Closed | You offered me an eagle's wing

[pinprick]

WHO: Anders, Alistair, and Nathaniel
WHAT: A little good news
WHEN: Present
WHERE: Nathaniel's office in the Gallows
NOTES: Will update with any warnings, but it's unlikely to be a problem.

Nathaniel sounded a little strange on the crystals, asking Anders to come to his office. When Anders arrives, he is pacing restlessly, but he doesn't look unhappy. He doesn't look angry. As much as he schools himself not to, he looks excited.

He stops as Anders comes in, and he takes a deep breath as if to school himself.

"Anders.

Comments

[justice_is_blond]

He's... really not sure what's coming here. He trusts Nate. That doesn't stop the stirring of old fears. Anders puts his hands in his robe pockets, looking Nate over.

"That's me, last I checked. Unless it changed. In which case I hope someone would have told me."

[pinprick]

"Yes." No, wait. Did he just agree someone would have informed Anders if his name had changed? He considers, because in a few minutes, Anders will probably either be angry or happy or, maybe worst of them all, totally unperturbed. What if Anders doesn't care about this? What if he hates it? He's getting promoted either way. They actually could use him better in this position than in his current one. Alistair agrees, and since Nathaniel has recused himself in decisions regarding Anders, that means he gets to deliver good news and not feel bad about it. Hopefully.

"You...all right? We have to wait for Alistair, he's on his way."

There are clues. If it was going to be bad news, Nathaniel would be smiling every now and then. Now, his face is too carefully schooled.

[justice_is_blond]

At least they're both nervous? He's not certain how much of a comfort it is, but he forces himself to take a breath. If there was actual danger to him, Nate wouldn't be asking him to sit and stay put. Nate would be helping him get out.

"So you're not giving me an invitation to the annual meeting for people who are worried about what might be eating their partners' chins. I should find out the dates for that. I think yours has grown a little."

The smile he gives Nate is small. He's not used to Nate keeping a straight face, and he's not entirely good at being patient, but he's going to trust here.

[pinprick]

With that, Nathaniel finally permits himself to smile. And suddenly, he feels serene. He remembers that however Anders feels about this, they're together. He steps forward and wraps his arms around him.

"I would start extolling your virtues again, but Alistair will be here any minute and we'd have to deal with him gagging."

[justice_is_blond]

He leans into the embrace, relaxing a little more. This is okay. Whatever is going on will be okay.

"But it's funny when he does that." The words are a little muffled, spoken into Nate's chest, but he figures the meaning is audible enough. Liking Alistair means Alistair is the opposite of safe from friendly jokes about him.

Anders pulls back enough to look up at Nate and speak clearly. "Tell me whatever this is is okay?"

[pinprick]

Hearing that tone, looking into that face, Nathaniel stops knowing why he's trying to let Alistair deliver the news. So little of the news in Anders' life has ever been good, it feels wrong to let him wonder.

"You're being promoted," he says quietly. "And given some special responsibilities. Which is generally the point of promotion, of course, but...I'll let Alistair explain, but I promise you're not being kicked upstairs or anything."

[justice_is_blond]

He blinks, a little surprised, before an actual smile starts spreading over his face and he's leaning back against Nate. They do have faith in him to not fuck everything up again. It means more than he has words for - security, belonging, not always being the one over there that may only be kept along because he's with one of the leaders, hope - so he just lets his arms do the talking as he squeezes his husband.

[pinprick]

Thank the Maker Anders is happy about it. Nathaniel grins and squeezes back.

"Try to act surprised," he chuckles. "Between your Blight research, your healing, your understanding of what it's like to be a mage and a Warden, you're of more use in a higher position. And you won't have to scream at Kain anymore, you can just order him to stop touching enchanted dragon bones."

[justice_is_blond]

Anders snickers before straightening a little again.

"I'm not a good actor, love, but I'll try. And thank the Maker in regards to Kain," he says as he shakes his head. "There's touching, and then there's fondling. His dragon thing is a little much, and I say this as someone who might need more dragons killed."

His voice is lighter, though, and it's clear that he's no longer stressed as he takes a step back.

"I can't recall the last time I was called to an office and it wasn't bad news. Or something that made my life at the time a headache, but as we've no spirits walking around in corpses you weren't about to tell me I had to keep it in one piece the way Jonas did."

[pinprick]

"That's why I told you now. You've had enough bad office visits in your life. Although I don't want you to think this is nepotism, you really have earned it." He reaches up to cup his cheek. "Congratulations, darling. You'll do really well."

[justice_is_blond]

He leans into the touch, closing his eyes for a moment.

"It had to pass through Alistair too. Without gag sounds and smoochy faces. ...Or maybe with. But it had to pass through him too, which means I know this isn't you simply handing me this because you love me."

For so long he'd wanted some sort of confirmation that someone was listening and hearing him. He'd had it for a brief moment before, but then that had come toppling down when Iskandar departed. Now he has something that isn't as unstable as that, and the assurance that the Wardens here do stand by him, do trust him. It helps to drive much of the feeling of working in a void out, and makes it feel like he can breathe more easily.

[byblow]

"How is it," Alistair says from the door—where he's also stopping to cross his arms and lean against the frame, coolly, because he's a cool person—"that I'm the only person in this blighted organization who can keep a secret? No one thinks I can, but it's you. It's all of you. You're the problems. You can keep the secrets you want to keep all day long, but as soon as it's one you want to tell, there goes all your willpower. Bwloowp."

Bwloowp is a deep but bubbly sort of noise, and his approximation of the sound willpower makes when it goes plopping out of someone.

"This is absolutely nepotism," he adds to Anders, "because I love you."

[pinprick]

Nathaniel blushes, but he's not sorry. He switches to rubbing Anders' back to let him thank Alistair.

"I told him to act surprised," he offers.

[justice_is_blond]

Anders shoots a grin at Alistair.

"I am surprised. Dear Alistair, if only you'd told me sooner. But alas, it's too late for us and what we could have had. Much like Nate's willpower, it's all gone." He's not going to try to make the same noise. He'll botch it up and sound even more silly than Alistair at it, and he's already being silly.

"Besides, tell me honestly to my face that you want me to be good at being secretive and keeping things from people."

Sometimes he's too sensitive. And sometimes he sets himself up for things deliberately.

[byblow]

"Good point," Alistair says. "Senior Warden Detlef."

He doesn't move from the door. Because he's cool. Also because it would feel a bit like intruding, with the PDA, but the trick to surviving awkwardness is to keep talking, maybe even talking about how awkward it is, but never, ever flinch.

"Is there anything left for me to tell?"

[pinprick]

"I left the specific rank and duties to you," Nathaniel says, pronouncing the T in 'duties' clearly so there's no detour taken in the conversation. "Although the rank is fairly predictable. All he knows is he's being promoted and he'll be more useful in his new position than in the last one."

[justice_is_blond]

He steps away from Nate and takes a seat on the desk so that Alistair can come in the rest of the way, assuming that's why the guy's just hanging out in the doorway. Also it's more fun to sit on desks than chairs, really.

"If my duties involve being Detlef I'll have to let you down. I don't make a particularly convincing Fereldan when I carry around a cat and hate slogging through mires and marshes." His words are light. His gaze is focused on Alistair as he waits to find out how he's going to be more useful.

[byblow]

"Uh-huh," Alistair says, with unwarranted skepticism. He doesn't fully believe that Nathaniel left any details for him. Blabbermouth. But he isn't actually bothered, except for show, with good humor thinly marked by his cynical eyebrow thing. "Right. Well. We're making a Senior Warden, Anders. Now show me your surprised face."

[justice_is_blond]

He tries.

He really does try. Eyebrows go up, mouth goes a little round, eyes go a little wide, and it looks ridiculous before he's shrugging and his expression turns amused.

"So. Added duties. What would you like of me?"

[pinprick]

"Well, your Blight research is going to be important. Not to mention your understanding of what it's like to be a mage Warden, and the troubles mages can f--"

He clears his throat and rubs the back of his neck.

"Sorry, Alistair, I did say you could do this part."

[byblow]

"No, no, it's fine," Alistair says, already making a show of examining his fingernails. "I'll just stand here and look pretty."

But, fine—

"We need someone training the mages. Especially since you're more susceptible to Corypheus than the rest of us—they need to know the signs, and if there's anything in Thedas that can slow him down once he gets into your head, they need to know that too. We need someone who knows a bloody thing about healing to be overseeing those supplies and to have the authority to order people not to get out of bed if necessary, since you know us, asking nicely won't do it. And your taint thing. You're already doing it, just... do it with authority."

An awkward finish. But Alistair is awkward about authority, in general, so that's to be expected. And his tone evens out into something more serious, next, even though he's still smiling.

"And look: I like you, Anders, and Nathaniel obviously feels whatever disgusting thing he feels about you, and we know you aren't going to ball this up. But we aren't in a good position here, or anywhere. I don't care what you do out of uniform—out of uniform, I'll help you do it. But if the Wardens get any more controversial, we're going to get thrown out if—I don't know. Thedas. They'll put us in a boat with no oars. So it has to be separate. You understand?"

[justice_is_blond]

He nods along, giving a flash of a smile at being told he's liked and disgustingly felt for, nodding again at the end of it.

"I understand. It's not like Warden-ness has any bearing on my work for mages unless the Circles rise up again." And then he's going to be begging for the limited recruitment to end, because better to have to stay far away from Corypheus than be caged. "Incidentally, I'm wondering if..."

He hesitates, looking down for a moment. "I'm wondering if it's the demons that make the mages more susceptible." It's one of the first times he's alluded to Justice, Vengeance, as a demon, and it still feels a little like betrayal. "If that's the reason why they're being bound to demons, so Corypheus can use them like that. It doesn't seem to amplify their ability, and," he swallows, "Neither Warden Hawke was affected the way I was when we went to see Corypheus when he was trapped. Just me."