Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Through one side or another, Claude's family has always had an interest in business. On one end, he has his father, a man whose name is synonymous with royalty back in Almyra, an age old kingdom that has managed to survive even from Dimitri's time. Even now, Claude knows he's off back in Almyra, running a country. When he was younger, however, that wasn't always so. Before he could ascend to kinghood, he had to prove himself more outstanding than the rest of his siblings.

It's Almyran tradition. Royalty is in the blood, yes, but royalty is also an action almost more than anything else. From what Claude understands of his history lessons, once upon a time, that meant royalty was on the front lines in protecting the kingdom, or seeking glory. Normal human things, in the end. For those whose deeds became known, who earned the favor and admiration from the people, it was decided in the end that they would become the next king of Almyra - a title that's become genderless over the years, in a way.

As the years have changed, as people and countries and societies have changed, well, going into battle and being an incredible warrior was no longer the kind of thing which could be considered any real basis for choosing a king. Claude is pleased to say that it was a scholar who first changed minds, centuries ago, when they helped come up with systems to make the more common people's lives easier - things to do with spice crops and wyvern care. Flashy battles may turn heads, but it was food and their prized steeds that people returned home to at the end of the day.

That's how it is nowadays. There's a democratically elected council as well, of course, that helps keep things in check, and lots of discussion over the years on if they should really be keeping royalty in this day and age... And yet for now, the royalty is still something that is in place. Perhaps it's because of the fact that they're obligated, by legality and tradition both, to do notable things for their country, and that so much competition with so many siblings ensures a lot of people are working on good answers. Noteworthy accomplishments.

"How did your father become king, then?" Dimitri asks, fascinated and almost as if he's forgotten what he was upset about in the first place. Certainly he's forgotten that he's in the middle of eating, his fork still partway up to his mouth with some rice and chicken on it.

"He married my mother," Claude answers, and laughs at Dimitri's stare. "Well, I said my family has always held an interest in business, didn't I? He had a wife before, but she passed away because of an illness - even here in the future, those sorts of things still befall people. He'd been left behind with all of my other siblings, because they certainly hadn't wasted any time there... But he was fine with taking care of them, even though he was still actively competing to be recognized by my grandfather. So he decided he'd venture out of Almyra with the kids he had at the time, over here to Fodlan."

Dimitri absorbs that, head tilted to the side in curiosity. "Once upon a time, in the years that I know, the Almyran Kingdom had quite a bit of animosity towards the Leicester Alliance... I suppose even with time, old rivalries can shimmer down. That is a comfort."

That makes Claude smile. If there's one thing Dimitri is good at... It's reminding him how far things have come, even with all the troubles that still exist in the world. "Yeah... Anyway, on his visit here to Fodlan, he met my mother through a rather... bombastic story that deserves some time of its own to shine. Needless to say, they hit it off when they only knew each other's first names, or what their backgrounds were like.

"He'd already fallen head over heels for her, even before he'd learned that she was the heiress to a really important company that had risen up from the Leicester Alliance to reign supreme for decades. When they realized how hard they were working to really similar goals... Well, that was just the pin in the wedding for them. She cut ties with her family, at least on the surface, and the two of them made their own company. They helped make huge advances in agriculture - I won't bore you with the details - and sometime during all of that... I was born."

"And those advances were enough to win the people?" Dimitri asks, finally remembering to start eating again. He doesn't even blink twice at the food in his mouth, all of his attention focused on Claude.

He nods. "It was a pretty coordinated effort that targeted a lot of different things... but you can look that sort of thing up in old news articles - I'll have to introduce you on how to use the internet. Anyway... That helped my father secure the throne, along with a few other events. Now, for my generation, the same thing is happening."

"The competition for who shall be king?"

Oh, good, Dimitri understands exactly what it is at its core. "That's right. All of my siblings are doing their utter best to prove their competence... and a lot of them have quite a head start on me." He shrugs casually. "Well, I like to think I've been making some pretty good progress all on my own..."

Dimitri's gaze sharpens, and he has to put his fork down back in the bowl he was eating from so that he can curl a fist. "And that's enough for them to go after you?"

Uh oh. Claude recalls the effortless way that Dimitri had lifted a full grown human adult off their feet with only one hand at that person's face. "It might not have been them," he says reassuringly. "Needless to say, when there's a boom of competition, plenty of other businesses start to get aggravated, and plenty of people aren't ashamed of playing dirty despite how a lot of our businesses are meant to be in the area of cleaning things up. Sometimes it's as simple as spying, and other times it's to scare me away from a certain plan of action - there's a lot of things. And that's not even going into the political aspects."

"So how do you stay safe?" Dimitri asks, pressing his palm against the table and leaning forward. "I have not seen you with so much as a guard!"

"Careful planning," Claude says with a shrug and a twirl of his fork. "Tonight was a bit of an oddity. Normally, when I travel, I'm with one of my close friends who no one would dare go up against in a fight, or two of them, or there are tons of people on the street and I'm in bright and densely populated areas. This apartment generally has pretty good security, and I can tell whenever anyone has broken into my apartment.

"This was just a stroke of bad luck; I genuinely thought I'd be fine so long as I was next to you while we were out getting groceries." He taps his lips with his fork prongs. "Maybe it was because they didn't realize how muscular you really are under those clothes... and assumed they'd be fine if they caught me by surprise while you had your hands full."

Dimitri's jaw tightens, and he stuffs his mouth full of food as if to keep himself from saying anything. Maybe it helps to calm him down, as he takes a calming breath after he's swallowed. "You should have a bodyguard with you at all times," Dimitri finally says. "If it is truly so uncommon to lean self defense here, then that is the least you should do. Someone to protect you, and keep you safe."

Claude chuckles again, trying not to make it too loud or anything in case Dimitri gets offended and thinks he's being laughed at. "I really don't think I can hire a guard to protect me 24/7, you know. It just wouldn't work out in the long run. Most of the time, no one - whether my siblings or business rivals - goes this far. It's an uncommon occasion."

"Even if it is uncommon, that does not mean it never happens, as tonight has demonstrated." Dimitri squares his shoulders. "Then it is decided. I will be your bodyguard."

What. "What."

"I will protect you from all harm," Dimitri says, spearing the remainder of his dinner. "I have been wondering what else I could do here, in order to feel like I can help, and not be a burden-"

"I've literally never said you were a burden," Claude says, but Dimitri just bulldozes right over him.

"-but I do not have many talents to my name, and the recipes they display on the television go far too quickly for me to mimic accurately so that I can prepare you meals every day. I have only been truly gifted at physical labor, and combat. So I will use both to keep you safe!"

Claude presses the heel of his palm against his forehead, brushing his hair out of the way at the same time. "Listen, that's..." But then he pauses, brain latching onto this idea and rapidly making something else out of it. "Actually..." He smiles. "No, nevermind what I was about to say."

"And just what do you have there?" Lorenz asks, already prepared to be aggravated or exasperated.

With a thermos of coffee in his hand, Claude almost manages to get his witty zinger out in time. He really almost does; it was almost the entire reason why he decided to bring some coffee in with him to work instead of getting daily refills from what they have in the breakroom. Instead, Dimitri speaks up before he does, making polite eye contact with Lorenz as he says, "I am Claude's boyfriend. It is nice to meet you."

Lorenz chokes on air. Claude almost chokes on his coffee. The good news is that he manages to handle his surprise a lot more smoothly than Lorenz does, simply swallowing hot liquid far too quickly than is advisable.

It's not something that's really noticeable, fortunately, and he masks it even further as he continues to stride down the hallway to his office. As he passes by Lorenz, he manages enough of a recovery to wink at his poor friend. Then, just like that, he's disappearing behind his doors, with Dimitri following right behind him like a loyal hound.

Once the doors are shut, Claude laughs into his hand and goes to flop into his chair. "I will say that you're doing a really good job of keeping your cool here," he tells the blond, taking another sip of his coffee. "Although I'm curious - why did you introduce yourself that way instead of as my bodyguard?"

"I was attempting to be subtle," Dimitri admits, gaze starting to wander off to the vast amount of bookshelves and cabinets in Claude's office before he forces himself to look back at Claude. No doubt he wants to ask so much about everything, but he's being professional and keeping it together. It's... honestly pretty cute. "We were there in public, after all... And, last night, as you were explaining this all to me, you mentioned that you have had to deal with spies in the past. I thought that... maybe it would be better for me to say something else, before I could be told who to properly trust."

This entire time, Dimitri has come off as a rather honest and genuine person, Claude has to admit. He knows there are deeper depths to him, because everyone has deeper depths. No one would look at Raphael and see the care he's fostered for others, or see Hilda's own fears beyond the relaxed attitude that she displays. Still, while Claude had been willing to let Dimitri keep his secrets, he does have to admit that he wasn't entirely sure if Dimitri would be capable of the... subtlety that their very odd situation demands.

Yet it seems he won't have anything to worry about after all, and Claude reclines with a smile. "Yeah, that's the right attitude to take. Hilda screens every new employee that gets to anywhere substantial within the Golden Deer buildings in a way that would make some governments turn green with envy, and our Raphael makes sure that we don't get any loiterers past a certain floor. Ignatz and Leonie are meant to get back tomorrow, and they usually handle security... but in their absence, Lysithea makes sure not a single sticky note is out of place. Yet even with all of that, well... You know what they say: the only secret is one that no one else knows."

"I cannot deny the truth of that..." Dimitri finally strides across the office to join him, looking out the window. "Well, I will follow your lead, then, on who to reveal any truth to, although I doubt we will reveal the entirety of that truth."

Ha. Yeah, Claude can't say that would go particularly well, even with his friends' trust in him... At best, they would think he was just jerking their chains around as well with a rather poor attempt at a practical joke. At worst, he suspects they would all think he's having some sort of mental break from working too hard and not getting enough sleep.

Best to just... spin a few little lies here, and obscure the truth a bit more. Besides, this isn't really a "Golden Deer" problem. This is purely a Claude problem, and so it's fine if no one else needs to know outside of him and Dimitri and apparently the divine.

Claude will deal with it when he deals with it. For now, he smiles at Dimitri. "Don't worry. You won't have to wait long to get the answer to that. I imagine that we'll have a bunch of people nosing about shortly, especially now that Lorenz has seen you, and you basically announced who you were in public. New faces get a lot of interest here. Anyway, if you want to pull up a chair and relax, I won't mind."

Unfortunately, besides keeping watch, he's not sure what use he can have for Dimitri here. All of this is just convenient in keeping Dimitri from possibly burning his apartment down or downloading a virus to his computer... and maybe something else as well, something they can only get here at the Golden Deer building.

For a moment, Dimitri wobbles in place with no clear indication that he even knows where he wants to go, before he turns once again to the massive view outside of Claude's window. Much like at his apartment, it's quite a height they're at, but the wyverns are a lot more active around these parts, as is the pegasi traffic a couple of floors beneath them. "Does the noise ever bother you?"

"You mean from all the air traffic?" Claude asks lightly, starting up his computer. "Nah. Any steeds in the air are basically legally kept a certain distance away from buildings, with the exception of places where they're legally allowed to land. Sometimes on really busy days, it manages to get through... but, more often than not, they're so far away that it's hardly any noisier than the traffic on the ground, honestly. Depending on how it is in here, I might not here anything at all because of how much conversation is going on."

That's all he can really say on the matter, however, because he's barely opened up a web browser with his email address typed before the office doors swing wide open. "Hey, boss!" Raphael says cheerfully, with Lorenz, Lysithea, and Hilda almost falling over. Claude is pretty sure they were all going to try and eavesdrop on him in a second... So it's a good thing him and Dimitri were just talking about inner city air traffic. "I heard you brought your boyfriend here!"

Trust Raphael to get them all straight to the punch. Judging by the looks their three friends behind them are making, Claude suspects he would have been in for a whole big circular conversation to get him to admit what he's doing, exactly, or who he's dating, up until Lysithea or Lorenz snapped and demanded a straight up answer. Raphael doesn't need to snap. He just walks in and asks what everyone else is thinking. On the other side of the door, Marianne peers in awkwardly, not quite sure what to make of All Of This. Claude doesn't blame her.

All he can do is grin back at Raphael, watching their bulldozer of a friend move over towards Dimitri immediately. "Yup. Raph, this is Dimitri."

Like the polite young man he is, Dimitri meets Raphael halfway, with one hand already extended. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he says, his smile honest. In the back of his head, Claude realizes this is the first person outside of himself that Dimitri has properly met. "I promise that I won't get in your way."

"Hey, there's no need to worry about that!" Raphael laughs even louder, and clasps that hand tightly. A lot of people before have quailed underneath the force of Raphael's handshakes; the guy has to remember to hold back.

Yet Dimitri only smiles, and firmly shakes Raphael's hand. It makes their titan of a friend pause, blinking, before realization strikes him, and the widest grin he's had since the last buffet lunch they all went to spreads across his face. He starts to shake Dimitri's hand more energetically, until he's practically flapping it around, and Dimitri's smile can only stay frozen on his face.

Poor guy has absolutely no idea what the hell is going on.

As Dimitri is acclimating to the sheer force of sunshine that is Raphael, the Raphael in question finally lets go and turns to Claude with his grin stretching from ear to ear. "He's a great guy, Claude!" he announces proudly. "Great job!"

What a way to congratulate someone on getting a date. Claude isn't dating anyone, but still, that this is how Raphael reacted to thinking he's dating a guy like Dimitri... Claude just grins. "Thanks, my taste is still impeccable as always," he says, and then looks over to the open door. "Anyway, do the rest of you want to come in to interrogate me, or can you close the door? You're letting the draft in."

Just like that, his friends and coworkers all swarm into his office together, the tide even carrying along poor Marianne despite her protests of "I just wanted to show him an update-!" Watching from the corner of his eye, Claude hides his smile behind one hand as he takes in Dimitri's expression. Poor guy couldn't have had even a single clue that coming along with Claude to the Golden Deer building would result in something like this, even if Claude told him. That's definitely why Claude didn't. Just that, and no other reason. Nope.

"This isn't a dating spot," Lysithea says in annoyed aggravation once they're all in side; poor Ignatz and Leonie are going to be missing out on the party. "What are you thinking?"

"Hey, some places have a Bring Your Kid to work day," Claude says, shrugging. "Anyway, the door is shut and locked, right?"

It's a perfectly casually said statement. Mild. And yet the entire room goes still again, with even Raphael pausing in his constant grinning and shoulder slapping of Dimitri. "Yup, it's locked," Hilda says, grabbing another chair from the side so that she can plop down into it, seated backwards. "Personal conversations deserve privacy and all. But just to make sure, Marianne...?"

Marianne is already over there, going above and beyond as she opens the door to peek out into the hallway before shutting the door once more and firmly locking it. "We're secure," she says quietly, rejoining the rest of them as they gather in front of Claude's desk. With a few taps of his finger, he makes sure that the speakers and video camera on his computer are disconnected - another little preventative measure, just in case. It never hurts to be too cautious with how his life is like. Once that's done, he nods to Dimitri. It only takes that for the other man to step close again, positioning himself behind Claude's chair.

No point in dancing around it. "I got jumped again last night," he says simply. It's like watching a trail of firecrackers go off - the immediate burn of fire in Lorenz's eyes, the steely look that falls over Lysithea, Raphael's own dark expression. Hilda doesn't change, not on the surface with a relaxed and unbothered kind of stare, but she doesn't look away from Claude even a bit.

Marianne doesn't go enraged, not like his other friends, because she goes concerned instead with the way she leans forward, her hand on Lorenz's back. "Did you get hurt?" she asks, eyes bright with worry. That's enough to make Claude's smile soften, a little. Nothing on if anything was stolen from him, nothing on if he knows who it is - is he okay?

Things like this remind him that coming to Fodlan, that starting up Golden Deer, wasn't a bad idea.

"I'm fine," he says reassuringly. "My assailant didn't even have time to get out any sort of weapon, or drug, or whatever else they had in mind." Claude jerks a thumb over his shoulder. "Thanks to Dimitri, who was with me as I went to the store." Who was part of the reason why he was out getting groceries at the store, but little details, unimportant. "They weren't really anything special, just some two-bit jackass on their own, but the fact that they were willing to jump me even when I was accompanied with someone is a little bit concerning."

"You want me to escort you home some more?" Raphael asks, brows furrowed.

Claude shakes his head. "With Verdant Wind rushing to be accomplished as much as possible, we're all on a bit of a time crunch as it is," he says. "I can't possibly feel good about prying you all from the jobs I have you working on right now. If I do that, I'll start prying you away from both things we need to get finished, and your own personal lives." Raphael has a sister to go home to, after all, and Hilda being able to work here at all is if they can reassure her brother that this is a safe job. "Since Dimitri did such a good job of protecting me the first time, I thought it would be better to just hire him as a personal bodyguard, at least until Verdant Wind has reached a decent enough point where people mostly give up on sabotaging its very beginning."

"I wonder what I'll even put down on the forms for him," Hilda muses. "I guess security guard would be the most apt, right?"

"It would," Claude agrees, smiling a little. "But I'm not hiring him as an employee of Golden Deer. I'm using my own funds for this."

Lysithea shakes their head, arms crossed like they're royalty in their own right. "You're not the kind of guy who makes those kinds of decisions for no reason, especially since the company's funds could handle just one more measly bodyguard..."

"Just playing it safe." He shrugs, making himself seem relaxed. "I don't know how much they're going to really dig on this, if they were willing to toss some random thug at me. Maybe they'll dig through our finances, and they'd spot a new employee on the payroll."

"No need for anyone to call nepotism either," Hilda teases, and Claude just grins back at her. So they're still willing to buy that Dimitri is dating him... Well, that would explain why Dimitri was with him at the time that he was attacked. It's a nice, solid cover. He thinks he'll keep using it.

But honestly... "And anyway," he says. "This isn't a Golden Deer thing. This is just a me thing, until we learn more about who hired the guy, and how far it could have gotten. If that person really just wanted to go after anyone in the company to intimidate them, they would have. Instead, it was me. That's telling in its own right, I think. So I'll pay for it out of my own funds." He grins. "I'll be honestly glad if it's just me they're after. That'll narrow down our suspects a lot, and no one else has to get hurt."

"Besides you," Lorenz points out with a huff, hands on his hips.

Claude just winks. "Now, you don't have to worry about me," he says, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. "Anyway... Lorenz, Lysithea, I took some pictures of the attacker. If you could look into it, just so that we can get a little more information and decide where they stand..."

"We shall dig up every trace of the scoundrel," Lorenz says, with no small amount of determination and pride. "Although, honestly, Claude, what kind of reckless fool comes in the day after he's just been attacked by some random hooligan on the street?"

Before Claude can so much as open his mouth, Dimitri leans forward as well. "That is what I said!" he exclaims, shaking his head. "Yet he said he had far too much work to do for him to skip a day simply because he was tugged around! He would not listen to me even a little."

Uh oh. Eeeeeeuh oh! "Anyway!" Claude says hastily, before Lorenz can bond with a kindred spirit of fussing and bossing around. "That's basically all we need to know! Now let's have a great morning-"

"Don't think you can keep them separate forever, Claude," Lysithea tries to say over his own words, looking incredibly smug and self satisfied.

"-and make sure the day is a really nice and productive one-"

"You're so doomed," Hilda says, looking as though her birthday has managed to defy time by coming early.

"Do not do anything too inappropriate with him here," Lorenz says, trying to out-loud him.

"And I'll see you when we hit five!" Claude wishes that he could say and just like that, everyone left my office, except it's never that easy. Marianne and Raphael still worry over him, and Lorenz is ten times worse. The only people who are any good would be Hilda and Lysithea, who at least stand outside of his office as he does his best to get his friends the hell out of there. Yet, eventually, he manages to succeed, closing his door with a heaved out breath. Dryly, he glances back at Dimitri. "You know, as my bodyguard, I thought you were supposed to help me regarding things like that."

Dimitri merely smiles at him, reminding Claude more than a little bit of a guard dog that happily took treats from a burglar. "You seemed as though you were having fun," he says. "I wouldn't want to rob you of that."

"I bet you wouldn't," Claude says, huffing and smiling despite himself. With a bit more peace and quiet back at his disposal, he returns to his desk and sinks down into his chair. "Anyway... I'm glad that they all bought that well enough. Maybe I should view that attack last night as a good thing, at least for the situation the two of us are in..."

Frowning, Dimitri says, "It was not a good thing. You are simply clever enough to turn bad moments around, I think."

Well... Chuckling, Claude turns back to his computer. Dimitri honestly isn't wrong there. All his life, Claude has had to learn how to do that - turning bad moments into something he can use, something to his advantage. He's had to become opportunistic, scrapping up every little thing he could use. The siblings that came before him were all able to get first pick of various allegiances in family, or connections that various uncles or family friends on the Almyran side. They've always had more than him... and they were eager to take anything that might have been in his reach as well.

Claude can't blame them for that. The vast majority of them want to become the Almyran king, and that means they have to do their absolute best. It's not something one can go after if they aren't prepared to be absolutely ruthless; Claude is doing a lot of the same after all. So he's had to become like this... No matter how much he might like the memories they all share of being in a kitchen, their father's booming voice sending them this way and that.

Maybe when all of this is done with, even if the king has to legally cut himself away from family and the businesses he's done... They'll be able to return to all of that again. Or maybe not. The only way to find out is to finish all of this.

He really does have a lot to do, however. Since Dimitri seems fascinated enough with watching the world outside of the window, and look sharply towards the door anytime it even seems as though there's a noise right outside of it, Claude leaves him to his own devices for the most part. Him, he goes over various plans that have been sketched up, checks in on how the weather is for Leonie and Ignatz's route back, answers emails from what seems like every single part of Golden Deer.

"Your company seems rather powerful," Dimitri says when Claude is apparently taking a break - although it's really nothing more than him leaning back and stretching his arms up over his head. "We never went in depth on it, although I understood when you mentioned how powerful some of your enemies could be... But is that yet another reason why you did not call upon any city guard?"

A huff of dry laughter escapes Claude. "Well... That certainly is one reason. Although you should know that Derdriu is actually putting more work into other things in this city than relying solely on, ha, city guards as dispensers of justice. This sort of thing is actually pretty rare... Someone just assaulting another person like that, while completely sober. It would be a lot more difficult to deal with... and it might blow up into something bigger than some two bit jackass is worth. Even if I took care of that particular person, it wouldn't solve the core issue anyway."

"I see... I suppose I should have had more faith in you."

"You're a very upfront kind of person, so I don't blame you at all," Claude chuckles, and he starts to lean forward towards his computer again before he pauses. "Hey, are you really fine just standing around like that? Even you must be getting pretty bored just looking outside all this time..."

This time, it's Dimitri who grins. "While I may be ignorant on a great many things in this time, please put your faith in me when it comes to matters like this. There were many times in the past where I had to stand guard for hours on end, with only simple darkness and the moon to keep me company, or hold my interest. In comparison, watching how this Derdriu thrives with all of the things on the ground, and pegasi and wyverns swooping past such expansive towers... I'm enjoying myself quite a bit. Although if you have something you would like me to do, then I will gladly do it."

"I was just thinking... Oh, right." Bending to the side, he starts pulling out some of his larger desk drawers, until he finds the one that he's looking for. From within, he pulls out a handheld black back, all zipped up. "Grab one of those chairs, and find a space on the desk to make some room. This is actually a really good time to get you familiar with some of the other technology we have here..."

There's a beat of silence he almost doesn't pay attention to, preoccupied with getting the laptop out from its carrying case as it is. He only really notices when Dimitri breaks it, speaking up with a simple question: "Claude, where on earth could I make room?" And Claude looks up, taking in the stacks of paper in front of him, along with various boxes filled with USB sticks or other things, all the little office supplies like staplers and tape...

....Huh. Was his desk always this crowded? Actually, when's the last time he could remember it being clean...

A lot of things get put to the side, both literally and figuratively, instead of him doing what he wants to do with Dimitri. Claude knows where everything is, of course. He's not a complete wreck. It's just, he supposes because he knows where everything is that he hasn't really paid much mind to how it's all piled up... And he does have to admit that it's handier to have his desk cleaned off, with more things easily accessible, than for him to have to dig through an entire ecosystem every time he wants to find a particular something.

As a reward for all of his hard effort, Lysithea looks into his office and gives a sharp little bark of laughter. "So you were finally properly shamed into cleaning up, were you?"

Claude looks up from where he's cleaning up a bunch of papers that him and Dimitri have been cleaning up, sorting them into things he needs to scan onto their drives and things they can shred and recycle. "Instead of cleanshaming me, you could compliment me on how well all of this is looking," he tell them.

"No," Lysithea says, flat out, before they give a slightly more friendlier smile, an honest little something after all the teasing (that he may or may not deserve). "Besides, if you want a reward, it's better that you take a lunch break. Raphael had Lorenz order some things to be delivered, and they just got here on wyvern."

Of course it would have been on wyvern instead of by pegasi. Chuckling, Claude pushes himself up onto his feet and gathers some of the papers up so that he can put them in somewhere that's a little less out of the open. "Oh boy, I wonder what buffet he ordered for us all? Anyway, we'll meet you in one of the conference rooms, I imagine? Don't wait up for us - I'm sure that Raphael's stomach will be rumbling hard enough to constitute an earthquake soon enough." As Lysithea ducks out again, he smiles down to where Dimitri is still inspecting a paper for its worth. "Hey, there's a recycling bin for paper down the hall, near the elevators. How about you take all those over there for shredding, and then come back? I'll show you where the room we're eating at is."

Dimitri nods, gathering a decently sized chunk of papers into his arms. "Of course. I will be back shortly. Although, can I ask what you do with papers once they are shredded...?"

"All sorts of things," Claude hums, tidying up his desk. "Mostly made into new paper again, blank of everything that was on it before. Why toss away something you can use again, right?"

He can tell by the light in Dimitri's eye that he likes that, and then his "bodyguard" is gone, carefully keeping a hold of every single paper, no matter how useless it is. He comes back quickly enough too, a corner of his lip a little more red than the rest from where he no doubt bit it.

Claude has seen him do it before, over the past few hours that they've been cleaning up his desk. He's pretty sure it's Dimitri's way of trying to hold himself back, to do his very best not to be visibly amazed and thus be suspicious to anyone watching. It's... endearing, honestly, that he's trying so hard for him, when he could just live much less stressfully in Claude's apartment until this all becomes resolved.

Instead, he sticks close by his side, truly faithful and determined to help as much as he possibly can, even if that is mostly limited to protecting Claude by standing around a lot. Claude shakes his head a little bit as the two of them walk through the halls of the building, passing through larger office spaces and different meeting rooms where people often duck into just for a little bit of solitude. "Just this way," he tells Dimitri, looking over his shoulder to find his time displaced knight in shining armor looking all around as he commits their route and the rooms they pass to memory.

Golden Deer has a lot of people in it, filling up offices and constantly going out for parts of their job. However, Claude can't trust all of them, not completely, not down to the bone. Honestly, he can't trust a lot of people completely and intimately, even as much as he'd want to... It's just not possible in his situation, he's sure. Honestly, his talk with Dimitri the night before is the most honest and open about a lot of things in his life that he's ever been, now that he thinks about it.

Still, if there's a group of people that he trusts the most in the entirety of Golden Deer, in the entirety of Derdriu, it's the people waiting for him in the conference room he leads Dimitri to. There's already a bunch of seafood spread out on platters along the massive table insdie- sushi, he's delighted to see, plus various kinds of tempura. Hilda waggles a hand in greeting as the two of them step inside. "There you are! I was going to make a joke about you two, but then Lysithea said that Dimitri actually encouraged you to clean up the disaster that is your office, Claude!"

"Is everyone going to drag me for that?" he says, exaggerating his whine as Dimitri politely closes the door behind them. "If you guys all thought it was so bad, then you could have said something instead of gossiping!"

"We have said something," Lorenz remarks with a sigh, while Marianne hides her mouth behind one hand - no doubt a smile. Well, maybe his suffering is worth it a little if Marianne is smiling. "However, every time, you said that you would clean it after you just did this one more thing, or this other thing. Really, you do realize that when most people think about the leader of a company, they imagine an office put together neatly, don't you?"

"Nope!" Claude answers cheerfully, flopping down into a chair besides Raphael. Dimitri takes the seat on the other side of him, and the two blonds exchange massive and bright smiles over his head. "Anyway, jeez, no wonder you guys needed a wyvern delivery. Did you order out the whole restaurant, or what? Did I miss someone's birthday?"

He never misses any of their birthdays. Claude has made sure to remember those kinds of things, ever since he made the decision to make Golden Deer alongside all the people in the room with him now, save for Dimitri, and missing two others. Still, with that in mind... He has no idea what it could be.

Fortunately, with Raphael in the room, there's no need to worry about wondering too much. "Marianne suggested it!!" he says proudly, which earns a frantic blush and confused stare from the woman in question. She really should have known better than to assume that Raphael could keep quiet about something like this for very long. "She thought this would be the best way to help you feel more at ease after what happened last night - and to celebrate Dimitri being here, with you!"

Now it's Dimitri's turn to blush, tucking back some of that pretty blond hair behind one ear. "I don't deserve such generosity for simply appearing," he says. "But I will not be so rude as to dismiss your efforts. Thank you very much."

Across the table, Claude can see Lorenz almost nod to himself in satisfaction. In the whole building, no one is as fussy about manners and presentation than he is. Well, that will definitely make things easier... Out of everyone in the place, Lorenz is one of two that knows Golden Deer almost as much as Claude does, rivaled only by Hilda, although she does her absolute best to say she doesn't know a single thing ever. If anything happens to Claude... Well, he can be rest assured that Lorenz approves of Dimitri enough now that he'd absolutely help.

Well, he'd probably have done that anyway, honestly, because Lorenz is a sucker for anyone in need, but it never hurts to have the scales tipped a little more in their favor for stuff like this.

The conversation trails off a bit as everyone starts to help themselves to the food there, with a lot of arranging done to make sure that Raphael has a whole platter he can use for his own meal. Dimitri does his very best to not seem too ecstatic about this kind of food, but Hilda has a pretty good eye for this kind of thing. Popping some sashimi into her own mouth, she observes him for a second before smiling. "First time eating raw fish, huh?" she asks.

In the back of his head, Claude desperately hopes that his very intelligent friends manage to not pry apart their entire story within the space of an hour lunch break. There's no way that they're going to believe the truth, but that doesn't leave him or Dimitri with very many other options if they realize that something really doesn't add up here. He has no idea if Dimitri understands the situation they're in, because he just smiles at Hilda in embarrassment. "Is it that obvious?"

"Just a guess!" she says with a laugh. Claude keeps eating, because he doesn't want to look like he's too desperately interested in this conversation. "You looked at everyone else first before you tried anything, so I figured you were figuring out the etiquette." She taps her lips with one finger and winks. "I've met a lot of people while eating sushi, so I have some experience~. You kept your cool pretty well despite that!"

He dips his head down just a bit. "Thank you for the compliment," he says sincerely. "I really am not used to such fresh fish. I have had them cooked, but... nothing like this."

"This is one of the many benefits to a seaside city such as Derdriu," Lorenz says proudly, as though he built the place up from the base up all by himself. His city pride is so cute sometimes; Claude can only be thankful that Lorenz has never really gotten into sports and the like. "I believe there are hardly any better places in the entire world where one can have such diverse and delicious seafood. Although now that we are speaking about you, Dimitri, I am quite curious. Where are you from, and how did you meet Claude? Was it troublesome?"

Claude snorts, picking up one of the more elaborate pieces of sushi. "I'm right here, Lorenz."

"It was not troublesome at all," Dimitri promises, picking up a piece of sushi for himself like he's worried it's going to shatter inbetween his fingertips. He's gotten a little bit of everything, it seems. Claude wonders why, and if he'll change it up at all as the meal progresses. "I'm from further up north-" He doesn't list an exact city name. Claude is thankful; he's not sure which exactly would still match up inbetween the two time differences. "-and we met purely by chance, to be quite frank. We met... in one of the most beautiful places that I've ever seen."

Had the greenhouse really won him over that much...? Well, his wording certainly seems to win most of his friend's over, save for Lysithea, who's more focused on cleaning their fingertips of sauce, and Raphael, who doesn't seem to care much that he has some on his own hands. "So Claude met someone on one of his business trips and kept him a secret all this time," Hilda says, sighing dramatically before she laughs. "Honestly, Claude, you're ridiculous."

For a long time now, Claude has been grateful for his sneaky ways. He never could have imagined that he'd be grateful for it in this kind of situation, however. Regardless, he grins and winks. "I hope you all don't plan on interrogating him too hard," he says, a sly little bit of truth placed onto the table. "I need to keep some mystery to my life."

"You really don't," Lysithea says. "You're so dramatic."

"That's the spice of life, you know."

Even as he's bickering playfully with Lysithea, Claude keeps a close attention on how Lorenz is keeping up his side of the conversation with Dimitri. "Well, I'm pleased that it seems the two of you had a fine meeting, then. Now it's clear just why Claude has been actually taking so much time off for himself... The rumors he had started all on purpose had been becoming horrendous."

"Really?" Dimitri looks like a disappointed golden retriever as he hears that news; all he needs are a pair of ears to lower. "I hope they were nothing serious... I would feel terrible if I did that to Claude."

Good, this is his moment to step in, and Claude takes it gladly. "Don't mind Lorenz," he says casually, eyeing the tempura. So many delectable shapes... "He's more than a little dramatic himself, despite what everyone says about me, and he pays more attention to rumors than anything else."

Predictably, Lorenz bristles. "I simply know first hand how out of control rumors can get!"

"Lorenz, all the worst rumors that you've ever experienced were usually your own fault.... Remember when we were in school, and you hit your insufferable flirt stage?"

Just like that, he manages to redirect the conversation, keeping it focused on things of the past, funny stories that they can all have a hand in retelling one way or the other. It's a good way to keep things away from Dimitri, so that they don't have to offer up too many facts that might seem contradicting, or not match up with something else at a later date. An hour passes by them in the blink of an eye, and it's even easier than Claude thought it would be to step out with Dimitri, making an excuse that he wants to show him the garden up on top of the building.

Well... He's already been up there, of course. That doesn't mean Claude still can't show it to him.

"Your friends all seem incredibly kind," Dimitri says, once they're free of the stairwell, and out into the beautiful fresh air of the rooftop. "I was not sure of what I could expect, coming here with you, but I am glad that they all seem to be fantastic people. I am sure that when Leonie and Ignatz return, they will leave just as fine an impression."

Hearing that kind of praise is enough to make Claude smile as he crouches down besides some of the Golden Deer's plants, checking the leaves. No pests, just ladybugs. He hopes the spiders aren't giving them too much trouble. Sure, there should be enough food for both of them... but you never know. "It's exactly as I told them," he tells Dimitri, pushing himself upright again. "I have impeccable taste. They all do their jobs really incredibly, although I guess you haven't gotten a chance to see that yet..."

"I wasn't talking about that." Before Claude knows it, Dimitri is right besides him instead of trailing behind, and his fingers are right there at his own hand. "They're good friends, who care about you. Simply by watching how they surrounded you, and the things that they said, the stories you all shared with one another... I could tell that with but a glance. You're surrounded by a wonderful friendship, Claude."

Somehow, he'd always sort of known that, of course. For people like Lysithea, and Hilda, and Raphael... All of them. He knows they're incredible people, and that he's lucky that they've all decided he's someone worth following, worth working under and alongside. That they laugh with him, and care for him, and that's more than he could ask for. But...

Claude glances away, feeling a heat burning along his neck. "Jeez, you know, that's not really the kind of thing you say out loud," he says, trying to seem relaxed about it instead of, for some reason, embarrassed. Not wanting to linger on that for too long, he tilts his head towards- "There's the greenhouse. Let's see if prayer actually works."

The weather is still as beautiful as can be expected from the day he and Dimitri first met, with sunlight filtering through the colored glass with nothing to obstruct it. It'll be nice if it stays that way; Claude would hate for this place to get dinged up if the weather took a turn for the worse. Exactly like on that day, the altars are all buried amongst their foliage in a way that's always seem calming, gentle, patient. He liked it, once upon a time. Now he just feels antsy.

Worse, he's not really sure of what to do, and so he looks to Dimitri. "So," he says conversationally, "how do you pray to the saints?"

Dimitri blinks at him. "...You don't know how to pray?"

"I am relieved to say that religion is not a mandatory thing. At least, it can't be enforced by church or state." What a family might get up to is something that's a bit more complicated, and always will be. "So: care to show me how it goes?"

"Well.... It is not complicated, fortunately." The two of them stop in front of the little area before the four altars, where the bench Claude laid on before getting a divine pain in the ass lies. "You merely clasps your hands, hold them before you in front of your chest, and.... pray." Dimitri's awkwardness couldn't be more clear. Claude wonders if it's because he's never been asked on how to pray, or if this is awkward in some other way. "Most of the time, I was told that prayers were meant to stay inside of your mind and heart, not giving physicality in the form of the spoken word."

Claude thinks of every movie or television show he's seen that is a lot more dramatic than this, from falling to one's knees in desperation or crying out at the saints for being unfair. How many traditionalists does that piss off, he wonders...? "Well, if that's what you say. I suppose we'll give this a go for... five minutes or so, and see where that takes us."

Honestly, Claude doesn't plan on doing it even that long. A lot of people have prayed every day, and honestly he doesn't see what exactly that has to do with reaching any sort of divine entity, formerly human or otherwise, but it's really the only thing-

"I'd prefer if you didn't." Both of them jolt out of their skins, and Claude doesn't even have time to take in those words properly before he suddenly being shoved backwards, and Dimitri is right there in front of him with his shoulders braced for a battle and the curve of his jaw set stubbornly in preparation for the worst. It lasts only for a second, this image, before he loses some of the tension in his body as the voice continues speaking. "It's alright, Dimitri."

The voice is different, but Claude recognizes it all the same even before he peers around Dimitri to get a good look. The hair is also cut differently... but the person there is still the same, with that same cat-like stare which seems so focused and intense, roughly the same outfit, the same feeling. The same person. Or maybe not the same person at all. He can't quite explain the feeling in his chest.

Of course this kind of run in would be strange, but Claude doubts any holy book could have described it like this. Regardless, he smiles over at the saint, because there's no reason to be unfriendly here. Every reason to be the opposite, as a matter of fact. "Well, thank you very much for making this all the easier for us then," he says casually, because, well. What else is he supposed to do? He's never been particularly religious... so it's not like he's ever read how a person should act in situations like these, if there's any tales at all.

Although personally... He suspects that the ways that a religious figure might talk about aren't the kind of ways the person in front of him would prefer to deal with.

Dimitri takes a moment or two longer to respond, and it occurs to Claude that he might not have seen any saint or god or anything in the event that forced him into another time. From what he had described, he had simply been caught up in a flash of light, of energy... and then here.

Claude is about to take the lead, let Dimitri have the time to recover, before Dimitri bows his head politely to the saint. "...Thank you for the consideration," he murmurs, before he straightens up in a way that, while not tense exactly, is undeniably stiff. It's the same posture he's used while acting as Claude's bodyguard.

Hm. This really is a lot, Claude supposes. For the time being, he treats it like any other meeting with another person, because he's not sure of what else he can do. He smiles, stands besides Dimitri again, and gestures to some of the space on the little brick walls holding back some of the plants. "Can we take a seat? We just had a huuuuge lunch, and I think that would be better on our stomachs than standing around this whole time."

"You can do whatever you like," the saint says. "I can't stop you."

What an interesting to say, from any one of the four saints that interact so much with their plain ol' mortal earth. Well, Claude won't look that bit of generosity in the mouth. He promptly takes a seat, legs stretched out in front of him for comfort (and in case he needs to haul himself upwards, and fast). "Well, if you're here ahead of time, then I can only assume that you have an idea of what we want to ask, right?" he says, as Dimitri takes a seat besides him - inbetween Claude and where the saint sits.

"I believe so. It has to do with Dimitri, doesn't it?" The saint nods to him. "Since you were tugged here rather suddenly..."

Dimitri is still tense; Claude can practically feel it even if the two of them aren't touching. "Before, I was told that something was broken, and had to be fixed," Claude says, and has to fight against his own intense and innate curiosity. He wants to know so badly just what it is that happened exactly, since Dimitri doesn't have a complete picture either... But that might be a bit too much for the time being. He should focus on the more practical matters, here. "Does that relate to how Dimitri is here in my time?"

A simple nod. That stare really is too intense, and with no particular emotion to it, either. It kind of makes Claude want to start pacing, just to get the energy in him out. "Once we fix what was broken... You will return to your time, Dimitri. As though your existence was never displaced or bothered at all."

That sort of thing seems as though it should be enough to make Dimitri's stiff body relax even a little bit. While Claude likes to think he's been a pretty great host, and that this time period has been a fascinating thing to experience for Dimitri, well... He's still far away from home, and during an important time period. For someone so caring like Dimitri, so honorbound... It must be terrible to experience.

Yet that doesn't seem to do much at all, and Dimitri has to look away from the saint. "...Will everyone be alright when I return?" he asks quietly, and a little bit more makes sense for Claude. "I do not know what happened during that attack... If the energy affected them as well. And you..." But he trails off, hands curling into loose fists where he has his arms braced against his knees.

The saint closes their eyes. "Those who you grew up with are fine," they say. "Those you met alongside your journey to get where you are fine. But your teacher..."

Dimitri shakes his head, cutting them off. "I understand. I suppose... my luck simply destined me to this path. I... am sorry."

There's definitely something going on here, something deeper than Claude had thought. Yet there's no real good way to break into this conversation, especially when the saint rises to their feet and lays a hand upon his head. "It's alright. There is no need to apologize." Dimitri keeps his head bowed, not daring to look up at them, and so the saint turns their attention to Claude instead. "You... were wondering how long he would have to stay here, weren't you? I don't know."

....Okay, everything else can be put to the side, because now he has to focus on that. "Sorry, could you repeat that?" Claude says, in disbelief. "I thought as a saint, or, you know, an existence just chockful of divine energy, you'd actually have an answer."

"I do not have an exact answer," Byleth says, and Claude can feel some of his frantic alarm ease up at that. "We don't experience time like all of you do... So I can't say any of that for certain. But..." Crossing their arms, they curl one hand along their chin. "...At most, a year?"

A year... That sounds like a long time, but Claude knows how quickly a year can pass by. Besides, that gives him a lot of time to make plans for how the two of them are going to live, and will seem natural when he "breaks up" with Dimitri so that he can go home without any troubles.

"I think I can manage that," he says, and lightly nudges Dimitri in the side to get his attention. "But what about you, Dimitri? If you want, I can help get you somewhere a lot more remote so that you don't have to be so stressed. I can find a different bodyguard." There's only a few things worse, after all, than a person who doesn't want to do their job, forced to do it.

Dimitri takes a deep breath, and shakes his head once more. "No. I could not do that," he says, rising to his feet. "I said that I would protect you from anyone that would cause you harm, and I intend to stay true to that. I am not the kind of coward that will turn his back away from someone who needs help." Turning to face Claude again, he sinks to one knee and takes one of Claude's hands. "As long as I am here in this place, in this time, then I will do all that I can to protect you, and make your life easier." Just like that, he presses his forehead to Claude's fingertips.

Jeez. Claude can feel his heart threaten to leap out of his chest. He's dated plenty of people in his time, although they've never really lasted... and all that experience has not once prepared him for this kind of earnest chivalry, this need to keep him safe and stay true to a promise given. Words are just empty air disrupted by vibrations - he knows that. There's no reason to have any faith on a promise alone, not unless it's put down on something a little more solid. Yet with Dimitri...

"Jeez." Claude finally gives a voice to at least some of his thoughts, chuckling. "You take things way too seriously. Still, if that's what will make you satisfied, then I can't really argue against that." Avoiding that serious and burning gaze, Claude looks back up at the saint. "While it's good to know that, a couple more questions, if you don't mind me going on about them..."

The saint blinks at him blankly. "I don't think I could stop you if I wanted to."

Alright, that makes him laugh again, and he wraps his hand around Dimitri's more securely so that he can encouragingly tug Dimitri up to his feet. It's weird having someone kneel for him. "I'm glad that my personality is well known even among the divine!" he says cheerfully. "Anyway, my first question would be... How do we get a hold of you if we have any more questions? Us coming here to the greenhouse was mostly just guesswork and crossing our fingers. Should we always come here...?"

"I can technically appear wherever I'm needed... just like the others." The saint tilts their head to the side consideringly. "But in order for things to be orderly... It would be best if you could come here in the event you truly need to speak with me, although I won't appear if there is someone besides the two of you..."

"That works perfectly fine for me," Claude says, grinning even more. Honestly, it's perfect. That will be a good way to tell if they're being trailed, or if there's some sort of recording device attached to their person or in the greenhouse itself. Maybe he could even use this as a way to tell if he has something on him, or in his phone, or a laptop... Claude makes a note to test all of this out at a later date, saints literally willing. "Anyway, as for my second question.... What should we call you?"

There are a lot of saints who have dedicated themselves to the Goddess that a lot of the churches in Fodlan worship, although from the Almyran lens, they would simply be just minor deities in their own right. Yet, from what Claude understands of the religion, most of the saints don't interact very heavily with the mortal earth, or its inhabitants. They're responsible for a great many things, sure, and they deserve respect, he's fine with that... But they're very hands off.

There are four particular saints, however, who have actual tales of them constantly getting involved with their mortal companions, reaching out a hand in times of great need. Apparently there's something in the books about how they are eternally being born and dying on earth, those four, and a shared true name... but Claude has never really gotten to know that particular part of the books. Mostly, he's just interested in knowing which of those saints he's speaking with.

Considering the project he's working on right now, well, there's one answer that seems very fitting... But, instead, the saint looks to him and simply says, "Azure Moon."

The saint of the azure moon... Saint of people lost, people with the world against them, patron saint of protectors and the mentally ill and struggle. A saint that makes Dimitri's eye close, as though remembering something painful.

Well. At least they know the name of this one, and the other one already said they were 'of the wind'. Claude merely smiles, and nods. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Azure Moon. I can't think of anything else yet-" Not without possibly pushing a little bit too much too soon. "-but I'll look forward to seeing you again."

The saint of azure moon nods to them, a sort of polite bow similar to what Dimitri so often does. And then, just like that, they're gone. Without him noticing, the greenhouse had shifted into that strange off-balance state, and now, with Azure Moon gone, it's just.. normal. The same greenhouse he's stepped into dozens of times before.

"Well," Claude says, as Dimitri looks over to the spot where Azure Moon was standing only a second ago. "I guess that settles that. Need another moment before heading downstairs?"

Dimitri stares a moment longer, and then lets out a breath. "No. I believe we've gotten all the answers we could ask for."

When they arrive at his apartment again, a good solid day of work done, Dimitri insists on learning how to use the kitchen more so that he can make dinner for them. Well, what is Claude supposed to do? Argue with the guy taller than him who's used to hauling himself around in plate armor? Besides... In Claude's honest opinion, it feels as though allowing Dimitri to do something is for the best.

They're in the middle of preparing some vegetables - just onions and cabbage, something Dimitri is more familiar with than all the spices from other places or that have come about thanks to modern innovations. As Claude swipes off the juice from a blade, Dimitri lets out a breath. "One of my friends back home.. She really loves all sorts of foods. I think... This city, Derdriu, would be like a dream come true for her."

Ah. Yeah. Claude had figured... it had been something like that. Turning back to the fridge, he pulls out the chicken breast they had gotten. "Yeah?" he asks lightly, not minding how close Dimitri is while he takes care of the thin plastic wrapping. There's not really much room in the kitchen, after all, so there's no point in complaining. He doesn't want to, anyway. "Does she enjoy a lot of food in Faerghus?"

"She's always enjoyed food no matter where we've gone." Dimitri smiles slightly just recounting it, even as he takes the unwrapped chicken from him so that Claude can start preparing the rice. "Granted, we never really went to many places... But we knew people from other countries, here in Fodlan, and could sometimes try out food they cooked. No matter what it was, she was always so grateful to have a taste of it.. Being with her made eating feel like something special, instead of simply something that I had to do in order to survive."

When he talks about her like that... Claude pours two cups of water into the pot alongside the rice, thinking of another person who seems to match that description. "It seems like she would really like Raphael, then," Claude says, chuckling. "He always love food as well... Especially any kind of meat, of course, although he's definitely gotten really into the vegan options so that he can introduce all sorts of fun new foods to his sister. Did your friend used to do the same things?"

"She did." When Claude glances over his shoulder at Dimitri, the blond has a bittersweet sort of smile on his face... but a little more sweet than bitter. At least, that's what Claude is hoping for. "She was always fussing over the rest of us... More two of our other friends, than anyone else. They were always such troublemakers..."

"Every friends group has one." Claude chuckles, grabbing a saute pan and heating it up. "I think you know which side of that line I fall on, after talking to my friends."

There. Definitely sweet, now. Amused, too. "And yet they all still trust you when it comes to running your business," Dimitri says. Is it just Claude, or does he sound almost like he's admiring him? A new experience, certainly... People like him, but admiration? It feels like he's always struggled to get it. "I wonder if you would have gotten along with one of my other friends..."

"What was he like?"

"Honestly, very much like you, but it always felt like he was trying to dodge the label of being a reliable person..." And they keep going on like that. Dimitri talks to him about his friends from childhood, from the woman who wanted her name to go down in history books as heroic, to the hopeless flirt that Dimitri nonetheless looked to when things went bad, to his best friend with a prickly temper whose bleeding heart meant he'd never back down from protecting innocent people no matter anything else.

Dimitri loves them deeply; Claude only needs to listen to understand that much. He loves them so much that, in the middle of cooking the eggs that will go with their chicken, he has to make an excuse for himself so that he can duck into the bathroom. Claude doesn't stop him. He pretends not to listen to the noises that come out of the bathroom, and doesn't think too hard on them. He just waits, until Dimitri is back out again, and helping him add the eggs into all the cabbage they've shredded.

Even if Claude is willing to do all of this, however, Dimitri doesn't seem quite so satisfied, as evidenced by the way he speaks up. "I do appreciate everything you've done. All of your friends are good as well, and I am quite fortunate that I have gotten a glimpse of such a prosperous future."

"You don't have to thank me for anything, just like you don't have to apologize," Claude says mildly. "Honestly, I'm just relieved that you haven't thought of me as a complete jackass because I've been too nosy or said something careless."

Dimitri actually chuckles a bit as the two of them mix all the proper ingredients together. "I am hard pressed to imagine you being careless... It feels like you've been so generous and caring with me."

"Then I think that means I've managed to grow, or something." Claude grabs some soy sauce, sprinkling it amongst the mixture while Dimitri continues to cook it. "For example... I really want to ask why you reacted like you did in the face of the saint of the azure moon."

Dimitri pauses in cooking, but only for a moment - the sound of food sizzling and cooking isn't something that can be ignored, and his attention is grabbed by it quickly once again. "I do not want to sound as though I am making things up, or being dramatic," Dimitri says, eyes focused on the task he has ahead of him. Claude wonders if he, too, looks for things to occupy his attention when he doesn't want to be too open. It must be hard, for a guy like him who wears his heart on his sleeve. "However.... they resemble my mentor, the one who was traveling with the rest of us on our pilgrimage."

Yeah, Claude can recall Dimitri mentioning that kind of person, days ago, when he had first explained to Claude just what he was doing, and what he could remember... Well. If that mentor of his resembles Azure Moon, then Claude suspects he knows exactly what their fate was. And if he suspects, then he's positive that Dimitri is absolutely certain in what had happened.

There's no point in bringing it up more, and rubbing salt in the wound. Instead, Claude tries to go for something else. "Did they teach you how to fight, then?"

Leaning in to check on the condition of the food, Dimitri shakes his head. "I was taught how to fight long before I ever met them, and it was something that I'd long been practicing with extreme diligence. It's something that's always been expected, back in Faerghus - although I suppose that's changed now with how long has passed. I wonder what they do there, now...? Well, assuming there is still a sense of identity in regards to Faerghus..."

"There is," Claude chuckles, grabbing plates for the two of them. "No matter how much time has passed, and how united Fodlan may become against or towards a certain thing, there's still a strong sense of identity in a lot of places. I suppose nowadays it's more towards someone's hometown than necessarily which part of Fodlan they live in... But that still exists to a degree as well. The good news is that it's mostly in regards to a lot of dumb things - claiming a famous wyvern racer as 'theirs', or people getting worked up about sports." Claude grins as he holds out one plate. "What a great period of time that we can live in where a lot of people's concerns are more about who will win at football next instead of wondering if their neighbors will attack them with weapons."

It's all the right combination of words, enough to make Dimitri start smiling a little more warmly as he begins to dump the rice and chicken onto the plate. "Yes... I believe, when I finally return, that will help to keep me going despite all the tension and fear that was so prevalent. I need only think of this... and I will know it is all worth it."

Dinner is honestly a pretty pleasant affair in the end, even despite what has happened and the revelations they've gotten from an actual divine saint. Claude turns on the television simply out of habit, always wanting noise to keep his ever occupied mind satisfied without silence to haunt it, but he hardly even needs whatever show pops up. Instead, him and Dimitri sit at the table, and just... talk.

They talk about how Fodlan is now, what kind of sports are popular nowadays, what holidays have still survived after all this time and what new ones have sprung up as the years have passed. Claude may have grown up in Almyra for the most part, although he's been told that he was a baby in Fodlan... but he's come to love this country, too. He's more than happy to extol its virtues, its passions.

In turn, Dimitri is more than happy to listen about them as he finishes off his dinner in no time. He even insists upon doing the dishes for Claude, although the chore takes ages because of how gentle and careful Dimitri is with even the forks. While he takes care with that - not wasting even a drop of water - Claude drags out his laptop and begins working on it. It feels as if he should be bothered by the gentle clinking of Dimitri washing the dishes behind him, or how the television is set on a channel he's never much cared to watch before... But he's not.

If anything, there's a kind of... comfort to the steady background noise, and Dimitri's presence settling along his shoulders like any one of the many blankets he grabs in the winter months. Somehow, there's almost a sense of - familiarity to it. Just doing his own thing, while, at the same time, his life happens around him, waits to swirl him back into its action...

Dimitri settles down besides him on the couch, trying his very best to manage some sort of decent middle between looking over Claude's shoulder while still having a gentleman's distance away from him. "You were working on a variant of that before, at Golden Deer, weren't you?" he asks.

"That's right." Claude adjusts the laptop where it's balancing on his legs, so that Dimitri has a better view of the screen. If it were anyone else, he wouldn't be so open, but, well, it's not as though Dimitri can understand a whole lot of things on his computer anyway. He doesn't even know what to call this little technological marvel. "It's called a computer in general, although the kind you can carry around with you like this are called laptops. Basically..." Claude grins. "It's a portal to everywhere in the world all at once."

A blink. A squint. Even though Claude has the immense suspicion that Dimitri would never utter a single curseword for fear of sullying an innocent person's ears, he can almost read the confused What The Fuck energy on his face. "That sounds," he says slowly, "like an exaggeration."

"It's not literal, but it's certainly true on the knowledge scale," Claude says with a wink. "It's like having a library and a theater and a television all in one, and a lot more besides that. Honestly, I was going to show you how to use it back at Golden Deer, because I thought it would be able to keep you a lot more entertained while I was busy working."

"I was working as well," Dimitri protests, frowning. Well, that is true, but...

Tucking away all of his current windows and tabs so that Dimitri can't accidentally mess with them, Claude pulls up a whole new fresh slate. A new browser entirely, as a matter of fact. "This is also going to be a form of your work," he tells Dimitri, gesturing for the blond to sit just a little closer. It's better if he gets a good look at everything that Claude is doing, after all. "Today's lunch went pretty well, since I was able to control the conversation and turn it back onto all of us, but eventually my friends, or just the average person, are going to start asking you questions. Depending on the question, it might not be too bad if you don't know the answer... but others would definitely be odd for you to say nothing or claim ignorance about."

"Computers are one of those things?"

"Definitely." Claude brings up two different tabs before he sets the laptop onto the coffee table and starts to dig through his pack again until he can bring out the wireless mouse. This should help at least a little bit... A touchpad is a lot more intuitive, so it's better to start with something that isn't as much. "Not to mention, while I'm busy, you can start familiarizing yourself with this time period, and have a better idea of what things to say and what things not to say, or look up different things. You'll have a library at your fingertips, and be good to go."

Honestly, he should have had Dimitri doing this ages ago, but they were just caught up too much in all the basic mundane details which are necessary to live. Dimitri falling sick twice in one week also didn't help, either. Hopefully, with this... Well, with this, they should be able to cover their tracks a little more.

Claude quickly begins to flick through Ecosia's search system, trying to see if there's something exactly for what he needs. It doesn't take long until he's found exactly what he's looking for, and he goes to- "What I'm doing right now, by clicking on that little blank square up top, is opening another tab," he explains to Dimitri, whose shoulder is brushing against his. He's quite warm. "Think of it like opening another book, side by side to the one you're reading."

Claude likes to think it's a rather slick comparison, honestly, and he's rewarded with the way Dimitri nods. "I see. What tab are you opening now, then?"

"I'm going to make you an email address." Okay, how to explain that... Claude considers this as he starts filling in Dimitri's basic information - name and all that. "Basically.... Think of it as a non-physical home, or a place where you'd get letters delivered to you. On the internet, it's one of those things that helps confirm you're a real person using a computer, instead of something fake." He sizes up Dimitri. "How old are you, anyway? I could make a guess, but I don't want to be wrong."

"I am twenty three years of age... Although, once winter comes, I will be twenty-four." While Claude fills that in, Dimitri waits a moment before he speaks up again. "Is... the internet something different than a computer?"

...Okay. So. He has a few more things he's going to really have to explain to Dimitri. This may take longer than he had thought. Maybe it's a good thing that he ended up doing this back in his apartment instead of at work...

Throughout the rest of the night, as a show about some sort of vet's office plays, Claude takes the time to explain a lot of things to Dimitri. He covers the difference between a computer and internet access, and how sometimes the internet is a library and sometimes more like listening to gossip in a club where everyone wears a mask. He talks about how some places on the internet are relaxed, so people's aliases can absolutely be "BlueDick420" depending on where you are, while others are verified as real people with real professional names and an actual professional occupation whose words you can... roughly trust.

For someone who seems so open and honest, who followed Claude without what feels like a second thought, he especially takes care to have Dimitri learn about fact checking, because he is not going to have Dimitri go around thinking that the world is flat. When he tells Dimitri this upfront, Dimitri wrinkles his nose at him and raises an eyebrow. "Everyone knows the world is not flat," he says, incredulous, and Claude isn't entirely sure if it's relief or exhaustion to know that even a guy from the middle ages has enough sense in him to know that the world has a round shape. "Wait... Claude? Are you saying that there are people who believe the world is flat?"

So. That is another really fun conversation they get to have.

Before Claude knows it, hours have passed by the time that he checks the clock, and he has Dimitri stop what he's doing by poking keys on the keyboard. "Hey, it's gotten pretty late," he says, exiting out of the various windows and tabs he'd pulled up. How did they wander towards the subject of spam mail and its purpose? He almost can't remember. "Let's go to sleep and then, when we get to work tomorrow, I'll show you some of the other things that I meant for you to start doing."

But jeez. It really is stupidly late, and he would know, being the kind of guy who's worked stupidly late before. After tucking all of his stuff back into the bag, he pushes himself up with a yawn that shakes him right down to his toes. He wobbles a moment, leaning a little too far left, and reaches out correct himself.

He doesn't get a chance. Dimitri's arm wraps around him before he can go too far, or before his legs might buckle. Blinking, Claude can't even protest as he's hauled up flush against the other man. "You should have said something earlier," Dimitri scolds lightly, gently setting him back down against the ground so easily. It's unbelievable how he can just - move him around like he weighs nothing. "Go to bed. You have so much to do tomorrow. I can manage well enough on my own in cleaning up anything else left out here."

"Did you fuss like this back in Faerghus?" Claude asks in amusement, rubbing at his eyes. Still, well. If Dimitri says he can clean up around here, there's no reason for Claude to disbelieve him. After all, he's managed to exist in Claude's apartment all on his own just fine enough. If he can survive a day, he can survive the fifteen minutes it'll take for him to get everything ready for sleep. "Anyway, have a good night, alright, Dimitri?"

Letting him go so that he can take care of the last bits of bathroom business for a night, Dimitri smiles at him. "Have a good night, Claude. Sleep well, and have pleasant dreams."

When Claude yawns for the fifth time in an hour, Hilda laughs quietly. "Did you not get enough coffee this morning?" she asks, looking away from the reports she's showing him on her own computer.

"What do you think I have in my hand right here?" Claude asks dryly, waggling his thermos a little bit. "I'm not drinking a sleep serum, or something." He yawns again; it's really starting to bug him now. "Mm, I was just kept up all night..."

Hilda's eyes sparkle. "As long as you don't stay up until daylight," she teases, and then they get back to work. It doesn't really hit him how she could misconstrue a simple innocent statement like that until he steps away from her desk and returns to Dimitri's side, who's been standing diligent and vigilant all this time waiting for him to finish.

Pausing for just a moment, Claude stops any groan he'd want to make with a sip from his thermos, and lets Dimitri escort him back down the hall, to his own office. Well, he supposes that also works out, honestly, if Dimitri has already said that he's his boyfriend, and Claude is running with it... Sure. He'll let Hilda and anyone else think what they like if they think that Dimitri is the one responsible for keeping him up all night. It's not even technically wrong. It's just not right in the way they're thinking of it.

As the two of them settle back into his office, Claude glances over to where Dimitri has sat down. "So, think you'll be able to keep yourself occupied for the rest of the morning?" he asks, smiling.

The first thing he did when he came in was set up a typing practice program for Dimitri, and show him how to use sites like Ecosia search to look up anything he's ever interested in. After all, the reason he was kept up so much last night was because he was teaching Dimitri how to use the computer and the internet. This much shouldn't be hard at all, considering how Dimitri has been paying such close and obedient attention to him.

"I believe I should be fine," Dimitri tells him with a smile, so delicate with how he places his hands upon the keyboard, exactly as the website has been instructing him. It was made in mind for kids, with lots of fun graphics. Dimitri doesn't seem to mind them at all. "This is a bit outside of my wheelhouse... but I'm eager to understand more about this world indepth, and this is the first step towards that. Please, do not worry about me, and continue on with your work. I will take care of this, and keep an eye out for things as well."

Well, if that's what Dimitri says, that's what he says, and Claude doesn't mind believing him for something like this. He goes back to everything else he has to do, emails and equipment orders, coordinating with other companies for this and that. Dimitri, true to his word, keeps himself busy, and only stops his occupation with the typing program when he hears a noise or pauses to take in the scenery outside. Claude can't blame him for that last part; he used to do the same a lot himself. That was before everything kicked off, of course, and he had to devote himself entirely to Project Verdant Wind.

Around lunch is when they get a slightly expected knock on the door, right as Dimitri is shutting the laptop, and Claude smiles. "No need to hang around outside!" he calls, and gets up to greet Leonie and Ignatz with a wave as the two of them step inside. "Good to see you two again. How was the trip out there? Did the wyverns you rent give you any trouble?"

"They were wonderful, Claude." Ignatz smiles at him, adjusting the messenger bag he has slung over his shoulder. "You still have a wonderful knack for picking out wyverns. They were perfectly fine with Leonie and I as we scouted out the different mines."

Claude nods in satisfaction. Good. That's exactly the kind of thing he wants to hear. Needless to say, the smoother things go, no matter how small, the better for all of them. Especially better for this project, which is important to him in numerous ways, and not just in regards to what's going on in Almyra. "Glad to hear it. I hope you guys weren't expecting to drop a report or anything right in front of me when it's almost lunch, 'tho. Did you two have anything planned?"

"We were just going to grab something really quickly, honestly," Leonie says with a relaxed smile. Yeah, that does sound like her... Someone who grabs something quick because she has so much on her own plate. Claude thinks he's the only person with that same habit, but worse compared to Leonie. "Are you sure we wouldn't be intruding? I heard you had someone special with you." And she flashes a grin towards Dimitri.

Dimitri smiles back, and waits for Claude to move around the desk before he steps forward himself with his hand outstretched. "Please don't pay my presence here any mind," he says, giving Leonie a firm shake and then offering his hand to Ignatz as well. "You two are important friends to Claude, and I'm sure he's been wanting to see you a great deal after how long you've been away."

Sweet talker, seriously. Claude has a sneaking suspicion that, if they were totally normal people not caught up in some sort of bizarre time displacement caused by divine interference, Dimitri would outright step away so that Claude could spend time together with Leonie and Ignatz.

As it is, well, they really do need to stick together. So Claude comes to a stop at Dimitri's side, grinning as well. "He's right. Just because he's here doesn't mean I'm going to leave you two in the cold. Should we go out to eat? It might make our lunch a little long, but hey, if you've just gotten back, why not make it a little long? I can introduce you to Dimitri properly."

And that's it. Their lunch plans are decided. As the four of them wave at some of their coworkers who've opted to eat at their desks, and pile into the elevator for the ground floor, Dimitri leans down to whisper into Claude's ear. "Do you normally eat with everyone like this?"

Claude grins at him over his shoulder. "A lot of special occasions have happened recently," he says.

Of course, Leonie won't let him escape with just that as she leans forward with a spark in her eye. "Don't listen to him," she tells Dimitri. "He's the kind of guy who very eagerly looks for all sorts of reasons to have the company celebrate. Any big break through calls for it, in his opinion. I used to wonder if it was Almyran culture-"

"It's definitely Almyran culture," Claude tries to say, and very generously ignores the way Ignatz turns his head and laughs quietly into his hand.

"-but it's Claude over anything else," Leonie finishes, flashing a smile at him. All he can do is huff out a laugh in response. "You just like anything that brings people together."

Dimitri is smiling too, because Claude is pretty sure he's a sap like that. "Is that a bad thing?" the blond asks. "I think it's a rather lovely trait."

The glance that Leonie sends at Claude is knowing, and all he does is raise his eyebrows innocently, as though he has no idea what she's talking about. Of course, when he tries little things like that, no one believes him all the more, but that's fine. "Well, it's not a bad one," Leonie agrees, smiling to Dimitri as the elevator hits the ground floor. "If he wasn't that kind of person, then a lot of us wouldn't work here."

"Note to self," Claude muses aloud as the four of them exit the Golden Deer building, "bribe employees more often with food, as that is the key to their loyalty..." He gets laughter for the commentary, and he joins in after a second.

The restaurant they end up going to isn't that from Golden Deer - A Dagdan fusion kind of place with plenty of delicious rice and noodle dishes. Dimitri is clearly unfamiliar with a lot of it, at least to Claude's trained eyes, but he hides it well. Instead of outright asking what the various foods are, he asks for recommendations - if Leonie has tried this food before, and what kind of food Ignatz likes best. Little subtle things like that, where it's as if he's going more for an opinion than an answer. Claude can't lie, it's pretty smooth.

Leonie ends up going for some ramen with some vegetarian meat substitute, just for the hell of it, while Ignatz leans more towards some crispy tofu. Never one to be a coward or shy away from fascinatingly named foods, Claude goes for something called a Dagdan Curry Burger Bowl, to the point that Dimitri's order of a chirashi bowl looks rather plain. "You should have gone for what I did," Claude teases as they all try out for some tempura, save for Leonie, who's working on her soup.

"I liked the sushi from yesterday," Dimitri says, smiling a little. "I don't think that's a crime - and this type seems even different from yesterday, which was so much more neat. Anyway, you simply like adventure, don't you?"

"What, now you're turning on me too?"

"I am simply saying that I recognized a great many things we got when we went shopping," Dimitri says simply, "and then there were a great many things that seem ill-advised." Leonie almost snorts soup up her nose.

"Incredible," Claude says, even as he can't stop grinning. "Unbelievable. You're really coming after me like this? After how much I've spoiled you? How I've taken care of you when you've been sick? I'm astounded."

"Because you have taken care of me so well, that is why I did not object when you bought them," Dimitri says, and it's a good thing Leonie was already cleaning up her person, because that definitely makes her start laughing again.

Jeez.... Claude starts laughing too, and something inside of his chest begins to ease up. Dimitri fusses over him so much, honestly, and is so devoted, that Claude had been waiting for it to inevitably become stifling. People like Lorenz are fine, at a distance, but when it comes to someone he's actually living with.... Well. He's glad.

Inevitably, their conversation turns to the food, the menu, the restaurant, what kind of places Ignatz and Leonie ate at while they were away on their trip. It's a nice and solid conversation, one that Claude doesn't have to stress too much about.

He wouldn't say that Ignatz or Leonie are stupid, because there are no truly stupid people in his Golden Deer - they're specialized if they're anything. He says that for Raphael too, who he knows gets looked down on for being such a big ol' guy in an office setting who doesn't act it. But when it comes to sniffing out secrets or how something said might be a little off... Hilda, Lorenz, and Lysithea are really way too good at it.

It's nice to have a comfortable conversation about food and nothing else, no need to worry about it. Eventually, after their food comes, Ignatz looks over to Claude. "I've arranged some contacts with different people, to get a better look at those mines... but I know that you're sometimes not satisfied with just relying on what other people say, when it comes to something as important as this. Do you plan on going out this time as well, Claude?"

Yeah, this was going to get brought up again... Claude smiles. "Is there a reason that I shouldn't?" he asks.

"Lorenz said you were attacked only a couple of days ago," Ignatz points out. Well. Trust Lorenz to immediately fill Ignatz in on everything... That's just to be expected, Claude supposes. After all, Ignatz was going to be by his side, back at the Gloucester's company that's been with them for generations, before Lorenz left for Golden Deer. If Lorenz knows something, then Ignatz is told it right away. "I'm just worried that, if you're going off, you'll get hurt..."

Reaching over, Claude lightly taps Dimitri's chest with the back of his knuckles, right as the man is in the middle of another forkful. "Hey, that's why I have this guy around, right?" he asks, winking at his two coworkers. "I'll be fine. What's more important is going over all the data that you guys gathered and making a choice of where I'm going in the first place. We can save that for tomorrow, however. A lot more work has piled up on your desks in the time that you've been gone, even outside of this."

Ignatz and Leonie accept that, at least for the time being while they're having lunch in a restaurant. There really is a lot of work that they all have stacked on their plates, moreso than any food they eat. Yet there's one person who doesn't have nearly as much before him, at least not in a way he can work on, and he's also someone who isn't afraid to ask questions when the two of them are behind closed doors.

"What is Project Verdant Wind?" Dimitri asks, even before the two of them have gotten close to Claude's desk. "It has been mentioned a couple of times now, amongst all of your companions... but I suspect it has little to do with the saint whose name it invokes."

Plopping down into his seat, Claude considers him. "I was wondering when I should even try to bring it up with you, but I guess when you're asking about it is as good a time as any," he says. "Well, take a seat. You remember how I said that most of my siblings were able to get help from my father's side of the family as they began to take part in the whole... competition for becoming royalty thing, right?"

Dimitri nods. "You mentioned some frustration," he says. Claude is pretty sure he didn't, and that it's just Dimitri reading into things... or maybe him. Who knows. It's not really important, right now.

Shrugging, Claude continues. "Well, while that's cut me off from a lot of Almyran resources, I do have something that's entirely my own and which my siblings didn't really think to touch at all. All of them were from my father's previous marriage. Out of all of us, I'm the only one who has a solid blood connection to my mother's side of things..."

"A powerful group of business people in their own right."

"Correct." Claude smiles. "For a long time now, they've been pioneering a lot of alternative energy technology, or ideas - an ancestor of mine is apparently down in the history books for getting wind energy pretty popular further inland. It was that side of my family that apparently helped some of the tide-based energy companies get started here. Things like that. So, without anyone in Almyra to help me... I reached out through my mother, and managed to find some things here that I could get started with. However, Golden Deer wasn't founded just to get me nominated as the king of Almyra. It's something of an... investment, by my mother's side of the family."

All this time, Dimitri has been listening carefully to him without any judgment, only simple attentiveness. That last sentence, however, makes him frown. "An investment?"

It's the kind of thing that wouldn't be thought of in a normal family. Unfortunately for Claude, no matter where he's turned, he's never had a chance for anything normal. All he can do is shrug. "My grandfather on that side was never really all that encouraging of who my mother decided to date. The prejudices you might know of from your time aren't really a thing anymore, but some really traditional old folks, who learned from the old traditionalists of their time, get a little antsy. And it didn't help that my father was royalty... So my grandfather was worried, and I think he worried I would be more my father's child than my mother's.

"So when I reached out for some help in regards to getting something underneath my feet in order to compete alongside my siblings, well, let's just say that he wasn't quite sure how to deal with it, and wanted some reassurance at the same time. If I can do some work with Golden Deer that's really outstanding, then not only will that win me the crown in Almyra, but it'll have me welcomed on my mother's side of the family as I associate all that credit with them."

It's not really something he's expecting to reassure Dimitri, honestly, and the way the blond continues frowning kind of proves him right. "That... makes it seem as if you have no one in your family who will stand by your side simply because it is you, and you deserve that."

What a sweet life Dimitri has to have lived, that he thinks that sort of thing is a given. Claude just smiles without any particular joy or pleasantness at his computer as he wakes it up again. "Well, these things happen," he says, because there's really nothing else he can say. "Anyway, that's all just a lot of backstory to let you understand why I'm doing what I'm doing, which is finding more ways to add to that very green image."

"No wonder you named the company Golden Deer, or have called that project Verdant Wind," Dimitri mutters. So even though he's from Faerghus, he still understands old Leicester legends. Claude smiles.

"Right. As of current, we have a few different avenues that we're going down, all of them interlocking and meant to help the other... but the main thing, what's really behind Verdant Wind, is finding a way to deal with food shortages in various areas throughout Fodlan." Flicking open a map on his computer screen, Claude cleans back with his hand curving along one cheek. "While the world has really managed to change after all these years... The land is a little bit harder to change. Not unless you want to completely wreck certain ecosystems for humanity's own selfish needs. Certain areas in Fodlan have always had difficulty growing crops. So, well, simply put... the primary goal of Verdant Wind is to help with that food problem."

What he really wants to do, honestly, is boast about how his people have come up with so many ways to make this all happen, and he's certain, initially, that Dimitri will ask him how he plans to do that... Except, after a moment's thought, Dimitri looks up to him with sudden understanding. "I see. No wonder you have so many enemies, then. In places where food is hard to come by naturally, merchants often take their profits from raising the costs of what they bring..."

Best as he can, Claude tries to keep his smile relaxed, calm, and not as bitter and sharp as he wants it to be. "You're right on the nose there... There's a program in place that makes sure that no one starves, but it's still a strain on finances that a lot of people would like to take advantage of, even if that means taking advantage of some of the people who have the least to give in the first place. If I can help solve something like that..."

"That's it? I was expecting something almost... flashier."

That has Claude laugh. "Well, there's definitely a lot of things on the way there which will help it stand out!" he says. "But sometimes the things that are flashy and mean a lot to people like my father aren't the typical idea of flashy. While there's a lot I could say on things that have happened in the past that have brought the crown onto some people's heads, some of them might seem surprising to you." He grins. "If I can make Verdant Wind successful to the degree that I want it to be, then I know that it will get my father's attention. He understands what it means to help that many people out."

It's one of the things he genuinely likes about his father. In some aspects, the relationship between them is awkward, strained - but Claude suspects that's how it is for their family as a whole. Yet when it comes to guiding people, looking after them... He really puts that as a high priority, and does his best, whatever that may mean, and to the best of his capabilities.

Dimitri takes this in and, thankfully, doesn't push too much on the matter of Claude's family. He knows that it doesn't sound like anything particularly great, and even some of his friends aren't pleased about the situation... But it's something he prefers to deal with himself. At least for right now, he wants to deal with it himself, to the best of his own capabilities.

Instead, Dimitri lets out a breath. "...I'm glad to hear that, then," he says at last. "So I take it, then, from your discussion at lunch, that you plan on visiting some of those areas you've just mentioned so that you can find the perfect area to start this project of yours?"

"Ideally, it would be just one or two," Claude says, scanning over some of the pictures that Ignatz so expertly took during his trip. "If everything goes well, that's all that I'll have to deal with. But for this kind of business, having back up plans is always the wisest course of action... so I'm honestly prepared for just about anything to happen, even if that means having to look over every single spot that Ignatz and Leonie scouted out for me."

Nodding, Dimitri rises up to his feet again. "I see. Then, in that case..." Dimitri steps forward, and lightly lifts Claude's hand from the mouse. It makes him start a bit, staring up with a bewildered expression at the blond, but Dimitri doesn't even look at the face he's making. He's much more preoccupied with lifting Claude's fingers to his lips, head bowed. "As long as I can be here, I will protect you no matter where you go."

Claude wants to say so much in the face of that. He wants to ask Dimitri if he really understands what he's saying, and talk with him about if he can say that so easily to a person that could be the king of another nation, if it doesn't matter to him because it's in another time period. Just - he has a lot of questions. He always has a lot of questions.

One of which he can't dare to ask, with how it knocks his breath away to have Dimitri press his lips so gently against his hand.

Unfortunately, Claude doesn't get a second to even decide on what he wants to say, before the door is clicking open, and Hilda pokes her head inside. "Hey, Claude, I-" She stops herself and stares. Claude and Dimitri stare back. She raises a hand to her mouth, but that's not nearly enough to hide her wide smile. "Oh, actually, nevermind, I just realized I could handle it myself."

Groaning, Claude slips his head out of Dimitri's hand. "Why is it always you?" he asks.

Hilda only laughs at him.