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"Yeah, DCU. Not all of us can afford the fancy schools."

He adjusted his arm up higher, allowing her additional room as she worked on pressing against him. The alcohol had long since worn itself out of his system, leaving Akio feeling tired, but content. The young man knew that any other evening, cuddling with a near-stranger would be considered odd but in light of the evening's magical affairs, he was perfectly satisfied with having one Aurora Willows clinging against his side. For whatever reason, it simply felt right.

At her question for the time, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone, flipping it over to look at the lock screen - barely past one in the morning. A finger slid down the side of the phone to turn the music off, but he hesitated and stopped himself. Instead, he sat the phone on the other side of him, allowing the soft melody to continue. "About one, one-fifteen. Wouldn't try climbing the fence in this kind of weather, though - unless you're desperate to get home?"

He paused, eyeing the turquoise haired beauty still snuggled against him.

He stared towards the door, a blank expression plastered across his face as he struggled to understand exactly what had just happened.

One moment, she was curled up next to him almost practically ready to take a nap and the next she was halfway across the gazebo, making a beeline for the door as she rambled on about a curfew (a curfew?) and her father getting upset.

Alright, so she still lived at home. No big deal - lots of students stayed with their parents up through college. He couldn't fault her for that, but from the sound of things, Aurora's father probably knew of what an innocent gem his daughter was, thus the seemingly strict curfew for a grown adult woman.

"No, wait - Aurora!"

He jumped off the bench with a startled look on his face, only to be forced to spin around and return to grab the phone that still rested on the wooden seat. Fetching his soggy shoes and socks had been next, the tall man nearly tripping over his own bare feet to catch up to the worried girl. Gone was the grace and suave movement, replaced with mild panic at the thought of this mysterious woman disappearing into the night without giving him a chance to chase her.

"I-I can take you home, if you would like?"

He worked on catching his breath, the shoes still clinging to the fingers that held them. The rain was still coming down outside, but water was the least of Akio's concerns. "I'm not going to let you walk alone in the middle of the night, Aurora. It's too dangerous."

The panic subsided as fingers met hers once more, the young man ushering them both out the door and into the rain.

It hadn't been the most ideal environment for walking (or running, but judging by her missing shoes and the fact he still held his in his hands, they were certainly not going to be running around in the garden) but they managed to find their way through the haze of morning mist and rain to make their way back to the gate they'd scaled earlier.

Dark eyes studied the fencing, the young man doing his best to ignore the fact that his hair and clothing now clung to him like a second skin. The rain weighed him down, but his heart remained light as long as his hand was still wrapped around hers.

In the distance, there was a shift in the gate - a side opening, maybe? He was terrible with locks, but if the latch was fastened from the inside.... yes!

Tugging her in the direction of the gate, he managed to fumble with the latch until it was opened, providing a more simple, less climb-requiring method for their escape. Which, without both of them wearing shoes, was probably for the better.

Slipping outside, he was unable to lock the gate back up but his concerns were more on keeping up with his young dragon princess than it was ensuring the Garden's safety from potential intruders. Surely tomorrow would cause such a stir as it was, garden keepers stumbling across not only a pair of women's dress shoes but a young man's suit jacket as well.

Ah, well. Such was the price for adventure, it seemed!

He stared off in a look of bemused puzzlement, the young man allowing his impromptu date to pull him into the crosswalk as lanky legs happily stumbled after. The kiss left a warm tingle on his lips, the rain around them ignored as he watched the wet turquoise hair cling to her shoulders like seaweed - a bewitching siren leading a willing victim wherever she pleased.

Akio didn't know why she was thanking him - in truth, she had every right to be yelling at him, for creating the trouble she was now finding herself in. When she turned, pausing to ask him her next question in such an innocent voice...

"This isn't - it's not just for tonight, right?"

The worry in her voice was almost palpable, her eyes pleading with him to say the right words, to assure her that it wasn't just a passing dream that she'd wake up from in the morning. For someone so beautiful in all of her drenched, waterlogged glory, she looked to have shrunk an entire foot with the way her lips nervously pressed together, her eyebrows creasing upwards.


Akio responded the only way his heart allowed him to. The hand holding hers released itself to draw up and gently cup her cheek, the pad of his thumb gliding across the wetness of her skin. He almost tossed his shoes to the side, but instead leaned in and took his time kissing her, the hand on her cheek moving back to tangle itself in her cascade of hair.

The kiss felt like a lifetime and an instant in the same moment. He didn't want to leave, didn't want her to leave and he didn't want the moment to end. Would tomorrow continue the magic, or would reality wipe away the feelings they felt tonight? Would she reason that her actions had been foolish, that he was a stranger not worth the risk? Would she want to see him again, after tonight?

Pulling away, he rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, too selfish to let her or the moment go, just yet. He wanted to say something clever, something whimsical and memorable. Only, his brain was not cooperating, his heart taking precedence of the situation as his voice croaked out softly,

"Please allow me to see you again."

As the loud voice boomed more thunderous than the waning storm around them, Akio's eyes found themselves growing wider than ever before. There was no youma under the starry sky that had caused him as much panic as seeing the rather large father of his stolen date barrel out of the apartment's front door.

Aurora's panicked squeak as she turned to run in the direction of the terrifying, burly man sent Akio tripping backwards over his own pants legs. He toppled backwards with his own yelp, falling directly on his a**. It lasted only for a brief second before hands scrambled to push himself upwards, the young man staggering forward as he struggled to keep himself from tripping further, abandoning his shoes along the way.

He wasn't proud of his fleeing, but he also preferred being a chicken as opposed to the dead duck that he would surely become once Mr. Willows got those beefy hands around his much slimmer looking throat.

Once he turned the corner and was fairly positive that he wasn't being followed by the angry man, Akio took a moment to catch his breath and wipe the grime of the sidewalk onto his soaked pants. He closed his eyes and rested his head against the wall, contemplating the merits of Appropriate Ways to Kiss Butt to Angry Father Figures. He could always just call her up tomorrow and ask for her opinion, anywa----

Oh no.

Sinking to the ground, he sat on his heels as he let out an anguished sigh. He hadn't bothered to get her phone number! At least he knew where she lived, right? And maybe, once he showed up again to her house, Mr. Big and Scary would be off at work... maybe? Hopefully??

Running his fingers through his hopelessly soaked hair, the young man finally rose from his spot and found his way into the closest alleyway. Teleporting seemed the easiest way to return home, now that he was finally alone to his own devices.

He'd show up tomorrow, see about at least getting her phone number.

....and maybe a kiss, if he played his cards right.