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“Yes, Dimitri, I’m almost there. I told you I was coming, I’m not just going to bail,” Ingrid assures, pinning her phone between her cheek and her shoulder as she juggles her car keys and her purse. “I’m literally across the street right now, please stop worrying.”
“Oh! Do you need a hand with anything?” Dimitri asks, sounding much more relieved than he had a minute ago.
Ingrid looks between the bag she’s carrying, the shopping bag on the ground that has Dimitri’s interesting requests in it at her feet, and the sushi tray balancing on the roof of her car. “Yeah,” she admits. “Help might be a good thing. I’ve got my hands full a bit here.”
“I’ll send someone around,” Dimitri replies brightly.
He hangs up on her before she can ask who ‘someone’ is and Ingrid sighs. She finally manages to push the lock button on her key and her car beeps in response, confirming that it is locked. She grabs her phone from her shoulder before she can drop it and blows a lock of her hair out of her face. Ingrid glances around the street. There are a couple of other cars close by and Ingrid recognizes Mercedes’s car as well as Claude’s.
“Is that Ingrid Galatea?” a voice calls out to her.
Ingrid’s head snaps to her left and she nearly drops everything she’s holding as she recognizes the man who had called out to her. He’s wearing grey swim trunks with no shirt or shoes and his red hair looks freakishly stylish even though she can tell from across the road that it’s wet. He’s grinning at her with the sly, charming grin that she hasn’t seen in two years. Her brain shuts down as soon as she recognizes him.
He jogs across the street to her, ignoring the fact that he’s not wearing shoes, and Ingrid’s mind barely manages to restart as he stops in front of her, just in time for her to drop her phone like an idiot. His hand snaps out and catches her phone before it can smash onto the asphalt. He holds it out to her as his grin slides into a smirk.
“Close one,” he says idly, still smirking.
Ingrid snatches her phone back and shoves it into her pocket. She adjusts her purse and grabs the sushi tray from the top of her car. “Can you get the bag?” she asks, bluntly ignoring his attempts at lighthearted humour.
He reaches down and picks up the shopping bag at her feet. Ingrid’s eyes unwillingly sweep over his very muscled, attractive back and she wants to kick herself. He straightens up and grins at her again.
“That’s all I get? No ‘Hello Sylvain!’ or ‘It’s so good to see you again!’?”
She huffs. “Hello, Sylvain,” she intones blandly. “It’s so good to see you again.”
He laughs. “Aw, come on Ingrid, is that really any way to greet an old friend?”
She shifts her weight and looks past him to the house, trying to look anywhere but at the perfect chest right in her field of view. “I wasn’t expecting you to be here,” she says, avoiding his question.
He slings the bag over one shoulder. “You really expected me to miss this? I was a Blue Lion in my first year too, you know,” he reminds.
Ingrid ignores him and walks across the street to the house. Sylvain keeps pace with her easily, but she doesn’t look at him since she knows he’ll have the most insufferable smirk on his face. She knocks on the front door of the house and it swings open almost immediately. Ingrid is actually glad to see one of Dimitri’s roommates, Dedue, when he opens the door.
“Hello, Ingrid,” Dedue greets pleasantly.
Ingrid smiles. “Hi. Can I give this to you?” she asks, gesturing to the sushi tray in her hands.
Dedue smiles. “Yes, I’ll take that to the kitchen. I think everyone is out back by the pool right now.”
He takes the sushi tray from her and backs into the house, letting Ingrid inside. She steps in and kicks off her flipflops. Sylvain follows her in and hovers, waiting for her. She tries to ignore him and heads for the sliding glass door that leads to the backyard where she hears chatter and music. Sylvain follows her, still holding the bag she’d asked him to carry.
“What’s with this thing?” he asks as they walk out of the house onto the deck.
Ingrid smells alcohol and chlorine immediately as she leads Sylvain away from the house towards where people are gathered.
“Dimitri asked me to grab that on the way over.”
Sylvain looks in the bag. “A giant inflatable unicorn?” he questions.
Ingrid rolls her eyes. “Apparently someone made a suggestion so I was asked to buy it. Any more stupid questions?”
He grabs her arm and turns her to face him, his smirk dropping a bit. “Did I do something wrong?”
She inhales and forces her expression to lie flat and calm. She takes the bag from him and shakes her head. “No, I just wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
Before Sylvain can respond, strong arms wrap around Ingrid and lift her off the ground into a hug from behind. She lets out a completely undignified screech and Sylvain bursts out laughing. Ingrid almost immediately recognizes the muscled forearms holding her around her waist and she wriggles against them, fighting off one of her other childhood friends.
“Dimitri! Put me down!” she shrieks, prying at his tight grip with her hands.
Dimitri laughs and places her back on her feet. She turns to face him, brushing out the wrinkles in her top. He’s smiling at her and, just like Sylvain, he is also not wearing a shirt. He’s got a bit more muscle than Sylvain, but he doesn’t carry himself with the same smug self-assurance that their friend does.
“You made it!” Dimitri says brightly, beaming at her.
Ingrid smiles and nods. “I told you I was coming and I told you to trust me, right?”
“Can’t blame him on that one, you didn’t sound overly excited,” a new voice calls and Ingrid looks past Dimitri and sees her other childhood friend approaching.
Felix is, thankfully, wearing a white t-shirt along with his black swim trunks. Ingrid steps around Dimitri and pulls Felix into a hug. He pats her back awkwardly and ends the hug as quickly as possible. She had known Felix would be present, obviously, since he and Dimitri live together with Dedue and Ashe.
“Well, I made it and I brought sushi and what you requested.” She gestures to the bag that Sylvain is still holding and Felix’s eyes gleam.
“That’s great!” Dimitri says, still grinning.
“Come on, idiot, you owe me a pong match,” Felix says to Sylvain. He turns and walks away.
Sylvain looks between Felix and Ingrid once before he shrugs and follows Felix with the bag that holds the inflatable. The boys walk over to where there’s a table set up with a bunch of solo cups on top of it. Ingrid’s eyes trail after him against her own volition, admiring the muscles in his back and legs and the way his trunks hug his ass.
She tears her eyes away and focusses her attention on Dimitri. She inhales deeply and grabs his arm, dragging him to the corner of the yard that is the furthest away from where Sylvain and Felix walked off to. Dimitri stumbles but lets her pull him, curiosity flickering across his expression.
“What the fuck, Dimitri,” she hisses to him once they’re out of earshot.
Dimitri blinks like an innocent puppy. “Is something wrong?”
Ingrid buries her face in her hands and groans. “Are you serious?”
Dimitri winces, holding his hands up defensively. “Okay, Ingrid, you have to give me more to work with than that.”
She drops her hands and gives him a deadpan stare. “Why is Sylvain here? He’s not a Blue Lion this year.”
Dimitri’s eyes widen and he looks back over at Sylvain. “He asked if he could come. Apparently Kappa Sigma Phi is recruiting at all the house events and he thought this would be a good opportunity. Besides,” he nods towards the pool where Raphael and Caspar have engaged in a splash war, much to the dismay of Dorothea and Hilda who are floating on a giant flamingo nearby, “it’s not a Blue Lion exclusive event.”
Ingrid huffs. “Of course he’s here to recruit for his stupid frat.”
Dimitri raises an eyebrow. “He’s also our friend, Ingrid,” he points out.
She bites her lip and steals another glance at Sylvain who is now celebrating as he seems to have scored a point against Felix. Felix has four of his six cups remaining and Sylvain only has two, so she’s not really sure why he’s celebrating. She crosses her arms.
“I haven’t seen him in almost two years,” she mumbles.
Dimitri looks a bit surprised at that. “Really? But he’s good at keeping in contact, isn’t he?"
She rubs her forehead wearily. “Texts and Facetime calls are different from in-person interaction. You should know that.” She jabs him in the chest to prove her point and he flushes from his neck to his ears.
His gaze strays to the pool where Byleth, his good friend, is chatting with Annette. Ingrid rolls her eyes at his obviousness. She sighs again and steps away from Dimitri, towards Annette and Byleth.
“We’ll talk later. This conversation isn’t done.”
Ingrid strides away from Dimitri and heads towards Byleth and Annette. Annette beams when she sees Ingrid and waves. Ingrid smiles and closes the distance, nodding to Byleth in greeting.
“You made it!” Annette cheers.
“Why was everyone so sure that I wouldn’t?” Ingrid asks, puzzled.
Byleth sips from the cup she’s holding and smiles. “Something about you being a workaholic, if I quote Felix.”
Ingrid frowns. “I’m not that bad, am I?” She looks at Annette for help and the redhead shrugs helplessly.
“Ingrid, we both know I am also a workaholic so I am literally the worst roommate you could have asked,” Annette points out.
It’s true. Annette and Ingrid are both notorious for getting absolutely lost in their studies and working way too hard until they practically pass out from exhaustion or their other roommate, Mercedes, steps in.
“Where’s Mercedes?” she asks Annette.
Annette points at the house. “Talking to Ashe and Dedue, last I saw. I think they were organizing snacks.” She sips from her own cup and pauses when she sees Ingrid doesn’t have a drink. “Oh! I’ll grab you a cup, wait here!”
Annette darts off before Ingrid can stop her and Byleth just laughs. “Guess you’re not driving home,” she teases lightly.
Ingrid shrugs. “It was bound to happen. The boys are used to us crashing here.”
Byleth takes a sip from her drink and lets her gaze noticeably wander to the pong table where Dimitri has rejoined Felix and Sylvain. She seems to be appreciating the display of shirtless, attractive men without an ounce of shame and Ingrid wishes for her confidence for a moment.
“He thinks you’re hot,” she says instead.
Byleth’s gaze flicks back to her and she arches an eyebrow. “Who?”
“Dimitri.”
She smirks into her cup. “I should hope so.” She taps a finger against the royal blue strap of her bathing suit. “It’s his favourite colour.”
Ingrid slaps a hand over her mouth before she can erupt in a fit of laughter. “Wow,” she says, once she’s no longer going to keel over.
Byleth winks at her. Annette reappears then, handing Ingrid a cup of something super sweet-smelling. Ingrid sips it and almost coughs at the strong vodka taste that hits her tongue. She blinks heavily and stares at the drink in the cup.
“What is this?”
Annette’s cheeks are rosy as she drinks from her own cup. “Sylvain and Claude made it, I think.”
Ingrid sighs. “Jungle juice.” She drinks again, ignoring the burn of the alcohol. It’s strong as hell, but also extremely effective at getting people drunk, so it fills a purpose. “Of course he knows how to make it.”
“Ingrid!” a new voice cries and Ingrid looks down at the pool in front of her. The inflatable flamingo is touching the edge of the pool as Hilda keeps them anchored by holding the edge. Dorothea is grinning up at Ingrid, having been the one to call out.
“Hi Thea, Hilda,” she greets in reply.
Dorothea reclines on the inflatable a bit. “Are you guys going to come swimming? The water is great,” she says teasingly.
Ingrid glances down at her outfit. She’s wearing a loose green shirt with a pair of jean shorts. She’s wearing her bathing suit underneath though, as she had been planning on swimming at some point. Her stomach growls before she can answer and she blushes, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.
“I think I’m going to eat something first,” she mumbles.
Annette and Dorothea laugh and Hilda smiles lazily. “Sylvain certainly looks good enough to eat, doesn’t he?” Hilda says, her tone light and flirty.
Ingrid’s blush burns in her cheeks and she fights every instinct in her body that tells her to turn and look at her friend. Dorothea giggles at Ingrid’s reaction and holds up one of her hands.
“Hilda, if you hold it steady, I’m going to jump out. I think I’ll join you for that bite to eat, Ingrid, darling.”
Ingrid grabs Dorothea’s hand and Byleth reaches over to grab Dorothea’s elbow and they pull her off of the inflatable flamingo and out of the water. Dorothea links her arm through Ingrid’s and tugs her towards the house.
Felix kicks his ass at beer pong, as he is known to do, and Sylvain chugs his last cup of beer. Felix smirks at him from across the table and Sylvain just shrugs.
“Hey, I said I would play you, not that I would beat you,” he points out.
Dimitri laughs. “Sounds like you’re giving yourself an out.”
Felix nods. “You’re the one in the frat, shouldn’t you be better at this?”
Sylvain grins. “I don’t spend all my time playing drinking games.”
“Did someone say drinking games?” Claude says as he strides over to the three guys. He is grinning slyly. “I saw Ingrid has arrived with the prop for our greatest idea yet. Who’s up for it?”
Sylvain crosses his arms. “What’s this great idea of yours, Claude?”
Claude nods to the stack of pool noodles. “Raph managed to procure these from the athletic facility and since Hilda convinced me to bring that,” he points to the flamingo on the pool which is now occupied by Annette and Hilda. “We had the idea of asking someone to pick up another floaty.” Claude bends over and grabs two of the pool noodles and tosses one to Sylvain.
Sylvain catches it and barely manages to lift it up in time to block the jab that Claude makes with the other noodle. He grins, getting where Claude is going with his idea. “Are you challenging me to joust, von Riegan?”
Claude winks. “As soon as we get the unicorn inflated, I absolutely am.”
“Where’s the drinking involved in that?” Felix asks, crossing his arms.
Claude grins. “First one in the water does a line of shots?”
Sylvain considers. “One shot before and then whoever goes in first does two more,” he proposes.
Claude holds out a hand and Sylvain shakes it. Leonie appears at Claude’s side, holding what looks like a bike pump. She’s grinning as she waves it a little bit.
“This should help.”
Felix helps Leonie start inflating the giant unicorn and Sylvain and Claude set about clearing the pool. Raphael and Caspar immediately claim dibs on the second round of pool noodle jousting and Hilda pouts when Claude asks to borrow her inflatable flamingo.
“Come on, Hilda, it’s going to be hilarious,” Claude urges.
Hilda shrugs. “Hm,” she says, her voice syrupy-sweet. “Get Fraldarius over there to take off his shirt for little Annie here and we have a deal.”
Annette flushes bright red and topples off the flamingo in a panic. Claude and Hilda laugh and Sylvain chuckles. He reaches down to offer Annette a hand up and she takes it. He pulls her out of the water and onto her feet. She’s still bright red and looking anywhere but at Hilda or Felix.
Sylvain leans in close to Annette. “He’d take off a lot more than his shirt if you asked him nicely,” he croons teasingly.
Annette yelps and slams her hands against his shoulders, shoving him back. “Sylvain!” she shrieks. “What is wrong with you?”
He laughs and winks at her. “Just teasing, Annie.”
She huffs and storms away from him to retrieve a towel. Hilda laughs and reaches a hand out to Claude. He pulls her out of the pool and Sylvain sticks a foot out to catch the flamingo before it can float away. There’s a loud smacking noise as Felix and Leonie toss the unicorn into the pool, fully inflated.
“Time for a shot, right?” Byleth says, popping up between Sylvain and Claude, holding two shot glasses.
Dimitri is standing behind her with a few lime wedges in his hand and his ears are bright red. Sylvain raises an eyebrow at Byleth and she just winks and offers him one shot and the other to Claude. Claude lifts the glass up and Sylvain taps the plastic shot glass against his. They both throw them back and then take Dimitri’s offered limes, biting into the citrus fruit.
Sylvain turns and dives into the water, swimming over to the unicorn float. He pulls himself up onto it and looks at the edge of the pool. He holds out a hand and Caspar grabs one of the pool noodles, tossing it to him. Sylvain places the noodle across his lap and turns back to Claude who is sitting on the flamingo inflatable now.
“How are we doing this?” he asks.
Claude hums to himself. “Can you stand on it? That way getting hit would actually knock us in.”
Sylvain nods. “Got it.”
“Start on your stomachs!” Hilda calls from the side. She’s now sitting on the edge of the pool closest to the house, dangling her feet in the water, sipping from a solo cup. “Start flat and then get up and start jabbing,” she suggests.
Claude shrugs. “That sounds good to me.”
There’s a bit of awkward maneuvering as they get the two inflatables to the centre of the pool. Claude and he both lie down on their stomachs and Claude extends a hand out so that they can shake hands before they begin. Sylvain high-fives him instead and Claude laughs.
“Ready?” Byleth calls from the side of the pool. Sylvain and Claude both look at her. Dimitri’s arm is wrapped around her waist and she looks incredibly smug. She’s holding a third pool noodle upward like it’s a starting flag. “When it hits the water, you go,” she informs them.
Sylvain locks his eyes on it and watches as she releases her grip. He fires the muscles in his arms as soon as it smacks against the water as he throws himself to his feet, almost falling off the inflatable immediately. He’s about to turn to smack Claude when Hilda’s voice catches his attention unintentionally.
“Dorothea! Ingrid! I’ve saved you the best seats in the house!” she calls.
Sylvain’s eyes snap to the door of the house where Dorothea in her red bikini is leading Ingrid out. And Ingrid’s wearing a green and white striped bikini that emphasizes her toned form. Sylvain’s gaze catches on her elegant and muscled legs for a split second too long and Claude’s pool noodle smacks him in the chest.
Unbalanced, he tips and crashes unceremoniously into the pool with a loud splash. He stays under for a second as he hears the spectators burst into cheers around them. Finally, he comes up, shoving some of his sopping wet hair back out of his face. Claude is seated on the flamingo, grinning down at him entirely too smugly. Sylvain reaches out and topples Claude into the water as everyone laughs. Claude comes up smirking.
“Distracted by something?” Claude teases, just loud enough for Sylvain to hear him.
Sylvain ignores the jab. “I owe you two shots now, I believe.”
He swims over to the side of the pool next to Hilda and starts pulling himself out, making sure to drip cool water on her as she squeaks in protest. When his upper body is above the level of the ground he leans over to her.
“You’re a bitch, Hilda Goneril.”
She leans away from him, wrinkling her nose at the water, but letting her gaze track over his arms and abs unsubtly. “I was doing you a favour,” she replies.
Sylvain hoists himself the rest of the way out of the water and stands up. He shakes out his hair a bit and catches Ingrid’s eye as she stands a couple of feet away, still close to the door of the house. Dorothea has disappeared, but Ingrid approaches him, a hand on her hip and an eyebrow raised.
It’s unfairly attractive.
“You lost?” she asks.
He shrugs. “Claude’s quick,” he lies. “I have to go do a couple of shots. Do you want to do one with me?”
Her gaze darts across his chest briefly and Sylvain resists the urge to smirk as she nods. “Sure. I’ve only had the one drink and now that I’ve eaten something I can take on a bit more.”
He throws his arm over her shoulder and ignores how his body tingles from the skin-on-skin contact. “Excellent.”
He leads her over towards the pong table where Claude has poured him two more shots of tequila. Claude grabs a third glass and fills it for Ingrid when he sees her coming. He offers Ingrid a shot first and she takes it from him, clutching it and glancing at it almost nervously. Sylvain had seen Ingrid take shots before when they were in high school, so he’s not worried if she can do it, but he can see the curiosity glimmering in Claude’s gaze.
Sylvain takes the first of his two shots and holds it up. Ingrid taps her glass against his and they pound the shots back. Sylvain takes his second shot as soon as he drops the first cup to the table. He doesn’t flinch at the strength of the tequila, but he watches as Ingrid’s nose wrinkles adorably.
Dorothea appears suddenly, reaching across the table to grab the tequila bottle from Claude. She looks between the three of them. “We’re starting a game of Never Have I Ever if you guys want to join?”
“Oh,” Claude smirks and looks between Ingrid and Sylvain. “I’m in.”
“Me too,” Sylvain agrees immediately. He turns his gaze on Ingrid, but she’s looking at Dorothea. She nods and he grins.
Dorothea winks at them. “Great!” She walks around the table and leads them towards where Byleth and Hilda have begun pushing a series of poolside beds and chairs into a loose circle.
Byleth sits down and pulls Dimitri into the chair next to her, despite the nervous look on the blonde’s face. Hilda sits on the chair next to Dimitri and Claude sits next to her. Annette starts to walk towards them, but Felix catches her elbow and whispers something to her. She goes red again and pivots, walking away. Felix trails after her, shooting a glare at Dorothea who blows him a kiss in response as she sits next to Byleth.
Ingrid sits down next to Claude and crosses her legs at the ankles, leaning back on her hands. Someone drops a towel on Sylvain’s head before he can sit down and by the time he drags it off his face, Yuri has stolen the seat next to Ingrid and is grinning at him slyly. Sylvain rolls his eyes and sits next to Dorothea. There’s one seat left in the circle between Sylvain and Yuri.
Behind them in the pool, Caspar and Raphael are laughing and shouting as they take over from Claude and Sylvain on the inflatables. Leonie is occupied refereeing for them and Petra is currently taking on Ignatz at the beer pong table.
“Ashe!” Yuri calls, waving to the grey-haired boy as he emerges from the house. “We’re short one, come play with us.”
Ashe blinks, stealing a glance towards Petra and Ignatz, but he redirects over to them and sits down next to Sylvain. He glances around the circle briefly. “What have I walked in on?”
“Never Have I Ever,” Hilda says gleefully.
Ashe blanches, and Ingrid reaches across Yuri to pat Ashe’s knee. “Don’t worry, Ashe, it’s all in good fun.”
Byleth and Hilda pass out a set of full cups, each filled with the jungle juice that Claude and he had made earlier. It’s potent stuff, but it smells surprisingly pleasant.
“Well,” Dorothea sings playfully, taking a sip from her drink. “I’ll start.” She taps a finger against her lip before she smirks. “Never Have I Ever been a GMU Blue Lion.”
Byleth and Dimitri drink immediately, followed by Ashe and Sylvain. Ingrid frowns at Dorothea but lifts her own cup and takes a swig of the vodka concoction in her cup. Dorothea winks at Ingrid and she sighs.
Next is Byleth who thinks for a moment before speaking. “Never Have I Ever cut someone else’s hair.”
Hilda drinks, as does Yuri, and so does Ashe. Byleth raises an eyebrow at Ashe and he shrugs.
“I have younger siblings and steady hands,” he offers.
Byleth nudges Dimitri and he frowns for a second. “Never Have I Ever pulled an allnighter?” he says, only half-committing.
Sylvain laughs and drinks. “Come on Dimitri, you can come up with something better than that.”
Byleth drinks and so do Claude, Hilda, Yuri, and Ashe. Ingrid takes a long sip herself, remembering the panicked allnighter she had pulled before her AP English exam in high school. That had not been a good time.
Hilda grins. “Never Have I Ever received a blowjob.”
Ingrid almost chokes on her drink and Dorothea cackles with laughter. Claude elbows Hilda, but then he drinks. Sylvain and Yuri drink casually. Dimitri flushes pink all the way down his neck and takes a small drink. Hilda and Dorothea laugh even harder. Ashe just shrinks down in his seat, blushing hard.
Claude nudges Hilda again. “Never Have I Ever given a strip show.”
She smacks him and drinks. Next to Ingrid, Yuri laughs and also drinks. Sylvain and Dorothea also drink, tapping their cups together. Ingrid looks away from Sylvain and tries to remove the image of her childhood friend stripping from her mind. It’s harder than she wants to admit.
“Your turn, Ingrid,” Yuri says, smirking at her.
She stares down into her cup and wracks her brain for something. She doesn’t want to be crass like Hilda or Claude, but she also doesn’t want to wimp out like Dimitri. Plus, she kind of wants to be mean to Sylvain or Dorothea.
She smiles. “Never Have I Ever posed as a model,” she says confidently.
Claude laughs as Hilda drinks, pointing at Ignatz where he’s still playing pong against Petra. Dorothea drinks and Sylvain gives Ingrid an impressed smile as he takes a drink too. There is absolutely no way in hell that Ingrid is going to tell Sylvain the only reason she knows that he posed as a model is because she still has the photos from her photography class in Tenth grade where he posed for her.
“Never Have I Ever ridden a horse,” Yuri says confidently.
Ingrid sighs and takes a drink. Sylvain, Dimitri, and Byleth all drink with her. Claude and Hilda laugh.
“Wow, almost all of the Blue Lions were horse kids,” Dorothea teases.
“It’s not like I owned a horse,” Ingrid protests weakly and Dorothea winks at her.
Ashe takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. “Never Have I Ever kissed someone in this circle.” The words flood out of him in a rush and Ingrid immediately tenses, feeling blood rush to her face.
Byleth bursts out laughing and Claude joins her. “Ashe!” Byleth giggles. “That was so much better than I was expecting from you.”
She takes a drink and Dimitri stares up at the sky, but he drinks too. Claude and Hilda tap their cups together and drink.
“Did it once and never again,” Hilda says jokingly.
Yuri winks at Dorothea and the two of them drink and Ingrid’s gaze darts to Sylvain who is, to her surprise, watching her. He takes a sip from her cup and Ingrid’s heart skips in her chest because of course, he remembers.
She tilts her cup and drains the rest of it.
She can feel the eyes of several people in the circle on her when she lowers the cup and she ducks her head a bit, flushing. Dorothea clears her throat, drawing eyes away from Ingrid.
“Well, I’m basically out, so Sylvain, you go and we can call it a round.”
Sylvain nods. “Never Have I Ever hooked up in a car,” he says. He’s grinning casually, but his eyes keep straying to Ingrid and she looks away, refusing to acknowledge the heat simmering in her stomach.
Claude, Dorothea, and Yuri drink.
Hilda wrinkles her nose. “Cars are so cramped,” she says.
Yuri shrugs. “They’re convenient.”
Dimitri coughs to hide a laugh and Byleth giggles. Ingrid notes that Byleth’s hand has been very friendly with Dimitri’s arm during the game and her foot pokes at Dimitri’s leg every once and awhile. Dorothea stands up from her chair, adjusting her bikini top.
“That was fun. I would say we should play more, but I’m all out.” She holds out a hand to Ingrid. “Want to come with me to get a refill, Ingrid?”
Ingrid takes her hand, grateful for the escape. “Definitely.”
She lets Dorothea pull her to her feet and lead her out of the circle and back into the house where they can refill their cups in the kitchen. The kitchen is surprisingly empty when they enter the house. Ingrid walks over to the sink where the tub of alcohol is and grabs the ladle to refill her cup. Dorothea pauses at the kitchen island and when Ingrid turns to face her, she’s smirking.
“He watched your ass the entire time we were walking away,” she says smugly.
Ingrid drops the ladle and it slides down into the juice. “Thea!” she hisses, feeling her ears burn.
Dorothea laughs. “Aw, but now I have my proof! You were thirsting over him earlier and he’s definitely reciprocating that now. His face, when you walked out in your bathing suit, was absolute gold. I wanted to pay Hilda for that distraction: it was brilliant.”
Ingrid huffs and drinks from her cup. “Please, stop.”
Dorothea smiles. “Only if you tell me when you kissed him. Because I’m assuming you haven’t kissed Claude, Dimitri, Ashe, or Yuri.”
Ingrid puts her cup down and sighs. “Fine. I have kissed Sylvain. But, it was over two years ago and I have hardly seen him since.”
Dorothea leans on the counter and cups her chin in her hands, smiling innocently. “Pray tell.”
Ingrid frowns. “It was after his high school graduation. He, Felix, Dimitri, and I were at a party celebrating. We got drunk and Sylvain and I walked home together. We were talking about how it was going to be weird without him around and I said that I would miss him. Next thing I knew, he kissed me.”
Dorothea raises an eyebrow. “That doesn’t exactly sound like a feeling-free kiss, darling.”
Ingrid sighs. “He moved away for school and, like I said, I’ve barely seen him since.”
Dorothea claps her hands and there’s a wicked glint in her eye that makes Ingrid wary. “Well, Sylvain’s hot. That’s already been established. But, so are you. So let’s make him suffer.”
Sylvain is chatting casually with Ashe and Byleth when Ingrid and Dorothea emerge from the house again. Ingrid immediately draws his gaze to her gorgeous legs and Sylvain almost completely misses a question that Ashe asks him about one of the courses he took in his second year.
Byleth laughs at him before he can answer the question and try to save face, obviously having caught where his gaze drifted to. “You’re not subtle, Lover Boy,” she teases.
Sylvain resists the urge to childishly stick his tongue out at her. “And you wearing a bikini specifically designed to break Dimitri’s neck is subtle?”
Byleth grins. “I never said I was trying to be subtle.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Touché.”
Ashe glances between the two of them, looking flustered. “I’m gonna go talk to Petra,” he says awkwardly and immediately walks away.
Byleth laughs at Ashe and then glances back at Sylvain. “You’ve been showing off for her all afternoon since she got here. Why don’t you just do something about it?”
Sylvain tilts his head. “Did you just call me hot, Eisner?”
Byleth narrows her eyes. “You know you’re hot, that question is invalid.” Byleth nods towards Ingrid. “Go over there and stop being a coward.”
Sylvain frowns at her, but he does walk away, heading towards Leonie and Raphael who just happen to be in the same direction as Ingrid and Dorothea. He can already tell that Byleth is smirking at him and he refuses to give her the satisfaction of victory and he pointedly redirects his gaze from where it had been wandering back towards Ingrid.
There’s a loud splash followed by a piercing screech and Sylvain turns towards the pool, startled. Annette is the one who shrieked and she’s standing at the edge of the pool, completely drenched. Felix emerges from beneath the surface of the water, grinning and Sylvain smothers a laugh.
“Felix!” Annette shrieks. “You’re such a villain!” She leans towards him to scold him and Felix grabs her hand, pulling her forward into the pool.
A few people laugh at Annette’s misfortune and an idea sparks in Sylvain’s brain. His eyes drift to Ingrid. Ingrid who is wearing a very attractive bathing suit and has not even been in the swimming pool yet. He grins to himself and redirects from his previous path.
He somehow manages to sneak up on her as she’s arguing with Dorothea about something. He plants both hands on her waist and swiftly lifts her up, positioning her so she’s draped over his shoulder. He secures an arm over her waist to keep her in place.
“Sylvain!” she yells immediately, pounding at his back with a fist. “Put me down!”
He laughs and starts walking towards the pool. “Come on Ing, it’s a pool party. You’ve been standing over here in that cute little swimsuit for too long without actually going in the pool.”
Ingrid twists in his grip. “What the fuck are you talking about?” she curses, struggling to free herself.
Sylvain just tightens his grip around her waist and tries to ignore the way her body wriggles against him. He walks them to the edge of the pool and dramatically throws Ingrid into the water. She comes up sputtering and looks like she’s about to scream at him so he jumps in after her, soaking her with a second wave of chlorinated water.
He breaks the surface and grins at Ingrid. She coughs a few times and then glares at him. Her short blonde hair is stuck to her face and neck and water droplets roll down from her hairline over her eyes and nose.
“What the fuck, Sylvain?” she demands.
He laughs. “You were dry,” he excuses.
She huffs and splashes him with a wave of water. “You’re a dick, Sylvain.”
He bats his eyes at her cheekily. “You love me.”
She starts swimming for the side of the pool and Sylvain almost has to dunk himself to get his jaw to close as he watches her haul herself out of the pool, water dripping off of her striped bathing suit and rolling over her skin. He swims after her and pauses, waiting until she glances back at him before he pulls himself out of the pool too, using his forearms in an almost entirely vain effort to get his abs to look good.
He brushes his hands off on his swim trunks and walks over to the pool chair where he had dropped the towel Yuri had given him. He grabs it and starts drying his hair off. He turns back towards Ingrid and she’s staring at the towel in his hand with a mildly horrified look. Sylvain pauses.
“Ingrid?”
She smacks her forehead. “I forgot a fucking towel.”
Sylvain laughs and drapes his towel over his shoulder. “Let’s go grab one of Dimitri or Felix’s. They won’t mind.”
Ingrid shifts. “Do you know where they would be?”
“Pretty sure Fe said under the sink the upstairs bathroom,” he says.
She nods. “Okay.” She walks up to him and jabs him hard in the arm with her finger. “This is your fault, you know.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he agrees and leads the way into the house.
Mercedes, who is sitting on a couch in the living room with Dedue, glances up as they enter and she giggles. “Took a dip?”
Ingrid sighs. “He threw me in.” She points an accusing finger at Sylvain and he can’t help but feel glad that he did.
“There are towels in the upstairs bathroom, if you need,” Dedue offers politely, trying to conceal a small smile.
Sylvain leads the way to the staircase and to the upstairs bathroom. He and Ingrid are both still dripping water, but she’s definitely worse than he is since he had mostly managed to remove the excess water from his hair while her hair is still stuck to her neck. He opens the cupboard door under the sink and pulls out a plain white towel that looks like something Dimitri would own.
Ingrid takes it from him and begins rubbing the ends of her hair, trying to dry it. Sylvain watches her for a moment, letting his gaze wander, just for a second, to the curve of her chest. Ingrid stops drying her hair and Sylvain snaps his gaze back to her face before she can catch him.
“You said my swimsuit was cute,” she mumbles before she can stop herself.
She’s clutching the towel so tightly that her knuckles are turning white and she’s uncomfortably cold with her bathing suit sticking to her from the pool water. Yet, there’s something about the way that Sylvain is looking at her that makes her warm right to the core.
He coughs awkwardly. “Green is a good colour on you.”
Ingrid lowers her hands to the edge of the sink and turns to look at Sylvain. He looks sheepish and almost guilty and she feels like she should be gearing up to give him a massive lecture or like she should chew him out for something.
“My eyes are green,” she points out bluntly.
Sylvain’s cheeks redden and Ingrid feels a jolt of surprise. She turns so that she’s facing him fully and steps the tiniest bit closer. His ears are definitely turning almost as red as his hair and there’s no one else around, so there can only be one reason that Sylvain, her cocky, frat boy friend, is blushing.
“You think I’m hot!” she exclaims suddenly.
Sylvain opens his mouth to deny it, but no words come out. Ingrid’s burst of confidence withers suddenly and she steps back, unsure of where she had intended for this encounter to go. She tries to take another step back, but Sylvain’s hand lands on her waist. His hand is warm and his touch sends a pleasant shiver down her spine.
She’s suddenly very aware of the close quarters in the bathroom and the fact that she’s only wearing a flimsy bikini that Dorothea had bought her for her birthday and Sylvain is only wearing a pair of grey board shorts. She can feel herself flushing too, but she doesn’t attempt to pull out of Sylvain’s grip.
Instead, she lets her towel drop into the sink and cautiously reaches up to try to touch the firm, warm muscle of his chest.
Sylvain moves the instant her fingers make contact with his skin. He steps towards her and uses his body to crowd her back until the bathroom door clicks shut behind them and Ingrid’s back thuds against the painted wood. His head bends towards her and he seals his lips against hers hotly.
Ingrid opens her mouth almost immediately into the kiss, both of her hands jumping to tangle in his damp red hair. Sylvain presses her more firmly against the door, slotting his body firmly against hers. One of his legs nudges in between hers and he uses his thigh to press her hips back against the door.
His tongue sweeps through her mouth, hot and demanding, and Ingrid is suddenly burning hot all over. Her nails dig into his scalp and he hisses against her mouth for a second before he pulls back just enough to fasten his mouth to the side of her neck. Ingrid’s mouth falls open as he gently tugs his teeth along the sensitive skin of her neck and she lets out a tiny whimper.
One of her hands slides down his back, tracing the firm lines of well-defined muscles as his clever mouth works against her skin. Ingrid feels like she’s buzzing all over. He dips his head lower and bites at the tie holding her top up, snapping it against her skin using his teeth. Ingrid exhales shakily and Sylvain kisses along her collarbone, being fabulously distracting.
“Ingrid? Sylvain?” a voice calls from down the hall. It’s definitely Mercedes’s voice.
Ingrid goes completely rigid and presses her hands against Sylvain’s shoulders, trying to get him to move back. He stays firmly pressed against her, but he does stop kissing her, his breath warm on her skin.
“Did you find the towels?” Mercedes calls out to them again.
“Yes!” Ingrid calls back, desperately hoping that Mercedes doesn’t come any closer to the bathroom. She really doesn’t want to explain why she and Sylvain have shut themselves in the bathroom.
Sylvain presses a light kiss on the top of her shoulder which is terribly distracting and she almost smacks him, but it feels nice, so she doesn't.
“Alright, I just wanted to check and make sure everything was okay!” Mercedes calls back brightly.
Ingrid tilts her head back against the door and listens until she can’t hear Mercedes’s footsteps anymore as she retreats. She looks at Sylvain again and almost shivers at the heaviness of his gaze. He’s still practically pinning her to the door with a leg slotted between her legs.
“How much time do we have before someone comes up to bother us again?” Sylvain asks her, his voice rough and low. His tone makes the muscles in her legs clench unintentionally.
“Probably between five and twenty minutes,” Ingrid replies, her voice breathy. “Depends on if Dorothea and Hilda are running interference for us or against us.”
“I’ll take the twenty-minute estimate,” Sylvain says.
His lips seal against hers and Ingrid hums into the kiss. It’s only after he starts to try to kiss down her neck again that she pushes him back hard enough that he has to stagger and he is physically shifted away from her. He blinks at her, brown eyes twinkling.
Ingrid covers her face with her hands and tries to control her breathing and her pounding heart. She lets out a low groan and doesn’t dare look at Sylvain.
“Ingrid?” he prompts gently. “Is this not okay?”
She sighs and drops her hands. “I’m not going to just be one of your one-and-done girls, Sylvain.”
He looks surprised that she even suggested it. “I never would have asked you to be.”
“Then what is this?” she asks, gesturing between them.
Sylvain smiles lazily at her. “I thought I was succeeding in my seduction of the really attractive girl I’ve been in love with since I was like 12.”
Ingrid stares at him. “You’re in love with me?”
He shrugs. “Is that a problem?”
She blinks. “No,” she mumbles. “But, Sylvain, we kissed after your grad and then I didn’t see you face-to-face for two years. What am I supposed to do with that knowledge? Plus, you’re in a frat. Aren’t you obligated to date a different girl every week or something?”
Sylvain laughs and steps closer to her. He moves slowly and obviously so that she can stop him if she wants, but she doesn’t, so he cups her face with his hands. “Ingrid. I was a little overwhelmed back then. Eighteen-year-old Sylvain was, unfortunately, kind of an idiot.” His thumb runs affectionately along her cheekbone. “And you know all the stereotypes you hear about frat boys aren’t true, right?”
Ingrid bites her lip and watches Sylvain’s gaze drop to it. The air between them is starting to electrify again and she tips her chin up a bit so their lips are about an inch apart.
“That’s a shame,” she breathes. “There’s this frat boy I’m in love with that has really nice abs. His ass isn’t half bad either. Plus, I heard he has a talented tongue too and-”
He kisses her so quickly that she swallows the rest of the sentence.