[FIN] Barbecue on the Beach

[TawnyAngel]

"This must be the place," Zevran mused, gesturing to the distinctively shaped coffee van Dith had told them to look out for and then turning to head down towards the steps that led to the beach. For his tastes the day could have been rather warmer but they were going to the beach and he was determined to dress fittingly; a light blue t-shirt he intended to ditch as soon as possible, creamy coloured shorts, sandals, and of course shades.

While he might not quite be feeling as though it was summer it seemed he was alone in this; Amigo and Clara had basked on the fire escape this morning and seemed to be enjoying it no less now, though now they were practically twitching with energy. Zervran chuckled and gestured ahead of them with his free hand, the other being occupied by a cool box. "Amigo, Clara, go see if you can find Dith and his friends?" No sooner had the words left his mouth then the pair were away with a bark and a 'fwee!' of exuberance, and a scrabbling of paws and a light glittering cloud of wing-scales.

Now grinning Zevran turned to Abel; "I do like to see keenness!"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Abel made a vaguely amused noise in the back of his throat as they passed the coffee van. "Yeah, must be." It looked almost exactly as Dith had described it, and he couldn't imagine seeing another one like this somewhere else. He hadn't even expected to see one like it until he'd heard it existed. Oh well!

Once they stepped off the stairs and onto the sandy beach, Abel took a moment to toe his own sandals off before he stooped to pick them up. It would only take a quarter of one second to get sand in them, and he didn't see the point in wearing them longer and walking uncomfortably until they got to the group. Like his love, he'd worn similar attire; dark blue shorts and a gray t-shirt that he may or may not remove at some point, although the fabric didn't hide the new tattoo on his arm -- or at least not a lot of it. As he straightened back up he offered Zevran a grin, slipped his free arm around his boyfriend's waist, and gave him an affectionate squeeze and a smooch to his cheek. "I do too! Almost as much as I like to see you," he added with a cheeky little grin. And then he glanced over to Caleb and waved him off. "Go on then, go run after Clara and Amigo and see if you can't find Dith." Not that he expected Dith to be particularly hard to find or anything, given the fact he was, well, Dith.  

[TawnyAngel]

As the pokemon tore away Zevran gave a happy hum and leaned into Abel's affection, taking the opportunity to kick of his own sandals while they were standing still. "Oh, well, you know I feel the same... But where is this heatwave we were promised, that's what I would like to know," he chuckled, giving Abel's rear a squeeze in passing as he set off at a casual saunter after the racing pokemon; talking about weather and publicly acceptable groping were still a lot easier to deal with than sweetness. "I think it will be a good day regardless however, Dith said Summer will be here if her boyfriend could be off work for her daughter? I feel I did not get to know her well," he laughed and shook his head, "those were very good drugs." Just as importantly he had been... rather out of sorts in general, not particularly interested in the friendly nurse's attempts to communicate.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Caleb let out a happy 'bwurf!' before darting off after the smaller pair of pokemon.

Abel chuckled and aimed a rather saucy smirk and wink at his boyfriend. It was hard to resist saying sweet things to the man he loved, but he'd have to resist for the next couple hours, or however long they were at the beach for; Zev didn't exactly enjoy blushing in front of strangers, and Abel would try his best not to make him do so. Oh well, too bad that meant he'd just have to flirt more to make up for it! "I think it's plenty hot around here lately! Or maybe that's just you," he mused aloud casually. "But I think so too. I hope she can make it, she was great. It was kind of understandable you didn't get to know her too well though," Abel went on as he gave his love's waist another squeeze, "seen as you were only awake there for about a day." They had been very good drugs - or so he was led to believe - and his treatment had been similarly good. Excellent, even; Abel pushed the subject out of his mind before it could wander down the path of what could have happened and instead turned to squint ahead of them through the glare the sun insisted on shining at his face. "D'you think they're all here already, or not yet? I bet Dith is at least. I wonder who else is coming." Either way, they'd find out soon enough!  

[TawnyAngel]

"Oh it's definitely me," Zevran replied with a laugh and a wink. "You as well, of course. I just wish that the ah, the temperature of the air could keep up. Ah, the trials we face." Now chuckling and shaking hos head Zevran peered along the beach and gestured to a blanket that Clara and Amigo seemed to be making for. "Is that Dith's Espeon there? He rather blends in with the sand...." He thought that it was, and he trusted his pokemon's senses more than he own so he swapped hands on the coolbox and changed direction to head after them. "Perhaps Dith is fetching something?" he suggested with a shrug.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"It is absolutely you," Abel agreed, aiming a smirky smile at his boyfriend, "and me too I suppose, if only because you seem to think so. But I don't think the temperature could ever hope to keep up with how hot you are, that sounds practically impossible." With that said he leaned in to press a kiss to Zevran's temple before he bumped into him a little with his hip.

Mention of Viktor drew his attention and he turned to look towards what appeared to be a blanket and, yes, that did in fact look like Viktor. "He does blend in, doesn't he? But I think you're right, that looks like him," he agreed with a short nod, and similarly altered his course alongside his love to head towards the blanket. Hum, now where was Dith? "Maybe he is? He must be, or getting something at least, if Viktor's here." He couldn't imagine Dith leaving his Espeon alone on the beach for an extended period, not with people living in Kodo who were more than happy to steal Pokemon, so it stood to reason that he must've left him for a moment to go get something, or maybe help someone else carry something over? Something like that. Curious about what it was, Abel turned his head a little to scan the strip alongside the beach, wondering if he could spot the large man somewhere or other. He usually wasn't difficult to spot.  

[TawnyAngel]

Zevran chuckled and returned the hip bump as they headed towards the Espeon, who was now greeting Clara with facerubs. "Antiva did make a good effort! Not quite good enough but we must credit her for trying yes?" he suggested with a smirk and a wink.

Thinking along similar lines to Abel, of how unwise it was to leave pokemon unattended, Zevran peered around as they walked and soon made a noise of triumph and pointed up to the boardwalk; Dith was heading along it carrying a barbecue, and he was accompanied by Summer. "That answers two questions then," Zevran said to Abel before putting two fingers in his mouth and letting out a piercing whistle.

Most people in the vicinity paused and looked at him and then carried on about their business but Summer waved; Dith did not wave, because he had his hands full of barbecue.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Caleb trotted over to the blanket as well, his large fluffy tail wagging slowly, though he was a little too large to really join the smaller Pokemon on the blanket. He'd take up the whole thing if he tried.

"Ha, I'll have to take your word for it since I haven't been there yet," the taller blond pointed out, chuckling a little. 'Yet' though, he still had every intention of taking Zev for a short trip sometime, even if the thought made him a little nervous. Alright, more than a little, but he couldn't help but feel a bit excited for it too.

Ah, there was Dith! And Summer! Abel beamed and returned her wave. "Yeah it does! Think we should go help them with stuff?" He asked, tilting his head towards Zevran a little while keeping his gaze focused on the pair on the boardwalk. Summer didn't look like she had much, but Dith obviously had his hands full.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Perhaps we should go in the spring, I think the summer might kill you," Zevran countered with some amusement; funny though the idea of Abel flaked out in the heat was he wanted him to be able to enjoy it. "It smells less on the docks too," he added as an afterthought as he waved up at Summer and Dith. Abel's question got a thoughtful noise and then a shake of his head. "Mmh, I don't like manual labour. Besides, he looks like he's having fun?" The big man definitely didn't look as though he was struggling at least, though the barbecue did seem rather cumbersome.... No, he didn't feel like helping and so he just put down the cool box and stooped to stroke Viktor's velvety ears.

"Ah! Well there's two more, we're not the only ones who've turned up!" Dith laughed as the beach boys waved at him. Ehehe, beach boys. "And they have a cool box as promised, excellent!"

"It'd be a sad time if they hadn't brought anything," Summer grinned as she shifted the bag of things she'd brought to offer up on her shoulder.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Abel hummed a little as he pondered. "I was thinking sometime this fall, actually, but we could wait 'til spring if you feel it's better. Whichever season you think is best sweetheart," he finished as he gave his love another hip-bump. Then he wrinkled his nose a little and chuckled. No, Zev never really seemed to care for manual labor even a little. "I'm well aware; but that's what you have me for, isn't it? Even if he is though.. I think I'll go see if he needs any help." Zev stooped down to pet Viktor so Abel leaned down to squeeze his love's shoulder before he dropped his sandals beside the blanket and headed up towards the boardwalk.

When he got close enough he offered Summer and Dith a broad grin and another wave. "Hey! It's nice to see you guys outside the hospital for once. How're you? Need any help with anything?"  

[TawnyAngel]

"Ohhh, tempt me with closer to instant gratification will you?" Zevran laughed merrily, his amber eyes sparking with glee. "I will think on it, the city is lovely in the fall as well." Decisions! For another day.

While Abel headed off to make himself useful Zevran spread out the blanket he and Abel had brought along beside Dith's one and settled down on it to stroke the pokemon.

"Hey sugar, good to see you too!" Summer beamed, heading over to offer Abel a big hug. "Mmmh, I hardly ever get to see people once they leave the ICU let alone hospital - I've really been looking forward to this! And I'm good," she nodded to the small bag. "I've just got burger buns, cheese slices, and my boyfriend's pickles in here. Dima?"

"Hey Abel, I'm good thanks - you?" Humm, could he pass anything over? "You could take the lid off the barbecue," he said after a moment of thought and with a nod to the round black metal thing. "It keeps trying to fall off, it would be helpful not to have to balance the thing anymore!"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

When Zev set out the blanket, Caleb let out a pleased 'bwurf' as he flopped down on the edge of it.

Abel's broad grin remained as he happily returned the hug with a tight one of his own. It was good to see her again, especially outside the ICU. She'd helped them both out so much during Zevran's time there. "I have been too," he admitted, his grin not diminishing even a bit. He stepped back after a moment or two though and nodded to Dith amiably, taking the lid as requested. "Those sounds great, and are you sure I can't take anything else? It looks like you have..." He glanced at the barbecue again. "Quite a bit to carry." It all looked like it was more or less in one piece though, so realistically there probably wasn't much else he could carry for him -- but he couldn't not ask.  

[TawnyAngel]

"You guys remind us that there are real people outside of our families outside the hospital," Summer laughed. "Sometimes I forget, you know."

"Me too!" Dith agreed with a deep guffaw of his own, and a shake of his head to Abel. "Thanks but this is fine. If you really want I can put the barbecue down and give you the backpack of charcoal but I can manage fine." The weight wasn't a problem for him but if Abel really wanted to be useful he didn't mind handing something over.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Oh, yeah?" Abel's eyebrows lifted a bit before he offered a cheeky grin to the pair. "Well I can definitely confirm there's plenty of real people outside the hospital -- unless of course I'm mistaken, in which case I've met tons of convincing imitations."

He hummed a little as he tucked the lid under his arm and took a minute to look Dith over again before he shook his head. "Mmh, nah, that's alright. If you were struggling I'd insist, but you seem like you're doing okay, and stopping to set stuff down would only delay our barbecue lunch and I don't think anyone's too keen on that." It'd be much faster if they just continued on, and Dith really did look perfectly fine carrying what he had. Minus the lid, of course, but that had already been taken care of. With that matter more or less settled - in his opinion anyway - he glanced keenly at the pair of them. "Who else is coming? Or here yet," he added after a moment. He'd only seen just the two of them so far, but that didn't mean no one else was here already that he hadn't seen yet.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Oh Lord," Summer laughed, "next thing I know I'll be finding out my life is the Trueman Show. Was that what that movie was called?"

"Uh," Dith looked helpfully blank, shrugged, and laughed. "I have no idea what you're talking about; Abel? And uh, there's going to be about fifteen of us I think. Solus is coming, you remember him?" Most people remembered the tall skinny man for his mannerisms as much as his appearance. "A few from my surgical team, a couple more ICU staff - so you might recognise them too - and some people are bringing friends or family. So far it seems to be just us though, Summer and I were starting to think we'd got the time wrong until we saw you."