Chapter Text
Claude felt like a small child on his birthday. He wanted to smile like an idiot, and bounce on his toes as he tried to get a better look at the newly arrived royal party. He wanted to sprint down the stairs and pull his spouses into his arms.
But he was king, and doing any of those things were considered undignified. He was already causing a bit of a stir by insisting on greeting the Fódlan party in the castle’s courtyard instead of the audience room. He had never much cared for rules, and in this instance he was more than happy to push his boundaries. Plus, he really wanted to be one of the first people to see Byleth and Dimitri. It had been almost six months since they were all in the same place, and it would be all too soon that they had to return to Fódlan. His eyes wanted to drink in the sight of them every moment he could until then.
Although the Kingdom and Church parties had met on their way, they were still to be received separately. Dimitri was the first into the courtyard, riding at the head of his entourage. He was the very image of what a king should look like on his white stallion. Due to the Almyrian heat, Dimitri had forgone his signature cloak, wearing lighter cottons layers than what were called for in the cold of Faerghus. They hugged his muscles, allowing Claude to see that no, his husband had most definitely not skipped on any of his training. Dimitri had also pulled his blond hair back, and that was a new look Claude could get behind.
Dimitri leapt from his horse, taking the stairs two at a time to reach Claude’s side. A strong arm found its way around Claude’s waist as Dimitri pulled the fellow king a step closer to him. Their lips met in a kiss that lasted a moment too long to be chaste, as one of Claude’s courtiers was so kind to inform them by coughing into his hand loudly behind them. Dimitri pulled back, but stayed close enough that their arms brushed against one another.
“A bit eager there, Your Majesty?” Claude teased.
Dimitri kept his smile, and oh Claude was so glad that was a habit that seemed to be sticking around, but there was a light dusting of a blush on his cheeks. “You know you wanted me to do that.”
True, Claude did. Claude would also like his husband to do many other things to him.
But the Church party was now coming up behind the members of Faerghus, and Claude’s mind turned to the thought of seeing his wife.
“Hilda insisted they come in second, something about a ‘dramatic impact,’” Dimitri leaned down to whisper in Claude’s ear. “She wouldn’t let me see Byleth this morning, so I think our dear wife got pulled into your former lieutenant’s scheme.”
Hilda’s pink hair was easy enough to pick out in the crowd. As soon as she caught Claude looking at her, Hilda shot him a wide grin and a wink. Yep, she definitely had something planned.
Leonie, Byleth’s ever constant bodyguard, reached a hand into the palanquin covered with intricately woven cloths. That was Hilda’s doing. Byleth would have been content to simply ride in like Dimitri had. The woman Leonie helped out of the litter was so stunning she took Claude’s breath away. He registered a soft gasp from the man next to him, and was glad he wasn’t the only one Byleth had an effect on.
Hilda had dressed Byleth in multiple layers of white diaphanous cloth, draped in such a way that she was not indecent by any means, but would be cool in the desert heat. The top cut in two at Byleth’s waist, folding back on itself to drape behind her, ending at the back of her knees. Light cotton pants dyed cream hugged her legs, a pink creped ribbon that was notably Alymrian in origin circling her hips. Claude smirked as he imagined Hilda giving up on her idea to put Byleth in a dress, and compromising on those simple, yet stylish, pants. Byleth wouldn’t even put on the archbishop robes Rhea used to wear; she always complained that she could not move in the things.
Someone had even taken it upon themselves to do Byleth’s hair. She never liked having it all up, but she had allowed someone to braid small sections together. It looked both simple and complicated depending on what angle someone looked at her from. Had he not known that both Petra and Dorothea were in Brigid, Claude would have expected to see them among those who had come with Byleth. A circlet of spun silver and gold, representing both Faerghus and Almyra rested atop it all.
And he knew Byleth did not care one ounce how she looked. In fact, her calm demeanor elevated the outfit in a way Claude had only seen Hilda pull off. When he managed to turn his eyes from Byleth and back to Hilda, she mouthed ‘worth it’ to him. He was going to have to find some way to thank that woman at some point.
“You look lovely,” Dimitri told her as Byleth joined them at the top of the stairs, taking her hand and kissing it like the gentleman he was.
“Do I?” Byleth looked down at the clothes, her expression somewhat puzzled. “Hilda insisted that my usual outfit would not be appropriate for my first appearance in Almyra.”
Claude took Byleth’s other hand, enjoying the nearness of her that he had missed over the last few months. It was just them. They were surrounded by courtiers and retainers, but for a brief moment it was just them.
“Welcome to Almyra,” he whispered to Byleth, leaning over to brush his lips against her cheek.
Byleth blessed him with one of her rare smiles, reaching up with the hand still gripped in his own to caress his cheek. “I missed you too, Claude.”
Claude chuckled. He had long ago accepted that Byleth could see straight through him.
“Shall we?” Byleth asked, reminding her husbands that there were duties to attend. “I’d like to get the politics out of the way as soon as possible.”
“I’d like that as well,” Claude agreed. “After all, the sooner we finish the sooner I get to see that stunning outfit on my floor.”
They both laughed as Dimitri’s blush reached his ears.
/
“All right, almost there.”
Claude found himself leading both of his very sleepy partners to his bedchamber, but it was somewhat slow going. Byleth was trudging along, but she was leaning so heavily against Claude he wondered if it was possible for someone to fall asleep while walking. He used his other hand to steer Dimitri. The other man insisted he was fine, but he had tripped multiple times, and Claude did not want to spend the rest of the night cleaning up a broken nose.
“The trip here really took a lot out of you guys, huh?” Claude teased as they finally reached their destination. Dimitri’s head fell onto his shoulder for the brief moment it took Claude to open the door.
“That welcome celebration certainly didn’t help,” Dimitri answered, his tone light. “You weren’t kidding when you said your people know how to throw a party.”
Once the door was open, Byleth let go of Claude’s arm and wandered over to the large bed in the center of the room, ignoring all the other finery. “Soft,” she sighed happily as she flopped onto the mattress.
Dimitri moved to follow her, but Claude stopped him. “Okay, let’s not mess up these nice clothes. Hilda would never let me hear the end of it.” Claude’s quick fingers made short work of Dimitri’s shirt. His pants were a bit harder as they required Dimitri’s own dexterity to be present, but working together Dimitri was eventually left in just his small clothes.
Claude deposited the taller man on the bed, grumbling right back as Dimitri muttered at his manhandling. “You want to get under the covers?” Claude asked.
“Does it required me to move?” was the barely intelligible response.
Claude sighed and shook his head. “Never mind.” He leaned down and brushed Dimitri’s hair out of his face, placing a soft kiss to his husband’s temple. “I’m just glad you’re getting some sleep.”
“Easier to do with you two.”
And oh how that made his heart ache in such a satisfying way.
Byleth was easier, receptive to Claude’s gentle touches that turned her this way and that. It was not long before Claude had her in the same state of undress as Dimitri. She opened her eyes briefly, reaching out her hands to Claude. He saw the look in her eye and shook his head.
“I know what I said when you arrived, but not tonight. You’re both too tired.” He leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “There will be plenty of time for us to make love later.”
He stepped back and started to remove his own clothes, only for strong arms to wrap around him and pull him down onto the bed. Claude took a moment to regain his bearings, and by that point he was already sandwiched between his spouses. Byleth had settled comfortably into the circle of his arms, while Dimitri’s arms were still wrapped around his waist, Claude’s back flush against the other king’s chest.
“Sleep now,” Dimitri demanded, nuzzling into the back of Claude’s neck.
“Well, if you insist.”
“Mmm.” Byleth hummed contentedly in agreement, mimicking Dimitri’s cuddling against Claude’s chin.
Claude allowed himself to bask in the state of utter contentment that had settled over him. He was happy and whole, and there would be two whole months of this. Even if they had not made love tonight, this warmth and joy of just being close to one another again was also more than acceptable.
Of course, when he was woken hours later by his lovers’ hands wandering over his body, that was just the icing on the cake right there.