Proof of Existence
Chapter 9: Crooked Ascension
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
"So, you come here often?" Franz questioned as he gazed uncertainly at the brightly lit entryway to the restaurant.
"Not really. However, the company perks include us getting subsidized meals off at this particular place." It wasn't the swankiest or most opulent establishment around – but it did have an air of formality decidedly lacking in the areas she was more used to frequenting.
"I hope I like the food." Franz murmured nervously. "I mean, I'm probably not going to be used to whatever high class stuff they serve in here."
"It'll be fine. Trust me."
As they stepped up to the entrance, a man with jet black hair stepped in front of him. "I'm terribly sorry, sir," he began. "But I cannot allow anyone into the establishment if he is not wearing a tie."
All three of them took a moment to glance towards Franz's chest area. He'd deigned to wear a shirt, along with a rather tight collar, which was already more formality than he suspected he was ever going to get used to. Heck, he'd even donned a jacket. But a tie? After trying one of those things on he'd begun to suspect that 'formal' clothing was a nicer way of saying 'uncomfortable clothes that are difficult to wear'. Naturally, he'd neglected to wear one for this particular evening.
"That's… ridiculous." He finally managed.
"Like I said, terribly sorry." The man replied while simultaneously giving off the air that he was anything but. "But rules are rules."
Franz took a step forward, unconsciously balling his right hand into a fist. "We have a reservation-"
"Franz." Amelia said calmly. He broke off, glanced briefly at her, and took a half step back. Stepping forward in turn, Amelia drew out a card from her purse. "I believe this should suffice."
The waiter – or whatever he was – took the card, glanced at it, flipped it over, then nodded begrudgingly. "Very well." He murmured. "Stay here, if you please. I'll see what I can do."
The man departed, leaving Franz to glanced over at Amelia quizzically. "And what was that?"
Amelia shrugged. "The company card. Since we're affiliated with this restaurant, they guy knows that if he gives us a hard time, there'll be pressure from upstairs." She shrugged. "Still, he can't just arbitrarily lower the standards of the establishment either…"
"So what are you…" Franz blanched. "Oh, no."
The waiter returned just in time, bearing a strip of fabric in his hands. "Here." He said somewhat ungraciously to Franz.
Franz stared in consternation at the pumpkin orange tie the waiter was currently offering him in his outstretched arms. He risked a glance at Amelia who looked as if she was trying her hardest to rein in a giggle.
Resigning himself to his fate with a sigh, Franz began tying.
Several minutes later, once they were seated, Franz ran a finger on the inside of his shirt collar. "How much longer until I can take this thing off?" He mumbled.
"Not for a couple more seconds." Amelia responded in a distracted voice as she rummaged around in her purse.
"What? Why?" Franz shifted his gaze to her just as she brought out what appeared to be a fat-barreled pen.
"So I can do this." There was a brief flash of light and Franz found himself blinking away the afterimage.
"Hey!" He snapped.
Amelia whistled jauntily as she flicked a switch on the side of the 'pen', causing it to fold out and reveal a screen. "Now, look at you. Isn't it just adorable?" She smirked as she handed it over to Franz.
He stared down at the picture of him dressed in a garish orange tie. "If I know you, you've already sent the backup data to someplace safe like your computer, right?"
Amelia merely smiled angelically.
Handing the camera back to Amelia he sighed and proceeded to remove what he would not-so-affectionately dub as a 'noose' from here on out. "When's the menu arriving?" He queried, in an attempt to change the subject.
"Huh, looks to be pretty crowded tonight." Amelia noted as she glanced around at the other tables. "So I guess the staff may be a little busy." She glanced back at him. "Not terribly hungry, are you, Franz?"
"Nah, I'm good." Franz shook his head. Slowly, he let his gaze shift to the rest of the restaurant's patrons. "Funny," he remarked. "It looks like we're the youngest people here."
"Yeah." Amelia quirked a slight smile. "After all, it's not very often someone my age gets the sort of position I have within the company."
"How old are you, exactly?" Franz asked curiously.
"I'll be turning twenty in a couple of months."
"…" Franz nodded thoughtfully. "About the same age as her, then."
"Around the same age as you, too." Amelia's said softly.
"…I'll be nineteen… a week from tomorrow." Franz recounted. She grinned.
"Well, then we're going to have to plan something special for that day, aren't we?"
Franz gave a slight chuckle. At that moment, a waiter arrived, bearing two menus, and the conversation was broken up as both parties got down to choosing what manner of food would be best suited to filling their stomachs.
The meal, in Franz's opinion, had been a good one, if not somewhat spicy.
After finishing it, they had, at Amelia's suggestion, decided to head to the upper levels.
As the magna-lift hummed steadily upwards, Franz leaned back against the wall, once more giving thanks for the fact that his body had quickly gotten acclimatized to the speeds at which the transportation device was moving.
"So, you sounded like you had something in mind when you suggested going to the top." Franz remarked.
"Yeah. But let's keep it a surprise, okay? It's not as if you'd be able to understand if I told you what it's all about, anyway."
Franz nodded in acquiescence and closed his eyes, waiting for the lift to carry them to their intended destination.
"So your big surprise is bringing me to a garden?"
"The biggest one in the Elysium Biosphere." Amelia replied as the both of them strolled over the pond's bridge. "Like it?"
"Love it." He said as he tilted his head to observe fishes darting about in the water. "It's been too long since I've seen some real greenery. And no, the potted plants in the corridors do not count."
Amelia chuckled at that statement. "Yeah... I always liked nature… the wild abundance of life." As they stepped off the bridge and back onto the path, she glanced around. "You know, back when I was designing Magvel, I tried to create my own species and subspecies of plants – my own ecosystem, you could say."
"How'd it go."
"Failed. Terribly." Amelia shifted her gaze downwards. "In the end, I just used data from available, pre-existing flora that would have grown in a climate like Magvel's, and went from there. Even then there were far more bugs than I would have anticipated."
"You actually helped in the creation of Magvel?"
"Helped?" Amelia snorted. "I was made the head of the whole project! Of course, at the time, everyone said it was madness that someone as young as me should be made the head, but apparently the orders came from higher up – maybe they just wanted to test me, I don't know." Tucking her hands into her pockets, she stopped and turned to face Franz, leaning her back against a large boulder. "As it turned out, after we actually designed and implemented the thing, running it became a rather routine affair. It was only recently that we started suffering the malfunctions and issues that resulted in you… well…" She shrugged and fell silent.
Franz sighed and blinked, turning away to gaze at the setting sun. "Wouldn't you know…" he murmured. "It still hurts."
"I… I'm sorry…"
"It wasn't your fault." Franz said softly. "The system instability was out of your hands." He closed his eyes and turned to face her. "I don't know the specifics… but I'm sure you did everything you could."
Amelia opened her mouth, began to speak, to ask a question, then paused and closed it again. "Franz… thank you."
As they continued their walk through the gardens, the two of them continued their discussions about the local flora, about many of the species of plants that Franz had never laid eyes on before.
Amelia mostly smiled and gave polite but brief replies to Franz as they strolled through the gardens. She was more preoccupied with her own thoughts.
Questions still floated about in her mind. Being largely unused to the rituals and procedures of courtship and romance, she didn't have much of a clue as to how to proceed. She'd hoped her little kiss the other day would have provided enough of a start that she'd feel more confident in how to proceed, but Franz had seemed steadfast enough in ignoring that particular incident that she didn't appear to have made much progress at all.
Letting out a sigh (after checking to ensure Franz wouldn't have heard her), she slowed her pace down somewhat, so that she was now walking slightly behind Franz instead of shoulder to shoulder with him.
She cracked a brief smile as she watched his antics – the wide-eyed wonder on his face as he observed the myriad greenery all around him. Many of the plants found in the gardens could never have grown properly given the climate – it was a carefully regulated procedures carried out by skilled workers that gave such exotic plants a home here.
Returning her attention to Franz, her smile grew more wistful as she continued to watch him. She really liked his smile. It was so kind and gentle – it seemed almost impossible to not feel a deep sense of warmth and safety when you looked at it-
She shook her head, a faint blush forming on her cheeks. She'd noticed herself tending to drift off into dreamland more frequently as of late – particularly when her thoughts concerned Franz.
Wonder if that's normal. She sighed and scratched her head. Is that a sign of being in love or of simply going crazy? She'd read a few romance novels, but most of them seemed to involved hearts being set all aflutter, shortness of breath, and the like. She certainly hadn't noticed any of that going on.
Silently, she continued to observe him, wondering what would be the best thing to do.
"So, enjoyed yourself today?" Amelia asked with a smile as they both stood outside Franz's apartment.
"Yeah." Franz leaned back against the doorway, a contented look on his face. "Thanks for inviting me out, Amelia… and for footing the bill."
"Anytime."
"Mm…" He nodded slightly. "Well, goodnight, Amelia." Standing, he turned and placed his palm against the sensor. The door slid open silently.
Amelia could feel her heart quickening. This was… this might be her only chance! She hadn't quite sorted everything out, true, but… could she afford to waste such an opportunity?
"W-wait!" She called hastily, taking a step forward.
"Huh?" Franz turned back to face her – just in time to see Amelia stepping forward and kissing him.
Amelia closed her eyes as she felt his lips make contact with her own. It felt soft – much softer than she would have expected. The sensation, it was… well, she couldn't find the right word. Well, suffice to say it was very pleasant.
"Mm…" She murmured softly, moving deeper into the kiss. She found herself embracing Franz, wanting to hold him close to her, to never let him go. It felt so… so right.
Suddenly she felt strong hands seizing her by the shoulders and pushing her away.
"A- Amelia?" Franz whispered softly as he released her from his grasp. "What are you…"
Subconsciously, she took a half step back. Had she been mistaken after all? "I… uh," she stammered. Buck up, Amelia! "Franz," she said softly. "I… I love you."
For a long moment, he made no reply. Well, no verbal reply. He shifted his gaze away from her, staring guiltily at the floor.
"I… I understand if this comes as a shock to you! Believe me, I wasn't sure about this myself until only a short while ago! I also – I, uh, Franz?" He held up a hand, obviously trying to get her to stop talking.
"It would…" he spoke hesitantly, as if trying to sort out his own thoughts. "It would be so easy to say the same to you…" Franz lifted his gaze, looking her in the eye, and Amelia was stunned by what she saw.
Longing. Desperate, unfulfilled longing. And from that single glance she knew that while she was, in some twisted way, the object of that desire, she was likewise the absolute antithesis of it, an object of sick, twisted desires, and… and at last she began to understand.
"But… I don't love you." He finished painfully.
She nodded, feeling the hot sting of tears in the corner of her eyes. "You love her." She choked out the words. "If you find me at all attractive… it's because I remind you of her."
"Even if she's just a lie…" Franz closed his eyes and looked away again. "I guess I haven't severed my ties to Magvel yet, huh?" He shook his head. "Your smile… your laugh… the – the way you tuck your hair behind you ear, the way you shrug when you don't know the answer to the question…"
So… it's come to light at last… Amelia turned away, trying to blink back the tears. "I guess I understand… I couldn't have… I shouldn't have expected you to be able to break away that easily…" She began to walk away.
A shout from behind. "Amelia!"
She didn't stop, she couldn't stop, and so she kept walking, increasing her pace, trying to put as much distance in between herself and him.
And as she departed, Franz was left standing alone in the hallway,
So very much alone.
End Chapter
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