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Byleth stood right outside the doors of the dining hall, overlooking the fishing spot and greenhouse. The breeze was mild as the sun began to set behind the buildings of Garreg Mach.
She took a deep breath, grateful that the oppressive darkness that had been clouding them–by way of Dimitri–was at last dissipating.
A splash from down below pulled Byleth’s attention from her thoughts, and she saw a cheerful young man pulling up an enormous fish from the pond. Her mind briefly recalled the day she herself had been furiously fishing to distract herself from Dimitri’s seemingly-endless anger and thirst for revenge.
A laugh in the form of a short exhale escaped Byleth’s lips. She had almost forgotten that day in the whirlwind of months that followed.
Her fingers were no more rough or scarred than usual–she had gone to Manuela the day after to get properly patched up, but she also couldn't deny the effectiveness of the poultice that had been left at her door that evening.
She remembered the way the small jar cracked against the wall and fell to the floor.
Byleth swallowed a lump of sadness trying to form in her throat, the memories dredging up the sudden frenzy of emotions she had felt that night with incredible acuteness.
“Professor?” A soothing voice called out from behind Byleth.
She turned to see Dimitri take a tentative step out of the dining hall toward her, still in his dark armor and heavy cape. He had likely been in meetings and correspondences with the Kingdom and the Alliance, especially with the urgent letter they had received from Claude earlier in the week.
“Meetings done?” Byleth asked, giving him a small smile.
Dimitri let out a remarkably tired sigh. “Amazingly enough, yes. I hope that your free day was more free than mine.”
“Always plenty to do.” She continued to smile, but glanced back at the fishing spot. The cheerful young man from earlier was now hauling his enormous fish towards the marketplace and Byleth couldn’t help but let out a pleased chuckle.
“Did you…go fishing today?” Dimitri asked, somewhat awkwardly–Byleth could detect the hesitant way the word ‘fishing’ came out of his mouth.
“No, I didn’t,” she said with a shrug, deciding to dismiss the strangeness she felt. Though something melancholic tugged at her mind as she turned back to look at Dimitri.
“Well, Professor, I…actually came to find you with the intention of asking if you would…” Dimitri trailed off, his hands trying to fidget. “Might I ask to have tea with you?”
Byleth tilted her head to the side, her small smile growing bigger.
“Of course, Dimitri. In my room?”
“Yes, if you wouldn’t mind. I’m a bit tired of my own quarters for today,” Dimitri replied with a relieved noise that warmed Byleth’s heart.
“Shall I acquire some cakes?”
Dimitri shook his head before placing his hand on his chest. “Oh, Professor, allow me. Consider it a gift for the Garland Moon, in place of a garland I might have likely crushed,” he added with a bit of a sheepish smile.
Byleth had almost completely forgotten what month it was, and the idea of Dimitri offering something in place of a garland made her stomach leap. She swallowed to try and suppress the feeling, uncomfortable in its novelty.
Byleth nodded, pushing the sensation away, but taking a moment to relish the fact he had offered at all. “I’ll put the tea on.”
They separated, Dimitri walking off rather awkwardly back into the dining hall. But the awkwardness didn’t bother Byleth in the least. It was reminiscent of the stiff, but compassionate young man she had met five years ago. The man who had helped her adjust to life at Garreg Mach. Who had been by her side when Jeralt…
Byleth quickly stifled her thoughts. Now was not the time to get lost in her mind–at this rate Dimitri would beat her to her room and the tea would not even be ready for them.
She walked off, warmth spreading from her chest to the rest of her body as she found herself excited for tea with Dimitri.
***
Byleth was setting teacups on the table in her room, the chamomile tea now steeping in a delicate-looking white pot with red floral accents. She found herself smiling as she set a small vase on the table, full of white carnations she had been tending to since returning to Garreg Mach. Her cape, armor, and tasseled brooch lay on her bed.
It wasn’t uncommon for them to have tea on Byleth’s free days at her request since Dimitri had emerged from his shadow, but this was the first time he had asked her . Perhaps ever. And during the Garland Moon of all times–her stomach leapt again and she took a deep breath.
There was a hard, then suddenly soft knocking at the door. Byleth let out an amused hum, now imagining Dimitri trying to calculate the way his knuckles rapped against the wood. The hum turned into a quiet laugh as she walked to the door and opened it.
Dimitri stood with a small covered basket in his arm, still stiff and a touch awkward as he met Byleth’s eyes.
It would have been like any other tea time together, but now Byleth found her breath catching in her throat as she looked at him.
His long, messy blond hair was pulled half-up into a ponytail, wide locks falling in front of his face. It almost reminded her of the Dimitri from five years ago, looking slightly more boyish than the King-to-be she had spoken to only moments earlier. He was also out of his armor and heavy cape, now dressed down to dark plainclothes–perhaps most notably, a black shirt with a high collar and long sleeves (tailored to him remarkably well, Byleth found herself thinking.)
“Courtesy of Mercedes,” Dimitri finally said with an exhale as he gestured at the basket, making Byleth realize she had been holding her breath.
This sort of appearance on Dimitri was a first for Byleth. Though not unwanted.
Byleth stepped to the side, motioning Dimitri into her room.
“I hope that my…appearance isn’t too casual. I had been wanting to,” Dimitri continued, his voice sounding a little strangled in his throat, “thank you for all the previous invitations to tea…and somehow I disclosed this to Sylvain.”
Byleth felt herself smile. “So casual was…?”
“Sylvain’s idea. With Annette’s…incredibly passionate assistance,” he finished, gesturing at his hair.
“It’s nice,” she said, in hopes that the building warmth and pressure in her chest would be released–though this seemed to have the opposite effect. “I don't feel underdressed now.”
“O-oh?” Dimitri asked, a bit surprised.
The warmth began crawling up into her throat as she saw Dimitri take notice of her removed cape on the bed. “It was rare to see you relaxed even during our Academy days.”
“I suppose it was. I will…have to thank Sylvain and Annette, then.” He looked back at Byleth with a small smile.
As will I, Byleth thought, heat now crawling across her cheeks, her eyes drawn to his broad shoulders.
Dimitri set the basket on the table and overly-gently uncovered it to reveal beautifully glazed pastries and lovely, buttery cookies that Byleth recognized as favorites of Mercedes.
She then let her eyes wander up his hands and arms as he folded the small cloth covering–she was immediately reminded of how large and impressive he was.
Byleth now chided herself for her easy distraction by Dimitri’s appearance. He was here to relax with a trusted friend and to have tea. Not to be ogled.
Byleth tried to distract herself by becoming concerned that this little invitation was growing into something more formal than that. She did not have anything much fancier than chamomile tea on hand, and became unaware of the way her lips started to purse together in concentration.
“Oh, Professor, is something wrong?” Dimitri’s soft voice pulled her attention right to his face, soft with worry.
Byleth shook her head before letting her eyes rest on his eye. He would laugh if she told him she was worried over the kind of tea she was serving for the two of them.
Professor, I’ve already told you chamomile is my favorite. Anything more than that would be unnecessary, she could hear him say.
“Um, Professor…you keep staring. My appearance really is inappropriate, then.” Dimitri sounded a bit crestfallen, a little embarrassed–which turned the warmth in Byleth’s chest into an ache.
“No,” she said more loudly than she intended, and more shakily than she could control. “You look very nice.”
Her response seemed to shock him, and a faint blush began to dapple across his cheeks.
“Let’s sit, before the tea goes cold,” Byleth said suddenly, pulling her chair out and acutely aware of the strange, conflicting, distracting feelings that felt like they were trying to crawl out of her mouth.
Dimitri followed quietly, which seemed to accentuate the clumsy silence that settled over them.
Byleth did her best to pour tea for the both of them, as if it was just another tea time between them. But she couldn’t deny or explain the intense warmth that was now radiating into her stomach and up into her ears.
It was Dimitri. The Dimitri she had seen in the cracks of his anger that day.
The teacups on saucers clinked loudly in the silent room as she pushed one toward Dimitri and pulled the other toward herself.
Dimitri took a breath, as if to say something, and Byleth found her attention completely drawn to him–as if she was a moth to a flame.
“Professor, I must be honest, I…my only intention was not to just thank you for tea before, or to make up for a gift for the Garland Moon.” Byleth was unsure if her eyes were playing tricks on her, or if Dimitri’s fingers were actually trembling as he reached his cup. “I…also wanted to apologize, privately, for my behavior toward you all these past months.”
Byleth started to shake her head, to deflect any further guilt Dimitri might try and place on his shoulders–
“Please, let me apologize. I know…I acted very cruel and unfair to everyone. Especially you.” Dimitri pulled his hand away from his teacup, balling it into a fist and pressing it on the table. “Even when you found me that day, here in Garreg Mach. You deserved better than a ghost of a man, but you remained by my side regardless.”
“I would have never left you alone,” Byleth said simply, easily. It was an irrefutable truth, and she knew it. This admission to Dimitri began to turn the warmth in her chest into something more like a hot coal, the feeling centering in her chest.
Dimitri was lost for words as he stared back into Byleth’s unflinching eyes. He opened his mouth slightly, as if to say something, but he decided to smile instead and look into his cup of tea.
“I understand what a gift that is now.”
Byleth’s breath caught in her throat again, and she tried to take a sip of tea to urge some motion back into her lungs.
“How are your fingers?” Dimitri asked gently, his eye moving to Byleth’s hand.
“My fingers?”
Dimitri carefully lifted the teacup by its handle. “From the day you…spent the entire time fishing? Gilbert had mentioned it to me a little while ago. I know you were likely…very angry with me.”
Byleth quickly recalled the day in question. The day she had tried to bury her frustrations in fish and ended up spearing her fingers with her hook.
The day with the poultice and bandages he had left for her. To Byleth this all but confirmed that even in his shadows, Dimitri had still carried some care and affection for her.
“My fingers are fine. Only the usual calluses,” Byleth murmured, recalling the bittersweet feeling that hung in her veins as she tended to her fingers that evening.
Dimitri hummed a hesitant noise in response before slowly taking a sip from his own teacup.
“I was very angry with you,” Byleth admitted matter-of-factly. “Angry and confused. Sad. I almost didn't try to treat it.”
He looked up at Byleth from his teacup, still quiet.
“Though I did use it.” She set her cup down and extended her hand toward Dimitri, emphasizing her unscarred fingers. “And I'm not angry anymore.”
Dimitri looked surprised at Byleth’s hand, looking from her palm to her pale green eyes.
A smile tugged at Byleth’s lips as she pulled her hand back to her lap. “The poultice you left me was very high-quality. There was little for Manuela to do when I brought myself to her the next morning.”
“Ah, so…you knew it was me?” Dimitri sounded embarrassed, looking away from Byleth and down toward the floor.
“You aren’t exactly the image of stealth,” she replied with a small laugh. This made Dimitri’s head perk back up and he looked at Byleth with wonder.
“No, I don’t suppose I am.” He responded with a laugh of his own, the sound melodic in Byleth’s ears. His look of wonder turned to something softer and warmer–knowing, in a way. “May I…see your hand again?”
Heat washed over Byleth’s neck and cheeks and she offered her hand to Dimitri again. He leaned forward, carefully taking it in his and he slowly slid his thumb over her fingertips.
Dimitri was particularly statuesque in this moment, his black shirt clearly defining his broad shoulders and large arms, normally hidden under his black armor and cape. Byleth did her best to keep her breathing steady as she realized how warm Dimitri’s hands were in this moment–likely from the tea, Byleth told herself, trying to keep some distracting train of thought in motion.
But this thought only led to her wanting Dimitri close to her. For her to be close to him. What she had wanted since the day they had first reunited.
“I am so sorry for causing you such distress, Professor–” Dimitri began, when Byleth felt herself move from her chair suddenly. It squealed against the stone floor, and she found herself standing in front of Dimitri. Her hand was still placed in his, his grip tightened in surprise.
“You don’t have to apologize for my moment of clumsiness.” Byleth’s whole body seemed to pulse with warmth as she looked at him. She ached to reach and brush a lock of his hair to the side, to feel his skin against her fingers.
Dimitri stared at her, astonished. He appeared to be frozen in his seat, struggling to find his next words.
“Professor,” he began, his voice strangled in his throat, when Byleth shook her head firmly.
“When it is just you and I, Dimitri, please speak to me more casually,” Byleth said in a near whisper, inching even closer to him.
Dimitri bolted up from his seat, risen to his full height and squeezing her hand in his.
The blood in Byleth’s veins surged as she looked up at Dimitri. His visible eye was full of something deep–something warm.
She hesitated to put a word to it, afraid that she could be misunderstanding her’s and Dimitri’s relationship. But a small, familiar-feeling voice in the back of her mind asked, What else could this possibly be?
“...Byleth,” Dimitri corrected himself in a low, soft voice.
Byleth’s knees grew weak–a sensation she had only ever read about, and often thought it was an exaggeration for a feeling she was content with never understanding.
She slipped her hand from his to slowly wrap her arms around his torso. He was solid. Warm.
She could feel him stiffen slightly at the sensation of her embrace, but that only made her squeeze him tighter. Her palms were now pressing on his back, a faint desperation to hold him as close as possible seeping into Byleth’s entire being.
Dimitri then gently, carefully wrapped his arms around Byleth. She could feel him thread his fingers into her hair, pushing her head further against his wide chest.
Byleth let out an amazed exhale–relieved, almost–at the feeling. He felt strong and soft somehow all at the same time.
It reminded her of the few times she had hugged Jeralt.
She had been longing for this for months now. She had to admit that maybe she had been wanting this for much longer.
To hold Dimitri close. To support him. She wanted to protect him, though the more-rational part of her mind scoffed at the idea. He was tall, frighteningly strong at times, and more than capable of swinging a weapon in his defense.
But of course she knew it was more than that to be protected. To be loved.
Love, the word echoed in her mind. She loved him. More and more every day, and she wanted him to smile for her. And now, here he was, in her arms.
Her thoughts fizzled into something warm and wordless as they clung to each other, and the silence became tranquil.
“I had not…expected that our tea time would turn out like this,” Dimitri mused, tracing his fingers down her neck through her hair. The sensation made goosebumps erupt across Byleth’s skin, and her stomach flipped excitedly as he continued tracing down her spine.
She felt him hesitate for a moment as his pinky finger touched her bare skin, reaching the end of her cropped top. She pressed herself closer into him, to tell him he had permission to continue.
He seemed to understand, and somehow even more carefully, his palm swept down and came to rest on her lower back. This sent a shock down her spine and seemingly into her toes and she did her best to restrain a shuddering breath.
“I wanted this,” Byleth murmured, giving Dimitri another soft squeeze.
Dimitri’s soft laugh rumbled in his chest as he curled forward around Byleth. He pressed his mouth against her shoulder, the change in his posture causing his arms to pull her up toward his chest. Byleth felt her weight shift to the balls of her feet as he drew her closer. Before she could stand on her tip-toes, Dimitri slowly released her.
His hands trailed along her arms as he straightened his posture, but stopped his hands in hers. He swept his thumb over her knuckles, smiling.
“I would be a liar if I could not admit that I wanted it too,” he replied before pulling one of her hands up toward his face.
Dimitri leaned forward a bit, pressing Byleth’s fingers to his lips. He placed remarkably gentle kisses to each of her fingers, making her stomach do somersaults with each new press.
“What a gift you are…” he said in a low voice, but clear in Byleth’s ears.
Byleth felt her cheeks and ears burn at his words.
“Will you let me stay at your side, Dimitri?” She asked, her pulse pounding in her ears.
Dimitri looked at Byleth curiously for a moment before smiling.
“I do not think you would take ‘no’ for an answer,” he replied with a laugh. His expression turned pensive for a moment before continuing, “Though I would ask the same of you. To stay by your side.”
A relieved warmth washed over Byleth as she stared at Dimitri. She smiled, which drew another pleased laugh from Dimitri.
“I will never tire of seeing your smile…I am disappointed in myself that I went so long without it, though.”
Byleth’s stomach fluttered. “For our next tea time, will you come dressed like this again?”
This made Dimitri laugh, which pleased Byleth immensely. The shadows that haunted him seemed far away with the sound of his laughter.
“I will. And if I might be honest,” Dimitri replied, something enticing in his voice, “it's preferable to hold you close without armor.”
This sparked something aggressive in Byleth, and she took her hands from Dimitri’s, firmly grabbing his waist and began pushing him to her bed behind him.
Confusion, then fear, then something Byleth could only identify as hunger flashed across Dimitri’s face. She guided him down onto her bed and he reclined back on his arms, looking up at Byleth.
She couldn’t help admiring him in this position. His broad shoulders and chest rising and falling with each anticipatory breath, defined by the sleek black fabric of his shirt. The enticing way his hair fell in his face and framed his eyes, patched and otherwise.
And the way he looked up at her.
Desire. Somehow more shocking and powerful than she had ever read or imagined.
If Byleth had a heartbeat, she was sure it would be pounding much like the pulsing in her veins. He was everything to her, especially in this moment. And he felt for her the same things she felt for him. Love, passion, loyalty, longing, yearning–it all melted together in her body, feeling safe and wild all at the same time.
She found herself climbing onto the bed, Dimitri following her by backing himself toward the wall the bed was against. She was kneeling on the bed, straddling his waist near his hips. She gently brushed some hair away from his face, then taking the opportunity to caress his cheek. He pressed his face into her hand, slowly turning his head to nudge his lips against her palm.
“I love you, Dimitri,” Byleth murmured, stroking his cheek with her thumb. “I missed you so much.”
She felt Dimitri’s warm hand give her thigh a gentle squeeze and she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close.
“Am I deserving of this, Byleth?” Dimitri whispered, anguish still somehow audible in his hushed voice.
Byleth squeezed him tighter. “I think you are.”
“Then how could I not reply?” He hummed into her collarbone, his hand tracing further up her thigh, onto her bare midriff. He wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her tightly. “I love you. I am sorry for making you wait for me.”
“No need to apologize. We’re here together now.” Byleth released Dimitri and sat up to look at his face. His cheeks were flushed red as he looked up at her lovingly.
“The tea is getting cold…if that's all right?” Dimitri asked humorously, a bit of a knowing sparkle in his eye.
Byleth smiled, pressing a hand on Dimitri’s stomach and then slowly sliding it up his torso and resting her palm on his chest. She could feel his heart pounding.
“I don't mind,” she said with a coy smile.
Dimitri smiled back. “Neither do I. Though Mercedes would be disappointed if I brought that basket back to her still full.”
“We’ve got all evening.”
This comment seemed to be the one that shook what composure Dimitri had left, and he looked at Byleth, eye wide and his mouth slightly agape. The flush on his cheeks spread to his entire face.
“Profe–Byleth,” he stammered, his hand giving her waist a shaky squeeze.
“Lots of time to make up for,” Byleth replied, a little surprised at her playfulness and amused by Dimitri's reaction.
“Of course,” Dimitri finally said with a laugh. “I owe you at least that much.”