Long-ish chapter here, but parts of it are repeated in different POVs. I'm not sure about this chapter really, but the plot bunny refused to leave me alone. It was kinda cute, so I let it stay :) Plus, with the weather over here at the moment, it's very apt, despite being partly written ages ago. Hope all fellow Britons are still weathering this storm alright!

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead. I am not her. Maybe if I was, I wouldn't have to wait so freaking long to see the movie...

DPOV

I woke up, instantly knowing something was wrong. It was too quiet outside, the air too still and heavy, like the world was holding its breath. A storm was about to hit, and the familiar ice worked its way through my veins in dread.

Why did this have to happen every time? I thought I would finally be over my irrational fear of thunderstorms, but no. I still hated them as much as I had when I was a child.

The tent was suddenly lit up by a flash of lightning, and I flinched, hating my body's reactions. I shivered as thunder crashed, and I felt Roza stir in my arms.

I felt guilty that I had disturbed her, not wanting to wake her up. She didn't need to see me like this. So I carefully moved out of her embrace, coming out into the cold, when I wanted nothing more than to hide my face in her hair and drown out the sound of the storm with her heartbeat. But I didn't want to risk waking her.

I sat in the corner of the tent, wishing I'd put a shirt on last night. It was freezing out here. I jumped as thunder crashed again, before mentally kicking myself.
I was one of the most feared Guardians in the world, and I was scared of some flashing lights and loud noises. It was pathetic, and I had told myself this many times in the past, but even as the storms and years passed, my reaction to the thunder didn't.

I shuddered as rain began to pound on the roof of the tent, like a million tiny bullets hitting the canvas every second.

Fear is a strange thing; that affects people in different ways. There are those things that we truly fear and are not ashamed to admit to; like my fear of losing Roza. There is nothing shameful about that; and I dread that I should have to face it one day with the whole of my mind, body and soul.

Then there are the scenarios that your mind conjures up in tense situations, making them that much worse. Like before a fight, your brain tells you to stop and turn back, but the rest of you squashes those thoughts, courage taking over and your body producing adrenalin to help you overcome them.

Then there are the fears that you hide from the world, as you have no reason to hold them, and you have no control of them. Like with my 'fear' of storms, I knew nothing bad would actually happen, and even as my body is shaking, I feel as it is affecting someone else, and I am not impressed by that person.
I call myself a coward, and hate myself every time I flinch, hate that I am not stronger.
Because I have no control over my body, and irrational thoughts take hold of my mind, plaguing me until I am a nervous wreck in the corner, fear consuming me, whilst a tiny part of me realises how pathetic I am, and hate every second of it.

I sat there for what must have been hours, wincing every time thunder or lightning crashed and flashed above me, cursing my traitorous mind and body for acting like this.

An extra loud scream of thunder ripped through the air, causing me to shake uncontrollably. I pulled my knees up to my chest, trying to stop my limbs from quivering. "For fuck's sake. Get a grip!"I whispered harshly to myself.

I had just got my heartbeat under control again when something touched my shoulder in the darkness.
I jumped like I had been electrocuted, swearing, before turning to see Rose kneeling beside me, looking concerned.
"Dimitri?" she whispered.

"Roza? I'm sorry; I didn't mean to wake you." I tried to keep my voice level, but didn't manage to completely.

"It wasn't you, it was the storm." She reassured me. I hated her seeing me like this. I was supposed comfort her, not act like a pathetic wreck. She had once told me how she saw me as invincible, before the attack, and I tried my hardest to live up to the standard she expected of me.
"Dimitri." She said again, and I tried to find my composure. My face was blank, but I was sure she could see past that.

Roza gently laid a warm hand on my shoulder, and I repressed a shudder, taking a deep breath as I waited for the lightning flash to pass. I turned to look at her, keeping my face expressionless, but silently begging her not to judge me.

"It's not just fireworks you don't like, is it?" I didn't answer, it was a rhetorical question, and the answer was plain to see. Her hand dropped from my shoulder and left a trail of warmth as it ran across my back, resting around my waist.
I suddenly wanted to be wrapped in her arms, but I didn't want to seem that weak. So instead I allowed myself to lean into her slightly; close enough to feel the warmth of her body.

"Why do you hate storms?" Roza asked gently; not asking for her sake, but offering me a chance to talk.
It was a while before I answered; I tried to think of the best way to explain without sounding like an idiot.
"I'm not usually this bad; just being in this tent is making everything worse. Louder, closer, I feel trapped. We used to get storms all the time in Russia, and ever since I could remember I would get worried. But when I was 12, there was an extra strong one. We were all warned to stay inside, and we were all there together, so I was better than normal, as everyone was with me.
But there was this huge old tree at the bottom of our garden; it had been there 100s of years. That night, lightning struck the tree. It caught fire, and one of the burning branches fell onto a power line.
The tree burned for 3 days as the rain stopped soon after the lightning. We had no power for all the time the tree was burning. When it finally rained, the tree was just a blackened skeleton. All the life that it had possessed was gone.
For the first time, it made me think that through all my training, it might not be enough. It made me see how quickly one can go from being full of life to nothing more than a corpse.
So now, storms remind me that however much we prepare, there will always be something that we have no control over. After everything that has happened, I realise how right that was."
I hadn't meant to say that much, and I looked down. Then, I felt guilty that I was so reluctant to share something with her, when I'd practically begged her to let me in.

Just then, the sky light up brighter than ever before, directly overhead, and an almighty chorus of thunder raged above us. The storm was right over us. I felt Roza's arm tighten around me; as much for her benefit as mine.

The thunder still rumbled, and before it could end, another fork of lightning lit up the sky.
Just then, I heard a noise that was suddenly all too familiar to me. Lightning striking a tree.
Rose realised what was happening, and the arm around my waist pulled me closer, and she wrapped the other around my neck, and I forgot to be brave or embarrassed or strong.
I clung to Roza like a life raft, and buried my face in her neck. I tried to block out the sounds of the raging storm.

RPOV

I woke with a start, noticing several things that were wrong at ; it was still dark outside, meaning I had no reason to be awake this early, and I never woke up before I needed to.
Two; it was very loud inside the tent; heavy rain was pounding onto the canvas, the wind was howling outside and I could hear the crashes and rumbling of thunder.
Three; I was alone in bed, and cold. I reached out, to find that Dimitri was definitely not there beside me.

I sat up and tried to look around the tent, but in the darkness even my Dhampir eyes couldn't see him.
But as a flash of lightning lit up the sky, it passed through the red canvas of the tent and lit up the small area, and for a second, I could see.
And in the corner, Dimitri sat with his knees pulled up against his chest, arms wrapped tightly around them. Just before the light faded, I saw his face. His Guardian mask was firmly up, like he was about to take on a pack of Strigoi.

Darkness fell again before he could notice me; Dimitri had been staring intently at the canvas wall ahead of him. What was going on?

Lightning flashed again, and my eyes refocused on Dimitri. When an exceptionally loud crack of thunder sounded a second later, I saw him flinch, just slightly, just before the darkness snapped back down again.

Okay, what in shit's name was happening? Dimitri, my stoic, tough Dimitri, looked scared. Or, well, like he was trying to hide the fact that he was scared, but I knew him well enough that those were pretty much the same thing.

I was getting concerned now, and crawled over to his corner, dragging our giant sleeping bag/blanket behind me. "Dimitri?" I asked quietly, and touched his shoulder. I heard him swear in Russian, like I had startled him. I pulled my hand back.

"Roza? I'm sorry; I didn't mean to wake you."
To anyone else, his voice would have sounded perfectly normal. But I could hear the guarded edge to it, and the slight shakiness that he was trying to cover up.

"It wasn't you, it was the storm." I reassured him. He didn't answer. My eyes were adjusting to the darkness, and just before I reached him, I spoke again. "Dimitri."

I slowly reached out again and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, surprised to feel how tense it was. I squeezed it gently, and he took a deep breath, which caught when the room was illuminated with lightning again.
In the red-tinted light, I saw him turn to face me, and past the hard lines of his expressionless face, I saw fear in his eyes. Suddenly I understood. Loud noises, flashing lights. "It's not just fireworks you don't like, is it?"

He didn't need to answer my question, the truth was written all over his face, and his voice.
I dropped the hand that was still resting on his shoulder down and across his back, wrapping it around his waist. Dimitri leaned into me slightly, but did nothing else that would show any sign of weakness.
"Why do you hate storms?" I asked gently.

There was a heavy silence before he answered.
"I'm not usually this bad; just being in this tent is making everything worse. Louder, closer, I feel trapped.
We used to get storms all the time in Russia, and ever since I could remember I would get worried. But when I was 11, there was an extra strong one. We were all warned to stay inside, and we were all there together, so I was better than normal, as everyone was with me.
But there was this huge old tree at the bottom of our garden; it had been there 100s of years. That night, lightning struck the tree. It caught fire, and one of the burning branches fell onto a power line.
The tree burned for 3 days as the rain stopped soon after the lightning. We had no power for all the time the tree was burning. When it finally rained, the tree was just a blackened skeleton. All the life that it had possessed was gone.
For the first time, it made me think that through all my training, it might not be enough. It made me see how quickly one can go from being full of life to nothing more than a corpse.
So now, storms remind me that however much we prepare, there will always be something that we have no control over. After everything that has happened, I realise how right that was."

Buria. That one word rang through my mind, and I understood completely what he meant.
Just then, the sky light up brighter than ever before, directly over head, and an almighty chorus of thunder raged above us. The storm was upon us. Even me, who was normally unaffected by storms, gripped Dimitri a little tighter.

The thunder had yet to cease, and before it could end, another fork of lightning lit up the sky.
Outside, there was a strange zapping noise, and a crackling. Dimitri froze completely, and I mentally braced myself for what I somehow knew was going to happen.

I tightened my arm around his waist, and threw my other arm around his neck, pulling his head so it rested on my shoulder. He buried his face in my neck, just as an almighty crash sounded outside.
Just as it had 15 years ago, a tree had been struck by lightning, and Dimitri had been here to witness it.
He held me tight, like he didn't want to ever let me go. I stroked his hair gently, whispering comforting words, like he so often did for me.

As the endless wave of thunder finally let up, Dimitri tried to pull away, murmuring softly. "I'm sorry-"

I pulled him back to me. "Don't be ridiculous, Dimitri. There's nothing to apologise for."

He shook his head. "No, I'm being ridiculous. Look at me; a Guardian with a completely irrational fear, acting like a scared child."

"No, Dimitri. You're acting like a Dhampir. (A/N- would this be the equivalent of, like, 'you're only human'? :P). You're allowed to be scared sometimes, and this was with good reason. You heard that tree just get hit; that wasn't an irrational fear. "
A thought suddenly occurred to me. "When was the last storm you saw?"

He was silent as he thought. "Last year. When I was Strigoi."

"I thought so. And you didn't feel like this then?"He shook his head against my neck, though I had a feeling he was hiding just as much from embarrassment as he was from fear. "See? This is a part of who you are. When you were restored, so was your fear of thunderstorms. You wouldn't be you without it."

I leaned back, tilting his face up to mine. "And I love you, everything about you. Including your cowboy obsession, neat-freakness and now your-frankly adorable-fear of storms."A ghost of a smile flickered over his lips. "Now I have a way to repay back every time you've ever been there to help me. And I have another reason to love you." I kissed his lips gently.

This time his smile was bigger. "Has Rose Hathaway gone soft?" He asked.

My jaw dropped and I gasped in mock surprise, before shooting him evils that would have a Strigoi running scared. "Ever say that again and you'll find yourself out there in the rain, minus one part of your male anatomy."

There was that beautiful smile I had been looking for. "Of course, Roza. I wouldn't dream of it."
He reached up and touched my face. "And you've already repaid me more than I deserve just by being here with me."

Another bolt of lightning lit up the sky, and he looked wary again. I reached up and held his hand against my cheek. "Come on, let's go back to sleep. How long have you been awake, anyway?" I asked.

He shrugged, "An hour? Maybe more." Instead of going back to the bed, since I really couldn't be bothered to go that far, so I laid the blanket over the 2 of us.

Dimitri rested his head on my chest, his arms wrapped tight around my waist. I cradled his head in my arms, stroking his hair as the storm moved away from us. Dimitri was still a little tense, but he relaxed in my arms as I continued to run my fingers through his hair.
"This feels familiar." He whispered.

My mind immediately spun back to the last time we had camped here, when I had woken to find him in my arms, fast asleep. I smiled, and kissed the top of his head. "Yeah." I whispered back. "You know, I lay here like this for more than 2 hours before you woke up. I just spent the time wishing that the spell would never break, and trying to work out how this had happened; whether you had been searching for me, or if I was just nice and warm."

I felt him smile against my skin. "It was you, Roza. It's always been you, and always will be.
I was dreaming of you. It was the first time that I didn't have nightmares. You kept the darkness away; you still do."

"When you held my hand before we went to sleep, I was so glad it was dark. Because I'm pretty sure I had the biggest, goofiest un-Rose smile on my face all night."

He chuckled. "Then it would have been the same as mine. I convinced myself that since it was dark, and you couldn't see me, it didn't count."

Now it was my turn to laugh. "Seriously Comrade, that sounds like Rose-logic. I think I am influencing you, you're turning into me."

"Two Roses? Now that would be a disaster. There wouldn't be enough donuts in the world."

I stopped stroking his hair just long enough to slap him gently on the head. "Well, better than me becoming you. We'd be constantly fighting over a duster, who got to read what books, and what John Wayne movie we were going to watch."

"We fight over movies now. It might be easier that way."

"Maybe, but then again it might end up as like a huge Zen-wisdom-advice-crap war, ending in a week-long staring contest."

He laughed again. "Sounds like Yeva and I."

I thought about it. "You're right. Definitely to be avoided then. Let's just be our beautiful, perfect selves." I suggested, not entirely sure how we even got onto this topic.

"So I guess that means I have to make you get up in the morning?" Dimitri clarified.

"Of course you do. You're like an alarm clock, except you don't need batteries and I can't throw you across the room. Well, usually." I stifled a yawn.

"Sleep now, Roza. Mornings are bad enough as it is, I don't want to risk you shouting at me, saying I kept you up all night."

"Yeah, that might not go down too well with my parents if they overhear it. Or Vika." He ignored my pathetic excuse for a joke. Well, I should be asleep now. "'Night, Dimitri. I love you." I mumbled into his hair.

"Love you too, Roza." He whispered against my skin.

DPOV

Roza stroked my hair, whispering soothing words that I only half-heard. But eventually, the sound of her voice calmed me enough so that I could think rationally again. I was angry at myself for giving in to the weakness. I tried to pull away from her.
"I'm sorry-" I started, before she pulled me back closer again, cutting off what I had been about to say.

"Don't be ridiculous, Dimitri. There's nothing to apologise for."

"No, I'm being ridiculous. Look at me; a Guardian with a completely irrational fear, acting like a scared child."

"No, Dimitri. You're acting like a Dhampir. You're allowed to be scared sometimes, and this was with good reason. You heard that tree just get hit; that wasn't an irrational fear. "

She didn't think worse of me because of this? After a few moments of silence, she asked another question. "When was the last storm you saw?"

"Last year. When I was Strigoi."

"I thought so. And you didn't feel like this then?" I shook my head, breathing in her scent, which calmed me further. "See? This is a part of who you are. When you were restored, so was your fear of thunderstorms. You wouldn't be you without it."

Roza pulled away to look me in the eyes, and I searched hers for any sign of condemnation. But there was none. The only emotion I could find was love, and like always, my heart beat faster.
"And I love you, everything about you. Including your cowboy obsession, neat-freakness and now your, frankly adorable, fear of storms."

I should have known she wouldn't judge me. This was my Roza, who loved me unconditionally. She knew me better than anyone else ever had. "Now I have a way to repay back every time you've ever been there to help me. And I have another reason to love you." She said, and kissed me softly, and I smiled against her lips.

"Has Rose Hathaway gone soft?" I asked. She gave me her best glare, but it didn't have the same effect as when she was really angry. "Ever say that again and you'll find yourself out there in the rain, minus one part of your male anatomy."

That was my Rose. "Of course, Roza. I wouldn't dream of it."
I reached out and stroked her cheek with my thumb.
"And you've already repaid me more than I deserve just by being here with me."
She had that look that she got whenever I said something she thought was silly, but cute. She covered my hand on her cheek with her much smaller fingers. They fit between mine perfectly.

"Come on, let's go back to sleep. How long have you been awake, anyway?" She asked.

"An hour? Maybe more." I shrugged, it seemed like ages. Roza turned away for a second, reaching behind her to drag the blanket round. She threw it over the two of us, and we lay down close to each other.
I laid my head on her chest, hoping to block out the remaining sounds of the storm with her heartbeat. I held Roza close, and she ran her fingers through my hair.

I was suddenly reminded of the last time we had camped here, and how I had woken up to this, after my dream about what should have happened when I was restored.
"This feels familiar." I whispered.
She pressed her lips to my hair softly.
"Yeah." She said with a sigh. "You know, I lay here like this for more than 2 hours before you woke up. I just spent the time wishing that the spell would never break, and trying to work out how this had happened; whether you had been searching for me, or if I was just nice and warm." She joked.

I couldn't fight back a smile. "It was you, Roza. It's always been you, and always will be. I was dreaming of you. It was the first time that I didn't have nightmares. You kept the darkness away; you still do."

"When you held my hand before we went to sleep, I was so glad it was dark. Because I'm pretty sure I had the biggest, goofiest un-Rose smile on my face all night."

I laughed. "Then it would have been the same as mine. I convinced myself that since it was dark, and you couldn't see me, it didn't count."

She laughed at my Rose-like logic. "Seriously Comrade, that sounds like Rose-logic." She thought it too. "I think I am influencing you, you're turning into me."

I pretended to sound worried. "Two Roses? Now that would be a disaster. There wouldn't be enough donuts in the world."

She slapped me gently. Well, not too hard, anyway."Well, better than me becoming you. We'd be constantly fighting over a duster, who got to read what books, and what John Wayne movie we were going to watch."

"We fight over movies now. It might be easier that way." I pointed out.

"Maybe, but then again it might end up as like a huge Zen-wisdom-advice-crap war, ending in a week-long staring contest."

I had to laugh at that. "Sounds like Yeva and I." Scary as the old woman was, I had always liked spending time with her; she actually was probably where I picked up my 'Zen' lessons from. And she was the only person who could beat me in a staring contest.

"You're right. Definitely to be avoided then. Let's just be our beautiful, perfect selves." She said, sounding scared.

"So I guess that means I have to make you get up in the morning?" I clarified.

"Of course you do. You're like an alarm clock, except you don't need batteries and I can't throw you across the room. Well, usually." I shook my head, giving up. I heard her stifle a yawn.

"Sleep now, Roza. Mornings are bad enough as it is, I don't want to risk you shouting at me, saying I kept you up all night."

"Yeah, that might not go down too well with my parents if they overhear it. Or Vika."I ignored her attempt at a joke, passing it off as being tired.

"'Night, Dimitri. I love you." She mumbled into my hair.

"Love you too, Roza." I whispered, hoping she knew how much.
I closed my eyes, and though the storm was still raging outside, I ignored it. Roza's arms around me were a protective barrier, nothing could shatter the sense of peace that surrounded me.

RPOV

After the storm last night, most people had been kept awake. As a result of this, everyone else was sleeping in, aside from Dimitri, Viktoria, Nikola and me. The Russians apparently hadn't quite adjusted to the time zone yet, and Dimitri had wanted to get out of the tent and into the open air. I'd followed since I'd been desperate for something to eat. Plus, Christian was snoring like a chainsaw.

After about half an hour, Dimitri had become more and more quiet until I was pretty sure he was about to sleep sitting up. He'd barely slept at all last night due to the storm, and the night before we hadn't exactly slept much, and the night before that he'd been coordinating my party.

"For crying out loud, Comrade, go back to sleep. You're going to be no fun all day otherwise."

He raised an eyebrow, looking back at the tent where Christian was still competing with the noise made by power tools. "Not even I can sleep through that. It's even louder inside."

I shrugged. "Sleep here then."

Dimitri looked dubious, but did as I said anyway. The log wasn't the most comfortable thing to sleep on, but he wasn't that fussy. As he rested his head on my leg, I began to stroke his hair.

A few minutes later, his breathing evened out as he fell asleep. Nikolai went to shower, and it was just me and Viktoria left around the campfire.

I looked up to see her watching Dimitri and I, and when she met my eyes, she gave me an evil grin.
"I think we should have some fun whilst he's asleep," she said winking at me.

An evil smile of my own slid into place. "What did you have in mind?"

5 minutes later, Viktoria returned with a handful of hair ties, and we got to work. Dimitri was so deeply asleep that he didn't feel us styling his hair. What was it about this place that had this effect on him?
Viktoria braided bits of it whilst I pulled it into 2 high topknots. I then threaded daisies into the braids as she went to get the cameras.

Review and comfort Dimitri in the tent ;)