So I had a little inspo and got another chapter out. Sorry, it's on the short side. If I can, I may try an update every two weeks.
I do like having something to change to when I have writer's block, so we will see.

Enjoy!

Chapter 9

The usual place, it turns out, was a fancy place. I understand now why Dimitri told me to dress up a little.

It had taken me some time to find something to wear, mainly because I had to go through everything I owned to even know what I had. There wasn't a large selection, Dimitri explaining that most of my things were back in Bethlehem, so it was a bit of trial and error. I, of course, made Dimitri sit and watch the fashion show I put on, but after his opinion was the same "I think it looks great on you" for five in a row, I stopped asking.

After settling on a forest green wrap dress that was long-sleeved, stopping mid-thigh, some tights and ankle boots, I had to do my hair and make-up. This was where I took the longest because I didn't know how to hide the injuries on my face.

While I had healed a little more, it was still obvious that my face had collided with something hard. The bruises were starting to yellow, and the long cut was still red and scabbing. I hated it.

I stared dubiously at the minimal make-up I had, doubting that even this could do much to cover it. I tried adjusting my hair, but unless I wanted to have half my face covered all night, it wasn't going to work.

Groaning frustrated, I closed my eyes, leaning against the bathroom counter. Dimitri's hands came to land on my hips, pulling my body back against his, lips pressing against my hair.

"What's wrong?" He asked, thumbs rubbing in small circles on my lower back. I gazed back at him in the reflection of the mirror.

"I look like I've been in a car crash," I whined.

The corner of his lips twitched, "You were in a car crash."

"Yeah," I pointed to my face, "and now I look ugly."

Dimitri moved his head to the side, trailing kisses down the side of my face, stopping at my ear, "You could never be ugly, Roza."

I rolled my eyes, concealing my smile, "You're biased."

He chuckled, "Maybe. But I'm not wrong." He turned me in his arms, so we were facing each other, "You look beautiful. A cut and bruises would never change that." His lips descended on mine, my hands snaking up around his neck. His hair was pulled up and tied at the nape of his neck, wearing a pair of dark jeans and a black button-up shirt that showed his muscles nicely. In short, he looked delicious.

I pulled back, biting my lip while looking up at him through my lashes, "You know, we never did pick up where we left off earlier." My hand dragged down his shoulder to the opening of his shirt; the top two buttons were undone, my fingers ghosting over the skin of his exposed chest.

Brown eyes darkened as his lips pressed against mine again. When he pulled back, I tried desperately to follow him, making him chuckle. The sound travelled through me and made my knees weak. "Maybe if you didn't take so long to get ready. We have to go."

My mind was hazed over from his kisses that it took me a moment to understand what he was saying. I pouted, "We can be late."

"Nope," His hand smacked playfully on my ass, then pulled back from me with a smirk, "Finish up."

This time when I groaned in frustration, it was for a different reason than before. Choosing to settle on just leaving my hair down, I followed Dimitri out.

Abe had sent a car for us, it wasn't a long drive, but everyone was strict about me taking it easy. My eyes widened at the sight of the restaurant; all the walls were large floor to ceiling glass panes so that I could see the people at their tables, waiters in suits serving them. The food looked amazing and expensive. It was more of a Moroi place, and yet dhampirs were eating there. Dimitri had mentioned that things had changed under Lissa's rule, but I didn't think much of it at the time.

Lissa had been working over the years to improve dhampir lives and how they are treated. It was weird seeing the difference now.

Abe and Janine were meeting us at the table. We entered the building and told the waitress the name. Dimitri led me through the room after her while I looked around, definitely not like the kind of places I had been to before. Or I guess I have…

"Rose, you look lovely."

I turned my attention to Abe; he stood from his chair at the table. We were tucked away in the corner, giving us more privacy from the rest of the diners. Janine was seated beside him giving me a warm smile.

I forced a smile in greeting, "Thanks."

Dimitri crossed to the other side of the table, pulling out my chair for me. I was surprised by the gesture but loved it nonetheless, giving him a genuine smile, which he returned.

Once seated, I picked up the menu, pretending to peruse it as I studied my parents over the top of it. Abe was in his usual eye assaulting attire, while Janine was more subtle, a simple dark blue blouse and black dress pants. I watched as Abe leant over to point to something on her menu, whispering something that made her laugh.

This was really weird.

I jumped when Dimitri rested his hand on my leg, looking over at me expectantly. I hadn't realised that the waiter was at the table until I looked up at them staring at me, waiting for my order.

"Do you know what you want?" Dimitri asked. I skimmed the choices hoping it wasn't obvious I was watching my parents, but I think Dimitri noticed when he grinned. "Do you want me to order you what you normally get?"

I quickly agreed, "Sounds good."

Another waiter came around the table filling everyone's glass with red wine, coming to mine and asking, "Would you like any wine, Miss?"

I opened my mouth but was cut off by Dimitri, who even went as far as moving my glass away from me. "No, she isn't drinking."

I frowned at him, "I could've had a little."

"No. Doctor's orders."

Looking across the table, I saw mom giving Dimitri a look of approval while Abe was smirking at me. He lifted his glass, voice filled with amusement, "Well, a toast to Rose for her twenty-first birthday. You always know how to keep us on our toes."

I huffed a laugh, picking up my water to toast, Dimitri following suit. "To Rose," He toasted, smiling at me.

Janine didn't seem to appreciate the toast but lifted her glass as well, giving me a kind smile. "To Rose."

What started off as somewhat awkward soon became an enjoyable dinner. Abe had the knack for telling interesting stories, and he had a lot of them. I was on the edge of my seat listening to some of them; he even threw in a couple of when Dimitri was younger that he had heard from Yeva. I loved how flustered Dimitri became until the tables turned and Janine shared stories about me as a toddler.

Dimitri seemed to know most of the stories they told about me, and they knew stories from my time at St Vladimir's that I knew I hadn't told them before. It gave more proof to the fact that I do have a decent relationship with my parents now.

Once the last plate had been removed from the table, Abe clasped his hands, looking excited, "Well, I think now is a good time for presents."

That grabbed my attention, "Presents?" I didn't often get any. Lissa would give me a couple; even Alberta had given me a small gift some years. During my and Lissa time on the run, we didn't get a chance to celebrate either of our birthdays and then my eighteenth had kind of sucked.

Abe waved over his guardian, Pavel, I had learnt, bringing a gift bag with him and placing it in front of me. I had to stand so I could see into it. I eyed the red bag, biting my lip, feeling unsure of myself. I wasn't sure if I should open it here or wait for later.

"Go on, open it." Janine encouraged me.

With a nod from Dimitri, I opened the bag. Removing the coloured tissue paper from the top revealed a tall, slim black box next to another box that was wrapped. I pulled out the black box first. Laying it on the table, it was about the length of my chest and a couple of inches tall, a red ribbon wrapped around it holding it closed. I quickly removed the ribbon then removed the lid to reveal a beautiful burgundy leather jacket.

It felt so soft to touch, and I wondered if it was real. I looked over at my parent's with a large smile, "I love it."

"Try it on. Make sure it fits," Abe told me.

I didn't need to be told twice, sliding my arms through; it was fitted enough to show the curve of my body, coming to an end at my hips. The zip ran up the left side of my chest, and it had a belt to cinch in my waist. It looked amazing, especially with the green dress I was wearing.

"I made sure that the pockets were deep enough that you could fit a stake in there," Janine commented. Sticking my hands in the pockets proved that they were deep and spacey.

"This is perfect," I told them, turning towards Dimitri and striking a pose. I had almost forgotten that there was more in the bag until Abe reminded me. This jacket must have cost a small fortune; I couldn't believe there was still more.

The second box was much heavier, though still slim. I made quick work of the paper covering it to reveal an apple laptop. If I was surprised by the jacket, I was shocked now. I have never had my own computer other than the cheap one that the academy provided me for assignments, and now I have a laptop.

I couldn't accept this, looking across the table with wide eyes, "This is too much."

Abe scoffed, waving his hand, "Nonsense. You mentioned your other one was having issues, so I figured it was time to upgrade."

At my confused look, Dimitri explained, "Court gave you a loaner computer while living with Lissa. She offered to buy you one, but you refused." I nodded, that sounded like me. I hated when Lissa would spend her money on me, preferring to use my own money.

My eyes fell to the computer, brushing my fingers over it. I had never had anyone buying me things like this; most things I owned at the academy were second hand or things I found on clearance sale.

At a loss of words, I walked around the table and gave each of my parents a hug and thanked them. It wasn't something I was used to doing, but I knew it was the right thing to do based on their smiles.

After paying the cheque, we were outside the restaurant, and I was giving quick hugs again, thanking my parents for the meal and presents. I was still wearing the jacket they gifted me while Dimitri was carrying the gift bag that held the laptop.

"We will have to find some time to talk before I leave," Janine told me, squeezing me before pulling back and fixing a look at me, "Call me if anything happens or you remember something."

"I will," I promised, resisting rolling my eyes at the firm tone she was using. While Janine is much more affectionate towards me, she still had a habit of talking to me like she would to another guardian.

By the time they had left, my face hurt from smiling so much. It was a good night but still a strange experience for me. I glanced back at Dimitri, reaching for his hand, feeling a jolt of elation that I could hold his hand out in public now.

"Did you have a good time?" Dimitri asked, squeezing my hand in his. Rather than taking the car back, Dimitri opted for us to walk home. Taking our clasped hands and sliding them into the pocket of his duster, walking along the sidewalk.

I pressed close to him, "I went better than I thought it would. Can you believe my mom and I were in the same room for that long and no yelling? I think that is a new record for me."

He chuckled, "I told you you got along with them."

"Shows what can change in three years," I joked. The sun had risen during dinner and was now warming the chill in the air. I glanced at Dimitri from the corner of my eye only to find his eyes already on me.

"Are you tired?"

"No, why?"

Turns out I didn't have to give up my date with Dimitri for dinner with my parents. He took me to an ice cream parlour, buying me a double scoop of chocolate ice cream with brownie pieces in a waffle cone. I assumed he knew my order by heart because we had been here before, but I still loved that he knew me so well.

Walking down the streets in the late Moroi night, eating our ice creams drew us some old looks considering it was cold out. But dhampirs could already handle the cold better than Moroi or humans. Dimitri barely called this weather cold, having grown up in Siberia, and I just liked ice cream too much to say no.

I moaned at the taste of the ice cream, which may be another reason we were gaining looks. "Comrade, this is amazing."

"It's your favourite. If you had your way, you would just have a diet of doughnuts, pizza and ice cream," He chuckled to himself.

I shot him a look, "Nothing wrong with that." I didn't miss the face he pulled; he had always been more conscious of eating healthier. Whereas I was happy to eat whatever tasted good, as long as it wasn't squirrel bacon.

I paused.

Weird. Where did that come from?

"Roza?"

I blinked, focusing back on Dimitri, "Sorry, just having weird thoughts."

Dimitri accepted my answer, gesturing with his head for me to follow him. We were in a courtyard not far from the church; with the bright sun out, I was able to take in the garden. It was pretty and peaceful. He led me over to a stone bench in the middle of the courtyard.

Though there was enough room for the two of us to fit easily, Dimitri pulled me down to sit on his lap, his arms wrapping around me. I snuggled in closer, feeling the warmth coming off him.

"Do you recognise anything here?" He asked, eyes looking down at me.

I glanced around. Nothing stood out to me, it looked a little familiar, but it also looked like most of Court. "Should I?"

Disappointed flicked across his expression before he schooled his features. Dimitri pointed at the garden, "You planted most of that."

I couldn't help but scoff. Gardening was not my thing.

"Hans made you as punishment for sneaking Lissa off Court," He explained.

I scrunched my nose. I must have hated that, and looking at the size of the courtyard; it must have taken forever to finish. "I did this?"

"You and Eddie."

My eyes snapped to his. I couldn't believe I hadn't asked about Eddie. We were close, becoming more so after Mason's death. "Eddie was doing it? Was he being punished too? What does he do now?" I rapid fired at Dimitri, but my last question gave me a sense of dread. No one had mentioned him before now. What if Eddie wasn't alive anymore?

Dimitri must have noticed, pulling me closer, "Eddie is fine. Yes, he helped you and Lissa find a way to save me, and you got in trouble for it. He's Jill's guardian, living in California."

I sighed in relief. While I was glad that Eddie was alive and no doubt being an amazing guardian, I was now thinking about all the novices that were in my year, or the ones younger than me; are they still alive?

I laid my head on Dimitri's chest, my mood dropped, and with it, my energy.

"Come on, let's get you home."

Before I could move, Dimitri lifted me from his lap, keeping my body cradled in his arms, somehow managing to carry the gift bag in one hand as well.

"Comrade, I can walk!"

"Nope. Doctor's orders," He replied with a wink.

Too tired to fight him on it, I settled against him instead and just enjoyed the moment.