ocean's embrace (Remma)

love is the greatest adventure.

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Rikki was sprawled out on the couch, the weight of another monotonous day pressing down on her. The moment she finally let her eyelids droop, seeking a brief escape, a knock shattered the silence. Grumbling under her breath, expecting the familiar face of her father, she shuffled to the door. "Hi Dad-" The words died on her lips. It wasn't her dad.

There, bathed in the golden hue of the setting sun, stood Emma, her Emma.

For a moment, Rikki couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Her heart, which she'd thought had turned to stone in Emma's absence, now hammered against her ribcage. Was that for real? She couldn't believe.

"Em-Emma?" Her voice came out as a whisper, disbelief and hope woven through the single syllable.

Emma offered a tentative, heart-melting smile. "Hi, Rikki. Surprise?"

Tears welled in Rikki's eyes, spilling over without permission. It was Emma, really truly Emma, standing right in front of her after a year that felt like a lifetime.

"What-How-Why didn't you tell me you were coming back today?" Rikki stammered, every emotion she'd bottled up over the year threatening to crash over her like a tidal wave.

Emma stepped closer, the distance between them dissipating into nothing. "I wanted to surprise you. I've missed you more than words."

Rikki threw her arms around Emma, pulling her close, the warmth and familiarity of her embrace igniting something that had been cold and dormant. "I thought I'd never get to do this again, how is that real?"

Emma hugged her back just as fiercely. "I'm so sorry, Rikki. Leaving was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. But I'm here now and yes, I'm pretty much real."

Releasing her hold slightly, Rikki stepped back to look at Emma, really look at her. The change was subtle but there - a new light in her eyes, perhaps a reflection of her adventures, mixed with the same unwavering dedication and kindness that had drawn Rikki to her in the first place.

"Tell me everything," Rikki said, a genuine smile breaking through, the first in a year, spurred by the simple joy of having Emma back in her life.

Emma laughed, a sound Rikki realized she'd yearned for. "It's a long story. Let's start with dinner? I'm starving."

Rikki nodded, wiping away the last of her tears. "Yeah, dinner sounds perfect. And Em?"

"Yeah?"

"I never stopped missing you. Not for a second. I'm never letting you go again."

Emma squeezed her hand, interlocking their fingers. "Me neither, Rikki. Me neither. And you know, I will never ever leave you."

As they walked away from the door, stepping into the house together, it felt like the world had righted itself. In that room, filled with laughter, soft confessions, and the intimacy of shared silence, Rikki found her smile again, a treasure rediscovered in Emma's return. The ache of absence had been replaced by the fullness of presence, a reminder that sometimes, love is the greatest adventure of all.

They didn't need anything or anyone no more, all they needed was each other.