Dimitri gently picked at the fabric of the maid dress he'd been asked (or rather, ordered) to wear for cooking duty today. It'd been a request from Byleth, who'd managed to recover a box filled with servant uniforms from Abyss. They'd asked that the soldiers on cooking duty would trade out their normal attire for the butler suits and maid dresses they had found, so they could reduce the amount of clothes that needed washing daily. The suits and dresses would've been torn up for scraps if not for them, and the laughter and entertainment it brought to the dining hall had done wonders for morale.

As for why he was in a maid dress? Well… that was more his own fault. He'd torn apart the only butler suit they had that fit him back when he was… well. They didn't have one that fit him, so here he was. Wearing a dress.

After five years of the eternal damnation that had been his life on the run, wearing a dress was not as embarrassing as he might have once thought.

A knock at the door told him the other person who was supposed to be on kitchen duty was here. "Are you there, Your Highness?"

"I am, and I am dressed," was the response he gave.

The door opened as Ingrid, clad in a butler suit, let herself in and shut the door behind her. "I'd prefer to be wearing my armour, but-"

Dimitri looked up at her when she stopped speaking. A small smile formed when he noticed that she'd frozen up in surprise, before he decided to explain. "There were no more uniforms in my size. The professor suggested that I wear this instead."

"I don't think they were serious about wearing it, Your Highness." Ingrid stepped forward from the door when Dimitri patted the seat next to him but froze up again when she was near him. "Are you sure?"

"We are not supposed to be there for a while, yet. Let us sit down and talk, Ingrid." Dimitri shifted aside, gathering up the enormous skirts of his dress so that Ingrid could sit down without pulling them.

"Is there something for us to talk about, Your Highness?"

"Perhaps. But I would rather us talk to each other as friends, not as knight and lord."

Ingrid nodded. "My apologies, Dimitri. I know the Professor means well with this, but I am sure Mercedes would not mind-"

"It does not trouble me that I have to wear this. I appreciate your concern all the same, Ingrid."

"Very well."

The two sat in silence for a while, the only sounds being the birds singing and the cats hissing at one another. It was possible they were fighting over an unfortunate mouse, or fighting over something else. Dimitri wasn't sure.

Dimitri elected to break the silence between them. "Although, if I am honest, wearing this reminds me of when we were children." Ingrid looked at him, though she seemed more confused than surprised. "Do you remember when you were insistent on training with Felix and Glenn-"

Ingrid's eyes lit up as she realised what she meant. "I do. You told me that if we were to change clothes with each other you would pretend to be me so I could go with them." A smile formed on her face as she remembered. "Felix was very confused when I showed up pretending to be you. If it wasn't for Sylvain, he'd have given me away there and then."

"You were right about the tutor. They were not very interesting to listen to, nor were they very attentive. Not once did they wonder why I no longer had green eyes." A light chuckle escaped Dimitri as he spoke. "But Lord Rodrigue was very unhappy when he learned of the deception"

"As was my father." Ingrid's smile faltered slightly. "He had that tutor dismissed and forbade me from playing for a week afterwards. That part was… not as fun."

"Rodrigue was furious, as were my parents. The guards were following me everywhere for a month afterwards." Dimitri's own smile faded away. "I don't think Rodrigue ever let go of how I dressed myself up as you so you could go and practice."

"My father didn't."

The uncomfortable silence returned once more. Neither of them really knew what to say after that. That was the thing with reflecting on their childhood, it carried far too many bittersweet memories now after all that had happened in this war.

There were times when Dimitri wondered about the people, he'd taken for granted before Cornelia took over. The servants that used to always walk the halls, the knights that had always stood guard over the palace. Had they escaped when Cornelia had taken over? Had she had them executed? Did they continue to serve and protect her, despite what she had done to him and his family?

Perhaps they'd been on her side all along? Or were they always on his side, just waiting for his return? Had they been waiting for a king, when all they'd gotten was a boy with far too much blood on his hands to be considered a king?

Dimitri looked to Ingrid, who appeared to also be lost in her thoughts. "You may speak if you wish, Ingrid." From how she blinked and looked at him in surprise again, she must have really been lost In her thoughts.

"I suppose I was thinking how thing have changed." She carefully reached up to tug at one of the frills on his dress. "I don't think you could pretend to be me anymore."

Dimitri laughed quietly. "No. And I don't think you could be me, either."

"No. Forgive me, Your Highness, but I wouldn't be able to."

"You are forgiven, Knight Ingrid."

When neither of them felt like speaking, Ingrid let go of the frill and stared at the door once more. "We should get going. I feel like we've been in here for a while."

"I am sure if we were late, the Professor would've come to get us." Dimitri placed a gentle hand on Ingrid's shoulder. "We have not had chance to speak as friends in a while. I… would like to do that more, if that is alright with you."

"It is fine with me." Ingrid sat back on the bed, being careful not to accidentally mess up Dimitri's dress. "I must admit, it has been a while since we've spoken like this."

"Yes. Not since…"

"Since you asked me to be your knight," Ingrid supplied helpfully.

"Yes. Since then. That was a month ago, I believe." Dimitri stared at the roof above them. "We are so close to Enbarr now. The war's almost over."

"It is." Ingrid looked up at what he was staring at, spotting a crack running along the ceiling. "Hard to believe that after five years of this the war's almost at an end."

"When it is over, we will have much to do." Dimitri spoke in the way he did when he remembered his coming duties as king, formal yet worried at the same time. "Fódlan must begin rebuilding to regain its former glory. Times like this will be much more difficult to come by."

Ingrid nodded. "You're right. We won't be able to spend time talking to each other as often as we used to. Felix and Sylvain will be busy with their territories as well."

"They will. We will have to make time for all of us to reunite once we've started rebuilding the continent." Dimitri hunched over after a moment, staring now at the floor. "For all of us. I would like to see everyone again. Letters can only tell so much."

"I know. I want to see everyone after we've rebuilt the continent." Ingrid smiled wistfully. "Felix and Sylvain. Annette and Ashe, the Professor. Everyone who's helped us each step of the way, who've risked their lives in this war. I understand what you mean. I want to see them all too once this war is over and the people have recovered."

"I do too." Perhaps in a bold move, Dimitri's hand found Ingrid's and squeezed it tight. "I also wish to see you as well. Not as my knight, but as my friend, too."

Ingrid squeezed it back, watching the look of apprehension on Dimitri's face change to one of relief. "As I do you. I want to see Dimitri, my friend, not just you as Your Highness."

"I will certainly try."

Another knock at the door interrupted their discussion. "Dimitri, it is time." Byleth's voice came through the door slightly muffled. "Find Ingrid and come to the dining hall. Dinner must be prepared."

"I think we are out of time." Dimitri stood up first, smoothing down his maid dress while Ingrid stood up. "How does it look?"

Ingrid looked him over briefly. "There's no creases or marks. How does the suit look?"

"It looks fine. No creases or marks on it either."

"Good. I don't really want to be put on clothes washing duty after this." Just to be sure, Ingrid let go of Dimitri's hand and smoothed out her uniform. "The Professor should help us with the cooking, but do not be afraid to ask if you need help, Your Highness."

"I will ask for help, do not worry." Dimitri smiled. "And thank you, Ingrid."

She smiled back, a warm smile that lit up the room. "Of course, Dimitri. Thank you for helping me."

While cooking duty turned out to be a stressful, boiling affair, being able to work with Ingrid on it made it more bearable for him.

(Especially when he ended up on the receiving end of Felix's glare for breaking a bowl filled with soup.)