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When Dimitri had been born, the song given to the minstrels to sing in towns and villages had said something like ’On the twentieth of the Ethereal Moon, the Queen delivered us a princess. She is of strong build and fair hair. Her naming will be celebrated on the Great Tree Moon.’ However, several years after that, upon realizing more of who he was, a new song had to be delivered to the masses. This one went ‘Saint Cethleann has favored the King’s child. He will be a strong prince with fair hair. His name is Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd. He is the king’s firstborn son.’
‘Favored by Saint Cethleann’. That was the way most people referred to talk about people like him. The official term, that appeared in thick anatomy books and basic spell books, was ‘transgender’. However, the laypeople knew it from a legend where a woman begged the Saint for shelter from her horribly abusive family, who relentlessly forced her to act as the man they expected her to be. Saint Cethleann took her in as part of her personal retinue and declared that from then on all of people of her nature—no matter the exact expression of their gender—were favored and protected by her.
That was why the spells needed to aid the gender expression of people were usually in the next page to the basic healing magic. Any self-respecting healer should be able to help one favored by Saint Cethleann, just as one would expect them to be able to heal.
However, despite the legend and a general acceptance of transgender people, mistakes and occasional cruelty happened. As prince, Dimitri had to deal with nobles that claimed to use the wrong terms of address by mistake. Sometimes, he felt they were sincere. Other times… he could see the cruel gleam in their eyes.
Regardless of which one it was, Dimitri rarely had to speak up to correct them when his uncle was around. He would always interrupt them, with a deep and grave voice, with the correct term. No matter how important nor influential the noble was. It wasn’t even just in front of Dimitri’s face that he did this. He remembered overhearing a noble stumble with their words and be halfway to referring to Dimitri with ‘she’ before his uncle’s voice corrected them with a simple ‘he’.
Dimitri’s uncle had been a man of contradictions. Firstborn son of the King. Crestless. Always surrounded by women. Never married. Participated in conspiracies against the crown and Dimitri. Dimitri’s first and most relentless ally in his personal life.
Dimitri often wondered if there had been some way where both of them could have seen eye-to-eye. But it didn’t matter now. His uncle was dead, as was all possibility of reconciliation. From now until the day he died, Dimitri would have to bear the burden of a kinslayer. Forever tainted in his family’s blood. Just like his uncle.
Perhaps his uncle had been right in calling him a monster. It took one to know one. Maybe he had known of the horrifying vigor that filled Dimitri when he slaughtered his enemies. How Dimitri considered his happy dreams to be the ones where he was running across the battlefield with Areadbhar in hand. Perhaps his uncle was so relentless to honor Dimitri’s identity because of his guilt. Just like how Dimitri dug graves to try to assuage his own after a bloodthirsty binge.
Dimitri wondered, if his uncle would have found peace if he had been the one to swing the sword on the steps of Castle Blaiddyd. He doubted it.
He was the King. And he was miserable.
While people favored by Saint Cethleann were not as rare as crest-bearing nobles, Dimitri had not had the chance to meet any that preferred to exclusively use neutral terms of address. Not until Jeralt’s mercenaries were added to the fold of the Kingdom army.
The captain’s child was simply known as ‘the Ashen Demon’. That was how Dimitri had addressed them when they were an enemy. When they were doing introductions, Dimitri had expected to learn their name. Dimitri had introduced himself with his full term of address granted to him by his station and the Church, in the exact same tone and intonation that Rodrigue and Felix had coached him on so that he would not cringe whilst saying it (“I am Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, King of Faerghus and Defender of the Faith”). He didn’t expect such a long-winded name nor titles from them, but he certainly didn’t expect Jeralt to just introduce his child with “This is my kid. Use ‘they’ and ‘them’ only or they will pour ice-cold water in your bedroll. Happened before.”
The aforementioned ‘kid’ merely nodded and pushed their spectacles up their nose. They didn’t chime in with their name, nor anything else beyond that introduction. After that, the conversation changed to payment, responsibilities and a request to keep them separated from the leadership of the Church of Seiros. Dimitri understood their request. Not everyone was an adherent and he had no intention to make those under his command to feel obligated to follow along with the rites and customs of the Church, even if they were his main allies.
Regardless, he felt he couldn’t find a right time to ask what the Ashen Demon’s real name was. Perhaps their chosen name was ‘the Ashen Demon’? It seemed little too outrageous for someone who seemed as serious as them, but Dimitri couldn’t bring himself to ask. He didn’t want to crawl into a damp, cold bedroll for asking the wrong question in the wrong way.
Nevertheless, the Ashen Demon was efficient and completed all tasks assigned to them, even if there were complications. When their unit was sent to deliver supplies to a nearby camp, the caravan had been ambushed by highwaymen. The highwaymen were captured and the supplies were recovered and delivered. When they returned to the main army camp, they immediately went to deliver their report, their clothes still damp from scrubbing them clean to get rid of any trace of blood. Even though they were shivering when they gave their report, their voice never wavered. Dimitri had been impressed at their willpower. He obviously invited them to warm up by the brazier for as long as they needed to. Unlike most people, who would turn him down out of a sense of propriety, the Ashen Demon had remained by his side— and the brazier— for over an hour. After that, they said they were dry now and left. Dimitri had liked being taken at his word for it.
Perhaps that was why he had decided that they were the best person for the job he had in mind. They were competent and serious, but didn’t treat him like some distant idol beyond human reach. Someone like that would surely oblige with Dimitri’s selfish desire.
Dimitri approached them one day that he had managed to gather his courage and said: “I have a request. Can we go somewhere private?”
“If it’s about the main contract we have with the Kingdom army, Jeralt also needs to be in the conservation.” The Ashen Demon deadpanned.
“Ah, no. No, this is more of a… side-request. You will be compensated for it, naturally! But… it’s something quite delicate and needs to be handled in private.”
“…I understand.” They nodded. “Lead the way.”
Dimitri nodded. He took a detour to his tent for the locked chest where he kept his birth mother’s jewelry. That should be enough to pay for the assignment. Then, he took the mercenary’s hand to lead them out of the camp. He looked around to make sure they weren’t being followed, before making his way to the small gap in the outer fence to go into the nearby woods—
“Your Majesty,” Dedue stepped in, ever the attentive shadow. “Are you going out? Allow me to escort you.”
“Ah—” Dimitri stopped in his tracks. Seeing him right now made all of his senses scream. If Dedue knew what he was about to request—!
The Ashen Demon turned to look at Dimitri. Then, at Dedue. Before turning their eyes back at Dimitri. After a second or two or uncomfortable silence, they spoke up: “We’re going to fuck. Are you sure you want to see?”
Dimitri choked on his spit. But his shock at such a bold statement was nothing compared to Dedue, whose cheeks took on a dark, flushed hue and his mouth hung agape.
“I...Your Majesty, I-I apologize,” Dedue bowed, probably to hide his burning face. “I will not question your choice, but... The Ashen Demon is still new to ranks. They could have duplicitous intents with getting you alone and secluded somewhere. If you must do such activities to relieve yourself, the is a town nearby. I could escort you two to the inn and set up a perimeter around the inn to ensure you are safe whilst… indulging.”
“That would be a good choice,” the Ashen Demon nodded. “Beds do make it easier to fuck. But if you have a fantasy of being taken in a forest, will be hard to pull off indoors.”
“I-I,” Dimitri stuttered. Should he play along? The truth was nothing like whatever Dedue was imagining. However, he had to give credit to the Ashen Demon. That cover-up story was positively brilliant at helping dissuade Dedue’s constant mother-henning. “I understand your concern, Dedue. But I would like to ask you to not come along in this… excursion. This won’t take long, I promise.”
“Your Majesty…” Dedue sounded like he was about to insist, but then the Ashen Demon spoke up.
“I will protect him,” the Ashen Demon said. “He’ll be safe.”
Somehow, that argument had been enough for Dedue to back down, at least for a moment. Dimitri decided to seize the chance whilst he could, before Dedue’s sense of duty won out against his embarrassment.
Determined, Dimitri walked into the woods. The Ashen Demon followed close behind him. He didn’t mean to go too far deep into the forest. Just enough to be spared from any eavesdroppers, accidental or otherwise…
“This should be deep enough, we won’t be heard,” The Ashen Demon spoke up, as if they could hear Dimitri’s thoughts.
“R-right…” Dimitri closed his eyes. Took a deep breath. Well. He was in this now. Might as well follow through. “I wish to ask for your services in…What are you doing?”
When he opened his eyes to the sound of rustling, he was surprised to see that the Ashen Demon had taken off their gloves and was kneeling in front of him. When their eyes met, they simply looked up at him with serene expression and said: “I’m servicing you.”
“N-not like that!” Dimitri stammered. “I wanted to ask you for an assassination job!”
“Oh.” They stood up. Even at full height, the Ashen Demon was shorter than Dimitri, so they still had to look up at him, albeit at a much more reasonable angle. “Who’s the target? The Emperor?”
“N-no! It’s… me.”
The Ashen Demon didn’t say anything. For a moment, they didn’t even seem to blink as they looked up at Dimitri.
“I’m the target,” Dimitri restated. Just in case they hadn’t heard nor understood what he was asking them to do. “I want you to assassinate… me.”
“… Alright. I’ll do it. But with one condition. Is that box your payment?”
“It is,” Dimitri said, opening the box to reveal the jewelry inside. “You may keep the box and all of the contents within.”
“Good. Then I can explain what my condition is. I need to have insurance. Some plausible deniability in killing you,” the Ashen Demon deadpanned. “How do you think it would look like to your retainer if the last time he saw you, you were going into the forest with me and then I ended up with a box of your belongings after you died? I’d get executed like a common thief, even if I earned my pay.”
Their words… made sense. Dimitri closed the jewelry box. “So… can I give you this now and then wait before you carry out the order? Is it enough?”
“It is enough,” they shook their head. “But don’t give it to me all in one go. Spread it out over a couple of weeks. And give it to me when there are others present, especially your friends and confidantes. That way people will think we—”
They stopped their sentence, then turned their iridescent eyes into the depth of the forest. Dimitri couldn’t make sense of what they had perceived, nor did he have time to truly worry about it when the Ashen Demon pushed him back unto a tree.
“Your retainer’s coming. We need to get him off our trail. May I kiss you?”
“W-what?” Dimitri stuttered.
The Ashen Demon, on the other hand, acted with the same skill and poise that made them so deadly on the battlefield. They pulled down Dimitri by the neck and, with a hurried final apology, pressed their lips with his.
At first, he didn’t know what to do. But when he heard the quiet rustle of leaves, most likely indicating that Dedue was nearby, he cupped their face and opened his mouth to deepen the kiss. They returned the kiss, tongue leading Dimitri’s fumbling efforts. Perhaps it was a little late to mourn the fact that this was technically his first kiss. Not like there was much to think about, the first kiss was hurried, messy and sloppy— and followed by a second, third and fourth, all equally as desperate. Ideally, he would have loved to have given his first kiss to someone that he had grown to love and cherish. Someone that made his heart stir. However, hastily kissing someone with his back against a tree to trick one of his most loyal aides and confidantes… it was much more thrilling than a chaste little peck on the lips of a politically arranged spouse.
“Come here,” the Ashen Demon grunted, tugging at his codpiece. It was a half-command and half-plea. The kind of sound that made his insides feel hot, liquid and thick—like molten glass.
“W-wait…” Dimitri resisted the siren’s call of rising arousal. At the very least, he felt obliged to elaborate that he did not possess the… appendage they might be expecting. “I’m favored by Cethleann.”
They paused their hands, looking up at Dimitri. “You have a girlfriend?”
“N-no,” Dimitri shook his head. Right. They had not grown with the faith, had they? “I’m transgender.”
“Oh,” they nodded slowly. Then, they asked: “Does it make you uncomfortable to get fingered?”
“W-well… I haven’t… really thought about that? I-I don’t know….” Dimitri stuttered.
They shrugged. “Then we can figure it out as we go. Let me know when to stop, ok?”
Dimitri nodded, all too eager to help them get him out of his codpiece. Knowing that he could ask them to stop anytime was a relief, but a part of him wondered if he would ever exercise the right. After all, once the codpiece and other pieces were off, they started to cautiously rub close but not quite on his clit nor hole. Perhaps they were too cautious, to the point where the anticipation aroused Dimitri more and more. After a certain point, instead of feeling slow, gentle and considerate, the rubbing felt more like cruel teasing.
“Please...” Dimitri found himself begging, shaking his hips to try to hump their fingers.
With that plea, they finally brushed his sensitive, blood-engorged clit. Dimitri could barely hold back the little yelp that escaped him. He had not had many opportunities to ‘rub one out’ as Sylvain would call it. As royalty, Dimitri was rarely alone and he was not shameless enough to try. But that slight contact against his fat clit was like… like scratching an itch he had to stoically resist for far too long.
“You’re really tense, aren’t you?” Something almost like a smile passed by the Ashen Demon’s lips (was that really their name? Dimitri really was starting to think that it wasn’t but he couldn’t ask now of all times!). “Hang on, let me…”
They then spat on their fingers and began to earnestly finger Dimitri. He did feel some dampness between his legs, but that extra bit of lubricant had probably played a part in how easily their fingers slipped inside him. Dimitri threw his head back, and bit down his lips to hold back his moans. His cunt was not shy at all, squelching and sucking in the Ashen Demon’s fingers with every moment (he really should ask them their name. What if he came and called out their title!? Dimitri knew he’d be turned off and cringing if they came calling him ‘His Majesty Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, King of Faerghus and Defender of the Faith’, of all things).
“Come on, let it all out,” they coaxed. “You can come anytime, Dimitri.”
“Ah-um!” Dimitri could taste blood from snagging on a bit of loose skin of his dry lips. It had been a near thing, but he had managed to avoid screaming out ‘Ashen Demon’. This was bad. He really couldn’t avoid it anymore… Fuck it. “Y-your name!?”
“Huh?” They asked, relenting just enough to let Dimitri catch his breath and for them to push their glasses up their nose.
“Wh-what’s your name?” Dimitri’s face was practically letting off steam from how hot it was.
“Ah. Right. I didn’t mention it before, did I?” They shrugged and said: “I’m Byleth.”
Then, they got right back to what they were doing before. But now that Dimitri knew their name, he felt that he could finally let go. He began to repeat their name. Byleth, Byleth, Byleth. Again and again, to make it up for all the times he had avoided mentioning their name, every time he had thought of them as ‘the Ashen Demon’. Until their name remained imprinted right in his mind’s eye and there was no other way to think about them. The positive reinforcement of having his hole stuffed full with their fingers made it easier, for their name to stick.
When he finally came, it was with their name on his lips. Dimitri was only vaguely aware of what was happening beyond the sensation of their warm hands rubbing his blood-engorged clit and stuffing his hole to full capacity. He did hear something like a crunch beneath his nails where he was holding unto the tree. But that didn’t matter. What mattered; was the warm pool of cozy warmth stirring within him. And Byleth’s lips drawing him in for one last slow, mellow kiss as he winded down in the afterglow.
“You’re a romantic, aren’t you?” Byleth asked. “You’re the kind of person that would fall in love with the moon.”
“Sorry?” Dimitri asked, blinking.
“Oh, right. That’s an Albinean idiom. Hm…” they pushed Dimitri’s bangs out of his face. “I guess the closest thing would be to say that you’re… pure-hearted?”
“Pure-hearted?” Dimitri scoffed. “If I were, I wouldn’t have asked you to dispose of me. I am the furthest thing from that.”
“Hm…” they pursed their lips. “Your retainer’s gone now. Maybe we should head back. But before we do… can I look at the box again?”
Dimitri fumbled around for the jewelry box, as it had been hastily cast aside during their heated encounter. Upon their request he showed them all the glittering jewels inside the box, and they pointed at an exquisite silver bangle with a Crest of Blaiddyd motif.
“I want that one first. When we go back into camp, give that one to me with your retainer nearby. Call it a gift, or payment for my services in front of him. Next time we do this, we go to the inn. We’ll work our way through the entire box, one piece at a time.”
Dimitri picked out the bangle from the box, to not forget which one they liked.
He still had many pieces of jewelry in the box. It would take a while for them to go over every piece if they were going to use one at a time. So that meant that someday, eventually, he would finally get his wish.
So… why did he feel dread?
Dimitri walked the groove leading from his tent to the dining tent to the training grounds. The moon was round and full, like a silver platter. It was nice to not have to light a torch. He knew Dedue would wake up and rush to his side the moment he smelled the flame. Right now, Dimitri wanted some time alone. He had woken up in a sour mood.
It had been yet another nightmare at his desk. Dimitri had dreamt that he was kneeling on the steps of Castle Blaiddyd, his subjects looking up at him. His uncle held the sword. When the blade connected, his head turned to look up at him. Except. It wasn’t his uncle. It had been his father. His sad, hollow eyes looking down at him.
Dimitri stuffed a carrot in his mouth before he snuck into the training grounds. It crunched loudly, deafeing him to the world around him.
Perhaps that was how Felix and Sylvain had approached him without him noticing until the last second.
“Late night training, your Majesty?” Sylvain asked.
“Please. I bet he fell asleep on his desk again so this is actually early morning training,” Felix scoffed. “Did you at least cook that thing you just ate?”
Dimitri didn’t answer. He just swallowed.
“You’re gonna get an upset stomach one of these days,” Felix stepped into the training grounds. “Spar with me.”
That much, he could do. Sparring was easy. Talking, not so much. Dimitri didn’t want to talk about why he was there. He didn’t even care why those two were up so late. When he sparred with Felix, he could only focus on where his blade was and where it was headed, then thinking of how to get back and get him to yield. They sparred two bouts, Sylvain getting a cup of water for Felix. When Dimitri went to get water, he was surprised with he saw Ingrid holding one out to him.
“Here you go, your Majesty.”
“Thank you, Ingrid,” he said, taking the cup. “Did… we wake you up?”
“No. Sylvain, Felix and I have been meeting up here at the training grounds everyday for the last couple of weeks at this time.”
“Why?”
“Hunting a boar,” Felix grumbled, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
“We were hoping to run into you and have a chance to talk to you in private,” Ingrid clarified.
“Couldn’t you do that during the day? I have work but I can always spare time for any of my generals and friends.”
“We didn’t want to get in the way of you meeting up with your favorite,” Sylvain said. “The Ashen Demon, eh?”
“My favorite?” Dimitri asked, suddenly realizing how very warm he was. He chugged his water.
“They’re the only person you’re fucking,” Felix pointed out. “Almost daily.”
“That’s…” technically, he had been asking to meet up in private with Byleth, then giving them yet another piece of jewelry when they returned. Not all of their encounters were as close as their first time. Sometimes they just went for a picnic, drank tea or hunted for more supplies. But yes. They did sometimes have moments when they somehow ended up entangled in each other, rubbing against each other and kissing. But it probably wasn’t as often as they were thinking.
“Dedue mentioned to me that you seem quite close to them,” Ingrid said.
“Which is great,” Sylvain interjected. “But…”
“What’s the catch?” Felix asked, crossing his arms.
“Catch?” Dimitri asked.
“You always avoid the spouse talk with my dad. And yet you are fooling around with a favorite everyday? That’s not like you.”
“Felix,” Ingrid cleared her throat. “We just wanted to check in with you, your Majesty. How are things?”
“Things are… well,” Dimitri said with a smile that be hoped wasn’t too forced.
“So… why are you giving away jewelry to a common sellsword?” Sylvain asked. “Do you actually like them?”
“I do,” Dimitri mumbled. Why did he have to be burdened by such meddlesome friends? “Why are you so suspicious? Is it because they’re a commoner?”
“We’re not suspicious!” Ingrid reassured him. “We just don’t know them, so we don’t know what intentions they might have for you.”
“I see…” Dimitri nodded. Byleth had been right in asking Dimitri to slowly pay them for their services. If even just a slow payout was making his friends act like this, had they fulfilled his request immediately, his friends would have… “I reassure you. Byleth has no intentions for me beyond what I ask of them.”
“Are you using birth control?” Felix groaned after asking, rubbing his head. “Damn it, I really don’t want to know.”
“Th-there’s no need for it.” Dimitri said, feeling his face burn. “We... can indulge without that concern.”
“Good. That’s all I needed to know.” Felix sighed in relief.
“I am still confused if this is just a physical entanglement or if there’s romance involved,” Sylvain insisted. “With the rate that Dimitri gifts them stuff, instead of calling them the Ashen Demon we should start to call them the Glittering Demon!”
“Their name is Byleth,” Dimitri gently chided him. “They’re a little odd, but they’re actually rather warm and kind when you get to know them.”
“…So it is romantic,” Sylvain mused. “Honestly, I’m happy for you. You deserve something good after all the shit you’ve been through. With all due respect, your Majesty.”
“I suppose I should thank you all for your concern, clumsy as it might be…” Dimitri said, hoping to drop the subject by letting them assume he was romantically interested in Byleth.
Sure, they were gentle and patient and when they smiled their eyes crinkled in a way that made Dimitri feel a warm joy stirring within him and spurt out of him like the hot geysers of Sreng. Whoever ended up with them would be a lucky person.
Dimitri turned his eyes up to the moon. Its soft light illuminated the training grounds. He wondered if the moon in Albinea was this gentle, too. Perhaps that would explain their odd idiom. After all, the kind of person that would fall in love with a moon like this would be someone faithful, who would know that no matter how dark the sky, the moon would return to light up the sky.
“What are we?”
“Hm?” Byleth turned to look down at him, pushing up their spectacles.
Both of them had been snuggled up under the same warm woolen blanket, logs quietly crackling in the brazier. Byleth had picked up one of the books in Dimitri’s tent (a military treatise focused on cavalry formations) to read, and was now almost done with it in the time Dimitri had stewed about his late-night encounter with his main generals and childhood friends. His friends seemed to have an idea of what his relationship with Byleth was. Dimitri, at the time, had dismissed their words as the words of outsiders trying to look in. But the truth was that Dimitri began to wonder if they might’ve been right after all.
“What do you think we are?” Byleth asked, putting away the book to look at him right in the eye. “What we are is only defined by what we want to be.”
“You’re… the assassin I’m hiring to kill me. I’m your client and your target.”
“I see,” Byleth looked away from Dimitri. They seemed to glance at the brazier, the dancing flame gleaming on their green eyes, before moving said eyes back to him. “Do you want us to stay like that?”
”I…” That was the question, wasn’t it? Several months ago, he would have not considered any other relationship between them. But now… “I’m not sure.”
“Let me restate. Do you still want me to carry out the job you’ve asked me to?”
What kind of question was that? Dimitri had come to far, done too much, he couldn’t just back down now. No matter what, he had made his choices, now he had to live with them. Especially now that his mother’s jewelry box had only a handful of pieces left. The payment was almost done. So… he couldn’t stop now. Right?
When Dimitri didn’t answer them for a long time, they sat up from the bed and walked over to the small chest. This was like the other times, where they would choose the piece they wished to be gifted by Dimitri. But instead of simply picking out a piece, they turned all of the jewelry box’s contents on the bed.
“Are any of these of sentimental value? Or any of the pieces you’ve already given me?” They asked, keeping their eyes trained on the rings, earrings and bracelets that were now strewn on the bed.
“They aren’t of sentimental value to me. These were my birth mother’s. I never knew her.”
“Do you think she would have wanted her son to pay for his own hit with her jewelry?”
“I don’t think she knew she had a son in the first place,” Dimitri found himself twisting his lips upwards into a forced facsimile of a smile. Strange. He wasn’t happy.
“You didn’t answer my question.” Byleth said, seeing right through him. Dimitri felt more exposed than when he was naked in front of them. “Would your mother have wanted you to pay for your own hit with her jewelry?”
“I don’t know, it’s not like I can ask her,” he quipped back. “Why do you care? It’s not like it matters.”
“I see.” They took a deep breath, as if bracing themselves. “Then keep them. Keep all of it.”
“What?”
But as Dimitri was finishing his dumbfounded question, Byleth had already slipped off their silver bangle, and as they turned on the and left, they shed off all of their jewelry. Piece by piece, making a small trail of emeralds, sapphires, and silver that led out of his tent.
Dimitri stumbled from his bed, almost tripping up with the warm blanket and the jewelry as he ran out after them. When he rushed out the tent, he saw Byleth emerging from their own tent— holding a plain iron box as they walked over to him.
“Byleth—”
“Take them back,” Byleth said, trying to shove the box into Dimitri’s hands.
“Byleth, I’m not going to take them back,” Dimitri refused to take the box. “They’re yours now.”
Byleth responded by letting the box fall on the ground, on Dimitri’s toe.
It was heavy, but not enough to hurt beyond the sting of humiliation. What was wrong with them?
“I don’t want to do it,” Byleth shook their head. “I won’t do it. You can’t make me.”
When their voice broke, Dimitri noticed the tears that were running down their cheeks. And the small group of people that started to gather with the commotion they were making. The kingly part of him abhorred the attention and the gossip that was sure to brew from this. But another part, a softer part of him, wanted to wipe away their tears and apologize.
Dimitri had assumed he had remained still as both parts of him were at war with each other. But he surprised himself when he noticed his hand was already holding their face, thumb idly rubbing away their tear tracks.
Perhaps he was more gentlehearted than he had thought. He had no obligation to consider their feelings if they had been just someone they had hired for a simple job. But— no that was just normal. Dimitri was a bloodthirsty monster, who served for little more than slaughter. But even someone as depraved as him knew that he couldn’t be cruel to someone as kind and gentle as them.
Now that Dimitri had gotten to know Byleth, he knew they were the kind of person that would shoo away spiders instead of squashing them. They always muttered a small apology and an effective, painless death to the game they hunted. When the children tugged at their coat, they would turn around and listen to them all the way though, no matter how minor nor petty the matter the child wanted to say. In short, they were a genuinely good person. Perhaps even someone Dimitri could call ‘pure-hearted’—
“You’re someone that would fall in love with the moon,” Dimitri said.
The foreign expression seemed to have snapped them out of their despair, albeit by confusion.
Shoot. Was that not how the idiom was supposed to be used? Dimitri now felt his face grow warm.
“You’re right,” Byleth finally said, sniffing and rubbing their eyes. “You are like the moon. Sometimes you’re full and sometimes you’re empty. Like—” They swallowed. Let out a chuckle. “When you’re in a good place, you make the world feel less dark. But even when you’re not, you’re still there in the sky, even if you can’t shine... I don’t think the moon is flighty and unreliable, like others say. I think the moon is more constant than the sun. Because the sun rises. But when the sun sets, the moon is already there. It’s always there. It just can’t shine all the time.”
“Byleth… I’m sorry,” Dimitri took their hands. Interlaced his fingers with theirs. “I’m… I don’t know many things. But I do know that I don’t want you to do that job anymore. Not if it upsets you so. And, to be honest… I feel that these days life feels a little more worth it than not. Even if we’re at war, and sometimes living for just another day feels like an insurmountable obstacle… I want to be here to see it through. So… I’ll take back your refund.”
It was a good thing that the box didn’t spill out too far from where it landed on Dimitri’s toe. It would’ve even a little awkward to silently pick up all the jewelry back into the box without elaborating on his plan. Once all the jewels nearby were secure, he fished around for the first silver bangle he had given them, only to realize that it wasn’t in the iron box. It must have been amongst the stuff they had taken off in his tent.
“Please, wait here. I need to put these back in their original chest to give you back this one,” he said, gesturing at the heavy iron box. With that excuse in place, he followed the trail of jewelry back into his tent.
Byleth didn’t wait for him where he had asked them, instead choosing to help Dimitri gather all the pieces as needed. It was a nice gesture, but that made Dimitri all the more frantic to get to that silver bangle first. When he rushed into his tent, he noticed that it had rolled under the bed, probably amongst the first things they had taken off in a hurry. Dimitri wiped the dirt away, noticing how the silver had been polished to a mirror-like shine. It was plain to see that this was Byleth’s favorite piece of jewelry.
He kept it apart from the rest of the jewelry, dumping all the other pieces that Byleth had kept in their iron box to his mother’s jewelry box. When he stepped back out of his tent, Byleth was holding out a piece of paper and a couple of gemstones he had missed on his first pass.
“This is a list of all the items you gave me,” they said. “I’m sorry.”
Dimitri allowed Byleth to drop all the jewelry back in the box, then took the paper. The list was titled ‘Dimitri’s gifts.’ The first item on the list was a ‘silver bangle with a star motif’.
“It’s a crest of Blaiddyd,” he said, dropping the jewelry chest and list on his desk to pick up the silver bangle to show them. “See? It looks like the symbol that’s on my banner.”
“Oh. Sorry, I didn’t know.”
“Byleth,” Dimitri looked at them in the eye. “Thank you. For everything.”
“What are you thanking me for?” Byleth asked, tilting their head to the side. “I didn’t do anything. That’s why I’m returning the payment.”
“You gave me something that cannot be paid for,” Dimitri elaborated. “You… gave me time to realize that I didn’t want to die. That I want to be here to see things through, even if it’s painful and hard. So, I have a request to ask of you. Not as a job. It’s just… something that you’re can always refuse. I will not be angry if you refuse me. In fact, I’d be surprised if you accepted—”
He stopped himself. Resisting the urge to put himself down was hard. But if he could help it, he was going to do everything in his power to not give in to the dark pull of that line of thought.
“Byleth. I want to live. I want to see this war through to the end. And after that, I want to rebuild this broken kingdom. I want to see the children smile and the common people well-fed. And… I want you to stay by my side through all that. I can’t promise it’ll be easy, especially since I might have moments when I’m…”
“When you’re not a full moon?” They asked, pushing their spectacles up. But even with that gesture, covering most of their face, Dimitri could see the smile on their lips.
“Yes,” Dimitri nodded. He felt his heart race in his chest and his stomach twist in dread. A hot-and-cold sensation that seized him to brace himself for their inevitable refusal.
“I know I’m not someone that’s easy to deal with,” Byleth said. “So I want you to know that if I stay by your side, it’s because I want to. I don’t care about payment, nor status, nor any of that. Not even you can threaten me to do something against my will. So… even when you’re in one of your new moons, I’m not going to leave you. You’ll be stuck with me for a long time. Are you sure you want me?”
Dimitri had been so stunned, he took a couple of seconds to even understand what they were saying. They didn’t say no. In fact— they said they would stay with him? Even if he was not always a full moon that illuminated the world in its gentle light? That they would stay for as long as they wanted? That it would be for a long time?
“Yes!” Dimitri had no idea he had been holding his breath until he took that gulpful of crisp air to answer them. “Stay. For as long as you wish! Even if it’s just a day or a week. Just being with you is worth all the treasures of Fódlan… but for now, I suppose this will have to do.”
Dimitri slipped the silver bangle into their wrist. He gently pressed it against their skin, to keep it in place.
“Keep this, as a token of my eternal gratitude… and as a symbol of our new promise. Sell it, wear it, do whatever you want with it. It’s yours, Byleth. It belongs to you, just like my heart.”
Before Byleth could answer, there was a loud whistle somewhere behind them.
When Dimitri turned to look at the source, he noticed that the source had been a certain redhead that was amongst the faces of the crowd that had gathered to look at them. Then, he noticed Felix standing next to Sylvain, giving Dimitri a cat-like smirk. Ingrid was covering her wide grin, her eyes watering with tears. Dedue stood next to her, already wiping his eyes with his scarf. And Rodrigue looked like he was about to rush in to hug Dimitri and carry him on his shoulders, like he used to do when he was a little boy.
“Oh dear…” Dimitri looked down at the dirt, willing the dark earth to open up and swallow him. Perhaps the dirt would put out the burning of his face.
“Dimitri.”
Dimitri looked up at them. Byleth took him by the neck and pulled him in for a kiss. He had no idea how he was going to live this one down. He could already imagine the relentless playful teasing around the camp. But, he had to admit. If that meant he could kiss Byleth openly in front of others, it was a sacrifice worth making.