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acacia-may · 2 months

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Lights Will Guide You Home (EOA Gabaomi Love Confession)

A trip to Norberg causes Gabe to contemplate his feelings for a certain "someone special." After Naomi returns from her voyage and becomes chancellor, however, Gabe knows he can hide his feelings no longer, so he takes her to a very special place to finally tell her how much she means to him.

Pairing: Gabriel "Gabe" Núñez/Naomi Turner [Eleteo is briefly mentioned/implied in one line]

Genre: Love Confession, Mutual Pining, First Kiss, Post-Series, Friends to Lovers.

Rated: G

Word Count: 2537

No Warnings Only True Love Here

A/N: Apologies in advance for any inaccuracies. I never thought I'd write Elena of Avalor fanfiction and definitely never thought I'd write Gabe x Naomi fanfiction, but here we are. Also, fair warning, I don't usually write romance, and I don't think I've ever written something this swoony in my entire life. I'm honestly shocked I even had this story in me. But I just found out about and watched "Norberg Peace Prize" yesterday and Gabaomi (basically?) canon?! What a time to be alive! 💖

Link to Story on AO3. Full Text Below the Cut. Thank you for reading! 🌟

Gabe absentmindedly kicked his feet as they dangled over the edge of the dock. It was strange being back here again, especially now that he was sitting here alone.

With a heavy sigh, he gazed out at the dark and hazy horizon line of the sea wondering where Naomi was now, whether she was gazing out at the same ocean, looking up at the same stars in the sky. Gabe supposed he couldn’t see many stars now himself since the sky here was illuminated by the Norberg Lights. He would always be awestruck by how beautiful they were—colorful, majestic, and perfect, but it had been strange. The first time he had ever had the privilege to see them, he knew he had been sitting under the most beautiful sky in the world, but somehow he had found something even more beautiful. He had just never had the chance to tell her.

He had certainly thought about it—had even been seriously considering confessing, but despite all the confidence and bravado with which he usually carried himself, he found it difficult to pluck up the nerve to tell her how he felt, to take the risk of ruining their friendship if she didn’t feel the same way.

It was probably for the best that he hadn’t said anything. After all, she had left shortly after that—before they had even had the chance to talk about anything. He took it as a sign that it just wasn’t meant to be, and he was happy for her. Of course he was. How could he be anything else when he knew how much she had always longed for adventure, to explore the world, and to sail the seventeen seas as the captain of her own ship? It was her dream, and she was getting to follow it, just like he had followed his own dreams to be part of the royal guard and eventually its captain. He wanted that for her—for her to be happy, to get to live her dream, even if there wasn’t a place for him in it.

He supposed the irony of it all was that just as he was realizing Naomi’s dreams didn’t leave a space for him, he was coming to terms with the fact that all of his dreams had her in them. Someday even if he did become the general of the royal guard, he knew it would somehow feel incomplete without her by his side. But he couldn’t compete with her dreams—couldn’t compete with her adventurous spirit, her love for the ocean, and he didn’t want to.

Still…he couldn’t help but hope that the next time he came to this dock, he wouldn’t be alone, the next time he gazed up at the Norberg lights, they wouldn’t be the most beautiful thing there with him. He could only hope that someday she’d want to find her way home—to find her way back to him. If she ever did, he promised himself he would finally tell her the truth.

*-*-*

“Norberg?” Naomi’s freckled nose wrinkled as she tilted her head at him. “Why’d you drag me all the way to Norberg?”

Gabe shrugged, but his mouth curved into a lopsided grin as he dryly bantered, “You didn’t seem too upset by the idea of an outing when it got you out of all that paperwork, chancellor.”

Her new title had been taking a little getting used to, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy teasing her with it every now and again. He could only assume Naomi’s newfound interest in calling him “general” stemmed from the same place.

“You told me you had something important to tell me, but you couldn’t tell me at the palace. I was intrigued”—she quirked an eyebrow at him—“but I wasn’t expecting a sea voyage. Don’t you think they’ll all be missing us back at the castle and wondering where we went?”

“I already cleared the trip with Elena…er…” He cleared his throat then corrected, “Her Majesty.”

Naomi clicked her tongue. “Still struggling with all the new titles, general?” she teased, and a feeling of pride and accomplishment fluttered in Gabe’s chest hearing her call him that. He had worked so hard to get to where he was now, to become the general of the Avaloran Royal Guard. General Gabriel Núñez certainly had a nice ring to it no matter who said it, but he could admit that hearing it from Naomi made him straighten his shoulders and puff out his chest with pride—perhaps even made him feel a little ostentatious. “You seem to have no trouble calling me ‘chancellor.’”

“And you loved getting to take your boat out. Admit it.”

She met his eyes—snapping blue like the ocean she loved so much, as her lips twitched in the corners. “So this is all for my benefit, is it?”

“Maybe.” He smiled facetiously which only made her frown at him.

“Where are you taking me? You realize it’s already dusk—it’ll be dark soon.”

As Naomi rolled her eyes, Gabe’s mouth twitched into a lopsided grin. That’s exactly what he had been hoping for. He wondered how long it would take her to catch on…if she hadn’t already.

By the time he led her out to the dock where they had seen the Norberg Lights together, it was already dark and, it seemed, there was no reason to evade her questions any longer.

Naomi’s brow furrowed, and she tilted her head at him curiously. “Well, this is a blast from the past…”

“Not too far in the past,” Gabe quipped, but he knew what she meant. After everything that had happened, it felt like a lifetime ago—no matter how much time had actually passed. With a sigh, he took a seat beside her on the edge of the dock just like he had when he had first surprised her here. At least…it had been a surprise for her. It hadn’t been for him. He knew there was nowhere else in the world he would have rather been and no one else in the world he would have rather shared that moment with. The fact that she had been so surprised to see him made him realize he must’ve done a much better job at hiding how he had been feeling from her and, he supposed, in a way, from himself.

As Gabe looked into her eyes now, however, he swallowed hard. He knew he couldn’t hide it anymore—had promised himself that he wouldn’t.

“I came here while you were gone, you know?” he admitted, turning away from her—watching the reflection of the lights in the water. “To see the lights—think about…things.” He paused, swallowed again. “We never really got to talk about it.”

“Is there something to talk about?” Her tone of voice was pragmatic, unreadable. Gabe assumed her expression was probably the same, but he couldn’t look at her. He stifled a light, somewhat self-deprecating chuckle. It was silly to think that the great general of Avalor could be tempted to lose his nerve so easily, but he had just gotten her back—even if it was just as a friend, and he didn’t want to lose her again.

Still, he gathered his resolve and continued, “I wanted to talk to you, but when you left without really any warning or even saying goodbye, I…I took it as a sign that maybe it was just better left unsaid.”

“I’m sorry.”

Gabe’s brow furrowed, and his shoulders stiffened. He hadn’t been expecting that. The question slipped out without him thinking much about it. “Why?”

“I disappeared. It was whirlwind thing and kind of impulsive, but I still should’ve said goodbye. I guess I…I just didn’t want you to try to talk me out of it—to have my last memories of you be of us actually fighting, instead of, you know, pretending to”—she chuckled lightly to herself—“I like our banter, but I don’t want to actually fight with you. I like to think you’re on my side.”

“I am.” He pressed his hand to her shoulder, but she turned away from him. Something panged in Gabe’s chest as her words began to sink in. “You really think I wouldn’t have wanted you to go?” he asked, but Naomi only pursed her lips together and shrugged. “It was your dream. I would never try to hold you back from that.”

“I guess I just thought that…if we talked, I—I might not ever leave.” She paused, staring down at her hands—not at him, never at him. “And there were so many things that I wanted to do. So many promises I made to myself. I had to go.”

Gabe nodded solemnly. “I know.” He swallowed hard. “And I’m glad you did. For as long as I’ve known you, you’ve always wanted to go on adventures, explore the world, and sail the seventeen seas. You don’t have to apologize for following your dreams. I didn’t apologize for following mine. And you definitely don’t have to ask for my blessing. I’m just—” He paused, trying to think of the right word. He knew what she was to him, but he wasn’t sure what he was to her yet. Ultimately he decided on “your friend. You don’t need my permission to follow your dream.”

A slight smile curved in the corners of his mouth as he looked at up at her—found her still staring at her hands. He took a deep breath. “But I will need your permission to follow mine.”

“You want to go to war, general?” she quipped, though he could’ve sworn there was the slightest waver in her voice. “I’m not sure I can sign off on that.”

“It’s not a military dream,” he admitted. “I know my whole life all I ever wanted was to be in the royal guard. And then when I succeeded, when I was a lieutenant, then a captain, and now a general—it’s a great honor and means the world to me. But…when I became general and I finally had everything I ever wanted, I—” He stopped, swallowed hard. “It felt…”

“Empty,” Naomi finished for him quietly. “Like there was something missing.”

Gabe nodded, but his heart pounded—racing and flipping. He tried to calm himself—remind himself that he didn’t know for sure that she was talking about him.

“I kind of felt the same way while I was away,” Naomi admitted. “I mean, being out on the open sea was everything I ever dreamed of, and I was so happy, but…it still felt…kind of hollow, incomplete.” She sighed heavily before lifting her head to the sky—staring up at the lights with wide, blinking eyes. “It’s like the Norberg Lights—they’re so beautiful, and getting to sit here and see them is amazing…but the tradition says you’re supposed to share them with someone special and I know it’s because that somehow makes them even more beautiful, makes them—”

“Perfect.” Gabe met her eyes as she finally looked up at him. He could only imagine she felt the same sense of déjà vu at his choice of words, at the way he was looking at her now, and at the way she was looking at him. This time, however, he reached out to tuck that stray piece of her hair behind her ear. He could feel her tremble at the brush of his fingers against her cheek, and she looked away from him as her face flushed.

Though his own heart pounded, he confessed, “What’s missing…isn’t being a war hero.”

“Well, what do you want?” her voice bantered but wavered, and she wouldn’t meet his eyes again. “To take over a kingdom? Be a prince consort? I won’t advise Elena to marry you, if that’s what you’re asking.” She chuckled lightly. “There’s no way you can beat Mateo—he’s bound to be our prince consort eventually, so you’ll have to move if you want to rule somewhere. But if you want to be the husband of royalty, I’m sure Princess Chloe will have you.”

Gabe laughed, trying and failing to stifle it before the hard, serious lines of his face softened and a tender smile tugged at his mouth. “I’d like to be a husband someday, but only if someone special will have me.” He stroked her cheek with his hand until she finally looked at him. “And she isn’t royalty, so I don’t think I’ll be a prince consort.”

He paused—trying his best not to chuckle as he watched Naomi’s mouth twitch in the corners. But he inhaled sharply as she stared up at him with earnest, affectionate eyes, “Will she have you?”

“I’m not sure. I think her heart might be somewhere else, and I’m not sure I can compete.”

His mouth curved into a teasing grin, and Naomi bantered back, “Really? The great general is backing down from a challenge?”

“The ocean is a pretty powerful adversary,” he quipped, and Naomi chuckled but there was something so kind and so tender in her eyes that it made his stomach swoop and his heart ache.

“And you’re sure her heart’s with the ocean?”

“I’d like to think part of it’s with me—or at least that it’ll find it’s way back to me in the end.” He met her eyes. “That she’ll find her way home.”

“Maybe she already has…”

Gabe pressed his hand to her cheek, and as Naomi’s arms snaked around him, pulling him towards her, he could feel her fingers tangled in his hair at the base of his neck, could feel her warm breath on his skin as she inched closer and closer, before she stopped just a breath away from him as she asked, “You said there was something you wanted to tell me?”

“You don’t know what it is?” he dryly bantered with as much of a chuckle as he could manage, struggling as he was even to breathe.

“I’d still like to hear you say it,” she whispered, the side of her nose brushing up against his. Gabe sighed. His chest ached, but he pulled away from her—far enough to look into her eyes as he ran his hand through her short blonde hair before he said the words he had mulled over in his head over and over, the words he so desperately wanted to say.

“I want you to follow your dreams whether that’s to go exploring, sail the world, and have amazing adventures or to be the best chancellor in Avaloran history. No matter where those dreams take you, I will always be here, will always be on your side, your greatest defender waiting for you to come home, because my dreams are empty without you in them—without getting to share them with you.” He pushed a strand of blonde hair out of her face—hoping the affection in his eyes said more than even his words. “Naomi, I love y—”

He didn’t get to finish that sentence. Naomi threw her arms around his neck and kissed him before he even had the chance.

#elena of avalor #eoa #gabaomi #naomi turner #gabe nunez #gabriel nunez #gabe nunez x naomi turner #gabe x naomi #they're in love your honor #this is the swooniest thing i've ever written #i didn't know i had this story in me #if i hadn't written it myself i wouldn't believe it #thank you for reading #happy valentine's day

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