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Claude von Riegan absolutely adores the weekends.
The lazy Saturdays where none of his employees would call him due to this or that and then some and the lazy Sundays where he gets to sleep in, do nothing and pretty much just lounging around in nothing but his shorts are his favourite types of weekends. Or the Saturdays where his cook would make all of his favourite food and dessert and he gets to pig out after very stressful weekdays and the Sundays where his friends decide to crash his house unannounced but thoughtful enough to bring their own food and drink are also some of the weekends he appreciates as well.
Although, to be frank, some of his best weekends however are the weekends when Byleth has no meetings that require her presence out of the country. In short, his best weekends are when he comes home to a house full of warmth and the smell of homemade food. To be precise, his best weekends are really when Claude gets to spend three whole nights with Byleth. The weekends are where Claude gets to wake up a little later than usual and she would be the first thing he sees, with that heart-warming smile of hers as she leans down to place a kiss on his lips or Claude would wake up before she does and he knows – even without looking in the mirror – just how much love is evident in his expression as he stares lovingly and adoringly at the light of his life, Byleth.
Yesterday was supposed to be that type of weekend but unfortunately for Claude, Byleth’s flight had gotten in so late, she had opted to stay at the hotel closest to the airport instead of heading over to his place. Fortunately for him thought, later that day, Byleth had gone over to his house and Claude had spent the remaining time with her.
Claude wakes up slowly in his bed, warm and awfully aware of Byleth tucked in to his side as her even breath tickles his neck. A small smile appears on his face as he slowly blinks away the sleep from his eyes and looks down at the top of her head. The smile on his face grows bigger when he realizes that he has Byleth for the entire day.
“I can feel you staring at me, Claude. Go back to sleep.” Byleth murmurs sleepily as she tightens her arms around Claude’s torso, snuggling closer and Claude chuckles, pressing his lips atop of her head tenderly. He doesn’t miss the smile that graces her face – this is another reason why Claude thinks he should just give the spare key to her and ask her to move in with him – and he absolutely adores her smile, adores her completely. He presses his lips on her forehead this time causing Byleth to grunt in annoyance.
She shifts slightly and a few seconds later, she leans her head back and looks up at him. The smile on her face grows wider and Claude momentarily forgets to breathe because yes, this is a sight he would want to wake up to for the rest of his entire life. “Morning, Claude.” Her voice is still laced with sleep, but Claude swears he can listen to her talk all day long (but honestly, at this point, he is definitely biased). He leans down to place a soft kiss against Byleth’s lips, and she hums in to the kiss, tilting her head in a way that she manages to press her lips harder against his own.
Claude is the first to pull away because as much as he would love to spend the rest of their morning in bed, he would actually like to go somewhere with Byleth today. “Morning, Byleth.” He brings a hand up to brush her hair away from her face, cupping her cheek. His thumb brushes over the apple of her cheek softly and he presses one more kiss on her lips. “How about I make breakfast for us today?”
Byleth raises an eyebrow, looking at him skeptically and Claude chuckles at her wariness. “I promise I won’t almost burn down my kitchen like last time.” He insists as he pulls away from her. “In fact, Cordelia would have my hide if I burn down the kitchen.” Cordelia is Claude’s cook and Byleth has to stifle her giggle because she can imagine the old lady’s reaction if Claude actually happened to burn down his kitchen. “On top of that, she made sure to thoroughly drill a few simple recipes in me last week so I am pretty sure I can make something simple for us.”
Between the two of them, Claude is admittedly a bad cook – he is smart and does well in almost everything except for cooking – and Byleth is definitely a slightly better cook than he is. She sits up and slowly nods her head although the wary expression is still on her face. “I think I’ll join you in the kitchen – not because I think you aren’t capable of cooking safely but mostly for the sake of my own heart.” She deadpans and Claude laughs, shaking his head at her bluntness.
“Sure, Byleth. Sure.”
The next half an hour is spent in the kitchen with Claude standing by the stove and Byleth sitting on the counter, eating a pear as she watches Claude making some folded eggs. Surprisingly, nothing has been broken or burnt yet and Byleth can finally relax and enjoy the sight of her usually lax lover cooking. Her cheeks are starting to hurt from the amount of smiling she had been doing – this is usually how things are whenever she is with Claude. The amount of love she has for the man is uncountable yet dominating her at times and Byleth loves him.
“Hey, Byleth. Do you want to move in with me?” Claude calls over his shoulder and she pauses mid-bite, raising one of her eyebrows at his back at his sudden question. It isn’t as if she hadn’t thought about moving in with him – in fact, Byleth has thought about moving in with him and then some – but at the same time, she didn’t actually think he would ever ask her to move in with him either.
Upon realizing the silence he had caused, Claude immediately turns off the stove – let’s not burn anything today – and turns to face her. “I mean, as much as I love our arrangement of having you sleep over here during the weekends, I actually… prefer you to be here every day.” He tells her almost a little shyly and Byleth jumps down from the counter, sauntering over to Claude.
“Is that your way of saying you miss me when I’m not here, Claude?” Byleth asks him cheekily as she presses her body against his, wrapping her arms around his neck. Claude places his hands on her hips and rolls his eyes at her jab. Byleth giggles and stands at the tip of her toes as she pulls down his head so that she can press her lips against his.
“Yes.” Byleth murmurs against his lips and before Claude could even react, Byleth deepens their kiss and Claude squeezes her hips, groaning in to her mouth. Byleth simply swallows his groan and pulls away after a minute. “Thought you’d never ask.”
Claude chuckles as he kisses her once more, heart swelling with happiness. “Cut me some slack, babe. I miss you even when you are in the study!” He points out sweetly causing Byleth to laugh at her lover.
“You’re so silly, Claude but I love you, you silly, silly man.”