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The water in Rippletide looks far nicer than what Noa is used to. It carried a sweet serenity to it, the water sparkling with light and the occasional ship. Compared to what Noa grew up with, it's completely mesmerizing. Back in Grandport, ships litter the waters and there's never a moment of calm. The fish never come so close to shore, and the sun could never find the time of day to shine across the water’s surface like it does here. Something about Rippletide’s atmosphere makes the water look clearer as well, reflections of the surface world clear as can be.
Noa would be lying if she said she preferred Grandport to this tiny little town. Her heart is heavy in her chest as she gazes out across the open waters, salty winds whipping droplets into her face. In her reflection she can see her blank expression, a stark contrast to the merry world going on behind her.
The sun is setting. Night will pass in the blink of an eye, and then morning will arrive just as it did every day before. And with the morning light, Noa will have to set off back for Grandport. Busy, noisy, crowded Grandport, where Noa will have nothing better to do than sit around and reread Tressa’s travel diary for the millionth time.
She wonders to herself, with a great deal of shame, if it would be selfish of her to ask Tressa or her parents to stay here with them. Noa might not be an expert in business yet, but Noa’s learned a lot during her time here. She'd help out at the shop, clean up as best she can, and even help them cook dinner if they asked. Not that she'd be much help there- Noa’s cooking pales in comparison to Tressa’s mother.
Even if there were no room at their home for her, Noa knows full well she could pay for an inn room as long as she desires. It wouldn't be the same- not even remotely close- but it would be something new, something exciting, and it would be something Noa wouldn't trade for the world. Though, how would she go about asking something like that to Tressa? She's always traveling the realm, always so busy with anything and everything.
“Noa! There you are!” Tressa’s voice comes from afar, the telltale stomping of boots accompanying her. The loud thunk-thunk-thunk comes to a stop besides Noa, giving her the cue to look up and meet Tressa's eyes. Her heart flutters at Tressa's very presence.
Noa offers a smile in response. “Yeah. Here I am.”
She cringes internally at the way her attempt at cheerfulness falls flat. Tressa notices, ever perceptive, and frowns. “Noa? Are you okay? You're not tiring yourself out, right? Ma and Pa didn't run you too hard?”
“No, your parents were very kind to me today,” Noa explains. She can't handle the heat rising to her face from Tressa's staring, so Noa turns herself to the water once more. “I… I suppose I just got lost in my thoughts.”
Tressa gives a huff, the same one she uses when she takes down an especially weak monster, or lifting Noa up into the air. The dock creaks as Tressa sits herself besides Noa. “Come on, Noa. You can tell me, you know. We're best friends! Adventure buddies!”
Tressa nudges Noa playfully, and despite the flurry of emotions within her, the action brings a smile to her face. She nudges Tressa back, a little harder than before, unable to stop the laugh that bubbles up from Tressa's shock.
“Hey! I didn't push you that hard!” Tressa pushes her back again, a big, beautiful grin on her face. She laughs, too, loud and giddy and uncaring of who might hear. The setting sun casts rays of orange and pink across her, too, the light bringing such warmth and radiance to Tressa that Noa feels like she might cry.
It's not like Noa to wax poetry like this, as pitiful her poetry might be compared to the real thing. Her arm and shoulder burn where Tressa touched her, and something about the kindness in Tressa's eyes when she looks at Noa makes her nearly crumble where she stands. Her eyes are watering, her heart is about to pound its way out of her chest, and Tressa still looks as amazing as ever. The kindness in her eyes is still there, gentle sparkles hidden behind a veil of concern and worry.
“Noa..? What's wrong?” Tressa reaches for Noa, taking one of her hands and grasping it tightly. “Hey. Noa… I didn't push you too hard, did I?”
“No, Tressa,” Noa manages to say. Her throat has a lump of love in it, a glob the size of a melon and it makes it hard to speak. The laughter trying to force its way out of her makes it infinitely harder. A hand wipes at her tears uselessly (and whether its her hand or Tressa's is something she'll never know). “You're fine, Tressa. You're super fine. It's nothing. Really.”
She manages to wipe away enough tears to catch a clear view of Tressa's face, torn between confusion and worry. “Are you sure? It's not nothing if it's making you cry, you know.”
“I know,” Noa echoes, drying her face with her sleeve. “But if I tell you, I fear you'll laugh at me. It's silly. It really is,” she insists, daring a glance at Tressa. The sunlight is hardly even there, leaving nothing but a bare outline of Tressa against deep reds and purples in the sky.
She looks stunning, and it takes all of Noa’s willpower to not break down crying a second time.
Tressa shakes her head, squeezing Noa’s hand and moving closer to her. “Noa, I mean it. You can tell me. Anything. Anything at all. I won't laugh, I promise. And I've never broken a promise to you, you know.” She puffs her chest out in a show of pride, a knowing smile stretching across her face.
“You didn't catch me when you sent me rolling down the hill last week,” Noa huffs out without thinking. She smiles at the memory- it had been the day after she had arrived in Rippletide, and they had been out exploring the nearby wilderness. Tressa had promised her that it wouldn't get out of hand, and yet Noa distinctly remembers crashing face first into a bush, and having to wait for Tressa to untangle her hair from the branches.
A little embarrassing, but still one of her happiest memories to date. Her first taste of adventure, really. And once she had gotten a bit of spice in her life, she found that it was nearly impossible to go back to the drab and dull life she had before. Just thinking of a life with no fun, no adventure, no Tressa left her weak in the knees (more so than usual).
“Aw, come on! How was I supposed to realize how light you are? I can't control how fast you go!” A pout makes its way onto Tressa's lips, an exaggerated face that gives Noa the sudden urge to kiss her over and over until the weight of Noa’s love is realized. “I forget how strong my magic’s gotten, okay? I wasn't kidding when I said I learned from Dreisang himself.”
She nods at Tressa sagely, as if she were not some measly, sickly girl drowning in her own emotions, who hadn't just started bawling over Tressa and her pretty face. It takes her a moment to realize that Tressa is waiting for a response of some kind, her gaze so gentle and curious and maddening, even, that Noa feels like she's going to burst.
“I don't want to leave,” she gushes out, and suddenly Noa finds that she's incapable of shutting her mouth as she continues. “I.. I love it here, Tressa. Everything's so fun and new, and- and I've never been able to wander so freely or explore like we did together. And I feel that if I go home, my heart will break, it'll break into a million little shards like a piece of glass, and I'll never fix it back up! It'll never be fixed because you wouldn't be around, and I don't want to leave you and-”
Hands cup her face gently, stunning Noa into silence. She blinks once, twice, and then realizes belatedly that she's begun crying again. A watery, blurry Tressa is smiling at her, cheeks tinged the slightest bit of red in the dim lighting of nearby torches, and she isn't laughing in the slightest. Instead Tressa leans in close, her nose nearly touching Noa’s, and speaks.
“It's okay, Noa. You don't have to go. I… I think it's nice here too, you know?” Tressa squeezes Noa’s cheek in jest, ignoring the wetness of her face and anything else Noa might have to be embarrassed about. “If I'm honest, I think that you should stay too. But I'm gonna head out to travel soon. And I worried that, since travelling isn't that easy for you, that you'd be sad stuck here all the time. I don't really know how it'd work out like that.”
Noa is about to choke out something silly and lovesick and completely, disgustingly sappy, but Tressa beats her to it. Straightening up, Tressa grabs both of Noa’s hands in her own and holds them tight. “I don't want you to be sad,” she says, and Noa knows that she means it. Everything Tressa says is brimming with sincerity and raw emotion. There's nothing but honesty in her words. Something about this makes Noa’s affection swell up in her chest, warm and fuzzy all over.
“I really don't,” Tressa continues, averting her eyes to glance out at the sea. Her face is tinged with the faintest of pinks. “I didn't know how much you'd like it in this tiny little town, but you're here now and I know I'll be sad when you go. And... And..”
Her voice trails off into thin air, the white noise of the waves ashore trying to fill in the gaps, though it's barely audible under the beating of Noa’s heart.
“Tressa,” Noa chokes out, her voice barely above a whisper. She doesn't know what else to say.
Fingers intertwine with hers, grip tight and surprisingly warm. Her hands are shaking, Noa notes, though her mind is suddenly blank. She looks up at Tressa curiously, nervously, whichever it might've been, watching with wide eyes as Tressa looks her way with glassy, determined eyes.
“I love you! I love you a lot! I know I'm not very good at this, but I'll stay here for you if you'd stay here too! We can run a shop together! Take over for Ma and Pa! I just want you to be happy, Noa,” Tressa cries, her face a bright red and voice far too loud. “If you're not happy, then I'm not happy either! So if you wanna stay here- then I'll stay here too!”
There's a million ways Noa could respond to this. She could simply say ‘thanks’ and be on her way, she could kiss Tressa on the lips like she's wanted to do for the past year, or she could just roll herself into the ocean to save herself from her embarrassment. Tressa would never allow for the third option, though, and the idea of leaving Tressa right now seems nigh impossible.
She is gazing up at the love of her life, all wild grins and bright, bubbly laughs, with a keen eye and far, far too much love in her heart for one person to keep to themselves. Tressa Colzione is a force of nature, sweeping Noa off her feet like the tradewinds that guide Tressa around Orsterra. Aelfric himself looked down upon Tressa, gave her everything Noa has ever wanted in a person, and set her down on the land just for Noa to weep over.
And oh, does Noa weep. She's honestly surprised she can find more tears to cry at this point. It all seems so absurd- was Tressa pining as long as she?- and yet the very absurdity is what brings Noa comfort. A laugh rips its way out of her, and then another, and another, until Noa ends up with her face pressed into Tressa’s shoulder to muffle her laughter.
She wraps her arms around Tressa's waist and pulls her close, holding her as tightly as her sickly little body will allow. Arms wrap around her body in return, Noa being pressed further into the warmth of Tressa despite the rapidly growing wet spots her tears leave. If they bother her, no comment is made about it, and Noa is grateful for it.
They sit there, wrapped around each other, holding the other close and not saying a word. A hand rubs small circles into her back comfortingly, and if Noa focuses hard enough she can feel Tressa's hair brushing against her forehead. Noa sniffles and shudders for a few pitiful moments, listening to the soft breathing of Tressa and the faint, shaky breaths of her own.
“I'm sorry,” she eventually says, long after the sun is gone and the stars have scattered across the sky. “That was very unbecoming of me. Rude, as well.”
To her surprise (or maybe not), Tressa simply shakes her head, though her movement is quite limited by Noa. “It's okay. I didn't mean to dump all that on you at once. I'm sorry if I overwhelmed you. I didn't mean to make you cry again.”
“I love you too,” Noa confesses, and it feels like she could fly with how much weight is lifted off her chest. She hadn't realized how much of it there was. It spurs her to keep going. “I love you too, and I think you should travel. You were born for adventure, Tressa. And if you'd have it, I'd like to go with you. For all that I love it here, Tressa, I love being with you more. Being here means nothing if you aren't.”
A small, hitched gasp is heard directly above her. Noa pulls away to look Tressa in the eye, sitting so close that their noses brush together if Noa moves a hair’s width closer. Tressa's eyes are big and starry, and she looks at Noa with a kind of passion unseen before now.
Lips meet hers in the blink of an eye. Noa gets no time to worry or prepare or even think , because the moment Noa feels Tressa pull her closer any and all fears leave her mind. She leans into it, the warmth of another body all too inviting, but it's too late.
As sudden as it began, it ends. Tressa pulls back first, eyes wide and face redder than Noa has ever seen it. Noa is sure she looks no better. They look at each other, dead silent, and then both smile. Their hands find their way back into each other's, fingers locked tightly together with all the love in the world.
It's rather dark out now. The only light they have is the light of a lantern down on the street, and the gentle glow of moonlight upon them. There are many ways to describe how beautiful Tressa looks under this lighting, but Noa’s heart and soul are all out of poetry. So she settles for that very word; so simple and so true.
Tressa is beautiful, through and through. And though Noa has no clue what she's done to meet someone as lovely as Tressa, she's thankful. Immensely thankful, in fact, because never would she imagine that someone like Tressa would ever want to be with her.
As they sit there, melded together, they are nothing more than two lovers cuddled up on the docks. In this moment, wrapped up tight in Tressa's love, Noa decides that she is home. Though she might be going a hundred new places in a hundred coming years, Noa knows she has nothing to fear. Her heart is set, her mind is made up.
“I think that we'll be great together,” she says, and she means it. “It'll be something we'll never forget. Our own adventure.”