Seven Years: Part 2


Dimitri remembered that kiss like it was yesterday.

A year of innocent touches during sparing that felt more like foreplay than training at times, going out of each other's way to jog and train together, of sitting side by side in the church, long after the congregation had left, just talking about Rose's worries about becoming a guardian. All of that had built up toward their last day in the training room, just as they were leaving. Unsure of when they'd seen each other until the graduation ceremony,

Rose hugged Dimitri, thanking him for everything he'd done for her, all the times he'd stood up for her, and taken the time to just listen to her. After a beat, Dimitri hugged her back. He wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, embraced in the middle of the training room floor but he wasn't ready to let go by the time she pulled back. She didn't step out of his arms, though, surprising him. She pulled back just enough to meet his gaze, as steady and unwavering as her own, before she leaned in and kissed him. He didn't react at first, his body too shocked to do much of anything but soon he felt himself pressing into her, drawing her impossibly closer as he kissed her back.

He wanted to lay her flat as he'd done many times before only this time, they wouldn't stop when she was pinned beneath him. They'd stay there, wrapped around each other, the doors to the training room locked while they lost themselves in each other. They kissed until neither of them could breathe, Rose tangling her hands into his hair while Dimitri warred with himself to even take this much when he wanted so much more...

Dimitri pulled himself from the memory he'd been reliving in his head for seven years now. He stared at the Rose in front of him now, hating that he was the reason behind those tears but he needed to explain.

"If I had stayed, if we had tried to be together, your chances at a fair guardianship appointment would have been ruined. Your career would have been dead before you even started and I knew how much guarding Lissa meant to you."

Rose didn't have an argument for that because he was right. Becoming Lissa's guardian had been her dream, her one goal in life...until she'd met Dimitri and suddenly wanted more. She didn't resent all the memories and opportunities that came with being Lissa's guardian. She just wished she didn't have to lose and give so much up.

"There were so many reasons I didn't stay. I left so that you'd forget and move on."

"How could I move on when the first person I fell in love with didn't want me back? Believe me, I tried and it did't work and it just hurt even more."

He knew what she meant. It hurt for him too, all those women who weren't Rose. It hurt even thinking about it, not just about the others he'd been with but with those who had been with Rose. He couldn't even begin to question, without getting angry with himself, how many had seen and touched her in ways he wanted to for so many years. He tampered down his anger with the reminder that it was his own doing, putting so much space between them.

"It wasn't easy for me either but I did what I thought was best. I'm sorry that I hurt you. The last thing I even wanted to do was hurt you but I'm not sorry I left. If I had to do it over again..." he trailed off.

"You would. You'd leave me all over again?"

"If it meant giving you a fair chance, yes."

They stood there, staring at each other as they started to calm down, Rose swiping at her cheeks. Though the sun was already out, there was a crisp chill in the air that was starting to cool down their fervor. They resumed their walk toward guest housing in silence. Dimitri wasn't sure where this left them but he hoped it wasn't the end. He felt a little better, releasing the weight of the guilt he carried over the years but, as always when it came to Rose, he wanted more.

He didn't miss the fact that she said she was in love with him. She had said the same thing the day of the kiss. He hadn't said it back, kissing her instead, because he knew that once he did, he'd never be able to leave.

More guardians were arriving for tomorrow's raid so the guest housing building was more crowded than expected for this time of day. The elevator was packed to the brim with guardians turning in for a few hours sleep as Rose and Dimitri wordlessly climbed on.

"Which floor?" Dimitri asked Rose.

For a moment he thought she wouldn't answer, giving him the silent treatment the way she used to when arguing hadn't gotten her her way back at the academy.

"Eighth," she answered, her voice low and hoarse.

He pressed the button for her floor without pressing his own one below. He'd walk her back to her room because it couldn't end this way. He couldn't let her just walk off, leaving things as it was. He wasn't sure what he'd say or how to fix it but he didn't want it to end like this. A group of rowdy guardians climbed on at one point, crowding everyone against the wall. Dimitri angled Rose away into the corner, shielding her as best as he could until they reached her floor. They stepped off in relief when they were the only ones to get off on her floor. They were half way down the hall before either of them realized they were holding hands.

Dimitri raised their clasped hands, looking down at their intertwined fingers, hers so small compared to his own but they shared the same rough calluses from years of training and battle. From the way Rose stared at where their hands met, he worried she was still too angry and would let him go.

He was relieved when she didn't.

They reached her door, turning to face one another.

"If we were a little more sober, you think we would have avoided talking about everything?" she asked before answering herself. "When I saw you, I thought about not going over, just pretending I didn't see you."

"Why didn't you?" he questioned, his tone only curious, not accusing.

She shrugged in that way that she does that makes her seem like her younger self. "It would have killed me not knowing what would have happened if I hadn't gone over. Just like it's been killing me all these years no knowing what could have happened if you'd stayed."

He didn't have anything to say to that. He'd meant what he said before. He'd do it all over again if it gave her the life she had now. Through all the time they'd spent talking, there was one thing he noticed right away about this new Rose other than hew newfound maturity. It was that she was happy. A little scarred and wounded from her encounters with strigoi out in the field but happy guarding Lissa and her friends. That was all he ever wanted for her.

She squeezed their hands together, holding them both in her own as she smiled sadly. "Always protecting me...even if it means you're the one hurting me."

"You know I never wanted to hurt you. I still don't. I just wanted to do what was right for you."

"Then how about letting me choose what's right for me. What if I choose you?"

A simple question that sent ripples of clarity through him. He based his decisions on what he thought was best but what if it was never his place to decide for her. Rose has always been smart and capable of making her own decisions. In a show of how similar they truly were, at the time he made a quick, unilateral decision without thinking of the consequences first. If they had talked about it together back at the academy, why it wasn't right at the time, would he have just left?

Dimitri wasn't so sure anymore.

But he was sure of one thing. He couldn't just walk away as he had before. Even if tonight wasn't their last, he couldn't keep himself apart from her anymore.

He moved slowly, so that she'd know what he was doing, cupping her face in his hand, her cheeks still damp from her earlier tears. She tilted her face up as he leaned down, their lips meeting in a slow, tender kiss.

He doesn't remember Rose opening the door or the walk to her bedroom. One second she wedged between him and the door, anchoring herself closer with her arms around his neck while his hands found their way around her waist and the next, he was on the bedroom floor, Rose sitting on top of him, straddling his waist.

Her coat was gone, jeans somewhere between door and the bedroom, her sweater and the camisole under it pulled over her head leaving her in nothing but her underwear and bra. She even lost her shoes at some point. Dimitri worked to get his own clothes off but was moving too slow for Rose's liking. She shoved his hands away and tore at his clothes while he kept himself occupied by pulling the tie from her hair, releasing it so that it fell in a messy curtail around her shoulders before moving on to the clasps on her bra. She smiled triumphantly when she stripped him down to his jeans. Less coordinated with the drinks in their system, they both fumbled, her with the button on his jeans and him with the clasp. Finally, when neither of them could wait any longer, they gave up, reaching for one another, pulling themselves together in long heated kisses that didn't stop at their lips.

Dimitri kissed every inch of her he could, making up for all the years he'd envisioned this very thing. He was still partially dressed and the most intimate parts of her were still covered by up but he could already feel the tension building, his body aching for more. He rolled them over, hovering over Rose the way he used to when they sparred, careful not to crush her. Rose clawed at him to lower himself down but he grabbed a hold of both her wrists with one hand, pinning them above her head.

An exhilarated laugh escaped her as Dimitri tore her bra away with one fluid motion before moving on to the underwear preventing him from where he wanted to be most. The dark cotton material tore part way down her smooth legs. She shuddered as he kissed the soft skin of her stomach, her entire body quivering as he released her wrists, grabbing for her legs instead. He raised her head, meeting her gaze for approval. A single nod and a whispered 'yes' was all he needed to continue. She tossed her head, her back arched as he pushed her thighs apart, keeping them spread as he buried his face between them.

A breathy cry escaped from Rose's lips as Dimitri devoted slow, tantalizing attention to where she craved him most. She trembled and shook at the soft nips and bites to the sensitive skin of her thighs but it was the long, leisurely strokes of his tongue combined with the deliberate caress of his fingers as he rubbed her tender nub in slow, unhurried movements that was almost her undoing. She'd be damned if she got off without him, though. After all these years, she wanted them to come together and fall. With considerable effort, she reached for the soft strands of his hair, pulling at him to stop.

"Wait, stop, not yet," she panted.

He raised his head, halting his movements but keeping his hand where it was. She clenched her lose together, making it worse for herself and immediately opened them, releasing his hand, pulling him toward her.

"Together," she whispered and he didn't need any more explanation than that. She pulled him down on her, tasting herself on his lips as his tongue swept inside her mouth. There was audible sound of the zipper on his jeans, a quick rustle of clothes as he worked to free himself, and then he was inside her. They both gasped at the new sensation, neither of them moving quite yet. He started slow, their eyes locked as they met thrust for thrust, their hands clasped between them while his other hand slid between them, stimulating the growing pressure. With every shared breath and lingering kiss, their drawn out thrusts became desperate and frenzied. Rose couldn't hold out any longer. One jolt in the perfect spot was all she needed to plunge into the blissful oblivion of her release. Dimitri, watching her fall, tumbled right after her.

Dimitri rolled to the side, taking her with him as their labored breaths filled the air. As they came down from the high of their coupling, Rose winced as Dimitri slid out of her but only so that he could curl around her, cuddling close. They pulled the duvet off the bed, spreading it over them as they faced one another. Rose was laying partially on top of him, the perfect position to reach his lips with her own.

They lost themselves in each other two more times as the sun moved across the sky, sparing for control the way the used to, Rose using the techniques he'd once taught her to flip them and take over. When they were both exhausted and spent, comfortably quiet with the exception of a few whispered words while in the throws of passion, they dozed in and out of wakefulness, both of them fearful to sleep too long and risk too much time passing by. They stayed locked in Rose's room the majority of the day, finally rising with only enough time to get ready for the day ahead.

"Bring your things to my room. We can shower together," she requested.

"Sounds good to me," Dimitri readily agreed. He wasn't ready to be so far from her just yet either. He hurried and was back within minutes, tossing his things with hers before joining her in the shower. They spent almost too much time in there, only leave when Dimitri's alarm went off for the pre-raid meeting they had to be at before hand. They walked out hand in hand, neither unable to keep from smiling despite the battle ahead, as they made their way across court.

Plans were made, reconnaissances was shared, assignments given out, until finally the meeting was over. They were allowed a bit of free time until they had to depart. Dimitri and Rose branched off into the most private corner they could find, oblivious to the curious and interested stares of their fellow guardians. They slipped onto a small balcony, obscured from any nosy eyes, as they leaned into each other, staring out at the view.

Dimitri could feel Rose shaking as he held her in his arms.

"I'm always nervous before a raid too," he whispered.

"I always feel like I'm about to faint and then it's all over and I'm too high on adrenaline to sit still."

He understood exactly what she meant which was one of the best parts about her, one of the parts that he'd been in love with for so many years.

"Do you think it'll ever go away? Being afraid? I mean, we've fought how many strigoi by now? You'd think we'd be used to it."

"I think that by the time you get used to it, it's time to retire."

"I can't picture it, retiring."

Dimitri could, just as he had yesterday. "A faraway cabin tucked into the woods somewhere, books, music, me and you."

Rose felt her heart beat a little faster, excited by the pretty picture he painted for them. "A back house full of all the delinquent kids you're going to rehabilitate," she joked.

He snorted in a way she didn't think he was capable. "Maybe in the next life. For now, it'll be just us."

She sighed contentedly, closing her eyes. It sounded so good, way too good to be true. "Just us. We won't have to be afraid all the time anymore."

"I don't think the fear is supposed to go away. It's a part of what sets us apart from strigoi, feeling something."

She laughed softly. "You still got it. The zen quotes and lessons and all that," she told him making him laugh. "I've missed them."

There was a beat of silence before he said, "I've missed you."

Rose missed him too. It was nice to know that it wasn't just her all these years, that her feelings for him weren't one sided or all in her head like she worried.

"Do you believe in fate?" she said suddenly. "Like we're all destined to be somewhere at some specific time for some cosmic reason?"

"Sometimes," he said into her hair, unable to keep from kissing her for too long. "When something good happens I like to think it was meant to be-"

"Like us? If there wasn't a blizzard in New York right now, Lissa's jet might have been able to take off, and I wouldn't have been available to take part in the raid. I wouldn't have seen you at the bar and you and I might not have..." she trailed off.

Dimitri didn't even want to think about it. He was already kicking himself for how many years he let go between them. He didn't want to waste any more time now.

"Who knows how long it might have been before we saw each other again? If we saw each other again."

Rose turned in his arms to face him. "That's my point. We never know what can happen, right?"

"Right..." he agreed, unsure of where she was taking this.

She nodded to herself, resolutely, before taking Dimitri's face in her hands. "I love you."

He understood it now, the flicker of apprehension in her voice as she laid her feelings out on the line. They spent the night together, share intimacies that they'd never be able to share with anyone else, not that either of them would ever want to, but it wasn't the same as hearing the words.

She'd said it once before, seven years ago, and he hadn't said anything.

This time would be different.

Dimitri swept his hands through her hair, holding her face the same way she held his. "I'm still in love with you, Roza."

"'Still'?" she repeated.

"I never stopped."

A deliriously happy smile spread across her face before they met in a sweet kiss. There was still a battle ahead, a lifetime of love and loss they'd have to endure but neither of them minded much, so long as they faced it all together.


A/N: Ending too sudden? I kind of felt like it was too sudden but I had to keep reminding myself it's just a short fic. Anyways, thanks for the love and I'll be updating this one as well as A Penchant for Trouble soon!