Ava isn't the only one who falls in helpless love with the Mother City.
Beatrice is coming to learn that, between the two of them, she prefers an inland and country setting, and Ava is always keen for the water and the beach. But then they land in Cape Town, and Beatrice doesn't want to leave.
It's where they'll spend the most time, she's suddenly sure. Taking the Cable Car up Table Mountain on their first clear day, visiting Robben Island when the water is calm. They visit the aquarium just because they can, Ava stepping into the jellyfish exhibit and declaring they have to return when they're high.
They don't end up staying in a hotel, choosing to find a host willing to let them extend per day depending on how long they actually end up staying. They've essentially been living with each other for nearly two months, but this is the first time - since the Alps - that Beatrice accepts that they're actually very compatible.
On paper, maybe not, because Ava truly is chaotic at the best of times - which is very not Beatrice's style - but she's very tidy. She too believes that everything has its place, which is quite a lovely trait to share.
Ava also prefers doing laundry to Beatrice's preference to wash dishes. Truly, they're a match made in heaven.
Well.
There is that one thing.
It's not necessarily a dealbreaker, because Beatrice knows how and why it is the way it is, but it does irk Beatrice just enough that she's relieved there is something she finds annoying about this person she absolutely adores.
Ava is never still.
Never.
It's as if remaining still for too long takes her back to a time when her body couldn't and wouldn't move, and she just has to move to make sure that isn't the case. It's just a thing, and Beatrice has accepted that even in sleep, Ava moves around. It's sometimes disruptive, but Beatrice understands and loves her more because of it, but it does make quiet time difficult when Ava also just can't sit still.
Even when she's reading, her leg bounces or her fingers tap. When she's watching television, her mouth moves, saying quiet words that don't match.
On their fifth day in Cape Town, they do go to a hair salon, Ava getting her hair cut even shorter than it's ever been, ending just at the nape of her neck. Beatrice gets a trim, herself, and some blonde highlights, which has Ava unabashedly looking at her for hours after.
She's weirdly shy when she asks to touch, and Beatrice settles herself on the couch, lying with her head in Ava's lap, inviting her to do as she pleases. She's so very gentle, threading her fingers through Beatrice's hair, quietly telling her a story about her and Diego's various fantastical escapades.
"When we're back, we should go see him," Beatrice says, closing her eyes as Ava's fingers trail over her forehead and eyebrows. "I would like to meet him."
Ava touches her cheeks now, tracing the shells of her ears. "He's going to like you," she says. "We tend to like the same things."
Beatrice opens one eye to peek up at her. "I'm a 'thing,'"
"The most beautiful thing."
"You're lucky I love you," Beatrice comments, closing her eye again.
"I am," Ava quietly agrees, dropping a kiss to the tip of Beatrice's nose. And then her forehead. She lets her lips linger there for a long while, and Beatrice opens her eyes to see that Ava has closed her own.
"You kissed my forehead," Beatrice murmurs. "Before you phased through the ground. Why did you do that?"
Ava doesn't move, mouth against Beatrice's skin, eyes remaining closed. "It's how you say goodbye, isn't it?" she says. "I've seen you do it."
"Then why are you doing it now?"
"Because I want it to mean something different now," Ava says. "I want it to mean that I'm here; I'm right here with you. Only you. Nobody else, and nowhere else."
Beatrice shifts now, prompting Ava to move back. Their eyes are now both open. "What are you telling me?"
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"Whatever happens. Whatever it means for us, and for the world, I'm staying with you. I'm not going anywhere." She looks right into Beatrice's eyes. "I won't ever leave you again."
Beatrice feels tears pool in her eyes, shifting again until she's sitting up and looking right at Ava. "I won't ever let you," she says. "Ava, I won't ever say no if you ask again."
Ava throws her arms around her, hugging her tightly. "This is it for me, Bea," she says. "I don't know how I know this or even why, but I know it. I know it. This, you, all of it, that's it for me."
Beatrice pulls back, eyes settling on Ava's face. "Are you sure?" she asks, because it's just part of her personality to question whether she deserves every good thing in her life.
"Yes," Ava tells her, so very sincerely. "Yes, Beatrice, whatever your real name actually is, of course I'm sure."
Beatrice hugs her again, hands on her back, drawing her into her lap until Ava is straddling her legs. Those hands are back in her hair now, their foreheads pressed together.
"I missed you so much," Ava tells her. "I don't want to feel that ever again, so I need you to say it back."
Beatrice doesn't have to question what she needs to hear, saying words she knows would settle some of the torrents in her own gut. "I'm not going anywhere, either," she says, voice steady and firm. "It's you, Ava. Nobody else, nowhere else. You've been it since the moment I tranquillised you."
Ava laughs softly. "I almost forgot about that," she says. "You and Camila just going around knocking people out."
"Father Vincent trained us well, it seems."
Ava rolls her eyes. "I think our declarations are going off track here," she says.
Beatrice hugs her closer, their bodies pressed together. "It's you and me," she confirms. "Whatever happens in this world, it's always going to be. Whatever we have to face, neither of us is leaving without the other. We can't be beaten when we're together. Let's make sure to prove it."
"Okay, now say it all in Latin."
Beatrice just laughs, holding her closer and vowing never to let go.
