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"You did what?" Claude actually had the audacity to laugh. Not one of his usual calculated laughs, either. A bellow of a laugh which shook his whole lithe frame and put an extra shine in his eyes. All at Dimitri's expense, of course. It seemed to be happening a lot lately.
"Never mind. Clearly this is not a matter you are capable of taking seriously." Dimitri turned to leave, but quickly remembered his predicament. On Sylvain's insistence, he approached a female student with the offer of a tea date. Nothing untoward, but it seemed the poor girl thought it to be more than what Dimitri meant it to be. It really was his own fault for taking Sylvian's advice, afterall.
Of course, Sylvain initially offered to help Dimitri hide in his room, and Dimitri had been naive enough to think it would end then and there. Yet, there he was, two days later with the same girl chasing him and Sylvain was… preoccupied doing the very thing he promised Dimitri he would stop.
Claude's room seemed the next logical escape plan. It was merely the convenience of location. Felix was still at the training yards, and even if he was in his room, Dimitri would rather face the advances of Colleen and her friends than be stuck in close quarters with Felix and his sharp tongue. The next closest room was Claude's.
Dimitri was quickly regretting his hasty choice of hiding spots. He was regretting a lot of things.
"I'm sorry for laughing, but you have to admit it is funny." Claude sat down on the edge of his bed and motioned to his desk chair, "You're welcome to hide as long as you need to. Though, perhaps it is best to just confront the whole thing head on and clear it all up?"
Dimitri eyed the chair and considered a moment before sitting. "I have attempted to be direct, yet my efforts are constantly misconstrued."
"You're too nice," Claude said, his gaze intense.
"Too… nice?" Dimitri raised an eyebrow. It was not an accusation often leveled at him.
"I've witnessed some of your conversations with girls and you have a tendency to, well, be too nice." Claude broke eye contact and looked towards the door. "You do not wish to hurt their feelings, so you phrase your rejections so delicately the girls do not take it as one."
"Oh?" Dimitri was unaware of this shortcoming.
Claude sighed and made a vague gesture at the door as a girl giggled out in the hallway. He turned back to Dimitri and said, with air quotes, "There is such love in the world, yet my heart is yet-"
"-I get it.'
"Your beauty is unmatched, and one day you will make the most beautiful bride-"
"Claude," Dimitri hissed. He could feel his cheeks begin to warm.
Of course, Claude continued, his grin spreading as Dimitri shifted uncomfortably. "My heart is heavy at the prospect of you no longer being at my side, and your smile will-"
"Enough!" Dimitri stood quickly and his booming voice drowned out the sound of the chair hitting the floor.
"Colleen!" A girl's voice came from the hallway.
"Oooo, you did it now!" Claude clasped his hands behind his head and looked at the door with far too much amusement.
Dimitri stared at the door with trepidation, debating the merits of crawling out Claude's window. He could hear the clicking of multiple pairs of heels, his time was quickly running out. Returning his voice to a whisper, he turned to Claude and asked, "What do I do?"
"Be blunt and tell her you are not interested."
"I… can you do it for me?" Even facing certain doom, he didn't know how to break up with the poor girl without making it worse. Again.
Claude rolled his eyes. "Riiight, because that will work."
There was a sharp knock at the door, followed by a croon of, "Dimiiiitri! Are you in there?"
"Colleen, it may have been this one instead!"
Dimitri backed away from the door and again wondered if he could fit through the window. He looked helplessly to Claude. He had no experience in such matters, certainly Claude had an idea.
"Do you trust me?" Claude stood from the bed and stared into his eyes. "I have half an idea, but I need you to-"
"Yes. Whatever your scheme is, yes." Dimitri may regret it later, but in the moment his only option was to trust Claude and deal with the consequences later. It couldn't be worse than entertaining the vapid noble girl one more time.
Claude stared into Dimitri's eyes a moment more, his green eyes more serious than Dimitri had ever seen this close. Before he could contemplate Claude further, the look shifted, once again full of mirth.
"Quietly unlock the door." Claude nodded to the door and crossed his arms.
"I-" Dimitri swallowed and did as he was asked. Quietly, he stepped over the overturned chair and flicked the lock. He braced for the next step, it wouldn't surprise him if Claude shouted his location as revenge for all of this. He needed to stop spending so much time with Sylvain.
When he looked back, Claude wordlessly motioned him back to him with the wave of a single finger. Once again, Dimitri stepped over the chair and stood in front of Claude, intently listening to the commotion in the hallway.
Nothing happened for a few breaths, and just a Dimitri was about to ask what the plan was, Claude took half a step towards him.
"Oh! Dimitri!" Claude projected his voice, not taking his eyes off Dimitri.
Well, maybe he shouldn't have expected more from Claude. His initial assessment was correct after all. He sighed, resigned to his fate.
The click of heels returned, and as they approached the door Claude reached for the front of Dimitri's shirt and slowly tugged at him as he took a step backwards. The movement was unexpected and Dimitri stumbled forward, tripping over Claude, and sending them falling to Claude's bed.
Dimitri caught his knee on the edge of the mattress as Claude landed on his elbows.
"Claude? Wha-"
The creak of the door handle turning cut him off. As the door opened, Claude reached back up with one hand and pulled Dimitri closer, and closer, until they were breathing the same air. Everything else faded, all that existed was Claude; his breath smelled faintly of chamomile, and this close Dimitri could count the faint freckles under his eyes.
"Dimit- ah!" Colleen's screech broke the spell Claude cast over him.
Dimitri pushed himself away from Claude and looked towards the door in time to see Colleen running out.
"Uh…" Dimitri said to the empty doorway. He looked down to Claude, "What just happened?"
Claude dropped his hand from where he still held Dimitri, letting it fall to his side. "I wasn't expecting her to run so soon. The plan was to make her think we're together- but she didn't stay for me to tell her that. Hopefully she understood."
He didn't want to end up in another relationship just to get out of the first one. That was a terrible plan, and he was about to tell Claude as such when the boy in question began to laugh. Dimitri became abruptly aware of how close they still were as Claude's body shook with laughter.
Dimitri stood as quickly as his trembling legs permitted.
"I'm sorry, but your face!" Claude smirked up at him, still laying on the bed. "I didn't mean date for real," he added with a whisper, mindful of the open door.
"Oh, I see…" Dimitri did not see.
"It's a farce. A lie. And once she leaves you alone we don't need to pretend anymore."
"She saw… us. In that compromising position. I am free then? Thank you." Dimitri slowly pieced his words together.
Claude hummed and finally sat up. "It may not be that simple. Be prepared in case she doubles down tomorrow."
Dimitri nodded and cleared his throat. His eyes trailed towards Claude's lips briefly before he turned to pick up the fallen chair. "Hopefully I will not require more assistance. Thank you for your efforts, this farce was not something I would have considered."
With a shrug, Claude stood. "Always happy to help. Good luck with-" They both froze as the sound of heels returned.
Dimitri turned to Claude, eyes wide, unsure what to do. His hope of being done with Colleen dashed with the click of a heel.
"Still trust me?"
Dimitri nodded.
"I'm going to kiss you." Claude stepped up to Dimitri and gently placed a hand on his cheek. As the girls stepped into the doorway, he leaned up to press his lips to Dimitri's.
In the few seconds he had to contemplate kissing Claude, Dimitri imagined it would be rough, quick- awkward. It was none of them, and he found himself leaning into the kiss, moving his lips against Claude's like his very soul depended on them never separating. He thought he finally understood Sylvain a little, the desire to experience this everyday, to have someone so close, so intimate, to feel wanted-
But it wasn't real. Claude wasn't kissing him because he wanted Dimitri, he was doing it as a friend, as a favor. Not because he actually desired him in such a way.
"By the Goddess! It is true!" Hilda's sweet voice broke through the moment.
Claude dropped his hand and turned to the door, breaking the kiss. Dimitri could feel the lingering heat on his cheek from Claude's calloused hand, and he let his eyes dart to his lips before reality caught up with him and he looked towards their audience.
In the open doorway stood three of their classmates. Hilda was in the middle, looking like she was solving an advanced math problem. To her right was Caspar, who was more focused on Hilda than Claude and Dimitri. And to her left was Sylvain who was sporting black eye and looking between the two of them with a widening smile.
Sylvain reached around Hilda and closed the door with a wink and an amused, "Have fun, you two!"
Dimitri stared at the door as he listened to them walk away. "Should we tell them?"
"Tell them what?"
"That it isn't what they think? Because otherwise this lie will spread around the whole school."
"Oh, Dimitri. It already has. If Colleen hasn't ran all the way through the monastery by now I'd be surprised." He looked everywhere but Dimitri.
"If we tell them the truth, then she'll find out… and I'll be right back to square one." Dimitri frowned and began to pace.
"I don't mind keeping the charade up. It will keep Hilda off my back about dating someone, too. We'd both be free of the burden of that aspect of social expectations."
"That-" Dimitri's eyes darted to Claude's lips.
"No pressure, man. Wouldn't want His Highness to be uncomfortable, afterall."
Dimitri couldn’t think of a good reason not to go along with Claude's plan. He was sure the consequences would find him, they always did, but he found he didn't care what they were.
He nodded, then realized Claude turned to look out the window while he was thinking. "Yes, I believe this could be mutually beneficial."
Claude dropped back to his bed and picked up the book he tossed aside when Dimitri barged into his room. "Great. Hang out in here for a while to sell it. Want to borrow a book?"
Dimitri settled next to Claude on the bed, "If we are to actually… do this, we should get our story together. I am sure we will be inundated with questions tomorrow."
Claude shut his book. "And he I was worried you wouldn't take this seriously. Alright, let's plan."