Mara was an angel. This much, Rose was certain of.

The sweet, plump old woman had whipped up a feast for them, making the small wooden table almost overflow with bowls and plates of food. But as delicious as the food was, it wasn't quite as wonderful as the compliments—which Mara was practically showering Rose with. And Rose wasn't one to complain.

"So beautiful, truly," Mara tittered, running around as she heaped their plates with second and third helpings of food. "Never thought I'd see the day. Master Sebastian here has never once brought a girl here, I truly thought I would die before seeing the boy wed. And yet, here I am!" She sighed with joy, before giving Rose a pat on the head—one of many that she had already received. "And such a beautiful, beautiful bride you are. Oh, what pretty little children you'll make."

"Mara!" Sebastian's head shot up, an alarmed look on his face. "You can't say things like that!"

"What?" the lady retorted, indignant. "I can't call your bride pretty?"

"I don't—God, Mara. Rose, I'm so sorry."

Rose was definitely enjoying this. Anytime someone aside from her was turning red, she was happy.

"No, no," she grinned as she took sip of the iced strawberry drink Mara had served them earlier. "I agree with Mara, what's so bad about me getting compliments?"

Sebastian grumbled something under his breath as he shoved a big piece of waffle into his mouth, choosing to stay silent for the rest of the meal.

Breakfast flowed smoothly, and eventually Mara tired herself out and went to 'recharge', in her words. The food, surprisingly enough, managed to get polished off, thanks in big part to Rose, and her rather ravenous appetite.

"So," Rose started, wiping some crumbs off her dress. "What are the plans for the day?"

"Why, the farmhouse isn't enough?" Seb retorted.

Rose's eyes widened. "No, no! Of course it's great—I just meant, I—" she stuttered, trying to find the right words, as Sebastian started chuckling.

"I kid, I kid. We have plans," he grinned, getting up and offering her a hand.

"Oh, you're mean."

"Is that so? How quickly opinions change."

Rose smacked his hand away as she got up, earning another chuckle. "Where are we going? What do I wear?"

"We'll just cycle around town, so just something you can bike in."

Rose paused, before slowly looking at him. "Bike in?"

Sebastian quirked an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Like, bicycle? You want me to ride a cycle?"

"That would be accurate, yes?"

Rose pinched her lips together and just looked at him as realisation slowly dawned on him.

"You don't know how to ride a cycle."

He had an incredulous, amused look on his face. It made Rose quite mad.

"It isn't my fault!" she complained, storming off towards the stairs. "My parents never taught me, and I never had the need to learn myself! So you can go cycle alone, I'm all good, thanks."

Sebastian laughed as he rushed after her, placing his hands on her shoulders to stop her. "Okay, okay. It's fine, I'm sure there are a lot of grown adults out there who don't know how to cycle—"

"Sebastian!"

"What? I'm being supportive!"

"You're making fun of me."

"Sorry, sorry," he chuckled, before quickly sobering up after receiving yet another withering glare from Rose. "It's fine, our plans for the day will just... take slightly longer."

"We'll walk?"

Sebastian grinned. "Nope."

-🥀-

Rose should have known better. How could she let herself get manipulated like this? She was smart, she was vigilant.

And yet, somehow, she had walked right into the trap Sebastian had laid for her.

"Come on, Rose, you can do it. Just look straight ahead, and pedal."

"Easy for you to say!" Rose snapped, her knuckles red with the strain of gripping onto the handlebars. "You have long legs, I bet you never even fell off a cycle."

"I mean..."

"Damn you, Sebastian!" she cursed, gripping tighter. "Don't let go. I swear to god, do not let me go."

"I won't, I won't," he laughed as he ran after her cycle, holding onto the backseat. "You do realise you're doing nothing aside from making me work out?"

"Good," Rose muttered, embittered. "You need it."

"Hey!" Seb gasped, standing up straight. Immediately, Rose teetered, off balance.

"SEBASTIAN!"

"I'm here, I'm here!" He darted forward, grabbing her by the waist and swooping her off the cycle in one smooth motion as the cycle tumbled down to the ground. "You're fine," he breathed as he lowered her to the ground.

Rose turned around, ready to rage, when she realised his hands were still placed on her waist.

It wasn't entirely a foreign touch; Sebastian had held her plenty during their reception. But here, on the farm, away from the snaps of camera lenses, it felt... different. She looked up, to find Sebastian's eyes already on her, his mouth parted slightly. She could see the soft rise and fall of his chest, feel the warm heat emanating off of him. His grip around her waist tightened, ever so slightly.

"Rose—"

"Thank you," she blurted out, stepping away.

Sebastian blinked, before quickly taking a step back too.

"Yeah, you're... you're welcome." He looked away, trying to hide the red of his cheeks. He walked towards the fallen cycle, picking it up and kicking the stand down to keep it steady. "Well. Guess this isn't for you."

"Yeah," Rose muttered, ducking her face. "I'll just walk."

Walking, however, proved to be a very, very exhausting option. Especially when physical labour of any sort was not a strong suit of Rose's.

They had walked all the way to town, and then walked some more around the apple orchards that Sebastian had grown up around, and then some more, to see the school he had studied in for a few years, the ground he had broken his foot playing football on, the river that he used to swim in with his friends. All that walking, however, was worth it. The village looked like it had walked straight out of a children's picture-book, and each location was rife with stories of Sebastian's childhood. Rose was beginning to develop a fondness for baby Sebastian; she almost felt like she knew the wild, somewhat disaster prone child that Sebastian was.

But now that the sun was setting and they had trudged all the way back, the excitement of the day had worn off, and the exhaustion had started setting in. The house was quiet, filled only with the sounds of them going around, freshening up, setting up for dinner. Mara had left the food in hotpots and retired for the day—days seemed to end quicker here than in the city.

Once freshly bathed and wrapped in a warm set of clothes, with her damp hair piled up high on her head, Rose curled up on the couch by the fireplace, a blanket on her lap, and finally opened her phone. As expected, an enormous number of texts from Naina had piled in. Too tired to go through all of them and reply, Rose figured the easier thing to do might just be to call her.

Naina picked up on the very first ring.

"Rose?"

"You don't need to sound this surprised," Rose muttered.

"No," her voice floated in. "You just... haven't actually called me in a very long time."

"Do you even want to know why I called?"

"You mean you didn't call me just because you were missing me insanely?"

Rose turned her eyes heavenward.

"I'm out of town, I figured you'd want to know?" And try as Rose did, she couldn't fully cloak the excitement in her voice.

"What now?"

"Sebastian drove me down to his Grandmother's place, and Naina, my Lord, it's beautiful. It's so quaint and homey and warm, and the people of this town are so nice. And the weather! It's not as cold. I love it here. You should visit! Actually, I don't know, it is Seb's place, so I guess he'd have to invite you, but really! I don't want to leave." Rose finally stopped to take a breath. Her voice had doubled in intensity since she started speaking.

Naina chuckled over the phone.

"Smart boy."

"Huh?"

"Nothing, nothing," She laughed. "And I'd visit, but I'm not sure that pretty little husband of yours would enjoy it too much." 

Rose frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Jeez, Rose," Naina chuckled, making Rose's frown deepen. "When did you become so clueless? You're in a remote location, just the two of you. I'm sure he's being all sweet and romantic too. Are you choosing to be this blind? Hmm?" 

"Naina!" Rose hissed, pressing the volume button down to ensure none of her scandalous words would leak out and find their way to Sebastian's ears. "It isn't like that! There's nothing... romantic here."

Naina sighed. "Rose."

"What."

"It's been four years. How long—"

"No."

"Just try to think of it, for a second. Would it be so bad? To move on?"

Rose squeezed her eyes shut. How could she? How could she even think about that, when even now, every time she closed her eyes, she could see him. His eyes, his hair, his smile. Even now, she could feel the shivers that trailed down her spine at his touch, could conjure up the scent that clung to his skin. She was his. 

"I have to go," she choked out, and before Naina could get any other word in, Rose had hung up.

But, as she sat across the table from Sebastian, surrounded by the comfortable silence he brought with him, she couldn't stop Naina's words from swirling around her head.

Would it really be so bad? To try?