Sia's Coruscant, Monday

[suitably_heroic]

Atton had been extremely tempted to stay at Fandom and maybe never talk to Sia again after leaving her a series of drunken texts a few days before. But that would involve staying at Fandom, a place that at this point wasn't, exactly, doing great things for his emotional stability.

Not that anywhere was. But still.

And so it was that he showed up around noon on Monday, a bag slung over his arm and Pauline the plant in his other hand, trudging up the steps of the palace.

Might as well face the music.

[[ for sia ]]

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[notconflicted]

Sia had kind of been waiting.

And maybe she'd been worried that he wouldn't come back.

And if she just so happened to be near the entrance after her meetings so she could be nearby when he got up those steps, well.

[suitably_heroic]

"I know you're there," Atton called. "Might as well come out, Si."

[notconflicted]

"I'm not hiding," Sia assured him from where she was standing. "I had to escort people out."

And then she hung around.

[suitably_heroic]

"Yeah, sure," Atton said, sighing. "Look, can we hold off on the-- whatever until I bring this plant back to my quarters?"

[notconflicted]

"Of course. Shall we small talk as we walk?" she asked.

[suitably_heroic]

"You want to know what my day was like?" Atton said dryly. "I've been in transit."

[notconflicted]

"I'm sure you'd have plenty to complain about there," she said evenly.

[suitably_heroic]

"I mean, it's smelly, full of people, and at least one baby screamed," Atton said, walking into the palace with little more than a nod towards the guards.

[notconflicted]

"I've never experienced that," Sia said, and fell into step beside him.

Of course she'd never had that.

[suitably_heroic]

"Of course you haven't. You're royalty. You don't have to live with the rabble," Atton said, only a little dryly.

... Or a lot.

[notconflicted]

"This is a perk you could take advantage of," Sia pointed out.

[suitably_heroic]

That was the first sharp look Atton had thrown her in months.

"I am the rabble," he said, "And it's good for you to have someone around who knows what that's like."

[notconflicted]

Her automatic answer was something that wouldn't go over well, so she stuck with, "Is that do?"

[suitably_heroic]

"Can't rule an empire from an ivory tower, Si," Atton said, and took a quick left turn, towards the staff quarters.

[notconflicted]

"I rule from a board room," Sia pointed out, frowning a little at the turn and following anyway.

[suitably_heroic]

What? It was where his place was. He wasn't going to follow her to hers.

"Yeah, that's not a good thing."

[notconflicted]

"You and I agree on that," Sia said wryly. There would never be a day she was okay with that particular situation.

Resigned to it, maybe, someday.

[suitably_heroic]

"So stop trying to get me to fly in some private Fel ship," Atton said.

Not far now.

[notconflicted]

"I'm not trying to get you to do anything, I was simply offering an alternative if you chose to take it," Sia told him. "Since you've rejected that, I'm done now."

[suitably_heroic]

"Good," Atton said, stopping by his door-- well, okay, the door of the place they kept assigning him to when he was here.

He sighed.

And let it slide open.

[notconflicted]

Sia waited for him to go inside before following.

And waited to see if he wanted to start this or if she was going to have to do it.

[suitably_heroic]

She had met Atton Rand, right?

"Well, at least this place hasn't gotten dusty since I left," he said, a sigh in his voice.

[notconflicted]

It had been worth a shot.

"So what happened the other day?"

[suitably_heroic]

"I went home," Atton said, not turning to face her just yet. "I got drunk. I sent some bad texts."

[notconflicted]

"I already knew that," Sia said evenly.