The Way You...
The Way You...
copyright 2010 comidacomida
Paul did not go home immediately. Pulling out onto the freeway, the young man headed north; it was still mid-afternoon so rush hour had yet to start. He made good time getting to his destination: a now-familiar turn-off in southern wine country that led to a gravel parking lot-- empty, as always. Paul parked the car and got out. He sighed deeply, trying to push the chaotic thoughts of the day from his mind; the Mein Hund Dogs would be leaving the United States in less than 48 hours; Mateo had been fired; Ray had been put on unpaid leave... he himself was on leave as well, albeit paid leave.
He took a seat on the grass, gazing out over the green hills. Ever since Tanner had brought him to the spot it always seemed to hold a special place in his mind as a comforting, balancing, centering place, and he'd come to treasure that. Time passed unnoticed as he worked to let his mind slowly come to terms with the dizzying events of the day. Ray was speaking with him again... Ray, the golden retriever that had come to his rescue while he was being attacked by Matthew, a guy who had been his friend. The off-balancing thoughts continued to stream through his consciousness, endlessly upsetting the path taken by whatever came previous.
Paul continued to wrestle with his thoughts as the sun started to dip below the horizon; it was only then that he realized how much time had passed. Gathering up his things, Paul slowly made his way back to the car. His thoughts were no clearer, but at least he had taken the opportunity to sort through some of them. He realized, however, that he still had many more thoughts to organize. Regardless, it was getting late, and he knew that he would have to get home eventually whether he worked the next day or not; he missed Tanner, and the dog's strange way of always being able to help calm his mind.
The ride home was prominent proof of just how long Paul had been at his thinking spot. When he had first heard the term 'rush hour', he'd always considered it to be literal-- that after one hour things would start to calm down. It was quite the unsettling experience when he found out that 'rush hour' actually meant three hours of gridlock. Somehow, as he had sat on the grass in his own little daze, Paul had managed to completely zone out through the entirety of the busiest part of the day for the freeway. He had driven there before rush hour, which had come and gone, and the roads were once again clear.
Despite the lack of congestion on the freeway, Paul headed home at a leisurely pace. He remained in the slow lane, passed countless times, sometimes by a rude driver leaning on the horn. That was another thing that astounded him about California: he was doing the speed limit but somehow people still got mad at him as they flew by doing ten or even twenty miles an hour faster than the posted speed. He sighed, taking an off-ramp two earlier than the one he needed; Paul had no problem with taking the longer route through the city.
Even though Paul had been in California for almost two years, there were things about it that still astounded him. Each stop light provided him an opportunity to quiet the thousands of thoughts in his head as he gazed this way and that. once, as he stared at a set of spotlight beams off in the distance, he even managed to earn himself an impatient honk from the driver behind him. Something about the situation seemed distant, and he didn't feel the embarrassment that he normally would have. By the time he turned onto the residential street leading to his condo, a strange sense of zen flowed over him. He pulled into the driveway and turned off the car.
Paul reached into his pocket for his cell; for a span of nearly ten seconds he was astounded that it hadn't rang even once during the afternoon... right up until the point where he realized that he'd turned it off after he left the office. He sighed, turning it back on, and checked his messages; he had three.
*MESSAGE ONE* "Mr. Miller, good evening." Paul recognized Eizenzahn's deep voice right away, and, somewhere in the back of his mind, he registered that the Dog's accent seemed more pronounced over the phone than in person, "I understand if you are not picking up your phone this afternoon but I felt compelled to leave you a message. As you know, I am returning to Deutschland tomorrow afternoon. It would be pleased if you would come and see us off." at that point, he must have handed the phone over to Pascal, who quickly relayed the flight information, and ended the call with, "See you tomorrow, garcon mignon." Paul pressed the save button on his phone; he'd have to wait until he had some paper. He pressed another button.
*MESSAGE TWO* "Dakota... it's Ray." the retriever's familiar voice spoke slowly; he was obviously tired, "Just checking in on you. I know you're worried about what happened today and I wanted to... well... like I said... just checking in on you. You're a good guy... a good friend." the dog sighed on the message, "I'll see ya 'round soon, 'kay?.... bye."
Paul let out a breath he'd been holding as a warm sensation spread through him. Despite the fact that both he and Ray were on leave, the retriever had thought to call in and check on him. Despite the setbacks, the uncertainties, and the month of uneasy association, Paul couldn't deny that it was all worth it; he liked Ray... more than he knew he'd be able to effectively relate. Paul glanced back to his phone and pressed another button.
*MESSAGE THREE* "Paul... it's Casey." the Dalmatian's voice had a soft whine to it, "I'm worried about you. I hope everything's okay." the Dog paused for a moment, "I called your place but Tanner said you weren't there. He asked why I was calling and... well... he deserved to know, ya know? I figure you were probably going to tell him yourself and everything but... well... uh..." Casey paused again.
"... call me when you get this, alright? I want to make sure you're okay. I'll check in at midnight if I don't hear from you... and...ummm... here's a lick for good luck." Paul pulled his ear away from the receiver at the sound the moist, fleshy sound on the message, "and you'd better not be committing suicide or something stupid like that... it'd really suck. You're better than that you know. Anyway... call me."
Paul sat in his car, the engine turned off, parked in the drive way of his condo. He put away his phone and gazed down at the clock on the dashboard: 11:18. It had been a long day, and a long evening. From his vantage, the young man could see that there was still a light on at his place; Tanner was no doubt waiting up. Paul hadn't called ahead, but he was pretty certain that Casey had taken care of that for him, so Tanner most likely knew that he'd be home late. Despite that, Paul didn't think that Tanner would stay awake for him-- the dog had classes early in the morning.
Taking a deep breath, Paul gathered up his tie, which he'd taken off hours previous and left unattended on the passenger's seat. Tossing it haphazardly over one shoulder, Paul exited the vehicle and closed the door, locking it with the remote on his key chain. The work day had been anything but normal, and he knew that he had quite a lot of explaining to do for Tanner's sake. As he walked up the steps to the front door of his condo, Paul couldn't help but feel strange at the sensations that flowed through him; in any other circumstance, being put on leave from work would have terrified him and left him with an overwhelming sense of failure... yet he could only feel the same thing he felt as the door opened up and he was met by the patient, calming smile of his beloved Dog: contentment.
"Hi." Tanner offered softly, stepping aside.
Paul entered with a nod, "Hi." he responded. Tanner closed the door behind him and turned, opening his arms. Without a second thought, Paul fell into his waiting embrace, "I--"
"had a bad day." Tanner finished for him, his paws closing around the human's back, pulling him into a comforting hug.
"Yea." Paul answered, nodding against his beloved Dog's neck.
"Casey called... told me what happened." Tanner offered.
"I know... he left me a voice mail." Paul acknowledged, his face still resting against the soft throat fur of his boyfriend.
"You alright?" the Dog inquired, softly rubbing Paul's back.
"Better... yea." the young man replied, letting out a sigh before adding, "...just been a really weird day."
Tanner slowly disengaged, holding Paul at arm's length as he smiled comfortingly, ears dipping ever-so-slightly in care and concern, "It's good to have you home, Paul." and he leaned forward, touching his nose to Paul's.
Paul smiled, "It's good to be home, Tanner." and he leaned closer, raising up on his toes to better be able to press his lips against the Dog's muzzle. Tanner's arms encircled him again and Paul lost track of how long he remained in his lover's embrace, how long his eyes remained closed, or how long he was lost in the ebb and flow of his calmed pulse, relaxing within the comforting aura of his boyfriend.
The quiet, loving moment ended unceremoniously, however, when his stomach growled fiercely. Tanner released Paul, a bemused expression on his muzzle, "Everything okay?"
"Uh... kind of skipped dinner." Paul admitted, blushing slightly. It was only then that his brain caught up to what his stomach had already realized; he was smelling food.
Tanner didn't miss the realization in Paul's eyes. "I wanted to wait for you." the Dog explained, and Paul heard an echoing of the sound his own stomach had made a moment before.
"Goober." Paul laughed, and Tanner joined in. The Dog held out a paw, and Paul took hold of it, their fingers entwining as they both made their way into the kitchen.
* * * * * *
Once dinner had come and gone the two remained in the kitchen dealing with the dishes. Although Paul had his moments of casual disregard when it came to cleaning up, Tanner was almost obsessed with having a clean kitchen every night. Although Tanner offered to handle things, Paul refused, and they worked together. Paul washed the dishes and Tanner dried them; they had the sink empty and the drain board full in no time.
"I can't believe it's after midnight." Paul sighed.
Tanner rested a paw on his shoulder, "You can't? I'm the one that has to be up in six hours." the dog grinned.
Paul sighed again, "Sorry... I didn't mean to keep you up."
"Yea, well I'm glad I did stay up." Tanner answered, stripping off his shirt as he made his way toward the hall. "Anyway..." he paused as a large yawn escaped him, muzzle opening wide, tongue curling at the gesture before it passed, and he continued, "I wouldn't have been able to sleep until I knew that you were okay."
Paul smiled, walking up behind Tanner, "I think getting a little time with you IS what helped me be okay." and he slid his arms around the Dog, folding his hands together across Tanner's sternum. "I'm just--" Paul began, but was interrupted when his cell rang. "Who would--" he paused, looking at the number, "oh... right." he sighed, and pressed a button, "Hi, Casey."
"Oh GOD, Paul..." the Dalmatian let out a deep breath on the other end of the phone, "What's going on? Is everything alright?"
"Everything's fine, Casey... I just needed some time to clear my head." Paul answered, winking at Tanner, who was looking at him, ears up. The Dog smirked and leaned forward, kissing him on the forehead.
"Okay... well... I'll see you tomorrow at the airport, right?" the Dalmatian inquired.
"Right. Tomorrow." Paul confirmed, "Gnight, Casey."
"Night, Paul." *click*
"Crazy Dog." Paul chuckled, putting his cell away.
"He has his moments." Tanner acknowledge, "Especially when he's worried about one of hi--" Tanner was cut off by the sound of his cell ringing.
"It's Casey." Paul offered.
Tanner pulled out his phone and glanced down at it, a smile spreading across his muzzle. He opened it up, "Hi, Casey." the Dog greeted, a fairly reasonable parrot of Paul's tone.
"Yes... he's right here." Tanner confirmed. Paul chuckled, moving to Tanner's back. As he embraced his boyfriend from behind, Paul couldn't help himself burying his face into the fur on Tanner's back and inhaling deeply. All the stress and worries of the day seemed to float away, replaced by the Dog's soft, musky scent. The calming effect was instantaneous.
"I'm gonna go now." Tanner stated matter-of-factly, "Go to sleep. Bye." and Paul heard the Dog hang up and turning off his phone. A second later, the human heard the distinct sound of the phone landing among a stack of papers on the counter.
Paul held Tanner even closer as he inhaled once again, letting the earthy odor envelop him, losing himself in the joyous feeling of having his boyfriend so close. When he finally opened his eyes he caught Tanner glancing back at him with with a bemused smirk. The Dog chuckled and Paul immediately buried his face back in the fur to hide the soft blush that had begun to creep over his cheeks in embarrassment. Tanner didn't say a word, but Paul could still feel his amused gaze.
"I just..." he blushed more, finally confessing, "I really like the way you smell."
Tanner slowly rotated around in Paul's grasp and looked down at him. Paul, still blushing, looked up at the Dog. Tanner's muzzle pulled back into a snarky grin, "That sounds like something I should be saying about you." he stated.
"Why? Do I smell good too?" Paul smirked, still blushing.
"It's just not normal to hear a human express interest over scents." Tanner responded, nuzzling the top of Paul's head, "And yea... you smell good too."
Paul laughed at that, "Not normal for a human, huh? So you're getting all racist on me now, are you?" he jokingly poked the Dog in his exposed, furry stomach.
"No... I'm just saying that I think I'm starting to rub off on you." Tanner spoke, then immediately paused, looking down at Paul, who did nothing but grin widely. The human watched as his boyfriend's eyes widened in abject horror at the realization of what just happened... but Paul benevolently cut the torture short and accepted the inadvertent opening.
"No... if you were rubbing off on me I think I'd feel it." and, to further drive the pun home, he gently patted Tanner's crotch through his jeans.
"Yea... I think you've recovered." Tanner sighed with mock indignation. Paul laughed, and returned to embracing the Dog.
The two gradually meandered their down the hall to the bedroom. Paul got out of his clothes while Tanner took a few minutes in the bathroom. The Dog came out, vigorously working his toothbrush around his muzzle as he went to check his alarm clock. Paul lay claim to the bathroom next, starting his own nightly ritual of brushing and flossing. Tanner joined him after a minute, washing off his tooth brush before putting it away. Paul shuddered.
"What?" Tanner asked.
Paul spit out his tooth paste into the sink, "I just can't get over the way you swallow your toothpaste... UGH."
"For the five thousandth time... Dog toothpaste is digestible... it's not like that chemical compound human stuff you use." Tanner countered.
"I know... I know... but it's just the principle of the thing." Paul washed his toothbrush.
"Well as far as I'm concerned, spitting out toothpaste is a horrible waste... so maybe I should be the one shuddering now and talking about principles." the Dog responded.
"Oh shut up." Paul responded with a laugh, setting his toothbrush down.
"Well, it's true." Tanner pressed the issue, resting his paws on Paul's shoulders as he slowly walked him out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, "Sometimes it's worthwhile to stop and spend a little time looking at things from someone else's point of view.
Paul nodded thoughtfully at the comment but, despite himself, he couldn't pass up the horrible thought coming to mind, "Tanner?" he inquired.
He immediately felt his boyfriend tense up behind him, "Yea?" the Dog asked hesitantly; he was getting very good at sensing impending puns.
"I spit... you swallow." the comment earned him a body slam onto the bed.
Paul laughed as he crawled under the covers, managing to block his face as Tanner half-heartedly swung a pillow at his head. He took hold of the Dog's arm and pulled him closer for a kiss, and Tanner finally relented. The two embraced, Paul beneath the blankets and Tanner atop them. "Coming?" Paul asked once their lips finally separated.
Tanner's tail began to wag against the mattress, "Not tonight... it's too late and I need some sleep."
"Turn about's fair play, huh?" Paul smiled, unbuttoning the front of Tanner's jeans.
"Don't like the taste of your own medicine?" Tanner grinned, undoing the back button and accepting Paul's help as he wriggled free of his pants. The Dog slid under the covers and Paul moved to share an embrace, and another kiss.
"I don't need any medicine other than you, ya know..." Paul noted, touching his nose to Tanner's, "You're the drug I'm addicted to, after all." he scooted closer, resting his chest against the Dog's, laying half atop Tanner as the Dog caressed his back with a paw.
"Even though I'm going to wake up tired, I'm glad that I stayed up... it wouldn't have been the same to go to bed without you, Paul." Tanner noted, resting his chin on the top of the human's head.
"Long day tomorrow?" Paul asked, drawing his fingers through his lover's chest fur.
"The usual... all the classes, plus dinner and a movie." Tanner answered.
"Dinner and a--" Paul paused, then laughed, "inviting me out on a date, are you?"
Tanner grinned playfully, "Well... there's this cute girl in my speech class who---OOF!" Tanner didn't get a chance to finish the sentence as Paul gave him a light elbow in the stomach, "Yes." the Dog laughed, "Figured it might help get your mind off things."
Paul laid his head back against Tanner's chest once the Dog settled back down, "Sounds like fun." he smiled, "When are you due back home?"
"Six." Tanner answered, "Figured we could do dinner then a movie... and Casey said that you were going to see those Mein Hund execs off over at SFO."
"Yeesh..." Paul rolled his eyes, "He did all my work for me, didn't he?"
"Huh?" Tanner asked.
"Just playing." Paul kissed the Dog's chest, "Sometimes I forget you two have a history... it just feels like sometimes you have your own personal assistant keeping you updated on all of the events in my day."
Tanner patted Paul on the back, "I could change my cell number if it'd help..."
Paul looked up at Tanner. Once the two made eye contact they both dissolved into laughter, sharing a moment of humor before coming back together, snuggled close in one another's arms. Paul rested his head against Tanner's chest again and Tanner lowered his chin down across Paul's head.
"I like the way you smell." Tanner spoke quietly.
"You stole my line." Paul deadpanned, but, despite himself, he grinned.
"Fine... then: 'I'm addicted to you.'." the Dog grinned as well.
"You're never going to get to sleep at this rate." Paul responded.
"At least I have you to keep me company." Tanner noted.
"Well if you keep this up I might go sleep on the couch." Paul countered.
"No you wouldn't... not when you have a nice comfy Tan Paw right here." the Dog smirked.
"Do you think I'm bluffing?" Paul asked.
"I KNOW you're bluffing." Tanner answered, tail beating softly against the mattress, "But, you know what? I fold; you win." he licked Paul's face.
Paul smirked, "You're such a 'card'."
"Punning again?" Tanner asked.
"Yes... I figure it might give you a 'hand' falling asleep." Paul confirmed.
"You're torturing me." the Dog explained.
"Consider it a pun-ishment."
"You're horrible." Tanner stated simply.
"I know." Paul acknowledged, yawning.
"Go to sleep, Paul." Tanner requested with mock indignation.
"Only if you go to sleep too." Paul countered.
Tanner yawned and slid his arms around the human, "I think we've reached an agreement."
"Only because you have to get up early." Paul closed his eyes, burying his face in his lover's chest.
"Saved by college..." Tanner yawned anew, pulling Paul up onto his body so he could embrace him fully, "I knew it was good for something."
Paul let out a deep breath, letting every event of the day disappear from his mind, releasing the stress and the frustration, accepting only the presence of the Dog, feeling only the joy of having his boyfriend so near, of being so completely addicted to Tanner in all the best ways possible. "Tanner?" he asked, his voice thick on his tongue, sleep already taking hold.
"Hmm?" the Dog inquired, just as bleary.
Paul took a deep breath through his nose, and let it out with a soft expression of joy, "mmm..." he smiled, hoping Tanner understood what he meant. The loving squeeze of the powerful, furred arms around him gave Paul complete confidence that Tanner most certainly did.