RISE

11 - Going Deeper

Aaron wanted to hire a car, something a little nicer than a regular Uber, to take them to the restaurant, but Elvorix wanted the true New York experience of hailing and riding in a yellow taxicab. Aaron humored him, although he didn't like to take cabs himself. Elvorix, somehow, was thrilled when the driver made polite conversation with him, asking them about their evening plans. Elvorix told the driver about how he'd never been to NYC before, and that Aaron picked out his suit for him and was taking him on a fancy date. The driver told Elvorix about how he'd taken his wife to the same restaurant for their first anniversary, a story that Elvorix said was incredibly romantic, but after they exited the cab, Elvorix told Aaron that the driver was lying to seem more relatable.

From what Aaron had seen of hell, he didn't think that Elvorix would be impressed by anything Earth had to offer. He was excited to see it all, anyway, but Aaron didn't hold his breath for Elvorix to be truly impressed. The interior of La Grenouille was full of live flower arrangements, and a warm golden light. All of the guests and staff were dressed elegantly. Aaron had been there before with family as well as on a few dates, it was one of his favorites purely for the atmosphere.

As they were seated, Elvorix looked around in awe. "This place is gorgeous! It's like something from a movie!"

"I'm glad you like it," Aaron said truthfully. "I didn't think someone with your lifestyle would be interested in a regular human restaurant."

Elvorix nodded thoughtfully. "It's not the extravagance of it that impresses me, it's more so the novelty. It's an entirely different atmosphere than anywhere in Hell. Especially with how rapidly the human world changes. For people with a seventy-year lifespan, not much changes for a human. In comparison, it would be like if electricity was invented a few years ago, and now you're already exploring space travel. Especially in the last couple of centuries, the human world has grown and changed so much."

As the two of them looked over their menus, Aaron breathed a sigh of relief. Developing a relationship with Elvorix had seemed like an impossible task a few days ago. He assumed that he would have to learn to tolerate the prince's whims and try to settle into a life of obedience, but Elvorix had proven to be a caring and thoughtful husband, perfectly willing to provide for Aaron's needs, and valuing Aaron's position as his equal partner.

Though he had scarcely been away from Elvorix in the last few days, Aaron found himself eager to spend time with him. He was easy to talk to, listening attentively and with genuine interest, and offered a fun and exciting perspective when he spoke to Aaron. In fact, when thinking of his future, Aaron had always imagined that his future husband would be more like his own father, a stand-offish man of few words and even fewer interests. Johnathan Knight always seemed to fill the role of husband and father; he worked, took Aaron camping and fishing, played baseball with him, gave him fatherly advice, and was always loving and affectionate to his wife. Aaron thought of himself more like his mother, who spent her days pursuing the creative arts. Their home was full of hand-made decorations as she perfected various mediums from watercolor landscape paintings, to macrame, to pottery, to knitting, etc.

It was a peaceful, satisfactory lifestyle, the kind of life anyone would dream of. It was clear from the start that Elvorix would not fit into that mold, and Aaron hadn't known what kind of relationship to expect with him. He imagined it now, loyally following Elvorix around Hell on thrilling adventures, being the voice of reason and mitigating Elvorix's poor impulse control while Elvorix helped Aaron overcome his unwillingness to step out of his comfort zone.

He smiled to himself with a light blush; he felt like he had a school-age crush on Elvorix, which was ironic considering they were already married.

Said husband let out an unhappy sigh, and Aaron looked up to see him fussing over the menu with his eyebrows drawn in concern. "I've never eaten most of this stuff, I want to try it all! What are you getting? I'll just get the same thing – or, no, we could get different things and split them! If you want to, I mean – we'll have to come back here some time and try everything, especially the desserts, I'm not picky about sweets but French desserts are the best. Sorry, I'm not talking too much, am I? You seemed lost in thought."