Race Against Time

Your Mother

"My...mother?"

"Yes. Sitri..." Jeralt's brown eyes grew misty and dreamy as he thought of his now deceased wife. Sitri Eisner had been dead for quite some time, but Jeralt had never quite come to terms with her demise. "She was beautiful. Her laugh and smile were just a couple of the best things about her. I never wanted to take my eyes off of her..."

"A-And...That's how Claude looks at me?" Byleth laughed it off dismissively, but she felt her cheeks heat up. So yeah, she had thought he was cute and she was kinda addicted to him, but that was all just a dream. He wasn't interested in her! Him and Hilda seemed to banter much better, and although that store cleric had pointed Byleth's and Claude's closeness out, he had been quick to deny it. For once, Jeralt was wrong. "Come on, Dad. Give me a break."

"I'm serious. Don't cut yourself short," Jeralt responded firmly. "I was a boy once, too. Fell in love with your mother at first sight...and it's the look he gives you."

"Sorry, Dad, but-"

"I know from personal experience. Listen to me for a moment," Jeralt told her, and Byleth let him explain. "I know you're oblivious in the same way your mother was..."

"Hey-"

"But that's not a bad thing," Jeralt said pointedly. "I thought it was quite endearing. It made courting her more fun since she had no idea of my own feelings. Your mother...she had always known her time would be short. She was near death when I found her...and she miraculously survived her condition. Strange, but I'm not complaining. But when she first said she couldn't keep seeing me because of her condition, I didn't even think about leaving. I'm serious. She told me that...and it just made me more determined to see her smile for as long as I could."

"But...I don't think Claude's the same," Byleth sighed. She knew that her parent's marriage had been strangely similar to her situation, but Jeralt was wrong about what Claude was feeling. Who would be interested in her, anyway? She was just an emotionless husk without him. "I don't think he cares about my smile."

"Are you sure?" Jeralt questioned, a knowing look on his face. "Because I'm pretty sure you started smiling once he came around."

Byleth tried to think back to when she had first smiled. It was hard, but she eventually thought of the memory...

Byleth chuckled, letting a small smile slip. He grinned back at her, and Byleth brought her hands to her mouth in surprise at her own actions. Claude had brought up how he had never seen her smile...yet that had felt so easy and natural.

"See?" Claude told her knowingly before winking. "You know...That's the first time I've ever seen you smile. It looks good on you."

Huh...that was strange. It looks good on you...He had been rather adamant on seeing her smile, hadn't he? He had said something about making sure she found her happy ending, or whatever. Byleth hadn't thought much of it, but...yeah, he had been rather persistent about seeing her happy....

No, you're just projecting. None of that is real.

"I think he was just being nice."

"Maybe. But he'd already seen you happy enough after the first two weeks," Jeralt pointed out. "He coulda just stopped it there. You guys were just coworkers, after all...and then you all kept going out. He's told you secrets, kid."

"That's what friends do!" Byleth exclaimed, still failing to agree with him. "They tell secrets. Everything you're explaining is just what friends do!"

"Well, fine. I know you don't want to believe it for whatever reason, so I'll drop the subject," Jeralt relented. "But trust me, Kid...He's not going anywhere."

Byleth looked down. She knew her dad was usually right, but she...she couldn't let go of her fear. She couldn't stand the thought of Claude leaving her forever. Her happiness would go with him, and then Byleth would be stuck as an emotionless husk once more. No, Byleth wasn't going to risk it...So Byleth mumbled out a half hearted reply. She knew he wouldn't trust her about it, but Byleth couldn't bring herself to try and argue anymore.

"I hope you're right about that."