The ownership of all characters related to and involving the novels of The Vampire Academy and Bloodlines Series remain the sole property of Richelle Mead, the Penguin Group and any affiliates.

No copyrights have been infringed on maliciously.

A/n: I've always wondered what Rose and Dimitri were discussing before Sydney bumped into them at Sonya and Mikhail's wedding in The Indigo Spell, so I decided to give it a whirl. Enjoy.

~ Nightfall ~

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"No," was my murmur to Rose whilst nuzzling into the fine, soft hair gathered at her exposed nape. "Not really." Running my nose up into the elegant up-twist of the heavy mass of her dark hair, I gently pressed my lips just below her hairline, but she was too intent on whatever it was that had captured her attention to pay any to me.

Twisting to the side, Rose tried to pull away, but my hold tightened. Coiling my arms more securely around her waist, I pulled her back into the possessive, protective shelter of my chest and whispered into her right ear.

"What exactly am I meant to be looking at, Rose? Because right now, all I'm interested in is what I have already have my arms wrapped around."

Ignoring my attempts to distract her, Rose snorted beneath her breath and wriggled against me. "Look up and you'll know what I'm talking about."

Reluctant to be distracted during what precious little time I had whilst off-duty; I nevertheless looked up and lightly rested my chin atop the crown of Rose's head. Following her gaze through the throng of dancing Moroi, two of them – one Moroi and the other not – caught at my attention, though not in the way that it had for Rose.

"Help me out here, Rose. I think I'm looking at Adrian and Sydney dancing. Are we looking at the same thing?"

"Yes!"

"Ah. And why is watching them dancing more important than me trying to kiss and entice you into a dark corner?"

"We're already in a dark corner, comrade."

Partially hidden by an alcove, low light and massive, potted Mayflower on either side of us in the hotel ballroom being used for the reception of Mikhail Tanner and Sonya Karp's, the low rumble of my laugh shook her slightly.

We weren't hiding; there was no need now, but it was more private.

"And the kissing part?"

Shaking her head as a chuckle slipped through lips coated in a soft pink gloss, Rose turned against me as my hands slide around her and over the mixture of satin and velvet she wore to help ward off the cold of a Pennsylvania winter. Long-sleeved and ending just above the knee, the bridesmaid dress was dark green and lovingly hugged every curve she had.

Sliding her hands flirtatiously up my chest and along the lapels of my black jacket, she linked her arms around the collar of my white dress shirt and rested them beneath the hair tied back low on my nape, pressing her curves tightly to the rigidity of my body.

"You want me to kiss you in front of all these Moroi? That's quite scandalous, Guardian Belikov."

Leaning down, I pressed my lips gently to her forehead before trailing them down to the pert point of her nose and lightly nibbling on her top lip.

"You would know all about being scandalous, wouldn't you, Guardian Hathaway? It's something you specialize in."

"Mmmm."

Lightly running the tip of my tongue over the seam of her lips, they parted on a shuddering breath. Sliding in, I slanted my head and kissed her deeply; absorbing her whimper of pleasure as I felt the bite of her nails dig into my nape.

Clutching at her hips, I ground her against my hardening erection; groaning as she rocked back into me and deepened the kiss, but I broke away before either of us got carried away. Closing my eyes as I rested my forehead against hers, I laughed without any real humour as Rose moaned softly at the loss of my lips.

"Dimitri?"

Groaning harshly at her plaintive whimper, the air shuddered from my lungs as I tried to calm my raging blood.

"We can't, Roza…I only have a thirty minute break before I'm back on perimeter duty."

Running hands that still trembled down from my neck and beneath my jacket, Rose rested against me as she tried to control her riotous breathing. Inhaling deeply, she tilted her head back and narrowed her eyes at me; the brimming desire mingling with a challenge.

"Half an hour is long enough, comrade."

"Not for what I have planned."

Blowing out a breathe, Rose sighed dramatically before giving up when she saw the sense of duty in my eyes took precedence. Turning around, she rested back against me and grumbled. "Fine, just remember that when you're off duty and I'm no longer in the mood, you tease."

Biting my tongue against reminding her that she was never not in the mood for sex, my lips rested against the top of her head again as I shifted her against my throbbing erection and barely managed to stifle a wince.

Surveying the masses, the instinct of observation kicked in automatically. Scanning the already known crowed, I watched for anything I might have overlooked before, thinking that Rose would do the same, but she was still more interested in other things.

"There's something going on with those two."

Following her gaze, I found it locked on Adrian and Sydney again. Glancing down at Rose, I watched her expression closely for a minute; searching for any lingering jealousy that might still lie just beneath the surface, but there was nothing more there to see than curiosity.

Unfortunately, that kind of curiosity made me squirm, because it usually meant that Rose was up to no good.

Trying to deflect, I asked. "What makes you think that?"

"Because of the way they're dancing together."

Looking at the pair again, I scrutinized every angle and body motion, but couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. They were dancing in much the same way as the other couples on the floor. Granted, they looked very different; Adrian was Moroi and Sydney was a human Alchemist, but apart from the breaking of that stereotype, there wasn't much else to see.

"Okay," I conceded. "I need you to help me here again, Rose, because all I can see is them dancing the same as everyone else. There is no…way, about it."

Sighing heavily, as if having to answer this made it obvious that she thought I was being deliberately dense, Rose shook her head.

"You are such a guy…there is dancing, comrade, and then there is dancing."

Understanding at least what it was that she wasn't actually saying, I decided to look more closely whilst Rose continued to talk quietly …"Adrian's never been one to follow the rules, not that I'm one to talk, but asking Sydney to dance in front of some of the most important Moroi in our world, a few other Alchemists and his father…I don't know what he's thinking."

"I think he's thinking that he wants to dance with a beautiful girl…and why shouldn't they dance together?"

"They should; I have no problem with it, and neither do you, but we aren't the Alchemists and we don't have their backwards, stigmatized views on human and vampire interaction. Adrian knows this, but he's still wants to dance with her and it's not just to put her in the spot light…why?"

"Judging from the black look of fury on his father's face, it might just be to get under his skin."

"No…he dislikes his father, but he would never do anything that petty. Not to anyone that he actually liked."

"He likes her?"

"Yes! That's what I've been trying to get you to see. I mean look at them closely. He's clearly enjoying being that close to her and so is she, but it looks like she's fighting him every step…like she's feeling guilty about it. There's definitely something there and I'm going to find out what."

"Rose, if there is it's none of your business. Leave it alone. You have enough to worry about tonight without involving yourself in something that might or might not even exist." She might not be on official duty, but she was still Lissa's primary guardian and would keep a close eye on her.

"Leave it alone, leave it alone…how can you say that to me? What kind of a friend would I be to Sydney if I didn't try and help them along? You know, work on Alchemist/Moroi relations." Chuckling, Rose canted her head.

"If for no other reason than to see Nathan Ivashkov pop a vein, and believe me, there is something going on."

"Roza…"

"Oh, oh, oh…the song's over. They're going to the bar."

"A relatively normal thing to do amongst friends." I pointed out, enjoying the challenge of arguing with Rose and wondering if she was really on to something or if she was just clutching at straws. Woman's intuition being what it was she could quite easily have picked up on something that I hadn't.

Rose continued to watch them walk to the crowded bar as a low murmur of wonder sounded from the other side of the ballroom. Walking onto the polished square of the dancefloor, the newly married Mr and Mrs. Tanner were dancing again and most eyes were on them.

"Oh, no."

Reacting to her low whisper of dread and the stiffening of her body, I looked down at Rose before looking back up again and following her gaze to the bar. Adrian was almost rigid with the kind of rage that you could almost taste in the air. His back to a few other Moroi, Sydney had a grip on his free hand, whilst the one holding his glass was white-knuckled with anger.

She was talking to him, but neither of us could hear him – dhampir hearing or not – over the noise at the bar. Whatever had set him off had come out of the blue; a few seconds ago, he had been relaxed and looked like he was actually trying to be good company, but now he looked on the verge of losing his it completely.

"What happened?"

"I don't know," Rose whispered, mystified. "They were fine and then the next minute he looked like he was ready to rip someone apart with his bare hands. Should we go and see if we can help?"

About to agree, we both began to move towards them on an unspoken understanding, but we had only taken a few steps out of the alcove before Adrian drained his drink, nodded once towards Sydney and walked back into the crowd.

"Well, what the hell?!"

Pulling Rose to my side at her bewildered mutter, I looped my arm around her waist. Looking down at her, she was frowning deeply at Sydney, who had been left alone at the bar. Looking uneasy for a few moments, she looked around her and walked away; returning to her own table.

"Well they obviously didn't need any help." I assured her, running the flat of my palm soothingly up and down her side.

"Really? It didn't look like they solved whatever problem they had…it looked like Adrian just walked away. I wish I could…" Heavy disappointment tinged Rose's pithy comment, but I could hear her regret as much as I could hear her frustration. She wished she could talk to Adrian about it, but knew she couldn't. It was still too soon.

"You can't solve everyone's problems, Roza." I reminded her gently, leaning in to kiss the top of her head as she coiled her arm around my waist, crossed her legs at the ankles and leaned into my side.

"Yeah, I know. Doesn't change who I am."

"No, it doesn't…but it does make me love you more for it."

"Smooth, comrade," she muttered, narrowing her eyes up at me. "Very smooth. Are you sure you don't have a little Abe in you?"

Grimacing, I covered the muscle movement but strumming my fingers up and down her ribs more aggressively than before, trying to tickle her in punishment as she squirmed in my embrace and laughed up at me. "If I did, Roza, we would have a serious problem."

"Oh. Why is that, Belikov?"

Stiffening against me, Rose closed her eyes and groaned quietly at the sound of a voice that was unmistakable…and unwelcome. Angling us to the side, we both found the owner of the voice – Rose's implacable father.

Watching us with dark, unfathomable eyes full of scrutiny and calculation, Abe Mazur's normal flamboyance had been ramped up for the big event; even amongst the rich elite of the Moroi world, he stood out in his bolder than bold colours, slick dress-sense and twinkling gold earrings.

"Hello, Mr. Mazur. It's nice to see you again."

Arching a black brow at my civility, Abe asked with quiet politeness that masked the true ruthlessness of his nature. "Is it? If it's so nice to see me, then why haven't we been seeing each other more often? Have you been deliberately avoiding me, Belikov?"

Considering that he was still trying to lure me into a hunting trip masquerading as a bonding session – with just the two of us – it was exactly what I had been doing, but I wasn't about to let that on. A ready excuse on the tip of my tongue, I didn't need to voice it as I was rescued by my girlfriend.

"Give it a rest, Abe. We're at a wedding; even you can respect that, right?"

"Of course, Rosemarie," he complied smoothly, smiling with what looked more and more like the type of paternal pride that seemed so out of place with him. "And it is a lovely night for a wedding, isn't it? Something about a matrimonial ceremony in the snow is very romantic, I've always thought."

Turning on his heel, he called over his shoulder as he walked away and back towards the throng. "Keep that in mind, won't you?"

"Why him?" Rose grumbled when he was out of ear-shot "Of all the Moroi, in all the world, why did my mother have let him knock her up?"

"Nicely put, Rose."

"You know what I mean. And what the hell is this bullshit with him hinting about marriage? I'm only eighteen –years-old for the love of God."

"Hmmm."

"Don't start again with that, Dimitri, because your bed will be very cold if you do without me to warm it up."

"Yes, Rose."

Eyeing me suspiciously, I smiled down at her but a flash of a blue and black paired with short blonde hair caught at my attention. Sydney had gone into one of the restrooms just off the main seating area whilst we had been grilled by Abe, but she had seemed so distracted that she hadn't noticed any of us standing here.

Rose noticed her now and called out to her. "Sydney?"

Almost skidding to a stop, the pretty human raised startled eyes to us. Smiling in greeting, she nervously smooth her hands down the side of her dress and nodded. Glancing at Rose easily enough, she still seemed a little reserved with me.

I had hoped with all the time we had spent together recently that she might feel more at ease, but most weren't quick to overlook what I was…or what I had been.

"Are you okay? I can't believe Adrian did that to you?" The compassion from Rose was loud enough to hear, but there was still a level of curiosity beneath it that I knew she couldn't suppress, even if Sydney had no idea it was there.

Shifting her weight, Rose chuckled to herself as her fingers played against my ribs and she rethought her question. "Then again, I kind of can believe it."

"I'm fine," she answered, the nervous habit of smoothing down her side went on until she seemed to realise what she was doing and clenched her fingers at her side. "I think the other Alchemists were more appalled than I was. It was out of line though."

Not surprised to hear her mild condemnation and knowing why she was saying it, I made it slightly easier for her. "Proprietary has never been Adrian's strong suit."

Throwing me a look of stark disbelief, Rose laughed loud enough that a few of the guests mingling around us gave her a startled look, but she wasn't going to let them bother her as she fished for more information…more ammunition for her meddling.

"If it make you feel any better, you guys looked really good together out there. Made it hard to believe you're mortal enemies…or whatever it is that Alchemists think. You even co-ordinated." Inclining her head towards Sydney, Rose smiled at their synchronicity.

Glancing down at herself, Sydney seemed dumbstruck by what Rose had pointed out and flashed us a look of what seemed like panic. It made Rose laugh at her. Sydney would think it was in reaction to what she had said; I knew that it was because she now had the proof that she was right all along.

"Don't look so panicked," she now pacified, tickling me secretly to let me know that she was going to say I told you so as soon as we were alone. "It was nice seeing a human and a Moroi look like they belonged together."

Smiling weakly, Sydney tried to chuckle, but she looked like she had swallowed something unpleasant.

"Yeah, I'll see you guy's later, okay?"

Walking away quickly, she re-joined her table and the scowling faces of the other Alchemists present, looking more uncomfortable with them than she had with us.

"You know what I'm about to say, right?"

"Yes, and let me save you the trouble…you were right, and I should know by now to never argue with you."

Grinning up at me, Rose reached up to wiggle the end of my nose. "Such a clever Guardian. You learn so quickly, it's like I own you already."

"You do." I agreed, nipping at her fingers as they trailed down my lips.

Checking the time quickly, the stains of the next song had just begun and the dance-floor was beginning to heavily crowd. Tugging Rose gently along with me, I spun her around on her heels in a small circle and pulled her into my arms, moving to the sensuous, strumming rhythm of the guitar.

"I only have ten minutes left…dance with me."

Cupping her left hip, I interlocked our fingers and pulled them to my chest, quivering lightly as her right hand rested in the small of my back and she looked up at me with eyes that glistened with mischievous intent.

She would enjoy this public display of affection in front of so many who were still secretly against the transparency of our relationship because it would continue to push the boundaries of what neither of us were willing to hide anymore.

"Are you trying to distract me again, comrade?"

"Is that even possible? When you latch onto something you're like a dog with a bone."

"That's not a very flattering comparison."

"No, but it is a compliment."

"How is being compared to a dog a compliment?"

"It's not the comparison to the dog that's the compliment, Roza; it's your dogged tenacity that is."

"You just can't leave the word dog out the sentence, can you?"

"All right, fine. Wrong choice of words. It's…your determined tenacity that I admire so much."

"Yeah…I know. I'm just screwing with you."

Whirling her around as she laughed, I pulled her tighter into my arms and brought her fingers to my mouth, pressing my lips to the knuckles as her eyes liquefied with returning desire. Cursing my time restraints, I began to count down the hours till I was off duty.

"When I go back out there, what are you going to do with yourself?"

"I don't know. I'm sure I can find some trouble to get into. Maybe I'll go visit Nathan."

Eyeing her warningly, Rose laughed. "Relax, Dimitri. You know exactly what I'm going to do."

"Find Sydney and begin your interrogation, I'd imagine. Just don't push it, Rose. Our world might slowly be starting to accept our relationship, but if one is truly developing between a Moroi and an Alchemist, neither side is going to be happy."

"I know," she said almost gleefully, patting the small of my back in her excitement. "Maybe we can start a revolution."

"I think you've caused enough chaos for one lifetime, don't you?"

"Nope. I'm just getting warmed up."

Ending our dance on a sigh of exasperation, I kept my arm around her waist as I walked to the fire exit of the ballroom. Nodding at the guardian on duty, we walked through and out into the cold of the Pennsylvanian night.

Shoes crunching on the hard frozen ground, Rose shivered against me. Buttoning my jacket, she reached up to kiss me as the white puffs of our breaths mingled, our tongues tangled for warmth and we searched for each other's taste.

Groaning in acute frustration, I pulled away and exhaled heavily. Kissing her on the forehead, I muttered. "I'm going to leave before I can't. Behave yourself. I'll see you later." Walking away quickly, I dug my hands into my pockets for warmth and uncomfortably shifted the rigid flesh of my cock.

"Bye, honey. Have a good time at work. When you finish, I'll have dinner ready for you."

Chuckling, I glanced over my shoulder and called. "What's on the menu?"

Walking backwards towards the door, Rose grinned widely and indicated herself as she displayed all that she had to offer before purring. "Me."

Shaking my head, I quickened my pace and sucked in huge gasps of cold, crisp air, hoping it would quench the fire in my blood as I thought to the mayhem that Rose was about to create. I might have felt sorry for whatever inquisition she had planned for Sydney, but I wasn't sorry for myself.

I knew exactly what was waiting for me…