Chapter Text
"What are our names?"
His now 7 year old kids looked at Jeralt with their characteristic blank expressions. He was mildly surprised. He didn't think his children cared about anything other than combat, tactics, and the occasional fishing trip. It's not as if he meant to leave them nameless, it's just something that was once on his long list of to-do's he somehow never got around to. As such Jeralt and his mercenary group quickly fell in the habit of referring to them as "Boy" and "Girl" (or "kid" if they didn't feel like specifying).
Neither seemed to mind very much.
"I've never been much of a creative type to be honest with ya kids. You could always take my name or even make up your own."
Their eyes widened, it would have imperceptible to anyone but Jeralt but he recognized it for what it was. Pure excitement.
"We'll start thinking about it" said the girl
"We'll be in our tent" said the boy
Despite their incredibly quiet nature, the boy and girl were inseparable. Always training, eating, and sleeping together. Jeralt was certain they'd still bathe together were it socially acceptable. As they ran to the tent together, expertly dodging and avoiding the dozens of mercenaries milling about, Jeralt couldn't help but feel happy that they had found something new to work on together.
It wasn't until a month later that Jeralt would finally recieve the results of their now routine brainstorming sessions. Immediately after dinner they'd retreat to their quarters think of name ideas. Occasionally, they'd fight with one another as evidenced by the boy's clinging to Jeralt's side all day and the girl refusing to sleep in the same room as her brother.
They approached their father after daily training one day with the same imperceptible air of excitement as before. Jeralt found himself excited to hear their answer as well.
"Byleth" they said in unison, the faintest hint of a smile on both of their faces.
Jeralt brought his hand to his chin and thought for a while. He could tell the kids were waiting on his approval. To anyone else it might've looked like they were simply staring at him, but Jeralt's expertise on the emotional state of his children allowed him to view their adorable faces of anticipation with perfect clarity. Finally he said with a smile
"I like it, but won't it he a bit hard to tell you two apart?"
Evidently they had already thought of this, instantly reassuring Jeralt that it would he fine in unison. Jeralt valued his kids freedom as much as his own, and as such saw no reason to object if this was what they really wanted. Besides, the names "Bylon" and "Bylese" were already in the back of his mind were this to become an issue later down the road.
"Then it's settled" said Jeralt with a thumbs up. The twins looked at one another, granting both Jeralt and each other a rare smile.
That very night, at dinner, Jeralt annouced to his entire band of mercenaries the new (first) names of his children. Many congratulations and compliments were sent their way, and many would remember it as the first time they ever saw either Byleth clearly happy and content. Despite now officially having names, Byleth and Byleth continued to be affectionately known as "Boy" and "Girl" for many of the years that followed.
Neither seemed to mind very much.