Work Text:
The events in Salt Snow Holy City have been… a lot to get through, for both Seele and Veliona. Between their many great deeds, and an equal amount of hardships, the two of them barely had any time to rest; yet, during one of the rare moments of peace, Seele made one very important discovery:
Veliona, despite her tough appearance, loved holding her hand.
Despite never vocalizing it, it was impossible to miss (not only to Seele, as Senti has also made multiple remarks about it). During conversations, exploring their surroundings, moving around on missions- no matter what, Veliona's hands seemed to be always subconsciously moving towards Seele's, only realizing what she's done after her other self, in equal silence, allowed their fingers to lock together, not acknowledging that it happened at all. Neither did Veliona; to the best of her ability, at least, but Seele did not deny she found her turning away her gaze, trying to appear unmoved, quite adorable.
It has been quite a while since everything calmed down; Veliona now existing in her own, separate body. However, just because the issues with the bubble universes have been resolved, that didn't mean the girls weren't busy- with Seele getting guidance on how to control her Herrscher powers from Bronya, and Veliona getting adjusted to the rare moments she couldn't be with her other self.
But, just having more work wasn't enough to keep them apart for even a day- as, due to Seele's request to make acclimating to independent life easier for Veliona, they shared a dorm room; making evenings and nights their time to be alone, no matter what else happened in the day.
One such evening, late enough for both Seele and Veliona to be tired, with not even a stray ray of sunlight peeking through the curtains, they found themselves sitting together on the bed, not truly interacting or doing anything else. This was not uncommon for them at all, as there have been many days after which they were simply too exhausted to do anything aside from sitting together in silence.
That day, though, was about to be different than the norm; because Seele, upon seeing her partner's hand once again slip into hers as it did so often, with eyes closed as she seemingly started falling into at least a quick nap, had a sudden surge of…. curiosity.
So, in a slow and careful move, as to not alert her other self before it's done, Seele placed her other hand on Veliona's head.
Though as delicate as Seele could manage, the sudden contact still made Veliona flinch in surprise; however, in contrast to the reaction she expected- being quickly scolded with embarrassment- Veli simply… let her do it.
Encouraged by the lack of explicit rejection, Seele continued- fingers now sinking into a mass of black hair. Going further forward, she changed their position into more of an embrace- although, without ever separating their hands. Veliona only leaned her head into the crevice of Seele's neck in an uncharacteristic act of affection.
(Uncharacteristic to people other than her other self, at least. Seele could see through the facade for a long time now, and was perhaps the only person to know how deeply gentle Veliona could be.)
Veliona only reacted vocally after Seele, having gotten rid of any reservations at that point, started slowly dragging her fingers through Veli’s hair, caressing her in short motions. Upon that, she let out an embarrassed “Seele!...”, voice still quiet and unsure; an exclamation of more surprise than annoyance. That, in turn, made the girl in question let out a giggle in reply, equally quiet but laced with more (explicit) affection. Veliona, having given up on maintaining her ruse, leaned into the touch and let her lips conjure a small smile- which gave Seele only one thought: “ah, she’s like a little cat!...”
She leaned forward, for her lips to be almost directly next to her other self’s ear, as she slowly began speaking.
“Veliona… just like I know you love me,”- there, she slid the hand previously on Veliona’s head down to her chin, and used it to turn her head, so that they made eye contact- “I hope you know… I love you, too.”
She wished she couldn’t see her other self’s eyes at that moment, because that way, she wouldn’t see the… disbelief? Sadness? In her gaze. And so, to fill these eyes, usually so stern and uninviting with at least a flicker of joy, she did the first thing that came to mind.
Wordlessly, Seele kissed Veliona, pushing even deeper into their embrace.
It took a few seconds before the other reciprocated, and even when she did, it was a very light motion, lacking intensity from either side- more of a lean on their partner than it was anything else.
They only stayed for a few seconds, pulling away in an equally lazy move as they began. Seele wanted to say something else, to comfort Veliona further, but upon seeing how her expression was now filled with ease, she couldn’t contain her own smile- only going back to their previous hug.
They laid there, alone, without a word, until the end of their waking day. It was Veliona who fell asleep first- a rare situation, but Seele did not mind- and, still with the other in her arms, her own consciousness also faded away.