The room went silent for a while. Rose and Dimitri's main reaction being blink blink.
"What?!" Rose eventually cried out. "You want us to sleep together?!"
"I'm not talking about sex, Rose!" Lissa defended. "But clearly, Dimitri has a calming effect you. His presence is like a balm. Think of it as sleeping together for medicinal purposes." After another silence Lissa added, "Rose, it means you might not have to take your meds or be sedated". Rose was already convinced that this idea would benefit her sleep habits, she just wasn't sure how she felt about it. Sharing her bed with Dimitri when it was a single occurrence was one thing, she had her fun messing with him in the morning. But waking up with him every morning, she couldn't imagine that as being comfortable for him. As a final selling point Lissa added "If it makes you feel better I'll sleep with you too".
"I fucking knew it! If you want a three-way so bad all you had to do was ask Liss", Rose taunted. "I'm sure we can find some way to compel Dimitri into submission". Rose smirked as Dimitri raised his eyebrow at her.
"God dammit Rose!" Lissa yelled. When Lissa cursed she really meant business. "Can you please take this seriously?! This is about your health, for crying out loud".
"Even if I did agree with your theory, I'm not the only one who had to consent to this", Rose avoided looking at Dimitri.
As awkward as Dimitri felt that morning at waking up embracing Rose with his erections pressed firmly against her leg, and as awkward as it would be every morning, he still would do anything in his power to help Rose. Thinking back to the conversation he had with Abe before dinner, he wasn't even worried about the mobster's wrath in the event he ever found out.
Abe started as soon as Dimitri sat in his office. "I want you to take care of Rose".
Dimitri swallowed hard. "Take care of Rose?", he questioned. With Abe that could mean anything from bribing her, to killing her to just plain taking care of her.
Abe rolled his eyes. "Not sleep-with-the-fishes kind of take care of. The nurturing kind of take care of." Abe hesitated for a moment. "I recently received some unsettling news that has made me reevaluate my life and reflect on my own mortality. Death is inevitable, even for a serpent like me. I don't want Rose to be alone. I don't want her to be lonely. She needs more than a bodyguard, she need a companion".
Dimitri was hesitant. "We're already training together. She wants me to teach her everything I know. I feel confident saying that we're becoming fast friends". Dimitri never even gave pause at Abe's enigmatic life changing news. The whole of the conversation was to bizarre for that.
"That's well and good. But I'm talking about more than that".
Dimitri raised his eyebrow at Abe's undertone.
"Don't be so abashed. I've seen the way you look at her. I don't need to remind you that I pay you well enough to for you to do anything Rose asks of you". Dimitri got a little nauseous at the insinuation in Abe's voice. Abe was basically pimping him out. Hinting with as little words as possible that he was expected to sleep with his charge. If his charge had been anyone other than Rose, Dimitri would have quit his job then and there. Rose was an amazing woman, beautiful and kind, funny and strong. But she was with Abe. As much as Dimitri wanted her for himself he immediately started wondering if he could ever do that - get involved with a woman who was already spoken for. Even if that woman was Rose. More questions started rearing their head. Would he be second fiddle to Abe? Would that ever be enough? Would he ever be okay being in this position? Would Rose put him in that position?
"Does Rose know about this?" Dimitri asked.
"Of course not!" Abe scoffed. "She'd kill me where I stand if she knew I was suggesting this. I love Rose, very much. She diverse the world, anything I can give her. Even if that includes you".
Dimitri wasn't sure how to digest this. He didn't know how to respond.
After a while of silence, Abe spoke up again. "It shouldn't be to difficult for you, Belikov. I see how smitten you are with her. Any red blooded man would be". Abe reached his hand out to shake Dimitri's, as if to seal the deal. "Do we have an understanding?"
Dimitri reluctantly shook hands with Abe, never making eye contact, just so he could be excused and put as much distance between him and the Turkish mobster as possible. Unfortunately that didn't pan out as he found himself being accompanied back to the wing by Abe with several boxes of pizza.
Lissa stared at Dimitri expectantly. "Well, Dimitri, what so you say?" She asked bringing Dimitri out of his flashback. Dimitri nodded in agreement, making Lissa extremely happy.
That night after Dimitri finished his security check, they got changed into pajama's - decent pajama's. In Rose's case not lace and not see-through pajamas, in Dimitri's case a tee shirt in addition to his cotton bottoms. Rose was a bit disappointed at that but figured it was for the best.
They climbed into bed in much the same position as the previous night, Rose in the middle, Lissa on one side and Dimitri on her other.
After several minutes of awkward silence Rose spoke, "Well this is comfy and not at all awkward".
"Just give it a try, Rose", Lissa said.
"I don't see you falling fast asleep", Rose retorted.
"Would you be more comfortable if I left?!" Lissa asked, doubtful.
"You're may best friend, don't be ridiculous", Rose said.
"Would you like me to leave?", Dimitri asked shyly.
"No!", Lissa yelled. "You are the key to this little experiment".
"Yeah, comrade, we couldn't have this party without you", Rose hid her smirk.
"Look", Lissa started, "we're all adults, we should be able to share this bed, this gargantuan bed. Alright?" Rose mumbled in agreement. "For those of us who are more childish", Lissa continued, "Rose I'm talking to you here, just think of it as a slumber party".
"Does that mean you're going to braid Dimitri's hair?" Rose challenged.
Lissa was closing in on her breaking point. "Ugh. Shut up and go to sleep Rose".
"I can't help notice you're awfully quiet, comrade". Rose pointed out.
"That's because I'm the only one actually trying to sleep".
"Maybe we need a bedtime ritual so it'll be easier to fall asleep". Rose suggested.
"Don't say it", Lissa mumbled to herself.
"Come on Lissa, you know you want to", Rose said mocking seduction. "Maybe it's just something good looking people need to do. Picture it, a stunningly sexy blonde, a gorgeous dessert princess and a Russian god. Think of all the beautiful porno we could make".
"And I'm out", Lissa said, and starts getting out of bed.
Rose grabbed her hand, "I'll behave. Scouts honor".
Lissa conceded, laying back down. Until Rose started singing the theme to "Three's Company"
Come and knock on our door
we've been waiting for you
Where the kisses are hers and hers and his
Three's company too
Rose could barely contain her laughter at her own stupid joke.
Lissa was now furious and tossed the covers aside stomping to the door.
"Nice going, Rose", Dimitri said. "Lissa, please, don't go. I promise Rose will be on her best behavior from now on".
"Speak for yourself!" Rose insisted on continued to antagonize her best friend.
"Do you want her to sedate you again? No. Then stop taunting her", Dimitri said in all seriousness.
"Fine, I'll be good Lissa, I swear". Rose said innocently.
Lissa wavered for a moment before getting back in bed. "Good night, Dimitri".
"Good night, Lissa", he replied. Then add, "Good night Roza".
"Good night". Rose wanted to continue her banter and start reciting Good Night Moon, but decided against it, not wanted to chase her friend out of bed. Again.
Eventually, they managed to fall asleep. And once again, they found themselves waking up in a tangle of limbs and sheets. More accurately, Dimitri woke with him and Rose wrapped in each other, even more so than the previous morning. Lissa, yet again, was no where to be found having snuck out unnoticed.
As Dimitri woke before Rose he detangled himself from her and left quietly. Rose woke several minutes later from the loss of warmth. Dimitri's side of the bed wasn't cold yet so she knew he must've snuck out a short while ago. Rose thought it would be for the best if they could keep up a routine like this - each one of them waking separately without having to face the another in the morning. Who knew how the trio would find themselves each morning. Rose mused as to how Dimitri woke this morning. She wondered if he woke up hard again. She hoped she could take credit for that, but he was a guy. They all wake up with morning wood, don't they? Rose thought.
While Rose and Dimitri were drinking their morning coffee, Lissa sauntered into the kitchen, yawing and rubbing her eyes.
"I thought you'd been up for a while", Rose commented.
"After an hour of not being being able to sleep because of the incessant snoring, I went back to my bed", Lissa said grumpily.
"I don't snore", Dimitri said. Someone would have told him by now if he snored. Right?
"I wasn't talking to you. It's Rose who snores like a bear in hibernation", Lissa retorted.
Dimitri tried with all his might to hold back his laughter. He failed epically, nearly falling off the kitchen island bar stool from laughing so hard.
When he caught sight of Rose's death glare, he sobered up.
"When you're done laughing your ass off, I'd like to go running", Rose hopped off the bar stool and headed to put on her sneakers.
Over the rest of the week, Rose, Dimitri and Lissa developed a routine. The all went to bed together even though Lissa would seek off as soon as Rose and Dimitri fell asleep. She suspected Rose and Dimitri continued insisting she join them just to be a chaperone of sorts, to keep things from getting two awkward.
Every morning, Rose and Dimitri would race, then return to the gym lift weights, followed by target practice or sparring. Rose's left handed knife toss was improving vastly. As for her fighting technique, Dimitri discovered she was remarkable. He still had much he could teach her, yet he found she challenged him every time they sparred.
That week Rose also did online grocery shopping for the first time. She was very proud of herself. She and Lissa also shopped for cloths, accessories and shoes. There's only so much gaming on the flat screen Rose could take before even that became mundane. It was much more fun when she played against Dimitri. Their banter made all the difference.
Every day, Rose tried to ambush Dimitri in a different way. Each time, she failed. Dimitri loved her attempts and secretly hoped she'd would't stop, even if she did by some miracle ever managed to get the drop on him.
One day Rose waited behind the sofa to pounce on him. As he walked by, before she had a chance to react he said "Hi Rose. You know I can see your reflection in the TV, right?" He was giving away his advantage but he wanted her to learn to be more aware of her surrounding and how to hide better.
The following day Dimitri was set to teach Rose how to make an omelette. Rose decided to crouch behind the kitchen island and pounce on him as soon as he turned the corner.
"Hi, Rose", Dimitri said in a relaxed tone.
"Shit", Rose murmured under her breath. "How did you know I was there?"
"I could here you breathing", Dimitri shrugged.
"Really?!"
"No. I caught your reflection on the stove". He chuckled.
Surprisingly, Rose didn't burn down the kitchen and the omelettes were even edible.
Saturday came quickly with Rose's full schedule of training and playing video games. That meant it was time to go swimming.
"Hey ,comrade. I have a surprise for you", Rose said in a sing song voice that made Dimitri smile and worry at the same time. "I remembered you said you didn't bring a swim suite with you, so I ordered one for you online. Now you can go for a swim too". She smiled proudly.
"Thank-" Dimitri cut himself off as soon as he saw what Rose was holding up. "What the fuck is that?" Dimitri was horrified as Rose presented the smallest speedo in existence.
"It's a speedo", Rose said innocently, knowing even if it wasn't two sizes too small, he'd never wear it. That fact that it was gold didn't help matters. "I took a guess at your size". Rose was working harder and harder to keep up the pretense of innocence. The size only made Dimitri redder in the face. Rose turned it around showing Dimitri the speedo was also a thong.
"I'm not wearing that", Dimitri said deadpan, never even commenting that there was no way he'd even be able to squeeze into them.
"Oh come on! This is the latest fashion in swim wear and I put a lot of thought into this", Rose feigned hurt and pouted.
Dimitri was never one to bend just because a woman was pouting, but damn he wanted to bite Rose's lower lip every time she did that.
Rose mistook Dimitri lustfully staring at her lips as consent to wear the golden bikini. Smiling widely she said, "I'm just fucking with you. Here", Rose tossed Dimitri a pair of black swim trunks that would end just above his knee. "You were actually considering parading around in that skimpy little thing, weren't you?"
"No, I wasn't", Dimitri defended and left to change into the swim trunks. Now Dimitri couldn't help wonder what Rose would wear. Did she have a gold bikini? Preferably of the thong variety? Stop it, Belikov! She's your charge, she's with Abe. That had quickly become his mantra. Even after his talk with Abe, Dimitri decided he wouldn't "take care" of Rose, as Abe put it. Rose never initiated, and for that Dimitri was grateful. He wasn't sure he'd be able to turn her away. He himself refused to make advances towards Rose, but a little light flirting never hurt anyone.
In spite of her little prank, Dimitri did appreciate the gesture. Rose even thought to get him flip-flops so he wouldn't have to traipse from the pool to the wing in his combat boots or sneakers. He learned more and more that though Rose feigned being a self proclaimed mega-bitch, she was thoughtful and sweet.
As they reached the pool, the found Abe leaving the pool. His robe fell open, revealing he was wearing a speedo. Dimitri wondered if that's were Rose got the idea from. He also wondered if she actually expected him to wear the little gold number and the black trunks were just a back up in case she needed to save face.
Rose rolled her eyes. "Abe, your robe". She pinched the bridge of her nose. To appease Rose Abe redid his robe tie as he walked up to her.
Abe grabbed the top of Rose's arms lightly and kissed her forehead. "Have a good swim, darling". then he turned to Dimitri. "Belikov, don't let her drown".
"I can swim you know", Rose crossed her arms over her chest.
Abe left, shaking his head lightly and chuckling.
"Sorry about that", Rose said quietly. "I've told him several times those are for olympic swimmers, and even then they look ridiculous, but he insists on wearing them". Guess the black trunks weren't a back up then, Dimitri thought.
Rose removed her polo dress revealing her bikini clad body. Despite Rose's bikini being relatively modest, it still showed off her tone yet curvaceous body. Her long tan legs, her flat stomach, her supple ass, her incredible bust. Dimitri had to stop staring before something embarrassing happened. He tugged off his shirt and dove head first into the deep end of the lukewarm water. He was completely taken by surprise when Rose dove right after him.
However, where Dimitri's dive was elegant and splash-less, Rose went with the ever popular cannonball, splashing water shamelessly all around her. She was laughing maniacally as the water she splashed dripped off Dimitri's face. But, at least with her in the water he could pretend to be unaffected by her body.
Rose herself was holding back from running her fingertips down Dimitri's chest to his abs. She was disappointed that he disappeared so quickly into the water, before she had a chance to appraise him. She hadn't seen him shirtless since the first night they spent together.
"Race you!" Rose suddenly called and started swimming.
She didn't get far when Dimitri grabbed her ankle and tugged her back. "No head start this time". He playfully pushed her head underwater, releasing her almost immediately.
"You're gonna get it now Belikov," Rose yelled. When Dimitri attempted to flee her wrath, she jumped on his back, grabbing the top of his head with both hands trying to push him underwater, as he had with her.
When Dimitri's head went under, Rose started laughing victoriously and swimming away. She stopped when she saw Dimitri went limp and wasn't surfacing.
"Dimitri!" She yelled and swam back to him as fast as she could. Oh god, please no! She thought, as she reached him. "Dimitri!"
A/N:
Thank you for all the reviews, favorites and follows. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to reply to each review separately. I appreciated each and every one of them, so again thank you.
Let me know how you feel about this chapter. Love it? Hate it?
Sorry about the cliffy, I'll update again soon - I won't leave you hanging for long.
Quick question: Have any of you ever noticed the similarities between VA and Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Not that I'd ever dis VA. I also happen to absolutely love Buffy. But seriously, both have leading female teenagers who kick ass and kill evil vampires. In both cases our heroine has an older boyfriend who she'd not supposed to be with, who goes evil but comes back from it. Both heroines have a guy best friend who crushes on them. And, both Buffy and Rose have human friends who turned into witches. Am I right or am I right? Thoughts?