"Did you find something you liked?"
Claude put away his phone as she came out of the dressing room, a smile on his face. Byleth nodded.
"I actually like most of it," Byleth responded before putting a couple of items on the dressing rack by the fitting room. "Except for those. Those are a little too flamboyant for me."
"The bright red isn't your style, then," Claude chuckled in amusement. "Makes sense."
"Yeah...I actually like this golden one better," Byleth gestured to the same shirt, but instead of having red trim, it was golden. Claude's smile grew into a slight smirk.
"Ah, good. I'm glad."
The two went over to the cashier, who had short,
messy purple hair and shy eyes. She fumbled with her shirt before greeting her customers and taking the clothes.
"T-That'll be ninety nine dollars and forty three cents- ack! I mean, forty three dollars and ninety nine cents!" The cleric stammered. Byleth began to dig for her wallet, but Claude stopped her, pulling out his own wallet to pay.
"Claude, you don't have to do that," Byleth shook her head, trying to swat his money away, but Claude gave the money before she could stop him. Byleth just sighed. "I can pay for myself, you really didn't need to."
"I know you can," Claude smiled at her as the cashier bagged the items and exchanged the money, and he pocketed the extra change. "But I wanted to pay. Don't worry about it."
"But you're making me feel bad."
"I-I-It's sweet! I w-wish someone w-w-would do jay f-for me! "The cashier stammered as she ran her hands through her hair multiple times. "Y-You're C-Claude von Riegan, r-right? T-That's so sweet! I d-didn't know you had a girlfriend-"
"Oh, she's not my girlfriend," Claude chuckled, and he scratched the back of his neck in a moment of complete awkwardness. Byleth also laughed, but for some reason, she felt some...weird thing bubbling in her gut. It was the same feeling she'd felt back at the coffee shop so long ago.
"No, no I'm not," Byleth took the bag from the cashier's hands before waving goodbye. "Thank you."
"N-No problem...! Please tell me I didn't mess that up.."
The pair left the store, with a bag full of clothes in Byleth's hands and a delightful look on Claude's face.
"Thanks again," Byleth smiled shyly. Why was she feeling so weird again? They were having such a good time...
Wait. Was it because she was irritated by him saying they weren't together? That was the truth! They weren't together, plain and simple. Byleth wasn't worried about that, not at all!
But something in her heart...felt just a bit slighted by that statement.
"No problem, Teach," His smile grew wider, and Byleth suddenly remembered why she'd gotten so excited in the fitting room.
"I'm going to go change," Byleth looked for the nearest restroom in the mall, and the two headed over so she could change. She went to a stall in the women's bathroom, pulling the tag off of what she had bought and putting it on. Her heart was beating fast. What if he didn't like it?
He will.
Byleth stepped back outside, a nervous smile on her face.
"I'm back."
As Claude glanced up towards her, Byleth nervously kicked her foot back and forth. She was wearing a newly bought white dress. She'd never worn one before, usually feeling it to be much too uncomfortable for her, yet, this one was so comfortable and soft. The ivory dress went down to the middle of her thigh, and it had a golden waistband. Claude's jaw visibly dropped, although he quickly regained his composure.
"Wow, Teach...Y-You..You look great," Claude cleared his throat as he blushed and then gave her a thumbs up. "I like it. It looks really good on you, Teach."
"Thanks," Byleth felt her own cheeks heat up. Yup, he definitely liked it. Good. That was the point of the dress, anyway? Well, aside from her own use, but...she had really wanted to see that smile of his.
She had gotten her wish.
It's definitely weird to see you in something other than black, though," Claude admitted with a slight chuckle. "This is a good look. I like it."
"Thanks."
"So, uh...what do you wanna do now?" Claude questioned as they stood in the mall. People passed, some recognizing Claude, some not, but he didn't pay them any mind. All of his attention was on her. Byleth just smiled.
It didn't matter what they did, quite honestly.
"I don't care, as long as it's with you."
YOU ARE READING
Race Against Time
Fanfiction"BYLETH, YOU'RE DYING." Those were the words Byleth Eisner had heard her entire life...but it had never rang true. She had always known that the doctors were wrong, that she was going to keep living, but the fear of death was constant. Born with a h...
