It was honestly good to have an excuse to be outside and it was doing wonders for Snivy’s mood too as Wren stood around in the park to wait for Zeal. It wasn’t like he was forced to stay at the headquarters, but with most of the people he was close to being part of the cult there was no real reason to leave and his job still mostly took place inside. This was a nice change of pace. Even if he hadn’t been expecting to give away his number any more than Zeal had expected him to. It might have been a very in the moment thing, but he wasn’t regretting it all. It had turned out the other man was even entertaining to text and it didn’t take a genius to figure out their pets got along and would benefit from this just as much, or maybe even more, than they would.

Snivy’s squeaking was all the warning he needed that Zeal and his pet were approaching. The green lizard had been perched on top of his head like he usually was to have a good overview of the whole park. Once again everything about the pet was smug until he turned into a series of excited noises as he jumped off too to greet his spider friend. At the same time Wren happily waved at Zeal, his eyes scrunching up a bit. Okay, maybe he was pretty excited for this too. It was nice to hang out with someone who didn’t judge him and made for surprisingly good company, even if their whole night had just been a no strings attached thing.

He also took some more steps to close the gap until they were within easy talking distance. ”See, they’ve really missed each other,” Zeal pointed out. Wren’s gaze went back and forth between him and the pets before nodding in agreement. ”For sure,” he agreed easily. ”And? Have you missed me?” Zeal continued to tease. It was enough to make him laugh as he decided to play along. Dramatically he pulled the man into a close hug. ”I don’t know how I made it through these days without you,” he sniffled loudly. ”I spent my every waking hour thinking about…” He added a dramatic pause for extra effect as he pulled back with a big grin. ”Your dick.” Zeal wasn’t the only one who could tease.

With Snivy’s squeaking warning him of their approach he soon spotted Zeal and his yellow spider. Immediately his lizard was off to greet Joltik and the spider seemed just as enthusiastic to play with him again in return. It really did look like they had missed each other. And sure yeah, he could pretend he had missed Zeal too. If Wren was honest he hadn’t known the other long enough to miss him, that didn’t stop him from laughing and playing along dramatically. ”I know, it was almost unbearable,” Zeal played right along.

It was Wren’s cue to continue his words, including a dramatic pause. The cute doe-eyed look he got was almost enough to make him laugh before he even got to the end of his sentence. ”You are a dick,” Zeal replied, which did make him laugh softly. ”Just being honest,” he shrugged back in return. The casual atmosphere really was nice for a day. Even their surroundings were perfect. On purpose he had chosen a less crowded spot and the weather wasn’t too cold or too hot either today.

He followed Zeal’s example by also turning his attention back to their pets to watch them roll around in the grass together. ”So, how was your job? Still boring without any good distractions?” Zeal started on a new subject. Wren side-eyed him a bit. ”Still boring,” he just answered. The work subject was still something he couldn’t go very in debt about, on the other hand he was the one who had brought it up in text conversation. Not his fault that taxes were boring and he’d rather complain to his new friend.. fuckbuddy.. undefined thing. Whatever they had going on didn’t really need a name, he’d just see where it went. ”I have to say, when we met in the forest I really thought that your job would be a lot bloodier. I’m surprised you apparently aren’t some hitmen company. Al though it keeps me wondering what it is that you guys are after,” Zeal continued to share his thoughts. Softly Wren hummed. There wasn’t that much left that he could say that wouldn't be revealing too much.

”I think you’re going to be wondering about that for a while,” he replied with a hint of amusement as he ruffled through Zeal’s hair to tease him some more. One day he might find out, if a cooperation would ever happen. For now it was all a secret. ”All that matters is that being an accountant sucks no matter which company you’re with, but I’m the only one who can properly do it, so I’m stuck,” he sighed out. Turns out it was kind of difficult to replace someone who had been around for over 700 years. ”Which is why I’m happy to get out for a day,” Wren added on a more cheerful note with a gesture towards their pets.

Once again work was a subject Wren couldn’t say a lot about. This time it was at least easier to give vague replies as he listened to the ramble Zeal went on. It was fun to hear his thought process about the vague things he knew. All he could do was confirm that there still weren’t any answers he could give. ”I’ll just have to live with it,” Zeal replied dramatically. In answer Wren snorted softly. ”How will you ever survive,” he responded, voice dripping with fake pity. It didn’t seem like the other truly minded the lack of information.

At least he could still complain about the job he was stuck in without giving too much information away that shouldn’t be shared. Almost every functioning company should have at least one accountant, he was just Avis’ chosen one. ”So you’re going to be stuck doing accountant work for forever,” Zeal concluded too. ”Pretty much,” Wren confirmed, although he didn’t sound too upset about it. If he really wanted to he could easily get to do something else. Truth be told, he liked feeling important as the only one who could keep up with all the stats and math involved and in return he was practically Crow’s second in command so it wasn’t too bad. It just got pretty boring at times.

And if anything it was nice to get out for a day with Snivy and have some company. ”Which reminds me,” Zeal started, clearly enthusiastic about something. Curiously Wren tilted his head as he watched him squat down with his backpack. ”I know you don’t have to eat because you’re immortal and all that, but I did bake us some muffins if you’re interested,” he explained. Wren couldn’t even help the smile that crossed his face. Immortal or not, the gesture was adorable as he plopped down on the grass too. ”I still like eating, even if I don’t need to,” he happily confirmed as he took one of the muffins. Without any hesitation he took a bite, eyes widening at how good it tasted. ”Did you really make these yourself?” Wren asked, actually sounding impressed. ”Because if so our pets should be having playdates a lot more often,” he added with a wide grin. Now there really was no reason to regret giving away his phone number as he took another bite.

With a tilt of his head Wren watched Zeal pull something out of his bag, only to reveal a container of muffins. Sugar was a guaranteed way to make his day even better as he sat down, quickly explaining that not needing to eat didn’t hold him back from enjoying it. Eagerly he took a bite, immediately noticing how good the muffin tasted. It hadn’t gone unnoticed that Zeal was a talented cook and apparently baking was no exception to that rule.

He chuckled quietly at the clear excitement Zeal showed as he nodded to answer his question. ”I did,” he confirmed and Wren hummed in appreciation. If he could get muffins every single time he was going to make sure to spend a lot more time with the other man. ”I like to bake and cook, but I don’t have nearly enough people to share it with,” Zeal explained while he took some more bites of the muffin, nodding along to show he was listening. It wasn’t the kind of hobby you’d expect someone of Zeal’s profession to have which only made it more interesting. On top of that Wren couldn’t really judge, considering his own love for mechanical keyboards. Maybe he could get Zeal one too if they continued to hang out more often. All he’d have to do was figure out his favourite color scheme.

”But anyone who does share the bed with me, is guaranteed a nice meal when they wake up,” Zeal added. Wren happily confirmed that with a nod. It had been a pleasant surprise to wake up to - both the blowjob and the breakfast. But the first one of those he had been expecting, the second he hadn’t. ”All the more reason to share the bed with you more often too,” he said back with a smug look. That, and because he really wanted to repeat the night.

His gaze automatically went back to their pets who seemed completely lost in their own world, caught up in what looked like a game of tag. It was cute to see Snivy make sure he didn’t play too rough with the spider. Absentmindedly he bit down on the muffin again. ”So, you’re afraid of medical stuff?” Zeal surprised him with a new subject. A slight frown crossed over his face. ”Yeah,” Wren just admitted. There was little point to denying it after he had already said it over text. The consequences of his own actions were really haunting him, even if he didn’t think for Zeal to be the type to use that weakness against him, especially because he shared the same fear.

”Any reason to why? Or you’ve just always been scared of it?” he asked. Wren turned his gaze back to him again, keeping on a smile to keep the atmosphere light. ”Medical equipment and procedures used to be a lot less developed and a lot more traumatising back in the days. I guess it’s all more developed nowadays, but that fear never left. It’s always real fun during the yearly check-up,” he added the final part with a slight grin. It was the one day a year that he made everybody’s life a hell trying to avoid the mandatory check-up and he had no regrets. It didn’t hurt to give that part of information away either, yearly health check-ups were nothing special. ”And you?” he asked back, equally wondering where Zeal had gotten his fear from.

Wren was glad to sit around and enjoy the muffins while their pets entertained themselves. It was the perfect day off as he listened to the explanation about the cooking, adding a comment where appropriate. ”It’d be a treat to the both of us,” Zeal agreed with a seductive glance. Wren sent the same kind of seductive look right back. It was obvious they were on the same page about wanting a repeat of the night too. Who knew where their park date without any actual romance behind it would be going.

The subject soon got changed again into something new. It didn’t feel good to talk about a possible weakness, then again, he had already revealed it anyways. With a hint of humor Wren explained the why. Medical equipment had been very lacking at best and straight up traumatising at its worst for the longest time. Of course with immortality there hadn’t been much need for heavy procedures, but the nineteen years before that and the rare times medical things were needed had been enough to leave him with a lifelong fear. Enough for him to make the yearly check-up everyone else’s problem. Last year he had actually ended up biting Crow in an attempt to get out of it and he was still proud of that fact, even if in the end he had still been subjected to being checked.

It seemed like Zeal understood his point of view too. Knowing that they shared the same fear, Wren asked the question right back. In silence he waited for the other to choose whether he wanted to respond or not, also taking another bite. ”I’m one of Jeremy’s experiments,” Zeal ended up explaining. That explained a lot as Wren hummed softly. He wasn’t insanely up to date with it, but he knew enough to already understand why Zeal would be scared off medical stuff. ”So y’know, lots of capsules, needles, cables and all that. And that was on a pretty young age and never really went away,” he continued to explain. Again Wren just hummed, grimacing a bit. He couldn’t exactly drop a ‘I know how much all that stuff cost Jeremy’ into the conversation. ”At least we can suffer through this fear together,” he offered instead with a chuckle in order to keep the conversation light.

The whole conversation could probably use a lighter turn again as he racked his brain for a new topic. Before he’d have to end up giving awkward comfort again. ”So, cooking right? Do you have any other hobbies, not including murder?” he easily found a lighter subject to change to. It was definitely obvious to be switching from topics like this, but he didn’t really care. Instead he shamelessly leaned over to grab a second muffin from the container. What, they were good.

Zeal’s explanation of how his fear had came to be made a lot of sense too. It was easy to imagine how being an experiment had affected both him and the twin brother he had mentioned into having a fear of medical things. Just like Wren’s story it sounded like it was a matter of traumatic experiences, just caused by different things. For him it was old time procedures and for Zeal it was experimentation. Well, they at least could suffer through it together. ”Exactly,” Zeal agreed with a soft chuckle. There was something nice yet ironic to the solidarity in sharing a fear.

Before the conversation could get too dark Wren switched the subject up again, this time to hobbies. It really was turning into a nice little get-to-know-eachother thing, Not the most standard thing for his hook-ups, but he could roll with it. As he waited for a response he bit down on the second muffin, pleased to find out it tasted just as good as the first one. Yep, he was definitely keeping Zeal around.

”Well, you’ve probably seen the books,” he started. Wren nodded that he had seen the piles of them, though at the time he had mostly had more important things on mind. ”I like reading and learning more about supernatural creatures,” Zeal shared with a small smile. It wasn't the kind of hobby Wren would have expected from him, that didn't mean he would judge it. Knowing about supernatural creatures probably was useful for his job too. ”So have you tried to figure out what kind of supernatural creature I am yet?” Wren teased with a smug look in response. Considering he wasn’t even a supernatural creature, more a man-made thing, he doubted that Zeal could have reached any correct conclusion, but he’d like to hear the theories.

”What hobbies do you have?” came the expected question back. Wren’s face lit up a bit more as he finally got to talk about his own interests. ”I collect a lot of stuff and I like to design mechanical keyboards,” he answered without any shame. It was a shame he couldn’t actually take Zeal back to the headquarters to show off this keyboards or the rooms filled with stuff he had collected. Though his eyes already lit up even more with the next idea. ”I even have some really old books filled with research on creatures, if you’re interested,” Wren added. Not that he’d ever really been interested in the books himself, they had just been interesting to collect with the intricate art on the covers.

Looking for something more cheerful to linger on Wren smoothly changed the subject with the question what Zeal was into - in terms of hobbies. Books on supernatural creatures was a surprising answer, though it made sense and explained the piles of them in his apartment. It was easy to see how it could be useful too. Over the years Wren had collected enough information of his own about all kinds of things, creatures and humans alike, and it was useful more often that not.

It also made Wren wonder if the other had came up with any theories about what he could be yet, even if he could never be right about it. ”I have, but haven’t found anything that fit yet,” Zeal replied the expected answer. Still smug Wren looked back at him under the gaze. There wasn’t much interesting to be seen, if you didn’t count how pretty he was, of course. The only real noticeable thing were the black coloured irises surrounding his equally black pupils. The kind of dark pupils you’d expect to see back in birds. A small testament to the fact he wasn’t completely human. ”I do think you’re some kind of demon, hence the immortality and teleporting,” Zeal shared what was probably the closest possible conclusion. Amused Wren hummed. If only he could teleport, but it was probably better to leave the illusion that he could up.

Then again, even he didn’t know how his immortality worked. There was only one man who knew and who was lame enough to never share it. Something demonic could very well be involved in the process. ”But aside that, you haven’t shown me enough yet to make a clear prognosis,” Zeal continued. Which was also for the better. Wren didn’t mind playing it risky when it came to sharing things about himself, but he was still under a sworn promise to keep the cult safe. ”Do you have any powers you can show me?” Zeal asked, still clearly curious. For a second he thought it over. It was really tempting, even if it wouldn’t be the smart thing to do. With a small grin he raised his hands to collect some black smoke around the darkening tips of his fingers, only for it to disappear into nothing again a second later. As if nothing had ever happened. ”Have fun figuring out what that was,” Wren finally responded to Zeal. He could hardly go ahead and kill some innocent bystander, but this display of the mandatory cult ability was good enough.

The question got returned about what his own hobbies were, something he was eager to share. For a long time now he had been collecting things, with a special focus on keyboards and everything that came with it. ”Keyboards?” Zeal repeated and Wren nodded. ”How do you make or design those?’ Zeal asked next. ”There’s lots of websites that let you design them, so I just blow my boss’ funds on them whenever I want to make a new one, and then I’ll usually order the parts and assemble them myself,” Wren explained with a grin, happy with the interest that was shown.

It was a shame he couldn’t take Zeal back to the headquarters to show him examples, though it did bring him to a new train of thought. Some old books he could always take along to show him instead. ”Really? That’d be awesome!’ Zeal exclaimed in enthusiasm. ”I can bring them over next time,” Wren offered, at the same time making clear that he was willing to meet again. ”I’d love to see the other stuff you’ve collected as well, but I assume that’s at a place I’m not allowed to visit,” Zeal took the right conclusion. Wren nodded with a slightly wry smile. ”Such a smart boy,” he noted a bit dryly.

It wasn’t likely that Zeal would ever figure out what he really was, that didn’t make listening to his guesses any less fun. Demon was a good one. Even if he probably shouldn’t Wren still ended up showing off some more of his power with the intent to tease as he summoned the deadly black plague around his hands, letting it disappear just as quickly. Instead of the desired result Zeal didn’t seem as enthusiastic about it. ”I don’t like that at all,” he muttered out. Wren pouted a bit at the fact Zeal didn’t seem impressed by his black smoke, more just wary. ”I wouldn’t use it against you,” he murmured. That would be no fun anyways, he liked the man. Besides, he wasn’t a fan of murder without purpose behind it.  

Still disappointed about the negative reception of his powers he’d rather focus on his hobbies. The subject was enough to cheer him up again as Zeal asked about his mechanical keyboards. ”That’s pretty cool,” he replied and Wren smiled widely again. It was the most fun to think out a design that fit someone and then go from there. Or in other cases to just figure out which design would annoy someone the most, it usually depended on the level of authority they had.

His love for keyboards had gotten a long time to develop, ever since typewriters had finally gotten replaced. They had been and still were fun to use, but they didn’t have the many possibilities that keyboards did. Getting to experience all the modern developments was by far the thing he loved most about being immortal. He got to be here for it all as society changed and new things got invented more and more. It wasn’t difficult to stay up to date with things either. ”How old are you exactly?” Zeal asked, apparently on a similar track of thoughts. Wren turned his focus back to him with a small grin. ”I’ve been around for hundreds of years. So you better show your elders some respect, especially in bed,” he answered as he reached out to ruffle through Zeal’s brown hair again.

On the same topic of old things and collecting his mind eventually ended up by the old books he had laying around in one of the rooms under the main building, mostly just collecting dust. He would be happy to take them along next time and let Zeal read them or even keep them. ”Awesome, maybe you can bring one of those keyboards as well?” Zeal added. Wren perked up a bit more at that idea, even if he had to wryly confirm that there would be no visiting his actual collection. Mostly because Crow would find a way to kill him, not because he didn’t want to. ”Sure, I’ll take my favourite along,” he replied. Again he was playing with the idea of designing one for Zeal too, but he’d have to see about that. Only his favourite people got one.

For the third time he reached over for a muffin, before pausing mid air as he came up with a better idea. ”Can I take some back to my office too?” Wren asked with a tilt of his head as he turned to Zeal. They would be nice to snack on next time he got back to work. Not that he was planning to return there yet, the park was fun and Snivy and Joltik didn’t seem to be tired yet either. He’d just leave when Zeal would, or the preferred version; follow him home again.