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Had you asked Adaine, as a child, what her ideal partner would be like, she would, most likely, describe an aristocratic, incredibly intellectually accomplished, arcanically gifted person. The kind of idealised spouse who would further the standing of the Abernant Family, the type of completely hollow and unremarkable person who she had long been trained to court.
But even after freeing herself (if slightly involuntarily) from under her parents thumb, she most likely would’ve still answered with hopes of someone who would at least match her academic fervor, although now their station would have less importance, or she may have been comfortable admitting she didn’t know if she could see herself with anyone romantically, at least not enough to describe them.
However, it must be said that most people around Adaine fully expected that if she ever were to develop romantic feelings for someone, they would be studious, reserved and heavily invested in arcane knowledge.
Even as she came out of her shell as she settled into her new normal, a lot of them still figured that her type wouldn’t be someone too different from herself, in fact a good many people believed, despite Adaine’s protestations, that she was in some way involved with the ghost of Zayn Darkshadow.
Because of course she could never be interested in someone else, someone like an insecure, punk bard who ditched nearly all of their classes, partied way too much, was way too impulsive and most likely wouldn’t be able to find the school library with a map… y’know, for example…
And that’s what some people think… No one specific of course, that was just the general feeling in regards to Adaine’s hypothetical lovelife, it wasn’t like there was someone especially invested in this topic.
Ok, so maybe Fig was slightly… curious… about whether Adaine was interested in a distinct kind of person… as a friend…
And if she got sad thinking about how she most definitely was not Adaine’s type, well then that was no one's business.
Suffice it to say, Fig was pretty convinced her little (read: massive) crush was doomed.
Additionally Adaine was pretty convinced that she was doomed by her parents’ endeavours, to end up with a partner horrifically similar to them.
And if she had started feeling things which didn’t quite fit into the bounds of friendship for a certain member of her adventuring party, then that was no one’s business.
Thus the events of one evening early into their spring break came as a welcome shock to both of them.
“Ok, so it wasn’t my best plan!” Fig laughed.
“No I think it was,” grinned Adaine.
“Shut up!”
Adaine squealed in surprise as the slightly harder than intended shoulder nudge sent her sliding down the sloped edge of the Hangvan.
Acting on instinct; Fig lunged forwards, grabbing Adaine’s upper arm and dragging her back to safety, awkwardly twisting as she did so, resulting in her laying atop Adaine, their faces almost touching.
The laughter died immediately.
Fig’s eyes flicked around Adaine’s face, no safe space to land, she felt like she was on the verge of being hypnotised, the golden light of the setting sun, which was illuminating her soft features, held Fig there, spellbound, until her brain finally booted back up and she sat back up rapidly, skidding a bit away from Adaine who straightened up as well.
In her hurry to move away, Fig missed the blush spreading on Adaine’s cheeks which mirrored her own flush.
“Thanks,” Adaine managed after a minute, “for, um, saving me…”
“Ah yes,” responded Fig, turning and grinning, “the endless abyss would have swallowed you into eternity, had I not rescued you.”
“My knight in shining armour!”
They both laughed, the tension dissipating.
“I’m beginning to think that we may not be the best at keeping watch,”
“Yeah, well you’re the one who can trance,”
“And you?”
“I like spending time with you,”
“Are you sure it’s not ‘cause I’ve got all the snacks?”
“That might be part of it,” Fig replied, slyly, reaching into a bag of sweets and throwing one into the air, catching it in her mouth to Adaine’s mock applause.
Fig turned to make some snide comment but her words were stolen and her breath hitched as a gentle breeze from the sea they were parked next to blew her golden hair back and, gods, she was so pretty.
If Fig was not so busy being completely overwhelmed she may have been able to see Adaine’s pupils dilating, and flicking down to Fig’s lips.
The silence which followed was broken by Adaine clearing her throat.
“So, um, the story?”
“St- story?” Fig asked, shaking her head to free it of the fog filling her mind, “Oh right yeah, so then the receptionist/secretary guy said he had to get my information so I had to come up with a name.”
“What did you say?”
“Just, y’know, a name, a normal one,”
“Which was?”
“Ah… shit.”
“Did you just try and come up with a fake-fake name?” asked Adaine, incredulously.
“Little bit?”
“I’ve got to know now, what was the name?”
Fig sighed, why couldn’t she be suave and sophisticated when it came to this type of espionage, or at least be good at lying about being suave and sophisticated.
“Hilda,”
“Hilda?”
“Yeah,”
“They didn’t ask for a surname?”
“They did,”
“What did you say?”
“...Hilda?” Fig cringed as she said it.
“Your fake name, was Hilda Hilda?”
Fig nodded and turned to look at the sea.
“I know, I know, I’m dumb, I never claimed to be smart ok?”
Adaine laughed softly and, for a second it made Fig frustrated.
But then Adaine’s hand was on her cheek, turning her head to meet her deep blue eyes and, gods, Fig hadn’t noticed how close Adaine had gotten until she could feel her breath on her lips.
“You are dumb,” Adaine’s voice was low and soft, it didn’t sound like an insult.
“Thank you?”
“No- not like that, you’re not stupid, you’re dumb but it’s a good thing, it’s like… it’s a… it’s familiar,”
“Adaine?”
“I was so scared,” continued Adaine in a voice close to a whisper like she hadn’t heard Fig, “when you were missing, I was terrified I’d never hear you saying something stupid again. I hadn’t realised how much I love it, you’re always so relaxed and cool. You never care what people think and you’re never pretending to be something else and then we- I almost lost you,”
“Hey,” Fig smiled, bringing her own hand up to hold Adaine’s on her cheek.
“You didn’t lose me, I’m right here, being my dumb self,” Fig bit her lip, her eyes flicking from Adaine’s to her lips.
“And you’re wrong about one thing by the way,”
“What?”
“I do care about what people think, I care what you think about me,”
“I think you’re amazing.”
The earnestness of the response left Fig speechless for a second or two.
“Even though I’m not some perfect academic?”
“You’re better than perfect: you’re dumb and you’re brilliant and… you’re Fig,”
“Is that better?”
“For me, it’s everything.”
Tentatively, Adaine brought her lips to Fig’s, reaching for her off hand and holding it tight as she kissed her.
She pulled away the tiniest amount, giving Fig the chance to pull away, but, of course, she didn’t and so Adaine rested their foreheads together, looking into Fig’s burning red eyes with adoration.
“So, does this- that mean you like me?” Fig asked with a hopeful smile.
Adaine laughed quietly.
“You are SO dumb,” she teased before kissing the bard again.