she found the colors to paint him
where the world had left him grey
~atticus
Rose woke up surrounded by warmth and a heavy weight on her waist. She looked down to see it was Fenris' arm and breathed a sigh of relief. She'd momentarily forgotten last night's events.
She slowly turned so that she was now facing his sleeping figure. His arm tightened around her and pulled her closer, so close if she moved they'd brush noses.
Instead of panicking at their closeness, Rose sighed. She didn't mind being this close to him when he was asleep. He was less scary for sure.
In his sleep, Fenris looked exactly like what she thought Roman would. He looked peaceful, serene, content. His eyebrows weren't furrowed and there was no crease on his forehead. Now that she noticed it, those seemed to always be present on Roman's face when she was around.
Am I the cause of his worry and stress? She wondered.
The thought saddened her, and suddenly she felt like she had no right to be in his arms. Like she wasn't good enough.
Rose tried to wriggle out of his hold but it only tightened as he released a whimper. Rose's heart clenched but she grabbed the pillow she'd used through the night and shifted quickly so the pillow was now in place of her.
Fenris didn't wake up and snuggled further into the pillow. Rose allowed a smile to grace her features at his cute actions.
She left the room reluctantly, and headed downstairs to the kitchen. She observed the stainless steel appliances and stocked cabinets and decided to make them breakfast.
She pulled out eggs, bacon, and sausage from the fridge. Then she found waffle mix and syrup in the cupboards. She also pulled out multiple pans and set them on the already hot stove.
Halfway through cooking, the walls shook with a defeaning roar. Rose jumped slightly which caused hot grease from the bacon she was cooking to spill onto her hand. She hissed in pain and immediately let go of the pan and turned off the stove, careful not to let any of the food burn.
As she inspected her burnt hand, she heard thundering footsteps running down the stairs and her eyebrows creased in confusion.
"MATE!" She jumped again when she heard Fenris' powerful voice. A second later she watched as Fenris came bolting through the kitchen doorway. She squealed as she realized he was headed straight towards her.
Fenris ran towards Rose and picked her up, burying his face in her neck and breathing deeply. Rose hesitantly wrapped her arms around him, remembering her promise to let him touch her.
"What's wrong, Fenris?" Rose asked soothingly, rubbing his back.
Fenris hugged her tighter as he whimpered. "Mate not in bed when I wake up. I get worried."
Rose sighed in realization. "I just wanted to make us breakfast, Fenris..."
Fenris pulled back from their embrace a little. "Oh," he said with his eyebrows furrowed.
Rose giggled at how much he resembled a puppy and a little kid at the same time.
Fenris gazed at Rose lovingly as she laughed. He inhaled deeply to smell her scent, but he smelled something else instead.
"MATE'S HURT?" Fenris growled, startling Rose. He began scanning her body, setting her down on the floor to assess her.
Rose was confused as to how he knew she was hurt. She certainly hadn't told him she was. How did he know these things?
Fenris was growling and mumbling incoherently at the same time. Rose was only able to catch a few words like "protect mate" and "stupid wolf". She held in a giggle as she realized he was scolding himself.
Fenris' eyes zeroed in on her hand and Fenris growled deeply as he inspected it. He ran a finger of the burn gently and Rose pulled back slightly as she hissed in pain.
Fenris immediately felt bad and began peppering kisses all over her hand, careful to avoid the burn. "Does mate forgive me for hurting her?" He said softly.
Rose smiled and nodded.
"Does mate trust me?" Fenris asked, looking deeply into her eyes.
Rose stared back, lost in his golden orbs. "Yes," she replied honestly.
Fenris lifted her hand to his mouth and she watched as he ran his tongue over the burn. It stung at first but then a cool sensation replaced the burn and she sighed in relief.
"Does mate feel better?" Fenris whispered.
She nodded, unable to reply verbally. Her words were stuck in her throat.
After a few moments of silence, Fenris spoke again. "So mate made us food?"
Rose snapped out of her daze and nodded, heading towards the stove to continue cooking. After a second she felt arms wrapped around her waist and she laughed.
"I don't want mate hurt again..." Fenris whispered, resting his chin on her shoulder. Rose mentally awed at his actions. Who knew someone so dangerous looking could act this way?
As she continued to cook, she couldn't deny that she liked the way he was holding her. His body heat seeped into her back and she enjoyed the warmth. She was only wearing a t-shirt and shorts and didn't realize how cold it was in his house.
"Fenris?" Rose asked, still cooking.
She felt his head shift on her shoulder before he hummed in response.
"How'd you know I was hurt?"
Fenris wrapped his arm tighter around her. "I can smell when mate's hurt."
Rose nodded. "Can all werewolves do that?"
She felt him nod in response, then squealed and giggled when he nuzzled his nose into her neck. She was beginning to believe he was just a dog, not a wolf.
"Can all werewolves heal their mates too?"
This time she felt him shake his head. "No, but my royal blood mixed with mate being human makes it possible."
"How do you know all this, Fenris?" Rose inquired.
"Roman did lots of research while mate was locked in room," Fenris said quietly. Rose nodded, not saying anything else.
She finished up the cooking, and turned the stove off. She then served the food onto two plates, giving him a lot more food since she knew he'd be hungry and because she usually didn't eat much for breakfast.
Fenris reluctantly let go of her when she turned the stove off, but frowned when he looked at the plates. One had much more food on it than the other.
Rose set the plates down on the island in the middle of the kitchen and took a seat on one of the stools. Fenris did so too, but his frown deepened when he saw he got the plate with more food.
Rose lifted her fork to eat, but suddenly her plate was grabbed and replaced with another. She stared at Fenris who looked back at her innocently as he ate from the now smaller plate.
"Why'd you do that, Fenris?" Rose sighed, setting her fork down.
Fenris shrugged. "Mate needs to eat."
Her eyebrows furrowed. "But I had a plate of food."
Fenris grunted. "Too small."
She rolled her eyes as she reached over to pull her original plate back. "I don't eat as much as you do, silly. Plus, I'm never that hungry in the morning."
Fenris frowned. "Mate's too skinny."
Rose rolled her eyes again. "I eat a lot, trust me. I just have a high metabolism."
Fenris grew frustrated and reached out to her, lifting her up off of the stool and placing her in his lap. Rose squealed at the sudden movement as she held on to him tightly, afraid to fall.
"I won't let mate fall," Fenris said quietly. Rose nodded and released her hold on him slightly.
Fenris then picked up his fork, scooped up some food, and held it to her lips.
Rose lifted an eyebrow, "If I let you feed me, will you stop pestering me about how much I eat?"
Fenris looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded his head and smiled. Rose couldn't help but smile back. She opened her mouth and ate the food.
Fenris ate off the same fork and Rose almost choked when she realized it. She knew it probably wasn't a huge deal for him, but to her it seemed...intimate, almost.
Fenris would eat three or four bites of food in the time she would eat one. He really seemed to be enjoying the food. "Mate's a really good cook," he said with a mouthful of food.
Rose laughed at his antics and watched as his golden eyes lit up.
Soon both plates were cleared of food and Rose had a suspicion he'd fed her more than what was on her plate because she felt stuffed. Fenris hopped off the stool with Rose still in his arms and carried the plates to the sink, the other wrapped securely around her waist.
"What does mate want to do now?" Fenris asked, staring straight into her eyes.
Rose blushed and looked down, unable to maintain eye contact as she responded. "I-I don't know..."
Fenris' lips pursed and Rose wanted to giggle at how adorable he looked. Suddenly his eyes lit up with an idea. "Mate likes art, right?"
Rose perked up at the mention of painting and nodded vigorously.
"I have something to show mate," Fenris said, a smile gracing his masculine features. He set Rose down but grabbed her hand and ran to the stairs. Rose grinned at the playfulness in him.
They ran past her room and stopped at a large, brown door at the very end of the hallway. Fenris looked down at their intertwined hands and almost look nervous as he bit his lip. Rose put her other hand over there already conjoined ones and smiled reassuringly.
Fenris reached for the knob of the door and opened it quickly, revealing the room.
Rose gasped as she saw it.
The walls were pure white, and the back wall was covered from top to bottom in windows. It looked out on a lake that shimmered under the summer sun. All of her art was displayed on multiple easels around the room. The bigger ones were resting against a wall, and some were hung up. There was a desk Rose walked over to that was filled to the brim with multiple painting supplies including sketchbooks, pencils, markers, paints, brushes, and more.
Rose couldn't stop smiling as she took in the room. She looked back at Fenris who just stood there watching her with golden eyes. She ran to him and jumped in his arms, hugging him tightly.
"Thank you so much, Fenris," she whispered. "How did you get all of my original paintings here?"
Fenris growled at the way she said his name and wrapped his arms around her. "Mate's parents told Roman you'd want them here, so he sent someone to get them and place them here without you knowing."
Rose nodded and pulled back, kissing his cheek in thanks as she went to explore the room some more.
Fenris stood in shock at her action and touched his cheek. He purred at the warmth and watched as his beautiful mate danced around the room.
"Mate gonna be in here for a while?" Fenris asked jokingly. She turned to him and nodded with a wide smile.
"I love it in here," she breathed out. Fenris swelled with pride knowing that he made his mate happy. He walked over to one of the couches in the room and sat down, content with watching his mate.
Rose didn't notice his staring because she was completely in her own world. She wanted to start on her next piece and she already knew what she wanted it to be. She rummaged through the drawers of the desk and pulled out multiple paints and brushes then walked to a blank canvas to get started.