Liadan was looking forward to seeing Dominik. After soliciting the aid of Rascal Rosier for her Christmas shopping, she had found the perfect gifts for her dear friend. Dominik was always so serious and brooding. The majority of the time she was with him his brows seemed furrowed and he had a brooding demeanor. For this reason she decided that he needed some levity in his life, and decided to take the advice of the eccentric author. Liadan had put together a festively wrapped basket of gifts for Dominik- a collection which was both thoughtful and whimsical.

The basket itself was silver, the bottom lined with fluffy, fake snow. Within the basket was a decanter of what appeared to be whiskey... The whiskey, however, was infused with helium... The intention being for the drink to cause a person's voice to become high pitched and silly. There was also a pair of lovely candlesticks she had purchased from the Weasley's joke shop. They were enchanted to sing at random intervals, often doing duets with one another. But she had put some thought into his gift as well. She had purchased him a lovely flask- one that had the particularly handy feature of opening up on the back and doubling as a cigarette case. The basket was also filled with other treats- snacks, candies, some fancy teas, and other assorted goodies.

She approached the door to his flat, hoping that he was home. Liadan had not thought to owl ahead first. It was the first free day she'd had to visit. Liadan had spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day split between her family and Oscar's. (Oscar had gifted her a beautiful pearl and diamond necklace and earring set.) The day after Christmas she had spent recovering from the exhaustion and stress of the holiday. And today she was going to go round to her friends' to give them their gifts in person. Liadan considered Dominik a very dear friend, so it had been quite important she delivered her gift in person.

Liadan smoothed her dress and adjusted the bow and other trimmings on the basket before she knocked loudly upon his door. It was still relatively early in the morning- just before ten- and it was likely that Dominik might still be sleeping... She wanted to be certain he heard her in the hallway. She peered up at his peephole with a bright smile, waiting on him to allow her entry into his humble abode.

In the days after Christmas Dominik[1] was savouring the quiet of his own flat, free of bounding children and chores and interrupted thoughts about Niobe.  He had a short hiatus away from the Pitch for the holidays and was free of his usual Yule-tide familial obligations, for the most part.  On Sunday morning after his first night back in his flat, Dominik was crashed out in his giant pillow of a bed dreaming of braided knots in silk rope and Grecian nobility. 

A loud, recurring noise called him out of the night; he was startled to see it was morning as he sat bolt upright, having had no in between state.  From sleeping to sitting, his heart beat had tripled in earnest.  He'd acted on impulse, fast enough to hear the tail end of some knocking at the door, suddenly alert and vigilant enough to sense he wasn't under attack.  No need to be alarmed.

Then again, maybe it was an assault of sorts.  There were several unpleasant things that could be awaiting him  behind the closed door that opened to the narrow hallway of the small Abraxan flats building.  He stared at it from directly across the room, trying to divine who it was by the way they'd knocked.  Loud, bright, and clear.  It wasn't the kind of knock that said, 'I've got you now', nor did it convey anger or hostility, despite its volume.  There seemed to be something cheerful about it. 

He sat staring at the black door a few moments as he wrestled his heart back into submission and blinked away his last few thoughts of sleep.  Grabbing his plum wood wand and hopping out of bed, he tossed the dark down comforter off his legs and padded barefoot over to the peep hole. 

"Oh shit," murmured Dominik, turning the locks over immediately as if making her wait any longer in the hallway (even long enough for him to get dressed or fuss over tidying up) would be paying her a discourtesy.  He opened up and stuck his head awkwardly through the gap in the doorway instead. 

"Liadan!" he said with a pleasant grin, one that took the place of the first thing threatening to bubble out of his mouth.  Fortunately for him, Liadan's sudden appearance had snapped him into gentleman mode.  Bringing immediate attention to the fact that he was half naked would simply not do - he had to pause for some pleasantries even though he was hiding everything but his head in the most ridiculous manner possible.  "I'm really glad to see you love, what a wonderful surprise.  I'll just be a minute - I'm afraid you've caught me in my, er, sleepwear... again." 

Suddenly blushing, Dominik inclined his eyebrows abashedly, laughing slightly at his own expense.  "Won't you let yourself in then?  Like I said I'll only be a minute.  You can make yourself at home.  All my apologies!..."  He left the door open behind him and strode quickly to the bathroom as if making his escape, where he shut the door most of the way and changed into his clothes that were sitting in a pile by the bath.

A minute later he returned with a creak of the bathroom door in his usual black attire - his hair still a bit disheveled.  He gave a lopsided smile as he joined her, hand on the back of his neck. 

"Sorry 'bout that," he said.  "It's good of you to come; can I get us some coffee?  Tea?  You look lovely."

1.

Polyvore

Liadan was not entirely surprised to see Dominik answering the door in next to nothing. She was, however, surprised that his underthings were not as dirty and dingy as she expected. Not that her gaze lingered for very long down there... Mostly she gave him a once over, and then politely focused her gaze on his face. "I apologize for arriving unannounced. I thought of owling, but I was already heading out for the day..."

She watched him retreat to a bathroom, then turned to the right. Liadan settled herself on one of the couches next to the fireplace, placing the basket carefully on the cushion next to her. Liadan peeled off her gloves, and smiled sweetly when Dominik returned- fully clothed and full of compliments and niceities. He really was turning out to be quite the charming man... Liadan did not understand how he was still single.

"Coffee would be lovely. And thank you, Dominik." She reached up to preen a little- patting her hair and adjusting the fur collar around her neck. "This is a new dress- I just bought it a few days before Christmas. I was finding that I was in desperate need of some new winterwear." She would have told him he looked handsome- returning the compliment- were he a bit less disheveled... But Liadan was not the sort to praise mediocrity in anyone. Dominik was a handsome man in general, that was true, but he was much better looking when he was well groomed.

"I've brought you a gift!" she told him, motioning at the festive basket next to her. "It's nothing exciting, just a little something I thought you might enjoy." Something to make him smile. Dominik did not smile nearly as often as he should. He was always upset about something. Perhaps she should have found him a pretty little wife for Christmas. That would probably have been a btter gift- but Liadan had a feeling he would not marry just any woman she presented to him. "I wanted to be sure my dear friend Dominik knew that I was thinking of him over the holidays."

"Right then," said Dominik, stepping sharply to his left where an archway opened to the kitchens.  He did his spell work without having to leave her proximity in the living room, as his flat was quite modest in size, save for the tall ceilings which gave it a more spacious feeling.  With a well-rehearsed set of wand movements he set to work collecting and boiling the water, grinding the coffee beans in a hand-cranked wooden contraption, setting it all together in his giant French press, agitating the grinds, quick-steeping, pressing, pouring, and making their cups according to each of their own preferences, all without exerting any additional effort.  In the few moments during which all of this was happening, Dominik's attention was fixed on Liadan.

"It's getting awfully cold out, isn't it," he agreed.  Dominik only then noticed, as he was looking over her new dress, that it was colder than an undead foe in his flat.  He flicked his wand between the couches and a fully roaring fire erupted there.  "I'm glad you're staying warm though."

She motioned toward the silver basket he'd been eyeing now and then, revealing that it contained his holiday presents.  Dominik made a strange, humbled expression, smiling slightly in a way that seemed to say he never expected it and yet it warmed his heart thoroughly.  He was a bit stumped for words a moment, but their coffees were ready - hers with loads of cream and sugar, his with nothing added to be all the more bitter and sobering (though he did love everything that was overbearingly sweet), so he had them set upon his best tray and floated out to the coffee table before her. 

"You really spoil me with your kindnesses, Liadan," he said earnestly, settling in on the couch the other side of her basket.  "I've some presents for you as well.  I couldn't forget you, yours was one of the most important things on my shopping list this month.  I would have sent it but I thought it's always better to give your gifts in person."  He accioed a sort of poorly wrapped vessel onto his lap.[1]  He'd wrapped it without the aid of magic which left it looking far more awkward than most presents given in the Wizarding world, but at least it had been seemingly wrapped with extraordinary care - the kind a muggle school child might've done. 

He'd actually spent a great deal of his savings on his gift for Liadan, which in the end was probably more in itself than he'd spent on everyone else on his list combined.  He knew she was accustomed to things which were incredibly nice and expensive all the time.  He wanted to ensure that his gift for her was, without a doubt, something that would impress her and also be something functional that she would use for years to come.  He'd settled on this knitted throw with fur which, considering the topic of their conversation and the fur trim on her new Winter dress, might not have been a bad idea. 

Dominik broke into a giant yawn, fielding it the whole way with little remorse.  He was happy, cosy on his couch with the fire and morning coffee and the pleasant company of one of his more finer friends.  But on the other end of it he gave a great smile, handing her the present he was so eager for her to open.  After he'd given it to her he pulled the basket onto his lap. 

"Ladies first," he offered.

1.	Polyvore the Second

Liadan was glad for the fire that Dominik lit. She would never have complained about the temperature. No good witch would- she would simply cast a charm to keep herself warm rather than offend as good of a friend as Dominik. "Yes, it has been quite cold. Of course, I prefer cool weather to warm weather. Odd, considering I need the spring and summer for my business to flourish." Most of the animals bred in the spring, and without new litters she would have no animal bits to sell to the magical markets. "I find snow to be so very peaceful." Especially when it was undisturbed.

The tray of coffee settled onto the coffee table in front of her. She picked her mug, and smiled when he said that he'd bought her a gift as well. The wrapping was abysmal- but she was glad that he had at least tried to do it himself. For some reason a festively wrapped gift would seem very unlike Dominik. No, this suited him. She was flattered he would go out of his way to buy her something, even more so that he considered her gift to be one of the most important on his list. She hadn't realized she meant quite so much to him.

Liadan sipped her coffee and settled into his couch. Her feet dangled a couple of inches above the ground now that she had made herself comfortable. "You make a delicious cup of coffee, Dominik. Thank you very much." He knew exactly how she liked it. Liadan rarely drank her coffee black. Sweets were a guilty pleasure of hers... Something she tried not to partake of as often these days. Her weight had ballooned up earlier in the year (by her standards) and she was glad to be back to her old size. She wasn't going to ruin it by guzzling wine and devouring chocolates again.

Liadan leaned forward, placing her cup of coffee back on the tray when he held the gift out to her. She settled it into her lap, as he had done with her basket, and turned her gaze to him again. "You really shouldn't spoil me so, Dominik."

She pulled the bow from the package and opened the paper- gently, so as to not make a mess. Liadan extracted the throw with a quiet oooh of admiration. Liadan had not expected her gift from Dominik to be so lovely. She has especially not expected anything so lavish. Suddenly her own gift seemed to pale in comparison. "This is really too much," she said to him. But her tone of voice conveyed a different message. She rubbed the fur gently against her check then threw open the blanket, letting it cover her legs- careful not to let the edge drag the floor. She ran her hands along the knitted blanket. It was so soft.

"My basket feels so inadequate now!" she told him. "This is so very, very lovely." And half of her gift was something to tease him with. Liadan was going to have to go out of her way to do something very nice for Dominik. "I love it so much." She pet the fur on the end closest to her, all the while smiling sweetly at her friend. "What kind of fur is it?" she asked him. "I don't recognize it."

Dominik took up his own, black coffee and held it aloft in an informal toast.  "No," he said.  "Thank you.  It's rare that I get to entertain for such fine company as yourself." 

A great friend of a family associate like Liadan was rare to come by, rarer yet to find one so pure of heart - but, he thought, despite their family connections and ties to society she was foremost his friend.  He was very proud of the way that his relationship with her had blossomed this past year and a half, how despite all his wrongdoings she continued to show faith in him.  She had come to be so much more to Dominik than just a family friend or member of the pure-blooded elite who it was wisest to impress.  In many ways she showed more caring and concern towards him than most of his family and friends he'd known since birth.

He too set his coffee aside after his first sip and, holding her silver basket in his lap, watched her with anticipation as he waited for her reaction to his gift.  He couldn't stop himself from smiling happily as she accused him of spoiling her and proceeded to carefully unwrap the throw.  She seemed pleasantly surprised by it to say the least, and Dominik felt elated to have been capable of eliciting this response from her.  It was an absolute rush that left him feeling gay and flustered, his cheeks growing very warm.

"Not at all," he said, now practically grinning as he watched her unfold it, obviously admiring the soft fabric and fur as she inspected it in full.

"Nothing from you could ever be inadequate," he assured her, quite truthfully.  He knew on the other hand that it would always take an effort on his part to provide her with a gift that was more than she expected from him, which he had clearly succeeded in doing this time round.  It made the amount of galleons he'd spent feel even more worth it and his desire to put more into savings for future investments double intensely.  Dominik was simply so flattered that she was smitten with his present that he was beside himself.  Her sweet smile was altogether contagious.

"Coyote," he said, "and the rest is lambswool and cashmere.  I wanted to get something for you that would - not only be something deserving of you, to show how fondly I think of you - but also something that would serve a functional role in your daily life.  In some ways the greatest gift I could have is knowing that I'm that functional role, so that in the cold of night I know it's sort of me you're all sort of snuggled up with."  He hardly stopped to think about how awkward that had come across.  "I mean, that I would be keeping you warm, at night - when it's cold - er, the blanket rather.  Because I care about you and I want you to be warm, not because I...."

His words awkwardly trailed off into mumbles as he kneaded the back of his neck and threw his gaze over to the bed - the open sight of which made him feel even more awkward.  "Maybe I should not try to explain the gift and just open yours, yeah?"  He gave a pained, apologetic look and dug into her festively wrapped basket, aiming at first to distract the both of them.  What was it about Liadan that made him so clumsy with his words?

The first thing he pulled out from it was the decanter of whiskey.  He grinned again, suddenly forgetting his reason for blushing as he held the rather nice glass piece up to the light.  "This is a piece for the mantel!" he said.  "But don't you know the way to a Beater's heart." 

He extracted the candle holders next, which startled him by promptly breaking into an epic, haunting song.

Underneath the arches,
We dream our dreams away,
Underneath the arches,
On cobblestones we lay.
Every night you'll find us,
Tired out and worn,
Happy when the daylight comes creeping,
Heralding the dawn.

Sleeping when it's raining,
And sleeping when it's fine,
Trains rattling by above.
Pavement is my pillow,
No matter where we stray,
Underneath the arches,
We dream our dreams away.[1]

Dominik stared and blinked at the swaying candlesticks in the palms of his hands, a lopsided smile on his face.  When they quieted down again, he looked over at Liadan.  "Charismatic fellows, aren't they?"  He laughed brightly, setting them right side up on the coffee table and digging into the gift basket again, this time with the air of a little boy eager to discover his gifts on Christmas.  It was then he pulled out the flask, which he seemed readily mesmerised with.

"Oh, Lia," he said as he examined the silver flask with its coiled golden snake.  He flipped open the back which was meant to stash cigarettes, and he instantly knew it would replace his old flask forthwith.  "I'll use this," he said, "I'll use this every day and always remember where it came from.  Thank you!  There's more still?!"  He peeled back the wrappings all the way and revealed a smattering of smaller gifts, candies, teas and biscuits.  "Oh delicious," he said.  "Thank you, Lia, thank you so much."  He even giggled as he touched the fake snow settled in the bottom of the basket and found it to be cold to the touch.

1.	Flanagan and Allen - Underneath the Arches

"It's very, very lovely," Liadan said. Coyote- that was different, and she liked that. It wasn't an expected fur. And the coyote was an animals that seemed befitting of a pureblood rogue such as Dominik. He tried to launch into a sweet, inspirational speech about being a functional part of her life... But it quickly devolved into awkward innuendos. Liadan flushed a dark shade of red, covering her face with her hands as he went on about being snuggled up with her and keeping her warm at night. How inappropriate! But Liadan was quite aware that what he was saying was not quite what he meant.

Dominik continued to fumble over his words, trailing off, and then she saw his gaze shift to the bed. That was certainly not happening. Ever. And he better get the idea out of his head right away. She and Oscar were quite happy together. He'd bought her a lovely necklace and earring set for Christmas, and he had seemed... Well, he had at least not seemed angry about her gifting him the puppy. That he had kept a live animal she had given him had to be a good sign... A sign of devotion and commitment.

"That would be much preferred," Liadan responded when he offered to simply open his own gift rather than continue on his explanation of the gift to her. At least he looked approiately ashamed of his words.

She watched him open the basket, extracting each of the gifts one by one. She smiled sweetly when he said she knew the way to his heart. It was important to her that Dominik liked the gifts she had purchased for him. Liadan was, however, surprised that the candlesticks started singing right away. Her blush crept back into her cheeks when it talked about laying beneath the arches. Liadan wondered if the candlesticks meant a sexual innuendo, or if she was reading too far into the lyrics. Hopefully the latter.

"I was told that they would be. I thought they might cheer you up a bit." He was laughing, though, and then he continued digging. The flask, it seemed, was quite the useful little gift. Dominik was easier to buy for than she had initially imagined.

Dominik looked... Happy. Usually when she was in his company he appeared to be in a brood. He sulked more than anything, and was perpetually apologetic. "It is so wonderful to see you smile," she said to him. "I certainly do hope that things in your life are going better. I always worry about you, Dominik."