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iamsweden · 5 months ago

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Day 1: First meeting / Storm / Rival

You can also read this fic on AO3!

Cross the Divide to My Heart

As the curtains close for their last dance, Agnea tries to catch her breath.

She gave it her all, dancing with all the passion and finesse she could muster. She hopes it was enough. She hopes–

In the dim lighting, movement catches her eye. Dolcinaea huffs, folding to rub her knees. If Agnea gave her all for this final match, then Dolcinaea went above and beyond. Her dancing has always been fluid, elegant, perfect. She always danced like nothing else in the world mattered. She danced like she was happy.

But Dolcinaea doesn’t look happy now. She looks tired and determined. She does not look at Agnea.

…Agnea wishes she would.

Her heart flutters inside her chest. They can’t linger on stage forever. Agnea and Dolcinaea both have people waiting for them in different dressing rooms, ready to congratulate them on a job well done. Agnea’s father and sister are eager to see her. Whether she wins or loses this competition, she knows they’re proud of her. Really, that’s all Agnea needs. If she loses, it’ll hurt for a little while, but she’ll be alright with them standing at her back.

And yet, right here and right now, Agnea wants Dolcinaea to be proud of her. She wants to see the begrudging pride shine in her eyes like it used to when they were teenagers. She wants Dolcinaea to pat her on the back and tell her she did a passing job. She wants–

She needs to tell her.

Agnea swallows. Dolcinaea is turning away now, heading back to Veronica to rest before the big announcement. She needs to act now. She needs to–she needs to confess before she runs out of time.

If Agnea reaches across the divide, if she tells Dolcinaea the truth, maybe things will go back to how they were before. Maybe they’ll stay friends. Maybe they’ll become something more. So move, move, move! Agnea wills herself. She reaches out and–

—

The air was heavy and gray. Very fitting, Agnea though, hugging her knees tight to her chest. The world had no right to be heavy. Not now, not when her mom was….

She came to the old dance studio to avoid thinking about the diagnosis. This was her happy place, after all. Agnea practically grew up here, standing on the sidelines during her mother’s classes and then on the floor with her other students. At first, she loved dancing because it made her mother happy. Then she loved dancing because it made her happy. She derived such joy from striking the right move, from working hard to learn and perform a routine.

But the universe didn’t just have it out for Cuani Bristarni.

The door was locked and the key lay in her mother’s purse, a dozen miles away in a cold, sterile hospital room.

So stupid, Agnea wetly thought, squeezing her eyes shut. You came all this way and for what, just to sit out here and get rained on? Stupid, stupid, stu–

“You’re getting filthy,” a haughty voice sneered, cutting through her bubbling grief. Agnea started at the sound, popping her head up. She knew this girl. Well, knew of her, at least. She was one of her mom’s newest students. Agnea thought her name was… Dolly? No, it was Dolcinaea. Dolcinaea made a horribly offended face at Agnea’s dusty shorts. “I hope you’re not here to track in dust.”

Oh, she was here to practice? Right… she wouldn’t have heard the news. Agnea’s frown wobbled. “P-practice is canceled,” she said. “Mrs. Bristarni is… sick.”

She’s sick, she’s so sick, and they don’t have enough time for–for anything anymore, and–

Dolcinaea wouldn’t allow Agnea a second to berate herself. She scoffed, setting down her duffle bag. Then she stalked towards the closest window and–

“Whoa, hey!” Agnea objected, springing to her feet. “What are you doing? You can’t just break in!”

“I paid for this time to practice, and I’m going to use it!” she declared, yanking out the screen window.

Agnea spluttered, anxiously moving behind her. She should stop her, right? Paying student or no, this was criminal! She needed to–

With an oof! Dolcinaea tossed her duffle bag through the window then jumped up, hoisting one leg over, then the other, dropping safely inside the building. She glared at Agnea’s dumb gape. “What?” she challenged. “You came here to practice too, didn’t you? Some of us have a dream to work towards. If a locked door is enough to stop you, you don’t need to be in this industry.”

Heat flared across Agnea’s cheeks. She trembled as all the sadness building inside her swiftly transformed into anger. Dolcinaea wanted to talk about dreams? About working hard? About giving up? Agnea’s mother was dying. Without her mother, she would never achieve her dreams of dancing alongside her. They were going to perform together one day. Write songs together. Choreograph dances. Travel across Solistia as a duo, spreading hope everywhere they went, bringing a smile to every face and–

She was accusing Agnea of just giving up?

Before she knew it, Agnea found herself jumping inside after her. She stomped to the light switch and flicked it on, summoning a cascade of soft white light. “Let’s dance,” Agnea bit out, trying not to cry. She was an angry crier, and Dolcinaea didn’t deserve to see any more weakness out of her.

Agnea didn’t wait. She stretched with furious efficiency. Halfway through the first rep, she saw Dolcinaea begin her own stretches across the floor. Neither spoke for several tense minutes. They weren’t here to make friends, after all. They were here to practice. They were here to chase after a dream.

As much as Agnea wanted to stay mad–she didn’t. Agnea wasn’t built to hold anger, especially when she was here in the studio. She took a deep breath. Dolcinaea wasn’t here to damage the studio or anything. She said she was one of Cuani’s students, too, so… so this would be okay. Agnea would just keep an eye on her.

And Agnea did keep an eye on her, because once Dolcinaea started to dance, she couldn’t look away.

Dolcinaea didn’t dance like a student. Her steps floated across the floor like an artist painted their next masterpiece. She danced like she didn’t have a single care in the world. Tears sprang to Agnea’s eyes again. Her own steps faltered. At last, when the tightness in her chest started to choke her, Agnea stopped.

She clutched at her heart, leaning over the balance bar. The tears wouldn’t stop, no matter how hard she tried to hold herself together. It just wasn’t fair. Dolcinaea was such a good dancer. She didn’t have the weight of the world keeping her down. Her dreams lay within sight, close enough to brush her fingers against them. Before today, that was Agnea. The future seemed so bright, but now she had nothing to look forward to. In a few months, her dreams would go up in smoke. It wasn’t fair!

“...Hey. Agnea, right?”

Oh, now she wanted to talk? Agnea frantically scrambled to summon the anger from before, but it slipped through her fingers. She couldn’t do anything but drop her face in her hands and cry.

Somewhere behind her, Dolcinaea sighed. Her duffle bag shuffled and crinkled. Her steps, once light as a feather, tip-tapped across the polished floor. “Here, honey,” Dolcinaea said, patting Agnea’s back. “Drink some water.”

She… she was a little thirsty. And, now that she thought about it, hungry, too. After Agnea got the news, she didn’t waste any time and drove straight to the studio. In her haste, she left her dad and sister behind to deal with the news alone. Agnea was too overwhelmed to assume responsibility for anyone–let alone herself.

Dolcinaea must not have cared that much about getting dirty, because she certainly had no qualms about sitting on the floor now, tugging Agnea down to join her. They exchanged sips from her water bottle, knees just brushing. Dolcinaea ruffled her hair, fluffing it away from her face. Her lips pinched like she’d just eaten a lemon. “I take it Cuani is very sick, then.”

Agnea numbly nodded. “Cancer,” she said. The word didn’t feel right in her mouth. It wasn’t a word anyone should have had to say, but here she was. “The doctors gave her a few months. I don’t think she’ll hold anymore classes. I’m sorry.”

“I can always find another studio,” Dolcinaea said, but it didn’t sound cruel. It was just a fact. Tentatively, as if waiting to see if Agnea would jerk away, Dolcinaea put her arm around Agnea’s shoulders. Painfully slow, she pulled Agnea close into something like a hug, if it wasn’t so careful and awkward. Agnea would count it, though. “I know what it’s like to lose a mother,” Dolcinaea continued. “Feels like the end of the world.”

Agnea nodded. That sounded about right.

They stewed in silence for a while. Dolcinaea surely would have some advice to give if she’d also lost her mother, but then she also knew that that was the last thing Agnea wanted to hear. The quiet helped, now that Agnea wasn’t alone. Curled into Dolcinaea’s side, she felt warm and safe.

Nothing lasts forever, though.

A clap of thunder outside startled them into jumping away from each other. Dolcinaea cursed, sweeping to her feet. She marched to the window and cursed again. With perfect timing, the storm finally arrived, unleashing a veritable deluge. Heavy raindrops pelted the tin roof in a cacophony, drowning out the rest of the world.

Agnea couldn’t hear her thoughts over the sound of the rain. At last, her mind stopped conjuring fear and her heart settled. She wiped her eyes one last time.

“Let’s run back to my car,” Agnea suggested, joining Dolcinaea at the window. “I’ll blast the heat and dry us off. You didn’t walk here, did you?”

Dolcinaea’s grimace was enough of an answer.

With grim determination, Agnea clambered through the window–and immediately got soaked to the bone. She shrieked as the cold slapped her. “Hurry!” she burst, booking it to her car. She didn’t wait for Dolcinaea, fumbling with her keys as her feet slapped through the mud and–OH NO.

As Agnea slipped in the mud, ready to completely ruin her clothes in a gross puddle, Dolcinaea caught the back of her shirt and hauled her upright in one swift motion. Dolcinaea grabbed Agnea’s hand and ran beside her the rest of the way, letting go only long enough to skirt to the passenger side door. Together, they dove into the safety of the car, breathing heavy, cold and wet and giddy. Agnea doesn’t know who broke first, but in no time at all, she and Dolcinaea both started laughing, leaning against each other for support.

In the days and weeks and months after that day, Agnea and Dolcinaea continued to meet for dance practices. After Cuani passed, Dolcinaea stubbornly kept Agnea on routine, summoning her for practice, for lunch, for outings–any reason she could find, she used to keep Agnea active. Maybe Agnea wouldn’t have given up on her dreams without Dolcinaea, but it certainly would have taken time for her to dance again.

And now, all these years later, standing on the precipice of making their dreams come true–

Agnea and Dolcinaea stand apart. There’s only room for one at the top, after all. Only one of them makes it to first place.

Even if Dolcinaea forgot where they came from, Agnea hasn’t. She loves Dolcinaea, and no matter what happens next, she’ll always love this bitter, stubborn woman.

“Dolcinaea, wait!” Agnea calls. She reaches out as Dolcinaea turns.

With a frown, Dolcinaea catches her as she stumbles. “What,” she snaps.

“I…,” Agnea begins, summoning courage, “I love you. I have for a very long time! And no matter who wins, I wanted you to know that, alright? You’re my best friend. You were there for me when no one else was, and I’m here right now because you worked beside me. I love you, and I miss you, and I don’t care who wins, so long as we end this stupid rivalry!”

For the first time in a very long time, she catches Dolcinaea off guard. Her glossy lips part in surprise. She looks so beautiful right now. Her makeup, her dress, her hair–Dolcinaea looks perfect, but it’s the light glimmering in her eyes that really pulls it all together. That’s hope. “Agnea, I….”

Agnea squeezes her shoulders. They haven’t been close in years, not since they began competing against each other. But Agnea said her peace. No matter what comes next, whether Dolcinaea reciprocates or if this really is where they part ways, Agnea will be okay. She’ll press forward and pursue her dreams no matter what. That’s the least Dolcinaea would expect of her.

But any shred of doubt evaporates when Dolcinaea’s lips tremble. “I-I waited years for you to say that,” she murmurs, voice small. “I thought–I thought you didn’t–”

A laugh bubbles out of Agnea’s mouth. She drops her head against Dolcinaea’s shoulder as the nerves shake out of her. “I thought you didn’t like me!” Agnea admits. “I’ve loved you for forever!”

Dolcinaea doesn’t waste another second–she pulls Agnea close, pressing those glossy lips against her own. She tastes as sweet as her namesake. She tastes like joy.

No matter which way fortune falls, no matter who walks home with the trophy, they’ll both be going home together.

The future has never looked brighter.

#8pathfemslashweek24 #whew #finished this just in time!!!#agnea bristarni #dolcinaea luciel #octopath traveler 2

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