[FIN] Precautions

[BlackFireKitsune]

Well, the evening before had been.... quite the rollercoaster, but at least it had ended on a happy note - a blissfully happy one, at that - although this morning, Abel couldn't help but think, they had to set dreamlike happiness aside and tackle the harshness of reality, and prepare for the inevitable unfortunate confrontation they'd have to face at some nebulous time in the future.

But first, breakfast.

Or in Abel's case, assist with breakfast while preparing coffee. After pouring the dark, steaming liquid into two mugs he'd pulled at random from the cabinet, he fetched the sugar and cream to add. He took extra care to make sure he prepared Zevran's exactly how he liked it, in the hopes it might at least be one bright, positive thing in an otherwise murky day. If he could give him any specks of light to banish some of the darkness that swirled around him, to give him some kind of reprieve from what must be a terrible, oppressive feeling, then he would gladly do anything he could to do so. Starting with coffee; he stepped closer to wrap an arm around Zev's waist, proffered him the mug, and pressed a soft kiss to his temple. "Here you go," he said with a soft smile, the expression much more subdued than the happy silly ones he'd worn so frequently the night before before they fell asleep nestled in each other's warm, loving embrace. No, today they had things to discuss, things to do, to accomplish, to prepare, and the weight pressed down on him, on his emotions, subduing his usual brightness, quieting his usual warm smiles, and the embraces he gave his boyfriend were tinged with more protectiveness than usual... but it did nothing to diminish the love he felt. If anything it strengthened it, fortified it, and made him all the more determined to protect him to the best of his ability. Which... maybe he'd need more abilities. Something to think about.

Anyway. "Anything I can help with?" He asked, peering down at what his boyfriend was cooking.  

[TawnyAngel]

He had slept decently enough but then he usually did regardless of the situation; lightly, but well. When morning came however he had wanted nothing more than to remain curled up with Abel, to keep on sleeping instead of waking to face the world.

As that was not an option however he was making French toast, trying to focus on the browning of the bread in the pan and not on everything that waited outside Abel's apartment.

"Mmh?" Zevran shook himself out of his egg-based reverie as Abel appeared behind him with a mug and he turned his head a little to offer his boyfriend a ghost of a smile. "Thank you, and no thank you," he said as he took the mug and took a sip of the aromatic coffee. "French toast," he explained with a gesture to the pan. "You had some stale bread, I thought this a good use for it. Do you want cinnamon on yours?" Cinnamon. Coffee. He wanted to think about simple things like that but he would have to look beyond breakfast soon.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Opting not to comment on Zevran's somewhat distracted demeanor this morning - because really, he couldn't blame him in the least, what with what must be hanging over his head now - Abel kissed his boyfriend's temple a second time, returned the faint smile with a quiet one of his own, rubbed his back a bit, then turned to prepare his own mug of coffee. "You're welcome, and that's a perfect way to use it up before it goes bad, yeah. Mmh, cinnamon sounds good too, thank you," he said as he stirred cream and sugar into his coffee - less than usual - before putting both away. "Thank you for making breakfast."  

[TawnyAngel]

Soft kisses, soft words, an expression in the eyes he had never seen directed at him before.... He could live like this, gladly. Maybe they would move somewhere with a little balcony where they could sit out and he could grow a few herbs. Big windows, pots of tomatoes and chillis. He would have to get a job somewhere, he wouldn't expect Abel to pay the bills on his own and.... And all of that would be somewhere undefined in the future, solid plans were too much to contemplate. He would rather contemplate them than contemplate never getting to make them, to live them.

"Then there shall be cinnamon," Zevran said firmly and flipped open the lid of the little shaker pot he had beside the stove to sprinkle some over the pieces of toast. Once he was satisfied with the coverage he flipped them over with a spatula - the other side of the eggy bread sizzled satisfyingly as it hit the hot pan - and shook the spice over the already mainly toasted side too. "And you're welcome," he added after a moment, turning to look at Abel again with another not-quite-there smile. "I enjoy it, it is... Mmmh, something I'm good at which is not..." Zevran frowned a little and gestured vaguely with his free hand, took a sip of coffee and concluded; "Important? That is not the right word but perhaps you understand?" He wasn't even sure if he could have picked the right word in Spanish so English had no hope at all.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

With his own mug in hand Abel returned to Zevran's side to slide his free arm around the shorter man's waist again. "I understand I think, yeah. It's nice that you're good at it, but enjoying it is more important. Being good at it is just a bonus, yeah? Though you are definitely an excellent chef," he added with a small smile as he leaned in to press another kiss to the side of his head.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Ahh, sort of." Zevran frowned as he tried to find the words to explain better. "The thing itself is not important, not... noticed? Not that you don't notice my efforts but..." Zevran trailed off again and huffed, resigned but not really unhappy. "I cannot explain it well. Just call it out of character? Not expected maybe. Just to feed people is... nice."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Despite the fact he knew English wasn't Zevran's first language, given his fluent grasp of it he tended to forget about it, or at least not keep it at the forefront of his mind. Moments like this though brought it back into focus, and not for the first time he wondered how difficult it was to have not just one but two - or more - different languages tumbling around in one's brain. One was enough for him, and once in a while depending on the situation, even the one was too much. That made more sense, though he didn't know if he quite understood the thought completely - mostly, but maybe not completely - though he didn't want to upset him further as he seemed a bit frustrated that he couldn't really word it too well. "It's nice cooking for other people?" He hazarded, then a moment later amended, "Cooking for people you like?"  

[TawnyAngel]

"Yes," Zevran agreed quickly, brandishing the spatula for a moment before giving the toasts another flip to finish their browning on the first side. "Yes, and also it is... Soft? Not important." He was aware that he was repeating himself a little but perhaps by adding to it each time he conveyed a bit more meaning, to himself as much as Abel. "Or perhaps I can just enjoy it without needing to say why," he added with a shrug before taking another sip of coffee.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Aha, so that was it! Or part of it, anyway. Soft? Not important? A puzzled look creased Abel's brow for a moment or two as he took a sip of his coffee, and to give himself another moment or two to think. "It feels good not so much because you're good at cooking, but just to cook for people you like -- just to do something nice for them, because you like them?"  

[TawnyAngel]

Zevran tilted his head slightly as he gave Abel's suggestion due consideration. After a momentary pause he nodded agreement and shuffled the pan; the toasts moved freely. "Yes I think so. A nice thing to do to show you care, and it is not related to work? Mmh. Will you fetch plates please? I think this is done now." French toast and vague rambling about cooking, and outside the window somewhere there were people who wanted him dead. He was used to the possibility to dying on any given day but people out to kill him, specifically him? That was quite new, and very unpleasant.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Ha, that was it! Or if not exactly it, it was at least close enough it seemed. "I understand," he said with a nod as he moved away from his boyfriend, set his mug down and fetched the requested plates from a nearby cabinet. "I think it's similar to why I like making your coffee for you; I know that's usually how you like it, and I like to make something for you that you like. Here," he added as he stepped over with the plates, holding them out and ready to receive french toast.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Yes," Zevran nodded again, "something like that. Oh, and it is good coffee - thank you." Had he already said thank you? He wasn't sure so better to say it twice than not at all.

Once Abel had put the plates down Zevran shook the breakfast foods onto them - two thick slices each - turned off the stovetop and set the pan aside to be washed later. That was as much clearing up as he intended to do before eating and so he picked up mug and plate and headed into the living-room.

As he went, and so had his back to Abel he cleared his throat slightly. "Taavi will probably be in soon, if he survived his night out with his work friends. What are we going to tell him?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Zev had said thank you already but Abel didn't mind hearing it twice, so he offered the shorter blond a soft smile. "You're welcome." And then he grabbed his mug again, picked up his own plate, and followed Zevran out into the living room. Would they eat in the blanket fort? That sounded like a fantastic idea, so he hoped so...

Ah.

"Not a word," Abel replied without hesitation. The hesitation came after as he paused to think, then added, "Or at least, if we have to tell him something then we can tell him a bit. Vague, of course; he doesn't need to know everything."  

[TawnyAngel]

Zevran made a noise a little bit like a laugh as he set down his plate and mug and then took a seat at the table. "No, I cannot imagine he would take the truth very well. Perhaps we can merely say somebody I used to know is in Kodo, and we think they plan to cause trouble?" Zevran frowned down at his breakfast, it smelled good but he was not desperately motivated to eat it. "Or maybe he will be too tired and hungover to notice anything amiss." That would be ideal, the state couldn't last but at least it would give some breathing room.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Ah, no blanket fort then. Oh well. Maybe later. That was where two of the table's chairs had vanished to, but thankfully that still left the other two, so Abel sat down in the other remaining one with his breakfast. "No, I don't think he would," he agreed with his own brief, mirthless chuckle, "though I wouldn't want to tell him everything anyway. Him being hungover and not wanting to know anything would be ideal, but I don't know how likely that is..." Taavi didn't generally drink that much, really, so that was probably unlikely. Abel hummed thoughtfully as he grabbed a fork and knife to cut into his french toast with. "We'll think of something, we don't have to worry about it just yet."