Whiter Rose: Quiet Hours
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AJ_Talon
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Whiter Rose: Quiet Hours
Atlas never really slept. The lights outside the Schnee Manor stayed on all night, cold and steady against the snow. Ruby had found a corner of one of the smaller sitting rooms where the windows faced away from the city, and she had been sitting there long enough for the tea in her hands to go cold.
Whitley paused in the doorway when he saw her. She didn't look up.
He stepped in anyway, quiet on the carpet. "You're not usually this still."
Ruby let out a breath that wasn't quite a laugh. "Yeah. Weird, right?"
He sat on the other end of the couch, not too close. For a while neither of them said anything. The only sound was the low hum of the manor's heating.
"I keep thinking if I just move fast enough," Ruby said at last, voice small, "if I just keep going, then none of it will catch up to me. But I'm tired. I'm really tired. And I don't know what the right next step is. Everyone keeps looking at me like I should already have the answer."
Whitley studied the dark window. "I used to think if I stayed quiet and useful enough, my father would stop looking at me like I was a mistake he hadn't fixed yet. It never worked. I still hear him sometimes, when the house is this quiet."
Ruby turned her head. Her silver eyes were bright, but not glowing. Just tired.
"I don't know how to help anyone if I can barely keep myself together," she admitted. "And I hate that I'm scared of that."
Whitley nodded, once. "I don't know how to be anything but what he made me. Even now. I keep waiting for someone to tell me I've done it wrong." He glanced at her.
"You don't look at me like that. It's… strange."
Ruby managed a weak smile. "You're not doing it wrong. You're here. That counts for something."
"So are you."
They sat with that for a moment. Outside, wind moved across the snow. Inside, the old house creaked, but it felt farther away than usual.
Ruby shifted the cold mug in her hands. "Does it ever get easier? Talking about it?"
Whitley considered the question. "I don't know. This is the first time I've tried."
She nodded like that was enough of an answer. After a second she leaned sideways, just enough that her shoulder rested against his. He went still, then carefully didn't move away.
"Thanks for sitting with me," she said.
"Thank you for not telling me to go away," he answered.
They stayed like that until the tea was long forgotten and the lights of Atlas kept burning outside, steady and cold, while the quiet between them settled into something a little less sharp.
Atlas never really slept. The lights outside the Schnee Manor stayed on all night, cold and steady against the snow. Ruby had found a corner of one of the smaller sitting rooms where the windows faced away from the city, and she had been sitting there long enough for the tea in her hands to go cold.
Whitley paused in the doorway when he saw her. She didn't look up.
He stepped in anyway, quiet on the carpet. "You're not usually this still."
Ruby let out a breath that wasn't quite a laugh. "Yeah. Weird, right?"
He sat on the other end of the couch, not too close. For a while neither of them said anything. The only sound was the low hum of the manor's heating.
"I keep thinking if I just move fast enough," Ruby said at last, voice small, "if I just keep going, then none of it will catch up to me. But I'm tired. I'm really tired. And I don't know what the right next step is. Everyone keeps looking at me like I should already have the answer."
Whitley studied the dark window. "I used to think if I stayed quiet and useful enough, my father would stop looking at me like I was a mistake he hadn't fixed yet. It never worked. I still hear him sometimes, when the house is this quiet."
Ruby turned her head. Her silver eyes were bright, but not glowing. Just tired.
"I don't know how to help anyone if I can barely keep myself together," she admitted. "And I hate that I'm scared of that."
Whitley nodded, once. "I don't know how to be anything but what he made me. Even now. I keep waiting for someone to tell me I've done it wrong." He glanced at her.
"You don't look at me like that. It's… strange."
Ruby managed a weak smile. "You're not doing it wrong. You're here. That counts for something."
"So are you."
They sat with that for a moment. Outside, wind moved across the snow. Inside, the old house creaked, but it felt farther away than usual.
Ruby shifted the cold mug in her hands. "Does it ever get easier? Talking about it?"
Whitley considered the question. "I don't know. This is the first time I've tried."
She nodded like that was enough of an answer. After a second she leaned sideways, just enough that her shoulder rested against his. He went still, then carefully didn't move away.
"Thanks for sitting with me," she said.
"Thank you for not telling me to go away," he answered.
They stayed like that until the tea was long forgotten and the lights of Atlas kept burning outside, steady and cold, while the quiet between them settled into something a little less sharp.
