Claude couldn't even manage to sleep at all during the night.
How could he? His beloved Teach was next to him, fighting the hardest battle of her life. Her minty green hair framed her pale face, her features relaxed and peaceful despite the struggle she was currently facing. Who knew how her body would respond to the potion? What if he made things worse? What if this didn't even work, and...and...
No, he couldn't think like that. He had to stay positive. He had to...he had to...Claude was the one who had to stay encouraging, because Byleth was quick to assume the worst. He had to keep them both optimistic and hopeful. He couldn't even bear to think about the alternative...
Yet, sleep continued to evade him, leaving him with his intrusive thoughts. As the sun rose and filtered through Claude's golden curtains, leaving a brighter glow in the room, Byleth stirred ever so slightly. Claude's breath hitched in his throat. Was this the moment of truth...? Claude wasn't sure if he wanted to face it or run away in fear of what might possibly happen. Yet, Byleth simply curled herself tighter in the blankets and remained asleep.
Claude wasn't sure if that relieved or infuriated him.
He decided that lying in bed wasn't doing him any good; he needed to get up and do something to occupy his mind before he actually drove himself insane. He crawled out of bed and headed to the kitchen to prepare something good for them to eat.
Claude was no chef, but he figured he'd try his very best to cook something delicious. He pulled out a cookbook, settling for a simple recipe on crepes.
Thankfully, cooking actually managed to distract him and put his mind at ease for a little bit. The process went by rather quick, but Claude was satisfied as he prepared a tray to bring to the bedroom. He poured a glass of orange juice and neatly laid out the utensils before he brought the tray back to the bedroom.
Now Byleth was awake, one of her hands raised to her eyes to block the sun. Claude chuckled, bringing her attention to him. Her eyes visibly brightened upon seeing him.
"Surprise!" Claude said cheerily, a smile forced onto his face. He had to stay positive, he had to stay positive...He walked toward her and gave the tray to her before he sat. "Breakfast in bed, just for you."
"Thanks, Claude. I," Byleth couldn't help but let another yawn slip out, "appreciate it. You made this?"
"Yup. Does it taste good? I didn't even try it."
"Let's find out."
She carefully cut a piece of the crepe for herself before she lifted the fork to her lips. Claude carefully studied her features to figure out how she felt about it. The corner of her lip snagged upward ever so slightly as her eyes fluttered closed in satisfaction.
"This is good, Claude!" She openly congratulated him. "Thanks for making it. I'm definitely going to enjoy this."
"Good, good."
Claude paused. He needed...he needed to know.
"Teach..." Claude sighed. His heart was pounding quickly in his chest. This was it. Was she feeling
better? Was it gone? Of course, there was always the chance that the potion would take more than a night to take effect, but...Claude just wanted a greater sense of hope. He needed it. "How...How are you feeling?"
She stopped, her fork raised right in front of her mouth. Slowly, she shrugged.
"I actually feel...pretty okay. Much better than yesterday."
"Really? You're feeling better?"
"Yeah. I didn't expect it to work this quick, but I'm feeling a lot better," Byleth nodded before she took another bite. She then set the tray to the side of the bed before she leaned over to Claude. His heart thumped in his chest as she caressed his cheek. "Thank you," Byleth whispered before she leaned in for a kiss.
Claude couldn't get enough of her as they kissed. There was just something so intoxicating about her kiss that Claude couldn't put into words. He spoke against her lips, barely managing to get the words out.
"Of course, Teach. I love you."
"I love you too," Byleth whispered, but mid-sentence, a cough began to rack through her entire body. She pulled away before she fell into a massive coughing fit that immediately worried Claude.
"Teach-I'm grabbing water, I'll be right back-!"
He dashed to the kitchen to grab her a glass of water before he ran back. She was still coughing
as she now clutched at her chest. She took the glass and downed it, which stopped the coughing a little.
"T-Thanks," Byleth said weakly. "I-I don't know what happened. I was feeling fine, but now..."
"Now it's back?" Claude exclaimed in disbelief. "How-? You said you were just feeling fine-"
"I was, I was," Byleth repeated as she wiped at her mouth. She leaned back into the bed, defeated. "I really was. Just all of a sudden, everything came rushing back. I have no idea why. Dammit, why, why, why...!? It's not fair!"
"I know, Teach, I know. I don't understand why it didn't work. I just don't get it. I don't understand!"
The utter frustration that both of them were feeling fueled the anger and desperation of their
actions as Claude quickly hugged her. He buried his face into her hair, mostly to hide the fact that tears were threatening to fall.
"There's literally no pattern to your illness whatsoever! You haven't changed your diet, your exercise, or anything in your lifestyle throughout everything!" Claude exclaimed angrily. "Dammit, dammit!"
"It just comes and goes whenever it feels like it," Byleth mumbled quietly. Claude cursed under his breath.
"If only I could have been here to observe the differences a little better, maybe we would have been able to figure this out!"
"Yeah, well..." She suddenly stopped. "Wait. Claude...?"
"What?"
She stared at him before she whispered something that made him stop dead in his tracks.
"Maybe that's it."
YOU ARE READING
Race Against Time
Fanfiction"BYLETH, YOU'RE DYING." Those were the words Byleth Eisner had heard her entire life...but it had never rang true. She had always known that the doctors were wrong, that she was going to keep living, but the fear of death was constant. Born with a h...
