Fire Emblem X Reader One Shots

The First Look (Claude)

Requested by FrostyyFlakes! I hope I did your fluff piece justice! The idea wouldn't get out of my head after you requested it, so I'm doin' both of us a favor at this point lol

Also, I stg, it's very hard to find fanart of our favorite schemer that doesn't involve Byleth in some way and like that's fine I guess but dear god

==================================================

Honestly, thinking back on it now, you couldn't help but think how cliché it all was.

Almost immediately after you had returned to the Monastery after your fight against Nemesis, Claude had called you up to the top of the Goddess Tower. The place was significant to the both of you, being a place that you two so often snuck into together while trying so hard to not laugh as you heard Seteth's enraged yells from whatever prank you two pulled off that, more often than not, involved poisoning some poor, unsuspecting student.

He got to the point almost immediately. Even though the battle was long and hard-fought, he didn't plan on staying any longer, he still had yet to achieve those goals and ambitions that he held close to his heart for so long, and while both his and Byleth's achievements in uniting Fódlan was a big step towards those ambitions coming to fruition, he couldn't make them a reality by staying.

He had proposed to you, right then and there, saying that even though he was leaving and that you couldn't come with due to the state of Fódlan and just how much it needed bright-minded people to bring it back to glory, he'd be back for you before you even began to miss him too much, leaving with a wink and that same devious smile that he had given you so many times before. He spoke so confidently, sounding so sure of himself and his mini promise to you that you couldn't help but believe him.

So, you stayed behind, and Goddess knows you tried your hardest to be patient for him. You busied yourself with the onslaught of work that came with rebuilding a nation scarred by war, traveling all across Fódlan to directly help those affected by the war, taking up the role of being the one person to physically drag Byleth away from her work so she would give herself a break via some tea and pastries before her fingers began to bleed, even taking it upon yourself to help the people who were rebuilding the monastery. You kept your mind busy so you didn't remember just how much you missed him, sometimes working into the late hours due to the insomnia that your thoughts brought you.

You never overworked yourself. You were well aware of your own limits, and while there were times that you pushed yourself just a tad, you never overexerted yourself.

When he did honor his promise and come back to you, you almost fainted due to your own happiness. It was directly after you had received a letter from Byleth, saying their battle in Derdriu against the remnants of Those Who Slither In The Dark and the Imperial Army had resulted in victory and that they were on their way back. Not even five days later, you were once again keeping your mind busy by doing various tasks for Seteth in his absence, which involved the Library.

You were doing your best to scan through the pile of books you had on the desks around you to find the exact information you needed, your eyebrows furrowed together in concentration as you worked faster than you ever had before. Both Byleth and Seteth were scheduled back any minute now, and while you were almost done, you just wanted to get everything done before they both got back so they had nothing to worry about after such an impactful, and from what the letter said, harrowing fight. Because of the want to get all of it done as quickly as possible, your attention to your surroundings was rather limited.

While your back was to the door, one book underneath your non-dominant hand, tracing over the words and a writing quill in the other as you stood hunched over the desk, your lip coming close to bleeding with how hard you were biting it in concentration...