~ROSE~

Training afterwards was much more relaxed. After I staked the dummy – correctly, according to Dimitri, though I have no idea how I knew what do – he made me repeat the attack a few more times and then had me show him some of the things that I worked on over the past few years. He was surprised to learn about the self-defense for women class that I taught several times over at the local gym. The head martial arts instructor had been male, and he had suggested that having a female instructor for the class might make it more comfortable for some women, so I enjoyed helping him out. Even if I was never paid for the time I volunteered there, it was more than enough to know that those lessons might help those women out one day.

Trained as he was, Dimitri was able evade most of the self-defense tactics, but I was also able to overpower him more than once. Most recently, I had used one of his attacks against him, twisting his hand in an unnatural way and forcing him to the ground.

He laughed from the flat of his back, looking up at me and seeming more relaxed than I had ever seen him before, despite being several hours into our gym training. Rather than getting up in the normal and somewhat boring way he had every other time I had taken him to the mat, he instead rocked back onto his hands and shoulders and then kicked up, flying from the ground to a standing position in a thoroughly impressive way. He had done it so graceful and effortlessly, it was practically unfair.

"Wow."

He looked at me with a puzzled expression and I realized that I had spoken out loud. And now I was just staring at him.

"Have you ever thought about dancing?" Yeah, that wasn't any less random or awkward...

Dimitri cocked an eyebrow, a gesture that made him seem somehow more attractive, and then asked, "You mean like..." He gestured vaguely at me and it took me a second to understand that he thought I meant the very risqué style that I had been doing at the club when they had found me.

My eyes widened, self-conscious about my former job for the first time ever, even though he had meant no disrespect. "No! No," a thought struck me, working its way out of my mouth before I fully thought it through, "Not that people wouldn't enjoy that..."

Now it was his turn to look surprised and perhaps a tiny bit scandalized.

"...but I meant ballroom." I spat the last few words out as a desperate attempt to sound somewhat sane.

The shock melted from his face and the tension from his shoulders and he realized what I was actually asking him. "No, I haven't tried dancing. Not really, anyways."

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously.

"Well, Sonya and Karo used to dance in many of the town festivals. Occasionally they made me practice with them. However, that was more of a folk dance than ballroom."

A laugh escaped as I imagined Dimitri participating in some of the traditional Russian dances. "Well, I wasn't thinking about something quite so aerobatic, but you have a certain...grace...about you. Seriously, even when fighting, you look like you are moving across a stage. You'd be an amazing dancer, I'm sure of it."

He didn't look convinced...

"Here." I held my hands out, inviting him to dance. He just stood there like a deer stuck in a truck's headlights. "Come on," I insisted, "You taught me, now it's my turn to teach you. I promise I won't bite." I tried to mimic his little eyebrow thing and failed miserably. That seemed to be enough to break him out of his daze.

He stepped forward, placing his left hand in my right, and his right hand low on my waist. As nice as it felt, I ignored the butterflies in my stomach in favor of proper technique.

"Um...Dimitri...move your hand a little higher."

He was nowhere near anything inappropriate, but by the look on his face, you would have thought he had just been brazenly grabbing my ass.

"I'm sorry," he tried to step back from me, shaking his head in embarrassment, but I grabbed his hand and held it against me.

"Hey, wait." I moved to meet his eyes that kept trying to look anywhere but me. "You're fine Dimitri, you didn't do anything wrong. You just won't be able to lead me properly there. But if you put it here, right under my shoulder blade, you'll have a whole lot more control."

"And what am I controlling exactly?"

"Me." I smiled with one of those smiles I knew would capture guys at the club and I hoped it had some small effect on him. "Well, us. You'll use the music to guide me, to guide us, through the song."

The little twitch in his lips at my smile grew to a full grin. "Yeah? And would you care to tell me how I'm supposed to lead you?"

"Use your hands to push and pull. If you want me to step back, just step forward while keeping your arm firm and I'll naturally move back. When you want me to step towards you, use your hand on my shoulder blade to pull me gently in while you step back."

I suddenly felt pressure on my back, and I instinctively stepped forward. The only thing was...he never stepped back.

"Like this?"

His accent seemed deeper somehow. Perhaps it was because I was close enough to feel his low voice rumbling in his chest. I could feel his voice in my bones and it set me on fire.

"Perfect..."

We stayed there for a moment just staring at each other, holding each other. This was the second time today that I felt like I could kiss him. I remembered how he had pulled away before though. Before I could do something stupid – like rise a few inches on my toes and touch my lips to his – I stepped back out of his grasp.

"I...I should get some music."

"Yeah." He shook his head, as if coming out of his own thoughts. "I guess that would be necessary."

In truth, there was already some music playing. A random mix that he said we had used several times at the Academy for training sessions and he still used regularly. I teased him when the first 80's song came on, but he told me how we had worked out a compromise between the music I preferred (songs from this century) and what he tended to enjoy. Throughout practice though, I had noticed that it was nowhere near a 50/50 split. Dimitri apparently allowed things to be significantly skewed towards my personal preferences.

I pulled his phone from the docking station of the stereo, and replaced it with mine. I flipped to a mix of classic standards, looking for a good waltz to start off with, when I saw one option and smiled. I press play as the first piano notes of Lady Antebellum's "If I Knew Then" started and saw the recognition in Dimitri's eyes.

"I actually know this one."

"Thought you might, Cowboy." I held my hands up in formation and he stepped into position. "Now keep your arms and shoulders firm, and step forwards with your left foot...good...step to the side with your right...and now bring your left foot together with your right. You did it!"

Granted, he did all three steps looking down at his feet, but still, not bad for someone who had never danced before.

"This time, we're going to do it again, but backwards, and I want you to keep your eyes on me."

He was a little more hesitant this time, missing the beat of the song completely, but he was able to lead me pretty well regardless.

"Think of them like strike combos. Forward, two, three, then back, two, three." I continued counting the steps a few more times until Dimitri found his rhythm and confidence, and then he was able to take over without any more help from me. We didn't do anything fancy, just the basic waltz step, but I found myself falling into our dance more than I had ever fallen into one of my partner dances before. It felt natural to be in Dimitri's arms, following his lead as he looked to me for support.

As the song came to a close, Dimitri began to relax and so did I. He seemed...happy. The way he watched me made those butterflies come back in my belly, twisting it into the most pleasant of knots. The song changed and I showed him other moves, including turns and whisks and even a dip. Granted, that last one was motivated by the purely selfish desire to be completely wrapped up in his arms.

Another few hours went by, and Dimitri proved my theory correct: he was actually a wonderful dancer once he knew what to do. He had a gracefulness that was completely unexpected in a man of his size and I was frankly jealous at how deftly he moved. Our dance lesson became less and less structured with each song, and eventually we just swayed along to the music together rather than actually dancing. We talked constantly, but about nothing of any importance. I'm not sure I could have recalled the conversation but I doubt I'd ever forget the way that his accent sent shivers down my spine, or the way that his thumb gently brushed over my knuckles like a caress.

Suddenly, the slow music was broken by the gym door opening. The loud metallic crash echoed and Dimitri and I sprang apart like two teenagers caught in the backseat of a car. If only I could be so lucky.

Eddie looked between us before settling on Dimitri. I could see a private conversation pass between them and I momentarily felt annoyed that I didn't understand whatever was being said. So I broke their silence.

"We were dancing."

Now Eddie just looked surprised. "Dimitri dances?"

I looked over to the man in question, who seemed to be slightly embarrassed by our lesson being discovered. "Yes," I assured, more to Dimitri than to Eddie, "quite well actually."

"Oh really?" I could hear Eddies taunting tone underlying his words, and I let mine attitude match his.

"With a little help from me, of course. Are you here for your lesson?"

"No actually, though I'll take a rain check on it. Guardian Belikov here wasn't answering his phone and if he doesn't get going now, he's going to be late for his patrol shift."

I could hear Dimitri mutter something that sounded suspiciously like a Russian curse before taking off for his bag. I checked the clock and it we had apparently been in the gym for over half the day.

"Eddie, would you mind taking Rose back to the house? I have a change of clothes here and I can get in a shower if I head out right after."

Eddie looked about ready to reply when he got an odd glint in his eye, and followed it up with a smile that made me question his motives a little. "I got a better idea, Belikov. Why don't you have Rose shadow you tonight? Let her see what being a guardian is all about."

"I don't -"

"Yes!" I interrupted, a little louder than strictly necessary.

Dimitri looked at me a little surprised, but pleasantly so. "Really? Patrols are rarely eventful. It's more like taking a long hike than anything else."

"A nice long walk sounds perfect to me."

"Perfect," he confirmed.

Eddie cleared his throat with a smile. "Fine, now that that's all taken care of, I'll take Rose home so she can change while Dimitri clocks in. We'll meet you near the South gate, alright?" Eddie turned and started walking away before anyone could protest, offering one more playful smirk before I hurried to catch up to him. Perhaps I should have questioned why Eddie seemed so pleased with himself, but I couldn't spare the thought through my own nervous energy.

– DIMITRI –

They were five minutes late. It felt like an eternity though. I wondered if she had changed her mind, but Eddie would have called me if that was the case, right? I continued to pace a small path back and forth near the South gate, deciding to wait another five minutes before calling Eddie.

Thankfully, I only needed to wait another two. Eddie guided Rose towards me, his arm around her shoulders and hers around his waist. Both looked to be beaming. The picture made my heart skip in a small moment of jealousy, before I remembered that it was needless envy. Yes, Eddie loved Rose, but not in the same way that I did. Eddie was happy to have one of his best friends back, someone he saw as family. Rose was like a sister to him. They grew up at the Academy together and he thought she was dead for years. Quickly, my resentment morphed into gratitude. It had been years since I had seen Eddie look so relaxed and carefree. He had carried the weight of Mason's death and Rose's disappearance for far too long, and having her back seemed to free him of his guilt.

I could hear their laughter as they came closer. Rose shoved him playfully to the side and he picked her up, swinging her around while she let out a little shriek. Eddie wasn't the only one who seemed young and carefree. Rose almost looked like the seventeen year old that I remembered; the girl who laughed easily and didn't need to worry about the horrors of the world quite yet.

"Alright you two, behave now. No more dance lessons. And Rose, try not to distract Dimitri too much. He is supposed to be working after all." There was a teasing lit in Eddie's voice, but unless you knew better, his words could be constructed as completely innocent. I shot him a look and he returned one of mock surrender over Rose's shoulder before heading back the way he came.

A small silence passed between the two of us then. I couldn't help but notice how much more awkward these little moments were. Back at the academy, the occasional silence had never bothered me. Perhaps they seemed so much more poignant now because there were some many things that I wanted to say and simply couldn't.

"So," Rose broke the quiet, hesitantly, "Patrols."

"Um, yes." How did this manage to become so awkward? "There isn't too much to patrol shifts. It's mostly about keeping aware of your surroundings and looking for anything out of the ordinary." I proceeded to show her the ward lines, marked more clearly by path that the Guardian's footsteps over the years rather than the small carved stone boundary markers on the ground.

"Are Strigoi attacks common?"

"On places like Court? No. It takes a large group of Strigoi working together to attack a compound like this. It has happened in the past," I thought about the massacres leading up to Rose's disappearance, as well as the plan to attack St. Vladimir's that we had discovered and put an end to while searching for her. "It has been a while though. Strigoi typically prefer to work alone. You are more likely to be attacked if you are outside of the wards in a small group, though it is hardly a daily occurrence. That's why Eddie and I stay with Lissa and Christian whenever they venture away from Court, though. Lissa in particular is a higher risk because of her linage."

We talked about everything from how guardian partnerships work, to what a guardian's lifestyle entails when guarding a family. Much of this information was stuff that she would have learned through her years at school, but I was happy to answer any and every question she had. Until her last one...

"I've noticed something. I have yet to meet a Guardian who is married. Besides my parents, which is its own mess that I'm not quite ready to handle yet, I haven't even seen a guardian in a serious relationship. At least, you and Eddie don't seem to have anyone in your lives."

It was a valid observation, and one that I wasn't surprised she had picked up on. Rose had always been fairly perceptive, and though it was never specifically mentioned before, it didn't take a genius to realize that the guardians that she was most familiar with were all single.

"You're correct. It is fairly rare for a guardian to be attached to another guardian. I've only seen it a few times, but even those relationships don't usually end up in marriage since our jobs tend to be unpredictable and we can be moved anywhere around the world. It's less unusual for a guardian to end up with a Moroi, but even that doesn't happen often. For the most part, guardians stay single."

Rose's brows furrowed a little, seemingly disappointed with my answer. "So by becoming a guardian you essentially sign up to become a monk?"

I let out a sharp laugh at the idea. "I didn't exactly say that. I just said that actual relationships are rare."

It took Rose a surprisingly long time to realize what I was insinuating, but when she figured it out, her eyes grew wide. "Oh...well, do what you gotta do, man."

I smiled at how hard she was trying to not look at me in that moment. I knew I needed to tell her that I didn't live that lifestyle, but it was fun to see her squirm a little. However, it seemed like I was the one who would be made uncomfortable by her next question.

"Have you ever fallen in love?"

She asked it with such innocence, in honest curiosity, that it was hard not to blurt out the truth right then and there. Doing so would be a mistake, of that I was certain. I didn't want to scare her off with such a declaration and I was still unsure if it was fair to put that additional pressure on her while she was still adapting to this world. Still, I wouldn't – no, couldn't – lie to her.

"Yes. Once."

"What was she like?" She asked fascinated, before adding, "Or he. I'm not going to judge."

"She," I confirmed, wondering how she could be so blind to the sexual tension between us and question that I was attracted to women, specifically her. "And she...was the most amazing woman I had ever known." I suddenly realize the opportunity in front of me, to be open with her about our relationship and my feelings for her without saying too much and backing her into a corner.

"She snuck up on me. I literally never expected her and I wouldn't have ever dreamed that she would end up meaning so much to me. If anything, she should have been a thorn in my side, but I knew from the first time I saw her that there was something about her that made her different from any other person I had ever known."

"Love at first sight then?"

"Hardly," I laughed. "I'm pretty certain she detested me. I wasn't exactly thrilled being forced into her company either, truth be known. But...there was always a certain respect and understanding between us and I think that made the difference in the end. The more I got to know her, the more I became enamored with her."

Rose's smile made her eyes light up. She was entranced with our love story without realizing her part in it. "What she pretty?"

"Beautiful. Her hair, her eyes, her smile. Everything about her was beyond stunning. I have yet to meet a woman who can even come close in comparison. She was so beautiful, there was almost a physical ache to see her and not have her wrapped in my arms. It felt like there was a piece of me missing without her. But it wasn't just her beauty. It was her strength. She was so strong; physically, emotionally, mentally. In many ways, I think she was stronger than I was. She pushed me to be a better version of myself. I'm sorry to say that I often fell short of being worthy of her, but she always had faith in me. Eventually, it was hard to imagine living life without her." I looked at Rose, somehow hoping against hope that she would understand.

Unfortunately, she seemed completely oblivious. "Did she feel the same way?"

"I'd like to think so, but I can't say for certain." My breath felt heavy in my chest, weighing me down as we walked. "Unfortunately, we never got that far."

"What happened to her?"

"I lost her. I had a moment of selfish stupidity and I pushed her away. Then...she was gone."

Rose stopped abruptly, turning to face me and taking my hands in hers. "Dimitri..." she breathed, "I'm so sorry."

Seeing her honest sympathy for me felt odd. I hadn't meant to deceive her by telling her all this, but it felt like I was to a certain extent. I closed my eyes so I wouldn't have to look directly at her.

"It's okay, Rose. Like I said, it was my fault. I've spent years regretting the way I took her for granted. Maybe one day I'll be able to make things right with her."

Rose looked down at our hands, still clasped between us. "If you still love her," she glanced up at me, a bit shyly, "then I think you should. I bet she still thinks about you too. I'd imagine that you're a pretty hard guy to forget."

I bit back a bitter laugh at the irony. "You'd be surprised. Who knows though, maybe she'll take me back regardless."

I started walking again, continuing our trek around the grounds. She hesitated for only a moment, but soon followed, her hand in mine. I could see a little of her confusion from the corner of my eye, but she never pulled away from me and that was more than I could have hoped for. We spent the rest of my shift talking about other aspects of the guardian lifestyle, and about other things of little consequence, before heading home together. I never expected our first date to be like this, but if I was honest with myself, there were much worse ways to spend an evening.

Author's Note

I'm back! So sorry again for the delay. I have a new computer (a Surface Pro 3, if anyone is interested) and it is SO good to be writing and posting again. It's just an added bonus that I get to start by sharing one of my favorite chapters of this story :) I promised training would get more interesting!

The idea of Dimitri dancing (and specifically, Rose teaching him how to dance) had been with me since the start. I love the idea of Dimitri being a bit awkward about it, but eventually they both end up forgetting the whole dancing aspect and just start talking together as the music plays and they lose track of time.

I'm also would love to see your opinion on Dimitri talking about their past relationship without actually specifying it was Rose he was talking about. Personally, I think the poor boy needed to vent a little because he's been struggling with trying to let things develop naturally and not push her, but I could also see it being a bit deceptive of him to not give her all the facts.

Once again, I feel horrible for the delay. Remember that I'll post any update or delay notices on my Tumblr page (gigi256) so follow me there if you want to be the in the loop. Shadow Kiss DPOV and Meet Me in the Memory will resume normal posting schedules! Have a great week guys!