"Ferdie…" The young lady poked her sleeping husband. "Ferdie, wake up, please. Ferdinand, please."

It was much past the last bell of the night, the monastery was completely silent, and the heavily pregnant Byleth was having much trouble staying asleep, as it was often the case these days.

Heading strong towards her fifth moon of her pregnancy, the Archbishop was dreaming vividly of sweets, fully knowing that the heir to the throne was having late night cravings. It was those nights that she missed Sothis the most, the dreams of war and the berating of the Goddess were less tiresome than her journey to a land of whatever food she would be craving as she woke.

Lightly, she shoved her husband's shoulder, but to no avail. For a man that fought a war and survived so many assassination attempts, the Duke Aegir was a surprisingly heavy sleeper.

"Ferdinand, wake up, now!" Her booming, militaristic voice commanded him awake.

Duke Aegir turned around while still unconscious, then facing his offending former teacher who now had her face a few inches from his own. With a poke of hers, the man gasps awake.

"Wah! Good morning? Good evening? Byleth, what time is it?" He questioned, clearly confused after being awaken from his deep slumber.

"It's time to raid the kitchen." The woman declares, turning around to pick up a cover for her night clothes. "Your child urgently demands sweets, so let us get going!"

With no warning, Byleth and her tiny baby bump was climbing over Ferdinand, straddling the nobleman. He did not mind such a position, as it gave him a clear shot of her delectable and round behind, that he gave a playful smack to as it crossed his path.

"Stop trying to distract me, Ferdinand!" The Supreme Leader of the Church of Seiros reprehended her husband. "I am dead serious, this kid wants sweets, and I will not have him born with the face of a tea cake!"

"Of course, dear. It will only be a moment." Ferdinand chuckled, quickly gathered his pair of pants and a belt, wearing them over his sleeping shirt, so he could escort his duchess to the monastery kitchen.

Luckily for Byleth and their baby's regal Aegir looks, the Church had offered a banquet that night and the kitchen was stocked with leftover desserts. The servants and knights did their best to distribute as much leftover foods and sweets amongst the children of the fief as they could, but even their best efforts usually came up short in facing the excessive displays the monastery cooks made a point in presenting.

Once in the kitchen, Byleth propped herself on the counter as she excitedly waited while her husband searched the pantries and the jars. After a few moments of debating with himself, he presented her with a large slice of a layered cake and some leaves for a soothing tea.

"Oh, my favourite!" She clapped with enthusiasm.

Despite having eaten it already earlier that evening, Byleth was excited for another slice. Delicate layers of vanilla cake filled with fresh, plump red strawberries and lightly whipped cream filled her taste buds.

No sooner had she put the cake in her mouth, however, she spit it right back out, prompting Ferdinand to pass her a napkin.

"This is absolutely horrible!" The woman bemoaned. "It was so good earlier. Why does it taste so bad? Do you think it is rotten?"

Ferdinand took a sample from her plate and looked at her with his face painted in confusion. "It tastes just fine to me, my love. It is certainly still good."

The woman's expression turned despondent. "Oh, Goddess…"

"Do not worry yourself, love." The man smiled brightly. "Perhaps the little one is merely craving something else. It is just a matter of time until we figure it out."

As Ferdinand continued taking stock of the many sweets available in the pantry, Byleth attempted a couple more times with the cake, hoping the baby would change its mind.

"Byleth, I can hear you spitting out the cake from in here." The man called from the other room. "Put the cake down, please, before you make yourself ill. I will find you something, I promise."

With a groan, the Archbishop tossed the cake out of her reach. When she looked up, she noticed Ferdinand had an arrangement of ice creams and gelatos straight from the ice box laid out on the counter.

"Very well, one of these has to be a winner, and the cold ought to settle your stomach." He took a small scoop of each from the five tubs, and placed them in a bowl.

Sample after sample, however, Byleth winced as if each taste was stabbing her in the tongue.

"Well, it is now safe to conclude that it was a bad idea." Ferdinand lamented with a small scowl. "I have no idea what this kid wants. Neither of us are this picky."

She looked to her husband's bright amber eyes for the answer, but all he could offer was a soft smile and a kiss of encouragement.

"I have a couple more ideas, just be patient a little while longer." Ferdinand smiled encouragingly. "If nothing else works, I will go out to the grange and make an eggnog myself if that is what our child wants."

He kissed her in hopes of assuring the pregnant mother before turning to the pantry once more.

"Please Goddess, do not let that heinous eggnog be the answer." Byleth begged with her hands clasped to her forehead with the simple recalling of the drink her aide had offered her when she first came down with morning sickness. "It upsets my stomach and I do so hate conceding to the fact that Seteth is right about health issues. Medicine has surely advanced enough in these thousand years so we can do away with those foul concoctions."

As the woman finishes her lament, and with a wide grin on his face, Ferdinand handed over a plate of baklava while holding another plate just for him in his other hand.

Byleth rolled her eyes as she took a bite. "Is this your reward to yourself for putting up with me right now?"

The long-haired man chuckles, while scooping a generous piece of the dessert with his fork. "It might be. I am also feeling peckish."

"I love how a thousand years of fine Aegir reputation and civilization go straight out the window when the duke is faced with a simple baklava." She laughed as her husband shovelled his share into his mouth in defiant response.

"We all have a weakness." Ferdinand said. "I so happen to have two."

"So gallant!" The woman comments in a chuckle, before following her husband's example and eating a generous piece of baklava, and then promptly spiting it out, too. "Ugh, this is not it, either. I am starting to become sick again, Ferdie."

Annoyed and frustrated at this point, Byleth handed him her plate with a frown.

"My duchess, you are too kind offering me another delightful piece." He greedily accepted her plate and guided a whole apple pie her way.

"This was terrible early tonight." The Archbishop commented. "Apples do not grow here and the merchants bring them in from too far away. The servants never pick the right apples and just overcompensate with sugar and cinnamon whipped cream."

Elbow propped on the counter and his attention solely on the baklava in front of him, Ferdinand slid the container of freshly whipped cream she spoke of. Three large scoops of whipped topping on a single slice of pie later, Byleth cautiously took a bite. Ambar eyes wide with anticipation, he waited for his wife's answer.

She looked up at him with disappointment. "This stupid pie, is stupid delicious."

Heaving more scoops of whipped cream on top of the whole pie this time, Byleth now propped her legs in a more comfortable eating position while she devoured the pie. Once Ferdinand had finished his wife's share of baklava, he cleaned up the kitchen while his wife continued to eat to her and the baby's heart's content.

After all the desserts were placed back in their respective places, he looked back to see Byleth had finished just about half of the pie and was lying down across the counter with one arm covering her eyes and her hand covering her even more swollen belly. She was done.

He placed a small kiss to her temple before picking up her pie plate and storing it for her for another day. Byleth woke to Ferdinand cradling her in his arms as he carried her to their room.

"I feel like a beached whale, and I am absolutely sure I ate like one." She grumbled.

"We can take a walk in the garden tomorrow if that will make you feel better." He chuckled as she snuggled closer to his chest.

"Oh, Ferdie! Please, do take us on a stroll through the village fair tomorrow morning! We can pick some apples. Then, do ask the cooks for apple strudel, apple blossoms, apple fritters, and apple cobbler! I would so love to have them tomorrow evening." She looked up at her husband with a sleepy grin.

"That sounds perfect." He gently placed her in bed and kissed her goodnight, and then kneeled to her bulging stomach. "No more giving your mother a hard time."

"Sleep well, my duchess. I love you." Ferdinand murmured into her shoulder as he positioned himself for bed.

Mostly asleep, Byleth managed to reply. "Good night, my sweet hero."