ROSES HAVE THORNS

Kurt and Diana stepped out into the hallway and greeted the household maids who had been quietly waiting at a respectful distance away.

Diana, who was happily clinging tightly to Kurt’s left arm, radiated such an aura post-coital bliss that two of the younger maids felt incredibly shy, quickly lowering their eyes to the floor with burning pink cheeks.

"Girls, if you wouldn’t mind... our bedroom requires a comprehensive cleaning today. Please see to it."

""Right away, Ms. Valentine!""

Kurt, meanwhile, stopped just before Isabel who stood between them. He cleared his throat and drifted his eye slightly to the side. "Hey, Isabel... listen, I’m real sorry about this."

"Sorry? Sorry for what, Master Rossana?"

"Just... yeah. I’m just sorry."

Without explaining the mystery any further, the couple began their slow walk down the hallway toward the central staircase. Confused, Isabel watched their retreating backs with a tilted head. Unable to understand what Kurt was talking about, she shrugged her shoulders and entered the room.

........

As they walked hand-in-hand through the corridor, Diana looked up to him with sparkling eyes. "You coming to watch the tournament today, Rosie?"

"Of course I am. Today’s semi-final matches are going to determine exactly who faces each other at the finals tomorrow. There’s no way in hell I’m missing it."

"And who do you think is going to win?"

"Hmmm... That’s really hard to say. With both teams containing monsters, it could honestly go either way.

"Alright then, I’ll change the question. Who do you want to win?"

"Well, that one’s easy. I want–"

"Oh, there they are! Good morning, you two!" A remarkably lively voice suddenly drifted up from the foyer below just as the couple reached the top of the staircase.

Kurt and Diana both paused, looking down past the banister.

Standing at the base of the stairs was Julianne, also beaming with an unprecedented amount of radiant life. And right beside her, standing with an easy stance, was Reuben.

Diana’s own glowing demeanor instantly vanished. Her crimson eyes turned sharp and cold and her fingers released Kurt’s arm as her posture went rigid.

As they slowly descended the steps, the atmosphere in the foyer shifted into something incredibly heavy and suffocating. The contrast between the two couples was staggering. Kurt and Diana were dead serious, whereas Julianne looked younger than she had in a decade, while Reuben remained his usual, quietly brooding, stoic self.

When they finally met face-to-face at the bottom of the stairs, Julianne subtly but firmly reached out her elbow and nudged at Reuben’s side.

"... Hm. Diana. I–"

"I don’t want to hear it."

Julianne tried stepping in, her hands raised soothingly. "Diana, sweetie, please, just let him–"

"And you..." Diana turned her cold gaze directly onto her mother. "Why on earth are you acting all chummy with him right now? Just yesterday afternoon, you were crying in my arms because of him. Are you seriously going to stand there and act like none of that just happened?"

"I know, I know," Julianne whispered as a gentle smile traced her lips. "But everything is okay now."

"Okay?! Okay how, mom?!"

"Your father came to the estate last night explicitly to apologize for everything he did. He canceled all of his political plans and arrangements with House Herst–"

"MOM! How can you be this blind?! This is the man who wanted to rip my Rosie and me apart! He wanted to forcefully marry me off to Everett like a piece of prize cattle, even though I screamed ’no’ to his face a hundred times! I was nothing but a tool to him! A pawn in his ridiculous political games!"

"Diana, please... he only wanted–"

"Wanted what?! Did he want me to be happy?! Because if that was his grand plan, it didn’t damn well work! He hurt you, and he hurt me! Do you have any idea how miserable, how completely dead inside I would be without Rosie in my life?!"

"Diana," Reuben’s deep voice spoke up.

"Shut up!" She spun on her heel to glare at her father with absolute hatred. "I don’t want to hear a single word coming out of your mouth! Why are you even still standing inside my house?! Get out!"

Julianne tried to interject once more. "Diana, please, listen to reason–"

"Leave this house right now, Reuben." Diana pointed toward the open front doors. "Leave, and don’t you ever dare come back here again."

For a single, microscopic fraction of a second, a profoundly sorrowful flash of sadness flickered behind Reuben’s piercing eyes. But within the next heartbeat, the stone mask returned.

Reuben offered no defense, no argument, and no further words. He slowly turned around, his heavy boots clicking against the carpet as he marched straight through the open doors, exiting into the morning sun.

Julianne stood frozen in the foyer, completely torn inside. Her gaze darted between the door where her husband was walking away and the trembling, furious form of her daughter.

Diana side-eyed her mother. "What are you waiting for? I can clearly see you want to be with that man. Just go."

As Julianne’s lower lip trembled, she reached out to gently squeeze her daughter’s hand for a brief moment. "Please... just know that your father truly does love you, Diana... he truly does."

With those final, pleading words, she spun around, her dress fluttering as she ran out the front doors to follow the retreating back of her husband.

The foyer descended into an echoing silence.

Diana’s chests heaved with jagged breaths as the adrenaline began to fade. She turned around and violently threw her arms around Kurt’s sides, burying her face into the comforting fabric of his shirt.

"What is wrong with those two..." she whispered in a cracking voice. "How can she just forgive him after everything? How can he just walk in here and expect a neat little apology to fix years of isolation? It’s unfair..."

Kurt didn’t interrupt her. He stood perfectly anchored as his hand gently rubbed slow circles across her back. He simply listened to her breathing and let her pour out every ounce of resentment she carried.

After a long, quiet five minutes, Diana let out an exhausted sigh. She slowly lifted her head from his chest to look at him. "Rosie... what do you think?"

"About what?"

"Is... Is what I did the right thing to do?" she whispered as her fingers lightly gripped the back of his shirt. "Did I take it too far?"

Kurt looked down at her softly and smiled. "Did it feel right to you?"

"I... I honestly don’t know..."

"Listen to me, Ana. It doesn’t matter what choices you make. Whether you want to lock those doors from him forever or open them up tomorrow... I am always going to support you. I’m your man. That’s my job."

His eye then narrowed as a dark resolve took over his expression.

"But... if you want my honest thoughts on the matter? A huge part of my personal malice towards that old man died the moment he turned his back and walked out of that coliseum ring without a fight yesterday. He gave up his pride for you."

Kurt’s thumb continued to softly trace her jaw as his voice dropped into a dangerously calm and fiercely protective drawl.

"But... if you still hate his guts, then I hate his guts. If you want to declare war against him, I will stand right by your side with my blade drawn."

His lips slowly curled into a dark smirk. "And... if you ever decide you want to kill him... I’ll happily be the one to help you drive the knife straight through his heart~"

A sudden crimson blush exploded across her cheeks and a thrilling warmth rushed through her veins at the terrifyingly nature of his devotion. Not that she didn’t know of it.

She buried her face into his neck and deeply inhaled the comforting scent that clung to his skin.

"I... I still hate my dad," she whispered softly. "But... definitely not to the point of killing him. I think... I think I just need some time to think about how I actually feel about him now that it’s all over..."

"Take all the time you need."

Diana pulled back slightly and leaned up to press a quick, thankful kiss against his lips.

"Thank you, Rosie. For everything... I should head to the academy grounds now. I imagine poor Mia is currently crying tears of agony at her desk trying to handle the tournament logistics all by herself yesterday."

"Go handle your business, Principal. I’ll see you later."

Nodding happily, she stepped back a single step before vanishing.

SHWOOSH

"..."

"M-Master Rossana...?"

A trembling, high-pitched embarrassed voice suddenly drifted down from the top of the staircase behind him.

Kurt turned around. Standing at the top of the stairs was one of the younger maids who had entered the master suite a few minutes ago to begin the cleaning chores. Her face was violently red and her hands gripping her apron.

"Yeah? What’s wrong?"

"Um... well... we desperately need your assistance upstairs, sir. While we were cleaning your bedroom... Senior Maid Isabel... she... she accidentally slipped on the incredibly wet floor near a blanket, lost her balance, and plummeted directly face-first onto the master bed. And... um..."

The maid covered her burning face with both hands as her cracking voice panicked into a squeak. "I believe the... pheromones and the... the residual liquid on the sheets were so p-potent... she immediately fainted cold upon impact... She won’t wake up, sir."

"Oh."

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