Well-Kept Secrets
Byleth was irritated.
No, wrong word. She was mildly annoyed, sure. But there was a little concern mixed in there, too.
Ever since Dimitri had started turning himself around, he'd doubled down on making sure he did the right thing at the right time. He was just as hard of a worker as he'd been back in their academy days. No shirking or moping or pushing people away.
But he was supposed to report for rubble-clearing duty half an hour ago, and Raphael hadn't seen him. Byleth had offered to go look for him while Raphael waited near the dining hall. She'd checked almost everywhere in the monastery now; the training hall, the cathedral, the stables, even the greenhouse.
But Dimitri was nowhere to be seen.
Maybe something was wrong, but the work needed to get done. Hence her mix of confusion and annoyance.
Finally, Byleth decided to check Dimitri's room. It was the last place that made sense, after all. She wasn't sure what she'd do if he wasn't there, but... well, she'd have to check first.
Byleth ascended the stairs to the second floor of the dormitory. Dimitri's door was closed; she'd be polite and knock first.
"Dimitri? Are you there?"
She checked the door handle and found that it twisted beneath her hand. After waiting a few seconds, Byleth opened the door and headed inside.
"If you're in here, Raphael was looking for you. You need to get down to the dining hall and meet him for..."
Byleth trailed off as her eyes fell on the prince. Much to her astonishment, he was, in fact, in his room. But he wasn't alone; he was sitting astride Dedue's lap, and the two were clearly in the middle of something rather intimate.
"...I'll come back later if you're busy," she said flatly.
Finally, that seemed to catch their attention. Their lips parted, and Dimitri made a rather strangled noise. He scrambled away from Dedue, who coughed and stood up. Dimitri was so quick to stand up as well that he nearly tripped before managing to balance himself.
"Byleth, I-"
"I was unaware that you two were..." Byleth gestured at them vaguely. "...together."
"Ah..." Dimitri flushed faintly. "Can you keep it a secret, Professor? We... didn't want anyone to know."
Her gaze softened slightly. "It's not a problem; I won't tell anyone, I swear. I will go look for someone else to do rubble clearing, if you'd like."
Dimitri sighed. "Yes, I'd appreciate it, Professor. Thank you."
She smiled very faintly as she turned and walked out of the room. Dimitri glanced over at Dedue, who was very pointedly looking out the window. He tentatively reached for Dedue's hand, and was met with a light squeeze in response.
"I'm sorry; I truly forgot I was supposed to be busy today," he said sheepishly. "But I believe that Byleth won't tell anyone. I know you're not ready for..."
Dedue sighed. "I know. I trust she won't, either. I just wish she'd found out under other circumstances."
"I do as well." Dimitri laughed. "But at least it wasn't someone else. Imagine if it had been Sylvain or Catherine. I don't think we'd ever hear the end of it."
Dedue smiled hesitantly, and Dimitri leaned up to kiss him on the cheek.
"I do wish we could tell everyone," he murmured. "But I understand why you want to wait."
"Yes. Once I can truly stand by your side as an equal... then we can..."
"I know." Dimitri leaned into him, pressing his face into Dedue's neck. "You and your people deserve better than what my kingdom has given you. That will be one of the first things I fix. I swear it."
Dedue absently began to run his fingers through Dimitri's hair. "I have always believed that. And that is why I am even comfortable being this close to you now. I just..."
"I know," Dimitri breathed again. "One day, we'll be able to stop keeping secrets. And until then, I'll prove that your faith in me is well placed."
"I trust you will. And I will gladly stand with you in the open when that day comes."
Dedue shifted his hand, tilted Dimitri's face upwards, and pressed a light, gentle, slow kiss to his lips. Dimitri smiled into it, wrapping his arms around Dedue's shoulders as he returned it. When they finally parted, he could see the rare softness in Dedue's eyes that was usually only present around him.
He had no doubt that someday their relationship could be public. Until then, Dimitri would do everything he could to ensure that day came to pass.