Chapter Text
A vast icescape surrounded Elster, who fought her way through the wind as the darkness of twilight rapidly deepened into night. She wore multiple layers of clothing under her jacket, itself remarkably thick and reaching down to her knees, but was still chilled to the bone. Her eyes alone were exposed but she may as well have been blindfolded for all the good it did; she could barely see in front of her as she pushed forward through what, at times, felt like a solid wall of white. The wind seemed alive and filled with malice as it whipped and twisted to rub as much stinging snow into her face as possible. Her silhouette was the only thing moving for miles around and she felt as though she were the only living thing in all the world.
The snow piled up to her waist in some places but fortunately the path she followed was clear enough that she didn’t have to lift her legs too much. She was exhausted enough at this point. She breathed in and let out a cough—her scarf helped mitigate the worst of the cold but every breath she took still tortured her airways. Another blast of wind cut through her and set her shivering.
She noticed the path she walked brought her to a flight of stairs and fought the urge to rush up them. It would be just her luck to slip and hurt herself right before she reached her destination. Step by step she climbed the staircase, carefully holding on to the frozen metal handrail that leeched heat from her body even through her gloves. After a while the staircase returned to a flat path and a final brutal gust pushed her to close the remaining distance with a rapid, leaping run, caution be damned. The door before her flew open.
“Oh my god, Elster, hurry up and get inside! You’re going to die out there!”
Ariane pulled Elster through the entrance and slammed the door behind her. She turned back to pluck off Elster's hat and scarf while Elster focused on knocking the snow off her jacket before flinging it aside. Ariane threw the hat and scarf on the discarded jacket and started rubbing her hands on Elster’s cheeks to warm them up.
“Oh, Magpie, you’re practically frozen! I still can’t believe your company would make you go out in this kind of weather!” cried Ariane as Elster bent over to remove her boots.
“I can believe it just fine,” grumbled Elster as she yanked off a boot and tossed it to the side. “Falke puts Adler in charge while she goes on vacation and of course his first big decision is to torture me. Oh, right, here’s the best part! I was the only one in the entire office besides him!” She threw her other boot aside, this time more forcefully.
“Are you serious?” Ariane was stunned. Even coming from her wife, she could hardly believe what she'd just heard. “Why would you be the only ones to come in?”
Elster threw up her arms in an exasperated gesture as she gave an angry smile, “Because apparently the Penrose project is just that important!” She started rubbing her hands against her numb legs to warm them up. A month’s worth of frustration had been packed into a single day and she needed to let it all out.
“Hold on, hold on,” Ariane interrupted Elster and led her into the house by her hand, “Come inside and sit down. I’ve had the fire going for a while now, your chair should be nice and warm.”
Ariane led Elster into the living room where the promised fire blazed, filling the room with a toasty dry heat. Elster groaned as she sat down and felt her body begin to thaw in the fire’s radiance.
Ariane headed into the kitchen and quickly returned with a mug of steaming, rich brown liquid.
“Here, hot chocolate. Don’t say anything, just relax and warm up.”
Elster took the offered cup and held it for a bit, enjoying the sensation of feeling returning to her fingers. She took a deep whiff of the sweet aroma and followed it with a quick sip, silently delighting in the warmth that spread through her body. It almost made her want to cry. She turned to Ariane and smiled.
“Thank you, Ari. I’m still going to complain though.”
“As long as it’s not about me, that’s fine,” smiled Ariane as she went back into the kitchen to grab her own mug.
“Never, but I’m afraid you’re going to hear a lot about Adler. Speaking of, do you know what the first thing he said to me was? ‘You’re later than I expected,’" she said in a tone of mocking seriousness, "Can you believe that? Not ‘I’m glad you made it in one piece’ or ‘thanks a lot for coming in today.’ Not even a ‘good morning’!”
“I knew he was an ass but that’s really just beyond belief,” said Ariane, shaking her head as she sat in her own chair.
The conversation continued this way, Elster complaining about her day and Ariane sympathizing and sometimes reacting with surprise. Occasionally the discussion would pause so one or the other could take a sip of her drink. After a while, Elster finally finished with her grievances.
“And do you know what he said right before I left? That the weather had gotten too dangerous and we should stay at the office! Think of that before you tell me to come in the first place!”
Ariane gave a sympathetic laugh but Elster’s words brought an uneasy feeling she’d been ignoring to the front of her mind. There was something she knew she needed to say, something incredibly important but devastating for her wife. Perhaps even unforgivable. Still, it needed to be said. She steadied her nerves.
“I think Adler was right.”
A deeply uncomfortable silence smothered the room as Elster stared at her in shock. Even the fire seemed to stop crackling. Her lips moved as she leaned back in her chair but no sound came out. She blinked a few times and her eyes darted around the room as she struggled to comprehend the words she had just heard.
“Not about making you come into the office in the first place!” Ariane blurted as she wrung her hands, “It’s just, it really was dangerous out there today. I watched for you the entire afternoon and it was so awful wondering if you were going to make it home safely. The snow was blowing so much I couldn’t even see you until you were right in front of the window!”
“Ariane,” Elster moaned, “I had already missed out on a day off with you, how could I spend the night in the office? With Adler! Besides, I got home safe, didn’t I?”
“Elster,” Ariane’s tone shifted from apologetic to stern, “I was worried about you the entire day. I couldn’t focus on anything else knowing you were out there in this storm. If you had stayed in the office, I could at least have known you were somewhere indoors and safe.”
“Ariane,” Elster replied in a pleading tone. She tried to argue but couldn’t find the words. She knew in her heart Ariane was right. Ariane was (almost) always right. But accepting it also meant accepting that Adler was right and she couldn’t bear that. Ariane leaned over and took Elster’s hand.
“Elster. I wanted you back at home too. But you really should have stayed in the office. Yes, you got home safe but if you had gotten turned around in the storm, if you had slipped and twisted your ankle or even broke something. You might have,” Ariane’s eyes moistened and Elster’s heart sank, “you, you might have been buried under that snow. And when I think about that… About you, cold and hurt and alone, being covered with snow…” Ariane's voice caught in her throat and tears began to spill from her eyes.
“Oh, please don’t cry, Ari,” Elster said in a soothing tone as she rushed to comfort Ariane, “I’m sorry. You’re right, it was dangerous. I might have gotten hurt but I’m okay, see? I’m safe now and we’re together. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Elster gently pulled Ariane out of her chair and hugged her tightly. She stroked Ariane's hair and whispered apologies to her.
What a day. Elster felt like complete shit. Trekking through a snowstorm to spend nine hours alone with Adler, then going through a worse storm to make her wife cry. She should have just stayed in bed.
They silently held each other for a long while. The wind howled. The snow danced in a frenzy outside the window. A popping noise came from the fireplace. Each woman indulged herself in the other’s warmth. Finally, Elster spoke.
“I, uh, noticed that the walkway seemed to have less snow than I expected. Did you maybe have something to do with that?”
“Maybe,” Ariane mumbled into Elster’s chest.
“Thank you,” Elster smiled and kissed the top of Ariane’s head. She pictured Ariane then, bundled up so tightly she looked like a cosmonaut, awkwardly waddling through the snow with a shovel too big for her to hold properly. She fought back a laugh.
“I love you, Ari,” she whispered into Ariane’s ear.
“I love you too, Magpie,” came the muffled reply, whispered to Elster’s heart.