Your Girlfriend Calls Me Daddy

Chapter 119 - 120 | Goodbye Kiss, Hello Problem

"Where is she?" Mera demanded, dropping her bags and scanning the apartment. "Did you sleep with her? In our bed?"

Cheon set her bags down more carefully. "What happened? Did she see the news?"

Mera flopped onto the couch beside me, her tail curling around my wrist. "So what did she do? Report you? Threaten you? Kiss you?"

"She kissed you?" She sounded delighted rather than angry, which continued to amaze me about Mera. "Our little goody-two-shoes Aurora kissed you while her boyfriend was off doing whatever boring hero stuff he does?"

"Semantics," Mera waved a dismissive hand. "The point is she kissed you, which means she wants you, which means you’re one step closer to completing your weird harem quest."

I looked at her. "What’s the difference?"

"She called us friends," I said. "After she kissed me."

"What did you see?" Cheon asked sharply.

Cheon turned to me. "So she kissed you, then friend-zoned you, then left?"

"That’s actually a good sign," Cheon said, surprising me. "It means she’s conflicted. She’s attracted to you but feels guilty about it."

"Did she say she’d see you again?" Cheon pressed.

Mera grinned. "Oh, she’ll be back. No one kisses like that and just walks away forever."

"Your face." She patted my cheek. "You look like someone hit you with a truck and you enjoyed it."

Cheon sat on my other side, leaning against my shoulder. "So, to summarize: Aurora saw you on the news using multiple unregistered abilities, came over for ’answers,’ ended up kissing you, then left calling you friends."

"And while all this was happening," Mera added, "you were basically outed as a vigilante on Channel Seven."

"Your life is very complicated," Cheon observed.

Mera nuzzled my neck. "At least the complicated parts come with benefits."

"I was thinking denial," I suggested. "It wasn’t me, I have no idea who that is, must be someone who looks similar."

"Hair dye exists. So do contacts."

I sighed. "Fine. What do you suggest?"

"That’s illegal," Cheon pointed out. "Unregistered ability use in public."

Cheon nodded slowly. "That could work. We frame it as a good Samaritan act by a registered adaptive-type. The timing is suspicious, but not definitively damning."

"My father would hate it," I said, considering the idea. "Which is almost reason enough to do it."

"Let them." I shrugged. "By the time they schedule it, I’ll have figured something out."

"Hello?" I answered cautiously.

"Speaking."

Well, that was fast.

"Mr. D’Angelo, we have multiple eyewitnesses and security footage—"

I hung up before she could respond, then turned my phone off completely.

"You could do the interview," Mera suggested. "Get ahead of the story."

"That never works," Cheon said with certainty.

"Like what?" Mera asked.

Mera laughed. "I think you already know what you’re going to do."

"You’re going to keep pushing until she breaks." Mera’s eyes gleamed. "Because that’s what you do. You find the cracks in people’s armor and work your way in."

"Is she wrong, though?" Cheon asked quietly.

"No," I admitted. "She’s not wrong."

The taste of her Essentia, wild and electric, nothing like her controlled exterior.

I grinned. "I’m going to be the best damn friend Aurora Fitzgerald has ever had."

"Until she realizes she wants more."