"Same time next week?"

"Sure."

It was the same off-and-on routine you and Dorothy had ever since the two of you had gotten close since you met at VA-11 Hall-A. Go to the same piss-smelling, corgi-raiding, sometimes vacant bar in some sort of back alley and down a couple of stairs around the same time, chat over some drinks, go home together, and cuddle to sleep. It never went anything beyond that, except a few times when one of you had gotten drunk and your loneliness was most high.

Whether you liked to admit it or not, that shitty bar was the source of multiple good things that have happened to you in your life. The first was meeting Dorothy. The rest were simpler things like being friends with the boss, Dana Zane, and the two (technically three) bartenders, Gillian and Jill, Meeting the famous Lilim Idol, Kira Miki, and even getting her autograph, and lastly, the drinks were nothing short of amazing. Plus, you would learn some interesting stories down here.

The bar wasn't known, but it was one of the rare delicacies Glitch City had to offer throughout the tragic shitty-ness it usually had. What made it even rarer was how shitty the end of the year was becoming. Bank Robberies. The separation of the White Knights and what people would do knowing you're affiliated with one or used to be one. And most of all, the spike in your electricity bill. You wish you could wash it all away with a cold, bitter drink that matched the weather outside, and so naturally you head down to your favorite bar.

You and Jill did the usual routine of greetings and conversation, though, she looked a lot worse than she normally had these days. You weren't sure what was up with that, and you were too afraid to ask her yourself. You decided to leave it alone, occasionally checking your phone for a certain someone before you heard the bell at the door. A certain enthusiastic Lilim walking in with a big grin.

"Gooood evening, Honey! You too, Buttercup!"

In this sense, you were Buttercup. You always were for some reason.