[FIN] It's Raining (on) Men

[BlackFireKitsune]

I'll go for a walk for a while, he'd thought. It's such a beautiful day out, after all, he'd thought. And it's warm enough that I won't even need a jacket today.

And it was nice out -- or it had been when he'd left in just a pair of jeans and a short-sleeved shirt, at any rate. Then it was nice out, but now? Oh no, now, now it was pouring rain - he didn't have any idea where it came from, the skies had looked so clear and nice before - and he wasn't sure which was worse: The sudden downpour or the fact the downpour lowered the temperatures to jacket-appropriate weather when he had none.

Not that it matters either way, he couldn't help but think as he pursed his lips and made a run for a wide awning over a storefront, seeking shelter from the onslaught.

Too bad the store was closed.  

[TawnyAngel]

Just like home!

He couldn't help but laugh as he pounded down the street in search of shelter, water a good inch deep flooded down the pavement and over his boots, and the torrential rain plastered his white t-shirt to his skin and his fine blond hair sleek against his head.

There! Up ahead was a convenient awning and look, he wasn't the only one caught out in this! Zevran sprinted into the shelter, breathing hard from a long dash but still laughing between the breaths. "Phew!" He swiped a hand back over his soaked hair and grinned up at the other man who had taken shelter, a fellow blond with rather strikingly coloured eyes. "A charming afternoon for a walk wouldn't you say? Is the weather always so fine in Kodo or is this a special occasion?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Right when he began to think how comical it was - how perfect a day it'd seemed before it all went to s**t - when he was starting to think how that was just his luck, someone else joined him under the awning. Abel tried to ignore the incredibly uncomfortable feeling of his soaking wet shirt clinging to his skin as he turned to regard the newcomer, and as droplets of water ran down his face and down the bridge of his nose, he lifted a hand to try and wipe some of the water away from his face. It didn't really work too well. Still, he shot the slightly shorter man a wry grin. Huh, tattoos on his face and neck... and was that another one under his shirt? It was hard to tell but given the fact he could already see two, he wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the man had three - or more. "That's what I thought when I left home a bit ago. 'Perfect day for a walk,' I said to myself. Isn't it though?" He gestured out to the downpour in emphasis right as a bolt of lightning flashed in the distance, the accompanying crack of thunder echoing out a few seconds later. The latter question earned some thought, and Abel put on his best serious thinking face. "Must be a special occasion, I think. A wedding, maybe."  

[TawnyAngel]

"Oh I hope so!" Zevran replied with a light-hearted laugh and a wicked grin. "All of the guests end up soaked and subsequently in one another's beds to warm up, it practically writes itself! Alas we are tangential to the narrative, so we don't get to watch any of the fun or drink the alcohol they left behind on the picnic tables."

A gust of wind blew through sending a slight shiver down Zevran's spine; he made an effort to wipe the water off his face and arms not that it made a lot of difference, this was less like home! At this time of year in Antiva it would still be warm even in the pouring rain.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Abel threw his hands up. "Well how's that fair? And besides, it'd be more fun to be part of the fun rather than just watching it," he noted aloud as he matched the stranger's wicked grin with his own.

Damn but the wind made it cold, though. Abel didn't bother trying to wipe the water off his arms and instead hugged them around himself, fighting back a shudder as he aimed a rather vexed look at the rain. "To be perfectly honest this really does suck, though. I mean at least it could've given us some warning or something, yeah? I would've headed for the nearest building if I heard thunder first, but nope, it just had to be a surprise."  

[TawnyAngel]

Ha! A man after his own heart. Zevran made a show of stroking his chin thoughtfully and then nodded. "Ah, you make a good point; doing is always more fun than observing! Warmer too." He shivered again and looked out at the rain, it fell thick and heavy and the fat drops bounced back up from the street making little plumes of spray.

"Perhaps we were left off the notification list?" he suggested to the other drenched man with a slight shrug and a wry smile. "And I don't suppose you happen to know that we are just around the corner from a gym where we can get in for a dollar, have a hot shower and attempt to dry our clothes under the hand dryers? Given our luck being caught out in this I suspect that is a little much to ask; am I right?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Mmh, that too," Abel agreed as he stared back out at the cold rain, glancing up and down the street as he tried to think of where would be a good place to go.

"That's assuming I have a dollar," the blond noted dryly, then hummed thoughtfully for a moment or two. Eventually he shook his head. "No, I don't think there's anything like that around here, but I think there are a couple places with hand dryers we could use. A hot shower would be best, but hand dryers are better than nothing, yeah?" As he spoke, he pointed to a building a little ways down the street; the path there lacked any kind of cover from the rain whatsoever. "We'd have to make a run for it through the rain again, though."  

[TawnyAngel]

"Humm." Zevran peered out at the heavy grey clouds and weighed up his options. "Well the weather looks to be settled in for some time and I don't think I could get much wetter than I already am. The advantage of remaining here of course is that we make a very pretty sight, I am sure we would inspire a photographer if they were passing... and could see us through the downpour. On balance however I think your suggestion is the best option, better to do something about it than to just stand here and shiver no? Oh!" Zevran grinned again and held his hand out to the other blond. "My name is Zevran by the way, or Zev to anyone I have been caught in a thunderstorm with."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

As the stranger looked upwards, Abel did as well. "Agreed on all counts," he replied with a wry grin, "although I think there are a few ways to make prettier pictures than just standing around here. But," he waved his hand as if to wave away the thought, since that line of thinking wouldn't get them any dryer, "yeah, it's probably best to try and find somewhere to dry off... And Zev it is then," the blond said with a breath of a laugh to match his grin, and offered his hand to shake Zevran's. "Name's Abel, pleasure to meet you. Now let's get somewhere dry, yeah?" So saying, he jerked a thumb over his shoulder in the vague direction of somewhere they could do so.

Once assured his newfound company was following, Abel sprinted across the street and down the sidewalk a ways, leading the way towards the nearest place he knew had a nice bathroom to dry off in. He reached the door in short order and couldn't help but wish it had an awning, too, as he held it open for Zev to enter first before following him inside after.

The interior of the store was rather generic - it more or less looked like many other similar convenience stores - and some conscientious employees had already placed wet floor signs near the doors. Abel pointed to a sign hung from the ceiling nearby that indicated the direction the bathrooms were located, in this case in the rear of the store.  

[TawnyAngel]

Better ways? Zevran grinned wickedly and might have elaborated with some ideas right away had he not been so keen to get somewhere inside so as it was he nodded agreement to Abel and took off after him towards the doorway.

Once inside he took a moment to wipe the water off his face - again - before heading towards the bathroom. The interior of said bathroom was more pleasant than was found in many convenience stores in his experience, which was as much as to say that it was clean and smelled faintly of air fresheners.

More importantly however it contained not one but two hand dryers; Zevran angled the outlet of one of them upward, turned it on and started to dry his face and hair. "Good call!" he grinned, raising his voice very slightly to be heard over the noise of the dryer. "Public bathrooms may not be glamorous but you can't argue with the convenience in this situation, and others of course on the odd occasion." The wink Zevran gave Abel indicated that he wasn't talking about the most generally accepted use of bathrooms.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Since he no longer needed to lead and was behind Zev at this point, Abel passed a hand over his face to try and get rid of some of the water again as he followed after the shorter blond. Thankfully it was clean and had exactly what they needed. Good call indeed! "You're absolutely right," he said with feeling, shooting him a broad grin as he realized the full scope of the wink, "though usually bathrooms in noisier establishments are better for things like that, I think."

As he spoke he attempted to do the same thing with his hand dryer that Zev did with his, but unfortunately the thing was stuck. Abel made a face at it as he tried once more before he gave up with a shrug. "That's my luck, too," he noted aloud as he bent down to hold his head under it, and ran his fingers through his hair to encourage it to dry faster. Once that was done he'd try to wring out his shirt a little bit; hopefully he could manage to dry it at least a little. Wearing a soaking wet shirt was incredibly uncomfortable; he knew he'd lost plenty of weight since Alyssa came around, but his shirt clinging to his skin only accentuated that fact.  

[TawnyAngel]

Zevran laughed lightly at Abel's slight misfortune. "Ah, I should offer to trade with you as I am rather shorter than you are and yet," he shrugged, "here I am, not bending over in a bathroom with a stranger. I have to agree with your point about noise levels, it could be a little tricky in here unless one is very well disciplined."

His fine hair dried quite quickly thankfully and once it was done Zevran pulled his shirt off with a soft noise of displeasure at the sensation of the wet cloth clinging against his skin. "A wet shirt may look good but it certainly doesn't feel very pleasant," he commented as he squeezed it out over the sink as much as he could; the material was thin and cheap he didn't want to risk warping it with excessive handling.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Ha." Abel aimed a grin at the ground, still scrubbing his fingers through his hair. "I guess that means I'm just more trusting around strangers, yeah? Or maybe just you," he added after a moment. What would he say to that? "I want to say something about being very well disciplined is overrated, but I think it's actually a pretty fun challenge."

Once his hair was more or less dry - or at least not sopping wet anymore - Abel straightened up and moved to join Zev by the sink. "I agree with you one hundred percent on that one," he said, making a face as he peeled his own soaked shirt off to similarly wring it out over the sink, although he wasn't as careful with his. The only article under his shirt was the silver pendant necklace his mother had given to him years and years ago; while normally he would've been quite hesitant to stand in a bathroom shirtless with a stranger, he reasoned he'd be more uncomfortable standing around in a wet shirt in the cold. After he'd wrung out as much water as he could, he shook out the dark-colored fabric and headed back to the dryer to hold it under there, his shoes making unpleasant squelching noises the whole way. Eugh, that was another thing he hated about rain... He would've worn different shoes had he known. Oh well. "That's definitely one thing I'd rather observe than take part in," he noted after a moment or two of drying his shirt. No, wearing a wet shirt was not even remotely appealing.  

[TawnyAngel]

"There is a lot to be said for a trusting nature," Zevran replied with a soft chuckle. "And I promise I shall not betray that trust! Humm, yes, and a particular challenge of the evening can lend a bit of extra intrigue to an interesting encounter; to be quiet, or quick, or tied to something..." Zevran gestured airily with one hand as he headed to a dryer to start on his shirt, "The list goes on, I am sure we could be here all night throwing around ideas if we really got into it!"

The squelching noise Abel made as he too headed back over to a dryer earned a sympathetic smile from Zevran. "I must admit I could have skipped having been drenched on this particular occasion. At least I however am wearing boots, wet feet are the worst. Do you live far from here?" He had some way to go himself, with luck the rain would pass quickly or at least give a brief respite in which he could dash home. Normally he wouldn't worry at all about getting back to anywhere in particular on a given night but he needed to check on the egg. How strange to have something relying on him completely for care, strange but not actually unpleasant in fact he was quite enjoying looking after it... Not that it needed very much looking after but still.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Oh, yep, he liked this guy. "Tied to something?" Abel repeated, his eyes narrowing just a bit and he pointed at Zev briefly as he said, "I like the way you think. That sounds like a fun idea, though definitely one you'd need to actually trust someone to do it with, of course. But," he shrugged airily as he went back to drying his shirt, "I'd have to disagree with how long it'd take to suggest things. Suggesting things doesn't take much time at all - it'd only take as much time as it takes for you to say it out loud - but what'd take all night is testing all of those suggestions. But even still, suggesting or testing - or both - that sounds like a good way to spend an evening either way." Or at least it did to him, at any rate. New things were usually enjoyable.

Abel made a face. "Lucky you; I would've worn boots if I'd known it was going to downpour like this. But no," he shook his head as his expression cleared, "I don't live too far from here, thankfully. What about you?" Hopefully not too far. Walking so far in the rain would be atrocious. Hell, he didn't have far to walk and it still would be atrocious. He sincerely hoped it let up soon so he could walk back in peace. Even just a normal rain shower would've been fine, not this torrential s**t.