Connections, Once More [Elaine, Morgan]

[Cobalt Weaver]

Cobalt shifted the two coffee cups in his hand as he walked towards the sunny-looking shop across the way. He felt a little guilty that it took him this long to get around to meeting up with his old classmate again, but he figured that now, more than ever, was a good time to reconnect with his old friend and make sure she was doing okay.

“The place looks nice,” Cobalt said as he opened the door to Mama's Garden, smiling at Elaine. He held out the Styrofoam coffee cup, “Coffee as a peace offering for not meeting up with you sooner? Things have been… rough right now.” He was suddenly aware of how exhausted he looked, and knew that Elaine, with all her perceptions, would not miss it. “How have you been? It feels like its been a million years, doesn’t it?” He sipped his coffee and leaned against the counter, “How’s Morgan? He still liking Hammel?” He remembered when he used to babysit Morgan when Morgan was just a baby. He was always a good kid.

“Sorry I didn’t call you sooner,” He repeated, “Really. I’ve been back from Chicago for a while now, but things got so hectic so fast, I just…” He made a vague gesture, grinning sheepishly at the woman. “But it’s good to see you again. I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”

[Elaine Tonaya]

Elaine smiled as the door opened, glancing up to see who was walking in the door. The gentleman looked to be about her age, maybe a little older, and he even seemed a little familiar. Then she caught a familiar whiff, and when he spoke, she recognized his voice.

"Cobalt Weaver," she said, taking the coffee cup out of his hand. "I am doing well. You're exhausted, and still covered in negativity. Nothing new, I guess, though it might have been nice to have heard from you again."

It had been a normal school day at Hammel. Morgan was one, and Elaine had brought him with her to class. He'd started crying in the hallway, and as she tried to quiet her son, one of the shadiest (literally) people in school had walked by and thrown shadow puppets on the wall. Morgan stopped crying, and Elaine sensed the happiness in the student. From then on, Cobalt had been the go-to babysitter for the family, and become Morgan's surrogate father.

Then, when Morgan was seven, Cobalt needed to go to law school. So he left and promised to write and call, which he did. For a while. Then midterms rolled around, and finals, and papers, and projects, and he really didn't have the time to call and write every week. So the calls became once-monthly...then once every few months, then only for holidays...and then it finally all stopped.

"Not a million years, though. Only twenty or so. But yeah. Morgan liked Hammel, so much that he came back to teach there. And he seems to be happy there. Kind of sad that I finally kicked him out of the house. But you know."

Elaine did her best to keep a smile on her face, but she could feel her eyes tearing up. She had forgotten how much she missed him. How much she missed having someone else to talk to, someone who actually could hold a reasonable conversation in the midst of raising a child. No, he wasn't a husband, or even a boyfriend...but he was a friend. Elaine had missed that.

"I have some cards for you," Elaine said. "They're back at the house. I'll have to get them to you. Now that I have an address for you, right? I'm assuming that you're part of the new law firm that came in."

She'd noticed the fliers up and heard the buzz about the new place, but hadn't thought she'd know anyone from there. She never seemed to know anyone who moved back into town, not unless they were becoming re associated with Hammel.

"Yeah. It's good to see you too." She shuffled around to the other side of the counter and wrapped the grumpy old man in a big hug. She caught a big whiff of his aura, and she recognized more of the smells now. Maybe someday she'd mention some of the things she knew now, but it didn't seem right now. Not in the middle of a reunion.

[Cobalt Weaver]

“I am exhausted.” Cobalt confessed with a smile, “You’re as perceptive as ever.” He winced at her admonishment of not having heard from him in a while, “I know. I’m… so sorry about that, actually.” He rubbed the back of his neck, “I didn’t want Morgan or you to feel like I left you guys. I just… wanted you two to be able to move on, I suppose? Ah… that’s stupid.” He looked back at her, pleadingly. “Sorry, Lainey. I’m still the big idiot you always knew.” He pushed up his glasses, “So. Does Morgan absolutely hate me? I would.”

He watched Elaine’s smile start to wobble, and he felt guilt wash over him again. It wasn’t as though he didn’t think about Morgan and Elaine all the time in Chicago. In fact, he’d gotten fairly close to calling them several times over the years. He just didn’t know if he had the right to infringe on their family after he left in the first place. He put a hand on her shoulder, “It is really good to see you again. Now I don’t have to be the only sane person in the room. Because, you know,” He pointed to himself, “Epitome of rationality.” He grinned, hoping to tease a laugh out of her.

“Cards?” He was momentarily confused, before he realized what she meant. “Oh! Cards. Yeah, I would love to have them.” He grinned, nudging her, “I’ll put the really unflattering ones of you up at the office. Just for you.” He nodded at her question of the Law firm. “Yup. Blue and Gold, that’s me. Well, us.” He shook his head, smiling a little, “Remind me soon to tell you about my new intern I got last year. You’d like her: she likes to boss me around and not take me seriously. And she’s almost as good a baker as you. Also,” He added, “If you want, I can give you the address to my actual home. My door’s always open. And yes,” He said, grinning, “Before you ask, it is a hole. I can’t help it, it’s just what I’m drawn to.” He laughed.

He was a little taken aback by the sudden hug, but he returned it warmly. “Missed you, Lainey.” He offered, still feeling like he let her down by leaving. “And Morgan. For what that’s worth.” He pulled away, hands on her shoulders companionably, “So. Tell me about this business. It looks great.” He gestured at the flowers and the cuttings, “You always had a real talent with flowers. I have a black thumb. I killed a cactus. How does that even happen?” He shook his head, stepping away to take a sip from his coffee.

[Elaine Tonaya]

"Morgan doesn't hate you. Not anymore, I don't think. Though there was a little while..." She faded off and shook her head. "If you're really concerned, you can ask him. He sometimes comes by the shop after school. He might be by today, if you're willing to wait around a bit."

Elaine smiled a bit as she remembered the greeting cards she had to give to Cobalt. Should she tell him to bring his car to take the box home, or just let him stagger under it? Every birthday, holiday, and important celebration had a set of pictures and cards that went out to everyone important in the family. Those whose addresses went stagnant, well, they got a box. And Cobalt's was pretty big.

"Yes, I would like to meet this intern of yours. She must be a fascinating person--either wonderful or horrible--in order to put up with you for this long. But don't be ridiculous. No one bakes as well as I do." Which reminded her, she'd brought in some cookies today. She pulled out a plate of them from the back and set them on the counter.

"Instead of me going to your house, why don't you come to mine? I still live in that little house just outside of town. Drop by any time you want a decent meal. Or when you want to pick up those cards."

She finished the hug and went to look around the shop. "Yes, it's a nice place. It keeps me busy, and keeps my mind off...things. Started it up a while ago, just about when you went off, traversing the country on your quest for the indiscernible truth." She smirked a little. "And for the record, you kill a cactus the same way you spoil a kid rotten: too much sugar."

At that she grabbed a basket of leftover Halloween candy. "Want some?" she offered with a smile.

[Cobalt Weaver]

“Oh, Morgan may come by? Uh. Okay.” He figured it was only fair Morgan get to see him and say what he may want to. “I’ll wait around for a bit. I’m done for the day anyway.” He grinned at the mention of his intern. “She is… probably both wonderful and horrible, really. Her name’s Leila. Good lawyer. Young, but very confident and capable and probably a little too smart for her own good. Constantly undermining my authority, you know.” He drained the rest of his coffee. “Smart kid. I don’t know why she didn’t stay in Chicago and make a name for herself there, but unlike my cranky self, she actually likes Hammel, so that may be why. I dunno.” He shrugged, then grinned as Elaine produced cookies. “All right, I concede. If these cookies are anything like I remember them, they are unbeatable.” He grabbed a cookie from the plate and proceeded to eat it with gusto. Elaine made really tasty cookies.

He chewed on the cookie, considering her invite to go to her house. “The blue one? Or the yellow one? Either way, yeah. I’d love to come over sometime. You know me, I love meals I don’t have to make myself.” It wasn’t as though he couldn’t cook something if he really had to. It’s just that it was an awful lot of energy to make something when he could just order it.

Cobalt laughed, “Quest for indiscernible truth? More like quest for a job.” He held his hands up innocently, “I didn’t give it sugar! I don’t know. It was a little tiny thing, and I guess it just kind of… fell behind my desk and I forgot about it for a while.” He looked sheepish, “But for the record, I was pretty sure cacti didn’t require a whole lot of care.” He returned her smile and reached into the basket, “When have you ever known me to turn down sugar? That’s something Leila figured out pretty early on too. Like, on the first day of work.” He shook his head, “Kid comes in, comments on how I seem to be nearsighted, advises me to get glasses, hands me a candy bar and sits down at the other desk. First day of work.” He shook his head. “She wouldn’t shut up until I actually did go out and get some damn glasses. Hopefully, she won’t start up again on getting a knee brace. That was her next project until she got distracted with moving.”

He took a bite of the candy bar, chewing. He had to get to the serious part of this conversation now. “Hey, Elaine. Just… Look. I came here firstly because I missed you and I finally found the time to get over here. But I’m also over here because,” He shrugged helplessly, the exhaustion and frustration crashing back down on him. He re-wrapped the candy bar and tossed it in the nearby trash. “Because something happened, over by the woods. I… don’t have all the information, because nobody will tell me what’s going on and it really just drives me crazy but…” He stopped, taking a deep breath. This was not meant to be when he dumped all his troubles on Elaine. He just had to make sure she was aware enough to keep safe. “Just be aware there’s been some dangerous people out lately that won’t hesitate to hurt people if the occasion arises. I know you can take care of yourself, I just wanted you to know.” He rubbed his eyes, feeling his shoulders slump, “I have to talk to Leila about this. Try to get her to be safer without making her think I don’t trust her. That’s gonna be fun.” He turned tired eyes back on his friend, “Sorry to bring the rain clouds again, Lainey. But I guess that’s pretty par for the course, huh?”

[Morgan Tonaya]

If there was one thing Morgan rarely brought along with him, it was rain clouds. Morgan was (no light pun intended) a ball of sunshine, especially so today. Despite his recent tiff with Darryl-- which had easily ended in a hug, and therefore wasn’t really a tiff-- and the security issues at the school, Morgan had found an occasion to be. Today he was going to visit his mother at her shop. And also, he was bearing tea. Normally he’d head over with a jug of iced tea for his mother to enjoy and hand out to her customers, but it was a little too chilly for that. Instead, he’d made to two cups of peppermint tea (his with milk, hers with honey) and put them in to-go cups he normally used to coffee on the way to school.

He parked at the mall, vaguely recognizing his mother’s car, and shouldered open doors along the way to her shop. With a cup in each hand, he beamed at her. “Hey Mom!” She chirped from the door, shrinking slightly when he realized she was with a customer. “Oh god…Sorry sir.” Morgan apologized softly, looking a bit embarrassed he’d busted in on a conversation.

It wasn’t until the shorter man turned around that Morgan looked surprised. He squinted, recognizing the face from somewhere deep in his memories. It was possible…just possible. Standing back up straight, Morgan squinted again, setting the tea on the counter and rubbing his palms on the sides of his jeans. “….Uncle Coba?” He said, tilting his head to one side. The nick-name came from his earliest years, when the sound of ‘Cobalt’ was too much for his developing tongue and mouth muscles to handle.

[Elaine Tonaya]

"Cacti don't require much care. You just let their little prickly selves be and they generally do well. But sometimes I guess you just don't have the touch." She smirked.

"Smart intern, discovering your weakness. Though it's not too hard to tell. All anyone really needs to do is look at your garbage can. I'm sure the candy wrappers overflow." Elaine glanced at Cobalt's legs. "You still got your bad knee, then? I was sure you would have been to a doctor's by now. Really, you ought to take better care of yourself."

Cobalt seemed upset, and he was getting some of his nervous twitches. "If there's something you need to tell me Cobalt, you know you're always free to. If not now, maybe when you drop by the house." She listened to his warning and tipped her head to one side. "Cobalt, should I know about something, or is this something to keep under wraps? Do I just not want to know?"

She almost hugged him, once again, when he got all depressed again. Stupid Weaver. Never knew how to hold a good mood.

But then....

In through the door came a little ray of sunshine, someone who never seemed to hold a bad mood. Elaine stood and went over to him. "Hello, Morgan. Thanks for the drink. Tea, yes?" She picked up the cup and took a sip. Delicious.

Then she looked over at Cobalt, and back at her son.

"Yeah, this is Uncle Cobalt. I'm glad you remember him. He's back in town for a little while and came by to say hello."

She went over to the door and turned over the sign, closing the shop.

"I think it would be a good idea if I took my lunch break now," she said. "And we can all have time to catch up." She pulled out some food. "So, Cobalt. What have you been doing recently?"

[Cobalt Weaver]

Cobalt smirked at Elaine’s jab about cacti and prickly selves but said nothing. Though he did roll his eyes at her admonishment about seeing a doctor about his knees. “Yup, still got it. But I don’t need to see a doctor’s. Mostly because the doctor will probably tell me things I already know: it’s just something that happens sometimes, since we don’t know your family history, we can’t tell if it’s the kind of thing that runs in the family, take it easy and don’t push yourself too hard physically, et cetera et cetera.” He made a face, “It’d just be a waste of my time.”

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Yeah. I mean, yes, there is something I need to tell you, but it’s not really something that I think we can talk about right here. It’s a little… upsetting. And more so since there’s information I’m not getting.” He glared into space, “But yeah, we need to talk about it. Later.”

He opened his mouth to say something else when the door opened and a younger man’s jovial voice rang out in greeting. Cobalt turned and was confronted with the sight of blonde hair and earnest blue eyes. Morgan always did look like his mother. Morgan squinted at him a moment, and Cobalt wondered what he would say if Morgan didn’t recognize him. Or if it turned out that Morgan was still angry at him. At the moment, Cobalt couldn’t figure out what was worse. When Morgan finally said his name – the nickname Cobalt’d been given by Morgan as a child—he gave the younger man a nervous smile.

Thankfully, Elaine took over a little bit, taking the tea from her son and greeting Morgan. To be honest, Cobalt couldn’t believe how good Morgan looked: healthy, still cheerful and happy and looking really… grown up. The last time he saw Elaine’s son, he’d been…what? Seven? Eight? And now, he was all grown up. He shot Elaine a nervous look when she turned the conversation back on him with a question.

“Oh. Uh.” Cobalt put his hands in his pockets, feeling the shadows pull around him, feeling his discomfiture. “I’ve not been doing much, really. I’m at the firm that just started up a while ago.” He shrugged, turning to Morgan, “How are you doing, Morgan? Your mom tells me that you’re working at Hammel now, that’s… that’s really great. It’s good to see you.”

[Morgan Tonaya]

“Yes, tea.” Morgan repeated distantly, kissing his mother on the cheek more out of muscle memory than anything else. He was still just so shocked to see Cobalt…he did the only thing he knew how to do in situations like this.

Morgan hugged him.

And I’m sure if he could squeal he would have. Instead, he just laughed. His happiness driving the light into the shadows Cobalt had pulled around him. “It’s so good to see you!” he cheered, clearly having forgotten that Cobalt wasn’t really one to be touched. Perhaps he’d never really learned. All the same, it was very clear that Morgan was anything but mad at the bespectacled man who’d become his surrogate father.

“How long are you in town?” Morgan asked excitedly after his Mother explained Cobalt’s appearance, finally releasing the man from his hug and holding him at arm’s length. His eyes grew big when Cobalt responded. “You mean you’re settling up here for good? Or at least for a while?”

Really it seemed as if he hadn’t changed from age eight. His bright eyed excitement, the way he probably spoke too fast and maybe a little too loud…all were reminiscent of his childhood ways. When Cobalt turned the discussion on him, he flushed slightly and let Cobalt out of his grasp to fish in his back pocket.

“Actually I’m…I’m doing really well. There’s been some-- a lot--- of drama.” He gave a pointed look to his mother, letting Elaine know they would need to have serious discussion later. Namely with Darryl. “But…I’ve found someone who is…” Morgan paused, looking down at the wallet he’d produced from his pocket. “…really really special.” He finally added, producing a small photo of him and Jake. He held it facing him for a moment, unsure if he was ready to share with Cobalt…the man had been gone out of his life for decades.

…

Ah, to hell with it.

Morgan proudly thrust the photo out for his mother and Cobalt to examine. “His name is Jake.” He said quietly, smiling sheepishly a-la Surprise! I’m dating a dude!

[Cobalt Weaver]

Morgan was staring at him, his wide eyes surprised and looked a little serious. Cobalt swallowed, waiting for Morgan to say something. By all rights, the younger man should really hate him for leaving and not keeping in touch. He stood there, fully prepared for Morgan to say whatever he would; Cobalt would take responsibility for whatever the younger man had to say.

“Look, I—umf!” What Cobalt was not expecting out of all this was a bone crushing hug from Morgan, who still hugged like he did when he was a child, enthusiastic and happy. It caught him off-guard, but in light of what had been going on in the past week, Cobalt was sick of hostility and standoffishness. Right now, he’d really just wanted a goddamn hug. Laughing with Morgan, he wrapped his arms around the younger man, relief washing over him. “Good to see you too. Christ, you’ve gotten tall.” Cobalt looked up at the man who used to be the boy who laughed at his shadow tricks and was afraid of the dark. “When did you get so tall?” He resisted the urge to ruffle Morgan’s hair like he used to. Mostly because he didn’t really want to admit that he’d have to get up on his toes to do so. “What are you feeding him, Elaine? He didn’t use to be this big. Though, that’s right, you’re living on your own now.” Cobalt didn’t even care how stupid he sounded, he was stupidly happy that the boy he sometimes thought of as a son didn’t hate him.

“Yeah,” Cobalt replied to Morgan’s question, “I’m thinking of settling down here for good, god help me.” He rolled his eyes, giving Elaine a wry grin, “So I’m not going anywhere.” Cobalt cast a mischievous look at Elaine, “I’ll have to take more time out of my day to annoy your mother. You’d be all right with that, right Lainey?” Cobalt grinned, feeling genuinely happy for the first time in a while. He wasn’t really sure why he ever left them in the first place.

He raised an eyebrow at Morgan’s mention of “drama”, but he didn’t ask. At this point, Cobalt didn’t even want to know, if Morgan didn’t want to say anything. He wasn’t going to upset this happy family mood. His eyebrows shot up higher at Morgan’s announcement that he’d found someone. That was fantastic. He waited for Morgan to show the picture, wanting to see what she looked like—

Or what he looked like. As the case was.

Cobalt blinked. Of all the surprises he’d expected, this one certainly wasn’t it. “Oh.” Cobalt said dumbly, for the moment a little too overwhelmed with all this new information to do anything else but take the picture from Morgan. It wasn’t like he cared at all. He would still love Morgan no matter what he did. And it would be more than a little hypocritical to be upset or uncomfortable with Morgan dating a man, all things considered. Cobalt collected himself and smiled, “That’s… that’s great kiddo. As long as your happy and he treats you right. Um. I’m not gonna lie, I’m a little surprised, but I’m happy if you’re happy.” He looked at the picture and shook his head, “Man. I just—I keep thinking you’re eight, and you’re really not. You’re… all grown up. And I missed that.” He looked up at Morgan. He’d said his apologies to Elaine, but he owed it to Morgan as well. “I’m sorry. For getting out of touch with you. Both of you. I mean, sorry doesn’t even begin to cut it, but… I owe it to you both to try.” He glanced over at Elaine, “I know, I know. Ruined the happy again. What was it you used to tell me about that? I dunno. Something about not being able to hold a happy mood if it had handles, I think.” He grinned at them both, “That was usually your guys’ job to be the happy ones.”

[Elaine Tonaya]

Elaine smiled to see Morgan hug the grumpy old man. Then she chided herself. You're the same age as him, you know, she said inwardly. But then the mixture of light and shadow in the middle of the room was too beautiful not to want to be a part of. That was one of the best things about Morgan and Cobalt--not only could Elaine smell their auras, it was almost like she could see them. So she shuffled over to the two as they hugged and wrapped her arms around them in a careful embrace, though her arms didn't quite go the whole way around. Then she stepped back and smiled, wiping a tear off her cheek.

"If you end up annoying me any more, Coby, I'm not sure I can promise you good health when you come over. But so long as you continue praising my cookies, I think we can still get along."

She looked at Morgan as he fumbled over words and shuffled back and forth nervously. But he still seemed happy, so she decided to let him just try to get it out.

And then he did.

Elaine's eyes widened as she stood looking at the picture. She vaguely heard Cobalt trying to say something, but she was busy trying to think about what to say about all this. Morgan had the tendency to crash into love, and she was a little worried. Since it was a guy, well...there would be a lot of problems with trying to make this one last, no matter how tolerant everyone at the school was.

"That's great, honey," she said slowly. "You'll have to bring him over to dinner sometime so I can meet him." She went over to Morgan and gave him a big hug. She buried her head in his shoulder and took a deep whiff. Yeah, the smell was there, but who knew if it was coming from Morgan or Cobalt? She decided not to worry about it right now.

"Cobalt, we're just glad you're back. You've said your apologies, and don't think we won't guilt it out of you later, but for right now, let's just go ahead and be happy. All of us. Or at least try, since you sometimes have problems with that. But don't worry, we'll help you out."

She stopped and looked at the two men in front of her. "How about we go get lunch? I think it'll be good for us to get out of this little shop for a while. I seem to recall you had a fondness for Chinese, Cobalt? And while we're out you can fill us in on what was going on while you were at law school."

She turned to Morgan. "Would you care to tell Cobalt about your job at the school? There's a lot we all need to catch up on."

[Morgan Tonaya]

“Usually humans get bigger between the ages of eight and twenty-eight.” Morgan teased, playfully winking at Cobalt and nudging him in the side. “But frankly I blame it on Ma’s food.” He beamed at his mother, scratching the back of his head as she pulled away, dabbing tears from her cheeks. “Best cook I know.” He cooed, sloppily kissing her on the cheek.

Morgan pumped his fist and hopped a bit off the ground, whooping like a fan at a football game for a short stint. “Yes~!” He hissed, throwing his arm around Cobalt. “It’ll be just like when you guys were in school…only we can all drink together.” Morgan said, unable to wipe the smile off of his face. It was like everything was falling into place: Jake, and now Cobalt…Like his family was coming together again. He sighed whistfully, and tucked Jake’s photo back into his wallet.

He laughed nervously. “I was surprised too but…” Morgan shrugged. “He just sorta…stumbled into my life.” He blinked when his mother smelled him and shook his head, squeezing her lovingly. “Y’know ma…I already told you he was a dude. Its not like you have to smell for it.” He teased, grinning at her when she pulled away. “And actually, you can meet him at the holiday party next month, if not before then.” Morgan nodded slowly. “I’d like to have him over before, but…its exam time at school. Lots of work.” He wrinkled his nose. Ew. Work.

Morgan looked sourly at Cobalt. “I don’t ever remember you being this down on yourself.” He squeezed Cobalt’s shoulder and tilted his head, giving him a pointed look. “At least you didn’t teach me to be that way.” Morgan pointed out, looking rather charmed with the idea of food.

“We can get take out in my house, if you guys want. That way I can show you around!” He offered, hoping the idea would fly as the group exited the shop. “And then I can show you the work I’ve been doing.” Morgan added, nodding excitedly as he steered the group in the direction of his nearby townhome, flipping open his cell phone to order Chinese.