Chapter Text
Chapter One - The Bar Reunion
The bar was warm and crowded, the sound of clinking glasses blending with the low thrum of conversation. Dimitri sat back in the booth, letting his old friends talk over each other as they caught up.
“It’s been too long, Belikov,” Sergei said, lifting his drink. “And you’ve somehow avoided getting yourself killed.”
“I try to make a habit of it,” Dimitri said evenly.
They laughed. After a few rounds of old hunt stories, the conversation shifted.
“You know,” Sergei leaned in, lowering his voice as if it were classified information, “you’re gonna like this place. Good drinks, good music, and sometimes the Royal Guardian squad comes here. You’re lucky if you see them.”
“Lucky?” Dimitri arched an eyebrow.
“They’re… not your standard detail,” another chimed in. “Not just skill — the way they work together? Scary good. They move like they share one brain. Total respect from everyone here.”
“And,” Sergei added with a grin, “one of them is supposed to be… let’s say, unforgettable.”
“Guardianship isn’t about looks or reputation,” Dimitri said calmly. “It’s about protecting your charge, no matter what.”
“Yeah, yeah, zen lecture accepted,” Sergei said, smirking. “Still. You’ll see what we mean.”
Before Dimitri could reply, the door swung open and the energy in the room shifted. A group walked in, black-clad, moving with a casual kind of alertness. Respect followed them in waves.
Walking into the bar with Eddie and the others was like stepping onto a stage. Rose felt the ripple in the room — heads turning, whispers starting — and ignored it. The Royal Guardian squad had that effect.
She wasn’t here for attention; she was here for a drink and a laugh after a long week. Eddie peeled off toward a corner table, but Rose headed for the counter.
A tall man was already there, ordering a round. Broad shoulders, hair brushing his collar, calm posture.
When he turned, she stopped.
“Oh,” she said, surprised, pulling her lips into a grin. “You.”
For a second, he just looked at her, as if making sure she was real. Then the corner of his mouth tugged upward. “I thought we agreed not to say goodbye.”
“We did,” she said. “And then I vanished.”
“And I’ve been wondering if I imagined you ever since.”
“And miss all this?” She gestured to herself, grinning. “Not likely.”
The air between them hummed. Rose remembered the old rules they’d made — no guardian talk, no titles, just a boy and a girl. The last time she’d seen him, there had been snow on the streets outside and too much heat between them inside a cramped Russian hotel room. Judging by the spark in his eyes, Dimitri remembered too.
“I wasn’t sure I’d see you again,” he admitted.
“Guess we’re both bad at disappearing,” she said lightly.
Across the room, Eddie had noticed. He didn’t say a word — but the little quirk of his mouth promised he’d be storing this away for later.
Hours later, they were leaning too close, laughing too much, both pretending the rest of the bar didn’t exist.