A/N:
Hello lovelies!
Thank you for reading, following and favoriting! Special shout out to the reviewers. You guys blow my mind!
So this chapter started out as one thing, and kinda morphed into something else before it headed back to the original plot line. (I'm pretty sure after reading you'll understand just where I went rogue and where I came back; it's kinda like a one shot within a one shot). I didn't want to split the chapter so it's longish. Yey!
Anyway, I hope you like it! Especially since I had a blast writing it!
Let me know in the reviews! I really want to know what you thought! (especially of the OS within the OS…)
Also, quick question - What's your favorite Romitri moment? (sorry, but not a fanfic moment; unless it in one of my fics, then it's okay LOL).
Ciao Bellas,
Kooki
The queen had called upon Lissa and mandated that she attend the annual Christmas ball which was held at Court. So come Christmas, the gang made their way to Court.
Lissa was excited to return to Court. She considered it a vacation. Since school was out for the holidays anyway, Court seemed like the logical choice for some much needed relaxation.
"Going to Court is not a vacation", Rose huffed. "It's not fun in the sun! There are no white sandy beaches!".
"No", Lissa countered, "but at least you and Dimitri and Eddie won't have to be on duty all the time. You'll get some actual time off. Like it was before we went to Leigh", she bit her lip. "And maybe while we're there, you'll meet someone". Lissa wiggled her eyebrows. She was still under the impression that Rose had a special someone at Court.
Rose just rolled her eyes.
The day after school let out for winter break, 3 dhampirs and 2 morois piled into an SUV and headed to their destination. It was a two hour drive. They arrived at Court 6 days before Christmas, 3 days before the big Christmas shindig.
They had decided to lodge at Tasha 2-story-5-bedroom-4 baths house. Tasha, who didn't know her nephew was meant to be in town for his holiday break, went on a vacation of her own, to a sunny beach resort in the Caribbean, and graciously offered him her home. Tasha's plans were made long ago, along with plans to visit Christian and Lissa at Leigh in mid January.
The gang had the house all to themselves. As soon as they arrived, Chris called his aunt to let her know they'd made it safely. Tasha apologized profusely for missing their visit.
They all went to bed in the hopes of switching smoothly to a vampiric day schedule.
The following morning Adrian surprised them with brunch. He'd made a stop at his favorite cafe and bought 10 breakfast specials and 6 cups of coffee. He took extra care to get 2 dozen doughnuts.
"Little Dhampir!" Adrian greeted with a warm hug.
"Adrian!", Rose greeted him just as enthusiastically, hugging him fiercely. She found she genuinely missed spending time with him. He was a much better man than most gave him credit for.
Rose couldn't have been happier. She didn't have any studying to catch up on. She'd have a lot of free time to do whatever for a week. And now, a good friend she missed, brought her a shit-ton of chocolate glazed doughnuts.
With 3 dhampirs at the table, all the food was had, including the doughnuts. But Rose was the one that did the most damage to the sugary pastries.
"I have another sunrise", Adrian said and turned to Rose. "I got you an invitation to the Christmas ball", he pulled out a pristine white envelope from his back pocket. "You can be my date", he wiggled his eyebrows.
And that was the other shoe. Rose wondered how long it would be before it dropped and Adrian made a pass at her. She shook her head and pulled the invitation from the envelope.
Rose stared at the white card with the delicate curvy calligraphy. She pondered for a brief moment if she wanted to go to such an event. Then she thought of the food and the decorations and the food. She could suck it up for one night.
"Well this invite says I have a plus one. So technically I can bring my own date". Rose turned to Eddie and Dimitri, fanning herself with the invitation. "What do you say guys? Flip a coin and see who gets to go with me?"
"Little dhampir, you wound me". No one paid any attention to Adrian.
"No offense", Eddie answered, "but that's real not my style, Plus I have plans that night. With Mia".
"Oooohhhh!" Lissa cooed.
"How did you not tell us?" Christ said at the same time.
Adrian of course chimed, "I'd tap that", though it wasn't loud enough for anyone to hear.
While Rose started singing "Eddie and Mia, sitting in a tree".
Dimitri chuckled.
Eddie turned bright red and muttered, "And you people actually wonder why I don't tell you stuff about my personal life". He dismissed himself from the table, clearing his plate.
"So how about it, comrade? Wanna be my plus one to the ball to end all balls?"
"That sounds so wrong", Christian shivered at the thought.
"Yes, Rose", Dimitri smiled. "I'd love to".
"It's black tie", Adrian said to Dimitri, "if you need, I can hook you up with a tux". Funny thing was, Adrian was being completely sincere and helpful.
"That's very kind of you. I'll let you know", Dimitri answered politely.
"Yey! shopping!" Lissa squealed as she took Rose's hand in her own. "You need a dress and shoes and accessories. Oh! and a new bra and pantie set".
"I can't hear this", Chris covered his ears.
"I could stand to hear a little more", Adrian supplied.
"Lissa, I don't want to go crazy", Rose tried to rein in princess shopaholic. "Really, I just want a dress that's simple yet elegant. And I don't need new shoes".
"Hey, remember the dress you wore to the Equinox dance?" Lissa wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
"Vaguely", Rose usually tried very hard to forget that night and that dress. "Why?"
"Because that dress was amazing", Lissa smiled. "You should totally wear something like that".
Only Rose noticed how hard Dimitri swallowed the last of his coffee.
"Absolutely not", Rose replied. "I'm a respected guardian. Or at least I'm trying to be. A dress like that will the kind of attention I'm currently trying to avoid".
"Now I really wanna know what this dress looked like", Adrian was very invested in the conversation.
He was rewarded with Rose rolling her eyes. "It was a little black strapless cocktail dress".
"That hugged your body like a second skin", Lissa added.
"It was slutty", Rose huffed, "And barely appropriate for a school dance".
"It wasn't slutty", came Dimitri's low accented voice, pulling everyone's attention. When all eyes were on him, he looked directly at Rose and repeated, "It wasn't slutty. You looked beautiful".
Rose blushed.
"Now I've got to see this dress!" Adrian exclaimed.
"Too bad. It was destroyed by psi hounds", Rose answered. Chris shuddered remembering just what the psi hounds had done to him. The dress faired better than he did.
Adrian looked puzzled. "How did psi hounds get to the dance?".
"They weren't at the dance, it's a long story". Of course now the only thing Rose could think about was the lust charm.
The look Rose and Dimitri exchanged told them they were of the same mind.
"Alright so you'll get an elegant dress and sensible shoes", Lissa conceded.
"Let's see if we can even find anything for me here", Rose referred to the fact that any attire that would be appropriate for the ball probably wouldn't come in dhampir measurements. "We might need to go to the mall".
That only got Lissa more excited and she squealed again.
"See what you did?" Rose asked Adrian rhetorically, motioning to the squealing princess.
Finding the right dress for the princess only took about half a day at Court dress shops. It may have been a record. She chose a floor length gown in baby pink, with a round low cut neckline and capped sleeves. The gown was cinched at the waist and flowed loosely over the hips. The hem of the dress was beaded with jade colored Swarovski in an intricate lace like design. The dress was delicately speckled with the same crystals.
Rose on the other hand did not find a dress at Court. Big surprise. So the following day, or vampiric night really, she and Lissa decided to take a trip into the nearest mall. It was almost an hour's drive. Lissa insisted that since Dimitri was Rose's escort to the ball, he couldn't see the dress before then, and that Eddie needed to accompany her and Rose to the mall. Rose rather liked the idea. There was something sweet about it.
Eddie could't stand shopping, so he immersed himself fully in the role of of far guard. He stayed away from Rose and Lissa other than the occasion check in glances that he and Rose switched.
They stayed at the mall till Rose found the perfect dress - elegant and gorgeous. To match the dress and Dimitri's insane height Rose got insane heels. In truth the shoes were the only thing slutty about her outfit, they had kind of a stripper-esque quality.
"If you and Dimitri were going on a real date, he would flip out at the dress", Lissa stated on the way back to Court.
If only, Rose thought whimsically. She shrugged it off, trying not to show how much that comment actually hurt her.
"Ya know", Lissa added, "Adrian's going to lose his shit when he see you".
Rose found herself rolling her eyes yet again. "I'm not interested in him that way. He's just not my type".
"Charming, sweet, and good-looking isn't your type?" she asked.
"Smoker, drinker and a royal pain isn't my type".
"He's not that bad!" Lissa defended her non blood related cousin. "And he really likes you. I bet if you gave him a chance, you two could be really good together".
"I know he's a good man. He's kind and attractive and doesn't get enough credit. But I only see him as friend, and to try to be anything other than that will only hurt him in the long wrong". Rose's life would be so much easier if she could return Adrian's feelings.
"When did you get so mature and insightful?" Lissa smiled proudly. Though she was sure now more than ever that Rose had a secret lover.
"Mature and insightful? Maybe Dimitri's rubbing off on me", Rose chuckled. "Soon I'll be giving zen life lessons".
Lissa felt like she missed an inside joke, but chuckled anyway.
The thought of trying to be with someone else when she was still so hung up on Dimitri served to reminded her that she already tried that with Mason, the consequences of which were fatal. That sobered Rose up. I won't do that again. Be with someone just to get over someone else, just to not be alone.
"Come on", Lissa said, noticing Rose's sudden change of mood. "Let's get back and try to get some sleep for the rest of the day". They walked arm in arm back to the car.
With a day before the ball, Eddie off somewhere no doubt fornicating with Mia, Lissa and Christian needing some alone time, and no shifts, Rose and Dimitri had a day to themselves.
"Whachya up to today, comrade?"
"I was thinking about going for a hike".
"In the dark?" Rose asked baffled.
Dimitri nodded.
"Outside the wards?" Again, baffled.
Dimitri nodded. "There are lakes in the area and it's a full moon tonight so it won't be that dark. It should be really pretty. Plus, the forecast said no snow, and it's unseasonably warm".
"But it's freezing outside".
"Then dress warm", Dimitri smiled mischievously.
"Will you make me hot chocolate in a thermos?" she answered with a cheeky smile.
"Yes".
They headed out of the wards in their SUV towards Boiling Springs, a town near the southern border of Pennsylvania, named for the dikes of water that ran beneath it. The car was filled with a familiar comfortable silence. From time to time, Rose would look over at Dimitri. He turn to her and smile. A real, genuine smile, that lit up his whole face. The moon really did light up the night sky and light shone in the car at just the right angle from behind Dimitri. He looked like he had a halo.
Rose wondered if Dimitri knew how beautiful he was. Sure, he no doubt knew he was good-looking and attractive. But he was more than that. He was beautiful.
"You're staring, Roza".
"Just enjoying the view".
Dimitri chuckled.
"Won't any lake be froze now?" Rose asked as they approached the town.
"Maybe. But it'll still be beautiful".
Rose had no idea where they were. She trusted Dimitri to get her to where ever they were going and back safely. But when he parked the car Rose let out a laugh.
"What's funny?"
"Did you not notice where you parked?" Rose was still laughing.
Dimitri parked the car in a clearing on a cliff overlooking the lake. But what was funny was that there were a few more cares in the area. And an old rickety plank sign that said "Lovers Lane" in faded paint.
"Where did I park?" he asked innocently.
Rose pointed to the sign. Dimitri still didn't get it. "Ever heard the expression 'if this van's a'rockin' don't come a'knockin'?"
Dimitri paled. But he still wasn't sure.
"Comrade, you brought me to place where people who are incognito engage in elicit activities or the sexual nature", Rose couldn't stop laughing.
"I had no idea", Dimitri was mortified. "I just wanted to see the view and hike down the hillside to the lake".
"I know", Rose answered. "Come on, then. Let's go". Rose motioned to the spot where the trail down to the lake began.
The two exited the car. Rose lead the way for a short while until her footing missed the trail and almost twisted her ankle. Luckily Dimitri's reflexes were almost god like when he caught her arm and steadied her. The two chuckled and Dimitri took the lead with his trusted flashlight.
In the dark, in the woods, under the moonlight, Rose and Dimitri's hands found each other. As their fingers entwined, they drew closer to the lake and to each other. Rose was leaning her body against Dimitri's arm. Granted they were both wrapped in layers and layers of winter clothes so they didn't feel each other's warmth, but it was more intimacy than either was accustomed to.
"Wow", Rose's breath puffed out like a white cloud in the cold winter air. "This is beautiful".
Dimitri just couldn't help himself when he answered. "You're beautiful".
Rose smiled but refused to meet his eyes.
Dimitri gestured to a log by the lake. They sat. Dimitri pulled out the thermos.
"Where were you hiding that?" Rose smiled and accepted the cup of coco.
"Guardian secrets".
Rose laughed. "No fair comrade! I'm a guardian too now".
"I know, Roza. I know".
"I can't believe how much light there is out here".
Dimitri looked smug. He wanted to say I told you so but held back. Instead he just looked at her. Rose felt the intensity of his gaze. She took a deep breath. But that only made her shiver from the cold.
"We should head back", Dimitri said.
Rose nodded. She kind of didn't want to leave. She wanted to say in this surreal bubble with Dimitri. But she was freezing.
Suddenly Rose said, "Montana's colder. Bet Siberia is too".
That made Dimitri outright laugh, remembering Rose used to call his home land an arctic wasteland.
They reached the car in a few minuted, the cold rushing them along.
Rose gasped and covered her mouth with her hand trying desperately to conceal her smirk. There was a van parked by their SUV. And it was a'rockin'.
"Let's get out of here quickly and quietly", Dimitri instructed.
"Why would these people park so close to us?!" Rose whisper yelled.
Then they heard the moaning.
They shut the car doors simultaneously and sped out of the parking lot like a bat out of hell, laughing all the way.
The ride back was quiet. Rose was lost in her thoughts. Thoughts of her and Dimitri in a van. Making it rock. Him making her moan with wild abandon. She shook her head. Thoughts like that were bad. Very, very bad.
As the got back to the house Rose smiled. "Thank you for tonight".
"Any time", Dimitri smiled back.
"Hey guys!" Christian greeted them, inadvertently destroying Rose and Dimitri's bubble. "You're just in time. Dinner's almost ready".
"Great. Need a hand?" Dimitri offered.
And like that, their very different, very special afternoon was over.
It was the day of the ball and Lissa was going crazy. She'd planned her and Rose's day to a tee. They had mani-pedis and facials, got their hair styled and finally went home to do their own make up.
Rose barely had time to eat. Thankfully Chris and Dimitri made some grilled cheese sandwiches.
Christian and Dimitri were already in tuxes waiting of their dates. Where Chris was bored, Dimitri was nervous. When they were done getting dressed, Lissa and Rose descended the stairs. Lissa was met with a yawning Christian in the living room. As soon as he saw her, Christian wasn't bored anymore. He met Lissa half way, took her hands in his and planted a loving kiss on her cheek.
Dimitri stared wide eyed and slack jawed a Rose. She came into sight like an angel. All his nervousness was forgotten. He rose from his perch on the couch. More than anything he wanted to wrap his arms around Rose. While Lissa and Christian were in their own little world and missed his initial awe, he and Rose would never be able to get away with an intimate embrace.
When he composed himself enough, Dimitri said, "You look beautiful".
"So do you", Rose answered awkwardly. But Dimitri smiled nonetheless.
He noticed how tall Rose was. He concluded Rose was wearing at least six inch heals. She looked beyond beautiful in her gown. Rose wore an off the shoulder black dress that showed no cleavage, but was skin tight in the bodice all the way down to her knees. From the knees down, the dress flared out and had a small train in the back. The material the gown was made of was sleek and shimmery without being tacky. The only skin Rose was showing was her arms since her shoulders were covered by waves and waves of gorgeous flowy locks. The only jewelry she had on was a large sparkly diamond bracelet she borrowed from Lissa.
Despite her ginormous heels, when Rose saw Dimitri in his tux, she nearly ran to him. The most mouth watering detail was that his hair wasn't tied back in his usual low ponytail. He pulled half his hair into a high, yet flat, ponytail, with few stands framed his face. He looked like a model and Rose wasn't sure how she was going to be able to keep her hands to herself.
At the ball, Rose and Dimitri sat at the table while Lissa dragged Chris around mingling.
"You really do look beautiful tonight, Roza".
Rose was desperately trying not to voice her what she thought. So beautiful it hurts? "Thank you".
"I don't think your choice in dress was good, though".
Rose tried and failed to raise her eyebrow. "I thought I was beautiful".
"You're the most exquisite created I've ever come across", Dimitri answered, knowing full well that was too bold. "But you wanted to be unnoticed. Simple yet elegant, you said. Not attracting attention. There's nothing simple about that dress. And you could never be unnoticeable". Dimitri was rubbing his thumb over Rose's hand, not meeting her eyes. "I don't think there's anyone here who wasn't staring at you when we walked in".
Rose took a shaky breath. She was almost grateful when Adrian plopped down in the seat next to her and Dimitri removed his hand.
"Little Dhampir!" Adrian was already well on his way to drunkenness. "You look smoking hot!"
Rose shook her head, but smiled indulgently. "Try that again, and this time give me a real compliment".
Dimitri was proud of the way she handled Adrian. He was relieved that he wasn't the only one who saw Adrian's comment as more lewd than a compliment.
Adrian smiled wickedly. He took her hand in his, the hand that Dimitri was previously holding, and turned on the charm. "If tonight were my last night on earth, I'd be grateful for all eternity that I had the privilege to gaze upon your radiant beauty".
Rose smiled. It still wasn't the smile she gave Dimitri, but it was genuine. "That'll do, donkey", she quoted what she knew to be Adrian's favorite movie, Shrek.
Adrian laughed. "Save me a dance?" It was a ball, there was bound to be dancing at some point.
"Not if you keep drinking", Rose crossed her arms over her chest.
Adrian was mid sip. "For you", Adrian placed the flute of champaign in his hand on the table, "that was the last sip I'll have tonight". With that he excused himself.
Rose shook her head slightly. She doubted he'd keep away from all the alcohol. Not even for her.
"You don't think he's going to stop drinking, do you?" Dimitri asked.
"No", she answered disappointed. "In any case, I shouldn't have to be his incentive to stop drinking. He needs to want it for himself".
Dimitri was impressed. "That sounds suspiciously like a zen life lesson". Rose laughed so hard the bubbly almost sprayed from her nose.
The night carried on. Many moroi men approached Rose and asked her to dance. Even though it was getting bothersome and she was getting annoyed, she declined politely, refusing to stir up trouble for Lissa or Adrian. Rose had noticed that at some point Dimitri lazily draped his arm on the back of her chair. It was innocent enough, but did the trick of warding off unwelcome suitors.
Dinner, although small portioned, was delicious. And the desserts were scrumptious.
"I gotta hand it to the queen", Rose took another bite of her cake, "the food tonight was amazing".
When Rose polished off her dessert, Dimitri passed her his dessert with a knowing smile. He'd only tasted a small bite and saved the rest for Rose, knowing she would appreciate the sweetness of it much more than him.
Eventually, Adrian made a reappearance. "May I have this dance?", he held out his hand to Rose and smiled brightly.
"You mean to tell me you haven't had a drink since the evening began?" Rose was pleasantly surprised.
"Nope", Adrian popped the p.
Rose accepted his hand and let him pull her to the dance-floor. This shindig's dancing was of the ball room variety. Luckily for Rose, ball room dance class was mandatory at the academy for the early years. It taught litheness and balance and coordination, among other things.
Adrian lead Rose in a waltz. He was much more graceful than Rose was expecting. She giggled as he spun her around. She didn't even notice that they had danced for 3 songs. The queen appeared on song number 4. "Adrian, darling, may I cut in? You don't mind, do you Rose?"
Rose knew the queen didn't really care if she minded or not. But she did believe the queen genuinely wanted some time with her favorite grand nephew. So she smiled and answered, "Not at all, your majesty". The queen was pleasantly surprised by Roses sudden show of manners and smiled brightly at her.
Adrian and the queen danced away, leaving Rose to return to her table. Half way there Dimitri stopped her, standing far closer than Rose was used to. He held his hand for her to take. She wordlessly complied.
Rose wondered if there would ever be a time that Dimitri's touch didn't send a jolt through her. She took a deep breath when he placed a hand on the small of her back. The started dancing, but Rose was looking at her feet. Not that she didn't know the steps, she was afraid to look anywhere else.
With a single finger under her chin, Dimitri lifted her face so she was looking at him. When he was sure she wouldn't break this gaze, he returned his hand to her back and gently pulled her close. With the added height of her heals, Rose didn't have to crane her head back to look at Dimitri.
Her hair was tickling his hand, so he let his fingertips play with her locks.
Rose closed her eyes for a moment and let out a content sigh. When she opened her eyes again, Dimitri's eyes were blazing. It was a look Rose had never seen from Dimitri. Except for the night of the lust charm. She swallowed hard.
For a moment she didn't care how wrong it was. She wanted to kiss Dimitri. She wanted Dimitri to kiss her. She wanted Dimitri to want to kiss her. She stared at him like a dear caught in headlights.
Sadly, Lissa and Chris steered their dancing over to Rose and Dimitri. "Aaawwww!" Lissa drunkenly cooed.
"How much did you let her drink?" Rose asked Christian, a little mad that Lissa was drunk at a royal function.
"Much less than you might think", Chris answered. He was having trouble holding the princess upright.
"Look how cute they look together", Lissa continued with her drunken statements. She turned to the dhampirs. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you two looked like a perfect couple".
Rose almost smiled at that until Lissa continued.
Lissa laughed and made a face. "I'm sorry, that's probably disgusting you" she said, making Rose even more confused. "You probably consider each other more brother and sister than anything else". She giggled.
Rose was only more puzzled. And a little hurt. "Why would you think that?"
"Well", Lissa started, "because Dimitri's much older. He was your teacher. And you were a pain in his ass", she laughed hard. The ball was dwindling down by now, there weren't many witness to the misbehaving princess.
"He's not that old", Rose defended. "He's only 25".
"Yes", Lissa relied, "but he's a grown up".
Rose didn't know what stung worse. That Lissa couldn't ever see her and Dimitri for what they truly were. Or the fact the she hadn't accepted Rose was an adult as well. She was her guardian, with all the responsibilities that came with it. She deserved to be treated with respect.
But they had only just started college. And Lissa herself didn't really want to face adulthood, being the last dragomir and a royal princess. She and Rose grew up together, so it was only natural she classified Rose and herself in the same category - not adults yet.
The fact that Lissa was sure Dimitri would never see Rose as the object of his affection was what really hurt.
Rose pulled away from Dimitri. She stalked to the exit, wanting to put space between her and her best friend.
Dimitri made sure Christian could handle Lissa and get her home safely before he followed Rose. He found her just outside the palace. It was late, the sun was shining bright despite the cold. Rose sat on a bench facing the garden, tears streaming down her face. She was freezing. In her hurry to get away, Rose forgot her coat.
Dimitri didn't miss a beat, unbuttoned his jacket and wrapped it around Rose. He left his arm around her shoulder. He too didn't bother grabbing his coat. Finding Rose was much more important.
"I hate this", Rose said quietly.
Dimitri rubbed his hands up and down her arms warming her up. He didn't need her to elaborate. He understood. "I know".
"It's not fair", she leaned into him, laying her head on his chest.
He ran his fingers in her hair and kissed the top of her head. He wished there was something he could do or say. But there wasn't.
"This is bad", Rose pulled away from Dimitri and stumbled a few steps away. "Your comfort now is only going to hurt more in the long run".
It made sense so Dimitri let her be and didn't approach her again. "I'm sorry".
"I feel like an idiot", Rose said. "I thought we could have a nice time together".
"I did have a nice time", Dimitri answered solemnly.
It could have been nicer, Rose thought, if we weren't partners. "It's not fair", she muttered again.
This time Dimitri couldn't keep away. Seeing her hurt was driving him crazy. He walked over to her where she was perched against the stone wall surrounding the palace, with new found purpose. He held her face in his hands. "What do you want?". When Rose didn't reply, he begged, "Tell me what you want".
"I don't know what I want". Rose was crying harder. She was caught between Dimitri's body and the wall behind her.
"Tell me", he demanded.
"Something I can't have", Rose relented at last.
Dimitri leaned his forehead against hers. He wanted to take away her pain. He wanted her to have everything she deserved. He brushed his lips against hers.
At first Rose resisted. But only at first. Her body's yearning for him was more powerful than anything else that might have gone through her mind in that moment. She pulled herself flush against his body. Dimitri was fisting her hair. When Rose sucked his bottom lip between her teeth, he let out a breathy moan and the grip he had on her waist moved down to her ass.
They heard drunken laughter in the distance. It was like a bucket of cold water was thrown in their faces. It wasn't only the interruption, which was bad enough in and of itself. But the laughter came from a very tipsy Dragomir princess.
Christian was trying to get Lissa to continue forward to no avail. Apparently she thought everything was funny. The sun, the rocks, the bushes. Christian's face.
Rose swallowed hard against her own swollen lips. "I need to get to her".
Dimitri nodded and released her. He took a moment to breathe before he joined the trio.
"Oh thank god", Christian sagged with relief when he spotted Rose and Dimitri. "Help".
"I got this, Chris", Rose said, taking charge her charge.
"I got your coats", Chris added and handed Dimitri and Rose their coats.
"Thanks, Chris", Rose removed Dimitri's jacket and handed it back to him before she put on her own coat.
"Hey Liss, let's get you home".
All it took was a little coaxing from from Rose and Lissa was putty in her hands. They walked half way home before Lissa wanted the comforting arms of her boyfriend.
Rose and Dimitri let the moroi walk a few paces ahead of them. She let out a hiss and misstepped. Dimitri caught her by the elbow and steadied her. It seems he was doing that a lot lately.
"Remind me never to wear heels like these again", Rose grumbled and let out another hiss.
Dimitri muttered something in Russian, that Rose suspected was no good, then proceeded to scoop her up in his arms, bridal style.
"What are you doing?!" Rose's exclamation caught Lissa and Christians attention.
"We're not that far from the house and I don't want you to sprain your ankle", Dimitri kept walking, completely ignoring Rose's squirming.
"Exactly, we're not that far from the house, I can walk!" Rose protested.
"Roza", Dimitri looked at Rose, "shut up", he said flatly.
Rose snapped her mouth shut and crossed her arms over her chest. Her position was a bit awkward considering how Dimitri was holding her, but she was too stubborn to wrap her arm around his neck or even enjoy the small closeness they had allowed on another.
Dimitri didn't slow his pace, his breathing never changed, he didn't even give the impression that he was growing tired from carrying Rose.
Christian jiggled the key in the lock eliciting a sigh from Dimitri, "It's fine Chris, you take you time".
Rose wondered if it was physical excursion or just wanting to put some much needed distance between them. "You can put me down now", she said softly.
"Got it!" Chris yelled triumphantly as he opened the door.
Christian dragged Lissa straight upstairs, bidding them goodnight. Dimitri entered the house and placed Rose gently on the sofa in the living room. Rose wondered how much that cost him. "Thank you".
Dimitri sat across Rose, on the coffee table and lifted her feet to him. He removed her stripper shoes as she hissed and ahhed and moaned.
Dimitri lightly massaged her feet when Rose stopped him. "Don't".
Dimitri sighed in exasperation. "I'm just trying to help you". His expression was as pained as Rose's.
"I know. But you have to see where this is headed". Rose licked her lips. "I was ready to go anywhere with you tonight. I forgot about my duty, I forgot about my charge. All I thought about was you".
"You were off duty tonight. And you're allowed to have a life outside your charge".
Rose's eyes teared up again, "Not with you".
She was right. There was nothing Dimitri could or would say because she was right. He knew this a long time ago. And yet he still let himself fall.
There was nothing more to discuss. Rose went to her room and silently cried herself to sleep. Dimitri couldn't shut off his mind. He took advantage of the daylight and went for a run in the sun. He was angry. At himself. At their circumstances. At the world they lived in. He knew it was wrong but he wanted Rose. More than anything he'd ever wanted for himself. He wound up in the gym taking out his aggression on a dummy. He punched the dummy for every touch he denied himself, for every kiss that never happened, for the life they couldn't have. Maybe they just weren't meant to be…
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