Devil's Nest | Thursday Evening

[defenderofdesmoines]

It was so humid. Spring in Maryland appeared to be, mostly, a myth, and a way for summer to sneak in early.

Given the holiday on Monday -- and, perhaps, some advance knowledge that Annie would not be at the bar for her shift on July 4th -- her specials seemed easy enough to conjure up.

~*Specials*~
Red Rum Punch
White Russian
Blue Hawaiian

And now to spend the rest of her shift with ice cubes pressed to the back of her neck, reminding herself that this time last year had been much worse.

[and open!]

Comments

[sword_chocobro]

Gladio wasn't entirely sure what all the fuss about the humidity was, but, then again, the shirtlessness and convincing himself he was impervious to weather conditions helped with that a lot.

So he settled into his usual spot at the bar with a nod. "Annie. How's it going?"

[mylandmyrules]

Nell settled in next to Gladio, leaving a teeny bit more space between them than usual in response to the heat. "Hello, you!"

[sword_chocobro]

"Hey." Like Gladio was going to let the heat and that little space prevent him from tilting over to nudge his shoulder against Nell's. "Fancy meeting you here."

[mylandmyrules]

"So strange," Nell said. She smiled at him. "I'm feeling a little adventurous today."

[sword_chocobro]

"Oh, yeah?" asked Gladio, the tilt in his grin over at Nell matching tge intrigued lift of his eyebrow. "What kind of adventurous?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Better than when it was like this and I was pregnant with twins?" Annie offered, waving an ice cube in a transparent display of attempted, and largely failing, optimism. "How're you?"

For that matter, she also didn't envy Diego at home, likely with a warm baby sleeping on him.

[sword_chocobro]

"Sympathetic," Gladio offered, with a faint smile intended to prove it, before cooking his chin toward the specials board. "At least one of those is coming blended, right?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"The Hawaiian's blended," Annie assured him. "Though now I kind of want to figure out what a blended White Russian would be like."

Maybe that was just a boozy milkshake?

[sword_chocobro]

"You know what?" said Gladio, after a moment of stroking his chin in thought then giving a decisive nod. "Let's maybe start with the Hawaiian to cool down, then try the Russian blended to see how it turns out after."

[mylandmyrules]

It was hot and humid, but Nell was pretty used to that from back home. At least here they had air conditioning that could cool a whole house or building and didn't rely on a small solar panel. She was awfully thirsty, though and feeling a little adventurous today for some reason. "Hi, Annie. Ooh, that Blue Hawaiian looks delicious. And could I try a real version this time?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Absolutely!" Annie assured her, weirdly a little proud of Nell for actually wanting booze? It kind of reminded her of when Kimiko wanted to drink, and -- okay, wow, there was a pair of people who'd probably get along. Something to keep in mind if Kimiko visited, this year. "How's it going? Other than, like, so hot I kinda want to just melt?"

Not dramatic at all, Hargreeves, way to undersell.

[mylandmyrules]

"I don't mind the heat so much," Nell said. "Well, I do, but I can always go in where it's air conditioned, so that's handy!"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"This time last year I was spending as much time as I could in a kiddie pool," Annie noted, starting to pull together ingredients for Nell's drink, "so I just keep reminding myself it could be worse. It doesn't get this humid back home, generally."

Or so relentlessly, really.

[mylandmyrules]

"Oh yes," Nell said. "You were expecting twins. That must have been terrible. How are they holding up in the heat?"

[pocketpretzels]

And yet, Watts was not at all uncomfortable looking in his usual full three-piece suit.

"Good evening, Annie," he greeted.

[defenderofdesmoines]

Clearly an actual superpower, there.

"Llewellyn!" Annie greeted him cheerfully, actually setting her ice aside and everything. "How's it going?"

[pocketpretzels]

"I have no complaints," Watts said, with a smile in return. "And yourself?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Plenty of 'em, but nothing new," Annie replied easily. "What're we drinking tonight? I'm doing Memorial Day colors ahead of schedule."

Really, pick any handful of summer holidays, and she'd be fitting the theme. Memorial Day. Flag Day. Bastille Day.

[grenadesandohana]

Could Steve sense the siren call of a Blue Hawaiian? It was entirely possible. "Hi there, Annie!" he said with a grin, sitting down at the bar. "Bet you know what I'd like to drink."

The sweet siren call of a ridiculous frozen drink.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I mean, I know the easy answer, but you should also know Gladio's basically dared me to turn the White Russian into a boozy milkshake," Annie noted, waggling her brows and, yes, already snagging the Curacao, anyway. "How's it going, Steve?"

[grenadesandohana]

"I've had the weirdest urge to get another tattoo all week," Steve admitted, "but other than that, nothing all that interesting. How are the kids?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Good! Excited to go to a party on Monday," Annie told him, because like it or not, they were totally coming, and probably wearing matching outfits and would be forced to sit on grass, once more. It was good for them! "What would you even get a tattoo of?"

Big cheesy anchor on his bicep, maybe? If you acknowledged a tacky thing, it became kitsch and ironic, right?

[pocketpretzels]

"McGarrett," Watts said, holding up his own drink in greeting.

[grenadesandohana]

"Boss," Steve replied with a grin. "Nice to see you when we're not in the office."

[pocketpretzels]

"Proof that we do exist outside of it," Watts declared solemnly.