Richelle Mead owns the VA and Bloodlines series.

We're getting close to the release of TIS now. I'm so excited! Anyway, here's another one shot to help you combat the wait! Review and let me know what you think!

P.S. I'm running low on ideas for one shots. I still have a few you guys have suggested, but I need help thinking of some more. Is there anything you guys would like to see? Or maybe you could send in a few title prompts and I'll see if I can come up with anything?

Sonya's greenhouse wedding was beautiful. More than beautiful. It was like a dream. Sonya had looked stunning in her wedding dress and Mikhail had looked handsome as he beamed at her from the altar. Everything, down to the bridesmaids dresses, was perfect.

Right up until the reception.

It was also held in the greenhouse and was just as beautiful and romantic as the wedding had been. What made it slightly less than perfect was the fact that Adrian was currently squeezing his glass of vodka so hard I thought it might shatter.

The two of us hadn't really spoken much since the reception started. I'd found a seat at one of the small tables in the back while Adrian had staked out the bar. Ever since our talk on the plane, I hadn't been able to look at Adrian the same way. His words, I'll just keep loving you whether you want me to or not, kept running through my head. It had made all attempts at conversation with him extremely awkward. But at this moment, watching his taut expression from my seat across the room, all thoughts of awkward small talk flew out the window.

I stood and hurried over to where he was standing near the bar, engrossed in a conversation I knew he wanted no part of. I paused beside him, touching him lightly on the arm to let him know I was there. He blinked, staring down at me like I was the last person he expected to see.

"Hi," I said, interjecting myself into the conversation. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I really need to steal Adrian away for a second, Mr. Ivashkov."

Adrian's father was staring hard at his son and I wasn't sure he'd heard me. Adrian stepped in, introducing us again.

"Dad, you remember Sydney." His voice sounded strained and I wished I knew what they had been discussing before I came over. I was sure it was nothing good.

"Oh," Nathan said blinking at me, seeming to realize I was there for the first time. "You're still wasting your time with him, Miss... Sage, was it?"

"I'm..." His question threw me off. There was almost no way to answer it without letting him think Adrian was a waste of time, or that I thought that he wasn't. Oh, well. Whatever his father thought about us, Adrian deserved to have someone stand up for him. "Adrian's not a waste of my time, sir. He's the brightest, most talented person I know."

Adrian gave me a small smile, amused that I was sticking up for him again—especially after everything that had happened between us—but Nathan just blinked again, unimpressed by my opinion of his son. He sighed like we were a couple of unruly children testing his patience. "Yes, my son, the artist. But what good will art do him in the real world? I've been trying to offer him the opportunity to have a real job, Miss Sage. To have status and respect within the community, to not be the laughing stock of the Court for once."

Adrian kept his expression neutral, taking a sip of his drink, but every muscle in his body was taut with stress. Like the last time we'd seen his father, his hands were shaking a little. I wasn't sure if he was holding himself in check, or stopping himself from showing just how much his father's words hurt him.

"Lord Ivashkov," I said, keeping my voice even and respectful. I figured if I lost control and went off on him he was less likely to listen or care what I had to say. Although I really doubted he would do either of those things no matter what I did or said. "Adrian is a talented artist. He's doing very well in school. I understand a lot of people never make it as an artist, but Adrian could. He has the talent and the drive—"

"The drive?" Nathan scoffed. "My son barely has the drive to get out of bed most days." He took a sip of what I assumed was gin and looked back to Adrian. Apparently he was done with me. "I want you to come home now, Adrian. You've fooled around enough out in California. You'll come back to Court and work for me. You'll find yourself a nice royal girl and be able to provide for her the way you should."

The idea of Adrian marrying someone, anyone, gave me pause. I hadn't really thought about it before. I'd told him he should move on, sure, but hadn't thought about what it would mean if he actually did it. A hollow feeling I didn't like crept into my chest at the thought, but I shoved it away.

Adrian was shaking his head like he'd already gone over this. "Dad, I'm not coming back. I can't. I don't want to be you. I don't want to marry some girl I don't love and then cheat on her every chance I get."

Nathan's face went paler than I thought possible. "That's enough!" he hissed. "You'll come home or you'll be cut off from the money again. So help me, I might even dissolve your trust fund if you push me. You've sewn your wild oats or whatever it is you've been doing all this time. My God," he said, shaking his head. "You've even gotten an Alchemist to spread her legs for you. You should be proud. I've never met anyone who's achieved that particular accomplishment before. But we've all got to grow up some time, son."

It was like the world slowed down for a moment. Nathan kept talking, he even smiled like he really was proud of Adrian for his sexual conquests. All I could do was blink.

You've even gotten an Alchemist to spread her legs for you.

He thought that we'd...

All of a sudden time sped up again and then everything was happening so fast I could barely process it, let alone try to stop it.

Adrian's fist flew through the air, connecting solidly with his father's jaw. Nathan grunted in pain and fell backwards, landing on the floor with a thud. Because of the force of the punch, Adrian's drink spilled all over both of us before falling from his hand and shattering on the polished cement floor. All of these things happened, but all I could do was watch with my mouth hanging open.

Adrian stood next to me a moment, breathing heavily and glaring at his father. When Nathan sat up and rubbed his jaw Adrian leaned down a little and looked him in the eyes.

"Don't you ever speak about her like that," he growled. His father flinched back at his tone and I didn't blame him. I'd heard Adrian get protective and even angry before, but I'd never heard him rage like this. He sounded murderous, his voice low and deadly. Finally, Adrian stood straight again, looking down at his father on the floor. "I told you. I will never be you, Dad. I'm not coming back to Court and you're going to quit asking."

Adrian reached out, taking my hand, before pulling me through the crowd toward one of the vine covered, greenhouse doors to the patio outside. As soon as we were outside in the crisp night air he dropped my hand and leaned against the railing of the patio, hanging his head. I rubbed his back gently, telling him to try to breath deeply and calm down a little.

I'd never seen him so worked up before. His hands were shaking from anger, or maybe the adrenaline rush that came along with hitting his father. A few seconds later the patio doors opened again and I turned around to see a familiar group of confused looking Moroi and dhampirs watching us.

"Is everyone okay?" Dimitri asked as he took in Adrian's shaky presence. He looked at me, his eyes falling on my dress. I looked down too and realized that the whole front of the silk dress was soaked from Adrian's spilt vodka. "Sydney, do you want my coat? You must be freezing out here."

Adrian spun to look at me, noticing my wet dress. "Oh, shit, Sage. I'm sorry. I didn't realize."

He handed me his jacket before Dimitri could take his off and I pulled it around my shoulders. I wasn't that cold, but once the jacket was on I felt a lot more comfortable. And the scent of Adrian's cologne wafting around me relaxed me a little.

"Adrian, what happened?" asked Rose cautiously.

"I'm sorry, Sonya" he said, ignoring Rose and turning back around to look into the snowy night. "I didn't mean for that to happen."

Sonya, still wearing her wedding dress, looked at a loss for words. "I know, Adrian," she said. "But did you really have to knock your father out in the middle of my wedding reception?"

"I didn't knock him out," Adrian clarified. "Just knocked him on his ass. He'll be fine. Although I hope it hurts like a bitch for a couple of days."

When Sonya pressed her lips together in an angry line looking like she was going to say something, something Adrian didn't need to hear right now, I immediately jumped in. "He said something crude about me. Adrian was defending me."

They all looked slightly taken aback by the news. Sonya looked at Adrian for confirmation.

"I wasn't going to let him get away with that," he said quietly. "Sorry it messed up your wedding, but he deserved it. He was being an asshole."

"What did he say about you, Sydney?" Sonya asked, seeming to forget she'd just been angry at Adrian. I took it as a compliment that she looked shocked that anyone would say something bad about me.

"Nothing," Adrian said. He sounded tired now that the adrenaline was fading. "It doesn't matter."

Rose didn't like that answer. "You can't say it was nothing. You hit your dad because of it. You've got to tell us."

I shook my head. "You just want to know the gossip," I said in what I hoped was a light tone, rolling my eyes a little.

She shook her head fiercely and pointed at the doors leading back to the reception. "I want to know if I have to go back in there and kick someone's ass for talking crap about my friend."

I snorted. "I think Adrian already handled that."

Adrian stood up straighter. "Damn right."

Rose looked between the two of us for a moment. "Whatever he said, it must have been bad for you to hit the guy. I didn't even know you knew how to throw a punch."

She'd said it lightly enough, but it seemed to set Adrian off further. "I can do a lot of things, Rose. I don't need you or my dad telling me what I can and can't do."

I put my hand on the small of his back again, hoping it would calm him down. "That's not what she meant, Adrian," I said softly. So softly the others probably couldn't hear me, but Adrian did.

He glanced down at me and took a deep breath. After a moment he closed his eyes and apologized to everyone. "I think I just need to be alone for a few minutes," he added when he was done.

Rose and the others nodded, heading for the reception. Sonya paused for a moment, looking at Adrian even though his back was to her again. "You didn't ruin the wedding, Adrian," she said sincerely. "Standing up for someone you care about overshadows time and place. At least in my eyes." She shot me a small smile before walking through the doors and back to her party.

Adrian let out a breath once she was gone. I wasn't sure if he had meant for me to leave or not, but I stayed anyway. He was the one who had dragged me out here after all.

"I'm so sorry, Sage. I can't believe he said that about you. I mean, I knew my dad was a dick, but..." He slid his fingers through his hair, leaving it standing up at awkward angles. Somehow the look still worked for him though. "I should have hit him harder," he muttered to himself.

"No," I murmured, taking hold of one of his hands and giving it a slight squeeze. "You're better than that. What he said, it was ugly and undignified. He might be royal, but he certainly didn't act like it."

"And me punching him in face was so dignified?" Adrian asked, but there was a small smile on his face. I couldn't help but smile back.

"You were defending my honor," I said. "That's noble, I'd say." My smile faded slightly as I broached a more serious topic. "And, I just want to say, I'm really proud of you for standing up to him. Regardless of whether hitting him was right or wrong, standing up to him was what you needed to do. He can't dictate your life for you. You have to choose for yourself what you want in this world."

Something flashed in Adrian's green eyes and then he surprised me by smirking. "Isn't that a little ironic of you, Sage? Telling me I need to make my own decisions and be my own person when there you are, letting the Alchemists dictate everything about your life, down to the color clothing you wear?"

I frowned, thinking over what I'd just said. It did seem rather ironic, didn't it? I shook my head, trying to disregard it. "It's different for me. You have choices. And you shouldn't let your father stand in the way of them." I gave him a wry smile. "Do what I can't. Live your life the way you want to."

Adrian looked at me, sadness overtaking his expressing. "You have choices, too, Sydney," he said quietly. "Maybe yours are tougher to make than mine, but they're there. There are always choices."

I pushed his words to the back of my head for now. I didn't have the time or inclination to think about them now. I'd certainly be thinking enough about them later anyway, I thought, putting on a smile and looking back to Adrian. "Let's not let him ruin our night, okay?" I said, giving his hand another squeeze. "Let's go back in and have fun with our friends. It's getting cold out here anyway."

"I know a way we can warm up," Adrian said with a mischievous smirk, gripping my hand tighter and slowly pulling me forward. I let out a laugh and pulled away. He shrugged and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Alright. Let's go mingle, then," he said, leading me back to the party.

I probably should have shrugged his arm off of my shoulder, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. He wasn't having a great night, he could probably use the human contact, and I was sort of cold now. I made a choice then to keep his arm around me, to hold on to the tingling sensation that was running through me at his proximity. It wasn't a huge choice or anything, not really, but it was choice that went against everything the Alchemists—everything my dad—had taught me.

I smiled to myself. Adrian had stood up to his dad tonight. Maybe it was time for the both of us to make a few choices of our own.