A/N: Hey hey hey!

I apologize for how long it's been, school has been crazy and I've been taking AP tests :( but I'm back! It's finally summer so I'll hopefully be posting a lot more and a lot more frequently :)
I hope you're all doing well and enjoy Chapter Seven! (sidenote: someone please draw me Byleth's date look I will love you forever)
As always, sending all my love to wherever you are!
xo Ever

When Byleth opens her eyes, the world is green.

No, wait, that's not right.

It takes a minute for her vision to adjust to the bright lights of the infirmary - she's pretty sure that's where she is, anyway - and it makes her head ache. Slowly, she tries to sit up, blinking rapidly to clear her swimming vision.

"Byleth… Oh, Goddess, you're awake!"

She immediately turns to the familiar voice and the source of all that green, pushing herself up on her elbows as her sight finally focuses.

"Seteth?" Byleth reaches out a hand before she even realizes she's doing so, and Seteth is at her side immediately, sliding his fingers through her own. "Seteth… the students? Are they safe?"

"Shh. Yes, they are all safe," he says, concern written all over his face. "Don't worry. Just rest."

Byleth sighs, lying back against the fluffy white pillows that have been piled behind her head. The last thing she remembers is… oh. Right. She reaches her other hand tentatively to the locks of seafoam hair that rest on her shoulders, eyes widening at the vivid color. So it wasn't a dream. The encounter with Solon, the merge with Sothis… Sure enough, when she shuts her eyes and calls out to Sothis in her mind, there is no reply. She's not sure why that makes her so sad.

"I suppose you're wondering what happened," Byleth says knowingly, trying to play off the fact that the two of them have many, many long conversations ahead of them. What is it with them and avoiding the sharing of feelings like it's the plague? "Are you wondering what happened?"

"I trust that you'll explain the sudden… change when you're fully well-rested." Seteth raises an eyebrow at her, still holding her hand as tightly as he can. "I don't intend to put you through the stress of recounting such a death-defying encounter before you're ready."

"Seteth." Byleth laughs weakly, propping herself up on her elbows again. "If I can come out of the rift between time and space alive, I think I can explain my change in hair color."

"Well…" Seteth trails off, frowning slightly. "If you're certain you won't strain yourself."

"I promise I won't strain myself," she says, slightly mockingly, but she can't help but smile at the protective edge in Seteth's voice.

"Your eyes have changed too," he says suddenly, his brow furrowing. "They've been closed since your return, I hadn't noticed..."

"You don't like it." Byleth feels her heart sink, and she's not sure why his opinion matters to her so much. She hasn't even seen herself yet, and for all she knows, she could be absolutely hideous.

"No!" Seteth exclaims immediately, and Byleth can barely raise an eyebrow before Seteth has taken both her hands in his own, staring deep into her eyes. "No. That could not be farther from the truth. You are just as beautiful as you've always been. Nothing as trivial as color could change that." He leans down, slowly, and kisses her forehead, the contact sending little shivers of electricity across Byleth's skin. "Regardless, I think the green suits you perfectly."

"We're a matching set, now, aren't we?" Byleth had meant it as a joke, but Seteth blushes immediately, and it makes her laugh. "I'm sorry I put Flayn in danger-"

"What was that?" Something like a smile quirks at the corner of Seteth's mouth, and it stirs something in Byleth that makes her bite the inside of her cheek to keep herself composed. "I thought we said no more apologies, darling."

"D- darling?" Byleth nearly stops breathing at the endearment, and her heart feels like it's about to beat right out of her chest.

"If you don't like it, I can-"

"No." In a sudden burst of courage, Byleth reaches up and grabs Seteth's collar, pulling his face down so it's inches away from her own, and she relishes the shock in his eyes. "I love it."

She's about to kiss him, to wrap her arms around his neck and devour him whole, but then the door to the infirmary flies open and in sweeps Lady Rhea, a worried crease on her forehead the only crack in her graceful facade.

"Professor! How are you feeling?" Rhea is at her side before she knows it, brushing Seteth aside and running paper-white fingertips down her cheek, humming slightly under her breath. Sometimes, Rhea is so ethereal it feels like she's not even human. "We were all so worried, I was afraid- Well, never mind that. I am just glad you are alright."

"Thank you," Byleth mumbles, shooting a glance at Seteth, who is standing in the corner, looking slightly ruffled at being tossed aside so easily. "I'm sorry to have worried you."

"Do not apologize. I am just glad you are here," Rhea says, gently moving her hand over Byleth's hair in a gesture that's almost… motherly? "That you are home. Finally, you are home."

The words make Byleth more than a little uncomfortable, but she just smiles politely, willing Rhea to leave. Unfortunately, it would seem that the Lady of the Church has no plans to leave Byleth's side, and it's a full ten minutes of uncomfortable silence before Rhea finally stands gracefully, giving Seteth a pointed look.

"Do forgive me for interrupting the two of you. I am glad the both of you are safe and reunited once more," Rhea says serenely, and it's clear she wants to say more, but she merely gives Byleth a soft mile before departing, leaving the two of them alone again.

"Well, that was… intriguing." Byleth pushes herself up to a more comfortable sitting position, sighing.

"It is just her way," Seteth says, but there's something in his gaze he's hiding from Byleth. She doesn't think this is a battle she wants to fight. "In all the time that I have known her, Rhea has always had many secrets."

"How long have you known her, anyway?" Byleth asks curiously, remembering just how little she knows of Seteth's past. He must have come to the monastery before Flayn's birth if he truly is her brother, which means his parents must have passed here as well. And how does his wife fit into all of this? Byleth has trouble fitting it all together in her mind.

"I- well, it's been a long time." Seteth sighs, meeting her eyes. "Rhea has been a central figure in the lives of both myself and Flayn. It's hard to imagine a time that we did not spend by her side."

"Oh," Byleth says. She doesn't know what else to say. "I had no idea you were all so close."

"I will tell you more at a later date." Suddenly, Seteth's entire mood shifts, and he looks almost… nervous? "If I might switch the subject slightly, I- Well, I have something to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Well, I was wondering if- I thought I should ask, since we- Well-" Seteth takes a deep breath, visibly collecting his thoughts. All of a sudden, he covers his eyes and blurts out in a long string of words that he says all at once, like if he says them fast enough he doesn't have to think about how Byleth might respond. "Flayn-tells-me-I-should-ask-you-out-on-a-date."

"A date?" Byleth straightens up immediately, and Seteth peeks through his fingers at her. "Seteth, that would be wonderful. I'd love to."

"You mean it?" He drops his hand to his side, sighing with relief, and then straightens up again, obviously embarrassed at his display. Byleth can't help but giggle, something she hasn't done in what must be years. Seiros, he's adorable.

"What, did you really think I'd say no?" Byleth quirks an eyebrow.

"Well, I wasn't sure if kissing strangers in hallways was something you made a habit of," Seteth says cautiously, and the fact that she can't tell if he's joking or serious makes her laugh even harder.

"I'm afraid you're the first." Byleth attempts a smile. By the Goddess, how is he doing this? Prompting smiles from her, when she's barely shown even a sliver of emotion for as long as she's lived? "So, when is this date you speak of?"

"Saturday, seven o'clock," Seteth says immediately. "Assuming that's acceptable with you."

"That's perfect." Byleth smiles again, and it makes her heart flutter how Seteth brightens at the expression. "Saturday, seven o'clock. I can't wait."

Apparently, neither can a certain three of her students.

It's barely two o'clock on Saturday when Byleth's weekend reading is interrupted by three very loud knocks on her door, and she nearly drops her book.

"Coming!" She gets to her feet and stumbles to the door, opening it cautiously. By the force of the knock, she half-expects to see some kind of barbarian standing there, but instead, she's greeted to three very guilty-looking grins, and she sighs immediately. "Of course it's the three of you."

"Four, actually!" Hilda reaches behind Claude and pulls a very flustered Marianne into view, who waves weakly at Byleth.

"P-Professor, I am so sorry to intrude. Hilda told me we were going for extra training and, well…" Marianne trails off, staring at her shoes, and Byleth smiles against her will. These Deer will be the death of her.

"Well, now that you're here, you might as well come in." Byleth gestures to her humble dormitory, and Claude wrinkles his nose immediately as he strides inside.

"Teach, what is this? Do you not own a single piece of decoration?" He pokes at her desk suspiciously, as if its lack of knick-knacks means it's going to transform into a dragon and spit fire at him. "It looks like you've just been robbed."

"I think it's quaint!" Flayn says cheerfully, skipping around the room and touching every single possession Byleth owns. This room is far too small for this many people.

"Well, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Byleth sits down on the edge of her bed, twisting a strand of her hair around a finger. "I assume it's not for homework help, given the fact that Hilda hasn't turned in an assignment in months."

"Oh, Professor, stop that!" Hilda runs to her side and pulls her hand away from her hair. "If you twist it like that it will absolutely impossible for me to style!"

"For you to what?" It suddenly clicks in Byleth's mind and she stands up, shaking her head. "Oh, I get it. This is about the date, isn't it?"

"Of course it is!" Claude saunters over to her side and slings an arm around her shoulders, giving her a pointed look. "Look, I'm going to give it to you straight, Teach. I love you, but you're hopeless when it comes to these things. How do you think you got with the holy father? Not by your own charms, that's for certain."

"I feel like I should be insulted." Byleth folds her arms, debating this proposition. She is rather hopeless when it comes to things like this, romantic things, and who better to educate her than Claude and Hilda, who seem to have years' worth of experience in that department? It may still be five hours until her date, but it's never too early to start getting ready, is it? She's mercenary, for the Goddess's sake. What does she know about dates?

"Oh, please, Professor, I promise we will do our very best!" Flayn is in front of her before she can blink, taking Byleth's hands in her own. "And besides, I know my brother best! I'm just the right person for this job."

"Flayn…" Byleth suddenly realizes she hasn't asked Flayn about all this. Her teacher, dating her older brother? This must be quite a shock for her. "Are you sure this is alright with you? I am first and foremost your teacher, and I wouldn't want to overstep where I am not wanted-"

"Are you joking?" The sarcasm sounds incredibly strange coming out of Flayn's mouth, and Byleth's eyes widen in surprise. "Professor, I promise you, this is the best thing that has happened to my family in years!"

"It… is?" Byleth did not expect this reaction, to say the least.

"My brother has been so lonely for so long… Oh, you do not even understand how excited I am that he has finally found someone!" Flayn lowers her voice conspiratorially. "You should have seen him, Professor. I once caught him having a whole conversation with his teapot."

"Alright, Flayn, I think that's enough!" Claude comes up behind Flayn and steers her away towards the bathroom, adding through his teeth: "We don't want to turn her off your brother, remember? We're trying to make her fall in love with him, and nobody falls in love with a man who chats up his teapot."

"What are you planning on wearing?" Hilda claps her hands excitedly, opening Byleth's closet with a flourish.

Byleth isn't sure what she expected to see in there, but the second the doors slide open, Hilda lets out a blood-curdling scream.

"Dear Goddess, Hilda, try not to make the whole monastery think we're murdering Teach!" Claude calls from the bathroom, and Byleth cranes her neck to see what he and Flayn are doing, which turns out to be emptying Byleth's mostly cobweb-filled drawers to search for traces of makeup. Needless to say, they won't find any.

"I'm sorry, but look!" Hilda gestures dramatically to the closet, which consists of three garments: Byleth's athletic clothes, her nightgown, and the dress she wore to the ball, which she'd paid a pretty penny for at the monastery market. "Do you seriously only own three outfits?"

"I'm wearing one," Byleth says, as if this makes it better. "So four."

"Dear Goddess." Hilda puts a hand to her temple and points the other sharply at Marianne. "Marianne, pray for us! We are going to need divine intervention if we're going to pull this off."

"I thought I'd just wear this," Byleth says, pointing at the gown she'd worn to the ball, and Hilda scoffs.

"Professor." Hilda bends down in front of where Byleth sits on the bed, sinking down to her eye level and speaking as if Byleth is a particularly stupid child. "You can't re-wear the same dress when you meet a man. Ever."

"I thought you said men don't notice anything," Marianne interjects from across the room, and Byleth is confused to see she's organizing her dusty bookshelf.

"That's true, but I think Seteth is the noticing type." Hilda frowns at Byleth. "And besides, anyone would remember that dress. That slit in the skirt was practically up to your waist."

"What?" Byleth asks, appalled. "The merchant who sold it to me said it was a popular style for members of the church!"

"That's called a hustle, sweetheart!" Claude shouts from the bathroom, and Hilda nods solemnly.

"You're too trusting, Professor." Hilda sighs, resigning herself to her fate. "Flayn, darling, come here a moment."

"Yes?" Flayn skips into the room, her hands clasped behind her back, and Hilda smiles at her.

"I need you to go to Manuela and tell her I'm cashing in the favor she owes me for that time she accidentally gave me the wrong medicine." Hilda pulls out a piece of paper and starts writing down her instructions, giving Byleth time to realize what's going on. Manuela… Oh, dear Goddess. "Tell her we need one of her gowns. Something in between pink and white would be nice, I think. And remember, it has to be tasteful. Not one of those ones Manuela saunters around in on her days off."

"Hilda, I can't wear one of Manuela's dresses." Byleth blanches, imagining herself sashaying around the monastery like the taller woman. "I don't think I could pull that off."

"Oh, hush. You'd look gorgeous in anything." Hilda turns back to her, her jaw set in concentration. "Now, let's get to work."

Nearly four hours later, Byleth stands in front of the mirror, her jaw halfway to the floor.

"What… what did you do?"

It's not that it looks bad, not at all, really, but Byleth has never seen herself like this, all… dolled up. It's like a different woman stares back at her, a different Byleth, and it's more than a little unnerving.

"A lot." Hilda looks like she's just run a marathon, sitting in the claw-foot bathtub with half her pink hair escaping its ponytails and curled in twisting spirals around her waist.

The whole process felt like a blur of curling irons and makeup and fabric and jewelry and Byleth's head is throbbing from the constant attention. All around her, her bathroom is in disarray, littered with discarded dresses and Hilda's makeup and empty teacups. The rest of the room, however, looks excellent, mainly from the hours Marianne had spent organizing it. She was undoubtedly hiding from Hilda and Claude's karaoke session, which consisted of them belting vulgar songs at the top of their lungs while they applied Byleth's makeup.

"Teach, you look… great. You look really great." Claude is lying on the bathroom floor next to Byleth's feet and pointing up at her, a lopsided grin on his face. Byleth wonders if someone's spiked his tea. He certainly looks half-drunk. "That old man is going to lose his mind."

"You're beautiful, Professor!" Flayn is the only one who hasn't completely crashed and burned, and she smiles brightly at Byleth, her cheeks flushed with excitement. "You look like an angel."

Byleth slowly turns back to the mirror, taking it all in. She's dressed in silk, a lavender thing that ends around Byleth's ankles. The top part of the gown is a sort of sleeveless corset tied with silver strings around her neck, and Manuela's stamp on the design of the dress- and the cleavage it displays -is unmistakable.

Hilda has done up her eyes with eyeliner and dark mascara, and all of it makes her look put-together and pretty and also dangerous in a way that Byleth has never seen herself appear before, and it stirs something in her heart.

She's never felt pretty, but then again, she's never really thought about it. Making herself desirable has never been on her mind, really, but now that it is, well… She wants Seteth to find her pretty. To call her darling. To kiss her again. To…

Byleth reaches a hand up to her newly green curls, admiring the way they fall down her shoulders. Flayn is a master with the curling iron.

"All of you… Goddess above, I don't know how to thank you. I really do owe you a lot, don't I? You too, Marianne," Byleth adds, poking her head out of the bathroom, and she hears Marianne mumble a don't-mention-it.

"Don't thank us, Teach. What else were we going to do, study for that exam you're giving us next week? Unlikely." Claude waves a hand from his position on the floor, and Flayn and Hilda echo the gesture, brushing off her thanks.

"Happy to help, Professor." Hilda puts a hand over her eyes, shielding herself from the light. "Although, that was much more work than I had anticipated. I wonder if you'd consider giving me a few days off from class to make up for the struggle you've put me through?"

"Good try." Byleth smiles. She really did pick the best house, didn't she? "Wait. Flayn, what time is it?"

"Oh, dear." Flayn shakes her head as she checks the clock. "It's six fifty-nine, Professor! My brother will be here any minute; he's always on time!"

Byleth nearly passes out at the thought of Seteth here, seeing her in this dress, and although she's seen the man nearly a hundred times, it's been difficult lately to look at him without wanting to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him. She really needs to get control of that.

As if on cue, a knock sounds at the door, and Byleth nearly falls over in surprise. Suddenly, life returns to Hilda and Claude, and both of them spring up, sprinting across the room and making as much noise as humanly possible. Dear Goddess.

"Smile, Teach!" Claude hisses as Hilda grabs Marianne's wrist, and Flayn tags along behind them as all four Deer shut themselves in Byleth's closet, flashing her thumbs up's and toothy grins. Byleth sends a silent prayer up to whoever is listening that the four of them don't topple out like dominoes while Seteth stands in the doorway, and she takes a deep breath.

You can do this, Byleth. Why is she so nervous? She's fought wars, for the Goddess's sake, slain mercenaries, beheaded barbarians, and yet here she is, shaking with nerves for a man?

Somehow, inexplicably, she thinks of Jeralt, thinks of his gentle manner and calm smile, and she feels herself slowly relax.

You'll know, when you know. When it's right.

"It is right," she hears herself saying, and almost immediately, she feels slightly better. Wherever Jeralt is, she hopes he knows she's thinking about him. She hopes he knows he's still a part of her life. He'll always be a part of her life.

And so, with a shaking hand, Byleth Eisner opens her front door and embarks on an endeavor that is somehow even more terrifying than battle: her first date.