Zack watched him with slight wariness but he sighed softly. “That’s ok. I know you didn’t mean it like that,” He quietly huffed, turning his gaze back down to the bathtub as a distraction. “Is the water ready yet?” He asked, standing up with a slight wince, but on his own this time.
Bryn nodded, hesitantly stepping forward in case he needed help. He didn't touch Zack though, not yet, not without permission, he just hoovered close until Zack was safely in the tub. Then he slid in to sit beside him, hissing softly as the water slid over him. "So… I know we're mated now, but… um… what does that mean, exactly?" He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the little bite Zack had left there. His face felt warm.
Zack started rubbing off the crust on his hips and tummy, glancing up at the other as his fingers worked his own skin. It came off relatively good but he started washing off with soap anyway.
“We’re kind of married under the laws of this place. It’s just sort of like, oh, good job you’re bonded. It means nothing more than that you’re mine and you can’t run off with any other Demon. And you're a bit safer.”
Bryn hummed, grabbing a bottle of soap and going to town. He hated feeling filthy, even if he'd suffer through it for a couple more minutes of cuddling with Zack, so it was a relief to be able to scrub himself clean. "Well, it's not like I was gonna ditch you anyways. You're my one and only, I think we both realized that a while ago."
Zack didn’t respond as he started to wash his own hair, his legs curled up a little into criss-cross applesauce. He just scrubbed quietly, not saying anything as he zoned out. He seemed to be lost in thought, or maybe it was something else…
Bryn did his hair too but he rinsed quickly when he realized Zack was starting to zone out. He snapped his fingers in front of his face, trying to snap him out of it. "Zack, babe, is everything okay? Zack?"
Zack snapped to attention and he bared his teeth for a couple seconds at the waving hand, taken aback slightly, only to stop after realizing it was just him. He grunted softly and twitched his nose with a faint huffing sound.
“I’m fine.”
Bryn withdrew his fingers quickly, frowning at his answer. "What's got you so quiet?" he asked cautiously, not wanting to upset his mate any more than he already had. Was this a reaction to the whorehouse comment? Or was he just lost in thought after a few glorious hours of fucking?
Zack dipped his head to wash the shampoo out, moving on to conditioner and leaving his mate in silence as he worked. He decided not to answer said question as he conditioned his ends and made sure he was clean and smelling nice before getting out to dry off without any help from the other, though he was a little wavy on his feet.
Bryn scrambled to finish when Zack left the tub, hurridly rinsing off his hair before he unplugged the drain and stepped out. He shivered in the cold air, towling himself off quickly. A strange silence had overtaken the bathroom, growing weeds in Bryn's throat so that every time he tried to talk he just opened and closed his mouth uselessly without forcing out any words. He bit his lip after the third attempt to strike up conversation, leaving the room to put on some PJs and think up a game plan.
Zack pulled on his pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, then decided to go downstairs for some food as the Human worked himself out. Now that the latter was able to assume that being called anything to do with a whore sort of touched on an exposed nerve, he’d be more than able not to make the same mistake. He made it to the kitchen and started on some chicken as he thought to himself in silence, almost zoning out again.
Bryn pulled on a pair of boxers and, after a few seconds of worrying, one of Zack's least favorite sweaters. He'd been stealing sweaters since they started dating and this one was practically his anyways, so he felt okay with taking it. It smelled like Zack, which was all he really cared about, and it was also ridiculously big which was comforting. He wandered through the house for a few minutes after, looking for Zack with an increasing amount of worry. "Honey? Where are you?"
He heard the Human walk down the steps and snapped back to attention for the second time, grabbing out a fork and some spices his mum used to keep in a cabinet for his chicken. The spices were Demon specialty, and were ridiculously spicy. Not only did Zack enjoy them, but it kept Bryn away from stealing his food.
Bryn padded down the steps nervously, settling a little when he saw Zack in the kitchen. He'd been a little scared that Zack would leave to go get drunk, knowing how much his boyfriend enjoyed the company of a bottle when he was troubled. "What're you eating? Could I try a bite?" He was still hovering a foot or so away from Zack, maintaining a respectful distance. Zack still looked mad, should he apologize again?
Zack proceeded to put a lot of grinded red leaf onto the chicken, giving it a reddish look, as if it had just caught flame and it was reflecting that fiery light.
“You wouldn't like it,” He growled quietly down at the chicken as he flipped it over, not looking up like he usually would to address his lover.
Bryn took a step back, leaning up against the counter at the growl. He fucked up, he really, really fucked up. "Okay." The word was barely a whisper. "Can… can I apologize before I go back to our room? Or… um… should I leave for mine instead? I could just stay out of your way, if you want, I just… I don't really know how to make it up to you."
Instead of a usual spoken answer, Zack just shrugged. His wet hair flopped down so it covered the bits of face that Bryn was looking at, hiding his expression more than his eyes did in expression in itself. He grinded more of the leaf and sighed softly after a few moments of silence.
“Do you want anything to eat?” He asked in that same, emotionless voice.
Bryn flinched a little at the shrug, pressing himself harder into the counter. The way it bit into the backs of his thighs was grounding. He wanted to say no and leave Zack alone and he wanted to say yes and stay and try to untangle this mess he'd made but in the end he just offered a shrug. "Do you want me to stay down here with you?"
“I don’t care. Do you want food?” He asked, not portraying anything as he watched and listened to the chicken sizzle as he chopped up some jalapeño to pair with his meal (mmm I’m so hungry and that sounds sooooo good rn I love chicken). He got out another breast of chicken and got it ready to cook. Even if Bryn didn’t want it, Zack wanted a second.
"I want you to answer my question." Bryn's eyes scanned carefully over Zack's face, looking for any sign of approval or disapproval or anything. Sadly, his face remained maddeningly blank. Bryn picked absently at the cuffs of the sweater. "I want to know where I stand, can you give me that? Or… I guess you don't have to, if you don't wanna. I really don't want to push you, so… can you just tell me where the boundaries are?"
He kept his face neutral as he chopped up and got rid of the core of the jalapeño before tossing it in with the chicken and stirring it up. He shrugged again at all of the questions.
“There’s nothing wrong with you. Where you’re standing is where no one has stood before. I’ve never had a relationship like this, where the person wanted to stay with me.” He hoped that was enough to answer Bryn’s questions, because he did not want to talk about it more.
Bryn nodded, not quite believing the first part but ignoring it so he could think about the second. This was Zack's first actual relationship, how mind-blowing was that? Zack picked him out of all the people in the world who were prettier and sweeter and smarter. Him! "Oh. I… um… I didn't know." He let go of the counter allowing himself to creep a little closer and peek at what was cooking on the stove. It looked delicous but he could tell just from the smell that it would be way to spicy for him. "Hey, could you cook one for me after all?"
Zack would let Bryn whatever he wanted to believe, but people had actually used him so much before that he smelled like ‘a whorehouse on nickel night’. No one had wanted to go farther. No one wanted to be caught with a Demon so ruffled and just scoundrel-looking. Bryn was the first Human to actually express interest, and Zack clung to that like a lifesource.
“Sure. Just salt and pepper?”
Bryn nodded, stepping a little closer so he could watch Zack cook. He loved his demon dearly, for the important reasons and the insignificant ones and everything else in between. Because Zack was a good guy underneath all the defensive anger and ragged looks. He was sweet and strong and the best kind of dickhead and more than anything else he was willing to try. "I love you."
Zack kept his head down to watch everything sizzle and turned to the raw chicken to start rubbing in the salt and pepper as he bent down for another pan directly below him. He started on the chicken, turning on the other stovetop. He moved his hair out of his face to show his still set face.
“I love you too.”
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