do you know why people call me hatter?

A Nice Ring To It || Hatfish

@davidhatter

Mu-yeol raised a hand to lightly wave at her and turned his personality on.

"I'm Mu-yeol Bae. His husband," he explained. "And I'm afraid the punctuality is partially my fault. I've never missed a flight or a train in my life. It's nice to meet you!"

He gestured to the truck.

"I came along to help with all of that."

#title: (a nice ring to it)#ch: (mu yeol bae)#(hatfish)

@baenxietydad

"Ooooohhh!" the woman beamed, turning her smile back and forth between the pair of them. "That's lovely of you to come help! I'd say I'm flattered that you're doing all this for a stranger, but, well I can guess who you're really here to help. I'll be out in a minute to help, too, just let me clear the path for us! It'll all just be going to the living room."

She disappeared back inside, though paused to prop the door open.

Hatter, meanwhile, remained standing there staring at the place the woman had been with his brows furrowed and appearing as though he was thinking very deeply about something.

A Nice Ring To It || Hatfish

@davidhatter

"Right, we don't get days off together that often," Mu-yeol said. Half-days usually, but not full days.

The sooner they finish this the sooner he could have the rest of the day to hangout with his husband, and knowing them do absolutely nothing, but together.

God, he loved doing nothing. He didn't realize how much he was constantly going between the hollow clinic and two human jobs until David convinced him to only work one job. The free time -- or rather nap time -- that unlocked was something.

#title: (a nice ring to it)#ch: (mu yeol bae)#(hatfish)

@baenxietydad

Hatter smiled quietly to himself, Mu-yeol's sentence just barely making it across the truck's cabin before the door shut behind him. Then he thought he was being rather silly, wasn't he? Smiling like that about Mu-yeol saying something as simple as wanting to spend time together, considering how long they had been together. Considering they were living together. Considering they were legally married and all. Good lord.

He cleared his throat and schooled his features to his neutral rest as he walked up the pathway to the front door to give it a few sturdy knocks of his knuckles. It didn't take more than a minute for someone to come open it.

A shorter woman, who probably stood a good foot under both himself and Mu-yeol, answered the door. She beamed up at them, wearing a pair of coveralls that had white streaks of paint on them and a bandana in her dark hair to keep it out of her face. He went to introduce them but the woman stepped out, already speaking.

"Hi!" the woman said. "Ohmygoodness, you're so early, I thought I had at least another half hour."

"Oh," he blinked then looked down at the watch on his wrist. "I thought Mrs. Sherman said nine?"

"Yes! Yes, but, psh, I didn't think you'd actually be on time," she smiled. Then waved a hand, "Anyway! Hi, I'm Jennifer. You must be Mr. Hatter. And this is...?"

She looked over to Mu-yeol, brows arched.

The Other Side Of The Counter || Crown

Why didn't Mr Hatter seem convinced, when Henry assured him that he would be able to keep up? And more worryingly, what could have changed between him offering Henry the job, and now, for Mr Hatter to have lost that faith?

Henry wanted to chew the problem over and work out what it was he'd said wrong, how he'd misdirected something or overplayed his hand, but there was no time for that now. He also knew he had to keep his hand seady as he weighed out the beans and then set down the bag so that it wasn't in their way anymore.

"So, what's next?" He asked, wanting them to keep getting on with the process in the hope that that might somehow ease the uncomfortable grating rasp of this entire conversation and make him able to breathe a little more easily.

@davidhatter

#title: (the other side of the counter)#ch: (henry westergard)#(crown)

@ifonlysomeoneloved-henry

"Now you'll get them in the grinder," he said. Which, aside from the kettle, was Hatter's most favored piece of equipment. Not because it was fancy or because he enjoyed the sound (it was could be rather annoying when trying to have a conversation and the person manning it had bad timing on when they fired it up), but because he used to not have an electric one who did it all by itself. Back when he'd first started all he'd had was a very slimmed down menu, a manual grinder, and arms that had gotten a work out every morning during prep.

Hatter did not say any of this aloud because– who cared? Honestly, comparing the ease of what they had today seemed rather pointless when the job was...well it wasn't like they were saving lives or anything, but it could be a bit stressful and confrontational. Always was, dealing with the members of the public.

"And after that– what'd drink did you decide on?" He pushed away from the counter he had been leaning against, walking a few steps further down the line to investigate the condition the machine had been left in.

A Nice Ring To It || Hatfish

@davidhatter

"The way you don't need GPS to find this random house," Mu-yeol muttered. "I'm a Google Maps ride or die."

He shook his head. Guess it came with living in Swynlake for fifty plus years, David's probably been everywhere there and in NTO.

Then, his mind was on something else.

"God, I hate moving. It's the worst. At least they're getting a bunch of free gently used stuff for it."

#title: (a nice ring to it)#ch: (mu yeol bae)#(hatfish)

@baenxietydad

Hatter didn't react to that comment the same way he refrained from ever reacting to any comment about people's reliance on technology. He wasn't sanctimonious about it, he used technology too (granted some of the stuff he had was a bit more dated and simple than the newer stuff), it was more that he feared for people using it to the point where they wouldn't know what to do without it.

For instance, it scared Hatter to think about Mu-yeol getting lost without whatever it was he was talking about. Knocking on the wrong door or something.

"Yes," he agreed with the last sentiment, unbuckling the seat belt. Though he had only ever done it once, he had been a helper in many moves around town. Or out of town, for his siblings and their various residency bouncing over the years.

"Best get this going so we can get going," he said, pushing his shoulder into the door as he opened it and stepped out of the truck.

The Other Side Of The Counter || Crown

"Ok, ok," Henry nodded, smiling slightly. In truth, he too preferred tea. Coffee was the sort of thing he drank out of necessity, or if he found himself somewhere in Europe where you could order a little espresso and laze about in the sun, where it felt much more like the appropriate vibe.

Taking that as his cue, he picked one of the measurements from the chart that sounded like something he might actually drink, and began to weigh out the appropriate amount of beans (which honestly was far more than he would have expected).

"Oh, I'm sure it'll be alright," Henry said cheerfully, not liking the pessimism that was radiating off the man in that moment. Had Henry misplayed something? Had he said the wrong thing and made Mr Hatter think that he couldn't handle it? The thought picked away at some scab deep inside him, setting his mind racing for what he could possibly have said that was wrong.

"I pick things up pretty quickly," Henry tried to assure him. After all, he'd learned all the damn coats of arms and mottos of every Order affiliated house in the country by the time he was 7, he could handle remembering some coffee recipes, couldn't he?

@davidhatter

#title: (the other side of the counter)#ch: (henry westergard)#(crown)#so sorry henry

@ifonlysomeoneloved-henry

Hatter watched the kid as he went, mostly oblivious to any inner turmoil that was going on. Since he had never spent time studying emotional reagents (like he probably should have, despite his chosen specialty) he didn't see anything amiss. Though, he knew in general that job interviews and trial runs were where anxiety and nerves tended to float to the surface. Even in the most confident of people, like this kid seemed to be. Hell, it made him nervous– and he was the one that was supposed to be the authoritative figure.

For some reason people tended to think he knew what he was doing.

(Almost as if he had owned and worked in the shoppe for over three decades now...hmm...imagine that...)

What gave it away was the little comments. The first one, he would have written off as just talking, a simple reaction to what had been said. It was the second one that had Hatter's eyes moving from what the kid was doing to glance at his face.

"Right," he said. Then tried to think of something else to say. Should probably be encouraging...er... "That will come in handy."

A Nice Ring To It || Hatfish

@davidhatter

"Oh, yeah, that's apparently a thing that can happen with medication. Which was news to me until I was like 'okay no, something's definitely wrong, more than usual' and asked about it." Mu-yeol said, like it was no big deal.

To him, it wasn't. He'd recognized the shift in his head, switched medications, was doing well on it, problem solved.

"It was more an inconvenience than anything, I just remember being really annoyed when I recognized it happening. Like 'not this shit again, don't piss me off.'" He explained. "I'm fine, you don't have to worry. I handled it, nothing like being inconvenienced to make you solve a problem."

#title: (a nice ring to it)#ch: (mu yeol bae)#(hatfish)

"...right," he said, not entirely reassured by that but knowing there was nothing he could do about it. If Mu-yeol was unbothered and had a handle on it, then that it was being taken care of. Still– he was always going to worry. It could have been something as simple as a paper cut, but it hardly mattered. Pain was pain, and Hatter didn't like to think about Mu-yeol being in pain or any amount of discomfort.

He turned down a residential street, entering a neighborhood, and took a few more turns before he was slowing the truck down significantly to squint out the window at the numbers on the houses. They came to a stop outside of one, Hatter putting it into park, having to give the gear shift some extra umph on that one since it tended to get stuck.

And if he wasn't sure about the address he'd been given was right, the pile of broken down moving boxes stacked next to the garage door was a bit of a give away.

New Friendship Level Unlocked || Natter

wilde-fun

For the record, Nick wasn't aware of the little ways he'd been slipping. Time and comfort, as well as being around others who knew the truth, meant that he'd gotten used to being less careful with his words than he had been for a long time. It was difficult enough being truthful at the best of times.

"No, I haven't been. I've barely touched the Southern Hemisphere at all yet, although I've heard a lot about it. My mother stayed there for awhile though and she liked it a lot. Got plenty of great stories."

For so small an island, it lived large in the imagination of a lot of people and its history was deep. Nick had read plenty of books, enough that it felt like he'd been there many times before. But he'd yet to travel there outside his mind. It was one of those places on his 'someday' list.

Even if he wasn't sure when 'someday' would be anymore.

"What about you? Thinking of traveling there now that the wedding is behind you?"

@davidhatter

#title: (new friendship level unlocked)#ch: (nick wilde)#(natter)

@wilde-fun

Hatter gave a little nod of acknowledgement. This made sense. He hoped the yet would come to fruition for the other man. Though, he might have been thinking the same thing as Nick in regards to when that might be since he had a child now and Morey was the (not so) newly elected mayor. It might prove hard to plan a holiday of any substantial time. He thought they would be able to figure it out– Nick was, admittedly, an intelligent person.

He took a drink of tea, needing the subtle comfort at the use of the word wedding. A reminder that Nick had been there that day. Both a good thing and a bad thing. Good because...community, or whatever. Bad because he had seen...everything.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. With Mu-yeol, there could come a day where he might deep dive into the likes of anything and come back up with a desire to go. And Hatter knew he would do whatever it took to make it happen, should he only ask. "As far as I know, Mr. Bae's travel plans mostly involve places in East Asia." And his plans were Hatter's plans. He tilted his head a little, "They're not as funny about Magic over there as they are here, are they? It would be alright to bring Avery?"

The kid would probably enjoy an island surrounded by water.

A Nice Ring To It || Hatfish

@davidhatter

Mu-yeol was used to Hatter not saying much, used to his one-word answers, so he didn't quite catch that he was having a crisis right now. And he didn't like silence so he was going to fill it somehow even if he was doing it by himself.

"And not soon enough," Mu-yeol continued. "The stress from worrying about my immigration status and also wedding planning apparently made my previous anti-depressant stop working with my brain chemistry. Got real weird in here--" he taps his head "--for a minute there. But this new one's been fine so far. Which is good, I really didn't want to have to try different ones."

He sighed.

"I miss my old personality and anxiety-free brain sometimes. Like what's it like not automatically imaging the worst-case scenario at all times? Wish I knew. But because I always expect the worst, when something is only level 3 bad I'm like 'oh, I can work with this!'"

#title: (a nice ring to it)#ch: (mu yeol bae)#(hatfish)

@baenxietydad

"What?" he blurted upon hearing that, daring to take his eyes off the road for a moment to look at Mu-yeol, as if to check that he was alright. Even though he was and what he spoke of was a problem of the past. Still– Hatter had no idea that was even possible for a brain to do.

He relaxed back into his seat as he continued to listen, shifting with the tone. It was always an insight when he spoke about things like this, things that Hatter had previously been rather uninformed about save for Martha's textbooks he'd read when she had taken a class in uni, or when any of the workers in the shoppe would joke about it among one another. Which he often found odd, but Mu-yeol did it all the time, too. So it seemed Hatter was the odd one out.

Here, he said nothing, since it did not seem like Mu-yeol had shared this for any other reason than to say it. Not for advice, or for Hatter's opinion on the matter, but to be able to speak his mind– something Hatter would always provide for him.

The Other Side Of The Counter || Crown

"Oh, ok, ok," Henry laughed it off - more than a little relieved because he did not want to be rushing around back here like some kind of madman all in the name of making a bit of extra money! But he tried to play it off as a bit bashful, humble perhaps, someone who wasn't afraid of laughing at himself.

That was the kind of guy you wanted on your team, right?

"No worries, I was just thinking that was a bit intense. But uh, right, so- focusing on this for now," Henry said, clasping his hands together and point, "So we weigh out the amount specified for whatever we're making, right?"

That much seemed obvious and straight-forward.

@davidhatter

#title: (the other side of the counter)#ch: (henry westergard)#(crown)

@ifonlysomeoneloved-henry

"Yes. If you have a preference, you can make that since there's no one else here to drink it," he said. Hatter did not drink coffee for pleasure, it only ever passed his lips for tasting and testing purposes. Tea had always been his preferred cup.

He settled a hip against the counter he was closest to, crossing his arms over his middle in a position of rest.

"I do have to warn you, though. It can be a bit intense. It's a large menu that'll change every so often. It's a lot to learn and to keep up with. And when it can be a lot when you've got a long line of people who're all grumpy because it's early and they didn't budget enough time for themselves, so they're looking to blame someone else for why they're running late," Hatter explained. "It's not for everyone, and if you find that to be the case than I'd rather you not run yourself into the ground over it. But, if you don't mind it then you'll get a handle on it in time."

New Friendship Level Unlocked || Natter

wilde-fun

It was rare for Nick to be allowed back into Hatter's inner sanctum, although he felt a little bit smugly pleased every time it happened. Who would have thought back in those early days where their whole dynamic was built on Nick annoying Hatter that they would end up here, right?

Amazing the things that happened when you lived in one place for years instead of merely months.

Coffee in hand, he settled back in one of the chairs by the desk as he looked down at the book in question. One that he'd read of course. At this point, he was a bit of a connoisseur of these - although this one was a little different than the usual.

"Have you ever watched Kareem play? It's a thing of beauty. There's a reason he's still remembered as one of the greats." Nick had only seen him play live once, but it had been worth it to make the trip. Long lived as he was, there wasn't always time to see the legends, or it was easy to realize he'd passed them by only afterward.

"But it's a surprisingly well researched book. If I'm not careful, I can slip in the Trinidad portions."

@davidhatter

#title: (new friendship level unlocked)#ch: (nick wilde)#(natter)

@wilde-fun

Hatter gave Nick a look at the question, one that was supposed to communicate, Do I look like I watch basketball? Or any sport for that matter (sans when Mu-yeol was watching baseball or football, but it wasn't like Hatter was ever really paying attention to anything other than Mu-yeol's comments on the matches), let alone the American leagues.

This look also helped to keep him from telegraphing any of the curiosity that emerged from the comments. The way they were being phrased– they were add to the growing collection Hatter had been keeping from Nick Wilde. It wasn't being done with the intention of doing anything with them, as he was not the sort to go giving other people's business to anyone who would listen. Just as he wasn't the kind of person to hold something over another person's head.

It was for his own records. And, in more recent conversations, he was beginning to wonder if Nick was doing it on purpose. It also made him wonder if Nick would continue lessening the subtly upon them, trying to dumb it down for Hatter. Which would be appreciated, of course, since he wasn't a particularly smart individual. But, if that were the case, then Hatter had began to think he would hold out until Nick's frustration had him speaking it plainly. (Though this would be difficult if Nick had more patience than Hatter had time. Which seemed likely.)

"Really? That's good to know," he said with a tilt of his head, acknowledging. "Have you ever been?"

A Nice Ring To It || Hatfish

@davidhatter

Mu-yeol shifted in the seat, never able to stay comfortable in a car.

"But fortunately you read. Because books and making you try Korean food was my in to get you to talk to me in the first place," Mu-yeol joked. "Nick says I won on hard mode, because he and his partner met on a dating app, but you gave me zero hints until I just said 'I'm going for it.' Worked out though, clearly--" he flashed his ring at Hatter "-- oh, and we should get the wedding photos back soon. So we'll be able to include some in the visa application as evidence we're married for real."

He clicked his tongue.

"I've also got letters of support from all of your siblings -- yes, even Anna, hers was actually really nice. Sam's was beautiful of course, it read like a love letter addressed to the government. And I'm waiting on three more people to send them to me so I can send them to the lawyer." Mu-yeol shifted positions again. "And by May we should have no more 'prove my husband is my husband and we love each other' paperwork."

#title: (a nice ring to it)#ch: (mu yeol bae)#(hatfish)

@baenxietydad

Hatter blinked but kept his eyes on the road in front of him. It shouldn't have startled him as much as it did anytime Mu-yeol mentioned talking about him to other people. Even if it was someone like Nick Wilde, who Hatter had somehow become friends with. It also shouldn't make him uncomfortable to think that someone knew something about him and he hadn't been the one who said it– because Mu-yeol had said it, and it wouldn't have been a lie or an exaggeration made for the fun of it.

Although he didn't really understand what hard mode meant. As far as he could remember Hatter had fallen all too easily.

He was not at all surprised to hear Anna had sent in a letter of her own, but he knew it was because of their relationship to one another. Hatter knew his sister– as difficult as she liked to be, she wasn't cruel.

It was good to hear that the particular heavy worry that had once plagued the flat from the paperwork and impending doom would soon be lifted. And in time for a month in which Mu-yeol would already be struggling with something that deserved more of his attention than some superfluous governmental nonsense. He started to smile only be clocked in the head by the use of the word husband again. Which was ridiculous. Why that word was having such an affect when Hatter put no merit to marriage was hypocritical, wasn't it?

"Good," he said. It was all he could think to say.

A Nice Ring To It || Hatfish

@davidhatter

"November 14th, London night 2." Mu-yeol said. "I'm so jealous that the Americans get Gigi Perez and Annabelle Dinda as the openers and mainland Europe gets Mon Rovîa."

Which, none of those names mean anything to Hatter, but that's okay, that's where he just nods.

“And if everything goes well with being able to afford going to Korea in September, I’ll get to see Won-shik three times this year— wedding, Chuseok (maybe, if we go), and he’s going to fly to London for Noah Kahan. Nobody ever comes to Korea because it’s such a small country and the local music market is already super competitive for venues. Best bet is to hope for like a Japan show and see if you can find a budget airline ticket. Maybe Singapore, Jakarta, or Kuala Lumpur if it’s a huge pop act.”

He sighed.

“Anyway, Won-shik isn’t much of a reader but at least we can talk about music together.”

#title: (a nice ring to it)#ch: (mu yeol bae)#(hatfish)

@baenxietydad

For the record, Hatter did just nod along, since he did not know the people those names belonged to. As well as the rest of what was being said since he couldn't really relate to any of this, his days of being a concert attendee long behind him (unless he was requested to by the other man sitting in the cabin). Especially to think he liked anyone's music enough to want to see them live and commit to going to see them in a whole other country.

But he admired the passion others had for those creating and sharing their art in the world.

And it brought people together, like Mu-yeol and his brother. He pressed the date into his memory, hoping it would stick over the next few months.

The Other Side Of The Counter || Crown

Henry didn't often meet people who couldn't carry a conversation. He was used to dealing with the sons and daughters of the wealthy, the kind of people who'd given their kids the best upbringings and made sure they knew how to charm in at least three languages before the time they even hit their prestigious private high schools. Those people made it easy, and yet this guy.

Yikes.

It was like pulling teeth!

"Ok," Henry put the bag down on the counter next to the scales - something he hadn't actually seen since the days when Cook would let him hunker down in the kitchen in the school holidays, and he rapidly turned his attention to the chart that he was being offered. No sense dwelling on that.

"So you do every cup of coffee completely from scratch?" Henry asked, a little amazed. The service here must take forever, at that rate!

@davidhatter

#title: (the other side of the counter)#ch: (henry westergard)#(crown)

@ifonlysomeoneloved-henry

That actually managed to draw a curt chuckle out of Hatter. Mostly for the tone the kid had taken when he'd said it, like it was unbelievable. Because...well...it was a rather bad business model. People already loved to tell him how they were displeased with the wait time on their orders, even when they'd been told it would take a bit or they had gotten a rather large array of things that would take a while to put together and be done right rather than rushed.

Of course, he ignored them most of the time, but he didn't want to give those people the evidence they needed to complain. Nor did he want the everyone else to be put off.

"No, no. We'll get to the batch brewer eventually," he explained. Maybe people would have thought it a bit backwards, but in Hatter's opinion the batch brewer had less to learn than the espresso machine but the espresso went through all the little steps that led to the final product. He always thought it made sense to learn those steps and then apply them elsewhere.

Of course, everyone was different. But he'd find out if this method would work here or not. And if not, they'd try something else.

A Nice Ring To It || Hatfish

@davidhatter

"I would've made the kid go if I wasn't off work, you can't unload all that by yourself," Mu-yeol said.

He would do it, somehow, but he shouldn't. And besides, he got to bother David all day, he can't pass that up.

"It also gives me the chance to force you to listen to Kacey Musgraves. I'm so jealous of you, you're experiencing her for the first time." He said, sighing dramatically. "I'm so mad at myself for not going to see the Deeper Well Tour when she came to London. I so could've afforded it too. That's fine, next album."

He held up his hands.

"I'm just glad Veronica --" Sam's wife and David's sister-in-law, and well he supposed sort of his too now. "--won the Noah Kahan ticket war for me. I had all of your siblings and Veronica and Lucas on their phones in the queue along with me. That was a stressful day in the group chat. But it was that serious to get my husband's entire family involved.“

#title: (a nice ring to it)#ch: (mu yeol bae)#(hatfish)

@baenxietydad

He made a face at the road, brows slightly furrowed, at the implications of that. Hatter knew he was old, but he didn't think he should be put out to pasture quite yet. Nor did he think it entirely fair to have made Nemo tag along had he not wanted to– the last thing Hatter wanted to do was make him have chores when he already had enough on his plate. It seemed like finding a job was a job these days.

His mind was busy trying to parse apart which musical was which by names alone. He had heard Mu-yeol speak of them before and was generally pretty good with names, but without a bit of context it was always difficult to know who they were or what sort of music they played. Especially since Mu-yeol's tastes varied. One day it could be a slow, quiet sort of melody and the next there was the faster paced, noise compacted songs Hatter could hardly keep up with sometimes.

Then the words husband's entire family snagged and Hatter found his fingers gripping the steering wheel a little tighter– his wedding band pressing into to the flesh of the finger it resided upon. He was still getting used to it being there, having not worn jewelry a day in his life. It was uncomfortable merely...new and present.

"That's nice," he managed to say after what was probably a few seconds too long. Hatter cleared his throat at the sound of his voice and did not allow himself to glance sideways at the passenger seat. "When's that?"

New Friendship Level Unlocked || Natter

#title: (new friendship level unlocked)#ch: (nick wilde)#(natter)#yeah im keeping them on the holmes train

@wilde-fun

The office of David Hatter was about as one might expect it to be, looking at the man. A bit outdated, especially given the absolute dinosaur of a PC and monitor that still somehow ran despite contending with all the modern updates to the devices that communicated with it, a bit dull, but comfortable and cozy all the same. Anything that popped in color of eccentricity was there because it had been gifted, mostly by Alice (her post cards and art he had framed) or past employees or his nieces and nephew.

There was a large rug that matched nothing, a pair of mismatched chairs on one side of the massive dark stained wooden desk, and the office chair that he had been using for far too long but didn't think it needed replacing– it still mostly rolled around and only started hurting his back when he'd sat in it for a few hours, which was a good indicator that he needed to get up. So it worked perfectly.

And, like anywhere he spent significant amounts of time, there was a stack of books.

One of which was fairly new, having been picked up and read for the discussion he was having with Nick about over a cup of coffee (in Nick's hand) and tea (in Hatter's.)

"Honestly, I think the best part about it was finding out the author played basketball professionally," he snorted, tapping the front cover of Mycroft Holmes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

A Nice Ring To It || Hatfish