[FIN] Some News

[TawnyAngel]

Zevran smiled faintly and closed his eyes as Abel leaned in to kiss his forehead. "We are." Very fortunate, and yet.... No, no, just focus on the good things; sketches, freedom from debt, Abel's presence. "I will look online," he continued, opening his eyes once more and flashing Abel another brief smile. "I am sure I can find something good. Humm, and perhaps we could ask him over for dinner? When I am up to cooking, with your help?" That would be a nice, personal thing to do yes? "Ah... Is that alright?" Zevran added after a moment, now looking slightly uncertain as the thought popped into his mind. "For me to suggest asking people over I mean, it is your apartment even if you have asked me to live with you I would not wish to presume too much."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"I think looking online would be good, yeah," he agreed with a nod. Usually for something like that he'd just go to a liquor or wine store to grab something, but Zevran wasn't exactly in much condition to be shopping anywhere except from a chair or couch for a while... much as he probably would've preferred to go out himself. And while he could just go pick one out alone, he felt it probably best that his boyfriend did it himself, or mostly himself at any rate. It was his debt that Dith took care of, after all. Still... "If you find a good one you think we should get for him but don't want to pay for shipping, I can always go see if I can pick it up in a store somewhere too." There, now he felt a bit better about it.

A soft smile crossed his face and he gave Zevran's hand another squeeze. "I think that's a wonderful idea. Dinner, maybe drinks or dessert? All of the above? And that is perfectly alright, sweetheart," Abel assured his boyfriend - or attempted to - as his smile softened. Should he? It was just something more to think about, but... "That's another reason I'd like to move, actually. It kind of is me inviting you to live in my apartment, and that's not what I want really, more like... I'd, um, I'd like for us to live together in our apartment. It's easier to do that if we both move to somewhere new together, yeah? Then we both have a hand in picking out the place and furniture and decorations and stuff."  

[TawnyAngel]

Their place.

He had thought of it being Abel's. True he had mentioned a balcony and yes he had intended to pay his share of everything but... Well somehow it had still be living together in Abel's apartment in his mind, a place he would remain only while Abel wanted him there. Not that he had thought that Abel would want him gone in the near future, he had not, but... but somehow it was different in a way he couldn't explain. It was foolish, probably strange, and not something he could articulate.

Zevran's sudden silence and the uncertainty that flashed across his face however probably more than hinted that something Abel had said had taken him aback. "¿I... would like that?" he said slowly after a brief pause, a stronger than usual twang of accent rolling off his tongue as he tried to fit his mind around the idea of... ¿of being an equal? ¿Was that it? "I would be happy anywhere you chose but... Yes, that sounds nice." The question of wine had been quite forgotten for the time being.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

If his puzzled expression and continued silence didn't tell him enough, his equally puzzled, more heavily-accented words definitely did. Abel smiled again, less shy and more assured. "I'd like it best if we both chose where to move to together. I'd like it if we chose a lot of things together, actually."  

[TawnyAngel]

He laughed briefly, uncertainly, and looked down at their linked hands. "You always ask me to choose things, make decisions. This one I," he paused, hesitant, but then seemed to gain confidence and went on; "This one I am looking forward to. I have never chosen where I lived before, save for the warehouse and that was merely a temporary measure which went on for too long." It had gone on because he hadn't known how to do anything else, and had not had enough motivation to try despite not knowing. He might still feel disconnected from the world of normal people, unsure of how to navigate its staid waters, but he had a reason to try. A very good reason.

Zevran squeezed Abel's hand and looked up at him again with a hopeful but still slightly uncertain smile. "What other things should we choose together?"

He could never have had this with the Crows, never. He wished he could have, that Taliesen could have, and Rinna. Thinking of them hurt but his expression didn't waver, too much of his mind and heart were focused on what Abel's response might be.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

He did ask Zev to choose things and make decisions fairly often, didn't he? While he felt bad that such things caused his boyfriend discomfort, he couldn't regret asking him to do so. Slowly but surely and with patience and love, he'd coax him out of his comfort zone eventually. But still, hearing that Zevran actually looked forward to making a big decision - a very big, very important decision and everything that went along with it - prompted a grin to form on his face that practically glowed. "I'm glad to hear it," he said as he lifted their hands so he could press a few soft kisses to Zev's knuckles. "Mmh, well there's a lot to choose when you get an apartment. Where it is, how big it is, what it looks like, and what it has in - or outside - of it, and the balcony... But there's also how to furnish it, what to buy for it and where to put it... I told Taavi he could have my couch once he moved out, so we'll need to get a new one. We can pick that out together. Besides an apartment, I'd like it if we chose a vacation together, like that weekend trip I mentioned before. We can choose when and where to go, pick out what hotel to stay at, what kind of amenities it has... Personally I think a hot tub would be nice, if for no other reason than I'd like to cuddle with you in a hot tub."  

[TawnyAngel]

Those were a lot of things. A lot.

"I don't know which things to look for in an apartment," Zevran shrugged, still smiling, "but we can look around some? Just see what we like." We; them as an entity choosing something together. That sounded a lot nicer than just choosing something himself. After a brief, slightly floaty-feeling moment Zevran added; "A bread maker. It is so... middle class, but better to the point it is consistent and good." Then he paused again with a hint of a frown and added; "I am not sure I said the idiom correctly." And hotels, and vacations, and- "In the autumn we must go to the fair near Sandalwood again and ride the ferris wheel." And kiss, and wander the city when the light was gone to find a place to eat, a place to sleep - together. How had his life changed so much in so little time?  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Lucky for you, I know all about finding new apartments to move to! Or at least, I know a fair amount; this one's my..." He paused a moment to think it over, "Fourth? Fourth sounds right. One back in Sinnoh, two in Unova and one here, so I know the general process and most of the things to look for. There can be a lot of things to look for and plan around, but we'll find one and figure it all out together, you and me." There were so many things they could do together, could decide together -- so many things he wanted them to do together. Together. Together with his best friend, his boyfriend, his sweetheart, his love, the man who filled his heart with such joy and happiness in so short a time it still left him reeling whenever he thought about it too much. He'd come so close to never dating again - never loving another person again - and now that Zevran had unwittingly pulled him back from that decision, he couldn't imagine how he'd ever manage without him. He couldn't, didn't want to -- and very nearly had to.

Setting aside such thoughts before they could go any further, Abel pressed another kiss to his love's knuckles before setting their hands back down on the side of the bed. He didn't get Zevran's idiom at all but that was okay; he smiled just the same and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "We have to go to the fair again, no question, and definitely ride the ferris wheel again... and no doubt we'll both get distracted while riding it again, too."  

[TawnyAngel]

"Ah, and now you are the man of much experience," Zevran said with a crooked smile, squeezing Abel's hand as he kissed his knuckles. He would rather Abel had survived than Taliesen. He had known Abel for less than a year. Did that make him disloyal? Perhaps so. Perhaps he could live with that. He wished Taliesen could have lived with it too.

"I ah, I am a very distracting man," Zevran continued with an effort. "We can plan the fair and other things too so long as they are vague until we get closer to them... I think I shall always be a man of impulse. Do you mind?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Oh I am, am I? My how the tables have turned!" Abel couldn't help but chuckle, a somewhat lopsided grin on his face. "I'll go easy on you, don't worry; you know how gentle I can be." Speaking of being gentle, he couldn't help but feel a bit of tenderness - possibly somewhat disguised - was necessary at the moment. For all the time they'd spent together, getting to know each other and learn each other's quirks and personalities, the taller blond had gotten fairly good at picking up on the worry or insecurity in his boyfriend's voice whether obvious or subtle. "And you are very distracting. Most terribly so, even! But you already know I wouldn't have you or your terrible penchant for distraction - or your impulsive nature - any other way. I love you just the way you are, sweetheart. And sometimes vague plans are the best ones, anyway, and spontaneity is always fun."  

[TawnyAngel]

Abel could certainly be gentle and he was always kind, too kind. He looked at their hands again and tried to think of something to say. He ought to be happy, he had been, but it had faded so quickly. He was still relieved but...

"Ah, distracting and distractable!" Zevran smiled and raised his gaze to Abel's face once again. "I blame the drugs. I am glad to hear that, I think spontaneity is fun too. And I think you are fun, and I would not change anything about you either."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

My my, that was a rather long pause before he'd replied, wasn't it? Abel's smile softened as he gave his boyfriend's hand a squeeze, his free hand lifting to gently run his fingers through Zevran's hair. "I'm glad to hear that too, you always make me so happy, love. Are you tired? You can take another nap if you'd like to."  

[TawnyAngel]

He wasn't tired but he was getting tired of talking, could he say that without sounding insulting? Though even if he just said it like that he didn't think that Abel would take it badly. All the same, he would prefer to phrase it a little more elegantly.

"I am not tired, but talking is tiring," he said after a brief pause. "I think I would like to just draw for a while."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"That's understandable," especially given his poor lung and the fact he had to have a machine breathing for him for days. "Drawing sounds good; you can listen to your CD player too if you want, and I can sit here and watch... if you don't mind, of course," he added with a small smile, his fingers carding through Zevran's hair once more before his hand fell away back to his lap.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Of course," Zevran replied with a somewhat contrived smirk. "I am always happy for you to watch. Perhaps don't join in with this though, I don't think it would come out well." Not his best innuendo by a long stretch but it had been the best he could come up with, it would do.