the only enemy you can't live without

Mateo

champagne, cocaine, gasoline
and most things in between

Mateo isn't expecting anyone to visit, or to come and look for him, or... much of anything, to be honest. So he doesn't prepare for visitors, and he's stopped leaving notes to tell anyone at his shop where they can find him when it's closed. Which it is a lot of the time these days, and the plants inside, while still alive, are looking a bit peaky to say the least. The botanist is also thirsty though, you see, and if he needs a drink, then unfortunately the plants will have to wait.

Today's (because it's barely lunchtime) watering hole is the good old White Hart, and given that they often serve rum for breakfast and whiskey up their coffee as standard, he's right at home there. Grinning broadly as he clinks his glass against someone else's - some group pre-drinking before what he's sure will be a messy night on the town - the botanist is the picture of relaxed and tipsy charm, aided by whatever he's recently snorted off a mirror in the bathroom.

"Saluti," he trills, knocking back his shot and following it up with something that comes with extra maraschino cherries, as per his request. Wearing something that looks like a glittering, star-spangled robe that hangs off one bare shoulder and is accompanied by tight jeans and silver cowboy boots, Mateo is fairly tame compared to what he might be wearing, but he's nonetheless very difficult to miss.

I roam the city in a shopping cart
a pack of Camels and a smoke alarm

she's the kinda song you could play over and over

Flora, having sent her brother a letter asking if she could come visit after she'd seen him after the festival, had grown almost immediately concerned when she hadn't heard back from him. That her letter had been lost in the liminal space behind his door, and that her worry was largely caused by her recent kidnapping didn't occur to her at all, and so, despite Jack's grumbles about venturing to Stormbreak of all places, the queen had made her way up to the floating city.

Standing outside of his shop after finding it lost, luckily someone strolling by suggested she try the White Hart after seeing the botanist head in that direction.

That Mateo isn't easy to miss is an understatement, with the sheen of the sequins sparkling brilliantly in the tavern's low light as Flora pokes her head in. Looking woefully plain in comparison in a deep gray sweater and pair of black leggings, the queen nevertheless swans over to her brother, keen for the reunion they hadn't quite been able to have at the festival. "Hey you," Flora purrs, wrapping her arms around Mateo's shoulders before nuzzling her cheek against his. "Mind if I crash?"

Mateo

champagne, cocaine, gasoline
and most things in between

Oblivious to his sister's sneaking up on him at the bar, Mateo has been busy locking eyes on a handsome young man across the room as he enjoys one of his maraschino cherries, and it's as he plucks the (knotted) stem from between his lips that Flora suddenly appears around him like a scarf. "Mm--! Sorellina!" he chirps as he recognises her voice, setting down cherry stem and drink to turn and wrap an arm around her, drawing her into a hug that smells of liquor and bergamot.

"As if I would ever mind," he continues, grinning and pretending to dust off the empty stool beside him for her to take a seat, before he gestures to get the attention of the bartender. Knowing better (his sister owns a bar herself, you know) than to order on her behalf, he leaves Flora to scrutinise the Hart's offerings and retrieves his drink to take a very healthy sip of it. "I did not expect to see you up here in Stormbreak. What is the occasion? A hot date with your rugged and dangerous and mysterious boyfriend?" He waggles his eyebrows.

I roam the city in a shopping cart
a pack of Camels and a smoke alarm

she's the kinda song you could play over and over

Humming indulgently against the crook of his neck, only once she's released and Mateo is done his fussing does Flora slide into the seat next to him. Ordering for herself whatever's best (it always interested her what staff in other bars considered their best offerings, and whether or not she'd actually receive it or if she'd just get their easiest cocktail), Flora brushes her curls over one shoulder before turning properly toward her brother.

"He is pretty rugged and dangerous, isn't he?" Grinning fiendishly, the queen's expression melts into one of playful affection as she scrunches her nose. "But no, I'm here to see you. Sorry it took me a minute after the festival, uh.." Biting at the inside of her cheek to keep her smile from fading away entirely, Flora sighs softly. "Some shit went down. But! I'm here now."

Snaking her arm up Mateo's shoulder to coil a finger through one of his curls (they were impossible not to touch, and gods if Flora was just doing what nearly everyone who set their eyes upon her brother wished they had the chance to), the queen pouts. "Sorry again you thought I died for real."

Mateo

champagne, cocaine, gasoline
and most things in between

Also interested in what the Hart's best might be - Mateo tends to order things that are either personalised to a fault or sugar rimmed and strong - the botanist stirs his own drink with another cherry before plopping it into his mouth. "Mouth-wateringly so," he agreed readily of Flora's beau, bouncing his eyebrows at her affectionately. "A good catch, and he has never appeared in my little black book, so you are doing very well for yourself, bella."

Raising his eyebrows to hear that she is here to see him, Mateo leans in to smooch a kiss against her cheek. "You have nothing to apologise about, given that you were actually dead for a time." Even if it had only been a matter of hours, it still counted - and it had been much longer for him besides. Straightening back up and accepting the casual touch and affection as easily as others might accept a pat on the shoulder, he nods towards the bartender where Flora's cocktail is incoming.

"No harm done. Seeing you at the festival was a good surprise - and now I do not have to cart that hideous lantern to it every year. I had to make it in a bit of a rush," he says. "Anyway, what can I do for you?"

I roam the city in a shopping cart
a pack of Camels and a smoke alarm

she's the kinda song you could play over and over

Bobbing her eyebrows right back at Mateo, the fact that Jack has never appeared in her brother's little black book is not a surprise, but she's relieved to hear it just the same. Jack having been fucked by her (soon to be) stepdad and her brother was not a compromise she wanted to think about having to make. "Thanks." Letting her smile turn sweet and slightly shy, the queen purrs a note of thanks as a midnight blue martini is placed before her. "He finally said he loves me, so..." Her smile twists into something radiant and barely contained as she glances over her shoulder toward Mateo before looking back to her drink. "..yeah."

Still a touch too consumed by everything that had happened before the festival (her death) and after (her kidnapping) to properly notice whatever signs there might have been that Mateo was not, in fact, okay with having not been told she didn't die permanently, Flora laughs brightly at the mention of the lantern he'd brought for her. "As if you've ever made anything hideous in your entire life." She teases, before giving his shoulder an affectionate nudge. "What do you mean do for me? I'm just here to see you." Frowning at him briefly as if she couldn't understand why he'd ever say such a thing, Flora turns back to her drink.

The martini smelled both spicy and sweet, and she noticed that a bit of glitter had been added so that when the dark olives inside moved, everything else faintly sparkled. Lifting it to her lips she tried to tease through the various ingredients, before humming her approval.

Mateo

champagne, cocaine, gasoline
and most things in between

As Flora lets that little admission drop, of course Mateo gives her the reaction she's likely expected from him; his mouth falls open, delight widening his blue eyes, and he reaches across to (gently!) pinch at her arm. "Caspita! He did not." He gasps, resisting the urge to give his sister a shake as well since it might risk spilling her martini. "Mi sorellina, all grown up and in love." Practically swooning against her, Mateo reaches an arm around her shoulders to give her a gentle squeeze. "I am very happy for you, Flora. You deserve it."

As for his lantern, he scoffs and waves her off. "If I had been given a more appropriate mourning period, I would have made something you would have come back from the dead just to admire," he assures her; besides, the lantern had been dropped in the dirt in his shock and then likely trampled on, since he'd left without picking it back up. Tilting his head as he's nudged as if having momentarily forgotten how to speak anything but the travelling tongue, eventually Mateo nods to her. "Well, thank you. I am here, and I am seen," he assures her with a wink, before sitting back to watch her appraise the martini.

"Does it have the Hanged Man's seal of approval?" he asks, grinning.

I roam the city in a shopping cart
a pack of Camels and a smoke alarm

she's the kinda song you could play over and over

"Caspita." Flora repeats in the affirmative despite having no idea at all what the word means. She rarely does when it comes to the travelling tongue, not that she's ever made much of an effort to learn, and certainly not now that Jack can more or less serve as an interpreter (when he's around, of course). Adoring him for his reaction, Flora preens appropriately before slouching against Mateo and resting her cheek against his shoulder. "I don't know whether that's true," she mumbles, of deserving it. "But..." Softly, she sighs. "Loving him is the best thing."

Rolling her eyes slightly as she straightens, Flora flashes her brother a sly grin over one shoulder. "Okay, well next time I die I'll be sure to let you mourn as long as you like." Next time she might just stay dead, depending on how and what had happened, because gods if coming back hadn't set off a chain reaction she wasn't keen to ever repeat.

"It definitely does. I might have to steal this glitter idea." Pursing her lips together as if to try and transfer some of the sparkle onto her mouth, Flora clears her throat a good deal less subtly than she was aiming for. "Sooooooooooooo, speaking of the festival....seems like you and Dad had words, huh?" Words that, while Jack hadn't known the meanings of, he'd been able to fill Flora in on the gist of the conversation well enough that night.

Mateo

champagne, cocaine, gasoline
and most things in between

"You are my little sister and you deserve everything and more, and that is that," Mateo informs Flora with a pat to her arm as if it's an unfortunate fact she needs to get used to, the botanist clearly thrilled with how everything is panning out between the Doubletake and her dashing captain. "And I hope by loving him you are also being appropriately loved in return." And of course his eyebrows bounce dramatically here as he pops another cherry into his mouth; they both know exactly what sort of love he's talking about by that look alone.

"As you should," he snips at her when it comes to dying again, Mateo happy to drop such a morose subject now that he'd got Flora's blessing to mourn for however long he pleases, the botanist pausing to take another long sip of his drink (a pleasant haze is already starting to fall over his mind, though his lips are going a bit numb from he snapdragon). He wrinkles his nose, somewhat predictably, as she namedrops Remi into the conversation.

Humming an affirmative and nodding as he lowers his glass, he winces to her. "I am sorry for causing a scene," he murmurs. "I did not expect things to get so heated. I hope it did not ruin your night."

I roam the city in a shopping cart
a pack of Camels and a smoke alarm

she's the kinda song you could play over and over

"Yeah, being loved by him is pretty gre—hey!" Swatting Mateo's arm playfully, Flora widens her eyes as if horrified at the implicit mention of her love life. She wasn't, of course, and so quickly her look of demure exasperation melted into a sly smile. "Appropriately and then some." She confirms with a wink, before taking another sip of her drink.

"You can feel free to use my death to your advantage as long as you possibly can." Now it's Flora's turn to shoot her brother a suggestive look. Not that Mateo needed any help in finding someone to share his bed, but certainly playing the part of a grief-stricken brother probably had its advantages.

"It wasn't my night." The Doubletake says breezily, giving her head a little shake as if to absolve Mateo of any guilt he might have felt. "Clearly he felt the need to have a go at you since he was finally back on good terms with me." She mutters, as if Remi was incapable of simply maintaining a good relationship with both of his children at the same time.

Mateo

champagne, cocaine, gasoline
and most things in between

Positively cackling as Flora catches on, Mateo accepts the swat to his arm without complaint, merely reaching across to clink his glass against his sister's and finish off his drink, immediately tapping the bar for another. "That is all I need to know to give you my approval, not that you ever needed it in the first place," he tells her breezily, shifting to shrug the shoulder of his robe back up a little. "Where is he today, then? Ooh, do not tell me - I see him as someone who broods. Darkly. On the prow of some ship, or in the corner of some rough tavern." He waggles his fingers.

As for using her death to his advantage, he has committed more to using it as an excuse to continue being a mess, in truth, but she's right - he has never struggled to find a bed-mate, and being woeful and grief-stricken had definitely helped. (Even if those who had gravitated towards him had been a mix of awkward and downright kinky).

Hissing out a soft curse in the travelling tongue as the conversation swivels back to their parents, Mateo can only wrinkle his nose and accept his new drink. "He has never spoken to me like that before. I cannot say I cared for it," he mutters. "Beh. No matter, right? It is not as though he came to visit more than a couple of times a year anyway."

I roam the city in a shopping cart
a pack of Camels and a smoke alarm

she's the kinda song you could play over and over

"No but... I mean, it is nice to have someone approve." It didn't bother Flora, not really; everyone else's opinions mattered even less to the queen post-death, not least of all because Jack had told her that he loved her shortly after. Still, it was refreshing for at least one person in her life not to wrinkle her nose at the thought of the captain.

Snorting under her breath before finding laughter spilling from her lips, Flora nods her head in ever-increasing agreement. "Oh he broods exceptionally well. Some days his eyes even match the colour of the sea, and when the breeze ruffles through his hair?" Biting at her lower lip, Flora feigns a shiver. "He's off doing Jack things, probably in the Grotto. He didn't want me to come alone because—oh!" Blinking, it just then occurs to the queen her brother had no idea about the recent stunt Hotaru had pulled.

"Like, right after the festival, I was kidnapped." Knowing that it probably sounded like some attention-seeking nonsense (really Flora, death and then kidnapping?) the Doubletake can only lift her eyebrows emphatically. "By my own mother." She adds with a roll of her eyes. The revelation dovetails quite nicely with what Mateo has to say about their father, such that Flora downs the remainder of her martini in one go before requesting something made with rum instead.

"Next time you should just hit him." Flora suggests, having learned from experience that while it was completely ineffective physically, it could still hurt the Bastion. "He never visits me either. Well, unless he wants something, or wants to corner my boyfriend." It wouldn't make things better of course, but at least if the pair could commiserate together perhaps Mateo wouldn't have to feel so alone in his daddy-issues.

Mateo

champagne, cocaine, gasoline
and most things in between

"Anyone who does not approve does not have eyes, clearly," Mateo says succinctly, his gaze growing wicked and a little teasing to see his sister actively swoon over her lover boy, the botanist nodding sagely. "I knew it. The Grotto though, hm? You best be ready to play nurse and tend his injuries when he gets back, in case he runs into any trouble down there." Fanning Flora dramatically with one of the menus, it's only her oh! of surprise that has him straightening up a little, brow furrowing.

"Wh-- kidnapped?" he repeats, putting down his drink and immediately looking over his sister with fresh eyes, as if to make sure she is okay. "By Hotaru? But she... she is supposed to be the good one." The parent that didn't pull weird shit or shove her hand inside Caido or disappear off to the Cordillera for over a year to have a breakdown. Groaning and rubbing at his forehead, he gives her an affectionate nudge. "I am sorry. Are you alright? Is there anything I can do?" he asks softly.

At the prospect of hitting Remi, though, Mateo can only snort and shake his head. "There will not be a next time," he assures her. "I am not going looking for him, and he has already made it quite clear that he does not need to communicate with me. Didn't he move to Torchline to be closer to us, or some bullshit?"

I roam the city in a shopping cart
a pack of Camels and a smoke alarm

she's the kinda song you could play over and over

"Are you saying Jack isn't tough enough for what's down there?" Flora wonders teasingly; whatever lay beneath the floating city no doubt it was anything worse than what lingered on and around Torchline's shores. That said..."I meeeaaann...if you have any tips or tricks to share, I'd happily hear them." She purrs, tilting her chin up into the slight draft he causes in order to better facilitate her curls swaying off of her shoulders. No doubt Mateo had played nurse more than a few times; she was fairly sure she'd even seen him in the outfit a time or two.

"MHMM." Huffing her agreement, as the bartender sets something down in front of her, this time Flora doesn't bother to assess its aesthetic appeal before downing a large swallow. The burn of it has her gasping for breath, before the heat relaxes her shoulders down from her ears. "I'm okay now. I was really fucked up about it for a while because...I mean it's like you said, she was the good one." Twitching her lips, Flora swallows, resisting the urge to rake her fingers through her curls. "She was infected, so...I mean I guess it wasn't really her fault, but.." Knowing that and having it actually make an ounce of difference were two entirely different things.

Raising her eyebrows, from what she recalled Jack having told her, Remi and Mateo had been arguing over whether or not the botanist was overreacting about Flora's death. Something like that, anyway. Being in the Greatwood so soon after having died there had left the memories of that evening a touch hazy in the queen's mind. "That's what you were arguing about? Him not being around for us?"