"Let's start with running." We'd gotten back from Russia less than an hour ago, and I'd only taken a twenty-minute nap.
I hadn't gotten much sleep last night because Dimitri's more-than-welcomed interruption. Unless you're counting the three hours where I passed out, which I was not.
I got onto the treadmill after Dimitri hooked me up to the wires. He was significantly less shy about attaching the membrane to me today than he was yesterday. But yesterday seemed like a lifetime ago. He'd slipped back into Guardian mode and was trying to keep our interaction professional in case someone happened to check in on us.
I did catch him ogling every once in a while, though. I'd usually just add an exaggerated sway to my hips which caused him to emit a low growl, which I would promptly smirk at.
"Is there something I can help you with, Comrade?" I asked after the fifth time of feeling his eyes on me.
'Oh, there's something you can help me with alright…" His thoughts rang. 'I'd love your help with some things. One thing in particular.'
"Oh, Dirty Comrade. Are all your thoughts like this? I'm starting to think you let Big D run the show more than Dimka." I looked back at him. His face was a bright red. I started laughing. "Maybe while I'm running you should start practice on trying to block me from your thoughts. Or…and I'm not saying this is what I want...you could keep your mind out of the gutter and your thoughts clean."
"That's not going to happen. If you're in the same room with me my thoughts start rolling in the mud. Especially if you keep moving your hips like that." He growled again as I threw a wink at him over my shoulder. He sighed. "How am I supposed to do my job if you keep distracting me?"
"It's not my fault you're easily distracted. Besides, it's your job to study me, right? Well, technically, you are doing your job. You're just being very meticulous in your observations." I thought to him. "How long have I been running?"
"You've been going at it for three hours." I snickered and I could feel him rolling his eyes. "If you can maintain this pace for another two hours I'll let you stop." I outright laughed at that. Dimitri sighed and shook his head before looking back down at his book attempting to keep his thoughts clean.
"Ugh! Is there any way to pass the time so it's not just the sound of my shoes hitting the belt, the hum of the motor, and you occasionally flipping a page acting like you're actually reading that book?"
"Hey, I am reading!" He asserted.
"That's not what your thoughts are telling me. Unless the heroine in your western's name is Roza." I muse. "Or if she has beautiful, dark brown hair. Or if her ass is the best thing sinc-."
"Alright! I get it! You can stop." He growled. "I wasn't reading. You're distracting and I can't think straight. However, you voicing my thoughts makes me seem like a pig. I blame you."
"Don't be ashamed, Comrade. My ass is pretty great." He didn't dignify my comment with a response, but I did see him staring at my butt appraisingly.
I decided to pass the time by bringing out Rosemarie and Rosie.
"Come on, guys. The Russian isn't being any help with keeping me entertained and I'm bored out of my skull." They sat down in front of the treadmill and started chatting with each other and me.
We were in the middle of a debate. Rosie was claiming that underwire bras were so much better because they flaunted everything you had, whereas Rosemarie was opposed, claiming wire-free bras to be superior.
"Wires are so uncomfortable. Plus, when the bra gets worn out and the fabric tears, which it will, the wire comes out and practically stabs you in the ribs." I supported, wincing at a phantom pain. "It's literally like your bra is trying to kill you." Rosemarie nodded in agreeance. "However, wire bras support you more and are better at keeping everything in place."
"What do you think, Dimitri?" Rosie asked saucily.
"I – uh…What?"
"Do you think wire or wire-free?" Dimitri just looked confused. Rosie rolled her eyes. "Haven't you been paying attention at all?"
"Rosie don't do this to him. You nearly broke Dimka, leave him be."
"No, Rose. We need him to settle the debate." She turned back to Dimitri. "So, which will it be?"
"I'm very confused about what you're talking about."
"Bras, Dimitri. We're talking about bras." Rosemarie explained with a blush.
"Oh, I don't think I'd be a good judge of that." Dimitri replied, the tale-tell signs of a blush appearing on his neck. "I don't wear them, so I wouldn't know."
"Yes, but you're a man. And a man knows what looks good on a woman, right?"
"Rosie, don't you dare. You're going to scar him for life." I hissed under my breath. She just gave me a mischievous smirk.
"I – umm…Yes? I think I do, at least." Dimitri answered.
"So, you could tell me if I look better in one thing compared to something else?"
"Yes." Dimitri answered slowly, his eyes narrowed, not really knowing where this was going.
"Rosie." I said warningly, but she ignored me.
"Alright. Would I look better in this," she materialized a black lacy wire-free bra and held it by the strap on one finger, "or this?" In her other hand materialized a crimson red, sheer cup, wired bra, there were lacy rose appliques where the nipples would be. It was a beautiful piece of clothing if it wasn't meant to scramble Dimitri's brain.
Dimitri's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. I'm pretty sure I saw a little drool coming out of the corner of his mouth.
"Great. Now look what you've done." I groaned. "You broke him."
"He's not broken. His brain's just not functioning at full capacity." Rosie cleared her throat and wiggled the skimpy garments in his direction. "Well, which is it?" She asked impatiently, tapping her foot.
"I…I don't think I'm comfortable answering the question." Dimitri responded, his voice sounding strained. He definitely did not look comfortable, but I don't think we had any doubt as to his answer. His eyes lingered on the red one before shifting uncomfortably in his chair. Rosie smirked at him, satisfied with herself.
"That's okay, you gave me the answer I was looking for." She turned to face me, tossing me the red bra before giving me a wink. "I think you should hang on to that. It might come in handy."
"You're a real piece of work, you know that, Rosie?" I asked, but still tucked the bra into the waistband of my pants.
"I know, but I think it'll be good for him. At least we know it's not just Big D and Dimka who want you." Both her and Rosemarie jumped back into my body, cutting off any answer I might have given her.
"Has it been two hours yet, Comrade?" I asked after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.
"No, but it's close enough. I think you can stop now." I slowed my run to a walking pace before I climbed off the treadmill.
"Are we doing anything else today?" I asked stretching my legs. Dimitri's focus was on the shape of my leg and it stretched to one side of me. "Comrade?"
"Huh?" He asked meeting my eyes. I smirked but didn't comment.
"Are we doing anything else today or is it just running?" He looked down at his notes and grimaced.
"I'm supposed to test your pain tolerance."
"Oh, okay." I walked over to the desk he was sitting at and placed myself in the chair beside it. "Let's do this."
"No, Rose. We don't have to do this." He shook his head.
"Yes, we do, Comrade. You can't fabricate these results." I stated. "Besides, I want to know how much I can take."
"Are you sure?" He asked nervously. "We'll stop at the first sign of discomfort."
"You don't have to do that, Dimitri. I can take it." I smirked, "I think this is going to hurt you more than it hurts me." I chuckled. "I've always wanted to say that."
Dimitri rolled his eyes but started setting up a machine to my right.
"Normally we test pain tolerance with a bucket of ice water, but since you can find a loop hole through that, we have to do shock tests." He told me apologetically.
"That's fine." I stated as he placed clamps around my index fingers.
"Just tell me when this starts to feel uncomfortable."
"I'm going to tell you when it actually starts to hurt." I told him plainly, leaving no room for argument.
"Fine." He huffed. "I'm going to start at 15 volts, then work up to 450 volts, should we get that high, I'll mark that you have an extremely high pain tolerance."
"Alright. Let's do this." I say again. Dimitri nods and turns on the machine, a mechanical hum accompanies it. He turns the knob on the box a little to the right and looks at me expectantly. "I don't feel that, Dimitri. I'm not made of glass, you don't have to worry about me."
"I will always worry about you. Until you are out of here and safe, I'll constantly worry about you." I gave him a sad smile but motioned for him to continue.
It wasn't until 300 volts that I felt anything. I could feel a slight tickle, the sensation you get when one of your limbs had fallen asleep. I didn't say anything because it wasn't pain or discomfort.
"Alright, we're at 450 volts." Dimitri declared a little while later. "Do you feel anything?"
"It's a little hum, nothing much. It's the skin prickling sensation when a limb is trying to wake up." He nodded and made the comment in his notes.
"You have an extremely high pain tolerance, though that's just with electrical currents. We've no idea how you'd fair with lacerations, and we are not going to find out."
"I won't argue with you on that one." I conceded. "Is there anything else that we're doing today?"
"Not that I have planned." He answers vaguely.
"Is there something that's not planned?" I asked raising an eyebrow. Dimitri pulled his chair closer to mine, picking me up by the waist and bringing me onto his lap so I straddled him. "You're telling me you didn't plan this?"
"Of course not." He lied.
"Mhmm." I rolled my eyes but leaned further into him. "What else did you have not planned?"
"I've not planned a lot of things, Roza." He secured one arm around my waist and his other hand pulled out my ponytail holder and wound itself into my hair. "But let's start with this."
Then he kissed me. I committed myself completely the moment his lips touched mine. My body came alive as the hand in my hair pulled me closer, his hungry lips devouring mine and claiming my mouth as his own. The arm around my waist tightened pressing my body flush against his. I could feel every ridge of his body. His muscle was well defined and hard as steel.
I had one hand pressed firmly against his chest, feeling his erratic heartbeat and the other hand was tugging at his hair. I wiggled my hips gently against his, eliciting a moan from him. I smiled against his lips as he gave me a playful growl.
I giggled softly as Dimitri pressed a kiss to my forehead. I snuggled closer to his chest and laid my head there, listening to his heartbeat slow to a normal pace.
"I love you, Roza." I froze. I didn't mean to, I knew I loved Dimitri with everything in me, but I didn't expect him to return the feelings. I pulled back to look at him. There was fear in his eyes. Fear of rejection. He'd put his heart in my hands and he was scared that I was going to throw it on the floor and squish it.
"I love you, too, Dimitri." The smile that spread across his face was bright enough to light a whole city block. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't help but return his smile. I smiled so big my face began to ache. He pulled me in for another kiss, this one more loving than the last.
"I should get you back to your room." He sighed pulling away. I only nodded. He placed me back on the ground and we exited the lab side-by-side. We maintained an appropriate distance between us, though occasionally our hands did happen to brush against each other's. We'd just turned down the hallway that housed the female Projects when we were stopped.
"Belikov!" Stan shouted, mischief covering his face. "We need to have a little chat."