Chapter Text
Belobog’s sky was grey again... Well... Again... When was it not grey?
Clouds hung low over the city like a smothering blanket ready for the kill, and the frost clung to windows and rooftops from the almost daily snowstorms still beating the planet. From inside her apartment the Bronya insisted she'd have above ground, Seele could hear the distant chime of bells and the crunch of boots on snow-covered stone. It wasn't hard, it was so late, and no one else was out there to make sounds.
She was just finishing a mug of hot cocoa, wrapped in one of Bronya’s old coats (which she totally hadn’t stolen sssh), when the knock came. Three slow, uneven taps.
Odd... Well, she knew who it was; they had decided to have a movie night to try to relax after having so much work to build Belobog back up again, but Bronya was like three hours late.
Seele frowned, set the mug down, and opened the door, ready to give a certain Supreme Guardian a piece of her mind, but barely had she opened the door that she needed to catch Bronya as she collapsed into her arms. Seele hadn't expected her to be leaning against the door, and Bronya hadn't half dozed off and didn't realize the door would open right there.
"Bronya?!" Seele's voice cracked with panic; she tried to cover up but couldn't. Her arms instinctively wrapped around her girlfriend’s tired frame... But she'd never admit it to Bronya that in her brain she called her her girlfriend, she ain't about to subject herself to teasing she knows would come if she dared to put a name to their relationship.
Bronya mumbled something incoherent, her breath warm against Seele’s shoulder. Her whole body was ice-cold and too light despite how it felt for Bronya herself. She felt like she'd been out for hours. Her cheeks were flushed... And not with life, but with fever, probably because ain't no way it is something else.
"Oh my god," Seele whispered, already pulling her inside and kicking the door closed behind them. "What were you thinking? What happened?" Seele shouldn't have snapped so harshly but yet she still did.
"Just... Just tired." Bronya muttered faintly. "Meetings... Patrols... I was on my way home. Thought I could make it... I forgot we agreed to meet today... So I came here instead.” Bronya explained, taking a moment to think once in a while, rubbing her eyes.
Seele shut the door behind them with the lock this time and got Bronya to the couch in a really Seele way, lugging her up and almost throwing her down onto the couch, dusting her hands off.
"Seele!"
"You should have called me or gone straight to bed instead of coming back here... Or literally anywhere other than wandering through the city in the snow like some tragic ice queen." She sat down next to Bronya on the couch.
Bronya chuckled a little. Seele was adorable when fuming about something.
"I didn't want to trouble you, you have so much work too with the underground and overground reconnecting."
"Trouble me?! Bronya, you’re my girlfriend, not a guest star in a dramatic opera!"
If it were any other time, Bronya would have had a lovely time rubbing that word into Seele's face, as she is also adorable when blushing and teasing her with that would sure do it, but her head was killing her.
Bronya let out a weak laugh, but her head flopped against the couch cushions like she hadn’t moved in hours. Her hair was damp with melted snow, her gloves half-frozen, and Seele could see how thin the patience her body had left was; it was like Bronya's own body was waiting to ambush her and beat her in a back alley.
Anger flared in her chest, not at Bronya, of course, only annoyance could flare there... But at the weight of everything on her. Everyone expected her to be perfect. To lead, to smile, to never stumble. Seele had seen the cracks forming for weeks, and no matter how much they fought on her working too much, the Supreme Guardian wouldn't listen and was working herself to death.
And now here she was, basically burned out, on the verge of collapse, and still whispering apologies about showing up here.
"Nope. Not doing this." Seele stood up after slapping her own knees. "Stay here. I mean it. Move, and I will steal your title and rename the city after myself." She marched off.
Bronya blinked slowly, rubbing her face. "That’s... Not how that works." "Don’t care. I’ll stage a coup with hot tea and soup."
Seele could get extremely dangerous when it came to getting Bronya to take care of herself; she once locked the Supreme Guardian in her own room until she took a nap.
She disappeared into the kitchen, muttering to herself about how she should’ve tackled Bronya and forced her to take another nap two days ago. In a few minutes, she returned with a tray: ginger tea, some crackers, and a steaming bowl of soup she suspiciously had on hand, as if she was ready for this. She even pulled out the emergency star-shaped cookies Natasha had made, the ones Seele had hoarded for “girlfriend emergencies,” such as these ones.
And this definitely qualifies.
"You’re spoiling me," Bronya murmured as Seele pressed a warm mug into her hands and draped a blanket over her.
"I am restraining myself from carrying you to bed and wrapping you like a dumpling," Seele shot back, eyebrow twitching. "You’re lucky it is so late that I didn’t call Pela to shame you with a wellness lecture." Seele sat back down, arms crossed, and watched her closely as Bronya took a sip from the mug.
Bronya leaned her head against Seele’s shoulder, eyes fluttering shut after a while. "I’ve missed this." She admitted.
"Missed what?"
"You fussing at me.” A pause. “Caring. Just taking a break finally.”
Seele’s heart clenched.
"You never have to earn that," She whispered, brushing soft strands of hair from Bronya’s cheek. "I’m not just here for the speeches and strategy meetings. I’m here when you’re tired, and stubborn, and falling apart at the seams, which you insist on doing a lot."
The grey-haired young woman didn’t say anything at first, but she slid her hand over Seele’s under the blanket and squeezed it gently.
"Stay?" She asked softly. "Just for a while?"
"This is my appart--" Taking a deep breath. "-always." Seele kissed her forehead, face red at the act she initiated. "Even when you’re terrible at taking care of yourself."
"I’ll try harder."
"You don’t need to try. You just need to rest. Let me love you properly, okay? Or I am going to beat you with that mug in your hands until you do."
Bronya exhaled, long and shaky. Her body began to loosen beneath the blankets, melting into Seele’s side like wax meeting warmth.
They sat like that for a long time, the kind of quiet that felt sacred. No titles. No pressure. Just the beat of a shared heart and the hush of snow outside.
Eventually, Seele nudged her when Bronya had finished the soup and drank the tea.
"Alright, smarty pants. Bedtime, sleepy Guardian. I’m putting you in the softest pajamas, and you’re not allowed to argue."
"I have objections."
"I’m stronger. I win."
With exaggerated effort, Seele helped Bronya to her feet and guided her to the bedroom instead of swinging her over her shoulder like the first time. She made good on her promise: flannel pajamas, double-layered blankets, and the plushest stuffed fox Bronya had pretended not to like but secretly adored... One of the bonuses of dating THE Supreme Guardian, knowing all the little secrets she hides from others.
When Seele slid in beside her and wrapped her arms around her waist, Bronya sighed like someone who’d been holding her breath for weeks.
"I’m glad it was you who found me," Bronya murmured into the crook of Seele’s neck.
"Duh, you showed up at my door. It always will be me, too." Seele whispered. "No matter how far you fall, I’ll always catch you."
That night, for the first time in far too long, Bronya slept deeply and safely, wrapped in warmth, love, and the quiet promise that she didn’t have to be strong all the time.
Because someone else would be strong for her, now and then.
...
Someone who would tie her to said warm bed if Bronya wouldn't rest by her own will.