easier

tristan renner; 42. surgeon at chicago hospital. father to naoki.

[tristanrenner]

matthew--sullivan·:

“ My bad, of course. Innocent after work drinks. ” The thought that Nathan would most likely throw in a comment about Matthew himself being a piece of work too, and therefore fitting into this place really well, crossed his mind for a split second. He decided not to share the thought for multiple reasons, especially considering Tristan was the much more interesting person to be on his mind. “ Careful what the children tell you, I’d say. They haven’t got no clue what they’re talking about. After all mine’s called you the catfish. I don’t think I’ll find it annoying anytime soon. ” The way Tristan’s cheeks took on a slight rose tinge that was noticeable despite the dim lighting made Matthew make a mental note to continue with the compliments. Another sight he could see himself getting used to. “ You were 13 when you knew you wanted to be a doctor? And basically already saved a kid’s life? I think when I was 13 I still wanted to become Michael Knight in Knight Rider. Man, I used to love that show.. That’s impressive. As for me.. I guess I wanted to do photography because it was the last thing my dad wanted me to do.. ” He accentuated that statement with a laugh. “ That’s not entirely true, of course. There’s little a photograph can’t say, I think. Actually, there’s probably nothing a photograph can’t say. It lets you see differently, and it doesn’t just freeze a moment and show you something, it.. it creates something of its own and.. I got my first camera.. I must’ve been.. 16 at the time. I’ll always remember the first time I stepped into a darkroom. Nearly all of my film was botched. Not one sharp, well compositioned photo. Almost never touched a camera again then. But my.. – this was at school – ..my teacher said there was beauty to be found in imperfection. Complete pretentious bullshit. And most of the time, not actually true. They were still shit photos, didn’t change that. No photographer serious about their work would have looked at them and said there was beauty in them. But it did make me want to continue and look for and capture the beauty, so. I knew college wasn’t gonna be for me anyway and there were many stories left to tell out there. It all sounds a lot more glorified this way. I like cool places and cool people and wanted to take photos of them, is the short version. So I hope to have you in front of my lens eventually. ”

Tristan couldn’t help but let out a louder laugh. “Michael Knight was the man back then, so that’s fair enough.” The image of a thirteen years old Matthew idolising a young David Hasselhoff in Knight Rider was too cute. He almost forgot about the show’s existence until Matthew brought it up just then. It was charming, truthful and a reminder how close they were in age. He listened intently to what Matthew revealed about himself, soaking in the information and passion he showcased with a small smile as he slightly leaned back in his seat. He liked the way Matthew expressed himself, charismatic and real. Something you didn’t find a lot anymore these days. “Me? In front of your lens?” Tristan said with a laugh, almost getting a little coy at the suggestion to be in front of camera. Especially for someone who’s doing it professionally. Tristan noted that Matthew definitely knew how to flirt, so he returned the favour. “I think we could easily make that happen. Let me know,” he agreed then, looking into Matthew’s eyes a bit longer. “.. And thankfully you did continue. I think that’s beautiful. A lot of the time people get discouraged or stop trying when they think their work doesn’t fit the standard, so that’s a great trait to have. Especially when it comes to art, I feel like the possibilities are endless. You may have thought it’s shit, but someone else thought it’s beautiful and groundbreaking. I always envied people who were artistic and creative, because I never was,” he admitted with a laugh. “I owned my first camera when I was about 25 and I couldn’t for the life of it figure out how to work it.  I’m 42 and I still need my daughter’s help. Anyway, I can’t wait to see some of your work, as I’ve said a few times now already. See the pro in his natural habitat,” he half joked, grinning. "So got any more travels coming up soon?” Tristan has been wondering. After all, Matthew was in China for quite some.

[tristanrenner]

matthew--sullivan·:

“ Oh, I see how it is. So this is the place you go to get your men drunk before you take them home. ” There was a teasing glint in Matthew’s eyes as he fixed Tristan with a challenging look. “ Are we just skipping a step here? ” Not that he’d mind. But he liked the thought of this not being a simple head over heels lust encounter, instead actually getting to continue the intelligent conversations they’ve been having over text. He watched Tristan’s face closely as he ordered, trying to get used to actually seeing him talk and move. He thought he might already be used to the sight. “ I’m not a catfish either, no. Was that ever even up for debate? But yeah, as I was repeatedly trying not to look at the empty seat across from me here, I did consider it again. You being one. To be honest. So it is really good to finally see you.. But not just because of that.. Also because all the medical mumbo-jumbo definitely is gonna sound even sexier in person. So. What about travelling through Asia makes someone want to become a.. surgeon, is it? I’ve been wondering this. ”

Tristan had to let out a genuine laugh, even though he could tell Matthew was very much only teasing. “I was talking about innocent after work drinks,” he corrected, licking over his lips a little before he broke out into a smile. “Definitely not skipping any steps here,” he said, one or two inappropriate thoughts subconsciously crossing his mind as he did. The attraction was quite obviously there, but Tristan looked forward to getting to know Matthew on a different level tonight. Face to face, enjoying each other’s presence. “You say that now. It gets a little annoying after time. What my daughter tells me anyway,” he laughed, feeling how the blood rushed to his cheeks at the compliment. “I figured I wanted to be a doctor when I was 13, actually. A classmate was choking on a piece of a sandwich and I stepped in. Ever since then, I guess I kind of knew. So travelling through Asia didn’t have too much to with it, except maybe made me want to do it just a little more,” he admitted with a laugh. “My wish to become a surgeon didn’t come until way later.” Just then, the waiter came and poured the bottle. “What about you? Why photography? What made you get into it?”

[tristanrenner]

matthew--sullivan·:

Matthew waved off his apology with a sincere smile. “ Saving lives is a good excuse if I’ve ever heard one. Can’t say my job offers the same kind of opportunities. ” Tristan had an easy gracefulness when he spoke and Matthew felt himself already being a type of relaxed with him that he had rarely been with others on first dates. “ I’ll admit, I had a glass of their house red already. Which was okay, but nothing extraordinary. I can stay with it, though, unless you’d wanna share a bottle. The.. ” he reached across the table slightly, his eyes searching the drinks menu in front of Tristan for a moment before he pointed to an item on it. “.. this one I was told is good. Though in case you bring all your first dates here you might already have a chosen favorite, in which case I would trust you completely. ”

“Possibly not in the classical sense,” Tristan chimed in, holding eye contact as he does. Art saves lives too, he added mentally, smiling before turning his attention to the menu in his hand, reading through the various drinks. He had to let out a short laugh. “Oh, yes. Their red isn’t world-changing,” he agreed and smirked down at the menu in hand, still scanning. He put the menu down when Matthew reached across to see it himself and once again, he couldn’t help but glance at the other’s face for a brief moment. “That one sounds fantastic. Haven’t had that one before either. Let’s try it,” he announced, catching the waiter’s eye and nodding him over to their table. “I’ve actually not brought any first dates here,” And it’s true, he didn’t. Tristan couldn’t hide the smirk. “It’s usually the go to place for after drinks when we feel like them.” For some reason, he felt it was important to let Matthew know that. "Hello. We’ll have a bottle of your...,” Tristan began as the waiter came over, pointing to the wine on the menu, “oaked chardonnay, please.” Once the waiter took the order with a smile directed at the both of them and once again telling them ‘good choice’, Tristan turned his attention back to Matthew, putting the menu out of the way. “It’s. Really good to see you at last,” he paused, smirk in place again. “You’re not a catfish either.”

[tristanrenner]

matthew--sullivan·:

saturday, 7:13 pm, the casual-posh italian place

Here it was. The first date. Dreaded and anticipated. The moment it would become clear whether the past few months of texting had been a grossly miscalculated waste of time or at least a glorified lead-up to a quickie. Matthew’s been on many first dates and they usually ended with him sleeping with the guy and neither of them ever texting or calling again. The ones that did text after were usually the ones that Matthew went home with simply because of a lack of anything better to do and that he, in turn, ended up ghosting. A little sad, but the easiest way to end what never really began. Despite these experiences with first dates, he had this feeling that things with Tristan could be different, though he tried not getting his hopes up too much. At the end of the day, the text conversations never ended up mattering on the first date as much as they did in the moment and at times were even completely disregarded. Either way, Matthew was excited to finally meet Tristan as he sat in the booth the waiter had shown him to, flipping through his date’s photos one more time. He was more than just good looking and at least over text seemed to be able to hold a conversation, so it already couldn’t end up being entirely horrible. (Though Matthew was used to those kinds of surprises too.) Almost twenty minutes after their agreed meet up time had passed when Matthew started considering having been stood up a real possibility (it happens), but just then a new patron entered the moodily lit place. Matthew’s expression morphed into a mixture of his gameface smile and a genuine one almost immediately as his date scanned the room and pleasant recognition settled into his features once he spotted Matthew. Certainly even more dashing in person, the awkward moment of not knowing what the proper greeting etiquette is was now rapidly approaching him. Matthew got up and opted for the innocuous hug, accompanied by a quiet but delighted, “ Hey. ” His smile was even more genuine as they pulled apart again and Matthew couldn’t take his eyes off Tristan’s face for a good moment, before realising and shaking it off to sit back down, this time with Tristan opposite him. “ I was beginning to think I might have to break a leg if I want to see you tonight. But also thought it might be a bit of a commitment for a first date. ” Well. That almost qualified as an ice breaker. “ Uh.. I’m really glad you’re here. Hope everything went okay. ”

Of course. Of course he was running late. Tristan went to bed the night before thinking he’d get to enjoy a Saturday morning coffee in his kitchen at none earlier hour than at least 9, take it slow and somewhat prepare for the date. Instead, he got woken up by a call from the hospital at around 8 am. He had sat at the end of the bed, rubbing his eyes awake as he listened to one of the nurses. One of his patients was showing complications they weren’t the day before and Tristan was forced to go in and operate immediately. It wasn’t so much forced, as it was Tristan who had decided to come in as soon as he heard the news. However, he thought he’d make it in time. Distressed, Tristan looked at his watch as he crossed the hospital’s garage to get to his car. 7:03 pm. That was already 5 minutes past their agreed time. Great, Tristan thought as he unlocked the car. What a good first impression to make. Luckily for him the restaurant he had chosen wasn’t too far away from the hospital. Climbing into his car, he threw his backpack onto the passenger seat and didn’t waste time in starting the engine. Tristan has been on dates with men from Tinder before. A fair share of them, actually. However, Tristan couldn’t remember feeling this way about a date in a really long time. He usually knew what to expect because he knew where and how the night would end. Usually in bed and then never seeing and talking again. Or meeting again only to have a repetition of these events. And that was very okay for Tristan. In fact, he wanted it this way. He didn’t feel like telling these men about his life, let alone hear about theirs. Going to these kind of dates was usually something strictly physical for Tristan. However, Matthew was different from the get-go. He found himself opening up to Matthew in ways he hadn’t before and genuinely looked forward to texting the fellow Clarendon Hills resident every day. Matthew wasn’t only ridiculously good-looking, but he had wit and the more Tristan found out about him, the more he started to enjoy their conversations. He hoped that connection was still here once they met in person. Exactly ten minutes later, Tristan entered the moodily lit restaurant, scanning the room for his date, still a little stressed out. For all he knew, Matthew could’ve taken off and he’d be absolutely understanding of it. His face pleasantly lit up in recognition as he found Matthew still sitting at one of the tables, looking even better in person than he did on the photos he saw. Licking over his lips, he started making his way over to the table, not taking his eyes off Matthew once. There was a short moment of uncertainty, but it vanished as soon as he stood in front of the other. “Hey,” he responded with a chuckle as he reciprocated the hug. “I’m sorry for being late,” Tristan smiled right back at Matthew when they parted, staring a bit longer than needed as well before sitting down across from him. He really was.. one handsome man. Another chuckle escaped Tristan at Matthew’s witty line. So this is what his voice sounded like. “I’m really glad to see you didn’t actually go through with it and your leg is doing okay. Not like I would’ve minded patching you up, but this is definitely better,” he admitted with a smile. “I’m really glad you’re here too. I was half expecting not to find you here anymore," he said, glancing at Matthew for a bit longer again before snapping himself out of it, reaching for the menu. "Have you already decided on something to drink?”

[tristanrenner]

naoki--renner·:

“ I said leave me. Alone. Don’t fucking talk to me about her. ”

“We never did. It’s been over a year, and I feel like it’s time we do. This is the moment to say what you’ve been trying to tell me with your behaviour from the past couple months.”

[tristanrenner]

naoki--renner·:

“ Well, why don’t you just leave me alone then? There’s an idea. ”

“Because I’m your father and I want to know what’s happening in your life, spend time with you. I know you miss your mom, but this is isn’t easy for me either, Naoki. I miss her every single day.”

[tristanrenner]

naoki--renner·:

“ Pretty shit. Yes. Kind of what school looks like at the moment. ”  

“Right. Do they teach you in class to speak to your parents with a tone like that? I’m wondering because you’ve been doing it for months and truthfully, I’m getting tired of it.”

[tristanrenner]

naoki--renner·:

“ I have. They save the world, Black Widow dies, then Iron Man dies. Everyone’s happy. There, don’t have to watch it now. ”

“And suddenly I don’t feel like watching the movie anymore. Thanks for that. How was your day, Naoki? Had any online classes?”

[tristanrenner]

monday, 07:55 pm, renner’s house

“I was thinking we could watch a movie together. I heard they’re showing Avengers Endgame tonight and I still haven’t seen that one. What do you say? I’ll make us popcorn. ”

[tristanrenner]

matthew--sullivan·:

“ Well.. if the.. Pyram Chan or whatever guys are as bad as you say, then maybe I have to actually take you up on the offer. Too late for you to take it back now.  ”

“I wasn’t going to. Alright, my car’s parked just over there. My name’s Tristan, by the way.”

[tristanrenner]

If you had to choose, who here would you choose to hook up with?

“There’s simply too many people attending this college to truthfully answer that.”

[tristanrenner]

matthew--sullivan·:

“ Ha, if they’re the asshole society around here I’m surprised my brother isn’t part of them yet. And.. that’s very cool of you. Seriously. But. I can’t really just take your shirt. I don’t even go here. ”

“Your brother? That’s alright. Seriously. It’s a little too small for me anyway and I got it from a baseball game for free the other day. Take it and just bring it to my dorm tomorrow or whenever. Up to you.”

[tristanrenner]

matthew--sullivan·:

“ I, what? Me? Oh.. Yeah, no. Not really a fashion statement. I, uh, spilled something. I’m on my way to change, just thought this was the lesser evil. But thanks. ”

“You’re good. Not to be a creep, but I actually have a spare shirt in my car that you could have. So you don’t have to walk all the way over to the dorms like that. The Sigma Chi guys can be real assholes.”

[tristanrenner]

1988, saturday, 2:47 pm, on campus

“Excuse me, I think you’re wearing your shirt the wrong way around. Unless it’s a fashion statement which I’d  support 100%.”

[tristanrenner]

in 1 9 8 8

_tristan renner _ is aged _20_ and is majoring in _health studies_ .

-- Tristan knew he wanted to be be a doctor the day he saved his classmate’s life as said almost choked to death on a sandwich at age thirteen. It filled him in a way nothing else quite did. So when he grew older, that’s what Tristan always wanted to do. He’d spend hours away in the library to learn about the human body; its biology and chemistry, the ins and the outs. By the age he finished high school, he knew he wanted to later on enroll in med school to become a doctor. But before that, he needs to get a bachelor degree first, so why not choose the second best thing? He’s started his first year after spending a gap year abroad in Japan, where he spent his days getting to know the culture and falling in love with the country. He promised himself that after finishing med school, he’d go back to live there for a while and learn how to speak the language. He loves the vibe, the people, the food. Tristan is the person people turn to first to ask for advice when they feel like something’s wrong with them and Tristan is all too happy to give it. It comes naturally to him to explain what the cause of the symptoms may be, and you can bet he has a tip and trick up his sleeve to cure your annoying headache with a simple head massage. He’s a gentle and very empathic person, always taking everyone’s feelings into account before carrying on. His lecturer has told him too often that he has to stop getting so personally involved if he wants to become a good doctor. Tristan knows it’s true; he thinks with his heart. --

[tristanrenner]

naoki--renner·:

Naoki was reactive with her father. For some reason, every interaction they had had recently, she tried to be hurt or spiteful, even if it would make her feel bad afterwards. “ I am ”, she replied shortly, turning back around. “ But I’ll eat with friends. I’m just getting changed. ”

“You’ll eat with friends,” Tristan repeats for no reason other than to understand what his daughter was saying. He nodded shortly and stepped a slightly bit closer. “I made us some Yakisoba Udon. Can’t you meet your friends afterwards?”

[tristanrenner]

naoki--renner·:

Naoki threw her keys on the kitchen counter, once again disregarding the little key rack her dad had installed next to the front door. The table was set for two, a lovely smelling home-cooked meal in the middle – Yakisoba Udon, one of Naoki’s favourites. She very nearly rolled her eyes (they hadn’t eaten together in a long while and she wasn’t about to start doing it again) before they fell on her dad sat down on the sofa. “ Expecting someone for dinner? ” She asked sarcastically without waiting for an answer and already storming off towards her room. 

It was Thanksgiving. For once, he didn’t have to be at the hospital, as he was most of the years before. He had the time to actually cook, so he was sure to get all the ingredients he needed to prepare Yakisoba Udon, one of Naoki’s favourite dishes. "I was expecting you, actually,” he replied to her almost rhetorical question before getting up from the sofa, turning off the tv in the process. “Are you not hungry?” he asked in return whilst taking a step towards her.