#aurora thread.

"they've been asking about you a lot, you know. fun aunt mitzi, as if i'm no fun..." aurora murmurs the last bit mainly to herself as she picks away at noodles for the night, takeout that she'd brought home from the restaurant now that she's taken up three part-time jobs to keep her from going back to her old habits. "all i ever get asked is when the next time they'll see you will be."

shit. shit shit shit. what was supposed to be a quick and easy thing before date night with mitzi went completely awry, derailed and turned entirely around by the surprise that her target had not been alone tonight. not one but two additional members came out from the shadows after someone had tipped them off that aurora would hit tonight... and they were completely correct. where they managed to get the tip is an entirely different problem aurora will have to solve but not right now. right now, she has to contend with all of the blood stained over her hands. right now, she has to figure out a way to clean up everything before mitzi arrives, how she's going to explain the limp tonight while she's still standing at her sink scrub, scrub, scrubbing away with a knife jammed into her upper thigh.

❝ so. are we still just flirting with hot girl customers for tips or are we flirting for other reasons? because it's admittedly making my drink taste bad. not super great considering you're the bartender who made it for me. ❞

"i would like the strongest thing you have or can make. please." normally, aurora would just demand without the please but it's a new place, new town, and what is considered her biggest ( nastiest ) job so far has just been put behind her. nothing like a strong, boozy nightcap to call it done.

"my hero," aurora practically grabbed mitzi by the back of her neck, pulling her in for a quick and frazzled kiss before effectively dragging her inside. her hair was in a mess, as was her robe that actually had stains from that evening's dinner. "i thought i could hold out a little longer and i think with just one of them here, i totally could but i only have two hands and that is not enough to wrestle two toddlers for bedtime."

did it really warrant her saying the words aloud? aurora can just as easily lie like she's done a thousand times before but there's something stuck at the base of her throat that keeps her from doing it. ❝ it's not. i know. do you need a timeframe? ❞

"i have an early christmas present for you, if you're interested?" since it wasn't anything tangible, it felt easy enough to dangle in front of emery for a split second. "since the boys are potty trained and all now, i was thinking that maybe i can take them off your hands for a week or so? i know that doesn't exactly give you a break with the next one you're cooking up but every little bit helps, right?

"i'll never be the person you need me to be."