the 1 | chaennie

36. This Love

"I've missed you," Rosie sighed, reaching up to stroke the side of her face, pushing her hair back and giving her a lingering once-over.

Jennie looked good. There was a soft golden glow to her skin from weeks spent in France, filming outdoors and relaxing in the countryside in between filming. Aside from the faint shadows as a result of her red-eye flight, Jennie looked relaxed, the lines of her face soft and pink-cheeked, the crumpled pattern of the pillows etched into her face. Rosie's heart leapt in her chest as she kissed her again, and a warmth spread throughout her chest.

"I've missed you too," Jennie whispered in her ear, her lips brushing Rosie's earlobe as her skin rippled with goosebumps.

The moment was interrupted by Jennie's stomach growling loudly, and Rosie laughed against the side of her neck, feeling Jennie shiver as she sheepishly joined in with her laughter. Pulling back, Rosie smiled knowingly and thumbed Jennie's lower lip.

"Breakfast?"

"Breakfast would be amazing."

"Do you want to call Jisoo?" Rosie suggested, pushing herself up onto her elbow, and letting her hand fall onto Jennie's arm, gently stroking it. "Invite her too. We can eat out."

Sitting up and stretching her arms out, Jennie yawned wide enough to make her jaw click and then ruffled her hair. It had grown out over the months, dusting her shoulders now, and it was a dishevelled mess as she smiled down at Rosie.

"YG's?"

"If you like," Rosie smiled back, sitting up and kissing her shoulder. "I'll be in the shower."

Leaving Jennie to call her sister, Rosie stripped off her clothes in the bathroom and let the hot water run until it was scalding, filling the room with steam. She felt a buoyed with happiness as she let the hot water relax her body, hair piled up on top of her head as damp tendrils clung to her neck, and a few minutes later, bare feet slapped against the tiled floor and arms snaked around her waist.

Hands covered in soapy bubbles, Rosie turned and gripped Jennie's biceps, kissing her and humming against her lips with satisfaction. All she could think of was how much time they had spread out before them, with nothing to do but spend time with each other, making up for lost time. Rosie had a dozen lyrics about her feelings on the subject, but they were pushed to the back of her mind as she lingered in the shower with Jennie, knowing that they were inevitably going to be late to meet Jisoo.

They were, as suspected, a little bit late, but within the hour they found themselves parked at a table in the converted warehouse cafe, far away from the windows and door with Jisoo across from them. Rosie ordered matcha french toast and a chai latte, while Jennie ordered waffles. Just the simple pleasure of sitting side by side, knocking elbows and sharing bites of food, was enough to make Rosie's body hum with adrenaline, her smiles quicker to come, laughter on her lips, and an air of casual indifference as she lounged in her chair.

Rosie had caught up with Jisoo a few times while Jennie had been gone, but she had to admit that having Jennie there just made things perfect. Conversation flowed, they laughed and made jokes at each other's expense, and Rosie felt like her whole life had clicked into place, everything aligning just how she wanted it to. Her album was topping the charts, her singles were constantly on the radio, and the love of her life was back in her arms, home with her once more. She couldn't have asked for anything more.

It was almost a comforting thought to think that she'd let Jennie go, over and over, yet she always came back. It didn't matter how difficult it got, how long they were separated, or by how many miles; they fell back together despite it all. Rosie's old fears about it all inevitably burning down seemed like a distant dream to her at that moment. All she could think of now was how no matter how bad it got, they would overcome it. Their love was far from perfect, but the way Jennie made her feel was everything. It was like they glowed in each other's presence, brought back to life with colour in them, and Rosie felt happier than she had in weeks as they ate and talked and ordered more coffee until their late breakfast sailed straight past lunchtime and they were still sitting there.