His shoulders came up, and his hands fisted on the counter’s surface, his normally bright mood overshadowed by human bullies, and Wash’s refusal to say they were together in front of his brother. His wings drooped. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea for Peri to come along on this retreat. He’d been a lot happier in his apartment that morning.
Wash’s hands settled on either side of the counter by Peri’s hips, his presence warm against Peri’s back without getting so close that he’d hurt Peri’s wings. When Wash rested his forehead against Peri’s shoulder, Peri’s shoulders came down, giving him more room.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lost my temper,” Wash murmured. “I saw him flirting with you, and I just… snapped.”
“I don’t mind that part,” Peri whispered back. He liked the possessiveness. It made him feel wanted.
“Tell me what I said to upset you, then,” Wash cajoled. “I know I did. Your light got all dim when we were at lunch.”
Peri busied his hands with measuring ingredients, pretending he was too busy to answer. He didn’t want to talk about it. If they did, then Peri would have to admit he didn’t have a chance. Wash wasn’t going to keep him. He’d never agreed to a relationship. He’d offered to take care of Peri’s needs. It was just sex. Nothing more.
Wash’s hands moved to his hips, making Peri’s movements slow. Then, very deliberately, he pressed himself fully against Peri’s back, gently enough to not risk hurting Peri’s wings. The warmth and pressure made Peri gasp, tingles sweeping throughhis body at the foreign sensation. It was rare that anything touched Peri’s wings. He slept on his belly, stood in a corner on trains, and used a magic charm in the winter to protect his wings from the cold. And he never had people touch them. He had never trusted anyone enough to allow them to touch. That his first instinct was to lean into Wash’s warmth told him just how smitten he was with the demon. He knew Wash would never hurt him.
“Talk to me, baby. Tell me what I did wrong so I can fix it.”
Ugh, the pet names. Peri didn’t stand a chance against the pet names. He melted, tipping his head to the side when Wash pressed kisses against his shoulder and neck. “I… I don’t have a good reason to be upset. We never said we were dating or anything. If you don’t want your brother to know about us–”
Wash lifted his head, his frown pronounced with the way his brows were furrowed. “Hold on. What? I don’t care if Elijah knows about us. When did I say I did?”
Peri lifted a shoulder awkwardly. “I mean, you didn’t say anything, but when Elijah asked why Taron picked us both up from my apartment, you told him you were just bringing me coffee. It was obvious he assumed there was more, but you didn’t say anything else. You kind of shut him down. It sounded like you were saying there was nothing between us.” He dropped his gaze to the counter, running his fingers through the flour that had spilled when Wash had dragged him possessively away from the human. Peri hadn’t even noticed the flirting for what it was until Wash got all growly like that. Why did he have to be so cute protecting him like that if he wasn’t going to claim him?
Wash didn’t reply right away, and when Peri looked over his shoulder to better gauge what he was thinking, he looked confused.
“What?” Peri asked with a frown.
“I don’t remember that. I wasn’t really paying attention. I just answered automatically.”
Peri’s mouth fell open, eyes wide. “Wait. What?”
Wash shrugged, looking a little uncomfortable when he admitted, “Elijah made it clear that he didn’t want me interfering with his life. I try to keep my distance. The only reason I was anywhere near him was because you were there.”
Peri’s brows snapped together. He hadn’t gotten that impression from Elijah. If anything, Elijah looked heartbroken every time Wash shut him down. He got the feeling he was missing part of the puzzle, and until he understood more, he needed to tread more carefully. Misunderstandings were bound to happen if neither of them understood the other.
Wash continued, not noticing Peri’s confusion. “Me keeping things brief had nothing to do with you. I’ve got no interest in hiding. But you’re right that we never discussed it. I probably would’ve kept my mouth shut anyway because of that. I wouldn’t want you to feel obligated to be with me just because I said something.”
That startled Peri enough that he wanted to turn around. He would’ve if Wash wasn’t pressed so securely against his back. He wiggled a little, but unless he wanted to hurt himself, he’d have to tell Wash to back up first, and he wasn’t willing to do that when Wash obviously needed to be close.
With a put upon sigh, Peri gave Wash his most stern expression over his shoulder, which probably didn’t amount to much when Wash could only see half his face.
“Of course I wouldn’t feel obligated! I’d be happy to call you my boyfriend!” He felt his face heat as he quietly admitted, “I just didn’t know if you felt the same way.”
Wash huffed, squeezing Peri’s hips gently. “Apparently we need to work on our communication.”
Peri pursed his lips playfully. “I don’t know what you mean. I’m an excellent communicator.”
There. The smile that Peri worked so hard to earn finally peeked out as Wash chuckled, pressing a kiss against Peri’s shoulder. The last of the tension in Peri’s chest settled, and he nuzzled Wash’s jaw with a smile.
“So… Boyfriends?” he asked hopefully.
Wash hummed in agreement. “Mm. I’m fine with that. Just don’t expect me to get all chatty about it at work. I prefer to keep my private life private. A task made difficult with nosy colleagues and Taron at the helm.”
Peri could accept that. He didn’t want to change Wash, after all. He liked him just as he was, grumpy moods and all.
Twenty-One
If Peri had his way, he would have dragged Wash up to their room–because yes, they were totally sharing a room now that they were official boyfriends– and celebrated their new status in as many pleasurable ways he could think of. But not only was Wash expected in at least one meeting today, he was also in the middle of baking, and he didn’t want Tony to have to wait just because Peri wanted sex.
To his surprise and great delight, Wash took over helping him after he was sure Peri felt better. Watching his grumpy demon carefully measure out ingredients and fill the cupcake pan with little paper cups made Peri’s heart want to burst out of his chest. If Wash wasn’t careful, Peri was going to keep him forever. None of his exes had ever bothered to bake with him before.