#hani . interaction

"yeah, yeah- really fucking funny. you're a real fucking comedian, i can tell. now, where'd you get that?"

"is this round on me, or are you still insisting on paying?" the last time, they'd seen one another, niccolo had payed for round after round, and hani hadn't quite figured out whether spending money came just that easy to him or he was trying to butter her up. if she could take that off his hands, it would've been one more worry off her mind.

"to answer your question: almonds." in some explicable way, the exhaustion of the past days had blunted hani's edges the slightest bit. not all around, but there were moments in between the stress of work and the circumstances where she could be almost... gentle. "don't give me the eyeroll, i stand by it."

"you got a tattoo or are you scared of the pain?" hani had been wandering all over the festival's grounds, less to enjoy the shindig and more so to see if she could catch catastrophe before it could unfold. it was pure luck, if one could even call it that, that she'd caught yujin glancing at the tent.

"got a minute?" hani leaned against the doorframe, somewhat patiently waiting for jia to turn her attention from the laptop display to her. there were files clutched in her hand, pinned to the side of her body like an afterthought. "i need your help with something."

it was surprisingly difficult to light a cigarette while holding a glass of champagne. really, she would've set it down, but the stone railing was rounded and there were no tables around. the lighter snapped, a hint of sparks flying and the glass pinned to her chest while her other tried to shield any sort of oncoming flame from the breeze. all it took was one small, wrong movement to have the glass tip a touch, droplets of champagne flying not only on her but onto the person standing near her. "fuck, shit- sorry. fuck."

hani stood in front of a plaque detailing the early history of the mercies, hands clasped behind her and gaze firmly fixed ahead. she was well aware of the presence to her side - her sister. perhaps ( not even perhaps, definitely ) that was what had her freeze up like this. she didn't know what to say. her tongue was glued to the bottom of her mouth. "hi there," hani eventually said, this odd softness to her tone, quiet.

she'd hesitated.

before she'd sat down at the bar, she'd hesitated, and the times where hani could afford to falter had been long gone. dead and gone, if you will. six feet under and covered with copious amounts of dirt. she hadn't overturned her entire life to be the sort of person who let others see when she was torn about something. and yet, she saw the back of apricot's head and she considered walking right back out into the street.

if he saw her, though, he wouldn't let her live that down. running away like that. like him. what do you care, you haven't really talked in a decade, a voice snarked in her head. hani pushed it to the side, grit her teeth and sat down at the bar, three chairs between her and apricot. "tequila. neat." she spoke the order gruffly, and quietly enough to hang on to the foolish hope that maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't notice her. god, she really needed that fucking drink.