Tenderness, warmth, contentment. Feelings that she had not expected to surface nor believed she was capable of – not before him, anyway. And yet she found herself in a shallow slumber, his fingers stroking her hair as she led close beside him. There was nothing but breaths and the careful turning of pages to rouse her. Otherwise, it was quiet and so very peaceful. The light behind her eyelids was warm, yet not too bright. His hand abandoned her hair, moving down to sweetly stroke her back. She smiled, shifting under the sheets to lie closer to him.

"You should rest longer, it's still rather early," Hubert said quietly, holding her as she nestled into him.

Byleth half-opened her eyes. For the past week, she had grown accustomed to waking up next to him. He had all but moved in at this point; only returning to his quarters to pick up the odd item. He was sat up against the headboard, holding a book in one hand. She watched him place the book down every now again to turn the page, not wanting to pull his free hand away from her back.

Her eyes wandered up his bare chest to meet his. "Have you noticed…" she said sleepily. "That the dark circles under your eyes are fading?" She shifted to see him more clearly, rubbing the sleep from one eye. A lazy smile lingering on her lips.

"Heh," he replied, placing the book down upon the sheets. "I have. Likely attributed to the fact that I didn't sleep much before... This."

"I must say, I'm growing rather fond of waking up next to you," she beamed.

"I feel the same. I don't miss aimlessly wandering in the evenings. Restless and unable to put my mind at ease," he replied, falling back to his usual dark cadence of speech.

"How much did you actually sleep before?" she replied curiously, folding an arm around his stomach, leaning her head upon his chest.

He wrapped his arms around her, keeping her close. "Two... three hours at most. Probably why I gained a taste for coffee."

She sighed, trying to separate her heart from her brain. "I should get up. There is so much that needs to be done." Though it was said half-heartedly as she nary moved a muscle. She wanted for nothing more at that moment.

"We are both off duty today," he said suggestively.

"I know, but I need to make up for the time I was recovering. And I'm sure you have things to do, you're not the type to sit idle."

"I would say that it wasn't your fault... But it definitely was." He smirked. "And yes, I do, in fact, have some trivial things to attend."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

It was a bit out of the blue, but she finally felt comfortable enough to ask it. "For how long did you have feelings for me?" she asked on whimsy. It had been something bothering her for a while now. Before that fated conversation that began it all, she had no idea to his affections.

"Hm. Interesting." He paused as if calculating his reply, though he gave no resistance. "Remember when I told you I should have said something different to you at the goddess tower? Even then I found you quite the enigma."

"Since then?" She gasped.

"Perhaps," he replied. "I recall regretting allowing that moment to pass without some sentiment. Though I only truly realised my feelings for you after you disappeared. I was certain you were dead."

"Why did it take you so long to say something?"

"I had never given you an inkling, nor gave you a reason to return my affections. I must say, I did not expect you to react in such a way when I gave you a hint. I was certain the mere thought would have disgusted you."

"I'm surprised you believed that…" she said gently, trying to lighten up the conversation. "I always thought you rather handsome. More so with a bedhead."

"Oh." He coughed, flustered. "I suppose, you are… remarkably beautiful."

Her blood rushed. She realised it was the first time they had complimented each other properly. Although they both seemed to find it easy to communicate physically, whispering sweet nothings was not something she had expected. Though, it wasn't until it happened that she realised how much she had yearned for it.

He tightened his arm around her, pulling her up to join him. She allowed it, hoisting herself up to sit next to him. He placed a gentle hand behind her neck, resting his forehead against hers; raven hair tickling her face. She knitted her fingers in with his other hand and they stayed like that for a short moment.

"You're right. It is still early. We should stay in each other's company for a time," she whispered.

"If it takes but a simple compliment, I should do so more often," he said with a smirk, kissing her keenly.

She raised an eyebrow. "I see. So, your compliments come with an ulterior motive…"

"I can't see why you'd think that…" he said darkly, "...darling."


Petra and Dorothea had been hard at work throughout the morning clearing debris from the courtyard. Dorothea wiped the sweat from her brow, groaning under the midday sun.

"Thank you for sorting my hair, Petra. This would have been much more difficult had it been in my face."

"Of course," Petra replied, leaning upon the broom. "The Brigid style of hair is suiting you well!"

She beamed back to her friend. Though something interesting caught her eye. It was Hubert and – wait. Was he smiling to himself? She practically did a double-take.

She waved him over-enthusiastically, her inquisitiveness burning. "Why, Hubie! You're looking rather… oh, how shall I put it? Radiant? No, that doesn't quite suit you."

"Hello, Petra... Dorothea," he said curtly, "and no, it doesn't. But I will accept the compliment none the less. Is there something I can assist you with?"

"We are quite about done here. Thank you for the offering though," Petra replied.

"Yeah… Nice offer, Hubie. Nothing like the love a woman to bring out your good side," Dorothea teased.

"Indeed," he replied distastefully. "Feeling a little jealous, are we?"

"Oh come now, does there need to be a reason behind a friendly chat? Besides, you know what the reason was behind my proposal."

"Ah yes, your little game of smoke and mirrors. And what if I had accepted?"

"I could have done worse." She grinned. "Speaking of, I'm surprised you haven't asked her to marry you yet. You nobles do tend to work rather quickly…"

"Heh. I don't see how any of that is your business."

"The professor and I are close friends if you hadn't noticed."

Hubert sighed crassly. "I see, perhaps you should speak to Byleth about it then. Well, please excuse me, I have a prior arrangement to attend."

Dorothea giggled. "Alright, Hubie, I'll see you later."

"Good day." He bowed before heading off.

"Oh no… He is suddenly attractive and the thought disturbs me," Dorothea mumbled as he walked out of earshot. "Never thought I'd be talking about Hubie In that way."

"Hm. Is it not against traditions to court someone who is taken?" Petra scowled.

"I was merely making an observation! Anyway, the odd flirt here and there is mostly harmless," she replied nonchalantly.

"As long as it is harmless…" Petra brooded.

"Well, we did help set them up in the first place. I'm hardly going to ruin all our hard work. What's with you anyway, miss moody? You've been acting a little off with me recently." She looked to her friend with a curious scowl.

Petra's face flushed a startling shade of red. "It… it is nothing," she said sheepishly. Her dark eyes then latched onto the professor, who was carrying a large stack of books across the courtyard. "Oh, look, it's the professor. She looks like she may be needing help." Petra propped her broom up on the wall before jogging towards Byleth.

"Hmm, could it be…" Dorothea mumbled to herself before following her friend.


Byleth smiled at Petra as she ran over, trying her best to steady the books which were piled up to her chin.

"Professor! Are you needing any assistance?" she asked happily, reaching to grab a stack of books before receiving an answer.

"Oh, Hello, Petra! Thank you," she replied, exhaling through the relief when Petra helped with the load.

"Is it not your off day?" Petra asked.

"Yes. I'm just taking these tactical primers to Edelgard. I heard her mention she wanted to go through them. Then I was thinking about heading into town to assist with the restoration." The guilt was clear on her face.

"I have gladness that you are recovering, but you should not be overworking yourself," she fussed.

Dorothea quickly joined them, taking another stack of books from Byleth. "You're probably doing it on purpose so Hubie will have to save you again," Dorothea said with a laugh.

"I see, so this is what my reputation has fallen to. A damsel in distress?" She smiled half-heartedly as they began making their way to the cathedral.

"I'm just teasing," she replied, though her voice dampened somewhat, "with everything going on, it's good to distract yourself with trivial things now and again."

"Speaking of, professor, will you be taking part in the tournament later?" Petra asked, shooting Dorothea a concerned look.

"I was thinking about it, but I may not have the time." Between the mission and the planning involved, she only had a limited time to help with the restoration.

Dorothea perked up again. "We might not get another opportunity to kick back like this, especially with the mission coming up. We could even have a few drinks, relax a little."

"Besides that, you don't need to make up for losing time," Petra said firmly. "We are happy that you are well. I would very much like to cross swords with you again."

Byleth thought about it for a moment. They would be making for Arianrhod within the next few days. If the secret mission were successful, they would not be returning to Garreg Mach for some time. Instead, they would be heading straight to Fhirdiad, the Kingdom Capital. The end of the war was close at hand, but they were under no disillusion that the outcome could go either way. Thinking about it that way, It could be the last moments of joy for many at the Monastery.

"All right," Byleth replied. "I must admit, the tournament does sound tempting. Maybe I can get Hubert to join…"

"I have great curiosity, I have not seen you two spar together before," Petra said enthusiastically.

"I'll see if I can convince him." Byleth smiled.

"I'm sure you won't have much issue, he's… changed a lot recently," Dorothea replied.

"Oh? Really?" Byleth blinked, a little taken aback.

"Well, not only did he give Caspar a pep-talk yesterday, he's actually on good terms with Ferdie – I swear I saw those two exchanging gifts!"

"Seriously?" She smiled widely before allowing it to turn into a laugh. "Hubert?"

"I mean, not that we're complaining… but," Dorothea trailed, a smirk on her face.

"But?"

"It's weird. Ok, I said it."

"I am also finding it odd," Petra said. "A good kind of odd," she nodded.

"I dare say I've never seen him actually happy before. I'm surprised he hasn't proposed to you yet," Dorothea said pryingly.

"About that," Byleth whispered under her breath.

"You mean he asked you? Don't tell me you declined!" Dorothea said, her voice echoing through the great arches as they entered the Cathedral. It caught the attention of a few soldiers who began mumbling to themselves.

"No!" she whispered. "Nor have I accepted."

"But why?" she asked pleadingly, lowering her voice.

It occurred to her that it was a particularly good question. She couldn't help but take a moment to ponder, a response failing to surface. She felt her cheeks warm at the notion, averting her gaze from the two ladies waiting impatiently for her answer.

"We are at war, is it really the time to speak of marriage?"

"This is precisely the time for this. War is unpredictable and irrational, you of all people must know this. Love is… Fleeting in a time like this. What if something happened before you managed to tell him how you truly felt? Besides, you're probably torturing the poor guy."

She looked to Petra, who had since gone quiet as if thinking on Dorothea's words herself.

"Perhaps there is some truth to that…" It tapped into a fear she harboured deep inside. To admit she loved him and wanted to marry him, it made things far too real. She had been living so long in the present that she had lost sight of the future. Although she wished not to think about it, it was clear that what she felt for the man was love. It wasn't a matter of what could happen before admitting this to him – It was what came after. After sharing the most intimate part of her psyche with someone, to agree to spend the rest of their lives together.

To have such a thing taken by war. Nothing terrified her more.

"Just imagine the morale boost. I mean, the head commander and chief advisor getting engaged? Oh, it would make the most amazing opera. Perhaps I should write it…" Dorothea swooned at the thought.