Chapter 2
Bronya wakes up and the bright lights of the clinic shine in her eyes. She groans and sits up and as she looks around to gain her baring's her eyes land onto a girl with midnight blue hair. Bronya tilts her head as she wonders if Seele’s hair is soft or would feel rough, thick and coarse. She reaches out her hand to answer the question but decides against it and rests it above her head and she wonders if she were to run her hands through Seele’s hair would she mind? Would she get mad at Bronya and never speak to her again because she crossed some boundaries? As she overthinks and her mind wanders, she hears Seele groan, and she snaps out of her daze and pulls her hand back to her side. Seele lifts her head up and wipes the sleep out of her eyes. She blinks owlishly at Bronya before yawning loudly. Bronya softly giggles “why hello sleepy head” she says with a small smile on her face. “how’d you sleep?”
“Decently good despite the fact my neck hurts like a bitch” and she brings her hand to run her neck to soothe the pain. “I uh didn’t mean to fall asleep in here I was just um” she trails off with a blush on her face. “Do you feel better now?”
“Yes, I think that nap was just what I needed thank you”
“Yeah, yeah whatever... just take better care of yourself next time” Seele grumbles something else but Bronya was unable to catch it.
“Uh by any chance do you know what time it is?”
Seele pulls out her phone and reads the time “it’s nearly 10 at night why?”
“Oh no oh no oh no” Bronya quickly says. She rushes out of bed and looks for her boots. “I need get back to the overworld or else Pela might think I've died” she stops in her tracks “I mean” she starts but quickly shuts her mouth.
“What do you mean by that” Seele’s voice has a strange tone to it.
“Nothing I just-” and she’s interrupted by Seele
“But nothing Bronya why would she think you would’ve died?!” her voice is raising in anger “i thought you said that we moved passed that.”
“And we have it’s just not for the reason you think it is.” she retorts
“Then what is it Bronya?” she says in a calmer tone
“I can’t tell you I'm sorry” Bronya can feel the Forget-Me Nots climbing their way to the surface and she needs to get out of there pronto. “I should go now”
“Okay if you need to go home that bad at least let me walk you home”
“N-No need I'll be fine” and she begins to cough violently, and Seele stands up startled. Bronya looks over her shoulder and her eyes hold a mixture of fear and tiredness. Her back is hunched as she tries to keep her coughs and petals in.
“Hey, Bronya, what’s wrong are you okay?!” Her voice coneys deep worry
“Yes I'm fine” she wheezes out “don’t follow me” and she nearly bolts out of Natasha’s clinic and down the street.
“like hell I'm not following her” and as she runs out the building Bronya is gone. “You stupid overworld princess where are you!” she shouts and passerby's look at her weirdly “fuck fuck fuck” she mutters under her breath. She walks back into the building and sees Natasha “Nat she’s gone fuck I don’t... Nat what if something happens to her.”
“Calm down Seele tell me what happened?”
“She started to freak when told the time and then bolted out of here while coughing telling me not to follow her and then she just disappeared.”
“Seele perhaps you’re just overreacting I did tell you earlier she had a simple cold” Natasha sighs while shaking her head
“No Nat you don’t understand this was more than a simple cold I can feel that it’s something more than that I just don’t know what... Fuck I hope it’s not serious. Nat I can’t lose her I just can’t she means everything to me”
A hand is placed on her head, and it reminds Seele of her youth whenever she’d get hurt and Natasha had to patch her up. “Hey now I promise you that she will be okay she just needs lots of rest”
And with that Seele just nods before sitting in the nearest chair and sighs. The more she thinks the more this whole situation seems fishy, but Nat wouldn’t lie to her, would she? She stands up and heads for the door.
“Leaving already?” Natasha says
“Yeah, I have something to do I'll see you later”
“Be safe Seele”
“I will don’t worry” she smiles before closing the door behind her
As Bronya makes it to the overworld she sees a horde of guards and a frantic Pela giving orders. She pockets the petals she coughed out and clears her throat. Once Pela notices her she rushes over “Bronya! There you are I was so worried something had happened”
Bronya clears her throat “I’m fine Pela I just lost track of time I’m sorry to have worried you...”
“Since she has been found you are all free to go now!” Pela commands and turns back to Bronya “are you okay? Does anything hurt? How is-” she then lowers her voice “how is the coughing flowers has it gotten worse”
“No, it hasn’t and yes, I am okay I did just simply lose track of time nothing more I shall retire for the night goodnight, Pela!” she turns and waves behind her. It was a good thing that she made it back here in time or else they might’ve stormed the underground and that wouldn’t have ended well for either side.
“Oh, okay goodnight, Bronya and remember tomorrow you have your fitting!” Pela calls out and it makes Bronya freeze in place, and she slowly turns around
“Pela what are you talking about?”
“The ceremony to appoint you as the new supreme guardian next month... have you forgotten?”
“crap” she mutters under her breath. She had totally forgotten that it would soon be time to take over her mother's place after she... passed. Bronya thought grimly this wasn’t good. She had yet to even begin to write her speech she had been so preoccupied by those damned Forget-Me Nots that she truly had forgotten. It was getting bad. Not only was she losing sleep, but she was losing track of all her duties. She sighs and rubs her temples, maybe she should stop seeing Seele and at that very thought her heart begins to squeeze itself. “Alright I understand Pela thank you” and with that she walks off. She doesn’t want to not talk to Seele anymore but as her mother always said get rid of distractions and Seele is a distraction in more ways than one. Her eyes start to well up with tears, but she blinks them away up here in the overworld for a supreme guardian to show any kind of weakness is prohibited.
As she reaches her bedroom she falls to the ground and sobs. Her chest feels like it's closing, and she bangs her fist on the ground. Her mother never told her that loving another person could hurt so bad -oh how she wishes that her mother was here now but that’s a whole can of worms Bronya does not wish to open tonight- she pulls her phone out to call the one reliable person whom she’s always been able to count on, Gepard. She calls and he picks up immediately in true Gepard fashion
“Hello?” he sounds as though he has been doing heavy lifting
Bronya sniffles “Are you busy right now? It's totally fine if you are I just-” he cuts her off
“Woah woah Bronya is everything okay?!”
“To be perfectly honest no”
“Okay be there in 5” and he ends the call and true to his word he was there rather quickly. Bronya opens the door and their Gepard stands. He has white t-shirt and baggy sweatpants. His forehead is glistening with sweat. He looked as though he had just run a mile to get to Bronya’s room. He sees the snot and tears running down her face. Her face is all red and blotchy and she moves aside to let him in “okay Bronya tell me what happened why are you crying?” He takes her hands and leads her to her bed.
“Gepard I’m going to tell you something, but you must promise to never tell a living soul” this reminds her of when they were much younger with Gepard Bronya never felt like she had to abide by all those strict rules, and she could truly be herself. She's only ever felt that way with one other person, but that person is actively killing her.
“I promise”
“I’m sick”
“what” his eyes are blown wide, and his face is as white as a ghost “w-what do you mean you're sick? Sick with what? Will it kill you? What’s going on?” He stands up and Bronya can see that Gepard’s hands are shaking.
“To answer your question, yes it will kill me if not treated”
“How long have you been sick?” his voice shakes of fear. He’s fearful that he’ll lose his best friend. The overworld doesn’t need this especially now with Cocolia being deceased.
“3 months now I think” she lowers her head in shame. Aeons now that she’s told someone –without them finding out- it makes the situation scarier in a way because yes, she is going to die if not treated and part of her is fine with that. She's far too young to be the supreme guardian she had a few years or at least a decade if anything but now times have changed.
“3 months..” he whispers “fuck Bronya how could you not say this to anyone”
“Because we just lost my mother the people don’t need this news as well and quite frankly it isn’t anyone's business but my own” and he doesn’t reply to her statement. He sits on her bed and runs a hand through his hair.
“Okay well what about your family doctor? Have you talked to him?”
“No but I’ve talked to a doctor.”
“Great! And you said that this is curable to all we have to do is find the cure... you do know what the cure is right?”
“Yes, I do but-”
he cuts her off “Great then lets go get you cured. Where do we find this cure?”
“The cure is a person.”
“I don’t believe I understand.”
“I am in love with an underworlder and that’s why I'm dying, because I cannot tell her how I feel about her”
“Wait what? You’re confusing me now.”
“i have something called Hanahaki and when the object of your affections doesn’t love you back you begin to cough up the objects favorite flower. I cannot tell Seel- um the person because they do not love me back” Bronya hangs her head low as more tears come to her eyes and Gepard kneels in front of her. He lifts her face up and slightly smiles at her
“I promise you it’ll be okay and I won’t let anything happen to you”
“Okay” she hugs him tightly “thank you for being here” she whispers
“of course, anything for you Bronya”