InsaneJournal

Rose hadn't really realized how drunk she was until her boyfriend showed up and she stood up to go greet him. She'd kind of lost track of just how much time had passed since she and Regina had made their way home together. She'd definitely lost track of how many times they'd refilled their glasses. The fact that she was drunk wasn't really a big surprise to her. The fact that she was having trouble walking kind of was.

Rose stumbled slightly as the room seemed to spin around her. The alcohol was making her dizzy and she had to take a moment to regain her equilibrium. She was a little nauseous, too, but she wasn't going to be sick. She didn't think so, anyway.

"Heeeeey," she slurred happily as she finally reached him. It seemed to take forever to walk (in a decidedly not straight line) those few feet between the couch and where he stood. It also seemed like it had been forever since she'd seen him. That wasn't strictly true, but she'd just had about two years of real memories shoved into her head all at once as her real self came back to her. It had felt like two years and an instant all at once. There had been a lot of bad stuff in there, too, but she pushed those memories aside and chose to focus on how happy she was to see him now as she wrapped her arms around him, glad that Regina had already disappeared with Robin into their bedroom.

~~~

He grinned as he saw her come closer. He wasn’t exactly fond of the Seal screwing with the people he cared about, especially the ones he very much cared about. And he very much cared about Rose. Hell, he probably wouldn’t be surprised if he was in love with her. He hadn’t actually been in love with anyone before so he wasn’t entirely sure, but he could be. He was pretty sure he could be.

He caught her close when she stumbled into his arms. “Exactly what have you had to drink, Misses ‘I can hold my liquor’?” he asked with a laugh, guiding her over to small chair next to him. If she was that unsteady they should sit for a little bit longer before they tried to make it back to their part of the home. Not that it would sober her up much, but it might get her to fall asleep if he ended up needing to carry her back, broken arm or not.

~~~

“Whisky,” she answered him promptly. “Lots and lots of whisky. Which I am holding just fine, thanks sooo much.” Aside from the fact that she was definitely more than a little drunk, but she hadn’t really realized how drunk until just a moment ago. “If I couldn’t, I’d be passed out already. Or throwing up on this awesome floor and then Regina would be pissed.” Something about that seemed hilarious to her and Rose started giggling.

“Anyway,” she said as she got her giggles under control again, “I’m fine.” She let him guide her over to the chair, anyway, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to sit down. Well, maybe she did. The whisky was still making her kind of dizzy, but there wasn’t really room for both of them in the chair and right now she kind of wanted to keep him close to her.

“I missed you. I really, really missed you,” she added. That probably wasn’t something she would normally be quite so open about, even with him, and she was probably going to be a little embarrassed about how drunk she’d gotten later, but at the moment it felt like something she needed to say. “And I’m so- I’m really sorry I didn’t remember you all week. Stupid seal.”

~~~

Whiskey. That explained it. "Yeah, whiskey's kind of my thing," he said affectionately. He pulled her down onto his lap and let her get settled. “Regina would kill you if you made a mess on her floor. I don’t care how much whiskey you two just shared. There’d be a dead Rose and I’d be sad.”

He started running a hand up and down her back. Truthfully it hadn’t been his favorite week, either, and he’d been through some pretty crappy ones since ending up in Lawrence. He’d finally gotten the chance to be happy and then the Seal had screwed it up. He was just thankful it wasn’t permanently screwed up. “I missed you too,” he said, glad she was being open with him. “And it’s okay. You remember me now.” Then he paused. “You do remember that we’re dating right now, right?” he teased.

~~~

"Me, tooooo. Her trying to kill me once in one night is enough," Rose mumbled, not really thinking about the words as she leaned against him, resting her head against his chest and smiling as the familiar sound of his heartbeat.

It felt so good, just sitting here with him. Rose knew they should probably both get up and head up to their suite, but right now she wasn't sure she wanted to move from this spot. It seemed insane to say she's missed him when several hours ago she hadn't even really known who he was. Even though he said it was okay, she felt guilty for forgetting him. Even if it wasn't something she could help. Being here with him now, she couldn't even understand how forgetting him had been possible. "'Course I 'member you now," she mumbled. Her eyes closed for a moment as she just enjoyed the feel of his hand on her back. "I remember everything. You're one of the only good things."

~~~

He tensed just a tiny bit at that before remembering Regina had gone back to her “evil regal, everyone must die” ways. Yeah, whatever had happened couldn’t have been pretty, but if the Seal snapped them out of it it in time that probably explained the copious amounts of alcohol they’d consumed. “Well, I’m just glad things are back to normal,” he said, pressing a kiss in her hair.

He was glad to have her close again, he was. He’d just gotten used to sharing his bed with someone again after God knew how long of it being empty, of being close to someone again, and then having her not know who he was had royally sucked. “Well, you’re one of the good things in my life, too,” he said, keeping her close. “Even if the Seal was being a dick and made it harder this last week, I was pretty sure you’d remember eventually.”

~~~

"Me, too." Even without talking about everything that had driven her to drink so much tonight, Rose felt a little better just being in his arms. Just having him close made everything seem a little less horrible.

"You're the best thing in my life," she told him seriously, lifting her head just enough so that she could look him in the eye as she spoke. "Sometimes, I think this place is one of the worst things that's ever happened to me, but then I think about meeting you and it's all worth it. I'm just sorry I- I promised you I wasn't going anywhere and I guess I technically didn't, but I totally ditched you. And I was kind of a bitch about it, too."

She was kind of rambling and she was definitely being a lot more open with her feelings than she normally would be, but blame it on the whisky. "I'm gonna make it up to you, okay?" she added. She meant it, too. Even if it wasn't really anyone's fault, what had happened these last several days, she was going to make up for not being here with him during that time.

~~~

“Hey, it’s okay,” he said, reaching up and smoothing back her hair. He was glad she was telling him this, because he knew she wasn’t always this open, and it was nice. It probably had to do with all the liquor in her system, but he hoped maybe it would be something he could get used to when she was sober, too. “You’re the best thing in my life, too, you know. I’m probably the happiest I’ve been in a really long time, even with the last week having happened.”

He moved his hand around, touching her face gently. “You don’t have to make anything up to me,” he said solemnly. “The Seal’s going to screw things up and we just have to roll with it. But…” he said, giving her a grin. “We could always agree to shower each other with attention for a while and let that be that. I wouldn’t mind giving you my undivided attention for a day or two before I have to go deal with the real world again.”

~~~

This was the kind of situation where Rose would normally be cracking jokes, but she'd had kind of a rough night, what with one of her best friends actually literally ripping her heart out and all. Thinking about that moment was enough to nearly sober her right up, but she pushed the memory aside and tried to focus on happier thoughts. It wasn't something she especially wanted to talk about or dwell on.

Rose wanted to tell him she was happy, but the truth was that she wasn't, really. That didn't have anything to do with him, though. She was just still dealing with a lot of stuff and that kept her from being completely happy. She couldn't exactly return those words with full honesty, but she could honestly say that she felt better when he was close like this. That had to be enough for now.

Casting her darling thoughts aside again, she answered his grin with one of her own. "You had me at shower," she joked, "and don't even try to tell me I don't smell completely disgusting right now." Her smile lingered as she leaned up to kiss him for a second. "But that whole undivided attention thing sounds nice," she added a moment later when she pulled away again. "I vote we just don't leave our bed for at least a couple of days."

~~~

He kissed her back and then was quiet as she spoke. Something else had happened. She wasn’t quite all right, but he’d let it go for now. He’d be there if she wanted to open up to him, and if she didn’t, he’d distract her. He’d just offer up what she needed and go with that for now. It was probably the best way of doing things.

“See, I was raised with midwest charm, so you don’t comment on things like that,” he said. “But showers are good, and undivided attention is good, and not leaving the bed for a few days is good, so I say we do all of those things.” He shifted slightly. “Thing you can make it to the suite on your own, or do you want me to carry you?”

~~~

One of these days Rose was going to find a way to thank him for being so patient and understanding with her. She didn't always know what she needed or sometimes what she wanted, but it seemed like he was always there, no matter what. She appreciated that steadiness. Maybe that was selfish, to appreciate him always being there, even when she was pretty sure she didn't deserve it, but it was the truth.

"I can walk," she said, shaking her head and laughing. She might not be exactly sober, but she could get herself up a flight of stairs. Pride wouldn't let her admit it even if she couldn't. "Come on, Prince Charming of the Midwest," she added as she slid off of his lap and grabbed his hand to drag him with her. "Let's go give that shower of ours some undivided attention. I might need some help to make sure I get totally clean."

~~~
He laughed at the new nickname and got up, letting her grab his castless hand and pull him along. “You are so not going to let me live down the Prince Charming thing, are you?” he asked with a grin. “I suppose it could be worse. It could be Bones calling me Prince Charming. At least when you say it I know you’re saying it out of fondness.”

He perked up at the mention of the shower. “Well, as a fully fledged face twin of a Prince I should do my utmost best to help a damsel in distress,” he said, his grin turning just slightly more seductive. “After all, I have to be a better Prince than him, since he’s a douche.” He lifted her hand up and kissed the back of it. “Lead the way.”

~~~