Work Text:
It’s a clear day , she thought. Small flecks of snow gently drifted down from a quickly-darkening cloudless London sky, leaving the air around them a quiet vacuum aside from the occasional trotter of a carriage passing by. It all was so at odds with the events of the past few days. In spite of stumbling across that poor lady abandoned in the snow, in spite of the police summons that cut their already brief First Anniversary even shorter, and in spite of her having to support her poor exhausted husband out of the courtroom, after realizing that he would bend the book that he held so close to his heart for her so that they could have just a few more hours together, she couldn’t help but smile.
It’d been about 30 minutes since they left the courthouse, 30 minutes since she’d begun carrying her sweet sweet Pat to their house so that he could finally get some rest. While a carriage would be nice, she knew that that would cost her poor Pat at least a month of work alone, and who knew how many warm meals. No, she didn’t need a carriage. She would carry him, and that was that. Even though the cold bit deep into her fingers and made her eyes water with pain and cold, and Pat’s weight rested heavily on her shoulders and made her knees feel like twigs, it was alright. How could she complain when her sweet Pat did this day after day, for hours on end, to protect their precious city and to provide for her? No, this was nothing.
A giggle escaped her as a puff of warm air brushed against her ear from a sleepy mumble from Pat. Oh, if only she could see his sweet face! If only she could turn enough to see it, that would be more than enough to keep her warm from even the blizzards of Russia and sweep away any exhaustion that dared to keep her from her quest to let her brave prince rest easily. It surely wouldn’t be much longer, however. There was Rocherton, and soon they’d be nearing the corner to the alley that held their humble abode. Excitement welled up inside her, sending bubbling happiness through her body. “Look, Pat, my sweet! We’re almost there. Just a little longer, and then you can get some rest, ok?” she whispered, turning her head slightly to better talk to her husband on her back.
“Mmm...Rola, my love...”
A spark bloomed in her chest at his mumbled words, as they always did. Even after all the years they had known each other, it was just like the first time he’d called her that, just like the day he’d first said “I love you”, and the day he had given her the pink ribbon that sat happily atop her head...they were all precious memories she could live in forever. Just thinking about them sent a spring back into her step, and ever closer to their home.
Perhaps a little too much spring, however. A shiver went down her spine as a gust of wind sent a flurry of snow swirling through the air, its force threatening to push her and her Pat sideways into a small snowbank, and for one terrifying moment she almost dropped him. He began sliding off her shoulder, the absence of his weight leaving her back to freeze against the air, and she turned and frantically grabbed for him, clutching at his uniform and their shared scarf, sending a hard jolt down her arms as her aching fingers found purchase on his clothes. Her poor Pat...she should be able to do this at least for him. It was hard to breathe through the tough lump in her chest as she sees him halfway slumped against the snowbank, limp and still halfway held aloft by her hands, too slow and weak to catch him before he fell. But...she knew that tears wouldn’t help her here. Never had and never would. After a moment, she took a deep breath through her tight throat and cold and running nose, before turning her back to face Pat and gently slinging his arms over her shoulders, sidling his chest close and pushing up with her legs.
There we go, nice and easy...her mom always did tell her to lift with her legs and not with her back. She let out a satisfied sigh and continued her trek, one step in front of the other. It wasn’t that hard, really. Just a little bit further...
She turned the corner and stumbled towards the door, placing her hand on the stone wall close by for support. Just a few more steps… They sank deep into the snow, crunching slightly as she made deep footprints towards the doorstep. After a bit of fumbling for the keys, she managed to still her shaking hands long enough to get the key into the slot, turning it with a satisfying ka-click!, and pushing through the doorway, a burst of warmer air brushing against her cheeks as they fell through, a swarm of snowflakes undoubtedly following them in.
“Just a lil longer, Pat-y, ok?” she promised as she stumbled towards their bed in the corner of the room. It was a bit clumsy, she must admit, trying to pull the sheets down for him while he was still on her back, but compared to the rest of the trek, it was the most satisfying part. After a few more moments of struggle, she gently slid him off her back and onto the soft mattress. The weight off her was palpable, and as she slowly straightened and stretched her aching body, a few pops rolling down her spine, a swell of pride surged through her. His sweet smile, his beautiful eyes...ah, she could stare at him forever. The snow swarming in, however, she could do without, and after rushing to close the door, she began adding some tinder to the small grey ash pile across the room to get a fire going. After several attempts to spark a fire and a couple of curses later, the telltale crackling of a fire blooming to life rewarded her efforts, and she began feeding it increasingly larger sticks until her work was interrupted by a soft mumble.
“...Rola? ‘M love?” His soft voice drifted across the room, cracking slightly in his sleepiness.
She hummed happily before responding. “Yes Pat, my sweet?”
“How... did we get home?”
“We walked, silly!” she giggled, before moving to kneel at the bedside, satisfied that the fire was going strong, crossing her arms to cushion her head on them so she could look at his face sleepily peering out from under his helmet. She should probably take that off, now that she thought about it.
“Did we…?” he mumbled, barely aware of the soft hands that took off his helmet and hung it on their bedpost, and unlaced his worn leather work boots, and placed them at the foot of the bed. “So it’s over? We can...rest?”
“That’s right,” she said, pushing his hair away from his forehead to softly kiss it. “You can rest, Pat.”
And for the first time in a month, with snow gently floating down outside their window, they rested together, free of work and worry, in a peaceful sleep.