[FIN] New Years Date

[BlackFireKitsune]

Ah, Dith was offering to leave? Well it sounded as though Zevran wouldn't mind if he did, so that was fine with him too. As he'd suggested, they could always find him later. Dith was not one to get lost in any kind of crowd. First, though, he aimed a devilish smirk at Zevran. "Of course there are! You should know all of them by now, the first of which is that no matter how terrible you are, you're still an absolute sweetheart," he pointed out with a chuckle as he leaned in to kiss his temple again. "And yeah," he went on as he turned to Dith, "we can find you again later on, yeah? I wouldn't want to keep you from whatever you want to do too." Plus he was eager to have a dance with his friend.. maybe after a bit of food first.  

[TawnyAngel]

He should have seen that coming. He should definitely have seen that coming. The blush spread across Zevran's cheeks and he ducked his head in a futile attempt to hide it. "So you keep saying!" he exclaimed with a nervous laugh.

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Awwww, Abel's boyfriend - or date - was adorable, had Abel known he was going to react like that? Going by the look on his face, probably yes. Dith chuckled softly and toasted his glass towards the couple. "You two have a good night now, and for what it's worth I think you are a very sweet couple!" Dith grinned, winked at Abel, and then turned to head off in search of something to eat.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Ahh, there it was. Perfect. Abel's grin widened and he chuckled again, pleased with Zevran's reaction, and all the same he reached his free hand up to slide his fingers gently around his ear and into his hair to pull the shorter man's head to his shoulder if he'd let him, then kissed his fine blond hair. "You know I only keep saying it because it's true," he pointed out in a soft murmur.

He didn't miss Dith's comment though, and he shot the older blond a wry grin. "We'll see you later," he replied instead of a number of things he could've said. A couple... The thought filled his stomach with fluttering butterflies, made his heart beat a little faster, and left him feeling hesitant and uncertain. He shouldn't date anyone, he didn't deserve to, it would be far too selfish of him to, he couldn't, he...

He wanted to.

s**t.

Well, it wasn't like anything would come of that feeling this evening, so with some effort he set the matter aside for the time being and offered his friend a warm smile. As much as he liked Dith, he rather liked being able to focus only on his date. "So, what first? Food, drinks, dance?"  

[TawnyAngel]

"Well, so you claim," Zevran muttered but he was smiling as he spoke. What did he want to do though? "Ahh...." Zevran looked around with a thoughtful expression on his (adorably) flushed face for a few moments before looking back up at Abel with a smile and kissing his jaw. "Let's dance."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"So I know," the taller blond clarified without hesitation. But then he smiled warmly, happily - he felt like he'd been doing that a lot lately, which was both odd and wonderful after being miserable for such a long time - and returned the kiss to his jaw with a soft kiss to Zevran's lips. "You read my mind." He reached down to take Zev's hand in his, polished off what little remained of his champagne, found an acceptable place to set the glass, then led the other man towards the dance floor.  

[TawnyAngel]

Abel said he knew but he was wrong, he couldn't be sweet or kind or good or.... Well any of those things. He was fun, he knew that, and he was smart and bold and very flexible but he wasn't sweet. Abel made him want to be though, and whenever he said he was it sent warmth flowing through his veins.

Zevran finished off his drink and set his glass down beside Abel's. "I have many talents, occasional mind reading is just one more," he said with a soft chuckle as he following willingly out onto the black floor with its sparkling lights. This felt like a dream, they'd said that out in the snow and it hadn't changed at all. This couldn't be real, couldn't be his life, yet here they were together under the chandelier. This was a very good dream.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Unfortunately he'd only ever learned how to lead, but Zevran didn't seem to mind. He didn't seem to mind a lot of things, like the fact Abel was a little rusty with some dances, or... the fact that a few dances in - slower, calmer ones were fine, but more physically taxing ones were not - the taller blond needed to take a break to give his poor, struggling lung a rest. "Sorry," he murmured for probably the umpteenth time once they'd left the dance floor and found a spot to sit so Abel could sink down into the first available chair he came across, short of breath and beads of sweat forming on his brow. He hated still feeling like this; it had been months since she'd stabbed him, and yet he still ran out of breath so quickly.. and he'd probably continue to do so for several more months, in all likelihood. But at least he was eating better and had hardly any stress these days, and even was trying his very best to quit smoking for Zevran. Well, no, for himself obviously, not for Zevran of course but -- but it was for him, or at least because of him, so maybe both? Probably both. ...it was both. Mostly for Zevran.

"So," he reached for Zevran's hand to entwine their fingers, pull his close and press a gentle kiss to his knuckles, "I guess this is a good time to eat or drink something, yeah?"  

[TawnyAngel]

He didn't mind following at all and nor did he mind the frequent breaks, not even a little.

As they left the dancefloor and Abel sat down Zevran smiled softly, squeezed Abel's hand and reached over with his free hand to wipe the sweat from his friend's brow. "You do not need to apologise, I understand." Getting stabbed? Not enjoyable. Getting stabbed in the lung? Worse. It took a long time to recover and Abel's (seemingly former) smoking habit had no doubt slowed his recovery.

"And yes I think this is an excellent time to eat and drink. I think it is my turn to fetch?" Zevran said, giving Abel's hand another squeeze as he spoke.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Abel returned the squeeze with his own before kissing the back of Zev's hand this time; his forehead was quite warm under the other man's fingers. Zevran was so good to him, far too good to him, and he couldn't help but feel he didn't deserve it. "But I feel bad," he countered, his voice still soft and somewhat breathless, and his eyebrows furrowing a bit. He felt the need to apologize regardless, except his friend dismissed it.

"Ah.. Well I could, but it would need to wait a few minutes," the blond went on a little sheepishly, traces of guilt tinging his tones, "but if you wouldn't mind getting stuff, I... would really appreciate it." He already appreciated his friend enormously for everything he did, and yet it seemed every day he found that appreciation growing with all the little things he did, the sweet gestures, the kind words... He really didn't deserve it, but he couldn't even think of giving any of it up - giving him up - for anything.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Hummm, and who got the drinks when we arrived?" Zevran asked rhetorically with a fond chuckle before lifting Abel's hand to return the hand-kiss. "It is no trouble I promise. What would you like to drink? I shall fetch us a selection of whatever food is available." Abel always seemed to feel guilty about having anything nice done for him no matter how small and easy a thing it was. Perhaps he felt about this a little like he himself felt about being called sweet? Perhaps he would ask sometime, sometime but not right now.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"I did, because I'm your date," he pointed out in fond tones, and once more his smile brightened at the thought. There was no one whose date he'd rather be. "I want to be a good date for you... But any drink you get is fine by me, I'm not picky."  

[TawnyAngel]

"You are, but I am also your date," Zevran retorted easily with a smirk. "And you are a good date, a very good date. Who fetches food and drink will not change that my friend so just you wait here and I shall fetch us something, okay?" With those words and a quick kiss for Abel's forehead Zevran departed, slipping neatly through the crowd until he was lost from sight.

A few minutes later he reappeared looking slightly smug, probably because he was balancing two glasses of champagne on one flat palm and a plate of food on the fingertips of his other hand. "And here we go, I thought we might as well stick with our first drinks for now," he said as he swooped his hand carefully towards Abel. "Would you please take these? I actually cannot put them down." He definitely wasn't showing off carrying things like this when he could probably have asked a server to bring either the glasses, the plate, or both for him; not at all!  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Well that certainly settled that for the time being; Zevran had left him no room to argue, so he merely smiled at his words and his touch before waiting patiently in his chair, trying to focus on his breathing.

Not that he had long to wait. His friend returned quite promptly and with an impressive display; Abel happily took both glasses with a smirk. "If I didn't know any better I'd think you were showing off or something," he remarked with a brief chuckle, "but I already think you're amazing, so that can't be it. More champagne sounds good for now, I agree, and... thank you."  

[TawnyAngel]

Zevran set the plate down on the table and now his hands were freed he reached down to stroke his thumbs over Abel's cheekbones, a fond smile warming his amber eyes. "Maybe I show off not to impress you but to entertain you eh? And you're welcome, always. Now here, see! There is," he gestured to the plate with a grin. "There are a lot of things to try, most of which I do not know what they are made of..." That sentence had not been well strung together; Zevran shrugged, it wasn't important. "But I see something with smoked salmon there, I assume those are ones with caviare, and those look like tiny pieces of quiche? Every bite a surprise! Your bouche is guaranteed to be amused."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Abel set one of the glasses down on the table and made a pleased noise in the back of his throat as his eyes slid shut, enjoying the feel of Zevran's gentle fingers gliding over his skin. Zev was too good for him. All the same he lifted his free hand to curl around the other man's wrist, pulled it away a bit, then turned his head a little so he could press a kiss into the shorter blond's palm. "Thank you again. And either way, whichever it is, you're too good to me."

His eyes opened again and his gaze swept over the plate that Zev described.. quite quickly. Abel chuckled, his warm expression shifting to a grin. "I can't really tell what any of it is either, but it all looks good, so I'm sure it'll taste good no matter what. And, my what?" Was that even Spanish? It didn't sound like it.. But then again he didn't know what it did sound like.