I have to be perfectly honest, this idea came to me when I was at work today and it was all I could think of. I literally started writing this on my phone at lunch.

I hope you enjoy it!

She was there when the news fell. When the people she had loved the most were told that her body wasn't found in the caves. Her mother held it together before retreating to her private quarters. Lissa was hysterical as Christian held her tightly in his arms, trying to comfort her, but also to keep her from leaving the warded grounds. Christian on the other hand had a look on his face that showed his pain, knowing that only hours before the two had fought side by side in the battle that took place. Eddie barely understood the words being told to him, sitting on the ground by the gates with a dejected expression.

The one reaction that stood out was his.

He had no reaction. He stood there and told her closest friends that she was dead, most likely turned, with a blank expression. His voice was dispassionate as he placed his hand on Lissa's shoulder before leaving to check in with the other Guardians. It was like looking at a statue.

Dimitri showed no sign of pain or distress at the knowledge of Rose's death, and it angered her. He was supposed to love her, and yet, he had no emotions. But that was rectified after the funeral was held, and she watched him stand at her grave with tear-filled eyes before collapsing in his spot. His sobs echoed quietly to her ears as she observed him on the other side of the ward.

His mask had never been stronger until he let himself break that night.

Rose watched the man she once considered a God sit at the bar with a glass in his hand. She had watched him all night as he downed glass after glass, drowning his sowers in the bitter liquid that came from his homeland. Multiple women had approached him in the hours he sat there, but he brushed them off with a few small words and a head shake.

Moving through the crowd of bodies, Rose moved closer to the bar. Not close enough for it to be blatantly obvious to her former lover that she was there, but enough that if he raised his head and looked across the room, he'd see her.

But he didn't.

He kept his head down with his brows knitted together. Rose took the time to take in his feature with the laser focus her new eyes gave her. The state of his long hair falling in his face after running his hands through it, the slight stubble that ghosted his cheeks and jaw, the raw cuts on his knuckles. What surprised Rose the most was the black ink on the inside of his wrist of his dominant hand, the hand he wielded a stake with so gracefully.

There sat a small rose. Small enough that it could be covered if needed, but large enough that she could see the fine details from her place. Rose flagged the bartender over and ordered a drink, gesturing to the man across the room from her. The barman nodded and looked surprised when she gave him a sizeable tip, but she had more money than she ever needed now. Especially when she discovered just how good she was at working in the empire her mentor's mentor created.

Watching with excitement as the man delivered the drink to Dimitri, Rose bit her lip as she waited for the barman to gesture towards her. Dimitri didn't raise his head right away, but he slowly did, and his eyes made contact with hers. Rose flashed him a saucy smile before pushing herself away from the bar, enjoying the look of shock on his face. She quickly made her way across the room, knowing that he walked right into the trap she laid for him.

Dimitri felt like someone had pumped his veins with ice when he looked up to see the sender of his drink, only to find the monster that inhabited the body of the one he loved most. The loud music around him faded to almost nothing as he choked on his breath. His eyes took in the daunting red in the beautiful brown eyes he had come to dream of. She smiled at him in a way he had seen so many times before leaving the bar, heading for the exit. Dimitri clumsily pulled bills from his pocket and paid for his drinks but was surprised to find that the women that mimic his love had paid the tab already.

Trying desperately to make his way after her, he moved between the people in the bar. Making it to the exit he pulled his stake out of his pocket before pushing the door open and stepped into the cool nighttime air. Well, daytime for him.

His eyes moved over the alley that laid behind the small bar that was settled a half hour away from the Academy. He listened quietly for any signs of movement, but the only thing that reached his ears was the sound of nighttime creatures and the muffled music of the bar.

Instantly, Dimitri wished he hadn't drunk as much as he did. He had the first night off since that horrible night and couldn't handle to images that plagued his mind. Her smile as he held her tightly the night before she was ripped from him, the way she looked laid beneath him as they moved together in desire, wrapped in bliss after finally allowing himself to love her that way that he always should have. The fear he felt when he searched for her on the Academy grounds only to find her safe. The look they shared before he went into the caves. Lastly, the sound of her screams when the Strigoi wrapped his hands around her, his fangs piercing the skin that he had spent time worshiping hours previous.

He stood there in the middle of the darken channel, waiting for the danger that he knew was waiting for him. She watched him from the rooftop above him, waiting for the opportune moment. When he took a few tentative steps deeper into the darkness, she made her move. Leaping from the roof, she landed with grace before followed silently. She breathed deeply and her mouth watered at the smell of him that hung in the air still.

Dimitri stilled suddenly and adjusted his grip on the gleaming silver in his hand. He barely had time to raise his hand when Rose made her move. She was on him faster than he had thought possible. She was as quick as a whip, her hand batting the silver out of his hand. That valuable piece of silver clattered against the asphalt before rolling into the storm draining, momentary leaving Dimitri defenceless.

Rose had him pinned to the ground instantly, looming over him with a smirk. Dimitri struggled against her, but the realization that he wasn't going to make it out of her grasp became clear. She felt him relax under her and smiled.

"Oh Comrade, I expected more of a fight than this," she said with a sigh. Dimitri starred up at the face that he knew so well and felt his heart shutter in his chest. Aside from the crimson eyes and pale skin, she looked the exact same as she did when he lasted embraced her. Dimitri used the last ounce of strength he had to kick her off him and scrambled to his feet, reaching into his duster for the secondary stake he had.

Taking a swipe at Rose with his stake, he watched the tip of the silver slice through her cheek. Rose hissed in pain and anger when Dimitri struck her, whipping her head back to glare daggers at him. Rose let out a roar as she launched herself at him, pushing him against the brick wall with a sickening crack.

Stars danced before his eyes as he slid down the wall, feeling the mixture of alcohol and the blow to the back of his head. Lifting his head up to stare his fate in the eyes, he watched Rose crouch down before him. Rose let her fingers trail from Dimitri temple down to his lips, and Dimitri couldn't help it when his body leaned into her touch subconsciously.

If he had to live a life without Rose, it wasn't worth living to him.

"I'm sorry," Dimitri whispered, making Rose's hand come to a screeching halt on his face. Rose raised her brows at him as she cupped his jaw, lifting his hand further up to look him in the eyes.

"Why are you apologizing?" she asked him with a baffled laugh.

Dimitri lifted his hand shakily and wrapped his fingers around her cold wrist. "Because I didn't keep my promises to you. I can't do this anymore. Just put me out of my misery."

Rose shook her head slightly and leaned towards him, brushing the tip of her nose against his neck. She could hear the rush of blood in his veins, and her mouth watered even more at the heat at radiated from him. Rose lifted her head again to look at him, to offer the choice of joining her in immortality. Dimitri used that moment of distraction to lift the stake he held out of sight and plunged it into her chest.

Rose gave a strangled gasp as her hands flew to his, her eyes going wide. Dimitri watched the red drain from her eyes and the brown shone through as she whispered his name. A whisper that rocked his soul with a million memories. He moved to hold her as the animated body went slack against him. He removed the stake protruding from her chest and embraced her, holding her as if she were simply sleeping in his arms, rocking the two of them as he let the tears fall from his eyes.

With a shaky hand, Dimitri brushed her eyelids closed before pressing his lips to her cold ones, choking on his breath at the taste of her lips. It hadn't changed. Dimitri numbly grasped the stake in his hand, weighing for a moment before flicking his eyes back to her body in his lap. He took a slow breath before spinning it in his hand and driving into his own chest, grunting at the blinding pain he felt. Dimitri collapsed in a heap beside Rose and pulled her towards him. Like this, he could pretend that she was just sleeping. He knew that within a few moments, he would join her in that sleep.

"I love you, Roza. I always have."

And just like modern-day Romeo and Juliet, the two star-crossed lovers entered the afterlife – together.