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"Clorinde? What are you doing?!"
The door is wide open and it's raining again in Fontaine. It rains often—based on the old legend, every time the Dragon of Water would weep, it would rain.
"Seeing you, of course."
Navia stands inside, more sheltered from the rain than the girl in front of her. Clorinde's hair falls wet on her face, water streaming down her cheeks. An open indigo umbrella by her feet, deemed useless for the weather.
"Come in!" Navia gently takes Clorinde's wrist, leading her inside. The umbrella stands by the foyer, water drips from it. "Geez, you're all rained on now."
Clorinde retracts her arm and a confused sound comes from the blonde's lips, words of protest fall from her lips but Clorinde takes her instead and runs out in the rain, hand in hand.
Clorinde's touch on Navia's hand is soft yet tight, a different feeling from the silk material of her gloves. Her fingers could slip in between hers and she would blame the weather on it to hide the heart of overflowing feelings that threaten to spill out.
They run through the wet streets of the Court—up the endless stairs where they trip on their own feet and giggle; passing through medieval houses in Quartier Lyonnais with their tenants reading a book or downing a drink to pass the weather; greeting the people that ask why they're out in the rain.
With every staircase they turn, darkness looms in the corner of the tall walls. With every puddle of water that they step on, it splashes against their clothing. With every glance Navia takes at Clorinde, the pounding in her chest gets louder. It was not as loud as the crackling thunder in the land of Eternity, but she could hear it in her own ears.
"What are we doing?" Navia finally let go from Clorinde's grasp, her palm slightly sweaty.
Then they end up in front of the Palais Mermonia's Statue of the Seven, its glow still bright amidst the gloomy sky.
"Going somewhere, with you. If you haven’t figured that out yet." Clorinde wipes the rainwater from her face with the back of her palm. Pointless again as it gets replaced right after.
"How am I gonna know where we're gonna go?"
"That part is for you to find out," Clorinde lends out her hand again, "If I may."
Navia steps closer to the indigo-haired where they see each other eye to eye without either of their enormous hats in the way of their vision. Here, she sees her clearly. Her cerulean eyes can mix into an endless galaxy filled with glittering stars with Clorinde's orchid violet if she wanted to.
Navia takes her hand, eyes fluttering as she does.
"Tell me where we're teleporting to, that's much you can do, right?"
"Fountain of Lucine; no need to be so worried. If anything happens, which is unlikely, I'll be there to protect you from danger."
"Pfft, like a knight in shining armor. I'm just worried that Melus and Silver will come searching for me."
"If they do end up like that, I trust that they won't be mad at you for causing trouble since you're with me."
Since she's with… her .
Cute.
"Whatever, let's go?"
When they arrive in Lucine, the rain doesn't halt. Navia finally brings up that they should've brought an umbrella and that Clorinde is now sitting alone in her house's foyer. It wouldn't be all that useless if they weren't dripping wet from the rain.
The Icewind Suite meka’s aren’t dancing on their usual grounds. The graceful movements of the mechanical robots are a sight to behold. An elegant twirl from Copellia and she engulfs in a beautiful mix of Cryo from her hand fan and Anemo from Coppelius’ cape. A beautiful artificial creation by Maillardet. According to the Steambird paper in the ‘For Tourists’ section, it’s a must-visit.
Clorinde extends her hand and puts the other behind her, head tilting, “Let’s dance.”
"Huh?" It sputters from her lips.
"Dancing in the rain… I didn't give it much thought before, but I think I get why it's implied to be like that."
"To be like what?"
"Sort of cute. Take my hand."
Navia does. She places her hand on Clorinde's shoulder and the other on her extended hand. The latter's hand placement is… something. Navia knows how dancing works, but to dance in the rain with her best friend? This is not good for her.
Clorinde's hand is placed on Navia's lower back and the other is interlocked with hers. They step forward and backward, swaying. The pitter-patter of the rain mixes with the tune of the hum that Navia is making.
The storm roars loud thunder, similar to a blonde's current heartbeat. The rain made Navia's curls flatten and they fell messy all over her face and some lie on her back.
Navia attempts to put a stray bang aside from where it is in front of her eye. Nothing much happens as a result because her two hands are occupied. Clorinde notices this, temporarily removes her hand from Navia's waist, and tucks it behind her.
Navia was about to mutter a thanks but Clorinde also tucks the rest of her hair away from her face, some behind her ears, running her hands through her wet hair.
How can it get any better than this? Navia could put some romantic implications of this spontaneous trip for her own enjoyment and that not-so-little part of her brain that's crushing on Clorinde.
She's a strong fighter, maybe strong enough soon to be the Champion Duelist? Maybe they'll be even more than friends when that time comes, that'll satisfy her heart. A friend who is not one for words, but is thoughtful in her own ways. She's beautiful, gorgeous even. Midnight purple eyes that light up and highlight her face go along beautifully with the medium-length indigo hair.
Utterly ethereal.
"Navia, do you trust me?" Clorinde asks. It comes out more of a statement than a question. She lifts her arm, bringing Navia to a spin.
"Of course, why?" Navia comes back to face the other, returning her hand on Clorinde’s shoulder. It feels much lighter now that she can’t shy herself with every turn.
"I'm gonna lead you into a dip. I'll catch you."
“Alright then. Don’t drop me, now.”
“I just said I wouldn’t,” Clorinde retorts. “Let’s do a couple more steps. On the sixth, turn your body to the right and put your arm around my shoulder.”
Navia keeps count of their steps internally, she watches her own feet and glances up at Clorinde, she looks focused too.
“Four, five, six, seven.” As she was told, Navia puts her arm around Clorinde’s shoulder and— oh. How could someone get even more beautiful?
There’s nothing more delicate than the person Navia decided to trust her heart with. Even if Clorinde didn’t hold the same feelings as Navia like the way she wields a sword, Navia will still love her all the same. The rainwater drips down from the stray bangs and falls ungracefully on Navia’s cheek. Clorinde above her shows a little smile of success.
Clorinde finally brings her back up and returns her hands, but they don’t dance anymore. They stand in the pouring rain, looking at each other. No words are needed to communicate that there’s something that could go off at this moment. Whether that could be apologies or a dam of romantic feelings, they wouldn’t know because they don’t say anything.
Navia smiles, a bright one where her eyes are curved into half moons. Clorinde doesn’t exactly mimic it, but Navia knows that the corners of her lips raised just a little.
“Thank you,” Navia exhales, breathless, but for what? What could she be thanking Clorinde for? Why did it feel like she was holding her own breath for an eternity when all that happened was her eyes perfectly aligned with Clorinde’s and the world felt just right.
The walk (and teleport) back to Navia’s home at the Court doesn’t go unnoticed. The rain is calming down, at the very least, but there’s a tight string that’s tying them together and one snap could break the sudden tension.
The emotions feel unsettling yet it feels right . Something in her heavy heart wants her to do something about it, something to make her years-long pining worth something. But, to be perfectly genuine, letting her feelings simmer in her body and Clorinde never finding out about it is what she would rather take instead of destroying the friendship they’ve built over the years. Navia wouldn’t like that, not ever. She would go above justice to call Clorinde her friend, and nothing more.
The thought makes her chest physically ache. Navia doesn’t want to lose the one that feels right, but she also doesn’t want to hold Clorinde back from any great opportunities.
They arrive back at Navia’s house, she knocks thrice and waits for footsteps from the inside. Leaning on the pillar, she starts, “That was something. Hey, you, clean yourself up when you get back so you won’t get sick.”
“Yeah, the same goes for you. What ever will you do without me.” Clorinde rolls her eyes, getting a hearty laugh from Navia. “Hey.”
“Hey, you.” Navia crosses her arms and bends a knee to lean on.
“Can I do something?”
“What else can you do?”
“Maybe like—” Clorinde comes closer, holding on to one of Navia’s folded arms, and pauses before putting her lips on to light pink ones, on Navia’s. She closes her eyes through it, her grip on the other’s arm isn’t strong and her thumb is brushing the exposed part of her skin from her clothing. It’s a light kiss, one that makes Navia—though shocked and surprised— flutter. Now this feels right. If anything, her warm lips feel like pure rippling waters. Clorinde, the girl whom she’s adored for years and years , is kissing her. She can’t comprehend anything else but the fact that Navia can stop this and pull Clorinde away from her is an option to try and salvage their friendship, but she doesn’t. She can enjoy this for a little longer, she can deal with her own personal hurt later. Navia almost loses her balance but holds on to Clorinde’s shoulder for support. Navia tries to bring Clorinde even closer, putting some strength in the grip on her shoulders, but it ultimately fails when Clorinde pulls away with a sigh, “—this…”
When her mind finally allows itself to remind her of what just happened, she just looks at Clorinde. There’s a very faint pink dust on her cheeks, it’s likely that Navia also looks the same.
“I’m sorry…” It delicately spills out of Clorinde’s lips, it even hurts Navia to hear her say that when it was what she’s been dreaming of for an eternity.
“You don’t need to apologize for that! It… was alright, I liked that. You won’t regret that, do you?” Navia stammers, getting the word out of her mouth faster than usual. If there would be a race on who’s faster: either that be her tongue or her heart, the latter would win.
“You… liked that?” Clorinde’s eyes widened.
“Yeah… you have no idea how long I’ve been wanting—”
Her speech ends abruptly when the door opens, revealing Melus, “Demoiselle! Dear Archons, are you alright? Come in, I apologize for being worried.”
She glances at Clorinde one more time, “Thank you. I’ll be there in a minute, Melus.” The butler nods and leaves the door ajar, Navia sets her hand on the knob, “Thank you, again. I had fun. Don’t regret what you did at all, okay? We could talk about it or not, whatever you want. See you around, Clorinde.” Navia smiles again, Clorinde finally matches it. She steps inside and the bolt of the lock is heard from the outside.
“See you,” Clorinde says, but it goes unheard.
Melus and Silver had to deal with a panicky Demoiselle once she was all dried up. Safe to say that both of her attendants are highly supportive.
Does that mean that Clorinde…