In normal lighting conditions, when Gabriel was not clinging to the edge of sanity and numbed by suppressants and trauma, Dr. Anderson was much more than the even, white teeth and the kind non-judgmental eyes Gabriel remembered from four years ago.
His face was a symphony of sculpted, masculine features. He had a jawline that could cut glass and a squared chin, both lightly shadowed with evening stubble. His cheekbones were high and prominent enough to create a slight hollow beneath them. In his day, Gabriel had been a sucker for cheekbones like that. The kind eyes were long and dark, tapering down slightly at the outer edge. There was a slight crease under each of them that added a note of approachability. One of Dr. Anderson’s thick black brows rose slightly higher than the other in a perfect little quirk, like he was laughing at himself.
This face needs a warning label. Gabriel wasn’t going to even look at his lips, because that would be weird and unprofessional. He looked. They were full and deep-set at the corners with a dreamy finger-width between the peaks of the upper lip. The whole of The Face was framed by that gorgeous haircut. The silky black layers were currently brushed back and away from his forehead, his laser-cut sideburns came to a point, and the cut tapered almost down to skin at the back of his neck.
Out of scrubs and lab coats and neon crocs and in a thin dark blue v-neck sweater that looked very cashmere-y, Dr. Anderson was just… quintessentially gorgeous. He was tall, over six feet, Gabriel estimated, and his broad shoulders tapered to a narrow waist. His perfectly draped dark trousers flowed lovingly over what a side-view suggested was a truly exceptional ass. Gabriel only let himself glance. Professionalism was out the window, but he could still try for decency.
The sleeves of Dr. Anderson’s sweater were pushed up to reveal his forearms, where golden-tan skin and the interplay of long muscles laid a trap for thirsty eyes. Gabriel suddenly remembered that one of those toned forearms had a little white cat scratch scar on it. How had he remembered the cat scratch and not the arm? Was that a vein standing out a little beneath the skin? Look at that wrist bone. Unnf. He blinked and made himself look back up at The Face, aiming for a benign spot where he could rest his eyes. The forehead. The forehead was safe.
Gabriel rested his eyes lightly on the center of that very nice but not especially seductive forehead and tried not to focus them completely, so he wouldn’t find anything else he wanted to stare fixedly at like a maniac. Then Dr. Anderson smiled so widely at him that Gabriel could see the points of his canines. There were the even white teeth (were the teeth evener and whiter now?) that Gabriel remembered, along with the appearance of an inviting set of crinkles at the corners of his eyes that helped temper the otherwise inhuman perfection of the man’s appearance.
Dr. Anderson gave him a little wave and Gabriel jumped slightly. Had he waved because Gabriel was staring at him for such a long time? Maybe he was used to people staring? Or had Gabriel’s leering assessment happened more quickly than it felt like so that it was just a normal hello wave? How much time had passed? Regardless, Gabriel gave a little wave back and then turned to shake the hand being offered to him by a board members at his end of the table. It was a relief to look away, honestly. It had been like staring into the sun. Once upon a time, Gabriel would have been naming their future babies in his head right now. Thank God he was past all that.
Victoria spoke again and Gabriel turned in her direction. She gestured towards the door. “Everyone, we have a little cake I’ve brought in to celebrate Mr. Cooper’s arrival, if you’d like to stay and enjoy a slice.”
Someone wheeled in a cart loaded with plates and some kind of exotic chocolate and edible-gold fantasy dessert that looked like the groom’s cake that Louis XIV would have ordered for himself. The note at the bottom of the order slip would have said “Extra Baroque” underlined twice and with two exclamation points. It was stunning. People clapped.
“Victoria! You baked!” called out a delighted female voice.
It was a joke, right? Gabriel looked down expecting to see Victoria sending out a friendly “Oh, you rascally bitch, we both know this came from a bakery, and you’re spilling the tea” glare at the woman who’d spoken. Instead he saw a humble smile and a dismissive brush of her hand. “I had some extra time last night. I just hope it tastes good, that’s all.”
Gabriel’s jaw dropped slightly. How was she possible? This woman was a total enigma. A beautiful, terrible riddle. Did he want to be her? Did he want to be with her? Did he just want to learn from her?
Victoria cut the first slice of cake, a perfect wedge, of course, and handed it to Gabriel on a little porcelain plate with a little silver dessert fork. There was a scrolled "A" stamped into the handle of the fork. Had she not only made the cake but supplied real plates and engraved forks?
Dr. Anderson strolled up next to his mother, rubbing his hands together in anticipation and grinning. “Mom? Cake?” She gave him some side-eye but handed him the next slice.
Dr. Anderson moved out of the way and and came to stand next to Gabriel who suddenly became very interested in his slice of cake which wasn’t a hard thing to be, because it looked amazing. Dr Anderson stood close, but not too close, and smiled tentatively down at him. For the first time ever, Gabriel picked up his scent. It was clean and bracing, like rain and ozone. It suited him. And it tickled Gabriel’s scent receptors a little. Gabriel automatically reached up to rub the bridge of his nose lightly and then quickly forced his hand back down and smiled self-consciously. Dr. Anderson smiled back again, and Gabriel almost thought he looked a little… nervous?
Gabriel suddenly realized that the poor guy was in an awkward position. If he did remember Gabriel, Dr. Anderson couldn’t be the first to acknowledge that he had once been a patient, especially not in a public space. If he didn’t remember him, Gabriel’s long stare had probably given him some sense that he was supposed to remember who Gabriel was. The only way out was through. Gabriel took a breath and held out a hand. “Dr. Anderson, I’ve been looking forward to seeing you again. I’m Gabriel. I was actually a claim-reversal patient of yours about four years ago. I’m sure you don’t remember.”
Dr. Anderson took his hand in a warm, firm grasp. “I remember. We talked about my cat.” He added a little squeeze and then released Gabriel’s hand. To his credit, Gabriel did not immediately look down at his own hand to see if it was luminescent and glittery after contact with an Immortal.
“Stoffel!” Gabriel remembered. It was a perfect name for a kitten. Stoffel wouldn't be a kitten anymore, though. She must be a full-fledged cat-badger by now.
“You remember her name! See, that’s why you earned my teeniest stitches ever.” Gabriel reached up reflexively and brushed his fingers over the perfectly smooth area where the claim bite had been. He smiled a little.
Alex smiled back again, dialing up the charm now that the awkwardness had passed. “Please call me Alex, by the way, we’re colleagues now! You seem to be doing beautifully, everyone has been really excited that you’re joining the team. And my mom seems to love you. She went hard on that cake.”
Gabriel made a naaah expression and brushed off the compliment. “Oh, thank you. I love her, too. I mean, she seems… miraculous. She practically whisked me into town on a magic carpet, delivered me straight into my dream apartment and the perfect job, and now I’m about to take a bite of cake that I assume is filled with a distillation of unicorn tears, so yes, at the moment, I am doing beautifully.” He took his first bite so he could stop babbling, and moaned a little. He covered his mouth with his fingers and spoke with his mouth full. “Oh my god. I was right. Filled with conflict-free diamond-encrusted distilled unicorn tears that are somehow also chocolate mousse.”
Dr. Anderson…Alex…laughed at him. “As long as they’re conflict-free! Listen, You’re doing so well that you’re coming back here to help other people who went through the same thing you experienced in the same place where you experienced it. And in order to do that, you put yourself through a hell of a wringer, because I gave a report at the meeting where they looked at your resumé. If anyone in this room is miraculous, I’d say it’s you. Although, yes, my mother is considered a minor goddess in some cultures.”
Gabriel decided to move the conversation into safe waters and address the point he’d actually been planning to talk to… Alex…about soon anyway. “Well, you and Dr. Caris can take some of the credit for the fact that I’m doing well these days. So, I’m actually pretty happy that we’ve run into each other tonight. I was planning to drop by the clinic soon to see everyone, and to thank you all again, and to give everyone my contact info. I think it’s going to be really important that our office and the clinic keep a wide open line of communication. Any given Omega could come to either office first, and may need to come to the other immediately after.”
Alex nodded enthusiastically. “You’re exactly right, and I was also hoping we–the offices–could work together closely. One of the biggest obstacles to my work since the clinic opened has been legal brick walls, both at the macro and the micro levels.” He shoveled a bite of cake into his mouth and then set down his plate, swallowing. “And, by the way, I accept exactly one thank you per patient post-treatment, and that one back there was yours. We were all so glad that we could help you. Teneisha still talks about you and your red curls sometimes. I think you might be the reason she was a redhead for six months a couple years ago."
Alex cocked his head and gave Gabriel a quizzical smile. "I can’t believe you thought I wouldn’t remember you–I remember all of my patients, some more vividly than others. And especially the ones who laugh at my cat stories.”
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