[FIN] Some News

[TawnyAngel]

He couldn't bring himself to look at Abel's face but the conviction in his voice rang clear as a bell. He believed him, and yet he was afraid to believe him because... Why? Because it could change? If this hadn't changed it what could? Something, said his own mind without his permission. One day he would do or say something unforgivable, maybe he would even do it on purpose because he knew he didn't deserve this. No, he wouldn't do that, to do that he would have to hurt Abel very badly. And yet, something.

Zevran leaned into Abel's touch and exhaled softly. "I do not know how you can. Thank you... Ah... Were there other things?" He didn't want to linger in this moment of weakness either.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

On one hand he wouldn't have minded continuing this train of thought, but on the other hand Zev obviously had no desire to - right now, anyway - so all Abel could do was oblige him. "You bet we did!" He chirped brightly in response, giving Zevran's hair another stroke before removing his hand so he could pull out not one but two paperback books in Spanish; the questionable,scantily clad individuals on the covers of both were a good indication of each books' crude contents, although one looked a little more tasteful than the other. "I picked out some books for you that I hope you'll like, but if you don't I won't be offended because you know I don't know Spanish. I figured you wouldn't mind some reading material for if you get bored sometime."  

[TawnyAngel]

"Books?" Zevran sounded briefly puzzled, but then he saw the covers. He started to smirk. "The Embrace of the Rose. When- pfh! Ah... his name translates to something like d**k Hardwood- when d**k Hardwood, a young captain, is posted to fight the English he encounters a beautiful English noblewoman in strange circumstances. Rose knows that Captain Hardwood is her father's sworn foe but she cannot resist the depth of his deep brown eyes and he cannot resist... The Embrace of the Rose." Zevran looked up at Abel; incredulous, tired, but genuinely grinning. "Where did you find this s**t? It sounds amazing. Ah, and the second...." Zevran blinked, read the title again, and then let out a brief laugh. "And this is A Brief History of Royal Affairs of the European Monarchy. Education and smut? I am sure I shall be entertained between the two of them, thank you Abel." A Brief History of Royal Affairs of the European Monarchy!  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The first sounded suitably terrible and trashy - which meant it was perfect - and Abel began to grin because his boyfriend's was infectious, but said grin promptly morphed to a puzzled frown, his eyebrows lifting a bit. "Wha-- history? Seriously?" The blond leaned over to get a better look at the cover, which looked to him like something similar if not the same as the first. "That's a history book?"  

[TawnyAngel]

"Si- yes, history," Zevran confirmed with a nod as he turned the book over to read the back. "Uh... Blah blah, the carnal appetites of the kings of Europe unchecked by... eh... oversight I suppose it translates to? The women used and cast aside, and those who rose to power through their affairs. The queens unfulfilled by marriages of duty who sought love elsewhere. And was Elizabeth the First of England truly the 'virgin queen'? Read love letters, dedications... ah... theories of kings who preferred the company of men... etcetera. Oh! And dramatised re-imaginings, so there may be some smut in here after all!" Zevran lowered the book and smiled up at Abel again. "Not what you intended perhaps but I think it should prove amusing nonetheless, and it would do me no harm to learn more of the world outside of Thedas... Even if this is rather niche knowledge."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Huh...." Abel squinted at the book again. Briefly he entertained the thought that Zevran was messing with him but quickly decided against it; he wouldn't do that anyway, and in either case he was probably too tired to think of any of that anyway, so the blond shrugged a bit excessively. "Eh, oh well; as long as it's interesting, yeah? Even if it's not exactly what I meant to get for you. Mmh, you'll need to teach me some Spanish sometime so I don't make the same mistake again. Or so I can pick even better, trashier books for you," he added with a chuckle.

Oh yes! "One last present for you," Abel went on as he carefully withdrew a thick sketchpad from the bag, a decent size without being too unwieldy lest Zev not be able to use it in his current state. "I kinda gambled on this one," he admitted sheepishly as he pulled out a box of colored pencils and a small contained sharpener to go along with the pad, "but I couldn't help but wonder if you'd like to draw or something if you get bored, too. You seem pretty creative, I thought, so I figured.. I dunno, it might help?" He shrugged again; lewd trashy romance novels were one thing he felt comfortable in assuming Zevran would enjoy - and his positive reaction to both left him feeling his assumption had been correct - but he felt less sure of this gift. "I dunno," he repeated with another shrug, his gaze falling to the items in his lap, though he held them out a moment later if Zev wanted to take them or look at them, "I won't be upset or anything if you don't want to use them."  

[TawnyAngel]

He wasn't sure what else he'd expected, a pack of cards perhaps? He certainly hadn't expected art supplies and the surprise showed on his face as Abel pulled them out of the bag. And was Abel... shy? A little embarrassed? Uncertain was maybe a better word. When his boyfriend held them out Zevran took the pad, the other items balanced on top, and then set the pencils and things down on the bed.

"I used to sketch quite a lot, paint too- some," he said quietly as he opened the pad and smoothed a hand over the first page. "I haven't really thought of it since I came here... Perhaps it would be nice to start again." Zevran looked up at Abel and gave him a small smile. "I should have hobbies other than gambling, yes? Getting my hand back in will give me plenty to do; thank you. Heh, and your gamble was a good one."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Abel's smile warmed, the uncertainty fading away as Zevran accepted the gift and seemed.. almost shy. Not quite, but he couldn't really think of a better word at the moment. "I didn't know you painted," he admitted softly as he leaned his arms on the edge of the bed and watched his hands smooth over the surface of the paper. "Gambling sounds like a fun hobby, to be fair, but if you did start sketching and painting - or even just one of the two - I'd love to see whatever you make. If you want to share, of course."  

[TawnyAngel]

Zevran closed the sketchpad again, his smile softening a little as he nodded. "You know I love sharing things with you. And yes, I used to quite a lot. Once I graduated, as it were, I had much free time in between jobs. Some of it I spent just around the city but some I spent on improving my art, dancing, and such. We were encouraged to develop these... talents?" He gestured vaguely to show he wasn't sure this was quite the right word. "Sometimes they might need somebody who can paint, tailor clothes, play an instrument, or any number of other things. I never did need to pretend to be a starving artist however, which is fortunate because I would not have enjoyed trying to lose weight. Ha. Skinny does not suit me." He would no doubt lose weight and certainly muscle tone while he was in here... Abel wouldn't mind would he? It was probably terrible of him to even wonder that.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"I know," Abel replied in the same soft voice, smiling warmly as his gaze lifted to meet Zevran's. The knowledge that his boyfriend liked - no, loved - to share things with him warmed his heart. "I love when you share things with me... and I love sharing things with you too. I also love all of your various skills and abilities, especially your dancing, but they're good to have too," the blond said with a shrug. "We were always, ah, heavily encouraged to improve ours, though not out of any kind of necessity like that so much as just a..." Abel frowned thoughtfully as he internally groped for the right word, gave up and shrugged. "My parents just wanted all of us to better ourselves, I guess, but," and then he shrugged again. The end of his sentence was there somewhere, but that was as far as he'd go to finding it.

A moment or two passed before the blond reached a hand out to take Zev's in his, curling around it and ghosting his thumb over his boyfriend's knuckles. "I'm glad you didn't have to play a starving artist either, and I'm just as glad that you won't have to in the future. Mmh, when we bring you home we'll have to make sure you're properly fed. I can try and make churros for you sometime, if you like? ...not that churros are really proper nutrition or anything, but eh, details." Abel waved his free hand at said details, as if to wave them away. They weren't important anyway. No, what was important was what Zevran wanted -- anything he wanted, anything that would make him happy in an otherwise difficult time in his life. One of the most difficult, Abel guessed, if not the most difficult. Probably the most difficult.  

[TawnyAngel]

Zevran pulled a face at Abel and then smiled wryly again. "I can't think of anything worse than food just at the moment. I am sure I shall feel differently by the time I leave however, and be quite ready for some churros you have made for me. Hospital food has a reputation for being not so delicious..." That was another thing, he had been here for a couple of days already and would be for another week; "When do you have to return to work?" He did not relish the idea of being here alone, not at all, but he knew Abel couldn't take all of that time off.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Oh, he didn't want to talk or think about food? Damn, he should've realized that... somehow. Shaking his head to dismiss the topic he went on with a small, apologetic smile, "Sorry love, I won't bring up food again... for a while, at least," he added, giving Zev's hand a fond squeeze.

Hmm, what to talk about though? Maybe he could--ah, that solved that then.

"You have me all day for two more days, but I have to go back to work after that. I'm gonna ask Chris for a few more days off for when you come home after too." Well, this saved him the trouble of figuring out how to broach the subject of 'so on top of not being here at night, I'm going to stop being here all day long too in a couple days' that he'd worried about having at some point. With a smile and another squeeze to his boyfriend's hand he went on, "Taavi and I are going to work different shifts so one of us'll always be here when visiting hours are going on, though, before you start worrying about that. I think I'll be able to visit for a little while in the mornings no matter when I work, and I should be able to come back sometime before visiting hours end, but the middle is kind of..." He gestured with his free hand palm-down and waggled it around a little. "I'll let you know in another day or two, when I figure out what my shifts'll be, yeah?"  

[TawnyAngel]

"Oh, I don't mind talking about food; it's thinking about eating I can't- ugh." Zevran pulled a face again, he was already feeling faintly nauseous - side effects - and the idea of food in his mouth, chewing, swallowing, all of that was simply no.

As Abel spoke about visiting, his schedule, and Taavi's Zevran frowned in concentration; putting everything in order was a lot more difficult than it should be. It took him a few moments of silence after Abel stopped speaking to interpret it all but once he had Zevran frowned a little more, and then looked a bit guilty. "You are turning your lives upside down for me. I... should not need somebody here all of the time. And did we find out what visiting hours are here?" He wished he could just leave now and be in Abel's apartment. Even if Abel and Taavi were both gone the pokemon were there and it was a place he felt safe.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Abel waved away the subject of food with one of his usual amiable smiles; he wasn't about to go on about it if thinking of eating was something Zev didn't want to do at the moment. Thinking about food usually led to thinking of eating, so it was difficult to do one but not the other.

He'd almost, almost forgotten that his boyfriend was on some heavy medications, but he was reminded when it took Zev a little bit to process everything he'd said. It was easy to forget when he seemed to be conversing and interacting perfectly fine, even though their surroundings and the various tubes going in and out of him were hard to ignore. When Zev finally did respond, it wasn't anything he expected. Abel's smile softened and he squeezed his love's hand gently. "We aren't really, making time to be with you isn't super difficult or anything. Even if it was I'd do it anyway - I'd do it in a heartbeat - and I know you'd do the same for me. And besides, I want to be here to keep you company anyway. I kind of like you, y'know," he reminded his boyfriend, fondness crinkling the corners of his eyes a little and warming his smile as he gave Zevran's hand another squeeze, "just a little. I know Taavi'd want to keep you company too, but his hours can be earlier or later than mine... Speaking of hours, no, I haven't gotten a chance to ask anyone about them yet. I've been assuming they'd be more or less the same as the ICU, but I'll ask when I can. Mmh, I'd also like to ask if you could have your phone so you could text or call me whenever I'm not here, or so you can ask me to bring you something specific or something," the blond added, his tones turning vaguely thoughtful. They'd let him have his phone, wouldn't they? He couldn't really think of any good, legitimate reasons for them to withhold it from him, so surely they'd let him have it back. Hmm, would it be dead after being left for a few days? Maybe... It'd at least need to be charged, he was sure; if it wasn't dead yet it probably would be soon. Abel made a mental note to get Zevran's phone charger... or to text Taavi and ask for him to bring it later instead. One of the two, he'd decide later.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Ah... Yes. Of course I would. And I quite like you too." Zevran smiled hesitantly and squeezed Abel's fingers. "Yet- I still feel guilty." He frowned a little and shook his head as he tried to find the right words to express himself. "Like this... this is another thing I should repay? But I know you will tell me it is not. But that does not change the feeling. I hope I can have my phone though... if I can I can send you dirty texts at work." Now Zevran smirked wearily and winked. "No pictures though; for one I would not wish to get you in too much trouble and another, tubes are not sexy... Well, some people think they are. Niche."