Oh! It's You! - Riley tags Sean

[Riley Adams]

Riley was forced by Rina to have the day off and the landscaper gladly took it. His business had expanded greatly lately that he could afford to hire more people and that also meant more days off work. He didn't use to like off days that much because that usually meant he would be spending the days alone. While he generally didn't necessarily mind that, he much rather preferred being surrounded by people, hearing their chatter and seeing their smiles. It was his personal brand of therapy.

But lately, he relished days off. Especially when Danny would come over and they could just sit on the couch just lazing about or cuddling -- Riley liked the cuddling.

Today however, Danny couldn't oblige him with a visit because he had an important client to attend to and according to Danny, the client was a very specific person who called attention to detail more often than not. Riley just found it amusing that Danny couldn't even call a customer demanding and uptight. Not to say Riley could. He was just amused that they were the same when it came to that sort of thing.

So Riley was, as he was wont to do with free time, baking. Half of which would probably go to the local businesses he frequented and half to the people he had the pleasure of calling a friend. Speaking of which, he really should visit Angela, that sweet young girl he had first bumped into several months ago.

He was in the middle of chocolate chip cookie batch number four when the doorbell rang. Wiping his hand on the damp cloth hanging by the sink, he went to the door half-expecting it was Danny. The smile he had on kept intact when it turned out to be Sean.

"Sean! What a lovely surprise!" He craned his neck around the taller man to see if Josh was with him. "Come on in! I was just baking some cookies for the Tellermans next door." He stepped aside to let Sean through.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean had worked for most of the day, but he’d had a lighter afternoon than usual. As such, he’d decided to take advantage of that situation and left Hammel after his last session; he could catch up on his paperwork at home or early the next morning.

Because he had free time between the end of his workday and when Josh would return home from court, he thought he should tend to an errand he’d not had the opportunity to reach yet. That involved a stop at the specialty grocery store, before he transferred his purchase into the decorate gift bag he’d bought a while back and had kept in his car for just this occasion.

That tended to, he drove out to a familiar apartment building. While he didn’t visit Riley Adams the way that Josh did, he had been out there several times before, and he knew the route well. After parking in the lot, he tucked the gift bag under his arm and went upstairs to the other man’s apartment. Then he knocked and waited patiently to be let in; he knew that Riley was home, because that was one of the more practical aspects of his telepathy.

When the door finally opened, he smiled at the other man. “It’s good to see you, Riley,” he said. After being invited in, he stepped over the threshold. “The cookies smell delicious, and I’m afraid it’s just me today; Josh is still at work.”

Offering the landscaper another smile, he asked, “What kind of cookies are they?”

[Riley Adams]

It still unnerved him that his previous infatuation's now boyfriend could read minds. It was a bit silly, he supposed, given that he had lived half of his life in a town where telepaths were the least bit concerning of the metas surrounding the sleepy town. It was especially silly that he could still blush whenever Josh was mentioned. Sure, that infatuation had long since gone away with Danny's presence but it still embarrassed him a little that Sean of all people knew.

"Oh, chocolate chip. Their youngest is crazy about them." Riley smiled back, his eyes wandering down to the bag under Sean's arm. "Running errands?" He asked, gesturing to the bag before going into the kitchen to get a plate and a tall glass for blondies and milk.

"Please make yourself at home. I haven't had the time to clean up, I'm afraid. Mind the blueprints on the couch." He gave a slight grimace at the stack of rolled paper he had stashed in the living room that afternoon. He hadn't been expecting anybody to come over that early in the day. It was, however, a pleasant surprise.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean had been aware of Riley’s infatuation for nearly two years, since the first time he’d met the other man at Leila’s poker party. He hadn’t mentioned it then, and he wouldn’t mention it now; jealousy wasn’t in his vocabulary, and old infatuation wasn’t any of his business. Likewise, he had never mentioned it to Josh and he wouldn’t. As for the telepathy, he was used to mild discomfort, and he tried not to flaunt it outside of work and Josh.

“You could say that,” the telepath said, the smile still on his lips. This was a friendly gesture more than it was an errand, but he wouldn’t get caught up on language.

At the invitation to get comfortable, Sean looked around the living room; he didn’t judge other people for having a bit of chaos in their homes. After all, not everyone had the space or time to organize the way that he did...and he lived with Josh and worked at Hammel. The telepath was careful with the blueprints; he set them gingerly to the side to prevent sitting on them (and fortunately his hands were clean because he wouldn’t want to smudge them) before he took a seat in the now-empty space.

“Did you take a half-day or have the day off?” He asked the other man. Admittedly, he didn’t know the intricacies of Riley’s schedule; Sean had never run his own business the way that Riley did. His limited private practice years didn’t count.

[Riley Adams]

Riley was quite grateful for Sean's discretion and will forever be grateful for it because he knew, if Josh ever found out he had a crush on him, Riley would probably die out of embarrassment. Or just hole himself up in his apartment til kingdom come.

The smile on Sean's face in response to his question had Riley puzzled but he didn't ask the older man for an explanation. It probably had something to do with a surprise for Josh, maybe.

As he prepared the goodies, Riley craned his neck when Sean asked about his presence at home. "Day off. My co-worker practically shoved me out of the office. She kept saying that because I'd hired everybody's children to help out, I should just go home." Riley chuckled affectionately as he finally got everything on a tray and walked out to the living room, placing the tray down and taking everything off it before sliding the tray underneath the table.

"If you would like coffee, I could make you some but blondies taste better with milk." Riley smiled and sat across Sean. "So, how are you and Josh?" Riley asked, not feeling like much of an intruder since they were friends. Not the close of but he and Josh had started up a tight knit trio with Cobalt so really, Ben and Sean were best friends by association now.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“I wish I had coworkers who would send me home,” Sean said with a whimsical sigh. He didn’t actually crave that, but being the brunt of his own department could take its toll. “At least you’re making the most of the day off.”

The telepath’s smile widened as he took in the plate of blondies. While he was particularly fond of chocolate, he liked essentially all baked goods as long as they weren’t of poor quality; with Riley baking, nothing was ever less than delicious. He also almost always had room for baked good, since a steady intake of glucose was best for a psychic. “Those look marvelous,” he said with a smile. “But if you plan on feeding me, I need to give you this first.”

Sean took the bag out from under his arm and held it out to Riley. The bag contained a thank-you card, as well as a tin with a dozen different exotic tea blends, and a box that contained nine miniature jars of different preserves. “I know this isn’t much, but I wanted to thank you for the baking lessons you’ve given Josh. They mean a lot to both of us.”

Not only was the romantic gesture significant, but then Sean also benefited from the fruits of Josh’s lessons.

With that, Sean reached for one of the brownies and took a bite; he smiled, because they were even more delicious than they looked. He chewed carefully and swallowed before answering the other man’s question. “We’re doing well. Thankfully his internship with Vincent is winding down; he didn’t lucky out the way you did with Hammel student interns. And then the two of us are going on a trip abroad with another friend of ours from college.” The telepath took another bite before asking, “How are you and Danny?”

[Riley Adams]

Looking to the kitchen when Sean made the comment, Riley nodded in amusement, a small smile lilting the corners of his lips. He was most certainly making a day of it, to be sure.

Frowning slightly in amused confusion when Sean handed him the bag, Riley looked to it before his grin widened. The older man's explanation for the gift had the landscaper blushing, not even having realised the impact behind helping out a friend.

"This is...more than I even imagined, Sean thank you." The biological manipulator put the bag on the floor by his feet before practically flinging himself around Sean, hugging him tightly before releasing him with a huge grin on his face.

The grin stayed as he fought the urge to look through the gift, listening intently to Sean's recount, nodding at appropriate places and giving his companion a gracious smile when he realised he did luck out in his recruitment so far. "Oh! Yes. I heard of this. With Greg, right?" Riley asked with a nod. He remembered Josh mentioned it earlier that month when they had gathered with Cobalt at the Lake.

When the question was turned back to Riley, the younger man's smile softened and a shoulder raised slightly. "Never better. We actually have dinner plans later. Hopefully. If his client lets him leave sometime today." He laughed quietly. "Oh Sean, would you mind terribly if I asked you to help me distribute the baked goods? I'm going around town giving them to local businesses I patronise and I'll probably stop by the center." He gave Sean a slightly pleading look. "I'll teach Josh more recipes."

It wasn't much of a trade since Riley wasn't going to be stingy with his recipes in the first place anyway but surely Sean wouldn't mind helping a friend out!

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean found himself swept up in Riley’s arms for a hug, which he returned just as tightly, ending with a pat on the other man’s shoulders. He didn’t think the thank you gift was quite that nice, but he was glad to have given Riley something(s) he would enjoy, even if it was only a token of his appreciation for Josh’s lessons. “You’re most welcome,” he assured his friend.

The telepath then nodded in confirmation; apparently, Josh had mentioned it, since he wasn’t sure whether Riley had met Greg. Even if he had, it was somewhat unlikely that the blond would have mentioned it out of the blue. “Yes, with Greg. It should be fun; it’s been a while since any of us have gone on a vacation, and with Hammel’s schedule, at least I have a few weeks’ worth of time all in a bloc to use for the trip. I plan to take a lot of pictures,” he promised with a smile. He was sure that the other men would want to have pictures as much as he would.

Sean’s smile widened at the news. “That’s wonderful. Are you going out or do you plan to cook supper?” Each had its own merit. Then at the requested favor, he nodded slightly. “I’d be happy to help. Do you have a list of where I need to drop them off?” A street address was all that he required; after living in Pilot Ridge for decades, he knew all of the streets and monuments.

“More recipes?” The telepath asked, feigning that as his motivation. “Now I have no choice but to help.”

[Riley Adams]

While Sean thought the gift was not nice, Riley saw it for what it was. A gift. And a gift no matter what the size, it was still precious. He moved away from the older man to admire the basket. He saw quite a few things that he instantly liked, grinning as to how the basket held things that he already liked.

Josh had indeed spoken of Greg and Riley still didn't have the pleasure of meeting the man. He really should rectify that as soon as possible. It was nice meeting new people. "How fortunate!" Riley nodded, happy that Sean was getting his vacation. Truthfully, the man looked like he needed it. "Oh you should, you should." He agreed to the sentiment. Besides, if he couldn't travel, he could do it vicariously through Sean and Josh.

His own smile softened at Sean's widened one. "I was thinking of cooking since I don't know what time Danny can leave." He shrugged amiably. At Sean's agreement, Riley brightened up and nodded. "I'll do it right now. Maybe I can just give you the addresses closer to your area so it wouldn't be much of a burden." He quickly got up, bringing his gift to place it in the kitchen.

Riley laughed at Sean's response. "Such a great motivator, right?"

He scribbled down the addresses and went back to the telepath. "Thank you so much, Sean. You're doing me a great deal of help." Riley smiled, squeezing his shoulder. "Why don't you finish up here while I finish baking?"

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Honestly, Sean did need a vacation, and he was equally sure that both Josh and Greg needed one too. Sean hadn’t had a vacation in over two years, Hammel was exhausting, cleaning up after other people was exhausting, and instead of vacationing after last year’s danger, he’d found himself being ignored. At least that had been worked out. Josh needed one, now that Vincent’s internship was winding down, to make up for the series of disasters that was the past year. Additionally, since he had never left the country, it would be good for him to see several others all at once. Greg needed a vacation most of all, given the pain and suffering he’d endured for the past year and a half, between Nathan’s death and then the months in jail. “You should meet Greg,” he told the other man with a smile. “He’d like you a lot. The next time I take him out to lunch, you should come with us.”

Sean would warn Greg to be on his best behavior with Riley. Not that Greg would do anything intentionally, but his level of gregarious charisma could be difficult to navigate for people less used to him and who were naturally introverted.

The telepath’s eyes lit up at the mention of Riley’s cooking. “I’m sure Danny will be grateful for whatever you make, especially if he gets out late.” Hopefully, he wouldn’t get out too late; Sean had sympathy for all partners who were separated by work schedules. “And you can give me as many addresses as you want to or need to. It’s no trouble at all.”

Pilot Ridge wasn’t that big.

When given the addresses, Sean glanced down at them to get a feeling for where he was going to need to drive. None looked complicated, which would make it all the easier. However, at the suggestion he asked, “Are you sure you don’t want some help in there? I can eat and bake at the same time.”

[Riley Adams]

"I do!" Riley enthused. "Looking forward to it, really." He grinned. Much like how he was enthusiastic when Josh mentioned it, Riley still held high regards and enthusiasm with Sean telling him so. The guy must be really nice for Josh and Sean to want to introduce him to the man. "Lunch sounds good. I look forward to it."

Riley tilted his head a little to the left and smiled softly at the mention of his partner. "I know he will. He never complains. But I always feel like I should be at my best for him because he deserves nothing but." The landscaper looked down at his hand as he twined them together, the smile still intact. It was clear as day how the biological manipulator felt about the small model builder.

When Sean offered to help him in the kitchen, Riley laughed and shook his head. "You're my guest, Sean. And I'm already troubling you with the addresses. I have to insist that you sit this one out. I'm mostly done anyway. Thank you so much." Riley offered his senior a huge grin as he cleaned off a tray to plop down some more of the cookie dough.

"Are you running more errands after this, Sean?"

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean returned the other man’s smile. “Good. I’ll be sure to call you up the next time we have plans.” That would be easy enough, considering all three men’s schedules. Sean could make a long lunch break for himself, and he would try to find a day when Riley had the time; Greg remained unemployed for the moment and so he had the freest schedule. “He’s a very dear friend and a lot of fun to be around,” Sean explained further. Even with his friend’s depression, the blond man knew how to put on appearances; hopefully, those appearances would become reality with some work.

He’d known Greg for even longer than he had known Josh, as mind-boggling as that might be for some, considering his intimacy with Josh. Then again, he had a wholly different relationship with Greg than he did with Josh. Greg was a dear friend; Josh, even before they had rekindled their romantic relationship, had been far more than that.

Sean then smiled both at the remark and at Riley’s obvious affection for Danny. It was heart-warming, and he was glad that the two men had found one another and were happy with each other. If only more people could find that happiness when they desired it. “I know the feeling,” he assured Riley. He felt that way about Josh.

“I’m an uninvited guest who dropped by your home unannounced,” the telepath remind him. He wouldn’t force Riley to accept his help, particularly since he was nearly finished, and because Sean, too, was very much observant of rules of hospitality.

“Only the deliveries. And then tending to supper when it’s time for that.” He didn’t have too many errands during the week, which was fortunate with his schedule.

[Riley Adams]

"Oh that sounds great, Sean. Thank you." Riley replied, his big grin evident in his tone. "If he's good friends with you and Josh, I'm sure he's very fun to be around."

Riley felt his cheeks heat up at Sean's reassurance. He was glad he wasn't the only one in the room in a relationship. Though he knew Sean wouldn't actually gush about his feelings about Josh like Riley would about Danny, at least he understood how happy Riley was. And he really was happy.

He smiled at Sean, a little shyly before walking away to the kitchen.

"Uninvited or not, you're still my guest." Riley assured Sean. He really didn't mind, especially not when it's Sean. He was hardly a bother.

"Ah...that's nice." The landscaper took a few packing boxes and filled them up with the baked goods, scribbling addresses at the tops so Sean would know what went where. He also didn't forget to set aside a big batch for Sean himself to bring back to Josh.

"I hear the center will be having its prom soon. Do you still need volunteers for that? Or catering?" Riley asked as he continued packing.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean chuckled at the categorization of being fun to be around. That didn’t begin to describe Greg when he had his party face on. “He is. I’m sure you’ll get on swimmingly. So expect a call within a week or so.” Whenever he next spoke with the blond.

While the telepath didn’t go on and on about his affection (inebriated party conduct aside), he did know what it was to be in love. He knew that Riley had known that before as well, and he was glad that Riley and Danny had each other and the opportunity to find love and happiness. That was all he wanted for his friends.

“Fine.” Sean wouldn’t argue about it. “I’ll just sit here patiently while you work and pretend that I’m not being a bother.”

“We are having the prom soon,” the telepath affirmed with a nod. That was one of the most notable events that occurred at the LGBT youth center, and also one of the most time-consuming to plan. Sean found it somewhat humorous that he’d planned this prom so many years, while never having attended one as a teenager himself. “And if you want to volunteer, we’re always in need of volunteers. I’d have to talk to Ben and accounting about the catering, just because that isn’t mine alone to sign off on.”

He was thoughtful for a moment and then asked, “Since it would be short notice, would you be able to do it? I wouldn’t want to float an idea that would put pressure on you or your business.”

[Riley Adams]

Riley nodded with a grin at the promise of meeting a new friend.

When Sean agreed to sit still, Riley gave him a thumbs up and went on with his packing. He laughed a little at the ensuing response. "Oh, Sean you're never a bother." He assured the older man genuinely. How could the therapist think he was a bother when he came with a basket of goodies just for Riley?

"Oh, swell!" The landscaper exclaimed from the kitchen, almost done with the packing. "Of course, of course." He responded when Sean said he needed to talk things over with other people. He had assumed as such. Just because Sean played a huge role in the center didn't mean he ran everything.

"I offered didn't I?" Riley stressed, a smile in his tone. He grabbed a paper bag to put all the boxes of goodies in and went into the hall to rejoin his friend. "There's no pressure whatsoever. I've found more time to myself than I know what to do with." He reassured the older man, patting his knee as he sat down beside him. He placed the paper bag on the side of the couch and leaned on the armrest.

"Just tell me what you need and when and I'll be ready when the time comes."