Archive of Our Own

Claude von Riegan is her boyfriend. 

That’s the simplest way of putting it, anyway. He had asked her one day after school let out. Edelgard remembers pulling her purse tighter over her shoulder where she sits on one of the benches outside of the gym hall. She looks up at the cocksure young man where he stands in front of her with his dick in her other hand. Claude is so unlike Dimitri that it’s like having to solve a puzzle. When they kissed or touched before that it had only been out of boredom. Waiting around for Dimitri’s practices to be over had been so monotonous until she had found out Claude’s archery club let out about an hour before hockey did. At first he had pestered her to talk when he found her waiting boredly for her step brother. They got closer, talking all the time. 

Then he’d kissed her. She’d kissed him back. A few more encounters after that had brought them intimately close.

“My boyfriend?” She repeats back to him. Her fingers slide down the length of his dick in her hand, fingernails grazing just so along the skin. Almost like a threat. Claude whistles out in reply, always dramatic, and rocks his hips further into danger. 

“Yeah. I could be your boyfriend, do all the boyfriend stuff for you,” he was grinning in that way of his, green eyes full of mischief instead of melting into a babbling mess under her touch like Dimitri would have. Edelgard thinks he looks like a cat sometimes. She barely knew anything about Claude and what she did know wasn’t good. Maybe that wasn’t the right way to put it– The things she knew about him would never please her conservative and religious family. He was foreign, his father wasn’t from here . His grandfather was in the sort of business that she and Dimitri’s fathers talk about in hushed tones in another room away from the dinner table. Claude von Riegan was just the sort of boy who’d get her mother all in a tizzy if she dated him. 

He drove a hard bargain. Boyfriend stuff wasn’t something Dimitri could do with her openly. It was something she longed for a little bit, the kind of stuff every girl probably dreamed about. She definitely wasn’t the type to admit it but she was allowed to have fantasies. Claude was offering her that. The sort of thing where she slams the front door and runs out to his car (she’s seen his car, it’s nice,) and he whisks her away from whatever she was being dramatic about. There was Dimitri to think about too, though. Edelgard knew she had to be careful. She loves Dimitri, that’s something she feels certain of. He would surely be hurt or jealous if she suddenly started dating someone. Even if it was just for fun.

She can’t pretend to be an aloof, uninterested girl forever.

So Edelgard wraps her fingers around the base of him in the kind of grip that might make a guy worry before smiling. She doesn’t smile at him very often, Claude is always proud of himself when one of his jokes lands and it makes her giggle or hide her mouth behind her hand to try to keep him from relishing in the feeling of her finding him funny. When she had smiled at him like that though? It was different. It was nearly enough to finish right then and there, no matter how tight a hold she had on him. 

“Then be my boyfriend,” she told him, shaking her head a little to flip her long hair over her shoulder so she could lean closer to him without it getting in the way. Her pink lipgloss had touched the head of his cock, kissing him like it was a promise. 

They had become an item after that. Talking in the halls, spending time with each other during free periods. She even skips classes with Claude some days when she really feels like pushing the invisible boundaries she was supposed to have as a ‘good girl’. It was great and he felt great about it. 

Claude enjoys the dynamic a little too much, maybe. Edelgard was the kind of rich girl who was a little ignorant, but still easily convinced to do things outside her comfort zone. All he really has to do is appeal to her competitive side and she would do all sorts of things with him. She was sharp as a whip too, and would never back down when they argued. She never did anything she didn’t want to do. He always catches himself thinking how much he loves that about her. To love is a scary thing but Claude thinks, perhaps, he could live like that. For Edelgard.  

“Hey, big guy.” He finds Dimitri in the gym at school, like he almost always is when he doesn’t have a practice or club activity to get to after the last bell. Claude hangs back in the doorway a moment before walking over. Dimitri is a big guy. He’s wearing a shirt probably a little too tight for his bulging muscles with the school’s blue house insignia on the back of it. They were all filtered into three different ‘houses’ upon entry to the private academy, for intramural activities within and assigned a color: red (scarlet,) blue (navy,) or yellow (gold).  Claude thinks it’s a little silly to be sorted into primary colors for highschool, but Dimitri looks good in blue. 

The blond’s muscles are flexing as he reels back then hits the punching bag with another powerful fist. He’s sweating, Claude can see it on his neck and the middle of the back of his shirt. He knows Edelgard and Dimitri aren’t related in the slightest, but he can’t help but think of how good they both look doing just about anything. Everything about Dimitri screams power as he punches the bag harder and harder with every surge of his muscular arms. It’s so funny to Claude how that entire demeanor changes when he notices he’s standing there and the blond catches the bag as it swings back toward him. He reaches up and takes his headphones out of his ears when it’s stopped moving. The way his big blue eyes blink down at him remind Claude way too much of a puppy. 

A big, oversized golden retriever.

“Claude,” he says, sweaty fingers fumbling with the earbuds a moment before the soft hum of music stops completely. “I didn’t notice you, I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t sweat it, I didn’t see your airpods,” Claude says with a wink, kind of wishing Dimitri had ignored him a little longer. There’s a charm to how his prominent nose is dripping with sweat and it’s a treat watching him lift his shirt to wipe it away instead of one of the nearby towels on the rack. He really is ripped, for a highschooler. Claude is no pushover but he’s all sinewy, even archery hasn’t given him the sort of arms Dimitri had. “No practice today?” 

“No,” Dimitri shakes his head, walking over to where his things sit on the lifting bench closest to the punching bag. He opens the drawstring bag to pull out his earbud case and puts them back in neatly as he speaks. For someone as strong and tall as he is he’s too earnest, speaks too gently. “Not today …something came up. I was waiting for El to be done with her committee meeting.” 

Claude catches the hesitation in Dimitri’s explanation but he knows better than to say anything. Dimitri is the gentle, princely type but there always seems to be something underneath it all. He’s yet to uncover it himself, and wasn’t planning on trying on a night he was taking Edelgard out. No way. 

“You guys are close, huh?” Claude comments like he’s not fully aware already. For as much as Edelgard complained about him and how much he’d already seen them fight with one another they were thick as thieves. It was just another reason for Claude to try and get to know her big brother. Big as in size , he mentally corrects himself. Edelgard had been very insistent that Claude knew she was older than Dimitri. That was how he knew both of their birthdays. “She talks about you a lot, y’know.” 

“Not good things, I’m sure,” Dimitri snorts a little in retort but Claude can tell it’s in good humor. He puts his phone in his bag after checking the time. 

“Nah, great stuff,” he assures him with a grin. “I should catch one of your games with her sometime, yeah?” 

Dimitri isn’t sure how he feels about Edelgard spending time with another guy at one of his games, and Claude notices the furrow in his brow right away. He waves his hands dismissively as if to pacify the giant before him. Claude privately hopes he’s all punched out after his round with the bag. 

“–Anyway,” he segues as smoothly as he can. “There’s kind of a party tonight I know about, interested at all?” Edelgard would be pissed for inviting Dimitri, Claude already knows that, but he tries anyway. Dimitri starts to pry at the seam of the tape on his hand, fussing with the edge of it a moment with his opposite hand before he just lifts his knuckles to his mouth and rips it open with his teeth instead. 

“That’s nice of you Claude, but parties really aren’t my thing,” he tells the shorter boy with the end of the tape still in his mouth. Claude stares at him a moment before shaking away any stray thought he has about all of that , then shrugs with a laugh. He tried, that’s what matters.

“No problem, big guy,” he grins despite himself. Maybe Dimitri and Edelgard at the same party would be too much to handle, anyway. At least she wouldn’t be pissed off about that tonight. “I’ll just tell you all about it next time. Live vicariously through me or something.”

“Are you going with El?” Dimitri asks without skipping a beat. He always calls her that, El. She had told Claude he wasn’t allowed to when he tried. Claude does his best not to let his grin falter as he shoves his hands in his pockets. No point in trying to deceive the guy. 

“Probably. I mean, if she wants to. It’s that or I disappoint her with some Mcdonald’s. What do you think she’d like better?” 

“Don’t take her to Mcdonald’s,” the blond shakes his head, ripping the tape off his other hand after another bout of fiddling. “She’ll just bitch at you the whole time.”

Not the princely words Claude had been expecting, that was for certain. He tries not to laugh. Dimitri has his back turned to him now, finally crossing the floor to grab a towel. He rubs it through the back of his hair, his neck, over his face. He cleans off the punching bag too, and any sweat that happened to drip onto the floor beneath his feet. Claude watches curiously as he fusses with his bangs to push his hair back into its normal style despite the sweat. Most guys don’t care about the things Dimitri did, but he respects that about him. 

“So, you’re saying I should take her to the party,” he teases him after a moment, always too bold for his own good. He watches Dimitri’s shoulders straighten just a fraction… but then the taller of the two just shrugs, turning back around to him. 

“I don’t think she’d like that much either,” he’s maybe too honest about it. Claude likes that about him too. “But I’m not the one taking her.” 

Huh. He almost asks Dimitri where he’d take her on a date before deciding that would definitely be too much. There was no way he’d get away with a joke like that with either of them, they were both a little stuffy like that. Real life wasn’t like silly pornos. 

“Dimitri,” they both look to the entrance of the gym room where a blond girl was leaning through the doorway. After a second Claude remembers her, Ingrid. One of Dimitri’s friends, he had a lab with her on Tuesdays this semester. “Rodrigue is taking us to get something to eat because practice got canceled. Get cleaned up, OK? Oh– Hi, Claude.” 

He gives her a friendly little wave, thanking the gods up there for the break in a conversation that was sure to get more awkward from there on out. “Hey. You guys lucked out, sounds like. I’ll get out of your hair then.” When Claude turns toward the door, watching Ingrid disappear back down the hallway, he feels something cold drop down into the pit of his stomach– Dimitri had reached out and put one big hand overtop of his shoulder. 

“Whatever you do just… make sure El doesn’t do anything stupid,” he tells him. The fear in his belly goes away a little. Was he just worried about the idea of a party? That was… kind of sweet, seriously. Claude glances back at him. The expression on Dimitri’s face is, somehow, unreadable. Somewhere between irritated and concerned. He notices Dimitri’s lower lip is split a little, more than if they were just chapped. His grip tightens a fraction and it brings Claude back to reality. 

“Of course, Mtya.” Dimitri seems taken aback by the sudden nickname and lets go of his shoulder. “I’ll have her back before mom and dad can start asking questions, promise.” 

When Claude goes to meet Edelgard on the way to his car she already seems upset. He can always tell because she’s typing furiously on her phone and not looking where she’s going. If she wasn’t so damned cute she’d be too much to handle. It’s hot how her long nails click on the surface of her phone though, he loves that about girls. She’s got her shiny red nail polish on as always, the color that always had teachers after her about the dress code. They couldn’t do anything, but Seteth loved to listen to himself talk anyway. She’s already changed out of her uniform. That’s another thing hot about girls, somehow they always looked perfect no matter what. 

She’s got shorts on that would get Seteth after her again in an instant if he happens to see them before they get out of the building. They roll up at the ends, showing off more of her soft thighs as she walks. It makes her ass look amazing, and the oversized blouse she has on top gives the whole look a cute vibe. It’s open in the front just enough he can see a strip of skin but not any cleavage. He whistles to get her attention before she runs straight into him.

“Hey, princess.” She stops short and looks up at him as he speaks. “You look great. I really dig how you ditch the whole Catholic schoolgirl look the second the bell rings.” 

Edelgard rolls her eyes, pulling her purse up tighter against her shoulder. Her phone dangles in her other hand, fingers around the shiny pop-socket in the back. She always closes the case’s flap before he can look, not that he tries… that hard. It was difficult not to when she would grab his at random to scroll through his open apps like she was the queen of everything. 

“I figured you would like the schoolgirl look,” she tells him, falling into step beside her boyfriend as they make their way out of the main building and into the student parking lot. One of the things that had attracted Edelgard to him in the first place was his car, a white Audi sport model. She hadn’t known much about Claude and sometimes she still felt like she didn’t know a thing, but it had impressed her right away. He had a good eye for aesthetics. He fishes for his keys as they walk, starting the car with a click of a button and unlocking the doors. Edelgard watches as the top of the convertible comes down. He loves feeling the wind in his hair. 

“Nah,” Claude says, dutifully opening her door for her like a gentleman even as a smirk crosses his face, “I’m not old enough to appreciate the aesthetic yet.” 

“Gross.” She sticks her tongue out at him. 

Edelgard sits down in the buttery soft leather seat and pulls her brush from her purse. She wasn’t going to let her hair blow around everywhere just because Claude wanted to drive with the top down. He rounds to the other side of the car and gets in, watching her style her hair. She puts it up into twintails first (adorable) before braiding one around the other to make a side ponytail with just his rearview mirror and some gumbands. It seemed so effortless it was kind of sexy. Girls were like magic. He waits for her to be done before pulling out of the lot. 

They both love to speed, it’s exhilarating as they hit the open highway and head toward the city. He leaves one hand on the wheel and reaches across the console with the other to curl over her bare thigh. Her skin feels soft under his palm and she can feel the calluses from his bow on his fingers. She leans back in her seat and rests her head, letting the tail of her hair blow back around. The wind does feel good, even though she’ll complain about it later. She complains about everything but it’s just another thing Claude likes about her. She’s not some soft, submissive girl. 

“So, Starbucks first,” he says automatically when they’re about halfway there. If he doesn’t get her a sweet frappuccino before anything else she’ll steal his car. “Then I need to get back home to change quick, we’re going to a party tonight.” 

“Are we?” Edelgard turns her head to look at him, clearly interested despite her response. He can tell because she’s easier to read than she thinks. Those pretty purple eyes of hers sparkle at the idea of anything that might make her parents mad. 

“Yeah, it’ll be fun. Meet some people, hang out, maybe dance a little bit? I know it’s not the opera but I thought you might be getting bored of stuff like that.” 

He’s not wrong. She enjoys that Claude is the cultured sort of guy who enjoys a French film or going to an art show. They’re things she knows Dimitri will never do with her, or at least appreciate doing with her. It makes going out with Claude interesting and different, like they’re experiences she’ll never have again. Regardless they get a little monotonous date after date. A party sounds fun and exciting. She’s no stranger to house parties but she wonders what Claude has in store. 

“If it’s boring I’ll want to go home,” she tells him. “Then you’ll be sad.” 

“I won’t be sad, if it’s boring I’ll want to leave too,” Claude gives her a wink. He squeezes her thigh, weaving through traffic. As they get into the city and he pulls into the drive-thru line his hand slides up further into her lap. She ignores him as his fingers snake their way into the leg of her shorts. He can feel the lacy edge of her underwear with his pinky finger. “Then we can take it private. You know, get cozy somewhere just us…” 

“Like your bedroom?” Her brow rose. It always started and ended with sex when it came to the teenage boys she knew. Claude watches her look back at her phone and start to text even though his fingers are in her shorts. Maybe he should have been irritated by her ignoring it but somehow it made the whole thing sexier. 

“Wher ever you want,” Claude assures her, looking back to the window when he pulls forward to pay and takes his hand off of her. “One cinnamon hot chocolate for me and,” he hands Edelgard the second drink before putting his own in the cupholder. His voice becomes more put on and campy, “a chai créme frappuccino, extra whip, for Her Imperial Majesty .” 

That seems to get her attention. She closes her phone too quickly and looks at him with a furrow in her brow. Their eyes meet and Claude smirks across at her with mirth behind his gaze. He watches her expression go back to something more uncaring soon after, but he relishes in the idea he got to her a little bit. 

“Am I your queen now, Claude?” She asks. “Not your princess?”

It’s a good deflection and Claude won’t press the subject in favor of having a good day and a good date. It didn’t account for the fact that they both definitely knew what he was talking about, though. What Edelgard doesn’t know is that Claude knew her little secret. It wasn’t anything nefarious, at least he doesn’t think so, but it was interesting. Like any guy his age he had been scrolling through a streaming site looking for hot girls to watch (playing video games, making costumes, doing whatever their hearts desired within the PG-13 rating,) and had been too surprised when he saw Edelgard in one of the thumbnails. She had been live, x hermajestyx . Fascinated but not wanting to be found out so quickly he had logged off and joined her stream under a different account– not that he thought she would know his Twitch username or anything, but just in case. 

There wasn’t anything scandalous about it, not really. Edelgard sat at her desk in her gamer chair with a Nintendo Switch in hand. She had the cute headphones on like they all did, though hers were purple rather than the usual pink and shaped into adorable little kitty ears. Her mouth pouted as she looked down at her screen– she wasn’t even streaming the game itself, just herself playing it handheld. The most surprising thing had been the comments. The chat moved quickly, plenty of people talking to each other and trying to get her attention. Mostly she ignored them but it was incredible. My lady , they called her as they tried to be noticed. Your majesty . Of course Edelgard would fancy herself as a queen rather than a princess. It made perfect sense. Then he’d watched the donations roll in. Edelgard von Hresvelg, daughter of a famously rich CEO and step daughter to a different one, streaming herself being cute for money. Maybe not for money, he supposed, but definitely for the attention of all the boys (and girls?) in her chat. 

vonaegir62: You are looking so very beautiful tonight My Lady, as always! 

vonaegir62: Are you having a nice evening?

girlLVR: feet your majasty ;w;

x_sword_hand_x: i love animal crossing my mom plays that too lol tour your island for us sometime ma ’am

girlLVR: feet please! ! 

xodeadbeat69: room toor wd be real nice insted ;) give us the private show babygirl can only sea a corner of th bed

girlLVR: gross don’t listen to these groady misogynists mylady! 

xodeadbeat69: can barley sea ur cute tedy bear ;)

girlLVR: dont ask her to show u her bed u fckn weirdo >:O

girlLVR: feet *pleas*e please *plEASE* ;O; 

Edelgard, not even looking at the chat, had leaned herself back in the computer chair and put her feet up on the desk in front of her. It wasn’t anything super lewd, she had shorts and a tank top on, but even he had to admit there was something about her little feet wrapped in her sheer nylon socks that was appealing. Not to the level of the horny weirdos in her chat, obviously, but they were cute. Claude’s eyebrows had hit his hairline when, upon putting her feet onto the desk, the donation sound and animation had chimed to the tune of five hundred dollars . There was no message, from a user cryptically called 41w4y5w47ch1n9. A closer look at her sidebar showed him that not only was the guy a creep but he was also her moderator. He had already deleted the most unsavory of the comments for her since Claude had looked away from the chat, but posted nothing himself. 

He felt a little weird about it. After all, this was his girlfriend showing her feet to strangers. At the same time he thought it was genius. Only Edelgard could manage something like this, he thought, and had watched for the remainder of her stream. 

Claude couldn’t keep it to himself for long. He’d wheedle it out of her eventually, at least he hoped so. It was why he was so curious about her constantly texting on her phone, even while they were on dates. That boy in her phone , he always teases her about how she must have some second long distance boyfriend. Seeing her stream and especially the moderator of that stream had added a whole new level to it. He was sure she had to have some sort of private chat for the whole thing, he’d figure it out sooner or later. 

“Nah,” he says with a smile and pulls out of the parking lot, headed toward his grandparent’s house, “You’ll always be my princess.” 

The house is obnoxiously fancy on the outside. Edelgard knows the family before Claude can even tell her, the Gloucesters. Her father dealt with them, she didn’t know much outside of that. She recognizes the rose garden and the coat of arms (dating back centuries , she’s sure she’s heard someone insist before,) as they pull into the drive behind the house and Claude parks up. She’s very aware that her own family, and Dimitri’s family, and every other family they know are what most would call ‘snobby rich people,’ but the Gloucesters are snobby rich people . The only thing she knows about the son of the man her father did business with was that her best friend had complained about him more than once and he was in Claude’s house at school. 

There’s a shadier side there too, she remembers. Her father didn’t like that the Gloucesters were so close to Oswald von Riegan and his dirty money. It was no wonder Claude knows the guy well enough to bring girls over to his parties. Claude had run into his place to change before they drove over, wearing a slouchy open button down over a black turtleneck and a distressed pair of jeans. The gold Gucci belt buckle matches the color of the hoops in his earlobe, Edelgard hates that she thinks it’s sexy. She acts unimpressed as she fixes her hair in the rearview mirror. It was a mess from the wind. She redoes her side ponytail and touches up her makeup before getting out of the car, leaving her purse behind in favor of just bringing her phone along. 

“I didn’t think a snooty guy like this would throw house parties,” she comments, standing by his car while Claude puts the top back up and locks the doors. 

“Lorenz? You’d be surprised,” he laughs a little. He isn’t surprised she knows him, he’d even mentioned it when Claude had started dating her. “You’re such a good girl you don’t think about stuff like that, huh?”

However ignorant and performative Lorenz was, Claude has grown to like having him around. It was fun having a friend that argues with you at every point to keep yourself in check. Besides that, Lorenz could be much more relaxed when his father was out of town. It was why he could throw parties like this under his nose and look at boys all he liked. He can already picture him inside, pouring drinks and talking with Hilda in excited, hushed tones every time a new person arrives. 

Opening the door has them walking into a crowd of people, Edelgard curling her arm around Claude’s as they move through the mass of teenagers. Unlike Dimitri, being around a lot of people doesn’t bother her. If anything it makes her feel a little more anonymous and it’s nice in that regard. She wasn’t her father’s daughter in a crowd like this, just the hot girl Claude had brought with him. Everyone seems to know Claude however, as they pass through into what seems to be the main room. The music isn’t bad and not so loud they can’t hear each other talk. 

“Everyone seems happy you showed up,” Edelgard tells him, nose crinkling in that adorable way of hers. Claude just laughs a little. 

“Course they are, princess,” he replies and they finally get to where Lorenz is near the back of the room. “I’m a great guy.”

Like Claude had assumed he was pouring Hilda a drink at the ‘bar’ he had set up lavishly with spirits from his father’s liquor cabinet. She was standing beside him with one hip leaning against the table, her arms outstretched with fingers forming a rectangle 'viewfinder’ while she scanned around the room. Her pink hair was in an adorably styled mess atop her head and her top was dangerously cut. Each movement makes her breasts wobble in her barely concealed bra. 

“Ooh, what about Sylvain?” She asks her companion, centering him in her fingers as she looks across the room, making zoom in noises. Hilda watches as he grabs the ass of the girl he’s standing with hard enough for her to smack him away. “–Uuhm, maybe not.”

Lorenz scoffs a little at the idea. She’s out to find him a man for the evening so she could take as much booze and snacks as she could upstairs to spend the rest of the night with her girlfriend. Marianne didn’t do parties and had been upstairs since helping them set it up watching films, but Hilda would exploit them for all they were worth first before ditching. 

“Maaaybe– oh! Ferdinand!” She pretends to ‘zoom’ in again, catching him in the sights of her fingers. He’s chatting someone up already, but that was just his nature. “He’s a better bet for sure, don’tcha think?”

“Too straight,” Lorenz’s voice is flat at the implication. He’s tried , it never works. He takes a drink from Hilda’s sex on the beach before pushing a straw into the glass and handing it to her. Ferdinand was either straight as a board or completely oblivious. Maybe both. “Don’t even bother.” 

“Awww, you like that one,” she bumps him with her hip playfully before noticing Claude approaching them, “Ooh Claude~!” 

I wish, Lorenz thinks. Hilda takes her drink, swirling the pink liquid with her straw before waving him and Edelgard over closer. She really is wearing a dangerous top, Claude would’ve waited around to see her buttons pop off if he wasn’t there with his girlfriend. Right now he can’t get caught looking. 

“Hey guys,” he wraps his arm around Edelgard’s waist as they stop in front of the table. Lorenz takes a sip from the second drink he’s made before extending his hand and Edelgard almost thinks he’s going to shake Claude’s hand in greeting. After all, what she knows about him is that he’s exceedingly formal. Instead Claude reaches into the inside pocket of his shirt and pulls out a packet of cigarettes, the long fancy kind. He hands it to him with a wink. “Don’t worry babe. I got you.” 

Lorenz sighs dramatically, “You understand my nerves are bad setting up these sorts of things, Claude,” he tells him as if the party wasn’t all his own doing. Claude and Hilda inviting all their guy friends was their only part in it. He looks to Edelgard first though, setting the box on the table next to his drink. 

“Firstly though, Edelgard! It’s so wonderful to see you. We don’t get to talk much with our classes set up as they are, it's unfortunate!” 

Hilda bumps him with her hip again, reaching for his cigarettes but he slaps her hand away without even looking at her, “Lorenz, don’t be rude. Make them drinks too!” She, of course, doesn’t volunteer.

“Yeah, just something dark and stormy for me,” Claude smiles at the both of them. He pulls his arm from around Edelgard and starts digging in his pockets again. “What do you want, princess?” 

“Well…” She tries to remain coy, like she’s not desperately trying to think of something. Drinking some wine for meals with her parents was normal, but liquor was something she only had on occasion. Dimitri wasn’t supposed to have any alcohol with his medication. She had the suspicion Lambert watered it down with soda and ice cubes when he made her drinks, there didn’t seem to be any of that going on here. 

Claude salvages it for her, “How about a Long Island iced tea? She likes it sweet, babe, don’t go too hard on her now.” 

Lorenz does as he’s told, making up two more drinks before he lights a cigarette. Edelgard watches the smoke eek out from between the gap in his front teeth curiously, even as the scent of it makes her nose wrinkle. Motion from Claude next to her draws her eyes back to him and they widen, watching him pull out two plastic containers and a couple foil packets of… cigars? 

“Claude,” she frowns a little. “You brought all that driving with you?” 

“Only from my house,” he grins at her. The containers, when he opens them, release an overpowering, heady scent. It can only be… “Hilda, babe.” 

She’s already reaching for the foil wraps and opening them up. Edelgard watches as she splits the cigars inside down the middle with her long fake nails, dumping the cheap tobacco out into the bin Lorenz has under the table. Then she takes the weed and produces a metal grinder from somewhere in between the liquor bottles. 

“Where did you get that?” Edelgard asks Claude almost indignantly when she’s holding her cold glass between her fingers. She’s not sure where to look: Lorenz smoking, Hilda’s tits bouncing with every turn of the grinder, or Claude’s stupid smirking face. “That’s from a dispensary, right?” 

“Only the best,” he winks at her and takes a drink from his own glass. Lorenz makes a good drink and he knows how Claude likes it. Low on the booze, high on the flavor. He’d make sure Edelgard was just fine tonight no matter what happens. He may have been the provider but he wouldn’t partake in much knowing he has to drive her back home safely. “I have a friend with a card, so he hooks us up for stuff like this when I just need a little bit. He’s not coming, though.”

“Thank God ,” Hilda sounds dramatic before she giggles. When Edelgard looks crossly at her she shrugs her bare shoulders and explains, “He’s my brother’s best friend, suuuper lame. He’d cry all over me if he saw me dressed like this, yuck .” 

“He might even tell Holst all about your getup,” Claude teases her and she whines. Edelgard just sighs and takes a drink. It’s– It’s strong . She swallows it back and stirs it with her straw idly while watching Hilda roll each cigar wrapper around the weed. It seems so effortless when she does it, even with her long pink nails. She fills four of them one after the other, and hands them back to Claude when she’s done. “The rest of that’s for you and Marianne,” he nods toward the buds still in the container. 

“Thanks, Claude,” she looks pleased enough and closes it up, tucking it between her tits down the front of her shirt. It doesn’t even make a bulge in her clothes and… honestly makes Edelgard feel jealous. How big were they? Was Claude staring at them too…? Her thought is interrupted by seeing Claude’s profile as he sticks the first blunt between his lips. Lorenz hands him a lighter like clockwork and he sparks it up, puffing in smoke to get it going before he pulls in a longer drag. He looks so handsome. A cigar hanging from his lips, a curl of his hair falling down over his forehead. Is this what it was like to be in the Alliance? He washes it back with a sip of his dark and stormy before exhaling a cloud of earthy smelling smoke. 

He offers it to Lorenz first, the host, who’s still smoking his cigarette so he shakes his head and motions to Edelgard instead, “Ladies first, Claude, please.” 

Edelgard has never smoked before, not even cigarettes. She takes the blunt with trepidation, looking around at the three of them looking at her. They all seemed so used to it even though they’re the same class as she is. She doesn’t want to look like an idiot or a loser, especially not in front of some girl her boyfriend kept calling babe . She puts it between her lips and inhales. 

Then she coughs, and coughs. Claude takes her drink to put on the table, his hand going around her to rub her back as he laughs, “That’s it, princess! Lorenz get her a water, would you?” She hates that he’s laughing at her and how it makes Hilda giggle too as he passes the blunt to her next. Edelgard coughs again. She’ll be so mad if her makeup starts running. 

As Lorenz hands her a crystalline glass with ice and water in it she tries to regain her senses. The coughing stops after a few sips and, to their credit, Lorenz and Hilda look at her with some worry in their expressions before they’re sure she’s fine. After another drink of water Edelgard finds that she feels a little less mad. 

“I’m fine,” she tells them when she realizes their concern. She shrugs her shoulders, like she didn’t almost gag and choke a second ago. Lorenz has it now, taking a slower drag on the cigar and holding it in a moment before exhaling. She tries to take note as she drinks another mouthful of water. Claude has it again, he looks sexier than he should be smoking. She feels like maybe she should lecture him, but not in front of his friends. Maybe not at all. When she has it the second time she notices the faint flavor of the cigar wrapper in her mouth, it’s sweet. She inhales, tries to hold it back a moment, then breathes out. She still coughs, it’s less bad this time though. 

“Now you’re a pro,” Claude rubs her waist, drawing her in close to him and kissing the side of her head. She feels a little sillier than before but she assumes that’s what’s supposed to happen. Her head is buzzing a little from the tobacco in the wrapper and the pot starting to take effect. She finishes her water and lifts the alcohol to her mouth again instead. It’s easier to sip on after a few tries, the flavor coming through the overpowering taste of liquor slowly. 

“Is this why everyone knows you, Claude?” She asks him after a moment, stirring her drink again. “Because you show up with weed?” 

He laughs, “Yeah, I guess so. I’m not sharing with this crowd though, just you and these guys. Lorenz can deal with the rest of them.”

“He’s planning on it,” Hilda stifles a giggle and Lorenz shoots her a look. “Oh, sorry, right. Shhh, don’t tell anyone he’s a major qu–”

“ Hilda ,” Lorenz hisses out, snatching the blunt from her to take another drag. “Please.”

“I’m just joking~”

Claude smiles at his friends a moment longer before tucking the rest of the cigars back in their foil wrappers, his other arm wrapping more loosely around Edelgard’s shoulders, drink in hand near her chin. She doesn’t know why it makes him seem so sexy.  

“Let’s leave them alone a while, princess. We can find somewhere to finish our drinks.” 

She can’t protest much. The feeling of the nicotine in her system is starting to make her feel like she should move around. As they walk away from the table through the hall to a different room she realizes she forgot her drink back with Lorenz and Hilda. She doesn’t feel like going back for it, taking a sip of Claude’s instead to taste it too. The rum is sweet and the carbonation of the soda tickles her nose. She likes it just as much and Claude is pretty pleased with that, it has a lot less alcohol. He'd realized after she took her first hit off the blunt that she probably hasn’t gotten high before. 

He wasn’t out to get her so intoxicated she couldn’t stand, after all. He wasn’t that type of guy. 

“Claude,” she lifts her arms to wrap around his neck when they find a corner with less people in it. The music is still playing, it’s nice. He feels the cold surface of the glass against the back of his nape while he leans down to kiss her mouth. It’s adorable to watch her sway to the rhythm around them, his arms wrapping up around her waist. Maybe it was sappy, a little too Junior High, but they rock side to side to the music and makeout. It makes him like the song a lot more now, like he’ll remember it for a good long while. Edelgard presses close to him, enjoying the feeling. She likes how he smells like cologne and a little like the blunt too. 

“Yeah, princess?” 

“I like you.” 

It’s a big thing coming from her. It makes him smile against her mouth and tug her tight against him. She’s definitely feeling the effects of the smoke by now, cuddling up to him and dancing with him like they’re the only people in the room. The click of the ice in the glass reminds her it’s in her hands and she pulls back just enough to bring it back down to her mouth. Her lips are sticky, with lip gloss and from the sweet rum. Claude presses a kiss to her head. 

“I like you too,” he assures her, hands cupping around her hips. The music changes to something a little faster paced but they continue to rock there a while longer, until she looks around for somewhere to sit her glass. “Here, I’ll finish it. You can get more later.” 

He takes it from her and drinks down the last few sips, not wanting her to go back to an unattended cup. He’d promised Dimitri he would look out for her no matter what and he planned to keep that promise. Even if he didn’t think anyone would be out to do something nefarious at a party like this, but you never knew what could happen. He puts the glass on a nearby coffee table, grabbing up under her butt as he leans down and was so pleased to hear her giggle . 

“ Claude, ” she smacks at him playfully. He takes one of her hands and spins her around to the music, watching the tail of her hair swoosh around at the movement. She smiles at him, her eyes shining as she looks up at him, and lets him do it again. As she presses against him, this time back to chest, she feels silly. It’s a good, giddy silliness. It’s like she can feel the music washing over her as she closes her eyes. When she opens them again–

She spots Sylvain from across the room, looking like he was pleading with some girl. Of all the rotten luck, one of Dimitri’s stupid friends was there. She feels embarrassed, suddenly, and a little upset. Claude feels the change in her demeanor from her body movement right away, looking down with concern. 

“What's up?” 

“Sylvain– One of Dimitri’s friends is here,” she pouts, trying to recollect herself. She was only a little high, only had a bit to drink. He watches as she tries to pull herself back together, look like her normal aloof self again. It’s kind of hilarious, with her pouting mouth and red cheeks and her glassy eyes. 

“We don’t have to talk to him, let’s listen to the music some more.”

“He’s going to know I’m high , Claude.” 

He wants to laugh and tell her everyone here is probably high, or getting there, but he doesn’t. He shouldn’t let her fall into the rookie mistake of getting paranoid and upset instead of chilling out. 

“Let’s go then, there’s a bathroom over here.” He puts his arm around her shoulders in a bit more of a commanding way this time, turning away from whoever she was talking about yonder and leaving the room down a hallway. It’s only a few more steps until they’re in a guest bathroom. It’s still fancy and shiny like the rest of the house but it’s toned down a lot, with simpler colors and fixtures. She walks over to the sink and looks at herself in the mirror. “You OK, princess?”

“I think so,” she frowns at her reflection and starts to fuss at her hair. 

“You look fine, don’t worry about it,” he tries to soothe her, rubbing her back and trying to get her attention back. “Bet he didn’t even notice us. He was with some girl, right?”

Claude doesn’t know a whole lot about Dimitri’s friends, but he knows of Sylvain. Even Hilda had words to say about that guy. 

He leans to put his face in her line of sight instead, pressing a kiss to her cheek, “don’t worry, babe, let’s just chill in here a while.”

“ Don’t call me babe.” At least he could tell she was still sober enough from the ire in her voice. 

“Sorry, sorry…”

Soon enough though, Claude has her giggling again. His fingers tickle at her waist as they kiss sloppily and eagerly. She feels so good in his arms, like they’re invincible. He really wishes he could take her home some nights, lay her down in all his pillows in his bed, make lov–

“Claude.” She pulls him out of his own swimming thoughts, back to reality, with her hand on his dick through his pants. He needs to keep more control over himself in this situation if just that little fantasy has him hard. She doesn’t seem to mind, rubbing gently. When she goes for his belt buckle he shakes his head and kisses her again. 

“You don’t have to,” Dimitri’s words echoed back into his mind, sobering him up nicely, “you’re a little drunk, remember?”

“What if I want to?” There was little Claude could do to keep Edelgard from his dick most days. Right now he chooses to take her by the waist and lift her up onto the sink counter. She giggles, fingers still looped in the letters of his buckle. “I’m fine, Claude. Really. I can make decisions right now, I promise.” 

“You sure?” He leans their foreheads together as she pulls him close between her open thighs. “Then don’t worry about me. What if I give you a little love instead, princess?”

Her eyes are glassy, cheeks pink. They kiss again and she undoes his belt anyway, opening his pants. He steps back and tugs her shorts down her hips. Edelgard gasps and he looks to her to make sure it’s OK, relieved when she giggles and pushes her fingers into his hair. 

“Is everything supposed to feel nice?” She asks, leaning back against the mirror as he looks at her in her red lacy panties. Thinking about her wearing them under her uniform skirt all day makes him feel weak for some reason. “I don’t think I’m drunk, it’s just– nice.” 

“Yeah,” he grinned, rubbing his hands along her soft thighs. His thumbs stroke her inner thighs and make her feel ticklish, squirming. “You’re just supposed to feel chill, nothing bad. If it’s too much let me know and we’ll get you some water.” 

“OK,” she sighs out, eyebrows raising when he’s the one who gets down on his knees. He folds the bathroom mat double to rest his knees on and kisses the inside of her leg. “That’s a rare sight.” 

“Hey, I have to start somewhere,” he grins, feeling her put her legs over his broad shoulders. Her little feet are still in her heeled booties, he can feel them press against his back. “You’re right though, I should do it all the time.” 

It gets another smile out of her. By her own volition she reaches down and pulls her panties to one side just a few inches from his mouth. Claude gasps out a breath that she can feel against her wet pussy. She shivers and stretches a little more. He feels the heel of her boot against his spine. He gives her that roguish smile she likes so much and buries his face between her legs. She lets out a noise before she means to, pulling her lower lip between her teeth to try and stifle it. It feels so weird when a boy puts his mouth there but it feels good too. Dimitri licks it like a dog, Claude is more… apt at it, she thinks, but she doesn’t have a very big frame of reference. Her knees lift up a little to seat his face firmly between her legs and crosses them at the ankle along his shoulders. 

Mostly it feels wet at first, his tongue poking along her lips, sliding up around the hood of her clit. He didn’t make embarrassing sounds like Dimitri did, she’s sure she wouldn’t be able to handle that right now. Everything seems kind of funny. It makes it harder to focus but once Claude’s suckling against her just right the sensation is heightened. When her legs tighten around his head and she makes the sweetest little mewls he knows he’s in the right direction. He presses his hands up under her thighs, holding her gently as he feels up her silky skin, and slides his tongue into her opening. It’s wet, warm, wonderful and most of all verboten. The only thing he can touch her there is with his mouth and it makes him want to do it over and over again. 

He spreads his thighs a little further on the rug under him and moves one hand to open his fly, stroking out his dick. He can’t help it, she’s so wet around his mouth and she tastes and smells amazing. Everything about girls is amazing, even her sweat tastes good when he turns his head to lap along her inner thigh briefly. She squeals out another moan as he leaves the tiniest bite there to remember him by. His mouth presses back around her clit the same moment her phone vibrates next to her on the sink. 

She doesn’t notice right away, her mind heady from the pot and the tingling pleasure he was giving to her with his mouth. She likes how the hair on the sides of his face feels against the insides of her legs. She rocks her hips a little, putting her hands down on the ceramic surface of the counter to keep her balance. That’s when she feels her phone buzz next to her hand and turns her head just enough to look down. On a whim, brain swimming with pleasure and distractions, she picks it up and opens the flap. 

It’s a text from Dimitri. He barely ever texts her, he doesn’t like fussing with his phone unlike most teenage boys. She squeezes her legs tighter around Claude’s head to keep him from noticing as she reads it. 

El hope you are OK. and Having a good night  

It’s way too cute, how he types sometimes. Something about getting eaten out in a bathroom at a party away from him makes her heartstrings tug. Maybe it’s the weed. Suddenly she misses him and her nails tap on the screen to reply. 

I’m fine Dimitri. Try to go to sleep without me? 

Something about him needing her, missing her enough to text her when she’s out with another boy sends a thrill through her. She moans again as Claude’s tongue slides deep. He groans out loud when she kicks up his back and digs his mouth in harder against her. 

I will. just behave? Mom and Dad went to sleep.

Claude’s surprised enough when she giggles to lift his head and sees her with her damn phone again. Immediately his thoughts go to the stream, to the guy she always seems to be texting. The person who sent her five hundred dollars. He curls an arm around her leg so he can press his thumb into her clit and make her squeal again. He knows she’s high, he shouldn’t care what she’s doing, but… Edelgard grips her phone tighter at the feeling of his calloused thumb against her rubbing and rubbing. His tongue presses into her pussy over and over, the juices soaking into his chin. He’s determined now that she’s looking at her phone to get her to pay attention to him instead. 

I’m behaving Dimitri, she lies. Play your game or something. 

She shouldn’t because it’s Claude and she likes Claude, but now the image of Dimitri is stuck in her head. Frowning down at her, needy and sad. Then between her legs, his big hands gripping her hips so tightly she can't get away. With his mouth devouring her where he wasn’t allowed to touch, making her pant and squeal and come. She sighs out before her fantasy can get much further than that, and closes her phone again. Her eyes meet Claude’s green eyes and when she realizes she’s been caught she whines. His thumb is driving her mad. 

“My– my mom texted me,” she gasps. He doesn’t seem to believe it, pressing into her harder, running his tongue up alongside his finger to join in torturing her clit. “Claude– I–”

It feels too good to fuss about it anyway. Her phone clatters down against her hip on the counter and she leans her head back. Pleased but still feeling just a little possessive, Claude decides to try something different. With his thumb pushing against her clit in circles his tongue swipes down through her pussy lips. Then he lavs it up over her asshole. She gasps in shock, then moans , and Claude strokes his cock harder listening to her. With his nose pushed into her pussy and his mouth on her asshole she really felt like she was melting. She didn’t want him to stop even if it was weird , tossing her legs against his back. 

Claude could tell she didn’t care about keeping quiet anymore. Good. If anyone was listening then they would know he was the one who got to do this with his girlfriend. That she was moaning for him. He pulled her down closer with his arm and pushed his tongue into her ass, rubbing her clit frantically. Edelgard moans again, then gasps, and he can feel her crashing around him. The way her pussy throbbed when she came was too cute, and he can feel it in her asshole. She’s coming and coming, moving her hands from the counter to pull at his hair again instead. The sting feels good, the graze of her long nails against his scalp. He loves her nails. Sliding his hand around the base of his dick Claude groans and he comes. He pumps his cock a few more times as he shoots rope after rope of come against the bottom of the sink, down into the rug. He wishes he could have been inside her.

“Damnit, Claude,” she gasps above him when her whole body stops throbbing. “ Fuck .” 

He leaves another hickey on her inner thigh before he pulls his head back. His mouth is soaked with her, his nose too. She looks down at him in a haze, trying to catch her breath. 

“Feeling good, princess?” He says when he can breathe again. Maybe she really was just texting her mom. He has to keep in mind that she’s stoned, and he can’t go too far that direction himself. He’s gotta look out for her and he’s gotta drive later. 

“Yeah,” she admits after a few more gasps of breath in. She’s made a little wet puddle on the counter underneath her butt and it’s starting to feel sticky. Claude looks at his own mess as he starts to get up, pulling his jeans back up his hips. He grabs a hand towel off the wall to wipe it up before putting the rug back the right way. 

“You’re so hot,” he blurts out, looking at her still sprawled on the sink counter. She feels kind of disappointed at the sight of him tucking his softening cock back into his pants. It’s whatever, though. Dimitri needs her to take care of him, not Claude. Claude… he always did his best to take care of her. It feels new and exciting. She scoots off of the counter after another moment of lounging back, swaying a little. The feeling of the pot, the nicotine and the alcohol catch up to her all at once. Claude puts an arm around her but she seems to balance just fine in her little boots. She reaches for some toilet paper and wipes between her legs. When he catches her frowning back at him in the mirror he laughs. 

“What? You are.” 

“No, just… Ugh, why did you put your mouth there?” She’s blushing again, pulling her panties back up her hips. Next come her shorts and she checks herself all over for any mess before she leans her hands against the counter. She feels lightheaded and she’s still bitching at him. 

“‘Cause it was hot, wasn’t it?” He tries to lean in for a kiss and Edelgard squeals, shoving him away. “C’mon princess, it’s not dirty. Just one kiss?” 

She pouts up at him, brow furrowed, before she puts her hands to his shoulders and leans against him. “I need to sit down, Claude.” 

Right away he changes it up, realizing she’s probably feeling the second wave. He kisses her head (with no protest, luckily,) and does up his belt before he wraps a strong arm around her. 

“You need some air, let’s go outside.”

She sits against the hood of Claude’s car for a good while, holding the bottle of water he’d snatched off of Lorenz's liquor table as they passed by between her legs. He stands next to her making sure she sips at it, pushing sweaty hair from her face. The breeze feels good this time of night, this time of year. She’s not that cold for once, but it might have been the alcohol in her system keeping her warm. Edelgard takes another sip of water. 

“Feeling better?” He asks and she nods. Her face isn’t so red now and she doesn’t feel wobbly or nauseous. It feels good again, chill like Claude said. “That wasn’t too much, right? I didn’t want to–”

“It’s fine, Claude,” she assures him, looking up at her boyfriend and handing him the bottle to take a drink. “I told you I can still make my own decisions… but thanks for making sure.” 

He smiles and leaned to steal a kiss from her mouth. Her makeup is kind of all over the place but it’s nothing she can worry about right now, and he thinks it’s cute. She doesn’t protest this time, leaning closer to him. One, two, three more kisses before she shoos him back again for another drink of water. 

“I’m so hungry, though.”

Claude laughs , “Figured you might be. Wanna get out of here?” 

Edelgard looks at him with a more critical eye than she has in a few hours, twisting the bottle idly in her hands. “You’re OK to drive, right?” 

He looks up at the clear sky a minute, the wind blowing through his hair and against the back of his hot, sweaty neck. She makes him take the bottle again and he gulps down two big drinks. “Yeah, I’m fine. Promise. We’ll even go slow.” 

“Oh no ,” she says, and then giggles at her own sarcasm. He’s glad she’s feeling better. Claude gets her into the car and buckled up before heading out back onto the road. With the top down she can look straight up at the stars while they drive down the highway. Everything feels warm and shiny. She feels good and calm, she feels light. She remembers Claude’s mouth sucking between her legs and sighs out pleasantly. She remembers Dimitri’s texts and finally looks at her phone on her lap, opening it up and thumbing open the screen. He had replied back when Claude was eating her out. 

i Will El love yuo

It makes her heart ache. She loves Dimitri. She likes Claude so much, glancing over at him, seeing him dutifully paying attention to the road and the speed limit. She reaches over and puts her hand on top of the one not holding the wheel. He smiles but doesn’t chance a look back at her, only squeezing tight. 

“I’m hungry too, I think. Let’s get something good.” It’s only a few more minutes until he’s pulling into a fast food chain, the big neon arches reflecting in the shiny hood of his car. She giggles a little despite herself.

“McDonald’s, Claude?”

“Why not?” He flashes her that grin when he’s in the drive-thru and can look over at her. He’s got sweat in his hairline, he looks so handsome. She reaches over and tucks a curl of hair back behind his ear. “What makes it so different from Starbucks anyhow, princess?”

“Well… I guess you’re kind of right…” 

He might have ordered too much food. There’s chicken nuggets and a big basket of fries. He hands her a vanilla milkshake with whipped cream and a little maraschino cherry on top. She marvels at it like it’s a thirty dollar sorbet. She sits up, suddenly famished, and rips open her straw paper. Claude parks up in the mostly empty lot and opens the straw to his own iced coffee. He needs to make sure he stays alert, after all. 

“These are really good,” she admits after two handfuls of french fries. It’s hilarious and adorable to see her scarf them down, she’s usually so prim. He reaches over and puts a finger in her milkshake whip then boops it against her nose. “Claude!”

“You’re so cute,” he grins, and leans to kiss her. They make out over the console in between bites of fries, nuggets, sips of her milkshake and his coffee. She even shares it with him. 

“What about these?” She asks suddenly, and he realizes she’s reached into his shirt and grabbed the foil wrapper he’d put the blunts in earlier. He hasn’t forgotten they’re there, but he's been too focused on Edelgard to notice her sticky fingers. 

“What about them?” He asks, even as he presses the button to put the top back up. She’s all loosened up, it’s fun. He drinks his coffee as she puts one of the cigars between her lips again and tries to light it. It’s too cute watching it hang from her mouth. So unlike how tightly wound she had been at the end of the school day so many hours ago. He lets her smoke it, but waves it away when she’s trying to pass it over to him between coughs. “Nah, I have to drive, remember? You enjoy it, princess.” 

“The whole thing?” She looks at him with a bit of unease before putting it back between her lips. She drags on it more carefully this time but it still makes him laugh. She would get used to it, eventually. The first time always feels the silliest. 

“You don’t have to smoke it all,” he shook his head. “We can save it for later when you’re done.” 

Edelgard feels like that’s a good idea. She takes another hit against her better judgment and finds herself leaning back against the seat with stars in her eyes. It’s hitting her hard now, and she’s content with the food in her belly. It’s not like drinking too much alcohol and getting sick. It’s just… nice. She sits with her milkshake in both hands once she’s had enough and Claude has put the blunt back into the foil with the others. He watches her zone out while he finishes the rest of the nuggets on his own. She had demolished the fries despite her misgivings. He couldn’t stop thinking about how cute she looked staring out the window of his car. When he finishes up the food he crumples up the garbage back into the McDonald’s bag. Then he leans over and gives her head a little kiss as he pulls her seatbelt back over her. 

“Rest a while, princess. Enjoy it, like I said.” 

He rolls her window down for her instead of putting the top down while the smell of the pot lingers, not wanting to bring anymore attention to his driving, but he doesn’t pull out of the parking lot just yet. 

Claude’s curiosity gets the best of him in the end. Her phone has slid off her thigh between her seat and the console. He fishes it out for her but when he sees the screen is unlocked still he… He eats the forbidden fruit. He should probably let Dimitri know she needs help getting into the house, he tells himself. That’s all it was. He’s surprised when he opens her texts and her brother is at the top of the list. Maybe he had misheard her back in the bathroom, but… Wouldn’t it be weird to answer a text from Dimitri while she was having sex? Shaking away the thought Claude copies the number into his own phone and texts him himself. 

Hey big guy its Claude. Edelgards a lil toasted so when I pull up can you come out and get her? 

While he waits for the response he’s too tempted by her phone to resist looking through it. Just like he thought, she has a group server set up for her stream channel. Her Majesty’s Court , it’s called. She really does fancy herself a queen. He looks through the channels quickly, looking sidelong at her but she’s still sitting with her head back, eyes closed peacefully. There doesn’t seem to be anything that interesting, mostly people chatting about games or music like normal teenagers in a normal group chat. Then he spots it at the very bottom, a private channel. The admin chat. There are no new messages but scrolling up through the past ones shows her chatting with someone whose display name was only a single period, with a black icon. 

Well, he’s satisfied after a while. Nothing seems strange, mostly her chatting about school, about her life. The responses are tempered and mellow, like the person on the receiving end is a good friend. The biggest thing he’s happy about is that she doesn’t seem to be sending this guy nudes . He doesn’t even get those. When she sighs out he closes out of the discord and her messages and puts her phone back on her lap. 

Dimitri has replied,

Sure Claude. Thanks for hetting jer back home safe. 

No prob sorry if I woke you up :)

With that sorted Claude takes another big gulp of his coffee, brings his focus back, and drives her home. In between sips of her own milkshake she reaches for his hand again and plays with his fingers across the cupholders. His head is buzzing with adrenaline, but he feels too good to worry about it. She doesn’t seem to have noticed his snooping at all, even as she perks up a little bit at the fresh air blowing across her from the window. By the time he pulls into their driveway she’s scooting herself back up and yawning. 

“Night, princess,” he leans across to kiss her, seeing the porch lights come on and Dimitri coming down the steps in his sweatpants and slides. He’s shirtless… because of course he is. Claude licks his lips idly and, before Dimitri makes it to the car, slides the foil packet into the bottom of Edelgard’s purse for her to find later. 

“Night, Claude,” she tells him when she realizes it’s Dimitri in the headlights and sits herself up, pushing her phone into her purse to make sure she doesn’t forget it. “That was… really nice. I liked it a lot.” 

“Good.” He smiles, getting out of the car himself to open her door so Dimitri doesn’t have to do everything. He gets her up onto her feet and she giggles a little, looking between the two of them. Claude looks disheveled and sexy, Dimitri’s hair is down in his face from rolling around his bed too. She leans on Claude a moment longer before stepping over to him and putting an arm around Dimitri instead. 

She blows her boyfriend a kiss as her step brother grabs her around the waist and lifts her up , just to make things easier. Edelgard laughs again and Dimitri looks at her with concern enough to make Claude laugh too. 

“She’s fine, she’s just silly. Don’t worry, Mtya.” 

“Mtya?” She looks at Dimitri in confusion before she giggles again, “That’s so cute… Mtya.” 

He huffs out a breath, Claude can make out a bit of blush on his face in the dim light.

“El, don’t… Night, Claude. Thanks.” 

Claude leans against the hood of his car and watches Dimitri carry her inside effortlessly, until her giggling fades and the door snaps shut.