Room 322, Thursday Lunchtime

[not_every_mage]

Anders had never openly celebrated his birthday at the Circle. That would have been frivolous, and Maker knew apprentice mages weren't encouraged to be frivolous, or to do anything that separated one from his peers for a reason as arbitrary as the date of his birth.

But he'd always recognized it, all the same, if only to himself. (And occasionally with his friend Karl, who tended to indulge Anders' need to feel special.)

Last year, he'd been too confused by the new calendar to figure out which day lined up with 11 Justinian, and had passed from 15 to 16 without much notice. This year, he'd pieced it together, and was celebrating at his desk by eating a cupcake topped with a truly absurd amount of chocolate frosting as he paged through a guidebook to Delaware beaches. He was excited about the upcoming weekend away with Nathan.

[OOC: Cracked door, open post.]

Comments

[not_every_mage]

Lachlan mrowled his thanks, as if on cue. Or possibly because he wanted to see if Nathan had anything to eat.

"I do," Anders agreed. "And anyhow, they might throw someone new at me in September. Probably I should try to enjoy the quiet while it lasts."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"And I think I'll be all on my own come September," Nathan said thoughtfully. "I think my roommate's only here for the rest of the summer and then it'll just be me."

Not that he'd use his room that much but all that space was going to feel weird.

[not_every_mage]

Anders had been reaching down to give Lachlan a scratch, and he looked thoughtful when he straightened out. "Right, he graduated," he remembered. "I guess the obvious solution is, you get a cat too."

Yeah, he had a better idea than that.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

Nathan shook his head. "I'll probably just leave it like it is. It's not like I'm there that often anyway. I'd rather be outside. It'll just be strange. Not used to that much space when I'm inside."

Considering he'd spent a huge chunk of his time in a cage.

[not_every_mage]

"You could move down here if you wanted," Anders said, knowing he was asking a lot but unable to think of a reason why he shouldn't. "Or I could move up to yours in September. Like you said, you aren't in the room a lot anyhow, neither of us is used to the space, and -- well, I like having you around."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Uh." Nathan blinked, surprised. "I -- I mean, I don't know. You've surprised me, Anders. I hadn't really thought of that."

Hadn't even considered the possibility. He scratched the back of his neck.

"It's a good idea," he said sincerely after some thought. "Can I think about it? I don't want you to think that means I'll say no. Or that it's anything to do with you, please. I'm just surprised, that's all. I'd just like to consider it, make sure I won't wreck things. That's all."

[not_every_mage]

Well, that wasn't a yes, but it also wasn't a complete refusal. So Anders (or at least the more rational part of his brain) figured it had gone about as well as he could expect.

"I thought of it about a minute before I said it, so I surprised myself too," he said, and reached for Nathan's hand. "Take the time you need. I like the idea, but it would be miserable to undo if it didn't work. Besides, I don't want to wreck what we already have either."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I like the idea too, believe me," he said, lacing his fingers through Anders' and smiling. "I just want to make sure I won't wreck anything with how I am. Who I am. That's all. I wouldn't wanna do that to you."

[not_every_mage]

"Believe me, I'm at least as likely to do something stupid and wreck it as you are," Anders told him, but he was smiling back. "It's not like I exactly know what I'm doing."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I appreciate you giving me some time," Nathan told him, giving his hand a squeeze. "It might be equal opportunity wrecking. But, not ruining this is important to me."

[not_every_mage]

Anders' smile grew. He couldn't even be annoyed by waiting for an answer when he knew Nathan cared for him.

"Its important to me, too," he said. "Too important to do anything we aren't both comfortable with."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"And no matter what, I'm probably gonna drag you out to the preserve more often than not," Nathan joked. "That's where I'm more comfortable."

[not_every_mage]

Anders chuckled. "I"m even willing to stay out there until the mosquitoes get bad," he said. "Bug bites are where I draw the line."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I'll protect you from the mosquitoes," Nathan promised with an amused grin on his face. "I'll let them bite me instead."

[not_every_mage]

"You'd itch for me?" Anders said, with a truly dopey smile on his face. "Awww. It's almost like you like me a little."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Maybe a little," he teased, laughing. "Or more than that."

[not_every_mage]

"Good thing I like you more than a little too, or you might feel silly about that," Anders offered.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Don't feel silly," Nathan told him, shaking his head. "I like you fine. Not a little but a lot."

[not_every_mage]

"I'd kind of figured that out," Anders said. "And I like you a lot too."

Just in case that wasn't painfully obvious.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I know you do," Nathan told him, leaning forward and giving Anders a light kiss. "Thank you."

[not_every_mage]

Anders pressed into the kiss, savoring it. "Thank you, too."