[FIN] Some News

[BlackFireKitsune]

Abel's reaction mimicked Zevran's almost exactly, just without the coughing. He did clear his throat a bit after his own nervous, slightly incredulous laugh and tactfully avoided looking over at his boyfriend for the moment. "Ah-ha, well, that's..." Impossible? Never going to happen? Not for him? ...but then again he'd been against dating ever again for the rest of his life, and look where that had got him. Maybe... No, no, he wasn't going to think of that. "Aaanyway, thanks again for that, it really does mean a lot." Him? Married? Him! No, he couldn't really see that happening.  

[TawnyAngel]

They were both completely baffled and spluttering, success! Dith grinned and gestured innocently. "I'm glad to help, and to see you do your Magikarp impression! As you say though, anyway; I have to head off now if I'm going to be in time to meet for the KSO training session." Sometimes he wondered if he shouldn't just give up medicine and join the KSO full time; in his current job people questioned his ability to do it every day, that never happened when he was volunteering.

"Oh?" Zevran gave Dith a bright smile. "Well thank you for all you have done, and for coming by." What did he want?  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Magikarp impression indeed! Abel tried to will away the shy grin as he waved his friend off. "Alright, I don't wanna keep you if you're gonna be late or anything. Thank you again.. and for stopping by, yeah." Marriage! He'd actually suggested it! There was no way he could ever get married, not him. ...why wasn't he opposed to the idea?  

[TawnyAngel]

Dith grinned again and shrugged. "I'm not in a rush, but it's a day off for me so I don't want to rush. Say though, some friends and I are having a barbecue down on the beach near the docks in a few weeks you want to come? It's just a turn up with some meat and alcohol thing." If he could actually bring some friends from outside work for once it would be a bonus!

Married! Marriage! How could he even try to-? No, he couldn't.

"Uh... That is a kind offer Dima," Zevran said slowly and cautiously as he considered the offer. "Send us the date, we will come if I am feeling well?" He had no issue at all with not going if he didn't want to in the end.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Ah, yeah, no, don't rush on your day off. And that sounds like fun," he paused to nod and glance over at his love for a moment before smiling back at Dith, "but yeah, it depends on how he's feeling if we'll go or not. Text me the details and I'll let you know closer to the date, yeah?"  

[TawnyAngel]

"Mmh," Dith said in the midst of a sip of coffee and then; "Great, I'll text you, no pressure. For now I'll head off, but I'll drop by to see you both tomorrow okay?" Thank ********, it seemed like everything was working out with no further questions!

"Si," Zevran smiled and squeezed Abel's hand. "We will come if I can, but see you sooner than that?"

"Yes," Dith smiled warmly as he got to his feet. "See you both soon, take it easy for now!"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Abel nodded at his words but smiled as he returned the squeeze to his hand. "Yeah, sounds good, and you take it easy too. We still haven't gone for coffee, we really need to do that sometime."  

[TawnyAngel]

On his way to stepping out of the cordon of curtains Dith beamed. "You can bring coffee to the meet up! Or we can have it another time, I don't mind. I'll text you though; 'til later!"

Once he was satisfied that Dima had gone, Zevran turned to Abel with a very puzzled expression. "Did all of that happen?" he asked incredulously.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Bringing coffee to the meet-up wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind - he'd been thinking more of a one-on-one thing, possibly with Zev too if he wanted to go - but he didn't bother to explain that at the moment. No, not when Dith could be late to his training session, so Abel simply offered him another smile, parting wave and, "Later!"

And then silence reigned for a few seconds, seconds during which Abel once more tried to wrap his head around everything. It seemed he wasn't the only one. "I think so, yeah," he said, his own voice and expression hesitant and not entirely sure as he turned to look back at Zev. "I didn't... I wasn't expecting that. Maybe a little, but that? It's..." It had to be a lot. He wasn't quite sure how much and he wasn't entirely certain he wanted t o know an exact number, just that it was probably a lot. And for it to just be gone? Completely gone, all taken care of? No, he still found it difficult to wrap his head around.  

[TawnyAngel]

"A useful man to know," Zevran said in disbelieving tones. After a moment he frowned a little and added; "That sounded rather cold, I did not mean it so. I am not ungrateful just..." He trailed off and shook his head. "Just like that?... I wonder what favours he used? Or did he have dirt on somebody, or somebodies? I don't suppose that he will ever tell us." Maybe if they got him drunk, though he suspected that would take some doing. Besides it would not be right, if Dima didn't want to tell them the least he could do was respect that.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

A useful man to know indeed... A good friend. Abel turned a soft smile onto his boyfriend and squeezed his hand a bit. "I know you didn't, it's just... it's a lot, I think. It was a lot, what he did was a lot, there's just.. a lot," he finished lamely with a shrug. A lot of everything, but hopefully once he was well enough to come home Zevran could spend his days healing in the comfort and relative quiet, not-as-chaotic apartment. Less strangers, less uncomfortable questions or tests or processes, less noise, less restrictions, less stimuli... More privacy, more warmth, more familiarity, more comfort. More snuggles. That last one was probably the most important one.

"I don't know," Abel admitted with a shrug as he hopped off that train of thought for now. "I might ask him later, though I don't know if he'll go into much more detail than that. It is a lot to try and wrap your head around, though." Just... just like that, Zevran's bill wasn't their concern anymore. Could it really be that simple for them, that easy? How much trouble had Dith gone to, really, for it to be so simple for them...?  

[TawnyAngel]

"A lot," Zevran agreed, and he squeezed Abel's hand in return. "I was trying quite hard not to think about money... I had considered leaving via the window but then I remembered they have your contact information." How would he have dealt with it? What could they do to you if you didn't pay? Suddenly he didn't have to think about either of those things any longer, just like that.

Zevran frowned again. "It seems too easy; for things to suddenly go well;" he shrugged and shook his head. "It is a lot, as you say... And regardless of what he may have said, I owe him." He didn't like that but he had to confess it was far better than the alternative.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Yeah, I was trying not to think about it much too... though I don't know if you'd be able to escape out one of the windows anyway," he added with a vaguely rueful smile. "That would probably be a little... difficult to manage, but yeah, they have all my contact information anyway." Having lung problems twice in the past couple of years tended to result in that, unfortunately... among other things. "And I agree completely, it seems kind of... yeah, way too easy. Too easy, too simple for us -- so I have to wonder how difficult it was for him to do. Mmh, maybe we could get him a nice bottle of wine or something? Some kind of nice gift to start saying 'thank you' for all the help he's given us both." Not that a nice bottle of wine would make up for any of it, but it was at least something.  

[TawnyAngel]

Zevran made a small noise of amusement, shrugged, and nodded. "It might have been a little tricky with the gunshot wounds, yes. Fortunate that I will not need to make the attempt then!" He could walk out and nobody would be hounding him afterwards. "A very nice bottle of wine," he agreed with a crooked smile, it seemed so insignificant but; "I suppose he might just like to be thought of?" It felt good when people did nice things for you merely because they wanted to do something nice.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The blond chuckled and shook his head. "No, yeah, definitely a little tricky, so it is fortunate. ...we are fortunate, I guess I should say." Fortunate to have a friend as kind as Dith, fortunate that he had the connections and ability to aid them as he had... fortunate that neither of them had been fatally wounded. Others were not so fortunate.

With a more subdued smile he leaned in to press a fond kiss to his love's forehead, feeling not for the first - or last - time just how grateful and lucky he was to have him still, alive and alert and okay. "A very nice bottle of wine, and that could be part of it, yeah. If so, then it's working."