[ Whether it's no longer an expectation or it never was to begin with, Dimitri replies as soon as he gets the notification for her message. There's no reason to keep her waiting or avoid a simple conversation altogether-- other than how much harder this could potentially make things for him, that is. ]
Please, there is no need for such. As I said, they may be several years late and be of little relevance now, but they were meant for you, nonetheless. If anything, it makes me glad that they have finally reached their destination, so perhaps I should be thanking you for the indulgence.
Then I am glad we both had the opportunity. I never expected anything like it.
[ Not the letters, not learning that someone other than her father and Hubert cared about her during that time, not his obvious childish affection for her and desire to find her.
A moment later: ]
I was thinking that I can't recall much about your father. I remember thinking he was a large man with a wide smile. The memory is dim but I think I once saw him toss you high into the air and make you laugh.
[ He huffs out a short laugh, both at her description and the memory. A large man with a wide smile... Dimitri wishes that's how he could always remember his father, tall and proud and brimming with life, but... well. Right now, he can. ]
Ah yes, he did use to do that, to myself and to my friends on occasion. I recall he once told Ingrid, in secrecy as though imparting confidential knightly knowledge, that this accounted for flying practice. Suffice it to say, she absolutely loved it ever since.
[ He also remembers Felix cried and Rodrigue laughed the first time his youngest son was launched high in the air, but that's probably a story better kept to himself. ]
I do believe he may have done the same to you, once. Do you recall?
That's genuinely adorable. She never got to meet Dimitri's other friends during her stay -- perhaps their respective feelings of loneliness at the time were why they became such fast friends at all -- but it's charming to imagine little Dimitri and his friends lined up to be tossed high into the air. ]
Did he?
I remember speaking to him briefly, even laughing at something he said...
[ Sometimes a loose memory requires a bit of jiggling, she has found, and it does not always work. Sometimes it does, a bittersweet taste. ]
I can only imagine that I would have protested the idea at first. It would not have seemed proper.
[ Again, he's being... generous, and it's something else he'll keep to himself, but he definitely remembers her acting as indignant at the thought as she was bothered by not getting to give it a try. Haughty, even, yet huffy not so unlike the time she found out Dimitri had been given a stuffed animal on the island yet she hadn't. Always so difficult... ]
My father was only able to convince you once he told you he would like the opinion of a most esteemed Adrestian guest on his technique. As long as it was presented as a favor to him, you conceded.
[ Which is... something she still does, whenever there's something she really wants yet is too embarrassed to admit it. ]
[ Ah, an appeal to her childish ego and a way to make her feel special in a place and a time where her opinions could otherwise not influence much. Again, she smiles. ]
I suppose I can see where that would have worked. I wish I could better recall it.
[ Not just the conversation, of course, but the blink-and-you'll-miss-it feeling of defying gravity. That must have appealed very much, even if she was mildly scandalized before trying it. ]
I probably liked the actual experience, proper or not.
I believe you did. It was probably more of a thrill than you may have been accustomed to at the time, and you did have a bit of a wide-eyed look thereafter, but you seemed happy, regardless. A scared kind of excitement, perhaps, as with any novelty that is truly worth experiencing.
[ That applies to more than just rocket launching kids into the air, of course. To the two of them, relationships must be much the same way, but... ah. That's not a mental connection he meant to make, and not one he will give voice to, either. ]
If you would like to remember that more clearly, I could try to replicate it.
[ What he offers instead hopefully comes with less... implications? He'd happily do it for any of his friends, if they wanted! ]
If I did, I would not have offered, would I? I understand that this would be unthinkable under regular circumstances, but do you not agree that certain notions of propriety are mostly obsolete in this place?
I do agree with that. We would not be in this position right now if I felt otherwise.
[ They never would have negotiated a sexual arrangement over his dining room table if she could not see a need to adapt and an odd opportunity in front of her, as scandalous as would have been in either of their worlds. ]
However, I think we have outgrown this game.
[ Well. Maybe that's not the most accurate way to put it. His size may make him ideal for his father's role in the experience. ]
[ Well yes, one of them has grown, but it would be rude to point this out to Edelgard, wouldn't it? ]
If you truly think so, I will not insist further, though my offer does stand, still. And for what it is worth, as long as it brings joy, I see no problem with keeping some habits that others might deem childish or silly.
[ Such as indulging in sweets and stuffed animals. You know, like some people do. ]
[ ... oh, right. The lessons. This may be ill-advised considering how often his instruction has led to more physicality than they can indulge in right now, but-- ]
Of course. I did promise to assist you, after all.
[ Sure, he may have done so back when all they had was an arrangement and no real emotional intimacy between them, but... It will be fine. Probably. ]
[ She wasn't entirely certain that it would be too unfeeling of her to ask for his assistance with swimming now. Their lessons had evolved to a level of casual intimacy that...
That she has never really reached with anyone else. Whether or not he can say precisely the same thing, she can only imagine a great difference in tone now. And that is fine, of course; this is something that probably always should have stayed more businesslike between them.
Yet it is surprisingly difficult to regret that it didn't. ]
Yes, I did. There was no real intermediate step between your private bath and a large body of water. I asked for a nice pool so I might learn to truly enjoy my time in the water.
I see. I am glad to know you are taking the chance.
[ Granted, it's something they had already discussed and that she had seemed favorable to, but it's also a step closer to adapting to the present, isn't it? For her sake more than his own, he hopes that is the case. ]
When would you like our next lesson to be?
[ And if this all sounds formal and impersonal, it's because he's making a conscious effort to. ]
I must admit that I am eager to put the pool to good use.
[ She has the ability to practice on her own time now and would like to start. Regardless of how and if their lessons continue beyond their next meeting, it's imperative that she gets a better sense of how to handle herself when there is more danger of drowning than there was in his bath. ]
[ Tomorrow. Right. He'd almost forgotten about how Edelgard really doesn't dawdle-- she gave him three days to prepare before their first formal exchange of squares, and this is even sooner. It barely gives him time to try and work out the worst of his sexual urges before they are inevitably too close and too nude again, but... ]
Yes, that should be easy to arrange. Let us hope tomorrow will be sunny so the water will be warmer.
[ Mostly for her sake; if she gets cold, there's no way they can share body heat this time. ]
[ If he minds, he doesn't let on. She takes him at his word. ]
I am certain I can survive a few hours of swimming even if the sun hides behind clouds. What time of day will work best for you? The pool has underwater lighting so even night-time swimming is convenient.
And if you do not wish to stay for tea you will still be sent home with chamomile.
[ Those were the terms of that arrangement and she is happy to continue living up to them. ]
The tea was never necessary. I only ever invited you to share because I enjoyed your company.
[ Which is his own way of saying he doesn't get why she thinks he would suddenly not wish to have tea with her? He made it clear he valued her friendship first and foremost, but is that too strange for her? Is she uncertain about that much? ]
As for the time, perhaps it should be best for you to decide. I know not of your roommates' schedules, and I imagine you do not wish to be seen in my company.
[ Not for their lessons, and maybe for nothing else. ]
[ She would still prefer not to have the entire island aware of what she does with whom, of course, but they have come a long way from the torrid secrecy of their first sexual encounters. She calls him friend.
Once she even had the thought that he would make a fine partner for someone. She had not imagined he would want to be hers. Did he love her then? He was so open with her that day, so genuine and understanding and interested in her personal hopes for the future. ]
However, I would think it ideal to have some privacy while I learn to swim. With that in mind, perhaps earlier in the morning or later in the evening would work best.
I did not mean to imply you would be embarrassed. Just that you would have some reservations about it.
[ Whether for the sake of her own privacy or some other reason, he could not tell. But what she says does give him some relief.
As for the rest.... hmmm. Meeting early in the morning means he would have even less time to prepare, but late at night would just invite temptation more easily, wouldn't it? Quite the tough call. ]
Regardless, I can come over in the morning. I am a bit of an early riser, as you know.
[ As you know. Hah. Another implication he didn't mean to make, but one he only notices after hitting send. ]
[ She has discovered that he is an early riser. And that sometimes specific parts of him rise early as well.
The last time they spent the night together she was a bit self-conscious in the morning, aware of how she had been the night before. Nuzzlingly affectionate, just wanting to enjoy their time together. He must have had feelings for her then, she realizes, and she would have behaved differently if she had known.
Every realization makes her feel more foolish, but she has no experience with this. No one has ever claimed to have romantic feelings for her before. Romance seemed little more than a fairy tale. ]
[ Well. At least she's kind enough not to make any comments on that blunder, but it is hard to refrain from that casual intimacy that already felt so natural to them. Or... to him, he supposes. ]
It will be my pleasure. I will see you tomorrow, El.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Please, there is no need for such. As I said, they may be several years late and be of little relevance now, but they were meant for you, nonetheless. If anything, it makes me glad that they have finally reached their destination, so perhaps I should be thanking you for the indulgence.
no subject
Then I am glad we both had the opportunity. I never expected anything like it.
[ Not the letters, not learning that someone other than her father and Hubert cared about her during that time, not his obvious childish affection for her and desire to find her.
A moment later: ]
I was thinking that I can't recall much about your father. I remember thinking he was a large man with a wide smile. The memory is dim but I think I once saw him toss you high into the air and make you laugh.
no subject
Ah yes, he did use to do that, to myself and to my friends on occasion. I recall he once told Ingrid, in secrecy as though imparting confidential knightly knowledge, that this accounted for flying practice. Suffice it to say, she absolutely loved it ever since.
[ He also remembers Felix cried and Rodrigue laughed the first time his youngest son was launched high in the air, but that's probably a story better kept to himself. ]
I do believe he may have done the same to you, once. Do you recall?
no subject
That's genuinely adorable. She never got to meet Dimitri's other friends during her stay -- perhaps their respective feelings of loneliness at the time were why they became such fast friends at all -- but it's charming to imagine little Dimitri and his friends lined up to be tossed high into the air. ]
Did he?
I remember speaking to him briefly, even laughing at something he said...
[ Sometimes a loose memory requires a bit of jiggling, she has found, and it does not always work. Sometimes it does, a bittersweet taste. ]
I can only imagine that I would have protested the idea at first. It would not have seemed proper.
no subject
[ Again, he's being... generous, and it's something else he'll keep to himself, but he definitely remembers her acting as indignant at the thought as she was bothered by not getting to give it a try. Haughty, even, yet huffy not so unlike the time she found out Dimitri had been given a stuffed animal on the island yet she hadn't. Always so difficult... ]
My father was only able to convince you once he told you he would like the opinion of a most esteemed Adrestian guest on his technique. As long as it was presented as a favor to him, you conceded.
[ Which is... something she still does, whenever there's something she really wants yet is too embarrassed to admit it. ]
no subject
I suppose I can see where that would have worked. I wish I could better recall it.
[ Not just the conversation, of course, but the blink-and-you'll-miss-it feeling of defying gravity. That must have appealed very much, even if she was mildly scandalized before trying it. ]
I probably liked the actual experience, proper or not.
no subject
[ That applies to more than just rocket launching kids into the air, of course. To the two of them, relationships must be much the same way, but... ah. That's not a mental connection he meant to make, and not one he will give voice to, either. ]
If you would like to remember that more clearly, I could try to replicate it.
[ What he offers instead hopefully comes with less... implications? He'd happily do it for any of his friends, if they wanted! ]
no subject
Dimitri, are you truly offering to pick me up and toss me into the air?
no subject
If you would not be opposed to the idea, yes. Otherwise, I do not see any issue with it. You are not scared I will not catch you, are you?
no subject
I have no doubt that you can catch a body, Dimitri, but this is a bit much, don't you think?
[ Certainly less proper than ever, though they have been been less and less governed by what may or may not be proper since their arrival. ]
no subject
If I did, I would not have offered, would I? I understand that this would be unthinkable under regular circumstances, but do you not agree that certain notions of propriety are mostly obsolete in this place?
no subject
[ They never would have negotiated a sexual arrangement over his dining room table if she could not see a need to adapt and an odd opportunity in front of her, as scandalous as would have been in either of their worlds. ]
However, I think we have outgrown this game.
[ Well. Maybe that's not the most accurate way to put it. His size may make him ideal for his father's role in the experience. ]
no subject
If you truly think so, I will not insist further, though my offer does stand, still. And for what it is worth, as long as it brings joy, I see no problem with keeping some habits that others might deem childish or silly.
[ Such as indulging in sweets and stuffed animals. You know, like some people do. ]
no subject
Still, she feels a very faint twinge of heat in her cheeks. Her armored boar is sitting on her bed at this very moment.
But perhaps a change of subject is in order. ]
Speaking of offers that still stand...
[ In comes a picture of her new pool. ]
I was wondering if you are still willing to be my swimming instructor.
no subject
Of course. I did promise to assist you, after all.
[ Sure, he may have done so back when all they had was an arrangement and no real emotional intimacy between them, but... It will be fine. Probably. ]
Did you ask for this, yourself?
no subject
That she has never really reached with anyone else. Whether or not he can say precisely the same thing, she can only imagine a great difference in tone now. And that is fine, of course; this is something that probably always should have stayed more businesslike between them.
Yet it is surprisingly difficult to regret that it didn't. ]
Yes, I did. There was no real intermediate step between your private bath and a large body of water. I asked for a nice pool so I might learn to truly enjoy my time in the water.
I will be grateful for your help.
no subject
[ Granted, it's something they had already discussed and that she had seemed favorable to, but it's also a step closer to adapting to the present, isn't it? For her sake more than his own, he hopes that is the case. ]
When would you like our next lesson to be?
[ And if this all sounds formal and impersonal, it's because he's making a conscious effort to. ]
no subject
[ She has the ability to practice on her own time now and would like to start. Regardless of how and if their lessons continue beyond their next meeting, it's imperative that she gets a better sense of how to handle herself when there is more danger of drowning than there was in his bath. ]
Would you be able to make time tomorrow?
no subject
Yes, that should be easy to arrange. Let us hope tomorrow will be sunny so the water will be warmer.
[ Mostly for her sake; if she gets cold, there's no way they can share body heat this time. ]
no subject
I am certain I can survive a few hours of swimming even if the sun hides behind clouds. What time of day will work best for you? The pool has underwater lighting so even night-time swimming is convenient.
And if you do not wish to stay for tea you will still be sent home with chamomile.
[ Those were the terms of that arrangement and she is happy to continue living up to them. ]
no subject
[ Which is his own way of saying he doesn't get why she thinks he would suddenly not wish to have tea with her? He made it clear he valued her friendship first and foremost, but is that too strange for her? Is she uncertain about that much? ]
As for the time, perhaps it should be best for you to decide. I know not of your roommates' schedules, and I imagine you do not wish to be seen in my company.
[ Not for their lessons, and maybe for nothing else. ]
no subject
I would not be embarrassed to be seen with you.
[ She would still prefer not to have the entire island aware of what she does with whom, of course, but they have come a long way from the torrid secrecy of their first sexual encounters. She calls him friend.
Once she even had the thought that he would make a fine partner for someone. She had not imagined he would want to be hers. Did he love her then? He was so open with her that day, so genuine and understanding and interested in her personal hopes for the future. ]
However, I would think it ideal to have some privacy while I learn to swim. With that in mind, perhaps earlier in the morning or later in the evening would work best.
no subject
[ Whether for the sake of her own privacy or some other reason, he could not tell. But what she says does give him some relief.
As for the rest.... hmmm. Meeting early in the morning means he would have even less time to prepare, but late at night would just invite temptation more easily, wouldn't it? Quite the tough call. ]
Regardless, I can come over in the morning. I am a bit of an early riser, as you know.
[ As you know. Hah. Another implication he didn't mean to make, but one he only notices after hitting send. ]
no subject
[ She has discovered that he is an early riser. And that sometimes specific parts of him rise early as well.
The last time they spent the night together she was a bit self-conscious in the morning, aware of how she had been the night before. Nuzzlingly affectionate, just wanting to enjoy their time together. He must have had feelings for her then, she realizes, and she would have behaved differently if she had known.
Every realization makes her feel more foolish, but she has no experience with this. No one has ever claimed to have romantic feelings for her before. Romance seemed little more than a fairy tale. ]
That sounds perfect. Thank you, Dimitri.
no subject
It will be my pleasure. I will see you tomorrow, El.