Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Edelgard stares at the message from Dimitri. Did he really just-- Edelgard feels a bitter laugh rise in her throat. Our mom. The mother that had given up all rights and custody to her in her divorce from her father, when Edelgard was two years old. The mother that moved across the country to marry Dimitri's father before Edelgard had turned four. The mother that she got maybe one letter a year from, before she died. Dimitri was seriously asking her what he thought his mom would think of them having sex? That was how it was, after all. She was more his mom than she had ever been Edelgard's.

Edelgard scowls, typing out a response. He probably hadn't even thought before asking her that question. It wasn't his fault that he was always so self-centered. Ok, maybe that was his fault. But the odds still were that he likely hadn't intended to be malicious, and was instead just oblivious. 

Regardless of how Dimitri had intended his question, Edelgard still doesn't want to get drawn into that conversation right now. She has to finish her math homework. Though it would be easier to block this line of conversation by telling him that she was going to sleep.

She sets aside her phone and doesn't look at it again, going back to her math homework for another hour before heading to bed.

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Edelgard finds herself ignoring Dimitri for the next few days. He hasn't texted her again, and their assignment isn't due immediately. She had wanted to get a head start on it to finish it early, but she rationalizes that they both need a few days to review the books they had checked out. Once or twice, she can see Dimitri move as if he was going to walk up to her to talk with her, but she immediately turns around and leaves before he can get near her. Another time, she notices Dimitri looking at her from across the room, probably trying to get her attention, but she ignores him then, too.

Edelgard knows that she's maybe being a bit unfair to Dimitri, but her heart twists whenever she remembers how he had flung her mother right in her face. Even if he hadn't meant to hurt her, she still didn't want to talk to him right now.

"Yo, Edelgard." Claude waves in front of her face, interrupting her train of thought. She was in the library supposedly studying, but apparently her mind had drifted off towards Dimitri again.

"Hello Claude," she answers carefully. It wasn't like Claude to seek her out. "No need to be so worried, princess," he chuckles at her. Edelgard frowns. He knows that she hates that nickname.

"I just wanted to make sure you knew you were invited to my Halloween party tomorrow night," Claude continues breezily. "It starts at seven and is going to be in the basement of the Indech building. No entry without a costume, though." Edelgard raises her eyebrows.

"The Indech building? Are you sure you have permission for that?" Claude waves off her concerns. "Course I do," he assures. "Professor Cassagranda was very supportive when I asked her if she would be the sponsor for the event." Edelgard suddenly understands.

"I see," she says, folding her arms. "I don't suppose you'll tell me what exactly it is that you're holding over her head?" It was an open secret that Professor Cassagranda was practically a functioning alcoholic, who often traded her students' discretion for leniency in enforcing certain rules the Church wanted upheld.

"Nope," Claude answers with a grin. "I can tell you that she's going to be heading to bed early that night, though."

"I suppose I'll have to go to your party, then," she sighs. "I'm hardly a stickler for the rules but it wouldn't be good if things got out of hand." Claude holds a hand against his heart in feigned shock.

"Edelgard! Are you implying that I can't handle a simple Halloween party? I may have stacked the deck a bit with the Professor, but she wouldn't let me host a party like this if she wasn't confident in my ability to manage it on my own." Edelgard sighs again.

"I suppose if there's one thing about you I can count on, it's your instinct for self-preservation. If this party becomes a scandal, you're going to be in hot water with the Headmistress." Claude just smiles at her.

"See you then," he calls as he walks away from where she was sitting. "And don't forget that costume!"

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It's difficult for Edelgard to decide on a suitable costume, but with Dorothea's help, she eventually settles on a large floppy black witch hat paired with a black turtleneck sweater and black skirt. Simple, not too flashy or inconvenient, yet there was no way Claude could say that she isn't wearing a costume. She glances towards Dorothea as they head down the stairs to the Indech building's basement. Dorothea was going as a vampire, and had spent quite a while sitting at her mirror applying makeup to complete her costume, and it looked amazing.

"Hey Dorothea! Nice costume! You too, Edelgard!" Hilda says energetically. She appears to be the bouncer, the door to the main room between her and a large box with various masks and other accessories in an unorganized pile within. Her costume-- if it was indeed a costume-- seemed to be an incredibly short black dress with a pink ribbon around the waist, and some sort of tall headband on her head.

"Why thank you," Dorothea grins, flashing her fake fangs at Hilda. 

"Ooh, that's so cool!" Hilda effuses. "You are going to love Annette's costume, she totally went all out." Edelgard clears her throat, searching for something to add to the conversation.

"What are you supposed to be dressed up as?" she asks. Oops, she thinks. That came out more accusatory than she had intended. Luckily Hilda seems to take it in stride.

"I'm a mouse," Hilda replies with a roll of her eyes. She points towards her headband, which Edelgard can now tell is supposed to be mouse ears. "Duh."

"Anyways!" Dorothea interjects before the two of them can start arguing, "It's good to see you Hilda. We can go inside, right?" Hilda huffs a bit, but ascents and lets them through. 

The party, while not in full swing, seems to be lively enough. Most of the people already there were from the Golden Deer house, though Edelgard sees Ashe and another, younger Blue Lion with incredible zombie make-up-- or at least, Edelgard hopes it's make-up-- lingering by the ping pong table. Claude gives her a grin and a wave when he sees her. He appears to be dressed as a pirate. The look suits him, Edelgard thinks. 

"Edelgard!" Her train of thought is interrupted from behind her by a familiar voice.

Oh no, Edelgard thinks. Not Constance. Unfortunately for Edelgard, it did indeed appear to be Constance waving her down. She was wearing some kind of black wig with orange horns, and had gray facepaint on. 

"Oho, so it was you!" Constance exclaims one she reaches Edelgard and Dorothea. "What do you think of my costume?" she asks. Edelgard squints at Constance, trying to see if there was something more to her costume than the wig and face paint. She notices that she's wearing fake glasses, but that's it. 

"It's ah," she hems for a bit, trying to think of something suitable to say. It was generally not worth it to upset Constance if she could avoid it. "It's nice, I guess," she concludes, then winces at herself internally. She definitely could have come up with something better. Constance sniffs in a patronizing manner.

"I see how it is, then," she declares haughtily. "Have a good evening, Edelgard." With that, she twirls away and returns to the corner of the room where Edelgard can see the other anime club members huddling. Edelgard shakes her head. Constance was an enigma, and trying to plumb the depths of her thought process always ended fruitlessly for Edelgard.

"How about we go check out the food," she suggests to Dorothea, who readily agrees. They pass by Lorenz in a toga, who seems to be trying to cajole the underclassmen into role-playing with him. 

"Now, since I'm Caesar," they hear him assert. "One of you go fetch me something to drink. Chop chop!"

"Oh, you're Caesar?" Dorothea interrupts him with a plastered-on smile. "I'll be Brutus. We just need the knives now!" Lorenz pales. 

"Ah, Dorothea," he stammers nervously. "That won't be necessary. I was just joking with the underclassmen. Having a laugh."

"Too bad," Dorothea sighs dramatically. "I would have been a perfect Brutus." Edelgard tugs Dorothea away before she and Lorenz can escalate their verbal sparring further. She laughs though, once they're out of his earshot.

"He really should have thought that through more," Dorothea says. "I mean he was practically begging for that, right?" 

"Mm," Edelgard assents. "Not like Lorenz is really used to thinking, though." They laugh again. "Ooh, cupcakes," she says as they arrive at the snack table. It's been laid out with a wide assortment of sweets, from brownies to bowls of skittles and candy corn. 

"I recommend the ones decorated like pumpkins." Lysithea appears next to them, her paper plate piled high with treats. "Those are the chocolate ones."

"Noted," Edelgard says gratefully. She tilts her head quizzically as she takes in Lysithea's blue jeans and plain purple shirt. "Hilda let you in without a costume?" she asks. Lysithea smirks.

"I'm a serial killer," she dead-pans. "They look just like everybody else." Edelgard chuckles. 

"Then you have the scariest costume here," she jests lightly. Lysithea shrugs, taking a bite out of one of the cookies piled on her plate.

"There are some more desserts in the back," she says through a mouthful of cookie. "So take as much as you want. I made Claude promise he wouldn't run out." Lysithea swallows. "It's good to see you," she says before walking away. Edelgard just nods and gives her a small wave goodbye. 

She and Dorothea mill about the room, making small talk with the other party-goers as more people filter in. Ferdinand arrives in an elaborate werewolf get-up, preening himself in front of her until she's sufficiently fed his ego. Petra comes in and Dorothea goes to chat with her, leaving Edelgard by herself for a few minutes. She half-heartedly listens to Ashe explain how he is not Robin Hood, actually, and is instead some superhero with an extensive comic book history. Ignatz walks by and she stops him to compliment his rendition of The Scream that makes up his costume. The time passes pleasantly, until a certain group's arrival.

"The party don't start 'til I walk in," Sylvain yells as he bursts through the door. He's wearing a... pikachu onesie? Ingrid, dressed like an angel and rolling her eyes, follows him inside. Felix is next with a scowl. His "costume" appears to just be his practice armor from kendo. Lastly, Dedue and Dimitri come through the door behind their friends. Dimitri is wearing a t-shirt with a Superman logo, and Dedue has a similar Batman t-shirt. Though it looks like Hilda had forced a flimsy paper Batman mask onto him as well.

Edelgard groans to herself. She knew that Dimitri was probably going to show up to the party too, but as time had passed without him arriving, she had begun to hope that maybe she wouldn't have to deal with him tonight after all. It wasn't fair, that he manager to pull off a casual t-shirt and jeans so well, either. His shirt fits closer to his body than his school uniform usually does, accentuating his muscular form.

No, she thinks. I can not be horny for him tonight while I'm still mad at him. It's this moment that Dorothea walks back over, now that her conversation with Petra seems to have concluded. She nudges Edelgard with her elbow.

"Go get him, Edie." Edelgard folds her arms. She did not want to play this game with Dorothea tonight.

"No," she scowls. "And I don't even know what you're talking about," she adds, too late. 

"Don't play dumb, Edie," Dorothea says. "I have eyes too, you know. And Dimitri is looking like a snack tonight."

"Lucky for me, I've already filled up on cupcakes," Edelgard quips back. Dorothea sighs.

"Fine, have it your way," she says, throwing her hands up in mock surrender. "But you've been on edge the past few days and this could be the perfect opportunity for you to have some fun, if you know what I mean." Edelgard grits her teeth. She knows exactly what Dorothea means, but what Dorothea doesn't know is that she's been on edge precisely because of Dimitri. 

Edelgard tries to ignore Dimitri as best she can. It's difficult to succeed when he's always trailing behind Sylvain, who seems to have made it his mission to be the life of the party everywhere at once. As the party goes on, it becomes nearly unbearable. She finally breaks when he accidentally bumps into her as she weaves her way through the dance floor, looking for Claude or Lysithea to let them know that the snack table was out of sugar cookies.

"Watch it!" she snaps at him. "You're like a boar in a china shop." She scowls. He was dancing a bit clumsily, but it was mostly Edelgard's built-up annoyance at him that caused her to be so harsh. Not that she had to admit that to him right now. 

"Sorry," he apologizes meekly. Edelgard continues past him, but stops and whirls around when she realizes that he's following her. 

"What?" she hisses at him. 

"Huh?" he replies dumbly.

"Why are you following me. What do you want?" 

"I'm not following you," Dimitri frowns. Edelgard bites her tongue to keep herself from interrupting him with a scoff. "I just wanted to go play ping pong." She glances back forward, and sure enough, the ping pong table is straight ahead. Claude and Caspar are engrossed in a face-off. Great. She still couldn't be rid of him.

"I was looking for Claude," she tells him as she starts walking again towards the ping pong table. It wouldn't do to have him think that she was following him now. Dimitri trails behind her.

"Claude," she calls out as she strides towards him. "I thought you would want to know that the snack table is out of sugar cookies."

"Oh, is it," he answers, looking towards her and missing the serve that Caspar had just tossed his way.

"Aw yea, I win!" Caspar cheers.

"I should remedy that," Claude continues. "Or else Lysithea will be very angry with me. Here, you play," he says, handing her his ping pong paddle. Edelgard blinks. She almost turns to offer to let someone else play, until she sees that Dimitri has traded spots with Caspar, who is now bounding off with Linhardt and his younger sister Fleche in tow. Dimitri raises his eyes in a challenge.

"Wanna go?" he taunts.

"You're on," she replies, slamming the ping pong ball towards his side of the table. He has to practically leap to return the serve.

Soon, they're trading ferocious swings, their battle becoming verbal as well as ping pong.

"What's the matter, Edelgard?" Dimitri taunts as he wins his third point, though he's only ahead of her by one point now. "Need me to go easy on you?" That definitely pisses Edelgard off. She almost loses another point in her anger, sending a sloppy volley towards him. Exactly what he wanted. He was so infuriating.

"Watch out behind you!" she calls towards him, changing her expression and tone to one that sounds genuinely fearful. Without thinking, Dimitri turns around to see what she's talking about.

It was a feint. She takes the opportunity to slam the ping pong ball across the table. It bounces against his back, winning her a point. Dimitri whips back around.

"You," he sputters. "You motherfucker! That's cheating!" he shouts at her. Edelgard smirks. It had been a low move, but it was satisfying watching him rage at her. He was so easy to poke at, to prod.

"Then score another point," she yells back at him. "Unless you think you can't," she finishes, unable to resist another dig at him.

"Get a room, you two!" Edelgard whips around, furious, looking for the source of the comment. Hilda waves and gives her a shit-eating grin. When had she arrived to watch them play? When had any of the people gathered around the ping pong table shown up? "I know you get horny when you're angry, Edelgard!" she continues. Edelgard feels blood rush to her head, blocking out rational thought for a moment.

"You shut the fu--"

"Mind your own bus--"

She and Dimitri had started yelling at Hilda at the same time. His face is as red as a tomato, and Edelgard doubts that her face is any different. The music still plays in the background, but all conversations had stopped to watch the three of them. Edelgard realizes that maybe they had been drawing attention for a while.

"Aw yeah, woo hoo!" Sylvain calls from across the room, climbing on top of a table. He sensually unzips his pikachu onesie as he dances, revealing a bright pink crop top underneath. "Turn up that music!" Everyone remains bewildered for a moment, but quickly the buzz of chatter fills the room again as Sylvain begins a full-on strip tease of his costume while dancing on top of the table.

"Seriously, though, you two," Claude says, having walked over during Sylvain's distraction. His face is unusually serious. "I'm going to have to ask you guys to leave. We can't have you causing a scene like this." Edelgard remembers what she had told Claude when accepting his invitation to this party. She's not sure her face can burn more than it is right now.

"What?" Dimitri argues. "You're just going to kick us out?"

"Yup," Claude says. "And I know how your promises to play nice with each other usually end up. I'm not going to back down on this. No hard feelings, though. I'll just tell people you guys went to bed early. I know how stressful classes are." Claude is being generous, offering them a graceful way out. Edelgard knows this. It still doesn't make getting kicked out of the party an easier pill to swallow. Not wanting to speak, she just nods at Claude and starts walking towards the exit. She's had enough of the party for tonight anyways.

She looks towards Sylvain's make-shift stage as she crosses the room. He's fully taken off the pikachu onesie, and is twerking in booty shorts that appear to be made out of jean material. Dorothea has begun throwing candy corn over him, and Sylvain is gathering them up like coins. Dorothea glances over towards her, and Edelgard sees her raise her eyebrows before offering a sympathetic look. Edelgard quickly glances away. She just wants to be out of here already.

The cold air outside feels refreshing on her skin when she steps outside. She pauses a moment, giving herself a short rest from the climb up the stairs out of the basement. She hears Dimitri shortly behind her, and waits for him.

"You didn't have to be so mean," he huffs. Edelgard feels a twinge of guilt.

"I didn't mean for us to get kicked out," she admits. She swallows. The next part was going to be more difficult; she had always had trouble with apologies. "And I'm sorry for blowing up at you."

"Oh," Dimitri seems surprised. "That." He scratches the back of his neck. "I'm sorry too. I got too worked up." They stand outside in silence for a moment, until Edelgard shivers in the cold. Her turtleneck sweater could only hold in so much heat. She has no idea how Dimitri is fine standing next to her in only jeans and a t-shirt.

"Um," he says.

"Yes?"

"Did you want to..." Dimitri trails off before he finishes his question. Edelgard can guess what he was going to ask. She knows her answer.

"Want to go work this tension out of our systems?" She sighs, finishing the thought for him. "Sexually," she clarified, in case Dimitri needs it spelled out for him. Hilda was almost right about the link between her anger and libido. What it really was, was that the more sexually frustrated she was, the more likely she would let her anger or frustration spill out onto other people.

"That, ah, sounds nice," Dimitri coughs. Silence lingers between them again for a moment. "We can go to my room," he says eventually. "Sylvain will likely spend quite a while at the party. There's also a way to get to the girls' dormitory without being seen by using the roofs," he adds. Edelgard considers. One of their dorms would likely be safer than using an empty classroom. There would be hell to pay if they got caught, but she believes him about this apparent secret route. There was no other way to explain that one time she had found Sylvain in nothing but his underwear in a locked, unused room on her floor. He had said something about picking the lock at the time, but she had never entirely believed him.

"Alright," she ascents, and begins walking back in the direction of the boys' dormitory. Dimitri catches up to her in a few seconds, and they walk in silence. When they reach the dorms, Dimitri steps in front of her and puts his hand back behind him in a cautionary gesture.

"Wait here," he says. "I'll see if there's anyone there." He disappears around the corner for a minute, but returns just as quickly. "We're good," he tells her. "Professor Hanneman is sitting by the entry, but he's asleep."

"Are you certain he's asleep?" she asks skeptically. It sounds like a trap. Dimitri nods.

"I waved in his face and quietly asked him if he could answer a question I had about today's lecture. He only mumbled something incoherent." Edelgard bites her lip. She knows that with Coach Catherine on door duty for the girls' dormitory tonight, this was their best option.

"Okay," she says. "Let's go before he wakes up." Carefully, they sneak past him and go down the hallway designated for the fourth year Blue Lions. Edelgard is glad that most of the other students are at Claude's party. They slip inside his room without incident. Edelgard starts pulling her turtleneck over her head, but is interrupted by Dimitri pulling her in for a kiss.

"Let me take off my clothes first," she tells him.

"I don't want to wait," he says. God, he doesn't even know how he affects her. The need for him against her is like an itch under her skin. 

"Just give me a moment," she says. She wants him now, but she knows it will be longer until her gratification if she doesn't get naked as soon as possible. She wiggles out of her skirt, dropping it on the floor without bothering to fold it like she usually would. Her top and underwear fall on top of it. Dimitri is pulling off his shirt, too, and shaking off his jeans. As soon as he's only in his boxers, he picks her up and sets her on his bed. 

They kiss each other like it's a competition to be won, aggressive and intense. His hands on her breasts, playing with her nipples. She moans into his mouth. He pinches harder. God, how was he already so in tune with her body? The fire inside her blazes, scorching her from the inside out. She needs more.

"Get on with it," she gasps against him. She knows he's hardly even teasing her, but she's too impatient for drawn out foreplay tonight. Dimitri's sudden absence against her almost hurts, but seeing that he's unwrapping a condom keeps her from breaking. Without thinking, her hands are against her clit, rubbing for a modicum of relief. Dimitri, condom applied, is back over and grabs both of her hands and holds them tight in his grasp.

"Mine," is all he says, and fuck, Edelgard needs him inside her now. Fortunately, he seems to read her mind, and is parting her labia and entering her before she can ask.

"Ah," Edelgard moans. "As hard as you can." She can't even find the focus to think in sentences anymore, she's so aroused. Dimitri obliges her, beginning to thrust back and forth inside her. Yes. She needs this. His hands are still holding hers. He pushes her down, pinning her against his bed as he leans over her, so close that their faces almost touch.

"Beg," he tells her. "Beg me to let you orgasm." Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. She needs release, desperately. But she still hesitates, not wanting to have to beg for it. Until he stops moving. "I said you'll have to beg, he says, his cock buried deep inside her but not fucking moving.

"Please, Dimitri," she gasps. "Please make me cum." Satisfied, Dimitri starts moving his hips again, but at a slower pace. It seems she would have to beg harder. "God, please, Dimitri," she whines. "I'm so close already." He speeds up more, his movements becoming marginally more frantic. She's so close to the edge, pinned against his mattress and his cock between her legs. "I need you to make me--"

There it is. The heat, the tension, inside her spills over, flooding her body. She rides the waves of her orgasm until they disappear, leaving her gasping for air underneath Dimitri. He's stopped fucking her, also breathing raggedly. Oh, she realizes. She hadn't even noticed him orgasm, her own being so intense. He withdraws his cock from inside her, and steps away, removing the condom. Edelgard stays where she is, breathing raggedly on top of his mattress. Her head bumps against the wall, and she shifts sideways, lying in his bed more comfortably.

She feels Dimitri get back on his bed after throwing the used condom away. He seems to lean away from her, as if he was scared to touch her gently after roughing her up earlier. Edelgard decides to set aside her inhibitions for the moment, and leans back against him, the back of her head bumping against his bare chest. Dimitri freezes up, of course. The tension in his body makes it uncomfortable to lay against him. Before she can point it out, though, he speaks.

"Are you sure this is okay?" he asks haltingly. Edelgard sighs. It was like all his previous boldness had evaporated.

"Shut up," she says in a tone more serious sounding than she intends. Edelgard frowns to herself. "Please." She adds in a softer tone. Thankfully, he does relax against her with that. After a minute, he even reaches an arm around over her to hold her. He moves lightly, in a way that suggests that any resistance to his movements would have him retreating immediately. Edelgard doesn't resist, and leans into him more when his arm settles around her.

Guilt tugs at her again. Dimitri could be irritating and oblivious, but he was sweet too. He hadn't really deserved the way she had treated him over the past few days. Apologizing has always been difficult for her, but Edelgard knows she should own up to her behavior.

"I'm sorry for being cold to you lately," she tells him with a sigh, breaking the quiet that had settled over them. She should probably explain, at least a little bit. "When you asked me about your-- our mother, it felt like you were taunting me. The only time I can actually remember ever spending with her was that one Christmas that my uncle brought me to your house. But she was still so busy, helping taking care of his-- my uncle's-- end-of-life affairs, and then there was the funeral, and then my father arrived and dragged me away before I could even really spend time with her." Edelgard stops before her voice cracks, feeling tears already forming in her eyes. She starts blinking rapidly to hold them in, relieved that Dimitri couldn't see her face. 

"I'm sorry," she hears Dimitri breathe against her. "I should have realized." It's gratifying, more than she expected, to hear Dimitri acknowledge her pain. She just nods, not trusting her voice to speak again quite yet. Dimitri doesn't say anything else, just holding her until she gathers her composure again.

"It's okay," she eventually says softly. For some reason, she wants to tell Dimitri more. About her relationship with her mother, what it was like after her parents' divorce. "My father is a serial monogamist," she continues quietly. "Perpetually marring and divorcing new women. I don't think he's had a marriage last longer than five years, honestly. It was ridiculous, how he didn't believe in using birth control but ignored the Church's formal stance on divorce." She's getting a bit off track, she realizes. "Anyways, I have a lot of siblings. Ten of them. It was a constant competition for my father's attention. He had managed to keep primary custody for most of us, but I was the only one he had full custody over, after my mother signed all of her rights to see me away."

"That wasn't right," Dimitri interjects, unable to stop himself. Edelgard can't see his face, but she knows that he's frowning. "She shouldn't have done that."

"I can't really blame her for not wanting to have to deal with my father ever again," she sighs in response. "And I knew that their divorce was his fault, really. But when I learned that she had married your father and moved out of state, I finally started feeling mad at her, too." Edelgard pauses. The next part, what she had been providing context for until now, was going to be difficult to say out loud.

"For a while," she whispers softly, so quiet that she's not even certain that Dimitri can hear her, "I blamed you for taking her away, too." Dimitri doesn't respond, and Edelgard wonders if he had heard her. She didn't think she could say it again. But then, she feels Dimitri pull her closer, tightening his embrace around her.

"I have a confession to make too," he replies quietly. Edelgard furrows her eyebrows in confusion. Of all the responses he could have given to her admitting that she hated him as a kid while they spooned after sex, that was not one she had anticipated.

"When my parents died-- when my father and step-mother were in that car crash-- I blamed it on you for the longest time." Edelgard is baffled. Her? His parents' deaths-- Her own mother's death-- blamed on her? How on earth had he justified that to himself?

"My father was driving the car," he continues, before Edelgard can voice any of the questions suddenly whirling around in her head. "But he was distracted, arguing with my step-mother. It was a few months after that Christmas you shared with us. Apparently Father had no idea that she had a child in her previous marriage."

"A few months later? Why were they still arguing about it that long afterwards?" Edelgard interrupts before she can stop herself. Dimitri is quiet. It must be hard, too, for him to talk about his parents.

"I'm not certain," he finally says. Edelgard senses that he's hedging the truth, but she won't push him on it. Their current intimacy felt fragile, like the slightest wrong move from either of them would shatter this delicate moment. "But regardless," he continues, "It was easier for me to blame you, in the wake of the accident, than to acknowledge any faults in my parents. If only you hadn't shown up, I thought, then we would still be living as a happy family together." Edelgard doesn't speak. How can she respond to that? He was right, after all, in a way.

"I was wrong of course," Dimitri adds after a moment's pause. "But I didn't realize that for a while. It was a dark era of my life." He sounds so solemn and serious. Dimitri seems to realize that too, and lightens his tone. "Rodrigue-- Felix's father-- was like a second father to me. And the Church helped a lot. Gave me structure, helped me let go of my anger, let me find peace with my parents being gone."

Edelgard notices that he doesn't mention heaven. She would have thought that expecting to see his parents in the afterlife would have also given him comfort. She decides to just file that away in her mind, to think about later. Right now, she was starting to have had enough of such heavy conversation. She twists around so she's facing Dimitri. His eyes immediately flicker towards her bare breasts, before meeting her gaze. 

"I think we've shared enough depressing stories about our childhoods for tonight," she tells him, swinging one of her legs over his and trailing a hand down his chest. Luckily, Dimitri not only understands what she's implying, but seems to reciprocate her desire as well. She can feel his cock start to stiffen up again against her thigh as she leans in to kiss him. He shifts so he's sitting up, and pulls Edelgard onto his lap. 

They stay that way for a while, trading light kisses that become deeper and more aggressive. He grasps her waist, biting at her lip as he grinds against her. Edelgard feels herself melting at his touch. God, they had just fucked but she already wants him again. Everywhere he touches her lights her on fire. When he pulls back, Edelgard trails after him with a soft whine. 

"Do you remember what you said last time?" He murmurs against her lips. Edelgard shakes her head. She could remember if she tries, but she doesn't want to pull her mind away from this. 

"Tell me," she breathes back to him.

"You said if I got you off with my fingers, that you would let me go down on you," he answers. Now she remembers. Yes, she had said that. 

"Please do," she whispers against him. She can already feel heat coiling between her legs at the thought. When Dimitri pushes her down against the mattress, she feels herself getting wetter already. He looks down at her with a sly smile she knows by now means that he's letting himself indulge in his more intense sexual urges.

"Open your legs," he commands her. "Like a good girl." Normally, Edelgard would resist a bit, force him to work more to get her to submit. But the way the order comes out almost like a growl haas her spreading her legs without a second thought. Her heart beats faster as she watches him look over her, knowing he can see how wet she already is. She notices some hesitation in his demeanor, though, and remembers that she is his first sexual partner.

"Just start licking, kissing, whatever," she tells him. "I'll let you know if something isn't working. Just don't bite. That would be too much even for me." Dimitri nods, moving his head down towards her. He starts hesitantly, but Edelgard encourages him with quiet gasps and moans when he moves his tongue against her clit, and he begins to move more confidently. It feels incredible. She clutches the sheets on his mattress in her fists, holding on as Dimitri brought her to the edge. This time, at least, he wasn't going to make her beg.

"Ah, just like that," she encourages him when he swirls his tongue around her clit just right. He continues with gutso, and Edelgard feels herself coming hard against his face. Dimitri looks at her eagerly as she recovers from her second orgasm of the night. She realizes that he probably wants to know how he did, and notices his erection.

"Mmm, good job," she tells him. "Now let me take care of that for you," she continues reaching for his cock. Yet he waves her away. She frowns. "I insist," she says. He relents, letting her pump her hand up and down his cock.

"Hmm," she hums. Their current positions are awkward for this. She crawls around behind him so that her bare chest is pressed against his back. She leans against him as she resumes jerking him off. She leans against him further, feeling his heartbeat pound faster. Dimitri isn't too vocal, but she knows he's close when his hips start to thrust into her hand. She kisses his neck from behind, sucking at his pulse point. That seems to do it, and he's ejaculating on his sheets.

Edelgard keeps her hold on him for another moment before letting go. It's getting late. She should be getting back to her room. Pushing herself off of Dimitri's bed, she walks over to where she had placed her clothes, and starts getting dressed. She puts the witch hat on again, too, since she hadn't brought a bag or anything with her to the party. She suspects that she'll be better off with both hands free when using Sylvain's secret route to the girls' dorms. She turns towards Dimitri, who seems to have been watching her the whole time.

"So," she begins, adjusting her sleeves. "Are you going to show me this secret passageway?" Dimitri jolts, apparently not fully realizing that Edelgard was looking back at him.

"It's hardly a passageway," he says. "There's a ledge outside the window," he nods towards the window between his and Sylvain's beds before continuing. "It connects to a roof where you walk around the wall, and then use the ledge outside the girls' dorms' windows to get where you need to go." Edelgard nods. "Oh, I forgot, though," Dimitri says, suddenly looking a bit apprehensive. "The window to the room you're going to enter needs to be unlocked. I've never actually gone to a girl's room that way before-- I only ever really used that route when Sylvain was showing it to me after he discovered it our freshman year."

"It's fine," Edelgard replies. "I'll text Dorothea."

Edelgard looks back up from her phone and at Dimitri again, who was still lying naked in his bed and looking at her. His cheeks go pink when he realizes that he's been caught staring at her. Edelgard decides to head him off before he can start blustering or apologizing.

"Dorothea's going to open my window," she tells him, putting her phone in her jacket pocket. She walks over to his window, fiddling with the latches. It's the same type of window as in her dorm, but it's much easier to snap back the latches and pushes it slightly open. Likely from how often it's used. She hears Dimitri get off his bed and stand next to her.

"Here," he says, placing his hands over hers and lifting the rest of the window open effortlessly. His toned arms were around her, almost as in an embrace. Edelgard can feel the tips of ears turn slightly pink. She felt lucky that her hair was covering her ears. She had just fucked him-- twice-- why was she getting blushy now, of all times? Ridiculous. 

"Thanks," she says, fortunately able to keep her voice from betraying any sort of sudden nervousness at his close presence. She hefts her leg up over the windowsill, deftly climbing out the window and onto the shallow ledge below. 

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Dimitri asks, a look of concern on his face as he seems to realize how precarious her position is. Edelgard bites back a small smile she can feel forming at her lips.

"A bit too late to have second thoughts, I think," she tells him with a confidence she doesn't quite feel. "I'll be fine. It's just that roof there, right?" she says with a nod of her head towards a flatter, safer roof to walk on, a meter or two away from where she was currently standing. Dimitri nods. She begins to sidle across, grateful for the large bricks and deep mortar joints that formed the outside wall of the boys' dormitory-- and convenient places to hold onto, as though she were rock climbing horizontally. It's not even like she's at that much risk of slipping, when she has both feet firmly on a ledge, but it helps her feel less nervous. 

Eventually, she reaches the other roof, and lets out a breath that she didn't realize she had been holding. Her heart was also beating faster than she had realized. Edelgard was relieved that she had been able to focus on getting across, and hadn't frozen up in the middle. She looks back towards Dimitri's window, and gives him a smile and a wave when she sees that he had clearly been watching her the whole time, worried.

"Just walk around the other side," he calls out towards her. "The ledge underneath the girls' dorm windows is wider, but you'll have to crouch to avoid being seen, until you get to your room." His brows furrow. "Your room is on this same floor, right?"

"Yes, I'll be fine," she calls back with a wave of her hand. "I wouldn't have stepped out of that window if I hadn't thought of that already."

"Oh, okay." Dimitri clearly is torn with the urge to keep anxiously watching her, but she's almost out of his sight. "Text me when you make it back, just in case something happens," he finally decides to say. Edelgard gives him a thumbs up, and he closes his window again. 

It's a short walk across the roof, and then she eases herself onto the adjacent ledge connected to the girls' dormitory. Remembering Dimitri's advice, she crouches just before reaching the first window she has to get past. Crawling across the ledge is more difficult than walking, but it's still better than getting caught. She counts each window as she passes them, until she reaches the one she thinks is her and Dorothea's.

Slowly, she nudges the window with her fingers, seeing if it was unlocked. It was. Edelgard decides to risk it. If it wasn't her room, it was probably one of their neighbors, and none of them were the type to call for a teacher to report her-- at least not before letting her explain. She stands up, lifting the window up more, and then freezes when the frame squeaks with disuse. 

"There you are, Edie!" Edelgard jolts, almost dropping the window she had half-opened.

"Dorothea!" she exclaims, relieved but also a bit annoyed. "You scared the shit out of me."

"Oops." Dorothea gives her an apologetic look. "Here, I'll make it up to you," she says, lifting the rest of the window up for Edelgard, and then grabs Edelgard's forearms as Edelgard lifts one of her feet into the room. She pulls, and Edelgard tumbles inside. 

"Thank you, Dorothea," she says breathlessly on the floor, pushing her hair out of her eyes. 

"No problem," Dorothea replies. "But you have got to fill me in."

"Fill you in on what?" Edelgard asks as she picks herself up off the floor where she had landed. Dorothea gives her a reproachful look.

"You and Dimitri? Are you guys like, a thing, now? Did you guys plan to leave the party together? Is his dick as big as I think it is?" Edelgard laughs at Dorothea's last query.

"Not really, not initially, and yes, probably," she replies to Dorothea's barrage of questions in order. "I don't know how big you think his dick is, but I am quite satisfied with it. Him. Sexually. We didn't plan tonight's... tryst, and our arguing was genuine, but getting kicked out by Claude brought us to our senses and we decided to put our time and energy to better use. And we're doing more of like a friends-with-benefits kind of thing, I think." Dorothea nods as Edelgard answers.

"Damn, y'all are friends already?" she teases with a smile. "You guys are moving faster than a pair of lesbians with an extra u-haul lying around." Edelgard laughs again. 

"I must admit, this arrangement is quite preferable to our previous mutual antagonism," she confesses lightly. 

"You're telling me," Dorothea replies. "I don't think I've seen you in such a consistent good mood since the soccer team won the spring tournament last year." She flops onto her bed with a sigh. "I need to get laid again too if it's that much of a mood-lifter." Edelgard feels her ears start to burn again. She turns away, and the weight of her phone in her jacket pocket reminds her of her promise to Dimitri. She types quickly as she thinks of a response to Dorothea.

"I hear Constance is still single," she finally says to Dorothea with a sly smile, who is still lying on her bed in a dramatic pose. She lifts her head up to look at Edie and wrinkles her nose.

"Ugh no thanks. I'm not that desperate," she groans. "She's fine as a classmate, but I don't think I'd be able to handle her as a girlfriend. I have no idea how you managed to date her for four entire months." Edelgard chuckles at Dorothea's reaction to her suggestion. 

"Near the end it did feel more like a competition than a relationship," she admits with a sigh. "We just weren't compatible."

"You know, Edie," Dorothea says thoughtfully, turning on her stomach to face Edelgard. "I think you have a type. Constance in what, sophomore year? Hilda the year before that. Ferdinand last year. Dimitri now. Have you ever dated anybody that you weren't always arguing with?" Edelgard leans her head back as she thinks. 

"I think I dated Hubert briefly in middle school," she says, and then frowns as she finished processing all of Dorothea's question. "And Dimitri and I aren't dating."

"You argue with Hubert all the time too," Dorothea scoffs. "You're just good enough friends and respect each other so much that you don't realize that you're arguing." Edelgard considers this. Maybe Dorothea had a point after all. "Wait," Dorothea blurts out. "What do you mean you think you dated Hubert in middle school?"

"Oh. Well, it was ambiguous, you know." Dorothea only raises her eyebrows at her. Clearly, she needed more of an answer than that. Edelgard groans. "It was seventh grade. Hubert was just starting here at Garreg Mach. When he left it kind of felt like maybe we had something romantic going on, but we never talked about it. We were always texting each other, too." Dorothea waits as Edelgard finishes her explanation.

"And you never talked about it?" she asks incredulously when the story stops there. Edelgard knows her ears must be bright red by now.

"No. I didn't want to make any assumptions. I think he didn't want to overstep. But we were like that for a few months before he integrated more here and became friends with Jeritza." Luckily, Edelgard is saved from further interrogation by Dorothea when her phone dings. A text message from Dimitri.

Edelgard doubts that, but she knows that she doesn't have much room to get on Dimitri's case for letting Sylvain find out when Dorothea knew weeks ago. She hopes, though, that Dimitri hadn't just offered up the details to him unprompted.

Edelgard pauses. She feels like there's something else that she had been meaning to talk to Dimitri about. Their presentation. Right. That was it. They definitely need to get working on that, after the days Edelgard wasted giving him the cold shoulder.

There. Everything Dimitri-related was now properly squared away, for the time being. Edelgard is a little surprised at how much of a relief it is to not always be at odds with him. She hadn't realized that amount of stress that weighed on her as a result of their mutual antagonism. She's unsure how long this arrangement that they have will last-- she still half-expects the Headmistress or Father Aelfric to corner her after class after hearing Dimitri confess to their sexual activity. 

Her phone dings again. Edelgard can't imagine who's texting her now-- maybe Hubert? He was a night owl, but he usually didn't message her so late on a night where she had class the next morning. She picks up her phone and opens the message.

What-- why had he sent her a goodnight text? Even as fuck-buddies, Dimitri is hopelessly sentimental. Not that it bothers her. She suspects that that's just how he is. Doubt lingers in the back of her mind as she tries not to consider what the implications of him becoming overly attached to her would mean. Its fine. It would work out, she thinks with a yawn. 

She drags herself to bed, exhausted from the night she's had. It isn't like her to wave away concerns with only optimism, but she's too tired to preemptively plan what to do if they start to catch feelings for each other. Wait-- each other? When had she started to consider the possibility that she could start liking him? Not that it matters, she thinks as she falls asleep. That wasn't ever going to happen.