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“Do you believe in the idea of reincarnation, Claude?”
Dimitri clears his throat, swirling the mostly untouched sparkling apple cider that he’s left inside his red solo cup. He’s definitely not drunk (as he decided to pass on the alcohol this time around since he apparently still has work tomorrow), but he can’t help feeling… feeling like he’s missing something.
He doesn’t tend to think about superstitions like reincarnation often; however for the year to only be ending in a couple of hours… it makes his mind wander. Would he have been the same “Dimitri” in another life? In those lives, did he ever meet his friends or end up finding Claude? Still end up falling in love with Claude? Would he even be the same person he is now? What originally formed as a small thought of his while laying in bed, surmounted into something much larger as December dwindled on by.
And out of all the places he could be at, he finds himself thinking about it in Claude’s apartment with all their friends on New Year’s Eve.
Claude hums thoughtfully, eyebrows scrunched in the slightest as he finishes off the champagne in his cup. “Mmm… the idea really hasn’t crossed my mind before. You can say I’m probably indifferent since I’m not one for the whole religious aspect of it. Though, that doesn’t mean I won’t shy away from a conversation about it.”
He gets up from his spot on the floor, moving over and making the couch squeal in protest when he places himself right next to Dimitri. Dimitri sits hunched on the brown suede couch and allows his drink to join the other abandoned cups left littered across the small coffee table in front of him when Claude’s head rests against his shoulder. The feeling of soft, brown locks tickling the side of his neck makes Dimitri smile, even laugh a little until Claude speaks.
“You want to talk about what's been going on your mind, Mitya? There must be something if you’re asking me if I believe in reincarnation,” Claude asks, green eyes flickering up to meet with blue. With something precious as life is, one that can start and begin as fast as like a snap of the fingers, it only leaves Claude curious of what Dimitri truly means.
Dimitri chews the inside of his cheek for a mere moment, a subtle blush gracing across his features as he clears his throat yet again.
“I don’t know if I believe in the concept itself, however… the thought itself is rather intriguing. I just wonder if I still loved you in all those lives before. If I still loved you the same. Or if I even had made all the friends that are with us today.” He pauses, a sheepish smile pulling at the corner of his lips. “A bit cheesy, I know, but it hasn’t left my mind for a few days now.”
“Good thing I like cheesy then.” A huff of amusement leaves Claude, adjusting his hand so he can interlace their fingers together. “I guess if you put it that way, we can always think that we met and fell in love in all those other lives. Though, one of those lives I better have been taller than you. It’s not fair that you grew so much in our six years together and I didn’t gain a single inch.” With a finger, he pokes Dimitri’s cheek, feeling the shake of Dimitri’s body as he watches his boyfriend laugh.
“Sure, sure. Whatever you want to say, Claude,” Dimitri says, mirth shining within his blue eyes. He pulls Claude in by his waist—pushing their bodies flush together as he looks at the other fondly. “I guess I haven’t thought it about it that way.”
“I mean, also what are the chances of us being named Dimitri and Claude?” He locks gazes with Dimitri’s and grins. “Like, it could only be a sheer coincidence, but it’s pretty well known in the books that Dimitri, the Savior King had something with Claude, the King of Unification. Or just a super strong friendship as some of the historians would say.”
“You really did pay attention to Professor Eisner’s lectures, didn’t you?”
“As much as I loved her class, she made us really work for that grade. I remember having to analyze relief art and don’t I remember how they made the three lords look…” He trails off to laugh a bit. “Sorry to break your heart about us possibly being reincarnations of them because I don’t think we look like them at all.”
Another chuckle comes from Dimitri. “That’s fine. If reincarnation was truly a thing, then I’m glad I was reincarnated into a life where I could be with you.”
For just a second, Claude looks taken aback and he jokingly pushes Dimitri away as a blush spreads across his cheeks.
“Can I take back what I said about liking cheesy?” he asks. All Dimitri does is pull him into another hug, allowing fit of laughter to erupt from Claude’s mouth.
They squeeze together even though there’s a vast amount of space left on the couch, but Claude insists as he shuffles his body closer. He doesn’t say it, but he really just wants to indulge in Dimitri’s warmth.
Most of their friends have gathered over there and squeezed in the small space to await the fireworks that are about to fly into the midnight sky in fifteen minutes or so. Knowing that there were already so many people crammed in the area, Dimitri decided to stay put in Claude’s living room.
Though, seeing his friends await the fireworks was already a good enough sight itself.
He’s sure that he can hear Annette chattering in a sing-song voice about the new year to Mercedes. For a while now, Dimitri’s known that Annette had taken a liking to singing, yet he hasn’t seen her do much of it this year. Hearing that she might take action makes his heart swell because really, he sees her like his little sister.
Then there are his childhood friends. Felix happens to be looking surprisingly fond as he talks to someone out of Dimitri’s sight. Though he can put together who it might be when he sees Ingrid look at whoever Felix’s talking to with suspicion all over her face. He puts two and two together when he spots ginger hair. Dimitri will have to ask Felix about this later. Though, it would have to be in the new year.
“It’s almost time! It’s almost time!” Annette yells out, her excitement obvious as she bounces up and down.
Dimitri eyes the clock and there’s only about a minute or so when… when this year is finally over and another year begins anew.
Hilda has her hand interlaced with Marianne’s. The two of them seem to almost be lost in their own little world with the way they look at each other. Caspar has his arm thrown over Ashe’s shoulder, leaning over the balcony to peer down at the floors beneath them. Ashe looks like he’s desperately trying to keep Caspar from peering over. Edelgard peeks out from the crowd, smiling down at her phone and knowing his step-sister himself, he’s sure it’s a certain mutual friend of theirs that likes to sing. Dedue sits with Lysithea, who seems extremely engrossed with the slice of cake that Dimitri knows Dedue made himself.
Many of their other friends just seem to be in the moment, allowing the time to tick by and possibly making new steps in their relationships at the same time.
Having everyone be together to celebrate the arrival of the new year is overwhelming, to say the least, but being surrounded by all their friends is still a joyous feeling itself. And Dimitri wouldn’t trade it for anything else.
“Hey Dimitri.”
“Yes?”
Dimitri turns his head to look at Claude (who has shifted to rest his head against Dimitri’s shoulder again) and looks at him curiously. Enshrouded in a ray of moonlight, Claude seems to look straight up at the sky. There’s something familiar with this sight. Sure he’s seen Claude under the moon’s rays plenty of times, but today just feels different. He still doesn’t know why.
“Let’s make a promise since we were talking about reincarnation earlier. Since you like the moon so much and I like stargazing… as long as the moon and the stars are with each other, we’ll always be together, even in other lives.” Claude reaches up to cup Dimitri’s cheek in his hand. Their friends’ laughter and cheering seems to drone out for his attention is on the man in front of him.
Dimitri’s lips part slightly.
“So, always?”
And Claude smiles.
“Always.”
At the end of Imperial Year 1185, two kings laid together in their bed before the year began anew.
Though, it is Claude von Riegan who looked out from the balcony and pulled out Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd into the moonlight, making a promise of a lifetime to always be with each other as long as the moon stayed with the stars.
“I shall forever be at your side, my dear,” Dimitri says gently, taking Claude’s hand and placing a kiss upon it.
Soft laughter fills the air and Claude can only look fondly at his husband. He reaches out to touch Dimitri's cheek, smiling gently when Dimitri squeezes his hand. “Forever, huh?”
Blue eyes gaze into green and Dimitri shifts forward, pulling Claude close by his waist. The king smiles as he tips Claude's chin up. "Forever."
That's when the distance between the two kings disappear, pushing their lips for a sweet kiss.
That promise came true always on the same day (which was, in fact, the last day of the year). It was almost like the goddess had known of the oath they originally made that night because every time the pair was rebirthed into a new life—they fell in love all over again.
So in the span of 870 years, each roughly separated by eighty years, there were ten reincarnations. And on the anniversary of their promise, they each spent their time together a little differently.
For the first reincarnation of the Savior King and the King of Unification, the pair danced together in the moonlight.
Then there was the second reincarnation, who went stargazing with each other on top of a roof. The night sky was clear as it could be.
As for the third rebirth, the pair sat together in a library, invested in a book. Perhaps once or twice, one of them “accidentally” brushed the other’s hand with their own.
The fourth reincarnation had a moment that was a little shakier than the rest. One had been harshly awakened by a nightmare and the other had decided that a pot of chamomile tea would be useful at a time like this.
Done without much thought, the fifth rebirth decided that a flight on a wyvern wouldn’t be so bad.
The sixth reincarnations snuck out from a dance and ran off to somewhere a little more secretive.
Despite the cold of winter, the seventh rebirth of the two kings exchanged rings.
In the eighth life, the two sat in front of a fire all bundled up with a thick blanket around them.
The ninth rebirth was the life where they reunited after so many years apart.
And lastly, the most recent reincarnation, (the tenth one that was) had a simple party. Together, they started off the new year with all their friends and of course, a kiss like the many lives before them.