It's been six months. Six whole months that she had all the freedom she wanted. Six months of enjoying the sunlight. And almost six months without him. He'd only visited them once. Too dangerous he'd told her one night they were talking. And even though Rose knew she would miss the perks of the outside world she just couldn't wait to have her gloomy idiot.
She didn't know how to call Dimitri. Boyfriend wasn't doing justice to what they have, something more would imply marriage or whatever. So till further notice he's her idiot.
She feels Lissa tensing next to her. She looks up and sees the gates opening slowly.
"It's going to be ok." Rose tells her and squishes her friend's hand softly.
"I know." Lissa responds but not convincingly.
"Hey..." One more yet stronger squish from Rose forces Lissa to look at her.
"As long as I'm next to you, you will be fine. You hear me?" Rose asks decisively. "No matter what." She adds.
"No matter what." Lissa repeats like a mantra and closes her eyes for a moment.
It's almost sundown when they arrive. Courtesy of Dimitri of course since he wanted to protect them from all the 'royalty' and the guardians that are about to start their day.
Dimitri is at the main entrance with an unknown woman next to him. He's all tall and gorgeous and he's avoiding eye contact with her.
"Queen Tatiana is expecting you. Please follow me." The woman says and Lissa hesitates for a moment before she starts walking slowly towards the office.
"Not even a kiss as a welcome back gift." Rose teases without making eye contact. Her tone serious even though she's trying to sound playful.
"Let's get through this first Roza. I'm already stressed as it is." He blatantly admits. Her whole body stiffens. It's one thing for her to be nervous, but seeing him like that it's another. She's about to freak out when she feels his hand on her lower waist. The warmth is enough to calm her down without a single word being spoken.
Rose lost track of time. Tatiana was talking so much, saying every nonsense she could think of only to end up to the conclusion that Lissa didn't kill the former queen so she and Rose were free to return to the academy. Under strict conditions and terms but they were back.
"What was all this shit about?" Rose asks when they leave the office. Lissa was send directed to her classes escorted by a guardian.
"We found clues proving that Lissa couldn't have murdered the Queen as I told you on the phone. She had no choice but to accept it. More info tonight." He adds greeting another new guardian Rose has never seen before.
"You weren't joking about the newcomers." Rose says. "I feel like I know no one."
"Lots of things changed." He stops on his tracks. "You have to remember that we are not in talking terms. Or like we were anyways." Dimitri tells her the moment they are in a safe distance from the building.
"So you won't upset your new fling? Ok." She says and starts walking again. He reaches out, grabs her arm and pulls her in an alley. Her back is against the brown stoned wall and he's hovering over her.
"So I can continue to be on her good side." He responds and she shrugs.
"Is that jealousy Roza?" He asks with a smirk.
"I'm not the jealous type comrade." She says. Her eyes never leaving his, testing if he's hiding something.
"Hmm..." he says. "Then you won't mind seeing us together all the time." He continues.
"Nope. I'm cool like that." She says but her inflamed cheeks are betraying her.
"It wouldn't kill you if you admit that you are not ok with this..." he says and twists one of her pigtails with his fingers softly.
"I mean you knew about it but still, you weren't here to witness it." He continues and Rose wants to slap that smirk off his face.
She's trying to come up with something clever but she ends up saying "I'll be fine."
That damn smirk deepens even more. He lowers his head enough and now his lips can barely touch her ear when he whispers something in Russian.
Before she has time to react he brushes his lips on her cheek and then he leaves her alone and confused as she slowly turns even greener.
She was punching a dummy when he sees her again later that day.
"We aren't supposed to talk." She reminds him when she feels him next to her. She'll never admit that in the dummy's face she pictures Tatiana. The thought alone makes her smile.
"I know..." he responds and places his hands on her body to fix her nonetheless perfect posture. One at her ribcage the other on her lower back.
Their first training comes to her mind. Same butterflies waking up. But this time they had people around them.
"Turn a little bit." He says and changes her stance, using his hands as leverage.
"I've not forgotten what you taught me." She says yet she stabilizes her feet to the new position.
"I know. But maybe you got a bit rusty. Which is normal." He says. She feels his index moving across her spine and she shivers.
"We need this," he says trailing his finger up until her nape "to be in one straight line."
His hand cups her whole back neck without him realizing it. It's like a reflex.
"I remember." She whispers not trusting her voice a lot right now. She's trying to keep herself from turning to look at him. She's almost proud of her for keeping it together when one of his hands reaches to her hip, pulling her leg back.
She loses her balance for a moment.
"Leg back so you can channel even more power." He says. His chest glued on her back. "You've forgotten Roza." He whispers to her ear again but this time she's not strong enough. She turns her head to look at him. She's about to speak when Tatiana shows up.
"Guardian Belikov." She says with a loud voice. "A word." It's all she says and leaves.
He spent the next thirty minutes with Tatiana trying to convince her that He should continue helping Rose with her training. That Rose still is the perfect fit for the next great guardian and that this has nothing to do with Lissa and her wannabe queen status.
Dimitri is at his dorm trying to meditate when someone knocks on the door. He chooses to ignore it. The probability of Tatiana or one of her minions to bother him is making him stressed.
"Comrade?" He hears the only voice in the world that can calm him down and he stands up immediately.
"Hey." He says without even bothering to cover his naked chest.
"Now that's a way to greet me." Rose says and smiles. "Am I bothering? You took your time to..." She doesn't finish her sentence.
"You never bother Rose. Never." He replies but he doesn't step away so she can enter the room.
"I was wondering..." She starts saying as she raises her hand and lets it linger over his chest without truly touching the skin.
"Yes?" He says.
"I mean I know we said that we should keep our distance and all that but... maybe..." she lifts her eyes to look at his but she gets lost on his lips.
"Maybe?" He's not going to make it easy for her. And on top of that he has the audacity to lick his lips knowing very well where her eyes are flexed.
'Two can play this game.' She thinks and steps even more to is personal space.
"I had this crazy thought of sleeping and waking up next to you." Rose says using his own words against him. The gulping and the heavy breathing are all the indications she needs to continue.
"But then again you are right. We should test our luck that much." She says and with one swift move she pulls him down for a kiss.
He breaks the kiss as if he's out of breath. His forehead rested against hers. His fingers clutching the skin on her waist. His teeth biting his lower lip, still tasting her. Her hands still in his hair.
"One thing before I go. What did you tell me earlier? The Russian phrase." She asks.
"If I answer that you'll leave?" He responds with a hoarse voice. His lips lingering against hers, almost kissing her again.
"That's the plan." She says but her actions contradict her words as she closes the distance between their bodies more.
"It means 'You are the only one in my heart.' It also means that you aren't going anywhere." And with that he lifts her up, wraps her legs around his waist and locks the door behind them.