Kohaku didn't usually visit the Katz-Eleor home two days in a row, but he had spent some time clothes shopping in the morning. Along the way, he had found some absolutely perfect things for Gabriel. Muggle things, of course-- but he hoped that it would be well received. Among the items were:
1. A onesie with "100% Kosher" on it
2. A t-shirt with a picture of a driedel that says, "Roll with it"
3. A plush guitar

After Gabriel watched some guy in the park play guitar yesterday, he just had to get him a little guitar of his own. It would probably get drooled on, and food would probably get mashed into it... But food would only get mashed into it with love.

He sent a quick text to both Kiv and Dree to let him know that he was on his way to drop things off-- after Dree's absence, he tried not to show up unexpectedly. Also-- they were a married couple, and he didn't want to interrupt any sort of tender, personal moments they were having. Eleors had feelings, and feelings meant they had plenty of tender, personal moments. Kohaku got out of his old, worn-out little green car and made his way to the front door.

He made sure his phone was still on him before he solidly knocked on the door.

"Kohaku!" Dreogan's smile was bright, but his voice was hushed.  He opened the door wider, taking a step back and gesturing him into the house.  "Sorry--Gabriel's asleep," he said before looking at the young man in concern.  "Is everything alright?"

But Kohaku didn't seem the least bit out of sorts.   His eyes scanned his guest's face, moving downward and finally settling on the bag.  He began to purse his lips, forming a question as he thought.  It wasn't a holiday... no one's birthday...

Dreogan tried to recover from his potentially alarmist question, raspy voice managing a "H-ho--how are you?"  It might be, Dreogan reasoned, just a social call. 

He certainly hoped so.  In ways, it had been quite difficult to get the younger Yukawa to open up.  Dreogan had never fully understood why Kohaku conducted himself so differently around Dree, when he was usually warm and open with Akiva and Gabriel.  They'd made progress, but it was a limping, halting sort of a progress.  Primarily because Dreogan couldn't identify the underlying cause.  It was a point of personal failure: Dreogan usually prided himself on intuitively reading people.  He understood Kohaku's troubled relationship with squib and Muggle issues--a feeling Dreogan himself was very closely aligned to.  He was sensitive to Kohaku's troubles with being openly gay as an already liminal member of a rather closed-minded community.  It was something else.  It felt like it was a sort of... protectiveness of Gabriel. From him.  But he couldn't account for it.

"Come on in," he furthered, trying not to let things cool.

"Woah, yeah everything is fine!" Kohaku immediately assured Dreogan as he entered the house. Was it just him, or was Dreogan being jumpy and overly concerned? Probably. The squib chalked it up to whatever horrific trauma he'd been through. Trauma did some weird shit to people.

He handed the bag of gifts over to Dree,  "I was shopping, I saw some things that made me think of Gabe." He had a soft spot in his heart for kids, and he absolutely loved Akiva and Gabriel. Dree, well. Kohaku liked Dree, but he didn't like the effect that Dree disappearing had on everybody. He knew, of course, that Dreogan hadn't been able to control that. That knowledge didn't erase the bitterness of it though.

Still, it couldn't hurt to be nice and offer some more reassurance that there was absolutely nothing wrong. He was here out of the goodness of his own heart, not seeking help for any sort of problem. "I'm good. Mai's weird but that's not anything new. She always has a crisis." He rolled his eyes, but his tone was good-natured and humorous rather than critical.  "The dogs are happy.  There's no crisis today as far as I know. None." He offered Dree the smallest of smiles, "You alright, mate?"

“Oh--I’m fine,” Dreogan said, rubbing the back of his neck.  He felt himself visibly flushing.  “Really. I was just caught up in writing; I wasn’t expecting--” he cut himself off. “Lavishing gifts upon my son is always a suitable interruption. Besides,” he shrugged it off, “I obviously needed the break.”

“Akiva tells me I worry too much,” Dreogan said, his smile was slight and shy, but growing slowly.  “There's really no point arguing the matter...” He gave a breathy laugh. “She’s always right, anyhow.”  Akiva also told him he could get too absorbed in his work; that he needed to take breaks. It was probably true.  Dree often had to consciously look away from the typewriter to listen actively; otherwise he wasn’t entirely certain he’d hear Gabriel if he woke.

“Well, as long as the dogs are okay,” Dreogan said in a serious tone before breaking into a smile.  He laughed at the commentary at Maiko.  Always the sky was falling.  He had gathered as much from Akiva’s recaps of some of their conversations. “I know how that feels, I think,” he said simply.  There was no need for further comment; 

He shifted the bag slightly, peering into it.  “You didn’t have to do this,” Dreogan felt the need to point out before, again, with a bright smile, adding, “Which is what makes it so nice.  Thank you very much.”

Kohaku always forgot what a terminally awkward person Dreogan was sometimes. But then again. he knew a disproportionate amount of awkward and weird people that it made him think that, perhaps, he was truly the weird one all along.  He gave Dree a solemn nod. He was right. Akiva was always right.

"Yeah, she is." He ran his fingers through his hair, "That's her superpower. She's always right, no matter what."

He shook his head in protest, "I wanted to. It's no problem. Gabe's kind of family." Kohaku gave Dree an easy smile,  as if they were in on some sort of joke. He clapped Dree on the shoulder amiably. Putting a dramatic flourish in his voice, he looked into a distance that was not there. "One day, he might officially be family." His voice cracked towards the end as he suppressed a laugh. Truly, he was a comedic genius. Nobody ever gave him the credit for that. For shame.

Dree was entirely taken aback at talk of family.  It was true that the Yukawas had become something of unofficial Eleors.  In fact, they'd practically coined and said the term so much, that it was probably Official Eleorhood in store for them now.  But that co-conspiratorial smirk...

Dreogan was missing something, here.  His brows knit as he began to try to piece it together.  The first thought: some sort of inside joke Maiko and Akiva must have cooked up about an arranged marriage for Gabriel.  Only there was no one in the Yukawa home near his age. That he knew of. There was no one Kohaku's age, either and so:

"Mmmm..." he said, looking off into the middle-distance that Kohaku had just gestured towards moments before. He squinted, as though looking a great distance, tilting forward ever so slightly before, finally, straightening and returning his attention to a very self-satisfied Kohaku. "I'm afraid you lost me," he said, giving a baffled smile.

He casually gauged the young man's reaction to this.  If things got too awkward, they could always open the present. It'd be a shame to break it open without Gabe up, though...

Dreogan's brow wrinkled more than.... A skin of a walnut. Or a shar pei. Or the creepy core of peaches. Kohaku never trusted stone fruit anyway. Besides, that wasn't the point-- Dree's brow was wrinkly like some sort of preferably inanimate object with wrinkles. The poor fella had no clue what Kohaku was referring to. Or perhaps, today Dree was feeling particularly stupid. That, Kohaku could understand. Everybody had their slower days.

"Because, you know. My sister. Your brother. They..." He felt like he was about to explain adult relationships to a small child who had just asked where babies come from. It was distinctly uncomfortable. "They snog, and probably with feelings." He shook his head, "For all I know, they could be doing it right now." Kohaku managed a nonchalant shrug, "I don't know. I don't micromanage their lives. I only listen to Mai when starts thinking too much about it." He gave Dree a long-suffering stare. Truly, they were the victims in all of this. Or would be, if things went sour.

"...Oh," Dreogan exhaled, giving a light laugh as he shook his head.  "That."  He returned the shoulder clap amicably.  Shook his head again.

After a beat, he added, "I didn't know about that."  And he was not going to think about them doing it right now, as Kohaku had so kindly hypothesized.  Any comments, any co-commiserating or further discussion of this would be unhelpful.  Adon would tell him when the time was right.  And his brother obviously hadn't taken the time to tell him because Adon assumed he'd meddle in things.  It came down to trust.

Dreogan also had to bite down the hurt; it wasn't Kohaku's fault, and he certainly wasn't going to make the young man feel awkward about letting it slip.  His smile was a bit strained but he rolled his shoulders into a shrug. 

Dreogan looked down at his phone, checking the time.  "You know, he's been asleep a good three hours--he should be waking any minute now." Please, G-d.  "Should we go show him his presents?"  Breaking the nap schedule was not generally Dreogan's style, but he sorely needed a distraction, and Gabriel would hardly be upset at the disruption.

For a moment, Kohaku actually believed that Dreogan had known all along. And he would've kept on believing it too, if he hadn't admitted otherwise. He almost felt bad about being a snitch... But at the same time, it wasn't his fault that Adon wasn't considerate enough to put his brother in the loop. It'd be a betrayal if it was a bigger deal.

Awkward. He winced in a way that he hoped was sympathetic.  "They're not Facebook official or anything." You couldn't be Facebook official if you didn't have an account.

Kohaku had exactly zero problems with interrupting Gabriel's napping. "Let's show him-- then I'll get out of your hair." He didn't want to intrude or make Dree feel like he had to entertain company.

Well. They weren't Facebook official.  "As long as it's not 'complicated,'" Dreogan countered, practically beaming as he headed for the stairs.  He'd been researching. If only he knew someone other than Akiva's friends, truly worth stalking on Facebook.  Dree's eyes widened, looking at Kohaku.  Well.  Turns out he'd have more to use the public library's internet for, after all.  Maiko'd appreciate the intel, right?  It wasn't like Kohaku told Maik everything.  Did Maiko tell Kohaku everything?

He and Adon didn't; that was normal, though.  Adon had plenty of strong feelings to share, but it was always best not to go digging for them. It was like digging a shovel into a minefield.  Much better if they presented themselves to you beforehand. With warning, if possible.  With the amount that Adon did share, it was somewhat surprising there was anything left unsaid... Why, just the other day, Adon had...

With a rising sense of panic, Dreogan began to realise: Adon had not spoken about his job in weeks. Had not mentioned going out with friends in, well, at least... Who had he even gone out with? There was his new partner. Yes.  And then there were the Trumbles, that he'd spent time with in... December and January...

Dreogan's pace on the stairs slowed significantly as the facts sunk in.  That was two months ago.  He paused, glancing back at Kohaku.

Something to bring up later. If it made sense to.  With a concerted smile, Dreogan dropped his hand from the railing, cutting down the hallway to Gabe's room, his tread light.  Turning the handle, he peered his head in.  If Gabriel had been up, he'd have heard him shift to standing, or heard him call out.  Gabriel didn't waste time in his crib if he didn't have to. (Oh, how he wished Gabe would from time to time.[1]

Dreogan peered down at his son, still sleeping deeply, before lightly running his fingers up and down Gabriel's back.  It was a natural phenomenon: when asleep, Gabe seemed to heat up like a furnace; his curls were even more defined, pressed against his head with sweat.  Dreogan felt the heat coming off his son in waves, despite the fan blowing through the room.

Slowly, Gabriel responded to the touch.  He breathed deeply, breath coming in shudders at first.  The dummy Adon had given him bobbed back to life suddenly as Gabriel began to suck in loud, squelching noises.  And finally, Gabriel rolled and--Dreogan's stomach fluttered--their eyes met.

Every time.  The love from this little bond was not just a burning, glowing sort of warmth.  There was a sort of yearning in it--something Dreogan would never understand--even as he reached in to take Gabe into his arms.  As if on cue, Gabriel's hand went instantly to Dreogan's jawline.  A habit first acquired with Adon, Gabriel seemed to prefer the feel of stubble and cheek to a security blanket.  Dreogan had just weaned him off the habit of Gabe's roaming fingers trying to make their way into his nostrils.  Dreogan gave a teasing nip of the fingers, eliciting a silent laugh from Gabriel, who pulled away, taking in Kohaku for the first time.

"Look who's here for you," Dreogan whispered.

"Loamy," Gabriel cooed from around the dummy, hands reaching out for new cheeks before, quickly, taking in the sight of the gift bag.  Gabriel wasted no time, obviously remembering his birthday, Hannukah, and, well--the steady stream of presents that Katzes, Eleors, and Yukawas seemed to provide him with.

Gabriel gurgled an indiscernible inquiry, chubby fingers wrapping, vice-like, around the handle of the bag.  "What's that?" Dreogan encouraged.  Gabriel looked solemnly at his father, back to their guest, and, quite matter-of-factly, removed the dummy.  "Gesent!" he crowed, looking to the adults for praise at the performance. 

"His other favorite word," Dreogan laughed, "after 'no.'"  Akiva and he would probably have to taper the presents they gave him, themselves.  He'd come to expect these things.

"Open, Kaku?"

1.	Reference to this post.

Kohaku nodded sagely. He was definitely one of many who openly judged those who flaunted their 'complicated' relationships. He also judged those who jumped from one relationship to the next, proclaiming IN ALL CAPS how much they loved their new person-thing or whatever. Yet, he could never delete them from his friends list. It was better than reality television.

He wondered if Dree had a facebook of his own. He'd never thought to look for one. But the guy was just weird enough, and just into normal people non-wizard things for it to be plausible. How did you even spell his name? Dreeogan? Dreogan? As somebody whose name had never been spelled correctly by strangers in his entire life, Kohaku felt just a little bad that he didn't know how to spell the name of Akiva's husband.

Well. At least he had "Eleor" down.

At the sight of a no-longer-sleepy Gabriel, Kohaku couldn't help but grin. God, he loved that kid. Who didn't?

Kohaku adjusted his grip on the bag, supporting the bottom so that Gabriel could freely pull out his presents. That kid was going to get spoiled if they wren't careful. And he didn't care. Gabriel was great, and soon enough he'd probably have siblings to keep that spoiling in check.

"Go ahead, open it." He encouraged him, flashing a small smile at both Eleors. He was so certain that Gabe would love them. Who wouldn't?! They were so clever. And everybody knew that Gabe was a clever child, even if he drooled a bit and had a limited vocabulary. There was greatness in there, somewhere.

Gabe reached in, attempting to pull the tissue paper from the bag.  It got snagged around the ribboned handles, and Gabe pulled harder, starting to rip at the bag.  Horrified at what he'd done, he peered cautiously into it--still filled with tissue paper--hands anxiously going up to run through his curls.  He looked up at his father anxiously, then back down to the bag, then finally at Kohaku.

"It's okay, bud," Dreogan soothed, tugging on the ribbon and jerking it away.  He jostled Gabriel on his hip a bit, "Here--try again. Kaku'll help you."

Together, Kohaku and Gabriel pulled out the brightly colored tissue paper.  Gabriel's arm was swallowed in the bag as his fingers latched around the first item; Dreogan had to shake the bag away to free his arm.  The boy considered the bundle of white cloth in his hand.  Dreogan tried to straighten it out to read the print--only Gabe had dropped it to the rug before he'd gotten a decent grip.

"Gabe--no, no--" Dreogan began, but Gabriel had already shoved his arm in again, fetching out another piece of cloth. 

Same reception. Floor. Dreogan cringed apologetically to Kohaku, stooping slightly to pick the onesie up with his toes, switching it up to his hands.

The third time Gabe plunged into the bag, however, his smile grew wide.  Triumphantly, he jerked the plush guitar out--ripping the bag clear down.  "DAT!" he proclaimed.

Dree grinned, loving to see Gabriel so happy.  The best part of giving presents, easily.  "Look at that, Gabe!" he said, shaking it slightly.  "A guitar!"

"DAT!" Gabe repeated, taking the neck of the guitar in both hands and waving it around.  Dreogan's face got a fistful of pudge and stuffed guitar and, squinting slightly, Dreogan knelt down to set Gabe on his feet.  "Do you think Kaku will teach you how to play it?"

Gabriel, waving it overhead like a battleaxe, cocking his head curiously in Kohaku's direction.

"Thank you," he mouthed, just over Gabe's head.  He took the opportunity to read the slogans on both the onesie and the shirt, chuckling.  Oh, Merlin. So hokey. This was exactly the sort of thing Adon'd buy.  "Akiva's going to get a kick out of these." complimented. 

Kohaku watched as Gabriel, well... Acted like a baby, throwing stuff on the ground. What kid actually liked receiving clothes? Toys, however, were a totally different story.

"We went to the park the other day," He explained, "He couldn't take his eyes off some bloke playing guitar. I think you have a future musician on your hands." Kohaku teased, though really he thought that Gabriel would probably wind up like some sort of big nerd. Like his parents. For now though, he was a toddler. Toddlers weren't necessarily smart creatures. You could call them whatever you wanted and they won't care. But as soon as you say you can eat sweets every day, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner... Then they get mad that they aren't included.

They were like little drunks. Bumping into things, making poor life choices... In fact, a game that he and Mai liked to play was tellign a story about a person they knew, and guessing if the person was "Drunk, or a baby."

As Gabe brandished his plush guitar like a weapon, Kohaku quickly mimed playing a guitar-- with little sound effects to go with it. Kids liked that kind of thing, didn't they?

Kohaku watched as Dree commented on the clothes. He couldn't tell if he actually liked them, or if he was being polite. Either way, the Eleors were too considerate and polite to not put their kid in those clothes. At least in Kohaku's presence. Which was probably enough.

"Glad you like them." He replied, putting his hands in his pockets. God, he felt so awkward right now. He didn't know what to say, what to do. Was it time to leave? Did Dree want to make small talk?

"Sooo." A pause. "Cried in the bathtub because they accidentally ate a marshmallow. Drunk or a baby?"