A Cross Examination of a Disgrace and Syrup with Honey

This Could Be on Judge Judy if She Dabbled in Social Rights

Days started growing warmer during the first two weeks of March and the ones who seemed to enjoy it the most were Brownie and Robert.  Brownie loved to jump onto the table by the window, where the rays of sun shined on the wood and lay there for hours, napping and licking her paws.  Robert, on the other hand, was absolutely thrilled to go out for walks and roll around on the grass at the park.

Garrett and Nate were spending a particularly sunny Sunday afternoon walking around their favorite park as they stopped every few minutes to let their dog sniff the base of a tree or bark at the birds.  They were both wearing coats, though lighter ones, and Garrett was still bemoaning the fact that he had to stop using some of his favorite scarves because they were too warm for the current weather.

Things had gotten a lot busier lately.  Nate had been working his ass off on Henry's trial, which would start that Tuesday and Garrett had to go back to his hectic schedule at the bakery, staying up late to get all the baking done before going upstairs to find Nate with his nose still buried deeply in his files, or typing quickly on his laptop, just the way he had left him in that morning.  But they had agreed that Sundays were still sacred to them.  It was the only day they could relax and rest and be together all day, when they were allowed to stop thinking about questions for witnesses or cake orders that were due too soon.

Nate had his camera hanging around his neck.  He always had it with him these days, especially since he had started taking the classes again.  Every now and then he would point the camera randomly and snap a picture, and no matter what he was taking a picture of, it always looked amazing.  His favorite model was, of course, Garrett, who had stopped trying to hide behind his hands after a while and finally resigned to having his photograph taken.

Garrett could see that Nate was nervous.  He knew his boyfriend was trying not to talk about it because they were supposed to forget about work during their day off, but Garrett was sure the anxiety was weighing him up inside.  He stopped walking, pulling on Nate's hand to stop him too and faced him with a little smile.

"You can't stop thinking about the case, can you?"  He asked, brushing Nate's curls back from where they had fallen on his forehead.

Nate groaned and dropped his head on Garrett's shoulder.  "I'm sorry, I'm trying to distract myself, I swear."

"It's fine, I know you're nervous," Garrett smiled reassuringly at him.

"I just--I feel really pressured to win this," Nate sighed and moved to take a seat on a wooden bench, patting the spot beside him so Garrett would follow.  "I want Ryan to go to jail so he can't hurt anyone else, I want Henry to feel safer and I really want to see my father's face when he loses."

Garrett pressed a kiss to his cheek.  "Then let's make one more effort, alright?  What do you say if we go back home, I make a fresh pot of coffee and you keep working?  I'll help you with anything you need.  Oh!  You can ask me questions and I can pretend I'm one of the people on the stand!"  Garrett clapped his hands with enthusiasm.  "When I was a kid I wanted to be an actor, you know, I'm actually really good."

Nate chuckled as he rolled his eyes fondly.  He pulled Garrett into his arms and reclined against the back of the bench, letting Garrett lean into his side.  "God, Garrett, you're fantastic and I love you so much."

"I love you too," Garrett closed his eyes, partly because he loved being close to Nate and partly because an old couple walked by and looked at them disapprovingly.

"But this is our day to relax and be together.  And I definitely don't want you to waste your day with this," Nate's hand moved down Garrett's arm until he could intertwine their fingers.