Devil's Nest | Thursday Evening

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Dude, I love fall as much as the next basic white lady," Annie assured Tiny, when given a pitch similar to the one Eric had received on Monday. "But first of all, I'm missing out on pretty much all things PSL this year -- no, don't even fucking start on decaf, dude, decaf is bullshit -- and you know I can't have that, either."

That, naturally, was the offending bottle of pumpkin spice vodka.

"At least give it until Labor Day," she advised, kind of feeling bad since normally she really liked encouraging Tiny -- you know, to help foster their friendship. "You've got like a week before more people'll be on board, dude."

~*Specials*~
Tiffany Mimosas
Jack Frosties
Mermaid Mules

[open!]

Comments

[sword_chocobro]

And, of course, since it was Thursday, Gladio's eyes immediately drifted over to the specials board as he came in for his usual bartime, squinting a little curiously at it as he settled into his usual bar spot.

"Jack Frosties?" he asked, then, deciding on that one as the one he was most intrigued about, lifting a scarred brow as his attention shifted now toward Annie.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Way to hone in on the blended one," Annie replied with an impressed lift of her own, perfectly unscarred brow. "They're all three the same shade of blue, that's the theme, but Jack Frosties are blended and have coconut."

They were also Annie's favorite of the set, naturally.

"How's it going, Gladio?"

[sword_chocobro]

And that grin on Gladio's face was an exceptionally proud one, his shoulders straightening in a way that was just shy of him giving himself a pat on the back, because honing in on the blended one was exactly his goal there.

"Sold," he said. "Hook me up. And it's going pretty great, Annie, thanks for asking. How's it going with you?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Pretty good!" she assured him with a bright smile as she snagged her blender pitcher. "I'm honestly pretty ready for summer to be over, is the big thing? Like, Tiny's trying to pitch pumpkin spice vodka and I'm almost with him on it, but we're not quite there yet and I don't want to rush things. How's the gym? I need to get back in there."

Her languishing star stickers. But also, like, her current inability to see her toes, and her back pain, and et cetera. (Though Annie also stubbornly thought the gym would help a lot of that, even if she was being advised to mainly keep things light and stick to walking.)

[sword_chocobro]

Gladio was usually all about encouraging people to hit the gym as much as possible, but that last comment was earning Annie a look that made it clear that there were obvious exceptions, though he'd clearly have nothing but respect if she actually did follow through with that any time soon.

He could be very expressive when he needed to, and the grin on his face lingered as he shook his head a little. "Gym's good," he said. "We got chickens now, apparently. Actual ones, not just the rubber ones Prompto planted everywhere that one time.

"And, yeah," he said, "I got to hear all about the pumpkin spice kick from Eric on Monday. And from Iggy on Tuesday. Which is funny, because that means I've been hearing more about it from people complaining about it than people actually advocating for it. I mostly just can't get over how it's really almost fall again, honestly."

Which meant that it was almost a year since he showed up back here again, and, gods, what a wild difference a year could make. And it did make him wonder, too, sometimes, just how much time had gone by back home, what all they were missing, and a new stab of guilt for not doing more to get back these days.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"It's my wedding anniversary in a little over a month," Annie acknowledged, shooting a knowing little smile over to Gladio as she worked on his drink. "How's that feel?"

Not about her having been married for nearly a year (and subsequently pregnant for seven months of that year, so far), so much as it having been a year since he...you know, totally turned up back in this universe exclusively for that occasion.

[mylandmyrules]

And this would be Nell, venturing in for a second time - mostly to see a certain person who made her very happy, though it was always nice to see Annie as well. "Hello," she said with a smile. "How are you today?"

[sword_chocobro]

"Feeling like a terrible influence," Gladio answered, but the snort and the grin on his face didn't seem too ashamed about it, "but, hey. Welcome back. Can I get you a drink?"

[mylandmyrules]

"A terrible influence?" Nell said. "What do you mean?" She thought about leaning in to kiss him, but she didn't know how he'd feel about that happening in such a public place.

"I thought I might get another milkshake," she said, "Unless Annie had another suggestion for me."

[sword_chocobro]

"Well," Gladio explained, leaning in enough to give Nell's shoulder a little nudge with his own, since he wasn't sure how she'd feel about a kiss in such a public place, and, besides, he figured they'd get around to that somewhere down the line, anyway, "you keep this up, you're on your way to becoming a regular. And I'm sure Annie's milkshakes are just as good as her other drinks," he gave his violently blue blended beverage a lift to show his expertise on such matters, "but something tells me that's not what keeps bringing you around."

[mylandmyrules]

She nudged him back happily and smiled up at him. "Not sure how regularly I'll come, but once in a while."

And her smile grew. "But no, it's not Annie's drinks or her magical blender skills that brings me around. ... Must be Tino?"

[knife_bender]

"If the specials are a theme I don't get it." Then again, he didn't do so hot in his dad's Lit classes where he was expected to find the themes of books so maybe it just wasn't his thing.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"They're all blue!" Annie told him proudly, brandishing her pitcher's remnants of Jack Frosties at him. "Like Tiffany blue, get it? Tiny wants to push fall stuff so I figured I'd lean into something summery."

And enjoy giving people funny-looking mouths in the process. Who didn't love having a temporarily blue tongue?

[knife_bender]

"With the way you've been bitching about the heat I thought you'd welcome fall," Diego teased.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I do welcome fall, but drinking nutmeg isn't going to make the temperature drop," Annie replied with a little face. "It's just going to feel like fraud when it's still hot out."

That was the term for it, sure. Not dramatic at all.

[knife_bender]

"Pumpkin spice is gross anyway." It tasted like potpourri! "Can I get the mule one?"

Don't make him say mermaid.

[sword_chocobro]

Well, there could hardly be a Diego appearance where Gladio wouldn't offer a nod and a lift of his incredibly blue drink in greeting if he could help it. "Hey, Diego," he said, "how've you been?"

He really didn't get the chance to catch up with the guy as much as he'd like to.

[knife_bender]

"I'm good. Trying to enjoy the last few weeks of a quiet house," Diego joked. "How have you been?"

[sword_chocobro]

"Yeah, good luck with that," Gladio said, with a wry snort, although he did mean it pretty sincerely. "Maybe think about catching up on some sleep while you still can, too, while you're at it. And I've been pretty good, actually, not really a whole lot to complain about."

There were definitely some things, little nagging things mostly surfacing up again because of the realization that he'd been back for practically a year now, and he didn't really like how that was nudging the edges of his brain a little, but he was diligently just trying to ignore it for now.

[knife_bender]

"I've definitely been encouraging naps whenever we can get them." Which was more than usual this summer between Annie being pregnant and it being too hot to step outside most of the time.

"But not like boring nothing to complain about, I hope?" That was usually Diego's biggest problem.

[mylandmyrules]

Nell smiled at Annie and handed over another packet of teas and a lemony scented bottle of lotion. "Hi, Annie," she said smiling shyly. "I thought you might like these."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Nell, you're too nice," Annie chided, though she gratefully accepted the gifts. "Thank you for thinking of me -- the teas and lotions have been super helpful so far."

Like. Annie's vain streak was already appreciative, beating though it was taking these last few months.

[mylandmyrules]

"The lotion is also good for reducing stretch marks," Nell said confidentially.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"A major, major concern of mine," Annie assured her in a similarly hushed tone, tossing off a wink to go with it. "Get you a drink?"

[mylandmyrules]

"It's lemon scented," Nell said, "but I don't think the scent is too strong. If it bothers you, though, I can get a different one for you."

"Yes," Nell said, "But I'm going to be a little daring. You can pick something - anything non-alcoholic - that you think might be good."