Work Text:
When Eltnum slowly makes her way into her apartment, she isn’t surprised to see the main room dark and empty. What does surprise her, however, is the light on in their bedroom. Usually, Eltnum arrives to an empty home, with Erika out doing god knows what for the Licht Kreis, or being babysat by her supervisors the organization sent to be with her. However, walking a bit further in, she was welcomed by the sight of Erika leaning over a desk, reading through what seemed like some sort of textbook as a small lamp illuminated the room.
“Ah, welcome home, Eltnum.” Erika said, not looking up from her book, although through the dim light she could see the corners of Erika’s mouth twitch upward. Eltnum simply gave her a pat on the head, electing to look closer at whatever was keeping Erika up.
“A medical textbook..?” Eltnum whispered to herself, putting a hand to her chin.
“Is that surprising?” Erika said, a bit of edge to it, but Eltnum was quick to dismiss it with a shake of her head and a waved hand. Erika took that as an apology and looked back at her book. “I’ve always found this stuff… interesting.”
“Well, becoming a doctor takes a lot of work. Are you sure you can balance that with your Licht Kreis duties?” Eltnum inquired. Erika simply just let her head down a moment, her mood seeming to sour at the mere mention of it. Eltnum quickly realized her mistake, but felt like a deer in headlights, not knowing how exactly to apologize when it was a genuine question to ask.
“Well, maybe I don’t want to balance them…” Erika mumbled simply, deciding not to comment any further, but Eltnum could understand from her few words what her whole mindset was. Some forget Eltnum wasn’t just a veteran in the game industry, but a genius too. Instead of lecturing her, though, Eltnum decided to lean over next to Erika to get a better look at her notes. They were a bit sloppy, but earnest in their efforts. It reminded the veteran of when she used to study alchemy. Erika had always been plagued by the responsibilities of her family name and her title as executioner. While it seemed that the battlefield was her home, she knew the girl enough to know that she wasn’t content to stay there. And if Erika wanted to branch out, who was Eltnum to not help down this path?
“Why don’t you let me help you take notes?” Eltnum inquired, leaning over to grab a pencil on Erika’s desk regardless of her answer. Erika stared at her with an expression between shock and happiness, but after a moment of gaping, composed herself with a cough and a blush.
“W-well, I suppose if you have the time, I wouldn’t mind the assistance.” Erika said aloofly, brushing Eltnum off a bit as she tried to distract herself by reading. Eltnum smiled, relishing in how Erika’s German accent was a bit more noticeable when she was flustered, it just made it that much sweeter. There was probably a long night of studying ahead of them, and Eltnum would probably regret it in the morning, but a chance to put her expertise into practice in this new world, and lead this rookie on a path separate from the battlefield, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
She learned pretty quickly that Erika was a quiet worker, similarly to herself before she arrived in this world. While the two mainly kept to themselves while jotting things down, she noticed that they had similar study habits, usually preferring to write things down 2 or 3 times to get them memorized, although Eltnum had reached a point where she only needed to do it once most of the time. After all, Erika not being as good as Eltnum yet was all within her calculations.
Occasionally, Erika would butt in for a question or two. She seemed nervous to ask a lot of the time, probably from her time of having to be completely self reliant as well as her unfamiliarity with the topic, but Eltnum reassured her it was fine, even if she gave a small jab or two at her girlfriend’s expense. While medical things weren’t exactly her strong point, she could use her genius and whatever previous knowledge she could carry over to help her out.
While the two were getting lost in their work, taking as many notes as possible and flipping through the pages slowly but consistently, an eventual look at the time realized they had been there for a little over two hours, a small jolt of surprise running up her spine. She went to tap Erika on the shoulder, still completely concentrating on her work, but a mischievous thought crossed her mind, a bit more of a fun way to get her girlfriend away from her work.
Suddenly, the crimson knight yelped as she was taken away from her studies and wrapped up in the arms of Eltnum lifting her from her chair.
“H-hey, what’s the-?!” Erika started to yell, but Eltnum simply put a finger to her lips, a smirk barely hidden on her face.
“Now, now… You and I both know how late it is, why don’t we settle into bed?” Eltnum asked, Erika blushing both at their position and the sudden realization she had gotten lost in her work.
“Well, I suppose… but was there any better way to do this?”
“Trust me, according to my calculations, lifting you physically away from your studies yielded the best possible chance of getting you to break your focus.” teased the veteran, Erika huffing but not arguing any further. As Eltnum carried her over to the bed, she noticed Erika’s small but noticeable look of contentment, a tired smile after a job well done, causing a genuine, warm smile of her own to form.
Silently, Eltnum made a mental note to buy Erika a new notebook, just in case.