[ Benvolio doesn't quite know where he should stand while Dimitri speaks with Dedue, but as is so often the case — and what he has grown accustomed to doing — he hovers behind the new regent, either waiting to be introduced or happy to remain silent while others speak for him. (It's hardly all that different from what he used to do when Cornelia was around.)
Nevertheless... regardless of what conversation Dedue and Dimitri have between themselves, Benvolio does at least manage to direct a very shy, timid smile at Dedue from just a little ways behind Dimitri. Sure, the man has intimidating features, but if Dimitri likes him, he must not be a bad person... ]
[Benvolio won't have to wonder where to stand for long. After exchanging embarrassingly tender smiles with Dedue, Dimitri takes a step to the side, placing his hand on Benvolio's shoulder with a warm squeeze.]
This is my cousin, Benvolio. He will be joining me for dinner. Benvolio, this is my dear friend Dedue.
[Poor Dedue's brow bone makes it look like he's frowning, but the smile he directs at Benvolio is genuine despite looking rather awkward. Meeting his eyes will show the truth of his intentions — they're gentle, almost serene. Not wanting to speak out of turn, Dedue bows politely and waits to give Benvolio a chance to speak first.]
[Erroneously, Benvolio does assume that Dedue perhaps simply doesn't like him — what could he have done to earn such a pronounced frown, when he just smiled at Dimitri so warmly? — but it's quite simply not his first time meeting someone who doesn't like him, so he takes it with the impossible stride of someone who is practically a master of the art of being hated.
The gentle squeeze to his shoulder does help. Smiling a bit more broadly than he means to — the effect is almost as though he means to charm Dedue, though he's really just giddy over the fact that Dimitri remembers him — Benvolio tips his head to one side, his mannerisms just a little girlish, then bows politely.]
It is a pleasure and an honor to meet you, Dedue.
[Surely, as a member of the royal family, he needn't bow to Dedue, but... Benvolio does so all the same, so accustomed to flattery that he doesn't give it a second thought. At the very least, there is some pride to it: it is more of a courtier's bow than the wheedling, subservient bow of a prince who has been made a slave.]
Anyone who can call himself Dimitri's friend is also a friend of mine.
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Nevertheless... regardless of what conversation Dedue and Dimitri have between themselves, Benvolio does at least manage to direct a very shy, timid smile at Dedue from just a little ways behind Dimitri. Sure, the man has intimidating features, but if Dimitri likes him, he must not be a bad person... ]
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This is my cousin, Benvolio. He will be joining me for dinner. Benvolio, this is my dear friend Dedue.
[Poor Dedue's brow bone makes it look like he's frowning, but the smile he directs at Benvolio is genuine despite looking rather awkward. Meeting his eyes will show the truth of his intentions — they're gentle, almost serene. Not wanting to speak out of turn, Dedue bows politely and waits to give Benvolio a chance to speak first.]
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The gentle squeeze to his shoulder does help. Smiling a bit more broadly than he means to — the effect is almost as though he means to charm Dedue, though he's really just giddy over the fact that Dimitri remembers him — Benvolio tips his head to one side, his mannerisms just a little girlish, then bows politely.]
It is a pleasure and an honor to meet you, Dedue.
[Surely, as a member of the royal family, he needn't bow to Dedue, but... Benvolio does so all the same, so accustomed to flattery that he doesn't give it a second thought. At the very least, there is some pride to it: it is more of a courtier's bow than the wheedling, subservient bow of a prince who has been made a slave.]
Anyone who can call himself Dimitri's friend is also a friend of mine.