Chapter 9

The place where my heart rests

Whatever Gust was expecting, it certainly wasn't this. He'd thought Rose would be, at least, disappointed. There had been a moment where he thought she was going to hit him, he was mentally prepared for that, but when he closed his eyes… the hit never arrived. He was startled when, instead, he felt her small hands framing his face, and he opened his eyes in surprise. But if he wasn't expecting that, he was completely taken aback when she closed the distance between their lips.

How could she accept him so easily? How, when he had done the same thing she despised the most? He'd tried to fix his mistakes, but it didn't mean they were nonexistent. But… he would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't glad she had chosen to stay with him, how much it had meant to him.

Gust hesitantly returned the kiss. He still wanted to tell her she deserved better, but he found it was hard to think when her lips moved against his. After a few moments, all he could think about was her. Her soft lips, her hand that had slipped to the nape of his neck, her soft scent, that vaguely resembled the scent of flowers and grass. Her taste, that he could only describe as sweet (combined with the faint taste of strawberry and mint of the toothpaste he knew Ginger used) lingering on his own lips.

And soon it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough because he still feared he would open his eyes and she would disappear. Because, he needed to let her know how much she meant to him. Because her affection for him was what he didn't know he'd craved. And her kissing him, rather than satisfying him, only made him want more, something he could only describe as a different kind of hunger.

Gust tentatively pressed his lips harder against her mouth, and was pleased when she parted her lips. He trapped her bottom lip between his, caressing it with his tongue, before he slowly made his way into her mouth, giving her time to step back. If he'd been delighted with her taste before, now he was just plain intoxicated, her tongue meeting his in the middle at a very gentle pace.

He didn't know how long they'd kissed for, but when they parted, he thought her lips looked a little rosier. Gust felt a little dizzy, but for once, he was at peace. He stood up and embraced her, resting his cheek on her head, and felt Rose´s arms circling his waist. Gust whispered a thank you and thought she hadn't heard, until she squeezed him in response.

The night was starting to get cold, he could feel her shivering under his embrace. He parted for a moment and reached out for his jacket, putting it over her shoulders.

"Do you want us to leave?" he inquired, a hint of worry in his voice. Rose shook her head.

"I want to stay a little bit longer."

It was the first time in a long time that Gust could say he'd had a good night's sleep. No nightmares, no uneasy feelings, and no tossing around on the bed for hours before it came to him. In fact, he was having a very hard time getting out of bed.

In the end, they'd gazed at the stars for over an hour, until Rose had fallen asleep. She'd been sitting sideways on his lap, snuggled against his chest, when he'd noticed she hadn't said a thing for a few minutes, her breathing slow. When he'd looked down, he couldn't help staring at her eyelashes, as black as her hair, and the contrast they had with the wispy freckles that covered the top of her nose and spread under her eyes. It was a shame, though, that she'd fallen asleep. He'd been stealing glances at the stars reflected in her deep blue eyes, marveling at the sight of them when she wasn't looking.

Gust had remembered how he had caressed the faded purple bruise under her eye, and the guilt that had crawled back to him to nip at his heart. It didn't matter what she'd said that night, the truth was that if he had followed his gut earlier, she wouldn't be so wounded.

He'd made it all the way home down the hill with Rose curled up against him, and thanked whatever god was listening that all of his family were already asleep. He'd gently put her down on Ginger's bed and tucked her in, amused that she didn't even stir a bit in her sleep.

A knock on the door brought him back to reality.

"Breakfast is served," Russo stated. "Gale, Miss Ginger and Miss Rose are awaiting your presence."

Gust could hear the sound of Russo walking away, he rushed to his door and opened it.

"Wait, I…" He stopped the man in his tracks while holding his sleeve. Russo looked at him with an arched brow, "I need to ask for a favor."

"Well, it's great you decided to join us for breakfast, brother," Ginger teased when Gust approached his seat at her side, poorly hiding her smile behind her cup of tea.

He was wearing a simple white shirt and a black, elegant sweater, along with beige skinny pants. Rose was sitting in front of him, their eyes met briefly, both of them shyly looked away.

"I was tired," he replied nonchalantly.

"Definitely, you two sure stayed up late last night," she eyed both him and Rosie. Rosie could feel the heat rise to her face.

Ginger had, in fact, threatened to tease them when all Rosie said to her incessant questioning a few minutes ago was "we went stargazing". Ginger had also told Gale the news. Rosie had to give the man credit, he looked like he was trying his best to keep quiet.

"Anything you want to share?" Ginger added, she wasn't even trying to hide her smile anymore.

"Is there any need? You're practically gleaming," he let out a tired sigh, like he was expecting it. "And if I had to guess, I would tell you already told Pa," he added.

"Well son, I must admit I would have preferred you've told me instead, but I think your sister was too excited to hold back the news," Gale smiled apologetically.

"I needed to do something before making it official," Gust eyed Rose briefly, an almost unnoticeable blush appeared under his freckles, and he returned his gaze to his tea, sipping it absently.

"If we're lucky, maybe we'll have another member in our family," Gale said. Gust choked on his tea. His cheeks burned with an intense shade of red, mirroring the shade Rosie had on hers.

If Rosie was honest with herself, she really didn't see it coming, and, of course, Ginger was trying to hide her amusement for the sake of her best friend. But Rosie could see the glow in her eyes, and Gale seemed satisfied with the reaction he got by teasing his son. Rosie wasn't sure of what to answer, or if she should be answering in the first place. It was too early to think that far ahead.

"Pa!" Gust said when he could breathe again.

"I'm kidding!" Gale raised his hands in defense. "Sort of," he softly added. "If anything, I'm happy for you both," he added with a smile.

The rest of breakfast went smoothly, with both Gale and Ginger letting the subject aside for the time being. When they finished, Rosie stood up and grabbed her back from home. Now that she felt better, she felt it was time to leave. As much as she enjoyed the company, she was embarrassed of all the trouble she'd made for them.

"You're leaving?" Gust asked, his brows furrowed in confusion.

"I feel better already," Rose said. "Besides, I feel uncomfortable knowing I have unfinished commissions." Gust huffed in response. "I won't overwork, I promise," she quickly added.

"You know you are welcome any time, dear," Gale added. Rose thought it didn't matter who Gale spoke to, he always had that father-to-son tone of voice.

"Thank you Mr. Gale," Rose answered. Gust stood up from his seat and approached her.

"I'll walk you home," he stated. Rose knew that, no matter what she said, he would do it anyway, so she nodded.

Ginger stood up too so she could hug her, Rosie returned the gesture towards her best friend.

"I'll miss having you at home," she said. "I still want to hear about that date, though," she whispered mischievously into her ear. Rosie tried not to blush under her gaze when they parted, and she was relieved when they left the mayor's home.

"I'm sorry they've made you uncomfortable", Gust spoke softly. He was carrying her bag on one shoulder, Rosie's arm around his while they walked. "It's one of the reasons I've been hesitant to tell them before."

Rosie shook her head and then looked at him.

"It's ok. I already knew Ginger would tease us for it," she gave him a soft smile. "Besides, your family is open and loving, it was charming to see you are so close you can afford a little bit of teasing."

Sometimes it wasn't the things she said, but the things she didn't that made him uneasy. That simple sentence was enough to tell him the family she grew up with wasn't as close as he'd liked to think. There were several things that bothered him about Rosie. Her lack of self care, her unnatural kindness, the need she seemed to have to please others, the way she tried to not spend more than she needed to, the fear she'd become like her dad. Gust didn't want to be nosy, all he wanted was to make all her fears and bad experiences disappear.

Without realising it, he'd pulled her closer to him as they walked.

As they approached her gate, Gust found he was having a hard time letting her go, knowing that the recent events were to blame, at least to some degree. He begged the gods she didn't get in trouble again. He also refused to give her back her bag until they were at her door.

"Promise me you'll take care?" he asked, stroking the bruise under her eye. Rosie placed her hand on top of his, turning her head so she could give a small kiss to his hand before looking at his eyes.

"I promise."