Chapter 211: 212 | The Possessive Triumvirate
Mera watched this display with an expression caught between jealousy and interest. Her tail twitched against the chair.
"Is this the part where you two establish territory?"
"This is the part where I remind Rome that his situation requires more than one support structure." Laurana straightened. Walked past my chair to stand in front of Mera. "You provide emotional grounding. Tactical extraction. The kind of intimate connection that keeps his drain stable and functional."
"And you?"
"I provide access. Influence. The weight of a retired four-star hero who still has friends in high places and enemies in higher ones." Laurana’s smile turned genuine. "I also provide the kind of professional expertise that comes from decades of working with powerful Essentia users. The kind that might help Rome master his abilities before they master him."
"And what do you get out of this arrangement?"
Laurana was quiet for a moment. Then she laughed. A real laugh, not her usual controlled amusement.
"I get to stop being bored for the first time in five years. I get to participate in something that actually matters. I get to watch a young man with impossible potential grow into whatever he’s supposed to become." Her eyes found mine. Held them. "I get to be part of something worth protecting."
"That’s surprisingly honest."
"I’m a surprisingly honest person when I choose to be."
Mera considered this. Looked at me. Back at Laurana.
"Fine. But we need ground rules."
"I’m listening."
"He’s not a project. He’s not an experiment. He’s a person who happens to have weird abilities and terrible judgment." Mera’s tail curled around my wrist again. Possessive but not restrictive. "Whatever arrangement we make, he gets a say in it. Not just us deciding things for him."
"Agreed."
"And if you hurt him..." Mera’s smile showed all of her teeth. "I know places between dimensions where bodies never get found."
"Miss Cross." Laurana’s expression shifted into something that looked almost like respect. "I think we’re going to get along wonderfully."
My phone buzzed.
CHEON: The NEA interview request just arrived. Tomorrow morning. Ten AM. Conference room B.
CHEON: Also I’ve begun researching legal precedents for late manifestation registration violations. The situation is complicated but not hopeless.
CHEON: Also Noel is requesting your location. She seems annoyed. Should I tell her you’re with Professor Reeves?
I showed Mera the messages.
"She seems annoyed." Mera snorted. "That’s Cheon-speak for ’Noel is about to murder someone and it might be you.’"
"Probably should handle that."
"Probably." Mera stood. Stretched in a way that drew Laurana’s attention to her figure. "Professor. It’s been educational."
"It certainly has." Laurana walked us to the door. Stopped me with a hand on my arm before I could leave. "Rome. One more thing."
"Yeah?"
She kissed me. Not a brief peck. Not a professional farewell. A real kiss that lasted long enough to make my drain stir and reach for her Essentia. I felt her ability at the edges. Thermal regulation. Fire and control and years of experience wielded like weapons.
When she pulled back, her lips were slightly swollen and her eyes were dark.
"That’s for last night. For proving me right about what you could become."
"What about what I proved you wrong about?"
"You haven’t proven me wrong about anything yet." She smiled. "But I’m looking forward to watching you try."
The door closed behind us.
Mera was quiet as we walked to the elevator. Quiet as we waited for it to arrive. Quiet as we stepped inside.
Then she grabbed my collar and shoved me against the elevator wall.
"That woman is dangerous."
"I know."
"She wants to use you."
"I know."
"She also wants you."
"I know."
Mera’s eyes searched my face. Looking for something. I didn’t know if she found it.
"Do you want her?"
I thought about lying. Considered deflection. Evaluated misdirection.
Then I remembered what I’d told Aurora about being tired of pretending.
"Yes. But not the way I want you. Not the way I want Cheon or Noel or Aurora." I touched Mera’s face. Let my thumb trace the line of her jaw. "Laurana is fascinating. Powerful. Attractive in ways that are almost architectural. But she’s not home. She’s not the person I wake up wanting to see first thing in the morning."
Mera’s grip on my collar loosened slightly.
"And who is?"
"Depends on the morning. But usually whoever’s making the least noise while I’m trying to sleep." I grinned. "Which eliminates you immediately since you hum in your sleep."
"I do not hum."
"You hum. Specifically you hum that old jazz song about the girl from New Orleans."
"That’s not humming. That’s subconscious musical appreciation."
"It’s humming and it’s cute and it makes me want to cover your face with a pillow at three AM."
Mera laughed. The tension broke. She released my collar and leaned against me instead, her forehead resting on my chest.
"This is weird." Her voice was muffled by my shirt. "All of this. The multiple girlfriends thing. The professors who want to study you and sleep with you simultaneously. The evil father. The secret abilities. The fact that I’ve somehow become part of a supernatural harem situation that sounds like the plot of a bad light novel."
"Is this the part where you tell me you’re having second thoughts?"
"No." She looked up at me. Her green eyes were serious. "This is the part where I tell you that I don’t care how weird it gets as long as you keep looking at me the way you’re looking at me right now."
"How am I looking at you?"
"Like I’m the most important thing in the room even when there are four other women competing for your attention." Her tail coiled around my waist. "Like you actually see me instead of just what I can do for you."
"I do see you."
"I know." She kissed me. Brief and fierce. "That’s why I’m still here."
The elevator dinged. Ground floor.
Noel was waiting in the lobby.
She did not look happy.
"You." She pointed at me. "Office. Private. Now."
