"How goes the garden?"
The words were preceded by the woosh of the glass door on the runners, signalling Dimitri stepping out on the balcony. It's a tiny thing, barely big enough for the table and chair they've got squished onto it, narrow enough that Rose can comfortably have her feet against the rail, and attached to the only slightly bigger apartment they'd been assigned when they officially moved in together.
The dawn chill nipped at Rose's exposed skin but she hadn't been able to resist the long-held urge of hers, hence why she was sitting there only in an old knit jumper and a pair of panties, observing the section of court the balcony looked out on when there was no one there to see her; something she just knew Dimitri was giving her a look for.
Rose shifted her feet aside to get a look at the collection of pots cluttering the edge of the balcony, filled with mostly brown things. She wrinkled her nose and tilted her head back to glance up at Dimitri.
"Not so good."
Rose had worked right through the early morning and so had slept most of the day resulting in her being awake when everyone else was already in bed. Dimitri inversely looked like he was about to leave for his own shift. The phrase 'two ships passing in the night' flitted through Rose's head but she tried not to dwell on it too long.
"I don't think I'm cut out for this enrichment, tenderness crap," Rose said, frowning back down at her pots..
"I think you just need more practice," Dimitri insisted, sounding much more optimistic than Rose felt.
"Yeah," Rose said glumly. "Maybe I'll just get Lissa over to, you know…" Rose wiggled her fingers in an poor imitation of Lissa's magic. "God I could really go for a-"
A steaming mug appeared over her shoulder. "Tea?" Dimitri offered, a smile in his voice.
Rose took it with a moan of delight and smiled up at him once more. "Have I told you how much I love you?"
"Not lately," Dimitri grinned. His smile faded after a moment, "I have to go lyubov moya."
Rose sighed. "Be safe," she demanded and pulled him down for a kiss.
"Always. And try to revive those plants."
"Yeah yeah," Rose grumbled, shooting her plants a venomous look before turning her attention back to the horizon, warming her hands on the mug as she watched the sun steadily climb in the sky.
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