➹BEEPER

[intheblanks]

"It had better be an emergency."
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[intheblanks]

That's what birthdays tend to mean.

[In her case even twenty-eight doesn't quite encompass the reality, but as a small tribute to her human origins it doesn't seem unfair to underestimate. He stops at the door.]

Coming in or waiting?

[synanthrope]

Do you mind if I watch you get ready?

[It's not like she doesn't when he spends the night in her bed. She's fascinated by things like getting dressed, the ritual of it the regularity. She steps just inside the office.

The suits is in a black dress bag on the desk.]

[intheblanks]

Of course not. You can straighten my tie.

[Or rather, straighten it sooner. He shrugs out of his labcoat as he comes through the door, hanging it on a hook on the back before going over to unzip the bag.]

[synanthrope]

[It's a sleek, fashionable dove-gray suit that has been tailored to him - she knows his measurements well enough to do it without him trying it on. She sits on the desk, watching]

I wouldn't have to if you did it sooner.

[intheblanks]

We have varying ideas of straight.

[His being 'straight enough'. Saya sees things to a more precise fraction.

And he doesn't object.

Dove grey suits him in a way that solid black rarely does, not that he could put a finger on why. He touches the fabric, more because he knows she'll have been precise on that, too, and he has at least been raised to know when something is good.

He starts undressing at the tie he's been wearing today, a patterned affair she won't have approved.]

[synanthrope]

Yes, and mine is more accurate.

[She likes him in gray, it softens him, where black makes him look mournful. Saya has enough gray accents in her outfit to match him. The fabric is a fine wool - it doesn't itch or pucker - and just the right weight for the weather.

She takes his clothes when he undresses, not to destroy them, but to fold them, precisely. She always does that.]

[intheblanks]

[It's the reason he doesn't start to fold, himself. The first time it had felt like a commentary on his manners, now he takes it as commentary on hers.

stripped to the waist, he reaches for the new shirt.]

Are you going to explain the beach, or is my wondering part of it?

[synanthrope]

Isn't that what people do on birthdays?

[It's what people have always done for hers.]

[intheblanks]

Hit the beach in formalwear? Not really.

[synanthrope]

It's what I do.

[Well, that settles it.]

[intheblanks]

Birthday girl's choice. Now that part is traditional.

[He's dressed, save the jacket, and smoothing himself down as if she'd have given the thing to him with new-suit folds still in place.]

[synanthrope]

[She gets up and fixes his tie - of course - and while her hands are still there, she pulls him close and kisses him on the mouth. It's not common for her to show affection like this without sex following, it's not common for her kisses to mean nothing.]

Thank you.

[intheblanks]

[In the list of his favourite uses for a tie, that one places highly. He'd looked down while she was fixing it, though, and so he keeps her from pulling back too far after the kiss.]

Am I allowed to admire your heels early? Because I might be ahead of schedule.

[synanthrope]

You can. I got them today.

[She likes them, they're Brian Atwood, even though they're a little subdued for what she normally straps to her feet]

You can admire any part of me you like.

[Still close, she takes out a pair of tiny silver cufflinks from her purse and busies herself putting them on him]

[intheblanks]

[The line makes him grin, and he leans around to look over the contour of her calf with her feet kept practically en-pointe. If she weren't in the business of dressing him he'd try pulling one of her legs up to run his hand down it.

But, the effect won't be lost in the car.

He looks back to the detail work at his cuffs, and her focus on it.]

This is great. Perfect.

[synanthrope]

[The cuffs are delicate, intricate, by no spider to match one of her rings and a pin in her hair.]

Do you think so? I'm always looking for that.

[intheblanks]

[He notices the match, both the cufflinks and the colours. It's interesting that it's part of her design.

When she's done with the cuffs he lifts the jacket and slips it on, the lining gliding easily over his shirt, smooth enough to hang perfectly. He has a distinctive build, strong but slight, not tall, narrow at the waist. Most off the peg jackets make him look like a kid in his dad's gear. He stands still for her.]

Your verdict's the important one.

[synanthrope]

I knew this would settle well on you.

[She knows just how to tailor it, it make him look well built, not like a boy. She tugs just a bit, helping everything look right.]

The nurses will talk.

[intheblanks]

I'll tell them you came to pick up the rent.

[He offers a hand.]

[synanthrope]

[She takes his hand, hers tiny and hot but dry in his grip]

Is that a euphemism?

[intheblanks]

I think I'd come out of it badly if it was.

[synanthrope]

Well, that would be troublesome.

[The second they're out of his office, someone is staring. He looks really good in that suit.]

[intheblanks]

[And he's still a little blind to that reasoning but, so far as hospital gossip is concerned, he's learned to just keep walking.]

House would enjoy it. Is the car outside?

[synanthrope]

House enjoys pain in general.

Yes.

[intheblanks]

It makes him feel like people are on a level pegging.

[No it doesn't - House doesn't do equals (and Chase doesn't know it, but he's the closest there'll be)]