Drabble:138

It wasn't normal for Rose to return home from guarding Liss before Dimitri had arrived. What can you say, a girl needs to stop and shop for her after-dinner doughnuts/cake and maybe salivate over other offerings in the nearby patisserie. So, when Rose returned home, she expected to be greeted by a hug or kiss from her beau, but he was nowhere to be found.

Slightly puzzled, Rose opened their coat closet to hang her jacket, and sure enough his duster was proudly hanging there. His boots were placed right off the hallway and a file was on the coffee-table. Walking into the kitchen, Rose found a pot of pasta boiling on the stove and preparations for a salad arranged around the chopping board. She found all the clues of his existence, but not the man himself.

It wasn't like him to hide somewhere in the apartment and play peek-a-boo, so where was Dimitri? As Rose stood in the kitchen, scrutinizing her surroundings with an objective eye, her ears picked up a muffled sound coming from the bedroom. The radio!

Smiling, she made her way to their bedroom, sure that she'd find Dimitri fixing something or the other there, or folding up her clothes-which he half-jokingly called his second full-time occupation-or perhaps even asleep, but opening the door, she found…an empty room. Well, not empty per se, because the furniture was still there, so was her morning's wad of clothes on the floor, but Dimitri wasn't there, neither was their handy portable radio. So where was Dimitri and where was the music coming from?

Rose cocked her head to one side to hear better, and sure enough, the music was playing. This one she recognized, an old Christmas carol that even she knew word for word. And the sound was coming…from the bathroom, which meant Dimitri was in the shower. No wonder he hadn't heard her come in. Well, technically, she wasn't even supposed to be back for two more hours, but Lissa had cancelled a meeting, so here she was.

But now, she was faced with a dilemma-to go corner Dimitri or wait here and 'surprise' him? What? She might be a legal adult, but she wasn't above hiding around the apartment and trying to scare her loved ones by jumping out and screaming like a banshee.

Anyway, after a few seconds of deliberation, Rose made her decision. It was freezing cold outside, and a hot shower would be amazing…the fact that Dimitri was currently in said shower was just an added perk. (Yeah right!)

So, stepping out of her trousers and discarding her socks and shirt, Rose sauntered over to the washroom…and stopped dead in her tracks.

It wasn't that Dimitri was in the shower-glisteningly naked-that made her come to a standstill, or that she had a clear view of his broad back from where she was standing, or that his upper arm muscles were flexing as he shampooed his hair…though that was very distracting, but it was the fact that 'Let It Snow' was playing on the radio. And Dimitri was signing along. The chorus. In falsetto.

She stood, gaping as Dimitri continued his performance, thankfully back to normal-voice for the verses until Dimitri turned around and faced her…and froze.

A deer-caught-in-headlights look overcame his features and he stared at her, and she at him till he broke the silence with blush-stained 'I love this song'.

"I…figured", Rose replied glibly.

"Join me?", Dimitri offered.

"Definitely", Rose replied. "But comrade, that falsetto? It's got to go".

Any other comments or thoughts Rose had on Dimitri's singing was driven out of her mind as she joined him under the shower and recovered her body temperature…and then some.

This one's for Tori, and I'm sure you know why :p
Thanks for reading and Happy Easter y'all!

And be sure to check out my latest story 'You+Me=3'
Cheers!