Who: Anders and Tink When: Backdated July 9th. What: Tink and Anders meet up for dinner to go over his manifesto Where: Some Italian restaurant Warnings/Ratings: Politics. So much politics. Status: Complete upon posting
It was hard to deny that Anders missed Tink. The hotel he was staying in was nice, and Sir Pounce-A-Lot always adjusted to new area easily, so that wasn’t a problem. But it was strange not sleeping with Tink beside him. Justice thought that Tink was a distraction, and certainly didn’t approve of the amount of time Anders sat thinking about her, but Tink was his. He wouldn’t let Justice sway his opinion on the matter. She and Sir-Pounce-A-Lot were the only two things that Justice and he disagreed on.
Still, he had to admit that he had been getting quite a bit done without Tink around to distract him. He had been working hard on creating his manifesto, and had started looking into renting space where he could start a dialogue with the interested poor. It would take a revolution to turn America from the corrupt cesspool that it was, and into the America it could be. A place where, regardless of age, sex, or sexuality equality reigned. A place where the rich trod over the poor in an effort to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. A place where the law of the land was in the hands of the people, and not in the hands of the rich. And while revolutions were rarely bloodless, Anders was trying to figure out how to make this one as bloodless as possible.
He was waiting for Tink in the antechamber of the Italian restaurant that he had chosen. He knew that he probably could have taken Tink anywhere and she would be happy, but he really had missed her and wanted to treat her to a nice meal. The restaurant was rather nice, though not too ritzy that either of them would feel uncomfortable being in.
Tink was on time. Actually, she'd been early, and had waited in her car in the parking lot outside for ten minutes, chewing on her lip and listening to The Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast over her speakers. Normally she would have brought her bike, but tonight she wanted to look good. She'd worn a skirt and everything. It had taken her far too long to pick out what to wear. She'd turned into a girl in his absence.
When she stepped into the restaurant and saw him there, her breath caught. She went pink, smiling warmly--it was a smile of relief at the sight of him--and stepped forward to meet him.
"Hey," Tink said, then lifted her arms to envelope him in a hug. God, she'd missed him. So much.
Anders felt as though he hadn’t seen Tink in months, even if it had only been a little while since he had moved into the hotel. They hadn’t been apart for so long since they had met. “Tink, you look beautiful,” he said when he saw her, and quickly reciprocated the hug, planting a kiss on her temple. “Maker, I’ve missed holding you like this.”
It felt so good to be in his arms again, she couldn’t help but nuzzle in against him, close her eyes, and breathe deep. He smelled like Anders. (Probably because he was Anders.) That smell was still on his pillow, but only just barely. She’d cuddled against it so much it was losing its power.
“I know.” Beat. “I mean, I know how it feels, I’ve missed it, too.” She corrected herself, then finally drew back to look up into his eyes. “The pictures I have of you in my head are nowhere near as handsome as you are in person.” Beat. “...did I just say that out loud?”
Anders smiled, and realized as he did so that it had been a long time since he had done that, but being around Tink made him feel more cheerful than he had in a while. When she pulled back, he dropped his hands so they were holding her arms. “You did say that out loud,” he said. “I could say the same thing about you though. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen you wearing a skirt before.”
Tink flushed deep pink at those words. She shrugged her shoulders, playfully, grinning a bashful, happy grin. "I wanted to look nice for you tonight." It wasn't until after she said it that she realized how silly it must have sounded. How immature. She tucked her hair behind her ears, having worn it down tonight instead of the normal ponytail 'do.
"Are you hungry?" She asked, her hands coming to rest on his chest as she longed to be closer. "Should we go.... sit and eat?"
“You always look nice for me,” Anders said softly, because it was true. Tink was the most beautiful woman he had ever had the pleasure of looking upon.
At Tink’s words, Anders looked toward the host, and then pulled away from Tink a little. “Yes, lets,” he agreed, and slid his hand down her arm so he could take her hand and follow the host to their table.
Tink took hold of his hand and squeezed it as they moved through the restaurant together. She paused at the host’s podium, then held up two fingers. They were led through the restaurant by the man, to a table in the back. Tink sat down first, feeling hungry for the first time in what felt like days. She gave him a “thank you” when the host slipped a menu into her hands.
“I just… can I point out the obvious?” Tink asked, leaning in a little, after the host rattled off the specials and wandered back to the front of the restaurant. “I feel awkward. And nervous. Like we’re starting over. Even though I know we’re not.”
"It does kind of feel like that," Anders agreed. "I feel like it's been so long since we were last together." He put aside his menu for the moment, deciding that for right now Tink should get his undivided attention. In actuality, it hadn't been that long, but it was the longest he had gone without seeing her since they had started dating. There was also the matter of the fact that Justice was here now too. Anders hardly felt at all like the same jovial man he had been just a few months ago. His feelings for Tink were the same, but he was a little nervous that hers wouldn't be. He wasn't the same man she fell in love with. "I don't want you to feel awkward around me though. I know some things have... changed, but I love you and that won't change. You don't need to feel nervous."
Tink set aside her own menu, having decided she’d just go for whatever the special was. Chicken something? She liked chicken. That would suffice. She reached forward across the table, holding her palm up, so he could slip his hand into hers. “I love you, too,” she said, softly. “That’s never going to change.”
Anders took her hand, and then went to lift it so he could kiss her knuckles. He wanted to believe that her love wouldn’t change, but it was a little difficult. “Good,” he said. “Then that’s settled. Once I’m a little more accustomed to Justice, then I can move back in, I think.” Being away from her was great for his work ethic, but Maker he missed her.
“You think so?” Tink asked, trying not to get her hopes up too much. She was optimistic, but guarded. “I hope so. I’ve missed you so much.” It started spilling out before she could stop it. “The whole place… it has a different energy without you there. And without Sir Pounce. Lady Widge is beside herself. I mean, I’m beside myself, too, I just… she’s more important.” She realized she was babbling and finally bit down on her bottom lip. A sheepish smile tried to make its way across her face, but she was chomping down on her lip.
Anders had to smile while watching her. She was so cute, and being near her really did help put him at ease. Sometimes he could almost forgot what he dreamed. "I think so. I haven't had any trouble keeping him under control so far, so I think we should be fine."
The waiter came then, and Anders realized he hasn't even looked at the menu. He'd just have to get whatever Tink was getting. The problem with semi-fancy restaurants was that eating like a Grey Warden often got you dirty looks, so he'd just get the one dish tonight.
Tink ordered the chicken special and handed over her menu. But before the waiter could leave she added, "oh, can I have Shirley Temple, too?"
The waiter thought it an amusing request, by the look on his face, but nodded. Then he headed off toward the kitchen leaving the pair of them alone again.
Tink turned her attention back to Anders. "What's it like?" She asked, now the topic had sorry of cone up again. "Living with Justice?"
"A Shirley Temple?" Anders asked teasingly once the waiter had gone. "You're adorable."
At her question, Anders frowned, steepling his fingers. “I’m not really sure how to describe it,” Anders said. “Most of the time, it just feels like… me. I mean, different, because I can look back to how I was before, and I can see a man who meant well but was never willing to really go the extra mile for his beliefs, and that’s not me anymore. Every now and then, there’s a topic that we differ on and then it seems obvious that there’s… someone else here. But other than those rare moments, it’s not any different than being by myself.”
Tink felt the blush creeping up her cheeks when he called her adorable. "Sorry, I just... like sweet drinks, I guess?" She apologized. But he'd probably seen her order one once or twice before. Maybe. It wasn't all that common. She just felt like something sweet tonight. Maybe to help settle her nerves.
"When you say... go the extra mile for his beliefs..." Tink asked, trying to process what this all meant, "what does that mean? What are your beliefs now, and what's that extra mile?"
“My beliefs are the same as they’ve always been,” Anders said. “One of the major problems in this world is capitalism and the greed that comes with it. All these systems we have in place to make the rich richer, and the poor poorer. But if we changed the economic organization of our state, well… we could change everything. By eliminating poverty, we could make huge strides in the way of combating discrimination of all sorts. And we absolutely could eliminate poverty if we took the modes of production out from the hands of the bourgeois and into the hands of the proletariat.” He had brought his manifesto with him, and he pulled it out now. “Before I had been content with the free clinic, thinking that was all the help I could do, but I’ve started making plans on how to rally the working poor, and how they can take the modes of production for themselves.”
“So… are you leaning more toward some sort of communist state?” Tink asked. She was trying to understand, rather than just passing off what he was saying as… madness. Maybe there was goodness there. It seemed radical, but it didn’t… it didn’t seem like complete insanity. Yet.
“How do you think… I mean, what steps do you think you’d take?” The phrase take the modes of production for themselves stuck in her mind and made her nervous.
"Not communism," Anders said. "Socialism. Libertarian socialism, to be exact. The type of government that truly takes care of the people. Health care, food, shelter... All those should be provided for people, and people should have the freedom to do whatever they like, so long as it doesn't impose on the freedoms of others, like theft, assault, or murder. A society where people work together to make sure everyone gets what they need." It was possible and Anders knew it.
"I've been thinking of mass workers strikes. They can't do anything without the workers, and we could show then that by taking away the workers. Now, there'd probably be a temporary economic collapse, but sometimes you need to tear down the old foundations to rebuild stronger ones." He'd want to do it with no bloodshed, ideally, but he knew that might not be entirely possible. Still, he would do his best to find a way to avoid as much of it as possible.
Well, so long as there wouldn’t be murder, right? Tink was a little relieved that he wasn’t going to resort to throwing bricks through windows or bombing things or something. Not that she’d expect those things from him, but there was a little worry. Justice was an unknown entity for her, so she was just trying to figure it all out.
“They’ve used worker strikes to get better pay and working conditions for… like, a long time.” Tink said. There was that movie, wasn’t there? With Sally Field? Wasn’t that about forming unions? Where she got up on the table? Crap. She couldn’t remember. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.” It sounded like he was going to take that up a notch.
"This would be less about pay and working conditions, and more about taking over. But it's the same sort of idea. During the Spanish Revolution, they came close. So close." Of course, the Spanish Revolution had come during the Spanish Civil War. People had already been motivated to fight for change in their country, even if the libertarian socialist revolution aspect of it was widely peaceful. He still needed to work on how to rally the people. "I'm glad you're on my side for this though, Love." He reached forward to take her hands in his. "I don't know what I'd do if you were opposed to the whole thing."
Tink slipped her hands into his. “I want people to live in comfort. It drives me nuts that some CEOs get paid thousands of dollars per hour, and then complain when we try to raise the minimum wage.” She gave his fingers a squeeze. “But… do you ever worry that people might take advantage of your new system? Like, maybe a reason some people are poor is because they’re not … working? I’d hate to take money or power or whatever away from people if they’re hard working, and try to give to to other people just to balance out the spectrum. Does that make sense?”
“The amount of people who don’t work just because they don’t want to is a lot smaller than you might think,” Anders said. “Most of the time it’s because of illness - whether it be addiction or mental illness or a physical ailment. Or because they can’t find a job in our economy. People don’t just decide that they’d rather live in squalor, fighting for scraps of food, instead of doing a bit of work. And even if that was the case, having shelter, being able to eat, having the right to education and health care. Those are human rights, Love. Those are things everyone deserves. People can work hard for the extras - the flat screen tvs or the fancy sports cars, but people, no matter who they are, deserve the necessities.” Truthfully, he was a little disappointed by the question, but it was good practice for answering the same kinds of questions from someone he wasn’t in love with.
“I just…” Tink paused for a minute as the server set food in front of them. But she wasn’t ready to let go of Anders’ hand yet. She waited until the server was out of earshot again before responding, “you’re absolutely right. Having health care, education, food and shelter are basic human rights, and everyone should have them. But some people want to work harder to get those things like big, fancy houses and sports cars, and some people don’t care about working hard--they’d rather just… party on the weekends, or whatever. That’s mostly my point. I want everyone to be earning a living wage whatever they choose to be doing. But I hate the idea of taking things away from people who have honestly worked hard to earn them.”
"But this isn't about taking away the things that people have worked for. If you want the extra stuff, then yes, you have to work for it. But you can't tell me that you think say, Kim Kardashian works harder than the woman who's working 90 hours a week just so she can put a roof over the heads of her family and feed them, I don't know, instant noodles every night. The way things are is entirely set up to keep the elite the elite, and to beat anyone who tries to climb the ladder right back down. You know, Denmark is the second most socialist country in the world, and their murder rate, their rape rate, is more than 200 times less than our country. We're not just talking about stealing people's paycheques and handing them out, we're talking about giving people whose only options are to turn to crime in order to survive opportunities to actually contribute to society." He paused his rant to look down at his plate. "This chicken smells really delicious."
Tink wanted to ask more questions, but the server brought out their food and she was distracted. She turned her attention to the chicken for a moment then glanced back up at him. “It smells amazing. I bet it tastes just as good.” She cut and speared a piece on her fork, then grinned. “I think we should have dessert after dinner. Can we? Please?”
Anders could talk about this stuff all day and still have more to say, but it occurred to him a little belatedly that maybe Tink didn’t want to talk about Anders’ cause on their date. Anders hadn’t been away from Tink as long as he had been since they met, and he felt a little abashed that he was spending the whole time talking about his cause. Not that abashed, since people needed to be educated on this subject, but a little bit.
“You should know better than to ask if we can eat extra food, Love,” Anders said with a smile, and took a bite of his food. “Good choice, by the way. It tastes as good as it smells. How’s the garage been?”
Tink’s smile brightened considerably. She was looking forward to having… whatever dessert this place had. Something chocolate, maybe? If they had it. Whatever. She just wanted to spend more time with Anders. (Okay, and have dessert.)
“It’s good,” she said after chewing and swallowing. “I’ve hired Haymitch Abernathy’s marketing firm, and we’ve brought in a whole lot more business that way--just getting the name out there.”
Anders couldn’t help but return Tink’s smile. Less bright, a little sadder than it had been before Justice showed up, but it was genuine. He was glad to be here with Tink, and he was even gladder when she gave him that brilliant smile of hers.
“I’m glad to hear that,” he said. “I’m glad to hear that you’ve been keeping busy. And all you really need to do is get your name out there; the quality of your work will keep people coming through the door.”
Tink flushed and smiled. Anders was so kind. She’d missed him so much--like a hole in her heart. Her bed was cold. Her days were dull. It was amazing how quickly he’d become such an integral part of her existence that life without him was so strange.
“Thank you. I work hard, and I love what I do. It’s good to know that comes through, you know?” Tinkering was second nature to Tink. She wasn’t sure who she’d be without it. In this world, tinkering meant playing with car parts.
"It definitely does. It shines as bright as the rest of you." He really was in love with the woman in front of him. He knew Tink wasn't as interested in the things that Anders was, but he could see her trying to understand at least, and that meant a lot to him. "I love you, Tink. I hope you never forget that."
“I will never forget it.” Tink said softly, her eyes looking up into his. “I love you, too. That’s never going to change.”
Anders hoped that was true. He wasn’t entirely sure if it was, especially since even he could tell how much he had changed since Justice came into their lives, but he knew that Justice couldn’t change his feelings for Tink and he hoped to the Maker it was the same for her. “Good,” he said, and smiled at her. “I guess you’re stuck with me through this, eh?”
“I guess so.” Tink said with a playful sigh. She wouldn’t change it for the world.