Bette leaned back, coffee cup in hand. “She was just as curious about you.”

Tina chuckled. “Curious, but respectful. I remember reaching out, and she let me touch her trunk, just for a second. And then I said hello, she let me imprint on her. You watched us the whole time, making sure I felt safe.”

Bette tilted her head slightly. “I wanted you to have that moment. She has never and will never forget you.”

Tina sighed, remembering another episode where Ellie, literally saved her life, but she quickly cast the events aside preferring to direct her gaze out toward the vast landscape beyond the patio and return to that first time between her and Bette. “That morning was the first time I really saw you in your element.” She looked back at Bette. “And I think it was the first time I realized just how big your heart was.”

Bette blinked, caught off guard by the quiet sincerity in Tina’s voice. For a moment, neither of them spoke, the weight of old memories settling between them like a warm breeze.

Tina swiped a bit of honey onto the tip of her finger and brought it to her lips, tasting its sweetness as she watched Bette next to her at the table. There was something unspoken in the air between them, something that had been missing for too long.

Slowly, she leaned forward, her eyes never leaving Bette’s. Bette stilled, caught between surprise and something deeper as Tina closed the space between them. Then, with deliberate softness, Tina pressed her lips to Bette’s. It was warm, lingering, a quiet return to something once so familiar.

When Tina pulled back, Bette exhaled, her gaze flickering to Tina’s lips before she murmured, “Tastes like honey.”

Tina smiled, brushing her fingers lightly against Bette’s wrist. “Yes… do you remember?”

Bette’s breath caught, memories flooding back; the first morning they’d woken up together, all night tangled in sheets and those words Tina had whispered against her lips on that very same patio at breakfast.

For the first time in a long while, something between them felt… right.

As the kiss resumed, lingering, a soft warmth settled between them, the kind that spoke volumes without needing words. Bette’s hand, resting on Tina’s wrist, gave a gentle squeeze, grounding them both in the quiet intimacy that had been absent for so long.