Bound to You (A Still Star Crossed Fanfic)

Bound to You

Benvolio Montague paced furiously through the Palace walls.

"Benvolio!"

Benvolio turned to see Rosaline approaching him, her eyes sparkling with concern. A look he never expected to get from a Capulet but yet she showed more kindness in a time frame of two days than he had received from his surviving family in years.

He smiled weakly. "Capulet."

"Where are you going?"

"To join the Prince's men. Make sure the bastard Paris is defeated."

"You need to stay inside. Rest. You almost lost your head."

"But I didn't. Thanks to you. You should be with the Princess."

"I didn't save your life so you can risk it again."

"Rosaline, I cannot stay inside with him out there, trying to take our city. He almost killed the Prince. He has threatened"

Rosaline shook her head. "We need to strategize but we need rest. I'll rest easy when you're near."

"It's hard to think of rest since it would have been eternity for me." He shifted. "How is the Prince?"

"The physician says he will recover but it will take time."

Benvolio looked down at the marble floor.

"What is it?"

"It's hardly a time to talk about menial things."

"What is it," she repeated.

"Things were revealed to me before the walk to the scaffold."

"If this is about the kiss...,"

"It ties into the revelation. Our feelings. The prince's feelings about you." Rosaline looked away but he stepped forward. "The betrayal of my family."

"What do you mean?"

He briefed her with the knowledge his aunt had left him about her and his uncle conspiring against his father. How his murder led to the heartbreak and eventual death of his mother.

"Benvolio, I'm so sorry."

Benvolio swallowed the lump of emotion in his throat. His eyes welled up with tears as he began to spoke the realization he came across.

"Everyone who has loved me or truly cared about me has died. My parents. Mercutio. Romeo," "Those who have claimed to love me have betrayed me." Anger followed as he thought of his aunt and uncle. Stella, who he thought he would spend his life with, sold his whereabouts to the Prince's guard.

"You are the only one who has fought for me. The only one in my present who has truly cared. I am bound to you in front of all Verona for show but I am truly bound to you. I will do anything to protect you."

Rosaline's heart fluttered at his words. From first sight, she thought of him as an arrogant womanizer, apart of a family that caused her family heartache for centuries. He showed himself to be the black sheep. Her anger and grief at the Prince's proposal to the Capulet's greatest enemy had clouded her vision to see he cared genuinely. The tear he shed when she revealed the tragic story of her parents. The vulnerability he showed outside her bedroom balcony while being hunted.

"I have another chance to live and to protect and I choose to. I choose to protect you from all danger and the greatest danger is outside these walls."

"I know. My sister is married to this threat. Do not think that my heart rests easy during this turbulence. We cannot act blindly."

She took Benvolio's hands in hers. "Please just stay."

Her touch sent waves of peace over him. He chuckled softly. "You Capulet women know how to sway a man."

Rosaline grinned. "For now, we rest. Tomorrow, we will find a way to fight this threat and save this city. We will save my sister. We will find justice. For both of us. I promise."

Benvolio took in her words like a healing nectar. He raised his hand and touched her cheek softly.

"It doesn't seem real."

"What?"

"That a few days ago, I resented the idea of you being in my life."

"And now?"

"Life means more with you in it."

"That means a lot to a harpy."

Benvolio smiled as he remembered the word once provoked a playful threat from her. His fingers slid under her chin as he brought his lips to hers. Rosaline felt a different energy in the kiss. The first in the jail cell whispered genuine fondness and a regretful farewell as his execution impeded on their heads. This one promised something she never thought she would receive from a Montague. Respect. Love. A peaceful life together.

"Harpy, no.", he whispered. "Angel? Yes."