This one-shot takes place around three years after the events of the first book. As far as this little story is concerned, the rest never happened.

They come first

RPOV

We had just left the restaurant at which Lissa and Christian had enjoyed a long dinner when my stomach churned and I felt nauseous. A feeling which had absolutely nothing to do with the excellent risotto I had enjoyed on my short break from guarding.

"Strigoi!"
I felt more than saw Dimitri getting ready to fight next to me as he pulled out his stake. No! That's not what he was supposed to be doing!
"Take Lissa and Christian and go!"
He stood his ground. "I'm not letting you face them alone."
"Dimitri, go! You need to protect them, keep them safe."
"Rose.." His voice was soft, and I knew he would stay and fight if it was upto him.
I briefly looked at him and softened my own voice when our eyes connected. "Stick to the plan. Go comrade, I'll be right behind you."

He hesitated for another moment before turning around and rushing Lissa and Christian in the direction of our car, which was parked around a corner just down the block. I could've sworn I briefly felt a brush of his hand on my arm, leaving the usual accompanying trail of electricity in it's wake.

I steeled myself to face the three strigoi who had spotted me and I could see heading my way. I sighed, I shouldn't have lied to Dimitri. No matter how much I wanted to follow him, it was unlikely I would come out of this fight alive. But I knew he wouldn't have left otherwise, and I needed him and Lissa to be safe. I would gladly give my life to save either of them.

DPOV

I briefly looked over my shoulder when we approached the car. Roza was no longer in my line of sight, but I could see something walking towards the place where I left her. More than one something.

At the sight of those figures in the distance I made up my mind. I unlocked the car and then pushed the keys into Christian's hand. He looked at them while I opened the door for Vasilisa. As I shut it behind her, he said: "You're going back for her aren't you?"
I didn't question how he figured out what I was going to do, having only just decided on it moments before myself. It didn't matter, and we all needed to move. "Get in and start driving as fast as you safely can. If you're attacked, light them up."
Christian was speechless but nodded. I continued giving him orders, hoping it would keep them safe. "Take the shortest road to Court and don't stop for anything. Get Vasilisa to call for backup to escort you and ask them to send guardians to this location."

While I was talking I pushed him towards the driver's seat and held the door open for him. He got in quickly, but before shutting the door he said quietly: "I'll look after Lissa, go help Rose."
I nodded and only waited for the split-second he needed to start the car and speed away. As soon as he hit the gas, I ran back in the direction we had just come from, hoping beyond hope that my Roza had held out long enough for me to keep our charge safe and come back for her.

What I was doing now went against everything we are taught, every rule we abide by and every promise I have ever made. As a guardian you never, ever, abandon your charge. It didn't matter that Vasilisa had Christian with her, who is quite capable of protecting her according to me, but just another Moroi in need of protection according to the establishment. It didn't matter to them that I had left another guardian behind to face danger. Our job is to protect and if necessary sacrifice ourselves. Rose knew that and would willingly give her life for our charge. I just couldn't let her.

I ran around the corner and nearly tripped over a body. The clothes weren't familiar to me and I didn't slow down, knowing it wasn't Rose. I heard the sounds of fighting up ahead and pushed myself to run harder. She was still fighting, still holding on.

In the next second I spotted her. They had moved further down the street, past the restaurant we had left what seemed like hours ago, about 200 yards away from where I was. There was another body near her feet and she was fighting the final Strigoi. She was magnificent in battle, but I could tell she was getting tired, and the Strigoi she was fighting was strong and fast. Before I had run half the distance, I saw him landing a kick to her stomach and she flew backwards, slamming into a wall. She tried to get up but she was injured and she slipped back to the ground. The strigoi was on her instantly and I could see her struggle as he pinned her down before going straight for her throat.

That's when I reached them. I had impossibly pushed myself even harder when I saw her fall, and I didn't slow down as I approached them. I charged and launched myself at the Strigoi at full speed. He was so focused on my Roza that he never saw me coming.

We rolled over the ground a couple of feet away from Rose, both trying to get the upper hand. He managed to get away from me for a moment and get back on his feet, but I was already up as well and facing him.
He growled. "How dare you get in my way!"
He was a former dhampir, and I could tell he was old, ancient even. In a normal situation that might have troubled me, but right now, with Roza injured just behind me, I refused to be intimidated by his obvious strength. It didn't matter how old or how strong he was, or how menacing. He wanted to hurt her, and I wouldn't allow it.

He moved from side to side, trying to find a way to take me down while he sneered: "You're just delaying the inevitable. You will die for your interference, and then so will she. You have only increased the duration of her suffering." He gave me a sinister grin. "Maybe I'll make you watch."
I ignored him, mirroring his every move and slowly, and seemingly unnoticed by him, moving us further away from Rose. It struck me then that I should keep him talking, keep him distracted until I could find an opening of my own.
"You will never touch her."
"Oh but I will dhampir, I will." He was silent for a moment before releasing an evil laugh that unsettled me more than his words up to that point had done. He was still chuckling when he told me: "I know what I'll do. I'll turn her. She's a decent fighter, she'll be useful." His grin faded as he regarded me. "And you can be her very first meal."

My heart dropped but I didn't allow myself to become distracted by his words. I would not let him near her. He fainted to my right before changing direction and rushing to my left side, swinging his fist towards my temple while simultaneously trying to kick my legs out from under me. He sure was fast, probably the fastest Strigoi I had ever faced.

Unlucky for him, my rage at seeing Rose injured had heightened my senses and I was waiting for him. I dodged his punch and raked my stake down his side. He hissed and recoiled, jumping out of my reach.

He was more enraged than ever and instantly attacked me again. The fight became more intense, no more taunting and he was no longer toying with me. He was intent on killing me, on making me pay. I hit him several times but also took several hits in return, each harder and more painful than the last one. Finally he knocked my stake out of my hand and landed a punch in my stomach. I doubled over, gasping for breath.
He stood over me and growled. "Your actions were futile. She will die, and there is nothing you can do."

Except there was...

While I was doubled over, I pulled my second stake out of my boot where it was hidden. When the Strigoi moved in, thinking to finish me off while I was weakened, I moved quickly and rather than watch me die, he saw my stake disappearing into his chest. His eyes widened but the rest of his body was frozen by the pain the stake was causing.
I straightened up, looking him straight in the eye as I said: "I told you, you will never touch her."
Then I used all my strength to push the stake the final millimeters to his heart. I actually put so much force behind my final move that the point of the stake went right through his heart, and I felt it nick the ribs behind it.

I didn't even wait for him to fall before I ran to Rose, dropping to my knees beside her.

RPOV

I was staring into the grim face of imminent death when it suddenly disappeared. For a while, it could've been seconds or days really, I drifted in and out of consciousness. At one point I could've sworn I heard Dimitri's voice, but it couldn't be. He was with Lissa. They were safe, they were both safe.

"Rose! Rose can you hear me?"
I opened my eyes and grimaced. Everything hurt. Who would've known flying into a wall would be so damn painful? Why did they have to be made out of brick anyway? Why not marshmallows or something?
"Rose?"
I blinked, finally focusing on the face hovering over me. No longer the face of death I had seen earlier, but instead the face I dreamed about.

"What are you doing here Dimitri? You're supposed to be with Lissa. Is she safe?" Even I could hear my voice was weak. Still, a look of relief appeared on his beautiful face when he heard it.
"I sent her back to Court with Christian. They'll be okay."
I gasped. "What?! You left her?"

He didn't answer but picked me up, lifting me into his arms like I didn't weigh a thing. It reminded me of that time he brought me to the infirmary back at school, after I faced my first Strigoi. Nathalie... I had dreamed of that moment for weeks, months even. Not because of the fight or the pain, but because of him. Still, that was years ago. I had taken his words to heart and I had grown up, focusing on my training and my charge.

"Why did you leave her? Why did you come back for me? You were meant to stay safe, to keep her safe!"
He was silent for a moment before he whispered: "I couldn't leave you behind."
In a small voice I asked: "But what about Lissa?"

He hesitated. "Do you remember what I said? After I saved you from Nathalie?"
Guess I wasn't the only one thinking about that night. I thought back to what he had told me, the words I had always remembered, had been unable to forget even. But that was so long ago, before I had agreed with him, before we had kept our distance and instead put all our efforts towards keeping our charge safe. So rather than answering his question and revealing how much those words still affected me, I said: "You should've stayed with Lissa. We have to keep her safe. She comes first."

He muttered under his breath. "Like hell she does." I looked up at him in shock. This wasn't the Guardian Belikov who everyone was familiar with, my former mentor, the man who trained me to be the fighter I was. This was the man I had seen in private moments when he lets his guard down, his feelings just as intense as my own. I was still in his arms, held close against his chest and despite the pain, I felt safer and more alive than I had done in a long time. I felt him take a deep breath. "Do you remember?"
I was unable to find my voice, so I just nodded.
"Everything?"
"You said.." now I was the one to take a deep breath but I couldn't hide the pain I felt. Not from my injuries, but from the heartbreak I had carried with me ever since that day. "You said she had to be our priority. That you needed to protect her at all costs."

"Roza.." was his only answer. I felt a tear trickle down my cheek. He somehow noticed, even in the dark, while he was hurrying us towards the place our car had been earlier, perhaps hoping someone would be there or backup would find us?
He stopped walking, looking deep into my eyes. To my shock, all his emotions were out in the open. I could read them all clearly in his eyes and on his face. I was mesmerized.
He looked sad as he said: "Yes, that's what I told you. I suppose I be glad you listened to me, it's what allowed us to work together as well as we did." For a moment he looked away, struggling to regain control?

He started walking again, slower this time, and he looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. I hesitated before whispering: "You also told me that if you let yourself love me, you wouldn't throw yourself in front of her. You would throw yourself in front of me."
His eyes flew to mine. "You remember."
It wasn't a question this time, but a statement. I nodded, caught in his gaze and unable to look away. "You came back for me."
"Yes."
"You protected me."
He looked away from me, instead looking ahead. Pain flashed across his face. "I couldn't let you die Roza, I couldn't leave you."

I swallowed before finally getting to the point, asking the question which mattered the most. "Does this mean... did you let yourself..." I didn't know how to say the words running through my mind, filling me with hope and dread at the same time. In the end I didn't need to finish it, he knew what I was asking.
He chuckled without humor. "It was never about letting myself love you Roza. That was just me struggling for the control that I lost the second I laid eyes on you."
"What?" My brain was foggy, I had a hard time processing his words.
"It didn't matter whether I let myself love you or not, whether it was wise or appropriate. I eventually realized that I fell in love with you the day we first met. That there was simply no way I couldn't love you."
He finally looked back at me, his gaze soft and tender. "I love you Roza. I have done for years."

I stared back at him, unable to tear my eyes away from his. It was like time stood still, and my world as I knew it was turned upside down. The words I had longed to hear three years ago, had secretly hoped he would express day in day out for months, and here they finally were. Everything I had felt, had denied myself for so long, came rushing back to me and I was overwhelmed.
He looked away from me, checking our surroundings for danger or possibly hoping a rescue team would jump out of the shadows. Nothing happened, and he ended up walking to a wooden bench set on the sidewalk and sat down with me on his lap, one arm still around me, holding me close. With the other he pulled a phone out of his pocket. "I'm going to call headquarters, ask for backup if they haven't sent any yet."

He immediately followed through. He spoke calmly and clearly but I didn't listen to his words. I could feel the soft rumble of his voice where I rested against his chest, while I was trapped in an unending stream of thoughts and what-if's. I didn't notice the call was over until he brushed a lock of hair out of my face and concern laced his voice as he asked: "Rose? Are you okay?"
I looked at him, still unable to voice a response. His eyes were worried and there was a hint of agitation in his voice. "Do you think you're going into shock? They will be here in a couple of minutes, just focus on me. Talk to me Roza."

I opened and closed my mouth once, twice, three times without making a sound. Seeing Dimitri was getting more upset by the second, I finally managed to pull myself together and speak the only words that had been able to penetrate through the fog in my mind. "I love you too."

DPOV

My heart stuttered and I felt my eyes widen. "You.. you do?"
When I told Roza I loved her just now, it was without any expectations on my part. I had told her we couldn't be together three years ago and that was the end of it. It didn't matter that I figured out soon after that I was already lost and that my feelings for her couldn't be surpressed. I couldn't act on them, and honestly, I never expected her to return them in the same measure. She was young, she was just getting started in life and I figured she would eventually fall for someone else. I didn't think she'd wait for me, wait for a day that might never come. That's why I never hinted at my feelings, thinking it would only make our lives and partnership that much more difficult, especially if she was no longer interested in me that way.

I honestly didn't know why I told her tonight. Maybe it was a result of seeing her go down, having to face the reality that she could have died. Would have died without knowing how I felt. I guess I thought she should know, especially now that I had broken the rules by abandoning our charge and would probably be punished for it. Rose deserved to know why. As for her response. Well.. I did not see that coming.
I was pulled out of my thoughts when her hand touched my cheek. "Yeah, I do."

Looking down at the beautiful woman in my arms, I felt lighter and happier than I had done in years. I could see it clearly now, in her eyes and the way she looked at me. I pulled her a little closer and she seemed to melt against me, her body fitting perfectly against mine. And there, on that bench in the middle of the city, I finally bent my head and kissed her, like I had dreamed of doing so many times. The reality of her lips against mine was infinitely better than I had ever been able to imagine.

Neither of us broke the kiss until we heard cars racing up the street towards us. Help had arrived, and we needed to get Rose checked out at the hospital at Court. I got into the back of a car, still holding Roza in my arms. I didn't care what anyone thought, I wasn't going to let her go.
In the relative privacy of the backseat, Rose leaned her head against my chest and whispered: "What are we going to do? What about Lissa? She comes first."
I quietly answered: "We'll figure it out." I once again pulled her close and pressed a kiss in her hair before resting my head on top of hers. "And to me, you will always come first Roza."

Author's note:
The idea for this one-shot popped into my mind last night and I just had to write it down. I took a little break after finishing my story a couple of weeks ago, and honestly didn't think I'd return this soon, but well, I guess I wasn't completely done with Rose and Dimitri yet after all. I hope you guys enjoyed it!

I plan on adding any one-shots I will be writing in the future to this story, rather than posting them separately, so follow if you want to make sure you don't miss out on them. And of course, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one!

Disclaimer: I don't own Rose, Dimitri or any other part of Vampire Academy. All credits to Richelle Mead.