Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

[Current Location: Jarilo-VI, Belobog (Underworld), Rivet Town.]

"Who's next?!" Seele yelled as her scythe cleaved right through a Flamespawn, instantly cutting it in half.

The Flamespawn let out a horrible screech before it wilted into dust. Behind her, multiple Frostspawns lunged at her, but was swiftly shot down mid-air by wind bullets. Seele turned to Bronya, a confident smile on her face. "Thanks, princess! I owe you one!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Seele! There's many of them!" Bronya replied, as she took aim and fired another bullet.

This time, it hit an Imaginary Weaver miles away, causing it to let out a pained howl.

"You're done for!" Seele saw the opportunity, and she immediately disappeared in a burst of butterflies, before she re-appeared behind the Imaginary Weaver and brought down her scythe at its head, instantly breaking it into golden particles. Its body went limp, and Seele kicked it away before it also turned into dust.

"Phew." Seele wiped some sweat off her brow, as she sets her scythe down for a bit. "I'm beat... There's an abnormal amount of them in this area recently..."

Bronya arrives from behind and sets a hand on Seele's shoulder. "You've done well, Seele. Take a break. Caelus and Dan Heng will mop up the rest."

Seele nodded, before she sits down and leans her back on the concrete wall of an abandoned building.

They are currently in Rivet Town because of an assignment that Wildfire had given her to destroy some Fragmentum monsters here, thus she called three of her most powerful friends to assist her. Caelus, Bronya and Dan Heng. She originally wanted to ask March 7th as well, but she was busy keeping Hook's gang, the Moles entertained for now.

Looking at the silver-haired princess that had just sat down next to her, she quickly popped open her water container, and offered it to Bronya. "Here. Nice shots, as always."

Bronya took the water container and she took a quick swig. "Thanks, Seele. You're an excellent fighter yourself."

They then sat in comfortable silence. Their minds slowly reminiscing about the events that had previously unfolded... Their untimely encounter in the Underworld, their battle against Cocolia... It was as if all those happened yesterday.

But their minds quickly adjusted to a certain person - said person had been a subject that had plagued their minds recently. Though "plague" might be a bit harsh, more like "occupying their every thought".

Seele and Bronya's minds both began to think about Caelus.

It didn't take a genius to observe that they were madly smitten with him after the incident with Cocolia and the Stellaron.

For Seele, it had started out fairly quickly. In fact, one might call it a first-glance crush. That one time when she was strolling through Boulder Town, she had caught a glimpse of Caelus having fun with the Moles. It started out fairly normal - with a few rounds of Caelus playing hide and seek (although he was forced to be the seeker all the time), there was one thing that she never lost sight of. It was his smile, his devilishly handsome, and innocent-looking smile. Seeing that smile sparked some sort of alien emotion inside her heart - she had to leave the area to avoid being caught staring at him. Afterwards, she came to terms with herself that she, indeed, had fell for him. It was a hard-to-swallow fact, but deep down Seele knew that it was the truth.

For Bronya, it was a more complicated matter. From the beginning of their journey, she saw him as nothing more of an enemy. A criminal who had sinned against Belobog. But as time passes by, Bronya got to know the mysterious and enigmatic Astral Express crew more... she bonded deeply with them, as friends, as comrades. The cold but gentle Dan Heng, the energetic and bubbly March 7th, the witty, hilarious Caelus. In the decisive battle against Cocolia, when she saw Caelus being impaled by a frost spike casted by Cocolia, her heart felt like it was plunged into the depths of despair. But when he rose up soon after, in his hand a flaming lance of war... It was like a million butterflies were fluttering inside her stomach. He looked just like one of the heroes inside the fairy tales that her mother used to read to her every night...

To sum it all up, both Seele and Bronya liked Caelus in their own ways. And after the Stellaron incident, both would try their best to spend time with him as much as possible. Seele, with her bold and overly friendly actions towards Caelus, and Bronya's more gentle yet caring nature taking its course for him.

But there was one problem. No, two problems actually.

Each other.

In other words, both were in the way of the other’s quest in gaining Caelus' affection and attention.

After they realized the fact that they both were obstacles in each other's way, they repeatedly competed with each other. From the most trivial tasks such as chatting with him, or even small hints of affectionate displays like brushing against his body, to constantly looking for reasons to be with him.

Whenever Seele spends time with Caelus, Natasha, Oleg and even little Hook always noted that Seele seemed to smile more, and she was more talkative than usual. They all were astonished at the fact that the Trailblazer had unconsciously brought out another girly side of Seele.

On the contrary, Bronya would allow herself to relax more and admire the beauty of life around her. When she first set foot on the Astral Express, watching the tapestry of stars outside the train's window next to him... she felt delighted. At that moment, she wasn't the Supreme Guardian of Belobog, nor the commander of the Silvermane Guards at all. She was a normal girl named Bronya, sitting next to the man she held dearly in her heart, stargazing with each other.

Even if they were love rivals, Bronya and Seele had to mutually agree that Caelus was an amazing person. He managed to change the both of the girls into a better person without even knowing it.

Back to the present, Seele and Bronya both snapped out of their deep thoughts by a loud blast heard from across the other side of Rivet Town, accompanied by a voice shouting "Flaming Lance, FORWARD!"

They both knew that it was Caelus, hard at work again. Outside of rummaging through trash cans and dumpsters in Belobog (Seele and Bronya still has a tough time figuring out why that would be a hobby of his, but they ignored it anyways, because love is blind), he's one of the most powerful fighters that Seele and Bronya could've ever seen.

Sure, the Silvermane Guards had Gepard with his absolute defense, Serval with her stunning abilities with an electric guitar (pun intended), Wildfire had Sampo and even Hook, but in terms of power, none could hold a candle against Caelus in a full-blown fight. Especially not with that big flaming lance that he wielded.

Seele chuckled as another explosion went off in the other part of the city. "At this rate, he'll just blow Rivet Town to pieces with his gigantic lance."

Bronya nodded. "Indeed. I suppose we'll have to head there ourselves to check on him, lest he blows up something too important."

They both agreed that their reason to be there was to check on him. It totally wasn’t an excuse for them just to see him there and feel his presence.

---

When they arrived, they saw a pretty haunting image of... Caelus repeatedly using his lance to continuously attack a dead corpse of an Everwinter Shadewalker. Dan Heng was just standing there, casually observed his friend's actions.

"What happened to him? Isn't that Shadewalker... dead already?" Seele asked, as she and Bronya approached Dan Heng from behind.

"Oh, you two. I assume that you two have already finished your part in the other side of the town?" Dan Heng said, his eyes still watching Caelus cautiously. "...I wouldn't go near him right now if I were you two. That certain Everwinter Shadewalker destroyed one of Rivet Town's trash cans, and it threw Caelus into a frenzy."

"Ah." Seele and Bronya simultaneously answered. They nearly forgot about Caelus' unhealthy obsessions with trash cans, though the way he acted in front of them is a bit overkill...

"FUCKING BASTARD! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DESTROY IT?! DON'T YOU LOT APPRECIATE THE BEAUTY OF TRASH CANS?!" Caelus screamed, as he jabbed the mangled corpse of the Shadewalker with his lance.

"...Should we tell him that Fragmentum monsters doesn't even know what a trash can is?" Bronya asked, a bit concerned for Caelus' current state.

"And if they do, I doubt that they would care anyways." Seele doubled up, as she flinched with every jab that he made on the poor thing's lifeless corpse. "Let's just... stop him for now... I'm starting to feel bad for that thing, even though it's dead already..."

"Agreed." Dan Heng nodded.

---

After a while, they managed to convince Caelus to stop mangling the already-ruined-to-pieces corpse of the Shadewalker, and they had decided that it was time for them to return, as Bronya had other problems that required her attention back in Qlipoth Fort.

On their way back, Seele, Bronya and Dan Heng chatted with each other.

"Those Flamespawns were nothing-"

"My aim still requires more practicing-"

"I'll ask March to come along next time-"

"Hold on." Caelus raised a hand, as he had effectively halted all ongoing conversations. He stared at Seele's arm, as he swiftly grabbed her arm, causing Seele to yelp. She quickly blushed.

"W-What are you doing, grabbing my hand like that?!" Seele demanded, but Caelus didn't stop his observation. There was a burn mark and a few cuts on the underside of her arm, probably because of the ensuing battle that had happened a while ago.

"You're hurt." Caelus noted. "Let me bandage you, at least."

"H-Huh?! I don't feel pain at all! Scars and bruises are a normal thing for me already!" Seele tried to yank her arm out of Caelus' hold, but his grip was firm. He looked into Seele's light purple eyes with his golden eyes.

"Seele. I'm being serious here." Caelus said with a low voice, as he kept holding onto Seele's arm. "That injury might be infectious. Besides, Natasha would be all over your case if she saw these, ya know?"

"But-"

"No buts. Natasha asked me and Dan Heng to take special care of you before we departed." Caelus began to take out some disinfectants and a few bandages.

"Grrr... it's always Natasha. FINE!" Seele finally dropped her stubbornness. She stood there, a blush threatening to take over her face. "M-Make it quick, you hear?"

"Good. You don't want to set a bad example for Hook, now do you?" Caelus grinned. "You DID say that you were 'Hook times ten' when you were young, as I recall..."

"Shut up! Get to bandaging already, you fool!" Seele gritted her teeth, in a desperate attempt to cover up the embarrassment that she's going through right now. "Or I'll plunge my scythe right through your thick skull!"

Caelus just chuckled and he started applying the disinfectant on her wounds, and began to bandage it.

Secretly, Seele enjoyed having Caelus care about her like this. Seeing such a scene is causing her heart to run a kilometer per second. Seele wished that this would last forever...

But unfortunately, all good things had to end. She had learned that the hard way before, but she would have never guessed the next set of events that would unfold later on.

"Ah~!" Bronya's pained (not really) yelp jolted her back to reality. Seele immediately became cautious, worried that Bronya might've been attacked by something. "Goodness me, it hurts so much!"

"B-Bronya?! What's wrong?!" Seele voiced her concern, as she looked at the overworld princess, who's currently holding onto her left arm.

"I-I suddenly remembered that I have an injury in my left arm..." Bronya raised her left arm for everyone to see. A frost burn mark, some cuts and bruises. Not as severe as Seele's case, but why is Bronya making such a fuss about it?

Seele then immediately realized.

She must've seen that Caelus' attention are all for Seele now, and Bronya wasn't going to let that happen.

"Oh dear, Bronya... Your arm is hurt, too!" Caelus said, a hint of concern in his voice. "Alright, you come here as well. I'll bandage you both-"

"ACTUALLY." Seele instantly cut off what Caelus was going to say. "Dan Heng, how about you take Bronya back up to the Overworld? I'm SURE that the Silvermane Guards will offer her proper treatment for those injuries. Me and Caelus will rendezvous with you later on~"

Dan Heng raised an eyebrow, but he didn't question it. He turned to Bronya. "Let's go, Bronya. I'll tell Gepard to ask the guards and treat you right away-"

"No need, Dan Heng." Bronya said, as she glared back at Seele. "I'm sure the Underworld doctor, Natasha will have better treatment than Caelus' bandages for Seele. In fact, Dan Heng, please take Seele back to Boulder Town for PROPER treatment back at Natasha. I have... a few things that I need to discuss with our friend Caelus here~"

Seele smiled at Bronya, but that smile was anything else but friendly. "No, no, your Highness, let ME go with him instead. I'm sure you have your other matters at Qlipoth Fort to attend to~" She used her usual tone to talk with Bronya, but Dan Heng can smell the overwhelming venom inside each of every words she spoke.

Bronya smiled back as well. That smile reminded Dan Heng of a jealous March 7th when she caught him staring at other girls at Belobog. "Seele, my other matters at the fort can be taken care of by my other trusted men. But as I recall, you have your unfinished business with Wildfire as well. So I suggest that you let ME accompany Caelus instead, don't you think?~"

The two girls kept their smile up for a while, before they stopped smiling and glared at each other with intensity.

It took Dan Heng a while, but he finally understood the entire situation at hand here.

"Oh, so that's what it was about." Dan Heng's mind put all the pieces together.

It was a contest between the two girls to decide who was the one worthy for Caelus' time and attention.

"What is this, a situation from one of Himeko's romcom novels?" Dan Heng's mind spoke again. He turned to Caelus to see his reaction, and he saw his friend looking extremely confused about the entire ordeal.

"So... whose injuries should I be focusing on, then...?" Caelus, still painfully oblivious about the situation, decided to ask.

Instantly, Bronya and Seele turned to him, and they both yelled in unison: "DEFINITELY NOT HER!!!"

Dan Heng just silently took out his phone, took a picture amidst the brewing storm between the two girls, and just silently left the scene, all the while muttering an apology to the dense and oblivious friend of his.

---

[Dan Heng and March 7th's private messages]

[Dankoku]: "Check this out."

[Dankoku]: [attachment.png]

[Mitsuki7th]: "LMAO, how has Caelus not notice their feelings for him already?! What a dork!"

[Dankoku]: "Ikr. He's so dense sometimes, I can't tell the difference between him and a black hole."

[Mitsuki7th]: "you're just like him when we first met, you know~"

[Dankoku]: "Whatever. I'll go to sleep now. Good night, March. Make sure to tell Himeko and Welt about this so they can poke fun at him later on."

[Mitsuki7th]: "oh, you know i will! ;) nighty, dankoku!"

---

The next day when Caelus came back, there were scratches and bruise marks on his face. After Dan Heng left, Bronya and Seele were at each other's throats, causing Caelus to try and stop them, only for his face to be met with a fury of the two girls' fists and scratches.

Needless to say, he quickly fled the scene. With the girls apologizing to him later on through his private messages.

Welt noticed the injuries on his face, and he set one hand on Caelus' shoulder before asking, "Caelus? What happened to you? Did you get into a fight with a stray cat or something?"

Himeko just chuckled. "Perhaps he got into a fight not with one, but two stray cats at once~ I can't blame him, really. The cats really wanted his attention, anyways~"

Welt immediately understood the implication, and he only gave Caelus a smile, as he pats the young Trailblazer on his shoulder. "Ah, youth..." Welt promptly left, as he mumbled to himself. "...Tesla and Einstein used to be like that with me too..."

Caelus just sighed. He wondered why the two girls would always be like that whenever it involved him. Perhaps he'll ask them directly next time.

---

Chapter Text

Hello! It's Aesirofthewind here.

It's been so long since I actually went up to AO3 for writing something (other than reading and commenting on a few works). My deepest apologies for those who's been waiting for so long for my uploads, I was too fucked up by university to have the time these days.

And the fact that I don't have summer vacation until June-July is a minus for me too, haha... But once I do get back, I promise to update some of my half-assed works.

Once again, I am truly sorry for those who has been waiting. I hope that you all will understand for me.

Thanks for reading and have a good day.

(p.s: I have a discord too. Add me if you want to confirm my status as dead or not dead. It's aesir.#3927)