Their Marred Boy

Chapter 11

Orion was jolted out of their sleep with persistent knocks on their front door. Begrudgingly, they left the warmth of their bed, whining slightly at the feeling of their feet being exposed to the cool tiles, they opened the door.

Their onyx eyes lazily met with a set of matching ones.

"It's way too early for you to be bothering me."

"Yeah? I don't really fucking care."

"What do you want, Eli?" They sighed.

"Answers."

Orion straightened from where they were leaning against the doorframe, preparing to shut it.

They didn't have a problem with Elias. In fact, they'd made their stance on his side clear to Skyler from the moment their friend had explained the situation to them. Their dismissal solely stemmed from their fear, they were afraid of getting too involved and messing their rocky relationship up even more.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Have a nice day."

Elias' large palm immediately pushed against the wooden surface, halting its movement to prevent Orion from closing it, "Wait! Wait... please, I-I need this."

At that dejected revelation, Orion's breath hitched. They'd never detected such vulnerability in the man before them.

Elias had always been unforgivingly cold, his stony expression spotless, not allowing emotion to seep from any of the cracks, formed by his mates over the years, on his exterior. At least not around others.

Orion shut his eyes, allowing themself a moment to think before they opened them, once again staring straight into Elias', "Alright. Would you like to come in?"

With a shrug of Elias' broad shoulders, they stepped out of the way, accepting their best friend's mate in their home.

Elias' dark eyes jumped around the large space, examining it. Orion lived in the nicer side of Manhattan, their home a considerable size with a magnificent view in return for its ridiculous rent.

"You like it?"

"It's very... You." Elias decided. He allowed the tips of his fingers to skim along the surfaces of the floating books on the wall, "How'd you get them to do that?"

A snicker broke through Orion's plump lips, "It's a shelf."

Elias rolled his eyes at that, "Yeah I got that dipshit." he gestured to the book on the bottom, "Is that it?"

"No, you just put the hardcover of a book beneath the actual shelf. See there's a hook that prevents the cover from flopping down." They explained and Elias appreciated them for not making him feel dumb with a condescending tone.

Elias didn't say anything further, he simply awkwardly nodded, shuffling on his feet and avoiding eye contact with Orion. That was when Orion realized that the man had most likely never been in a situation like this, and he was having a hard time deciding on how to act. "Tea or coffee?"

"Uh... Sparkling water- you know... if you have some."

Orion had to conceal a smile as they nodded while leading their guest over to their couch, instructing him to wait for a moment before they returned with drinks and a plate of raisin cookies.

Elias excitedly picked up a cookie, bit into it, then sent an accusing glare Orion's way, "This is treacherous!" he grumbled, "Do you fool all of your guests into thinking you're serving them chocolate chip cookies?"

"Yes."

Wide-eyed, the boy tutted, "That's just evil."

"I know." Orion grinned.