Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Academy.

Ch. 10 Complications

Not so long ago, Tasha had admitted to Dimitri she had feelings for him, and she'd requested him as her guardian. He'd almost taken the offer, but then turned her down when he realized his heart was truly with me.

Of course, I didn't know if Tasha had gotten over Dimitri. I was pretty sure that she didn't know we were in love with each other, and that she wouldn't be too thrilled she'd lost Dimitri to a dhampir girl seven years his junior. I briefly wondered if Tasha would want revenge, but pushed it out of my head.

"Hello, Tasha," Dimitri said, his voice stiff and formal. I could feel him tensing up beside me even as he spoke. Clearly, he wasn't any more thrilled than me that she'd somehow showed up in Baia. "Why are you here?"

"I was visiting family in Russia," Tasha said cheerily, seemingly oblivious to his formality. "So I decided to pass by and stay for a few days in Baia! I didn't know you'd be here though."

"How nice," Dimitri said. Only his hand tightening on my own revealed to me how upset he was.

Tasha turned and seemed to notice me for the first time. Her pale blue eyes widened when she saw me with Dimitri. "Rose? What are you doing here?"

I really wanted to say quite a few things to her, none of which were polite. But I definitely couldn't tell her why I'd come with Dimitri to Russia-so I could spend time with him, away from the Academy.

"Visiting Dimitri's family," I said, pasting on a polite smile.

Tasha looked confused. "But…shouldn't you be in school?"

Dimitri sighed. "Well, she got special leave once I convinced Guardian Alberta that this would be a field experience of sorts." I was surprised at his lie but rolled along with it.

"She did say I'd probably experience more Strigoi out here, and it'd be good experience," I lied.

Tasha raised an eyebrow. "I see." She turned to Olena with a smile. "Do you have somewhere I can stay? Maybe the guest room next to Dimitri's room?"

Olena's smile seemed to turn stiff. "Dimitri's room is now Viktoria's room. And Rose and Dimitri are sharing the guest room, so I'm not quite sure where you would stay…"

At Olena's words, Tasha turned around to stare directly at me and Dimitri. Her gaze dropped to our entwined hands, and her mouth was an O of surprise. I instinctively moved to drop my hand from Dimitri's, but his grip was tight and he wouldn't let go.

"You're with…Rose?" Tasha asked, stunned. She sounded like she'd been punched, and that tone she used…her heart was breaking.

"Yes, I'm with Rose," Dimitri told her, his voice strong and steady. "I love her, and I will always love her."

I was stunned at him declaring his feelings for me so publicly-and with Tasha still in the room. At the same time, it warmed me from the inside. He wouldn't have been able to do this while we were still at the Academy.

She slowly started putting two and two together, if the widening of her eyes was any indication. But she didn't dare say anything in front of Olena.

"Congratulations, Dimitri!" Tasha said, trying desperately hard to act happy for us and smile. All of us gathered in the room could tell she was lying. She wasn't happy Dimitri had chosen me over her.

Yeva shuffled out of the kitchen, and her dark eyes immediately assessed what was going on. I uneasily shifted from one foot to another.

To my surprise, she turned to Tasha and spoke in perfect English. "Welcome back, Tasha. It's been many years."

"You speak English?" I exclaimed. In the few days I'd spent at Dimitri's house, I had never heard her speak a single word of English. Karolina, Sonya, and even Paul spoke to her in Russian.

She looked over at me. Although her face was clear of emotion, like any well-trained guardian, I got the feeling she was extremely amused. "Of course. It's just irritating to speak English sometimes."

Dimitri shook his head in resignation, but made no comment.

Tasha smiled and told Yeva about life in the States, and what she'd been doing in the years they hadn't seen each other.

Dimitri said to Olena, "I'm going upstairs."

Olena nodded, and added in a low voice so only me and Dimitri could hear, "Hurry, before she starts going on about sleeping next door, Dimka." She then moved out of the hallway and into the kitchen.

Dimitri nearly dragged me up the stairs and down the hallway. We ended back in the guest room, and he locked the door behind him.

"What is Tasha doing here?" I whispered into his ear as we sat down on the bed, and he wrapped his arms around me.

Dimitri shook his head. "I had no more warning than you did, Rose. I don't understand why she's here. Although we have known each other for many years, this is very strange."

"Maybe she wants to have a chance at getting you to fall in love with her again," I said bitterly, staring out at the window. After all, it was no secret about Tasha's feelings…

Dimitri moved away to take my hands in his, and looked me straight in the eye. "I promise that I do not return her feelings in any way. I can never love her the way I love you, Roza."

My breath caught in my throat just looking at him. He was looking at me so earnestly and lovingly that I knew he was telling the truth. "You…never loved her?"

"As a friend, yes," Dimitri said, letting go of my hand and averting his eyes.

I narrowed my eyes at him. I suspected he wasn't telling me the whole truth. "Dimitri, tell me. Are you hiding something from me?"

Dimitri hesitated, touching his promise ring. "I…nothing."

I stood up, and glared at him. "Tell. Me. Now," I spat out.

Dimitri closed his eyes and opened them again. "I met Tasha because of a friend of a friend. Although she's a few years older than me, we still attended the same school. Even back then, I heard that she had feelings for me. I ignored those rumors to focus on my training."

I was devastated. My whole world felt like it had been shattered into a million little pieces and stepped on. I just wanted to curl up into a ball of misery and cry my eyes out, but I couldn't. He'd known her for all those years, and known about the feelings that she had held for him. Why had he never told me? I wouldn't have been happy, but it would've been better if I'd known sooner. I wouldn't have felt betrayed, like he'd been hiding something from me.

Damn Tasha. Why did she get to have the advantage of knowing him so much longer than me?

"Why did you never tell me?" I asked, not looking at Dimitri. I had to work hard to keep my face impassive and stony. If I revealed even a little bit of emotion…

His face was sad as he spoke. "I started to harbor feelings for her, but never showed it. She'd left school a few years before I graduated. Eventually, she came back my graduation night. She confessed her feelings for me, and…we kissed. But that was all, I swear. We were never a couple, not even in secret."

"Why not? You both liked each other," I said dully, pulling my knees up to my chest. I turned my head away when Dimitri tried to look at me.

Dimitri's voice was filled with pain. "Well, dhampir-Moroi relationships are frowned upon, although not nearly as much as dhampir relationships. And although I liked her, I didn't like her as much as she did. Eventually we decided it was best for us not to pursue a relationship, at least for the moment. But then you know…eventually she asked me to become her guardian. And you know perfectly well why I turned her down."

Silence hung in the room. I finally looked him in the eye. I knew he was telling the truth, finally revealing his past with Tasha.

"Please believe me, Roza," Dimitri whispered, looking at me. "I would never do anything to hurt you. The only reason I didn't tell you was because there truly was nothing between me and Tasha that happened. I'm so sorry."

I looked him levelly in the eye. "I forgive you. But please don't ever do that again. If there's something, you must tell me. We're in this together, Dimitri."

"I know," he breathed, planting a soft kiss on my forehead. I felt warm all over just from that little kiss.

"Still, this adds complications," I murmured, leaning my head against him. He put his arm around me.

"I know it's going to add complications," he agreed, his voice flat. "She claims to be visiting family. But I know her too well. She rarely does anything like this without an ulterior motive. She's going to try to get me to fall in love with her like she loves me."

I blanched. I couldn't help it. "She has the nerve to come to your family and try to make you fall in love with her all over again?"

"My family knows that her feelings aren't reciprocated," Dimitri said. "I think even Grandmother thinks Tasha is going too far."

"She did?"

Dimitri nodded. "Grandmother isn't very friendly to people she likes or respects. She's a bit too friendly to people she doesn't like."

I frowned. What a weird way to treat someone.

He got up from the bed and held out his hand to me. "Come on. We have to return downstairs. It's almost dinner."

I reluctantly took his hand and we walked out of the room and down the stairs together.

That night, it was very awkward around the dinner table. Although we still spoke and held conversations, I could feel the tension in the air. Clearly, Dimitri and I weren't the only ones who didn't like Tasha being in the Belikov household.

Dimitri told his family that Viktoria would return home tomorrow, and they all looked very happy.

"What happened to Viktoria?" Tasha asked as she popped some beef stroganov in her mouth. For the record, I wasn't too thrilled with the food in Russia so far, but oh well. A girl had to eat after all.

Dimitri exchanged looks with his mother. Olena then spoke. "She was hurt in a car accident, and was asleep in a coma until this evening."

"Is she alright?" Tasha asked. I didn't feel that she was truly concerned about Viktoria, and that she was asking out of politeness.

"Yeah, she's coming back tomorrow," Dimitri answered, finishing his dinner and standing up to put it in the sink.

"Where should I sleep tonight?" Tasha asked. Virtually everyone froze at the table, even me.

Karolina frowned at Tasha. "I thought you had plans to stay somewhere else."

Tasha widened her eyes in a faux innocent way. "You thought that? I don't have anywhere else to stay though…"

Olena sighed. "Well…I suppose you could sleep in Viktoria's room for one night, since she's not coming back till tomorrow."

"Wait, why can't I share the guest room with Dimitri?" Tasha asked. I really wanted to slap her across the face. Had she really forgotten that I was here?

Olena opened her mouth to respond but I jumped right in. "Because I'm sharing the guest room with him!"

Tasha's mouth almost fell open before she recovered and tried to smile. "Oh. Of course."

But then, she said, "If so, then why don't you just go into one bed, and I'll share a bed with Dimitri?"

I glared at her. Anger and outrage poured through me. How dare she try to take Dimitri away from me? "There isn't enough room for two people to sleep in one bed!" Which obliviously wasn't true since Dimitri and I were sharing a bed…

Olena looked like she was trying to think. "I suppose you can take Viktoria's room for a night. She's not coming back till tomorrow."

"Alright, thanks!" Tasha said brightly before she returned to her food.

Dimitri shot me a look from the sink as he organized the dishes. I could almost tell what he was thinking. If Tasha was sleeping in Viktoria's room…and Viktoria's room was practically next to the guest room…things weren't going to go so well for me and Dimitri maybe. I hoped it wouldn't be true though.

After dinner, we spent some time with the family in the living room. It was very crowded, with the addition of Tasha. If Tasha was still here when Viktoria returned tomorrow, it was going to get even more crowded.

Paul was trying to get me to play his toy trains with him. I kept refusing but he kept begging me, and finally I gave in.

"Aunty Roza, this is fun!" he said, laughing after I finished.

I froze in place and I couldn't help from looking at Tasha out of the corner of my eye. She'd been chatting with Dimitri, and now she looked absolutely stunned. Luckily, she hadn't been flirting with him openly…

Dimitri smiled at me though, and I could see the love for me in his eyes.

Paul smiled up at me. "Yes! Aunty Rose."

"Ahh…alright then, now you're my nephew and you need to do as I say," I teased him.

Paul pouted. "But I don't like being told what to do!"

I laughed and looked around the room. The Belikov home was full of laughter and happiness. My own family was fractured. My mom was a dedicated guardian, and she worked for the Szelskys. I had never met my father, and had no idea of who the hell he was.

Dimitri yawned, and stretched. "Roza, let's go upstairs. I'm really tired right now."

I sighed and stood up, ruffling Paul's hair. "Time for me to go to sleep, so good night Paul."

"Good night, Aunty!"

Hand in hand, Dimitri and I walked up the stairs to the guest room.

"Are we going to share a bed tonight?" I asked Dimitri after I'd taken a shower and changed into comfortable PJ's.

Dimitri yawned, stretching and rubbing his eyes. "I want us to. After everything that happened today…"

I shivered, thinking of our fight with the Strigoi. We had decided not to tell anyone for fear of worrying them. I hadn't gotten that weird nauseous feeling since the fight, so it probably meant there weren't any Strigoi around.

I got into one bed, and he settled himself next to me. He wrapped his arms around me, and held me to his side.

I felt very content, just being in his arms. We didn't even have to kiss or do anything naughty. I felt a sense of oneness with him, like he was my other half. My soulmate, my true love.

"I really do want to sleep though," I confessed, yawning. Usually at night, we wouldn't just immediately go to sleep. However, today had been a very long day, and I wanted to sleep.

"We'll just sleep, then," Dimitri whispered, giving me a quick kiss. He leaned over to turn off the lights, and pulled the covers over us. I nestled my face against his chest and closed my eyes. I could barely hear him whisper, "I love you, Roza."

"I love you too, Dimitri," I whispered, before falling asleep.

How is it? Trying to think of a plot now Tasha has showed up at the Belikov household and is trying to break up Rose and Dimitri so she can have him all to herself...enjoy :D