Set after 'Love fades, mine has' but the events that followed didn't happen.

The noise was not a sound I was familiar with. I walked into the living room and listened closely, well not that close, it was hard to miss. Lissa and Christian came out of their bedrooms, hands over both of their ears as they looked at me from the second floor.

"What the hell is that?!" Christian exclaimed. I shrugged and looked out the window, marvelling at how fast the trees were moving in the wind. Over the screeching siren, I could hear the wind and the rain.

Christian's Guardian, Chester Allan, came flying down the stairs and practically dragged Lissa and Christian down the stairs with him.

"It's a tornado siren. Get downstairs!" Chester shouted at me and I was rooted in place. I had never seen one before, let alone been near one. I felt my skin pucker as the realization settled over me. I moved quickly and ran back into my room, grabbing the first aid kit I kept in there and my sweater before running back out. I glanced at the window again and was entranced.

I could see it maybe a couple of hundred feet away.

The swirling vortex almost had a beauty to it as it moved, sucking up everything in its path. And it was terrifying too.

"ROSE!"

I felt the impact of a body slamming into mine just as a branch crashed through the patio door, spraying myself and whoever pushed me out of the way with glass and rain. I gasped and tried to push myself up, but there was someone crouched over me.

But I didn't need eyes to know who it was; their smell gave them away.

"We have to get downstairs!" Dimitri screamed in my ear, but it was barely audible over the sound of the freight train barreling towards us. I nodded and let him pull me off the floor, stumbling with him towards the stairs. We made it into the basement and opened the closet door, which happened to be the bathroom. Dimitri pushed me inside and towards the tub, locking the door behind him. Not that it would do much, that tornado looked massive.

A quick peek into Lissa's mind showed me that she, Christian, Chester and Eddie were in the furnace room, and Lissa was frantic. She wanted to go find me, but Chester had her in an iron grip, trying to reassure her that I was safe and would have made my way down here with Dimitri. But that wasn't her only concern, she knew about my fear of storms.

I was pulled out of Lissa's head as my body was lowered and I flinched, not knowing what was happening. My eyes came back to focus and found Dimitri's above mine at an odd angle. Actually, he was at an odd angle. I looked around quickly to find that he had placed me in the bottom of the bathtub, and he was crouched over me, bracing himself just beside my head so he didn't put all his weight on me.

Dimitri ducked his head down and I could feel his breath dance across my shoulders, but his proximity didn't cause the usual heartache that it did. All I could think about was the storm.

I never wanted to admit it, but I always had a fear of storms, but at the same time I thought they were beautiful. It seems a little stupid, but it was terrifying how so much beauty could hold so much danger. I didn't notice that my hand had wrapped around Dimitri's forearm, or that my nails had dug in until he moved, gently placing one of his over mine.

He squeezed it gently and I loosened my grip, only to grab onto his hand when it felt like the whole house was shaking. Dimitri pulled his hand out of mine and I felt a small sting of rejection but buried my face into his chest when he used that hand to slip his arm around my waist, pulling us together. I could hear things shattering over the wind, but I did whatever I could to distract myself, so I focused on the sound of his heart beating frantically in his chest.

Dimitri didn't try to keep his weight off me anymore and wrapped himself around me, holding me tight against him with his face tucked into my shoulder. I could feel Lissa's fear tugging at my mind, but it was like my own fear won and kept me in my own mind.

A part of me was grateful for the howling wind. Dimitri wouldn't be able to hear my tears.

It felt like hours had gone by when the air became quiet, the only sound was our breathing. His deep and my frantic. Dimitri loosened his grip around me and sat up, looking down at me. I blinked a few tears out of my eyes and sat up too, trying to calm my laboured breath and to pull myself together. Unexpectedly, Dimitri reached out and pulled me back into his arms, stroking the back of my head.

"It's okay, Roza. It's over. You're okay," he soothed quietly, and I nodded against his shoulder. He didn't let go of me right away and just held me tightly, rocking me ever so slightly as I shook in his arms. I could hear him comforting me quietly in Russian under his breath and I buried my face in his neck, selfishly and masochistically savouring the feeling and smell of him.

"Do you think you can stand?"

I nodded my head numbly and let him help me out of the tub and I stood still for a moment, letting myself calm the shakiness in my limbs. He didn't stray far and kept his hand on my back as we exited the bathroom. From here I could see the stairs and all the debris that lay at the top of them. I shook my head and turned in the other direction and headed to the boiler room, knocking on the door.

"It's me," I called through and waited for the door to open. Eddie was behind the door and Lissa wasn't far behind, wrapping her arms around me in a death grip.

Are you okay? She asked me through the bond, to which I nodded and squeezed her back. I pulled back and she wiped her hand over my cheeks and kissed one of them before stepping around me and asking Dimitri if he was okay too.

"I thought we would get a warning for a tornado," I said thickly to Chester, wrapping my arms around myself in hopes to keep myself from shivering. I had abandoned my sweater upstairs.

"Usually you would, but I don't think they expected this one, that's why we only got the siren," Chester said, placing his hand on my shoulder. I looked at Christian and did a once over. He looked a little shaken, but otherwise fine.

Eddie and Chester lead the Moroi back upstairs and I leaned over and braced my hands on my knees, closing my eyes for a moment a taking a deep breath. It was over, but I still felt shaken. I stood up and turned around to find Dimitri leaning against the wall behind me, a look of sympathy on his face.

He extended his arm out and I realized he was offering me his sweater. I looked at his face and then back at the sweater before hesitantly taking it, slipping it over my body. I covered both my tank top and my shorts, but it was still warm from his body heat.

"C'mon. Let's go see what the damage is," Dimitri said softly, gesturing for me to follow him. Going up the stairs we only see a glimpse of the damage. There was a bit of glass and leaves on the floor and Dimitri stopped me, spotting a pair of shoes and handed them to me. They were Lissa's but I slipped them on, I was the only one of us who was barefoot. I was hoping that the damage would be minimal, but we were wrong.

We made our way to the living room and my jaw dropped. The patio door was simply a hole in the wall, and all the windows near it were gone, leaving the walls torn and crumbled. The floor was soaked and glass was everywhere.

"I'm not sure about the integrity of the stairs," Chester says, slowly and carefully testing the structure. I wandered towards Lissa and Christian and found a dry throw blanket, wrapping it around them.

"Rose, you must be freezing," Christian said with a frown, looking at my bare legs. I waved him off and moved them towards the dining table, out of the line of rain and wind.

"FUCK!" I heard from above and I stood up and went towards the stairs.

"Are you okay?!" I yell up to him.

"Yeah, just don't come up here. It's a disaster up here," Chester yelled back. I went back to Lissa and stayed with her, not really sure what to do. We weren't trained for this in the academy. Eddie came in shortly after with Dimitri and they both sat down, Eddie rubbing his face and Dimitri looking the picture of calm and collected.

"I just called court and they let us know that they were able to determine we were hit with an F3. They are sending out Guardian to help secure and bring the Princess and Lord Ozera back for the weekend until we can find accommodations," Dimitri said, looking from me to our Moroi. I nodded in understanding and sat on the edge of the table.

"We can get the two of you situated in the spare room downstairs," Eddie said, getting Lissa and Christian up and moving them downstairs in hopes of getting them back to bed and warmed up. I slid into Lissa's vacant chair and put my face in my hands. The rain had calmed down a little bit, but it was still blowing in a bit.

"Rose?"

I lifted my head and met Dimitri's gaze.

"If you want, you can go get a few hours' sleep in my room," he said. I sighed and rubbed my hand over my face. Dimitri drew the short straw and got the bedroom in the basement instead of having to share it with Chester or Eddie. I shook my head.

"No, it's okay. I don't think I'll be able to go to sleep," I said, "but thank you."

Dimitri raised a brow and stood up, pulling me from my chair. I followed him knowing that he knew exactly how exhausted I really was. I went back downstairs and followed into his room, noticing that the bathroom we took shelter in was his bathroom. Dimitri rummaged around in a few drawers before turning to face me again, handing me a pair of sweatpants. I took them with a small smile, turning to go into the bathroom to change.

I took a second to sniff the collar of the sweater before walking back into the bedroom. Dimitri had turned down the covers and placed his pillows in a position I noticed was similar to how I arranged mine. I walked over and climbed in and pulled the blankets up, giving Dimitri a grateful look.

Dimitri sat down on the desk chair after pulling it to the side of the bed, rubbing my shoulder.

"The storm is already calming down. You're safe down here, and I'll be here," he said soothingly, squeezing my shoulder gently. "I know you're scared of storms, but this one is almost over."

I flicked my eyes to his and raised my brows. "How did you know that I was scared of storms?"

Dimitri laughed and shook his head. "Roza, you were always agitated if there was a storm back at the academy, or restless if there was one during the night."

"You noticed that?"

"I noticed everything," he whispered, a quirk at his lips. I felt my cheeks flush and I tucked my nose into the sheets.

"Still?"

A genuine smile crossed his lips. "Even now, I notice everything about you."

I felt like I was on a cloud when I woke up. The atmosphere was completely different than when I went to sleep. I felt warm and safe. I opened my eyes and was confused about where I was. The walls were green instead of grey and the bed was so much bigger than mine.

It took a moment to remember what happened last night and I started to sit up, noticing a hand wrapped around mine. I followed the arm that was connected to the hand and found Dimitri slumped over in the chair beside the bed, held up on his fist.

I carefully pulled my hand out of his and got out of bed, pulling the pant legs up over my feet. I took pity on him, hunched over in an odd position. I leaned down and pushed the hair out of his face before carefully shaking him.

"Dimitri? Wake up," I said softly, not wanting to startle him. There was always a risk of waking a Guardian that was unprepared.

"Comrade?" I said shaking him a little harder. Dimitri lurched upright with eyes wide open, hand clamping down on my arm.

"Easy," I soothed, placing my hand over his, "I was just waking you up."

Dimitri blinked a few times and nodded robotically, sleep still clinging to him. He loosened his grip on my arm and sat up. I stood up straight and let him stand, pulling on the pant legs to free my feet.

"You look tired," he said softly.

"Yeah. Fear makes you tired," I said stiffly, a little ashamed of myself. Dimitri frowned and walked out of the room and into the bathroom. I rubbed my eyes and slipped Lissa's shoes back on and wandered upstairs. The holes in the wall had been covered a bit with a tarp from the garage, and most of the glass had been swept up.

"Hey," I said groggily to Chester as he sat on the counter drinking his coffee. He looked me over with a small smirk and extended the cup to me.

"This is the only one that survived besides this one," Chester said pointing to the one beside him, "And I know better than to come between Belikov and a cup of coffee. Especially after he babysat you all night."

"He didn't babysit me," I grumbled into the mug, taking a long drunk before giving it back to him.

Chester laughed and took another sip. "Oh yeah? He stayed by your side for most of the night. He only got up to help me put those tarps up and then he went back to his chair. I don't know how he slept in it."

I bit my lip and rummaged through the remainder of the kitchen, scrounging up a pop tart and pulling a juice box from the fridge. I didn't say anything which made Chester laugh again. I didn't know what to say. I chewed on it and paused my bite when I heard Dimitri come up the stairs.

"Hi," I said as I started chewing again.

Dimitri nodded and yawned, covering his mouth with his hand. I picked up Dimitri's mug and offered it to him with a small smile.

"Thanks," Dimitri said tiredly as he poured coffee into it. I nodded and rubbed my eyes, finishing up my pop tart.

"There should be additional Guardians here in about an hour. I went up and packed your bag," Dimitri said as he took a sip of his coffee. I furrowed my brows and looked around him, noticing my duffle bag by the stairs.

"You packed my bag?"

Dimitri nodded. "Yeah. Chester and I went and packed Christian and Lissa's bags last night, as well as bags for you and Eddie. By the time we got back down, the stairs were dead. I almost went through the floor on the way down," Dimitri explained. I pressed my lips together and scratched at my neck.

Once upon a time, I would have been giddy at the idea of Dimitri looking at my panties, but now it just seemed weird.

"Thanks," I said quietly. Dimitri nodded and rubbed his face, leaning against the counter. I fiddled with Dimitri's sweater.

"Thank you for last night," I said a moment later, "I was kind of a mess. And thank you for knocking me out of the way."

"No need to thank me. Last night is not something that the Academy trains you for. Your only human Rose, being scared of storms is normal," Dimitri said. I nodded and pushed off the counter, going to throw my wrapper into the garbage but found that the garbage can was busted up. I sighed and set the garbage on the counter instead.

"Where exactly are we going?" I asked.

"For now, we are being moved to a hotel. Once we can secure another house, we'll go there. You should probably go wake Lissa. They will need to get ready," Dimitri said as he set his mug in the sink. I nodded and headed off to wake Lissa.

I tapped my nails on the concrete as I watched the sunrise. It was weird to think that the sun could be so beautiful after a storm, but I couldn't deny it. Lissa and Christian were still asleep and I was using the last moments before going back on shift to regroup with myself.

I wasn't able to sleep because I kept dreaming about the tree going through the window. I didn't want to disturb my coworkers with my constant tossing, so I found myself here.

"You have always had a thing for rooftops."

I smirked. "That's because nobody used to look for me there," I joked. Footsteps crunched over the gravel before a body lowered itself beside mine, legs dangling over the side beside mine.

"I always knew where to find you," Dimitri said softly. I nodded and leaned back on my hands, tilting my head up towards the sun.

"I love the sun. I wish I could bottle it," I said.

Dimitri watched me for a few moments and a small smile grew on his face. I looked at him and grinned at him stupidly.

"What?"

Dimitri shook his head. "The small sacrifices we make," he said quietly. I smirked again. He had said that to me once before at the Academy. We were doing the exact thing then too.

"I always wondered what to do if there was a tornado at the Academy. Where would I go? I was on the fourth floor."

"The bathroom."

I chuckled. "Seriously?"

Dimitri nodded. "That was the designated spot for your floor. Mine was the laundry room."

"And the gym?"

Dimitri looked at me with raised brows. "Where do you think?"

"The equipment store," I laughed, "Even though that room was a death trap of its own. I would have been bludgeoned to death by flying objects."

"I would have protected you," Dimitri said quickly, "Full body shield and everything."

I grinned and looked down at my legs. "Yeah. I know that."

Dimitri bumped my shoulder gently. "You're up here because you can't sleep, aren't you?"

"Is it obvious?"

"No. I just know you," he stated. I shrugged.

"Do you though?" I asked with a dry laugh. "I mean, we barely speak to each other."

Dimitri grimaced and leaned back like I did, tilting his head up. "I know. I didn't think things would end up this way."

I choked on my laughter. "How did you think things were going to go?" I asked with a shake of my head. "You told me that you didn't want me anymore and then two months later we're assigned to work together as a team. And even then, I barely get two words from you."

"I know," he said quietly, "But that doesn't mean I don't wish things went differently. It took me a long time to come to terms with what happened. And a day doesn't go by that I don't wish I had done things differently."

I sighed and looked straight ahead again. "I know that I didn't help matters, but if you had let me, I would have been there every step of the way. I just wanted to be there for you. Even as just your friend."

Dimitri smiled tightly and looked at me with sorrowful eyes. "I know that now."

I met his gaze and sighed slowly. "You know, there's supposed to be this whole philosophy about rebuilding after a storm. That everything grows stronger."

Dimitri chuckled and shook his head. "That's forest fires, Roza. But I get the point," he said as he stood up, dusting his pants off. He offered his hand out to me and I took it, standing up as well.

"So?" I asked.

Dimitri cracked a smile at me and tucked that annoying curl that was always in my face behind my ear.

"I think that you and I have weathered too many storms not to be stronger," he said quietly.

"I agree," I said just as quietly. "So what is stopping us?"

"Nothing anymore. After the last few days, I don't want to be a stranger anymore."

"Good," I said with a smirk at walked back towards the door, turning to face him once I got to it.

"How about we go for a run once everything calms down? Like old times?"

Dimitri shoved his hands into the pockets of his duster and followed me.

"I'd like that.

Just a little bit I've had kicking around for a while.