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Every month, there is a ritual between the Garreg Mach faculty and Knights of Seiros to party and drink with one another as a way to bond amongst the hustle and bustle of church and academic duties. Although invited many times by his acquaintances, Seteth refuses to attend these parties, often finding them detrimental and useless when he could spend more time working instead.
Byleth decides to try her hand inviting him to the party, and after endless meddling and also because he simply can’t refuse her, Seteth begrudgingly decides to join in with the festivities.
He dresses up in his usual clothing, feeling that the need to dress up for the occasion isn’t particularly necessary. He’s only going to be around anyway to observe and make sure nothing goes wrong tonight, or else Rhea might not be pleased when the next morning comes. Flayn had originally wanted to come, explaining how she is technically allowed to be part since she’s part of the Church, but Seteth refuses her almost immediately, fearing for her safety when he’s not looking. It leaves a rather bitter Flayn, who runs off to stay with Mercedes and Annette instead of the shared room with her brother.
Well, it’s better than her attending the party.
Finally ready, Seteth heads for the Garreg Mach dining hall at a quick pace. As soon as he enters the premises from it’s grand double doors, a part of him immediately feels like he shouldn’t have come.
There are so many people, both familiar and unfamiliar faces. He sees a well-known band from the town nearby the monastery playing on a makeshift stage, with the various knights dancing around and with each other. He spots Catherine and Shamir, who seem to be having a wrestling match in which the loser must take a drink from a wooden beer mug. He sees Hanneman, playing a game of chess with another knight while various personnel of the monastery watch around them with curious eyes.
Seteth moves further into the premises, mouthing out words of “excuse me” and “sorry” before bumping into a rather familiar figure. The person in question turns the moment they hear Seteth apologizing, and his eyes widen in surprise to see who it is.
“Oh, Seteth.” Byleth smiles, “You came.”
She’s wearing her usual armour, unsurprisingly. Manuela is next to her, but she seems to not be paying attention to Byleth anymore, distracted by a knight who had charmed her beforehand. Though the place is surrounded by so many people, so many familiar faces, the moment Seteth finally runs into Byleth, he forgets where he is and it’s like the world is just the two of them.
“Of course I did.” Seteth nods, “I may not be one to attend social gatherings like this, but I don’t back out of my word.”
Byleth laughs, laughs, and the butterflies in Seteth’s stomach are flying around, smitten by the sound of her laughter, something he never had the pleasure of hearing until now. She doesn’t seem to notice his internal dilemma as she gently takes hold of his hand and guides him through the rowdy crowd.
“Come on, Seteth!” Byleth shouts, her voice loud enough to overlap the loud music and cheers all around, “Let me show you something.”
Seteth doesn’t let go of his grip from Byleth, though he can slowly feel his palms sweating just from the warmth of her hand on his own. Not that it’s a bad thing, it’s...a really nice feeling actually. Having Byleth close to him, her warmth inviting and reassuring was always good.
They finally stop in front of a bar, a tall, plain-looking man standing behind it and manning the area. They both sit down at the two available stools in front of the bar, and Byleth gestures something at the man. He moves quickly afterwards, grabbing two big wooden mugs and fills them up with a liquid using a pump from one of the many barrels lined up behind him. Once filled nearly to the brim, he hastily hands over the mugs to Byleth with an enthusiastic grin. Byleth thanks him with a sincere smile, taking both mugs by the hand and slowly reaching the other mug over to Seteth.
“Here you go, Seteth.” She calls for him to take it, and Seteth reluctantly does, “It’s mead. It’s good.”
“Mead…?” Seteth asks curiously, taking the mug from Byleth’s grip. The mixed scent of honey and something fruity fills his nostrils. It certainly smelled nice, but the real question was whether it tasted good or not.
Seteth’s lips meet the brim of the mug, and takes a pretty big gulp of the mead.
Big mistake.
The strong alcoholic taste from the honey-like drink overwhelms him and he almost chokes on his own drink. He sets down his mug on the bar, and lets out a bad coughing fit. Byleth, who had just taken a quiet sip and was observing Seteth the whole time, roars out a loud laugh watching him. When Seteth recovers after a few moments, she’s still laughing and he’s flustered that he’s done something so embarrassing.
“Haha! I’m sorry, Seteth!” Byleth grins at him in between laughs, “You’re not supposed to drink a lot of it at once. It’s alcohol, you know?”
“I was made aware the moment the taste of the drink reached my tongue.” Seteth sighs, scratching the back of his head and cheeks red. He should have known that really, this was a bar and they were at a party after all. But he never really attended any until recently, so he wasn’t exactly the most well-versed on the etiquette of social gatherings like this.
“It’s alright.” Byleth pats him on the back reassuringly, “It’s a good drink though, huh?”
Seteth nods in agreement, because the drink really is good despite how he had reacted after drinking a gulpful of it. The sweet taste of honey and hint of mixed fruits in it, along with the tang of alcohol that comes with it, makes him feel all fuzzy and warm.
“I never really liked attending parties myself, honestly,” Byleth admits. “But when Manuela introduced me to this drink when I first attended,, I found myself liking it a lot and coming over every time just to drink. It’s not odd that I wanted to introduce this drink to you though, right? I wanted to show someone how much I liked the drink. I surely can’t show it to my students, so...I thought of you.”
“It’s not odd at all,” Seteth raises his mug with a smile, “In fact, I’m glad you introduced me to this drink, Byleth.”
“Glad you liked it then.” Byleth grins at him, raising her own mug as well, “Here’s to us! And for my class’ mission this month to be successful.”
“To us, and your mission’s success.” Seteth’s mug clinks with Byleth’s mug, and they both take generous sips of the mead together.
They spend the rest of their time together just sitting by the bar and chatting away while the music and merry making go on throughout the night. They talk about many things, from Byleth’s praises of her students and how she’s excited for the return of her father after the upcoming ball on the 25th, to Seteth’s knowledge about the history of the church and how proud he is of Flayn with her classes.
The mugs on their side increase in number, evolving from one lone mug to three. He sees Byleth still sitting strongly on her seat, though her cheeks are as bright red as his own. The alcohol is surely affecting her somehow.
Seteth isn’t faring much better though.
His body is slumped to the table, a hand still gripping tightly to his almost finished third mug of mead and mumbling a bunch of gibberish that no one could understand even if they tried. His cheeks are hot red, and he looks at Byleth with an oddly dazed smile.
“...Ngghhg…” Seteth rambles while looking at her, before taking a big gulpful of his mead and finishing his third mug.
“Alright, that’s it.” He hears Byleth’s firm voice, resembling one of a teacher scolding their student. He hears the sound of a mug settled down on the side and the skidding of a seat against the floor. Footsteps move around him, before her voice speaks up again coming from behind him, “Let’s get you back to your room.”
Seteth is still slumped on the table, but he suddenly feels two hands grab for his underarms and lift him off the table, most likely Byleth getting him off the table. Seteth slurs and mutters inaudible words throughout the whole ordeal, but relaxes once he's able to lean against her side and hook his arm around her neck. The scent of honey and lilies envelops him as they walk, and he quietly thinks to himself that the scent of lilies must be coming from her.
“You ready?” He hears Byleth ask him.
“Mmm.” Seteth mumbles out.
They leave the gathering and take slow steps back to his quarters. The air outside is chilly tonight, though it should come as no surprise since it is the last month of the year. Chances of snow are common at this time of the year, but there is none coming on this particular night. Instead, there is a clear view of the night sky, stars twinkling brightly above them and the moon’s shine giving light in the darkness.
Seteth doesn't remember much of the walk back, except the sight of Byleth's face under the blue moonlight as she resolutely guides him back to his quarters. Despite the darkness around them, he can still clearly see every detail thanks to the light's angle. Her cheeks are flushed in a warm red, and her purple eyes peer forward along the path. Her expression is serious, but there's a twinge of worry over Seteth's almost drunk state.
Honest to goddess, she looks absolutely stunning.
It takes a long while before they reach Seteth’s room, due to Seteth constantly stumbling to the other side and Byleth making sure not to let him pass out as they walk through the monastery just to get him to his room. Seteth lets himself go from Byleth’s grasp as soon as he’s in front of his door.
“Seteth…!” Byleth calls for him, and Seteth hears her come closer, but he turns around and smiles at her reassuringly and shakes her head.
“My...head is clearer.” Seteth forces the words out, “I’ll...be fine.”
Byleth pauses,looking at him with an indescribable expression before relaxing and giving him a gentle smile. She walks up to him, slowly closing the distance between them and raising her arm to pat his head. Seteth’s cheeks grow warmer at the touch, finding it hard to look away from her caring eyes.
“Alright, I trust you.” Byleth tells him, “Make sure to drink water, okay? Good night.”
"...wait, Byleth," he says, making her pause at the abruptness.
He isn’t sure what exactly made him act it out, if it was that kind look she gave him or just all the pent up tension he’s been feeling since the night began. His arm reaches out for Byleth, clinging onto her shoulders like his life depends on it. Seteth pulls her close to him, so close that he can smell the honey and lilies again, and he hears her gasp out quietly under her breath as he clashes his lips against her own.
The taste of honey from the mead earlier certainly stands out. Byleth’s lips are wet and warm and he can feel his heart racing at the euphoria of kissing her. He deepens the kiss, intentionally pushing down that scared side of his screaming at him that this was a bad idea, but it lightens a little when he feels her kiss him back.
When he finally pulls away, Seteth just stares at her, cheeks flushed red and breath ragged at the heated kiss. Byleth stares at him, equally red in the cheeks but also surprised, her eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.
“...Um,” Seteth speaks up, “I apologize for that. Good night.”
He quickly opens the door to his quarters, entering swiftly and shutting it behind him immediately. Seteth stays still for a few moments, wondering if Byleth will knock on his door to open and let her in. But instead, he hears footsteps fading into the background. It seems Byleth decided to leave, and somehow, he instantly regrets not letting her in.
Seteth sinks down into the floor, hands cupping his face as he fights the desire to scream. He is certain that all the drinking and alcohol made him like this, acting on the secret feelings of his heart, and now Byleth is all too aware of what those are. In the deep recesses of his mind, he quietly hopes that he will be able to talk to her the next morning about...this, and what his actions—and most especially the bit where she kissed him back—meant.
At least he hopes he can talk to her as soon as possible. There are preparations for the grand ball to worry about, so finding alone time to talk could be rough for the next few days.
He prays to Sothis that this will all work out somehow, unaware that she saw everything and is currently giggling about it as she and Byleth walk back to the dorm.