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Anders (crazycatman) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-03-07 09:59:00

Who: Tinkerbell and Anders
When: March 07, 2015
Where: Tink’s place
What: Truthiness Plot
Rating/Warnings: Pretty low. Some mild talk about sex/murder.
Status: Complete when posted


Today had been a very strange day. It wasn’t that anything out of the ordinary but Tink found herself saying things that she wouldn’t normally say. Her brother called her in the morning and asked how she was, and twenty minutes later she was still telling him about what she was feeling. Thankfully, he cut her off before she could start pouring her heart out about Anders.

That was a completely different story. She was both excited and nervous about seeing him again today for pizza, unpacking boxes, and possibly a night-time flight. The nerves came in because she knew she had feelings for him that weren’t going away. There was confusion, too, as she wasn’t sure how he felt. And that made her nervous, too.

Aargh.

Tink was unpacking boxes in the living room with loud music playing from the stereo system. The movie Wreck It Ralph had just finished, and Tink was bopping around to the closing credits music.

Anders had sent himself home early from the free clinic. He had felt terrible about leaving them understaffed, but he was clearly in need of sleep. After being a little too honest with far too many patients, he had had to remove himself from the examination room to stop himself from saying something very rude to the man who was trying to insist Anders could surgically remove his cholesterol. His leaving the treatment room and not coming back probably wasn’t too much better, but he had told his nurses that he was clearly exhausted and needed to go home.

And so, he had gone home and napped for the rest of the afternoon. He felt totally refreshed when he woke up and got ready to head to Tink’s place. He hadn’t seen too much of Tink since they spent the night together in the most innocent way possible, and he was pretty chipper when he rang her doorbell.

"Come in, Anders!" Tink called from her spot on the living room floor. Hopefully he heard her above the music. Hopefully it was actually Anders and not someone else. Awkward. She was sorting photos into a trash pile, a store pile, and a frame pile while the end of the song played.

Anders let himself through the door, and looked over at Tink, smiling a little to himself. She was pretty adorable. “Hey Tink,” he said. “How’s it going?”

"It's going pretty good," Tink replied. "I feel like there are so many other things I should be doing, but I'm feeling overwhelmed by it all, so I've set this task for myself because it's something I feel like I can control. Something that's easy, and kinda fun." She blinked up at him, a little confused. Why had she just confessed all of that?

"And I put on Wreck-it-Ralph because I wanted a movie that would cheer me up. I can't help but bop around when I hear that ending credits song." More stuff she hadn't really meant to say. Her cheeks went pink.

"How're you?"

Anders smiled at her. “Well, no need to feel overwhelmed,” Anders said. “I’m here now, and can help you out. That’s adorable that you bop around to the end credits.” Man, Anders. It seemed no matter how much he told himself to stop flirting with Tink, he couldn’t help himself. He really was going to need to learn to stop being such a flirt one of these days.

“I’m doing great now that I’m with you,” he said. That was a little weird. “I mean, not that I had too overwhelming of a day. Work was weird so I left early because I obviously needed a nap. Felt kind of bad for leaving the staff there, but, well, sometimes people are idiots.” Uhhh… “So I took a nap for most of the afternoon. It was pretty nice. But it’s even better being here.”

Well. That was…. something.

Tink didn't notice the strangeness. Not at first. It seemed like he was being really honest, which was nice. Not that she'd assumed he was holding things back before, but to lay it all out there was refreshing. And she seemed to be doing the same thing.

"Oh, I'm jealous. I wish I'd napped today. I wanted to be really fresh for when you came over," blush, "but I just took a shower instead. So I wouldn't stink." Beat. "Sometimes I stink." Oh, God.

"Mostly like gasoline and car engine grease and stuff." She added, quickly. "Do you want something to drink? I want something to drink. Drink with a capital D."

“Oh Maker, yes,” Anders said. Then he paused. Well, that was dream talk. He had been fighting the urge to start using Fereldan curses for the last couple of weeks, so it would make sense that he would slip up eventually. The rest of his speech didn’t make much sense though.

“I could definitely use a drink.” Good. He wondered if he should say something else, but he decided not to risk it.

Tink climbed up from her spot on the floor, bringing the stack of 'trash' photos along with her. She stepped over to Anders to give him a quick hug--a greeting thing. Not an awkward thing? Kinda? Hopefully?--and then moved through to the kitchen, clearing her throat as she went.

"So... I've been thinking a lot about the night that we fell asleep on the sofa." She said, pulling open the fridge door. She'd been thinking a lot about it, sure. But ... she really hadn't planned on talking to him about it. Ever. She opened her mouth to say something completely different but "I don't think I've ever slept so soundly," popped out instead. Why? WHY? Why was she saying these things?

The corners of Anders’ lips twitched upward. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot too,” he said, then paused. Okay, something strange was going on, so he had to be very careful with his next words. “I mean, a lot.” Well, that wasn’t being very careful at all. “It was really nice.”

Okay, deep breath. Time to diffuse the situation. He could still turn this around so that it didn’t seem like he was flirting as much as he was flirting. Was this even considered flirting? “I was kind of hoping we could do it aga - What is going on?”

"I was hoping the same thing." Tink said, then lifted a hand to cup over her mouth. She was holding two bottles of cider in her other hand, her brow a little furrowed with confusion and concern. She slowly lowered her hand, then pushed the fridge door closed with her knee.

"I'm having a hard time filtering what I'm saying," she said, very cautiously, watching every word. Not that she could stop them if she started saying something strange. "It's all been true, but." She held out a bottle to him, pinching her lips together with her teeth.

“Me too,” Anders said. He twisted off the top of the bottle, and then got to chugging. He finished about half the bottle. “So. Uh. I don’t really know what to say right now,” he said. Oh good. “I don’t want to slip up and tell you how much I like you.” Pause. “Well then. That is not how I had planned that sentence to go.”

"How much do you like me?" Tink asked. It was an honest question. "Because I like you, too. A lot. And I'm afraid I like you more than you like me and that I'm sort of barking up the wrong tree--proverbially speaking, I mean, I know you like cats more than dogs so I probably should have thought of a cat-related idiom." That was pretty much all in one breath. She gasped at the end of it. "...I really need this right now." She uncapped the bottle and gulped heartily.

“Well, I doubt that,” Anders said. “I can’t stop thinking about you. How adorable you are, and how different you are from me but how much I like that.” There was a brief pause. “And how much I hate that I can’t be with you.” Okay, that kind of sucked to have to say. “Shit. I shouldn’t’ve said all that.”

Tink’s heart was thundering in her throat. Her cheeks were burning. She wore a shy smile and wasn’t quite meeting his eyes as he complimented her. Just before she started to compliment him in return--since she had oh so many things she wanted to say to him about how wonderful he was--he said he couldn’t be with her. Her face fell suddenly, and her eyes found his. “What? Why? What?”

“Because,” he bit his lip. This was going to be tricky. “Because you’re so sweet. And I don’t want to hurt you. I’m,” he took a deep breath and then spoke slowly, “not a good person.” Oh. Good. That worked out well.

Tink's frown spread. She set her bottle aside on the counter and took a step closer to him. "I don't believe you." She said. And that was the truth, too. "What is it with people pushing me away? I mean, why is it I don't get a say?" This wasn’t the first time she’d been pushed away. The whole it’s not you it’s me line was starting to make her wonder if it really was her. Shouldn’t it be her decision, too? She was willing to take the risk. Wasn't a part of being with someone taking a chance in getting hurt?

Of course, she probably would never have said those things if not for this weird, unsurmountable urge to tell the truth.

Anders reached forward to touch her face, but he stopped himself and ran it through his hair instead. “You’re right,” he said after a moment. “You have the right to choose,” he said.

He took a deep breath, and took a couple steps back. He had to tread carefully. “When I was living in Germany, I was walking home one night and there was this man who was attacking a girl. I stopped him. It didn’t end well.” It wasn’t the whole story, but maybe it was enough.

When he didn't touch her, when he stepped away, she couldn't deny that it hurt a little. He'd just admitted he liked her. And she him. And now he was backing away? Maybe there was something wrong with her. "You saved a girl from an attacker?" She asked. The expression on her face went from confused to something akin to devastated. "I don't understand. That sounds like... you're a hero. How does saving a girl from an attacker make you a bad person?"

He bit his lip, not sure if he should keep talking or if he should stay silent. But she looked hurt, and he couldn’t bear the thought of hurting her. He sighed. Maybe he could bend the truth just a little. “I,” blacked out, “lost control. I beat him,” up “to death.” Oh. Okay. Maybe not so much with the bending of the truth right now. He winced, and tried to gauge her reaction. It tore him up every day, but that wasn’t something that he had been planning on telling anyone.

Wow. Absolutely not what Tink thought he was going to say. She blinked as she stared into his face, into his eyes. Her expression changed from devastated to confused again, then to pure shock. He'd killed someone. Lost control? Beat him to death? He may have saved a girl’s life, but he’d also taken one.

"I... wow." Tink said. And for a moment, she was completely at a loss as to what to say. This wasn't normally a problem for the loquacious blonde, but hearing that the man she'd been crushing on for a couple weeks had a dark, dark patch in his past... well, that was a bit of a shocker. She was going to need time to process.

"That's... definitely not what I was expecting to hear."

Anders chugged the second half of his drink. “I try every day to make up for it,” he said. He shouldn’t be trying to convince her to be with him. Losing control was one of the scariest things he had done, and he couldn’t bear the thought of blacking out and hurting Tink some day. “I know I won’t but I… I…” Deep breath. “I should go.” He said.

Tink took a deep breath while he was speaking, then stepped forward one more step toward him. “You should go,” she said, softly. Because he obviously wanted to. This must have been awkward and embarrassing for him. Nerve-wracking. Guilt inducing. All the things she wouldn’t ever want to cause for him. She could use the time alone to figure out… God, everything. Why they’d both said things they hadn’t meant to say, and how what he’d just said affected the way she felt about him, if at all, and…

“I don’t want you to go,” she blurted out. “I mean, you really should, but I don’t want you to because I’m afraid if you leave you won’t ever come back. And I just… can’t bear that thought.”

“I don’t want to go, either,” Anders said. Tink’s reaction was relieving, and for a moment he looked very vulnerable. He moved forward to cup her face with a hand. “If you think I should leave, I will. But if you’ll have me, I could never stay away.”

It was a lot to think about, he knew, if she still needed him to leave. It was a lot for him to think about too. Tink was right, she was totally capable of making her own decisions. No matter what he thought her decision should be, it was hers to make.

How could she turn him away when he looked into her eyes like that? His hand warm on the side of her face, the honesty in his voice. It was all Tink could do to not turn into a puddle. He quite literally made her knees weak. She wasn't sure that had ever happened to her before.

Speaking of weak knees, tink’s hand lifted to rest against his forearm. For balance. To make sure he didn’t pull away, to make sure she didn’t accidentally crumple.

“Stay. Please stay.” Tink spoke gently, looking up at him. “I… I have to think. You know? But I don’t have to be alone to do it.” In her heart, though, she knew the conclusion she was going to draw from all of this. She didn’t want him to go. She wasn’t going to obsess about what he’d done. She cared about him for who he was, and not the actions that led him to Orange County. He was kind, and handsome, and smart, and funny, and he took care of her. What more could she possibly ask for?

Anders let out a relieved sigh. He felt a little weak in the knees, but he tried not to show it. When the words had escaped his lips, he had been sure that Tink would kick him out, would never want to see him again, and would maybe report him to the police. But she had surprised him. “I wasn’t expecting you to accept this,” he said.

He couldn’t believe his luck. He hadn’t expected to fall for anyone again when he had left Germany, and he had certainly never expected to meet someone who would apparently fall for him too.

He ran his thumb along her cheek. “Maker, I would like to kiss you right now,” he breathed.

“I guess we’re just full of surprises for each other tonight,” Tink teased. It was a good sign, the teasing. She smiled up at him, her eyes meeting his. His confession hadn’t changed anything for her. The initial shock was wearing off, and now she was back to feeling safe with him, comfortable in his arms.

Her hand trailed up his forearm to his wrist, then light fingertips touched the back of his hand. She pressed his palm against her cheek turning to nuzzle against his skin.

“I’ve wanted you to kiss me for ages now,” she replied. Then she rose up on her toes and leaned in so he could do just what he wanted.

He didn’t hesitate. He cupped the other side of her face with his other hand, and kissed her as though he had wanted to be doing it almost since he had first met her. He had known that he had wanted to kiss Tink, but he hadn’t realized exactly how much until now. He wished that it would never end.

Both of Tink’s hands came to his chest, fingers tangling in the fabric of his shirt. She returned his kiss with a hunger she hadn’t realized was building within her. Maybe she’d had some inkling, but it caught her off guard how much she wanted to kiss and be kissed. It had been such a long time. And the fact that it was Anders kissing her made her knees wobble.

Finally, she had to pull back and breathe. One of her hands had moved up to his neck, fingers warm and soft against his skin. Her nose rested against his, her lips just barely broke away from his mouth as she caught her breath. “...that was so much better than I’d imagined.”

Anders made a small, disappointed noise when she pulled away, but he dropped his hands to her side, nuzzled his face in her hair, and smiled against her head.

“So much better,” Anders agreed. “You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to do that.” He laughed a little into her hair. “Or maybe you do.” He leaned down to kiss her again, this time a little more gently.

Tink gave a gentle laugh. “I think I do.” She didn’t have much time to grin before he was kissing her again. Gently this time. And she loved every moment of it. Tink was excellent at playful kissing. Gentle nibbling of her lips against his, alternating between dry, soft kisses and more passionate ones. Her arms looped up and around his neck to cuddle close.

Her wings popped out of her shirt while they kissed, sending a shower of golden dust flittering down around their feet. She only noticed when her toes left the floor that she was hovering, her wings flapping excitedly. But did that distract her? No way. Kissing Anders was so much more important.

Oh yes, kissing Tink was everything he had wanted and more. So much more. He certainly enjoyed the nibbling. And the feel of her lips. But he did get distracted when she started to hover, and pulled away just enough that he could look at her. “I love those wings,” he said.

Somehow, she was somehow even more beautiful now than he had ever noticed before. “How lucky am I, getting to make out with a beautiful fairy?”

“I love them, too.” Tink admitted sheepishly. Her arms were still around his shoulders, but it was harder to hang on when she was hovering in mid-air. She went very pink, then laughed. “You’re the second luckiest person on the planet in this moment. I’ve got the top spot.”

She had to focus to get her wings to stop flittering so she could land back down on the ground. “My heart is thundering!” She laughed softly. “...it’s been a long time since I’ve felt like this.” Still admitting things she probably wouldn’t have said under normal circumstances.

Anders sighed, and kissed the top of her head. “Me too,” he said. “I didn’t think that I’d ever feel like this again,” he admitted. “I’m still not sure I deserve it. Though I guess in this case, that’s your call.”

He pulled her closer to him. “You are so amazing,” he said. “I knew from the first time I met you that you were special - and not just because you fell from the sky - and the more I get to know you, the more blown away I become.”

"You're wonderful, and you do deserve it," Tink insisted, trailing her fingers along his neck once, twice. "I wish you could see yourself through my eyes. You'd understand." She cuddled close in against him, finding that her cheek pressed perfectly into the side of his neck, her body fit like a puzzle piece against his. She sighed deeply, relaxing against him.

"God, you just... you say the most perfect things." Her wings folded down, her knees nearly giving out under her. She tightened her grip on him so she wouldn't fall. "If you're not careful, you're gonna have me falling for you." Oh, God. "More than I already have." Stop, Tink. Stop.

She swallowed. "Do you want to go... sit on the sofa?" Change of subject might help stop her putting her foot in her mouth.

“And we wouldn’t want that, now would we?” he asked teasingly. He could think of worse things to happen than her falling for him, now that she knew his secret.

“I don’t really want to let you go,” he said honestly, because why wouldn’t he answer honestly. He forced himself to unwrap his arms from around her. “But yeah, the couch might be more comfortable.”

He trailed his hands across her arms so he could grab her hand. Just because he had to stop embracing her if they were going to walk to the couch didn’t mean that he had to stop touching her.

"We would. I mean, I would." Tink admitted. She wanted to make some kind of a joke about it, but she couldn't do anything but say the truth. "I hope that you would, too." God, she felt really vulnerable like this. Laying it all out there for him. But he was being so kind, so understanding and supportive. And he liked her. He really liked her. And he wanted her, too.

She chuckled softly. "You can hold me again when we get to the sofa," she said as he withdrew. It was suddenly cold without his arms around her. She wanted to get to the sofa quickly and cuddle up again. Her fingers laced through his when his hand found hers, and together they moved to the sofa. She gave him a tug, leading the way.

"...I want you to spend the night again. If you want to."

“I do,” he said. “I want you to fall for me more, since I’ve already fallen for you.” Was that too forward? It wasn’t as though he could really control himself right now.

He allowed himself to be led to the couch, and when he sat down he gave her a little tug, hoping to get her off balance enough that she would fall into his lap.

“Spend the night, huh?” He smiled at her. “And in what capacity exactly would you like me to spend the night?” Well, he could have thought of a less blunt way to ask that. Maybe. He made sure not to say anything about how he would like to spend the night with her.

"Well, then. That makes two of us." He'd already fallen. She was falling more. It was... they were in the same boat. Two people who fit together. Tink really, really hoped that she wasn't setting herself up for a big fall. The bad kind of fall. She was trusting him with her heart. For better or for worse, she was fully in it now. There was no turning back.

She tipped into his lap at the slightest tug, giving a little laugh as she tumbled onto him. Her body fit against his chest, her head resting on his shoulder.

This honesty thing was making Tink say all kinds of things she normally wouldn't say. Inviting him to spend the night, telling him she was falling for him, all this stuff was coming out and making the whole situation wonky. But the good kind of wonky. God, the best kind of wonky.

"However you want to." Tink said. She was very pink in her cheeks, all along her neck. It was almost red. Because when Tink went red she went red. "I mean, I'd be satisfied just... knowing you're here on the sofa with me in the bedroom. Or… you could come with me to the bedroom. I wouldn't say no to more cuddling. Or more kissing," god, this truth stuff was embarrassing. "Or even more than that. I don't want to push things too fast, but I know if you asked for it, I wouldn’t turn you down."

Anders went to tuck her hair behind her ears. “I would never want to push you too fast,” he said. “Though, I’m not sure if ‘too fast’ is really a concern we have, given that I’ve already told you my deepest darkest secret.” He wished he would stop bringing that up. Tink might have accepted it for now, but he was half convinced the weight of what he had said hadn’t quite sunk in yet.

“But I want to. That’s been on my mind almost as much as kisssssssss,” he bit down on his tongue. Ouch. Stop talking, Anders. “I’d be happy to spend the night just cuddling and kissing though. Really, I’d be happy just sleeping next to you.”

He was probably right about that. It was likely going to sink in later, and Tink would want to talk to him about it a little more. In this moment, though, with the kissing and the revealing of feelings, she was willing to put that in the back burner. What she'd said was true: she cared about him for who he was, not the things he'd done. (Though the argument could be made that the latter led to the former.)

"It's been on my mind, too," Tink admitted, quietly. "I've been so stressed, and I needed a release, and you were on my mind, and it all fell into place the other night, and oh my god, why am I saying this out loud?" She lifted a hand to hide her face.

“I don’t know,” he said. He couldn’t stop looking at her. She really was beautiful. “I can see this causing problems in the future, but for now… for now I could certainly think of worse things that could be happening. If I have to bear all to anyone, I’m glad it’s you, Tink.”

He leaned forward to give her a peck on the lips. He paused. "Do you think this is going to last long? Work today was really awkward."

“What problems?” Tink asked, lowering her hand to look at him. In his eyes she saw so much strength and comfort, she couldn’t help herself. She would tell him anything in that moment. Anything he asked, she would give him the truth. “I’m glad it’s me, too.”

Her eyes fell closed when he kissed her. She opened them slowly, a contented smile on her lips. “I don’t know. Normally weirdness only lasts a few days? Maybe we should just hide out in my house and not go to work until it’s over and we can lie again.”

"Hopefully none with you," he said grinning. "But what if we meet someone with a really bad toupee?"

He dropped his hands to her hips. "Hmm, hiding out with a beautiful woman all weekend, or going to work and possibly losing my job. That sounds like a," difficult, "extremely easy choice." Oh, right, sarcasm probably wasn't going to work very well. "How are we going to call in to work? 'Sorry, I don't want to come in to work today, because I can only speak the truth.'" He was pretty sure no one would readily accept that excuse. "I wonder if I can lie through text messaging..."

"I think if someone's toupee is that bad, he deserves to be told." Tink grinned. "But i think I could refrain from saying something if I'm not asked a direct question about it."

She took hold of one of his hands and linked their fingers together, trailing her thumb's tip along his palm. "... maybe you could say something like 'I don't think I can properly treat patients right now.' That wouldn't be lying, wood it? I'll just call my mechanic and tell him not to expect me tomorrow. I love being own boss."

“Being your own boss must be nice,” Anders said. “I’ve more or less taken over the running of the free clinic.” He tried to find the donations that helped keep the place afloat, and when they were short - which was almost every month - he donated the rest from his own personal paycheque from the hospital (maybe with Leliana’s very sizable donation, he’d be able to stop doing that), and he was there more than any other doctor or nurse, which meant that a lot of the administration details had fallen to him, “but I wouldn’t really call myself my own boss. And I’m definitely not my own boss with the hospital.” He smiled. “Hopefully no one will ask why I can’t treat patients.”

He paused. “Well, maybe if I can call them and leave a voice message instead of actually talking to someone, it could be okay.”

“It’s always easier to lie to a machine than another human being,” Tink thought, idly, as she stroked her fingertips along his hand. “But maybe if you write a script it will help? I mean, I don’t mind telling my mechanic that I’m going to spend the whole weekend in bed with a handsome doctor, but--” Jesus, she had to stop saying things like that. “--I can see how it might be frowned upon in a more professional setting.”

Beat.

“One of us is gonna have to go out for food and… other supplies.”

“That’s my girl, always filled with great ideas,” Anders said. Well, he was assuming she was his girl. It was always harder to tell in this day and age. Maybe she wouldn’t notice. “And maybe if I’m reading off a script I can say that I don’t think I’m coming down with a cold.” It took a moment for him to notice the extra word that had slipped itself into his sentence. “Oh, come on!” he said, looking up at the ceiling where whatever omnipotent being was making him tell the truth. “It was a hypothetical situation. I can’t even say things that aren’t true in hypotheticals?”

At the mention of going out in public for supplies, he grinned. “Well, we could always go together, and anyone who has any questions we can just bombard them with the truth until they realize asking strangers questions is a bad idea.”

Oh, she definitely caught it. And she was his--more than anyone else's, anyway. The strange feelings she'd been sort of holding onto for her ex were ninety five percent gone now. And fading more and more with each passing minute.

She laughed. "You know, this truth thing is kinda nice. Doesn't make you feel... I dunno, secure? Knowing that I'm being completely honest about how I feel about you?"

"If you want me to go bright red, sure." She grinned. "Not sure I could explain a total stranger why I've got a cart full of red bull and condoms without turning bright red, even with the truth serum that's fallen over us, or whatever it is." She was ridiculously red now.

“It’s nice being honest, too,” he admitted. “I haven’t been completely honest with anyone in a while.” He had even dumped his German girlfriend of four years without much of an explanation before taking off to America with hardly a word to any of his friends. “And it’s definitely nice to hear that someone has feelings for me. I’m sure you must be enjoying hearing about how crazy I am about you. And to know that when I ask if you want to go steady that I mean it.” So, maybe ‘going steady’ was an outdated way to ask the question, but it seemed like the least awkward way to ask someone if they wanted to date you.

He laughed at her blushing. “Oh, I do love making you blush,” Anders said. “It’s so cute. But just imagine how much we could make the other person blush.” He gave her a wink.

"You can always be honest with me," Tink said, squeezing her hand. She grinned. "Go steady, huh? Are you gonna ask me to wear your pin, too?"

She buried her face into his shoulder, cheeks burning. "I'd be mortified. Oh! Speaking of which," she vaulted up off his lap and moved into the kitchen to grab her backpack. A moment later she came back into the room and pulled a letter from the pocket. "I wrote you something while I was at work."

“I was thinking the Letterman jacket I don’t own,” Anders said. Wow. This teasing thing was a lot harder when he couldn’t pretend to own things.

He was getting ready weave his hand through her hair as she had it buried in his shoulder, but then she was off his lap. “Thank you,” he said, taking the letter from her. “I’ve started your letter, but every time I start putting the pen to the paper, I get called away for work. Oh man, I want to read it right now.” He wouldn’t, because of their agreement, but he desperately wanted to know what she had written him.

“Did you want me to go pick up everything?” he asked. “To spare you the mortification, of course.” It would also be a good time pull over somewhere and read her letter.

"I would wear the shit out of your letterman jacket. If you had one." Apparently, metaphors were still okay. She grinned. "Maybe you should get one. So I can wear it." She'd never thought she wanted be marked in such a way, but the idea of someone else making a visible claim on her was kinda nice. And the idea that she would have a reminder of him all the time? Good. Really good.

"Okay," Tink said, shyly. She had an idea that was going to read the letter while he was out. But that was okay. So long as it wasn't in front of her. "Should I text you a list? Oh, and you'll need to go pick up your cat, right?"

Anders laughed. “I have no idea where I’d find one. Maybe one with my initials on it.” Not that many people would get that it was his initials. The only people who actually knew Anders’ real name were people who needed to know it for legal reasons.

“Sir Pounce-A-Lot will definitely need to come over if I’m going to spend the whole weekend.” He was glad that Tink had brought it up so he didn’t have to. “It will give you a chance to get used to having a cat around before you get yours! And hey, if we’re going to be shut-ins all weekend, it will give us time to finish unpacking. Well, assuming we make time between our other activities.” Well. He certainly hadn’t meant to say that last bit.

“Whatever you want, though you have to wear it first.” Tink said, nodding solemnly. “Just grab something from your closet. It has to smell like you.” That was essential. “Yeah, I don’t want something new. I want something of yours to remind me of you.” Had that sounded too demanding? Now she was paranoid. She really didn’t want to do anything that might mess this up.

“I’d love to have him here. Hopefully he won’t mind.” Tink smiled as she slipped down beside him on the sofa. “I think we can find a little time for unpacking. Y’know, when we start getting sore.” Jesus. “I mean.. God, does that make me sound…? I don’t even know.” She swallowed.

“My ex-boyfriend and I broke up… not that long ago. But our relationship felt like it was dwindling for longer, I think. He was my first real boyfriend. I’m… kinda geeky, I guess, and guys don’t like that? Or they get intimidated that I know more about cars than they do? Anyway… I’m not new to this stuff, but… inexperienced?” She admitted it all before she could stop herself saying it. “...I’ve had sex and stuff before, sure, with women and men, but I’ve only ever loved one other person.”

Anders thought for a moment. He didn't own a whole lot of clothes, but he did have an extra old leather biking jacket that he wore. He would grab it when he picked up Sir Pounce-a-lot.

"Sir Pounce-a-lot will love it here. A lot more space to run around in than my dinky little apartment." He smiled at her. "It makes you sound adorable," he assured her.

"You know, I don't really do the geeky thing myself, but I love that you are. I've had a lot of sex, with men and women." Wow, way to sound like a hussy. One other person, huh? He chose not to say anything. "I've really on had one serious relationship too. When did you guys break-up?" He wasn't really a jealous person in general, though it might be a problem of she was still in love with him.

"Not, like, desperate and-or addicted?" Tink asked, sounding hopeful. She didn't want him to think she was like, some sort of nymphomaniac or something. She wasn't. She was just... excited. And attracted. Undeniably so.

There was a shy smile that crossed her lips when Anders said he loved that she was geeky. It wasn't often she had that kind of reaction, and she liked it. Normally she was so awkward. Nerdy. To the point where it became difficult to relate to people. But not today. For whatever reason.

Oh. Wow. She wished she could avoid that question. "...the day after Christmas? I think." She responded, avoiding his eyes.

"Not even a little like you're desperate-slash-addicted," he assured her.

He was careful to keep his face neutral, which, as a doctor, was something he was very practiced at. It was two months ago, but if she had loved him and he was her first real boyfriend, then there was a very good chance that she still had feelings for him. He still thought of his girlfriend who he broke up with over a year ago. Still, she couldn't lie so he knew that she genuinely liked him. He'd try not to think about it too much. "What a horrible time to break-up," he said. "That had to suck."

"Good." She left that topic at that.

And now they were talking about ... She really didn't want to talk about it. Or even think about it. She couldn't help but tell the truth when he asked, though. "Yeah... it was pretty sucky. He'd just been gone for a month or whatever, and it was the first night he was back... Really weird stuff happens around here. y'know? Wings. Pixie Dust. My ex was possessed when he woke up that morning. Literally." She paused. "He made the decision that we couldn't be together. They got the demon out, though. Somehow. I don't know. We're still friends. I don't want to be more than friends with him anymore."

It caught her off-guard when she said it. But was true. She was surprised by how over him she really was.

Anders knew a thing or two about demon possession. Mages in his dream world were often prey to demons, since they drew magic from the Fade, which was the home of demons. Most people, when they became abominations were cut down pretty quick though. . He hadn’t heard of anyone being cured from being possessed.

He was relieved to hear that she didn’t want to be with him anymore. The relief probably showed on his face.

“Well, I can understand why you were upset about me trying to make the same decision for you,” he said. “His dream world wasn’t called Thedas, was it?” he asked. It would certainly be interesting if there was a way to cure abominations. He didn’t think there was any way that the information he learned here could be carried over there, but it would probably help a lot of people not be as afraid of mages anymore.

The relief did show on his face. Tink couldn’t help but smile a little at it. She took hold of his hand again--though, if they kept touching each other he’d never go leave for supplies and Sir Pounce-a-lot--and gave it a squeeze.

Tink shook her head. “No. He and I dreamed in the same world.” Now that was awkward. Kinda. She had a lot of memories of him that she really wished she didn’t have. But maybe in the end they’d be closer because of it? “I want to hear more about your Dream World. Whenever you want to talk about it. If you ever want to talk about it.”

Anders would probably be perfectly content not getting the supplies so long as he could keep holding Tink’s hand. Well, maybe not in the long run, but for now he didn’t want to leave her side.

“It’s not a happy place,” he told her. Apparently, understatements were perfectly fine to say. “I would,” love “be willing to tell you about it though, if you want me to.” He gave her a bit of a smile. “You know, it certainly makes me appreciate this life more. I thought that I had a hard life before, but now it seems so much easier.” Well, that got a little heavier than he anticipated. He wondered if it would be better to wait until he was a little less honest before talking about it though, so he could downplay some of the more… harrowing bits. Or at least make jokes about them so that he could pretend that some things didn’t bother him as much as they did. He was good at that.

Tink squeezed his fingers again. Then laced hers through them, fingertips exploring his knuckles for a moment, both hands holding his. She really liked his hands.

“Funny how our Dreams do that. Well, mine do, anyway. I can't tell you the number of times I've woken from a dream so incredibly thankful to be more than six inches tall.” She smirked, though it was true. Not a joke. Obviously. Or maybe it was both?

“Do you want pizza for dinner? I want pizza.”

“The world must be pretty scary when you’re six inches tall,” Anders said. He tried to imagine it, but couldn’t quite. Cats would be bigger than horses!

“Pizza sounds delicious,” Anders said. He leaned down and gave her a peck on the lips. “I should run and get everything. Did you want to watch movie while we eat? I have the sudden urge to watch Liar Liar.”

Tink grinned when his lips met hers. She nodded. “I have almost every Jim Carrey movie in his collection.” “We’ll have pizza, drinks, movie… cuddle up with the cat.” Then retire to the bedroom. Maybe. For more perfection? Or trying for perfection?

She released his hand.