Misfit Toys (Sean)

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“I don’t doubt your ability to get around without me,” Sean replied, since that was true. He knew that Josh could manage well enough with his car, but the car made it easier. And Sean had driven. “Still, driving is what I brought to the table today.”

The telepath’s expression shifted from a smile to a more neutral one; this was for the purpose of teasing and his eyes conveyed that. “So you want to keep me around as an escort? Do I get paid for these services or do you think I come cheap?” He shook his head to himself at that and turned towards the tables of dish towels, looking at any that might be appropriate. He had Halloween dish towels, after all; there could be Chanukah ones as well. “I’m happy to take you out for another driving lesson whenever you want. We’ll go a little slower this time.”

Perhaps that would prevent another car crash.

Sean was momentarily thoughtful after Josh asked the question regarding garlands. “I haven’t noticed any yet, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have them. It’s certainly worth the search.” The worst that would happen is that JC Penney would have none, which would mean a trip to Hallmark or a similar store. Since Sean wanted to check Hallmark later – not necessarily today but sometime this month – they could check then.

“Only if you have appropriately colored candle sticks,” the telepath replied. He had no Chanukah decorations of his own; the decorations for holidays that Sean possessed were some Christmas ones, in boxes in the attic. All other holiday decorations weren’t religious in nature. And the candlesticks that Sean possessed were inherited and the few from craft fairs over the years.

None were appropriate for the holiday.

“But I’m sure that we can find them.” The Chanukah section here at JC Penney was large enough that the telepath couldn’t imagine that candlesticks were absent. They were too important to the holiday to neglect to stock.

“Should we get a basket while we’re here?” Sean had noticed them near the escalators; he could run and get one for the Menorah and whatever else they purchased, while Josh searched for candlesticks.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"We never negotiated a salary when you began working for me," Josh pointed out, dropping the Mezuzah he had been admiring and returning the Menorah to his partner. "Are you requesting a raise? Are the benefits I provide not satisfactory? I suppose with the recession it is a bit difficult to get by, I'll consider your request."

At the offer to continue driving lessons he nodded slowly, not quite happy about the idea considering how the last attempt had ended, but determined nonetheless. "Excellent. Thank you." Driving lessons wasn't even in the best friend contract, let alone the lover one, so once again the telepath was going above and beyond to help him.

He really would have to figure out how to give back one of these days.

"I have no candlesticks." He had to agree with the assessment that they would be able to find some, however. "A basket is a fabulous idea." Because he planned on buying everything and then some; the Hanukkah selection in this JC Penney was nothing short of astounding for such a small town as Pilot Ridge. He wondered if his entire temple patronized them; that was surely the only way they would be able to afford having all of this available. After all, Pilot Ridge didn't have the same demographics as the City.

Having agreed that Sean should find a basket he scoured the aisles for candlesticks and, true to form, they were easy to find. He decided to grab several boxes of them; they could be used in Hanukkahs to come, after all.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean took the Menorah that his partner passed back to him. “I suppose I should request a raise given that it’s almost the holiday season and that’s the traditional time for raises and bonuses. And on the subject of those benefits, I think we need to renegotiate the pay schedule for some of them.” That comment came with a teasing grin.

“You’re welcome,” Sean replied simply. He was happy to teach the other man important life skills that would help him become more self-sufficient and to adapt to their environment. He certainly didn’t consider doing so to be going above and beyond the bounds of their relationship. He also didn’t think there was anything to pay back; being loved was enough.

“Then I think we have a fair division of labor,” the telepath remarked. With that, he walked around one of the display tables and left the section, trekking back through the Christmas housewares and out to the escalators. He grabbed a basket from the pile of them, set the Menorah down inside, and then doubled back to where he’d left his partner. Sean lingered in the jewelry section long enough to make a mental note to himself, and then returned to the Chanukah displays.

“Have you found them? He asked, coming up behind the other man, careful not to hover. Sean held the basket out to his partner to allow him to deposit his findings.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"I have found them." Josh confirmed, dropping his boxes in the basket Sean held out for him, along with some hand towels he had found while his partner was loitering on his return. He hadn't put so much effort into decorating for Hanukkah since he'd lived with his parents, but somehow having a partner to share his joy with had put him in the mood to toss silver and blue and stars of David all over the house. The fact that Sean wasn't even Jewish hadn't dampened his enthusiasm yet; he didn't quite connect his eagerness for Hanukkah everywhere with the rest of the world's delight over Christmas.

A tin shaped like the star of David went in the basket, as well, under the assumption his mother would insist on sending him home with more latkes than he could eat the entire two months leading up to the new year next time he visited. She would probably also like his help decorating her apartment for the holiday, since his father couldn't assist. She would, of course, ask him to bring Sean along, with comments about how it was nice that he was so tall and thus didn't need a stool to reach the rafters, followed by comments about how nice he looked from behind.

Not that Josh disagreed with her assessment, but he was never entirely sure how to react. She probably wouldn't want to hear his agreement. That did not stop him from saying, "Do you want to come with me to my parents' this weekend? My mother would love to see you again. I'm sure she has a hair appointment on Sunday, but we can probably work around that."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean glanced into the basket as Josh dropped the items, making note of the candlesticks which looked appropriate and of the dish towels. Considering that the closest to holiday dish towels were the “naughty” and “nice” towels he’d been given as gifts a few years ago, he thought those would go nicely for the next month and a half, or however long Josh chose to keep up the decorations. The telepath was lax about the whole affair.

He also had no intention of making Josh draw an important life lesson comparative conclusion regarding his excitement about Chanukah unless the other man got into a row with James about his Christmas party. Sean dearly hoped that didn’t happen because it was a waste of energy all around.

“What else do we need?” He asked, as he looked around at the decorations that abounded. He supposed he should ask about proper dishes since there was ceremony involved in that, but he left this to Josh since it was his holiday.

At the invitation to visit Josh’s parents, the telepath nodded his assent. He always enjoyed visiting with Josh's parents and had since he had been a student. He suffered the comments in good humor, despite the fact that they came from someone old enough to be his own mother and who occasionally treated him as such. “I’d be happy to come with you. Do you plan to go after services on Saturday?”

If that was the plan, Sean could rearrange his breakfast schedule in order to drive.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"Ahhh." Josh scratched his head, moving away from the dish towels and deeper into the kitchen related items, surveying the land for Hanukkah related things they needed. He was tempted to simply say all of it and be done with it, but that would have been a bit of an exaggeration on his part.

However, now that he had in mind the idea of a decorating party he also realized that he needed to feed people, and feeding people meant having the appropriate dinnerware. He picked up a set of matching cloth napkins and place mats. "I suppose we need to have the dining room decorated, as well." He suggested, placing those in the basket, followed by napkin rings. Then he began eying the plate selection; there was a nice set that matched the tree of life Menorah Sean had found, and he contemplated them keenly.

"That's the plan so far. I need to call her when we get home and confirm with her." She could have other obligations; living in a retirement home had only barely slowed her down, though she always made time for her son and for Sean. He hoped his father would be lucid; it was always uncomfortable when he began talking to them in German, or calling them by names that weren't their own. He knew it was harder on his mother than it was on him, but somehow she managed to put on a brave face.

He didn't know how she did it.

"If that's acceptable to you, of course. I can rearrange if need be."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“If you want to decorate the dining room, we can get whatever you want,” Sean offered. They had the money for decorations, and these were reusable so it was an investment rather than a disposable purchase. Considering that his mother and father had owned Christmas china, which his sister and Colin now owned (Sean hadn’t wanted it), he considered it reasonable that Josh would want decorative dishware for his holiday.

Sean also hoped that Josh’s father would be lucid, but for Josh’s and his mother’s sakes, not his own. Sean was quite familiar with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia and coped better with it than most people (professionally and personally) but that was due to training and his powers.

“That’s fine,” the telepath assured the other man. He had no plans prior plans for Saturday. “Things don’t get hectic on my end until a little closer to Thanksgiving.”

When it was closer to Thanksgiving and officially the “holiday season,” Sean had more sessions, both scheduled ones as well as more open door time. Depression and suicidal thoughts and attempts increased during the holiday season, and the psychiatrist made it his mission that nobody, student or otherwise, was left alone or made to feel that he or she didn’t matter. He kept later hours, he spent more money at the bakery to make sure there were baked goods at his office at work or his office at the Youth Center, and he counter forced holiday cheer with a healthy dose of reality and caring.

But that wasn’t for a while; it certainly wouldn’t interfere with plans to visit this weekend.

“Do you want me to pick you up from services and drive straight to your parents’?” The telepath was sure he could be ready for that since he was a habitual early riser and services were at a reasonable hour.

[Joshua Bernstein]

At the encouragement to buy whatever he wanted Josh grabbed the plates, scooting aside the Menorah in order to gently place them in the bottom of the basket. Money wasn't behind his hesitation as he was aware that he had plenty and he had no intentions of relying on Sean for his festivities. He simply wasn't sure if there was room, or if his partner would appreciate if he began taking over the kitchen and dining room as well, since that was Sean's domain. But the reassurance was enough and in went matching table runner and table throw.

"Oh, excellent." He cheered, not because things would get hectic but because he didn't have to ask his mother for a specific time slot. He was well aware that the telepath became quite busy over the holidays, was aware in his own career of how little cheer Christmas meant for some people.

His smile widened when Sean offered to pick him up after services. "That would be wonderful." And then, "you're wonderful."

He wasn't sure how he was so lucky to get a second chance.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean shifted the basket in his hand slightly as Josh began to pile in dining room accoutrements. The basket wasn’t heavy yet, but it was heavier than Sean wanted it to be when holding it in that particular position. With the shifting he felt better, and he glanced down at the plates and other tableware that his partner placed in the basket.

The telepath also objected to the notion that the dining room and kitchen were his domain since he wasn’t a chef or a housekeeper, and the house was their home; Josh had as much right to do anything to any of the rooms as Sean did, more so in that he had a private bedroom that Sean didn’t share. But that was a linguistic and perspective shift that Sean knew would take time to occur.

Besides, the telepath was more interested in a sentiment that Josh had actually verbalized. The affectionate remark was small but meaningful, and in response, Sean leaned in to press a kiss to the other man’s cheek. “I’m certainly glad you think so.”

He didn’t think he was doing anything wonderful since it wasn’t above and beyond – offering to drive was standard – but he still appreciated the underlying sentiment.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Sean's offer to drive was par for the course, but that didn't mean Josh appreciated it any less. He still considered it an inconvenience for his partner when it would be so much easier to stay at home or to wait until Josh returned himself so that he didn't have to make the extra trip. As such, he was grateful, and he wanted the other man to know this.

"Of course I think so." He objected, dismissing the available flatware options: they were all quite nice, but none of them were holiday specific, and Sean already had party appropriate flatware at home so there was no need to purchase more unless it was themed. "You're my best friend!" It would be rather unfortunate to remain best friends with someone if he didn't think they were wonderful. That he'd once thought Sean had done so with him had been conveniently forgotten for the moment.

"I also wouldn't live with you if I didn't think you were wonderful." He pointed out, and that was probably a slightly more meaningful statement as he hadn't lived with anyone between their initial romance and the rekindling. "I have very high standards, I'll have you know."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Since Sean enjoyed visiting Josh’s parents (he was fond of them for a multitude of reasons), he didn’t consider the agreement to go an inconvenience. Just as he considered the offer to drive merely part of what families do for one another.

Families also neglected to mention painful or embarrassing moments unless they were part of problem solving or to make an important point; as such, Sean didn’t mention the fact that Josh had within recent memory believed that the telepath would (and had) remain(ed) friends with Josh merely out of a sense of obligation or perhaps from pity. He didn’t want to dwell on that because everything had been resolved.

He conceded the other man’s point with a nod, as he followed him through the section, waiting for Josh to make additional selections. He was well-aware of the fact that Josh had lived alone – rabbits didn’t count - since they had shared the apartment in Manhattan. He likewise knew that Josh could be emotionally distant and used physical space to make that distance tangible; as such, he was properly appreciative of the fact that Josh had moved in with him again.

Sean could laugh about it, however. “I know you do. The ability to boil water and drive to the grocery store are the highest standards imaginable.”

[Joshua Bernstein]

"Come now, I keep you around for more reasons than cooking and driving!" Josh argued, nudging Sean with his hip. "Your pretty face, for instance." He was rather fond of the telepath's face, which was rather unsurprising and also quite a good thing since he had to look at it a lot, but while he was well aware in the abstract that his partner looked older than was generally accepted as attractive to the general, youth-obsessed populace he still was quite certain that more people were attracted to Sean than let on. Because really, why wouldn't they be?

He wasn't self-aware enough to have realized his motivations in his previous relationships; he had always told himself that not only were they not serious, but his partners had to have known because nobody had ever verbalized that they were in any of them. That Sanjay was the only one who had actually behaved in a way that said it was just for fun, and not as courtship with the hopes of finding a mate, didn't change the fact that they should have been aware.

So he'd crushed a few hearts when he was younger. Ex-lovers as well as men who'd taken his friendliness to be more flirtatious than he'd intended. He told himself that it should have been obvious what his mindset was, but that was a self-defense mechanism to avoid the guilt that would come at realizing that he'd toyed with people.

Another sweep of the Hanukkah section and his holiday euphoria was slightly abated. "I think that's it, other than garlands."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

The telepath smiled at the compliment. Sean didn’t think that he wasn’t nice looking, at least as a young man he’d been attractive enough. But he was older, and he saw the crow’s feet in the mirror every morning, saw every sign of aging and was acutely aware of it. While one could see hints of his younger self in his face, he certainly didn’t look like that same young man. “My pretty face,” he repeated, his lip twitched in amusement. “So your official statement is that I’m a trophy partner?”

Their relationship history was different in many ways, one of which was their method of coping with intimacy and breakups. Another was that Sean was usually in the opposite position of Josh, in that people broke up with the telepath and not the other way around. Certainly heartbreaker wasn’t a term one usually associated with Sean.

He also wouldn’t associate it with Josh, their history aside, but he did understand how the other man operated in emotional situations; he noticed differences from when they had first lived together, but those were to be expected, some more expected and more tolerable than others.

At the other man’s declaration that there was nothing else they needed at this store, Sean gave a nod of assent. “Then let’s check out and try Hallmark for the garlands. I think I saw a register in the jewelry section.”

Department stores, helpfully, had multiple registers scattered throughout different departments which made check out easier.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"If by trophy partner you mean someone I can show off to everyone then yes, absolutely." Not that he was going to actually rub it in, say, Danny or Dr. Jones' faces or anything, because that wouldn't have been polite at all, but he was rather pleased with himself for managing to score a second chance. It wasn't everyone who got to be with Sean Neville romantically, after all.

He followed the other man toward the register, having happily avoided most of the Christmas terror in this particular store. "Onward to Hallmark!" He agreed, pleased to note that there wasn't much of a line at the register Sean had lead him towards; instead, there was a woman with a teenage daughter, and that looked to be it, so he fell into line with no anxiety about how long the wait was going to be.

"Is there anything you need while we're out?" The other man hadn't mentioned anything, but it didn't hurt to ask.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

His partner’s comments earned a chuckle from the telepath. “That’s an exceptionally diplomatic way of putting that.” It was also a non-answer, but since Sean’s question hadn’t been serious, that it was a non-answer was of no consequence. Of course, the telepath also didn’t expect the other man to show him off to anyone, because it wasn’t in his mannerisms and because Josh was fifty-one (albeit he looked ad decade younger), and Sean was fifty-four and looked his age. That wasn’t the traditional recipe for showing off a partner. Then again, he also knew that Josh wasn’t interested in him for his looks. His body, perhaps in some respects – and Sean prided himself on that albeit privately, but not for his appearance.

Walking beside Josh, they quickly reached the jewelry section and found the register that telepath had noticed. With only two people in front of them, both there for the same purchase which from surface thoughts appeared to be a Confirmation necklace (Sean kept his opinions to himself). That shouldn’t take too long, since it was only once necklace. Then they could check out and be on their way to the Hallmark store.

Sean shook his head in the negative in response to the other man’s question. “Anything I can think of we’ll pick up when we go grocery shopping tomorrow, so I’m fine.”

He didn’t need anything at the mall as far as he could tell. Of course, if they passed a chocolate store, he might want to poke his head in, but that wasn’t a planned errand.