𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙻𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝙸𝚜 - 𝚁. 𝙼𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝚡 𝙾𝙲

16 - Please Be Patient With Me

Chapter Sixteen

Roy's eyes popped open when a whimper tickled his ears and put him on full alert, despite his pounding headache. He sat up immediately, his heart nearly breaking into pieces when he saw Rosemary's head lolled to the side with a pained expression, tears streaming steadily past her cheeks, down her neck, and soaking into the collar of the pretty dress she didn't have the opportunity to change out of the night before.

Unable to sit idly by while she suffered, Roy began to smooth out her creased forehead with his thumb. "You're here with me, Rose. You're at home and...probably uncomfortable...which is definitely my fault, so sorry about that...but you're safe," he murmured softly, hoping that even if she didn't wake, his words might register somehow. "No one can hurt you here, Rose. It's just you and me."

Rosemary's tears fell faster once he began to caress her cheeks, her consciousness starting to return thanks to his continued affection. "How are y-you feeling?" She breathed.

Releasing a sigh of relief as her teary eyes blinked open, Roy couldn't stop the sad smile curling his lips. "She wakes up from a PTSD nightmare and asks me how I am."

"Th-this is normal." Rosemary leaned into the hand Roy had tenderly cupped her cheek with. "Do y-you need anything? I can get more medicine or a cold cloth...y-you're probably hungry. Wh-what do y-you thhink y-you could stomach?"

At that moment, all Roy wanted to do was kiss her. He didn't feel that he deserved so much thoughtfulness, especially not after whatever the hell he put her through the night before. The memories were still a bit hazy, but those would come back once he'd calmed down. If they had already kissed he wouldn't have hesitated to do so now but with her crying and him being hungover, it wasn't exactly romantic. Roy knew she liked romance and chivalry so he wanted it to be perfect for her and now just wasn't that. "Why don't I take you out for breakfast, hmm? Wherever you want."

"I can make us something here, Roy," Rosemary offered. "Y-you w-were pretty far gone last night, th-there's no w-way y-you're feeling okay t-t-today."

"Rose, I've troubled you enough already. Let me do something nice for you. Think of it as a thank you for putting up with me last night."

Rosemary shook her head. "No. I'm going to change into something else and th-then make us br..breakfast. Y-you should rest." Turning her head just enough to place her lips in his hand rather than have it on her cheek, Rosemary softly kissed his palm before guiding his hand into his lap and standing up. She glanced over at him and smiled, her heart beginning to pull itself back together once again, all thanks to him and that soft ballet slipper flush of his ears.

After brushing her teeth and combing her hair, Rosemary changed into a pair of comfy yoga pants and a tank top - her typical lounge around the house attire. She hadn't really thought anything of it until she heard clanging in the kitchen and walked in to give Roy shit for not relaxing, his reaction making her turn crimson from toe to tip. Roy, who had finally found where she kept her frying pans, froze in place the second he laid eyes on her. Of course he knew she had a nice figure, but seeing her in an outfit that hugged her like a second skin had him nearly drooling. All he wanted was to reach out and touch her to see if she was even real or simply a figment of his imagination.

"I-I'll go change," she squeaked and immediately turned to begin walking back to her room.

Roy, who was in no way about to let that happen, lunged forward and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her back against his chest. "You don't need to change a thing."

Feeling his warm breath fan across her neck made Rosemary weak in the knees and grateful to be propped up by something. "Of course I do. Y-you looked at me like I'm an alien," she mumbled.