Scathefire(MxM)[Unedited]

9

A/N These two remind me of this song, but especially this chapter

ᓚᘏᗢᓚᘏᗢᓚᘏᗢ

To say that today had been rough for Austin is a massive understatement. It's unsurprising, however. With Avery comes paperwork. Fucking piles of it. Austin has to file paper after paper after paper. Avery won't have to deal with this for a while, but Austin already has a shopping list of tests that Avery will have to go through. Starting with a physical exam. As soon as possible. Austin had cracked down on getting Avery to be a legal resident of the US, at least. A 6 year residency permit. He'll need to do an American citizenship test by then, but he has to be an American resident for at least 5 years before he can get an official American citizenship. Austin thinks that Avery has technically been born on American soil, the government disagrees, but Austin isn't on good terms with the government, anyway, so he doesn't care much what the government thinks.

The drive home is a moment of peace, despite mentally preparing himself to come home to an Avery who'd returned to how he'd been the day he'd arrived. Like a feral animal. Much to his surprise, the apartment has never seemed more peaceful. As golden hour begins to set in, it illuminates the room, igniting the specks of dust that float around, and even more notable, it illuminates Avery, sitting just past the open door, sleeping on the couch outside, wings spread open. The ends of the feathers glow with golden inscriptions when the sun hits them, and the sunlight illuminates the shiny strands of his honey colored curls. A silver lining highlights the edges of his soft round cheek and porcelain fingers, like the finest jewelry. The soft, delicate skin of his hip draws Austin's gaze so easily to the poochy rolls of his stomach, treacherously exposed by the oversized shirt he wears, and Austin's mouth almost waters.

He sets his bag down and silently approaches, sticking his hands in his pockets and leaning down to check if Avery is really asleep. He stands up straight against and turns to glance at his plants. They were withering this morning, but now they're the brightest green he's ever seen, the flower buds that hadn't been there yesterday loosening their petals with the threat of blooming.

Jasmine had suggested getting plants to help with his adversity and conflicting craving to take care of anything. Well, that hadn't turned out as well as she'd hoped, considering just earlier that day these plants had been all but dead. Austin heaves a quiet sigh and moves to sit at the little balcony table, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms. He tips his head back and closes his eyes, starting to understand why Avery had fallen asleep out here.

When he opens his eyes again, he catches Avery staring intently at him. Both of them seem equally surprised to see each other, Avery's face flushing bright red.

"Good fucking god, Avery." Austin groans once his heart slows back down, rubbing his hands over his face with a short laugh. Avery grins and offers a nervous laugh.

"You shouldn't curse." He says. It prompts a dramatic eye roll from Austin.

"Uh-huh. I thought you shouldn't get drunk, either, but if I remember correctly-" Austin is cut off by Avery, who gives him an offended gasp.

"How dare you! You lured me into it." He defends, drawing a harder grin from Austin.

"Heyheyhey, take accountability for your actions, sweetheart. You practically begged me for another." Austin clicks his tongue. Avery purses his lips and narrows his eyes, before he draws in a deep breath.

"Okay. I will accept that I did drink too much. But I did not beg you for another. I asked for another." He says finally, in as polite of a tone as he can muster.

"Mmm. I'll accept it." Austin nods.

"What?? That wasn't a good enough confession?" Avery demands. Austin stands and shakes his head, walking over to sit at the other end of the outdoor sofa from Avery. "What was wrong with it?" Avery asks, almost immediately regretting as Austin turns a devilish eye to him.

"You gotta swear in it somewhere." Austin says. Avery's jaw drops, sitting up straighter.

"No! That just makes it disingenuous!" Avery exclaims. Austin shakes his head.

"Nah, quite the opposite, babe. Curse words are best used to emphasize a statement. Like- take the phrase 'wow that hurt!' and compare it to 'wow that fucking hurt!'. Doesn't the fucking make it seem like it actually hurt more?" Austin argues. Avery casts Austin a glare.

"Whatever, I'm not going to say a curse word!" He insists. Austin raises his eyebrow a bit and leans in.

"Pussy. What can it hurt?" He asks with a grin. "You don't even have to say it in a sentence. Just say a curse. Any curse word."

"This is so stupid, Austin. I'm not gonna-"

"Just say it!! Any word."

"Stop, Austin," Austin doesn't heed Avery's begs for him to stop pushing it. He might've if it wasn't for the blush painting Avery's face red and the embarrassed laughter he's trying to hide.

"Not until you say a bad word. It doesn't have to be bad bad, it can be like- damn or bitch." Austin insists. Avery's hands come up to cover the flighty grin on his face, shaking his head.

"Those are bad bad words, Austin." He laughs.

"No they're not!! Come on, you can even whisper it in my ear. No one will hear you." Austin murmurs, leaning in further, their eyes locking together. Avery's heart leaps into his throat and his chest tightens as he stares into the endless expanse of Austin's jet black eyes.

"You must be born of Lucifer himself, Austin. I don't think I've ever seen eyes as pretty as yours." Avery whispers breathlessly. The confession stops Austin's entire body function in seconds, his breath catching in his throat.

"I- that's-that's not a curse word, Avery." Austin splutters.

"Oh really?? I thought I'd just listed every single one!" Avery gasps in sarcastic shock. Austin snorts, and the single sound starts them both into laughter.

"Good god, Avery, what am I supposed to do with you?" Austin groans when he catches his breath, slumping back into his seat and folding his arms, turning to look at Avery affectionately, who mimics his position, leaned back with folded arms. Intentional or not, Austin can't tell. Damn... this fluttery feeling in Austin's heart could prove to be a problem.

ᓚᘏᗢᓚᘏᗢᓚᘏᗢ

Thanks for reading :)

A/N guys I think I love this chapter