All This Time

Rhea and Edelgard

"You know, singing is really not my thing."

Byleth smirked as they stood uncomfortably at the cathedral. After all the drama that had concurred between them and Rhea, neither of them felt particularly inclined to enter the church of Seiros.
Byleth had always invited other people to the cathedral so that they could sing; Marianne and Hilda were her favorite people to sing with. Leonie didn't see the point in it, and Lorenz was awfully
out of tune (although he did his best). With Hilda busy running errands, Byleth thought she'd shake things up a bit and invite Claude.

To her surprise, he actually accepted.

Although, he still looked extremely uncomfortable at everyone else singing. He shifted from side to side as Marianne sung next to him without any problems.

"You're doing great," Byleth reassured him quietly, trying not to interrupt their choir practice. "It's almost over."

"I hope I don't become a singer anytime soon," Claude muttered as the song ended. It was the first time she'd ever heard him sing, and he wasn't anywhere near as bad as she had expected. "I'll leave it to you, Teach."

"Oh, stop," Byleth giggled, slapping him lightly on the thigh. "You're doing great. You're a fantastic singer."

"My singing isn't the problem," Claude smirked,
somewhat proud she had complimented him. "It's the fact that we're all worshiping what Rhea started. Even though she's a liar, and a possible-"

"Please save it for after the service," The choir leader reprimanded both Claude and Byleth, shooting them a disapproving look. They both muttered their apologies, continuing to sing for the remainder of the time.

After the rehearsal was over, Byleth grabbed Claude by the hand and lead him over to the pile of rubble in the cathedral. A statue of the goddess had once stood there proudly; now, all that sat was a pile of residue.

"Do you think that Rhea was trying to kill me?" Byleth wondered aloud, keeping her eyes trained on the rubble they stood behind.

"No," Claude shook his head, immediately acknowledging the impossibility of that specific scenario. "She was fascinated...maybe even infatuated with you. There was no way she was trying to kill you."

"Seems like her and Edelgard have more in common than they thought they did," Byleth mused. Claude frowned, confused.

"What do you mean, Teach?"

"Oh, well, Edelgard was always rather interested in me. She used to talk to me all of the time, right up
until I fused with Sothis-"

"Wait, what?" Claude furrowed his brow as she accidentally revealed that tiny piece of information to him. Byleth hadn't even thought anything weird of it. Suddenly, Edelgard's apprehension towards him five years ago was making sense; how she had wanted to taunt him, and how she had treated him in general. "She...Talked to you? Even though you weren't her professor?"

"Yeah. Quite a bit, actually," Byleth admitted. She hadn't thought it was strange until Claude pointed it out. "The first time, she asked me why I didn't choose the Black Eagles. After that, it was just little random questions and exchanged moments of tea. She wanted me to dance with her, but a certain someone came over. Hehe."

"...Teach, I think she liked you."

"She did," Byleth responded cluelessly, a smile on her face. Claude chuckled, wrapping his arm around her.

"No, I mean I think she liked you. Or, I guess I should say, she loved you," Claude clarified, and Byleth's eyes widened in shock. Edelgard? But...why? Then again, it made more sense now that Claude said it. Dimitri had never sought her out like Edelgard had. "She was probably trying to recruit you."

"But I...I never gave her any hint that I ever felt that way about her," Byleth shook her head, discouraged. He grasped her hand in his, trying to comfort her. "She must be deluded to think she's in love. I've never felt anything around her."

"People tend to ignore common sense when it comes to infatuation," Claude reminded her, a somewhat prideful look in his emerald green eyes. "She was probably resentful you chose us Deer. When we fought that one time, she was smugly rubbing it in my face about how you were mad at me. I thought she was acting childish at the time, but now..."

"Well, that sucks for her," Byleth frowned, rubbing her thumb in circles around the outside of his hand. He smirked as she kept talking. "This is where I belong, and I'm glad I stayed here. Being part of the Golden Deer led me to you. I never felt anything like that when I was around her."

"To some people, one sided love is the closest they'll get to anything."

"...Maybe if I had been there to stop her, though, this war wouldn't have happened..."

"I don't think anyone could have stopped that girl from achieving her goals," Claude disagreed, a saddened look in his eyes. "She's too stubborn. If her love...well, if her infatuation for you wasn't enough to stop her, you being there wouldn't have changed anything."

"I just wish there was a way all of us could have refrained from going into war..."

Claude didn't respond; he only nodded and squeezed her hand tightly. Byleth leaned her head on his shoulder as they continued to stare into the pile of rubble.

It was just another reminder of the destruction the war had caused. They both wanted the madness to end quicker, but in order to do that, they'd be putting themselves in danger...

"...I love you," Byleth murmured, turning to bury her face into his chest. The scent of something natural and earthy filled her nose, and all she wanted to do was remain with him for the rest of her life. She wished she didn't have to leave and fight. Byleth was content just staying with him, but she didn't have a choice. He smiled warmly, embracing her further.

"I love you too."