At some point, Gatrie had crossed the threshold of being just drunk and settled himself firmly in the ballpark of absolutely hammered.
Shinon knew this because he'd long since acclimated himself to Gatrie's various states of being. Though in truth, it was a little generous to call them full-on states rather than slight variations of his natural default.
Gatrie was loud. This was something anyone, everyone would notice not long after meeting him. He was loud when he was happy, he was loud when he was excited and he was loud when he was anything besides. It was simply who and how he was. Alcohol didn't bring that out any worse than him seeing some pretty, entirely uninterested woman did.
Obscene amounts of alcohol, however...
"Shiiinon..."
It was supposed to be a whisper into his ear. It could be considered close enough to one seeing as the only person to hear it was Shinon himself. And the waitress. Probably the older couple situated a full three tables away from them, as well.
"Can I help you, Gatrie?"
An arm found its way around his shoulder, and it was only through years of carefully honed reflexes that Shinon was able to slide his pitcher out of harm's way as he was dragged low toward the wooden countertop.
"Shi'," Gatrie slurred, smooshing their cheeks together as he pressed close. "Shi', do- do you seeee?"
Shinon could see lots of things. He could see the bright red flush of Gatrie's cheeks. The unrepentant joy in his expression, the mirth in his twinkling blue eyes.
"I can see that you're keeping me from my drink."
Something about that was just hilarious to Gatrie. He cackled, openly and without care. For about three seconds, then he remembered he was apparently still attempting to be stealthy.
"No, that's not it! Come on, look," he pointed his free hand toward the corner of the bar. He then pointed his free hand toward the opposite end of the bar, once he realized the previous corner was empty. The waitress, busying herself with an especially dirty table, looked up once she felt their stares. She raised a brow.
Gatrie gasped and pulled his arm back. He tried to turn and face Shinon, only to further mash their faces together. Shinon closed an eye with a baleful scowl, desperately trying to keep away the invading blond locks.
"Is there something I should be-- arrgh!"
"Ssshhhhh! You're being too loud!"
"And you're being ridiculous!" Shinon finally jerked himself out of Gatrie's hold, rubbing at his eye. His inebriated companion pouted.
"You can't call true love ridiculous, Shinon!"
What?
Slowly, Shinon shifted his gaze back toward the waitress. She still dutifully scrubbed at the table. Beside him, Gatrie watched, utterly smitten. Shinon rolled his eyes.
"You aren't being serious, are you?"
Gatrie blinked.
"You don't even know her name!"
"But I know her kind heart! And beautiful spirit! And, er..."
Gatrie lapsed into silence, staring off into space as he tried to draw together details regarding the newest love of his life. Shinon took the moment of reprieve to drink deep of his mug.
"It doesn't matter," Gatrie finally said, radiating resoluteness. "She's the one, Shinon..."
Shinon's scowl deepened.
"Let's test that theory, shall we?"
Gatrie tipped his head to the side, confused. Realization, then absolute horror dawned on him as Shinon threw his hand into the air, flagging her down.
"Shi', nooo! My vows aren't even ready!" Gatrie grabbed his arm from out of the air, clutching Shinon's hand within both of his own. Shinon relished in the feeling, briefly.
It was already too late. They were uncontested in being the loudest, most attention-grabbing things in the frankly sleepy tavern, and the waitress had begun to make her way over. Panicked, Gatrie swiveled on his stool to greet her.
"May I help you?"
"A refill," Shinon said blandly.
"Marriage," Gatrie said with nothing but sincerity.
The waitress drew her eyebrows together. "Of course," she replied, throwing a curt nod in Shinon's direction. Gatrie's expression lit up like a bonfire as she moved her attention back to him.
"I'm flattered," she said, flashing Gatrie an easy-going smile, "but I don't believe my boyfriend would be very understanding if I accepted your proposal."
Shinon could almost hear the gears as they turned within Gatrie's brain. The waitress had already refilled Shinon's cup and gone back to her table by the time Gatrie came to an understanding. Sighing, he sagged against the counter.
"So close, but still so far..."
"Nowhere even close, but sure."
"Oh, Shi'!" Gatrie wailed, slumping against Shinon's shoulder with such force his beer sloshed violently with his tankard. He set it back down with a groan, deprived once again.
"It's far from the end of the world, Gatrie."
"She was my world!"
"You still don't know her name!"
"Who needs names when you have such deep, spiritual bonds?!"
Shinon snorted, choking back a laugh. Gatrie took that as his cue to finally pull himself off of his shoulder. Internally, Shinon lamented the loss of his presence.
"Ah, well. One day!" Just like that, his bubbly optimism was restored. Shinon shook his head, taking his tankard back in hand. Gatrie's focus zeroed in on the movement.
"Shi'...?"
Shinon narrowed his eyes. "No."
It was pointless trying to fight against Gatrie's ridiculous puppy-dog eyes. Shinon took a singular spiteful swig and slid the remainder over to his pest of a drinking partner. Being annoyed with someone who looked so entirely enraptured with the taste of, admittedly, average beer was a hard task, so Shinon resolved to simply watch quietly as Gatrie brought the tankard to his lips and threw it back.
A little too far back.
"Gatrie--"
"Aaagh!"
Gatrie hit the floor with a loud thump. Shinon could feel the eyes of every single patron looking at the two of them. Below him, Gatrie groaned pitifully. Silently, the waitress returned to Shinon's side, staring down at Gatrie with a mix of curiosity and worry.
"Is he--?"
"He's fine," Shinon said flatly. He threw a frown down at Gatrie's splayed-out form.
"And he's paying."
---
They had to check into an inn, afterward. Dragging Gatrie back to their group's current camp was an absolute non-possibility in his current state, and it was late enough as is.
Unfortunately, they hadn't had enough gold between the two of them to afford a room with more than a single bed. To Shinon's right, Gatrie wiggled restlessly.
"Would you kindly stop thrashing? This is already tight enough."
Gatrie babbled something utterly incoherent and finally fell still. Shinon let out a relieved sigh, working his way under the bit of cover Gatrie hadn't claimed for himself.
Shinon's eyes slowly closed.
"H-heeeeey..."
Shinon's eyes slowly opened.
"Shi'..."
"Yes, Gatrie," Shinon said, not even making the effort to keep the exasperation from his voice.
Gatrie shifted, rolling onto his side to face Shinon in full. Even through the veil of tiredness his face shone with an open, kindly quality. Shinon swallowed thickly.
"Good night, Shinon..."
Shinon said nothing. Energy spent, Gatrie's eyelids fell. In mere moments, he was asleep.
"...Good night, Gatrie," Shinon said at last. Seeing no reason not to, he pressed himself closer, merging his warmth with Gatrie's own. He let out a quiet, content sigh.
Shinon closed his eyes and slept better than he ever had before.