Drabble:112
Dimitri and Emil's friendship began they day they met. When Dimitri first came to the academy, Emil had been assigned by Alberta to help him settle in. It was a good decision because both men were not only Europeans (in a school of 95% American born-and-bred students and staff), but they were also private by nature. Emil had shown Dimitri the ropes of the job and shown him around the grounds and buildings and he had done it without prying into personal details of Dimitri's life. Dimitri had quite liked that, and he'd also respected the helpful, shrewd albeit chatty slightly-older man, who also happened to live in his wing of the guardian quarters. And that's why he'd accepted Emil's offer of help for unpacking.
Their friendship started in Dimitri's room over realizing that they both were avid readers. Over time, the two men bonded and became fast friends. Of all his colleagues, Emil was the one Dimitri talked to about his homeland and his sisters, and Dimitri happened to be the person Emil came to for advice. With Dimitri's help, Emil mastered controlling his mouth (Rose wasn't the only one Dimitri had to help with brain-to-mouth filtering) and under Emil's guidance, Dimitri started socializing and sometimes even hanging out with the other guardians.
So, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Emil had realized that something was bothering Dimitri pretty soon after Rose Hathaway became his friend's pupil. Or that he was the first to suspect that Dimitri's feelings towards Hathaway were more than mentory affection. It wasn't till he'd seen Dimitri rush to Hathaway and soothe the girl in Spokane that he'd understood (thanks to his rudimentary understanding of Belikov's native tongue) that Dimitri loved Rose- his student, his underage potty-mouthed belligerent student. Emil knew his friend would never act on his feelings, so he decided to respect Dimitri's privacy and keep his secret.
It wasn't till he learned of Natasha Ozera's offer (and Dimitri's rejection) that he grew troubled. He waited a few days, keeping a watch on Dimitri (while a poor misled Dimitri wondered if he'd somehow offended his friend), before confronting him. When a surprised-ambushed-Dimitri didn't even deny his feelings for Hathaway, Emil lost his temper and started to list everything that was wrong with Dimitri's fixation, upon which Dimitri lost his temper and had Emil know that yes, he knew Rose and his story would never have a happy ending, and no, he couldn't help himself falling in love with the most extraordinary woman he'd ever known. A stunned Emil acknowledged the depth of Dimitri's feelings and decided that he'd let him be. He left a frustrated-and-world-weary Dimitri that day, after promising that if Dimitri ever needed to talk, he'd be there to help and listen.
So, it really was no surprise that Emil became not only Dimitri's closest friend at the academy, but also his confidant. Over beer and cheap-wine one night, Dimitri not only told him about his frustration over his non-relation with Rose, but also his despondency after Ivan's death. Emil was the first St Vlad-ian Dimitri invited to his home in Baia. Emil also was the one who'd pointed out that by resigning his post as the princess' guardian and taking a guarding-post at the Court, Dimitri would be free to be with Hathaway. He'd helped Dimitri plan on it. But before Dimitri could act upon his plans, he had been snatched by strigoi. A heartbroken Emil could only watch as Hathaway disappeared to hunt his friend, and then returned and-seemingly-move on with her life.
It wasn't till Alberta returned from Court with the news that Dimitri had been-indeed-turned back and he and Hathaway were together that Emil dared to hope. He then contacted his friend. Dimitri-who'd thought Emil wouldn't want to do anything with a had-been-strigoi-was relieved. The two men picked up their friendship, often calling, video-chatting, sharing books or meeting each other and their friendship continued for the rest of their lives.
In fact, Emil was Dimitri best man at his wedding, and became a regular guest at Dimitri's household afterwards. Emil had taught Dimitri's kids at the academy and fed them embarrassing stories about both their illustrious parents. Dimitri had been the one to coax Emil to mingle-with-the-single-ladies (Rose's words, not Dimitri's) and finally, after a lifetime of friendship, Dimitri had done his last duty to Emil as one of his pallbearers at his funeral…
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