Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, Richelle Mead does. And she's awesome.

Note, this story takes place during Frostbite, it's from Dimitri's P.O.V. during his shopping trip with Tasha, and it's implied RosexDimitri. This is my first attempt at VA FanFic, so go easy on me. *One-shot*

It has to be Red

- The sun was high in the eastern sky when Tasha and I set out for Missoula. Even with recent events, and attack by Strigoi was unlikely. Though, technically, Rose had been right to insist someone accompany Tasha, as with the holiday traffic, there was no guarantee we'd get back to the school before nightfall.

- Tasha Ozera was good company, someone I could let my guard down around without worrying about the consequences. I glanced over at her and smiled. She was rocking her head side to side and singing loudly along with the radio. She had a Styrofoam cup of coffee in one hand, and an imaginary microphone in the other.

- "You spin me right round, baby, right round, like a record baby, right round, round, round!" She sang, her voice several octaves higher than the song required. At least she knew the words to this one- earlier she had butchered the lyrics of "99 luft balloons."

- "Dimka, crank up the volume!" She'd shouted gleefully as we'd pulled onto the highway. Unlike Rose, Tasha didn't seem to have any problems listening to 80s music. Though I suspect Rose gives me a hard time about my musical proclivities just for fun, and not because she really dislikes the music all that much.

- After arriving at the mall, we grabbed a quick bite to eat before setting out to shop. I kept pace beside Tasha, scanning the crowd out of habit. She rolled her eyes at me and let out an exasperated sigh.

- "Oh, lighten up, Dimka," she said, wrapping her arm lightly around mine. Her dark hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail that bounced as she walked. "You're acting like Strigoi are going to come popping out of the woodwork at any moment." I smiled.

- "Well, that is my job."

- "Not today it isn't," she said, her eyes twinkling with mirth. "Today, you're just a guy going Christmas shopping with a friend. The only thing you need to fear are sales girls with perfume bottles." She paused for a moment, then pulled me into a store called David and Goliath.

- "Christian has a thing for ironic t-shirts," she explained. Wrinkling her nose, she pointed at a stack of shirts that read Rock is Dead, long live Paper and Scissors. I laughed.

- "That's more like it," she said, punching me lightly on the arm. Tasha, I realized, was always doing things like that. Finding excuses to touch me. As she sorted through the racks, I let my mind wander to all the times I'd been unable to keep myself from reaching out to Rose; the way it felt to touch her hand, her shoulder, her hair… and that night, always my thoughts drifted back to that night, when Victor Daskov's lust charm had removed everything that held us apart. I shook my head. I couldn't let myself think about that. Not now. Not ever.

- "Isn't there anyone you want to shop for?" Tasha asked, holding up a shirt that said I found Jesus (He was behind the couch).

- "Not in this store," I replied. "And I sent my mother and sisters their gifts a while ago, so they'd get there in time."

- "Oh, that's right," she said as she walked over to the register. She'd decided to buy the Jesus t-shirt and a matching pair of sleep pants. "I forgot you had all sisters. You'll be more help than I'd thought."

- "How so?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

- "Well," she said, biting her lower lip as she looked at me. "Since the girls are coming to my little Christmas party, I'll need to get them something, too." After the boy at the counter rang up her purchase, she grabbed my hand and pulled me back into the sea of Christmas shoppers. We ended up in a department store, near the women's clothes.

- "I'm sure you know more about what teenage girls want than I do," I said carefully. It wasn't strictly true. I'd already seen half-a-dozen things I knew Rose would love, even though I was trying not to think about her.

- "Oh, it'll be easy to shop for Lissa," she said plainly. "She's practically all Christian talks about." She looked around for a moment, then froze. Her eyes suddenly went wide, as if in terror. She pulled me sharply to the left, the whispered urgently, "Perfume girl at twelve o-clock." She took one look at my face and began laughing hysterically.

- "Whoa, you should have seen the look on your face," she said between giggles. "It was all 'threat level orange' for a minute."

- "Not funny," I said, trying to keep a straight face. I failed, and chuckled in spite of myself.

- "Oh, I beg to differ," she said, a mischievous glint in her blue eyes. "I'll get you to let that guard down any day now."

- A part of me wondered if she actually could. Tasha was kind and intelligent, and Rose had been right when she said her scars made her more beautiful. She wore them proudly, not trying to mask them with make-up or an inventive hairstyle, as many women would. She was clearly interested in me, and we did get along. It wasn't difficult being near her, like it was with Rose. Maybe, if I tried, I could learn to care about her in that way.

- "I've got Lissa figured out," she said, lifting a pale blue cashmere sweater off the rack and waving it in front of me to emphasize her point. "It's Rose that's the problem."

- You have no idea, I thought.

- "How do you mean?"

- "Well, what do you get a guardian-in-training? You all take your jobs so seriously. I'd get her a silver stake, but I doubt they sell those at the mall."

- "I wouldn't let you buy her one even if they did," I replied. I didn't mention that if Rose found out about Tasha's interest in me, she'd be in danger of her gift being turned against her. "She's not far enough along in her training to get her own yet."

- "Well then help me out!" She smiled brightly up at me. "I saw the two of you together- you're really great with her." She'd said it innocently enough, but it made my breath catch. "Christian says he can tell she's crazy about having you as an instructor."

- You really have no idea, I thought once again.

- "She's the first novice I've mentored." I hesitated for a moment before quietly adding, "It would have been easier if she'd been a boy."

- "What is that supposed to mean?" She asked defensively, crossing her arms over her chest. I shot her a sidelong glance.

- "I didn't mean it like that," I said, realizing she'd taken my words as an offense against her gender. "It's just that some things have come up that I don't quite know how to deal with."

- "Like what?" She asked, her expression curious, nonjudgmental.

- Things like attraction, I thought. Things like love.

- "She's afraid that this lifestyle will take away her femininity," I explained, deciding to opt out with a far less complicated answer. "She's afraid all the fighting will make her hard; unattractive."

- "Well, that's ridiculous," Tasha said, though there was a distant, understanding look in her eyes. I wondered if she was remembering what it was like to realize she would carry the scars from defending Christian for the rest of her life. "Hasn't she ever seen Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or Hero? Those women are tough as nails ninja warriors, and they're so beautiful it makes your eyes hurt."

- Funny, I'd once said something very similar to Roza.

- "I know," she said, snapping her fingers. "I know just what to get our little ninja princess." She rushed over to a display of Asian-looking dresses and grabbed a blue one. She held it up for me to look at and wiggled her eyebrows at me expectantly.

- "No," I said smoothly. "Not the blue one. If it's for Rose, it has to be red."

-The End-