Without a moment's hesitation, Aurora vanished from behind her parents, reappearing inches off the ground right in front of Valerio.
He braced himself.
'There she goes again,' he thought with a mix of amusement and eagerness.
Before he could react, Aurora wrapped her arms around him, clinging to him like a joyful sloth finding its favourite tree. The impact sent them flying backwards, hurtling toward the kitchen walls. But just before they could crash, Aurora gently nullified their momentum, slowly bringing them to a stop as she floated back down to the ground.
Back at the set of tables accommodating the four families, Felix scoffed.
"They should date already."
"That's what I've been saying!" Lucy replied excitedly.
Oliver didn't say anything, instead observing their parents' reactions to the…odd relationship between Valerio and Aurora.
Vermillious sighed, 'If only my Olly could find himself such an enthusiastic girl.'
The sigh attracted the rest of the parents' attention. The ladies found themselves smiling as they thought back to such simple times, whilst Maximus and Vincent shared a complicated look, the same thought echoed through their minds.
'I don't care about whatever they end up doing, we can settle it. But they don't know too much about our families.'
Just the fact that Maximus and Vincent didn't care about their relationship spoke volumes about how close they were. It had to be remembered, relationships were never easy!
What if Valerio or Aurora had done something unfavourable to the other, who would seek justice against whom? What if they were on bad terms? How would their parents deal with that?
The two heads didn't believe anything could shake their camaraderie, let alone something so small.
As for why it wasn't the right time for the kids to make these decisions, they had yet to tell them everything. Unbeknownst to the heads, they had run out of time.
While the ladies shared a smile and the men focused on thinking, the duo slowly parted from their friendly yet close embrace, their eyes locking for a few lingering moments before Aurora broke the gaze. Valerio couldn't help but chuckle softly, lightly tapping her waist to indicate they should move closer to the families.
The faintest of smiles tugged at Valerio's lips, barely noticeable but genuine.
"How have you been, Aurora?"
"Gooood. Why, thank you for asking," Aurora replied, her voice light and teasing.
"But I should be asking about you, birthday boy."
Valerio chuckled again, the warmth in his tone matching hers.
"Indeed," he said, a hint of amusement in his voice.
He smiled, "Better now that I've seen you."
A light, hearty giggle made it to his ears.
"I'm also looking forward to cultivating, today will be the first day after all. It should be interesting."
His words carried a quiet determination, though the moment remained playful between them.
Aurora glanced sideways at Valerio, who seemed lost in thought, his eyes fixed on the tables ahead of them. She opened her mouth a few times, wanting to speak, but the words uncharacteristically remained trapped, lingering in her throat.
Her gaze was expectant, as if waiting for the perfect moment to break the silence between them. But before she could find the right words, they reached the table, leaving her without time. Time she wouldn't get back.
The four families had gathered again, the adults and children seated on opposite sides of the long table. Valerio and Aurora barely had time to greet everyone when they noticed the parents looking up, and the guests had started arriving.
Barely audible sonic booms reverberated throughout Fluxara as the rest of the guests finally arrived, their ships colliding with the atmosphere and announcing their arrival. For families travelling in smaller ships, there were multiple ports all over Fluxara, and many landed first and travelled on foot. As the guests started pouring in, Maximus and Isadora excused themselves to greet them.
Taking advantage of the small chaos by his parents excusing themselves, Valerio sneakily retrieved his plates and took a strategic seat, facing the rest of the plaza. He wanted a clear view of the arena in the middle of the venue and all the guest tables.
A short while later, the guests had finally settled in, food was being served by the waiters as the guests input their orders using the holograms on the tables.
The atmosphere at the four families' table was lively and joyful, with the adults discussing various interesting things they'd seen since they last met. In the meantime, Felix and Lucy were teasing and doing their utmost to get a reaction out of Oliver as Valerio and Aurora listened and chimed in every now and then, sometimes defending Oliver, sometimes teasing. Dishes were slowly being served, as the entire arena was filled with the sounds of chatter.
The grand arena stood in the middle of the semi-circle arrangement of tables amidst the beautiful landscape of Fluxara. Two suns, with the lightest tinge of orange, shone down from above onto the hundreds of thousands of guests in the backyard of the Augustine Manor. The marble tables shone with a soft light under the sun's delicate embrace, sounds of chatter and drinks being clinked filled the grass fields.
It was when the last dish was served that Maximus started standing up, and it was just as he was about to hit his glass with a knife that Vermillious stood up just a little faster. Facing Maximus with a grin on his face.
"How about we stretch a little before the formalities?" asked Vermillious, his voice echoing throughout the plaza.
Vermillious had projected his voice on purpose; he knew Maximus wouldn't refuse a public challenge. A knowing smirk rose on Maximus's face. It certainly wasn't the first time he was put in this situation.
The guests awaited his answer as the plaza fell to a silence. Maximus glanced behind him, glancing at Valerio before walking towards the arena, his confidence evident in his gait. Simultaneously, a whisper made its way into Valerio's ear, "Watch closely son."
A set of glasses appeared on Valerio's lap.
'An advanced use of [Void Step]?' he thought. Had his dad bent the void just to send him a set of glasses? If so, why?
'One way to find out.'
He quickly put them on, a damp light glossed over the lenses of the glasses, the world gaining a subtle blue tint. Valerio's brows furrowed. He couldn't understand why his dad had given these to him; they…didn't do anything? Valerio glanced at his mom, Isadora, with a questioning gaze. She responded with a gentle smile, gesturing for him to focus on the arena.
He obliged.
His gaze landed on the arena to see that Vermillious and Maximus stood just a couple of metres apart, a distance that meant nothing to experts at the 5th Plane. Vermillious started stretching his neck, his short beard, brows and hair were slowly engulfed in bright red flames, emanating a subtle heat around him.
Maximus started doing light jumps, his body slowly gaining a transparent characteristic every time he landed, slipping into the embrace of the void. Maximus had relaxed his physique, half-shifted for the first time in years.
"This should be fun."
And then Maximus disappeared.