Dimitri caught her, and brushed her hair away from her face. "Roza?" He murmured tentatively. Suddenly, Rose's eyes flew open. Dimitri was dismayed to find them glowing orange, but to his relief they faded into the soft brown he came to know and love. She moaned and burst into tears, sobbing and clutching her face. Dimitri sighed and rested his forehead on hers. He waited until Rose had cried herself out, then kissed her gently. She kissed him back, then whispered hoarsely, "Is Lissa okay?" Dimitri shook his head in disbelief. "You've been having nightmares for the past few days, nightmares that have been steadily growing worse, and then you get possessed, and you are still worried about your Moroi?" Rose hiccupped and said sadly, "They come first." Dimitri cast an eye over to Lissa, who had woken up and was watching Rose with concern. "She's fine." Rose covered her face with her hands and croaked, "Don't leave. Please." Dimitri kissed her, hard, and said roughly, "Of course." Rose looked up in surprise and saw that he had been affected almost as hard as her. He was blinking back tears, and his face looked gaunt. "God, Roza. I've been so worried about you," he said softly. Rose sniffled and hugged Dimitri as hard as she could. "I'm sorry, Dimitri." Dimitri would have laughed if he wasn't so stricken. "Sorry for what, Roza?" Rose breathed in his scent. "Sorry for being a shadow-kissed freak that's constantly involved in some life threatening danger, has stolen your heart, and won't give it back." Dimitri looked down at her and hugged her harder at the sight of her guilt-ridden body. "Dimitri, you really need to leave-" "Stop it, Rose," he said tiredly. "I'm not going anywhere." Rose gave a small sigh of relief, which caused her to wince guiltily. "I thought you'd say that."
Unfortunately, there was still the problem of it happening again. Once they had gotten back to campus and explained everything to Kirova and Alberta, Dimitri was given the go-ahead to move in with Rose ("To watch over her," he insisted. Then, under his breath, "Among other things."). Their room had two beds, but of course they slept together in the bigger bed. Dimitri was always the last one to fall asleep, as he would stay awake ten minutes after Rose had fallen asleep to make sure she wouldn't awake with another person in her head. One night, Dimitri had a false alarm. Rose had had an actual nightmare, not an attempt at being possessed. She cried pitifully and clenched her fists on her head. "Make them go away…" She moaned. Dimitri roughly shook her awake and prepared to get the other guardians, but Rose awoke with tears flowing and herself in control. Dimitri sighed in relief, but quickly regretted it. Though it probably wasn't as bad as Sonya's, she still was terrified. Dimitri pulled her into his arms and murmured something in Russian. Dimitri could feel his shirt getting wet from Rose's tears, but he didn't care. He ran a hand through her hair, which was tousled from sleep and her fitful nightmare. Rose hiccupped and nestled closer to Dimitri, who kissed her forehead and rubbed little circles into her back. She relaxed after a while, and said, "At least it was a regular nightmare." Dimitri stayed silent, but then asked, "Who were you talking about? You said 'make them go away'." Rose hesitated and said slowly, "I dreamed… back when the Strigoi raided Saint Vladimir's. Except… I was in the cave with you, and they…" She gulped. "They made me watch when they turned you." She sounded so fragile, Dimitri held her gently, in case she might break. "That must've been horrible, Roza. I'm sorry." Rose lifted her head, and they shared a sweet kiss, a small moment where they could each forget their pain and loss and enjoy each other. When Rose snuggled up against Dimitri, she nodded off almost instantly. Dimitri didn't bother waiting to go to sleep; he knew with a gut feeling she'd be okay for the night.
When Dimitri woke up, he reluctantly poked Rose until she awoke, bleary-eyed, and yawned. Dimitri kissed her lightly on the forehead and got dressed, smiling as Rose almost fell out of bed. The day was uneventful, and Rose was cheerful by the end of the day. Only one thing left, and that was training. Dimitri got out his sparring mat and pressed the corners down so they wouldn't trip. Rose looked around and smiled. "We're attracting a crowd. Tune down the badassness, comrade." Dimitri smiled, and though nobody could see it, relaxed. This was the Rose he knew and loved, for now anyway. Anyways, Rose was right; they were attracting a crowd. Everyone saw them as the two best fighters, as well as most experienced, in the academy. Watching them fight was like watching… well, masters at their best. Dimitri adopted a fighting stance, and Rose followed suit. Then, they began to fight.
Each move was fluid, each blow made its mark. If one didn't, it was because of the other's skill. There were no foul plays, no mess-ups, no failures. They anticipated each other's moves, and the result was amazing. They each respected each other, and Rose loved to spar with Dimitri. The feeling was mutual. This felt normal to Rose, after all that had happened previously. Of course, Rose thought after, my life is destined to be anything but normal.
