[Fin] Home for Christmas

[TawnyAngel]

As the shortest member of the trio by a margin Zev shooed Taavi into the passenger seat despite his protests and then climbed into the back behind the driver's seat. "I promise you it is fine, I am quite happy being behind Abel," he said with a smirk as he pulled the door closed behind him.

"Oh no." Taavi groaned and dragged his hands down his face. "That... is there anything you can't make dirty? Actually don't answer that, let's go, we've got a ferry to catch!" Taavi grinned as he said this and punched Abel very lightly on the shoulder. "Christmas!"

He had agonised long and hard over who to bring with him on this trip but eventually he'd settled on Valour - of course! - Swift, Aurelia, Sky, Nebula, and new addition Dawn. He couldn't part Mulder, Scully, and Kielo from one another for two whole weeks and Melody was more of a homey-body so it made sense. Cesario, as ever, came and went unpredictably but Zev would be there to let her in if she showed up.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

After checking six separate times to make sure he had everything - which he did, all six times - Abel finally dropped into the driver seat with a broad, lighthearted grin. "Christmas!" He echoed first, though he refrained from punching Taavi back as he stuck the key in the ignition and turned the car on. He glanced back at Zev through the rear view mirror and shot him a brief smirk. "I don't mind you being behind me one bit." As he spoke and turned the vehicle out onto the road, one arm slid between the door and his seat so his fingers could brush against Zevran's knee.

"Are you excited Taavi? You don't sound too excited," he teased, keeping his voice casual as if he himself wasn't just as excited -- moreso in fact.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Pffffh, course I am!" Taavi grinned. "Vacation! I haven't been on a real vacation since I was like... I don't even know, before my parents split up probably. And I get to meet your family, which is awesome! And all the pokemon!" All in all this was going to be an awesome trip.

"Aww, I think he is going to find it dull," Zevran said with a grin as he leant forward a little to take Abel's hand in his own, and then bent down to kiss his fingers. "And you Abel, are you excited?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"So you haven't been on a vacation in practically forever, you get to meet my family, have a fun Christmas, and there will be tons of Pokémon for you to play with the whole time," he noted aloud, paused for effect, then said with a grin, "nah, I don't think he's even a little excited."

He flexed his fingers a little in Zevran's and gently rubbed his thumb over his friend's knuckles, his smile softening a bit. Abruptly he found himself wishing Zev were coming too.  

[TawnyAngel]

"So many pokemon!" Taavi exclaimed with a laugh. "Yeah, I mean I'm totally bored by the whole idea right? Ugh." He couldn't help digging his pokegear out of his pocket to check that they were still on schedule: they were.

He did wish they weren't going- that Abel wasn't going away. He liked Taavi but he already almost felt as though he missed Abel.

Zevran squeezed Abel's fingers slightly in return. "And you likewise of course," he said with a soft huff of amusement. Being in Abel's apartment when he wasn't there would be so strange... strange but warm, he was not about to dismiss the importance of warmth.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Completely bored of it, obviously," Abel added with an amused chuckle. As his car rolled to a stop at a red light, the taller blond sank back against his seat and plopped his head backwards against the headrest with a deep sigh, his eyes focused on the ceiling of the car for a moment. "I am excited. I'm so excited but I think.. it still kind of feels like a dream sometimes, you know? It's been so long - so long - and now I get to go back home and visit everyone again finally," he went on, though his gaze flicked down to the stoplight to make sure it hadn't changed yet; it hadn't. He gave Zevran's fingers an affectionate squeeze, though his thumb kept ghosting across his knuckles. "I guess it hasn't completely hit me yet. Heh, I'm sure it'll hit me once we get to the boat." But then he'd have quite a while to be excited before they docked in Sinnoh.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Your nieces must have grown so much!" Taavi grinned, but rather than looking at Abel he was arching his back against the seat of the car with his eyes shut. Cars! They were convenient but he hated travelling in them. "So like, everyone is going to be there right?" A lot of people to introduce himself to was a bit intimidating but they were Abel's family so he trusted that they were good people.

He was happy that Abel was happy, but he wasn't happy that he was going.

Zevran smirked and tickled Abel's knuckles with his free hand. "I do hope the seas are not rough, so that your reality does not come with a side of sickness."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Oh I'm sure they have, they've probably sprung up like weeds." While affectionate and excited, his tones held a bittersweet tinge. He'd always gone to visit so often before, but now it had been two years. They wouldn't be upset at him for not visiting so long, would they?

Setting his worries aside for the moment, Abel continued on once the light turned green and he focused on the road again. As he pondered Taavi's question, he chuckled quietly and wiggled his fingers in Zevran's grip. "If it does, it'll be worth it. But, I think you'll meet them in phases, so don't worry too much. Dad'll pick us up at Sunyshore and drive us to the ranch - which will take a bit - and then you can meet Mom and Aaron. I think Alex will bring her twins and maybe her husband a little later on. She only lives down in Hearthome so they won't be staying overnight or anything, she'll just drive up and back while we're there. Plus if you get too overwhelmed by all the people, you can always go out and run around the pastures with all the pokemon," he finished with a shrug and an amused smile, only half-joking with the suggestion.  

[TawnyAngel]

Taavi laughed and slumped back heavily in his seat. "Oh, I'm going to run out in the pastures with all of the pokemon if I get awkward or not! I can't wait to talk to your parents about their breeding lines, like, I never really got into breeding? By my Dad knew a little centre that did rehab too and they were so awesome. Man, I haven't thought about them in years. We used to go sometimes on weekends and camp on their land."

"That sounds very nice Taavi," Zevran responded warmly to the little anecdote, hopefully it was an appropriate response but he had no experience to drawn on; he had done his best and that was enough from his perspective. To Abel he continued; "And what will you be eating? You know where my interests lie! Favourite family recipes?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

As Abel turned the car onto another street one-handed without too much trouble, he laughed and shook his head a bit, a grin forming on his face. "You're more than welcome to run out in the pastures with all of them as much as you want every day while we're there, so don't hesitate. Running out in the middle of a conversation would probably be a bad time though, so probably don't do that. And you'll wanna talk to my dad about breeding lines and stuff, he'll happily talk your ear off about it. That all sounds great though, yeah. He was a ranger too though, wasn't he?" He thought he remembered that right, but he tried not to bring up Taavi's family situation if he could help it; it seemed like a sensitive subject at times.

To Zevran the taller blond laced their fingers together a little more firmly, hoping he'd find the gesture reassuring. "Don't you worry, Mom will make sure we're good and fed the whole time we're there. You'll probably have to roll us off the boat when we get back," he said in jesting tones and chuckled a bit. "I can see if I can get some of her recipes to email to you though, if you'd like?"  

[TawnyAngel]

"Oh yeah, he was," Taavi confirmed with a few quick nods. "He wasn't a breeder, just we knew some is all. No, Dad liked being out in the wild - just a couple of humans with their partners and then," he gestured vaguely out of the windscreen, "everything, you know? I was the same, I am? But I'm really enjoying what we're doing in the KSO." Even moreso now, after he'd felt what their most serious adversary was capable of on a personal level. It left him with questions though, why had that one Rocket let Valour go?

"Oooh, I would like that yes," Zevran replied, his tones were relaxed but clearly interested. "I would not ask for something for nothing though, perhaps she and I can trade?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Ah, sweet, I remembered; I thought he was but I wasn't sure. If not the same, you definitely sound similar to him though," he said with a smile. "That's good though. I'm really glad you're enjoying working there, it sounds like it's perfect for you."

Trade recipes? "Actually I think she'd love that Zev," and you, "I'll talk to her about it later and ask her. I can give her your email address and she can send you recipes directly instead of me playing the middle man." That sounded much simpler, plus he had a sneaking suspicion his mother would love to email Zevran herself.

And then Abel guided the car into a parking space just outside the docks; his expression, entire demeanor brightened as he turned the vehicle off. This was it, there was the boat that would take them to his family! "Here we are," he announced probably needlessly as his fingers slipped away from Zevran's, and he hastily removed his seatbelt and got out of the car after popping the trunk open so they could retrieve their things. "I think we're still a little early yet, but being early is much better than being late I think."  

[TawnyAngel]

"Yeah," Taavi smiled in fond reminiscence, "I guess we are pretty similar, but I am way better with money. Like, no Dad, just because the big TV is on sale doesn't mean you just had to buy it." His Dad had had faults, he knew that now, but he didn't love him any less for it.

And then, suddenly, they were there. "Yeah! Alright!" Taavi was only too glad to climb out of the car and to arch his back in a stretch again before heading around to the trunk to swing his huge canvas backpack over first one shoulder and then the other. "We can always get on early and claim a nice spot to be," he suggested as he reflexively tightened up the straps of his bag a little.

Zevran climbed out of the car too, though with less enthusiasm than the other two. They would be gone soon. He would have company but none he could speak to, and not Abel. "I like the sound of that," he said aloud, "it will be nice to speak with somebody else about food in that way."

It was only two weeks, he would find plenty to occupy himself with.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Abel chuckled again as he circled round to the trunk as well. First came a rather large duffel bag he slung over one shoulder, then came the old, scuffed, well-loved guitar case that went over the same shoulder; the former hung at his side while the latter rested on his back, and he paused a moment to adjust the straps of both. "Oh man, that's actually kind of funny. Yeahhh that's kind of... not exactly a good thing to do. I mean if you need a new TV then sure, but if you don't..." That was kind of funny though. It was nice hearing about Taavi's dad, and once again he felt kind of bad that something had happened to part them. Why did life have to be a b***h like that? "Oh, yeah, finding a nice spot would be good."

With their things retrieved and everything set, Abel shut the trunk and then offered his keys to Zevran along with a kiss to his temple. "I'll ask her later, I'm almost completely positive she'd love to talk to you about recipes though. But here're the keys: car key, apartment key, miscellaneous work keys," he explained, pointing to each as he listed them off, though he wasn't sure how necessary it was or not. Better to be safe than sorry, but in either case each type of key looked quite different than the others, so he wasn't worried about Zev not being able to tell the difference.

Not wanting to part from Zevran so soon - they were still in the parking lot, even - Abel draped one arm around his shorter friend's shoulders while his other hand curled around the strap of his guitar case, and as he started heading towards the docks he aimed a warm smile at him. "Thanks again for agreeing to keep an eye on everything and everyone while we're gone. Plus I figured it'd be a little less..." Cold? Drafty? Barely tolerable? Lacking in running water, heat and electricity? "...lonely than staying at your place the whole time we're gone."  

[TawnyAngel]

Zevran accepted the keys with a brief flash of a smile and nodded. "Thank you, and please do! I look forward to trading ideas with her."

As they started towards the docks Zevran slid his arm around Abel's waist and looked up at him with another smile, softer this time. It was good to see him relaxed, unafraid of displays of affection in public now that the shadow of Patty no longer hung over him. "You are most welcome my friend, and yes it will be rather more pleasant I think. Your kitchen is also far superior to my own, I will take the time to play around a little." There was hardly a lack of creatures to eat whatever he created.

Taavi was happy just walking along in silence while the two blonds talked; Valour was wheeling overhead and he was enjoying watching him.