Incomplete (A VA Fanfic One-Shots & Shorts Collection)

Post Last Sacrifice-Life In The Fast Lane

DPOV
"I'll convince you yet," I retorted in the car back to our Palace apartment from the airport. She had some very valid reasons about not marrying before twenty, but with all we'd been through in little under a year I would have thought she'd have jumped at the chance to officially and permanently claim me as hers, regardless of what the Moroi and guardians thought. Which was very little, and they weren't afraid to voice it—no matter how much power our friends had.
Rose's eyes met mine through the rearview mirror. "My control is a million times better, so I'll get you to drop the subject before you can embarrass yourself dropping to one knee in front of Lissa and all of Council tomorrow."
"Who said I'd ask you tomorrow? Besides, I'd have to ask your parents for permission first and they aren't available for a while."
Rose groaned. "You'll never get Abe's approval—he took you hunting two days after Lissa's coronation. Besides, my mother is still pissed off at you for deflowering her underage daughter while she was still your student. It'll take a dozen decades before you get her permission. She can hold a grudge."
I fell silent and analysed her wording. I struggled not to grin. "I'll break you and get their permission before you know what's hit you."
I could just see her incredulous, frustrated, and exasperated expression. "Dimitri Belikov, what part of I've barely turned eighteen and only just graduated, I'm too young, don't you get!"
I chuckled, knowing her hand had gone to her hip despite sitting in the car with amazing scenery whizzing by. "All of it. You put your eighteen year old sister and charge on the throne. You've died and come back to life twice. You've restored me. Your mother went on about your lack of life experience, so I pointed out to her everything you've been through and how you've changed because of it. You may only be starting out in your career, but your life started years ago and I need to spend however many days or weeks or years—hopefully decades—we have left with you. I've never deserved you, Roza, but I love you more than anything. We both know how precious and short our lives are, so why aren't you snatching up this experience? Wasn't my most important lesson to never hesitate?"
Rose let out a strangled grunt of a huff of annoyance. "You also taught me some things need to be thought about and analysed first."
"Hesitating won't stop you from diving in head first before you realise you're jumping."
"Dimitri!" she whined. "Don't act like you know me better than I do. It's just not normal."
I shook my head. "Just you wait. I still haven't used my persuasion tools on you... yet..." I could be as charming and persuasive as she could be stubborn. I could change all the arguments she had against us getting married into reasons to get married in her eyes and she wouldn't even realise it... until years down the track, if ever.

RPOV
Non-stop for two months straight Dimitri has been bringing getting married or engaged into at least one conversation a day. When was he going to realise that I was not going to consider considering it until I'd turned twenty? I wanted to live the college life and fully adjust to being a member of the queen's guard first. Not to mention, I at least wanted to be at an age that sounded old enough and mature enough to commit to a lifetime together with someone nearly an entire decade older than me. Okay, seven years older was closer to half a decade, but when you compare my eighteen years of age and his twenty-five years of age, it does sound as bad as a decade or more, worse than the reality.... I didn't say this, but Dimitri can be as immature and childish when we're alone—or when we've had alone time revoked with less than no warning—as I can be mature and level-headed. See? Age gap sounds worse than it really is.

Before we knew it, Christmas had come and gone. As had New Years. And Mason's anniversary. The anniversary since my first marking, and the day Dimitri had told me he couldn't be with anyone if it wasn't me. A year after Victor's trial was when Lissa finally came to terms with the sentence she had to hand to Tasha, which would be carried out in a few days.

The four of us—Christian, Lissa, Dimitri, and I—were all spending the evening in the media room, trying to grasp what we had had to do and witness. That said, we were simultaneously trying to not dwell on it by talking about anything and everything else.
"Rose, stop worrying about the darkness. I'm coping. I never want to see you like I did this time last year because of it."
I took one look up at Dimitri, whose arms were wrapping me up. "A year since–"
"The cabin?" Dimitri smirked with one raised brow.
"Ew! Don't need anymore info on how your sex life was active at the Academy, Dimitri." Oh Christian. Your snarkiness is a gift.
Dimitri ignored his charge by kissing me and, before I realised what he was doing, slid off the lounge and kneeled in front of me. No. No, no, no. Not happening. He smiled mischievously as he adjusted to one knee and pulled out what could only be a ring box. "Roza, you're my everything and I love you with all I have in me; I don't think I could explain it any better how I feel about you. I'm well aware a year ago we started our crazy relationship while you were still my mature seventeen year old prodigious student, and I'm hyper aware that on this day a year ago we defied every law and moral of this society to embrace our love that refuses to die. So I'm pleading with you a year on to make this day special in all the best ways once again and give up and agree. Will you please finally say yes and marry me, Guardian Rosemarie Hathaway?" He unleashed his extremely rare pout and puppy eyes on me as he popped open the ring box to reveal a ring that must have cost a fortune.
I sighed internally. He damn-well knew that face would crack me soon enough if he used it the right number of times. "Yes." What was I getting myself into? What has gotten into me? I was eighteen! And we were guardians! Ugh. Why did I have to love him to the point I lost my sensibilities sometimes!
Lissa squealed in delight as Dimitri slid the ring on and Christian laughed for the first time since Lissa had revealed she was going to hand Tasha the death penalty a month ago.
"Rose Hathaway's getting hitched!"
Dimitri sent his Moroi/ my Moroi's boyfriend/ his new semi-confidant a warning look before kissing me like it was no-one's business. This public Dimitri was still very rare, especially in front of our charges.
"I told you I'd crack you before you realised," Dimitri murmured sexily against my lips. "And I can't thank you enough for becoming putty in my hands tonight and agreeing, Roza. You're my world and once I'm as bound to you as you'll be to me I'll be the happiest and luckiest man that ever existed. And I'll have you questioning why you were ever opposed to it, because I'll make you feel like the luckiest woman that ever existed... babe."
"Get a room, you two! You are so gross!" Again, Christian, obviously.