Caban scowled and hurled another paintbrush across the room. This one was laden with black paint and left an impressive amount of paint splatter on the floor and the wall against which it clattered. Turning to stare down his canvas, he finally threw up his hands and started to tidy up his paints.
Lady Obnoxious Pain-in-the-Ass the Third wanted a portrait of her that showed "her true self," which apparently meant thinner, prettier, and richer than she actually was. Caban snorted. She probably didn't own a single real diamond, let alone the excess of diamonds she wanted him to include in the portrait. Finishing capping his paints, Caban left his paint-streaked work room, grabbed a jacket, and then let himself out of his studio apartment.
Unfortunately, much though he'd love to tell Lady Obnoxious to go fuck herself, he needed the money and he needed the boost to his reputation. If he could do a portrait that pleased her, maybe some of her less-obnoxious, equally frivolous friends would contract his services.
Scowling, Caban stalked down the street, heading straight for the café closest his apartment. That was the only reason he frequented café, since it also had one of the most obnoxious servers on the face of the planet.
Pushing into the café, Caban was unsurprised to find it busy, despite it being three in the afternoon. Probably because of the other reason Caban frequented this café—they had the best coffee and pastries on the planet, too.
"Caban!" A bright voice greeted, and Caban turned, unsurprised that Phoenix was working. He was always working and always cheerful and always annoying.
"Hello, Phoenix," Caban said flatly, trying and probably failing, as he usually did, to not stare. Phoenix was perfect, as usual. His dark curls fell perfectly around his face, not a single stray hair frizzed out of place. His face was perfectly shaped, with cheekbones that Lady Obnoxious would kill for, his eyes a perfectly clear green, and his lips…
"You're here a bit late," Phoenix said, then brightened, perking up even more, if that was possible. "Oh, come with me."
"What—" Caban started, but then Phoenix grabbed his arm—no one grabbed him—and Caban was too startled to protest as Phoenix dragged him through the crowded café and into the back area. It was obviously mostly a storage space, and Caban scowled, confused. He hated being confused. Phoenix let go of his arm, moving over to a heavy desk pushed against the far wall. There were bags and bags of coffee stacked next to it, dwarfing it, and Caban rubbed his arm, trying to banish Phoenix's touch.
"What are you doing?" Caban asked, meaning to sound more annoyed, but he always meant to be more annoyed around Phoenix, but could never quite manage it.
"Looking for… ah-hah!" Phoenix turned back to him, beaming triumphantly and holding up a sheet of paper.
"What is it?" Caban asked, frowning as Phoenix walked back over to him.
"I was hoping…" Phoenix said, holding it out to him. It was a rough sketch, Caban saw as he absently took the paper from Phoenix. Of the café, though it looked nothing like what it did now. "I know you like to do murals, not work with those stuffy nobles in the East Quarter, and I have enough saved now that I can pay you properly for it."
"You want me to paint the café," Caban said flatly, frowning at the paper.
"If you want to, and I can pay you half up front," Phoenix said, earnestly. "Please, Caban?"
"Why me? There are better mural artists—Dale, I know you know him—" Caban began, trying to hand back the paper and wondering when the hell Phoenix had bought the café, because as far as Caban had known, it was owned by Krali, though he hadn't really seen her around in months.
"I want you to do it," Phoenix said, refusing to take the paper back. "You're always so upset when you come in, from dealing with those horrid customers of yours. I thought…I thought you might like to work on a project where you could actually do what you wanted."
Caban scoffed, stalking over to the desk and setting down the drawing, since Phoenix wouldn't take it back. "That's not a very good business strategy. And I highly doubt you wouldn't have opinions on what covers your walls, since you'd have to look at it every day."
"It's not… exactly a business decision," Phoenix said, smiling shyly. He scrubbed a hand through his perfect curls, disheveling them, but the look still somehow was perfect on him. "I want you around more. I want to talk to you more. I want you to be happier, more often."
"Oh," Caban said, startled. Phoenix… wanted him around? Liked him? "Why? I'm not a very nice person."
"You're interesting," Phoenix said, smiling more easily. "You don't have to be nice to be likeable, though I think you're nice in your own ways. You're never mean to the girls, and you always leave a nice tip for them, even when Lira spilled coffee in your lap."
"Yes, well, she was going to cry," Caban said, scowling. "I don't like it when people cry. It's annoying."
Phoenix grinned, moving across the back room to where Caban was standing. "So will you do it?"
"I have other work," Caban began, not as firm as he should be. Phoenix's project would be massive—it would take months and cost Phoenix a tidy sum—but it would also limit Caban's availability and opportunities for other work from the nobles, which was where the real money was. It would be a stupid idea to say yes.
"We can work around it," Phoenix said hopefully, and Caban wavered, because stupid though it was, it was Phoenix and it wasn't portrait painting of obnoxious lords and ladies. Phoenix hesitated, then stepped close, pressing a soft kiss to the corner of Caban's lips. "Please?"
"Fine," Caban said, ignoring the way his cheeks heated. "But I can't start for a few weeks and we'll have to discuss what you want me to do in detail at some point."
"Really?" Phoenix beamed again, and Caban rolled his eyes.
"Yes, really," Caban said, not quite as snappishly as he should have. But he didn't seem to do a lot of things as fully as he should around Caban. "When does the café close? We should meet to discuss what you want. Over dinner, maybe."
"That sounds good," Phoenix said, smiling in a way that was terrible for Caban's state of mind. "I should be done here by six or so, if you want to just meet me?"
"Okay, I'll see you then," Caban said. He hesitated, but then headed out of the back area. Phoenix walked him, and Caban just bet he was smiling that stupid, bright, perfect smile of his, but somehow it wasn't anywhere near as annoying as it usually was.
