devoutly to be wished

( text .: noah ☺️ ): so … melted ice cream? ( text .: noah ☺️ ): alright, i’ll be there in a moment!

After changing into a new dress, Nerissa was quick to finish getting ready, leaving her room in a couple of minutes. When she caught sight of Noah outside, the redhead walked a bit faster so as to surprise him with a kiss to the man’s cheek, standing on her tiptoes so as to reach his face. “ Hi there. ” She greeted with a smile. “ Hope I didn’t make you wait too long … ”

( text .: noah ☺️ ): milkshakes? no, i don’t suppose i have. what do they taste like? ( text .: noah ☺️ ): oh! i do love dogs, and i miss max. maybe looking at puppies will help with that … should i meet you outside?

“ I sure hope so; the last thing I want is for you to show up one day with some sort of injury caused by a swan, or any animal really. Please, of course I will worry about you. Even if I have no reason to. ” The redhead affirmed nonchalantly, eyes rolling as if the thought of herself not worrying about Noah was simply impossible. She didn’t mind worrying about him; if anything, Nerissa found it strange that she found herself worrying about someone other than family and her own self. Strange but exciting. “ If you ever get yourself hurt, we may not be able to spend time together, or at least not until you are fully healed. That is something to keep in mind. ” She told him with a playful smirk that turned into laughter as he tugged on her hand, stopping in her tracks. “ You think so? Is that what your intuition is telling you? ” She asked teasingly. “ Hmm … I can’t think of a reason for you not to. ”

“That’s definitely a good thing.” Not that Toby was doing anything particularly embarrassing, but he just didn’t like the idea of some guy he didn’t know just walking into his room. “Do you want to come in or?”

Toby opened his door and eyed the blond in front of him. “That’s me. I’m guessing you’re Noah.”

“ You’re not? Well then, what were you like as a child? I bet you could do no wrong, except for get yourself into trouble with animals it seems. ” The redhead teased with a laugh, using her free hand to brush her hair behind her ear. “ Regardless of whether or not it is still alive, don’t go looking for trouble — I would not want you to get hurt, even if the idea of a bitter swan holding grudge against you sounds rather funny. Between subtlety and assertiveness, I much prefer the latter … Oh, so it is my fault that you simply must be as close to me as possible? Very well, for your own comfort, I shall never kiss you again! ” She teased with a smirk, letting out a small chuckle. “ Wouldn’t want you getting too addicted to my kisses, would we? ”

“ That I have to agree with, except I was a wonderful child. A little blunt, but who can blame me for being so sure of the things I want even as a child? ” Still, even though she had always strived to be the perfect daughter, her parents’ pride and joy, it didn’t seem to be enough. “ I wonder if the swan who chased after you would recognize you, assuming it is still alive … Perhaps they hold grudge, though that is not much of a good thing. Holding grudge gives you wrinkles. ” She informed, though it was somewhat hypocritical of Nerissa to speak on the matter when she was a victim herself. When she noticed him catching up to her, a small laugh escaped her lips, finding it somewhat funny. “ Oh, you are? And I did, mister. You are not very good at being subtle, are you? ” She joked with a laugh, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. “ I like it though, the assertiveness. ”

“ You were throwing rocks in the lake? Gee, no wonder they were upset, you were disturbing their peace! Shame on you, sir. ” She scolded with a false look of disapproval, which soon turned into a smile and a laugh. “ Climbing a tree and waiting for it to leave sounds like a good plan. I’m glad you didn’t get hurt, but I also think they were more scared than angry — swans don’t attack unless given a reason too, perhaps they felt threatened somehow. ” Smirking when he mentioned how they should probably spend more time alone together, Nerissa nodded in agreement, finding that she did want that quite a bit. A part of her wondered if he had any intentions of kissing her again, but the redhead chose not to ask; maybe it would put him on the spot, and she didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable. Slipping on her dress, she twisted the soaked wet shirt so as to let some of that water out and gently tapped his back when finished, a small smirk on her lips. “ That’s too bad, I was gonna say we should stay close to avoid the cold, but since you don’t need it … ” The redhead teased with a shrug, then started to walk.

With a confident smirk, she offered her hand for him to shake. “ Definitely. In fact, I do quite like a good challenge. ” Mostly because she enjoyed winning, but Nerissa knew this was only a playful competition that would probably end nowhere, and she didn’t mind. If anything, the fact that Noah could be competitive was somewhat exciting to her. As he talked about his experience with swans, her eyes widened. “ Oh my God, did it hurt you? Why was it chasing you, did you do something? … Noah, did you tease that poor, innocent swan? ” She inquired with a playful pout on her lips, though it was also obvious that Nerissa was genuinely concerned about whether or not he’d gotten hurt back then. The idea didn’t sit well with her. When he admitted to wanting to be alone with her, she smiled gently, shaking her head from side to side. “ No, not at all. I like being alone with you too. ” Not only because he made her feel special, but also because she simply enjoyed being around him. Carefully placing her feet on the sand, she took her dress in hands and patted it down to get rid of the sand. “ Turn around, silly, I need to change. Also … Are you cold? ” She asked, actually worried that he might be freezing now that the breeze was a bit colder.

    “ Is that a challenge? Because if so, I accept it. ” Nerissa stated with a confident smile, though she knew for a fact that Noah was right. If anything, she was happy to know that he didn’t mind her interests, and was eager to learn more about them. Growing up, it wasn’t often that she had people to talk about the things she liked — partially because of how much they differed from the rest of her family’s tastes, and thankfully that feeling was gone now. At his teasing, the princess laughed while nodding her head. “ Yes I am, though I suppose it won’t be of much trouble for you, right? Or are you not skilled enough to be capable of reasoning with swans? ” She teased back, hands moving to her waist as if she was challenging him. “ That sounds like a good idea … Or perhaps you just want an excuse to be alone with me. Am I wrong? ”  Letting him pick her up, Nerissa wrapped her arms around his neck for support, nodding her head in response. As the water left her tail, she noticed it rapidly change back into legs, and promptly began to swing them lightly. “ Now that was fast … I quite like this way of transportation though, do you mind carrying me to my dress? ”

      “ You say that now, but let’s see how long it will take for me to make your ears fall off. ” She laughed, though deep down Nerissa was pretty sure that Noah wouldn’t tire of her so easily. He hadn’t until now, and that had to count for something. The redhead did blush when he called her beautiful, then gave him a look. “ Please, if that is the case, then I will just find a different way to befriend then. However, I will certainly let them know you think I am more beautiful than them. Let’s see how they feel about that. ” She joked with a laugh, picturing what an offended swan would look like. “ What are the odds of me hurting someone while learning archery? I really have no interest in sending other people to the infirmary. ” Reaching for his hand, she swam up towards the surface. “ You might have to give me a hand … You know, just so I can get on the sand more easily. ”

    “ That might take quite some time, I’m interested in a lot of things. It’s why I make for such a good conversation maker. ” She told him with a bright, confident smile, proud of herself for her own knowledge. With his comment on the swans, Nerissa laughed and rolled her eyes. “ Vicious? Please, I am sure they only attack those who threaten them. But I do appreciate your enthusiasm to protect me from the swans. What a hero. ” The redhead teased. “ Good aim? Not too sure that is one of my talents, though practice makes perfect. ” Lifting her gaze up to the surface as she noticed how it seemed to be getting darker underwater, Nerissa tilted her head to the side. “ We should probably go back. It’s getting dark and, well, who knows how much longer you will be able to breathe for. ”

    A small smile grew on her lips. “ I like it when you say you want to learn about the things I know. It’s a good feeling. ” She knew there was only so many subjects and topics he wasn’t familiar with, so to have something she could teach him and that he found interesting was definitely exciting. When Noah confirmed her expectations, her smile grew wider. “ Really? Well, if I ever have the chance to visit your home, I’ll definitely want to see those. They might receive more attention than you, but please don’t take it personally. ” Nerissa joked with a laugh, knowing that wouldn’t happen. Folding both arms over her chest, she shook her head. “ Sunny days are better, but I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree. You throw snowballs at each other? Do those not hurt at all? I cannot say it doesn’t sound interesting … Though I don’t know how good I would be at that. ”

   “ I think it has something to do with corals being dangerous for certain fish … Oh? Well, then you are definitely missing on something — I have heard starfish are notorious suck-ups. Not the big ones though; those are just boring. ” Nerissa rolled her eyes at the last few words, as if dismissing the second type of starfish. “ However, ” pausing, she moved away from the corals and swam closer to him. “ That also means I have more things to teach and show you. Oh, are there swans in any of the lakes? ” She questioned with a hint of excitement. “ How bad? I see no problem in enjoying a nice, sunny day! A snowball fight? No … What are those like? ”

     “ Oh trust me, I am sure they can be. Besides, not all fish can live in corals — or at least so I’ve been told. I do know, however, that some starfish do. Are you familiar with those? ” The redhead inquired, keeping her eyes on the reef for a couple of seconds before turning her gaze to him. “ Do you have a lot of lakes there? I can’t say I am too familiar with those; after all, there’s no reason to look for lakes in Monaco, especially when living so close to the sea. I wonder just how much colder your home is … Personally I’ve only seen snow a few times, which I would not say it’s a bad thing. ”