Chapter Text
Dimitri could pinpoint the exact moment where everything changed.
It wasn’t when one would think, no. It wasn’t the moment this former mercenary had shown up, only a few years older than Dimitri at the most and became a Professor at the monastery. It wasn’t then. Then, there was a part of Dimitri that didn’t trust him when they’d first met, especially since this new professor was going to be overseeing his class.
But as the professor held his lectures, as he led them on the battlefield, as he spent almost all of his free time with his students, or around the monastery, Dimitri could feel the winds of change quietly blowing through Garreg Mach.
Dimitri learned that Byleth was someone who completely and wholly committed to everything he did. On the battlefield, he was always completely focused, calling out orders and moving with deadly grace and precision when cutting down his enemies. He made sure that every student sustained the least amount of injuries as possible, and divided teams based on strengths and weaknesses so that students would be able to cover for one another.
In the classroom, Dimitri was well aware that Byleth didn’t have any academia experience before coming to the monastery, and definitely didn’t have much experience teaching and was curious as to how Byleth would adapt. But somehow, he had become a great teacher that all of the students at the monastery, Blue Lions or not, looked up to.
Byleth was a mercenary, a fighter by trade, and Dimitri had never really seen him use magic, but he seemed to be able to effortlessly explain spells and formulas to Annette and Mercedes, whenever they asked for extra help after class.
He never seemed like the gentle type, but Dimitri would often pass by the greenhouse to see Byleth in there with Dedue, the two of them in a comfortable silence as they watered plants. There seemed to be a light in the professor’s eyes when he went back to the greenhouse every week to reap his harvest. He gave out any flowers that bloomed as gifts to his students, male or female, Blue Lions or not. Students eventually began vying for receiving flowers from Byleth, even if they weren’t particularly interested in gardening at all.
Dimitri even saw Byleth and Ashe trading fishing tips, and watched them fish together at the pier. When Sylvain invited the professor to have lunch with him, Felix, and Ingrid after class one day, Byleth agreed, and Dimitri watched all three of their faces light up in their own way. Sylvain beamed. Felix, as always, pretended as though he didn’t want to attend, but Dimitri could tell by the sparkle in his eyes that he was very excited -- probably to pick Byleth’s brain about fighting techniques. Ingrid clapped her hands together and started preemptively scolding Sylvain and Felix about not eating like savages in front of the professor.
At the training grounds, Byleth worked with everyone, adjusting their techniques so that they would get the most power and accuracy from every movement.
“On the battlefield, every movement that does not serve a purpose is energy wasted,” he would say. Dimitri would watch Felix get frustrated in spars with Byleth when the professor would take a win by adding a brawling element to their swordplay. Dimitri thought one day he might try adding that to his own fighting style.
The most coveted activity with Byleth was tea time. That was special, one-on-one time with the professor that every student (and faculty member, Dimitri noticed), secretly (and not-so-secretly, for some) wanted with Byleth. He was beautiful and enigmatic; a complete monster of a warrior and a genius tactician on the battlefield, but had an endearing softness to him that made him easy to get along with, even if one couldn’t often tell what he was feeling based on the expressions on his deadpan face. It made people want to get to know him better to see all the kinds of expressions that Byleth could make.
Dimitri had been the first person that Byleth had invited to tea many weeks ago, though Dimitri figured it was just because he was the leader of the Blue Lions house and future King of Faerghus. Even so, he was still happy to receive the invite.
“What kind of tea do you like?” Byleth had asked, rummaging through a few boxes of tea.
“I’m sure that I would enjoy anything you have on you, Professor,” Dimitri assured him politely.
“Hmm, alright,” Byleth said, grabbing a gold tin and started to prepare the tea. Dimitri waited patiently until a familiar smoky sweet scent wafted through the air. He poured the tea into a beautiful cup, arranging a few snacks on the table before he sat down. “I thought we could have some chamomile.”
Dimitri blinked a few times before nodding. “Chamomile is my favorite.”
“Oh, it’s mine as well,” Byleth said, Dimitri noticing his dark green eyes light up ever so slightly. “It was the very first tea that my father taught me to brew, I think. Not that we had much time for tea like this when we were traveling, but I had it whenever I could.”
Dimitri took a sip of the tea, delicious and herbaceous, steeped for just the right amount of time to bring out the smoky apple flavor that Dimitri loved. “It’s wonderful, Professor, thank you.”
He realized that he’d never really had peaceful, tranquil time with Byleth like this. The Blue Lions had dinner together every Saturday night, but those dinners were usually filled with laughter and chatter. Byleth was also a comically voracious eater, loading up his plate and usually choosing to just eat and listen rather than engage. Now, just sipping tea with Byleth in the garden, Dimitri had a chance to really look at the professor.
He was objectively beautiful, Dimitri had already known this from the moment he laid eyes on him at Remire, and from the way he drew attention from both men and women. But over time, and especially now, sitting this close, Dimitri really noticed that Byleth was...cute. His mannerisms, the slight shifts in tone of his voice, the way that Byleth’s dark green hair fell into his eyes and framed his face. How long his eyelashes were, how his green eyes sparkled with bits of gold and emerald. How soft and pink his lips looked when he put them to his tea cup to drink—
Oh, no, Dimitri thought.
He didn’t remember what they’d talked about that afternoon, but he did know that he had a lot of fun. Even if Byleth did probably only invite him because he was the future Holy King, Dimitri found himself not really caring. He went to the market after tea that day to buy Byleth his favorite brand of chamomile tea. He’d give it to him as a gift later.
One morning, weeks later, Dimitri passed the greenhouse, and briefly thought about how he had yet to receive flowers from Byleth. He told himself it was fine, though, he didn’t care for flowers very much, and he usually spent time with Byleth at the training grounds, or at the stables, since Byleth had been encouraging him to pick up riding. He’d gotten to spend a lot of time with Byleth and now trusted him completely. So what if he didn’t get any flowers?
“Oh, Dimitri,” he heard a familiar voice call and turned immediately. Byleth was dressed light today, in the academy’s summer outfit, as it was Sunday, and Dimitri thought he actually looked pretty...cute.
“Good afternoon, Professor,” Dimitri greeted, ignoring how the slight breeze blew strands of Byleth’s deep green hair into his face. “How are you enjoying your free time today?”
“Quite well, thank you,” Byleth responded. “I was actually looking for you.”
“Oh, me?” Dimitri asked, surprised. “I—what do you need from me, Professor?”
“I was wondering if you were available now to share some tea with me,” Byleth said and Dimitri felt his breath hitch. An invite to have tea with Byleth again!
“Yes, I’m free. I would love to,” Dimitri said.
“Lovely. Shall we go now?”
Dimitri nodded. “Yes, but I have something that I’d like to give you. May I retrieve it and then meet you at the faculty gardens shortly?”
“Oh, sure,” Byleth said with a nod. “I’ll procure some snacks in the meantime. Last time we had tea, I don’t think there were enough snacks.”
“I believe you ate them all last time, Professor,” Dimitri reminded him playfully, and Byleth’s lips seemed to curve up in a little smile.
So cute, Dimitri thought.
“That’s right, I did. Well, I’ll get more snacks so that you may have some, too.”
“Sounds great, Professor, I’ll see you soon,” Dimitri said, waving as he headed back to his room to grab the box of chamomile that he had purchased a few weeks back. It was still sealed so it would still be fresh. He hurried over to the professor’s garden, where he was setting up some snacks, already seeming to currently be eating a pastry.
“Dimitri,” he greeted, covering his mouth since he had, indeed, just finished off a scone.
“Professor, thank you so much for having me for tea this afternoon,” Dimitri said with a smile, ignoring how cute Byleth was with crumbs on his mouth. He handed Byleth the little aluminum tin. “I, ah—it’s not much, but I got you this shortly after our first tea time together, since we both enjoy chamomile. This is my favorite tea, from back home in Faerghus.”
Dimitri watched the professor’s eyes light up slightly as he examined the tin. “This is very thoughtful of you, thank you, Dimitri,” he said. “I don’t believe I’ve really spent much time in Faerghus before, so I’ve not tried this tea before. Would you like to brew it?”
“My father used to make it for me when I was a boy. I would love to show you how he taught me to do it,” Dimitri said, and Byleth offered the tin back to Dimitri. As Dimitri showed Byleth the process that his father had taught him, Byleth watching attentively and silently, absorbing every detail.
Dimitri poured the tea for both of them before sitting across Byleth. The professor took a sip and it was Dimitri’s turn to watch attentively to see his reaction. “This is lovely, Dimitri. It is the best cup of tea I’ve had since coming to Garreg Mach,” he complimented, and Dimitri was absolutely glowing .
“I’m so honored and pleased you like it, Professor. Now you can make it yourself, authentically Faergherian,” he said, beaming.
“It won’t be authentic unless it’s made by the Crown Prince of Faerghus, as taught by the former King. What makes this tea delicious isn’t the flavor, or even where it’s from, but the love and care behind which it is made,” Byleth said, to which Dimitri felt his cheeks color. “It is clear your father loved you very much.”
“T-that’s very kind of you to say, Professor. Thank you,” Dimitri said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
“I have something for you as well,” Byleth said, standing to fetch something from a tray nearby. “Though not as delicious as your tea, I did do a bit of research and asked Dedue for some advice on your food preferences. And I recruited Mercedes to assist me with this project earlier in the morning. They were baking while I was in the greenhouse.”
He placed a delicate plate of three puffed pastries, each with a different color jam pressed into the center, powdered sugar dusted lightly on top. “It’s slightly different than the bun trio the Head Chef would make — this one is Noa fruit, this one is Albinean berry, and this one is peach currant and apple.”
“Professor, your thoughtfulness never ceases to amaze me,” Dimitri said with admiration. “You made these for me?”
“You are a hard worker, and my best student, and I would like to reward your efforts,” Byleth told him and Dimitri was practically giddy from the praise. “And, in all honesty, I had been expecting you to be free upon finding you, which is why I made them today.”
“I can’t wait to try these, they look delicious,” Dimitri said, gathering a butter knife and placing a small plate in front of himself and the professor. “Would you split each one with me? I’d like to try them all with you.”
“Of course,” Byleth said, as Dimitri was already starting to cut into them.
The hour they spent together passed too quickly for Dimitri’s liking. He could spend all day with the professor if it were possible, but Byleth needed to go to choir practice soon and Dimitri wanted to respect his time.
“I had such a lovely time this afternoon, Professor,” Dimitri said earnestly as he stood, helping Byleth gather the plates and cups.
“Good, as did I,” Byleth said, also standing. “Would you like to have tea again with me next Sunday?”
Dimitri felt a warmth bloom in his chest. The professor was making plans with him for next week? Reserving his precious free time in advance for Dimitri? “Yes, I would love to.”
“Wonderful, it’s a date,” Byleth said and Dimitri’s face immediately turned pink.
“P-professor, a d-date, I—”
Then Byleth actually laughed , a lovely, beautiful sound that he stifled a bit with a loose fist. Oh, how Dimitri wanted to bottle up that sound and keep it just for himself to listen to whenever he pleased. “You are so very easy to tease, Dimitri.”
Dimitri swallowed, visibly deflating. “So...no tea next week?”
Byleth chuckled again, placing a hand on Dimitri’s shoulder. “I wasn’t teasing about that, Dimitri. I would love to have tea with you every Sunday. Would that be amenable for you?”
The prince beamed. “Y-yes, that sounds amazing, Professor. I’ll be sure to keep this block of time open every week.”
“Great,” Byleth said, and paused for a moment, holding up a finger to signal for Dimitri to wait. He pulled out a beautiful bunch of bright blue flowers from his satchel, handing them to Dimitri. Forget-me-nots. “See you,” he said, and swept out before Dimitri could even say anything.
Oh, Goddess , Dimitri thought as he watched the professor’s back get smaller and smaller. He glanced down at the small, delicate bouquet of flowers. Everything changed in this moment, where he realized, I love him.