The Morning After:

They were woken up promptly at eight A.M. by a knock on the door. Byleth, even with her hair a mess (which is on brand regardless) has no issue rolling out of bed and opening the door. The postwoman isn't even taken aback by the lack of headdress and robes, so accustomed to the new archbishop's casual nature.

"Here you go, Your Grac-Byleth, I mean. Apologies, ma'am!" Byleth grins loosely and nods her head before shutting the door.

"Does it have a name?" Rhea asks, still tucked under the sheets with nothing on. Byleth flips the envelope over and a little grin lights up her whole face.

"Flayn." Rhea sits up in bed, surprised.

"I thought she and Seteth were off exploring Fodlan still?" Byleth hums, having thought the same thing, before she rips it open and sits on the bottom of the bed by Rhea's feet which are sticking out from the jumbled up covers. Byleth can't help but drag a finger along the bottom of them, and the older woman squeaks indignantly before tucking her foot away.

Dearest Professor,

Goodness me, it has been nearly four months since we last saw you! Again, I apologize for missing THE wedding of our lifetime, but Father was so beaten down after the war that even something as beautiful as your two eternal lives meeting together was not enough to pull him away from this wild goosechase of a journey we are on. That being said, I miss you and Rhea and all of my friends so terribly, I cannot go another week without seeing you! I sent this letter to let you know that I have coerced Father into coming back with me, just for a few days, a week at most. I believe I will be there by the 27th.

Byleth looks at the calendar hanging by the door and realizes it is already the twenty-sixth.

See you soon my friend! I expect you to catch me a luxurious fish to eat for dinner when I arrive! Thank you!

Byleth sniffs in humor before handing the letter to Rhea. As her wife reads it, Byleth reclines on one elbow while dragging her hand from Rhea's knee to her slim waist again and again, studying where it's soft versus where the bone juts out. She finds her wife to be truly one of a kind and anyone who thinks otherwise is blind. Her thoughts drift to a salacious place when Rhea's breasts come into view as she sits up a little more. Next time I might put my fingers in you first, then build up to kissing you down there. Nnnngh. Her thoughts go uninterrupted as Rhea sets down the letter with a little giggle of fondness.

"She really does not change. Still, hearing about Seteth's mental health does worry me a bit." Purely out of spite Byleth rolls her eyes.

"He's not the only one left fractured after everything." Rhea frowns, concerned and a little put off.

"I know that. I am just expressing worry for a close friend." Byleth wrinkles her lip in distaste. Sure Seteth had his nice moments with Byleth but as soon as she and Rhea announced that they were getting married he could not book it out of Garreg Mach fast enough. And to think he was supposed to be my advisor. Pfft. I guess if you don't have an ass like Rhea he's very uninterested. She smirks into her hand. Touche. "You two must overcome your jealousy."

"Who's jealous?!" Byleth barks, sitting upright as quick as a rod of lightning. "I have nothing to be jealous about." Rhea tips her head forward and gives Byleth a look. The teacher huffs and heads for her dresser. "I have to be getting to class. At least Flayn is showing up on an off day."

"And Seteth," Rhea mentions quietly, certainly teasing her wife now.

"...Eh. I guess." Byleth chuckles as she pulls her shirt over her head and gets to wrapping her chest. She hardly expects to be stopped when the warm form of her wife presses into her back, her nipples hard (Byleth's weakness). "Ah. Please, I'm almost late as it is." Rhea breathes against the side of the teacher's neck, wrapping her arms around her stomach.

"I just want to let you know that I still plan on making last night up to you." A shiver whacks Byleth's body that's violent enough to be felt in Rhea as well. "Excited for it, sweetheart?"

"Y-Yeah but just know I don't expect it. I really do like taking you over anything." As lovely as that is to hear, Rhea feels a little guilty and doubtful.

"How would you know what you like? You are so young and-" In a flash Rhea remembers something that tickled her the wrong way last night.

"You smell amazing. I didn't even know it could smell that good," Byleth had said. But Rhea noticed how stiff the younger woman seemed to get all of a sudden once Rhea said she bathed with carnations.

"Do you not actually like–"

"-Forget about it," Byleth deflected, classically avoiding the issue by taking action.

"I assumed a while ago that you have never made love, but how good you were and-and the way you reacted to the smell of my skin; Byleth." The teacher pulls herself out of Rhea's arms and finishes wrapping her chest all while Rhea's eyes gaze down upon every movement. "Byleth, look at me." The professor groans, refusing to do so as she buttons up her newly stitched officer's jacket. Even with her massive amount of patience, Rhea's quickly growing heated. "Stop being so stubborn and talk to me as my partner-"

"To think that I may truly call you my partner and equal now."

"Hh-" Byleth's temples compulse as if she's been knocked upside the head with a sword hilt. Dammit! Don't think about her! The teacher just about hobbles into her slim slacks, holding the side of her head at the same time. "I just can't right now," Byleth whispers, her back still turned away. Rhea slams her fist atop of the dresser, nearly cracking the ancient oak.

"When are you going to face these problems you are hiding from me?!"

"Not. Now," Byleth angrily states, having a hard time not hissing through her teeth at the pain in her head. She can hardly see out of her left eye as she hurries through their bedroom door and slams it behind her with enough might to rattle the stain glass on the opposite side of the hallway. She growls, the noise doing little to help her. After the first step down to the second floor, her bedroom door swings open and Rhea sounds as if she's hot on her trail. "Come-Will you just give me space, Rhea!" Of course her begging is for naught, because she knows, even though they have hardly ever argued, that Rhea cannot stand being walked away from in any altercation. At the top of the stairs, Rhea towers over Byleth, only wearing a pair of Byleth's shorts and that damn robe halfway open. Rhea looks like she could spit fire as she barks loud enough for some of the staff to jump out of their seats. Yes, yelling Rhea is still quite scary.

"Who is it? Who are you seeing?"

"What?" Byleth gawks.

"Who is it that smells of carnations? Why did you disappear for nearly three hours yesterday when I knew you had bills to pass?!" Byleth goes silent, not even caring that she has a class to teach that she is twenty minutes late for. Rhea's eyes sparkle an inhuman green before she snarls at the ceiling, her canines looking longer than usual. Immediately Byleth's agitation flies out the window and her hands go up defensively.

"R-Rhea, I will answer your questions, just calm down, alright?" Despite her words, Rhea kicks the brick wall with her bare foot and it forms a huge gash that turns to dust, not even pebbles. With slits in place of her pupils, Rhea looks at Byleth like the warrior Seiros would, and the teacher takes one more step down, her hands still up.

"Answer. The question."

"What question?! I'm not seeing anyone! Rhea I married you, why would I ever break that trust?" The Nabatean eyes her wife, looking her up and down as if to size up the lie. Finally letting out a breath, Rhea's eyes go back to normal, but her furrowed brows remain.

"At promptly five o'clock, you will meet me in our garden." Byleth scratches her neck and explains that,

"I have a meeting with-"

"-Do you think I care?" Byleth awkwardly sniffs and nods.

"Fair," the teacher mumbles. "Five o'clock then." Rhea walks away without another word and Byleth just stands there, intimidated and absolutely horrified as she tries to think up an excuse good enough to fool a woman as wise as Sothis herself. She drops her head into her hand seconds later. "I am so screwed."

Class Ends at Three O'Clock:

Byleth easily answers the questions of a few stragglers before they rush out of the room to the training grounds. Fighting would be nice right now. She sort of hates that she doesn't have enough time to do so except for once a week with her students. Still, there are bigger fish to fry. She throws her hands behind her head and stretches in her seat before gathering her lesson plans for next week. Only two hours before I see Rhea. Sothis help me, this is… this is not going to go well is it? As much as she wishes she could avoid the confrontation head on, avoid her own sorrows that are going to spill before someone else, she knows she cannot lie to Rhea. She even knows all of these secrets in her are killing her, making her sluggish in the mornings, causing her to have accidents when she does train alone, and they're making her ask for help a lot more than she needs to from her advisors when it comes to diplomatic affairs. Edelgard and I ran all of Fodlan with a vice grip for the longest time. I know what I'm doing. I just… have no passion for it this time around. And there she goes thinking about the dead emperor again. Byleth sighs, long and loud as she stares at the space Edelgard used to occupy. If only I didn't feel so guilty embracing your love as a blissful memory. She shakes her head sternly before walking out and taking a trip to the merchants.

She gets down there, shaking the gate keeper's hand and thanking him for another day of hard work that has him weak at the knees. Anna bombards her with luxurious items she could give Rhea, but she feels a little guilty trying to buy affection from a woman who truly doesn't need anything. The teacher settles on buying some chamomile before paying Mercedes and Annette a visit further into town. It doesn't take her long to get to their quaint house since she jogs, and they open the door after the first knock.

"Professor!" Annette squeals, hugging Byleth with a deathly grip just for Mercedes to dogpile them.

"Easy," Byleth chuckles, her nose catching onto a fresh pie being cooked in their kitchen. She nearly drools when Mercedes announces that it's meringue and the older woman pinches the teacher's cheek before dragging her into the kitchen by the hand. "Do you think I can bring a slice to my wife? I actually came here to see if you could make something for her." At that, Mercedes's eyes bulge before she stares at the beautiful pie cooling off.

"Then this won't do," she sadly says, wringing her towel in her hands.

"What do you mean? It looks professional and–"

"Ah, Mercie, just make something else quickly then. I'm sure professor Byleth doesn't have all day!"

"Wait, you really don't have to make–" Annette waves Byleth off before leaning into her ear.

"There's no changing her mind. Just roll with it." Mercedes starts bouncing around the kitchen, moving at lightning speed as she mumbles about things the ex-archbishop likes best. Byleth can't help but inwardly cringe when she thinks she wouldn't know half of these ingredients if she had to bake them or die. Annette happily drops herself onto the four seater couch in the living room and Byleth sits down on the armrest, the sword on her hip keeping her from being entirely comfortable. She's a bit too busy checking the clock anyhow.

"So," Byleth starts, "How are the wedding plans going?" Annette smiles wide enough to see almost every tooth as she goes on for a minute or two about picking the flowers and sending out the invites and so on. Byleth nods along, remembering Rhea doing a lot of the heavy lifting in that department. It was a busy time after the war ended, but six months later, she and Rhea married, and shortly after that, Annette and Mercedes announced their engagement. Their friends had been so happy for them.

"A lot of the time I can just deal with whatever though," Anette giggles. "As long as Mercie is happy, I really don't care what our decorations look like or where it happens."

"Oh yes you do," Mercedes shouts from the other room. Annette grumbles under her breath about it being one time or something, and then Mercedes walks in, wiping her brow as she approaches Byleth. "There's something I was hoping you could help me with actually."

"Sure."

"I haven't been able to contact my brother," Mercedes sadly reveals. Both Annette and Byleth frown at that.

"I told you that would happen," the orange-haired woman murmurs. After Edelgard had lost to the Church, Jeritza asked to join Byleth personally, wanting a stake in the fight against TWISTD which was a massive help. It also allowed him and Mercedes time to talk, but apparently their bond was still weak. Mercedes's eyes look a little less lustrous as she hugs herself.

"Do you still talk to him?"

"We occasionally send letters back and forth," Byleth reports. "It has been a few weeks though. I sent him out to handle uprisings, so I know he's in Enbarr right now helping Ferdinand." Mercedes grows the slightest bit perkier. "Yes," Byleth smiles, "I will immediately send him a letter about the wedding. Or maybe I'll just lie and tell him there's an emergency that's conveniently on that day."

"Oh thank you! I would really love him to be there after all." She takes Byleth's hand and squeezes it lovingly between two of her own. Byleth grins and lets it happen before she smells something lovely again. "I'm making her favorite pudding. It shouldn't be too much longer now." At the mention of Rhea, Byleth's shoulders drop a fraction but she thanks Mercedes again regardless. Of course the change in the teacher does not go unnoticed, and now Annette is fussing over Byleth as well.

"Is everything going fine and dandy between you two?" Byleth sighs and rubs the back of her head, not giving an answer.

"Come now," Mercedes chides, sitting right at Byleth's side, looking up at the professor with her enearding eyes and long eyelashes. "Why do you feel like you have to make something up to Her Grace?" Byleth cocks her jaw at the astute observation before checking the clock again, she has exactly one hour until the end times. She sniffs before bringing up the fight from this morning, about how Rhea thinks Byleth is cheating and how Byleth hasn't been honest about other things and… how she feels guilty about so many things she doesn't want to tell anyone about.

"...I can't believe she thinks you would cheat on her," Annette comments in utter disbelief. Mercedes frowns at Byleth, resting a hand on the teacher's back to comfort her.

"Guilt is the Devil's play," Mercedes warningly says, "You have to confront those things or you will be a tortured soul."

"Way to cheer her up, Mercie."

"No," Byleth sighs, dropping her head to the side. "It's the truth." Her hand comes to rest on her heart and she scratches at it through her shirt.

"You swore your life to Her Grace. Why can't you admit these things that are bothering you? I'm sure she aches to know everything about you, teacher." Byleth purses her lips, knowing that to be true.

"It's just such a heavy weight to bear."

"And the weight of being married to the woman who knowingly put the balance of people's lives into something as flimsy as the nobility system isn't a great weight for you to bear?" Annette interrupts. After saying it she slaps her hand over her mouth and squeaks out an apology when Mercedes shakes her head. Byleth chuckles.

"Let us not forget how she and Seteth withheld crucial information to control the masses better all for the sake of 'religion.'" The two engaged women glance at each other in surprise but Byleth just rests her hand on the top of her head and stretches her legs out one at a time. "I know the woman I married isn't innocent, guys. I know that to some people, she is the worst thing to ever be on this Earth, but so was Edelgard and I still–" She launches herself off the armrest to hide her face from the two women. "I'm just saying that such things don't bother me. I love her regardless of those terrible mistakes." And I still hold her responsible for those things, just as I know she holds herself accountable.

"Well," Annette begins, ignoring the Edelgard slip up, but not forgetting. "Then I think it's just downright stupid that you won't put all of your trust in her. Clearly she's doing that for you! I mean, she handed you the reins to a place she has controlled for thousands of years. Gosh, I don't think I could do that!" Logically that makes sense, and Byleth finally takes the sword off of her hip and sets it against the front door.

"I'm just scared," the teacher whispers. Annette blinks, looking at Mercedes in confusion because she couldn't even hear it. The blonde however, stands up, cautiously walks to Byleth, and hugs her from behind in as nurturing a way as Rhea would. The teacher's lip twitches with discomfort, and she doesn't try to touch the warm arms around her midsection, but she doesn't pull away either.

"You don't like being vulnerable," Mercedes notes, dropping her forehead on Byleth's shoulder. "I don't think you know how to be."

"...Rhea can help you, if you let her," Annette offers quietly, cuddling into the backrest of the couch. All of this encouragement reminds Byleth of her wife actually. The amount of times even in the past month, Rhea has done even just tiny things to help her get by like delivering letters for her, bringing her tea, carrying her to bed if she falls asleep someplace random (which is still a bad habit of the teacher's). I suppose letting her in will have to happen at some point. I am immortal now, and we swore to be together. Forever. FOREVER. The word scares her deeply, mostly because it is uncontrollable. But why does it scare me? She doesn't worry about it right now.

"Oh!" Mercedes lets go of her quickly, scurrying into the kitchen. "The pudding is ready, professor! Come try some." Thankful for the topic change, Byleth and Annette bump elbows before going in. And it is the best pudding the teacher's ever had. So good she can't even speak as Mercedes pesters her for a response and bounces on her heels.

"Amazing," Byleth drawls, staring at the pudding so it can tell her its secrets. They chat about lighter things before Byleth glances at the clock and yelps. "I have to meet her in twenty minutes!" Mercedes rushes to hand Byleth the pudding stuffed into a frilly and sheer bag while Annette gives the teacher her sword.

"Good luck!" the energetic woman cries, waving wildly as Byleth sprints through the streets, scaring the life out of women and children who have to do double takes. "Yeesh, that was heavy."

"She deserves the world," Mercedes comments, quite melancholy as she leans against the doorframe. Annette takes the older woman's hand and kisses it. "I bet they'll be just fine in the end."

"But that little Edelgard comment was…" Annette finishes with a roll of her eyes and chuckles nervously. Mercedes flicks her fiancee on the nose.

"We have no room to judge. We aren't even sure what–"

"-Mercie don't be dense. We weren't even in the Black Eagle house and everyone heard about how close she and the professor were."

"I suppose that's true… but whatever the professor is hiding, I'm sure it's not really a secret to Her Grace. That woman is thorough."

Four-Fifty-Seven P.M.:

Rhea's sitting in her chair, hiding from the sun underneath the gazebo. Her thoughts have run rampant all day, and she just got back from a very interesting conversation with the greenhouse keeper who has been working here for over nineteen years. She figured if anyone knew who grew and nurtured the most carnations, she would know. And yes, she was informed that Byleth had grown a boatload of blood red carnations before the war, yet never after. Seems odd, seeing as Byleth continued to grow all of the other types of flowers from the time, even up to now. Rhea also knows that Byleth gifted those flowers to students, yet the only student on the roster who changed during that time was the emperor herself.

"..."

Rhea pushes her tongue against the inside of her cheek, her jaw cocked. The utter embarrassment that Edelgard had caused Rhea, taking the rug out from under her in front of everyone in Fodlan is a sting few can understand. Not only that, but she was kept in that very woman's palace as a prisoner for five bitter years. Although they didn't physically torture her, the toll it took on her mind and body was monumental. She's still terrified of the dark, hates the feeling of cold things on her skin that remind her of chains, and countless other little things other people pay no attention to, aren't haunted by. The Nabatean drops her head into her hand and just breathes.

I refuse to make any judgments now without fully understanding what is going on here. Jealousy is such a foolish thing. Perhaps there is nothing to it, and–

A throat clears behind her, and she turns to see Byleth with two spoons and a cutely packaged bag of something that smells splendid.

"I know you're really upset with me, but… I also know you don't eat when you're angry and so, um, here." Reaching over the back of her garden chair, Rhea takes it and brings it closer to her nose.

"This smells quite lovely." Her voice is a little off, a little sadder and more monotone than Byleth has heard it be in quite some time. Rhea notices her still standing there, so she motions with her head for the teacher to sit in her own seat. Byleth trembles as she walks before she bounces up on her tiptoes and sits down. The older woman hands her wife the other spoon and she can't help but gasp as she takes her first bite, having set the desert exactly in the center of the table for both of them. "Wow."

"Right? I think Mercedes should really open her own shop."

"I heard she was going to do just that from the choir coordinator," Rhea reports. "I still think you should one day become a simple fisherman and sell in some remote village."

"Heh. That sounds nice, but what would you do?" Rhea takes another spoonful in her mouth, looking into the perfectly swirled pudding as she thinks about it.

"I am not quite sure. Though I have always wished to become prolific at tapestry. I would quite like to make clothing and bedding alike." Byleth's head tips like an interested cat. If she had pointy ears like Rhea, it would probably be an even more accurate description. "I like when you do that."

"Do what?"

"When you tip your head," Rhea smiles, "You look adorable." Byleth's nose pinkens, but she remains cool as she looks into Rhea's eyes otherwise. The taller woman takes a massive breath before growing more serious. "I should not have yelled at you like that earlier. You asked me to leave you alone and I disrespected you."

"Rhea, don't worry about that. You didn't do anything wrong," Byleth argues, her finger distractedly playing with a few strands of hair. "It's me who did something wrong. And I keep doing it." Rhea looks at her wife, trying to keep her emotions in check as she listens. "You know that I can turn back time, that Sothis has intervened and taken things into her own hands for me even." Rhea nods. "Yeah… I know this sounds a little crazy but, I've… lived through my life twice, maybe more."

"That does not sound crazy at all," Rhea assures her, setting her spoon in the pudding when Byleth does the same.

"Well, I am starting to really forget that other life I had… but certain things just won't stop coming back to me no matter how guilty I feel over them."

"Guilty…?" Byleth swallows an entire block down her throat as she attempts to look Rhea in the eye.

"I lived an entire human life before, and I died at E-E-Edelgard's side." Immediately at the name, Byleth's eyes grow watery and she frustratedly rubs them, hoping Rhea doesn't see the tears. Of course the older woman does, but she's a little too surprised to grab her wife's hand like she typically would. "I remember moments, and certain things that happen, little things people say, they trigger these memories from that other life and it just–it hurts so badly." Byleth clears her throat again, her voice shaking as she tries to go on again. "The love it–it was so perfect and I loved her like nothing else," she says, talking faster by the minute, "But to live that life I killed you and that image of you d-dying never leaves my dreams no matter how hard I try to stop it and I just feel like I betrayed you then and I don't deserve you now but also I died and when I died there was no comfort there I ju-just–" She has practically no air in her lungs as a sob overtakes her and she drops her head on the table, crying into her arm.

"Byleth," Rhea soothingly calls to. The chair scrapes against the ground and Rhea is on her knees at the teacher's side, rubbing her shivering back as well as her shaking knee. "Let it out." She kisses the professor's arm that's covered in snot and salty tears; her heart can hardly stand hearing Byleth's painful sobs but she knows it has to come out, and she will not be anywhere but here until it's over. "You are going to be ok. Once every tear is gone, you will feel so much better. I promise you." And so Byleth cries, cries until all she can do is pant and hiccup against her arm. Without saying a word, Byleth pushes her chair back and drops to her knees so Rhea can hug her, which she does happily.

….

"In that life you hated me," Byleth raspily says, laughing just a little at how Rhea clicks her tongue. "I didn't hate you though, I loved you in a way I couldn't really explain. Just like how in–ahem–in tHIs oNE, I love El when everyone else…" Byleth drops all of her weight against Rhea, her head underneath the older woman's chin. "Death felt like nothing, and Sothis changed back time without ever telling me why. Now I have to live forever. Not only that but I had to kill her and it was so fucking tramatic I c-can't even begin t–" Rhea's fingers run up and down Byleth's back, playing with the ends of her hair as they go. "Like I said, everyday that goes by, I forget more about that life. Just another thing to feel guilty about, huh?"

….

"One day you will remember that you loved Edelgard, but you will forget all the reasons you fell in love with her." Byleth's eyes shut tight, and she creeps her hand between their bodies to rub her own forehead.

"That's… so depressing."

"...Perhaps you should write it down, turn it into a novel," Rhea gently suggests, taking Byleth's trembling hand and squeezing it so the strain will stop. "Dorothea used to tease her and say that the girl was quite a romantic; you could have Bernadetta help you tweak it and then get it published. Then your love for her will be everlasting." Byleth's eyes water, and she looks away.

"Won't that hurt you?" Rhea smiles weakly but she shakes her head no.

"You need to do something to get these things off of your mind. And writing is healthy, Byleth." She taps the side of the teacher's head before kissing her. If I pretend it is not Edelgard, Rhea thinks, it bothers me so little. I am just happy Byleth had love in that life. "I wish to see you let it go, not have it hurt you any longer." Swallowing thickly, Byleth croaks out her acknowledgment. This time Byleth hugs Rhea back, kissing her collar a million times in a silent thank you.

"I'm sorry."

"There is nothing to be sorry for," Rhea says, coming to terms with everything that has been said. "We can overcome this together."

"Aren't you bothered?" Byleth asks, her fingers pressing against Rhea's jaw.

"In some ways, sure. But it comes from a place of anger that is not directed at you… or even Edelgard. I… hate the things that I have done. That girl was not wrong to take it all from me, and I understand that more now, I just wish it had not been as violent and–" Rhea lets the thought go. "Regardless, the life you lived, I have no control over. You chose to save me this time, you chose to love me, so how can I be resentful?" Byleth leans back, her eyes wide and swollen.

"I don't deserve you," Byleth whispers before she kisses Rhea's lips. Rhea weaves her fingers into the professor's hair, tugging her closer.

"No, sweetheart. I think I am the one who does not deserve you." They kiss again, and their eyes are closed when Rhea, truly meaning every word, whispers, "Edelgard was so lucky to have you while she did." Byleth sniffs sharply as tears impossibly come back to her eyes.

"S-so was I," Byleth chokes out, trying so hard not to cry that it's just achieving the opposite. "Dammit." Rhea smiles in understanding, bringing Byleth closer so she can kiss her forehead as the emotion passes. "You know I think El would have hit me for admitting I married the enemy."

"She hit you?" Rhea huffs.

"You do too."

"What? Tapping your arm when you say something preposterous is hitting you, now?" Byleth laughs, light and airy.

"Is that what we call it? I was literally red last time."

"Dear, you are so dramatic. I barely touched you."

"You have dragon powers! Your version of a tap would send someone flying if they didn't have a crest." Rhea giggles despite herself, kissing Byleth on the lips this time.

"I do not actually hurt you, do I?" Byleth smiles at the sweet concerned quirk of Rhea's lips.

"No, baby. I don't think you have it in you to hurt me." Their jests immediately die down as they kiss again, their lips parting for each other after the first few pecks.

They don't leave the gardens until the sun is completely set.

Later, Byleth allows Rhea to wash her in their private bath, something that has never happened before tonight. Rhea made herself the big spoon, wanting to wash Byleth's hair for her but having to stop once or twice when Byleth tenses up and doesn't allow her head to be dunked to get the suds off. "Sorry it's just… as a mercenary, if someone dunked your head it meant they were trying to drown you and get back at you for a mistake on the battlefield." Rhea used that knowledge and found a way around it, taking a tall glass to fill it with warm water and then let it pour over Byleth's hair. The younger woman seemed to like that if the satisfied glint in her eye was enough to go by. Once they're both clean, they don't rush to get out, instead soaking with the little flower petals that are explicitly not carnations or red; replaced with snow white forget-me-nots.

"This is a fitting choice, seeing as Flayn is coming tomorrow."

"Don't make me picture Flayn naked in a bath," Byleth grumbles. Rhea has to shake her head fervently at that.

"I really do not think of things like that if they do not relate to you, love." Rhea lifts her hand from the water, droplets of it falling back in as she places her palm over the top of Byleth's forearm that is draped over the side of the clawfoot tub. Quite amorously, Rhea takes that palm and palpates the tension in her wife's arm; from her wrist to her pronounced deltoid, Byleth gets an impromptu massage.

"Nn, that feels great." On the opposite side of where she's giving Byleth attention, Rhea presses a singular slow open-mouthed kiss right behind Byleth's ear, and she can hear every wet pop of Rhea's lips and tongue, as well as the leftover saliva. "Nnn." Since her response is so positive, Rhea kisses her again, this time for a few seconds longer so she can distract Byleth as she takes her hand away from her scarred arm to rest directly over her breast. When Rhea's tongue laps at the shell of her wife's ear, her fingers play in time, pinching and pulling a nipple. "Kkk–"

"Touches there you love, don't you, sweetheart?"

"Y-yeah," Byleth breathes, her head falling back and then falling forward when she gets embarrassed by how needy her face looks. We cannot have her hiding that precious face, now can we. Rhea shifts so that her legs are spread a little wider and she can twist her torso so she's a little to the side of Byleth's body, then she takes her freehand and grabs Byleth's jaw, turning her so they're eye to eye. Byleth's lashes flutter when Rhea twists the hard nub between her thumb and forefinger, and it is a sight for sore eyes. The teacher literally jumps when Rhea continues playing with her on top and then unexpectedly swipes her middle finger over Byleth's clitoris. "Hey, are you sure you–MM!"

"I said I would give this back to you after last night." Without meaning to, Byleth's legs open a little more and her hips roll upward.

"Sex in water is hard," Byleth warns her, both of her calloused hands holding on the sides of the tub. "You definitely can't–go in."

"Relax yourself, love. You look like you are bracing yourself for a shipwreck." Byleth chuckles at herself, trying and failing to truly calm down until Rhea takes her hand from between her thighs and presses them into Byleth's mouth without warning. "Hmm, I can see why you like taking charge. It is thrilling to see the love of your life so desperate for every touch." Byleth looks at her wife out of the corner of her view and keens, whining loudly as Rhea flicks her clitoris. She starts sliding her fingers in and out of Byleth's mouth, the woman's teeth dragging over her knuckles satisfyingly at the same time as her clitoris getting rubbed up and down. Even in the water Byleth can feel the slickness down there, spreading into the water. She doesn't like being out of control, but she lets it happen, signaling that she's trying to put more trust in her wife, and for that, Rhea nuzzles her nose against Byleth's temple and smiles. "I love you."

"Lhhf you thh." When Byleth stops rocking her hips, Rhea pulls her fingers out of her mouth and asks,

"What do you like?"

"Rubbing, just, a little lower."

"There?"

"Almost," Byleth sighs, grabbing onto Rhea's wrist and angling her fingers so they're perfectly in the corner of Byleth's hard clitoris and a swollen labia. "There. Nnngh." As she would have suspected, Byleth is not much of a moaner, but she loves to touch Rhea and show her appreciation that way. Rhea wants to kiss Byleth again, wants to taste her lips, suck her tongue, but she's too busy watching her own hand, trying to process that this is real. "Feels so good. You're so good." Hearing such drunken speech is also doing wonders for the Nabateans' libido.

"I am just as pleased, love. Look how well you are giving this to me." She presses down harder, starts moving up, down, left, right, and then doing some circles as she travels lower to experiment. Byleth gets more stiff if she's played with near her entrance. I will stop that then. Agitation etches onto Byleth's face all of a sudden, so Rhea quickly comes to a halt.

"Sorry, I just can't do it."

"Do what?"

"Can't finish," Byleth mumbles, bringing her hand from the place it was digging into Rhea's thigh to wipe her face with water.

"We can try something else. What gets you most excited?" The teacher shuffles back and forth until she fully faces Rhea, straddling one thigh.

"I don't really know if it'll work in water but, lemme try." Byleth licks her lips before bracing one hand on the edge of the tub, and one hand on Rhea's shoulder. Keeping herself perched on Rhea's thigh, Byleth shifts side to side, spreading her lower lips apart before rocking back and forth on the older woman's skin. Helpfully, Rhea lifts her leg a little higher and tightens her muscles so her wife can get the most friction possible. The older woman isn't entirely sure what to do with her hands because she is thoroughly distracted watching Byleth's face, but she chooses to lean back, enjoying the ride. "Ah! Do you think you could, uh," she licks her lips, "You could touch my chest again?" Rhea enthusiastically nods, biting her lip as she uses both hands to tease her breasts.

"Fff–" Byleth cracks an eye open, smirking.

"You like watching?" the archbishop asks.

"I love anything revolving around you," Rhea admits, dipping her head so she can suck a mark into the sensitive skin of her wife's breast. For Byleth it feels unreasonably good, and she slaps her hand against the porcelain in bliss. "Move a little faster."

"It-Nnngh," Byleth moans, wrapping her arms around Rhea's neck and pressing their foreheads together. "I feel so good, Rhea." Rhea takes Byleth's backside and kneads it, silently appreciating the muscle.

"You have such an exceptional body." Her hands guide Byleth back and forth faster now, both of them moaning when a gush of wetness coats the smooth thigh. "Will you finish this way?" Byleth nods and tips her head so she can slide her lips against Rhea's, wanting her last few seconds before orgasm to be sweet. Rhea's nails dig slightly into Byleth's skin, alighting her senses. Her insides clench on nothing, but she's always liked how that feels, and she expresses it through pants and moans directly into Rhea's mouth. A hard and unexpected jerk of Byleth's body causes their noses to bump, but it also lets Rhea know that Byleth is surely about to explode. Doing what comes naturally, the Nabatean holds Byleth to her and gently places her hand behind the younger woman's head, cradling her as she ruthlessly rocks herself into orgasm.

"Rhea!" Byleth shouts loud enough to pop the other woman's eardrum.

"I have you." Tiny cries of pleasure become muffled by Rhea's shoulder and neck, where she can feel Byleth's teeth threatening to bite down. Rhea shivers at the thought, loving when Byleth leaves marks on her body to discover the next day. She attempts to do the same, leaving a long three finger scratch down the center of Byleth's back.

"Ghhh, do that again," Byleth whines, her body still wracked with pleasure in the midst of a prolonged orgasm. She hasn't gotten off in weeks. Harder this time, Rhea scratches over Byleth's shoulder blades and presses in. "Tch! Nice," she laughs, coming down from her high a bit. "The whole thing was–really nice, heh." She chuckles messily against her wife, emotionally recovering still.

"Next time I shall take you in bed, or possibly… your office?"

"Seriously?"

"I had you pinned for the kind of woman who would enjoy that sort of thing."

"I think you're the one trying to confess to something," Byleth jests, voice light.

"There have been a few times I imagined you taking me in the gardens." The teacher lifts her head, looking semi-wrecked with her messy hair and droopy eyes.

"Don't mind if I do then." On wobbly legs, Byleth stands up and hops over the edge of the tub, grabbing her towel.

"Careful. I would prefer not to have a visit to Manuela at this time of night. She is probably already drunk." Byleth snickers at that.

"You're right. She totally is." Rhea grins and graciously takes the towel Byleth hands her, wrapping it under her arms and around her torso before pulling her shorter wife into her arms. She only stops when Byleth starts trying to pull the towel off. "What? I'm just trying to look at you."

"Liar."

"...Maybe," Byleth jokes, getting on the tips of her toes to kiss the other woman's lips again. "Thank you, Rhea. For everything."