No matter how overrated it sounds, turning sixteen is a special day in anybody's lives. It's a milestone of a day and it signifies the fact that you are almost on the verge of adulthood, but not quite there yet. It's a good day and it's always gonna be a good day. So when Aurelia wakes up, feeling an inexplicable sense of happiness, she knows it's the day. For a few moments, she doesn't move. She stays on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. 'I really can't believe I am sixteen now. I feel weirdly happy. Why do I feel weirdly happy? Maybe because it's my birthday. Shit, I'm really sixteen?!"

In a hurry to get up, Aurelia doesn't notice her feet entangled in the blankets and stumbles, hitting the floor next to her bed with a loud thud. "Ouch," She cries out in pain, but slowly her expression morphs into a smile. "I'm sixteen! Yes!"

Her bedroom door opens and Clara hobbles in (her ankle is still healing from their fight against the Doctor; healing broken bones with a spell can be dangerous. You don't want an extra bone growing, do you?) "Lia, did you just fall out of your bed?"

"I'm sixteen, Clara! I'm sixteen," Aurelia exclaims as she gets up from the floor, runs towards Clara and brings her into a hug. "I'm actually sixteen!"

Clara pats her back as she laughs lightly. "I know, darling. I know. Why do you think I've been up since seven? Come on outside, I'll give you your gifts."

"Gifts? As in plural?"

"Turning sixteen is special, you know. So yes, gifts."

"I love you!" Aurelia says with the brightest smile. "I really love you!"

"I know, I love you," Clara smiles back, before putting an arm around Aurelia's shoulders. "Your gifts await."

Aurelia giggles in excitement as she claps her hands together. It's a good day; it's a really good day. Once she steps out into her living/dining room, she sees just how much effort (or magic) Clara has put in. The entire room has been decorated with streamers, the dining table is piled with her favorite snacks (so many m&m's...she could cry out of joy), and best of all, the center table of the living room is piled with wrapped boxes (she counts at least seven of them).

"Did you get me all of these?" Aurelia asks as she walks, runs almost, towards the table. She sits down on the floor and grabs one of the gifts as Clara leans against the couch with a smile.

"They are all from other people," Clara replies with a mild smirk. "I'll give you mine at the end. It's got something to do with your birthday tradition." (oh yes, Aurelia has a birthday tradition)

"Alright cool," Aurelia replies. She removes the wrapping paper of the first box and a card falls out first. She picks it up and reads through, her smile growing wider at every word.

'Hey little sis, you're finally sixteen! You're my favorite surface dweller(don't tell Donna or Dick I said that 😉) so I had to get you a cool gift. It's a book of Atlantean stories that I grew up on and I know you'll like it too. Enjoy your b'day and I hope to see you soon!

-Love, Garth (your favorite Atlantean😉)'

Aurelia laughs before she finishes opening the gift, which as Garth said, is a book of Atlantean stories. It's written in English and the cover is absolutely stunning. It's a drawing, probably inspired by King Arthur's trident and it's made in bright, oceanic blue. She's definitely going to love this. She keeps the book on one side and the wrapping paper on another before she goes to pick the next week.

As soon as Aurelia touches it, she feels and recognizes the magic of the person who sent it. She opens the present (which is a long rectangular box) and reads the card stuck on the lid of the box.

'Enjoy your 16th, Miss Hall - G.Z.' "Thank you Mr. Zatarra!" She exclaims as she opens the box and finds it to contain an actual magic wand. "Clara, look! He gave me this!"

"I know," Clara smiles as she sits down on the couch. "He told me he would do that."

"You have to thank him for me." Aurelia keeps the wand back in the box and keeps the box next to Garth's gift (a wand will make an excellent instrument to channelise and store her magic). And this way, she opens almost all of her presents, a majority of which turn out to be from the Justice League. The last one left is from Donna's. She recognizes it instantly, because Donna...as amazing as she is at certain things, gift wrapping is not one of them. The amount of tape she must have used has completely hidden the wrapping paper.

Aurelia grins as she holds the gift in her hand, before mumbling a spell and make all the tape disappear. As soon as that happens, the wrapping nearly falls apart. Yup, Donna needs to learn how to gift wrap. She opens the card and reads it through.

'Hey Lia, happy sixteenth! You can finally drive, isn't that fun? Although you can also teleport, so there's that. My present for you is technically both from Diana and I. Diana did suggest that I give it to you, so here you go. Wear it and let me know how it feels, okay? Love you loads and let's meet real soon, without the boys, yeah?

-Love, Donna (and Diana)❤️

"Holy shit, Wonder Woman gave me a present too?!" Aurelia can already feel the tears of happiness forming in her eyes. She quickly opens the box and stares down at the present with an intense sense of joy. "Clara, I think...I love Diana. She's just...she's amazing, isn't she?"

"She is!" Clara nods, a smile still remaining on her face. Aurelia's reactions to her presents are so adorable. She has the best niece. Ever. "What did she and Donna give you?"

Aurelia takes the bracelets out of the box and holds them up in the air. They are normal bracelets, but because they came from Themyscira, they have an other-worldly quality to them. "I really love these and I'm so wearing them tonight." She keeps the bracelets, in the box and the box on the table before she looks up at Clara.

"So what are you giving me?"

"Funny you should ask that. Because," Clara says with a smirk. "I'm sure you're gonna love this."

"What is it?"

At Aurelia's question, Clara merely laughs and reaches into her pocket dimension, her hand glowing slightly purple. The gift appears in her hand and she places it on the table, from where Aurelia takes it. It's a medium-sized box, wrapped elegantly in blue wrapping paper and she picks it up, she tries to get a feel for what it can be. It certainly feels heavy. She tears off the wrapping paper and quickly opens the box.

"You got me a new polaroid camera?" Aurelia says, slowly and carefully as she takes out the camera, holding it by its trap. "You actually got one? Where...how?"

"Magic, my lovely girl, magic," Clara replies. "I know you like to take all those photos for your birthday and I know you were really sad when your old one broke. So I decided I'd get you a new one. I'd have brought one for Christmas but then I thought it would be better if I gave it to you on your sixteen birthday. Make it more special, you know."

"Clara, this is going to sound very cheesy and sappy. But thank you so much! I love this so much," Aurelia says with an extremely grateful smile. "And I love you so much. You're the best aunt in the world and I wouldn't replace you for anything at all. I really really do love you."

"Stop it. You're gonna make me cry," Clara says with a smile, as she pretends to wipe away her non-existent tears. "I love you too, darling. Now why don't you go shower and get dressed before you leave for your annual birthday thing?"

"Yes, I am gonna do that!" Aurelia keeps the camera on the table, carefully, before getting up. She walks to Clara and gives her a massive hug. "And I'll clear this mess when I am done with dressing up," She motions towards the pile of wrapping paper.

"No, I'll handle it. You don't do anything today."

"Okay then, I'll see you in ten minutes! Bye!"

With a bright smile on her face, Aurelia walks back to her room and claps her hand again, out of sheer joy this time. Once she enters the room, she closes the door behind her and smiles. So far, her birthday has gone really well and she just hopes it will go as well by the time the day ends. Plus Aurelia now has a new polaroid, so she can finally carry out her annual birthday tradition. It had started out as something silly when she was eleven years old and Clara had taken her around the city and handed her a polaroid camera, telling her to take all the photos she wanted. But in the five years since, it became one of her traditions.

Every birthday, she used to spend the entire morning and afternoon going around the city, taking pictures of random things and writing things on the polaroids. It was an excellent creative outlet; something not connected to magic in anyway.

Aurelia whistles as she walks to her desk. She picks up her phone and smiles as she reads the messages she has received, before she scrolls back to the latest one which came five minutes ago. It was from Dick and felt strangely cryptic.

'Happy Birthday. Your present's gonna get there slightly late. :)'

"Well then, let's see what you get me, Boy Wonder," Aurelia remarks with a smile before she keeps her phone back on the table. She walks in the direction of the bathroom, thinking about various things, but mostly what Dick would be getting her.

At least, she hopes it's not going to be batarangs like last year. (Aurelia will hit him if he gives her those again)

If you know Aurelia, you know she doesn't wear dresses. But since it's her sixteenth birthday, the occasion is special so she has taken out one of the few dresses in her closet. It's a light blue, flower print dress that reaches just below her ankles and the sleeves cut off right below her shoulders. She wears that along with a plain black shrug thrown over the dress. She's also put on her favorite black sneakers, with those white lines. All in all, Aurelia looks cute and she knows it.

She grabs her phone off her study table, grabs her purse with her wallet and then walks out of the room, dressed for an adventure. Well, not an adventure exactly, but a day of enjoyment. By the time she walks out of her room, it's almost ten thirty in the morning. The living room has been cleared off the pile of wrapping paper and her presents are kept on the table, all arranged neatly. The polaroid camera along with an extra box of film is kept there as well. Clara, who is on her phone, looks up at her as she enters.

"You look amazing, sweetheart," Clara says, offering compliments with a bright smile. "Ready to go?"

"Yup, I'm so ready!" Aurelia says out of excitement as she walks to the table and picks up the camera and the film. She takes hold of the camera strap and gently lifts it, before placing the camera around her neck. She grabs the box of film and keeps it in her purse, before looking back at her aunt. "I'll be back around 3ish, if that's okay?"

"That's perfectly okay. Besides, I think you're gonna want to stay out a little while longer today," Clara says, smirking. Aurelia gives her a weird look as she walks up to her. She leans down and gives her a one-armed hug before pulling away.

"Okay then," Aurelia says with a shake of her head. "If that's what you're saying."

Just then her phone starts to ring and the tune of her newest favorite song come through her purse, albeit muffled. She bids goodbye to Clara as she walks towards the main door of the apartment before picking up the call, not checking the caller id. "Hello?"

"Hey Lia, happy birthday." It's Dick (and that really just makes her heart race). "How has your day been so far?"

"Dick! Hi!" She says, sounding waay too excited. "It's been good! It's been real good!"

"Well, I know how to make it even better," Dick says and she can hear the smirk in his voice.

"Oh yeah, how so?"

"You'll just have to come outside and find out. Your present lays awaiting."

"Don't tell me you just dumped my present in front of the apartment building and didn't keep it in the letter box. Don't tell me you did that."

"Well, you'll just have to come outside now, right?"

"God,I swear if you're making me do all this work for a set of batarangs, I will kill you." Aurelia says as she opens the door to the apartment. (She and Clara live on the first floor of an apartment complex that has two stories)

"How many times do I have to say sorry for that?" Dick asks, seemingly annoyed. "It wasn't my idea, it was Bruce's! He said that's what he gave Clara one year and she liked it so I should give you one too."

"Well, it's Clara. She'll like anything Bruce gives her," Aurelia snorts as she steps out of the apartment and starts walking down the stairs. "You know how these two are."

"Don't remind me. Sometimes I think Clara and Bruce are way worse than Bruce and Selina."

"So that's still a thing? Bruce really goes for the crazies, huh. And that includes Clara, although don't tell her I said that." By the time she finishes her sentence, she's already on the ground floor and is slowly making her way towards the main entrance of the building, from where she can see the sunlight streaming in. "Where exactly is my present, Boy Wonder? I can't see anything here."

"First of all, don't call me that. Second of all, I said outside, Lia. Outside." Dick says with a resigned sigh, but she knows he's only doing it to mock her.

"Alright, I'll go and see then," Aurelia says. She passes by the stack of six letter boxes fixed to the side wall and goes towards the entrance. "I'm outside and I don't see anything yet." She walks past the bushes that adorn the sidewalk in front of the entrance. "Seriously, if you were joking, I will come to Gotham and turn you into a fly and then kill you."

"I promise you that I wasn't joking, darling," Dick says, laughing. "Now all you have to do is turn around and your present will be there."

"Wait, what do you mean-" Aurelia turns her body and nearly shrieks and almost drops her phone. Because, of fucking course, Dick Grayson is standing right in front of her, dressed in a jacket and denim jeans, laughing at the expression on her face. "You asshole! You tricked me! I'm really going to hit you!"

He snickers. "Had you fooled, didn't I? Besides, what better present there is than my very own presence?"

"Oh haha, that's funny," Aurelia says sarcastically as she keeps her phone in her pocket. She looks at him with an annoyed glare. "Don't tell me you came all the way from Gotham to say that to me?...Wait, how did you even get here ...oh, Clara must have...I'm so gonna kill her."

"Come on, you can do all of that later," Dick says with a lazy grin as he holds out his hand. "I'm here to spend the day with you and before you say anything I'm serious. Anything you want to do, anywhere you want to go, I'm up for it. And you can take your pictures too. I am all yours till five, babe."

"Anything you say?" Aurelia raises her eyebrows, ignoring the 'babe' remark. "You really mean anything?"

"You said you'd show me around Ann Arbor right? Why not today? I stole one of Bruce's credit cards too so you can buy anything you want."

"Meh, okay. But don't mind If I start taking pictures of you."

"Why would I mind?" Tired of waiting, Dick takes a hold of Aurelia's hand on his own. "It's you. I don't mind anything you do."

"Oh stop it," Aurelia shakes her head, a smile making its way to her face. After a short pause, she says. "You really are something, Grayson. Why come here for me?"

"Because you know you're special to me, Lia. Very special."

"That...that was surprisingly smooth. And I accept it. I know I'm special."

"Yeah you are. Now, are we gonna get a move on or keep on standing here?"

"Patience, Boy Wonder. Patience. All good things take time."

Dick is talking about something as they walk near one of the big parks near one of the commercial district, but Aurelia isn't paying attention to him. She couldn't, could she? Not when she came to the life altering realisation that she might, might, have a crush on him. And the fact that they were still holding hands was doing nothing to help her. They have been wandering around Ann Arbor for almost three hours now, with Aurelia taking many, many pictures of many things, but a lot of them included Dick doing something silly.

But now, as she stares (or rather, admires) his chiseled jawline (was it always that sharp?) and sharp cheekbones ('I want cheekbones like those') and also feels the urge to place her hand on his cheek, she gets a feeling that the 'might' has just become a 'yes'. 'Fuck no, this can't be happening.' Aurelia looks at Dick, who is still talking, having no idea about what she's thinking. Thank god he doesn't have telepathy; otherwise she would be so screwed.

"Hey Dick? Can you stop here for a second?" Aurelia looks at him, hoping that what she's feeling doesn't show up on her face.

"Everything okay?" Dick comes to a stop as he gives her a look of concern.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I just wanted to take a normal picture of you, besides all the weird ones you made me take," Aurelia says as she lets go of his hand and holds the camera, lifting it in his direction. "Smile for me."

He shoots a thumbs-up towards her and smiles widely. (Aurelia would be lying if she said that his smile was not making her heart race). She raises the camera and points it in Dick's direction. She presses the button and hears a 'click' and now knows that the photo has been taken. The polaroid pops out of the camera and she grabs the picture before shaking the picture to ensure that it developed well.

And it did. It developed really well. Dick looked perfect in it. (didn't he always look perfect...shut up, brain)

"Thank you for that," Aurelia said as she put the photo in her purse along with the others. "You look good."

"Don't I always?" Dick asks, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Aurelia punches him lightly before she grabs his hand again and basically drags him to wherever they go next, which is the diner where they'll have their lunch. It's name is the 'Moonstruck Diner' and has a complete fifties theme going for it, jukebox included. Thank god it's not too far from the park; it's literally ten steps away from the park and right near the entrance of the newer commercial district.

"Wait, where are we going now? Aurelia, seriously, what's got you so excited?" Dick questions. Aurelia doesn't reply as they come up on the end of the sidewalk. "Are you going to tell me or am I supposed to figure it out myself?"

"Don't worry, we're almost there!" Aurelia looked at him with an excited smile before turning away, not noticing the sudden jolt in his expression (like a heavy realisation had overcome him too).

Ahead of them, she starts to spot people walking about, buying whatever they want, enjoying themselves and generally having a good day. And right where the bushes from the park end and the commercial district begins, is Moonstruck Diner with its bright, flashy neon signs that seem to be visible even during the day.

"Come on! We are gonna go here! It's almost one and I'm pretty sure the diner remains empty during this time," Aurelia says as she slows down her pace. "I've heard this place makes a pretty mean chocolate cake."

"So we're just going to this diner for the cake?" Dick asks as he also slows down his pace, matching up with hers.

"No, silly!" Aurelia hits him playfully and giggles. (why is she so weirdly happy all of a sudden? Hmm...) "We are gonna have lunch and I can finally rest my legs, after all that walking we did."

"Alright, but don't expect I'll let you pay for anything. It's your birthday. Let me treat you." Dick states with a firm, but warm tone. "No arguments about that."

"Well...since you're offering so nicely," Aurelia says with an amused smile. Since when has Dick Grayson been so nice and gentlemanly? "Why don't you go in first, kind sir?"

"Why, thank you, my fair lady," Dick replies in a mocking tone as they stop in front of Moonstruck Diner's doors (even, they were done in a fifties' style decoration). He takes an exaggerated bow before he opens the door and enters, with Aurelia following behind.

As soon as she steps inside, the smells of the food hit her and she sighs (but in a good way). The diner is exactly how she had imagined it to be. Huge black and white tiles, a jukebox right near the end of the counter, multiple booths, quirky fifties' posters on the wall and a very pastel color scheme; Aurelia loves it. There are few people present, but it's nothing like the morning or the evening rush. The afternoon is the perfect time to be here. Aurelia grabs Dick's wrist and drags him towards one of the booths, before she slides into one and sits down.

Dick sits next to her, looking at her rather fondly. Aurelia doesn't notice (or rather, realise) and instead offers him a smile. "So...do you like this?"

"A little too pink for my taste, but I guess it's good," Dick replies.

Aurelia sighs in relief. "Oh thank god. Because I was kinda worried that you might not like it since I basically dragged you here without asking if you wanted to eat someplace else. Sorry about that, by the way."

"Lia, it's your birthday," Dick tilts his head as he stares, looking mildly amused. He props his chin on the table using his elbows. "You're so awkward; it's hilarious."

Before Aurelia gets the chance to reply to his stupid remark (she's not awkward at all; she's not), one of the waitresses, dressed in an adorable fifties style dress, walks up to their booth with a smile, holding two menu cards which she hands over to them with a smile. "Hi, welcome to Moonstruck Diner. Hope you have a pleasant afternoon with us."

Aurelia smiles back. "Yes, thank you. Can you come back in five minutes? We'll decide our order by then."

"Of course ma'am," The waitress (her name tag says June) says before she steps away, letting the two teens decide what they want to eat. Aurelia stares down at the menu in front of her, running her fingers over each item listed as she mumbles their names under her breath. She doesn't pay attention to Dick, who's staring at her rather intensely. His hands shift to his right jacket pocket as he feels for the box. It's still there thankfully.

Dick places a hand on hers, ignoring the sudden spark of electricity he felt. Aurelia looked at him, tilting her head curiously (adorably). "Before you decide what you want to eat, can I give you your actual gift?"

"You got me something?" Aurelia feels her lips curl upwards. "You really didn't have to. Just the fact that you came here all the way from Gotham is enough. It was surprising, but it's enough."

"I'm still going to give it to you, even if you say no," Dick reaches into the pocket and takes out the small box, before placing it in front of Aurelia. He pushes it towards her, motioning for her to open it. She takes the box and opens it and stares.

Because he has got her a necklace and one glance at it, she's already in love. And she can also tell that it's damn expensive (he is Bruce Wayne's ward after all). Aurelia takes it out of the box and examines it, staring at the chain which is made of gold. At the ends of it is a star shaped pendant, also in gold. All in all, it's a fucking gorgeous piece of jewellery.

"Dick, this is incredible. This is seriously so pretty. I don't even know where you found this, but thank you so much for giving it to me!"

"I had Alfred help out," Dick says, sounding strangely relieved. It's not like he spent an entire week hunting down the perfect present before asking for Alfred's help. No, he definitely didn't do that. Nope. Not at all. "You want help putting it on?"

"Sure I guess," Aurelia replies as she hands over the necklace to him and turns around in her position. For a short moment, Dick stares at her long red hair falling over her back. Then, very carefully, he opens the clasp of the necklace and raises his hands over Aurelia's head before slowly placing the necklace around her neck. As soon as his fingers meet skin, he feels that same damn spark, all over again. Dick ignores it and the fact that he is so incredibly close to her. Almost too close. He can't even imagine how they must be looking to everybody else in the diner.

'Like a couple. Like a couple on a fucking date,' Dick almost wants to hit himself, but he suppresses the feeling and finishes placing the necklace around Aurelia's neck. He quickly (almost too quickly) returns to his original position, staring down the menu and tries to ensure he isn't blushing. Keyword being tries.

"So what do you want to order?" Dick says, sounding as casual as he can, because once he's back in Gotham, he's going to hit himself with his pillow for letting this happen. Seriously, why did this have to happen to him? "It's your birthday."

"Well, I was thinking..." Aurelia started to say as she pointed at the menu, but Dick zoned out and only stared at her. She pushed a strand of her hair out of her face as she continued to speak, telling him what she wanted to eat. He nodded, barely paying attention but catching every word (he will have to thank Bruce for this training later). And at the same time, there's only thing, one statement that he can think off.

He, Dick Grayson, has a fucking crush on his best friend.

THEY ADMITTED IT. THEY FINALLY ADMITTED IT. 🥺🥺🤧 (technically only Dick stated it tho 😉) (plus i know both brenton and sophie look waay older than 16, but the gifs i found of them were so cute that i had to use them)

I had so much writing this looong chapter (it's almost 4600 words) and all the cute moments; this was just a taste of what is to come. But seriously? Dick coming all the way to Michigan from Gotham and surprising Aurelia? Where do I get someone like that? 🤧🤧 Anyways, that's not the point lol. We are technically at the half way point of the first act, so there's going to be even more cute moments of these two. Especially when they finally admit their feelings....that's one heck of a chapter and i can't wait to see how you guys will react to it.

I hope you liked this! Let me know what you thought in the comments below! ❤️❤️