Summary: A retrospective on Gabe and Naomi's dances throughout the series, plus another one for good measure. Prompt: Dancing.
The first time they danced together had been years ago, on the night of Naomi's sixteenth birthday. It had been so new to them both—the removal of Shuriki's dancing bans was still a recent thing, so neither had much of a chance for any prior, practical experience—and it showed in the way they moved. They were clumsy and awkward, with Gabe treading on her feet a few times and Naomi shedding all semblance of Esteban's over-the-top formalities as the night wore on. But despite the chaos of it, it was fun in a way Gabe couldn't quite describe, and it washed away any remaining bitterness of the rejection he'd faced earlier that day, when Naomi had (albeit temporarily) dismissed him from her court.
And he'd be lying if he said he didn't notice the way she danced just a bit closer to him than their other friends. At the time, he'd filed that realization away in the back of his mind with a strange sense of satisfaction and had simply carried on dancing, not dwelling on why, exactly, that thought had made him feel so happy.
The next few years had been an unpredictable mess, punctuated with battles against malvagos and hunts for magical artifacts, and unpacking his feelings about his one-off dance with Naomi wasn't exactly Gabe's highest priority. When they danced together again on Carnaval, though, he had no choice but to confront them. She dipped him low, grinning broadly, and in that moment, she'd somehow made her ridiculous, glittery, bright yellow Carnaval outfit work, with the sun catching off the sequins in a way that made her look dazzling in more ways than one. Armed with some new experiences from Norberg's Family Day not long before and presented with the sight of her then, Gabe's muddled thoughts on their last dance hit him with less of a nudge and more of a wallop, leaving him breathless as if he'd really been struck.
He just really, really liked her, and he was pretty sure she liked him, too.
It made a lot of sense, actually. He maybe should have figured it out a little sooner.
The chaos in Carnaval's wake didn't leave much room for him to act on this realization, though, and like after Naomi's birthday, Gabe set the thoughts aside, this time with the promise of 'soon' attached.
And then she'd left, without warning, sailing away from Avalor for who knew how long, right as he was starting to lean into his feelings, and 'soon' turned into a crushing, possible 'never'. Her absence would've been jarring enough alone, but making matters worse was that she hadn't offered so much as a goodbye before she was gone, and Gabe had to get the story piecemeal from Elena and Mateo. Though they insisted that it had been spur of the moment, that she hadn't told anyone but Elena, that she surely meant to let him know, a part of him had to wonder if he'd done something wrong. If he'd made her uncomfortable. If he'd misread their relationship.
She returned much sooner than anyone had expected, but by then, that part of Gabe, as small as it had started, had convinced him to temper his heart. For all his best efforts at moving on, though, seeing her face again was enough to set his heart racing, and he had to drag the joy back down his throat as it threatened to burst out in a poorly-timed rush of everything should've said before. She'd moved on, surely, where Gabe had failed. She'd seen the world. She'd left for a reason, and she didn't need him dredging up any old 'maybes'.
He'd never been so glad to be so wrong.
On the night of Elena's coronation, he stood by, rigid and formal, knowing better than to ask Naomi for another dance that was certain to be rejected, only to nearly fall over as she pulled him into one herself, grinning up at him like nothing had changed at all. Like Carnaval had been yesterday.
It became an unspoken promise for them, then, to always save each other a dance at formal events. A first dance, a last dance, both, every dance in between—it didn't especially matter, as long as they got the chance to do it.
Now was no different—they were out on Naomi's ship, just the two of them, to get some peace and quiet and privacy. Naomi had pulled him in without any preamble, or even any music—not that they needed an excuse just to hold each other close. Gabe gazed down at her, a warm fondness spreading through his chest, right up until the moment he was suddenly gazing up at her instead as she dipped him and leaned in for a kiss.
They parted slowly, the feeling lingering against Gabe's lips. "You're turning into quite the expert on sweeping me off my feet," he remarked, smiling.
"Well, it's the only way I can kiss you without standing on my toes," she replied.
Gabe chuckled. "You could just ask me to lean down, you know."
Naomi paused and tilted her head like she was seriously considering it, but her expression turned impish as she looked back at him. "Nah, I think I like my way better." And with that settled, she kissed him again.
Whoops, I did not mean for a nearly month and a half hiatus on this. That's my bad, especially since this chapter was... actually done a while ago? This one also marks the last actual pair for this fic, but that doesn't mean the fic is done - there's more ways to ship characters than just duos, after all.