[center Matthias noticed the shift in Susan’s attitude, which caused the Austrian to furrow his brow slightly with concern. He was not quite sure what the matter was for Sue, but Matt did hope it was not anything in particular that he had done. But Sue’s declaration of paying for dinner was when it seemed that his mood turned around for the better. This brought a sense of relief to the doctor accompanied by a dash of amusement. [#900 “If you so insist on it, Schatzi.”] Matthias responded with a flirtatious wink. But the Austrian man was quite interested in seeing what kind of place Susan was thinking about since he clearly knew the ins and outs of the area more than himself since he was merely just a tourist at that point. Matthias had already collected a handful of small souvenirs from this particular trip to America. If there was anything that he found weird, but humorous was just how often the country’s flag was plastered on everything. It seemed to be posted anywhere and everywhere. It was on shirts, hats, even swimming shorts!]
[center But Matthias’ distracted mind was brought back into reality when he felt Susan wrap both arms around his waist. Due to the height difference, there was no chance in hell the other could manage anything else otherwise. Matthias knew he would actually have to hold up Sue if the other had wanted to put his arms around the shoulders. But the male was more than happy to oblige the other with the simple pleasure of close contact. The photographer watched as the two men interacted with each other, though. Matthias looked down at Sue with a tender smile on his lips upon seeing and feeling the other’s head on his shoulder. It was a sweet moment that the photographer could not pass up, thus snapping a picture of it. They also took several pictures of when Matthias swept Susan up for extra dramatic effect for the pictures. The doctor could not help himself by beaming brightly in those photos. He felt happier in that moment then he genuinely had in a long time.]
[center [b ~~~]]
[center And, while all of these outings with Susan were fun and all, Matthias did eventually have to get down to business. The conference was a very big deal for him as it provided not only networking opportunities, but also chances to learn from the people he considered to be the brightest in their line of work. There were going to be spinal surgeons, like himself. There were going to be hand specialists, trauma doctors, and joint replacement physicians. While Matthias did do his fair share of joint replacements, his main subspecialty was in spinal surgery. He often struggled to articulate a lot of his cases due to just how complex they were. But Matthias was very proud of being able to bring one of his favorites, albeit most stressful case studies to present at the orthopedic conference. It was regarding a fetus who was found to have had spina bifida whilst in utero. He had collaborated with many different colleagues in pediatrics, obstetrics, and neurosurgery since they had gone in and fixed the spinal abnormality while the fetus was still in the womb. The amount of tedious planning, consulting, and simulations practically took a decade off of Matthias’ life, but the baby had ultimately been born a second time successfully to a happy and healthy mom. That was the goal. And honestly thinking about the whole experience again made Matt anxious as hell.]
[center He was getting ready for the conference, but was struggling with what dress shirt, tie, and belt combination he should have worn for the meeting. Thus, he consulted with Sue to see what he thought looked best. Matthias knew he was probably approaching it much like one of his work consults, but he could not help it! The man was worried about fucking up his presentation and making a fool of himself in front of some of the most brilliant minds that he respected greatly. Matthias did not want to wear a regular old white button down, he wanted something to contrast with his white coat. [#900 “I was thinking this crimson shirt, black tie, and belt… Or do you think just straight black all over would be easier? Plus, I have some of my favorite enamel pins on my lanyard.”] Matt mentioned as he fiddled with the pins. He had a pin of skull and crossbones for fun as well as a rainbow flag pin. If there was anything that he preached the hardest with work was inclusivity, despite the opposition he did regularly face at times. [#900 “My coworkers have dubbed me Dr. Bone Daddy, though, and I really want a pin for that. Although my bosses would never let me wear that on the floor.”] he cackled [#900 “But what is most important is that my presentation is on point. I feel that it is at least.”] The Austrian knew that he was probably just overthinking it, but when it came to his work he took it very seriously since it was lives on the line nearly every time!]
[center [b ~~~]]
[center And Matthias thanked every god that existed that he had not gone first with his case study presentation. But when he did go on, he panicked a little as he got himself situated at the podium before settling in to show off what he had to offer. But he believed that those in attendance were fascinated by what he had to show, which made Matt more than pleased with himself. However, when he got back to his hotel room after the fact he had immediately stripped down to just his underwear before collapsing on the bed. His presentation binder had been tossed on the dining table, shoes by the door, white coat hanging off the back of the couch. It was a bit of a mess, but Matthias could not give a shit.]
[center [#900 [i ‘So, I didn’t actually die at the conference. I think it went really well. I heard that a paper might publish some stuff from the event? I really hope it isn’t me, I almost panicked. Do you want to come over? I could use the company. I want to order Chinese food. xx’]]]
[center Matthias sighed as he tossed his phone onto the nightstand beside the bed. He thought about ordering food to be delivered to his room even if Susan couldn’t show up. Matt did hope that the other was okay despite the weird mood at the aquarium a few days ago. The Austrian knew that he had to go home in a few days, but he figured he’d use that time as best he could without wasting it away before having to take the ridiculous flights back home. That was not a thing he was looking forward to; airplanes…]