The promise of being introduced to family was definitely not good for generalized anxiety... but as Booker explained it, ultimately, it was the lesser of two evils. According to the cute librarian, it had become somewhat of a family tradition between him and his sister to accidentally walk in on each other's dates... and as he (very correctly) concluded, introducing Javier to his sister was going to prevent a whole lot of awkwardness in the future. Which made Javier think two very distinct thoughts: One, that he was dating (sorta) an incredibly considerate and therefore adorable man, and two, that said adorable man was considering it a possibility that they would be spending time together in compromising situations. In the future.
But first, he needed to meet the sister.

Javier had heard a lot about Nessa from Booker, but now, finally, he was going to actually meet her. He had to admit, he was curious. She sounded like an amazing person, and also (for better or worse) protective of her brother. Javier put on his best look, and got a box of (good) chocolates, and, after some hesitation, knocked on the door of Booker's apartment. He was as ready to meet family as he was ever going to be.

Admittedly Booker was planning on several fronts: first and foremost, heb was trying to keep Javier’s anxiety in mind. Whatever this was that they had, relationship, dating, etc., Booker wanted to see more of him and that, inevitably would lead to the very real possibility of something he wanted to avoid; which brings us to the second front -- his sister Nessa. It was steadily becoming a bad family tradition that the two of them began walking in on the other when they were being…intimate… with their dates. Not that Booker was expecting intimacy with Javier the next time they saw one another, rather he wanted to nip this in the bud now. The last thing he needed was for emotions to take over, for the two men to start stripping, and then for Nessa to jump out proclaiming she was the Spanish Inquisition.

Definitely not good for a first meeting. So that is what tonight would be, a deterrent. That wasn't to say that Nessa would NEVER walk in on them, but at least it wouldn't be the first meeting. First impressions were everything, after all.

A genuine surprise came with both Javier and Nessa had agreed to the meeting. Nessa seemed all too willing, if only to keep from seeing her brother being straddled again, or awkwardly watching his latest possible lover creeping through the hall in nothing but a towel. Really, he couldn’t blame her. And it was certainly something he didn’t want Javier to go through for their first meeting.

For Javier, though, he really wanted to do whatever he could to help diffuse any possible anxiety-filled moments. He liked Javier a lot, the last thing he wanted was to be a source for new anxieties for him. Besides, there would be nerves enough with meeting someone completely new and important to Booker’s life, he was sure that Javier would stress about that enough. It was best to remove the possibility of nudity from that scenario.

So a plan was made. Dinner. Nothing fancy. Nothing formal. It was just going to be a meal between Javier and Booker, with a sprinkling of his sister on the side. She was free to come and go as she pleased, this was more just an informal meet-and-greet so that the two were aware of one another’s existence. Or, rather, they were aware that the other was actually real. Booker spoke enough about them to the other, some of which was probably too fantastical to believe (yeah, Nessa and her antics were probably more believable as a figment of Booker’s imagination than anything real). But, considering that both were important to him, it seemed appropriate for them to meet.

Dinner plans were made. Booker kept the meal simple, fish and shrimp tacos, to ensure that both Javier and Nessa could eat without hearing the rhetoric from his sister about how he was cooking a beautiful cow (damn right he would). So the meal was cooking beautiful, along with rice, beans, and salad for the sides, drinks were chilling in the fridge, and Booker set to the task of dressing comfortable for the evening. He made sure to tell Javier that this would be a casual night. No need for suits or fancy wear.

Nessa, on the other hand, he had her convinced her most of the day that this was going to be a more elegant affair. He almost had her until she saw him ready for dinner, in jeans and a nice t-shirt. Oh the curses that were thrown at him only made him laugh all the harder but he was sure that she deserved the deception, either for something she did that he didn’t know about, or something in the future. It was a price that he was willing to pay, so long as Nessa saved it for after Javier went home.

Standing in the kitchen, Booker was finishing up the rice, smirking to himself as Nessa wandered through out of the corner of his eye. He glanced at her, grinning sheepishly. ”You look very nice,” he said with a confirming nod. No need to continue to poke fun at her. Booker would have added more to that comment but there came a soft knocking at their door. A glance at the clock showed, as per the norm, Javier was a tad early. Not by a lot, and even then, Booker knew that about the tailor and planned for it. ”I’ll get it,” he said sweetly. He then waved for Nessa to come over and handed her the wooden spoon for the rice. ”Continue stirring, please?”

As he based the baton to his sister, he leaned down and gave her a kiss on top of her head before he moved over to the door. Now he was beginning to get a little nervous. Not a lot, seeing as he and Javier had spent time together before, but more just a little...anxious. So far things were going well with the tailor and he really wanted them to keep going that route.

Stopping at the door, he took a breath and opened it with a smile. Sure enough, there was Javier on the other side. ”Hey Javier,” he said as he embraced the man and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. ”Glad you could...make it?” Why did that sound awkward? He didn’t know but awkward it felt. With a grumble he smirked as he stepped aside to let Javier in. ”Come on, dinner is almost ready.”

Booker’s mood had been noticeably upbeat lately, and Vanessa was going to meet the man responsible for it. It was still disappointing that things with Jules were just not going to work out thanks to her power, but the way Booker had been floating around like some giddy Disney princess filled her with hope that Javier had the potential to be something great for her brother.

In the interest of protecting that potential, Booker convinced Vanessa that a planned meeting would be a good idea, considering their curse with significant others. Booker made it clear that Javier would handle it very poorly if she stumbled upon the two men in a compromising position, as Bookman siblings tended to do. Perhaps if they cut things off at the pass, she could be spared the horror of seeing Booker in the act again.

Booker was honest with Nessa and let her know about Javier’s anxiety, and Nessa wanted to do her part to be less of a bitch than was her standard. The plan was dinner, which Nessa was led to believe would be a fancy affair out at a restaurant. The notion perplexed her since that sounded like a much more stressful environment to throw Javier into, and her suspicions were confirmed when she walked out of her room in a nice dress only to find Booker casually making tacos. All cursing was well-earned by her jerk of a brother as she stormed off to change, quietly thankful Booker chose a more casual setting for the scene, even if he hid it from her until the last moment.

After changing into cutoffs and a red and white striped top, she returned to the kitchen and glared at Booker when he commented on her appearance. Before she could reply, there was a knock on the door and she begrudgingly accepted the role of food stirrer, along with the wooden spoon of her new position. ”Fine. But for the record? You’re a bag of dicks, Book.” He still gave her a kiss atop her head, and while she scrunched her nose, she did smile. It was nice to see Booker like this.

She heard Booker greeting Javier and he sounded… was that her brother nervous? That was interesting; Booker was a pretty confident guy, so she did not often experience him nervous. He must have really wanted things to go well with Javier tonight. She smiled, keeping quiet and awaiting the lovebirds entrance into the kitchen.

Javier could vaguely hear Booker's voice, and a girl answering, before the door opened. For a second he really hoped the sister was not going to open the door; being introduced was always nicer than having to introduce yourself. He smiled a little in relief when he saw Booker in the doorway.

>>”Hey Javier. Glad you could...make it? Come on, dinner is almost ready.”

Javier smiled more as he got a peck on the cheek, and followed Booker into the apartment. He seemed a little... nervous? That was unusual for him, especially in his home. Javier wondered if his sister meeting his... Javier was really such an important thing to him. He decided to do his best not to make things awkward. By all accounts, Nessa was a cool person to know.

Except... he already knew her.

Javier realized that the moment they walked into the kitchen, but it took him several long seconds to place the face and the name. When he did, he could not imagine how he did not put these two together before. The girl who came out twice in one night to him at the bar, hesitant about her mind-reading powers. Wait... Booker's sister was a mutant?...

Booker's sister could read his mind?!

Instinctively, Javier shifted a little closer to Booker, to make sure he was in his aura.

"Oh... hey! It's you."

Smooth.

Booker didn’t mean to come off as a jerk to his sister. When he told her it was a fancy affair, he had actually been considering that as an option. But the thoughts of dressing up, as getting his suit all dry cleaned, choosing another place to have dinner for all three of them, it felt like a lot more work than was necessary. On top of that, if he were feeling anxious about it, Javier would probably be a wreck if he had gone into that situation. Not that he would not have been there to see the tailor through it, but considering that he was meeting his sister for the first time, it was an added stress that he didn’t need to heap onto the kind man.

Besides, inconveniencing Nessa was just an added bonus. It was a crappy thing to wait last minute to tell her that he was just going to cook dinner for the three of them, but at least he timed it to the point that she had plenty of time to change and get comfortable. He would get dagger-eyes for the rest of the night, probably, but his sister knew he wasn’t entirely malicious. Anyways he was sure she would eventually earn that as payback for something she did or was going to do. So, in the end, the Bookman actions were always justified.

>> ”Fine. But for the record? You’re a bag of dicks, Book.”

He chuckled as he moved away after kissing her head. ”Come on...” he started. ”...an entire bag?” He smirked sweetly as he slipped away to answer the door.

He still didn’t know why Javier made him so nervous. It wasn’t in a bad way either, like he was scared of the tailor’s wrath or something. Rather, something about Javier just made Booker giddy. He was happy to see him again, excited to spend time, even if there was the possibility of a stressful situation meeting his sister. In the end, Booker held faith that this would go well. Why wouldn’t it? Despite how much he teased his sister, he knew her strong points and she was pretty good with interacting with people.

Well, when they weren’t straddling his lap, anyways. He shook that thought off, smiling as he stepped aside to allow Javier in. The kiss on the cheek was well-received, awesome, and already things were looking up. So when Booker closed his door behind his date for the evening, he led Javier from the hall to the kitchen where the big meet-up would take place.

”So! Here we go! Javier I’d like you to mee--”

>>"Oh... hey! It's you."

He paused. He blinked. He looked at the recognition in Javier’s eyes for a moment before the tailor stepped slightly closer to him. A momentary flash of confusion raced through his mind as he glanced between them, his head cocked like a puppy watching a magic trick for the first time. He almost made a similar whine of confusion before actual words formed from his lips. ”You’ve...met?” he asked, looking between the two of them.

Vanessa was starting to become more comfortable with her identity as a mutant. She was not ready to start wearing mutant t-shirts and opening up to total strangers, but she was coming clean to her friends and occasionally she would mention it with friends of friends. She was going on the assumption that the people she loved would not be friends with crappy people. Thus far, things had been going well, defying years and years of her panic and paranoia.

It was her intention to be clear to Booker's new boy that she was a mutant with mind reading abilities so she was not catching him off guard, but when the two finally returned to the kitchen, it turned out to be a moot point.

In Vanessa's defense, Javier was not an uncommon name in New York City; she had three in her homeroom freshman year. Booker mentioning that he was a mutant should have set off some bells in her head, but she did not expect the friendly young man from the X-Gene Persuasion to walk into the room, nestling close to Booker. "Hey you!" She flashed a genuine smile; from what she remembered, Javier was a good guy, which gave him a better starting point than most of Booker's significant others.

Booker, meanwhile, was justifiably confused. She turned back to stirring as she answered his curiosity. "So your boy and I may have crossed paths at a mutant gay bar once upon a time. Small world, right?"

Booker looked a little surprised when Javier and Nessa greeted each other. It must have been strange, being all prepared and excited and maybe nervous to introduce Javier to his sister, just to find out they already knew each other. Not that either of them could have given him a heads up...

>>”You’ve...met?”

>>"Hey you!... So your boy and I may have crossed paths at a mutant gay bar once upon a time. Small world, right?"

Javier felt a mixed flood of relief and worry. On the one hand, he'd already met Nessa, and she was a nice person. Combined with what he knew from Booker, he had no reason to be nervous. On the other hand... he was dating someone whose protective sister was a mind-reader. Mind-reading made him nervous to begin with (no one needed to read that mess), and he was not sure a sibling would keep from taking a peek, just for preemptive defense...
Also, mutant gay bar.

"I was... trying to get out of my comfort zone" Javier muttered with a smirk, then held out a hand to Nessa "Nice to see you again. Your brother didn't tell me you were a mutant... Otherwise I might have guessed?"

Honestly, who would expect an adapted to have a mutant sibling?

>>"Hey you!"

Okay, so Booker was a little confused now. He had worked out this entire scenario in his head once he suggested to Javier that he get together with his sister for an easy-going dinner. He had everything planned down to the tee, imagining as many scenarios as he could, anticipating for anything and everything -- except for this. He didn’t plan for this. The look of recognition in Javier’s eyes, the friendly voice of his sister, yes, they knew each other and yet neither of them told him that fact? But there must be an explanation for it. What it could be, he had no idea but he certainly wanted to know.

So he asked. Did they know one another?

>>"So your boy and I may have crossed paths at a mutant gay bar once upon a time. Small world, right?"

His eyebrow arched? Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaally? He turned his gaze down to Javier, smirking a little teasingly as he watched the other wither under the stares. However, he quickly seemed to gather his resolve and explained his position...

>>"I was... trying to get out of my comfort zone"

Okay so he could understand that a bit. Booker had anxiety himself and if there was one thing his therapists always taught him was that he needed to push his comfort zone as often, and as comfortable, as possible. It helped to stop those false thoughts. What was the mantra? ‘They’re only thoughts, not reality’. Sometimes when having a full-blown panic attack, it was hard to remember that. But the mantra helped to quell those dark thoughts, to provide a way back to calmer breathing and a sigh of relief. Booker hated feeling like that, he hated that Javier had to feel like that, but he was glad that the tailor was doing what was necessary to pull himself out of his funk.

”Hrm...makes sense,” he said with a nod. He then crossed his arms over his chest, watchin as Javier stepped away to greet his sister who was being the stalwart rice stirrer he demanded her to be.

>>"Nice to see you again. Your brother didn't tell me you were a mutant... Otherwise I might have guessed?"

He chuckled as he stepped into the kitchen as well, maneuvering around Javier and Nessa as he grabbed a combination of flour tortillas and corn tortillas and started to prep them for heating up. The food was nearly ready and he was close enough to engage in conversation. However he didn’t want to impose too much as he wanted to see how the two of them got along. Still, Booker had never been one to let a verbal sparring match with his sister slide.

”I mean, where would I have found the time to squeeze in that factoid?” He added. ”So much more I can use to talk about her behind her back?” He smiled sweetly.

[/i][/div]

The whole point of their dinner plan was, in theory, to avoid complications and surprises so things were kept easy for Javier to handle. They all should have known a surprise would find them, regardless of where they chose to have dinner and their inaugural meeting. It could have been a lot worse; Javier was not some kid who used to harass her in high school, nor was he someone Nessa had chewed out while she was in a bad mood. They had a friendly run in at a gay bar, which meant they were starting from a positive point. That was the good kind of surprise, right?

Also, it was fun to watch the rare utter look of confusion on Booker’s face.

While Booker processed the news, Nessa stepped toward Javier and accepted his hand, shaking it leisurely. It was a nice change of pace; she did not feel the need to death grip his hand like some of the guys Booker had brought home. Javier did not strike her as the type to mistreat a guy; if anything, she hoped Booker would be on his best behavior. Thankfully, Booker understood what life with anxiety was like, so perhaps they were really just a perfect pair.

Before she could chime in, Booker had already started teasing her while he worked on meal prep. He was always good at multitasking. ”Oh, be careful if you don’t want me to lead your boy here through a PowerPoint of Booker’s greatest embarrassing hits. I’m not above embarrassing you.”

She looked at Javier and grinned. ”Nice to see you again, Javi. Really. So now tell me, how did you and my goofball of a brother meet?” Booker had not yet given her all the details and she’d rather hear them from him.

If Booker had mentioned that his sister Vanessa was also a mutant, Javier might have put two and two together. Or might not. What were the odds, in a place like New York City? As they shook hands, he furiously tried to recall all information about her that she had shared, and the conversation they had, to see if there was anything he, or she, needed to be embarrassed about. Or rather, anything that he needed to embarrassed about knowing.

>>”I mean, where would I have found the time to squeeze in that factoid? So much more I can use to talk about her behind her back?”

>>”Oh, be careful if you don’t want me to lead your boy here through a PowerPoint of Booker’s greatest embarrassing hits. I’m not above embarrassing you.”

"I have a younger brother. I know how that works." Javier noted with a smirk. Booker moved over to work on the food; Javier glanced his way to make sure he did not venture out of range. He did not trust his surprised thoughts to pull themselves together just yet.

>>”Nice to see you again, Javi. Really. So now tell me, how did you and my goofball of a brother meet?”

At least she was being nice to him, even if she was being mean to her brother. Kind of.

"We... met at the farmer's market" Javier admitted with a smile "And then Booker came over... to work on a cosplay. I have a tailor shop." he added, to clarify what all that really meant. Plus he could not remember if he'd mentioned that before.

Booker smirked to himself after he had told Javier that the reason he had neglected to say anything about his sister’s x-gene was because there was so much else to rag on, how was he going to find the time to get to it. He was kidding, of course. The real reason that he didn’t tell Javier was simply because it wasn’t his story to tell. As excited as he was about mutants, the truth was that mutants deserved their privacy. Not everyone needed to know who was a mutant and who wasn’t. If Nessa wanted to say she was a mutant, or give Booker permission to, then so be it, but he wouldn’t do so until otherwise informed.

Of course he couldn’t help but deliver a slight jab at his sister, a pastime of his. And, like always, she was quick to deliver one back...

>>”Oh, be careful if you don’t want me to lead your boy here through a PowerPoint of Booker’s greatest embarrassing hits. I’m not above embarrassing you.”

He smirked and stuck his tongue out at her. He played it cool but he knew that Nessa had him beat. He doubted that she would actually do that but he would play nice nonetheless. Chuckling he went back to finishing warming the tortillas.

>>"I have a younger brother. I know how that works."

”See? Javier knows the trouble that comes with dealing with a evil sibling,” he smirked.

Quietly Booker went back to his work. The food was almost done. Drinks were nicely chilled. All that needed to be done now was to prepare the serving plates and get everything out onto the table. But, still, as Booker maneuvered around the kitchen, grabbing plates from high shelves and serving spoons from drawers, he couldn’t help but listen in at a few choice bits of conversation that were occuring nearby.

>>”Nice to see you again, Javi. Really. So now tell me, how did you and my goofball of a brother meet?”

>>"We... met at the farmer's market...And then Booker came over... to work on a cosplay. I have a tailor shop."

He smirked. ”Yeah that Bandit shirt I was telling you about?” he reminded his sister. ”Javier was the one who was working on it. Did an amazing job too. I found a trenchcoat that matches it perfectly.”

Booker’s luck with partners was hit or miss. There were real sweethearts he had dated, with Jules being the latest in the line of them. There was a reason Vanessa also dated Chloe and Shelby, after all. On the other end of the spectrum, Booker had dated manipulative, selfish jerks. (And for no justifiable reason, she dated Spencer, and could attest to her being a train wreck nightmare.)

Now she could breathe a sigh of relief. Javier was a total gentleman to her and everything about the way he walked and talked made it hard to see him as a jerk, (unless he was the world’s most impressive actor.) New York found a way to bring people together in odd ways, and the longer Nessa lived in her home city, the more she accepted it had its own strange powers. She should have known Booker would walk in with someone she would know.
>> "I have a younger brother. I know how that works."
>> ”See? Javier knows the trouble that comes with dealing with a evil sibling,”

Nessa took a seat and shrugged. ”Hey, I’ve already accepted I’m the evil sibling. Pretty sure if we polled our parents and our friends, it’d be a unanimous vote,” she joked. ”Doesn’t mean I can’t sling a little mud on the golden boy. Oh, and let him get dinner ready alone, since someone decided to screw with me tonight,” she added, glaring at her brother to remind him that she had not just forgotten his misleading tactics.

She would, however, set that aside so she could get the story of how the two handsome men crossed paths. Of course it was some adorable meet-cute at a farmer’s market. It had all the makings of the opening chapters for a successful gay romance novel. A very nerdy one, apparently, as the two ended up working on a cosplay.

Nessa was already grinning; given Booker’s hobbies, a boyfriend who could help out with a cosplay was a major selling point. ”Right, the bandit shirt! So you’re the genius behind that one.” Nessa looked Javier in the eyes, shaking her head in disappointment. ”You know, you’re not making this easy for me, Javi. If you already know what a massive dork my brother is, that takes away a lot of my ammunition to tease him with.” Nessa would just have to work harder to pick something to give Booker a hard time about; she had confidence in her ability to do that.

”So that’s what you do, then? A tailor and fulfiller of geek dreams? Do you do any cosplaying of your own, or are you mainly the man behind the scenes?” Behind every great cosplayer was a great tailor.

Booker was clearly fond of his sister, whatever sibling-rivalry banter they managed to put on for show. Javier had his own brat of a little brother, full of sass and love, and it took one to recognize one. His shyness usually kept him from fighting too much with Ignacio, but, strangely enough, it was a familiar enough experience that he did not feel awkward in the middle of the Bookman banter.

>>”Hey, I’ve already accepted I’m the evil sibling. Pretty sure if we polled our parents and our friends, it’d be a unanimous vote. Doesn’t mean I can’t sling a little mud on the golden boy. Oh, and let him get dinner ready alone, since someone decided to screw with me tonight,”

Javier arched an eyebrow in Booker's direction. Had he been messing with his sister at his expense? Probably. Even though he couldn't know Javier and Nessa already knew each other, he probably tried to relieve the tension with some kind of a joke. Javier was all too glad to move on to talking about other things. Like how they had met.

>>”Yeah that Bandit shirt I was telling you about? Javier was the one who was working on it. Did an amazing job too. I found a trenchcoat that matches it perfectly.”

>> ”Right, the bandit shirt! So you’re the genius behind that one. You know, you’re not making this easy for me, Javi. If you already know what a massive dork my brother is, that takes away a lot of my ammunition to tease him with.”

"I know what a dork he is" Javier admitted with a small smile. Honestly, he liked that about Booker. Being a fanboy meant that he could be openly, purely, and unashamedly excited for the things he liked. It was kind of endearing. That opinion was probably clear on Javier's face as he glanced in Booker's direction.

>>”So that’s what you do, then? A tailor and fulfiller of geek dreams? Do you do any cosplaying of your own, or are you mainly the man behind the scenes?”

"Well, I don't only work for cosplay" Javier admitted with a chuckle "In fact... that part's kinda new. I don't think I would have done it if Booker hadn't brought it up. But I am a tailor." he paused "How about you? What do you do when you are not keeping your brother in line?"

Booker smirked as he finished warming the tortillas. He was setting everything very nicely on serving plates as he listened in on both Javier and Nessa getting to know one another. The two of them had only started dating but Booker had a good feeling about the tailor. That, of course, meant that he needed to extra mindful of the possibility Nessa walking in on the two of them. It was almost becoming a universal law these days that one should stumble across the other either pre, mid, or post intimacy; that was something that Javier certainly didn’t need to suffer through.

This was good though. Nessa was behaving, Javier was engaging, it was a state of affairs made only better by the fact the two of them had already met -- however briefly. That was something that Booker could work with.

When asked how they met, Javier related the adorable story of how they had met at the farmer’s market, a point which Booker reiterated when he said that Javier was also the one who helped him to complete the Bandit shirt that he would be wearing for his next cosplay. Really, Booker had raved about that shirt when he showed it to Nessa, and knew that it would look like perfection when added to everything else.

>> ”Right, the bandit shirt! So you’re the genius behind that one. You know, you’re not making this easy for me, Javi. If you already know what a massive dork my brother is, that takes away a lot of my ammunition to tease him with.”

>>"I know what a dork he is"

Booker feigned a shocked face as he held his hand over his heart and looked at Javier accusingly (in an adorable way, of course). ”Et tu...Javier?’ The betrayal was real, or at least he made it seem that way at first. The smile that cracked his lips afterwards was enough to prove that he wasn’t actually offended by the comment. Grinning he winked at the tailor as he gathered plates and started to take them out to the dining table, of course listening as the two chatted.

>>”So that’s what you do, then? A tailor and fulfiller of geek dreams? Do you do any cosplaying of your own, or are you mainly the man behind the scenes?”

>>"Well, I don't only work for cosplay...In fact... that part's kinda new. I don't think I would have done it if Booker hadn't brought it up. But I am a tailor...How about you? What do you do when you are not keeping your brother in line?"

Booker wasn’t going to interrupt them, not when things were going to well. It was definitely better than when he and Jules were dating. Nessa pretty much dared the nurse to make a wrong move. Then again, their first meeting had been with finding her straddling his lap in a dark living room -- probably not the best first impression. But this time it certainly seemed different. Javier and Nessa already kinda knew one another and now it was just filling in the gaps from when they met until now. Easy-peezy!

Besides, he had more than enough to do with taking plates out to the kitchen and setting them up nicely. He knew that Javier was trying to hovering near his aura, at least that was what his observed since the tailor had recognized his sister. If he knew her powers, then yeah, wanting some extra insurance that his mind wouldn’t be read was probably a given. Still, he hoped he wasn’t giving the tailor a run for his money as Booker kept moving between the kitchen and the dining room to grab plates. It was only going to be a few more minutes -- then Javier could safely sit next to him and keep his mind secret again.

Nessa could be rough around the edges; it was a flaw she would freely admit to. Crass comments, blunt delivery, and occasionally rude questions were all not unheard of for her. If she wanted to be difficult, she would have gladly done so, but she was making a real effort. They were going to eat delicious tacos and her brother managed to bring someone home she trusted the intentions of, so there was no real reason to be a challenge.

She was going to be a team player, but she was still going to tease Booker. She wanted Javier to get a genuine impression of them together, and genuine for Nessa and Book meant bickering and teasing.

Javier freely admitted to knowing about Booker’s dorkiness, which boded well for the pair; he saw her brother at his nerdiest and did not go running. Booker took the moment to ham it up and act betrayed, and Nessa promptly rolled her eyes at the display.

They were settling into small talk, with Javier explaining his job as a tailor with some budding cosplay experience. Booker was weaving in and out of the room, so Nessa was instinctively doing her best to maintain eye contact with Javier. She did not want to pry, but at the same time, she had a decade of life experience that made her most comfortable when she could peer into someone’s thoughts. If Booker strayed just far enough away from her and Javier, she could get small snippets of what was going on in that handsome shaved head of his.


Fair was fair, of course, and Javier was curious about what Vanessa did for a living. She loved talking about her job, but it was not always easy to explain to people who were not familiar with the online entertainment space. ”Well, I am a member of an online production company. I do a few things, honestly. Some small animation and editing work. But mostly, I am an online personality for our content.” Which sounded very vague and could mean anything from making websites to smut films. ”It mostly amounts to being snarky when I host one of our podcasts and yelling at people as we play video games online for peoples amusement.”

She nodded, very curious what Javier might be thinking about her job. ”It’s a very awesome, very weird job.”