The Tiger King (Chaelisa)

63| Beavers and Penguins

previously:  jensoo vs. jinyoung, dahyun kidnapped and tortured

For the third time of the week, Lisa's eyes flew open, the last remnants of her dream slithering away into nothingness as her heart drummed hard in her chest and she lay for an indefinite amount of time staring up at the ceiling, clutching the sheets and swallowing down the dread that crawled up her throat like bile.

But gradually, she grew aware of Rosé's arm around her waist, and the soothing puffs of breath brushing the back of her neck, and Lisa relaxed. 

Rosé didn't know, but her presence anchored Lisa in time and space, banishing any reminder of the bad dreams that lately had been plaguing her. 

Carefully, she turned to face her sleeping girlfriend without removing the comforting arm wrapped around her.

The position she loved sleeping in most was with her ear pressed to Rosé's heart, the regular soothing throbbing lulling Lisa to sleep like a lullaby, but it couldn't be helped tonight—she didn't want to wake her. Rosé needed the rest, especially with all the extra shifts she had been picking up. Watching her with a drowsy smile, Lisa resisted the urge to stroke her face in case she woke her up.

Lisa closed her eyes, snuggling closer until she was nuzzling Rosé's neck and Rosé stirred, gripping her just a little tighter before she was back to breathing regularly, still fast asleep. 

Sleep still took a longer time to arrive, but Lisa wasn't anxious anymore: Rosé was here, holding her and protecting her.

Why had the dreams come back?

Lisa remembered how the first time she had gotten the dream mere days ago, she had woken up, disoriented and distraught especially since Rosé hadn't been in bed, though Lisa distinctly remembered her girlfriend climbing into bed with her. She went to search for her and found Rosé with Bori at the window.

Seeing her was enough to make Lisa feel instantly better, especially seeing her smile when she back-hugged her. 

And then to stamp out the echoes of her nightmare, Lisa brought up the baby talk, surprising them both especially since marriage had never even been mentioned, though it crossed Lisa's mind and she had a hunch it crossed Rosé's mind plenty times before too. 

But Lisa hadn't been thinking, only that she desperately needed to have something new to look forward in the future, something exciting and stimulating and challenging, something bright and big enough to obscure the past creeping up slowly slowly, ready to snatch her up the moment she let down her guard. 

Why had the dreams come back?

She had latched on to whatever Rosé was saying about Ella's younger days and blurted out a secret far-fetched wish: to complete their little family. Thankfully Rosé seemed to be on the same page, if her sweet whimpers later in bed as she squirmed beneath Lisa or her hungry kisses were any indication.

Lisa hadn't told her about the dreams, and neither did she tell Jennie. 

Her sister had enough on her plate, what with the Jisoo and Jinyoung situation, the cop investigating Hwangssabu and the car keeping watch outside the condo and their own sticky situation—no, Lisa figured it was just a bad week and the stress of everything was accumulating.

Was that why they came back? 

Much as she hated to admit, Lisa had even considered that maybe, just maybe, this was what Jennie feared—being around Rosé made Lisa dependant and vulnerable and now, at her weakest moment, Lisa wasn't able to fend off the shadows of her past.