Characters belong to Richelle Mead. This is just a fanmade story by me.

First of all, I'd like to thank you guys so much! Your amazing reviews have totally made my days! So, THANK YOU! x3

I really gave my whole heart - and then some - to that last chapter, which I'm sure you noticed. Man, I was proud - was worthy of a facebook-status^^

Secondly, this chapter has been a bitch to me. A certain character has been quite unwilling to cooperate... gah! Hate it when that happens - she/he just wouldn't talk! So frustrating! x|

Anywho... enjoy some Rose & Adrian interaction! :)

Chapter 3

The whole flight took about three hours, and the whole time I kept thinking about what I was going to tell Adrian once I found him. Scenario upon scenario came to mind of how he'd react to seeing me again after everything that had happened. Neither of them began or ended in a good way, because surely he wouldn't take me back into his life that easy again. Not after how badly I had treated him.

But a part of my mind was also thinking about Dimitri. I wondered what he was doing right now, how he was holding up. Considering what time it was, he'd probably gone to sleep. I'd left quite late for us, but early for the humans.

Seeing as we were in Las Vegas and no longer on our own turf, I knew Adrian had reverted to a daylight schedule. More or less anyway. And seeing as Lissa would be going to Lehigh soon - next week actually - I hoped I wouldn't have to stay away that long, since I'd have to go back to work eventually and I wanted to spend some time with Dimitri while I still could. Although, she could get someone else to fill in for me, if I had to stay longer, but I really hoped it wouldn't come to that.

When I would eventually find Adrian, I wasn't going to force him to come back with me to Court. I had no right to do that - he was an adult after all - but I would try to make him come to his senses.

The flight landed and when I got outside, I got a cab to take me to the Luxor, the hotel we'd been staying at last time we'd been here. It surprised me that he was staying here again, but what did I know, maybe he liked it here.

As I reached the reception, I rested my arms on the disc. "Hi," I smiled pleasantly at the female receptionist, who looked to be about Dimitri's age. But she reminded me more of Lissa when it came to looks, as she had strawberry blond hair and green eyes. "Could you tell me what room Lor-, I mean Mr. Ivashkov is in?"

She started typing frantically on her keyboard. "Hm. We have two guests by that name. Which one are you referring to?"

"Adrian Ivashkov."

Another moment of frantic typing. And then it stopped and she nodded slightly. "Yes. He's in room 653. Do you want me to call him up for you?"

"No, no." I shook my head quickly. Goddamn, no. I wasn't ready to face him just yet. "It's fine. You don't have to do that. But could you book a room for one on the same floor?"

The receptionist eyed me for a second, but then she just shrugged. "Sure. What's your name?"

Should I really sign in with my real name? I wasn't so sure, so I settled for, "Marie Ma-"

Was it safe to use the old man's last name?

"-likov." I finished lamely.

"Marie Malikov?"

Damnit. "Yes."

Some more annoying typing, and then she left to get me my key. A moment later, she handed it to me with a kind smile on her face. "Here's the keycard to your room, Miss Malikov. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask any of our staff."

I smiled politely, nodding. "Okay. Thank you."

Later that evening, after I'd ordered some roomservice for dinner, I started to get ready. I started out with a nice, long shower to both get rid of any hints of sweat-like odor and to calm down my nerves. Knowing I might be talking to him within the hour, if he happened to be where I thought he was, was a scary thought. I wondered how he would react when he saw me; what would he do?

I'd brought the little make-up that I owned with me, figuring that it wouldn't hurt to look good and started applying some mascara after I'd pulled on the black dress I'd brought with me. It made me think of Dimitri, but I didn't have much choice. I really didn't own any other dresses what with me and Lissa being on the run and only been able to go shopping once since then, and on that trip I hadn't really had time to look for anything. I'd been on duty for the first time and I'd wanted to impress the other guardians, especially Dimitri.

But as I was making my way downstairs, having decided to check out the hotel's own casino as I knew Adrian liked that kinds of things, I was growing anxious.

Would he yell at me again, or would he give me the silent treatment? I didn't know which was worse.

As I reached where all the slot machines, roulette and poker tables were and all the cheering humans and Moroi played, I started to look around for him. Walking behind them all, trying to spot him, my heart was beating a mile a minute. That is until...

"Excuse me, Miss?"

I turned around only to stand face-to-face with one of the security guards, who was human.

Damn, my reflexes were not good if he managed to sneak up on me like that – or maybe my mind was just entirely elsewhere.

"Oh, hi," I said meekly.

"Are you looking for something?"

"No, well-" I was still looking around, even if he was talking to me, which had to be what the guard was referring to. And as I turned my head again, probably for the fiftieth time, that's when I saw him. On the other side of the room, sitting by the bar.

Adrian.

I think I could spot that mop of hair anywhere, even in a crowd of hundreds of people.

"I just found him." I forced a smile on my face at the guard, before I excused myself and started walking in the direction of my broken heart.

As I didn't want to just surprise him – hell, I had to calm myself down first or else I'd just stand there and stare at him – I decided to hang back. I leaned against one of the walls a close distance from him; I could see him but he couldn't see me. And I could see a guardian nearby keeping a watch over him; I recognized him from Court. He was just a few years older than me, with short black hair. Mark was his name, if I remembered correctly.

Was he Adrian's guardian?

I didn't let the thought linger long, because the sight of Adrian made my heart tug uncomfortably. His appearance was still just as wild. The hair was still untamed but not styled, and he just looked plain defeated. And by the looks of it, he hadn't slept in awhile. He looked world-weary, like he was truly beginning to lose his mind. Like Spirit had finally gotten the best of him.

"Hey," He waved the male bartender over. "Another Paralyzer, please. And make it strong." he slurred, dragging the last word out.

The bartender, who I could tell was Moroi, put his hands on the bar disc. "I'm sorry, sir, but I've think you've had enough for the evening."

"No, no," Adrian told him, shaking his head a little. "You know what I've really had enough of?"

The bartender didn't seem to want to bother with him, but seeing as Adrian was royal – especially one from the mighty Ivashkov clan – he indulged him. "No."

"Spirit."

"Spirit, sir?" the bartender wasn't familiar with the term, I could tell. It hadn't been known that long after all, so I wasn't surprised.

"Yeah. It's really not good for anything."

He looked at Adrian with a mix of confusion and disbelief. I had a feeling he thought it was just drunk gibberish, but he still remained diplomatic and polite. "I'm afraid I don't know what Spirit is, sir."

"The worst element you can get!" Adrian told him, leaning over the disc, clearly having had one too many drinks. "Be happy you got air. I'd love to be an air user."

Seeing as he wasn't going to be served any more, he leaned back in his seat again. He was about to leave, I could tell. And so could the bartender.

"Do you want me to call for someone for you, sir?" the bartender wondered, eyeing him carefully.

"No, no." Adrian shook his head again. "I'll be fine."

"I'll take him." I stepped forward, coming to stand next to Adrian.

"Are you sure?" the bartender asked me at the same time as Adrian turned around in his seat, all the color in his face disappearing in an instant when he saw who the bartender had addressed.

"What are you doing here?" he quipped, immediately sobering up some.

I stared him down, trying to ignore my heart beat racing at his close proximity and the fierceness in his eyes. "I could ask you the same thing."

"No. You can't," he deadpanned. "You're the one who followed me here. So, I'll ask again, little dhampir, what are you doing here?"

Was it wrong of me to feel elated that he'd called me 'little dhampir'?

"I wanted to see you. To talk to you." I shot a glance at his guardian, Mark, who looked like he wasn't sure if he should step forward or not. I could tell he recognized who I was, and knew that if anything happened, Adrian would be safe with me. So he decided to stay back in the shadows.

"Oh, really?"

I turned around to face Adrian again, only to see one of his eyebrows rise, a frown settling in on his already marred face. "You're here for some more philosophical bullshit? The last time was well enough, thank you. I don't need any more from you."

He and I mentally bitch-slapped myself at the same time. I had it coming, so I wasn't surprised. "Will you please talk to me?"

"No."

"Why not?" I could hear the slight desperation in my voice.

"Save it for someone who's interested."

"Just give me five minutes," I sighed. "Please, Adrian."

He studied me out of the corners of his eyes for awhile until he eventually resigned, knowing I wasn't going to give up, and left the bar, with me in tow. His guardian followed silently, a polite distance away, behind us.

He wasn't as drunk as the last time I'd seen him, but nevertheless he stumbled a couple of times, which made me reach out to steady him. But he shied away like I was poison, which made me feel even more horrible than I already did.

The Adrian I'd seen around Court this past month wasn't who I was walking beside now – I'd met him when he still lived his old life, in the beginning and before I really got to know him, and he hadn't been like that then. This was a darker version of the man I fell in love with. And to see this change scared me.

I tried to think of something conversational just to ease the tension between us.

"I didn't know you could see what element other Moroi have." I said.

He shrugged; indifferent. "I always have."

We walked in silence for awhile after that, and I hated it. So much tension in the air, but I had it coming. I knew that. I'd been the one who came to him, not the other way around. He hadn't sought me out since our break-up, but now I was here... seeking him out.

I tried to think of something else to say, but all I got was, "What's with the Wolverine-look?"

"What?" he sounded half-bored, half-uninterested, as we walked into the elevator. His eyes focused on everything but me, though the panel that showed which floor we were on seemed to catch his attention the most.

"The beard. You look like Wolverine," In my peripheral view I could tell he was a little confused. "You know, the mutant?"

I heard a small noise - could've been a chuckle - from behind us then and turned to see Mark smiling with his eyes at nothing in particular. He'd found what I'd said funny apparently. But I didn't, and neither did Adrian.

"You came here to tell me I look like a mutant?" he didn't acknowledge his guardian, he just shook his head in exasperation and sighed. And he was still not looking at me. "Only you." he murmured.

"I didn't mean it like that," I sighed, mentally chastising myself for what I'd said. "You know I didn't."

"What did you mean then?"

His whole posture was uninviting; the way he didn't look at me, how set his chin was, how cold his aura was. Maybe I couldn't see it, like he could mine (when he was sober), but the atmosphere around us spoke for itself. He didn't want me here, he wanted me gone. And the realization of that hurt, perhaps more than it should have. I knew I was the intruder here; he hadn't asked for me. He didn't want me in his life anymore.

I didn't answer him, because I didn't know what to say.

"You wanted five minutes," he said as we got to his room, closing the door behind us; leaving us alone, and Mark outside in the hallway. "You've got five minutes. I suggest you don't waste them."

Judging by his appearance and the way he looked at me now, I was certain that he meant it. Five minutes. That's all I had.

He walked over to the nightstand where a bottle stood, and a glass.

"I'm scared for you." I blurted out; his back to me.

"Oh, you're scared for me? That's original." he scoffed as I watched how he poured himself a drink. "And why would that be, Rose?"

I hated how he switched to use my first name instead. It only meant he was angry, and at me. The look in his eyes told me so, too. And I was afraid to say it, but I had to tell him. He had to hear it; he had to see I was telling him the truth. "Because I care about you..." I hesitated for just a moment before I added, "And I love you."

In my best scenario, my dream-scenario, this would have been the moment where his shield came down and he forgave me. Maybe he would have kissed me, said something sweet to me or told me he gave Dimitri and I his blessing and that we could still be friends. But this wasn't a dream, this was real life. And in the real world he just rolled his eyes at me, taking another sip from his drink.

"Yeah, you've said that before." he said with no real emotion in his voice.

I frowned. "What do I have to do to make you see that I'm telling you the truth?"

"Nothing," he shrugged, still so indifferent, before he sat down on his bed; I remained close to the door. "Because you don't."

"Don't tell me what I'm feeling."

"You may not realize it, little dhampir," he said, avoiding to even glance over at me. "But you don't. You're only telling yourself that because I'm drinking again. And smoking. And doing God knows what with whomever is the lucky lady – or ladies - of the night."

I frowned.

"Let me tell you something," he continued, and his eyes finally settled on me. But it wasn't warmth, or any positive vibes he was sending out. They were so, so hard. It hurt to see my flippant, devil-may-care Adrian this way, it wasn't right at all. "This is my life. This was my life before I met you. This is who I am." he paused for just a moment, before he looked down at his drink and added, "This has nothing to do with you."

"I don't believe that."

"Yeah, well I don't care what you think."

"Once upon a time you did," I said quietly; wary. "You stopped for me."

And then he said the thing that I had never expected him to say...

"Because I wanted to get laid, yeah."

Even though I'd thought that in the beginning, when I'd first met him, he showed me how devoted he really was to me after I came back from Russia. He took the time to pick me up at the airport, even though he didn't have to. I could still remember the way he'd looked at me then, with admiration and relief that I was okay. That I came back.

To him.

And he took care of me when I tried to get over Dimitri, when I'd half-given up on ever restoring him to his old self. He never gave up on me once, not until the very end when he'd caught me with Dimitri by the car. The heartbroken man I'd talked to in my room mere days afterward, that had been Adrian. Close to the edge, but still in line. He still had feelings for me then, so he couldn't possibly have let all the feelings he had for me - the love - just disappear now. Not with the way he last spoke to me - he was upset, more than so even, but it was because he felt betrayed. He loved me, and I was sure he still did.

The man I was talking to now, he wasn't my Adrian, so I walked up to him and I slapped him.

He hissed, touching his cheek gently where I'd hit him.

"Don't act like you don't care." I cried, standing in front of him by the bed. "I know you better than that."

"Do you now?" he challenged, glaring at me. "Hmm, well, tell me something that you think would make me care then."

Oh, I had a golden opportunity here. This was my chance to break through the wall he'd built around himself, to keep me out. He let Lissa and Christian in; he had no wall for them. This one was specifically built to shield him from everything else to do with me.

"I broke up with Dimitri."

And this had been where, in my dream-scenario, where he would rejoice - despite the fact it hurt me - and assure me that he forgave me. He would take me into his arms and all would be perfect in the world; he would be happy, I would be happy and we would be able to go on with our lives. With each other. And we would talk, and eventually we would go our separate ways - though remain as friends - and I would return to Dimitri's waiting arms. Life would be perfect.

But this still was no dream, so he just quirked an eyebrow, nothing more. He was still cold in his demeanor. "What?" he said in disbelief.

"You heard me."

"You haven't broken up with Belikov. Isn't he the one who lifts you up where you belong, and makes your heart flutter and all that? I thought you guys were 'meant to be'." He spat the last words, bringing his drink up to his lips.

"We're over."

My heart tugged thinking about him now. Since it was late night now, it meant all my friends at Court, and Dimitri, were awake. I spared a thought to him, wondering what he was doing and how he was, but quickly let it go as the guy in front of me was the present right now. I had a mission here, and I was going to finish it. Otherwise I wouldn't be going home anytime soon.

Adrian rolled his eyes at me again. "Save it, I don't believe you."

"I just flew a couple of hundred miles – to Las Vegas – to tell you that I love you." I told him. "What more proof do you need?"

He seemed to consider that, and in the meantime keeping his mouth shut. I could see that he wanted to say something to contradict me, but he was coming up blank. He didn't want to believe me; it was easier that way.

"I love you, Adrian." I said hesitantly, fearing another lash out from him.

His beautiful green eyes glanced my way warily. I could almost hear his heart beating faster; as was mine. "You don't..." he whispered, starting to lose that wall of his. It was finally coming down a little.

"I love you." I said again, this time with more conviction.

I knew alcohol was dimming his magic, and therefore he had trouble seeing my aura now. I'm sure it was bright red, as in infatuation and love.

If only he could see it now...

"Can you see my aura?" I wondered nevertheless, a spark of hope still in my heart.

"Barely." he said, his eyes still afraid to believe that what I was telling him was the truth.

Damnit.

And just as I'd thought I was getting through to him, his eyes hardened once more.

"Stop it." he said coldly, regaining control over himself; no mercy in his eyes. "Don't you think I know you?"

What? I didn't say anything.

"You're Rose Hathaway – superhero guardian. You want to save everyone." he continued, exasperation clear his voice. "That's why you're here. You don't care about me, not really, you just can't help yourself."

I flinched at his words. He might as well have slapped me.

"I'm not a person in need for your assistance, so you can leave now."

"But-" I felt my eyes grow warmer from tears.

"No." He said firmly, getting up from the bed and walking over to the door. "You had your five minutes, more than that even."

Damnit. I could feel my heart beat uncomfortably in my chest as I watched his retreating back.

"Adrian..." I said slowly, following him to the door. "I'm sorry."

He opened it without a word, inclining his head out to the hallway, showing no mercy. Not for me at least. "It's time for you to go, little dhampir."

I didn't want to upset him further, so, feeling dejected, I cast a last glance towards him before I walked passed him. He looked so tired, so ready to just fall apart at any given moment. I had a feeling my visit hadn't helped anything, probably only made him feel worse. And that made me feel even worse about myself and what I had done to him.

How could he make something, like my relationship with Dimitri, feel so wrong?

The slam of the door as I left hurt more than his words had. And as I walked back to my own room, passing his guardian on the way, I couldn't help but feel like I was the worst person alive.

Aww... Adrian, love. *sigh*

Whatcha think of this chapter? Or, well, of this story so far? You like? :)

I know this chapter isn't my best work, so I'll have to excuse that (might edit it again some day), but Lord Ivashkov gave me a hard time - he didn't want to talk to either me or Rose. Can you say frustrating? x|

And the hotel-reception thing... it's been AGES since I was at a hotel, so excuse me if I got anything wrong. I don't travel very much x)

I put up a oneshot a couple of days ago - The Secret - which is about Alberta figuring out why Rose dropped out in the end of SK. Feel free to check it out! :)

In Search of Peace - or ISOP as short - has been giving me a hard time as well. Male characters are tough! Sometimes they just don't wanna talk to me, which is immensely frustrating. Hopefully that character will ease up around me on Wednesday/Thursday! Yes, unfortunately that update will have to wait a little longer - I hate it, too! :( - because tomorrow's my grandma's funeral and I'll be gone all day. Wednesday - the first half of the day, I will be studying for a test, but later in the evening (Wednesday morning/prenoon in the US) you can most likely expect an update! ;)

Please read & review! Just takes a sec and you'll brighten my day ;3

PS. I have a poll up on my profile - Are you Team Adrian or Team Dimitri? - and Dimitri's got 6 votes so far while Adrian has ZERO.!
What's up with that?
So I suggest you go vote and show him some love, because I know I'm not the only one rooting for The Dream Team! ;3