I was feeling self-indulgent over the weekend so Aurelis' crossover story got updated haha. This chapter is long, so it's going under the cut!
Something To Do With The Multiverse Masterlist
Aurelis masterlist
“Uh, hey little guy, where are your- GAH!”
Spider-Man narrowly dodged a little bird-shaped throwing star. It hit Deadpool squarely in the chest.
“Ugh, rude!” he huffed, stumbling back.
“Surrender now or be hospitalized,” the ten-year-old child said.
Deadpool yanked out the projectile, inspecting it.
“Not a great threat there, kiddo,” he said, “usually it’s ‘surrender or die’.”
“Batman frowns upon my old habits,” the child replied, drawing a large sword with ease.
“Look, there’s a lot going on here you don’t understand-”
The child charged; Spider-Man jumped up to the ceiling as Deadpool got slashed in the knee.
“Dude, do something!”
“I don’t fight kids,” he said, folding his arms across his chest.
“Your mistake,” the child swept Deadpool’s legs out from under him.
Spider-Man sighed. Looks like he was fighting a kid tonight.
…
Cold light stung Aurelis’ eyes as they fluttered open. She squinted up at the ceiling until they adjusted. She waited for the fog in her mind to lift. It was taking quite a while. Between the thick swaths of grey and white, memories slowly wafted to the surface. The interdimensional extrapolator… Deadpool… Gotham City. A live scarecrow with syringes on his fingers.
She shuddered at the memories that followed, screwing her eyes shut. She exhaled slowly. What a mess. She supposed a good place to start would be figuring out where she was.
Aurelis went to sit up but immediately met resistance. A bit of weight across her arms and legs. She looked down her body as best as she could. Straps.
Her brief moment of calm fizzled out at once, replaced by weak yet frenzied struggles. If she wasn’t in such a foggy panic, she might have thought to use her powers.
Footsteps echoed across a hard floor, and an arm found itself on her shoulder.
“Hey, chill,” a familiar voice said.
Aurelis’ breathing slowed a little. She looked up at the redhead above her.
“Babs,” she let out a shaky breath, “what’s the deal?”
“You got hit with fear toxin. Nightwing and Red Hood found you. You were really freaking out, and someone was going to get hurt.”
“Technically someone already got hurt!”
A boy with mid-length black hair and a dark cape downed an energy drink at a large set of computer monitors. His back was to Barbara and Aurelis, but he had no problem putting the facts out there.
“Thanks for clearing that up,” Barbara rolled her eyes.
“I hurt somebody?” Aurelis asked quietly.
“Not really,” Barbara said, “Nightwing’s fine. Mild frostbite, nothing more. We got it under control before any actual damage could be done.”
Aurelis wasn’t very reassured. She had spent maybe an hour or two in Gotham and she was already ruining everyone’s day. Where was that darn interdimensional extrapolator!?
Barbara started removing the straps across Aurelis’ form. She gingerly sat up, wobbling a little. Her head pounded with every movement. She held a hand to her temple.
“Does- mm- does fear toxin cause headaches, too?”
A tray with water and two white pills appeared in front of her, and Aurelis nearly jumped out of her skin. It was a miracle she didn’t flip the tray.
“Miss Surrett,” an old man greeted.
It was like looking at someone straight out of an Edwardian Drama Series. Why did the Bat Cave have a butler? It clashed with the aesthetic, no?
“Um, hello,” Aurelis said politely.
“This is Alfred,” Barbara said.
“Nice to meet you,” Aurelis said.
“The feeling is mutual, Miss. Now might I suggest you take this pain medication before the pounding in your head grows unbearable?”
Oh. Aurelis obliged, thanking him. She downed the pills with the water, grimacing at the chalky texture and bitter taste.
“Bleh,” she stuck her tongue out.
“Hey, Oracle?” the boy from before called.
“Yeah?”
“I thought Deathstroke was supposed to be, well, not here.”
“He’s not.”
“Then why is Robin fighting him?”
A voice crackled over the computer speakers.
“Stop spying on me, Drake. I have this handled. Why. Will. You. Not. Stay. Down!?”
Aurelis slid off the cot, following Barbara to the computer.
“That’s not Deathstroke,” Aurelis stated.
“Have you fought him?” the boy asked.
“No, but I’ve dealt with him plenty of times,” Aurelis nodded to the screen, “that’s Deadpool.”
…
“Damian, stand down.”
“Drake, this imbecile has somehow contracted regenerative abilities. Are there any doppelgangers of Deathstroke that can do this?”
“Dude, I said stand down.”
“You are not Father,” Robin scoffed, stabbing the red-and-black assassin for the fifth time.
And for the fifth time, the man’s skin sewed itself back up.
“Are you done yet, kid?” the man asked, “it actually does hurt when you do that, you know.”
“Damian. Knock it off.”
Instead of Tim’s voice in his ear, it was Dick’s. Robin paused, his sword hovering over the man’s chest. He sighed, then stood and sheathed it.
“Why am I sparing this incredibly annoying assassin?” he demanded.
Before he could hear the answer, something stringy and sticky shot onto his hands. His eyes snapped up to the red and blue villain above him. Robin cursed. How careless of him to not have struck that one down first.
The villain wore a spider emblem on his chest. He jumped down, landing on his feet. Some kind of acrobat… with adhesive technology that allowed him to stick to the ceiling, no doubt.
“If you think this will stop me, you are more simple-minded than I initially surmised,” Robin spat.
…
Spider-Man held back a sigh. What was this kid’s problem?
“Listen, we aren’t the bad guys,” he said slowly, “we are looking for our friend. Maybe you’ve seen her? About this tall, brown hair, light blue costume?”
“Tch, why should I tell you anything?”
The kid was obviously wearing some kind of earpiece. He argued with someone on the other line for a moment, then glared at him.
“Come with me,” he said, “and… remove the restraints.”
“What?” Spider-Man’s lenses widened for a split second, then narrowed, “how dumb do you think we are!?”
The kid opened his mouth.
“Don’t answer that!” Spidey continued, “we are not going anywhere with you until we get an explanation! You’re lucky you’re like six, because Deadpool over here would’ve-”
As he spoke, Deadpool walked up, unsheathing his katana. In one swipe, he had cut the child assassin free of the webbing.
“Dude!?”
“Relax, Spideykins, if we want this plotline to move, we gotta do what he says.”
…
Red Hood stared down through the glass skylight at every criminal that had escaped Arkham Asylum not a week ago in a massive jailbreak. He watched as Scarecrow took a seat next to the Riddler. It was quite the line-up. Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, Clayface, Bane, and… Red Hood lowered his hand to his holster. In the center of the group was the clown prince of crime himself. They were all arguing over some weird little glowing box on a table.
Art Trade: Aurelis and Villain from Bait and Tackle by @piplupfluffwritingstuff2
Piplup and I are haing a fun art trade were we draw what we think a character looks like in one of our stories. and I chose to draw the Villain from Bait and Tackle. (with a bonus Aurelis added in there for the Whump 😌)
Loved their chaotic energy. with them using a lot of gadgets and them sayign they "did not need more heroes" after taking Hero and Superhero. it all gave me a feel of a very scientist centric Villain.
This was a nice art challenge and I had a great time reading some of Piplup's stories 💖
Fate has granted me mercy!!! I’ve finally completed @piplupfluffwritingstuff2 OC Art Trade: Aurelis! Done as a part of @writeblr-art-trade Mermay Edition.
This snippet kinda got away from me, becoming much longer than intended. Therefore, most of it will be under the cut!
Aurelis adjusted the straps on her swimsuit and joined the others on the boardwalk. Bradley’s family, being in an obscenely high tax bracket, had access to a private section of the local beach. It was still only spring, but the weather in their area could switch up no matter what time of year it was, and right now, it decided it wanted to be summer.
Valerian helped Bradley set up while Grace inflated a beach ball. June was admiring the little sand pipers that scuttled about at the shoreline. Aurelis formed a layer of frost on her palm and held a hand to the back of her neck. Being cryogenic came with impressive powers, but also a lot of unwanted side effects.
For one thing, she was going to have a bit of trouble if her friends wanted to venture into deeper water. Her cryogenic makeup had altered her body’s natural density, making it almost impossible to sink or dive. This was great for avoiding drowning, but it did reduce her to being a chilly pool floatie.
Another issue was the matter of the temperature. She would have to take a lot of breaks in the shade and stay hydrated. This was of course a good idea for anyone to do, but for Aurelis, it was practically mandatory. The heat could make her light-headed and weak; keeping cool was a must.
She heard sand crunching behind her, and Valerian’s hand was on her shoulder.
“Hey, Grace says you tend to turn into a lobster,” he said, “did you put stuff on?”
He held a bottle of sunscreen in his other hand.
“Oh, yeah,” Aurelis said, “I put some on when we parked.”
“All of you?” Valerian asked.
Aurelis was flexible, but she hadn’t been able to apply much of anything to her back. Valerian seemed to already know this before he asked.
“Turn around,” Valerian said, waving a finger in a circular motion.
“O-oh, okay.”
She turned just as her cheeks turned pink, and it wasn’t because of the sun. Valerian rubbed a generous amount of sunscreen into her back, making sure every exposed bit of skin was covered in the citrus-scented film.
Aurelis stood still as a statue; she was almost certain her cheeks were bright red now. Valerian finally turned her around.
“You burning already?” he asked innocently.
“No! Yes! It’s the sun!”
Valerian was about to reply when a beachball hit him in the back of the head.
“Stop flirting and help me defeat these peasants!” Grace called.
A volleyball net had been set up, with Grace on one side, and Bradley and June on the other side. June waved a little.
“Three against two doesn’t seem fair,” Aurelis remarked.
All the same, she approached the net with Valerian.
“June can set the ball on fire and Brad can turn into an elephant if he wants to,” Grace said, “we’re evenly matched.”
Aurelis was going to point out that Valerian could move things with his mind, but Grace had started the game and the ball was coming towards her. She wasn’t the most skilled at volleyball, or any sport really, unless ice skating counted as one. The point was, she barely managed to ever hit the ball.
Her friends didn’t hold this against her; in fact, they started going easy on her and they cheered whenever she didn’t miss.
…
A few hours later, Aurelis was making ice fractals in the shallows. She traced her finger along the surface, letting the frost layer on top of the water and watching the waves crack and melt it.
“Lunch!” Bradley called.
Aurelis stood up, wobbling a little as she did so.
The current sure is strong today, she thought.
Despite the fact that she had been sitting in the water for the last hour and doing nothing else, fatigue crept in throughout her body, making her move slower than she would’ve liked.
She sat down in the shade of the umbrella and released a deep breath. She nibbled on a stick of cheese. She didn’t realize it, but she was swaying on the spot.
“Aurelis?”
“Hm?” she mumbled.
“Are you okay?”
She looked at Valerian, who had stopped eating.
“Fine, why?” she asked.
“You seem, I don’t know, off? Like, really worn out.”
“I’m probably just hungry,” she said.
Valerian didn’t look entirely convinced, but he didn’t press the matter. June passed her a container of strawberries. Aurelis took it, but it was heavier than she was expecting, and she lost her grip on them. They tumbled down, staining the blanket below.
“Sorry!”
She and June reached for it at the same time, but Valerian held Aurelis back.
He put the back of his hand to her forehead.
“I think we might need to call it a day,” he said to the others, “she’s warm.”
Aurelis was supposed to be ice-cold to the touch, so his comment should’ve set off alarm bells in her head. The only thing her head was doing now was filling up with cotton. She could vaguely make out her friends talking over her, but she had no clue what they were saying.
“Sorry…” she muttered.
…
Valerian caught Aurelis right as she went down. She was limp in his hold, and her eyes had fluttered shut. Her skin was tinged red, and she felt as warm as a normal person.
Valerian pulled an ice pack out of the insulated lunch tote and held it to the back of her neck.
“Okay,” Bradley was going on, “okay okay okay okay okay. Grace, June, help me pack up the stuff. Val?”
Valerian was pulling the other ice packs out and putting them all along Aurelis’ warmest spots.
“…Keep doing that,” Bradley said, “I’m gonna get the car.”
Valerian wanted to punch himself. How had he not noticed she was overheating? She should’ve taken a break hours ago. He checked the weather on his phone. He almost cursed out loud. She had no business being out here today; the temperature had peaked in the low nineties since late this morning. It was mid-afternoon now.
He picked her up and carried her across the boardwalk, using his powers to keep the ice packs pressed against her skin. Her face twitched, but she didn’t wake up.
…
Running water roused Aurelis from sleep. Man, what a rough dream. She had been in a desert, and there was a bonfire and June kept hugging her with her hands ablaze.
Fortunately, the dream was fading to the back of her mind as she settled further into the ice bath… when had she drawn an ice bath?
Someone dumped a cup of icy water over her head. She sputtered, not at all ready for the dunking; even so, it felt wonderful against her flushed skin.
She turned her head and found Valerian. He didn’t say anything. His body was tense, his jaw set, his lips drawn into a thin line, and his grip on the water cup was white-knuckled.
“Oh my gosh,” she whispered, “you’re mad at me.”
Valerian’s eyes met hers and his gaze softened.
“I’m not mad at you,” he promised, “I’m mad at myself.”
“You’re… mad at you?” she sat up against the rim of the tub, “why?”
“I should’ve paid more attention to the signs. You totally overheated, and it could’ve gotten so much worse if we hadn’t caught it right when we did.”
Valerian sighed. He poured another cup of the icy water over her head.
“But… it’s… my job to look after me. I should’ve taken a break earlier in the day.”
“Aurelis, let’s be real, when it comes to your health, you’re oblivious as a baby.”
“Am not!”
Valerian ignored her protest, instead putting his knuckles to her forehead, followed by the back of her neck.
“I think we’ve got it down far enough,” he said, “you can come out and we’ll get you dried off.”
Aurelis clambered out of the tub, her swimsuit covered in bits of frost. She wrung her hair out over the ice. Valerian offered her a towel; she took it, but she wouldn’t look him in the eye.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I ruined everyone’s day,” she said, “this always happens. We always have to go home because of me.”
As she spoke, tears began to brim in her eyes. Valerian rested his thumb on her chin as he tilted it up. She still avoided his gaze.
“Look at me. No one’s mad at you,” he said, “no one resents you.”
He brushed her tears away with his other thumb.
“Say it,” he said softly.
“No one’s mad at me…” Aurelis mumbled.
“The rest of it, too.”
“No one resents me.”
Satisfied, he let her go.
“Thanks…” Aurelis said quietly.
She headed off to her room to put actual clothes on.
“Meet us in the living room,” Valerian called after her.
While Aurelis changed into something cozy, Valerian joined the others on the couch in front of the huge, flatscreen TV.
“Is she good?” Grace asked.
“Eh.” Valerian shook his hand a little, “you know, it’s Aurelis.”
Grace nodded. While Bradley flipped through the streaming service menu to find something to binge-watch, Valerian leaned back and sighed a little. It had taken three hours for Aurelis to wake up, from the time she passed out on the beach to recovering in the ice bath. Those side effects could really be debilitating at times.
Hello! Sorry to hear you're having some creative blockage. As for drawing ideas, how about Spider-Frost saving a cat from a tree? Cliche, I know. Hope you're doing well!
This story features a bit of Valerian's past. It is part of Aurelis' story, but Aurelis herself does not show up in it. All the same, you can find this snippet under Aurelis' masterlist!
Metal scraped against metal and heels clicked on the ground. Valerian spat out a glob of blood onto the cold, hard concrete below. He started to right himself when the pipe came down against his midsection. He hated himself for crying out.
“The Black Circle doesn’t take well to deserters,” Seraphina drawled.
“Not a deserter,” Valerian smiled with bloodied teeth, “I was never on your side. To desert someone you have to have been loyal at- GAH!”
She had pressed her heel into his ribcage and turned him over onto his back. She traced his jawline with the pipe and turned his head with it to face her directly.
“You’re not playing nice, Rainer, if that’s even your name.”
Seraphina’s green eyes scanned every feature, every micro-expression on his face, for any hint of information. Valerian kept his face pained but otherwise neutral. He wasn’t giving her an inch.
“I will ask you one last time,” Seraphina said, dropping the pipe on his chest, “what did you do with the power orb?”
After getting over the sucker punch to the gut from a piece of plumbing, Valerian took a deep breath and closed his eyes. It looked like there was only one way out of this.
“Why don’t I show you?” he said.
His eyes opened. Seraphina’s own eyes went wide, and he could see his irises’ violet hue reflected in them. Pushing aside the fact that his eyes were supposed to be blue, Valerian gripped Seraphina’s leg with a hand coated in red energy. He yanked her forward and she dropped to the ground.
He jumped up, adrenaline providing a much-needed energy spike. The other agents closed in on him. He tried to remember how the Red Eclipse had done it. She seemed to just wave her hand and things would happen.
He would start small; he didn’t want to seriously hurt anyone. A tiny trickle, and-
Oh man.
The red energy blasted three of the agents into the wall. They slumped to the ground, unconscious or possibly worse considering the blood splatters behind them.
Valerian winced. He grabbed the pipe Seraphina had dropped on him. Maybe he’d be better off not using these new powers. The two remaining agents in the room stared him down, and he stared right back.
His combat boots thundered up the concrete steps. He opened the locked door. Well, he ripped it off its hinges with red energy. No matter, it got the job done. He threw the offending slab of metal down the stairs and bolted through the abandoned building’s ground floor.
He went to jump out a window but recoiled just in time. As it turned out, he was not on the ground floor, but rather, five stories up. The previous room just happened to have no windows. He cursed, looking around for a stairwell. A stampede of agents came at him from all the available exits. Seraphina came out of the room, her usually perfectly-pinned blonde hair disheveled and messy.
“Non-lethal! We need him alive!” she shouted.
Agents holstered their guns, instead opting for various electrified weapons such as ecrisma sticks, tasers, and clubs.
Valerian stepped back, then glanced out the window. He sighed, throwing his hands up in surrender.
He threw a ball of power behind him, shattering the glass into dust. He jumped backwards.
“No!” Seraphina screamed.
Oh relax, I’m not gonna die, Valerian thought.
The ground was getting dangerously closer, and Valerian still hadn’t activated his ability to fly.
Okay, maybe I am gonna die, he re-considered.
He braced for impact, at which point his body stopped inches above the street. His nose was nearly touching the asphalt. Valerian sighed in relief, then dropped to the ground.
“Ow…”
Seraphina shouted something else from the window, but he couldn’t make it out over the ringing in his ears. The skin under his nose felt wet, and something metallic filled his nostrils.
No time to deal with it now, he still needed to get far away from the building.
He jumped up, taking off like a rocket in midair. He didn’t stop until he reached his dorm on his college’s campus, at which point he zipped in through the open window and crashed against the wall.
He brushed the drywall from his head and went over to close the window. He took one step, two steps, then his knees buckled. His eyes flickered red as they glazed over and fluttered shut. What a sight he would be for his hall’s resident advisor in the morning.
this is my submission for the @writeblr-art-trade this month! Featuring my OC Aurelis (right), and @luluthespectator 's oc Malice (left)!
I was partially inspired by that one Scooby Doo Screencap where the gang is looking over a book. I don't know what Malice and Aurelis are reading, but something tells me it's a bit shocking lol
Aurelis' Christmas Special 2025- Part 3 (Final Part)
Aurelis masterlist
Series masterlist
Here is the final part to Aurelis' Christmas Special for 2025! Please please let me know if you enjoyed it!
“Why is she out on Christmas morning anyway?” Grace yawned.
“She’s not answering her phone,” Bradley said, “we might need to go out and-”
A chill and a shrill whistle filled the room as Blizzard shuffled inside. She forced the front door closed behind her with a great effort. The wind’s howling died the moment the door was shut.
She trudged over and flopped into the nearest couch with a groan.
“What happened to you?” Grace asked.
“Mm-mm-mmph.”
Blizzard didn’t bother to lift her head out of the pillows. She would’ve stayed like that if it weren’t for the fact that she couldn’t breathe through them. She pitifully turned her head to the side, sucking in a breath.
“Are you okay?” June asked, “we’ve been waiting for you. We haven’t opened any presents yet.”
“Presents!” Blizzard groaned, burying her face in the pillows once more.
A muffled scream swiftly followed.
June made a “scoot over” motion and sat down next to Blizzard, forcing her to move her legs and sit up.
She clutched the pillow with both hands and bashed her head into it over and over again.
“Okay, cut it out,” Grace said.
She pried the pillow from her ice-cold hands and cast it aside.
“Why are you in your suit?” Bradley asked, “it’s-”
“Christmas morning,” Blizzard finished, “I am a failure.”
They were going to ask what she meant when the doorbell rang.
“That’s gotta be Val,” Bradley said, crossing the room to the front door.
Blizzard put her face in her hands. June helped her up.
“You need comfy clothes,” June said, “come on.”
…
Aurelis sat down at the breakfast table with Bradley, Grace, June, and Valerian. She nibbled on a cinnamon roll, her mind far away from the dining room. On the way home, she had recovered her Ice-Cycle. It would need a ton of repairs, but worse than that was the state of the book. It had fallen out of the storage compartment and into a snow pile. It had been soaked, the pages warped and fused together; completely unsalvageable. That was fifty dollars down the drain.
“Can we do presents now?” June asked.
“I mean, it’s still early but…”
June grabbed Bradley and Grace by the hands and dragged them into the living room.
“I’m coming back for you two!” she called.
Valerian looked at Aurelis and chuckled.
“Better get in there, then.” He nudged her with his elbow.
Aurelis got up and followed Valerian into the space. Presents had been placed under a grand Christmas tree- a live fir, of course- and more were positioned on tables, chairs, and any other available surface.
“I wanna give mine first!” June said eagerly, picking up four presents.
She handed one to each of them and shook her fists a little, bouncing on her feet. Her smile only widened as they each opened their gifts.
This went on for a while. In addition to what the group had gotten for each other, there were also gifts from their other friends and relatives. Westley, for instance, had sent Aurelis a replica of the dagger used by one of her favorite book characters. Gina had gone overboard, getting everyone five presents each. June’s parents and sisters had sent her various gifts for gardening, along with some fidget toys and a new pair of noise-cancelling headphones. Bradley’s dad had sent him a large wad of cash. His mom, being a little more thoughtful, had gotten him a green scarf from some fashion designer in Russia.
Aurelis was in the middle of opening a gift from Grace when she realized no one had opened anything from her, mainly due to the fact that none of the presents she had bought were, well, present.
“Be right back!” she announced.
She jumped up and rushed upstairs, coming back down moments later with a large plastic box.
“Aw, Icy, you shouldn’t have,” Grace said, “I always wanted a big storage tub.”
“You never told me that,” June argued.
“Sarcasm, my dude.”
“Oh.”
Aurelis opened the lid. She gave Bradley the gloves, June the flower pot and water mister, and Grace the sheet music. She looked in the bottom of the tub and her face fell.
“What’s wrong?” Valerian asked.
“Your present is really lame,” Aurelis admitted, “I tried to get you a better one, but…”
She did not want to bring up her own kidnapping in front of him. Aside from the fact that he would go into a protective rage, she also didn’t want to subject herself to the embarrassment of being caught so easily.
“…It didn’t work out,” she finished.
“I’m sure it’s great,” Valerian gave her a reassuring smile.
Aurelis tilted her head with a nervous laugh. She handed him the used book.
Valerian didn’t speak for a moment. He just stared at it, reading the cover. Aurelis knew it. She was a failure.
Suddenly his eyes filled with tears.
Oh man. She was worse than a failure.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” she said, scooting closer, “I didn’t mean to-”
“Where did you find this?” he asked.
“The… the thrift store,” she said, “I wasn’t sure what to get you and-”
“This is the exact edition my parents used to read with me,” Valerian told her, “I haven’t been able to find it anywhere. And you- you managed-”
He wiped his tears with his wrist.
“Thank you, Aurelis,” he said.
“You mean you like it?” Aurelis asked.
He pulled her into a bone-crushing hug.
“Yes,” he said, “I love it.”
Aurelis beamed, hugging him back.
…
It was midway through the afternoon when Valerian pulled Aurelis aside under the living room archway.
“What’s up?” Aurelis asked.
Valerian handed her a small package wrapped in sparkly blue paper.
“Things got so hectic I didn’t get to give you your present,” he said.
Aurelis smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Her face felt slightly less cold than usual.
She tore off the paper and opened a little white box. Inside were a pair of silver snowflake earrings.
“Oh my gosh!” she exclaimed, “they’re so pretty! Thank you!”
“Yeah,” Valerian smiled, “they’re silver, so your ears shouldn’t get irritated from wearing them. I thought maybe you could wear them to that Ren Faire if you wanted to… go… to the Ren Faire.”
“Huh?” Aurelis looked up, blinking, “I’d love to, but I can’t afford the tickets.”
Valerian tilted his head, then smacked it with his hand.
“Sorry, I was supposed to put these in the box.”
He presented two tickets to the city’s Ren Faire.
“They’re just printouts. I bought them online, so there’s no way we’ll lose them. Would you like to go then?”
Aurelis’ face actually felt warm.
“I would,” she said, “with you, right?”
“With me!” Valerian said quickly, “yeah, with me… will you go with me?”
Aurelis nodded at once.
“Yes! Absolutely! I can’t wait!”
She hugged him tightly. Valerian buried his face in the crook of her neck.
“Merry Christmas, Aurelis.”
“Merry Christmas, Valerian.”
“Ahem.”
They parted to look at Grace giving them a smug look.
“You two gonna do the thing or no?”
“What thing?” Aurelis asked.
Grace pointed up. Valerian and Aurelis followed her finger to see the mistletoe hanging from the top of the archway.
“Ah,” Valerian remarked.
Aurelis looked anywhere but at him.
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to-” she started.
“Do you want to?” Valerian asked.
“I mean if you want to…”
Aurelis risked a glance at him. He was inches from her face.
“I want to,” he said.
He closed the small distance between them and brought his lips against hers. A swarm of butterflies took off from where they had been gathering in her stomach. A tingling spread throughout her face and down her back. Aurelis had never felt this warm in her life.
“Ugh, okay, okay, mission accomplished! Break it up!”
She felt Valerian smirk through the kiss as he deepened it. She reciprocated with an eagerness that was surprising to her.
Outside, snow dusted the trees, and a few birds perched by the feeders in the window. A white dove helped itself to seeds while a blue jay fluttered down next to it. A few snowflakes clung to their feathers. The flurries swirled lazily outside, painting the lawn in a carpet of white.
