Koga counted this week’s earnings from clearing the gutters and washing the windows of the several neighbors that were relieved to see he was ok, and back in business, there was something to be said for the way mutants could do tasks that required other workers to use so much more. He rotated his clients with a few other kids from the mansion, each specialized to a specific task. He had more than enough to by a good gift for Gina, but how much was too much? to exspensive, too soon, he could have made her a mix tape and made her happy…he knew she would be pleased with whatever he got her…but that wasn’t the point, he didn’t want her simply happy, he wanted her enamored. There were a ton of males in this school and with the living quarters set up, this was a rough place to operate in. he didn’t think that she would date anybody else but they hadn’t talked about being exclusive either.

He sat on the steps into the main entry. He was going to go out shopping, but he wanted an idea of where to go first.

He had one idea, that would make her happy, relieved…but he would have to find some leads for that. Maybe sewing stuff, some nice fabric that matched an outfit to augment? It was thoughtful…but was it right? He could buy her some literature, but how could he guess everything she had already read?
He could talk to agnes, but he was pretty sure she was ready to hurt him after he had managed to steal Gina’s heart so quickly.

He stared at the floor. What was he going to do?

He looked to Mr. Halloway walking toward the exit. He could make her some art…He tilted his head, he was much better at rendering images with computers…”nah.’ What he needed was advice.

He hopped up and fell instep with the art teacher , they had seen each other around, heck he even looked into the guys past for Sam shortly after he returned. He was solid, besides, he had a good feeling about him, he seemed the type to attract trouble to him, not cause it. at least that was Koga’s take on him after he got a good feel for the paperwork said he was. Holloway of course knew nothing about the investigation.

“Mr.Holloway, you got a minute?”

Life was stressful enough as a mutant before one took into account a job dealing exclusively with mutants and a relationship with a beautiful mutant cop who had a hard time trusting her ex-con boyfriend. Nate had plenty on his plate, even in the summer, as fall was closing in on him. He spent time at the school preparing for the upcoming semester, tutoring when he could, and getting more connected with some of the other staff members.

Walking down the hall towards the exit, Nate thought about the wallet in his pocket. His bank account was... considerably more well off since his Mahadevi job, (a rare well-paying legal affair.) Maybe he should look into a gift for Quin; not something big, but one of those "a gift because you were on my mind," or more accurately, "a gift because I'm so glad we're somehow still together right now." Unfortunately, that was a very specific type of gift, and as with most things in his relationship with Quin, a first. Coming up with the perfect choice was not going to be easy.

Exiting from the main entrance, Nate noticed an older boy sitting on the steps. It was a perk of Xavier's that many of the students were unique enough that it was easy to pick them out on sight. Even if the lizard boy was never in one of Nate's classes, it was easy to put a name to a scaly face, especially when it joined him on his walk off campus.

"Ryuichi Koga, right?" The name was almost as unique as the young man himself. "Sure, what's up?"

Koga bowed slightly. “Yess, that iss me. You can call me Koga, or Ryuichi if you like. Nice pronunciation by the way. ” He loved to hear his name pronounced properly the first time. He paused a moment wondering how much he should say or how one went about asking advice for such a thing. He supposed he would do it like he did anything else, be strait forward.” I wass going to assk your advice, I have a ssituation that I’m not ssure how to approach and I don’t think there iss an instruction manual anywhere on the topic, I mean there iss of coursse the internet, but I think trussting ssomeone I’ve met would be a little wisser in thiss casse. I want to get a girl a present, we’ve only been on the one date so I don’t want ssomething too over the top, but I don’t want to underwhelm her either. I’m head over heelss for her, but don’t want to smother her…I. I am typically much more logical, but Sshe has me on tilt.” He smiled admitting it to someone he had rarely talked with, passing in the hall and nodding, directions here or there and yet she had him babbling to an acquaintance. Albeit a trust worthy one.

He reeled in the goofy smile on his face. “ So In short, I need help.” The smile started to bubble back up.

Nate was happy to hear the nature of Koga's request. Xavier's was a special place for mutant teens; a fly-winged girl could find herself a magnetic chick, and a reptilian young man could fall for... actually, Koga had skimmed over that part. Nate ran through the young women of the school in his head, crossing out the numerous "taken" or "unavailable" options. This was, of course, assuming the girl was even from the school, a fact that Koga also failed to mention.

Nate looked at Koga and saw a scaly version of where he himself was almost a year prior; feeling the strange, unfamiliar bite of puppy-love, and proceeding into new, dangerous territory. "Yeah, don't go to the internet for this one. Don't seek advice where trolls lurk." And the internet was at the very least sixty percent troll.

Nate unlocked the main gate and walked through it, waiting for Koga to follow suit so he could close it. Nate mulled over the boy's situation in his head, deciding to be helpful, while also gathering information. "Well, a gift after the first date should not be anything too extravagant, but it should say, 'You've been on my mind like a bee hovering 'round a hive.' Really though..." Now for the intel collecting, "The right gift depends on the girl. Mind if I ask who the lovely young lady you've got your heart set on is?"

He nodded to the confirmation of his logic on not acquiring tips from the interwebs. Not extravagant…but it should be like an insect at its nest. Ok. He would keep that in mind. A wide smile sprouted on Koga’s nest and interrupted his thought process. “ Gina Schuyler.” He said it in a way that a rainbow butterflies and flowers might have sprouted from and wasn’t even slightly aware that his being smitten was so visible.

He looked to the man who he thought might have a handle on interacting with the ladies. “ Do you happen to have her in any of your classes?” he inquired to see if they would be going off shared knowledge or just what information he managed to get from her while on their date.

Koga managed to catch Nate off guard; he had been scanning his memory for girls between the ages of seventeen and twenty-one, so the young gargoyle had not been a blip on his radar until her admirer spilled the beans. ”Little Gina?” It might have been unfair to call her that; despite her diminutive size, the girl was sixteen; she was not a child.

And yet there was something about Gina that was so innocent. (Well, maybe not always in the “avoiding trouble and behaving” sense, but at least a naïve vibe regarding boys.) Gina was there on his first tour of the mansion, and he had taken quite a liking to the girl as a student and a person; she was artistic and clever and genuinely sweet.

With that in mind, Nate now saw Koga in a slightly more biased light. Looking past the scales, Koga was an eighteen year-old boy, and Nate knew exactly how he occupied his time and thoughts as an eighteen year-old.

Well, when he was not focusing on crimes.

”Yeah, Gina’s in a class or two of mine. She’s a real sweet kid,” he added, choosing the title specifically. ”Well, the gift you get her might reflect on what you are hoping to have with her. What are you hoping might happen with you and Gina?”

If I don’t here “long tame courtship followed immediately by marriage,” you might be finding yourself in a cold, shadowy prison, Nate thought to himself, intently monitoring Koga’s response and body language.

Koga nodded and was a bit confused by the tone. He was getting off of the teacher, If he hadn’t been a teacher at an all mutant school he might have jumped to conclusions and thought the misunderstanding had something to do with his appearance or her appearance and things might have escalated quickly. But after listening a moment longer he realized the misunderstanding. He glanced around the fairly populated hallway and looked a bit embarrassed.

“If we could walk and talk I’ll clarify my intentions.” He swallowed as he received the older brother look from the second mutant he had mentioned dating Gina to. First Agnes, now Nate Holloway. He headed for the front door and waited a moment or two to be clear of the majority of the other students. With the exception of that one kid that could hear anything and everything on campus, they were probably good.
“I asssure you my intentss are noble and purpossess pure.” His hand went to the back of his head shyly.

“Gina would be my firsst girlfriend. If she decided to be my girlfriend. I intend on asking her formally.” He dropped his hand and faced the slightly taller man. Looking him in the eyes. “I’ll be candid. You are right in ssaying sshe iss ssweet, That iss part of what drawss me to her, Sshe iss innocent. I’m not the kind of guy to look for a” He looked for a polite term. “ fasst girl. I’m not a fasst guy. While I undersstand your concern, I think the fact that I am embarrassed by it ssayss a lot about why it is unwarranted.”

He took a deep breathe How the heck did you say something like this without being dirty? “If that isn’t blunt enough, well… let me put it this way. I am old fashioned. Your concerns, or what I think you are concerned with, wouldn’t be an issue unless I was married.” He swallowed hard again. Thinking about marriage was way too early at this point. “ But, I think asss I’m trying to think of ssomething nice to give her before I assk her to go ssteady with me, thinking about marriage might be a bit premature.”He tried to be as earnest as he could.

He cleared his throat. “ That ssaid. What am I hoping happenss between the two of uss? I hope to get to know her better, well enough that I don’t have to ssit in a hallway perplexed at what sshe might like. I hope that we will both find ssomething worth holding onto for a long time. “ He was a little bit surprised by that. Was he already looking so far into the future? He supposed he was. “in the short term though, I was hoping to have a nice time with a great girl.” He looked to the man wondering if his answers sufficed, Or if he was still to be held accountable for the actions of a stereotypical eighteen year old male.

Koga must have heard the obvious connotations in Nate's tone, because the young man jumped on the defensive. Thankfully for his own sake, Koga's response was believable and acceptable. Despite his age, Koga seemed to have his own brand of innocence, not quite like Gina's, but still family-approved.

It was almost entertaining to hear Koga tiptoe and awkwardly find his way around the topic of sleeping with Gina and committing to not doing it. It was definitely entertaining to see him bashfully revise his comments regarding marriage.

Nate grinned, putting a hand on Koga's shoulder. "Alright kid, good answer. I'll do what I can to help you out."

They were already at Nate's car, which he leaned against to talk with the perplexed lizard boy. "Well, it doesn't have to be anything big. This is Gina; if the gift is sincere and thoughtful, it could be damned near anything and she'd be way too grateful."

He crossed his arms, thinking further on the topic. "Well, we need a place to start, so things not to get: appliances, power tools, and stuff like that. Also, no gift cards. That's really important. A gift card is a gift you give someone when you can't trust yourself to think of something, and like I said, it's the thought that counts here." Koga had to go for small and sweet, and hopefully fitting for Gina.

Koga reeled in his reflexes and resisted the urge to attempt move the hand on his shoulder into a submission hold. He was smiling and as the man was a teacher he could safely assume it wasn’t a smile that spoke of ill intent, rather it spoke of good will. Nate had sufficiently put him on edge with the line of questioning and obvious protectiveness. He could appreciate that though, anyone looking out for Gina was good in his book.

“I hadn’t thought of it that way.” He spoke quietly..he didn’t want her to feel indebted to him. maybe he should ask her out first and then give her the present, whatever her answer. He grinned as Mr. Holloway lightened the mood.He hadn’t considered appliances or power tools. Thought he was pretty sure everyone loved a good nail gun.

He nodded to the sage advice of avoiding a gift card, he had considered that as a possibility if he simply couldn’t decide, taking that off the table made things simpler. “Hmmmm. I could composse ssomething for her…record it? I dunno…”

He paused he had been thinking of an item. Would the thought truly be worth more ? Than say a piece of jewelry? She had liked the danger room program. Hmmm. He looked to Nate for conformation or dismissal of the Idea.

“I play the violin quite well.”He clarified.

Nate watched intently at the thought process Koga was going through, grinding the gears until an idea churned out of him, and it was not a terrible one at that.

Of all the talents Nate picked up in his... endeavors, he regretted never perfecting an instrument. He could have had such crazy misadventures! He could have found his way on to the Boston Symphony! And then stole a rare viola! Truly a waste.

Regardless, back in the present, he had to give his assessment. "That's a pretty good start, but personally? Don't bother recording. Nothing is gonna beat the romance of a private performance just for her." If it were any other two teenagers, an idea like that would have been a ticket into a young woman's pants, but for Koga and Gina, it could lead to some adorably innocent cuddling, which Nate could support.

"Here's a good possibility." He did not want to manufacture an idea for Koga, but the boy's suggestion presented what Nate saw as a definite winning strategy. "Get her something small and cute. A stuffed animal, maybe her favorite animal, would work really well." Seriously, this was Gina; there was less than a two percent chance she would not love a stuffed animal.

"You can give her the stuffed animal on the same night you play for her." He thought it best to explain Nate's reasoning for the plan besides the obvious. "If you can give her a sweet, memorable night, from then on, every night she curls up with that animal, it'll remind her of that night."

Nate was so proud of himself, he needed a moment before remembering Koga was the one the plan was for. "Or, I mean, that's one idea..."

Hmmmm, He would remember it well, so that might be a good point. He was a little confused by Nate’s change of heart, he was almost certain the man would steer him away from anything involving privates. Performances! Private performances.

He listened as Holloway, expounded on his reasoning and the logic of it was sound. He couldn’t be there to cuddle her at night so why not employ a little stuffed minion to do the cuddling for him. It was decided then. Would it be presumptuous to give her something reptilian? Surely, he would be harvesting a fondness for his kind in her.

Koga smiled, pleasantly delighted by Mr. Holloway’s genius. Koga bowed, literally. “That iss perfect. If there is anything I can ever do to help you, not that I wouldn’t have before, but you can absolutely count on me.” A weight was suddenly lifted from his shoulders that would work perfectly.

It was a rewarding feeling to know he had given Koga a good idea-- an idea worthy of the plotting mind of Stephen Graves, that would help the young man take another step towards happiness. He was glad he could do something to better a relationship; it was just a tad frustrating he could not manage to do the same for his own.

"Glad I could help, kid." He pulled out his phone and checked the top of the screen; no new messages. Not that he was waiting for her to text, but it did feel like mid-day conversation with Quin had become much less frequent. "Hopefully soon at least someone will be enjoying their girlfriend's company."

And he did hope that Koga could make things work with Gina. He seemed like a good guy, which was rare enough, so Gina could do much worse. Nate felt more like a teacher from a sitcom when he was asked life-questions by students, and he would be lying if he said he did not find it amusing.

Koga’s eyebrows raised. “Perhapss ssomething I can help with ssooner than later? It would only be a fair to return the favor.” He smiled kindly. Nate’s situation sounded a bit more serious than Koga’s. He was almost absolutely certain that Gina, would say yes to him, he just wanted to figure out how to make it that much more special. Holloway seemed like he was having problems that might be on going.

He would need to hear more about the situation before he helped but he would be there for the man that had just inspired him. He looked to the teacher with wide and concerned eyes of solid black. To see if some how he would be allowed to help in some venture to sooth the heart of his love interest.

Now that his matter was settled it seemed like the cognitive reasoning he had been lacking was restored. Holloway’s special someone didn’t stand a chance against the likes of the duo.

With a solid plan now under his belt, Koga seemed full of confidence and was ready to apply that confidence to helping Nate. In another situation, it could have been possible for Nate to accept the help or advice, since advice never hurt as long as it was processed carefully.

Unfortunately, Koga was a student of the school, and no one in the school (aside from Gawain, technically) knew of Nate's past, and it would have been difficult to convey his problem without a level of disclosure Nate could not currently handle. "Well, I can't get into it really, but I can say that I'm on very thin ice with my own girlfriend."

Thin ice was putting it nicely; he was one mistake away from total relationship collapse at all times and he knew it. "I've been given a second chance, and it should be fine as long as I remain totally honest with her." The closest he would come to a confession for Koga was, "I'm doing my best, but I haven't always been in the business of honesty."

Koga’s eye widened a slightly. Surprised by the smooth talker having any trouble with the ladies. He breezed right past the why he needed to patch things and opted to go strait to the how to. “ssoundss like ssome wooing wouldn’t hurt. Perhapss ssomething that playss to your sstrengthss might be your best option asss it wass mine. Have you painted or created anything for her lately? Ssomething ssubtle yet ssweet?”

Koga winked. “After all a wise man once told me so long as the gift is sincere and thoughtful it can be damned near anything.” He stood waiting for the man’s thoughts on the idea not even beginning to realize what his problems might be or if a gift would begin to resolve overlying issues.
Perhaps in a few months he would be able to connect with Nate on a more friendly level as he would no longer be a student and would hopefully be part of the staff by then… what would that mean for Gina and he, surely there was some sort of rule against staff and student fraternizing…they’d work around it. he consoled himself. And realigned his thoughts with the matter at hand.