[FIN] Barbecue on the Beach

[TawnyAngel]

"Oh? Let's see then!" Summer exclaimed, peering at Abel's arms and pointing as she spotted the bottom of the ink. "Ahha! Matching tattoos though hu, sounds pretty serious?"

Matching tattoos did sound pretty serious but Dith wasn't particularly surprised by this with how the two had been acting when they'd come over for coffee. "Am I going to have to call in that previously given wedding gift after all?" Dith added in gently teasing tones with another waggled of his impressive eyebrows. "Moving in together, matching tattoos; I'm pretty sure rings come after that! Though you're due one as well aren't you Summer?" Now the waggling brows were turned onto the sunny nurse, who laughed and flushed.

"Who me? Oh no, we've not really been going out that long... He is pretty great though."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

With a laugh Abel switched his bottle to his other hand so he could roll up his sleeve to better show off the tattoo on his upper arm. "His is pretty much the same," he said, glancing down at it himself with a bright grin he didn't bother to subdue. The thought that matching tattoos were serious hadn't really crossed his mind before, but it was rather serious wasn't it? But they were serious. There wasn't anyone else he wanted to be with. "I s'pose they are, yeah."

Marriage though? He laughed again, trying to ignore the slight nervous quality to it as he lifted his beer to his lips for another sip. "I don't know about that," he said once he'd swallowed and given himself a moment or two, but thankfully Dith switched his marriage focus from him to Summer. "Aw, how long have you guys been dating?" At least as long as when Zev had been in the hospital, but surely they'd been dating longer than that?  

[TawnyAngel]

"Watch out with your speculating Dima or we'll start matchmaking you," Summer threatened teasingly. "What do ya think Abel, should we go to a convention and scan for a lady in a good costume in the right age bracket? Me though, me and Danny have been going out for uh... is it eight months now?" Summer paused, counted, and then nodded. "Yeah, eight months. I've known him for about two years though... got to admit, he's pretty great!" This last was said with another grin, a slightly dopey one this time.

"Hey, if you can find me a girlfriend I'm not going to argue!" Dith countered with a bass chuckle. "I don't get out enough to meet people, except at work and the KSO." Why wasn't Abel sure on marriage though? Okay maybe they weren't ready yet but didn't he have some inkling? Perhaps it was Zev who didn't like the idea, you didn't get scars like he had from a settled background.... And he didn't know where he was going with that thought but there it was anyway, sitting in his head and looking at him.

"You two are obviously crazy about each other though," Dith added to Abel with a softer smile.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Ah, that sounds like a good idea," he laughed, grinning mischievously over at Dith this time. "I'm sure we could find a few!" Would Dith mind though, or-- Oh, nope, he wouldn't. Abel laughed again, still grinning, though it softened to a bright smile as he turned towards Summer again. "That's great, he sounds awesome." Not that he'd heard many specifics about this Danny guy, but if he helped out with her kids and she sounded and seemed so happy with him, then he sounded great. Hopefully he was great. But she thought they weren't dating that long, but they'd been dating longer than he and Zev had. They'd known each other longer too. He didn't really know what to do with those thoughts except tuck them away in the back of his mind for now.

For a moment he thought Dith was talking about Summer and Danny, but when Abel glanced his way he found his friend smiling at him instead. "Ah," he said in lieu of an answer for the moment, instead opting to smile somewhat shyly into his bottle as he took another sip. What could he say to that? Once he lowered the bottle he asked curiously, hints of shyness still tinging his smile, "Is it that obvious?"  

[TawnyAngel]

"He's great," Summer repeated with a laugh and a shake of her head, "and ya aren't the first to tell me I should marry him either Dima! Rose loves him, they've gone to go paint mugs together today." Summer took a sip of her beer and then grinned at Abel. "And yeah, it's obvious! It's great though, sounds like he needs somebody."

Right, yes; no next of kin, no nobody except Abel and Taavi. What had he left behind in the place he'd come from? What had he got mixed up in since? Dith still wasn't buying the 'accident' thing, he didn't buy it about Abel's incidents either. He had a lot of questions, a lot, but much as he liked Summer he didn't want to ask them in front of her. Was there a way to get Abel alone a bit later?

"Very obvious," Dith agreed, "and yes, I think both of you did! You make a good couple." Mutual fun and respect - what more could you ask out of a relationship? There were specifics and such but those were the most important things.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Aww, are they really? That sounds great," and adorable! Abel grinned over at Summer. "How old is Rose then?" Painting mugs together, that sounded sweet and adorable. Oh yes, he liked the sound of Danny, especially if Rose liked spending time with him like this.

The shy tinge returned to his grin as he aimed it back down at his bottle of beer, since it was easier to look at that instead. "Ah, I think everyone does, don't they? I'm glad I can be that somebody for him though." And that Zevran was that somebody for him. For so long he thought he didn't need one - or at least tried to convince himself that he didn't - until Zevran sauntered into his life and made him realize just how much he did.

As Abel looked back up at them again the shyness melted away, replaced with a bit of goofiness in his broad grin, unaware of his friend's curious thoughts. "Thanks. I like to think we do. Mmh, enough about me though! How about you, Dith? You're telling us you haven't met anyone nice that you're interested in?"  

[TawnyAngel]

"She's nine," Summer replied fondly, "she's very opinionated about everything and she loves anything arty or crafty. Never been good at it myself so I'm glad she can do stuff with Danny. 'He gets it, mom', she tells me!"

"Ohh, yeah," Dith nodded and waved his bottle, "he does graphic design right?" Summer confirmed and he nodded back. "Well that's good, it's nice for them to share something!" Ahh, but as for himself.... Dith smiled wryly and shook his head. "There was somebody, a few years ago but... well, it didn't work out." In the end her work had been more important, she'd communicated less and less and seemed to listen to anything he had to say less and less when they did talk. In the end one day he just hadn't been the first to message, and that had been the end of it. Sometimes he wondered if she'd even cared, or if he'd just been a brief pleasant diversion. Nadezhda. He'd really believed that had something, which just went to show that wisdom didn't always come to you with age.

After a moment Dith realised that his statement had been kind of a downer for a beach party and so he laughed and shook his head. "Like I say though that was a while ago, I just haven't had the time to meet anyone since."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Aww. A little older than he would've guessed, but not by much. "She sounds adorable," he noted, smiling and watching the obvious affection in Summer's face and voice as she spoke. "That's great they have something in common like that." Was it hard for Rose to deal with not having a father, or did she have an easy time of it? At least she got along with Danny well enough it sounded like, and that was awesome. It sounded like a good match though; Summer was obviously happy, and it sounded like Danny and Rose were both happy too.

"Mmh," Abel said over another sip of his beer, frowning a little as he looked over at Dith. Relationships that didn't turn out well were always a disappointment, to put it extremely mildly, and the expression he offered his friend was sympathetic. "That's too bad, but I'm sure there's someone out there for you somewhere." Maybe he'd meet them if he had more time to do so, because 12 hour shifts weren't very conducive to meeting people unless they were in the hospital. "Maybe even here on the beach somewhere!" He added in more positive tones, since dwelling on such things wasn't exactly positive. Another thing that wasn't positive was wondering if he and Zevran would follow such a path, so he promptly stomped on those thoughts before they could even fully form.  

[TawnyAngel]

The thing Solus had been so taken with had turned out to be a small flat shell with an exquisitely pearlescent sheen. Zevran was now rolling it casually back and fore over the fingers of one hand as he tended to the well packed barbecue; the island of blankets had become an island chain and some upbeat but not overly invasive music was playing through some little speakers hooked up to a young doctor's phone.

Now seated a bit back from the barbecue, having the blankets so close had seemed like a bad idea, Dith watched the shell's progress with a crooked smile on his lips. "Is he showing off, or does he do that sort of thing by habit?" Dith asked of Abel; they were sort of alone now, there was an enthusiastic game of volleyball going on a short way off and some of the others had headed down to the water for a swim. For his part Dith was quite happy where he was, sipping another beer and waiting for something to come off the grill.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

While it was nice to see everyone - great, even - there were still a bunch of people he didn't know, and even then he didn't know some of them too well. It was nice to just sit and relax with Dith and another beer, although he'd be lying if he said it wouldn't be better if Zevran had joined him. Maybe in a little while, after he was done grilling, or until someone else could persuade him to give it up. Not that he expected that to happen anytime soon.

Abel chuckled a little as he watched the shell flip over his boyfriend's dextrous fingers. "Zevran, showing off? never," he scoffed with a broad grin, his tones jesting and his colorful gaze remaining on their subject. "I can't imagine where you'd ever get such an idea. Mmh," he hummed a bit as he took another sip of his beer before swallowing, "really though, probably a little of both. Or a little of one and a lot of another," Abel added with another chuckle.  

[TawnyAngel]

"He does have a flare for the flamboyant," Dith said as Zevran poured something over something that was on one bit of the grill; it caught fire. "And flambé," he observed with a bass chuckle. Zev had ditched his shirt too by now, which Dith didn't consider especially safe but he didn't want to be That Wet Blanket so he hadn't said anything. Anyway, they were a bunch of doctors and nurses, if he scorched himself he was in the best possible company....

From where he was sitting he could pick out a couple of scars on Zev's back, and he could see where the black ink had been extended to cover the new ones he'd got from the bullet wounds. "I'm not checking out your boyfriend," Dith said, just in case Abel was wondering. "I'm just trying to see if I can make out my handiwork from here, but I can't see the scars at all under the ink. They healed well?" Why had he inked over some scars but not others? One of the scars he could see bisected a tattoo, the tattoo had been repaired but the rest of the scar was left as it was.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"He does, doesn't he?" Abel agreed, chuckling as well, glancing over at Dith again for a moment before looking back to his boyfriend. "For both." And for showing off, including himself. Hopefully he wouldn't burn himself on anything, but at least they were in good company if he did. Probably the best company if he did.

A few moments passed in companionable silence before Dith spoke again, and Abel looked over at him, his lips curved into a curious smile. "I didn't think you were, but I doubt he'd mind if you were." Zevran, mind people appreciating his looks? Never. ...not to say he himself didn't mind other people checking him out. Truthfully it bothered him a little, but it wasn't a big deal really. It was fine. Anyway. "Mmh, they've healed up really well, yeah. He waited until they healed enough before getting more tattoos, don't worry," he added, aiming a small smile at his friend before he took another sip of his beer. Dith was a doctor; presumably he'd worry at least a bit about Zevran getting tattoos before his wounds were ready.  

[TawnyAngel]

"I sort of get that impression," Dith replied with a snort of amusement, Zev definitely seemed to love attention of pretty much any kind. What was that about? And the thing about the drugging? That one kept playing on his mind, and so did all of the scars he knew where there. Old burns on his back, quite evenly sized. They didn't seem accidental.

"What's the logic behind the tattoos then?" Dith asked, gesturing lightly to Zev's back with his bottle. Would this get him the kind of answer he was looking for? What would he do with the information if he did get it?  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Abel chuckled again and nodded before he took another sip of his beer. It was easy to see how much Zevran enjoyed receiving attention, even if one didn't know a single other thing about him. But Dith asked a question he himself had asked once before, and Abel hummed thoughtfully as he sipped at his beer again, trying to give himself a few moments to consider the question. "That's something I asked him back when I was first getting to know him," he said at length, both because it was a partial answer and because it bought him a few more precious moments to think. Zevran had told him the answer back when they still didn't know one another that well. Would this be a question his boyfriend would mind answering? He probably wouldn't mind, especially since it was Dith. He'd always been great to the both of them and helped them out a lot - a lot - and it wasn't as if answering would really reveal anything damning.

After another thoughtful hum and a vague frown, Abel swirled his bottle a little bit. "Back when I asked him, he told me... something like how if someone makes a mark on your wall that you don't like, you'd want to cover over it, yeah?" Dith had spent quite a while working on him and he was perceptive; there's no way he wouldn't have noticed that some scars had tattoos and others didn't. It wasn't exactly difficult to notice, after all, or at least it hadn't been for him.  

[TawnyAngel]

That was not a reassuring answer, but then he hadn't expected it to be. "Mmmh." Dith took a slow sip of his beer and gave a slower nod, his single eye studying Abel's face carefull. "Yes, I can understand that." But some of the scars were marks he didn't mind? Or that he minded less, not enough to try to work into the swirling designs?

After a few silent moments Dith added; "That wall's taken quite a few knocks over quite a few years."