Chapter Text
It was hard to believe that the woman in the mirror who stared back at Byleth was her. She felt like that every time she had to don the elaborate costume, though the priests and nuns would doubtlessly be horrified by what she called the archbishop’s gown. It was a costume to her, however. The work itself was fine, but all the formalities and stuffy meetings always reminded her of how out of place she was there. Thankfully, these meetings didn’t tend to happen very often and had an added benefit that made it more than worth the trouble.
The Church and Kingdom were determined to maintain a good rapport after all that happened, so they proposed that a summit would be held a handful of times a year. This meant that most of the Kingdom’s noble family heads would be in attendance.
It meant that she could see Felix.
A year and a half had passed, and it was just as hectic as he said it would be. Byleth was pulled from meeting to meeting and given document after document, leaving her barely enough time to write letters to Felix. To make matters more difficult, Byleth didn’t really know how to go about writing something like that. The page ended up being filled with rushed descriptions of what was going on at the monastery, smashed together with her thoughts that were laced with affection and worry. It always ended up being difficult to read, even for her. Thankfully, Felix always took the time to comb through the messy words, seeming to be able to understand whatever she was trying to convey. From what he had written back, she knew he was just as busy in aiding the King’s plans to unify all of Fodlan. He expressed a lot of contempt about not having enough time to fight in some of the skirmishes farther up north of his territory, which amused her. Although, she would be lying if she said she hadn’t felt frustrated about the very same issue. She played with the hem of her sleeve and hummed quietly to herself, remembering how Felix once said, long ago, that they were cut from the same cloth.
The summit would happen later in the day, so she didn’t understand why she had to prepare so many hours beforehand. It made her too anxious to wander around because she would never hear the end of it if she got the pristine white garment dirty. So, the moment the church officials left her room, she shucked off the robes and slipped into her regular clothes. If she was caught, she’d just have to say that this was better than the alternative, which would have been the unceremonious destruction of the delicate dress. After contemplating for a moment, she grabbed a hooded robe that some of the nuns wore to obstruct her face; she had hidden in her room for just these occasions. Peering out the door, Byleth made sure the coast was clear before rushing out. She knew it was unlikely that he would already be there, but she couldn’t stand to wait any longer. It was ridiculous that she had to go to such lengths for a little freedom, but she had to admit that sneaking out was exhilarating. Even more so now that she was sneaking out to wait for Felix.
“Lady Byleth!”
On her way out of the building, she skidded to a halt when her eyes met with a couple of familiar faces and, before she could react, the two towering figures were already upon her.
Dimitri pulled her in for a firm hug while Dedue simply bowed silently. She made a confused noise, prompting Dimitri to pull back and take a better look at her. He frowned slightly as he gestured to her cloak. “Why are you – are you trying to hide from someone?”
“What are you doing here so early?” Byleth nervously smiled at him, adjusting the hood to better conceal her face when people looked over curiously at them. He didn’t seem to realize that she’d dodged the question, continuing with a small, warm smile.
“Well, it’s been quite a while since we’ve been at Garreg Mach. I figured we could spend a few hours catching up with people,” Dimitri shifted his gaze over to Dedue. “We travelled down here with Sylvain, Ingrid, and Felix, but Felix ran off somewhere the moment we arrived.”
“Perhaps he is looking for you, Lady Byleth,” Dedue chimed in when he saw the puzzled look on her face. Ran off somewhere? Felix must have gone to the usual place to wait, taking off without telling his travel companions. Byleth contemplated for a moment. They certainly shared that one-track mind.
“Oh,” something else dawned on her. “Dimitri, Dedue, you can drop the ‘Lady’ honorific.”
“Right, right,” Dimitri hesitated, diverting his gaze awkwardly. “it has become a habit since that’s how I have to refer to you in public.” She couldn’t blame him for that. Afterall, she had to address him as His Majesty in public. It was somewhat difficult to switch at times, especially when personal banter had long interludes due to the frequency of their meetings.
Suddenly, Dedue said something that would have made her spit out her drink had she been drinking. “Would you prefer to be called Duchess instead?”
Byleth and Dimitri turned and stared at him, mouths agape. His usual calm expression cracked under their gaze, showing a hint of nervousness. She and Felix never really talked about their relationship, even to their friends. It was in part due to being under constant public scrutiny, but the main reason was that they were both horrible at talking about anything. Of course, she shouldn’t have been surprised by their friends’ knowledge of them. It was just that it had never been brought up so suddenly; she wasn't prepared to talk about it. Not to mention the implication that they’d already gotten hitched.
“Dedue!” Dimitri pulled him aside and his voice lowered to a frenzied whisper she could barely hear. “Felix hasn’t even proposed yet.”
He looked even more concerned than before. “But I saw-“
“DEDUE WE MUST GO OVER THERE NOW.”
Dimitri tugged Dedue away from her, spilling apologies, and Byleth managed in her stupor to wave goodbye. What did he see that gave him that idea? She blinked and remembered the mission she was on before running into them, so she set out once again, slightly flustered. Felix. At least she knew now that he’d arrived at the monastery. She didn’t have to wonder where he would be. He would wait for her in the same spot every time he visited.
In the distance, Byleth spotted the goddess tower and couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her lips as she continued on her way. It had been 7, almost 8 years since Felix made the vow that was basically a threat. They hadn’t even meant to see each other there. She was aware about the legend of the Goddess Tower back then; the tale that if two people met at the tower that night and made a vow, the goddess would make it come true. Despite knowing this, the celebrations got so overwhelming that she was desperate to find some place that wasn’t swarming with people. As it turned out, Felix had the same idea and slipped out earlier in the evening.
It sounded a little too coincidental, thinking back on it, but it was hard to imagine Felix going out of his way to meet her there.
Byleth was so busy mulling things over in her head that she nearly crashed into the gates. Somehow, her legs had delivered her to her destination without her knowing. The tall, iron entrance loomed over her and she craned her neck slightly to examine it. How many times had she passed under this archway? It was practically her home because, back then, it was the only place at the monastery where she felt like she belonged. The monastery was immaculate and orderly; she was just a tattered, cynical mercenary who was far too young for such a career. She knew it was an odd place to find comfort in, but it was what felt most familiar to her.
Byleth opened the gates to the training grounds.
As always, Felix was standing at the center of the yard, nonchalantly examining the two training swords in his hands. When she stepped in, his eyes flickered up to meet hers and she saw the faintest trace of a smile. She returned in kind as they quietly walked toward each other, and when they were just a few steps away, Felix tossed her one of the swords. No words had been spoken yet, but they both adjusted their grip and readied themselves. She fixed her gaze on him as they began to circle each other slowly.
The sound of clashing steel didn’t register when Byleth felt the hilt in her hand tremor from blocking Felix’s sudden strike. As the shiver worked its way up through her arm, she grinned at him, basking in the rush of adrenaline. She saw the flash of a tender smile before he quickly covered it up with an intense look. The catharsis from just the start of battle reminded Byleth just how much she missed this, as it did every time.
After the initial hit, they slowed down considerably and traded light blows. These bouts tended to start like this as a sort of affirmation; did they still know how the other fought? Of course, Felix never disappointed, reacting and returning every single one of her strikes as if it was the most natural thing to do. This coordinated dance never lasted long. There had to be a winner, after all.
Byleth was the one to break the routine. However, her abrupt cuts and thrusts were so effortlessly blocked that she was taken aback. During a parry, Felix took an opening to strike and her eyes widened as she barely dodged the point of the blade. She couldn’t find much time to practice and she assumed he was too busy as well, but clearly, she was wrong. She didn’t think the difference would be this staggering.
“Getting sloppy, are we?” Felix quipped, smirking at her shock.
“That’s the first thing you say to me after 6 months apart?” She let out a breathy laugh, desperately trying not to show how winded she was already.
“Fine. Getting sloppy, my love?”
Felix was still pretty bad at voicing his affection, so the use of the pet name would have been a very sweet moment had it not been dripping with sarcasm. The fact that they were duelling each other didn’t help either. Still, her traitorous heart skipped a beat when she heard him say it, causing her to botch her next swing. She cursed under a laboured breath, wondering if he said it just to distract her. Two could play at that game.
“Did you-” Byleth gasped as had to counter a harsh blow before continuing. “-follow me into the Goddess Tower?”
“…What?”
“When you vowed to defeat me. Did you mean for us to meet there?”
Felix seemed to recoil, allowing Byleth a moment to gather her wits as he stood there dumbfoundedly.
“Where is this all coming from?”
“Is there something so wrong about wanting to catch up, darling?”
As much as she would have loved to hear the answer, she finally managed to regain some ground thanks to Felix’s momentary bewilderment. He seemed to be caught off guard by her second wind, nearly losing his balance while trying to avoid a swing. A sudden, crooked sweep of Byleth’s sword sent the one in his hand twirling in the air. They both watched as it clattered loudly to the ground. Byleth was quick to act; she wasted no time pushing him to the ground and pointing the tip of the sword at his face.
No one would have been able to tell that Felix had just lost a duel by his expression. As he looked up at Byleth with absolute reverence, she took the time to examine him. Not much had changed in 6 months; the only noticeable difference was a couple of new scars on his hands and face. A lot of his work involved more physical conflict than hers, so she shouldn’t have been surprised, but it was still disheartening to imagine the wounds that caused them. She bit back a comment, knowing that she’d gained some scars from skirmishes during their time apart as well.
Shaking off her worried thoughts, Byleth extended her hand out to Felix to help him up. However, when he grabbed on, he only pulled himself up to his knee. She tilted her head quizzically at him as he began fumbling around his pocket with his other hand. A gasp became stuck in her throat when Felix finally fished out what he was looking for. He diverted his gaze as he held out a silver ring, seeming to be just as flustered as she was, despite being the one down on their knee.
“I’ve been carrying this around for quite some time now, and I didn’t know when to actually…” He hesitated as a blush crept up his face. “Earlier, I saw how your eyes lit up when you saw me, and I nearly went down then and there. Seeing you like that, I realized that being away from you is… I don’t want to keep you waiting here like this. I’ll do everything I can to bring you back with me.”
Felix raised his head, seeming more composed than before. Meanwhile, Byleth’s nerves had only just gotten started. Laughter bubbled up from her, but it ended in a sort of sob as she clutched onto his hand. She was undoubtedly happy, and the overwhelming wave of emotions had rendered her speechless.
Sensing her shock, Felix smiled softly and guided her hand to his lips before murmuring, “I think I owe you a better vow.”
“You don’t want to renew our old one?” Byleth managed to get out, holding back another happy sob.
“No offense, Byleth, but I’ve won against you plenty of times now.”
She went to push him lightly for the cheeky answer, but he easily blocked her hand because he expected that reaction. As she shook her head amusedly, she noticed that Felix was avoiding eye contact again. Just as she was about to comment, it dawned on her; he was going to have unimaginable trouble trying to ask the actual question. Byleth felt bad about wanting to tease him, but it slipped out before she could stop herself.
“Are you going to answer my question about the Goddess Tower incident?”
Felix snapped his head up and made a noise of disbelief, his face now completely flushed. “Byleth, are you genuinely doing this right now? While I’m down on one knee, proposing to you?.”
“I’ll only answer your question after you answer mine.”
“Fine,” he glared at her, but it was far less intimidating because of the very obvious blush on his face. “I knew you weren’t fond of crowded places and I saw you eyeing the tower earlier in the evening. It wasn’t hard to put two and two together.”
“Wait, so you went with the intention to threaten me?”
“No!” Felix sputtered, eyes widening. “I just… I don’t know. We were about to graduate, and I wanted to find a way to… keep you near me. Or, at the very least, to make sure you would remember me. I didn’t know what my feelings were at the time and spoke without thinking, so I ended up making a fool out of myself, okay?”
So, it hadn’t been a coincidence after all. Byleth wondered just how long he’d been waiting in the tower before she arrived. She felt her chest tighten when she thought about how this meant his confession had been put on hold for 6 agonizing years. To make matters worse, she had been “absent” for 5 of them. Felix’s battle worn hand was still gripped onto hers, so she gently tugged on it to get his attention. He lifted his head reluctantly and met her eyes.
“I’m sorry I kept you waiting for so long.” Byleth smiled sadly at him, absentmindedly tracing shapes into the back of his hand. Felix’s brows furrowed in confusion before his eyes lit up with realization. A pained look flashed across his sharp features, undoubtedly remembering the 5 years he spent wondering if she was still alive, and a somber silence fell over him. She moved her other hand and tenderly caressed the side of his face, wanting to console him. To her relief, the corners of his mouth tugged up and he relaxed into her hold.
“You’re here now. That’s all that matters.” Felix murmured after a moment and was no longer trying to divert his gaze. Instead, he stared up at her with a steadfast expression. “I love you, and I want to be by your side. Byleth, will you marry me?”
All she could manage to do was nod eagerly to the man who cherished her wholeheartedly for all these years. Slipping the ring onto her finger, Felix stood up and slid his arms around her waist, pulling her in for a heartfelt kiss. Byleth relished how she could feel his smile against hers and wrapped her arms behind his neck, yearning to be as close to him as possible.
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Seeing the dining hall filled with her rowdy friends brought back waves of nostalgia, and Byleth chuckled slightly when she saw some former Blue Lion students enthusiastically beckoned her and Felix to their table. This was a stark contrast to the summit just moments before; they had all exchanged formal pleasantries, pretending like they hadn’t just been gossiping about the cut of Lorenz’s hair.
Felix led Byleth to the table with a hand resting on her lower back, causing an uproar of hoots and hollers that were started by none other than Sylvain. She felt her face flare up and heard Felix swear, but she couldn’t help her laughter when Ingrid slapped Sylvain upside the head. The crowd settled down quickly after his loud yelp of pain and she saw Felix silently mouth a “thanks,” to Ingrid.
“My apologies, Felix. I wasn’t aware that you hadn’t proposed yet and nearly told Byleth this morning.” Dedue began with his usual solemn look the moment they settled down on the bench, but the last part was tinged with guilt. “At the last summit, I noticed you holding the rings and made a rash assumption.”
“Don’t worry about it, Dedue,” Felix peered over at Byleth, letting a soft smile rest on his face. “I should’ve proposed long before this anyhow.”
Ingrid and Sylvain ‘awwww’ed at his answer while Dimitri shook his head slightly in disbelief. “I can’t believe you thought they’d gotten engaged 6 months ago and didn’t mention anything to us.”
“They’re a very secretive couple, Dimitri. I’m sure Dedue thought that it was the right thing to do,” Ingrid pulled a stack of cups toward her and began pouring out drinks for everyone at the table. “To be honest, this is the first time I’ve seen them touch each other.”
Sylvain deemed it safe enough to contribute to the teasing, and his eyes lit up with mischief as he loudly whispered, “yeah, I’m pretty sure they still haven’t even made eye contact yet.”
The group snickered at Felix’s vain attempts to swipe at Sylvain from across the table, and Byleth prayed that he wouldn’t noticed the assortment of cutlery near his arm at his disposal. Entertained by what was unfolding in front of her, she simply listened as their bickering went on, letting a small smile play on her lips. Beside her, Felix discreetly slid his hand into hers beneath the table, prompting her to look over at him curiously. Like Ingrid said, they were rarely seen being affectionate to each other in public, so this was a pleasant change of pace.
“For the love of-Sylvain, shut your mouth, please,” Byleth wasn’t sure what he had said to garner that reaction, but she saw Ingrid punch his shoulder fairly hard. He winced at the impact but was right back to grinning seconds later.
“I’m just saying!” He raised his hands up beside him in mock surrender, amusement twinkling in his eyes. From what Byleth could put together, Sylvain was now bothering everyone else at the table about their love lives. As a flustered Dimitri was presenting some sort of defense for himself that no one was buying, she felt Felix squeeze her hand slightly. When she looked over, she tilted her head slightly as a silent way to ask, “what is it?”
He checked around him to make sure no one would overhear him. Satisfied, he leaned in with an amused look and whispered, “you still haven’t said it back to me yet. Did you get distracted by something?”
Byleth frowned slightly at the incredibly familiar phrase, not quite getting what he was saying. What did she not say back?
“Or do I need to wait for that, too?”
Realization dawned on her when she felt Felix fidget with the ring that was on her left hand. He’d said this to her before when... She laughed, slightly embarrassed by how she’d forgotten to give an actual verbal response to his proposal because of the shock. She did nod, though. Still, she supposed that after how she’d insisted him to confess his feelings that momentous night, it was only fair for him to tease her about not articulating her answer.
Feeling a little bold, partly because of her need to one-up him, Byleth leaned in closer and cradled the side of Felix’s face; his expression shifted from amused to suspicious. He turned his head to the side nervously, no doubt not wanting their friends to notice, but before he could move again, she quickly pulled him in by the chin. With their face just an inch apart, she whispered, “I love you too, and yes, I will marry you,” before closing the gap with a quick peck on his lips.
Felix pulled away as if he’d just kissed hot coals, his bewildered face becoming completely flushed as Byleth practically cackled at him. She could feel her face burning up as well, but his reaction was well worth the momentary embarrassment. As she laughed, she heard delighted gasps from the rest of the people at their table. She couldn’t help but think that his flustered expression was adorable. Sylvain playfully whistled at them, earning another smack from Ingrid. Byleth grabbed Felix’s hand and smiled at him apologetically, and the gleam of indignation in his eyes fizzled out almost immediately. Sighing, he glared at Sylvain before finally turning back to her with a slightly amused look. With a tender smile, he squeezed her hand once more, flooding her chest with warmth. She felt immensely pleased knowing that she was the only person in the world that Felix would forgive so easily.
As the bickering started up again, this time due to Sylvain’s “get a room” comments, Byleth shifted closer to Felix and he wrapped an arm around her, shooting him a sidelong glance. She smiled up at him and gently rested her head on his shoulder. After all this time, this was still her favourite thing to do; pressing an ear up against him to hear his voice resonate. She always found it comforting. This peace of mind was unimaginable until just 2 years ago. This didn’t mean that the rest of their lives would be easy, of course, but Byleth felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. No matter the hardship, Felix would be there for her, and she would be there for him. Even in the noisy dining hall, her eyes fluttered shut as his voice lulled her to rest.
However, Byleth felt a light pat on her cheek, and she begrudgingly lifted her head slightly to meet Felix’s eyes. He motioned for her to turn her head, and he began whispering into her ear again when she obliged. His tone was jovial, but there was a hint of a challenge flickering in his eyes.
“You better know I’m going to make you pay for your little stunt earlier.”
Byleth raised a brow at him. Engaged or not, there was no way they would let go of their rivalry. Tilting her head up to reach his ear better, she hummed slightly, pretending to mull something over. She chuckled when she felt him shiver from the warmth of her breath, and leaned in even closer to whisper,
“Do your worst.”