Fic - Rosana and Sunder - Little Comforts
Apr. 28th, 2019 10:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lady_mabNext, from Lu!
Rosana clutches the mug of tea tightly between her two hands, the exhaustion of the past day--week--month--year settling in over her shoulders. Not as warm or comforting as a blanket, but perhaps just as heavy as one. The tea is weak, but it's still something to grip.
She jumps as an actual blanket is draped over her shoulders, smelling musty and old, but helps with the chill that had been following her since the sun went down. She glances to the side and watches as Sunder drops onto the bench beside her with a sigh.
"You've been feeling a little under the weather lately, haven't you?" Sunder asks -- casually, not meaning to pry, but careful. "You should keep warm."
"Thank you," Rosana says, pulling it a little closer around her shoulders.
"You spend too much time looking after the others."
Rosana waits to see if there is a follow up, a you should take better care of yourself, but there isn't. "I suppose that someone has to do it."
"Someone more approachable than Ephrim and Corsica?" Sunder asks, peering out into the flickering shadows across the quad.
Rosana laughs, though she tries to stifle it. This only results in it turning into a cough, and she takes a sip of the now-cold weak tea with a wince.
Sunder looks at her then, concern in her gaze. "Is there anything that I can do?"
She keeps her hand wrapped in her blanket as she pats Sunder's thigh. "You've been doing so much for Benjamin and the other kids."
"Well." Sunder stammers, looks caught off-guard, her wild mess of hair aglow as they sit beneath one of the sconces. "Of course. I'm a better educator than I am most other things. A life-long academic, you could say."
"Being an academic doesn't always make you qualified to be an educator," Rosana counters. And then, seeing the look cross over Sunder's face, hurries to say, "You've been a wonderful teacher for Benjamin. I appreciate the work that you've done for him, and of course the rest of the University."
She hesitates, then nods. "Yes. Yes, of course."
There's a pause between them, an easy silence that is filled with the crackling fire, the distant sounds of work in the kitchen, the voices of the children as they play a game before it's time for bed.
"Do you plan on staying here?" Rosana asks into the silence.
Sunder glances to her, then looks away again. "For the time being. There's much to study, much to learn… and I know this place well. It's comforting, being here." Again, she glances to Rosana, but doesn't add on.
So Rosana smiles and says, "It is a comfort, knowing you are here."
Rosana clutches the mug of tea tightly between her two hands, the exhaustion of the past day--week--month--year settling in over her shoulders. Not as warm or comforting as a blanket, but perhaps just as heavy as one. The tea is weak, but it's still something to grip.
She jumps as an actual blanket is draped over her shoulders, smelling musty and old, but helps with the chill that had been following her since the sun went down. She glances to the side and watches as Sunder drops onto the bench beside her with a sigh.
"You've been feeling a little under the weather lately, haven't you?" Sunder asks -- casually, not meaning to pry, but careful. "You should keep warm."
"Thank you," Rosana says, pulling it a little closer around her shoulders.
"You spend too much time looking after the others."
Rosana waits to see if there is a follow up, a you should take better care of yourself, but there isn't. "I suppose that someone has to do it."
"Someone more approachable than Ephrim and Corsica?" Sunder asks, peering out into the flickering shadows across the quad.
Rosana laughs, though she tries to stifle it. This only results in it turning into a cough, and she takes a sip of the now-cold weak tea with a wince.
Sunder looks at her then, concern in her gaze. "Is there anything that I can do?"
She keeps her hand wrapped in her blanket as she pats Sunder's thigh. "You've been doing so much for Benjamin and the other kids."
"Well." Sunder stammers, looks caught off-guard, her wild mess of hair aglow as they sit beneath one of the sconces. "Of course. I'm a better educator than I am most other things. A life-long academic, you could say."
"Being an academic doesn't always make you qualified to be an educator," Rosana counters. And then, seeing the look cross over Sunder's face, hurries to say, "You've been a wonderful teacher for Benjamin. I appreciate the work that you've done for him, and of course the rest of the University."
She hesitates, then nods. "Yes. Yes, of course."
There's a pause between them, an easy silence that is filled with the crackling fire, the distant sounds of work in the kitchen, the voices of the children as they play a game before it's time for bed.
"Do you plan on staying here?" Rosana asks into the silence.
Sunder glances to her, then looks away again. "For the time being. There's much to study, much to learn… and I know this place well. It's comforting, being here." Again, she glances to Rosana, but doesn't add on.
So Rosana smiles and says, "It is a comfort, knowing you are here."
