coffe hell 7

[warmskies]

"Finally, it's stopped snowing," Claude groans, leaning towards the window as he cleans up tables. Not that they really need it. "Of all the times for the weatherman to be right, it was for this?"

Granted, it's not the worst snow in the world. In this city, he knows it can get ten times worse, to the point that traffic is hell and power outages happen. While outside clearly shows enough has piled up, sticking to pavement and cement, it hasn't thrown the city into chaos. In fact, the worst of it happened overnight, and all the morning saw was a relatively light fall before it stopped around noon. That doesn't mean Claude was happy to make his way through the snow this morning... And he's still not entirely happy that it still exists outside even now, ensuring that getting home is going to be absolutely hell.

Claude has gotten a taste of it throughout the morning, after all, whenever a customer has opened the front door and unleashed the Ninth Circle into the otherwise cozy shop.

"It really isn't that bad," Ignatz says, which is a damned lie and they all know it. "Don't you think it makes the city look majestic and beautiful?"

"It can look majestic and beautiful without threatening to give me hypothermia."

Leonie, truly a cruel and uncaring coworker who came in a little early before her shift, just laughs at him. "You're being melodramatic," she comments, which may be true but she doesn't have to say it. "Besides, I would have thought that Claude 'Fifty Back Up Plans Before Breakfast' Riegan would see the opportunity in this."

Pulling away from the window, Claude raises an eyebrow at her. "An opportunity? Well, don't keep me in suspense, Leonie."

Turning around on her stool and still cradling her coffee in her hands, Leonie gives one of her pleased grins that Claude can recognize from a mile away. He already knows who she's going to talk about before she says a single syllable. "Well, you know that Lorenz came by early this morning because he was worried that I'd lose power, or something, right? Even though I told him I'd be more than fine. So since I wasn't freezing to death in my cheap apartment, the two of us made hot chocolate, cuddled up together, and, you know... watched the world go still outside my balcony." Taking a sip of her coffee, she tilts her head towards him. "Your boyfriend is the cuddling type, isn't he? He'd probably love it if you asked for something like that."

Well, well, well. Dumping his rag into his bin, Claude muses on that mental image. Dimitri absolutely would love it if Claude asked to come over for something like that. It's stupidly romantic, which he knows his boyfriend has an undeniable soft spot for, and it would involve physical touch, another thing that Dimitri is head over heels about. Of course Dimitri hasn't outright said as much, but it's sort of impossible to miss with how much he's consistently touched Claude on every one of their dates.

Hell, his shift is almost over. He can probably jump in the back, do a quick text-

Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, master of timing, chooses that minute to shove his way through the doors with a bag swinging around his shoulder and excitedly asks, "Claude, do you want to go ice skating?"

Poor guy must be confused as hell that his entrance causes Claude to sink down against a table with his face in his hands, Leonie's surprised laughter the soundtrack to his life. Unfortunately, Claude really can't spare a moment to comfort him. He just drags one hand down his face, groaning. "Is this vengeance for all my hubris?" he asks the empty air, like this is some sort of from the Goddess for not really caring about religion. Or, at least, that religion.

While he can't see it, he can hear the door swing shut, and the way Dimitri politely scuffs his shoes off on the entrance mat before his footsteps come closer. "If I had any context whatsoever, perhaps I could tell you if it was or not," he says. Claude shifts his head to the side, resting his cheek along one hand.

There's perhaps a little tease in Dimitri's voice, because he's slowly come to learn how to recognize it when Claude is overdramatic, but overall he's still concerned. Claude gets why, of course. Dimitri is always worried that something will go over his head, or that he'll misread something, or even that he's not interpreting reality correctly. He's on medication, sure, but some things don't make him stop worrying.

Claude puts those worries to ease, reaching over to where his boyfriend has taken a seat, and grips his hand. Seeing Dimitri ease up and smile makes him happy, and that's almost enough to make up for the fact that- "Gods, put me down again, but your hands are freezing, Dimitri."

This time, it's Dimitri who gives a surprised laugh. Out of him it's a reserved chuckle. "I'm sorry. I have gloves in my pocket, but I'm afraid I was far too excited to remember them." Claude can't relate. He'd die if any part of his body was exposed to nature's cruel cold shoulder. Dimitri promptly makes up for his Santa Clause heritage by drawing his other hand to Claude's own, cupping it. Leaning down, he breathes in a huff of hot hot air, and Claude's eyelashes flutter.

Alright. He'll forgive him. So long as- "Keep doing that," he sighs, smiling a little bit. "And what on earth were you saying about ice skating?"

Dimitri smiles and indulgently lets loose another hot breath. It'll lose its effectiveness over time, but that's alright. He looks sweet, this way. "I thought it could be nice to venture out. The weather is perfect for it, and it's fun. I know the perfect outdoor rink as well."

"Dimitri, you realize that I am in danger of freezing a finger off, aren't you? Perhaps even a nipple. What I'm saying is that it's so damn cold."

A part of him - small but not insignificant - wonders if perhaps that was too much and Dimitri will be guilty. Fortunately, his lover is sturdier than that. Unfortunately, that means it has Dimitri lean back with a raised eyebrow. "You wear no less than four layers on a good day, including your jacket," he says in amusement. "That's not even taking into account accessories, which I'm sure you have more than enough of. I've seen you wear it all, Claude."

The thing about regularly dating the same guy is that little habits start to get noticed. Claude had never really thought about it until Dimitri, or at least he hasn't thought about it in a long time. Sometimes it's about what his favorite foods are. Other times, well, other times it's Dimitri being quite aware of just how exactly Claude dresses in the face of weather that is even vaguely cold. "Just going to call me out like that, huh?" he asks, amused. "I'll still freeze to death, even with all my many laborious precautions. Also, I don't know how to ice skate. Would that be a problem?"

"I could just teach you, then," Dimitri says, the curve in his smile saying that he'd rather like that kind of intimate moment. Well, Claude has to admit there is some appeal. He's just not sure it's a big enough one. Perhaps Dimitri can spot it on his face, or perhaps he always knew it was going to be a tough sell past all his excitement. Could be a little bit of Column A and a little bit of Column B. Regardless, his smile shifts into something more sheepish. "I know it's a lot... And, if I'm honest, this isn't planned to be a date. Sylvain and Felix are coming as well."

Hmm, that does sort of take a bit of favor off of it, Claude has to admit. He likes Dimitri's friends, but not so much as he likes Dimitri. At least, not as much as he wants to soak up every little bit of spare time his boyfriend can give him. The honeymoon phase really is a fearsome thing. "I see," he says, but then Dimitri continues.

"Of course, that means you're also more than free to invite some of your friends." He pauses, clearing his throat and preparing himself for his next sentence. "Especially anyone else who has also never ice skated before and can share in your dilemma."

Nevermind! He's been twisted right back again to his starting position with a spin like that, and Claude laughs. "Misery loves company, huh?" he asks playfully. Alright, he has to admit he can see the appeal. Being new and terrible at something is one thing. It's entirely something else to be new and terrible with friends. With friends, at least they can all laugh about it.

Dimitri is grinning right back at him, clearly pleased that he's managed to win a point in his favor. "Exactly. We also plan on going to a Korean barbecue-"

"Dimitri!" Claude groans in defeat, rolling his head back and grinning up at the ceiling.

Not letting up in the way he's absolutely twisting Claude's arm, Dimitri keeps going. "-and I wouldn't mind paying for both our shares." When Claude looks back at him, the blond is very clearly trying not to be too obviously pleased in his smile. He knows what kind of fantastic offer he's giving him, the bastard. "That would be a rather nice way to warm up afterwards... don't you think?"

"You're so attractive when you remember to be cunning," Claude informs him seriously, making Dimitri duck his head with a chuckle. "What incredibly effective bribery. I can't believe it."

Dimitri glances up from beneath his eyelashes, still smiling- a little pleased, a little bashful, a little teasing. "I am more than a pretty face, you may be surprised to know."

Shit. Claude tosses his head back for another laugh, delighted that this is the same overly polite and scowling figure that had once stepped to the front of his counter. "And so you are!" he concedes, grinning back. Dammit. Damn! He's in such a good mood, he can't believe he's being convinced into this. Free Korean barbecue and his boyfriend being stupidly cute and funny. The world is really out to get him, isn't it? "Alright, fine, fine."

That makes him perk up faster than anything. "Really?"

Sliding his hand out of Dimitri's, and silently bemoaning the lack of warmth, he grins. "Let me hop into the group chat for me and my friends. If I can rope in a few people, yeah, why not? I'm not above taking advantage of free food. So where are we theoretically skating?"

Dimitri gives him the address, Claude types it into his phone once he takes back his bin, and he's hardly put everything away before messages are popping up. "Looks like you win this round," he announces when he steps back into the store proper. "Hilda says she was looking for something to do with Marianne anyway, and Lysithea is considering it." Everyone else has said they're busy so far, but Claude is fine with that. Dimitri is only bringing over a few of his friends too, after all.

At some point when Claude disappeared into the staff rooms, Dimitri and Leonie got wrapped up in conversation on something to do with Captain's Gym. At his words, however, Dimitri looks up with a pleased grin on his lips. "That's excellent news, then. Was Lysithea a part of the band when it was performing?"

Right, right, one of many of Claude's friends that Dimitri hasn't met yet. Although, he's surprised to realize in hindsight, that number is dwindling faster by the day. "Yeah, but she's something of a short stack," he says, winking. "So you probably missed sight of her. Well, we'll fix that today, apparently. Anyway, I still have to stick around for ten minutes or so. No rush, right?"

"Actually," Ignatz intervenes, "do you want to leave your shift early, Claude? It's been a rather slow day, and I can't imagine it picking up until around five... I don't think anyone would object to that."

Leaning back on her stool, Leonie smiles as well. "Besides, I'm here. I don't mind picking up any slack that might happen, so long as Ignatz might let me." Their coworker gives a sheepish smile, shrugging. "But he's right- I really doubt that we're going to have a particularly busy day. So go have fun with your boyfriend, Claude."

Dimitri blushes, a prettier and deeper sort of pink than the flush of winter exertion he'd been wearing when he first stepped inside. Claude only grins, himself. "Well well well.... What generosity! Thanks, guys, I'll be sure to pay the two of you back sometime." Probably in the form of picking up an emergency shift, or maybe paying for lunch one day. It's a little thing, so he probably really only needs to do something about the same in return... But he really does appreciate when they make offers like this without him having to spare a thought on if he should ask in turn.

"Then- I'll get a warm drink for the two of us while you get your things," Dimitri tells him, getting up onto his feet. "It should help make the trip a little smoother."

Lazily, Claude waves his hand through the air dismissively. "Oh, just get something for yourself. I'll take full advantage of you later tonight-" The teasing innuendo absolutely goes over Dimitri's head, and he can't help but be fond of the blank and polite smile at his words. "-but I can use a little employee discount of my own here. Just give me a quick second, 'kay?"

In the Golden Deer, "employee discount" means raiding the hot chocolate stores for a quick warm drink that won't be missed. On the corporate level, it's probably not allowed. However, what corporate doesn't know won't kill them, and the actual employees on the ground floor are good at not being too obvious about it. If a single little packet of hot chocolate goes missing, it's not the end of the world. Even their manager agrees, bless her soul.

By the time he's got it all heated up and ready to go in a paper cup for the road (or the subway, more likely), Dimitri is also ready with a drink of his own. Once Claude has stepped closer, his nose picks up on enough to gather that it's one of their eggnog concoctions. Hey, if it's the season.... Settling besides him, Claude grins up at Dimitri. "Ready to go?"

Dimitri returns the expression. "Absolutely." Looking back to where Ignatz is waiting and Leonie is prepping things behind the counter, he gives a polite nod. "I hope things go well for you two. Have a good day."

Giving a little salute, Claude's grin is brighter and less restrained. "See you guys later! Next week I'll bring donuts!"

All his good cheer and general playfulness vanishes the second they step out into the snow. Claude complains about it all the way to the subway entrance, until Dimitri finally curls his arm around him to tug him close. It's not an instant fix, but it's good enough until the gathered heat of the subway tunnels washes over them.

Claude recognizes the area the ice skating rink is in, although he's never visited it during the winter season. Or, you know, the autumn season. Really, any season where it starts to get cold, and he restricts his outdoor activities to what he really only needs to do. But it's one of the biggest parks in the city; there's no way anyone wouldn't be at least passingly familiar with it. Claude himself can remember passing through it on nicer spring days, and he knows for a fact that he's performed here during the summer ones.

On those spring and summer days, there's a decently sized little building near the pond which sells a variety of pre-packaged people food (sandwiches, salads, sushi) along with much fresher duck food (lettuce, corn, pellets). Claude had never bothered to think about it, but that business model changes along with the seasons, apparently. One window still seems to be selling food, although business doesn't appear to be as booming as during the warmer months. The other window, the one which used to sell duck food, is completely different, signs and all. Now, there's a sign cheerfully saying it rents out ice skates.

A blond woman is manning the window, and she immediately starts to lean out of it with a cheerful wave once she sees Dimitri coming up. "Dimitri! I'm so glad that you could make it."

Adjusting the bag around his shoulder, Dimitri leans up on the tips of his toes to give her a rough approximation of a hug. It's a little hard with the window counter in the way, but both blonds seem determined to make it work. "The weather is so nice, I wouldn't have missed this for anything." Which isn't the description Claude would have used. Damn human-shaped icicles.

It makes her laugh, at least, and Claude redirects his gaze to focus better on her. He's already pretty sure he can recall her from social media diving on Sylvain's page, because at one point he had thought she was Dimitri's sister for a long while. Now, after talking with Dimitri, he's pretty sure that's not the case.

In the time it takes for her to look over to Claude, he's already remembered what her name is before she even starts to say, "It's nice to finally meet you. My name is Ingrid Galatea." She offers a polite smile and her hand outstretched past the counter. "I hope the subway wasn't too crowded on the way here."

She seems nice enough, and Claude smiles right back as he shakes her hand. "Oh, no more inhumanly crowded than it is any other day of the year. So, you're our hook up to ice skates, is that it?"

"Well, I suppose it's more for your ice skates," Dimitri says, and lifts up his bag by the strap. "I have a personal pair, you see."

"What kind of person has a personal pair of ice skates?" Claude bemoans playfully, knocking the side of his head against Dimitri's arm.

Against his back, he feels Dimitri's hand rub idle circles. The effect is a little bit lost, with how thick his jacket is, but Claude appreciates it regardless. "It's fairly common, I thought," Dimitri says, although in the kind of subtly unsure tone where someone hasn't done any sort of research and so can't be fully certain.

"Since I'm getting a free dinner tonight, I guess I can fork over the cash necessary for skates," Claude says, reaching into his coat for his wallet. It's going to take a few seconds for his clumsy and gloved fingers to get a proper hold of it, so he asks Ingrid, "It's $8.50, right?"

Ingrid has been watching his exchange with Dimitri, in a way that feels faintly familiar. If Claude had to make a guess right off the bat, in fact, he would compare it being similar to how Dedue had watched him at the gym. At his question, however, she jolts up. "Oh! Right- actually..." Reaching up, she sweeps back some stray strands of blond behind one ear. "I have an employee discount that I can use for you, if you'd like. That would make it $5.50 instead."

Somehow Claude has a feeling in the back of his head that it's less for him, the guy Ingrid has just met, and more for Dimitri, her friend that she's apparently close enough with to hug at work. There's no real evidence for that, however, and he's a sucker for a good deal. Why look a gift horse in the mouth? So he grins, pulling out his wallet. "I would definitely like, if you're going to be offering that generosity my way."

In the interest of convenience, there's a small little sheltered space on the side of the building kept clear of snow with a few benches, along with a separate window for exchanging shoes and skates. That's where Claude goes for his skates, tying them on, and that's where Hilda and Marianne find him soon after. "Oh, I'm so glad that you're here," Hilda says with a relieved sigh. "I thought me and Marianne were going to be the first ones, and that would just be the worst."

"Yes, yes, instead I'm the one who's had to suffer in the cold the longest," Claude says, amused, before he gives Hilda a one-armed hug as she leans down for him. "But look on the bright side, now your schedule is filled for the day." When they pull apart, Claude looks over and finds Marianne hanging back just a bit further in the snow. Her and Dimitri are staring at each other, awkwardness radiating off both parties so much that it could probably fill the whole park. "Oh, right," he says casually, tapping Dimitri's elbow with one hand while the other gestures to Marianne. "Dimitri, Marianne. Marianne, Dimitri. Try not to out-anxiety each other."

That makes Marianne startle a little bit, and she hastily trots closer to the rest of the group. "Oh," she stutters out. "I'm so sorry, I must have come off as ghastly-"

Dimitri is on his feet at approximately the same time, having managed to put on his skates long before Claude and thus makes what should be a normal movement rather impressive. "No, I was the one staring, it was absolutely wretched of me-"

What happens next is an exchange of apologies and embarrassment, like two dogs going in circles around each other. Hilda settles down besides him on the bench, just as fascinated in her watching as he is. "This is incredible," she whispers to him, reaching for her wallet without taking her eyes off of Dimitri and Marianne. "I didn't realize just how nervously polite he was until now, and we've had him in our apartment."

Claude laughs a little under his breath. "Well, just look at Marianne. She would set off anyone's most protective and contrite reactions. He was dying when he thought he was intimidating at me even when I didn't react at all. She must have killed him on impact. Ah-" He clicks his tongue. "There we go, he's taking the initiative now." Something about his own phrasing has Claude pause, and it must do the same for Hilda, because they both look at each other at the same time. Matching grins spread across their faces.

Hilda starts first, hiding her giggles behind one hand. "And there we see the male awkward hermit begin to display a paternal instinct, likely born as a result of not Giving Any to his mate."

Snickering back, Claude continues. "Such cold and snow-filled locales are beyond the usual territories of the socially anxious lesbian, and so her familiarity with awkward gay hermits is limited but not wholly unfamiliar. You can see such experience in the way she doesn't immediately retreat, with her movements wary but not evasive."

There's no time to do any further nature commentary. Both of them fall silent as Dimitri and Marianne finally seem to come to a sort of agreement, with Marianne actually giving a tentative smile at whatever Dimitri just said. Right now, however, she turns to the people she's actually known for longer than three minutes. "We weren't late, were we?" she asks, a little worried. "If we kept you waiting..."

Straightening up, Claude just laughs. "Hey, you're here before Dimitri's friends are, and I'm pretty sure that he told them before he roped me into all of this," he says, smiling. "And Lysithea is supposed to show up as well."

Speak of the tiny sugar-obsessed devil, and lo, she appears less than five minutes after Claude has said her name. Introductions are far less awkward with her, her own bossy nature making it a steamroller of a process next to Dimitri's quiet politeness. Then, a little after, Sylvain and Felix make their arrival, with the former exclaiming, "How on earth do you get surrounded by girls after you've started dating!?"

Which is sure one way to introduce yourself, Claude supposes, and it's one hell of a conversation starter besides.

As it turns out, Sylvain and Felix are also the kind of weirdos who have their own ice skates. Claude can't help but wonder if it's a common denominator in Dimitri's entire friend group. There's an unexpected bonus to that, however: there are now three jock-types who can help the rest of them out when it comes to things like the proper way to tie ice skates and instruct how to walk to the rink in them.

Not that Claude let's that stop him from clinging to Dimitri the entire short distance there, holding on tighter than sticker residue on a plastic cup. Lysithea is the only one of their group that feels confident enough to walk on her own, precious overachiever that she is. Finally, they hit the ice, and.... Yeah, no, Claude continues to cling. It's his boyfriend, so he feels perfectly justified in doing so. "I feel like I'm going to break an ankle, crash through the ice, and freeze more to death than I already am," he mutters, staring warily down at his own feet. He's already regretting this.

Off to the side where he's already let Hilda go off into the wild and icy unknown, Sylvain laughs. "So this is the thing that shakes your confidence, huh?" he teases.

"I'll make sure to drag you down into the depths with me, Sylvain," Claude promises with a smile.

"No one is drowning in frozen city pond water," Dimitri promises. "In fact, no one is crashing through the pond, or crashing at all." And then he smiles down at Claude, that sweet and earnest smile that's gotten him every single time since that late afternoon in the zoo parking lot. "Especially not you, not while I'm here."

It's a very cute and sweet declaration, which Felix Fraldarius decides to promptly ruin with the dry comment of, "Can you two keep that sort of overly romantic nonsense down until I'm on the other side of the rink?" He has his own arm wrapped around one of Marianne's, keeping her upright as they make their way out onto the ice. She's still more than a little awkward, but, in comparison to Claude's wariness of the ice, she seems more focused on the spitfire responsible for her balance.

Something about Felix's comment and perhaps the scene at large makes Sylvain glance back over at all of them, and he starts to laugh. "Man, can you imagine if this were a regular date?" he asks, amusement dripping off of his voice. "Or what this must look like to other people? Once Ingrid joins us, we'll have an equal guy-to-girl ratio. People might almost think we're straight if that happens."

"Ew," say Hilda and Claude together, which only makes Sylvain laugh harder.

"Your sense of humor is godawful as always," Felix informs him with a curl of his lips before he looks to Marianne. "Ready now?"

Marianne doesn't exactly look ready, but then Hilda sort of wobbles in place until they catch up. She beams to Marianne, offering her hand to the other woman. "Don't worry, Marianne! Like, I'm doing terrible here, so I'm sure you won't do worse than me! C'mon."

"I'm sorry for being a bother," Marianne tells her, but there's a small smile on her face as she accepts Hilda's hand and detaches from Felix's side. They make quite a sight as they wobble off together- although Claude suspects that Hilda's wobbling has been pretty inconsistent and he's almost positive she's told him about ice skating before.

Looking pretty pleased with herself, Lysithea smirks back at Claude. "You're going to fall behind, Claude," she tells him. "It's not that hard. If you don't hurry up-" Claude is pretty certain that she could keep going, with her bitterness about how, for ages, he teased her about being 'so young' and especially teased her for being so short. Her ability to hold a grudge is almost as impressive as her lack of height.

Yet before she can really get into it, Felix suddenly blazes past her with unbelievable ease. "Eyes up front, kid."

Claude can literally see the flames of fury ignite behind Lysithea's eyes. "I'm not-!" she starts, but it's too late. In the blink of an eye, Felix is already scores ahead of every single one of them. It's a weekday, with no schools on vacation just yet, and not late enough in the afternoon for a lot of people to get off their shifts. That means there aren't too many people here, at least not in comparison to a true rush hour, and Felix expertly weaves his way past all of them without losing speed. That he's really quite good only seems to infuriate Lysithea all the more, and she turns back towards them fuming. "Who is he again?" she demands.

"Ah," Dimitri says, already sensing doom about to happen. Claude doesn't stop grinning toothily. "That's Felix Fraldarius. I apologize about him-"

Lysithea doesn't care about his apologies. Instead, she does indeed put her eyes up front and try to push herself faster. Unlike Felix's smooth and practiced movements, Lysithea is an amateur in comparison, but that doesn't seem like it's going to stop her from trying to catch up.

"This is going to be great," Claude 'Tormented Lysithea For Years On Being Short' Riegan says.

Sighing, Dimitri quietly adjusts Claude's posture from where he's clinging. "I think he was actually trying to help. When you're on a public rink like this, you have to take care that you don't crash into anyone else. We are wearing somewhat dangerous footwear. However, it's just..."

Slowing down long enough to be on Claude's other side, Sylvain grins. "Felix has all the social graces of a stray cat stuck in your window at two in the morning with a lizard stuck in his mouth, that he then drops into your living room and blames you for losing it."

Has Claude mentioned that he loves Dimitri's friends? He absolutely adores them. They're the kind of trashfires where he's sure he'll have a new story from them every week. He lets loose a laugh. "Well, Lysithea only in the last year has stopped promising to kill me for teasing her on looking so young, and we've known each other for five years now. Felix has made an enemy for life now." Following Dimitri's unspoken directions in correcting his posture, he watches Felix actually spin around a parent and their kid, ponytail fluttering in the wind. "Although I have to say, I'm amazed at how good he is. I mean, clearly you're all weirdos who have traits like not hating winter-" Sylvain snickers. "-but even I can tell he's above and beyond that sort of thing."

Dimitri chuckles. "Yes, well. When we were teenagers, ice skating was rather popular in our area of town. Sylvain, Ingrid, and myself all got into hockey, which wasn't too unusual. However, Felix, well... Felix decided he would go for something a little more... complex?"

Sylvain laughs. "Apparently he caught sight of someone's routine one day when we all went to the rink as kids, and thought that seemed far more challenging. Personally, I think he just realized you could put blades on your feet and decided he had to be perfect at it."

Well, when he puts it that way, Claude has to laugh too. "Truly his love for weaponry of all sorts is impressive, although that's just one word for it." Poor Lysithea. She's going to be chasing after him forever, and enraged with every pass he makes. Well, she's an adult now, as she likes to remind everyone. He's sure she can handle it, and her likely defeat. For now, he grins up at Dimitri. "Well, enough about all these third wheels."

"Wow," Sylvain deadpans, still laughing a little.

"I hope you're ready for your entire afternoon to be taken up with teaching someone how to ice skate," Claude continues. "I'm pretty sure that's the amount of time you're going to need, judging by my progress so far."

Instead of his usual tentative little smiles, Dimitri actually dares to give him a playful grin. "Oh? And who's to say that wasn't my intention in the first place?"

"Alright, I'm following Felix's example," Sylvain laughs, speeding away.

Despite Claude's words, it's actually not as difficult as he plays it up to be. Part of that is simply the activity itself being relatively easy to get used to after a little while. Another part of it is that Dimitri seems to have experience in teaching people how to ice skate. Or maybe he's just a natural? Claude files it away in his list of things to talk to Dimitri about whenever they have some spare time. Either way, some fifteen minutes after they've gotten onto the ice, and Claude can finally skate on his own without threatening to lose his balance and hit cold slippery ground.

Of course, if he wants to is an entirely different story.

"Holding hands is just enough of a couple activity," Dimitri says, trying to convince him, and Claude makes a face.

"But I'm cold, and dying. Have some pity in your heart, Dimitri-"

The two of them could probably go on for another five minutes, to the revulsion of their friends (although Marianne seems openly happy about it, Claude supposes), but they're soon interrupted. Harsh scraping signals blades on ice fast approaching from behind, and, soon enough, Ingrid is right besides Dimitri with a bright smile. "It looks like everyone's having fun," she observes.

Dimitri smiles right back. "We've been managing, although Felix has managed to make a mortal enemy already," he chuckles. "It looks like you were able to get off in time. No last minute rush, huh?"

She heaves a sigh of relief, one hand to her chest. "No.. Not like last week, thank goodness. Anyway, what did he do this time?"

Claude winks. "Oh, he just teased one of my friends on a sensitive topic for her, although I doubt he even realized what he did. To add insult to injury, he's just too good. It's gotten her competitive nature all fired up. Now, me, I'm perfectly content just clinging to a tall, muscular, extremely attractive man and letting him cart me around the rink."

There Ingrid goes again, eyeing him in that quietly thoughtful way as if she's trying to remember something. At least she's aware that she's doing it, because she hastily looks away when she thinks Claude might notice. (Too late, he already has.) "I'm honestly surprised. This isn't even him really showing off," she says. "Although I guess he is being thoughtful in his own way, since that might get in the way of the other skaters."

Oh, his curiosity is chomping at the bit, now... and maybe if he gets a suitable distraction going on, he can get Dimitri to keep holding onto him for a little while longer. So he waits until Felix is completing his latest circuit before calling over to him. "Hey, Felix!"

Felix perks up at the call of his name, slowing down his breakneck speed. Behind him, Claude can faintly see Lysithea trying to catch up in a way that hints she might tackle him to the ice once she gets close enough. Such danger is something Felix appears to be completely ignoring, slowing down before he twists around their small group.

Now that Claude is paying attention instead of trying not to slip, he can recognize how Felix is expertly using the change in angles to slow his speed instead of just being fancy. "What?" he asks simply, before eyeing Claude and Dimitri. "If you start being disgustingly romantic again, I'm leaving."

Such a charmer. Claude is more amused than insulted, however, and he winks playfully at the other man. "No worries, I'll spare your sensibilities and keep things rated E for Everyone," he says. "But Ingrid says you're even better at skating than what you've been showing off so far. Mind giving us a little bit of a show?"

"Am I getting paid for this?" Felix asks dryly, which makes Claude laugh again. "Although if you want a real show, you're going to stop being a leech and let go of the boar again."

Ugh. Not only is this is so very unfair, because now he has two things he wants to ask some questions about, but this plan has backfired on him. He wanted an excuse to keep a hold of Dimitri longer, not relinquish him. But... Claude goes for the reason he started this whole conversation in the first place, curiosity too powerful to be denied. "Is he telling me you know how to figure skate?" he asks Dimitri, amused and intrigued.

"Technically, all four of us do," Dimitri admits sheepishly.

"Felix effectively bullied all of us into taking a few classes when we were younger, and then never really let go of us after that," Ingrid says, hiding her smile behind one hand.

Felix scoffs. "I didn't bully anyone," he says. "You all could have said 'no' if you really wanted." Sylvain happens to skate by at around this time, and bursts out laughing so hard that he needs to make a hard break to the side so that he can get a grip on something. Felix glares at him all the way there. "At any rate," he continues, scowling, "the boar is the best at lifts."

"You can lift people? On ice?" Claude needs to see this. He needs to see this yesterday. If he were better at skating instead of 'barely passing', maybe with a little bit of formal training tossed in, he knows for a fact that he'd ask Dimitri to do it to him, but he's thirsty, not stupid. That's just asking for someone to get injured.

Instead, he's perfectly fine with watching Dimitri do this to someone else, if it means getting to bask once more in just how ridiculously strong he is. Claude's seen his boyfriend beat lions at a game of tug of war, and watched as he lifted friendly living tank Dedue off of his feet... But he's always delighted every time. The ice just makes this a bigger challenge.

Dimitri rubs the back of his neck. Unlike Claude, he doesn't care enough about the cold to wear a hat, and his hair crumples up in his fingers. "Felix wanted to see if he could manage it with any of us," he sighs. "I warn you, it's not very professional. I'm not the one who regularly keeps up on my figure skating practice. Or figure skating much at all, really." He shakes his head at Felix. "Why does this always happen with you?"

"Blame your boyfriend," Felix says dismissively.

Claude winks. "I'll accept the grave responsibility of seeing you being incredibly strong and handsome."

Making a disgusted noise in the back of his throat not unlike a cat discovering water for the first time, Felix glares at Dimitri. "Did I just get roped into a flirting thing?" he asks, fully offended.

This time, it's Dimitri's turn to be dismissive as he coolly raises an eyebrow. "You're the one who said you needed a partner," he points out before he looks down at Claude. "The least I can do is warn people out of the way just in case. Which means you really will have to let go now, you know."

Sighing, Claude finally unwinds his arms from around Dimitri's to skate on his own. He still feels a little unsteady, but he suspects that's going to be a regular occurrence unless he's on an ice rink every other day.

"The things I sacrifice for a good show," he bemoans. "Very well, go make sure that no one gets sent to the hospital. Especially yourself, honestly." Dimitri seems fairly confident in his ability to ice skate, especially if he's not too worried about having to pick someone up while doing so, but still. Claude would feel like more than a slight asshole if Dimitri got hurt for this.

But Dimitri only smiles at him before he and Felix skate off ahead of their group. While they go to talk to some of the various skaters, presumably asking them to move slightly closer to the edges, Claude takes stock of which of their combined friend groups are near. Ingrid, of course, is right next to him, which has him noting that she's giving him an odd little look not too unlike when her brain needs a second to process something. Wondering what's up, he asks, "Did I say something wrong, or are you just admiring my good looks?"

Ingrid starts, in a way Claude somehow feels doesn't entirely have to do with him speaking up, and promptly shakes her head. "Oh, no- I was just remembering something."

Before Claude has a chance to subtly and casually interrogate her on just what she's remembered that connects to him, Lysithea finally manages to catch up- to him anyway. Her cheeks are a rosy pink after trying to catch up with Felix, a goal she's yet to reach. "What are they doing now?" she asks, huffing and puffing from exertion.

Oh, she's going to hate this news. "Getting ready to show off more," Claude says idly, watching as Dimitri finishes talking to the parent and child duo Felix passed by earlier. Only, instead of just skating off, he smiles down to the kid and slowly lowers himself down so that he's crouching down while still letting the momentum on the ice carry him. Claude has no idea what Dimitri says, exactly, only that it makes the kid laugh and Dimitri is smiling when he straightens up to skate properly.

So he's the kind of guy who loves kids. Duly noted.

Lysithea grumbles at his side, dragging Claude back to the present moment. "There's going to be no way to beat him at this particular thing, is there? Well, I'm a mature adult. I know when to let a grudge go."

"Oh, so you're going to get your revenge on him in a different way later?" Claude asks innocently.

"Claude-!"

"It looks like they've got plenty of room now," Hilda comments, still going slow enough with Marianne that it was only a matter of time until Claude, Ingrid, and Lysithea all caught up to her. She's right, too. A combination of the park pond's size, a small enough group of people on the ice in general, and the guys' efforts have netted them a decently sized circle of empty space smack dab in the middle of the rink.

Both of them are skating the perimeter of the circle, testing out their limitations as far as Claude can tell. While the park pond is decently large, Claude can still hear Dimitri call out to his friend. "I would truly appreciate it if you could keep your feet below my shoulders, Felix. I'm already missing one eye."

"Just handle me right, and you won't have to worry."

Hilda is doing her absolute best not to fall apart laughing, considering that she's on ice skates and responsible for helping keep Marianne upright... but it's clearly a hard fought battle she's going through, her hand over her mouth. "Do either of them realize how suggestive that sounds...?"

"Absolutely not," Sylvain says, finally having caught his breath from his own cacklefest and rejoined them all again. Claude can't help but quietly feel relieved that everyone is automatically adjusting to not rush past Marianne's own cautious speed, because, frankly, he doesn't feel as though he can really go that much faster despite his confidence in staying upright. "They've been like this for over a decade, by now, and they're not going to change anytime soon."

Claude whistles. "That long, and they're utterly oblivious?"

"Yep. It's almost kind of impressive, isn't it?"

There's not much more time to make fun of Dimitri and Felix's homoerotically charged friendship. Both men finally seem comfortable with the space they have, spiraling in towards the center. Claude had asked for a show, and Felix seems fairly obliging as he actually starts to twist, spin, and even jump along the ice with the kind of triumphant smirk of someone who's dragged themselves through a lot of practice to get where he is.

Dimitri is far less interested in doing anything fancy. All he does is follow along, occasionally twisting on the ice in order to keep his eyes on Felix. His time to shine finally comes along when Felix glides near, and Dimitri suddenly grabs onto him, twirling him around with Felix right off the ice, before he sets him down again. It's not a particularly fancy maneuver, and doesn't even last more than a couple seconds, but Claude can still appreciate it for how difficult this all is. Look at him, for example.

Indulgently, Dimitri does a few more lifts for Felix, including a moment where Felix actually leaps at the blond and gets drawn right into a dip that has his skates a little closer to Dimitri's head than Claude thinks he would ever be comfortable with on either end. As the pair continue to mess around, he becomes aware of rustling to his side, and finally tears his gaze away.

Ingrid is undoing her own jacket, eyes sparkling, and Sylvain looks down at her with a laugh. "Can't sit still, huh?" he says.

"Oh, hush." But she's smiling back up at him. "It's just been a while since I've gotten to practice with a partner."

"She says, probably having practiced on her own every day after work since the rink opened up."

"Listen, out of everyone here, I would expect you to understand taking advantage of a good opportunity!" But then Ingrid slides her coat off, and Claude can hear Hilda's small noise of intrigue followed by Marianne's own little gasp. Much like her friends, Ingrid also the type of person who doesn't believe more than two layers is needed for a light snowy day. Instead, she wears a simple turtleneck and, well.

Look. Claude is bisexual, with his dating history simply often including men- including Dimitri at present. But he can appreciate an attractive woman when he sees one. More importantly, he can appreciate an attractive woman with muscles, and there is absolutely no doubt that Ingrid has more than enough of that. Her turtleneck is tight, clinging to her body and not leaving much to the imagination in the curves of her biceps and the sturdiness inherent along her shoulders. If there's anything hidden, it's all in the torso, leaving one to wonder: does she have abs? What's the back situation like? How fast could this all kill a lesbian or helpless bi?

Marianne is already half dead as it is, the poor thing. She's probably right on the cusp thanks to this.

Utterly oblivious to the fact that she's just committed manslaughter, Ingrid hands her coat up to Sylvain and begins to slowly circle closer to the middle of the rink. Felix's performance has managed to get some clapping, so she has to raise her voice to call out to him. "Hey, Dimitri! Switch with me!"

Both of her friends look over to her, before they both grin in their own way- Dimitri relieved to be out of Felix duty, Felix glad for whatever it is that Ingrid can bring to the table. As the two switch out, skating past each other, Dimitri grins at Claude and Sylvain. Despite the chill in the air that comes from being on an ice rink, a drop of sweat is curving down his neck down into his coat. It should be illegal for a man to be this attractive. "I'm glad I still know what I'm doing," he says once he's close enough. "A part of me was absolutely certain that I would lose my balance and make an utter fool of both of us."

With Ingrid's coat flung over one arm, Sylvain just smacks Dimitri on the back. "And it didn't happen! But just remember that if it did, you'd be perfectly in your right to blame it all on Felix, who keeps dragging us into these things."

"I did drag him into that protest, so I feel it's only fair if I go along with minimal complaints."

"Now, this is just a guess," Claude drawls, "but I have a feeling both of you go along with whatever Felix asks of you regardless if you owe him or not."

Sylvain laughs but doesn't argue, and Dimitri's agreement is in the silent embarrassed way he rubs at the back of his neck again. "So, what did you think of all of that?" Dimitri asks instead, since he clearly can't win against Claude's point.

That's fair enough, and reminds Claude to glance back towards the center of the rink again. Felix and Ingrid are doing some rather impressive spins and jumps around each other, having a good time apparently. "Pretty impressive, honestly, although I could just be biased considering I'm not liable to make a fast turn anytime soon," he jokes. "That's not the kind of thing you end up learning if you're just bullied into lessons, is it?"

"Well..." Dimitri sighs, smiling as he does so. "When we were younger and Felix first convinced me to try, I was actually rather against it. Yet as we kept failing and hitting the ice so many times... Something about it all ignited my competitive spirit. I couldn't let it lie. No, I felt I had to get some sort of lift right, or else I'd... I really don't know." He shakes his head. "It sounds kind of silly to say that I'd feel as though I were losing."

"You got competitive with the act of ice skating?" Claude says, grinning even as he reaches over to lightly put his hand on Dimitri's arm. He needs the support.

Around Dimitri's other side, Sylvain leans around and winks. "It's why him and Felix actually get along so well, although you'd never be able to tell at only a glance. They're, in their heart of hearts, both overly competitive dorks who will chase victory like dogs after the postman."

"Sylvain!" Dimitri protests, but he gets interrupted before he can scold the redhead for the comparison.

Funnily enough, the person who interrupts happens to be Lysithea, who tries to turn around slightly to face them. "Actually, if you've been skating for so long, could you-" But something in her turn has her blades and the ice not agreeing with one another. She starts to fall, desperately windmilling her arms in order to keep her balance.

That saves her, in the end, with Dimitri speeding up a little bit just far enough for him to lean forward and snag her hand. "Ah, be careful!" he says, just a little bit of scolding in his voice.

It's not exactly the best tone to take with Lysithea, who glares at him even as he helps get her onto a steady balance again. "That was just an accident, it won't happen again," she starts.

Dimitri, unfamiliar with the walking time bomb in his hands, blinks at her. There's no way he could know that Lysithea has a long history now of being given child prices to places or events (which Claude thinks is fantastic and should be abused more), or concerned elderly ladies asking her where her parents are. So, shielded by obliviousness, he simply says, "There are ways to prevent accidents. Would you like me to give you the same tips that I gave Claude?"

As usual, his name is the magic word. Usually it's because people find him so incredibly charming, but in Lysithea's case it's because of their long history together, along with the image he's crafted of himself as someone who does in fact relatively have his life together. She pauses, not fighting against Dimitri's fussing as he steadies her spine, before she gives a small and imperious nod. "Oh- well. Claude does need a lot of help with this sort of thing, with his allergy to cold weather, huh? I don't need nearly that much help, but I guess some tips can't hurt. More importantly, I actually wanted to ask you some questions about skating like you did with Felix."

"Well, I suppose I will do my best to answer anything you're curious about..."

Just like that, Lysithea has skated off with Dimitri in tow, dragging him into deep conversation. Claude allows it to happen, although he exchanges an amused glance with Sylvain as he does so. "Do you think she realizes she just broke up a pair of boyfriends who were having a rather romantic skate together?" he drawls.

Sylvain smirks right back. "With what I'm picking up about Lysithea, do you think she would have any problem doing it if she did realize?"

"Oooooh, fair point." Claude chuckles, glancing back to Hilda and Marianne. It's a good time to do so. His dear best friend is tugging the very tips of her fingernails through Marianne's hair, just enough to get it undone, and he can faintly hear Hilda telling her that 'this' is going to work.

Why Hilda is ruining the perfectly fine work she likely did for Marianne in the first place becomes clear when he glances back towards the center of the rink. Claude doesn't know the official name for the maneuver, but Ingrid is twisting around while holding Felix, keeping his whole body low to the ground. Why Hilda and Marianne are so interested in this is obvious: Ingrid's muscles are even more tense and defined as she holds up Felix's weight.

But then they're done, both of them straightening up and laughing with each other. Claude and Sylvain both fall silent, aware of the show they're liable to get in just a few seconds. Once Ingrid and Felix are close enough, still chuckling in their conversation, Hilda starts first. Of course she does. Secretly full of initiative, that Hilda.

"Wow, Ingrid, you were so amazing!" she gushes, fluttering her eyelashes, fingers still resting along the curve of Marianne's neck. "You must practice so hard to skate like that!"

Looking away from Felix, Ingrid gives a small laugh. "Oh, I just realized that I rather liked figure skating too, and Felix made it less embarrassing for me to indulge." But she soon veers away from that bit of history, perking up as she takes in Hilda and Marianne. "Oh no- Marianne, what happened to your hair?"

Marianne looks like she might faint on the spot. "Oh, it's nothing," she gets out, but Hilda doesn't let that stop her.

Sighing dramatically, Hilda cups one hand to her face. "While we've been skating, her hair came loose!" she exclaims, pointedly glossing over some things. "I did it this morning, but I guess there are some things the style isn't prepared for..." Like, say, Hilda herself sabotaging it. "Oh, but you have your hair pulled back in a braid, right? Maybe you could give us some tips!"

Once all three women are out of sight, Sylvain gives a low whistle. "Your friend is sort of cunning, isn't she?" he asks, in the low tone of someone who can appreciate it.

Claude winks at him. "She'll deny it if you tell it to her face," he says. While he stays alongside Sylvain, he glances over to Felix as well. It's kind of obvious from where he's standing that Felix is glancing back over to Sylvain pointedly, as though he's expecting something... But Sylvain doesn't seem to catch it, or pick up the hint, because Felix soon puts his focus to the front again. "Not going to show off too?" Claude asks casually.

"Who, me?" Sylvain shakes his head. "Naaah. I'll let them do all the work." He adds a wink along with his grin. "Besides, Felix would probably tell me off for getting handsy or something. I'm not nearly as good as those three either."

Uh huh. Somehow, Claude feels that's not entirely true, being a well practiced bullshitter himself. Still, he doesn't press. With Dimitri having been snagged by Lysithea and Felix speeding off ahead again with absolutely no care for socialization, that leaves Claude and Sylvain to chat with each other.

Neither of them have really talked since that fateful day in the Golden Deer, when Sylvain handed him Dimitri's phone number. A brief chat over text doesn't really count. One would, reasonably or logically, expect there to be a bit of awkwardness between them now that they're chatting in the flesh while the guy Claude chose is not that far off.

There isn't. Maybe Sylvain is just a very good actor, which Claude sort of suspects he is after perusing social media, but he can't pick up on any resentment boiling beneath the surface. If anything, whenever Dimitri comes up, or he mentions something his friend has said about Claude, he almost appears to light up a little more. Once, Claude outright broaches the topic, casual and relaxed, simply to see the reaction. All Sylvain does is laugh, wink, and say he figured he'd be the one to get turned down.

("He thought it would be both of them," Felix says dismissively, skating by, and is off before Sylvain can catch him.)

If anything, the two of them get along pretty well. It only takes a few minutes of talking for Claude to realize that there was a reason he felt a certain familiarity with Sylvain when he and Hilda did their little social media dive about the two weird dorks whose numbers Claude had in his possession. Sylvain really is actually pretty clever, underneath his silly and flirty exterior. Claude doesn't usually find people like him, people who he can really talk with like this... and it's nice to do that with Sylvain.

They're both in the middle of talking about the latest scandal at a nearby college, just who is reacting how to what, when it finally hits Claude that he should probably see if his boyfriend is freed up again. Wouldn't do for him to spend more time with the guy who tried and failed to pick him up compared to his own actual boyfriend.

The good news is that Lysithea has finally taken off onto her own, skating improved and getting better with every circle she does around the rink. The other news is that Dimitri has gotten latched onto again, somehow right in the midst of Ingrid, Hilda, and Marianne. They're all smiling up at him, engrossed in conversation as they skate along.

Claude stares for a second, blinking, before he looks up at Sylvain and asks quite seriously, "Is my boyfriend a himbo?"

Sylvain nearly chokes on his own air supply, which Claude is quite pleased about. He'd be lying if he said that wasn't perhaps more than a slight factor towards why he voiced the question in the first place. But, proving they really are kindred spirits, Sylvain soon recovers and looks out towards Dimitri and his gaggle of queer women. "Shit, he sort of is, isn't he?" he says, all delighted awe. "The lesbians really cinch it."

"Right?" Claude tries to snap his fingers; it doesn't net him the result he wants. Another reason why winter is terrible. How is he expected to do witty finger snaps if his gloves muffle all attempts? "I mean, it's obvious to anyone who interacts with him, but he's built like the kind of statues they put in museums where they try to tell you this wasn't the artist being horny-"

"Right, right."

"So that's a given," Claude concludes. He wobbles for a second, unsteady on his blades as they make a turn, and Sylvain silently helps steady him. Claude graciously and just as wordlessly accepts the assistance. "And, well. He's my boyfriend, I'm not going to talk trash about my own boyfriend-"

"Completely understandable," Sylvain promises him. "But I'm one of his best friends. So I'm fine with saying that Dimitri has a lot of great qualities. He's even really smart, obviously. Sometimes, I might call him clever, every now and then..." Sylvain takes a deep breath, hand curled at his chin. "...But also, he's absolutely oblivious as hell."

Shaking his head, Claude laughs again. "But the lesbian thing really does make the strongest case. I'm stunned. Even Marianne seems like she's enjoying talking to him. and Marianne wouldn't even be here if Hilda hadn't convinced her in the first place."

Sylvain clicks his tongue. "I'm ashamed that I never saw it before. I should have- Annette and Mercedes like him so much too, after all. But I guess the whole polyamory thing just blinded me to the connection."

"We've cracked the code," Claude says seriously, and they both manage a solemn nod... only to break down into snickers and outright laughter a second after.

Apparently, all the hubbub finally warrants attention, because soon enough Dimitri detaches from the others and slows down enough to let them catch up. "You two are getting along rather well," he notes, partially curious, partially and obviously pleased at the fact. Then again, Dimitri has always seemed happy at how well the meetings between Claude and his friends have gone, and relieved when vice versa happens. "Should I be worried I'm being teased behind my back?"

Sylvain is nice- far nicer than Claude could have guessed from their initial meeting. In an alternate universe, some splintering path based off of his choices, maybe he would even have had fun going on a date or three with him. But looking up at Dimitri is what makes his heart feel warm against the winter chill, even as he playfully winks. Dimitri is the one he immediately skates forward to, linking their arms together. "Perhaps only a little bit," he says. "You made a questionable decision introducing me to all your childhood friends."

"It has occurred to me," Dimitri admits, "that perhaps I should have cause to be concerned."

"Only in a fun way." But with that hilarious little conversation finished... He nudges Dimitri in the side. "I think I've been moving my legs enough for today. Have your fill of skating?"

Dimitri blinks, taking out his phone to check the time. "My, we have been at it for a while... Hold on, the exit to the rink is coming up. Sylvain, can you pass along the word to everyone else, if it's not too much trouble?"

Folding his hands behind his head, Sylvain chuckles. "I'll just catch Felix on his next lap. If not him, then maybe the tag along he's ended up with." Sure enough, Lysithea recently seems to have done enough that Felix is slowing down for her, the two of them exchanging words across the ice.

Well, as long as they're all having fun. It's not really a problem, let alone Claude or Dimitri's problem, so they're both perfectly in the clear to make their way off the ice. A talk with the person who's taken up Ingrid's spot gets them their boots again, along with the bags they left behind, and soon enough Claude is able to stand without threatening to keel over.

"Ah, to move at slower than break neck, without absolutely freezing air rushing past my face," he sighs, once the others have caught up and they're all on the go. "A pity that it's still such a ways until dinner."

Ingrid, an unexpected savior, leans forward and points. "Oh! Before we head out, that way has a food truck that sells hot drinks around now- cider, hot chocolate, coffee, things like that. We can get something for the road. They're quite cheap; I've been enjoying them after work myself."

"It always comes back to food or drinks with you, doesn't it?" Felix asks dryly, and has to hop back when Ingrid tries to smack him in the stomach. It's an exchange they both seem fairly familiar with.

Deterred for only a moment, Ingrid turns away while crossing her arms and huffing. "Honestly! I was trying to be helpful, and you just can't help but needle at someone once again. Aren't we going to have dinner anyway? It's perfectly normal for me to think about these kinds of things. I swear, I win one eating contest in third grade..."

"And then again in seventh, and eight," Sylvain adds helpfully, and is far less successful in avoiding a blow to his ribs.

"You don't look like the kind of person who participates in eating contests," Lysithea observes quietly.

Poor, poor Ingrid. Her face is absolutely red, and she whirls on Sylvain and Felix both. "Look what you two have done-!" All they do is laugh at her, dodging around the other girls so that they don't get tackled to the ground. Considering the furious gleam to Ingrid's eyes, it could very well be a real threat.

Dimitri and Claude get to avoid most of the chaos with how they're hanging far back, still a part of the group arguably but with a good chunk of space inbetween them as they all walk along. Just couple things- or at least, for them it appears to be. Grinning from ear to ear, Claude glances up at Dimitri. "So you have to deal with this every day, with them? Incredible."

Ducking his head, Dimitri can't quite hide his own smile. "There are some benefits to knowing friends from childhood," he says. "Although that means there are just as many more ridiculous things that come with that. But I wouldn't trade any of them for the world."

"Well, as long as I can reap the benefits of an employee discount, I'll happily encourage that decision." Claude bumps his shoulder against Dimitri's arm. "So, do you get like that?"

"Like what?"

"That." Claude nods his head towards where Sylvain is hiding behind Hilda, laughing as Ingrid points accusingly at him. If he had to guess, he'd say the blond is making a quiet threat towards him. Considering the way Hilda is grinning just as much as Sylvain, it must be something stupid and fun more than serious. "Messing around, joking, teasing... We've been dating pretty actively for a while, but you're still always so serious nine times out of ten."

At least he's aware of his own nature, because Dimitri doesn't seem particularly surprised when Claude points it out, only sheepish. "Oh... No, I play around with them. I mean, you saw how Felix managed to get me. Does it bother you?"

"Hmm... That's not quite the word I would have used. It's not so much that I'm bothered, because we've been having plenty of fun with each other beforehand, and lots of times have been exciting or interesting... But you are still restrained, even after our first date. I wouldn't mind getting you a little riled up, just for fun."

"Well... I could try now, if you'd like."

"I mean, don't force yourself or anything. It'll happen when it happens, right?" Claude doesn't mind waiting.

Still, Dimitri shakes his head. "No, I wouldn't be forcing myself. Rather... Well, I did entertain an idea, but I wasn't sure if I would perhaps be overstepping a boundary of some sort. If you really wouldn't mind me being, well... playful... Could you close your eyes, Claude?"

Oooh. From any other dates he's had in the past, he knows what he could expect out of 'playful' for them. With Dimitri, that's still a little bit of an unknown, and Claude honestly can't wait to figure out what that means. That curiosity is what does him in.

So he goes along with Dimitri's request, grinning widely as he does so. He can hear Dimitri shifting behind him, the rustle of his coat giving him away. "Done and done," Claude says. "You know, with the mystery and all, the idea of you being playful is almost too hyped up. So-"

Something ice cold drops down the back of his shirt.

No, not ice cold, snow cold, and Claude barely has a second to absorb the feeling of his scarf and coat being tugged backwards right before The Betrayal happens. He jolts up- literally up, if it's not a foot off the ground then he'll be amazed- and gives a loud screech that immediately draws attention back to them. "DIMITRI!" Whirling around and nearly falling over thanks to the cold slick of the sidewalk, he points an accusing finger at his boyfriend.

But this really must be how Dimitri plays around with his friends, because he's long seen that coming and is already bouncing away, off into the snow piled high off the path. His shoulders are hunched up, matching the sheepish crinkle to his brow, but there's no denying the grin on his face. "I'm sorry, but there's just so much snow, and it's been so- funny to see you complain about it all-"

"I'll show you funny-" Claude starts to force his way through the snow after him but gives up in short order, instead kneeling down with his hands at the back of his neck. He whines. "I'm dying here! I can't believe I was betrayed like this, by my own boyfriend! I was wearing a scarf exactly to get away from this kind of torment!"

"You're acting like a baby!" Lysithea calls from the pavement, where the group has paused to watch his suffering like sadistic spectators. No one appreciates his struggles.

"I'm freezing to death!" he moans. "Don't belittle my torture!"

"I only used a pinch!" Dimitri tries to protest, but, sure enough, he's trekking back through the snow so that he can crouch down besides Claude and slowly rub his back. "Really, we must get you better adjusted to the cold weather, Claude. You can't be beaten by only a little-"

That's around the time Claude scoops up a handful of snow and slams it down the front of Dimitri's shirt.

Viking, polar bear, long lost descendant of the Snow King- Dimitri has a lot going for him apparently when it comes to withstanding freezing weather. However, even those have a certain amount of cold that they can't stand... and bare skin contact is one of them. This time it's Dimitri who jolts back with a yelp, falling right on his ass and into the snow. "Claude!" he gasps, grimacing as he reaches to tug his shirt out from his pants in order to dispel the clumps of snow within his shirt. "How could you!"

"Revenge is a dish best served cold," Claude says seriously, before he grins and crawls forward. "Now you know how I felt just now."

"It was a pinch," Dimitri bemoans.

"And I'm delicate." Finally close enough, he laughs and reaches under Dimitri's shirt to wipe away some of the powder still lingering on his skin while Dimitri helplessly flaps his shirt.

With the snow mostly gone now, although the chill will no doubt stick around for a while yet, Dimitri shakes his head. "You're one of those people who makes sure to get back at others twice as hard, aren't you?" he says, not sure if he should sound pitiful or amused. Pushing himself up onto his feet, he offers his hand to Claude. "I was going to offer you a way to warm up your neck again, but now I'm not so sure if I should encourage such dreadful behavior."

"Aw." Claude immediately uses the momentum of being pulled up to swing himself right against Dimitri's body, grinning into his coat. "You know, there's a saying on how it's apparently better to beg for forgiveness instead of asking for permission. So how about we just consider me begging, and you indulge me by warming up the spot you so mercilessly attacked me at?"

Dimitri shakes his head. "That is not how I would have described the situation," he tells him before he pulls Claude away using both hands. "Very well. But I am going to have you remove your scarf, or else I'm not going to be able to reach the spot you're complaining about."

"You realize I'm going to look like quite the ass if you pull an encore, don't you?" Claude drawls, smiling a bit.

"I promise not to do it again," Dimitri says, looking so genuine about it that Claude can't help concede. Really, that just means he's going to look extra like a jackass if Dimitri pulls one over him... but he really doesn't think he will, despite how now would be the perfect opportunity for it.

So Claude huffs, still smiling, and turns around obligingly as he tugs his scarf off from around his neck. Patiently, he waits, and then feels Dimitri's fingers gently slip into his hair from the back until his knuckles are nudging Claude's beanie out of place. It really does feel as though something is going to happen, and the hair on the back of Claude's neck sticks up-

Dimitri kisses him there, soft, sweet, his chapped lips barely brushing along Claude's skin and the heat of his breath sinking into him.

He stops breathing then, and his heart flutters right up against his ribcage. For a brief second, he can still feel Dimitri suddenly so close, his breath rolling along his neck and dipping down into the back of his shirt. "Do you feel warmer now...?" It's such a soft and tentative question, right along the curve of his ear, and Claude tries not to shudder too noticeably.

Such a tiny little action, a fleeting chaste kiss, and yet it has sparks igniting through his veins right up into his heart. Maybe it's because they've gone for a while now in this relationship with no move towards kissing, or anything beyond that, which has him reacting so strongly. Maybe it's because he wasn't expecting it, when Dimitri has been so upfront in the past before. Maybe it doesn't really matter. All that matters is Claude turning around to face Dimitri, one hand on his arm, and he opens his eyes to look up at his boyfriend.

"I think I could benefit from being a little warmer," he breathes, although now he hardly even notices the cold. Not when compared to the feel of Dimitri's bicep underneath his palm, the way they're so close together, that one brilliant blue eye looking into his so shy and hopeful. "Think you could warm up my lips next, Dimitri?"

Nervous, Dimitri wets his lips with the tip of his tongue, and then slowly smiles back at him. "I think I can help with that," he says softly, and leans in to kiss him properly.

This shouldn't be anything new, a part of Claude's brain tries to offer logically. He's had plenty of kisses, and this isn't really that different, physically. Yet it feels different, feels like nothing else he's done before, safe and secure and warm where Dimitri holds him close and their lips slot together so neatly. It's not a deep kiss, doesn't have to be, and they're both sort of smiling like idiots when they pull away.

They're not the only idiots in the park, however, and soon there's clapping and whistles drawing their attention. Turns out that they have such great friends who wait for them, and also jackass friends who will make a scene out of a first kiss. When Claude finally tears his gaze away from Dimitri, he finds that the two main culprits are one Sylvain Jose Gautier and Hilda Valentine Goneril. Felix is just rolling his eyes, although it's up in the air if he's doing it at the happy couple or the two noisy jackasses besides him. Well, Felix seems like a talented kind of guy. He can probably multitask and judge all of them.

Dimitri is going red at the realization that he just kissed his boyfriend in front of at least half their friend groups, and that red only gets worse when Sylvain cups his hands to his mouth and calls out, "I know a hotel you can both check into if you need a room, Dimitri!"

"SYLVAIN!" Just like that, Dimitri leaves Claude's side and hauls himself through the snow right towards his friend. With a whoop, Sylvain turns tail and runs off into the snow himself to avoid sweet retribution.

It looks fun, sure, but Claude has rather had enough of snow on his person today... and he's more than content with what's just happened. So he casually strolls his way back onto the pavement and their friends, smiling wide. Hilda looks at him and clicks her tongue, amused and fond. "Could you look anymore smug, Claude?"

"It would take a bit of effort," he says, and winks.

"You're acting like a teenager with his first boyfriend," Lysithea teases, but she doesn't go too hard on him. Maybe, like Hilda, she gets just how happy he is right now. Marianne doesn't say anything, only gives a small and fleeting little smile.

Dimitri's other friends seem less inclined to give him as much shit, although Felix does speak up. "Try to keep the PDA to a minimum," he drawls as he bends down, scooping snow into his hands. For a second, Claude is wary that he'll have to start dodging, but it's not him Felix is focused on. Rather, he's looking out where there's a brief stand off between Sylvain and Dimitri as the two of them try to trick the other into moving one way... and then they're off again.

Almost immediately, Ingrid catches on and groans. "Felix! Don't you start adding to this. What Sylvain did really was crude, and he probably deserves anything Dimitri literally throws at him, but, honestly. Lysithea is right, don't be so immature."

Felix smirks, finishing rounding out his snowball. "That would be quite a scolding, if you weren't doing the exact same thing as me."

All Ingrid does is smile, a little sheepish and a little playful in equal measure, and straighten up with a crude snowball of her own. "Well, I suppose he deserves far worse than only what Dimitri can throw at him," she says, giggling, and then the two are off as well. It's easy to tell when Sylvain notices how badly he's been ganged up on. All one has to do is listen for the way he screams.

While Dimitri takes the cake, they all together make a sort of cute picture as they go running through the snow, specks of white flying everywhere. Oh, they're absolutely absurd, Claude thinks, but it's cute. As Claude and his friends wisely stay out of it, he can't help but notice Marianne watching it all with a thoughtful expression on her face. "Penny for your thoughts?" he asks because, while there's no doubt that Marianne finds Ingrid attractive, he doubts that's what would have her thinking so deeply.

"O-Oh." Marianne immediately looks a little bit embarrassed, drawing her hands close to her chest. "It's nothing, really... They're just- silly musings."

"Well, now you have to tell us," Hilda says, wrapping her arm around her and smiling. "You know we won't laugh, Marianne."

She hesitates, for just a moment, but then Marianne takes a breath. "I was just... thinking how, playing in the snow like they are, those four remind me of dogs... just a little bit." She tugs on her own fingers a little bit. "I hope that isn't insulting..."

All three of them look towards where Sylvain is bounding through the snow, whistling and laughing as he dodges attacks on his person, or how Felix is chasing after him with a determined hunter's gleam in his eye, or the way Dimitri and Ingrid are trying to get him in a pincer attack. "If anything," Lysithea says, "I think that's way too accurate."

Hilda playfully squeezes Marianne's arms. "But now you have to tell us which breeds."

"And why," Claude adds, grinning.

It says a lot about someone, and not necessarily only Marianne, that her pause is one of her usuals and not that of someone who needs a few seconds to think. All too soon, and she's pointing at-

"Well... I suppose I'll start with Sylvain. He reminds me of a Saluki... Have any of you seen them?" She looks around for their reactions. "They're very long and very graceful animals, known for how they often like to loung on comfortable surfaces... But they're amazingly athletic, too."

There's no better time to point that out than now, as he ducks under one of Felix's throws and expertly dodges under one of Ingrid's arms.

Marianne continues. "They're rather intelligent, and get along very well with their own, ah... pack? But they can be reserved outside of that... Which, um, he was very polite and nice to all of us-" She struggles for a second, clearly not sure if she should use the word 'flirty'. "But he seems to prefer being with the others."

Hilda taps her cheek. "Hmm... I can see that. I thought we were getting along pretty well, but you can definitely tell it's shallow between us. He definitely likes Felix and the others more. Some way more." Around Marianne, she raises her eyebrows pointedly to Claude, and he chuckles under his breath. Yes, he'd noticed the way Sylvain's eyes drifted towards Felix more than anything else.

"Speaking of..." Marianne's finger drifts to her next target. "I believe I would pair Felix with a Cattle Dog." She presses her fingertips together. "Oh, um, Blue Heelers. They're extremely high energy dogs... The kind that are happiest when they have a task to complete, or challenges to overcome. But they can be difficult to control, even for experts... If they think there's not someone in authority, they'll take over themselves. And, well, they're not recommended for children or small animals... Since their name is like that for a reason..."

Hilda's eyes narrow in warning. "Did he snap at you when I wasn't looking, Marianne?"

Immediately, she looks aghast, and shakes her head. "No, oh no. I'm so sorry for the mix up-"

"No need to apologize, Marianne," Claude says lightly, gently bringing her down.

Marianne nods, and corrects Hilda. "Rather... He seems like the kind of person who would?"

Like smoothly run machinery, all of them look over to the ongoing snowball fight. Or, well, snowballs are being used, at least. Even as they watch, Felix tries to outright tackle Sylvain, only to miss and catch himself with his foot slamming into the snow. Instead of being disappointed, he only seems excited, and... Yeah, you know what, Claude can't say for sure at this distance, but he'd place money on Felix having just snapped his teeth in adrenaline.

Marianne probably wasn't thinking sexual thoughts when she made that statement, but all Claude can think now is that Sylvain is sure in for an exciting time if he can ever successfully get Felix's attention.

Clapping her hands together, Hilda asks, "What about Ingrid?"

"Oh, she's a golden retriever, absolutely," Marianne says with a slight smile and no hesitation. She really seems to be getting her groove with this, now, and Claude finds himself grinning alongside her. "They're highly recommended dogs, friendly in all manner of ways. It's no doubt why people think of them as a quintessential dog... They're easy to train, friendly to people... But, well, they're still a hunting dog at their roots. So having a lot of play time..."

There's a loud laugh from the snow flying everywhere, and Marianne ducks her head, still smiling.

Lysithea puts her hands on her hips and raises an eyebrow. "I think this is all a lot of bias," she announces, which makes Marianne go red.

The good news is that she has Claude for a friend, and Claude prides himself on his shamelessness. He leans in, bumping his shoulders against Marianne's, and grins. "Speaking of bias, that just leaves Dimitri, doesn't it? I'll pretend you saved the best for last."

He'll consider it a victory to have Marianne smiling again, and she directs her attention once more to the snow fight happening in the distance. "For him... I think he would be a Malamute," she decides. "They're sturdy, and certainly not a small dog by any means... They obviously found home in incredibly cold locations. They're still very friendly, of course... But they once were used to hunt polar bears, and, well... Everyone notices at first glimpse how wolf-like they still are."

Even as she says it, Claude watches as Dimitri suddenly catches Sylvain off-guard - surging out from the snow while he's distracted by a maneuver from Ingrid. Despite the distance, it's clear to see that broad slash of a smile across his face, all teeth. Claude remembers seeing it once before, during their very first date with one another. It's Dimitri's competitive grin, the one he takes on when he's really worked up.

The one that makes him look absolutely fucking feral.

Y'know, he supposes he's kind of glad he did show Marianne that one video taken at the zoo. While it wasn't a completely accurate representation of everything Dimitri is, at least she's not wholly surprised when this side comes surging out in moments like now.

With Dimitri blocking one way, there's nowhere else for Sylvain to go. All he can do is stumble back against Dimitri's chest, laughing, as Felix and Ingrid pelt him with snowballs that ends in Felix dumping one the size of his head against Sylvain's body. With all the slippery snow around and all that running, the four of them collapse into a pile of white- although mostly Dimitri hitting the snow, and everyone else hitting Dimitri. Claude can hear their laughter all the way from where he's standing, Dimitri's included, and he marvels at the little kernel of warmth in his chest as he notes that.

Weeks and weeks ago, after their first date, he'd reflected that he'd had it pretty bad. With time, that feeling has only gotten worse. He doesn't regret it at all.

The crunch of snow rouses him out of his own memories, and he glances down to see Lysithea bent to gather snow in her hands. The realization of what she wants to do forms neatly in Claude's mind, and he laughs into his glove. "Oh, aiming to get sweet revenge, huh?"

He's pretty sure if he asked, Lysithea would blame her rosy cheeks on the cold and not embarrassment. "I mean, clearly these sorts of childish measures are the only way guys like Felix will listen, right?" she says, trying to make an excuse for herself. "It's just to get his attention and nothing else."

And with that excuse put up like a shield, Lysithea begins to sneak through the snow towards the pile of dogs-in-human-bodies. Poor Felix is too absorbed in whatever he's telling Sylvain to even realize the danger, until there's a snowball already stuffed down the back of his turtleneck.

Needless to say, it takes a little while before they set off again. Claude, Hilda, and Marianne all get hot cider in the meanwhile so that they can enjoy the show without freezing to death.

By the time they're all ready, the only person not covered in snow (besides Claude and his two sensible friends, of course) happens to be Ingrid, giggling behind her hand as she looks at the absolutely soaked state her friends are in. They all make fun of them, Dimitri with snow in his hair and Sylvain a walking snowman and Felix dusting it off his body so that it flicks right onto Lysithea. Really, they must make quite a sight as they walk down the street... but it's the city. People have seen weirder, and this is rather tame in comparison.

The restaurant they're all headed towards is fortunately nearby; being right near a park in the city is never a bad location to have if one can manage it. All the servers seem to recognize Ingrid and her friends while they're shedding snow at the entrance, particularly delighted, and soon enough they're seated, coats set to the side.

Everything is already so warm before the grill even starts up, and Claude nestles against Dimitri. "Finally, a place for people with sense and a self preservation instinct," he sighs.

"I need to take you out for more winter activities," Dimitri says, which is the exact opposite of a caring and loving boyfriend, the monster. But he does wrap his arm around Claude, tugging him close and sharing in his polar bear-like warmth, so he guesses he can forgive him a little bit. "But it was fun to go skating, wasn't it?"

"Don't bother trying to convince him," Felix says from his side of the table, leaning out of the way as what could very well be dozens of sides get placed onto the table. "It seems like you've ended up dating a delicate snowflake."

"God, I wish I was a delicate snowflake," Claude muses, letting the casual insult roll off his back. "Then maybe I wouldn't be dying in the cold, and Dimitri could catch me on his tongue."

Dimitri and Marianne both go blazing red, Ingrid and Felix choke on their drinks, Lysithea rolls her eyes, and that leaves Sylvain and Hilda to just lose their absolute shit. Claude merely gives a lazy and smug grin. Why go with a come back himself, when he can just make Felix almost die of asphyxiation from some more-than-obvious innuendo?

Claude and Hilda are still laughing when he notes Ingrid lean in to Sylvain. She probably doesn't realize Claude is just barely close enough to hear her iss, "It's like he's dating you, Sylvain!" Felix gets company in 'choking on a drink' city, because that's what Sylvain does with some cucumber in his mouth. Even if she didn't mean for anyone else to hear that, it makes Claude laugh a little harder. Or maybe that's Felix, yelling at him to stop telling him about his and Dimitri's sex life.

Really, the meat arrives just on time.

Beyond all the teasing and playful jabs, their group is just full of chatter. When he's not indulging in it himself, from asking Ingrid about the kinds of ice skating tricks she knows to checking in with Marianne on her recent volunteer hours at the pound, Claude enjoys just listening to all the different conversations.

He's used to listening in on his friends, knowing what they'll all default to talking about when they have time with one another. With Dimitri's friends? That means even more new conversations, new aspects of themselves revealed, and he loves it. Hell, he loves seeing his own friends happy. With Dimitri's friends... He thinks he could love seeing them in very much the same way.

Hilda carefully teasing Ingrid into some beauty gurus on youtube she knows, the videos focused more on humor than necessarily makeup tips.

Dimitri and Marianne, their heads bowed quietly together, talking about forgiveness and working hard and all the best cat watching spots in the city.

Felix and Lysithea, bonding and arguing in equal measure, the latter occasionally fielding questions to Sylvain, who injects a spicy hot take into whatever it is they're bickering about.

All of them have friends outside each other, of course. That's how the world works, just degrees of separation keeping them all apart. There are plenty of people Lorenz knows that Claude doesn't (and probably won't ever want to), and the same goes for Raphael, and Ignatz, on and on and on. But there really is something just... nice about seeing all his most important friends not only like Dimitri, but seem to like Dimitri's friends as well.

It feels.... like a simple and neat merging of their lives together.

Well. It's a little too early still to think about things like that.

At some point, Claude loses track of what round of meat they're on. This is partially because Ingrid knows the location of this restaurant by heart for good reason, with how much she tears through without batting so much as an eye. There's still plenty left for them, and Claude is enjoying the way the meat sizzles when Dimitri turns to him with a bright grin. "That reminds me- Claude, do you have any plans later in the month?"

"Hmm.... Let's see." He runs through his mental calendar.

There's the usual stuff, of course, but a lot of it has slowed down in consideration of how it seems every religion or culture in existence kicks off around the start of winter. Not surprising, really. Seasons are the same no matter where one is, bar the most extremes, so some holidays simply sync up when it comes to timing.

His parents want him to Skype later, but he can do that whenever, really. There's the usual small little get together he has with his roommates, but that's pretty informal: taste testing how many variants of hot chocolate they can make, a terrible holiday movie marathon, and some minor gift exchanges.

He tells Dimitri all of this, because there's not really a reason to keep it hidden from anyone, and adds towards the end, "Why, have a romantic date idea in mind?"

Dimitri's smile turns slightly sheepish. "Oh, no, I'm afraid not. Well, I likely will? But I'm inquiring right now for something else entirely. I've told you about the winter party I have with all of my friends at the end of the year, haven't I? It occurred to me the other day that I hadn't formally invited you, and I wanted to correct that mistake." He looks across the table. "Hilda has long since received the invitation,. Granted, it was long before any real planning had gone into the party."

Hilda bats her eyelashes, but there's no shame in her eyes. Claude is proud to say that there very rarely is. "I mean, once he told me about it, of course I had to make sure that I got an invitation! I had no idea that there was still a lot of time left until it would become an issue."

"She certainly took initiative," Dimitri says, smiling a little bit. "Still, would you be interested?"

"I mean, I can't let Hilda have all the fun," Claude says, winking. "Let me know the time and place. Should we bring some food, or are we all ordering out?"

Ingrid leans forward, smiling. "Normally, we make it something of a potluck."

"I'm not missing Dedue's cooking for the world," Sylvain says, plucking some more meat from the grill. "So that's at least one good reason why we should keep it a potluck tradition. But if you can't afford or manage to bring anything, it's not a big deal. Trust me." He laughs, and winks. "There will be plenty of food. No need to add stress to the menu."

"But if you're going to come, then I won't feel guilty about asking you for Raphael's phone number or email," Dimitri says. "Oh, and also could you ask Lorenz if he's interested? Ignatz seemed very nice, but I'm concerned that perhaps this may seem far too intimate an invitation..."

Felix groans from his part of the table, as though that might hide the way his fond smile is slipping out after a bottle of beer. "Are you going to invite every single person you've met in the last couple of months?"

Instead of shying away, Dimitri tilts his chin up in an almost imperious fashion. "I'm hosting it at my apartment like we've been doing for a good few years now," he says simply. "I don't believe I'm without the right to invite who I please. Besides, this is for friends, isn't it? I rather like people such as Raphael, so I don't see the harm in inviting them."

Placing his elbow on the table, Claude cups his cheek in his hand and grins wide. "I mean, that is a perfectly valid line of reasoning," he says, "but just to double check, how many of your friends are coming, Dimitri?"

"Well..." Dimitri looks around the table. "Almost everyone here, it goes without saying. After that, it's only Dedue and the others, down the hall. That's not too many to start with, is it?"

"It sounds like so little when you put it that way," Sylvain muses, grinning around his drink. "Not at all like you're inviting a bunch of other people into the limited space that is your apartment. What's the full list of names of people outside the usual suspects that you want to invite now?"

Dimitri begins to count out the list on his fingers. "Claude, obviously. Hilda is coming as well-"

"And Marianne is my plus one," Hilda interjects.

"Yes, of course. So, Claude, Hilda, Marianne, Raphael-"

Lysithea peers around Ingrid. "Can any of us come? Because I don't have any plans either, and it's going to be dull if I have to spend the holidays alone."

"Oh, you're certain you'd like to come? It's going to be rather... Well. Felix will be there."

"And what is that supposed to mean, exactly, boarhead-"

"I'm sure," Lysithea agrees, crossing her arms. "In fact, that works out perfectly for me. This absolute heathen doesn't think sweets are worth the time it takes to put them in the mouth. If this is a potluck, then I can absolutely prove him wrong."

"No one's asking you to prove me wrong-"

"But you need to be!"

While Felix and Lysithea fall into another argument, Dimitri casually continues on, ignoring both of them completely. It's a skill Claude can appreciate, really. "So, Claude, Hilda, Marianne, Raphael, Lysithea, Lorenz-"

"Lorenz is almost guaranteed to bring Leonie along, if Hilda has the go-ahead to bring a plus one," Claude observes. "Since they are dating and all." He grins at the blank stare Dimitri gives him, this clearly having been news to the blond. "Oh, yeah, they're dating. I suppose that wouldn't have had a reason to come up whenever you've talked to them, huh? Anyway, he'll definitely bring her along, so at that point you may as well invite Ignatz since he knows all of us too."

Dimitri stares down at his fingers, where he's counted out all eight of their names. Sylvain tries to hide his wheezed out snickers behind one hand. "Dimitri? That's an additional fifteen people you want to shove into your apartment."

While Dimitri doesn't outright look filled with regret by the full picture, he does stare at his fingers with a blankness that only comes from being a little overwhelmed. "It... certainly is," he says after a second, taking a deep breath before he squares his shoulders. "Well, my apartment should be big enough, and it would be rude of me to rescind invitations. I shall simply have to make another cheesecake."

"Well... The more, the merrier, isn't that how the saying goes?" Ingrid clasps her hands together, just as stubbornly determined as Dimitri. "Besides, with how much we bring to the party anyway, I doubt we'll have any food shortage problems."

Folding his hands behind his head, stuffed full of barbecue, Sylvain leans back in his chair until at least some of the legs are off the ground. "Well, just in case, I think I might actually follow the Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd school of party preparation, and make a little extra on my end too. I doubt anyone will oppose more sorbet."

Well, that's certainly one way to get Hilda's attention, and she perks up. "Wait, you make sorbet, Sylvain?"

"You'd be amazed at how easy it is, honestly..."

Just like that, the conversation falls back into the comfortable ebb and flow that they'd all had before. Claude manages to steal the majority of Dimitri's focus this time around, curious about this party, what's expected from it, what sort of shenanigans have happened in the past.

The good news is that it really is just a generic 'winter' sort of party. No religion or holiday attached. From Claude's snooping - inquiring - it's apparently something they all agreed on years ago, Dimitri and his friends.

He'd already known about Dimitri's uneasiness with the main church around, which had extended to a few other religions like it, but he seems to have a friend heavily involved in it. (Mercedes, if Claude had to guess, based off of what he knows.) His other friends seem to have varying religious interest, and Dedue has an entirely different set of spiritual views. So, in the end, it's devoid of any other connotation beyond just a party for friends, the last of the year.

Claude rather likes that. There are always reasons for a party, in his opinion, so long as one has friends they love to populate it.

Because it's just a party amongst friends, there's no need to dress up fancy- unless anyone wants to anyway. Tee shirt and jeans are perfectly acceptable, although not advised with it being winter. It's a potluck, but no one has to really bring anything if they don't want to, and there's always backups just in case something happens.

It all sounds really comfortable, honestly. The more Claude hears about it, the more he quietly finds himself looking forward to it, for all that he's literally only been invited tonight. What a way to celebrate the end of the year: with friends, an excellent meal, and everyone mingled together.

Eventually, eventually, they're all stuffed full of good food, and everyone divides up the cost between themselves with a generous tip heaped on for dealing with a large group of loud mouths who devoured probably half their stock of meat.

"Jeez, time really does fly when you're having fun and making your stomach into a meat market," Claude notes as he pulls on his coat, looking out of the window where the city has fallen dark and the streetlights pick up the sun's slack. "I'm not looking forward to walking in the cold."

"You haven't looked forward to the cold at all today, as far as I can tell," Felix says, smirk teasing at his lips.

"And I'm valid for it," Claude says primly, sticking his tongue out and winking.

Dimitri interrupts. "Felix, you had a few drinks. Are you sure you'll be alright on the way home?"

Scoffing, Felix cuts his hand through the air in a dismissive gesture. "It's fine. I've made it back to my apartment just fine plenty of times before. I don't need you to hold my hand on this."

"Now who's being immature?" Lysithea says smugly. "You should take that kind of concern upfront."

"I think that would still be you, actually, Miss Still Eats Desserts For Breakfast."

Dimitri cuts through yet another argument, apparently very used to it happening where it concerns Felix. "I think it would simply make all of us feel better if you had someone go with you.... Or, perhaps stayed at someone's place? Sylvain, would you mind?"

The redhead in question has been standing to the side, watching the bickering in much the same amused fashion Claude has been. Yet when Dimitri suggests him, he starts a little bit, and actually looks a bit caught off-guard for a split second as he glances over at his friend.

His expression is gone in a heartbeat; Claude is fairly only certain he caught it because he's used to such acting. Part of it might have even been pure simple luck. "I mean, you all know you're welcome to crash in my place anytime you like, but I'm not sure Felix-"

Whatever Sylvain was thinking about Felix, he wasn't thinking hard enough, because he's caught completely off guard when the other man jabs his lethally pointy elbow right into his side. "Trying to run away again?" he says, smirking. "Don't think I missed how you thought you could get out of ice skating with me, sticking to Claude all afternoon. I ought to get you back."

"You're being invited to stay at my house, not kill me in my sleep," Sylvain points out, grinning. Claude feels pretty confident in saying that it's not in his imagination, the way Sylvain's shoulders slowly start to ease up. "Well, I guess that decides things on our end. Maybe I can even do breakfast for us, if you're staying over, Felix." He grins at the rest of the group. "Will the rest of you lovely ladies be alright on the way back home at this time of night?"

"I didn't know I was a lady," Claude comments idly, which earns a snicker from at least a few in their group. He's pleased to note that even Ingrid has to hide her mouth behind one hand.

Sylvain quirks an eyebrow up, grinning. "Oh, I just assumed you were going with Dimitri, in which case no one will touch you. Well, unless he-"

"Sylvain!" Dimitri and Ingrid cry out in unison, while Felix plugs his ears with an exasperated look stretched across his face. Hilda and Lysithea just laugh.

Once all the ruckus has quieted down, Claude speaks up. "Actually, I think I've had enough for tonight, so I'll probably just head home for the night."

"In that case, you can just walk with me and Marianne," Hilda says, grinning. "I was going to help her get home, since the subway system is still such a mess, and her place isn't too far from ours."

Claude groans at the prospect of walking around in the cold even more than he has already, but nods his agreement. Sylvain grins over to Ingrid and Dimitri. "So that leaves the blond duo all on their own. Well, you'll both be alright."

Putting her hand on one hip, Ingrid tilts her head to the side with a smile. "No concern for me on whether I'll get home safe, Sylvain?"

It's Felix who answers with a sharp bark of a laugh. "Ingrid, once, when we were in high school, almost got jumped by some punk with a knife, and broke his jaw with a backhand."

Hands fisted, Ingrid leans forward with her cheeks pink. "It was an accident, Felix, I was surprised!"

The conversation gets sidetracked for a hot minute, including Hilda feeling the need to inform Ingrid of how extremely attractive her punching out a mugger is, but soon enough everyone is dressed once more for the weather outside, and they all head their separate ways. Sylvain takes off one direction, shyly curling his arm around a mildly intoxicated Felix, which leaves Dimitri and Ingrid to set off into the night after Dimitri presses another shy kiss to Claude's mouth.

Thus Claude, Hilda, and Marianne are all traversing the snowy streets of the city on their own. Claude's head is already whirling with ideas on what to bring to the party, what exactly he should dress, and Hilda indulges him gladly with Marianne occasionally chiming in.

As they talk, however... His mind can't help but buzz. He feels like there's more than just holidays to this month, something he's seen but forgotten. On a hunch, he pulls out his phone, risking the way his fingers freeze over in the cold air while he removes a glove.

Hilda leans near to look over his shoulder. "What's up?" she asks, while Marianne moves in a little as well.

"Just double checking something..." It's been a while, but Dimitri's long abandoned facebook is easy enough to find. As he skims over the page, a smile tugs on his lips and he hears Hilda give a delighted gasp. "Ah ha."

Marianne has one hand of her own delicately raised to her mouth, just as surprised but in much quieter fashion. "What do you think you'll do for it...?"

Sliding his phone back into his pocket, Claude tugs his glove back on and laughs. "I have a few ideas already. It's just a matter of narrowing them down."