Disclaimer: I own nothing relating to Vampire Academy except my love for Richelle Mead!

Hi everyone! This is my first Vampire Academy story for Rose and Lissa. I love their friendship, and their reunion at the end of Blood Promise was my favorite moment between these two girls—I think it really showed how much they love each other. So I hope you enjoy my take on their reunion

I took a breath before the plane landed on the tarmac, closing my eyes only for a moment. Coming home was such a relief…yet such a burden all at the same time. It was funny, how when I left all I could think about was how afraid I was of what I might find out there. Here again, the only emotion pulsating through me was fear. Fear of what exactly I was coming home to.

There was an announcement from the captain instructing everyone to take their belongings and make their way off the plane. As my luck would have it, I hadn't packed very much. I had Abe to thank for that. In some weird way it made me feel closer to him, like I found a part of myself that I never thought I would.

But it was only a small part. The gaping holes that Lissa and Dimitri tore through my soul after the Strigoi attack accounted for much, much more.

Before we came back to the Academy, Lissa was my entire world. I had thought of nothing else but training as hard as I could to become the best Guardian she would ever have. I wanted to be the only Guardian, the only person, she would ever need.

I loved her that much.

Now, coming home from Russia—coming back to the one place I had grown to care for the most (no way in hell would I ever admit that out loud)—I was about to face everything and everyone I left behind. Maybe I should have stayed in Siberia…

I thought about all of these things as I made my way through the airport. My heart was racing and my nerves were doing somersaults. Stepping off that plane made all of it seem more real to me—more final.

Thankfully there was one person back at the Academy who would be happy to see me. Anyone beyond that, I honestly didn't know.

When he saw me he immediately began walking over. I started walking towards him as well, my pace quickening with every step I look. He stopped and looked at me for a moment. I could see in his eyes that he couldn't believe I was actually there, standing right in from of him. I looked up at him and smiled, and he crushed me into a great big hug.

"Little dhampir—boy am I glad to see you."

"I'm glad to see you too, Ivashkov."

We had stayed like that for a minute, both of us adjusting to the reality of our reunion. "You're really back? Like, for good this time?"

I grinned as I saw the small flicker of astonishment in his eyes. "Yes. I'm back. At least for now I am."

Adrian smiled in return. "For now, that's good enough for me."

We had been sitting in the car for a while, not saying much to one another as I continued to stare out the window. I had a feeling Adrian picked up on my shock from returning home. It probably turned my aura into some crazy color.

"Hey, Rose?"

I slowly turned to face him. "Yeah?"

"It's going to be Ok you know. Everything is…not as bad as you think."

I nodded and smiled weakly. "Thanks."

"Besides," he grinned, "When things get lame around here—and they pretty much do most of the time—you've always got me. And I'm pretty damn good company if I don't say so myself."

For the first time since we hit the road I actually laughed. Adrian's cocky sense of humor turned out to be exactly what I needed right now. "You know, I'm back for what—30 minutes? And you're already trying to butter me up for God only knows what."

"Oh, He knows." He winked.

"Oh, Adrian—gross!" I said as a slapped him in the arm. I did not want to think about the Big Man upstairs knowing anything that went on inside that boy's head.

"Aw, little dhampir I'm hurt. I honestly don't know where you get the impression that my intentions aren't anything but honorable," he smirked.

"Yeah, " I chuckled, "I wonder."

He smiled in return, but a moment later his expression turned slightly more serious when he noticed my eyes growing distant…my smile fading. "I know, little dhampir," he said softly.

I met his eyes once again. "Know what?"

The gravel under his tires began crackling beneath us as I waited for his answer. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed the grounds…the grass…

That gate.

I looked back at Adrian as I realized exactly where we were. By then he had stopped the car and turned off the ignition. I watched him glance in the direction of the entrance and then back at me.

"I just…know Rose. I know what you're thinking right now."

I exhaled, not looking at him and not saying another word. He put his hand on my shoulder. "It's Ok. Go."

I returned his embrace with one of my own. I pulled back and opened the car door. Once I got out and closed the door behind me, I peeked in through the window before I made the death walk back through the gates St. Vladimir's, giving him once last knowing look. "Catch you later, Ivashkov."

"I know I will, little dhampir."

I tried leveling out my breathing as I approached the dorm halls of the Academy. As nervous and anxious as I was about seeing her, I made a conscious effort not to tap into the bond. I wanted all of her thoughts, all of her emotions, all of her reactions…all of her, to remain a complete surprise for me. Seeing her though the bond while I was gone had kept some of the pain of not being with her at bay, but I know nothing would come close to the real thing. That was what I wanted to experience.

My presence had caused quite a stir amongst my former classmates. The second I stepped foot into the Academy, I was greeted with nothing but stares and whispers as I walked purposefully in the direction of my best friend's suite.

But I had come to expect that. I hadn't exactly been the poster child for staying in school over the last four years.

My pace had quickened as I grew closer to Lissa. The nervousness I felt earlier began to transform into something more. I missed her so much.

Moments later, I arrived. It was surreal to me that the only thing standing between us now was that door. Not an ocean, not a border…just her bedroom door. It was slightly open when I knocked, but not enough for her to see who was on the other side. "Come in," she said.

I took a deep breath, then slowly opened the door…

The first sight of Lissa after 5 weeks of complete separation took my breath away.

Her eyes seemed so haunted when she turned to see who it was. A split second later her face lit up when she realized, it was me. My heart skipped a few beats, and for a moment I was at a complete loss for words. We both were.

When Lissa finally pulled herself together she rushed towards me. I quickly closed the door behind me and drowned myself in her embrace as she pulled me into a giant hug. I could have held on to her like that forever.

"Rose…I'm not imagining this right now am I? I mean you're here—you're really standing in front of me right now?"

The desperation in her eyes and trembling voice panged my heart. I had hurt Lissa by leaving more than I knew.

I looked straight into her gorgeous jade eyes. "Yeah, Liss. It's really me." I pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "I'm here, and in one piece thankfully," I smirked.

"Oh God, Rose…" She pulled me close to her once more. I could hear her muffled cries into my shoulder as I did my best to comfort her.

"Shh…it's Ok Liss. I'm here now."

"I was so scared that I wasn't ever going to see you again, that…that something horrible was going to happen to you, and that you weren't ever coming back," she cried.

"Lissa, please—I know the risks I took when I ran away. But at the time, they didn't matter. I just didn't care." I sighed. "Chasing down Dimitri was just…" I shook my head while my gaze drifted elsewhere. "It made me understand exactly what I left behind."

She gently ran her fingers through my hair, like she still couldn't believe I was actually with her. "I missed you so terribly."

I close my eyes for a second, choking back a sob before I answered her. "I missed you too."

Seeing Dimitri as the monster he now was had shattered my world. I kept having nightmares about our last moments on that bridge…that damn bridge. I could have sworn that for a second—just a fraction of a second—I saw my Dimitri in those eyes. And that my Dimitri, somewhere deep down, was trying to say goodbye. That he was sorry for everything he put me through.

Running away from him and from that bridge, only one person raced through mind and kept me from completely falling apart. The moment I witnessed Dimitri fall into the rushing water was the most terrifying of my life. In that instant, I wanted nothing more than to run my heart out all the way to safety.

Safety—in my eyes—meant my best friend. It meant Lissa.

That was when I decided I immediately needed to get back to her. She was my best friend, she was my bond mate…

She was my everything. And I would give my life to protect her, just as I always promised I would.

Being with Lissa right here, and right now began to fill the gaping hole in my heart where she was when I ran away. We sat on her bed and talked for hours about everything we went through in our five weeks of separation. We had overcome a hell of a lot. However, we also had to overcome the issues in our own relationship too.

"Rose, I want you to know something," Lissa said as she took my hand in hers. "I will never take you for granted again. I'm sorry for being so selfish; flaunting my relationship with Christian in your face 24/7, and thinking you were always just going to be there to follow me around. But, despite all of this, what I regret most is failing to see that my best friend was going through some serious heartache from not being able to be with the man she loved—and not doing enough to comfort you when you needed me the most."

I squeezed her hand in return. "I love you for saying that Liss, I really do, but I'm not completely blameless for what happened between us either. I could have opened up to you about Dimitri, and about everything that I was going through but I didn't. I thought at the time that my feelings didn't really matter, because in the end it wasn't about me. It was about you. They come first."

"Sounds familiar," Lissa frowned.

"I know. But Lissa, everything I've done up until this point to become a Guardian—everything I've sacrificed—I've done because I love you. I will always want to protect you and I will always want to take care of you. That will never change."

"Rose," she chortled and brought her hand against my cheek. "I love you too. Now that you're here and we're together, I want us to get back on track. I don't ever want to lose you again."

I gently took her hand in my own, giving her a quick peck on her knuckles. "You won't."

"Good," she smiled.

Seeing her smile had made me feel, for the first time in a long time, that everything was going to be Ok. I had my best friend back, and pieces of my heart had begun to come together.

Feeling exhausted from my trip, I could feel myself dozing off on Lissa's bed. It would take Dimitri turning back into a dhampir again to get me out of my comfort spot.

Lissa noticed my eyes fluttering closed and laid down next to me, wrapping me up in her arms. The soothing feeling of Spirit had flickered a bit between the two of us. "Sweet dreams, Rose," she murmured into my shoulder.

Her presence next to me was the only thing I needed as I drifted further and further into oblivion, knowing that anywhere I was with Lissa, I was home.

I was finally safe.

With that sweet and amazing reassurance, I let myself descend into somber bliss. "Sweet dreams, Liss."

THE END

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