Garland Moon, Day 22, Imperial Year 1187

"Good morning, El," Byleth whispered into the ear of the still-sleeping emperor. Byleth had already been up and about for a couple of hours now, making preparations. She had mastered the art of leaving the bed without disturbing her wife long ago, during a time when Edelgard's nightmares returned and made it difficult for her to get any sleep.

"Mmm," Edelgard groaned, pushing her groggy body up into a sitting position in the large bed the two shared. "Is it morning?" she asked, heavy arms slowly rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"It is. And you know what that means, right?"

Edelgard cocked an eyebrow at her wife's coyness. She was also curious about Byleth being fully dressed already, but couldn't quite be bothered to ask.

Byleth grinned, leaned in and kissed her wife on the lips. She then kissed along Edelgard's cheek, her jawline, down and back up her neck, and then stopped at her earlobe. "Happy Birthday, El," she whispered, sending such a thrilling shudder through Edelgard's body that jolted her right awake.

"Birthday? Oh. Yes, I suppose it is."

"Are you ready for your present?" Byleth asked, sounding more excited by the prospect than Edelgard was.

"That really isn't necessary," Edelgard replied, waving her off.

"Birthdays are important," Byleth insisted, unusually fervently. "It's a reminder of how long we've persevered in this cruel world. Not everyone gets to..."

Edelgard nodded solemnly and smiled reassuringly. "You're right. Not everyone is blessed enough to reach this age..."

"Yeah. You are so incredibly strong to have reached twenty-six years in the world Rhea created, with everything that tried to stop you."

"I am strong because I have you by my side, My Teacher. Even now, long after you retired from that role, I still find comfort in calling you that. Maybe I'm not-"

Byleth clapped her hands down on Edelgard's cheeks, squishing them together and staring deep into her eyes. "None of that. Not today. Today, you're the mighty Emperor of Fódlan, who united the nation under her own strength. Tell yourself you see yourself the way I see you. Just for today. Okay?" There was a tenderness in Byleth's tone, along with a subtle hint of desperation. She wanted today to be special, and Edelgard was powerless to deny her this.

"O-Okay." Edelgard nodded as best she could in her wife's grip.

Byleth smiled warmly and kissed Edelgard. When she pulled back, she kept her hands where they were for longer than Edelgard expected.

"Um... Byleth?"

"Sorry. I just think you look very cute when your cheeks are being squished like this."

Edelgard frowned playfully. She placed her own hands on Byleth's cheeks and did the same to her. "If I look even half as cute as you do like this, then I can accept it."

Eventually, the two released each other from their bizarre grip and Byleth got them back on track.

"I thought long and hard about this. I didn't want a repeat of last year..."

The prior year, Byleth had attempted to give Edelgard, then her new fiancée, a gift that would both be useful and serve as a symbol of her still-recent success in unifying Fódlan. Byleth had, thus, given Edelgard her own dagger, a gift from her late father that had rarely left her side since her mercenary days. The gift of a dagger had rendered Edelgard inconsolable for much of the day, the death of Dimitri still a fresh wound on her heart that had left Byleth incomparably heartbroken to be unable to help her lover to heal.

Edelgard now glanced over at the dagger, which she kept on her bedside table as a means of defending herself, should the need arise. In the year since, she had come to truly appreciate such an important item from her now-wife, cherishing the feeling of comfort she was now able to derive from its presence.

"We're so far past the end of the war now that I can think about Dimitri and our other dead peers without breaking down. Back then, I still had doubts that we had done the right thing. But, seeing how far Fódlan has come in the last year, with the reforms and the rebuilding... I can finally say that, if not the right thing, we did a right thing, at the very least. Our Fódlan will be better than the old one. Dimitri taught me to cut my own path forward. And you steadied my hand when I felt I could not."

"And that's why we won. We cut with precision. Dimitri and Rhea cut wildly, and Claude swung aimlessly. You and I are the perfect team. That's why I wanted to make sure your gift this year was perfect for you. And why I know I got it right this time. I'll be back in a moment."

Byleth crossed the room to the door. From what Edelgard could see, one of the maids was standing outside, waiting to pass something to Byleth. She felt a little bad for making her wait while they had their banter. Byleth returned with her hands behind her back.

"Okay. Close your eyes and put out your hands."

Edelgard smiled as she did as bidden. She felt a sudden weight press into her palms as something small and fluffy touched down.

"Okay. Open."

Edelgard opened her eyes and looked down into her hands. Sat on her palms, looking up at her with wide, curious eyes, was an adorably tiny kitten. It's fur was jet black and its eyes were a captivating amber. This was a Hresvelgion Whisker.

"A... kitten?"

"Uh-huh," Byleth beamed. "I used to think you just liked cats because they were cute. But after the rat incident a couple months ago, I realised why you'd like a rodent's natural predator so much. Plus, I thought you might get lonely once the academy re-opens and we have less time to spend together... So, when one of the Hresvelgion Whiskers in Mercedes' orphanage had a litter, I asked if I could take one for you. And this little one seemed to like it when I held her, so she seemed perfect."

Edelgard said nothing. She simply sat and stared at the adorable creature in her hands as it licked the back of its paw.

"Does she have a name yet?" Edelgard asked.

"Not yet, no. That's for you to decide. But I'd personally recommend 'Flayn'."

"Um... Why?"

"This little one loooves fish. I haven't seen anyone go ravenous for them like that since... well..."

"Happier times?"

"Um, I wouldn't say 'happier'. Despite everyone who isn't part of my life anymore, I've never been happier than I have been with you."

"That's because your emotions were stunted back then."

"Hmm... That's realistically part of it, but I liked you for a long time before we defeated Rhea, El. You were my favourite student for a long time, always so eager to learn. In retrospect, I know it's because you were making plans for your rebellion, so you wanted to know as much as you could about military tactics and martial techniques. It's really flattering to know you valued my experience and knowledge enough to put it to use in your war to save Fódlan."

"What can I say? I have immaculate taste in a great many things: teachers, generals, comrades, lovers."

"Lovers, plural?"

"Hush, love. You know you are the only one I have ever had my eye on, in that regard."

Byleth took Edelgard's free hand and snuggled it up against her cheek. "Same."

Edelgard smiled and leaned in to kiss her wife on the forehead. "It's nice when we're in agreement."

"Yeah. Does that mean you agree to call her 'Flayn'?"

"Not quite yet."

"Even if we say it's short for 'Flayn Emperor'?"

"If we're going there, then it's a flat 'no'."

"That's a shame. How about Emperor Ionyas?"

"One more cat pun and I'll have Alois scrubbing toilets for a week."

"Maybe Rhea was right about you being evil."

"Hmhm, perhaps so. But, I do like the idea of naming her after someone we know."

"Oh? Anyone in particular?"

Edelgard held the kitten up high above her head and smiled. "Dee."

Byleth wrapped an arm around her wife and nuzzled against her cheek. "Do you still miss him?"

"I do." Edelgard's tone took on a sombre note. "My biggest regret is that he wasn't able to live to see the Fódlan where the cruel fate that befell our family will never happen again."

"Give him time. I'm sure, wherever he is, he'll be proud of what you're putting in place for Fódlan."

"I hope so... Dee..."

Dee began pawing at Edelgard's wedding ring when she wasn't looking.

"Ah! No, don't play with that, little one," she chastised softly, pulling her hand out of Dee's reach. She then noticed Byleth staring transfixed, not at her or the cat, but the ring on her finger - the one Byleth had proposed to her with, and that Edelgard had kept as her wedding band. "Is something wrong, love?"

"Hm? Oh. No, I was just thinking about something."

Edelgard considered the ring's origin and voiced her conclusion: "The ring your father gave you?"

"Mm," Byleth nodded thoughtfully. "My parents weren't married for very long before I was born and my mother died. I think... I think you've worn that ring now longer than she ever did..."

"Are you okay?"

"I never really knew her, so I'm not bothered by that. But my father held onto it from the day she died up to the day he did. I guess it sorta feels like one of the last pieces of him remaining in this world has finally left it."

"I see... Does the thought upset you?"

"A little. But... I also feel like it's a good thing. Like, he needed to be set free to be whole again, wherever it is we go after we die."

"Perhaps, a piece of him lingered here until he was sure you would be okay without him."

Byleth smiled. "Yeah. I like that idea. Thank you, El."

"It's not me you should be thanking. It's him. For watching over you for so long."

"Of course. But he only knows his duty is done because I have you to accompany me. To love me as my mother loved him. And to make me feel better in the most beautiful way, even though you're not all that religious yourself."

"Well, let's just say that I can hardly deny the goddess who gave you the power to save me and guide me all these years. And I don't just mean how you saved me from that bandit. I truly believe I would have gone down a much darker path without your steady hand to pull me in the right direction."

The smiling Byleth crawled over the bed and gently pushed Edelgard down, kissing her all along her neck. Dee's uncomfortable mewling caught the two's attention, interrupting them. They giggled, and Byleth repositioned herself to lie beside her wife, the kitten snuggled up between the two.

"Is that better, my precious little baby?" Edelgard asked in a babyish manner, rubbing the top of her pet's head with her nose.

"I guess this has all proven one thing we both have in common," Byleth said with a very specific grin that Edelgard was too distracted to notice.

"Oh? And what is that?"

"You and I both love pu-"

Alois was harshly disciplined for being such a bad influence on Byleth.

Seeing how it's Edelgard's birthday, I wanted to get one of the chapters I've started finished in time. But the roleplay chapter wasn't working out the way I hoped. Fortunately, I had a note written down about Byleth getting Edelgard a kitten named 'Flayn' for her birthday, and one about her reaction to receiving a dagger from her. That was enough to get this written in a day.

Currently, this is the latest point in the timeline, save for the FEH chapter.

And yes, that IS the best title I could come up with. The alternative was "You Gotta Be Kitten Me" and that's fucking terrible.