Welcome to Gaia! ::

Someone rounded a corner from the same section, with a few books tucked under their arm, A man of nearly your own height, but with hair of a white-blond, almost a cream.

His books went tumbling and he made a startled sound.

“AH! Damn! My books!” He was crouching to scoop them up again, checking the covers for damage. Fairytales of course he’d just come from that section.

“I’m so sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going, are you alright?”

He glanced up at you with warm brown eyes, a few shades darker than your own, just hinting towards black.

He stood with his arms back in the crook of his arm. “I’m so sorry, let me make it up to you!”

“Roger! A true pleasure to meet someone so considerate! And someone who is either a Player or a Poly. Though you seem much to nice to be a player.”
He winked with a grin, wide and charming like he’d have been well suited to model with a bit of polish.

“Do you have a list? That will give me fair idea where to start you. This can be my chance to get on Santa’s nice list.”

“Bonus for you too, they have some charity doing gift wrapping at the door, if you’re the sort to put up a tree you can tuck them under it and it’ll look quite fancy!”

“Is it? I didn’t really think so after you said Boyfriends plural, I’m sorry… most people I’ve met only ever have one significant other. I’m very bad at teasing I’m afraid.”

He ducked his head slightly as though he were embarrassed.

“Just putting my foot in it as per normal. Please forgive me, I tend to put my foot into things far more when the person I’m talking to is pretty.

He shook his head “I think they are taking pay what you will for the paper, in order to raise funds for, oh I forget who’s doing it today, someone scouts, or perhaps one of the shelters? The other day they had someone caroling with profound enthusiasm and very little pitch. I think by the end of the day they were paying the poor soul to stop as much as they were giving the exuberant soul funds for the charity of their choice.”

"Oh dear, I hope that's not creepy too, the holidays lead me here more often than anything. The sales, the festivities, the peppermint hot chocolate..."

“That’s fair, I’m not a fan of them myself. People try and put names and definitions on everyone and everything.” He sighed and shook his head.

“I’ll blame the fact I was country raised and most of my schooling was done at home. I’ll try and be less creepy and overbearing in the future though, I can apologize with one of their fabulous hot chocolates and book recommendations?”

He offered an almost shy smile, tucking hands in his pockets and rocking back onto his heels for a moment.

“Does he like the sweet ones or the old ones? Maybe I can tell from the ones you know he has?”

“Oh I think I can get you covered, there are some very interpreting takes as well. Some even pay tribute to the darker endings which is historically beautiful if dark.”

He started skimming the shelves and pulling books out, setting them onto a space of shelf in front of an out facing display of a title.
He even went far enough to pick out what seemed to be special edition covers and bindings that seemed somehow more magical themselves.

“There is this used book store you should try too, they say it has miles of books, you might find some older copies. I know they keep some with the higher price tags behind the counter. Lithographs and such for prints. Depends how much you’re looking to spend and how much room you have?”

“Oh! This one is especially good, if he hasn’t read it he should. You almost think the villain gets away, but they find them in the end and he gets everything he deserves. The hero’s family gets the justice they deserved, it pulls my heart strings every time. Oh! And this one is just sort of classic romance but with fairies!”

“Let me know if I’m going overboard! I’m afraid this is one of my favorite genre.”

“Oh! It’s something of my fault to give you such a pile, I’ll help you carry them to the counter if you’d like, once it’s in bags then you’ll have hands for the hot chocolate and I can tell you how to get to the used book store? You’d never know it to see it from the outside. It looks a bit like you’d be more likely to find a underground gambling den to be honest, but it really is a bookstore. They call it ‘the mine’ and it’s a thi of wonder. I was so happy to stumble on it!”

“I’ve turned up a few signed books there that were an utter delight, couldn’t afford some of them mind you but I didn’t think I would ever have even seen a signed Tolkien book without that place.”

“Oh…no worries at all, trust me, I know I can be sort of…”

He shrugged to encompass whatever word eluded him. “Let’s say excessively exuberant, which is not the best way to make first impressions. I’m glad you let me help so I could make a vague attempt to redeem myself. I’d hate to have to banish myself from this establishment out of embarrassment for how poorly I behaved. Not that I couldn’t find another bookstore, I love the small ones like this. But I’m not sure anyone could outdo what they do with their hot chocolate.”

He was rambling, a bit like he was shy or nervous.

“But…you’re right about arm fulls of books, the only thing perhaps better is hands full of such delights. Nothing like a whole story just…. spilling out for you. A whole world that you can reach out and touch.”