Drabble:163

When Rose and Christian had announced that they had a whole sect of followers/shippers at Court, Dimitri had laughed it off. When they insisted that he believe that, he had rolled his eyes good-naturedly, but disbelievingly. But the photos of people cosplaying as him and Roza on Christian's phone did weird him out. He left Christian and Rose together in the apartment, fighting over whether 'Romitri' or 'Chrisilisa' was a more ridiculous name, and which might have more hardcore (read stalker-like) shippers.

Dimitri walked along the Court grounds, nodding at acquaintances, and entered the grocery store to pick up some eggs, salami and bread. Let's just say he made a terrific salami sandwich, and scrambled eggs happened to be one of the only three dishes Rose could make without burning down the kitchen, and with their hectic guarding-schedule in the upcoming week, those would probably be the only thing they'd have time for eating on the fly.

So there he was, innocuously shopping for food items, when he felt that he was being watched. Years of vigilance, coupled with his guardian reflexes, meant that he could basically pinpoint the eyes on him. He decided to ignore it for then, hoping/thinking that perhaps it was someone who was bored out of their minds (there was no fault with that), and being assured that no strigoi could have entered the zone, especially given that the last time he checked, which was literally last shift, the wards were still working. So, he finished shopping, and would have walked out, if Rose hadn't texted him to also get some milk and coffee, because apparently they were out. Which is why, he made his way towards the liquids section of the store, surprised to realize that he was still being watched.

But the question was why? And by whom? He was far too aware of Rose to instinctively know it wasn't her. And Christian was as subtle as a penguin wearing a sombrero and boogying to Copa Cabana, so it couldn't be him either. Which left the possibility that he was being tested by the guardians….but wasn't the grocery store too open a space, with far too many exit points and 'civilians' milling about, to be considered a good testing spot?

Dimitri considered the possibilities in mere seconds, and decided to let it be…for now, making sure to keep one hand in his pocket, wrapped around his stake-just in case. The attack-if it did happen, he reckoned-would come when he was in the liquids section, which was one of the most isolated aisles of the store at this time of the day. And if it happen, then game on. He hadn't built a reputation for passing all his surprise attacks by doing nothing.

So, having made up his mind, Dimitri walked towards the last aisle, becoming surer of an imminent attack by the increasing number of eyes he felt following his movements. Whoever was directly following him was lousy at the stealth part, because Dimitri could clearly hear his/her sneakers' soles squishing along on the floor. The one flanking him from the next aisle was a heavy breather, or had clogged sinuses. And dear Lord, he needed to have a word with Hans about cellphones on the field because Dimitri could clearly hear one of them tapping out a text.

Sighing, Dimitri entered his destination aisle, and tensed, ready for the attack...and when it did come, it caught Dimitri off-guard. Because these were no battle-hardened guardians, but four teenage boys-three Moroi and one dhampir-rushing up to him and….asking for a selfie?
Confounded, Dimitri could only nod as they took pictures with him, and then catalogued his clothes. If that wasn't surreal enough, one of them even asked him what shampoo he used.

Trying to extricate himself, Dimitri bit out an excuse about how guardian duty beckoned, and the boys agreed to stop trailing him like imprinted ducks if he could give them a few more minutes, because they had a couple of friends outside, who would like to take photos with him too. Generously, Dimitri consented.

After paying for his purchases, he walked outside-still followed by his band of merry men-right into a mob of squealing teenagers…

Yeah, so now he knew…Romitri was definitely a thing.

Okay, I'll admit this was a rushed job, but I did promise one more chapter by the weekend, this was the first free block of writing time I could find, so forgive my inarticulation in this instance. That said, don't forget to review!