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Dimitri stood at the entrance of the Fhirdiad Aquarium, twisting his hands together. He squinted against the sun, which glared off the steel beams of the awning that covered the walkway to the aquarium.
His date was nowhere in sight. This was some cause for alarm, and as the minutes dragged on, his fingers clenched together tighter and tighter.
After the fourth round of panicked assumptions for why she might stand him up—was she offended when he said he liked her shirt yesterday?—she finally appeared. Her camel-colored coat flared out behind her as she strode down the walkway. The breeze stirred her hair, soft green strands framing her face in a way that sent a spike of longing through Dimitri’s heart. And when she lifted her sunglasses, her gaze found his.
His breath caught in his throat.
She was beautiful. She was divine.
And she was his coworker.
“Sylvain needed help with something before I left the office,” she said. “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.”
Dimitri’s grin overflowed with relief. “No, not at all! In fact, that gave me time to get tickets for both of us.”
She glanced down at his hands.
He followed her gaze to where the stiff rectangles of the tickets had been crumpled into wads between his nervous fingers.
“Yes, the tickets!” he said, frantically unfolding one and smoothing it out. He fought the urge to die on the spot. “We…should probably head inside.”
Together, Dimitri and Byleth entered the aquarium and headed to the admission kiosk. The aquarium worker lifted her eyebrow at the rumpled strips of paper that passed for tickets, and after several attempts to scan the bar codes, they were finally inside.
As they walked through the atrium, their footsteps mingled with the squeals of children playing by a dolphin statue and the rumble of a coffeemaker from the adjoining café. The sun shone through the domed glass ceiling, bathing the terracotta floor tiles in warm afternoon light.
“So you’ve been here before?” Dimitri asked as they made their way across the atrium.
“It’s one of my favorite places in Fhirdiad,” Byleth replied. “I come here when I want to relax.”
“Oh, I see,” he said, giving a laugh that hopefully didn’t sound forced. “The last time I visited this aquarium, I was a child. My parents liked to take me here on weekends.”
That was back when his parents were still alive. Back when times were…happier.
She smiled. “Then I hope this brings back memories.”
Though the memories only highlighted what Dimitri had lost, her smile made the edges of his mood a little brighter.
“So…” Dimitri said, scanning the signs for the exhibits. “Where would you like to go first?”
Byleth studied a sign that stated Tropical Reef with several triangular fish painted around the bold letters. “Want to check out the tropical fish?”
“Of course! I would love to!”
As they entered the hall of the exhibit, Dimitri followed Byleth’s lead. She trained new hires for the company, and although she did not answer to him directly, it was his family’s company under management by his uncle. But even with the differences in their positions, she didn’t treat him like he was anyone particularly important. And when he finally worked up the courage to ask her out, she didn’t gush over his invitation the way that some of the other employees would have fawned over receiving the briefest moments of his attention.
For that, he was grateful.
On the other hand, what did she think of him? With her inscrutable, unchanging expression, it was hard to tell.
But she did agree to go out with him—after he had stumbled over himself to ask her about doing something after work together.
They moved from tank to tank, admiring the fish. In the dim lighting of the halls, surrounded by flowing fins and graceful strands of seaweed, Dimitri felt as though he and Byleth were traveling through a world that could only exist in a dream.
Then they stopped in front of a massive tank that took up the entire face of one wall and was filled with coral and creatures—a scene alive in every color under the sun.
“It was a long time ago, but I still remember this part of the aquarium,” Dimitri said, as a blue fish with bright yellow dots darted between the fronds of an anemone. “I would press my face up to the glass. I would have stood here watching the fish forever, if my parents hadn’t peeled me away.”
Byleth had her attention turned toward the tank, following the lazy path of a stately Napoleon fish. “I can see why. It’s a beautiful display.”
The light that rippled from the tank bathed her face in a soft, ethereal glow. Dimitri could watch her forever, too—though it was probably best not to say that out loud.
He cleared his throat, as if doing so would banish the urge to bare such an impulsive thought before her. “Well, enough about me. What about you? What are your favorite areas of the aquarium?”
“I like the reef fish, because they remind me of my father,” she said. “I spent most of my life traveling all over Fódlan with him. We would go snorkeling and diving off the coast of Adrestia, not far from Brigid.”
Dimitri nodded with understanding. “It must be quite the change of pace then, for you to settle in Fhirdiad to work at Blaiddyd Enterprises.”
“I don’t mind. My father died in an accident last year, before I started at the company. I don’t think I would have liked traveling alone.”
“I…I see,” Dimitri said, as the shame of embarrassment prickled over his skin. “I’m sorry. I did not mean to bring up painful memories.”
Byleth shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. My father taught me everything I know, and teaching is something I enjoy. I do it to honor his memory, in a way.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Dimitri said, his shoulders dropping with relief. “I hope you have found your time at Blaiddyd Enterprises to be acceptable.”
“I have.”
Dimitri waited for her to say more.
But instead, she nodded at the map in his hands. “Since I picked the reef exhibit, why don’t you pick where we go next?”
“Ah, of course! Let me see…”
He thumbed the edge of the map, which he had folded over several times. One fold for every time he needed to steady his nerves or remind himself not to stare at Byleth for too long. Which meant that there were many folds, and the map now resembled a thick, uneven square of paper.
Dimitri began to open up the map. Every crease was a puzzle to unravel, every exposed surface a new dilemma to peel away with clumsy fingers. Except that he had folded the map too tightly and his sweat had made the fibers too soft—and the paper tore apart.
He stared at the shreds of the map, which drooped from his hands like wilted flowers. “I…I am sorry. I am not always the best at handling delicate things.”
Byleth looked at the map, then looked at him. A printed piece of paper was hardly considered delicate by most people’s estimation, but there was no judgment in her gaze.
“That’s all right,” she said. Then she pointed at a corridor to their right. “That hallway leads to the seals and sea turtles, if you want to check them out.”
“Certainly,” Dimitri agreed, thankful for anything that took the focus off his most recent mishap.
He tucked the tattered remains of the map into his back pocket with hands that shook—not from embarrassment or nerves, but from frustration that boiled up from the long trail of broken things his hands had left in his wake.
Hands that were too strong to use scissors without twisting them, but not strong enough to break down the door as flames consumed his parents’ bedroom.
Dimitri had been far too young, far too powerless to save his parents from the inferno that burned down their house. He knew that, and yet—
His hands hadn’t stopped shaking ever since.
Dimitri followed Byleth. They emerged from the darkness of the reef exhibit into a more brightly lit area. Several brightly colored panels hung on the walls, displaying photographs and facts about marine life. In the middle of the room stood a low, wide tank that was open to the curious hands of adults and children alike.
“The touch tank,” Dimitri said, breathing in the scent of brine in the humid air. “This is where you can pet the stingrays.”
Byleth knelt by the glass wall of the tank and dipped her fingers in the water. A stingray swam by, nudging her with its blunt nose before gliding beneath her fingertips.
She looked back at him over her shoulder. “Want to join me?” she said, as another ray stroked its back against her fingers. “They’re friendly.”
But Dimitri hung back. “I’m…not sure if that’s a good idea.”
She smiled. “Don’t worry. They don’t bite.”
He shook his head. “I’m not afraid of the rays,” he said, holding out his hands. “I’m afraid that I won’t be gentle enough.”
Shaking the water from her fingers, Byleth stood up and walked over to Dimitri.
She took one of his hands. “You are gentle. I can tell from the way you handle things.”
His laugh was short and tinged with bitterness, but he didn’t shrink away. “I’m surprised to hear you say that. I loved to pet the rays when I was a child, but now…”
He touched his pants pocket, where the crumpled tickets from earlier sat like hard, pointed reminders.
“I crush things in my hands without even knowing it,” he finished.
Byleth brought up his hand again, clasping him between her palms. “And because of that, you’re careful.”
Her hands were small, but they surrounded his with a warmth that was comforting. Safe. A warmth that he hadn’t felt in ages—and never thought he would feel again.
“I…” he began.
His fingers lay over her wrist, where a delicate web of veins ran beneath her skin before disappearing under his fingertips.
Was it possible for him to grasp something so precious without breaking it?
Could he really be careful? What she said…could it actually be true?
“Come with me,” she said, leading him by the hand to the pool. The water rippled as stingrays swam in lazy laps below the surface.
Together, they crouched by the wall of the tank. The scent of brine grew stronger, filling his nose the way it had when his father showed him how to rest his hand in the water and wait for the rays to come to him.
Byleth guided his hand, as his father had once done. And like his father, she held onto his wrist—gently—ever so gently—to give him freedom, but also just the right amount of pressure so he wouldn’t lose his nerve.
A stingray glided toward them, its fins waving gracefully in the water.
“Go ahead,” Byleth said.
Dimitri’s hand trembled as the ray came closer, but Byleth’s hold on him kept him steady. He fanned his fingers apart. The ray glided beneath him—smooth like velvet, and soft like the memory of his fingers on Byleth’s wrist.
“This is…very relaxing,” Dimitri observed as the ray moved on, continuing its gentle path through the pool.
Byleth nodded. “Coming to the aquarium reminds me of my father, but it helps me relax, too.”
Her eyes remained trained on the water in the touch tank, but Dimitri knew that it wasn’t the animals that held her attention. He himself had gazed off in much the same way—far too many times to count.
He also noticed she hadn’t let go of his wrist.
“Then perhaps,” Dimitri said, sliding his hand up to clasp hers, “the next time we come here, we can relax…together.”
She turned to him at last. Gone was her usual stoic demeanor, and in its place was a softness in her eyes, like mist that covered the ocean shore after the rain.
Something hitched in Dimitri’s chest.
“I would like that,” Byleth said.
And the feeling in Dimtri’s chest bloomed along with her smile.