Drabble:143
Clue number one should have been when the bloodwhore rumors were spreading about Rose and Lissa-wanting to comfort her-had gone to Guardian Belikov to convince him to let them have a private moment, and he'd agreed instantly, not needing any persuasion.
Two was when Rose appeared in her room one evening, her hands bandaged in gauze, courtesy of Dimitri, her face set in a shy smile, the likes of which Lissa had never seen before.
Clue three was the stupid nickname Rose called Dimitri by, and how-thought exasperated-Dimitri never stopped her from addressing him as Comrade, when as her teacher, he could have. And perhaps, should have.
Four should have been when Lissa walked into the movie lounge at St Vladimir's, where the gang was supposed to be watching a movie together, and she found Dimitri there, sitting beside Rose, her arm resting casually on his leg. Lissa had chalked that up to the two of them sharing a preternaturally close friendship from spending so much time training in such close quarters.
Number five should have been later, when she looked away from the movie screen to make a comment to Rose and found her asleep, curled into Dimitri's side, his hand slung protectively around her.
Clue six should have been the caustic looks Rose cast Tasha during their winter break at the ski resort, and how Dimitri cast the same venomous glares at Adrian whenever Rose was found in his company. (Oh how foolish she had been then to think it was over protectiveness on his part).
Number seven was when Rose (and Christian and Mason and Eddie and Mia) went missing, and Dimitri became frantic, concerned so much for Rose when the rest of the guardians were focused on the missing Moroi.
Eight, was when-during the same time-she walked across the makeshift guardian-training-room in the resort and saw Dimitri beating the crap out of training-dummies, as if they had somehow offended him personally.
Nine, was when they were brought back from Spokane, and Lissa found Rose asleep in the hospital, Dimitri dozing in the chair beside her bed, one of her tiny hands engulfed by both of his.
Ten was the first time Rose laughed heartily after Spokane, after returning from a day trip with Dimitri, teasing her mentor about frozen sandwiches and Yetis. (Later Lissa was to learn that Yeti was how Rose thought a snow-angel by Dimitri might look, if he could ever deign making one)
Eleven was the time the duo found themselves under a mistletoe and pushed by the witnessing novices to uphold a tradition, Dimitri kissed Rose's cheek and Lissa swore she saw her best friend blush crimson. Back then, Lissa had thought it was out of mortification. It so wasn't..
Clue number twelve was when Rose started therapy with Deidre and whenever she got upset, she seeked comfort with Dimitri in the gym, instead of venting to Lissa. Or how she ran her ghost theory by Dimitri before Lissa.
Thirteen was how, whenever Rose ended up in the clinic, and she often did for various injuries, Lissa would always find Dimitri there, taking care of her.
Fourteen was the time she'd gone looking for Rose during lunch on a weekend, and instead of the cafeteria-Rose's home away from home-she'd found her with Dimitri, jabbering as he read a battered book, both of them sharing what looked like salad. (Rose and salad? Lissa should have known right then!)
Fifteen was when after a particularly brutal day, Dimitri had approached their table during dinner and taken out a candy-bar out of his duster before placing it in Rose's hand and leaving again after squeezing her shoulder once. And how Rose's slightly-misty eyes followed him, her hand clutching the chocolate tightly.
In retrospect, Lissa felt like an idiot for not noticing earlier, because hello! Rose was her best friend and the stoic Dimitri, who only became open around Rose, was someone Lissa not only respected, but watched out for…or at least she wanted to.
But Lissa didn't.
She missed the hundred shared looks and hand-brushings and whisperings and caresses Rose and Dimitri shared; and it took a school massacre and Dimitri's awakening and Rose's hysteria to open Lissa's eyes…
Lissa prided herself on being perceptive, but she'd missed something that had panned out right in front of her eyes, just because she couldn't read the signs.
Thank you for reading!
And a special thanks to somandy for review no.800!
Cheers!