Chapter 1: awake [s]
Chapter Text
"Are you sure she'll be alright, Sonetto?"
"Yes. Tooth Fairy is good at what she does, and with Medicine Pocket and Sotheby helping, she should be better soon."
Voices are the first things she notices as she comes back to consciousness. She cannot see anything - but she can feel warm, soft fabric underneath her skin, and she can hear voices. Familiar voices.
Where is she?
"It's been so long, though. And I... I'm not doubting their abilities, it's just..."
"You're scared she won't wake up at all."
The voices are talking about her, she realizes. But what happened to her to make them sound so worried?
She tries to remember, tries making the blurry images in her head focus so she can get at least a bit of a memory of what happened.
She was out on a mission. With a few arcanists. She remembers seeing Sonetto, that loud pirate, Druvis, APPLe... And who else? She remembers someone important being there...
"Well. Yes. She's already so weak physically, what with her conditions. What if she won't be able to fight this?"
The other voice sighs. "She won't give up that easily. As far as I know, she's too stubborn."
They were trying to find more info about the Manus Vindictae; it was a spy mission. But before they could even get to the site, a group of Manus guards had appeared...
"You sound incredibly sure about that."
"That's because I've seen her fight for her life before. As have you. Have more faith, Timekeeper."
Timekeeper...?
Oh.
Vertin.
The name makes a rush of clearer memories come crashing into her head. Fighting the guards as best as she could, watching the girl with silver hair out of the corner of her eye while trying to keep up with the others using only her gun and her limited amount of arcane infused bullets.
She remembers getting wounded when she was too slow to manoeuvre out of the way. The burning sensation she felt in her left arm as a seemingly poisoned dagger sliced through her skin.
Someone from the Manus had thrown a tear gas bomb. She remembers the prickling in her eyes as she tried to keep fighting back even with pain spreading through her body and tears running down her cheeks.
"Timekeeper. It is not your fault."
"...She did it so quickly. With no hesitation. If she doesn't make it, I don't think I could forgive myself."
Now she remembers this: the sound of Sonetto yelling for the Timekeeper to move, move. A gunshot. Her turning immediately towards her lord, someone - or was it herself? - screaming Vertin's name--
And then, without a second thought, she is already in front of her. Her arms are wrapped around the younger girl, and her back is to the bullet.
She had quickly pushed Vertin to the side, just to be more safe. She remembers smiling, faintly, thinking that whoever had fired had missed them--
But then she remembers grey eyes widening as the bullet shoots straight at her, right as she feels a bright, red-hot pain through the left side of her chest.
The last thing she heard was someone telling the group to fall back, to retreat. She could see through blurry eyes Vertin running towards her, yelling her name.
Warm arms wrapped around her just before she fell, pulling her close. She remembers the faint scent of pine and Vertin's worried mumbles,
and then she had blacked out.
"Ms. Sonetto?" A different voice this time, this one male and a bit further away. "Matilda and Regulus want you for something."
"What? Right now?"
"Yes. They're both already waiting for you outside, by the lake."
"Oh. Uhm... Thank you, Mr APPLe."
"You'd better hurry. The captain said something about experimenting with potions. This APPLe doesn't want the Timekeeper's suitcase to get... damaged."
She hears the faint grating of a chair moving against the floor, and then footsteps. Before Sonetto leaves, she says one last thing:
"Don't worry about it too much, Timekeeper. She'll be fine."
And then the door closes.
Silence, for a moment. Then the sound of a chair being pulled closer to where she's laying.
"Schneider?" The Timekeeper's voice is, for once, soft and worried instead of neutral. "I'm sorry."
A pause. She feels a weight settle close to her shoulder, making the material underneath her sink a little. She assumes it's a mattress.
A soft sniffle. And then, "If I didn't let you go on that mission, you would be safe. You would be awake. I'm so, so sorry, Schneider..."
Guilt forces its way into her thoughts. Slowly, she forces her eyes to open - at least halfway. Her head still aches, and she's not sure if she can even stay awake for longer than a few moments, but she has to see her.
She has to make sure Vertin sees her awake.
The light in whatever room she's in is too bright. She feels another stab of pain behind her temples as she opens her eyes, but she chooses to ignore it for now.
Turning her head weakly to the left lets the brunette see her lord, who is resting her head on her crossed arms on the mattress. The position she's in doesn't look very comfortable, Schneider notices with another pang of guilt.
The Timekeeper has her eyes squeezed shut, but the older girl can see the faint trace of tear tracks going down her cheeks.
Vertin had cried for her.
"My lord?" she manages to whisper. Her voice is rough, a bit croaky from so long not using it. She sits up a little, despite her body's protests to stay laying down. "You... don't need to apologise."
Schneider watches through half open eyes as Vertin freezes at the sound of her voice, and then opens her eyes and quickly looks up.
And then she watches as her face lights up in a rare smile.
Schneider realises that she's smiling back, weak and faint as it is.
Suddenly the younger girl has her arms around her. The touch is gentle, careful not to hurt her, but it is firm.
She can't hug her back - she's still feeling a bit too weak for that - but she can reach up and put one hand on Vertin's arm, so she does.
"You're okay!" Vertin says, her voice breaking. "Thank the gods-"
The grey haired girl pulls away, staying close but shifting slightly on the blanket. Vertin had gotten onto the bed to hug her, and now it would be a bit awkward for her to just get off.
Schneider doesn't really mind. It means they get to stay closer to each other.
"Yes, I'm okay," she whispers back, still smiling faintly. She adds with a hint of a playful lilt to her voice, "Or at least as 'okay' as I can be after getting shot in the chest."
"Mm. You're impossible."
Slowly, she takes in her surroundings. She's laying in a small bed in a neat, sterile-looking room that smells faintly of disinfectant.
A window with a view of a lake was to her right. There were posters on the walls, with labeled illustrations and information on them. She noticed a few small boxes on top of one shelf. Cabinets lined one wall, and Schneider thought she could see a few bottles and jars through the glass of their doors. There's a strange machine to her right, with blinking lights and wires. It's beeping softly.
Hmm. She doesn't remember this place, or ever coming here before this.
"Is this still the suitcase?" she asks in a rasp, tilting her head a bit at Vertin. The grey haired girl is still watching her, looking at her as though she's the most precious thing on earth.
It is a strange feeling, to be looked at like this. But she could get used to it, especially if it was Vertin.
"Yes, we're still in the suitcase," Vertin replies quietly, glancing out the window. Schneider notices that she's rubbing the edge of her coat, apparently in a nervous habit.
"I guess you could call it a clinic. But only Kakania, Tooth Fairy and Medicine Pocket come in here regularly; and that's just to check supplies and experiment on things."
Another pause. "You're the first person to get 'admitted' here in a while."
Schneider lets out a soft hum, glancing at her other hand and noticing that there's a bandage on it, above her pulse point. Presumably where a needle went through. She shudders slightly.
"How long have I been asleep, my lord?"
Her heart does a little squeeze as Vertin winces and looks away, her expression turning pained.
"It... It's been about two weeks, now."
"Oh." Schneider manages a weak grin. "I suppose that explains why you were so worried about me."
The Timekeeper wrinkles her nose at her, and she can't tell if she's trying to hide a smile or hide her confusion. "Is that... not concerning to you?"
"It is. I just prefer seeing you get confused over getting you more worried. You're cute when you're confused."
Ah, this is the reaction she wanted; Vertin's cheeks flush slightly, turning her usually pale skin a warm pink. It looks good on her.
"Do you have to tease me the moment you wake up?"
"Well, no. But it's nice seeing you get flustered, mia cara."
Schneider laughs softly as Vertin huffs and looks away, probably in an attempt to hide her blush. But she can still see that the younger girl is incredibly red, and it gives her a little twinge of satisfaction.
"Now, aren't you going to fill me in, my lord?" she asks wryly, settling back on the bed. "What happened after I passed out?"
Vertin hesitates for a moment, then looks at her again. Her expression is hard to read, even though she's still blushing.
"We didn't get any information, if that's what you're wondering," she says. There isn't any emotion behind her voice; she says it as it is, like a fact. "There were others who got wounded. Regulus. Druvis. With the three of you out, we had to retreat."
She clears her throat, then continues. "Regulus actually got shot with the same kind of bullet you did. She was furious about it. She healed much quicker, though, even though you both got the same potion from Sotheby."
"That might be because I'm still human," Schneider murmurs, tapping one finger against the mattress in thought. "The bullets they used were probably infused with arcanum. Not very harmful to an arcanist, but it can do damage to humans."
"But you've used arcanum before, haven't you?"
"Yes, I have. But I only have a small amount, and it still doesn't change the fact that I am not a real arcanist like you are."
They both stay quiet for a while after that, thinking. And then, softly, Schneider says, "Keep going. What happened after?"
Vertin stays quiet for a moment, then says quietly, "I think- I think one of the Manus yelled something about revenge."
"Oh?" Schneider raised one eyebrow. "Interesting. Do tell, my lord."
"It was something like, 'That traitor deserves to die. This is our revenge for your betrayal.'"
The older girl quickly puts on a blank mask, choosing to hide her fear from Vertin.
Cazzo. They're hunting me. They must be really furious about me betraying them.
...Che cosa. If they couldn't hurt me before, they can't hurt me now. Especially if I'm with Vertin and her crew.
Schneider rolls her eyes and looks out the window. "Those brutes never were good at making threats. That sounds pathetic."
"Schneider, this is serious. You've probably got a target on your back."
"I've always had a target on my back," she replies a bit too quickly. "For being weak, for being able to use arcanum, for working with the Manus. This is just one where more people actively try killing me. It's not too bad."
"Schneider."
Her resolve to stay emotionless falters as she hears the desperation in Vertin's voice. She genuinely sounds... scared.
She turns around to look back at her.
Oh, god. She's not just scared, she looks terrified.
E adesso guarda cosa hai combinato, Schneider.
"I don't want to lose you," Vertin says, her voice soft and vulnerable. She looks down at her feet as she adds, even more softly, "I can't lose you."
A moment of silence. And then the older girl sighs and takes one of Vertin's hands in hers, squeezing gently.
"Fine, I'll be careful," she says quietly. "Though honestly, I can take care of myself."
"...Schneider, you got shot in the chest and went into a coma for two weeks."
"Well- I- Yes, but that was different! That was to protect you."
"If you seriously think that's going to work on me, you're wrong."
The Timekeeper shifts her gaze to their entwined fingers and says firmly, "Don't get hurt trying to protect me. You're much more important to me than my own safety, and if you get hurt because of me again, I'll never forgive myself."
Ah, her lord is selfless. Maybe not for the best reasons - she's quite sure Vertin's life is worth much more than her own - but she is anyway.
Schneider wants to make a comment about how, as the Timekeeper, it wouldn't make much sense for her to just let herself get hurt to keep a nothing human safe.
How would the Foundation react? Shouldn't Schneider be trying to protect her anyway?
Right now, though, Vertin is worried about her. And she cannot say no to her when she's like this.
"Alright. I promise I'll be more careful from now on."
Vertin lets out a soft sigh of relief. "Thank you."
"You worry too much, my lord."
"No I do not."
"Yes, you do. It's sweet."
Vertin mutters something under her breath, but she doesn't say anything else.
They stay quiet for a while after that, enjoying each other's company. Schneider lets the younger girl trace little circles on her hand, the touch soothing to both of them.
She decides to take note of the damage she's taken.
The bullet wound; she realises that there's a thick layer of gauze around her chest, wrapping all the way around her under her dress. She feels a little prickle of discomfort as she realises that someone had to dress her.
The cut on her arm; there's more gauze and bandages there. She blinks as she notices some sort of black ooze seeping through the fabric. Wincing, she looks away.
Other than that, she seems fine. Much weaker and more tired than before, but fine.
"Vertin?" she whispers, turning her gaze back to the girl who is still tracing patterns on her skin.
The younger girl replied without looking up. "Yes?"
"Shouldn't you... I don't know, go tell everyone else that I'm fine?"
The Timekeeper lets out a soft huff. "Can't I just stay here for a while longer? I'd prefer staying with you over answering the billion questions they probably have for me."
Schneider laughs softly at that. "You're their leader, my lord," she points out, amused. "You have to make sure they stay informed. And since you're the only one who's seen me wake up, you'll have to answer those questions eventually anyway. Why not be over with it quicker?"
Vertin gives her a pleading look, and Schneider remembers that even though she's the Timekeeper - even though she has all these responsibilities and people to take care of - she's still only 17.
"Schneider, please?"
...And she's cute, too.
Well, it's not like Schneider would complain about spending more time with her....
So she relents. Again. "Okay, okay. You can stay a while. But you have to leave after half an hour, understand?"
Vertin lets out a happy little cheer and relaxes again, getting off the bed (which disappointed Schneider a bit too much) and settling back on the chair next to her.
The brunette sighs and lays down again, letting the younger girl resume tracing circles on her skin.
She knows that their time together won't last very long. Vertin will have to go eventually, to do work or fill the others in on her condition or something else, and then she'll be left alone.
But her lord is still here, for now.
And maybe she can get her to stay a little longer.
Chapter 2: names [v]
Summary:
Vertin and Schneider talk, a few days after Schnei wakes up.
Notes:
HELLO AGAIN (ㆁωㆁ)
thank you for the support on the last chapter, I'm grateful for all of you who commented and gave kudos!!! :3Now before the weekend starts have another chapter ehehe
Enjoy!! :D
Extra tags for this chapter: calling each other pet names and/or nicknames, Vertin is a bit of a gay disaster (same queen 🫶), I don't think there's anything else :3
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"Schnei?"
"Yes, mia cara?"
Vertin grins. "Nothing. I just wanted to see if you'd respond."
The brunette rolled her eyes. The Timekeeper thought that by now she had a pretty good idea on how to read Schneider's expressions; if she was correct, she was only pretending to be annoyed. Thank goodness.
"How rude of my lord to assume I wouldn't respond to her," Schneider says languidly, stretching out a bit more on her bed. "You should be ashamed."
It's been about 5 days since Schneider woke up. Although she's less weak than when she first came back to consciousness, Tooth Fairy says that she still shouldn't be out of bed yet.
"How long do you think it'll take for her to fully recover?" she had asked the older woman in a whisper last night, while Schneider was asleep.
"I'm not sure," was the reply, followed by a deep sigh from the medical arcanist. "It could take another week. It could take a few months. Her bloodstream still has traces of the poison and her body has to deal with the lingering arcanum from the bullet."
"A few months...?"
"Yes, Vertin." Another sigh from Tooth Fairy, and then she starts packing up her bag. "She's strong, though. Stronger than most humans I've met. Don't worry too much, alright?"
Vertin wrinkled her nose at her. Why did everyone say that? She does not worry too much. And if she did, it was justified, wasn't it?
"Do you think you could try sneaking me those oranges from the Wilderness again? They aren't that bad, actually."
She'd almost lost Schneider once.
"My lord? ...Vertin?"
She would not let the universe just take her away, not now. Not when she already did the impossible.
"Hmm. You're doing that thing," Schneider says a bit more quietly, snapping her out of her thoughts, "where you zone out and can't hear a thing I'm saying."
"Sorry," Vertin murmurs, shifting to get a bit closer to her while also keeping her eyes on the ground. "I promise I don't really mean to..."
"I know you don't." The rustle of sheets. A gentle pat on the head. She looks up.
Schneider is sitting up, smiling, and she is petting her.
Quick, make a joke about feeling patronized! Act charming like you usually do!
"It's alright, my lord." She starts gently scratching her scalp, and Vertin immediately leans into the touch. "No need to worry about it."
Nevermind! Quick, pretend to be completely normal about this!
"That's... good," she managed to whisper. "I mean, it's much better than you being mad at me. I wouldn't want you to be mad at me, since, you know, then I'd feel bad.... And stuff...."
WHAT WAS THAT, GENIUS???
Schneider laughs, softly, and keeps petting her.
Vertin would very much like to disappear off the face of the earth. Or maybe to just get up and leave the room.
But honestly, staying still and letting Schneider pet her was much easier than either of those options.
Schneider was humming something, she realised. It was a soft melody, and in her voice it sounded soothing and gentle. The exact opposite of the girl humming it.
Or, at least, that's what someone else would have thought.
Vertin has seen firsthand how gentle the brunette could be. And often, she wonders if she would be more gentle, in some other life where things didn't have to be so difficult.
That reminds her, though...
"Dee?"
"I'm guessing you are calling me, my lord?"
"I am, yes." Vertin tilts her head to nuzzle against the older girl's hand. Schnei smiles and gives her an extra pat.
"..Can I ask you a bit of a personal question?"
Silence. Vertin quickly adds, "Only if you're alright with it."
Schneider hums softly in thought, then takes her hand back. The younger girl has to stop herself from sighing in disappointment at the loss of her touch.
She watches as the older girl settles back on the bed, watching her with curious eyes. "Sure, why not?" she says softly. "Ask away, mia cara."
A moment of hesitation, and then Vertin takes up the courage to ask quietly, "Do you know anything about a girl named Yelena?"
Confusion and surprise cross Schnei's face for a moment, but then her expression returns to being mildly interested. Hmm.
"I have, actually," she murmurs, a hint of wariness to her tone. Vertin lets herself feel guilty about it. "Why?"
"I heard Necrologist muttering something about it earlier this week. I heard only a bit, but she seemed to be talking about a girl who cheated death."
The Timekeeper clears her throat awkwardly. "At first I thought maybe she was talking about you. But then I heard her say 'Yelena', and now I'm not sure what to think."
Another moment of silence. Vertin's anxiety rises the longer Schneider stays quiet.
"My old name was Yelena," Schneider admits, her voice soft. "Right before I came to America, I changed my name. I thought it was a way to be reborn, I suppose. New home, new name, new me."
She gives Vertin a tired smile. "But I guess I'm still just as unlucky as Yelena was."
"That's-" Vertin stops herself before saying anything more. She didn't know anything about it, after all.
But did Schneider really think she was unlucky?
Did Vertin make her think she was unlucky?
"At least," the brunette says softly after a while, a hint of affection sneaking into her voice, "I got to meet you. And I get to spend time with you now. That's much more luck than I've ever dreamed of having."
Vertin only manages to murmur a squeaky little "oh" in reply. She was worrying for nothing.
Schneider laughs again, and her smile is dazzling. The younger girl couldn't help but smile back.
"Now, I've got a question for you, my lord," Dee says playfully. "What's with all the new nicknames you're giving me?"
The younger girl huffs a little and looks down, embarrassed. "I mean... You're always calling me nicknames, so I thought it would be nice to give you a few..."
"How cute."
Vertin blushes more and looks up, flustered. "I'm not- it's just- I thought you'd like it, I guess." A short pause. "And it's not cute. I'm just trying to be fair."
Schneider rolls her eyes playfully and grins at her. "You don't have to be fair in this case," she points out. "I'm just calling you nicknames, mia cara. That doesn't mean you have to try giving me some too."
The brunette hums, then adds teasingly, "Though, I'm not complaining."
Vertin lets out a soft, whiny sound, and covers her face in her hands. "Schneider..."
Dee laughs, and Vertin feels her heart skip a beat. She puts her hands down and watches Schneider for a while before looking down at her feet.
How she wishes she could make her laugh every day, make her smile, make her happier than she ever could have been if she was stuck with the Manus.
"You're so easy to tease, my lord," Schnei says playfully, snapping her out of her thoughts. "It's fun seeing you get flustered."
The younger girl hesitates, then says awkwardly, "Thanks? I think?"
Schneider laughs again, and now Vertin realizes that she's getting too comfortable with this set-up. Being able to see Schneider every day, being able to make her laugh and make her smile...
"You know, I think Yelena is a really nice name," she blurts. Her thoughts immediately start scolding her for saying something like that. "It's unique. And pretty. Like you."
Oh dear. How are you meant to come back from saying THAT?
Silence. Vertin glances up, scared she's done something wrong, only to find Schneider watching her with wide eyes and red cheeks.
Well. I guess you don't have to.
"...Thank you, mia cara," the older girl manages to say, smiling. "That's... very sweet of you to say."
Ruby red eyes meet silvery-blue ones, and they just stare at each other, quiet, for a little while.
Vertin's heart is going a million miles a minute, and her thoughts are racing. She feels like she should say something, anything, to break the strange tension that's now appeared between them-
"Timekeeper! Help!"
"Wait, it's fine, we haven't even blown anything up- I mean, not yet, but- Sonetto!"
A girl with orange hair bursts into the room, her expression a mix of worry and determination. A boy with silver hair and a pirate with sunglasses on both scramble to catch up with her, sounding almost frantic as they try to explain.
"My, my. What's happening?" Schneider asks, a faint smile on her face. She sounds amused. Vertin glances at her for a moment. How has she moved on already?
"We were just doing experiments, nothing to worry about!" Regulus says hastily, now taking Sonetto by the hand and trying to drag her out of the room. "Sonetto, please don't tell them, we'll get in trou-!"
"They were making Goldberg machines in the lab. Again!" Sonetto says. She doesn't sound triumphant, like how Mesmer would say it if she was the one telling on them; instead she sounds a bit exasperated.
X watched both Schneider and Vertin, taking note of how they both seemed amused, and shrugged innocently. "It's just a few little experiments," he says nonchalantly. "Nothing that can't be cleaned up in more than a few hours."
"A few hours?! Mesmer's already been complaining about you two! She'll have both your heads you keep this up!" Sonetto looks at the girl in blue, desperate for backup. "Timekeeper, help me."
Sonetto's voice was so pleading that she really didn't have a choice. Vertin gave Schneider an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, Dee," she murmurs quickly, getting up. "I have to go deal with this. I'll try coming back later tonight, okay?"
The brunette nods, letting out a soft breath. "I know you will, you always do," she murmurs in reply. "Go. I can wait."
Schneider takes one of Vertin's hands, squeezes it gently, and then lets her go. The younger girl can't help but blush at the touch.
"Regulus, don't try sneaking off," Vertin says calmly when she looks back up at the trio. The pirate had been taking small, almost unnoticeable steps towards the door, but she froze at Vertin's order. Muttering things under her breath, she stopped.
"Thank you," Sonetto said, letting out a sigh of relief. Vertin grins at her.
"Right, let's go see the mess these two have made."
"It's not a mess, it's an invention," X corrects, his smile growing a bit wider. "You'll be impressed when you see it, believe me."
Vertin glances over her shoulder at Schneider as the four of them walk out. She's alone again, looking out at the view from the window as they leave.
But she turns back when she sees Vertin look at her from the corner of her eye, and she smiles.
Vertin can't help but smile back.
"Regulus! Come back!"
And then she realises that the mischievous pirate has bolted, and she has to scramble to catch up with Sonetto and X.
Notes:
Thanks for reading!! :D
Writing Vertin as a disaster gay is so fun I should write her like this more often
Yes the Necrologist bit was an attempt at a reference to one of her actual voice lines, I just felt like it would be nice to add little references to the game in this fic so yea
Not really sure how I feel abt this chapter honestly lmao. I feel like it was a bit.. idk, rushed? I might rewrite it eventually, we'll see.
Next chapter coming out on I have no idea when, I'm sorry 😔
my school has been doing sports and stuff the past week so I'm pretty busy, and I don't have time to write. I've alr got ideas for the next chapter though so be prepared!!!Have a great rest of your day (。・ω・。)ノ♡
Chapter 3: cuddles - [s]
Summary:
Schneider can't fall asleep. Lucky for her, neither can Vertin.
Notes:
HELLO ALL
I'm so sorry this chapter took so long I've been horrifyingly busy lately ;-;Anyway so since my exams are also coming soon (sigh I'm so cooked) and I'll probably not have free time in a loooooongg time, here's some sappy stuff
Hope you enjoy :)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Ever since the day she woke up, Schneider, for some reason, has had trouble sleeping.
It was strange. You'd expect for her to fall asleep easily, after an incident that knocked her out cold for weeks.
But she's been staying up late a lot, doing anything other than sleeping. It's caused her to have dark bags under her eyes, but she doesn't really care.
Whatever. Il sonno è comunque sopravvalutato.
Over the past few nights, she's done lots of things. Trying to draw - and failing. Trying to stargaze through the window. Staring at the wall of her room and daydreaming.
Tonight, she's staying up late reading a book Sotheby had brought her.
Though, considering that the book was a collection of poems - there was a section for Italian ones, she had noticed with a smile - and that it was incredibly thick, she suspected that it was actually Mr Karson, not Sotheby, who had picked it out.
But she still remembers how the little alchemist had come up to her a few days ago, holding out the book towards her with a hopeful smile and an explanation about how it might make her less bored while waiting to recover.
Humming softly, she replays that memory in her head as she flicks through the pages of the book by the light of the lamp on the bedside table.
She was reading something by a poet named Sappho when the door opened a crack, letting in a sliver of bright light from the hallway.
Schneider tenses up, immediately assuming that it was Tooth Fairy or the loud arcanist with the lab coat or maybe even the old woman coming to check on her.
Usually she's fine with getting checked up on, but at this time of night? She'd much rather stay alone.
But the girl who slipped into the room wasn't any of the people she worried it was.
This girl had long silver hair, messy and put down instead of in a bun, like it usually was. This girl had white pajamas on, with sleeves a bit too long for her. This girl had blue-gray eyes, and she blushed when she saw Schneider awake.
"Hello, my lord," the brunette greeted, her voice quiet. She had to stop herself from smiling at the sight of her, trying to hide her happiness with a stern expression. "Shouldn't you be asleep? ...why are you out of bed?"
Vertin wrinkles her nose and stares at the book in Schneider's hands. "Why are you reading poetry at one in the morning?"
"Ha. Fair enough." The older girl marked the page she was reading with a scrap of paper she found on the bedside table, then closed the book and put it down.
"I couldn't fall asleep," she says smoothly. "And since I'm stuck in bed, well, there's not much else to do."
"Oh." Vertin glanced at her, staring for a while before looking down at the floor. "I couldn't fall asleep either. So I thought maybe I could visit you."
Schneider really couldn't hide her smile now. "I see. May I ask, my lord," she said lightly, almost teasing, "why visit me?"
Vertin gave her a look. Dee guessed it was meant to say something like "seriously? I think you know why" - but she looked so embarrassed it kind of ruined the message.
"I don't know. I just... feel better with you around," Vertin admitted softly. She stood up a little taller as she added, "Also, if I visited you, I could make sure you were okay. And you are. Which is great."
They both stay quiet for a while.
When the silence gets too awkward, Vertin says quickly, "I can leave, if you want me to-"
"Don't." Schneider smiles and pats the spot in bed next to her. "You can stay here. I'd like company."
The younger girl hesitates for a moment, then gets closer, taking steps so light they barely make a sound.
"...You're sure?" she asks in a murmur once she reaches Schneider's side.
"Definitely."
Vertin immediately gets on the bed. The brunette has to stop herself from laughing at how eager she is.
As Dee picked the book of poetry back up, Vertin stretched a bit and laid down. Since the bed wasn't meant to be shared - it was a clinic, after all, not a hotel room - they both had to stay incredibly close to each other.
She didn't mind. And based on how Vertin was shifting closer, Schneider guessed that she didn't mind either.
"You sure you want to stay here?" she asked the younger girl as she opened the book again. "You really think this is better than sleeping in your own room?"
Vertin mumbled something that sounded like "much better", and then proceeded to tug lightly on the brunette's hand. "Dee, you should try and sleep too."
Schneider wanted to protest. She didn't need sleep, she wanted to say. She's stayed up much later than this for the past few nights and she's still perfectly fine, isn't she?
But since it was Vertin asking her... She couldn't say no without feeling horribly guilty.
She's made you soft... Le tue sorelle riderebbero se ti vedessero adesso.
She huffed. Too bad, then. And besides, who cares what they think?
"Fine," she said with a sigh, putting the book back on the bedside table. "But if you're going to hug me, be careful. My wounds still hurt."
Vertin nodded. Schneider grinned and ruffled her hair, laughing as the younger girl protested and bat her away with one hand, and then she laid down.
Nobody says anything, or does anything, for what feels like ages.
And then, suddenly, Vertin shifted closer and slipped one arm loosely around the older girl's waist.
Dee froze, not used to the touch. But slowly, slowly, she relaxed and leaned into Vertin in return, sighing quietly.
"Hm. Did you just pretend you were having trouble sleeping so you could come in here and cuddle with me?"
The younger girl stayed quiet for a moment, then said lightly, "Maybe I did."
Schneider laughed again, her smile growing wider as Vertin started nuzzling her shoulder. "You're lucky I like you, mia cara, otherwise I would have called you an idiot by now."
"Haven't you already called me that in the past before?"
"Shh."
Vertin laughs a little, much to Dee's surprise. The Timekeeper never laughed. She rarely even smiled.
But maybe, she thought hopefully, she was one of the few people Vertin let herself be more relaxed around.
She's literally cuddling with you. Do you think this isn't being relaxed?
"Was that really the only reason you came here?" Schneider asked softly, shifting a little. "For cuddles?"
This time the silence that followed her question was more thoughtful. "Well... I do know you've been staying up late a lot the past few days. So I thought maybe I could convince you to get more sleep..."
She cleared her throat and added a little awkwardly, "Though, the cuddling wasn't part of that plan."
Dee grinned into the dark. "I don't see you complaining about it."
"Yes, because there's nothing to complain about."
Schneider rolled her eyes, smiling, though she knew the younger girl couldn't see it. "You're such an idiot."
"See, you have called me that."
"Oh, and you're a smartass, too."
Vertin laughed again, and Schneider felt a bit too proud of herself for that. Being one of the few people able to make the Timekeeper laugh had to be an achievement, right?
"Okay, we should really sleep," Vertin murmured once she recovered. Schneider felt Vertin tighten her hold on her, nuzzling into her shoulder, and the touch sent a shiver down her spine.
"Sure. Don't wake me up randomly in the middle of the night."
"I won't."
"Good, because then I'd kick you out of here and make you go back to your own room."
"How incredibly charming, Dee."
"Not as charming as you coming into my room uninvited at one in the morning, my lord."
"You make it sound so creepy..."
They go back and forth for a little longer than necessary, both trying to tease each other until the someone gave in, until Schneider finally gives up on trying to one-up her in a burst of laughter.
Apparently pleased with herself for winning, Vertin finally curls against the brunette's side and closes her eyes. "Night, Dee."
"Goodnight, mia cara."
Vertin is asleep in minutes. Schneider, on the other hand, is up for a little while longer - though she's promised herself to get some proper sleep tonight, for Vertin's sake.
For now, though, she watches the night sky from the window.
She's been stargazing a lot the past few nights. She's always liked the stars and how pretty they are; but tonight, for some reason, with this girl asleep next to her...
Tonight, the stars seem to shine twice as bright.
Notes:
Thank you for reading!! (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤
My beta reader (my best friend lmao) said that this was rlly sappy but I see that as a win. Bluepoch can't hurt us here this is a safe space 😚
Also yes Mr Karson is alive in this au. I'll explain more about what exactly happened in the Storm of 1920 in a future chapter >:3Have a great rest of your day/night :DD
Chapter 4: feathers - [v]
Summary:
Vertin, sick of doing work (boo paperwork tomato tomato), decides to take a break in the Wilderness.
She finds a feather, takes it to Schneider, and things go on from there.
Notes:
HI WOW HELLO I FEEL LIKE IT'S BEEN YEARS SINCE I LAST UPDATED THIS.
Honestly I'm pretty proud of this chapter, it took me ages to write it because I kept getting busy but I did it ^^Extra tags: Vertin gets stressed out by work, and she procrastinates!!, mentions of Schneider's feather collection, and also my hc on why she likes feathers, Vertin is making attempts at being sweet, Zima and Tooth Fairy mentioned, Regulus, An-an Lee and Sotheby appear here yippee
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
For the past few weeks since Dee's woken up, Vertin has been spending a lot of her free time at the clinic.
She hasn't noticed this by herself. It was other people in the suitcase who pointed it out to her: Regulus teasing her about it whenever she could, a mildly interested Druvis making quiet observations whenever they were both alone, Sonetto being a bit disappointed as she mentioned it during a conversation.
Vertin felt bad about Sonetto feeling ignored, so lately she's started paying more attention to her and spending a little less time visiting Schneider.
She still visited to give the brunette gifts, though.
Whenever she had to go out for a mission, she'd try finding things to bring back for Schneider. It could be a flower she found on the way back, or a little metal figurine she found abandoned somewhere. Something she thought Schneider would find interesting.
Vertin liked it the most when she found feathers, because Schneider loved feathers.
She knows that because the brunette has already mentioned it a few times before. She even had a feather collection, but she wasn't able to save it before the Storm came. It was lost to time now.
That was one of the reasons why Vertin brought Dee feathers: to help her rebuild her collection.
She'd send whatever she found while she was out to the clinic after she came back to the suitcase, but usually she got home so late that by the time she visited Dee she was already asleep.
Today, however, was one of the days where Vertin didn't have to leave the suitcase. Today she had things to deal with here.
But those "things" were just paperwork, and files to sort through, and forms to fill, and more paperwork...
Which was why she eventually had to take a break. Her head was starting to hurt.
Apologies to the Foundation, she thought ruefully while making her way to the waterside, but I never was the best at working with papers, Timekeeper or not.
A cool breeze blew past her as she stood by the lake in the suitcase, the air carrying with it a faint scent of rain and faraway forests. The spinning wheel in the middle of the lake didn't move an inch, but the water around it did, sending ripples ever outward.
The sun was getting a little too bright. Vertin tipped her hat a little to shield her eyes from the glare of the sun, looking down at the ground in front of her.
A single grey-white feather greeted her, fluttering in the grass.
Vertin immediately perked up, scrambling to catch it before the breeze blew it away.
It was smaller than most of the feathers she'd found and gifted Dee before this, and a very pretty shade of greyish-white.
She had a suspicion that she knew who this feather belonged to: Zima's little chickadee. Zima and his bird often came to the lakeside for some quiet, so it would make sense why it was out here.
Humming a soft song, Vertin spun the feather in her hand for a moment, taking in all of its details, and then she decided to head back inside.
"Hey, Vertin!" The first person to greet her was a loud pirate, grinning at her as she held up a hand of cards. "Care to join? Winner gets a box of chocolate and ten pounds!"
Vertin couldn't help but smile a little as she took in the scene. Regulus, An-an Lee, and Sotheby were sitting in a circle, playing a game of cards. Vertin guessed it was go fish, since the three of them probably didn't know how to play any other card games.
"Don't invite her, Regulus!" An-an protested, waving her cards at herself like a fan. "That would mean I'd have less chances to win! That's no good. Vertin, 唔好嚟呢度!"
"Even if Vertin does win - not that she would, I'm obviously going to win either way - she'd probably give the chocolate to you anyway. Right, Vertin?"
Vertin hums, pretending to think about it for a moment before saying, "I would, if I actually joined you three."
"Vertin, come on, it's fun!" Sotheby pleaded, grinning.
An-an Lee was about to protest, but then she noticed Regulus trying to look at her cards and hurriedly shoved her away. Sotheby had to hold her cards up to her face to hide her giggles.
"Uhm... Thanks for the offer, but I'll just leave you three to it," Vertin said, trying to smother her smile.
"Your loss," Regulus said with a shrug, and then promptly turned back to the other two. "Alright, let's keep going!"
Vertin left the three of them to their game and went down a hallway to the right, past a few doors with blank bronze plaques - guest rooms - and to the end of a hallway, where there was a door with a plaque above it that read "CLINIC".
She opened the door.
Schneider was already waiting for her.
"Hello, my lord," she greeted languidly, putting the book she was reading down by her side.
"Hi, Dee," Vertin replied as she shut the door behind her.
"Can you do me a favour and explain why I keep hearing Regulus laughing like a madwoman from down the hall?"
"Ah..." Vertin hesitates for a moment, then says, "She's just playing cards with Sotheby and An-an Lee."
Schneider grins wickedly. "Ah, those poor dears," she says, playful. "Regulus has dragged me and Sotheby into a few games of go fish before. She was cheating the whole time. She even admitted it."
"Oh. Then why is Sotheby playing with her again?"
Schneider's expression softens, and she shrugs a little. "If I know her well enough... Sotheby does it just for the sake of spending time with her friends, nothing else. And if she does win, then that's a bonus."
Vertin hums softly and takes a mental note of that. After the Storm of 1920, Schneider has become a big sister figure to Sotheby, albeit on accident. Vertin thinks it's sweet, how the two of them interact so easily, how Schneider acts so different with her.
I wonder, she thinks quietly to herself as she watches the brunette hum softly and look back out the window, if she'd like working with children in another life.
She couldn't see Dee being someone who was good with kids, honestly.
And anyway, there was no use wondering about that now.
"Dee, look," Vertin says softly, holding out the chickadee feather towards her. "I found it in the Wilderness."
Schneider turns back to look at her, and her eyes immediately widen as she sees the little grey feather. Vertin lets herself smile, just a little, as she hands it over.
"It's very pretty," Dee murmurs, tilting her head a little as she turns the feather over in her hand. Vertin was about to explain where she thinks it came from, but then Dee snaps back to attention.
"Hold on," she says, pointing the feather accusingly towards Vertin. "Tooth Fairy came by earlier and told me where you were. Aren't you supposed to be doing work right now?"
Vertin blinks and tries giving the brunette her most innocent look. "I am, but I was getting a headache..."
She clears her throat before adding, "And anyway, I needed some fresh air."
"Really."
"I'm not lying, promise."
"Sure, sure... But next time you procrastinate by going to the Wilderness, at least bring me oranges from the tree out there."
Vertin hesitates for a moment. "I can... bring you some right now."
Schneider taps Vertin's hat, making the rim of it cover her eyes. "You're not tricking me that easily, mia cara."
"Why would I be tricking you?" the younger girl says innocently as she adjusts her hat.
The brunette raises one eyebrow at her. Vertin suddenly feels a little stupid for trying to trick someone like Schneider, who's probably dealt with trickery more times than she could count before they even met.
"Because," Schneider says pointedly, "if you go get me oranges, you'll get to spend a little more time not doing work."
Vertin stays quiet for a while. Dee was right, of course she was, but it was still hard to admit it.
"You aren't wrong," she said faintly, giving her another innocent look. "But you'd be nice enough to let me have more time off, wouldn't you?"
Schneider barked a laugh, her eyes sparkling. Vertin noticed then how the edges of her eyes crinkled as she smiled at her.
"You are a cunning one, my lord," Dee says, spinning the gifted feather absently in her hand. "But you aren't wrong about that, either."
Just as Vertin was starting to think she'd let her off the hook this once, Dee continued. "Vertin, as much as I want to let you have more rest, I can't just let you ignore your responsibilities forever."
Vertin let out a huff and leaned back in her chair, trying to make herself look absolutely exhausted and not at all in the condition to sit at a desk and do paperwork. "But I'm tired, Dee."
"I know, mia cara, I'm sorry," Schneider says with a little smile. "Still. Il lavoro non si farà da solo. The work won't do itself."
Vertin sighed heavily. "Okay. But I'll just stay here and do nothing for a little longer. You'll let me, won't you?"
Schneider hummed, raising one eyebrow.
"The work won't grow legs and walk away," the Timekeeper said with a little smile, taking off her hat and setting it on the bed. "It can wait a while. Besides, I want to talk to you. It's been a while since I've visited properly."
There was a pause, and then the brunette sighed, picking the poetry book back up. The younger girl is worried at first that she'd keep reading and completely ignore any attempts at conversation, but Schneider just puts the book on her bedside table. "That's fair."
They both stayed quiet for a moment.
And then that moment seemed to stretch on longer, and longer, and longer...
"Alright," Dee said, abruptly breaking the silence. "You're the one who said you wanted to talk, my lord. So what shall we talk about?"
There's another pause in the conversation, but this one passes much quicker. "Hmmm. What made you like feathers in the first place?"
Schneider barks a laugh. "It sounds like you're giving me an interview," she says with a grin. "I guess the whole reason I started collecting them was because I thought they were pretty... And because feathers come from birds."
"You like birds?" Vertin asked, surprised.
Dee only shrugged and lifted the feather to inspect closer. "More like I like the idea of them," the brunette replied, a little more quiet than before. "They get to go anywhere they want, anytime they want, without having to worry about whether they'll be able to survive where they're going. They don't have to follow anybody's orders. They're free."
The younger girl didn't say anything for a moment. She felt like there was some kind of symbolism behind Dee's words, but she wasn't completely sure the brunette would want to talk about it.
So she quickly changed the topic.
"Do you remember the day we met?" she said quietly.
Schneider kept quiet, for a bit longer than Vertin thought necessary. When she spoke, her voice was softer than usual.
"...at the massacre."
"At the massacre," Vertin murmured in assent. "Do you remember that you said something about having a feather the same colour as my hair?"
Schneider huffed a half-hearted laugh. "Is that really the thing you want to focus on? Not the people I killed?"
"I mean... I feel bad for them," Vertin said quietly. "I still do. But you don't like talking about that, do you? So I won't bring it up."
Schneider wrinkled her nose, as if disbelieving - but she didn't disagree.
The sun was starting to shine through the window, sending bright light to fill the room. It felt like the weather itself was telling them to cheer up a little.
"I remember that," the older girl finally said, glancing at the window before only answering Vertin's first question.
"My favourite feather," she mumbled, tilting her head a little to look at Vertin in a different way, "was the exact same colour as your hair."
The brunette pauses for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, before continuing. "I always thought it was a little strange," she said with a small smile, "how the girl who saved my life has the same hair colour as my favourite feather."
"It's a shame you lost it," Vertin says sympathetically.
"Yes it is," Schneider says, looking back at the feather in her hand. "But such is life." Dee hums a little before adding, "I couldn't have gotten it on time anyway. I was meant to lose it eventually."
Vertin hums softly and looks at the feather Schneider is turning over in her hand. "Well, I'm glad I didn't lose you."
Idiot!
Vertin immediately snaps her mouth shut, going a little red as she hesitantly turns back to see Dee's reaction.
Vertin finds herself getting even more red as she realises that Schneider is smiling; and though her blush isn't as noticeable as Vertin's, she can still see that it's there.
Ruby eyes lock with hers. Schneider's voice turns teasing as she says, "Always such a flatterer, aren't you, my lord?"
"No! Not all the time," Vertin protests a bit too quickly, letting out a little huff. "It's... I only do that with you."
"Hmm." Schneider raised one eyebrow, but her blush deepened, much to Vertin's surprise. "That's... interesting."
Vertin huffs again and looks away as Schneider laughs, a light, lilting sound. "A flatterer, and yet you're still so easy to tease," the brunette crows, sitting up a little more to reach out and pat Vertin's head. Vertin immediately leaned into the touch as Dee started playing with her hair.
"Right, we've talked. Don't you think you should be going back now?" Schneider said quietly, but she made no move to pull away.
Neither did Vertin.
"No," she said, looking up at Schneider with a small smile. "I need more time off."
The older girl just barked a laugh. "Cheeky," she murmured.
"You can be cheeky too," Vertin pointed out lightly.
"Hush."
Vertin smiled and stretched a bit, crossing her arms on the bed and resting her head on them.
"Do you really want me to leave, though?" the younger girl asked, her voice softer and more vulnerable than before. She didn't really mean to sound like that - she'd gone through lots of trouble to be able to hide her emotions in a blink of an eye - but Schneider was one of the few people she felt comfortable to be herself around.
"Of course I don't, mia cara," Dee said, rolling her eyes playfully. "I'd prefer keeping you with me until the second I get to leave this clinic. I quite like talking with you."
"Oh. That's nice to know."
"You really do have to get some work done, though."
Vertin let out a soft groan, pulling away from the brunette's hand and leaning back against the chair she was sitting in. "Stop nagging me," she whined half-heartedly. "You're making me feel bad about doing nothing."
"Well, good," Dee said cheerfully, grinning. "Maybe then you'll finally get up and do something."
"I thought you said you wanted me around," Vertin said, a little annoyed that she'd have to get back to doing paperwork. Universe, have mercy.
"I do, but like I said before," Schneider said pointedly, turning her attention back on the feather in her hand as if to push Vertin away more, "the work won't do itself, my lord."
"You're annoying," Vertin said with a light pout, but she didn't really mean it. "But fine. I'll get back to work."
"Wonderful," Dee said triumphantly, her grin returning.
"But I'm doing it in here."
Schneider hums thoughtfully, tilting her head a bit as she leans back against the headboard of her bed. "You really think I'd help you focus?" she crows, her expression turning mischievous. "You trust me not to do anything annoying?"
"I trust that you wouldn't do anything annoying so I'd stay with you."
Dee wrinkles her nose. She looks like she's annoyed, but Vertin notices that she's blushing, just a little. "You seem to have a much higher view of yourself than I do."
Vertin smiles. "I know I'm right."
"Basta, mia cara."
The younger girl just laughed, softly, before getting up and heading for the door. "I'll come back," she said once she was at the doorway. Schneider only gave a little nod in reply.
Just as she was about to close the door, Schneider spoke again. Vertin quickly stopped to listen to what she said.
"I know, Vertin," the brunette said softly, a small smile on her face. Vertin felt a shiver slip down her spine when she said her name. "You always do."
Her heart skips a beat. It's rare, having Schneider be this relaxed; but the longer she's been in the suitcase, the more times Vertin's seen her slowly let her guard down.
As Vertin looks at her, Dee's expression softens, and her own smile grows a little sweeter.
"One more thing, my lord," she said faintly as Vertin was about to leave.
"Mhm?"
"...I'm glad I didn't lose you, either."
Notes:
THANK YOU FOR READING (◍•ᴗ•◍)
The card game part was inspired by one of my favourite Verneider fics, "may I? can I? should I? (please, my lord)" by ivorlia. Their verneider fics inspired me to write this so go check them out if you haven't yet!!!Btw I actually love An-an Lee so much, I'm Asian myself and I love seeing representation like her in media
Also I realized while writing this that I've been using "mio caro" instead of "mia cara" for Schneider's nickname for Vertin so. I'll change that now ( ;∀;)
Thank you all for the comments and kudos on the last chapter and I'll see you in the next update :D
Chapter 5: realize - [s]
Summary:
Schneider, ever since waking up, has started thinking properly about how she feels about a certain someone. She's trying to figure things out, emphasis on 'trying'.
And now, left alone for a week, she's slowly starting to realize.
Notes:
HELLO ^^
here's a new chapter for the weekend
Ignore the summary and the title for this one, I don't have any more ideas ahaha
I might change it later onExtra tags: Schneider is ✨anxious✨, and she has baggage from her childhood, (a lot of this baggage is headcanon), lonely Dee, oranges, but sweet ones, adding a bit more lore to this fic, Sonetto mentioned, Vertin and Schneider are just very sappy in this one ok
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The sunlight streaming in through the window was exceptionally bright today, as if the sun itself was trying to rub in her face how wonderful the weather outside was and what a shame it was, that she couldn't go and experience it herself.
Or maybe it just felt that way because Schneider was annoyed.
Nobody's come to visit her at all. For a week.
She's been left alone here, bored out of her mind with not a soul to talk to, for a whole week.
At this rate she was starting to feel like losing her mind would be a better option than spending more days like this. She didn't even have anything to read, she'd finished the poetry book already.
""I'll try visiting you,' she said," Dee huffed, turning her head to glare out the window. "'It won't take too long.' It's already been far too long! Che bugiarda."
Now she was stuck in this room, alone with her thoughts.
A little voice murmured in her head, Forse sei troppo appiccicoso.
"No, impossible," the brunette muttered to herself, rolling her eyes even though there wasn't anyone to see it. She leaned back on the headboard of the bed and kept looking out the window. "Me? Clingy? Not in a million years."
Maybe she's ignoring you. That isn't impossible.
"She wouldn't do that," she mumbled with a sigh. "Vertin's too nice to ignore anybody on purpose. And I like to think that she'd never ignore me."
Then maybe she's just gotten tired of you.
She didn't have anything to say to that. And anyway, it was getting a little weird, arguing with herself.
Taking a deep breath, Dee tried to calm herself down. She's not tired of you. She will not ever get tired of you, because if she did, then you've lost your one reason to keep living.
That last part was something she'd realised slowly over the past month. Since she was stuck in bed with nothing else to do, she'd been thinking a lot about what she did before the Storm of 1929, and why she did it.
In this case specifically, who she did it for.
"I'm not as soft as that," she suddenly muttered, trying to convince herself as she said the words. "It won't be the end of the world if she doesn't like you anymore. You've had to go through one "end of the world", and look, you've survived."
But surviving wouldn't mean a thing if the people I cared about didn't get to survive, too.
Before moving to Chicago, her purpose for living was her family. Her parents and her sisters meant the world to her, even if they all didn't really care about her. That was alright; Marian cared, and that was enough.
But they were all gone now, taken by the Storm. Fate was cruel to take them all away and leave Schneider still standing, and she was starting to let herself mourn for them almost every night.
Even with the sorrow that still lingered, life kept going, as it did even with the Storm ruining the timeline.
And the longer she stayed in the suitcase, the longer she spent with Vertin and Sonetto and all the others...
...the more she was starting to think of them as her new family.
Before the mission that put her into a coma for weeks, Schneider had already promised herself to protect this little group with her life, as she did with her own family years ago, after her first "pigeon".
Especially Vertin, she admitted to herself.
The Timekeeper was smart and quick, but her arcanum was weak. In a battle of wits - which was Marian used to call "arguments", though that wasn't really what that term was used for - she was sure she could hold her own. But in a one-to-one fight? Dee wasn't completely sure that she'd win.
That was why she pushed Vertin out of the way that night.
Also because you think she's pretty and kind and one of the only people who seem to see you for who you are, instead of judging you through all the things you've done.
"Right. I'm not that attached to her," she suddenly said out loud, her voice firm (though she knew she was just lying to herself, at this point). "She's just the girl who saved my life. Surely I'm justified to want to protect her in return."
She was right about that. She knew she was. Vertin had saved her from the Storm, somehow; she was sure that it must have had something to do with her. Without meeting Vertin, she would have disappeared that night.
But there was definitely more to her feelings than that.
After waking from her coma, she thought back on the night she got shot, and she realised one thing:
One of her few coherent thoughts before she jumped in the way of the bullet meant for Vertin was "If she dies, I might as well die with her."
Vertin was why she hoped she could live through the Storm in the first place. Vertin was why she wanted to live, when she thought it was all hopeless.
She wanted to live for her. To spend more time with her, to get to know her more. To get to have the blessing of being able to exist alongside her, after the whole mess was over.
"...how cunning, she is," she said quietly, smiling a little and looking back out the window. "How easily she managed to slip into my heart."
She must have been in love with her. What else could it be, the flutter in her heart whenever she saw her? The light in her eyes that sparked only when she was close by?
Dee hummed a line of a song under her breath, sighing and resuming her glaring at the sunlight. It shone a little brighter, maybe to spite her.
She'd never thought that she would live long enough to realise something as big as this. That she loved someone.
All her life, people had said "she'll never make it far". She was the youngest of her sisters; and the weakest, and the smallest. As if that wasn't enough, the universe also decided to create her with this wretched heart on the wrong side of her chest.
If there was a God - which there wasn't, she was sure - He must have hated her.
Though maybe not a lot. She was here now, wasn't she? Even with how weak she was, and how many people decided to give up on her, she had survived and carved out a spot for herself in the world.
Carved it out with blood and bullets, but it was better than nothing.
Now she wasn't Yelena, the youngest Greco child, the one who wasn't expected to live past ten years old. She was Schneider, leader of a fearsome mafia, a "hitman" of sorts for a powerful organisation.
She was no longer pitied, but instead feared.
Rightfully so, she thought.
Her family was surprised by how far she'd managed to get. Although she was 18 now, she couldn't help but be surprised as well.
But there was one last thing she thought she'd never get, and that was a person to love.
When she was younger, she'd make up stories in her head, of futures where she'd be able to live and love someone who loved her just as much.
Of course, she had already given up on those futures years ago. After all, she said to herself, who would love a sinner like me?
Yet here she was, alive, and now she was sure that her weak heart had finally found a person it could beat for, no matter how many times she had tried to stop it.
"Tsk, stai decisamente diventando troppo tenero," she muttered, reaching up and running one hand through her hair in a nervous habit. It made her wavy hair all the more messy, but she didn't really care. "...I was right. My sisters would be laughing at me right now."
Letting out a frustrated groan, the brunette fell back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling with blank vermilion eyes.
Her sisters would absolutely laugh at her, but that wasn't surprising. They never did like her much.
"The thirteenth sister... only five and she's already so peculiar," she remembers some of her older sisters whispering one night, while she, the sister being spoken of, was supposedly asleep.
"Have you seen her red eyes? And how pale she is!"
"Mother and father say she won't make it a day past ten years old, you know."
"Maybe the superstitions are right, and the thirteenth really is a cursed number!"
"Or maybe she's a demon, didn't you see her in the orchard that day with all the dead crickets around her?"
Her sisters' gossip and laughter had stung at first, but she grew used to it. Eventually. She had to grow into not caring.
They were right about some things, though. Like her being peculiar and little. That didn't exactly help with her thoughts back then; thoughts like maybe I am a curse and maybe I don't deserve this life.
But that was years and years ago. She wasn't that hurt little girl anymore.
Was she?
"No," she scolded herself. "No. That little girl is dead. She's long gone. I am not that weak. I will never be that weak, ever again. Not 'till the day I-"
A tentative knock at the door. Dee snapped up, sitting up straight and trying to look as normal as she could before the door to the clinic opened.
"Ah. You're awake," Vertin said faintly, smiling a little and tilting her head as she peeked her head into the room.
Would Vertin laugh at her, if she knew about all that? About the teasing and the rumors and the discouragement she'd faces since she day she was born?
"I am, yes," she replied, and thankfully her voice was normal despite all the anxious thoughts fluttering around her head like feathers in the wind. "My lord, it should be past noon by now. You really think I'm the type to sleep in?"
Vertin's small smile broke into a wide grin, and Dee felt her heart do a weird little jump.
"True," Vertin mumbled, stepping into the room and closing the door silently behind her. Schneider found herself smiling despite herself.
"You haven't been visiting," the brunette said, her voice softer than she meant it to be. Quickly, she added, "It's been boring without you."
"Sorry," she says, and she truly sounds guilty. "I've been really busy, the Foundation keeps sending us on missions..."
She pauses then, reaches up to tap the edge of her hat in a nervous habit. "You were bored? Even with the book?"
"Yes," Dee mumbles, ignoring the change of subject. Vertin already feels bad, no need to make it worse. "I've already read most of it."
"Really?" the younger girl said, blinking. Cute, Dee thought, then shoved the thought away.
Vertin hummed softly, taking her usual spot by Dee's bed as she spoke again. "Were the poems any good?"
The brunette wrinkled her nose a bit. "Not many Italian ones," she said ruefully. "But I like some of the poems by Sappho. Or at least, the few scraps of them we have."
"I've always liked Sappho," Vertin says with a small smile. "'Dear mother, I cannot weave; slender Aphrodite has overcome me with longing for a girl.'"
Schneider feels her breath catch in her throat, and she turns and looks out the window before Vertin can see her blush. It wasn't a confession, obviously, but her mind liked messing with her.
"Did you really memorize that?" she mutters, impressed - though she'll never admit that aloud.
"I memorized it years ago," the younger girl huffs in reply, somehow sounding both annoyed and flustered. "Don't be so surprised."
Dee barks a laugh and turns back to look at her, eyes sparkling. "How can you manage memorising poetry but not paperwork?" she teases. It helps her get her mind off the thoughts she had earlier.
"Haven't you been doing stuff like that ever since you were little? How can you still get overwhelmed?"
Vertin narrows her eyes at her, but there's a hint of a smile on her lips.
"Just because I'm used to it doesn't mean I'm not sick of it," she says matter-of-factly, sticking her tongue out playfully. "It's the opposite, actually."
"What a wonderful work ethic you've got," the brunette says, her voice dripping with sarcasm even though she's grinning. "I'm so glad I'm in the hands of someone like you."
"Well you're still here, aren't you?"
Schneider falls silent at that.
She was. Even after the Walden, even after the Storm... She was still here. She was completely safe, for once in her life.
She was also still in shock about it, but that wasn't something she should admit now.
"Guess I am," she murmurs instead, tilting her head a bit at the younger girl. "I suppose you aren't as bad at your job as I thought."
Vertin softens a little at that. "Exactly. See, you can trust me." She says it playfully, but there's a hint of sincerity to her words, barely noticeable.
Of course I can, Dee thinks. I already do.
They both stay quiet for a while, looking at each other - deep red eyes met blue-grey ones, and the silence that creeps up on them is comfortable.
"Oh, right," Vertin says quietly, breaking the silence. Her voice is a little nervous and a little excited, as if she's planning on doing something and is hoping Dee likes it.
A slightly disappointed Schneider watches, curiously, as Vertin turns away from her and rummages for something in a cloth bag by her side that she somehow didn't notice earlier.
"I got oranges for you," Vertin finally says, smiling shyly as she pulls a small plastic bag of the bright fruit out of the bag. "We went to a market before coming back, and I found these. Bought them on impulse before Sonetto could stop me."
Schneider laughs. "The old woman probably wouldn't mind it, anyway," she says lightly. We both know we don't hate each other as much as we pretend to.
Dee accepts the bag of oranges when the younger girl hold them out for her, her fingers lightly brushing against hers and lingering for a second too long.
The fruit is obviously fresh, and high quality. She chooses a particularly large one and starts peeling it in long strips.
"Blood orange, yes?" she says quietly once the fruit is peeled and separated in pieces. She takes one for herself and bites into it, spilling sweet juice into her mouth. Delicious.
"Yes. They're your favourite, right?" She takes a slice for herself, but she hesitates before biting into it. "I couldn't find Sicilian blood orange, so this was the next best option."
Dee freezes.
Vertin remembered.
She had only mentioned it off-handedly, once, before she went into a coma. And she still remembers.
Now you can be sure, a small voice in her mind whispers, one more hopeful than the one before. She would never laugh at you.
"...yes, they're my favourite," Dee finally says, with a little affection creeping into her voice, unbidden. "You remembered."
"Of course I did," Vertin replies immediately, wrinkling her nose. "What, you think I wouldn't?"
"Nobody ever has before."
"Then I'm your first. Rude of you to think I'd forget something like this."
"Shut up and eat."
Vertin laughs, and Schneider smiles at the sound. The Timekeeper rarely ever laughed, but she seemed to do it a lot more around her.
She took another slice of orange and bit into it. Then another. And another.
"This is good," she mumbled, smiling a little. "It's sweet. You're good at picking oranges, mia cara. I'm proud."
"Learned from the best, I suppose."
Schneider rolls her eyes, then looks down at the half eaten fruit. Vertin's only taken a single slice. "Aren't you going to eat more?"
Vertin seems to freeze, for a moment, before shaking her head. "No, thanks. It was meant to be a gift for you, after all. And it's a bit too sweet for me."
"Nonsense," Schneider huffs. "No such thing as an orange that's too sweet. Be grateful that it's not bitter."
Vertin freezes, much more noticeably this time. Dee blinks, worries if she's said something wrong.
But then Vertin smiles, and her expression softens, and Schneider's traitorous heart skips a beat.
"Mm. You're right," the younger girl said quietly, taking another slice. Her hands tremble a bit as she bites into it, Dee isn't sure why.
"...this is much better than bitter oranges."
Notes:
Thanks so much for reading!! (。・ω・。)ノ♡
All the nice comments and the kudos I've been getting are really making me so happy, whenever I get a notif that someone commented I smile. Thank you all for the support, I'm glad to see that all of you like this project I started for fun :)About this chapter: I feel like I yapped a bit too much lmao. And I really feel like this chap doesn't have a very set theme. But it was fun to write and none of the other chapters are really well organised anyway, so it's fine
IT WAS SO HARD TRYING TO COME UP WITH A NAME FOR THE CHAPTER TITLE. The original idea I had was "thoughts" but that reminded me too much of "a person who thinks all the time... has nothing to think about except thoughts." So I scrapped it ;-;
the next chapter is probably going to add to the lore of this au so be prepared ^^ I just have to find time to write it
Once again thank you for reading, and I hope you have an amazing rest of your day/night ( ◜‿◝ )♡
Chapter 6: quiet - [v]
Summary:
Maybe Vertin's idea of staying up all night and doing work wasn't the best thing she's come up with.
Notes:
Hello everyone ^^
I wrote half of this tonight in a burst of inspiration while my family was blasting MCR songs, so it might not be the best, but I liked writing it lmao.
Extra tags: guess what VERTIN also has anxiety!, isn't this wonderful, that's also headcanon btw, Dee's condition is kinda going up and down, Poltergeist, An-an Lee and Horrorpedia show up here, hurt/comfort?
Hope you enjoy ( ◜‿◝ )♡
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It was raining again tonight.
She was sitting at the desk in her room, with a cup of untouched, turning-cold tea sitting by the stack of papers in front of her. Reports and forms and things she had to double check by the end of the week.
She hesitated, then let her eyes wander to the window for a moment.
It wasn't raining heavily. It was a light rain, the kind of weather Vertin used to love because the sound of raindrops pattering on roofs and windows, light and harmless, soothed her when there was nobody else who could.
But that was years ago.
Nowadays she wasn't the biggest fan of rain. For... obvious reasons.
She tried to get back to her work, but she shifted uncomfortably on her chair, unable to settle for longer than a few minutes before fidgeting again. Ever since her first encounter with the Storm, what felt like centuries ago, she always got restless whenever it rained.
And now there was always a constant worried murmur in her mind, a voice that would whisper things that would make her worry more than she already did.
"You have to save them, you have to protect them, you are the only one who can, so if you fail and lose them you've got nothing to blame but yourself."
Vertin hated that voice. As time went on she's started to learn how to control it - more or less. It never works regularly. It's like trying to control a scared stray dog.
And no matter how hard she tries it still comes back, more powerful with each Storm she's faced. With each person she's lost.
She is so, so tired. Tired of the fear, the responsibility she never asked for, the horrible anxiety that feels like it could crush her if she let it sit on her shoulders too long.
She is tired, but she can't let the others see it.
What would they think if they knew she was just a scared 17 year old girl? Wouldn't they lose all their belief and trust in her as a leader if they knew she sometimes couldn't even sleep at night with all the thoughts filling up her head?
No, the others couldn't know. She hates hiding things from them, but she doesn't have a choice in this case.
Vertin closes her eyes and takes deep breaths, counting to five under her breath with each inhale and exhale, using a method Dee taught her a while ago.
She wonders if Schneider's noticed how anxious she can be. Probably. She was the type of person to notice things like that, she thought.
Her heart rate has slowed a little now, at least. She glanced at her tea, stared at it for a moment, and decided to continue ignoring it.
Back to work, then.
And that she does, for hours, until sleep starts clouding her mind and makes her eyes flutter closed before she forces them back open.
After an hour more of struggling, she sighs and takes the cup of tea, drinking it all at once in an attempt to get caffeine in her system and keep herself awake.
She winces slightly as she puts the cup back down. She made it a little too sweet. And it was already room temperature. But it works, more or less.
She's a little less groggy now; still sleepy, but it's easier to fight it, at least. Vertin silently thanks Sonetto for buying her the tea bags as a gift - "it's special tea, supposed to help you stay awake," the orange haired girl had said when she gifted them to her, and she was apparently right.
Vertin continues to work, until her body starts to ache with exhaustion barely held at bay. Even then she keeps working. She can't sleep yet. She promised she'd visit, and she's only letting herself visit once she's finished her work. She can't break that promise, not to one of the only people she knows would follow her no matter what.
The rain keeps pouring, heavier now. Even with the underlying anxiety running through her thoughts she starts slowly, slowly closing her eyes, starting to lean down on the table....
Vertin flinches as the first clap of thunder breaks through the air, immediately snapping upright and tensing.
She closes her eyes, takes more deep breaths.
When she opens them again, she stands and decides that she's had enough paperwork for one night. The rest can wait for tomorrow.
Outside of her room the suitcase is much more still than it is during the day. She steps silently into the hall and notices light from the living room on the left, the sound of voices speaking to each other quietly, and the television playing some sort of horror movie, based on the screams. Most likely Horrorpedia and An-an Lee having another late night horror movie binge watching; this isn't the first time they've done it.
She has to walk through the living room to get to the clinic...
Vertin hesitates, then starts going on her way, taking light steps and staying behind the large sofa so they wouldn't notice her.
She freezes when a head pops up from the sofa, peeking up at her.
Caught!
But...
She blinks. That's Poltergeist, isn't it? She has taken the sheet she usually wears off halfway, showing her face. It's rare. Vertin softens a little, smiles. Poltergeist was one of the more skittish arcanists in the suitcase; Vertin's glad that she has some companionship now.
Poltergeist seems to pause for a moment, curious, then nods at her once before disappearing back behind the sofa.
Vertin pauses as well, surprised, then keeps walking.
Success. She's at the other hallway now, and she tries walking as fast and as quietly as possible as possible to the clinic.
She manages to open the door silently, and she walks in a bit too quickly to make it seem like a casual visit. Vertin blinks and squints into the dark, trying to let her vision adjust to the slightly darker room.
The lamp on the bedside table is still on, but its light is dimmed by the deep red cloth thrown over it. With the lamp and the moonlight pouring in through the window, she manages to see the older girl in bed, wrapped in blankets and fast asleep.
Vertin sighs and takes a few steps closer to Schneider. She isn't meant to be here; Tooth Fairy said that Dee's state wasn't stable anymore, with her being perfectly fine one moment and then passing out the next.
Tooth Fairy worries about her - though she tries to hide it - and so does the Timekeeper. Vertin hasn't been able to visit in a while.
This wasn't the same as last week, where she kept getting missions and work from the Foundation and couldn't visit because she was too busy. This was because Dee had to get time to recover.
This was because Dee was fighting for her life again.
Again. It's your fault she's had to fight more than once in the first place.
Your fault, your fault. If she doesn't make it, that will be your fault too.
She takes another deep breath and settles on the chair next to the bed as she shakily let it out. She tries ignoring the fact that her hands are trembling.
The tea from before isn't helping now. Her eyes are starting to close again, and this time she doesn't feel like fighting it.
Vertin takes a moment to wonder what would happen if she let herself fall asleep here, by Dee's side, sitting on a chair with her head on the mattress. She wonders who between the two of them would wake first, who would get to watch the other sleep in the gold light of dawn for a moment longer. Whether someone else would come in and catch her before that could happen.
She wonders if Schneider would judge her, for coming to visit in the middle of the night, for falling asleep on the edge of her bed like it's normal. She wonders if she would kick her out of the clinic. If she would be angry at her. (She hopes not.)
As she wonders all these things, and thinks about a different universe where the two of them wouldn't be in these bodies and tangled up in each other's stories, Schneider wakes up.
Schneider wakes up, and when she sees Vertin, the first thing she does is smile like nothing could ever be wrong if she was here with her.
Vertin realizes then that Dee would never judge or be angry at her for coming to her for comfort.
"Hello, my lord," the brunette mumbles sleepily, her eyes half closed. Vertin's heart skips a beat as she notices the glint in her eyes.
"Hello," she replied. "I'm sorry I woke you."
"Oh, relax, mia cara. I don't mind," Dee murmurs offhandedly, yawning and covering it with one hand. She snuggles into the bed. "Especially not if it's you."
She stretches a little and sighed softly, curling into the blanket. "Shouldn't you be asleep?" Dee asks, and for a moment her voice softens, becomes more worried.
Vertin shrugs. Tries brushing it off. "I should be," she says faintly. "But I've been doing paperwork and reports the past three hours, and I now I can't fall asleep."
Schneider lets out a disbelieving huff. "I'm amazed that you aren't exhausted."
"I'm not, actually. Completely wide awake right now."
It's only then that the rain outside decides to make itself known again, suddenly getting stronger. Vertin flinches again as a clap of thunder tears through the quiet.
Schneider notices, and her eyebrows furrow in worry, but she chooses not to comment. She's grateful for that.
"I told you not to take that arcane-infused tea," the brunette nags instead, now shifting to lay on her back. "It's not good for you if you drink it too late, you'll stay up the whole night."
"That is exactly the point of it."
"You haven't got any survival instincts, mia cara."
"Maybe I don't."
Maybe you do, the voice in her head whispers. Look at all the people you've failed to save. Left them to disappear in the Storm, and for what? Because you can't risk your own life?
You chose to leave them, didn't you? You chose to leave them to their death.
You are a coward.
That's all you'll ever be.
"You're doing the thing again," Schneider scolds gently, her voice too soft to be truly scolding. "Where you zone out and spiral."
"Sorry," she murmurs, and she feels a pang of déjà vu.
Dee only shakes her head and pats the spot in bed beside her. "Veni ca, mia cara."
She blinks. She doesn't know much Italian - she's planning to learn, for Dee - but she can gather from the movement of her hand that she wants her to come into bed next to her.
And she does.
She lays down in bed and closes her eyes, sighing.
"For someone who says you aren't exhausted, you do act the part, my lord," Dee says lightly, yawning again and curling comfortably against Vertin's side.
"It's just... It's warm here, I don't know."
"Sei un pessimo bugiardo."
"...what does that mean?"
Schneider barks a laugh. "You're a bad liar."
Vertin only lets out a soft huff in reply, pretending to be annoyed. She closes her eyes, slowly relaxes.
And then she hears the voice again, getting louder with the rain outside getting heavier.
You are a bad liar.
The others have to know how much you've been hiding. How you think you'll never be able to save everyone. How you second guess yourself and think you're a pathetic waste of a person.
They have to hate you.
Schneider has to hate you too.
They're all pretending to like you, so your feelings won't get hurt.
Another clap of thunder, louder than the ones before. Vertin's eyes open, and she tenses.
"My lord?"
She turns her head and finds Dee sitting up, a worried look on her face. "Are you okay?"
"Mmm." She blinks blearily, takes a moment to remind herself that she is here. Your friends do not hate you. Dee doesn't hate you either. You are okay.
"Yes. I'm fine."
"...sure."
Vertin watches as Dee sighs and leans into her again, her striking red eyes closing.
Then she remembers what the older girl's been having trouble with.
"Wait, this is wrong," she blurts, the words spilling past her lips before she can stop them. "You're hurt. I should be worrying about you, not the other way around."
"That's a very selfless way of thinking."
Vertin stays quiet. Wouldn't Dee think that as well, if their roles were switched?
Schneider nuzzles her, just enough to let her notice. "You need to be taken care of as well, mia cara. It wouldn't do if you were suffering and I did nothing about it, even if I was sick. Which I am."
"You need to be taken care of as well."
The Timekeeper thinks about that for a while. Has anybody ever told her that before? Said it and truly believed it?
For once the voice in her head hasn't got anything to say. Maybe she's too tired to argue with herself for now.
"...alright," Vertin mumbles, and she sighs and lets herself close her eyes. "I guess you're right."
"Of course I am. I'm always right."
Vertin laughs at that. She feels Schneider smile against her shoulder.
That night, Vertin goes to sleep calm. The anxiety in her mind is soothed by the fact that Dee was there, and she cared, and she didn't mind that she was a little shattered mentally. She hoped.
The last thing on her mind is how surprisingly quiet the night has become, the rain slowly fading to a light drizzle.
For once, Vertin sleeps well.
Notes:
Thanks for reading!!!
I hc that Vertin hates rain and thunder (but used to love it when she was younger) and has anxiety
I actually had really bad anxiety (undiagnosed but I'm very sure it was anxiety) two years ago, and I'm still kinda dealing with it but it's not as bad now. Sorry if how I write anxiety isn't very accurate but honestly, how I write it *is* like that for me most of the time. I like projecting onto characters I like sometimes ok
Next chapter coming out at no-idea-when, as per usual. Sorry I've just finally decided I have to study more haha
Once again thanks for reading, and have a good rest of your day/night <3
Chapter 7: dawn - [s]
Summary:
Schneider's past comes back to haunt her every night.
Tonight that haunting is stopped by - of all things - a critter she hasn't seen in a decade.
Notes:
Hiii :)
I was supposed to sleep but instead i finished this chapter. I have to wake up in like half an hour I'm so cookedAnyways this chap is a bit of a fever dream, but it's got cute verneider moments at the end to make up for it
Extra tags for this one: mentions and mild (?) descriptions of animal death and murder, yes that's an actual concern idk if it's enough to tag but I'm adding it anyway, dreams, more of Schneider's trauma and anxiety, Dee's memories, I gave Dee a critter friend:), yes that's where the animal death part comes in, waking up with Vertin still beside her awww, they're so silly, this is why I said it was a fever dream look at the tags for this one
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
One of the weirder side effects of her injuries - at least, she suspected it was caused by her injuries - was that they gave her the strangest dreams.
She wasn't even sure if they could count as "dreams", they were more memories than anything else; and every time she had one of them, she was always completely aware that it wasn't real.
Tonight, that awareness doesn't stop her from getting a nightmare.
Schneider's eyes open, and the first thing she registers is the sight of an orange orchard lit up by moonlight and the prickly feeling of grass under her bare feet.
She looks down at herself. She's wearing her usual red feather dress instead of a hospital gown. Like she always is during these dreams.
Dee glances around, and very quickly her gaze falls on a young girl, stepping out of the house next to the orchard into the night and quietly singing a children's song.
Schneider stays quiet. The girl can't be more than eight years old, yet there is an air of tiredness around her, like she's been through much more than she should have at this age.
The girl's got wavy, deep brown hair, skin paler than any of her sisters', and ruby eyes that still twinkle with mischief even after all the trouble she's gone through.
The girl is her.
Dee watches in silence, like a spectre in her own memory, as her younger self walks immediately to one of the trees heavy with fruit and plucks a large orange. She looks around, then scampers off with the fruit to a deeper part of the orchard.
Schneider blinks, surprised, because she hasn't thought of this memory in a while. But she still remembers.
She remembers how she used to visit a tiny critter in the orchard some nights after she found it alone in a clearing one summer's afternoon, remembers bringing it oranges to eat and staying to play with it for a while before returning to her house.
She also remembers that her family wasn't the biggest fan of critters. She wasn't either. They kept dirtying the orchards and ruining the fruit.
She was taught to have a healthy fear of them, to be wary if she saw any while out doing whatever she did in the orchard.
So when she first found the little critter she befriended, during a sunny afternoon - which she was planning to spend looking for crickets or pretty trinkets or just messing about by herself under the orange blossoms - she was scared.
Then she noticed that the critter seemed to be just as scared as she was.
It was trembling, frozen in place in the clearing where she stumbled upon it. Just as she was.
For a long moment they had both stood there, staring at each other. Two hearts beating rabbit-quick in separate chests, two creatures slowly realizing that the other meant no harm.
Schneider had slowly kneeled down, still carefully keeping away from the critter as she started unpeeling the orange in her hand. The critter had watched, curious, and then taken a few steps closer when she put down a slice of the fruit in front of her as a peace offering.
That afternoon marked the start of a wary friendship.
Soon enough she learned that the critter - which she eventually named Piccolo - was too small to really thrive among the other critters living in the orchard.
She had watched, once, hiding behind a tree, as Piccolo climbed up a tree to get oranges on the ground for him to eat; only for the fruit to get wrestled away from him almost immediately by other, bigger critters.
Schneider had liked Piccolo. She felt like they were both the same, in a way: both of them too little, too strange, too weak to thrive in a world as cruel as this.
They took care of each other. More or less. Dee gave him oranges and played with him, and Piccolo gave her company when she needed it.
So when Schneider watched her dream self slip into the familiar spot and hold out the orange to the little ball of fuzz already waiting there, she wasn't at all surprised.
What surprised her was the fact that almost immediately after little Schneider stepped onto the grass in the clearing, the scenery shifted. Warped into a dingy alleyway, towering buildings on each side of her. The tree she had been standing behind was now an abandoned pile of boxes.
The dream Dee wasn't young anymore. Now she was around the same age as she was, maybe a year younger. Her eyes were cold and dead, the opposite of what they had been seconds before.
Piccolo was replaced by a man in a dirty but expensive-looking suit, trembling, scrambling to back away on the ground among scraps of newspaper and crushed cans.
The orange was now a loaded gun.
She could hear what she - the other Dee - was singing now, quiet as it was.
"London bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down..."
Schneider winces and looks down at the floor at her feet, slowly sitting and curling into herself as she covers her ears.
This is the memory of her first paid kill.
By now she's used to the sound of gunshots, and of the sound of people pleading for their lives like the man is doing now.
"London bridge is falling down..."
But she doesn't want to be used to it.
She doesn't want to be immune to the horrible thing that is taking another person's life. She doesn't want to be that person anymore, not now, not with Ver-
Bang.
"...my fair lady."
Schneider doesn't want to look anymore, doesn't want to lift her head.
She thinks of Piccolo, and the first time they met. How they both stared at each other and felt that fear only creatures of prey could have, like hares that could get snatched away in the jaws of a fox at any second.
She thinks of how she walked out of the house one day, hoping to find Piccolo in the clearing, and instead found him alone by the edge of the orchard at dusk, body limp, cold, unmoving.
She remembers how she vowed to herself that night that she wouldn't ever, ever let herself be prey again.
And she kept that vow.
This memory proved it.
Schneider flinches when she hears her dream self walk past. She can faintly hear her shaky breaths, her unsteady steps on the concrete. Schneider knows that she is scared, because this is her own memory, and she was terrified when it was happening.
She can still list the reasons for why she was scared. It was mainly because she literally just killed a man - but also because now she had to go home, and deal with her family, who would all stare at her like she had gone mad.
More memories flash through her mind as she curls into a ball on the ground, each too vivid, too bright.
The looks on her sisters' faces when she walked into their little house with blood splattered on her dress. Their brown eyes, all wide and horrified, the minds behind them wondering if she was still safe to be around.
The littlest sister, the one they used to tease and gossip about.
"She could be a demon!" they had whispered to each other.
Maybe she was.
Her thoughts start to whisper things now, the voices slowly getting louder the longer she listens to them.
Demon demon demon you must be a demon for killing all those people with no guilt at all.
Your sisters were right about you, do you know that?
Her head snaps up. The voices are coming from all around her now, not just in her head.
The place she's in has changed into her childhood home. Her sisters are surrounding her from all sides; except they aren't her sisters. Their faces are blurred, their features unrecognisable save for sharp expressions of fury and smug elation.
Do you even care about how many people died because of you? How much blood is on your hands?
All just to let us live a few days longer. Guess what, sister? We're all gone now. You didn't save us. You didn't save anyone.
All that bloodshed was for nothing.
Aren't you proud of yourself?
Dee starts hyperventilating, instinctively curling into herself and squeezing her eyes shut as she presses her face into her legs and covers her ears again.
She knows she probably looks like a child, hiding her face like this, but she can't bring herself to care.
Stop, please, please-
Almost immediately after she thinks the words, there is silence. It is sudden, but very much welcome.
Schneider blinks and realizes her heart is beating almost as fast as it did when she was fighting. Her breathing takes a moment to get back to normal.
"Aha. There you are. Glad I could stop that before it could get worse."
Dee flinches again at the sound of the voice. She lifts her head. Tears slip down her cheeks, but she makes no move to brush them away.
She's never heard this voice in her life, and yet she feels like she should. She feels like she's known it forever.
"I'd expect you to know me. It would be a bit annoying, to have to help someone who doesn't even remember me."
Dee blinks in an attempt to clear her blurry vision. She's now sitting in... a void, apparently. Pure black in all directions, nothing to catch the eye. No visible source of the mystery voice.
"Look again, little pigeon."
Schneider lets out a soft huff and blinks again.
When her eyes open next, there's a small critter sitting in front of her, with thick black fur and startlingly red eyes. There's a pair of cricket's wings on the critter's back, and he has cricket's antennae on his head, but he still looks like-
"Piccolo?" she blurts.
The critter has a grin like a Cheshire cat's. "Yes, it's me. Well, more or less."
"You look... different."
"So do you, little pigeon."
Schneider wrinkles her nose, continuing to ignore the wet trail of tears still on her cheeks. "Since when did you call me little pigeon?"
Piccolo shrugs, his new diaphanous wings flickering at the movement. His tail is flicking ever so slightly. "Ever since I could remember, which was up until a little while ago. I woke up in the dark like this, after what feels like a ten year long nap."
"Oh," Dee says softly. "It... has been ten years, since I saw you last."
"Mmm. Yes, I remember my death," Piccolo says ruefully. He sighs through his nose and says, "I shouldn't have tried to keep fighting. Those brutes could have overpowered me one on one."
"...what happened?"
Piccolo shrugs again. "I was trying to get food for myself. As much as I liked letting you get oranges for me, I couldn't very well let myself become dependent on you. I managed to get a single fruit from a tree and took it to the edge of the orchard to eat somewhere the other critters couldn't see."
He hesitates for a moment. "But they found me anyway. And they tried stealing my food. And, well... You can guess what happened next."
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you," Schneider says. Piccolo had been one of her only friends for years, and when he needed it most, she couldn't help him.
The critter rolls his eyes, somehow managing to look bored. "It's not your fault I died," he says firmly, waving one paw dismissively. "I'm the one who got into trouble. You just happened to be there to find me after."
Dee sighs. "Right. Sure."
"You don't sound very comforted."
"Yes, because you talk about yourself dying like it's completely normal."
Piccolo blinks, stares at her with sharp red eyes. Schneider suddenly gets an impression of what Vertin sees every time she stares at her.
"It is, is it not?" he says smoothly. "I'm already dead. It is my 'normal'. And it should be yours, too."
When the brunette doesn't answer, Piccolo is the one who sighs. "I don't think saving you from that creepy dream is the only reason why I was brought here," the critter says, and now his voice is much more tired. "You've got something you want to say, don't you, little pigeon?"
"No," Dee says too quickly. "I don't."
"Liar," he says, and he gets up and walks towards her, his wings fluttering.
"I know you do. And you can tell me about it. I'm not real, remember? You can tell me whatever you want and by the time you wake up it'll be like nobody ever knew but you."
Schneider stays quiet.
"Fine," she mumbles, sighing and staring at the void underneath her feet. "Don't you think I'm basically irredeemable?"
The little critter doesn't say anything at first, apparently thinking. "Are you, little pigeon?"
"I've killed so many people. All for nothing. Doesn't that make me a bad person, for me to be able to kill and not think twice about it?"
Piccolo hums. "You were trying to save your family," he says slowly, as if trying to explain a simple math problem to a small child. "That doesn't make you a bad person."
Schneider doesn't reply. She believes in the fact that she's a sinner, that she's a horrible person who deserved to die but instead, by some miracle, had lived.
"Look," Piccolo says, and now Dee lifts her head. "Just because you did those things doesn't mean you're a fundamentally horrible person. I've killed too, when I was scared and cornered and didn't have any other choice. That's what you did."
The brunette stares at him, this strange little critter with cricket's wings and antennae, who used to be one of her closest companions.
"I guess that makes sense," she murmurs. "But what if the others don't see it that way?"
Piccolo barks a laugh. "As if Vertin would let someone kick you out!" he says with a bit too much amusement, his Cheshire grin returning. "The day that happens, I'll be ruler of an empire. What a silly thought, little pigeon."
Dee blushes and sighs, staring out at the void again. "You seem very sure of that."
"I *know* she wouldn't. Don't you see the way she looks at you, Schneider?"
"..."
"She doesn't look at you like you're some pest, or something to simply be thrown out at any time," he continues firmly. "I should know, I've had those looks directed at me before.
"What Vertin does is different. She looks at you like you hung the moon."
Schneider blinks, caught off guard.
Does she?
"She does, for star's sake," Piccolo says, faintly exasperated. "Why do you think she looks at you like that, if she wanted to be rid of you?"
"People don't stay the same forever," Dee points out, even as a flicker of hope shimmers in the back of her thoughts. "She could change her mind."
The critter rolls his eyes, flicking his wings. "Look at you, proving my point," he says dryly. "'People don't stay the same forever,' meaning you can change, too. You said it yourself."
Piccolo pauses again for a moment, thinking. "And Vertin is too kind to kick you out, even if she didn't stare at you like you had the whole sky in your eyes."
"Mannaggia, Piccolo, stop using all those sappy quotes."
He only laughs. "You've read romantic poetry before, you can handle it. Not my fault I sometimes talk like a book."
Schneider glares at him. The critter only stares back, an annoyingly smug smile on his face.
"So what now?" she finally asks, her voice a little too quiet. "I could be a good person, yes. But what am I supposed to do?"
"That's an easier question, little pigeon," Piccolo says, and his smile turns more soft. "Now you just keep going. Like you always have."
She is about to reply, maybe with a sarcastic comment, but then the dream world suddenly starts to melt away, the void around her fading.
"Piccolo-"
The critter only smiles and flicks his wings, lifting a paw to wave at her.
And then Dee is awake again.
She's still in the clinic, still in the bed she has there. Warm sunlight is already streaming into the room, lighting it in gold and yellow.
She yawns and shifts a little, and this is when she realises Vertin's still here, and she's still fast asleep.
The brunette blinks at her. They both must have moved during the night, because now the younger girl is laying on her side, facing her, one arm draped lazily over her waist.
She should be flustered by this, but she isn't.
Instead she sighs and snuggles closer, nuzzling Vertin's neck and closing her eyes again.
Vertin trusts me enough to fall asleep with me, she thinks tiredly. So maybe I really am not that bad.
"Mmf... Schneider?"
Dee quickly pulls away, blushing furiously. She can't get very far, though, with Vertin keeping her arm around her waist.
"Hi," she says in a rush. "I- Good morning."
"Morning," Vertin mumbles back, stifling a yawn. She looks cute, with her hair down and messy from sleep, her eyes still half closed. The sunlight makes her look even prettier, like a painting.
Schneider silently thanks whatever force in the world allowed her to be this close to a goddess.
"I don't mind if you want to cuddle, by the way," Vertin adds almost off-handedly, closing her eyes again and stretching a little.
"Oh. I wasn't cuddling. I was... trying to get warm."
"Dee, we're both covered in a blanket thicker than the one I have in my room."
"...I was trying to get warmer, then."
Vertin huffs a quiet laugh and pulls her closer. Schneider stiffens, but she ends up relaxing soon enough.
"Liar," Vertin murmurs against her hair, and Dee is reminded of Piccolo for a moment. "And you say I'm bad at hiding things."
"Taci," the brunette scolds lightly. Vertin laughs again.
Schneider stays quiet then, letting herself be held for a long while before suddenly pulling away, eyes wide.
"Vertin," she says hurriedly, a little too panicked to use one of her nicknames. "Hide."
"That- What?"
"Either you hide or you leave and run back to your room. Go, go! Amunì!"
Schneider sits up and gently shoves the younger girl off the bed, much to her confusion. She still can't move around, but she can still speak, and she uses the fact that Vertin always (most of the time, anyway) goes with whatever she says to her advantage.
"But why?" the younger girl asks as she gets into a supply closet. She has to squish, with the boxes of supplies and the shelf above her head, but it'll do for a short while.
"Because, my lord," Schneider says, grabbing Vertin's hat from the bedside table where she left it last night, "if you don't then Tooth Fairy will come in here, find you with me when you're not supposed to be, and then you'll most likely get punished. Or kicked out."
Vertin makes a little "ah" sound and closes the closet door. "She wouldn't do that," she calls through the wood.
"Shh!"
When Tooth Fairy comes in to check on her, Schneider is awake and reading the book of poetry she already finished.
"Good morning, Ms Tooth Fairy," she greets languidly, nodding once but not looking up.
The medical arcanist wrinkles her nose at her. "Morning."
A pause. "You're up awfully early today," Tooth Fairy says casually. "I usually have to wake you for these morning check-ups."
The brunette shrugs and looks up from the book. She hopes her expression is as convincing as she thinks it is. "Yes, well. I woke up a bit too early and couldn't fall back asleep," she says, making her voice rueful. "It happens."
"It's never happened before this."
"It... still happens, but it's usually late during the night."
Tooth Fairy raises an eyebrow but doesn't say anything more. It's obvious she doesn't believe her.
Schneider gives her an innocent smile.
The medical arcanist stares at her for a moment before sighing and starting the check-up.
It goes like it usually does. Perfectly fine. Dee keeps having to stop herself from staring at Vertin's hiding spot every five seconds, but it goes fine.
When Tooth Fairy is completely sure that Dee's state is stable, she packs up her stuff and leaves.
Schneider thinks they managed to go uncaught, but before she closes the door, Tooth Fairy says smoothly, "I'll see you again this evening. Do me a favour and tell Vertin that next time she can just pretend to be visiting you early."
Schneider blinks and stares after her as the door closes, shocked into silence.
Vertin slowly opens the closet door. "Uhm," she says awkwardly, peeking out to grin at her. "That went... well."
"'Well' my foot!" Schneider says, giving Vertin a light-hearted glare as she steps out from the closet and brushes dust off her clothes. "You must have done something. I've never been caught doing something like this before! You were probably being too loud."
"I didn't even move!"
"Maybe you breathed too loud."
Vertin laughs then, and this is different from the other times because now Vertin is laughing loudly, and she seems like she really can't stop herself from laughing.
Dee's never seen her laugh like that before.
Vertin has a nice laugh. Melodic and sparkling, somehow, like the wind chimes she kept hung on one of the orange trees as a kid.
The Timekeeper manages to calm down enough to look up at her and smile, wide and sweet and amused, her eyes sparkling with something other than sunlight.
She remembers what Piccolo said, about Vertin looking at her like she hung the moon, and she realises that he was right.
"Maybe you were being obvious," Vertin shoots back, a mischief Dee's never seen in her before now clear in her tone.
"No I wasn't!" Schneider protests, but she's smiling.
"Did you stare at where I was hiding, Dee?" Vertin asks, clearly holding back laughter.
Her expression must have given her away, because when she doesn't reply, Vertin starts laughing again. That pretty, sparkling laugh.
The realisation that she is the one who made her laugh like that, that she is the one Vertin looks at with stars in her eyes, suddenly hits her.
It's ridiculous, really. That a girl as perfect as Vertin could ever care for and laugh with and smile at a girl like Schneider, who's done a million horrible things and would have probably done more if it weren't for Vertin finding her.
It's so ridiculous, it makes Schneider laugh along with her.
Notes:
Thanks for reading ^^
Lwk I think this is my favourite chapter so far, it's definitely one of the longest
Now excuse me as I attempt to get some sleep
Chapter 8: lessons - [v]
Summary:
Vertin's Italian lessons take an awkward - eventually sweet - turn.
Notes:
HELLO EVERYONE
Longest chapter so far! About 4800 words, which is a new record for me.
Sorry if the Italian in this is a bit off, once again I'm only able to use Google Translate and language learning websites to double check things ;-;Tags for this one: a lot of teasing, a lot of italics, sappy verneider, Tooth Fairy, Pavia and Zima appear, minor Pavzima, Vertin is Not Good at remembering that she needs to eat, Vertin makes an attempt at being romantic, Pavia's love for ice cream rlly shows, I think I repeated a bunch of words, "unrequited" love (it's so obvious it's not but they're just. Not getting their hopes up)
Hope you enjoy (。・ω・。)ノ♡
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"So it's... Uh..."
"Do you want me to repeat it again?"
Vertin hesitates for a moment, weighing her options, then nods sheepishly, giving Schneider a small smile. "Please."
Dee barks a laugh. "Listen properly this time."
The two of them are sitting across from each other on Schneider's bed in the clinic, Dee leaning back against the headboard and Vertin settled on the edge of the mattress.
It's a wonderfully sunny day, bright and warm. Since Vertin's got the day off - for once - she could be spending this time outside of the suitcase, shopping or exploring the new town they were in.
But she's chosen to spend the day safely inside the suitcase. It's calmer here, and anyway she's never been the biggest fan of shopping. (Unless it was for books or antiques, but she was pretty sure the town they were in now had neither of those anywhere.)
There was also the fact that she's been wanting to spend time with Schneider.
Specifically, so she can take Italian lessons.
"Ciao, mi chiamo Schneider," Dee repeats, saying each word clearly.
"Ciao, mi... chiamo... Vertin," the younger girl manages to say. It's spoken with a shaky accent, and Vertin almost messes up the words, but Dee lets out a soft hum of approval.
"Good," the brunette says with a nod. "At least you've got one phrase done. Took you an hour, but it's something."
Vertin wrinkles her nose at her. Dee only smiles.
She copies the phrase in a small notebook she brought with her, murmuring each word under her breath as she writes it.
The few times they've managed to have Italian lessons, Vertin writes everything she learns into this notebook. So far there's not much in there, but she's planning on taking more lessons and trying to figure things out from people other than Dee. Who else can speak Italian...
"Let's try doing a conversation," Dee suddenly says, pointing at Vertin as she hurriedly looks up. "I'll start."
Vertin hesitates before nodding.
"Buongiorno, mia cara," Schneider says languidly, somehow managing to make herself sound like she's just woken up. Vertin feels herself blushing. She's a good actress.
"...Buongiorno, Mrs Schneider," Vertin replies. Her voice is a little shaky now. Dee gives her an encouraging smile before continuing.
"È una bella giornata, non è vero?"
"Uhm... Sì, è carino."
Schneider gives her another nod of approval. "Hai già mangiato?"
Oh. She hasn't eaten yet, and she was planning on not telling Schneider that. She wasn't expecting to get called out during their lesson today. "...no."
Schneider raises one eyebrow. "Are you saying that for the sake of the lesson or have you actually not eaten?"
"Can I not answer that?"
"Vertin."
"...I actually haven't eaten."
"Bedda Matri," the brunette curses softly, reaching up and rubbing her temples. Ever since she joined Vertin's team, she's given herself the part time job of making sure everyone here was fed. Especially Vertin, who she learned early on had a tendency to skip meals because she was busy. Or because she forgot. "It's already late afternoon, and you haven't eaten anything? How are you still alive and functioning, my lord?"
"I had a few picrasma candies earlier, that counts as food," she says in an attempt to get Schneider to stop worrying.
The brunette gives her a skeptical look.
"Okay, it's not," Vertin says with a sigh. "I'll get food after this. Promise."
"Hmph. You'll probably forget again," Dee points out a little grumpily.
"I won't forget if you tell me."
Schneider rolls her eyes and gives her an exasperated smile. "You're so annoying," she scolds lightly. "I'm not your personal assistant, you don't get to boss me around like that."
Vertin hums softly, tilting her head in thought. "Technically I can boss you around," she says with a small grin. "I'm the one in charge of the team you're on."
This is what Schneider calls "being cheeky", but for once she's not just teasing. It is true that she outranks Schneider; but she doesn't like thinking about that much. It gives her a weird feeling.
"Alright then, fine, my lord," Schneider huffs, crossing her arms over her chest in a show of mock annoyance. "I'll listen to you this once."
"You always listen to-"
"Moving on," Schneider says briskly, clapping her hands once. "Time for a new phrase. I'll say it word by word like I always do, just repeat after me."
Vertin feels a little flicker of amusement flare in the back of her mind at how quickly Dee changes the subject, but she chooses not to say anything about it. "Got it."
The brunette goes quiet for a while, thinking - which further confirms Vertin's suspicion that she just said that to stop her from talking about how "obedient" she is - and then she looks up with a smile, her eyes back to sparkling.
This is when Vertin realizes that she's actually quite pretty, when she's excited. She's always known it in some part of her mind, but she never acknowledged it.
"Repeat after me," Dee instructs. "Vertin."
Weird that her name is the start of this phrase. Whatever. "Vertin."
"È un."
"È un."
"Saputella."
"...saputella."
Schneider's smile grows a little wider. "You're just as trusting as the old woman," she teases, and Vertin can hear a hint of triumph to her words. "You didn't even ask what I was teaching you to say."
Ah, Dee was right. She really hadn't thought of that. "...what did you make me say?"
Schneider starts to laugh a little now, her shoulders shaking as she covers her mouth with one hand and tries hiding it. "I just made you call yourself a smartass."
Vertin can only blink at her, stunned for a moment. When Schneider doesn't say anything more, Vertin grins a little and says, "You are one too, for making me say that."
"Chiudi la bocca," the brunette says with a grin. "This isn't about me. This is about you and your smartass comment from earlier."
"But it was true," Vertin shoots back, laughing a little herself. "I am the boss of you, aren't I?"
"You're not helping your case," Schneider says with a grin. "Smartass."
"What was it again? È un saputella," Vertin mutters under her breath, and then once she's sure she's got it right she says as confidently as she can, "Schneider è un saputella."
This only makes the older girl dissolve into helpless laughter, much to Vertin's delight.
"How come you managed to memorize that so quickly?" she says once she's recovered. Her ruby eyes are a little crinkled at the edges by her grin. "Usually it takes you a while to get a new phrase memorized."
"Maybe I just didn't want to show off," Vertin says innocently.
"You're insufferable."
"You know you like me."
Schneider laughs a little at that, but this time Vertin notices that she's blushing a little. "Insufferable," the brunette repeats, her grin growing wider.
"Do you have anything else to teach me or shall we just keep going like this the rest of the day?" Vertin says casually, like she wouldn't mind either way.
(And she wouldn't mind, not really, because either way she'd get to stay with Schneider. That's enough for her.)
"I do, I do," Dee says, trying to put on a serious face. It's not working very well. "We're definitely not doing this for that long. I don't think I'd be able to handle your banter for the rest of the day."
Vertin huffs a laugh. "And here I thought you liked it."
"I think I liked you more when you were quiet," Schneider says, her expression still amused but her voice now dry.
"I think I liked this more when I was actually learning something," Vertin says just as dryly, and as the words leave her mouth she feels a sudden pang of that wasn't the right thing to say.
It sounded rude. It sounded like she only liked spending time with Dee like this because she wanted to learn from her.
While she does want to learn from her - not just Italian. She wants to learn how to be as brave as her, and as confident, and as smart, and she wants to learn how a girl as dazzling as her could ever smile her way when Vertin was just a girl who tried to fight and got only failure in return, again and again - she doesn't want to spend time with her just for that.
She wants to be with Schneider because of Schneider. Because of how happy she makes her. Because she likes the person she became around her.
Vertin blinks back into reality and realizes that she was probably overthinking all of that, because there is Dee, laughing at her words, not looking hurt or sad at all.
The pressure squeezing her chest eases. Thank god.
"Okay, stop your backtalk for a second while I try teaching you this," Schneider says once the laughter has stopped. Her eyes are still sparkling, her smile is still there. She's definitely not hurt.
"Promise you won't make me say something stupid?"
"No promises," the brunette says lightly, and Vertin resigns herself to the fact that that's the closest thing she'll get for now.
"Repeat after me," Schneider says. "Ti."
"Ti."
"Vogghiu."
"Vogghiu."
"Beni."
"Beni."
Dee's smile softens. It's by a little, but Vertin notices. "You didn't ask what I was teaching you. Again."
"It's clearly not something embarrassing," Vertin says softly, tilting her head. "You would be laughing if it was."
Schneider scoffs. "I could just have a straight face," she says. "I have a good poker face, you know."
"Mm. Sure." She's seen her play cards with some of the younger arcanists before. Her poker face was horrible. But maybe that was because she wanted to go easy on the others. "So what does it mean?"
Schneider hesitates. "I love you," she finally replies, her voice much more tender and soft than she'd been expecting. "It's... It's a way to say I love you in Sicily."
Vertin can tell she's blushing. She can feel the warmth rising to her face. "I- That-"
"Platonically," Schneider adds quickly, blushing a little herself. "You say it to friends and family."
Vertin blinks. That was a little bit disappointing. Maybe a lot bit disappointing. She had thought...
Don't think about it like that, she snaps at herself. She doesn't think of you like that. Don't be creepy. She's your friend.
It was probably better this way.
She shoves her disappointment away and takes a deep breath. "That's good to know," she says slowly, trying to hide her actual emotions.
"You look disappointed," Schneider says anyway, completely trampling over Vertin's efforts to hide that fact.
When she sighs and looks up to meet Dee's eyes, she sees that the older girl's expression is still just as amused and cheerful as it was before. Except Schneider's eyes now shone with a different spark; hope, maybe.
"I could teach you how to say it... Ah... romantically, if you want me to," Schneider offers a little awkwardly. Vertin ignores the hint of a tremble in her voice.
An idea strikes her as she thinks of her reply.
It's a good idea. She thinks. She hopes it is.
The problem is it involves having to say no to Schneider. Right now. While she's looking at her like that.
But the idea. It's perfect, and she's only got this one chance to do it.
So she looks up, and she forces herself to say, "No, it's alright. Thank you."
Her voice comes out much quieter than she meant it to be. She wonders why, for a moment; then she sees Schneider's smile dim and waver, the spark in her eyes disappearing.
That's why. I didn't want to say it and make her face do that, that crumbling into disappointment.
She feels guilty immediately, but Dee is already brushing it off with a smile. "That's fair enough," she says, her voice even and a little bored. Vertin can tell she's faking it. "You wouldn't have anyone to say it to, after all."
Yes I do. It's you.
She wants to apologise for hurting her feelings and hug her and tell her that she just wants to do something for her, but that would mean explaining her feelings.
So. Another approach, then.
"That's not exactly true," Vertin admits softly. Schneider's eyes light up again. Not as bright as before, but it was a start.
She starts saying things before she can think about them too hard. "I... I just want to do something first. It's for someone special."
Was that too much?
Schneider says nothing.
They both sit there and watch each other for a while, each wondering what the other was thinking. Schneider looks so worried, no matter how hard she tries hiding it behind her smile. Vertin wonders if she looks the same.
"You better do that something quick," Dee finally says, and her voice is wistful now. "That someone might get sick of waiting for you."
Is she talking about herself? Does she know? Vertin can't tell.
Knowing Schneider, she most likely does.
"I will try," Vertin says slowly, like a promise.
They both fall into another silence. This one is more comfortable than the first, but it feels like it stretches on for ages. Neither of them knows what to say anymore.
Eventually Schneider opens her mouth to say something, her expression turning curious. Vertin's heart skips a beat, wondering if she will ask who she wants to say "I love you" to.
But before Schneider can say a word, the door opens, and Tooth Fairy comes in, looking just as calm and intimidating as she always did.
Vertin straightens as the woman steps into the clinic, but she doesn't even bat an eye at her.
"Hello again, you two," Tooth Fairy says, nodding towards the two of them. "Schneider, sorry I couldn't come this morning. I had to treat a certain potion maker when she accidentally burned herself while trying to help X with something."
Dee wrinkled her nose, concern showing on her expression. "Sotheby got hurt?"
"Don't worry, it shouldn't take too long for her to heal," Tooth Fairy says, and the Timekeeper notices how she softens a little at Schneider's concern. "It was a pretty bad burn, but she's brave. Didn't cry once while I treated her, not even when I made her eat one of the fairies."
Schneider shudders at the mention of them. Tooth Fairy smiles and settles on the other chair next to Dee's bed, unpacking her stuff.
She hesitates when she notices Vertin again. "...are you alright with her staying?" the medical arcanist asks Schneider quietly.
Dee looks at Vertin, tilts her head, and says, "I'm alright with it. But I don't think she wants to stay."
Vertin bristles a little, slightly offended at the very thought of Schneider thinking that she didn't want to stay by her side.
But then the brunette smiles at her, that sweet, bright smile that always manages to make her smile back, and she adds, "She's got something to do."
Tooth Fairy gives the two of them a look, but she doesn't interfere.
"Right then. Go on Vertin," she says with a small nod. A short pause.
Then Tooth Fairy reaches into her bag, takes out a few toffees, and hands them to Vertin over the bed. "Here. The sugar might help you feel calm while doing your... something."
Vertin smiles. "Thank you."
"Is that a thing?" Schneider asks, faintly amused. "Sugar helping people feel calm?"
"It does work, for short amounts of time," Tooth Fairy says with a nod. "But it's like picrasma candies. You shouldn't take a lot of sugar if you're trying to keep calm, just like you shouldn't take a lot of picrasma if you're trying to keep awake."
Here both of them give Vertin a look. She was already standing, headed to the door, but now she freezes in place. "Vertin, you heard that?" Tooth Fairy says accusingly.
She turns to look at them with her best innocent smile. Neither of them look very convinced.
"Yes, I heard it," Vertin says. "I don't take that much, you know."
"You said earlier that they was the only thing you ate today," Schneider says wryly. Tooth Fairy raises one eyebrow at that.
Oh well. It was starting to get expensive anyway, buying jars of picrasma candies only to finish them in under a week.
"Okay," she says with a sigh. "I'll eat something. And I'll try to stop myself from eating too many of those candies."
"Good," both Dee and Tooth Fairy say in unison, and Vertin smiles a little as she steps out of the clinic.
Nobody was in the lobby or main rooms right then. She made it to the kitchen without bumping into anybody, which was a bit of a surprise considering how crowded the suitcase could get during afternoons like this.
It was nice having some quiet, though.
Vertin pops one of the toffees into her mouth as she looks for food. Soon she manages to get herself a few cookies from the cookie jar Bunny Bunny always kept in stock, a chocolate croissant she found in the bread box, and a cup of tea she brewed herself.
Not bad for a late breakfast, she thinks.
She's finished her food and is sipping at the tea, watching the Wilderness from the kitchen window, when she hears two voices coming closer.
"Amico mio," says the first voice, brash and confident, "if you're going to write something poetic, of course you'll need to have something sweet. The greatest poetry always has some sort of sweetness to it, no?"
"...I don't like sweet things," comes the soft voiced reply, followed by a cheerful chirp.
"I promise you it's good. Gelato is the perfect dessert."
Vertin turns to the door just as two men walk in: one with a wolfish grin on his face and rose tinted sunglasses, spinning a pistol absently in one hand; the other with the same blank expression Vertin always sees him with, holding a piece of paper and a pen, his scarf pulled tight around his neck, the bird perched on his shoulder tugging on its loose ends.
"Hey hey, miss governor!" Pavia crows, a sharp fang showing more prominently as his grin grows wider. Vertin shivers a little at the name, reminded of the sound of someone else calling her that. "I was gonna give this poet here a share of my gelato. The kind I made you a while ago, with the pine nuts and blueberry syrup. You want some?"
"Sure," Vertin says with a shrug, downing the last of her tea and setting the cup back down. "That sounds nice."
Pavia gives her a mock salute before putting his pistol back in it's holster. He pads to the fridge, opening the freezer and taking out his carton of gelato. She's always wondered where he got his supply, but it still wasn't very clear. Her main guess right now was that he made it all himself.
As Pavia looked through all the cupboards for bowls, Zima very quietly took a spot at the table, close enough to hear Vertin if she wanted to talk but far enough away it wouldn't seem like intruding.
Vertin gave Zima a small nod when he looked up at her, and Zima responded with a nod of his own. His chickadee chirped impatiently and fluttered up to settle on Zima's head.
Now she could hear Pavia rummaging around in drawers while he looked for spoons, occasionally muttering something that sounded like "Dove sono, dove sono?"
By the time Pavia had bowls full of gelato in front of each of them, Vertin and Zima still hadn't said a word to each other.
"Strong silent types, aren't you?" Pavia teases lightly as he serves himself. She notices how much gelato he heaps into his bowl - twice the amount she'd be able to finish.
"We haven't got anything... interesting... to say," Zima says softly, staring at the man in glasses. Pavia waves one hand dismissively.
"Talk about poetry," he says cheerfully, immediately taking a spoonful of gelato the second he sits down. "You two both like poetry, don't you?"
Both of them stay quiet, blushing faintly. Pavia shrugs and takes another bite of gelato. "Maybe not strong silent types. Shy silent types."
Zima watches as Pavia eats spoonful after spoonful of gelato, seemingly mystified. He looks down at his own bowl and takes the first spoonful.
His eyes light up.
Pavia doesn't notice. He points his spoon at Vertin, the wolfish grin back on his face. "Heard you've been taking Italian lessons, miss saviour. È la bruna che ti insegna?"
Vertin tries remembering her lessons as quick as possible, swallowing her spoonful of gelato. "Sì, è Schneider."
Pavia lets out a low whistle. Apparently he's impressed. "Not bad! Say, she's the former mafiosa, right? You should ask her to teach me some stuff. She must've been pretty good if she ran a mafia for years without getting caught."
He notices how Zima perks up at that information and grins. "She's only eighteen too. Badass, if you ask me."
"Teach you what, though? Gunfighting?" Vertin asks, a little confused. "Aren't you already good at that yourself?"
Pavia shrugs, eats another spoonful. "Could use a few pointers from her," he says smoothly. "Not just for shooting. For our, ah... Line of work. She's got everything: charm, confidence, smarts."
He grins. "Then again, I've got all those things too, haven't I?"
"Sure," Zima affirms quietly. His chickadee chirps again, and the poet lets him take a bit of pine nut.
"Moving on," Pavia says. "How long have you and mafiosa been a thing, anyway?"
Vertin can feel herself blushing, her face growing warmer at the question. "Ah... We aren't a thing, actually."
Now both of the men are staring at her, both looking surprised. She's never seen Zima this expressive. Even the chickadee is staring at her, it's beady eyes wide like it's just been scandalised.
"Really?" Pavia says more apologetically. "Merda, I'm so sorry. Didn't mean to assume. I would've never guessed, too - you two act like you're together."
Vertin blushes even more furiously, and Pavia barks a laugh.
"What, you haven't noticed?" he asks incredulously. "She followed you around like a lost cat whenever you took us on missions." His grin returns, his fangs showing again. "Almost as bad as the redhead."
Zima smiles a little at that comment, then has another bite of gelato. "She does seem a bit... clingy," he murmurs. The bird on his head chirps in agreement.
Pavia turns his grin to the poet, his expression softening a bit. Maybe he's pleased that he got Zima to agree with him - or maybe he's just happy he's gotten him to smile.
"Yeah, it's a little off-putting," Pavia says conversationally to Vertin. "Add that with the fact that you act so sappy with each other, plus the fact she put herself in the way of a bullet so you wouldn't get hurt-"
"You know about that?" Vertin asks squeakily. She didn't know what she'd expected. News did travel fast in the suitcase.
"Everyone does," Pavia says, waving his free hand dismissively. Zima nods, his spoon in his mouth. The chickadee flutters down onto the table and snags another pine nut, making Zima scold him softly as he flies back onto his shoulder.
"That's not the point," Pavia continues, his usual bravado returning. "The point is that even if you're not together, you obviously like each other."
He leans forward, the grin on his face turning teasing. "Do you want you two to be a thing, governor?"
Vertin doesn't reply for a long moment, taking a while to process that she's talking about this with Pavia and Zima, of all people.
She's tempted to shut her mouth and not tell them anything. But she can tell that they're both - well, Pavia is, but it's a bit hard to tell with Zima - genuinely curious. They aren't trying to snoop, they're trying to see if they can have a say in what happens next.
She can trust them.
"...I do," she mumbles sheepishly, looking down at her untouched gelato. "I've got an idea on what to say to her, too."
"Oooh, you do?" Pavia says excitedly. Zima tilts her head at her, and his bird takes one look at him and does the same. "Tell us about it, then!"
"You know how De- uh- Schneider is teaching me Italian, right?" Vertin says, her face blushing. "She taught me how to say 'I love you' today, but platonically."
She decides to take a bite of gelato before continuing. It's good. Creamy and sweet from the syrup. "I'm planning on learning how to say it romantically, from somewhere else, and then surprising her by saying it to her."
Pavia barks another laugh, puffing up his chest a little. "Look at you, being so romantic!" he crows. "Who knew you'd be such a lovergirl?"
Vertin's blush deepens. "It's not that romantic."
"Yes it is," Zima pipes up, and his eyes glaze over a little. As if he's thinking. "I could... write about something like this..."
"See, even Mr Stoicism says it's cute," Pavia says triumphantly. "You should have told me that earlier, I could have helped."
"You can help now," Vertin says, perking up. Pavia could speak Italian! He could teach her! Even if she did somehow completely forget about that fact for a bit!
"It's 'ti amo'," Pavia says without hesitation. "You can remember that, right?"
"Ti amo," she repeats softly. She takes a few more bites of gelato and then keeps repeating it. "Ti amo, ti amo, ti amo."
"You've got it already," Pavia said a bit too proudly. "When you and mafiosa finally get together, I'll be expecting a thank you. In the form of ice cream."
Zima gives him a look. Pavia shrugs at him. "Might as well take the opportunity, right?"
"I will," Vertin says solemnly. She doesn't really mind; without Pavia, it would've taken much longer for her to figure that out. "I'll buy you some myself."
Pavia grins at Zima, who huffs and starts writing something down in the paper he's holding.
"When are you gonna say it?" Pavia asks Vertin, his sharp eyes glinting in the sunshine. "Soon? Today, maybe?"
"Soon enough," Vertin replies vaguely. Pavia wrinkles his nose. "Okay, maybe later today."
"Wonderful," Pavia says cheerfully. He turns to Zima. "Now for the reason we came in the first place. How was the gelato?"
Vertin notices that Zima's bowl is empty now. His chickadee's fluttered down on the table again, picking a few pine nuts from the bowl and eating them.
"Good," Zima says softly, nodding down at the little bird. "Surprisingly."
"Told you," Pavia says with another grin. He stands up, gathers his and Zima's bowls, and puts them in the sink. "We'll be taking our leave now, miss governor. He's promised to show me some of his poetry."
"I never said that."
"Would you be okay with it?"
Zima stares at him, for a long moment, and then mumbles, "...Alright."
The two of them leave the kitchen, Zima already leading the way to his room while Pavia stayed behind for a bit to wish Vertin well.
"Buona fortuna, lovergirl!" he crows. "Don't mess up!"
Vertin waves them goodbye and stares out the window, watching a butterfly flutter just past the glass as she finishes the last of her gelato.
When her bowl is empty, she looks up to find the butterfly is perched on the windowsill. Its wings are slowly opening and closing, and now Vertin notices the spots of blue that dot the edges of its red wings.
She stares at it for a little longer, and then gets up to put the dishes into the sink.
"Butterflies are good luck, right?" she mutters to herself, tilting her head at the little bug.
A moment more of hesitating, of wondering if this will go well, of thinking of all the possible futures where Schneider starts looking at her differently for saying something like this.
That last one horrifies her. What if she loses her by telling her this?
She protected you from getting shot. Doesn't that make it seem like she'd be alright with this?
The butterfly's wings open and close, open and close.
Vertin takes a deep breath.
"You'll be fine," she murmured to herself. "You've gotten lucky before."
Another deep breath. Then she padded into the hallway and went back to the clinic - her heart on her sleeve, feeling fragile as the butterfly on the window.
Notes:
FIRST (kinda) CLIFFHANGER IVE EVER WRITTEN!!!
Ngl I'm not a very big fan of how this chapter ends, but I didn't know how else to end it. This is the best idea I've got ahaha sorry
I might rewrite the ending, but no promisesIve got report card day tmrw and I probably will get yelled at for my grades, so I might not post another chapter in a while; but i promise it'll be fluffy and cute when I do :)
Have a nice rest of your day/night ^^
Chapter 9: confess - [s]
Summary:
Does planning for a confession work well? Schneider wonders.
(The answer is no, it doesn't, but maybe it's better like this anyway.)
Notes:
HELLO AGAIN :3
I feel like this is the fastest I've ever updated this lmao
Anyway- I promised fluff so here is said fluff
They're getting together!!! Hurrah!!!! I'm giving them the happy ending they couldn't get in canon frExtra tags: getting together (heh could you tell), awkward confession, Schneider panicking about that confession before it even happens, Tooth Fairy tries helping Dee with trying to figure out what to do, also she really likes teasing her LMAOO, tooth fairy and Dee dynamic, one of my Schneider-while-in-the-mafia hcs, blushing, hugs, kisses but not making out, these bitches gay! good for them, good for them /ref
Hope you enjoy, and THANK YOU FOR 100 KUDOS <3
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Schneider was never the best at casual conversation.
Before being taken in by Vertin and her crew, a majority of her conversations had been stilted, forcibly polite exchanges, meant for business and nothing more. There was no small talk, there were no jokes, there wasn't any laughter, forced or otherwise.
Almost every interaction she had had to do with work. Making deals, collecting pay, asking one of her subordinates to help her ensure a deal would go well.
It was all serious.
So Schneider adapted to it.
Her natural sarcasm and playfulness were kept hidden, replaced by charm and feigned confidence that she learned to use to get a million different things: to convince her 'clients' to give her more money for her work, to climb up the ranks of the mafia and maintain her position.
This way of speaking worked. Very well. But that was when she was working in the mafia, having to kill for a living. She didn't have to do that anymore. She was safe now.
(Unless you counted the fact that the Manus had put a target on her back. That wasn't too bad, though - her time with them had given her enough of a clue to their tactics and how they worked to stay safe. She hoped.)
Since moving into the suitcase, she'd been trying to get herself to stop following the unspoken rules she kept for conversations.
And it had been working. Mostly. She still found herself following them sometimes, but least now she didn't have to stress over slipping up.
There was still the fact that she was horrible at bringing up topics she thought were sensitive. She always hated that, having to be delicate and having to try hiding her actual feelings. So she brushed past topics like that, never bringing them up unless someone else did first - and that rarely happened.
That flaw of hers usually could go unnoticed. But the problem now was that Vertin had just left the clinic. Meaning Schneider was now alone with Tooth Fairy.
Tooth Fairy. Who, over the course of the past month, she had learned could be very blunt with subjects Dee couldn't bring up herself.
She usually found that trait admirable. She'd even been grateful for it a few times before, when she needed to get something off her chest and Tooth Fairy brought it up so she could talk about it with her.
Today, though? Today she was terrified. Dee had a feeling she knew what topic the medical arcanist would bring up, and to be honest, she didn't really want to talk about that.
She was hoping to stay away from that subject and the embarrassment that would come with it for as long as possible, but knowing Tooth Fairy, it was just a matter of time before-
"So," the older woman started a touch too casually, interrupting Dee's thoughts. "When are you and Vertin going to stop dancing around each other?"
There it was. Schneider gave her a rueful smile. "We aren't dancing around each other. She's my friend. I'm hers. That's it."
Tooth Fairy rolled her eyes and waited for Dee to take her jacket off. "Seems like a strange way of being friends," she said lightly, sounding almost amused as she started to unwrap the bandages on Schneider's arm.
"No, it's normal," Dee said with a bit too much defensiveness. "It's very normal. The thing you are referring to. That is- what are you referring to?"
The older woman huffs a soft laugh and starts applying some sort of balm to Schneider's cut using a cotton ball. Dee winces at the sting of it.
"I'm referring to the fact that I've caught you two asleep together," she says wryly, not looking up from her work. "Cuddling, too."
"Tsk. That doesn't cou- Wait. What?" She feels herself blushing, her face growing warmer by the second. "You have? And you never- When?!"
"Few weeks ago," Tooth Fairy replies offhandedly, reaching for a roll of new bandages in her bag. "Hey. Hold still. It was a while after I said you shouldn't get any visitors. I'm assuming Vertin snuck into the clinic and you let her stay."
A short pause. "Despite me saying you shouldn't have any visitors."
Tooth Fairy continues her work, wrapping the cut on her arm with the new bandages. Schneider stays quiet.
Then, in a half-hearted mumble, she says "I'm sorry."
She remembers that night. Vertin had come to her exhausted, needing company. Frankly, so had she. Both of them preferred being together over being apart.
"But honestly, you couldn't have cooped me up in here alone and bored out of my mind and expect me not to do anything about it," she adds a little more defiantly, tilting her head towards her.
The medical arcanist hums thoughtfully, cutting the bandages around her arm off the rest of the roll. Had those scissors always been there?
"I suppose that's fair," Tooth Fairy says, leaning back to study her work once she's done securing the bandages. "I wasn't too sure about that rule, either. Seemed a little cruel to leave you alone with no company while you were hurting - but then, I was worried."
Schneider wonders about what she could possibly mean by that for a while, then realises it herself.
"...you were worried someone would be here and see me when I passed out," she says slowly. "And you were worried that they would be scared if they saw that."
"...you're smart."
"You already know that. I'm guessing you were worried about Vertin seeing, specifically?"
Tooth Fairy sighs. "I was."
The quiet admission, the faint concern in her tone, makes the voice in the back of her mind wake up and start whispering things again.
Selfish, it hisses. You're selfish for wanting her close, even when it could have hurt her.
"The other wound, now."
Schneider blinks and lifts her arms, blushing faintly. She'd expected to get used to this by now - apparently not.
Tooth Fairy squints a little as she gently presses her chest, checking to see if anywhere hurt under pressure. Nothing.
"You know, the thing is," Tooth Fairy murmurs as she settles back in her chair and writes something in a notebook, "I regret stopping Vertin from seeing you. She would have known what to do, if you did pass out while she was with you."
Schneider lowers her arms and stares at her jacket, sitting on her right. She notices the tip of a single blue-grey feather peeking out from one of its pockets that she definitely didn't put there.
She gave me another gift.
"And anyway," Tooth Fairy continues knowingly, "she's one of the few people here you trust completely, isn't she?"
Schneider's face grows a little redder.
Vertin was the first and only person she'd ever had full faith in - unless you counted the god that abandoned her. She would have done anything for her, like the past version of herself did for her family.
Schneider had already tried giving up her own life for Vertin's; so what else wouldn't she do?
Well. Tell Vertin about all that, I guess.
"Guessing by your face, I'm right." Dee blinks out of her thoughts, turning back to Tooth Fairy just as she shoots her a smile. Her things are already tucked away in her bag.
"You two are definitely dancing around each other," the older woman continues conversationally. "It's just that neither of you realise it. Somehow."
Dee lets out a weary sigh and leans back against the wall, tugging her jacket closer to her and taking the feather out of the pocket it was in with surprising gentleness.
"Are you sure she actually likes me like that?" she asks in a whisper, slowly spinning the feather between two fingers.
"She's snuck into the clinic because she wanted to be with you," Tooth Fairy points out, amused. "You've cuddled. Don't you think that's enough of a clue?"
I guess it is, a hopeful voice in Dee's mind whispers.
"You still haven't explained how you saw us asleep together," Schneider grumbles. She already knows the answer - she thinks she does - but she still asks it for the sake of dodging Tooth Fairy's question.
"I came to check on you," Tooth Fairy replies. She raises one eyebrow, suspicious. "You should know that by now. I always check on you early in the morning."
"...maybe I wanted to make sure," Schneider says with a shrug.
"Right." The older woman tilts her head in thought, and Dee suddenly notices how much she looks like Marian.
Maybe that was why she felt like Tooth Fairy was familiar. Her personality was more playful and calm than of her late sister's; but they both had the same quiet thoughtfulness, and they both had the same hair and eyes.
"Can you tell me what the something is that Vertin's planning?" Tooth Fairy asks Dee lightly. This is out of curiosity more than trying to help her with it, but she doesn't mind.
"Uh," she starts awkwardly. "So... I've been trying to teach her Italian, you probably know that. Today I taught her how to say 'I love you'-"
"You what?"
"Platonically," Dee adds firmly, shooting the older woman a playful glare. "Don't think like that. Even I'm not as bratty to make her say that."
"Aren't you?" Tooth Fairy asks dryly.
"So I taught her that," Schneider continues, attempting to ignore Tooth Fairy's little jab at her. "She was acting a little weird when I told her it was the platonic way of saying it, so I asked if she wanted me to teach her how to say it romantically."
"God, and you say you aren't dancing around each other," Tooth Fairy grumbles, a little annoyed. "That's basically flirting. What happened then?"
"She said no, and I might have maybe reacted a little... immature."
"Surely it can't be that bad."
"I said, and I quote, 'That's fair enough. You wouldn't have anyone to say it to, after all.'"
"Wow. I guess it is that bad," Tooth Fairy says, her voice still just as dry as it was before. "Imagine flirting with someone just to say that immediately after."
"Shut up."
"No, thank you. How did Vertin react?"
Schneider sighed and stared at the feather she was holding as she spoke again. "She told me that it wasn't true. Her having nobody to say it to, I mean. She said that she was just... planning something for someone special."
Tooth Fairy hums thoughtfully. "I have an idea on what she meant now."
"I do, too," Dee admitted softly.
"And you didn't say anything about it?" the older woman asks. "Didn't ask if it was what you're thinking?"
"Of course not," Schneider says, disgruntled. "If she wants to try learning that herself to so something sappy for me, then let her. I'm not going to ruin it."
Tooth Fairy stares at her. Finally she looks up from the feather, shooting her a glare. "What?"
Tooth Fairy grins. "You said it was for you," she says. "Vertin didn't say who it was for, did she? So how do you know?"
Schneider blushes. "...I don't know. That was... a guess."
"There really isn't a platonic way of explaining that, even if it is a guess," Tooth Fairy says pleasantly, a grin still on her face. "Especially since she said she was going to learn how to say 'I love you'."
Dee huffs. "What are you trying to say?"
"I'm trying to say," Tooth Fairy says, her expression turning more mischievous, "that when Vertin comes back here to surprise you, you should take it as a confession and ask her if she wants to date you."
Schneider is shocked into silence for a moment.
"You're serious?" she squeaks when Tooth Fairy says nothing more. Potrei essere un idiota, ma non sono così stupido. "I'm not doing that! No!"
"What a shame," Tooth Fairy says, her mischievous expression still in place. "Wouldn't it be nice to be done with all that will-we-won't-we stuff?"
"I'd rather deal with that for the rest of my life than ask her something like that!" Dee protests. "No. Absolutely not. I'm never doing that."
"At least do something smaller. Saying 'I love you' back would be a good start." Tooth Fairy raises one eyebrow. "If you can even handle that."
"I can," she says huffily. "You're acting like I haven't done much more complicated things. I can handle something as simple as that. I'm sure."
Sicuro solo a metà. Ma è qualcosa.
"Not very simple if you've been avoiding it for the past few months," Tooth Fairy grumbles.
"I'm sorry, past few months?" Schneider says, horrified. "How long do you think I've liked her?"
"My first guess is since the second you saw her."
"Be serious."
Tooth Fairy gives her a smile. "Maybe around the time of the last Storm," she says. "Vertin told me about it, you know. How you ran to her the second the rain started coming harder."
Schneider blushes. She doesn't need to be reminded of that, it's already burned into her memory.
The whole reason she ran to Vertin in the first place was because she was expecting to die that night - to get reversed. She wanted to be held by the one person who she thought truly cared for her. She wanted to disappear feeling loved for once in her pathetic life.
But she hadn't disappeared, and she'd said all that sappy melodramatic "don't forget me" stuff for nothing. And it was so embarrassing.
"...was I really that obvious?" Schneider asks a little ruefully.
"You already know the answer to that question," Tooth Fairy says cheerfully. "It was obvious to me. I wish I could say the same thing for Vertin."
Of course she hadn't noticed. Her lord was incredibly smart, but she could also be incredibly oblivious most of the time.
Not that I care.
"So what exactly do you want me to do?" Dee asks the older woman grumpily, giving her a pout. "Giving me a plan would be nice. Instead of just saying 'you should do this' and not telling me anything about how to do it."
"I can't give you a plan," Tooth Fairy says. "I can't foresee exactly what Vertin's going to do or say. I don't know how this will play out. You'll just have to wing it."
"Di questo passo dovrei scappare prima che ritorni," Schneider muttered tiredly under her breath.
"It's not that bad of a plan," the medical arcanist says with a shrug. "It's not like Vertin's going to get mad at you or something."
She could, Dee thinks, anxiety starting to whisper things in the back of her mind. She could tell you she loves you but then take it back the second a word comes out of your mouth.
"And it's not like she'll be coming back that soon," Tooth Fairy continues, making Schneider snap out of her thoughts. "You have time to think about what you can say. Don't worry."
"...what if I mess up anyway?"
"Then you blame it on surprise and keep going."
"This is a horrible idea," Schneider says more vehemently. "I say I should just say 'I love you' back and then move on with my life."
"Vertin won't move on."
"..."
"She's probably already expecting you to do something, since you were flirting with her."
"Don't rub it in," Schneider groans. She looks away before speaking again, tucking the feather back in her jacket. "Fine. Okay. I will maybe do it."
"That's the spirit," Tooth Fairy says, sarcasm dripping from her words. "You're very optimistic."
"Yes I am, aren't I?"
Tooth Fairy snorts a laugh and gathers her things, getting up to leave. "Good luck, Schneider," she says as she opens the door, her voice more cheerful. "Do everyone a favour and let you two get together."
Schneider shoots her a glare, but Tooth Fairy only laughs again as she steps out of the clinic.
She takes a few deep breaths once she's gone.
"Bene," Schneider says to herself, fidgeting with the edge of her jacket sleeve. "This is fine. You can figure something out before she comes back. Tooth Fairy's right, you still have ti-"
The door opens. Schneider straightens and looks up, hoping that it's Tooth Fairy again, back because she wanted to tell her something.
But no. It's Vertin.
Dio mi salvi.
The Timekeeper gives her a shy little smile as she steps inside, which is annoying, because it's very hard to focus on things to say while Vertin's smiling at her like that, as if she could never do anything wrong.
"I learned how to say it," Vertin says quietly, closing the door behind her and heading straight to Schneider's side.
"Isn't that a surprise," the brunette says sarcastically, smiling at her. "It wasn't like I didn't expect you to."
A pause. The younger girl's already sitting on the edge of Dee's bed, close enough for her to reach out and touch her if she wanted to.
"Were you expecting me to say it to you?" Vertin finally asks, her voice a touch quieter than before.
Schneider hums softly. "I was hoping for it," she admits in a murmur, blushing once again. "Wasn't really expecting it, though."
"Hoping for it?" Vertin says, surprised. "...really?"
"Yes, really," Schneider says with another smile. "Isn't it obvious that I like you, my lord? Or have you been ignoring it?"
"...I didn't want to get my hopes up."
"Neither did I."
Another pause. Vertin shifts a little, so she's facing her properly now. She's blushing, too, she notices, right after thinking about how cute she looks while she's flustered.
"...can I say it?" Vertin asks, and Schneider can't help but laugh a little.
"You don't have to ask for permission," Dee says, softening. "You're very sweet for asking, but I don't mind."
Vertin watches her expression for a long while, as if making sure she really means it.
And then, finally, she says quietly, "...ti amo, Schneider."
Schneider smiles at her.
Then before she can stop to think about it, to second guess herself, Dee leans forward, gently takes Vertin's chin in one hand to make her lean down, and kisses her forehead.
"Ti amo, Vertin," Schneider whispers, smiling against her skin.
She feels a rush of joy as the younger girl goes red and leans into her, sighing softly as if she's just found a moment of relief in a busy day.
"I'm surprised you do," Vertin murmurs.
Schneider huffs at that, tilting her head. "Of course I do."
"...there's a million other people it could have been. A million other people better for you."
Schneider rolls her eyes, then leans in and starts kissing her again, gently; over her cheeks, her forehead, and then a final, light one on her lips.
"Yes, there might be," she whispers, affection sneaking into her voice unbidden. "But there's only one of you. You're the one and only Vertin - you're the one person who's stolen my heart."
Vertin's blush deepens, but she smiles. Schneider feels her heart skip a beat. "And you call me sappy."
"That wasn't being sappy, that was the truth."
Vertin laughs, softly, and then suddenly Schneider realises that Vertin's hugging her. Tight, but not enough to hurt her.
"I love you," the younger girl whispers, burying her face in Dee's neck as the brunette hugs her back.
"I love you too," Schneider says. "Smartass."
"You really aren't still hung up over that?" Vertin says with a little laugh, lifting her head to look at her with sparkling eyes. "Seriously?"
"Because you are one," Schneider says with a grin.
"Shut up."
"No, thank you."
Vertin laughs again and rests her head on Dee's shoulder, tugging her closer. "I'm glad we finally got that out of the way," she mumbles. "It was getting tiring, having to wonder if you actually liked me back or not."
"Mmm." Schneider would say the same thing, if she wasn't busy being ecstatic. She rested her head on Vertin's shoulder, then suddenly tilted her head to nuzzle her neck. "Yes it was."
"Dee?" Vertin says faintly, a hint of surprise in her tone.
"Yes, my lord?" she replies without looking up.
"...you're hugging me really tight."
Schneider pulls back the second she hears the words, already mentally reprimanding herself. "Sorry, sorry-"
"I'm not mad," Vertin says quickly, pulling her back in a hug. "I just wanted to ask if you wanted to cuddle more. I didn't know how else to say it- I mean, I guess I could have asked straight away, but I thought it would be awkward."
Schneider tenses, and it takes a moment for her to register Vertin's explanation before she starts melting into the hug, curling into her.
"...are you okay with it?" Dee asks quietly, even though she isn't moving away.
"Yes."
"Then I wouldn't mind cuddles." She hums a little before nuzzling her neck and mumbling, "Asking it straight away would have been better, by the way."
"Shh."
Schneider lets herself close her eyes as Vertin shifts to lay on the bed, still holding Dee on top of her. The brunette finds that lying with her head on Vertin's chest, above her heartbeat, is horrifyingly comfortable. She's already feeling drowsy.
"This is nice," she says aloud, sighing softly. "I would have asked if you liked me ages ago if it meant I could get cuddles from you whenever I want."
"Not whenever you want," Vertin points out. Dee feels her start gently ruffling her hair, almost petting her. "I still have work to do."
"I say you should quit and spend the rest of your life spending time with me," Dee says lightly, smiling.
"You'd boss me around the rest of my life, so I'd rather not."
"You admit you'd let me boss you around the rest of your life?"
"It's a metaphorical thing."
"Right."
Vertin lets out a little laugh and holds Dee a bit tighter. "You can sleep if you want. I don't mind."
"It's the middle of the day," Schneider points out even as sleep starts creeping up on her.
"Have you never heard of a nap?" Vertin asks jokingly. "Just sleep, Dee. You never get enough sleep at night anyway."
I do, but only if you're there.
She doesn't really want to sleep right now. She'd rather be doing something. Preferably with Vertin still there.
But her lord is right about her not getting enough sleep. Even now she's still having trouble with bad dreams and insomnia.
And it was so warm...
"Fine," she murmurs. "Wake me up in an hour."
"No promises."
"Idiot."
Vertin laughs. Dee stretches a little and slowly, slowly lets herself relax completely, melting into Vertin's touch and letting the steady rhythm of her heartbeat under her ear lull her to sleep.
Schneider is just about to fall asleep when she feels a light kiss on the top of her head and hears the Vertin say one last thing:
"I love you, Schneider. Remember that."
She manages to mumble something that sounds like "I could never forget."
And then she is gone.
Notes:
RAHHHHHHH THANKS FOR READING
Remember when I said I was probably gonna get yelled at for my grades? Yeah I was wrong, I didn't get yelled at, thank goodnessMy best friend (who I yap about this fic to as I write each chapter) has been asking me to make them kiss since I started writing this, she's finally getting her wish granted HAHA
I'm actually so happy that this fic got so many kudos, it's just a silly thing I started when I got bored I genuinely didn't expect so many people to like it 🥹
Love you all, thank you again for reading, and I'll try updating again soon!! More fluff to come (。・ω・。)ノ♡
Chapter 10: game - [v]
Summary:
Vertin learns that card games are much more fun when you play for someone you like.
Notes:
HELLO :3
yeah this is basically just them playing Uno and being silly. That reminds me, I did a bit of research for this - did you know that Uno was apparently made in 1971?? I would've thought it was made in the 2000sTags for this one: An-an Lee, Regulus and Sotheby are more prominent characters in this chapter, Dee and Regulus and An-an are competitive, Sotheby's there for fun, Vertin's there cause Dee wanted her to be HAHA, card game, "betting"?, gambling technically?, i refer to it as gambling but they're playing for chocolate coins lmao, a touch of Dee trauma, Google translated Cantonese and Italian (sadly)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"Ha HA! I won yet again! Nobody can beat the best pirate on earth!"
Vertin snickered softly as she watched the scene in front of her, barely paying attention to her own multicoloured cards.
"That's not fair! You probably cheated and took all the plus fours again," An-an Lee complains, pointing an accusatory finger at the cheat in question.
"No proof! No proof!"
"You used seven this round," Schneider points out. "Nobody's that lucky!"
"You're just annoyed because you have to lose to me again," Regulus crows, lifting her sunglasses off her head and grinning. "Pay up, you lot!"
With much grumbling, both Schneider and An-an Lee each hand her fifteen of the chocolate coins they were "betting" with. Sotheby and Vertin hand over their share with a lot less complaint.
Earlier this morning, Regulus had found a long-forgotten box of cards on a high shelf in the main lobby.
A card game from some time in the 1970s that involved numbered, coloured cards and using said cards to skip other people's turns or give them more cards - which usually resulted in a lot of bickering.
It was, in short, the perfect game to play in Regulus' humble opinion.
When she found the deck, she'd immediately grabbed the pack of chocolate coins she kept in a freezer in her room and planned another gathering to play it.
This time, instead of playing with just An-an and Sotheby like she usually did, Regulus had decided to go to the clinic and drag Schneider and Vertin into the game as well.
"I miss playing with you," she'd whined to Dee when she asked why she should join. "And you're probably bored out of your mind here anyway, so at least I'm giving you something to do."
The three of them had settled around Schneider's bed to play: Regulus sitting by the foot of the bed, An-an Lee sitting on a chair on her left, and Sotheby on the chair to Dee's right, in the spot where Vertin usually sat. Vertin herself was sitting in the bed next to Dee.
Vertin would have been content to just watch them play.
But then Regulus and Sotheby had started begging her, and An-an Lee had started saying how it would help up her chances of winning more chocolate, and then Schneider had given her the most adorable puppy eyes and-
Well, who was she to say no?
"Next time," An-an Lee mutters, putting her hand of cards down in the pile on the bed, "we should stop letting Regulus plan all these games."
"No we shouldn't," Regulus protests with a wide grin.
"Yes, we should," Schneider says, throwing her own cards down onto the pile. Vertin sees three skips and a plus two she never got to use, set down alongside one last number card.
"I haven't even got anything to bet with now," Dee grumbled, stretching and leaning against Vertin's side. Vertin immediately freezes, careful not to move for fear she'll move away.
The brunette had told her before that she'd never gambled while in the mafia. She had to save money, and even when she had gained quite a bit of wealth Dee had stuck to that.
Schneider had decided that this wouldn't hurt, though.
It was lucky they weren't playing for real money. Dee kept betting as much as possible, maybe just for the thrill of it - in any case, this was only the fifth round, and she's already lost all her chocolates.
"I can play for you," Vertin offered in a murmur. Unlike Dee, she'd been much more careful with her share of coins: there was still a relatively big pile of them sitting in front of her, their yellow foil wrappers glittering like gold in the sunshine streaming in through the half open window.
An-an tries snatching at one of Regulus' chocolates as she offers this. It makes the pirate start trying to steal some of her coins in return, and it makes Sotheby, sitting on a chair to Dee's right, start giggling.
"Would you, now?" Schneider hums, tilting her head towards the younger girl. Her eyes sparkle like rubies in the same sunlight that made tinfoil look like gold - except, Vertin thinks, even the brightest sunshine cannot turn a jewel that rare more precious.
"And what are you asking for in return, my lord?"
Vertin gives her a confused glance. "Nothing," she says truthfully. "Why would I ask you for something?"
Schneider laughs a little and leans a little more heavily against Vertin, resting her head on the younger girl's shoulder as they both watch An-an and Regulus start bickering about who should get to shuffle the cards next.
"This is a deal, is it not?" Dee asks. "There is no good thing in life that comes without a catch."
The brunette stays silent for a while, then curls closer to her. "That's one of the first things I learned from my parents, when I was little."
That seemed a little odd. What pessimistic parents, Vertin thought faintly, though she couldn't say any better. She didn't even know her mother.
"But there's you," Vertin says quietly. She shifts a little to let Dee lean against her more before continuing. "You're still here, when you should have... disappeared. That's a good thing, so where's the bad thing that comes with it?"
Schneider doesn't reply straight away. Vertin is suddenly struck by the thought that she could have struck a nerve with that question, albeit on accident.
She thought about that for a moment. Schneider never talked about it, even now, months later, but Vertin knows she misses her family. Especially Marian, she thinks; she's heard Dee murmur her name in her sleep before.
It made sense. Who wouldn't miss their family after losing them?
Maybe that is Schneider's "catch" - one person's life saved, but in exchange for the lives of all her family members.
"I am not sure whether my being here could be considered a... good thing, my lord," Dee finally replies. There is a hint of sorrow to her otherwise cheerful voice. It is enough to make Vertin feel like she's been stabbed.
"Of course it's a good thing," Vertin whispers back, tilting her head to nuzzle lightly into the older girl's hair. She still smells like oranges and a faint hint of smoke, even now. "Don't say things like that. They aren't true."
"...they very well could be."
Vertin is about to reply when there's a sudden bark of triumphant laughter, and both of them turn their attention back to the other three people in the room with them.
"With luck," An-an says cheerfully, shuffling the deck of cards she apparently won the argument for, "one of us will win this round instead of the cheater."
Regulus huffs and crosses her arms over her chest, looking away. Sotheby grins at her.
Schneider hums softly and lifts her head, pressing a quick kiss to Vertin's cheek. "We'll keep talking later, mia cara," the brunette whispers, her voice now more playful. "For now, you've got a game to win."
"...for myself?"
"No, for me. I'm taking your offer."
Vertin laughs and picks up the cards An-an Lee is handing to her. "I won't let you down."
Dee smiles and shifts to get a better look at Vertin's cards, her head settling back on her shoulder. Vertin feels wavy hair brush against the side of her neck, soft and ticklish. "You never have, my lord."
Vertin doesn't say anything in reply, too busy looking at her hand.
They each get seven cards each. Out of Vertin's seven, five are regular number cards, three red and two blue - but the other two could prove more useful, if she used them right.
"Right," Regulus says importantly. "Since I won the last round, I'll start." She puts down a red five.
Vertin hums and puts down a red seven. "What are the bets?" she asks casually, tilting her head.
"All-in," Regulus says proudly, nudging her pile of chocolate coins a little more towards the middle of the group.
That was interesting. The way they were playing, if a person lost a game, they would have to give the amount of chocolate they bet to the winner. Regulus was playing a risky game.
"Twenty," An-an says immediately, counting her coins.
"I'm doing ten," Sotheby pipes up, putting down a red plus two card and counting out ten pieces of chocolate from her little pile.
An-an Lee sighs dramatically as she realises that she has to take cards, but the reluctance turns to joy as she slaps down a reverse card.
Sotheby gasps. "Trickery," she murmurs jokingly, reaching out to get cards from the deck.
"I guess me and Vertin are the only ones with red cards," Regulus mumbles, looking down at her hand while Sotheby puts down a red nine.
Apparently so. Dee hums thoughtfully, then pulls at Vertin's sleeve. The younger girl tilts her head down to let Dee whisper in her ear.
Vertin blinks, surprised a little at Dee's plan, but she murmurs in agreement anyway. Pleased, the brunette simply stretches and settles her head back on Vertin's shoulder, acting like that never happened.
It still gets noticed, of course. "Don't give her ideas, Schneider," Regulus whines, lifting her sunglasses up again.
"I'm not giving her ideas," Dee shoots back languidly, nuzzling into Vertin's shoulder as if she was sleepy. "I was just telling her I loved her."
"Schneider!" Vertin whispers, alarmed. They'd only been together for about a week or so, at this point; Vertin hadn't expected her to be so comfortable with the others knowing. (Even if everyone in the suitcase was at least somewhat aware of the two of them liking each other.)
The brunette giggles softly and leans against her more. "Relax, my lord," Dee murmurs offhandedly, quiet enough for the others not to hear. "They don't have to know what I actually said."
Regulus snorts and puts down a card. "If that was what you said, Vertin would be even more red by now," she says. There goes that, then. "You two are scheming."
Vertin, blushing even more from that first comment, considers trying to deny that accusation. It wouldn't be like they were doing anything wrong, but still.
Before a word can leave her mouth An-an Lee says dismissively, "Let them. It'll be more interesting."
Sotheby nods in agreement as An-an puts down a card.
Regulus mutters something under her breath. "How much are you betting?" she asks Vertin a little grumpily, watching as the older girl puts down a red two.
She glances at Schneider. "I'll... I'm going all-in too."
An-an Lee nearly drops her cards. Sotheby stares at her like she's gone mad. They both have pity for her.
The lion, on the other hand, does not. She seems to be the only one happy about this, her earlier annoyance gone in a blink. "Seriously?" Regulus cries, grinning wider. "Oh, I'm gonna win this whole game easily!"
"Don't underestimate her," Schneider suddenly says, her voice light. She's smiling at the pirate, but her eyes are sharp. "She could still win."
"Yeah, like either of you have ever won against me."
Dee "tsks" but doesn't say another word, shifting to press herself closer against Vertin.
The game keeps going. Vertin gets to her last four cards: the blue ones, and her last resorts. The colour of the cards on the discard pile stays red, until-
Sotheby puts down a red skip. "Sorry," she says to Vertin, shooting her an apologetic look.
Vertin only hums and watches as Regulus snickers, putting a green skip card down. "I won't be apologising," she says cheerfully to an offended looking An-an.
Sotheby laughs. "Such a shame I haven't got any more skips," she says, putting down a green two. "Though, I guess that's better for Vertin."
"Yes it is," Vertin says with a small smile, reaching for the deck to get cards. She blinks at the first card that she gets.
Schneider lifts her head to peek at it, curious. "Oooh," she murmurs, a new spark in her eyes. "Play it!"
"You sure?" Vertin whispers, a little wary.
"She's already got two cards left, mia cara, just do it!"
Vertin laughs softly and does as she's told.
A green plus two card is put onto the discard pile.
Sotheby and An-an cheer, but before they can celebrate any more, Regulus barks a laugh.
"Uno!" she says triumphantly, putting down a plus two card. "An-an, pull four."
The black-haired girl gives her a glare. "I'm not losing so fast lah," she huffs, putting down a plus two card of her own. "對唔住, Sotheby."
Sotheby hesitates.
"Uhm... Sorry, Vertin," she says, slowly putting down a plus two card. Regulus barks another laugh.
"Came back to bite you, didn't it! Serves you-"
Vertin blinks at her, then puts down one of the cards she was planning to save for later, not even thinking about it.
A blue plus two card now sits at the top of the pile. "That's ten, Regulus," the Timekeeper says dryly.
Both Sotheby and An-an cheer again. Regulus' laughter dies in her throat, and she stares at the card like it's just singlehandedly thrown her entire record collection into the sea.
"Our saviour," An-an Lee says with a wide grin, pointing jovially at Vertin.
The pirate mutters something that sounds like "you're all horrible" and puts down a blue skip card - the last card she had - before pulling ten from the deck.
An-an groans and leans back in her chair, covering her face with her free hand. "Again?!"
"That's what you get for cheering for my suffering," Regulus mutters, arranging her hand.
Schneider laughs. "I told you, didn't I?"
"You and your girlfriend aren't allowed to come to any more of these games," Regulus says without skipping a beat.
Schneider lets out a fake, exaggerated gasp, pretending to be annoyed. "Rude," she mumbles, but Vertin can tell from her voice that she's smiling.
Vertin would have commented as well, but as it was she was busy trying to hide her blush.
Girlfriend... That was the first time that anyone's referred to her as Schneider's girlfriend. It gave her a little thrill, knowing that they were finally together.
"Vertin," Dee whispers into her ear, making her flinch a little. "Focus. Sotheby's played a card already."
"Sorry."
And the game goes on. This time, the colour stays blue - much to Regulus' dismay.
It's already late afternoon by the time they're even close to ending the game. Regulus has somehow managed to get over fifteen cards in her hand, Sotheby has six, and Vertin and An-an both have two cards each.
It's the latter who gets the first Uno.
Vertin's turn comes, and she has to think about what she could do next. One normal blue card, one wild card.
If she changes the colour, it could stop An-an from winning... But she hasn't got any other colours in her hand.
So she puts down the normal card, says "Uno", and hopes for the best.
Regulus sighs and reaches for the deck. "Do none of you have any other colour than blue?" she mutters.
The pirate takes a card.
Her expression turns into one of elation.
"That's not good," Sotheby says lightly, her smile not letting up for a second.
"It is for me," Regulus says happily, putting down the card. Another blue skip.
An-an stares at her, in shock. "You'd really let Vertin win over ME?"
"Yes. You're annoying."
"REGULUS, I'M GOING TO BREAK YOUR RECORDS."
"No you won't," Sotheby says, giggling. She puts down a card and nods at Vertin. "I'm guessing you just won?"
"...yes." Vertin puts down her wild card. An-an sighs, putting up her hands in defeat.
"Guess it's better than the 白痴 winning again," she says, glaring at Regulus.
"Sorry, what did you just call me?"
"I called you exactly what you are."
As the two of them start bickering again and Sotheby gathers all the cards, Vertin tries talking to Dee, who's gone quiet during the last few minutes of the game.
"Schneider," the younger girl murmurs, gently nudging her. No response. "Schneider?"
She's confused for a moment before she notices the brunette's even breaths, her usually restless hands still as they rest on her lap.
She's asleep...
Vertin hums. She doesn't have the heart to wake her, even as the other three settle enough to give her their chocolate coins.
"Going all-in wasn't the best idea, eh?" An-an says to Regulus as she reluctantly hands over her pile of chocolate. The pirate shoves her shoulder lightly, and An-an Lee laughs.
"We're not playing anymore," Regulus says with a huff. Sotheby hands her the card deck, already put back in its box.
Vertin laughs and nudges part of her now huge pile of chocolate towards them. "You three can take some, I can't finish all of this alone anyway."
They all perk up at that. Soon Regulus, Sotheby and An-an are bidding Vertin goodbye, leaving the clinic with handfuls of chocolate coins.
Once they're gone, Vertin gently shakes Dee awake. "Schneider."
"Mmm," the brunette mumbles sleepily, nuzzling into her shoulder even more. "Àutri deci minuti, mia cara..."
"...Schneider, I won the game."
She seems to wake up properly at that, lifting her head and looking at her with tired, half closed eyes. "Really?"
"Really. Look."
Schneider looks. There's a large, glittering pile of chocolate coins where there used to be just a few. "Wow. See, I told you you wouldn't let me down."
"Wouldn't have won without you."
Dee yawns and reaches for one, unwrapping it. "I slept on your shoulder while you won," she says faintly, sleep still clinging to her as she pops the chocolate in her mouth.
"You were the one who got me to play in the first place. I wouldn't have won if I didn't play at all."
The older girl falls silent.
"Is this about earlier?" Dee asks after a moment.
"What do you think?" Vertin shoots back.
Schneider lets out a soft little laugh. "This is why I call you a smartass," she says, but there's no bite to her words.
They both keep quiet. Vertin starts eating chocolates too, and soon the room is silent except for the sound of tinfoil getting ripped and the occasional sound of birdsong from outside.
"Thank you," Dee finally murmurs. "I guess it is a good thing I'm here. Even if the only benefit is that you won a game of cards."
"That's not the only benefit," Vertin says, a little offended. "You protected me from that bullet, meaning you probably saved my life. You make my life better by just existing. Aren't those benefits?"
"Alright, mia cara, simmer down," Schneider says with another little laugh. "I get it. I make the prettiest girl on the planet happy and I saved her from an untimely death. Those are definitely benefits."
Vertin blushes at the compliment, then reaches for more chocolate in an attempt to distract herself.
"Still so easily flustered," Dee hums, smiling at her as she presses a kiss to the younger girl's cheek. "You haven't changed a bit."
"That's a good thing. It means I'll always stay the person you fell in love with."
"You should stop reading romantic poetry."
"I actually made that up myself, thank you."
Schneider barks a laugh and puts her head back on Vertin's shoulder. They both stare at the pile of chocolate and the many wrappers scattered around them on the bed. It's Dee who breaks the silence first.
"...Tooth Fairy's going to kill us."
Notes:
THANKS FOR READING :D
sorry if this chapter seems written weirdly or if I got any of the turns or number of cards wrong, I've never written about playing cards before haha
Still like how this turned out though :)Last day of school for the week tmrw let's go chat 🔥
Thanks again for reading and have a great rest of your day/night (。・ω・。)ノ♡
Chapter 11: gleaming - [s]
Summary:
A killer and her cat discuss stars and alternate timelines.
Notes:
HELLOOOO :D
I'm on a roll with these chapters lately I've been writing a LOT. Hopefully that means next chapter will be out soon heheCurrently updating this fic while at school, we got told to bring our phones and this chapter has been finished since yesterday so I thought "Ykw might as well"
Tags for this one: piccolo comeback!!, discussion about death and maybe mild suicidal thoughts, from Dee specifically, Schneider likes stars, Marian is mentioned and talked about, the Storm, Dee has self hatred issues, probably a few other things but I can't think rn it's too early in the morning so I'll update this later
This one is basically inspired by my own thinking about stuff like this, sorry if it makes no sense. I guess all the stuff Piccolo's telling dee is directed to myself too - and to you, the reader, in case you need to hear it.
Hope you enjoy (。・ω・。)ノ♡
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"Hold me."
Her arms wrapped around the younger girl, and even despite the circumstances, she feels a pang of sudden rightness, like this is exactly where she was meant to be.
The Storm was here.
She had been expecting it, of course, but she still felt like it had come much too soon.
This was supposed to be a happy time, though. So she kept a straight face, in a last attempt to keep Marian and Vertin unsuspecting. She didn't do a good job of it, she thought; she was being rather obvious. Most of her time at the banquet was spent staring at Vertin, watching her, while also trying to soothe Marian.
Marian. At least she could be with her, once this was over with.
"I'm sorry. I'm not a real arcanist."
"What do you mean? I- I don't understand..."
Vertin looked so scared. Her poor lord, she really shouldn't have lied to her this whole time... But it was nice, being able to pretend she was something she wasn't. Being able to pretend that they could still stay together after this.
Schneider managed to smile at her. At least she could die happy, being held so gently by one person who liked her for what she was.
"I always wanted to be lucky, but..." Her smile faltered. "...I think I should say addio now."
"Addio?! You mean the Storm will also..."
She feels Vertin tighten her arms around her a little. She can't help but lean into her, can't help but gaze up into silver-blue eyes, now filling with unshed tears.
"No! Why? You've never eaten a gold bar in front of us! Are you always tolerating it?!"
Her lord's voice turns almost desperate at those last words, and it breaks Schneider's heart. She lets out a small, sad laugh, and leans into her a bit more.
"Now, it's coming, my lord..."
She lets her hands grip at Vertin's coat, as if to anchor herself to this world - to this girl - for just a little while longer.
"Don't forget me."
Vertin lets out a soft sob and holds her even tighter.
"Don't forget my heartbeat... on the right."
She closes her eyes, expecting the world to immediately go dark. She should be gone - reunited with her family, but ripped away from the girl who gave her a reason to live another day.
That is what she expects.
But nothing happens.
Schneider opens her eyes again, and when she does, the first thing she notices is that her heart is pounding on the wrong side of her chest.
The second thing she notices is the fact that the room has frozen, all the people in it stuck in place, expressions of fear or sadness or something else on all their faces.
There's Regulus and X, sitting together, matching expressions of surprise and horror on their faces.
There's Sonetto, trying to soothe a sobbing Sotheby, both of them not noticing the scene happening just a few steps away from them. Neither of them noticed how she ran to Vertin, or how Vertin immediately holds her tight.
That reminds her. Schneider quickly pulls back from Vertin, stares at her face. The Timekeeper doesn't react. She doesn't move, she doesn't say anything, she doesn't even look like she's breathing.
"What- Vertin?" she murmurs, horror creeping up on her. "Vertin. Vertin, can you hear me? Are you okay?"
What is this?
This is not how it's supposed to go.
What's happening?
"It's funny," a familiar voice says calmly, the only sound in the sudden silence, "how even in a situation like this, you prioritise her safety over your own."
She turns around, bristling. The voice is coming from somewhere in the shadowed hall beyond the dining room. Schneider can't see who they are or what they look like.
"What did you do?" she says in a low voice, falling back on the threatening tone she used when she worked in the mafia. There is a slight tremble in her voice now, but she hopes it isn't noticeable. "What did you do to he- to them?"
"Relax, little pigeon," the voice replies, calm as ever.
It is the nickname that clues her in.
"...oh. Piccolo?" she says, relaxing just the smallest amount.
"Hello again," he says dryly, taking a single step towards her, out of the shadow. Now that Dee can see the familiar figure of the fluffy critter, she lets herself relax completely.
"You have the most dramatic dreams," Piccolo says with a yawn, his antennae unfurling. "Did you know that? I'm getting sick of it, honestly. It's all so... Tragic. Why not have dreams about happy things for once, hm?"
"I don't get to choose what I dream about," Schneider huffs, turning to look at the critter properly but never taking a step away from Vertin. "It's probably the arcanum from the bullet I got so unceremoniously shot with."
"Hey, would you look at that," Piccolo says with faux cheerfulness. "You're being sarcastic again. You haven't done that the past few times you saw me."
"So?"
"So it means something went well during the past few weeks I didn't see you," the critter says, padding closer to her when she doesn't move. He hops onto an empty chair and sits. "What is it, then?"
Speaking of things to catch up on.
Dee doesn't reply.
Piccolo hums and turns his ruby gaze on the girl she's standing close to. "Is it something that has to do with her?"
"..."
"Come on. If it's a secret, it's not like I'll tell anyone else."
"Fine." Schneider looks away, blushing. "...we might have... kind of... gotten together."
"Oh, seriously?" the critter says, surprised. For once he's actually expressing some form of actual emotion instead of sounding permanently sarcastic. "Wow. Took you both long enough."
"Shut up, Piccolo," Dee mumbles, blushing even more.
The critter snickers and hops onto the table, walking between the dishes and glasses full of barely finished drinks. "Mind telling me how it went?"
Schneider hesitates. "Why should I tell you?"
"Because I was very important to the process of helping you realise that she liked you back," he says smugly, his tail flicking. "Don't you remember?"
"Of course I remember, but you don't have to be like that."
"Yes I do. It's more fun to annoy you."
"I'm definitely not telling you now."
Piccolo laughs and looks down at a particularly large chocolate tart on the table. "I'll find out eventually, don't worry." He tilts his head and reaches for it, only for his paw to go straight through the chocolate.
He lets out a little "tch" and looks back at Schneider. "You don't have to stay that close to her," the critter says, nodding at Vertin. He sounds faintly amused. "She's perfectly fine. This is a dream. It's not real."
Schneider turns to look at Vertin. She still looks so... pretty, even like this. Even with her top hat casting a shadow over half her face. Even with tears in her eyes and spilling down her cheeks. Even with her face stuck in an expression of fear and sorrow.
Dee hesitates for a moment before reaching up and gently cupping the younger girl's face, trying to brush some of the tears away.
It doesn't work. Her fingers phase through her tears as though she is a ghost; but, for some reason, she can still hold her face. She feels a strange stab of guilt, for not being able to help her.
Piccolo lets out another quiet hum. "You know it's a dream," he murmurs thoughtfully, "and you still choose to try soothing her. Little pigeon, you realize that she cannot feel anything, yes?"
"I know." Schneider's eyes never leave Vertin's. She knows it is not her, she knows this isn't real, and yet...
"I just hate seeing her like this," she says quietly. Her voice breaks halfway through saying it.
God, you're pathetic.
"Like what?" Piccolo asks.
"...scared." Sad, she thinks, but she doesn't say that.
I don't want her to be this sad because of me.
Piccolo doesn't reply for a long, long moment. Dee wonders if he was taking in her thoughts - probably.
Then, softly: "It could have been worse."
"I know."
Schneider lets out a slow, shaky breath and brushes her thumb over Vertin's cheek. The younger girl's skin is so cold. It's never this cold in real life; not once during the many nights she's come over and held Dee til she fell asleep has her skin ever felt this cold.
"I could have disappeared that night," Schneider whispers, her voice trembling as she realises there's a life where she didn't even get to know how warm Vertin was.
"Precisely," Piccolo says, much more solemnly than she's ever heard him be before. "But you didn't."
Out of the corner of her eye, Schneider sees the jet black critter hop neatly off the dining table and walk towards her.
"This dream is of that different timeline," he explains, settling himself beside the statue-still figure of Vertin. His tail flicks, gesturing to the other people in the room. "This is the timeline where you don't make it a single day after the Storm of 1920."
Schneider stays silent and stares into blue-grey eyes for a while longer.
And then she forces her gaze away, pulls her hand back, and looks at Piccolo instead.
"I guess that's a little more appropriate," she says, trying to sound more confident than she actually is. "I've always been a survivor. My family said I wouldn't live a day past ten years old. My sisters teased me about it, too - but look at me now."
Piccolo's cricket wings flutter for a second as he resettles them, catching the light for a split second.
"Interesting," he says curiously. "So that's what your sisters kept talking about. I heard them teasing you but I didn't have a clue what they were saying."
Dee gives him a look. "You've heard them?"
"Of course," he says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "I tried visiting your house at night, sometimes. To look for you. I knew you stayed in the bedroom downstairs, and slept in the bed closest to the window; but whenever I tried sneaking in I heard them talking."
"And you... understood it?" Schneider asks, confused. "I thought critters couldn't understand human language."
Piccolo shrugs. "Not really. Some can, but that's only if they're smart and stay around people for long enough to figure it out." He puffs up his chest a little, as if proud. "I understood a lot more than the other critters at the orchard did."
Alright. That was something. Critters being able to understand humans. Not like that went against everything she's ever been taught.
She wanted to ask more questions, but there were more important things to focus on.
"What exactly is the point you're trying to make with that story?" Schneider asks, raising one eyebrow.
"It's a very cruel thing to get picked on by your own family," he points out, genuine concern in his voice. As if she didn't know that already. "I mean, I got teased about something like that too - but at least I wasn't related to the guys doing that to me."
"Yes, I get it, I'm pitiful," Dee says dryly, rolling her eyes and turning to look back at her lord. "No need to rub it in, you little brat."
The critter snickers again, gives her his Cheshire-cat grin. "I think I'll keep going, thank you. Like I said before: it's much more fun to annoy you."
Schneider glares at him, but before she can say anything Piccolo taps on the floor with one paw and the scene shifts. The dining room - and by extension, the people in it - fade to black.
Dee can only give Vertin one last fleeting look before she is gone.
She sighs and sits down. Now it is just her and Piccolo, in the familiar void she's come to find more comfort in than her actual dreams since that first time she got brought here a while ago.
They've come here a few times after that; but he hasn't been appearing as much lately. She doesn't know why.
This place is usually exactly what she calls it. A void. Pure black in all directions, nothing more.
But this time it's different.
"There's stars now," Schneider says softly, awed. She stares at the glittering spots of light that now populate the expanse of darkness, each shining like diamonds on black cloth. "That is... are they stars?"
"Technically, yes and no," Piccolo says. He gets up to stretch, then pads over to Dee, settling down next to her and curling his tail over his hind paws. "They're stars, but since this is a dream, in a sense they aren't anything at all."
"That's a pessimistic view of it," Schneider says quietly.
"Aren't you a pessimist yourself?"
"I might be, but still. Even if they aren't anything at all," the brunette murmurs, her eyes fixed on the stars, "isn't it a small blessing that they're here right now, where we can see them before they disappear?"
"Huh. You're getting better at being poetic, little pigeon."
"...Thank you."
The two of them say nothing for a long while, each staring at the fake sky. The stars seem to stare back, winking at them.
How strange this must look to an outsider, Dee thinks, faintly amused by that thought. A killer and her dead cat.
"Critter, actually," Piccolo pipes up, swatting at her with one paw. "And I'm not anybody's critter, thanks very much."
Schneider laughs. "You were basically my pet," she says playfully. "I fed you and took care of you. And don't you remember when I tried making you a collar out of scraps of cloth I found in the attic?"
"Oh, I remember," Piccolo says with a shudder. "It was the flimsiest thing I've ever seen. Ugly colour, too. I don't know what possessed you to make it that pink."
"I'm glad you didn't let me put it on you. You would've looked stupid."
"That's exactly why I didn't let you put it on me."
Schneider laughs again, and they fall into another silence after.
After what feels like ages, Dee sighs and lifts one hand to frame the stars against her fingers. "Marian used to say I would be a star when I grew up," she murmurs. "Have you heard her say that, when you were trying to spy on me?"
Piccolo pauses. "Hmm. I don't think so. But I know Marian - she was your favourite sister, right? The one you spent time with the most."
"Yes, her," she says with a small, fragile smile, already replaying memories in her head.
(The two of them playing hide and seek in the orchard, chasing each other through rows of orange trees; Marian trying to teach her how to read and write because her parents didn't have enough money to send Schneider to school; trying to catch crickets during sunny days and watching them before letting them go.)
"Sometimes," the brunette continued softly, "whenever she noticed I had a particularly bad day, she would tell me, 'Mia sorella, when you grow up, I promise you'll shine brighter than all of us. The brightest star in the sky.'"
"That's very sweet," Piccolo says, a hint of wistfulness to his voice. "Do you think that came true?"
"No," she says with another sigh, lowering her hand. "She used to say that she'd have to beg me to come back and visit her. It ended up being me having to beg for her to come back."
She pauses for a moment. "And she never will. Not now."
Both of them go quiet again.
"Do you ever wonder if the world would be better off without you, Piccolo?" Schneider suddenly asks, not taking her eyes off the stars.
Piccolo doesn't say anything for what feels like ages before replying. "...is that how you think of yourself, little pigeon?"
"I'm only a burden," the brunette says tiredly, the confession slipping past her lips before she can reply to his question. "If I did disappear that night, during the Storm... wouldn't that have been better for everyone?"
Piccolo lets out a low huff. Dee finally looks down from the stars and sees the little critter lashing his tail. "God, you're just as tragic as your dreams," he mutters. He looks her dead in the eye before speaking again.
"Do you remember that alternate timeline we were talking about earlier? The one where you didn't make it?"
"Yes, of course. But-"
"Do you know what happens after you disappear, little pigeon?"
"...no."
Piccolo narrows his eyes. "In that alternate timeline, Vertin ends up agreeing to be put into artificial somnambulism. Do you know what that is?"
It doesn't sound like an actual question, so Schneider stays silent. A good choice. Piccolo keeps talking, growing more heated with each second.
"It's essentially a medically induced coma. She had to stay stuck in a hospital bed for weeks after you died, Schneider."
Dee continues to stay silent, but now it's more out of shock than anything. "...What?" she finally says.
"You said earlier that you didn't want Vertin to be scared or sad because of you," Piccolo presses. "If you die, if you disappear, it is you who makes her crumble."
"That doesn't mean anything," Dee shoots back. "Just because she cares for me, for some reason - that doesn't mean I'm not still a burden."
Piccolo lets out an exasperated groan. "Sei un minchione..."
"Don't call me an idiot, I know I am one."
"Schneider," the critter says sharply. "Listen. You've said before that you wanted to stay with Vertin. The you in that alternate universe didn't have a choice - she had to be reversed. But you? You lived. You get to keep going.
"Take that opportunity and seize it, Schneider, because you're never going to get a chance like that again."
"What if I think I don't deserve that opportunity?" Dee snaps, her voice breaking yet again. "You don't understand. I'm a monster, Piccolo. The whole world sees me as one - my own family saw me as one. So I should just end it now, shouldn't I? How could the world need a monster?"
"You aren't a monster."
"Give me proof."
"You dedicated your whole life up until now to trying to save and support your family, even if they hated you," the critter starts; rather pointedly, Schneider thought. "You helped Vertin and her crew, both before the Storm and after it, and you did it even while thinking they didn't have a chance to save you."
"...that was for entirely selfish reasons," Dee whispers. "That was so I could spend a little more time with Vertin."
"Yes, Vertin. That brings me to my next point. You tried to sacrifice yourself to protect Vertin. You threw yourself in the way of that bullet, fully expecting to get hurt or killed, for the sake of her safety. Do you think a monster would do that, Schneider?"
"Even monsters have loved ones."
"And even humans can be monstrous now and then. That doesn't make them any less human."
"Unless they do something horrible," Dee mumbles, hiding her face in her hands. She feels tears pricking at her eyes, threatening to spill over. "Like I have. I'd do worse if it weren't for Vertin and the others."
Piccolo sighs, then gets up and headbutts her gently on the leg. Like a normal cat would.
"But you won't do anything worse," he promises, his voice now much gentler. "You're not alone anymore; the others will help you get better."
Schneider falls silent and lets herself cry, tears slipping down her cheeks in the stillness. She's never been a loud crier; the few times she's let herself cry, it's always been quiet.
"There are so many people who are proud of you and far you've come," Piccolo says in an attempt to soothe her. He is still sitting by her side, his little form pressed against Dee's leg to try offering comfort.
"Really. Like who?"
"Me, for starters," he jokes faintly, sincerity tinging his words. "And Vertin. And Sonetto, I think. And Marian - Marian would be so proud of you, if she saw you now."
"Even with all the people I've killed?" Dee whispers shakily, letting out a sob.
"Yes, because she knows you did it all to try saving her and your family."
"She'd be horrified."
"She'd still be your sister, though. Isn't that right?"
Dee sniffles. "...right. Always."
Schneider lifts her head then, gingerly wiping away her tears with the sleeve of her jacket and looking back up at the stars. A calmness is starting to wash over her, soothing the anxiety she had before.
"Maybe Marian was right," she whispers to nobody in particular. "Maybe I am a star."
A girl made of nothing at all, given the blessing of existing for just a moment. Even if it is hard to.
"That's a kinder way of looking at it," Piccolo murmurs, and whether he's replying to her thought or to her words Dee can't tell. "Much kinder."
Another silence.
"You should wake, little pigeon," Piccolo suddenly says, hitting her lightly in the side with his tail. "You've got... problems, out there. Those I cannot help you with."
"Problems?" Dee says, alarmed out of her calm state. "What? Everything was fine when I went to sleep."
"You will see," the critter says with a nod. "Good luck, Schneider. I can only hope that reality can be as kind to you as this place is."
"That is not helping-"
Before she can even finish the protest, she's suddenly awake. Instead of stars and endless dark, what she sees now is a ceiling, shadows dancing over cracked white paint.
She groans softly and tries sitting up.
A sharp pain lances through her head the second she tries, as if she's been shot. Dee winces and leans back into her pillow, closing her eyes to try stopping the pain.
She's about to just settle back into the bed, maybe let herself get more sleep...
But then she opens her eyes again and sees a figure in the corner of her vision, looking worried.
"...Tooth Fairy?" she mumbles. Her voice comes out much more hoarse than she likes it. "Why are you here so early?"
"I'm not early," the medical arcanist says. She sounds tired, and she looks tired, but there's a hint of relief to her next words. "You're late."
"...what?" Has she gone mad over the course of one night? she wonders through the throbbing pain in her head.
Tooth Fairy doesn't say anything for a long while, writing something down in her notes. She hesitates before finally speaking.
"Schneider, you passed out again," she starts slowly, not looking her in the eye. "Usually this wouldn't be a very big concern, since you wake from those very fast... But then, when I came to check on you again, you had a fever. And it seemed to be getting worse with each day-"
"Day?"
"Yes."
Through her half closed eyes and blurry vision, through the pain in her skull and the dull ache she's starting to feel everywhere, Schneider sees Tooth Fairy frown.
"You were out cold for three days," Tooth Fairy finally says, quiet. "And your heart almost stopped beating twice."
The silence that leaves in the air is long, heavy. Schneider doesn't say a word. When Tooth Fairy speaks again, it is in a whisper. "We already told Vertin not to get her hopes up. It looked impossible for you to survive."
"What? What are you saying?" Schneider mumbles.
"Schneider..." The older woman looks away, a pained expression on her face. "You almost died."
Notes:
THANKS FOR READING ( ◜‿◝ )♡
This chapter was a bit of a mess to write, I got stuck on how to continue it halfway through and couldn't continue writing it for daysBut I still like how it turned out :)
Also yes Dee almost died. Again. That's something to be talked about next chapter (where the "sickfic" part of this fic will come in)
Thanks again for reading, love U all! I'll see you next update ^^
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