Inspired by "This Love". Rose and Dimitri finally tie the knot, and during their first dance, Rose reflects on the events that led them to this moment. Rating: general audiences
"I now pronounce you husband and wife."
Cheers rang out as Dimitri pulled Rose into his arms, kissing her as if they were alone. Rose wound her arms around his neck, drawing him closer as the cheers turned to whistles and calls of "get a room". Rose knew without looking that that last comment came from Christian, who was standing behind Dimitri as a groomsman. Without breaking the kiss, Rose flipped Christian off. She could hear him laughing over the cheers of the rest of their guests. Dimitri finally broke the kiss, pulling away.
"I love you, Roza," he murmured.
"I love you too, comrade," she whispered back.
An hour later, after all the pictures were taken, Dimitri and Rose were finally ready to enter the reception as a married couple. Rose gripped Dimitri's hand tight as they waited for the DJ to introduce "Mr. and Mrs. Belikov".
A moment later, Rose and Dimitri heard the DJ call out for the bridal party and the groomsmen to enter, and then he introduced Rose and Dimitri. The doors in front of them swung open again, and the pair entered the reception hall to more cheers.
Their dinner passed quickly, with the wait staff quickly clearing plates and serving each course on time. Rose and Dimitri had chosen a simple dinner and had forgone a dessert course in favor of cutting the cake as soon as the entrée was finished. As the dinner concluded, Rose and Dimitri transitioned to cutting and serving the cake. Dimitri tenderly fed Rose her piece of the cake, and as Rose licked the frosting from his fingers, she saw his eyes darken. He returned the favor as she fed him his piece, and Rose grinned. They shared another kiss, with Dimitri whispering against Rose's lips, "Don't tempt me, Roza."
After the cake was eaten, Rose and Dimitri moved to the dance floor for their first dance as a married couple. It had taken them a while to decide on an appropriate song for their first dance, but as soon as Rose heard the one they had chosen, she knew it was the right choice. Dimitri had agreed after she played it for him.
Dimitri held Rose close as the first notes of the song played through the speakers.
Clear blue water
High tide came and brought you in
As they danced, Rose recalled the first time that she met Dimitri. She remembered seeing Dimitri for the first time, hiding in the bushes, staring up into the room that Rose shared with Lissa in Portland. She recalled seeing him step in front of them while they tried to run, only mere feet away from their escape vehicle. She recognized how hot he was at that moment, even as he halted their attempt.
And I could go on and on, on and on and I will
Skies grew darker
Currents swept you out again
And you were just gone and gone, gone and gone
Rose buried her face in Dimitri's chest, hiding her glistening eyes, as the memory of the rescue party from St. Vladimir's coming back after the attack without Dimitri rose in her mind. The pain she felt at that moment, knowing that he was gone, was unbearable, and some of that pain swept through her again now.
In silent screams and wildest dreams
I never dreamed of this
Dimitri had always been infallible to her. Everyone at the Academy called him a god, and he had only upheld that image in their daily training sessions. She never thought that a Strigoi would have been able to take Dimitri down.
This love is good, this love is bad
This love is alive back from the dead, oh-oh, oh
These hands had to let it go free, and
This love came back to me, oh-oh, oh
Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh
But through it all, Dimitri had been returned to her. Their love couldn't be kept down by anything, including Dimitri essentially coming back from the dead after his restoration from being a Strigoi. They had been through more challenges as a couple in the first year of knowing each other than most people face in their entire lives and relationships. In the years since, their relationship had only gotten stronger, finding a nice lull outside of the near-constant drama and rules that had consumed the start of their relationship.
Tossing, turning
Struggled through the night with someone new
Baby, I could go on and on, on and on
Lantern, burning
Flickered in my mind, only you
But you were still gone, gone, gone
As Rose and Dimitri moved around the dance floor, a pang went through her as she met Adrian's gaze. He was sitting next to Sydney, their son on his lap and their daughter in Sydney's arms. It had been a few years since Adrian and Sydney had gotten married in Vegas while on the run from the Alchemists, and in that time, they had grown their family, something Rose loved being a part of. Adrian smiled as he met Rose's eyes, and Rose knew all had truly been forgiven. She hadn't doubted it after their conversation in Texas when Nina restored Olive, but every now and then, she couldn't help but think back on their relationship and the mistakes that Rose made.
In losing grip on sinking ships
You showed up just in time
This love is good, this love is bad
This love is alive back from the dead, oh-oh, oh
These hands had to let it go free, and
This love came back to me, oh-oh, oh
This love left a permanent mark
This love is glowing in the dark, oh-oh, oh
These hands had to let it go free, and
This love came back to me, oh-oh, oh
(This love, this love, this love, this love, oh-oh, oh)
(This love, this love, this love, this love, oh-oh, oh)
(This love, this love, this love, this love, oh-oh, oh)
(This love, this love, this love, this love)
Your kiss, my cheek, I watched you leave
Your smile, my ghost, I fell to my knees
When you're young, you just run
But you come back to what you need
Unbidden, Rose recalled being in the chapel before Tatiana had been murdered. Dimitri hadn't wanted to see her, too caught up in his guilt over his time as a Strigoi. His words came back to her in that moment: Love fades. Mine has. Those words had destroyed her in the moment, but Rose knew now that Dimitri hadn't meant them. He had only been able to push Rose away while struggling to forgive himself, but in the end, he came back to her. He came back to what he needed.
This love is good, this love is bad
This love is alive back from the dead, oh-oh, oh
These hands had to let it go free, and
This love came back to me, oh-oh, oh
(This love) This love left a permanent mark
(This love) This love is glowing in the dark, oh-oh, oh
(This love) These hands had to let it go free, and
(This love) This love came back to me, oh-oh, oh
Rose knew that she was forever ruined if, God forbid, anything happened to Dimitri. Their love was one that Rose would never be able to get over, no matter how long she lived. It truly had left a permanent mark on her.
(This love, this love, this love, this love, oh-oh, oh)
(This love, this love, this love, this love, oh-oh, oh)
(This love, this love, this love, this love)
This love, this love came back to me, oh-oh, oh
This drabble was a little different than my other ones in the sense that this is the only one (and will likely remain the only one), with the lyrics to the Taylor Swift song actually showing up in the drabble in full. I felt that that format worked best for this one, and I hope y'all enjoyed it!