WHO: Felipe & Aslan WHEN: February 26 WHERE: The Park SUMMARY: Aslan keeps getting the way of Felipe's work. CW: N/A
Aslan was happy. He had a terrible feeling in his gut that his past life was about to come apart, but he was happy in the present, because he had free time after his classes, and Hasanâs/the family dog wanted a walk. There was no companionship he enjoyed so much as the four-legged variety, and sitting on the grass with a furry body curved against his thigh, well, maybe that world was about to come apart at the seams, but this one felt idyllic.
He (but not the pooch) was enjoying a fresh cup of yuca fries, purchased from a food truck near the park. He liked them more than potato fries. The flavor was somehow cleaner to him despite the oil. But he thought he ought to not eat a lunch entirely consisting of fried food, so nearing the end of his fries, and rather than feed his ward anything so unhealthy for a dog, he left the malamute sitting in the grass and walked towards the nearest bin to discard the remainder. It was then that he spotted an adorable corgie puppy walking down the path, and not paying attention, his feet tangled, and though he saved himself from a fall, the remainder of the fries went rocketing out of the cup, into the air, and then hit the ground.
âOh dear.â
Pipe happened to be passing by with a dog in each hand, one was a golden retriever and the other was a beagle. They were well behaving until food quite literally fell from the sky and they both excitedly pulled at their leashes.
âWhoa! Hey, heyâeasy!â He groaned, digging his feet into the grass but the dogs were undeterred so he lost his footing. Good thing one of his clients canceled or else Pipe would be eating dirt. Unfortunately, there was an obnoxiously tall guy on the way, and thanks to the dogâs momentum, Pipe crashed full force into him.
Aslan gaped a little. He had been about to lean down and pick up the fries when the renegade pups appeared, and then he froze, because he wasnât sure what else to do. Clearly the answer was to stand in place and brace himself as the dogsâ unfortunate handler came crashing into him. He winced, taking a step back, but made no sound to otherwise express his discomfort.
The body that struck him was hard, and it did hurt. Besides the first step, several more were taken before he could right himself. Perhaps by instinct, or maybe just a random happenstance, he put out his hands to catch Pipe and steady them both.
He was upright, but the collision had not knocked him over, but it had knocked the breath out of him and required to slouch and gasp for a moment to try to get himself back in working order.
ââŠâŠ.okay?â
Panting heavily out of sheer adrenaline, Pipe had closed his eyes in preparation for a hard hit. A hit that came, but it was less rough and more upright than he expected. The puppies were running about trying to eat the fries so his arms were now around the stranger as he kept hold of the dogs.
âBehave you two!â He groaned, pulling back enough not to be face first into the tall guy as he reigned in the puppies who were now much more well behaved with food in their mouths.
âSorry,â Pipe muttered as he looked up to seeâ âYou.â He almost sounded more annoyed about this than the entire situation.
âMe,â Aslan agreed, peering down at the stranger whose arms were now around him. He was not much of a hugger, and though this was not a hug, it was in that realm of physical contact that he didnât really know what to do with. He glanced from the shorter man to the dogs and then over to his brotherâs dog and back again. They had met before, hadnât they? He didnât go out very much, so honestly, there were only a few places where they could have met. He stopped thinking about parrots and cats and snakes for a minute, and the lightbulb came on.
âMe,â he said again in agreement. âAnd you, too.â He smiled, a little clueless to Pipeâs irritation. He remembered this name, because he had met someone the very next day who had a great dane named âPipe.â It was a cute name for something so big, and it had reminded him of a much smaller person he had met the day before, and so through a process of association, he was able to supply, âFelipe.â He looked pleased with himself. He seldom was able to remember humanâs names, especially not after a first meeting. âYours?â he asked, looking at the pups.
Pipe glared at Aslan as he moved to stand straight, clearing his throat and taking a few more steps away from him. It was a bit awkward to untangle them from their situation, the leashes and dogs not making it very easy.
âNo, they are my job.â He offered with a casual shrug as if he wasnât already attached to the dogs. âDo you tend to toss your food on the floor? Typical yeyesito behavior.â He grumbled as he crouched down to take away what little the dogs didnât eat.
Aslan stood very still, mostly because he thought that if he tried extracting himself, it would make things more complicated, and also because he was embarrassed about the situation and it made it hard to think to be helpful. He would only become further embarrassed a second later as Pipe chided him. His face grew a little pink, and he looked guiltily at the ground. There were no longer any fries, thanks to the dogs and Pipe, but he did feel bad about throwing it away now.
âI didnât want to feed it to my dog. ItâsâŠbad for them to eat grease,â he mumbled, looking over his shoulder at the malamute who was watching them in that strange, silent way that malamutes did. Aslan nodded to the pooch, approving of its dignified and well-behaved ways. He looked back to Felipe and rubbed his arm guiltily.
A pattern was forming, though two instances wasnât a pattern, but he had a thought that if he ever ran into Felipe again and continued this sort of bungling, Felipe would most certainly think he was a klutzy person. He might be, he thought. It was hard to keep his head on earth when there were birds to watch in the clouds.
âSorry. They ate it,â he concluded. âInstead.â He scratched his beard, an extension of the guilty/embarrassed arm rubbing. âI thought you were a waiter.â
There was nothing but a harsh stare from Pipe, his eyes narrowing at Aslanâs neck because he still refused to look up at him. âItâs whatever,â he shrugged his shoulders and exhaled heavily through his nose. âI need multiple jobs like anyone who isnât rich. Are you going to file a complaint because I ran into you or something?â
Finally, he completed detangling, so now the dogs were sniffing at Aslanâs direction, clearly wanting his attention. The dogs seemed eager for it in a way that felt like they were familiar with him, but he chose not to comment other than stare.
âI think they want more and this is your fault.â
âAn accident isnât an assault,â Aslan pointed out, pedantically, but good-naturedly. He huffed a little at the odd remark, smiling uncertainly, though his features remained largely unchanged by the expression.
Since the dogs seemed friend, he decided he would be better served in crouching and greeting them. It was always easier to commune with pets, more so than with owners. He guessed he would have to get over that hurdle eventually. A veterinarian needed a good bedside manner just as much as a doctor. For now though, he took some comfort in the eagerness of the dogs, letting both sniff his hands before giving them a good scratch. For a moment, caught up in doggy heaven, he almost forgot the human attached to the two.
Pipe was staring, but as soon as he realized Aslan was about to look up, he jerked his face away to avoid eye contact.
Aslan looked up and pinkened again. âSorry, you canât have more. Fries are bad for dogs.â Bad for people, too, which was how this all started, but at least humans understood the repercussions of fried food. âWe are not rich,â he said after a moment. âBut my brother takes care of us.â So they hadnât needed to do any extra work to support the household. Aslan did have a part-time job at a vet office, but that was more for his own benefit than to supplement household expenses.
âIâm glad you didnât get dragged. Dogs are stronger than people think, even little ones.â And Felipe was not a huge guy, so it was lucky he had run into Aslan before anything worse could happen. He thought that was a good thing, even if he felt a little sore still from the impact.
âI can handle myself,â Pipe replied almost immediately, about to fold his arms over his chest when he remembered that would be a terrible idea with the leashes in his hands. âBut youâre right, they pack a punch. I donât want to hurt them so I canât be too forceful either.â He offered a casual shrug of his shoulders.
âAnyway, you better be helping your brother out and not just being a dead weight. He must work hard if you can afford to dress like you do, and,â Pipe gestured vaguely towards Aslanâs hair, âthe upkeep of that.â
âOh, you must be strongâŠâ Aslan stopped himself from saying, er than you look. But it was clear that he was about to have said something stupid by the immediate look of embarassment that pinched his features and the way he suddenly cleared his throat and averted his eyes. He glanced at Felipe from the corner of his eyes for a moment. Well, probably he was strong. He had that sort of slender hardness to him that reminded Aslan of weimaraners. Probably Felipe was very active, if he was a dog walker and a server.
âI keep myself fit, so yes, I am,â Pipe replied just a tiny bit indignant.
He touched his hair, considering. He had never thought a lot about what went into his hair. He basically just had learned from watching Hasan, so it seemed pretty normal to him, the way he fixed his hairâthe way he dressed, too. He looked down, tugging at his shirt in consternation. And then he shrugged. âHeâs a professor at UML. In the medical program.â He beamed a little, looking proud. âHe works hard, though,â he agreed. âWe try to help him. Well, maybe not Hakan.â Hakan was a little headstrong. He sort of did Hakan things, without considering the consequences. But he wasnât about to tell someone outside of the household that.
âDo you have any brothers?â
âA younger sister,â Pipe replied, considering carefully Aslanâs admiration for his brother before saying anything about his gripes with UML. He didnât need to hear that when he was gushing over a brother who was like what he aspired to be for Elena.
âI guess I can relate to him a little,â he added, trying to soften the harshness of his earlier behavior. âAnyway, I shouldâŠâ he moved the leashes as an emphasis of what he meant, âgo back to work.â
Aslan was sad to leave his new canine friends, though he struggled to think of a reason to prolong the moment. He had already done his very best to make conversation. It was probably one of the longer conversations heâd had outside his house in a while. Somehow, it felt a little easier to talk to Pipe, even if he had this gaze that seemed to indicate he was a second away from offenseâand Aslan had no idea what might trigger his actual annoyance. He didnât think Felipe was particularly annoyed with him, though he sometimes failed to notice things like that until it was too late. Maybe that was why Pipe was eager to go back to work? He scratched his cheek, puzzling over whether he had crossed a line or not.
After a moment, he stood. Not looming over Felipe as much as his older brother would, but it was different to look at Felipe from a crouch as opposed to standing up straight. He decided to slouch to even it out a bit better. Plus, it was more comfortable.
âSo you are raising your sister?â he asked, which probably was a much more personal question than small talk would allow, but it was the only obvious one he could think of as he rubbed his fingers on his shorts. âIâm sorry. That must be hard. I think it is sometimes difficult for him, thoughâŠhe does not let it show.â He glanced at the leashes again and thought about whether he should stop trying to talk to Pipe. âIt is funny that we ran into each other again. If it happens a third time, I think it will have to be fate.â He chuckled to himself, though momentarily actually looked a bit pained, because, well, fate did make him think about Aditiâmade him wonder what all of that even meant, or if they would ever fully knowâŠ
âItâs none of your business,â Pipe scoffed, and he looked away again because he still refused to look up. âBut⊠yeah, grandma helped when I was younger,â he said, but cut himself short by crouching down to make the harnesses were in good shape after the earlier scuffle.
âFate? And what kind of fate is that?â He asked with an arched eyebrow as he stood up again. âDonât tell me youâre going to say weâre destined lovers because thatâs a very old move and itâs not going to work.â
Aslan blinked. Destined lovers? He didnât think that was it. He had perhaps noticed some people more and more resembling who they had once been, and among those, it did seem old flames had been rekindled. But that was only a few people as far as he could tell. Even âKyoâ seemed to be happily single. Or was it just that he had been unable to find Gaius in this life? He might just be entirely different now, or perhaps he just had moved on. They had all been very young back then. He didnât think it was common for university-age relationships to last very long. None of his had in this life.
Either way, he thought maybe the couples who had formed had come about less out due to destiny and more because of nostalgia.
Nostalgia was a powerful thing.
He shook his head and shrugged. Felipe liked to make sharp little remarks like that. He reminded Aslan of a boxerâabruptly moving in with a volley of sharp little jabs, and then dancing away again.
âItâs only a joke,â he finally said. âDestiny is not a real thing.â He paused, wondering if that was a rude thing to say to a stranger who might yet believe in the ineffable. âEr. I donât believe it is realâŠat least.â
âI know, I joked too,â Pipe offered a carefree shrug in response. He had never considered Fate or Destiny too hard, but he liked to think his life was entirely based around his choices and actions and not what someone else decided for him, at least.
He reached over and after briefly passing both leashes to one hand, Pipe poked Aslan in the middle of his chest. âYouâre not my type, anyway, so relax. You donât have to try to impress me or anything.â
âOh, youâre gay,â Aslan said, suddenly understandingâŠnothing at all. But he thought it was a good thing to know. Somehow. âDo you have a type?â he asked, tilting his head. He didnât think he did personally. Maybe responsible. Maybe hardworking. Mostly, animal friendly. Which was something a great many women were, so it was really hard to narrow it down.
âVery gay. What did I say about things not being your business? If you run into me again, maybe Iâll let you play twenty questions with me.â It was said with a much more easy-going tone than before, maybe even slightly teasing and joking. With both dogs secured, Pipe looked towards the road again, âI should get back to work.â But talking to Aslan wasnât too bad, he supposed.
âIâŠâ He pursed his mouth, head still tilted in thought. âOkay,â he finally said. âSorry to keep you. Again.â He at least looked contrite for having kept Felipe from doing his job again.
âStop apologizing, Lion.â Pipe nodded at Aslan. âYouâre good. Just stop making a habit of dropping and losing things.â His lips quirked at the tips.
Aslan ducked his head, embarrassed. He did have a problem with misplacing things, but he didnât want to reveal that just now.
He was thinking instead that when Pipe was just a little bit more relaxed, he was actually very charming. It tempted Aslan to continue waylaying him, except that might ruin a nice mood. And he also wanted to maybe ask Felipe more questions. If they did meet again. So he nodded sheepishly.
âIâll try,â he agreed. âThough. Since we do not believe in fate.â He scratched just behind one ear as Pipe eyed him curiously. âMaybe,â it was coming out very slowly. ââŠwe couldâŠâ He was not accustomed to making friends with humans. ââŠmeet for coffee?â
Pipe had to laugh at that, not mockingly, but easy and warm amusement. âI never expected you to be so persistent,â His glare returned as he finally looked up at the other man in the eye, even if he had to crane his neck up. âYouâre so annoying,â he said, holding out one of the leashes to Aslan. âBut itâs kinda cute, soâŠâ
Once he took it, Pipe reached into Aslanâs pocket to fish for his phone. âUnlock this.â He demanded, tapping the cellphone against him a few times.
Persistent? Annoying? Cute? What was the meaning? And how could something annoying also be cute, or vice versa? He was, at least, being persistentâŠfor himself. He did not usually make much effort into making friends with people, so asking Felipe to actually meet up was indeed a very persistent effort on his part. Was persistence cute or annoying? It was a mystery.
His expression turned surprised at the command. He was not very good about his phone. He did have it with him today, happily, but there were many days he forgot it entirely, or forgot to charge it, and carried it around more as a fancy paperweight than as a tool. His eyes still wide, he took the phone and looked at it a moment before seeing the button and pushing it to open the screen. Somehow, it occurred to him thatâŠthis little act of audacity wasâŠcute? Yes, it was cute. It was very clearly cute. Again, it resonated with him that Felipe had a very charming side. It didnât exactly make Aslan want to ruffle his hair, like he would with his little brother, or maybe a particularly smug cat. He didnât quite know what he wanted to do with it, but it was charming.
He had the phone open, but he didnât know what he was supposed to do with it. He looked up at Pipe and then politely held it towards him, not sure what to do with it otherwise. This was an experience he had not yet had.
With trained speed, Pipe began to type something on the screen, Aslan gaping in amazement, before an object buzzed in the pocket of his jeans. He didnât say anything, instead, he leaned over and slipped Aslanâs phone back into his hand. After that, he motioned for him to pass over the leashes.
âAnyway, text me for coffee, I guess.â If Aslan was going out of his way to hit on him and ask him on a date, the least he could do was to entertain his offer at least once. âCanât promise I will answer, though. Iâm usually busy,â he shrugged, pointedly avoiding the other manâs gaze.
Aslan blinked, not quite sure what had just happened, except it had been very slick, and he was not very well acquainted with that, so he was still gaping as he passed over the leashes and took back his phone. It was so smooth. How did people do things so smoothly? He looked at his phone, at the new entry on his screen. He now had 10 people in his phone contacts, and that seemed like a milestone. He nodded, putting the phone away.
âI will. Er, Iâll send you a text. You can answer when you want. I donât want to interrupt you if youâre busy,â he said, very earnestly. âBut I will send it.â Maybe he would have to send it after he returned to his dog, though, so he wouldnât forget. He could easily forget such things otherwise, caught up in studying and his rather dreamy manner of moving through life. That wasnât weird, right? Or too soon? No, he thought it was fine, because thatâs when he would remember to do it, so he decided thatâs how he would do it.
âIâll see you later then,â he said, smiling. âGood luck with the rest of your walk. I hope they donât eat anything else unhealthy.â
âYouâre like an overgrown puppy,â Pipe said, doing his best to make it sound like a negative, but his expression betrayed him. It was cute, too cute and endearing.
âI hope so, too, but I think their owners might be feeding them their food.â Before he left, though, he reached into his hip bag for a treat. âFor yours, Iâll get him some and ask for his name next time when Iâm not workingâ Anyway, see you.â
He desperately needed to stop having a soft spot for kind and goofy guys, but that was a long and difficult battle.
Aslan continued to smile, pleased because Pipe seemed a little more talkative now, and they were going to spend a bit more time together soon, which he thought would be good. He liked the shorter fellowâs slightly enigmatic nature, and he certainly had a view of the world that was beyond what Aslan understood. He had learned, if only from being Aditi and remembering her time, that there was much about people that he had not knownâdid not know. He wanted to better himself and be more understanding at least. But he could not deny that despite Felipeâs sharpness, there was something about his presence that felt comforting. It did not really make sense, only that it was there, and Aslan had no reason to deny its existence.
He waved, still smiling, as Felipe bid him a last farewell, and thenâwith the treat in handâhe returned to his charge, to reward the pup for being so well-behaved in his absence. It was, he thought, watching the dogâs tail wag in the grass, a good day.
Pipe had taken a moment to observe Aslan from a safe distance, turning around to smile to himself. What a strange and nice day...