21 + Rose x Charley because, I'm sure you understand, I am actual T R A S H
Hi Iām also actual trash. I just... I love them. And them getting to be soft together, okay?
Shoulder to shoulder, they sat in the small room, silence hanging round them like a shroud. Soft breathing echoed through the space, inhale, exhale, an endless cycle that left them both stuck for words. Charley looked at the screws, pins and gears, all so very small, spread out on the desk across the room. A mess of metal and papers, a miniature whirlwind that had continually grown larger over the months that Rose had been here.Ā
It had been fun at first, like an adventure in her backyard, climbing trees and making her mother angry when she was a child. But there was a wanderlust in them both, Charley realized, and London wasnāt going to hold either of them long.Ā
This decade wouldnāt hold Rose, she realized too, considering the little device Rose had been so desperately trying to rebuild as theyād wandered and gotten into all sorts of trouble.Ā
Rose sighed, pushing herself off the bed to pace, jarring the stillness of the room. The action brought Charley back to herself, out of the bloom of memories.
āI shouldnāt have shouted at you,ā Rose said, leaning her head against the wall.
āDonāt do it again.ā There was a note of sadness beneath the statement, peeking out.Ā
āI -ā Rose stopped, and turned, sliding down the wall to gather her knees against her chest. āIāll try.ā
They sat there watching each other, Charley taking in the way Rose curled her arms around her knees, the fabric of her skirt stretched over the curve tightly. The frustration of the hours previous, the way Rose had locked herself away after what had been a perfectly wonderful weekend sank in. The strange girl, fallen out of time, was hiding again.
The layer of annoyance began to melt, tenderness and fondness overlaying it.
āMy grandmother told me once that no one has a heart of stone.ā Rose looked up from her place on the ground, her gaze sad, tired and confused. Charley sighed, moved to sit on the floor beside Rose and spoke again. āI know youāve been trying to find a way home-ā
āThatās the problem,ā Rose said, words muffled as she bowed her head over her knees.Ā
Charley frowned, confusing drawing her brow down.
āI donāt -ā Rose sighed, turning her head to look at Charley, eyes so pained and earnest it was almost breathtaking. āI should want to go.ā
āOf course you do. Look at how hard youāve been working!ā Charley gestured at the desk in the corner
āI donāt. Thatās the problem. I need to fix the cannon - so I can stop watching the sky waiting for the stars to go out because I -āĀ
Rose abruptly fell silent, looking down to where sheād threaded their fingers together. Charley felt her breath hitch.
Rose shook her head mutely, staring at their entwined hands before exhaling raggedly. She seemed in disbelief of the reality of the moment, a reversal from what was usual, since sheād fallen here.
Suddenly Rose laughed, not a joyous laugh, but one of disbelief. āFuck,ā she breathed, and Charley couldnāt help the way her brows jumped upward in surprise. Rose didnāt seem to notice, instead whispering to herself and then actually giggling. āIāve become him!ā
Charleyās confusion returned full force at the statement, but Rose didnāt give her the chance to ask. Instead, the hand that wasnāt holding her own was cupping her cheek and Roseās lips were on hers.Ā
It wasnāt a particularly elegant kiss; more a desperate mashing of mouths while Rose struggled to contain the laughter that was trying to escape her now as they tried to communicate something words simply couldnāt. A moment passed as Roseās laughter faded, and it gentled into the kind of soft pressure Charley remembered from stolen kisses when she was younger. They stayed like that for a long time, hands twined, side-by-side, leaning into each other, saying nothing and yet everything, with actions instead of words.Ā
It was alright. Actions suited them better anyway.
