#but. but dimitri. dedue. I miss them. I cry

[mcmissileproof]

I'm still planning on playing through every throuses route but I'm going to have to go back and replay blions when I'm done. I can't take this shit otherwise man :'/

[fireemblems24]

Azure Gleam 15 (Final)

As long as this has gone on for, I'm actually bummed to finish this one.

NARRATION

Those special chapters were so weird. It's kind of funny how the plot is like, just ignoring all of that and going back to regular programming. It's like in an old kid's show when they got a dog and then the next episode - no dog anymore. Like there's kinda no point to it.

Ok, so Thales talking to yeeted Edelgard. I will never not get over how funny it is that's the path the writers decided.

Yep, we're really just jumping back into the regular plot. That is so funny. The writing in this game is a clusterfuck at times.

Ok, so we're going to the monastery to save Rhea. MUCH better than saving Bernie's dad.

TWSITD causing chaos again. I feel this route targeted them more than the other two. Like they barely existed in GW.

Everyone's worried about Rhea.

Dimitri wants to wreck TWSITD and the Empire. Let's fucking go!

MAP

No side quests again! Guys, I'm sooooo close to beating this game I can taste it. Both SB and AG have very short final chapters.

Only Claude is annoying, which tracks how this game's gone so . . .

So I've gotten all the supports for: Dimitri, Dedue, Felix, Sylvain, Ingrid, and Rodrigue. Mercedes I'm only missing Jeritza. I didn't use Annette or Ashe, so they're missing a few, but I feel I did pretty good. Hopefully I can get Mercie and Jeritza this chapter.

Ugh, so I missed the opportunity to deepen my bond with Byleth :( Maybe next time.

So in another route, Ashe had no idea what he believed in anymore. In this one, he's confident about his sense of justice.

In another route, Yuri didn't tell me his history with Varley, in this one he trusted me with it.

Ingrid is a queen. She said it's the people who suffer in war, our leaders should reach diplomatic resolutions. Too bad only Dimitri believes in those :(

Aww, Byleth refused to kill Shez during their fight because he could tell she wasn't herself. I soooo wish I'd gotten their supports.

Ok, so I ran into Raphael again and agreed that I didn't like how we were fighting (which, imo, isn't true, but I wanted to see the difference). Shez thinks Edelgard is too cruel, Claude is too haphazard, and Dimitri is too cautious. She pretty much nailed it.

No Arval in the tent :(

Linhardt just said Caspar revels in bloodshed. That's fucked up.

My heart just broke and warmed at the same time. A Kingdom general asked a Duscur general how the people from Duscur pray. He wanted to learn because he lost a lot of good soldiers from Duscur in the last battle and wanted to pray for them in the way their religion would. It's details like this that make Hopes worth it.

Haha, Dedue was fairly chill considering I attacked allies and posed a possible threat to Dimitri. He brought it up, but didn't harp on it.

BYLETH & JERALT A

Man, I'm glad I got this unlocked in time.

Byleth gave Jeralt flowers. First time in Byleth's life lol.

He's trying to communicate his feelings, thankfulness to Jeralt for being his captain and father.

Aw, it's a throwback to Byleth giving out flowers at the Academy.

Lamo, Jeralt just said Byleth may have been a student or led seminars, but isn't qualified to be a teacher.

Jeralt's like, I knew you cared, kid. But I still appreciate it.

Byleth picked the flowers out himself. It's the same kind his mother liked :(((

Jeralt used to give these flowers to Sitri.

Byleth is being so sentimental and sweet. I can just imagine a voiced Byleth saying lines like that in Houses' supports and buying more into the character.

I swear, this game made me really get Byleth more and "buy into" the character. Also, I'm going to cry so hard when Jeralt dies. I still don't really care for Jeralt, but I'm going to just feel so sad for Byleth.

DIMITRI & DEDUE A

For anyone wondering, I purposefully saved this one and Felix A. I've had them unlocked for a while.

Dedue is worried because Dimitri keeps sleeping at his desk. He's grateful or else he'd get sore.

Of course, he had bad dreams about the past.

Ohhhh! Not the tragedy, but arriving home after. Cool to learn some tidbits about that part too.

A child cursed Dimitri after the funeral because his dad died in Duscur and was furious with Dimitri for not killing Dedue, but hanging out with him instead.

Dimitri just ignored him.

Then Dimitri talks about his duty to those who died, and asks Dedue what he would do if Dimitri begged for vengeance while he was dying. OFC, Dedue says he'd do it even if he died.

Then Dimitri asks the opposite, what would Dedue do if Dimitri begged him to live for his own happiness? Dedue said he couldn't.

"I cannot know happiness without you by my side." :(((((((

He'd seek revenge, for his own sake, not Dimitri's.

Dimitri's like, nothing I'd say would change your mind?

Dedue just flips the subject, asking if Dimitri can't just live for himself, and ofc Dimitri says no, he can't.

But imagines another life traveling around as a merc with Dedue or living as a farmer. Dedue's like, why not go?

Dimitri says obviously I can't do that.

So Dedue's like get some sleep.

It worries Dedue every time he sees Dimitri asleep like that at his desk bc he's worried Dimitri died. But Dimitri's like, not why you're here. It won't happen.

Dimitri's like, if I died, that wouldn't go well, so I'll listen.

GUYS. DIMITRI'S GOING TO SLEEP. SOMEONE TALKED HIM INTO SLEEPING. THE POWER OF DEDUE.

They're married, your honor.

DIMITRI & FELIX A

Starts with Dimitri apologizing and promising revenge, killing all of TWSITD no matter the cost.

Felix walks in, Dimitri almost calls him Glenn, but corrects, and apologizes again except to Felix for seeing that.

Felix is like "I've seen all there is of you to see." So, uh, what does that mean?

Dimitri explains that he suffers from a "waking dream," saying he sees the dead like they're real.

Then talks about the violent revenge the dead scream at him.

Felix asks when this all started. Dimitri says 6 years, but the voices started 4 years ago during his first battle? Not sure those numbers line up with lore and age, but I don't know how old they are this time. Anyways, started with Duscur, got worse when Rufus tried to have Dimitri killed by sending him to battle.

The man he killed that freaked Felix out was someone from Duscur, and the voices cheered when he killed the guy.

Felix is like, do you really think Glenn and Lambert would torture you like that? Telling Dimitri he's the one doing it, not them.

Dimitri's like, even if that's true, I can't forgive myself.

Felix talks about how if Dimitri loses his path, he's taking everyone down with him (so Houses, sans AM) and says "keep the whole removing their heads thing in check yeah?"

Felix says it'll be their secret.

"are you offering to let me unburden my heart to you when the time calls for it?" - Dimitri to Felix. Guys, I'm dying a little.

Dimitri credits Felix with the reason he hasn't descended into madness, and asks Felix to continue being his right-hand man.

Hahahah, OMG, Felix picked Dimitri up and is physically carrying him to bed. Dimitri is nearly laughing because he's so much taller than Felix his feet are dragging the floor.

Felix calls him a "sack of muscle" lol

Dimitri carried Felix like this when Felix twisted his ankle. And now is calling this a workout. Dimitri's still massively entertained.

They are also married.

Man, so Dedue got Dimitri to fucking sleep, and Felix got him to laugh.

Ok, this game is really Dimilix, the game. I swear a shipper on deck wrote this. It may also be why Felix was one of the few Blue Lions to survive SB. Writers' bias.

My shipping heart is so happy with both supports.

ASHE & FLAYN B

This is their final support.

They're fishing together. She's trying to reel in a big fish, but it's not working. Ashe gives her tips. And she got it!

Though, it seems like it was a bit of a struggle.

Flayn swore she'd not let go no matter what. Ashe says sometimes it's best to not let go, and suddenly understands Seteth. But still compliments her on her determination.

Flayn thinks her mother would be proud of her for catching this, which is part of the reason Flayn loves fishing.

She flirts with Ashe a bit too lol.

And now she's drooling over the fish.

Ashe says Flayn enjoys him of his sister and really had fun.

But then panics thinking of Flayn in the kitchen lol.

ANNETTE & CONSTANCE B

Constance compliments Annette's performance in battle.

Constance is a legendary alumni at the school in Faerghus.

Stories include turning bossy noble kids into horses. And she started using it everywhere.

She argued magical theory with teachers and won.

These make me love Constance, not going to lie.

Annette is nervous being around someone so famous. Constance calls Annette one of the most talented women in the Kingdom.

Constance loves a book Annette work, but it's mostly a cook book, so Annette doesn't make much of it.

Annette wrote a magical cookbook, and Constance is all about it.

Annette tries to give Mercedes credit because she's the cook.

They both want to get to know each other better.

This was really them geeking out over each other, magic, and Mercedes' cooking.

MERCEDES & JERITZA A

It came down to the lack fucking minute, but I got it. Thank you, Shez, for cooking the perfect dinner.

Jeritza finds and old letter from Mercedes' mother. Or, rather, she wrote Jeritza a letter after Mercie told her that they found him.

They both want to live with him after the war, but he says no.

He can't face her because of his past actions. Doesn't seem Mercie holds it against him. And says neither will her mother.

Then Jeritza talks about the Death Knight persona.

Mercie's like, naw, because you're fine right now.

Jeritza still doesn't give in though. He insists he must pay for his crimes, which he thinks he never can. He wants to get judged by the law, which, honestly, respect.

Mercie decides to support his decisions, even though it makes her sad, and that they'll be waiting for him. No matter how long. Even if they're both old ladies.

I really loved that support. Seeing Mercie support Jeritza's decision, seeing Jeritza take responsibility for his actions. All around good support.

ANNETTE & CONSTANCE A

Glad I got this one. I think Seteth/Shez A is the only other support still within reach.

Constance wants Annette's help conducting an experiment outside. Annette knows how Constance's mood changes when she goes outside. Annette's happy to help.

Obviously now Constance is being down on herself.

Annette volunteered before learning the experiment. Thankfully it's just to try and get all the cats from the area.

It fails :( I want a spell like that.

Constance is obviously moping, Annette gives her a pep talk, but it probably useless bc they're outside.

It attracted bugs, and Constance says the cockroach is a better sorceresses than her lamo. Then they attract angry birds lol.

Once back inside, Constance realizes her spell does sort of work, but they just didn't know how to get cats.

Aww, I really liked that support chain.

FINAL BATTLE

How can anyone not tell something is wrong with Edelgard?

It's so weird how they just ignore the special chapters.

Thales is making her fight.

Sylvain said he'll skip the class reunion if this is what they're like.

Ingrid is roaring to go after Thales.

No sign of Claude. Dimitri's trusting him, but I don't know about that. I wonder if he betrays you here too. Though Dimitri makes a good point that if Faerghus falls, Claude's ass is next.

On, cool image! Dimitri giving a speech. It's like a moment in Lord of the Rings before Aragorn and co march on Mordor.

I like this! Dimitri's talking about severing the past and moving on into tomorrow. Good to hear him talking like that.

I only got 40 points too. Guess Claude was the odd one out, getting more points for his battle than the other two.

Kyrona made an appearance.

Felt good to kill Varley for once.

Getting ready to face Thales now. Dimitri about to get his revenge against TWSITD. Feels good.

Shez is reassuring Dimitri that he's not alone. That his friends are here to help. :)

I think I just killed Kyrona for good this time.

Time to kick Thales' ass. Much better than killing Rhea. Again.

We also got to defeat Edelgard. Having a hard time feeling bad about that.

This battle is pure chaos. But in a fun way.

Oh, did I beat Thales? I'm at a cut scene. Shez stopped Edelgard; and Dimitri's marching to kick Thales' ass.

Haha, he just ignored Thales magic like it was nothing. What a fucking badass.

He's not even saying anything, just breathing, and the voice acting is still on point.

Edelgard remembered Dimitri? So he didn't kill her. And outside Rhea, Claude and the Blue Lions are waiting. And sun is about to come up.

This felt WAY more complete than the other two. I was expecting MUCH worse. Maybe if I played the other two first I'd be more surprised, but they set the bar stupid low.

We defeated the Empire, defeated TWSITD - I don't know what would even be left?

I love how hard the narration tries to make it sound like the Empire has a fart's chance in the wind anymore. It's just clean up now.

MVP time. It'll eventually turn into the Dimitri show like SB did Hubert and GW did Lorenz. I suspect it'll take longer though bc I wanted to use the other Blue Lions a lot.

Actually, I lie, it happened like the second I got Dimitri and not just Shez. I think I may just be a stan lol. He's also just so damn strong he killed so much easier and faster than anyone else.

You can tell the chapter Dimitri was missing for since Felix and Ingrid kept trading MVP. Then back to Dimitri.

Hey! Rodrigue got one!

I'm excited for Dimitri's letter. Still wish we got paired endings here though.

Dimitri feels reassured with Shez by his side. He's also the only one who asked Shez to stay in the Kingdom. It's nothing spectacular, but it was sweet.

I'm also a bit sad to see this one end. No more Fodlan unless I replay, but I guess there's still supports I didn't unlock.

Guys, I can't believe I finished. Now I'm finally "free" to play whatever games I want.

Def want to replay Engage and Houses, and some non-FE stuff too. Should I get the Engage DLC?

xxx

[raspberryranpo]

So I’m still living for your posts every day and I thought I should contribute! Could you maybe do headcanons on how the BL house would respond to their so returning from being kidnapped during the war? Sorry if this is too specific!

reactions to their s/o being kidnapped during the war

fire emblem three houses: blue lions

happy pride month everyone!! you’re all valid every month of the year!!

& thank you for 490 followers 😭😭 i’m so close to 500 !!

DIMITRI

if you thought he was mad before, you ought to see him now

goes absolutely feral. more mad than he already is, as much as i hate to say it - he’s torn apart the entire monastery and he’s ready to advance to the town

everyone is just as worried as he is, but they can’t stand to watch this man fall apart for the second time

is the head of the search party for you, all battle plans thrown aside - he must be the person to find you and take you back

once he finds you, you aren’t allowed out of his sight for the rest of the war, and he becomes very fiercely protective of you from then onwards

DEDUE

much like dimitri, he also drives himself insane, except his is a lot more internalised. if you know him well, then you can probably tell that there’s a lot going on in his head

blames himself for your disappearance and won’t allow anyone else to take the blame for it.

goes by himself to find you, storming out of the monastery at midnight - of course, the rest of the blue lions and a few soldiers follow out behind him without him realising

when he finds you and takes you back, he gives you space, of course (he’s afraid he’ll come off as too clingy), but he’s always in the area to protect you if you ever find yourself in trouble again

SYLVAIN

is downright devastated and cannot make himself come out of his room due to how genuinely upset he is

like dedue, he blames himself fully for not being there to protect you, and for being selfish enough to let you go

of course, he’s at the front of the search party, still wiping tears from his eyes

holds you very tightly in his arms when you both get back - he’s crying into your shoulder and apologising for being a sad excuse of a man

it’ll take him a while to come back to his senses, but he’ll always stay right by your side from then onwards

FELIX

tries to act unbothered but literally everyone can see how bothered he actually is

even dimitri pointed out that there’s a light that seemed to have disappeared from his eyes, and that he doesn’t hold himself with a good posture any more

runs out in the middle of the night once he discovers where you are, yelling and screaming at the people who try to follow after him

his screaming probably alerts the guards surrounding the area you’re being held in, but he’s more than happy to just knock them all out and storm right through the doors

once you’re home safe and sound, he starts apologising, his entire body shaking from how hard he’s trying not to completely break down on you

ASHE

when everyone discovers that you’re missing, his first response is just to not believe them - after all, there’s no chance you’d go missing, right?

once he comes to terms with the fact that you’re not just playing some sick game of hide-and-seek with him, he breaks down then and there, and everyone has to just help him get back on his feet

leads the team trying to find where you are, and all of his suggestions are extremely helpful - you’re found within days

also won’t leave your side for a very long time because he just doesn’t want to lose you again. he repeats this fact to you every night when he walks you back to your room

MERCEDES

doesn’t know what to do with herself. you going missing and being kidnapped was never a possibility in her mind, so for a few days she’s completely shaken

the mood is dampened in the blue lions - because you’re missing, obviously, but the ray of sunshine that was mercie has also dimmed

is right by your bedside the second you come back, her hands holding yours and her face in the crook of your neck - she can’t bring herself to physically let you go

won’t let anyone else attempt to tend to your wounds and insists on doing it herself. of course, she apologises verbally, but she uses her healing skills to try and make up for it too

ANNETTE

doesn’t cry in front of anyone because she knows that she and mercie are supposed to be the happy ones in the house - she bursts into tears every time she comes back to her room and sees some of your things in there though

annette is one of the more rational people in the house too, so she waits until everyone knows where you are to leave. she runs ahead of everyone else and is excellent at motivating people

takes down any and all soldiers waiting inside and outside of the place you’re being held in. nobody’s ever seen her do this much & they certainly aren’t complaining

her face whilst mercilessly killing all soldiers guarding you was fierce, but she bursts into a smile the second she sees you - there’s tears, of course, but she’s more happy to have you back than anything else

INGRID

is in charge of the strategy to find you & literally puts forward all the ideas. nobody else has to do anything

her face doesn’t change, and is held in the same blank expression until you’re found. nobody has seen her cry or look distressed and it’s scary

has an even scarier look to her when she’s charging into the place you’re being held in and the soldiers literally move out of the way for her

breaks down once she finds you and everyone has to tear her away from you in order to tend to your wounds

[pathetic-gamer]

Ok I literally just made a different post about this, BUT: time to get emo about it, baby!!! Ashe and Felix's relationship is actually extremely complex and carries a surprisingly hefty amount of character development for both of them, for a pair with only two supports.

The central thesis here: Ashe + Felix is Felix + Glenn 2.0

This ramble breaks down the ways that dynamic matches and what it means for Ashe. (I've already gone into Fe's a while back, so he's not really the focus here.)

This got long and I have feelings. A gift from me to you: courtesy cut.

Hello and Welcome to Blue Lions With Dead or Missing Siblings Anonymous. My name is Sylvain/Dedue/Felix/Ashe/Mercedes and I haven't seen my sibling in 5/<9/9/9/~15 years. These kids need help.

First things first, I don't think this is Replacement Brother Syndrome. Rather, I think their dynamic mirrors Felix and Glenn's but as a distinct relationship for both Felix and Ashe, because neither of them is going into this in the exact same role as they had with their own now-dead brothers. We know that, as a kid, Felix was idealistic and clingy and looked up to Glenn and his role as a knight with his whole heart, but Glenn was also somewhat abrasive and cynical, and now Felix is, too. Meanwhile, Christoph was focused on teaching Ashe trust and chivalry up to the very end, and Ashe still lives by that. Felix doesn't match that role at all, and Ashe doesn't expect him too. A new and different brother doesn't count as a replacement brother.

According to Dimitri, Glenn was sarcastic and rude and liked to pick fights, but despite that, Felix admired him and wanted to be strong like him and says he was a great knight. (Note that he gets mad at his father treating Glenn's death like it was heroic, but he at no point does he argue that Glenn wasn't a strong and good knight, only that Glenn was reasonable in his commitment to his ideals. This is a surprise tool that will help us later.)

Felix is ALSO abrasive and likes to pick fights, but Ashe admires him and his strength and says he's like a great knight.

Glenn teaches Felix to think for himself and not blindly take orders. Felix tells Ashe very bluntly to think for himself and not get himself killed in his blind enthusiasm.

Later, Felix amends that statement to say he doesn't want Ashe to abandon his ideals, just to be reasonable. That matters, because Felix said he learned from his brother, but his brother was the one who read him the tales of chivalry and bravery and knighthood and all of that in the first place. Glenn taught him balance, not cynicism, it just took him some time to grow into it. Once he did, he tried again to pass it on to Ashe, but properly this time.

"It's OK to be who you are" FELIX PLEASE I'M GOING TO CRY

Meanwhile, Ashe's older brother, Christoph, didn't. He was about trust and chivalry through and through, and it's what got him killed. Look at these exchanges with Catherine.

(Side note, I'd argue that Catherine's support chain is the one that carries Ashe's character development on its back, but Fe comes in second place, followed by my archnemesis Gilbert. Meanwhile, Ashe carries Fe's, together with Ingrid and Seteth. I know that every single one of you is going to disagree w me on this, and I'm OK w that and would not be upset if yall came into my ask box to demand an explanation, since I love to talk lmao)

Cynicism couldn't save Glenn, trust couldn't save Christoph. So Ashe had to learn cynicism from Felix, and Felix had to make sure Ashe knew to keep it in balance with his own beliefs and ideals. Thats... a lot.

What really makes it stick for me, though, is this exchange after Felix tells Ashe that Glenn used to read him tales of knights and chivary:

Like, tell me that's not a conversation baby Felix had with Glenn at some point. I'm so upset right now lol

Idk, there's no point to this, I was just reading supports, as I tend to do in my spare time, apparently, and it came to me in a divinr revelation. Also, it's weird that they max out at b-support, since they have paired activity dialogues and the only other person Fe has paired dialogues with is Dimitri. (Who, by the way, I have a whole other spiel abt, in addition to the spiel I posted a while back, bc I think their relationship is a whole ass case study on family dynamics and I didn't quite get into that in the first one.)

A lot of Fe and Ashe’s B-support could honestly be an A-support, so if I were adding a third support, I think it would have to go between the current C and B? I have no idea, I just want to see more of it lol. Maybe let them have an unrelated conversation and then come back to the book in the A support, now with more of a friendship in place so it doesn't go from "your book is stupid" straight to "hey, let me give you some life advice that shows my character growth more clearly than literally any other scene in this entire fucking game" with nothing in the middle.

-fin-

[setethsbigbaratitties]

i would like to ask you about your cf defector sylvain thoughts 👀

oh man so i have a LOT of feelings about sylvain in general but especially about cf!sylvain. it's always kind of annoyed me that so much sylvain content is just...shipping him with felix/ingrid/dimitri because there's a wealth of potential in sylvain and i think a lot of it gets wasted

part of this stems from me...really just not liking him with the other blue lions! i suppose they're alright as friends with a lot of shared history and trauma, but especially pre-timeskip i think that sylvain's relationship with a lot of the other blue lions is. kind of toxic ngl! i also think it's really telling that sylvain ONLY gets to a b-support with dimitri and it's a pretty surface-level friendship (here we go, more jokes about sylvain being horny when his flirtiness likely stems from trauma!)

but also i think there's a lot of potential to just. let the horror build up in sylvain over time. it starts off with him seeing what becomes of miklan, someone he's come to hate but at the same time can't help but pity. and it doesn't help that even when he's skipping meals and suffering sleepless nights on account of the guilt that tears at his stomach, he brushes it all off as a joke, because he's learned that it's easier to pretend he doesn't care. felix can glare daggers at him and ingrid can roll her eyes and dimitri can sit there with a blank smile on his face when he jokes, because at least it means he doesn't have to say that he's struggling.

but of course that builds up into a lot of sadness and distancing himself and maybe even a little bit of resentment over time, and then shit goes down in the holy tomb and now all of a sudden dimitri is going fucking WILD in a way that sylvain always kind of suspected he might, and things get very very real very very quickly and now sylvain can no longer pretend that he's slowly been pushing the others away. and when he hears dimitri mirror miklan's murderous line so closely, he just can't take it any more. he leaves. he goes to edelgard and while he doesn't trust her or agree with everything she says and the things she wants to do make him sick to his stomach sometimes, he just can't be around the lions anymore. deep down he misses his late night talks with mercedes and sneaking tastes of dedue's cooking before it's done, and he can't even think of what the look in ingrid's or felix's eyes when they see him again will be like without wanting to cry, but at least with the imperial army he doesn't have to look at dimitri anymore and try to pretend he doesn't see his brother.

plus there's a lot of potential to think about with whether you think edelgard's or dimitri's army would win in the end....is byleth with the black eagles? does sylvain stand at their side and wonder whether the emptiness behind their eyes is better or worse than the frenzy behind dimitri's? do his hands shake when he's the one who has to silence annette's song, or break his childhood promise to felix? does he look on in horror when he sees dedue turn into a beast, just like miklan did, or can he even watch it happen? does he even hope to make it through the war, or does he silently wish that dimitri will succeed where miklan didn't? what becomes of sylvain when the war is over and the battle is won? does anyone know? is there anyone left to care?

or is byleth on the side of the blue lions? does sylvain have to watch as the army he's chosen crumbles around him? is he afraid as it happens, or is there some hint of relief? is he surprised when edelgard too becomes something worse, more bestial, even than dimitri or miklan? does he put up a fight against the people he once called his friends, or does he go to them like a ram to the altar? who is given the deed of taking out sylvain, the reckless philanderer who once lived down the hall and sometimes surprised them with the depth of his thoughts? is it felix, his eyes filled with rage and grief? is it ingrid, whose lips tremble as the blood runs down his chest? is it dimitri, shuddering like an animal at the sight of him? or is it mercedes, who holds him to her chest and wipes the tears and blood from his face? is it dedue, with the efficiency of a butcher and the kindness to make it quick? do any of them remember him when he's gone? do any of them want to?

there's a lot of tragedy to be had there, regardless of whether edelgard wins or loses, and i think the parallel of miklan and dimitri is something that should have bothered sylvain a lot more than it did.

[writtingfiction]

Sylvan x blythe pleaseeeeeeeeee anything u want

Oh lord, if you leave it broad like this I will try too hard to think of what I could do, and when I do find out something to with it, it ends up being long...

pairing: Sylvain x Byleth

words: 2.6 k

Sylvain knows what he said to Byleth years ago doesn’t paint him in a very good picture, even though he said he was kidding, he knew that she didn’t think he was. Maybe that’s why he didn’t see her as often as he did after that. He wasn’t surprised with the lack of her presence despite her being his professor. Sylvain envied Byleth for her lack of crest until she got to the monastery, almost wishing he had the same life. However, the grip on his heart when he learned that she went missing during the battle against Edelgard’s forces, made him want to weep.

The shock and relief Sylvain felt when seeing Byleth again, his chest heated, finger gripping his lance harder and his mask ever steady on his face. He couldn’t show just how much her presence means to him, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t be happy to see her. It’s when he gets the chance to see her up close that he realizes just how much he has changed since then.

The teal hair practically shines as the sun rises. She is as graceful as she was 5 years ago. She’s able to dodge the thieves attack smoothly. It’s almost as if she never vanished so long ago. When Byleth makes eye contact with him, he can only smile. However, when she approaches him during the heat of battle to check on him, he struggles to pull out words.

“Professor!” He grins as wide as he can. “Still looking as pretty as ever.” He gives her a quick wink. Sylvain doesn’t acknowledge the slight disappointment in her eyes when she turns back to fighting the thieves.

—— —

Sylvain hummed as he sharpened his blade. It’s been at least a month or two now since they’ve taken back the monastery without Edelgard knowing. Nonetheless, the further they went on their mission to take her down it wouldn’t be long before they found out. The various shouts he heard throughout the monastery told him that they were going out again. Letting out a tired sigh before he got up and joined his friends.

“Sylvain, there you are. I was just about to look for you.” Ashe said.

“Ashe, my knight in shining armour.” Sylvain said light hearted. Ashe can only grin wider.

“Y’know, have you kept up with your dancing skills?” Ashe said out of curiosity. “Professor did have you win the White Heron cup.” Sylvain could feel a groan in the back of his throat. Did he want to admit he did keep up with his dancing skills in private? When he knew no one would bother him.

“Wouldn’t you like to know, my friend.” Sylvain said. Ashe let out a laugh.

“I’m just saying, I have a feeling the professor might put you on dancing duty.” Ashe spoke and Sylvain felt the embarrassment climb up his chest.

“By the Gods, I hope she doesn’t.” Sylvain said.

“Hope who doesn’t what?” Byleth spoke. Both of the young men jumped.

“Professor!!” Ashe said. Smiling ear to ear. “Just discussing the battle plans for the upcoming battle.” Byleth nodded.

“I’m glad you were. In fact, Sylvain, I wanted to ask you if you still remember the dances from the White Heron cup? It has been 5 five years after all.” Byleth said. Sylvain wanted to eat his own armour.

“Of course I do, professor. How could I forget dancing with someone as beautiful as you?” Sylvain said, pulling out his charming lines.

“Do you want me to make you wear the outfit again? I’m sure there’s an extra outfit around here somewhere…”

“NO! I mean, no. That won’t be necessary.” Sylvain said. The former blue lion students could see the mischievous smirk on Byleth’s face fade ever so slightly.

“A pity, but I hope the armour is easy to move in.” Byleth said, waving the two boys along to follow her. “You’ll be doing a lot of supporting.” Sylvain let out a nervous laugh. He wasn’t this nervous for an upcoming battle for years and he didn’t like what it meant.

— — —

The sounds of panic shouting and rushed footsteps of a scout climbing the stairs to the counsel room should have been their first sign of how bad the news was going to be. The door burst open and Dimitri almost has half a mind to throw his lance at the scout who’s already winded.

“Your highness…! Byleth…! The empire… the empire is here with forces!!” The scout breathes out barely. The entire room is quiet, it takes a moment for the news to settle in before everyone looks to Byleth. Their trusted professor and now tactician to lead them through this. Sylvain sees the gears turning in her head, she wasn’t expecting this, at least not so soon.

“Ready the forces, take what civilians you can and escort them to the back of the monastery. Edelgard is not among them?” Byleth speaks. The scout nods.

“The emperor is nowhere to be seen. It’s only a small force however, General Randolph is leading the forces. We have about four hours.” Sylvain sees Caspar tense, he doesn’t know why but there must be a connection.

“Then we win this one. Ready who you can to fight, the rest can protect the civilians. Make sure anyone who can’t fight stays away from the scene of the battle. Ready what you can of the ballistae and the magic, we will need them.” Byleth casts out orders for the scout who’s only able to nod and run out the door. Byleth then turns to her former students. “I want the rest of you to prepare, I will call a meeting at the edge of the gates in two hours to propose a strategy. You’re dismissed.” Sylvain is almost too happy to leap out of his seat as Ingrid calls out Caspar for his tenseness from earlier. Sylvain wasn’t the only person to notice then.

“Wait—Caspar, do you know this General?” Ingrid said, raising from her seat. There was anger ready to be released behind her voice. Caspar on the other hand only gave a sheepish smile.

“General Randolph is my uncle through marriage, that’s all. It will be odd to fight against him is all.” Caspar said. There’s a heavy tension through the room. Annette speaks up.

“He is your uncle?!” It’s more out of surprise than anything.

“Can we trust a former black eagle?” Felix snarls. Dimitri stands and speaks.

“I will not have a traitor amongst my inner—“

BANG

Byleth’s hand hits the table. Everyone is quick to look over her and fall silent. Byleth stares at them all, nothing to give away what she felt. It was almost as if everyone has first met her again.

“I will not have animosity and infighting among you. If you have a problem, I will address the issue but I will not allow you to fight one another, is that clear.” Byleth said coldly and clearly. There were silent nods from everyone. “So, does anyone here think that Caspar has told the empire about us being here?”

No one spoke.

“Does anyone think that Bernadetta said anything to the empire?”

Nothing reached Byleth’s ears.

“Then you are dismissed. I shall see everyone in two hours by the front gates to reconvene.”

Sylvain walked out of the room, heart in his hand. He doesn’t think he had been so scared before by someone. He spares glances towards his friends and he can see the lingering fear among them. Dimitri almost seemed less scary even for a moment. Caspar and Bernadetta must have been horrified when Ingrid had called out Caspar like that, never mind the quick judgemental comments coming from Felix and Dimitri. He thinks he can hear Bernadetta cry as he heads down the staircase.

— — — —

Sylvain inhaled sharply as he muttered the words to a spell under his breath. Fire licked at his palm and he could feel the heat wash over him. It reminds him of the first he had cast the spell, dark and cold in the well he was thrown down into by his brother. The fire in his palm grows brighter and bigger. His eyes lift from the flame to the dummy in front of him. He is ready to cast the flame upon the poor dummy but loses his focus when Byleth interrupts him.

“Sylvain,” Byleth calls to him. The flame disappears as he looks at his former professor. “Time is up. Are you prepared enough to fight?”

“Yes, always,” Sylvain says with conviction. He could almost see the smile on her lips.

“Walk with me, we can flag anyone down as we make our way towards the gates,” Byleth said. Sylvain nods and walks with her.

The two of them converse with ease talking about his skills in magic and how he has improved within the last five years. Something seems to make his heart race the more they talk. He thinks it’s the battle that’s coming soon, but there’s a feeling that maybe, just maybe it isn’t that.

“Everyone here?” Byleth asks towards the group, and with a quick look around, everyone was in fact there. A small frown is on Sylvain’s face as he takes the mental note that Dedue is not there. “Good. Now, let me start with our defences and how things will unfold…”

— — — — —

Even with knowing the plan was to cast fire down upon the shrubbery, he couldn’t help but run towards her. Byleth was struggling against a heavily armoured enemy. He saw how she had cast magic against the enemy but had missed. Perhaps it was due to the exhaustion and trying to keep the plan together. Or, maybe because she wasn’t able to keep up with her former students turned friends as they rushed forward.

Byleth sidestepped the shining silver axe that came down towards her. Sylvain grimaced the way it had barely missed her. His arm raised and curled his fist into his chest as he chanted the words for the spell of fire. His palm warmed up before the heat crawled up his fingers, wrist, and arm. A red sigil appearing in front of his body glowing a bright red, a small but bright flame licks at his hand just as the sigil disappears. Just when the heat becomes unbearable he extends his hand towards the enemy, the small flame grows bigger and bigger heat reaching his face with how large the fire became. With one word the fire is sent towards the enemy, singing the grass as it flies through the air before hitting the heavy armour melting it against the enemy’s skin.

Sylvain could see the relieved sigh escape her chest. She turns to face him and he hears her say ‘thank you' but it’s short-lived as he sees a sniper release an arrow from the distance. He’s moving before he can say anything. His voice is stuck in his throat as he reaches her, pushing her away from where she stood as an arrow hits his shoulder. There’s just enough force from the arrow to knock him off his feet and send him to the ground. Sylvain’s hand goes to his shoulder grasping the arrow tightly.

“Sylvain!!” Byleth cries out.

His head swivels towards her, eyes just barely catching the second arrow coming towards him. A groan comes the back of his throat as he rolls onto his side not hindered by an arrow. The second arrow just misses him, hitting the dirt where his head was. His chest is beating against his rib cage. His eyes are wide as he realizes how he barely dodged death. Firm hands grab at him, lifting him up to his feet. Sylvain is moving swiftly in what he assumes Byleth’s arms and his head is spinning.

Sylvain locks eyes with Byleth and her lips are moving but he can’t hear anything. He could probably guess at what she’s saying as she’s tugging on him. Follow her? He’s taking steps forward and it seems to calm her a bit as she drags them towards the middle of the battle. He can feel the faint pulse of aching in his shoulder but it doesn’t hurt. The adrenaline must be coursing through his veins to hide the real pain.

Sylvain stays close to her throughout the rest of the fight, and before he knows it, the fight is over and he’s rushed off somewhere to be taken care of.

— —— —

He’s stuck with doing nothing for a solid two days straight before he’s cleared for the battlefield after his third day of rest. Sylvain lets out a pained sigh as rolls his shoulder, eyes barely lifting to the doorway when hearing footsteps approaching his room.

“Oh, Professor! Thanks for stopping by.” Sylvain says with a large smile.

“You–How’s the injury?” Byleth said.

“It’s healing well, I’m being cleared for service tomorrow. Besides,” Sylvain pauses, a smirk on his lips and a wink is sent her way. “I’ve got this scar to show off as a medal for keeping you safe.” Sylvain can see her brows furrow as she frowns.

“Didn’t you want to kill me?” Byleth says in such a way it makes his stomach twist. He looks down to the ground.

“I certainly meant it when I said it…” Sylvain plays with his fingers, an old habit he did when he was nervous or felt vulnerable. “But, when the thought came to mind that you could have died, I reacted without thinking. That doesn’t mean that I never stopped being jealous of you, though. You got to live your entire life without the knowledge of your crest, meanwhile, I went through so much trouble all because I knew and everyone around me knew. My brother giving me the most trouble.”

“I remember five years ago with the incident about the lance of ruin,” Byleth said. Sylvain lets out a dry laugh, hands curling into fists.

“Yeah, he was not happy to learn that I had a crest. He got cast aside, almost treated like an outsider. One winter, we were out and you know what he did? He pushed down into a well.” Sylvain explained and he could see the way Byleth grimaced. “Even as a kid, I understood why he felt to act as he did. Even all the girls that throw themselves at me as the years went by. They don’t care about me, all they want is the crest and nobility status that comes with it.”

“You’re wrong…” Byleth said. Sylvain shook his head.

“Yeah, yeah, I get you. Even though it might be a bit late to admit but, their empty praise is best served somewhere else. Besides, it was unreasonable to resent you. I’m really sorry professor and thank you for everything. Seriously, thank you.” Sylvain looks to Byleth and he sees something. A sparkle in her eyes betrays something but with all the time he spent around people and knowing their true intentions he still couldn’t tell anything about her.

“You’re welcome, take care of yourself properly now. We’ve got some dancing lessons to catch up on.” Byleth says it to lighten the mood and he can only laugh. Heart beating a little faster in his chest as she giggles with him.

“You got it, professor.” Sylvain gives her a smile, a real genuine smile. Byleth smiles in return, before waving goodbye but not before saying;

“You should smile like that more often, you look relaxed.” To say his heart was beating against his chest because of her this time wouldn’t be a lie.

[crossdressingdeath]

Felix Hugo Fraldarius: Best boi 10/10? More likely than you'd think. Love that loser. I've only gotten through Azure Moon and as much as i want to know my own backstory, i love the blue lions too much to leave them lmao

God, I adore Felix. He's a good, sarcastic boi. I especially like the way he clearly still cares about Dimitri so much despite his air of hatred, to the point where even after losing both his brother AND HIS FATHER to the cause of protecting Dimitri Felix STILL considers him worth staying near, despite thinking that that sort of self-sacrifice is worthless. A good boy! A good boy who loves his friends!

I went from Azure Moon to Crimson Flower, and uh... do not recommend (although frankly Crimson Flower only has three things making it worth playing anyway and those things are Hubert, Jeritza, and the fact that it's the shortest route and if I ever play it again it'll just be to get all of male Byleth's S-Supports for the route (specifically Jeritza's) and I will spend renown to get everyone up to B for recruitment and then skip every single scene in the game because Crimson Flower made me feel like the bad guy the whole way through and I hated it). (Sorry, I have thoughts about Crimson Flower.) I kept catching myself apologizing to Dimitri whenever Edelgard did... anything. My boy! I was killing my boy! Also I'd argue that the fact that Azure Moon is as far as I'm aware the only route where both the lords who aren't warmongers survive makes it The Best by default; you don't have to cry over Claude and Dimitri dying if you play the route where they both live! Also Dedue is there. Love Dedue. His supports are so good. I love Hubert because he's a rat and I love Dedue because he's just a wonderful person. The duality of route-locked seconds-in-command. (Second-in-commands? Whatever.) But yeah, one thing I found switching routes is that there is a lot of "Quickly, all of you, join my house so I don't have to kill you later!" I love them all so much! Obviously can't use all of them, but like... you have to recruit everyone so that they can hang out safe and sound in the monastery rather than dying. I missed Ferdinand on my first run (damn you, support time limits...) and even though I'd never actually had him in my house I still felt so bad when I had to fight him later.

[firemblem-fics]

Hello dear! Let me just say that I’m a huge fan. :) May I request Dimitri and/or Ashe accidentally making their s/o cry in an argument! Thank you so much!

these are practically the same so..

making their s/o cry. | BL boys

dimitri

in feral mode he does not give a shit i'm sorry to say

but like i said in an earlier fic, feral dimi doesn't care. he doesn't have a soft spot for you and seeing you cry doesn't phase him. in his opinion, you shouldn't have done whatever to provoke him to make you cry.

it was probably you asking him to let you help and he'd tell you that you weren't shit and couldn't do anything to help him

way to boost the ego dimitri

but not feral, he feels AWFUL

more than likely it was an accident

he was stressed out and snapped at you

probably about a small plan change

small to you but so big to him because even if he's not feral he still wants to get edelgard asap

you were silent for a while and he turned around to see tears in your eyes before you turned and left his room

he felt really really bad like

really bad

and he followed you out after a bit to give you time

and then goes to ur room and apologizes

ashe

hes like dimitri, he probably accidentally let something slip when he's stressed

you're more taken off guard by ashe's snap than by dimitri's, really

you don't run away like dimitri, either.

you wait and make sure he's okay and finally ashe will take a deep breath and apologize to you

you of course forgive him

dedue

i see dedue as a man who is not in tune with his s/o's feelings

which can lead to some roadblocks

hes still very devoted to dimitri and sometimes it feels like that blonde bitch is taken priority over you

his s/o!!!

so often times you do feel neglected

it's not like he means to neglect you, though

and you don't want to tell him that cause then he'd feel bad so you just would let your feelings out in your room

unfortunately for you, one day dedue does want to spend time with you and he surprises you in your room, only to find you crying.

he gets pretty frantic trying to figure out what's wrong and you finally tell him and he feels downright AWFUL

he never noticed!!!!

after that he makes a big effort to include you more in his life sweet boy

sylvain

so even with an s/o, sylvain's flirting habits are hard to break

often times he'll joke about how many women he can pull

sometimes it's funny but sometimes it's downright annoying

it feels like he's telling you that you're replaceable

so finally after the 100th "women adore me" that day, you finally snap

with tears in your eyes you walk away, saying "then go to them"

and as you're walking away sylvain's realizing that he's gotta change

he runs after you and tries to grab your wrist like all those cliches and you pull away because you don't want him to see how much his joking affects you

but finally he's able to stop you and pull you into a big hug, apologizing and promising to change

and he does. it's quite a process, but sylvie's trying his hardest to show you how much he loves you

felix

felix would take it too far while you were training with him

i mean, he was already brutal, but now that he openly loves you? god he's the devil

it's not that he wants to be harsh on you or anything

it's that he wants you to be so strong that he won't worry about your safety

but he always worries about your safety so he always wants you to get stronger and it's just a big loop

one day you're training with him and you're exhausted

and you want to take just a small break but he thinks that's a dumb idea

you roll your eyes and walk towards your cup of water to drink

he says behind you, "take a break now but i won't help you when the enemy is killing you. you missed this opportunity to work and eventually you'll pay for it."

wrong thing to say like what the fuck felix

really man what were your intentions with that shit you ass

he said it to try to rile you up and make you want to train again

but it did the opposite

hearing your boyfriend tell you that he wouldn't help you if you were getting killed kinda struck a nerve

as it would with any other person

you whip around with angry tears in your eyes and storm out of the training grounds

felix is standing there and frankly, he doesn't see what he did wrong at first. sylvain has to talk to him for a bit until he finally realizes

then he goes to mercedes and asks (begrudgingly) for her to make your favorite dessert and he'll take it to your room and (begrudgingly) (yet genuinely) apologize

[beyondthetower]

A Hunting Reunion (Dedue x Mercedes)

Summary: After hearing that Dedue is alive, Mercedes busies herself around the monastery. But why is she avoiding him?

Characters/Pairing: Dedue x Mercedes

Word Count: 1.3K

Warnings: Fluff city

A/N: This has been weeks in the making, I am so lazy I just never finished. But I have! Basically, I got them reunited in my game and I had FEELINGS I’m tellin’ ya.

She hadn’t been there. During the battle at the Great Bridge of Myrddin, Mercedes had been back at camp tending to the soldiers in the fields. The fighting was mainly taking place on the bridge. After word reached the camp that they had won, an excited stir had enveloped the army. It wasn’t uncommon, of course, but this time was different. There were rumors that they had found someone there, someone close to His Highness. Someone he had thought dead.

For a moment she had let herself hope it had been Dedue, but she shook it out of her head quickly. She hadn’t let herself think of it too much anymore, and she refused to let herself start again. When she and Annette had finally reunited, and Dimitri announced Dedue’s death, she had been consumed with thoughts of him. She had spent those five years worried about all of her friends, of course, but her heart held a special place for him. She found herself worrying that he, specifically, was okay. And when he wasn’t, she was devastated.

She wouldn’t let herself go through that again. 

But these rumors spread like wildfire: that a friend of the King had been recovered. And she found it impossible to ignore them. Impossible to ignore the hope fluttering in her chest that Dedue was alive. And when the troops returned, haggard and in need of her care, she watched in disbelief as her classmates filed in, Dedue in tow. 

That was over a week ago. 

Mercedes had made excuses to skip out on the day-to-day group activities. The professor had been kind enough not to ask too many questions when Mercedes made up things about not feeling well and being behind on her chores. Today, she had picked up Annette’s kitchen duty to give her time to herself. She tried to busy herself with washing and drying the dishes, insisting that the other students go ahead and leave early so she could prolong her time hidden away in the kitchen. 

“Mercedes.” 

Her hands had already been shaking. They had been for days. But when she heard his voice rumble behind her she nearly jumped out of her skin. The tea cup she had been holding tipped out of her flingers and headed toward the floor. In a flash, Dedue reached down and caught the tea cup just before it hit the ground. Mercedes gasped, partially from the near-miss and partially because of how quickly Dedue had moved toward her. He held the cup carefully, and slowly stood back up, holding it out for her. 

“My apologies.” He bowed his head low as she tentatively took the tea cup. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“N-no,” she said slowly. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so jumpy. I-” 

Mercedes turned slowly to place the cup back on the counter, hoping that the slower she moved the more likely it was he would leave. She scolded herself for thinking it. It was unkind of her to wish that. Wasn’t she happy that he was there? That he was alive?

“You’ve been avoiding me,” Dedue pointed out. He was still standing tall in his training armor, his helmet tucked under his left arm. 

Mercedes looked at him fully for the first time, and immediately held back tears. Time had not been kind to him. While many of them had earned a few scars over the past five years, his face indicated that he had it worse than anyone else. Pale scars decorated his face, most of them old and somewhat faded. His nose was slightly crooked now, indicating a bad break that had done its best to heal over time. 

If she had been there she could have fixed it. 

“Of course not,” Mercedes lied. 

Dedue tilted his head slightly, his eyes narrowed, and he studied her. “Your eyes,” he pointed out. 

It was then that Mercedes realized she was crying. She could feel the familiar sting of tears as they fell from her eyelashes and down her cheeks. 

“I’m sorry,” Dedue repeated, and she swore she could hear a quiver in his voice. “I didn’t mean to upset you so. I will leave you be.”

“Wait!”

He stopped in the doorway but didn’t turn around. It had been five years since she had last seen him. He had gotten much taller since then; which she didn’t think had been possible. He towered over her before, but now he barely fit in the doorway without needing to duck his head to get through. 

“I-I’m sorry,” Mercedes said, her voice cracking more with each word. “I suppose that was quite rude of me.” 

She was fiddling with the hem of her apron. She had a hard time getting herself to look up at him still, but occasionally forced herself to do so. His hair was buzzed on the sides now, with the longer hair atop his head pulled back into a ponytail. He looked much older now, with deep scars peppering his face and neck. 

“I suppose I have been avoiding you. I don’t mean to, of course, I-”

Dedue turned back around, and his dead-pan expression held hints of sadness and concern. She thought originally that it would have made her heart feel warm, but instead it made the tears fall faster. 

She took a deep breath. “I’m happy that you’re back. Of course I am, I just...You were dead.” 

Dedue nodded slightly. “Yes, I hear that is what you were all told.” 

Mercedes wanted to protest, to remind him that it’s not just what they were told, but it was her truth for many months. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. 

He reached down and held her hand. She glanced down at their hands gripped together, and she felt her heart thaw a little more. Before the attack on Garreg Mach, there had been a handful of times when he had done the same. But it was a rare occurrence. Rare, but a definite sign that he felt the same way as she did. She took this as an urge to continue. So she took a deep breath and went on, pushing through her voice wavering. 

“When I heard you were dead, I had to go through the grieving process amidst a war. I had clung to the hope that you weren’t really dead for a while, but eventually I had to come to terms with it or risk other friends dying due to my being distracted in battle.” She looked up at him again, and the softness in his eyes made her heart flutter. 

“I am here now,” he reminded her. 

And she admitted what she must have been suppressing all week. 

“But for how long?” 

When she said the words out loud it was like the floodgates opened. She forgot herself for a moment, and as the crying threatened to turn into sobs, she lunged forward and curled herself into him. At first he was stiff, but soon he wrapped his arms around her tightly, like he never had before. 

“I never got to tell you that I loved you,” she told him. “And if I don’t say it now, what if I never get the chance?”

Dedue was quiet for a moment, and in his thoughtful silence Mercedes could feel her fears start to lift. Eventually, he spoke. “I will find a way to survive this war if you promise to do the same,” he told her. “Because I love you too.”

[yukiwrites]

Joined Together

Thank you so much for the support and patience as always, @breeachuu! Watch out for the sin, ye who reads!

Summary: Wolfie finally came back after almost a year away, the news spreading like wildfire throughout Fódlan and beyond. Now, he could finally be with his beloved Dimitri while still being able to visit his family. Here's to a wonderful future!

Commission info HERE and HERE!

_______________________________

There was no time for Wolfram to remember how to breathe or how to function.

Dimitri had hugged him so suddenly right after he stepped out of the portal, Wolfram’s brain short-circuited for a long moment.

“Di-” he stuttered, his hands trembling on Dimitri’s back. “Dimitri?!” His throat choked up with emotion, his legs losing all strength in them, though Dimitri didn’t allow him to fall.

“Yes,” the King dug his head into Wolfram’s shoulder, diving into the scent he missed oh so much. “Yes, Wolfram…” his voice was husky and his chin trembled.

How long had he been waiting? Months? Years? Decades?

Time stretched itself out when Wolfram wasn’t with him, even if he made sure to stay busy so as not to feel the passage of time just as much.

Every single time he allowed his mind to wander, it came back to Wolfram; to his soft voice, his warm, glittering skin, and his precious touch. To his invigorating laughter and boundless optimism.

Everything about Wolfie was so precious that Dimitri could barely find it in himself to be a decent ruler during the busy times of transition. Honestly, it was working and working even more that had helped Dimitri through the loneliness of embracing his beloved one night only to watch him go on the very next day.

It only made Dimitri miss him so much more; to dream of his melodious voice and wish that his milky skin was right there, rubbing against his. To think of what they would do once he came back while convincing himself that Wolfram WOULD come back at the same time.

It had been so hard.

The King’s eye burned, his nose itching with impending tears. Just as he was about to cry, he finally felt another presence behind his beloved.

Blinking in surprise, Dimitri looked at the short, pointy-eared woman staring unabashedly at him. For a moment, he even forgot he had Wolfram in his arms.

Wolfie, on the other hand, noticed how Dimitri’s body stiffened and, for a good moment, frowned, wondering what was wrong. Not a second after, he, too, remembered how he was hugging his promised one in front of his mother, being washed over with shame. His fingertips ran cold.

“AH!” He suddenly pulled away from the hug, his cheeks and ears shimmering in a bright red. “T-this is Nidra, my Mother.” He bashfully gestured to the older manakete, then to the taller man. “And this is… Dimitri, um, Mother.”

Nidra didn’t react for a solid minute, though Dimitri gasped in surprise at Wolfie’s words.

“Your Mother?! Goodness, she doesn’t look any older than you or I.” Dimitri blurted out in surprise, though quickly composed himself by clearing his throat. “I- ah, forgive my rudeness. I am Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd,” he bowed deeply; deeper than a King should ever bow to anyone, “it is my utmost pleasure to make your acquaintance, my lady.”

“...” However, Nidra kept on staring, her unblinking gaze one that could see into a person’s soul.

Because of that, Dimitri kept talking. “F-forgive my impertinence for holding your son like that, I- I simply missed him so much…”

Wolfram fidgeted on his spot, then held Dimitri’s hand before nudging Nidra. “Motherrr…” he grumbled with a pout, making Nidra’s eyes move for a second.

The manakete lingered her gaze on Dimitri before turning to her son. “Forgive me, Wolfie,” she spoke finally, sagging her shoulders as if she had been holding her breath. It was the first time she had met a mate of one of her children without knowing of them previously, so she had to take a moment to process the torrent of emotions showering over her. She smiled warmly. “I can tell how loved you are.”

Dimitri and Wolfram both turned red as tomatoes, though they squeezed their handhold in response, which made Nidra glance down at it before widening her smile. She turned to Dimitri, still wearing a warm gaze.

“Before anything, I have something to tell you, Dimitri.” She lifted her chin up, and although she was a very short woman, her presence alone made Dimitri unable to rest on his laurels. He unconsciously gulped, his heart beating so fast it made him dizzy.

“Yes? Y-you can tell me anything,” he croaked out.

Nidra chuckled before bowing, surprising the two youths into silent gasps. “Thank you for looking after Wolfram during his stay here.” She lifted her head up, her expression looking so much like a Mother’s that Dimitri forgot what he had said about her age. “I have been told that your presence was invaluable to my child during the time he was fitting in.”

The King was about to shake his head and say it was nothing, but instead he hardened his jaw, smoothing his thumb on Wolfie’s hand. “... I am the thankful one here, my lady. Wolfram has saved me countless times; many, many more times than I can remember.”

Wolfram clutched his chest with emotion, looking up at Dimitri with an infatuated gaze. “Dimitri…”

Nidra’s smile grew as she watched the taller, bulkier man fidget like a lost child while her own son looked at him like he was the answer to all of his problems. The manakete sighed in relief, closing her eyes to clutch at her heart for a moment.

She had been so nervous.

She had led the project for the sake of her child’s happiness, of course, but she couldn’t help but be scared of the possibility of Wolfie suffering a heartbreak, especially after they went through so much to open up a permanent portal.

Indeed, Nidra wouldn’t mind in the slightest to whisk Wolfie away and close the portal the moment something went wrong, but Wolfram wouldn’t forgive himself for giving so much trouble to his family only for everything to be for naught. She had been thinking of his own guilt over something that hasn’t happened -- and wasn’t prone to happening -- yet.

Besides, the manakete was ready and willing to impose more conditions should she feel that something could go wrong with this union. However, thankfully, Dimitri seemed to be a good, upstanding young man, making Nidra’s worried Mother's heart to rest easy, if only for the moment.

Once she opened her eyes, she saw the two young men looking up at her expectantingly. Chuckling, Nidra pointed with her chin towards the bag Wolfie carried. “Will you get my veil for me, dear?”

Wolfie flinched in surprise, confused for a moment, though quickly remembering the reason why they had packed a veil in the first place. “Oh! Of course, Mother! Wait a bit.” he rummaged through the bag to find the specific item.

Confused, Dimitri watched the exchange silently, unsure of how to ask what was going on.

Feeling his gaze after handing Nidra the veil, Wolfie turned to his beloved with a wide grin. “She wants to look around!” He puffed his chest with pride. “We’re in… Fhirdiad, right?” He rubbed his arms, feeling a chill run down his spine.

Dimitri’s first reaction was to unfasten his cloak to place it over Wolfram’s shoulder, then blink in response to his question. “Oh, yes, we are. Just a ways behind the castle, in fact.”

“Thank you,” Wolfie buried his head into the fur around his shoulders before looking back up at Dimitri. “If we’re close to the castle, then I can give Mother a tour, right? I only remember a few spots I’ve been to, though.”

“Please, allow me to guide you.” The King glanced between mother and son, smiling proudly. “It… well, it will be your home from now on, so, um…” his voice died into mumbles as he shyly intertwined his index with Wolfie’s pinky, making the half-manakete’s face almost burst into flames.

“Yes- yes, it will be!” He sniffled, hit with so strong of an emotion that he almost instantly burst into tears.

Nidra finished adjusting the veil around her head -- so it would cover her long, pointy ears -- as she watched the heartwarming scene play out in front of her.

For the minute it took for them to notice her again, she understood that all of her anxiety and fear from before had been a mistake. If she had said no to Wolfram’s plea of leaving home to stay with Dimitri, she would never be able to see him smile so contendly and so fully as he was doing right now. She would have robbed him of a life of happiness for her own desire to be together with all of her family.

“Shall we?” She lifted her hand so Wolfie could take it, wrapping her arm around his so he could escort her.

“Oh, yes!” With a large grin, Wolfie wrapped his other arm around Dimitri’s, staying between the two of them like an eager child.

“Very well, then.” Dimitri gulped down the nervousness, consoled by Wolfram’s warmth right next to his own body.

_____

Barely were they out of the woods, they saw a winded Dedue approaching.

“Your Majesty! There you are-” Dedue huffed, not proud of being so slow to catch up, though the worry of leaving Dimitri unattended washed away like a lie once he realized the reason for his disappearance. Dedue composed himself, then bowed, wearing a soft smile on his face. “Welcome back, Wolfram.”

“Dedue!” Wolfie wriggled himself out of the two arms around him to take Dedue’s hand into his. “I missed you so much! Sorry it took so long… I have your jewel in my bag, so I wanna-”

“Breathe, Son.” Nidra patted Wolfie’s back as he blabbed away like there was no tomorrow.

“Nyahaha…” Wolfie deflated, embarrassed, before taking a step to the side to introduce Nidra. “This is my Mother, Nidra. Mother, this is Dedue.”

Nidra blinked slowly, nodding to acknowledge Dedue’s existence, action of which he mirrored. “One of the friends you made a jewel for, yes?”

Since both Dedue’s and Wolfie’s hair were white, the jewel ended up gleaming in a potent silver glow; it was a feast on the eyes.

Wolfram nodded happily. “Yup!”

“Do not give away the jewel so lightly, however. Remember its importance.”

Wolfie felt his back run cold, being awash with shame. “T-that’s true. I got too excited there, nyahaha…”

There wasn’t a proper ceremony to give the jewel to the other party, though it wasn’t a present one gave away like asking for change, either. It held unspoken importance to their kind, so treating it lightly was not only a disrespect to their customs but to the very emotions poured into the fire to make the jewels.

Wolfie reflected on his mistake, then shook his head vigorously. “I’ll give it to you at a better time, Dedue!”

“Of course,” the taller man never lost his warm smile as he nodded. “Allow me to accompany you.”

“Thanks!” Wolfie went back between Dimitri and Nidra, smiling so much his cheeks hurt. Seeing Dedue made Wolfram remember that he also wanted to ask about the whereabouts of his former classmates, though there was a lot going on at the moment so he forgot to mention.

Though, he wouldn’t wonder for long: the moment the four of them stepped back into the palace, news about Wolfram’s return exploded around all corners, reaching those who had been stationed closely first.

Ingrid, Mercedes and Annette were at the castle, so they ran to meet Wolfie as soon as they found out about his return. With each meeting, Nidra’s heart settled more and more, glad to witness the warm welcome her son received.

Mercedes was the most surprised one to meet Nidra, fascinated about her draconic lineage and youthful look. Since the manakete’s ears were hidden under the veil, there was still one more surprise left in store, though they weren’t in a hurry to reveal it.

There was a lot of caution to take when talking about Wolfram’s origin; not because of his former classmates or brother-in-arms, but because of the populace in general. Since the concept of being a Child of the Goddess, how the shape-shifters were called in Fódlan, meant that one would be more closely related to a miracle than to a different species altogether, there was no way to tell how the people would take the news.

Thus, they would rather take caution with Nidra’s identity, since the draconic blood flowed strongly in her.

Their tour got more and more convoluted as people flocked to where the King’s promised one was, so they had to cut it short after feeling through hidden passageways.

“Forgive me for the commotion,” Dimitri sheepishly hung his shoulders, looking like an abandoned dog.

“Pay it no heed, Dimitri.” Nidra took off her veil as they entered the forest, towards the portal. “I would like to ask, however, that you cover up this place under a building and give us the key to it.”

“Oh, yeah! I forgot to mention.” Wolfie jumped up. “We’re gonna bring over some stones to make the foundation of the portal so it can stay open indefinitely,” he explained as Nidra nodded beside him. “But since it opened in the middle of nowhere, it’s gonna be kinda dangerous to leave it on its own…”

“Of course,” the King concurred, his gaze serious. “I shall have a small shrine erected around the portal.” The construction, Dimitri added in his mind, should be done by the people who were familiar with Wolfie’s circumstances, so the fact that a portal to another world was fixed in Fhirdiad wouldn’t spread needlessly.

Besides, every single person from Wolfie’s family would help out with the construction anyway, so they would not be short on manpower.

Nidra stood in front of the ethereal opening that let out a low buzzing sound. Their family had agreed that Nidra would be the only one that would cross at first, then come back to inform them of the situation on the other side before returning to spend a few days under Fhirdiad’s care.

Only after that, she would allow the others to cross and start building the arch around the portal.

She turned around, reaching up to her tall son, who bent over a bit so she could kiss his forehead. “I shall return shortly.”

“Alright, Mother.” Wolfie nodded, misty eyed for some reason. “Are you sure you don’t want me to pick you up when you arrive? I can just fly over.”

To her child’s suggestion, Nidra shook her head. “It will be alright, Wolfie. Perhaps I shall bring Henry with me as well, if only because I will not hear the end of it if I do not…”

Dimitri straightened his back at the mention of Wolfram’s father. “We will have your chambers prepared by the time you return, my lady, so feel free to use the castle as your own home.”

“Thank you, child.” Nidra smiled softly, squeezing Wolfram’s hand one last time before stepping into the portal. “See you soon.”

Wolfie waved to his disappearing Mother as the portal engulfed her in its blue light.

For a moment, after she left, the two lovers stood in silence, enjoying each other’s company. Wolfie leaned his head on Dimitri’s shoulder, his whole body relaxing. “I’m back. I can’t believe it.”

“Oh, Wolfram…” From behind, Dimitri slid his arms around Wolfie’s waist, resting his forehead on his beloved’s shoulder. “I have missed you so much…”

Melting under Dimitri’s warm touch, Wolfie closed his eyes to enjoy being within those strong, loving arms.

He was back, at last.

____

Once they were alone, the couple who had missed each other so much simply lay down together, whispering back and forth of what they had been doing in one another’s absence, and about their plans for the future.

Wolfie slid the second jewel he had made with the upgraded version of his feelings, which was larger and more brilliant than the previous one. The gold and the silver of their hairs mixed around the middle of the jewels so intimally that it looked like a single gem.

Dimitri closed his eyes with emotion, kissing the jewel preciously. “This is the proof of our feelings to your people, yes?” He asked softly, receiving a nod in response. “As for my part,” he brought the jewel to his heart with one hand, pulling Wolfie closer with the other, “I wish for us to… to be wed as soon as possible.”

“Oh…” Wolfie let out a mellow gasp, dissolving into tears. To manaketes, the act of exchanging jewels itself was already a confirmation of their resolve to share their lives with one another; but to Dimitri, he needed a promise, and a vow. Wolfie’s chin trembled with emotion. “Of course! Yes, yes… yes, a thousand times yes!” He rubbed his face into Dimitri’s, giggling to the point of crying.

The King laughed along with his beloved, his heart so light it felt like they were going to float out into the sky at any moment.

_____

There was much to do now that Wolfram had returned; however, first of all, they had to send word that the King of the Unified Fódlan would get married within the following months.

The news was met with much joy from the people, though it was no surprise that the King held someone dear to his heart, judging by the ring he always wore on his ring finger. Wolfie made sure to personally write to Dorothea, Byleth, Seteth and Caspar, though the latter was harder to get a hold of ever since he started travelling with Hilda.

The day scheduled for all of Wolfie’s family to arrive was met with surprise: Both Cynthia and Cyn crossed over riding on their pegasi, surprising Wolfie into falling on his behind. Meli and Meliodas arrived right after, shaking their heads in disbelief as they went to greet Wolfie and Dimitri first.

Henry and Nidra were the last ones to cross over, though the moment Dimitri saw Henry, he had to double take to Wolfie in surprise.

“Nyahahaha!” Henry laughed out loud. “Thought you had two Wolfies, ey? I get that a lot, yup. The only kid I had looking like me.”

“Nyahaha,” Wolfie giggled cutely. Even though the laughter was the same, they sounded differently in Dimitri’s ears for some reason. “I told you how I resembled my Father, right?”

“‘Resembling’ is an understatement,” Dimitri mused, “you look almost identical.”

Henry winked, though only one with a trained eye would be able to catch it, before looking at Dimitri from head to toe. “Nice to meetcha. We’ll be seeing a lot of each other from now on, so good luck!”

Dimiri tilted his head to the side, “good luck…?”

However, Henry simply laughed in response, turning around to inspect the area, passing by his daughters.

“You think he’s taller?” Cyn whispered as Cynthia frowned.

“I dunno, I think that other guy was taller.”

“Really? Maybe it’s the fur cloak-aaack, Big Brotherrr” Cyn pointed at Dimitri, receiving an ear pull from Meli.

“Greet him first before whispering behind his back. Honestly.” Meli puffed up his chest as Meliodas nodded beside him.

Both Cynthias giggled awkwardly before striking a pose in front of the King. “I’m Cynthia!” They said in unison, confusing Dimitri into looking between the two of them, then back to Wolfie.

“It’s uh… a long story. I’ll tell you later.”

Before Dimitri could nod, Cyn approached one step too many, right into their personal spaces. “Where’s your barracks? Where do I stay? I'm already packed!”

Snapping out of it, Dimitri bowed slightly. “Ah, so you are to be Wolfram’s personal guard. I hope you allow me to hold a knighting ceremony for you.”

“Kyaaaa,” Cyn hopped in place, barely able to contain her excitement. “Knighted in ANOTHER WORLD! This is gonna be awesome!”

“I am. SO. Jealous right now.” Cynthia shook her fist dramatically, looking right at the spot between branches that a ray of sunlight peeked through.

Dimitri chuckled heartily, feeling welcomed into this big, unusual and overwhelmingly warm family. It was such a foreign feeling, to have so many people he could call as his own family, but it didn’t feel out of place; on the contrary, it felt just right.

He felt so accepted it was as though he had lived his whole life waiting just for this exact moment; or, to be specific, waiting for Wolfram to drop into his life, quite literally.

____

In the middle of the wedding preparations, Dorothea arrived at the castle, winded from rushing out of Enbarr right after receiving Wolfram’s letter.

She dug into Wolfie’s embrace the moment they met, then patted him all over to ask how he had been during all that time. However, the sly smile on Wolfram’s face wasn’t something Dorothea was used to, until she discovered that she wasn’t hugging her friend, but his FATHER.

“Nyahahahaha,” Henry laughed as he ran away, never getting tired of pranking Wolfram’s friends whenever they came to visit him. Of course, that led to many ear pulls from Nidra, but it was all worth it, really.

At the Knight’s Hall, Ingrid taught Cyn the ropes, feeling spurred by the girl’s boundless enthusiasm. Both Cynthias managed to hide their long ears by braiding part of their hair around them, ending in their trademark pigtails, so even though Cyn had been getting used to the castle without a veil, it wasn’t hard to hide her draconic lineage.

Meli and Meliodas had trouble with the braids due to their hairstyles, so they opted for the veil, much like their mother.

Once Dorothea arrived, however, all of that changed. She managed to style all of their hair in a way that they wouldn’t be uncomfortable and that they wouldn’t need to wear the veil all the time, so the family could parade around comfortably with her help.

A few days later, Caspar and Hilda excitedly burst into the castle.

The first thing Caspar did when he saw Wolfie was to hug him so tightly it almost broke a few ribs, then twirl him around. “WOLF!!” He laughed loudly, swinging Wolfram so fast it was hard for the naked eye to see.

“Hahahah!” Wolfie laughed loudly, holding onto Caspar for his dear life. “I missed you, Caspar!”

“Me too, man!” Caspar put Wolfie down, slapping his shoulder so hard Wolfie lost his balance. “Shit, you really disappeared without a trace that day!”

“Yup, but I’m back for good, now!”

“For good? Nice.”

Beside them, Hilda’s eyes sparkled as she saw Wolfie’s and Nidra’s jewels gleaming around their necks. “Oh, my gosh. Your necklaces are so pretty. Are they handmade?”

Nidra and Wolfram exchanged glances, then laughed. “Yep.”

“Ohh, can I make a pretty chain for you, then? For the wedding! I mean, my brother is still sending stuff through my house, but it’s gonna be a little something from me.”

“Really?!” Wolfie beamed. “Thanks! Can you make one for Dimitri, too? He had one just like this.”

Hilda gasped softly, covering her face with one hand. “Oh gosh, a couple’s necklace. What I wouldn’t give to have it!” She elbowed Caspar, who was none the wiser about the reason why she did it. “Of course I’ll make one for Dimitri too, geez,” she winked.

Wolfie grinned, then laughed. Caspar had always been a little slow on the uptake, so it was always funny to see Hilda blatantly suggest something that usually flew right over his head. The poor thing!

_____

The day Wolfram decided to give his friends the jewels he had made was a week before the wedding per se, on a calm, starry night. They were all hanging out together, both Wolfie’s friends and his family, conversing as though they hadn’t been separated by a whole world before.

Cyn and Ingrid excitedly exchanged stories about knights while Cynthia and Caspar competed over who was stronger or faster or had better reflexes. Hilda braided Meliodas’ hair while Meli, Henry and Linhardt discussed magic in a serious atmosphere.

Nidra sat in silence beside Dedue, and the both of them considered each other to be great company.

Wolfie handed Dedue his jewel first, then Dorothea and finally Caspar -- who had lost a race against Cynthia and was upset before getting all smiles with Wolfram’s present.

Byleth and Seteth were to arrive within the next few days -- since she would bless the marriage herself with her position as the Archbishop -- so there would be time for all of them to meet and talk.

Honestly, it all happened so fast and it filled Wolfram with such deep happiness that he was almost dizzy to catch up with everything. He was beside Dimitri and his family; the construction of the temple around the portal was ahead of schedule and he was acclimating himself with his duties as consort of the King, as well.

There was so much happening, and yet he didn’t feel overwhelmed. He took it all in stride.

Wolfie always ended his day as an exhausted lump of a person in Dimitri’s arms, but the sleep itself felt so rewarding that he always woke up feeling refreshed on the next day.

Even during the last fitting for his wedding attire, he was so excited he almost couldn’t breathe. He wore a white and green tuxedo that had a transparent, rainbow-colored veil sewn on his back, as though symbolizing his wings -- it took inspiration from the clothes Henry and Nidra used in their ceremony, all those decades ago.

Nidra sobbed once she saw Wolfie all dolled up on the eve of the wedding, and couldn’t stop crying until way into the night, though by then she and Henry had already retired to their bedroom.

Actually, she cried even while SHE was getting ready for the wedding, even while Dorothea did her hair, adorning it with jewels over her ears. No matter how much time passed, it was impossible to do her makeup, so they resorted to a transparent veil that would cover half of her face if only not to show how swollen it was after crying so much.

After seeing his mother cry, Wolfie almost followed it to a T, though Mercedes, Annette and Dorothea scolded him so much for ruining the makeup they had done that he ended up giggling all the way into the cathedral instead.

The manakete family sat on the front row, right below where Byleth and Dimitri were. Seteth and Flayn, who were inside the chapel to help, couldn’t stop but stare to where Nidra was, as though feeling the pull of a being stronger than them. Later on, Wolfie would mention teaching them about sensing those of the Blood, though that was a story for another time.

At that moment, Wolfie felt all of the overwhelming sensations all at once, making him falter on his steps once he looked at Dimitri in the eye.

He was so handsome, all coated in white and blue.

All the sounds around Wolfram deafened by a few octaves; the light shining through the stained glass illuminated the very spot Dimitri was on, making him gleam as though he was a holy being.

Wolfie clutched his chest, taking a short breath, then walked down the aisle towards his beloved, who waited for him with the brightest, warmest of smiles.

“Wolfram,” Dimitri whispered his name, kissing his hand once they were close enough. “You look wonderful.”

Blushing, Wolfie intertwined their fingers, his eyes sparkling. “And you look dashing.”

Dimitri smiled bashfully, turning to the sound of Byleth’s cough. “Ah, forgive me.”

“Heehee, sorry,” Wolfie nodded to her, the one whom he was tasked to watch over for so long, now getting ready to officiate his union with his one true love.

What a strange, somehow perfect turn of events all of that turned out to be.

At the sound of Byleth’s voice, that echoed deeply around the cathedral, all music and conversation died down. It was finally time.

Wolfie squeezed Dimitri’s hand in his, stealing glances to the side as Byleth spoke. Dimitri couldn't hide his ever growing smile whenever their eyes met, barely able to stop himself from kissing Wolfie’s glossy lips.

He was so pretty.

His skin glistened magically, as it was expected of his draconic features; his face looked rounder and softer than usual, while his lips were gleaming with a scented, colorless lipstick. His hair was braided beautifully, around his pointy ears that were adorned with jewels -- with their marriage jewel at its center.

Dimitri wore his jewel atop his cravat, their matching colors something that brought them together even more deeply. To display their jewels like that, in front of one and all; to exchange their vows and promises for the future while sliding wedding rings into one another’s fingers… It all felt so surreal, yet so grounding at the same time.

It was their reality.

They were getting married.

To be together… forever, until death do them part.

A single tear rolled down Wolfie’s cheek once they leaned in for the kiss, completely forgetting about all of the scolding he took on the way there. Dimitri touched his lips shyly at first, tasting the sweetness of the lipstick mixed with Wolfie’s natural taste before digging into a deeper kiss, under the cheers of the people.

Cyn, Cynthia and Caspar and all yelled over the entire crowd, each expressing their joy in a different way. Meli sobbed into his handkerchief as Meliodas patted his back. Nidra, needless to say, burst harder into tears, digging her face into Henry’s embrace, while he laughed and threw a thumbs-up to the couple.

Dimitri and Wolfram parted with a sigh, not really wanting to let go of one another’s lips; they felt as though they were walking on clouds.

The world was theirs.

Hand in hand, they walked out of the cathedral, receiving thunderous applause from the people down below. Grinning widely, Wolfie waved back at them, all glued to Dimitri’s side like they were inseparable.

The party moved to the ballroom, where the main couple shared a dance to open up the festivities, though if asked, neither of them would even remember how they got there in the first place: they were so focused on just being with each other; lost in the idea that they would be together for all days to come… that they couldn’t really function outside of their personal bubble anymore.

It was to a point that no one noticed when they slipped away from the party to be by themselves, giggling stealthy like they were children playing a prank on a national level.

“Oh, Wolfram, how much… how much I love you.” Dimitri whispered on top of Wolfie’s lips as they reached their bedroom, trapping him on the door.

Sniffling, Wolfie wrapped his arms around Dimitri’s neck as he opened his mouth to welcome a deeper kiss. “I, ah, I love you too…” he bemoaned under his husband’s (gosh, that was always a wonder to think about!) tongue.

Dimitri called Wolfie’s name over and over under his breath, trailing his kisses from Wolfram’s lips to his jaw and neck, licking and sucking on his glistering skin. The sweet taste of the lipstick disappeared after countless kisses, though Dimitri preferred that way; Wolfie’s bare skin and lips tasted just right, even if Dimitri couldn’t quite put his finger on how.

The King’s hands trembled as he reached for the buttons on Wolfie’s clothes. “I- I think it would be better if you-” he stuttered, “I do not wish to ruin this wonderful attire…”

Wolfie blushed immediately, somehow aroused at the implication that Dimitri would tear his clothes apart if he so wished. He was about to say that it would be fine if he did so, but that tuxedo was something important that resembled his father’s back when he and Nidra had their ceremony. Nodding with a shy giggle, Wolfie undid the buttons of the coat, placing it on top of a nearby chair.

Dimitri turned around, suddenly bashful, and carefully took his top off, making sure to wear the necklace with their jewel around his neck. Somehow, he felt compelled to hold Wolfram while wearing their matching jewels and rings; in an instinctive way, like it was to prove once and for all that they belonged to one another.

Watching Dimitri take off his clothes made Wolfram feel all tingly inside, his pants tightening in response. His chiseled back, full of scars and well defined muscles… it was all Wolfie’s. He touched it with the tips of his cold fingers, starling Dimitri into looking his way.

Shirtless, both King and his consort bit their lower lips in anticipation, looking at one another’s body with hunger. Dimitri reached out slowly, to which Wolfie jumped in the rest of the way, digging into a much-needed kiss.

They lost their balance and fell on the bed, though Wolfie could only feel Dimitri’s hard body under his, which excited him even more. He sat on top of Dimitri’s pants, huffing amidst their kiss as he ground his hips on his husband’s ever growing bulge.

“Ah, hah… Wolfram…” Dimitri moaned, desperately reaching to the bedside table for the lotion he had carefully brought from the Monastery. His hands shook with excitement, though they steadied themselves once Wolfie also touched the bottle.

Wolfie panted as he felt his lower body pulsating in anticipation, rubbing his face on Dimitri’s as his husband pulled down his pants. His own erection sprang up, free from the constraints of cloth, dripping in preseminal fluid.

Greeted by the sight, Dimitri’s hands trembled again, but he managed to coat his fingers with the lotion before reaching to Wolfie's behind. Shuddering with the cold touch of the lotion, Wolfie huffed Dimitri’s name by his ear, making the King’s touch more desperate by the second.

Feeling one finger slide inside, Wolfie straightened his back, already wanting to feel Dimitri’s whole might. It had been life changing, to have all of that fit into him and still bring him pleasure.

“D-Dimitri… don’t take too long…” Wolfie complained, biting Dimitri’s lobe seductively, which made the King flinch.

“However-”

Wolfie interrupted. “P-please, I’ve been waiting for so long…”

“Ah…” Dimitri rolled his eyes back in stifled pleasure, feeling his erection burst his pants at the seams. With one hand, he freed himself from the pants, coating it with the remaining lotion on the other hand. “If it hurts-”

“It won’t, it won’t, it won’t,” Wolfie lowered himself on Dimitri’s erection, hungrily rubbing his rear around it. He felt Dimitri prod it on his entrance, shuddering and moaning once he felt the head poke itself inside. “Ahnn..” he cried out, his whole body trembling.

Dimitri groaned in pleasure, squeezing his eyes as he held Wolfie’s hips to pull him down slowly. “Oh, Wolfram…”

“Hm… hmmm…” Wolfie lowered himself around Dimitri’s entirety, feeling utterly and completely filled to bursting. It was so big.

It fit so well within him.

Panting, the couple took a moment to recover from the penetration, gazing lustily into each other’s eyes before diving into a long, passionate kiss. Dimitri slowly pushed Wolfram down to the bed, shifting the position without pulling out of him, which made him shiver adorably.

Closing his eyes to enjoy all the sensations bombarding his five senses, Dimitri went in and out slowly at first, acclimating Wolfie to his length before daring to accelerate his movements.

Wolfie dissolved into a puddle of pleasure, unaware of what he was saying (Dimitri’s name) or how he was saying it (very seductively), focusing all of himself into digging his nails into his husband’s back.

Dimitri’s low groans reverberated through his chest, making Wolfie feel even more excited as it looked like the King was losing control. Insatiable, Dimitri pounded harder as time passed, feeling Wolfie clench down around him not only once or twice, but three times before he himself felt climax watch over him, filling Wolfram to the brim with his seeds.

However, he was still hard, his stamina far from being depleted.

“Wolfram, Wolfram…” he bemoaned, licking Wolfie’s face as he ground his hips, ready to entice his husband for a longer round.

His eyes spinning with pleasure, Wolfie could only feel how Dimitri was practically humping on him, begging to continue, begging to keep on loving him. Who was Wolfram to say no?

He was powerless against Dimitri’s pleas of love and lust, losing himself into their heated lovemaking all through the night.

Because of that, Wolfie wasn’t awake the next day, when a very strange letter arrived at the palace...

[oops-i-wrote-it]

Eagles and Robins ch5: heartaches and headaches

Robin felt ill. So very, very ill.

Manuela was helping him nurse a headache while grading homework, and made an offhand comment about forgetting past lovers, and Robin’s legs went out from under him.

He has a wife damn it all! He had loved Chrom, but married his another! His head was spinning, but it made him feel sick knowing it was purely for tactical reasons. Purely to produce more heirs for… for something. For his legacy, or his wife’s legacy.

He remembered a taguel… Panne, but when he thought of Panne, he thought of Frederick facing her beast form, trembling in every limb, until they had a mutual respect. Respect became fondness, fondness became love…

Panne was not his wife.

He remembered a manakete, and let out an audible groan, if his wife was somehow connected to Naga… No, her name was Nowi. She looked like a child. He remembered calling her name for hours, and being startled out of his skin when she saw him and Kellam caught in a kiss. They swore up and down they were playing hide-and-seek. Robin swore himself to secrecy and told them to get dinner before it went cold, or was eaten without them.

Nowi was not his wife either.

“Idiot!” He cursed himself. He could remember Kellam before his own wife?! Of course the ring he wore as a necklace beneath his shirt was a wedding ring, he wore it there to avoid it getting damaged by his spells, even though he favoured casting with his right hand. His wife had laughed and made a remark of how he should be caring for himself as well as he cared for that ring, and had kissed him on the cheek, not the lips.

His wife likely loved another, as did he.

He stormed out of the infirmary, ignoring his throbbing head and backflipping stomach. He threw the doors to the training ground open. Dimitri, Dedue, and Felix were here. Perfect.

“Fight me.” He scowled, three pairs of eyes blinked at him. “One of you, fight me!” He threw his coat off, and threw a lance to Dimitri, an Axe to Dedue, and a sword to Felix. All real weapons. All deadly. He knew his own students would never oblige with his mad request, they knew him far too well. But he knew these three just well enough to know that this might work. They weren’t quite attached to him enough yet.

“Professor Robin, I-” Dimitri began, but Felix was already coming at him. He swung his sword upwards, Robin shifted his weight to his left, the blade barely missed his ear. His heart was racing, good.

Felix swung again, this time aiming for his stomach, Robin jumped backwards. Once again, the blade barely missed.

“You two. Join.” Robin commanded.

“Not until you tell us-” Robin was impressed by his own instincts, Felix drove the sword towards Robin’s chest. Though he wasn’t looking, a jerk of his shoulder pulled him out of the way. “-exactly what is going on!” Dimitri’s voice barely registered at first. Robin dodged more blows from Felix, before eventually catching his wrist, so he could stop to talk.

“There have been a handful of studies where a subject’s memories have been restored by a high-pressure, intense situation. I need to remember. I need to recall what happened. Fight me like it’s life or death.” Robin knew his gaze must be intense, Dimitri’s concern only grew.

“Fine by me, you make for entertaining target practise.” Felix blew a strand of hair out of his face, Robin let go of him in thought.

“Get Claude here, and tell him to bring his bow. Maybe Ashe? No, he has enough going on. Although…”

“Professor, this is madness!” Dimitri cried, Dedue gave a slight nod in agreement.

“Is it though?” Robin felt his brow twitch. “I have forgotten the identity of my wife. I can’t recall our wedding, I have no idea what Chrom said at the best man’s speech, I don’t even know what she looked like for crying out-” Robin ran his hands over his face. He needed more pressure. The luxury of knowing healers were around prevented it from seeming real. “Dedue, put your hands around my throat.”

“I will not.”

“Please?”

“Should people see a man of Duscur strangling a guest of the church, they will assume the worst.”

“That’s fine, that’s fair…” Robin sighed, he couldn’t argue with that. “Dimitri.”

“No, professor.”

Read the rest on ao3

[msbluebell]

Dramatic Opera Adaptation 

You’ve seen Disaster Wedding, now get ready for...Mittlefrank Opera Company’s production of the grand love story!

“Mittlefrank Opera Company Presents, the epic love story, Dance of The Fell Stars! An epic story of how his Highness King Dimitri Alexendre Blaiddyd fell in love with Byleth Eisner, the mysterious mercenary that would become a professor at Garreg Mach!”

Sylvain is the first to hear of this production. He doesn’t know how it happened so fast, or way, but it was enviable a play/opera would be written about the war. Still, he didn’t expect the Dimitri marrying teach to be the first rendition. He laughs all the way back home and immediately pins a letter to EVERYONE. He is GOING to see this show no matter what.

Dimitri dies a little on the inside when he sees the flyer Sylvain oh-so-helpfully included in the letter. He spends a good couple of minutes just staring at the wall, hoping this is a trick. It’s not, and Sylvain is going to see it. He’s doomed. He can already hear the mockery. Sylvain will NEVER let this go.

Dimitri is ready to throw the flyer into the fire and jump off the roof of his own castle just to avoid going to the play. It’s too late though, all the Blue Lions know. He can feel it. And something tells him this is just the beginning. 

He is absolutely right. Everyone is planning to go. Everyone. “It’ll be fun!” Annette’s letter says, “I haven’t seen you all in a bit! We should meet up!”

“I’ve always wanted to see an Opera.” Mercedes concludes, “And maybe I’ll be in it!”

Ashe thinks it’s a wonderful reason to meet up, and he loves stories, and he’s interested to see what they get right. Felix doesn’t say it, but Dimitri knows he’ll go just so he can mock him. And, suddenly, everyone is class is going because Ingrid agrees she wants to meet up and see what they do too.

Dimitri could honestly die.

Byleth, of course, is curious. They’ve never actually been to an opera, besides knowing Manuela and Dorathea, which doesn’t really count. And they’re always willing to meet up with the Blue Lions for a reunion. 

Dimitri knows he’s doomed before his beloved is even half way through the letter. Dedue, a sympathetic soul, pats him on the shoulder. Dimitri can only sigh mournfully and pin a letter to order reservations for the class.

...the turnout is worse than he feared...

The Opera Company made no secret of how excited they were that THE KING HIMSELF and his beloved were coming to see the production of their story with all their friends. Hundreds are here, maybe even thousands. And, oh no, is that the Golden Deer house? Please no. Oh Goddess, is that Claude? Dimitri thought he’d left Fodlan.

Oh Goddess, all their classmates are here and dressed in their best jewelry and clothes. Is that Ingrid wearing make-up? Is that ALOIS? Is Seteth here with Flayn? Oh no, everyone he knows is here. Why is Byleth’s Gatekeeper friend here? No, please, not you too Gustav, you and your wife are too reasonable to be here.

Alas, this isn’t a nightmare, everyone came to watch this.

The inside of the theater is packed (and oh dear goddess he killed Edelgard here), but he and Byleth are given the best seat in the house, and all his classmates/friends are given priority seats. He can see the stage perfectly. He isn’t going to miss anything. Dimitri despairs.

The show is more awful than he imagined.

It’s also terribly inaccurate while also sticking to an accurate timeline and getting some things waaaaaaay too close to home.

Manuela comes out wearing a green wig and Rhea’s old clothes and begins the thing. Dimitri lost any hope right then and there.

Somehow, Byleth is the child of both Jeralt and Rhea in a secret affair that he swears has someone weeping. There’s a tragic love song about being ripped apart by expectation, and Rhea being a mother forced to give up her lover and her child while Jeralt fakes his death and runs off. He SWEARS he hears Leonie crying.

He has to blank his mind during the evens of Duscar. But, luckily, after that things get right to him enrolling in school. But one the way he, Claude, and an obviously evil Edelgard meet Byleth. Dorathea (assuming she either defected or survived and has no bad feelings) comes out in her own costume playing Byleth, and it’s love at first sight, and somehow they’re already at their first love song? He’s so embarrassed.

Is Alois crying now? What?

Then there’s a whole plot about their tragic secret feelings because Byleth is his teacher, and he’s a student, and it’s forbidden, just like Jeralt and Rhea. By now Dimitri is starting to get a terrible feeling. Also, Jeralt and Rhea have a song about lost years gone by and not getting to see your child grow up that he swears gets a sniffle out of Seteth and Flayn. 

Everything is so dramatic. Somehow Byleth has a lot of very dramatic lines, and so does he, and the scene where she’s blessed by the goddess is somehow so over the top that he has to blink dumbly at it, and Dorathea!Byleth gives a long speech about being holy, and why is she floating? Is...is she going to be suspended in air for that whole song? Why are all the other characters just staring dumbly?

They play up the forbidden love, and add several stolen kisses that never happened, and somehow they knew a little too much about the goddess tower. Oh, and they somehow knew about Claude being Byleth’s first dance at the ball and played that up as well, romantic rival. He swears he can hear Claude and Hilda giggling. 

There’s a few conversations that seem like the actually happened, like when Byleth smiled, or...wait a moment...

He’s going to kill whatever traitor has spying on him and been feeding these people information. How do they even remember all of this? It doesn’t matter, they’re going to die. Or muck stables. Whichever he feels like by the time this show is over.

The scene where Garreg Mach is invaded gets horrifyingly accurate with his devastated reaction to Byleth’s seeming death. His character is frantically searching while fighting off soldiers, only to give a devastating cry and beat his fists into the ground when he realizes Byleth is gone. It’s...very close to what happened, and he hopes no one thinks that actually happened, but the sniffles around him say otherwise. 

His character has a song about missing Byleth and how all the stars seem to dim without them.

Luckily, they skip the five years of war.

But that just means the reunion song is here.

It’s the most awful thing he’s ever heard. It’s...also pretty close to home. There are people crying, but still awful to watch such an over the top dramatic version of their reunion. 

His character singing about feeling like a ghost unworthy of Byleth’s light, and how they haunt him, hits hard.

The rest of the play is so over the top it’s absurd, and there has to be ten more songs just between here and the epic climax with Edelgard. The whole theater must be weeping, and Dimitri wants to go home.

Unfortunately, as they’re finishing the love song, and the curtain is closing and the cast is bowing and he’s about to run away, the Opera Company spotlights him, drawing everyone’s attention. They thank him and Byleth and everyone else for coming, and hope they enjoyed it, and he’s so mortified, and people are clapping, and he’s so fucking embarrassed.

Claude and Sylvain waste NO time mocking him with over the top and sappy lines from the play. It’s totally the worst class reunion ever.

P.S. Claude and Annette were the traitors that both conspired to write the play with Manuela.

[fireemblems24]

Cindered Shadows Ch 4 & 5

Alright! Spoilers below for Cindered Shadows C4

BATTLE

For those of you wondering, yes, I'm still playing Warriors too, I just wanted to switch it up for the night.

Man, feels good playing some classic Fire Emblem.

So they're basically telling me, don't fight the thing. Which makes me want to fight the thing. But I only have 10 turns, so no messing around this time.

Not gonna lie, that was pretty fun. I feel like this was a pretty well-designed map. There was enough pressure to force me to get moving and enough enemy obstacles to make it challenging, but without making it impossible. Same with the turn count.

Dimitri MVP. Deserved. Him or Ashe or Yuri honestly. Though special mentions to Hapi and Constance for making short work of all the armored knights.

I just lost 30 smithing stones because my storehouse was full. I'm literally crying. Not really but ahhhhh. why.

STORY

More love for how goofy Byleth's answers can be here. I'm picking "I was pretty sure we were going to die." It's just hysterical picturing this "Ashen Demon," but in reality he's just constantly sure they're all about to die.

And no matter how many times I pick that no one believes me 😭

Aelfric's been kidnapped. That's the guy with the longish brown hair, right?

I like Yuri insisting they tell the church about it. Seems more sensible.

This letter lying around conveniently is a bit sus. Feels like a trap.

It would be super funny if Edelgard was the rat and she wanted the chalice for her conquest. I know that's not the case, but imagine.

CAMP

I'm still not used to Yuri's voice. It's so much deeper than he looks like it would be.

Ohhhhh, wait, wait, wait. Hapi says she was abducted once for someone's "twisted" experiments. Gotta be TWSITD, right? And she specifically says "her," so Cornelia likely over Kyrona. Because in Hopes she was nervous being in the Kingdom, worried she'd run into a "her." Must be Cornelia.

Mysterious Woman acting pretty sus.

Honestly, all this "Aelfric's sooooo perfect!" makes me a bit suspicious of him. The game is just pushing him as this totally pure dude a bit too hard, and there's got to be more to him then "saint."

Oh, hey, look, Claude and Dimitri hanging out again.

STORY

Alois is here now?? Finally someone found out what's going on? Because I'm sure by now Dedue and Hubert are getting ulcers.

Yuri we don't disrespect Alois in this house. You take that back.

Byleth can pick, "I don't know this man." 🤣😂

Overall, I feel like this game is doing a good job making Hilda and Linhardt feel relevant to the story, but everyone else feels tacked on.

So if we're visiting Rhea now, does that mean everyone came back up? I'm gonna call BS if Hubert and Dedue just let Edelgard and Dimitri go to this dangerous area without them.

Byleth is so uber special he unlocked the Chalice by himself! It's this kinda stuff that I don't like about Byleth.

Rhea be like, "Here, take some experienced knights to help unkidnap your beloved Aelfric and protect all the heirs to the existing kingdoms in Fodlan, who will for some reason participate in this too." Everyone, "Nah, let's do this ourselves! Who needs experienced knights and extra manpower to save someone we care about! Let's put all of Fodlan's future leaders at risk too while we're at it!" Rhea "Sounds good!" Like I know this is DLC, but there's only so much disbelief I'm willing to suspend.

And now Balthus is like, "Oh, you may be our great friend and trusted leader and we're in the middle of a crisis, but btw, how did you end up here?" Like, I know they want to explain Yuri's backstory . . . but, like, why didn't a Deer, Eagle, or Lion ask that? The writers could've tried a bit harder.

See, this is what I mean. Linhardt cuts in because his crest knowledge is important to the storyline, and the three lords also trail in because . . . they're the lords. Like, don't get me wrong, I love some more Dimitri content, but I feel there's a ton of missed opportunity here with Dimitri having a chalice around that could bring back the dead, new lore for Claude to learn, and new dirt that could get dug up on the church for Edelgard, but like, there's nothing.

So all 4 of the crests needed to unlock the chalice are in the wolves, hummm, this isn't suspicious - at all. Nope.

Constance being like, "oh, mine's a secret even from the Empire." . . . right in front of Edelgard. Not a secret anymore. See, this scene makes more sense WITHOUT Edelgard, who added nothing of substance and makes it more awkward being there.

Yuri is like, "no, this isn't suspicious at all." Actually, yes, yes it is. Dimitri's spot on saying they could've just stolen the chalice if that's all they wanted. There's more going on and Yuri's either unintelligent (or writing forced unintelligence) or deflecting because he doesn't want them to guess.

MAP

I have to run around and talk to everyone again 😭😭 I thought I'd get a level to play 😭😭 But it makes sense because we had back-to-back levels, and honestly, not mad about it because that's more tiny dialogue bits for characters I mostly like.

OMG, all the Ashen Wolves are standing around together and Hilda's just chillin there because, lamo.

Ohhhhh, Constance, asking if he's an ally or enemy??? She's the smart one, y'all, realizing how sus this all is.

WTF Linhardt 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂 "It's like casting a line and thinking you've landed the Big One . . . but then you reel it in, and it's Seteth." 🤣😂🤣😂 Confirmed he gets the best lines. Has someone drawn fanart of Linhardt fishing Seteth out of the water?

Ashe asking good questions too, proud of my boy.

This rouge's like, "why hasn't the church done more to help?" Like, bitch, Rhea offered. Go ask the Ashen Wolves why they said no.

Both Claude and Dimitri are like, "there's something weird going on." Props to them. Don't blame Edelgard for being more hung up on Constance's reveals.

STORY

There's a connection between Byleth and Yuri? Did I totally miss that or did it come out of nowhere?

LAMO, I love Byleth's answers for this. Getting flustered about the "date," telling Yuri his smile doesn't reach his eyes (poor Claude isn't unique anymore), or just "not now." IDK which to pick, I think "not now" is funniest and lines up the most with what I've picked so far for Byleth.

Yuri's like, "meet me at midnight, alone." Either dude is thirsty or he should've added "unarmed and possibly drunk or drugged." I wouldn't trust Yuri father than I could throw him. And Yuri's not big, but I'm not even 5 foot so . . .

Rhea's letting it all play out in case Sothis wakes up?

Ashe's too precious, worried about Constance wanting to turn herself in to save Aelfric.

Edelgard, "you make Hubert look like a spring chicken." She just killed Balthus and Hubert in one sentence. I disagree, though, that whole "I've never even seen sunlight" look makes Hubert look older.

OMG METODY!!! Long time no see. I wonder what Edelgard thinks. Not gonna lie, he's not unattractive if you're into unhinged people.

Aelfric is so sus, "just flee! my flock!" Like, it's too much.

The sigh thing is so weird. Like, who wrote that?

The bird flew off with Balthus, but they're like, whateves, we got Aelfric 🤣😂 🤣😂

I'm going to lie, I think I just have to turn my brain off regarding the writing around some of this.

MAP

AELFRIC IS PLAYABLE??? That's a surprise.

GOD, I want to kill Yuri. Why the hell is he asking for more demonic beasts. Like, he literally spawned them in the middle of my units and nowhere near the enemy in some areas.

Man, I wish Edelgard was closer to Metodey and see if she had unique dialogue with him. But she's all the way over in the other corner.

Balthus MVP. Honestly, deserved. Dude was dropped in a corner by himself and never broke a sweat. I was worried at first, but he never even really got hit.

STORY

Wait, what just happened?

I knew it. I knew Yuri was sus. I'm sure he'll either redeem himself or is some kind of double-agent or something because he's playable, but yeah between diverting everyone from talking about everything and never telling his friends jack shit. . . like I said, wouldn't trust him for a second.

Which is funny, because they tried that with Claude, and I'd trust Claude a fair amount at least, but with Yuri they got that "smile doesn't reach his eyes" way more convincing.

And Aelfric was always suspicious as hell.

Byleth has this "I expected nothing and I'm still disappointed" face lamo.

Dimitri's worried about Byleth 😭😭, like y'all, Dimileth is a good ship and anyone who says otherwise can eat shit.

Edelgard is like, you must be wounded. Byleth's like, no. What was the point of that dialogue?

Oh, so Edelgard actually got a line. Dimitri had the worried line, Claude had the figuring out line, so Edelgard needed . . . something.

RHEA! She figured it out. #Girlboss

I still need a fanfic where Dimitri struggles with using the chalice to bring back all his dead . . . everything. Ohhh, make it post-TS too when he thinks Dedue is dead for max pain.

Dimitri's so pissed off that the wolves are in danger.

So what does Rhea mean it can "breathe a spirit into a body" but can't bring back the departed? Like a body swap sort of thing? I get how that works for her plans for Sothis to come back, but how would it work elsewhere? And no, not at all wanting to know because fanfic. /s

So who is Aelfric trying to bring back to life? Not Sothis.

Rhea's like, "it's a serene, peaceful area," and Byleth can be like "the kitchen" channeling his inner Raphael or Ingrid, I see. I'm soooo picking that one.

LAMO, Dimitri calling me out "I'd hardly call the dining hall peaceful. Are you sure you're not just hungry?" 🤣😂 🤣😂

Right so the knights have to attack the bandits so that way theres an actual excuse for why they're not around for the next battle other than the Ashen Wolves being like "leave it to us!"

Dimitri's like "I'm sure Yuri has his reasons." Boy knows he's a playable character in the main game and spinoffs so he must be a good guy.

XXX

[raspberryranpo]

Can I also please request the s/o protecting their BL s/o in battle post time skip and Dima is healed? Like they save their BL s/o from a tight spot? Like no injury or angst but maybe like....super fluffy after battle? Ty ty!

their s/o protecting them

fire emblem three houses: blue lion boys

friendly reminder to read the rules before requesting because....... there are some people who very obviously don’t 😔😔

also i just did this for the boys, i’m sorry!! i was a bit lost on how to do it for the girls :(

DIMITRI

do you want him to go back to his feral state??

dimitri would never be able to forgive himself if you got injured in his stead

sits beside your infirmary bed, holding your hand, waiting very patiently for you to come back

the second your eyes open again he’s got his arms around you, holding you as tight as possible to his chest, vowing to never let go of you again

DEDUE

is rather shocked that someone would go to such lengths to protect him - even his own s/o

sits beside your bed, bringing different flowers with him every day

by the time you wake up, the area around your bed is covered in plants and colourful flowers

dedue doesn’t immediately grab you in fear of accidentally hurting you - instead, he goes straight for your face, kissing you all over, making sure that you’re still here

SYLVAIN

pulled a brave face for the remainder of the battle but completely broke down the second he got back to his room

sat next to your bed for the entire time you were out cold, whispering about how his day went, and about how much he missed you

the nurses would often come in & see him just talking to you, playing with your fingers, with a guilty look on his face

the second you wake up he’s all over you again - his arms are around you & he’s crying into your shoulder, scolding you for being so irrational

FELIX

curses you every day. he’s so angry with you for thinking that he needs protecting, but he’s more angry with himself for not stopping you

doesn’t sit next to your bed like the others, but decides to sulk in his room until someone comes up to tell him that you’re awake

and you best bet that he comes running towards the infirmary the second he gets that news

yells at you when he sees you, but quickly breaks down and apologises for being so stupid

ASHE

he probably doesn’t quite know how to react - on one hand, you protected him, but on the other... you got gravely injured in the process

only comes down occasionally, not wanting to bug the nurses or overwhelm you

when he does come down, he sits and plays with your fingers, whilst he reads a book in a nearby chair

cries happy tears when you wake up, and tells you about how proud he is of you & how brave you were

[mandakatt]

Fire Emblem Three Houses Fic - Without you - Ashe Ubert/Felix Hugo Fraldarius

A/N: I got shown @badthingshappenbingo​ by a friend of mine, and requested my own card. 

One slot down, many to go!

Characters: Ashe Duran/Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Sylvain Jose Gautier, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, Dedue Molinaro, Mercedes Von Martritz Warnings: Missing Character, Presumed Dead, Injury, Blood and Injury, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort - I promise you, there is a happy ending! Word Count: 2517 Summary: The battle at Gronder field would be one that would haunt Felix for the rest of his life. Because after the smoke cleared, he'd realized that he'd gotten separated from Ashe...and that was a mistake that cost Ashe his life. And now, Felix must figure out how to go on without him.

“Hey, Fe…” 

Felix stopped on his way to the training hall, his head slowly turning to glare at Sylvain. “What?”

Sylvain blinked at him as he came to a stop before he gave him a gentle smile. “C’mon, don’t be like that. I just…” and he went a little wide eyed as Felix glared at him harder, almost angrily. “I just wanted to see if you wanted someone to train with today. That’s all.”

Felix took in a deep breath before huffing softly and looking back at the training hall. “Fine.” and without another word pushed his way inside. He moved to where he always kept his training sword before pausing as Ashe’s bow sat propped up against the rack. His hand trembled a little as he stared at it before he clenched his hand into a fist and angrily snatched his sword off the rack. He growled under his breath as he pulled it free of its sheath and tossed that to the dirt before turning his head to look at Sylvain. 

“Right then, I guess we’re doing this the usual way huh?” Sylvain gave him a cocky smirk as he picked up a lance then moved to take up a stance. “Come on then Fe...show me what you’ve got.”

“Stop talking!” Felix growled as he rushed at him, striking at him with such fury in swing that he could actually feel the lance almost rattle in Sylvain’s grip. 

It was a strike that Sylvain was used to, but damn if that extra oomph behind it didn’t surprise him. He quickly corrected his stance, countering with a strike of his own before he spun it, and managed to score a good hit with the shaft against Felix’s ribs. 

But if it hurt or not, Felix never reacted to it.

Felix moved back and went after him again, blow after blow rang out loudly in the hall, followed by Felix’s angry shouting at each strike, but honestly, Sylvain didn’t care. This was the first bit of emotion he’s seen from him in days. Ever since--

“Pay attention!” and Felix brought his sword around, striking him hard enough in the side that it almost knocked the wind out of him. 

“Ah! Fuck!”

“I said,  pay attention! ”

“I am!” Sylvain smirked at him, taking a step back to take up another stance. “I already managed to hit you once, that says something right…?”

Felix growled and rushed in again, though Sylvain could tell that he was growing more and more angry as his strikes were getting sloppy, and when they had to actually cross weapons once he noticed the dark circles under Felix’s eyes. He blinked at him then scowled. 

“Have you been sleeping…?”

Felix visibly tensed then growled, pushing him off. “I’m fine.”

“Fe--”

“Shut up Sylvain. I am fine.” Felix rubbed at one of his eyes before he huffed and took up another stance. “Just--”

“No, you’re not fine.” Sylvain interrupted, a scowl on his face. “Fe. Come on. You know he--”

“Do not say his name,” Felix snarled then suddenly charged in, grunting loudly when his sword bounced off the shaft of Sylvain’s lance. “Do not say anything about him! Do not tell me he would be worried! Do not tell me that he would tell me that I need to rest! Do not--” and he growled as his voice cracked as he rushed him again. “--Do not tell me that he would want me to take care of myself! He is no longer here. What he wants doesn’t matter anymore!”

Felix suddenly swung wildly, almost as if he’d lost the grip of his blade. Sylvain took a step back, dropped his lance and suddenly wrapped Felix up in his arms. 

“Let me go!”

“No,” Sylvain clung to him just a bit tighter. 

“Dammit Sylvain! Let me go!” Felix tried to swing at him but all Sylvain did was hold him tighter, his face buried in his hair at the back of his head. He snarled and squirmed only to cry out louder. “Get off me!”

“No.”

“Sylvain!”

“I said. No.” 

Felix growled, his entire form trembling as Sylvain clung to him, and he suddenly remembered that the last time Sylvain had held onto him in such ways was when Glenn--and it was like all the strength went out of his limbs. His sword clattered to the dirt as he hung his head. He felt his entire body tremble as his legs gave out from under him, and it was then he realized the noise he heard in the hall was a noise that  he  was making. 

He was sobbing so hard he could barely breathe. 

“I’ve got you, Fe. Let it out…” Sylvain said softly as they sank to the ground on their knees.

“If… If I had been there…”

“Shhh…” 

“I...every time I go to sleep. I see him. I’m so close but..I just...I  can’t --”

“Keep breathing Felix,” Sylvain said softly as he gently held him against his chest, lightly rocking him. “Keep breathing...” 

“...I can’t do this… I can’t… This nightmare has to stop…”

Sylvain looked pained for a moment as Felix continued to sob in his arms, only to realize when it got quiet that Felix had actually cried himself to sleep. With a sigh, he slowly scooped him up into his arms to carry him back to his room. 

“Sylvain?!” 

Pausing on his way, he gave Dimitri a little bit of a smile as the Prince came running up. 

“Is he alright?”

“Yeah,” he said with a sigh. “He will be eventually anyway.”

Dimitri looked sad for a moment before he nodded his head. “Do let me know if there’s anything I can do?”

Sylvain gave him a gentle smile. “You’ll have to ask him when he wakes up but...yeah. I’ll try.” and he continued on his way. 

Once in Felix’s room he sort of gasped softly at the state it was in. He had to pick his way through the things that were laying haphazardly on the floor on his way to Felix’s bed before placing him gently in it, and covering him up. He knew if he woke alone that Felix would sort of shut down again, so…

“You do know there are other ways of getting me to clean your room, right?” 

Sylvain chuckled softly to himself as he started to pick up the floor. Books, and knickknacks that looked as if they had been thrown at the wall in anger, and he had to be careful to not cut his fingers on something that looked like glass, which might have actually been what was left of one of the cups from the kitchen.

He paused however when he heard Felix shift with a groan from the bed behind him.

“Hey…” Sylvain called gently as he got up from what he was doing and moved over to the edge of the bed to sit down on it. “Hi there.”

“Sylvian?” 

“We’re in your room. You kinda passed out after I hit you pretty good. Sorry bout that!”

Felix gave him a bit of a skeptical look but sighed as he slowly sat up, and leaned against the headboard. His head was absolutely throbbing, but he wasn’t sure if that was from all the crying he did, or if Sylvain had actually hit him and he didn’t remember. 

“I--”

“Yeah! Just a second,” Sylvain called cheerfully as he got up from the bed to answer the door, to find Dimitri and Dedue on the other side of it. “Oh! Well hello there Your Highness. Nice of you to come visit.”

Dimitri gave Sylvain a gentle smile before looking over at Felix. “I am sorry to interrupt, but, we brought you some tea, and...company if you want it.”

“I don’t.” Felix huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. 

“Aw c’mon Fe, don’t be like that. The least you can do is drink the tea that Dedue made you.” Sylvain gave him a gentle smile, and noticed that Felix looked at his room in surprise. “Besides, I told you that I was going to help you clean up today, remember?”

“...right.” Felix blinked as most of the mess he’d made of his room was at least straightened, things were put away, and it looked almost as if the room was the way it had used to be before---he sighed deeply then looked over at Dimitri, and Dedue. Then huffed. “Fine, just bring it in and leave it. Then leave…”

Dedue nodded gently and brought in the tray to set it gently on the night table by Felix’s bed. He said nothing as he simply poured Felix a cup, and added just a little milk to it, the way he liked it before passing him the cup and saucer, and Felix blinked at it. 

“...how did--”

“Ashe spoke of you fondly. You were quite the subject of many of our conversations. From what you would like to eat, to how you disliked sweets, to how you took your tea.” Dedue watched him quietly for a moment. “I believe that I have come to know you a little better because of that.”

Felix’s hands trembled enough that the cup rattled gently against the saucer and he had to hold it then with both hands to stop it from doing so. He set it down on his lap and sighed deeply. 

“....why bring that up?”

“Because,” Dedue said softly as a soft gentle smile pulled his lips upwards. “No one is truly gone if you remember them.”

Felix blinked and looked up at Dedue, his eyes wide in surprise for a moment before he realized that Dedue was speaking from experience. He, out of everyone here except for Dimitri, probably understood the loss he was feeling, and with a sigh he looked back at the cup of tea in his hands. 

“Oh! You like milk in your tea huh? That’s...I’ve never tried it. Is it good?”

“See for yourself.”

“Oh fr-from your cup?” Ashe blinked at him and timidly took it from his hands, to take a sip. He then blinked. “Wow...I see. The milk actually makes the pine taste a bit more subtle, almost sweet in a way. I learned something new today! Thanks Felix!”

Felix felt his eyes burn, and he brought one hand up to rub at one of his eyes with a knuckle, as he groaned. Crying wasn’t going to get him anywhere. It didn’t bring anyone back from the dead no matter how much you cried for them to come back. 

The dead were dead and that was it. 

Ashe…

Ashe wasn’t coming back.

He took a deep breath before slowly bringing the tea up to his lips to take a sip, the gentle warmth of it seeping into his bones from the inside. 

“Oh! Good morning Felix. I have your tea waiting for you!”

“So you’re really not into sweets huh?”

“Here, it’s a sweet that we used to make at the restaurant. Haha, don’t give me that look, I promise it’s not sickly sweet, but it goes great with tea. The tea you like..uh...specifically.” 

“See!”

“I’m glad you liked it. And of course, I’d love to make them for you again.”

Felix found himself for the first time in days smiling gently at the cup of tea in his hands, and it was then he realized that Dedue, Sylvain, and Dimitri hadn’t left yet. With a sigh he slowly looked up at the much larger man. 

“...thanks.”

“I am happy to assist.”

Dimitri looked a little relieved and smiled at Sylvain when suddenly a shout caused him to turn on his heel. 

“Your Highness!”

“What is it?”

“A group of Mercenaries have arrived, with someone in tow.”

Dimitri looked confused a moment before looking back at Sylvain and Dedue, then gently nodded his head. Felix had gotten up quickly huffing at the concerned look that Dedue gave him. 

“I’m fine.” 

The four of them hurried quickly to the gate, only to be surprised as the men from Duscur, those same men that had saved Dedue, came walking in. Though the last of them was slow to enter, as they were helping someone to walk that had a hefty limp, but Felix recognized that shock of silver hair anywhere. 

“Ashe?”

The men stopped as the silver haired man lifted his head. He had one eye shut as that side of his head was stained with blood, his right ankle looked pretty badly twisted, and he had his arm around his middle, staunching a wound at his opposite side. 

“H-Hey...s...sorry I’m late...I kinda...got held up.”

“Ashe?!” Felix called again, and when he saw that smile, he rushed forward, pushing through the group of men to get to him. His arms went around him gently, but tightly, a hand fisting in the back of his hair as the two of them sank to the ground, and he buried his face into Ashe’s neck. 

The tears had started again, but he no longer cared. 

“Ashe!”

Ashe laughed a little, giving off a soft wet cough as he clung back to Felix as best as he was able to. “Y-yeah, it’s--ah!”

Felix immediately loosened the grip he had on him to draw his head back and look him over. And it was then that he realized just how hurt Ashe appeared. “Mercedes!”

“I’m here!” Mercedes called back as she pushed through the crowd that had gathered, quickly coming to Ashe’s side. She smiled at Felix brightly as her hands began to glow with magic as she started to heal the worst of Ashe’s wounds. “Don’t worry. He’ll be fine.”

“S-sorry to have caused trou--”

“Shut up.” Felix snapped at him, and though his words were harsh the expression on his face was soft, so full of concern for the man in his arms. “Don’t ever scare me like that again, do you hear me?”

Ashe let out a bit of a breathless laugh, and a soft wet cough before he winced a little, then nodded his head. “Y-yeah, I promise.”

“Good. I’m going to make you keep it just like the one that idot Sylvain promised me.” 

“Hey! We were kids when we made that!”

“Yes,” Felix confirmed, but never took his eyes off Ashe. “And so far, you’ve kept it. Same as I will. The same as Ashe will. Right?”

Ashe smiled softly, then lifted his hand to gently cup Felix’s cheek. “Ye-yeah, I promise. For as long as I live.” 

“Good,” and Felix moved close enough to once more hide his face against his neck, but he made sure that he wasn’t in Mercede’s way. His voice trembled, as he softly spoke against his skin. “...please, don’t go where I can’t follow.”

Ashe’s hand moved to the back of Felix’s head as he closed his eyes and sighed. He’d made it back, he was home, and with a smile he promised him softly. 

“I’ll always come back to you, Felix. I promise.”

[blue-lions-baby]

Operation Confession (Dimitri x F!Reader) [Ch. 2]

ah! i felt like i should specify that this is a f!reader. sorry about that. all of my stories have been f!reader and i (waking up in a cold sweat) realized it would prob be better for me to specify that from now on. i’m so sorry for not putting it earlier! from now on, i will specify if it is f!reader or not.

this has got to be one of the longest fics i have ever written (this chapter alone pushing slightly past 5000 words). i am *so* glad i split it up into different chapters. imagine if this was just one big oneshot oh my g

also, i found some loose inspiration for dimitri’s wardrobe change from be my princess 2′s ivan chernenkov!

okay, that’s about it. sorry for the long intro! now, please enjoy chapter 2!

~*~

“Sylvain...”

“Yeah?”

“Was it truly necessary to tell everyone about my... predicament?”

“I-If I may, Your Highness,” Ashe piped up, “we were already aware of your feelings towards (F/N). You’re not exactly... subtle.”

Everyone-- including Byleth who was grading papers at their desk-- all nodded their head in agreement.

“See?! C’mon, even the Professor noticed the sparks between you two!”

“That’s because they’re Professor Byleth, Sylvain.” Ingrid informed with a sigh.

“Oh yeah. Fair point.”

“Where is (F/N)?” Dimitri queried, not seeing your radiant face among the crowd.

“Well, Mercie and I...” Annette began, her cheeks spreading into a grin. “We pulled a little... prank, on our dear (F/N).”

“A-A prank?”

“Nothing too serious. We just did something that will slow her down.” Mercedes assured sweetly. Sylvain clicked his tongue loudly.

“Don’t worry about her! Remember why we’re all gathered here.”

Murmurs bounced around the attendees; before Dimitri could ask what kind of scheme the redhead roped them into, his loyal retainer announced,

“Your Highness, do you require assistance in confessing to (F/N)?”

Dimitri’s alabaster cheeks were hosed into an assortment of rubies and reds; dismay and horror and dread were all that filled his pretty azure eyes. The veins outlined in his neck and forehead grew sharper and sharper with each uncomfortable squeak that left the prince’s throat.

“Ridiculous. The boar actually has feelings?” Felix spat.

“Yeah. He needs help.” Sylvain answered, ignoring his scowling classmate.

“I-- You-- Sylvain, was this--?”

“My plan? Yeah.”

Dimitri would have killed Sylvain right then and there if it weren’t for the presence of several witnesses.

That didn’t mean he didn’t entertain the idea, though. Sylvain’s cool facade was pierced by the murderously sharp glow in the prince’s eyes.

“Not to worry, Your Highness!” Ashe cheerily interrupted Dimitri’s elaborate scheme of how to grind Sylvain’s kneecaps into a fine powder. “While on our way here, several of us have come up with ideas on how to get you two together!”

“Instead of us all working as one big group, we thought it would be wiser if we split up into smaller groups.” Ingrid mentioned.

“Mercie and I are together of course!” Annette’s eyes glowed excitedly. “After class, we’re gonna stop by the florist to buy (F/N)’s favorite flowers!”

“Why flowers, may I ask?”

“So you can give them to her later tonight!”

“T-Tonight?”

“This is where Ashe and I will lend you our aid.” Dedue stepped forward. “We will help you cook the perfect meal for (F/N).”

“Me? Cook?”

“(F/N) will surely be pleased that you put in the effort to cook her something! No matter the outcome, at least...” Ashe rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“And I suppose this is where we come in.” Ingrid said, motioning to herself, Sylvain, and Felix. “We will be making sure that everything goes smoothly, and will assist each group however way we can.”

“I’ll teach you everything I know when it comes to wooing the ladies.” Sylvain winked.

“I suppose I can serve as the ‘distraction.’ After class, I’ll ask (F/N) to spar with me so that should give you all some time to prepare.” Felix huffed.

“Well, I wouldn’t mind taste-testing the dishes that you prepare... J-Just to make sure (F/N) will like it! We do have similar tastes, so...” Ingrid blushed.

“I myself have devised a way to get you two together,” Byleth stated flatly, “and that starts with a brand new seating chart. I have separated you all into your different squadrons.”

Everyone crowded around the parcel of paper that Byleth spread on the table.

“Dimitri, you sit by (F/N) in the back of the room there. Mercedes and Annette, you sit together towards the front. Ashe, Dedue, in the row beside them. Ingrid, Sylvain, and Felix will be sitting in this row, behind Mercedes and Annette. Understood?”

“N-No--”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Good. In your seats, everyone. If my calculations are correct, (F/N) should be coming in any minute now.”

Dimitri watched in plain confusion as everyone scrambled to their new seats. He automatically looked to Dedue for help, but only saw Ashe taking Dimitri’s usual spot beside the Duscur man. The sounds of curses haphazardly strewn about the vicinity along with an unsettling squelching sound echoed closer and closer to the classroom.

“Quickly now. Dimitri, in your seat.”

BANG!!!

The doors of the classroom smashed the stone wall with a thundering clap, rattling the slabs of wood on their hinges. You stumbled in, holding a dripping wet boot with one hand and your collection of study materials hastily bundled together in the other. The tousled blob of tangled tresses on the left side of your head starkly contrasted the sorry attempt of brushing on your right. Little leaves stuck out of the collar of your shirt and brown, crackly twigs pinned themselves onto your skirt.

“Good morning, Ms. (L/N). Turned rather... experimental this morning, have we?”

“P-Professor Byleth!” You bowed deeply, jumping when your books tumbled out of your grasp. “I am so, so sorry for being late! I’ve had the most horrendous morning...”

“Oh? How so?”

“Well, when I woke up, i found my boots filled to the brim with water.” You chucked the boot you were holding towards the door and yanked off the one you were wearing; about a quarter bootful of water came cascading out of the shoe.

“Then my uniform-- which was folded neatly and placed on my desk the night before-- was thrown! Outside! Into some shrubs by my window!” You picked and plucked at the bits of foliage that accessorized your uniform with exasperation.

“And to top it all off, my hairbrush was missing! So I’ve been trying to comb my hair with my fingers, but that’s really hard to do when you’re holding a soggy boot in one hand and books in the other!”

You keeled over, wheezing, while the rest of the Blue Lions slowly turned their gaze to the two smiling girls in the front.

“That is... quite a tale.”

“Professor, I can not make this up. I feel like somebody is targeting me. But why? What could I have possibly done to deserve this?!”

“Nothing, (F/N). You’re right. What you went through was severe.” Byleth glanced down at two specific students sharply. “I will excuse your tardiness for today. Dimitri, please go help your new desk mate. I must start class immediately if we are to stay on schedule.”

“Of course, Professor...”

Oh no... Of all the... Since when did your class get a new seating chart? And why, of all people, were you placed beside Dreamy Dimi Dimitri?! Why was the Goddess punishing you? And for what?! You didn’t do anything! And now he has to see you looking like this for the rest of class? Why was life acting so cruel towards you?

“(F/N)?”

“Ah! D-Dimitri! Yes, hello!”

“Allow me to take your books to our desk.” He muttered politely, refusing to meet your gaze. Unable to say anything else without babbling like an idiot, you bowed gratefully to the prince as he scooped up your notes and books in his arms. Great! You were so disgusting, he couldn’t even look at you! Today was gonna be a long, long day...

Dimitri smoothed out the crinkled notes on your side of the row and his pupils happened upon a little scribble faintly scratched into the corner of the paper. The tips of his gloved fingers grazed the marking subconsciously, his brain not quite registering the ‘D’ drawn in the middle of a heart.

Color flooded your cheeks as you nabbed the paper away from Dimitri’s ‘prying’ eyes.

“Excuse me! I need that!”

“A-Ah. Of course. Forgive me.” Dimitri’s cognitive abilities had completely shut down, his entire being running solely on the etiquette lessons that were drilled into his head as a child.

Minutes ticked by, and Professor Byleth’s voice slowly joined the symphony of background noise. Neither you nor Dimitri processed a single word in class that day-- you huddling yourself into the closest semblance of a ball while Dimitri busied himself counting the specks on the floor in a vain, vain attempt to distract himself from the delightfully crisp apple notes that came from your hair (despite its... frazzled appearance).

The words that did process, however, was Byleth’s resounding ‘Class dismissed’ and you had never been happier to leave a lecture. Without casting a glance at anyone, you shoveled your studies into your arms and sped-walked out the classroom and towards the safe confines of your room to cry yourself to sleep.

But in your rush, a certain paper that was half-wedged between two books spiraled down, down, and further down. Dimitri’s watchful eye and skillful hand caught the piece of paper before it touched the ground and recognized the small, minimalist script as your handwriting. He looked up, eager to hand you your belonging, but...

“Er, Felix, have you seen (F/N)?”

“What? Did you not see her leave the classroom? I didn’t even get a chance to ask her to spar with me...”

“Well, she--” Dimitri choked on his own spit. “F-Felix--”

“What?”

Short, blubbering stammers made up a majority of Dimitri’s vernacular; Felix, growing impatient at the royal’s inability to form coherent thoughts, snapped the paper from Dimitri’s hand and read the contents.

“These are just notes on that battle formation we learned the other day.”

“No, there’s something on the corner up there...”

Felix’s sharp gaze followed Dimitri’s quivering finger.

“... Oh.”

“Fel, what’s up? You’re supposed to be training with (F/N) right now.”

“Sylvain. You take care of this.” Felix slapped the note into the redhead’s chest. “I’ll be by her quarters. When she finally decides to come out, I’ll ask her then.”

Then he was gone.

Sylvain, brows furrowed, unraveled the piece of paper that was so roughly shoved into him; his nose crinkled slightly.

“These are just notes.”

“The top...”

“Huh? What--... Ohhh. I see.” Sylvain’s light, angelic chortle didn’t mesh with the devilish smirk on his lips. “Your Highness, by any chance... Have you got an extra suit on you?”

“Hm? Well, yes, but it’s reserved for very special occasions.”

“Does a date with the girl of your dreams not fit that category?”

“... Allow me to show you where I keep it.”

♠ ♥ ♣ ----------------------------------------------------------- ♣ ♥ ♠

Like a sailor heaving up a heavy sail battered by the ocean’s rageful tempest, you slowly hoisted your eyelids open with unimaginable difficulty. It felt like a bag of lead was tied to your eyelashes, keeping your eyes at a constant state of half-opened. You padded the soft, swollen flesh around your eyes and already knew the puffiness was there to stay-- at least for the rest of the day.

Two short knocks peppered your door and you very nearly chucked the closest item in your vicinity at it. You caught yourself, however, and face-planted into your damp pillow.

Two short knocks peppered your door as you sunk your face further into your cushion.

Two short knocks peppered your door as your anguish turned to ire.

Two short knocks--

“WHAT?!”

You had no memory of the actual journey from your bed to your door, but that didn’t matter much to you as you swung it open to face your grievance personified.

You caught Felix mid-knock and would have snapped his wrist if his knuckles dared to make contact with your door.

“What is it.” You croaked disdainfully.

“Wow. Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.”

“Shut up. Just leave me alone.”

Your door was caught by your visitor’s firm yet gentle hold.

“Hang on. I... I’m sorry.” Felix swallowed thickly. “Today has been a pretty tough day for you.”

“Yeah. You’re right. Goodbye.”

“So,” Felix interjected, “spar with me.”

“What?”

“Let all your anger out on me. It’s not good to keep it inside.”

“That sounds strange, coming from you.”

“Trust me, it feels stranger saying it.” Felix grimaced. “Just... Please. Spar with me. Don’t let this fester inside you.”

He sounded almost pleadingly. A tiny portion of your heart swelled in gratitude towards the male; you stiffly wedged the door open.

“... Fine.”

The corners of Felix’s lips twitched upwards as you both headed for the training grounds.

♠ ♥ ♣ ----------------------------------------------------------- ♣ ♥ ♠

“We got the flowers!” Annette burst into the dining hall, waving the bouquet with glee. Mercedes shortly followed.

“I saw Felix and (F/N) head for the training grounds. He’ll keep her occupied for at least an hour or two.”

“Just enough time to roast a Faerhgus fowl.” Dedue commented, smiling slightly.

“Great! Well, I guess I’ll keep watch, so if you need me...” Sylvain slipped out of the dining hall and leaned his frame by the entrance, smiling and waving at passing females.

“Oh, and remember Your Highness,” a spike of red popped back in, “don’t forget you still need to get changed.”

“Got it. Thank you, Sylvain.”

“(F/N) and I were on kitchen duty last week, and she mentioned she loves (Favorite Soup)! We can cook that as well.” Ashe’s eyes shone brightly.

“I can bake some sweets!” Mercedes chimed in.

“E-Everyone, I’m afraid my skills in the kitchen are... less than spectacular. I’m afraid I will only hinder your progress...” Dimitri took a hesitant step out of the kitchen as he watched his classmates get to work.

“Nonsense, Your Highness.” Dedue reassured as he picked out a fowl. “We will guide you. May you please wash and cut the potatoes?”

“O-Of course!” Dimitri dunked a handful of the starchy tubers into a bowl of cool water and made sure no speck of impurity remained on its surface. With Ashe’s saint-like patience and Dedue’s constant monitoring, the royal succeeded in cutting the lumpy veggie into nice, even cubes.

“Great job, Your Highness! Now, can you peel the carrots while I prepare the soup?”

“With pleasure, Ashe.”

Dimitri took the small blade in his hand and carefully skinned the carrots’ rough exterior away, revealing the healthy shade of orange underneath. Dimitri’s confidence grew with each slightly whittled but clean carrot he handed to Ashe and Dedue, and he was silently celebrating the fact that he hadn’t--

... Crack!

All eyes flashed to the source of the sound.

Dimitri stared at the large, compromising splinter running down the length of the knife’s wooden handle; he looked up slowly.

“Er... Is there, perhaps, another one that I can use?”

“A-Actually Your Highness,” Ashe laughed awkwardly, gently taking the ruined blade from his hand and leading him to the bowl of soup, “can you watch the soup and make sure it doesn’t burn or anything?”

“Y-Yes... Um, I apologize for--”

“Do not worry, Your Highness.” Dedue’s monotone voice rang clearly. “It was an accident.”

“Yes, but now the kitchen staff has one less knife to work with...”

“A problem that we can fix the next time we go to town.” Ingrid assured, finally breaking from her food-induced stupor. The savory scents of roasted duck interwove with the hearty notes of (Favorite Soup), creating a mouthwatering song that entranced the gourmand; the delicate, feathery hint of sweets that Mercedes was concocting complemented the deep, earthy tones set by the three males.

“Would you like some, Ingrid?” Mercedes queried sweetly, holding up a small assortment of freshly baked goods. “I know how patiently you’ve been waiting for a sample.”

Ingrid almost lunged at the plate in the cleric’s hand.

“Y-Yes. Thank you, Mercedes. I am excited to taste your sweets.” Ingrid proceeded to not-so-graciously inhale half of the plate’s colorful contents.

“Ah! Ingrid, that was for everyone!”

“Oh!” Ingrid, mouth half-full with sweets, slammed the plate down on the table. “I-I am so sorry! I just, I got super excited and--”

“It is quite all right, Ingrid.” Dimitri replied, his eyes not leaving the softly boiling pot of liquid for a second.

“Please do not look so upset, Ingrid. I can always bake more!” Mercedes gave the aspiring blonde knight a light squeeze. “When we’re done, I can bake you a whole tray of sweets!”

“That would be lovely.” Ingrid smiled, still slightly chewing. “Thank you, Mercedes.”

“Ah, Ashe, it’s boiling quite a lot now. I think the soup is done.”

“Not yet! I haven’t added any seasoning.” Ashe hummed thoughtfully. “Actually... Would you like to add them, Your Highness?”

“I believe a sense of taste would be necessary to accomplish such a task... I, unfortunately, have none.”

“Ah, well,” Ashe looked at the row of spices neatly spread out, “you can still try though! Ingrid can taste test the dish, and she can tell you what you need to add.”

“I suppose that can work... Ingrid--”

“Yes, Your Highness?”

Dimitri and Ashe almost jumped at the closeness of her voice. Turning around, they saw the lass mere inches away from them with a childlike glow in her eyes.

“Ingrid, how did you--”

“I heard I was taste testing, so I came as soon as I could.”

The prince and archer shared glances with each other before the latter was called to assist Dedue. With a quick bow and a ‘good luck,’ Dimitri was left all alone save for a bubbling pot of soup and an overly-enthusiastic assistant.

“I think it would be wise for me to have a taste now so we can see what we still need to add.” Reported Ingrid dutifully.

“Ah, establishing a baseline. That’s a great idea.” Dimitri stepped out of the foodie’s way.

Ingrid grabbed a ladle and scooped a humble amount in its trough before pouring it into a small bowl. Her lips caught the edge of the bowl and she slurped its contents. She hummed thoughtfully, taking another sip.

“It’s all right, but painfully average... We need more of everything.”

“Everything?”

“Yes. Its flavors need to be boosted drastically. It’s not bland, just... underwhelming.”

“I see...” Dimitri cast a nervous glance at the row of spices. “I’m assuming these are the seasonings used to flavor the dish?”

“That is correct!” Piped Ashe from the oven.

“Let’s see here...” His hands danced over the vessels of flavor hesitantly. A bottle of fine, onyx-colored powder caught his eye and he checked the label-- black pepper. He popped open the cap and tapped a careful amount in. Ingrid stirred the pot and poured some more soup in her bowl.

“Mm, that added some much-needed flavor. Try salt this time.”

Dimitri gingerly set the pepper down and scoured the row of spices for the condiment. After he found the small bottle tucked away in the back, he unscrewed the lid and sprinkled in some salt.

“Add more. I can barely taste a difference.” Ingrid critiqued.

Dimitri did as he was told and sprinkled in some more, unsure of the intensity of the granulated whites.

“More, Your Highness. You can be a bit liberal with the salt here.”

“Got it.” Dimitri tilted the bottle and gently tapped its side.

Only for half of the bottle’s contents to fall in.

Dimitri blankly stared at the visible pile of salt floating on the surface of the soup, slowly disintegrating as it drifted further and further down to the bottom of the pot.

Then he was tossed into the five stages of grief all at once-- Ingrid riding that emotionally tumultuous ride with him.

“Your Highness!”

“Ashe!”

“W-What?! What happened?!”

“The salt!” The blondes screamed in terror.

“S-Salt?! What do you--” Then he saw the bottle of salt, previously filled to the brim, staring back at him half-empty. Without a moment to lose, he broke through the two and beelined for the pot. He seized the ladle, scooped up its murky contents, and gave it a large swig.

His eyes shot open in horror and his face paled several sheets of white. He dropped the ladle, wetting the surrounding area with the toxic liquid, and stumbled back onto the counter. Gripping his pants until his knuckles turned as pasty as his cheeks, he forced down the soup with a gag.

“Water...” He flung himself onto the mortified prince, his eyes tearing up. “Water...!!!”

“I got you, Ashe!” Ingrid came swooping in with a cup of the aqua panacea; the archer snagged the cup from Ingrid and chugged it all, not letting a single drop go to waste.

“What happened?” Dedue finally arrived, his head absolutely spinning from the pandemonium that ensued from across the kitchen. Mercedes came running as well, almost dropping the tray of freshly baked desserts from her hands.

“W-Well, His Highness--”

“It’s all my fault,” Dimitri stepped forward, head hung low, “I was only trying to add a little bit more salt, but then I ended up pouring half the bottle. Then Ashe went to taste it, and, well...”

All eyes went to Ashe, who was still recovering from that whole... experience.

“It,” he sputtered,”it tastes like sea water.”

“Ashe, I am so, so sorry. Is there any way I can make this up to you?”

“Get out of my kitchen I-It’s all right, Your Highness... But um... I really don’t think we can serve this to (F/N). It tastes... unpleasant. Very unpleasant.”

“I understand...” Dimitri sighed, forlornly looking at the pot of failure. “Curses! I’m sure (F/N) would have loved it, if only I--”

“Your Highness. There is no need to linger on what has come to pass. We can still cook up a wonderful meal.” Dedue’s even voice steadied the prince. “We do not have much time left. Let us make haste.”

It was all hands on-deck from thereon. While Ashe was temporarily out of commission, the rest of the Lions present did everything in their power to compensate for lost time and dish. As Dimitri busied himself with dicing and rinsing vegetables for a simple salad, everyone else was bouncing around ideas that could possibly substitute the soup.

“I was in town the other day, and I heard one of the merchants talk about this pastry called ‘garlic bread.’“ Annette remarked.

“‘Garlic bread?’“ The Duscur man repeated questioningly.

“Yeah! From what I remember it sounds very easy to make, and we seem to have all the ingredients.”

“And those are?”

“Hmm... Adrestian Butter, bread, powdered Gautier Cheese, powdered garlic, and dried parsley.”

As Annette recounted the recipe to the best of her abilities, Ashe wobbled back to the kitchen with a few of Mercedes’ samples popped in his mouth.

“If you need an extra hand, I’d be happy to help!” He turned to the healer. “And Mercedes, these taste absolutely delightful! Eating them makes me feel all re-energized.”

“I’m always happy to help!” She smiled sweetly, dunking and scrubbing away the dirt on some pots and pans. Dimitri’s eyes widened.

“Ashe, are you certain you’re okay? I don’t want you pushing yourself too hard...”

“I’ll be fine, Your Highness! And besides, Mercedes’ sweets completely washed away the taste of your soup! ... Er, no offense.”

“None taken.”

“... And then we just pop them in the oven, and wait until the edges turn brown.”

“How convenient.” Dedue’s mouth turned up slightly. “I’m sure (F/N) and His Highness will like these.”

“They look quite scrumptious in there...” Ingrid licked her lips greedily. “Hopefully they don’t take too long... Hey, has anyone seen Sylvain? Last I heard he was on guard duty, but he could have run off with some girl at any time.”

“I’m still here,” called a voice from outside, “Ingrid, your lack of faith in me stings! Do you really think I’d be that calloused towards His Highness’s cause?”

“Yes.” Ingrid answered plainly.

“Yowch. That hurt.” Sylvain grimaced. “By the way Your Highness, we--”

. . .

“Sylvain?”

“You guys!” Sylvain came tumbling in, hysteria marring his smug features. “They’re coming!”

An unintelligible gurgle of surprise left the Lions’ throats and they drove to plate and add last minute details to their dishes. Dedue whipped out the duck and Ingrid the garlic bread, followed by a whole parade line of baked treats brought out by Annette and Ashe. Poor Mercedes, finishing up the last spoon in the sudsy basin, was suddenly bombarded with every plate, bowl, utensil, and pan in the kitchen-- not to mention The Pot of Poison. Dimitri set the wooden bowl that carried his salad on the table and he was instantly teleported away to a secluded section outside the dining hall. Sylvain carefully pulled out Dimitri’s finely decorated suit from under a brush, swatting away the little pebbles and specks of dirt that happened upon the fabric.

“It’s a good thing I kept the suit here. Imagine us running back to your quarters to change.”

“Thank you for thinking ahead, Sylvain.” Dimitri’s eyes flitted about him nervously. “I feel rather embarrassed changing out here in the open though...”

“We’re running out of time, Your Highness! Don’t worry, I’ll, uh, cover you.”

Dimitri shot him a grateful look and threw off his cape, which Sylvain caught and held up in a weak attempt to cover his friend. Dimitri chucked off his gloves and shimmied out of his boots; he then lifted the hem of his shirt past his neck and made quick work of his pants, shuffling and kicking the fabric away from him.

“Oh Goddess, they’re coming down this way! Quick, hide!”

“What?! Where?!”

“Uhh...!!!” Dimitri and Sylvain looked to and fro, their heart rate and cortisol levels reaching new heights. Behind the tree? No, the tree is hardly thick enough to cover the prince. The brush? Nah, it’s too small for a full grown man. No, no, he can’t run to the other side of the building, everyone will see his... parts. Sylvain pushed the bewildered Dimitri onto his knees, threw the tarp over him, and sat squarely on his back.

“Sylvain--?!”

“Hey hey hey, Fel and (Your Nickname)! Sooo, how was training?”

“Ah, well, y’know,” you answered back weakly, “tough.”

“Ah-hah! I see, I see!”

“Sylvain... What are you sitting on?” Felix’s eyes rested severely on the... quivering? quivering why was it quivering lump holding the male up. Sylvain looked down, then up, then down, then up, and chuckled nervously.

“Oh, y’know! It’s uh... It’s uh, a rock.”

“... A rock?”

“Yeah! Good ol’ rock here. Conveniently shaped too, y’know.” He patted something that felt a bit too round to just be Dimitri’s back; the two men quietly let out screams of the damned and Sylvain made a mental note to burn his hand off later.

“Huh... It does look quite comfy.” You mumbled, eyeing the spot where Sylvain just patted.

Please don’t sit here please don’t sit here please don’t sit here plea--

“Would you mind if I sat down for a bit?”

“Not at all.” Sylvain answered automatically, winking. It was in that moment that he truly regretted his playboy tendencies, and actually seriously considered change for a split second.  

“Great!” You skipped (more like limped) over to the silently screaming male(s). With a huff from you, Dimitri promptly felt something soft nestle into his rump; a portion of his soul disconnected from the mortal plane, never to be seen again.

“This... rock... feels kinda...” You shuffled in your ‘seat’ a bit. “soft.”

“A-A rock?! Soft?! Ha ha ha, don’t be silly, (F/N)!”

“And... This looks like Dimitri’s cape, does it not?”

“W-Why in the world would I have His Highness’s cape?”

“Well, that’s true... But, why would you put a piece of cloth on a rock like this?”

Sylvain just stopped working.

A good five seconds of silence ensued before the male finally found his tongue.

“Why wouldn’t you put a piece of cloth on a rock?”

“Well, if it’s an attempt to make the rock more comfortable, wouldn’t it make more sense to just... sit on the grass instead?”

“I mean, you’re right, but that doesn’t mean I can’t spread a blanket on a rock for my own personal comfort, right?”

The throbbing in your head only worsened as you tried to comprehend this man’s logic.

“Um... sure.” You stood up. “I’m gonna go freshen myself up a bit before I head to dinner. See you later, Sylvain.”

“Y-Yeah! Of course! Catch ya later!”

Sylvain waved you and the very confused Felix goodbye and eagerly watched you leave. After making sure that you two left and no one else was nearby, Sylvain slowly leaned over.

“Your Highness--”

Dimitri shot up like a man reborn, shocking the redhead off him and wheezing for air.

“I couldn’t... B-Breathe...”

“Sorry about that, Your Highness...” Sylvain accidentally made eye contact with The Hand and he immediately gagged. “Let’s not... talk about what happened here. Ever.”

“Agreed.”

Both men sighed deeply.

“Well, you heard her. She’s gonna freshen up a bit before she goes to dinner so there’s no rush now. ... Well, you’d still probably like to rush a bit, since you’re currently in your briefs.”

“Thanks, Sylvain.” Dimitri grumbled, slipping his achy legs into the high-quality fabric and buttoning up his shirt. He readjusted the crooked pins and small medals that adorned his breast and smoothed away any wrinkles.

“You’re lookin’ snazzy, Your Highness.” Sylvain chuckled. “Now we just gotta fix up your hair a bit.”

“My hair? It looks fine though, does it not?”

“Yeah, sure, it looks fine but that’s about it. C’mon, think about it! You wear the exact same hairstyle day in and day out. We gotta give it more of a ‘wow’ factor.” Sylvain’s brows furrowed deeply as he studied Dimitri’s face closely. “... Y’know, this might just work.”

“Huh? S-Sylvain, what are you--?”

“Trust me, Your Highness. (F/N)’s gonna love it!”

With a quick swipe of his hand, Sylvain flipped Dimitri’s bangs onto one side of his face. Sylvain took a step back and crossed his arms, satisfied.

“Woo, now that’s a prince!” Sylvain whistled.

“D-Do I really look... princely?”

“Always have, buddy.” Sylvain threw an arm around Dimitri’s shoulder. “But right now? The princeliest of princes.”

Dimitri’s eyes crinkled happily and he bowed deeply to his dear friend.

“I thank you, Sylvain. From the bottom of my heart... thank you.”

“H-Hey now.” Sylvain laughed, cheeks reddening. “No need for all that! I’m just doing what I can to help you with this. You deserve to be happy, Deems.”

Dimitri smiled in response and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Ready, Your Highness?”

“Ready.”