Outside a skeezy bar | Evening

[knife_bender]

Diego managed to convince Allison to stop rampaging for a bit by promising to take her out for a drink. So Chet gave them the keys to one of the hotel's cars and they took to driving around town. Mostly in silence, though Diego did stop to get them both slushees.

"You know," Allison said, poking her straw through her slushee. "When you said you'd take me for a drink, I had something a little stronger in mind."

"Do not disrespect the slushee," Diego said, slowing the car down and parking it across the street from his intended destination. "Check the glove compartment."

Allison	Allison flipped open the glove compartment to find a bottle of liquor. "Oh thank god." She didn't even check to see what kind it was before dumping about half the bottle into her drink.
Diego	Diego tried not to look too judgmental or worried as he watched all the booze go into her slushee. "You're a lot more fun these days." And a little unhinged.
Allison	Allison tensed for a moment, ready for an argument. "Excuse me?"
Diego	"Telling off Luther, melting Sloane's brain," Diego said lightly. "You were always the nice one of us. Grading on an Umbrella curve."
Allison	Allison huffed. "Yeah, well, getting stuck in the past without Claire, then leaving Ray, thinking she'd be waiting for me in the future, only to discover she doesn't exist in the present could do that to a person." She didn't understand why she seemed to be the only person who understood just how horrible that was.
Diego	Yeah, when it was all laid out like that Diego realized that they could have been more sensitive to what she was going through. But a lot had happened in the last four-ish days, okay? "Do you want to talk about it?" Diego asked. "I'm a great therapist. They call me Dr. Fuego."
Allison	That drew a chuckle out of Allison. "No one calls you that."
Diego	"They should though," Diego said, pleased with that reaction. "That shit sounds badass."
Allison	Allison's laugh trailed off, and she took another sip of her slushee. "I've never felt more hopeless in my life." She didn't think she had to tell Diego she meant ending up in 1963. "Even after my voice came back, I knew the cost of standing up and speaking out. Living every day under threat that you or someone you loved would disappear or fall victim to some heinous crime," she said. "And there's nothing you can do about it."
Diego	Diego nodded, understanding. He didn't talk about those 75 days in Texas much, but he knew exactly what Allison was talking about. "That shit lingers, huh?"
Allison	"I know we all got stuck stuck in Dallas," she said. "I just...I don't think some of the others really understand what it was like for me, you know?"
Diego	"Yeah. I know," Diego said. "But, hey, we're here now. We made it back, right?" He knew that didn't make up for losing a daughter, he knew that. He didn't know what else he could say though.
Allison	"And for what? Ray and Claire were the two things keeping me together, and just like that they're gone," she said, her voice raising. "And I am so angry. I don't know where to put any of it."
Diego	And that was something Diego knew he could help with. "You remember that vigilante shit I used to do?" And still did, though now it was more of a foreplay thing and he wasn't about to get into that.
Allison	"Yeah. Bargain Batman," Allison teased.
Diego	"Smartass," Diego replied, smiling. "You guys all laugh, but that shit helped me, man. Kicking assholes in their assholes is like therapy, but for cool people."
Allison	"Trust me," she said. "I wish I could have somebody to hit." That had been the only good thing about meeting the Sparrows.
Diego	"Well, you spend enough time in the city, you get to know a few things." And it looked like racist bars stayed racist bars no matter what universe you were in. He nodded his head to the bar across the street where some skinheads were hanging out. "People in there hate people like us. We can go in there. Get a drink, see if they start something," he said. "And we make damn sure we finish it. Or, we could just drive home." In the back of his head he knew Annie might have something to say about this, but he knew Allison needed this. He knew what it was like to feel that angry and have nowhere to put it.
Allison	Allison spent a few long moments looking at the men outside the bar. "I could use another drink."

Annie	As they were wont to do, the Hargreeves had scattered to separate projects -- Diego and Allison were still gone, Annie knew Klaus was watching Stan (...hopefully), Viktor and Luther were off doing something or other, and who the hell knew where the fuck Five had gone. Which left Annie and Sloane, hanging out in the lobby by one of the seemingly-perpetually-unmanned bars. "What's your drink?" Annie asked, making her way back behind the bar and inspecting the soda guns, since she'd be settling for a Coke or something herself. Unless this place was a Pepsi joint. Gross.
Sloane	Sloane hadn't been around the Umbrellas for long, but she had enough information to know this was the nicest one she could speak to, outside of Luther. So she wasn't immediately suspicious or hostile towards Annie, instead offering a small smile. "Honestly? Most I can handle usually is champagne or, like, a Bellini."
Annie	"Looks like we have prosecco?" Annie noted, producing a bottle from a discreet wine fridge and waving it at Sloane. "Which, you know, I'm obligated to tell you is not actually champagne since it's Italian, and I think that makes me a sparkling asshole." That worked on multiple levels, and Annie gave Sloane a bright smile as she sought out a glass.
Sloane	Sloane smiled. "I appreciate your dedication to accuracy. Prosecco is good, thank you." "...maybe mixed with some orange juice."
Annie	The OJ was equally easy to find, and a moment later Annie was passing an orange, fizzing glass over to Sloane before filling up a cup of ice for herself. "Not ideal drinking circumstances, I know," she acknowledged. "But I figured we can kinda make the best of it. How are you doing?" Annie was pretty sure no one, save possibly Luther, had asked Sloane how she was all day.
Sloane	"Well, I'm about to bring the bodies of two of my siblings to my other siblings who basically left me for dead," Sloane said, taking a long swig of her drink. "And the first decent guy I've met in, like, ever has a family that hates me, so..."
Annie	"They don't hate you," Annie corrected gently. She didn't have much in the way of comfort as far as Sloane's siblings; that seemed like a whole gang of jerks, to Annie, particularly based on that recent abandoning behavior. "They don't know you enough for that, and it's like...not ideal circumstances. But I know it can't be easy. They weren't all like, super friendly with me at first, either." To be fair, that had also been a very stressful time, back when they'd all met Annie.
Sloane	Sloane nodded in understanding, taking another sip of her drink. "I mean, I know what it's like, to be protective of your siblings. I just--I don't want to hurt anybody, y'know? And I really like Luther a lot."
Annie	"I can tell by looking that he feels the same way," Annie shared, shooting herself a Coke and plunking a few cherries into it to make the best of her lack of alcohol. "You guys seem pretty unified. Did Luther tell you he lost two of his brothers growing up? One of them came back, but I think it all kind of left a mark, still."
Sloane	"I knew he lost Ben," she said with a nod. "But apparently his Ben was a lot different from ours. Did you ever meet him?"
Annie	"I did," Annie told her with a little smile. "Sort of. I mean, I did, but he was in Klaus's body." She waved a hand. "His powers are like, all dead people-oriented. But Ben's -- their Ben -- was a real sweetheart. Diego's told me stories about when they were kids, too."
Sloane	"So, like, the complete opposite of my Ben," Sloane said lightly. "I'm glad somewhere out there he was different. Makes me hope there's another Sloane out there traveling the world."
Annie	"There definitely is," Annie told her, softening a little at that. "There's infinite versions of all of us." So like, there was totally world traveler Sloane, but there was also definitely, like, half-giraffe Sloane, too. "Where do you want to go?" she added, curious.
Sloane	"Everywhere," Sloane said, smile going wider. "I've basically been in this city my whole life. When we did go places it was as a family on business, signing autographs and photoshoots and all that. Didn't leave much time for sightseeing."
Annie	"I get that," Annie told her, eyes widening. "Like, seriously. I've been all over, but it's almost always because of the same kind of thing." Or performing at various Vought destinations. "It's really awesome to get to go somewhere and not have to like...work the whole time. Kind of surreal at first, honestly." Though it helped that she and Diego definitely preferred active vacations.
Sloane	"I really hope I get to do that someday." Though it didn't look to be any time soon what with the ongoing war with the Umbrellas and dealing with the PR nightmare of two dead Sparrows. But that was worrying for when she got home. "You've been really nice to me. Even when defending your family." Annie's tone had not been lost on her during the meeting, and even when she was holding her down. "I really appreciate it."
Annie	"Just returning the favor," Annie pointed out, giving Sloane a smile. "I always figured it doesn't cost anything extra to be kind, right? Especially when...maybe not everyone else feels the same way, you know?" She got it, Sloane. And like -- she loved her husband and in-laws, but they had not been very nice. Frankly, even Ben had been a lot nicer to Annie than Allison had been to Sloane.
Sloane	"Believe me, I know," Sloane said before knocking back the last of her drink. "Fingers crossed the nice guys win this one."
Annie	"Right now I'm just hoping we can all come to an agreement about who the nice guys even are," Annie replied, giving a little shrug as she popped one of her cherries into her mouth. "Sooner than later."

[NFI, NFB but OOC is always appreciated. Taken from TUA 3x04 Kugelblitz and preplayed with defenderofdesmoines]