Hello there!

This is the first start for a new story which I've thought about for a while. I played through Azure Moon as my first playthrough and it always was special in my heart though I liked the other routes as well. I bonded more than I thought with the BL characters which is why I want to explore parts of what happened with them after the end of the game.

Because of that here I am with a continuation of Azure moon. I will be following the outcome of my save file as close as I can. There will probably be gaps and mistakes (and certain intentional) deviations from the "canon" after events. If you know that you only want to read stories that are 100 percent accurate in regards to everything about the lore/canon of the game then I will warn you that this story is not for you. Save yourself the trouble and time of reading any further.

If you can accept me taking some liberties in the story then enjoy reading it. And please excuse me in regards to the spelling and writing, english is not my primary language.

Prologue

Walking out of the entrance of the imperial palace with Dimitri he was met by the cheering sound of soldiers and allies alike. Byleth could spot several of them, all in varying degrees of physical conditions, some had only lighter wounds while some were helped by other allies to keep themselves steady.

Several of his former students were cheering as they stopped just outside the doors. Annette, Felix, Sylvain, Ingrid, Mercedes, Ashe and Dedue (though the latter was not cheering he did have a rare smile on his lips). They were standing along with other former students that had joined from the Golden Deer and Black Eagle houses. They were all united in the mission to restore peace to the continent and oppose Edelgard's plans to conquer the world. It didn't matter whether you were from the Alliance, the Empire or if you worked for the Church of Seiros. We all took a stand and opposed the Empire and Edelgard.

And here we were, the Empire defeated and Edelgard dead. Killed by Dimitri after trying to kill... no. If Edelgard wanted to kill Dimitri she could have done that. Byleth glanced at Dimitri and saw the red patch of blood on his shoulder. If Edelgard wanted to kill Dimitri at that moment she could have. Regardless of her ambitions and actions she had the raw skills to do it.

Dimitri's choice of reaching out his hand towards Edelgard in possibly a final action of acceptance (instead of immediate slaughter) was a noble action from him. But Byleth couldn't help send a silent thank you to Edelgard for giving Dimitri the push to put an end to her life. Keeping Edelgard alive would have complicated many things for the continent and possibly led to future rebellions, regardless of Edelgard's active participation in them. This was easier for them all.

Maybe that's why she attacked him with the dagger, to force Dimitri to confront the past and start building a new future for himself? Maybe she was hurt so bad she slipped when she threw the dagger? In any case it was the best outcome as far as he believed, though judging by Dimitri's somewhat sad look just now he couldn't quite see it yet.

"They had been friends once so I guess I shouldn't be too hard on him." Byleth thought to himself.

Turning to Dimitri, Byleth saw the prince look at him with a tired yet questioning look in his eyes.

"You should say a few words". Byleth calmly stated and cast a glance towards the cheering soldiers and allies around them.

Dimitri's eyes widened as he processed what he heard and after the prince let out a shaking "But…" Byleth bowed his head slightly and continued by saying "Your majesty".

Dimitry needed to assume the role he was meant to take a long time ago, the world would need a new leader and with the continent in more or less disarray after the war he wouldn't get much of a grace period in his new position. The problems would quickly find him whether he liked it or not. So the quicker Dimitri would accept his position as king the better for the continent. Of course Byleth would help as much as he could but what the cheering people needed now was not a former mercenary or professor - they needed their king.

After doing a quick healing spell to help Dimitri's stabbed shoulder (would be awkward to have him fall over because of that). He patted the young prince's shoulder with a light touch and then moved to the side so Dimitri could have center stage.

As Byleth took his new position he raised his hand and people quickly understood what that meant. Shortly after the cheering stopped and silence took its place. All eyes were now on Dimitri as he stood there, looking at all the people, waiting to hear from their king.

After a short pause Dimitri began speaking.

"My friends…"

As Dimitri began speaking Byleth scanned the crowd and watched their allies, friends and comrades. For instance he could see Hilda and Caspar standing off to the side, the latter was fidgeting on his spot. It was almost like he had plenty of more energy to keep fighting. On the other hand Hilda was leaning against her battle axe and listening to Dimitri's speech while occasionally glancing at Caspar. He had noticed they had worked well together after a few bumps on the road in the beginning when Hilda joined. They were a strong pair and he had complemented each other well in several battles. They had been spending more time together as well though that wasn't any of his business.

Continuing on he found Felix, Sylvain and Dorothea with the latter sitting on a low wall following Dimitri's speech with a large smile on her face. She had been wounded and had a bandaged arm but seemed to be in good spirit. Felix and Sylvain were standing close by with the former having turned his back to Sylvain who was listening to the speech with a grin on his face. Byleth had noticed the one armed hug Felix had given Sylvain as he and Dimitri had stepped out of the palace. It was good to see.

Annette, Mercedes and Ashe had formed another little group with them listening intently on the speech, Ashe probably the most. He had been burned on parts of his face and cheek as a fireball barely missed his head from an enemy mage. Only his last second dodge saved his life. But that didn't matter at the moment because if Byleth looked close enough he could probably see Ashe's eyes sparkle at the sight he was watching; his future king holding a victory speech at the site of a great battle. It was an image worthy of any of the stories about knights that he loved.

And then he found Ingrid who was standing next to her pegasus along with Dedue and Marianne. They were all listening to Dimitri, Marianne and Dedue a little more intently because Ingrid was also petting her pegasus. Her pegasus was nipping back at her out of affection. One thing Byleth was quite happy about was seeing Marianne alive and well at the end of this war. When he first met her he could immediately see that she was troubled and needed extra support. That is why he quickly worked on getting her to join his class so he could more easily support her. While people outside of their class had seen her as a frail and weak person Byleth suspected she had an inner strength just waiting to be brought to the surface. With the help of everyone in his class they had managed to bring Marianne out of her shell and she had gained confidence which was good. Dimitri had helped out a lot and Byleth had seen those two have many conversations and spending time with each other which was nice to see.

Looking around he noticed that a few of the knights were not here. Cathrine was in the palace helping Rhea whom they had found in the deepest parts of the dungeons. Locked away for who knows how long, never seeing any light and spending all her time in total isolation from the world. There are fates worse than death and what Rhea had to endure was probably one of them. While Rhea is a strong person, even Byleth doubted that she would ever fully recover from that ordeal. The questions regarding her position as archbishop of the church would have to be answered sooner or later, but not today.

He glanced at Dimitri who was still speaking to their allies and friends. Dimitri would be fine now. Byleth went down the stairs in search of the three persons he hadn't seen yet.

Alois and Gilbert were easy enough to find, they were at the gathering point for the Knights of Seiros a short distance from the palace and were currently speaking to some of the soldiers from Faerghus. Alois had grown in his leadership during the war and had quickly become the natural leader for the knights. It was nice to see and Byleth thought Jeralt would be proud, though he was probably also happy that he didn't have to listen to more of Alois' dry jokes.

A certain dark-haired knight was nowhere to be seen. Byleth looked around for her a bit but in the end he couldn't find her. Maybe she had been sent on a mission? The gnawing feeling in his gut grew as he searched but didn't find her. It was quite ridiculous to be honest. It hadn't been that long ago he had seen her since she was with him during the attack on the palace but the feeling couldn't be denied. But then suddenly he felt someone approach him from behind and as he turned...

"Professor"

Byleth heard Shamir's voice as he turned around and saw her standing in front of him, holding a waterskin and taking a sip of water. Just seeing her take a drink from the waterskin was mesmerizing and whatever feeling he had in his gut was erased as quickly as it appeared. Instead he was now happy and content to just see her in front of him. Byleth knew he had it bad but who could blame him? Shamir had always made him feel comfortable and he could always relax himself around her. Probably because they shared a similar background and had a good understanding of each other. There was nothing overly complicated about their relationship which suited him fine.

"Edelgard?" She asked and handed him the waterskin to drink from.

As Byleth took the waterskin and drank from it he noticed how thirsty he was. It had been quite a while ago since last time. He thanked her for the water.

"Dead, killed by Dimitri. She didn't want to leave alive." As Shamir registered what he said she merely nodded.

"Good, makes things easier." A small smile formed on Byleth's face as he heard her say that. It seemed their thoughts were in sync yet again. Not the first time and probably not the last.

He had noticed as they had fought battles together that he had quickly started to rely on and trust Shamir both on and off the battlefield. They worked well together and he knew she was a practical and straightforward person which he liked very much. How she handled herself on the battlefield always impressed him and the fact that she was also a beautiful woman all contributed to the fact that he had fallen for her. He knew his mother's wedding ring was stored in one of his inner pockets, he would ask Shamir to marry him in due time. But not yet.

She placed a hand on her hip as she asked what the smile on his face was about.

"Just had the same thought a short while ago, when I was with Dimitri." Byleth answered honestly.

Shamir didn't say anything and just looked at him, their eyes met and they merely watched each other for a moment. It was as if she was looking for something until she shrugged and asked where he had left the prince.

"Dimitri is holding a speech at the palace, or he was. Probably done by now." Byleth turned his head towards the palace in the distance.

"Let me guess, you put him up for that speech?" Shamir accepted the waterskin as Byleth handed it back to her and then she put it away on her belt.

"Guilty as charged". He turned his head back and looked at her as he answered. Shamir merely chuckled and Byleth couldn't help but give her another small smile.

"Always the professor". She said this as they started to walk towards the palace in a comfortable silence, merely enjoying each other's company.