lavender haze | d. belikov ✓

18 | WHAT WE WANT

LISSA'S NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT GOES AGAINST THE FOUR-PART HARMONY THAT YOU SEEM TO CARE SO MUCH ABOUT. MISH DOES TOO.

[ season 1 — episode 7 ]

Once aboard the boat, Lissa and Adrian wasted no time in finding a seat in the lower dining area and rattling off different questions to ask the Moroi scholar. Rose, though not quite as excited, chimed in with a few ideas as well, wanting to know everything they could about this weird bond. She was hoping there was some kind of middle ground — one where she could still know when Lissa was in danger but also not see things like making out with Christian Ozera and sharing dreams.

Mischa only stayed and listened for a little while before realizing they were without their Guardian shadow. Looking out the window, she spotted him out on the deck, nearly blending in with the night sky and dark waves. The others were too engrossed with Spirit talk to notice when she walked away to join him outside.

But Dimitri noticed as soon as she opened the door, looking at her with a small smile as she moved to his side. "They're all down there, brainstorming questions for their heretic," she informed him, grinning. "Even Rose — I'll be making nerd jokes for a week."

The thing about standing on the deck of a boat at night in a skimpy clubbing outfit was that it was cold — so cold she could see her breath. So, when a shiver wracked through Mischa, Dimitri moved instantly to cover her with his jacket. He could've taken it off and put it over her shoulders, knowing he'd be plenty warm in his long sleeve shirt. But instead, he opted to open up the coat and draw her into his side, keeping her warm with his jacket and body, which she much preferred.

"Keep warm," he murmured, lips brushing her temple. "You shouldn't have come out here without a jacket."

"Don't know what you're talking about, Cowboy. I've got a perfect jacket right here," she said sweetly, leaning against his chest. While looking out at the fairly calm water, she let out a sigh, thinking back on the last few hours. "You know, I've always had the same life, but tonight just... Do you ever think about another life?" she asked, sighing once again. It seemed ever since the death of her parents and brother, her perfect Moroi life just didn't seem to be what she wanted any longer. She wanted more. And she wanted to know if Dimitri wanted more too.

"You know, being more than just some pawn they can rip from your home to assign to some princess or throw Strigoi at for fun?" she went on, her eyes watering for a second as she thought of Mikhail and their treatment of him. "A life outside the Dominion, away from all the rules. I could see it, you know, while we were dancing? You wanted that freedom, too."

Dimitri, as always, took a moment to think over his response. As he did, he readjusted Mischa in his arms, pulling her to stand in front of him so that he could wrap around her fully from both sides. "When I was thirteen, two years into my academy training, they gave us a Feast Day furlough. I went to see my mother, my little sisters back at the Commune." Dimitri didn't talk about his family much, so Mischa listened intently.