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Claude stirred up the soup in his bowl thoughtfully, watching the lonely noodles swirl around his spoon. The chatter of the other students in the dining hall hardly registered in his ears at all. More pressing matters were on his mind, and a particular purple-haired friend was at the center of these matters. Claude sighed— that was it, he had to go.
“Where are you going?” Hilda asked, grabbing him by the arm when he abruptly got to his feet. She dragged out the “g” that ended “going.”
“I have— there’s something I’ve gotta do,” Claude said, gently pushing off her fingers and picking up his mostly-empty bowl. “See you later, Hilda.”
For once, she seemed to pick up on the fact that he was being serious and just nodded.
“Well, okay then. See ya around.”
Claude deposited his dishes into the proper bin before getting back in line. The only people ahead of him were Ingrid and Raphael. This was because they were constantly, incomprehensibly hungry, and obsessed with food.
“Pretty good eatin’ today, huh, Claude?” Raphael said, turning around halfway to give him a big grin.
“Seriously!” Ingrid agreed.
“Yep," Claude said, not feeling like saying much else and putting his hands in his pockets. He had no way of knowing how well his plan would work, and to be perfectly honest… he was just tired. Teach seemed like she knew this because lately, she hadn’t been assigning him to the training missions. He was sorry to miss out on the practice but, at the same time, he appreciated the importance of not overworking himself. So long as he didn’t turn into Hilda, he figured he’d be all right.
“May I have another bowl of that noodle soup, please?” he asked the woman behind the counter when it was his turn.
“Certainly.”
This was such a bad idea.
---
Wow, this was such a bad idea, and yet he knew he had to do it. He stared at the lines in the wood of Lorenz’s door, trying to plan out what to say. He stopped himself. First of all, apologies shouldn’t be too planned, or else they sound forced and insincere. And second of all… Lorenz always said such weird stuff that even if Claude planned what he’d say, the other Deer wouldn’t follow the script at all. So Claude steeled himself and knocked.
“Who is it?” came a miserable voice.
“Uh, it’s Claude. Can I open the door?”
There was a moment’s pause.
“… Sure.”
Claude turned the knob and peeked into Lorenz’s dorm room. The curtains were drawn, but the candles glowing on the desk allowed him to see his friend. He actually did look pretty sick.
“Hi,” Claude greeted him, slipping into the room.
“What do you need?”
Claude flinched inwardly. So harsh.
“Well, I came to…” Claude said slowly. “... to apologize, and to bring you something to eat. So you can get better.”
“Please do not discuss food in my presence,” Lorenz groaned, pulling up his comforter even higher so that only his eyes and hair were in view. Claude realized he had never seen Lorenz's hair messy before.
“Sorry," Claude said, setting the bowl of soup on the tiny table beside the door. He’d revisit that topic later, then.
“So...?” Lorenz said.
“So, I wanted to say that I’m sorry for being rude to you. And calling you weak. And a wimp. In front of everybody.”
“Very un-noble-like.”
“… Right. Yeah. But outside of that, it’s still wrong. And I’m sorry.”
“Consider yourself forgiven. To tell you the truth, I had already decided to forget all that.”
“Really? Oh. Guess I wasted my time!”
“I appreciate the sentiment.”
“‘Course. And you’re sure you can’t stand to eat just a little? It’ll help you get better faster. Or so my parents always said.”
“Are you asking this as my house leader and future leader of the Alliance?”
See, this was why Claude didn’t bother planning conversations with Lorenz— literally who thought like that?!
“Er, no. I’m asking… as your friend.”
Claude wasn’t sure they were friends, but calling them “acquaintances” when Lorenz looked so pitiful just felt cold.
“I will try.”
“Great! And if you throw it all back up, I promise not to tell anyone about the ugly faces you make.”
“Claude!”
“Sorry!”