[FIN] Homeward Bound

[TawnyAngel]

He should definitely have seen that coming; he silently blamed the lack of coffee as he laughed, glanced down and tucked some loose strands of hair behind his ear. As he realised he was doing all of these things he looked up again, as if that would erase the shy duck of his head. "So you often say, I suppose I shall continue to indulge you and not argue the point," he replied as airily as he could manage. "Was there anything else you wished to add? Suave? Great dancer? Effortlessly stylish?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Awww; Zevran's adorable, shy reactions would never get old. Ever. Abel pressed another kiss to his temple before he moved to sit in a chair beside him. "Oh, all of those things, of course!" He said readily, resting his elbow on the table with his chin in his hand as he watched his boyfriend. "Those as well as the fact you have the cutest reactions when I call you adorable."  

[TawnyAngel]

This suddenly felt awkward in front of Joanna; he knew she was a lovely person but he didn't know her. He shouldn't have started the tease, he should have known that Abel would start this because he always did and that was fine except....

Zevran reached for Abel's free hand under the table and gave it a rather sharp squeeze. "You're terrible, but I like you anyway," he smiled. "Did you pick a room out for us? And did you see any sign of Taavi and the others outside?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Ah, that was a little too much then. He probably should've realized that beforehand, but it was just so easy to tease and get caught up in playful banter. Abel returned the squeeze with a much gentler one before he lifted Zevran's hand up to press a soft kiss to the back of it. "I am the most terrible, so that is very magnanimous of you! But yep, I picked ours out - I'll show you later - and I didn't see any sign of them at all. But they're not upstairs, so they're out there somewhere," the taller blond finished with a shrug.

"Probably still working on that barn door," Joanna put in with a brief huff, a smile on her face still as she pointedly refrained from commenting on the last few moments of adorable interactions. She turned with a plate of three assembled sandwiches to put the whole lot of them in the sandwich press. "I remember your father saying it'd take him a while to fix it."  

[TawnyAngel]

"Well yes, I am the best!" Zevran replied with a cocky wink, but the soft smile he gave Abel for a moment after it conveyed his thanks for the change in direction. One day he might be comfortable with that sort of conversation in front of Joanna but not yet.

A thought seemed to occur to Zevran then and he reached for a trio of pokeballs, which released Amigo, Clara, and tiny Estrella into the air; onto the floor, and into his lap respectively.

As soon as she had finished manifesting Clara cast about wildly for a moment and then gave an excited; "Grow!" before scrabbling across the kitchen floor to dance around Joanna, though at a safe distance in deference to her cooking.

"Joanna these are Amigo, Estrella, and somebody you know quite well!" Zevran said with a smile.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"You are absolutely the best," Abel agreed with a chuckle, the gentle smile still on his face as he gave Zevran's hand another squeeze. But then his lips promptly curved into a bright grin as Zev released his pokemon. "Hey guys!" He said brightly, and for a moment wondered where Isaac and Rebecca had gone off to. Exploring, probably; the vulpix had seemed keen to take her time checking out the unfamiliar territory, and Isaac had seemed equally keen to stay with her. They'd show up eventually, he was sure.

With the sandwich press busy heating their sandwiches, Joanna had turned and pulled three coffee mugs from a nearby cabinet, though she didn't get much further than setting them on the counter before the excited Growlithe began dancing around her. The woman beamed down at the fire-type as she knelt down to work her fingers into the soft ruff of fur at the back of her neck. "Hello everyone, hello Clara! It's so good to see you again!"

With a brief chuckle Abel stood, headed into the kitchen proper and slipped around his mother and Clara to pour out the coffee into the waiting mugs.  

[TawnyAngel]

Clara made a series of excited, elated whiny-wuffy noises and pressed her face into Joanna's hands as her tail thumped rhythmically on the floor.

"Somebody is as glad to be here as we are," Zevran chuckled as he observed the Growlithe's interaction with Joanna, and as he slowly stroked the sleepy baby Vulpix's soft warm fur.

As Abel moved off to make the coffee Zevran whistled to catch his attention and then smiled. "Thanks cariño."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Joanna's hands worked their way up from Clara's ruff to the spots just behind her ears, a broad, beaming grin on her face. "So I see!"

The whistle drew Abel's attention and he glanced up in time to see the smile. Would he ever get tired of seeing those smiles? No, he didn't think he ever would. He smiled in return, warm and happy and pleased, as he set the coffee pot down. "You're welcome sweetheart," he said before moving to grab the little pot of sugar from the corner of the counter and some creamer from the fridge so he could doctor their coffees. Even here Zevran couldn't escape his boyfriend trying to make his coffee just how he liked it -- though he also knew more or less how his mother liked it too. After spooning in the appropriate amount of sugar for each cup - his mom liked a bit more than he did - he grabbed the creamer next before mixing each cup with the same spoon, which he left sitting in the third cup.

Grabbing the first two mugs he rounded the counter again and set Zevran's down in front of him and since he was leaning down a bit anyway, he leaned further to press a soft kiss atop his boyfriend's head. "There you go," he said cheerily when he straightened back up, then promptly sat back down in his chair with his own mug.  

[TawnyAngel]

No sugar - he was sweet enough without! - and just a splash of creamer; perfect. Zevran accepted the mug and the kiss with a happy hum, and smiled and winked up at Abel. "Perfect as always. I expect the coffee is good too! Has he always been so helpful Joanna? I have come here expecting adorable and embarrassing baby stories, I hope you can oblige!"

Clara continued to wag her tail, her blue eyes half closed in pleasure at the excellent scritches.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"You shameless flatterer," he said happily as he leaned in to kiss Zevran's shoulder before straightening back up, but promptly groaned and sank back into his chair. "Uuugh, of course you want to hear about those." Not that he could think of many off the top of his head - nothing that bad, anyway - but it was always fun to play along.

Joanna grinned as she straightened up, fetched a small piece of ham and tossed it to Clara before she turned to the sandwich press once more. "He's usually helpful, and I have plenty of those. And pictures! I've already dug out the photo albums too, we can look at them later!" As she spoke she opened the press and used a spatula to lift each sandwich out, plate it and then grabbed the knife she'd used previous to cut each in half. "There! Lunch is ready," she said as she turned and brought them each their plates. Once they had theirs she turned to grab hers as well as her mug of coffee before joining them happily at the table.  

[TawnyAngel]

Clara caught the piece of ham neatly and gulped it down before padding over to flop down by Zevran's chair, content with her share for now.

"Oh-ho, albums you say? So many pictures that you need more than one?" Zevran crowed delightedly. "I would be delighted to see them later on." As he spoke however he looked at Abel, ostensibly just smirking at him but truly searching for any sign of the discomfort he'd felt himself a moment ago; he didn't expect to see it but he looked all the same. It would be strange to see Abel looking young, there were no such records of his own life and so the idea of it was quite fascinating. Somebody - many people - had loved him enough to take enough pictures to fill more than one album. No wonder this place felt warm.

"Thank you Joanna, these smell excellent!" Zevran smiled as the toasted sandwiches were set out before them. "We should get a press, Abel. Making things under the grill is not quite the same. Maybe when we...." He paused there and glanced at Abel again before concluding; "When we have time and space?" The weakness and weariness brought on by his injuries really must be slowing him down, he would never normally slip up and nearly give away information he wasn't certain had been shared freely. Did Joanna know they planned to move to a new apartment, together?  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Zevran would find none of the discomfort he was looking for as Abel leaned forward to accept his plate gratefully before glancing up at his boyfriend, noticing his smirk and countering with his own. "Oh of course! Daniel and I took loads of pictures of all the kids growing up," his mother explained happily as she picked up her mug and took a sip. If she noticed them eying each other she said nothing about it, though she beamed at his praise of the sandwiches. "I'd be delighted to show you! After lunch perhaps?"

"Sure," Abel replied readily to his boyfriend's suggestion. A press would make sandwiches easier, to be sure... plus he enjoyed getting things that Zevran wanted.

Joanna set her mug down and gave Zevran a knowing smile before picking up her own sandwich. "When you move into your new apartment, you mean? Abel's already told me all about it. Just don't mention it in front of Daniel just yet; he's still getting used to the idea of his son dating another man," she huffed a bit, clearly somewhat frustrated by her husband's slow acceptance of such a thing.  

[TawnyAngel]

Ah yes, don't mention it, he wouldn't want to make the man uncomfortable with his deviant ways! Zevran smiled wryly at Joanna and nodded; she seemed frustrated, and he appreciated that, ¿what, vote of support? "Ah, yes that was what I meant. I hope he comes around soon, it is a very strange hangup to have." He wasn't looking forward to meeting Daniel. The best he could hope for at the moment he thought was either to be ignored or treated with stiff politeness, either would be better than some kind of tirade or looks of disgust.

After a moment Zevran shrugged, picked up his sandwich, and smiled more warmly over at Abel. "But there is not a lot he can do about it, eh?" He hated the idea of causing some kind of friction between Abel and his father but it would be okay, wouldn't it? Abel thought so, and Joanna too seemed to think it was just a matter of time. It would be okay.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Joanna offered Zevran a warm smile. "I'm sure he will dear, he's just rather..." She trailed off and took a bite of her sandwich to give her time to think.

"Stubborn?" Abel supplied helpfully, an amused glint in his eye as he bit into his own sandwich.

"I was going to say he's rather traditional in his views, but yes, he's stubborn too - just like everyone else in this family!" His mother countered with a chuckle and a fond shake of her head.

Abel grinned broadly and chuckled as well. "Yeah, that's true." He was stubborn, himself, as was his mother. Both his parents, really. Where else would he have gotten it from? Regardless he turned a smile to his boyfriend, fond and loving and happy. He hoped Zev was enjoying himself so far, and would continue to do so. Hopefully his dad wouldn't do anything to upset him or make things awkward. "Nope! Not one single thing. You're stuck with me forever, I'm afraid," the taller blond said with a chuckle, then leaned in to smooch his love's cheek.

"Are people more liberal with relationships where you're from, Zevran?" Joanna asked, smiling warmly at the pair before she took another bite of her sandwich.  

[TawnyAngel]

Forever.

Zevran laughed, eyes flicking down and cheeks flushing just a little. He liked the idea of forever. Maybe.... No, no it was far too soon and too permanent. Saying forever in a conversation like this was playful and sweet, it wasn't a commitment.

Much as he might have liked to dwell on the thought longer if he'd been alone or just with Abel he was neither of those things, and as such he was only too glad to move on.

"Liberal? No, I would not say liberal." Zevran shook his head and quickly ate a small bite of sandwich. "It's not... not a consideration? Not something to be liberal or conservative about." He shrugged and his brow furrowed a little as he tried to find a way to explain what simply seemed normal to him. "People like who they like, labels exist for convenience in seeking a partner but that is all. Adoption is common for same sex couples, as is IVF and such. Until I left I had no idea it could be different to that and even when I arrived in Kodo I thought that what I was hearing had to be exaggeration." Zevran clicked his tongue and shook his head. "It simply makes no sense!"