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Dimitri saw Hilda approaching him as he packed up after a lecture, and had to bite back a sigh. It wasn't that he disliked talking with Hilda - quite the opposite, in fact - but he had hoped to squeeze in a nap. After Flayn had gone missing - and he was given a golden opportunity to look into Garreg Mach's records - his already tenuous relationship with sleep had almost entirely disappeared.
Still, Hilda was a surprisingly good friend. At first she had just asked for help here and there, and he hadn't minded helping. Retrieving a book from a high shelf or shifting a bench to be in the shade were hardly inconveniences. He had written her off as another lady he couldn't afford offending for political reasons.
But after she had joined the Blue Lions, things shifted. Despite her protests that she was weak, she was a great partner in sparring - fighting a quick axe user was a new experience for him, and he expected it to pay off when fighting Edelgard at the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. Her expertise in making jewelry had been incredibly useful when the class had come together for the professor's birthday present.
"Hilda! To what do I-" to his embarrassment, a yawn caught him mid-sentence. His sleep situation was truly dire. "-owe the pleasure?"
Hilda scowled. "I knew I saw you yawning during lecture. We can't have our gallant leader falling asleep!"
"I apologize, but I have tried every remedy I know of for sleep. I am sure once we find Flayn I will be able to sleep easier."
She did not appear convinced. "I don't know how to make it easier to sleep, but I do know how to be less tired. Meet me at the entrance of Abyss one bell before class begins tomorrow." She walked away, apparently not interested in elaborating. Dimitri decided that he would find out what she was talking about tomorrow, but take his chance to rest now.
The next morning, he arrived at the appointed meeting spot slightly early, after yet another morning where his nightmares had shook him awake. Hilda, to her credit, met him at the time she had specified despite her obvious sleepiness. She stayed vague about her plans in response to his queries, even as she expertly navigated deeper into Abyss, clearly having a specific location in mind. As they went deeper in, he started to smell something bitter and earthy that was vaguely familiar. The question of where he knew it from tumbled in the back of his head as he followed Hilda, until he hit on it. Coffee.
"This is it!" she exclaimed. 'It' was a cozy hollow in the rock, with a green sign with a stylized woman on it lit by magic above the entrance. He followed her into the - store, he thought it was.
"Hilda! Good to see you again. Who's your friend?" a lady in a green apron asked behind the counter that stretched along one side of the space.
"Just a classmate I thought needed a pick me up," Hilda responded, coming up to the counter. "Can I get two of the Pumpkin Spice Latte?" She handed a few gold coins to the lady.
"Coming right up," the lady said.
True to her word, she placed two cups adorned with the same green woman on the counter just a few minutes later. Hilda took both and passed one to Dimitri, then took a long sip from her own.
Seeing that, apparently, this was something to be drank, he lifted the cup to his face gingerly, inhaling deeply of its scent. It smelled sweet, almost decadent, like the sweet buns he had so loved as a child. Comforting, in a way. He took a sip, and found that unfortunately, just like the sweet buns he could not taste a thing. Still, it was warming, so he kept taking sips as he followed Hilda back out of the store.
"So, what do you think?" Hilda asked him eagerly.
"It smells very good," Dimitri answered.
"I thought so too! But make sure to finish drinking it, it'll make you feel less tired, I promise," she told him.
He did as she said as they wound their way up to the surface again. She hadn't been lying - he felt more awake than he had in weeks by the time they got to the classroom.
"Thank you, Hilda," Dimitri told her before they entered, bowing slightly to show his gratitude.
"Aww, you can repay me by carrying my books later. Just remember to go there instead of falling asleep at your desk next time!" He followed her into the classroom, smiling honestly for the first time in a while.
---
Dimitri ignored his father railing at him about how much of a disappointment he was as he trudged to the cathedral. He knew he had been sloppy in the skirmish. But after five years of solitude, the sheer number of people around made it nearly impossible for him to sleep. As he got to the altar, his exhaustion forced him to his knees, preventing him from keeping vigil like he typically did. He fought as hard as he could to stay awake, knowing that even a moment's inattention could get him killed.
The next he knew, the moon was shining in through the holes in the roof. But somehow, instead of the stale air of the cathedral, he smelled something sweet. Something that reminded him of times that could never happen again. He looked over, and he saw the source. A cup with a green lady on it. Beside it lay a note in Hilda's elegant handwriting.
"For Dimitri ♥"