[FIN] Some News

[TawnyAngel]

"I do," Zevran nodded, "and anyway it is enjoyable to create things. But! I did say you could choose what I draw next did I not? What shall it be? I can work on it when they throw you out for lunch, if not before."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Oh yeah, you did say that," he said, eyebrows lifting a bit at the realization that... he'd have to think of something for Zev to draw. "Uh.." s**t, what did he pick? It wasn't too important, really, he could just think of something.... if his brain would work, but the suddenness had chased away his thoughts. Or maybe it was just being around Zev; he seemed to have that effect on him a lot. "What about places or buildings?" He hazarded after a minute or two. "You could draw what you'd like your balcony to look like." Was that okay? Hopefully that was an acceptable thing to suggest. Zev could always just say 'no' if it wasn't, after all.  

[TawnyAngel]

As Abel seemed to flounder for an idea Zevran watched him with a fond if slightly distant smile. When he reached a conclusion Zevran made a thoughtful noise in the back of his throat and nodded. "I think I could do that, it could be fun! I will try not to get too carried away, no adding a hot tub and a bar."

"A bar?" laughed Dith's voice the other side of the curtains. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop but I am pretty tuned into the word 'bar'. Can I come in?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Abel couldn't help but chuckle at that -- at both of them, it seemed. "Aw, but hot tubs and bars on a balcony would be perfect. I'm sure Dith would agree," he added, aiming a small grin at the curtains where the familiar voice emanated from. "Yeah, come on in. What's up?" Had he talked to anyone yet? ...he really shouldn't be so eager to find that out, yet another favor he hadn't asked for, but he couldn't help it. Arceus he couldn't help it, not with how expensive he knew Zev's treatment would be. He had no desire to know the hard numbers, except 'way too expensive.'  

[TawnyAngel]

"It sounds prefect!" Dith agreed as he slipped into the small private area. He looked a lot more alert than he had the previous day, and today instead of comfortable sweats and a nerdy t-shirt he was wearing fairly fitted jeans and a plain white t-shirt that emphasised his bulk in a very definite way. "I did have a paddling pool on my balcony last year," he said, gesturing at the floor with his travel mug of coffee. "That, and an ice bucket with a Glaceon to curl around it. Not quite a hot tub and bar but it was nice for the hot weather!"

Zevran looked Dith up and down, brows slightly raised and a smirk spreading across his face. "Well, good morning to you and the twins!"

Dith gave him a friendly puzzled look - "Twins?" - Zevran flexed an arm by way of explanation.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Ah, Dith looked better today, much better than he had before, that was good... ha! Twins indeed. Abel smirked and shook his head a little, but the thought of Dith in a little pool on a balcony made him chuckle. "That sounds like a good idea actually! Your own private pool and mini bar... very mini bar, and mini pool, but still. How was your twelve hour sleep -- good then?"  

[TawnyAngel]

Dith laughed, but in deference to people resting nearby he stifled his usual hearty volume. "It was great. I followed it with a huge breakfast and a workout and then I came here and chatted to a few people, made some phone calls." Chatting to people was why he had gone for the plain shirt instead of one with for example 'Star Wars' printed across it. So as not to keep Abel and Zev in any suspense Dith quickly continued; "And the short version of it all is that everything is taken care of; I won't bore you with the longer version." Most of the debt he had been able to sort out as he had indicated to Abel the previous day and the rest... Well it was gone now and no need for them to know there had been a 'rest' at all because he doubted they'd allow it to stand if they did know, pride and so on. As it was everyone was happy and he was never going to notice the difference, which he had oddly guilty feelings about because such disparity in wealth was just uncomfortable.

Zevran looked at Dith in a puzzled manner for a few moments and then turned to Abel. "Taken care of?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

That all sounded like a good day off to him, sleeping a lot before having a big breakfast, working out would be nice, and chatting to people was always fun but calling some--

"What?" With this eloquent question posed, Abel stared up at Dith abruptly with his eyebrows lifted and eyes a little wide in surprise, and for the moment he neither saw Zevran's querying glance nor realized he was asking him. "Like... everything?" How did it go from 'I'll see what I can do' to 'everything's taken care of'? How? Was it really that simple, that easy?  

[TawnyAngel]

Dith grinned and nodded. "That's what I said! I found the right people; charmed, called in favours and - uh - " he shrugged impressively, "a couple I went to talk to in person and... persuaded. I loomed, and I don't feel bad about it at all. You'll need to take care of any drugs after you leave but let me know what they tell you they need Zev and if it's not the cheap version I'll point you to that. Oh, crutches and things too but I suggest you try gumtree or something for that rather than pay what they'd ask here. I know it's a business," he scowled, again impressively thanks to his bushy eyebrows, "but I don't have to approve of that."

Zevran looked back at Dith, back at Abel. "¡Que?" he repeated for emphasis.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

He'd found the right people, had charmed or talked or loomed his way through the entire bill. Everything, all of it.

Zevran's sharp question caused Abel's attention to snap back to his boyfriend, who he aimed the same surprised expression at. After taking a moment to reign in that surprise and try to coerce some thoughts together into some kind of coherent sentence he explained, "Dith stopped by yesterday while you were asleep to ask if you had insurance, and to say he'd see what he could do to help, but I didn't think..." He trailed off there, floundered a bit more, then looked back at Dith, still puzzled and surprised, "All of it?" Really? Everything? But the bill had to be enormous - would only continue to grow the longer Zev stayed, he was sure - and even though he'd said they could remove part or all of the bill, he'd hedged on the bet that it'd only be part, and the smaller end of the scale at that. To think that he'd taken care of all of it - everything, the whole thing - was... how? What? No, Dith had just explained how, but still.  

[TawnyAngel]

As Abel explained Zevran's expression didn't waver. Internally, he frowned. What was the price of this help? Favours had a value, a very large value in this case. He had looked up some estimates on his phone during the night, it had not been a pretty picture. For all of it to just be gone... He did not like Abel's friend having such a hold over him, he seemed a perfectly charming man but so did so many!

"I have nothing to repay you with," Zevran said warily, now giving Dith a rather calculating look. What did the man want? Something Dima knew that Abel or he could do?... No, he couldn't know of that could he? But who was this man, a doctor with one eye and a scarred face? The whole thing was suspicious, and thus so was he.

"What?" Dith's eyebrows shot up and he waved his hands defensively; it was lucky that his mug of coffee had a good lid because otherwise it would have gone everywhere. "No, no I don't want to be repaid. It was the right thing to do. Anyway Abel is my friend and I know we've only met once but I consider you one as well; I feel good that I could help, I don't need anything other than that." He wasn't surprised that Zevran was suspicious but he hoped that he could allay his concerns, he didn't want too many more questions on the subject.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Zevran's wary suspicion wasn't unfamiliar to him, not at all; indeed it yanked him back to the past, way back to that day at the fair when Zev had stopped and regarded him with such suspicion, had questioned why he had helped without need or want of repayment. Not everyone helped others because they wanted something. It was a thought Abel had tried to explain before, and now here they were with someone else - someone that wasn't him - being kind and helping him without any desire to be paid back for it.

Unlike his boyfriend, Abel wasn't suspicious at all, though he still found himself gripped by lingering surprise, relief, gratefulness and fading confusion. "I still think you didn't have to do that," he said with a slight shake of his head, "any of it, but.. thank you." Attempting to refuse such kindness now would be more than a little awkward - more like unlikely to result in anything different, since it probably wasn't something that could be easily reversed - so he felt like there was little he could do except to accept it with a smile. He'd gone to an awful lot of trouble for Zevran - for both of them - so there had to be something he could do... Maybe a gift of some sort. Nothing could ever truly repay his kindness, but he suspected a thoughtful gift of some sort would at least be something.

...seriously though, all of it? Really?  

[TawnyAngel]

"Humm." Dith curled his hands around his mug and looked down at it, his brows creased in thought. "I didn't have to, but I should have. Anyone who has the power to do something right always should." The very powerful seldom did in his experience but that only made it more important for everyone else to do their bit. ******** both capitalism, and communism.

...An idealist? He could just about believe it, but he was still going to be waiting for the favour Dith had done for him to be called in. "I do not quite know what to say," Zevran admitted after a brief pause. "Whatever you did to bring this about, I am grateful." And suspicious.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Anyone who could do something right should; it was a creed not very dissimilar from his own, not that he was about to share, so it was one he could understand and agree with. The three of them had all grown up in different places, though, in wildly varying environments, and Abel didn't expect his boyfriend to share those ideas. Not yet, anyway. Maybe he would in time. For now, though, he nodded his head and his hand sought out Zev's. "Me too. Thank you," he repeated, aiming the latter phrase at Dith along with his smile, "I don't think I can properly say how much this means... It means one less thing we'll have to worry about. One of the biggest things, really." ...if not the biggest. There'd still be out of pocket expenses to take care of - pills like Dith said, perhaps crutches too - but those would be much more manageable than a towering hospital bill.  

[TawnyAngel]

He could have told them about times somebody had helped him and people he loved in a way that wasn't very difficult to them but had been important to him, his mother, his sister, but that had been a long time ago and it would mean explaining unhappy things; he chose not to. Instead he grinned and nodded again. "You're both very welcome, and if it makes you feel better you can consider it your major wedding present if you ever decide to get hitched." There! That had to be fair and reasonable, with a bit of twinkle-eyed teasing too and that made it perfect.

Zevran stared, laughed nervously, and then started to cough. After a little while he managed to recover normal breathing, though he was still grimacing as he looked at Dith and did not look at Abel. "Well! That is quite some speculating Doctor but if you will it I shall not deny it!" He was still suspicious but there was nothing he could do right now.