Byleth and Annette Support C

"Hmm, I see. Yes, I understand now."

Vivian nodded to herself as she hastily scribbled down another line of notes before finally resting her quill. Taking a moment to stretch her weary hands, she allowed herself a content smile as she closed the book on practical mathematics that had been staring her down for who knows how long now. Math had never been her strongest subject – definitely not her most favorite, either – but she couldn't allow that to stand in the way of her ambitions. If she were to achieve her goals and stand out as an exemplary student of the Officer's Academy, she would have to surpass ALL of her peers in every field of study. Or at the very least, surpass one certain orange-haired prodigy…

A low growl brought Vivian out of her musings, her stomach clamoring for her attention. The rusty-haired girl didn't know how long she had holed herself up in Garreg Mach's library studying, but it was apparently long enough that she had missed at least one meal. Gathering her belongings and placing them in her tote bag, Vivian stood from her seat and prepared to make her way to the dining hall. However, as she turned away from the table she was occupying, she was brought face to face with a pair of pale violet eyes staring at her.

"Gah! P-Professor?!"

Byleth nodded in silent greeting, a small stack of books held in his hands. The mercenary turned professor had only held the position of primary instructor for the Blue Lions house for little more than a week, and Vivian still hadn't decided how to feel about the stoic man. While he had demonstrated exceptional battlefield prowess when he led the Blue Lions to victory in the mock battle between the three houses, the man's teaching habits were quite…unorthodox, and his socials skills left a lot to be desired.

Recomposing herself, Vivian gave a polite smile to her instructor. "Ahem! I, er, apologize for my outburst. I'm afraid you caught me by surprise." With a slightly forced chuckle, Vivian asked, "Erm, were you…watching me, Professor?" There was a brief pause before Byleth responded bluntly, "Not for long."

"I…see." Vivian's smile turned into a semi-playful pout in an attempt to hide her discomfort over being watched without her knowledge. "You know, Professor, you could have said hello. It's quite unbecoming of a professor to eavesdrop on his female students." Byleth shrugged, as if unbothered by such a notion. "You looked like you were concentrating on your studies. I did not want to interrupt you." Vivian was caught off guard by the matter-of-fact answer she received. "Oh. Well, thank you for the courtesy, I suppose…"

An awkward silence fell between the pair, Byleth's flat gaze never wavering. Finally, the young man broke the silence. "You're a diligent student." "Huh?" Vivian balked in surprise at the sudden compliment. "Wh-where is this coming from, Professor?" Byleth inclined his head toward Vivian's tote bag. "I saw you studying. You're very thorough and self-motivated. Not only that, but you also pay close attention in class. You are always attentive, even when taking notes." He paused, as if considering saying more, before simply summing up his entire analysis of Vivian with one word. "Focused. That is an admirable quality, both on and off the battlefield."

Blinking away the shock of receiving so much praise in a short span of time, Vivian allowed herself a proud smile. "Well, of course! I aim to be the best student the Officer's Academy has ever seen!" Realizing her words may paint her as arrogant and overtly vain, Vivian cleared her throat before adding in a more subdued tone, "Um, but I appreciate your words, Professor. Truly!" And she meant it; it wasn't often she received praise for her accomplishments…especially when she was at home in the Kingdom…

Byleth merely nodded, seemingly unbothered by Vivian's first response to his praise. "You should go. The dining hall will be closing soon. Eating is just as important as studying." A subtle blush spread across Vivian's cheeks as the stoic professor all but confirmed that he had heard her stomach's call for food. "H-Huh?! Professor, did y-you hear…?" However, before she could finish that sentence, another thought occurred to her. "Wait. You mentioned the dining hall will be closing soon. As in, wrapping up from dinner?" Again, Byleth gave a wordless nod.

Vivian continued on, feeling slightly unsettled as she asked her next question. "Er, Professor? What time is it? Also, how…long exactly have you been watching me?" The stoic mercenary silently pondered these questions before answering with a shrug. "The sun is well into setting now. You were here when I arrived…over three hours ago. I observed you for…the better part of one hour."

"S-sunset?!" Vivian exclaimed, mostly in an attempt to shake off the discomfort of having been spied upon unbeknownst to her. "I got here since class ended today at noon!" Hefting her bag, Vivian began making her way quickly to the library's exit in an attempt to reach the dining hall before all of the food was gone, before turning one more time toward her professor. "Thank you, Professor! I look forward to your next lesson! And…thank you again for your words!" With a wave, Vivian exited the library, leaving Byleth to stare after her retreating form for a moment before setting down his stack of books to review.

As Vivian descended the flight of stone stairs to the ground floor, her thoughts lingered on her conversation with the newly appointed Professor. He was…still a mystery to the girl. Evidently, time on the battlefield had not done the man any favors in building his social skills, his way of speaking reminding Vivian of a soldier giving a report. Not to mention the 'whole spying on her while she studied unawares' thing. Still, he wasn't all bad, Vivian conceded. Perhaps his 'spying' on her was his way of looking out for his students? He was at least courteous enough not to interrupt her studies. Also, his appraisal of her and praise for her studiousness was…nice.

"You're a strange one, Professor." Vivian murmured to herself as an ambitious grin slowly spread across her face. "But don't worry, I won't let your praise be wasted on me. I'll be your best student; the best student in all of the Blue Lions. Just you wait!"

"Looks like I made it just in time. Good thing too, I don't think I would've made it through the night on an empty stomach!"

Vivian said her thanks to the cooks as she made her way to an empty table with her plate of food. The sun was well into setting now, so the dining hall was empty save for a few students spread out here and there and the kitchen staff, who were in the process of cleaning up for the day. Which was perfect for Vivian; she wasn't interested in making any conversation with anyone at the moment. "Finally, this is just what I need after a long day!" With an eager smile, Vivian prepared to partake of her late dinner…

"Oh, hi Vivi! Fancy seeing you here!"

…she was interrupted by an all-too familiar bubbly voice.

"…hello, Annette." Vivian responded with barely restrained annoyance. Out of all of the students that could have interrupted her dinner, it had to be her.

"Ooh, this is perfect! We haven't had much of a chance to just sit and catch up with each other since arriving at the Officer's Academy." Annette gushed with a cheery smile, sitting on the opposite side of Vivian with a plate of her own, much to the rusty-haired girl's chagrin. Vivian scowled for the briefest moment before plastering on a forced smile.

"Yes, well, I've been taking my studies seriously here, so I'm afraid I haven't found the time to meet with you, cousin." Vivian responded in as pleasant a tone as she could muster. Annette, however, remained oblivious to the subtle barb in her cousin's words as she nodded in understanding. "I totally get what you mean! The library here is so amazing, I could spend all day there!"

Vivian took a bite of her meal, chewing furiously before asking, "Is that why you're here so late? Too busy getting lost in your books?" Annette shook her head with a sheepish grin. "No, actually. I, um, may have overdone it today with signing up for chores around the monastery and got a little carried away. Because of that, I completely missed lunch!"

"Hmph, same old Annette." Vivian snarked with a smirk. "Always running around trying to make herself useful." The rusty-haired girl fixed her cousin with a pointed stare. "You were like that at home, too. Volunteering to do chores left and right like some goody-two shoes." Annette pouted at Vivian's words. "Hey! Those chores weren't going to do themselves! Besides, I wanted to show my gratitude to Uncle and Auntie for letting Mother and I stay."

This time, Vivian couldn't fully suppress the darkened expression that overcame her features. "Well, you certainly succeeded in that goal, and then some…" She muttered under her breath. "Huh?" Annette wondered aloud, not quite hearing what Vivian said. But her cousin merely shook her head dismissively. "Oh, it's nothing."

Having quickly finished her meal, and noticing Annette had finished hers, Vivian promptly stood up from her seat in order to signal the end of this conversation. "This has been…quite the conversation, dear cousin." Vivian managed to say diplomatically. "But it's been quite a long day for me, so I think I'll head to bed early. I want to be at my absolute best for the Professor's class tomorrow."

Annette nodded in agreement. "That's a good idea, Vivi! I know I could use some rest right about now. Oh, here, let me get that for you!" With a sweet smile, Annette took Vivian's empty plate and stacked it atop her own to deliver to the kitchen staff for cleaning. "It was nice talking to you, Vivi! We should do this again. I'll even bring Mercie along to join us; her sweets are amazing! Goodnight!" With that, the orange-haired girl waved goodbye to Vivian as she made her way to the kitchen counter to deposit their dishes.

*CRASH*

"Waahh! Who left this stupid barrel out in the open?!"

As the kitchen staff helped Annette pick herself – and the dirty dishes – off the floor, Vivian shook her head in loathing, her good mood from earlier in the day completely gone. "What a dolt." She muttered to herself as she gathered her belongings. "Why did the goddess bless someone like her with a Crest? If I possessed a Crest, would I be as air-headed and carefree as her?"

Throwing one last glare at her cousin's back, Vivian stormed out of the dining hall and toward her room. Throwing open the door to her quarters and slamming it closed, the girl placed her tote bag at the foot of the bed before flopping on top of it with a huff. Eventually, her frustration bled away as exhaustion overtook her, and Vivian surrendered herself to the comfort of her usual dreams of success, power, and triumph over a certain orange-haired relative of hers.

Author's Note: Hey everyone! About time we got back to this story, am I right?

I'll be doing my best to bring out Vivian's character through these support conversations in preparation for the 'Part 2' section of this story later on. I'll be honest, at first I wasn't sure if I wanted to write out support conversations for Vivian with ALL members of the Blue Lions in favor of highlighting the individuals who will be relevant later on, but I suppose we'll see if that changes. In any case, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I will continue to do my best to make this story enjoyable for you all! Stay amazing, and have a wonderful day everyone!