chapter 10

[warmskies]

There's truly nothing like the sound of a cat yowling for attention, save for when that same cat is trying to walk around your feet as you move boxes. Lorenz nearly trips over him nearly five times, and Claude is pretty sure he half has his acrobatics classes from when he was younger to safe him from the same fate. As he wheels more boxes into the apartment, he establishes eye contact with the noisy little thing. "You know, with how many treats you manage to coerce out of me and my friends whenever we visit,"  he informs their favorite furball, "you could at least be a good roommate and not almost kill us while we're moving in. I thought you would be happier about that, Lewie." 

Loog-Lewis-Lewie "King (of the Apartment)" Edmund-Blaiddyd just hops onto the counter and blinks at him with his big ol' eyes. With orange stripes and white splotches, he could be any other stray in the city... but instead, he's the pampered cat to a pair of adoptive cat parents who would give him the world. Truly, lives change thanks to adoption centers. 

Mostly Claude, Lorenz, and Hilda's lives, he's pretty sure, considering Loog leaps off the table immediately at the greeting to go pester Hilda again. 

Shaking his head in amusement, Claude rolls his things into the cleared out space that used to be an eating area, at least on occasion. Now, it's mostly full of boxes. As in, so many boxes. Well, that much isn't particularly surprising. Their old apartment might have had only three people in it, but they had rented it for a while... and, well. Claude can't exactly say they aren't all material creatures, all three of them. Lorenz alone could probably fill another whole apartment with his list of creature comforts, and Hilda basically ties with him. Claude is honestly genuinely impressed at their organization skills, since he doesn't know how anyone else would manage to fit so much into such small space. 

Then again, maybe he shouldn't judge. The boxes he's beginning to set aside to join the pile, all of them covered in dragon stickers, are absolutely monstrous in their weight thanks to the books stuffed inside of them. If there's anyone he should be judging, it's himself. Books seem light one on one, but once they fill up all the space in a cardboard box... 

Nosy as ever, enough to put him to shame, Lew immediately trots over to begin inspecting the latest additions into his home. Chuckling as he moves the last box, Claude reaches over to scratch behind the cat's ears. "Nothing for you, buddy. Sorry." 

"Really now, Claude," Lorenz huffs, rolling his neck. With the work they've been doing all morning, he's had to pull that vibrant hair of his back into a ponytail. It would look so charming if only he didn't have such a pinched expression on his face. "Lewis receives so much favor and overindulgence from his owners that he hardly needs a teaspoon more of it." 

"Cranky because the apartment cat doesn't love you more, are you?" Claude coos, and grins wide at the way Lorenz pinches the bridge of his nose. 

It's a conversation that happens with quite the imperfect timing as both Dimitri and Marianne enter the apartment  right then, and she immediately begins to fuss. "I'm sorry, was Loog getting in the way again?" she asks. That's the only sound the cat needs to hear before he's zooming away from Claude. It's a good thing that Marianne is only holding onto a relatively small box that she can place on the counter of the kitchen in order to lean down to lavish pets upon the pampered cat. 

Of course, if Marianne is only carrying one tiny little box that probably weighs almost nothing... That means Dimitri is carrying a pretty damn hefty pile himself, all bigger and guaranteed heavier. Despite that, he doesn't seem to be bothered at all as he makes his way through the apartment to place them down where all the rest are. "We thought about putting him in his carrier to keep him out of the way," Dimitri admits, straightening up and stretching his arms across his chest. Sitting on one of the sturdier box piles, Claude enjoys the way his muscles stretch and tense. "However, he doesn't like being in it for extended periods of time... We're working on that, but such things can take a while." 

Speak of the devil, and a cat appears. Once Marianne stops petting him, Lew immediately darts right on over to his other most favorite human in the whole world. He makes quite the running leap, making it up most of Dimitri's thigh before he's scooped up and allowed on the blond's shoulder. There, he gets even more attention and cooing. 

"Truly the most spoiled cat in the world," Claude says under his breath, laughing a little. 

"Did you say something, Claude?" 

"Just a little tease, Mitya," he answers, and feels his grin softening into a smile when he sees the way Dimitri looks at him for that. It's a relatively new development, this little nickname... but he's found it's more than worth it. Anything that makes Dimitri look at him so softly that way... He thinks he would give just about any amount of money for it. 

Of course, that's when Lorenz decides to intrude on the moment - which, yes, Claude guesses was sort of public, and small enough that there would be constant delays if everyone stopped letting him and Dimitri have little moments like this. Still, he could at least read the mood. "Marianne, Dimitri, he has been running amuck this entire morning. Surely you've both noticed it, haven't you?" 

Marianne, who could charm a three headed watch dog to the afterlife with her voice and make him obediently heel, just blinks over from where she's drifted to Hilda's side. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm afraid I haven't, Lorenz..." 

With said troublemaking cat now acting as a very dandy and trend setting shoulder accessory, Dimitri tilts his head slightly to the side. Just slightly, so he doesn't knock Lew off. "He always manages to stay out of the way while I'm here," Dimitri agrees. "Although I suppose I can't speak for when we're gone..." 

"Oh goddess," Hilda laughs, pouring smoothies out into four different glasses. "Listen to the way you refer to him... It's like you're parents." Setting the blender back in place, Hilda grins over at Claude. "Have we been replaced?"

Clicking his tongue, Claude leans against Dimitri's side and watches Lew from the corner of his eye. Just as curious as he is, the cat looks over his little furry shoulder and begins the tricky process of trying to turn around. "I don't know, Dimitri, have I been replaced because Marianne could give you a kid before I could?" 

"Claude-!" 

"Oops, I mean cat," Claude says, his grin widening even more. While he loves Dimitri's smiles, and his muscles, and the way his eye goes soft... Claude especially loves the way Dimitri tries to go stern or scandalized at his teasing. "Slip of the tongue~."

Poor Lorenz, all alone without his own girlfriend to mercilessly rib him. He sighs, shaking his head. "I believe we've rather gotten off track..." 

Hilda claps her hands together. "I think we should get off the road entirely. By which I mean it's noon! Why don't we all take a well deserved break? Oh, that's right!" Daintily placing the tips of her fingers against each other, Hilda tilts her head down so that she can give that trademark doe-eyed look from beneath her eyelashes. "Thank you again sooooo much for letting me borrow the blender, Dimitri. And for picking up a lot of the boxes when I got tired, too!" 

Adjusting his shoulders so that Lew can traverse them easier in order to gnaw on Claude's hair, Dimitri nods to Hilda. "Well, I did promise you once upon a time that I would help with any heavy lifting you needed done, didn't I?" His lips twitch into a small smile. "Although I didn't think that the circumstances would be anything like this." 

No... None of them could have seen this coming, Claude supposes. It's been a good couple of years since him and Dimitri started dating, one year since Marianne became his roommate, and four months since Claude, Lorenz, and Hilda all decided they didn't care to lengthen their stay in their previos apartment. Not with a landlord that had been kind of frustrating to deal with, at any rate. 

"Hilda, there are only four glasses," Lorenz says, snapping Claude out of his reverie.  In the time he's been spacing out, his favorite hoity toity example of a human being has gone into the kitchen himself. 

"Whups! I must have spaced out, Lorenz, sorry." Hilda closes one eye, cutely apologetic, which means this was absolutely on purpose, somehow. It all becomes clear when she nudges one glass over to him. "How about you have the one I was going to take? I don't mind~." 

Marianne immediately starts to fuss. "But you deserve something as well, Hilda... You were working so hard this morning before Lorenz arrived..." 

Truly, he and Hilda were blessed by some sort of divine entity to not grow up in a world where they would grow cat ears. Claude can almost imagine them twitching atop Hilda's head as she smiles over at Marianne. "Oh, so do you want to share a drink, Marianne? I think I saw some straws in one of the drawers!" 

Oh, now that's just adorable. Claude chuckles a little bit as he watches the exchange. Hilda could be so obvious and upfront if she wanted, but she still seems to love flirting with Marianne like this... Maybe because it always seems to perk Marianne up, getting cute little gestures like this. Or maybe they both just like the game. 

Claude knows the feeling, especially as Dimitri shifts a little bit so that he can slide his arm around Claude's waist. Lew tries to make his way down his arm, only to give up partway through and leap down to the floor. Claude only barely notices him. He's more interested in Dimitri's breath blowing along the hairs on the back of his neck, and the lips response brushing over the curve of his ear. "I haven't had time to say it this morning," he murmurs, just for him, "but I'm glad you're wearing those earrings today." 

Oh, he knew that Dimitri would like them. That doesn't stop Claude from being any less pleased as he reaches behind him to twine their fingers together. "You can admire them while we get the smoothies Hilda has so generously made for us," he says, winking back at Dimitri. Well, he might say that... But, even as he tugs Dimitri along into the kitchen - the kitchen that will now be a shared kitchen between the five of them, their kitchen - Claude can't help reaching up with his free hand. There's something reassuring about feeling lukewarm metal at his touch... Or maybe it's not the touch at all. 

Maybe it's just remembering how he got them that's reassuring. 





When Dimitri slides the blindfold down away from Claude's eyes, the first sound out of his mouth is delighted laughter. "Now isn't this nostalgic!" he says, grinning out at the sign which proudly welcomes them to the zoo once again. No wonder Dimitri has been blaring some of his heavier rock music throughout this drive; that's the kind of noise that would definitely keep him from picking up on the sound of the crowd and any potential hints they could give him. 

Beaming proudly, Dimitri takes the wheel again and begins to take the car properly into the parking lot so that he can find them a space. "It's been a while," he agrees, pulling his car in. Soon enough, the engine ceases its rumbling, and the sound of loud rock music is out in the beat of a heart. "But since it's been a year, I thought it might be nice to visit this place again." 

He says it so coyly, eye flicking to Claude and away and then back again as he gets his jacket. Claude winks at him the next chance he gets, over the roof of the car. "And I'm sure that it has nothing to do with how this is our first anniversary since we started dating each other, right?" 

"Ah..." Smiling a little, Dimitri shakes his head. "I should have known you would have caught onto that. I suppose I never should have even tried hiding the fact from you, should I?" 

"Heh, well, you're not the only person who's been paying attention to the calendar." Dimitri is waiting for him around the car, and Claude more than gladly takes his arm. How different things are compared to when they both first came here... Claude reflects on it a little bit while Dimitri guides them to the line. It's not only the zoo, either, clearly a warmer and more bustling day compared to their first time. It's how different the two of them are in relation to one another as well. There's no wondering about the other party, no anxious fidgeting. 

They're near the front of the line when Dimitri leans a little bit against him, head tilting to rest his head against his, and Claude feels his heart flutter not too unlike that afternoon when a coat was draped around his shoulders. Well.... Sometimes the more things change, the more they stay the same. 

He couldn't be more happy that this is one of them. 

The zoo is also still pretty much the same as it was a year ago. The map looks pretty much the same, and so do a lot of the smaller exhibits they go to first that don't have to do with any of the actual animals. More than 'nostalgic', it feels as though Claude could close his eyes and open them again to be a year younger once more. As they decide to go investigate the penguins again first, Claude takes out his phone with a smile. Would his old self have imagined that just one date could turn into a relationship that has his heart aching from how happy he is?

Dimitri takes note of what he's doing and perks up slightly. "Oh, are you texting Hilda? Maybe we should get her something at the zoo store before we leave."

"Oh, I'm sure she would love some kitschy tourist jewelry," Claude agrees, "but this is actually to your phone. I was going to give you a heads up in just a second, as a matter of fact. It's a reminder of what we've been doing." He'd noticed that Dimitri had been sort of preoccupied earlier.

Sure enough, Dimitri lets out a startled laugh. "Oh- I apologize. I was so excited for this that I forgot... That was my mistake." There's a moment where he's clearly struggling not to apologize again or to feel bad about letting Claude do this. It's been a little bit of a struggle in their relationship, honestly. Claude gets it, he really does. Independence is important for a guy like Dimitri, when it's obviously been a fight to get it, or be in a place for it. If Dimitri weren't lucky in a lot of ways, it might not even be a thing he could have at all. Still... Claude likes that he can do something for him. It's been a talk they've had... and Claude is glad it was had. That means, even though he has to struggle, Dimitri finally lets out a breath and smiles to him. Instead of apologizing again, what he says is, "Thank you, Claude."

Claude winks. "Think of it as an anniversary treat," he tells him, neglecting to mention the other anniversary treat he has stored away in the backseat of Dimitri's car. It's going to take a little bit scheming to get Dimitri to the isolated little spot on the edge of town, to watch the sunset... and a little more scheming to make sure he has a chance to slip the body harness on underneath his clothing before they get there. But he has a few ideas already and, if nothing else, he's great at improvisation.

That is for later, however. In the present, they continue throughout the zoo in much the same way as they did that first time, a year ago. Some animals have clearly had their exhibits remodeled, or had more roommates added, or less. Yet for the most part, it seems like a lot has remained untouched. The main thing that's switched up its theming turns out to be the escape room. Still animal themed, absolutely, but the brochure at the window details something to do with some ambitious avians being a lot more clever than anyone gave them credit for, and that being the reason why everyone is trapped this time. Still a little childish and silly, but it still looks a bit fun.

As it turns out, the eyepatch girl still works there too, her and Dimitri sharing another Socially Awkward Eyepatch Bonding moment while the beanie from before rings them up. Unlike a year ago, there's enough people in the zoo for the two of them to get sorted into a group. That's how they end up with a sweet little family with one boisterous dumb blond of a man, a more serious and patient woman who looks like the personification of a murderous rabbit, and their anxiety riddled kid. It's stupid, fun, and they barely make it out in time thanks to a lot of dumb shenanigans and Dimitri latching onto the kid like he was going to forcibly adopt him.

Claude loves it.

"When did you get so good at handling kids?" Claude asks, tugging Dimitri's arm around his shoulder to the sound of absolutely zero protest.

Squeezing his hand on Claude's own shoulder, Dimitri chuckles. "Do I not look like I could be good at dealing with children?" he asks.

"It's just not something I guess I get a chance to see often. Although maybe I shouldn't be surprised. You are the guy who managed to win over the hearts of an apartment complex's worth of children with your underhanded soda tricks."

"Oh, hush, you." Dimitri presses a kiss into Claude's hair with a wide smile. "So, how was I this time around? Did I have more fun by your standards?"

It only takes a second for Claude to catch onto what Dimitri means, and he huffs a laugh out under his breath. He'd long ago caught onto the fact that Dimitri hadn't blamed him, exactly, for what he had done back on their first date... but that doesn't mean it was any good to do. Claude supposes he should just be glad that Dimitri was never hurt enough by it that he can joke about such things now. "Oh, absolutely. I'm starting to wonder if maybe you should take up a job as a school teacher."

"Oh, no," Dimitri says, eyebrows raising in surprise. "I can't imagine I would ever get hired for that sort of thing... Although..." Ha. Claude tries not to grin too triumphantly at the thoughtful look that flickers through Dimitri's eyes. It's been more than obvious to him that Dimitri loves playing with kids, being a mentor or a big brother type. He wonders if that's how he managed to get on with Ashe and Annette so much; Dimitri lavishes attention on them as though they were his own little siblings.

Well, the thought has been put inside his head. Claude will let him have more than enough time to chew on if it's something he wants for himself or not. For now, he just nudges Dimitri in the side with his elbow. "If nothing else, I know there are some younger people in the band who would love to have this big tough guy around to show them the ropes. In the meanwhile, I think someone is going to be happy to see you soon."

"They must be tired of people today," Dimitri notes. "Or perhaps they're just tired of that game." After all, plenty of the lions seem to be happy playing with themselves, including a lioness that constantly chases her companion into the water until he's walking out with furry wet feet and a grumpy expression. That sight alone widens Dimitri's grin.

Shrugging, Claude waits until the latest noisy group has left the rope before he tugs Dimitri closer. "Well, it might have just been because those guys probably would have chased off more friendly dogs with all their yelling," he points out. "Why not give it a go?"

Shrugging, Dimitri removes his arm from Claude's shoulder and steps forward to the rope. "I'll do it because you asked, again," he says, amused. "But I really don't think...." And that's when Dimitri pauses, as one of the lionesses perks up from her sunbathing to come lazily inquiring over. She bats her end of the rope a couple of time, staring at Dimitri inquisitively. In turn, Dimitri looks over to Claude. "Did you bribe the lions before we got here?" he accuses, playfully. "How on earth can you do that?"

A loud laugh bursts out of him. "Hey, don't try to accuse me of bribery!" He winks, tucking his hands into his pockets now that Dimitri isn't there to warm him up. "You know, I think she might actually be the same lioness that you played with last time."

"Oh, is she?" Dimitri takes his words at face value, glancing towards the lioness again. "I wonder just how good lion memories really are.... Well, I don't want to disappoint her, then, although I can only imagine the commotion will be even worse." Dimitri seems resigned to this fact, however, shrugging out of his light jacket to reveal the t-shirt underneath it. Just like before, Claude takes it with a wide grin.

He wasn't even lying either, honestly. Claude has watched a certain little video probably hundreds of times by now, although a little less since he's gotten the real thing to run his hands all over. While his attention has always been focused on Dimitri himself, well, the lioness had been a part of it too. Claude is sure enough of his own memory to make an actual bet that it's the same cat, judging by little markings and scars he can see on her.

Sure enough, exactly like last time - even more than last time - a lot of people get excited at the tug of war spectacle that results. Just like before, Dimitri gives up eventually, conceding defeat to a rather satisfied lion. As Dimitri hustles them away from the exhibit to escape the gazes of the crowd before it gets to be too much, he glances down at Claude with a hesitant little smile. "Oh, before we have lunch... Can we go see a small show that was advertised?"

A show, huh? Claude grins back. "Hey, it would definitely be a relief from all the walking we've been doing, right? Lead the way, Mitya."

It's a casual little drop of the new nickname, and he watches Dimitri come to an abrupt halt with a couple of surprised blinks. "Mitya?" he echoes.

"That's right," Claude confirms. "Mitya. From Dimitri." He smiles, eyes shining from underneath his lashes. "What do you think of it?"

There are a lot of great things in the world, and Claude has experienced a few of them. For example, even with his many family troubles, there will always be something that smells like home when he closes his eyes and breathes in the warm smell of Almyran cooking. The first time he rallied a band together for a protest, watching the crowd glow in newly renewed energy and looked to him for that feeling, had been indescribable. When he was a kid, he'd watched a falconer guide their bird through the air like the two of them were just the same being, separated by flesh... and something about seeing the falcon twist and dive through the air, elegant and sharp and brilliant... He's pretty sure he'll never forget that.

Seeing Dimitri's eye soften, his smile so tender that it could melt a heart from the inside, his little touch along Claude's elbow...

"I love it," he says gently, and Claude knows he's telling the truth completely and utterly.

That's another great thing in the world.

The show Dimitri is interested in has to do with the many different kinds of apes that are in the world- mostly the small and cuddling kind that have the least likely chance of terribly maiming someone, although the zoo employee doesn't say that. They're not an animal type that Claude thought Dimitri held any sort of interest in beforehand, but he clearly does now, so he sits along for it all. It's pretty cute, as anything with a small furry animal is nearly guaranteed to be, and it's pretty funny, with a lot of tricks and jokes clearly thought about before the show ever went live. Claude has to admit that it's not that bad. Quite the opposite.

By the end, he's clapping along with everyone else. What he doesn't do with everyone else is leave the little stage area. Instead, Dimitri rests a hand on his shoulder. "I wanted to go ask the trainer some things about the routine. Could you come down with me?"

"Lunch continues to wait, huh?" Claude asks with a chuckle, getting up and stretching his arms over his head. "Sure, but don't take too long. I'm starving and I bet you are too, maybe even more than me after your fun with the lion."

By the time they make their way past the seats and down the steps to the little stage area, most of the monkeys have been placed back. There's only the trainer and one tiny little monkey in particular; Claude recalls it as a Capuchin monkey from both his perusing of the zoo and the educational show that they've just watched. There are still a lot of toys in this little temporary monkey playground laying around, from tinier things to equipment that's a bit larger for monkeys to clamber around. The trainer seems more than happy to welcome a few questions, cheerfully exchanging greetings with Dimitri before the two launch into a short conversation on the types of enriching play that monkeys like.

Claude wouldn't say it's a topic he's highly invested in, but he's still curious enough about it. Why wouldn't he be? He's curious about everything. Yet this seems to be ultimately Dimitri's conversation, which is fine too. Soon enough, the trainer offers to give them a slightly more personal training, when it seems like most of the audience has filtered out at long last, and Dimitri turns to Claude with a hopeful grin. "Why don't we stay for just a little bit longer to watch?" he suggests, trying too hard not to plead.

They are going to have such a late lunch, but how can he say no to that pretty blue eye looking at him like that? "I think we can stay a little bit," he agrees, and turns his attention back to the trainer and the monkey.

With all the play items still set up around the stage, the trainer places the monkey in a temporary little enclosure before putting various cups around the area. His back is to Claude when he pauses to place something underneath one of the cups. A treat, probably? Or maybe just something to retrieve in return for a treat. Either way, Claude is pretty sure it's guaranteed to be something that will lead to the little monkey getting some sort of delightful reward. Once everything is set up, the monkey is let loose once again, with the trainer sticking close as the monkey immediately begins investigating the many cups scattered around its little playground.

Claude won't lie: it's adorable watching the monkey carefully peer under every cup and the overdramatic way it flops backwards when it finds only empty space waiting for it. A guy can really see where the human-monkey connection comes from watching a monkey. There really are so few creatures in the world that aspire to such level of dramatics, and humans and monkeys are two of them. Him and Dimitri make sure to give quiet little cheers the entire time, encouraging the little troublemaker on.

Soon enough, the monkey upturns one cup and gives a small little shriek of delight as it quickly grabs towards... something. Claude doesn't realize what it is, not until the trainer and monkey return to them, those little monkey hands shoving towards him... a very tiny and simple box. Cardboard, the kind jewelry is kept in. Dawning surges upwards in him almost immediately, even as he reaches out to accept the box. "Someone certainly planned something behind my back when I wasn't looking," he says with a pleased little smile up at Dimitri. With a job well done, the trainer steps away smiling as well in order to give the monkey a reward for romantic endeavors.

Sheepish but undeniably satisfied, Dimitri bows his head and smiles at Claude from beneath his own pale eyelashes. "I thought about doing it in a more public sort of manner, since I know you're not shy about crowds... But I decided it might be a lot for me, so I thought something after the show would be just as good."

Objectively, Claude knows that he can't really give his boyfriend an award for being the most adorable boyfriend in all of existence. That's just pure bias at work. Yet that doesn't stop his feelings from blossoming in his chest anyway, and he has to redirect his smile down at the box in his hands before he falls apart from all the love he's feeling right now. "You're really something," he says softly, before he gently pops the lid off. It's nothing special or complicated, after all. Just the kind of box any sort of store bought jewelry could be found in, probably chosen so that he could open it right away instead of having to struggle with it while they're down here.

As he opens the box, he's glad for that decision, because the jewelry that's within it is anything but simple and uncomplicated. What lies inside are a pair of gold earrings, shining brilliantly in autumn sunlight. They're not huge dangling earrings, or else they probably would have had to go in a bigger box, and been more awkward for the monkey to pick up. Instead, they're just small, things he can slide in without much fuss, but their size doesn't take away from the intricacy in the design. There is a delicacy to what's been inlaid into such a small amount of metal; these had to be chosen with incredible care.

Claude doesn't wait for even a second longer. Resting the box on a nearby chair - far away from any monkeys that might slip loose of their handlers - Claude reaches up to start removing what he already has in his ears right now. They're far less fancy, merely simple and small hoops, so it hardly takes a second before they're out, and these new earrings are in. "A shame I can't admire myself in the mirror, but that's fine." Turning to Dimitri, he wraps his arms around his boyfriend's shoulders. "I have something I want to do far more."

And that's kissing Dimitri, something he's never going to regret doing.

After a lot of thanks are given to the monkey trainer, and also the monkey, the two of them finally make their way to a rather packed and familiar little grill. This time, they unfortunately can't get a window seat over by the otters, but Claude can't blame anyone for that. Those are some hot tables, and he knows from firsthand experience how relaxing it is to sit in those spots. Well, he doesn't need a window seat. All he needs is Dimitri sitting in front of him, their hands linked, hot pizza shared between them.

Sometimes, he's almost kind of glad that he never went to the zoo a lot before Dimitri. This.... can be something he'll always think of for them together.





It takes some concentrated effort, but, eventually, they manage to transfer all of their things up into the apartment. And it takes a hell of a lot of concentrated effort. By the end of the night, most of the rooms are filled with various boxes, the dining room is definitely not fulfilling its intended purpose, and they're all draped across what little actual furniture is left. Honestly, the furniture is only pushed back into the scarce amount of 'living room' space in this open concept hell because Dimitri somehow still has energy. Or maybe it's less that Dimitri has energy, and it's just that furniture weighs nothing to a man with muscles like those? It's unclear. Claude is exhausted.

Yet perhaps no one is more exhausted than Hilda is, having draped herself across the entirety of the couch while she groans in utmost misery. "I'm never moving ever again!" she whines, burrowing her face into the cushions. Marianne gently rubs her back, being in the exact opposite position of distinctly not being exhausted. "Dimitri, you can't die, or stop having money. I can't do this again. I just can't!" Pushing herself up onto her elbows, she reaches out towards the enormous pizza waiting for all of them on the coffee table. When it comes to suffering like moving day suffering, well, regular meals get shoved to the side in favor of what can be shoved into an oven for around thirty minutes.

At least, that's for most of them. Dimitri has taken to laying flat on the floor, hair sprawled around him in an awkward and uneven wave from when he tied it back in a ponytail. Instead of indulging in the pizza, he's eating a tuna salad sandwich. He's eating it willingly, of course, because he's dedicated to his diet if nothing else... but Claude isn't missing the way that he glances up over at Hilda and his eyes longingly follow that single slice of hers. Claude makes a note to save him a few slices for his cheat day. "You really should come with me more often to the gym, Hilda," he says encouragingly, despite his cheese envy. "I think you have the body for it, so it's only a matter of building up your stamina."

"Of course, if you don't have the time for such things, I completely understand," Lorenz says, his usual crossed legs sitting ruined by how even he can't resist slumping back into the armchair he's taken. It's also hard to eat pizza elegantly, although it's not as if Lorenz hasn't tried countless times before. Unfortunately, eating pizza with a fork and knife honestly makes people stare at you for being strange instead of thinking you're elegant. "I think we still would have managed perfectly fine."

With his feet resting on Dimitri's thighs, Claude snorts. "Yeah... If we wanted to kill Dimitri off from overexertion as a perfect new roommate gift. Unless you're the one volunteering for that kind of dying, Lorenz?" On the ground, Lewie tries to work his way around Claude's feet to get some of that sweet tuna salad. Dimitri patiently nudges his face away like he's done it a thousand times before. He probably has.

"I'm sorry, Hilda," Marianne says, still rubbing Hilda's back. "It's all because I almost dropped something..." Granted, that something was one of Claude's smaller boxes of books, and that still very heavy box had almost dropped right onto her foot. For the goal of no one getting injured on what should be a grand day, it was agreed that she'd be relegated to other duties and Hilda would pick up the slack. For example-

"Oh, don't worry about it, Marianne," Hilda says, smiling back to her. "You were doing so much good work yourself unpacking everything! After all, a certain someone needs all his prettiest clothes out as soon as possible..."

With pizza crust sticking out of his mouth like a cigar, Claude holds his hands up defensively. "Hey, don't blame me! I can't help it that the interview is set up for tomorrow! That's the time they were set on, and, well, it's better to strike while the iron is hot..."

Lorenz finally forces himself to straighten up, peering around the coffee table so that he can meet Dimitri's eye. "Speaking of that metaphorical iron... How is Felix? Were there any difficulties getting him back? I told you to call me if there were, so I can only assume that posting bail went smoothly, but..."

"I have the answer to that!" Hilda announces proudly, jolting up only to immediately regret that as she winces from her sore muscles. It gets Marianne immediately fussing over her, letting Hilda's head rest against her chest, so Claude doesn't feel too bad for her. Boldly, without caring that Lorenz has to immediately cover his eyes, Hilda reaches into her bra from the top of her shirt and pulls out her cell. "Sylvain sent me a video just the other day of when Dimitri and him picked Felix up."

Dimitri finally forces himself upwards, effectively chasing Lewie away since his new mattress won't just stay still. "Wait, he filmed that? That's what he was doing?"

"Yup. Here-" The rest of them seem to find the energy deep inside to haul themselves onto the couch in some way, all of them peering at the video that Hilda pulls up.

Claude can recognize the particular subway station that the video opens up to as it fumbles to focus on a certain group, because he's been there enough to recognize certain signs even as the camera passes it all by quickly enough. He's always in such a hurry that the speed the camera goes hardly matters. Soon enough, clearly trying to be subtle, the camera focuses on a small group of people.

Two of them are instantly recognizable, because of course they are: it's Dimitri and Felix. With both of them having slightly longer hair than most people, and Felix always having his pulled back in a trademarked messy way, Claude knows who they are from their backs alone. That's the benefit of knowing people for a good few years, and those people being so distinctive.

In contrast, the other two people are complete strangers... but there's honestly no doubt what their relation is to Felix. Apparently the Fraldarius genes are fairly distinct, because, in both men, Claude can see so much of Felix. It's most obvious in the older man of the two, with the sharp lines of his face and that familiar dark blue tint to his hair. He answers the question of 'What will Felix look like when he's an adult' quite neatly, although Claude can't say he would have ever imagined Felix growing facial hair like the older guy has. Honestly, on a purely objective level, Claude would say this guy could Get It. He would never say that around Felix's face for numerous reasons, one being that he doesn't want to get tackled by the most gremlin of human beings... but he's pretty sure that's a fact.

The other guy has those same trademark sharp aspects of his face, but his hair is far darker with unruly waves pulled back into a short braid. His eyes also seem just a little bit brighter in that amber compared to Felix's own, although it's hard to tell with how far away the camera is. Most notably, however, he's in a wheelchair, which Claude can't help but be impressed by. It's only recently that he's become aware of just how... unfriendly their public transportation system can be to things like that. Is the subway near the police station disability friendly? He can't completely recall.

He can look it up later; the camera has just managed to catch onto a conversation. The older Fraldarius is talking. "-incredibly irresponsible, Felix. I could hardly believe my ears when Dimitri called me to say that you needed me to help post bail after assaulting someone. That isn't how I or Glenn raised you at all."

Leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, the guy who is presumably 'Glenn' gives a nod. "Seriously, Felix. I can't believe you." He shakes his head. "How could you have gotten caught? You hit and run for a reason!"

Right near the camera's mic, Sylvain's attempt at cutting off a wheeze of laughter can immediately be heard. While the older Mr. Fraldarius carefully places the tips of his fingers along his forehead as if to fight off an impending headache, Felix immediately leans in his brother's direction. "It was still on camera, Glenn, there wasn't any point in me running. As it turns out, police are looking for things such as video recordings." But it's just barely possible to see, from Sylvain's position, the way Felix's mouth is curved into a wide grin as he looks over to Glenn.

"Then wear a mask," Glenn retorts, smirking right back at Felix. "It can't be that hard to find a cheap one-" That's around the time that a certain someone's hand presses down on his head, and Glenn nearly chokes on his own words from the action. "Right, right- I'll knock it off, so quit it, damn, old man."

Mr. Fraldarius looks as though he is having second thoughts on ever having sired children. "The point is," he continues seriously, "that you could get seriously hurt doing these sorts of things, and I do not want to encourage that by posting bail for you."

Having politely stood to the side while all of this is being exchanged, Dimitri in the video finally speaks up. "I understand your concern perfectly, Rodrigue." It's certainly an interesting relationship, Claude notes, when a guy can call his childhood best friend's dad by his first name.

Mr. Rodrigue Fraldarius gives an appreciative smile over to the blond duckling in the midst of his gremlin children. "Thank you, Dimitri," he begins to say, only for Dimitri to continue.

"So please don't worry about having to pay for any bail that happens in the future. I'll make sure to take care of it myself, since the band is something that I brought him into myself!" And he sounds so earnest as he says it, too, enough that Hilda in real time has to cover her wide grin with one hand. The camera is at an even worse position to get a look at Dimitri's face than it was for Felix's, with the only thing helping being that Dimitri is taller than all three members of the Fraldarius family.

There's another wheeze of a laugh from Sylvain, and Glenn has to slap a hand over his mouth as if that will muffle his howling. It's still hard to see Felix's face... but that's not really necessary. He practically radiates smugness, his hands on his hips, even without his expression visible.

Rodrigue's expression is frozen in that smile before he seems to finally give up, shaking his head slowly and grinding the heel of his palm further into Glenn's head. "I... appreciate it, Dimitri," he says in surrender. "I'm glad that you're taking my son's most troublesome qualities in stride."

"I'm right here," Felix says.

"Yes, and I just had to post your bail," Rodrigue says bluntly. "I believe I am allowed some measure of exasperation, as your father."

"How about you fight me, old man-"

"Glenn, I swear to the Goddess that this is your fault that he learned such crass language."

"Hey! Don't blame me that he got this way all on his own-"

"Also, Sylvain Jose Gautier, I do see you filming all of this with your phone, and I do trust you will not put this on youtube-"

There's a harried whisper of "Oh, shit", and then the video goes black.

The real life Dimitri that is their roommate gives a thoughtful hum, while Claude tries to stop himself from laughing with his hand stuffed inbetween his teeth. "Oh, that's right... I recall Rodrigue saying something like that last night. However, Glenn and Felix had gotten worked up, so I was focused more on them at the time."

Lorenz is by far winning in the effort to hold back any laughter, merely holding one hand delicately across his smile. "The Fraldarius family... certainly seems to be one of personality. Do they not like one another?"

Dimitri tilts his head to the side, half propped up on the couch from his position on the floor and resting his cheek in one hand. "Oh, we went to go have ice cream after this. Rodrigue is very busy most of the time, and doesn't seem one for retirement, so it was nice to go do. Felix normally isn't one for sweet things, either, but even he likes mint chocolate chip. Glenn got... I think it was some sort of peanut butter mix? The shop allows you to mix more solid ingredients into your ice cream, which is something I rather like. Sylvain got a coffee ice cream, with almonds in it, and of course Rodrigue had a preference for a sort of dark chocolate cake mixture with coconut in it." He smiles. "I got cheesecake ice cream, of course. It was nice."

That's not exactly a direct answer... but Claude is pretty sure that, so long as they cut it off here, the meaning is clear enough. This happens occasionally with Dimitri, an answer that isn't exactly direct and in fact can sometimes be downright mystifying in how it's connected... But that's disorganization for you. Leaning against his boyfriend's shoulder, Claude nods. "So I guess if they can go out for ice cream after dad posts bail, it's a pretty tight family," he concludes, and feels assured at Dimitri's nod. "Still, poor guy." He laughs. "What a pair of smartass kids!"

"I almost want to apologize to Fraldarius Senior for what we have wrapped his son up in," Lorenz sighs. "If they have a good relationship, I can only imagine how worried he must be at the idea of his son just-"

"Slamming his fist into a fascist's face?" Hilda offers, batting her eyelashes innocently as she tucks her phone away. They're all at what is now technically their home, so she could just put it on the coffee table... but, then again, the coffee table is currently being occupied by pizza, so the breast pocket is understandable, honestly. "I heard he really sent him flying."

"Now now, Hilda," Claude tuts. "You know the politically correct term isn't fascist." The two of them grin at each other for a moment before Claude looks back to Lorenz. "Although I can understand some concern... But I think it's a good sign that Dimitri and Felix have been coming along for years now and this is only the first occasion in which this sort of thing has had to happen." He chuckles. "It's almost funny that it's taken this long for anything like that to happen when this is the whole reason he was recruited in the first place. I suppose we can take that as proof that our usual methods really do work stunningly well."

Reaching up to lightly squeeze Claude's knee, Dimitri smiles up at him. "They work so well that you got an interview."

Every time he's reminded of it, something in Claude's stomach flutters not too unlike nervousness. He'd really prefer to think of it as 'excitement' or 'adrenaline'... but he can't lie to himself. There's definitely a little bit of nerves in there. But when Dimitri squeezes down like that, smiles like that, it helps keep him grounded a little more, and all Claude can do is smile back.

At least there's Lorenz to keep them on track, not that they even really need it right now. Tapping his fingers on his knee, he hums. "I still want to check in with him to make sure that he speaks with that lawyer I recommended... It seems that his brother Glenn has a similar temperament."

Dimitri nods. "They're very alike in some ways," he confirms. "Glenn used to be a little more- hm. More focused? Law abiding?"

"Dimitri, he just told his little brother to hit and run somebody with his fists," Hilda points out.

"Well, I did use past tense... Still, he's also very passionate, especially when it comes to doing the right thing and protecting people when he can. I believe moreso since he's had to use his wheelchair."

Another thoughtful hum leaves Lorenz. "We really should look into what we can do for wheelchair users, then, and others with similar physical disabilities. Right now, if Glenn or someone else wanted to participate, we aren't really prepared for that sort of undertaking. Now that I'm thinking back on all my research into how to organize protests, nothing has ever really covered that particular challenge, but I believe that's more because it's not the point of view that-"

Hauling a cushion out of place, Hilda rears her arms back and smacks it right into Lorenz's face. "No!" she groans, dropping back dramatically onto Marianne's lap. "We aren't doing this tonight! Lorenz! Claude!"

"Hey, I didn't even do anything," he says with a grin, sliding away from the couch so that he can crouch down on the floor and hide behind Dimitri. "Don't blame me."

Hilda continues like she didn't even hear him. "We've been moving things all day, more stuff than I thought we ever squeezed into that tiny little apartment, and I'm exhausted." She puts on her most pitiful expression, brows scrunched together daintily Just So. "None of us can think properly about band stuff after a day like ours... Please, Lorenz?"

Even as he's in the middle of prying the pillow off of his face, Lorenz is already looking flustered. "I- No, you're quite right, Hilda. It was rather inconsiderate of me to push work onto the table when we haven't even finished dinner, and after such a grueling day. Shall we put on a movie to occupy ourselves instead?"

They do, in fact, put on a movie to occupy themselves. Honestly it's a good thing that they've moved into an apartment that already had at least one occupant beforehand. Dimitri alone has plenty of movies to distract a small group of people, with a Mystery Science Theater collection that could probably keep them all occupied for a full week if they really needed it to. That's without the other movies he has on hand, or what Marianne has added to it, which is all mostly heartwarming or tearjerking animal movies. This is good because that means the rest of them don't have to dig through what is probably a hundred boxes in order to find out just where the hell they've put all their DvDs.

While Dimitri clearly makes a considerate choice in what he puts in... Claude has to admit that he doesn't really pay too much attention to the movie once it comes on. He's too tired; Hilda was right. They've had a hell of a day moving everything into Dimitri's apartment even without having unpacked the vast majority of their stuff. All they can thank their lucky stars for is that Dimitri and Team DAAM have already helped reorganize the things that were already in the apartment. That means every room is empty and available for them, waiting to be filled. No need to puzzle through how to move exercise equipment out into the dining space when it's already there, and practically buried behind boxes.

So Claude doesn't let himself think too hard about what's playing on the screen in front of them. He doesn't think too hard about the state of unpacking that their apartment is in, and will be in for at least a couple more days. All he does is lean into Dimitri's warmth, and drift away.





"So, how are we feeling?" Claude asks Marianne and Dimitri as the band gathers together, Felix passing around signs to anyone who doesn't have an instrument. The whole group is here, even larger than it was a couple of years ago, and Claude is quite proud of that fact. Of course, it means that even more organization has to be done, now, and it can't just be him, Hilda, and Lorenz managing everything.

For one thing, Hilda would do a one woman riot if she had to do anymore work than is expected of her. Claude can't actually blame that one on her in any way. While she makes a production out of not doing more than is possible, of not taking on more responsibility than a 'regular girl' would take, she's been an important part of the band and done a lot for all of them. For another, everything really has just become that big. If they take on any more work themselves, well, then they might be outright killing themselves slowly.

A responsible leader knows when to delegate, and when to expand, so Claude has done just that. He's lucky in that not only does he have plenty of friends who are talented in a variety of ways, but that Dimitri has been interested enough in helping far more than merely performing at what protests he can get himself to attend. Dimitri being interested means that Dimitri's friends are interested, and, well, that's quite a lot of talent and positions at his disposal. Claude had thought just advertising the band occasionally at Lysithea's college and the bookshop Marianne works at had been nice enough... But that was before church darling Mercedes and youtube personalities Annette and Felix had lended their connections to everything.

They even have what they can both jokingly and seriously call band shirts, artfully designed by Ignatz and Hilda's combined talents while funded by a larger online community than Claude thought they had. Then again, maybe that's only to be expected when they reach out to so many voices with everything they stand for. Claude couldn't be more glad about it, honestly. It's everything he's ever dreamed of accomplishing.

An unexpected bonus to 'delegating' to his many friends is that he has a little more time himself to do other things while they're all preparing. It's not a lot; he's not going to run off and get some fast food or anything. Rather, he can do this: check in on some of the more anxious members of their group and make sure they're doing alright.

For example, this isn't the first time Marianne has attended one of their performances, but... She is one of those who has had the least amount of visits whenever they've gotten together, and she's always been a little anxious every time. Right now, however, she seems to be a little more sturdy as Claude approaches, and she gives him a tentative smile. "There... are certainly a lot of people," she concedes. "I will do my best to not let any of them down." That's a good sound, coming from Marianne, and Claude smiles to her encouragingly before looking up at Dimitri.

There's not even a chance for him to speak up before Dimitri is nodding as well. "I think today may be a productive day on my end," he says hopefully. "Dedue is here, after all." That doesn't actually mean too much, on if it will keep Dimitri from having any sort of episode... But it does mean that he'll have one of his closest and most grounded friends here to watch out for him even if he does. That's the important thing. Dimitri's low empathy moments aren't exactly bad - they've had a lot of indepth discussions now on how closely society seems to view 'empathy' and 'morality' being the same thing, even though that isn't true at all. It's just that Dimitri would rather understand what, if anything, sets such moments off. Claude can understand the desire, even if he's not in the same position. Knowing more about one's self is reassuring.

They'll just have to see how he feels once the protest is over. For now, beaming cheerfully, Claude reaches over to lightly pat Marianne's arm and reassuringly smack Dimitri's. "Excellent. We're going to start up in ten, so let me know if you need anything or spot someone who does." The two of them really have become among the best at it, Claude has been pleased to learn. Them, along with Raphael and Mercedes, of course. The latter two are kind of obvious in why they're so good at it. Mercedes just seems to have some sort of Eventual Mom radar in her soul that has her finding people in distress, even if they're not so obvious about that distress. Raphael is a little bit better when it comes to the more physical side of distress, having learned better through experience than book learning, and he's also one of the tallest people in a crowd at any given moment. 

With Dimitri and Marianne... Their experiences are a little more personal. They know what to look out for because they've experienced it, and they've talked about it with their therapists. Even when Dimitri is at his most detached, he's still apparently learned how to put the signs together logically. Whenever Claude thinks about that, thinks how hard Dimitri works so that he doesn't hurt other people and makes even hurt he's unrelated to go away... He can't help but love him more.

"We'll keep an eye out," Marianne promises, clenching one slight hand in determination. She, too, wants to help ease away hurt in the world wherever she can, help wherever she can, so that no one ever feels like she has. No wonder Hilda and Ingrid love her.

Dimitri smiles. "So you can go back to being the conductor of this all," he says, as though Claude is anything but the loud figurehead with an instrument that makes fascist ears bleed. (And honestly anyone else who listens to it, too, but oh well.)

Still, it's the thought that counts, and Claude winks at the two of them. "Message heard loud and clear. Let's get even louder soon, alright?" He turns away from them at that, giving a cheerful nod to newly made flutist Dedue as he joins the two.

And they do get louder, with gusto. A lot of protest regulars - not that Claude could give a reliable number as to how many there are - now know to look forward to their band's performance, and Claude is pretty sure that even people who are first timers have heard enough about them to be excited. The band is doing exactly what it was always meant to do in that regard. This isn't just a silly little thing, anymore. It hasn't been in a long while. From where he's helping encourage the protesters around them, Claude feels as though he can literally see any exhaustion or wariness lift up and away from the crowd. As though he can literally see them throw their energy in together as one solid thing, pushing forward to a brighter and more united future.

Also their brass section gets to delightedly scream honk over every chant he can hear the counter protesters try to start up. For those types, it's all about trying to protect the latest shitty politician they know is in the wrong, but since they'll will vote to screw over a minority, that's the important thing for them. Claude can't help but feel more than a little satisfied in the knowledge that they won't be able to think over the sound of twin sousaphones. 

Sometimes, it's the little things in life that help get him through the day.

By the time their scheduled amount of time is ended and they're veering towards not legally being allowed on the streets - although Claude always likes to push it, eek out every little second he can without it being a problem - he feels as lit up as a star. Maybe in another life he would have been a celebrity musician, some famous guitarist or vocalist taking the world by storm. Certainly, as he looks around at the rest of the band while the protest steadily disperses, he can't be the only one feeling that. Yet he doesn't think he would care to have that kind of life. It doesn't really matter to him. Getting attention, thriving off of it- great, sure, yeah, but it's a means to an end. The more people who are aware of them become aware of the causes they're championing. The more there's a chance for things to change for the better.

And that's the important thing. 

Most of the band are still near to him- not surprising, considering how many of them hitch rides with each other. Claude is in the middle of a headcount when he notices a change in the flow. To be exact, he notices  someone pushing towards the center instead of away, and he refocuses his attention towards them. It's a small group of young women, which isn't particularly unusual at protests like this. What is unusual is that one of them, a rather cheerful individual with light brown hair drawn into dual braided pigtails, is carting around a heavy professional video camera. Claude recognizes what this must mean almost immediately, even before Hilda slips through the crowd first to lean towards his ear. "Hey, that's a news crew, isn't it?"

It absolutely is, and Claude does a quick glance over at each of the women while going over his mental library. With how much he vicariously devours news of all flavors, both to stay up to date with just about everything happening in the world and how information is being presented to various group, he's roughly familiar with a lot of news personalities. He wouldn't say that he knows every single person in the industry, being an outsider to the business himself... but he has a fairly decent library despite being such an outsider. The look of the bespectacled woman leading the charge is one that he recognizes, and he taps Hilda's spine. "Make sure no one makes an ass of themselves while we're on possibly live television, alright?" 

"Ugh." Hilda exaggerates her puffed out cheeks. "You know this group, Claude. They're gonna ass if they're gonna ass. Still." She winks at him. "I'll see what I can do." With that, she slips away, and Claude goes back to very briefly directing a couple of other people who come up to him with questions or compliments. 

It's just a way to hide how he's watching the news crew from the corner of his eye, until they finally approach him and the woman in glasses waves her hand towards him energetically. "Hello! Excuse me! Cali, with Ampithea News! You would be Claude Riegan, wouldn't you? I'm hoping you would be up for a quick street interview!" 

This is perfect- and just when he was thinking about how beneficial reaching a wide audience is. Putting on his friendliest smile, he winks to the crew. "I wouldn't mind at all! I can only spare a few minutes right now before we start getting shooed off the street, ha ha, but I think we can slide under the wire." 

"Excellent!" Whirling around to her crew, Cali starts directing them all - Bobo who is apparently their camerawoman, Ace with the long purple ponytail being who helps keep too much foot traffic from getting in the way, and pink haired Nikki who helps freshen Cali up for her appearance on camera. 

Claude is honestly pretty content to just stand to the side and wait the couple of minutes it takes for them to get ready, but then Nikki ducks over to him while Cali and Bobo are talking. "Do you need a towel?" she asks with a sweet smile, holding a small and clean one up in her hand. Well, it's good to see that the local news stations are implying some decent and considerate people. After a quick clean up to make sure he's just clean enough, Claude props his vuvuzela up along his shoulder and grins as Cali does a count down to the camera going live. 

It wasn't a lie to say that there's not really a lot of time to have any sort of indepth interview right there on the streets. Only so much can be said in what is only so much time. Yet Claude is a master of making a lot out of a little, and now isn't any different. By the time the camera goes off and Bobo gives a thumbs up to show they're all clear, he's pretty sure he's charmed and pleased their intrepid reporter more than well enough. Hopefully the same will be said of anyone who watches the news segment this appears on... He'll have to ask around, see who can keep an eye out on Ampithea News. It would be good to record that segment and put it on their own site... 

Yet before Cali and her lot take off, she ducks over to him again with a shine in her eye. "You have a really good sense for local issues and politics," she informs him, reaching into her long brown coat. "We have to get going, but can you get in contact with me later so that we can have a deeper conversation at the station?" Grinning, she taps her nose and pulls out a business card. "I have a talent for sniffing out great stories, and I think you have something really interesting going on here! So please call as soon as you can!" And with that, she's bounding away towards the rest of her crew, leaving a card in Claude's hand. 

On the outside, Claude grins and waves, wishing them all a good trip back to Amphithea News. On the inside... Jeez. On the inside he can feel his heart going a thousand miles a minute. This could be his big chance. The band has always been known about by city locals, of course, there's a reason why they've been able to be some degree of successful in fundraising and growing so large, but to be on the news...  That's something official, that's bound to reach even more people. He's never had to do this kind of thing before, so that means, the second he gets back to his apartment, he's going to have to do so much research on what to expect, what Amphithea News is like behind the scenes and from the perspectives of the workers- 

A warm hand folds over his, and Claude is snapped out of it by a gentle kiss along his temple. "That looked like it went well," Dimitri says quietly, the case for his flute held unassumingly in his other hand. 

Letting out a breath as smoothly as he can, Claude grins up at his boyfriend. "Hey, don't start losing faith in my charms now," he says, turning his hand slightly so that he can squeeze Dimitri's. "Still, this is pretty exciting, huh? What do Teach 1 and Teach 2 think? Well, I guess it would be a lot to ask to imagine both of them sticking around long enough to have seen that..." Both Byleth Eisner and Byleth Eisner aren't really the types who like having any sort of fame or attention. When it comes to these events, they're here purely to act as support and help rally everyone else. Once their job is done with, well, then they're off. He's pretty sure that, if not for them being genuinely good people at their cores, they'd run off to go fishing off in some little coastal town a million miles away from civilization. Fishing or gardening, he guesses. 

Sure enough, Dimitri gives a nod. The twist comes when he opens his mouth for a slightly more indepth answer. "They had to go check on Felix when he got arrested." 

...Well. That's certainly something he just said. Claude blinks, unable to do much else for a second at this news. He knows he was really caught up in the performance, but he hadn't even heard any sort of commotion.... 

"So someone had fun today," he finally says, unable to stop himself from being just a tad amused. If Felix were really hurt, Claude doubts that Dimitri would be in such a calm state. Hell, he'd probably not even be around whatsoever. Combined with the lack of spectacle, and he can only assume that Felix is fine and things were cleared up soon enough. Still, he can't get caught up in just imagining things, so he refocuses seriously towards Dimitri. "Is he alright? What happened?" 

The story is as simple as it is kind of hilarious. Raphael had gone to help someone get to the edges of the protest when everything proved to be a little overwhelming, and Felix, now one of his new best friends when the rest of them weren't looking, had tagged along mostly to help. Raphael had doubled back in order to get something else - unsurprising, considering how much the guy carries around with him regularly at protests like this even not counting his drums - and Felix had stayed along the edges with the overwhelmed protester plus a few others who recognized him one way or another. 

Unfortunately, some rather sulky little bastards had decided that, if they couldn't beat up the guy blaring a vuvuzela into their eardrums, they'd take the cowardly option. That was how a bunch of garbage and more than a few slurs had gotten tossed at what had looked like just a vulnerable group not so near the rest. It's possible that they would have done just that, venting down with. 

However, the 'unfortunately' part of this tale is because Felix had still been there. And Felix had fallen on them like the wrath of an angry and highly specific saint. Perhaps the saint of Oh You Made A Bad Life Choice, Buddy. 

From what Dimitri knows, the group of assholes had been made up of just four guys. That hadn't been enough to stop Felix, who'd been more than glad to play dirty considering what certain delicate areas he aimed for. By the time a couple of cops had shown up to see what the hell all the fuss was about, all four guys had been put on the ground and Felix had a bloody nose that he hadn't been particularly concerned about in direct contrast to the people he'd been protecting. 

The best part is that, allegedly, Felix had glanced over at the pair of alarmed cops, held out his wrists, and impatiently said, "Let's get this over with, I'm the one who hit them, just put me in the back of the car already, I don't have all day." 

Lorenz and Hilda rejoin Claude and Dimitri at least partway into this story, and Lorenz has his face in his hands by the end. That's honestly the appropriate reaction. Certainly it's more acceptable than Claude and Hilda's roaring laughter. "I can only imagine the looks on their faces at that," Claude sighs when he's finally got it all out of his system. "We can only hope Felix doesn't start anything with the cops." 

"I'll have to send over one of my lawyers for him," Lorenz mutters as they all continue walking along, Dimitri's story having lasted them a good block or two on the way back to the parking garage where they'll meet up with the others. "I hope he remembers that's what he agreed to and that the don't try to get on him for anything else..."

"Felix will be fine," Dimitri says reassuringly. "He has a temper, and holds grudges, and rarely sees reason to hold his tongue when he sees negative traits in another person..." 

"Weren't you supposed to be reassuring us?" Hilda groans. 

"But he knows how to be patient and wait through a difficult situation," Dimitri finishes. "Sylvain has called up his father to let him know what's happened, so I actually plan to meet them in a short while..." 

There's no need for him to glance so anxiously over at Claude and the others, as though looking for permission, and Claude gives him a gently reassuring smile to remind him of this fact. "Hey, he's your best friend. Just remember that we're moving over to your place in less than a week, so try not to stage a prison break." 

A faint smile rises to Dimitri's face. "I doubt we'll need to rise to such desperate measures... And Felix would beat us to the punch anyway." As they all pause at a crosswalk, Dimitri leans down around Claude to press a kiss to his temple. "Then I'm going to meet up with Ingrid so that we can double check on Felix's situation. Since we're not legally family, I doubt the police will let us see him, but Sylvain may be able to sweet talk something. Get home safely, alright? I'll make sure to be there to help get you all moved in." 

Claude makes sure to steal a proper kiss before Dimitri goes off in another direction, towards the subway instead of the parking garage. There's no need to worry about a few of his things that he left behind; Claude has a spare key to what will soon be their apartment. Surely Dimitri, Ingrid, and Sylvain will all have things with Felix covered. Gods know that they've been dealing with him for years by now anyway. Still, Claude finds his brain going in at least a few dozen directions at once, from the interview he's going to immediately follow up on, if Felix is doing alright, how soon he should call Dimitri to check on both of them.... 

Like dandelion fluff, Hilda blows it all away when she leans close to him with a grin. "My favorite part in his description of all of this was that he said they weren't Felix's legal family. You realize what that means, right?" Hilda winks. "When the two of you eventually get married, one of them is going to walk Dimitri down the aisle." 

Claude can't help it. He bursts out laughing, cheeks red, and the sound of his eager hopes bounces off the walls of the garage. 





When he stirs into wakefulness once more, it's because Dimitri is nudging himself into bed alongside him, and Claude blearily takes in the situation. Now this isn't the living room, that's for sure. "Mitya?" he murmurs, the nickname a little bit slurred on his tired tongue. 

Almost immediately, Dimitri brushes his fingers along Claude's face. "I'm here, Claude. You fell asleep watching the movie, along with Lorenz and Hilda." 

That makes Claude grin a little bit, even with his brain as sleep fogged as it is. "Mmm.... Must have been a sight. Marianne doting on her.... Lorenz falling asleep while trying to maintain an elegant pose while he fought against it the entire time... I guess I really missed out." 

Dimitri's chuckle rolls through is ears and down into his heart. "We all live together now... so I don't think you'll miss out on those kinds of scenes very often. In fact, with how familiar you speak about things like that, I'm pretty certain you've seen more than your fill. Now come, you should go to sleep." 

"Mmm, nope, too late, I'm awake," Claude says as he pushes himself up, an assertion that doesn't have as much weight as he'd like to when he yawns immediately after. Not inclined to let that stop him, he rubs at his eyes. "Besides, you said 'I' should go to sleep, not 'we'. Staying up a little longer?" 

Caught red handed on his own plans, Dimitri gives a sheepish smile. "There was some work I wanted to get done on the computer so that I could send it off sooner in the morning... It wouldn't take very long. I took my medication back when we had dinner, so it's not as though I can really stay up much longer besides..." 

Claude stretches his arms out, eventually curling his fingers into Dimitri's shirt. "Then I'll come with," he says, grinning to his boyfriend. "I want to get a drink of water before I turn in anyway. Maybe then I'll be able to get back to sleep." Claude sort of doubts it, honestly. Now that he's up again, there's a restless energy thrumming through his veins that just a glass of water won't cure. Still, if water won't cure it, then maybe a short walk to the kitchen and a slightly less short talk with Dimitri will. That's his first plan, at any rate. 

Dimitri's eye looks over his face carefully, seeing who knows what, before the man himself gives a small nod. "Alright. Let's be quiet, however. Everyone else just went to sleep for the night, and I'm worried that such poor accommodations will encourage them to wake up easier." 

Letting himself be pulled up by Dimitri's offered hand, Claude pats his back. "Don't worry about it. They're real mattresses, so that's the most important thing. As long as everyone has that, they should be able to sleep just fine." But Dimitri would get worried about all of this. In the change from their old apartment to Dimitri's, they'd all made a decision to give away their old bed frames. It had been years, after all, for some of them more than others. Hilda's had been a left over from her older brother, while Lorenz had made due getting something cheap when he'd moved in with them during a spat with his father. As for Claude? Well, sure, his had been something he'd used for years even before he'd moved in with Lorenz and Hilda, so that meant it had been more than due to be replaced... 

But, with Dimitri's arm wrapping around him as the two of them step out into the hallway, Claude knows he doesn't need any new furniture himself. 

Regardless, that does mean that putting together bed frames, shelves, and more than a few other pieces of furniture will be on the agenda for tomorrow. Claude rests his head against Dimitri's shoulder as they come into the living space. They all have a lot of plans for how to change up the place, even beyond the fact that a couple of rooms have been cleared out for all of them as roommates. When it was just Dimitri, and even just him and Marianne, well, that was one thing. It really is a big apartment, after all. 

Yet now there are five people residing in it, and that makes an equally big difference. More shelves will have to be put up for all of their books - okay all of Claude's books - along with any movies, CDs, Lorenz's small army of plants that are already balanced on top of various boxes... Not that Claude knows how those are going to fair when Lewie is the true master of the apartment and might get bored enough to gnaw. Then there's the question on if a small corner can be made for Dimitri to do his office work in, or if they'll have to squeeze that in with his exercise equipment.... 

Needless to say, there's a lot of decisions they have to make, some that could only happen when they have everything gathered in the apartment and all their voices in the same meeting. Claude considers it all as he drifts off into the kitchen while Dimitri patiently clears some space over at the coffee table for his laptop. "Hopefully everything will look way less cluttered when we finally unpack properly, or else this is going to be far more cramped than we could have ever prepared for," he says once he's got his glass of water, joining Dimitri over at the couch. "Although, I suppose Lewie would be quite happy. He really liked clambering around all of the boxes, didn't he?" 

While his laptop warms up, Dimitri gives a slight smile. "He definitely did... but then, this is his first experience with anyone moving anywhere, especially into the apartment. Marianne had already long unpacked her things by the time we decided to adopt him..." 

"Heh. Well, hopefully he enjoys the experience and doesn't get too worked up at all the changes." Taking another sip of water, Claude allows his gaze to roam around the apartment while Dimitri sets up his program. "Speaking of, where did your little troublemaker go anyway?" 

"Oh, I thought he was sitting right besides me on the couch." 

Shit- water goes up Claude's nose, and he has to bend over hastily so that he can catch the resulting mess with his free hand. Once he's stopped sputtering and wheezing - equal parts water and laughter - Claude lightly punches Dimitri's side. "Oh, I see how it is," he says, lowering his voice only when Dimitri raises a single finger to his wide grin. "You really know how to be clever when you want to be, don't you? I've really been dating a true crouching tiger." 

"I wouldn't call myself that," Dimitri says, ducking his head to try and hide his smile. It's not that easy to get away from Claude, however, especially when he leans in close to Dimitri to grab a fistful of shirt in order to mop up his face. "Oh- Claude. That's distasteful..." 

Using the hands he already has on Dimitri's shirt, Claude presses forward a little more until he can pinch his side. "Oh, I don't want to hear that from you. Maybe don't make me choke on my own drink before you try to complain, hm?" He grins up at Dimitri, leaning against him. 

In return, he gets an exasperated but fond sigh. "I suppose I did plant these seeds myself... Anyway, Loog is with Marianne and Hilda tonight. They did turn in first, and I think he likes the smell of Marianne's blankets more..." They exchange a few more words about Loog's preferences, how they think he'll adapt with a lot more people in the apartment on the regular, just little things like that. Then, Claude falls silent, legs curled up against his stomach as he leans against Dimitri's shoulder and watches him work with only the screen and a small table lamp being the only light in the apartment. 

It's... nice. Comforting, just leaning against Dimitri, listening to the simple clicking of keys and the sounds of the city which sound so distant despite them being right in the thick of it. Claude doesn't even realize he's starting to doze off before the typing stops, and there's Dimitri's sturdy arm around him again. Rousing himself, Claude shakes his head. "Mmm, no, I'm awake. No need to worry." 

"Yes, well, you're not going to be for much longer," Dimitri chides him gently, smiling in that painfully tender way that makes Claude want to bury himself against him and never let go. "Come on- I was starting to get drowsy as well." 

"Oh," Claude says, feeling a pang of almost disappointment in the pit of him. Usually, he's pretty good at hiding deeper feelings, and he hadn't thought that one little syllable could give away anything to start with....

But Dimitri must really be getting used to him, or Claude is more exhausted than he thought. His boyfriend pauses, fingers rubbing along Claude's shoulder. "...Are you feeling anxious, Claude?" he asks, in that quiet but earnest voice that has always done Claude in since Day 1. 

If this weren't the middle of the night, Claude would give a loud laugh to dispel the idea. As it is, all he can do is chuckle and smile. "Hey, what does a guy like me have to be anxious about?" he asks, winking. 

"I would think there is quite a lot," Dimitri says bluntly. Sometimes, things really do go over his head... but, at the same time, he can just approach the crux of the issue. No dallying. It's endearing as much as it is, well... Claude can't say it isn't good, at times like these. 

Sighing in surrender even while he's smiling, he sinks back into Dimitri's embrace again. "Alright, you got me," he says, closing his eyes again to enjoy the way he can feel Dimitri's fingers trailing up along his shoulder and into the hair on the nape of his neck. "It feels like if I try to go to sleep, in our nice comfortable bed in our nice quiet room... I won't be able to go to sleep. There's so much to think about, so much to plan and figure out, that I don't know where to even start. It's going to keep me up." Reaching for his glass of water again, Claude sighs. "I thought a little walk and something to drink would help... But listening to you work has really been what's done it so far."

"So you needed something like white noise..." Dimitri waits for him to finish off his latest gulp of water before pushing himself up onto his feet. "I think everyone needs a little bit of something, at times. We're human, so... I think we need a little bit of something just so we know we're safe."

When he offers his hand out, Claude takes it with a slight smile. "Something from our days when we're just hunker out in the wilderness, huh?" he muses, taking the glass with them to their room. He's not nearly done with it, yet, and who knows how long they'll keep each other up throughout the rest of the night. He doesn't even mean it in a sexy way, either. "Too much noise, and it sets all the senses on fire. But if there's no noise, then that's a sign that something is wrong. Something like that, right?"

It's a good thing they have the room on the bottom half of the apartment; that means they don't have to shut up completely as they head back. Back in Claude's old apartment.... Ha. He'd have to talk in complete whispers if one of his other roommates were asleep in their room. Hell, they'd barely be able to talk at all. Then again, he wouldn't have brought someone with him back to his apartment, back then.

One of the many things he's glad that he can give to Dimitri.

Humming thoughtfully, Dimitri holds open the door for him before he ducks in as well. "I suppose that would make sense," he admits easily enough, guiding Claude down to the bed. Instead of trying to tuck them both beneath the blankets again, however, he just draws them up until they're rested over their shoulders. Just warm enough. Well, not really, but Claude finds it easy to make up that difference by leaning into Dimitri's body. "For you, I think it helps to have something else to focus on as well... You think so much. If you don't have something else, well, your mind makes up for that."

"Should I take that as a compliment?" Claude asks, smiling a little around the rim of his glass before taking another drink.

"Well, it is." Dimitri smiles, using the blanket as an excuse to tug Claude even closer. Claude hadn't even thought that was possible, but here they are. "Although with your mind... It's something of a double edged sword. For example... I imagine one of the things that you're thinking so heavily about would be the interview, wouldn't it?"

Everyone is going to keep calling him out on that, he feels like... And with Dimitri, it doesn't seem as though he'll ever be able to get away from being honest about it. Then again, he did promise that he wouldn't lie to him... Claude lets out a breath, closing his eyes as he listens to Dimitri's own quiet breathing. Maybe Dimitri is right in that he just always needs noise. "This could affect a lot, we both know that. Or maybe it's so inconsequential as to affect nothing, but I almost don't want that either."

There's no need for him to explain too much on what he means there. Dimitri is already nodding, a hand at his chin as he turns over that thought in his own head. "You want it to have an impact, for the better... Whether that's drawing more attention to your band, or to the causes you're trying to champion. So then... Are you worried that, in striving for this, you'll do the exact opposite?"

"Aw, jeez, Dimitri." Turning his head, he gives a helpless grin into Dimitri's shirt. "You can't just read me so easily like that. When did you get good at that?"

He can feel the kiss pressed into his hair. "I've been dating you for a few years now," Dimitri reassures him, nuzzling against his mess of curls. Today hasn't really been a day for styling. "I love you so much; of course I'm going to pay attention to things about you, so long as you permit me to."

It really has been a few years since the two of them have started dating. They've had so long to get to know each other, in all manner of ways. For example, Claude has a better idea of just what Dimitri's life has been like up until they first met, from the situation with his sister to the many shitty experiences he's had with various therapists up until he came across the Eisners. In turn, well, it's just like Dimitri has said. He's had years of his own to get to know Claude, learn things about him that Claude doesn't often reveal to other people unless they've had maybe a decade to learn about him. It's a trust he's earned, a trust he deserves.

Yet even knowing all of that, even with simple objective fact, well... Whenever Dimitri says that he loves him, whenever he's so earnest and sweet and loving like this... Claude can't stop the eat that rises up into his face, or the way he smiles like it's going out of style. "Introducing you to romance really was unleashing a beast onto the world, wasn't it?" he asks. "Well, I don't mind, since that makes me the beauty in this scenario."

Dimitri makes a small dismayed sound. "Oh- that's clever. I wish I had thought of it... It's such a good compliment, although I don't know if it quite counts when you're complimenting yourself..."

Turning his head, Claude presses a kiss to his jaw. "Just think of it as me giving you a freebie while we pretend you got it first," he says with a wink.

"Well, if you insist... Then, I'll pretend I was very witty, and gave you a wonderful compliment." Dimitri turns his head to make the kiss a proper one. "...If you don't want to talk about it, then we don't have to, you know. I don't want to push you, but... I did notice you didn't answer the point."

"And there's that insight again," Claude murmurs before he lets out a slow sigh and leans into Dimitri once more. "But, no, I do want to talk about it.... At least, as far as I can tell." He chuckles, maybe a little self depreciating. It's not something that happens very often, honestly. Claude has had to fight for his self worth, his confidence, his sheer and *immense* talent. Why let anything pull him down from that? But... Maybe, just once, he can step down for Dimitri, let him see that. "It's just difficult... I'm so excited for it, after all. And everyone is looking to me to completely nail it, just like I always do."

Dimitri nods, understandingly. "There's a certain rewarding feeling to being able to be at the head of a group," he murmurs. "You get to help people, draw them up to their full potential, pull everything to a successful ending... but then you have to deal with being the one who takes responsibility for what happens, and deal with all the pressure that comes with so many eyes on you."

Yeah... Dimitri would get this. The position in his company, the one his family has apparently always passed down along the line, is apparently a pretty high one, and Dimitri isn't the kind of person who just coasts along with minimum effort. He's put himself in up to his elbows, in the best way possible. Claude is almost pretty sure all of this, from long before he ever met the guy, has probably been the subject of more than a few therapy sessions... but that's not his place to poke his nose in.

Instead, he takes this understanding comfort for what it is, and nods against Dimitri's shoulder. "I mean, I wouldn't change it for anything in the world, obviously. If I could make this a full time job, I absolutely would. And no-" He raises a finger, grinning at the sight of Dimitri closing his mouth before he's even been able to get a word out. "As sweet as it is for you to offer, I don't want you to be my sugar daddy while I pursue my musical activist dreams. I like having that little bit of dependence."

"I just wanted to help," he offers weakly, in that tone of voice that says he's never going to get over being referred to as a sugar daddy at any point in his life. It's cute. Claude loves hearing it.

"I know you do." Claude smiles a little more before he pulls himself back on track. "Still... If I mess up on this somehow, I don't know when I'll next get a chance like this. It's taken so much time and energy and protests for us to get noticed like this... Not to mention a good deal of luck. Cali from Amphithea may think that this is something to be greatly interested in, but what if it had been someone else down there covering the protest? What if they thought of me as only a troublemaker, or thought that the protest didn't really have much reason to exist? If I lose this chance, the next time might have someone who just... genuinely doesn't care."

Dimitri patiently begins to rub along his shoulder again. "You'll get another chance."

"You say it so confidently," Claude muses, smiling a little bit. He doesn't want to say I don't need empty condolences, even if it's true. This is an expectation he needs to temper himself with, so that his hope doesn't get too out of control. If it's restrained, held back... Then a potential failure won't hurt as much. He can get back up onto his feet that much quicker, search out alternate routes if he hasn't found them already. Instead of saying that, he just prompts, "So where's all that faith come from, huh?"

Dimitri just looks at him. "You," he says simply, matter of factly. When all Claude can do is blink for a second in surprise, Dimitri rises up onto his feet and turns to adjust the blanket around Claude's shoulders. With that done... He sinks down onto one knee, curling his fingers around Claude's where he's holding onto his glass of water, and he smiles up at him. "Claude... I have dated you for three years, now. I hope to date you for many more years to come. Perhaps..." A faint blush rises onto his face, adding to that sweet earnestness in his eye. "Perhaps one day, I can go further in that direction, if you will allow me."

Something like a firecracker seems to go off in his chest, and Claude feels breathless at just what Dimitri is shyly hinting at. "Oh," he says, trying to think of what to say, coming to terms with just how much he wants that sort of happy ending too, that happy beginning to the rest of their lives.

Of course, that's not the point of this whole conversation, and Dimitri presses forward before Claude has a chance to refocus himself. "Three years may not be enough time to completely know a person... In fact, I understand that I'll need many more of those years. But I think that's been enough time for me to understand the core of you. Not the details, not the intricacies, perhaps... But the core, yes, absolutely. And at that core... I know you have worked so hard for this moment, and you have worked so hard to make the band what it is." His hands gently press down a little further against Claude's. "So I know you will do absolutely incredibly in this interview. If for some reason it does not have the impact that you desire... Then I know you will continue on, and that hard work, your dedication and charisma and justice, will draw eyes to you once more. And until that next chance happens..."

Dimitri leans forward just a bit, taking one of Claude's hands and raising it to his lips like he did one time so long ago in a zoo parking lot under the setting sun.

"I will be there to help you stand tall. To help you continue moving forward. All of our friends- they will be there for the same reason. So don't feel the need to hesitate, Claude. Don't believe you need to hold yourself back, or tie yourself into knots as you prepare for it." From beneath his lashes, Dimitri smiles at him. "Do as you have always done, and know that you will succeed. Whether then, or later. We will be there every step of the way."

Claude isn't even really looking when he reaches over to put his water out of the way. All of his attention is on Dimitri, and he smiles back to him as he reaches up to thread his fingers through Dimitri's hair. "How did I ever last this long without you, huh?" he asks, playful.

Typically, Dimitri takes the question completely upfront, even as he nudges his head up into Claude's fingers. "Oh, you're stunning," he answers honestly, absolutely glowing with the way he looks at Claude so adoringly. "I have no doubt that you got through life with that alone."

If he's going to say it like that, well, Claude guesses he has no other choice but to preen a little. "I know I am," he says, grinning widely. "But I guess having a few great friends has helped, hasn't it?"

"They are all certainly impressive," Dimitri agrees with a smile. "So... Do you think that will help you be able to go to sleep a little better, now?"

"Hmmm, I don't know." Claude slides his arms downwards, one arm coming to rest along his shoulders, and his other hand snags Dimitri's eyepatch right underneath the elastic so that he can slide it right off. By this point, the scarring and emptiness has become familiar, now. All he does is lean in closer and press a kiss to Dimitri's brow. "Maybe this time it will stick, but... only with a little bit of white noise."

Dimitri leans up into his kiss, his touch, like he'll never get enough of it, a sunflower to daylight. "Mmm, I could find an app on my phone, I think ASMR videos are quite popular nowadays..."

Using the way Dimitri is following him to his advantage, Claude gently pulls him up into the bed once again, until he's flat on his back with Dimitri's chest pressing against his stomach. "I don't think I want some random ASMR app," he murmurs, smiling up at Dimitri. "I think I'd like you just talking to me. In particular..." His eyes must be shining. "Maybe you could tell me a little more about us maybe marrying one day in the future, now that you've brought it up."

A wave of pleasant pink begins to wash across Dimitri's face, but it doesn't stop his embarrassed little smile. "I suppose, now that I've mentioned it... It's only fair that I explain more about it, isn't it?"

Claude graciously allows him to shift his position in bed, all the better for the two of them to curl up against each other. "Definitely only fair," he sighs, smiling as he closes his eyes. "So start with the engagement. Tell me the perfect way you want to propose to me. Do you have a ring in mind...?"

Dimitri's chuckle rolls throughout his chest, right into Claude, and he savors the way it feels. He's always preferred making people laugh in comparison to other reactions they could make... But he thinks it really means something special and satisfying when he hears it, feels it, coming from Dimitri. "Honestly, I've only glanced through my options a few times, when I've felt so sleepy as to be foolish, or we haven't had a chance to speak with one another in a while... Something that I suppose will happen far less, now."

Just the reminder has Claude's smile stretching wider. "It certainly will," he confirms, looking forward to the days ahead. Daring, even, to look forward to how their relationship may change, and how they may become closer.

Continuing on, Dimitri says, "Most of them seem too fancy, or too overly expensive for no reason... I think you deserve the best, of course, but when I thought deeper... I thought you deserved better than that. Better than expensive."

That earns a quiet laugh from Claude. "Better than expensive," he murmurs into Dimitri's chest. "Mm. I like that."

"I thought you would." He can hear the smile in Dimitri's voice. "So, I was thinking.... This is only a thought, of course, I'm not sure yet, but- I could find an antique in some store or another... Something old, and unique, just for you... If I can just find something that fits you perfectly... That would be ideal. And then there's the proposal..." He's cut off by his own yawn, a little noise that can't be described. Sleep is coming for them soon. Both of them. "Mm. I feel like you wouldn't mind the spectacle of a public proposal..."

Before he can answer, Claude yawns as well. It's truly a contagious thing. Definitely nothing to do with how sleepy he's feeling himself, lulled by the sound of Dimitri's voice. "They're definitely always fun," he mumbles, forcing his brain to keep the words flowing. He knows that's not the point of asking Dimitri to tell him about all of this- well, it's part of the point, and part not. But still... He likes this. Talking about their future together. "But I'd be happy for anything you could come up with... and I  know there are a lot of people when it comes to proposals like that..."

One of Dimitri's fingers is twirling through his hair, curling it around the digit. It's comforting. "There are," Dimitri agrees. "But public can be not too bad, depending on how it's done. So I'll do something special like that for you... And then we'll get to live together, just like this, but we'll know we're engaged..."

Claude tries to imagine it, nearly lulling himself to sleep as he does so. Not a lot would actually change, would it? Sure, there would be a lot of paperwork to fill out as they'd become legally married, that's a given. Depending on their marriage- where would they do it? He'd have to write out invitations- not that most of their friends would need them, but, still. His parents should probably need to know. He doesn't think he'll much invite any of his brothers. Then, depending on just what they want to do, there will be figuring out scheduling, and getting clothing done, if they want to bother with that at all...

While Claude gets lost in his own head, lost further in dreams that might swallow him up whole, Dimitri continues to speak. "Then we can have a wedding... I'm not sure if there's a particular way you want to do it, any..." Another yawn. "Any Almyran customs... I'd be okay with that if you wanted it to happen. Or maybe we could get Mercedes to be the one to marry us... She's legally allowed to, you know..."

An idea hits him while he's a foot into dreamland, and Claude's smile wrinkles Dimitri's shirt. "We should... dress up. Do our wedding while disguising it as a Halloween party. We can say that our outfits are our costumes... We'll tell no one else besides Mercedes. They'll only all realize when we're exchanging our vows... Can you imagine the wedding pictures?"

Dimitri is already muffling his laugh into Claude's hair before that last sentence is even finished, half asleep though the sound may be. "Oh Claude... No... Felix would kill us. I think Lorenz would expire on the spot... He'd be so upset at not getting to dress his best at your wedding..."

"Ha. He should know better by now..."

The two of them drift off this way, holding each other, snug in their bed, and discussing this silly little thought, this hopeful future. Wrapped up in exhaustion, they don't hold back in the absurdity of trying to plan a Halloween wedding prank- what food would be a good mix that wouldn't let anyone catch onto the plot, if they would still have it in Dimitri's apartment or rent somewhere out to make it something grander, all the fun little details they could hide in the decorations like bat details with things like bow ties or carrying wedding rings. It's silly, and fun... and Claude has no idea when he falls asleep during all of it.

Then again... Maybe that's only to be expected. The harder parts of reality settle in sooner or later, and there's still a lot of unpacking to do in the morning, and an interview he will throw his all at. But... In times like this...

In times like this, reality and his dreams seem to blend so perfectly together where he is, safe and happy in Dimitri's arms.