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Flayn gently combed her fingers through Linhardt’s hair, pulling the green strands out of his face. She carefully twisted the strands, styling his hair so half of it was up and out of his face while the rest spilled around his shoulders. It was a more elegant variant of his usual hairstyle, but nothing too fancy.
Linhardt, having easily been lulled to sleep while Flayn did his hair, was indifferent about how he looked. A few of their friends had offered their help with preparing him for the upcoming nuptials, but the only offer he was even half willing to accept was Flayn’s. Dorthia had been very insistent, but frankly Linhardt was terrified about what she would do to him.
“Linhardt,” Flayn gently shook his shoulder. “Linhardt,” she called again. He stirred, blinking slowly. He tipped his head slightly to look up at her, beginning to close his eyes again. “No,” Flayn laughed, “You need to get up now, Linhardt.”
“Five more minutes,” he mumbled softly.
“You’re going to sleep through your own wedding.” Flayn shook her head, smiling fondly at Linhardt. She was excited for him. They’d all been through a lot these past few years, they deserved this. They deserved to be happy.
Linhardt smiled softly, he and Flayn made their way out to the courtyard where their former classmates had gathered. Once upon a time, they may have had the ceremony in the cathedral, but as it stood, it needed repairs before it would truly be functional again.
Caspar was off to the side, talking to Byleth and Dedue. Caspar didn’t notice Linhardt’s arrival until Byleth nodded discreetly in his direction.
Caspar’s face lit up immediately, he grinned at Linhardt, dismissing himself from his prior conversation to approach his soon-to-be-husband. Linhardt flushed, several eyes shifting in their direction.
“You look great,” Caspar said, snaking an arm around Linhardt’s waist. He moved to kiss Linhardt, but Linhardt shied away. “Lin?”
“People are staring,” Linhardt explained meekly. Caspar glanced around and gave Linhardt a dumbfounded look.
“Yeah, they’re going to be staring even more during the actual ceremony.”
“Do we have to do this?” Linhardt asked, taking note of the number of people here. It wasn’t a ton, but more than he cared for. The ceremony was just for show anyway. Caspar and Linhardt had been attached at the hip since they were kids. They didn’t need a ceremony, but their friends were very insistent.
“Sure do,” Caspar laughed, guiding Linhardt towards Byleth, who would be officiating the wedding.
The ceremony was short and sweet. Caspar looked at Linhardt like he’d hung the moon and Linhardt couldn’t have possibly been more red, but the way his eyes shone Caspar was worried he might start crying at any moment. They’d been through a lot in the past five years. They survived. They survived and had the ability to walk away from their titles, the life they’d lived until now, to be themselves and with one another. That’s all they needed.
***
Linhardt yawned, dropping his head onto Caspar’s shoulder. Caspar laughed, patting his head.
“It’s not even that late, Lin.”
“When is it socially acceptable to leave your own wedding?” Linhardt asked, leaning more of his weight against Caspar. Caspar rolled his eyes, smile still firmly in place.
“Since when do you care about something being socially acceptable?” Caspar asked playfully. Linhardt hummed.
“You’re right. We should head out then.”
“Lin!” Caspar laughed.
“I don’t think anyone will blame the happy couple for dipping out early to consummate the marriage,” Sylvain winked, lifting his glass in their direction. Caspar laughed a little harder while Linhardt mumbled something about getting the wrong idea.
With that thought firmly in a few of their guests' minds, Linhardt and Caspar bid their farewells and retired for the night. Linhardt wanted to be embarrassed, but was too tired to care in the end. Caspar damn near needed to drag him to their room. They’d decided to stay in Linhardt’s old dorm room since it was on the first floor, whereas Caspar’s was on the second.
Caspar had barely closed the door before Linhardt threw himself into bed and was sound asleep. Caspar shook his head, slowly removing his dress clothes before moving on to Linhardt’s, though the deadweight of a sleeping Linhardt made it difficult, he managed in the end. Once their clothes were neatly folded, Caspar finally crawled into bed and pulled Linhardt in against his chest.
***
Flayn frowned while Ashe did his best to hide his smile behind his hand while Caspar and Linhardt wandered into the mess hall. Linhardt looked like a zombie. His hair was sticking up in a few places and his eyelids drooped as he sat down at the table.
“Late night?” Ashe asked, biting back a laugh.
“Ngh,” Linhardt blinked at him. The sun was barely starting to rise, for anyone to think this was a reasonable time to wake up was ridiculous.
“We’re leaving for Brigid this morning,” Caspar explained, accepting the plates Flayn handed him. He placed one in front of Linhardt before taking a seat beside him.
“Oh, that’ll be nice and relaxing!” Flayn smiled brightly. Ashe nodded in agreement.
“I sure hope so. Lin doesn’t realize it, but I know he only suggested it because he wanted to do some research there.” Caspar laughed, smiling fondly at Linhardt who was already trying to make himself comfortable to get a few more minutes of sleep. “Lin, you need to eat before we leave.”
“Yes, mother,” Linhardt grumbled, earning a chuckle from Caspar who nudged him playfully.
Many of their friends were still tucked away in their prior dorm rooms, sleeping off last night's celebration. Linhardt and Caspar departed for Brigid, sent off by the few early risers.
***
Caspar smiled, his chin propped in his hand as he watched Linhardt pour over the large pile of books he’d accumulated. The library was dark, the only light being the candles they’d lit at their table. Maybe to someone else this wasn’t an ideal honeymoon, but Caspar loved watching Linhardt like this.
Brigid was the first of several stops on their list. Linhardt wanted to expand his research, while Caspar was happy to just get away from the Adrestian Empire and the Monastery. He wanted to explore and see the world, and he wanted to do it with Linhardt by his side. Even if that meant Linhardt would have his nose in a book the whole time.