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Sour it is.

[ so out come the ingredients for gin fizzes, and Reno gets to work mixing things together. the question makes him grin and he says, ] I dunno, how long has the club been open?

[ it's a tongue in cheek answer, but he does give a real one after a second. ]

I don't do this professionally back home. Mixing drinks and cooking are like—I dunno, hobbies I picked up to make me feel more human, I guess. Somethin' like that. The flairtending is mostly just 'cause I'm pretty good at knife tricks and figured the skills kinda overlap.

...hobbies definitely help with that. It was art for me, so I figured if I could mix paints, and if I can drink alcohol, I can probably learn to mix alcohol.

[does that translate over? not really. but has it been another on the list of hobbies anyway? definitely. it's nice to be able to do something useful around the club, at the very least.]

You're pretty good with the flair, though. Never really knew that was a thing before the gala.

You saw Thancred doin' it? He's better than me.

[ and in fact is where Reno picked up the idea in the first place. he doesn't have quite the same dramatic flourish, but he still holds his own, at least—or anyway no one has complained to him, so whatever. ]

Art seems cool, though. I tell you that before? I ain't even painted a wall before, what you can do is impressive as hell.

[ there, drinks finished. Reno passes one over to Netzach, then takes the other for himself and leans a hip against the counter to try it. it's good—not too sour, but tart, and a little fizzy in a way he likes. maybe he doesn't have to be a gin hater after all. ]

A lot of things are art, you know. It isn't just painting and drawing.

[he takes a tentative sip of his drink, with an appreciative little hum. the fizz is interesting, the tartness making the flavor of it stand out; netzach lifts the glass slightly.]

Even this can be art. It's like mixing paint... If you throw colors or drinks together without knowing anything, or putting any thought into it, you just end up with a muddy shade or an undrinkable drink. Blending them the right way is an art, just like putting notes together the right way is.

[after another long drink, he adds, a little teasing:]

You kissed like it was an art of its own, too.

You think so? Kinda romantic, when you put it that way.

[ Reno could tell by Netzach's expression on that first sip that he didn't hate the drink, but it's the second sip that lets him know he must actually like it. or at least likes it well enough not to set it down right away, which feels like a win.

Reno has never really thought of his culinary or bartending skills as an art, per se—a hobby at best, something he pursues in his spare time. but hearing Netzach describe the process of mixing paints and mixing drinks in such similar terms does indeed capture his imagination. Reno, an artist of any variety? perish the thought—Tseng would laugh him out of the building.

the follow-up comment makes him grin, though, his gaze dropping lazily down to Netzach's mouth again before moving back up to meet his eyes. ]

You in the mood to be an art critic tonight, then?

Mm...

[he pauses a moment to consider this, his expression thoughtful as he draws another couple mouthfuls from his glass.]

Honestly, I think I feel more like curling up and hanging out? Nothing against the idea, you are good. Just not really in the mood for it.

[smooching him again is not off the table, but man, sometimes you'd just rather get comfy.]

Love a good cuddle.

[ totally understandable, sometimes you really do wanna just curl up and relax. Reno glances down at Netzach's body—not lascivious, just checking out the comfy clothes vibe—and then takes a sip of his own drink before asking, ]

Bed or couch?

[ both definitely have their merits, after all, and Reno likes both just fine, so he's happy to leave the final choice in Netzach's hands. ]

[the comfy clothes vibe: pajama pants and an oversized shirt, which he just threw a coat over. peak lazy hours.]

Couch is fine with me.

[which he says knowing full well this will end in him being draped all over reno to get comfortable, but these are the things we do for the sake of cuddling and also body heat...

if there's one thing he's been learning here, it's that he likes physical contact and affection, actually. reno is going to be in danger of being a pillow.]

[ very cute. matches Reno's vibe, which is currently sweatpants and t-shirt, a quick dress-down from what he'd worn to go out earlier. lazy is nice sometimes, cuddling is nicer—even without kissing Reno's real content with this outcome.

he takes his own drink and leads the way into the living room, where the couch is... well, not the biggest, but it'll fit the two of them fine, and at least it's nice and soft and comfortable to curl up on. ]

You wanna be big or lil' spoon? [ not that they're strictly going to be spooning, Reno figures it'll be more like a reciprocal cuddling situation, so he's using it more as shorthand for who's gonna be in whose lap, more or less. ]

Good question.

[he evaluates the couch... takes a second to evaluate reno... and nods.]

Little. You go ahead and sit first. I've been a walking pillow for my ferret all day, it's my turn.

[ hell yeah. Reno ends up little spoon a lot—not that he has a problem with that, it's just sort of how it shakes out with the few people here he's got a cuddling relationship with—and so the chance to be big spoon is kinda nice.

he sets his drink down on the end table and then drops himself down into the cushions, leaning sort of into the angle between the arm of the couch and the back of it, legs spread enough that Netzach can settle in between them comfortably. it's the kind of posture that's ideal to just snuggle up in someone's arms and lean on them, but without being so reclined that it's hard to drink at the same time. ]

C'mere, I'll be your pillow. [ he grins, but it's the grin of someone who knows he sounds ridiculous, not an attempt to flirt. ]

[perfect. netzach is ending up so spoiled tbh...

he keeps his drink in hand as he settles in comfortably, scooting down enough that he can properly rest against him without his own height getting in the way. a little shift, a little wiggle, and... yes. ideal. that's comfy.]

-there we go. Hey, this couch is pretty nice.

[ once Netzach has gotten himself situated and is leaning comfortably against Reno, Reno tucks one arm around his waist and uses the other to pull at a blanket currently draped over the back of the couch, using it to cover up their joined legs. with that done, he reaches for his glass as well, and there they are—nice and cozy, curled up together.

it's nice, this kind of thing. ]

Ain't it? I didn't pick this place for it, but I definitely ain't mad about it. It's comfy.

I thought you might have brought it in yourself, but... you really weren't kidding about not having much stuff, were you.

[he reaches down to adjust the blanket a little before taking another drink, his gaze shifting to the apartment's walls. sure, he can get people not wanting to make a home out of the place... usually there are more signs they're the ones living here, though.]

Just didn't feel like doing anything with the place?

[ Reno makes a noise that sounds like a laugh, but it does kind of touch on the things he and Netzach were talking about earlier. more serious than chatting about couches. ]

Eh... kinda. [ he takes another drink, leaning his head partly against the cushions and partly against Netzach. ] More like—I just don't know what to do with it?

[ how does he explain this? maybe straightforwardly is best. ]

Back when I was workin' for the Company, I had an apartment but I didn't live there. I lived at the Company building and just stored my shit at the apartment. Kept it real tidy so when I bit it, it'd be easy to clean up. Never learned how to decorate or whatever, never saw a point.

...yeah, I can't blame you for that. I never did much with my space, either.

[he didn't care about anything enough to, in the facility, and then in the library... well, his floor was fine as it was.]

I don't really know much about decorating, but this is still the first time I've ever really had anything to keep, or felt like putting my own art around the place.

[another sip, and:]

Honestly, a lot of the stuff I do have... it's just because it reminds me of other people here.

...That's cute. [ Reno smiles. ] You're real cute.

[ still drunk enough that the brain to mouth filter is even more broken than it usually is. Reno takes another sip too, humming under his breath. he likes the idea of Netzach sort of slowly collecting memorabilia of his friends, memories of times that he was glad to be alive. ]

You got your own place or do you share?

I hear that a lot.

[it's getting easier to just-- take compliments. slowly, but surely.]

But I share, yeah. We renovated a place-- took some walls out and put some new fixtures and things in with Kaveh and Alhaitham and Midnight's help, so that some of us from the Library could stay together. It's me and Yesod and Chesed now, though, Roland... vanished before we finished the apartment.

'Cause it's true. [ duh.

sort of vaguely, Reno remembers Roland—they were never close, in fact he's not even sure they ever spoke, but the had orbited each other at a couple of parties, and Roland was at the gala at the table next to Reno. ]

Sorry to hear that. [ he knows, now, better than ever before, exactly how much it can fucking suck when someone you're close with vanishes without a trace.

in an effort to keep the thought from being too sobering, Reno adds, ] Hey, I tell you I met Chesed? He gave me coffee at that Christmas... secret... whatever thing. I shoulda known he worked with you and Yesod 'cause how else would he know my dream is to brew mid coffee for a living.

It's all right. He's the kind of guy who can take care of himself.

[he took care of netzach well enough, too, but- well. he doesn't exactly wish for him back, not when it would mean dealing with this place.

that mention of chesed gets a little grin from him, though, over the rim of his glass.]

You guys get along? I think Chesed's probably the best of us when it comes to dealing with people... it sounds like that's the kind of dream he'd appreciate too. [a pause.] He'd probably tell you to have higher standards for the coffee, though.

We didn't talk much, but he seems nice enough.

[ and he'd given Reno a quick crash course in Secret Santa etiquette, which will surely come in handy next year when the holiday rolls around again. ]

Definitely sounded like he was interested in the coffee not being mid. Is he a big coffee guy or somethin'?

Always has been. He likes coffee in the way I like alcohol... probably more, if I'm being honest. I don't care so much about the quality and the taste, I just enjoy the good stuff when I have it.

[chesed, though, is knowledgeable about the beans, their blends, how to prepare them and the various different ways to make a drink. just like binah is with tea. (but netzach does his best not to talk to binah.)]

Damn, and that's sayin' something.

[ there's a sort of kinship Reno feels with Netzach in this regard—it seems like they both have vices a little too big for them. Netzach with his liquor and the drug stash in Kaveh's posession; Reno with his liquor and the packs of cigarettes he goes through on the daily to destress. if anybody ever introduces Reno to hard drugs it's over for him, honestly. ]

That's kinda how I am too, though. I'll go for the good shit if someone else is buyin' but mostly I don't care about prestige. If it tastes good it tastes goood, whatever.

Exaaactly. I always cared more about how strong it was, you know? Or that it was alcoholic at all. It's only really here that I started getting into trying them just for their flavor... though I did like absinthe before.

[even if it was more for the legacy of the drink, it was something he felt he could appreciate for more than just its alcohol content. maybe he should start looking for it here.]

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