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.”
Bryn smiled weakly, wandering over slowly until he was only a few inches away. He peeked out from Behind Zacks back, watching the chicken sizzle eagerly. It already smelled amazing, he had no clue how Zack did it. They both used the exact same stuff but Bryn's was only ever passable while Zack's was always top of the line. "It smells amazing, Zack. Thank you."
Zack started when Bryn’s voice came closer than what he was expecting it to, swallowing heavily and collecting himself mentally. Bryn wasn’t some enemy, but it was hard to get over the fact with him. He’d spent almost a year with him yet he still jumped at stupid times.
“You-you’re welcome, Bryn.”
Bryn bit his lip as Zack startled, resolving to do a better job alerting him to where he was moving next time. He'd basically snuck up on the poor guy while he was already kind of worried, that really wasn't cool. "Sorry about the scare, babe! I'm gonna go set the table for us. Um… can I kiss you before I go?"
Zack shook his head to tell him not to worry about it and shakily exhaled, his hands still shaking a little from the scare as he flipped his chicken over and poked at Bryn’s with a different fork. He tilted his head back a little so Bryn could steal a kiss.
“There’s clean stuff in the dishwasher.”
Bryn practically beamed, pushing himself up onto his tiptoes to peck Zack on the lips before he scurried over to the dishwasher. "Thanks babe." He made sure to keep up a low level of noise, just enough to let Zack figure out where he was at any given time, as he set down plates and silverware. "Honey, what kind of drink do you want?"
Zack listened to his surroundings as he poked and flipped the chicken, chopping some mellower jalapeño for the Human to at least give him some sort of veggie. He waited, tapping his forks on the oven handle.
“Oh, I don’t care. Whatever you can find.”
Bryn wandered over, setting their plates down beside the stove so Zack could serve up the chicken when it was ready. They didn't have much, he'd probably have to go grocery shopping later, but there were still a couple sparkling waters and a bottle of pinot something or other Bryn bought because it looked fancy. "Wanna crack open that new bottle of wine?"
Zack shook his head. He didn’t want to get drunk again and relive the nightmare of a hangover and scarring his mate. He forked the chicken that was for him onto a plate, pouring out the jalapeños and the extra sauce that was created onto the other plate. He stood over Bryn’s, doing the same once it was finished and giving it up to the second plate.
Bryn nodded and set the bottle down, heading over to the fridge to get them both glasses of water. He grabbed the plates too, setting everything down at the table and taking his seat. The chicken looked delicious, but he waited to eat until Zack was sitting down too. "C'mon, Zack. Let's eat!"
Zack eased himself over with some silverware and settled himself down in his seat, sighing as he relaxed back into it. He watched Bryn hurry over and sit, grinning faintly despite himself.
“I’m already here.”
Bryn smiled back at him easily, as bright and cheerful as a Christmas tree. It was the smiled he always used when he managed to get Zack to crack a grin or laugh, proud and almost impish. "Sorry, I didn't see you there! Um… here's your water! D'you wanna stay downstairs to watch that new horror movie after dinner?"
Unlike what he usually did, he didn’t fall to the cute, big smile of his lover as he started to cut into his kitchen, his nose pointed down as he ate.
“Thanks. I guess if you want to.” He shrugged a little and popped a jalapeño with a piece of chicken attached into his mouth, chewing slowly.
Bryn was happily munching on his chicken, pushing all the jalapeños over to one side of his plate. His smile got much less bright when he noticed Zack's lack of enthusiasm but it was still there, soft and resolute. He wasn't gonna guilt Zack into doing something with him. "Oh… um… we don't have to if you'd rather do something else. I think that show you like got picked up for a new season, we could watch that instead."
It was hard for Zack to swallow the deliciously spicy food, but he managed to clean his plate and rub his hands off on some napkins. He was a quick eater by default for many reasons pertaining to his past. Working with Humans changed this Demon a lot.
“It’s whatever you’d like to do,” He mumbled dully as he poked at some leftover sauce, not even motivated enough to pick up the plate and lick it off.
Bryn had finished with hi chicken so he pushed his plate towards Zack to let him have the leftover jalapeños. He was a quick eater for reasons that had nothing to do with past experiences and everything to do with a longstanding hatred of sitting in awkward silence while chewing random things that occasionally tasted nice. "Yeah, but I'm not asking about what I want to do, am I?"
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