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Navia is a light sleeper.
She wasn't always that way, but taking over the Spina made her ready to wake up and solve a crisis at any moment.
Unfortunately, this means even that in regular times or when she's away from home, she gets roused by almost every noise. It's not too bad when she's next to Clorinde. Because she just looks at her peaceful, sleeping love and that lulls her back to sleep.
But not tonight.
She's woken up by the sound of the rain. The dreadful sound of rain. Archons, she hates the rain.
She sighs and carefully detangles herself from Clorinde. The woman continues sleeping, unaware of Navia’s wakefulness.
Navia, not bothering to put anything over her pajamas, walks out onto Clorinde’s balcony. The rain immediately drenches her hair, and quickly makes its way down her nightgown. She’s not worried, though; Clorinde’s lodgings are high, high above most everything else in the Court — and even the Palais Mermonia is asleep this time of night. The only person who’ll see the fabric clinging to her body is Clorinde.
She kind of wants that. It would be a nice distraction.
But, no. She won't wake her up, especially not for that.
She leans on the railing and looks at the sky. The dark sky looks back at her, the grey, swirling clouds mocking her pain. Despite it being summer, the rain is freezing cold on her face.
Which is why she can feel when she starts to cry.
The hot tears stream down her cheeks. Damn it. This was supposed to be a nice weekend, and now she's crying in the rain. Ruining this nightgown. Now she'll have to borrow one of Clorinde's.
She thinks of her father. How would he feel about them dating? She is sure he wouldn’t hold anything against Clorinde for her killing him. It was part of his plan. And he knew how much Clorinde meant to Navia, so… this wouldn’t be much of a shock. Right?
Yeah. He’d be happy for her.
She puts a hand to her face and takes a deep breath. She misses her father every day, even more so since she started dating Clorinde. She wishes he could see them happy together, be proud of her and her oldest friend finding joy in each other. Even the embarrassing teasing that was sure to follow, she misses.
Her other hand comes to her face. She sobs softly, her shoulders tense yet still.
Melus… Silver… Her mother… All of them, she wishes all of them could’ve seen her so happy. If they get married— no, when they get married, she’ll save spots for them. If Oceanids have afterlives, she knows they’ll be watching their wedding.
Oh, how awful the universe is for robbing her of them.
Warm arms wrap around Navia’s waist.
“Ah, hello, darling,” Navia says, wiping her tears and holding Clorinde’s hands. “Did I wake you up?”
“In a sense.” Clorinde kisses the back of Navia’s neck through her hair. “I missed your warmth. I heard the rain and figured you’d be out here.”
“Oh.” Navia hangs her head. “I’m sorry, I… should’ve just tried to go back to sleep.”
“No, no, don’t apologize,” Clorinde says. “I understand. I’m glad you woke me up.” She squeezes Navia’s hands. “I’d rather help you feel better than have you cry alone.”
Navia chuckles, turning around and wrapping her arms around Clorinde’s neck. “Thank you, Clorinde. I’m feeling better already.”
Clorinde smiles. Her hair is plastered to her face, but she’s never been more beautiful. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“No.” Navia’s heart feels lighter as she sways the both of them in place. “I think I want to dance.”
“Here?”
“Of course.” She presses her body to Clorinde’s, savoring her heat. “It’s romantic, isn’t it?”
“Hm.” Clorinde is still grinning as she looks up in thought. “Perhaps I’m not as romantic as I thought.”
Navia laughs. The way that Clorinde looks at her makes her heart throb; full of love and tenderness, the kind that the cold Clorinde from a year ago would’ve never shown her. “You’re plenty romantic. Come on, let’s dance. I want to make a good memory in this rain.”
“When you put it that way,” Clorinde says, dipping Navia as if they were in a ballroom, “how can I say no?”
Navia’s heart skips a beat. She sighs and kisses Clorinde deeply.
They begin to sway and dance together. Navia’s feet tap against the wet balcony floor, weaving with Clorinde’s — again, reminiscent of a ballroom. They’ve only really danced in a proper ballroom a few times, and she suddenly wants to change that. She wants to be the proverbial belle of the ball, Clorinde her handsome dance partner, and she wants them to twirl around and for everyone to be able to see how much they love each other.
They could probably arrange for their wedding to be this kind of fancy, gaudy affair, though she’s not sure she wants that either. Ah, well they have time.
“What are you thinking about, love?” Clorinde asks, spinning Navia slowly.
“Oh, nothing much.” Navia grins, lifting her arm so Clorinde can twirl. “Just thinking about how much I’d like to be this sappy in front of others.”
Clorinde hums. “Well, I can’t say I understand, but I wouldn’t mind it.”
“Aww.” Navia drags her into a kiss, but she’s smiling so hard she can’t kiss properly. “You’re so sweet.”
“I think you’re the first person who’s thought that about me.”
“I’m the first person who’s been lucky enough to see this side of you,” Navia corrects her, running her hands over Clorinde’s soaked hair. She rests her head on Clorinde’s shoulder, nosing at her neck. Contentment runs through her. “Hey, Clorinde? How would you feel about getting married?”
Clorinde freezes. Her pulse jumps before she begins to sway Navia gently again. “I… I think I won’t be ready for a little while, but I do want to marry you someday.”
Navia sighs in relief. “That’s good. I wanna marry you, too. But after everything, I think we need to take life a little slower before we settle down, yeah?”
“Yeah.” Clorinde kisses Navia’s head. “Do you want to go back inside? We probably need a warm bath before we go back to bed.”
“Mm, just a little longer.” Navia tightens her grip. “The sound of the rain is… actually relaxing.”
She surprises herself by saying it, but it’s true. She’s at peace. For once, the rain isn’t tormenting her.
And the reason is Clorinde’s arms around her, her warm breath on her ear, her body pressed against Navia’s. It’s Clorinde’s sweet words and comforting whispers.
It’s Clorinde.
(It’s always been Clorinde.)