[FIN] Unexpected Finds

[TawnyAngel]

"Pfh!" Zevran said and slid his bag up to hang on his elbow so that he could wave his free hand at Abel. "Not in public!" he laughed, obviously slightly embarrassed but not actually displeased at all. Either way though he was glad to tuck the kind comment away in his heart and move on to things that were easier to think and talk about.

"No you are right, I would be sad if I lost any taco to the ground or got it on my clothes, it is best we feed ourselves on this occasion," Zevran agreed with a shrug and a nod. "Sometimes we must let practicality win over fun, certainly where food is involved."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

With a grin and a laugh of his own, Abel nodded his head and made a mental note to try not to say such things to Zevran out in public. Sometimes he couldn't help it though, he just made it so easy! Easy and completely worth it to see that adorable blush of his. "Alright, alright. And I'd be sad too if I lost any of mine, so I have to agree with you on that one, yeah." He didn't want to lose any of his taco either, that would be a tragedy. As they walked along Abel continued thoughtfully, "I'm pretty sure they have more than just tacos too, now that I think about it, like quesadillas and nachos and stuff. Ooh, I'll bet they'd also--"

"Abel...?"

"--have..." His voice faltered at the same time his steps did as he halted abruptly. His warm, contented demeanor vanished just as suddenly, replaced instead by disbelief, confusion, uncertainty, and faint tinges of hesitance. This wasn't the first time that voice had called his name and its haunting familiarity dug cold claws into his heart, dragging it down to the pit of his stomach and trapping it there as he glanced around for the source of the voice he'd known so well years ago. But no, it couldn't be, there was no way...

But there she stood, staring at him with an expression that practically mirrored his own bewildered disbelief. "...Molly," he said, his voice suddenly quiet as he stared at the ghost from his past. Except she wasn't a ghost at all. She hadn't changed much; her light red hair framed her freckled face with those wide, expressive green eyes he'd so often stared into and her small rounded nose he'd always called cute. Her hair fell in a wavy cascade over one shoulder, obscuring part of the cowl neck sweater that hugged her familiar slim, slightly curvy frame all the way down to her hips. Below that a pair of dark leggings extended all the way down to a pair of boots that matched her sweater and added another couple inches to her naturally short stature. When he'd seen her that day four years ago, when she ran onto the boat that would take her to Hoenn and took a piece of his broken heart with her, when she left him standing there on that dock staring after her long after the boat had vanished from sight... he'd always thought that that was the last time he'd ever see her his whole life. And yet here she stood, staring at him with lips slightly parted as if she'd just seen a ghost -- which wasn't that dissimilar from his own reaction.  

[TawnyAngel]

Whatever they had been saying about food and indeed the food itself suddenly became unimportant. A red-haired woman had called Abel's name but this was not the one they had loathed and knew to be dead. This was one that Abel had loved, and maybe still did.

Molly.

Abel had spoken of her some and always fondly, with regret for their parting and not a single bad word for her. And here she stood, and they starred at one another.

A sudden cold yawning feeling inside Zevran whispered to him that he might as well not exist and he tightened his grip on Abel's hand as he too stared at the woman in silence, his expression unreadable.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

What was she doing here? Why was she here? The last he'd heard she'd gone to Hoenn and he thought for sure he'd never see her again, so what had brought her to Kodo...? What should he do? What should he say? There had been so many things he'd wanted to say, to tell her that day on the dock four years ago, but now nothing came to mind. Nothing at all, in fact; his brain was still struggling to process the scene before him.

What felt like an ocean of churning thoughts from his past washed over him, pushing him under and threatening to drown him, but the squeeze to his hand pulled him back from his past and firmly grounded him in the present. "Um... hi," the woman said uncertainly once she'd found her words, and she reached up to tuck a few strands of hair behind her ear. While she spoke Abel's expression softened again but not completely; he still felt too uncertain, too confused, and had the sudden feeling he was about to start walking on eggshells. All the same though he returned Zev's gesture with his own firm squeeze, and in addition his thumb ran gentle circles over the other man's hand. "It's... it's been a while, hasn't it? How have you been..?"

"I've been good," he replied with a small shrug, choosing his words with care. She had been one of the most important people in his life at one point, but that had long since passed. There was someone else that was much more important than her now, someone whose hand he held fast to. "Life's had its ups and downs like it usually does, but it's been good. What about you?" Should he introduce Zev yet, or wait a minute...?

Molly decided for him when a soft, somewhat hesitant smile curved her lips a moment before she answered him. "About the same, though more ups than downs, thankfully. So.. ah..."

Uncertainty clouded her expression again, and Abel took advantage of the opportunity to gesture vaguely with the hand that was occupied by the bag. "I'm being rude, I'm sorry; Zev, this is Molly," he said rather needlessly, though it gave him the excuse to glance towards the shorter blond for a moment - which turned into two at his expression - before he returned his focus to the young woman. "Molly, I'd like you to meet Zevran, my boyfriend."

A warm politeness had begun to creep into the expression she'd turned to Zevran in preparation for her hello, but it vanished abruptly, replaced by complete and utter surprise at his statement. Instead she merely echoed, "Boyfriend?"  

[TawnyAngel]

¡Oh well this was fantastic! He hated her for no good reason and because he had a very limited number of coping mechanisms to deal with that Zevran grinned as openly and brightly as anyone could wish.

"¡Ahh, so you are Molly?" he asked rhetorically and cordially; his smile was still bright and his eyes apparently warm, but if Abel looked at his expression closely he would note that it was just a little different somehow to Zevran's usual warm happy expressions.

Regardless of this Zevran continued by holding his hand out palm up to Molly and saying; "I am Zevran - Abel's boyfriend as he introduces - and delighted to make your acquaintance! I have heard nothing but good things about you." All so true! What the <******** was she doing here?  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Ahh... hello," she replied somewhat awkwardly, and once the initial shock subsided and passed from her demeanor, it only left obvious bewilderment and the same uncertainty from before as she stepped forward and hesitantly put her slender hand in his waiting palm. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Zevran, though I... can't say I've heard of you before since... well," she cut herself off there and a moment or two later she said to Abel, "I had no idea that you, ah, were.."

"Me either," the taller blond said with an expressive shrug. There was only one thing she could mean at the moment, and that was the fact that he was dating another man. That had certainly never been a habit he'd had when he'd started dating her. "Not until I met Zev, that is, and I'm not about to complain." No, he would never - could never - and he gave his boyfriend's hand a fond squeeze as he chanced a glance his way. Something was... something was off -- something was wrong about Zevran's charming behavior, but he couldn't quite place it. Was he upset? Ohh, he was probably upset. s**t. Was he really though, or was he imagining it, or overthinking it?  

[TawnyAngel]

Zevran continued smiling as he bent to kiss Molly's hand, though the brightness of it laxed a little as you would expect in any normal encounter. Charming, very charming, foreignly charming perhaps here in Kodo, but not overly charming! He had trained a lifetime for this role, his tongue and his muscles knew this beat as well as his heart knew how to beat. It was blood deep, bone deep, this was what he was.

"What can I say?" Zevran winked at Molly, glanced up at Abel with his lantern-bright eyes and his winning smile and squeezed his hand, "I am a very persuasive man am I not? But what a small world it is to meet you here! Are you living in Kodo Molly, or here for a visit?" Did it matter? Either way she was here now and though Abel had spared him a glance and a hand squeeze is was obvious where his attention was.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The kiss to her hand left her looking more uncertain and hesitant, although not as much as she had originally. Abel on the other hand chuckled a bit. "You are very persuasive and terribly charming," he agreed as he looked back at his boyfriend for a few long moments, studying his face, his demeanor, his behavior... Why did he suddenly feel like he was part of some sort of show? It was an odd feeling and he didn't particularly care for it. Something was definitely wrong.

Molly glanced back and forth between the two with uncertainty still, as if she couldn't figure out if he had actually persuaded Abel to be bi or not. "I see.. Oh, I'm only visiting. I go back to Hoenn in another week," she explained. "I'm only here on a business trip... What about you?" The woman asked, glancing between the two again.

"Ah, that' cool," Abel replied as he looked back at Molly again, his eyebrows lifting a bit. She'd never gone on business trips before, so it sounded like her career was improving. Somehow that felt like something he shouldn't really comment on considering Zevran's unemployment, so he refrained for now. "I moved here a few years ago, and Zev moved here... was it around a year now? A little less?" He looked back at his boyfriend for confirmation. "I'm pretty sure we met in the spring, yeah?"  

[TawnyAngel]

She seemed nice, normal. If there was any pretence in her it was good, better than him and he was very good. Why was she here? Business she said, business! Well what business did she have taking Abel's attention from him?

Zevran smiled up at Abel, his mouth and eyes as warm as any hearth but the line of each was just slightly not the Zev Abel knew, and the Zev that was there gripped Abel's hand very hard. "It was late spring, May I think," he agreed with a grin and a wink. "The April showers you mention here came late I suppose, though it turned out well for us!" Something as simple as rain had brought them together, and something as simple as a chance encounter could part them again. Abel had loved her.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

...okay, something was definitely wrong. Zevran was always charming, of course, but he seemed... he seemed a little... something. There was something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Plus he was squeezing his hand really hard. Was he trying to give him a sign of some sort, or was he just... why was he holding it so tightly? Something was wrong and he didn't like it, not one bit, and he got the distinct and unshakeable impression that Zevran didn't like it either. "That sounds about right, yeah," he agreed despite his thoughts, aiming a warm, somewhat more reassuring smile than usual, "and despite how soaking wet we got from that downpour I think it worked out rather well."

"That's good," she replied with a nod, a hesitant smile slowly working its way onto her face. "It seems like a nice region."

"It is," Abel agreed with a nod of his own, then fell silent for a couple moments. When he spoke again he offered her a warm smile. "Well it was good seeing you again." How to end it though, how to end it...

Molly decided for him when her expression grew a little more uncertain, perhaps even the smallest bit distressed should anyone pay close attention to her features. "Ah, yes, it really was, especially after so long. Would you... ah, would you both like to have lunch together?"

...that... wasn't what he'd been going for. Lunch with her too? While the thought of catching up with her was nice, Abel needed hardly any time at all to respond with a shake of his head, "Nah, I think we'll have to pass on that this time, though thanks for the offer."

"Oh, okay. I'm sorry for intruding," Molly said quickly, her cheeks flushing bright pink. "Maybe some other time then, before I leave...?"

Ah, that wouldn't be as bad, especially if Zev didn't care for seeing her. Plus even if he said yes now he could always change his mind later. "Sure."

Molly appeared to brighten just a tad at his acceptance, though the uncertainty - almost apologetic - returned in short order. "I, ah, I don't have your phone number anymore, so..."

"Ah, me either," he responded without hesitation - he'd had four years to delete it as well as get a new phone, and at some point he saw little reason in keeping his ex girlfriend's phone number - though he deliberated how best to proceed. He didn't particularly want to spend too long with this... ah. "Here," he said as he pulled out his phone, quickly pulled up a new contact box and then passed her the phone.  

[TawnyAngel]

He was panicking under the smile but it was under the smile so it didn't matter, feelings like that were better kept silenced. And Abel was going to have lunch with her, and Abel was taking her number.

Who had he been fooling? Well he had fooled himself for one! Perhaps he had fooled Abel for a while too with long winter dreams and midnight new year kisses.

Zevran kept smiling, he didn't know what else to do. "It will be good for you two to catch up, you must do so!" he said aloud, and he hated it but it was true. Abel would be better with her, happier, she was his type - a woman, a redhead, not a career murderer - and he would see that soon. It was all for the best really, for Abel and Molly anyway and Abel was the one who mattered.

Zevran's grip on Abel's hand loosened a little.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Zevran's words prompted a small, shy smile to form on Molly's face as she accepted the phone offered to her and began typing into it.

Abel couldn't help but feel preoccupied by his thoughts though. Something was wrong, even if Zevran had relaxed his grip somewhat. Perhaps that was what prompted him to squeeze his boyfriend's hand firmly instead, to not let it go, to lift it to his lips to press a lingering kiss against it before lowering it again. As much as he wanted to ask him what was wrong, he wouldn't ask just yet because he had the sneaking suspicion he wouldn't get the answer he wanted. Instead he turned back to Molly to ask, "So, married? Kids?"

A warm smile alighted the woman's face, no longer hesitant or uncertain, but fond and somewhat wistful as she typed away into his phone. "Yes to both -- two boys, though I'd like to try for a girl."

Her response warmed his heart more than he expected it would, and the warm smile he gave her was as genuine and sincere as his words. "Ah, you should; I remember how much you wanted a girl. I'm really happy for you."

She paused for a moment or two, her expression tinged with surprise, but it faded into a shy warmth as she finished up and passed his phone back. As she did, it felt to Abel as though she'd also given the last piece of his broken heart back with it. "Ah.. Thank you. I'm happy for you too," she added, her tones warm and pleased, then amended her statement, "for both of you. I'll see you soon?"

"Thanks," Abel replied just as warmly as he pocketed his phone again, and then nodded, "Yeah, see you," though he waited before departing to see if Zevran had anything to say first or not.  

[TawnyAngel]

...She was married? With two children? With plans for another? Had he been worried over nothing?

If Zevran was thrown off track - which he was - he didn't show in his demeanour, he kept smiling and then nodded to Molly. "Thank you! I am happy too, for us all." She sounded truly warm and genuine but he couldn't believe it somehow; somehow this would make things go wrong. "Perhaps we will see one another again soon Molly," he added in friendly tones, and on this particular occasion they didn't mean 'and I will be the last thing you see'. She really did seem like a nice person, and apparently she had her own life away from Abel.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Yes, I'd like that," she said with the same warm smile, then lifted her hand in a parting wave, a parting wave Abel returned with a smile, before she turned back to continue her shopping.

With the impromptu and completely unexpected meeting over, Abel gave Zevran's hand a squeeze and took the initiative to lead him the rest of the way out of the department store. It didn't take long for them to exit into the rest of the mall but they didn't make it much further than that. Once out of the store Abel gently pulled Zev off to one side, out of the way of anyone else, so he could switch the hand that held his boyfriend's before sliding his freed arm around Zevran's shoulders, holding him close and pressing his forehead into his fine blond hair, his mouth situated near his ear -- all the better for him to murmur, "Are you okay?" All of the worry and concern he'd felt deep inside surfaced now in his voice and his expression because that had been sudden, had been unexpected, and something had seemed off. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on, but there was something and he couldn't help but feel like it was his fault, and he wanted more than anything to fix it.  

[TawnyAngel]

And just like that they left Molly behind. As they stepped out of the store Zevran's thoughts spun, somehow he still felt as though this would make everything go wrong; Abel would remember how he'd felt about her, realise that what he had with him wasn't enough or something like that. He didn't make any objections as Abel led him into a secluded little spot, in fact he seemed to just be lost in thought until Abel pressed their brows together and spoke to him.

Why was Abel asking him if he was okay? Zevran wrapped his arms around Abel in return and gave him a squeeze. "I ah... That was unexpected wasn't it?" he replied. "Quite a surprise she seems like a nice woman!" he said brightly, perhaps too brightly; Abel must have picked up on a change in his demeanour, that was why he was asking. "I wasn't quite sure how to greet her, so I went for charming," he admitted, and perhaps that would be enough for Abel? He didn't want to admit to the panic that had suddenly gripped him.