I stared into his eyes. Old Rose would have been petrified about the commitment I had just made, but I felt strong. Strong, supported and happy. If I was going to die in the next few days, I would die having made the ultimate commitment to the man I loved. The man I was made for, the man that was made for me.

I stood up, conscious that we were still in public outside the guardian building, and held out my hand to Dimitri.

"Stay with me," I whispered, and he nodded, his eyes lined with silver over the words we had exchanged.

We walked back to my flat hand in hand, sending lust-filled looks to each other filled with the promise of what was to come.

Stepping into my flat, I was met with a sense of deja-vu. The last time Dimitri had been in this flat I'd had a break-down, thinking that he'd regretted our relationship and that he no longer had feelings for me. Thinking back on it, I had been so caught up in my turbulent emotions over seeing him that I hadn't truly looked at him, read the small tells on his face that showed his love. Had I truly studied him, we might have saved each other a lot of pain. Then again, I was a believer in fate, because the situation I was in now may never have happened. I definitely wouldn't have learnt about the strigoi group, and who knows how many lives would have been lost then.

Dimitri's hand on the small of my back pulled me out of my thoughts. I spun around to face him as he softly shut my door.

"I'm sorry for any pain I caused you last time I was here Roza," he said, his voice deep and thick.

I rested a hand against his cheek.

"I was just thinking about that," I whispered. "But everything happens for a reason".

He smiled softly and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close.

"How did you get so wise?"

"I had a great teacher," I said, the words echoing from a long time ago when we were both different people. The flash in his eye told me that he recognised their significance.

"Let's re-write history," he whispered.

The words sent shivers through my body and I pulled myself flush against him.

Slowly, tantalisingly slowly, Dimitri leaned down and hovered inches away from my lips.

"I am yours," he growled softly. The words were heavy and full of dominance and promise, but also of something sweeter, more gentle and assuring.

"And I yours," I panted, the hot air escaping my throbbing lips like a prayer. "I'm yours for as long as I shall live. Yours and only yours".

He captured my lips in his forcefully, but the kiss was gentle. He pressed soft, open-mouthed kisses onto my lips that teased and made me desperate for more, but also set the scene for what was to come. This was so different to what had happened between us before in lustful moments, where we were both focused on release and nothing else, forcing feelings away just like we would when sparring. Entering a mindset where we felt nothing but the physical, be it pain or pleasure. This time, feelings were at the heart of what we were doing. We were rooted in emotion, welcoming it and the sweet sting it brought. It was electrifying. It was love, and made the 'hook-ups' we'd had in the weeks before seem just like that, no matter how intense they had felt at the time. This was like nothing I had felt before, more powerful than even the feelings that had gripped me the first time we'd had sex.

After a few moments, I pulled away and grasped Dimitri's hand in mine, silently pulling him towards my bedroom, not bothering to turn on the lights. Our eyesight was good enough, and there was a slight glow coming through the curtains. Thankfully, Lissa had asked someone to come in here and clean whilst I was away so everything was in order.

Pausing at the foot of my bed, Dimitri gently rested both hands on my face, looking down at me intently.

"Are you sure?" he whispered, ever the gentleman.

"More sure I've ever been".

My words seemed to set a spark in his body because he crashed his lips onto mine, pulling my breath away. This kiss was still sensual, sure, but there was a desperation, a longing that reminded me of everything we had been through, the years we had been apart. Everything we had overcome to get to this point.

He gently pushed us down onto the bed until we were laid back, him on top of me. I shifted my hips and wrapped my legs around him, gasping as I felt his hardness push into me. This would never get old.

"Oh Roza," he moaned as I rubbed against him, squeezing my eyes shut in pleasure.

Untangling my legs, he gently pulled away, before leaning down and undressing me tenderly. After studying me for a few seconds, he moved his mouth to my collar-bone, sucking and nipping his way down to my breast.

My back shot off the bed as he sucked hard on my puckered nipple, sending flames shooting through my body.

His low chuckle both infuriated and turned me on.

After giving my other breast the same attention, he moved down to my stomach, ever so slowly easing down to where I wanted him most.

The throb between my legs was becoming unbearable.

Surging upwards, I desperately sought friction to release the tension. Dimitri let loose another chuckle and pulled away from me, resting on his knees as he studied my writhing body.

"I want to look at you like this every day for the rest of my life," he breathed, a look of awe on his face. "You are my life".

I screwed my eyes up to stop the tears from leaking from them. I had imagined this moment since the age of 17 and now, when I was 28, it was finally happening. Not the sex, no, the man. He was finally, undoubtedly mine and no-one could argue otherwise. Our careers allowed for it, the student/mentor relationship drama was ancient history and now, for the first time, we were truly emotionally available. We'd both tried before, thought that we were there, but I could see now how open and raw things were between us. I could see now why the relationship hadn't worked before. We had both finally given ourselves to the other.

Dimitri's tongue thrust me out of my thoughts as he finally reached the sensitive nub between my legs.

"Fuck," I gasped as the sensation washed over me.

Lapping relentlessly, he soon had me moaning and nearing release.

"Now Roza, now, for me", he gasped and sent me tumbling over the edge of sweet pleasure.

Once I could breathe once more, I reached down and firmly grasped his arms, tugging him up to me.

"I need you," I whispered, no longer willing to keep up the slow pace, and shifted my hips so that he was aligned with me.

Resting his forehead against mine, he slipped inside, sending shivers throughout my body as he began to slowly move.

"Never...stop," I gasped out as he picked up the pace and our bodies moved in sync. "Never, ever leave me again".

"Roza, Roza I won't. I won't ever leave".

He whispered words over and over again like a prayer as we both climbed towards the release we were desperately craving. Tears fell from our eyes as we both realised how momentous this moment was, and they mingled together in hot trails, cementing our bond and promising love and friendship for as long as we should live.

He picked up the pace again, punishing me with deep thrusts that made my insides clench and pushed me over the cliff of release. He followed quickly afterwards, groaning and stilling.

I wrapped my arms tightly around his body, keeping him exactly where he was.

"I'm heavy," he grumbled, but I held on tight. I needed his pressure on top of me, grounding me and giving me a sense of security. His smell alone made my body relax instinctively.

Feeling the hot drip of tears on my skin, I shifted my body so that we were on our sides, still gripping each other as if our lives depended on it.

"Did you mean it?" he whispered, his voice thick and full of insecurity. "Are we really doing this?"

I pressed a wet kiss against his swollen lips.

"We are," I whispered back. "Should I die, I want to die knowing that we made the ultimate commitment. I want to die knowing that I am yours, and you are mine."

He unwrapped his arms from around my body and rested them on my cheeks.

"I don't know how I'm going to get through this," he said, a sob racking his body as the words escaped his lips. I couldn't help but cry with him.

"You have to," I sobbed. "Should anything happen, you have to get through this. For the sake of Lissa, for the sake of our society, for the sake of me. I can't go into the battle knowing that if I die, you will die with me. I need you to live Dimitri".

"I can't, I can't," he cried, burying his head into my chest.

Resting my hands on his cheeks, I lifted his head up and looked deeply into his eyes.

"Listen to me. Turn on your guardian mark, I don't care. You have to do this, for me. I can't leave you to go and serve our race if you don't. Be sad, be fucking miserable, but you have to get over it. I want you to get over it. Should it happen, you don't blame yourself, you don't blame those around me. Blame the strigoi. Do great things. Be the person I know now. Fight. Fight society, fight your emotions, fight for the rest of your life. And when it ends, I will see you again. I will see you again Dimitri. A love like ours doesn't just die, it lives on forever, outlasting both of our lives".

The words tumbled out of my mouth in a long stream that made me realise just how scared I was for him. He wouldn't be able to join in the actual combat, instead, being shut up in the planning rooms constantly evaluating and changing plans from information given through earpieces from guardians on the front line. Had this been a normal situation, I would have been forced to join him because of my job title regardless of my age, but this was no normal situation. This had never happened before. It made the academy attack that happened whilst I was there look tame.

I knew it was the fact that I would be in combat and he couldn't join that was eating him up. I would have been the same had our roles been reversed. They might have been, had I accepted the job in the first place. That thought terrified me.

After a few moments, he lifted his head. I could see the steely resolve on his face. His eyes were still wide and turbulent, but he had pieced himself together for now. He was putting on a front, and for now, that front would allow me to leave him to fight without my soul breaking apart. He would be ok. He had to be.

"We need to plan our time," he said with a great shuddering breath. The topic change was obvious, but we both needed it.

Snuggling closer into his bare chest I laced my legs through his, feeling the warmth from his naked body filling me with the strength I needed to get through this.

"Well, before we do anything, I need to hit the gym in the morning. I need to make the most of the time I have, however long or short, to build back my strength and muscle. Your help would be greatly appreciated," I added.

He nodded softly.

"We'll go straight away and do conditioning, and then we'll spar for as long as your body can hold out. We can go again in the evening".

My dhampir genes would certainly help me pack on the muscle, but not without effort. I would withstand much more exercise than a human could, and I could probably put all my muscle back on in a few weeks, but I had to train just as hard as humans did, and for just as many hours. I could just do more at once and see quicker results.

"And then," I started, "then we go to church".

"Tomorrow?" Dimitri questioned.

"Yeah. I don't want to waste another hour. We've wasted enough years".

I didn't add that I wasn't sure how long we would have to tie the knot before the strigoi came, and I didn't want to risk waiting. I was fully aware of the odds of me surviving this fight.

"Do you want anyone there?"

I shook my head.

"Just us. We can have an official ceremony after the battle, once I'm back to full strength again, but for now I want to keep it a secret".

He thought about my suggestion for a few minutes, the steady rise and fall of his chest almost lulling me to sleep.

"Okay," he said at last. "It will be our secret for now. I would like to do things properly when we can though".

"Me too," I whispered, my voice quiet and sleepy.

Dimitri gently pulled the covers over us, before wrapping his arms around me tightly.

"Sleep well, Roza. This time tomorrow, we will be husband and wife. After so many bumps in the road, we've made it".

He pressed a small kiss against my forehead and gently rested his chin on the top of my head.

I drifted off into sleep the happiest I had been for a long, long time, all thoughts about the uncertain future pushed away by the comfort of sleeping next to Dimitri.


I groaned loudly as the blaring of my alarm clock tore me into consciousness. All of a sudden, I was immediately aware of a warm body pinned to my back, arm clutching my waist. All of my senses were filled with him as I rolled over to look at his sleeping form.

His hair was tousled and messy, and his face looked completely at ease. Unable to help myself, I ran my thumb over his cheekbone. The small movement awoke him, but he merely opened his eyes and pulled me closer, burying his head in my chest.

"I want to do this every day," I whispered as I nuzzled my nose in his soft hair.

He let out a low chuckle and pulled away after a few minutes, a small smile on his face.

"We can do this if you start setting your alarm earlier".

I glance at the time had me scowling. 10 minutes to leave the house was feasible when I was the only one here, but he was right. If I wanted a few minutes to relax after we woke up, I would have to set the alarm earlier.

"Come on," he said, pressing a kiss to my forehead and getting out of bed. With a dramatic sigh, I followed him, heading to my clothes draws.

"What are you going to wear to the gym?" I asked, realising that he had no clothes here and could hardly fit in mine.

"I've got some workout clothes at the office, I'll grab those whilst you start the conditioning training.


After a firm promise from Dimitri that we would get breakfast after training, we headed out of my flat. It was agreed that I would weight-train by myself whilst Dimitri collected some clothes and did a few errands before he met up with me in an hour to spar.

I got a few confused looks from other guardians as I entered and headed to the weight section. I glared at them, thinking they were assuming I wouldn't train as much because of my new desk job, before I realised that they wouldn't have known I had been healed. That information was being kept strictly confidential because of its close links to the impending attack. Guardians on court had all been sent an email telling them to amp up the training because an attack was imminent, but they had been given no details and were told to keep it to themselves. Emails like this weren't uncommon, they were often drills, but I had to admit there was an uneasy atmosphere in the gym this morning. It was much fuller, yet much quieter than usual.

I started to workout, getting in a few reps before I was interrupted. Looking up, I saw Eddie.

"Long time no see," I drawled, a small smile on my face.

Eddie had been assigned to Adrian, and so I hadn't seen him much because of the distance. Thinking back, it had been at least a few years.

Like me, I could see that Eddie had aged. He had a few wrinkles on his tanned skin and the odd grey streak in his hair, but it was his eyes that showed our years apart the most. His bright, full-of-life eyes were now dull, with a haunted look in them.

"Is it true?" he asked, not bothering with small talk.

Becoming him closer, I nodded.

"Whatever you've heard, yeah. It probably is," I whispered.

"So you are fighting. Even though you have a target on your head."

He sounded pissed off.

"I have no choice, Eddie," I argued. "I have to ID the leaders. Even if I didn't, I would still be out there".

"I know," he said glumly, looking down to the floor. "And...Belikov?"

His hesitancy showed that he hadn't heard about our new relationship. In fact, no-one apart from Lissa had and I sometimes forgot that.

"He's around..." I said vaguely. "You'll have heard about our new positions no doubt?"

He nodded.

"It means he can't go out and fight, even if the age law allowed it".

"Damn shame if you ask me," Eddie muttered, kicking a pile of weights in frustration. "He's one of the best fighters we have, aside from you of course."

"You should see him in the planning room though," I argued. "It's like he was made for the position. He's going to do great things, I can tell you that now".

The glint in Eddie's eyes told me that I hadn't played along with the 'broken-up-star-crosses-lovers' thing. Eddie was no fool. Thankfully, he didn't question it. My stomach churned at the realisation that if I lied to him about Dimitri, the last thing we could say to each other may be a lie. My mortality was becoming a heavy and restraining topic.

"Rose, when we're out there, be careful won't you".

I looked down, unable to meet his eyes before I threw on the Hathaway smirk, playing off the situation as I so often did.

"Always am, bud".

Somehow, my jovial words didn't have the effect they usually did. Eddie knew me too well.

"I don't want to lose another friend," he whispered.

I gave him a grim smile and reached out to squeeze his hand. The majority of our school cohort had died by now, only the good ones living.

He turned away and walked off in silence, leaving a chasm of silence behind.


Dimitri arrived in an hour as promised, and we sparred. As expected, I wasn't as strong as usual, but it wasn't as bad as I feared. My less-bulky frame actually had its uses, I was a little quicker which would definitely work to my advantage. After a few rounds, we called it quits. I was hesitant to work myself too hard, should the attack come quicker than expected. I didn't want to burn myself out and have it affect my actual combat, but equally, I wanted to pack on muscle as quick as I could. It was a fine line.

Dimitri had brought a change of clothes for us both and after a quick shower at the gym, I changed to go to breakfast. The clothes weren't fancy enough to draw attention, but they were nice.


We walked into the near-deserted cafe and sat down in a booth opposite each other. This was a guardian frequented cafe, and with everyone getting in the hours at the gym it was very quiet apart from the section that was only takeaway.

The waitress appeared quickly and took our order. Suddenly, the weight of our situation hit me and I lost my appetite. After ordering just 2 pancakes, Dimitri shot me a confused look.

"I... I'm not hungry," I stammered.

"Are you having second thoughts?"

I shook my head. How could I express my turbulent feelings?

"I think the seriousness of the situation is hitting me," I admitted after a while. "When this starts, I'm not going to see you until it's over. It's not going to be like the other battles in which we fought together. I know that you won't be on the front line, but something could happen".

Dimitri leaned forward and gently squeezed my hand. He didn't need to say any words to show that he was feeling the exact same about me.

The food arrived and we ate in silence, both too caught up in our thoughts to make conversation. Once I had finished, I realised that I wasn't nervous about anything else. My mind was calm and confident when I thought about Dimitri. No cold feet here.

"Let's do this," I whispered, squeezing his hand and standing up.

Laying a few bills on the table, Dimitri nodded, a strange look in his eyes. I could tell that he was happy, yet there was turbulence in there that reminded me of our situation.

For most couples, getting married was a happy, joyful experience. For us, we were getting our affairs in order. We were rushing to promise ourselves to each other, whilst we still had the chance. Before it was too late.

With a small smile and a nod, we headed out the door for the last hoorah.