[FIN] Homeward Bound

[BlackFireKitsune]

"And I can't imagine using water!" Joanna scoffed as she moved to take a peek at the next batch of cookies in the oven. Unsurprisingly they weren't ready yet.

Surprised by the question, Abel paused to shoot a puzzled look over at his boyfriend, noted the smirk, and responded with one of his own. Was he messing with him? Probably. "This sounds suspiciously like another game I can't win if I try to play," he pointed out. While he could think of a number of things that he'd thought strange, none of them were really appropriate with his mother around. Or anyone around, really.  

[TawnyAngel]

Zevran cackled briefly and crinkled his nose at Abel. "Ah, you are wise to be wary of such a tricky creature as myself! But no, on this occasion I am simply curious; there must be some things I do that seem unusual to you... Is this icing thick enough Joanna?" Zevran scooped some up with a handy spoon and allowed it to pour oozingly back into the bowl.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Ha, you tricky creature you," the taller blond teased, an amused smirk on his face. It promptly morphed into a thoughtful expression as he hummed, trying to ponder the question. After a few moments he shrugged and stepped closer so he could drop a kiss on the top of Zevran's head. "There might be some things, but if there are I can't think of any of them at the moment."

"Oh, hmmm..." Joanna turned to squint appraisingly at the icing as Zevran showed off its consistency, then gestured with the flat spatula in her hand, "Put in just a tiny bit more milk and it should be perfect! How does it taste?"  

[TawnyAngel]

Sometimes, just sometimes, little moments of casual affection like that still surprised him. Zevran smiled crookedly and tilted his chin up at an angle so that he could regard Abel out of the corner of one eye. "None at all? Well if you are sure." How had this happened? He still wondered that a lot. He knew he didn't deserve to be sitting here like this, after all he had done.... But he and Abel were not so different. He thought that Abel felt worse about it than he did - his guilt was not for the contracts he had carried out, even though he knew they made him a terrible person - but much was still similar, far more similar than they would ever be to most other people.

"Ah, the taste?" Zevran allowed a little icing to drip onto his finger, sucked it off - with a sideways glance at Abel of course - and made a thoughtful noise. "Richer? Strange. I think I like it, but I shall have to try more on your wonderful cookies to decide Joanna!" As instructed he poured in a splash more milk and mixed the icing to a smooth texture once again.

"There, is this right?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Ahh, would he ever get tired of seeing those smiles of his? ...or of the way he teased him so? He didn't think ever would -- nor did he want to. With another smirk he stepped behind Zevran's chair, slipped his hands over his cheeks, and leaned down to press another kiss to the top of his head.

"You flatterer! Have you even had any of the cookies yet to know how wonderful they are? Oh!" Joanna twisted around to squint at the icing again before she beamed. "Yes, that looks perfect! Thank you dear, that's such a help. Abel can help you start icing the cookies while I wash these dishes," she said, and as she spoke she set her spatula down and moved to the sink to wash a couple things she'd dirtied while making the cookie dough.

"Oh, yeah, I'll go grab a fork or something," Abel said a little distractedly, but instead of moving away, he took advantage of his mother turning her back on them to curve a couple fingers around his love's jaw and encourage him to tilt his head back, the better to kiss him properly. He wanted to do much - much more - but a long, sensuous kiss would have to do for the moment.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Ah!" Zevran smirked and wagged a finger at Joanna. "I do not need to try them to know they will likely be delicious. I have tried a lot of your food by now, it is simply good sense that your cookies will be equally wonderful!" And of course they smelled amazing but mentioning that wasn't amusing so he left it alone, and instead he happily lifted his chin to lean into a lingering kiss with Abel. Just how long could he distract him from going to get a fork? Zevran smirked internally and started to count off seconds.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Oh, smart man!" She noted aloud with a gleeful chuckle, still busying herself with the dishes. "You picked a good one, Abel! I think he's a keeper."

Abel continued the kiss for another few seconds before he broke it off with a sigh of contentment. "Yeah, I guess he's alright," he replied lightly, aiming an amused smirk down at Zevran. How would he take that, he wondered?  

[TawnyAngel]

Zevran smirked and reached up to caress Abel's jaw with his fingertips. "I am satisfactory? Delightful! Now, Abel, were you going to find a fork before I distracted you?" He had rather lost count, the kiss had been the cause and it had beem good enough that he didn't mind at all.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Fine with being satisfactory, are you?" Abel teased, traces of a smirk curving his lips before he pressed them to Zevran's forehead in a soft kiss. "I suppose I was going to find a fork." Damn. Why did they have to be down in the kitchen making cookies? Oh well. The taller blond trailed his thumb down his love's jaw a moment before he straightened up and went to fetch a fork as he was supposed to... quite a number of seconds ago. Whoops.


A little while later, after they'd iced the first batch of cookies and Joanna had set out a second for them to work on, a knock at the front door moments before it opened announced some visitors. "Hello," Alex called out as two sets of small, eager feet immediately pounded up the steps and through the front hall. Her calm, knowing voice was quite at odds with the eager, impatient footsteps. "Anybody home?"

"Hello dear, we're in the kitchen," Joanna called in response, not looking up from her work, though her smile brightened.

Callisa and Camilla promptly rounded the corner, their eager grins quickly replaced by shyer expressions when they saw Zevran at the table. Abel grinned at them regardless and motioned for them to come join them at the table. "You guys're just in time! Zev made cookies for you," he said, gesturing at the spread over the table as the pair of them trotted over to hug him. "Wasn't that nice?"

"Yes," Callie replied shyly, hesitating a few more moments before adding, "hi." And then a few moments later, "Thanks."

Cammie, on the other hand, was eying Zev much more suspiciously. Once her sister finished she gave the blond man a side-eyed glance as she asked her uncle, "How did he know these were our favorite?"  

[TawnyAngel]

Zevran smiled in response to Abel's smirk and nodded. "So long as satisfactory is good enough for you, it is more than enough for me."


A little while later there were small girls in the kitchen.

Zevran wasn't quite sure how to deal with children, generally he treated them like he treated adults but with his sense of humour censored. Would that work here? They seemed a little shy of him but he was fairly sure that was normal for small children, they had little life experience after all and added to that it had to be a little intimidating when everyone was so much larger than you were.

"Hello!" Zevran greeted the pair with a bright, easy smile. "You are most welcome," he continued to the shyer one of the pair, and then to the more suspicious character; "Who doesn't like cookies? Especially to your grandmother's recipe. I am excited to try them myself, it has been difficult to resist sneaking one when nobody has been watching me. If I have resisted that is," he winked at Abel, "had you better count them to make sure or do you trust me?" He hadn't taken any as it happened but how could he resist the urge to tease a little?  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Abel pressed a soft kiss to the top of their heads before he leaned back in his chair to end their hugs, although neither seemed too keen on moving away just yet. Not because they wanted to hug him more, but because they both watched Zev shyly - or suspiciously, in Cammie's case - but mention of the hard-to-resist nature of cookies had her nodding her head vigorously. "Grandma's cookies are so yummy, I wouldn't blame you if you ate some already."

Callie seemed much more concerned about sneaking cookies; the furrow of her brow and deep dimpled frown on her face spoke volumes.

Abel, meanwhile, chuckled and aimed a fond look over at his boyfriend. "Aw, do you even need to ask? You know I trust you completely." Zev was teasing him, of course, and he could've teased back, but he felt like injecting a bit of sincerity into the conversation instead. Maybe Zevran would respond in kind? He loved it when he did.

Cammie didn't want to wait any longer, and she eagerly looked over at Joanna. "Grandma can we have some cookies?"

"Of course dear!" Cammie needed no further encouragement before she eagerly grabbed two of the iced cookies.

"Shouldn't we ask Mommy?" Callie asked hesitantly, and her twin froze in place, both of the cookies already having vanished into her now somewhat chubby cheeks.

Alex walked into the kitchen at that moment, wearing a thin sweater with her long blonde hair woven into a braided crown at the back of her head, and waved her girls away with a smile. "Go on and have some cookies, but not too many. You don't want to ruin your dinner."

As both girls eagerly reached for some of the small cookies - or more of them, in Cammie's case - Alex sat down at one of the empty chairs across from Abel and Zev, but it was Joanna who spoke up. "How have you been dear? Everything alright at work?"

"Oh I've been fine, work's the same as usual," Alex responded as she reached forward for a cookie herself. She aimed a serene smile at both her brother and Zevran, though it was to the latter she looked to and asked, "How have you both been? Enjoying your visit so far?" With her question posed, she popped the cookie into her mouth.  

[TawnyAngel]

The warm innocence of the family environment felt like one he did not belong in, much as he might want to. He had been fine so far but with children? How could he relate to them? Could he exist around them without poisoning them with.... Well he just didn't know how to treat them, surely there was more he could do than just treat them like little adults? You were meant to humour them and so on, yes? It was fortunate that he didn't often have to deal with people so young.

In the face of his uncertainty Zevran continued to beam bright and beautiful, creased eyes and all but not quite the right creases compared to his true smiles. To him the flaws in his social coding felt as though they were glaring out but he knew they were hidden from everyone else... Almost everyone else.

"We are having a wonderful time, but all the better for meeting your girls!" That was the sort of thing one ought to say, was it not?