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It had been the perfect day so far for Dimitri. The weather was perfect for sparring with Felix and Sylvain in the morning, going for tea with Mercedes and Annette, enjoying their company as they talked about their hobbies, helping Ashe carry bags of fertilizer and supplies to the greenhouse, the sort of day that would have anyone in a good mood.
The thing that truly tied his day together was a lovely meal for lunch, being invited to sit alongside his favorite professor and Dedue, his most trusted friend, for one of his favorite meals. It was always enjoyable any time that he had spent around them both, but there was something about the professor that made him stammer and his cheeks go pink at the slightest of compliments. What he hadn’t known was that the rest of the Blue Lions were at a table behind where the professor sat, all of them had stopped their eating to look at the scene in front of them.
“Is that-” Ashe began to ask out loud before Mercedes and Annette simultaneously shushed him, which earned a very vocal groan from Felix, pretending as if he hadn’t been as invested in what the Boar Prince was even thinking. But Sylvain had a smirk as he even prepared to throw a vegetable towards the prince, but Ingrid stepped in and stopped him before threatening to give him an earful then and there.
It wasn’t often that all the Lions got together, usually they had their own little groups and tended to avoid all being together; mainly due to Felix hating any crowd larger than three. But it was Mercedes and Annette’s doing that brought them all to eat lunch together once they had all realized that the new professor tended to ask Dimitri to lunch more than any of the other’s, and the look Dimitri had on his face gave him away quite easily. Most people had a hard time saying no to Mercie and Annie when they asked for something to happen, so even to Felix’s dismay, they all ate together.
Their lunch seemed to go on forever, and Dimitri still found it too soon once the Professor had gotten up with his dishes, even offering to take his dining guests’ as well. Dimitri seemed to get a bit flustered, but Dedue took their dishes and handed it to the professor, thanking him for taking care of the clean up. Byleth looked to the both of them and thanked them for eating with him, his face as stoic as ever, but there was a look in his eyes that seemed to say that he did appreciate their time.
“Dedue, do you think it was obvious?” Dimitri asked once he and his retainer left the dining hall and headed towards their classroom, noticing how Byleth had immediately gone fishing after they ate. There had been some time before classes, and the sight of the man on the dock made Dimitri smile, not even hearing what Dedue had said before he was snapped back to reality, Dedue snapping a finger in front of the blond prince’s face.
“I don’t think the Professor has noticed, no.” Dedue repeated, his eyes stayed forward as they walked back to the classroom. While mostly everyone else has noticed Dimitri’s infatuation with their Professor, they seemed to be the only one who hadn’t blinked an eye to his behavior.
Once the Lions noticed that Professor Byleth was finished eating, they quickly made their way back to the classroom and made an attempt to act natural. Though none of them were actors per say, so once Dimitri and Dedue had entered the classroom, Sylvain, Ingrid and Felix were having a riveting fake conversation about nothing, they hadn’t said any words and Ingrid had only pretended to agree to something Felix theoretically would have said, but he only looked annoyed while Sylvain laughed at the attempt of being casual. Mercedes and Annettte were “reading” though Mercedes’ book was upside down, and Annette’s was a blank journal. Ashe had been the only person to do something that looked like it made sense, except he was watering a dead plant. Immediately Dedue caught on, and it took Dimitri a moment to catch on before he demanded to ask what everyone was doing and why no one had been getting prepared for their lecture in ten minutes.
Immediately they had all grouped around Dimitri out of curiosity, and he put his hands up in defense, wondering what had gotten into him. Felix, who was the farthest away from the group scoffed.
“You really don’t think it’s obvious? We’re onto you Boar.” Felix said with an eyeroll which made Annette push his shoulder and shake her head before excitedly turn back to their house leader.
“The way you act around the professor is super cute, Your Highness. Who would have guessed that you fall for the Professor!” The redhead exclaimed excitedly while Mercedes giggled, clearly agreeing with her friend.
“Your Highness, in all the years I’ve known you, I never have seen you so flustered with someone like that. Do you…” Ingrid leaned in to her childhood friend, making sure that no one outside of the group would hear, “Do you like our new Professor?” Her voice was curious which earned a hearty laugh from Sylvain.
“That explains everything, no wonder no ladies have been hanging around in his room, he’s already got his eyes set on one person, we can see right through you.” Sylvain teased which earned a small smack from Mercedes, shaking her head at his crude comments.
During everyone’s turn to embarrass and confront him, his face was getting more and more red, wondering how everyone had started jumping to their conclusions. Even Ashe, the person who was the least invested in drama, was looking invested into the conversation. Dedue let out a sigh and stepped in, pushing everyone to get back to their seats considering that the professor would be returning any moment now, but Dimitri took notice how he didn’t discourage their teasing and it only made it a thousand times worse.
Once the Professor entered the classroom saying his typical hellos to the class, Dimitri could suddenly feel everyone’s eyes on him and it caused him to hide his head in his arms. They were never going to let this one go.