Coming Home to You (VA - Romitri)

Chapter 2: Alberta POV

Guardian Belikov knocked on my office door as soon as he was released from the clinic.

"Alberta," he said, "I'd like to restart Rose's training immediately."

I was startled for a moment by how much he sounded like Rose when he dropped formal titles - as she always did. Did he pick that up from her, I wondered, or were the two more alike than even I realized?

"Guardian Belikov," I responded, "surely she deserves a break - especially after fighting in the battle and at the caves. Not to mention her recent brush with darkness." I saw him wince before his guardian mask slipped back into place. "You could really use a break too." I continued. "Headmistress Kirova has cancelled classes for the next few weeks, and everyone is pitching in to clean up the campus."

"It's because of what happened in the caves that I need to start training her again immediately," he pleaded, his mask slipping again. I'd never seen him struggle so visibly for control, and found it fascinating. "I need her to be ready - to be the best she can be. You know this won't be the end of it. They'll try again. She has to be ready – I won't let her be taken!" Something flashed through his eyes as he said that, but it was gone before I could identify it.

His bluntness surprised me, and though I knew his point was valid, I still was hesitant to take away Rose's break. She was, after all, still a teenager – the mother in me wanted her to be able to enjoy it as long as she could.

"Come with me," I sighed, "and we'll discuss it over lunch." We walked to the cafeteria, debating whether relaxation or more training would benefit Rose more. And more training it would be - he wanted to extend her hours each day in addition to taking her class time while classes weren't in session. It was an insane amount of training, and I knew there was no way Rose would agree to it. We were still debating it as we walked through the cafeteria doors.

"She needs the time, Alberta." he was insisting exasperatedly, not for the first time. "She can't slack off now - she has to keep up her momentum and -"

He was cut off by a scream of "Comrade! Dimitri!" as the Rose in question barreled towards us. His feet seemed to move of their own accord, and he closed the distance between them faster than I thought possible. She launched herself at him, and to my utter astonishment, he caught her without breaking stride - as if it was the most natural thing in the world for a student to jump into her mentor's arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her to support her weight, hands resting on her butt in a very un-mentor-like way. In a possessive way, I realized, as I listened to the pair who seemed to have forgotten they were in the middle of the very busy cafeteria.

"Roza, milaya," he groaned, then "Oh, my Roza," as he pulled her closer and crashed his lips onto hers. And that kiss, well, that was the kind of kiss that could make the world burn.

When they pulled apart, he rested his forehead against hers and murmured to her in Russian. I blinked in surprise as she murmured back. In Russian. She smiled at him - a soft, sweet smile that I'd never seen on her face in my 13 years as surrogate mother. And his smile - I was sure no one had ever seen that smile before. It transformed his face and lit up his eyes, and I realized that until that moment, I'd never seen him without his guardian's mask on.

Did they know how that looked? Did they realize where their bodies were pressed together? She leaned in and purred something in his ear while running her finger down his chest and his hands clenched, pulling her tighter against him as his eyes darkened with - lust? Surely not? But that seemed to be exactly what it was. She shifted her hips against his suggestively and he growled. Oh yes, they knew. I shook my head as his legendary control snapped and he turned on his heel and carried her off before anyone could react. He strode out of the cafeteria, his duster billowing behind him and her giggles ringing out across the room as they made their escape.

I certainly wasn't going after them - not after that display. A quick glance around told me my colleagues shared my sentiment. Clearly, the questions would have to wait until the pair resurfaced. I only hoped I found them before her mother did.