a wide grin momentarily stretches across his face to display a set of white 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 fingers . 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 .
“is that so??” avery mused, not bothering to argue or agree. truth was, there were plenty of options he could have chosen from before his arrival. his co-workers would have also been more than happy to help add a bit of make-up to his look. he also could have come back later, should someone else come to help at the stall. regardless, the fact was he didn’t want anyone else to paint on his face. if mason hadn’t been the one running the stall, there was no way he would have chosen to stop by and add some more cat-esque features to his costume. not that mason needed to know that. as the younger confirmed that the cat choice was actually quite suiting, avery couldn’t keep his lips from curling into a smirk. the smirk didn’t last long, however, as his chin was taken between mason’s fingers. “folks at vita’s clinic suggested it to me,” he murmured, lashes fluttering slightly as the bristles of the paintbrush started to stroke his nose. a bit of silence settled over them for the moment, leaving avery to get lost in his gaze’s task of mapping out the other’s face.
it was most likley, his staring that is, the reason why he actually noticed the colouring begin to bloom on the other’s cheeks. it didn’t register, in the moment, that he could have been the one to cause the other to blush. “mm,” avery studied the other’s expression, wondering if he wanted to take back the invitation to introduce him to his younger sibling. “i’ll make time if i need to if you want to bring her by.” he told the other simply, because he would. as unexpected as meeting the other’s sister would be, he wouldn’t reject the option. blinking slowly, avery’s gaze finally flickered away. it shifted to look down at mason’s shoulder as he considered the other’s question. part of him felt inclined to answer truthfully in a more detailed and honest answer. another part figured a one word answer would suffice as well. avery chose to go somewhere in the middle. “only for work, really. they asked me to work the stall and i couldn’t come up with a good reason not to.” he paused, eyes shifting back to look at mason’s mouth. a habit from constantly lip reading in most scenarios although the other man is close enough he could focus on his words without needing to. “i’m not the biggest fan of crowds so i probably wouldn’t have come out otherwise.” he admitted this simply, not delving into details and instead keeping it short. it was more than he’d tell most, not that mason knew that.