Been super busy and struggling with writer's block lately, but I did manage to get this out. Spoilers up until the end of Volume 8. Enjoy!
When Winter spots Pietro Polendina in the crowd of Atlesian refugees, she feels relieved—before that relief is immediately replaced by an immense pang of guilt. Penny's father has an obvious look of worry on his face, craning his head around to look for his missing daughter in the vast throngs of people.
But he won't find her.
Penny should be here. She should be bouncing in place, practically vibrating with her excitement until she spots her father, before instantly rushing to his side to tackle him with a hug.
But Penny isn't here, no matter how much Winter wishes that her friend wasn't gone. Her absence is painful, gaping, and made all the more obvious by the power Winter can feel burning inside of her. The power of the Winter Maiden. A power that Winter had craved for so long, only to realize far too late that Penny had been the proper host all along.
Penny isn't here, and Winter is still standing. She's gotten everything that she had ever wanted, after she had realized that it wasn't what she wanted at all.
Winter is relieved that Dr. Polendina—and the woman with him, she thinks her name is Maria? —made it out safely. She's glad that they were rescued in time. But, selfishly, she had been hoping that she wouldn't have to be the one to break the news, that his daughter is gone once more. She doesn't feel ready to face him yet with the power that Penny had gifted her swirling within her. She needs more time, a chance to adjust to what had happened.
But whether or not she feels ready doesn't change the fact that it's the right thing to do. So, she takes a deep breath, squaring her shoulders and ignoring the pang that the shift of posture sends through her ribs, and strides over to his side, hoping that she appears more confident than she feels.
Weiss would be proud of you for doing this, she tells herself. And, it's what Penny would have wanted. She wouldn't have wanted her father to be kept waiting, to be left worrying about his daughter's fate.
When he spots her, the concern on Pietro's face shifts to joy and relief, and Winter almost falters from her mission. She doubts that her father had ever worried about her enough to look for her with such desperation. Or Ironwood. She's not if anyone she's ever known could have cared about her that much. But, that doesn't really matter right now. She shakes her head to clear her thoughts.
"Winter!" Dr. Polendina exclaims, smiling broadly up at her. "It's good to see you again."
"It's good to see you as well, Dr. Polendina." She returns his smile, hoping that it doesn't look too forced.
"My dear, how many times have I told you to call me Pietro?" he admonishes her gently, pulling her into a hug before she can formulate a response.
She accepts the gesture without complaint. "Yes, well Dr. Pol—Of course." She's been trying to stay distant, to make this less painful, but Dr. Polendina has always been so kind to her. "Pietro.
"That's better." He scans the crowd once more, his face creasing with worry again. "Now, Winter, do you happen to know where my daughter is?"
Winter's heart sinks. She can feel her attempt at a smile quickly fading. "I'm sorry, Dr—Pietro." She clears her throat, refusing to let her voice break. Even after everything that has happened, she absolutely refuses to let herself cry in public. "I'm afraid that Penny didn't make it."
Pietro's face crumbles and he drops his head into his hands, letting out a loud sob. "I was afraid that something had happened," he murmurs, voice shaking and cracking with every word. "I could feel in my soul that something was wrong, but I was hoping against hope that I wouldn't lose her again."
Winter furiously blinks back her own tears. It's not her time to grieve right now. "I'm sorry," she says again, feeling numb. It's an automatic response that solves nothing. On Pietro's other side, Maria places a hand on his shoulder, attempting to console the doctor. Winter does the same.
Pietro turns to face her, shifting to take the hand she placed on his shoulder and clasp it in both of his own. Tears continue to stream down his cheeks, but his gaze is firm when it locks on her face. "There's no need to apologize, Winter. Thank you for letting me know. Thank you for being my daughter's friend." He takes a deep breath, scrubbing at his face. "This isn't your fault."
Maybe someday, Winter will be able to believe that.
Thank you for reading! Please leave a review if you liked it.
Just a reminder that I do take requests for fics, so if there's an idea that you'd like to see me write, feel free to message me and if I like it, I might end up writing something for it. Also, if you like one of my ideas and want to write your own fic for it, feel free! I'm not possessive with my ideas, and most of my writing is self-indulgent anyway, so all that I ask is that you let me know so I can read it.