Weak.

"I'm not weak." A slash was heard. 

Useless. 

"I'm not useless."  Another slash. 

You should be more like your brothers. They're so strong.

"No no no, you're wrong! I can be strong too!" 

Heh, as if.

"SHUT UP!" Anger helped Rose Knight destroy the training dummy in front of her, yet she still didn't feel satisfied. Her breathing was ragged, and she struggled to calm her beating heart. 

Is that all you got? Wow, SOOOOOO impressive. That's really nothing compared to your brothers.

She gripped her head, trying to control her thoughts, coming at her like bullets. Her heart was stabbed, but she couldn't give up now. Not when she was actually getting stronger. 

"Rose! Thank goodness I found you-... Rose?" 

When she turned around, Mao Mao, the potential legendary hero, was stunned to see Rose there, tears falling down her forest green eyes. She was gripping her sword tight. Her entire posture screamed tension. 

And that just worried the sheriff even more. No matter how much he tried to deny it like a tsundere, he cared for all his friends. He cared for Adorabat, he cared for Badgerclops, he cared for Tanya, and he definitely cared for Rose, his crush. 

"Mao Mao?..." Rose's eyes went wide as well. The feline swordswoman thought that he was on patrol with Badgerclops and Adorabat. "What are you doing here? I thought..." 

"Something felt off to me when you said that you wanted to train," the black-furred male admitted to her. "I felt... Concerned for you. You usually train with us." 

"I see..." Rose inhaled, forcing her tears away before faking a smile to him. "It's okay. I just wanted to make a new technique." 

He was not fooled, though. Years of having to put up a fake smile around his sisters whenever they asked him about his father had made him a master of them. And right now, he knew that Rose was giving him a fake smile. Convincing, but he knew a fake when he saw it. 

He was unsure whether to confront her on it, or to let her be. He knew more than anyone that bottling it up wasn't healthy. But at the same time, he had just read that venting was not healthy in the long run. 

Then, it hit him. 

"Would you like to join me in doing a special training then?" he suggested to her, trying to hide the trepidation in his heart. 

"Special training?" Rose repeated. 

"You'll see. I'm sure it'll benefit both of us," he gave her a small smile. One that made her heart skip a beat. 

"O-Okay then," she finally consented, wondering whether this could help her with her fighting style. She started imagining the two of them sparring, exercising, the normal thing. 

Unfortunately, that triggered a full-on blush on her face. It wasn't that she liked Mao Mao or anything! No way! He was just so handsome- AH! WHAT WAS SHE THINKING?!

"Rose?" he called out to her again, snapping her out of the trance she had been under thinking about Mao Mao. "Come on. If we want to get to the place, we'll have to pick up the pace." 

"Alright then," she nodded. 

So the two set off, walking through the dense forest near Pure Heart Valley. It felt so tranquil there because it was where the heroes would play hide and seek for training. 

"Are we doing hide and seek?" Rose tried to guess what they were doing. 

Mao Mao shook his head, "You'll see." 

The feline was confused. What else would they do if not play hide and seek here? It was like second nature to them by now. If they weren't here to do that, then what were they doing out here? 

Fortunately, she soon found the answer when Mao Mao stopped in an open field, filled with wild grass. There were a few old wood stumps around, which looked like the victims of the battles they had had against the Sky Pirates. 

"Come on," he gestured to the stumps. "Let's go sit on them." 

"Okay? I still don't get this, though," she crossed her arms. "You better not be wasting my time, Mao Mao." 

"I'm sure you'll like this training menu," he chuckled, but it only served to confuse her even more. What was so funny? 

In his head, Mao Mao was nervous, to be honest. What if it didn't work? He knew that there was the possibility that it would fail. 

However, he didn't want Rose to end up like him. Foreverly held back by trauma. The constant need for recognition and love and attention. If he couldn't help himself, then at least he could help others. Least of all his crush- erm, friend- erm, comrade.

Rose just sighed before she sat down on one of the stumps, watching her friend sit on the opposite one while inhaling the air around her. It felt so fresh. It had just rained the night before, after all, so it was natural for the air to be humid. 

"How do you feel now?" he asked her, watching for her reaction. He hoped that it would work. 

"I feel... A bit better now," she professed. She felt bewildered now. How did she calm down? 

"It's healthier than venting, apparently," he offered an explanation. "I heard from some magazines that venting won't help in the long run. Ol' Blue helped me get the specifics." 

"You asked Ol' Blue? I'm surprised." 

"Well, I go to his place once a week for therapy. It has really helped me out so far," he gave her a small smile that made her heart flutter. "Anyway, this training is going to be different from our normal, but I think that this will give you more benefits than normal training." 

"You sure?" Rose's tone had doubt in it. "What if it doesn't work the way you wanted it to?" 

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Now let's get started," he answered her question while settling himself into the stump. 

"Alright then...." Rose hesitantly did the same. She decided that she would trust Mao Mao this one time. 

Mao Mao felt a smile creep up his face. It sure felt nice to be trusted by your crush, "Okay, so I want you to try to take deep breaths. Focus on your breathing. Imagine that it's the most important thing to you right now. Take it slow. Take it easy." 

The two began to simultaneously inhale and exhale. Chests moved up. Oxygen went in, and carbon dioxide was given to the plants around them. 

The effects didn't show themselves at the beginning. It was gradual as the water vapour cooled her body down. Her muscles relaxed. She felt calmer now. Her mental weight had been magically lifted by this. As she focused on the feeling that had emerged from this new type of training, her thoughts became lighter. 

This is nice... 

You can do it Rose...

The warmth that spread across her body was light. It cheered her up immensely. 

For the first time in her life, Rose felt happy. Truly happy. 

"This is working..." she could only mumble, shock clear. How could it have worked? "It's working!" 

Mao Mao allowed a smile to grace his face. There was hope in her tone now. It felt so refreshing and good.

He then let it grow wider as he remembered his last meeting with Ol' Blue.

"Are you sure this will work?" 

"Yeah, I think so. Why do you need it, anyway?" 

"Nothing much... Anyway, you might get a new patient soon if all goes well." 

"New patient? Who?" 

"*smiles* My crush."

It seemed like he could complete that promise. 

"Hey Rose..." he called out to her. He was ready for it now.

"Yeah?" the swordwoman answered him. She felt so grateful now. Mao Mao had helped her out a lot. How could she ever thank him?

"If you think you need it... with all the things you've gone through... maybe you should... go to therapy," he offered softly.  

Her eyes shot open, and her eyes met Mao Mao's spring green irises. She saw the honesty, the plead in his eyes. 

She was unsure. Hesitant. Wasn't going to therapy seen as weak? Crazy? Sick? If you went to therapy, it meant that you were weak. Unable to fight your own battles. Her family had beat that into her. 

But looking into his eyes, and seeing a rare side of him... It made her realise that maybe... Maybe her family was wrong. Maybe going to therapy WAS okay. It WAS okay to admit that she had wounds in her soul. It wasn't weak, it was natural. 

She... She liked that. 

"S-Sure then...." she finally answered him, looking up to meet his eyes bravely. 

He had been brave enough to help her, so it was time for her to be honest as well. 

"Mao Mao... I-I... I love you...." she finally confessed, looking away once more out of embarrassment. She did feel proud, yes, but it was still so awkward! 

Mao Mao's mouth went open and close like a guppy. A totally confused yet happy one, "Y-You too?" 

"E-Eh?" she blinked, making eye contact with him for the briefest moment to see him nod slightly. 

And it made her face a tomato, "O-Oh my God... I-I feel so... So..."

"S-So what?" he nervously asked. He was worried that she would reject him, even after all that. There was the possibility, after all...

"So.. So happy!" she suddenly smiled brightly, letting her tears fall down her cheeks freely now.

"I-I'm glad of that!" he leaned over and instinctively hugged her, releasing his own small tears of relief. (He will deny it later on, though.)

"I-I love you Mao Mao Mao," she whispered into his ear, allowing him to cry even more. 

All his life, he had been ignored. He had always been searching for attention, for love, for warmth. Rose had given him all that. 

It made him happy and proud of the best woman in the world to him. 

"I-I love you too, Rose Knight. Forever I will love you, no matter what." 

Requester: maomaofan

Prompt: Rose x Mao Mao fanfic