[Fin] In Better Weather

[TawnyAngel]

"Ha! An excellent likeness!" Zevran grinned at Sonia. "I think I am going to enjoy having a Zoroark, when the egg hatches and then evolves of course." However long that would take, he honestly hadn't the faintest idea.

"Humm?" Zevran sipped his beer and gave Abel a slightly puzzled look. "You did say he told you a bit about the evening yes? That was all I meant; that after the meal he decided that he didn't want to go through with our evening's plans after all which is quite fair enough, it's not to everyone's tastes. As I said to him just now, I'm sorry if I made him too uncomfortable to tell him himself that he'd changed his mind."

<> Amigo said cheerfully. <>  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Sonia's illusion of Abel grinned widely and leaned his cheek on his hand before settling his elbow on the arm of the chair. The dark-type was content to keep up the illusion for the moment.

Abel's frown deepened and grew more puzzled at his guest's response. "Yeah, he did," he affirmed with a short nod, his brows furrowed. What... Did he think Sasha had asked Taavi beforehand and he'd said yes, and then had changed his mind after? While they were both thin and usually hungry from not eating a whole lot, he couldn't imagine Taavi being so desperate for a free meal that he'd lie like that, even if Sasha had asked him before the 'date.' "No," the blond said suddenly and shook his head, "no, he didn't change his mind. He didn't have anything to change his mind about. No, his thoughtful sweetheart of a boyfriend," the sarcasm in his voice was practically tangible, "didn't bother to ask him until after dinner. Or didn't he tell you that?"

the Espeon began apologetically,  

[TawnyAngel]

"Uh. What?" Zevran stared at Abel for a moment, processing what he'd just said and starting to frown as it sank in. "They didn't tell him?... So they must have told him when I went into the store, and by the time I came out he was gone." Taavi hadn't known, that actually explained a lot but it also left him feeling rather uncomfortable. Zevran lent back on the couch and rubbed his thumb over his lips, his frown getting a little deeper. "We drank quite a lot at the meal and we were going to head to the park for more drinks." He didn't like where his thought process was taking him, in fact it was starting to make his skin crawl. What if Sasha hadn't told Taavi later, until he was drunker?

<> Amigo agreed with a nod. <>  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Yep," Abel said as he leaned back more comfortably against the couch and rested his beer atop his knee. "You guys could've got nice and drunk at the park, I bet," he noted after a moment or two, and though he enjoyed getting drunk there was nothing positive in his tones or expression at the moment.

The Espeon asked, then leaned forward again to lap at the drink a bit more.  

[TawnyAngel]

Abel didn't sound impressed. Zevran was not impressed either. "¡Well that was the idea!" he exclaimed, making an expansive gesture with his bottle that slopped a little beer out of the top; it ran down the neck and onto his hand, Zevran ignored it. "¡Go to the park, get pleasantly drunk, and then go back to somebody's place though I suppose it would have been a hotel because Sasha didn't share where they live and-!" Zevran stopped and shook his head, had Sasha known he didn't know? He wouldn't bee too surprised if that was the case; there was definitely something off about Sasha, he didn't know what it was yet but it was there. "Why didn't they tell him before we met up? He could have said no and we could just have had a nice friendly meal."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"No, I get it," the blond said with a slight shake of his head. "It sounds like you guys planned a really fun evening. He just didn't tell Taavi about it until halfway through the evening for," he gestured vaguely with his own bottle, "some reason I don't know. I can have as many suspicions as I want but the only one that knows is him. I can sit here and speculate all day that maybe he did it because he knew Taavi wouldn't go for it - which he should damn well know by now with how long they've been dating - and hoped that he'd be more open to the idea after meeting you, so he waited to ask until after dinner. I could speculate that he wanted to wait until he'd had something to drink first but I don't even want to think it was that." While he didn't want to think Sasha would get Taavi drunk and then try to pressure him into things, he really didn't know him well enough to say for sure.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Hmph, the best laid plans," Zevran muttered, frowning again and taking another sip of beer. "I don't think that was their intent, the getting him drunk in order to get a yes." It could have happened whether Sasha had meant it to or not; Zevran drank more beer and reached distractedly for a couple of chips. "Perhaps they did hope that meeting me would change Taavi's mind? Perhaps I should be flattered." Not feeling very flattered Zevran crunched the chips a little more aggressively than was strictly necessary.

"You know considering you thought I knew Taavi didn't know at the start of the evening I am a little surprised you still asked me here," Zevran added after a moment.

<> Amigo nodded. <>  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"I don't think so either, or at least I hope not. I don't know him too well so I really don't know," he admitted with a light shrug. "And yeah, it could've." And he could've had someone to (attempt to) beat the s**t out of. Thankfully that hadn't happened though.

Abel took a sip of his beer again and frowned thoughtfully. "The way I see it is, what little I know if you isn't bad. What little I know of Sasha isn't good. You seem like a cool guy that's fun to drink with, and Taavi thought you were nice enough too. He," he gestured with his bottle to separate them both, "seems like a selfish p***k from everything I've heard. Not that Taavi would ever think anything like that, of course," he ended with a frown.

the psychic-type said with a smile.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Mmmh, yes, and some people can do a very good job of seeming civilized right up until they don't," Zev mused with a slight shrug, taking more chips as he spoke. "I suspect I know Sasha even less than you do but it was quite obvious that Taavi was eager to please them, he was very reluctant to disagree with them on a point about pokemon eggs as I recall. I'm glad I made a good first impression though! ¿Honest filthy jokes are a good way to start no?" he grinned. After a moment he added; "I think Sasha lives somewhere to the west, I made a few references to that after Taavi had left and they didn't even blink. It could be that they're just a good actor of course."

He wasn't sure why he had shared that detail with Abel, he wasn't sure why he had tried to glean it from Sasha either. Maybe because he liked Abel so far and, while he enjoyed Sasha's company, he didn't trust them as far as he could throw a car and maybe also just to see if he could. That wasn't a very pleasant thing to do now was it? Trying to dig out a secret just to see if you were equal to the task? Keeping a secret like that wasn't very pleasant either though so the two balanced one another when you thought about it.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Yeah, he always is. Taavi's..." He took another sip of his beer to give himself time to think. "He likes to please people, and doesn't like when they're mad. Doesn't like to disappoint people, either, so I'm not surprised to hear that. Heh," the blond aimed a grin at his company, "dirty jokes are always a great way to go."

The next tidbit of information gave him pause, so he leaned forward to get a couple chips to munch on while he thought. "I don't know much about where he lives, and I don't think Taavi knows much more. Just that he's got the shadiest sounding setup I've ever heard of. Something about paying hardly any money for rent because he lives with his young attractive rich landlord who absolutely forbids him from ever having visitors," he elaborated in a voice that didn't sound the least bit convinced. No, he didn't believe that for a minute.  

[TawnyAngel]

Zevran choked slightly on his beer, coughed for a moment and then gave an incredulous laugh. "Are you serious? Well that's not at all suspicious. If it's true they're definitely ********, if it's not then it's the worst lie I ever heard and either way it's terrible!" Zevran shook his head and let out a little huff of breath. "But Taavi accepts it so as not to cause a fuss or so it sounds? Forgive me for saying so but your friend may as well have 'welcome' printed across his chest."

<> Amigo nodded. <>  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Right?" Abel asked, sitting up a bit and his expression becoming a little more animated. It wasn't just him that didn't believe it. "I don't believe a word of it, personally, but that's what Taavi was told and so that's what he believes... And I know," he said with a light sigh, and he rubbed at one of his temples a bit. Apparently he wasn't the only one to think Taavi was a bit of a doormat, either. "That's a little difficult to just stop doing right away, though. I don't know if he believes it, or if he just doesn't want to question it for fear of upsetting him or something. I don't know," he finished with a shrug. "All I know is he could do so much better than that."

Isaac said with a smile at the friendly Caterpie.  

[TawnyAngel]

If it wasn't true then where did Sasha live and why wouldn't they tell their boyfriend? Very suspicious. Zevran drank his beer and ate a few more chips in a pensive manner. "I wonder if I could find out where they do live and why they would lie about something so simple? Doubtless the two are connected." Digging into this too much might end up being more trouble than he wanted but curiosity pricked at his mind like a splinter under the skin, it wouldn't go away until it was dug out. "I wonder if the why of the lying is also connected to their missing eye?" Zevran added thoughtfully. It was of course quite possible to innocently lose an eye but in this case he doubted it had been a simple accident.

<> Amigo chirped before dipping his head to drink more of the cocktail thing.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"There's only one reason I can think of to lie about where you live for that long: If you're hiding something you don't want them to find out about." There was only one other person he knew of whose residence still remained a complete mystery to him, and she likely had no intention of ever telling him or letting him find out. Not if she wanted to keep blackmailing him, anyway.

Pushing such thoughts away for the time being he instead grabbed a couple more chips. Before he popped them into his mouth, however, something Zevran mentioned caught his attention. "Missing eye?" He echoed, slightly puzzled. Did Sasha have an eye missing? Was it missing when he'd met him, or was that recent? No, it couldn't have been recent because Taavi would've mentioned him having an accident of some sort.

the Espeon added as he glanced back at the pair of humans to gauge their current state. No, they seemed content at the moment despite the somewhat suspect topic of conversation, so he couldn't imagine Abel not inviting Zevran back.  

[TawnyAngel]

Zevran made a noise of affirmation as he took another swig of his beer. "They have a glass eye, the right one," he said, tapping just under his own eye for emphasis. "It's a rather good facsimile but you can tell close up, it doesn't move and the pupil doesn't dilate. Anyone can lose an eye of course but as you say, anyone who hides where they live from their boyfriend of all people has something much more than that to hide. I think our Sasha may be into something more than a little illegal." Not that he necessarily disapproved of that of course, he just wanted to know what it was! Lying to somebody you were supposed to care for was pretty low though.

<> Amigo chirped. <>