Cozy Living ‐CHAENNIE‐

Cozy Patience

One of the simple joys in Jennie's life was knowing that Rosé would be waiting for her after a long day of school and work. On particularly tiring days, greeting Rosé at home was like falling into the comforts of a freshly made bed, warm and calm and inviting.

Tonight was one of those tiring days where Jennie was in desperate need of Rosé's soothing presence. It was nearly midnight as Jennie dragged herself up the last flight of stairs toward their apartment. Jennie was tired enough to collapse right there in the hallway for a well-needed bout of sleep, but she held herself together for just a few more moments because she knew Rosé was waiting up for her just on the other side of their apartment door.

Jennie composed her expression before going inside, not wanting Rosé to see the full extent of tonight's stress on her face. She then entered with a bright, "I'm home!", but she stopped mid-sentence when she noticed Rosé fast asleep on the sofa.

The TV was on, a steaming mug of coffee sat on the coffee table, and a heavy textbook rested on Rosé's chest. Jennie smiled at the scene, a gentle warmth building in her heart because she knew that Rosé had tried her best to wait for Jennie. The affectionate smile on Jennie's face continued to grow as she made her way over to Rosé and covered her with a blanket.
Rosé looked adorable curled up on their tiny sofa, but Jennie wished Rosé's expression looked more peaceful as she slept. The younger girl's brow was furrowed in a slight grimace and Jennie kissed her forehead gently, once and then twice, feeling a little better when Rosé's expression relaxed a bit.

Peaceful sleep was rare for Rosé over the past month. It was almost the end of the first semester of senior year, and Rosé had fallen behind in her classes despite studying non-stop since the start of the year. Jennie remembered coming home one night after class a few weeks ago and finding Rosé lying under the covers in bed, a classic sign of Rosé feeling overwhelmed with stress. Jennie had witnessed this under-the-covers phenomenon since before they were teenagers, wherein Rosé literally tried to hide herself from the world when the world became too stressful to bear.

As Jennie approached their bed, she could hear Rosé crying under the blanket and her heart ached with sympathy, but she knew there was no point in asking Rosé what was bothering her right now.

Patience was the key.

So as patiently as the first time Jennie waited to kiss Rosé on the playground as kids, as patiently as waiting until they were teenagers to kiss more deeply and waiting until they were adults to sleep together for the first time, Jennie quietly climbed into her side of their bed, wrapped an arm gently around Rosé's waist, and murmured a reassuring, "It's OK Rosie, I'm here for you."

It took about ten minutes for Rosé's crying to turn into light sniffles and hiccuppy silence as Jennie held her gently. It was only at that point that Jennie started trying to coax Rosé out of her hiding place, delaying Rosé's explanation for just a while longer until Rosé was ready to talk about what was wrong.

"Do you want something to drink, Rosie? How about a cup of chamomile tea or some hot chocolate?"

There was a mumble from under the blanket that Jennie couldn't quite understand. The older girl strained her ears to catch Rosé's words. "What did you say?"

Rosé mumbled another response, something that sounded vaguely like "marshmallow".

"Hot chocolate with marshmallows?" Jennie guessed. She pushed herself off the bed. "Coming right up!"

As she turned to leave for the kitchen, Jennie felt a gentle tug on the hem of her shirt. She turned back to find that Rosé had emerged from under the blanket, her eyes red and puffy and stained with tears, yet somehow more beautiful than ever. Rosé looked up at Jennie with eyes full of sadness and repeated her answer more clearly. "...marshmallow kiss."