Doggone it.

[justice_is_blond]

It's the typical early Friday evening in the office - all the appointments have been seen to, the last of the current walk-ins left fifteen minutes ago, and it's just Anders and his receptionist left at the front.

"As soon as you're done with the paperwork from that one you can go," he says. They're a half-hour away from closing and from what he overheard between her and his intern, she's got a second date planned tonight. He... does not. Somewhat the opposite, really. A microwave lasagna and hanging out with his cat while watching Netflix in his apartment above the office are his exciting plans.

"Are you sure?" Lirene asks, but there's no real intent behind the question. She'd prefer to take off early and he can't blame her. Anders waves her out and she's gone in a few moments, leaving the office feeling large and lonely. There aren't even any boarders tonight.

"Oh well," he says to the empty waiting room before grabbing the broom and starting to clean up. There's work to be done and it's not going to do itself. Unfortunately.

Comments

[pinprick]

The first set of double doors swings open. Faintly, the sound of a hacking dog comes through as a man leads a mabari on a leash. The second set opens, and Nathaniel stops inside, hair a mess, looking rather stressed and frazzled. The dog hacks at the floor, not especially distressed, tail wagging and looking happy to be alive.

"Bone stuck in throat?" Nathaniel asks, looking wild-eyed at the...very pretty doctor in a white coat. Fortunately, unlike Anders' clientele, he is not an animal and can avoid leering.

[justice_is_blond]

The man is handsome, nicely built, vaguely familiar in that 'might have passed him in the grocery store' sort of way, but Anders doesn't really have the time to focus on that.

"Of course," he says, putting the broom down quickly. The dog doesn't look upset, which is promising. "Take a seat on the ground and hold him to your chest? Arms around him, just to hold him steady." Anders grabs a pair of gloves from the receptionist's desk and comes over. "I'll need to reach in and he'll find comfort in having your arms there."

[pinprick]

Ordinarily, mabari know how to behave themselves. Ordinarily, they would listen to instruction from a veterinarian. Nathaniel has to wrap his arms around the thing's neck in order to still him. The dog is not malicious, just poorly behaved and incredibly spoiled. Nathaniel looks slightly uncomfortable around the dog, a mild flinch as if he is uneasy with the beast.

"I'm really sorry about this," he says quietly. "Looks like you were about to close up."

[justice_is_blond]

"I'm still open, and I'm here just for this," Anders says, equally quietly. The mabari needs to feel calm.

He's gentle as he opens the mabari's mouth, tugging lightly on his tongue just in case the bone's right there. Apparently not, it's a little further in.

"You're being very good, a very good boy." There it is. He can feel the bone and he's careful as he gets it free and pulls it out. Nothing seems to have caught, and he's not seeing any signs of distress. "And there we are. Maybe next time we won't be so curious about the scraps, hm?"

Despite slobber on his arm, Anders is smiling. It's nice when things are easy to fix. "He should be fine... but if you'd like, he can stay here for observation overnight. I live in the flat above here and check on any boarders often." And it means the man who seems a little nervous with the dog will be able to breathe and relax.

[pinprick]

As Nathaniel watches, as the dog relaxes, so does he. There is something very soothing about this man, though he supposes that's one reason he has the job. Pretty and reassuring. And in no time, the bone is out, and the stupid dog's tail is thumping the floor. And weirdly, Nathaniel wishes it took longer. More time to admire the fall of hair, the line of throat, the long, strong hands.

He almost says no to the offer, but it occurs to him that saying yes would give him the chance to see the man again.

"Yes," he says without thinking further, then cringes a little. "This is going to sound really weird, but could I get you to write a note saying it's recommended? It's for my father, see, it's his dog and his credit card I'm giving you."

[justice_is_blond]

Oddly enough, it's a little comforting to know that the mabari doesn't belong to this man. The dog isn't well-trained, and there's none of the usual bond there, and he wanted to think that this handsome man was better than that.

"Of course, one moment," he says. The gloves get yanked off before he's going through the door that separates the waiting room for the reception area. He tosses them in the bin back there and finds his official notepad, glancing through the window at the guy. Anders could stay back here and be professional. But there's nothing wrong with a little flirting when it's not in the way of any other work. He returns pretty quickly and gestures at one of the chairs, taking the one right next to it.

"What's the dog's name and your father's name?" He looks up from the notepad. "And yours. Seeing as you're likely to pick him up." Should he ask for a contact number? That wouldn't be too forward. "A contact number would be useful too, in case something tore internally and he's not showing signs."

Please let him get this man's number.

[pinprick]

"Dog's name is General, the owner is--" Nathaniel hesitates, and decides he doesn't want that conversation yet. "You know, just put me down. Nathaniel Howe."

He rattles off his number, not at all thinking about the flirting now, distracted by thinking ahead to the latest possible moment Ser Rendon Howe might enter the conversation. Picking him up? Sudden emergency and terrible news? First date? Deathbed?

[justice_is_blond]

"Nathaniel," he says as he writes everything down, enjoying the way the name feels on his tongue. General is a pretty lame name, but again, it thankfully doesn't count against the man in front of him.

...Though Howe might. No. One of those Howes wouldn't be here, in his little vet clinic. They'd be at some fancy one with 24-hour staff and special rooms with spas for the animals. Finishing up with the note, Anders looks up to find Nathaniel looking quite distracted. Damn. He'd love to be forward here, really forward, but this is his place of business and he needs to at least try to be a little professional. So instead of placing his hand and the note in Nathaniel's, Anders holds out the piece of paper.

"I'm glad to help, Nathaniel. I'm Dr. Anders and I run this clinic, so I can assure you that General will be treated well." After a moment, he pulls a business card out of his coat's front pocket and writes on it before holding it out. "The clinic's number is on the front, but now my number's on the back if you need to call outside business hours."

There's no last name on the business card. He technically has one, but Kinloch was given to him by the state after he'd been left in a baby box outside a fire station in the city of Kinloch Hold. It's never meant anything to him, and none of his foster families had seen fit to share their own.

[pinprick]

Nathaniel sees that. Part of him really knows Anders is only being polite, but for a moment, he entertains the idea that Anders is giving him his number for real. For traditional reasons. There's a wan smile on Nathaniel's face as he tucks the papers away.

"Do you need payment now?" he asks, realizing his father's name is on the credit card, which would put an end to the feeling of being taken on his own terms.

[justice_is_blond]

No bite, yet. But Anders had landed plenty of people before when he's put his mind to it, and he's starting to think he wants to put his mind to this one while not entirely demolishing his ethics. Nathaniel's interesting. Reserved a little, maybe shy? It's been some time since Anders has met a genuinely shy adult.

"Mm," he says, eyes on Nathaniel's. "I think you're good for it. Besides." His smile turns a little mischievous. "I've your number now, so I know how to reach you. And I'll have his dog. I'm not worried, because I know you'll be back."

He stands, stretching a little and pretending not to watch Nathaniel as he does so. "Would you like to walk him to the back with me? So you can be sure he'll be comfortable."

[pinprick]

Okay that is definitely a man who is hitting on him. Nathaniel tries to shove aside that voice telling him Anders will take it all back when he learns who he is, and frankly, taking advantage of it now while he is ignorant doesn't seem especially cool.

"I..." Nathaniel has to stop talking to watch that little stretch. He's not just being hit on, he's being seduced. Wow. "I'll...actually be fine with you taking him back yourself, but I'll see you tomorrow, certainly."

Maybe leaving a tiny opening will allow this, whatever it is, a little air to breathe.

[justice_is_blond]

Damn. He'd pushed a little too hard. Oh well. He guesses he'll see tomorrow if it was too-too hard if the man shows up and asks for him or tries to just get the dog and leave. He'll hope for the former. In the meantime, Anders nods and takes General's leash before giving Nathaniel a far more mild smile.

"Of course. Have a good evening, and he'll be in good hands." He'll wait for the man to leave before locking up, leading the dog back to the rather comfortable little room, and heading upstairs for the taste of disappointment - microwaved cheap pizza. At least his cat is warm.

The night passes without incident, thankfully, though he does check on General several times. The poor dog seems almost desperate for affection and Anders has to wonder about Nathaniel's father a little. Who pays out for what's clearly a purebred mabari and then doesn't put the work in? The father of a man who is a little more shy than Anders anticipated, apparently.

When day comes, the office is fairly busy but that doesn't keep Anders from watching for Nathaniel, just in case.

[pinprick]

Nathaniel turns up toward the end of the day, hoping it will be similarly vacated as it was yesterday. He is not disappointed, and steps inside looking for Anders. He sees him and gives him a relieved smile.

"I'm glad it's you," he says, one half of a thought finished only in his head.

[justice_is_blond]

He's got a stack of papers on his coffee table when Nate drops by, and he's quick to get up and usher the man in as soon as he arrives. The place is... tidy, though perhaps not as clean as it could have been but the dust only stands out now that he has company.

"Come in, have a seat, would you like anything to drink? I've water, I can make coffee or tea, um, there's a corner store I can run to with soft drinks if you're craving that." The papers are all public records on what various superPACs have done with their money, with highlighted large anonymous donations. Anders is hoping they can go through other public records of tax returns tonight to try to track down who is funding the fights against what helps the public.

"There's plenty of work ahead of us, so I ordered a pizza."

[pinprick]

"I brought craft beer. And I stole one of Dad's expensive Orlesian champagnes he gets from his...special friend," Nathaniel says cheerfully, moving to put the bottle in the fridge. "We can have it whenever we like, or just pour it down the drain if nothing else. I'm not bringing it back."

The aforementioned friend is named Sophie, an Orlesian who isn't widely known-about because Rendon Howe can, in fact, keep his own secrets. He would like to use stronger language--whore, namely--but it's not what he wants to focus on tonight. He's here, he's with Anders, and they're going to make a difference. The anger can be left behind.

"What do you have there?"

[justice_is_blond]

"I'll take a beer to start with," he says as he flops down in the middle of the couch so that they can potentially cuddle while they work. "And this... I was thinking that it might be useful to anonymously publicize who was funding the opposition against the bag ban and about focusing on city infrastructure, as well as who all is behind our worst candidates running for office."

He gives Nate a smile and pats the couch next to him. "How does that sound for an evening?"

[pinprick]

"It sounds like you're a politician's dream boyfriend," Nathaniel says with a grin, putting the beer in the fridge before taking out two of them and closing the door. "Though eventually we might want a bit of play to balance out our work," he adds as he removes the caps from the bottles. "But thank you so much for this. It's making a real difference for people."

[justice_is_blond]

"As long as I'm also your dream boyfriend," he says smugly. It's so nice to have a boyfriend. And weird. Weird-nice. He takes the beer with a murmur of thanks.

"And I'll gladly balance my work with play. Why don't we see how far we get with one beer, and then we can start a little... fun?" He grabs one of the files and flips it open before gesturing at one of the stacks. "I like this number, it stands out. Someone donated $329,829, one donor, which means it should stand out as a written off donation. Or so I'm hoping."

There's work to do... but his tone of voice says that he has no objections to being interrupted if Nate has other plans.

[pinprick]

"I guarantee no one I know would donate that amount if they couldn't write it off," Nathaniel confirms, brows rising as he sits and peeks are the file. "Let's get to it."

They're not entirely through one beer when the pizza arrives, at which point they stop to eat and discuss. Nathaniel breaks out another beer for each of them, feeling like they've hit something of a groove. They have ruled out a number of possibilities when Nathaniel barks in triumph and hands Anders a page.

"Lady Esterly. I'm not surprised."

[justice_is_blond]

"Yes!" He pumps his fist in triumph as he lines the page up with the file. The date is right, everything lines up, and he knows how many people are angry at Lady Esterly.

"The city is angry about the state of the roads, and she's been hated since her rant about people all wanting to leech off of her. This is exactly what we need." It's perfect. He leans over to kiss Nate on the cheek before grinning and adding another at the corner of Nate's mouth. "I can put this online first thing tomorrow and we can watch the fallout happen. Maker, this could directly effect the voting session coming up."

[pinprick]

Awww, a cheek-kiss! Nathaniel beams, then finds more kisses leading toward his mouth. Maker, he loves that this man gets turned on by justice.

"The lords of like mind in the Landsmeet will put some distance between her and them, when they see the outrage," he purrs before landing a soft kiss on Anders' lips. "We've done it." Another kiss.

[justice_is_blond]

He chuckles as he gets another kiss, setting the papers down and leaning in to kiss back.

"We could say we've done enough for the night, work-wise. We could relax a little. Unwind. We apparently have champagne... or enjoy whatever you're in the mood for. Which I hope involves me, because I'm in the mood for you." Anders starts undoing the buttons of Nate's shirt, smiling mischievously.

[pinprick]

Sweet Maker, this man is his undoing. A kiss, and another kiss. Intoxicating, these lips. The scratch of stubble against his face, the silk of his hair, the softness of his mouth, some hazy drug-phase of hardness and sweetness that has Nathaniel willing to abandon everything for sex. And for love. Don't let him slip that last word in conversation.

The kiss breaks like glass. There's an inhale.

"Um." A swallow. A gulp, even. "We might have done enough for the night, theoretically. But, um, we could do even more. Esterly has her compatriots. Her clique, as it were. We could investigate the others a bit, implicate them in this. It wouldn't take much. Every Arl seems to think there's a clear line when it's really a spectrum."

A shallower kiss, before Nathaniel reels back and tries to cool down. There is an agenda, and there is Anders. Sabotage and Anders are not the same. Nathaniel wants to bring his own, without exploiting or being exploited.

[justice_is_blond]

It's all exhilarating to Anders. He's rarely done things technically alone, there are plenty of dissatisfied people who will gladly sign up for demonstrations, but he's never worked with someone like this. Now he feels like he gets everything all at once, someone he likes so much already and help in the fight. Keeping calm and focused is difficult like this, which is belied by the way his gaze lingers on Nate's lips when the man pulls back.

"We could. We even should, I suppose. Behaving, and all that." Now he meets Nate's eyes, gaze still very warm as he plays with an unbuttoned button. "Tell me about her closest compatriots. I'm not entirely up to date on the alliances in the Landsmeet." Though there's an alliance he'd clearly like to make. "We can take their tax returns and see if there's connections, or even if there aren't we can find something else. The corrupt always have things that will turn up with a bit of looking."

[pinprick]

Nathaniel smiles and turns back to the papers, but it doesn’t take long before he flings them to the coffee table and seizes Anders in a passionate kiss. He gives up. He’s not going to get any work done with the sound of Anders’ gasps echoing in his ears. He offers no explanation or apology.

“Never mind,” is all he murmurs against warm lips as hands go to bury themselves in golden hair.