his lazy gaze travelled to the area of skin mason gestured to, tracing the linework and then the muscle that would be laying underneath. his head tilted slightly to the side sending his lightened bangs sweeping across his brow, as his eyes sort of just stuck on the arm. in fairness, it was a nice arm with some nice artwork on it. one couldn’t blame him for staring a little. it wasn’t as though he even realized though. it wasn’t until the arm moved that his eyes drifted up the arm back up to the younger’s face. “ mm, i came to you to do it, didn’t i??” he hummed, shifting in his seat again, twisting to one side. his collar gaped open as he curved his shoulder blades. it wasn’t long until he shifted back til both his shoulders touched the back of the chair. “it was the easiest and cheapest thing to find. why, you don’t think it suits me??” avery questioned in response, blinking lazily at him expectantly for an answer.
as the other chair was moved closer to the one he was sitting in, avery was reminded once again what a potentially bad idea this was. it was a really bad idea. why was he doing this again ?? in an effort to be nonchalant and also maybe keep their bodies a fair distance apart, the baker widened his legs slightly and placed the end of his palms between them on the chair so he could lean forward on his arms. effectively, it was like offering his face up as a canvas but he also realized how that didn’t help anything either. the regret was real as his half-lidded gaze got stuck once again, only this time it was on mason’s face. he was a young attractive man. anyone would admire it if they got to see it up close- in fact, anyone who came to get their faces painted later that day would probably do the same!! it wasn’t like there was anything more interesting he could stare at while his face got painted. now, if only mason would stop suggesting things like him meeting his little sister. it was as soon as he suggested it that avery could feel his hearbeat tick up in speed. that wasn’t something he expected. the silence that came from the baker would put anyone off if it wasn’t something that tended to happen between the two of them often. once again, all mason’s fault for being a bunch of positive adjectives avery was trying not to think of at the moment. eventually though, he did reply. “ if i’m not still stuck at the bakery’s stall, i’m down to meet her, for sure. “ now if only he’d stop staring.
a wide grin momentarily stretches across his face to display a set of straight teeth , head shaking slightly as he began mixing the red and white paint together to make the perfect shade of pink . ❛ i thought you came to me because i was the only option . ❜ mason snorts and the corner of his lip lifts in a small smirk , trying to come off more confident than he actually was at such a close distance . ❛ it suits you just fine , ave , if anyone were a cat in another life then i’m sure it would be you . ❜ he raises the brush , bristles now covered in pink , and begins his work while his other hand delicately takes avery’s chin between his thumb and index finger . the silence that falls over them as he paints the tip of the other’s nose is comfortable — peaceful , even ... that’s until he notices him staring in his peripheral vision . it takes all of his willpower to keep focus on the task at hand and not at the pair of brown hues that seemed to be memorizing his face .
mason , a young man who was naturally private , had just suggested introducing the other to a family member . what got into him and was it only about giving his sister a lesson in etiquette ? it wasn’t as if he were suggesting inviting him over to a family dinner or letting him meet his mom — right ? shit . the thought of his mother accompanying the child around the festival slipped his mind completely . all that he could do was simply pray to whatever deity was listening for something to prevent avery from having a moment to spare . not to mention , the man’s staring wasn’t helping the growing redness that began to spread across mason’s cheeks . ❛ oh , right — you’ll probably be busy ... y’know , people have an almost insatiable appetite at these kinds of things . ❜ smooth , real smooth . he wishes someone would take the brush from his fingers and write the word ‘ loser ’ across his forehead . ❛ so , are you only here to work or do you genuinely enjoy stuff like this ? ❜ mason asks as if he’s completely unaffected by the gaze that the other has locked on him .