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Dimiclaude Week: Day 8 - Free Day, V3
In Dimitri's neck of the woods, where he grew up, trees are apparently A Thing. They are A Very Big Thing, as it turns out, and Claude learns about this around after a year since they started dating, some time after their first anniversary. Mainly, he learns about it because Dimitri plasters his face to the window of Claude's car after a night out, right as they're passing by one of those absurdly large grocery stores.
They're pulling up to a stop light, so Claude doesn't mind pulling his gaze away from the road to see just what has his boyfriend's attention. "What's up?" he asks, as he glances over to the front of the store.
Nothing really exciting, honestly. Just some poor exhausted minimum wage workers hauling out literal actual pine trees to prop up inbetween the large amounts of space that exist between two different entrances of sliding doors. It's a sign that winter really is coming, he supposes. At least holidays are consistent for the most part.
"I was just thinking," Dimitri says, still practically plastered to the window. "It has been some time since I have put up a tree for the holidays."
Claude tilts his head to the side thoughtfully. "Oh, right - because you've normally been hosting the winter party for all of your friends, right? For a big thing like that, you need all the space you can get." And considering that Dimitri invited all of Claude's friends to the party last time, well... That's even more space taken up, although Claude doesn't think Dimitri regrets it. That night, and the morning that had followed it, had been full of far too many wonderful memories.
Claude knows, because they're full of his favorite memories, too.
Sighing, Dimitri pulls himself away from the mirror to sit more properly in his seat. A good thing, too. If he's got his timing right, Claude is pretty sure that the light is going to change soon. "That's right. They've all been grand times, of course. I just remember decorating trees for the Saints days when I was young."
Gods. Claude thinks he could fall in lover all over again with the charming way Dimitri speaks, sometimes. When I was young. Most people just say it was back when they were a kid, but no, not Dimitri. Man speaks like he belongs in some sort of period drama - and not even in the overly dramatic way Lorenz does, which Claude suspects has to do with some sort of theatre kid background. Dimitri was just born an old soul from a couple centuries ago. He loves it.
"We could get one for this year," Claude says, even as he turns his attention back to actually driving and making sure they don't get into a horrible accident. Even from the corner of his eyes, however, he can see Dimitri perk up. "I mean, sure, with how everyone gets during the party, there's probably some warranted concern to its continued survival... But hey, you never know until you try, right?"
"Really?" Dimitri asks. "Would you like to come over, then, Claude? To decorate it? Or - we could take a day to go pick out the tree ourselves! It would be a delightful outing!"
That sounds like it would be a nightmare outing, actually, because it's cold today, and only getting colder. Claude has the heaters of his car on at full blast (with Dimitri having politely either shut the vents near him or turned them towards Claude), and only leaves to go outside with at least five layers on, it feels like. Wandering around the cold outside, looking at trees... It really doesn't sound like a particularly pleasant thing to him.
But then he makes the mistake of turning his head just enough to glance at Dimitri. What can he do in the face of such a hopeful smile?
Claude agrees to go searching for the perfect tree with him, and regrets it almost immediately. Wow. This is what love does to a man, huh? It really is a terrible thing. At least Dimitri makes it up to him later that night, in... a very nice way, behind closed doors, when he goes to stay the night at his apartment.
As it turns out, Ignatz knows someone who knows a different someone whose uncle helps out at the kind of places that pop up around this time every year without fail. It's a nice large place with apparently quite solid trees that are guaranteed to please. It's stroke of luck on their part, really, that Ignatz knows about a place like this. Even better, it's situated outside of the city, which means that Claude is almost guaranteed to be in the warm heat of the car for at least as long as it takes for them to get a tree. Right?
At least Dimitri is happy enough to get them up there, with them borrowing Raphael's van on the way up there. It's a bit more sturdy than either of their cars, and better equipped to haul around a tree that could get to be who knows how big.
"I do not think I will get an enormous tree," Dimitri confides in him as the two of them keep an eye out for the place that Ignatz recommended. Claude has his phone out, voicing out the right directions. At least, he sure damn hopes they're the right directions. "I mean, while I imagine that it could certainly fit within my apartment, getting something that could reach the ceiling would be quite an ordeal on the way up to my floor. It certainly wouldn't fit in the elevator. Can you imagine trying to get it up the stairs?"
Oh boy - Claude guffaws, slapping a hand over his mouth quickly if only so he doesn't choke on his own laughter. "You'd have to get all of your friends together," he wheezes out, still imagining the entire scenario. "Someone stationed on every floor, and a few on the stairs, pulling the tree up. It'd be amazing. You'd get billed for the needles everywhere."
Dimitri's own mouth twists, eye crinkled up in amusement. "Claude," he forces out, sounding as though he's going to crumple over the steering wheel himself.
"What, what other way would we do it with a tree that large? - Ah! I think that's the place."
Or, well, it had better be the place. Claude can't think of anywhere else that would have a need for a stretch of land that is alongside an entire road and is just filled with practically nothing but pine trees. Or maybe he's wrong? All the trees still seem to be attached to the ground, not just kept propped up by wood or rope or anything like that. No stands. It's a strange sight for a place that sells them, and yet, sure enough, a sign just like the one Ignatz told them about appears as they continue down the road.
The answer becomes fairly clear when they manage to get a parking space in a lot that's been mostly cleared of snow, revealing just the plain dirt that's underneath - cold enough that it's frozen more than wet mud. There's a sign set up right at the entrance, near a small wooden booth that keeps a single cashier and register shielded from the chill. Well, that, and probably a heater tucked inside, if Claude is sensing things right.
"So they cut it for people fresh, so that it lasts far longer than an average tree," Dimitri muses. "They even do delivery, once someone has chosen their particular tree, so that they do not have to wait out here for it! How fascinating."
"We need to pick a tree as fast as possible," Claude says from underneath a pompom beanie hat, a scarf, a large overcoat, a sweater, a tee-shirt, a long-sleeve shirt, pants, insulated underwear, thick socks, and boots that will withstand nuclear snowfall. All he gets is Dimitri laughing at him a little, before tugging one arm out of his own large long jacket so that he can drape it over Claude's shoulders and pull it close. It's almost like having two extra sets of layers, now, with Dimitri's body heat right up against him.
The little kiss Dimitri presses into his hair isn't too bad either. "We will pick the proper tree for my apartment after getting a good look at all of our options," Dimitri promises him, unfortunately. "Besides, walking through the snow like this... Doesn't it feel nice?"
His nose feels frozen off. Claude suspects the chill has creeped in past his ears and given his brain hypothermia. He can just tell he'll need another pair of gloves soon. But walking besides Dimitri like this is definitely the best part of being out here, honestly, so what else can he say? He just agrees, and leeches off more of Dimitri's body heat.
At least Dimitri really does seem happy as they walk through the paths that have been carved out by so many other customers and employees before them, snow shoved to the side or clustered beneath the bristling needles of the trees. Something about his happiness is enough to make Claude feel a little lighter, a little warmer, all on his own. A part of him wonders if it's the same kind of feeling that Dimitri feels whenever he lets Claude talk animatedly about the latest law case he's studying up on, or the latest project for the band. Dimitri carefully inspects whichever tree that catches his attention, talking about the things that appeal to him and the things that could be troublesome. In turn, Claude listens attentively, and makes a small question now and then.
He didn't come here to learn a lot about pine trees and the kind of considerations that had to be made about them, but he can already tell he'll have all of this information stored in his head for the rest of his life.
"They have some smaller trees, right?" Claude asks, after so long that it feels that they've been trapped into a maze of pine. (This is definitely not his allergies toward the cold having an influence on the situation, not at all. Maybe a little bit.) "They would be a lot easier to get into the apartment, and the small size means less of a risk of one of us getting too excited and smashing into it."
Dimitri hums, even though he's craning his neck back to get a good look at the top of the tree. This is apparently an important tree aspect, although Claude would never really know. His mother used to talk about getting a tree, but it never happened. "I was thinking that, actually, if it was large enough, then that would help act as a deterrent and remind people of its existence. If it's too small, they may forget about it easily, and trample over it."
"I mean, that's only if we don't deck it out completely in neon."
At least that earns a low chuckle from Dimitri. Adjusting his arm around Claude's waist underneath the coat, Dimitri moves on to the next tree that's caught his attention. "That would certainly be a sight..."
"A great one," Claude insists, although maybe that's just his preference for color talking. Winter becomes too drab and plain as it is. The only benefit to snow is that it reflects the sparkling of color beautifully, in his opinion. "Although that reminds me, have you decided how you're going to decorate the tree, once you've gotten it? Do you have the ornaments and all that already at your apartment?"
It's a possibility, of course. Dimitri has a lot of stuff at his apartment, some of it tucked away in boxes only to be busted out at the appropriate times. Claude knows that for a fact because of the various cooking instruments there, and different recipe books for different times of year. It's even obvious considering how he keeps a lot packed away, only to pull it out for the winter party last year. So, in theory, he could have various tree decorations hidden away in his apartment somewhere.
But he's not surprised when Dimitri shakes his head. "If I have anything of my family's, then I think it would be back with Rodrigue," he says, mentioning Felix's father. Claude has never really met the guy, but he's heard of him enough from Dimitri and Felix both. "Most of my family's things were put in his care. When I moved in with Sylvain, well, most of it just stayed there with him, and I never really had the chance to go back and get them. Honestly, this was such a spur of the moment decision that I didn't think about it... I suppose I will actually have to shop for decorations, won't I? Oh, that will be a particular kind of purgatory..."
Claude gets what he means. At this late in the year, a lot of things may very well be cleared out, or the lines will go for a million miles.... There's just so much as winter hits everyone. For some reason, their ancestors decided that a million different holidays had to happen all around the same time. This means that just about every single person in the world has something going on.
And trying to do some last minute shopping during a time like this? Yeesh. Claude struggled last year just to make the food he brought to the party at Dimitri's place.
The reality of everything is hitting Dimitri as well, and he pauses before a tree that doesn't really seem to interest him. "Maybe this was a bit too hasty of a decision," he sighs. "Although we've come all this way already..."
"Hey now, don't think like that," Claude says, nudging his elbow into Dimitri's side. He's not actually sure how much force is behind the action. With how many layers he's wearing, it might as well be as effective as a pillow bouncing against his boyfriend's ribs. "There's still plenty of time to think on it. Besides, I'm sure we could BS with some things that we have around your apartment." In fact, his brain is already churning with a few different ideas, a few calls he'll have to make... "Let's pick out a tree that will fit your apartment, and then go from there."
Those words, at the very least, seem to be enough to calm Dimitri down from just turning right out of the pine maze they're in. He even offers down a smile at Claude. "As usual, you are quite right. Since we've come all this way, and there are still plenty of trees left, that must be some sort of sign. Let us continue on, Claude."
Dimitri is right in one area, at least: there are certainly a whole lot of trees that are still available, although it's also clear to see where some of them have been already taken. Empty spots, places that have the markings of actual pots where they once were... Apparently the place sells regular trees that can be planted in yards, too, which Claude finds interesting. Really, it's just an interesting spot over all.
Claude doesn't let himself get distracted. Instead, he does his absolute best to size up the different trees that they pass by, and definitely inspect the ones that get Dimitri's attention with nothing but the utmost care. The sooner they pick a tree, the sooner they can get back in the car.
It's just that the further they go in past all the trees... The more it becomes clear to him that a lot of the best ones, as much as could be made possible, were presented up front. Or maybe it's just a stroke of luck that some of the trees they pass by seem to be struggling a bit. Claude wonders if maybe it was something in the soil, or if some sort of animal was responsible. It's not as though he's a gardening expert.
"Maybe we should go back," he suggests to Dimitri, craning his neck to glance at a tree they pass by whose poor little top has practically been plucked bare. Health, animals, or something else? The world may never know. "There were some trees nearer to the front that you were really interested in, so maybe we should start narrowing down our selection?" Now that he's having a moment of hindsight, he's wondering if maybe he underestimated how carefully Dimitri could get invested in the fine details of something...
Before he can go any further on this bit of persuasion, however, Dimitri comes to a hard stop. "That one!" he exclaims suddenly, and there's a bright smile on his face when Claude looks back to him. "Oh, I am quite fond of it, Claude!"
Which is quite a statement to make when the tree that Claude turns his gaze upon is perhaps the saddest gods damn pine tree he thinks he's ever seen in his entire life.
It has pines. Therefore, legally, it has to be called a pine tree. That is honestly the most generous thing that can be said of it. Whereas the other trees have a nice and bustling cone or cylinder shape, at the very worst, this one can't even be said as to have a solid shape. There just aren't enough branches for that. The thing is lopsided. Like, the right side almost looks as though it was on its way to being a halfway decent tree at some point? The length is long enough that it could fake it, potentially, if a person only looked at it from that side alone.
That can't happen on the other side. It doesn't even look like it has enough proper branches there, or branches at all. They're sporadic, only showing up with some healthy consistency up at the top for some reason. Claude doesn't even know what's going on at the bottom of this poor tree.
"Wow," he says, kind of struck dumb at the sight of it. "It's adorable."
Conveniently, it's also in a pot instead of anchored down to the ground like some of the other trees that are in the place. Dimitri hands over the keys to Claude so that he can go hide in the heater heaven of the van, and soon comes back with the tree. Unsurprisingly, it can fit just fine in the back of Raphael's van, even if it has to be adjusted a little bit so that it's slightly more horizontal than it normally would be. That's honestly just fine. Claude has a suspicion that it possesses a natural lean, so this sort of thing is hardly a bother at all.
Needless to say, all their friends have something to say about it whenever they drop by Dimitri's apartment to get a look at his tree.
"Oh, this is incredible," Sylvain says, circling around the little spot that they've made for the tree. It's going to take some more maneuvering of all the furniture again when the winter party comes around, but the spot next to the television was decided as the best. That means Sylvain can't make a full circle around it, but he doesn't seem to mind much. If anything, he seems far too amused to mind any issue that small. "You know what, Dimitri? This is exactly the kind of tree I'd imagine you would pick."
"Well, you do not have to imagine anything, because I have done it in reality," Dimitri says simply from where he is in the kitchen space, making lunch for all of them. Today's menu is a creamy tortellini of some sort, with tomato and basil. Already the heady smell of garlic wafts through the apartment as he sautes it. "Although it is quite a lovely little tree, thank you."
The adjective of lovely seems to be something of a torn subject amongst their friends group. Even as Sylvain admires the sad little mess that it is, Felix stares at it with his lip curled up as though he can't even begin to describe every single word that could come to mind for a proper description. Marianne dotes on it when she drops by with Hilda, who reserves her judgment for staring pointedly at Claude when he happily agrees with Dimitri that it's an adorable tree. Annette joins the redhead brigade of Sylvain in adoring it, while Mercedes is absolutely impossible to read. Lorenz just stares at it, hand at his chin, for an untold amount of time as though it has made a passive aggressive comment about his existence with its own.
Dedue says nothing on his own personal feelings about the tree trying very hard to tree in Dimitri's apartment. He only patiently inspects its condition, judges that it will survive through the winter, and writes down a list of things Dimitri will have to do if he wants it to thrive.
"Do you see that?" he tells Hilda while livestreaming the whole thing to her from his phone - "the whole thing" being, of course, Dedue poking around the tree and pointing things out to Dimitri. "Dimitri's best friend just helps him accomplish his dreams, no judgment. You could learn something from him."
Hilda only bats her eyelashes at him; the effect is somewhat diminished when her face is just in a very tiny square on his phone. "I help you accomplish your dreams all the time! As moral support, which means supporting you way from terrible decisions."
"Hilda, we still have a plastic skeleton in our own apartment."
"Yes, and they look cute now thanks to my fashion knowledge and familiarity with all the thrift stores in the city."
Yeah, well, about her knowledge about all the thrift stores in the city, and such aesthetic witchery... Claude glances back to where Dimitri is carefully pecking down notes on a phone app while Dedue speaks to him. "Hey Hilda, can we switch to text? I wouldn't want to bother Dimitri while he's concentrating."
That is by far not the entire truth... but he's not saying it for Hilda, how smiles knowingly with what he wants to check up on. It's mostly in case Dimitri has a spare ear to lend to what's going on in the background.
But winter passes through neatly, bringing with it a curtain of snow has is often the case every year around this time. Much as they did last year, they all agree to head to Dimitri's quite spacious apartment for the winter party. It's just that, this year, things are a little different... although he's not sure if Dimitri knows it. Certainly he doesn't know it on the day of the party, humming in the kitchen as he carefully prepares yet another cheesecake. Yawning and stretching, Claude offers up a sleepy smile as he sees the state of the kitchen. "Up and about already... I feel kind of bad, but I guess this is the kind of thing that's needed if I'm going to be using your kitchen myself later on, huh?"
Dimitri smiles at him brightly, looking way too much a morning person. "Please, you do not need to worry about such things, Claude. I was the one who invited you here. And besides, wouldn't you fuss much more if you had to get up even earlier, and trek through the snow to get here, like last year?"
While he could make the correction that he didn't fuss on making it to the party last year (even if only because he was caught up in a whirlwind of activity as Dedue helped save Dimitri and Annette's cooking efforts), Claude doesn't. He has more important things to worry about right now. For starters, he makes his way over to the bag that he set down over by the front door. "Well, I'm certainly not complaining about having the ability to stay in a nice toasty apartment cooking with you," he says, crouching down to inspect his bag. Good - it's still exactly where he had hidden it in the first place. Well, it's not as though Dimitri is the type to snoop, but accidents and odd occurrences can happen. "What did you have planned this year? Besides the usual cheesecakes."
Normally, it would be Annette dropping over to try her hand at making a recipe to pass around, but, well... It seems she's been trapped in her own apartment down the hall. Hopefully Mercedes, Dedue, and Ashe can combine their powers together so that Annette can at least contribute something not burnt to a crisp.
"I have crackers!" Dimitri tells him excitedly, still bustling about the kitchen - Claude can hear him even with his back to him. "I was planning on making more of an appetizer, for when we are watching movies, or playing video games... or watching others play video games, I suppose. I have been seeing a lot about cheese logs on the internet, so I thought I would make a.... Hold on..." There's the clatter of plastic on the counter, no doubt of his phone as Dimitri gets it out. "A... roasted red paper and basil cream cheese one. It will only take a few hours to be complete! Most of that is cooling, I believe."
Of course. Claude snorts a little bit, pushing himself up onto his feet. "Well, considering everyone else will be bringing more meaty kinds of sides and main dishes, I guess it's a good idea to think about appetizers. Although don't we all always treat the dinner like appetizers to start with?" For such a nice apartment, they sure did treat it pretty informally... Exactly how Claude liked it.
Dimitri huffs, head bowed where he's concentrating on preparing some of the fruits for his cheesecake. It's pretty easy to see his smile, however, with his hair tied back and out of the way. "Don't ruin the careful thought I put into my dish!"
"Hey, I'm not ruining anything!" Claude laughs, making his way around the kitchen island. "Although I am interrupting you for just a moment... but I think you'll like it, Dimitri."
Just as he thought it would, that gets Dimitri's attention, and he straightens up with a couple of blinks towards him. "Oh? Is it really so important that we can't just talk about it? Or..." He trails off, blinking down at the small envelope-type package that Claude is holding in his hand. "What is that? Is that for me?"
"Sure is," Claude says, winking over to him. "I thought you would appreciate it if anyone would, Dimitri."
The envelope, while small, does bulge a little bit, and Dimitri runs his thumb gently over it as he accepts the gift. Honestly, it bulges more than a bit. "I would appreciate anything you gave me, Claude," he murmurs, still rubbing at the bulging shape. As if he can figure out what it is just by feeling it alone. He reminds Claude of a kid in that way, just a bit. "Is this for my... Well. You know."
"Nah," Claude says, shaking his head. It's not a birthday gift. Well, not really. "That's going to be a different thing. Listen, you'll get it when you open it."
That's as much encouragement as Dimitri needs. Delicately, even though he hardly needs to be, Dimitri slides open the envelope, and presses his finger inside to carefully coax out its content. Claude can see the first moment that Dimitri realizes what it is. The way his eye widens, no doubt when he first feels the little thread loop, even before he manages to tug out a tiny felt lion with a thick little noodle mane. On its back, an ornament loop is attached.
"You still didn't really get any ornaments for your tree," Claude says, nodding over to its spot by the television. The sole exception has been some tinsel, lovingly wrapped around the tree as best as could be possible. It droops on one side. You know. The one with no branches. "So I thought... Hey, why not chip in? I was the one who encouraged getting a tree in the first place."
If someone had told Claude a little over a year ago that some tall and glaring blond would storm into his coffee shop would be his boyfriend... Well, maybe he'd believe them. Maybe he wouldn't. The thing that can't be denied is how much softer and lovely Dimitri looks in moments like these, as a smile stretches across his face, not burdened by the feelings that come with too many eyes on him. "Oh," he says gently, finger nudging into that little mane. "You always remember how fond I am of lions..."
"I remember that you can beat them in tug-of-war contests at a zoo," Claude says, and grins at him, leaning against Dimitri's shoulder. "I'm going to take that as a sign you like it. So why not go and put it on the tree?"
Fortunately, even in its state, the tree still possesses various branches that are capable of holding a tiny felt ornamental lion. Dimitri gives it a place of honor right up near the top, where it stands out quite nicely. Well, it would probably stand out regardless, being the only ornament on the thing besides tinsel. "It seems just a little lonely," Dimitri muses, leaning back against Claude while their arms twine together. "Well, that is my own fault, I suppose."
Claude pats his arm. "Don't worry about it," he says, and tilts his head back towards the kitchen. "But you have cheesecake to finish making, right? And then we can see if we can both fit in that kitchen together."
They can, of course, with some communication and maneuvering. No one else really can, which Annette discovers when when she pops by from down the hall. "Aaah, I was wondering if I could stick some biscuits in the oven, but I guess not!" she exclaims, taking in the crowded state of the kitchen. The sink is already filled up with dishes, and the rest of the counters can't take much more. It'll take a lot of work to clear it up enough for everyone else's food when they come over. "Anyway, Dimitri, come here!"
Mostly having finished with his own things, and they only needing the hours to chill in the fridge, Dimitri looks up and immediately heads over almost without hesitation. "What is it, Annette?" he asks, before he's having a small paper bag shoved into his hands.
"Take a look!" she encourages, even as the rest of her polycule steps through the door with some smiles. "We all took a lot of care in what we chose!"
What she means becomes quite clear when Dimitri sets the bag on what counter space is still available, and begins to pull out the contents one by one. It's clear to see who put in what, just by the choices. Mercedes' has given him a traditional and sparkling blue pinecone-shaped ornament, frosted over with glittering gold. It surely must be from Annette, the fake little blue mug with hot chocolate in it, and smiling marshmallows on top. From Dedue has to be the intricately painted little ornaments that aren't perfectly round, some sort of natural material behind the paint, in the beautiful whites and oranges and teals that Duscur is so known for. The book ornament, with some knight on the cover? That's Ashe, no doubt, and Claude thinks he can recognize the actual book, too. Pretty popular series.
While Dimitri is staring down at the ornaments, looking as though he's about to fall into a puddle of emotion right then and there, Claude nudges him in the side. "And there's more where that came from," he promises. "But I'm pretty sure not everyone is here yet. Let's see if the tree can hold this much up."
And if it doesn't, that doesn't bode well for the other ornaments that are on the way, all brought by someone different. Raphael drops by with his own mini-buffet in tow, and hands over a tiny little chicken nugget decked in fake lights that catches anybody eye who looks at it, much like it catches the laughter right out of their throat. Ignatz's is a handmade little thing, a perfect circular disk with pine trees delicately painted against a deep blue sky filled with glittering stars.
Both of those are delightful in their own way, of course, but they can't beat the terrible combination of Sylvain and Felix's pair of ornaments. Sylvain, apparently, has decided that he no longer cares to be among the living, and is courting death by Ingrid, and maybe Lorenz's sensibilities, for he has brought a dick ornament.
"Sylvain," Dimitri says when he sees it, with the kind of tone of a person who is trying really hard to be scandalized but doesn't know what else he expected, really.
Sylvain's roguish grin says he regrets nothing, even as he gives it a nice little spot near the bottom of the tree. Because of course he does. "You can write on it," he says, pinching the fake dick inbetween two fingers and turning it to the side. It is very two-dimensional... And besides the red outlines that make it very clear it is a dick, the rest of it is quite white. And not white in the way that Dimitri's is, either. Claude would know. "And then you can clean it off, so that you can write a new thing on it."
"I'm not going to wash a penis like that, Sylvain!"
"You could ask Claude to wash your penis," Sylvain says innocently, proving he is of like minds with Claude while simultaneously making Ignatz choke on a small cracker not that far away.
It's while Dimitri is chasing Sylvain through the house, potentially about to beat Ingrid and Lorenz at committing the crime of murder, that Felix slinks over to slip his own ornament on. He couldn't be more obvious that he's hoping to do it while Dimitri isn't looking, a fact that Claude can't stop grinning at. Clearly he'd fluster up at Dimitri being warmed that his dear best friend from childhood had brought something as well... Or maybe he just wants to avoid Sylvain's fate, since Felix's ornament is just a beautiful curving snowflake...
...whose form is composed entirely of multiple iterations of the word Fuck, all written in lovely connecting cursive.
Dimitri is possibly the best thing that's ever happened in Claude's life, although he has to admit that saying as such is jumping the gun a little. But his friends also come quite close, for all the bullshit they pull off that leaves him in stitches.
Lorenz doesn't feel the same way, and nothing best demonstrates that (besides the incredible look on his face) than how he places his own beautiful and probably very expensive stained glass ornament as far away as humanly possible. "He kept fussing about the right design to get for this," Leonie confides in Claude as he's admiring the delicate shine of the glass, portraying a pretty little bonsai tree. "In the end, he said that these colors were perfect for everything." With that said, she puts up her own ornament on the tree: a wood carving of a deer, mid-leap. Perfect for a girl who likes going out hunting, when the seasons permit.
It takes a long time for the next ornaments to be hung, on account of how it's Ingrid, Hilda, and Marianne who show up. Ingrid stares at the dick and fuck ornaments with disgust, and whirls around to hunt down where Sylvain has been kept in a headlock by Dimitri for a good while now. Hilda just breaks down laughing so hard that Claude thinks she might heave.
It's Marianne, bless her pure heart, who awkwardly puts up the next ornaments from all three of them: a thick little clay dove whose wings are spread open in flight to add some dimension to the set of different ornaments, a set of thick wooden beads attached in a row with one end a bright pink bow where it hangs and the other end possessing a simple wooden tag that says Love, and finally, a simple wooden circle with words painted on in deep blue that say No one fights alone here.
Heartwarming words, honestly. And the kind that may very well turn out to be true, considering Sylvain might get murdered by Dimitri and Ingrid both.
"This tree is a disaster," Lysithea points out when she finally arrives, a small tower of sweets taking up a part of the counter space over in the kitchen. Held delicately between her fingertips is some sort of diamond-shaped metal frame, with a pale purple crystal of some sort hanging there in the middle of it. It half fits in with what's already on the tree, like Lorenz and Dedue's choices, and then there's, well..
There's a penis and a chicken nugget.
Claude loves every single bit of it, completely unironically. "So what do you think?" he asks of Dimitri, once everyone has gotten back to remembering this is a party, and is fussing around over at the kitchen to make sure all their food is in the right place, and there's enough room for plates. "I doubt it's what you had in mind for a properly decorated tree, especially compared to whatever was in your childhood, but..."
They're going to end up at the end of the dinner line again, just like last year, if the way Dimitri wraps his arm around his waist is any indication. "I love it," Dimitri murmurs to him, somehow so clear in Claude's ears despite the loud hum of the party as it starts to kick off properly. "I was wondering what you were up to... But you are truly too good to me, Claude. This is all so - incredible."
"Hey, it's not just for you," Claude chuckles, resting his head along Dimitri's chest. "This is something for all of us, since you seem determined to have this tree stay, at least for a while. At any rate.... You really like it?"
"I do. I adore it, Claude, just like I adore you."
"Even the dick ornament? Oh - looks like Sylvain managed to write something on it while you and Ingrid were distracted. A well hung tree, huh?"
Some sort of weird strangled snorting noise sounds off in the back of Dimitri's throat, and he closes his eye shut. ".......Even the penis ornament."
"Perfect."
They're pulling up to a stop light, so Claude doesn't mind pulling his gaze away from the road to see just what has his boyfriend's attention. "What's up?" he asks, as he glances over to the front of the store.
Nothing really exciting, honestly. Just some poor exhausted minimum wage workers hauling out literal actual pine trees to prop up inbetween the large amounts of space that exist between two different entrances of sliding doors. It's a sign that winter really is coming, he supposes. At least holidays are consistent for the most part.
"I was just thinking," Dimitri says, still practically plastered to the window. "It has been some time since I have put up a tree for the holidays."
Claude tilts his head to the side thoughtfully. "Oh, right - because you've normally been hosting the winter party for all of your friends, right? For a big thing like that, you need all the space you can get." And considering that Dimitri invited all of Claude's friends to the party last time, well... That's even more space taken up, although Claude doesn't think Dimitri regrets it. That night, and the morning that had followed it, had been full of far too many wonderful memories.
Claude knows, because they're full of his favorite memories, too.
Sighing, Dimitri pulls himself away from the mirror to sit more properly in his seat. A good thing, too. If he's got his timing right, Claude is pretty sure that the light is going to change soon. "That's right. They've all been grand times, of course. I just remember decorating trees for the Saints days when I was young."
Gods. Claude thinks he could fall in lover all over again with the charming way Dimitri speaks, sometimes. When I was young. Most people just say it was back when they were a kid, but no, not Dimitri. Man speaks like he belongs in some sort of period drama - and not even in the overly dramatic way Lorenz does, which Claude suspects has to do with some sort of theatre kid background. Dimitri was just born an old soul from a couple centuries ago. He loves it.
"We could get one for this year," Claude says, even as he turns his attention back to actually driving and making sure they don't get into a horrible accident. Even from the corner of his eyes, however, he can see Dimitri perk up. "I mean, sure, with how everyone gets during the party, there's probably some warranted concern to its continued survival... But hey, you never know until you try, right?"
"Really?" Dimitri asks. "Would you like to come over, then, Claude? To decorate it? Or - we could take a day to go pick out the tree ourselves! It would be a delightful outing!"
That sounds like it would be a nightmare outing, actually, because it's cold today, and only getting colder. Claude has the heaters of his car on at full blast (with Dimitri having politely either shut the vents near him or turned them towards Claude), and only leaves to go outside with at least five layers on, it feels like. Wandering around the cold outside, looking at trees... It really doesn't sound like a particularly pleasant thing to him.
But then he makes the mistake of turning his head just enough to glance at Dimitri. What can he do in the face of such a hopeful smile?
Claude agrees to go searching for the perfect tree with him, and regrets it almost immediately. Wow. This is what love does to a man, huh? It really is a terrible thing. At least Dimitri makes it up to him later that night, in... a very nice way, behind closed doors, when he goes to stay the night at his apartment.
As it turns out, Ignatz knows someone who knows a different someone whose uncle helps out at the kind of places that pop up around this time every year without fail. It's a nice large place with apparently quite solid trees that are guaranteed to please. It's stroke of luck on their part, really, that Ignatz knows about a place like this. Even better, it's situated outside of the city, which means that Claude is almost guaranteed to be in the warm heat of the car for at least as long as it takes for them to get a tree. Right?
At least Dimitri is happy enough to get them up there, with them borrowing Raphael's van on the way up there. It's a bit more sturdy than either of their cars, and better equipped to haul around a tree that could get to be who knows how big.
"I do not think I will get an enormous tree," Dimitri confides in him as the two of them keep an eye out for the place that Ignatz recommended. Claude has his phone out, voicing out the right directions. At least, he sure damn hopes they're the right directions. "I mean, while I imagine that it could certainly fit within my apartment, getting something that could reach the ceiling would be quite an ordeal on the way up to my floor. It certainly wouldn't fit in the elevator. Can you imagine trying to get it up the stairs?"
Oh boy - Claude guffaws, slapping a hand over his mouth quickly if only so he doesn't choke on his own laughter. "You'd have to get all of your friends together," he wheezes out, still imagining the entire scenario. "Someone stationed on every floor, and a few on the stairs, pulling the tree up. It'd be amazing. You'd get billed for the needles everywhere."
Dimitri's own mouth twists, eye crinkled up in amusement. "Claude," he forces out, sounding as though he's going to crumple over the steering wheel himself.
"What, what other way would we do it with a tree that large? - Ah! I think that's the place."
Or, well, it had better be the place. Claude can't think of anywhere else that would have a need for a stretch of land that is alongside an entire road and is just filled with practically nothing but pine trees. Or maybe he's wrong? All the trees still seem to be attached to the ground, not just kept propped up by wood or rope or anything like that. No stands. It's a strange sight for a place that sells them, and yet, sure enough, a sign just like the one Ignatz told them about appears as they continue down the road.
The answer becomes fairly clear when they manage to get a parking space in a lot that's been mostly cleared of snow, revealing just the plain dirt that's underneath - cold enough that it's frozen more than wet mud. There's a sign set up right at the entrance, near a small wooden booth that keeps a single cashier and register shielded from the chill. Well, that, and probably a heater tucked inside, if Claude is sensing things right.
"So they cut it for people fresh, so that it lasts far longer than an average tree," Dimitri muses. "They even do delivery, once someone has chosen their particular tree, so that they do not have to wait out here for it! How fascinating."
"We need to pick a tree as fast as possible," Claude says from underneath a pompom beanie hat, a scarf, a large overcoat, a sweater, a tee-shirt, a long-sleeve shirt, pants, insulated underwear, thick socks, and boots that will withstand nuclear snowfall. All he gets is Dimitri laughing at him a little, before tugging one arm out of his own large long jacket so that he can drape it over Claude's shoulders and pull it close. It's almost like having two extra sets of layers, now, with Dimitri's body heat right up against him.
The little kiss Dimitri presses into his hair isn't too bad either. "We will pick the proper tree for my apartment after getting a good look at all of our options," Dimitri promises him, unfortunately. "Besides, walking through the snow like this... Doesn't it feel nice?"
His nose feels frozen off. Claude suspects the chill has creeped in past his ears and given his brain hypothermia. He can just tell he'll need another pair of gloves soon. But walking besides Dimitri like this is definitely the best part of being out here, honestly, so what else can he say? He just agrees, and leeches off more of Dimitri's body heat.
At least Dimitri really does seem happy as they walk through the paths that have been carved out by so many other customers and employees before them, snow shoved to the side or clustered beneath the bristling needles of the trees. Something about his happiness is enough to make Claude feel a little lighter, a little warmer, all on his own. A part of him wonders if it's the same kind of feeling that Dimitri feels whenever he lets Claude talk animatedly about the latest law case he's studying up on, or the latest project for the band. Dimitri carefully inspects whichever tree that catches his attention, talking about the things that appeal to him and the things that could be troublesome. In turn, Claude listens attentively, and makes a small question now and then.
He didn't come here to learn a lot about pine trees and the kind of considerations that had to be made about them, but he can already tell he'll have all of this information stored in his head for the rest of his life.
"They have some smaller trees, right?" Claude asks, after so long that it feels that they've been trapped into a maze of pine. (This is definitely not his allergies toward the cold having an influence on the situation, not at all. Maybe a little bit.) "They would be a lot easier to get into the apartment, and the small size means less of a risk of one of us getting too excited and smashing into it."
Dimitri hums, even though he's craning his neck back to get a good look at the top of the tree. This is apparently an important tree aspect, although Claude would never really know. His mother used to talk about getting a tree, but it never happened. "I was thinking that, actually, if it was large enough, then that would help act as a deterrent and remind people of its existence. If it's too small, they may forget about it easily, and trample over it."
"I mean, that's only if we don't deck it out completely in neon."
At least that earns a low chuckle from Dimitri. Adjusting his arm around Claude's waist underneath the coat, Dimitri moves on to the next tree that's caught his attention. "That would certainly be a sight..."
"A great one," Claude insists, although maybe that's just his preference for color talking. Winter becomes too drab and plain as it is. The only benefit to snow is that it reflects the sparkling of color beautifully, in his opinion. "Although that reminds me, have you decided how you're going to decorate the tree, once you've gotten it? Do you have the ornaments and all that already at your apartment?"
It's a possibility, of course. Dimitri has a lot of stuff at his apartment, some of it tucked away in boxes only to be busted out at the appropriate times. Claude knows that for a fact because of the various cooking instruments there, and different recipe books for different times of year. It's even obvious considering how he keeps a lot packed away, only to pull it out for the winter party last year. So, in theory, he could have various tree decorations hidden away in his apartment somewhere.
But he's not surprised when Dimitri shakes his head. "If I have anything of my family's, then I think it would be back with Rodrigue," he says, mentioning Felix's father. Claude has never really met the guy, but he's heard of him enough from Dimitri and Felix both. "Most of my family's things were put in his care. When I moved in with Sylvain, well, most of it just stayed there with him, and I never really had the chance to go back and get them. Honestly, this was such a spur of the moment decision that I didn't think about it... I suppose I will actually have to shop for decorations, won't I? Oh, that will be a particular kind of purgatory..."
Claude gets what he means. At this late in the year, a lot of things may very well be cleared out, or the lines will go for a million miles.... There's just so much as winter hits everyone. For some reason, their ancestors decided that a million different holidays had to happen all around the same time. This means that just about every single person in the world has something going on.
And trying to do some last minute shopping during a time like this? Yeesh. Claude struggled last year just to make the food he brought to the party at Dimitri's place.
The reality of everything is hitting Dimitri as well, and he pauses before a tree that doesn't really seem to interest him. "Maybe this was a bit too hasty of a decision," he sighs. "Although we've come all this way already..."
"Hey now, don't think like that," Claude says, nudging his elbow into Dimitri's side. He's not actually sure how much force is behind the action. With how many layers he's wearing, it might as well be as effective as a pillow bouncing against his boyfriend's ribs. "There's still plenty of time to think on it. Besides, I'm sure we could BS with some things that we have around your apartment." In fact, his brain is already churning with a few different ideas, a few calls he'll have to make... "Let's pick out a tree that will fit your apartment, and then go from there."
Those words, at the very least, seem to be enough to calm Dimitri down from just turning right out of the pine maze they're in. He even offers down a smile at Claude. "As usual, you are quite right. Since we've come all this way, and there are still plenty of trees left, that must be some sort of sign. Let us continue on, Claude."
Dimitri is right in one area, at least: there are certainly a whole lot of trees that are still available, although it's also clear to see where some of them have been already taken. Empty spots, places that have the markings of actual pots where they once were... Apparently the place sells regular trees that can be planted in yards, too, which Claude finds interesting. Really, it's just an interesting spot over all.
Claude doesn't let himself get distracted. Instead, he does his absolute best to size up the different trees that they pass by, and definitely inspect the ones that get Dimitri's attention with nothing but the utmost care. The sooner they pick a tree, the sooner they can get back in the car.
It's just that the further they go in past all the trees... The more it becomes clear to him that a lot of the best ones, as much as could be made possible, were presented up front. Or maybe it's just a stroke of luck that some of the trees they pass by seem to be struggling a bit. Claude wonders if maybe it was something in the soil, or if some sort of animal was responsible. It's not as though he's a gardening expert.
"Maybe we should go back," he suggests to Dimitri, craning his neck to glance at a tree they pass by whose poor little top has practically been plucked bare. Health, animals, or something else? The world may never know. "There were some trees nearer to the front that you were really interested in, so maybe we should start narrowing down our selection?" Now that he's having a moment of hindsight, he's wondering if maybe he underestimated how carefully Dimitri could get invested in the fine details of something...
Before he can go any further on this bit of persuasion, however, Dimitri comes to a hard stop. "That one!" he exclaims suddenly, and there's a bright smile on his face when Claude looks back to him. "Oh, I am quite fond of it, Claude!"
Which is quite a statement to make when the tree that Claude turns his gaze upon is perhaps the saddest gods damn pine tree he thinks he's ever seen in his entire life.
It has pines. Therefore, legally, it has to be called a pine tree. That is honestly the most generous thing that can be said of it. Whereas the other trees have a nice and bustling cone or cylinder shape, at the very worst, this one can't even be said as to have a solid shape. There just aren't enough branches for that. The thing is lopsided. Like, the right side almost looks as though it was on its way to being a halfway decent tree at some point? The length is long enough that it could fake it, potentially, if a person only looked at it from that side alone.
That can't happen on the other side. It doesn't even look like it has enough proper branches there, or branches at all. They're sporadic, only showing up with some healthy consistency up at the top for some reason. Claude doesn't even know what's going on at the bottom of this poor tree.
"Wow," he says, kind of struck dumb at the sight of it. "It's adorable."
Conveniently, it's also in a pot instead of anchored down to the ground like some of the other trees that are in the place. Dimitri hands over the keys to Claude so that he can go hide in the heater heaven of the van, and soon comes back with the tree. Unsurprisingly, it can fit just fine in the back of Raphael's van, even if it has to be adjusted a little bit so that it's slightly more horizontal than it normally would be. That's honestly just fine. Claude has a suspicion that it possesses a natural lean, so this sort of thing is hardly a bother at all.
Needless to say, all their friends have something to say about it whenever they drop by Dimitri's apartment to get a look at his tree.
"Oh, this is incredible," Sylvain says, circling around the little spot that they've made for the tree. It's going to take some more maneuvering of all the furniture again when the winter party comes around, but the spot next to the television was decided as the best. That means Sylvain can't make a full circle around it, but he doesn't seem to mind much. If anything, he seems far too amused to mind any issue that small. "You know what, Dimitri? This is exactly the kind of tree I'd imagine you would pick."
"Well, you do not have to imagine anything, because I have done it in reality," Dimitri says simply from where he is in the kitchen space, making lunch for all of them. Today's menu is a creamy tortellini of some sort, with tomato and basil. Already the heady smell of garlic wafts through the apartment as he sautes it. "Although it is quite a lovely little tree, thank you."
The adjective of lovely seems to be something of a torn subject amongst their friends group. Even as Sylvain admires the sad little mess that it is, Felix stares at it with his lip curled up as though he can't even begin to describe every single word that could come to mind for a proper description. Marianne dotes on it when she drops by with Hilda, who reserves her judgment for staring pointedly at Claude when he happily agrees with Dimitri that it's an adorable tree. Annette joins the redhead brigade of Sylvain in adoring it, while Mercedes is absolutely impossible to read. Lorenz just stares at it, hand at his chin, for an untold amount of time as though it has made a passive aggressive comment about his existence with its own.
Dedue says nothing on his own personal feelings about the tree trying very hard to tree in Dimitri's apartment. He only patiently inspects its condition, judges that it will survive through the winter, and writes down a list of things Dimitri will have to do if he wants it to thrive.
"Do you see that?" he tells Hilda while livestreaming the whole thing to her from his phone - "the whole thing" being, of course, Dedue poking around the tree and pointing things out to Dimitri. "Dimitri's best friend just helps him accomplish his dreams, no judgment. You could learn something from him."
Hilda only bats her eyelashes at him; the effect is somewhat diminished when her face is just in a very tiny square on his phone. "I help you accomplish your dreams all the time! As moral support, which means supporting you way from terrible decisions."
"Hilda, we still have a plastic skeleton in our own apartment."
"Yes, and they look cute now thanks to my fashion knowledge and familiarity with all the thrift stores in the city."
Yeah, well, about her knowledge about all the thrift stores in the city, and such aesthetic witchery... Claude glances back to where Dimitri is carefully pecking down notes on a phone app while Dedue speaks to him. "Hey Hilda, can we switch to text? I wouldn't want to bother Dimitri while he's concentrating."
That is by far not the entire truth... but he's not saying it for Hilda, how smiles knowingly with what he wants to check up on. It's mostly in case Dimitri has a spare ear to lend to what's going on in the background.
But winter passes through neatly, bringing with it a curtain of snow has is often the case every year around this time. Much as they did last year, they all agree to head to Dimitri's quite spacious apartment for the winter party. It's just that, this year, things are a little different... although he's not sure if Dimitri knows it. Certainly he doesn't know it on the day of the party, humming in the kitchen as he carefully prepares yet another cheesecake. Yawning and stretching, Claude offers up a sleepy smile as he sees the state of the kitchen. "Up and about already... I feel kind of bad, but I guess this is the kind of thing that's needed if I'm going to be using your kitchen myself later on, huh?"
Dimitri smiles at him brightly, looking way too much a morning person. "Please, you do not need to worry about such things, Claude. I was the one who invited you here. And besides, wouldn't you fuss much more if you had to get up even earlier, and trek through the snow to get here, like last year?"
While he could make the correction that he didn't fuss on making it to the party last year (even if only because he was caught up in a whirlwind of activity as Dedue helped save Dimitri and Annette's cooking efforts), Claude doesn't. He has more important things to worry about right now. For starters, he makes his way over to the bag that he set down over by the front door. "Well, I'm certainly not complaining about having the ability to stay in a nice toasty apartment cooking with you," he says, crouching down to inspect his bag. Good - it's still exactly where he had hidden it in the first place. Well, it's not as though Dimitri is the type to snoop, but accidents and odd occurrences can happen. "What did you have planned this year? Besides the usual cheesecakes."
Normally, it would be Annette dropping over to try her hand at making a recipe to pass around, but, well... It seems she's been trapped in her own apartment down the hall. Hopefully Mercedes, Dedue, and Ashe can combine their powers together so that Annette can at least contribute something not burnt to a crisp.
"I have crackers!" Dimitri tells him excitedly, still bustling about the kitchen - Claude can hear him even with his back to him. "I was planning on making more of an appetizer, for when we are watching movies, or playing video games... or watching others play video games, I suppose. I have been seeing a lot about cheese logs on the internet, so I thought I would make a.... Hold on..." There's the clatter of plastic on the counter, no doubt of his phone as Dimitri gets it out. "A... roasted red paper and basil cream cheese one. It will only take a few hours to be complete! Most of that is cooling, I believe."
Of course. Claude snorts a little bit, pushing himself up onto his feet. "Well, considering everyone else will be bringing more meaty kinds of sides and main dishes, I guess it's a good idea to think about appetizers. Although don't we all always treat the dinner like appetizers to start with?" For such a nice apartment, they sure did treat it pretty informally... Exactly how Claude liked it.
Dimitri huffs, head bowed where he's concentrating on preparing some of the fruits for his cheesecake. It's pretty easy to see his smile, however, with his hair tied back and out of the way. "Don't ruin the careful thought I put into my dish!"
"Hey, I'm not ruining anything!" Claude laughs, making his way around the kitchen island. "Although I am interrupting you for just a moment... but I think you'll like it, Dimitri."
Just as he thought it would, that gets Dimitri's attention, and he straightens up with a couple of blinks towards him. "Oh? Is it really so important that we can't just talk about it? Or..." He trails off, blinking down at the small envelope-type package that Claude is holding in his hand. "What is that? Is that for me?"
"Sure is," Claude says, winking over to him. "I thought you would appreciate it if anyone would, Dimitri."
The envelope, while small, does bulge a little bit, and Dimitri runs his thumb gently over it as he accepts the gift. Honestly, it bulges more than a bit. "I would appreciate anything you gave me, Claude," he murmurs, still rubbing at the bulging shape. As if he can figure out what it is just by feeling it alone. He reminds Claude of a kid in that way, just a bit. "Is this for my... Well. You know."
"Nah," Claude says, shaking his head. It's not a birthday gift. Well, not really. "That's going to be a different thing. Listen, you'll get it when you open it."
That's as much encouragement as Dimitri needs. Delicately, even though he hardly needs to be, Dimitri slides open the envelope, and presses his finger inside to carefully coax out its content. Claude can see the first moment that Dimitri realizes what it is. The way his eye widens, no doubt when he first feels the little thread loop, even before he manages to tug out a tiny felt lion with a thick little noodle mane. On its back, an ornament loop is attached.
"You still didn't really get any ornaments for your tree," Claude says, nodding over to its spot by the television. The sole exception has been some tinsel, lovingly wrapped around the tree as best as could be possible. It droops on one side. You know. The one with no branches. "So I thought... Hey, why not chip in? I was the one who encouraged getting a tree in the first place."
If someone had told Claude a little over a year ago that some tall and glaring blond would storm into his coffee shop would be his boyfriend... Well, maybe he'd believe them. Maybe he wouldn't. The thing that can't be denied is how much softer and lovely Dimitri looks in moments like these, as a smile stretches across his face, not burdened by the feelings that come with too many eyes on him. "Oh," he says gently, finger nudging into that little mane. "You always remember how fond I am of lions..."
"I remember that you can beat them in tug-of-war contests at a zoo," Claude says, and grins at him, leaning against Dimitri's shoulder. "I'm going to take that as a sign you like it. So why not go and put it on the tree?"
Fortunately, even in its state, the tree still possesses various branches that are capable of holding a tiny felt ornamental lion. Dimitri gives it a place of honor right up near the top, where it stands out quite nicely. Well, it would probably stand out regardless, being the only ornament on the thing besides tinsel. "It seems just a little lonely," Dimitri muses, leaning back against Claude while their arms twine together. "Well, that is my own fault, I suppose."
Claude pats his arm. "Don't worry about it," he says, and tilts his head back towards the kitchen. "But you have cheesecake to finish making, right? And then we can see if we can both fit in that kitchen together."
They can, of course, with some communication and maneuvering. No one else really can, which Annette discovers when when she pops by from down the hall. "Aaah, I was wondering if I could stick some biscuits in the oven, but I guess not!" she exclaims, taking in the crowded state of the kitchen. The sink is already filled up with dishes, and the rest of the counters can't take much more. It'll take a lot of work to clear it up enough for everyone else's food when they come over. "Anyway, Dimitri, come here!"
Mostly having finished with his own things, and they only needing the hours to chill in the fridge, Dimitri looks up and immediately heads over almost without hesitation. "What is it, Annette?" he asks, before he's having a small paper bag shoved into his hands.
"Take a look!" she encourages, even as the rest of her polycule steps through the door with some smiles. "We all took a lot of care in what we chose!"
What she means becomes quite clear when Dimitri sets the bag on what counter space is still available, and begins to pull out the contents one by one. It's clear to see who put in what, just by the choices. Mercedes' has given him a traditional and sparkling blue pinecone-shaped ornament, frosted over with glittering gold. It surely must be from Annette, the fake little blue mug with hot chocolate in it, and smiling marshmallows on top. From Dedue has to be the intricately painted little ornaments that aren't perfectly round, some sort of natural material behind the paint, in the beautiful whites and oranges and teals that Duscur is so known for. The book ornament, with some knight on the cover? That's Ashe, no doubt, and Claude thinks he can recognize the actual book, too. Pretty popular series.
While Dimitri is staring down at the ornaments, looking as though he's about to fall into a puddle of emotion right then and there, Claude nudges him in the side. "And there's more where that came from," he promises. "But I'm pretty sure not everyone is here yet. Let's see if the tree can hold this much up."
And if it doesn't, that doesn't bode well for the other ornaments that are on the way, all brought by someone different. Raphael drops by with his own mini-buffet in tow, and hands over a tiny little chicken nugget decked in fake lights that catches anybody eye who looks at it, much like it catches the laughter right out of their throat. Ignatz's is a handmade little thing, a perfect circular disk with pine trees delicately painted against a deep blue sky filled with glittering stars.
Both of those are delightful in their own way, of course, but they can't beat the terrible combination of Sylvain and Felix's pair of ornaments. Sylvain, apparently, has decided that he no longer cares to be among the living, and is courting death by Ingrid, and maybe Lorenz's sensibilities, for he has brought a dick ornament.
"Sylvain," Dimitri says when he sees it, with the kind of tone of a person who is trying really hard to be scandalized but doesn't know what else he expected, really.
Sylvain's roguish grin says he regrets nothing, even as he gives it a nice little spot near the bottom of the tree. Because of course he does. "You can write on it," he says, pinching the fake dick inbetween two fingers and turning it to the side. It is very two-dimensional... And besides the red outlines that make it very clear it is a dick, the rest of it is quite white. And not white in the way that Dimitri's is, either. Claude would know. "And then you can clean it off, so that you can write a new thing on it."
"I'm not going to wash a penis like that, Sylvain!"
"You could ask Claude to wash your penis," Sylvain says innocently, proving he is of like minds with Claude while simultaneously making Ignatz choke on a small cracker not that far away.
It's while Dimitri is chasing Sylvain through the house, potentially about to beat Ingrid and Lorenz at committing the crime of murder, that Felix slinks over to slip his own ornament on. He couldn't be more obvious that he's hoping to do it while Dimitri isn't looking, a fact that Claude can't stop grinning at. Clearly he'd fluster up at Dimitri being warmed that his dear best friend from childhood had brought something as well... Or maybe he just wants to avoid Sylvain's fate, since Felix's ornament is just a beautiful curving snowflake...
...whose form is composed entirely of multiple iterations of the word Fuck, all written in lovely connecting cursive.
Dimitri is possibly the best thing that's ever happened in Claude's life, although he has to admit that saying as such is jumping the gun a little. But his friends also come quite close, for all the bullshit they pull off that leaves him in stitches.
Lorenz doesn't feel the same way, and nothing best demonstrates that (besides the incredible look on his face) than how he places his own beautiful and probably very expensive stained glass ornament as far away as humanly possible. "He kept fussing about the right design to get for this," Leonie confides in Claude as he's admiring the delicate shine of the glass, portraying a pretty little bonsai tree. "In the end, he said that these colors were perfect for everything." With that said, she puts up her own ornament on the tree: a wood carving of a deer, mid-leap. Perfect for a girl who likes going out hunting, when the seasons permit.
It takes a long time for the next ornaments to be hung, on account of how it's Ingrid, Hilda, and Marianne who show up. Ingrid stares at the dick and fuck ornaments with disgust, and whirls around to hunt down where Sylvain has been kept in a headlock by Dimitri for a good while now. Hilda just breaks down laughing so hard that Claude thinks she might heave.
It's Marianne, bless her pure heart, who awkwardly puts up the next ornaments from all three of them: a thick little clay dove whose wings are spread open in flight to add some dimension to the set of different ornaments, a set of thick wooden beads attached in a row with one end a bright pink bow where it hangs and the other end possessing a simple wooden tag that says Love, and finally, a simple wooden circle with words painted on in deep blue that say No one fights alone here.
Heartwarming words, honestly. And the kind that may very well turn out to be true, considering Sylvain might get murdered by Dimitri and Ingrid both.
"This tree is a disaster," Lysithea points out when she finally arrives, a small tower of sweets taking up a part of the counter space over in the kitchen. Held delicately between her fingertips is some sort of diamond-shaped metal frame, with a pale purple crystal of some sort hanging there in the middle of it. It half fits in with what's already on the tree, like Lorenz and Dedue's choices, and then there's, well..
There's a penis and a chicken nugget.
Claude loves every single bit of it, completely unironically. "So what do you think?" he asks of Dimitri, once everyone has gotten back to remembering this is a party, and is fussing around over at the kitchen to make sure all their food is in the right place, and there's enough room for plates. "I doubt it's what you had in mind for a properly decorated tree, especially compared to whatever was in your childhood, but..."
They're going to end up at the end of the dinner line again, just like last year, if the way Dimitri wraps his arm around his waist is any indication. "I love it," Dimitri murmurs to him, somehow so clear in Claude's ears despite the loud hum of the party as it starts to kick off properly. "I was wondering what you were up to... But you are truly too good to me, Claude. This is all so - incredible."
"Hey, it's not just for you," Claude chuckles, resting his head along Dimitri's chest. "This is something for all of us, since you seem determined to have this tree stay, at least for a while. At any rate.... You really like it?"
"I do. I adore it, Claude, just like I adore you."
"Even the dick ornament? Oh - looks like Sylvain managed to write something on it while you and Ingrid were distracted. A well hung tree, huh?"
Some sort of weird strangled snorting noise sounds off in the back of Dimitri's throat, and he closes his eye shut. ".......Even the penis ornament."
"Perfect."