Surprise
Dimitri POV
Today was the day.
Watching the sun slipping down behind the mountains, streams of light shining through the treetops.
Today was the day Rose turned eighteen.
That fact made my heart overfill with joy and excitement and made my hands shake with fear and panic. This day could go one of two ways, and I prayed it went the way I wanted it to.
I so hoped it did.
I don't think I have ever wanted something as much as I do this. It has been years since my eighteenth, the first couple of years I told myself I would find my soulmate any day now. But then the years kept passing, and I had given up waiting for them.
Ivan dying gave me a reason to leave Russia and come here—where I met Rose.
Roza.
She was beautiful and strong and feisty—a powerful force to be reckoned with despite how small and delicate she looked. From the first moment I met her, she intrigued me, and then she took my breath away from how amazing she was in everything she did.
No matter how I told myself it was wrong, I found myself drawn to her. What started as an interest turned into admiration, which turned into love, and a week ago, we gave into that love and slept together.
Being with her was like nothing I had ever experienced before. While I haven't been with many women, I've been with enough to know that what I shared with Rose that night was unlike anything else. There was no possibility in my mind that she wasn't the one.
She has to be my soulmate.
In a couple of hours, I will see her, and she will be eighteen. I will finally feel the bond my mother used to tell me stories about, feel the pull towards one another, and feel our souls connect when we touch.
In a couple of hours, I would be able to be with Roza for the rest of my life, and no one would be able to separate us again.
A relationship with a student was still frowned upon, but the laws of our world would prevent them from taking action against me. Once we proved the bond was real, of course.
Despite every cell of my body telling me that Rose was my soulmate, there was a voice in my head saying there was still a chance that she wasn't.
That doubt caused panic to rise in me.
If I wasn't her soulmate, there was no way I could stay with her and take away her chance of finding whoever was hers. For all I knew, my soulmate was already dead, or I just will never find them.
I wouldn't rob Rose of her chance to be happy with the person made for her.
It would be the hardest thing I had ever done, but for Roza, I would do it. I would do anything for her.
The last few weeks have been stressing me out, and with everything else that has been happening, my chances to plan for this day have been limited. The past week was focused on restoring order to the academy since the attack.
It was a close call in the caves, but Rose and I made it out safely. While all I had wanted was to pull her into my arms and spend the next couple of days in bed with her reminding myself that we were fine, I had to do my duties as a guardian.
Many lives were lost that night, the number of guardians able to work was stretched thin. We were all working doubles, helping out where we could until more guardians were assigned here permanently.
I have seen Rose a handful of times in passing, unable to do more than a short greeting and a fleeting touch of our hands as we passed in hallways. My heart ached to see her again, to hold her close and tell her how much I love her.
And that was precisely what I planned to do today, and hopefully, I can officially call her mine as well.
Rose POV
I had spent the night at Lissa's, a tradition we had done every birthday. I used to spend my birthday waiting around for a phone call from my mother. Lissa saw this and decided to take my mind off it by having a sleepover when I was ten. Since then, we did this every year, the soft spot Alberta had for me the only reason we were able to get away with it.
We had stayed up most of the Moroi night talking about what today could be like for me. When she had brought up soulmates and started guessing who mine could be, I gave in and revealed to her who I hoped it would be.
Lissa took it reasonably well.
After the shock wore off, she became angry that I hid it, followed by understanding, and then she was excited to hear all of the details.
I hadn't realised just how badly I wanted to tell her all about Dimitri and me until I was finally able to.
Lissa eventually fell asleep, but I was still awake, staring out her window, watching the sunset. It won't be long now.
They never really covered much about what will happen the day you turn eighteen other than if you are close to your soulmate, you will feel a pull towards them, and then once you first touch, a connection will form between you.
I didn't know how close I would have to be to Dimitri to feel it or if I would just feel some invisible string tugging me to him wherever he may be.
As strange as it was, the soulmate bond doesn't reveal itself until the middle of Moroi day. I think they once explained about the moon being a part of it, but I never listened to it because I never cared for soulmates before.
But now, it was all I could think of.
I wished I could have some time with Dimitri before then, without the soulmate bond, so I can remember how much he loves me. Just in case…
I didn't want to think about what I would do if it weren't Dimitri. Just the thought of it made my heart feel like it was going to break.
I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Dimitri and no one else.
Lissa tried her best to keep me distracted as the minutes slowly ticked by; I didn't even have classes or homework to keep my mind off the time. I was surprised with a small party in the common room; Lissa had gathered Eddie, Christian, Adrian, Jill and Meredith.
There weren't any presents because no one was allowed off the school grounds unless for an emergency, though Adrian did sneak me a bottle of rum with a flirtatious wink. Christian managed to whip up a pretty good cake, which I was all too happy to stuff my face with.
Alberta even stopped by for her yearly well wishes, hugging me for a bit longer this year and whispering good luck to me before she pulled away. There weren't any forced smiles or empty promises that my mother might call this year, seeing she was here a couple of days ago and had already given me a card before she left.
At the time, I played it off as not a big deal, but I very carefully stored the card in my draw, one of the few cards I had received from her.
"Relax, Rose," Lissa whispered to me, arm thrown around my shoulders when she noticed me staring at the clock again. "You will soon find out, but until then, you should enjoy your party."
She gave an animated shake of her hand with a wide smile to encourage the celebratory mood I should be in. I rolled my eyes but gave in, turning away from the clock to watch Eddie, who had challenged Meredith to an arm-wrestling competition.
After another hour of messing around and beating Eddie in arm-wrestling, it was thirty minutes to twelve, and I couldn't wait anymore.
Dimitri should have finished his shift by now, maybe even be back in his room. So with a couple of hugs and goodbyes, I left, running to the dhampirs dorms.
I went to my room first, fleshing up and adding a little bit of makeup. I contemplated changing my clothes but decided jeans and a shirt were fine; he had seen me in worse. And lastly, I took my hair out; I knew how much he loved my hair. When he kisses me as the bond connects between the two of us, I want him to be able to run his fingers through it.
With a steadying breath, I squared my shoulders and took off to Dimitri's room. Or that was the plan except for the piece of paper I noticed taped to the outside of my door.
I swear it wasn't there before, which means someone put it there while I was getting ready. I pull down the piece, unfolding it to reveal four words in neat handwriting.
Come to the cabin.
There was no question who wrote it. A smile breaking out on my face, Dimitri has something planned!
At first, I tried to walk naturally, not wanting to draw attention to myself, but I ran as soon as I hit the tree line.
Reaching the cabin, I paused to calm my breathing, but my heart rate didn't slow. Dimitri was in there, and there were only ten more minutes left.
Willing my hands to stop shaking, I opened the cabin door.
The lite fireplace warmed the room, casting a soft orange glow. The only other light was coming from two candles on the wooden table, plates of food set out, in the middle of the table was a small wrapped box with a bow on top. And standing next to it was Dimitri.
My breath caught in my throat, my stomach flipping in anticipation.
"Happy birthday, Roza."
His deep voice wrapped around me; I could listen to him talk for hours and never grow tired of the sound. Dressed in dark jeans and a deep red button-up shirt, the sleeves rolled up to show the powerful muscles of his forearms.
God, he was sexy.
I moved my eyes from him to the table again, tilting my head to the side, "You cooked?"
"Yes, I wanted to surprise you. I hope that's okay."
I took a step closer, "How did you manage to put that note on my door and come back to set this up?" I may be stalling. Too much was riding on the next couple of minutes.
Dimitri's lips quirked up in a barely-there smile, "Alberta left the note."
"She did?" I asked incredulously.
He stepped closer to me, "She knows, figured it out after the attack," he explained to me.
That explained why she had whispered good luck to me. I had assumed it was a general well-wishing, but now I know she was hoping for the same outcome as we were.
We were both gravitating closer to one another. I swear I could hear second hand on Dimitri's watch ticking. Each second brings us closer.
"I'm nervous," I admit, my arms wrapping around my stomach.
"Me too."
My eyes found his. They were the colour of caramel, the light of the fire flickering in them. His hand reached up as if he wanted to touch my cheek but stopped short, hovering an inch away. I wanted the first time we touched to be once I felt the pull, to feel that burst of affection between us that told us we were meant for one another. And I think he wanted that too.
"I love you," I whispered. No matter what happened, that would never change. The way his face softened at my words told me he felt the same.
He tilted his wrist, still hovering between us, angling the watch face so we could both see it. Watching as the second hand ticked.
30 seconds.
I held my breath.
15 seconds.
I swear Dimitri could hear how hard my heart was beating, blood pulsing in my ears.
10 seconds.
If he wasn't my soulmate, I don't think I would ever look for mine. Dimitri was it for me.
5 seconds.
I wondered if it would be instantaneous. Would I know right away?
4…
3…
2…
1...
I inhaled sharply. My eyes snapped to his.
The atmosphere turned thick.
And I felt it.
It was like my heart was being tugged, a string wrapped around me trying to draw me forward. And when I looked into his eyes, I felt the rush. The affection was so profound; there was joy, contentment, and happiness. It felt complete.
I felt complete.
It was like all the pieces fell together, and now the world made sense, colours were brighter, it felt like I was floating.
Dimitri's lips parted as he released a deep breath as if he had been holding his as well.
I closed the distance between us, pressing my cheek into the palm of his outstretched hand as I pressed my hands against his chest.
Shocks of electricity where we touched, making my body feel like it was tingling. Everything else fell away until all that was left was Dimitri and me.
Everything I was feeling was all too much, but not enough.
"Roza," Dimitri's voice was full of awe, moisture gathering in his eyes just as there was in mine.
Dimitri was my soulmate.
The tears slipped free from my eyes, trailing down my cheeks as a large smile spread across my face. I threw myself into his arms, wanting to press my whole body against his.
Every touch we shared before this always felt great, but now, it was like regaining the ability to feel again. It was so intense and addictive. I was never going to let go again.
Dimitri was laughing, the sound so light and happy. He pressed his face against my neck, one arm around my waist, holding me against him, the other coming up so his hand could bury in my hair.
"Roza. My Roza," His voice was filled with disbelief but so relieved at the same time. "I was so scared I would have to let you go, but now I never will. I am yours, Roza. Always."
I pulled back to see his face, "You're never getting away from me now, comrade," I warned him playfully, "and no one else will take you away from me. You're mine now."
His smile was near blinding, "And you are mine."
There was only a moment of hesitation before his lips pressed against mine. If I thought hugging him was amazing, nothing compared to kissing.
So many emotions were swirling within me, so strong that they took my breath away. It felt similar to when Lissa healed, like colours and lights flowing through me and a warmth to it that reminded me of Dimitri.
I realised I was feeling Dimitri's emotions too.
The bond had connected between us, slotting into place so easily, and now I could feel him completely.
I could feel his love, so warm and endless. It was perfect.
We broke the kiss, needing to breathe and to take in everything that was happening. Dimitri returned my feet to the ground, hands cupping my face.
His eyes were closed as he caught his breath, "I'd heard so much about it, but I never knew it would feel so -"
"Amazing? Marvellous? Like the greatest thing ever known to man?" I offered.
"Feeling what you do, it's like nothing I ever imagined," He grinned, "I will never tire of it."
I laughed, "I sure hope not. This is kind of a forever thing."
Dimitri's eyes darkened, "Forever is what I want with you, Roza." Leaning forward to press a soft kiss to my lips before pulling back again. "I love you."
"I love you too, Dimitri."
The idea has been in my head for ages and I wanted to just get it and share it. Hope you enjoyed it :D