25 Unicorn Street, Tuesday

[so_hawkward]

So, birthdays had never really been a big deal for Clint. At least, he hadn't let them be, because then he couldn't be disappointed when no one remembered or, even more likely, the whole day went to crap. However, Clint knew that certain other people wouldn't let him get away with not celebrating anymore, so he was up and dressed in real clothes, not lounging-around-the-house clothes, and he'd made sure things were clean and that Lucky had been taken care of - thankfully, he didn't want to be out in the cold any more than Clint did, so he was perfectly content laying next to one of the heating vents and snoozing. Clint was flipping through television channels at the moment, but he was almost tempted to lay down too. At least then he'd be really warm.

[Mostly for the girlfriend, but open!]

Comments

[throughaphase]

"That's something. Should make it a little easier when I get to talking to him." For both of them, probably. "You really didn't punch him? I'm so proud of you."

[so_hawkward]

"He seemed so resigned, it wouldn't have been any fun," Clint said with a shrug. "He says Stiles is better off without him, and I certainly can't argue against that either."

[throughaphase]

"Maybe, maybe not," Kitty said thoughtfully, letting him get what he wanted before even looking at the food. "I kinda think they both need each other around right now. I think as it stands they're both going to hurt too much till it's fixed. Even if it's just being able to be in the same room."

[so_hawkward]

Clint sighed a little as he grabbed chopsticks and pulled them apart, fiddling with them in his hands. "I did admit that people who are from the same place should stick together. But Stiles has other friends, right? He doesn't need Derek."

[throughaphase]

"He's closer to Derek than anyone else here. There's gotta be a reason for that. You can't help who you care about," Kitty shrugged. "It's up to him whether he wants to try and continue that or not."

And whether Derek let him, but the decision to try was Stiles'.

[so_hawkward]

Clint opened his mouth to say that you could totally help who you care about, and then he thought of Barney and changed his mind. "The reason is he has a crush. That's kind of dangerous, don't you think?"

[throughaphase]

"Why would it be dangerous?" she wondered, genuinely curious.

[so_hawkward]

"First of all, Derek is dangerous just on his own. Besides that, you really think it's a good idea for someone to have a crush on someone who's way older than them?" After a moment, Clint said, "When the someone with the crush isn't an adult yet, and could be easily manipulated, I mean."

[throughaphase]

Kitty looked a little amused. "My last boyfriend was when I was seventeen, was ten years older than me and a British government agent with a pretty scary body count. I can't exactly say it doesn't work sometimes," she pointed out. "Derek's not interested in using him, and Stiles has a good head on his shoulders."

[so_hawkward]

"I don't know if I'd agree with that last part," Clint said, because he'd been a really, really dumb teenager. "But I will say that he's too nice to deserve getting his heart broken."

[throughaphase]

"That I agree with. Especially when I know the way he's gone about the whole thing is because he was trying to avoid that," Kitty frowned. "I don't know. Hopefully it works out for whatever the best is. If not, parties around here might get more interesting."

[so_hawkward]

"Does that mean you're thinking about throwing another party?" Clint asked. "You're certainly good at it."

[throughaphase]

"I wasn't, but I could. It's probably my turn again anyway," she considered. "We have new people, I could always pick a Sunday at Caritas and throw something together. Not this week, because I refuse to work on my birthday."

[so_hawkward]

"You absolutely should not work on your birthday, and you won't be able to anyway because I'm going to keep you at your apartment if you try," Clint promised.

[throughaphase]

"What if I wanted to go to work to get carded?"

It was hypothetical. She didn't care about getting carded and her bar wouldn't do it anyway even if she wasn't the boss.

[so_hawkward]

"We could go somewhere else so you can get carded, and then go back to your place," Clint offered.

[throughaphase]

"I could go for that," Kitty decided. "It's not like I was going to get trashed just because I legally could anyway."

[so_hawkward]

"Of course not, it's just about knowing you can get trashed at like, the Devil's Nest. Not that you would since they're competition, but you know what I mean," Clint said.

[throughaphase]

"Well, not that I would because I'd wake up halfway inside the bed if not on the wrong floor entirely, but yes," she nodded.

[so_hawkward]

"I wouldn't let that happen. I'll be your sober driver to the bed," Clint promised.

[throughaphase]

"It's the sleeping part that would cause problems," she pointed out.

[so_hawkward]

"Ooh, you'd fall in your sleep, yeah. Okay, so no drinking to excess. Just one or two legal drinks," Clint said.

[throughaphase]

"Yes. Because at three I start getting silly. No one needs that," Kitty said. "Also it'd be embarrassing to be a bartender who gets cut off."

[so_hawkward]

"Okay, so one or two drinks, and then I'm cutting you off for quality alone time," Clint said, giving her a boyfriendly look. "If you catch my drift."

[throughaphase]

"Oh, drift caught, and it's already the best part of my night," Kitty smiled. "Like how the Chinese food is only like the second best part of yours."