No title available
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
tannertan36
trying on a metaphor
roma★
祝日 / Permanent Vacation
Today's Document
Aqua Utopia｜海の底で記憶を紡ぐ
if i look back, i am lost
★
todays bird
Jules of Nature
⁂
ellievsbear
Sade Olutola
izzy's playlists!
wallacepolsom
Cosimo Galluzzi
we're not kids anymore.
cherry valley forever
seen from Malaysia
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seen from Malaysia
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seen from United Kingdom
seen from Hungary
seen from Türkiye
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Malaysia
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@lasting-inkpressions
Moving ~
Just a little bit of a heads up that I'll be moving over to https://loving-inkpressions.tumblr.com/ soon, so all new updates will be there. Will probably be a whole lot more active there too since that will be my primary tumblr. (:
Hi! I don't know if you're taking angsty promts but here's one for the mermaid verse : sea witch Denali has a crush on Rosé, so every time Rosé comes to tell her about mik, she's jealous as hell but also exteremly worry about her safety.
omg i love that we are adding so much lore to this! <3
—
“Your thing with this human is not going to end well and you know it!”
Denali argued with her best friend, who had just returned from her exploring of the world above the surface.
The mermaid was running her hands over the newly returned tail.
“Aren’t you supposed to be happy I found someone? You’re my best friend, not my mom, I already get enough from her and all the ‘you’re next in line for the throne, now act like it’ shtick,” the pink-haired girl rolled her eyes.
“Maybe because I’m worried about you? I already risked a lot by making you that potion, did you not see how in pain you were?”, the blonde tried to plead, kneeling down next to the princess, “Rosie, listen to me for once, please,” she begged.
Rosé was taken aback by the sincere tone in her voice, as the witch genuinely was scared for her.
“I…” she tried, sighing as she looked into the deep brown eyes, “I can’t, I have to listen to my heart”
The sea witch looked down, avoiding the hazel gaze, “Sometimes, we have to not listen to our hearts, for the better good,” she replied, as if she was talking from experience.
The younger got up, still not looking at her best friend, “Nali?”
“You will have to choose soon, between your life here with me… everyone you know and the life with that man-thing,” the witch’s eyes were veiled by tears, “I really hope you’ll make the right decision”
And with that she left, leaving the mermaid to her own thoughts.
GOD DAMN IT NOW I WANT TO WRITE A ROOMMATES WITH BENEFITS FIC SOMEONE PLEASE STOP ME
Shampoo (Roommates #1)
Just a little drabble that my fingers were itching to write.
-----
Rosé knows she shouldn’t be this affected by Denali smelling like her, but she is.
When her roommate had come to her pouting that she had run out of shampoo one day, Rosé had generously offered her own for the brunette to use. Since then Denali had developed the habit of stealing her shampoo and using it every now and then. Normally Rosé would have complained, but it’s hard to when the younger girl smiles with those adorable dimples in her cheeks and smelling like hers.
Nope, not hers, just her shampoo.
Not Rosé’s.
Though she wishes Denali was hers.
I absolutely adore your fics and how well written they are, and I selfishly hope you don’t stop writing but I would fully understand if you do. You did nothing wrong and you are absolutely valid :)
Thank you to whoever you are. I really appreciate the kind words. I probably will continue, but after a short break. (:
I just saw the tweet, and I’m just on the fence on whether to either take a break or stop altogether.
Push and Pull (Drabble)
Imagine two best friends that secretly have the hots for each other, and one of them discovers that the other has an undiscovered hair pulling kink.
Urgh, my brain needs to stop it with the ideas.
-----
Denali sat cross legged on the floor, perched between Rosé’s legs as the redhead carefully combed through her dark brown hair.
The younger girl had always hated doing anything to her hair, always in favour of either just letting it down or pulling it into a quick ponytail or messy bun. Other than that, she was basically useless when it came to making her hair look pretty. The last time she had attempted to use a curling iron she had managed to burn both her fingers and her hair. Heck, she barely even liked to brush her own hair.
Her best friend had noticed, and had kept pestering her about it until Denali had one day snapped at her.
“If it bothers you so much, then why don’t you do it?”
Which was exactly how Denali ended up sitting on the floor with Rosé on the couch in their shared apartment. Denali did have to admit though, as lazy as she was about doing anything with her hair, it did feel nice to have Rosé handling it, gently detangling her hair with a wide toothed comb. It felt nice having the soft and consistent light tugging on her scalp, and Denali almost had to bite back a moan with how good it felt.
The gentle fingers grazing the back of her neck every now and then didn’t really help either.
Hitting an especially stubborn knot, Rosé tried as gently as possible to detangle it, but accidentally tugged harder than she meant to, causing Denali to let out an embarrassingly loud moan, which made her immediately cover her mouth with her hands.
Looking up, she saw Rosé was frozen in place, comb held mid air. They stared at each other, Denali with her face red and Rosé with a thoughtful look.
Denali removed her hands and made to apologise, but stopped when Rosé threaded her fingers through her brown locks, winding the strands round her fingers before giving a tentative tug, causing Denali’s eyes to fall shut and moan again, the sensation going straight between her legs.
When Rosé let go, the younger girl opened her eyes to look at her and she swallowed at the look of blown hazel eyes staring back at her.
Burning Up [2/4]
Summary: When she applied to be the secretary for managing partner Rosé McCorkell, Denali hadn't expected to end up working for the biggest pain in her ass, nor did she expect anything beyond a professional relationship.
Word Count: 4.1k
Prefer reading it on AO3?
It was raining heavily, the kind of rain that would drench you if you stepped out for just a second. Denali sighed as she stared out the office window, cursing herself for forgetting her umbrella at home. The weather app had warned her of the impending rain, but she’d forgotten as soon as she got a message from Rosé requesting that their morning meeting be pushed up, and so she had to rush out the house earlier than usual.
She supposed she could call an Uber, but was hesitant about spending the money. Sure Denali could afford it now with how much she made, but it was still nice knowing that she didn’t spend the extra money on that and instead saved it towards those new skates that she had been eyeing.
Collapsing into her chair, she swivelled around in it, noticing for the first time how deserted the office floor was. Checking her watch, her eyes bugged out at how late it was.
It was already well past 9pm.
Groaning, she slumped over her desk, knocking her head against it, finally feeling how exhausted she really was.
It had been a long week, and there had been a few big cases recently, meaning that there was a lot more paper work than usual. The paralegals had been running around helping out the various partners in the firm, and the managing partners themselves seemed a little bit more pressured than usual.
She remembered seeing Jan running back and forth between Lagoona and Rosé’s offices, followed by a trail of interns carrying various stacks and boxes of files. Lagoona had been the opposite, calm and collected through it all, reassuring and being a mentor to anyone who needed it on top of handling her own case load.
Rosé on the other hand had been a little on edge, as if she was the middle ground between the other managing partners, being neither frantic nor calm. She had been more restrained and quiet this week, retreating into her mind as she absorbed all the information she needed so she could plan out her courtroom strategies. Every time Denali had her morning meetings with her, or whenever she entered her office, it had been nothing but business, with almost no teasing from Rosé. At first, Denali had felt a little weirded out, then relieved at finally getting the peace and quiet she had always wanted. By the end of the week though, the blonde couldn’t help but miss their little interactions. She had actually gotten used to the banter that the two of them shared.
Burrowing her face into her arms, she pouted, thinking about how long she would have to wait for the rain to subside when she felt someone gently stroking the back of her head. Startled by the sudden touch, she looked up to find Rosé standing over her, a light frown on her face.
“Denali, what are you still doing here?”
Denali blinked, surprised that Rosé was still in the office. “Miss McCorkell! Aren’t you supposed to be at dinner with a client?” Rosé chuckled, settling herself at the edge of Denali’s desk. “Ever the diligent little secretary, aren’t you? It ended early, and I forgot something in the office. Also, you never answered my question, angel.”
And she was back with the nicknames again.
“I completed the weekly summary report not too long ago, so now I’m just waiting out the rain.”
“At this hour?”
Denali shrugged. “Catching an Uber now isn’t very economical.” Though she probably would have to give up at some point if the rain didn’t let up soon.
Rosé raised a brow. “And no plans on a Friday night? No hot date?” The younger girl couldn’t help letting out a snort before shaking her head in response. Who had time for dates when your job took up so much of your time? Rosé hummed, face carefully blank, then looked out the window at the rain. There were several beats of silence, causing Denali to squirm a little in her seat. She couldn’t tell what the other woman was thinking, and she couldn’t help but notice how close their hands were to each other, their pinkies almost touching. She quietly shifted her hands into her lap when her stomach let out a grumble, causing her to freeze and flush in embarrassment.
She probably should have eaten more than that panini for lunch.
“I’m guessing you didn’t have time for dinner again?” Denali’s brows shot up in surprise. She hadn’t expected Rosé to have noticed seeing as the older woman had been so busy herself. Rosé laughed at the expression on her face, lightly tugging at Denali’s ponytail in amusement.
“Don’t look so surprised! Of course I would have noticed that my secretary hasn’t been eating regularly for the past week.” Rosé slid off the desk and bent down to pick up both her bag and Denali’s. Smiling down at the blonde, she cocked her head towards the elevator.
“Come on baby, let’s get you some food, and then I’ll drive you home.”
Before she could even protest, Rosé had already started walking towards the lift lobby. Denali stared after the redhead, stunned for a moment before scrambling to follow her, trying to ignore how her heart was thumping just a tiny bit faster.
———
Rosé had practically herded the other girl into her car and, despite Denali’s initial protests, driven them both to a diner that was not too far from the office. There weren’t a lot of places that were still open at that hour, but The Goode Place was always open 24/7.
Careful to ensure that the both of them stayed dry, the older woman had parked her car as close to the entrance of the diner as possible and made Denali stay put while she walked over to her side with a large umbrella to shield them from the rain. Opening the door, Rosé had tugged Denali to her side, arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders, and had hip checked the door shut with a click, making sure that it was locked. All the while, Denali had been trying to control the blood rushing to her cheeks and her racing heart, telling herself that Rosé was just trying to make sure that the both of them stayed dry, or at least as dry as possible.
When they’d entered the diner, Rosé had let go of Denali, and the blonde quickly took a step away while the older woman shook out the umbrella and set it with the other wet ones at the entrance. Denali looked around at the interior of the diner, a little in awe at how the place looked. She had always noticed it in passing, but had never thought to set foot in it before, and now she wish she had done so sooner.
The place looked bright and colourful with a mix of retro and modern touches. There were vintage looking posters on the walls featuring old school pin up girl illustrations, bright neon lights spelling out cliched words, signed framed vinyls, eccentric decorations like flowers and vines, and the odd set of crystals with bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling. A juke box stood in the corner playing music from the 90’s, and the floors and walls were tiled in red, white, pink and blue colours.
Denali had been so enraptured by her surroundings that she hadn’t noticed how Rosé was staring at her with a small smile on her face. The older woman gently placed her hand on the small of Denali’s back and guided her to a nearby booth, and it was only then did Denali remember that she wasn’t alone, that she was there with her boss. After sitting in the booth, Rosé waved over a pretty girl with electric blue curls that was at the counter, whose face lit up in recognition and immediately bounced over with a pair of menus in hand.
“Hey there Rosé! I see you’ve brought some company this evening.” Rosé smiled back at the girl, leaning towards her and winking. “That I did, baby. Do I get a discount for bringing a new patron to this fine establishment?” The girl giggled, swatting Rosé in the arm with the menus. “Nice try, Miss Rich Bitch. Try again next time when you finally have a ring on your finger, and I’ll think about it.” Turning to Denali, the girl flashed a brilliant smile. “Nice to meet you girl, the name’s Crystal.” Denali smiled back, already taking a liking to her. “Nice to meet you! I’m Denali.”
Crystal’s brows shot up. “Denali? As in the pretty blonde secretary that Rosé is- OW!”
“Yes, she’s my secretary. And unless you want to lose the generous tip I usually give, I suggest you move on to what tonight’s specials are.”
Crystal pouted, rubbing the shin that Rosé had kicked into. “Alright, rude much.” She rattled off the specials for the night, took down their drink orders and left the two to decide what food to order. Denali opened up the menu, perusing it silently, trying not to think too much into how Crystal knew that she was Rosé’s secretary. Rosé tapped her finger on the table, already knowing what she wanted as Denali tried to decide what to eat. When Crystal came back with their drinks, they placed their food orders and then sat at the table in silence.
It felt a little awkward to Denali, being out in a public setting with her boss outside of their work hours, and having supper together at that. She wasn’t really sure how to act with the woman who signed her pay check every month combined with the fact that only up until recently, she had been harbouring nothing but frustration and a dislike towards. It was odd.
As if sensing the other girl’s inner thoughts, Rosé knocked their knees together. “What’s going on in that pretty blonde head of yours?”
Denali shrugged, playing with the straw of her drink. “It’s nothing.”
“Really? Nothing? Now why do I not believe you when you say that.”
Denali laughed under her breath, and chose to take a sip of her milkshake instead of replying her. Her eyes widened once the cold drink hit her tastebuds and she pulled away. “Oh my god, this is so good!” Rosé beamed. “Isn’t it? I discovered this place when I was still a paralegal a few years back. I haven’t been able find another place that makes as good a milkshake as this.”
Nodding in agreement, Denali happily drank more of her milkshake, oblivious to the fond smile Rosé gave her when the blonde finally relaxed.
It wasn’t too long until their food arrived, and they both ate in a more comfortable silence. In between bites, Rosé would ask Denali little questions, easy and non-intrusive ones, mindful of the fact that Denali still wasn’t entirely comfortable in her presence. It didn’t last too long though as Denali loosened up a little more, and was soon also contributing more to the conversation with her own questions. When both plates were empty and glasses drained, Rosé moved to pay for the bill, despite Denali trying to pay for her own food. Crystal had rolled her eyes at the two of them and had immediately taken Rosé’s card, ignoring Denali’s.
“Doll, if a rich woman offers to pay, just let her.” Denali pouted at Crystal and pocketed her card, ignoring the chuckles coming from Rosé. “She’s right, baby. Just listen to her.”
The blonde rolled her eyes at that, and the two of them departed, with Crystal blowing them a kiss goodbye. Thankfully, it had stopped raining and by the time they had reached Denali’s apartment, and it was a few minutes shy of midnight.
“Would you look at that? Looks like your chariot won’t turn into a pumpkin after all, Cinderella.”
Denali snorted at Rosé’s comment, biting her tongue when she instinctively wanted to make a remark, and instead smiled.
“Thank you for supper and bringing me home, I really appreciate it.”
Rosé brushed it off with a shrug. “It’s no big deal. You were working late because of me anyway, so it’s the least I could do.”
“Well, not a lot of bosses would think that way, so thank you again, Miss McCorkell.
Rosé pouted, leaning against the wheel of her car as she looked at Denali. “Oh come on Nali, after all these months together and me introducing you to New York’s finest milkshake, and you still won’t call me by my name?” Being tired from the long day and no longer as mindful of her own behaviour as she usually was, Denali couldn’t help letting out a soft laugh while unbuckling her seatbelt. She opened the door and paused for a moment, as if carefully contemplating something, before turning to look at Rosé, a playful glint in her eye.
“Good night, Rosé.”
Rosé’s mouth fell open when Denali said her name, but before the older woman could react, the blonde had shut the door and retreated to her apartment.
That night, Denali dreamed of milkshakes, jukeboxes and pink roses.
———
It was Monday morning when Denali knocked on the managing partner’s office door and let herself in, her trusty leather folio and Rosé’s usual cup of coffee in hand. She set the coffee down in its usual spot as Rosé carried on typing away at her keyboard.
“Good morning, Miss McCorkell.”
Rosé stopped typing and looked up from her laptop, a pout on her lips.
“What happened to Rosé?”
Ignoring her question with an almost affectionate roll of her eyes, Denali extracted an envelope from her folio and slid it over the desk towards Rosé. “This invitation for you was just delivered this morning.” The managing partner took one look at it and recognised the emblem. “Ah, it’s the invite for that benefit Lagoona mentioned earlier.” Deftly opening it with her fingers, she pulled out the invitation card and scanned its contents while Denali sat down in the chair opposite her, opening her folio and clicking her pen.
“I’m assuming that you will need a plus one for the benefit. Would you like me to contact Miss Sin again?”
“No need. Did you manage to get a hot date for next Friday?”
Denali raised a brow, unsure of why Rosé was asking her that. “..no?”
“Good, then you can be mine at the benefit.”
Denali had to pause for a moment, unsure about whether she heard Rosé correctly. She couldn’t have just asked Denali to be her plus one, right?
“I’m sorry, Miss McCorkell, did you just ask me to be your plus one for the benefit?” Rosé chuckled as she closed the lid of her laptop and folded her hands, a mischievous look in her eye.
“Well, I wasn’t really asking, more like I was ordering you to be my plus one.”
Denali laughed under her breath. “Of course you were.”
“What was that?”
“I said that I can’t.”
Rosé frowned, not liking her answer. “And why not? You already said that you didn’t have a hot date, and I’m assuming no other plans either.”
Well if Denali had known that Rosé was going to ask her to be her plus one, she probably would have made one up on the spot. Knowing that she was waiting for an answer, Denali wracked her brain for a quick excuse.
“..I don’t have anything to wear.”
She was an idiot.
“That’s it?”
“Also, I don’t think that it’s very appropriate for me to be your plus one when I’m your secretary.”
Rosé waved off her concern. “It’ll be fine and besides, who cares?” Denali pinched the bridge of her nose, already feeling an incoming headache. “Miss McCorkell, with all due respect, I do. And again, even if I didn’t, I don’t have anything appropriate to wear for the benefit.” The redhead frowned. Denali saw that Rosé was about to argue back and quickly cut her off.
“Now, on your schedule for today…”
Rosé frowned at being stopped, but kept quiet, hands clasped as she listened to Denali, though not as intently as she normally would.
Just because she was quiet , it didn’t mean that she had accepted Denali’s rejection.
———
Heels clicking on the asphalt, Denali walked along the sidewalk and towards the boutique she had been asked to go to pick up Rosé’s new custom suit for the benefit on Friday.
It had been funny and entertaining how the days leading up to the benefit, the older woman had been constantly and relentlessly pestering Denali about being her plus one. Every single morning Rosé would ask, and every single morning Denali would say no. Sometimes the blonde would go off for an errand or two, and come back to a post it stuck on her desk asking her, and each time she would sneak the post it back onto Rosé’s desk with no as the reply. There were even attempts to bribe her with boxes of donuts, cupcakes and macarons delivered to her table, and still she said no.
Kandy had been amused at the whole situation and had asked Denali if this was their weird version of foreplay, which had earned her a well placed eraser to the forehead.
Honestly, Denali wasn’t really sure why Rosé was so determined to bring her to the benefit as her plus one. If she had needed her secretary at her side at a professional capacity, Denali would have gone for sure, but from the sounds of it and the way Rosé was asking her, it didn’t feel like it. A small, insecure part of Denali felt a little scared that the redhead was just teasing her and leading her on, which was one of the main reasons why she kept rejecting her. Denali didn’t want to just end up being another conquest for Rosé.
Not that she was looking for anything more than a professional relationship anyways.
Pushing the glass door open and sighing in relief when she felt the cool air on her skin, Denali stopped in her tracks when she saw Rosé sitting on the settee in the middle of the boutique, eyes glued to her phone.
“Miss McCorkell? What are you doing here? I thought you had a personal appointment this afternoon.”
Rosé looked up from her phone and stood up, pocketing it. “I do.” Confused, Denali furrowed her brows. “Then why are you here? Did I make a mistake about picking up your suit for you?”
“Oh no, that’s correct. You’re here to pick up my suit for me, and I’m here too pick a dress for you.”
Denali stared at Rosé’s smug face, her mind slowly processing what other woman had just said.
“I’m sorry, what?”
Rosé chuckled at Denali’s expression just as a beautiful blonde woman emerged from another part of the boutique. “Rosé, the dresses that you selected are ready.” Clapping her hands, Rosé grinned at the French woman. “Excellent, thank you Nicky. Just like your name, you are an absolute doll.”
Pulling Denali over by the hand, she introduced her to the other blonde. “Nicky, this lady here is Denali, my plus one for the benefit.”
Shaken out of her stupor, Denali protested. “Wait a minute, I never agreed to be your plus one.” Rosé scoffed and looked down at Denali. “Well, the only reason you gave me for saying no was because you have nothing to wear. Now that we’re here, Nicky is going to help remedy that little problem, isn’t that right doll?” Rosé winked at Nicky. The French woman laughed, amused. “Indeed, come this way mes amours.”
Nicky led them to one of the adjoining rooms in the boutiques where there was a rack of dresses set up next to a curtained off fitting area. Rosé walked over to the rack and thumbed through the fabrics, pulling out a red dress.
“Let’s start with this one.”
What felt like hours later, Denali was tired out from trying on countless dresses, despite how hard she had tried to argue her way out of it. Both Nicky and Rosé had pointedly ignored her objections and kept pushing her back into the fitting room with a new dress to try on. With each dress she tried, Denali had noticed the price going higher and higher, with the number of digits and zeros increasing. She could probably sell one of the dresses off and have her rent taken care of for at least a year or two with the exorbitant price of each piece. She didn’t even want to think about how she’d be able to afford any of them, let alone for just one stupid night of dancing with rich snobs.
Finally, when it felt like she was about to reach her limit, Nicky had passed her a dress, assuring her that this was the one. Denali had sighed and taken it from her, drawing the curtains closed. Unzipping the blue one she had on and taking it off, she took the dress that Nicky had passed to her and finally looked at it. On the hanger, it looked like it would be a stunning floor length white strapless number, but would it be the case when it was on her?
Carefully unzipping it and taking it off the hanger, Denali stepped into it and slipped it on, frowning for a split second when she realised that she would have trouble zipping the dress up on her own. She tried to do it a number of times, but soon huffed in annoyance.
“Is anything the matter, mon cheri?”
“I’m just having some trouble zipping up. Do you think I could get some help?”
There were some quiet murmurs from outside, then the sound of the curtains opening and closing. Feeling fingers on her back, Denali brushed her hair to the side and held the dress to her chest as the the hands on her back pulled the zipper up, fingertips grazing the bare skin of her back as they did, causing her to shiver. Feeling the tug of the zip reaching the end, Denali stilled when she thought she felt lips ghost the back of her neck. Blinking in a daze, she turned around to find heated hazel eyes watching her.
Rosé was looking her over, eyes going down her body as she took in Denali’s form and how the dress looked on her before going back to her face, taking in how the blonde had a soft blush on her cheeks. Gently turning her to face the mirror, Rosé slowly tugged Denali’s hair loose from her high ponytail, letting her long blonde hair fall about her. Carefully arranging her hair to one side and tucking away an errant strand, Rosé smiled softly as they both looked at Denali’s reflection.
The dress was breathtaking on Denali, the white fabric contrasting beautifully against her tan skin. The sweetheart neckline showed off her collarbones, and the way the bodice of the dress hugged her body flattered her figure. There was a slit that stopped mid thigh that would flash her toned legs every time she took a step, further emphasised by the subtle pearl sheen. It was as if the dress was tailored just for Denali.
“Beautiful.”
Denali tore her gaze away from the reflection of the dress to Rosé’s face and felt her legs almost give way at the hungry look that was in her eyes. It looked as if the older woman wanted to swallow her whole with how close she stood to Denali, her fingers loosely curled around Denali’s wrists. She hadn’t even realised that Rosé had been touching her.
The blonde looked away after a while, not being able to stand being trapped in the heat of Rosé’s gaze any longer.
“Yes, the dress is indeed beautiful, Miss McCorkell.”
The fingers around her wrists tightened, and Denali felt a chin rest on her bare shoulder, causing her to gasp.
“I meant you, Denali. You’re beautiful.”
The air between them felt electric, and Denali was afraid to make a move, unsure about whether she wanted to break this bubble, this moment between them. As if reading her mind, Rosé’s eyes met hers in the mirror before she stepped away. Taking her by the hand, she led Denali out of the fitting room and back to the larger one. Nicky was nowhere to be seen and in her place was a small table with an assortment of jewellery laid out. Humming, Rosé examined the precious stones laid out before them, all the while rubbing slow circles onto the back of Denali’s hand, and selected a thin gold necklace with an intricate floral pendant of twisting vines and small inlaid gems. Turning the younger woman around, she fastened the necklace around Denali’s neck, all the while Rosé’s fingers were purposely grazing her skin.
Turning Denali back around to face her, Rosé smiled, a finger gently tracing the curve of Denali’s cheek.
“Perfect.”
———
I've lightly sprinkled in hints of sugar mommy Rosé in there. Very minor though because let's be honest, do you think Denali would be able to just sit still and look pretty? Yeah, no.
I might have ideas of setting up a verse of sorts to have little side stories which might even feature Crystal and Gigi because I think it'd be so cute and fluffy to have little Crygi moments of them running the diner together, but who knows.
Whose bright idea was it to write 3 fics at the same time?
Burning Up [1/4]
Summary: When she applied to be the secretary for managing partner Rosé McCorkell, Denali hadn't expected to end up working for the biggest pain in her ass, nor did she expect anything beyond a professional relationship.
Word Count: 4,365
Note: Originally titled "Work Wives".
Prefer reading it on AO3?
Denali stood in front of the familiar panelled wooden door, a brown leather folio clutched to her chest and a fresh cup of coffee in her right hand. She was dressed in a cream sleeveless blouse and a black pencil skirt finished off with nude heels. She stared hard at the frosted glass with a name embossed in gold lettering across it.
Rosé McCorkell, one of the three managing partners in S. Child, a top law firm in New York City. She was also a major pain in Denali’s ass for all of the six months that she had been here as her secretary.
Steeling herself for her usual morning meeting with her, Denali took a deep breath, knocked on the door and waited. Seconds later, she heard the usual clicking of stiletto heels on hardwood floor before the door opened to reveal the woman that was her boss.
As much as she was a pain in the ass, Rosé McCorkell was undoubtedly a stunning woman. Standing tall in her black heels, she wore her auburn hair in perfect curls, dressed in a form fitting navy power suit with the blouse unbuttoned just low enough that Denali could see the deep curve of her cleavage. Catching herself before she stared for too long, she snapped her gaze back up to Rosé’s face and plastered on a smile, hoping that the other woman hadn’t noticed her staring.
“Good morning, Miss McCorkell, I’m here to go over your schedule for the day.”
Rosé stared back at Denali for a moment, causing the younger woman to squirm a little under her gaze, before deep red lips stretched into her trademark smirk.
The same smirk that drove Denali absolutely crazy for reasons she didn’t want to think too deeply into.
“Of course you are, come in.”
———
7 months ago.
Denali sat outside the interview room, waiting for her turn to go in. She was surrounded by other young candidates, each of them looking well groomed, neat and manicured. Most of them were in blazers, suits, the whole shebang and here Denali was dressed in a simple white blouse and black dress pants, her blonde hair pulled into a high ponytail with black pumps on her feet.
She hadn’t really thought too much about it when she had come across the ad and applied for the position. She just needed a job after graduating from college, but now she wasn’t too sure on whether she had made a mistake applying to be the secretary of a managing partner at S. Child. Denali had thought it would be an easy job. After all, a secretary just needed to be organised and have a good head on their shoulders, right? She hadn’t thought it would be a challenge, but looking around her now, with so many tense faces and how the place screamed money, she felt like she was out of her depth.
Maybe it wasn’t too late to duck out…
“Miss Denali Foxx.”
Denali cursed under her breath for not noticing that the previous interviewee had already left the room. She stood and walked to the door, feeling the eyes of the other candidates eyeing her outfit in disdain. Bracing herself, she knocked on the door and waited for a second before entering, coming face to face with three women seated behind a lacquered wooden conference table. Denali took note of each one as she sat in the lone chair before them.
From the website she had briefly scrolled through, she could recognise the three managing partners - Jan Sport was on the left, followed by Lagoona Bloo in the middle and Rosé McCorkell, the managing partner that she was applying to be the secretary of, on the right. From what she had gathered, all three of them were charismatic, intelligent and ruthless in their own rights when in the courtroom.
Lagoona opened a manila folder, cleared her throat and smiled warmly at the blonde in front of her. “Good afternoon Miss Foxx, thank you for taking the time to come down for this interview.” Denali smiled back at her, feeling a little more at ease at how friendly Lagoona seemed.
“Good afternoon, and thank you for having me.”
Lagoona nodded and introduced the three of them, then began the interview by asking her questions, with Jan interjecting a few herself. Denali had managed to answer most of them confidently, only ever stumbling once. All the while Rosé, the one who would decide whether she would be hired or not, had remained silent, simply choosing to flip through the thin file that held Denali’s details, barely even sparing her a glance.
After about ten minutes of back and forth, Lagoona asked her final question, then turned to look at Rosé.
“I think that’s about it from us. Do you have any questions for her, Rosé?”
Denali gulped, trying not to let her nerves get the best of her as the other woman finally looked up at her, folding her hands and resting her chin on them. After a few excruciating seconds, Rosé leaned back in her seat, eyes still trained on the blonde woman before finally speaking.
“Yes, why should I hire you out of everyone out there? From what I’ve read in your file, you seem to be the most inexperienced out of all the candidates. Were you hoping to somehow find a sugar daddy here? I mean you clearly have the looks for it.”
There was pin drop silence at her question. Lagoona had her face buried in her hands and Jan was struggling between wanting to laugh and wanting to strangle Rosé. Denali however sat stone still as Rosé stared down at her, her expression bored as she waited for the blonde to reply.
Denali’s mind was blank for a second before rage filled her veins.
What. The. Actual. Fuck.
Resisting the urge to slap the woman in front of her, Denali reigned it in and instead plastered on the sweetest smile she could muster.
“Well as inexperienced as I am, I can guarantee that if you hire me, you wouldn’t be hiring a cookie cutter suck up that wouldn’t be able to look past designer labels or waste their time trying to be someone they’re not. I can also guarantee that you wouldn’t be hiring a pushover who would go crying to their mother when the job gets tough, and knows that their worth is much more than just a few flimsy pieces of paper that won’t tell you the things that really matter.”
Denali stood, smoothing the wrinkles in her skirt before looking Rosé in the eye.
“And the statement about me wanting a sugar daddy? I’d rather a sugar mommy than a sugar daddy, though from what I see, there aren’t any worth my time here anyways.”
Figuring that the interview was a lost cause, Denali nodded her thanks to a stunned Lagoona and laughing Jan, completely ignoring Rosé, and turned on her heel to leave when she was stopped by two words.
“You’re hired.”
———
Present day.
Grinding her teeth as she glared at the desk in front of her, Denali had to tell herself to calm down as the source of her irritation smirked in her direction. If there was one thing that Denali could not stand, it was Rosé’s way of constantly pushing her buttons. Oh, there was no denying that the woman was good at her job, but the way she seemed to ooze confidence and acted as if she owned the damn place? God, that just made Denali’s blood boil.
“Is something the matter, Nali?”
Denali clenched her fist at the sound of Rosé's nick name for her. It was as if the older woman knew that it riled her up whenever she called her that. Looking up at Rosé, Denali bit back an insult and instead forced herself to smile at her. “No, Miss McCorkell, nothing’s the matter at all. Everything is perfectly fine.”
Staring down at the defiant younger woman for a moment from across her desk, Rosé winked at her. “If you say so, baby.”
Denali gripped the pen in her hand tightly. She breathed through her nose, mentally counting down the seconds till their meeting was over and done with as she wrote down every point that Rosé had said. Quickly going over her notes one last time, she looked back up at Rosé. “Is there anything else, Miss McCorkell?”
“Rosé.”
Denali blinked.
“What?”
“My name. I’ve told you to call me that from the beginning.” Denali rolled her eyes internally as she shuffled the loose sheets of paper into a neater pile. “And as I’ve said before, I’m much more comfortable calling you Miss McCorkell.” She heard Rosé’s low chuckle and the sound of fabric shifting. Denali looked up and immediately dropped her pen.
Rosé was suddenly much closer to her than before, leaning against the solid oak desk between them, an almost predatory look in her eye as she watched the younger girl seated in front of her.
“I wonder why.”
———
“So have you and Miss McCorkell fucked yet?”
Denali glared at Kandy as she walked back to her desk. She threw her pen at the girl and missed as it clattered to the floor, leaving the other girl cackling. “No bitch, and that’s never going to happen. What the fuck even makes you think that?” Kandy sat on the edge of Denali’s desk, a shit eating grin on her face. “Besides the fact that every time you leave her office, your face is always so flustered-“
“Because she always pisses me off-“
“-it’s also the way she stares at your ass, like she can’t wait to get her hands on it.” Denali rolled her eyes and retrieved her pen from the floor. “No, she doesn’t. I’ve never seen her look at my ass before.” And Denali was pretty sure that she would have noticed that, seeing as she’d been Rosé’s secretary for a while now. Plopping herself in her office chair, she opened her folio and started to go through her notes, pulling out a stack of colourful post-it’s from her drawer to help with her organisation. Not to be ignored, Kandy carried on as if the other girl wasn’t trying to ignore her.
“Girl, you don’t exactly have eyes on the back of your head, do you? Trust me, she wants to tap that.”
Denali resisted the urge to strangle the Latina sitting on her desk. Sure, there was always some tension in the room when they were together, but that was more from the fact that Rosé loved riling her up. It had been that way since day one, and sometimes Denali questioned her decision to have accepted the job offer, but the money and benefits were too good to pass up for a fresh grad. She shook her head as she replied dismissively.
“Even if she does, I’m not interested.”
Kandy looked at her in disbelief, one brow cocked. “Are you sure? She’s got a great pair of tits.” Well, she couldn’t argue with that. Denali had noticed Rosé’s ample breasts seeing as the managing partner loved to wear outfits that featured them in a daring, yet tasteful, fashion. If she had met Rosé in a bar, she would definitely have approached her.
Of course, she wasn’t going to tell Kandy that.
“Look, no matter how great her tits are, it’ll never make up for the mouth that she has on her.”
Kandy tutted, picking at her nails. “I’m pretty sure her mouth would be preoccupied when the two of you-“
“KANDY!”
“I’m just saying.”
Denali sighed, rubbing her forehead. God, this conversation was giving her a headache and digging at thoughts she had been trying to avoid herself.
“Listen Kandy, if there is one thing that I would never ever do, it is to sleep with my boss-“
“Denali-“
“I don’t care if she’s staring at my ass, I don’t care what she thinks of it-“
“Girl-“
“Me fucking Rosé McCorkell is never going to happen.”
“Well, as enlightening as this conversation is, it might be a little inappropriate to discuss my preferences in the office, don’t you think?”
She froze at the familiar voice behind her as Kandy quietly excused herself.
Shit.
“Cat got your tongue, Miss Foxx?”
Fucking shit.
Denali slowly stood and turned to look at her boss, who had an amused expression on her face and a file in hand.
“I believe that you left this document behind in my office.”
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Denali moved to retrieve the file from Rosé, trying her best to regain her composure.
“Right, yes- Let me photocopy this for you right away, Miss McCorkell.”
Rosé smirked and leaned in, her lips almost brushing against Denali’s ear.
“Strictly off the record, I do think you have a very nice ass.”
Face flushing a bright red and rendered speechless for a moment as Rosé pulled away, Denali stammered out an excuse before speeding off to the copy room, leaving behind a chuckling Rosé in her wake.
———
Denali was waiting alone for the lift at the end of the day, tapping her foot on the floor as she watched the numbers on the screen climb higher and higher.
It had been a long day, and she was still trying to recover from the embarrassing situation that had happened in the morning. She had spent the whole day actively avoiding her boss, something that wasn’t too difficult to do since she had a long list of tasks from her. Every time she had to drop something off at the older woman’s office, she made it a point to do so when she knew she was out for a meeting or when she was engaged in a call so that Rosé wouldn’t be able to say a word to her.
If she had the opportunity, Denali knew that the managing partner would say something to further humiliate or incite her.
Also, the statement that Rosé had made about her ass was still fresh and in the forefront of her mind, and something Denali had completely not expected. She knew that the two of them butted heads all the time, and that Rosé loved to challenge her secretary and pass along little comments and nicknames just to get a rise out of her. She had suspected that was the main reason that Rosé had hired her, because she was someone who fought back, but that comment about her ass? That had blindsided her.
She didn’t want to admit it, but everything Rosé did and said had an effect on her, and had been for some time now, but that was something that was entirely inappropriate.
Denali shifted her weight, watching the numbers get closer to the floor she was on when she heard the faint clicking of stilettos behind her and shut her eyes, praying to whoever was listening that the person approaching wasn’t who she thought it was, or that the elevator would arrive just before she did. Thankfully, the latter happened as the lift doors opened and Denali quickly stepped into the empty cab, immediately pressing the close button while pointedly making sure not to look up. She let out the breath that she had been unknowingly holding in as the doors slid closed, but her relief was short lived when the doors slid opened again, revealing the very same woman that she had been hoping not to see.
Fuck.
Nodding in greeting, she stepped to the side to give Rosé space, and also to put as much space as possible between the two of them. Rosé nodded back, and stood next to Denali, facing the doors as they closed and the lift slowly descended.
“So where has my little secretary been hiding the whole day?”
Denali’s hand twitched at her side. “I’ve been at my desk the entire day, Miss McCorkell, completing the tasks that you assigned me to do.”
“Is that so? So the little mouse that was scurrying in and out of my office wasn’t you?”
Swallowing a retort, Denali replied with as steady a voice as she could. “I don’t know what you mean, Miss McCorkell.”
Rosé turned her head, an eyebrow raised as she looked down at the squirming girl. Before she could say anything, the lift dinged and a group of people entered, forcing the two of them to take a step back. Denali breathed through her nose, then noticed how close Rosé was to her now in the confined space, so close she could smell the expensive Chanel No. 5 perfume that she loved to wear. Her heart was racing, and she wasn’t quite sure why. Maybe it was the fact that Rosé was now standing close to her, or the fact that her words were replaying over and over in her mind.
Denali stilled when she felt a finger touching the back of hand. She looked down to see a perfectly manicured finger lazily tracing her knuckles before looking up at the owner of the hand, and felt all the air in her lungs escape.
Rosé was staring down at her, eyes a molten hazel and lips curved into that same infuriating smirk that drove Denali insane. She felt the other woman’s fingers slowly slip to the palm of her hand, the light touch causing heat to pool in Denali’s middle and her breath to shorten, and all the while Rosé never took her eyes off her. The younger girl swallowed and bit her lip, noting how the older woman’s heated gaze fell to her throat and then her lips, her palm tingling as Rosé continued to trace patterns on the sensitive skin of her palm.
Seconds later, their little bubble was broken when the lift dinged and people started to shuffle out. Rosé withdrew her hand, and made to leave too, but not before whispering in Denali’s ear.
“Never say never.”
Winking at the frozen girl, Rosé exited the lift, her hips swaying with each step as she left the building.
Denali was fucked.
———
The dynamics of their relationship had changed since that day. Rosé didn’t try as hard as before to get a rise out of Denali anymore. Before it seemed like she was aiming to piss her secretary off, but now it was the opposite. It was as if she was repeatedly trying to fluster her, dropping little teasing comments, purposely brushing their fingers together when passing Denali things, constantly staring intently at her with a knowing smirk on her face. It was slowly driving Denali insane.
She could handle it when Rosé was trying to piss her off, but this? This was completely different and she didn’t know how to handle this kind of attention from her. Denali always found herself blushing to her roots and stammering in response to these new interactions, which seemed to further amuse and encourage the redhead. With each interaction, Denali also found herself questioning everything.
Why was Rosé acting the way that she did?
Was she bored and simply wanted to find something to entertain her?
Was she just toying around with Denali and her emotions?
Sighing as she filled the cup of tea for Rosé’s potential new client, she shook the thoughts out of her head and walked back to the meeting room where he was waiting. Pasting on a polite smile, she pushed the glass door open and set the cup of tea on the table before a greasy looking man that looked as if he was in his late forties.
“Here’s your tea, Mister Tate.” The man smiled back at Denali, taking the cup of tea and sipping from it, all the while giving Denali a once over, much to her discomfort. Putting the cup down, he made a face. “Oh dear, there’s no sugar in this at all, is there?”
Denali blinked. He hadn’t mentioned any sugar earlier, and she had assumed that he wouldn’t need any. “My apologies, Mister Tate, let me get a fresh cup for you.” Reaching over to take back the cup, she was stopped when he grabbed onto her wrist, a sly smile on his face. “There’s no need to bother, it’s fine. After all, I have a sweet, pretty girl like you to entertain me while we wait for Miss McCorkell to arrive.”
Not another one of these men again. Forcing herself not to drop her smile, Denali replied in a tight voice. “Thank you for the compliment, Mr Tate.” She tried to politely tug her hand back to disengage his grip on her wrist, but before she knew it, he was on his feet, an arm slung over her shoulders.
“Mister Tate? No need for formalities, just call me Jim. After all, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around more often now.” Her stomach rolled at the pointed look he had in his eye, the widening smile on his face making him look even greasier. She knew his type and the implications behind his words, and had to force herself to hold in her disgust. As much as she wanted to knee him in the balls, she couldn’t do that here in the office, especially since he was a potential client of Rosé’s.
Swallowing the bile that was rising in her throat, Denali struggled to maintain being civil as she attempted to step out of his grip.
“Mister Tate, if you would kindly please let go of me, I-”
“Come now, Miss Foxx was it? Where’s your sense of hospitality? You forgot the sugar for my tea, but you look like you’ll make up for it-“
“What is going on here?”
The blonde felt a sheer sense of relief flood her when she saw the managing partner standing in the doorway of the meeting room, though the furious look in her eye was something unexpected.
Denali had never seen her this angry before.
The man however seemed completely oblivious to the rising anger of the other woman, and instead smiled at her. “Miss McCorkell! I was just getting acquainted with your lovely secretary here.”
Rosé glared at the man. “Mister Tate, I believe that my secretary doesn’t like your arm around her, and unless you’d like to lose that arm, I suggest that you take it off her.” Looking surprised, the man listened and took his arm off Denali, and she moved away, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire. Her eyes darted between the two as he stammered. “Miss McCorkell, we’re all adults here. I’m just having a bit of fun. Isn’t that why you keep her around? She sure is a stunner-”
Big mistake.
Rosé took a threatening step towards him, fists clenched and eyes glinting with unbridled rage at what he was implying.
“Get out.”
He gaped. “I- I beg your pardon?”
Rosé sneered, looking down at the now pale and shaking man.
“You heard me, you daft man, get out! I don’t need scum like you in my office, and I certainly don’t need your money. Now get out before I call security!”
Gaping like a fish out of water and scrambling to leave, the greasy man grabbed his bag and hurriedly left the office without looking back as Rosé kept her eyes pinned on his retreating back before turning back to face to her secretary. Denali gulped, and instinctively made to apologise, but was stopped when the older woman moved towards her and gently took her by the shoulders, examining her. “Denali, are you alright?” She asked, sliding her hands down and stopping to hold her wrists, rubbing soothing circles into her skin.
Denali hadn’t noticed, but she was shaking, and Rosé’s motions were slowly calming her down. Taking a shaky breath, Denali smiled weakly at her. “I’m fine, Miss McCorkell. Thank you for stepping in when you did.”
Rosé nodded. “Of course, how could I not? But are you sure you’re alright? Do you want to take the rest of the afternoon off?” Denali laughed drily, waving off the offer. “It’s alright, I’m fine now. It’s nothing that I’m not used to.” Rosé’s thumbs stopped moving and she frowned at Denali.
“What do you mean?” Denali blinked. Maybe she shouldn’t have said that.
“I mean I’ve had my fair share of creeps before-“ She explained with a fake laugh, trying to lighten the mood when she saw Rosé’s face darkening.
That wasn’t good.
“You mean here? In my office?”
“Well, er-“ Rosé stepped closer into Denali’s space, raising a hand to cup her face as she stared into the younger’s eyes, voice low as she demanded. “The truth please.” Denali swallowed, feeling the slightly murderous intent that the other woman was exuding, which contradicted the gentle hold that she had on Denali. Hesitantly, Denali nodded.
“..yes.”
Rosé clenched her jaw, taking a second to process what Denali had confirmed, before stepping back and letting go of her secretary. Denali could see that her hands were clenched into fists that Rosé quickly stuffed into the pockets of her suit when she noticed Denali looking at them, as if wanting to hide how she was trying to not lose her temper.
“I want their names.”
Denali frowned, confused. “Wha- Why?”
“So I can tear up their contracts. Anyone who touches you is not worth my time.” Denali’s eyes widened. This sounded like a rash decision, and she didn’t want to cost Rosé or the company money. Breaking contracts meant loss of income, which wasn’t worth it. Not when it was just a simple matter of harassment that she should be able to handle herself. “But Miss McCorkell, it’s not worth it, I can-“
Rosé shot Denali a sharp look at that, cutting her off. “No buts. I want their names on my desk by the end of the day.” Denali swallowed and nodded stiffly as Rosé held her gaze, eyes hardened before softening as she sighed. The managing partner turned to leave, but stopped at the doorway to give her one last meaningful look.
“Denali, don’t ever think that you’re not worth it.”
And she left, leaving behind a wide eyed and blushing Denali staring after her.
———
I have been hung up on the idea of writing a fic with a flirty boss Rosé and feisty secretary Denali. The sexual tension just writes itself.
I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. (:
xoxo Vera
Burning Up (WIP)
I simply love the idea of flirty boss Rosé and feisty secretary Denali. The sexual tension just writes itself.
Just might have it completed and up this weekend. Who knows?
Edit: Originally titled "Work Wives".
----
Grinding her teeth as she glared at the desk in front of her, Denali had to tell herself to calm down as the source of her irritation smirked in her direction. If there was one thing that Denali could not stand, it was Rosé McCorkell’s inability to act professionally. Oh there was no denying that the woman was good at her job, but the way she seemed to ooze confidence and acted as if she owned the damn place? God, that just made Denali’s blood boil.
“Is something the matter, Nali?”
Denali clenched her fist at the sound of Rosé's nick name for her. It was as if the older woman knew that it riled her up whenever she called her that. Looking up at Rosé, Denali bit back an insult and instead forced herself to smile sweetly at her. “No, Miss McCorkell, nothing’s the matter at all. Everything is perfectly fine.”
Staring down at the younger woman for a moment from across her desk, Rosé winked at her. “If you say so, baby.”
Denali gripped the pen in her hand tightly and breathed through her nose, mentally counting down the seconds till their meeting was over as she wrote down every point that Rosé had just narrated to her. Quickly going over the points she had penned down one last time, she looked back up at Rosé. “Is there anything else, Miss McCorkell?”
“Rosé.”
Denali blinked.
“What?”
“My name. I’ve told you to call me that from the beginning.” Denali rolled her eyes internally as she shuffled the loose sheets of paper into a neater pile. “And as I’ve said before, I’m much more comfortable calling you Miss McCorkell.” She heard Rosé’s low chuckle and the sound of fabric shifting. Denali looked up and immediately dropped her pen.
Rosé was suddenly much closer to her than before, leaning against the solid oak desk between them, an almost predatory look in her eye as she watched the younger girl seated in front of her.
“I wonder why.”
I Put A Spell On You (Because You’re Mine) [5/11]
Summary: Denali is in love with her very much straight best friend, but a break up later and one drunken night together changes everything.
Note: Again, this is definitely NSFW. (:
Prefer reading it on AO3?
It was the morning of their second day at the lake house when Rosé rolled out of the bed she had been sleeping in, rubbing her eyes as she squinted at how bright the room was from the sunlight pouring in. She looked over to the bed next to her and noticed that it was empty, meaning that Denali was already up and about.
Yawning, she grabbed her toiletries and headed to the ensuite bathroom to freshen up for the day. 20 minutes later, she was out of the room, trying to gauge where everyone was. She had already figured out that Mik and Symone were outside with Kandy, from the sounds of Kandy hollering instructions at the two on what they needed to load into the boat that they were going to be taking out later that day. Checking the clock on the wall as she walked past it, she saw that it was just past 9am, meaning that the rest were probably up as well, and even if they weren’t, Kandy’s voice would have woken them up. Her nose twitched as she smelled the scent of bacon and toast, the smell leading her to the kitchen where she saw Denali wielding a pan in one hand and a spatula in the other, her dark hair up in a messy bun and an apron tied around her waist. Rosé smiled at the domestic scene and walked over to Denali.
“Good morning, angel.”
Denali whirled around, grinning when she spotted the older girl. “Good morning sleepyhead! Sorry I didn’t wake you earlier, figured you’d appreciate the sleep.”
Rosé smiled appreciatively at Denali. “Thanks. Do you need any help that doesn’t involve me burning the place down?” Denali laughed, clearly remembering the time when Rosé had somehow managed to scorch a pot of water. “Yes please! Could you help me set up eight plates on the table and distribute that plate of toast over there? I’m almost done with the bacon, and just have the eggs left do.”
“That I can do.”
Rosé busied herself with grabbing the plates from the cupboard and placing them on the table, then distributed the pile of toast, two per person. She moved back over to Denali who passed her the finished bacon while she started cracking a dozen eggs into a large bowl and whisking them. After making sure every plate had an even amount of bacon, she hopped onto the countertop and watched as Denali added milk and shredded cheese to the eggs.
Watching the other girl cook was one of her favourite things to do. Denali always had this little crease between her brows when she was cooking, her tongue poking out as she concentrated with the task at hand. She always put so much love and care into whatever she did, which was how her food always ended up tasting so good. Rosé remembered that one time when she had moaned about wanting to eat chicken pot pie after seeing it on her Instagram feed and that same evening, Denali had whipped up a batch for their dinner. Despite Denali saying that it was her first time baking the dish, it had been so good that they had somehow managed to finish it all, not leaving behind a single crumb.
That was the thing with Denali, she was someone that was so big hearted and loving, always giving and never asking for anything in return. It was the thing that Rosé loved the most about her, and also something that made her protective of her best friend. She had seen her fair share of Denali having her heart broken after she had given too much to her partners, only to have been taken advantage of and tossed aside once they were done with her.
At that very thought, Rosé felt her insides clench with shame, thinking back to the nights when she had slept with Denali.
Rosé didn’t want to admit that there was anything going on between the two of them. She knew that the sex had made their friendship more complicated than it needed to be. Each night when she slept, each time she woke up from those dreams about her best friend, she felt the guilt in her growing stronger and stronger, slowly eating away at her. Their sexual chemistry was mind-blowing, and Denali was always so willing and pliant under her. She had always been such a loving and kind person, so affectionate and filled with life and love. She knew that the younger woman always found it hard to say no to anyone, and that was what was killing Rosé, the fact that Denali never seemed to say no to her.
Rosé knew that she had taken advantage of that aspect of her giving nature, and that she was just taking and taking and taking, but she couldn’t help herself.
And she didn’t want to stop long enough to ask herself why.
She felt a finger poke her cheek, and shook herself out of her thoughts, meeting Denali’s laughing eyes.
“You looked like you were a million miles away.”
“Oh sorry, did you say something?” Denali held up a spoon of eggs to Rosé. “Taste this and let me know if it needs more salt?” The older girl nodded, and was about to taste it when Denali pulled the spoon back. “Hold on, let me cool it for you.” Denali blew at the spoonful of eggs, and Rosé couldn’t help but stare at Denali’s pursed lips with a lump in her throat.
The urge to kiss Denali then was strong.
Satisfied with the eggs being cooled enough, Denali held the spoon out to Rosé again, who stiffly took a bite. She nodded in approval at the taste, giving Denali a thumbs up, who grinned in response.
“Great! I’ll just add the chives, and it’s done! Can you help me round up the rest while I dish out the eggs?”
Not trusting herself to speak, Rosé nodded again and began looking for the rest after Denali had pointed out where everyone was. Minutes later, the dining table was filled with the sound of everyone eating and chattering away.
Rosé was sitting across from Denali, subtly watching her as she ate her toast, the younger girl nodding and smiling to whatever Symone was telling her, who was next to Denali sitting closer than necessary. Rosé didn’t know what it was, but she knew that she didn’t like the way that Symone had been eyeing Denali since yesterday morning at the diner.
She took a bite of her eggs, watching the way Denali was blushing at something Symone said, and she scowled down at her plate.
No, Rosé didn’t like it at all.
———————
It was close to noon when the boat was finally anchored. Kandy had commandeered the boat closer to the shore opposite of the lake house where there was nothing but lush greenery and, from what she had heard from her family, a waterfall that was a short walk away.
As soon as they were safely anchored, Mik had been the first to strip down to his trunks and jump into the water with a shout, followed closely by Olivia, Utica, Joey then Kandy. Symone, Denali and Rosé had watched them in amusement and chose to stay on the boat instead of getting into the water.
Denali was sitting at the edge of the boat, swinging her legs back and forth as she watched the others laughing and splashing about in the water. They had beckoned at her to join them in the water, but she declined, not really wanting to take off the shirt that she was wearing. She was a little conscious of the fact that Olivia had pointed out the faint marks that Rosé had left on her, and she didn’t really want to risk the others asking her questions if they saw them, especially with the older girl in their presence.
Leaning her chin on the railing, she heard footsteps and a familiar pair of legs slid into her view as Symone sat next to her.
“Hey beautiful.”
Denali stifled a laugh. She wasn’t sure why, but Symone had been showering her with compliments lately. It was odd, but Denali had thought nothing of it, chalking it up to just Symone being Symone.
“Hey pretty girl, why aren’t you down there?” The other girl shrugged, scooting closer to her as she replied. “Well, maybe because you’re up here and not down there.”
“Oh.” Denali frowned, feeling bad that she was possibly holding Symone back. “Are you alright? I thought you were looking forward to swimming in the lake.” Symone asked, tapping her fingers on the railing.
“I was! I mean, I am. I just- Maybe later.”
Symone quirked a brow. “You sure? You know, if you’re afraid of drowning, I’ll make sure to save you. I’d even give you a little mouth to mouth resuscitation. Heck, we can practice it now if you don’t believe me.”
Denali stared at Symone, stunned at her bold advances, before coughing, her cheeks flushing a bright red. “It’s okay, I believe you.” Symone laughed at Denali’s expression and poked at her cheek. “I’m kidding babe. Well, half kidding.”
“And which half are you kidding about?”
“Whichever half you want to believe.” Symone winked before getting up. “Listen doll, I’m going to head into the water. Just come in whenever you want to, okay?” Denali smiled at Symone and shooed her off, giggling as the ebony girl blew a kiss in her direction before jumping into the water to join the rest.
Denali huffed and stood up, fanning herself in the heat. Deciding that it was safe enough to take her shirt off, she pulled it off and tossed it to the side, leaving her in just her white string bikini. Denali sighed in relief, feeling the soft breeze on her skin as turned to join Rosé. She froze for a bit when she saw the older girl looking at her from the other side, an unreadable expression on her face.
“What?”
Rosé shrugged, silent as she looked away.
Denali frowned. Rosé had been acting weird all morning since breakfast. She had been cold and quiet, not really engaging with anyone, as if she was on autopilot, and Denali was worried. Rosé was usually only quiet when something was bothering her. She took a step closer to her, reaching out to her wrap fingers around her wrist in an attempt to connect with her.
“Rosie?”
There was a flash of a predatory look in her eyes that disappeared after a second, and Denali blinked. It was probably just the sun playing tricks on her. Rosé smiled innocently at her, then without warning picked Denali up in her arms, causing the younger girl to squeal.
“ROSIE! What are you dong? Put me down!”
Rosé grinned as she walked over to the edge of the boat, towards their friends in the water. “Are you sure you want me to put you down?” Rosé asked innocently. Gasping Denali narrowed her eyes. “You wouldn’t dare. If you drop me, I swear that I will never ever bake those stupid butterscotch blondies that you love so much ever again.” Rosé stopped just a few steps away from the edge of the boat. “Fine, I won’t drop you then.”
Denali smiled triumphantly at Rosé, thinking she had won, but realised her mistake as soon as Rosé took another step towards the edge.
“No, don’t you even think about it.”
“Think about what?” Rosé said innocently, taking another big step.
“Rosé McCorkell, if you take one more step, I will scream.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time I made you scream.” Denali sputtered, her face turning red.
“Not another step!”
“Fine, then I’ll just have to jump.” Denali’s eyes widened at that, before she could say anything Rosé jumped forwards with Denali held tightly in her arms, and they both ended up in the water with a huge splash, much to the delight of their friends. In the chaos of it, Denali broke through the surface, spitting out water as she gasped for air. She turned towards the sound of familiar laughter and splashed in the direction where she hoped Rosé was while trying to wipe the water from her eyes.
“You’re an idiot Rosé.” Rosé had simply smiled back at her and smacked a wet kiss against Denali’s cheek.
“That’s why you love me.” Denali’s heart thumped at that as she bit the inside of her cheek.
Rosé had no idea.
———————
Hours later, the group had made their way to the opposite shore. Half of them choosing to sunbathe on their towels while Symone, Mik, Rosé and Denali attempted to play a game of frisbee, attempting being the keyword.
Rosé couldn’t stop glaring at Symone every time the ebony girl moved closer to Denali, which was happening more and more over the course of the day. It irked her how Symone was constantly flirting with the other girl, and instead of walking away or rebuffing her, Denali had just played along with an adorable blush on her face.
Why was Denali even blushing?
“Baby that’s not how you throw a frisbee. Come here, let me show you how it’s done.” Rosé’s jaw clenched when she heard Denali’s giggle in response and watched as the other girl went over to Denali and proceeded to show her how.
Rosé had to force herself not to shove her way between the two of them or pull the Alaskan girl away from Symone as she watched Symone guiding Denali with the frisbee in an attempt to show her how to throw it. The touching was completely unnecessary too with how Symone was lined up close to Denali, especially when the girl had left her shirt discarded on the boat, leaving Denali in just her bikini. Symone was arm to arm with her as she held on to Denali’s wrist to show her how to “flick it like so”.
“Careful Rosé, you don’t want the others to get the wrong idea with how you’re glaring at them, do you?”
Rosé was jerked out of her thoughts and she turned to face Mik, who was watching her with a knowing look in his eye.
“The wrong idea? What do you mean?”
“That you’re acting like a jealous girlfriend.”
Rosé stilled at that comment. “She’s not my girlfriend.”
“I know.”
“I don’t even like girls.”
“Okay.”
“And besides, she’s just my best friend.”
“Got it. Denali’s just your female best friend that you do not have the hots for.”
Rosé glared at Mik, who was looking back at her, a smirk on his face. After a moment Mik sighed, the smirk falling off his face and was replaced with a careful one. “Rosé, there’s nothing wrong if you do happen to have feelings for Denali, you know that right?” Choosing to remain silent, Rosé turned away and walked off, not wanting to hear another word from Mik, nor did she want to even look at Denali or Symone right now.
Not if she wanted to maintain her composure and avoid doing something that she knew she would ultimately regret.
———————
“Rosé!”
Denali frowned and looked over when she heard Mik yelling and caught sight of Rosé’s retreating back.
Where on earth was she going?
Excusing herself from Symone, she approached Mik, wanting to figure out what was wrong with her best friend. “Mik, what happened? Where’s Rosé going?” She grew suspicious when Mik stiffened. “Nothing. She just wanted to go for a walk?”
Denali looked at Mik, noticing how he was fidgeting under her stare. “Are you asking me or are you telling me?”
“I’m just saying. Look, why don’t you go after her? Maybe she’ll need the company.” She stared at Mik for another beat, making the boy fidget even more under her gaze, before turning and jogging after the older girl, not noticing how Mik had let out a sigh of relief. She pushed past the trees and bushes, trying to make out the pink hair that was quickly disappearing from view.
“Rosie, wait for me! Where are you going?”
Denali picked up the pace, chasing after her, ignoring the little nicks that her bare legs surely bore now from the low hanging branches before emerging before a small spring with a waterfall. She gasped in awe at the sight, taking it in. She knew that Kandy mentioned that there was a waterfall somewhere, but she didn’t think that she’d see it today. It looks so peaceful and tranquil, the perfect thinking spot.
Suddenly remembering Rosé, she looked around trying to locate her and spotted her sitting on one of the large rocks near the lip of the body of water. The older looked upset, her face drawn into a frown, and Denali didn’t like to see her like that. It worried her to see Rosé upset and not know what the cause was. She cautiously walked over and sat next to the older girl.
“Hey, what’s up? You got out of there pretty quick.”
Rosé turned to look at her, her face guarded. Denali didn’t like it. Usually Rosé was open with her, though the past few weeks hadn’t really been the case.
“Nothing, just a little tired out from earlier.”
“Don’t lie to me Rosé. You may be able to convince everyone else, but I can see right through you.”
Rosé drew her knees to her chin as she kept her eyes trained on the waterfall, not wanting to reply Denali. The younger girl sighed, not really sure of what to do. There wasn’t anything that she could do if Rosé didn’t want to open up to her, and a small part of her felt hurt at that. She just knew that she couldn’t leave the other girl alone. Tapping an off beat rhythm on her knee, she was stopped when Rosé rested her hand on top of hers. She looked at Rosé’s hand, then looked back up at the girl. This time, she had a look of determination on her face, as if she had figured something out.
“Denali, can I try something with you?”
Denali blinked, then nodded. She wasn’t sure what Rosé wanted to try, but she trusted the other girl. She knew Rosé wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.
The older girl scooted closer to Denali and cupped her face with both hands, thumbs softly stroking her cheeks. Denali stopped breathing, not really sure what was happening.
“...Rosé?”
The older girl’s thumbs stilled, eyes sweeping across Denali’s face, from her wide brown eyes to her sun kissed cheeks, then landing on her full lips. Staring at her lips for a brief moment, Rosé finally pulled the girl towards her, pressing their lips together.
For Denali, it was like time had stopped and she couldn’t move. Her mind blanked out, and all she could register was the sounds of splashing water, the smell of vanilla and the feel of plush lips against her own.
What was happening? Why was Rosé kissing her when there was no alcohol involved at all?
Pulling away in surprise, Denali squeaked when Rosé pulled her back in for a deeper kiss, and this time she couldn’t help the moan that she let out. She felt Rosé’s tongue sweep into her mouth, causing tingles to run up her spine. Not wanting to question it anymore, Denali let herself fall into it, felt Rosé’s hands slide from her cheeks down to her waist, pulling her even closer. She shivered as the pads of Rosé’s thumbs circled her skin and Denali tangled her fingers into the older girl’s pastel pink hair, her nails scratching her scalp, causing Rosé to groan in response.
The older girl pulled away and started to nip at her jaw, down the length of her neck and all the while all Denali could do was breathe in a daze, getting lost in the sensation of Rosé’s mouth drawing lazy patterns across her skin. There was a faint thought that the rest would notice the fresh marks that Rosé was leaving behind, but that disappeared once she felt a tug at her bikini top. She looked down, and the sight of Rosé with the undone strap of her top between her teeth caused her to whimper.
Rosé pushed Denali down onto the rock, careful not to let the younger girl get hurt in the process, and began to tug her top off of her. Before Denali could even protest, Rosé pulled a nipple into her mouth, both hands holding herself steady as she began to tease Denali.
It was happening again, and this time there was no alcohol involved, no excuses to hide behind, and Denali couldn’t think. All she could do was feel. Feel the way Rosé was showering her chest with attention, felt the way her tongue traced patterns and gasp when she nipped at her sensitive buds. Denali knew she was getting wetter and feeling hotter by the second. So lost was she in the physical sensations that she didn’t realise how one of Rosé’s hands had snuck down till it was pressed against her heated core.
Without warning, she felt a finger enter her, and she hissed at the sudden intrusion, reaching down immediately in a bid to stop Rosé’s wandering hand, but was stopped by the older girl’s heated gaze. Her pupils were blown, and Denali was sure that hers were too, lips parted as she dove back in, swallowing Denali’s moans as she inserted a second finger, stroking her walls, twisting and curling her digits inside her. She cried out when she felt the fingers scissor inside her, the sensation causing her to buck her hips against Rosé’s and she heard the older girl moan in response.
Pulling away, Rosé continued to suck bruises into the skin of Denali’s collarbone as she continued to stroke the younger woman with her fingers, intermittently circling the bundle of nerves at the apex of her thighs, seeming to savour every gasp and moan that she pulled from her. It wasn’t long before Denali reached her peak, gasping as she felt her climax take over her and Rosé kissed her through it, holding her body tightly to hers as Denali whimpered, feeling spent and exhausted. Rolling over, Rosé tugged Denali’s body to hers, holding her in the cradle of her arms.
After a few moments of letting the younger woman recover from her climax, Rosé carefully picked her up and carried her over to the water. There she washed any traces of their love making from Denali’s skin, fingers lingering on the fresh love bites across her chest. Undoubtedly, there would be questions about those if the others saw them. Without hesitation, Rosé took off the shirt that she was wearing and after securing Denali’s discarded bikini top back on her, she pulled her shirt over Denali to hide most of the bruises on her skin.
The younger woman, still in a daze, let herself be piggybacked back to the boat, faintly registering familiar voices of concern and Rosé reassuring them that Denali was just tired, before she found herself back on the boat and bundled onto Rosé’s lap. Sighing as she felt familiar hands carding their fingers through her hair, Denali felt herself drifting off to the sound of Rosé humming her to sleep.
———————
Clearly there must be something wrong with my mind. This chapter got away from me and kind of went off script, but not so much that it derailed the whole plan. But yeah, we're at just about the halfway point, and it's gonna get interesting.
Why not me is sooo good!!!
You’re too sweet, thank you anon! 🥲❤️
Why not me? (Chapter Five)
Summary: Denali has been single all his life, and has always been secretly envious of everyone around him being able to find love so easily. Rosé proposes the perfect solution for his best friend.
Note: Warning, intense sweetness ahead.
Prefer reading it on AO3?
The faint sound of his alarm clock stirred Denali from his slumber, and he groaned, feeling around for his alarm clock. He really needed to remember to turn it off during the weekends. Sighing sleepily, he turned around only to come face to face with a sleeping Rosé. Denali froze, conscious of the fact that the other boy was still asleep and that they were almost nose to nose. Denali gulped and scooted back a little and turned away from the older boy.
Why was Rosé in his bed? Still drowsy from sleep, Denali wracked his brain for a minute before recalling his meltdown from last night. The little meltdown that had been the result of realising that he just might be catching feelings for his best friend and temporary boyfriend.
And Rosé had been right there for him, never pushing, always patient, just offering him comfort and support. The perfect epitome of a best friend.
And boyfriend.
Why did Rosé have to be so god damn perfect at everything he did?
Before he could even begin to overthink everything again, Denali felt arms snaking around his waist and pull him towards a warm and solid chest.
“Good morning, baby.”
His heart thumped at the affectionate term, his cheeks flushing. He’d heard Rosé call him that a thousand times, but to be lying in bed, in his arms, and have him say it in that deep, sleep husky voice of his? That just hit differently. He squirmed when he felt the older boy nuzzle his neck affectionately, warmth pooling in his belly at how clingy and affectionate Rosé was in the morning. Turning his head to look at Rosé, his heart thumped even harder when he saw the abject fondness in Rosé’s sleepy eyes, and he couldn’t help but smile in response.
“Good morning, Rosie.”
Rosé smiled back as he took in the younger boy’s face, and he stroked Denali’s cheek with his forefinger. “There’s the blush that I know and love.”
Denali bit the inside of his cheeks in an attempt to stop them from flushing even more, slightly embarrassed at how susceptible he still was to blushing. He thought that he had finally overcome that problem when it came to Rosé’s advances, but it looks like that wasn’t the case. Denali turned his head away when he realised how hot his cheeks felt, and Rosé chuckled at the younger boy’s attempt to hide away.
“No no Nali, don’t hide your adorable face from me. Come here.”
The younger boy whined at that, burying his face in his hands immediately when Rosé tried to turn him around, not wanting to give in to his teasing.
Why did the older boy have to have such an effect on him?
“Go away Rosie, you’re annoying.”
Rosé’s whole body shook in his attempt to smother his laughter and the fondness that was rising in his chest. When his attempts to turn Denali to face him failed, Rosé proceeded to climb on top of him, straddling his waist. Taking hold of Denali’s wrists, Rosé pried Denali’s hands part and grinned down at his blushing face.
“Hey there, my cute little boyfriend.”
Denali pouted, just a little ruffled. “I am not cute.” He didn’t really like being called cute, though for some reason when Rosé said it, he found that he didn’t really mind it. Of course, he wasn’t about to let the older boy know that. Then again, Rosé could probably get way with just about anything with him. Denali stuck his tongue out at Rosé and made a face, as if to prove his point. It backfired and instead caused Rosé to laugh, the fondness in his eyes growing before a familiar look took over.
Oh no, Denali knew that look. It was a look he was very much familiar with.
“Rosé, don’t you fucking dare- ROSIE!”
Denali choked out a laugh and struggled to escape from beneath the older boy when Rosé began to attack his sides with his fingers, squirming as he tried to dodge his tickles. “Ro- Rosie, stop it!”
“Say please.”
“Pl- Please... Stop being a brat!”
Stopping for a second to gasp in mock hurt, Rosé resumed to tickle the younger boy.
“Just for that, I’m not going stop until you agree to give me a morning kiss.”
“That’s. Not. Fair.”
“Well?”
Denali tried to control his laughter, but his sides spasmed as Rosé relentlessly attacked his sides.
“Fi- Fine! Okay!”
Rosé stopped once Denali conceded, smiling triumphantly as the younger boy panted, trying to catch his breath. God, was his boyfriend evil.
“I’m waiting for my kiss, boyfriend.”
Rolling his eyes, Denali pushed himself up so that he was level with Rosé and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, ignoring how his heart skipped a beat and how he sort of liked the feeling of Rosé’s morning stubble tickling his lips. The older boy grinned and turned his face, tapping his other cheek. “The other one too.”
“You said a kiss, meaning only one.”
“I changed my mind, I want one on each cheek now.”
Rolling his eyes at the boy’s childish antics, Denali leaned forward again, pressing a kiss to Rosé’s other cheek and pulled away, biting back a smile. “You happy now?” Denali asked. The older boy turned to look at Denali, eyes warm as he leaned forward and pressed a kiss of his own to Denali’s left cheek, then right.
“Now I am. Now come on, it’s time for our date.” Denali raised his eyebrows as Rosé got out of bed, stretching his back once he was out. “Date? But it’s only 9am.” Also, this was the first time Rosé had explicitly used the word date. Usually, he’d just bring Denali out or suggest things. What did Rosé have in mind this time?
“Well yeah, the drive is going to take an hour or two, so if you want to have lunch on time, you better get your butt out of bed.”
“Drive?”
————————————————————————
Turns out there was a carnival set up just at the outskirts of town, and Rosé had thought that it was the perfect place to bring Denali for a weekend date. He also made sure to call it a date this time so that his intentions were loud and clear from the get go, something he hadn’t done the past few times they had gone out. Despite Denali at first whining about having to get out of bed on a Saturday morning and dragging his feet, the drive had gone off without a hitch.
At first, Rosé hadn’t want to tell Denali where he was taking him to, but had relented once he caught sight of the younger’s wide pleading eyes and dimples. He knew that he was doomed to always be charmed by Denali, a curse he was willing to bear for the rest of his life if he could have the boy all to himself. When Denali had found out where they were going, he had squealed in excitement and started to talk about all the things they could do together, while Rosé had nodded along to everything he said.
By the time they neared their destination, it was just past noon. It was little too hot to be walking around under the sun when it was at its peak, so being the ever gracious boyfriend, Rosé had made sure to drive them both to a nearby diner for lunch. The place had been packed with other locals who had the same idea as Rosé, but thankfully they had managed to get a table. They had both decided to share a BLT sandwich and fries, as well as a large milkshake, not wanting to fill up too much before hitting the carnival. Finishing up their food in record time, they both piled back into the car and they had driven the last 30 minutes there.
Once there, Denali was buzzing with energy and excitement as he dragged Rosé from stall to stall, eyeing each booth filled with stuffed animals that he was itching to win. Rosé didn’t say anything, and was instead content with just watching the younger boy bounce around, and relishing in the fact that Denali hadn’t once let go of his hand after they’d left the car. Denali had stopped at one of the booths and turned to Rosé, puppy eyes coming out as he looked at him.
“Rosie, can we try a few games? I want to try winning some prizes.” Rosé shook his head, much to the younger’s disappointment. “Maybe later baby. I don’t think you’d want to have your hands full when you’re sitting in the rides, would you?” Denali contemplated his point for a moment, before nodding. “You’re right, let’s go for the rides first, then hit the games!”
Denali dragged him over to the nearest ride, and all Rosé could do was let himself be led by the boy he loved so much.
They spent the next few hours going on almost every ride, from the tilt-a-whirl to bumper cars and the roller coasters. By the time were done trying out most of the rides, they were both a little tired out. They sat on one of the benches to rest, fanning themselves as best as they could with their hands in the late afternoon heat.
“Hey Rosie, stay here, I’ll be right back.”
Rosé nodded, not questioning Denali as he wandered off. He came back within 10 minutes, his arms loaded with a few carnival snacks and cold slushies. He spread out the food on the bench and passed the icy drink to Rosé, much to the older boy’s relief. Denali was happily pulling at a funnel cake with his fingers and popping the sugary treat in his mouth. When Rosé set the drink down on the bench, Denali tore off a piece of the funnel cake and held it out to the older boy. “Try this Rosie, it’s really good and it’s still warm.”
The older boy looked at the piece Denali held between fingers. He figured that Denali was expecting him to just take it with his own fingers, but he chose to lean forward and slowly take it with his mouth instead, his eyes never leaving Denali’s, his lips grazing the younger’s fingers as he did so. Rosé pulled back and chewed as he watched Denali’s expression morph from an innocent smile to a stunned one.
Rosé may be a patient man, but that didn’t meant he wasn’t going to play dirty.
He winked at Denali as he swallowed.
“You’re right, baby. That is good.”
The younger boy nodded dumbly and went back to his funnel cake, Rosé chuckling under his breath as he took another sip of his slushie.
Denali’s cheeks weren’t pink, but his ears sure were.
————————————————————————
It was well into the evening by the time the two of them were done with the game stalls in the carnival. The two had predictably been competitive in trying to see who could win the most prizes. That was something that hadn’t changed despite their change in relationship status, the competitive streak that they both had. By the time they had finished up at the last stall, both their arms had been overloaded with stuffed toys of all shapes, sizes and colours. They had laughed at each other, and Denali had proclaimed it was a tie. They’d gotten a passerby to take a photo of the two of them holding all the prizes that they’d won together before giving out almost of them to the kids at the carnival, knowing that neither of them would want to keep them all anyways. In the end, Rosé had been left with a stuffed pink teddy bear and Denali a large multicoloured quetzal plushie.
Knowing that there were fireworks happening soon, Rosé tugged Denali towards the large ferris wheel in the middle of the carnival grounds. They’d gotten into the cab and were sitting in a comfortable silence as the cab slowly moved up. Denali was looking out the glass window, eyes reflecting the bright colourful lights beneath them, his face full of innocent wonder. Rosé couldn’t believe how lucky he was to even be able to be in this position where this beautiful boy was his, even for just a short time.
He knew he had offered to be Denali’s temporary boyfriend for a month, but deep inside, he was hoping that it wouldn’t end once their month was up. He didn’t know how he was going to let go of Denali, and whether he even wanted to. As he continued watching the boy with a wistful expression, he resolved that he would do whatever it took to keep him. He could tell that whatever that they had now was developing beyond platonic feelings, and he could see it in the way Denali was reacting to every advance he made. Rosé hadn’t meant for it to go the way that it did, and he had originally wanted to give him up once their month was up. But now that he’d had a taste, he didn’t want to let him go.
Rosé wanted to be able to call Denali his forever.
Denali turned to him, eyes soft and dimples showing. “Thank you Rosé, for everything.”
He swallowed, entranced by Denali’s expression, and nodded as he smiled back. “Anything for you, Denali.” Carefully moving to sit next to him, Rosé brushed a stray lock of hair back into place, causing Denali to suck in a breath.
The air started to feel charged between them, and Denali shifted in his seat, eyes falling to his lap as he hugged the plushie in his arms, suddenly feeling shy at the look Rosé was giving him. There was a beat of silence before he felt calloused fingers tilt his head up, and his brown eyes connected with warm hazel ones. Rosé held his gaze before he leaned forward, stopping just a centimetre away from Denali, as if asking for permission. Blinking slowly, Denali licked his lips, causing Rosé’s eyes to dart down as his tongue flicked out. Looking back into Denali’s eyes, Rosé tilted his head and leaned forward pausing one final second to give Denali a chance to back away, before finally pressing their lips together in a soft kiss.
In that moment, it was as if the missing piece had slid into the puzzle, and everything just felt right.
————————————————————————
Looks like Rosé's finally made up his mind on what he wants, and it looks like Denali might be leaning into it? Who knows.
I really hope this chapter was worth the wait, especially with how it ended. If any of you get cavities, it wasn't me!
I Put A Spell On You (Because You’re Mine) [4/11]
Summary: Denali is in love with her very much straight best friend, but a break up later and one drunken night together changes everything.
Prefer reading it on AO3?
“Here you go Nali, warmed up your tea for you with two spoons of honey, just the way you like it.” Denali looked down at the cup of tea that Rosé slid in front of her, looked up at the older woman and smiled weakly in return. “Thanks Rosie.” She raised the cup to her lips and blew the surface before taking a tentative sip, sighing at the familiar taste. Rosé settled in the seat next to her at the kitchen island, cradling her own cup of coffee.
After Denali’s break down, Rosé had held her for a long while before Denali had pulled away, embarrassed at being seen in her most vulnerable state. She had tried to apologise to Rosé for ruining her top with her tears, but had promptly been shushed. The older woman had pressed a comforting kiss to her forehead and told her to wash up while she warmed up their breakfast.
An hour later, they were now sitting in the kitchen with a few breakfast pastries laid out on the counter with warm cups in their hands.
Denali wasn’t sure how to approach the situation, unsure of how to talk about everything that had happened so far and instead chose to stir her cup of tea listlessly. Rosé herself was silent as she drank her coffee, and Denali could sense the older woman watching her carefully, as if afraid that she would break down again.
The longer the silence dragged on, the harder it felt for either of them to broach the topic.
Shifting uncomfortably in her seat, Denali reached out for one of the pastries on the counter and for the first time, noticed that her new favourite cinnamon rolls were there.
“You went to Paul’s to get these?” Rosé paused mid drink and smiled softly at Denali.
“Yeah, I walked past it and thought that you’d like them. A good pick me up after-“ Face flushing, Rosé cleared her throat and sipped at her coffee.
Denali’s face warmed too, but she smiled back at Rosé. She reached out to take one and bit into it, letting out a sound of appreciation at the cinnamon sweetness flooding her tastebuds. Swallowing, she leaned against Rosé.
“Thanks Rosie.”
And for now, that was enough.
———————
Rosé was packing her bag, trying to figure out how many sets of clothes she should pack when Denali flopped down onto her bed.
“How many swimsuits do you think I should bring?” Rosé raised a brow at the woman perched on her bed, her hands clutching onto a few swimsuits. The two of them were going to the Muse’s lake house for a short get away with their friends tomorrow. It had been a bit of an impromptu decision after Kandy had proudly told her friends that her family had won a boat in a raffle.
(“What the fuck kind of raffle has a boat as the first prize?”
“I don’t give a shit about that, all that matters is that I got a boat now!”
“Kandy, it’s your parent’s boat, not yours.”
“Shut up Mik, no one asked you.”)
“Nali, we’ll only be there for three days, I don’t think you’ll need that many. And besides, you only have one body.” Rosé said as she looked through the clothes she had set aside. Four sets of clothes sounded like a safe number, and now that she thought about it, maybe two swimsuits. Denali pouted at Rosé ignoring her, nudging her with her toe.
“I know, but I have so many new ones and I just can’t decide which ones to bring! Can you help me pick, Rosie?”
Sighing, Rosé turned to look at Denali as she laid out her swimsuits on the bed. She pulled the older woman closer, and Rosé zoned out a little at Denali’s touch.
It had been a few days since their second night together, and they still hadn’t addressed it, instead choosing to keep quiet and ignoring the incident once more. Rosé herself wasn’t sure how to feel about everything. She knew without a doubt that she was physically attracted to Denali, and that she cared deeply for her since they were best friends, but anything more than that? That was still up in the air, and until she knew for certain, she wasn’t exactly keen on talking about it. Besides, Denali hadn’t said anything either. Almost nothing had changed between them, except for the occasional moments when Rosé’s touches would linger longer than they should, or whenever she had to struggle against the urge to touch Denali.
Rosé still had her moments of weakness. Her dreams involving Denali were as explicit as ever, but she wasn’t willing to risk anything based on on her lusting after her best friend.
Not when Denali was so important to her.
“So? Which ones should I bring? No wait, how many are you bringing?”
Rosé cleared her throat, trying not to focus too much on the warmth of Denali’s skin. “I’m bringing two for myself. Probably will let the first one dry in the sun or something if I need to.”
Resisting the urge to rip herself away from Denali or pull her closer, Rosé instead chose to focus on the swimsuits laid before her, which caused her to groan internally. Now she was picturing Denali in each skimpy set, and that did nothing to help Rosé.
“Should I try on each of them for you to see? Would that help?”
Her eyes widened at Denali’s innocent suggestion. God did she want to say yes, and maybe she could help Denali take them off too, preferably with her teeth-
“No, it’s fine. It’ll take too long.”
She picked two at random and passed them to Denali without a second glance. “These two.” Rosé said, throat a little hoarse, before turning away and haphazardly shoving her clothes into her bag.
Denali looked at Rosé, confused for a split second at her behaviour before shrugging, oblivious to older woman’s inner turmoil as she returned to her own room to carry on with her own packing.
Maybe she’d bring an extra one, just in case.
———————
It was going to be a long drive from town to the lake house. The group of friends consisted of eight, and they were split between three cars, so thankfully there hadn’t been a problem with space.
Denali had to wake Rosé up at 5.30am to ensure that they’d be on the road by 6.30am, knowing that she would be a difficult one to rouse so early in the morning. The two had shoved their bags into the trunk after having a quick breakfast of granola bars, piled into Denali’s car and driven off, reaching the Pitstop diner mid way through their drive to meet the others at around 10.30am. The pair had arrived just as Kandy was parking, music blaring with Symone and Mik singing off key to the song. They all converged in the middle of the parking lot in hugs and entered the diner together, knowing that Utica, Olivia and Joey were already there, two adjacent booths secured for the eight of them.
Whenever the eight of them were together in one location, it was always an event. As a group they had ordered several plates of pancakes and waffles and other savoury foods, like sausages and hash browns, with tall glasses of different juices and milkshakes. Olivia had voiced concerns about them suffering a sugar crash later on, which was instantly stopped when Utica playfully kissed her on the cheek, the taller girl having been amused by her almost motherly ways.
The group had been split between two tables, with Utica, Olivia, Joey and Kandy at one table and Rosé, Denali, Symone and Mik at the other. Despite the split, they still managed to pass around the various plates and catch snatches of each other’s conversations, essentially being extremely lively in the almost empty diner. The staff had been more entertained than anything else with the life that was injected into the usually empty place.
Denali was having fun, thankful for the distraction from her own thoughts. She had been happily watching the way Kandy was flirting with Joey, who was trying to act indifferent to the Latina girl, despite the quirk at the corner of his lips. It was no secret that Kandy had the biggest crush on the boy, having drunkenly proclaimed it multiple times. Joey on the other hand had at first been perturbed by her advances, but he had soon warmed up to her, having been charmed by her vivaciousness. Denali remembered one night when Joey had confided to her that he might be catching feelings for the brash girl, but didn’t want to let her know just yet.
She remembered how envious she had felt with how their love story was panning out, and wistfully thought of her and Rosé and how theirs was a fairy tale that would never happen.
A forkful of waffle, sausage and hash brown drizzled in syrup came into view and she blinked, looking at the owner of the hand. “Hey Denali, try this!” Symone said, pushing the fork in her direction. Denali stared at the fork, then looked back at the shorter girl.
“No offence Symone, but this looks like a heart attack waiting to happen.”
Symone laughed, encouraging the other girl. “Trust me babe, you’ll love it. You like dipping your fries in your milkshake right? Think of it like that, mixing the salty and the sweet.”
Denali laughed and leaned forward, taking the forkful of food into her mouth and chewed. The sticky mix of savoury and sweet food made her beam and she nodded vigorously. “You’re right, that’s actually pretty good!”
“Yeah, the perfect combination of sweet and salty, just like how you’re the perfect mix of sweet and spicy, babe.” Denali choked a little before laughing at Symone’s line.
“Girl, where did that come from?”
“Just an observation. Anyone with two eyes would be able to appreciate a cute girl like you.” Symone leaned forward and winked at Denali, causing her to blush. Before she could respond, she felt the weight of an arm being draped around her shoulders and turned to look at Rosé, who had a stiff smile on her face.
“Now Symone, calling Denali cute doesn’t really do her justice. I’d say that she’s a beautiful woman, right Mik?” Denali’s eyes widened at the compliment, her heart skipping a beat. Where was this coming from?
“Absolutely Rosé, she’s gorgeous.” Mik winked at Denali, and she laughed, face flushing even redder at the attention she was getting. She shrugged Rosé’s arm off of her and stood up, missing the look of disappointment from the older woman’s face when she did.
“Well, this gorgeous girl is in need of the bathroom before we leave. Kandy girl, let’s go before you forget, and drive Mik and Symone up the wall with your complaints later.”
Fifteen minutes later, the group left the diner, leaving behind a huge tip to the staff for their troubles, and piled into their respective cars for the remaining drive to their destination.
———————
It was about 2pm when they had finally reached their destination, and everyone had practically rolled out of their cars in relief. After settling down and deciding who was sharing rooms with who, with just a little squabble over Kandy not being able to share a room with Joey (“Not appropriate Kandy. You’re both not even together!” “Not yet we aren’t.” “Hey!”), they decided to spend the remaining time relaxing by the shore. That’s when Mik had the idea to try jumping into the lake from the small cliff that wasn’t too far off. Immediately, Denali had been game for it and tried to pull Rosé to join in.
“Come on Rosie, let’s go! It’ll be fun.” She pleaded, trying to tug the other girl to go with her.
Rosé shook her head, not to be deterred from her position on the lounger. “I don’t know Nali, I’m quite comfortable staying here.” Denali rolled her eyes. “You mean you’re comfortable being boring.”
Rosé gasped in mock offence, clutching at her non-existent pearl necklace. “How very dare you! Now, I’m definitely not going.” The younger girl pouted, trying her best to persuade Rosé by widening her eyes and sticking out her lower lip.
“Pretty please, Rosie?”
The older girl faltered at Denali’s face, but still shook her head, laughing as she ruffled the brunette’s hair, who squawked indignantly at her. “Not a chance, baby.”
Denali pouted sulkily, and was about to drop back onto the lounger next to Rosé when Symone pulled her back up. “Girl, come on! You don’t need Rosé to have fun. Let’s go!” Rosé felt a flash of annoyance at the way Symone was touching Denali, and barely registered that she had indirectly called her boring.
Denali hesitated for a second before shrugging and following Symone and Mik as they moved off. She stopped after a few steps and turned back to Rosé.
“Last chance Rosie, come on!”
Rosé bit her lip, staring at Denali’s outstretched hand before finally conceding.
“Fine.”
Denali beamed when Rosé got up and excitedly grasped her hand, pulling the older girl along with her as they trekked up the grassy hill. Denali rambled as the group climbed up, not noticing that the higher they went, the paler Rosé got. Honestly, the older girl hadn’t actually wanted to go jumping off cliffs anytime soon, no matter how small they were, which was the main reason she had said no. She didn’t know why she had said yes in the first place when Denali had asked the second time, though it probably had something to do with Symone convincing Denali to go with her that had irked Rosé.
She didn’t know why it had annoyed her, but it just did.
When they finally reached the top, Rosé’s hands were feeling a little clammy, despite one of them being held tightly in Denali’s. The younger woman hadn’t noticed and was excitedly watching as Mik jumped off the edge and into the clear water below, followed by Symone. Turning to look at Rosé, her smile faded when she saw her nearly white face and finally realised how cold the hand she was holding felt. She took a step closer to Rosé and took hold of her other hand.
“Rosie, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”
Rosé gulped and shook her head, not wanting to seem weak. “I’m fine. I want to do this.” Denali sighed, gripping her hands tighter in response. “No you don’t, you’re afraid of heights. I’m so sorry I forgot about that. I should have known better.” Looking down at how guilt ridden Denali was, Rosé took a deep breath, her mind made up.
“Well, then it’s a good thing that I have you here with me.” Denali frowned. “Are you sure?” Rosé nodded in response, her mind made up. She knew that if Denali was by her side, she could do anything.
“Yes, but can you hold my hand?”
Denali smiled, nodding, and they moved to the edge together. They stared down at the waters below, Mik and Symone shouting encouragements to them. With Rosé’s hand held tightly in Denali’s, they faced each other and counted to three before jumping together. There was a moment where all Rosé could see was Denali’s smile and dimples, her heart full of warmth instead of fear, before they crashed into the water.
———————
“Hey Nali, do you think we have enough marshmallows?”
Denali walked over to the pile of marshmallows in the large bowl that Olivia had in her hands. “Liv, if we had anymore, you and Utica could make a mini fort to sleep in tonight.” Olivia rolled her eyes at the light ribbing from Denali and tossed one at her. “Very funny coming from the one who brought them in the first place. I’m pretty sure there are still at least six unopened jumbo packs.”
“Well, you can never have too much of a good thing.” Denali shrugged, catching the marshmallow Olivia had tossed at her and popped it into her mouth.
They were preparing the snacks in the kitchen for the campfire while the others were outside attempting to make a fire at the pit. She could hear Kandy and Rosé arguing over what music to play on the boombox and giggled. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence that the two tended to butt heads when it came to music.
She turned back to Olivia and noticed how the other girl was staring at her neck.
“Denali, do you have something to tell me? Like is there a new someone in your life that I don’t know about?”
Denali frowned, confused. “Huh? What do you mean?” Olivia tapped at her neck. “It’s a little faint, but I’m pretty sure that’s a hickey right there.” Denali’s eyes widened, and she instinctively covered up the spot with her hand.
“Errr, it’s an old mosquito bite, that’s all.”
“That must have been one hell of a mosquito then.”
Denali cleared her throat and picked up the bowls of snacks on the counter. “Yeah.”
“Did the same mosquito also bite you all over your body? Or was a it swarm?”
“What?”
“When you took off your shirt earlier at the lake, I saw more of those faint marks all over your chest and stomach.”
Denali cursed under her breath, wishing that Olivia wasn’t so observant. She couldn’t exactly tell her that Rosé was the one who had left all those marks on her now, could she? That would make for an awkward conversation that she was definitely not ready to have with anyone, least of all Olivia. She loved the girl, but Olivia had a knack for giving well meaning advice that people were usually not ready to listen to.
“Just an overeager Tinder date, that’s all.” Olivia’s eyebrows shot up. “Tinder? Since when?”
“Since last month.” Exactly when Rosé and her had first slept together, but she wasn’t about to say that since it was a lie anyways.
“Oh. Good for you then. Just be careful okay? Sometimes you can’t be too careful with people you meet on that app.”
“Right, of course.” Denali smiled at Olivia, feeling a little guilty at having to lie to her close friend as they both balanced the multiple bowls of snacks and went outside.
The campfire was roaring and Kandy had clearly won the argument about what music to play by the sounds of it. They set the bowls down and sat down in the remaining empty seats, Olivia with Utica and Denali next to Rosé. As soon as she sat down, she felt the older girl pulling her to her side. Looking over, she felt her heart clench at Rosé’s warm expression, the fire casting a glow on Rosé’s face. Denali had to restrain herself from reaching out to touch her and instead distracted herself by grabbing a skewer and some marshmallows, intent on toasting them.
She listened to the happy banter around her as she roasted the marshmallows over the fire, basking in the warmth of the crackling fire and the weight of Rosé’s arm wrapped around her waist.
For now, this was enough.
———————
Finally a chapter that's a little lighter and not quite as intense or emotional as the others.
I'm going to be honest and say that I've been considering whether I should shut this tumblr down since I rarely do anything except post my fics here.
So if you're following to get any other content besides fics, I'm sorry to disappoint you. 😔
I Put A Spell On You (Because You’re Mine) [3/11]
Summary: Denali is in love with her very much straight best friend, but a break up later and one drunken night together changes everything.
Prefer reading it on AO3?
Rosé woke up to the sensation of something tickling her nose. Wrinkling her nose in an attempt to dislodge it, she gave up after her attempt failed and swept the hair away from her face before settling her arm back into place around Denali’s waist.
Around Denali’s-
Her eyes shot open, finally noticing how very naked she was and how very much naked the woman in her arms was.
It had happened again.
Shutting her eyes and groaning silently in frustration, Rosé internally slapped herself for losing control last night. Why did she ever think that alcohol combined with her recent longing for Denali was a good idea when said woman had been in her proximity? God, was she stupid or was she stupid?
Sighing, she opened her eyes again and looked down at the sleeping woman that was nestled in her arms, and she couldn’t help but smile.
Denali looked so innocent and peaceful, her features soft in the warm sunlight. Even in her sleep, Denali was stunning, even more so without a stitch of clothing on her.
Feeling her cheeks warm at the thought, Rosé hesitated before carefully pressing her lips to the crown of Denali’s head, not wanting to wake her up just yet.
Rosé wasn’t ready for the questions that she was sure Denali had, nor was she even ready for her own.
Closing her eyes, Rosé recalled the night before. She remembered not wanting Denali to leave her, and had practically trapped the younger woman and proceeded to absolutely wreck her, completely giving into her own inhibitions. Part of her winced at how strongly she had come on, how hungry she had been to hear Denali’s moans, wanting her to sing under her touches and how she didn’t want to stop touching her. She had been absolutely ravenous, claiming Denali over and over again, and had been so pleased with how pliant the younger woman had been under her.
Clenching her thighs to stop herself from repeating the same thing again, Rosé reluctantly unwrapped her arms from around Denali and pulled back, slowly so as not to jostle her awake. She rolled out of bed, stopping to take one last look at Denali, before she quietly got dressed.
A walk was exactly what Rosé needed to clear her head.
———————
Denali stirred under warm sheets, the feeling of soft cotton on her bare skin made her feel comfortable and safe. Eyes fluttering open, a sense of deja vu settled in her bones as she took stock of her surroundings.
She was back in a familiar pastel pink room, surrounded by the musky scent of vanilla that was uniquely Rosé.
It had happened again, and Denali wasn’t too sure how to process it this time. It felt like a repeat of events, but at the same time it felt like it would be harder to just write it off as a mistake or something that happened in the heat of the moment seeing as this wasn’t their first time. Should she just try to steal away again and gauge what to do based on Rosé’s reaction once more?
Licking her dry lips, she curled into herself and noticed how the sheets came to her so easily. She turned over and saw that this time, she had woken up to an empty bed.
Where was Rosé? It wasn’t like her to wake up earlier than Denali. Usually Denali was the one who had to push Rosé to get out of bed if they had any morning plans. Reaching out with a trembling hand, she touched the other side of the bed and noted how cold it was to the touch, meaning it had been a while since Rosé had left the bed.
Since she had left Denali alone in her bed.
Drawing her hand back to her chest as if she had just been burned, Denali bit her lip. Had Rosé woken up to realise that what had transpired between them was nothing but a mistake? Had last night disgusted her and caused Rosé to finally leave Denali?
To leave Denali for good?
Suddenly unable to stand being in a room surrounded by nothing but Rosé, unable to remain in the bed with sheets marked with last night’s intimacies, Denali fumbled about the bed, tossing the sheets off of her. She moved to get off the bed but stumbled, legs still weak and muscles sore from last night as she collapsed onto the floor.
Memories of last night flooded her mind. Rosé’s hands on her, caressing every bit of skin she could reach, the hungry kisses and the soft ones, the intensity of her very being, the lingering touches, her seeking fingers and wandering tongue, marking Denali’s skin with kisses and nips, her whispers of praise and worshipping hands. All the memories that flooded her, filled her mind caused her heart to crack and her vision started to blur.
Where was Rosé?
Was she really gone?
Did she really leave her?
Had she finally lost the woman she loved?
Denali wrapped her arms around her waist in an attempt to hold herself together as the tears she was struggling to hold back rolled down her cheeks. Feeling the despair welling up in her, Denali felt as though she couldn’t breathe, her chest tightened and the tears fell unceasingly, the sobs finally escaping her lips.
And she wept.
———————
Rosé struggled to open the door, one hand balancing a tray of coffee and the tea that Denali loved and a paper bag full of breakfast foods, and the other trying to push the key into the keyhole. Crowing in triumph when it finally slotted in, she turned the key and pushed the door open. Retrieving the key and shutting the door with her foot, Rosé carefully deposited the breakfast she had bought for the two of the them on the counter.
The walk out hadn’t really helped with untangling her thoughts, but the fresh air did help her a bit. When she was out, she had walked past the new bakery that had opened the week before and decided to get some breakfast for Denali and her, figuring that if they were going to talk, it would be easier with some breakfast in them.
Putting her keys away in the bowl at the edge of the counter, her ears perked up when she heard the faint sound of someone crying.
Denali.
Feet instinctually carrying her to her bedroom, she pushed the door open to find Denali weeping on the floor, painful heartbreaking sobs that shook her entire body. Rosé rushed to Denali, getting onto her knees and pulling the distraught woman into her arms.
“Shhh baby, it’s okay. Everything will be alright.” Pressing Denali’s face into the crook of her neck, Rosé threaded her fingers through her hair, soothing her while she rocked her.
“Ro- Rosé?”
Rosé looked down, her heart breaking at how lost Denali looked, eyes red and cheeks wet with tears. Denali reached a shaky hand out and pressed her fingers to Rosé’s cheek. “Are you really here?” Nodding, Rosé grasped Denali’s fingers in her hand. “Yes Denali, I’m right here.”
Choking back another sob, Denali flung herself at Rosé, arms tight around her neck. “Oh god, I thought you left me. I thought you were disgusted with me and just left.” Rosé felt as if she had been dunked in cold water at that. Denali had thought that she had been disgusted with her, and had chosen to leave her? She was the cause for those tears? Shaking her head in earnest, Rosé held on tightly to Denali, the feeling of wanting to do whatever it took to convince her otherwise overtaking her.
“No baby, I would never ever leave you. I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have left you alone. I should have stayed. I should have told you.” She heard Denali sucking in shallow breaths in an attempt to get her sobbing under control, and she bit her lip, guilt beginning to take root. “It’s okay angel, take all the time you need. I’m right here. I’m here for you.”
Stroking Denali’s hair, Rosé carefully adjusted the both of them so that they were both more comfortable on the floor, with Denali now settled between her legs, her whole body embraced by Rosé’s as she continued to snuffle in the older woman’s embrace. Minutes passed with Rosé silently stroking Denali’s hair, comfortingly humming to her.
Rosé’s legs were starting to go numb, but in that moment, all that mattered was that the woman in her arms felt safe.
———————
The chapter's a lot shorter than what I would normally write, but it just felt right to end it where it did.
