(no subject)

[souffle_girlek]

Oswin's a bit bummed out tonight - There's nothing to point to, of course. Nothing that one can use as an example to say 'this, this is horrible, look at this horrible thing and let me be mopey for a bit', just a bit of leftover (stupid) emotion from the last few days and some truly outrageously failed attempts at souffles.

Nothing world-ending.

Still, there's an Oswin stirring a mostly-melted beer-and-chocolate milkshake idly at the bar.

(OOC: aaaaand the end of Oswin-Tahno should have a warning for 'no seriously guys, GET A ROOM')

Comments

[hot_water]

"Well, well, well," Tahno drawls, sauntering up to her table. "If it ain't the cutest gal in the bar. How're you doin'?"

[souffle_girlek]

"Hullo Tahno. Doing alright - and you?" This is sheer deflection, but she does it with a smile, so that means its okay.

[hot_water]

Tahno leans against her table, setting a large hand down near her. Personal space? What is this?

"Better now that I've seen you," he drawls, leaning in to place a gentle kiss on her jaw. "You should come out on the lake with me."

[souffle_girlek]

She raises an eyebrow at him, even while allowing the kiss.

"That does not sound like a thing that is going to happen, nope."

[hot_water]

"Aw, c'mon," Tahno coaxes, cradling her cheek. "Most of the lake is cold, but the inlet is warm, right? We can go out there for like ten minutes, tops."

[souffle_girlek]

"I'm going to stick with nope." She can feel the draft from here when someone opens the door, it's cold out there, and... well. It's outside. That's a problem.

[hot_water]

"'Kay," Tahno drawls congenially. "I can always bring the lake inside, like I did last time. Order a buncha sand and some heat lamps, and I'll have an indoor beach. How's that sound?"

[souffle_girlek]

"... Do I want to know why you're so set on there being a beach?" Oswin asks warily, because honestly, that's taking things a bit far, isn't it?

[hot_water]

Tahno crosses one leg over the other daintily. "You ever been on beach? They're amazin'. The sand is hot, the water's warm, and the sun beats down on yer shoulders in the best way. Pools are nice and all, but if ya wanna make a day of it, ya gotta to to a beach."

He smirks. "Plus, alcohol tastes better."

[souffle_girlek]

"... I'm pretty sure that most of that is hyperbole." Oswin decides after a few minutes. "Which isn't bad in its own right, but still."

[hot_water]

"You ain't never been, and now you gotta beach outside, and you won't go," Tahno drawls, furrowing his brow. He folds his arms. "That ain't right, man."

Tahno's not one for plans, but he one for impulses, and he knows what he needs to do. Still, he's not about to go haring off right now--he's got a sexy chick sitting here before him. "Speakin' of alcohol, you thirsty? All this beach talk is makin' me crave A Sex On one."

[souffle_girlek]

She hunches, her figurative feathers well and truly ruffled. Sure, a beach sounds lovely, but she knows, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she'd get two steps beyond that door, freeze, and be most of the way back to her retreat before she knew what happened. She understands she's afraid of stupid things.

Doesn't seem to change the problem, just makes it that bit more frustrating.

"I've got a drink."

A mostly melted milkshake, but yes. A drink.

[hot_water]

Tahno orders one of those from the rats for himself, then, and continues leaning on her table. "Yeah, you do, and now I've gone and pissed you off, or bummed you out, or somethin'."

He thinks on that for a moment. "Listen, if I'm irritatin', tell me to shut my mouth. I just might."

[hasthehighground]

The Clint who wanders into the bar is wearing his SHIELD tactical pants but a long soft Henley and socks instead of shoes, as he was in the process of looking for his sweatpants when the Bar snagged him.

He looks around, shrugs. He intentionally does not touch his over-the-ear hearing aids, which are solely for time off.

He noticed Oswin pretty much immediately. It took a little longer for him to decide she definitely was Oswin, not another Oswald, but he finds his way over to her and pulls out a barstool.

"One decaf coffee, please," he orders from the bar, setting his elbows on the counter and tilting his head to look at Oswin. "Hey."

[souffle_girlek]

"Clint!" She beams, and leans over to give him a hug.

(What, it's been a while, shut up, no you over there in the corner, shut up.)

"Oh, I have something for you, hang on." There's a remote in one of the pouches on her belt, and she punches a code in with nimble fingers. Little bots are the best, seriously.

[hasthehighground]

He grins back at her, even though he doesn't return the hug (though he leans into it).

"Yeah?" he asks, picking up his mug and taking a sip as he watches what she's doing. This doesn't look like it's going to be baked goods.

[souffle_girlek]

"Yeah, I hope you don't mind, I... well, I had some time on my hands and so..." One of the spindly-legged spiderbots clatters up onto the barstool next to her, and she rescues the electronic notepad from its clutches so it can skitter away.

"Here."

The schematics are all line-drawings with extensive technical notes, but unmistakably those of hearing aids.

[hasthehighground]

Clint flinches away slightly from the spiderbot when he sees it. Slightly, but noticeably.

It's not a cybermite, but shiny skittering things are a little freaky.

"... Huh," he says, reading it. "I don't mind. Could you explain them to me?"

Schematics he's familiar with; the exact ramifications of these schematics, not so much.

[souffle_girlek]

He's not overtly mad, so that she can work with, really - the flinching she's come to accept (like, no, accept, yes). No one seems fond of her spiderbots as a whole.

"Well, there's, there's a couple things I've changed. The sound translation is smoother and more sensitive - better ability to differentiate between sounds, and better range, and, you know, since the others seemed, well, crap at protection, I put better buffers on them too. And they're more comfortable, I think, they should be anyway." She babbles, her off hand idly tapping at the wood in front of her.

Idle tapping, ingrained nervous habit, one of those.

[hasthehighground]

"Oswin," he says, interrupting her tapping with a smile. "Thanks. I don't know if the techs will spring for it, but even if they don't -- I appreciate it."

She clearly went through a lot of work, especially as she knows it has to be built in the 21st century.

"What else have you been getting into?"

[souffle_girlek]

"Oh, not much, y'know. Making friends, building bots, showing off my computer skills." She shrugs.

She has been getting lots of exercise! Err.

"Developing new fashions."

[hasthehighground]

His eyebrows raise.

"Yeah? Like what?"

[souffle_girlek]

"The ever fashionable squirrel-kini." Oswin replies, with a face that'd win her bank at poker.

[hasthehighground]

"Ah. Yes."

Clint's brow puckers, attempting to envision this. Is the squirrel a bikini? Is it made of dead squirrels? Is the squirrel in a bikini? Is this a print of a squirrel? Is he thinking too hard about this?

"What?"

[souffle_girlek]

She snickers at his expression, and helpfully explains.

"A friend and I discovered this positively ancient computer game where you travel by wagon from one point in the world to another, and along the way multitudes of horrible things happen to you. After we lost all the clothes in one of the rivers he insisted that one of the other wagon members sewed us all clothes from the squirrels he kept shooting, and thus, a squirrel-kini."