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As Arlo wandered back home with Auggie, new suit pristine on his shoulders, she reflected on the turn her evening had taken.
It wasn’t that Arlo had been disappointed, initially, when Auggie had appeared with a request for a bath.
Not really. In fact Auggie having the courage and vulnerability to show up at her room and request to bathe there made something inside her chest creak open a little. Much like it had when he’d introduced himself with a nervous loosening of his smudged collar. Or when he’d looked at her with open awe in his eyes when she’d said he’d done well, their first assignment.
Or when he’d tried, admirably, to step in when she was being unceremoniously removed from the art gallery.
In fact, if she didn’t recognise exactly what she was feeling, she’d be quite concerned she had an unfortunate heart ailment. But she did recognise it. And she’d loved Eddie, she had, but he was gone and despite Howard’s bluster over how they’d most certainly retrieve her betrothed, she knew what the portal had done to her arm.
She had no doubt in her mind that wherever Eddie was now, whatever he was, he was no longer her fiancé. She’d allowed herself the time to grieve over that. Give herself peace while still searching for answers – they both deserved them, and the voices had given her such interesting hints to pursue…
So she wasn’t disappointed that Auggie hadn’t shown up to invite her out with him. It wouldn’t do to have delusions of whimsy like that – after the day they’d had, especially for a Lady of her stature.
She was, however, slightly turned around. Surprised. And maybe, she had felt a slight drop in her stomach when Auggie paused mid request and her hopeful mind had filled in the remainder of his sentence for him.
But no. He wished to take a bath. Of course she’d obliged - he was ever so sweet, and courteous despite his difficult upbringing.
It had been no trouble, she’d assured him, and the flush in his cheeks once he emerged was endearing to say the least. He’d been so brave earlier - Arlo had wanted to tell him, as he accepted the new clothes from Mrs Thomas, but she wanted to see the way his eyes brightened as she said it. Preferred to have him undistracted, alone.
Instead, she invited him out to shop for a new suit. For once, she didn’t feel the urge to seclude herself in her room after the day. She loved solitude usually, it allowed her mind to wander without urgency, without anyone expecting things of her, but she found she didn’t crave it.
So, they’d gone to a tailor, one of renown though not the highest end in town. Auggie had made that clear enough – he wouldn’t have her spending a fortune on something he’d only dirty up.
She privately thought the whole outfit would look more charming with his hair mussed and suspenders askew, shirt rumpled, but that wasn’t something she would voice in the bustling shopping district.
She would exercise restraint, regardless of how bright his eyes were when he looked over at her.
“Are y’sure this fits right?” Arlo blinked, turning to look at the eyes in question as he loped alongside her through the streets, entirely at home even in the quieter alleyways that she usually avoided. He was pulling uncomfortably at his collar where it was just short of flush against his neck, fitting wonderfully, in any case. “Feels… I dunno.”
Arlo allowed herself the same endeared smile she knew she’d been wearing whenever August James did something earnest or silly. He seemed a little worried at its appearance. “The collar is supposed to be stiff and high, to allow for a cravat to be worn.”
A slight frown line appeared between his eyebrows. “Uhh, should I be wearin’ one of those?” He pulled a little awkwardly at the collar again, wincing when he noticed her eyes drifting to the fabric. “I don’t mean to be ungrateful, I promise, it’s just-”
“Terribly uncomfortable?” Arlo finished for him, smile only growing as a light blush appeared on his cheeks. She stepped closer, uncaring of the pedestrians around her, and backed him under the soft light of a restaurant awning at the side of the street. She was careful to keep her gaze locked on her hands – it wandered so often, but she was practiced at focusing if she needed to – as she gently unbuttoned the top button of his shirt. He gulped, and the movement pressed his throat into the backs of the fingers on her ungloved hand. Her skin tingled, and she pulled away a moment too late. “Is that better?”
“Uh-” His voice broke slightly, pitched oddly before he coughed and nodded, looking with interest at the ground. “Yeah, yeah it is, thank you.”
“Of course, after all, I cannot allow my fiancé to suffer in the clothing I purchase for him.”
“Are you ever gonna let me forget that?” Auggie asked through a laugh, thankfully catching the note of teasing in her voice and only blushing half as red as she knew he was capable of.
Arlo didn’t give him an answer, letting her silence and half-smile do the work as she inspected the restaurant they were near. There was something off with it. Lights were dancing in her periphery, out of the shuttered windows. “I think someone died here.” She turned and continued their walk back, slowing to allow Auggie time to catch up.
“Don’t take this the wrong way?” Auggie said through a half gasp as he dodged a cyclist cutting across the cobblestone street they walked down. “You’re really strange.”
The warmth in his voice, the way he sounded like he liked it – Arlo didn’t think she could possibly take that the wrong way. “Hmm, so I’m told.” She flexed her gloved hand, feeling the strange ebb and flow of cold nothing from the very centre, and paused while Auggie stopped to exchange brief greetings with another young man cycling by in a familiar cap.
Arlo felt so detached from reality now. Or at least from everyone else’s reality. She floated through the realm, seeing into places she probably shouldn’t, allowing those places to see into her. Auggie was different, he was thoroughly grounded here. Embedded in the city with his whole being. She suspected it was part of why she enjoyed spending time with him.
So no. Arlo wasn’t disappointed with her evening. In fact, it felt more and more like what she’d been hoping for when Auggie showed up at her door, shuffling nervously as if she could ever deny him.
He waved off the boy – Arlo noticed Auggie flicked a coin his way before letting him leave – and then turned to Arlo with a sheepish smile. “Sorry, that’s a friend of mine, caught me up on some news I’d missed.”
From the way their eyes had darted her way at least three times in the brief conversation, Arlo suspected Auggie had also caught his friend up on his news. She wondered what he told him. If he’d called her the pretty one again. Instead of enquiring down those roads, she said, “Was the coin for the news he brought?”
Auggie stepped closer, swinging casually around the lamppost close to him as he did it. “Nah, his ma is sick, had to stop work so…” He shrugged to end the sentence, as if this wasn’t the umpteenth time since she’d met him that Auggie had been so kindhearted it made her ache.
She took a deep breath and waited for the rush of fondness to fade, lest she do something rash. “That’s very compassionate of you, Auggie.”
On cue, his cheeks gained a rosy hue. It was much easier to see now he’d washed the grime of the day off his face, and Arlo wasn’t sure he knew it. He brushed off the compliment with a vague noise in the back of his throat, rubbed his hand through his hair a little awkwardly. It was sticking in all directions now, but at least it lacked the dirty sludge from their earlier adventures – she quite liked the rich brown shine it had now.
“Can I ask- and, tell me if this is way too forward-” He had a look of utmost focus on his face, as if whatever he was about to say was of great importance. Arlo made a conscious effort to check her surroundings, finding she’d been meandering down the street without direction and was now closer to the train station than she’d realised. It was late enough that there weren’t many others on the street with them, so Arlo stayed in the middle of the sidewalk and waited. “Was this-” Auggie gestured between them, around them, grabbed his shirt and tugged it a bit in a way that made her purse her lips to suppress a giggle, “-was this a-”
And then a large drop of rain splattered onto the street between them.
Arlo released a breath. She felt quite dizzy, and then realised she hadn’t been breathing as Auggie fumbled through his sentence. She took more breaths, punctuated with more and more drops of rain on the cobblestones, then looked up at Auggie. “I don’t suppose we could finish this conversation inside?”
Auggie’s ears went bright red, quite clearly catching the accidental insinuation from Arlo’s request, but politely not commenting on it. “Yeah, yeah, course-” The rain started to pour harder, and Arlo winced as her hair – elegantly yet simply twisted into a bun atop her head – started to soak through and grow heavy. Auggie frowned with dismay. “Ah, shoot, I don’t have an umbrella…” He looked around them as if waiting for one to miraculously appear, then, moments later- “C’mon, portals outta nowhere but not an umbrella?”
Arlo laughed a little harder than she’d anticipated, striding forwards to grip his sleeve and pull him towards her house. It was only a ten minute walk from here – she could survive ten minutes in the rain.
Auggie seemed to be fighting her every step however, and she turned back to find him wrestling his new overcoat off. She didn’t realise his intent before he stepped closer – almost close enough to touch, but not quite – and held the coat over her head.
It was at this point where, had Arlo not still been clinging to the last vestiges of her upbringing – her restraint and decorum, she’d have gripped him by that uncomfortable collar and kissed him. She didn’t, though, just barely. She did find herself eyeing his mouth for several, likely obvious seconds, before allowing herself a slight cough into her gloved hand and averting her eyes over his shoulders.
If her gaze wandered to where his shoulders were tensed under a now wet shirt, flexing from where he held the coat over her, then that was her business.
Her voice was a little raspier than she expected when she managed to speak. “Auggie, you’ll be soaked through, I can’t allow you to-”
“I wouldn’t have none of this without you bein’ real sweet to me, so let me just- lemme do this, please?” A drop of rain fell from his now dark, wet hair, across his forehead and down the side of his face. Arlo found herself following it for a moment, then looking up into blue eyes with pretty, long lashes.
And- well, was she going to say no to that? Looking away before her restraint failed her, she instead smiled as evenly as she was able. “Thank you, Auggie.”
“No problem.” He seemed so pleased to be able to help, even as the rain fell harder and no doubt icy on his skin. He then shivered, as if on cue. “Though, uh, let's get movin’ yeah?”
Arlo allowed herself a laugh and they set off, moving slower than they would have previously, Auggie awkwardly striding at her side with the coat outstretched above her. He apologised every time he bumped into her, regardless of the fact that it didn’t even remotely hurt, and the touches were entirely innocent in any case. He seemed fixated on allowing her space, and she wondered if this was Charlotte’s influence on him shining through.
By the time they reached her residence, the rain had lessened from a veritable downpour to a more regular shower. Arlo’s hair was drying a little uncomfortably where strands had fallen loose on her neck, but poor Auggie was quite drenched.
He didn’t seem upset at all, in fact smiling broadly as if he was pleased with getting her home dry. He sobered a little upon finding her watching him, then straightened his shoulders as if steeling himself to ask something.
“So, earlier you said we should finish the conversation inside, and I know we’re not, we’re not inside, but what I was gonna ask is a little, uh…” He trailed off, eyes flitting to the front door just behind Arlo. “I dunno if you’ll want me in there, is all.”
“I can guarantee, you can ask me nothing that will shock or upset me.” Arlo fiddled with her glove as she spoke, trying to ground herself. The shadows nearby were ever so loud, and she was hoping they would be quiet for this next bit.
Auggie pulled a face, as if he wasn’t sure he believed her, but took a deep breath. “Was- was this evening a date?”
Arlo smiled. “I was rather hoping it was, Auggie.”
“Oh,” Auggie mumbled, a grin stretching across his face even as rain dripped off his nose and chin. “Well, now I feel bad I didn’t pay for anythin’.” He chuckled, but Arlo could hear the slight note of genuine discomfort underneath.
“I asked you to accompany me, it would have been rude of me to expect you to pay, no?” Arlo reasoned, backing up slightly towards the door and noting with amusement that Auggie followed subconsciously, keeping the coat over her head. “Besides, you’ve had a very difficult few weeks. I remember what it was like when I-” she broke off, recalling how lost she’d felt when Eddie had been taken and she’d been pulled into this world. “Well, I wanted to do this for you.”
Auggie nodded, rain collecting in his dimples as his smile didn’t shift from his face. “Well I uh, thanks. I don’t wanna impose, so I’ll let you…” He trailed off, jutting his chin towards the door behind her.
“Aren’t you going to kiss me, Auggie?” Arlo managed, over the way her heart was thudding in her chest. If she’d felt detached from reality all day, this was certainly bringing her back to herself. The voices, the whispering, the colours – all faded.
For his part, Auggie was blinking as if he thought he was dreaming. “Uh- I mean-” He stepped closer, his boots almost touching the front of her shoes. “Are y’sure?”
“I don’t ask for things I don’t want,” Arlo whispered, feeling like they were in a little world together, with the way they were both under the jacket now, her back close to the door and him standing so close.
Auggie swallowed hard, and Arlo watched with interest as his throat bobbed against the unbuttoned shirt collar. “And you want… me?”
“Oh yes, quite badly.” Charlotte was correct. Directness was an asset in many cases, and Arlo watched as Auggie’s jaw dropped a little bit before he recovered.
He didn’t check again, but he did move slowly. Slow enough for Arlo to pull away if she wished. Slow enough that Arlo had the brief, mad moment of panic, where she realised maybe Auggie didn’t want this yet. It was when she could feel his breath on her lips that she unfroze enough to say something. “If you don’t want to kiss me, there is no obligation.”
He breathed out a laugh, then kissed her softly.
For the first time in a very long time, Arlo’s mind went blessedly blank.
She focused on how soft his lips were, they were slick from the rain, cold, and she pushed a little closer for more. He was taking great care to not touch her otherwise, his arms still stubbornly above their heads though she knew they must be aching by now. She brought her bare hand up, curled her fingers around his jawline, and encouraged him to kiss her firmer.
He did, parting his lips only slightly but enough to trap her bottom lip between his, taking a shaky breath in through his nose as she smiled.
They parted after a moment. Auggie was as red as she’d ever seen him, and his smile was so wide that Arlo wasn’t sure how his cheeks weren’t sore from it.
She thought of him walking home now, after that, and her hand moved to curl into his shirt over his chest and pulled.
She backed up, further, further until her back met the door with a thud. He followed, eyes wide, but arms still holding that damned coat over them. “Auggie, drop the coat.”
He paused, even pressed against her now with her fist clenching to his shirt. “But- it’ll get dirty… He trailed off, realising what he was saying, and instead shrugged it on over his shoulders again.
“Good, now you can touch me.” And, well, Arlo had meant that he could touch her waist, cradle her face or her neck, but Auggie’s mind had taken quite the lurch into the gutter, if the way he was sputtering was any indication. She helped him out, using her gloved hand to guide one of his to her waist.
She tugged him once more, and then they were kissing again.
His hand tightened slightly on her waist, and her breathing became more than a little irregular for a moment. His hands were strong, years of labour ingrained in the very bones of him. Arlo felt lightheaded, and not in the familiar way.
She pulled back a little, taking a much needed breath as rain hit the awning above them and fell just behind Auggie. His face was still damp. There was a raindrop on his eyelashes.
Then, something occurred to her. “You still haven’t said my name, do you know that?” She breathed against his lips, not relinquishing her iron grip on the well starched shirt. He did look as charming as she thought he would, all rumpled and flushed.
“Arlo Black,” Auggie said with a slight smile, moving to kiss her cheek sweetly before returning to her lips. She liked how her name sounded from him. He kissed her again, only a short peck. “You should probably get inside, before your family thinks I’ve kidnapped you or somethin’.”
And, well, her family was a subject to broach another time. They certainly wouldn’t be out searching for her, and they most definitely wouldn’t know if she brought Auggie inside, back to her room.
But she’d pushed things far enough already. Instead, she loosened her hold on his shirt and instead slid her hand up to his left shoulder, tracing delicate circles with her fingers over to where his hair was slowly drying in waves on his neck. “They wouldn’t have to look very far.” She moved a hand off him, tapping the door behind her with two fingers.
Auggie laughed, placing one last kiss to her lips while his hand cradled her face carefully. “Yeah, well, rich folks don’t always see what’s right in front of ‘em.”
Recognising the light hearted jab for what it was, Arlo pressed him back with a fond smile. “I think I did, or do you disagree?”
“Nah,” Auggie scrunched his nose up, stepping out of her space and running a hand through his hair, sending droplets every which way. “Nah you’re rich, but you’re weird.”
“Get home safe, August James,” Arlo said through a half bitten back smile. “And I may be over soon. For a book.”
He looked like he didn’t know what to do with himself, and shoved his hands deep into his pockets as he backed down the street. “We got books. Got loads of books!” He turned to walk, then swivelled back around. “Night, Arlo Black!”
“Goodnight, Auggie.”