Race Against Time

Cleanup

"Alright. Looks like the last customer is gone."

Byleth watched as Claude clapped his hands together in ecstasy. The night had been fun, but it was about three in the morning, and he was tired. Byleth was used to staying up late, and he would have to too if he wanted to survive here.

"I'm...Sleepy," Claude yawned, leaning onto the counter. He closed his eyes for a mere second as Byleth began to clean up.

"You're lucky it wasn't that busy, then," Byleth chuckled before patting him lightly on the back. "Why don't you go home? I can clean up, no problem."

"No, don't worry. I'll be fine," Claude tiredly stood up straight, flashing her a small smile. "Can't make a beautiful lady clean up by herself."

"Well, my father is here to help too," Byleth shrugged, the compliment flying over her head entirely. "So don't worry about me."

He looked at her funnily before shaking his head in stubborn refusal.

"Nah. I can tough it out," Claude offered her a wider smile, trying to hide his tired eyes. Byleth raised a brow, not entirely convinced as he hid a yawn behind his hand. "C'mon, Teach, I'll be fine."

"If you say so," Byleth pulled her hair back into a low ponytail before rolling up her long sleeves. "I'll wash the dishes. The cleaning materials are in the back room, on the left. If you could mop and sweep, that'd be great. I'll take care of the dishes and counter. Whoever finishes first gets the honor..." Byleth paused dramatically, "...of wiping down the tables."

"Is this a competition I'm hearing about?" Claude smirked, looking dozens more awake now that Byleth had mentioned that last part. She rolled her eyes in amusement, glancing at him.

"A competition to do more work."

"I better get started, then."

Byleth didn't quite understand Claude's reasoning as to why he wanted to do more work, considering he was tired...but if he wanted to, Byleth certainly wouldn't complain.

The time passed fervently, with the two making light conversation as they worked. Even though he had said he was tired, Claude certainly didn't show it as he mostly carried the conversation. Byleth was grateful, though. She couldn't remember the last night she'd had so much fun!

All they had done was run the store and clean it up. That was Byleth's daily life...yet today, it had been so much better. From Claude's smart remarks to his teasing, the day had just flown by remarkably fast from the fun she'd been having.

"Need any help, Kid?" Her father entered from the back room before staring at all the work they've done. "Well, looks like you got it covered. Sorry I couldn't help, I had to take care of an angry customer and-"

"Dad, don't worry about it. We're almost done," Byleth finished wiping down her table, turning to Claude. She chuckled upon sight of him; he was sitting in a booth with his eyes closed tiredly. Byleth walked over, lightly tapping his face. "Claude, wake up."

"Slacking on the job, already?" Jeralt shook his head. Byleth gave him a stern glare, and Jeralt threw his hands up in silent protest. "Alright, alright. You both did well."

"I think we did," Byleth reaffirmed before tapping Claude on the face once more. "Come on, Claude."

"...W-What..? Nah, I didn't fall asleep," Claude denied as he slowly opened his eyes, sitting up. Byleth looked at him, disbelieving as he rubbed his eyes sleepily. "Didn't happen, Teach."

"Sure, sure," Byleth shook her head in amusement as he stood up and stretched. "Alright, then. Let's close up."

"Sounds good to me," Claude agreed as the three of them began to walk out. "So, Jeralt, how'd I do?"

"I don't know," Jeralt said honestly, considering how he had been in the back room for awhile, and had been more focused on mixing drinks than attending to the new recruit. "Kid, what do you think?"

"Oh, he was great," Byleth nodded as Jeralt closed the door behind them, locking up. "Learned quite quickly, made my job easy."

"Good. I was starting to worry when I saw him sleeping..."

"Er, that's on me," Byleth admitted guiltily. "I told him to go home while I wiped the tables, but he refused, so..."

"Well, I was trying to provide you with some company," Claude yawned tiredly, making Byleth chuckle once more. "Sorry."

"No worries. Just get to bed, alright?" Byleth told him, and he nodded in agreement, a tired look in his emerald eyes. "Goodbye, Claude."

"Bye, Teach. See ya later, Jeralt."

Byleth and Jeralt watched as Claude walked toward his car. Jeralt smiled, placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"So, you like him, then?"

Byleth nodded as the two began to walk home.

"Definitely."