Secrets and Promises—Part Two || Drabble Request Sydney x Rose

Requested by: Anon

Dedicated to: Brooke aka imaquickstudy . tumblr. com

Unedited, so please forgive any errors.

After I said my goodbyes to Jill, I turned to Sydney, eyeing her speculatively. She had a concerned expression on her face, probably wondering why I'd come to Palm Springs without giving any notice. I knew Sydney didn't like surprises, preferring to have things plotted out and scheduled, so my unexpected visit had thrown her off her game. Which was probably a good thing—considering the discussion I planned on having with her. She should have immediately notified us of Adrian's involvement with a human so we could've begun damage control before it was too late, and the fact she hadn't worried me. It either meant she was wasn't monitoring the group closely enough, or that he had somehow conned her into covering for him. Since I knew Sydney's feelings towards dhampirs and Moroi, I highly doubted she'd fall for Adrian's charm, which meant she was getting lax on her duties—something I never would have thought possible.

She didn't extend the same offer Jill had when I requested privacy for our chat—but I didn't take it personally. She was more tolerable of my kind than the other members of her organization, and I knew that in her own, strange way she considered me something of a friend—but even she had her limits. Having a dhampir in her room would be pushing her past her comfort level, so I didn't argue when she suggested a nearby coffee shop, I simply followed her over in my rental car.

It was a nice place, and I was pleased to see that they offered more than just coffee—always a good thing considering it didn't rank highly on my list of favorite things. While we waited in line I studied the selection of pastries displayed beneath a glass counter, something Sydney immediately noticed and felt the need to comment on. "You'd be better off getting a bagel—those things are loaded with sugar."

'That," I said dryly, "is the entire reason for eating them. Besides—I'm hungry and tired. The sugar will give me energy. Besides," I pointed to the display, "they have sugar free stuff too."

Surprisingly enough, that peaked her interest. When we finally got up to the counter she actually ordered a sugar free danish to go along with her drink. As soon as I heard her ask for it, an idea popped into my head. I ordered one too—making sure the guy understood I wanted a real one, opting for hot chocolate as opposed to the coffee she'd requested. Collecting our orders we settled at a table in the corner, and Sydney—just as I'd anticipated—went to the restroom to wash her hands. As soon as the door closed behind her I switched our plates. It wasn't a malicious act, I was genuinely concerned about her eating habits. Whenever I was in her presence I'd noticed her tendency to pick at her food, eating as little as possible. Since she thought it was sugar free, chances were she'd eat the whole thing—something she needed to do since she was far too skinny, in my opinion.

As soon as she came back and sat down, I stated what was on my mind. There was no point beating around the bush—when dealing with Sydney, the best approach was a straight forward one. "So tell me about Adrian's girlfriend."

Whatever she'd been expecting me to say, that clearly wasn't it. For once, the impeccable, unflappable Sydney Sage lost her composure, practically choking on her coffee. Rolling my eyes I picked at the danish, waiting for her coughing fit to subside. It was just as bland and disgusting and I'd expected it to be—after all, anything sugar free might as well have been labeled 'taste like cardboard'. When it looked as if she had regained control, I raised my eyebrows and gave her a small smile. "Well?"

"What makes you think—"

"Come on Sydney. Jill let it slip. I know he's involved with some human girl—and I want to know who she is."

She took a bite of her pastry, and I almost laughed at the surprised look on her face. "Wow, this is really good. Seriously Rose—you should have gotten one of these—it tastes just like the real thing. You'd never know it was sugarless."

"I bet." I gave her a pointed look, determined to keep the conversation on track and not be sidelined by her comments. "If you're done marveling over how great that tastes, can we get back to the subject at hand? I need a name."

"Why do you even care?" She shot back, "I was under the impression Adrian ceased to exist for you as soon as you had Dimitri back."

Her uncharacteristic sarcasm floored me. I leaned back in my chair, studying the irritated expression on her face for a moment before responding. "Wow. For a second there I could've almost sworn that Adrian was sitting across from me. That sounds like it came straight from his 1001 reasons to hate Rose Hathaway handbook."

A slight blush appeared on her cheeks, making the gilded tattoo on her cheek more prominent. "I shouldn't have said that… but he's finally starting to—"

"Get over me," I interrupted. "Yeah, I heard it all from Jill." I sighed, shaking my head at her. "You want to know why? Because even if he hates me, I still care about him. He's my friend, and I don't want to see him get hurt."

"And you just assume that a relationship with a human will hurt him? That's a little hypocritical considering that it was a dhampir who tore his heart out."

I clenched my teeth so hard my jaw hurt, biting back my initial response. Anger wouldn't get me anywhere, and contrary to popular belief, I had managed to learn a tiny bit of control from Dimitri. "I thought I could talk to you about this. I thought we were friends… well, as close to friends as you can be with someone like me, but apparently I was wrong. You seem to have a problem with me, Sydney, and I'd like to know what it is I've done to piss you off."

She studied her coffee, not meeting my eyes. "I … I suppose we are… friends… but I'm his friend too. I remember what he was like when he first arrived here. He was…" She paused, and I was willing to bet she was searching for a word that wouldn't make me feel bad. Little did she know, anything she said was likely to hurt—because I was all to aware of my guilt where Adrian was concerned.

"Broken," I supplied in a quiet voice. "I know what I did to him, Sydney. That's why I want to make sure it doesn't happen again." I caught her gaze, determined to make her understand where I was coming from. "You know it's forbidden. It's the biggest taboo we have" She didn't say anything, but her jaw tensed, indicating that my words struck a chord in her. "Hell, I honestly can't believe we're sitting here arguing about it—I mean, you think it's wrong too."

She toyed with her plate, her eyes locked on the crumbs that were all that remained of her Danish, then sighed and shook her head. "What if he loves her?"

"Unfortunately, Adrian has a habit of falling in love with the wrong people. I'm proof of that."

She looked up at me, her eyes full of an emotion that I couldn't quite place. "What if she loves him too? Maybe the way they feel is more important than what other people think… Maybe what your people believe and what the Alchemist believe… what if it's wrong? What if some things are more important than the rules?"

For once in my life, I was completely speechless. Sydney had never struck me as a romantic, but apparently, beneath that brisk, businesslike exterior, she was one. She had to be if she was willing to overlook a lifetimes worth of training just to insure that Adrian had a chance at happiness. Not to mention the fact that I understood what she was saying—by falling in love, Dimitri and I had broken the rules too. "Sydney—"

My phone went off, and I muttered a curse, irritated at having the conversation interrupted. It was Dimitri, probably calling to check up on me. "What's up Comrade?"

"You were supposed to call me as soon as you saw the Princess, Rose," he said, gently chastising me.

"Sorry. Everything's fine. I'm with Sydney right now. There's a… situation I need to clear up before I come home."

He was silent for a moment. "What kind of situation? Is it the Warriors?"

"No, nothing like that. Adrian… Adrian has gotten involved with a human. I figured Sydney could—"

"Rose," he cut me off, his voice stern, "let it go. It's not our business."

"But Dimitri, he—"

"I mean it Rose. This isn't something that concerns you. He's a grown man, capable of making his own decisions. Don't ask Sydney anything more about it."

The tone in his voice alerted me to the fact there was more going on than what he was saying. He was in full on mentor mode—expecting me to do what he said without questioning the reasoning behind it. "You knew! You fucking knew and you didn't tell me! Who is it?"

He was silent for so long that I was beginning to wonder if the call had dropped, but then I heard him sigh. "Roza, please… for me, just let this go and come home."

"How could you keep something like this from me? You know how people will react if—"

"Because I know what it's like to love someone you can't have. I remember how hard it was for me when we were at the academy. Wanting to tell you how I felt… wanting to be with you, but unable to because it was forbidden."

His words drained my indignant fury away in a rush. "You still should have told me," I said softly.

"You're right, and I'm sorry. Please Roza, we can talk about it when you get home."

Closing my eyes for a minute, I sighed in defeat. "Alright. Love you."

"And I love you. Be safe."

I set my phone on the table, intensely troubled by the conversation, already replaying it in my head. It wasn't like Dimitri to be so secretive—we told each other everything. I glanced across the table at Sydney, who was watching me with a wary expression on her face.

"Is everything alright?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure. Dimitri knew about this, and he didn't tell me." I shook my head, frowning. The thought of him keeping something so serious from me made me feel distinctly uneasy.

"I'm sure he had his reasons. You shouldn't let it worry you. I may not know a lot about relationships, but even I can tell yours is as solid as they come."

"I thought so too—until now. If he kept this from me, who knows what else he's hiding?" I gnawed at my lower lip, hating the uncertainty I was feeling.

"It's not right… you two fighting over this." She reached across the table and hesitantly touched my hand, and I was surprised at the concern in her eyes.

"Hey, it's not like it's your fault he didn't tell me."

She got the strangest look on her face, almost like she felt guilty. "No, but if I'd kept you up to date… you'd have known and not been surprised by it."

I smiled at her, wanting to reach out and hug her for being so worried on my behalf, but knowing she'd hate being touched by me. "Don't worry about it. It's not a big deal—we'll work it out. We've been through too much to let something stupid like this come between us. Regardless, he asked me not to involve you, so I won't.

We chatted for about ten more minutes, talking about Jill and how she'd been adapting. When enough time had passed that I was positive she'd think I'd let go of the Adrian issue, I glanced at my watch and made a point of heaving a big sigh. Pushing back my chair, I gathered my trash up and dumped it in a nearby can. "I need to get going—otherwise I might miss my flight." I failed to mention that I'd be making a stop first. Dimitri hadn't wanted me to involve Sydney, and I wouldn't. Instead I'd do what I should have done in the first place and go directly to the source of the problem.

I waited while she dumped her own trash, then she followed me out the door and walked me to my car. "It was good to see you again. Maybe next time we can spend some time catching up instead of discussing Adrian," she offered.

"Sounds good." I unlocked the car and opened the door, shooting her a guilty smile. "Oh, and Syd? The reason that Danish tasted so good was because it was mine—I swapped them while you were in the restroom."

Her mouth dropped open and she gave me a look of pure horror. "What? Why… Why would you do that? Do you know how many calories were in that thing? Honestly Rose I—"

"Because Sydney, you need to cut loose and live a little. You're way to strict on yourself when it comes to food… and you said it yourself— some things are more important than rules. Believe me, sweets are one of those things." Winking at her, I shut the door and started the car. As I pulled away I couldn't resist a peek in the rearview mirror, and I had to laugh at the expression on her face as she watched me drive away.

And let me tell you, it was worth every disgusting mouthful I'd eaten of her pastry, just to see her staring after me with a look of violence that could seriously rival one of my own. From here on out I'd have to watch my back whenever I encountered her, because she wouldn't forget what I'd done, and like they say, payback's a bitch.

Especially when the person dreaming it up was as smart as Sydney Sage.