Drabble:155
He hated that they had to live to frugally, and budget. They weren't really tight for money, but he hated that he didn't have almost unlimited income, like Lissa or Adrian.
They could buy her extravagant gifts without a second thought. A new leather jacket, jewelry, perfumes…you name it. They didn't need to worry about grocery bills or rents, worry about overspending, before buying Roza something. Anything. He did….
He had to save for weeks, months at times, if he wanted to buy her something nice. He had to take on extra shifts, and go on extra raids to be able to afford to buy her the kind of gifts her Moroi friends showered on her without a second thought. And he felt so ashamed, like he had failed her, whenever a new package showed up at their apartment, from high-end stores, from Lissa, Adrian or even Abe, and one look at the price tag (after some internet research) would tell him he couldn't buy it for her if he tried, not without upending their entire lifestyle.
So, yes he did feel ashamed of not being able to lavish her with gifts the way she deserved, but then he began to notice…
The one time he'd taken her to the mall and asked her to buy something, anything she wanted (after he had saved for three months), she opened a premade list on her cellphone and took him around the place, buying things like bedsheets, and toiletries, and a new microwave oven. (Let's just say metal and microwave don't go together, and Rose learned it the hard way; and so did Dimitri that Rose alone in the kitchen equated to fire hazards.) She'd ended with buying chocolate bars for herself, and promised him that this oven wouldn't meet the fate of its predecessor. (Unfortunately, it did)
She also kept shopping lists on her phone and sometimes in her jacket pocket, highlighted with different markers. (It took him a few months to understand what colors she used for what level of emergency.)
He found out that she loved budgeting, and she was proud that she had a knack for bargaining. Oftentimes, she'd come home and tell him proudly about how she had made some shopkeeper miserable and bought something at a lowered price, or how she had taken an advantage of a discount. And she loved discounts!
He saw that while she accepted her gifts from her Moroi friends, she didn't really use them much. She'd sigh and even roll her eyes sometimes, and put them up carefully in her closet. Whereas whenever he gifted her his meager presents, like a barrette, or new lip gloss or a candy bar (after she had had a rough exam or mission), she'd squeal with joy and hug him and tell him he shouldn't have. She'd pepper his face with kisses, before insisting on trying whatever he had gotten her (and calling Liss or Mia, and even Vika sometimes, to let them know how thoughtful and romantic Dimitri was). And she would look so damn happy and beautiful, that it would fill Dimitri's heart with light and love.
So yes, Dimitri knew he couldn't buy her beautiful things, but over time, he learned to live with it, because he learned Rose didn't want opulent gifts. No, she really didn't want them.
But she'd be perfectly content with whatever Dimitri gave her, regardless of the price tag, be it fresh flowers he picked from the florist at dawn after the end of a night shift patrolling, or a bag of glazed donuts from her favorite bakery at Court. She loved his little gifts, and she savored them. She was proud of how they lived, even though they couldn't afford many of the things her friends (and flamboyant dad) took for granted-because she loved him; and as long as they stayed together, Dimitri knew that his Roza would be happy.
Because there was one thing he could give her that no one else could, that was priceless for her, and it was his heart. And it was all hers, his heart, his soul and all of his pieces.
So, this was…poignant for me to write, something borrowed from real life and 3am thoughts, so I hope I did it justice enough. Let me know what you think! Cheers!