Vaerion didn't ask for help putting his pants on despite his claims.
Asuriel sat on the coffee table in his office, legs crossed, as she watched him change. She hummed quietly, her eyes shamelessly taking in the sight of him. He stepped into each leg with smooth movements, the pantlegs of his black chinos hugging his thighs and waist in the most flattering way.
Although he was facing away from her, he could still see her in the mirror behind him. He caught her eyes in the reflection and served a cocky smile, "Enjoying yourself?"
"I got excited because I thought you would need my help," she sighed. "But all I've gotten to do is watch."
"I was going to let you see my tattoos since you asked this morning," Vaerion turned to face her, shrugging his shirt off after unbuttoning it and tossing it to the side. He walked up to where she sat on the table and stood before her. "Well? Go on, inspect them. I have some on my back as well."
Asuriel looked up at him and smiled. His tattoos were almost all styled similarly to his runes, but a few stood out. A couple of roses had thorny stems visible, tastefully engulfed in the infernal markings. They ran down his left arm, merging with his natural marks to create a sleeve.
She stood up and ran her hand across his chest, her touch light and featherlike. Beneath the tattoos were several deep, long scars, and more were on his flank.
Without prompting, Vaerion turned so she could see his back. Asuriel's eyes roved over his muscular, inked shoulder blades. The tattoos were similar to the rest, with infernal swirls and marks entwining with one another. Again, though, his skin was marred by the aftermath of many battles.
Or… at least, that's what Asuriel assumed. She didn't know where he could get so many slash and stab marks if not in the heat of war.
"They're from battle," his voice pulled her from his thoughts. Vaerion turned back to face her, eyes full of amusement. "I don't need to read your thoughts to feel your eyes on the scars."
"I see," she nodded, appreciative of his explanation. It still surprised her how open he was with her. "Your tattoos and scars are beautiful. I like them."
"You'll be seeing them more often." Vaerion took a few steps away from her again, grabbing a black silk dress shirt that matched her dress. He put his arms through the sleeves and returned to stand before her. "Button it up."
Asuriel obliged, grabbing the bottom of his shirt and threading the buttons through their holes. She was dextrous, making the task quick, but she wasn't so eager to let him go yet. When she neared his collar, she left several top buttons loose so his chest tattoos and collarbones could be visible.
Then, she noticed he had a few thin gold chains around his neck, practically begging her to grab them – so she succumbed to her thoughts. She tentatively wrapped a few of her fingers around the cool metal and tugged gently, which made Vaerion lean forward.
He smiled at her, his minty breath warm against her face, "So, dove, are you ready to eat?"
Asuriel tugged once more, which brought his face directly to hers. She rested her forehead against his, their lips centimeters apart, "Yeah, let's eat."
She released his necklace before he could respond and turned to the door. His brows furrowed, and he donned a displeased expression but didn't bother to voice his thoughts. He knew Asuriel had teased him on purpose.
Vaerion's face quickly returned to its usual aloof and disinterested state. He followed her out the door, and they made their way to the car garage.
—
Darion leaned against Vaerion's car with his eyes closed as he begrudgingly listened to his brother's incessant complaining on the phone.
"They didn't have fucking oranges!" Kaine grumbled. "None of the grocery stores had oranges – apparently, there's an outage or some shit. I've checked every supermarket and grocer in town, and I don't know what the deal is, but I haven't found any! Not a single orange!"
The silver-haired demon sighed. "You better figure it out. Master isn't going to let another disappointment slide. Losing your other horn over some fruit would be a shame."
"Darion, don't even say that!" Kaine lamented. "I swear, that bitch is crazy! Do you think she did it on purpose?"
Unfortunately, just as Kaine spoke those words, the elevator doors opened in the garage to reveal Vaerion and Asuriel. Darion's face drained of color, and he opened his mouth to tell Kaine to shut up, but it was too late. The pair approached the demon, both now dressed to kill.
"Did he finally figure out there's no oranges anywhere?" Asuriel asked with a bemused smirk.
Kaine went silent on the other end of the line. Darion typically would have remained quiet, but something about Asuriel made him anxious, so he affirmed, "Yes… he did."
"He made pretty good time," the woman chuckled. "I'm impressed. Tell him to forget it; I'll text him what I actually want him to do. I just wanted to waste his time."
Although Vaerion didn't make a sound, there was an unmistakable twinkle of sadistic amusement in his golden eyes that Darion didn't miss.
Darion hesitantly spoke into his phone, "…did you hear that, Kaine?"
"Yeah," his twin replied bitterly and hung up without another word.
Vaerion's head tilted slightly as he addressed Darion, "So, Darion, have you made reservations?"
"I did, sir," was his dutiful reply. Darion opened the passenger-side door for Asuriel with a polite nod.
Asuriel looked between the two men, "What are we going to eat?"
"I decided to take us to one of my favorite little spots," Vaerion answered, sliding into the driver's side easily.
"Oh?" Asuriel sat and buckled herself, Darion closing the door gently behind her. She added thoughtfully, "You have a… peculiar palate, so I can't help but feel curious about what the food will be like."
"Trust me, little dove, you'll like the place," Vaerion said with a low chuckle. "And if you don't… well, I'll enjoy watching you pretend."