The Perk, Tuesday Morning

[suitably_heroic]

It had taken Atton frankly incredible effort, but he'd dragged himself out to his portal in the morning, but he had done it, and he deserved a prize. That prize, a massive sugary hot chocolate, now sat before him at the Perk.

It had whipped cream on it. Quite a lot.

Some of this was now on his nose.

"I still hate this island," Atton sighed. "This is all its fault, somehow."

You had napkins, moron.

[[ open ]]

Comments

[okteiviakom]

Octavia was just dropping by to grab something to go on the way to her off-island therapy. Still, after rattling off her order of a random muffin and a big thing of black coffee, she had enough time to glance around at her surroundings, so...

"There's cream on your face."

Helpful, Tavi.

[suitably_heroic]

Atton looked up at her and-- groaned. He reached up to wipe it off. "Gosh, thanks," he said dryly, "I hadn't noticed."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia just shrugged, turning a little more towards the counter again.

"Some people don't."

[suitably_heroic]

Atton muttered something under his breath, but there wasn't much heart in it. He took a sip. "Long time no see," he added.

[okteiviakom]

At that, Octavia looked over again, but with slightly more of a confused squint, this time.

In her defense, it had been a really long time.

[suitably_heroic]

"I mean that as an understatement," Atton offered. "I think you came into Caritas a few times back when I was bartending, like four years ago."

[okteiviakom]

"Oh." Well, that explained it. "Yeah, I was... elsewhere, for about seven years in the middle of those four."

[suitably_heroic]

"Thanks, that really saved my ego," Atton said wryly. "... I've been there. It's a pain in the ass."

[okteiviakom]

"Not half as much as being tossed around the multiverse in the first place," Octavia replied, though with only little bit of a rasp. "But yeah. Made things awkward for a while."

[suitably_heroic]

"Well, it's not like we had any long walks on the beach or anything," Atton offered. "And if you were gone for seven years, my guess is you ran headfirst into some shit."

[okteiviakom]

Tiny nod, but way more rasp, now.

"Apocalypse, the usual."

[suitably_heroic]

Atton nodded. "Barely averted the destruction of the universe on my end," he offered. "Isn't that always the way? It's like the multiverse treats this place like bootcamp. Or a place to park its toys when it has to be somewhere else for a while."

[okteiviakom]

"Something like that," Octavia agreed. "Things seem to happen how it wants and when it wants."

Not that she was bitter, or anything. Ahem.

[suitably_heroic]

"In my defense, my universe works mostly the same way," Atton said, taking a sip of his drink. "So it's a little harder for me to figure out where it's the island messing with me and where it's just home. But I've seen that with other people around here, so yeah. Sorry that happened."

[okteiviakom]

Octavia gave another tiny shrug. "Been a few years now," she said. "Seems to be sticking for now."

If only because Haven felt the need to be the biggest threat.

[suitably_heroic]

"Fingers crossed," Atton said lightly. "You ever think about bailing?"

[okteiviakom]

"Who hasn't?" Octavia retorted.

[suitably_heroic]

"I've met one or two people," Atton said lightly.

[okteiviakom]

"Well, there's something wrong with them."

The barista finally set her coffee down on the counter.

"And I say that as someone with no plans to leave."

[suitably_heroic]

"You're probably right," Atton said. He eyed the door. "I always used to think I'd just keep coming back here no matter what."

[okteiviakom]

"Mm, and here you are."

The muffin followed soon after, in a little takeaway box.

[suitably_heroic]

"Guess I played myself," Atton allowed.

[okteiviakom]

"Happens to the best of us," Octavia rasped, shruggy without actually shrugging. She gave the barista the money she owed, and gathered up her takeaway things. "And I'm about to be late for therapy."

[suitably_heroic]

"Oh, we both got on that team too," Atton said, and snorted, and shook his head. "Well, don't let me keep you. Good luck."

[okteiviakom]

"And now I'm a bartender, too," Octavia noted, as an afterthought. She saluted him, faintly, with her coffee, right as she turned to go. "Well, see you, I guess."

It wouldn't occur to her until much later that she hadn't asked him his name.

(Maybe she'd eventually find out that music class that had thrown her in a mood was his. Just not today.)