Into the Ether - Complete

Spring, When New Things Grow: Part 18

"Where do you want to sit milaya?"

It was awkward. If we sat with at my usual table, then it shunned Dimitri's Guardian colleagues, but if we sat with the Guardians, it ignored my friends. Most groups had 'their' tables, but there were a few that were mostly unclaimed, so we went to sit at one of those almost directly between my usual table and his. It was like I'd observed with Eddie and Chelsea – when a couple was serious they sat at lunch together. We were fortunate we'd arrived a few minutes before the end of the fourth period, so we could seat ourselves before the hoards descended. Dimitri got two trays and chose food for both of us. It wasn't hard – the Academy had a certain number of dishes it served in rotation, and he knew which I preferred.

He came to sit next to me, and I stole a kiss while the cafeteria was deserted.

"Do you think everyone's going to know what you did to me this morning?" I whispered saucily, my chest tightening as I thought about our lovemaking again.

"After the way we attacked each other yesterday, I think they might have an idea," he chuckled. "Now remember, Alberta wants us to try and keep our hands off one another in public."

"Easy for her to say," I grumbled. "So what do you need to do this afternoon?" I started picking at the spaghetti bolognese, wondering if I could con Dimitri into getting me ice cream with chocolate sauce for dessert if I claimed it was a craving.

"I need to ring Guardian Headquarters at Court to check in. They'll probably want me to go to Court, Roza. What happened in Russia was big. When I left, I took a list of Guardians and Moroi killed by the army. Those families deserve to know what happened to their loved ones."

Rationally I knew he was right, but I wasn't ready to let go of him yet. I didn't want to guilt him, but it frightened me.

"Do you think they'd let me go too? I'll be eighteen on Saturday... we could make it a trip for my birthday," I suggested hopefully.

"I can ask Alberta," he said, not sounding particularly hopeful.

"Do I even need permission to leave campus once I'm eighteen?" I asked. "I can just sign myself out, can't I?"

"You can," Dimitri said, "But with the pregnancy and everything else, Headmistress Kirova may well not take you back."

"Is that such a bad thing? It's not like I'm going to guard Lissa – do I even need to graduate?"

"Yes, you need to graduate, milaya. That is not negotiable. It also gives me time to get another allocation and a proper home for you and the baby. We can't stay here forever, so we need to work out what next."

"Do you have any ideas?" I asked, not missing his worried look.

"I do, but none of them are great," he sighed. I was going to ask more when the bell went, and the cafeteria started to fill with people. We began eating our lunch, my stomach fluttering a little with nerves. This was kind of our couple coming out. Dimitri, as usual, looked supremely unconcerned, but then he shot me a loving look, and I knew he was feeling it a bit, too.

"D!" Celeste greeted enthusiastically, dropping down to sit next to him. "It's good to see you, you big lug," she said bumping him with her shoulder before accepting a one-armed hug from my man.

"I'm really happy for you both," she said with a huge grin. "And congrats, man," she said with a meaningful look at me.

"Thanks, Celeste," he said in his rich accented voice. "For everything. Rose has told me about how supportive you've been, especially with the baby. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you guiding her through everything."