Drabble:137

Dimitri entered the cabin-which Rose had called dibs on for their stay at St. Vlad's-and was surprised to find Rose banging her head on the kitchen table.
"Roza?", he asked concernedly, rushing to her side and cupping her head in his hands. "What's wrong?"

Rose let out a world-weary sigh before pushing a spiral-bound folder into his chest.
"What's this?", he asked, sparing the folder a precursory glance.
"Liss", Rose groaned, shaking her head.

"What happened to Vasilisa?", Dimitri asked, instantly alert.
"She's gone mad", Rose replied weakly. "That", she pointed a finger at the folder. "Is a selection of sleeves and necklines she wants me to consider for my wedding gown."

"Sleeves and necklines?", Dimitri asked, equal parts incredulous and curious as he took up the folder and flipped through. His eyes started to glaze over as he glanced at the options, each with a side-note handwritten by Lissa. "Wow", he proclaimed finally, having come to the end of the 50-something-paged saga.

"Yeah, wow", Rose scoffed. "She's lost it. Last week it was silhouettes and veils, and I'm half-sure train-length and garters come next"

"I didn't realize so much planning goes into wedding gowns", Dimitri said slowly, eyes still on the now-closed folder.

"No, this is exclusively Liss", Rose affirmed. "She's always been a perfectionist, and she wants me to have The-Perfect-Wedding. This is a disaster! I don't want this!", she replied, burying her face in her hands.

"Rose, Roza. Look at me", Dimitri gently coaxed her. "It's okay if you wanna cancel the wedding, I don't mind.", he said selflessly, but Rose shook her head.

"Don't be stupid, Dimitri. I wanna get married to you", she replied (and watched him relax into a soft-smile from her periphery). "Just…not like that"

"How do you want it?", he asked, taking her hands into his.
"Can we elope?", Rose shot back, half-seriously, smiling when Dimitri replied 'let me get our IDs'.

"I just want something simple.", she replied more seriously. "You, me and our loved ones. No fanfare or four-course meals, just some bad music and silly dancing. Oh, and chocolate cake"

Dimitri bit his lips, chewing thoughtfully before replying carefully. "What would you say to getting married today?"

"Lissa would kill us", Rose replied drily. "And then, resurrect us and probably kill us again"

"Be serious for a moment", Dimitri said. "What if we get married today? In the church? After all this is where everything started. Your mom's here, and so are a lot of our friends, and for the rest, we can Skype. We can dance and get drunk in the auditorium later"

"My chocolate cake?", Rose asked, considering his words….seriously. "Wait, you're advocating drinking?"

"It's my wedding, why not?", Dimitri replied simply. "As for cake, Cook would be delighted to bake you one. Or Christian can", Dimitri proposed. "We don't even have to change clothes."

Rose pondered his very-tempting proposal for a few seconds before speaking. "Liss won't be happy"

"Will you be?", Dimitri shot back. In answer, Rose kissed him right on his lips.
"Go talk to Father Andrew and Alberta about the arrangements, and I'll handle Lissa.", she replied, texting her best friend to meet her in the cabin .

"I'll also go notify our friends, set up the internet connections and hunt down my best man", Dimitri replied with twinkling eyes. "You sure you can handle Lissa alone?"

"She'll give in…eventually", Rose sighed. "Especially since I'll put her in charge of organizing our reception later, within my restrictions, of course"

"Of course.", he smirked.
" I'll text you the time after talking to Father Andrew", Dimitri promised with a peck, standing up. "And, Roza? Wear your hair down today."

"Now out you go, husband-to-be and leave me to my Herculean mission", Rose teased, lightly shoving him towards the door.

"I'll see you soon", Dimitri stopped at the door to give Rose a breathtaking smile. "And I'll be the one at the altar, in the duster."

Thanks for reading!
As you've probably figured, this is a pre-piece of the last drabble, and if you lovelies are good, you might just get the 'reception' piece this week :p
Cheers!