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A long time ago, Nastya remembered that she had siblings - just as she remembered she had parents. But she could no longer tell you what their names were or what they looked like. She couldn’t even tell you how many siblings she had had. Not that they mattered anymore. All of them were long gone; they had been cannon fodder in the midst of revolution. They were dead and Nastya should have died with them. Though, in a way, she supposed she did. Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova had died that day. Everything she had been was left behind, bleeding out on the Cyberian snow. Nastya Rasputina was what was left of Anastasia. Like a phoenix, she had risen up from the ashes. But she hadn’t risen up with glory. She had risen up screaming with mercury in her veins and Dr Carmilla working away to ‘save’ her. At the time, Nastya would have called it condemnation. Even now, after living for millenia, she could never say for certain if the ice cold mercury that pumped its way through her system was a blessing or a curse.
Along with extending her life, her quicksilver blood remained her biggest vulnerability. It was cold; far colder than anything else she had ever experienced before. It reminded her of home in the worst way possible. It reminded her of running blindly through the Cyberian winter, bleeding and so certain that she was going to die. But her immortality did bring good things with it. Namely her family. Eight siblings and a mother-like figure. Though, the dear doctor was not someone Nastya was eager to talk about whilst sober. Even drunk, Carmilla remained a harsh conversational subject. No one asked about her anymore and she was not one for opening up about her past. But that didn’t take away from her relationship with the others. As insufferable and excessive as all of them prided themselves in being, Nastya cared for them and they cared for her. None of them had a healthy way of expressing love or even a healthy definition of the word. But, after millenia together, they made do.
But before the others had...arrived, it had been her and Jonny. He had been the one there for her when she woke up terrified from every nightmare. He had been the one holding her hand as she screamed herself hoarse during the doctor’s experiments. He had been there for her when she had no one else and in return, she did her best to be there for him. There was no doubt that the others were her family but none of them were Jonny. They never would be. No one could be. Jonny was always the one she snuck away to find in her most desperate moments; when she sought the physical comfort the Aurora couldn’t provide her. But this wasn’t one of those times she went looking for him.
It wasn’t often that Nastya and the Aurora got into arguments. After millenia together, the two were content. They understood each other entirely. So when they did argue...It was bad. This time, it was over Nastya’s work ethic. Her girlfriend was concerned she spent far too much time working on her than looking after herself. Nastya insisted that such a claim was absurd! But Aurora refused to listen. So they began to argue and it quickly grew more and more heated until finally, Nastya stormed out of the engine room. She didn’t look back. She ignored the way the ship vibrated, pleading for her to come back. But Nastya didn’t listen. Though, there was one particularly large issue that always came with leaving the engine room; the warmth. As much as she enjoyed being in the engine room because it was the closest she could get to the Aurora, itt was also the warmest place on the ship. It was the place that let her forget about how cold she was and made her feel...content. Being away for too long was...unpleasant.
To an immortal, days were practically the blink of an eye. As such, Nastya had no problem being stubborn and refusing to acknowledge her girlfriend for days on end. Her body, unfortunately, disagreed. It grew colder and colder and colder still. There was nothing to ease it. No number of jackets or blankets were enough to give her the illusion of warmth. It also definitely didn’t help that she had taken to avoiding the entirety of the crew - not like it was out of the ordinary for her to hide away for extended periods of time. Besides, Nastya knew it would cause more than a little commotion if they saw her like this. Something that was confirmed when Jonny finally sought her out.
It had reached the point where every step hurt. Her legs shook and quivered as she pushed herself forward. Her lips quivered and were tainted blue. If she wasn’t immortal, Nastya would be more concerned. “Nastya!” As always, Jonny’s voice was full of its usual manic cheer. “Just the person I was looking for!” She tried to open her lips to offer some sort of reply but no sound escaped her. Instead, she just stood there on the verge of collapsing. “...Nastya?” With hesitance, Jonny approached her. He moved to tilt her head up; to force her to meet his eyes but his hand dropped down the second it touched her skin. “You’re freezing! For fuck’s sake !” He snapped. “You’re smarter than this!”
“So-”
“Don’t.” His voice was almost as cold as she felt. “Just fucking don’t , alright?” She didn’t try to speak again. “Just...C’mere. We’re going to get you somewhere warm.” It wasn’t often that she heard Jonny scared but the fear was clear in his voice. Nastya didn’t protest as he moved to pick her up, cradling her in his arms as if she were something breakable. “I’m going to get you somewhere safe.” She rested her head against him. At some point, Nastya found herself slipping into unconsciousness.
When she woke up, it was to find herself stuck in the centre of a cuddle pile. The others were sprawled around her with a few octokittens - including the one sat comfortably on her head. The lack of cold and pure warmth she felt was confirmation enough as to where she was. Back in the engine room. With a soft smile, she moved to pet the kitten on her head. It let out a soft purr before moving to gloop down and curl up on her chest. A quiet laugh escaped her at that. It was adorable - especially as it was partially covering Jonny’s arm. She knew he would despise waking up to a kitten on him. Not that she would let him hurt this one, of course. It was an adorable abomination. Glancing at Jonny, her smile widened. Her brother was the one lying closest to her with his arms wrapped tightly around her, pulling her close. Sentimental bastard.
Nastya couldn’t quite shake the feeling that she was being watched. Glancing across the cuddle pile, her suspicions were confirmed as she noticed two people watching her. Ashes and Marius. “There are easier ways to scare all of us than trying to become an ice cube, y’know?” Marius’s comment was met with Ashes hitting him upside the head. “...How...How are you feeling?”
She paused for a moment before giving a decisive answer. “Warm.” Nastya held out her octokitten free hand to them, smiling as both moved to wrap their hands around hers. “Better than before. I’m...sorry about any concern I caused.” She sighed. “Though, I am surprised to wake up here. I assumed your initial response would be to set me alight.” Nastya tried to joke but Ashes stayed suspiciously silent. “” You didn’t .”
“Jonny shot them when they suggested it.” Marius supplied helpfully.
Ashes scoffed at that. “Traitor.” They snorted. “But...you’re sure you’re feeling okay? Nothing else wrong?” They cleared their throat. Ashes was almost as bad as Jonny with emotions; rarely willing to show any besides smugness, amusement, happiness, and pure rage. It was always...odd seeing them concerned.
She sighed. “I’m fine. I just...I overreacted after arguing with Aurora. When she told me to take a break, I have a feeling this isn’t exactly what I meant.” That at least got a small smile from the other two. “But there are worse places to wake up than surrounded by my siblings and serving as a pillow for an adorable abomination.” She gently scratched behind the octokitten’s ears, grinning slightly as it purred in content.
“Your siblings?”
“Mhm. Non-negotiable. You’re all my family.” She stuck her tongue out at them. “Even the Toy Soldier.” She glanced over to where it was cuddled between Ivy and Raphaella, pretending to sleep. “You’re stuck with me now.”
“We’re not stuck with you. We love you. Now Brian is currently making a shockingly comfortable pillow for a robot, so can we please all go the fuck back to sleep?”
Three voices spoke out in unison. “Shut up, Tim.” His response was to flip them off.
Nastya laughed before moving to lay back down, feeling the Aurora hum gently beneath her. “I’m sorry, my love.” Her voice was barely above a whisper; the words meant for no one but the ship itself. Nastya slept peacefully after that, surrounded by those that meant the most to her; surrounded by her true family.