Shopping Protocol [Sean]

[Cobalt Weaver]

Cobalt stared at a coffeemaker in a sort of helpless fugue. It wasn't like he didn't know how to shop for Riley and Danny respectively. Danny was his closest friend in the whole world and Riley was very dear to him as well. He knew what they would each want. But he had never gone wedding shopping before. Were you supposed to get one gift that they could share? Or could you get two things, one for each of the couple? Was there a protocol? Cobalt didn't ordinarily care and in fact if these weren't his two very close friends, and if they didn't live in such a small town, he wouldn't even go to their wedding. He didn't go to weddings very often, and even less often was he invited. But he couldn't not go to this one so here he was. Standing in the Home Goods section of a department store.

Completely out of his depth.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

If Sean had a dollar for every wedding that he had attended in his five-and-a-half decades of life, then he would be able to retired a couple of years early. Over the years, he had seen so many vows exchanged: between people from his neighborhood, people who had gone to his childhood Parish, extended family, former classmates from Hammel, NYU, and medical school, students and coworkers from Hammel, Josh’s family, the families of those he had dated over the years...the list went on. Preparing for weddings was almost second-nature to him.

Despite his conversation with Danny about the toxicity and empty materialism of U.S. wedding culture, he always bought wedding presents, unless explicitly told not to do so. Neither Danny nor Riley had given him such an instruction, and thus he had gone off to find something special for the couple.

Both were handy and crafty in their own ways, and both enjoyed the kitchen enough that a kitchen appliance or special entertaining set was a safe route. Of course, there were many options, but the telepath had all afternoon.

As he entered the section, he saw Cobalt Weaver staring at the display of coffee machines in confusion. Inwardly, he weighed his helpful nature against the keen knowledge that Cobalt found his presence frustrating, and then erred on the side of being helpful. Crossing over to the shorter man, he remarked, “The Keurig is a good machine; it lets you make one cup at a time without wasting any.”

[Cobalt Weaver]

Cobalt startled a little bit when someone spoke over his left shoulder. He turned to see Sean Neville--naturally. He gave the man a token scowl and then turned back to the coffeemaker. "I don't think they need one of these," he said absently. "But wedding present shopping isn't really my forte."

He crossed his arms and contemplated snubbing Sean until the other man went away. But thinking back on their past interactions, that could take a while. "I'm shopping for Danny and Riley," he clarified. "For their wedding. I looked for something to get them while I was out of town, but I was busy, so. Here I am." He gestured irritably at the line of home products and glared.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean did not return the younger man’s scowl, since he held no ill-will towards the attorney. Additionally, they were both here to shop for the same two people and the same wedding, and that was a joyous occasion. Additionally, even with Cobalt’s outright hostility to him, the telepath didn’t return either those gestures or the underlying emotions. “It’s part guesswork and intuition and part practiced skill,” Sean replied.

He had the practice along with a knack for knowing what other people wanted.

The fact of the matter was that, as two middle-aged men who had lived on their own for a while, there were few devices that they needed in the traditional sense. They were not two young lovers making a home for themselves for the first time, and thus many of the standbys were already in one or the other’s possession. Particularly with Riley and his hobbies.

Still, there was always something to give as a gift.

“Yes. I’m quite looking forward to their wedding,” the telepath replied. He glanced around at the coffee makers, before pointing in the direction of the Nostalgia Electrics brand. “What about a hot cocoa machine? In Vermont, that would be a useful device, and I’m sure it could be used for hot cider too.”