The Park, Saturday Evening

[suitably_heroic]

Atton had gone for a walk, as he did almost every night here, now. Alone with his thoughts, and the quieting life of town. But then he'd seen the lights at Caritas, felt the tell-tale bustle of Three Minute Dates, and he'd just... kept going.

He hadn't been in the mood for Three Minute Dates in a long time.

(It maybe also wasn't the only thing - or person - that he'd sensed today. And maybe he didn't quite know what to do with that right now, improbably, even though he and Si were on fine terms and he wasn't nearly the mess he'd been the last time he'd stayed in her universe, forever ago as it seemed.)

So instead he found himself at the Park, as he so often did, too. Lingering near the edge, by a tree, watching the ducks settle in to sleep, occasionally turning around to see if he could get a glimpse of Caritas.

It had been, he reflected, a good decision to pick up therapy again last month.

[[ expecting one, but open ]]

Comments

[notconflicted]

Sia wasn't able to get away nearly as often as she used to be, so she'd jumped at the chance when Jessica decided to come. She could spare a couple days when she usually couldn't take any off.

But she also had wanted to come and check up on person, so once she was done at the bar, she decided to go out and see if she could find him by presence. He'd see her coming.

[suitably_heroic]

He did. And frankly, Atton was proud of himself for not feeling the urge to run away quite as strongly as he could have.

"How were your dates?" he asked, watching the ducks.

[notconflicted]

"I got there too late to participate." Oh darn. "I just watched Jessica's. You didn't want to go?"

[suitably_heroic]

"Feels like I'm getting a little old for that," Atton admitted. "... Though now I don't know why I'm trying to justify that to you, since you skipped out on it too."

[notconflicted]

"I just don't enjoy small talk with people I'm probably never going to see again," she said. She got enough of that at home.

[suitably_heroic]

Atton snorted. "Now there's something we can both agree on," he said. He looked up at her, and-- yep. Still Sia. (Still gorgeous.) "Trying to get away from Empressing for a bit, huh?"

[notconflicted]

Sia nodded. "I've earned it. Thought I would come and check in."

And check up.

[suitably_heroic]

"Good," Atton said, and desperately wished for a drink to bury that statement in. "I mean, that's good. You definitely don't get enough downtime."

[notconflicted]

"I really don't," she agreed. "What about you?"

[suitably_heroic]

"Me? I'm up to my ears in downtime. One class a week, that's nothing."

Not really what she was asking, Rand.

[notconflicted]

"Is that a good or a bad thing?" Which was really a different way of asking the same question.

[suitably_heroic]

"... I don't know," Atton admitted. And maybe let a few inches of that defensiveness down. "But I've been running around from one place to another lightsabering things and saving people and generally Being A Jedi for so long, and that didn't work, so I figured I might as well try this for a while."

[notconflicted]

"You do deserve the break, too," she said. "Do you like it so far?"

Which probably sounded like the same question, but it was a different one.

[suitably_heroic]

It wasn't the same question. Atton appreciated the subtlety of it, though. "I might," he said. "I guess I'm trying to figure out if walking away from the-- everything our universe might be good for me. And if so, how much. You know?"

[notconflicted]

"The question I wish I could ask myself," she said with the tiniest of smiles. "I get it."

It'd also been rougher for him.

[suitably_heroic]

When had Atton started looking at his shoes again? He wrenched his eyes up to look at her, and matched her smile.

"I owe you a thank you," he said - as old reflexes screamed at him to stop talking. "I spent-- most of my life being whoever I thought I needed to be, you know?"

Stop talking. At the very least, stop saying 'you know'.

"I was about to fall right back into that and you pulled me out of it." He shrugged, a little discomfited. "Now I just have to figure out all the stuff I've been putting off figuring out for my entire life. No biggie."

[notconflicted]

"I just want you to be all right," she said seriously. "Whatever that ends up meaning."

[suitably_heroic]

Atton reached up and rubbed at his eye for like. Literally no reason.

"Yeah, well. Thanks," he said lamely. "It's mutual. Uh."

[notconflicted]

She also wouldn't dwell on things being too touching here.

"So what do you do with all of this downtime?"

[suitably_heroic]

Yeah. Too touching was bad. Atton cleared his throat. "Oh, you know, the usual. Take walks, make fun of the overdramatic, sing in a cover band..."

[notconflicted]

"Sing in a cover band," she repeated.

[suitably_heroic]

"Skywalker thinks it's hilarious," Atton muttered. "It's not, I'll have you know."

[notconflicted]

"I'll admit I didn't see that one coming," Sia admitted.

[suitably_heroic]

Atton shrugged. "I always liked music," he said. "Figured I might as well pull on that thread after someone found me doing sad karaoke after midnight one too many times."

[notconflicted]

"That I believe," she said lightly.