Byleth, for the first time in hours, left his dorm.
Earlier that day, his class had to take on a mission together with his father Jeralt. When they cleared the enemies and investigated the strange scenery, the long lost student known as Monica stabbed his dad in the back.
He cried when he bent over his corpse, droplets of tears landing on the face of his fading father.
As quickly as they marched out to their mission, they returned back to the monastery. Byleth got his strong student Raphael to help him carry the corpse of his dad, while the others followed without uttering a word. No one knew what to say.
Right as he gently picked up his dad by the feet, Byleths eyes met Leonies. She did not cry, but he saw it in her eyes, everything. A sense of dullness and sadness, extinguishing the inspiring flame which usually possessed her orange eyes. She simply looked down on the ground to break off their eye contact.
The way through the monastery was the second most painful thing of the day. Nuns, priests, even the two other classes caught the sight of the Golden Deer class, marching slowly towards Lady Rhea and Seteth. Their pity was so prominent, no one even needed to look someone in the eye to recognize it.
Rhea ordered two of her soldiers to prepare the corpse for a proper cerimony in the next morning. She dismissed the class, without a new assignment. Seteth and her had that same, sorrowful look as everyone else. The mood generally was just that.
Byleth excused himself from his class and walked to his dorm, it was the early afternoon. He had to have time for himself.
After a few hours, his body still not moving off of his bed, a certain girl could not take it anymore.
"I understand your need to weep, it is natural, but shouldn't you have stayed a bit longer to encourage your class? Of course it was your father, though this is the time to teach them about the hardships of life."
"What do you mean, Sothis?"
"Look at that girl, Leonie. She admired your dad because he taught her valuable lessons, and she looked like she was suffering as well. I do not mean to sound harsh or unfeeling, but to escape to this room while leaving your students in their misery is not a good example of handling death.", Sothis spoke, floating in front of him at the end of his bed.
Byleth opened his eyes to look at her face, and considered the words. His heart was aching still, but he understood that she was right. He should pay a visit to the others, but especially Leonie.
So he left his room and went to search for her. The sun was already setting, most of the students weren't outside anymore.
Byleth went around for a walk, only to find Leonie sitting on the port at the fishing pond. Her shoulders were slumped, while she loosely held a fishing rod in her hands.
Without saying a word, he walked over and sat himself down next to her, letting his legs dangle down as well.
Leonie noticed his presence and quickly rubbed her eyes. She sniffed, her eyes were red, and when she started to speak her voice shook. Byleth figured she was crying.
"Oh, hello professor, I didn't see you coming.", Leonie spoke and laid the fishing rod next to her.
"Hello Leonie. How are you?"
"I-I'm fine.", she stammered. With a voice like that, she wouldn't even believe herself.
"Are you sure? I can see you were crying."
"That obvious, huh? I'm sorry professor, I..", she started, but another sob escaped her, and fresh tears ran down her cheeks.
Byleth was a bit of unsure when Leonie started to cry and close her eyes. What was he supposed to do exactly?
"Come on! Talk to her, comfort her!", Sothis ordered, getting him to move.
"Let it out Leonie, everything is going to be alright.", Byleth said. He remembered hearing a mother comfort her daughter like that once.
"I...I just miss him. He was so strong and helped me become who I am today, and now he's just gone. I'm sorry, it must be even harder for you.", she spoke, another sob gently rocking her body.
"I miss him as well, Leonie. There is no need to feel sorry for anything.", he told her softly.
"Yes, there is! Remember how I lashed out at you for 'not appreciating Jeralt at all'? I regretted the words as soon as I said them. I didn't apologize right away, and now, I just feel like a jerk. And he's gone, thinking I hated you. I'm so sorry for everything professor.", Leonie sobbed. Her body would not stop to shake.
Slowly, Byleth tried something else. He reached out with his right arm, travelling all along Leonie's slim upper back to rest his hand on her right shoulder and hold it gently. On instinct, she leaned left and placed her head on his shoulder.
"It's okay Leonie, I forgive you. I know dad meant much to you, and you wanted to show that. I do not think ill of you because of it.", Byleth spoke, as he rubbed the girl's shoulder affectionately.
She sniffed and looked up into his eyes, revealing how red and puffy her own were.
"Really?", Leonie wondered.
"Yes. Do not worry, I'm here for you, I always will be.", he said, now a single tear running down his cheek as well.
Her eyes widened. "Professor..."
She further leaned into his shoulders and he rested his own head against hers. They enjoyed the soft splashing sound of the pond, the chilly breeze of air cooling down the warm evening, and the sunset. They both felt so comfortable in their current position that no one wanted to leave for minutes.
After about ten minutes, their crying ceased and only gentle breaths remained. They both stood up to walk over to Leonie's dorm.
"Thank you professor. I really needed that.", she spoke when they reached his door, a small smile on her face.
"Your welcome Leonie. Remember, if you need anything, don't hesitate to visit me. I wish you a good night."
"Thank you again. Good night to you as well.", she greeted and he turned to walk. Quickly though, she grabbed his arm.
"Is there anything left, Leonie?", he wondered when he saw her cheeks, now a light shade of pink.
Quickly as the arrows Leonie is used to shoot, she leaned in and gave Byleth a peck on his cheek. Without another word, she left a speechless Byleth behind and ushered into her room.
In the following days, she took him up on his offer. Every night, right before sleeping time, she would visit him in his private room. Together, they would sit against the wall, her head leaning against his shouder and his head on top of hers. They would talk a bit, but mostly just appreciate each others company and mourn. And every night, she said goodbye by kissing him on his cheek. It left both of them with a warm feeling. This proximity, physical as well as mental, a feeling he was not used to, was almost addictive. It just came and felt natural for him to be so close to Leonie.
She felt similar. Her professor, a man so strong and compassionate, was a presence she never realized how much she enjoyed.
Naturally, as time passed, their need to have someone to mourn with was substituted by a simple need to be close to each other. Now, she would move to his dorm in the middle of the night, shook by a nightmare, and he understood. He laid down on his bed, and she followed him to lay down on his chest. He would pull off his gloves to wipe the tears on her cheeks away. Then he would move to her short hair, gently caress it while whispering "I'm here for you" and "It will be alright" over and over, like a mantra.
He was her rock, the one she could confide in, the one to understand her need for care, and she fully trusted him.
Both of them remember that one night vividly. She moved her head to look at him, and while he gently traced his thumb over her cheekbone, Leonie noticed that there was no tear he wiped away. She was entranced in his deep, blue eyes.
He felt the same. These fierce, fiery orange eyes looking at him with nothing short of adoration were simply beautiful.
She scooted upwards, like she always did when she gave him a kiss on the cheek, but he saw that she had a different target in mind this time.
Seteth encouraged Byleth to comfort his students as well, to ease the burden of death, and form a deeper bond with them. He was sure that he didn't mean this kind of bond.
He could not bring himself to care. With one hand at the small of her back and one entangled in her short, orange hair, he gently pulled her down to kiss her on the lips. She gripped his cheeks with her slightly calloused, yet still soft, small hands and moved her lips in slow sync with his. Byleth pulled her up to now rest her full weight against him, lips never breaking their contact.
Their first kiss, individually and with each other, was full of curiousity about their new form of union. Lips slowly dragging against each other, pushing and pulling, while their bodies pressed against each other in need of closer contact. Their gentle and innocent movements completely robbed them of their breath and any thought which wasn't about the heavenly feeling their mouths were experiencing.
Slowly, they broke apart, the warmth in their bodies spread like a wildfire. He moved his hand to trace her left cheekbone again, while she nuzzled into his palm.
Her eyes were getting droopy, so she buried her face into his neck and sighed the words she knew in her heart were true.
"I love you, prof..., no, I love you Byleth."
He smiled. The warm weight of the girl on him felt nice, and the feeling of her hair once he began to stroke it felt like that as well.
"I love you too, Leonie."