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After sharing a kiss with Seyka (her first ever kiss, which Aloy sometimes worries about in case it was a bad kiss—and she hates worrying about something so silly, because she’s supposed to be a skilled warrior, not a blushing mess), Aloy returns to the base to continue her mission to save the world. But that doesn’t mean she never sees Seyka again. She feels bad about taking even a single break from her work to deal with Nemesis, but Beta insists that Aloy looks after herself, in case she burns out. And, knowing all about her and Seyka (obviously able to tell something was different, Beta bugged her until Aloy admitted she’d fallen for her ally and kissed her), Beta insisted that her breaks should sometimes include returning to the Burning Shores to see Seyka.
Which explains why Aloy finds herself at one of her shelters by the beach in the Burning Shores, her Waterwing taking a rest nearby, as she sits beside Seyka. Her girlfriend.
(It might be a result of being raised as an outcast, or possibly because she’s never had a crush in her life, but Aloy still kind of freaks out when she thinks about Seyka being her girlfriend. It often makes her go bright red, which Seyka happens to find adorable.)
As the sun sinks below the horizon, stars begin to blanket the night sky. Aloy never really thought about how incredible the view is, but ever since she learned that light pollution in the Old World prevented people from seeing more than a smattering of stars, she can’t help but bask in the beauty of the sight above her. She just wishes more people were around to see it too.
But that isn’t all she focuses on. Above all, Aloy’s attention is drawn to the warmth of the crackling fire and the shadows that dance across everything that surrounds it. Including Seyka’s face. Aloy isn’t good with eye contact, but looking at faces doesn’t bother her when the person doesn’t look back. Which is perfect, because Seyka currently has her eyes closed as she leans against Aloy, their bare upper arms pressed together—allowing Aloy to look at her beautiful girlfriend’s face as much as she wants.
The fire casts faint shadows across her face, the shapes flickering across Seyka’s skin.
(Her skin is so soft, Aloy remembers from cupping Seyka’s face one of the times they kissed. Before Seyka, she never had such silly thoughts about someone’s skin being soft. Crushes are embarrassing.)
When Seyka opens her eyes, Aloy glances away. But she smiles.
“I… I didn’t mean to stare,” Aloy says, stammering over her words. She never experienced this sort of thing before Seyka either.
Seyka slips her arm around Aloy’s waist, pulling her closer. And as Aloy’s face burns, Seyka kisses her cheek. “I don’t mind.”
“That’s good…” Aloy mumbles, before turning her head and pressing her lips against Seyka’s.
Her girlfriend’s fingers stroking her hair, Aloy sighs against Seyka’s mouth, kissing her again.
And as they kiss in the shadows of the firelight, Aloy knows taking a break from her work was a wonderful idea.