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It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single Hero in possession of perfect teeth and a dog must be in want of a girlfriend.
Karina and Pao-Lin didn't know what exactly had happened with the girl Keith had had the crush on, but things clearly hadn't worked out, and there was only one thing to be done next. Operation: Get Keith a Girlfriend was on.
"What kind of girl do you think he likes?" Karina asked at the weight bench.
"I don't know," Pao-Lin said. "Do you think he knows?"
Karina pursed her lips. "That's a good question. I mean, we know he liked that one girl but we don't know anything about her...."
"And I've never dated, and you haven't either," Pao-Lin added.
"We need someone who knows a lot about men," Karina said.
"And who's dated a lot."
Nathan grinned. "You're going about it all wrong," he said. "We don't need Keith to find a girl. We need a girl to find Keith."
"You're not taking him out to one of your clubs," Karina warned.
Nathan shook his head. "Of course not! Sweet, innocent Keith? Not a chance. But you're forgetting, he has the best pick-up tool in Stern Bild."
Pao Lin looked at Karina. Karina looked at Pao-Lin. They looked at Nathan.
Nathan winked at them. "He's got a dog."
"Oh, sure," Antonio said. "Girls love dogs. You get lots of attention if you have a dog, especially a cute one like Keith's."
"Why don't you have a dog then?" Pao-Lin asked.
Antonio looked a bit insulted. "I don't need a dog! Besides, I'm allergic."
"When was the last time you went on a date?" Karina demanded. Antonio looked insulted.
"He really should get more attention," Nathan observed. "Especially with his--"
"Stop talking about my butt!"
"But it's such a nice--"
"Enough!"
"Come on," Karina said, taking Nathan by the arm and pulling him away. "We've got work to do."
For all the thought that had gone into it, Operation Get Keith a Girlfriend was remarkably simple. Nathan would encourage Keith to go out walking with John, and he'd keep an eye out for likely prospects. "You're so friendly," Pao-Lin said. "Anyone would want to talk to you."
"And you're not scary," Karina added. "Well, I mean. Not to girls."
Nathan rolled his eyes, but a compliment was a compliment, and they meant well. Besides, it was fun to go out and see people. He could pick up the guys Keith left behind; the cute ones, anyway. Everyone liked dogs.
"Hey, Keith," he suggested that afternoon when they were getting out of the shower. "What are you up to tonight?"
"Um, nothing," Keith said, toweling off his sandy hair. "Why?"
"I thought it might be fun to have a guys' night," he said, "but Antonio's got a date, and Ivan's busy." An utter lie, but it's not like Keith would bother checking, and the girls would make sure Antonio wouldn't say anything. "Wanna come anyway? We could get dinner, take John out for a walk...."
Keith smiled, all teeth like always. "Yeah," he said. "Sure."
"Good," Nathan said. "Want to meet in the park?"
"I love the park!"
"This was a good idea," Keith said, as they sat on the park bench watching John chew his Frisbee. "Thanks a lot."
"We always say we should spend more time together," Nathan said, chewing his hot dog. "And it's such a nice day." All the spring flowers were blooming; summer was just starting to inch in.
"It sure is." Keith smiled fondly down at John. "It's nice to get John out, too. He likes you guys."
"Really?" He offered the end of his hot dog to John, who snapped it up in a gulp and licked Nathan's fingers affectionately. "Good boy," he said.
"You didn't grow up with any dogs, huh?"
Nathan looked over at Keith's open, earnest face. He hadn't expected that level of perception from Keith. "No," he said. "We had a cat."
"I like cats too," Keith said. "But I saw John at the animal shelter, and I just fell in love with him. He was the runt and they were afraid he wouldn't make it. I ended up feeding him with a bottle for a while." He looked down at John affectionately. "He's a big guy now."
Nathan never really went for true-blue types like Keith. They were boring. All wholesome and winning and white teeth. And most of them were as fake as a photocopy.
Keith was wholesome and winning and white teeth, but he wasn't fake at all. All that nice was utterly genuine. "You've taken good care of him," he said.
"Thank you."
And again, thank you, Nathan thought to himself, and grinned.
"So?" Karina said, the next day in the training room. "How did it go?"
"All right," Nathan said. "Nothing too promising, but we definitely got some looks."
"Will you take him out tomorrow?" Pao-Lin asked, popping up behind him.
"I have to be a little subtle about this!" Nathan squeaked. "Rome wasn't built in a day, you know."
"All right," Karina said. "But we're expecting progress."
There really wasn't much in terms of progress. Instead, it became a routine; an evening or two a week, the three of them went out to the park. Kotetsu came out of retirement, and sometimes they'd get all the guys together for a night out; they even persuaded Ivan to come once in a while, which was extra-fun, as he couldn't hold his beer and was utterly hilarious when drunk.
But when Nathan was being honest with himself, he had to admit his favorite nights were the simple ones, just he and Keith and John. Fall started approaching, and they ate in cafes more often. They still took John to the park, though.
One evening a group of women came by; pretty, well-dressed, a bit younger than Keith. They cooed over John, ruffling his ears, and smiled happily at Keith. "You come to the park a lot, huh?"
"Yeah," Keith said. "John loves it."
"John's the dog," Nathan clarified. "You're a good boy, aren't you, John?"
John panted happily, delighted with the attention.
"It's nice you guys spend so much time with him," one of the women said.
"He's a great dog," Keith said, not seeming to notice the implication.
Nathan caught it loud and clear. That was one thing he hadn't really thought about: Operation Get Keith a Girlfriend wouldn't be successful if everyone thought he already had a boyfriend.
This is a problem.
"Damn it," Nathan said to himself as he opened his apartment door that night. "Straight boys are always trouble."
He flicked on the lights. The truth was, he was pretty happy with his life at the moment. He had a busy nightlife on the weekends, a company to run, Hero work, and a few quiet, pleasant evenings with Keith every week. So what if it was a little lonely? It was uncomplicated.
And Keith was straight. Probably. Okay, so he'd only showed interest in one person, but she'd been a girl. Probably as blandly good-looking as Keith.
"And he's not my type!" Nathan told the refrigerator as he pulled out a bottled water. "He's bland, and boring, and--"
Sweet. And good-looking, even if it was in that awful, cookie-cutter white boy way. And caring.
Under normal circumstances, he'd just seduce Keith, get it out of his system, and forget about it the next morning, but he liked the guy. Damn it.
"What makes you so sure you can seduce him?" Kotetsu asked, chugging back his whisky.
Nathan just glared at him.
"Okay, okay," Kotetsu conceded. "Let's say you can, then. What next?"
"That's the problem," Nathan said. "We're from different worlds. Different planets. And we work together, so if anything goes wrong--" He gestured. "Disaster."
Kotetsu sighed. "I don't know," he said. "I mean, I wouldn't have wanted anything different, except for Tomoe not to get sick...." He twisted the ring on his finger. "For me, it was worth the risk. Any risk. But I can't tell you what to do, or how you feel."
"I know." This was getting maudlin; time to change the subject. "How's Handsome?"
"I haven't heard from him lately," Kotetsu said, brightening up. "He sent a postcard to our house in Oriental Town, and Kaede's kidnapped it for her room. I think he's still kind of pulling himself together."
Nathan nodded. From what they could piece together, Maverick had messed with the poor kid's head for years. He definitely needed a break. That way, he could be sure whatever choices he made next were his own.
"Why?"
"Oh, no reason," Nathan said, smiling to himself. They'd be awfully cute together, if they ever figured it out. "Just curious."
"I hope it didn't bother you the other day," Keith said. "When those girls thought...you know."
"What, that we were together?" Nathan looked up from his tug-of-war with John and laughed to hide his surprise. "'Course not."
"Okay," Keith said, and was his face heating up a little? "I...I really like this. You know. Just hanging out."
"Me too," Nathan said. He jerked the rope knot away from John and gave it a long, graceful toss. "Though if you ever change your mind..." He winked flirtatiously at Keith, one of the big, over-the-top ones no one ever took seriously.
But of course, Keith did, because Keith was Keith, and the blush on his cheeks turned bright red. "I-- are you sure?"
"Oh, sweetie," Nathan said, and swallowed. "I think I am."
"You were supposed to get him a girlfriend," Pao-Lin said.
Nathan looked insulted. "What, I'm not one of the girls now?"
"It doesn't matter," Karina said firmly. "As long as he's happy. And you're happy, I guess."
"Us ladies in love have to stick together," Nathan said, leaning toward her conspiratorially. "Want to come out with us tonight? I think we're going to meet up with Kotetsu...."
"I have to study!" she objected, as her cheeks reddened. "And-- and I don't know what you're talking about, anyway."
"Of course, honey," Nathan said, and tried not to giggle.
"Just be good to him," Pao Lin said. "He's too nice to have a broken heart."
"I couldn't agree more," he said, and hugged her.