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Felix, Sylvain, Dimitri, and Ingrid had been tossed together in childhood in tangle of knobby knees, overwhelming familial expectation, and desire to keep loneliness at bay that has kept them tethered together since. They had spent at least a lifetime clutching at each other’s hands and watching each other’s backs, convenience turned to genuine care over time.
And for this reason he had been made to suffer through witnessing the establishment of United Fodlan’s most insufferable couple, and it was with great displeasure that he acknowledged the involvement of half of their quartet.
And it didn’t involve him or Ingrid.
Felix had been there through it all. In childhood when Sylvain would carefully brush the dirt off Dimitri’s scraped knee, in middle school when Dimitri was quick to offer everyone to come to his place for a sleepover when Sylvain seemed reluctant to return home. The quiet longing carefully hidden by exasperation as Dimitri watched Sylvain chase pleasure with other people during college; the tenderness that promised to give Dimitri the entire world if he asked that undercut Sylvain’s teasing words.
(Felix had the great misfortune of watching not just one, but both of them come to awareness of the nature of their feelings—hint: it’s romantic.)
So when Sylvain gathers their entire college friend group sans Dimitri for today—“The Lions” they dubbed themselves, an inside joke from a heavily spirited night that lingered well past their college days—on a voice call over Discord, Felix thinks he can sense what’s coming, he’s not surprised.
Especially when Felix considers how two weeks ago Sylvain barged into his apartment, raided his alcohol cabinet, got shit-faced, then cried about how much he loves Dimitri but feels he doesn’t deserve Dimitri’s love and their friends’ support of them.
(As soon as Sylvain had started waxing poetically about the shakily embroidered handkerchief Mercedes helped Dimitri make for him, Felix had realized he was far too sober to be having this conversation. A situation that had been immediately rectified.)
Or how Sylvain had been nearly non-stop texting him pictures of rings since then, asking Felix which one would look best on a person that matched Dimitri’s description exactly, before he seemed to finally settle on a thin band of gold, inlaid with a small sapphire that Sylvain said reminded him of Dimitri’s eyes.
(“What’s so wrong with showing an interest in metalwork, Felix? Weren’t you into that before?”
“You’re hopeless.”)
But when Sylvain says the words Dimitri and marriage proposal, Minecraft, and help, in the same sentence, and everyone else on the line excitedly agrees, Felix wonders if 10:00am is too early in the day to crack open his alcohol cabinet.
“I’m not helping you plan a Minecraft proposal.”
And thus, Felix, along with the rest of their friend group, is roped into helping Sylvain plan a Minecraft proposal.
It’s a near physical pain to be made part of Sylvain’s nonsense, but Felix would not be so cruel as to deny the way Sylvain and Dimitri’s existences have always folded so easily around one another, where each stands solid and steady in the places the other needs balance. The way they press reminders of value and care into each other’s hands.
It’s still a shitty idea, the Minecraft part, that is.
———
During college, Ashe had managed to rope Felix into joining him.
(Years later Felix still definitely does not look forward to Ashe’s weekly invitation to work together on something in their realm. He doesn’t at all prize their time spent gaming together almost as much as their time spent together in person.)
Annette had peeked over Ashe’s and Felix’s shoulders for several months before she asked Ashe to help her make an account. Sylvain had noticed Felix had been hiding something and prodded at him until he budged (“What are you and Ashe doing on the computer so often?”) Ingrid, even after getting acquainted with the game, still mostly observed from a distance and asks interested questions when the topic arises. They had soon after found out Mercedes had been playing with her younger brother Emile for years at that point, and she showed Dedue and Dimitri what the gameplay looked like when they had asked.
Although only half of their group plays with any regularity or skill, they share the cost of a Realm subscription, so they have a safe space to accommodate players of varying skill levels and can work on communal projects. With all of them so often unable to meet in person, kept apart by the responsibilities of life, this served as a halfway point.
Dimitri has, at best, a tenuous grasp of the concept of Minecraft and gaming in general, even after years of their friends (mainly Ashe and Annette) trying to teach him. But Sylvain has previously recounted to Felix how after sleepless nights where one or neither of them can be coaxed back into bed, he and Dimitri spend a quiet day harvesting sweet berries and riding the horses Sylvain has tamed for them.
Collectively, they cobble together a vision of how this might go, and each person volunteers their skills accordingly:
Ashe, their resident Minecraft chef assigns himself to crafting food, and sets out on foraging for red mushrooms, while Annette hunts for a wandering trader to gather more supplies. Ingrid, unable to get online at that moment, offers her staunch support in the Discord chat, and a promise to join them on the server later.
Sylvain brings Felix with him to mine for gold ore and diamonds, with a plan to make a wedding ring and cheat it into Dimitri’s inventory.
(Dedue and Mercedes take Dimitri out to lunch, letting Sylvain and the others work in peace.)
———
Everything is finally ready. All that’s left is for Dimitri to get online, and Sylvain to propose.
Felix can’t even begin to understand the reasoning behind Sylvain’s plan, but he does know that Dimitri is sickeningly in love with Sylvain, has been since forever and probably will be even after the sun burns out. And Sylvain would find a way to give Dimitri everything and his soul on a silver platter if he just asked.
They are so, so in love.
And so, so disgusting.
———
As if the itinerary was relevant to the rest of them (it certainly wasn’t to Felix. Not at all) Sylvain had planned to take Dimitri riding through the realm, to be followed by a picnic with the food Ashe had crafted earlier, during which Sylvain would stealth the ring to Dimitri (followed by a proposal with the real life ring).
Along the course of their ride, they encounter their friends scattered throughout. They spot Ingrid who has finally joined them and Mercedes taming an ocelot, Dedue and Ashe crafting furniture from Ashe’s seemingly limitless store of materials while Annette and Felix taking to the mines (likely) gathering materials to upgrade his sword.
Unseen by all of them is Sylvain, seated on the couch across from Dimitri’s spot on the floor while they go on their in game picnic, a light flush rising to his face as he catches the small smile lifting onto Dimitri’s lips.
———
Sylvain brings everyone on a Discord call, much to Dimitri’s suspicion, (“However, I’m more than happy to spend time with you all right now, it’s so rare that we get a chance to all be together in some form.”)
They spend a few minutes catching up, falling into the ease and familiarity of idle chatter between them all. Dimitri expresses his surprise at seeing all their friends online and Sylvain clears his throat, the call falling into silence as attention is drawn toward him.
Dimitri, attention still split between the game and the call, makes a noise of surprise, “What’s this ring doing in my inventory? Sylvain have you been playing on my account again—“
If Felix was to guess, by the dull thud of a body part hitting hardwood and Sylvain’s bitten off swear, Sylvain probably crashed in his attempt to get on his knees (which would probably be the sort of thing Dimitri is into). The aplomb he puts on display daily faltering against everything he and Dimitri have invested in their relationship.
Even over the tinny audio of their call, Felix can hear Dimitri’s watery gasp,
“There’s this thing I’d like to try, Dimitri...and I think I’d like to try it with someone I really care about. Like you. Marry me?”
“Do you really mean it?”
“I’d propose over and over again, until you felt sure.”
The call falls into a silence again, occasionally punctuated by one of Dimitri’s poorly disguised sobs. Annette is the first one to break, not bothering to hide the anticipation in her voice, “Not to be pushy, but aren’t you going to give him an answer, Dimitri?”
He hums quietly, “Yes, I…of course. If you would have me, Sylvain.”
Felix isn’t sure who starts it, but soon a wave of congratulations rushes over the line, nearly drowning out Sylvain’s cooing over his new fiancé and Dimitri’s watery laugh. When the excitement settles, and after Ingrid provides a succinct explanation of everyone’s role in the plan, they all decide to sign off the call, wanting to allow the newly engaged couple some time together.
Minutes later Sylvain sends a picture in the Lions’ Discord chat of snot-nosed and teary-eyed Dimitri looking down at the ring on his finger, followed by a message with a single thumbs up emoji.
———
The next weekend, Sylvain is back at Felix’s apartment rifling through his alcohol stash again, but this time with Dimitri and Ingrid in tow. A twin of the golden band he had given to Dimitri rests on his finger, gleaming under the fluorescent kitchen lighting.
Amidst their easy conversation, made lighter and looser by the drinks, Felix thinks he hears the words wed and my extremely hot fiancé, and in Minecraft, and help, in the same sentence, and needs to put an end to this immediately. He’s not built to handle two of his oldest and closest friends crying over their stupid and extremely earnest Minecraft engagement, let alone living in a future where they plan a wedding like this.
“Don’t you dare. I’m not helping you plan a Minecraft wedding.”