Equilibrium

Chapter 9 - Date Night

Date Night

Kevyn came to his house to pick him up at seven, and Zen invited him in for a drink first, hoping to get a beat on where they were.

"You look great," Kev said, as they sat down on the couch, each with a glass of wine in hand. Zen was wearing indigo and green, his silk tunic cut low at the neck.

"So do you," Zen replied. Kev was wearing well fitted black jeans and a royal blue shirt, his hair spiked as it normally was but with more attention to detail. It showed off his handsome face.

"Should we talk about Wednesday? I feel like we should talk about Wednesday," Zen said.

Kev put on a more serious expression and nodded. He said, "I think I recognize the logo in that hangar bay."

Zen was not expecting that. He remembered Kev's earlier comment about maybe recognizing something, sure, but he hadn't had time to dwell on it. "From where?" he asked.

"In the Army, when I was on a relief mission. Well, first I helped with the wildfire. And then I helped with the relief," Kev began. "Some of the crates of goods had that logo on it. I figured it was a corporate write-off or something, and maybe it was. But was thinking. I thought I could look it up if you do that no-logs thingy you can do."

"Of course. I just don't want you to get sucked into this any more than you are."

"I need to know, though. What if it's important?"

Zen sighed. "Ok. Should we do it now, or do you think that's more of an after-dinner activity?"

Kev slashed him a smile. "Let's have dinner," he insisted. "But, did you want to talk about something else about Wednesday? I don't think you were planning to talk about logos."

"I just wanted to make sure we were ok," Zen said. "All of this is not how I wanted things to start, believe me."

"I know. And, things are ok as far as I'm concerned." Kev scanned his face. "It'll take time to process, but I'm not scared off that easily."

Zen smiled. The blond would pull away if things got dangerous, but he was relieved. "Then lead on, Firefly. Where are we going?"

Kevyn laughed. "You used to call me that all the time! Alright, Lighting Bug. Let's head to Zeek's."

~

Zeek's Place was nice but still casual. A good choice.

"Some of the Firefighters recommended it to me for a good first date," Kev confided after they sat down.

Zen blinked. "You joined the Fire Service?"

"Station 2 in the Fae District, as a volunteer, of course. I know too much not to share it and do my part, but I do have a full-time job - as you know."

"Why am I not surprised?" Zen replied, smiling.

"Because you've met me?" They both laughed.

"You're too good for the rest of us," Zen teased flirtatiously. When Kev looked a little embarrassed, he amended, "Perhaps I should have said, that you're a good person, and that's one of the reasons I like you."

Kevyn smiled. "They're a great group. Mostly Fire, Water, and Air Folk, but all kinds. And I was already on the wildfire call list."

"And all I do is sit at my desk and play with robots," Zen joked.

"What you do is amazing," Kev corrected excitedly. "Do you do that mojo with them?"

"Yes, I can feel them out better than using the normal controls."