Series introduction:

The Fire Emblem: Lion & Stag series is centered around two romances: Felix & Byleth and Claude & Sylvain. Part 1 focuses on Felix, and Part 2 is all about Sylvain and is through his point of view. It takes post-timeskip in the Golden Deer route.

Content warnings: sex and violence. The usual!
The first-person narrator of each chapter is denoted by the chapter name.

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1 - A Welcome Surprise

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Byleth

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"Everyone really made it, Teach. They all came back after five years. But that's the Golden Deer for you. I never should have doubted them."

I look around the cathedral filled with heaps of rubble and shattered bits of stained glass, but brightened by the eager voices of the reunited students.

Well, they're not students anymore, are they? Most are older than me now. Their lives have kept going while mine was stuck frozen in time.

"Not everyone," I reply quietly but Claude is too busy laughing at something Petra said to hear me.

Caught up in the relief of seeing each other, none of them notice how distracted I am. Or maybe they are too used to my impassive expression for it to be out of the ordinary.

"Excuse me," I say and start to walk away from the group.

Claude catches my hand to stop me and says, "Where are you going?"

"I… I just want to walk around and see the state of everything."

"I'll come with you then so we can form our plan of attack on how to clean this place up."

"No, you should stay here and be with your friends. I would appreciate a little time to myself. I have much on my mind."

"Okay. Just keep an eye out for trouble, will you? I'm not totally certain we're safe here yet," he says.

I nod with a vague smile and leave the cathedral. I'm not sure where I'm going, but I find myself walking towards the front gates, through the empty marketplace.

I hesitate before stepping outside the protection of the monastery walls, but my body feels strong enough to wield a weapon and I am sure my hands still know how to weave spells despite my five year slumber.

I draw my dagger from its sheath and hold onto it, not necessarily out of caution but more because the smooth steel of the toothed blade is oddly soothing. It is something familiar in this place where everything that should be familiar has been altered by time and the damages of war.

"This is yours, isn't it?"

"No, it's not mine," Felix replied.

"I saw you practicing with it in the training hall yesterday. I found it on my doorstep this morning and I figured you'd want it back."

"It, uh… It was mine. Now it's yours," he said.

"Mine?"

"Look, if you don't want it, just throw it away or sell it or something. It's the best wootz steel in Fódlan. You'd get a good price for it," he said defensively, glancing away to avoid my eyes.

I admired the flawless balance of the weapon and the vicious edges of its perfectly carved blade.

"Thank you," I said. While he was distracted, I swung the dagger at him.

He reacted instinctively even though caught off guard and dodged out of the way of the slice. "You think you can get the drop on me that easily?"

"I was just testing it out."

"Well, I've got some homework to do, thanks to you. If you want to spar later this evening you know where to find me."

Distracted by the memory, I nick my finger on the edge of the blade and flinch. After healing it back up with a spell, I sheathe the dagger and turn my attention to the road. But it winds its way into the woods and I can't see too far down it.

I walk down it for a while, but my common sense overcomes my impulsiveness after a couple miles. Who knows what is in those woods these days. Instead of venturing into them, I find a rocky ledge on the hillside overlooking the road and sit down to keep watch.

Will he come? He might have grown up into a man too practical to hold to a sentimental promise made in the naiveté of his youth. He is caught in the middle of a war now and his loyalty no doubt lies with Faerghus more than the house he chose during his school days.

Claude didn't tell me much about what is going on in the north, other than that Dimitri died and the country is wrought with instability and revolt. I had asked about Felix and Sylvain, but he didn't know where they had last been seen.

I hope they are still fighting side by side at least and have not been separated by the conflict. Losing Dimitri will not have been easy for them. I hope they were there for each other.

I hope they are alive.

The sun is dipping down towards the horizon and the winter chill is sinking into my body. Wrapping my cloak around myself tighter, I shiver and wonder if I should head back. But I can't tear my eyes away from the road. An hour has passed without me even realizing it. I might as well wait another.

The solitude helps my mind process all that has been overwhelming it and I start to feel more clear-headed and resolute. Even though I wasn't there for the beginning of this war, I will be there for the end. I will bring about its end.

Pulling out the dagger again, I get to my feet and brandish it. In an effort to warm up and distract myself from my anxious thoughts, I go through the motions of a sword exercise. It gets my blood pumping enough that it chases away the cold. Caught up in the familiar practice, I lose track of time until I notice that the light is fading quickly.

I look over at where the road disappears into the trees and feel an ache of resignation and sadness fall over my spirit. Maybe he really isn't coming. Worse yet, maybe he is lying in a cold, snowy grave up in Faerghus. Felix could win a fight against any swordsman other than me, but even he couldn't fight off an army on his own.

I sheathe the dagger and turn back to the monastery. But I only walk for a few minutes before I stop, my breath catching at the sound of distant hoofbeats. Whirling around, I strain my eyes to see through the twilight as two figures on horseback emerge from the shelter of the woods.

A glint of strawberry red hair makes hope leap back into my mind and I run towards them. They break into a gallop and as they draw closer, I see that it is Sylvain and Felix.

"Professor?" Sylvain shouts, reining in his horse. He leaps from the saddle and races over to me. "You're alive!"

I realize as he hugs me that although my head used to be shoulder-height, now it is pressed against his chest. I step back and look up at him, marveling at how tall and broad-shouldered he is.

"You haven't aged a day!" he says with a grin. "Still beautiful as always."

"You're all grown up," I say, then wince at what a stupid thing that was to say. Of course he is.

But Sylvain is abruptly shoved aside as Felix barges in. He stops a foot away from me and stares at me like he is seeing a ghost. I can't help but stare back in shock as well, struck by the fact that the awkward student I knew yesterday is suddenly standing before me now as a man older than me.

His hair is still falling in his face like it always did and his mouth is drawn tight in its usual unreadable frown, but his eyes have a slightly different look. They aren't quite as sharp and good at hiding emotion as they used to be. I can see his astonishment and relief clear as day in them.

He stumbles forward and grabs me in a hug, holding onto me so tightly it hurts. I wrap my arms around him and hide my face in the wool edge of his jacket so he can't see the vulnerable look on my face. A strange stab of pain pierces my chest and for a second I worry I'm injured somehow. Then I realize that it is a heartbeat. Once, twice it beats before returning to its normal stillness.

Felix yanks out of my arms and takes a step back, clearing his throat gruffly. "Fancy meeting you here. I was under the impression you were dead," he says, looking determinedly past me at the monastery, a slight tinge of red in his cheeks. "It's a welcome surprise."

"What happened to you?" Sylvain asks, cutting in again.

"I don't know. I was asleep or unconscious somehow… I don't know. But I just woke up. I thought the siege on the monastery was yesterday but I found Claude here and he told me that five years have passed," I explain.

Sylvain shakes his head. "That is pretty crazy, even for you."

"Even for me?"

He winks at me. "Come on, Professor. You've always had a few screws loose. It's part of your charm."

"Is that so?" I ask.

"It's getting dark," Felix says. "Let's go."

He gets back on his horse and holds his hand out. I take it and he pulls me up into the saddle in front of him. He reaches around me to hold the reins and nudges his horse to walk. I stiffen a bit in surprise at the feeling of his arms around me, but he doesn't seem hesitant to be this close to me.

"So is everyone here?" Sylvain asks.

"Yes. They all made it."

"Oh boy, that is good news. I owe a certain someone an apology for being stuck up in Faerghus too long, and maybe a kiss." He flicks the reins and gallops off towards the monastery.

But Felix keeps his horse at a slower pace as we ride in silence. After a few minutes, I relax a bit and lean back against his chest. My mind is still reeling in disbelief that he is older than me now, that he is a man. I can feel a strength to his presence that he didn't used to have, a calm self-assurance that five years of war must have forged in him.

"I wasn't sure if you would come," I finally manage to say.

He doesn't reply for a moment, then when he does his voice is low and rough with constrained emotion. "I wasn't sure if I would. Syl wanted to, but I didn't see the point in coming back here. It would have felt so empty without…"

He doesn't finish the thought, but I know what he intended to say because it is what I had been thinking too. The joy of being back in the monastery had felt hollow without my closest friend. As much as I love all my students, there has always been a barrier between them and me that no amount of bonding can quite get rid of.

Only Felix had treated me like an equal during those schooldays - insolently so at times, and yet I had appreciated it. I had felt less alone when I was around him. I had tried to adapt to the new life Rhea gave me when she made me a professor, but it felt foreign at times, and I had worried that I was unsuited to it after spending my life mostly in either solitude or battle.

I don't need to talk with Felix unless I want to. I don't need to try to be something I am not around him. To him, I'm a sparring partner and a fellow warrior more than a professor.

Thank the goddess he is still alive and I didn't have to wake up to a world without the friend I value most.

"Why were you out here alone? Are you asking for trouble?" he says in a sharp tone. "Have you missed fighting so much you had to go off looking for danger? This place isn't safe anymore. It's stupid to be out here on your own. Do you even have a weapon?"

"I'm fine," I say.

"Hmph. You've been asleep for years apparently. You're probably rusty."

His insult provokes me and in a flash, I slip the dagger from my boot and flick it around to rest the tip against his neck. "Try me."

I hear Felix scoff quietly with laughter. "You won't prove anything without a proper sparring match."

"Then we will settle this in the training grounds at dawn."

"Very well. But you'd better put up a good fight. There won't be any satisfaction in beating you if you're just weak from sleeping."

"Bold of you to assume you will beat me," I say.

"Of course I will. I've had a lot of opportunity to use my sword these five years." He hesitates then adds, "Too much."

In his tone I hear all the grief of the war he has been fighting and the battles that he should have been able to face with me by his side. I lower my head to stare at the ground, not knowing how to reply.

How could I have left everyone alone? Right as they needed me most, I let them down. Even if they forgive me for it, I might never forgive myself.

Felix's arms tighten around me a bit and he shifts slightly so I am pressed closer to his chest. We ride the rest of the way in silence and when we pass through the gates, Felix swings down from the saddle and heads towards the entrance hall.

I fall into step beside him and we walk together wordlessly through the rooms and hallways until we cross the bridge and enter the cathedral.

"Felix!" Mercedes cries as soon as we set foot inside, running over and throwing her arms around him.

He smiles slightly and hugs her. "So you're here too."

"Of course I am!" she replies brightly as she lets go of him and steps away. "Ferdie and I were sure everyone would show up. And here we all are! It's like a dream seeing everyone again."

Ferdinand comes over and takes Mercedes's hand. "Felix! I am glad to see you are alive and well," he says with typical Ferdinand sincerity and enthusiasm.

Felix gives him an expressionless stare for a second then walks away to where the others are gathered.

Ferdinand sighs. "He still hates me."

"You stole me away from Faerghus. Of course he does. But he'll come round now that we are all back together," Mercedes says. "Right, Professor?"

"Right," I lie and leave them to talk together.

I watch as Felix endures the greetings of his old classmates. But he doesn't say anything sarcastic and he doesn't shove people away when they hug him. The only time his polite composure breaks is when Sylvain laughs and grabs him, lifting him off his feet and spinning him around.

"I'm so happy to see you again, buddy!" Sylvain says as if it had been years for him too.

"Shut up, you fucking idiot," he growls.

"What? I just wanted to join in the fun!"

"Felix," Petra says, moving past Sylvain to smile at him. "I have been training with much determination. I think you will not so easily get the victory on me now."

"It was never easy to beat you," he says.

I look around at the merry group and my heart, although unbeating, swells with happiness nonetheless. We Golden Deer have always been able to find joy in dark times. I am glad that much has not changed.

I go over to Claude and say, "We're still missing one person. Where is Ashe?"

His smile fades. "He's been fighting for House Rowe from what I hear. But maybe if he knows that you're alive and that all of us are together again he will join our side."

The lightheartedness of the moment slips away from me. Maybe it was too much to hope for that I would see all my students again.

"Hey, Teach, don't look so forlorn. We'll get him back. Trust me," Claude adds.

I look up to meet his eyes and the steadfast hope in them reassures me. I nod and smile faintly.

"The tide's turning. I can feel it," he says and despite my grim thoughts, I believe him.

Before I can reply, Hilda waltzes over and says, "Claude, stop hogging the professor's attention. Besides, it's time to eat."

"Who's cooking?" he asks.

"Me. It turns out most of you good-for-nothing people don't know how. Until we can hire some proper help, I'll be stuck doing everything myself," she says with a pout.

Claude swears under his breath and says, "You know what, Hilda? I can give you a hand."

"You will? How sweet of you!"

"I'm not being sweet. I'm trying to avoid disaster," he says, following her out of the cathedral.

Many of the others drift off towards the dining hall too but I linger, gazing up at the heap of rubble where the altar once stood. I hear footsteps and glance over to see Petra standing beside me.

"This place would be giving me great sadness if I wasn't so happy to see everyone again," she says and I realize how good she has gotten at speaking the language.

"We'll rebuild it. It's our home again."

"I am glad Claude has recovered his dream. I came back from Brigid because I was holding hope the whole time that he would. Now that we have you with us, we can be striking back at the empire at last. I have waited too long for that. You have my gratitude, Professor, for making that chance real."

"I haven't done anything."

"I do not think you are needing to do anything. You bring us together so that we may be doing the things ourselves. That is a very important gift."