Who: Peter Pevensie and Anders When: Backdated: Early March Where: Binx Animal Clinic What: Anders takes Sir Pounce-A-Lot in for a check up Rating/Warnings: Family Friendly Status: Complete
Anders always felt bad when he took Sir Pounce-A-Lot for his biannual vet check-up. Anders had taken Sir Pounce-A-Lot nearly everywhere but work with him since he was a kitten, so he was usually completely at ease in new situations, but he had never quite gotten the hang of being relaxed in a vet office.
He had Sir Pounce-A-Lot on his harness, and had the leash with him in case the cat wanted to explore the vet office, but for now, he was hiding in Ander’s rucksack. “Hello!” he said cheerily when he got up to the receptionist. “I’m here for a check-up for Sir Pounce-A-Lot.”
Then, he took his seat, stuck his hand in the rucksack, and gave Sir Pounce-A-Lot scritches between the ears while he waited.
Peter had just finished up assisting the veterinarian with another patient when he came out front to find out who the next patient was. Picking up the top file, he read the names on the top then looked up at the new people in the waiting area, “Anders and Sir Pounce-A-Lot.” The names seemed familiar and of course Peter’s first thought was Valar. He knew for a fact that he’d heard the animal’s name before and considering it wasn’t a common name like Fluffy or Midnight, he was pretty sure Valar was the answer, however, he didn’t want to come right out and ask the cat’s owner before he was sure.
“That’s us, Sir Pounce-A-Lot,” Anders cooed into his rucksack. He gave Sir Pounce-A-Lot one last scratch behind the ears, and then stood and walked over to the fellow. “Hi, I’m Anders.”
Peter smiled at the other man as he approached, “Hi, Anders. If you’ll just follow me.” He gestured for the man to follow him to one of the exam rooms. Peter had been working at the clinic now for about a year and truly enjoyed his job, “Is this your first time here?” Having been there a year, Peter knew just about all of the regulars.
“Second,” Anders said. “I came about half a year ago for a check-up.” He hadn’t recalled seeing the other man at that time though. When he got into the examination room, he took Sir Pounce-A-Lot out of his rucksack and set him on the table. The cat sat crouched a little lower than he normally would, but didn’t seem too skittish.
“It’s okay, Sir Pounce-A-Lot,” Anders cooed, and scratched him under the chin.
Once they were in the room, Peter opened the folder and nodded, “Looks like it was just before I started here. So, you probably saw the previous vet. You should have been informed that he moved.” Not too long after Peter had started working at Binx Veterinary Clinic, Thackery had decided to move out East to open a practice there, leaving his practice in Orange County to his partner who Peter was currently a vet tech for. “My cat dislikes coming to the vet as well.”
Anders might have gotten a letter along those lines, but there was a lot of the time when he came home from a long day at work, briefly looked through his mail, and then ignored it. It made him wonder if he had ignored any other important mail, and he tried not to look too guilty.
“I don’t think I’ve ever met a cat who enjoys vets,” Anders said. “I’m sure you can probably do basic check-ups at home though. That must make things easier!”
“For the most part.” Peter had used Aslan in the past while studying to become a vet tech, much to the cat’s dismay, but it had helped him with things. Of course he’d never done anything that would have hurt the cat. “I still like to have the vet’s opinion on some things. Safer that way.” As he spoke, Peter moved over to the exam table where Anders had set Sir Pounce-A-Lot and extended his hand to the cat to sniff before he tried to touch him.
Sir Pounce-A-Lot gave his fingers a sniff, and then nudged his hand with his head. This was clearly someone about to pet him, and Sir Pounce-A-Lot was always excited to have people pet him.
“So, how long have you been doing this?” Anders asked. Sir Pounce-A-Lot already seemed a little more relaxed, which Anders was happy to see. Sir Pounce-A-Lot didn’t often stay too stressed out about things, which Anders was pretty sure made him the best cat in the world.
As the cat sniffed his hand, Peter took that as a sign that it was alright to pet him and scratched his head, “I’ve been here for about a year. Worked in a clinic back home for a little while before my fiance and I moved out here.” Peter enjoyed calling Caspian his fiance much more than simply calling him his boyfriend so he said it at any chance that he could.
Sir Pounce-A-Lot purred loudly. “Congrats on your engagement!” Anders said. Maybe they had been engaged for a while, he had no clue. But engagements normally a thing to be congratulated. “How do you like it?” Beat. “The job, I mean. Not the engagement.”
He was a surgeon, but he didn’t think he could ever be a vet. He’d be far too depressed when he had to put down people’s animals. That, and he was pretty sure that if he became a vet, he’d have to deal with a whole lot of dog slobber.
Peter smiled and nodded, “Thank you. It’s been a couple of months now, but we’ve been together for about ten years now.” Sure, Anders hadn’t asked, but Peter never could stop himself from talking about his relationship even at the smallest prompts. At the question about his job, he nodded, “I do. I’m only a vet tech, but I’ve gotten the opportunity to do quite a lot here.”
Anders let out an impressed whistle. “Ten years, huh? High school sweetheart, I take it?” Unless he was underestimating how old Peter was, in which case it was probably a compliment anyway. “That’s impressive.” Anders was a closeted romantic, and really did enjoy hearing about successful relationships.
“Having a job where you can see the difference you make every day is something else,” Anders said. “I’m sure that’s the case whether you’re a vet tech or a vet.”
Peter nodded again, “We met when we were fifteen and started dating when we were sixteen. We were roommates at school.” Honestly, Peter couldn’t not talk about it if it was brought up. There were strangers all over the place who had heard about his and Caspian’s relationship by now, “And being able to help animals, in whatever way I can is always rewarding.” He smiled, still scratching Sir Pounce-A-Lot’s head.
Sir Pounce-A-Lot flopped over onto his side, and exposed his belly. Unlike most cats, Sir Pounce-A-Lot enjoyed having his belly rubbed, and only attacked people’s hands when he was feeling especially playful.
“Boarding school?” Anders asked. He didn’t know a lot of boarding schools that had coed dorms, but then, maybe they weren’t coed after all. It didn’t make much of a difference to Anders either way.
Peter scratched Sir Pounce-A-Lot for another moment or two before nodding in response to what Anders said, “In Wales.We hadn’t intended for it to happen, but you know teenagers.” He smirked a little and shrugged before picking up their file again, “Well, the vet should be in in a moment. It was nice to meet you Anders.” He turned to the cat, “And you Sir Pounce-A-Lot.”
"It was nice meeting you too," Anders said, taking over with the cat petting. "And good luck with the wedding!"