Chapter Text
It’s exactly a week to the day, when Sylvain returns to Fódlan Brews. Byleth is busy refilling the napkin dispensers, mentally running through her schedule for the day. Work, class, dinner, study for that history exam next Mon-
The door chimes as a customer enters the shop, and with her back to the door, she doesn’t think anything of it. Hilda is behind the counter, so she’ll take care of them. Or at least that’s her plan, until she hears a familiar voice behind her.
“Hey! It’s Byleth, right?”
She whips around so quickly that her legs can’t quite keep up. Stumbling, her arms shoot out to catch herself on something, anything. Said something ends up being a warm, solid body. She feels arms wrap around her waist to steady her and finds her nose buried in a sweater that smells absolutely divine. She inhales his scent, bergamot and teakwood, mindlessly for a few seconds before freezing. Stop smelling him, weirdo.
“Are you okay?” She feels his voice as it rumbles through his chest, finally taking in her current situation. Her hands are splayed across his broad chest, nose pressed into his sweater, while his wonderfully strong arms are wrapped around her, keeping her from falling.
Nodding, she slowly retracts herself from his embrace, unsuccessfully trying to ignore the way his hands graze her sides as they unwrap from her body. “Uhh, sorry.” Her cheeks flush in embarrassment. A soft chuckle fills the empty café and she glances up at his face to see him smiling at her, eyes warm and glinting in amusement. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
He runs a hand through his auburn hair, tousling it even more than it already is, and unsurprisingly it still looks fantastic. Helooks fantastic and it’s just not fair. Byleth eyes his sweater, which is a lovely dark green color.
“Umm…” Byleth glances to the counter, which is conveniently unmanned. Subtle, Hilda. “Did you want to order something?”
“Yeah, that would be great. I’m meeting another girl and I could use all of the caffeine possible to help keep me awake.”
Disappointment rushes through her and she immediately tries to push it aside. “Another date? Last weeks wasn’t enough to keep you away from the ladies,” she jokes.
“I’m afraid not. Maybe this one will go better.” He quirks an eyebrow at her and she shoots a half-hearted smile back before making her way behind the counter. “Iced Americano and a cinnamon chip muffin again, or something different?” Byleth asks. There’s a pause and she glances up to see him watching her curiously.
“You remember my order?”
Byleth freezes for a moment, feeling her face heat up as she realizes that yes, she does remember his order from the onlytime he’s ever been to this coffee shop. Great, By. Now you’re going to look like a creep.
“Umm I- “
“By remembers everyone’s orders, but I’m sure yours would be hard to forget, handsome.” Hilda winks at Sylvain, making her way out of the storage room from behind the counter. Byleth whirls around to glare at the pinkette and Hilda sends her a look that screams ‘I’m trying to help you.’
Sylvain, seemingly oblivious to the non-verbal conversation taking place between the two girls, laughs good-naturedly. “Well, I’m flattered that you would remember something as small as that. The Americano and muffin would be great, thanks Byleth.”
He sends her a heart-stopping smile and she feels her pulse jolt. “Of course. Did you want to order anything for your date?” She watches out of the corner of her eye as Hilda’s face scrunches up at the ‘d’ word. “Uhh, no I wouldn’t know what she would like. I’ll wait until she gets here.” Byleth nods, telling him his order will be out in a few minutes and he goes to find a seat.
As soon as Sylvain is out of earshot, Hilda is on her immediately. “He has another date? I thought after the note and the tip he left that he was interested in you.” Byleth shrugs her shoulders in what she hopes comes across as indifferent and goes about making up Sylvain’s order. “He probably just felt bad and was trying to be nice.”
“Oh come on, By. How many other customers have left you a cute note and a whopping chunk of cash to apologize for something that was clearly not their fault. He had no reason to do what he did. Maybe you should ask him about it, or at least thank him.” The pinkette stares at her, arms crossed, a no-nonsense expression on her face. After a few long seconds, Byleth breaks.
“Okay, okay. I’ll thank him, but I’m not expecting anything out of. He just seems like a nice guy. He also strikes me as being very confident, so if he meant something else by it, I think I would know. Just let it go.” Sighing in exasperation, Hilda finally relents.
“Fine, but just know that if anything ever happens between you two, I told you so.”
Byleth snorts softly in amusement before returning to the coffee in front of her.
It’s been almost an hour since Sylvain ordered his coffee and muffin, made himself at home at the table by the window, and pulled out his laptop to seemingly do some work. Byleth finds herself repeatedly glancing between him and the door whenever a new customer comes in. None of which end up being his date. When Hilda takes notice of this, her eyes light up.
“Maybe he got stood up,” the pinkette says excitedly.
“Hilda.”
“What? Don’t pretend you aren’t at least a little relieved.”
Byleth tries to convince herself that she doesn’t care that his date hasn’t shown up. She knows that it’s a lie though and that she is relieved that his date hasn’t made an appearance. Glancing at him again, for what must be the hundredth time this hour, she’s surprised to see that he doesn’t even look concerned about it. Maybe she cancelled, Byleth reasons.
Feeling bold, and exceedingly curious, she makes her way over to his table. “Need a refill?”
His eyes slide from his laptop screen to the mug sitting beside it. Byleth finds herself sucking in a breath as his gaze finally travels up to meet her own. It should be illegal to be this handsome. “I think I’m good on the coffee, but I could use some company.” He smiles at her softly. “If you have time of course.”
She surveys the shop and concludes that it’s pretty dead. She signals to Hilda from across the room and receives two thumbs up in response. “I could probably talk for bit.”
“Great!”
Sylvain closes his laptop and clears the table of the pile of neatly stacked paperwork. He ushers her to sit down across from him and it isn’t until she’s seated with his gorgeous eyes boring into her soul that she realizes that maybe this wasn’t the best idea. Clearing her throat softly, she searches for something to say.
“So, what happened to your date?” The words tumble out before she can stop them and she immediately wishes it were possible to reverse time. “You don’t beat around the bush do you,” he chuckles warmly. She opens her mouth to respond, but he beats her to it.
“I’m joking, I don’t mind. To put it simply, I was stood up, as I’m sure you’ve guessed.” He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “I should probably be upset about it, but honestly, I’m not,” he sighs, tiredly. Her curiosity must show on her face because he continues. “My parents have been trying to set me up with different girls for a couple of months now and if last week was any indication, it hasn’t been going well.”
As he talks, Byleth analyzes his face and discovers that his eyes, while warm and inviting, look tired. The space between his eyebrows is also pinched together, forming a crease that Byleth wishes she could smooth out. He’s still exceedingly good-looking, but clearly there is more to him than just the pretty picture painted on the outside.
“Have you told them that you’re not interested in going on these dates?” It feels like a question with an obvious answer, but she asks it anyway.
He nods slowly. “I’ve repeatedly told them, but they don’t care. All they care about is having someone to pass the family business off to. My older brother was supposed to take over, but he turned out to be a big disappointment, so the responsibility fell to me.” A piece of crimson hair falls into his caramel eyes and he brushes it back absentmindedly.
“I was a bit of a trouble maker in my high school and early college days. I made a pretty bad reputation for myself as a ladies man and now my parents are trying to fix it by getting me tied down to someone, but these women only about my money and status,” he says bitterly.
By now his shoulders have slumped and a frown has worked its way onto his face. Byleth feels terrible for even opening this can of worms, seeing how unhappy it makes him. “I’m sorry, Sylvain. I wish there was something that I could do.” He makes the effort to send her a small smile and reaches out to rest a large, warm hand on top of hers. He squeezes gently, lingering, before slowly pulling it back.
“I really appreciate you being willing to listen. Even if this is that last thing you were expecting to have to deal with today. I’ve only been here twice and I feel like a burden already.”
Byleth reaches to capture his hand before it disappears under the table and holds it firmly. “You’re not a burden, Sylvain. I hardly know you and there’s not much that I can do, but if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m always willing to listen.”
The forced smile on his face grows into a genuine grin, dimples and all. She takes in the way his eyes light up and crinkle around the edges, and finally, the crease between his eyebrows relaxes. “Thanks, Byleth. That means a lot.” She finds herself smiling back at him and time seems to freeze for a few seconds as they stare at each other. Eventually, realizing that she’s still holding his hand, Byleth quickly releases it, feeling her face flush.
“Umm, I should probably get back to work.” She says, suddenly feeling much too flustered to continue sitting across from him for any longer. Rising from her seat, she makes to leave before remembering her conversation with Hilda from earlier.
“Sylvain.”
The redhead connects his caramel colored gaze with hers again, and she briefly wonders if she’ll ever be able to look him in the eye without her heart wanting to burst out of her chest.
“I just wanted to thank you for the other day. The note and the tip.” His face scrunches in confusion for a second before he seems to recall what she’s talking about. “It wasn’t necessary at all, but I really appreciated it.”
There’s a slight pause, and Byleth swears she sees a hint of pink on his cheeks before he recovers. “Think nothing of it. I’m sure anyone would have done the same.” He casually waves it off and she doesn’t even try to fight the disappointment that settles in her stomach. She knew it wasn’t anything deep. He was just trying to be nice, just like she had said.
“Well, thanks anyway.” Shooting him a half-hearted smile, she turns to leave.
She’s halfway across the café when she hears the groan of a chair sliding on the floor and rapid footsteps approaching from behind. Before she knows it, a warm hand is gently grasping at her wrist, spinning her around, and she’s met with Sylvain’s handsome face.
“Wait.”
He runs the hand that isn’t still holding onto her through his hair, ruffling it. He seems almost flustered, his eyes struggling to make contact with her own.
“I just thought you should know that I meant what I said in the note. You’re beautiful.” Never one for verbal affirmation, Byleth feels her heart begin to race and she’s veryaware of the large, warm, hand still wrapped around her wrist. Now she’sthe flustered one. “I didn’t want you to leave that day taking her words to heart because they’re not true and I just wanted to make sure that you knew that.”
She’s at a loss for what to even say to him and she finds herself wishing she could just melt into the ground beneath her.
“Wow, what a charmer. Sylvain, was it?”
Byleth has never been so grateful for Hilda’s ability to sense her internal distress. Sylvain turns toward the pinkette that has just butt her way into the conversation.
“That’s me. And you’re Hilda?”
Byleth remains quiet throughout their introduction and becomes aware of the fact that at some point Sylvain’s hand has slid from her wrist and is now grasping her own, his thumb absentmindedly rubbing the back of her hand.
“Well, I should probably get going. It was nice to meet you Hilda, and Byleth, thanks for the chat. We should do it again sometime.” She shakes herself out of her thoughts and turns to the tall red-head beside her. He glances down at her, sending a wink and a small smile her way. Goddess, he’s going to kill her. He hesitates for a second before releasing her hand and she swears he gives it a little squeeze before he lets go.
He digs through his coat pocket before pulling out his wallet and rifling through his bills. Finding what he’s looking for, he hands a crisp note to Byleth that far exceeds the cost of his coffee and muffin, before shoving his wallet back into his pocket.
The blunette opens her mouth to protest, but he beats her to it. “Don’t fight me on this. You sat and listened to my sob story for half an hour, so take it. It’s the least I can do.”
Huffing in annoyance, Byleth accepts the bill begrudgingly. “You don’t have to pay me to be your friend, you know. I would do it without the monetary benefits.”
Sylvain’s eyes light up in amusement. “Good to know. I think you and I are going to become great friends.”
“Hey! Don’t try to steal my best friend,” Hilda exclaims.
Chuckling as he heads toward the door, he sends them a wave and a blinding smile. “See you ladies, tomorrow!”
After the door shuts they watch him get into his shiny black car from the front window and drive away. Hilda turns to Byleth. “Tomorrow! That’s so soon. He’s obviously coming back to see you again. You should ask him out, By. “
Rolling her eyes in exasperation, she makes her way toward the counter to put Sylvain’s cash in the register. “And why would I do that? I don’t even like-“
“Byleth Eisner, do not even try to finish that sentence or I will whack you with this broom.” The pinkette attempts to look as threatening as possible, and had Byleth not been aware that Hilda was on the boxing team at Fodlan University, she maybe would have stood her ground. Instead she sighs, visibly deflating like a balloon.
“Even if I did want to ask him out, which I’m not saying that I do. Why would he ever want to go out with me?”
Hilda comes to stand in front of her, putting her hands on the blunettes shoulders. “Oh By, you’re incredible! Any guy would be lucky to have you, and whether Sylvain knows it or not, I think he likes you. I mean the guy could barely take his eyes off of you and I saw him holding your hand. I guarantee you there’s something there. I say go for it.”
Byleth finds her mind flashing through the day and her time with Sylvain. He did seem to be rather friendly with her, and he was honest and vulnerable with her, and he was so sweetleaving her a generous tip again, and damn it. She’s going to do it. May the Goddess strike her down if this all blows up in her face, but she’s never felt this way before and she can’t let this opportunity slip away. She’s going to ask him out.