All This Time

Heat and Fish

Sitting in front of the monastery pond after five years was strange.

She sat with her fishing rod in her hands, prepping the bait. She smiled as she thought of something.

"Wow, Teach. You suck at fishing."

Byleth had been fishing casually, but no fish had come to bite. She sighed heavily, turning around to see Claude.

"I do not suck at fishing," Byleth said stiffly. After a week of him treating her differently due to possessing the Sword of the Creator, Byleth was fed up with him. "There's just no fish out today."

"Uh huh," Claude clearly didn't believe her. "And Hilda's super hardworking, Raphael hates food, and I always tell the truth."

"Perhaps you should start telling the truth more often," Byleth retorted coldly, focusing her glance forwards. "It might get you farther."

"...Whoa, Teach, are you alright?" He asked, a concerned look on his face. Byleth bristled at his worried tone.

"I'm fine. Now please leave, I have fish to catch."

That fight had been so long ago.

Byleth almost regretted it, but she knew that she had a right to be angry at the time. Standing up, Byleth cast her line and waited.

"Fishing? I wasn't aware that Flayn wanted to eat."

Byleth knew it was Claude, and a smile lifted onto her face.

"I do like fishing, you know," Byleth watched him walk next to her. "Remember how good I am?"

"Hmm. Are you sure? Last time I checked, I don't think you got any bites-"

Immediately, the line began to pull. Byleth began to reel in the fish, making Claude eat his words. Byleth grabbed the fish from the hook, a wide grin on her face.

"See? Told you," Byleth smirked as she placed the fish on the ground. She began to hook more bait into her line, as Claude watched her.

"Yeah, yeah," Claude rolled his eyes playfully at her. "Is there anything you're actually bad at?"

"Hm..." Byleth cast her line again, keeping her focus on the water. "Dancing. I kinda sucked at that."

"Thank goodness you had me. We would have danced off a cliff if you were leading," Claude joked.

"Unfortunately, that is very true."

They sat there the whole morning, just enjoying each other's presence and catching fish.

Flayn was delighted because of the fish they caught; Seteth was irritated at their antics.

"PROFESSOR AND CLAUDE, YOU SHOULD BOTH BE AT THAT MEETING!"

"Ah, damn."

———

"Ah..Teach...I don't know if I can take it any longer...!"

Byleth snickered slightly as Claude groaned about the heat. They were both in the sauna, and Byleth barely felt warm while Claude was on the verge of dying from heat exhaustion.

"Come on, Claude," Byleth finally giggled, looking up to him with teasing eyes. "A little heat didn't kill anyone, did it?"

"This is supposed to be relaxing!" Claude protested, drawing attention from the other soldiers in the sauna. Like Byleth, they laughed as the cunning tactician whined about the heat. "I'm going to die."

"Then come on, let's go," Byleth laughed, grasping his hand and pulling him out of the sauna. Opting not to have her boyfriend killed by some heat, Byleth would rather have him feel relaxed at her loss than the other way around.

Once they escaped the sauna, Claude made a victorious gesture and flashed her a brilliant,
mischievous smile.

"Does the heat not affect you whatsoever?"

"Oh, it does. But that was nothing," Byleth yawned, sleepy from the effects of the sauna. She had to admit that as she scanned her eyes up and down his body, Claude was practically gleaming and sparkling. He looked good. "It could have been a lot worse."

"...You are something else. I thought Almy-er, I thought..." Claude suddenly cut himself off, flashing her an easygoing and guilty smile. He struggled to realign the conversation, a hopeless look on his face. "Back in the...uh..."

"The mysterious place you lived in?" Byleth smirked, an amused look on her face as he struggled to come up with an explanation. "Seems...mysterious."

"Well, it is indeed," He laughed heartily, his emerald eyes glinting slightly in the light. "Where I come from is hot, but that sauna was way worse."

"Eh. It was nothing," Byleth chuckled, amused at
his sensitivity. She knew he was overly cautious about announcing where he had come from. That was fine with Byleth; she was sure he would tell her when he felt comfortable. "Did you like it there?"

"It was alright," Claude quickly pulled a silver arrow from his quiver, twirling it deftly between his nimble fingers. "But I would prefer to be here."

"Is it because I'm here?" Byleth joked, trying to change the subject away from his homeland. He was clearly uncomfortable handing such a subject, and Byleth didn't wish discomfort among the two of them.

"Oh, definitely," Claude grinned, quickly molding into her attempt to shy away from his homeland. "I'd follow you wherever."

"Hm...Are you sure?" Byleth teased, a twinkling look in her sea green eyes. "I might be heading back into the sauna, and I'm not sure if you could handle that..."

"For you, I think I'd go anywhere," Claude reminded her, even though his eyes crinkled slightly at the thought of the sauna. "...Even if I might die following you."

"Well, what's life without a little adventure?" Byleth snickered, and then, after a brief moment, she sobered up. "I would never take you anywhere where you might die."

"Well, that's not exactly true now, is it?" Claude responded. "People can die anywhere. We're at war, too. Sometimes, we both might have to head to places where our lives are at risk."

"That's true...But if I could avoid it, I will."

"As will I."