aurelia dent | excerpts #7 | DC OC

the scraping of cutlery against plates, the ambient chatter of a half-occupied restaurant, the tension of inquisitive silence. aurelia is seated next to jason and across from her mother. her stepfather declined the invitation to dinner (as expected), electing to stay home. the quiet is strangely suffocating for aurelia.

finally, her mother finishes chewing, swallows, and clears her throat. "so... how'd you meet jeremy?"

"jason," aurelia corrects with a frown.

"right," her mother interjects, offering an apologetic smile.

"we kind of met in the library at school," aurelia answers. "we'd both noticed each other, but we never really spoke until bruce's charity gala back in february. a few weeks before, he'd left his jacket on me when i fell asleep in the library.

"real romantic," she smiles, green eyes flickering towards jason, who lightheartedly rolls his eyes.

"i was being polite."

aurelia just gives a small sound of amusement, clearly unconvinced.

"that's cute," her mother observes, and aurelia nods in agreement. a beat. "so, jason, what do you do?"

"i work for my dad," he answers. technically true.

"good money?"

"mama!"

"what? I think it's a valid question."

aurelia's face burns. "you don't have to answer that," she tells jason.

he shrugs. "it's enough," he answers.

mrs. dent quirks a curious brow. care to elaborate?

aurelia's frown persists. "mama, it's fine," she tells her. "i have enough money all on my own. besides, i'm graduating next year, and-"

"yes, yes, i know," her mother waves her off. "you're practically guaranteed a job. the teacher shortage, i know.

"stop being so sensitive," she brings a forkful of rice to her mouth.

you could cut the tension with a knife. jason had been unbothered before: forgetting his name (as passive aggressive as it was), the prying questions, the looks (the woman was not as subtle as she thought). however, he could see how the jab about aurelia's sensitivity hurt her feelings, how she seemed to withdraw into herself, shrink. his jaw tightens, molars grinding firmly against one another. he takes a breath in through his nose. in through the nose, out through the mouth.

"mrs. dent," he says, "all due respect, don't talk to her like that.

"i can tell you already don't like me much, but that doesn't mean you get to take it out on lia. she's a good girl, and she can make her own decisions. and i like to think i treat her well. haven't heard any complaints yet.

"she's not too sensitive, she just cares. you should give it a try sometime."

aurelia blinks at jason, dark eyebrows raised. she hadn't expected that. she'd noticed that he was upset, but jason normally took a step back and removed himself. she didn't remember the last time someone stood up for her like that. it was... endearing.

mrs. dent, on the other hand, is given her own opportunity to clench her jaw. "are you implying that i don't care?"

aurelia's admiring expression fades in a matter of seconds, attention drawn back to her mother. "mama, please," she frowns. "can we not do this right now?"

aurelia slips off her shoes inside her apartment door, sitting them neatly on the rack. she rests her cane against the wall and pads into the living room, falling onto the couch with a sigh. the night had... not gone as she'd wished.

jason follows not far behind, holding aurelia's bag. he closes the door behind him. he watches aurelia flop onto the couch as he leans down to unlace his boots. "i'm sorry, princess," he shakes his head. "i know that wasn't exactly what you wanted."

aurelia props herself up on her elbows, rolling over onto her back. "not your fault," she reassures. "i just... i don't understand why she acts like that.

"it's like she doesn't want me to be happy or something."

jason shrugs. "can't reason with the unreasonable."

he sits on the couch beside her, and aurelia shifts to lay with her head in his lap. she rolls over onto her side, facing his stomach. his hand finds her hair, carding his fingers through the ends of her faded purple hair.

"i don't get what her problem is," she admits, picking at her flaking nail polish. "i'm single: she's not happy. i'm not single: she acts like this. and that jab about my career was so unnecessary."

"mm," jason hums in agreement.

aurelia takes this as a prompt to continue. "and she knows i hate when she calls me sensitive. she knows that hurts my feelings."

"...probably why she said it," he remarks.

she blinks. oh. oh. that... explained a lot.

"she wasn't saying it because she genuinely thought it," he says. "she said it because she knew it'd hurt your feelings, and you'd back down and let her have her way.

"she knows it's what you're... well... sensitive about."

"but that's what i'm here for," he adds, ruffling her hair gently. "i'm not gonna let anyone talk down to you like that."

she pauses her fidgeting, eyes still fixed on her hands. "thank you," she murmurs. "...i've never really had anyone stand up for me."

"you tryin' to tell me i'm special?" he prompts lightheartedly.

"shut up," she rolls her eyes.

"make me," he flashes his teeth in a challenging smile.

aurelia rolls her eyes again, but she sits up, pulling herself into his lap and pulling him down into a soft kiss. he gives a smug, satisfied sound against her lips. the corners of her own twitch upward. 

"...love you," he murmurs.

"...i love you, too."