milliways_bar | (no subject)

And look.

There's a wereleopard.

Who Richard hasn't seen since he appeared in the bar.

Nathaniel's tries to stay out of the Ulfric's path, since the larger, much more powerful beast scares the cat.

But, Nathaniel is making headway on his steak and potatoes, ignoring the vegetables for the moment.

It's not like Richard has gone out of his way to really look for Nathaniel.

Most days he avoids all cats if he can. Bad memories with some and the effort to be not be snarly at others by just not being around them.

Though on a glance up he spots the wereleopard. He's just watching for the moment, wondering if Anita ever actually talked to him yet.

The fact Nathaniel is eating like he hasn't had much in the way of a meal in two weeks, and the sheer happy glow about him, could answer that question for Richard.

Or the fact that Nathaniel, once again, smells of Anita... under the smell of Asher.

Lavender eyes glance up when he feels a gaze on him, and he stops mid-chew, meets the chocolate eyes, and then looks back down at his plate, swallowing.

And it does as he notes it all.

His eyes dip to the paper, making a notation as his voice carries over, "I'm not going to bite or anything."

"I don't know that," Nathaniel replies, pushing about a potato. "You're bigger than me. You're far more powerful than me. I think I'd rather not test who would come out on top if you decided you really couldn't stand my presence, because I'm pretty sure it would be you."

There's the briefest thought of, 'Of course it would be me.' But he doesn't actually say it. Nathaniel is no where near as powerful as Richard. It's just kind of obvious who would win.

"Well you know it now, since I said it."

Nathaniel's quiet for a moment.

"I'm back living at home," he says. "Monday through Thursdays."

Richard's gaze goes back to watching Nathaniel, neutral in expression.

He's trying.

"What do you do Fridays through Sundays?"

"I'm with Asher."

Joint custody.

Nathaniel looks back at Richard.

"I need her; I need him. It was the compromise we came up with."

Richard nods, expression saying good for him. He's not sure he could honestly voice it though.

"So long as it works for everyone."

"We'll see how well it works."

Nathaniel takes a sip of his milk.

"I'm not her pomme de sang anymore."

"As well as everyone lets it?" Everyone, Anita.

"Changed to Asher's pomme?"

"As well as everyone lets it," Nathaniel says with a nod.

He tries not to smile too much, since he knows Richard isn't the sort who understands the joy in being someone's pomme. "Yes. He asked me when she sent me away and I accepted."

He doesn't understand the joy in it, but he knows Jason loves being Jean-Claude's pomme.

He gives a faint smile, "You look happy for the change."

Nathaniel tilts his head.

"Do I usually look unhappy?"

Richard's shoulder lifts a little, "I'm rarely around you to notice."

And when he is around there's the usual air of fear that kind of colored everything.

"I know."

Nathaniel's lips quirk into an odd smile.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were afraid of being around me."

There's a raised brow, one that asks if he really thinks that.

"We haven't had the best track record when in the same room," Richard murmurs. His fault, but still generally true.

"You want her to yourself. I just want her in my life. A conflict of interest I can understand," he says, not addressing the unspoken question in that lift of an eyebrow.

He hadn't completely expected an answer to the unspoken question.

Richard's shoulder raises a little, "I'm not the best at sharing in this respect. I'm working on it."

Slowly.

"You and Jason seem to have that in common at present."

There's little that goes on in their... social circle... that Nathaniel not made privy to.

Richard knows Jason and Nathaniel are good friends. So it oddly doesn't surprise him. "Yes and no, I didn't exactly have a choice to share. He agreed to it."

There's a small difference there. You aren't supposed to get snarly when it's your choice to share.

"Agreement just so he wouldn't be a hypocrite, I think," Nathaniel says. "She comes to bed smelling of you often enough, though, so I don't think you're exactly hurting for her company, and so long as you won't feed Anita, she will always need us."

Not that Nathaniel believes that's why Anita isn't monogamous. He knows Anita will never settle on one man for the rest of her life.

Edited 2009-09-30 22:11 (UTC)

Richard's brow raises a little, "Agreement all the same." Hypocrite or not, he should learn to live with the choices he decides to make.

There's a small smile at the thought of Anita though. He's happy they're spending more time together, getting along better. "Even if I fed her, she'd still need some of you." He's well aware of how often people can feed her without collapsing. He'll be sharing her whether he's feeding her or not.

"You'll never feed her, though," Nathaniel murmurs.