[The beginnings of pink were already dancing around Felix's cheeks at that brief contact, but with those words, it's quick to turn into an all-consuming, fiery red that even paints his ears warm.]
W-whatever.
[Goodness, all Dimitri means by that is he'll one day defeat him. Why is his mind going that direction now?! Sylvain, perhaps, has been a bad influence on him more than he realized...]
Next time, just come at me with all of your strength like the boar that you are.
[But there's no venom to the nickname, just an awkward glance away from Dimitri's grinning face, which he catches briefly as he pads towards where the training lances are kept.]
[The way Felix says "boar" almost sounds affectionate, and his smile widens even as his own face flushes. He's not entirely sure what flustered Felix, but seeing him blush affects him all the same. Dimitri retrieves his own spear and follows after Felix to put it away, allowing the giddy rush of limerence to push his worries aside for the moment. He'll still wonder later what could have made Felix change so much (training alone could never do that), but for now, he's content.]
That might not be a good idea with training weapons. I break enough of them as it is.
[Unless Felix means to grapple, which is something Dimitri's not sure he would survive with his dignity intact.]
[Felix says it like it's the most obvious thing in the world as he stashes his training spear back on the rack. With most of his calm back, he turns to Dimitri, waiting for his response, a hand on his hip.]
[That giddy rush quickly turns to nerves when Felix goes and says that. He... really has no reason to refuse, and if they're going hand to hand then the gap between them definitely narrows due to Dimitri's strength. He fumbles as he goes to put away his own spear, his blush darkening.]
[...I have enough experience, was going to be Felix's untimely slip of the tongue, but as with his thoughts of revealing his origins, they don't seem to be willing to make it past his throat. It stops Felix mid-sentence, an awkward pause which he tries to cover up with a cough. That sounds off to his ears, but it'll have to do.]
...it might be a nice change of pace, [he says, studying Dimitri. What's he going red for...?] Knowing how to fight bare-handed is just as important as knowing how to wield weaponry.
[Then it clicks for Felix, and his brows furrow in concern.]
[The question is so far from what's actually wrong with Dimitri that it startles him out of his embarrassment. As far as stamina goes, after all, he's still got significantly more than Felix does — he's just outclassed when it comes to skill and has to be careful not to stretch his freshly healed wound too much. Dimitri lifts his brows curiously, shaking his head.]
No, I could still keep going.
[For quite awhile, actually, but it's probably best that he doesn't so he won't protest Felix's choice to call it.]
[And that redness is starting to fade too... Well, perhaps Dimitri is trying to hide how exhausted he is, not that Felix is inclined to push at this point considering how much he has to hide as well.]
I suppose. I should get cleaned up and tend to some paperwork, anyway...
[He looks for a moment as if he's about to just invite Felix to come along (the baths are right there, after all), but upon realizing what a terrible idea that would be, he clamps his mouth shut.]
I will see you tomorrow, then, [he says hurriedly, rushing off before Felix can ask him why he's getting red again.]
Or rather, it does, but the Black Eagles class is pulled into aiding Remire due to the calamity worsening--the particular date of which, Felix had forgotten. Regardless, it's familiar enough--the flames all over the village, the possessed villagers going after the throats of others less fortunate to stand in their way--
But Felix never lays his eyes on Tomas the traitor or the Death Knight as he did before. He's in the middle of knocking out some rowdy miscreants when he catches sight of a villager going straight for Dorothea.]
Look out!
[He's too far though, and his cries are lost in the wind as a sword tears through Dorothea's back.
...Or maybe not. Dorothea's still standing there, and Byleth is blocking the blade with their own. Strange that his eyes would trick him like that, especially with the horrific memory still imprinted in his mind, but it's a thought he's forced to set aside in favor of the headache that has him grabbing his head with his free hand.
He doesn't notice it when an enemy takes advantage of his distraction to cut him down from behind, a sting that overpowers the pain pounding through his head. Felix blindly swings in the direction of that swing, unsure of whether he just dealt a debilitating blow or a fatal one. Whatever the case is, he starts to stumble towards where he saw Dorothea and Byleth, knowing it's probably beyond him to do some self-healing given his state.
As the last of Felix's consciousness fades amidst concerned cries, a lopsided smile creases his expression as he wonders about how soft he's getting thanks to his changed outlook on one certain boar, expression turning derisive as he wonders if this is the extent of it, the end of what this strange second chance could manage to affect.
If so, that's rather pathetic of him, though not exactly unwarranted for a shield that had failed to protect its liege.]
[Dimitri, of course, hears about where the professor and the Black Eagles have gone before they even get back. Though he's anxious about the whole affair, he trusts in the professor's skill to bring everyone back safely.
As it turns out, he perhaps shouldn't have. Felix is half-dead when they rush him to the infirmary. Dimitri completely ignores all the reports of the actual battle and the mysterious force there, dropping everything in favor of hovering outside the door with Ingrid and Sylvain until visitors are finally allowed in to see his face the next morning. He's paler than ever, his skin practically blending in with the bandages wrapped around his torso. The fire in the room is blazing in an effort to keep him warm when he's lost so much blood, but even though they all dislike excessive heat, all three of them stay until they're kicked out for the night.
They return again the following day, but this time when night rolls around, Dimitri refuses to leave. Saying "no" to a crown prince is difficult to say the least, and since she's been worried about Dimitri's mental state for awhile, Manuela relents and allows him to stay the night. He sleeps with a chair pulled up to the side of the bed, curled over with his upper half draped across the mattress in a fashion that allows him to rest his head near Felix's hand, which he clasps tightly.]
[Felix never really gave much thought to how or where he would meet his last. Given the rate he was going, a battlefield was the likeliest place, and he'd honestly have it no other way considering the alternative has been long closed to him, mostly of his own volition.
After all, there's no purpose to a shield that outlasts the one it's supposed to protect.
Though far too soon, the burning town of Remire was a battlefield all the same, and... maybe not too bad a place to go. Careless as his last moments were, it's a fitting place for a masterless swordsman like him to meet his end.
A forgettable place with regretful circumstances.
So when he awakens to a familiar pillow under his head, it takes him a moment to place that, no, this isn't some sort of cursed afterlife. There's only the latter part of that word, "life" or perhaps "living." Still cursed in some respects, especially when it's accompanied by the heavy weight of bandages and a deep wound that hasn't fully healed just yet.
More surprising though, is the hand clasping his, and its owner sleeping right by his bedside. Felix blinks--once, then twice, just to make sure his eyes aren't fooling him the way they seem to do so a lot nowadays.]
Dimitri...? [Felix whispers, a weak rasp foreign to his ears. He'll take a moment to realize the name he just spoke, at any rate.]
[His sleep is fitful, barely more than a doze. As such, Felix's voice reaches his ears despite the lack of volume. His eyes flutter open as he pushes himself into a sitting position, keeping a hold on his hand all the while. He meets Felix's gaze, and though his amber eyes are groggy and full of confusion, he seems to be mentally present.]
Felix...
[Dimitri lifts the hand he's been holding to his face, pressing his cheek against Felix's palm with a shaky little sigh. For just a few seconds, the dark cloud that's been hanging over him the whole time they've been waiting to see what becomes of Felix lifts, leaving only joy that he's now awake. His smile is genuine, as are the tears that prick at the corners of his eyes.]
[Well, that wetness building by the corner of Dimitri's eyes don't seem to be a figment of his imagination at all. Felix swallows, a little taken aback at how the sight makes him want to tear up too, his body heavy with something other than everything wrapped around him.]
I'm fine, [Felix says with a crooked smile, stretching slightly to wipe that tear away.] Don't cry over a scratch like this.
[Guilt twists in his stomach, his discomfort exacerbated by the way he lies down on it. He's not worthy of Dimitri's tears by any means. Far from it.]
[Is he crying? Dimitri looks somewhat surprised briefly, lifting his free hand to touch the corner of his other eye. Sure enough, it's wet. He hasn't cried outside of when he sleeps in years, now...]
You have been unconscious for nearly three days! That is hardly a scratch.
[It's only the lightest of scolding, and Dimitri still smiles as he shifts from the chair to kneel beside the bed, putting his face level with Felix's so that he doesn't have to twist his neck to look him in the eye. Dimitri brushes his bangs away from his forehead with warm fingertips. He shifts again, resting his cheek on the mattress, putting his head in the same position as Felix's.]
[Felix's eyes grow wide at that revelation. Three days?! And here he thought he was just out for a few hours... Damn, whoever that was who gave him that wound got him really good.
Still, it's rather hard to focus on that when Dimitri is being plenty distracting, shivering pleasantly when warm fingertips brush past his cool skin. It's not only the physical warmth of it that's comforting--the smile that radiates from Dimitri is brighter than the flames that light up and warm the room, a sight that washes over his body in a similar manner as the warmth from the fireplace.
Felix returns the favor, tucking away some stray hairs from Dimitri's face.]
Go back to your room, [Felix says in an attempt to sound authoritative, though with how hoarse his voice is, he isn't doing the best job of it.] You're going to catch something lying down like that.
[He pinches Dimitri's cheek for good measure, not that there's enough force behind it due to how weakened he is.]
[Though being treated like a child by Felix is strange to say the least, the thought of leaving makes his stomach churn so violently that Dimitri doesn't linger on it for long. As easily as it appeared, the smile fades, Dimitri's forehead creasing as he lowers his lashes.]
[Tempted as Felix is to stand his ground, Dimitri's sad expression has a way of hurting him in a manner that his healing injury doesn't. His mind wanders to what ifs it's too tired to process right now, of opportunities gone by and princes that have forever lost themselves.
If Felix stayed by Dimitri's side this whole time, could he have saved him?
Sighing, Felix files away that depressing thought for a while, letting his hand slip away from Dimitri's cheek as he blindly feels around for where Dimitri's hand might be. Cold fingers wrap around it, squeezing.]
Just for a little longer then.
[Finding the call of sleep rather inviting, Felix closes his eyes, close to surrendering himself to it.]
[Dimitri is a furnace unto himself, especially overheated as he is right now. It makes the touch of Felix's hand that much colder, cold to the point that it just worries him instead of getting his heart thumping. The fire has started to get low since he drifted off, hasn't it? He sits back up with a small frown, leaning in to press his forehead to Felix's.]
You're still so cold... I will put another log on the fire.
[Though the press of Dimitri's forehead against his has him warming slightly, Felix feels himself drifting off, still exhausted from the recovery process he's undergoing. So he doesn't fight whatever Dimitri is doing, letting him do as he says and pleases.]
[Reluctantly he rises from the floor, parting from Felix long enough to put on two more logs. He quietly wraps some fresh bricks as well, swapping them with the ones currently near Felix's feet. Since he's at least somewhat awake he could probably give him some for his hands as well, but a selfish, childish part of him wants to warm his hands himself. Biting his lower lip, he moves to get the chair he was sitting on out of the way so that he can start to push the beds together.]
[Felix squirms slightly when Dimitri replaces the bricks by his feet, but he doesn't protest it. At least until he hears the scraping sound of something heavy being dragged across the floor.
Something like a bed, in fact.
Reluctantly, Felix cracks an eye open, gaze zeroing on Dimitri as he starts bringing the beds together. But he doesn't do anything more than stare, and goes right back to closing his eye. True, he has every right to protest what Dimitri is doing, but it's a hill he doesn't plan on dying on, especially when more sleep is a much more enticing option.
Plus, he can't say he really dislikes the idea of Dimitri staying the night. There's something comforting about his presence that a warm hearth simply cannot replicate, and as to why that's the case...
[Felix takes notice, but apparently, he doesn't see fit to protest. Dimitri ducks his head and grins to himself, snagging another brick to wrap and put near the hand he won't be able to reach. After that he climbs on in, shifting his pillow to be right next to Felix's. He drapes the totally unnecessary blanket on his bed over Felix instead, curling over on his side to take hold of his other hand, pressed in close enough for Felix to be able to feel his heat from head to toe.]
Goodnight, [Dimitri murmurs, not particularly expecting a response. That Felix ended up in this state in the first place still has him seeing Glenn out of the corner of his eye, but for tonight, he decides to push it aside. He can let the guilt hit him later when Felix is well enough to yell at him properly again.]
[The effect is instant, and it's embarrassing how warmth ensconces him almost immediately at their renewed proximity. Much as he wants to excuse that it's just Dimitri's body warmth, Felix knows a portion of it is due to him as well. Not that he's about to admit it, considering how most of his warmth seems to be concentrated around his cheeks...
So he doesn't respond, and just lets exhaustion carry him all the way to the land of sleep.]
[Having slept poorly since Felix's injury, Dimitri is out like a light as well. He'll still be asleep the next morning when Manuela and Sylvain slip back inside. Sylvain's done her the favor of helping her back to her room a couple of times, so she's willing to let him in early to check on Felix... and try to get Dimitri to leave and eat. But when they arrive, they find beds shoved together and Dimitri very obviously warming Felix. As adorable as it is, Sylvain has no idea that Felix woke up and immediately thinks that Felix must have taken a downturn to prompt him to do that. Dimitri stirs once he approaches the bed and presses the back of his hand to Felix's cheek, checking his temperature.]
He doesn't feel too cold... did something happen?
["Let's take a look," Manuela says, shooing him so that she can check for herself.]
[Damn, he intended to be up with the sun...! Dimitri struggles to push down his embarrassment as he clears his throat and sits up, attempting to comb his hair with his fingers.]
He was a little cool to the touch. I needed to sleep in a proper bed, anyway.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cynicfelixity) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
amewsbox2020-01-09 12:53 pm
no subject
W-whatever.
[Goodness, all Dimitri means by that is he'll one day defeat him. Why is his mind going that direction now?! Sylvain, perhaps, has been a bad influence on him more than he realized...]
Next time, just come at me with all of your strength like the boar that you are.
[But there's no venom to the nickname, just an awkward glance away from Dimitri's grinning face, which he catches briefly as he pads towards where the training lances are kept.]
no subject
That might not be a good idea with training weapons. I break enough of them as it is.
[Unless Felix means to grapple, which is something Dimitri's not sure he would survive with his dignity intact.]
no subject
[Felix says it like it's the most obvious thing in the world as he stashes his training spear back on the rack. With most of his calm back, he turns to Dimitri, waiting for his response, a hand on his hip.]
no subject
Is the professor teaching you grappling as well?
no subject
[...I have enough experience, was going to be Felix's untimely slip of the tongue, but as with his thoughts of revealing his origins, they don't seem to be willing to make it past his throat. It stops Felix mid-sentence, an awkward pause which he tries to cover up with a cough. That sounds off to his ears, but it'll have to do.]
...it might be a nice change of pace, [he says, studying Dimitri. What's he going red for...?] Knowing how to fight bare-handed is just as important as knowing how to wield weaponry.
[Then it clicks for Felix, and his brows furrow in concern.]
Did I push you too hard?
no subject
No, I could still keep going.
[For quite awhile, actually, but it's probably best that he doesn't so he won't protest Felix's choice to call it.]
no subject
[And that redness is starting to fade too... Well, perhaps Dimitri is trying to hide how exhausted he is, not that Felix is inclined to push at this point considering how much he has to hide as well.]
No sense pushing it. We have tomorrow anyway.
no subject
[He looks for a moment as if he's about to just invite Felix to come along (the baths are right there, after all), but upon realizing what a terrible idea that would be, he clamps his mouth shut.]
I will see you tomorrow, then, [he says hurriedly, rushing off before Felix can ask him why he's getting red again.]
no subject
[But tomorrow doesn't come.
Or rather, it does, but the Black Eagles class is pulled into aiding Remire due to the calamity worsening--the particular date of which, Felix had forgotten. Regardless, it's familiar enough--the flames all over the village, the possessed villagers going after the throats of others less fortunate to stand in their way--
But Felix never lays his eyes on Tomas the traitor or the Death Knight as he did before. He's in the middle of knocking out some rowdy miscreants when he catches sight of a villager going straight for Dorothea.]
Look out!
[He's too far though, and his cries are lost in the wind as a sword tears through Dorothea's back.
...Or maybe not. Dorothea's still standing there, and Byleth is blocking the blade with their own. Strange that his eyes would trick him like that, especially with the horrific memory still imprinted in his mind, but it's a thought he's forced to set aside in favor of the headache that has him grabbing his head with his free hand.
He doesn't notice it when an enemy takes advantage of his distraction to cut him down from behind, a sting that overpowers the pain pounding through his head. Felix blindly swings in the direction of that swing, unsure of whether he just dealt a debilitating blow or a fatal one. Whatever the case is, he starts to stumble towards where he saw Dorothea and Byleth, knowing it's probably beyond him to do some self-healing given his state.
As the last of Felix's consciousness fades amidst concerned cries, a lopsided smile creases his expression as he wonders about how soft he's getting thanks to his changed outlook on one certain boar, expression turning derisive as he wonders if this is the extent of it, the end of what this strange second chance could manage to affect.
If so, that's rather pathetic of him, though not exactly unwarranted for a shield that had failed to protect its liege.]
no subject
As it turns out, he perhaps shouldn't have. Felix is half-dead when they rush him to the infirmary. Dimitri completely ignores all the reports of the actual battle and the mysterious force there, dropping everything in favor of hovering outside the door with Ingrid and Sylvain until visitors are finally allowed in to see his face the next morning. He's paler than ever, his skin practically blending in with the bandages wrapped around his torso. The fire in the room is blazing in an effort to keep him warm when he's lost so much blood, but even though they all dislike excessive heat, all three of them stay until they're kicked out for the night.
They return again the following day, but this time when night rolls around, Dimitri refuses to leave. Saying "no" to a crown prince is difficult to say the least, and since she's been worried about Dimitri's mental state for awhile, Manuela relents and allows him to stay the night. He sleeps with a chair pulled up to the side of the bed, curled over with his upper half draped across the mattress in a fashion that allows him to rest his head near Felix's hand, which he clasps tightly.]
no subject
After all, there's no purpose to a shield that outlasts the one it's supposed to protect.
Though far too soon, the burning town of Remire was a battlefield all the same, and... maybe not too bad a place to go. Careless as his last moments were, it's a fitting place for a masterless swordsman like him to meet his end.
A forgettable place with regretful circumstances.
So when he awakens to a familiar pillow under his head, it takes him a moment to place that, no, this isn't some sort of cursed afterlife. There's only the latter part of that word, "life" or perhaps "living." Still cursed in some respects, especially when it's accompanied by the heavy weight of bandages and a deep wound that hasn't fully healed just yet.
More surprising though, is the hand clasping his, and its owner sleeping right by his bedside. Felix blinks--once, then twice, just to make sure his eyes aren't fooling him the way they seem to do so a lot nowadays.]
Dimitri...? [Felix whispers, a weak rasp foreign to his ears. He'll take a moment to realize the name he just spoke, at any rate.]
no subject
Felix...
[Dimitri lifts the hand he's been holding to his face, pressing his cheek against Felix's palm with a shaky little sigh. For just a few seconds, the dark cloud that's been hanging over him the whole time they've been waiting to see what becomes of Felix lifts, leaving only joy that he's now awake. His smile is genuine, as are the tears that prick at the corners of his eyes.]
You're awake. Thank the goddess...
no subject
I'm fine, [Felix says with a crooked smile, stretching slightly to wipe that tear away.] Don't cry over a scratch like this.
[Guilt twists in his stomach, his discomfort exacerbated by the way he lies down on it. He's not worthy of Dimitri's tears by any means. Far from it.]
no subject
You have been unconscious for nearly three days! That is hardly a scratch.
[It's only the lightest of scolding, and Dimitri still smiles as he shifts from the chair to kneel beside the bed, putting his face level with Felix's so that he doesn't have to twist his neck to look him in the eye. Dimitri brushes his bangs away from his forehead with warm fingertips. He shifts again, resting his cheek on the mattress, putting his head in the same position as Felix's.]
no subject
Still, it's rather hard to focus on that when Dimitri is being plenty distracting, shivering pleasantly when warm fingertips brush past his cool skin. It's not only the physical warmth of it that's comforting--the smile that radiates from Dimitri is brighter than the flames that light up and warm the room, a sight that washes over his body in a similar manner as the warmth from the fireplace.
Felix returns the favor, tucking away some stray hairs from Dimitri's face.]
Go back to your room, [Felix says in an attempt to sound authoritative, though with how hoarse his voice is, he isn't doing the best job of it.] You're going to catch something lying down like that.
[He pinches Dimitri's cheek for good measure, not that there's enough force behind it due to how weakened he is.]
no subject
...not yet, [he says softly.]
Just let me stay a little longer.
no subject
If Felix stayed by Dimitri's side this whole time, could he have saved him?
Sighing, Felix files away that depressing thought for a while, letting his hand slip away from Dimitri's cheek as he blindly feels around for where Dimitri's hand might be. Cold fingers wrap around it, squeezing.]
Just for a little longer then.
[Finding the call of sleep rather inviting, Felix closes his eyes, close to surrendering himself to it.]
no subject
You're still so cold... I will put another log on the fire.
no subject
[Though the press of Dimitri's forehead against his has him warming slightly, Felix feels himself drifting off, still exhausted from the recovery process he's undergoing. So he doesn't fight whatever Dimitri is doing, letting him do as he says and pleases.]
no subject
no subject
Something like a bed, in fact.
Reluctantly, Felix cracks an eye open, gaze zeroing on Dimitri as he starts bringing the beds together. But he doesn't do anything more than stare, and goes right back to closing his eye. True, he has every right to protest what Dimitri is doing, but it's a hill he doesn't plan on dying on, especially when more sleep is a much more enticing option.
Plus, he can't say he really dislikes the idea of Dimitri staying the night. There's something comforting about his presence that a warm hearth simply cannot replicate, and as to why that's the case...
Well, he'll think on that another time.]
no subject
Goodnight, [Dimitri murmurs, not particularly expecting a response. That Felix ended up in this state in the first place still has him seeing Glenn out of the corner of his eye, but for tonight, he decides to push it aside. He can let the guilt hit him later when Felix is well enough to yell at him properly again.]
no subject
So he doesn't respond, and just lets exhaustion carry him all the way to the land of sleep.]
no subject
He doesn't feel too cold... did something happen?
["Let's take a look," Manuela says, shooing him so that she can check for herself.]
no subject
He was a little cool to the touch. I needed to sleep in a proper bed, anyway.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)