Author's Note: It's a quickie this week, but it will bring us to the next bit...also who saw this weeks' episode?! I'M DEAD. I'M DYING. MY EMOTIONS ARE TOO MUCH FOR ME TO HANDLE I NEED HELP SOMEONE CALL ME A FANBULENCE! [Spoiler alert for those who haven't seen it: who else thought Rosaline should have just fainted to get out of answering Escalus' question and betraying Benvolio even if it was to save all of their lives? I mean all the men already think she's this weak women EXCEPT Benvolio so they would have just been fine with it and she would have bought herself time to think of a plan and get them out of this situation, and Benvolio would have known that she was fine and that she was probably scheming and would have tried to get her out of it and speaking of Bennikins getting Rosaline out of things who else found it INSANELY adorable that instead of running away like they'd planned for Benvolio to do, he followed her to make sure she was safe with the armed guard and when he saw she wasn't freed all the horses to make a distraction so he could save her:) IS ANYONE'S HEART STILL BEATING AFTER THAT BECAUSE MINE IS NOT FOLKS. MINE. IS. NOT.]

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Okay.. on to why you're REALLY here...

Previously

It was foolish, what I did next, and I had no idea in the slightest why I did it other than to convince the world we were in love... It was still foolish. And yet as she stepped away, towards her maid and her exit, her hand still in mine, I pulled her back, using her arm to fling her into my embrace and I kissed her.

Rosaline

"Til we meet again." He said, having kissed my hand goodbye. It felt flat to me, to be honest. We were supposed to have been saying goodbye, two lovers, ready to defy their families, even their kingdom to be together, ready to forge a relationship between two houses that had been enemies for centuries. Our love was supposed to heal that. And here we were just...saying goodbye? It felt flat and I didn't know how to fix it and I couldn't think straight. Not when Escalus was glaring at us like that like he had any right to be upset with us - ha! - and especially not when Benvolio was playing his part well and eyeing me like he never wanted to let me go. It was... distracting. They distracted me. And Isabella was no help, grinning like she thought the Montague and I made a cute love story. They all were-

"Mm!" His hand still holding mine, tugged hard, pulling me into his arms, my body running the length of his, heat emanating off his skin onto me. And his lips... his lips were touching mine. Oh God. The Montague was kissing me. I'd let out a squeak of surprise when he'd pulled me but it had been cut off because he had kissed me! His arms wrapped around my waist, his hands resting against my gown as he held me so close I could feel his heart beating slowly and calmly through his skin. Mine was anything but. The surprise of it all... my heart was pounding out of my chest and I could feel the flush of embarrassment rush to my cheeks as I realized he could probably feel that too. His lips though... the pressed firmly against mine, but it wasn't aggressive it was... soft. Sweet. Figuratively and literally. His lips tasted of fruit and something else I didn't recognize. My hands, I realized, were resting on his chest, just below his shoulders. Maybe that was how I could feel his heart beating. I moved them slowly, trying to get my head back into this game he was playing, to out maneuver him in this move he had just made. One hand made its way to the back of his head, my fingers entwining themselves in his hair, while the other, wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him back to me. His body seemed to mimic mine. The hand which had pulled me towards him, wrapped itself around me, holding me close, the other set itself gently on the back of my neck, where he held me delicately, as though I were some precious object of his, something he cared a great deal about. We embraced each other, and we kissed. I realized after a brief moment, that our kiss too was... flat. It was just the pressing of lips. If we were going down this road, we may as well do it quite thoroughly. I parted my mouth ever so slightly and sucked his lower lip between mine, caressing it gently with my own lips. I could feel him stiffen in my arms, for only a second before he responded in kind. His thumb reached forward from where his hand held my neck and I reveled in how large his hands were as the digit in question stroked the side of my face, the rest of his fingers never leaving their post upon the back of my neck. It was actually quite and impressive feat. Not to be outdone, I pressed my chest upwards, into him, ensuring that it wasn't just our arms or lips that were intertwined, it was all of us.

We'd been kissing for a few moments at least when I realized that this over analyzing was probably just making the whole thing look stilted. It was then that I let my instincts take over, blanking my mind of Escalus' stare, of Isabella's happy tittering, of the criers discussing the evolution of our actions amongst themselves, and just... kissed him.

He was a really good kisser after all.

Not that I was comparing.

I really wasn't comparing.

It would be rude, unladylike, and horrid of me if I started comparing, not to mentioned there would be those who would find it low class and whorish of me to have enough experience to compare in the first place which was another reason why I was absolutely under no circumstances at all comparing...

Except I was.

And damn could Benvolio Montague kiss.

Maybe he was the devil, maybe he was an angel, I really didn't know anymore. But I did know, that if he kept kissing me like that, I was pretty damn likely to just let them make us get married and move on from there.

Which was bad.

Because that was not the plan.

And because there was no way he was into me like th- oh dear God in Heaven do that thing with your tongue again!

Benvolio

Holy hell.

If I had known the Capulet could kiss like this, I probably wouldn't have contested this marriage so much.

Holy, mother of all that was good and evil, hell.

She was intoxicating beyond belief, intriguingly good at kissing, brilliant, beautiful, caring, brave, she was everything I wanted in a partner in life. When was I going to stop this charade to myself that I was only acting, and admit that I had real feelings for this woman?

I had real feelings for this woman. I wanted to be with her. Hell I wanted her to have feelings for me. I wanted to give her, everything. But I knew how she felt about marriage. And I wasn't about to force her into that. I had meant what I said. She could trust me. I would get her out of this marriage. And I would serve her as a man in love serves his mistress fair and good. I mean I didn't know if I was in love with her yet... but if I wasn't, then I was an idiot. And if I wasn't, I soon would be.

"Enough." The prince's voice broke through. "We are meant to be chaperones for the young couple." He said angrily. "What sort of court are we running, allowing this sort of behavior? Lady Rosaline, you are required at home. Lord Benvolio, you too might find it prudent to return to your uncle." She curtsied and I bowed and our handlers hurried us away before I could even look in eyes and see if she too was affected by our kiss. I hoped she was. I prayed she was. I was falling in love with her, and I think it might just break me if she didn't love me back.