Young Romitri fluff! I don't own VA!

Thirteen

Chapter 4

RPOV

Lissa's father chuckled on the other end of the call and I smiled to myself. The Dragomir's had taken me in and let me be a part of their family since my mom left me to be raised by the academy in pursuit of her career. I planned on following in her footsteps as a Guardian, but I did not plan on having children. Abandonment hurts regardless of whether or not there are good reasons behind it. I didn't even know my own father's name.

"I know your voice, Rose," he told me, smile clear in his voice. "If my blood daughter is ok and my honorary daughter is calling that must mean she either needs a favor or is in some kind of trouble. You also know to call my wife and I by our names, dear."

"It's the favor one," I grimaced to myself. "And I hate asking because you and Rhea already do so much for me."

"What do you need, Rose?" his voice was soft and concerned.

"I wanted to know if I could use the credit card you gave me for emergencies for something that isn't really an emergency," I said, furrowing my brows and hoping that made sense. Now he laughed outright.

"It's not for emergencies, Rose," he reminded me. "It's for if you need something and you don't have to ask to use it. We check the balance monthly and you've used it twice in the past three years you've had it."

"Well, that's the thing," I explained. "It's not really for me; we have a new friend and his birthday is next week and he's from Russia so his family is on the other side of the-"

"Rose," Eric interrupted my rambling gently. "Lissa told me about the Belikov boy and how well you all get on. I trust you to use the card in anyway you like. I only ask that you try to keep it around no more than two hundred dollars monthly. I told you all of this when I opened the account in the first place."

"Thank you, Eric," I whispered, feeling grateful for my best friend's dad. "I really do appreciate you guys more than you know."

"Of course, my dear," he assured me. "It's the least we can do for the girl that's willing to put her life on the line for our daughter." We exchanged goodbyes and hung up. I all but sprinted to my room and fired up the school issued desktop. Dimitri had confined in me his first week here that his guilty pleasure is western novels. I'd rolled my eyes and made fun of him, but it gave me the perfect idea for a present. I rush ordered a paper back from a bookstore chain then switched websites to a bakery in Missoula that offers delivery. I ordered a dozen cupcakes, half chocolate and half vanilla to be delivered Tuesday during the human day while everyone would still be asleep. I spent about fifty dollars and felt horribly guilty, promising myself I'd pay the Dragomir's back. I wasn't done yet though. I shut down my computer and made my way to Lissa's room. I pounded on her door, giving her roommate a small heart attack. Abby Badica had her hand pressed to her chest as Lissa opened the door and rolled her eyes at me at my aggression.

"I need your help," I told her, brushing past her to enter the room.

"Well, hello to you, too, Rose," she said, crossing her arms over her chest at my lack of greeting.

"Hi, Liss," I flashed her my patented troublemaking smile and pulled her into a hug. She squeezed back. "I need your help." I repeated.

"I got that already," she was laughing now and I joined her. Abby had gotten over me startling her and excused herself to one of the common rooms in the Moroi dorm. I was glad because I had a reputation as a badass to uphold and what I was about to say was going to make me sound downright sweet.

"I have a birthday present coming for Dimitri and it's supposed to be here on Saturday. Will you wrap it for me?" I asked her, making puppy dog eyes and clasping my hands together. I couldn't wrap presents to save my life, always opting for gift bags. Lissa on the other hand kept a couple roles of wrapping paper in her closet for last minute gifts that needed wrapping.

"Of course," she answered easily but eyed me skeptically. "But there's more, isn't there?"

"Duh," I replied, rolling my eyes. "Can you get your hands on a pack of birthday candles and matches somehow?"

"Should be easy," she waved her hand dismissively.

"And keep this conversation a secret," I finished. Her face fell and she groaned.

"I'm terrible at keeping secrets," she whined and I smiled. I knew that already and had hesitated involving her in this, knowing that.

"It's only a couple days," I teased. "Besides, you and Dimitri really only hang out when I'm there too so if you start saying anything, I can cover you." She nodded in agreement and we decided to do our nails and gossip a bit before I went back to my own room.

~Five days later~

Dimitri and I were once again facing off against each other in a sparring match. Exactly as I'd planned. I told Mason and Eddie yesterday that I was sparring Dimitri today and to not even try. Mason had told me it wasn't nice to try to make someone cry on their birthday so I punched him in the arm. He opted for a muscle shirt today and I had laughed at his when I noticed I'd bruised his bicep. He wasn't nearly as amused.

"Your turn to strike first, Comrade," I taunted from my side of the mat, not blocking nearly as well as I normally do. It was all part of the plan, I thought to myself. He shook his head at me but grinned and struck out anyway. We attacked and parried normal for a couple minutes when Dimitri flung himself forward, intending to knock me off balance. I dodged poorly on purpose and semi-dramatically fell to the mat. I cried out as though something really hurt, making Dimitri's eyes flash in concern. He immediately knelt beside me, checking for obvious injuries. Guardian Jackson made his way over after ordering the rest of the class to keep sparring.

"What hurts, Hathaway?" he barked, but concern showed in his face. I leaned forward, rubbing my ankle gently.

"My ankle," I whimpered. "I think it might be sprained."

"Ok, go to the clinic and have Dr. Olenski take a look," he said gruffly. I tried to stand up but winced when I put weight on my ankle. He shot me a sympathetic smile. "Belikov, help her get to the clinic without falling over." With that, he turned and went back to watching the other sparring matches. Dimitri slipped his arm around my ribs, easily hoisting me up as I slung my arm around his shoulders. I leaned against his side, using his strong body for support as I basically drug my left leg in between us.

"I'm so sorry, Roza," he whispered, face sad as we made our way slowly to the door. He grabbed both our gym bags from where they were lined up alone the wall on the way out. We made our way slowly down the hall and as soon as we passed the last gym window, I dropped my arm off his shoulder and skipped a couple steps ahead of him. I felt a little bad for letting him think he'd hurt me, but it would be worth it when I gave him his surprises. His eyes were wide with shock when I turned after, grinning like a maniac at him.

"Why'd you do that, Rose?" he whisper-yelled in the empty hall. "I thought you were really hurt!"

"We're skipping Stan's stupid class," I replied, in a stage whisper. "This was the easiest way to get away with it. If he thinks we're in the clinic for an injury, he won't even question why we're not there."

"There's one flaw in your plan," he shook his head but kept following me anyway. "Only you're 'injured.' I'll still be expected there." He put injured in air quotes.

"Everyone has noticed by now that you care way too much about other people so if there was even the remote possibility that you'd hurt someone," I explained, poking his chest to emphasis my point, "you wouldn't leave their side until you made sure they're ok. Especially a girl."

"Fair point," he conceded. I lead him through the quad, staying close to the trees and each other in case we ran into any staff. He was ready to throw his arm back around me so we didn't get caught in our lie. We stopped on the side of junior novice housing.

"I'm going in the front and telling the dorm monitor that I forgot my notes in my room, then I'll come open the back door for you," I explained, pointing at the appropriate doors. He nodded and we split up. The monitor bought my lie without question and I walked quickly through the halls, letting her know not to expect me again because the back door is closer to my class. I glanced around to make sure the hall was empty and opened the back door, pulling Dimitri inside then slipping into the nearby stairwell.

"I have to grab something from my room," I told him. "Then we're going somewhere special."

"You're something special, Roza," he whispered so quietly that I don't think he meant for me to hear it. My stomach clenched with an unknown emotion while we quickly approached my room. I made him wait in the hall, swapping my gym bag for the bag of birthday surprises I had for my friend. I slipped back out, closing the door softly and waving him along with me. I went for the stairwell at the opposite end of the hall this time.

"There's only one set of stairs that leads all the way up to the roof," I told him, as we climbed the eight flights easily, thanks to our dhampir stamina. "I come up here when I need to think, or just want to be alone."

"Then why are you brining me up here?" he questioned, voice slightly strained.

"There's a couple reasons," I replied, pushing open the door that led to the roof. I took a deep breath of the crisp Montana air and set the bag down on the folding table I'd set up in advance. I took out the tray of cupcakes, putting a candle in one and lighting it. "The biggest one being your birthday. Make a wish!" A funny look crossed his face and I worried he was mad at me, until a full but lopsided grin broke across his face. He took the couple steps forward and leaned down, blowing out the candle. We each took a cupcake and sat next to each other on the worn picnic blanket I'd spread out.

"You really didn't have to do this, Roza," he told me, an easy smile on his face.

"I did, though," I slapped his arm. "Just cause you're not with your family, it doesn't mean your birthday isn't important. I don't even have a family and I still have a little party with my friends." I said the last part quietly and without making eye contact.

"You've managed to make your own family," he countered. "I miss my biological family a lot but I've seen the amount of love shared between you and your friends. I'm glad you guys have welcomed me so warmly."

"We like having you around, comrade," I tapped my shoulder against his. "Or should I say cowboy." I teased, producing a small rectangular present from the bag I'd tossed aside. He smiled happily and ripped it open, revealing the western I'd ordered him mere days before.

"I couldn't get a card so I just wrote in the cover," I said, lamely as he turned it over in his hands. He opened it and read what I wrote, soft smile never leaving his face.

"Even though cowboys are kind of lame, you're not. Happy birthday," he read aloud, chuckling.

"Happy birthday, Dimitri," I whispered, heart beating rapidly in my chest.

"Thank you, Roza," he murmured back, wrapping me in a tight hug and making my heart swell. "You're such a great friend." I had hugged him back immediately but as soon as he said the word friend, my stomach twisted in a different way than before. I still couldn't place anything I had been feeling for the past two and a half weeks but knew that whatever it was, was going to drastically change my life. We spent the rest of our morning classes, lounging on the roof and polishing off the dozen cupcakes, chatting and laughing. Dimitri even read me a couple chapters from his new book. I was happier than I'd been in a long time, but I didn't tell him that. Maybe I should have but it was too late now.

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