xp_logs | [Paul, Nathan] Cat therapy and half-naked men (on TV!).

Nathan gets a little claustrophobic while Moira's sleeping and goes for a ~~stumble~~ walk. Delphine, who has more sense than he does right now, convinces him to come to Paul's room and sit down where he can be properly looked after.

Moira was napping and he really ought to be with her, Nathan knew, but he was getting tired of the bed. Made him feel like an invalid, and he wasn't. A little banged up, yes, and not quite right in the head, but definitely not an invalid.

Possibly a little claustrophobic though, Nathan reflected with a frown as he made his careful way down the hall, resting a hand against the wall beside him for support. His eyes were still playing tricks on him. But the room had just seemed... too small. Closing in on him. And as drowsy about fretting about it had made him, he had still managed to get up and leave the room.

Delphine trotted down the hall. Things had been so glum lately! Bella had been in a funk and Delphine had been bored witless. Papa was cross with her for running around with his cellphone and then burying it in the deep part of the sofa, but it had kept her busy for a while. Now she was bored again. Coming around the corner, she saw a familiar person. Bella-papa! Oh, hooray, she found Bella's papa! She must show Papa, that would make him pleased. She frisked up to Nate and, wrinkling her nose at his smell, rubbed her face against him to mark him properly. Mineminemine... she purred.

Nathan blinked down at the cat greeting him. "Hey," he said slowly. "Hello, Delphine..." The cat purred at him a moment longer and then turned and trotted away, glancing back over her shoulder at him as if to say 'Well, come along!' Nathan hesitated for a moment and then followed. "Not going to let me pet you?" he asked a bit wistfully. A purring cat on his lap might be a very nice thing right now...

Silly human. Delphine mewed and circled Nathan once, then started forward again, slowly. He seemed to get the idea and followed along behind her like a kitten. Really. He probably needed feeding too. Papa would feed him. Yes.

Very insistent little cat. Nathan followed her right to Paul's door, then hesitated again, even though it was open. "Paul?" he called a little uncertainly. "Delphine's wandering around in the hall making funny faces at me..."

Paul dropped the remote and took the short route to the door - over the back of the couch - and swung it open all the way. "Nate!" Paul stepped back and beckoned to Nathan to come in, not quite sure if he needed help keeping steady. "Come on in." Moira must be sleeping, Paule figured, and Nathan had gotten restless. Good thing Delphine found him.

"Hi," Nathan said, blinking at Paul and then looking down at Delphine, who trotted into the room and gave him an expectant look. "I don't think she liked me wandering around in the halls."

"Well, she's fussy that way." Paul put his hand on Nathan's shoulder, lightly. "Want to come in and watch the Olympics for a while, let Moira rest?"

"That'd be good," Nathan said after a moment, looking back at the other man. "She's really tired. Sleep is good for her."

"Yes, it is." Paul guided Nathan in, directing him toward the couch. "And if you're here, she doesn't have to worry about you. Are you hungry?" Paul had seen people in this kind of mind-ragged state and the best thing for it was to keep everything neutral and calm. Delphine hopped up on the couch and put her paws up on the back, supervising Nathan's trip over.

"No, I'm okay...." Paul's couch was nice, Nathan thought with a faint smile. Comfortable. "Wouldn't mind some water, though... so thirsty all the time the last couple of days..." Delphine peered down at him and he raised a hand to let her sniff at it. The television was on, and he blinked at it. "Oh. Swimming... the Olympics?"

"Mm, yes," Paul said appreciatively, heading for the fridge to get Nathan some water. "Wouldn't miss it for the world. The A, B, and C buttons on the remote are the three best stations for it, but C is in French and I don't think it would do you much good."

Delphine inspected Nathan's hand and then stepped onto his lap. She turned around carefully, trampling his thighs, and then laid down with her back to him, purring loudly. That was better. She'd just sit on Bella-papa and keep him where Papa could take care of him.

"I like the wetsuits," Nathan remarked after a moment, instinctively beginning to stroke the cat's back. "They're very interesting. Looks like a lot of self-expression going on there..."

"Yes, I like them too," Paul said, grinning impishly. He brought Nathan a full glass of ice water and put a carafe of water on the coffee table, slipping the Sunday paper under it to catch any condensation. "I'm all for self-expression." He flipped his hair out of his eyes, picked up his half-finished coffee, and settled down on the couch to watch too.

Nathan sipped at the water. Delphine rolled over in his lap, purring. "I forgot the Olympics were on," he murmured after a moment, watching the swimmers dive into the pool and begin to race. "Always liked the Winter Olympics a little better, but these are good, too..."

"I always liked watching these better," Paul confessed, propping his bare feet up on the coffee table. "But the winter teams party far, far better." His smile was more than a little nostalgic. "Especially the French."

Right. Paul had been an Olympian, hadn't he? "Always watched all of them," Nathan muttered, his eyes drifting back to the television. "Seemed so exciting. Had my sappy idealistic thing going too, I think..."

"Yeah, they sell the hype pretty well, don't they?" Paul agreed. "All that matters is your heart and your skill. All nations at peace for the duration. Real competition instead of conflict. I wish it were true."

"No? That's sad..." Nathan took another sip of his water, telling himself that dropping the glass on Delphine would not be appropriate. She would almost certainly object. "You're purring very loudly," he told her after a moment.

Delphine looked up at Nathan and wriggled, showing off her belly. "She's trying to make you better," Paul explained. "She's sure that if she snuggles people and purrs, they get better. After all, that's what happens, in her world. Anything else that one might do is irrelevant to her. She's the center of her own little universe."

"Bella was trying that, too. Well, not the purring... although she does a good impression of purring." Nathan rubbed Delphine's belly gently. "Think I heard her meowing at the door yesterday morning, too. Wish Moira had let her in... Bella's been awfully down."

"She's been in a horrid mood while you were gone, Delphine that is, though Bella was as well. In fact, most people were." Paul stretched languidly and then got up to pour himself some more coffee. "I consoled myself with the scenery," he said, gesturing toward the television.

"Mmm. Good plan." Nathan sipped at his water again, watching a swimmer who looked no older than his late teens caper around in the water in delight as he celebrated a gold medal. "He's very happy, isn't he?"

"Very." Paul came wandering back with his coffee and leaned on the couch behind Nathan. "There's nothing like that feeling."

Nathan tilted his head, looking up at Paul. "Thank you," he said suddenly, remembering that there were a number of people he needed to say that to.

"You're welcome," Paul said seriously. "Any time. I'm sorry we didn't manage to hang onto you as well, but it's all right now."

Nathan nodded. "All's well that ends well, I guess," he murmured, his eyes going back to the television. Now there was another whole set of swimmers lining up to go. "Little loopy still," he said finally, after a long moment. "Getting my feet back under me, though, I think..."

"How's your head other than loopy?" Paul frowned a little, looking down at him.

"Stuff's not... connecting quite right," Nathan answered after another long pause. "Charles says everything's still shifting around... settling. Charles also thinks I need to sleep every time I feel anything besides loopy." Nathan frowned a little. "Couldn't get the toothpaste cap off this morning, and next thing I know I'm napping on the bathroom floor..."

"That's no good." Paul came around and sat down next to Nathan. "Did you fall? Does anything hurt?" His very worried, now-intense frown was an uncharacteristic expression that, if overused, would probably lead to permanent creases in his smooth skin.

"At this point, I don't think I'd notice if I had a few more bruises," Nathan said a bit wryly. "Moira fussed, but..." He caught himself staring rather intently at the water in his glass. There were little bubbles in the icecube. Almost in a pattern... something tapped his hand lightly and he looked down to see Delphine staring up at him, patting him with her paw. "Yes?" he asked, a bit bewildered.

"You're dripping on her," Paul pointed out. "She could move, but that would be work. I don't know where she gets it from."

"Oh. Sorry, Delphine." Nathan switched the glass from one hand to the other, then brushed the water droplets from her fur. She withdrew her paw and re-commenced purring. "You're very forgiving," he told her. She purred.

"She's being tolerant because she knows you're not feeling well." Paul leaned over and petted his cat. "Otherwise that paw might have had some pointy bits on it. Then again," he smiled at Nathan, "she is rather taken with you. She might let you get away with it."

After a moment, Nathan smiled back. "Well, I'm rather taken with her," he said, reaching out with his free hand and stroking Delphine's head. She sniffed a bit suspiciously at the bandages around his wrist. "We'll get you your playmate back very soon," he promised, a bit impulsively. "She's sleeping on Moira's hair at the moment..."

"Well, I'll be grateful," Paul said lightly. "She hid my phone this morning when I had a call incoming, just to make me 'play'."

"Sneaky girl." Delphine purred and grabbed at his hands, digging her claws very delicately into the bandages. Nathan stopped, giving her a somewhat bleary stern look. "Don't do that."

Delphine batted her lashes and gave him a look that was pure, blue innocence. "Mew?" she asked, retracting her claws, but still holding on.

"You're a terrible cat," Paul said, attempting parental sternness in the face of feline manipulation.

On the television, another young swimmer climbed out of the pool and threw his arms around his coach, jumping up and down. Nathan glanced at them thoughfully. "I wonder if they ever fall in. These victory dances look a little fast and loose at times..."

"I'd be lying if I said my coach didn't end up in a snowbank once in a while. Accidentally, of course." The look he cast Nathan was so outrageously guileless, it made Delphine look like an amateur.

Nathan laughed suddenly, then looked surprised at himself. "Well, so long as it was all in fun," he said, a helpless smile tugging at his lips.

"Of course," Paul said, pleased to hear Nathan laugh. "You'd better be careful. The ones you're teaching only do it if they like you. You could find yourself in a world of odd places if the students around here decide to let you know that way."

"Maybe they'll start throwing me in the lake," Nathan said, giving it some thought. "There's a certain justice to that..." Delphine ducked her head against his hand, and he scratched absently at her ears. "There was a lake at Mistra's new home facility," he said a bit dimly. "Pretty one. We were up in the mountains..."

Paul relaxed into the couch cushions, listening to Nathan. "Sounds lovely. It always amazes me, the places people pick to do evil," he said soberly.

"Was only there for the day, so I wasn't outside..." Nathan frowned a little, staring down into his water glass again. "Don't even know where we were," he said with a sigh. "Didn't have security access yet before they sent me back out..."

"It'll get worked out." Paul reached out and put his hand on Nathan's shoulder, not wanting him to push for memories right now. "Don't worry about it right now. Get better."

Nathan didn't quite manage not to flinch. He mustered a faint smile, though, nodding. "You're probably right. I'm not supposed to be brooding..." There was the sound of a splash from the televison, and the announcer burst into laughter. "Didn't I say that was going to happen?" Nathan asked with a brief chuckle.

Paul took his hand away and glanced over at the coach floundering in the pool. "You'd think he'd be a better swimmer than that," he said dryly.

"Well," Nathan said after a moment. "They say those who can't, teach."