"Oh, to be young and in love," Abe joked to Pavel and Tasha, gesturing to the scene playing out in the garden below the parlor window. Wasting no opportunity to check off one of the suggested 'dates' from his poster, the morning after Christmas found Dimitri and Rose outside in the fresh snow, bundled up with gloves and scarves, building a snowman. After clarifying that this was an activity for only he and Rose to enjoy, Dimitri upped the ante by making them a thermos of hot chocolate and bringing a large blanket for them to cuddle beneath, which they were now enjoying as they sat on an outdoor bench admiring their creation and talking. Not now snowing, it was crisp, but the two were warm enough embracing under the duvet sipping their hot drinks.
"Are you sure it's love?" Tasha scoffed, peering out the window and down to where Rose sat wrapped in the Russian Guardian's arms.
"Well, I don't see Belikov smiling at me like that," Pavel said, observing the particularly tender expression on Dimitri's face as he gazed at Rose as she spoke.
"Or kissing you like that," Abe teased Pavel. Tasha's head spun back to the window just in time to see Dimitri lower his lips to Rose's as she snaked her arms around his neck. A sweet loving kiss that quickly turned more heated, the two were fully into it.
"What are you three looking at?" Lissa asked, stepping into the parlor with Christian, Eddie, and Adrian, noting Tasha's furious expression.
"Belikov and Hathaway sucking face," Adrian said once he came to stand beside Abe.
"Are they?" Lissa squealed, stepping over to an adjacent window to observe the couple, who were unknowingly giving everyone inside quite a show.
"Oh, come on, Liss. Didn't you see them last night while we were watching the movie? If Rose had been sitting any closer to Dimitri, she would have been on his lap," Christian said, noticing an ugly expression cross his aunt's face as he did so.
"And he kept playing with her hair," Eddie added, lifting his eyebrows suggestively. A far cry from Dimitri's demeanor over the months since his restoration, everyone could see Guardian Belikov was besotted. Rose was alive, and it seemed he would not waste a moment letting her know how much he loved and cared for her. Belikov was a man on a mission.
"Whether or not he likes her, surely it's not a good idea to let anything develop during these few days on holiday? After New Year, Dimitri will be back guarding Lissa, and Rose…"
Abe cut Tasha off. "And Rose will be wherever she wants to be doing whatever she wants to do."
"You can't expect them to take her back? As a Guardian? Not after what she's been involved in!? And Lissa—would you even want her as one of your Guardians after all this? Could you trust her?" The entire group was glaring at Tasha, yet she did not appear to have a mind to notice it.
"Of course, I'll have Rose as my Guardian. We have been best friends since we were four! I trust her absolutely. Besides Christian, there's no one I trust more!" Lissa glared at her boyfriend's aunt as she delivered her words.
"Adrian?" Abe muttered, canting his head to one side to show he wished Lord Ivashkov to follow him as he moved out of the parlor and toward his study.
"Sir?" Pavel asked, noting the subtle interaction, checking whether he should follow the pair. As Abe's right-hand man, for almost two decades Pavel had been privy to Abe's plots and plans. Yet somehow, of late, Ivashkov seemed to have displaced him.
"Stay here and keep an eye on them," Abe instructed quietly, too busy ruminating to notice his Guardian's put-out expression.
"How is she going?" Abe asked as soon as Adrian was ensconced in his office and seated with a glass of whiskey.
"Rose? She's doing well. Her aura is almost clear of darkness, and then there's…"
"Tasha," Abe snapped in explanation. "I have eyes. I can see my daughter is head over feet and letting Belikov worm his way back into her good books." Abe didn't sound particularly thrilled about this.
"She never stopped loving him. He's the same way. I hate to say it, but you're going to have to get used to him."
Abe grunted in acknowledgment. Belikov had hurt his little girl, and that was a hard limit. Still—he was also clearly smitten and doing everything in his power to win Rose back over, and Rose clearly wished to be won. If his daughter could forgive the Russian Guardian, it stood to reason he'd have to do likewise. He still planned to have a lengthy 'chat' with Belikov first.
"It would be easier to hate him if I couldn't see how genuinely he adores her," Adrian commented, begrudgingly throwing his older cousin a bone. "It's the real deal. For both of them."
Slightly appeased, Abe continued with the reason for their meeting. "I want to know what you're seeing from Natasha."
Adrian laughed, sipping his whiskey before leaning forward conspiratorially. "Green, green, and lots of green! Whoever coined the term green-eyed monster must have been a Spirit user, because it's genuinely the color of jealousy, and Tash Ozera is as green-eyed as they come."
"Suffering?" Abe checked, thinking of his overall plan.
"Miserable," Adrian confirmed. "As far as I can tell, she has no inkling you suspect her in Aunt Tati's death. Every time she sees Belikov, her aura is love, lust, and infatuation."
"And when she sees him with Rose?"
"Green-eyed monster. Loathing, hate, and resentment."
"Is she likely to act on it?" It was the only part of his plan that bothered Abe. Tasha Ozera had already tried to frame Rose for murder. Sure, with his Alchemist, Wizard, and Royal Moroi statements, Rose would be exonerated for any involvement in the murder of Queen Tatiana Ivashkov. Yet there were other ways Tasha could try to eliminate Rose as a romantic rival for Guardian Belikov's affections. Abe couldn't afford to take any chances.
"At this stage, she seems completely reactionary. She doesn't want to believe it, so she's fighting what she sees."
"And the Princess can see this, too?"
"Sure can. I think Lissa enjoys baiting her boyfriend's aunt even more than I do. Liss is super loyal to Rose, you know? If your goal is to punish Natasha by giving her a front row and center ticket to witnessing Rose and Dimitri falling back in love, I know Lissa will be all for it."
Before Abe could respond, there was a knock at his study door and seconds later Pavel entered.
"Is there anything you need?" Abe's long-term Guardian enquired, looking first to Abe and then his Moroi companion. Embroiled in their scheming, neither turned to face Pavel.
"We're fine," Abe replied, his eyes tracking to Adrian's and giving the younger Moroi a nod then a wink. Recognizing a dismissal, and a task, when given them, Adrian downed the rest of his drink and stood to depart. Neither noticed Abe's forty-something Guardian frowning before he trailed Adrian from the room.
"Rose! I glimpsed you and Guardian Belikov outside in the garden building a snowman."
Bristling in embarrassment, Rose tried to play everything down. "Yeah? It was on Dimitri's poster. Building a snowman. What of it?"
"From the parlor, I could see the two of you kissing…" Lissa continued.
Rose cursed under her breath. She'd hoped to keep that aspect of their relationship private for at least a little longer. With everything so new, she'd hoped to get a clearer idea of where to next before sharing current events with her companions.
"So have you…?" Celeste asked, part of the early afternoon catch-up. At Abe's insistence, all the male Moroi and Guardians in their group had gone to visit the ice pond to the rear of his property to catch fish, while the women stayed at home. Sitting in front of the fireplace with a pot of tea and some Russian cookies, Lissa had decided this was the perfect opportunity to quiz Rose on the extent of her amorous encounters with Dimitri.
"Have I what?" Rose asked, pushing for extra time.
"Have you had sex with him?" Lissa asked, being uncharacteristically direct. Rose blushed, thinking about their second time together, mere hours after the group flew in from America. One look at her best friend, and Lissa exclaimed, "You have! I can tell!"
"Shut up," Rose begged, looking around and relieved to hear no one else from the household was around to hear her assertions. "And yes."
"Oh my God! I want to know everything!" Lissa exclaimed, drawing Tasha's attention as she entered the small salon where Rose, Lissa, and Celeste were sitting. Seeing Tasha, Lissa plastered on a welcoming smile. "Tash! Perfect timing! Rose is about to tell us all about what's going on with Dimitri!"
If Lissa's smile at Tasha was fake, Tasha's was considerably worse. Nonetheless, she parked herself in an armchair alongside the other women, preparing to listen to 'girl chat.'
"When?" Lissa demanded.
Rose blushed. "The first time? The night you all arrived."
"Damn, girl! You got onto things fast!" Celeste held her hand out and high-fived Rose. "How did that come about?"
Rose flushed, embarrassed to admit how quickly she'd given herself to Dimitri.
"Dimitri came to my room to talk, but after catching up with everyone, I was exhausted. He said he was worried if he went to sleep, he'd wake up and I would have disappeared, so he asked if he could sleep on the sofa in my bedroom. The couch is tiny, so I said he could sleep in my bed with me. We just fell asleep cuddling, but in the middle of the night we woke and started kissing, and it kind of went from there…"
"Was it good?" Lissa asked, preparing to pump her bestie for every bit of intel. She knew Rose had lost her virginity to Dimitri before the attack on St. Vlad's, but they'd never spoken about it in any detail. In fact, Rose and Dimitri's love story was mostly a mystery. One which Lissa fully intended to investigate.
"Amazing!" Rose replied with a sigh. "And each time just gets better and better."
"Each time?!" Tasha gasped, sounding outraged. Checking out her aura, Lissa could tell Tasha was furious. And she'd be lying if she didn't admit seeing her boyfriend's aunt so offended did not give her a certain amount of satisfaction. Knowing what she did, and aware of Adrian and Abe's plan to torture Tasha with every explicit detail of Rose and Dimitri's reinstated love affair, Vasilisa was happy to string this out for all it was worth.
Rose blushed. "Um… We spent last night together, as well. We talked during our date this morning. Dimitri wants to stay in my room for the rest of his visit."
"It's serious, then?" Lissa needed to be sure Rose and Dimitri were on or approaching, the same page.
"It is, Liss. Before, at the Academy, we never had a chance to be open and honest about how we felt. Now, we have the chance to find out what a relationship between us looks like. We both want that."
"But for how long? Will you even be able to return to Court? What if you don't get a favorable allocation?" Tasha asked with a snort. "The two of you hardly know each other."
"Well, there's one way I'm getting to know him a lot better," Rose said with a cheeky giggle, enjoying pissing off Christian's aunt. "And with every moment we spend together, we're falling more and more in love." If Rose sounded irritated with Tasha, it's because she was. Recognizing her sister's displeasure, Lissa stepped in.
"We are all so happy for you, and it's obvious Dimitri is crazy about you! Now tell me… He's a massive, tall, strong man. What does that mean regarding his…? I mean, I hope you are satisfied!?"
Rose giggled, covering her mouth with her hand while flushing slightly.
"Liss? I'm not going to talk about that!"
"You don't have to go into every last detail," Lissa lied, actually wanting precisely that. She raised her eyebrows before looking over at Tasha discretely.
Understanding Lissa's unspoken message, Rose grimaced before replying. "Ugh! Let's just say everything is in proportion, and that there's a lot to be said for a Guardian's stamina!"
"When you… did he…?"
"Yes!" Rose said, covering her now flaming red face with her hands before adding in a whisper, "Each time, more than once."
"So, you and my daughter?" Abe said to Dimitri, having isolated the Russian Guardian to one side as the group was 'fishing' (which amounted to the group standing around a hole cut in the pond ice, watching a grand total of zero fish).
"Yes."
"I want to hear your intentions. I know what happened in the church before she was arrested, and I'm not happy about it. If you think I'll allow a repeat performance, then you're very much mistaken. I'll end you before I let you hurt her again."
"Mr. Mazur, I will forever regret the way I treated Rose after my restoration. I was so focussed on my guilt I couldn't see beyond it. I recognize, now, how much damage I did to Rose. I intend to be with your daughter for the rest of my life in whatever way she'll have me. I will love her, support her, and endeavor to make her every wish a reality."
"You say that now, but how do I know you're in it for the long term? My daughter ripped her entire world apart for you. She risked her future, her livelihood, and you repaid her sacrifices by deserting her!"
Dimitri frowned. Nothing Abe was saying was untrue. He didn't deserve Rose. But he still loved her. He'd do anything to prove that. And if he needed to prove that to her father, he needed to show that to her, too.
"Abe? Losing Rose was the worst thing I have ever experienced, including when I was turned. Thanks to your daughter's actions, I have a second chance at life. Thanks to you saving her, I have a third. When she 'died', I learned that a life without Rose is not worth living. I don't care where or how. My life is irrevocably tied to your daughter's. I'm hers, and I can only hope that she still wants to be mine."
"You seem to have done a pretty good job convincing her the last few days," Abe grumbled almost under his breath, annoyed Rose had not made her errant lover work harder for her forgiveness. Sensing the background of Rose's father's dissent, Dimitri was quick to explain.
"I've wasted enough time fighting my feelings for Rose. At the academy, it was because of my duty, and the fact she was a student. Then after I was restored because I couldn't feel anything beyond my guilt. Now we're here, and we're both alive, it's finally our time."
While Rose's boyfriend's declaration did not overjoy him, Abe decided to take him at his word. At least for now.
Dinner was a curious affair. Everyone enjoying the plentiful feast, Dimitri and Rose indulged in a little personal affection. Just handholding, at one moment Dimitri lifted Rose's hand to kiss her knuckles. Subtle as it was, no one at the table was incognizant of the couple's PDA and the closeness it signified.
"He might as well piss on her leg," Adrian commented quietly to Vasilisa, who sat beside him, referring to Dimitri staking his claim.
"Be happy for her," Lissa whispered back. Now she was more adept at reading auras she could recognize Adrian's pain. But she could also see Rose and Dimitri's joy. The sad thing is, she could see that despite Rose's promise to give Adrian a chance, her heart had never been in it. And if she could see that, Adrian probably could too.
"I am happy for her," Adrian said, meaning it.
"Are we still going out tonight?" Eddie asked. With eighteen being the legal drinking age in Russia, the younger members of the group were keen to check out the local nightlife.
"We're in," Rose replied straight away. She already knew what she was going to wear, and it was guaranteed to drive Dimitri crazy.
"Us, too," Lissa answered for her and Christian.
Adjourning to their rooms to get ready, while Rose was in the bathroom dressing and fixing her makeup, Dimitri fetched his bag from his room, moving it across to the suite he'd now be sharing with Rose. With limited wardrobe choices, he settled on a pair of dark jeans and a black button-up. With his signature duster, it would be good enough for the St. Petersburg's clubs. Stowing his stakes in his duster, Dimitri looked up as the bathroom door opened, and Rose stepped out.
"Close your mouth, Comrade. You'll catch flies."
Dimitri's mouth was hanging open. Rose was dressed in skintight leather pants, combat boots, and a black satin bustier. With her hair out, dark smoky eyes, and ruby red lipstick, Rose looked like sex personified.
"Like what you see?"
"Oh… I love what I see."
Giggling at his dumbfounded expression, Rose dug through her closet, finding a waist-length black leather jacket to complete her look.
"Wow. You look… Just wow. When did you get those?" Dimitri asked, gesturing to the sinful leather pants. It was the first time he'd seen them.
"I've been stuck at home here for months. It's given me a lot of time for online shopping."
"What else have you bought?"
"Lots and lots of lingerie," Rose admitted with another giggle.
Dimitri groaned, imagining the items she might have purchased. He had a thing for lace and hoped she might have bought a thing or two in black.
"I should warn you, some of them are a little risque…"
"Risqué?"
"They're very brief."
"And do you intend to model these for me?" Dimitri asked, wondering whether they could ditch nightclubbing and instead stay at home.
"That depends. If you show me a good time tonight, I might show you some of my new bra and panty sets when I get home," Rose tempted.
Growling at even the thought of it, Dimitri wrapped his arms around Rose's waist from behind, leaning down to kiss her neck. Their reflection caught in Rose's floor to length mirror. They were a handsome-looking couple.
"I'm going to rock your world tonight," Rose declared, her eyes meeting her man's.
"I can't wait," he replied, already anticipating their night once they returned home.