#really laid on the preskip awkwardness bc that was a great idea anon

[indigowallbreaker]

may i please request dimitri x bernadetta with the tiny hands and big hands hand holding prompt? (maybe pre timeskip for the extra cuteness/awkwardness) i love this ship so much but it's almost nonexistent T-T

It has been so long since I’ve done a story from Bernadetta’s POV! Time to fix that.

(Currently accepting rare ships! Click here for the info post!)

--

On her first day as the newest member of the Blue Lion house, Bernadetta had been on high alert for anything-- teasing from a certain redhead, more pushiness from a certain pegasus rider, even death. 

What she hadn’t expected was for the Professor to hand her a wooden lance as soon as the Lions filed into the training grounds. “Your first assignment is to learn how to fight with this,” Professor had said.  

And so Bernadetta claimed the bench furthest from the rest of the class and held her lance miserably. This was too much change for one day. How could the Professor be so cruel? Bernadetta had transferred so she could be more comfortable, not so she could navigate a brand new weapon! A melee weapon at that. Didn’t the Professor know anything about Bernadetta’s fighting style? Weren’t there records or files of this kind of thing?!

Loud footsteps made Bernadetta look up, and she gripped the lance tight on reflex. Prince Dimitri stopped a good distance away. He smiled at Bernadetta and waved. She just stared back, trying to guess what he could possibly want from her.

“Hello,” he said after some silence.

“Hi,” she replied automatically.

“I, um, see you have a lance.” He pointed at her lap.

“Y-Yeah.”

“That’s good. They are fine weapons.”

Bernadetta frowned. Were they? She had been all set with her bow. Maybe this was his way of ordering her to train-- Dimitri was the house leader after all, not to mention a prince.

Dimitri cleared his throat. “Would you care to spar together?”

There weren’t words to describe how bad an idea that was. Bernadetta could only shake her head, prepared to bolt if he insisted.

Instead, Dimitri gave a too-loud laugh and looked away. “Of course not, sorry. That is too much. Um, may I have a seat instead?” He gestured to the other side of the bench.

“Y-You can have it.” Bernadetta shot to her feet. “You can have the whole bench! I’ll find a different bench. Bye!” 

Dimitri blocked her escape, both hands up placatingly. “Wait! Please!” Bernadetta took a few steps back and ended up half falling back onto the bench again. Stunned, Bernadetta dropped the lance. It rolled until it hit Dimitri’s boots. They both stared at it for a moment.

Lowering his hands, Dimitri spoke slowly, “I’m sorry if I offended you. I just wish to learn more about you.”

“W-Why?!” Bernadetta’s eyes darted around helplessly. If she could just get the Professor to notice she was in danger--

“Because Professor Byleth has explained that you scare easily, and I thought you might... like a friend.”

All of Bernadetta’s focus went back to Dimitri. She tilted her head at him. “You want to be my friend?” She repeated 

He chuckled. “Was my attempt that clumsy? Yes, Bernadetta. I would like to be your friend. At the very least I would like you to be more at ease around me.”

“B-Because you’re the house leader?”  

“Well, yes. But also because it’s hard to train with someone you are not comfortable with. I’m not sure if the Professor told you, but we train together a lot in the Blue Lions.”

Bernadetta looked down at her discarded lance. It seemed she wasn’t alone in valuing the comfortable and familiar. “I prefer fighting with a bow and arrow,” Bernadetta confessed. “It keeps me away from people, both enemies and allies. I don’t know how to use a lance and I don’t want to know. T-That’s why I don’t want to spar with you. I’m sorry.”

Dimitri bent and picked up the lance. “You know, the entire point of a lance is to put distance between yourself and your opponent,” he explained.

“It is?”

“See how long it is? This is not a weapon for close quarter combat, like a sword or an axe. It’s best suited for keeping the enemy at bay. I would think that makes it the perfect alternate weapon for you.” Dimitri held out the lance with a small smile. Bernadetta stared at it. Was all that true? It made sense, the more she thought about it. Perhaps she should have trust the Professor’s judgement.

Nodding to herself, Bernadetta stood, stretched out her hand-- and hesitated. What if this whole thing was a plot to humiliate her in front of her new classmates? There was no way she was as strong as the others here. Maybe her aim was good but she didn’t have muscles like Felix or Ingrid. She would make a fool of herself if she started swinging around a lance! Oh why didn’t she run away when she had the chance?!

Dimitri took her outstretched hand. Bernadetta tensed but didn’t pull herself free, too stunned to act. “You do not have to decide right now” he said. “I can speak to the Professor about letting you train with the bow and arrow today, if you like.”

Bernadetta squeezed his hand. “Could you? That would be great! I-I’m sure you’re right that I could use a lance but, it’s just, it’s too much today. I don’t think I can-- I’m sorry.”

Dimitri’s smile softened. “It’s alright. As I said, it’s important to be at ease with your partner. Once you are more comfortable with us, then we can see about getting you comfortable with a new weapon.”

“O-Okay...” Bernadetta looked down at their hands. His were so big compared to hers. It should have been scary, but it was surprisingly comforting. Like he could protect her just by holding her hand. 

They stood there long enough that Dimitri cleared his throat again. She looked up to find him blushing. “I should-- I will go speak with Professor Byleth.” Dimitri said. But he didn’t move.

Bernadetta stared. He seemed nervous all of a sudden. What did a big guy like him have to be nervous about? Maybe it was the idea of talking to the Professor. It sometimes made Bernadetta nervous, that was for sure. “I-I’ll go with you! It’s only right, since you’re doing this for me.” Still holding his hand, she began leading them towards the far end of the training grounds where Professor Byleth stood with the rest of the class.

“Um, alright then. Thank you.”

“No problem. It’s honestly a relief to know I’m not the only shy one in this class.” She tried to smile encouragingly at him, but found his cheeks had grown redder. Oh no. Was she embarrassing him? Was she making things worse?! Way to go, Bernie, you just embarrassed the Prince of the Kingdom in front of the whole class! 

Then Dimitri smiled down at her. It lit up his eyes and complimented his blush in a way that Bernadetta found almost maybe kind of cute. “I’m not sure if anyone has said this yet but, welcome to the Blue Lion House, Bernadetta.”

That smile caused Bernadetta’s entire face to heat up. She looked away, pushing back panic. “Ah, um, t-thank you,” she managed, squeezing his hand again.

Despite starting off the day in a miserable corner with an unknown weapon in a brand new class, Bernadetta felt strangely optimistic as they approached Professor Byleth. Maybe, with a friend like Dimitri, life as a Blue Lion wouldn’t be so bad after all.