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Scott wasn't sure how to feel about modern markets. They were a lot less crowded then the ones he used to know, not that he had gone to those often, he had people to do that for him. Though he had been known to browse the stalls during festivals—if being dragged around by excited fledglings wanting trinkets and souvenirs could be considered browsing. He actually wasn't sure if he could even consider this a market. There was the typical wares—produce, meats, jewelry—but they were inside, not in an open plaza. The expected items were also intermixed with wares that one wouldn't find in the public market, but in their own shops, like clothing and medicines. It was a confusing mix to him, but Shelby had called it a "supermarket," so the meaning must have changed at some point.
He did have to admit, for having less people, the place was similarly as loud. He was starting to regret not grabbing the headphones his roommate had bought for him after the incident while clothes shopping. The voices of the various shoppers reverberating off the walls of the building was harsh on his sensitive hearing, it made him miss the open air of the past.
Unfortunately for him, he had grown tired of sitting in the apartment and Shelby needed to buy more food. Thankfully, he had remembered the sunglasses she also got him, helping to at least dull the extremely bright lights as he followed behind the girl, watching as she put another package of cookies into the cart. "Shelby, I know I'm by no means an expert on human diets—but I'm fairly certain you're supposed to eat something other than sweets."
"Ugh, you sound like my mom. " They groaned, "It's only two things of cookies!"
"And the other baked goods?"
"The muffins are for my breakfasts! Besides, why should you care? You're not going to eat any of it."
Scott smiles, dramatically leaning against her, "But then who will be my roommate when you perish from malnutrition!"
She giggled, playfully shoving the vampire off her, "You have a boyfriend. I'm sure he'd come live with you."
"How uncouth! Moving in together before it's even been a week! A without a chaperone no less! What would the papers say!?" He curled his hand into a fist, gripping his shirt above his unseating heart. He smiled as Shelby nearly doubled over laughing at his scandalized theatrics. He felt his shoulders relax a bit, he found the noise was easier to manage when he could focus on something familiar.
They keep up an idle conversation as they shop, Shelby eventually giving him the list they wrote so he has something to do. The two turned down another aisle, Shelby pulling over next to the shelves as she left Scott next to the cart to search for something farther down. He set the paper down as he waited, picking at his nails to pass the time. He was pulled from his thoughts about how he missed having claws by what sounded like another familiar voice in the distance. His ears twitched slightly as he listened, trying to catch the voice again.
Sure enough, Pyro could be heard among the ceaseless chatter in the building. He was talking to someone, though Scott couldn't make out exactly what. His ears flicked again as he gauged which direction the voices were coming from before wandering out of the aisle and farther into the store in search of his boyfriend.
As he gets closer, he can make out a part of the conversation between Pyro and the other person. They seem to be having an argument.
"Come on, please!" Pyro whined.
"No! Every time we get that stuff, you never finish it!" The unknown voice rebuffed, "I'm not paying for something you won’t eat. If you want it so bad, then you can get it next week when you buy groceries."
"You're so mean to me. Denying me my heritage. A taste of home."
"I'm not denying you shit, I'm just not paying for it."
"Please-"
"No."
It didn't take him very long to pinpoint where the two were with all the bickering. Vampires are natural hunters, after all. Finding things based off sound is something he excels at—even with all the extra noise. Scott rounded the corner, turning down the aisle to see Pyro facing away from him while a girl was aggressively placing a glass jar back on the shelf.
Neither noticed as he approached—he wasn't even trying to be stealthy, it was honestly kinda sad. Then again, one of the first things Pyro did after finding out he was a vampire was ask to be bitten. Not the greatest survival skills in that one, but they were cute—and tasty—so he'll let it slide. He stopped behind his boyfriend, leaning in as the two were still debating the various jars on the shelf—seriously at this point he was wondering if he had somehow regained his power to turn invisible and hadn't noticed.
"So…what are we arguing about?"
Scott had to stifle his laugh behind hand as Pyro jumped, "Holy fuck!" They spun on their heel, the anxiety and confusion in their eyes quickly becoming delighted as they saw who it was, "Scott!" They laughed as they pulled him into a hug, "You scared me, you jerk!"
"Sorry, it was just too perfect, I couldn't help myself." He chuckled, hugging back. He knows he just saw him a couple days ago, but he missed Pyro. And they were dating anyway, he was allowed to be clingy.
Pyro opened his mouth to retort when he was cut off by the girl he had been previously arguing with, "Well, I'm glad at least one of us knows this guy." Sarcasm dripped off her words as she glared at his boyfriend expectantly.
"Shit, right. You two haven't met yet, sorry." Pyro extracted themself from Scott’s arms—much to his displeasure—and turned to gesture towards the her, "Scott, this is Apo. I've told you about her before, she's my roommate in the dorms. And Apo, this is Scott. My boyfriend." He took Scott's hand as he finished the introductions as if he felt he needed to prove to his roommate that their relationship was real.
"Ohh, you're that Scott. The one I have to hear about constantly when my roommate is home." There is another glare directed at Pyro, though this time it's returned.
Scott gave a wry smile, "And you're the roommate who owns a snake but can't bring themself to feed it."
"So I don't want to touch a dead mouse! Sue me."
"Wait, it's already dead?" Scott tilted his head questioningly, "I thought it would be the squirming that be the issue, keeping a hold before-"
"Let's change the subject!" Pyro interjected, a nervous smile on their face and a wary one on Apo's—right, talking about murder was not a normal human conversation topic. He really is spoiled by having Shelby for a roommate, she usually just takes notes to use in her writing when he gets all morbid.
He's quick to slip on an embarrassed expression, "Oh- Sorry, I forget that's not…normal." He shares a glance with his boyfriend, both of them easily acting out the cover story that had been created for him. Of him having escaped a cult in order to explain his lack of modern knowledge.
The facade falls effortlessly from their lips as Pyro joins the charade, moving to place a hand on his arm in a comforting manner, "It's okay, you're still figuring it out."
"Yeah, it's fine," Apo joined in, looking thoroughly uncomfortable in the situation and convinced of the ruse, "Pyro told me a bit about your…situation. Just the basic stuff, but I got the gist."
Pyro mouthed a silent "Thank you," to them before turning back to him, "Speaking of still figuring things out, I know you didn't make it here by yourself. Where's Shelby?"
"Oh gods, I left Shelby," He whispered in horror. The embarrassment on Scott's face was no longer an act. He really did just walk off without telling her because he heard in boyfriend in the distance.
This time it was Pyro's turn to hide their laughter as they took out their phone, "Hold on, I'll text her where we are."
Scott leaned forward to hide his face in the crook of their neck in mortification, barely remembering to remove his sunglasses beforehand. Pyro just chuckled, patting his head sympathetically and shifting to wrap an arm around him. Apo asked something else—likely wanting to continue with their shopping now that the conversation had died off—though what she said, Scott wasn't sure. He was too distracted cuddling his boyfriend. It was really nice. Pyro's body was blocking the bright lights from his eyes while the sound of their heart beating in their chest and the low rumble of their voice gave his ears something to focus on. He took a deliberate breath, enjoying the way he smelled faintly of vanilla and wood smoke. Pyro said something in response to Apo and moved to try and reach for something on the shelf, much to Scott's displeasure. He grumbled in annoyance as he was dislodged and some of the light manages to slip into his hiding place.
Pyro freezes, giving Scott time to adjust until his vision was safely encased in darkness again. He can tell that his boyfriend is looking at him, hears the huff of amusement from him as he gets settled. He feels him briefly press a kiss to his hair before quietly teasing him, "I swear if you bite me, Scott…"
"Did you just say not to 'bite' you?" They hadn't been quiet enough apparently, as Apo's questions the comment with concern in her voice, "I think I'm going to need context on that one."
Scott tenses slightly, but Pyro skirts around the truth easily. Nonchalantly shrugging the shoulder not currently occupied by a clingy vampire, "He bites. Not hard, don't worry, he doesn't hurt me. It's like, an affectionate thing. He's bitey." He can hear the mischievous smile in their voice as they addressed him again, "Maybe that's something I should call you, since you seem to like biting me so much."
Scott does bite him then. Out of spite.
It was only a small nip. No fangs involved, not even hard enough to leave a mark. He still feels Pyro jump slightly, smiling into his neck as he can sense the exasperated look he was being given. "You- Okay, that settles it, you have a nickname now. Come on, Bitey. Shelby texted me that she's going to grab a few more things before finding us and Apo needs to get stuff from the next aisle."
Scott rolled his eyes at the name as he let Pyro drag him along, only lifting his head long enough for them to stop again before doing his best to return to trying to block out the everything in the store. He swears the longer he spends in here, the more people entered the building—and the harder it became to tune out all noise but Pyro. He attempted to press closer, trying to concentrate on their heartbeat alone in the mass of sounds that surrounded him. Once he found it, he put all his effort into fixating on it, begging the steady rhythm to help him relax. It takes a moment, but he can feel the tension his shoulders start to leave.
Then a baby cries at the far end of the aisle and Scott flinches.
His body's sudden jerk away from the piercing shrieks rips him from where he was hiding, the light flooding his vision. He screws his eyes shut as tightly as possible and throws his hands over his ears in an attempt to lessen the sudden, overwhelming sensations.
"Scott?" Pyro turns towards him immediately, worry lacing his words, "Hey, hey. Scott, what's wrong?"
"Loud." Is all he can grit out before the shrieks surge in intensity, he presses his hands tighter over his ears—as if it would make the already unhelpful action more effective.
"Loud? Oh. Okay, yeah, you don't normally leave the apartment, this is a lot for you." Scott can feel Pyro's hand on his face, he tries to lean into it, turning his face away from the lights. "Have the lights been bothering you too?"
He nods and feels himself being pulled forward until his face is pressed back against Pyro, their hand holding his head firmly, but gently against their neck. The removal of the light helped, but it could only do so much while the child continued to scream. He listens to Pyro's heart, noting the elevated pulse, probably because of him.
He can pick out Apo's heart from the crowd as well, it's also elevated as she walks over to the two of them and places an item in the cart. "…Is he okay?"
Pyro shifts slightly, being sure to keep Scott securely against him, "He will be. His hearing's pretty sensitive—Shelby apparently learned that the hard way. And he's not use to the fluorescent lights either, so I think those mixed with the crying is a bit much for him."
Apo makes a sound of acknowledgement followed by some rustling noises, "Here, one of my classes took a trip down to a construction zone last semester to see how designs look in practical application. I managed to grab a couple extra pairs. It might help a bit."
Scott turned his head just enough to squint at what she had given Pyro. It was a small clear pouch with two small things inside that were the ugliest shade of orange—seriously, it was almost at bright as the stupid lights in this building. "…what in the world are those?"
"Earplugs," Pyro answered quietly, not wanting to assault Scott's ears further, "you put them in your ears, and they help muffle loud noises."
He allows them to help him put the objects in properly—thankfully the parent and still-screeching child had finally decided to move away from where they were standing, meaning Scott was able to slowly remove his hands from his ears. Once the things were in, he did have to admit they helped with making the noise manageable again. He slipped his sunglasses back on before letting himself slump back against his boyfriend.
Pyro chuckled, wrapping his arms around him and giving a quick squeeze, "Better?"
He nodded, "Yes, thank you."
They stood there for another minute until Scott confirmed he was fine to move to the next aisle, turning the corner to find a head of red curls on the other end, putting a box of pasta in the cart.
"There you guys are!" Shelby smiled as she noticed the three of them, bouncing over to give Pyro a hug before turning to the other girl, "You must be Pyro's roomie, Apo, right?"
They nod, "And you must be the infamous Shelby."
"Sure am! It's nice to meet you!" She beamed at the group, "How much more do you two need to get?" She looked to the list Scott had left in the cart, "I think I just need to get…two more thing."
"We didn't have a long list to begin with, but we had a bit of an…incident, so probably halfway?"
"Oh no!" Shelby tilted their head, concern on their face, "What happened?"
Scott refused to look at his roommate as Pyro answers, "The noise got to be a bit much, if you get what I mean—but it's been dealt with."
She frowned towards him, a guilty expression momentarily passing over her face, "I knew we should have turned back for your headphones."
"It's fine, Apo gave me these earplug things," Scott brushed off her apology, "They clash horribly with my outfit, but I have to admit they're helping."
Pyro laughs while both girls roll their eyes, "I think you look fine." He tells him, "Just as pretty as ever."
He bats his eyelashes at Pyro and leans his head on their shoulder, "Tell me more about how pretty you think I am~"
There's a groan from Apo as she pushed past the couple, "Can you two stop flirting so we can finish getting groceries and leave?"
☽⛧ཐིᗢཋྀ⛧☾
A little while later the group was finishing up at the checkouts. They were waiting by the doors while Apo paid for their stuff. Scott was definitely glad to be leaving the wretched indoor market, it was the opposite of "super" in his opinion. He also wanted the bright orange monstrosities to no longer be ruining the outfit he had carefully put together. He would definitely be remembering the headphones from now on. They were at least black, that's a color that goes well with everything! He was even sure he could make them work with some of his old clothes if he got a little creative. He glanced over at Pyro, they were showing Shelby something on their phone with the hand not holding his own. He wonders what he would look like, all dressed up in his old finery. It created quite the tempting image in his head, his boyfriend draped in golden jewelry and quality silk. Shame he only had access to what he had woken up in. Apparently, some of his clothes were saved and on display in the city's local museum, meaning he wasn't even allowed to touch them. It was truly a travesty.
Apo joining back up with the group pulled him from his musing. Which he thought was terribly rude of her, he was in the middle of mentally searching his wardrobe! He was trying to recall this one red top—it would have looked absolutely wonderful on Pyro. Speaking of his boyfriend, he felt them let go of his hand, leaning down to grab the bag of their groceries that had been sitting by their feet as they waited. Scott pouted at the loss of contact as Apo turned to her roommate, hands also occupied by bags.
"Alright, let's get out of here." They said, "I've got work to do, and you have a snake to feed."
Pyro rolled his eyes, "I know, Apo. You don't need to remind me."
"So, I'm guessing that means I can't convince you to come home with me?"
"Unfortunately not, I also have classwork to do tonight." He chuckles as Scott pouts, "How about I spend the night tomorrow? We could do dinner…?"
"Oh dinner sounds lovely~" He perks up, placing a kiss to their cheek.
"Wait, Scott, I was supposed to show you the park tomorrow! Maybe we can all go together and have a late night picnic!" Shelby bounced on her toes excitedly, seeming to completely miss Pyro's real intent with that offer.
"That's a wonderful idea, Shelby!" He smiles at her before leaning over to whisper into a disappointed—but trying to hide it—Pyro's ear, "Although, I wouldn’t mind a late-night snack after~"
He grins as Pyro face turns a pretty shade of red. He walks away from him to link arms with Shelby as they made their way to the exit. His roommate calling over her shoulder as they went through the doors, "Meet us at the park by campus around sunset! We'll bring the stuff!"
"Will do!" He heard Pyro call back, "See you tomorrow!"
The "super" market's doors slid shut as the two headed back to their apartment, Shelby's bubbly chattering becoming the only thing left in Scott's ears.
☽⛧ཐིᗢཋྀ⛧☾
Owen watched the retreating forms as they left the store. He quickly thanked the cashier, grabbing the flowers and package of steaks he had purchased. The plan was originally just to surprise Louis with dinner and some flowers, who knew trying to do something nice for his stressed husband would end with him finding the very missing vampire that was causing said stress.
He got into his car and turned the key.
Tomorrow night, at the park near the University.
They would be there.
It was time to introduce themselves to Lord Goldsmith.