[There's something to be said for... this. All of it. All of them, adrift, in spite of how deeply awful it all also is. The subtle horror of it is at least shared; they are none of them entirely alone. Dirk has friends. More friends he's ever had in his entire life, people whose company he genuinely enjoys and who seem to enjoy his. It's... strange. Good. Warm.
It's these sorts of thoughts primarily that Dirk entertains as he waits. Catching up with Prior seemed... well, after the events of the gala practically obligatory. Dirk may not be the most socially adept but absolutely regardless of his intentions it seems only decent to keep up with someone he'd kissed. Especially as it really hadn't gone particularly poorly at all, which is... nice. Unusual, but nice. That is, in fact, sort of the overall impression he gets: unusual, but nice. Maybe not his own brand of either, but he can appreciate both.
So, lunch. A lunch invitation. Sitting, waiting, drumming his fingers on the table, smiling at waitstaff -- if someone had told him a handful of months ago he'd find himself in this situation, he'd have been profoundly dubious. Stranger things have happened, certainly. Actually, stranger things happen with enough frequency that this, the relatively mundane, the relatively serene seems all the more profoundly unlikely.]
prior;
It's these sorts of thoughts primarily that Dirk entertains as he waits. Catching up with Prior seemed... well, after the events of the gala practically obligatory. Dirk may not be the most socially adept but absolutely regardless of his intentions it seems only decent to keep up with someone he'd kissed. Especially as it really hadn't gone particularly poorly at all, which is... nice. Unusual, but nice. That is, in fact, sort of the overall impression he gets: unusual, but nice. Maybe not his own brand of either, but he can appreciate both.
So, lunch. A lunch invitation. Sitting, waiting, drumming his fingers on the table, smiling at waitstaff -- if someone had told him a handful of months ago he'd find himself in this situation, he'd have been profoundly dubious. Stranger things have happened, certainly. Actually, stranger things happen with enough frequency that this, the relatively mundane, the relatively serene seems all the more profoundly unlikely.]