Hands shaking, heart thundering —- she really shouldn’t be so frightened about all this, it’s just Dmitry. But, at the same time, she’s kissing him. And he’s VERY good kisser. That hadn’t been something she’d expecting coming from Dmitry of all people. But she can’t help but laugh as the kiss breaks just for a second as they both gulp down as much air as possible before diving back into these delightful kisses —- proper ones this time, ones that a sister she might have had would have dreamed about.
Thank her lucky stars that the wall behind her catches the rest of her weight as Dima steps forward and closes any sort of gap that might have been between them. Her arms have to only tighten around his neck to make sure she doesn’t lose her balance on her toes completely, but with the wall there, there’s no need for her to stretch anymore. Was this what happened to normal girls, girls who weren’t stuck on the streets or on some wild caper to find a family that mightn’t even be her own? A moment of normalcy in her chaotic life… imagine that.
When Dmitry starts talking, Anya has half a mind to shut him up with another kiss. There shouldn’t be any words here, not ones that could make the moment fizzle out and leave her wanting more, wanting more of this but maybe even not getting that. However, she is inclined to respond. Clear blue eyes meet those warm brown ones that she doesn’t care to admit that she loves so much as eyebrows furrow.
“HATE you? No… you’re frustrating at best, and infuriating at worst, but… but I don’t hate you, Dmitry. And I know I can be snippy sometimes —- okay, most times —- but… I don’t hate you. In fact, I don’t think I have for… for quite some time.” That’s by no means an admission to the fact that she might very well love him, but, in her mind, she tolerates him enough, likes him enough, to not mind being kissed by him. Of course, each word to her is a little like a kiss, as her lips keep brushing his as she speaks, not to mention those eyes are not only darting to his lips, but all over his face, trying to soak in every detail.
“How… how long do you think we have before somebody finds us?”
Dmitry needs to pull away, he knows this. Partly because of their scheme ; their plan is complex —— && it certainly didn’t involve getting the girl in the end. Girl gets family, boy gets rich( that’s what this fairytale’s happily ever after is going to be, HAS to be ). But also because of how his heart began hammering inside his chest every time he saw her, how he could never e v e r seem to say the right thing. She managed to squeeze her way into his heart, one that once was thought cold, calculating.
There was supposed to be no room in there, yet leave it to this girl to change everything.
P u l l a w a y , he repeats it like a mantra, yet makes no move to do so. His morals are lackluster, to say the least, but even with that in mind he has enough to wish to RESPECT her. && yet, with the warmth of her gaze, instead arms comfortably wrap around her, holding her close, giving her a bit more leverage. Eyes WATCH her speak, see how her lips move as she emphasizes some words, mumbles others. An addict who can’t seem to get enough, one who wants to know the little things, to UNDERSTAND. Apparently, rats aren’t always so selfish.
Locutions raise a crooked smile, pulling back an inch only to let out a short, raspy chuckle. “Quite some time ?? Since the train ??” A small shake of the head, eyes LIGHT up. “The diamond ?? You at least trusted me back then.” A slow exhale, lips dash across her jaw, brushing over the rim of her ear. “Careful Anya, with talk like that one might think you do MORE than tolerate me.” A jest, a push of the button ( even now, Dmitry can’t help himself / always quite vexing ).
With that, he forces himself to take a step back, hands falling to his sides. Already his tall, lean frame feels c o l d , lips tingling from recent touch. Eyes scan the analog clock on the wall, taking a moment to read it before shrugging. “Vlad will probably want another lesson soon. I think he thinks you’ll use the wrong fork. So uh —” Another shy, unsure shrug. “— Maybe ‘bout twenty minutes till he wakes up from his afternoon nap or something.”
“do you really think i am that gullible?” irritation bubbles quickly once more, eyes narrowing on anything else besides the unfortunate company he shared. the official was apparently the only one who would take things seriously, who knew that there were certain buttons that shouldn’t be pushed whatsoever. “a few ladies were more than eager to sell you out. and, besides, it’s only fun and games until someone is murdered for treason.” after this, if anya continued, it would be out of his hands. and he couldn’t say he didn’t try. “whether or not she makes it out that far.”
‘ INNOCENCE ’ widens tawny orbs, hands raising up in surrender. “ Y O U , such a strong official of the law ??Never.” Dmitry quickly loses interest, eyes moving from the individual in front of him to the bustling city before him. He’s already thinking about where to stay the night ( since he clearly has already drawn more than enough attention to himself for the day ). “I’ve heard this speech before, comrade —— no need to waste your breath. Be careful, blah blah blah. We’ll be fine. Besides, aren’t there p l e n t y of over rebels you should be worried about ??”
“ I don’t think I could forget you . ” or , at least —- hopes she won’t forget him . laughs at his words , hides any true thoughts she may be feeling . still , notices his arm going around the back of the seat , finds herself subconsciously lean towards him . “ well , that’s the difference —- you aren’t being a kiss up . ”
glances up at him , smiles when she feels his hand squeeze her shoulder —- it’s comforting , some how . “ I don’t think it’s about lines anymore : I’m sure she very well knows her own family history , dmitry . do you —- do you think I could actually be her ? ”
Her words SHOULDN’Twarm him like they do ; but Dmitry can’t help the soft grin, his s h y questioning gaze. “I think you’d be surprised how quickly you could.” Can he ever let anything go ?? No, the answer is no. Light hair brushes his arm, he PAUSES / so soft, delicate almost. “A kiss up, definitely not. But there’s PLENTY that I’d like to k—” He cuts himself off, brows furrowed as he even surprises himself. A jest so quick to roll off the tongue, words he SHOULD NEVER say … it was complicated enough already.
“Yes, but once you know the history, hopefully the stories come soon after.”Even if they’re all fake. This however, he can help with. For even this Russian Rat has at least one TRUE story with the late Grand Duchess Anastasia. “There’s no proof to say that you’re not, right ??” He’s hesitant, but locutions truthful ; “Out of all who have tried, I think you’re the most like her. You’re the woman I’d have hoped she would have become.”
‘strange as it may seem, i still HOPE for the best, even though the best, like an interesting piece of mail, so rarely arrives, and even when it does it can be LOST so easily.’
@wallopener( the beatrice letters. lemony snicket. )
C U R I O U S —— after what Russia had become, she seemed to be one of the few people he knew who could keep such h o p e . “Well uh — you go on && do that Anya.” A stiff nod, clearing his throat he offers a small smirk. “&& hopefully our LUCK will be just as strong as your optimism. We need everything we can get.” to pull this off.
It seems almost silly that a childhood want is something that Anya remembers, especially since it had everything to do with where they were. As a child, she’d wanted her first kiss to be in the most romantic city in the world with a handsome PRINCE. It was always more akin to something Maria would want, so she’d never told a soul, but now… now it felt like it had happened, even if Dmitry was as far from a technical prince as she could get. But that didn’t matter —— in this moment, he is as good as they come.
She has to try not to laugh at the fact that he’s still questioning this moment, even in the form of a kiss. He was infuriating sometimes, because to her, this wasn’t a real kiss, not the ones she’d read about in some cheesy novel she’d find in her travels. But then again, it’s understandable, and she has to wonder…. is she his first kiss? Surely not. A man as handsome as Dmitry must have had a dozen different female companions in his time.
That’s not going to stop her from responding in kind, however, and she deepens the kiss on her own, practically crashing their lips together as both of her arms —- bare, thanks to the dress she’d chosen for today’s excursion, which was far more expensive than she was used to —- reached over his shoulders and around his neck, pulling him closer so she didn’t have to stretch as much.
Now is when she starts praying that nobody comes looking for them for a long… long time.
For a moment, Dmitry SWEARS Anya will pull away, hit him && be gone as quickly as she strode into his life. Yet, when she does the opposite, hands weaving around his neck —— he almost stops completely /shock. Lids blink rapidly ( oh yes, this is r e a l ) before finally shutting tightly closed.
It wasn’t his first kiss, but it certainly was the first to MEAN something. A man easily riled with boredom && curiosity, he’d tried a few things (though he had yet to get much farther than where they were now ). Other may have noticed his strapping looks, a bit rough around the edges sure, but still NOTICEABLE —— but he himself never saw it. He was a nobody, one who had to focus on survival every single day. There wasn’t much time for any normal, frivolous activity.
Yet in this moment, it was just the two of them. Anya && Dmitry. There was no ballet to get to, no scheming or w o r r y. Just a girl && a boy who finally caved into emotion neither was willing to admit was there. SHAKING hands finally find their way to her waist, grip tight as kiss lingers. Lips curl into a wide smirk, pulling away as rapid breaths make pulse quicken / an attempt to catch some air. Delightful eyes meeting her own ( finding no proper words, no JESTS to say for once).
“Anya ——” It doesn’t take long for lips to once again collide against her own, a proper kiss, one that held no trace of the hesitancy prior. A step forward, pressed to the wall, he rids of any distance. He shouldn’t, but he can’t help himself. Okay, just TO MAKE SURE, of course. “Sorry, I just ——” He makes no move to step away, lips brushing against hers as he speaks. Is this okay ?? God, that’d be embarrassing. “I thought you supposedlyHATED me ??”
all he could bring himself to do is scoff, as if gleb would actually believe a word out of his mouth. “sure you are.” eyes would finally break away from the other, instead focusing on the bustling city of leningrad. to imagine, there was a tiny possibility that the so called lost duchess was alive. with every fiber of his being, he was hoping that anya would eventually prove him wrong. this was the last thing russia needed. “i have seen her and she is no anastasia, i will tell you that much. who else could put these thoughts into her head? she doesn’t know anything and i will not be repeating myself.”
Okay, even Dmitry could admit Anya was n o Anastasia … yet. But with a little work && a few more lessons thanks to COUNT Popov well, she’d do. But it was a winning situation for everyone. St. Petersburg would get it’s gossip. Anya would get the family she always wanted && more, && Dmitry ?? He’d be long gone, living in luxury. “The whole city is talking about it comrade. She probably heard it from one of them.” A meager shrug —— he borrowed her words. “What girl doesn’t want to be a princess ??&& if there’s no p r o o f , who’s to say she’s NOT?? Only the Dowager Empress can confirm or deny it.”
In Paris, anything was possible. That was what a young Anya had always believed, ever since she realised that the key to finding her family was in the city that had only seemed like a dream up until now, and still was, somehow. What was even more dreamlike was his hand on her arm, calloused but safe and comforting at the same time. He’d worked hard to get here, why choose to erase those scars?
Maybe if she wasn’t Anastasia, they could eek out an existence here, work their ways up, and… and, well, from there any sort of plan falls through, as she’s not able to think that far ahead right now. Not with Dima so close to her, and as she lays a hand against his chest for balance purposes, she swears she can feel his heart hammering just as hard as her own.
Still, the message definitely gets across —- he’s clearly wanting to kiss her. Not that she’s objecting, no matter how infuriating he can be. “No… no there’s no harm in it… I suppose it wouldn’t be…” She’s got to lift onto her toes slightly to reach him, but she does notice her fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt slightly. Her own gaze flickers to his lips, just for a second; she could just do it right now. But she won’t, because she’s a coward. “Dima…”
Despite knowing he had NO SELF CONTROL, Dmitry somehow still got himself into situations like this —— ones where he was too stubborn to give up ( when he should) or cave(&& in this case, oh how he wanted to).A life of treading on tightrope, weaving ever so slightly to to one side on occasion, yet never allowing himself to F A L L. The conman knows his place, what people expect of him ( at least in regards to the man, rat they choose to see ).
Her every touch, no matter how small sends shocks to his skin, putting ideas into his head he never dared wish to have. A partner, someone to completely TRUST. Vlad was great, an exception to his usual rule —— the man was practically family from the start. But Anya, she was dangerous. He felt A L I V E && he knew better than to wish for that kind of disappointment.
&& yet —— A smile tugs ‘pon lips, brow arching in jest. “You SUPPOSE ?? Well a woman of your repute should be sure.” Breaths soon become heavy, deep as he notices the twitch of her hand, pulling at the cheap fabric of his shirt —— her weight pressed‘pon tip toes. In that moment, that was enough of a VICTORY for Dimitry (not to mention that damn nickname).
The remaining inches between them vanish, lips pressing against hers ever so hesitantly —— a question.
“ I’ll just treasure it forever , then . ” teasing smile is apparent on her face , as she nudges him . but then he smirks at her , and her eyes cast down to his lips for half a second before —- NO , no . this isn’t what she’s supposed to do , she absolutely is not fond of him . looks away , pointedly at her feet —- and still , lightest smile is apparent on her face , fades quickly at his question .
“ I —- I don’t know . all I can do is hope she does . if she doesn’t …. ” then she will have nothing .
“Forever is a l o n g time you know. You really think once you become the GRAND DUCHESS that you’ll remember me, let alone ONE compliment??” A quip, though one that alters his smile, tugs down at the corners in a dawning moment of truth. Why would she ?? Not when there was so much else to focus on, a REAL LIFE to live. Dmitry quickly recovers, a nonchalant shrug as arm weaves behind her, across the back of the seat. “You won’t, trust me. Not when people are kissing your you know what every day.”
Rough hand squeeze her shoulder —— “She will.” Again, a promise he could hardly keep. “We’’ll keep going over your lines ; then you’ll have NOTHING to worry about.”
❛ i’m? ❜ she prompts teasingly, raising an eyebrow. she laughs when she notices the redness of his cheeks, ignoring how they MATCH her own. her grin widens, and she nods, practically bouncing with excitement.
❛ the eiffel tower it is ! and then we’ll see where the streets take us? ❜
Russet eyes slide over to meet her own, COY before a short chortle erupts from him. “You know what I mean.” He mumbles, nudging her with his shoulder. “Sounds per—” His words are cut off, the train unexpectedly STOPS. Eyes narrow, glancing out the window. “We’re not even at the border yet.” Dmitry doesn’t worry ( or so he says), but he is perplexed.
