[FIN] Dark and Stormy Night

[Blood_Goddess]

He had nothing to apologize for, and the moment those words left his mouth she sat up, letting her arm fall of of Vahy'n.
"Luke, No, you-" But whatever she would have said was put on hold as Luke continued, she let him finish, before shaking her head.

"Look... I know you probably had a lot of time to think about a lot of things, and I know that you tend to put more blame on yourself then you really should... so please, you don't have anything to apologize for."  

[Suudonym]

He shook his head in defiance, brow furrowed. "I do though. I mean… I know what you're talking about; I know I'm a lot harder on myself than I am on others, but what it really comes down to is that I haven't really been taking the idea of death seriously. I've sort of been facing every danger without really caring what it does to me, because the worst that could happen is that I'd be killed and what's wrong with that if everyone else is safe." He paused, his frown deepening. "There's a whole lot wrong with that, obviously, but I don't think it ever occurred to me how much there is that I wouldn't be able to do - things that I want to do, things I might want to do in the future, things I haven't even imagined but would probably also be pretty cool. I guess I was thinking that it didn't matter, because if it was a choice between me and you then it was obvious. But I think if I had to make that choice now…" He shook his head again, "Screw the choice. I'm not choosing. I want you to be here, and I want to be here with you. That's not something I should be leaving up to chance without even stopping to think about other options."

He drew in a breath and exhaled it in a quiet sigh, relaxing his tone. "…So yeah, I do owe you an apology, for every time you've been worried or upset because I was an idiot who couldn't value his stupid life."  

[Blood_Goddess]

Rosie had not expected to hear what it was that Luke actually meant. She had braced herself and been ready to try and deflect whatever degrading things on himself he had to say, only to find herself completely disarmed, sitting up against the armrest with slight deer in the headlight look.

He agreed with her at first, there wasn't any doubt that Luke had been hard on himself, but it was what he was saying as he continued that stilled her in surprise.
Lips parting slightly as she listened to every word, looking in a slight awe that she wasn’t quite able to contain,
It was hard to think of a time when she didn’t worry about Luke, a battle that just felt like a losing fight, but one that needed to be fought anyway, for a long time Luke had not felt practically careful about his own life, and Rosie knew it, she had watched it ever since the day she found out he even tried to take it himself. Not a day went by that she didn’t worry, scared that when he would leave her sight the next time she would see him he would have be a little bit less of himself, and a story about why.
And he wouldn’t care.
With the loss of his legs, she could only imagine that that desire to care about himself wasn’t going to get any better, so lose something that important. That scared her, constantly.

All at once, Rosie could feel a weight lift off of her, one that she had become so use to she at times forgot it was even there.
Because now Luke was sitting with her now, telling her that he had found value in his life, and more than that, ‘want to be here with you’
The blond took in a breath, only to have it cut short with a waiver. She had to mentally pinch herself, unconsciously pulling her posture up, looking as if she had something to say, but no words found their way out of her lips, just a flushed red face, half hidden behind a hand that still cupped her mouth.

Not wanting to let what he said just sit stagnant when he finished Rosie quickly lowered her hand from her face, opening and closing her mouth a couple of times in a desperate attempt to find something suitable to say.
Vahy’n seemed to realize that talking right now was going to be all but pointless for Rosie, and took the initiative to slide up onto the back of the couch, out of the way and allowing Rosie to pull herself to her knees the throw blanket half falling to the floor as she just couldn’t think of anything else to do but hug him.  

[Suudonym]

The process of understanding had been a gradual one for Luke as he had encountered, again and again, things that he couldn't do under his circumstances, so it had never stricken him as anything of particular significance - just another trait that had inconvenienced a lot of people, except that maybe for once he could try and improve. It didn't seem that Rosie would take the discovery with similar nonchalance, however, and as he found her arms around him, he began to understand the nature of the purgatory his reckless disregard for his well-being had subjected her to. He knew she worried - anyone that knew her would know she worried - but he suddenly felt single-handedly responsible for months of unwarranted cruelty against her.

"I'm sorry," he repeated, faintly, as he reciprocated the embrace.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Rosie didn't let go, being gentle but pulling tighter to him when he apologized again.
"I'm just... so happy to hear you say that." She spoke after she found her words again.  

[Suudonym]

"A little sooner might have been better," he said, resting a hand lightly at the back of her head, "but better late than never, I guess…?"  

[Blood_Goddess]

"You found your way just in the right time that you needed." she muttered into his shoulder, tensing her shoulders.
There was a huge sense of relief, it was so elating she could barely decide if she wanted to be overjoy or just start crying. Right now she was in danger of both, but hugging him helped, wondering over and over again if this was really happening.
"Apology accepted though- and you know what you can do from now on?" She asked in a more upbeat tone.
pulling back a little, sitting back on her heels and brushing a finger at her eyes.  

[Suudonym]

He really could have argued against that; this sort of realization seemed like it would have been much better to have had before recklessly endangering his life and risking permanent loss of independent mobility, but it wasn't as though he could send his thoughts into the past even if he needed to.

The shift in her tone dulled the edge of his guilt for the time being, and he responded to her prompt with a silent inquisitiveness.  

[Blood_Goddess]

giving him a moment to answer, getting it in the form of a look, one she could only keep for a couple of seconds before her eyes drifted down again, plucking hair out of her face and smoothing it back into place.
Settling her hands down on her knees, keeping her eyes down.
"What you said, about being here with me." She glanced up "That."  

[Suudonym]

A curious expectation remained in his expression, though her gestures rendered him steadily more abashed. As her eyes raised, his fell, and he spent a moment in silence to order his thoughts before nodding. "I can try and do that," he said, returning his attention to her and wearing a smile that could just barely be described as roguish. "In exchange," a hand wandered towards hers, stopping within a brush of her fingertips, "I'd like a dance sometime." A partial shrug. "When it's reasonable, of course."  

[Blood_Goddess]

She could be happy with that, more than happy. She hadn't exactly been the most eloquent in what she said, but was reassured more when he moved his hand toward her.
wearing a curious look of her own at his own requirement, everything about her seemed up uplift, though whatever emotions she was trying to contain seemed to just overflow,
A noise like a small squeak escaped her before she could catch it, it was probably no secret that the question made her excited, but she kept her head down, acting as if his hand had caught her attention as she reached out for it as well, nodded quickly a few times. "I- I would love that."
a soft laugh "I can't turn down a dance~" 'especially from you'  

[Suudonym]

It was no major feat to discern her enthusiasm, and her gestures and tone were warmth in his heart. Luke had convinced himself that he would have to abandon feelings such as these, thinking it unfair hold onto affection knowing that she would stay with him unconditionally as long as he was incapable of independence. As the binds broke and obligation dissolved, he felt steadily more confident that her reactions were her own will and wishes - and if it was by her own will and wishes that she wanted to stay with him, he would certainly not argue against it.

He curled his fingers under hers, passing his thumb lightly over her knuckles, his smile brightening at her response. "I'll hold you to it then."  

[Blood_Goddess]

Rosie was suddenly feeling very awake, She smiled brightly though still kept her face down a bit bashfully, though still managing a delighted giggle and a nod "Please do! I'll take any excuse I can to get you to dance again."

She knew it was a huge enough deal that he was just able to walk again, even if it was a struggle for now, he was still improving every day. But as Rosie was a dancer, dancing meant more to her than just a collection of coordinated movements. it was just as expressive to her as any words. The idea of not being capable of dancing was so depressing.
She knew that he probably didn't have to same kind of love for dance like she did, but it must still be a nice feeling.

She took in a light breath, curling her own fingers against his hand, watching the movements, and enjoying the touch. "I'm so happy for you."  

[Suudonym]

He laughed lightly, inclining his head slightly to catch her lowered gaze, "Instead of finding an excuse, how about this: You can ask whenever you feel like it. I'm sure I owe you at least that much." He wasn't really much of a dancer; it was one of those things his father had obliged him to learn in order to avoid disgracing him at social events. Dancing with Rosie, however, wasn't the strict, stifling ballroom dancing he had had to perfect. It was sort of embarrassing, especially in places where others were present to observe, but he could easily dismiss that.

Without releasing her hand, he leaned forward, resting his forehead against her shoulder with a quiet hum acknowledging her words.  

[Blood_Goddess]

In her peripheral he moved, in turn she glanced up to see why, catching his green eyes and finding herself unable to look away while he made a new offer, a better one.
"... Really?"
She couldn't deny that she was really fond of that offer, imagining that she got to dance with him just by asking. She had never been declined by him before, not really anyway, but she certainly took this as a more open offer to ask.
"Oh no don't say that." She laughed reaching a hand up to her face "Do you know how often I feel like dancing?" She pointed out playfully.

As Luke leaned forward Rosie stopped laughing, blinking in surprise and sitting up very still as she felt a pressure on her shoulder.
As her mild surprise ebbed away though she relaxed a little more, lowering her head and closing her eyes.
She could stay like this forever... though her heart was pounding she felt oddly calm, and comfortable but being in his presence like this, his warmth, feeling his breath on her shoulder, the smell of his hair. Reaching her other hand up, she hesitated before finally deciding to wrap it around his shoulders making a small noise like a chuckle "So happy." She repeated in a whisper.