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For years, Ilsa had been dreaming of the perfect beach date. A day to relax under the summer sun with someone who she loved, and loved her. There was a long time when she thought it would remain that, just a dream.
But here she was now, with Heles.
The two Erune were on Auguste’s beaches, a trip insisted by Heles after seeing how busy Ilsa had been keeping herself the past few weeks. The Captain approved of their leave, and they set out for a relaxing day on the beach, just the two of them. They were nestled away in a private beach house around the far corner of the coast, sitting on a beach chair together relaxing and watching the ocean. Heles had Ilsa cuddled in her arms, and was placing soft kisses across the side of Ilsa’s head, making the sergeant start to turn red from more than just the summer heat.
“H-Heles, must you do this now?” Ilsa asked, mostly succeeding in keeping her composure.
“Oh? Are you tired of my kisses already?” Heles joked, not stopping the soft presses of her lips.
“N-No I-” Ilsa had to pause for a moment, Heles kissing a particularly sensitive spot on her neck, one that she had targeted plenty of times before. “We’re still in public, you know. Someone could come across us and see.”
“I thought Mari gave us an extra secluded spot as thanks for dropping off Meg on our way here? Besides-” Heles turned Ilsa’s head towards her and pecked her lips. “All of our friends have walked in on us kissing, so what does it matter?”
“T-That’s ah-different.” Ilsa felt her calm slowly faltering as she withstood the assault of Heles’ smooches. “Our friends are one thing, but I’d still prefer not to have random strangers see us.”
“Oh fine…” Heles placed one final kiss on her girlfriend’s cheek and pulled away. “But in exchange, I’d like to try some of those drinks down by the boardwalk. Shall we?”
“Heh, very well.”
Ilsa and Heles got up and strolled down the beach, Ilsa at least relenting to holding hands in public. As they walked, Ilsa reflected on the last time she came to Auguste.
It was when she brought her trainees here for drills. An enjoyable time to be sure. She’d played volleyball with the Captain and Lyria, acted as matchmaker for a couple of budding love birds along with Korwa, and even got to spend some time with Heles (albeit it was mainly the princess watching Ilsa yell out some vulgar motivation to her recruits, but she still thought that counted).
It wasn’t all fun and games though. There was an eel incident with the local mafia, and Heles had been kidnapped during it. She frowned at the memory, and it didn't go unnoticed.
“Ilsa dear?” Heles said, breaking Ilsa’s thoughts. “Is something wrong?”
“Ah, sorry. I spaced out.” Ilsa replied. “Just remembering the eel incident from a while ago.”
“Ah yes, with the mafia.” the princess smirked. “Why? Are you jealous that Yngwie was the one to save me instead of you?”
Ilsa shot an annoyed look at her girlfriend, who was getting a little too good at reading her mind. “...Maybe a little.” She squeezed Heles hand tighter. “I was frustrated at not being able to do much for you back then. Perhaps I was already starting to fall for you.”
“Heh. I must confess, not that I was displeased with Yngwie’s rescue of course, but a part of me was hoping that you would be the one to save me.”
That made Ilsa stop in her tracks. “R-really?”
“Oh, is that so surprising?” Heles asked slyly. “You don’t think the sight of you bursting into their hideout, guns blazing, and cursing out that mob boss for taking me captive didn’t appeal to me at the time?”
“A-Ah…well…” Ilsa stuttered for a moment before noticing a drink stand nearby. “W-wait here, I’ll get us some drinks.”
Ilsa could hear Heles giggling as she rushed off. The two enjoyed teasing each other, and while Ilsa was more used to Heles’ flirtations than when they first got together, the princess could still find ways to fluster her. Not that Ilsa really minded much.
She grabbed a pair of Nibelung Glas, crafted for a certain Primal crewmate of hers, and turned to head back to Heles when she noticed something. A young, haughty Erune man was approaching Heles, and while Ilsa couldn’t hear what he was saying, she could tell instantly that he was trying to flirt with her.
This wasn’t necessarily on the level of saving Heles from the mafia, but Ilsa immediately started formulating a rescue plan for her girlfriend. Should she start yelling at the skirt-chaser like she did with her recruits? “Accidentally” trip and spill the drinks all over him? Or maybe just skip all the hassle and shoot him.
Then she remembered a similar incident she herself faced, another very persistent skirt-chaser who tried picking her up while she was playing volleyball with the crew. At the time, the Captain pulled off the “fake girlfriend” trick to get him to go away. By itself it was a good plan, but Ilsa wanted to one up it. Nothing about this was going to be “fake”.
Drinks still in hand, she headed over to Heles and the wannabe charmer. She silently placed the drinks down on a nearby table and stood beside Heles.
“Oh, thanks Ilsa.” Heles said. She started moving to take a drink, but an arm from Ilsa stopped her.
“Hey, you her friend? My buddies and I got room for two more at our cookout. It’ll be a fun time.” the man said. “And maybe a fun night afterwards?”
Without saying a word, Ilsa hooked her arm around Heles’ waist, dipped her, and bent down to lay a passionate kiss on her. Heles let out a surprised squeak, but it didn’t take long before she was melting in the arms of her girlfriend.
After a few blissful seconds of smooching, Ilsa pulled away and turned back to the intruder and shot him a borderline deadly glare that all but told him to get lost.
“Oh uh…” The young man started getting incredibly flustered. “Well, you two seem like you’re busy. I’ll just uhhh….bye!”
Ilsa watched him run off and chuckled, lifting Heles back up. “That worked out better than I expected huh.”
“I’ll say,” Heles giggled. “What’s up with you? You say you don’t want to kiss and cuddle when we’re back at a secluded beach house, but you’re perfectly fine kissing me like that, in front of a complete stranger?”
Ilsa’s face grew red. “Err-that’s different.” She tried to say. “He was being a bother. I had to take drastic measures to ensure his exit.”
“Drastic measures you say.” Heles said with a laugh. “Alright then, thank you. It was very suave of you, I must say. Trying to copy Yngwie even beyond saving me huh?”
“Heh, I suppose so.”
They sat and enjoyed their drinks, people-watching and gossiping about the various love-lives of the crew, especially those involving other members of the Society, along with the Grandcypher’s captain. After a while, the sun began to set on their beach date.
“Shall we head back to the house?” Heles asked.
Ilsa was about to nod, when she remembered one last thing she wanted to do. Something that would make this beach trip perfect. “Actually, I’d like you to come with me somewhere before that.”
“Oh? Then lead the way.”
When she visited Auguste before, Ilsa had stumbled upon a cove with a gorgeous view. The perfect place for a seaside confession against the backdrop of a summer sunset. Back then, she had no one to share it with, but now, she had Heles.
They reached the cove just in time to watch the sunset. Heles gazed at the sight with awe. “Beautiful…”
Ilsa spent a moment admiring the sunset, and then turned to Heles, admiring her. She reached out and held both of Heles’ hands in her own, and stared deeply into the other woman’s eyes. For a moment, she thought about doing a big speech. But, in the end, she decided to keep it simple.
“I love you, Heles.” Ilsa whispered.
“Ilsa…” Heles, softly smiled, and tugged on Ilsa’s hands to bring her in closer, their lips just barely not brushing against the other’s. “I love you too.”
Their lips met in another kiss, and this time, the world around faded away, leaving only them.
The perfect end for Ilsa’s perfect beach date.