Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Bronya opened her eyes to the calm morning sunlight streaming from the windows of their bedroom. Warmth surrounded her, both from the light and from the two loved ones beside her. The first sight she saw was Seele’s serene, dreaming face. Bronya gently touched her cheek like she had on the day of their wedding, now so many years ago but still as vivid in her memories. In pure white wedding dresses on the deck of the Hyperion high above the land, they had spoken their before sealing their fates together with a kiss. On that day, all their friends and family were there for them. All save for one. 

Bronya carefully turned around to face Johann, sleeping just as peacefully as Seele. After the end of the Honkai, it took him so long to be able to sleep like this again, but time soothed, if not outright healed all wounds. They had all sacrificed to bring about this era of peace. What he had sacrificed could never be brought back, but he was still here. 

Bronya wished she could return to sleep. Her fatigue threatened to drag her back to her dreams. It was something she would have welcomed, but then she forced herself awake and carefully climbed out of bed, taking care to avoid waking either of them. She left the bedroom and entered the neighbouring one to find her two daughters soundly asleep. Or so it seemed at first. As Bronya approached, Katerina and Marika slowly opened their eyes. 

“Good morning, you two,” Bronya gently said, kneeling down to rub their hair.

“Good morning, matushka,” they said, more awake now. 

“I’ll be making breakfast. What would you like to have?”

Katerina sat up. “More borscht, please. We ate all of it yesterday.” Marika nodded in agreement.

“Of course,” Bronya said. “I’ll get right to it.”

—--

Johann woke from a peaceful dream about his life before this one. In that time, he thought himself nothing more than a teacher. To think that he was still a teacher now, even if the subject he taught was a very different one. So much, too much had changed, but he was still here because of them. When he opened his eyes, Seele’s blue eyes were looking back. 

“Good morning,” she said.

“Good morning. Did you just wake?”

Seele nodded. “Bronya must have woken before us. I can smell breakfast cooking. I wonder what it is.”

“I’m sure it’s good.”

Seele’s eyes turned red. "Before that, go see your daughters. You’ve spent too long away from them," said the other Seele within. 

“Thank you, Seele. I’ll do that,” Johann said. He climbed out of bed, followed by Seele, her eyes blue again. They saw the door to their daughters’ room was already open. When they stepped inside, Katerina was sitting at a table and playing with the model Hyperion she had made the previous day with Marika sitting across from her. Johann smiled at the sight. His eldest daughter by a few minutes had always taken after her mother’s interests. Although she had only just turned five, she already showed a strong interest in science and technology of all kinds. The aerial battleship her mother once served aboard had quickly become her primary interest above all else, at least until another equally interesting subject caught her attention and became her new focus.

“It’s nice seeing what you’ve made with your own hands,” Seele said as she walked over. 

Katerina looked up and beamed. “Yes, ema! I loved making this. I just wish I could visit the real one some day.” 

“The Hyperion is still in the skies,” Johann said. “One day, we’ll take you aboard it. You’ll be able to see everything on and in it, not just the outside.”

Marika looked up at him. Like her sister, she adored learning all there was to learn about technology, although not quite like her sister, her interests lay mainly in the armour and weapons used by valkyries. More than once, she had brought up her dream of becoming a valkyrie one day. That day might come, but for the time being, she was their precious little girl with a tomboyish streak who loved to tease her sister. “Does it still carry valkyries on missions?” she asked him, her dual-coloured eyes wide with interest.

“It always has and always will,” he said. “But we’ll visit it another day. For now, your mother has made you breakfast. Let’s go.”

“We asked matushka to make more of what we had for dinner yesterday,” Katerina said. “That was fast.”

“Then let’s go already,” Marika said, pulling her sister to her feet and leading her out the door. Smiling, Johann and Seele followed them.

In the kitchen, Johann heard the girls greet Bronya again. As he walked in, Bronya turned around holding a large pot. “Breakfast is ready,” she said. “One can never have too much borscht. Right, Seele?”

“You’re so right.”

Bronya had greeted them cheerfully enough, but as he ate, Johann could only notice that she seemed slower and less energetic than the last time they were able to see each other in person. She was a woman filled with life and love, but this morning, she hardly seemed focused on anything except slowly pushing her spoonful of borscht into her mouth, lowering it to the bowl, and repeating the action. The movement was graceless and mechanical. He was no stranger to overworking, so he kept his concerns to himself until after they finished. 

Bronya prepared to leave as soon as she finished washing up. She returned to their bedroom and came back dressed in her office clothing: a black jacket over her grey undershirt and a black skirt that came down just above her knees. Dark tights covered her legs. “I need to head to work now,” she said as she made for the door.

“Bronya, wait. Don’t be in such a hurry,” Johann said, catching up to her and acutely aware of their daughters watching and listening nearby. “Can I speak with you for a moment?” 

Seele walked up to them as Bronya turned around. “What is it?” Bronya asked in a tired voice. 

“I know you’ve been working overtime,” Johann began. “You’ve been coming home late. You don’t have much energy. You don’t have much time to spend with us.” Bronya shifted uncomfortably. “Can’t you take a few days off before resuming work?”

Bronya shook her head. “Arahato can’t wait. The future of Studio Reason depends on it.”

“Is it really that important?” Seele asked. 

“It is to Welt. And to me.”

He and Seele exchanged a glance. “Then I’ll come to Studio Reason’s office with you,” he offered. “I want to help you in any way I can.”

Bronya looked at him curiously. “Are you sure? In what ways do you feel you can help me with this?”

“I may not be a programmer like you,” Johann admitted. “But I may be able to help you with finding the inspiration you need for this game. That’s what you brought up yesterday as your largest obstacle.”

Bronya took only seconds to answer. “Alright then. It couldn’t hurt. But if you’re coming to work at Studio Reason with me, you need to look the part.” She grabbed his wrist, pulled him to their bedroom, and opened the closet filled with outdoor wear for the three of them. She picked out and discarded several garments that belonged to him before settling on a black formal business suit and pants. “You look right at home next to me,” she said as they stood beside each other in front of a large mirror.

Johann fiddled with his dark blue tie, then inspected himself in the mirror. He was still unaccustomed to wearing such attire, but if Bronya liked it, so did he. He wrapped an arm around Bronya’s back. “Thank you. I remember buying this for our annual reunions at Schicksal HQ, but I didn’t think I’d wear it anywhere else.”

“You look good in it. And in everything else,” Bronya assured him. “Let’s go.”

When they returned to the penthouse’s front entrance, they found Seele, Katerina, and Marika waiting for them. “Have a good day at work,” Seele said, smiling. 

“I hope you get a lot done today!” Katerina said.

“Two can get more done than one,” Marika said.

Bronya rested a hand on each of their daughters’ hair. “Seele, look after the girls while we’re gone.”

“I’ll look after them like always,” Seele assured her. She gave Bronya a quick kiss. “Have a good day at work, you two.”

—--

Johann thought he was used to travelling at high speeds by now, but riding on the back of Bronya’s motorcycle, his arms squeezed tightly around her waist for dear life as she raced through the city as fast as the vehicle could take them, was something he probably would never get used to. Bronya drove like she had no concept of the laws of traffic, but despite her haphazard driving, he kept faith in her ability to steer away from danger. She was once the Herrscher of Reason. She knew how to be careful. If anything happened, she would keep them both safe.

To her credit, they arrived safely at Studio Reason in only a few minutes. She parked in her assigned lot before helping him off the motorcycle. After removing their helmets and storing them in the storage compartment, Johann looked up at the office building looming over him. It was one of the tallest in Soukai City, and it was where Bronya lived her other life. Halfway up the skyscraper, the logo of Studio Reason spanned several floors. It was the second branch of his company that Welt Yang had opened, and he did so to reward Bronya for everything she had done. After the war, giving her a short commute to work was the least he could do. 

“This isn’t your first time here, so stop staring and follow me inside,” Bronya said teasingly. 

“That’s true,” Johann said. “The last time I was here was to help playtest your last game. It sold better than you expected it to.”

“It did. Your feedback was valuable,” Bronya said. “We used to game together on the Hyperion and at St. Freya all the time. I…I wanted to give you that opportunity again.” Something had changed in her voice.

Yes…we did…or he did, Johann thought before he noticed Bronya moving on. He hurriedly caught up to her and followed her into the building. As she had said, it was not his first visit to Studio Reason, although he seldom had reason to stay for long. 

The female receptionist at the front lobby greeted them. “Welcome back to Studio Reason, Mrs. Zaychik,” she said. She glanced briefly at him. “Mr. Apocalypse is welcome as well.”

“Thank you. He’ll be my guest for today. And perhaps after today.” Bronya led him to the elevator, which quickly climbed to one of the upper floors. They stepped out and into the spacious office that Bronya had once described as her second home. There was much for him to see. Opposite them, large windows formed an entire wall. They slanted at an inward angle, letting in the morning sunlight. Aside from the employees’ work stations, the office was filled with amenities during break times: a soft couch, a large television screen mounted on the wall, and even a gaming station. These details he noticed only on the periphery. What caught his attention was Bronya’s workstation. The desk itself gave her more than enough space to work with, but its most striking features were the nine computer monitors arranged on it. Eight of them were lined up in two rows of four monitors each while a ninth monitor, as large as the other eight combined, rose above the rest. Johann wondered exactly how seriously Bronya took her work if she felt the need to have nine screens at once.

“Like what you see?” Bronya asked as she led him across the room.

“It’s just like I remembered,” he replied. “I’m glad it hasn’t changed. Except for the number of computers you have in front of you. That’s definitely more than I remember.” Bronya laughed. 

Some employees were already seated at their respective workstations, tapping away at their computers. They turned their heads to the sound of Bronya and Johann’s footsteps and greeted them politely. When they reached her desk, she offered him a seat before sitting in her own. The nine screens whirred to life with the logos of E.T. Studio and Studio Reason. Bronya waved an arm at them. “The heart of the game is here.”

Johann rested his hand on her head. “The heart of the game is here.” Bronya smiled. “How much have you developed so far?”

Her smile faded as she sighed. “Only the preliminary code. We’re still early in development. We haven’t started with the bulk of the programming because we haven’t decided what we’ll be programming yet.” 

“What have you been working with, then?”

Bronya picked up a book lying on her desk and offered it to him. It was a thick volume of concept art and scenes taken directly from the Arahato series’s original run. Having seen several episodes himself, many were familiar to him. He flipped through the pages of the book, taking care to follow the meaning of every scene and every character. 

“Arahato inspired an entire generation of youths,” Bronya said. She looked out the window. “...Her father was one of them. I want this game to live up to Welt’s passion. I want this game to be remembered like his series was.”

Johann set the book down. “It doesn’t need to do that much. All it needs is to stand on its own. It doesn’t need the fans of the original series for that. Many of them would be much older than the average gamer, anyway, since the series first aired forty years ago.”

Bronya’s eyes made it obvious how much she was considering his suggestion. “You’re right. But I’m still deciding exactly which parts to adapt. Which episodes, which scenes, which dialogue, and after all of that, new, original scenes…a series as long as this one can’t be completely told in one game. I’ll need to leave out certain parts even though I’d rather not.”

Johann glanced at the artbook again. Not a single page mentioned the real Arahato constructed by Anti-Entropy that played a large role in leading to where they were today. Bronya surely must have considered it, but it was clear that her mind was set on the animated series alone. He cleared his throat and offered his suggestion. “I know you’ve already watched the entire Arahato series more times than anyone needs to, but I think it might help if I watched it with you.”

“You think you might be able to notice details I might have missed.”

He shrugged. “It’s worth a try. We do have all day. I just hope we won’t need to watch on all nine screens at once.” 

“No need. Just one will do. I’m always happy to watch things with you.” Bronya turned back to the monitors. On one of them, she started playing the first episode of the series that captured the hearts of an entire generation.

—--

A full workday and many episodes later, they could finally leave Studio Reason behind. For all their shared enjoyment of watching Arahato together, Johann had to admit he felt that they missed several things they should not have. “I’m sorry if I wasn’t the most helpful,” he said apologetically as the elevator began to descend.

“It wasn’t for nothing. I’m glad you were with me today. It turns out that I did miss a few things after all,” Bronya said.

“A few small details, yes, but I know you had bigger things in mind.”

“I do. But let’s not worry about them right now. The workday is over.” 

The elevator descended to the ground floor. They stepped into the lobby, bade the receptionist farewell, and returned to the parking lot where Bronya’s motorcycle awaited them. Johann realized he spent more time than he thought looking at it when he heard her speak into his ear. “Reminiscing on old memories?” 

He nodded contemplatively. “Project Bunny was so important to you. To you and Seele.”

She rested a hand on the blue motorcycle. “I still miss Project Bunny some days. We both do. But if losing access to Project Bunny means a world without the Honkai, it’s a price worth paying. Let’s go home.”

The darkening sky contrasted with the brilliant sunset. Johann watched it as they raced through the city. It reminded him of his days as a teacher. The sunset in the city he once lived in was as beautiful as this one. The beauty of the world could be marred, tainted, and scarred, but it was never forgotten, not for long. 

“Bronya, let’s stop here,” he said suddenly.

“Here?” She paused at an intersection. 

Johann pointed to a diner by the street ahead of them. “Let’s have dinner there tonight. We can bring back dinner for Seele and the girls, too.”

“Too tired to cook tonight?” Bronya asked sardonically. Then she laughed softly. “So am I.”

That, and other reasons, too, he thought.

She parked outside the diner. Together, they walked in. It was a modest establishment in terms of size, but the aroma that greeted them as they stepped through the front door reminded them of how hungry they were. A smaller restaurant, he had found, tended to serve the best meals. After ordering, they sat at a table beside a large window that faced the street and let in the orange rays of the falling sun. 

“Thank you for pointing out this place,” Bronya said after devouring a bite of her stuffed pastry. “I was hungrier than I thought.”

“So was I.” Johann stirred his bowl of spicy noodles with a pair of chopsticks. It was good, but despite his words, he ate slowly. The minutes passed between them in silence. Something built up within him, and it was something he had to tell her. “Bronya…”

“What is it?”

“I want to tell you something I should have told you the moment I saw you again.”

“Alright…”

He smiled at her. “I want you to know how happy I am that you’re a part of my life. During those months away at Schicksal, I thought of you every day. You, Seele, and our daughters. I want you to know how happy I am to be a part of your lives, and I hope you’re all as happy as I am.” The words that came out of him came from his heart and soul, but he wondered if he had said similar words before. 

Bronya reached for a napkin and dabbed at her eyes. “You always did know what to say to me to get my heart racing.” She reached for his hand. “I’m happy you’re here, too. So are Seele, Katerina, and Marika. I could see how happy they were today and yesterday. I want them to look that way forever.”

He reached over with his other hand and held hers gently in both. “Before I flew back, I asked Theresa a favour.”

“Oh?”

“I asked her if I could take an extended leave from my duties. Not forever - I’ll always be a part of Schicksal - but half a year or so to spend with my family. I hate being away for so long from those I cherish.”

“And what did she say?” 

“She agreed.”

Bronya’s face lit up. “Theresa always did understand the value of taking a break now and then. I’ll let you in on a little secret, too. After this game releases, whether it sells well or not, I’ll also be taking a much-needed break from Studio Reason. Welt told me pretty much the same things as Theresa told you. I promised the girls that I’d have more time to spend with them. This is one promise I won’t break.” 

“Welt told me this a few days ago,” Johann said. “He told me that you deserve a break after working so hard for E.T. Studio. I look forward to seeing him again in person.”

“That’ll be at the press conference for the game’s release,” Bronya said. “Of course he’ll be there. But enough talk about work. For now, let’s just eat and bring dinner back home for them.” Bronya finished her dinner of pastry and fried fish. Johann slurped up his noodles as fast as he could while still doing his best to appreciate the spicy taste. The other Seele had always pushed him to try the increasingly spicy foods she insisted on making for them. It was an acquired taste, but one he came to appreciate. They left the diner with takeout for their family waiting at home for them. He also reminded Bronya to drive more carefully on the way back this time.