[ Lev sets the teapot down and goes looking for the sugar bowl. He can't remember where he put it the last time he had tea.

Eventually, he sighs and opens the fridge to look there, having run out of anywhere else in the kitchen to look. ]

Um. I wanted to talk to you. I know we started off badly. I wanted to apologise.

[ Lev takes the sugar bowl out of the freezer and is peering into it when Dist speaks. He almost drops the sugar bowl in anger, but manages to keep a hold of it. But his face darkens. His voice is low when he speaks. ]

Your apprehension? You have known him for-- for two years. Two years.

[ Lev sets the sugar bowl on the table and comes close to Dist's chair, hovering over him. Looming. He's using his height to its full advantage, even though he knows it's the only remotely imposing thing about him. ]

I have known him for ten years. We raised two children together. I know his past far better than you. You are-- you are a temporary intruder.

[ He's aware he sounds crazy. He also doesn't care. ]

[ Lev snorts and puts both hands on Dist's shoulders. ]

Right. You should not be so sure about that.

[ He shakes his head. ]

You cannot compare two years to a decade. You are a passing fancy. He'll come to remember me with time or he will come to know me again. And then you will be discarded.

[ Lev stumbles backwards and loses his balance. His back hits the edge of the kitchen counter and he makes a muffled, slurred kind of groan. He falls silent for a second. ]

Sh-shoving a cripple's pretty low.

[ He doesn't address what Dist said. He needs time to think of something particularly biting to say. ]