coopdetat | it's a beautiful day for a neighbor

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loc: cooper res

it's a beautiful day for a neighbor

It's been one hell of a Saturday, and it's not even noon yet.

He'd been woken up nearly at the crack of dawn by a petite pair of hands--quickly followed by a larger, stronger pair--in bed this morning and the past couple hours had consisted of the kind of vigorous activity Coop can't get out of playing basketball or going to the gym. He'd met the married couple, Sophie and Luka, during his time abroad in France nearly six years ago and when he'd decided to return to Siren Cove, he'd invited them to visit anytime. They'd accepted his offer and every third week in July, Coop takes a few days off from work--aside from emergency calls, of course--to spend some quality time with his friends.

He waves goodbye to them now with the promise of seeing them again next year as their cab pulls off the curb in front of his house. He waves until the car turns a corner and then he drops his arm to his side, rolling his neck and shoulders with a satisfied sigh and smile before offering a wave to a small group of people who pass. It takes him a moment to understand why he's getting stares as they walk by until he looks down and remembers he's not wearing much in the way of any actual clothing, save for the pair of itty bitty briefs that are really just a courtesy anyway.

He gives the group a salute, holding back a laugh at the way a couple of them trip over their own feet before they correct themselves in a hurry, and shifts his attention to the next person who approaches with a bright grin.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?"

[OOC: Be a neighbor, be coming over for a visit, or just be passing by!]

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The second he arrives with Balto's carrier under one arm, Joel realizes he should have called first. Not only is he interrupting his vet's apparently very busy -- and very naked -- Saturday morning, he's assuming an awful lot, just bringing his cat here, but she's not eating and he's almost entirely convinced it's because she's mad at him for having moved her out of the apartment, but he needs to be sure. And he really should have called first.

His gaze immediately goes up, looking at something over the top of Coop's head just so he doesn't have to look at the other man in his briefs before he clears his throat. In her carrier, Balto lets out a warning sort of growl, and Joel knows she's pissed.

"It's a good," he agrees, wondering why he hadn't called first. It seems to logical now. "Uh... a good day, I mean."

Coop's expression brightens, if such a thing is even possible, when he sees Joel approaching, and he kneels down on one knee when he notices the carrier. "Is that Balto? Hello, beautiful, look at you!"

He glances up before rising back to his feet and crossing his arms over his chest. "A better day now that my favorite bookshop owner's here," he teases and the step closer he takes isn't quite invasive of Joel's space but also just invasive enough. He's always taken a very obvious pleasure in making him squirm, but Joel has always made it so easy.

"Please tell me that the fact you've brought Balto along with you is coincidental because my bed is freshly empty."

Joel clears his throat again and he wants to step back, but he knows that only encourages Coop, so he stands where he is, shifting Balto's carrier in his hand. As soon as she sees Coop she begins to purr deep in her throat and he scowls down at her through the top of her carrier. "Traitor," he mutters down at her, though she's clearly ignored him, instead rubbing herself against the door to try and get to Coop.

"Um, I just..." He pauses and swallows, realizing the implication of what Coop has just said and his cheeks flush deeply as he looks everywhere else. Given everything he and Spencer have been getting up to lately, he feels like maybe he shouldn't be quite so embarrassed by the attention anymore, but it still causes him to turn red and stammer. "No, I... she's not eating. I think she's mad at me because... I... we moved. But maybe it's something more serious."

He frowns at himself, then says, "I'm sorry. I should have called and made an appointment."

It's a concern that Balto has stopped eating, though he doesn't let that show on his face because worrying his clients more than they already always are has never been how he likes to go about doing things. He nods toward his house, turning to head for the front door before arching an eyebrow at Joel over his shoulder, taking silently gleeful delight in the blush and stammer.

"You moved? Out of the bookstore?" He turns again so he's walking backwards, holding his arms out in a questioning manner as he backs up the driveway. "You're not shutting down the place, are you? Because there's no hotter suppliers I can go to for my more specific needs, just for the record. And hey, don't worry, you're not the only person who's ever just shown up, believe it or not. For you and Balto, my door's always open."

He reaches the door and doesn't break his gaze, almost challenging the other man to look away first as his lips curve into a smirk. "Always open."

Internally, he tries to remind himself that he's a nearly thirty-year-old man with a moderately successful business and an incredible boyfriend who loves him. He's an adult. He can function under this sort of talk and he opens his mouth to try and respond, but the only sound that comes out is a choked off sort of gasp when Coop refers to him as hot and tell him that his door is always open. He likes Coop, he really does, but sometimes he's not entirely sure why. Joel has never been the type of person who finds this sort of attention enjoyable. It doesn't make him feel more appealing, it only serves to make him very aware of his own awkward state and then compounds it, making it even worse. But he's good with Balto and he's always been kind.

He closes his mouth, clears his throat, and tries again. "The store is fine, it's- I didn't... it's still open. I just- I moved out of the apartment. I... we... I moved in with Spencer. Waters. The librarian." That's not what he'd meant to say and he sighs, then looks up and meets Coop's gaze, forcing himself to hold it. "My boyfriend."

He'd heard rumors about the pair, ones that had started up sometime around the time he'd read something about a lighthouse but all of that had been buried by the news of what had happened to Corrine Flynn. Besides that, his clients always end up gossiping to him over appointments and lunches and pillow talk, so he's not especially surprised to hear Joel say Spencer's his boyfriend.

As much as he really would have loved to get Joel into bed with him one day, he's glad that the guy seems happy. "Hey, congratulations, man. I knew his brother pretty well in high school, we were both on the football team. Spencer's a good guy. Haven't talked to him since, uh, well, you know. Since Dane died."

Sometimes he feels a little guilty about that just because Dane had been such a good friend, but Spencer has never seemed like he wants the company. But as much shit as Coop's heard about him in gossip even now, he really has always thought Spencer was a good guy. He gives a small shrug, eager to get off the subject, and brightens again. "You're lucky, too, by the way. Both of you. I'm very much not opposed to threesomes, FYI. Or just dinner, if you're ever in the mood."

He holds the door open for Joel and Balto and welcomes them in with a grand gesture. "You want a beer?" he asks, heading toward the kitchen to get one for himself as he points to the adjacent living room. "You can make yourselves comfortable in there, I'll just be a sec."

The very thought of sharing Spencer with someone else even for a night sends a stabbing sort of pain through him and he knows it's said only to tease him, that his responses, his tendency to flush is at least part of why Coop says these sorts of things, and although Joel knows he's terrible at taking things in stride, he generally doesn't give much serious thought to them either. If he did, if he was genuinely uncomfortable with the sorts of things Coop says to him, he wouldn't be here. But the idea of a threesome, the idea of someone else having their hands on Spencer, it makes something inside him panic and seize up, and he's shaking his head before he even realizes he's doing it and at least by that point he can pass off the gesture as a refusal of the beer.

"No," he says as he takes Balto's carrier into the living room. He's been in Coop's house before, but he's familiar with so few people in Siren Cove that he takes a moment to just look around again. It's like no other house he's ever spent much time in, certainly nothing like he's ever imagined himself living in. "Thank you. I'm fine. I... I have to... the store has to be opened a bit later. I... thank you." Then, as an afterthought, he adds, "I am lucky."

He's not entirely sure Spencer is quite as lucky as he is, though he certainly seems happy enough and Joel smiles down at his cat, shuffling his feet a little. Joel might be the lucky one of the two, but Spencer really does love him and that's worth more than anything else he's ever known.

Coop can't be entirely certain whether the firm no is actually in response to the beer or the excellent threesome suggestion, but the best course action seems to be to assume for both. It's kind of hot, actually, how possessive he can see Joel is about his boyfriend; but he tucks that away in his Make Joel Squirm arsenal for later and is quick about grabbing his beer before joining Joel in the living room.

"Glad you know so, some people just don't get it, you know? I can't tell you how many people I've been with who just like, want to feel like they've got something real, even if it's just for a night." That hasn't always led to sex, to be honest. He's had people who come home with him with every intention of sleeping with him, only to find themselves incapable of even kissing him because they become so racked with guilt over the notion of cheating on their significant others.

He understands, it's nothing to do with him and frankly, he's all about helping people find their zen. Joel doesn't seem to need any help, though, and he's happy for the guy--and for Spencer, even though the idea of the librarian getting it on with the bookstore owner is still trying to process in Coop's mind. "Anyway, you've never even let me so much as kiss you, so he must have done something crazy awesome to get your engine this revved."

He shifts his attention to Balto, his smile widening into something genuinely affectionate as he opens the door to the carrier to let her out. He arches an eyebrow at Joel as he scratches Balto behind her ears, smiling smugly at the way she nuzzles against his hand because he knows she doesn't do that for just anyone. "Have you accepted Balto as your one true familiar and savior yet?"

The flush finally spreads across Joel's cheeks, down his neck, and he can feel himself wanting to shift in place when Coop remarks that Joel had never even let him kiss him. He's not sure if he should say something to that, if he should point out that he's never let anyone kiss him until Spencer or if that will just give Coop more ammunition to use against him later, if drawing attention to the fact that he'd been chaste for the better part of eight years and entirely by choice, will just give him one more thing to tease him about. It's really not the end of the world if it does, Joel had stayed away from any kind of physical relationship entirely because he'd simply seen no good reason to let anyone get close and, for Joel, he's not able to have one without the other. He can't just go to bed with someone, he'd tried twice in the past with terrible results, he'd learned his lesson and he's stepped away.

Until Spencer.

Still flushing deeply, his shoulders lift in a shrug, his hands shoved into his pockets before he mutters, "He's special." It's so much more than that, but he doesn't know how to even begin to explain that to someone on the outside. Half the time he isn't even sure if even Spencer understands just how much Joel really loves him, but only because Joel never feels like he can really articulate it properly.

At the comment about Balto being his familiar, Joel huffs out a sound that's almost a laugh. "A familiar wouldn't walk across my face in the morning trying to wake me up." She's taken to doing it to Spencer, too, and at the thought of his cat walking across his boyfriend's face in a bed they've started to refer to as theirs, he finds himself smiling.

"Awww. Is it love, buddy?" There's no trace of sarcasm in his tone, Coop's question is sincere. As much as he loves to mess with Joel and see that blush that really shouldn't be as hot as it is, Coop knows where to draw the line. Still, even if Joel is this taken with his boyfriend, it won't really make Coop stop with the flirting; it's just what he does. "Because I hope you know that makes you no less stupidly sexy. Reserved, quiet bookstore owner in love with the reserved, quiet librarian? I'm pretty sure I've watched that porno."

Balto nudges his hand with her head with an obnoxious mew, demanding that he shift his attention back to her, and he laughs as he leans in for closer examination. "I don't see any bald spots, so she's not overgrooming. Obviously not trying to hide from us, doesn't seem super aggressive or restless. The only meowing I've heard her do is for attention. I mean, you guys haven't been here long but..." He stops mid-sentence, holding a finger up as he stands up straight and turns on his heels. "I'll be right back."

He heads to the den, it's a room he reserves for his dogs, and they both look lazily up at him from their beds as he walks in. He spares a scratch for them both before rummaging through the several large bags of dog food in one corner of the room before finding the smaller package of cat food that he keeps handy for occassions like this. "Don't look at me like that," he says to Sunny--his bulldog, who looks entirely unimpressed with the fact that the food isn't for him--before heading back to the living room.

"Okay, let's test this out." He holds the food up for Joel to see before settling on the couch and reaching into the package for a handful of the Nautral Balance. He holds his hand out toward Balto, watching carefully for her reaction, and she seems to glance at her owner for a moment before stepping forward and taking a bite out of Coop's hand. He looks up at Joel with a pleased and bright grin on his face. "Hey, would you look at that? She really must be pissed at you, man."

Joel makes a strangled sort of noise in the back of his throat, one that's mostly born of embarrassment, both because of what Coop is said and just how right he is. The things he and Spencer do together when they're alone have been the types of things Joel wouldn't have even imagined he'd ever be doing and when he'd first met Spencer, no matter how attracted he'd been to the other man, he would never have expected to see this side of him. The side that touches him in the car or utters some of the most incredibly unexpected and arousing things Joel has ever heard come out of a person's mouth.

But he hasn't told anyone else he's in love with Spencer and it's not that he feels any need to hide it, but that he wants to keep it to himself because it shouldn't matter to anyone but the two of them. So long as he and Spencer know how they feel, everyone else is free to think whatever they like.

When Coop is gone, Joel reaches out with one hand, stroking a finger against the top of Balto's head. She allows him to rub her for a second, then butts her head against his hand and swishes her tail, walking away with her back turned. And when Coop comes back and get Balto to eat right out of his head, he can't help it, he laughs. "I don't know why she'd be so mad, she seems to like Spencer more than she likes me," he says, reaching out to nudge his cat with his knuckles, though he's relieved to see her eating. If she's just mad at him, at least that means she'll get over it in time.

For a long time, she'd been his only company. Now he has Spencer, he has Raleigh and soon, he'll have Charlotte again, but that doesn't mean he's about to forget his cat. For the past three years, she's spend every night with him, curled up near his feet, kept him company when he'd needed it the most.

"Pets are funny that way. They want to feel loved, too," he answers, and it's not much of an explanation but one of the things he's always disliked is the notion some people have that pets don't much care. Adopting an animal is well and good but Coop's never understood why someone would want to do that in the first place if they weren't going to welcome the pet as a member of the family.

He'd be devastated if anything were to happen to Sunny or Lucy, would likely cry for weeks, and he's not ashamed to admit that. He loves his dogs like crazy, wouldn't trade them for the world, and he knows that if he ever decided one day to get back on the monogamous relationship wagon, the other person would have to love his dogs, too.

He smiles down at Balto, gliding a hand over her fur and chuckling when her back arches. "Spencer's good with her? I remember Dane wanted a dog forever but their mom wouldn't let him get one." He narrows his eyes, smirking. "Probably for the best. But my totally off-the-record medical opinion is that Balto's just making sure you don't forget she's around." He holds another handful of food out for her, which she immediately starts to eat. "Or, you know, she's trying to tell you that she'd like a hell of a lot more me there."

"She loves Spencer," he says easily, remembering the first night he'd come over to Joel's apartment, the way she'd run out from under his bed and had gone straight to Spencer, purring and rubbing against his legs. "And he's great with her." And although Joel had never considered the attributes he might require in a significant other, simply because he's never imagined himself having one, it is important to him that Spencer likes Balto, that he treats her well. He's always believed a person can tell a lot about someone else simply by watching the way they interact with animals and when one has become as important to him as Balto has, it's just necessary that whoever he spends his life with is good to her, too.

And Spencer is more than capable of fulfilling every single requirement he never even knew he had.

Joel's mouth twitches and his eyebrow arches, but for what feels like the first time today, he doesn't quite blush at what Coop is saying to him. Instead he gives Balto a rub behind the ears, more relieved than he's willing to let on that she's just mad at him and, while still looking at his cat, says, "I might be able to convince Spencer to have you over for dinner since you're so good to my cat."

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it's a beautiful day for a neighbor

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