[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]After polishing off the last of the chocolate-covered banana and considering buying another one, Aurelie found herself wondering what had become of Jack and Xiura. Both of them had said they were looking forward to the carnival, and it wasn't like either of them to be late. Checking the time on her phone, Aurelie pursed her lips in thought, before impulsively deciding to text them both to ask what happened.

Xiura texted back after a minute or two, saying she was running late and would let her know when she got to the carnival. The red-haired smith nodded, satisfied and sympathetic. After waiting a few more minutes, though, she frowned when no reply appeared from Jack. Hmph, she snorted internally, he better not be ignoring me!

At least, knowing about Xiura's status made Aurelie feel more comfortable meandering away from the entrance toward the rest of the carnival. She bought another banana on a stick, this one coated with white chocolate and chocolate chips, and wandered toward another row of stalls covered with bright banners. Vendors started calling out to her, as they did to everyone passing by, hawking their wares.

"A souvenir of your evening here? A teddy bear? A postcard?" "Some jewelry for you, pretty lady?" "Come get a nice mug or shot glass with a picture of the Ferris wheel or the carousel! Buy one, get one free!"

Some bobbing and floating motions in the corner of her eye caught Aurelie's attention. Turning, she saw a stall selling Pokemon-shaped balloons. They were honestly quite adorable, and judging from the happy faces of the kids leaving the stall with balloons, she wasn't the only one who thought so. The vendor, catching her gaze, waved eagerly to her.

Maybe I should get something... she ruminated, drifting a little closer. You know, support the carnival. And definitely not just because I really want that Charizard balloon!

After about five seconds of deliberation, she ended up walking away from the stall with a Charizard balloon tied to her wrist and a sheepish, yet pleased grin on her face. Aurelie really did feel like a child again, being here. At the same time, though, she kept glancing up at the glossy balloon on her arm and smiling, without even a slight twinge of regret.

As she walked past the House of Mirrors attraction, the red-haired smith thought she heard familiar barking coming from nearby. A Boltund rushed excitedly toward her, tail wagging and mouth open in a wide smile. Aurelie's heart melted immediately.

"Hi! Hello there!" Aurelie enthused, thoroughly won over, bending down to pat the Boltund's back. 'I'm sorry, I can't give you my banana! The chocolate would make you sick, I'm pretty sure. But gosh, you're so cute! You're such a good boy, aren't you? Yes, you are! Yes, you are!"

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]When Xiura arrived at the carnival amidst a swirl of olive-green silk and the sweet scent of cotton candy, Aurelie's face broke into a wide, brilliant smile of welcome. "Xiura! So good to see you! I'm glad you could make it."

Impulsively, Aurelie reached out to give her a quick hug, heedless of the balloon trailing from her wrist and the frothy cloud of cotton candy in Xiura's hand. "You're fine on time—it's a carnival, after all, not a doctor's appointment! And I love your outfit, by the way," she added admiringly when they separated. "You look so pretty and so summery!"

Looking at her own outfit—sage-green cargo shorts, white tank top, and a loose shirt draped on top to ward off evening breezes—she chuckled. "We kind of match! Well, sort of. So, basically twins, right?"

Then Aurelie let out a delighted laugh when Jack appeared out of the crowd beside them, calling them his prizes for making it out of the House of Mirrors. He planted a light kiss on her cheek before greeting Xiura, looking handsome as ever in shorts and an Alolan shirt that was—naturally—unbuttoned. Aurelie had to suppress the urge to wrap her arm around his waist as she normally would.

Remember, she told herself sternly, this little get-together isn't about you; it's about seeing them together and maybe matchmaking a little, getting them together if they both want.

After all, Aurelie had always viewed her and Jack's relationship as fun, casual, and non-exclusive: an off-and-on thing, as their busy lives permitted. And at one point, Xiura had shyly confided she too liked Jack. Thus, with the best will in the world and far more excitement than jealousy at the prospect, Aurelie had suggested this meetup—unbeknownst to the other two—with the plan of letting her close friend have her own chance with Jack, if he was willing.

And why wouldn't he be? she thought, looking from one face to the other with satisfaction.

So instead, Aurelie merely flashed a teasing grin at Jack. "Pfft, I can't believe you started without us! Serves you right that you got yourself stuck in the House of Mirrors." She did reach out to squeeze his hand while saying this, taking the sting out of her bantering words.

"Well, if the House of Mirrors is out of the question, and since I've just been shopping around..." She ran a hand through her hair and surveyed their surroundings. The huge, circular carousel to one side caught her attention, and her face brightened. "What about the merry-go-round? That's a classic."

She set off toward the merry-go-round, beckoning Jack and Xiura to come with her. As they approached, the huge carousel slowed its spinning and riders started getting on or off. Where Aurelie expected to see horses for mounts, she was enchanted to see instead a variety of exquisitely detailed fantasy creatures: unicorns, gryphons, chimeras, phoenixes, wyverns, and basilisks.

"I love it!" she exclaimed happily, showing her ticket to the vendor.

Then Aurelie eagerly clambered up the steps, circled the entire merry-go-round, and moved toward a place to sit. To her surprise, the merry-go-round proved a rather popular attraction. The seats filled up quickly as children and adults joined her, squeezing past her to settle atop their favorite animals. As she swung one leg over a glorious red-and-gold phoenix, Aurelie realized: There were only two animals left.

It wouldn't be long before the merry-go-round started spinning. Aurelie smirked as she looked back at Jack and Xiura. "Looks like one of us is going to have to share." Patting her lap playfully, she asked, "Care to take a seat?"

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Glancing back toward the painted unicorn that Jack had claimed, Aurelie felt a pang of disappointment at first that Jack hadn't taken her up on her offer to slide into her lap. After all, she always welcomed any opportunity to get her hands on Jack. But then she remembered again that this meetup wasn't about her; it was about getting Jack and Xiura to see each other in a new, more romantic light.

In which case Jack did exactly the right thing, she thought, with a surge of pleasure that replaced the disappointment. Aurelie smiled gratefully at him. At the same time, her eye was irresistibly drawn to how the merry-go-round's colorful lights outlined and caressed each solid muscle of Jack's torso, left bare by his loose, unbuttoned shirt, in much the same way she'd wanted to just now.

A ripple of heat bloomed over her skin at the sight, and her breath came a little quicker despite herself. No wonder Xiura was drawn to him, too. For a moment, Aurelie was so distracted that she didn't realize Xiura had accepted her invitation until the other woman was already heading her way.

Wait! I thought for sure she'd choose Jack! Aurelie thought in surprise. Then she heard Xiura's soft-spoken explanation and could've slapped her own forehead in chagrin. Arceus, did I never actually tell her I planned this meetup specifically to hook the two of them up? Of course...I didn't.

No wonder the saying was "bad communication kills." But the merry-go-round was whirring into motion: lively music starting to play, lights twinkling overhead, and the animals rising and falling. Aurelie could hardly say no, even if she wanted to.

"Believe me, I wouldn't mind if you wanted to sit with Jack. I invited you both here so you could get to know each other better and maybe even ask him out," Aurelie whispered back. "I've never minded if he sees other people, and especially not if it's you. But..."

It was difficult to keep her gaze from wandering a little as Xiura settled in her lap. Xiura was surpassingly lovely, there was no denying it, and it was certainly pleasant being so close to her, feeling Xiura's warmth and pressure against her own body. "I've no objections to you being here, either. Besides, this is the best seat in the house," Aurelie quipped with a warm little chuckle.

The carnival around them turned into a brilliant blur of color as the merry-go-round began to spin faster than she'd expected. With the two of them on the same animal, the situation was a little unbalanced. Leaning forward, Aurelie murmured in Xiura's ear, "I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to need to hold onto you so I don't topple off."

With that warning, she slid her arms around Xiura's slender waist. Even though she'd long accepted that Xiura wasn't interested in her romantically, Aurelie couldn't help feeling an excited little shiver. She gently blew a curl of deep-purple hair from the curve of Xiura's neck and tugged her a little further back into her lap. "Much better," she whispered.

The music almost faded from her awareness as her lips hovered just over Xiura's skin. Suddenly, she was tempted to press a light kiss on the nape of her neck. After all, surely no one was watching right now...

"Hey! You there!" The loud voice of a carnival barker rang out, breaking Aurelie's reverie. The ride had slowed to a stop without her even noticing. The tall barker stood next to the ride, his arms crossed and expression disapproving. "No horseplay on the merry-go-round! Save it for the Ferris wheel!"

Aurelie flung up her arms in a gesture of outraged innocence, almost sending Xiura sliding off her lap. The merry-go-round jolted into stillness, and she grimaced, annoyed at being yelled at when she hadn't even done anything yet. Then she snapped her head around to glance back toward Jack, suddenly wondering what he thought of the whole thing.

Damn it, she thought with a sigh, I'm absolutely terrible at this matchmaking thing...

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]As Jack efficiently steered an exasperated Aurelie and a thoroughly blameless Xiura away from the merry-go-round, the redhead couldn't resist throwing a baleful glare at the ride operator as she left. "Hey! Who are you calling a troublemaker?" Aurelie protested mock-indignantly, sticking out her tongue at Jack and then breaking into laughter.

She still wasn't sure how to convey to Jack what she'd planned for the evening, aside from baldly telling him the same way she'd told Xiura. Nor was she at all sure if she could be subtle enough to push them together at appropriate opportunities.

And seeing me hugging Xiura close on my lap probably didn't help either, Aurelie privately sighed. Even if it was enjoyable. Maybe a little too enjoyable.

But his suggestion of playing games proved an effective distraction for the moment from her worries. Heedless of Jack's questioning gaze, she laughed again at his boastful words and cocky flexing as their group approached the row of stalls and booths set up with various carnival games and walls of prizes. Lines had already formed in front of each stall as people waited to test their skills and win ludicrously large, plush toys.

"Psh, I bet I could win you a prize first!" she teased, looking from stall to stall. Each one had a vendor who smiled brightly and called out as they passed, trying to tempt them to play. "That is, assuming we can find a good game that isn't already crowded with people..."

One stall looked much less busy than the others, and Aurelie paused before it consideringly. It featured a Magikarp fishing game, with colorful plastic Magikarp floating and bobbing about in a large tub of clear water. The vendor, a woman with neon-green hair, beamed at her and brandished a fishing pole with a hook on the end. "Try your luck! Reel in five Magikarp and you win a special prize. Why not give it a go?"

"Ooooh, a special prize?" Aurelie exclaimed, looking at the wall of toys and stuffed animals at the back. "Now I really want to try this one!" She hurried forward with a spirited spring in her step.

Eagerly accepting one of the poles, she leaned forward over the tub of water and eyed the Magikarp as they floated gently past on swirling currents of water. Her smile faded into an intent expression of deep concentration, her single eye narrowed thoughtfully. It took her a few moments to work out the mental calculations for judging the speed and angle at which some of the most likely-looking Magikarp were moving.

Then Aurelie smiled...and struck. Reaching forward, she lowered her hook into the water and aimed for the loop attached to the fin of an orange-and-blue plastic Magikarp. With a hopeful exclamation, she pulled back on the pole and lifted it in the air.

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Punching the air lightly in triumph, Aurelie looped the hook of her fishing rod over the last toy Magikarp needed to win the additional "special prize" at the fishing game stall. Pulling her rod back, she dropped the dangling Magikarp atop the pile already assembled beside her feet and sighed contentedly. "Yesssss! Pure skill, ladies and gentlemen."

She turned to watch Jack and Xiura both working on the fishing game themselves. Aurelie had to hide her smile on seeing their similarly intent postures and engrossed expressions as they concentrated on hooking the brightly colored plastic Magikarp. There was something captivating and endearing about each of them, looking so focused.

I adore both of them so much, she thought happily. They'd be so cute together. I just have to get them both to see it for themselves!

In the end, Jack also secured several Magikarp for himself, though not quite as many as Aurelie had, while poor Xiura only managed two before the vendor gently told her that her time was up. "Nice going," the redhead congratulated Jack, patting his arm. She had to fight not to let her hand linger over, let alone caress, the solid muscle below his sleeve.

The vendor handed over a giant, velvety-soft teddy bear with a bright red satin bow around its neck over to Aurelie, who hugged it delightedly. Then she turned to grab something off the "Top Winners Rack" and gave that to the wide-eyed redhead as well. "There you are, miss! Congratulations."

It was a necklace: a small glass pendant delicately painted with tiny gold-and-white fish, strung on a fine bronze-colored silken cord. "Oh, that's so pretty," Aurelie exclaimed involuntarily. Holding it in her hand, she pursed her lips in deep thought.

Then the redhead turned and walked toward Xiura. Tucking the teddy bear under her arm, she grinned irrepressibly and then gave a deep bow with an extravagant flourish of her other arm. In her upraised hands, she presented the necklace to Xiura, letting the polished glass twinkle in the carnival lights.

"My dear Xiura, after many trials and tribulations, much torment, and countless struggles and hardships, I would like to offer you this gift, as a memento of the evening." She lifted her head and gave her best attempt at a winning smile, fluttering her eyelashes appealingly.

Then, slyly, Aurelie twisted her neck slightly to glance up at Jack. "Besides, Jack, don't you think she would look beautiful with the necklace on? It'd be the perfect finishing touch for the prettiest girl at the carnival, right?"

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT