"I torture people because it's very fun and very educational. And I work until my body physically shuts down." They took a sip. "I have not slept in 51 hours and counting."

"...Ah. Not exactly a flaw, I'd say. The first part, anyways. The second's biting into your productivity."

"Your turn to explain."

"You're not thinking clearly, your observation skills are impaired, and you probably aren't getting proper dosages. They're linked to your sleep schedule."

"Oh," they said flatly. "That's why I've been feeling weird. Eh." They shrugged nonchalantly and flared their wings, almost knocking over a poor waitress. "I'll survive."

"Not for long you won't. They might demote you for not being under full control. Or raise your dosage."

"So be it. This place is a hellhole." They pushed up their glasses. "If I'm some worker bee and half-asleep the whole time, won't matter."

"Kada." His voice had a chilled edge. "They're always listening."

"And?"

"I'm with you. If you go down, I do too. And you do beneficial work here." He paused, half-waiting for a response. "A mind is a terrible thing to waste."

Anti-Kada stared at him for a moment, face totally flat, then exploded in laughter. They doubled over, dropping their head onto the table and into their arms, downright cackling. "Too late for that! Too! Late! For that!"

Anti-Binary watched them coldly until they finally sat up, sighing and wiping their eyes. "Look, Bines. I could have gone anywhere in the world. I graduated college at 19. I could be a professor right now. But I chose this place. I chose this hot, sandy hell over national accolades and insane wealth." Their voice dropped, shifting to sudden seriousness. "You wanna know why?"

He growled quietly. "Why."

"Because I can get away with whatever the hell I want."

Anti-Binary stared at them for a moment, then stood up. "Kada, you're a drunk, impulsive dumbass and I'm not associating myself with you for the rest of the night." He walked towards the door.

"That's it!" Their voice carried across the room. "That's what's wrong with you!"

His snarled under his breath.

"You can't keep a friend, Binary! You can't take the smallest risk for someone else!"

He grabbed his hat from the rack and opened the door.

"Who's gonna take a risk for you, huh?