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Shampoo
Rosé knows she shouldn’t be this affected by Denali smelling like her, but she is.
When her roommate had come to her pouting that she had run out of shampoo one day, Rosé had generously offered her own for the brunette to use. Since then Denali had developed the habit of stealing her shampoo and using it every now and then. Normally Rosé would have complained, but it’s hard to when the younger girl smiles with those adorable dimples in her cheeks and smelling like hers.
Nope, not hers. Just her shampoo.
Not Rosé’s.
Though she wishes Denali was hers.
-
Shampoo Too
Denali wasn’t dumb, she knew exactly what she was doing when she had started stealing Rosé’s shampoo.
At first she really did borrow the redhead’s shampoo because she did genuinely run out of her own, but after a while, she realised how she liked the smell of it, or more specifically, how her using it made her scent mix with Rosé’s. It was almost intoxicating how well they went together.
But then she noticed how Rosé seemed to subtly stare at her every time she used her shampoo. How Rosé seemed to unconsciously lean into her more, cuddled her on the couch on movie nights that soon progressed to her burying her nose into Denali’s hair when she thought the brunette wasn’t paying attention or had fallen asleep.
So Denali decided to start using it more, and Rosé never seemed to complain. Instead, the cuddles between them increased and it felt as if Rosé couldn’t keep her hands off of her roommate.
It made Denali wonder what would happen if she started using Rosé’s soap too…
-
Lip Balm
Ever since Denali had started using Rosé’s shampoo more often, Rosé felt like she couldn’t help gravitating towards her roommate more, couldn’t keep her hands off her. It’s not like they were conscious decisions either. One moment they’d be sitting on the couch watching a movie and the next thing she knew it, she’d be cuddling Denali and burying her nose into her dark hair.
It was probably because she liked the way Denali smelled like she was Rosé’s, but Rosé couldn’t really say anything could she? Couldn’t admit the silly little crush she had on her since the first time they met when she moved in. They were just roommates after all, and Denali probably just really liked the smell of her shampoo and nothing more.
There was no way that she was using her shampoo for any other reason.
Sighing as she looked into the hallway mirror, she applied some lip balm to her lips. The air had been dry for the past few days and she really didn’t want her lips to crack and bleed, so tinted lip balm it was.
“Rosie.” Denali called to her from behind in the way she always did when she wanted something.
“Yes, baby?” Rosé replied.
“I ran out of lip balm, do you think I could have some of yours?”
“Of course.”
Rosé turned around to pass the tube to her, but was caught off guard when she found Denali standing right in front of her with barely an inch between them.
Before she could react, Denali stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against hers. Just a soft press of their lips that left Rosé feeling things, before she pulled away, Denali’s lips now the same shade of muted pink as hers.
“Thanks Rosie.” Winking as she licked her lips, Denali left their apartment, leaving Rosé standing frozen in the hallway.
What the fuck just happened?
-
Chocolate
Denali was sitting on the couch, eyes glued to the screen as she slowly broke off pieces of chocolate and ate it.
It was perfect. She was wrapped in a blanket on a cool Friday evening watching Grey’s Anatomy while she enjoyed her favourite Reese’s chocolate bar. The chocolate was soft and a little melty too, so it was a little gooey between her fingers and spreading so nicely on her tongue.
She was polishing off the last bit of chocolate when she heard the sound of keys and Rosé entering their apartment.
Denali stopped for a second, remembering the light kiss she had stolen from Rosé that morning and swallowed the grin that was threatening to emerge. She had been thinking about it the whole day. She wasn’t quite sure why she did what she did. Denali really had wanted to borrow Rosé’s lip balm, but once she got close to her and saw how pink and pouty her lips were, her mind had blanked out. One moment she was an inch away from Rosé, and the next she was kissing her.
Hearing footsteps padding towards her, she quickly snapped out of her memory.
“Welcome home, Rosie!” She called out.
There was a pause, and Denali felt herself sweating a little under the weight of Rosé’s stare. Her eyes were still trained to the television screen, her fingers sticky with chocolate, and she was praying that Rosé wouldn’t bring up the kiss from this morning because she still didn’t know how to explain herself.
“I’m home.”
She felt herself release the breath that she had unknowingly been holding as she felt the couch sink a little next to her under the weight of Rosé.
“So which episode are you at?”
She rattled off the title and what had been happening when she felt fingers on her chin, and her face turning to face Rosé. She gulped when her eyes connected with the other girl, seeing how there was a serious look on her face. Rosé leaned forward, eyes narrowed.
“Did you finish the last of the chocolate?”
Denali blinked, then grinned sheepishly.
“Oops?”
“Nali, I didn’t even get a piece!” Rosé whined.
Denali laughed. “Finders keepers and all that.” She teased, sticking her tongue out.
Narrowing her eyes, Rosé smirked, a mischievous glint in her eye.
“Looks like I found a little leftover though.”
Denali frowned. The only chocolate that was left were the remnants coating her fingers.
“Where?”
Rosé wrapped her fingers around her wrist, and Denali’s eyes widened when Rosé proceeded to put her fingers in her mouth, tongue lapping at the chocolate coated digits, eyes never leaving Denali’s. She felt her breath shorten at the drag of Rosé’s tongue on the pads her fingers, clenching her thighs together and whimpering at the sensation and the way that Rosé was looking at her.
She nipped the tip of Denali’s finger before finally pulling away, a grin on her face.
“Right there.”
-
Band Aid
There was a small yelp from the kitchen and the sound of something clattering that made Denali emerge from her room in concern.
“What happened? Are you okay?” Denali called out, concerned that Rosé might have hurt herself. She knew that her roommate could be clumsy at times, even though the other girl would never admit to it.
“I’m fine! Just cut myself, that’s all.”
Denali frowned as she grabbed a band aid from the first aid kit in the living room and walked over to the redhead in the kitchen.
Rosé had her finger in her mouth, a full on pout on her lips once she saw Denali enter the space.
“Come on Rosie, let me take a look.” Denali coaxed, carefully taking Rosé’s hand in hers.
She examined the cut on her index finger and guided Rosé over to the kitchen sink to wash it, soothing her when she hissed as the wound made contact with the running water. Denali turned off the tap after ensuring that the cut was clean.
“It looks shallow. Pretty sure that it won’t scar your pretty skin.” She winked at Rosé, patting the wound dry and tearing open the band aid she had on hand.
“I know, I’m not a baby. I am older than you, you know.” Rosé muttered, crossing her other arm stubbornly in response.
God, why was Rosé so cute when she was defensive like that?
Denali laughed softly, shaking her head fondly as she stuck the band aid on and wrapped it carefully around her finger. “Yeah, but sometimes you act differently, you know? It’s kinda cute.” Patting the injured finger, she didn’t think twice when she brought it up to her lips and gave it a light kiss.
“There, all better now.”
Winking, Denali left the kitchen to go back to her bedroom, completely missing how Rosé was now blushing to her roots as she looked down at her finger.
“Yeah, all better now…”
-
Ice Cream
Jan was staring as she witnessed Rosé and Denali bicker over the last cup of ice cream in the freezer and who would get it. One would think that they’d be fighting over who would get to take it for themselves, but no these two oblivious idiots were fighting about not wanting to take it so the other could have it.
“Rosie, you take it. Strawberry is your favourite, right?”
“Yes baby, but I had the last one so you should take this one.”
“But I had the last two, so it’s only fair if you have it.”
“But you wanted it first, right?”
Groaning at how this had gone on for about 5 minutes already, with them clearly forgetting that she was there too, Jan reached out and grabbed the ice cream from the freezer.
“How about I take it, that way neither of you get it?”
She was not prepared for the both of them to glare at her and reply at the exact same time.
“NO!”
Quickly putting it back and backing away, Jan rolled her eyes as she got her phone out and started texting while the two carried on.
Lagoona was definitely right about something going on between the two of them.
-
Dishes
They were both scrubbing away at the dishes in the sink while their friends chattered away in their living room.
After almost a year of living together, it was nice how somehow Rosé and Denali had become so close to the point that their own friend circles were practically one now. It did help that they had a few overlapping mutuals between them that they discovered weeks after moving in, like when Jan dropped by to visit Rosé or when Olivia returned the vinyl she had borrowed from Denali.
It was after one of their regular dinners that the friends had together at their place. Denali had wanted to wash up, knowing she’d be too lazy to do it after and Rosé had offered to help her immediately, much to the amusement of her friends.
They knew how much she hated doing the dishes, so hearing her offer to do them was a miracle in itself.
As Rosé was rinsing off a plate, she reached over for another one under the soap suds and accidentally grabbed Denali’s hand instead. She froze at the jolt of electricity that shot up her arm. Rosé looked at Denali’s face and found her looking right back at her with probably the exact same expression.
The past few weeks had been confusing to Rosé with how Denali had been acting around her. She couldn’t tell if the girl was intentionally flirting with her, or just being playful. The kiss that she’d planted on her that morning had stirred even more feelings in the redhead too, and the very thought of it made her eyes flicker to Denali’s slightly parted lips, catching a flash of pink as her tongue darted out.
Looking back up at Denali’s eyes, she found herself getting lost in them, everything else blurring around them as they slowly gravitated towards each other, their lips just inches away-
“Hey girls, need another set of hands?”
Snapping out of it, Rosé and Denali quickly jumped apart and spun around to find Olivia staring at them, her mouth open in surprise.
“Er, you know what? It looks like you both got a handle on it.” She grinned knowingly and left the kitchen, leaving the two girls blushing and wondering what had almost happened between them.
-
Kisses
There was a tentative knock on her bedroom door, but Denali ignored it, not wanting to face her roommate right now.
“Nali, what happened? Are you alright? Is everything okay? Did I maybe do something wrong?” Rosé asked, concern evident in her voice.
“I’m okay! Everything’s fine. You did nothing wrong.”
Denali replied sulkily, sitting on her bed cross legged as she glared at the innocent rug on her floor.
And it was true, Rosé hadn’t done anything wrong. All she had done was talk to someone on the phone, Denali wasn’t sure who it was, and Rosé had offered to comfort them with kisses. She didn’t know exactly why, but that had set Denali off, made her itch under her skin with an emotion she wasn’t too sure she wanted to name right now. Not when everything seemed so blurred between the two of them.
They had been fine after the whole almost kissing thing in the kitchen the other day. Part of Denali felt relieved that Olivia had interrupted it and part of her was resentful. She felt so conflicted about her feelings and how their relationship had been lately.
No, not relationship.
Friendship.
They were roommates, maybe now friends first and foremost, and Denali was a little afraid of what would happen if anything bad were to happen between them. She didn’t want to lose both a good roommate and a great friend, not when Rosé made their place feel like home.
Not when Rosé felt like home.
“Denali, I’m coming in.”
Denali cursed herself under her breath for not locking her door when Rosé came in, concern on her face and a small bag in hand. Rosé sat next to her on the bed, Denali still refusing to look her in the eye.
“Hey, I was going to go over to Lemon’s because she was upset, but it looks like you need me more.”
Lemon? The one that Rosé had wanted to kiss was Lemon?!
Denali almost flinched when Rosé placed a warm hand on top of hers.
“Baby?”
The pet name sent a light shiver down her spine, but Denali internally shook it off.
“It’s nothing.”
“You storming out of the kitchen and slamming your bedroom door didn’t seem like nothing. Come on, talk to me. You know how much I care for you.”
But not the kind of care she maybe wanted.
Denali sighed and looked at Rosé, registering the look of concern on the redhead’s face. She looked down at the bag that Rosé had with her and saw it was actually a pack of Hershey’s Kisses.
Wait a minute…
“Are those Kisses?”
Rosé blinked at the sudden shift in topic then looked down. “Yeah, I was going to bring these over to Lemon’s. She was upset that her favourite contestant on this show she was watching was eliminated, so I thought I’d bring her some to cheer her up, though it looks like you need them more.”
Rosé opened the bag and offered them to Denali.
“They’re not Reese’s, but close enough right?”
Hershey’s Kisses.
Denali had been upset over Rosé wanting to give Lemon some chocolate?!
Denali groaned and buried her face in her hands, ignoring how Rosé started fretting over her even more now.
Why was she such an idiot?
-
Refrigerator
Let it be known that Rosé could be sneaky too if she wanted to be.
She knew that Denali had been eavesdropping on her conversation with Lemon, and couldn’t help baiting her with the kisses bit in their conversation. What she hadn’t expected was for how upset Denali would be about it when she stormed off to her bedroom to sulk.
It paid off though because now Rosé was pretty sure that Denali might have feelings for her, the same kind of feelings that Rosé had for Denali.
The problem now was that Rosé wasn’t too sure about what to do with this new found piece of information. It had been a few days of Rosé doing nothing but floundering about in her head before she finally pulled herself together and decided to ask Denali out.
Not wanting to lose her nerve, Rosé marched her way to the kitchen where she could hear where Denali was, and was about to ask her out when she felt her mouth go dry and her words disappear.
Denali was in front of the refrigerator, bent over and her ass prominently on display in a pair of soft grey cotton shorts. The short kind that teased the curves of her cheeks when Denali bent over like so.
Rosé couldn’t help staring for a few seconds before Denali finally stood up and turned around, catching Rosé looking at her with wide eyes and mouth open.
“Rosie?”
“Out.”
Rosé choked out, all coherent thought lost and mind still stuck on the curve of Denali’s ass.
Denali frowned in confusion as she shut the refrigerator door.
“Out?”
Shaking herself out of her daze, Rosé finally strung her words together.
“Yeah, do you want to go out?”
Denali beamed.
“Yes please! Let’s go right now.”
Rosé felt herself smile back, relieved at how easy that had been and how Denali had replied with no hesitation.
“Really? Now?”
“Yeah! Just give me a second to grab my wallet and phone. I’ve been dying to go to the supermarket. We’ve run out of juice and I’m really hankering for some right now.”
Denali left the kitchen and Rosé stared after her in disbelief.
Wait, no. That wasn’t what she-
Rosé groaned and leaned against the wall, knocking her head against it.
This was going to take a while, wasn’t it?
-
Bicycle
Denali was blushing, her hand held tightly in Rosé’s slightly bigger one.
They had been walking home from the supermarket, each one of them holding a bag of groceries and chattering away when a cyclist came zooming down the pathway. Denali had stood frozen in the middle of the path, her brain suddenly switching off. Luckily, Rosé had instinctively grabbed ahold of her hand and pulled the both of them out of harm’s way.
Since then, Rosé had refused to let go of her hand, citing that Denali was a walking hazard otherwise.
Honestly, she didn’t mind since it meant that she got to hold Rosé’s hand.
Rosé’s hand was warm and soft, and felt nice to the touch. Denali could feel the heat generating between the palms of their hands, their fingers interlaced and causing her brain to short circuit just a little.
Part of her wanted to kiss the hand that she held, and another part wanted to kiss the owner of the hand.
But of course, Denali wouldn’t act on that.
Not yet at least.
-
Bed
“Rosie, I’m cold.”
Rosé looked up from her laptop screen on her lap to see Denali pouting at her from her bedroom door, clearly dressed for bed in nothing but an oversized sweatshirt.
The heater had broken down that morning and maintenance wouldn’t be able to fix it till the next day. In the meantime, it meant that the pair of roommates had to bundle themselves up in thick clothes in a bid to keep themselves warm, though obviously it wasn’t enough for Denali.
As if reading her mind, Rosé flipped her blankets and Denali immediately dived under the covers, snuggling up to Rosé with a contented sigh.
In the meantime Rosé was trying her best not to overthink their body contact, how Denali’s soft curves were now pressed against her, how her scent was invading her senses, how her warmth was warming not just her body, but her racing heart too.
Pushing those thoughts aside, she carried on typing out her email, all the while trying her best to ignore the growing bundle of heat next to her that she wanted so desperately to press down onto the bed and kiss stupid. To actually successfully ask her out on a date without it becoming just a trip to the supermarket or to even just tell her how she felt.
But she knew it wasn’t the right time. Or least it didn’t feel right. Rosé wanted it to be special now, not just a gamble of fate or a random moment in time.
But then again, wasn’t this fate too? This was her chance to tell Denali how she felt. When she was pressed up against her with almost nothing separating them, no distractions. Just the two of them in her bed.
Rosé took a deep breath and hit the send button on her email. Exiting the application, she shut her laptop, set it on her bed side table and turned to Denali, determined to finally let her know how she really felt.
Only to be faced with a now sleeping brunette.
Staring at the sleeping girl for a moment, Rosé sighed then turned to shut off the lamp next to her, letting the night’s darkness cloak her bedroom. She settled down next to Denali, watching the brunette sleeping peacefully with a small smile of her own before falling asleep herself.
Maybe tomorrow.
-
Home
Denali shifted drowsily in her sleep, letting out a contented sigh at how safe and warm she felt.
She could feel how calm the atmosphere was, how snug she felt under a warm and welcome weight around her and surrounded by the comforting scent of vanilla.
Of home.
She turned to her other side and snuggled deeper into a warm solid form, faintly registering arms wrapping around her waist as she let herself drift back to sleep, her dreams filling with the girl Denali knew she was in love with.
———
Rosé stirred awake at the feeling of someone burrowing deeper into her arms and she slowly blinked awake, finding herself looking at the top of a very familiar head of dark brown curls and to her arms full of her roommate.
Of the girl that she knew that she was madly in love with.
She found herself naturally wrapping her arms around the other girl, her chest warming at the sight of Denali smiling as she did so and burrowing even deeper into her embrace.
Smiling down at her, Rosé brushed a light kiss to the crown of her head and tucked Denali under her chin, allowing herself to indulge in that moment, to feel Denali so close to her, before she succumbed to a warm and blissful sleep, her ears registering four words being mumbled just as she fell asleep.
“I love you, Rosé.”
———
The second time Denali woke up, it was to the combined heat of the morning sun and the warmth exuding around her. Eyes fluttering open, she realised that she wasn’t in her bed, but Rosé’s, the main giveaway being the pastel pink sheets and the softness of her chest against her cheek.
Denali slowly looked up to find an equally awake Rosé looking down at her with the softest smile on her face.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.”
She smiled back at her, warmth pooling in her chest.
“Good morning, Rosie.”
“Still feeling cold?”
Denali shook her head with a smile before burrowing her head into Rosé’s chest with a giggle.
“No, definitely not.”
Rosé chuckled as she brushed her fingers through Denali’s hair, humming as they settled down, basking in their shared warmth and the peaceful morning for a while before Rosé broke the silence.
“Do you know that you talk in your sleep?”
Denali pulled back a little to look at Rosé, surprised.
“I do?”
“Yeah, and you said something interesting last night.”
“Really?”
Rosé nodded.
”What did I say?”
Rosé raised her hand to Denali’s cheek, stroking it tenderly.
“I’m pretty sure you said ‘I love you’.”
Denali froze.
“What?” She stammered, suddenly feeling nervous.
“Maybe I was thinking of my mum?”
Rosé shook her head, eyes never leaving hers.
“I’m pretty sure it’s not her because I heard you say a name.”
Denali tensed up, nerves starting to take over.
“And who’s name did you hear?”
Rosé’s fingers stilled, head tilting to the side.
“Mine.”
Denali bit her lip, not knowing what to say.
Should she laugh it off? Should she admit her feelings? Could she somehow make an excuse and run away?
Before she could make a decision, she felt soft lips press against hers, felt herself stop breathing and the sensation of butterflies in her stomach for that one moment of connection before she pulled away, staring back at hazel eyes.
Back at the eyes that she loved as she pressed her fingers to her lips.
“Oh.”
Rosé smiled.
“Can you say it again? Now that we’re both awake?”
Denali blushed.
“But what if I want you to say it first?”
Rosé chuckled, then rolled the both of them over so that she was on top of her, causing Denali to squeal in surprise. She caged Denali between her arms, her hands tickled by soft brown curls as she stared down at her. She leaned down, the tips of their noses grazing each other.
“I love you, Denali.”
A spark ran up Denali’s spine as she felt her lips stretch into the brightest smile, her dimples out on full display. She reached out a hand to brush Rosé’s cheek before cupping it, thumb stroking the freckled skin.
“I love you too, Rosé.”
There was a moment of silence, of two girls revelling in the other’s admission of love before lips and bodies were pressed against each other, before two bodies slotted together like they were meant to be as one.
Like they had finally found a home in each other.