AN: Ok, this chapter is pure fluff but, I couldn't help it. I was going to add some more drama at eh end and make this chapter more than just one scene but, this one just kept developing and I loved it too much to change it. Don't worry, there's still a little more drama ahead. We're not quite done just yet.
"Comrade?" I asked already knowing he was down in the studio. When I didn't get an answer I made my way to the door to the studio and cracked it. Sure enough I heard a guitar playing.
"The next step we should take in remodeling this place is putting in an escalator or an elevator," I grumbled as I made my way down.
"We could add in one of those stair chairs you see in the commercial for old people," He teased not looking up from whatever he was writing.
"I may consider it. Imagine when I'm 9 months pregnant…with twins. Oh my God!" I said realizing how big I was going to get now that I'm pregnant with twins.
"I'm sure we'll figure it out by then," he laughed looking up at me. I smiled at just how much that sight still affected me. His hair hanging down by his shoulders in gray sweat pants and a black t-shirt smiling up at me from above his acoustic guitar. He hadn't shaved today so he had some scruff starting. Gosh he was gorgeous. Instead of saying anything I mock glared at him.
"Says the one who wont be a whale," I retorted dramatically sighing and collapsing on the couch. He laughed at my antics and walked over to me.
"All you needed was to throw a hand on your forehead and that would have been perfect," he teased grabbing my feet and pulling them into his lap massaging them softly. I was only 12 weeks along but, I already had a small bump going on. Dimitri and I had started doing those progress photos each week. Lissa was in charge of creating what went on the chalkboard for it. she would ask us questions and then create it for us. She was the artsy one. She's also the only one we've told we're having twins because she's the one doing the board for us. We haven't told anyone we've been taking the pictures yet, we'll surprise them when we tell them about the twins. Part of the reason we're waiting is because I'm scared to jinx it right now. When we got back to Baia, Dr. O checked me out and said I was still doing great but I still worry.
"Darn I knew I forgot something. Next time, I may even throw in a fake faint. Your hands are magical." I sighed. Even though my bump wasn't big, between the morning sickness and everything, I was already tired all the time.
"I know," he smirked.
"I would throw a pillow at you for being all arrogant and what not but, I'm comfortable."
"Gee thanks," he laughed lightly. I opened an eye and looked at him, smiling softly. "So, what has you making the long trek down here?"
"You tease but, it really is a lot of steps. I thought so before the pregnancy," I told him still being dramatic as I reluctantly pulled my feet out of his lap and twisted to lay my head on his lap. I turned so my face was towards his stomach and brought my hands up, one automatically resting on his leg in front of my face, as I curled my legs up. "I was trying to take a nap when all of a sudden I got super hungry but what I want we don't have and I don't feel like going to town so nothing sounds good and now I'm going to starve to death."
"That's just a little bit over the top don't you think?" he laughed. I loved how one hand automatically went to my hair and the other softly rubbed my back. I sighed and relaxed into him further. What can I say, I get dramatic when I'm hungry. "What are you craving?"
"I can't tell you because if I do, you'll try to go get it and you don't need to be going anywhere. you need rest and relaxation not driving into town," I told him already knowing he was planning it.
"Well, first off, the doctor cleared me to drive and I feel fine. I just get winded every once in a while. None of that stops me from going to get my babies what they want."
"Gah why do you gotta go say stuff like that?" I said melting at him saying 'my babies' all alpha like. "I'll be fine. I'm sure the craving will go away as fast as it came along. Just lay with me."
"Babe, you need to eat if you're hungry."
"I'll eat when I wake up," I told him already getting drowsy. He twisted around so I was facing the back of the couch and he was laying behind me spooning me. He had his head propped up with one hand while his other hand kept running through my hair softly. He waited a couple of minutes as I was slowly starting to doze before speaking up again.
"Roza?" he asked softly. I didn't answer just mumbled a 'hmm?'. "What are you hungry for?"
"Nuh-uh," I answered back getting more and more tired.
"Roza," he sang gently. "I know you're hungry. Your stomach is growling you want a big juicy cheeseburger?"
"No," I mumbled as my stomach actually started growling. "I want pickles. Lots of pickles. And my special sandwich."
"Should've known," he chuckled softly. I realized I had fallen into his trap but, I was way too gone to care as I slowly started drifting into unconsciousness.
"Roza," came Dimitri's voice from behind me somewhere. Then I felt his hand gently rubbing my baby bump. I smiled softly. Even though it was little, he already loved touching it.
"Hmmm?" I asked softly not opening my eyes yet. Ever since we got back, my nightmares had been fewer and farther in between and I was loving actually getting to sleep again without waking up panicked every time.
"I got you a present," he said softly. That's when I remembered his trick from before I went to sleep.
"You play dirty Comrade," I told him rolling over onto my back and looking up at him. He was sitting on the edge of the couch beside me but his hand never left my belly.
"Anything it takes to keep my babies happy. These two and this one," he said softly kissing the bump then coming up to kiss me. "Plus, it's nice to get out of the house and drive on my own again."
"You're lucky I love you," I laughed.
"Well if you didn't you wouldn't be mad I left in the first place, so…" he smirked.
"Shut up with your logic," I smiled right as my stomach growled.
"Alright, up and at em before your food gets cold. Especially because its not in the cabin," he teased.
"Where is it?" I asked eyeing him.
"You'll see, follow me," he grinned. As much as I wanted to be annoyed, his grin melted any annoyance I had as he pulled me up the stairs. I followed him up as he led me to the back door where my flip flops were already waiting for me. I gave him a questioning look but he didn't respond just pulled me behind him towards the path towards the lake. I laughed at his eagerness.
"Comrade, you're not supposed to be doing this much yet," I admonished but really, I was too excited to see his surprise to be upset.
"I'm fine. This is worth it, I promise" he smiled back at me and I melted. He paused and turned towards me. "Don't argue but, I can either blindfold you or, I can cover your eyes."
"Those are my only two options?" I asked him suspiciously. "You realize we're on a dirt path and I'm pregnant and clumsy right?"
"Do you really think I'd ever let you fall?" he asked.
"No, that's probably the one thing I know more than anything, you'd never let me get hurt," I told him honestly. At that he kissed me hard, I wrapped my arms around him and got on my tiptoes to get closer to him. As he kissed me, I felt something slide across my eyes. I pulled back as he tied the bandana around my head. "I thought I got a choice?"
"You took too long. Plus, this is easier to walk with," he said kissing me gently one more time then pulling away and grabbing my hands. He slowly guided me for a couple of minutes before stopping and walking behind me, making sure to keep touching me as he walked so that I knew he was constantly there. Once he was behind me, he softly kissed my neck as his hands softly rubbed my shoulders. "You ready?"
"Mhmmm," I mumbled softly leaning back into his touch. He slowly slid his hands up and untied the blindfold. I gasped when I looked up. There in 'our' spot by the lake, twinkle lights had been hung between all the trees at the edge of the woods. He had his truck parked with the bed of it facing the lake with more twinkle lights lining the sides of the truck. In the bed of the truck was a small mattress with blankets and pillows. With the sun going down and the lights shining, it looked magical. I would be lying if I said my first thought didn't pop to him proposing tonight. "Comrade I love it but…you're not supposed to be doing this much activity. You could have gotten hurt again. Also, how did you do all of this during that small nap?"
"I promise I didn't do any of the manual labor. I got some help to set this up," he said and I could hear the slight annoyance in his tone at needing help which made me love him even more. I turned and kissed him again throwing my arms around his neck. He kissed me back softly before pulling away and smiling. "Come on, let's get you some food."
"Did you get pickles? And my sandwich?" I asked excitedly.
"I got that along with three types of dessert because I wasn't sure which one you'd like. I also grabbed some peanut butter and grapes in case those cravings come back."
"How is it possible that you're this perfect?" I laughed as he led me to the bed of the truck. He turned me right as I got to the tail of the truck so that I was facing him. He kissed my forehead softly before smirking down at me. Before I knew what was happening his hands that had been resting on my hips tightened softly as he lifted me up to sit on the tail. I softly slapped his shoulder as I scolded him "Comrade!"
"See, I'm not perfect," he laughed, standing between my legs. He kept his hands on my hips as I brought mine to rest on his shoulders. "It was like a foot and your light. I'm fine."
"I take it back, you're not perfect. You're stubborn and hard headed and frustrating," I teased him.
"I could say the same thing to you," he taunted back.
"Yea but I'm cute when I'm being stubborn," I joked.
"Are you saying I'm not?" he retorted with a grin.
"No, you're not," I said matter of factly. He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow at me practically screaming 'Are you sure about that?'. I smirked softly as my hands started playing with his hair at the back of his neck. "No, I wouldn't say cute. You're always sexy as hell and you know it. Even when you frustrate the shit out of me."
"I'm fine. I'm going to keep being fine," he placated.
"Says you. But see, I'm gonna need you to carry me from the studio when I'm 9 months pregnant so I need you healthy and in shape. That means you can risk re-injury."
"So, you're worried about me for purely selfish reasons?" he laughed.
"Yep," I smiled.
"Good to know," he said with a grin. He kissed me again on the forehead before pulling away completely letting me go. "Get comfy, I'm going to get your food."
"Magic words," I sighed with a smile. Right on cue my stomach growled. He laughed as he went to his truck and opened the door. I climbed to the back of the truck and adjusted the pillows so I was sitting against the back of the cab comfortably. The thought of food was the only reason I didn't lay down right away. With it being fall, the days were warm but the nights got chilly so I grabbed one of the blankets. As I was laying it on my legs, Dimitri hopped up. I looked up just in time to see a small flicker of pain cross his face as he pulled himself up before quickly hiding it. He looked up to see if I'd noticed it. When he did, I attempted to raise an eyebrow at him but ended up lifting both. "Dimitri Belikov!"
"It was just a flash, I'm good now. it happens every once in a while. Its normal." He defended as he grabbed a small ice chest and what looked like a lunch bag and made his way beside me.
"That didn't look like fine. You're overdoing it," I said worriedly. He adjusted some pillows behind him before turning to me. he put his hand on my cheek softly.
"I'm ok, I promise. The Doctor said that would happen, you were there and heard him say it yourself. I'll ice it when I get home and it will be fine. It hurts worse than this at physical therapy. I'm not going anywhere again. Ok?" he said reassuringly knowing my fear. Rationally I knew at this point worst case is he rips that muscle again which wouldn't be life threatening but, my ptsd brain went straight to life-threatening panic. Luckily for me he knows that and understands me well enough to reassure me.
"I've lost you once, I won't do it again so just take it easy. For me? Please?" I asked. My hormonal self of course chose that moment to decide to have tears pop up.
"I promise. I'm not pushing myself any further than Steve said I could. He told me I need to keep working it to build strength back up. If getting shot twice in the chest didn't kill me, I'm sure hopping on a truck won't either."
"Don't even joke about that, with our luck it might," I sighed.
"You won't get rid of me that easily. That I can guarantee," he said leaning his forehead against mine. "I won't over do it. I promise. If it starts hurting too bad, I'll stop I promise. In the mean time, I'm going to spoil my girl while I can and feed my babies," he said tilting his head forward to give me a quick soft kiss before pulling away and grabbing the lunch bag. He opened it up and pulled out my sandwich, fries, and a side of macaroni before pulling out a burger and fries for himself. At the sight of the food anything I had to say disappeared as my mouth watered and my stomach growled again. Before he started to eat, Dimitri reached behind his pillow and pulled out a small speaker. He put it on the top of his truck and pressed play on his phone.
"You thought of everything huh?" I smiled.
"Well despite being insanely stubborn, I hear I'm pretty much perfect," he joked before taking a bite of his burger. I rolled my eyes at him as I started eating myself.
An hour later, I had managed to eat the burger, fries, and macaroni and cheese, Dimitri and I had split two of the deserts saving the third for later. We had switched to laying down. Dimitri had turned the lights that were on the truck off so we could see the stars better but he'd left the ones in the trees on. Music was still playing on the speaker softly. My head was on his stomach as my feet were propped up on the side of the truck. He had one hand on my stomach and one hand in my hair.
"I can't believe you let me eat all that. I'm going to gain like 20 pounds," I laughed.
"Roza, haven't you learned, I don't let you do anything," he smiled back.
"True dat," I joked.
"Don't ever say that again," he laughed.
"Word," I replied.
"Oh god. How did I end up with such a nerd?" he teased.
"Um coolest nerd you know," I retorted.
"Some days. What's sad is you infected Vika so she's just as bad," he smiled.
"Who said she didn't influence me?" I said pretending to be offended putting my hand on my chest and looking at him with an affronted face.
"Because I watched you teach her your nerdy ways," he said rolling his eyes. Instead of smarting off again I shrugged in agreeance.
"I just made her that much cooler," I grinned.
"We'll go with that," he smiled. I just shook my head at him. We were silent again for a little bit both just watching the stars as he gently ran his hand through my hair. A country love song came on and Dimitri started softly singing it to me. We laid there for a while, eventually I moved to lay beside him, my head on his shoulder, his hand started stroking my small baby bump instead of my hair. As the night passed we watched the stars, occasionally singing along to the radio or saying whatever came to mind. We debated a few baby names, talked about me going to the local studio and working on my album. Nick was going to fly down and help me with it since Dimitri was still on medical leave. Surprisingly he was ok with it, I thought he'd give me a harder time about it. He said he was fine with it, it would give him more time to hang out with his family. We talked about other random things. Mostly though, we just sat there content with just being there together.
"I have a surprise for you," Dimitri said "But we've gotta get up for me to show you."
"I'm intrigued but I don't want to move," I told him softly.
"Well then I need to get up at least so I can grab my guitar," he said laughing softly.
"It's a song?" I asked perking my head up and looking at him. He smirked and nodded. I shifted off of him so he could get up. He hopped off the bed of the truck and walked around to the door, grabbed his guitar and walked back around to the tailgate. I scooted to the end so that my feet were dangling off, I looked over and saw he'd brought one of his hoodies so I slipped it on. He sat beside me on the tailgate, guitar in his lap.
"I started this a little after that night at mama's when we were dancing in her backyard. I just put the finishing touches on it a little bit ago," he told me while checking to make sure his guitar was tuned correctly.
"So, what were you working on today?" I asked.
"I'll tell you about it later," he smiled as he started strumming. I turned so I was sitting cross legged facing him. I put my elbows on my knees and propped my head up with my hands.
I found a love for me
Darling, just dive right in and follow my lead
Well, I found a girl, beautiful and sweet
Oh, I never knew you were the someone waiting for me
'Cause we were just kids when we fell in love
Not knowing what it was
I will not give you up this time
But darling, just kiss me slow
Your heart is all I own
And in your eyes you're holding mine
As he started the chorus he turned and looked at me, glancing at the guitar every once in a while, when he needed to. Tears had already popped into my eyes but I was fighting it, not wanting to cry.
Baby, I'm dancing in the dark
With you between my arms
Barefoot on the grass
Listening to our favorite song
When you said you looked a mess
I whispered underneath my breath
But you heard it,
Darling, you look perfect tonight
Well, I found a woman, stronger than anyone I know
She shares my dreams, I hope that someday I'll share her home
I found a love to carry more than just my secrets
To carry love, to carry children of our own
We are still kids but we're so in love
Fighting against all odds
I know we'll be alright this time
Darling, just hold my hand
Be my girl, I'll be your man
I see my future in your eyes
Durning the last two verses, I couldn't help it as the tears started falling. I wiped my eyes softly. Dimitri smiled softly as he sang still looking at me and the guitar. By this point I needed to touch him, to hold him but, I didn't want the song to end so I slowly and softly uncrossed my legs and slid till I was behind him with my legs on either side of him. I wrapped my arms around his stomach softly and laid my head on his back. He started softly swaying side to side with the music pulling me with him. He was dancing with me the only way he could while still playing. I smiled into his back. The tears were still falling soaking into his shirt but he didn't seem to mind.
Baby, I'm dancing in the dark
With you between my arms
Barefoot on the grass
Listening to our favourite song
When I saw you in that dress
Looking so beautiful
I don't deserve this
Darling, you look perfect tonight
No, no, no
Baby, I'm dancing in the dark
With you between my arms
Barefoot on the grass
Listening to our favourite song
I have faith in what I see
Now I know I have met an angel in person
And she looks perfect
I don't deserve this
You look perfect tonight
After he finished, he set the guitar down beside him where I'd previously been sitting and hopped off of the tailgate standing to face me. I slid forward so he was in between my legs and wrapped my arms around his stomach again pulling him tight to me in a hug while I rested my head in the crook of his neck.
"That was beautiful," I said softly.
"Because I had a beautiful person to write about," he replied.
"I don't know about that but you make me sound beautiful," I told him pulling back enough to look up at him.
"You are, inside and out. Sometimes I'm amazed you're even here with me. You have the biggest heart I've ever seen. Even when it hurts sometimes. You forgave me when you shouldn't have and gave me a second chance. It's like I said, you're an angel. Or at least my angel."
"I'm not perfect though, I've messed up too," I reminded him as the tears that had halted started up again. He smiled softly as he reached up to wipe my tears away.
"No, you're not perfect. No one is but, you're perfect for me," he said. Before I could respond he leaned down and kissed me. gently at first but it slowly got heavier and harder. When I finally pulled back, I was panting. Dimitri pulled me down off the tailgate so I was standing in front of him. This time I let it go trying to trust that he knows his limits. He grabbed my hands as he pulled me a few feet away from the tailgate and pulled his phone out. "I didn't write this song but, the first time I heard it, I wished I had because it reminds me so much of you."
When he finished talking he pressed play and the speaker started playing Luke Combs 'Beautiful Crazy'. I laughed at the song choice. He grabbed my hands and started slow dancing with me moving my hands so they were wrapped around his neck. He brought both of his hands to my hips as we swayed to the song. He softly started singing it to me.
Beautiful, crazy.
She can't help but amaze me.
The way that she dances,
Ain't afraid to take chances.
And wears her heart on her sleeve.
Yeah, she's crazy,
But her crazy is beautiful to me.
"I love you," I told him looking up at him. He smiled and kissed me on the forehead. I smiled, "I love it when you do that."
"I know," he winked playfully. I jokingly rolled my eyes but he knew I loved it. He leaned down and kissed me again. This time when it started to get heated, he pulled back. "Let's go home so I can show you how much I love you."
"Light activity," I reminded him though I wish I didn't have to. I already could jump him anytime but throw in pregnancy hormones and I was done for.
"Remember when I told you I forgot something and went back in? Well, that was a lie I wanted to ask about it and the doctor cleared me," he smiled.
"Was all this just to get in my pants?" I teased. A part of me was disappointed that he hadn't proposed but, after all this I couldn't really be mad.
"Depends did it work?" he grinned back.
"I don't know comrade. Take me home and let's see," I smirked. I pulled out of his arms and turned shutting the tailgate. We took the truck back to the house so we were there in less than two minutes. Before I could climb out, he was at my door helping me down. "Someone's eager."
"I'm always eager for you Roza," he said pulling me into the house. He led me upstairs kissing me and trying his hardest to get us both undressed. By the time we hit the bedroom he'd almost succeeded.
"You know comrade, you didn't have to go through all this trouble just to get laid. I'm kinda a sure thing," I laughed.
"I still like to woo my woman every once in a while," he teased back.
"Woo away," I smiled as I laid back on the bed. Even if he didn't propose, I know without a doubt, he will one day. Sadly though, that thought didn't help the sadness that settled in later while we were laying in bed.