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As with most things that went wrong, it began with Sylvain.
The snowball, quickly and solidly formed, flew through the air to hit Felix straight in the back and things had promptly escalated from there. Felix was never one to back down from a challenge, especially when physicality was involved. Once those two had started, Ingrid was quick to mediate, though her version usually included dishing out plenty of foul worthy shots herself. Once all his friends were participating, it would have been strange for Dimitri to sit out, even though he wasn’t allowed to use his full strength anymore.
(It had taken years for Felix to forgive him for The Incident, but even then he still called him The Boar.)
It was in the midst of this chaos that Dimitri saw a particularly fast snowball coming his way. He managed to dodge in time, only to have the snowball unintentionally collide with an innocent passerby instead. Behind him, the game came to an abrupt halt. Dimitri went over to the green-haired woman, feeling utterly mortified.
“I’m so sorry,” he said at once. “Are you alright?” The woman brushed the powdery residue from her charcoal wool coat with a cryptic expression.
“Fine,” she said shortly. Her cool green eyes made Dimitri feel strangely tongue-tied; it was just as well that the woman wasn’t interested in his excuses. She quickly continued on her way without another glance at them.
“You should have asked for her number," Sylvain called out from behind him. Dimitri frowned.
"It was an accident, not an excuse to wrangle a date, Sylvain," he scolded.
"Are you kidding me? That was a classic set up! In fact—" He was interrupted by a well-aimed snowball to the face.
"Oops," Ingrid said rather unapologetically, "were we not still playing?"
“Oh, we're not playing anymore,” Sylvain replied, springing into action.
The game quickly picked up steam again, though with a measure more caution for passers-by this time. Dimitri still felt bad for the accident long after, however, and made sure to receive all snowballs directly onto his body rather than risk a repeat.
“Such a martyr,” Felix groused when he saw his soaked coat. Dimitri felt dumping snow down the back of his shirt in response was more than justified.
-
Garreg Mach was a small town, but even so, Dimitri didn’t expect to see the green-haired woman again so soon. No more than a week later, he spied her on the main street. She was walking quickly in the opposite direction, eyes so focused on her phone that she didn’t notice the ice on the pavement. He was about to call out a warning when—
“Oh!”
Dimitri reached out on instinct, steadying the falling woman with an arm around her shoulders. Bright green eyes blinked up at him with surprise.
“Are you alright?” he asked, heart pounding from the near miss. Slowly, she nodded. “That’s a relief. The streets can be icy this time of year.” Once Dimitri was certain she was steady, he let go. At least this time, he was more helpful than the last.
“Thanks. I’m not used to this kind of cold,” she admitted.
“It was nothing. I was lucky to be passing by at the right time,” Dimitri said. “At least this makes up for the other day, somewhat.”
“The other day?" She stared at him blankly for a long moment. "…Oh, you’re the snowball guy.” Dimitri winced.
“I am truly sorry—” The woman shrugged.
“It really wasn’t your fault,” she pointed out blandly. “Though you did save me from cracking my head on the pavement just now, so we’re probably even, if that makes you feel any better.”
“Yes, I suppose so.” There was that tongue-tied feeling again. Something about her direct gaze made him feel as self-conscious as a student on his first day of school. He had just summoned the courage to ask for her name when she glanced at her watch.
“Shit,” she muttered and was off again, though at a more measured pace this time. Dimitri caught himself staring after her. Maybe he should have asked for her number… No. It was just a silly notion planted in his head by Sylvain and one he would best be rid of.
-
Dimitri was driving home from the city one night when he saw an old sedan parked on the side of the road with the hazard lights blinking. He slowed down close to the driver’s side and rolled down his window.
“Hello, do you need a hand?” After a moment, the car window rolled down. Dimitri blinked with surprise.
“Hi, Snowball Guy," the green-haired woman said wryly. "I would love some help." In an instant, Dimitri pulled over and was out of his car.
“Any idea what the problem might be?” he asked curiously.
“Dead battery, so I’d appreciate a jump start,” she said, opening the hood of her sedan. “I’ve got cables in the boot.” Within moments, both cars were hooked up. There was an awkward silence as they waited for the battery to charge.
“I’m Dimitri, by the way,” he offered finally, because it seemed strange somehow to have run into each other multiple times now and still think of her as 'the green-haired woman'.
“Byleth,” she returned. “If it’s not already obvious, I’m new here.”
"Welcome to Garreg Mach,” Dimitri said with a smile. “I hope the mishaps so far haven't deterred you." Byleth shook her head.
“I like the town. I’m just not used to the snow. I used to live further south, near Enbarr. Never got cold enough for that.” Byleth gave him an assessing look. “Were you born here?”
“I’m just here to study at the university. I’m originally from Faerghus,” Dimitri admitted. She nodded with understanding.
“That must be why you look so at home in the cold.”
“Yes, well. When you’ve walked to school in minus thirty degrees, anything above that is practically balmy,” Dimitri said with good humour.
“I can’t even imagine what that’s like.” Byleth rubbed her hands together absently, her fingertips reddened by the chill.
“Are you cold? You can wait in the car, if you like,” Dimitri suggested.
“I’m fine. It’s just my hands that are frozen,” Byleth said with a shake of her head. It felt only natural then for Dimitri to pull his pair of woollen gloves from his coat pocket and offer them to her.
“They’ll be big, but they should do the trick.” Their hands brushed briefly as she took them from him — they really were icy.
“Thanks, Dimitri.” Byleth pulled them on with a sigh. They did look comically large over her dainty hands, but at least she seemed more comfortable. “You know, I think this is the third accident I’ve had since I arrived here. And all of them have involved you in some way,” she said conversationally.
“I think you’re right. Maybe it’s the universe telling us we should spend more time together?” Dimitri said jokingly. The brief, painful silence that followed filled him with mortification. What on Earth had possessed him to say that? “Sorry,” he said, immediately contrite. “My friends always tell me I’m terrible at humour.” Byleth hummed thoughtfully.
“I think I’d like that,” she said finally. “To spend more time together, I mean.”
“Really?” Dimitri asked, perhaps a touch too eagerly, because it seemed too good to be true.
“Well, maybe if we plan our next meeting, that'll break the cycle of bad luck,” Byleth suggested. The smile on her lips only made her appear even lovelier than before. Dimitri chuckled, if only to cover up the tongue-tied feeling again.
“I’m willing to give it a go. After all, I would hate to see our mishaps escalate further,” Dimitri said pragmatically.
“Well, according to the movies, we’d probably get snowed in together next time.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“And then the power would go out and we’d be forced to huddle together for warmth.”
“Yes, that does sound all too probable,” Dimitri agreed. “Shall we exchange phone numbers as a safeguard?”
“I think so,” Byleth said with mock gravitas.
Once they had exchanged phone numbers, Dimitri unhooked their cars. Byleth hopped back into her sedan and within moments, the engine rumbled to life. Even in the dim light, he could see the relief in her face.
“I think this means it’s my turn to owe you,” she pointed out jokingly.
“Not at all. You were in trouble. It only made sense for me to help,” Dimitri said.
“You should know at least two other cars passed me before you stopped,” she noted bluntly. “I’m serious. Thank you, Dimitri. I’ll see you around.”
Dimitri waited until she was well down the road before getting back into his own car. As he sat in the driver's seat waiting for the windows to defog, he felt light and warm. Calling their previous meetings mishaps seemed inaccurate now. To have had the pleasure of seeing Byleth's smile... he could only call it serendipity.