the fine art of Figuring Out What The Hell You're Doing

[tactician]

Technically speaking, there was nothing about the situation that wasn't at least vaguely familiar. The locale was in the same area, if not the same bar (for some reason, Bentley seemed strongly opposed to that option and Evan supposed it was all right, since they might as well canvas what the area had to offer while they were at it anyway). Evan was half-sure they were playing the same songs, personally sure that they were serving the same drinks. The faces might have been different, but strangers were still strangers until they...weren't, which was the point of this entire outing to begin with.

Bentley still seemed a little...stiff, although that too was something that was, perhaps, also the same.

Evan forcibly wedged a tall glass of rose-colored something into Bentley's grasp, managing it despite the lack of cooperation and the fact that he was balancing a drink of his own in his other hand. The drink was transparent and fizzy with carbonated bubbles, adorned at the top with a modest sprig of green mint or whatever the local planetary equivalent was. It even had a delicate little straw, for the doctor's delicate little sensibilities. Evan pushed Bentley's hands into raising the cup to at least mouth-level, even if he couldn't force the other man to take a drink.

"Don't look so spooked," he encouraged, clinking the edge of his cup against Bentley's drink before taking a sip. "You've done this before, remember?"

Comments

[aphelionix]

It was likely Bentley's ever so fragile nerves making him laugh instead of shake or stutter.

"I thought as much," he admitted. "I don't think I really would care to connect with those men, anyway."

[tactician]

"Maybe you shouldn't go dumping your drink in their eyes?" Evan suggested with a smirk.

[aphelionix]

Bentley scoffed, but it was in good humor.

"Maybe if he asked nicely, I would've fixed it." He paused. "And waterproofed it."

[tactician]

"He was a few shots past 'asking nicely,'" Evan sighed, looking back at the bar they had come from with an almost wistful expression. They had made their exit out the back entrance, granted, and what view they were afforded was simply a nondescript door in an equally nondescript alleyway, with only the flickering neon 'OPEN' sign hanging above the entrance to distinguish it at all, but still. "And here we were supposed to be getting you loosened up."

He turned back to Bentley, an apologetic twinge to his smile. "Next time, you can choose."

[aphelionix]

"That's quite all right," he said with a smile. Bentley let out a heavy exhale, becoming calm again. Evan's goal wasn't entirely a bust, though. There had been a connection of sorts; probably just not the way Evan had intended. "Thank you, by the way, Evan."

[tactician]

Evan raised a brow, making the almost perfectly round red mark on his forehead the tiniest bit lopsided. "For what?"

[aphelionix]

"Well, you know," he said. "Having my back. I know it's a Circle thing, that kind of loyalty, but... I appreciate it.

"...And are you sure you don't want me to check on that bump?"

[tactician]

Evan sighed quietly, more a customary show of amusement than any real protest whatsoever, and bent down a little - just the few inches necessary to put his forehead at Bentley's eye level. He tapped his forehead in open invitation before hooking his thumbs into his pockets to wait out the inevitable bout of doctorly concern that was about to follow.

"What else would I have done?" he asked, and in the dim alley lighting, his eyes were bright with a sense of subdued curiosity from under his blond fringe.

[aphelionix]

"I don't know," Bentley said, in the manner of someone who does know. Evan could've left him there like meat for a pack of hungry wolves, was what. Goodness knows people he's trusted in the past have done it. "Something not as nice. Though to be fair, I did half the work, I suppose."

The bump wasn't too bad, but it was bound to round out in a matter of hours. He dismissed Evan rather easily, but not without a doctor's order of looking out for dizziness, and if lights seemed a little brighter than usual, then to let him know.

[tactician]

"You call that half the work?" Evan scoffed, straightening as he waved a hand in front of his face. "You just stuck your arm out - it was a stroke of luck that you happened to be electric."

[aphelionix]

"That was not luck," he protested. "Though it's... admittedly, not the intended purpose of that."

[tactician]

"So you're a fighter now," Evan pushed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I guess I should report that bit of information back to Boss. He might even put you on field missions now. We've never had a combat medical unit before."

[aphelionix]

"Wha- no! I mean, there was that one mission... but that was a one time thing, I swear," Bentley said frantically, waving his hands. "That wasn't even supposed to happen, really."

[tactician]

"Don't be so modest!" Evan grinned teasingly, apparently much more at ease with the concept of Bentley going into battle than Bentley himself was, which was easy for him to say because, well, he wasn't the Bentley in question. "Boss would be really impressed! Think about how useful you would be if we could just drop you into the middle of red zones and not have to worry about whether you'd come back full of holes or not!"

[aphelionix]

"The only reason I wouldn't come out of it ridden with holes is because I have enough faith in myself as a doctor to patch myself up," he sighed, giving Evan a friendly push.

[tactician]

With a laugh, Evan rebounded from the push and slung an arm around Bentley's neck, dragging them both towards the main street. The night was technically still young. "You'd have backup, remember?" And, as they melded into the sea of people roaming the streets: "Now, let's see if we can find a joint where we won't throw our drinks into people's faces, and maybe we'll even find a nice boy for you to talk to, yeah?"

[aphelionix]

Bentley rolled his eyes with a sigh, but he was smiling. He gave Evan a pat on the back.

"I suppose we could do that."