[ the question catches him off-guard, thinking it's strange alex would ask about a guy he doesn't know that frank casually gleaned over. maybe he's bored though, bartenders usually talk to their patrons right? not like he's a real bartender, and alex sure isn't a real customer. but maybe it loosens his lips a little more after space whiskey had already taken its hold. ]

A friend of mine. Goes by Micro. [ because even here, he feels like he has to protect him, frank doesn't say david. he frowns, realizing how selfish it is to wish david were here in the first place. frank pours another drink while he talks. ] He's, uh. You know, a computer genius. Or whatever. He'd probably have this place eating out of the palm of his hand after two days.

[ he meets alex's eyes fleetingly as he pours the other man a top-up too, leaning close now, their elbows only an inch away as he props himself up against the bar and takes a drink. ]

He shouldn't be here though, not for real. He's... he's got people who count on him. Kids. A family. [ it's telling how much he hesitates over the words, like they're foreign to him. but then he just shrugs, clinking his glass against the other's before chugging down the equivalent of a shot or maybe a little more. ]