Work Text:
“Annette, isn’t it getting a little late? Aren’t you ready for bed yet?” Hilda yawned.
Hilda had changed into her nightclothes, hoping Annette would get the hint, and sat on the bed that she and Annette had taken to sharing lately. The room had been Annette’s, but Hilda had swiftly made herself at home. Annette’s room was usually cleaner than her own was, plus Annette’s room was on the first floor. Hilda figured that with the monastery in such disrepair it would be far less work for the two of them to room together. They had also picked up their napping habit from the Academy days back up almost as soon as everyone had started living in the monastery again, and that had turned to sleeping together at night as well.
“No, I’m not ready yet! Professor asked me to give a seminar on reason magic tomorrow and I want to make sure I’m really prepared.” Annette stopped her furious note taking and stretched. “Ah! When did it get so dark out? I swear I just started working on this!”
“You’ve been working on it for hours, Annette! And this morning I saw you helping Ashe and Ignatz in the garden, and in the afternoon I saw you with Mercedes baking sweets, and after that I saw you singing in the cathedral with Ferdinand. Have you taken a break at all today?” Hilda felt sleepy just thinking of Annette running around busy all day.
Annette paused for a moment; her face scrunched up in thought. “I did take a lunch break with Sylvain, but he helped me work on my seminar while we ate. He made me promise not to tell anyone that he helped me, though, so don’t repeat that—”
“I won’t, I won’t!” Hilda cut in before Annette could launch into another exhausting story. “Don’t you think you should come to bed and get some rest? That seminar will seem better in the morning after you’ve had a chance to refresh yourself.” Hilda stretched out across the bed and patted the empty space next to her. “Please, Annette? It’s so chilly in this room, I think having a cute girl to snuggle with would help.”
“It has gotten late, after all… And I’d never hear the end of it if I let you get sick! You’re one of our best fighters!”
Hilda made a face. “Aw, you flatter me, but don’t say things like that in front of others, okay? I have a reputation to protect.”
Annette shook her head as she undressed. “I just don’t get it. Why don’t you want people to know how capable you are? We’ve all seen what you can do on and off the battlefield—”
“Oh, Annette! You just don’t get it,” Hilda stretched her arms. “Sure, I can swing an axe around. But I’m not the strongest person on the battlefield, and I’m not the best tactician. I’m not even the best at listening to the professor’s orders. I’ll do as I’m told, of course, but I try not to go out of my way for anything.”
Annette let her hair down, removing the clip Hilda had made for her. “You underestimate yourself, Hilda. You’re as strong and capable as anyone out there. I even saw you protecting Felix last week! He complained to me about it for almost an hour!”
Hilda shook her head. “That’s just because I was already right there! I’m not underestimating myself. I’m estimating myself just right. If someone else expects too much from me, well… I really don’t like letting people down. When I was younger my big brother always set the standard in our family too high! Father was always so disappointed when I couldn’t live up to Holst’s standards. I felt terrible, letting them down like that. So, I had to massage their expectations into something more manageable, and we were all happier once I did. And here, at the monastery, especially in war time… If Professor expects the same things from me that they do from everyone else, that won’t make either of us happy.”
Annette finished pulling on her night clothes and sat on the bed next to Hilda. “You ARE a hard worker! You study almost as much as me. Well, maybe you could stand to spend a little bit more time in the training hall…”
“Annette, if you think I work as hard as you, then you’re the one underestimating herself.” Hilda scooted over to make room for Annette.
“People do tell me I work hard,” Annette admitted. “I still feel like I need to work harder, though. There’s so much that needs to be done and so much I need to accomplish. I feel like there’s not enough time in the day for everything I want to get done, and there’s so many people who need assistance, and—”
“Annette, I don’t mean to be rude, but sometimes I think you do too much.” Hilda threw an arm over Annette and pulled her closer as the redhead settled into bed.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Annette frowned, even as she snuggled closer to her girlfriend.
“You spent so much time helping others today you didn’t set enough time aside to work on your seminar, and now you’re overworking yourself to get it done. You have to set a limit somewhere! You’re too valuable to work yourself to exhaustion like this. We need everyone at their best to stop the Empire, and—” Hilda pulled Annette closer, and pressed a kiss to her head, “I need you, Annette.”
“Hilda, you’re so—you’re so cute!” Annette pressed herself even closer to Hilda, and let the other woman wrap her firm arms around her. “Maybe… Maybe you’re right. I have been feeling pretty tired, and I know we’ll be marching out again in less than a month. But when I’m sitting still, I feel like I’m not contributing anything! Everyone is working so hard. I just need to make sure I’m doing my part. When I was younger, getting into the School of Sorcery seemed like a matter of life and death. That sounds so silly now when we really are fighting for our lives! But I worked hard then, and I have to work even harder now. Hilda, there’s so much at stake. I get overwhelmed when I think about what’s at risk! Our families, our friends, our lives… Keeping busy takes my mind off that and I get to help my friends too.”
“Oh, my sweet Annette,” Hilda whispered into her hair, “I’m as scared as you are. Maybe even a little more scared. I have a suggestion. If you’re ever feeling that overwhelmed, will you come to me? I’d hate knowing that you were feeling so stressed and I wasn’t helping. I can help you out with some work, or you can help me!”
“Wow, are you really volunteering to help with work? I really did worry you, didn’t I?” Annette hugged Hilda tighter.
“Not all your work, mind you,” Hilda smiled. She felt Annette relax in her arms, and she felt calmer in turn. “But I want to be there for you when you need me. Hey, how about this? I don’t have much talent in Reason magic, but you can bounce ideas for your seminar off me tomorrow. When you’re done with that you can help me work on some accessories! I want to make a necklace for Marianne, and a brooch for Ingrid. I know we need to prepare for our neck battle, but a little downtime would do us both good.”
“That sounds great! I’ll still get my work done and we’ll get to spend time together,” Annette hummed with joy, “You know, Hilda, you say you don’t have much magic talent but I’ve always felt that if you worked at it a little you might have some potential! Why don’t I show you how to use my bolt axe?”
“Magic sounds like a lot of work. Maybe after you finish your seminar plan, I’ll give it a shot. You need to rest now, Annette.” Hilda tilted her face down and Annette met her lips with a soft kiss.
“I love you, Hilda! I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Their breathing slowed, as their heartbeats synced.
“I love you too. Sweet dreams, Annette.” They drifted off, tucked in each other’s arms.