Archive of Our Own

A cry of wind howled through the overgrown trail, strong enough to send loose twigs and leaves into the air a fair distance. Sophie took a moment to rest her hand on a nearby tree for a break, too exhausted to bear the oncoming winds. A few shallow breaths came by as she panted, desperate to get a bit of energy back in her. It would have been ideal for her companion not to notice her condition, but she was far too attentive for that.

“Sophie?” Plachta inquired, taking a few steps over towards the alchemist. A slight look of concern adorned her face. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah! Ahaha…” Sophie flashed the brightest smile she could before she was interrupted again but her own rough breaths. “Just needed a little break.”

“Hmm…” Plachta raised a hand up to her chin. It was one of those mannerisms Sophie had gotten very used to during their time together. “We should stop here for the day, it’s almost nightfall.”

“Huh?” Sophie pushed herself off the tree and frowned. “C’mon, there's still a few hours of daylight. I wanna get a little farther today, I’ll be fi–”

“Sophie.”

Sophie gulped. She knew that tone of voice better than anyone else, having heard it about 100 times a day at this point. Plachta was putting her foot down, and she knew better than anyone else that arguing with her was a fool’s errand at this point. “Fine, fine, I understand… We can stop for now. But that just means I've gotta give it my all tomorrow!”

Plachta smiled. After all these years, Sophie had fallen in love with that smile; The way her lips shifted to form such a pleasant expression, how her eyes lit up every time, the gentle warmth that she always felt when seeing it. Despite their habit of arguing, which was an inevitability based on their personalities, she really did always love to make the other girl happy. “Hmm. It seems you know what’s best for you.”

“Hehe.” Sophie laughed a bit. “I’ll go take out the atelier– you should go find a clearing or something where we can set it down for the night.”

“Home sweet home!” Sophie called out to herself as she entered into their atelier. A few seconds later Plachta joined her inside, and the enthusiastic alchemist turned to face her. “Hey, Plachta, aren’t you thankful that a genius alchemist made a portable atelier for us. Such a brilliant invention~”

“I would say so,” Plachta stepped in a bit closer. In such a spacious room, it was always apparent how close the two would often get to each other. “If it were not for the fact that a certain someone used up almost all the materials we had on constructing it.

“Ahaha…” Sophie scratched her head, relenting to Plachta’s point but not without trying to come up with a rebuttal as soon as possible. “Would you prefer we sleep outside every night then?”

“Hmm, could be fun, I suppose?”

“Ngh– Plachta! You were supposed to relent there!” Sophie crossed her arms and put up a faux-frown. They stared at each other for a few seconds before they both burst out laughing. The warmth from Plachta’s company almost made Sophie forget how tired she was.

“I will acquiesce that the atelier is somewhat brilliant,” Plachta smiled as Sophie rolled her eyes at somewhat. “But I must say, it does make me feel awfully… lonely.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“Well, it’s rather spacious… I do not mind it per se, but it makes me miss our old atelier. It was a lot more, homely, you could say.” Plachta looked down for a few moments, before once again turning up to Sophie with a smile. “Oh, but that is not to say it is a major issue. I am more than content to be here if it is with your company.”

“Oh, Plachta…” Sophie blushed a bit. It was nice being with her, but she was right– The empty rooms made them both realize how far away they were from their friends. “We really ought to head back to Kirchen Bell before it’s too long, I’m starting to miss it t–” Sophie stumbled with her words a bit. She was hit with a sudden wave of nausea, and her vision blurred for a second.

“S-Sophie? Are you sure you’re okay?” Plachta inquired anxiously. She reached out a hand in concern, but held it back far enough as to not be touching Sophie’s arm.

“Y-Yeah, just a little tired is all…” She muttered out. Wow, she really needed to get to bed, huh. A second later, Sophie stumbled as her vision got blurry again and then faded to black.

For just a moment, it was black. And the next thing Sophie knew, she was on the ground, and Plachta was looking down from over her. As her senses cleared up, she could make out a calling voice, but she didn’t know what it was saying. She noticed that she wasn’t on the ground at all, and was actually being held in Plachta’s arms as the other girl was knelt near the floor.

“S-ph-i-” The voice called out. “S–oph–! -oph-e! Sophie–!”

“I’m okay! I’m okay! Don’t worry.” Sophie smiled. Despite the occasion, it was nice to be held in Plachta’s arms.

“Don’t worry?! You passed out in front of me, and you want to tell me not to worry?!” Plachta looked dejected. Sophie’s heart sunk; If her goal was to make this woman happy, she sure as hell wasn’t doing a good job now. “I-I… You should be grateful I was there to catch you or you could have gotten seriously hurt!”

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Plachta. I… I didn’t mean to worry you…” Sophie tried to get up, but evidently a 3 second lapse in consciousness wasn’t a large enough rest for her to have regained her strength. “I’m okay now, I’m okay. You don’t have to worry anymore.”

“Hmph…” Plachta turned her head. “Do you think you need any medicine? I could check our supplies, though we may be quite low…”

“Plachta, it’s alright. I was just a little lightheaded.” Sophie giggled a bit, trying her best to lighten the mood. “What I do need is a good night's rest, and a good breakfast tomorrow.”

“I see…” Plachta still looked disheartened; Seeing her like that made Sophie feel the same way.

Sophie once again tried to get up, but was interrupted by Plachta standing and carrying her to bed herself. “Woah-! Ahaha, sometimes I forget how strong you are, Plachta~”

Plachta placed Sophie down gently on the bed, before pushing herself up and standing over the other woman on her hands and knees. A much needed smirk arose on her face. “Oh? Do I need to remind you more often~”

“Ahaha…” Sophie blushed deeply. “I think a demonstration every now and then might be nice~ T-Though not tonight… I really need the rest…”

Placha giggled. “Good. Tonight you’re going to get all the rest you need.” She positioned herself more comfortably next to Sophie and covered them both with a nearby blanket. “That means no sneaking off in the middle of the night to do synthesis, you hear!”

“Yes, yes, Miss Plachta, I get it.”

“I’m serious.” Plachta added as she cuddled in closer. Pushing her arms around the other woman, she held Sophie tighter than usual. Despite the construction of her body, Sophie always felt very comfortable in Plachta’s embrace. “You need to take better care of yourself. For someone so reckless, I can only do so much.”

“I…” Sophie pouted. Plachta was right, she knew she was right. “I will.”

“I need you to promise. Promise that you’ll take breaks when you need to. That you won't push yourself too hard. That you’ll let me know when you’re tired and that you won’t dare ask to go on further when you know you can’t.” Plachta’s voiced wavered. “Because… Because if something happened to you–! I… I… I don’t know what I would do. I can’t deal with that as a possibility.”

“I’m sorry, Plachta, I really am. It’s just my own stubbornness I guess…” Sophie frowned. “But never seeing you like this again matters way more than my own stupid principals. I promise.”

“Do you mean it?” Plachta squeezed a little bit tighter.

“Aww, c’mon! Who do you take me for!” Sophie grinned. “Do you really think I’m the type to break my promises?”

“Well… There was that one time–”

“Plachta!!” Sophie used the last bit of her energy to push Plachta over a bit. “I’m serious.”

“I know.” Plachta giggled, smiling with the same bright smile she always did. Sophie didn’t realize just how close together they were until she felt Plachta’s hand touching hers, and within a second their fingers found themselves interwoven with each others. A second later, Plachta moved her head in a bit closer, pressing her lips in deeply with the alchemist that she loved. They stayed that way for a few moments, before inevitably breaking apart. Plachta rested her head gently next to Sophie’s neck.

Sometime passed where the only sound that could be heard was the steady breaths of the two women resting peacefully in the bed. Then, quietly, as if it wasn’t something she had said a thousand times before, Sophie softly muttered: “I love you, Plachta.”

Plachta smiled even brighter. “I love you too, Sophie.”

Their Atelier was a little too big. The blanket was a little too thin. The howls of the wind were a little too loud. Yet, they both felt more comfortable than anywhere else in the world in each other’s arms.