this," Annie told him with a solemn nod. "Or, like, how bad I want to be on a beach right now."

Like a real beach. The beach here didn't count.

“I suppose it could be worse,” Will mused. “I did give serious thought to going to visit my brother, after all. And don’t get me wrong- I love Jay. But Chicago in February I’m happy to do without.”

"My mom sent me a picture of the car I used to lift in the backyard all covered with ice today," Annie shared, wrinkling her nose. "As much as I could do without Maryland's indecision, it is kind of nice to, like, not have to deal with any of that. And Chicago's worse for sure."

Lake effect, yo.

“Amen to that,” Will agreed. “And I’ll take a pina colada to help drown my ‘not in the tropics currently’ sorrows.”

"It'll help you pretend," Annie assured him, already snagging some pineapple juice. "Man, I should have brought in like, plastic leis or something. Really done a good luau night in here."

There would be cocktail umbrellas, at least.

“I could’ve worn one of those terrible shirts from the summer activities,” he mused.

“Does my drink at least get a cute umbrella?” Will asked, since he couldn’t read narrative.

Edited 2023-02-23 19:12 (UTC)

"Play your cards right, Will," Annie told him, "and you'll get a cute umbrella and a slice of pineapple. Only the best for my favorite town doctor."

"Oooh, fancy," Will said. "How many town doctors do you know, anyway?" he asked after a moment. "I know I'm the only one here..."

"It's best not to ask questions like that," Annie advised teasingly, shaking her head.

So just the one, yeah.

"I mean, it's not as if you have much need for-" he stopped, frowning thoughtfully. "Actually- that's a good question. I know you're super-durable, so it would take a lot for you to need, say, an ED visit- but do you get sick? With like, colds?"

"Yup!" Annie told him cheerfully, nodding. "It's honestly kind of a miracle I haven't gotten sick since I've lived here, 'cause guess who can't even get a flu shot at just any random pharmacy or whatever, either?"

Sometimes the super-abled thing was kind of a pain in the ass, honestly.

“Huh,” Will said thoughtfully. “I’d bet the clinic here would be equipped for that, you know,” he pointed out.

Summer knew Annie was probably working the bar that evening, but she felt like if she didn't talk to someone about it, she was going to just make a hot mess of herself in front of everyone, and there was literally no one else in the multiverse she'd want to talk to about it more than with Annie.

And so there was a little text incoming on her phone fairly early that evening.

Definitely hoping to get ahead of the squirrels on this one to let u know, barry and me broke up

And she figured Annie would still be processing that for a moment, so it was, a moment later, followed by:

it's fine.

And a moment later still:

i'm fine.

She trusted Annie to know that she really fucking wasn't.

Annie was bored enough (given that well over half the town was out in paradise) to be right on top of her phone when it chirped, though she was struck enough by the information that it took all three of Summer's texts to come in before she was even vaguely forming a response.

A few pokes around on her phone, a dip into the Portalocity app to check, and:

♥♥♥ up for a phone call?

She could also get a portal within the hour, and she had her finger on the trigger there -- but checking on whether verbal conversation was welcome seemed like a good temperature check, to start.

i'll do u one better, Summer texted back. give me ten minutes

And, lo and behold, in slightly less time than that, Summer was walking into the Devil Nest, because course she had her portal gun with her, even if using meant that she was definitely pretty wibbly and watery eyes when she plopped down at the bar and declared, "I drank all the booze at the party. I might try to drink all the booze here, too, now."

"You're allowed," Annie told her, and you know what, she was just going to come around the bar and sit with Summer, preemptively moving to slide her arms around her friend's shoulders as Annie fell onto the barstool next to her. "Eric can just get more. I'm so sorry, Summer."

Though man, she had been all set to just hijack your Indonesian vacation, Summer, and you came back to Maryland instead. Things really were dire.

They could always just portal back! But, of course, if they did, then Annie would have to deal with Summer sobbing anew, because she couldn't even use the damn thing without wanting to just break down crying all over again.

"It's fine."

She had been saying that a lot already today, but this one was easily the most choked, the most strained one yet, as Summer turned into the hug Annie back in a way that was clearly making the most out of the fact that Annie had superstrength.

"I think we all pretty much saw this coming, anyway, really."

Oh nooooo, it was a sad portal gun forever now!

"That doesn't mean it doesn't still hurt, or that it has to be fine," Annie told her softly, reaching up to rub Summer's back with one hand. (The other hand was gesturing at Tiny like, what the fuck, dude, how had you not poured Summer a shot yet?) "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

Like, it was obvious that this was mostly about how Barry was clearly off...Barrying, and had been for some time, but she suspected there was some sort of straw/camel's back situation here.

The saddest!

She couldn't even go blow up asteroids, Annie, because the guns she used to blast asteroids were a gift from their first date!

"I don't know if there's a whole lot to say," Summer groaned slightly, sighing into that back rub, because, goddamn, had she needed a good hug just then. "It happened yesterday. Before the room party. Which he was supposed to go to, but I portaled into the Ethiopia lab and it was clear that he'd completely forgotten, and before he could even say anything, I just blurted out 'I don't think this is fucking working out, Barry,' and he just....deflated and said 'yeah, I think you may be fucking right, Summer,' and now here we fucking are."

"He forgot your room party?"

Annie had never even been on one of these trips, and she knew Wednesdays were for room parties, Barry! Stop being so distracted with, like, starving nations. Fuck's sake.

"I don't blame you," Annie decided, sighing a little as she pulled back, just enough to actually look at Summer. "And you still had the party after?"

She got it -- pain is just weakness leaving the body, the show must go on, et cetera -- but it was clear that she thought that was fucking heroic under the circumstances.

"Of course I did," said Summer, almost sounding a little offended that Annie would even have to ask. "I already had nine different shots chilling back in Indonesia waiting. What was I going to do? Toss them out because my ex fucking sucks at priorities?"

Like, yeah, yeah, yeah, starving children or whatever, but it was one night!

"It still fucking rocked, though," Summer assured her. "The party. Everyone had a real good time."

And if anyone pointed out the crack in her voice with that last part or that wibbling lip....she'd....

Well, she'd probably start crying, but she wanted to think she would punch them, or something.

Oh, look, Tiny arriving with that fortuitously-timed and entirely moddable shot! Annie's gesturing finally paid off!

"I mean, it was a party you threw," Annie pointed out gently, doing everyone a solid by not mentioning any voice-cracking. (But she also wasn't going anywhere, so Summer's lip could wibble all it needed to.) "In Indonesia. Of course it was fucking amazing. And maybe it was a good distraction?"

Which had also probably made the hangover worse today, she was betting.

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Devil's Nest | Thursday Evening

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