amewsbox | If I could turn back time...

[And Felix takes that bite, unsure as he is if Sylvain has any plans of taking him seriously.

At those words, he forces himself to swallow everything down before he's finished chewing, nearly choking on it as a result.]

I just couldn't stand the miserable look on his face, [Felix says, coloring slightly. Of course, there is more to it than that. With how time's flow seems to have changed since Felix's arrival of a kind, it's all the more important for him to keep an eye things. Especially on Dimitri when he can. If this injury--and Dimitri's previous one--is any indication, it seems that he is capable of changing things and affecting them with his actions.

Maybe, just maybe, he could prevent a certain fate from befalling Dimitri as it had back then.]

It was pretty hard to watch.

[But save for a few gentle nudges here and there, Sylvain knew better than to push Felix to accept Dimitri again. Forcing his hand wouldn't accomplish anything — and if he irritated Felix enough, Felix might just push him away, too. Of all the aspects of Glenn's personality he could have chosen to emulate, he just had to choose being a grump...

Smiling to himself, he shakes his head.]

You gonna start eating with us in the dining hall again? I think we'd all like it.

I guess.

[Felix sighs. It's not like he was close to anyone in particular from the Black Eagles house anyway. Most of those relationships grew during the war anyway, not at the point in time when they were all much more carefree...]

If none of you are annoying about it.

[A crooked smile forms on Felix's lips. He can imagine it, though. Dimitri's starry-eyed puppy gaze, Sylvain's jabs to lighten the atmosphere, Ingrid telling everyone to calm down--if only to sneak a small snipe at him a moment later if she isn't busy with whatever food is in front of her. It's something the Felix of the past would find irritating indeed, but now... there's just a sense of peace washing over him as he imagines a scene he thought he'd never be able to experience again.]

Hah — I'll do my best.

[Chances are he'll annoy him a little regardless, but not specifically about sitting with them! Chuckling to himself, he feeds Felix another bite.]

Any requests for dinner? I'll let Dimitri know.

...Meat.

[Felix wrinkles his nose, not sure how long he'll last at the mercy of vegetables.]

That's all.

[Well, something spicier that this soup would be nice too, but that might be asking for too much given the stage of recovery he's at.]

You got it.

[Sylvain is content to feed him the rest of the stew in relative silence, vegetables and all — though he does take care to make sure he portions out those bites to not be too objectionable. He ensures Felix gets a glass of water as well, at which point he hears the bell marking the end of the hour.]

Guess I better clear out pretty soon... want me to braid your hair to keep it out of your face first?

[Tempting as it is to turn down the offer in a misguided sense of pride, Felix nods after a moment's consideration.]

Sure.

[It's going to be irritating having it in his face especially when it takes so much effort to lift his limbs, after all.]

[With a grin, he gets up to grab something to tie his hair off with. Sylvain perches on the side of the bed this time, carefully combing Felix's hair back with his fingers and separating it into plaits. Once that's done, he starts a loose french braid that can hold those shorter hairs near the front in place. He'll sweep Felix's hair over his shoulder to finish the braid, not about to make him lean forward so he can do it from behind. Sylvain arranges the braid out of Felix's way when he's finished, leaning in close to tuck a few stray hairs behind his ears with a warm, gentle touch.]

There. It should be out of your way now.

[Those hands gently combing through his hair are familiar enough, bringing to mind days spent in bed together, warming each other in the cool wake of the consequences of their actions. Sylvain, back then, mentioned how he liked Felix's hair, reverent as he tucked away those stray strands out of his face.

Then and now, the touch is the same, which brings to mind a certain question: how long has Sylvain always wanted this? Has he been holding himself back since the day he first approached Felix with that proposition? Or is Felix yet tainting a memory from their childhood with something from his regret-filled reality?

Felix swallows, eyes fluttering shut as he hopes for the act to prevent the wetness prickling his eyes from falling]

...Thanks.

[It doesn't, and a tear manages to escape its hold, cursing him with the prospect of being known.]

[There it is. Just like Dimitri said, Felix is crying. Just seeing it breaks his heart, and though he really should go before he's more than just fashionably late for class, he can't bring himself to do it. Sylvain leans in until Felix's face is lightly touching his chest, cradling the back of his head in the best approximation of a hug that he can give right now. He doesn't say anything, simply holding him without comment.]

[Instead of stopping his tears from flowing, Sylvain holding him close just serves to fuel them. Just like that night with Dimitri, when certain nightmares refused to leave him and all Felix has is the past to both comfort and spite him for the decisions he can never take back.

Even if this redone reality seems to hint otherwise, Felix thinks there's some that he simply can't reverse. Like his decision to stay with the Black Eagles. While simply saying he changed his mind can do the trick, it isn't as simple as that. There are things he can only do by virtue of being in this house, and if he wants to effect more change to the effect of preventing one unkind future, he won't accomplish them by staying in Manuela's class and chasing after Dimitri's tail like the forlorn puppy he once was.

But even in the face of this resolve, he still cries next to Sylvain, pressing his face against his chest as if he were six years old and unable to play with Dimitri. Which, in an ironic twist of fate, is kind of the situation now, isn't it? To protect Dimitri's future, it's a necessity for him to stay away and shield him from afar. There's no going around it, lest he risk the past repeating itself.]

[What happened? What hurt him like this, or who? He longs to just be able to tell him it's all right, but he doesn't even know what's wrong — will asking push him away? Sylvain doesn't know, so he just stays quiet until the flow of tears slows, tenderly wiping the trails they left on Felix's cheeks away. He'll grab the unused napkin he brought with lunch to dab away any excess moisture, taking a shaky breath.]

...I'm here if you need me.

[Damn, his voice sounds rough. It's hard to not want to cry when Felix is!]

Really, I don't need to go to class. I can just read Ingrid's notes.

[Sylvain's voice sounds rough, almost as if he wants to join in Felix's theatrics. That draws a choked laugh from Felix, though it comes out closer to a strangled croak as he breathes against Sylvain.]

Like she'll let you, [Felix says weakly, his sharp words lacking its usual sting.]

I can be pretty persuasive.

[Shaking his head, Sylvain chuckles to himself.]

You might not be in our class anymore, but I can always read them to you if you get bored. Or... anything else, really. You must be going crazy cooped up in here.

[Felix scoffs.]

It's barely been a day.

[Since he woke up, at least.]

But I wouldn't say no to that.

[Considering he already knows what's on the curriculum and that it would more or less be pointless in the coming months. What's going on with Manuela's class at this point in time, however, is something he doesn't know of. Leave it to Sylvain to guess what he wants, as always.]

Honestly, reading the notes might be more effective than being in class... I wouldn't want to date her, but Professor Manuela sure is distracting bouncing around like that.

[Sylvain is pretty relaxed about many things, but Manuela is such a slob that even that fantastic pair of tits can't save her.

He pauses for a moment, glancing toward the door. Okay, good. No one heard that.]

I'll drop by after class, then. Better to have someone here anyway, if Dimitri doesn't get some exercise in there's no way he'll sleep tonight.

[And if Sylvain or someone else isn't here to send him back to the training grounds until dinner, he'll likely come sneak back in.]

[Felix tchs, but says no more as he straightens up slightly, squirming away from Sylvain's grasp so he could sit back against his pillows.]

As long as you don't slack off on your training.

[Considering he doesn't really know what Sylvain is up to lately.]

I don't mind listening to Ingrid either.

[But he wants to be here in case Felix gets upset again! Sylvain just smiles and waves as he heads off to class, prepared for the scolding he'll have to endure before he can pull Ingrid aside privately and let her know that Felix needed him. She can tell that he's being sincere and agrees to let him have her notes, so Sylvain returns after class to read them to Felix. Not the most entertaining, but it'll keep him out of his head. He clears out about an hour before dinner to let Manuela tend to Felix, figuring he wants at least a little privacy if he's going to have to pee in a bedpan.

Or worse, but he just won't think about that.

Dimitri arrives with dinner, a stir-fry mixture that's heavy on the meat and light on the vegetables. It's been seasoned well even if it's not spicy. He asked Dedue to do it, naturally, not that he'll tell Felix that since they don't get along. He's more than a little nervous about the thought of hand feeding Felix, but at least he can use a fork since the sauce doesn't drip much.]

Good evening, Felix, [he says as he steps into the room, settling on the chair beside the bed with the tray in his lap.]

[If lunch was better than breakfast, dinner certainly smells like the best, given his circumstances. It might as well be heaven considering how boring everything is, given the difficulty of sleeping while sitting up combined with the lack of interesting things to study. It was only made marginally more bearable by Sylvain dropping by with Ingrid's notes, and things have gotten so bad on the boredom front that he even welcomed Manuela helping him out with some basic bodily functions.

That said, Felix perks up at the sight, very much welcome in this landscape of monotony.]

Good evening, [Felix says, cutting himself of before he's forced to give some sort of address. What is he supposed to call Dimitri now anyway? Reverting back to first name basis is just odd, never mind his slips of the tongue...]

[Felix sounds so much better than he did this morning — being properly hydrated and sitting up is helping, of course, but he looks better, too. Dimitri's gauntlets are already off and his impulse control has been lowered by worrying all day, resulting in him reaching out to press the back of his hand to Felix's exposed forehead without thinking about it. He's delighted to discover that his body temperature is far closer to normal now, even if the fire in the room is still somewhat stifling to keep him that way.]

You are not nearly as cold as before.

[How happy that makes him is plain to see. Dimitri smiles brightly, so relieved that he isn't even embarrassed about touching Felix's face when he's not crying or in critical condition.]

Edited 2020-03-20 09:36 (UTC)

[Dimitri smiling like that renders Felix unable to summon the proper, healthy amount of exasperation the situation warrants. He's had enough of mother-henning from Manuela, surely he deserves a break from it...!

But unlike then, Felix warms significantly at Dimitri's touch, noting how casually Dimitri enroaches into his space.]

...I've had help, [Felix says, tearing his head away from Dimitri's touch in an effort to hide how pink he is up to his ears--only to remember a blasted moment later that his braid from earlier still stands, though some of his hair is starting to escape from it.]

[Felix shies away from his touch noticeably. He draws his hand back and looks down at his lap, flushing slightly himself.]

My apologies. I did not mean to make you uncomfortable... I am just relieved to see you improving so quickly.

[He rubs at the back of his neck to try and regain some composure, lifting his gaze a moment later.]

Are you hungry?

["Uncomfortable" isn't exactly how he'd describe it as there seems to be something else on top of all that related tension, but Felix doesn't bother to clarify, instead turning his attention to the tray Dimitri has on his lap.]

Yes.

Excellent. Professor Manuela gave me a concoction and said for you to take it — would you like it before or after you eat?

[Dimitri holds up the small vial. It's not a pleasant taste, so he imagines that Felix will probably want it after. Taking any sort of medicine is one of the few times Dimitri's glad he can no longer taste...]

[Felix grimaces.]

After.

[If it's anything like the junk that Manuella had served him in the morning, definitely after. That stir-fry smells good, and he is determined to enjoy it the best he could. Even if it does come with the small complication of Dimitri having to handfeed him.

Shoving those thoughts aside, he gazes at the fork on the tray expectantly. Might as well just roll with it.]

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