Rose woke to the shrill sound of her alarm clock. She smacked her hand down on it, and groaned, burying her face into her pillow. It was one thing to have Him and Tasha here again, but to have him interrupt her dreams as well? For once, she wished Adrian had payed her a visit. It was late when she got in from her shift at the gates - if she beat Castile again this morning, she would cherish her week away from work. She opened one eye. She had about an hour before Adrian was due at his meeting. Swiftly, she threw herself out of bed, knowing if she dragged it out she wouldn't end up moving at all. She opened her drawers, and swore under her breath. When was the last time she did laundry? She resorted to yesterday's Guardian outfit, and socks that had yet to find their matches. Checking her watch again, she hastily threw her brush through her hair, pulling it up into a tight bun, showing off her Molnija marks.
She opted for jogging to Adrian's, to give her more time to stretch before she sparred. She made it there in five minutes, and rather then knocking on his door, she slipped the key he had made for her into the lock, entering quietly. The apartment was dark, and she flicked on some low lights, knowing that bright lights would guarantee a cranky Adrian.
"Morning, sunshine," she sang, walking into his bedroom. Adrian was a lump under the blankets, only a bit of messy hair sticking out on the pillow. Rose drew back the drapes, and turned, a tiny smile reaching her lips. She gently peeled the blankets back from his tight fingers, knowing he was awake and resisting her.
"Come on, Adrian, you have an OMC meeting in a half hour. Lets get you pretty." She heard an inaudible mumble, and decided to try a different approach. Grasping the blankets, she ripped them away from his hands, laughing at the shriek he let loose from the cold air touching his skin. His hair was gorgeously ruffled, and tired, dark eyes glared at her as his arm attempted to shield the light from the window. Rose let her eyes linger a second on his toned chest, and looked back up, grinning in amusement, "Come on, Ivashkov, I've got places to be."
"Oh really?" Adrian growled, snagging her hand as she turned to go make some coffee. Catching her by surprise, she let out a gasp as she was yanked back to the bed, landing flat on her back, head rested on the same chest she was checking out a second ago. Now Adrian was laughing, "If only Castile could see you now."
"You tell no one of this," Rose grumbled, trying to hide her grin. Adrian just laughed at her again, and kissed her forehead, "If you wake me up like this every morning, I might be easier to deal with."
"In your dreams," Rose said pleasantly. Adrian brushed hair from her eyes, and said, "I was wondering if you wanted to go away for Christmas. You know, get away from the hustle, all the people.." He trailed off, and Rose knew he was talking about Tasha and Dimitri. She shot him a grateful smile, "Your the Moroi, aren't you supposed to make the decisions?" He grinned, and said, "Anywhere I am with you, is where I want to be Rose. And you'll always have a say." She shifted a bit uncomfortably, noticing just how nice Adrian's body felt behind her. He could feel her discomfort, and his grin widened even more, as he brushed a kiss to her cheek, "Flustered, Hathaway?" Rose went to reply, but as she opened her mouth, she caught a glint of red on the side of his neck, just beneath his ear. Forming the very distinctive shape of the curve of someone's lips.
"You missed a spot," she said, voice changing from pleasant to distant quickly. Detaching herself, she got up, not looking back as she said, "I'll put coffee on, but I have to get to the gym. See you later, okay?" Not waiting for a reply, she quickly left the apartment, walking briskly towards the gym. Biting her lip, she frowned, mentally berating herself for reacting like that. Why did she get that strange feeling when she saw the lipstick? She knew he dabbled in the occasional relationship with Moroi girls, especially when his mother interfered, but he hadn't dated in awhile. Come to think of it, she couldn't remember him seeing anyone in the past few months. Strange.
She was still mulling it over as she reached the gym, pulling open the door to find it busier then usual. Word must have gotten out about their match. She saw Alex stretching in the corner, and she walked over, dropping her stuff on a bench and claiming a spot next to him.
"Ready to back out?" Alex grinned, leaning over to stretch his left thigh. Rose shook her head, "I could do this in my sleep, Castile. Hope you have enough people to cover my shifts." They chatted amiably as they stretched, and as the amount of people in the gym grew, Alex hopped up, "We won't fit anyone else in here if we wait any longer. Ready?" Rose nodded, getting up as well. They walked to the sparring mats, and she turned to face him, standing casually as he took an offensive crouch.
"Fourty on Hathaway," she heard Eddies voice in the crowd, and Alex winced, "Your supposed to stick with family, kid."
"Not when family's going to get his ass kicked," Eddie called back cheerfully, and Rose took advantage of Alex's distraction and darted to his left, sweeping her foot out behind his as she aimed a punch to his shoulder. He buckled back, but instead of falling caught himself and swept out his leg, taking her left one out. Her knee hit the ground and she used the momentum to roll, coming into a defensive crouch as Alex lunged at her.
As they fought, she could hear the hollers and cheers of the other guardians, but she didn't let them get to her. She knew if she opened her mind to them, she would let her guard down and Alex would have her. Feinting right to avoid a hard punch, she grabbed his elbow, twisting it behind him as she fought with his knees to take him down. Just as his knee buckled, her eyes flicked up, catching the heated stare from a pair of dark brown eyes. She hesitated for a split second, but Alex was already wrapping his arm around her waist, hauling her backwards. She swore, and fought to regain control, but it was no use. Alex had her on her back in seconds, pinned by the shoulders. Despite her fist catching the corner of his jaw, he slammed his hard down on her chest, ending the fight in his favor.
"Fuck, Rose!" She heard Eddie whine, pulling some bills from his pocket to give to someone. Alex grinned down at her, and said, "December 18th, Rosemarie. Oh, and wear a dress." Getting up, he walked over to a few guardians, accepting their congratulations. Rose merely laid where she was, cursing herself. She had him. She knew it and he knew it. First Dimitri ruins her sleep, now her sparring? She shook her head, sitting up as she rubbed her chest. It ached, and she made a mental note to get Lissa to look at it later. She got up, and Eddie clapped her on the back, "I really thought you had him, Hathaway." She nodded, not answering as she took a big drink of water. She groaned as she swallowed, and rubbed her chest again, knowing something was definitely bruised. Eddie shot her a sympathetic smile, and said, "I'll see you at the meeting? It starts in a half hour." Rose nodded, and smiled, "Save me a seat." As Eddie walked away, she allowed herself to wince at the pain enveloping her chest every time she took a breath.
"You've kept your training up, Rose," Dimitri's smooth voice floated over from behind her. She nodded, knowing he hadn't drifted off like the other guardians. "It happens, when your a guardian."
"I thought you were going to win, you did extremely well," Dimitri continued, standing next to her now, "I didn't mean to be a distraction." She nodded again, towelling off her neck. She froze when she felt his fingers brush against the soft skin below her collarbone, and saw him frown from the corner of her eye, "He ended you pretty hard. You should go to the Infirmary."
"I'm fine. Best friends with a Spirit user, remember?" She said, turning so her back was towards him, "I gotta go. I need to see how the OMC meeting went before the meeting with the Queen." Turning, she grabbed her bag, walking away briskly.
"You've come so far since we were here last!" Tasha's voice rang out, as she squeezed Christian to her side. Christian grinned, "We're just lucky we had Adrian to pull so many strings." Tasha shot Adrian a smile, and said, "I've heard. You guys really have something here." Adrian smiled back, nodding as he said, "Yeah, it is. A lot of work, but it'll be worth it."
"Adrian, work?" Rose's amused voice sprang out from the hall, "I think the world might end." Adrian shot her a scowl, and said, "I do plenty. Just because I don't sweat in a gym all day doesn't mean its not work." He paused, noticing her slightly laboured breathing, "I take it from your chest injury you lost." The smile on Rose's face faded, and Christian bit back his joke at the murderous look in her eyes. Instead, he said, "I think Lissa is in her room, if you want to be healed."
"I can do it," Adrian said quickly, "I've been practicing." Rose eyed him warily as she recalled that morning, then nodded, "I need it done fast, I have a meeting in twenty minutes. Think you can handle that?" Adrian nodded, and as she turned to leave, Tasha quickly said, "Rose, Christian, Lissa and I were thinking of going off grounds for dinner tomorrow night. Do you guys want to come? Lissa said you might be interested." Rose hesitated, but Adrian quickly said, "Sure, thanks, Natasha."
"Good, we could use another guardian besides Dimitri," Tasha smiled, and Adrian nodded, "Rose?" Rose gave her a tight smile, and turned with Adrian, going towards her room, which was the closest.
"So, I did bet on you winning, you know," Adrian said conversationally, as Rose unlocked her door. She sighed, "I had him. Then I looked up."
"Straight into brooding Russian eyes, I'd imagine," Adrian said, gesturing for her to sit on her bed. She did, and he began to undo her buttons on her shirt, needing access to her wounded area. She leaned back on both her arms to give him better access, and confirmed, "Yeah. Just my luck, hey?"
"Have you tried talking to him? Maybe it'll help you move past this," Adrian mumbled, distracted as he sought out her injury. Rose half-shrugged, and decided she didn't really want to discuss this anymore. Instead, she replied, "I see you cleaned the lipstick." Adrian raised an eyebrow, "Do I detect a hint of jealousy, Rosemarie?" She scowled at him, and bit her lip as his fingers pushed against her chest, above her aching ribcage. He stared at the spot, concentrating hard as Rose felt a tingle of warmth flow through her body, centering around his hand. They stayed like that for a few minutes, before Adrian dropped his hand, breathing slightly harder, "There. Does it feel okay?" Rose stretched, and nodded, "Yes, like new. Thanks, Adrian." Adrian shot her a grin, and said, "It took a bit longer then Lissa, but now I'm not so useless, am I." Rose smiled, and gave him a grateful hug, "You're never useless, Ivashkov. Annoying, yes, not useless."
"We don't have to go to dinner tomorrow night if you don't want to," Adrian said suddenly. "I know its hard on you. You've been tense ever since you saw them yesterday." Rose studied his face, and then shook her head, "No, that would just make me look like a coward. I will, however, lower myself down to spending a great deal of effort getting ready."
"Getting ready?" Adrian asked, confused. Rose laughed, and said, "I want to give him a little something to think about." Adrian laughed as he understood, grinning, "I think he's in trouble. Oh, and Rose?" He asked, as Rose went to leave, "The lipstick was from a drunk Moroi I helped back to her room last night. I found her stumbling down the hallway after we split ways." Rose raised an eyebrow, "You helped her back to her room?" At his nod, Rose turned, hiding a smile, "Okay. See you later, Adrian."
When Rose reached the conference room, it was already buzzing with activity. She walked in, and saw Dimitri leaning against the wall, close to where Eddie was saving her a seat. Steeling herself, she walked over, sitting next to Eddie with a grateful smile, "Know what this is about?"
"Not a clue," Eddie admitted, and they stopped talking as Queen Naomi entered with 4 guardians, all dressed in the queen's colors.
"Your majesty," Alex said, nodding his head down, "May I?"
"Please," she replied, taking a seat a bit ahead of everyone else. Alex stood up, and all traces of the genial man from earlier were erased, his guardian mask firmly in place. His hands were on his hips, and he stared at them for a second before starting.
"We've gathered you all here to discuss a recent attempt on breaking the wards here at court. Sources claim a Strigoi faction the size of which we have yet to encounter are working together, trying to achieve a goal we have yet to determine. We do, however, have a few targets - threat letters have come in for several Moroi, including Queen Naomi Ivashkov, Vasilisa Dragomir, Priscilla Voda, and Adrian Ivashkov." When Rose heard Lissa's name, she froze, but upon hearing Adrian's, she grit her teeth together, letting out a soft growl. Eddie shot her an uneasy look, and Alex continued, "Court operations are to continue as normal as possible. We don't want a bunch of Moroi overreacting to this. The wards are being replaced every 3 days, and we'll double the guard at the gates."
"What about the threat letters? Do we tell the Moroi?" A balding guardian, asked from the left side of the room. Alex shook his head, "That would only increase panic. The guardians charged with the threatened Moroi, please remain behind. Everyone else, your free to go." As everyone stood up, a low buzz sounded as they discussed the news. Rose shifted, and said, "Come on, Eddie." He was right behind her as they wove their way to the front, and found Alex, Queen Naomi, and 6 other guardians waiting.
"Hathaway, Castile," Alex nodded formally, "You are charged with two of the threatened Moroi - so for the next little while, we're upping your training. Also, you'll both attend regular briefings on updates from the Strigoi faction." They nodded, and were dismissed.
"Think dinner tomorrow night's a good idea still?" Eddie asked skeptically, as they made their way to the gates for their shift. Rose shrugged, "We'll have you, I, and Belikov. It'll be enough for now. It'll be the last time, though." Eddie nodded in agreement, and as they separated ways, Rose couldn't help but frown as the panic feeling she got when she heard Adrian's name didn't go away.