Chương 64: Better Late

They finished eating with less dignity than either of them had brought to the table. Meno had sauce on his thumb, fries left on his plate, and the fixed awareness that Aurelia had said after we eat. Aurelia cleaned her hands with a napkin as if nothing had happened, which made it harder to tell whether the reward was a joke, a trap, or the kind of thing his brain would ruin if he looked directly at it. She stood first.

"Come on," she said. Meno followed her toward the corridor feeling undergeared for whatever came next. Bram was nowhere in sight. That absence made everything louder. The hallway lights were soft, the carpet swallowed their steps, and Meno could feel every slap of his slippers, every brush of his swim shorts, every stupid inch of the shirt on his back.

"Aureliana…" She stopped and looked back over one shoulder.

"Just say Aurelia. When you use Aureliana, I am constantly reminded of my parents."

"Uh, sure," Meno said.

"That is a bit weird, though. You can also call me PrayerBeadGod if you prefer." Aurelia stared at him.

"Meno."

"It was a joke."

"Barely." They continued down the corridor, and Meno let the correction sit where it landed. Aurelia opened a door near the end with a wrist scan. The suite beyond was still rich enough to make Meno feel like he should apologize to the floor, but it had a purpose the penthouse had lacked. This looked like a place built for play, rest, and privacy, not a place built to remind guests how expensive air could get. The wall facing the street was one broad panel of glass, letting Vernova's lights spill across the room.

The main area was wide and clean, with deep sofas arranged in front of a massive screen and a low table set close enough for drinks and snacks. On the left, an open door showed a capsule room with a sleek Soma-X setup, cable tracks hidden under polished trim, and a control station. On the right, two doorways led to a bathroom and a bedroom, where a king-sized bed sat under warm lights. Meno's pulse climbed so fast he had to look away from the bed before Aurelia guided him toward the sitting area.

On the low table waited a small black box edged in silver and tied with a narrow ribbon. Aurelia picked it up and offered it to him, her look carrying far too much private amusement for Meno's comfort.

"Here," she said.

"This is yours, since you asked last time." Meno accepted it carefully. The weight was wrong for anything dangerous. It was also wrong for anything romantic, unless rich people had secret rules about gifts Meno had somehow missed. He opened the box. Inside lay a spoon. A very nice spoon, to be fair. Polished metal. Balanced handle. A small engraved line along the end, clean enough that it probably had a brand, a craftsman, or a family history behind it. Still a spoon. Meno deflated before he could stop himself.

Then the memory smacked him. His apartment. Aurelia visiting. Him complaining about plastic spoons. He had said it with enough conviction that she had apparently filed it away as a solvable tragedy. Tactical error. He looked up at her and tried to arrange his face into gratitude.

"Uh. Thank you. I'll treasure it." Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Aurelia covered a laugh with one hand, but her eyes stayed warm.

"You are terrible at hiding disappointment. Were you expecting something else?"

"No," Meno said too fast.

"That's not what I mean. It's perfect. I'll use it to eat cereal. I'm happy. Very happy, in fact—" Aurelia pushed him backward. Meno dropped onto the sofa, the open spoon box still in his hands, and had half a second to remember how breathing worked before Aurelia was in his lap. The box slipped from his fingers and hit the floor with a soft clatter. Meno stopped functioning. Aurelia's knees settled on either side of him, close enough that her warmth reached through the thin cotton of his shirt.

When she leaned in, the damp ends of her hair brushed his jaw. Her hands came to his face, fingers cool from the blueberry juice glass, thumbs careful along his cheeks. For one breath, she looked at him like she wanted him to understand this was deliberate. Then she kissed him. At first, he failed. His lips met hers too still, his hands hovering uselessly near her back while his brain scrambled through several bad options and rejected all of them too late. Aurelia did not pull away.

She softened instead, her mouth parting just enough to guide rather than correct him, and the patience of it snapped something loose in him. Meno kissed her back. His arms closed around her, one hand finding the curve of her back, the other settling higher between her shoulder blades. She tasted faintly of steak, sauce, and blueberry sweetness, which should have been stupid and somehow became the best thing he had ever tasted. Her mouth moved against his with careful pressure at first, then warmer, deeper.

When her tongue touched his, the whole room shrank to her weight in his lap and the small sound she made against his lips. Meno's hands tightened, then eased, because he did not want to grab like an idiot. Aurelia leaned into him anyway. The kiss lasted long enough for his breathing to forget the proper route, and still ended too soon when she drew back. Her forehead stayed close to his. Her hair fell around both their faces, and her hands remained on his cheeks like she had not fully decided whether to let him go.

Meno stared at her mouth, then forced his eyes up because he was trying very hard to remain a person. His brain offered a thousand sentences. Most of them would have ruined everything. So he said nothing. Aurelia watched him stay quiet, and something pleased slipped into her smile.

"So," she said softly.

"Was it worth the wait?" Meno answered by pulling her closer. This kiss started easier because his body had learned one useful thing before his mind got involved. Aurelia let herself be drawn in, one hand sliding from his cheek to the back of his neck, her mouth opening for him with a warmth that made his grip tighten around her again.

He kissed her slower this time, less stunned and more certain, tasting the corner of her smile, the quiet breath she took through her nose, the small shift of her hips as she settled more fully against him. He felt all of it. Her warmth. Her weight. The careful press of her hands at the back of his neck. He could feel the smooth fabric of her sweatpants under his palms as his hands moved to her hips. She leaned into him when he caught the edge of her lips before finding them again.

Every detail stayed real and close. It made stopping feel less like a choice and more like losing ground. Aurelia ended it first. She pulled back slowly, still smiling, then rose from his lap before he could do anything heroic, stupid, or both.

"I think you should probably log back in soon." Meno blinked at her from the sofa.

"Yeah," he said, voice rougher than expected.

"Sure. That makes sense." It did not make sense, though it was probably wise, which was different and less useful. He stood, saw the spoon box on the floor, and bent to pick it up. Carrying a romantic gift-spoon out of the room felt like the only safe thing his hands could do. The spoon had survived. Good. Strong metal. Worthy cereal weapon. He started toward the door, and Aurelia caught his hand before he could take more than a step.

"Meno." He turned back. Her expression had changed. The teasing eased away, leaving something more careful beneath it. She kept hold of his hand, fingers light but firm.

"You should know," Aurelia said, "if this gets serious, my parents will not like it." Meno had known it in theory, but hearing her say it made it feel real.

"I expected as much," he said.

"That definitely won't stop me." Aurelia looked at him closely. Meno kept going before his nerve could fail him.

"If I become the biggest streamer in the world, they won't be able to say anything."

"That…" Aurelia's face softened, though worry stayed in her eyes.

"That might work. I just do not want you to get hurt over it." Meno almost made a joke, then chose not to.

"Aurelia," he said, and the name felt different now, like she had handed it to him and trusted him not to drop it.

"I was already going for it. Now I just want it even more." She looked down for a moment, then smiled softly and hugged him. Meno wrapped his arms around her without hesitation this time. She fit against him easily, like the last few minutes had only made room for something already there. He held her close, and when she pulled away, he hated that it had already ended.

"Bram will take you home," she said.

"He should be in the lobby downstairs."

"Okay." Meno nodded, then forgot to move.

"I guess I'll see you soon."

"Yeah."

"Bye."

"Bye." He still stood there. Aurelia's mouth curved.

"Meno."

"Right." He made it one step backward and stopped again because leaving now felt like logging out one second before a boss died. Aurelia laughed and closed the door in his face. Meno stared at it for a moment, then looked down at the spoon box in his hand.

"Worth the wait," he said under his breath. The elevator ride down passed in a daze. In the polished doors, he caught his reflection: swim shorts, slippers, the white shirt with the glamorous cocktail woman, hair still messy, mouth still carrying the memory of Aurelia's. The outfit should have embarrassed him. Later, it probably would. For now, only one thought stayed clear: he could not mess this up. Rank one had never meant more.