Authors Note: So this was just a little thing I cooked up after getting the idea while doing my one millionth Azure Moon run, and it was written all in one sitting so I apologize if it's lacking. I just love this paring and thinks there should be more Dimitri/Byleth on the website :3
This is just a little one-shot(Maybe I'll make it a two-shot one day) about Dimitri and Byleth's son being born and the paranoia Dimitri goes through while he waits through it all.
I hope you all like it! I plan to do more in the future of other couples, so if you have any ideas feel free to ask!~
The sun shone through the small window, illuminating the dark room as Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, King of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, quietly sat on the edge of the singular bed as he looked at the small infant he held in his arms.
It had been a year and a half since the Unification War, and during that time Dimitri had set out to not only restore the Kingdom to its former glory, but also restore relationships with not only the Duscur Region, but the former Alliance and Imperial territories as well.
Originally, Dimitri had thought of restoring the Alliance and Empire territories under puppet or allied rulers. His plan was to call Claude back to lead the new Kingdom aligned Alliance and have a close ally of his be named the next Emperor.
However, he soon learned that such a plan was a dream at best. When he had finally gotten ahold of Claude, he learned that not only did Claude not wish to return to Fodlan, but he was now the King of Almyra. While Claude wished his best to Dimitri and had said he hoped the two Kingdoms could now work in peace with one another, he also made it clear that the Alliance could in no way shape or form ever be recreated.
That sentiment was shared by his closest advisors and friends, and soon Dimitri simply accepted he would have to try his best to make those who longed for their former countries feel accepted into his Kingdom.
Honestly, he felt it was an almost impossible errand. Many people, especially imperials, held contempt and hatred towards him and the Kingdom and cursed the fact that Kingdom soldiers now roamed their streets.
Truly, it would have almost assuredly been impossible by himself...That was why he was thankful however, for not only the rebuilt Church of Seiros and Knights of Seiros, but also for the new Archbishop, Byleth Eisner.
Well in a few hours, her name would officially be Byleth Blaiddyd, Archbishop of the Church and Queen of the Kingdom.
Dimitri and Byleth had been engaged since the end of the war, however they kept it from public for a variety of reasons. The main reason being they wished to avoid the public thinking that they were forming a complete takeover of their lives, as their marriage would link the head of state and head of the church.
This went to their friends as well, as initially they kept their engagement so private, that Dimitri would often sneak Byleth into the castle, or he himself would sneak into the Monastery so they could see one another.
However as the months went on, their friends soon began to catch on and no matter how much the two denied it, it was becoming more and more public knowledge.
The final nail in the coffin to their little secret, was the fact that no matter how much they could explain away things such as buying each other gifts, or being caught spending alone time together…
They couldn't explain away Byleths ever growing stomach.
Well Dimitri did try to give a flimsy excuse about how much food Byleth would request when she was with him at the castle, but the words barely left his mouth before Byleth had smacked him in the back of the head and just told the truth.
Dimitri still remembered the day that everyone was told, and despite the embarrassment of being hit in the back of his head for such a lousy excuse, it added to the charm a bit.
Dimitri gave a small smile as he rocked the small infant in his arms, small whines coming from it before it settled back down as Dimitri reached up and brushed it's hair out of it's face. "You may be only a month old, but I really think we should get your hair cut soon Jeralt."
The infant gave a small sound, as if acknowledging its name being said.
Jeralt Egitte Blaiddyd, son of Dimitri and Byleth, and crown-prince of the Kingdom. He was named after both of his grandfathers, as his first name came from Byleth's father Jeralt Eisner, while his middle name came from Dimitri's father Lambert Egitte Blaiddyd. He was born with a minor crest of Blaiddyd and Blond hair, he was almost a spitting image of his father.
However if there was one thing he shared with his mother…
"Such frail Hands." Dimitri quietly spoke as he gently grabbed one of Jeralt's small hands and ran a finger over it as the hand instinctively opened and closed around one of Dimitri's fingers as he gave a small smile. "To think your mother and I are getting married exactly one month after you were born, how time flies…"
Dimitri gave a small chuckle as he closed his eyes and thought back, the day of Jeralts birth racing through his mind.
"To think, I was an absolute mess...While your mother was as calm and stoic as ever…"
One Month Prior
Dimitri paced back and forth along the Monastery floor as he awaited outside the infirmary's doors, his eyes resembling that of the former boar prince from the lack of sleep leading up to today.
Both Kingdom and Church soldiers lined the walls as they didn't say anything to the paranoid King, fearful that he would snap back at them for doing so. While Dimitri and Byleth had yet to wed, she was unofficially the Queen at this point and so along with her personal guard of Seteth and Alois, she also had been assigned a guard unit from the Kingdom. Her ground unit was led by the ever dashing Sylvain, while the aerial units that protected her were led by Sylvain's knightly wife, Ingrid.
As Dimitri kept pacing back and forth, footsteps soon came up the stairs as the ground captain himself emerged from the stairs and walked towards him "Yo Your Majesty, gotten any sleep?"
"Sylvain! What are you doing up here? You're supposed to be down handling the security! Do you know how-"
"Whoa Whoa! Calm down Your Majesty! It's alright, everyone's where they're supposed to be! The Knights of Sieros have helped out alot, honestly a bird would be lucky to get close enough without getting shot, stabbed, fried, or whatever other way of death you can think of."
"Even still...This isn't something we can rest easy on. The next generation of the Royal Line is being born, so we have to be vigilant, even now!" As Dimitri crushed his fist and walked towards Sylvain, another pair of footsteps entered into the fray.
"Calm yourself, Your Majesty. As Sylvain said, the Monastery is so well protected that anyone would be foolish to attempt anything." Dimitri looked over towards the newest arrival as he responded.
"Gustave." Gustave Eddie Dominic, one of the highest ranking knights in the Kingdom and one of Dimitri's personal guards. Though he was known to many of the former students as Gilbert, he had gone back to using his real name since the end of the war.
"Yeah as Gilbert said Dimitri, you have nothing to worry about. You really need to settle down, you know, don't want your kid's first impression of you being a paranoid freak."
"P-Paranoid freak? S-Surely you jest Sylvain."
"Trust me, I wish I was joking. But currently you seem like you don't trust anyone and could go crazy at any time."
"I…" Dimitri listened to the words of his friend and after a moment gave a sigh "Your right, I need to calm down. I'm not the one giving birth after all...But still…"
"No buts Your Majesty! Unless Manuela comes running out screaming an emergency has happened, everything should be alright. Now just calm down and take a deep bre-"
Before Sylvain could finish his little speech, the doors suddenly flung open as the small green hair girl named Flayn came running out with a bucket full of liquid. "Ah Flayn! How is-"
"Move! No time Dimitri!" Pushing back Dimitri with gusto, Flayn ran down the hall as fast as she could as Dimitri stared at her with an wide eye.
"What the-" As Dimitri pondered what had happened, the doors to the Infirmary could be heard closing as Seteth stepped out, sweat on his face as he let out a sigh. "Seteth! How is she? Is everything alright!"
Dimitri ran up and locked eyes with Seteth, who simply gave a small smile in return "There is nothing to fear, Your Majesty. Though she is exhausted and in pain, the Archbishop is doing well and everything is going according to plan."
"T-Thats good...Thank you Seteth...Flayn came out in such a hurry, that I wasn't quite sure how to react…"
"There's nothing to worry about, Flayn was simply emptying and cleaning the waste bucket. Manuela and Mercedes will need it to continue so she was simply in a hurry. If I had to give an estimate, the baby should be born in the next few hours."
"If I may Seteth." Gustave stepped up beside Dimitri and spoke up "Perhaps the chefs can cook His Majesty something to eat while we await Lady Byleth and the child, are there any present at the moment?"
"Ah, do not worry Gustave. I thought some nerves might be pinched while we waited, so I have the chefs on standby. If His Majesty wishes, he can relax in the cafeteria."
"Excellent, I believe we shall head that way then."
"Wait, I'm not in the mood to eat right now! I can wait here perfectly-" Before Dimitri could finish, Sylvain threw his arm around him and turned him.
"Ah come on Your Majesty! If it's like it was during our days at the Academy, the food should be pretty good! And hey who knows? The chefs might be kinda cute."
"Sylvain! We both have partners, how could you-"
"Hey now, what they don't know won't hurt them." Sylvain gave a wink as he began leading Dimitri towards the dining hall, despite his protests.
As Sylvain pulled Dimitri into the Dining hall, he looked over towards the kitchen and yelled "Give us the best steak dinner you can wip up! His Majesty is starving you see!"
"Sylvain I swear-"
"Hey now Dimitri, we're already here so nothing you can complain about!" Pushing Dimitri down into a chair, Sylvain sat opposite of him as he leaned back and smiled "Sitting here sure brings back memories huh? I remember eating here everyday with the class, usually you and Dedue would sit all the way at the end while the professor would sit at the opposite end. Who would think that just six years later, you two would be the King and Queen of all of Fodlan."
"Yes...Times sure have changed I suppose. Back then I was nothing more than a shell of a man who hung to the ghosts of the past...Well, I guess in some ways that's still true."
"Hey come on now, you've come a long way! I mean the Dimitri of old would have never worried about the Professor, let alone her unborn child! Not only that but no offense, even if you did kill Edelgard while you were acting the way you were, you would have simply found someone else to put your hatred onto."
"You...You may be right...I wonder though, if this child wasn't mine and only the professors, would I still be worried about her health?"
"Of course you would! I mean come on Dimitri, you've been in love with the professor since the Academy Days, so even if she chose someone else, you would have supported her all the way no matter what."
"I suppose...Also what do you mean I've been in love with her since the Academy Days? I wasn't that obvious or-"
"Are you serious? The entire class knew you had the hots for her! Really if she wasn't so stoic and oblivious, she would have known as well! I'm surprised you didn't give her a dagger if I'm being honest."
"Are you really still hung up on that!? It was one time Sylvain! Besides, I don't know how I was so obvious with it, the only alone time the Professor and I shared were in instances around the school and-" Dimitri went silent for a moment as he thought, Sylvain raising an eyebrow from his sudden silence.
"And…?"
"And...The Goddess Tower I suppose."
"Huh? Goddess Tower?"
"Yes...During the Ball where we made the promise to reunite five years after. After the initial dancing, I ran into the professor outside and took her to the Goddess Tower to speak with her about my past and the like...That was my reasoning in my head anyway. In truth, I really was planning to confess to her, but I got cold feet and stopped myself."
"Wait hold on, you were planning to confess to her back when you were a student!? Not only that, you once again didn't consult me?"
"Sylvain if I consulted you then I'd likely still be single now. But yes, I was planning to confess to her and in a way I did. However, after she gave a neutral response back, I simply laughed it off as a joke and tried to put the awkwardness aside. I wonder though, if I had confessed and she returned my feelings, would I have fallen as far as I did?"
"You want my honest opinion? I don't think you would have lasted if she had said yes."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I mean think of it this way, even if you and her didn't get into any trouble with Rhea and Seteth for being together, you would have still lost her during the Empire's invasion of the Monastery. She vanished for five years after that day, and during that time you completely lost yourself. I know you accounted her as part of the dead you had to 'avenge' but if you two had gotten involved romantically beforehand, then well, I don't think you could mentally take losing her."
"..."
"That's just my take anyway, maybe you're right and you would have never fallen so deep."
"No you may be right, even though we weren't romantically involved, I still took her at the time death personally and very hard. I was past the edge when I learned Edelgard was the Flame Emperor...Her death pulled me so far from the edge that it's a miracle I ever came back."
The pair went quiet for a few moments before one of the maids brought their food over, and after a thanking her for the food, their mood picked back up some.
"So Sylvain, tell me how you and Ingrid are doing."
"Well lets just that the professor may be losing her aerial captain for a bit."
"Hm? How come?"
"Well...Lets just say you're not the only one who's going to be a father."
After eating and chatting for another hour, the doors to the Dining Area were opened as the head of Dimitri's Personal Guard, Dedue, ran in "Your Majesty!"
"Dedue! Is everything alright?"
"It's Lady Byleth my lord, she's giving birth as we speak."
"What!?" Suddenly flying up from his seat, scaring the chefs, Dimitri took off past Dedue and leaving Sylvain behind.
"Dimitri wait! A-Ah, we should join him Dedue."
"Right." Sylvain and Dedue gave chase as Dimitri ran through the Monestary's corridors, pushing any knights out of the way as he ran up the stairs and onto the second floor as he ran towards the Infirmary.
"Your Majes-" Before Gustave could finish, Dimitri pushed past him and busted into the infirmary as he yelled.
"Byleth!"
"Shhhh! Be quiet you idiot!" As soon as Dimitri pushed himself in, Flayn immediately jumped in front of him and shushed him, surprising him. "Everythings fine, there's no need to yell!"
"B-But...Byleth, how is she?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Flayn's glare softened as she stepped aside as she beckoned.
"Why don't you see for yourself?"
As soon as she said those words, Dimitri looked up at the bed as he saw Manuela and Mercedes in front of it as Manuela looked back and gave a smile towards him "Congratulations Your Majesty."
"I-" Dimitri was at a loss for words as he slowly stepped up to the bed as Manuela and Mercedes stepped aside, Mercedes whispering congratulations into his ear as he stepped up beside the bed.
The first thing he noticed was the peaceful exhausted face of his wife Byleth, who laid in the bed peacefully. Her mint green hair covering her face some, though it didn't hide the small smile plastered on her face.
However, that wasn't the only thing he noticed as he looked down and let out a small gasp, as a small baby was held on her arms, it's blond hair already present as it slept peacefully.
His lone eye locked onto the small child, a thousand thoughts racing through his mind as his body felt frozen, not being able to move no matter how much he wanted to.
It was like time had frozen, and he would spend the rest of his life eyeing this child.
However the illusion was shattered as a faint tired voice called out "Dimitri…"
Letting out another gasp from the surprise, Dimitri looked back up at Byleths face, as he found her eyes gently looking at him, the small smile still plastered onto her face. "Byleth…"
Suddenly feeling his lips dry, Dimitri took a deep breath and ran his tongue over them as he shakily moved a hand up and cupped her face, a small laugh emitting from her as she nuzzled into it.
"H-How are you? A-Are you ok?"
"Of course...I've dealt with pain before after all. Though the pain I felt before had no reward for it...The pain I felt moments ago, came with the greatest reward of all." Byleth looked back down at the baby in her arms, causing Dimitri look down once again as his breathing escalated.
"It's a boy."
"Yes, a beautiful baby boy who shares his father's good looks." Byleth gave a little joke, causing Dimitri to blush a little as he tried to push it aside.
"Well he may share my looks but he shares your fragile hands."
"Is that a compliment?" Byleth gave a small laugh as she gently rocked the baby, who continued to sleep soundly in his mother's arms. "He's our baby Dimitri, our son."
"Our baby...Our son...I have a son…" Dimitri muttered under his breath as he let his locks cover his eye, a singular tear running down his face as he reached up to wipe it off.
Yet before he could, Byleth had already beat him as she wiped the tear off his face as she said "This is no time for tears Dimitri, this is a happy time."
Dimitri didn't respond for a moment, simply looking down at the child as he kept his wife's hand on his face, before finally looking over and locking eyes with Byleth "For once in my life, the tears I shed are of happiness, and not sadness."
Byleth gave a small nod, as if she understood, though only a moment later she could feel tears run down her face, as she reached up to wipe them off herself.
But like she did with Dimitri, he had reached her face first as he wiped them off of her "This is no time for tears my beloved, this is a happy time after all."
Byleth gave a small laugh as the tears kept coming, slowly shaking her head "The only time I've shed tears before were when my Father passed on, it was the last thing he saw before he crossed over."
As the tears ran down her face and onto her body, one of the tears soon landed on the baby's face and that was all it took for it's small eyes to flutter open and look at the two people towering over it.
Yet it didn't cry, it simply eyed them both curiously as it enjoyed the warm embrace of it's mother. Noticing the baby was awake, Dimitri gave a small chuckle "To think that our sons first memory will be of both of us crying...Just like how both of our fathers final memories were of us shedding tears."
"Yeah." Byleth looked down at the child and slowly ran a hand through his small patch of hair, causing him to wiggle some but soon he calmed down.
"Jeralt…"
"Hm? What about my Father?"
"Jeralt Egitte Blaiddyd...Our son."
"Named after my Father?"
"Both of our Fathers. Jeralt was your Father's first name of course, but Egitte was my Father's middle name. I figured since their last memories were of us crying, and our son's first memory is of us crying, it's kinda like he's carrying both of their spirits with him, watching over and guiding him."
Dimitri seemed to blush some as he spoke, thinking it was kinda silly to say something like that. Yet Byleth simply smiled as she nodded "The spirits of the Former King and Former Captain of the Knights of Seiros are guiding him. Meaning that he'll be protected and live a long fruitful life."
"Yes and I vow from right here, that no matter what may happen, I will protect not only the Kingdom and you, but our child as well. Even if it costs me my life."
"I'm glad we're on the same page." The couple shared a small laugh as Dimitri lowered himself and locked lips with Byleth, the baby falling back asleep under their locked lips.
Present Day
"I wonder what would have happened if Sylvain wasn't present, I would have likely rushed in and saw you be born with my own eye! Of course, that may be something that not even I could stomach."
Dimitri gave a laugh as Jeralt cooed back as a response, the sound of trumpets filling the room from the outside as Dimitri looked up.
"It's almost time huh?"
As on cue, the door to the room opened as Sylvain walked in, wearing the best outfit he had "Hey Your Majesty, ready for your big day?"
"Sylvain...Yes I guess I am. I better go find Mercedes though, she'll be taking care of Jeralt during the-"
"Got you covered there!" Sylvain held up a thumbs up and soon Ingrid walked in behind him, her and Sylvains newborn twins in her arms as she gave a smile.
"Your Majesty, how are you?"
"Ingrid? I should be asking you that! You have birth only a week ago, you should be home resting and-"
"Oh please, a few days rest is all I need! Plus I have to take care of baby Jeralt today."
"But Mercedes-"
"She'll be helping of course, right Mercedes?" Ingrid looked behind her as the door fully opened as Mercedes came in with a smile "That's right, I was going to do it by myself, but Ingrid insisted she help."
"I-I see." Dimitri gave a small nod as Mercedes walked over to him and gently grabbed Jeralt as she smiled.
"Now then, the professor is waiting isn't she?"
"Yes, I suppose she is. Thank you Ingrid, Mercedes."
"Of course Your Majesty!"
"Hehe, anytime Dimitri."
"Well Sylvain, lets get going I guess."
Sylvain nodded as Dimitri followed him out, the sound of wedding bells filling the Royal castle.