30. more lutece stuff!

Robert was a vocal man when it came to his opinion, especially if it differed from her own. His humor infused wit could cut on impact as well as make her laugh. He was stoic, proud, and she always saw him as that.

Until she caught him crying.

He tucked himself away in a chair in the study - one he'd turned to face the window's view of the bustling outer street. But at night, with the street lights covering their glare across the fog-blanketed cobblestones, it was practically silent.

"Turning your back on the fire?" Rosalind asked, making her presence known from the doorway. He seemed to jolt forward, and she simply assumed he had fallen asleep with his nose in a book. So rather than pursuing it, Rosalind took her seat at the fire and pulled the book open to it's folded page.

After a page or so, she looked up when a sound caught her ears. A sniffle, or a sneeze? She ignored it.

Until it happened again moments later.

Rosalind instinctively stood, hooking her arm around the lazily folded blanket behind her; "You can often be so stubborn."

"Don't." He said quietly.

And she laughed. "I'm assuming you're either cold or too lazy to move the chair back," She pointed out, walking towards him despite his refusal, "Therefore, a logical solution is to bring you something of warmth. Take it, Robert. I'd rather not tolerate the mere possibility of you catching a cold."

Rosalind tossed the blanket across his side, watching as he sharply turned his eyes away from her. "Are you going to be a child about this?" She asked, trying to get him to say more than such a simple word, "I will tuck you in. I'm going to assume it will be more embarrassing for you than for myself." Another sniffle from her male counterpart. Rosalind stood up quickly, resting her hands at her sides and watching him a little more intensely.

He really was crying.

"What-"

"I cannot continue to sit here idly." Robert finally interjected, but he opted not to look at her.

"What's done is done."

"I disagree." He often did, but there was a different bite to the words this time.

"I know you do." Rosalind reasoned. And after a moment or two it was clear to her that the conversation was over. So she turned on a heel and decided it was best to walk away.

"Wait," He shot out again, this time reeling out of his seat. She turned to look at him again. His eyes were red, though not overtly so. "You are not listening to me. We can't let this run it's course just because you think it's done."

Rosalind sighed, folding her arms before her chest. "You have a proposal." She denoted. And he did.

He offered that ultimatum.
Word Count: 475