All This Time

Barbarossa

"Can I take this thing off now?"

Byleth giggled as Claude led her by the hand, a blindfold blocking her vision. He held her, making sure she didn't stumble or trip. Finally, Claude stopped walking.

"Nope, you've got to let me get ready!" Claude explained, and she could hear the glee in his voice. Byleth smiled as she heard him fumbling around.

"Come on, I'm excited!" Byleth urged, shifting from side to side as she waited. Really, she was just excited to witness him so gleeful. She didn't care what the surprise was, she just wanted to see the ecstatic grin on his face.

"Okay, I'm ready-"

A loud roar echoed throughout the courtyard, and Byleth suddenly began to question just what he was going to show her.

"Come on, take the blindfold off!" Claude urged impatiently, and even though Byleth wasn't completely sure she wanted to see what he was hiding, she ripped off the blindfold anyway. After all, if Claude wanted her to see, how bad could it be?

A pearly white wyvern stood in front of her, curiously sniffing at Byleth. Her green eyes widened, unsure of what to do, when Claude's voice rang out and reassured her.

"Don't worry, Teach! She's mine," Claude shouted, and Byleth glanced in the direction of his voice to see him sitting atop the wyvern. Her eyes widened at the sight of him; he was wearing some new armor, with golden plating (of course) and a fancy golden cape. "Well? What do you think?"

"Wow," Byleth breathed in amazement, scanning over him. He looked rather proud to be donning his Almyran gear, which was an obvious first. Byleth clapped in an almost childish delight. "It looks good on you! I'm happy to see you actually...well...you know."

"Different change of pace, isn't it?" Claude smirked, dismounting his wyvern. He tickled his wyvern under her chin, making her tilt her head back in delight. "Although, I must say, I've become rather accustomed to my other outfit. I gotta say that I feel a little less like a leader who strives for peace in this."

"Ah, why? Are you giving in to the barbarian stereotype?" Byleth questioned, keeping her distance from Claude's mount. "Just because you change outfits doesn't mean anything."

"Well, I'm wearing way too much armor," Claude sighed, patting down his uniform. "I suppose it's more practical...But I feel like I'm just looking for a fight in this."

"Well...If I'm being honest, I like this armor," Byleth scanned him again appreciatively. "But...I also like what you wore before. Gold and white suits you well."

"Well, thanks," Claude grinned. "Oh, come here, Teach! Skye would like to meet you."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Byleth tried to protest as Claude grabbed her hand, leading her towards his ivory wyvern. She had never been particularly loving towards animals; not that she hated them in any way. Byleth just hadn't had emotions. "Claude, what if she bites me or something-?"

"What!? Skye's perfectly harmless," Claude cooed at his mount, reaching our with his other hand to feel the top of her head. The wyvern growled softly in excitement, practically shoving her face into his hand for attention. "See?"

"...I guess," Byleth hesitantly agreed, knowing that she'd have to suck it up if it made Claude happy. Slowly, he brought her hand towards Skye's face.

The wyvern sniffed Byleth's hand, and she forced herself to remain calm. She had never been afraid of an animal before, what was the difference? The only change between this wyvern and a cat was that one could bite her face off, and the other couldn't. Practically no risk at all!

As Byleth held her hand steady, the wyvern finally made a decision and rubbed her head against Byleth's hand. Claude broke into a grin as Skye took a liking to her.

"See, that's it! I told you!"

"Oh...wow," Byleth said as Skye growled softly in endearment. "This is kind of strange for me, I don't typically bond with creatures..."

"How about those cats?" Claude questioned, raising his bro. Those cats? "You know, back from when before all of this war happened? You said you were surprised that I liked animals."

"Oh, right," Byleth reminisced the memory fondly, thinking about how their only concerns at the time had been themselves. What wondrous, naive days... "Well, I liked those cats, but...I don't know. We didn't really have time..."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Claude sighed, and led his wyvern back to her stable. As the pearly white creature obediently followed him, Byleth waited patiently for him to return.

I wonder what happened to those cats. Are they still around? I see animals a lot, but never the same ones...

"I'm back, Teach," Claude announced, snapping her out of her thoughts. He grinned lazily and with an easygoing attitude. "Thanks for stepping out of your comfort zone."

"I'd do anything if it made you happy," Byleth responded, incredibly serious about her answer. Anything. Claude laughed, reaching his hand outwards towards her. Byleth smiled and extended her hand to meet his.

He clasped her hand gently in his as the two just walked around the monastery, enjoying a simple day of peace.

"...Teach."

"Yes?" Byleth hummed, her eyes closed as she trusted Claude to lead her. The exhaustion from previous days was starting to catch up to her.

"...I love you."

"I love you too."

part 69. this book is getting kinda long and i started it like last month😂 think i'm kinda obsessed

thanks for reading :)