Chapter Text
Crisp afternoon air swept in under Ignatz’s dorm door. Already Ignatz had unpacked the coat his mother had sent him off with, and it provided suitable comfort as he snuggled up against his headboard with his sketchbook. What to begin with? Perhaps more drawings of the Professor? Or should he pick a student from his old class? Claude cut a striking silhouette, what with his earring and braid…
The door banged open. On reflex, Ignatz shut his sketchbook and held it to his chest protectively. “What— Sylvain?”
Indeed it was Sylvain. He ran inside the room and slammed the door shut behind him. Panting, he then sat with his back pressed against the door as if using it as a shield. Ignatz remained still, waiting for Sylvain to collect himself.
After a few moments, Sylvain looked up and seemed to notice Ignatz for the first time. “What are you doing in Ashe’s room?”
Taken aback, Ignatz could only say, “This is my room.”
“No it’s not, it’s—” But then Sylvain actually looked around. Worn yellow carpet. Paint brushes sitting on the windowsill. A letter to home Ignatz had been working on earlier lying atop the desk. “Oh.”
“Were you looking for Ashe?”
“No. Just his room.” Sylvain twisted to press his ear to the door instead.
Anxiety crept in as Ignatz watched Sylvain, playing absently with the corner of his sketchbook. Having only just recently been recruited to the Blue Lions, he didn’t know Sylvain all too well. Outside the skirt chasing reputation, anyway. They certainly weren’t good enough friends for surprise visits like this.
“Why—”
“Good, I think she’s moved on,” Sylvain interrupted with relief. “Man, you make one joke about a woman’s hair…”
Now more exasperated than panicked, Ignatz lowered his sketchbook and sighed. “Sylvain, why are you here?”
“Ashe lets me hide in his room sometimes when a girl has it out for me. Guess I just aimed for the wrong door.” Sylvain stood, brushing wood dust off his knees. “Do you mind if I lay low here for a bit?”
“Um…” Ignatz tried to subtly push the sketchbook under his bed sheet. “I guess it’s alright? For how long?”
“Until dinner, I guess? Just to be safe.”
Ignatz held in a groan. He had been waiting for this week’s free day to get in some figure practice. And now it seemed he was going to have to wait even longer.
The bed creaked as Sylvain sat across from Ignatz. Right on top of the sketchbook. “Don’t!” Ignatz could only think to say.
To his horror, Sylvain stood right back up, pulled back the covers, and picked up the book. “Sorry! Were you reading this?” He examined the cover. “Wait—”
“J-Just give it back, please!” Ignatz could only imagine how red his face was as he held out his hands. The Goddess would probably be confused by the son of a merchant fervently and quietly praying for Sylvain to return his sketchbook unopened but at the moment, Ignatz was too desperate to care.
The book was pressed into his waiting hands. “Sorry,” Sylvain repeated, sitting back down a bit farther away than before. “I hope it isn’t ruined.”
“No, it looks fine. I just thought... Well, thanks.” Ignatz tucked the book under his pillow instead, face no less red.
Sylvain frowned. “Did you think I would make fun of you?” Ignatz didn’t speak, and Sylvain seemed to take that as an answer. “Oh. Didn’t know ‘bully’ had been tacked on to my name.”
In truth, Ignatz hadn’t heard it put quite that way. Mostly complains about his lack of sensitivity, and mostly from the girls he’d dated. Now Ignatz felt guilty— he shouldn’t judge a classmate on rumor alone. “I just don’t like showing people my work before it’s finished,” Ignatz explained. Which was true even if it wasn’t the whole reason for his panic. “And these are just for practice so I’d never show anyone.”
“I probably shouldn’t mention that I’ve seen you practice before then?”
A fresh wave of embarrassment filled Ignatz. “You have?!”
“I sit behind you in class. Sometimes I watch you doodle in your notes.” Sylvain offered a small smile. “I like when you draw the Professor. They’re a lot more expressive in your doodles.”
“Um, yes, I suppose they are. I try and imagine them with expressions I’ve seen on other people. They’re a bit of a blank slate so it’s good practice.”
“You should try taking details from Jeralt. It might look more natural on them since they’re related.”
Ignatz perked up. “That’s actually a good idea! But it would require observing Captain Jeralt closely, and he’s… kind of scary.”
Sylvain chuckled. “Just tell him Leonie put you up to it. He might believe that.”
It was tempting to pull out his sketchbook just to jot that suggestion down. Ignatz put a hand on his pillow, considering it. “I didn’t realize you were a fan of art.”
“Funny, that’s all I know about you.”
Ignatz raised both eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
Sylvain smirked and pulled his legs up onto the bed, turning to face Ignatz. If someone walked in right now, they would think Ignatz and Sylvain were casually hanging out— not hiding from a date gone wrong. Like they were friends. “You haven’t been in our class long. None of us know too much about you.” Sylvain rested his cheek in his hand as if considering Ignatz. “You’re something of a mystery still.”
None of the other Blue Lions had stared at Ignatz so intently. In fact, no one ever had. He struggled not to fidget. “T-There’s not really much to know. I’m not terribly interesting.”
“I’ll be the judge of that. Tell me one thing about yourself.”
Every mildly engaging fact suddenly left Ignatz’s head. His eyes flit around the room, trying to find something that didn’t walk the conversation back to his art. Resting on the desk chair was a textbook from the Professor and Ignatz sat a little straighter when he spotted it. “I’m going to start taking magic lessons. Professor Byleth says my archery is good, but they think I could be a mage if I practice enough. Even if it doesn’t amount to anything, it’ll be fun to learn something so different! They plan to—”
He abruptly shut his mouth. That was a bit much for what was supposed to be a simple fact. Ignatz busied himself with his glasses to avoid Sylvain’s eye— but found himself looking up when no jeering comment followed.
Sylvain still had his chin in hand, legs still curled comfortably underneath him. He appeared relaxed compared to the out of breath mess that had all but broken down Ignatz’s door. “That’s definitely interesting,” he said without a hint of sarcasm. “Why’d you stop?”
“Well, um, fair’s fair, right?” Ignatz said. He shuffled back to sit against the wall, drawing his knees up to his chin. “Now you tell me something.”
If Sylvain was surprised by this he didn’t show it. He hummed a moment before shrugging one shoulder. “Not to piggyback off you but the Professor has me learning magic, too.”
Ignatz couldn’t keep the disbelief out of his voice. “Really? But you’re so— I mean, you’re tall!”
There was a beat where Sylvain stared at him before his bemused smile broke into hysterical laughter. The absurdity of the statement made Ignatz cringe. “I guess someone has to talk to Hubert and tell him to knock it off then!” Sylvain forced out.
“T-That’s not what I mean! Let me try again.” Ignatz wrapped his arms around his legs, resisting the urge to hide his freshly-reddened face. “You’re strong and good with lances and horses. You’re already the picture perfect knight. That’s not to say you shouldn’t learn magic!” Ignatz added quickly. “I’m just— surprised. That’s all.”
Sylvain shifted so he mimicked Ignatz’s position against the wall beside him. Ignatz vaguely wondered if the beds for nobles on the second floor were wider than his. When Sylvain spoke, he did so to his boots, which made it easier for Ignatz to observe him. “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve trained with a lance. My father said he always knew I would excel with it since our family’s Crest helps with physical strength. I barely know anything else— except horses, I guess,” he added, cutting his eyes to Ignatz with an amused lilt to his voice, “But since coming here, it’s impossible to ignore magic. The Professor overheard a conversation I had with Annette one day and asked what I was interested in learning.”
Another half shrug. “I told them the truth. Magic looked appealing.” He grimaced as if tasting something bitter before turning it into a grin. “And the ladies love a cool party trick, after all.”
The grin didn’t quite reach his eyes. Ignatz decided to ignore that comment. “How long have you been learning?”
“About a month? We took a break for a while to focus on my axe work but apparently the Professor wants to start again next week.” Sylvain bumped their shoulders together. “Maybe we can have classes together.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I haven’t even had my first lesson. I don’t want to slow you down.”
“You’ll be fine. We’re both new to this. Besides, it would be more fun with a friend.”
Ignatz found himself smiling. He wouldn’t mind learning next to this easy going, smiling version Sylvain. “I’ll think about it.”
Sylvain nudged him again. “Your turn.”
This time a topic came to Ignatz quite quickly. “My mother and I actually share a birthday.”
“Ha! That’s a heck of a birthday present.”
“I’ll say. They didn’t expect me for another few weeks.”
As conversation flowed, Ignatz found himself becoming more at ease. He even allowed himself to forget about his hidden sketchbook.
“But I see you eating spicy stuff with Felix all the time!”
“Yeah, but that’s because I like letting him decide what to eat. Makes him happy. When we were kids—” Sylvain cut himself off, head tilted. Ignatz heard it too. The dinner bells were tolling through the sunset lit dorm. “Huh. I didn’t actually intend to stay this long.”
Ignatz’s automatic reaction was to apologize but Sylvain himself had been the one to beg for a hiding spot. Besides, it hadn’t been such a bad way to spend an afternoon. To Ignatz anyway. “I hope it’s not spicy food tonight, for your sake,” Ignatz joked instead.
Sylvain chuckled as he slid to the edge of the bed. “What’s your favorite food then?”
“Gosh, it’s hard to pick just one. Everything here is so good! I guess the fruit and herring tart is one of my favorites.”
“Not kidding? Mine too.” Sylvain stood, stretching his arms and back and producing a wince-worthy amount of cracking sounds. Maybe they should have moved around more instead of sitting against a wooden wall for hours. “Man, it’s so weird how much we have in common. We seriously need to talk like this more.”
Ignatz was just as surprised as Sylvain. There had been very few awkward pauses in their conversation. Family, training, friends, food— they had meandered quite a bit. Rumors had to come from somewhere, of course, but Ignatz was beginning to realize they didn’t do Sylvain justice.
He was still taken aback when Sylvain offered him a hand up from the bed. “Ready for dinner?” Sylvain asked. Then his smile faltered. “Unless— we have been here a while. You might want to spend time with the other Lions. Felix will probably be busy with Ferdinand again, but I’m sure you and Ashe or Mercedes could talk forever.”
“No! It’s fine.” Ignatz took the hand before Sylvain could retract it. “You still need to tell me why crayfish gross you out so much.”
Sylvain beamed. He pulled Ignatz to his feet effortlessly. “Good point.” He let go and stepped aside with a small bow. “After you. I need you to tell me if that girl’s gone.”
Ignatz rolled his eyes as he went to the door and peeked out. He made a show of looking right and left. “All clear. Unless the girl you annoyed is Flayn.”
Sylvain snorted. “She won’t let me near enough for that. Let’s go. Oh, and make sure you put away your sketchbook properly. Don’t want you ruining it because you forgot where you stuffed it.”
The frantic urgency with which Ignatz had hid his art earlier now seemed silly. But Sylvain seeing inside accidentally still shook his nerves. “Y-Yeah, thanks.” Meekly, Ignatz pulled out the book and placed it on his desk.
Together they left the dorm room, waved to Flayn, and headed towards the dining hall.