Flowers; Rosénali

1

Rosé wishes she didn't have to come back for a reason like this, her mother had died. Kicked the bucket, bit the dust, gone to a better place, no matter which way you framed it she was gone and that meant Rosé had to face everything she ran from.

She has to face the inevitable guilt when she sees her now twenty year old sister, who was only sixteen at the time of her initial leave, she has to face the stubbornness of her older sister, Goona, until she cracks for the sake of protecting and comforting both her sisters and she has to face the funeral.

Those thoughts circle over and over the entire flight over and the car ride to the outskirts of New York. She thinks those thoughts right up until the very moment that Jan comes to the front door after seeing the taxi pull up.

Jan is silent, a rare sight to see and Rosé has to chuckle just a bit at it. She's glad Jan is so quiet, it gives her a moment to take the house in, take her in. She looks just as Rosé remembered her, only now her twin blonde has switched out in favour of lilac.

It's nice to know the house looks the same, he expected Lagoona to paint over it with how often she spoke of the colour scheme being awful but it's brings a warm comfort that they all definitely need right now.

The house still has the fuck ton of bushes and flowers in the front garden and Rosé can barely see through them to be quite frank but it doesn't matter because she's finally home. Not a house like the flats and hotels she'd bounced around in on tour. A real home.

One with memories and love and she's so glad she's back here and by the way Jan is grinning ear to ear she suspects her sister feels the same.

"Ro." Is all Jan says and it's enough for Rosé to understand everything, which is both a curse and a blessing. The realisation of what she did to her baby sister hits her so hard that all she can do is put out her arms whilst her lip trembles pathetically.

Jan looks at her sister and inspects the delicate, kind face of the sister who read her bed time stories and patched up her cuts with princess plasters. She caves and she's in Rosé's arms. They're both crying.

Jan smells like lavender and washing powder, Rosé smells like cigarettes and burnt bread. Jan feels like a small helpless child, craving attention, Rosé feels like an emotional rock, a shoulder to cry on. They both feel safe.

Rosé can hear the heavy footsteps coming closer to the front door and she shuts her eyes, embracing and holding Jan closer to her. Jan squeezes her hip and leans her head closer, she didn't think this would be this anxiety-triggering. The footsteps stop.

Rosé and Jan pull apart, Jan wipes under her eyes with her index finger and gives a small smile to Rosé. Lagoona pulls Jan behind her as she steps forward and it makes Jan chew her lip and Rosé stumble over her stationary feet.

Lagoona has her hands folded over her chest, and it makes Rosé feel the same way she did when she was nine and had eaten candy Lagoona had bought with her pocket money, except this a lot bigger than a bag of candy.

"Hey." Rosé smiles and Lagoona raises an eyebrow, god she looks just like their mother. Lagoona moves her hands against her face and Jan is fiddles with her fingers, bobbing on her heels in anticipation.

Lagoona holds open her hands and Rosé steps forward to breathe in the familiar scent of safety and feel the secure arms of her big sister, because even though all her life she's insisted she's a different person than her sisters she knows they're always going to be here, waiting for the third part to their whole.

Jan smiles, she gives them a minute or so for their sisterly bond to restore, or whatever it does, and then she's jumping forward, trying to wrap her arms around both her sisters, with her head leaning against Rosé's. And fuck Rosé didn't want to get sentimental but things are quickly heading that way.