Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ai smiled as he was given the hug and kiss but knew that it was a friendly gesture more then anything, still it was nice to get such affection. Those he most loved he hadn't seen in a while and worried that they might not even recognize him with how he looked now... it really did make him want to call them up again, to see how they were doing. He'd do that later perhaps, once he got all the measurements done and the costumes started.

Watching quietly as Dinnye went about calling home and sending a message to his father, he leaned back in his seat and smiled. Once the bronze haired boy was done he told him that it would be ten minutes before the others arrived, "Do you want to wait at the front door with me? I think after we let them in I will turned the sign to closed so that it will be just your group and me, no other distractions." He was pretty sure he couldn't handle even more people and more orders right this moment he thought to himself before rising to his feet, brushed off his ornate clothing, and held a hand out to Dinnye, "Shall we?"

Ai watched as the car pulled up and the pair got out of it, coming to the store and he moved to flip the sign to 'closed' so that he wouldn't be disturbed as he worked with the two newcomers. He was turning back to look at them as Dinnye was swept up into the man's arms and spun around, causing Ai to give pause. It was interesting to behold, something he hadn't really known as a child, but then again he didn't have a parent so much as a guardian. A woman that had raised him and saw him to adulthood but nothing like what this man was to Dinnye.

A moment later the man was approaching him, complimenting him,and then took one of Ai's hands in his, giving it a kiss and the young man couldn't help it as his cheeks went a bright red. There was just something about Ai that, whenever he met with a handsome man, a kind man, a pretty man... really any sort of guy, he felt himself falling almost instantly in love. He did his best to push the feeling aside, so used to it that it was normal for him, and did his best to get his blush under control as well. He wasn't going to crush on his friend's father, that would be terrible of him! Instead he would do his best to remain professional.

"It is nice to meet you Elliot, my name is Ai." He said when his voice started to work for him again, "I hope that it wasn't to much of a hassle to come out here but I need to get measurements for the two of you if I am going to get things made on time." He explained, going into shopkeeper mode.

Ai seemed for a moment to have been struck as silent as Dinnye was as Elliot spoke, speaking of the young man's beauty in a manner that had his blushing again despite his attempts to stay professional. After all he really couldn't allow himself to be bedazzled every time a customer said pretty words to him, right? He might not get anything done that way, "I... umm..." He tried, and failed to put words together so he forced himself to concentrate hard, "My measuring tape... I need to get it." He said, turning on his heel and hurried in that direction. Perhaps a bit of space between himself and Elliot was what he needed.

Getting the tape, as well as a pencil and paper, he motioned for Elliot and Aliciana to come over, "Come, whoever wishes to get their measurements done first." He said, giving both a smile though he found it a little tough to look directly at Elliot. He'd never run into someone like him, not since he'd grown at least, and those who had complimented him when he was younger weren't nearly so aggressive about it nor did they daze Ai as much, "I will make sure that the process it a quick one so that I don't take up to much of your time." He reassured them both, not wanting to waste the time of people who seemed to be quite important themselves given the way they acted, the car they arrived in, and the general aura about them.

Writing down the name of each person he waited to see which of them would volunteer first for the measuring.

Ai glanced over at Elliot and Dinnye as they took a seat together before his attention went to Aliciana as she told him that her outfit didn't need to match up with that of the other two as well as her dislike for bright colors, "I will keep that in mind." He said, giving her a smile, took down note of what she'd said, then set to work taking her measurements in a manner that would appear completely professional, not wanting her for a moment to think him out of line.

Once all the numbers were taken he motioned to the book sitting on his work station, "There are samples of both colors as well as fabrics, feel free to look through them Miss Aliciana, tell me what you would like me to use for your costume." He said, giving her a smile and a nod as he gave her access to the books just as he'd done with Dinnye not to long before. Now that she was taken care of though he realized that next was Elliot which had him flushing ever so slightly though he once more pushed it aside, "Alright, you are next. Once we get your measurements then you can look through color swatches and fabrics with Dinnye, so the two of you can figure out what you would like to wear." It would be interesting, to make outfits for a father and son, ones that were meant to match. A challenge indeed that was for sure.

"Step forward when you are ready, Mister Elliot." Maybe if he acted professional the other man wouldn't tease him as he much thought to himself, finding this to be the first time that he didn't want flirty, affectionate attention. Likely due to the man being his friend's father. The very last thing he wanted was to upset Dinnye who had only ever been sweet to him ever since they had first met and Ai had saved him when he was lost.

Ai glanced up at Elliot then over at Dinnye and back again before giving him a smile and a nod, "Dinnye is a very sweet boy, he has been since I first met him." He wondered if the man didn't recall him from the night he'd first met Dinnye... but then again, how could he? He'd changed a lot, grew a lot, maturing quickly as his people were known to do. Due to the drastic changes that Ai had gone through overnight he knew that he couldn't be bothered by a man he'd met once not recalling him... though it did worry him a little, making him wonder if his friend would remember him.

As them man started to describe what it was that they wanted, or at least he wanted, for the costume he started to take down notes. It was an interesting idea though he would need to check with Dinnye to make sure that it was what he wanted as well. It was hard to make matching outfits when one of the pair didn't want to wear the costume the other person picked out. As Dinnye's 'crush' was brought up he couldn't help but to smile. So that one would be invited as well? He guessed that meant that he would be able to get a peek at the one that was able to get Dinnye to flustered, that would be interesting for certain.

"I hope that as well, Dinnye has said only good things about the one he cares so much for." He said, giving a smile... though his smile gave way to a bit more blushing when the man asked about him and his love life. A part of him wanted to tell Elliot that it wasn't his business... mostly because his love life was lacking at the moment and he found that to be a bit embarrassing. Instead he said, "I was engaged once, I don't think it will end up working out though since I think it was merely for fun and fantasy, not for real." He said, giving a bit of a smile as he finished the last of the measurements, "I was a bit to serious when I was little." And when one of his friends proposed, as a game most likely, he'd been far to serious about it, "Other then that I have many crushes but nothing serious." The romantic part of him that fell in love at the drop of a hat made serious relationships a touch hard...

Ai's eyes got a little wide, wondering if that was supposed to be reassurance on the man's part... to tell him that one was never too old to get their heart torn to pieces, "Ahh..." He didn't really seem to be able to find the right words, or any words for that matter. He starred then gave a little nod and dropped his eyes to the notes once more. Was he... saying that it was difficult no matter your age? Maybe Elliot knew personally about the difficulty? He wasn't sure.

He turned his attention to his friend when Elliot's attention was turned to him, asking if the costume idea he'd had was one that was alright... and the look on the boy's face didn't seem to scream 'no' when it came to the prince idea, "It would be quite cute." He comment as he got up, stretching out, then looked his notes over, "We will need to work on the colors and fabrics next." He told Elliot, motioning for the man to join Aliciana and Dinnye where they were sitting, already leafing through the books, "Once we get that figured out then it will mostly fall to me to figure out some ideas. I will likely make up some sketches for each of your costumes, a few ideas for each, and you can tell me what you like and what you want me to change. Since there are three costumes though I might need a couple days for the sketches if that is alright?"

He hoped that it would be alright, it wasn't something that he wanted to rush after all. Instead he wanted for it all to be perfect, especially for Dinnye who would be dressing up so cutely for the one that he was so in love with. Love was one of those things that he wanted to see flourish, even if was for his friends and not for himself.

It wasn't long before Elliot and Aliciana were heading out, off to deal with an emergency that he had to deal with, and Ai gave a soft sigh as the man headed out. Phew, that was exhausting he thought to himself, feeling a touch dizzy from all of that. He shook his head before looking down at Dinnye, "You are more then welcome to stay as long as you like." He told him, giving him a smile. Reaching out he patted the boy on the head as he gathered his supplies up and settled into his chair, starring at it in a thoughtful manner before he set to sketching.

"I... know it's not my place but... Is your father alright? He sounded as thought he were hurt recently." Ai commented as he worked on the first sketch, this one for Dinnye since the boy was here with him. It was easier to work on his stuff since he was here instead of having to imagine the person being here through their measurements, through their design requests, and the like. He seemed to be deep in his work, but glanced up after a moment, to see if Dinnye were going to answer his question or not. He would understand if he wanted to keep it a secret since Ai didn't know Elliot and it could very well seem a rude thing to ask, it was just that things like love were important to Ai due to who and what he was, he couldn't help but to ask if he thought someone were hurting was all.

Giving his friend a smile he added, "You don't need to tell me if you don't think it's any of my business and I will understand." He told him, giving a nod.

Ai starred at the paper for a long moment, eyes going wide, before they filled with saddness, "I see... that is terrible." He murmured, unsure how someone could use love as a weapon and a means to steal from a person. It was sad to think about and just made him want to... to... well do something... As to what he couldn't really say, he was the sort of person that was more for love and not war, "I wish him well in healing from those wounds. Perhaps when he is feeling better he will ease up on his helping you." He said, giving the best smile he could muster.

Returning to what he was sketching he set the first design for Dinnye aside and started up on another. He wanted to do at least three sketches for each person, then from there they could pick their favorite and help him to figure out what they wanted changed about the sketch to make their outfit into what they would see as being perfect, "Perhaps seeing you happily dancing with your Kiyos at your party will help?" He asked with a little chuckle, sure that it would be an adorable sight for sure.