Tegan POV
I stood, watching Sara and Aura.
I hope this doesn't blow up in my face, I hoped to myself. Sara smiled and offered her hand.
"Hi. I'm Sara," she introduced herself.
At least she's starting off pleasant, I thought.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Aura," Aura replied, shaking Sara's hand.
"Aura? I haven't heard that before. I like it," Sara commented, giving her most genuine 'I'm going to be polite, because that's what adults do' smile.
"Yeah, it's short for Aurelia. Thanks," Aura returned the polite smile. Sara and Aura then turned to look at me.
"Shall we?" Sara asked me.
"Sure," I spoke my first word in the presence of both of them. Sara smiled at me, turned and smiled at Aura, and then pressed the elevator button.
Oh god, I know that look. She's going to say something to embarrass me. Oh fuck, I thought.
"We'll have plenty of time to chat once we get there, but do we know where 'there' is?" Sara looked between Aura and me expectantly.
"Actually, Aura said she knows of a good place that's open," I answered, hoping she wasn't going to go through with whatever plans she had formulating in her head.
"Yeah, and I have a car. If you want, I can drive," Aura piped up.
"Good job, Teetee. She's hot and has a car," Sara let out her first devilish comment, staring at me with a look that I knew. She was waiting to see our reactions, mine in particular, to her statement. I couldn't believe she had started so quickly. Usually she waits until she's known someone for at least five minutes before she pulls something like that. I felt my jaw hit the floor and my eyes pop out of my head.
"I'm so sorry! Sara ha-" I attempted to explain to Aura the sense of humor Sara has, but she stopped me.
"Don't! I have siblings," she giggled. "I know how they work." Turning to Sara, she continued, "And I can tell when one is just trying to fuck with the other. Please, continue, Sara. It's quite comical." Sara smirked, and I could tell that Aura had said the right thing to get on Sara's good side. We stepped into the lobby, and Sara continued, pleased to have permission.
"See, Tegan? She gets my humor. Why don't you appreciate it?" she berated me.
"Oh god, seriously? Both of you are going at me now?" I huffed.
In stereo, I heard, "That's what she said." Sara and Aura laughed uproariously at their shared joke. I shook my head at their amusement.
"Well, at least you two get along," I chuckled. I was happy that Aura had taken so well to Sara's antics, and that Sara had welcomed Aura's contribution. It may have been at my expense, but to me it meant that this outing was not going to be nearly as uncomfortable as it could have been. Thank god for that. We were still each in our own state of bemusement, when we got into the car. Sara climbed in behind me, and I sat next to Aura.
"So can I talk now without being made fun of?" I tested the waters.
"I don't know. Can you talk without making an ass of yourself?" Sara didn't miss a beat. I cringed inwardly. Aura giggled quietly, so I decided to bring her back into the conversation.
"Oh, you agree?" I asked her.
"I didn't say a word," Aura said as her face dropped back to a serious one. She would have been convincing, except her mouth still twitched.
"I like this one. She's feisty!" Sara interjected. Aura smiled big at me, accepting the compliment.
"Apparently you're not as nervous about meeting Sara anymore?" I asked Aura, trying to change the direction of the conversation away from teasing me.
"Hey! Not cool. You don't just say in front of her," Aura swiftly chided me. She feigned a look of being offended.
"That's not cool, but you two teasing me was cool?" I asked, knowing Aura wasn't actually offended.
"Hey, you're the one that picked up some chick at two in the morning and then invited her to breakfast with your sister," she quipped back.
"She has you there," Sara concurred. I was slightly caught off guard by Aura's remark. She had been so concerned earlier that I viewed her as 'just some chick', that I didn't know how to take it when she jokingly referred to herself as such. I crossed my arms and looked out the window, admitting defeat, as we turned into a parking lot.
"We're here," Aura announced. After getting out of the car, Sara tossed the back of her hand at my shoulder.
"Quit being so sensitive," she chastised me. I knew she didn't think I was actually being sensitive, but that she was just getting in one last jab. We gathered into a booth, Aura and I next to each other, and Sara across from us. A busser filled our water glasses and gave Sara and Aura coffee. I declined, preferring hot tea to coffee with breakfast.
"I see you understand the wondrousness of coffee, unlike some people," Sara commented to Aura.
"Yup. I always say I'm 'Instant Human: just add coffee'," Aura joked. Sara laughed aloud, and I smiled.
"I'm stealing that line, I hope you know," Sara warned.
"Always to be glad of service," Aura gave a smile of her own.
A waitress brought us menus and took my drink order. We didn't take long to decide what sounded good, so we ordered as soon as my tea was brought. Once the waitress left, Sara started a new conversation.
"So you were nervous about meeting me?" she asked Aura. Her tone seemed nonchalant enough, but I knew better. I gave her a quick glare. Sara has gotten wary about dating fans in the last few years.
"A little," Aura divulged. "I've always been a bit on edge about meeting someone's family, especially when I just met that someone."
"Ah. I'm not too scary, am I?" Sara seemed satisfied by Aura's answer.
"Nah. I mean, Tegan told me all these horror stories-" Aura accused me, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"I did not!" I jokingly contended, which made Aura laugh. "And anyway, I know where you were going with that question, Sara. Yes, she knows who we are," I told Sara to avoid going further into her line of questioning.
"I, I didn't…mean-" Sara stuttered. Apparently, she wasn't expecting me to be so forward in announcing her motives.
"It's okay," Aura cut her off. "I know it must be interesting for you guys sometimes, to say the least." She finished just as we got our food. I was charmed by how understanding Aura was to the topic, especially since it was about her.
"I didn't realize how hungry I am," I commented, shoveling food into my face. Aura and Sara agreed, and we all killed our meals pretty quickly. After taking our empty dishes, the waitress dropped the bill. Sara snatched the bill up before Aura or I could get to it.
"I invited you, so it's my treat," she explained. I knew it was her way of apologizing to me for her slight interrogation of Aura. I didn't argue and lead Aura outside. I wanted to talk to her anyway, without Sara. She was wowing me left and right, even more so than she had earlier.
"You seem less tense than at the hotel," I commented, trying not to be too overt.
"Yeah well, my confidence got a few bonus points. It's not everyday that Tegan and Sara tell you that you're attractive," she jocularly goaded. Her sense of humor had me smitten.
"Well it's not everyday that we meet someone as attractive as you." I smiled, adding a little charm. She smiled back at me. I saw Sara walking toward us. "Ready to go?" I asked her.
"Let's hit it," she confirmed. Aura and I caught each other's eyes.
"That's what she said," we simultaneously made the joke from earlier. Sara snickered as we climbed back into the car. I felt the morning had gone very well and was happy with how well Sara and Aura were hitting it off. I remembered how shy Aura had been about singing in front of me during Empire Records and decided to see if her burst of confidence would maybe change that. I switched on the stereo and flipped through a few stations before settling on Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me". We all rocked out to the classic tune, which pleased me. I was glad Aura had truly seemed to lose her initial reservations. Other songs played as we drove, and we sang along with the ones we knew. Back at the hotel, Aura parked. Sara went to wait at the front doors, knowingly giving me the chance to invite Aura back up to my room. I turned to Aura.
"Hey, I know we've been hanging out for a few hours now," I said, not sure how to word this without sounding too forward, "but you said you're free until Tuesday."
"Why, Tegan, are you asking me up to your hotel room?" she jested. Glad that I didn't have to figure out how to word it anymore, I smiled brightly at her. "Sure," she said. I clapped happily, and we got out of the car. Meeting Sara, we rode the elevator to our floor. Aura and I repeatedly shared contagious yawns the entire way. Sara got of first and turned to us.
"Well, I need to go shower. You kids behave yourselves," she gave a wink and grinned, going back to her own room.
She had to get in one final knock, didn't she? Whatever, might as well use it to my advantage, I planned. I looked at Aura, glanced down to take her hand, and then looked back up I was unsure as to whether Aura and I were at the 'hand-holding' point yet but confident enough to attempt. Aura smiled and squeezed my hand in reassurance. We entered my room and tossed our coats and shoes off. Time for the real test, I mentally prepared myself. Yawning, I asked, "Do you mind if we take a nap?"
Aura yawned too, and replied, "A nap sounds fantastic. Damn contagious yawns." We got back into the bed twice as clothed as we had been when we last left it and got under the blankets. Hesitantly, I met Aura's eyes.
"Do you, do you mind if I hold you?" I asked, hoping it wasn't too bold. Aura gave me a soft kiss to calm me.
"I think cuddling is one of the best things ever invented," she commented. I gave a gummy smile, very pleased that she was a fan of spooning. She rolled to be the little spoon, and I reached my arm around her waist, snuggling close.
"Mmm," I hummed, "I could get used to this," I shared brazenly. Aura laid her arm on mine and entwined our fingers.
"Me, too," she responded. I fell asleep smiling.
