That would be appropriate, she thought. Of course they... they liked each other. Aurelie reminded herself of that, oh, nearly every day when doubt threatened to swallow her up. Still, she was stupid to think--she didn't know what she thought. They barely knew each other! It wasn't fair of her to have asked, to expect whatever it is that she was expecting. Hoping for, at least. He was practically turning himself inside out trying to answer her question. Part of her wanted to stop him and rescue him from the attempt. The bigger part wanted to know. Just what did he think?
Oh, couldn't he just tell her that they were... maybe more than friends, but not in the way she wanted, or... or whatever it was, and get it over with? Was he trying to think of the kindest way to let her down? That must be it, but she didn't think he was succeeding if that was the aim. This stammering about was doing her anxiety no favors. Not that she could be upset with him of course. Surely one didn't break out in a cold sweat to say something you thought the other person wanted to hear? How bad was it, anyway? Aurelie might not have been so outwardly in turmoil, but she felt very much like she might be sick at any moment. Just... she had to wait to hear the end of it. Then she could die all she wanted, and she suspected she would very much want to.
Fionn pulled their hands apart at last and she thought: here it is. This is the moment when he's going to say that we're not very much at all, and I will absolutely fall to pieces. She watched his hands wave through the air with a kind of morbid fascination. They sort of flailed around before he did the thing where he tore his hands through his hair that Aurelie had come to recognize as a sign of distress. So it was a distressing answer. So distressing that he pulled away from her and made a frustrated noise. Were they less than friends then? No he'd already said--what would he possibly be trying to articulate? Was there something worse she hadn't yet thought of?
"N-nevermind, I--you don't... it's okay if--"
Whatever she was about to say died in her mouth when he turned back to look at her with a rather intense expression that made her pulse flutter just a little. He brought his hands up and instead of finishing the thought... Kissed her. Briefly, softly, and utterly surprisingly. Aurelie didn't even have time to close her eyes, or process it fully before he'd pulled away again, looking at her with a sigh. There was a sort of shocked look on Aurelie's face for a long moment. If... was it okay, to think. Well. To take that the way she wanted to? As an answer to her question more what she wanted than what she'd expected him to say at the end of all that?
"Oh." That was... not a response either. Aurelie bit her lip, mouth suddenly dry, and tried again. "I... Er. Oh."
No, it wasn't happening. She had nothing to say to that, nothing at all. Aurelie was simply too full of a sort of effervescent giddiness that didn't translate itself into coherent thought. Not even the level of coherence she managed to achieve on a regular basis, low as that was. She let her head slump forward to his shoulder, suddenly unable to look him in the face for even a moment longer. Her hand, freed from his, came to clutch lightly at the front of his shirt.
"N-no I... I won't, er. I think I can leave that out, yes." When she looked back up, she knew her expression was ridiculous. Completely and utterly absurd. Besotted and stupid. So very, very fond.
Chimes! She'd... she'd been staring, she thought. At least it felt like she'd sat there looking at him for what was surely an eternity. Aurelie cleared her throat and looked away. She held her hand out again, a little bit more shy than she had been before. It was just, well. She really liked it. Holding his hand. Any kind of contact, really. She was such a touch-starved thing, in a broad sense, though she was unaware of the extent of it. This feeling only multiplied when it came to Fionn specifically. But twining her fingers through his was particularly pleasing. Special.
"Er... so. Ah. I'll, uhm. I'll ask her about it. If... if she can't, or won't do it I'll--I'll just bring it to the office myself. A-as a last resort. I'll think of... of some reason. Is that okay...?" Aurelie was already overwhelmed by her own ridiculous emotions. So she tried to steer the topic back to something safer than questions of the nature of their relationship, or how much she really did want to kiss him again even though she'd promised herself she would stay on task this time. Cake. Cake was good and safe. You could never go wrong with cake.