Ocean's 8 1/2

Flowers

With Lou gone and Deb down in the dumps, Rose and Daphne mainly stayed together in Daphne's apartment. They would come over whenever they were called, but it had only been a few days and they figured Deb would want to be alone for this part. No one truly understood those two, but if anything Daphne understood Deb the most when it came to what she wanted and needed. Their jobs were similar and their upbringings hand some overlap. And if she had to be away from Rose for more than a week, she'd be a complete shut-in.

In the meantime, they spent their days packing up Daphne's apartment or working on their own individual projects. They had already moved the majority of their stuff but they didn't want to completely move until the rest of the group left. They knew it was going to be hard for everyone once Lou left and they wanted to be with the rest of the group. Plus Rose was extremely worried about Claude's trial. She was the most nervous about the entire ordeal. For the first 5 months after the heist, she had a recurring dream about her getting caught. Sometimes a few of the others would get caught too, but it was always her. She'd wake up sweating or shaking.

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"Daphne!" Rose yelled. Daphne's eyes immediately opened and she instinctively wrapped her arms around Rose's body. She pulled the shaking woman's body into her arms and rocked her gently.

"I'm right here baby, I'm right here," Daphne cooed softly. Rose nodded and clung to the taller woman and shivered.

"The dream again?" Daphne asked softly. Rose just nodded. Daphne sighed softly and held her lover close. She was getting worried. Rose hadn't had a decent night's sleep since before the heist. Her anxiety was taking over and her body was starting to show it. The dark marks under her eyes were turning from knock-off Coach bags to luxurious Gucci bags. She also had lost 10 lbs. Rose kept telling her it was fine, but deep down she knew it wasn't and that Rose couldn't continue on living this way. Their relationship as new as it was, was also taking a hit. It had been 80-Daphne and 20-Rose for the past 3 months.

"I'm sorry I'm such a mess," Rose whispered.

"No, it's okay. I know this is stressful," Daphne said soothingly.

"You don't have to stay you know," Rose said sadly. Daphne shook her head and took the older woman's face into her hands and looked into Rose's dark brown eyes.

"I'm staying right here Rosie. I'm not going anywhere and next week you'll have all the other women too. We'll be able to go over everything and hopefully, your mind will be put more at ease. But even if that weren't the case, I am never going anywhere. I-I love you Rose" Daphne said softly. She bit her lip softly as this was the first time either one of them had said those 8 letters which fit perfectly into 3 words. Rose's eyes got doey and that smile that Daphne would kill for spread across her face.

"You're too good to me Daph, I love you too," Rose smiled. Daphne's chest rose and fell easier as the physical weight of those words fell off.

Rose looked up into Daphne's eyes, their faces gravitating towards each other. Their lips touched softly at first. While it was not their first official kiss, this felt new. There was a certain softness and openness about this kiss. It's as if all the dating jitters were gone and they were settling into their new life as an actual couple. One that people would die to make a movie about.

Daphne's hands gently ran up the soft fabric that hugged Rose's body tightly. Rose always slept in lingerie type night-gowns, not that she complained, she absolutely loved it. Rose melted into Daphne's touch which was not normal for her. She hadn't been with anyone in over 10 years and on top of that, Daphne was so young. It baffled her sometimes why such a young beautiful woman like her would want someone as old and batty as her. She doubted herself often, but tonight was not one of those. She was too exposed already to turn back and it felt nice finally letting someone take care of her.