The Talk [Nikolai]

Carefully pulling apart a particularly large piece of orange chicken as he listened to his son, Andrei did not interject at any point. Instead, he continued to pick at his food until Nikolai finished. Though Andrei had loved his own father dearly, he used to always interrupt whoever he was speaking including his own wife and son. Of course, the man meant well, but it didn't sit well with Andrei's younger self at the time, and he suspected it wouldn't sit well with his son now. He had, however, beat around the bush long enough so, when Nikolai finally fell silent, Andrei spoke up once more.

"Perhaps I was mistaken then," he admitted, slipping off his glasses and placing them on the table as he so often did. "It's just your mom and I love you so much, and we want to watch out for you."

He paused, weighing his next words carefully.

"I know this is probably the last thing you want to talk about with your dad, but when you're in a relationship—either now or later in life—you have to remember to take," he groped around in his brain for the right euphemism. "Precautions...and I want you to know that if you have any questions—about relationships or otherwise—both your mom and I are always here for you no matter what."

And now it was Andrei's turn to fall silent. He doubted that Nikolai would be all that receptive to talking any further, but it was important that he knew the door was always open. After all, the headmaster couldn't very well force his teenage son to talk with him about such sensitive subjects—Nik would have to decide to reach out to him or Marie all on his own.

For an incredibly bright kid, Nik could also be incredibly dense. Well, it was that or he was incredibly innocent. Either way, both scenarios dishearted his father more than he could put into words. He had hoped that the boy's curiosity would have rid him of both density and innocence sooner rather than later. Yes, a strange wish from a father, but by Andrei's reckoning the sooner one fully understood the world around them, then the sooner they could adjust their actions and thoughts accordingly. That said, there was no time like the present to mitigate any perceived shortcomings.

"No, relationships are important," amusement briefly tugging at the sides of his mouth. "I'm more so talking about the importance of consent and practicing safe sex."

There, he said it.

In reality, it hadn't been nearly as hard as he thought it might have been. Indeed, it even made him wonder what he had been worried about in the first place. It also made him consider the fact that Hogwarts was severely lacking in this integral part of education for young people, awkward though it may be. That particular thought, however, would be for later as he still had to focus on the matter at hand.

"I know it's weird to talk about this kind of thing with your dad," he continued, his voice soft. "But I just want you to be prepared for whatever you might face in your life."

He paused and moved a healthy clump of rice from the takeout box to his bowl.

"So," he began again, channeling his inner academic. "Do you have any questions?"

Andrei's gaze did not waver from his son with this question nor did his face flush red as he had feared it might. Of course, if the boy had no questions then the headmaster would say his piece, and then his son would surely scamper away as Andrei once had when having a similar talk with his father.

Andrei furrowed his brow ever so slightly; Nik wasn't going to make this easy, was he? And yet, the older Kessler found himself smiling in spite of it. The whole thing was rather amusing, had he been the same way with his father? He couldn't quite remember now, but his son's reaction to what had long since become mundane to Andrei struck a chord with him. Strange how age could do that to a person, make the alien ordinary. Truthfully, it comforted the headmaster more than he could put into words.

"Ah, yes, Google's famous competitor, 'and stuff'," Andrei quipped, his slim knowing smile making another brief appearance before he continued. "Well, I suppose I wouldn't want to bore you with a long lecture about something you already know so much about. So, why don't you tell me what consent and safe sex mean to you and we never have to talk about it again if you don't want to?"

The man's natural inclination, as one might expect from a professor, was to lecture. However, he held back in this respect; there was a time and a place for lectures, and this was not it. Lectures were not conducive to the type of open dialogue Andrei hoped to foster. Sure, Nik didn't want to talk now, but that didn't mean the door to do so should be closed. Familial relationships were like any other: built on honest communication. Well, open communication and good food, both of which Andrei was convinced he had here, as he continued to pick at the remaining broccoli in his bowl.