#reza.chae3

[wordsmithings]

“Grass?” Reza’s expression was comical, with his brows trying to decide whether he wanted them furrowed or raised and ended up stuck midway. “Oh, that uh… pollen allergy, right?” He whistled, wondering which unlucky stars Chae was born under for having dealt a bad lot in life. “Is your whole family like that, or just you?” Maybe Chae should’ve worn a hazmat suit to avoid all those allergies he had, though Reza supposed that would be too extreme and restrict Chae’s movement altogether. Not to mention ghastly yellow didn’t suit Chae’s complexion.

Reza couldn’t help but snort, though to be fair he did try to suppress it as best as he could. “Work, eh.” He turned to Chae, a teasing lilt painted his smiling lips. “I guess they all got lucky after meetin’ you, pretty. You think you’ll be my good luck charm too and help me get promoted at work?” Chae could’ve easily said that it didn’t work out between himself and his partner, which was a more plausible reason for their parting. But work? And all of them on top of that? Now Chae was simply asking to be teased.

“Do you have anythin’ embarrasin’ that you’re hidin’?” Reza raised his brows when he turned to look at Chae momentarily before busying himself with dinner preparation. He moved to the rice cooker and started adding a pot of rice, mulling over before adding another, washing them thoroughly before measuring the water needed with his finger before putting it back into the cooker and let it do its thing. He then turned to Chae, watching him slowly peeling the potatoes. If it was anyone else, Reza would’ve shooed them away from the kitchen and let him cook by himself. But he let it slide for now since it gave Chae something to do while he prepared everything else.

“I am, if I do say so myself.” Reza moved next to Chae, grabbing one of the potatoes and started to peel them using a knife. “I’ve lived alone practically all my life, so I had to learn how to cook in order to get food on the table.” He shrugged. Tio was the fun uncle but never a good parent, so Reza had to learn to do everything by himself in order to survive. He didn’t mind it now, but it wasn’t easy when he was growing up. Even now, with tio’s ashes sitting by the fireplace at his home, he still held some resentment towards Miguel. “Are you that impressed? I caught you takin’ a peek at me while I was preparing other stuff for the picadilla.” Reza turned to Chae, his brows raised and his lips curled into a smirk. “I mean, I don’t mind. You can look as much as you want. There’s no need to steal a few glances at me, pretty.” Another playful wink, chuckling to himself as Reza turned back to his task.

“I’m allergic to dogs and I get…” he pursed his lips together as he tried to remember the word in English but could only think of the word grass even though he knew it wasn’t quite right, “...grass allergy?” His brows furrowed slightly when he said it, knowing it was wrong so he quickly followed up, “Not grass but like grass? Seasonal allergy,” he did his best to explain, hoping that Reza would be able to understand he was trying to convey that he got hay fever, “and bee stings I am allergic to.” All of it together was yet another reason that he generally wore a face mask while outside but it didn’t really do anything to stop his eyes from watering and getting irritated. 

Chae kept his lips pressed together tightly, doing his best to crack and give way that he’d lied in order to make himself look more desirable to the other man and cleared his throat softly, “Yes, they were very good but they left…” he wasn’t good at lying and he paused as he tried to think of a plausible reason that wasn’t too far fetched, “for a promotion at their work.” That seemed rational and realistic in his opinion. 

“Stuff I hide…” the younger male witch repeated in a low mumble, a bit awestruck at the wink that Reza had directed in him, thankful that the other man had turned his back to him so that he hopefully would not see the sudden flush that came to his cheeks. He wordlessly took the potatoes and produced a cutting board and large chef’s knife along with a peeler so he could set to work on the task given to him, doubly thankful that now he had something to occupy his hands and give him an excuse to appear busy so he wasn’t just staring at Reza from the corner of his eyes, watching the way he moved. Everything he did always exuded confidence, something Chae lacked and he marveled at the easy way that Reza carried himself, it looked so freeing. 

“Hm?” Chae met his eyes, potato in hand, peeler in the other, having not done anything at all yet because he’d been too busy staring and he hoped Reza wouldn’t realize this so he quickly and awkwardly dug the peeler into the side of the potato to give the appearance he’d begun even though the action was done as they looked at each other, “I like rice,” was his lame reply, internally cringing at himself before he averted his eyes, hanging his head slightly as he peeled his first potato. He was seriously making a fool of himself. “You seem like you are a good cook,” he commented as he reached for another potato to peel, trying to salvage his awkwardness.

[wordsmithings]

“Is it?” Reza tilted his head to the side, brows furrowing together slightly and lips pursed in thought. He supposed compared to Chae’s situation, it was better to have some kind of connection to the spirits and their own magic than not being able to tap into it at all, even if the connection was frayed and tattered. “I guess that’s one way to look at it.” He turned his gaze to the man next to him, a smile on his lips. He had long given up on trying to fix his connection with the spirits, accepting that this was the price he had to pay for his youthful desperations despite knowing the risks dabbing in something forbidden.

Reza nodded to the sentiment. “She’s one of a kind.” He tried to gesture with his hands, but since both of them were occupied,  he ended up raising the one linked with Chae and waved it around instead. “I’m glad that she makes you feelin’ hopeful, pretty. Lookin’ desolate and all gloomy doesn’t suit you. Leave that to someone else, hm.” Truly, he was grateful for what Helia had done for him as well. At least he knew that if he went missing or ended up dead like those poor sods, someone would sincerely mourn him. But he would never it out loud, of course.

“Well, dependin’ on who’s cookin’, but the basic ingredients are ground meat, tomato, potato, and carrots. I like to add olives in mine and eat them with white rice. You can also have it as fillings for tacos and empanadas.” He waved their interlinked hands as he gestured around, already drooling over the hearty dish that he envisioned in his mind. “Hey, you’re just like me. Looks like we have one more thing in common.” Reza grinned. “Do you have any allergies, though? I don’t want this to be the last time we have our meals together, you know.”

Reza couldn’t help but grin when he saw the smile on Chae’s lips, giddy that he wasn’t being pushed away despite the verbal protest. “So you’re sayin’ I can hold you tightly in other settings?” And as if to emphasise on his words, he pulled Chae closer to him, his brows raised and his eyes and smile twinkling in mischief. “Didn’t know you’re that bold, Oh Chung-Ae.” He had to release Chae from his embrace since they had to climb the stairs, though having Chae take the lead allowed him to enjoy a pretty good view, so it wasn’t all that bad. “So you had someone special before.” His tone was teasing, idly wondering who it was that Chae brought home and enjoyed their company. “Was it one of your blind dates that your parents set up? Or was it someone you found on your own?”

Once they reached the floor and Chae welcomed him inside, Reza couldn’t help but let his gaze wander, taking off his shoes as requested and setting them aside before padding towards the open space living room and kitchen. He placed his groceries onto the kitchen island, eyes still wandering to take in the personal style Chae had curated for himself before landing on the owner itself. “Will you be giving a tour later?” Reza started to familiarise himself around the kitchen as he located all the utensils that he would be needing for the evening.

“It’s good that you’re still able to have some connection to magic,” Chae replied earnestly. He’d never been able to form a deep connection to magic, his relationship with his own had always been complicated, an unseen force that was determined to cause him strife whether he used it or not but he’d always wondered what his life would have been like if he’d been normal. What sort of person would he have been if he’d been able to use magic like a normal witch? Would he have remained the same or would he be someone entirely different? Would he have made his family proud effortlessly or would he still have to work hard to earn it? 

He could relate to the noise of the spirits causing headaches, they often did the same to him even if he couldn’t understand them. Most of the time they tried to avoid him, seeming to know that their presence caused him discomfort but it was hard to avoid something as ethereal as air, no matter what was done it would always be there, like particles of dust being carried on the wind, you would inhale it even if you didn’t mean to. “I appreciate what she’s done though,” Chae added on in regards to Helia, feeling deeply in his chest that it was okay to joke around a little bit about her prodding into others business but also wanting to at least let it be known that he still respected her greatly, “She works hard and cares a lot. She reminds me to be hopeful.” 

“I don’t know what that is,” Chae admitted when Reza said he was intending on making a dish called picadillo, “but I do like Mexican food. I’d be interested in trying it. I’m not a picky eater.” 

The unexpected pull of Reza’s arm around his waist made Chae let out a breathy sort of laugh, “Aish,” he exhaled as he landed softly against the other man’s side, a kiss planted against his cheek, “How are we going to walk up the stairs if you’re holding me so tightly,” he wasn’t actually holding him against him that tightly, they were still able to maneuver well enough and despite his mild chastising a broad grin had stretched over his features. “No, no one special. Especially not lately,” he started to walk up the stairs now that Reza had released him, “I’m on the second floor,” answering Reza’s question quickly before he quietly wondered how many special people Reza must have. Someone as charismatic and charming as he was, he must have plenty and Chae wondered how many of them did he also called ‘pretty.’ 

They would soon reach the appropriate floor and Chae quickly input the door code to let them both in, the entrance was a smallish seeming narrow hallway with a door to the right that would lead to his bedroom, the door to that slightly ajar so if Reza felt curious enough to peer through it he’d see partly inside, then walking further down the hall would lead toward the full rest of the flat, open concept kitchen and living room, no dining area aside from the kitchen island that had a few stools lined in a row. “No shoes please,” Chae said to Reza, already toeing off his own and setting them neatly to the side.

[wordsmithings]

“Oh? What else are you allergic to?” Reza raised his brows and tilted his head slightly. He couldn’t imagine how Chae had been navigating his life thus far if he was allergic to almost everything. He supposed he should thank his lucky stars for having a sturdy body. Other than his abnormally low body temperature, Reza had never been sick all his life. Well, there’s the problem with his headache when he was surrounded by too many spirits, but physically he was in tip top shape.

“Did you now?” His lips curled into a half smile and his brow raised at the remark. It was adorable how Chae was trying very hard to impress him, though the man was making it far too easy for Reza to tease him. “Were they good to you?” He moved about the kitchen with a smile on his face when his back was facing Chae, wondering the kind of expression he should wear. He was sure Chae wanted some kind of reaction from him, so it was a matter of whether he should give in to Chae’s expectation or divert it completely. He didn’t care much about Chae’s previous partners, confident that he would be able to meet whatever’s expectation Chae had for his partner, or maybe surpass them, if he were so bold.

Reza looked up, gaze looking around at the apartment. “I guess not.” He shrugged. “But I’d still like a tour. You can show me your memorabilia, or your nerdy stuff that you hide from everyone. It’ll be our little secret.” He looked up and winked before returning to his preparation. “Can you help me peel the potatoes and dice them, then?” He took out the potatoes from the grocery bag and gave it to Chae. Reza had no qualm cooking alone if Chae wanted to sit and watch him cook, though he wouldn’t decline his help if it was offered. Reza then moved to wash the bell pepper, onion, and garlic, peeled and diced and minced them. “Do you want to eat this with rice or tortilla?” He turned to Chae. “I don’t think we have time to make tortilla from scratch, so you’ll have to settle with a store bought one.”

The dish as Reza described it sounded good though he wasn't sure if what he was picturing in his head matched how it would actually look. Chae let out an awkward sort of laugh, “I’m allergic to a lot of things but luckily nothing when it comes to food,” he was thankful in that regard at least, already needing to navigate so much of his life to accommodate his many other allergies not even including his aversion to magic that if he needed to then also be mindful of his food then he would surely be paranoid about everything. 

As Reza began to tease him, Chae started to realize that he had insinuated something that wasn’t true, his first instinct to correct the other man and tell him no, there hadn’t been anyone special before, just coworkers and friends who came over for a drink and some food but he quickly closed his mouth, thought about it briefly and then replied, “I found them myself,” telling instead a lie. It may come back to bite him in the butt later but for now he told it, oddly hoping that it would make Reza more enticed by him to know that someone else could have found him attractive. That he too might have options even if it wasn’t true. 

Within the flat, Chae removed his tote bag and his coat, putting them away in their appropriate places for he always maintained a very well organized and clean living space, “Ah, there really isn’t much to see but yes, I can give you a tour.” He felt a bit awkward then, standing near the kitchen island counter, watching as Reza busied himself with familiarizing the kitchen and locating items as they were needed, feeling useless, his fingers interlocked with themselves and pushed into his palms. His usual routine now disturbed so he didn’t know what to do but wanted a task, “Do you–” he started to ask, “--need any help?”

[wordsmithings]

Reza raised his brow, unabashedly smug when Chae became flustered once again. Perhaps he wasn’t in his right mind, but he really thought that the flustered and flushed face suited Chae very well. He wouldn’t tell this to the man himself of course, lest he risked Chae’s anger directed towards him, though that in itself would be interesting to see. It was addicting in a way, catching Chae watching him closely through the corner of his eyes and seeing him getting flustered when he was caught red handed. It had been some time since he met someone like this; his innocence dripped like honey, sweet and enticing, and it made Reza want to lap every last bit until it was hollowed and dried.

When Chae reached out his hand, Reza took it, but not to pull himself up from the bed, but to pull Chae to him. It was easy enough feat to do, with Chae tumbling forward with just a little tug and they were both entangled on the unmade bed. He didn’t expected it to go so well, and now that he was truly surrounded by Chae’s scent, it made him giddy for one specific reason, dinner all but forgotten. He had to rein his thoughts; the fingers that rested on the sheet curled into a fist before relaxing it, not wanting to appear too eager and failed miserably. “Well, this is quite the turn of event.” His lips curled into a smirk and his brow arched when he turned to Chae. “Didn’t expect for you to demonstrate your answer, but I wouldn’t say no to that.”

Reza pushed Chae away gently, reversing their position so Chae was the one lying on the bed instead of him. “I want to kiss you, Oh Chung-Ae.” As much as he would’ve enjoyed the surprise look on Chae’s face, he would rather not scare the poor lad too much. There was no alcohol between them, so Chae wouldn’t be able to blame this on being inebriated this time. “So if you don’t like it, push me away, hm.” He doubted that would happen from the way Chae had been acting around him, but it was nice to give him the illusion that he had such choice in the matter. Reza could be quite persuasive when he wanted to, after all, though he was confident he didn’t need to be right now.

Rough hand gently cupped Chae’s face as he gazed into those dark brown eyes, thumb caressing Chae’s unendingly flushed cheek. Then he leaned down and pressed his lips against Chae’s. It was gentle and innocent at first, before Reza encouraged those pink lips to part with his tongue, teasing the corner of his lips before delving further. His hand explored idly, caressing Chae’s neck down to his shoulder then to his chest and waist, sneakily slipping underneath his shirt as he stuck his leg between Chae’s, essentially trapping the other underneath him.

"Hm?" Chae seemed to lag for a few seconds after Reza tapped his shoulder and brought up touring his place, still sat at the kitchen island as he watched the other man go toward the only room that had a door that wasn't the bathroom. "Omo," he almost stumbled off the barstool and slipped on his socks in his haste to follow after him, making it in time to watch as he picked up and fumbled with some random decor item, of which Chae quickly moved forward again to set it right since Reza had placed it back down sideways. His heart beat in his throat when Reza settled himself down on the edge of his bed. His bed. His bed that was still unmade from the morning because he hadn't been expecting company, pillows indented from the weight of his head, sheets a bit tangled and disorderly and probably smelling very heavily of himself and the cologne he usually wore and the body wash he usually used, smells that were lost to him but could potentially be picked up by someone more unfamiliar with them.

"No," he answered too quickly, "Ah, yes, I mean, no, yes, I mean to say yes," Chae was panicked and pressed his lips together into a firm line. Now even he was confused. He didn't sit next to Reza when he prompted him to but he did stand in front of him and reach out to take hold of his arm in an attempt to pull him up and get him off of his bed but as was mentioned, the bed was unmade, the sheets were askew, some of them trailed over the edge of the bed and onto the floor where Chae was currently standing and socks and smooth wood did not always pair well and he slipped much like he had done in the kitchen, falling forward, knocking his chin against Reza's shoulder as he landed on top of him, one knee outside his hip, one knee pushed against his thigh and both hands clung to either side of his arms.

He could feel the tension of muscles beneath him, a warmth that felt a few degrees cooler than normal, his face now so close to the side of Reza's that his memory immediately went back to the last time their faces were this close and he could almost feel the touch of cool lips against his own, so strongly laced with alcohol they'd been drinking, except the lips did not smell of alcohol now and he was suddenly overcome with an intense desire of wanting to find out if now they might taste of spices.

[wordsmithings]

Reza nodded, making a mental note about Chae’s allergies and tucked it neatly at the back of his mind. He would try to remember not to smoke around Chae too, not wanting to make his condition worse. It wouldn’t be fun for him either if Chae needed to mind his asthma attack around him.

He raised his brows when Chae admitted he didn’t know what an OnlyFans was, seeing how popular the service was. Even children knew what it was, but here stood an adult man who claimed ignorance of such thing existed. How sheltered Chae’s life was before this, Reza wondered. “Well, we can always have a look at it together later, if you want.” Judging by how red Chae had turned, he figured Chae managed to figure out what the service was mainly used for, which made his lips curled into a smirk.

He was disappointed that he didn’t catch Chae staring at him while he cooked, though the disappointment melted immediately at the look on Chae’s face. He smiled proudly as he turned and closed the pan with a lid to let it simmer a little more, before moving to check on the rice cooker. “Well, we still have some time before the rice is cooked.” Reza walked towards Chae, tapping on the other’s shoulder as he walked past. “How about that tour before we eat, hm.” Without waiting for Chae’s answer, Reza made his way toward the only room available in the apartment. “So this is where the magic happens, huh.” He glanced around the bedroom as he walked in, grabbing the closest knick knack to toy around before returning to its original place haphazardly. He then made himself comfortable on the bed, bidding for Chae to sit next to him. “So, about those partners in your past,” teasing lilt evident in his voice as Reza spoke, more so on the smile on his lips, “did you get them into this bed too?”

“I only really need to be worried about magic,” Chae responded, “my other allergies are more inconvenient,” he put on a smile so that Reza didn’t feel concerned about him, “Nothing an allergy tablet can’t help.” Only when magic was involved did his symptoms turn dangerous, otherwise it was mostly just itchy eyes and a runny nose.

“I don’t even know what Only Fans is,” he said back when Reza didn’t drop the topic of something embarrassing that he had around, presumably this Only Fans thing was something sexual since he paired it up with porn and his flush turned nearly beet red.

Reza was just so irritating with all of his teasing, a real deviant, made worse when he planted a surprise kiss to the nape of his flushed neck that sent a shiver of unexpected wanting down Chae’s spine. Without even realizing it, a slow smile had started to lift up his cheek and when he did realize it, he had to quickly touch at the tops of his cheeks to push it down into a frown. He didn’t want to seem like he was too excited. 

When he sat down to wait, Chae mostly preoccupied himself by pretending to be interested in something on his phone, idly scrolling through old messages and random social media pages just to fill the time until Reza approached with a sample for him to try. “This looks good,” softly surprised at the dish, what he’d imagined in his head did not match what was now before but, the real thing looked better. Eagerly, Chae took a bite, savouring the flavours of the dish for a few moments before he responded with an enticed hum of approval, “Mm! This is delicious! Jinja! Really delicious,” warm and surprised was the expression that now graced his still half flushed features. If he hadn't watched Reza make it he probably would have doubted the other man if he produced this dish before him. It was almost unfair that he was so confident, so attractive, so charming, good with cars and now also good at cooking. He needed to have some flaw.

[wordsmithings]

“It’s easier that way for you to find me amidst this fog. Just follow my shiny armour like you’d follow the light.” Reza grinned, then tilted his head with his brows furrowed slightly. “I have to ask though: why the face mask? Do you have asthma because of the fog?” He didn’t think anyone would be affected by the fog, since it was made by magic, but he supposed he could be wrong. If his headache could worsen because of the fog, who’s to say Chae wouldn’t be affected in any way as well. At least Chae could take precaution to minimize the affect somewhat.

Reza handed his phone to Chae and watched him type his address. “What do you know, your house is very near indeed.” He looked at the route. A mere five-minute walk could turn to an hour because of the damn fog. Though he had to thank the fog for the opportunity, however. He wouldn’t have dreamed of coming over to Chae’s home this soon had not been for them bumping into each other like this. And now he had Chae’s address saved, just in case.

“Then why don’t you hold the phone, pretty, and I’ll hold your hand.” Reza interlaced their fingers together and showed it to Chae, grinning broadly. “I have my groceries to carry, after all. This way we’ll be sure not to lose each other in the fog, hm.” He couldn’t help but kiss Chae’s knuckles since he couldn’t kiss the lips because of the mask. And it was a shame that he couldn’t see Chae’s face because of the mask, though he told himself that he’d have plenty of opportunity to admire that face of his. And even with the face mask, he could somewhat tell what Chae’s expression was. Or maybe he liked projecting what Chae would look like underneath the mask from all his teasing so far.

“Do you have any request for tonight’s dinner?” He wasn’t sure he bought enough ingredients to cook for two tonight, but he was sure he could make do with what he had. Or maybe he could raid Chae’s pantry for tonight’s dinner.

Chae scoffed when Reza mentioned wanting to be his knight in shining armor, the idea silly but it brought a half smile to his features that were concealed by his face mask but perhaps seen in the way his eyes lifted. “Your armor is too shiny,” he teased lightly, “I’m getting blinded by it,” and squinted his eyes for emphasis, his fingers clasped lightly at the fabric of the other man’s sides though he too released his hold of the other, his hands finding their way into his coat pockets once more. 

“Is it?” He asked, now leaning in to look at the device screen to see the map, little indicator in the middle of the screen that showed where they were standing in relation to the rest of the area that was enshrouded in fog and even though it was a useless action, Chae lifted his eyes and looked in the direction of where the florist was actually, not seeing anything anyway except for the wall of fog. “Hm,” he hummed softly and looked back at the map to get his bearings, though Reza’s suggestion caused his eyes to lift up in time to see the grin on his face turn mischievous. He had a feeling the other man had more on his mind than just a quiet night in and a home cooked meal.

Chae didn’t need to think too hard about it before he – in his best attempt at appearing cool and unbothered – replied with a casual, “Okay. Give me your phone,” and held out his hand to take Reza’s phone so he could type in his address. He really was very close to his flat, less than a five minute walk, pretty much all that needed to be done was walk across the street and make a right at the corner and they’d be there, putting his address in at this point wasn’t entirely needed now that he knew where he was but he did it anyway. Maybe he wanted Reza to know his address. He held the phone back for Reza to take, still managing to keep his expression flat, it helped he was wearing the face mask on the lower half of his face so didn’t give away the fact he was gnawing on the inside of his lower lip. 

“I guess we should walk close to each other,” he said in what he hoped was an aloof tone, “because the fog is so thick,” he added on, “we could easily get separated.” The over detail and explanation an indication to his nerves.

[wordsmithings]

“Huh. Must be tough havin’ to deal with all that on your own growin’ up.” Reza didn’t know much about Chae’s family, but he imagined it would be difficult for any child having to deal with all those allergies and then some. “How severe are your allergies, by the way? Do I need to be prepared for anythin'?” Magic shouldn’t be an issue since he didn’t use them anyway, but he figured he should prepare himself in case the worst scenario happened when he was with Chae.

Reza looked away, pressing his lips together trying to suppress the laughter that bubbled in his throat. Chae looked like he was ready to slice his throat with that peeler he was holding, but despite the evident threat to his life, Reza couldn’t help but tease him a little bit more. It wouldn’t be so bad going out that way, and ‘death by potato peeler’ would be funny to write on his tombstone. “Oh, but I like stayin’ with you more, pretty. So I guess you’ll just have to put up with my silly smirk for now.” He couldn’t hide the wide grin anymore, wiggling his brows at Chae.

“Not even some porn on your laptop?” Reza raised his brow, wondering if Chae truly didn’t have anything to hide. “Or maybe an Only Fans account that subscribes to some kinky shit?” Well, he supposed that was quite a reach for someone like Chae, but it was fun to tease him about these things. He always had the best expressions. All flushed and innocent. It made him want to devour him right then and there.

Reza smiled when Chae vehemently denied it despite the obvious flushed cheeks. He couldn’t help but let his eyes linger to the other’s neck and collarbone, letting his mind imagine how flushed the skin underneath Chae’s clothes were. “Thanks for the help.” Reza moved behind Chae, wrapping his arm around his waist and planting a kiss on his nape before moving away. “Why don’t you take a seat, it’ll be done in a minute.” Reza grabbed the skillet and started heating the olive oil over medium heat before adding onion, bell pepper, and garlic into the pan. Once the onion started to soften, he added ground beef into the skillet, stirring it until it turned completely brown before adding the rest of the ingredients, seasoning it with sugar and salt before covering the skillet and let it cooked under low heat for about 5 to 10 minutes.

The delicious smell wafted through the whole apartment as he cooked, more so once the lid was removed. Reza grabbed a spoon and tasted the picadillo, nodding to himself with a satisfied smile at the result. “Here, have a taste.” He scooped some into a small bowl and gave it to Chae, looking expectant. “Does it taste alright for you?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Chae confirmed with a nod that it was a pollen allergy, at least it sounded right, more right than grass allergy did. “Mm, no, just me,” another reason he’d always been viewed as weak. 

Chae had a feeling that Reza was teasing him, the opposite of what he wanted. Edges of his lips pulled deeply downward and he stared hard at the potatoes as he peeled them, “Maybe you will. Guess then you'd leave too and then I'll be free of that silly smirk,” he replied indignantly, teasing back.

“I don’t have anything to hide,” he asserted lamely, “You’ll only be disappointed if you go snooping.” 

He moved to the side to give Reza some room when he came to assist with the peeling and Chae felt his stomach flip, partly because he’d been caught staring and partly because he didn’t mean to fall behind in his task so he quickly picked up the pace to peel the rest of the potatoes and began to chop them into the appropriate sizes, “I wasn’t stealing glances,” though the firm blush set across his cheeks was an indication otherwise. “I was just thinking that you looked so comfortable in the kitchen, that’s all.” A half truth. It had him curious however, that Reza mentioned being alone most of his life so had to learn how to cook for himself. He wanted to ask, naturally, but he didn’t, not wanting to delve into a potentially sensitive topic. “Potatoes are done,” he announced as he scooped up the peels and dumped them into the kitchen bin for food wastes.

[wordsmithings]

Reza’s eyes were glued to his phone, relying heavily on the GPS to navigate through the fog. He didn’t want to step out of his house if he could help it, but he was out of groceries for the week and was running low on his pack of cigarette. Not to mention he was getting bored out of his mind just staying indoors. The house had finished renovating early this year, so there was only so much project that he could do without having to go out to buy the supplies. They weren’t infinite, after all.

The fog, he found, was dense with magic. Spirits buzzing around him but he couldn’t hear them amidst the loud staticky noise that made his headache worsen. It wasn’t as dense as the circle that he jumped into at the Duck Pond (stupid mistake, that was), so it was bearable for the time being. He wished the noise cancelling headphone would at least reduce the noise, but like everything else, it was all a vain effort. Had he known this would be his life, he wouldn’t have fought so hard to live and made that offering to the spirits back then.

Returning with a bag of groceries in hand and a lit cigarette in his mouth, Reza once again focused on his GPS, which was why he didn’t realise there was someone else on the streets in front of him until he bumped into them. “Ack!” Cursed about to fly from his mouth as his body moved to catch whoever it was from falling, pulling them to him and wrapping his arm around their waist. “Well, well, well. Who do I have here?” Reza smiled when he recognised who it was. Suddenly the headache was well worth it. “Are you lost, pretty?”

Location: Somewhere On The Street With: @adimuses (Reza) Event: Fenrir Fog

The wall of fog was so dense that it was considerably difficult to see anything in front of the young male witch. If he outstretched his arms his fingertips were obscured from view by the fog, only really able to see clearly if something was just about a foot or two in front of him so he hadn't used his car, it would be much too dangerous trying to drive in this fog, so he'd just left it at the pub with plans on going back to get it once the fog cleared up but it didn't seem like that was happening any time soon.

He'd closed up the pub early and sent home all the staff, hardly anyone was coming out for such leisurely desires such as drinking when the whole city was covered in this thick fog. It was magic, his aversion to magic very much affected by this sudden change in environment but there was nothing he could do but be out in it, cloth face mask uselessly doing its best to filter out the traces of magic that hung heavily in the air. It clung to his lashes and felt like sandpaper but he trudged on walking, focusing on not walking into any poles or walls or other people -- not that there were very many out and about -- while he had his shoulders hunched up close to his ears and his hands shoved into his coat pockets, clutching the inhaler in his pocket in case he needed it suddenly.

Chae knew the way to walk to get back to his flat, or so he thought, this thick fog was making it harder to navigate and he couldn't remember with his head so dizzy whether or not he had made the right turn he needed to take. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger and looked down at his feet as he walked forward, glancing down only for a moment but considering how thick the fog was, it was just the right amount of time to almost bump into a body that seemingly came out from nowhere. He started, halting suddenly but falling forward and backward simultaneously as momentum willed him forward but his steps tried to pull him backward to avoid a collision.

[wordsmithings]

“Well, yes and no.” Reza shifted the grocery bag in his hand, mulling over his words. Should he tell Chae what happened from the beginning? But that would be too depressing and might kill the mood he was hoping to set. And what if Chae began to look at him differently? It would be the most natural reaction to have no matter how much Chae tried to deny it. The only reason he was able to be so nonchalant about it was only because he was used to it that it didn’t phase him anymore. “I can use magic to heal myself, but that’s pretty much about it.” He decided to tell Chae about his current situation without delving into his past, since he couldn’t really say no to that pretty face of his. “My father, he was an amazin’ healer you see. So, he drilled these spells and rituals into me that they feel like second nature to me even now. But when I try to use other type of magic it’ll blow up in my face. Literally.” It would also shorten his lifespan every time he used magic, but Chae didn’t need to know that.

“Because they make your allergy worsen?” Reza tilted his head, before nodding his head in understanding. “I can’t talk to spirits either. They all sound like staticky noise to me. And bein’ in a space that has too many of ‘em makes my head hurts.” Which was why he hated walking around in this magically dense fog. He could hear them buzzing around them, and he wished he had a way to plug the noise out. “Hmm, and that’s why she always tries to stick her nose up in everybody’s business. She has that saviour complex, that woman.”

Reza shifted the grocery bag once again, darting his eyes to the content inside. “Well, just your regular grocery stuff. Some potatoes, olives, tomatoes, ground beef, and some other stuff. I was thinkin’ of making picadillo this weekend. And maybe some empanadas with the leftovers.” He turned his gaze to Chae. “Maybe I could make them at your place? How are you with Mexican food?” The preparation shouldn’t take too long, so they should be able to enjoy picadillo at the very least. Of course, if Chae wanted to eat his soondubu soup there was nothing Reza could do about it.

“So no one special, then?” Reza took the phone and pocketed it in his jeans, his lips curled into a smile at the question, wondering when Chae managed to be so cheeky. But he was enjoying this side of Chae too, the smile on his lips grew mischievous as he closed the distance between them. “Can’t say that I wasn’t, pretty.” He wrapped his free arm around Chae’s waist, pulling him towards Reza. “There’s that pretty face that I like.” He leaned in, debating whether he should kiss the man or not before deciding to peck Chae’s cheek instead and release his grip. “So which floor are you again?”

Chae looked over at Reza with a muted expression of surprise. “You can’t use magic? Does it hurt you?” He suddenly had a flurry of questions that he wanted to ask but he bit them all back, not wanting to overwhelm him. Chae could understand not wanting to talk about it, it was a particularly sensitive topic, at least for him, because as much as he tried to remain positive about his situation and not let the burden of his aversion to magic weigh him down and prevent him from living his life, it was ultimately incurable, a fact that his family was trying to keep from him but he’d long ago figured it out. Curses all required magic to lift. 

“I can’t talk to the spirits,” he shook his head slightly, “and they actually…don’t help either.” He didn’t want to say they made it worse but they certainly didn’t help. Spirits were part magic and when they hung around in thick throngs or around other witches it often made it difficult to breathe just like now. Chae smiled a little bit, though it was concealed by the face mask, “Yeah, I think it’s how she knows so much.” 

“Mm, it’s good with rice and honestly, will be good with anything. What did you buy?” Chae asked Reza now, indicating toward the grocery bag he had with him. An obvious brightness entered his eyes when the other man suggested they could have steak some other time and he responded maybe a bit too eagerly, “Yes, that sounds good,” and then proceeded to lead Reza toward his building so they could enter while he answered the question of whether he’d invited anyone to his home. “Ah,” his brows furrowed slightly while he released his hold of Reza’s hand, stretching his fingers slightly and then awkwardly shuffling the phone he’d been holding with his other hand and handed it over so that Reza could take it back. They were about to walk inside so no longer needed the phone’s GPS, nor did they need to continue holding hands, and neither did Chae need the face mask. “I’ve had some of my employees over to drink and play card games,” he said as he entered in the door code and then pushed the door open and waited for Reza to follow through. Once inside, Chae removed the face mask and tucked it into his coat pocket and then dared to be a little cheeky by asking, "Were you hoping to be the only one?"

[wordsmithings]

Reza looked down at their interlaced hands, brows furrowing slightly when he felt the tight squeeze, wondering if he was pushing too far with his question. He supposed anyone would be anxious when asked about their condition. Not everyone was able to brush it off like he did when asked. So he squeezed Chae’s hand back, thinking that it might reassure the other that he was simply curious about Chae and wasn’t prodding to use his medical condition for his own advantage. That wasn’t how he operated, anyway. Besides, he wasn’t someone important to do such a thing anyway.

He pursed his lips when Chae explained his circumstances, trying to relate with his own situation. “I think can sort of understand what you’re goin’ through since I’m somewhat in a similar situation with you, though I can’t say my case is as severe.” He shrugged. Though the spirits often retaliated whenever he tried to use magic or receive magic from others, at least he didn’t need to take medicine, not unless the spirits were buzzing too much that it cause him headache, like it had whenever he walked around in this God forsaken fog. So he’d be fine so long as he was careful. “Are you still able to communicate with the spirits? Not like, to use magic, but just… talk to them.” He tried to gesture with his hand, proving it was difficult when both hands are occupied. “Helia sometimes does that, you know. I think the spirits bitch about us to her. What tattle tale, amirite?”

He clicked his tongue, pursing his lips as he tilted his head side to side. “Well, I don’t usually eat steak, so no I didn’t buy any. But now that I know that you want to eat it, I want to make it for you.” He wondered if it was possible to buy it right now. It wasn’t often that he cooked for someone else, Helia being the usual guest at his house, so it wasn’t surprising that he wanted to impress the other. He also had other reasons for wanting to impress Chae, but that was besides the point. “Yeah, I could eat them. I’m not picky.” He had preferences, of course, but he rarely ever picked on his food, having grown up the way he did had him wolf down everything in front of him. “What sort of dish you usually eat with the soup? Maybe I can cook something to accompany it. I’ll cook your steak some other time.” He smiled at the promise of a next time, somewhere other than the Little Duck for them to meet. “Maybe we can have steak when you visit my place, hm.”

Reza’s gaze followed where Chae was pointed, or trying to point anyway, but he couldn’t see past a few feet in front of him. “Have you ever invited anyone to your home?” He turned to Chae, giving up on trying to assess the exterior of the apartment complex when all he could see was thick fog. “Other than me, that is.”

Chae walked stiffly at first, an obvious tension in his shoulders and neck and in the tight squeeze he maintained on Reza’s hand though he was doing his best to pretend he was entirely calm, he wasn’t, made even more obvious when Reza questioned him about his aversion to magic and it made Chae’s dark brown eyes dart over at the other man quickly before looking back down at the screen and then in front of him to make sure he didn’t walk into anything, like a pole. He side stepped to avoid the pole, brushing his arm against the side of Reza’s in the process. “Yes, that’s basically it,” he responded, “It makes it hard to breathe sometimes.” He paused momentarily walking, focused on the screen and then gestured with the hand that was holding Reza’s that they needed to turn right around here and then continued on walking. “I can’t use magic or it gets worse. I can’t have magic used on me or it gets worse. Magic around me is hard but manageable.” There was unfortunately ambient magic and spirits everywhere, especially in a town like this that was so heavily populated by witches and werewolves, magic clung to the air like dust and there wasn’t a day that it didn’t agitate his throat. “But I have tablets and some medicine to help,” he added on quickly because he didn’t want Reza thinking he was entirely weak and useless even though he often felt like he was. It wasn’t something that he wanted to define him and did his best not to let his allergies hinder him. 

“Ah… any meat is fine,” Chae elaborated vaguely, his own brows furrowing out of his own nervousness and he had to remind himself to smooth them out, with the mask on concealing the lower half of his face if he furrowed his brows it could easily look like he was angry when he wasn’t. “I was thinking steak,” now remembering the word for it, “but I’m not very picky and I don’t have any so if you didn’t buy any then…” he let his words fall into silent suggestion, the obvious follow through meaning that if Reza didn’t have any steak in his grocery shop then they couldn’t very well have that for dinner. It wasn’t often that he ate steak so he occasionally had a craving for it. “I usually cook,” a beat later, “I have some leftover soondubu soup if you want some,” a nervous offering full of an awkward hopefulness that Reza might like something he had made, “It’s like a… spicy tofu soup. Do you like spicy food?” He asked, glancing over toward the other man with an eager look in his eyes. 

“That’s my building,” he gestured once more with their joined hands, pointing with his index finger at the hazy looking apartment building on their right. He’d just need to enter the door code to unlock the door and they could walk up the stairs to his loft. “I’m on the third floor.”

[wordsmithings]

“Huh.” Reza tilted his head, brows furrowing slightly at the explanation. It had never occurred to him that the reason could be related to Chae’s magic, seeing that Chae didn’t show any adverse to magic thus far. Then again, they were never in a situation where it was required for Chae to use his magic, and the fog was an exception. “I guess I’m not the only one’s affected by the fog.” He couldn’t help but smile, finding camaraderie in their shared misery. “How does it work, then? Your allergy.” He grew curious about Chae’s allergy, though one could say he was curious about Chae as a whole. “I’m assumin’ it’s because of the air you breathe? The more spirits around you, the denser the magic is in the air. It’s why you’re wearin’ the mask, right?”

It was funny how the same situation would affect them differently. But Reza’s attention quickly shifted from his curiosity about Chae’s ailment to the minute changes he could see on his face. Well, part of his face, anyway. The pretty part. Oh, but everything about Chae is pretty so he could hardly choose his favourite. Reza smiled once his mind settled on the thought, and continued to watch Chae as they walked through the thick fog, hand in hand with Chae leading him to his home.

“Meat?” Reza raised his brows at the curt answer, then furrowing them together. “Like grilled meat? On a barbecue grill” He pursed his lips and hummed to himself, imagining the thick slice of meat sizzling on the hot grill. “Or are you thinkin’ about those sliced meat you grill at those Korean BBQ shop?” That actually sounded tasty, and he was overcome with a sudden craving for it before he brushed it off. He was also imagining kebabs, which, given the things he bought, should be doable. He wasn’t sure what Chae had stocked at his home, after all, so he was coming up with a few recipes that he could fall onto once they arrived there. “Do you usually cook for yourself, or do you order takeout?” Reza couldn’t help but ask. It would give him an idea how well stocked Chae’s pantry would be. He could always make do with what he had bought, of course, but he wanted to impress Chae with his cooking, so having enough ingredient was essential for his goal.

Chae had almost forgotten that he’d been wearing the face mask until Reza pointed it out, he was so used to wearing it while outside that it was comfortable and felt second nature to him. “Oh,” he lightly touched the side of the cloth that covered his cheek, unseen but he bit down on the inside of his lower lip as he considered how much he should tell, part of him strangely didn’t want Reza to know the truth because what if he thought differently about him, what if he thought he was weak, but the other more prevalent part of him couldn’t be dishonest and so it was with as light a tone as he could manage that he explained, “I’m allergic to magic. The fog is really densely packed with it so this helps,” not entirely, he’d also had to take an allergy tablet and it still didn’t block out all the side effects but it was better. 

He didn’t want to linger on it, eager to get out of the fog for one and not wanting to wallow in his ailment when there was nothing to be done about it, so he put on his brave face that he often gave to his parents and his doctors to reassure them that he was perfectly fine but that brave face quickly turned to shock when the cool touch of Reza’s fingers interlaced between his own. Then butterflies erupted in his gut, fluttering around chaotically as he watched while lips pressed over the rise of pale knuckles. Was it Reza or the fog that was making him feel light-headed? Or maybe a combination of both. So much for appearing cool and unbothered.

Chae couldn’t yet speak, if he tried it would likely only come out as a jumble of incoherent noises. He had to take a moment to collect himself which was already difficult to do when around Reza before he could form any intelligent response and the only thing that came immediately to mind was to say, “Meat,” because he forgot the English word for steak. Then he had to mentally remind himself to start moving and do something otherwise he would have just remained standing there doing nothing but staring at Reza so he willed himself into action. First, he squeezed his fingers between Reza’s, tightening until there was a firm hold because he feared that if he didn’t so that that the other man might pull his hand away and that was something Chae didn’t want, even if he couldn’t vocalize it. The second thing he had to remind himself how to do was walk, he stepped sideways first, awkwardly, then glanced down at the illuminated screen and began to walk in the direction that would lead them to his flat and all the while his mind raced and beneath the face mask his cheeks burned so intensely he felt they might burn through the fabric.

[wordsmithings]

“Right you are.” Reza loosened his arm around Chae’s waist but didn’t let him go. It wasn’t often opportunity presented itself, after all, so he should take advantage of it as much as he could. Besides, If Chae didn’t like it, he could very well push him away. It wasn’t as if Reza had trapped him with no means of escaping, after all. “I guess that’s just my wishful thinkin’ so I can be your knight in shinin’ armour and swoop you off your feet to save you.” Well, Reza never imagined himself being a knight of any kind, since he had never been chivalrous all his life. But he could pretend to be one if it meant impressing Chae.

He had to release Chae from his embrace – an unfortunate thing, really – to type in on his phone, shifting the weight of his grocery on his other arm. “Well, the florist is actually on your left.” He nudged his head towards the general direction of where his GPS had shown him. “You’ve been goin’ to the opposite direction, pretty. Or maybe the fog made you go round in circles without you knowin’. It’s pretty easy to get lost inside here.” Reza showed the screen of his phone to Chae. “If you type in your address, I can take you home. And maybe a little bit of company for the evening?” The grin on his lips turned just a tad mischievous. He hadn’t planned on going anywhere other than home and cook himself a hearty meal, but as he told himself: he should always turn misfortunes into opportunities whenever he could, and this was one of such instances. “What do you say, pretty? I can cook us somethin’ nice too while I’m at it. Just got back from buyin’ groceries, myself.”

Arms came up to wrap around his middle to keep him from falling backwards or forwards, while his own hands tugged out of his coat pocket as quickly as he could, fingers pinching the sides of fabric on either side of the sturdy body to stabilize himself. “Oh,” if the face mask wasn’t covering the lower half of his face, a pale flush would have started to creep over his cheeks but since it was concealed it would remain unseen and only the surprise at having stumbled quite literally into Reza’s arms could be seen in his ever expressive eyes. The young witch male couldn’t help but be reminded of the last time they were this close to each other, knees knocking into each other as they sat at the bar, the cool touch of Reza’s fingers against his inflamed cheek and along his jawline and the soft yet urgent press of lips against his own. 

Chae blinked rapidly, a bit too stunned and caught off guard to try and move away, body went into frozen mode like a deer in headlights, “I’m not lost,” he responded back as quickly as he could once he realized he’d been staring silently for some time. Then a beat later, “I might… be a little disoriented but I’m not lost. I know where I am.” His eyes glanced away from Reza’s face to try and spot a landmark but the fog was so thick that he saw nothing around them other than the wall of white fog, it felt very much like they were entrapped in a very small white box that circled them, nothing else visible around them. It was a strange feeling, knowing that there must be something out there but not being able to actually see it, relying entirely on faith that you hadn’t just been suddenly transported to an entirely different realm, that the ground beneath you still belonged to the same path you walked on almost daily. “I might be close to my flat if the florist is to my right,” but he couldn’t be sure.