[FIN] Surprises in Store

[BlackFireKitsune]

Weeks had passed since they'd last even thought of the warehouse, but despite that somehow - Abel wasn't quite sure how - he still more or less remembered exactly where it was. Zev's directions were helpful in the spots he didn't quite remember though. Not for the first time the taller blond wondered if his boyfriend's things would even still be up in his room in the warehouse or not, but for Zevran's sake he certainly hoped so. Coming back here wasn't something he was exactly excited about - seeing Zev get shot in front of his eyes wasn't something he ever expected to forget, but coming back to the place it happened definitely wasn't going to help - but as much as it bothered him, he could only imagine how Zev felt about it.

One of his hands slipped off the steering wheel and reached over to find Zevran's to lace their fingers together. "After we pick up your stuff we can go grab some lunch," he suggested gently, chancing a sideways glance at his love while he drove ever closer to the warehouse, "wherever you want to go." Realistically going in and grabbing his things - if they were still there - wouldn't take more than a few minutes, but that help much, not with what happened there what seemed like yesterday.  

[TawnyAngel]

Although he was by no means fully healed he was far better than he had been even a couple of weeks ago; the crutch was abandoned and he could walk around town without getting too tired out. Strength, tone, and real endurance would take longer to regain but he found that he didn't mind all of that as much as he had expected to. Abel didn't mind, why should he mind? How strange and how wonderful to feel so secure in the company of another person.

He needed that security right now, where they were going....

His possessions were not valuable in truth he could have abandoned them without a thought but he needed to come back here, to see the place Taliesen had fallen and do what he could to honour his friend's memory.

Zevran smiled softly and squeezed Abel's fingers as his lover reached out to him. "All I I want today is to go home with you; drive through burgers or tacos sounds perfect to me."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Abel slowed the car to a stop before a red light, which gave him the chance to squeeze Zev's hand gently and lean over to kiss his temple. "Then drive-through burgers or tacos is what you shall have," he decreed in his most official-sounding voice, smiling at his love for a moment before the stoplight turned green and he started driving again. He continued on in more normal tones, "Lemme know which you want on the way back, yeah? I'm okay with whichever you want. Or I can pick if you don't want to," he added after a moment, wondering if Zev would feel too stressed after the warehouse to want to make any kind of decision.

And then, just like that, he slowed his car to a stop outside the hauntingly familiar building. It looked much different in broad daylight than it did at dusk; much brighter, and he could see all the various signs of its abandonment. "Alright, here we are," he announced rather needlessly, though he felt obligated to say it anyway. Saying nothing didn't feel like an option. He gave his boyfriend's hand one more squeeze before he shut the car off and got out, though rather than wait there he walked over to Zev's side and held his arm out for him, both out of habit from helping him during his lengthy recovery but mostly because he wanted to offer his love whatever support he could, be it physical, emotional or any other kind. They'd go in whenever Zevran was ready, and not a moment before.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Ah, we can see what we feel like on the way back?" Zevran suggested, closing his eyes contentedly at Abel's gesture of affection. Truthfully he didn't know if he would even be hungry on the way back but he ought to eat, Abel would worry if he didn't.

All too soon they arrived at their destination. It looked exactly the same as last he had seen it, save perhaps that the weeds were a little taller, but the sight of it chilled his blood. There, in that building, he had killed his best friend and then one of his pokemon had eaten his remains. Zevran swallowed hard and took Abel's hand as he got slowly, reluctantly out of the car.

"We ah... we do not really need to get the possessions I left here," he said slowly, gaze fixed on the dilapidated building that loomed before them. "They were not important. Replaceable. We could get back in the car now and go." He didn't believe his own words even as he spoke them, he knew he had to go in there but he couldn't make himself move his feet just yet.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Figuring it out on the way sounded like the best idea, so Abel didn't bother to comment on it further besides with a brief, silent nod.

Outside the car, Abel waited patiently while Zev got out, took his hand, and... stood there. Ugh, did they really have to go in there? He wanted nothing more than to hug his boyfriend and tell him no, they didn't need to, they should just go back home... but this was important. After how long Zevran had spent trying as hard as he could not to think about Taliesen... "We don't need to, no," he agreed with a little shake of his head as he wrapped his free arm around his love's shoulders to pull him close, "but we should. If you really want to leave then we can, but we should get your things first. Either way I'm proud of you for coming this far. I know it's hard." 'Hard' didn't begin to describe it, he knew, but he didn't know what else to say.

Either way he remained where he stood, content to give Zev what support he could offer, and waited patiently for him to make the first move. He half expected his boyfriend to ask to go back home right away, but he hoped he didn't. Not that he himself wanted to go back in or anything, of course, but it was.. well it was important. And unsettling.  

[TawnyAngel]

They really should.

"Well then, let's go!" Zevran pulled free of Abel's gentle grip, rubbed his hands together, and started towards the warehouse at a purposeful stride with a slightly manic grin on his face. "Strike while the brand is hot and the back turned, as the Crows like to say. Not a particularly useful phrase in my opinion, killing somebody with a brand would be very inefficient. It could be a statement piece of course but it has no place being a regular turn of phrase." If he kept talking, kept a cheery veneer, he could go in there and pick up his things and.... And at some point he would have to stop and look at the spot where Taliesen had fallen to the ground but that wasn't his problem for, oh, another five minutes or so? He could not avoid dealing with it but he could delay.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

As Zev turned away and headed towards the building with an unexpected spring in his step, Abel huffed out a breath and followed after his boyfriend with a faint smile. He really shouldn't have been surprised. Not even about to comment on Zev's methods of handling things that bothered him, Abel instead walked alongside his love - once he caught up to him of course - and shrugged a bit excessively. "It seems extremely inefficient, I don't know why that's a thing they say. It might just be a statement piece though, yeah, maybe less about killing and more about acting before your advantage wears off or something? Something about metal cooling off before you can make use of it, I don't know," he finished with a lame shrug. Hell if he knew what it was.

Not that it mattered, of course.

Abel's stomach had begun twisting itself into impressive knots the closer they got to the warehouse. He could only imagine how Zevran was feeling. It'd be over soon though, everything would be fine. They'd go in, grab his stuff, and get out. End of story. ...and then get lunch. If either of them were still hungry afterwards, that was.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Oh, no, I meant the killing would be a statement piece," Zevran said rather cheerfully. "If you are going to kill somebody with a brand there would have to be a good reason for it, symbolic of," he waved a hand airily and stubbornly ignored how his heart was racing, "of something. I am glad I was never asked to do anything of the kind, the smell of burning flesh is so distasteful." It rather made him want to be sick. He felt sick right now, standing at the side door he had always entered by.

"So..." Zevran ran his tongue over his lips and his eyes darted about like something trapped and desperate. "So!" He straightened up and reached for the door handle. "Let's go in."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Oh, I see," the taller blond replied, much less cheerful than his boyfriend. "I uh... I admit I've never smelled burning flesh before. I don't particularly want to." Zevran had though -- had he smelled his own?

Abel suppressed a shudder at the thought. "Yeah." He reached a hand up to gently squeeze his love's shoulder in a small show of support, as much as he would've rather hugged him or turned around and taken him away from here. "Yeah, let's go in." And get this over with. The sooner they got his stuff, the sooner they could leave.  

[TawnyAngel]

"As life experiences go, it's definitely one you can miss."

He could have given this a miss too and yet here he was, stepping inside hardly even aware of Abel's hand on his shoulder.

Everything looked the same at first glance, it was the same dank and dingy place he had lived in for.... for however long he'd lived here. His room upstairs was better, more light and ventilation to keep the most of the mould and mildew away. It had felt quite comfortable once winter's chill had slackened the worst of its grasp, not perfect but better than some places he had lived.

Zevran swallowed hard as he walked slowly across the concrete, under the walkway, towards the spot he and Abel had stood looking at the main doors which now stood rustily closed. He remembered how they had been flung open to let in the light of the sunset, to let in the silhouetted shape of Taliesen and his allies. If he looked at the floor would he see bloodstains? He didn't want to look and see bloodstains, and wonder which were his and which were Taliesen's.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Yes, he didn't mind missing out on smelling burning flesh. It didn't seem like the type of thing that would smell even remotely pleasant.

After they stepped inside Abel gently shut the door behind them, and a moment later he followed after his boyfriend, walking quietly. Unlike Zevran, he had no misgivings about the floor. His gaze wandered around it here and there as he hooked his thumbs into his pockets and trailed after his boyfriend; he'd tasked Sonia with trying to clean up after the incident, and it looked like she'd done a fairly decent job. He couldn't see any bloodstains anywhere - at least not where they'd all been standing - and he briefly wondered if she'd asked Azul to do something about them. It wasn't something he ever thought to ask about, given he was rather preoccupied afterwards with Zevran in the hospital, but he was glad to see there weren't any obvious signs of the altercation on the floor. Obvious ones, anyway; he had little doubt if anyone used any kind of chemicals or something to detect blood they'd spot everything right away, but that required someone to actually be suspicious enough to come look. Without any obvious signs anywhere, hopefully no one would.

Bloodstains or not, he couldn't get rid of the anxious, vaguely nauseous feeling churning in the pit of his stomach as they slowly walked across the warehouse floor. He could picture it like it was yesterday; the doors flung open and Taliesen stepped inside, that woman came down and wanted to kill Zev but had been killed herself instead, and 'friendly' talks had descended to shouting and shooting.

Abel suppressed another shudder and tried to banish the memory of seeing Zevran get shot right in front of him again. "So uh," he started, his gaze sweeping from the floor up to the walkway, "your room's upstairs, yeah? I don't think I ever saw it."  

[TawnyAngel]

Somewhere here he had shot Taliesen. Somewhere here his oldest friend had died. He couldn't tell where, and he couldn't decide if that made it better or worse. There was no spot he could kneel and touch in silent apology, and yet there was no ugly stain of accusation. Nothing. There was nothing. Just at the moment he felt nothing too and so he turned away and headed up the sturdy metal stairs with quiet foosteps.

"Yes," he managed to say when he was about half way up, and also gestured as he added; "through there, then the second door. It was an office, I think, there are many old phone and power points. None of them ever worked, of course." And now he was living with Abel, safe and secure. After this they would get some food and go back to the home they shared. How had this happened? He didn't deserve it. He deserved to have died on the concrete beside Taliesen but life and death seldom gave what was deserved. Besides, it would have hurt Abel a great deal and so he ought not to question it.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

As much as the memories of the past twisted and turned his stomach, what made his heart truly ache was seeing his boyfriend deal with this. What was going through his mind? What was he feeling? He loved Zevran with all of his aching heart and he wanted nothing more than to hug him and take him home where everything was safe and warm and comfortable, but that would come later. Instead of any of that, he followed after him and quietly ascended the stairs himself. "Mmh, of course not. Was it at least less drafty than some of the other rooms? I think you mentioned some were worse than others last winter." Not that he had to worry about that ever again, not now that Zev had come to live with him, but he felt the need to at least keep him talking -- perhaps to stave off what would undoubtedly be oppressive silence, or perhaps because he didn't know how else to show him that he cared. Perhaps a little of both.  

[TawnyAngel]

Zevran nodded; "Si, yes, some of the other rooms have broken windows. There was one damaged pane in my room, and the seals were not good when I arrived, but a bit of sealant and tape took care of the problem." It hadn't been a bad place to live during the summer, though the lack of plumbing had definitely been annoying, but not bad wasn't the same as good.

And then they were standing outside his door. When he had moved in Dawn had told him that in order to claim a room he had to decorate the door, and so naturally he had painted the mark of house Arainai in bold sweeping black lines. Zevran's cheerful veneer cracked and he stared at the design as fury, grief, and guilt warred for dominance in his heart and gut. "Let's smash that door before we go," he muttered, and then he pushed it open.

On the other side were two familiar figures. The boy was pointing a pistol at them, the girl held a knife, and they both looked absolutely terrified.

Zevran froze. The heavy, rusty metal doors downstairs had been closed. Who had closed them? He hadn't even questioned it. s**t.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Mmh, well it's good you could fix it so easily. Sounds like there's plenty of rooms that're worse." There could have only been rooms with broken windows, and that was a lot worse than just damaged but easily fixable windows.

Not as good as windows that didn't need any fixing at all, in a building with heat and running water and electricity.

Which was where Zev lived now. At least Abel could take comfort in that thought, even as he had unpleasant ones as they walked through where his boyfriend used to live.

The mark on the door wasn't exactly a surprise, but he'd started to dislike the mark mostly because of what it symbolized and was associated with, and how much misery those brought to his boyfriend. Not to mention how awful the Crows sounded. Eugh. But he was free of them now finally, and at Zev's words Abel could only make a noise of agreement in the back of his throat as he lifted a hand to squeeze his love's shoulder. His heart ached for how much Zevran had to be suffering while they were here, but at least--

Zev opened the door and Abel caught a glimpse of a knife and, more importantly, a gun, and instinct immediately took over before he could even process who was holding the weapons. He grabbed Zevran by the arm, yanked him over to the side, and placed himself firmly between his boyfriend and the doorway, his heart hammering away in his chest and his complexion quite a bit paler than normal.