Of course it was a cold evening, it was the norm in Orussia. Edytha was dressed appropriately, with three layers of clothing, but still, she could still feel it. Naturally her legs weren't covered, but that really couldn't be helped considering the nature of her job. Still though, she really needed to finish cleaning and reassembling her personal MG42 machine gun, and doing it inside would be a terrible idea considering the possibility of oil stains. Georgette certainly wouldn't be happy about it anyway. Besides, she had more space on the workbench she was currently using, and it was right beside the target field so she could test it straight away. Not to mention that she was in charge of organising training drills and she wouldn't be much of a teacher if she turned up unprepared. She shivered again. She should have taken her coat with her.
"Oh, Miss Rossmann, doing some maintenance?"
Krupinski.
"What is it Krupinski? It better not be something ridiculous again."
"Me, ridiculous?" Waltrud scoffed, leaning nonchalantly against the workbench, hands in pockets. "Don't be silly, dear. I was just passing by and I saw you out here all by yourself. You know me, I can't leave a beautiful lady like you all alone now can I?"She gave one of her signature smiles. Edytha stiffened, her face reddening.
"Waltrud, you are being ridiculous."
"Not ridiculous if its true though though, is it?" Another smile. Stupid Krupinski and her pickup lines.
She ignored her, continuing to work diligently on her firearm. Despite it all, she did appreciate her company, and they were, indeed, romantically involved. Years of close friendship occasionally did turn out like that, even if it was a rarity considering they were both women. Krupinski however had no qualms with announcing her love for the fairer sex, but Edytha really didn't see why you'd want to disclose that information to everyone. Her preferences were her business as far as she was concerned, and if she wanted to be held by a strong, handsome, woman with room temperature IQ at least three times a week, then she didn't want the other girls to hear the details over afternoon tea, for christs sake Waltrud.
Not to mention the constant hitting on other women thing. While she was certain that Waltrud was still faithful to her, and the dumb girl just didn't know when to stop, her heart still hurt whenever she tried her routine. Granted, she always swiftly ended it with a quick whack over the head with her pointer stick she kept on her person for teaching purposes, but still, it was a nuisance. She visibly shivered, both from the cold and from the mild feeling of disgust that washed over her.
"Oh, are you feeling the cold?"Waltrud piped up suddenly from behind her, peering over her shoulder so she could see what she was doing. Not that she needed to, considering that she was significantly taller than the tiny flight sergeant. "Oh don't forget that bit there, that one could go missing easily." She reached over and pointed at the firing pin, which was indeed at the cusp of falling off of the bench.
"Krupinski, personal space please." Edytha continued to ignore her, but did make sure the part she pointed out was safely relocated.
"Oh don't forget that one too."
"Krupinski."
"Alright, alright~"
Silence but for the sounds of mechanical parts clicking together as Waltrud took the hint and kept quiet. Not much left to do now, just a few more parts to slot together before wiping down and double checking they were spotless. Edytha made a point of being thorough, it was a necessity considering she had to be an example to the other girls. She shivered again, her teeth starting to chatter. She may be a witch but she was still relatively frail in comparison considering her childhood illness had really put a dent in her.
"Knew it, you are cold."
"I'll be done soon, its fine."she brushed her off.
"Edytha no, it is not fine."
"Waltrud please, really"
"No seriously, here." Waltrud shrugged off her jacket, draping it over the smaller girl's shoulders. Considering the height difference, the jacket was almost like a dress on her, reaching down to just above her knees.
"I'll be fine, you kinda need it more than I do right now, I wear tights anyway."Another smile.
Edytha couldn't help but blush once more. She pulled the jacket closer to herself, slotting her arms into the sleeves and rolling them up until her hands weren't covered. It was quite warm considering Waltrud was just wearing it, and it still carried a lingering scent of gunpowder and "grape juice."
"I won't be too long then..." she smiled softly, her cheeks turning pinker and pinker, and certainly not just from the cold at this point. It wasn't often that Waltrud was such a sweetheart. She stopped for a moment before turning back to what she was doing, briefly making eye contact.
"Hm?" a puzzled expression flickered across Waltrud's face. "Are you alright? You're kinda red."
"No, it's just.."
Another click as she slotted another piece into place.
"...I suppose you're not entirely awful, Waltrud."
"Awful?" Waltrud didn't get what she was saying.
"Never mind, just let me get this done and then we can go inside where its warm."
After all, the fine bottle of vintage "grape juice" she had on her nightstand was too much for her to drink alone, and her bed was warmer when it was shared too.
Wrote this on a whim, on a Krupi kick recently, she's so dumb I love her. Big fan of the implied relationship between her and Edytha, hopefully she can keep her on a leash ahaa.
T/L Notes:
Eine kleine Geste: German for "A small gesture". Waltrud and Edytha are both from Karlsland which is the World Witches equivalent to the pre-WWI German empire, so I felt it'd be an appropriate title.