Disclaimer: I don't own VA

DPOV

Abe showing up was not how I was planning on spending the morning with Roza. I was pleased to see that she seemed genuinely happy to see him and that she agreed to have dinner with her parents, but I knew that having Abe come to my apartment would make her start asking questions that I didn't know how to answer. I knew that the second Abe walked out the door, Rose would begin what I can only describe as an interrogation.

"So," Rose started after Abe left and the door was closed. I turned around to face her and put up my mask, hoping she wouldn't see through my façade. "What in the hell brought my father here?" she questioned.

"Like he said, he popped in for a visit. We've grown close since you left."

"Dimitri, cut the crap. I know you and I know my old man. You may get along but no way in hell are you all of a sudden 'buddy-buddy' with each other. What was he really doing here?" she said with her hands on her hips. I was about to answer with another excuse when she cut me off. "Do not lie to me Dimitri Belikov, even with that stupid emotionless mask on I can tell when you aren't telling me the truth."

"Roza, I know it seems suspicious and I will not lie, he was not here to spend time with me." I thought of my next words and tried to choose them carefully. After a moments pause, I realized there was no good way to put it where she wouldn't freak out so I decided to just get to the point. "I asked him for a favor."

RPOV

"You WHAT?!" I exclaimed. I knew something was fishy with this situation, but Dimitri asking my father for a favor was not what I expected. I figured maybe Dimitri had told him I was in town and his initial shock in seeing me was just because he didn't think it was actually true. I just figured they covered it up because they thought I would be upset that Dimitri called my parents. I did not in a million years expect this. "What did he want in return?" I asked angrily.

"What do you mean," Dimitri said, feigning innocence.

"Oh please Dimitri, you know Zmey. He doesn't just do favors for people, he makes deals. Even if he likes you, he would never do something for you without getting something in return. So what did he want?" I asked impatiently. I know Dimitri was just stalling and it made me anxious. If he isn't being straightforward, it means he knows I'm not going to like what he has to say.

"He said that it would be a favor for him in the future and was to be determined," he replied looking at the floor in defeat.

I took a deep breath to calm myself. "Dimitri, what were you thinking?" I said calmly. "That favor could be anything, and when I say anything I mean it could be something illegal. What on earth was this favor that was so urgent that you had to ask Abe for help?"

He seemed as though he was debating telling me the truth, but eventually he looked into my eyes and answered honestly. "My father is back."

My heart dropped. Oh no. This could not be happening. Dimitri's father? I had never met the man but I was 100% sure that I never wanted to. No wonder he asked my father for help. After what happened with Dimitri and his father, I could see why he would go to Abe to get rid of the scum instead of the police. I still remember the day Dimitri told me about what happened with his father.

Flashback

After Dimitri's first day of school, he asked if I wanted to hang out and go to a movie or something. His excuse was that he just moved here and had no friends, but I'm pretty sure he had a crush on me, not that I minded since I had taken a liking to him as well. That weekend, he took me to dinner and a movie. The whole night was fun and we ended up meeting up the next day and hanging out as well. Eventually, we began hanging out during all of our spare time and started officially dating.

After about a month of dating, Dimitri and I were walking down the hallway holding hands, on the way to first period. When we passed the spot we first bumped into each other, I sighed happily. "Remember the first time we met?" I asked dreamily.

He chuckled. "Of course I do Roza, it was only a little over a month ago." I laughed and started to think about out first conversation. That was when a question resurfaced in my mind that I had been wondering about since that encounter.

"Hey Comrade, I was just thinking, that first day we met, why did you get so stiff about the joke I made about you being a criminal runaway?" I asked curiously. At the time I thought it was weird that he got so uptight about it but I shrugged it off.

Again he stiffened. What the hell was that all about? "I uh," he started. He cleared his throat and tried to change the subject. "Come on Roza, we are going to be late."

We had just arrived to Stan's class and I pulled him aside before we could walk in. "Dimitri what's wrong? Why won't you tell me?"

He sighed in defeat. We hadn't known each other long but he already figured out that I was subborn and wouldn't quit until I got my answers. "I will tell you about it later but not now. It's a long story and I don't want other people over hearing." I nodded and we walked into class.

After school that day, Dimitri came over. My parents were both at work, as always, so we had the house to ourselves. We snuggled up on the couch and I looked at him expectantly. He closed his eyes briefly and inhaled a deep breath as if giving himself a pep talk.

"When my mother was about 19, she met a man named Randall. She fell in love with him, despite my grandmother Yeva's warnings. My mother got pregnant with my sister Karolina and he left her. A couple years later, he came back claiming that he loved her and he wanted to be a good father and my mother got pregnant again with my sister Sonya. He left again and this continued for years until eventually, my mother had me and my three sisters. Every time he came back though he would get drunker and angrier and he would hit my mother. When I was 13 I put a stop to it by doing to him what he did to my mother." My eyes widened at his story.

"You beat up your own father?" I questioned. Dimitri looked down shyly gave a curt nod of his head. "Well good. Sounds like that asshole deserved it," I stated.

That brought a genuine smile to his face and he looked up at me. His face turned serious again as he continued his story. "After that, he left us alone, that is until a few months ago." He paused and took a deep breath. "My father is a very powerful man in Russia. He was initially frightened after what I did to him but I knew he would eventually come back and hurt my family even worse that he usually did. He came back and started having the police harass my family, claiming that they thought we were part of some rebel group because they got an 'anonymous tip from a reliable source'."

"So what did you do?" I questioned, completely enraptured in his story.

"My grandmother is somewhat…um…clairvoyant. She always pictured us away from Russia in a new place. It led my mother to ask the United States authorities to offer us refugee status and allow us to move the the U.S. so we can get away from my father."

"So," I started slowly, "The rumors were true? You are a runaway?"

Dimitri chuckled at this. "Not a runaway, a refugee. There is a bit of a difference, but yes, the rumors are somewhat true."

"So when I made a joke, you freaked out because…"

"When we first came here, we didn't want people to know we were refugees, we still don't. I'm telling you this because I trust you." This made me smile and lean forward and kiss him.

"Your secrets safe with me Comrade," I whispered in his ear and we continued making out for a while before he had to go home.

End Flashback

I sighed as I came back to the present. "Okay, I understand why you went to Abe, but I still don't like it."

Dimitri walked up to me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "I know Roza. I don't like it either but it had to be done."

"So how did your father find you? What happened?" I asked cautiously.

Dimitri released a heavy breath and took my hand, leading me to the couch. "He came about a month ago and sent my mother a note saying that he was coming for her and she couldn't hide from him and that he has eyes everywhere. It freaked my mother out so I told her I would take care of it. That's when I went to Abe. You know he actually laughed when I showed him the note? He muttered something about 'not as many eyes as I have' after he read it. A week later, Abe told me that he was gone and we needn't worry."

"Well, lets just hope that Abe never needs anything from you," I stated.

"Roza," Dimitri chuckled, "You know that Abe always collects his debts."

"Sadly, I do know," I groaned, then something occurred to me. "Wait, so if Abe said everything with your father was taken care of then why was he here?"

Dimitri's brow furrowed. "I have no idea."

"Well, I guess we will find out tomorrow night."

"We?" he questioned.

"Of course! You didn't think I would really go into the lion's den without you did you Comrade?" I said.

He chuckled. "No, I guess not. Though, maybe it won't be so bad. Your parent's love you and I know they have missed you."

"Yeah and I missed them too but I have a feeling that I'm going to ask myself why exactly I missed them after spending the night with my mother making disapproving comments." I muttered darkly.

"She was a mess when you left you know," Dimitri said.

"Really?" I asked shocked. I may not have the best relationship with my father but our relationship was pretty perfect compared to my relationship with my mother.

"Of course Roza. They might have always seemed overbearing and disapproving but they did it because they love you and I know they are proud of what you've accomplished," he said as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close to him.

"Fine, I will give them the benefit of the doubt, but if I seem like I'm about to blow a gasket you get me the hell out of there and I mean it," I scolded, pointing my finger at him.

"I promise Roza," he chuckled giving me a peck on the lips. The peck soon became a full blown makeout session with me straddling his lap just like back in high school after the first time he told me about his father. Some things never change.

Anyone guess why Abe was there? REVIEW!