Chapter XII: Solutions

Arcangelo awoke with a wince, rubbing his eyes with a pounding against his forehead.
"Fuck." He groaned and blinked open his eyes, taking a moment for his vision to clear before he felt the straining of the typical hangover light sensitivity. Struggling to sit up, he rolled his shoulders to relieve the stiffness before pouring himself a glass of water. Sipping it, he looked around his room, catching sight of the little red dress fallen in a heap near his bedroom door. Slowly he turned beside him, seeing the space empty as he put away the glass, a humorless chuckle escaping him as he shook his head at himself.
"How stupid can I get?" He laughed at himself and fell back, placing an arm over his eyes, waiting for the pain to subside.
The sound of the door opening had him pull himself onto his elbows, expecting to see the kids, but raised an eyebrow to find Rosalie with a food-laden trey.
"Morning," She smiled at him while placing the trey between them, leaning over to place a kiss on his cheek as he looked at her in confusion. "What?"
"I-nothing," he shook his head, deciding not to voice his thoughts. "So what do we have here?"
"Breakfast,"
Rosalie grinned as she handed him his coffee with a croissant, grabbing one herself as she sat with her legs crossed beneath her, both of them biting into it as Arcangelo pulled back in surprise, realizing it to be chocolate filled. A laugh escaping Rosalie as she noticed the chocolate on his upper lip, leaning forward, she wiped it away.
"There you go," She smiled as she looked up, breath hitching to see how close they were, his eyes having her freeze in her place until he leaned forward, placing a kiss on her forehead, lingering for a second longer before pulling back.
They both ate breakfast with light chatter until Arcangelo groaned, complaining about how he was too tired and hungover to work.
"Then don't work." Rosalie stated, resulting in a laugh from him, as she lowered herself onto her stomach, "What's so funny? It's the second day of Christmas, nothing is going on,"
Arcangelo pondered her words for a moment, seeing the logic behind them as he nodded.
"Where are the kids?"
"Vincent took them with him." She informed as he looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Said something about being able to look after them for a day to lay off the burden on you,"
A chuckle escaped him as he shook his head.
"Alright then, what do you suggest we do today?"
"Nothing,"
"Nothing?"
"Yes, let's just lay here and forget about the world." Rosalie grinned as she lay down beside him, getting under the covers.
"Alright," He relented, lying down beside her n silence.
And just like that, they did nothing, besides talk about random topics and take naps. They both told each other jokes or talked about the strangest of topics, neither one relieving the memory of what happened last night in the attic.
"Rosalie..." Arcangelo called out as she hummed in response, his face growing a light pink at what he wanted to ask her. "I was...well...I mean..." He fumbled over his words as Rosalie pushed herself onto her elbows, her eyes widening at the pink across his cheek as she repressed a smile.
"Are you...blushing?" She cooed at him.
"What, no."
"Oh! Really?" Rosalie taunted, rolling onto her stomach as she looked at him with amusement. "Gee...I wonder what has you blushing so hard."
At that, his cheeks darkened as his voice cracked.
"N-nothing,"
She couldn't help but squeal at how adorable he looked. The ever-stoic, intimidating Mafia Boss lay before her with tousled hair and wide eyes, blushing at the prospect of something.
"You're so freaking adorable." She laughed as she placed a kiss on his cheek, a giggle escaping her as he turned to look at her with a halfhearted glare, sitting up.
"If I'm so 'freaking adorable' then go out on a date with me. Bet you don't have the guts for that." He challenged with a smug smile, Rosalie sat up beside him and scoffed at his words.
"Oh, honey, please." She retaliated. "I'd be more than willing to go out on a number of dates, hell I'd even be your girlfriend."
"So that's a yes?" He asked her, looking at her with an amused smile, Rosalie's eyebrows furrowing. "You'd be my girlfriend?"
Instantly her face flushed a deep red, an expectant grin on his face as she couldn't help but give him credit for his shrewdness. Not having realized that he was actually proposing to her until he confirmed it.
"You're more than welcome to back out." He assured her, the smile still intact, but his eyes seemed to dull a bit. "You don't have to if you don't want to."
"Y-you know..." Rosalie spoke with a high pitched voice, clearing her throat and trying again. "People-people generally ask the other out after a date or two."
"I know," Arcangelo nodded, "Just thought I'd give it a shot," He added with a shrug before standing up, stretching his arms over his head as he let out a content moan, walking over to his closet.
As he walked away, Rosalie was reminded of everything the two had been through so far. Sure, he held her at gunpoint on their first encounter, but then he saved her numerous times. He helped her care for her choked throat, rescued her after the assault, had her nursed back to health, took care of her when she was drunk and hungover. He trusted her with his niece and nephew and his thoughts. As a matter of fact, she knew how everyone at the estate would silently be watching the two interact "shipping them" more day by day. If she didn't know any better, Rosalie was certain that people were betting on them too.
In retrospect to her realization, they both were nothing short of a couple...just without the official status of it all.
Rosalie was jolted out of thoughts by Arcangelo returning, still in his sleeping clothes as he searched around his room for something.
"I feel like I should do at least something productive today..." He spoke, looking around his bedroom as he rested his hands on his hips. "Any ideas?"
"Yes." Rosalie breathed out, staring at him from the bed as he looked at her expectantly.
"What do you have in mind?"
"No. I mean, yes I'll be your girlfriend."
He blinked at her in silence, his hands lowering to the side as he stared at her with his head tilted to the side.
"You-you don't have to..." He trailed slowly, approaching her seated figure. "I'm not forcing you into-"
"I'm saying yes because I want to," Rosalie assured him, watching him settle on the edge of the bed as he looked her over, her hair sticking up in odd angles as she could feel the heat creeping up her neck and to her cheeks. "I mean...we're practically a couple, what's the harm in making it official?"
"Are...are you sure?" Arcangelo had to ask again, unable to believe that she was willing to be his girlfriend. "Because...I can't treat you any different if we're in public and this relationship would be completely private and hidden from the world, so-"
"-Yes!" Rosalie laughed at his uncertainty. "Yes, I'm-" She started to say before she was halted by his lips on hers.
A soft groan escaping Rosalie as he rolled them over; forcing her beneath him as his lips kissed a trail down her neck to her chest. Her fingers tugging at his shirt, until he sat up and pulled it off, throwing it to the floor before looming over her again.
Rosalie's lips parting as her eyes glazed with lust, her hands ran over his bare skin, a soft moan escaping her lips as she felt every indent and change in his skin, her fingers caressing the few scars on his chest as she opened her mouth to ask about them, but never getting the opportunity as Arcangelo claimed them with his, mentally relieved that she couldn't see the abundance of scars littering his back.
Each of them holding a dark story of their own.
--
Arcangelo deciding that his impromptu vacation needed to come to an end; and set off to work the next day, even though his staff wasn't expected back till a day or two later. Throughout he hadn't seen Rosalie, and he tried not to let it bother him, and since he was thinking about Rosalie, he finally knew what to do about her university which would be resuming soon.
"What's going on?" Rosalie inquired from behind him as he turned, staring at her confused expression as she watched men empty out her things and take them away.
"Glad you could join us," Arcangelo spoke emotionlessly, dismissing the memory of her agreeing to be his girlfriend.
"What's going on?"
"I came up with a solution to your questions."
"Really?" She inquired, instantly perking, and moved closer. "And what do you propose?" Rosalie continued with a teasing smile, looking up at him with glinting eyes.
"You can go home."
"What?" She backed away as he said it, confusion flashing across her features.
"You can go home," Arcangelo repeated as she looked away, almost disappointed. "I don't understand, I thought you wanted to go back."
"I do!" Rosalie exclaimed a bit too enthusiastically as he raised an eyebrow at her response. "I mean, I do. I was just wondering about the mark-"
"Oh, right. I'm assigning two guards to you at all times."
"What?"
"Yes. They will be there for your protection. They will take you to university and wherever you want to go. One of them will remain in the car with the other following you everywhere. And once you're at home, they will be in the apartment across from yours, monitoring any movements around you via security cameras installed in your hallway."
"But there aren't any video cameras in the hall."
"Oh, but there are."
"So what? That's it?" Rosalie inquired as she crossed her arms over her chest, anger bubbling inside her. "I get to go home now?"
"Yeah, pretty much." Arcangelo nodded. "I mean, I can't keep you locked up here against your will when you have studies to consider. You can go back to your life and I'll go back to mine. You can resume your education and your socialization with your friends and family, etcetera."
"Oh, okay." Rosalie nodded as she swallowed, realizing that she had come to like it here, with him and Arsenio, and now when she thought she was finally settled, she was going back. "So...when do I leave?"
"Right now," Arcangelo stated as she stared at him with a blank face. "Grab your stuff, let's go." With that said, he made his way out of her room--well, former room--before going towards the entrance doors.
Grabbing her handbag and placing all her necessities into it, she looked around the room and hoisted it onto her shoulder after she put on her coat. With a soft smile, she made her way down the hall, waving farewell to the people she passed before stepping out into the winter sunlight.
Shielding her eyes, she noticed a black SUV standing as one of the men opened the back door for her, with Arcangelo a few steps ahead and typing on his phone.
Inhaling shakily, she made her way ahead, halting before the Mafia Boss and instantly gaining his attention as he looked at her from behind his sunglasses.
"So...I guess this is it, huh?" She chuckled uneasily as her grip tightened on the strap of her bag. "I'm leaving."
"Yes, you are." He responded curtly.
"Thank you." Rosalie breathed out as she shuffled her feet. "For everything,"
"I owed you." He spoke softly, putting away his phone as she couldn't figure out how his eyes looked behind the opaque glasses
"You could have let me die." She repeated his words from their very first encounter with a fond smile as it caused a slight twitch of his lips.
"Even when I had the opportunity to save you?"
"Even then,"
They both chuckled at the memory, momentarily looking away as Rosalie realized that she was going back. Things would be different, she would be different, but no one would know.
"Goodbye then," Rosalie spoke quietly as Arcangelo nodded.
"Goodbye."
She was about to walk towards the car, ready to settle in the back before she stopped short at the door. Arcangelo watched her back in silence before she turned on her heels and marched back to him. He was about to inquire if something was the matter before her hands shot up and cupped his face, pulling him down as she molded her lips to his.
Taking not only him but everyone around them, by surprise.
Salvatore nearly tripped and all the guards broke character, everyone staring in disbelief as the marked girl was kissed the Mafia Boss.
Pulling away, both of their faces were flushed with their breaths uneven and shaky.
Arcangelo stared at her in disbelief, never having expected such a bold move on her part as she pulled away, releasing him and pressed her fingers to her lips, no doubt still feeling the tingling that surged through him as well. Without another word, she turned and settled in the car, pulling the door shut.
The guard settled as well before driving off, leaving everyone in silent astonishment.
Inhaling deeply, Arcangelo's face flushed at the way he reacted to her. Feeling uncharacteristically embarrassed, he rubbed the back of his neck, and lightly kicking the ground with the tip of his shoes as he glanced up.
His entire posture becoming rigid as he noticed all the eyes on him.
"What are you all staring at?!" He demanded in a booming voice as they all jolted out of their stupor, going back to their posts, two guards exchanging money behind his back as Arcangelo spun on his heels, his face burning as he marched towards the entrance doors.
"Not a word." He growled to Salvatore as he passed by, the other man simply raising his hands in surrender as a small smirk crept its way onto his lips as he felt one of the men push a wad of cash into his hand.
"Whatever you say," He stated as he followed bouncing the money behind his back. "Loverboy,"