Love
259 words, connected universe
CW: mention of character death, grief.
I have been doing fluffcember but I have yet to yield anything that’s presentable, so enjoy this old and very un-fluffy thing instead!
"Don't speak to me."
She had barely opened her mouth, and he wasn't looking her way, but then they knew each other quite well by now.
At least so she'd thought. She had never seen him like this – curled up tightly on the bed, illuminated just by a thin strip of moonlight falling in between the curtains, and his voice thick with emotion like she'd never heard from him.
It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened. She had seen the head of the secret service – the same secret service his sister worked in – approach him for a word in private, and then afterwards come to her, alone, to let her know he had gone home.
She knew they had been very close, his almost-twin and he. It didn't surprise her even he couldn't contain his grief, carefully as he hid his feelings otherwise.
She respected his request for silence, and sat down next to him without a word, just softly placing a hand on his shoulder, hoping he would accept the gesture of compassion. He didn't push her away, and after a while, his fingers found hers.
"She's dead," he finally announced.
She didn't know how to respond – her pity was unwanted, her knowledge inappropriate – so she just squeezed his hand while she had it, trusting it would be enough to assure him of the frail bond between them.
Neither of them slept much that night, but finally, the sun rose for another day, and so did they. What else was there to do?