t w e n t y

Xavier watched the door close behind her disappearing figure.

"It's not like I mind it," he muttered disappointedly, mostly to himself. He headed back out to the dining table with a slight pout on his face as he began to set up breakfast.

He just wanted his good morning kiss.

20 minutes later, she finally emerged from the room with slightly damp hair and a large t-shirt that she wore often at home.

Leaning over, she placed a quick peck on his lips, immediately wiping his pout away. She turned to look at the table and a surprised expression began to form on her face.

On the table, was a sausage, egg, and cheese McGriddle from McDonalds, as well as her usual iced coffee from Massie's cafe.

"You remembered?" She asked as she took a seat across from him. "You only briefly saw what I ordered last time."

"Of course I remember," He said, looking quite proud of himself. "I'd remember even the tiniest details if they involve you."

She felt her heart swoon. Leaning over, she placed another kiss on his lips. "You're so sweet. Thank you."

Sitting back down, she began to dig in happily. She was hungry and honestly, she didn't know how she would go to work without breakfast sometimes. Aurora was actually glad Xavier had woken her up earlier.

"This is so good," Despite the time it took for her to shower, the McGriddle was still warm as she took her first bite.

Xavier took a bite of his own. He was not one to eat McDonalds often and had no idea what to order, so instead, he had gotten the same as her. "It is pretty good."

Aurora nodded with approval. "It is, isn't it?"

As she continued to eat, there was a question she had been meaning to ask. "How'd you even get back in after you left?"

"Your keys by the door," he answered, before looking at her with disapproval. "You really shouldn't leave your keys right next to the door in a bowl, sweetheart."

She was a little taken aback by the sudden statement. Her face reddened with slight embarrassment, causing her to grumble.

"I lose my keys easily."

"Why doesn't that surprise me, love?"

She gave him an exasperated expression to which he ignored happily as he continued to eat. When she finished her breakfast, she headed back into her room, letting him know that she was going to get ready.

Xavier stayed back, making sure to throw all the wrappers away into the trash. He even wiped the table down before trailing in after Aurora. It was like his second nature to keep everything clean and tidy. He stood by the door watching Aurora as she sat in front of her vanity, quickly doing her makeup.

Unlike last night, he could see that her room was fairly similar to his sisters' rooms growing up. The color scheme was filled with pinks, grays, and whites, similar to the living room, which was the complete opposite of his own place. Although quite tidy, there were still clusters around the room, which surprisingly did not bother him much.

From her peripheral vision, she could see him leaning on the doorframe, with one leg crossed over the other.

Chuckling, she gestured for him to come in. "You don't have to stay by the door."

Wordlessly, Xavier walked over to the bed, sitting down right behind Aurora. He watched as she began attach what looked like fake eyelashes to her eyes. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Their eyes met in the mirror, causing her to burst into laughter. "I've never had someone watch me do my makeup."

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" He asked.

She shook her head and gave him a reassuring smile. "Maybe just a bit nervous."

Soon enough, she finished her makeup with a spritz of setting spray before getting up to walk to where Xavier sat. She stood in between his legs as his arms wrapped around her waist.

"I think you look beautiful with or without makeup," he murmured. Even when he was sitting and she was standing, she was only a bit taller as she looked down on him. His beautiful gray eyes seemed lighter during the day with the morning sun shining into the room.

"If you keep complimenting me, I'm going to become vain," she leaned down to place a quick kiss on his lips. She bit back a smile as she gently wiped off her burgundy lipstick that had transferred onto his lips with her thumb. "But thank you."

"I'm just stating the truth, sweetheart," he pulled her even closer to him.

Chuckling, she poked his forehead, causing his head to tilt back and stepped away. "Alright, sweet talker, go wait in the living room while I change."

"Can't I just watch?"

"Xavier!"

She shrieked and slapped his arm, causing him to laugh. Aurora quickly shooed him out of her room before going to change.

It was 9:30 when she emerged from her room, finally ready for work. Never had he been this late to work, usually heading in at 8, but he supposed this was the only exception.

She naturally handed her purse and phone to Xavier as she slipped on her tan colored blazer that matched her pencil skirt which stopped mid-thigh.

Underneath her blazer, she wore a black fitted turtleneck with long sleeves that reached her knuckles. Her long hair was kept in its naturally straight form, flowing down to her waist.

"Ready?" Xavier asked.

"Yeah, let me just find my phone," she said, turning back to head back into her room.

Xavier reached out to grab her arm and stopped her. "You just handed me your phone, love."

"Oh."

She gave him a sheepish smile, taking her purse and phone from him as he shook his head amusingly. She not so gracefully slipped on a pair of black heels with the help of Xavier— meaning he held onto her, so she wouldn't fall onto her face.

Honestly, how did she survive before he came along?

❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎

Aurora unlaced her fingers from Xavier's, but before she could even make a move to open the door, he stopped her.

"Wait."

"Hm?" She turned to look at him with confusion. Had she forgotten something?

He leaned over the center consul and kissed her, not caring if her lipstick smeared onto his lips.

"You almost forgot to give me my goodbye kiss," he murmured against her lips as he pulled back.

"My bad," she whispered, wiping at his lips again. She pulled the visor down and flipped open the mirror, making sure her own lipstick wasn't smeared.

"Do I look okay?" She asked turning to look at Xavier, who had a gentle smile laced on his face as he watched her.

"You always look more than okay, beautiful," he replied smoothly. "Go on a date with me tonight?"

"Date?"

He nodded, taking her hand in his, placing a gentle kiss on the back of it. "It's Friday—perfect for date night."

She smiled, quickly agreeing. "I think it'll be fun."

"What time do you get off of work?"

She thought for a moment. There wasn't a set time to when she specifically got off of work. "Maybe around 6?"

"I'll pick you up here at 6, then."

They shared another quick kiss before Aurora finally opened the car door. Xavier grumbled, wanting to deepen the kiss to which she quickly stopped. She knew that if she gave in, they would be there all day.

"I'll see you tonight," She waved him goodbye as he stayed in his spot, waiting for her to walk into the building.

And for the first time in a week, she felt both happy and well rested enough to walk into her office with a genuine smile on her face.

Immediately, Grace had noticed the happy expression on Aurora's face compared to the sullen one that had seemingly graced her face throughout the week. Unlike some people, Aurora's facial expressions were very easy to read, often showing the world how happy or sad she felt.

As the morning went on Aurora busied herself with work, looking over boards and finalizing drafts. People went in and out of her office, making sure to get her input and approval on certain decisions.

A knock on the door caused her to look up. She was expecting another one of the architects, but instead, it was Grace with a takeout bag and drink. Wide eyed, she looked at the time and realized it was already 1.

"Oh gosh, I completely forgot about lunch," Aurora gave Grace a grateful smile as she placed the items in front of her. "Thank you, Grace."

"Oh, these weren't from me," Grace piped, giving Aurora a smirk. She then placed a bouquet of flowers on the desk.

Where did those come from?

She had completely missed them when Grace waltzed in. Her sole focus being on the food.

"They were from a very handsome man who works for Mr. Knight."

Aurora scrunched her eyebrows in confusion before taking a wild guess. "Jackson?"

Grace nodded enthusiastically, eyeing the bouquet with glee. "Seems like you got an admirer."

Her eyes zoned in on the little card that was attached to the bouquet. Grabbing it, she unfolded it.

Enjoy, love. X

Aurora smiled at the simple card, placing it to the side for safe keeping.

"So," Grace looked at her with a big teasing grin on her face. "You and Mr. Knight?"

"Shut up," She felt her face flare up, her cheeks turning a rosy pink. She gave Grace a playful glare, before teasing her right back. The fact that Grace had called Jackson handsome had not escaped her notice. "You and Jackson?"

It was Grace's turn to blush as she repeated the same response. "Shut up."

Aurora giggled as Grace quickly excused herself, escaping the room with a small pout on her face. Aurora grinned as the door shut, turning to look down at the flowers.

It was a small bouquet of pink and red roses. How did he know these were her favorite flowers?

Then as her focus switched to the food, she noticed that he had ordered her favorite drink from the bubble tea cafe they frequented together. He also ordered her usual from Tokyo Lobby, her favorite Japanese restaurant in the area.

It was the combination bento with teriyaki beef, 4 pieces of California rolls, vegetable tempura with a side of salad, miso soup, and rice. Again, how did he know what her usual was when they had never gone to the restaurant together before?

Feeling touched, she grabbed her phone and hit FaceTime in his contact. He picked up within the first couple of rings.

A smile graced his handsome face as she appeared on the screen.

"How are you enjoying your lunch, love?" He asked.

"I love it," she tilted the camera to show him her desk before bringing it back to her face. "How did you know what I usually ordered at Tokyo Lobby?"

"I may have had a little help from Maddie," he admitted. "You completely forgot about lunch again didn't you?"

"Maybe," She grumbled, causing Xavier to shake his head knowingly. Slightly struggling, she split the chopsticks with a grunt, which of course split unevenly. "But, thank you. Grace took me by surprise when she said it wasn't from her."

"I was going to go myself, but got caught up with a meeting," he said. She heard rustling next to his phone, before he placed a similar bento box in front of him and the camera. She adjusted her phone, so that it felt like they were eating together.

"Do you like the flowers?"

"They're beautiful, Xavier," She took a bite of the beef and almost moaned at how delicious it was. Aurora gave him a pointed look. "You're already spoiling me."

"Isn't that what I'm suppose to do for my girlfriend?" He asked nonchalantly, using a fork to take a bite of his own. "This is delicious."

Her eyes widened at what he had just said. "Girlfriend?"

"Yes," he looked up at her with a confused alarm expression. He swallowed before continuing. "Aren't you my girlfriend?"

She looked at him with a bewildered confusion, yet she wanted to reach through the camera and pinch his cheeks at how genuinely clueless he looked. "I guess I am."

His confused facial expression disappeared within an instant as a content smile formed on his face. Aurora quickly shook off her bewilderedness and continued to converse with Xavier as they ate together.

Well, this was one way to put a label on their relationship.

❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎

** so I'm not sure why, but I was trying to publish this part, but I was having a little trouble uploading. Not really sure why, but I apologize for the late chapter!

But, happy Tuesday!! I hope you guys had a great weekend! I woke up early to sign up for classes in the fall and guess what? Everything's online again... Yay, Zoom University here I come! I am so flipping excited-- not really.

Thank you to everyone who is adding Yours, Forever to your reading lists, voting, commenting, and just giving my story a chance. I really appreciate it and I hope you enjoyed this chapter^^ Please let me know what you think and have an amazing day! Sending you lots of love <3