By Her Side (ch5)

EARLY RELEASE FOR MY $10+ PATRONS!

This is gonna be another small one... not much going on here since these two weren't in episode 5 that much. Just more fluff... oh well...

Disclaimer: I do not own Lapis Relights.

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                                                          Chapter 5.


After a hectic yet interesting evening of magical boardgames with Lucifer and Angelica, Tiara, Rosetta, and their teammates head back to their lounge and get dressed and ready for bed.

That's when Lavie appears to tell them all she'd gotten her hands on the map somehow, and everyone excitedly agrees they should get to bed quickly in preparation to depart for the forest tomorrow. They say their goodnights before breaking up, with Lavie, Ashley, and Lynette heading to their own room, and Rosetta and Tiara to theirs.

As they make the short walk down the hallway, Tiara is humming in glee, excited about the adventure they'll be going on tomorrow in hopes of earning some points for the team.

"I wonder what sort of things we need to be researching? Hopefully Emilia-san and the other teams can help us out when we find them. What do you think, Rose?" She tilts her head back slightly to seek out her roommate, only to find Rosetta is trailing behind a bit, head bowing forward a little. Tiara pauses outside their door as she opens it. "Rose? Is something the matter?"

"Eh?" Rosetta perks up and shakes her head. "No, sorry! I think it's just that game of Lucifer's really took it out of me…"

"Oh yeah. You had to do a thousand push-ups, after all."

"Though I didn't even make it past three hundred…" Rosetta yawns and covers it with her palm, and afterward she can't seem to open her eyes up all the way. Tiara smiles warmly and walks over to collect her, putting an arm around her and guiding her slowly to the door. Rosetta makes a tired sound and follows slowly as they enter the room.

"Hee hee," Tiara chuckles. "Rose, you're back to normal now, but you still look like you did when you were ten years younger."

"Eh…? Oh, that's right…" Rosetta sighs as she follows Tiara over to her bottom bunk bed and sits with her. "I hope I didn't do anything too embarrassing…"

"Not really. You just hugged me and said you loved me a lot."

"Eh-?!"

"Which isn't too different from what you normally do."

"I- wh…" Rosetta turns pink as she fumbles for words, but she knows Tiara isn't wrong. Tiara smiles slyly and watches her flounder for a minute before laughing again.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to tease you, Rose! I just think you're so cute! You really haven't changed much since back then."

Rosetta pouts a little bit, puffing her cheeks up even more cutely. Tiara laughs again.

"See? This is exactly what I mean! You haven't changed a bit, Rose!"

"Tia…"

"Don't worry, I mean it as a compliment!" Tiara wraps her arms around Rosetta in a big hug, and though Rosetta continues to pout for a second, she returns the contact immediately. She sighs, resting her chin on Tiara's shoulder without pulling away. Tiara doesn't either.

They're quiet for a moment now and sigh in unison as they mentally recount the peculiar events of the evening. After a moment, Tiara eases back to remove her headpiece, and Rosetta whistles to turn off the lights. She once again leaves her own top bunk vacant and instead settles in with Tiara, lying down together with her princess.

Tiara doesn't break their embrace all the while now, resting on her side as she cuddles up into Rosetta's chest. She hears her swallow a bit thickly, and her pulse jumps a bit. And now she can feel Rosetta's arms trembling a little bit around her. Curiously, Tiara eases back to peer up at her in the moonlight.

"Rose? Are you okay? Do your arms still hurt from all those push-ups?"

Rosetta shakes her head, hiding her face a little against the pillow.

"No… well, it isn't just that…"

"Then what?" Tiara prompts. "Are you still embarrassed about the stuff you did when you got turned younger? Like I said, it was really cute and I didn't mind at all!"

She feels her roommate fidget a little. Rosetta flashes her a nervous look.

"Are you sure…?"

"Of course!" Tiara beams. "I was shocked, but really happy! Especially when you hugged me so much!" Her eyes soften now, but her smile remains. "I know when I was younger I couldn't really handle stuff like that. I know you never really got to hug me or be close to me because you were scared about hurting me since I was so weak. I always wanted to hug you too, Rose. So I'm glad we can do this sort of thing now!" She gives Rosetta a squeeze around her back and nuzzles into her neck enthusiastically. "I know you must've waited for so long to be able to do this sort of thing with me without having to worry about hurting me, right? So you deserve to do it as much as you'd like now!"

"Tia…" Rosetta swallows again. "If you give me permission for that… then I'd never let go of you," she admits.

"That's fine by me!" Tiara snuggles closer, squeezing Rosetta tighter and letting her knows it's all right to do the same.

Gradually, Rosetta hugs her back, until they're both snugly molded together.

Tiara loves the fact that they can be close like this now, without having to worry about her weak constitution. But thinking about how Rosetta must've always been holding herself back makes her feel a little sad. She sighs, and Rosetta must hear the guilt in it, because she pats Tiara's back softly.

"Tia? Are you okay?"

Tiara gives a tiny nod.

"Yeah. I just… I'm sorry. I wish I could've been born stronger, so that you didn't have to worry about me all the time. I'm sure taking care of me took a lot of time away from your childhood, Rose…"

"Eh-? Tia, don't say that!" Rosetta pushes her back a little, eyes wide. "You don't ever have to apologize for anything like that, Tia! It's not like you had any control over it!"

"I know…" Tiara looks away. "But-"

"But nothing!" Rose cries. "I don't mind if I spent a lot of time worrying about you, Tia. You always pulled through, and you ended up getting stronger and beating the sicknesses. If all those years as kids I spent worrying about you meant I could have you safe and healthy today, then I wouldn't trade them for the world!"

She pulls Tiara close again, wrapping her up in a full embrace. "I loved getting to be with you every day, Tia. Even if you were sick, I just wanted to be by your side. I love you, Tia…"

And she surprises herself with how easily the words slip out, but she means them with every last piece of her soul.

Tiara whimpers softly against her collar.

"Rose… me, too. I love you, too…"

And Rosetta isn't sure if they're talking about the same kind of love, but she doesn't care. All she needs is for her princess to be safe and healthy.

Tiara herself isn't even certain which kind of love she has for Rosetta, but she just hopes it isn't one that will hurt her somehow. She waits nervously for a moment after her confession, but Rosetta only sighs and hugs her closer.

"I'm glad," Rosetta murmurs. "Tia, I don't ever want you to think I wasted time worrying about you, as a kid or now. You're the person I care about most in the world, so it's only natural I'd feel that way."

Tiara burrows into the crook of her neck.

"Yeah… you're right… I could never really express it much, but you're the person I care about most too, Rose. I'm really glad I could find you again here and be on your team and share a room with you." She folds her arms tighter around Rosetta's shoulders, feeling her quickened heartbeat against her chest. "I'm so glad I got to meet you all those years ago and be your friend, Rose."

Rosetta closes her eyes and exhales.

"That's my line, Tia."

A moment passes, and then both of them yawn at the same time.

"We should sleep," Tiara murmurs. "Tomorrow we're going into the forest."

"Right. And this time we're going together."

"And this time," Tiara continues. "It won't just be you looking out for me, Rose. I'll take care of you too, from now on. I promise."

She presses her lips softly against Rosetta's nightgown, in a way that probably doesn't let her know it's a kiss.

At the same time, Rosetta plants a kiss in Tiara's hair, in a way that probably just feels like a casual shifting of her head.

"It's a promise, then."

They savor this night together before their next adventure, which will surely only succeed in bringing them closer still.

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A/N: I loved baby!Rose, amazing idea T_T I wanted to write a little bit about that, and I hope we can see more of them when they were little together.

I hope they'll have a bigger part in the events of next week's episode with the haunted forest business! If not, I'm gonna have to take matters into my own hands...