xp_logs | Nathan and Kurt, Monday night

Nathan and Kurt run into each other at Harry's. Nathan is snappish, but then asks Kurt to help him with something.

There was one very good thing about finishing his antibiotics; he could drink again, and no one could tell him otherwise. Nathan had decided to celebrate by heading down to Harry's and ordering tequila. He'd been craving tequila since... oh, about the eleventh of January or thereabouts. Thankfully, Harry had limited himself to a wary look and no commentary one way or the other. Benefits of never behaving too badly on days like this.

Someone, as it turned out, had beaten him to it. Kurt gave him a sideways look from further down the bar, and spoke up. "I am going to assume you are allowed to be doing that."

Nathan raised both eyebrows at the other man. "And what makes you think I wouldn't be?" he asked, mildly enough. If someone who knew he hadn't had the stomach flu had been gossiping...

"You did have the stomach flu", was the equally mild response. "Illness and alcohol do not tend to mix."

"You needn't worry," Nathan said, and the edge of sarcasm was definitely there in his voice, if muted. "My stomach is... perfectly settled, these days. You should join me," he said on impulse, and shrugged. "We can drink to whatever the hell you want."

"I would be glad to", Kurt said easily, getting up to move to the stool next to Nathan's. "And I have nothing particular to drink to, so it may as well be your choice."

Nathan raised his glass briefly. "To tequila," he said, his mouth twisting briefly. "An old friend whose acquaintance I need to stop making."

"Tequila", Kurt echoed, gesturing with his own glass, containing something clear and unidentifiable. "And if you are in good health, one more night of its acquaintance should do you no harm."

"One more night," Nathan muttered, sipping at his drink. Several was more attractive. And yet..."It's sometimes inconvenient to be married with children, you know. It makes one too ethical to turn into a drunken sot."

"Even when one has more than good reason to do so?" Kurt asked wryly, eyebrows raised. "As we all would, were we weaker men and women."

"Oh, 'we' would, would we?" Nathan's voice was still low, but harsher than it had been. "Do me a favor, and don't see common ground when there is none. Maybe once you actually grow up and get over your parental issues, we can revisit this conversation."

That got him a calm yellow-eyed stare. "And what makes you think I meant my parental issues? I was referring, in fact, to the things almost everyone over eighteen and some under it in the mansion has seen and done."

"Oh, even better. Generalized presumption." Nathan took a larger swallow of his drink. "I understand your trauma because I have trauma of my own. Because everyone has trauma. We are all brothers in the great circle of trauma."

"Nathan, you invited me to join you", Kurt said, a little less patiently than a moment before. "If you would prefer to be alone to consider the great circle of trauma, I would be more than willing to oblige."

"I invited you to join me for a drink. Not to empathize, or whatever the hell you think you're doing." Nathan gestured at Harry and pushed his glass forward to be refilled. "What makes people think that the thing to do with a man getting drunk is to empathize with him? Maybe he doesn't deserve empathy. Maybe he deserves to drink half a bottle of tequila and wake up feeling like shit. Symmetry, you know." Body and soul in perfect, miserable unison.

"Everyone deserves empathy", Kurt said quietly. "However, I will admit there are times it is not wanted, so what would you prefer to talk about? Or are we just to drink in silence?"

Nathan was silent for a long moment, even when Harry refilled his glass. "I want to think up names," he finally said, abruptly. "First names, middle names. Boys and girls. Help me do that? We need... I don't know," he said, and waved his free hand vaguely. "Doesn't matter, I suppose. We can have spares."

"Names", Kurt echoed. "And who are we naming? It would help to know."

Nathan turned and looked at him, eyes wide in a clearly affected disingenuous look. "Doesn't everyone deserve a name?" he asked. "We can keep them in reserve, for people who need them. Look, I have a bar napkin. We can make a list. Harry, have you got a pen?"

"Names for those who have none, then?" Kurt considered this, then shrugged. "Yes, they should have names. Have you thought of any?"

"No," Nathan said quietly, looking away. "I'm having some trouble with that. All I can see are faces."