Zaid was in a panic.

He was trying to finish last minute Christmas shopping before last minute got too, well, last minute. It was the first week of December, and already the stores were ramping up their holiday temptations. Zaid--having never been in a relationship before--was struggling with one gift in particular. Or gifts? He should get multiple things, shouldn't he? What did you get your boyfriend, now that they had been dating for almost a year, and it was their first official Christmas together? Socks? Gloves? A tie?

And then he had other people to consider. There was Andrea, and her snakes. Maybe the snakes needed hats?

Maybe the snakes needed ties?

He was in the middle of a rack looking at video game themed ties which he felt did not seem very 'Jude' like, and then saw a figure from the distance.

It was the perfect person to help!

"Valentine's buddy?! Is that you? It is! Oh, stars, I need your help! Have you ever done Christmas shopping before? Please, please tell me you have!"

Zaid was dressed in a heavy white jacket, which made his snowy white hair and ears stand out even more than normal. Honestly he could pass for a k-pop character, which had draw the attention of several teenage girls. Maybe he was the one who needed a hat...

Christmas. A holiday she hadn't ever really celebrated because 'All conventional holidays are just ploys by big companies and the government to get you to spend more money!' She wasn't going to bother trying to make sense of it, that was just the belief system by which she had been raised.

Which... made shopping right now, already into December, really really Stessful.

She had friends now! Like, actual friends, she saw more than twice and actually wanted to talk to! Blue, and Xavier, and April, and Cora, and Sam, well, assuming she ever found him, and... and...

What in the @#$% was she supposed to buy all those people!?

After hearing a familiar voice refer to her as Valentines Buddy she turned from the rack of boxers she was currently looking at with a wild, panicked look in her eye and an armload of Comic Book themed clothing in her hands.

"Zaid?!" Had she done the Christmas thing before? Nope! Was she still going to offer to help because she was a masochist? You bet! Heh... Masochist, get it? Because the-... Nevermind. Moving on!

"I haven't, I'm sorry! My parents were dumb and didn't believe in holidays so I have absolutely no clue what I'm doing!" She helps up a pair of the boxers in one hand almost desperately, "Is it weird to buy your friend boxers if you owe him a pair anyway?!"

Zaid was relieved it was his friend, then startled as she held out the boxers. His ear twitched slightly, tilted to one side, and considered the question she presented. "Well, I mean, they sell them in the little gift tins so it can't be that weird to buy? Someone is buying the gift tins? I think if they are like, superhero themed or something it isn't strange. Just don't get like...anything fancy or uh, silk?" That would probably send a different message. Sort of like buying someone pajama bottoms verses a nightgown? In theory, he was thinking. Not that he had many female friends that he would have to clarify that sort of gift giving ritual with.

He looked down at a pocketknife he had been considered, then realized he had no idea if Jude would actually use a pocket knife. Would he like kitchen gadgets more? Or something for work...Did you get your boyfriend a pen, or was that lame? "If someone has snakes for hair, do you buy a hat for their whole head or...each individual snake?" Zaid mused out loud.

"I'm sorry, I'm not any help either. I mean, my parents did Christmas a little, but the most I've done in the last few years was buy my coworker like a mug or a gift card..."

No silk.

She looked at the boxers in her hand, which were very much made of silk, and promptly tossed them away over her shoulder.

"I owe him a pair of pants, too.... so like, top of my list. Because-... nevermind, that sounded weird. Ignore that." She abandoned a few more silky articles of clothing as well.

"Huh... snakes?" There was only one person she could think of with a head full of snakes that Zaid knew. "That's kinda like that 'how would a chicken wear pants' question. Would the snakes wear the hats? Doesn't she has like... little things she puts on them already?" Discarding a few more things, she was left with a fleecy pair of PJ pants that had Z-team logos all over it. You know, cuz... he was part of the X-men? And... heh, the Z-team was like, the comic book parody of them?

... whatever, she thought it was funny.

"I dunno. Like, if I was her that would feel like a lot of work for me... Although.... they make like, ornaments and lights for beards. I wonder if they make ornaments for snakes?" The image of the green woman all dolled up in red, with little glittery ornaments and lights on all of her hair-snakes was just.... wholesome? Too adorable?

"who're you lookin' to buy gifts for other than your fine snake friend? Boyfriend?" What was his name again... Maude? Jade? Jean-Claude?

"Don't worry! Between the two of us, i'm sure we can figure it out. We can balance each other or whatever! Like, I have a friend who's super into fire... is it stupid to get him marshmallows?"

Zaid didn't think about how fitting hats and little muzzle on a bunch of snakes would be a chore. He was mostly imagining how Sloth would probably feel undignified tossed up inside a beanie, but how else would you wear a hat?

Maybe he needed to stop with the hat idea. He considered the lights and made a little face. "But I'm not sure she can see colors? I feel like she tried to explain it to me once...wouldn't getting her a bunch of lights she can't see be kinda mean? Maybe a scarf. Do snakes like scarves?"

She held up the pajama bottoms, and Zaid nodded that it seemed like a safer bet. Then he blushed, pink tinting his face and making his white hair look a little rosy. Maybe it was his ears that actually were a little rosy..."Oh, Jude. Yeah, I'm trying to get him something but he is hard to shop for. I mean, he likes sort of classier things. Like, I thought maybe he might need a new suit for work or maybe some shoes since he only has the one nice pair, but I think nice outfits you have to get fitted more... And we already put a lot into decorating the apartment, after all the remodeling. I mean, we had to fix the floor when the bathtub went through it... Marshmallows? I feel like the whole point of marshmallows is to NOT catch them on fire. Just, toast them?" Zaid looked at a section of kitchen gadgets and picked up a measuring cup in the shape of Santa's face.

"Am I the only one who thinks an old guys face on all the decorations is a little...creepy?" His ears flattened the longer he looked at the spoons. He didn't even want to get started on the whole idea of a strange man sneaking into your house via the chimney and watching people in their sleep...

Juniper's eyes widened a bit. "Oh sh- she can't see colors? Crap, I hope I haven't been an unknowing jerk at any point..." She tried her best to be open and accepting of people from all walks of life, like... unless they did something to get that revoked or whatever. She really hoped she hadn't made the nice lady feel bad about being colorblind at any point.

"Scarves could be fun. Not as hard to get to stay on as hats I'd say. Plus I'd bet that they would look like cute hair bows!"

Wait... something was different about Zaid. Something was off.. What was it though? Had his ears always turned that color? Did he seem... brighter than normal?

"Heeeey, when did you dye your hair!? It's super cute! Totally suits you!" It must have been fresh too, as she couldn't see any dark at his roots.

Oh, but back to presents. "Hm... well, if he likes suits and stuff why not get him some of those fancy deelybobs that go on his sleeves?" She scrunched her face up while trying to remember what they were called. "...Cufflinks! You could get him some custom cuff links. Like... with little rabbits on them?"

A devious grin slithered its way onto her face, "Or, like... you could get him something you could both enjoy. I know a lot of toys that would be a lot of fun!" She then proceeded to spit out, loudly, an assortment of adult toy names that she could think of off the top of her head.

Soo... Marshmallows were probably a no-go then. Zaid had a point. Blue would just end up grumpy and sticky and probably set her couch on fire in retaliation. Maybeeee... something practical then? Like... more pants he couldn't burn. Or a phone he couldn't lose, or....

None of those things seemed feasible. She'd stumbled across his pants once out in the of the city, abandoned, with him nowhere in sight. Juniper whined in the back of her throat, "Everyone I know is so hard to shop fooooor."

She glanced around at all of the Santa faces plastered everywhere and shrugged. "Nah... I always thought it was creepy that some dude I'd never met kept tabs on what I was doing and was trying to bribe me into being 'good' with gifts. Like... ain't that the same thing parents have been warning kids about for ages? Don't take candy from strangers and all that? Made it a lot easier hating it as a kid."

Zaid felt a little like a bad friend trying to explain someone else’s powers when he didn’t entirely understand them himself. He ran a hand across an ear and floundered for a moment. ”I mean, she sees some of them, but, it depends on what they are made of, I think. She came over when we were remodeling, I may have asked a few times how something looked...” he looked at the scarves and tried to imagine different ones for Andrea. The red and green seemed doomed to be cheesy. But, would she dislike that? Maybe Blue? Or pink and go the whole broadway route....

He was brought back from his distraction when Juniper mentioned his hair. Zaid blushed a little and glanced at a nearby mirror. Oh, it was pretty white today. ”It happens during the winter. My hair is technically fur, and since the rabbit fur gets lighter, sort of changes with it.” okay there was no sort of. His hair definitely got lighter when it started to snow out. It was pretty light when he met Jude, although this year it seemed extra pale. Jude kept teasing how he was getting an old man look. Another gaggle if girls was whispering one aisle over.

Cuff links? He brought his attention back and made a face. ”Do people still wear those? Stars, I think that would make Jude feel old...”

Juni compromised by suggesting adult items he could buy. Zaid turned as red as a Christmas sweater and frantically tried to wave her to stop. ”I take it back! The cuff links sound better! No more ideas! And never mention any of those things again, especially anything with a tail attached!” mental image burnt into his brain for life, Zaid tried to look at the other superhero themed items. And he thought his Manga was bad!

”So, uh, fire guy? Does he cook? Or just like to watch things burn? We talking bonfires or like, candles?” He turned a Santa doll around on the shelf so it wasn’t staring at him and desperately tried to move the conversation somewhere more PG.

"Oh, well that's neat!" No wonder his hair looked so soft!

"I... think? I've gone on dates with a few people who wear them." Then again, those people had been older than 30. Older was still sexy, but she supposed some people did have some issues with being reminded how close they were to the grave. "OK. Maybe not cuff links. Hm.. Classier stuff. Is he a wine drinker? Does he take, like, relaxing baths? Maybe you could surprise him with spa stuff and his favorite vintage or whatever."

She full-on busted out laughing at his reaction and took way too long calming back down. It was so adorable! Everything went red! "Okay, okay. My bad. I'm done, I promise!"

She plucked away at the hem of the pair of hands still in her hands, wondering, and then set them aside with the others. "Uh, like... all of the above? He definitely likes to cook, and definitely loves to burn stuff. I wonder... maybe stuff that burns longer? I mean lasts longer?" She'd never thought of wax before. What would it feel like sitting in a bathtub full of melted candles??

Zaid was hoping Juniper would help with his Christmas shopping, but was honestly finding himself more confused. Would Jude like wine? They hadn’t exactly drank together, or rather, had the chance to. Jude had his 21st birthday that summer, but they had avoided giving Zaid much alcohol since the last time he got drunk. Well, the last two times. Frankly the bun boy did not hold his liquor well. ”We haven’t exactly had much chance to drink together. I think I heard him mention having wine at a work function, but I just turned 21 so we haven’t gone anywhere together.” he tried avoiding mentioning how he acted drunk.

He tried to imagine Jude taking a bath, ”Also, our bathtub sort of fell through the first story, so I’m not sure Jude will ever relax in it again. Given, he was trying to shower at the time...” nothing made you wary of a bath like a short fall through your own floor.

Zaid listened to Juniper talk about her friend, and glanced around at their gift options, ”Maybe you can make a theme gift? Like some candles and a pan and some matches and then the marshmallows. You can even put one of those cheesy cards in it like ‘drop it like it’s hot!’”

Having someone almost two years older than her flaunt their responsibility in her face like that was enough to make her reel back into herself a little. Just turned 21... not a chance to drink together. Heck.. she'd had a glass of wine with breakfast while mustering up the courage to go gift shopping. "Oh, haha, yeaaah."

Juniper ended up eyeballing him again when he explained, for the second time, that the bathtub had gone through the floor. For some reason, she had thought he was joking. "Th-... THE WHOLE TUB?!" Her raised voice caught some attention from other shoppers and she shuffled a few steps closer. "Jesus and I thought that I lived in a dump. I'm assuming he's alright and like, there isn't still a giant hole in your floor."

She tried to imagine giving Blue a basket filled with all sorts of things he could burn and then handing him that specific card. Her eyes went a bit distant as she imagined walls of flame large enough to rival hell itself engulfing the whole apartment complex as he burned everything down from a single flaming joke card. Him smiling devilishly with his hands on his hips, '[/i]What? You told me to drop it, didn't ya Love?'[/i]

"...Maaaaybe."

She shelved that idea for now. "What about some of those love coupons for your guy? Like, the ones with massages, and dinners, and foot rubs or whatever."

She paused, and then added, "Oh! What about music? Is he a fan? .... Is Blue a fan of music?" Aaaaand now she had something else to puzzle over.

Zaid was forced to remember Juniper was not exactly a responsible individual. Or, an adult for that manner. Their Valentine's adventure had been a manner of what could be regarded as miscreant activity, and had in fact, ended in a veeeery drunk Zaid who only had slight memories of dancing left from that adventure.

The bathtub, however, surprised her. Zaid found it a little odd that the concept of damaged floors seemed unusual. "Oh, yeah, we live in a little bit of a fixer-upper, and I guess there was some wood rot or something and it just sort of, went through the floor...and no, the hole is gone. I mean, I've fallen through the floor in a few places, but it's all fixed now. Although, maybe a container with some spackling or something would be humorous after the uh, misfortunes? As a gag gift... Along with the uh...whatever I get him. Right now cufflinks seem the only plausible plan..." he groaned and rubbed his forehead, ears flicking down in frustration.

His attention went to the coupons, then Zaid looked thoughtful. "Do people like coupons like that? I mean he works with a bunch of you know, really uh...they do guns and stuff like that, and so I know he isn't as like, of a macho guy, but I'm not sure he is as comfortable with some things as I am." It wasn't polite to say phrases like 'toxic masculinity' in the middle of a store, but the arm wrestling and hatchet throwing contest had warned on that sort of environment.

But then... there was one person he could ask...

"Hey! Have you ever been to the mansion? There was this kid who lived there, like, 7 years old but she works with Jude and I bet she would know a gift idea! Maybe she would know about your fire friend too...she does like tasers and explosives..." Zaid thought outloud.

Juniper paused. "I...uh.... I dunno, actually. I've gotten a few from people but never actually used them. Some are like, "Bring me breakfast in bed" and junk, and some are like "suck on my toes"... so I guess it would depend on him." She shrugged, "If he's super into guns and stuff though, I do know a bit about that. Maybe a custom gun skin?"

Zaid made a recommendation and she blinked. Jude... worked with a 7-year-old? That was... interesting? "I go to school there." Kinda sort, "So, yeah! We can totally head there!"

She put down whatever she had been fiddling with and waited for him to take lead. Or... was she leading? She wasn't sure. Had Zaid ever been to the mansion?

"I can drive us if you want, I drove here. Or we can hop on a bus or whatever."

Zaid tried not to make faces at Juniper's coupon examples. He tried not to judge, but...suck on someone's toes? Who would actually...wait, he didn't want to know. His brain flashed through images of mangas and comics he had come across when trying to find something new to read and the nerd in him was very certain he did not want to follow that train of thought any further.

"Well, I can't say we didn't explore all ideas at least...the gun skin might be closer but chances of me identifying what weapon he uses is slim to none..."

Evelyn, however, would know! A kid with a perfect memory was useful to keep around.

Then Juniper dropped an unexpected tidbit of information.

"Wait, you can drive? That's so cool! I've lived around here my whole life so driving wasn't really necessary. Is it fun? Is it boring? I hear traffic is horrible all the time!" his ears perked up and he looked a little too interested in the prospect of being in a car. Given the last time he was in one, he had been kidnapped, or drunk. Actually, he couldn't remember being a normal passenger in a vehicle before...cabs were much more 'New York'.