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Daring and Rosabella hadn't been a couple for too long. After the adventures that took place during the menacing blizzard the princess grew on Daring more and more. When he realized that the kiss they shared in his dream (he still hoped she had dreamt of that as well), along with some other gestures involving him blushing everytime she opened her mouth or having the need to hug her in any minor inconvenience were not quite friendly anymore, he started figuring a plan to ask her out. He knew his sister had been friends with Rosabella for a long time, so he decided to take her input on how to do it. Turns out she didn't believe hosting a ball and dancing with her in the middle of the room after giving her a gold necklace and a ridiculously big bouquet of flowers was Rosabella's thing. Except for the flowers, she seemed to enjoy them. He finally opted to take a walk with her, handing her a normal-sized bunch of roses laced together with a scarlet lace and confessing just like that.
It worked out. Sometimes, simple is best.
They normally met in the school gardens, which were not visited often and now had an unkempt look due to the lack of maintenance. Neither of them seemed to care about that, because it only meant more privacy for the couple and that way only a close group of friends knew about the two of them being in a relationship. The middle of the summer season started to make it impossible for them to hang out there and they started visiting each other's rooms more often. Sometimes they spoke or watched a movie together, others they didn't. Instead Rosabella sat beside him on the bed and pulled out a book which, most times, she had already started reading. He had never felt more peace than in those moments of silence where the world seemed to stop so that his girlfriend could travel somewhere else, somewhere new.
He adored the little gestures she couldn't help but doing while reading, the discreet way she flipped the pages and how she would read her favorite quotes to him outloud. Most of the time she didn't wear her glasses (she was near-sighted, wonder why), giving him a new perspective on her, one that he couldn't help but kiss on the lips.
That day both were in Rosa and Darling's room, his sister had left some hours ago to… do whatever she had to do, he guessed. She could really be secretive sometimes. He didn't think too much of it and grabbed some comfortable clothes to spend the afternoon there. At first they had talked about their mornings, how the coffee from that new store was always recommended and they should grab some sometime soon or how his sparring session was exhausting. Rosabella was wearing a white spaghetti strapped top and a pair of cotton white shorts. She was the pure image of innocence, wearing a pair of golden rimmed glasses and some fluffy slippers on her feet. She wasn't wearing any makeup besides mascara and he felt she was stunning just like that. The way her lips moved was gracious and sophisticated… wait. Her lips were moving!
“Daring? Don't tell me you have spaced out again!” She playfully hit him with a cushion near them, he seemed to go back to the room at the gesture.
“Ah, you know how I am, beauty. You are at fault though.” And he winked at her.
“You are such a flirt… I was telling you that I'm about to finish a book. Do you mind if I do it now?” Always polite, Rosa asked him.
“No, it 's okay. What is it about?”
And as she stood up to get her book she started to tell him about it. During a famous war, the stories of two kids from two different regions of Earth merge at a sudden point in the plot, making her excited to know more about what happened after that event. She sat beside him, as always, opened her book and lost herself in it.
He lost the notion of time. Light was streaming through the window, making her tan skin glow as if it were gold. And then, all of a sudden, the light ceased, it was nighttime and, probably, time for him to leave. He could stay a bit longer though, and if he was grounded for this, it would have been worth it. Sleepiness ran through his body, the feeling lingering in his eyes until he felt some pressure in his arm. Repeatedly, over and over. It wasn't annoying, in fact, it was as light as a touch can be. He opened his eyes, guessing he had slept for a bit and checked the source of movement.
His girlfriend's chest seemed to be moving in short spasms, the cloth from the shirt expanding and contracting at the contact with the body. She held the book close to her face and her body was quite contorted, her knees almost touching her chest. Some noises could be heard and at this point he was getting quite scared. What if she was choking on, what, a hard candy or something similar? Rosabella despised hard candy, that was impossible! So Daring took the book away from her head and the sight was… something he would probably remember forever.
She was crying. Tears streamed down her face, just like the song had once said. There wasn't a way Coldplay's words were not inspired by this moment. Black spots surrounded her eyes, and she didn't seem to care. The tears, the clothes she wore, the reason why she was crying…
He loved her so much, how hadn't he realized before.
“Daring, give it back!” Rosabella's voice was shaky due to emotion. She took the book from his hands that had been paralysed the whole time he studied her and traced the lines with her finger until she found the words she had been reading.
And he couldn't help but laugh. A sound coming from the throat, the heart. Because that was probably the most adorable thing he had ever seen, he loved how those little things brought light to a life. He obviously wasn't mocking her, the moment made him happy, even joyful.
“What?... What are you laughing at?” Rosabella did the impossible: she started crying more than before. At this rate she was going to dehydrate herself. He hugged her with one arm.
“I'm not laughing at you… well, I might be. I just love how sensitive you are to everything Rosa, you are lovely like this.” He squeezed them together, and then she started ugly crying… with the noises and all.
“Daring… I love you too.” She hardly could express herself and she sobbed in between words.
“Come on, I'll bring you some water and we will wait until you feel better”
So they waited five minutes, Rosa took sips of the water and they hugged in silence. Her sobs decreased until she wasn't crying anymore, just felt emotional.
“I think I am feeling better Daring, I'll finish the book now.” He trusted her with the book, she eagerly opened it and started reading again.
Two minutes later she was, once again, bawling her eyes out.
Oh, sometimes having a girlfriend like Rosabella could be so sweet and agonizing at the same time. He just loved it.