Disclaimer: Unfortunately I am not Richelle Mead and do not own any of these characters. I simply own the storyline. The phrases in italics between sections are from Skillet's "Comatose."
The Belikovas hosted a memorial service for Viktoria. A large portion of the town, vampires and humans a like, was there to pay their respect. Toward the end, we all sat around a fire to share stories about the tainted Belikova. Half the time I didn't understand what anyone said because they spoke in Russian, but it was obvious that they all appreciated Viktoria's humor and charm.
The following morning, I woke as the sunrise streamed through the window. Dimitri's arm was lazily laid across my waist and he was snoring softly. I didn't want to wake him, but damn, was I hungry. So I slowly rolled out from under his limp limb and changed into jeans and a sweater.
I walked into the hallway to smell something absolutely wonderful. It was similar to the smell of pancakes but not… I made my way down the stairs and into the kitchen. Olena Belikova stood at the stove, cooking whatever produced that wonderful aroma.
I began walking toward her to see what it was, but someone interrupted me. "Rose? What are you doing here?"
Oh dammit. I turned to the dining table and saw Tasha Ozera sitting there. Why, I did not know, but I didn't want to see her. But I forced a smile anyway. "Alberta thinks I'd do better if I have legitimate field experience, so I'm accompanying Dimitri during his stay."
Tasha smiled, though her pupils grew smaller. Fake bitch. "That's a wonderful idea. I'm sure that just thrills the princess."
There was a stabbing pain in my chest at the mentioning of Lissa, but I chose to ignore it. Instead I chose to fight bitchiness with bitchiness. "Sure she is. Have you gone to see your nephew yet? He fought valiantly in the invasion and raid."
Her smile fell. "Not yet. I planned on visiting the academy once I stayed here for a few days." A few days? "Besides, I spoke to him as soon as my plane landed. He's fine."
"But wh—"
"Good morning, everyone," came a voice behind me. Dimitri. He stepped beside me, surely ready to kiss me, but he stopped when he saw scar face. "Tasha?"
"Dimka!" Tasha exclaimed as she shot up from the table and threw herself at Dimitri. She went to kiss his cheek, but he pushed her away. Offended, she huffed, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," he replied coolly.
"Breakfast!" Olena shouted just as Tasha went to say something. I glanced over at her, and I nearly laughed at the satisfied smirk she wore.
Tasha returned to her seat, looking expectant. As if Dimitri would sit next to her. Instead he sat at the end of the table, and I took the seat next to him. Yeva and Dimitri's other sisters entered.
"Roza, behave," Dimitri whispered.
I about stuck my tongue out at him, but someone kicked my shin. I glared at Yeva, but she was already engaged in conversation with who I assumed to be Sonya, going by her pregnant belly.
"Aunt Roza!" I looked up just in time to be glomped by Paul. I teetered in my chair but managed to not fall with some help from Dimitri. Paul quickly kissed my cheek and ran to an empty seat on the other end of the table.
"Aunt?" Tasha asked.
"We visited the academy not too long ago. Paul became quite attached to Roza," Olena replied.
"All right," Tasha said slowly before picking at her food.
I grabbed a fork and went to cut a piece of the pancake-not-pancake food when Dimitri leaned toward me. "They're blini," he said quietly. "They're like pancakes but not."
"Thanks for clearing that up, comrade," I said sarcastically.
He was smiling as he took his first bite. "These are delicious, Mama," he said once done.
"Mama," I snorted. "That's so cute."
He wore a boyish smile then. Other than Yeva, he was probably the only one who heard it. Satisfied, I finally took my first bite and instantly fell in love. "I hope you can cook like this," I quietly told Dimitri after scarfing one down.
He raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, one of us needs to know how to cook; I can't fix toast without burning it, so it has to be you."
He rolled his eyes and went back to eating. Victory. I started to eat again and just eavesdrop on other conversations.
"…to the academy in a few days," rambled Tasha. "My nephew, Christian, suggested I come here first. How are you all doing?"
And suddenly there was far too much tension for anyone to be comfortable. Dimitri reached breaking point and excused himself from the table. I went to do the same when Olena stopped me. "Give him a few minutes first, Roza."
I sighed and began pushing around one of the blini to pass the time.
"I didn't mean to upset anyone. I'm sorry," Tasha said. "Rose, I'll go apologize to him."
"No," I responded, stabbing the food with my fork. "Don't you think you've done enough damage?"
"Rose—"
"No, of course you don't. You're too blinded by your obsession with Dimitri that you believe you can get away with anything at the batter of your eyelashes and seams of your wallet." I stood, glaring at her. "Guess what, Tasha? You're his friend and nothing more. Get that through your head before you hurt yourself and whatever chances you have left."
Before she could reply, I stormed upstairs and tried to open Dimitri's door, but it wouldn't budge. "Dimitri," I said softly. "Come on, open the door. It's just me."
I heard the bed shift and footsteps, and soon the door was cracked open. Dimitri stood there, his face lined more than it had been in days. "Roza, I want to be alone for a little while."
I sighed. "Can we just talk first? I'll leave you alone after that."
Hesitantly he opened the door and let me in. He lay on the bed again, so I sat beside him. I took his hand closest to me and laced my fingers with his.
"You know that you don't have to come to my aid every time something happens, right?" he asked as he began rubbing circles on the back of my hand with his thumb.
"I know." I lay beside him then, staring at our entwined hands. "You know how I am, though. I hate seeing you upset."
"I know you do, and I appreciate that. I'm a big boy now, though, Roza."
At that I laughed. "Well, sometimes I wonder." I could almost hear his eyes roll, which made me laugh more. "I love you, though."
"I love you, too." He raised our hands up and kissed the back of mine. "I don't deserve you."
"Yeah, well, you have me. Don't complain."
He chuckled. "Maybe we should tell Tasha. It would make this a little less awkward."
"Doubt it." I squeezed his hand. "She's in love with you. That won't stop as soon as she finds out we're together."
He cursed under his breath. "You'd think she got the message when I turned down her offer."
"You'd think, but she didn't." Stupid bitch. "You'll probably have a lot of trouble getting rid of that one."
"Roza," he tried warning me, but his laughter kept me from taking him seriously. When I giggled, he released my hand and rolled on top of me. "Why can I never act as your mentor?"
"Because you love me?"
He grinned and leaned down to kiss me, but the door swung open. Both of us turned in the direction of the door to see Karolina standing there. "Oh my gosh! My eyes!"
"If you had knocked, you wouldn't have that problem," Dimitri retorted.
"Oh, don't give me that crap, Dimka," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Mama wants to know if you're all right."
"Just fine now." He sat up, still pinning me down. "Roza and I will be downstairs in a moment."
She giggled and quietly shut the door.
Dimitri waited for her footsteps to fade before he looked down at me mischievously. "We'll have to continue this later."
And so Dimitri and I made our way back downstairs. Everyone was in the living room watching television at that point. A pissy Dimitri ignored his friend's presence and guided me over to the loveseat on the other side of the room.
Despite it being daytime, the room was dark. Dimitri took hold of my hand, gave it a squeeze, and let go. I looked up, seeing an apologetic smile on his handsome face. I looked across the room, barely seeing Tasha's fleeting eyes.
"Don't," Dimitri warned.
I rolled my eyes. "Fine, don't spare my feelings."
He sighed, and we exchanged glances. We didn't need a spirit-induced bond to know what the other was thinking. We just knew.
After a few minutes of pretending I knew what was being said, I feigned being tired. So I lay back, effectively using Dimitri's lap as a pillow. And while most think a lap would be uncomfortable, I thought the exact opposite. I felt Dimitri's hands come to rest on my waist and shoulder. There was a sense of right by being intimate, no matter how discrete.
I lazily glanced across the room. Olena was smiling. I thought back to the day I had to say goodbye to her and what she told me. By some miracle, I made Dimitri happy, and Olena loved me for it. I was like a fourth daughter to her. I felt like I belonged for the first time in my life. I was home.
Oh how I adore you
"Now get into your fighting stance," Dimitri instructed. I did as he said, but clearly I wasn't up to satisfactory because he stepped right behind me and placed his hands on my hips. "No. Like this." He then slid one hand down my thigh and slowly repositioned my leg in front of me. "Have you been doing this incorrectly this entire time?" he asked huskily. This was so unlike the instructor Dimitri I was used to, but it was also a nice change. "Roza."
His other hand slid up and came to rest just below my bust, and I smiled. "Aren't you supposed to be training me, comrade?"
"Should I be? Yes. Do I want to be? No."
"What about Tasha?"
He sighed, and he loosened his grip. "Of all the practices—"
"I know, I know." I stepped away and turned around to face him. "I want to, but I don't trust her."
Oh how I thirst for you
"Rose, come on."
"Good. Learn some patience," I grumbled.
"Roza," Dimitri growled from the other side of the door. "What is taking you so long?"
"Nothing," I hummed as I straightened the hem of the black dress. Yes, the black dress. I'd been able to sew—oh, who am I kidding? It was a cheap knockoff, but it looked the same. That was all that mattered.
Dimitri was taking me out to dinner, though Tasha thought we were going to a gym of some sort for some technical training.
"Roza, really, what are y—"
I turned around to see Dimitri in the doorway. His eyes scanned the length of my body, lingering at my chest, before they came to rest at my eyes.
"How'd you fix the dress?" he asked. His accent was heavier than I'd heard in a while.
"I have my ways," I answered mysteriously.
I'll never wake up without an overdose of you
Our first date.
Our first real date.
We didn't have to worry about being guardians. We didn't have to worry about what others thought. We could just be ourselves: Dimitri and Rose. For the first time in public.
"And now I can have you all to myself," Dimitri said quietly as we sat at a table.
"Just for a little while," I replied as I reached across the table. Dimitri did the same and took my hand in his. There was so much warmth and love in that little touch. He smiled, and I did too.
"How do you like Baia so far, Roza?"
"Well, it is a bit cold, but—"
"Roza," he chastised.
"Fine. I love it." I sighed. "Your family makes me feel so welcomed. I don't ever want to leave."
His smile grew wider. "They adore you, by the way."
"It's hard not to," I joked.
"You're right." He squeezed my hand. "There's just something likeable about you."
"And what—"
The waitress showed up then and started speaking in Russian, leaving me the odd one out and playing with the tablecloth. The only time I caught what she said was when she noticed Dimitri.
"Pascha, this is Rose," Dimitri said as he gestured toward me. "Rose, this is Pascha."
"Oh!" Pascha smiled. "Are you American?"
"Yes," I replied.
"How do you know Dimka?"
"She'll be guarding Princess Dragomir with me in just a matter of months," Dimitri replied smoothly.
Pascha looked at me, and then her eyes widened. "She looks just like Zmey."
Dimitri quickly said something in Russian, and Pascha noddedand walked away.
"Who's Smeeya?"
"Zmey happens to be your father."
"What's that word mean?"
"Snake."
"Snake?"
"Yes. Around here he doesn't have a nice reputation." Dimitri sighed. "He has his heart in the right place, but he doesn't necessarily dothe right things."
"Like a mob boss?" I whispered bitterly.
"Yes and no. Abe is charismatic and utilizes what he has to get what he wants." He frowned. "Let's not discuss this, though, Roza; we can talk later. This is a night for us."
As much as I wanted to know about the man who had walked into my life not even three days prior to that date, my desire to keep Dimitri happy, therefore distracted, was far greater.
"Okay. What do you want to talk about?"
"Anything. Roza, we don't have to worry about anything right now. It's just you and me, and we're on a date."
"When did we switch roles?"
"When the plane landed," I replied as I squeezed his hand. "It's okay for you to let loose every now and then, comrade."
"I love you," he breathed.
"I know."
He raised an eyebrow. "You're so—"
"Charming? Beautiful? Intelligent?"
"—full of yourself."
I mock-glared at him. "Well, if that isn't the pot calling the kettle black."
"Liar."
"Am not—"
"And here we go. Borscht for the lovely couple." Pascha was back, and she set bowls of a reddish food in front of Dimitri and me. "I'll be in the back, if you need me."
"Just try it," Dimitri whispered. "It's a big dish here. If you don't like it, get something else."
I slowly picked up my spoon. Trust me, I was all for trying new food, but sometimes I was skeptical about anything that remotely resembled blood. May be a little extreme, but I digress…
"C'mon, Roza. It's delicious," Dimitri murmured just before shoving a spoonful into his mouth.
I sighed and quickly took a bite. After a few seconds I made eye contact with an expectant Dimitri.
"I like it," I said quietly. "Now stop acting like I'm one. The only thing you haven't done is take my spoon and try to feed me."
He rolled his eyes. "You'll thank me one day."
"Oh yeah, I'll come to appreciate being babied by my boyfriend."
We'd never really discussed what we were. I loved the man with all my heart, but he could be so frustrating. And I knew I could be the biggest bitch he's come across. At that last word, though, he smiled.
The way you make me feel
Waking up to you never felt so real
The next morning I woke to an arm securely wrapped around my waist. I snuggled into the broad, muscular, bare chest in front of me, and the arm tightened around me. I never wanted to leave. I was so comfortable. This was so—
The door swung open. Dimitri just grumbled something and tried to go back to sleep. I did my best to peek over his shoulder to see who had barged in. There stood Tasha. Her nose was buried in a western book, and she hadn't seen me yet, so I buried my face in Dimitri's chest once more.
"Dimka, I don't know what you see in these things," she said, flirting the best she could. "Do you think you could explain to me—" She stopped, and a few seconds later there was a thud. "Oh."
I felt Dimitri shift a little. "Good morning, Tasha."
"Morning…"
"What do you want?" he grumbled.
"Just…nevermind." She sighed. "What's Rose doing in here?"
"She was injured in training last night, and we got to talking and just fell asleep." What an incredible liar.
"Oh, okay," she said slowly. "Well, when you get the chance, could you enlighten me on what's so fascinating about these books?"
"Sure," he replied. I punched his chest lightly. "I'm going back to sleep for a little while, Tash. Can you shut the door when you leave?"
"Yeah. Let's make it a date!" Her tone was far too cheerful for my liking. "Later, Dimka."
I waited for the door to click shut before pulling back and hitting Dimitri's chest again. "You jackass."
"Wh—Roza, c'mon. What was I supposed to say?"
"I don't know. Maybe that it isn't a date?"
"Then she'd know something was up."
"You're a flawless liar, Dimitri. I think you could have thought of something."
"Roza," he sighed. "I'll tell her that it's not a date. Okay?"
"Please do," I growled. "I don't like sharing."
"Good to know," he said with a smile and pulled me back toward him. "Now where were we last night?"
"Somewhere after the doctor helped the beautiful, injured patient."
"My favorite part," he whispered huskily before claiming my lips with his own.
A/N: The first official chapter. It's fluffier than I intended, but I think that's a good thing in comparison to what I have in store for this. Trust me; it's going to be dramatic and adventurous.
Tell me what you think and what you're guessing will happen. (: