I obviously took lots of creative liberties with Ivan, etc. So many, in fact, that I think this is rather AU. Fluffy AU, but AU nonetheless.
Commotion in an alleyway three blocks down made me tense. I groaned internally. It was probably Ivan. Becoming a Strigoi was probably the worst thing that had ever happened to him, including walking instead of driving to the bar on that fateful night. He was absolutely hopeless – it was amazing he that he'd survived a day as a Strigoi without me to save his sorry ass.
Lightning fast, I was at the mouth of the alley. Ivan was cornered near the middle, caught between a Dumpster and a familiar dark-haired girl. I took a few quiet steps forward so I could get closer to the pair, clamping down on any emotions I had for her. I was there only to watch Ivan get his ass kicked. And then to save him before he actually got staked. That was all.
As I watched, Ivan tried to grab her elbow. She stepped forward, knocking her elbow into him hard, then tugged herself free.
"Ow! Don't hit me! My friend is going to beat you up!" Ivan whined, rubbing his shoulder. Rose just rolled her eyes and stepped back, as if to say, "Oh, quit your whining. I didn't hit you that hard."
"You mean your gay friend?" she asked, raising her eyebrows in mock surprise. I could easily tell that she was only doing this for amusement.
"He's not gay! He's a badass!" Ivan protested indignantly.
"So? Badasses can be gay. Remember my friend Vinnie? He's gay. Lucien, too." Rose paused for a moment, then added, "Actually, Lucien's bi, so scratch that." At the sound of their names, Ivan went even whiter than he already was.
"Well, Dimitri isn't gay," Ivan said. He wore the same determined stare my nephew Paul used to have when he was little. Maybe he still had it, even though he'd be almost eleven years old by now.
"Yeah, you only wish he was."
I smirked. Touché. Ivan had been one of the only cons in coming back to Russia. Him and Yeva.
He saw me. "Hey! How long have you been standing there? Save me!"
"Why?" I asked. "Watching Rose beat you up is fun." I pointed to Ivan, but spoke to Rose: "Hit him again." She looked pissed at being ordered around. Her right hand strayed to her hip, where I saw she kept a silver stake. But she thought better of it and just shoved both of her hands into her pockets, scowling.
"What do you want?" she asked bitterly.
"Nothing from you," I replied, keeping my voice emotionless. Then I turned to Ivan. "We need to go. Galina has another job for us."