The following day, Augustus woke up late - he couldn't get a good night's sleep with all those Lucas-induced stress dreams. Somehow this man managed to be even more annoying than usual and gave him constant headaches, both figuratively and literally. He spent the rest of yesterday's evening following Lucas around and listening to all his conversations to make sure he didn't tell anyone about their situation, which was exhausting. Lucas, on the other hand, found it hilarious and didn't mind the company.
Augustus made himself an americano with extra sugar, hoping it might energize him for the day. Ashley left for a day trip to the city with friends early in the morning. He was home alone, enjoying the peace and quiet, or so he thought.
"So, celestial union, huh?"
Augustus almost dropped his coffee, startled by Lucas's voice. He turned around to see the man standing at the kitchen door. Lucas was wearing a red suit with a black shirt, which was contracting against the light interior of the house. Augustus thought, 'how didn't I see him coming?'
He cleared his throat and fixed his composure.
"Don't get ahead of yourself - I haven't consented to anything yet. Talking about consent, why are you breaking into my house again?"
"Oh, I didn't break in this time - Ashley let me in before leaving. It was a very silent exchange."
"Couldn't you just arrange a meeting through my assistant or at least write me up beforehand?"
"I thought I wasn't supposed to meet you in public," Lucas said with an innocent look on his face. "I also guessed that you might want to discuss this in private."
He took his blazer off and rolled up the right shirt sleeve, showing the two very distinct scars.
"These are pretty ugly," Augustus concluded, taking a sip of his strong, sugary coffee. He didn't like the taste and just put the cup back on the counter.
"Yep, and I frankly even like them a bit. Adds to the character, you know? However, just like I said yesterday, it is important to be honest with one's fated mate. Are you up for a quick confession?"
"I think I need something stronger than coffee for this one," Augustus sighed.
"Let's fetch you something to drink then, and I'll take your coffee if you don't mind."
Before Augustus could even process what he meant by this, Lucas moved to the counter and took his cup. Standing less than half an arm away from the other man, Lucas made a sip.
"Sweet," he concluded with a smile.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Checking what kind of coffee you like."
"Well, good luck with that. I didn't like this one."
"Not bitter enough for you?"
Augustus let out a deep sigh and rolled his eyes.
"Why do you even care?"
"I like preparing breakfast for my partners in the morning," Lucas shrugged with a warm, naive smile.
Augustus didn't say anything to that and just went straight to the living room, ignoring the other's presence. He didn't want to drink anything with alcohol in it so early in the day but felt like it was ironically the only way of keeping his sanity with Lucas around.
"Alright, let's hear your confessions," Augustus said, pouring himself some red wine and sitting down on the sofa.
"Forgive me, father, for I have sinned… or is 'daddy' better?"
"I would roll my eyes but I'm afraid I'll damage the nerves if I do that any more often," the man replied, taking a big gulp of wine.
"Oh no, I still need you in great health," Lucas replied, sitting down on the other end of the sofa and filling up a glass for himself. "Anyways, I got this big scar a day after the Red Moon. I went to the city hoping to find an astral spellcaster or someone who knows one, had a few too many shots, and hooked up with a witch only to find out she had aerial magic."
Augustus chuckled, almost spilling the wine. He looked at Lucas with ridicule and slight disbelief on his face as if to say "are you really that stupid or just pretending?"
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Lucas replied to that silent question, turning his eyes away from Augustus. The latter couldn't hold in laughter - just a thought that an adult werewolf who lived in Lakewood for any noticeable time, much less an alpha, could make such an elementary mistake was too funny for him.
"At least it seems to be working," Augustus said after he stopped laughing. He pointed at Lucas's forearm which had a scar less.
"Good. Now, to the least pleasant part," Lucas turned back to Augustus, who immediately stopped smiling, and looked him in the eyes.
"I'm really sorry for the whole situation with Ashley. I didn't mean to hurt her like that, I just wasn't thinking of the impact my words and actions had on her. I've apologized to her yesterday and we seem to come to… an agreement. And I want you to know that we've never gone farther than making out."
"If Ashley is fine with that," Augustus sighed, "I guess I'm fine with it too."
It wasn't that he actually was willing to forget about it, but there simply was no point to hold on to that anymore. Ashley wanted to move on from this unfortunate little affair, and the memory of it could only be an obstacle in his plans.
"Great, thanks," Lucas beamed, looking at the scar fading away. "Now we can get to the discussion of the celestial union ceremony."
"No, don't even think of that. I am not going to partake in that."
"Weren't you the one who approached me with a "deal?"
"Yes, but I had different conditions. I don't want to be in any kind of a union with you, much less celestial. Do you even understand what that is?"
"I would, but no one wants to elaborate on things! I'm sorry I don't know everything about werewolf dating," Lucas got irritated.
"Then you should go search it up before approaching me with such matters," Augustus said calmly, pouring himself another glass.
"Can you at least tell me where to look for it? I can't exactly look it up online."
"Witches. They keep a record of everything."
"That's a stereotype, but I'm still going to follow that lead since I don't have any other," Lucas sighed, standing up from the couch.
"Go, I promise not to miss you," Augustus gave him a half-smile and gestured toward the door. Lucas didn't seem pleased but left nevertheless.
Now that the source of annoyance was gone, Augustus could finally get back to work - he brought the archive articles home and wanted to get into that matter.