coffe hell 8

[warmskies]

"Uuuugh, why did your car have to break down now? Walking with all of this is such a pain!"

"Preaching to the choir, Hilda, trust me. But let's try to think positive, or fun! We're heading to a party, after all."

"Then, if we're talking fun, why is your manager so cool?" Hilda sighs, peering over at the amount of boxes he has in his arms. "I mean, how did Manuela even know the guy you're dating doesn't like alcohol?"

Adjusting the boxes as they wait for the crossing light to flash green, Claude grins. "I honestly had some of the same questions myself," he tells her. "All she did was wink and tell me women are full of secrets. But I'm pretty sure all she did was check my social media." Peering proudly out of a bag hanging from the crook of his elbow, the champagne bottle catches waning sunlight proudly. While it's a champagne, it distinctly notes itself as being 'de-alcoholized'. It's the perfect party drink, with none of the terrible hangover or addiction type side effects. "Meanwhile, I notice you stopped by Gaius's Bakery before you got back."

She puffs out her cheeks, although she's not serious about it. "Listen, Mister Lambchops and Devils, not all of us can cook a delightful meal, or have the energy for it! And you were taking up all the kitchen space anyway, when I woke up this morning. Trying to impress your boyfriend, huh?"

The answer is a wink, because it often is. Besides, yeah, why not? He has good reason to want to impress his boyfriend, even if Dimitri said no one had to bring anything. For something like this, Claude really does want to give it his all. "Hey, no judgment, no judgment. Everyone knows that Gaius's sweets are some of the best in the entire city. It must have taken quite a bit of networking and puppy dog eyes to get so many, right?"

And there are so many. If it was just a party with her, and him, and the rest of her friends, maybe a dozen would have been more than enough. But Hilda has really gone above and beyond this time around in a surprising display, with maybe more than three dozen cupcakes piled up in three cutely decorated boxes bearing the bakery's trademark ursine mascot. On one hand, he knows at least part of the consideration must be for Raphael, who could probably clear through a whole box on his own if there weren't any other alternatives, plus even just a single cupcake for each of the party goers would mean she'd at least need two boxes in the end.

But...

Claude's own eye twinkles a little bit. "then again, maybe I'm not the only person trying to impress someone. There are going to be quite a few cute girls for you and Marianne, huh?"

"Has anyone told you that you talk too much, Claude?" she asks, bumping her hip against his with a grin.

"I'm pretty sure I've heard similar words out of Lorenz's mouth. Do you really want to be like Lorenz, Hilda?" The two of them burst out laughing, and then the light turns green to send them on their way.

There's a lot going on in the city, lots of people who have places to be just like Claude and Hilda do. Fortunately, the two of them manage to navigate the subways and streets all the way to Dimitri's apartment complex with no problem. It's all really quite a stroke of good luck, especially since Claude knows just how chaotic this time of year can be. Just as him and Hilda are stepping into the elevator, a familiar deep voice calls out to the pair of them. "Hold the doors, please."

Claude pauses mid-stride, keeping his leg in the elevator door's way, and grins over his shoulder at the approaching hulking figure. "Dedue! What a coincidence, right? I thought you would have been upstairs in your apartment with everyone else already, if not at Dimitri's place to start with." Once Dedue is close enough, he steps further inside and turns around to get a look at the man. And, boy, is there a lot to look at today.

After all, Dedue is a pretty big guy as it is, and someone- him or another person entirely- seems to have taken full advantage of that. The backpack he has strapped to his back is absolutely enormous, taking up the whole of his torso. Which is a lot of torso. Underneath that is another pack of some sort, slung diagonally across his body, straining with whatever has been stuffed inside it. His arms, of course, aren't immune to all this weight either, and he's carting at least three different bags. Claude thinks one of them might actually be one of those custom bags meant for carrying a pressure cooker, or something similar.

All of that, and he's still able to move at the same walking speed Claude has seen him use already, as if he's not carrying a thing. What a man. No wonder three different people have leapt onto him already. Claude can imagine himself doing the same, if he weren't head over heels for Dimitri.

"Thank you," Dedue says once he's stepped inside, the doors sliding shut behind him. Hopefully no one else has to use this elevator for a while. With how much they're all carrying together, it's more than tight enough. "I normally try to be punctual to such events, but I'm afraid I've been with family for the last few days. This is typically how things tend to schedule out, however."

Making an intrigued noise, Hilda leans forward to try and better survey all his luggage. "Are these all gifts from your family, then?" she asks.

Tilting his head to the side, Dedue considers her question. "Of a sort," he answers after a moment.

"I can't tell if you're unlucky, because I think I would die if I had to carry all of this back to my apartment after visiting my family, or really lucky, because they must love you so much if they send you back with this." She smiles up at him.

Dedue doesn't actually smile back, as far as Claude can tell from his position, but something in his expression seems to soften somewhat. "Yes. I immigrated here when I was very young, and my aunts took me in, since the rest of my family didn't make it."

"Oh," Hilda says, taken aback. "I'm sorry for your loss..."

"Let us know if we're being too nosy," Claude adds. "Especially me, gods know."

Dedue shakes his head. "It's fine. This was a very long time ago. I've come to terms with their absence, and I have no doubt their spirits have been put to rest. Still, my aunts were the ones to watch over me here in a new country, and they drew together more cousins and distant relatives than I knew existed. Every year, they make sure there's still a large family party." He lifts up the probably-a-pot bag in particular. "Not all families can be perfect... but they have worked very hard to make sure that the bonds in ours are still good. They also insist on sending me back with more than the average person would be able to carry." Claude might be imagining things, but he could swear that Dedue's tone gains a slightly dry tint towards the end there.

Before much more can be said about the subject, the elevator rumbles to a stop. Their stop, to be specific. Claude expects Dedue to make a sharp left to his apartment as they all go down the hall. Instead, he accompanies them all the way to the end, where Dimitri's is. Claude quirks up an eyebrow at him, curious and amused, but all Dedue does is quietly incline his head towards the door. The door which... Does Claude smell burning? Oh boy.

All three of them have their hands full to various degrees, but Claude is nothing if not clever. He has more limbs than just two hands. Granted, trying to knock with the tip of his boot isn't really the most elegant of solutions.

Good news is: it doesn't have to be. All it has to be is a solution that works. At his knock, there's the sound of voices frantically exchanging muffled words, and then footsteps approaching the door with about the same energy.

There's absolutely zero surprise to be had when Dimitri jerks open the door only partway, hair pulled back in a messy ponytail and badly hidden panic on his face. "Claude! Hello, I apologize, I'm having some- technical difficulties. Could you please wait outside in the hall for just a minute, I'll clear space for some of your things." Just like that, the door hastily closes again-

Only to be yanked open a split second later, Annette hanging from one of Dimitri's biceps, and both of them chorus together, "DEDUE!!!"

The following string of sentences are said so fast, Dimitri and Annette talking over one another, that even Claude can only barely keep track of what they're both trying to say. There are a lot of apologies, Dimitri distressed about 'unhinged levels of salt', Annette bemoaning that she thought she would have better luck with a portable cooktop- on and on. Inbetween words, they reach over to begin relieving Dedue of his many bags and packs, setting them to the side, until finally the man is free of every little burden. Dedue doesn't even have to say anything. Dimitri and Annette simply do it, fussing over him even in the midst of their apparent disaster.

With all his bags taken, Dedue finally interjects the torrent of words by reaching over to put a hand on their shoulders. "We will fix it," he says with such quiet certainty in his tone that it brooks no room for negativity. And with that, he simply soldiers on through into Dimitri's apartment, Annette clinging to his side in distress. The faint smell of smoke is all the more noticeable with the door left open.

Now that Actual Kitchen Savior Dedue is here, that seems to be more than enough for Dimitri to give Claude and Hilda his full attention. "I'm truly sorry about this," he says, reaching over to remove the top box from Claude's arms. "Annette and I were trying to get a last minute dish done. Things... Well, we're clearing it all up now."  Pausing in his explanation, he looks over the distinctive bottle hanging in its bag. "Oh, Claude, I don't..."

"Non-alcoholic," Claude promises him, and relishes the way Dimitri brightens up. "A parting holiday gift from my manager at the Golden Deer. Don't ask me how she knew you weren't into booze, but she insisted that couples should have a good drink together."

"I'll have to meet her properly so that I can thank her," he says, going to put the box back onto a table. "I would invite the two of you in, but it's all rather- well, it's a bit of a mess in here. I'm not sure if you would like to watch our rather dismal attempts in the kitchen... but, then, it would be just as rude to keep you waiting outside..." He sighs, coming back to accept Claude's covered up tray. "I suppose I'll leave it up to the pair of you to decide what you want to do."

It's a good thing he said that; Claude could spot Hilda gearing up her most pitiful look from the corner of her eye while Dimitri was mid-speech. But with that cleared up, she starts smiling again immediately. "Oh, what's a little mess between friends?" she says, swanning in to put her many boxes of cupcakes onto the coffee table. "Oh! You've changed a whole bunch of stuff!"

With only one box left in his arms, Claude follows after her and whistles. "Oh, so you have. Very nice work."

What's really changed, honestly, is that now a lot more stuff has been brought in to fill the formerly empty space that Dimitri's apartment had so much of. The coffee table has been moved from its place in front of the television and is more to the side, out of the way and nearer to the entrance. All furniture has been moved a little bit further away from the television as well... To adjust to the fact that there are now two television sets prepared, hooked up to a variety of gaming systems. A couple of small side tables have been placed along everywhere, for any drinks or snacks someone might theoretically bring with them while enjoying some prime entertainment.

That's just part of the open living area. Nearer to the windows was the prime culprit of empty space, but now that's all been filled out with a variety of tables and chairs. They're not particularly fancy examples of furniture in most cases: just the standard dirt poor plastic fold out tables along with one really nice wooden table that stands out despite its legs clearly having been gnawed on in the past by some sort of animal. (Claude recognizes a thrift shop find when he sees one.)

Finally, there are the decorations. The only thing even remotely associated with any one religion would be the small fairy lights strung up everywhere to give a soft warm glow to the apartment. Around the dining area is where they especially - ha - shine, but they wind up the railing to the loft landing as well.

Instead of some more traditional colors, at least what's usually traditional for the city, a swath of gold and red has been rolled throughout the apartment. That includes the various quilts and plush blankets draped across most lounging furniture, couch included along with the floor in front of the dual television sets. Gold colored snowflakes stand out against red backgrounds in the form of various little art accessories that stand besides the televisions, and line up the length of the tables. Things like that are everywhere, with the occasional open pinecone or cheery robin interjected.

With the door left open and everything brought in left to the coffee table, Dimitri has returned to the kitchen. There, something unidentifiable has been left abandoned in a pan near the sink, and both Dimitri and Annette are hastily obeying Dedue's quiet instructions. Still, as he fetches something from a top shelf, Dimitri smiles over to them. "Oh, thank you. Sylvain helped me set up everything yesterday, and Ingrid was the one who helped me decorate it all. Some of this we honestly re-use every year-" Pausing, he follows some instructions from Dedue to start mixing something. "Ah, like I was saying, we re-use a lot of the decorations. It still comes out rather well no matter how many times we do so, I think."

Hilda eyes it all with delight. "You know, next year, I wouldn't mind coming over to help too," she says. "I actually think I've seen a few things in various thrift shops around town that would look great in this set up."

Handing over the bowl back to Dedue, Dimitri smiles in relief. "Honestly, I wouldn't refuse the help. While we were able to get the living space looking rather nice, the other rooms are plain in comparison. But, they are clean, if you'd like to explore a little bit. Just, please stay out of my room." 

Claude is almost positive that his eyes literally light up. He's been wanting to nose around Dimitri's apartment for ages but there's never been a good enough time. Dimitri has always gotten terribly embarrassed, saying they were in no state to be visited. On one hand, Claude could understand the sentiment. That one glimpse into Dimitri's mess of a room had said all it needed to. On the other hand, while of course he'd listened to his boyfriend's wishes like a decent significant other and all around human being, it had absolutely killed him to not give into his intrinsically nosy nature.

"Don't mind if we do," Claude says, as though Hilda has agreed to any of this. Before he heads off again, however, Dimitri speaks up once more.

"Are you sure you don't want to put down that box, Claude? It seems rather cumbersome to lug around the apartment."

Blinking, Claude glances down at the plain and relatively flat brown box he still has tucked underneath one arm. "Oh, this little thing?" he says, grinning. "Yeah, I probably should set it down, but no worries. I'll keep it out of the way."

Dimitri's smile is puzzled but trusting. "If you say so." Then again, maybe he doesn't have time to worry about mysterious boxes when him and Dedue have to watch to make sure Annette doesn't accidentally mix up the sugar and the salt.

The hallway on the bottom floor is a little more sparsely decorated compared to the living room, it's true, although a few noble efforts have been made with some snowflakes strung along the walls. Claude knows the bathroom, so he doesn't glance twice at that. He only looks over at Dimitri's room once, laughing a little when he sees a small sticky note that's been thoroughly taped to the door and says DIMITRI'S ROOM. Cute. That leaves only the one mystery room that Claude has known existed before, and he eagerly ducks into it with Hilda following after.

Dimitri's use of the room is obvious basically immediately, with a treadmill set in the corner and some small dumbbells near it. On the opposite side of the room is a fairly nice desk, a desktop computer taking up most of the space. The screen is black, but he can tell the computer itself is on, simply asleep.

Claude keeps himself from poking around in it, for all that Dimitri had encouraged him to look around. If it's available for internet nonsense, or games of some sort, he's sure that Dimitri will tell them all about it before the party kicks off into full swing. If there were other things in the room, Claude thinks they've been moved either in the resulting cleaning spree Dimitri apparently did or just moved out of the way for the party. All that's left are a few more chairs, either for sitting around in or watching the computer, plus shelves with plenty of CDs and games on them. Some of them are even fairly old.

Claude and Hilda are in the middle of investigating Dimitri's music selection when he swears he hears a familiar voice from the living room, and it draws the two of them out. Ingrid is setting down an aluminum tray down with a blue-pink-white scarf hanging from her neck, exchanging words with Annette, when she notices Claude and Hilda's presence. "Oh!" she says, surprised. "I'm not the first one here after all."

Winking, Claude says, "Hey, it's our first party at Dimitri's place, we had to make a good impression. Fashionably late is rather overrated as a concept." Even as he's talking, his gaze casually takes in the small gift bag she has hanging from her wrist. She doesn't say anything about it, just tucks it off to the side of Dimitri's movie rack where another small and plainly wrapped box lies out of the way. "Honestly, we had pretty good timing. We ran into Dedue on the way up."

A glance to the man in question shows Dimitri quietly pushing him away from the full sink where plenty of cooking utensils are in need of a thorough rinse, despite Dedue's clear desire to help. But Dimitri can't be dissuaded, instead taking up space himself to begin cleaning so that the kitchen isn't such a mess. Annette is already done, and she waits for Dedue to lean over before she hops up with a kiss to his cheek. "I'm going to go help Mercedes and Ashe, but I'll be right back!" she announces, grinning as she leaves the kitchen area to bound out the door.

That leaves Dedue to start unpacking everything from his numerous bags, and that's when Claude realizes that every single thing he was carrying was food. Containers and containers of food. He and Hilda boggle. "Your aunts really adore you," Hilda says, stunned and moving closer to see just what kind of goodies Dedue has brought from his family.

"Some of them are left overs," Dedue admits, lifting up a container so thick and full that it makes an audible thunk when it hits the counter no matter how gentle he's trying to be. "However, I did prepare a few things myself."

"Dedue," Claude says, watching as an entire full course meal for half a dozen people is pulled and spread out in the kitchen, "I have to say, you're making the rest of us look atrocious now." A pause, and he adds, "Mostly Hilda."

"Hey!"

"I can assure you that wasn't my intent," Dedue says, still so serious and sincere that Claude can see why him and Dimitri are best friends.

"That reminds me, I need to get another container from my car," Ingrid says, heading towards the door herself. "I brought some drinks along with more meatballs. I'll be back in a few minutes, alright?" With that, she heads out into the hall again. Only a minute later, and there's another familiar voice greeting hers.

Claude grins as he pokes his head out, spotting Lysithea instantly. "Let me guess, you filled out the dessert portion of the party, right?" he asks as Lysithea waves Ingrid through the elevator.

Proudly, Lysithea puffs up her chest and holds out the two enormous pans she's carting around. Hopefully Dimitri didn't think Claude's friends would hold back for a potluck party. There's already so much food gathered in Dimitri's kitchen, and only a third of the party guests have arrived. "It's apple slab pie," she says. "I topped it with crumbled up oats and a vanilla glaze. Even someone like Felix will have to admit this sort of thing is delicious."

Hilda clasps her hands together, enamored. "I am so glad that Felix awoke something in her," she whispers. "I love it when Lysithea goes all out on desserts."

By the time Ingrid returns, she's managed to pull along Felix and Marianne as well- another pair who happened to run into each other on the way to the apartment, bringing with them fried chicken and au gratin potatoes respectively, along with yet another tray of meatballs courtesy of Ingrid.

Honestly, they're all particularly delicious dishes as far as Claude can tell. Marianne he knows uses Parmesan cheese in her potatoes, adding a bit of a twist. Felix is the real surprise, with the smell coming from his dish being nothing Claude has ever smelled coming from fried chicken before. All it takes is some casual discussion, since Felix is honest and mostly blunt, for the sword-obsessed chef to tell some of his ingredients: soy sauce, gochujang paste, rice vinegar, and more than a few other things all mixed together to add such a good smell.

The party is going great and it hasn't even started yet.

Claude is hanging around the doorway, because it feels like everyone just keeps coming and coming with new food to add to basically every surface in the apartment. The kitchen island has long since been covered. That's how he ends up chatting with Lorenz and Leonie when the two of them arrive, and that's what Raphael sees first thing when he steps out of the elevator.

"Wow, I could smell the food as the elevator was coming up to this floor!" the blond says cheerfully, almost loaded with as many packs and bags as Dedue had been not too long ago. "Almost a shame, 'tho. I know I eatta lot, so I made sure to bring some snacks of my own." He holds up an absolutely bulging pack as he approaches the group hanging out in the hallway.

What comes to mind immediately are all the cupcakes Hilda brought, the family meal Dedue still has dominating the kitchen island, Ingrid's many meatballs, the stew that was salvaged from Annette's attempts at cooking and is simmering even as they speak...

Before Claude can get a chance to mention all of this, the door at the opposite end of the hallway, nearer to the elevator, opens up. Mercedes, clad in some honestly stunning crimson lipstick, pushes out an actual cart full of covered pots and plates. "Oh, excuse us," she says with a sweet smile, pushing it past all of them and into the doorway. "You may want to step away from the door for a little while!"

"You have an actual cart?" Hilda asks, delighted as she breaks away from a conversation with Dimitri to come and investigate. This is around the same time that Ashe, wearing some rather fetching silver lipstick, begins to bustle out with what looks like an honest to gods tiered cake. She gasps. "I love you people."

Ashe chuckles, going a little pink. "We heard Dimitri invited more people this year, so we wanted to make sure we had enough food," he says, carefully guiding the cake in through the doorway. Almost immediately, Dimitri jumps forward to help him balance it all the way into the apartment. The absolute buffet of food has now spread over into the actual kitchen itself, and more than some of the tables too. "Annette is coming with even more!" Ashe calls over his shoulder. Sure enough, right as he speaks, Annette comes out with a large platter in her hands and a grin spread across what are now green lips.

As she disappears into the apartment with more food, Raphael is absolutely beaming. "Guess I didn't have to worry after all, huh?" he asks with a booming laugh. "Your boyfriend's got one hell of a family, Claude."

And, honestly... Raphael's not wrong. Claude sort of knew it beforehand, watching everyone pour in, but he can really see it as he looks into the apartment. The air filling it is comfortable, intimate, warm. Some of it is hard to put into words, just what differentiates a friendship from the familial feeling that winds Dimitri and his friends together. The way him and Felix nudge each other so playfully, Annette's laughter at both of them, Mercedes and Ashe tidying up a part of the table, Dedue's most obvious smile yet...

It's nice. For Claude, always a people person, always wanting to see the best in people... It's one of the nicest things he's ever seen.

Of course, he can't resist himself a little teasing, so he smiles back to his friends and says, "He sure does. I can't wait to marry into it one day." And then he darts away, grinning so hard it hurts.

The chaos he can hear at his back is music to his ears. Underneath Raphael's laughter, there's Lorenz's stunned "Wait, Claude, you're not serious-" intermingled with Leonie's equally surprised "He's joking, I'm positive of it", and then, the cherry on top-

"MAKE HIM CHANGE HIS LAST NAME, CLAUDE!" Hilda calls after him. "Do all of us a favor! Do the world a favor!"

All of the ruckus is enough to make Dimitri glance away from where he's setting out some plates and other dishes for the party alongside Dedue. "What mischief have you been up to this time?" he asks, a smile making that handsome face of his positively radiant. Once upon a time, Claude had wanted to see what he could do to make such an expression appear. After a lot of testing and dating, he's pleased to say that apparently just him being there is more than enough now.

Claude winks, and takes some plates off of Dimitri's hands. "Mischief that would have you reacting just like them," he says playfully. When he glances back at his friends, he's glad to see Ignatz has finally arrived. Judging by the befuddled blinking he's doing, along with the way Lorenz is shaking his head, he's pretty sure his latest joke is already circulating amongst his friends.

Well. It's only a joke for now, and only because they've only been dating a few months. Claude has a few more relationship milestones he wants to hit before that. But who can blame him for enjoying this honeymoon period in their relationship? For hoping that it stays at least a little like this, even if he knows it won't last all the time?

If he can still clearly see such a scenario for a few more years.... Well. He hopes he does. He hasn't had a relationship like this for as long as he can remember.

Out of the entire guest list, Sylvain is the last to arrive, and just in time. With fifteen people shoved into the apartment space, there's already plenty of chatter happening, and some sort of playlist is blaring out into the room. His whistle cuts through all the talk, and he laughs as he swans right in. He even kicks the door shut behind him. "Wow, I knew there would be a lot of people, but it's definitely a different thing entirely to see it all in action." In his hands, he's holding a couple trays himself, and a large tote bag hangs from the crook of an arm.

Prying himself away from a conversation on an art exhibit in the city between Ignatz and Dedue, Claude grins over at Sylvain. "Are you always this late to this party, or did things conspire against you?" This is the same guy who managed to help him hook up with his current boyfriend, and then proceeded to not take it personally when Claude chose said boyfriend, instead even helping him not smash his face into an ice rink. Certain bonds pop up in the face of such events.

Sylvain makes himself right at home, sliding the tray onto what little space is left and opening the freezer so that he can deposit a few plastic containers inside. "Hey, in my defense, it's usually all the people who wouldn't care if I was late," he jokes.

"Oh, you know that's not true," Ingrid says, walking over with one hand dragging Felix along and Marianne hanging onto her other arm.

Marianne gives a small and awkward smile. "Hilda especially.... was saying that she really wanted to see how good your homemade sherbet is."

"So you'd be wanted for your food if nothing else," Felix says dryly, shaking his head.

Speak of desserts, and lo, the sweets demon herself appears. It's almost impressive, really. Claude can't think of anyone besides Lysithea who can practically teleport, appearing right at Sylvain's side. "We should get a small taste, just to see if it's really any good."

That draws a laugh out of Claude. "Before dinner?" he asks, placing a hand on his hip. "This is how you're going to end up with dentures, Lysithea."

"If you tease me about dentures one more time-"

"Hey, a little sweetness now will just mean looking forward to dessert later, right?" Sylvain says, grinning as he forages out whatever spoons are left in Dimitri's drawers. That there are any still left is frankly a miracle. But he whips them out, handing them out to all the interested ladies present, and then Claude just because he's there. The sherbet, when uncapped, really does look pretty nice for something that's homemade. A nice smooth texture, a lovely pale orange color... and their spoons all sink in quite easily before Sylvain packs it up again to hide away in the freezer.

Immediately, they all make small noises of interest- besides Ingrid, clearly used to this particular dish before, who just gives a purely content sigh. Lysithea pops the spoon out to stare up at Sylvain with something akin to being impressed. "This is actually... really good."

Sylvain grins, folding his hands behind his head. "Hey, everyone likes a guy who can cook, don't they?" He winks at them all before looking to the side. "What do you think, Felix?"

This is good- or perhaps purposeful- timing, since Felix has sneaked open Sylvain's tray to steal what appears to be a pig-in-a-blanket. He blinks up at the redhead, already swallowing and flicking the tip of his tongue out along his lips at what's apparently a meal worth having. "What?"

All Sylvain does is smile like he's seen a work of art, and Claude glances away from the frankly embarrassing sight to check on Ingrid. Ingrid, for her part, still has a tip of the spoon in her mouth, and looks physically pained.

Oh, good, so it's not just him. On the other hand, oh no, so it's not just him. It's one of Sylvain and Felix's childhood friends, who has possibly had to see this happening for who-knows-how-long. Claude doesn't like his own prospects.

Fortunately, that's around the time that Dimitri swoops in, looking fondly exasperated. "Are you all eating dessert before the main meal?" he asks, shaking his head. "Come on, everyone grab a plate and make sure to form a line. The food has been organized as best as it possibly can be, but there's still only so much room in my kitchen."

Just like that, he begins bossily organizing everything, ordering everyone into a rough approximation of a line and making sure that they're all accounted for. With fifteen more people in his apartment- eight more than usual for this party- that's quite a feat, but Dimitri manages to do it well enough. So absorbed in his task, he doesn't realize Claude has shifted to being right at his side until a few minutes in, and he blinks down at him before smiling. "And just what are you doing?"

Claude casually leans against him, grinning shamelessly. "Since it's your house and you're technically the host of the party, I was hoping that I could stick by you and just skip straight to the front," he says innocently.

That actually makes Dimitri huff out a laugh, however he might try to hide it behind one hand. "Then I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed, as I'll be going at the very end of this line."

"Aw. So I'm going to be tormented with all of these delicious smells even longer?" Claude dramatically sighs as they settle themselves, indeed, at the very back. Mercedes glances at the two of them with a small and delighted little smile. "Well, you'll just have to keep me distracted until we get to it all, Dimitri."

Dimitri presses a kiss into Claude's hair, his smile felt even through the curls. "I'll see what I can do."

Fortunately, the good news is that there's no shortage of things to talk about. While he'd explored the bottom half of the apartment well enough, Claude had gotten sidetracked by people, and not gotten to check out the upper half. Dimitri tells him that there's not much he's missing.

He's not really a particularly materialistic person, and the upper two rooms have mainly been relegated to storage. In fact, most of the storage involves things like the decorations for his parties, and the furniture he's dragged out for tonight. With those empty, the two rooms have been transformed into simple hang out areas with seats, or board games and card games, things like that. They're even places to dip into in case someone needs a moment alone. It's apparently a first; there wasn't any need for such consideration when it was just Dimitri and his friends. It's kind of cute how excited he seems about it.

By the time Dimitri has finished telling him what kinds of games he has available, classic or electronic, they're near enough to the food for both of them to start pointing out what of their friends has brought what. Team DAAM - what Claude has taken to privately referring the poly-foursome as in his head - do of course take up the vast majority of space, all of it delicious. But even if they hadn't considerately thought of all the food groups a party could need, the good news is that Leonie brought over airfried vegetables by the boatloads. What Dimitri really seems excited for, however, would be Ignatz's lemon, garlic, and sour cream pasta right at the very beginning of the island.

Well. The pasta comes in at a neat second place, at any rate. By the time they're grabbing the last two plates, Dimitri tugs him down into the kitchen excitedly. "Before you filled your plate- and I know this must be terribly rude," Dimitri says, at least trying to pretend he's sheepish but still more eager than anything. "But I think you should at least have a small sampling of Dedue's cooking before all else."

All the things that Dedue brought with him are actually pretty easy to pick out amongst the many other dishes shoves onto every available bit of counter space. The plates must be his, personally, because they have certain colorful patterns to them which almost seem to match the food. However, if left to his own devices, Claude isn't sure he could pick out what Dedue had made or what had been contributed by his lovely aunts.

Dimitri seems to have no such problem. Instead, he happily points out some sort of deviled egg situation that, at one point, had been absolutely squeezed to the limit in a container. After the line of hungry people that had just gone through, however? Now it's a bit easier for there to be some finger wiggle room. Instead of a typical white, however, the egg 'white' has now been done a homey sort of brown, and Claude can't entirely guess just what's been balanced on top of each egg half. But the portions are generous, and colorful.

"He made those," Dimitri says proudly. "Oh, there are a few other things as well, and you should try all of them, of course. However, these are the easiest to sample."

Chuckling, Claude follows the recommendation and plucks up an egg half. "With how much you're hyping it up, I feel as though I might be disappointed if it doesn't make me see the gates of Heaven," he teases, before he takes a bite.

He then, rather promptly, sees the gates of Heaven.

It comes almost immediately after the first bite, and the second, as it releases all the flavor in a damn tidal wave upon his unsuspecting mouth, only cements the deliciousness. Claude has to freeze in place as his tongue just... takes it all in. There's just so much flavor, savory and with a medley of spices, that he's not sure one egg will be enough. Stunned, he raises a hand to his mouth and just looks up at Dimitri as if he can give him any answers to the miracle that has proposed to his taste buds.

Dimitri only beams at him.

With a partially eaten egg in his hand, Claude immediately searches out Dedue, which doesn't take a lot of effort. Some people have sat down to eat, such as Raphael with a mountain on his persevering plate, but Dedue isn't one of them. That would be because he's been slightly sidetracked by Leonie talking to him about some event at the gym. It doesn't seem serious or even meant to last all that long, so Claude doesn't feel too guilty in reaching out to lay his hand on one of Dedue's muscular arms.

Once he's certain that handsome gaze is set on him, Claude says conversationally, "So this is the most amazing thing I've ever eaten, which means I have to ask: how would one join your harem?" He's pretty sure Leonie chokes on some asparagus she was trying to nibble on, but that's a personal problem she's just going to have to survive on her own. "Do I need to fill out a form? Consent to a background check? Do you need my credit card information? Because I can give that to you no problem, right now, even. Just, tell me what I need to do, and I'll do it."

"That's really not necessary," Dedue begins to say, only for Sylvain to interrupt him from across the room.

"GET IN LINE, RIEGAN!" the redhead yells, standing up from his seat. "We all want to be in Dedue's harem, so you're going to have to get in the back, no cutting!" Leaving his food to be watched over by Felix, Sylvain comes over to join the group that's standing around and grins widely. "But let me guess, you tried one of his recipes, right? I'm pretty sure that's how he managed to snag at least Annette and Ashe."

Claude clucks his tongue. "Cunning," he says, grinning at the way Dedue just shakes his head at the two of them. He's not known Dedue for very long, so Claude can't say he has an absolute bead on the man's reactions... but he's pretty sure it's a fond sort of exasperation that's in the movement.

"Right?" Sylvain agrees, a twinkle in his eye. "But you know what's really terrible?"

"What?"

"The person blocking the line has no idea he's doing it." Turning his head, Sylvain cups a hand to his mouth and calls out, "Hey, Dimitri! Dedue did great on the food this year, right?"

Unlike Claude, Dimitri is a little more adjusted to the wonders of Dedue's cooking, so he'd let him run off while lingering behind to actually fill his plate up with food. At Sylvain's voice, however, he perks up, and leaves behind his dish to come over.

"Oh, he always does an amazing job," he tells Sylvain and Leonie both, so utterly sincere, before his smile absolutely lights up in Dedue's direction. "Your aunts truly are wonderful people, as well, but you always make sure to bring something of your own even though you don't need to, Dedue. I really do appreciate it."

Something about his demeanor says he would give Dedue one of those huge bear hugs that actually lifts a grown man off of his feet, but Dimitri is one of the people in the apartment with actual manners. All he does is instead wrap one arm around Dedue's shoulders for a quick squeeze.

Dedue's smile at him is a lot more subdued, but no less genuine and warm. "I am glad that you like it all," he tells Dimitri, which only earns him a brighter smile.

Sylvain gestures to them in dramatized disgust. "Look at this. He's holding up the entire line, even though he has a VIP pass right into Dedue's heart. "

Shaking his head, Claude crosses his arms. "Terrible," he agrees, popping the rest of the egg into his mouth.

Apparently used to this sort of silliness, Dimitri reaches over to tug Claude along. "Hush, you're going to give people the wrong idea," he tells Sylvain. "And Claude, you realize there are other foods that you should eat, don't you?"

With the divine revelation a single half of an egg has brought him, that wouldn't be much of an argument, except that there are other foods made by Dedue, and Dedue's aunts, who seem to have even more of a talent for cooking that they're still passing down to their nephew. Claude didn't think he was going to start off the party night by stuffing himself stupid, but now he clearly knows better for the future. He does his best to put on a little bit of everything onto his plate, a sampler of deliciousness, and it's quite the struggle. A worthy one, but a struggle nonetheless.

While there are tables and dinner, none of it seems to be particularly formal. Once Claude is seated himself, he takes a casual look around even as he begins to work through his plate. He wasn't expecting any before meal prayer, although it's interesting to see Dedue and Mercedes doing their own little traditions over at the one good table while Annette and Ashe patiently wait for them. Then there are others, like Ingrid and Felix, already chowing down alongside some of Claude's friends. Apparently the rule is 'do as you please'.

Exactly his kind of party.





Everyone taking a seat is more so they can put their food down somewhere, have a place to just sit down and relax and return to, rather than a real and proper dinner. Everyone can eat as much as they want, finish their plate, sure... but, really? There is so much food. It's going to take the entire night for even this many people to work through it all, courtesy of Team DAAM and Raphael. So a lot of Dimitri's friends get up to wander off, talking to one another, flicking through the music, on and on. Claude's own friend group inevitably starts to do the same- besides Raphael, who cleans off his mountain of food first before all else and gives a satisfied whistle when he's done.

The most notable example is when Felix, investigating just what Dimitri has on his systems, announces suddenly, "Who wants to face me in one of the fighting games?"

As it turns out, the answer is the vast majority of the party, save for gentle souls like Ignatz and Marianne. There's so much arguing and talking about who goes first that eventually Dimitri has to fetch an actual to the gods whiteboard from one of the rooms to start drawing up an actual to the gods tournament bracket. "We're not playing Cruz Brothers, Sylvain!" he calls over his shoulder while carefully drawing out neat lines.

"Stick Fight!" Annette calls out, hands gripping the back of the couch as she looks to him. This is a game Claude, Leonie, and Lysithea all know quite well, whistling and cheering for it, but Dimitri still shakes his head.

"If we play that, then we're never going to finish it," he says, which, granted, he may have a point towards. "I have so many games, there really should be something you can all agree on!"

In the end, they choose one of the many anime-style fighting games that are available with a large diverse cast- in other words, a lot of different characters for a party with a whole lot of different people. Really, it's the primary reason to choose it, and some of the costumes are even pretty alright. By the time they've all come to a decision, which is mostly heated bickering between Felix and Leonie, Dimitri himself has finished the bracket and props it up near along the television sets.

The opening matches for this whole mess would be Felix VS Hilda, and Dedue VS Raphael, which is already shaping up to be a delight, Claude can tell. While Raphael boisterously smacks Dedue on the back, Claude grins over to Dimitri. "It looks like we got a bunch of competitive types shoved into your apartment," he says, having returned to the table so that he can finish off his dinner. While he'd signed up himself, he's right near the bottom of the bracket, facing off against Ashe. He can take some time to enjoy his food some more, and he knows a lot of others are following suit in their own way. They have time.

Dimitri is in much the same position. With an uneven number of people, he's an extra round for whoever wins in the Felix and Hilda match. Smiling, he settles down besides Claude. "Well, I knew it was guaranteed to happen with my friends," he says, chuckling. "Although I'm amazed that so many of yours are the same. I didn't think Lorenz would get dragged in. It doesn't fit the... aesthetic that I suppose I see in him."

"Well, that's because Leonie convinced him into it while you were getting the whiteboard," Claude says with a wink, savoring another bite. Ashe has a different style of cooking, he's found, but the food he's made is just as delicious as Dedue's. "I'd say you'd be surprised at what he can do... but he's going up against Lysithea, who has a lot more fiery competition in her."

"Oh, so that will be one to watch?" Dimitri chuckles. "Well, it looks like Dedue has won his already, so we're one step closer. How good is Leonie at them?"

"I mean, she beats me every time we've ever played fighting games, whether online or in arcades," Claude muses, "so she's a pretty tough opponent, I would say. What about Sylvain?"

Taking a bite of the au gratin he's pilfered from Marianne's dish, Dimitri smiles around his fork. "Well... He's had to deal with Ingrid, Felix, and myself for years, and I can promise that we've loved playing fighting games against each other for as long as we've known him. In fact, he often dealt with our pestering until he played with us. So I would say he's certainly had a lot of experience... and his style of playing is definitely something."

See, he can't just say that and not explain. Claude gets up on his knees in his seat, peering up over the cluster of bodies all gathered around the furniture by the televisions. Felix and Hilda's match is still going, unsurprisingly, because Felix had claimed that "Time out victories are for cowards" to Dimitri's immense exasperation.

Yet he's quite delighted at what's happening in the opposite screen. From what he could tell when they'd all been perusing the fighting cast, one fighter in particular is something of a joke character with lots of strange attacks and fiddly movement.

Yet Sylvain has managed to keep almost full health while battling down Leonie to somewhere more towards half, and Claude is delighted to see that she literally has one foot planted on Dimitri's couch while leaning forward to aggressively try and get the upper hand on Sylvain. She half looks as though she's going to physically launch herself towards the screen. It's hard to tell from the combined sounds of people talking, the music playing from the speakers, and the video games themselves, but Claude almost thinks he can hear her rapid clicking.

He sinks back down into his seat with a laugh. "Is this how he would bully you when you were all younger?" he asks, twirling his fork inbetween his fingers.

Dimitri chuckles. "Well, the rest of us always wanted to pick our favorite characters- you know. The 'cool' ones. So that would leave him with anyone else, and at one point he picked some of the sillier options to make us laugh... and then he ended up becoming terrifyingly good at them... It's that sort of thing."

"No wonder Felix felt so comfortable immediately demanding a fighting game tournament," Claude says. "Oh- looks like Felix finally squeaked out a victory against Hilda. Time for Lorenz to get his life ruined."

It's not that Lorenz is bad, or anything. Claude knows that he indulges Leonie in her own loves, because he's that kind of boyfriend and has really grown to value her view on things. It's just, he's going up against Lysithea, whose determination can't be denied, and has in fact gotten good at some games purely to make Claude bow to her will in some manner... even if it's just in a game that doesn't really have any bearing on anything else.

So he imagines he's going to get up pretty soon.

But "pretty soon" isn't "right now", so Claude enjoys his food for a little while longer. He can do that much, can't he? And there's something he's curious about as well. Finishing his latest bite, he twirls his fork around to point at Dimitri's plate. "You know, I'm starting to wonder if I should have tried my hand at some spaghetti or the like. Half your plate is filled with it... and the other half is Dedue which, frankly, I can't even begin to judge."

"Oh..." Dimitri smiles sheepishly, stirring his fork around in some more pasta. "Well... It isn't that no one else hasn't made anything- I mean, Ashe is an incredible cook as well, which I'm sure you've noticed. It's just, well, I made sure that today was my cheat day, and..."

"So you're going hog wild on all the cheeses and pasta you can shove into your mouth," Claude finishes for him, grinning wider at the way Dimitri tries to play it off cool even as he blushes faintly in embarrassment. "That makes sense. I noticed that you'd only picked some of the things at the very start of the kitchen line up, honestly. You know, besides Dedue's food. That's one way to go about trying such a spread, right? And Ignatz did roll lucky there, having his placed near the 'entrance', so to speak."

"I couldn't resist a rare favorite right there," Dimitri admits. He takes another bite of pasta, still eating as normal, before something hits him and he looks to Claude with sudden immediate concern. "Oh- I'm so sorry, I didn't even think to try one of yours, you brought two dishes, didn't you? I wasn't even thinking-"

Claude pats him down from his concern high with one hand, and pops a pig-in-a-blanket into his mouth with the other. "You don't have to apologize," he says, smiling to him. "I think we could open up our own restaurant in here with how much food everyone has contributed to the party. These plates are pretty nice- you even busted out the proper ones instead of using paper, which I'm frankly still stunned about- but they can only hold so much." A pause, and he winks playfully. "Although I do want to hear your thoughts on what I made. I had to skype with my father throughout the whole process to make sure that I got everything right, after all."

"Your father? Really? I noticed the lamb smelled astonishing, and that other dish was intriguing, but I hadn't realized it had required so much work..."

"Ha. Well-" But then Felix is yelling at them to hurry up, and Claude pushes himself onto his feet with a wink to Dimitri. "Tell you what. How about you deal with your fight with Felix, and I see what I can do in my match against Ashe, and then I'll tell you the whole fun story that was my morning. Deal?"

Pushing his hair back out of his face, Dimitri smiles back to him. "I think that's a perfectly fine plan."

When it comes to fighting games, Claude likes to think of himself as fairly decent, even though this is a new game that he hasn't really tested out before. Fortunately, it seems like Ashe is very much on the same level as him, and in the same situation. Apparently it's only Dimitri and his childhood friends who are such fighting game fanatics. That means Claude manages to slip out a victory, although he loses one match while they're both still figuring out the controls. Instead of being allowed to leave, however, Annette immediately drapes herself across Ashe's lap with the two of them laughing, and takes the controller from him. Right, right- she's the one who'd fight the winner of their match. And hey, he can understand the logic. Since he's already here....

Annette is a much better fighter in the game than Ashe is, whether because she's familiar with it or whatever other reason. Still, the fight is close, and she's the one who's victorious in the end. And, hey, if Claude is the one who throws the match a little bit in the end just so that he can enjoy himself as a spectator more than anything else... Well, no one needs to know. So he slides back while Ingrid challenges Lysithea to her own little title, fetching some fried chicken before going to check out Dimitri and Felix's ongoing fight.

Befittingly, Dimitri and Felix are extremely good, and so their match is certainly exciting. Both of them mash buttons and dodge around one another, trying to lure the other into a position or move that will work to their advantage. Claude has never been one for competitive matches on video games, but he can sort of see the appeal with all the energy Felix and Dimitri are radiating both in person and on the screen. Eventually, however, after a win for both of them that results in the need for a tiebreaker match, Dimitri emerges victorious. Felix punches him in the shoulder, but his eyes are bright and there's a fond sort of curve to his smirk even as he playfully insults Dimitri.

"So, gonna be the champion of this year's fighting tournament?" Claude asks him teasingly once Dimitri vacates his seat to make room for Sylvain and Dedue.

Dimitri can't help chuckling. "Well, it does tend to be me or Felix... Sylvain could be a good contender, but he tends to bow out one way or another before he ever gets to the last match." Taking Claude by the arm, he tugs him towards the kitchen. "Now, lambchops, right?"

"Don't you have another match that's going to happen soon?" he asks, amused, but lets Dimitri pull him along. "And your plate is still at the table."

"I can still have a small bite," Dimitri protests. "Besides, I want to get a taste before I forget that you reminded me. I can still get it on my plate properly afterwards, and listen to you tell your story." He pauses, getting a napkin and cutting off a tiny slice of lamb. As he does so, he leans down and inhales deeply through his nose. "Oh good... I thought that the smell was coming from this dish in particular. It's absolutely heavenly..."

"I didn't know smell was going to be something I would be judged on," Claude chuckles. "Does it hold up to Dedue's?"

"With smell alone? Absolutely," Dimitri says, smiling to him. From anyone else, Claude would dismiss it as just niceties, something said to make him feel good and like he didn't waste his time or energy. With Dimitri, there's all that sweet honesty, and he can feel his own smile softening. Dimitri finally takes a bite, and sighs in satisfaction. "Oh, so many spices..."

"It wouldn't be a family recipe if my father didn't force me to empty the whole spice rack onto the dish," Claude says, grinning. Before he can say much more on that, however, there's shrieks and roars of laughter coming from the couch, and Claude perks up. He can't even wait a second before he's nosing over, fascinated to see what's going on.

'What's going on' is apparently Sylvain having crumpled from the sofa to the floor, one hand smacking at the blanket laden ground while he nearly cries into a pillow from how hard he's laughing. Claude can read nothing from Dedue , who's simply sitting there with his hands patiently waiting on his controller. Their characters just idly stand in place; the game isn't even on pause. Something has happened here and he is dying to know what it was.

Fortunately, he has Hilda, and Hilda sidles over to him with tears in her eyes from how much she's been laughing too. "Apparently, neither of them want to face off against Dimitri," she whispers to him, grinning widely. "Sylvain was trying to wheedle him into just beating him quickly, and Dedue said, without even batting an eye-" Clearing her throat, she does her best Deep Voiced Tall Buff Man impression. "You won't even give me this, despite wanting to be in my harem."

Claude absolutely loses it.






The semifinals end up being Dimitri VS Sylvain, and Lysithea VS Annette. In other words, two giants duking it out and two shorties doing the same, but it's all made equal in the realm of video games. At least half the party has taken interest in other things, but the other half watches all of it to the end until Dimitri returns for another year as a winner. That's enough fighting games for most of them, who go off to finish their food, or conversation, but Felix, Ingrid, Lysithea, and Leonie all keep poking through what Dimitri's system has available. Well, whatever makes people happy.

What's of particular interest is what Sylvain has decided to do with his time after being free from fighting game obligations. Claude only realizes something is up when he hears Sylvain call from the loft landing, "HEY, ANNETTE, I BROUGHT WHAT YOU WERE CURIOUS ABOUT!" before there's a distinct noise of some sort. When Claude looks up, he can see Sylvain leaning against the railing, a nerf gun in one hand.

No one's been hit with anything, however- not even Annette. In fact, if anything, Annette is jubilant about the news, giving a loud whoop before she literally climbs Dedue like a tree. Claude had always thought that was only a figure of speech. Clearly, tonight he's been proven wrong, as Annette hauls herself up with her arms around her boyfriend's neck to plant a kiss right on his jaw. She leaves behind a bright green lipstick stain right there, perfectly formed on his dark skin. He looks absolutely bewildered at this turn of events, but there's no doubting the smile on his face as he bends down so that Annette's feet can touch the ground once more.

What Sylvain's done soon becomes clear; all it takes is Claude tilting his head back to look at the ceiling. There, a nerf dart sticks to the ceiling, and from it dangles some (probably fake) mistletoe with its distinct bright red. The sight makes Claude grin from where he and Dimitri are eating.

Of course, Dimitri has different opinions, and he yells over to the redhead. "YOU BETTER NOT LEAVE THAT STUCK TO MY CEILING, SYLVAIN!"

"What! No compliments towards my actually decent aim for once!?"

"How are you going to get it down!?"

"I'll shoot it with another one, it's fine!"

"You just admitted your aim is usually terrible!"

"Fine, fine- Hey, Felix!" While he had been looking over some more co-op adventure type games, the nerf mistletoe commotion had gotten Felix's wary attention to start with, and he looks as though he'll shove Sylvain out a window if that mistletoe comes anywhere near him. Instead, Sylvain waves the gun cheerfully. "Want to help me shoot this?"

"So I'm going to take it that Felix's aim is a lot better?" Claude asks, grinning a little bit while Dimitri sinks his head into his hands with a sigh.

"He's really not bad," Dimitri admits. "Ashe has the best aim out of all of us, of course, but, well..."

"But Ashe is going to want some of Sylvain's services himself soon," Claude concludes, remembering the bright silver on the guy's mouth. "You know, I had wondered if it was only the winter holiday spirit which had them all maked up."

"As long as it makes them happy... and as long as I don't have to call maintenance into my room to see if they have a big enough ladder that I can borrow." Dimitri shakes his head before smiling at Claude again. "Anyway, enough about that. So, you were saying that your father was on skype, and he was demanding even more spice to be added into the marinade for the lambchops..."

"Oh, yeah, he was ridiculous in how I was doing everything, he was even insisting on prepping and cooking along with me to make sure I knew what I was doing." Claude chuckles, and launches right back into his story about his father.

However, while he does so, and while Dimitri is distracted by his plate, Claude raises one hand and makes sure to get Sylvain's attention. Once he's sure those eyes are on him- Sylvain's and Felix's both as the other man joins his friend up on the loft landing- Claude grins and points right up over his head. Both mistletoe shooters understand instantly. Claude can tell by the way Sylvain grins, and how Felix's eye roll is visible even at this distance.

Well, Felix might be exasperated at being dragged into Dimitri's love life, but he still takes the nerf gun and raises it up to aim.

Finishing his story, Claude grins sideways at Dimitri. "You know, is there any sort of prize to winning that impromptu tournament? Even if only bragging rights?"

That makes Dimitri laugh. "It's just a silly round of video games at a house party," Dimitri says, meeting his gaze. Good - it means he's not paying attention to Sylvain and Felix. "What sort of prize would I even get?"

Claude winks. "I can think of a pretty good one," he says.

Thmp.

He kisses him.





The Game-Room-Formerly-Known-As-Storage is surprisingly comfy, for a space that clearly hasn't been furnished for the job, and a group of almost half a dozen has now gathered in it.

Uno is a game that can often make enemies out of friends, but maybe it'll be different for this group. After all, Dedue seems far too above petty card game murder threats, and others in the group consist of Dimitri, Ashe, and Ignatz. You know. The nice and polite types who don't know what to do if someone doesn't like them. Honestly, the biggest threat is that Hilda's a part of the group.

At least, that's what Claude initially thought from his spot leaning against Dimitri's back, up until Felix pokes his head into the room thoughtfully.

"Just regular rules, huh?" he asks Dimitri, shoulder to the doorframe and nerf gun dangling limply from his hands. Where Sylvain is, the real mistletoe mastermind, could be anyone's guess. Dimitri merely nods his heads, trying to shuffle and failing to do much of a good job. Embarrassed, he hands it over to Ignatz.

"There are other kinds of rules?" Hilda asks, tilting her head to the side curiously. It's good she asked, because Claude would have in her stead.

Smirking, Felix offers, "There's always Heaven rules."

Immediately, Ashe grimaces, Dedue sighs, and Dimitri jerks his head up to sternly warn, "We are not doing Heaven rules. I am stepping out of this game if you try to convince anyone to do Heaven."

Ignatz, a rational young man who knows when something is going to be a terrible idea, looks vaguely worried at the reactions such a title earns. Claude and Hilda have long since shelved such preservation instincts in the name of 'fun' and 'curiosity'. "What," Claude asks, dying to know, "are Heaven rules?"

Showing he's much in the same rowboat of rationality and common sense that Ignatz is, Ashe sinks his face into his hands. That's probably not going to do anything nice for his lipstick, which has already been smeared a little bit in connection to the silvery mark catching the light along the side of Dedue's neck. That also probably doesn't mean anything good for this game of Uno.

Felix just smirks more, the most worrying and handsome expression has ever been on a person. "It's a set of house rules where putting down a zero forces everyone to give their hand to the person next to them, depending on what direction the game is already going. If someone puts down a seven, they get to exchange their hand with a specific player."

Claude, Hilda, and Ignatz all take a moment to just.... absorb that. "Are you trying to get revenge on Dimitri because he beat you in the tournament?" Hilda asks in horrified awe. "I mean, that's really really smart, because us killing each other would leave you squeaky clean, but oh my gosh."

"Where do you even think of that kind of rule set?" Ignatz asks Ashe.

The reply is muffled. "We saw a video about it on the internet and thought it couldn't be that bad...."

"Why do you call those Heaven rules?" Claude asks Dimitri, who is pinching and massaging the bridge of his nose as though warding off a headache. "Those sound like hell."

Dedue answers. "Mercedes mentioned that, before we all finished our game, at least a few of us would be in Heaven instead." He doesn't explain if they'd be in Heaven from dying of natural causes, or Uno-based murder.

They play normal Uno rules. No one dies. Ashe wins, and another silvery stain gets added to Dedue's cheek as a victory prize.





"Why are we letting this happen again?" Ingrid asks, looking with immense exhaustion and incredulousness at the scene that is unfolding before them. Claude only grins widely.

"Because it's guaranteed to be absolutely hilarious."

"It" would happen to be a conversation that erupted between Sylvain and Lorenz maybe five minutes ago, where both realized the other was a notorious flirt they'd heard about in college at some point. One thing had lead to another, and, well, here they are. With two very intelligent idiots aiming to prove their flirting skills are the best in the room by flirting with whatever poor saps get placed into the seats before them. It's a community effort on deciding who gets to be in the respective hot seats for this embarrassing debacle, and everything decided via rounds of three because it's both a good number and also no more than six of them really deserve to suffer through this for everyone else's entertainment.

First on the chopping block? There's Raphael for Sylvain, who Claude is almost certain doesn't realize how lucky he is. Then, in the other chair? Lorenz gets to flirt at Ashe, possibly the latter's punishment for winning in Uno.

Fortunately, while he's here to enjoy the show, Claude doesn't need to pay such close attention that he has to make a call on who flirts well, or better. Those esteemed positions go to Annette and Hilda, who are watching with intent amusement and taking notes on napkins.

Instead, he lets his eyes roam around the apartment. Inevitably, they return to the little spot on the other side of Dimitri's movie rack, where Ingrid had put her small parcel. Claude had gone to let his box rest in that corner, too, but a lot more things have been added to it all since he first arrived. Mostly various stiff gift bags, but a couple of boxes as well, all of them plainly decorated if they're decorated at all. Counting Claude's? There's around eight, exactly.

None of them have been touched yet, so Claude lets his gaze continue roaming until he finds who he's looking for. Dimitri has drifted back into the kitchen with Dedue and Mercedes. By this point in the night, they've gone through a good portion of the actual dinner type foods, especially with some things being more popular than others. That has give some of the desserts room to breathe, and a few have already been picked at.

In particular, Dimitri has indeed made not only one cheesecake but three entirely different ones. Apparently whatever happened with Annette happened after he'd set them to cool, and thus they were free from the resulting disaster. They do not seem to be free from being judged, however, and Claude can see that anxious scowl on Dimitri's face as he waits for Dedue and Mercedes to give their verdicts. When Mercedes claps her hands together excitedly and Dedue says something, the expression melts from his face, and Dimitri smiles in pure relief.

It's a good expression, one Claude is glad to see. Smiling wide himself, he returns his attention back to the Great Idiot Flirt Off and laughs as Ashe eventually scurries off with a flushed face and Raphael hauls Sylvain into a bone breaking sort of hug. Both contestants get turned around again to face the wall so that they don't get to see who their next targets are... which means they don't see Claude sliding into the seat facing Sylvain, or Marianne for the one facing Lorenz, although she has to be guided to it by Hilda's absolutely shit eating grin.

The look on both their faces when they turn around to see the would-be targets of their flirting is something Claude thinks he might just cherish a little bit forever.

Claude winks, shameless and having the time of his life. "Think you can flirt better in round 2, Sylvain?"

In contrast, partially because she's a good person, partially because she's a slightly awkward person, Marianne doesn't do any teasing. She just raises one hand from her lap, using only her wrist, and waves slightly.

"Ah," Lorenz says, in the tone of someone who is recalling a lot of embarrassing moments before him and Marianne became proper friends.

"Do I have a chance to change?" Sylvain asks the judges, holding his hands out to the side helplessly.

"Nope!" Annette announces cheerfully. "Now get to flirting! The clock starts..... now!"

Fortunately, for all an awkward start to their history together where Marianne was left wondering who that weirdo with the bad haircut was, Lorenz has made Marianne smile in the past before, and he can do it without stupid floral based compliments. With more experience under his belt on how not to be an absolute tool, and genuine friendship, he has Marianne smiling and giggling in a matter of seconds.

Sylvain seems to have slightly more of a challenge on his plate as he rubs his chin, thinking. But then he snaps his fingers and grins. "Oh, yeah, that should work." Not bothering to explain, he just sweeps his hair back... and reaches down for the hem of his shirt.

"Sylvain-" Ingrid begins to say, warning clear in her voice, but she's too late. She is blessedly too late, because Sylvain is already sliding the shirt over the top of his gods damned head. Immediately the apartment erupts into cheers and laughter and whistles, which Sylvain drinks up as he spreads his arms wide with a grin about the same length. Honestly, he has pretty good reason to be so confident. Befitting most of the people in Dimitri's friend group, he's also astonishingly fit and in shape. No wonder he had a keyhole sweater for Dimitri to borrow; his chest wouldn't look too bad in one either.

It is definitely incredibly attractive, but also incredibly hilarious, and Claude has one hand to his mouth to help get his own wheezed out laughter under control. He does pretty well. At least, until Sylvain leans forward with one hand on his hip and the other hand on the armrest of Claude's chair. "So, come here often?" he asks suavely, and fucking winks.

Whoever wins the round is an utter mystery to Claude, because that's around the time he falls out of his chair absolutely losing it.

At some point, probably due to Ingrid, Sylvain gets his shirt back on only after much protest that it "was all in the spirit of the game" and "listen I know he likes a good chest, ask Dimitri". Marianne helps Claude off of the floor, also in a good mood herself as her smile shines bright, and they step away from the target chairs. Sylvain and Lorenz also seem to be in pretty good moods themselves. Even as they turn their backs to the chairs once again, they're joking and laughing with each other. Well, it was all always meant to be a game anyway.

Which means they can still continue to mess around with them, of course. There are even better choices than Claude and Marianne, after all. Claude has a keen eye, and he finds his target soon enough: drifting off to the kitchen, standing near a rather satisfied Mercedes and a bashfully smiling Dedue whose chin now has crimson lipstick marks along it. As Claude heads straight on over there, he can see Hilda has very much the same idea. She's already on the move too, grinning wide as she reaches a hand out to grab a certain someone from an indepth conversation near the televisions.

When Sylvain and Lorenz turn around again, it's to face, respectively, Leonie and Felix.

Claude thinks he can hear the car crash happening inside their skulls. It's great.

While he can't speak for Felix, their favorite combative white boy seems to be having a good time too, subtle as it is. He's really leaning into his own personality as he drapes his arms across the back of his seat, nerf gun dangling from his fingertips and crossing his legs with his ankle to his thigh. If there's one thing Claude has learned about Felix in the short amount of time that he's come to know him, it's that he's a master of looking coolly dismissive and above it all. No wonder Sylvain has clearly been having trouble with him.

Leonie at least is a little more obvious in how funny she finds this whole stupid game. With her own legs crossed, she leans forward to balance her elbow along her knee and grins. "Doesn't the timer start around now?" she asks, amused as hell.

Sylvain and Lorenz look at each other, both to share in their experience of awkwardness and horror but also to gauge just how the other is reacting to this particular twist in the game. As they do so, Dimitri finally emerges from the kitchen with a plate of his own cheesecake- the strawberry one apparently. "This is ridiculous," he says mildly, with clearly no intention of stopping it at all.

Under his breath, Claude laughs a little bit. "That's what Ingrid said. Well, more like she questioned why we were letting all of this happen in the first place, but the intent was the same. But while they're all preoccupied, I really have to ask: just how long have you guys had to deal with Sylvain and Felix pining away for each other?"

Sylvain has been the most obvious out of the two, he thinks. It's been impossible to miss it all, from how he'd acted during the ice skating meet up to the pointed way he'd asked Felix what he thought of the food he'd made.

But the signs are there with Felix, too. With his favorite hobby being people watching, Claude's picked it all up: how he'd allowed himself to lean against Sylvain under the excuse of intoxication, the way he'd pressed against Sylvain's shoulder during the video game tournament, and, in the latest mess, how he's been looking for excuses to do anything but watch Sylvain flirt with other people, no matter that it's just a dumb game.

Claude has noticed all of this from only one brief get together that involved over half a dozen people, and tonight's party. As their best friends, Dimitri and Ingrid have no doubt seen so much more. That much had been obvious when Ingrid had made such a pained expression at the obvious needling during her sherbet tasting, and it's obvious with the thousand yard stare Dimitri casts at a wall. He doesn't even stop Claude from stealing a bit of his cheesecake.

There's good reason for that, honestly, because Dimitri finally answers, "They've been like this since high school." Very politely, he lightly pats Claude's back when he chokes on stolen cheesecake.

When his airway is clear, Claude glances back to the awkward stalemate of a flirting game just in time. In contrast to the previous round, Sylvain manages to react first. With an idea shining in his eyes, he looks back to Leonie with a smile and leans forward casually. "Hey there, miss," he says. "I don't suppose you're single, are you?"

Half an hour ago, he shot a mistletoe over her and Lorenz's head when she flagged him down. Everyone in the room knows the answer to that. Leonie knows it too, shoulders spasming a little in silent laughter before she gets her voice under control. "Why are you asking?"

"Well, it's just... I have this friend, you see." Sylvain's smile widens. "I think he'd love to meet you."

The lead up seems obvious, and Leonie snorts a little bit. "Who is this friend, exactly?"

"Well, he's about my height, so if you like me..." Before she can begin rolling her eyes, Sylvain keeps going. "He has really sharp features, long purple hair, and, well, if you love flowers..." To the side, realization hits Lorenz, and he has to turn away to chuckle into one hand before he beams down at Felix. Just like that, the two of them are trying to sell each other instead of themselves, to the delight and applause of the spectators.

Smiling fondly at the counter twist both men have made the game into, Claude leans against Dimitri. "You know, it's kind of impressive. Sylvain seems to be a lot better at helping out other people's love lives than his own."

Dimitri's arm wraps around him, fingers curling on his shoulder. There's a smile in his voice, too. "It's something I've picked up on, yes."





The party is still going strong when there's a knock at the door, firm and loud, that draws them all to a pause.

Over by the speakers, Ingrid considerately turns down the volume just in time for Claude to overhear Mercedes concerned murmur. "Oh, I hope we weren't disturbing any of the neighbors..."

Annette clenches her fists tight in front of her. "There shouldn't be! We made sure to go around checking with and bribing everyone!" The way she says it, just as bubbly and cute as is her general default demeanor, makes Ignatz do a double take.

"Everyone, just be quiet," Dimitri orders, even as he makes his way through the crowd filling up his apartment. There's only a couple of stragglers who hadn't noticed what had happened, so it doesn't take much. "I'll take care of it." Which Claude has no doubt he could.

He still makes sure to trail after his boyfriend. You know, just in case. Dimitri is polite and nice, which works out enough for most people, and he's muscular and intimidating to those who don't get the first hint... but it can't be too bad to have something greasing the wheels a little bit, you know? If there's anything Claude has confidence in, it's his people person abilities.

Fortunately, there's no need to worry about any of that. As Dimitri opens the door, Claude peering around him, they're both caught by surprise. "I- Professor, Doctor! What are you doing here at this time of night?"

"We remembered that you said you would be having a large party where you invited everyone along with those from the band," Teach 1 says, as though this isn't a strange situation whatsoever, or that their hair has made a switch from the usual blue.

"We thought it would make things easier for us," agrees Teach 2, and that's when Claude manages to drag his eyes away from neon green to what the two musical therapists are carrying.

Both of them have large gift baskets in their arms- the fancy kind which are made out of strands of flexible wood. Teach 1 has a blue ribbon tied around the handle, from which dangles a small lion charm. A variety of tiny packages are also in the basket, all wrapped up nicely. While each present is using blue giftwrap, the pattern for each of them is different, and a glance can tell that there are different names on each of the labels. Teach 2's basket is very much the same, only theirs is decorated in terms of yellow, and a tiny little deer charm hangs from theirs. In the case of both baskets, various tiny treats are tucked inbetween the different gifts. Nothing special, just things like bags of chocolate covered pretzels or brownie bites.

"Wow, Teach! This is really generous of you," Claude says with a grin as he accepts the yellow gift basket.

Dimitri is a lot more flustered as he accepts the blue. "You didn't have to go out of your way for this, Doctor, Professor..."

Both siblings cross their arms in that distinctive way of theirs, heads tilting to the side in mirror images of one another. Claude always thought that the idea of twins mimicking one another was a bit of media exaggeration, but the Eisner family really just does seem to do it naturally. "It was the opposite, actually," Teach 1 says. "Since you were all gathered together so neatly like this, we thought it would be the perfect time." Teach 1 reaches over to pat Claude's shoulder. "We'll see you at the next practice session."

Teach 2 does the same for Dimitri, although they really only reach his upper arm. "You're making great progress, Dimitri." With that, both of them draw their hands back, aware of how most of the party is peering over Dimitri and Claude's shoulders-

And with a sharp stomp of their right feet, both Teaches slam their heads down for a dab before doing a full ass sprint down the hall.

Everyone watching is left standing there for a split second in absolute silence, stunned out of their skulls, before noise and chaos erupts in the apartment. It's an absolute chorus of people wondering did they actually do that and Teach, don't go, you can stay! and wait what did they give us. There's no time to ask any of these questions to the two therapists themselves, however. In the blink of an eye, both Eisners have disappeared into the elevator and are gone.

Raphael's laughter fills up the whole apartment enough to nearly push out the actual people. "I love those two!"

"Weirdos," Felix says, but in a grudging sort of fondness. "Well, come on, boarhead, lets see what they dropped off for everyone."

What they've dropped off is quite frankly a rather large variety of gifts. Everyone gets a little of the same something, like the dipped pretzels, but everyone also gets a small gift that's been bought specifically with them in mind. Ingrid gets a small comic and art book based off of a kickstarter of some sort with the theme being lady knights, which she'd apparently missed her chance on. Dedue gets a few bags of different seeds, apparently for some herbs he can grow even in the small space of his apartment. Lysithea gets at least five different gift cards for various dessert stores around the city, Felix an honest to god whetstone, Hilda a rare and sparkly set of nail polish... On and on.

Well, it's hardly any surprise that the pair soon become the topic of conversation for the party, along with the many gifts that have been brought. Claude steals Dimitri away up to the loft landing, both of them sitting together with plates of food at their side and their gifts nearby. Dimitri has already put on the new watch the Eisner pair gifted him, turning his wrist over as he admires it. "I don't even recall telling them that I had lost one of my watches," he says with a chuckle, their legs hanging down from underneath the railing while they watch the rest of the party down below. "They really do pay close attention to the littlest details."

"Only the Eisner family could keep in mind the likes and details of over a dozen people," Claude agrees, grinning as he watches Ignatz put his new camera to very good use. So many people, so many things, so many different little events- it's the perfect smorgasbord of subject matter for a young artist. "They sure helped lighten up the mood, huh? And I didn't think it could get any lighter!"

"They're not very good at letting their thoughts be known... but their actions speak far more than what mere words could accomplish." Reaching down for another devil on horseback, Dimitri glances to Claude curiously. "You know, I was rather busy with the other basket, so I didn't get to see what gift you received, Claude."

Claude winks. "Cold hard cash," he says. "And don't get that look on your face. This kind of thing is exactly what I love to get, although I'm sure that sounds weird. Sure, movies, or books on chemistry, or anything else pertaining to my vast amount of interests- I love those. But money on its own allows me a lot of freedom, whether it's for a necessity or something else. I have a lot of things I want to do, you know? It's sort of like trust in its own way, I think. It means those two trust me to use money in whatever way I desire, and that way will be absolutely just fine. Some people get weird about money... but not them." He leans back with a chuckle. "One of the many reasons to like them, honestly."

"They do have a lot of good qualities, despite their... peculiarities." Dimitri starts to smile back as well. "You know, I never thought of it like that, but you're right."

"I like to think I am, ten times out of ten." Claude hauls himself up to his feet using the railing, and grins to Dimitri. "Anyway, since the Teaches brought gifts of their own, why don't I keep that feeling going on? I have champagne with our names on it." Of course, he doesn't plan on only getting the champagne. Near the movie rack, his box still stands undisturbed, and Claude cheerfully tucks it underneath his arm while his other hand carries the bottle.

The friendly but confused crumple of Dimitri's brows says he has no idea what the deal is with the box. "I don't believe that's a champagne bottle," he says, smiling a little bit.

Sliding back into place, Claude sets the box roughly behind them while he raises the hand holding onto two wine glasses (Dimitri would be the kind of guy to have those, so Claude is glad he bet correctly) and the bottle itself. "Nope, that would be these. The box is something else entirely. Know how to open a bottle of champagne, or should I do it, as the person who brought it?"

"No, no, I think I can manage..." While he says that, Dimitri opens a champagne bottle like he's disarming a bomb. When he finally gets it to pop open, no disasters, he slumps backwards with a sigh. "It didn't break..."

"I told you I could do it," Claude reminds him, helplessly amused while he pours them both a glass. This can be just their little treat, their moment away from all of their friends. Claude doesn't mind a party, but he thinks he rather likes being above it all with only Dimitri, too. The two of them stay there for a moment, just enjoying the champagne and the accompanying food.... But Dimitri can't stop himself from constantly glancing back at the box. Claude lets him stew in his curiosity for a while longer while they talk, before he eventually breaks. He can't wait much longer, either. "Curious, huh?"

"I don't see how I couldn't be," Dimitri says plainly, smiling to him with a quirked up brow. "You go get champagne, come back with that, and then pretend that it doesn't exist. The game you're playing is rather obvious." He tilts his head forward at that last sentence, smiling up at Claude from beneath his lashes.

Claude sticks the tip of his tongue out playfully. "I only make it obvious for you," he informs Dimitri. "But if you're so curious, why don't you open it? You have my explicit permission to do so."

"If you insist..." Setting his plate a little further to the side along with his glass so that neither get knocked into the box, Dimitri picks it up and sets it on his lap. It's a large box, large enough to take up all the space Dimitri gives it, but not so big that he honestly needs to worry. Claude lets him handle it how he likes, however, and just watches with a quiet eagerness he makes sure to keep out of sight. No fancy wrapping, no gimmick to opening it- there's just a top that Dimitri removes quite neatly. Immediately, Dimitri laughs. "My coat!"

Sure enough, there it is: that brilliant blue coat with the black and white fur trim. The warmest thing Claude has ever worn in his entire life. He made sure to fold it neatly in the box, carefully fitted with no bulging that would give the contents away. Claude takes a sip of his champagne and winks. "I thought it was about time that I returned it, with the end of the year rolling around." He tilts his head towards Dimitri. "Can you check it out and make sure that I didn't miss a hole or something?"

"I have faith you wouldn't be so careless." Still, Dimitri obliges him as he begins to unfold the coat out from the box... only to pause as his fingers bump into a notable bulge hidden within. He blinks, and glances at Claude from the corner of his eye. "There's... something else inside here."

For anyone else, Claude would play up his ignorance. Dimitri just gets a small nod and a smile. "Why don't you check it out?"

Because there's a box inside the coat, too, long and much thinner than the box the coat had been carried in. Just like its bigger cousin, this one is also relatively easy to open. There, gently cushioned and shining silver in the warm light of Dimitri's home, is a flute.

Claude leans up and over, his lips pressing a soft kiss against Dimitri's jaw. "Happy Birthday, Dimitri."

That one blue eye is wide as he looks from the flute to Claude, brain needing a second to process everything. "I... I didn't tell you when my birthday was, did I?" he asks, almost visibly digging through his memories.

"You didn't," Claude assures him, resting his fingers along Dimitri's shoulder. "I looked online. Sylvain has you friended in a couple of places, although I don't think you've touched most of them in years. When I was thinking of the date for today's party, I thought it seemed familiar to another date I'd glanced at once... So I went to look back at some of your profiles. That's where I saw that you'd listed your birthday during this month. Not today, of course, there's a few days difference... But I figured it would be alright if it was a couple days late." He laughs softly. "I didn't realize I'd be joining in on some sort of tradition."

"Of course, all of that...." Dimitri looks over his head, in the direction where the small gift pile is. "It really did just end up happening at some point, especially as I began to host these parties for all of my friends. It was a mixture of simply being more convenient and... Well." He shakes his head. "That's a story for another time. For now, this..." Reverently, he reaches down to run his fingers along the metal. "This is amazing... It must have cost so much..."

"Don't worry about the cause," Claude says with a click of his tongue. "Do you like it?"

There's almost no reason to ask, not with the way Dimitri smiles. "It's fantastic... But, why a flute?"

"You were interested in joining the band for practice occasionally, weren't you?" Pressing his hands flat on the ground, Claude leans back so that he has an even better view of Dimitri enamored and happy. It's such a soft and quiet little thing, and he's the one who put it into existence. "I know you said that you planned on doing that when you'd made some time for it, in a few months, probably during the spring... But I figured you could get some practice in before then, if you liked. A flute especially shouldn't cause too many problems while you're living in an apartment." He winks. "I don't want your neighbors to think worse things of the strange guy who stands in front of his mailbox glaring at his cell phone bills."

A slight blush lights up Dimitri's cheeks, but he's laughing as well. "If they hear this coming from my apartment, I can only imagine what their impression of me will become. But... I like it." His finger continues to ghost along the flute. "I don't think I would have thought to choose this for myself but.... It's perfect. I really do like it. I'm just terrified that I may make a mistake somehow and break it."

"Well, don't worry about that." Leaning forward again, Claude rests his hand on top of Dimitri's. "I can drop by sometime, show you just what you need to do in order to take care of it and play from it. I mean, really, this is just an excuse for me to come see you a lot more anyway." His grin and laugh are equally loud.

Then again, it's a good thing they're loud. Neither get a chance to last long, not when Dimitri tenderly puts the boxes to the side - coat and flute both - so that he can reach over to cup Claude's face. "You never need an excuse to see me," he says so quietly, so sincerely. "I always want to see you. No matter when, or where." And with that, he leans forward, and kisses him on the lips.

Now that he's gotten to kiss Dimitri just once... Claude doesn't think he'll ever tire of it. It's just so warm, so soft, in ways he can't remember feeling before. Rose colored glasses, or just Dimitri's pure earnestness burning through even in his actions? Maybe it doesn't matter. All that matters is that Claude leans in, letting his eyes slide shut. The soft warmth of Dimitri's lips, how completely his hand covers the side of Claude's face, the comforting smell of the kitchen drifting up to surround both of them... This is all he could really want.

What a way to welcome in the new year stretching ahead of them.

Of course, the moment wouldn't be complete without a little commentary from the peanut gallery, best exemplified as Sylvain calls up to them. "Hey! Take it to Dimitri's room! Some of us are single and suffering down here!"

That's enough to draw Dimitri away, face blazing even as he scowls down at his friend. "Sylvain!"

Fortunately, he doesn't have to worry about being ganged up on. Dimitri has allies in the crowd, one of them being Hilda as she calls from across the apartment. "Speak for yourself, Sylvain!" Giggling and grinning, she winds her arms around one of Marianne's and leans in close against her with her eyes shining bright. "Hey, Felix, shoot over another mistletoe!" The request draws a brilliant red blush across Marianne's face, but there's no time to protest. Sipping at a soda with one hand and the nerf gun in the other, Felix takes careful aim and manages a pretty accurate shot right over both women's heads. Faintly, Claude wonders just how many mistletoe darts Sylvain packed, and if he's regretting any of it at all.

Sylvain's laugh says he doesn't regret much. "Harsh, Hilda! I thought we had a connection!" There's no use, however. Hilda is already tugging Marianne into the kitchen, a little more out of sight from the viewpoint of the loft landing. While Sylvain laughs even more, Claude watches as, behind his back, Dedue gets jumped by all three of his partners for more kisses pressed into his skin. Poor man. He's already more lipstick than he is a person at this point.

"I feel like you cheated a little bit, you know," Claude says cheekily, drawing Dimitri's attention away from where Sylvain and Felix are bickering in low voices. "You didn't even ask Felix for some mistletoe."

Another blush rises up onto Dimitri's face, and he ducks his head down with an embarrassed chuckle. "He's already had to deal with us once tonight. I don't want to bother him much more." He glances back down at Felix and Sylvain. Claude does too, and gets to see the way Sylvain is leaning towards Felix with his hand lingering on the nerf gun. More specifically, instead of the gun, his hand lingers on Felix's fingers at the trigger. For anyone else, the intent would be obvious, just like Sylvain's smile, but Felix is the type who seems just a little bit oblivious. Claude wishes Sylvain all the luck he can spare him. "Although, with that considered... Could I ask a favor, Claude?"

Tearing his gaze away from the romantic disaster happening beneath their feet, Claude grins. "Sure, what do you need?"

"Could I... cheat a little more?"

The grin on his face must be absolutely stupid. Claude doesn't really care. "I'd be delighted if you cheated a little more."

Dimitri kisses him again. This time, they don't get interrupted.





The party is great- probably one of the best Claude has ever been to considering the combination of food, activities, and, most importantly, people. But all parties have to end eventually. The human body can only have so much fun... Or, at least, stay up for so long. Soon enough, it's not only Lysithea who's yawning, and even Raphael occasionally wipes at his eyes. Before anyone has a chance to excuse themselves, however, Dimitri casts a concerned glance at them all and shares it with Mercedes.

She's the one who speaks up, hands raised in front of her and fingertips touching. "You know, it is rather late," she says, which is something of an understatement. It would now be more accurate to say that the time is now extremely early. "Would some of you like to stay the night?" She looks over to her partners. "I think we should have enough room, if we make a little space, and a few people share..."

There's apparently hardly any reason for her to even check in with them, besides simple common decency. Dedue is already nodding to her, while Ashe and Annette look positively revved up to go. "No one should have to walk in the cold and dark back home! It's freezing!" Annette says, fists clenched.

Ashe just smiles, sweet and nice as usual. "It may be a tight squeeze in our apartment... But if some people wanted to share a couple of rooms, I think we could manage it. All of us share one bedroom, when we go to sleep, so things should be manageable."

"Anyone who can't fit in their apartment is also more than welcome to stay in mine," Dimitri offers immediately, right on the tail end of Ashe's words. "I have a few air mattresses that should be serviceable, and my couch unfolds as well. All of my rooms are more than available."

Predictably, Raphael gives a wide and beaming grin. "That would work out just great for us!" he says, his hand smacking along Ignatz's back. It says something about either Raphael's control or Ignatz having some sort of hidden superstrength that the shorter man doesn't go tumbling face first into the floor. "Me and Ignatz here, we were worrying about all this mess being tough to clean up. But if we stay the night, then we can just help right now, or in the morning!"

Ignatz straightens up his glasses, which didn't weather Raphael's friendly smack as well as he did and are on the verge of falling from his nose. "Are you certain it wouldn't be any trouble?" he asks Dimitri. "I don't want us to be too much of an imposition."

"Not at all," Dimitri promises. "Frankly, that you want to help with the clean up would be a great deal of help. I exhaust myself when it's only me."

After that, well, everything just tumbles into place, and soon it's decided that everyone is staying. Most of the girls end up going over to the Team DAAM apartment, since Mercedes and Annette combined mean that they'll have spare clothing to sleep in. That includes Leonie and, well, where Leonie goes, Lorenz follows after, since that means they as a couple can share a room. (It takes about ten minutes for Leonie to convince him that nothing improper is going to happen, they don't live in the Victorian era.) Ingrid is the only one who stays behind in Dimitri's apartment, being a childhood friend who is more than comfortable just crashing on his couch.

That leaves, in the end, Sylvain, Felix, Ignatz, and Raphael to also stay the night. And, well, Claude, of course. There's hardly any question of it, especially not after, once he's finished suggesting Sylvain and Felix share a room, Dimitri turns to him with a hopeful smile and says, "You're staying the night as well, aren't you, Claude?"

Of course he is. Nothing could keep him away.

Staying the night at Dimitri's after the end of the year party seems to be another tradition that everyone seems to expect, because Dimitri has some cheap but decent spare toothbrushes all ready for such an inevitability. They're still in their cardboard packaging, too. A little cleaning up in the kitchen, a little freshening up in the bathroom for all of them, and they're really all mostly set once the bed situations have been cleared up. Apparently, the blanket-pillow hell in the game room means most of Dimitri's guests have a pretty good amount of comfort available to them.

Claude gets access to Dimitri's bedroom. That means, as far as he's concerned, he gets the most comfortable sleeping conditions of all.

Still, he's a good boy, a polite boyfriend. He waits until the cleaning is done, and everyone else is settled in their own beds. Only then does he exchange smiles with Dimitri, and let the blond open the door for him.

All he'd gotten before was the briefest of peeks into Dimitri's room beforehand, and the condition of it had sure been something. Dozens of things had been scattered along the floor, with a great deal of it clothing, along with a few books if Claude is recalling correctly. Probably a few bits of garbage that had strayed from their home in a trash can, or off of a flat surface.

It had been the kind of state that one would think of the glowering hooligan Dimitri had first come off as, but not exactly the strictly polite viking that Claude is currently dating. Well, maybe he can't really judge. No one would think he has so many books that his shelves can't hold them all, or that they're scattered throughout his room in an enormous mess.

That was Dimitri's room a few weeks ago, however. Tonight, it's squeaky clean- the kind of room Lorenz would approve of in its neatness. A sliding door closet is tucked against one wall, no sign of mess or clothing threatening to bulge out from it. Up against the same wall as the door into the room is a relatively large desk, but only relative in relation to Claude. For Dimitri, it's probably perfect, and organized, too. There are a few different small leatherbound journals, a variety of pens and pencils in both a fancy pencil holder and just a random coffee mug, different folders... Hanging right above it is a calendar, brightly colored words marking out important dates. Claude notes that the date for Dimitri's own birthday is left casually blank.

He's endeared to see that the date for this party has been highlighted in practically a rainbow of colors, with the day before- two days before, really- marking down cheesecake prep.

A laptop has been left hooked up on top of a dresser that seems to match the desk, and some picture frames are actually spread across it. One is fairly obvious, four kids all with distinct hair colors that give them away. In that one, Dimitri still has both eyes, and they're all grinning widely.

Another is a leap in time, with all of them closer to the ages Claude knows now. They look a little more weary, worn down, but they're all still smiling like it's a relief to be clustered around Dimitri in what looks like a nice park somewhere. Nowhere that Claude knows exists in this city, anyway. After that is a much older kind of picture, detailing a pair of people who Claude can only imagine are Dimitri's parents, smiling for some sort of staged photo.

Finally, there's a bookshelf nearby that Claude glances over with his insatiable hunger for knowledge- okay, so, "glances over" might be putting it a little bit lightly. Before Dimitri has even stepped into his own room, Claude is already over there and thumbing through to see just what his boyfriend is into on the literary front. "Are you... going to read before we go to bed?" Dimitri asks, and Claude doesn't need to look to tell that he's blinking at him in plain ol' puzzlement.

Dimitri, for the record, seems to be into a lot of self help books, plus some biographies. Notably, a few of those biographies are in the form of comics. Claude has to force himself to put his selection back, because he is tired... or, at least, he's tired right now, and he knows that, once he picks up a book, he won't be tired any longer.

Which would be a shame, considering that Dimitri is waiting for him, and Claude would rather like a repeat of that one night a few weeks ago... only in the comfort of a bed instead of them drifting away together on the couch, watching a movie.

"Nah," he answers airily. "I was just wondering. I guess I couldn't help myself. So, am I going to be wearing your clothes tonight as well?" He winks playfully at Dimitri, and relishes the way his boyfriend not only blushes, but... looks at him. Completely focused, and with a flicker of something darker in there. Dark in the good way.

Whatever thoughts he might be keeping locked away in that head of his, Dimitri still stays polite, because of course he does. Giving a small nod, he moves over to his drawer and tugs one open. "I have a few things that shouldn't be a problem," he says, handing over a large sweatshirt that should more than keep Claude warm and a pair of sweatpants that don't match it. "I should change as well."

"Then I guess it's a decision of who goes to use the bathroom to change, right?" Claude chuckles. "Well, I'm the guest, so I'll go with that. It'd be pretty arrogant of me to take your own bedroom, right?"

He's expecting one of a couple different answers he's formulated in his head, all based off of what he knows about Dimitri. One could be Dimitri insisting it isn't a bother, that it's just his duties as a host. Another option is Dimitri agreeing, a little embarrassed. He could even suggest they both use the bathroom, one right after the other. Instead, Dimitri chooses the one Claude hadn't been entirely confident about, but the one he'd been hoping for, when he glances at him from underneath his pale bangs and quietly suggests, "Actually, I was thinking perhaps we could both simply change in here."

Among two friends, such a suggestion wouldn't be a big deal. Maybe even among two complete strangers- just look at the locker room in Captain's Gym. Yet among them, hearing those words from Dimitri's lips sends a faint shiver of anticipation through Claude's spine. "Yeah," he breathes out, trying not to seem too eager for such a little thing. "Yeah, I guess we could, couldn't we?"

Such a little thing... But little in the same way a single drop of rain is little, and one looks up to a gray and bloated sky to see if a torrent falls. Hopes to see a torrent fall after it, to wash away things in a comforting white noise.

He doesn't want to push Dimitri in any one direction, however, so Claude plays it cool, natural. While Dimitri goes to grab a spare of clothing for himself, Claude reaches down for the hem of his shirt and pulls it over his head in one smooth movement. It gets set to the side, soon followed after by his boots. He's working on his belt and pants, not even bothering to tug the former off all the way... when something ghosts up along his spine.

Claude freezes, heart fluttering in his chest and up to his throat. Those fingers freeze, too, just barely on the skin between his shoulder blades. "Sorry," Dimitri breathes, voice just barely quietly enough to avoid breaking this spider's thread of tension that's hanging between them. For all that he says that, Dimitri doesn't pull away.

All Claude can do is swallow his heart back down into his chest. "Don't be." He finally manages a quiet laugh. "I mean... We're boyfriends, aren't we?"

"That doesn't mean I can do just as I like," Dimitri protests, still so earnest and noble, Claude's very own Prince Charming that he genuinely never thought he'd get to have. A Prince Charming that's maybe being just a little bit too dense and hesitant right now, but before Claude can say that, Dimitri continues on, voice dropping soft again. "But... I would very much like to touch you."

Claude laughs again, a little excited, maybe even a little nervous from how excited he is. "Funny. I'd very much like that too." He'd grin over his shoulder, toss out one of his trademark winks, but he doesn't dare to. Doesn't want to. Part of it is still not wanting to scare Dimitri off, to discourage him in any way, but, honestly, he kind of likes this, too: waiting, his heart thudding in his chest, those fingers electric on his spine, unable to tell what Dimitri will do next and excited for what comes.

Before he can ponder if he needs to be more clear, more obvious, those fingers press more firmly against his back until it's Dimitri's entire palm that's sliding back downwards. "Then..." An even firmer touch, now, and he can feel Dimitri pressing close, his breath tickling the strands of hair on top of Claude's hair. They must be only inches apart, now. Maybe less. Hopefully less. "It seems we're in agreement."

When Dimitri finally leans his head down to press a kiss down against Claude's neck, he's ready for him as he reaches back with one hand to tangle his fingers into that styled blond hair. That's all the prompting Dimitri needs. In no time at all, he's sliding his other hand around Claude's side until it's resting so tantalizingly on top of his stomach, fingers pointed down to the hem of his pants that Claude still hasn't taken off.

Claude gasps, shivering and moving against Dimitri, and he can't tell if it's his hand or the way his mouth is finally moving against his skin that gets him. Dimitri is a little rusty, a little out of practice, but he catches up quick... and more than makes up for it with the hunger thrumming through him that Claude can feel just as easily as his lips, his teeth.

"I should probably not have done this," Dimitri admits in a hushed whisper against Claude's shoulder, where he's probably worried a hickey into existence.

Honestly, Claude is more fine with a hickey (more than fine) than he is with the words his boyfriend has just spoken, and he lets his head fall back with a groan. His skull taps quite neatly against Dimitri's shoulder. "Is this because we're supposed to be going to bed instead of getting frisky?"

"Well, yes, but also there are five other people in my apartment right now, and there are no end of words for what I would feel if I woke them up with, well. This."

Ah. Right. That is a bit of a problem, and Claude sighs. He really would feel terrible if Raphael and Ignatz overheard him getting railed by his boyfriend. (Sylvain would just offer a high five, he suspects, and Ingrid and Felix would sooner kill someone than feel really embarrassed about it.) That doesn't mean he can't finally twist around in Dimitri's arms to tap his finger against the blond's nose. "Should have thought of that before you got me all worked up, shouldn't you?" he says, smirking a little and raising one eyebrow. "I was wondering why a guy like you would jump the gun."

Dimitri looks so terribly sheepish as he hunches up his shoulders. "I know. I truly did think I could hold on. But when I looked back and saw you...."

He falls obediently silent when Claude very seriously places a finger to his lips. "If you keep telling me how attractive I was, and how badly you wanted to touch me, all while refusing to go further, I will cry. You terrible tempter, you. Do you have any idea what you do to me?"

The smile underneath his fingertips twitches up in something a little more playful and shy. "If I had to make an educated guess... then I would say it is perhaps the same thing that you do to me."

Oh, the words that come out of this man's mouth. Claude feels himself melt a little bit, there in Dimitri's arms, even moreso than when he'd first felt that touch against his bare skin. He's never had a partner, for any length of time, that says such earnestly romantic things. Sure, some of his dates would do it, but Claude likes to think of himself as being pretty damn sharp. He's seen through the fake bullshit more times than he can count.

But Dimitri means it. Every single little word. The way he looks at Claude, single blue eye so brilliant in its adoration and attraction, leaves no doubt whatsoever.

"That's it," Claude says, rolling his head back with a groan. "One of us needs to finish changing in the bathroom. I'm literally dying here as it is, and I have no faith whatsoever that we'll be able to keep our hands to ourselves if this goes on." They're already failing on the hands part, as a matter of fact.

That doesn't mean he's anymore disappointed when Dimitri finally manages to pry his grip away from Claude, an action which leaves him unbearably cold where his boyfriend's warm hands once were. Claude's always been sensitive to cold temperatures... but he thinks this has nothing to do with that. Absolutely nothing at all. "I swear I can hold myself back this time," Dimitri promises. "I will turn around and stay properly turned around until we are both completely changed."

Claude thinks he's on the verge of death for that agreement, but, fortunately, only the verge. If Dimitri had also taken his shirt off, he thinks he'd be a doomed man right about now. Instead, he sighs and nods. "That really would be the responsible thing to do.... Although I do wonder what you're going to do with the two of us sharing a bed, Dimitri."

"I suppose I shall have to perish," Dimitri says bluntly, and sends Claude careening into a fit of laughter. Literally, careening, he has to crumple over against Dimitri's bed and muffle his shrieks with a pillow. At some point, he can feel Dimitri's hand rubbing at his back, helping him get it all out.

"Oh gods," he gasps when he's finally done, wiping at his eyes. "Alright, I think I might actually be able to do it now. My entire torso hurts. I love you." Vision clearing, he looks up at Dimitri and laughs again. "Wait, did you do that on purpose so that you could change without me watching?" 

Sure enough, Dimitri is in an entirely new set of clothes, a simple tank top and sweatpants because he's a viking who doesn't fear the cold. He's also grinning a little, verging between sheepish and pleased. "I had thought you might find it amusing. Clearly, I underestimated the effect." He holds up the change of clothes meant for Claude. 

Just in case, to keep them both from temptation, Claude slides the shirt over his head first before he shimmies out of his pants beneath them. "How dare you have a cunning about you," he teases, grinning widely at Dimitri to let him know he's teasing. "You're supposed to be just a pretty face." With his replacement sweatpants on, crumpled around his feet, Claude takes a minute to dig through his pants pockets until he can pull out his phone. It never hurts to keep his phone nearby, for whatever reason, so he sets it on the small table besides Dimitri's bed along his lamp and alarm clock.

Dimitri doesn't take offense. All he does is give one of his ridiculous smiles. "You think I'm pretty?"

Another tap to his nose. "Sometimes I can't tell if you're oblivious," Claude announces, "or purposefully ignoring things that you don't care to hear. Now come on, or we'll never get to bed."

"I do apologize for delaying so long." With that, Dimitri finally wraps his arms around Claude to heft him up onto the mattress himself, still smiling all the way until he's joined him and the blankets are pulled up over them both. Claude sighs in contentment, wiggling closer against Dimitri's sturdy body.

For all that his boyfriend might be a viking, or a hairless polar bear, or a descendant of snowmen, at least he still understands how blankets should be. For Dimitri's bed, they're nice and thick and warm. Granted, maybe five more could be added, and then it would really be perfect.... but Dimitri's embrace is a decent enough substitute.

Not that they can snuggle just yet. While he wraps one arm around Claude, Dimitri reaches up with his other. "Ah, actually, hold on just one moment-" There's one last thing he has to take care of, something rather obvious. The eyepatch gets slid off from around his head, hair catching on it before flopping back into place, and Dimitri gingerly sets it besides Claude's phone. Amongst the scarring there, a prosthetic eye blindly looks at Claude. "There." Sinking back against the mattress, against Claude, Dimitri smiles slightly. "You know... You're the first person I've dated who I've slept in bed with. And I do truly mean slept."

Resting his head against the pillows, Claude closes his eyes. He's listening, of course. He just figures he should pretend he's getting ready to sleep, if absolutely nothing else. "Oh yeah? I suppose it would feel a little awkward." It's a show of trust, of vulnerability, of intimacy... but it's a little bit of a gruesome one. For some people, it even crosses the line from gruesome to 'completely disfiguring' or 'pitiful', and, well. There's no helping those who are shallow.

"That's right... I've dated a little bit in the past, although not for quite a while now, but I never felt entirely comfortable." His hand ghosts along Claude's cheek. "...I can't feel anything but comfortable when I'm with you. Thank you for that."

Claude realizes that closing his eyes has no doubt inadvertently saved his life. If Dimitri's tone is like that all on its own, soft and sincere and adoring... The look on his face would surely strike him dead. Heat is already rising up along his face, proving there's no need for five other blankets if Dimitri is going to keep talking to him like that. "It's hardly anything to thank me for," he murmurs, wiggling closer against Dimitri's body. "Now go to sleep, hm? Or we really will get tempted again." Especially him, in the face of such love.

Dimitri's lips press against his forehead, curved in a smile Claude knows by heart now.... and then, somehow, they fall asleep.