DPOV
"Jensen Dean Belikov, put the paint brush down!"
I looked up from my newspaper to see Rose holding Jensen at length to keep him from changing her hair color from brown to yellow. Jensen only squirmed and laughed, trying even harder to attack Rose with the brush.
The twins, one clinging to Rose's leg and the other hanging on the end of her sweater, laughed each time Rose would try to move away from Jensen to avoid having any paint on her. Rose smiled, despite her little comical situation, when she saw me watching.
"Um…a little help here," she pleaded, her smile growing wide.
I put my paper down on the table, chuckling, as I moved toward the mischievous trio and their helpless mom.
"Roza, haven't you learned by now that it's dangerous to interrupt these three during playtime," I joked pulling Jensen away form her hair.
He tugged onto a handful of hair and it came loose form the high bun Rose wore it in, framing her face. Before I could help it, a small gasp escaped form between my lips. It amazed me that after being together for almost six years, my rose still had this affect on me.
"Somehow I thought it would get a little easier to leave the house once the kids were older but it seems its only getting much more difficult," she huffed, not seeing my reaction.
I recovered and plopped Jensen on the floor, pulling the paintbrush away. It didn't seem to bother him too much. He sat there clapping his blue and yellow palms together. I went to help unhook the twins.
"You really thought it was going to get easier?"
"I hoped it would," she admitted sheepishly.
We sat Jared and Jovi beside Jensen on the floor. Rose stood and exhaled dramatically.
"I was just trying to get them dressed. The little monsters attacked me!" she said bending to tickle everyone one of them. The giggled and shied away until Rose stopped to adjust her clothing.
"Well if they're this bad now, imagine how they're going to be at the wedding," I commented.
She groaned and sat down at the kitchen counter.
"This is going to be a long night." She rested for a second and then looked me over. "And you're not even dressed yet!"
Her exclamation made Jovi look up and laugh while Jensen and Jared were making a get away.
"It seems you have four kids instead of three," Janine commented coming into the room. She was already dressed for Christian and Lissa's wedding. I rolled my eyes and received a nudge to my stomach from Rose.
"Thank goodness I have you though to help me. Can you get Jensen dressed? He's the little rebel." "Oh my grandchildren are all little angels," she cooed.
"Is that so?" I inquired. "Then why is Jensen dragging Honey by the tail?"
Janine looked down where Jensen was yanking the dog across the floor. She went and lifted Jensen up sitting him on her hip.
"Oh I can handle him. I handled your father didn't I?"
So much time had passed after everything that had happened, no matter how traumatizing and intense it was, that Janine found ways to make light of the subject and Rose did her best to do the same in hopes of being close to her mother again.
"By handle, do you mean letting Abe beat your daughter?" I asked raising a brow. I didn't think any of it was funny. There was so much betrayal and death; I blamed Janine for almost everything that happened to Rose and held a strong grudge against her. I made sure she didn't forget that any time I had the chance.
"Dimitri," Rose hissed elbowing me.
I looked down meeting her beautiful brown eyes. "I'm not going to let her forget her role in all of this," I truthfully told her. I pushed past Janine toward the bedroom.
Even after I closed the door I could hear Rose apologizing.
"…just a little protective. He'll come around." She didn't sound so sure.
"When I came back I thought you'd be the difficult one. That man is beyond protective. He's borderline controlling. Your father-"
"Don't even go there. Dimitri is…a million times the man Abe ever was. He's overprotective because he loves me and he would do anything to make sure I don't get hurt again…even if it means being a big jerk," she added. I heard a smile in her voice at that last comment.
It was a while before I heard Janine respond.
"He does seem to care for you," she said quietly. In a way your father once did for me, was silently added at the end. "Go on. Get changed. Christian and Lissa aren't going to wait for you two to start their wedding," Janine ordered, her tone growing lighter.
"They should. Dimitri's the best man and I'm the maid of honor," Rose laughed moving toward the bedroom. She came in and found me sifting through clothes in the closet.
"I laid out your clothes already. Ironed and everything."
"What would I do without you?"
"Not survive very long," She giggled. "I don't know how you made it all those years without me in the first place."
"Me either."
She stood on the tips of her toes and caught me in a sudden embrace.
"I know you heard what I said," she said staring at me unblinking.
"Every word of it was true. You may think I'm being a…jerk-" I started, using her word "but it is because I love you. Very much."
I held her a little bit tighter, close as possible and we kissed. I pushed the curtain of her hair back and cupped her face, running my thumb along the smooth skin of one cheek and the jagged part of the other.
Beautiful.
Rose pulled away, grinning, giddy.
"If we keep going like this, we'll never leave."
"I'm sure we can spare a few minutes…hours…" I pushed moving toward her again but she held a hand against my chest holding me back, laughing.
"Later. I'm all yours," she promised.
She pulled on the silver maid of honor's dress that Lissa had picked out. After a long time of being distant friends, Rose and Lissa forgave each other leaving everything behind them. Lissa naming Rose as maid of honor was another step forward in improving their relationship.
I showered and pulled on my black slacks, shoes and the white t-shirt to go underneath the nicer one.
As Rose helped me button my dress shirt we shared silent glances and messages.
We knew each other so well now; words didn't need to be spoken.
"I hope this wedding isn't too long," Rose said aloud.
Catching the bright gleam of her eyes I agreed. "Me too."
We left for the wedding soon after. It wasn't as intimate and small as Rose and mine had been but more of a huge gathering. Lissa had such little family except for distant relatives a hundred times removed and the crowd was mostly made up of Christian's equally distant relatives, people from work, the two rows that my family took up and a few of Lissa's friends.
Rose and I shared glances, as we stood apart in the two separate lines of the bride and grooms mates. I couldn't help running my eyes over the curves her body made encases in the fitting dress.
When the wedding finally started, I was almost too grateful to have Rose in my grasps again. It always felt like this when I was separated from her for any amount of time and I think it was the same for Rose. We'd be apart for only minutes and then we'd have to find each other. I didn't even really work at the office downtown any more because I preferred working from home so much. On the rare occasions I did go downtown, Rose and the kids were always with me. It seems like a bit much, some mind find this crazy, and one would think we'd get tired of each other but everyday was an adventure.
Rose squeezed my arm where she held on to as we walk down the aisle at an even pace with the music. We passed our friends and loved ones; Janine with Jensen and the twin squirming beside her; my mom, sisters, grandmother, neice, nephews…so much family. In the beginning things had seemed so awful and terrible, we had all thought that nothing good would come of all of this and yet we were all as happy as we could possibly be.
We had family, love and each other.
We finally made it to the small outdoor stage and where Christian already stood. Rose and I were the only wedding mates that Christian and Lissa had chosen. Lissa came out in an almost Cinderella like dress and met Christian at center stage, smiling the entire time.
I was grateful Christian and Lissa had both found each other the way Rose and I found each other.
After Jensen marched form his seat with the rings in his hand and the vows were exchanged, the formality of the wedding changed to that of a party. It was all music, dancing, noise, laughing, food everywhere. It was a good time. And even though it was a little belated, I couldn't help but think that we were celebrating making it this far in life, to this happy point in life.
I sat down, after having Rose pull me onto the center of the crowded dance floor and watched all of my friends and family around me.
Jovi and Jared were playing tag through the peoples legs, Lissa and Christian swayed even though the song was a little upbeat, and my mom was juggling Jensen and talking animatedly to Janine. With having bad husbands in their lives, they had a lot in common.
"Tired already, Dimi?" Rose teased coming behind me. She leaned over my shoulders and kissed my cheek.
"I'm not as young as I used to be," I laughed. I pulled Rose by the arm around to face me and sat her on my lap.
"You'll always be young in my eyes."
"Just as you'll always be beautiful in mine. Let's test that whole 'always be young' theory, though."
She laughs quietly.
"Later," she promised again.
"Mmm. You're too much of a temptation." I nuzzled her neck. She fought the urge to give in right here at the wedding, muttering how unclassy it would be. The more I brushed my lips along her skin though her words slurred and her fight weakened.
"Let's go," she said standing up.
"Where?" I asked curious. She checked to make sure the kids were taken care of, grabbed my hand, and pulled me away from the commotion of the wedding.
We walked along the edge of the outside, looking up at the sky hand in hand.
"I wanted you to my self," she admitted.
I smiled down at her and held her close to my chest.
"It seems like there's so much more to say that 'I love you'."
"I know the feeling, Dimi."
She played with the front of my shirt and looked up at the sky, smiling.
"What?" I asked with a contagious smile of my own.
"Nothing…I just think that from this…day on, everything is going to be better."
"Me too."
We kissed then, holding on tightly to each other as the sky changed from a hazy gray to nice calm sunset.