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Elias gives Caelan a sardonic look. “If you didn’t slash them in half, they might last longer.” It sounds distinctly like there’s a story behind that statement.
“Why?” I ask, amused. The question is directed at Caelan, asking why he’d stab a plant.
“Look, I was just testing out the sharpness of a new dagger I got, and the plant was the nearest sturdy thing to see if it’d slice through,” Caelan grumbles. “It’s notweird.”
That only makes me giggle harder.
“In any case,” Elias says smoothly, attempting to keep our conversation on track. It’s a task that’s like herding cats sometimes. “Why don’t you two get dressed, we’ll arrange some breakfast, then we can go and do that. Yes?”
“Sounds good.” I swing my legs off the bed and stand to kiss him.
It was only meant to be a quick kiss, but I’m far too easily distracted. All it takes is his lips moving against mine to make me feel weak. His hands wrap around my waist, and I’m suddenly acutely aware that all I’m wearing is a towel.
I sigh as Elias’ tongue strokes inside my mouth, tasting me. My hands slide up his back, clinging tighter to him as my body presses up against his.
He laughs softly as he breaks away from the kiss. “Go and get dressed then, dear.”
He knows he’s left me all flustered already. My face is warm and cheeks stained red as I duck my head, stepping across the hallway to my room.
Grabbing my clothes, I get changed—jeans and a turtleneck, which is necessary to cover the marks on my neck. Caelan dresses too, and we head down to the kitchen together.
There’s not much in the way of food. They don’t really need it, after all, but Caelan’s stocked up with bacon, and that’s a perfectly acceptable breakfast as far as I’m concerned. Elias suggests that we also do some proper food shopping while we’re out if I’m going to be spending any time here. Elias doesn’t tend to eat often, and while Caelan does enjoy food far more, he doesn’t have anything healthy available. Elias insists I should at least be able to take care of myself properly while I’m with them.
Considering the other option is subsisting on bacon and gummy worms, I’m happy to agree.
After a moment’s discussion, mainly consisting of why followed by why not, it’s decided that we’ll drive. Despite the extra time it’ll take, Elias says their only purpose today is to spend time with me, and the journey is a pleasant excuse to just sit and talk.
At least until Caelan gets hold of the radio, and journey devolves into a personal concert, but that’s another matter. Elias sings for me and invites me into a duet, and I’m simultaneously flustered and beaming.
We end up at a large retail park, with multiple homeware stores and other big box chains. There’s no goal in mind. We simply gravitate toward anything that catches our fancy.
In a smaller, more eclectic store, Caelan finds what appears to be a baby shark preserved in a jar of formaldehyde, which he crows over as being badass. I hope it isn’t real.
That’s the first purchase for the day. “I see we’re off to a fabulous start,” Elias comments dryly, and I grin.
But aside from that, it’s a relatively normal trip. The bigger stores are full of furniture, do-it-yourself equipment I have no use for, and smaller homewares and accessories I don’t need but could potentially find a use for. Caelan and I take great delight in finding the weirder items around. A hanging dryer with eight curled spokes and eyes on it to make it look like an octopus, and a dartboard masquerading as a formal painting which is rejected by Elias.
“Absolutely not, we do not need to encourage Caelan to be throwing sharp objects around.”
They make some actual purchases too. Elias finds a selection of desk organizers and folders he deems useful, and Caelan vanishes for a suspiciously long time before I find him in the kitchen section with two knives he’s decided are pretty and sturdy enough to want.
It’s nice, wandering around with them through the displays, but something about it doesn’t sit quite right. It’stoonice. Too domestic. I glance at Elias, and even in his glamour, looking entirely human for all the world, he seems out of place.
“I’m sorry,” I murmur, keeping my voice down so the other shoppers around can’t hear us.
Elias glances at me in surprise. “What for?”
“This must be so… human.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“I don’t know. You tell me.” I pause. “You just didn’t look comfortable, that’s all.”
He chuckles and kisses my forehead. “Perhaps. It’s certainly very different to what I’m familiar with. Caelan often informs me that I need to take time off to relax, to ‘take the stick out of my ass,’ as he so eloquently puts it, but it’s not something that comes entirely naturally just yet.”
I give Elias a suspicious squint. “That’s it? You’re just not used to relaxing?”
He only hums affirmatively in response.
