Chapter Text
Rain started to soak into Seteth’s clothes as he fumbled for his umbrella, adding to the list of annoyances that he’s racked up for the day. He’d lived here long enough to know the difference between Washington’s dreary overcast and the “oh shit, it’s about to rain”, but for some reason, he’d completely forgotten in the time he finished up the staff meeting for the university’s history department.
No, it wasn’t just “some reason”. He knew exactly why he’d forgotten. It’d been hard to concentrate ever since that happened.
“Due to the new, open vacancy in one of our most popular subjects, modern U.S. culture, the university has been a little… eager to find replacements. Though, I promise this decision has not been made in haste and Mr. Eisner has gone through the proper hiring procedure.”
Albeit at the speed of mach ten.
Seteth scoffed to himself as he flipped open the umbrella, quickly resting it against his soaked shoulder. Ever since the last professor left the department, Rhea had been scrambling for new hires. It felt like a major oversight on the department chair in the first place—who only hires one professor for the department’s most requested course? But alas, here they were, hiring a completely fresh face with almost no experience.
He wasn’t the department chair, nor even close to that position, but he did know Rhea a lot more personally than some of the other professors. He’d been privileged enough to look through the candidates for the position and often gave his own suggestions to Rhea. But once Rhea laid eyes on one Byleth Eisner, she completely ignored all of his recommendations.
“I believe there is no better fit for the position than Mr. Eisner, Seteth,” she had said, already moving her pen across the page to mark Byleth’s… rather blank resume.
“Are you joking?” Seteth said, almost laughing himself until he saw just how serious she was. “Wait—surely you’re not serious?”
Rhea looked at him, her bright green eyes narrowed. “Not at all. I knew his father personally; he was one of the most skilled and knowledgeable professors on this campus. It was a shame he left, but I have no doubt his son can pick up where he left off.”
Seteth’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You’re hiring this man based on… on nepotism? Rhea, he has practically no experience! He looks as if he barely graduated university himself! There are so many other candidates who are clearly much more qualified, and have the bare minimum quality of being an actual professor! ”
But she would hear none of it. She had only quietly dismissed Seteth from her office as he watched her shuffle the rest of her paperwork into neat, decisive piles. The only thing he could do was trust that she was making the right decision, even if it seemed like the most destructive.
Only a week had passed since then, bringing him to present moment, soaked through his clothes in rain and up to his head in barely-restrained anger. It was a miracle Seteth even made it through the entire meeting with only saying one biting remark.
Speak of the devil , Seteth mumbled under his breath as Mr. Eisner walked out of the building behind him, holding the door open for the last of the meeting’s contributors.
Mr. Eisner was certainly strange, to say the very least. He looked young enough to be one of the university’s students, and yet he acted completely different than the typical crowd of students enrolled here. His mannerisms and speech were strange, almost as if he had trouble talking in front of large groups of people—a problem that needed to be remedied fast if he were to start his first day in the following week.
But once he was asked which subjects he’d like to teach (as though he had much of a choice), his dark eyes seemed to brighten up immediately. His folded hands came apart, punctuating his words with gestures that drew attention. It felt as though his entire energy had shifted, something not even Seteth was sure how to interpret.
Still, he wasn’t sure that Mr. Eisner was the best choice for the job. He worried about the students, wondered if they’d benefit from a professor of Mr. Eisner’s undeveloped stature.
“Good morning.” Seteth nearly dropped his umbrella as Mr. Eisner startled him out of his thoughts.
“Mr. Eisner —”
“Byleth.”
“Byleth,” Seteth corrected slowly, the unfamiliarity of the name thick on his tongue. “I want to be frank with you. I don’t trust you.” It felt harsh, but there was just something about the man that seemed... off. Like he was hiding something behind his apparent lack of experience. “I would much appreciate it if we kept our separate paths. Which I don’t fear should be too hard, considering our very different subjects.”
Surprisingly, Byleth’s face didn’t falter a moment at Seteth’s words. “You teach Classical and Christian Europe, right?”
“And Philosophy of Religion, but yes,” Seteth said.
“Right. I wouldn’t say those and U.S modern history don’t go hand-in-hand. After all, European and Christian are the two biggest demographics in the country, right?” The corners of Byleth’s lips upturned in what could be barely passable as a smile.
“I… suppose. Even so, the fact stands that your lack of experience is a growing concern of mine. As someone who expects only the best for the students here, I—”’
“I might not be as experienced as you, someone who’s worked here for, what was it? Ten years? But I promise that I’m just as passionate about teaching as you are, Seteth.”
“ Mr. Muir ,” Seteth bit out, his fingers tightening around the handle of his umbrella in growing annoyance.
Byleth’s eyebrows furrowed, just for a moment, before the small smile from before returned. “Alright then, Mr. Muir. I’m guessing you want to get out of the rain as soon as possible before it starts pouring. I’ll leave you to it.”
Seteth said nothing, turning sharply on his heel and making his way back to the parking lot behind the building. It was all he could do before completely losing his composure. He trusted Rhea immensely—almost enough to put his life in her hands—but was this man really up to the standards Garreg Mach had for its faculty and staff? Was a talented father really all it took to be hired at this prestigious university? What did that say about the other professors who worked here?
He rummaged in his pocket for his keys, pulling them out with a little more force than he intended. He only barely caught them before they flew out onto the wet asphalt. He clicked his car unlocked, closing his umbrella and tossing it in the passenger seat. He pinched his nose and sighed, trying to ease the oncoming migraine that began to build pressure just behind his eyes.
With luck, he wouldn’t have to see Byleth too often. He didn’t know where his new office was located, or where his classroom would be, but considering the size of the school, there was no doubt he’d be saved by Garreg Mach’s scheduling system.
Seteth started his car, the engine sputtering for a moment and finally rolling over. He only hoped that it didn’t mean that his car was on his last legs. It’d been faithful for many years, but the constant wear of driving through rain and snow was starting to take a toll on its age.
The road from Garreg Mach University to Flayn’s middle school was a short and quiet one, towering pine trees lining the sides and blotting out the little sunlight that filtered between the heavy clouds above. The radio was off, as it always was, leaving only the sound of rain on the roof of the car and tires on pavement. It was almost relaxing.
He soon pulled up to the middle school, parking behind a line of cars all waiting for the children to come pouring out into the front after the final bell. He idled his car and laid back in his seat, closing his eyes.
His migraine slowly came to the forefront of his mind again as his thoughts circled back to Byleth. Seteth couldn’t seem to get rid of the man, even in his own head.
Classical and Christian Europe and U.S. modern history go hand-in-hand? Seteth supposed he had a point; there were a lot of connections between modern culture and Classical Europe, but he wouldn’t say there was a broad overlap. Wasn’t that the point of modern culture? That it was more of an amalgamation of many cultures and influences rather than a single one? It felt as though one borrowed from the other rather than the two being sister disciplines.
The passenger side door swung open and flying into the seat came Flayn, squeaking in surprise as something loud cracked under her. Well, shit.
“Oh, Dad, I’m so sorry!” she said, getting up a little to pull the now-broken umbrella out from under her. “I didn’t see it there, I was just trying to get out of the rain! I’d forgotten my coat at home…”
“Nothing to be done about it, sweetheart.” He took the umbrella from her and placed it in the back seat, kissing her head as she pulled the seatbelt over herself. “It was my fault for placing it there anyway. I forget that you prefer the front seat now that you’re thirteen.”
“And a half!” she added, puffing her cheeks in indignation.
“And a half,” he repeated, smiling fondly as he put the car into gear. “It feels like only yesterday you were just in kindergarten, clinging to your mother’s leg as you begged her not to leave you alone.”
Flayn’s puffed cheeks turned red in embarrassment, slumping into her seat. “I only did that because the other children were scary.”
“Of course,” Seteth said. He turned the windshield wipers up a speed as the rain started falling faster. “After we came to pick you up though, you didn’t want to leave. You made your mother laugh so hard,” he recalled fondly, remembering Flayn’s attempts to stay with her newly-made friends.
“It was the first time I made friends that weren’t you or Mom, so of course I wanted to stay,” she said, looking out the window at the passing trees. “I wonder how they’re doing. My friends, I mean. A lot of them went to different middle schools.”
“You still have a lot of friends here too,” Seteth pointed out, though he could understand where Flayn was coming from. “Like… who were they again? Mercedes? And Annette?”
“Yes, I still have them, but I just wonder about my other ones sometimes. I have their phone numbers and all, but it’s not really the same.” She fell silent for a minute before turning to Seteth. “Do you have any friends at your work?”
“At Garreg Mach?” He drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, thinking. “I suppose not. I don’t get the opportunity to talk much to other professors.” Of course, there was Rhea, but she was his boss. Hanneman and Manuela were also professors he knew fairly well, but he’d hesitate to ever call them friends . Least of all, Byleth .
“Doesn’t that get lonely? You’re there for such a long time, you must have someone you like talking to!”
Seteth only shook his head. It was sweet of Flayn to worry about him, but he felt as if their roles had been reversed. “I’m just fine as it is. All I need in life is right here in my passenger seat.”
Flayn giggled. “Even if I break your umbrella?”
“Even if you break my umbrella.”