Chapter Text
They survived Gronder. Mostly.
They were short one lord. Dimitri grieved loudly, Felix with more subtlety.
Rodrigue’s sacrifice had been necessary for their campaign to push onward. If not for his death their Kingdom would be without a King, and the war would be lost. And, it would seem, the shock of the Lord’s loss was enough to bring Dimitri back to them.
Once more Byleth saw the gentle boy she had tutored in peaceful days passed. His blue eyes were no longer austere, but neither were they content. It seemed that their king had traded madness for guilt, and he wore it plainly for all to see.
One by one he asked forgiveness of their comrades. In Fhirdiad, Cornelia defeated, he asked it of Ingrid, Felix and Sylvain. His childhood friends, still dear to him. In Derdriu he found the courage to beg Annette and Mercedes, the former having given her father to the kingdom, the latter preparing to slay her own brother in its defense. Before Merceus he went to Ashe, who had felled his own father, and after he went to Dedue, who had stood by him always; who had been willing to face the executioner’s axe for his king.
All amends made, all friendships restored. The trust of his comrades regained.
Save one.
Byleth was happy for him, of course. But now she lay in her cot on the eve of battle and he still had not come to her. Tomorrow they would storm Enbarr. Tomorrow could very well be their last day of life, and Dimitri still had not come.
She ached because of it. Questions spun wildly behind her closed eyes. Was it because she was not from the kingdom? Did he not perceive her to have sacrificed enough as their allies had? Was he afraid of what she might say?
It hurt, after everything, to be so totally ignored. Before it had been a give and take, a back and forth between ruddy-hot or icy-cold. Now there was nothing at all.
He had touched her, taken her body and made her his, and unintentionally made her a spectacle for all their allies.
Then there was the matter of her unresolved… attraction.
She had always found him handsome, had nearly gotten herself rendered in two with a greataxe once because she was ogling his skill on the field. But simple attractions faded, attractions rarely survived the gambit he had put her through.
What she felt for him was different, more enduring. She feared she would be crushed beneath the weight of it.
Byleth cringed to think how out of control the whole ordeal had become. All it would have taken to prevent this was one simple word, and she hadn’t even come close to saying it that first night. Or any night after. Each night he had come for her she had welcomed him between her thighs unabashedly, and now she was living with the consequences. She could blame no one but herself.
It was obvious that he did not return these feelings. And even if he did, it wouldn’t matter. She was the lowborn child of a mercenary. He was part of an unbroken line of royalty, lineage easily traced back to the first king of Faerghus.
Huffing. Body buzzing with nerves for the battle to come, she sat up on her cot. If she could not sleep then she would make use of herself, any good tactician would. She would go over her maps once more, triple check her formations. Everything had to be perfect, Edelgard would fall to no less.
A low wooden table awaited her across the spacious tent she was allotted. It was a sprawl of papers, ink pots and miniature lions and eagles. The Sword of the Creator leaned against it. Byleth moved it aside and sat on a cushion, running her hands over the comforting texture of pressed parchment, divoted with the tips of a half dozen quills.
With a snap of her fingers a nearby lantern guttered to life, and she studied her maps by its dim light.
She was poring intensely over a map of Enbarr’s inner city, when someone sidled into her tent uninvited. So enthralled in her strategizing was she, that Byleth did not notice the man’s shadow until he spoke.
“Professor—
She jumped to her feet, fumbling for her sword.
“Professor, wait! It’s only me!”
Byleth froze, knuckles white around the hilt of her blade which had begun to glow in preparation for combat. The voice was familiar, though its owner was still cloaked in darkness. From the shadows of the tent flap King Dimitri stepped into the low, flickering light.
Byleth relaxed, brows knitting in confusion as she dropped her defensive stance, sword dimming. He was dressed down to a navy doublet with lions embroidered over his chest. His trousers with simple black velvet and his hair was tied back from his face in a small tail. She had not seen him out of his armor since before Garreg Mach had been destroyed.
Somehow, he still looked regal.
“King Dimitri, how may I be of service at this hour?” Her voice was measured. It was well past midnight, he should have been resting. And she still was uncertain of how to manage her feelings towards him.
“I—
He stammered, a flush spreading high over his fine cheekbones.
“Well um—
His eye was averted to the ground as though…
Byleth glanced down. She was wearing her usual bedtime attire; a chemise of grey silk. Though it was not sheer, it left little of her figure to the imagination. The swell of her hips, the slope of her breasts free of their armor.
Going pink from her scalp to her toes, she stormed over to her cot. Nabbing a blanket to drape over her shoulders, maintaining her dignity as best she could.
“What do you want?” She turned to face him, her patience wearing thin.
Her expression must have been fierce, because Dimitri diverted his gaze once more. Speaking to the ground he said, “I… I have made amends with everyone else, for how I behaved. But you…”
Her green eyes narrowed, “Me.”
Swallowing, he found the courage to meet her gaze, “I did not know how to even begin to address what I did to you, professor. I’m sorry I have waited so long, that was unacceptable of me.”
Shame hung heavy around him, and he looked as though he wanted to flee back into the night.
What he did? She puzzled over it for a moment. He sounded so severe, and it occurred to Byleth that the two of them might have very different interpretations of what had occurred between them. He had been half mad each time they met.
“What is it that you did to me, Dimitri? I want to hear it from your own lips.” She pressed, doing her best to keep her expression neutral.
“Of course. I owe you at least that much. ” he replied, tone grim, “I—
His voice cracked, like the words were locking in his throat, “I caused you immense emotional and social distress because I… I forced—
Byleth shook her head, verdant waves falling free around her shoulders, “No.”
“What?”
“No, Dimitri. Nothing was forced.” She said with conviction.
Looking stricken, the young king struggled for words, “I— professor, I took you so carelessly, I was so barbaric, and then I let those rumors take root and tarnish—
“The true rumors?” She countered, “That I had entered into a consensual albeit unconventional sexual relationship with my former student?”
Lips parted, he blinked dumbly, unable to find his voice.
“The rumors were frustrating Dimitri, but less due to the content and more because I had to listen to my friends whisper behind my back about our torrid affair while you ignored me like an inconsiderate, egomaniacal bastard until the next moment you wanted to get your dick wet!”
Panting from her sudden tirade, she watched Dimitri deflate. A man of massive stature, somehow her words had made him small.
Swallowing, Byleth hugged the blanket tighter around her shoulders to steady herself, “You never forced yourself on me, Dimitri. And I let you have me, even knowing how… how far gone you were. I don’t want an apology for that,” she chuckled breathlessly, cheeks coloring, “I quite liked that part actually.”
The bruises, the sweat, his cum between her sore thighs, she would trade those memories for nothing. Taking a sudden interest in the floor, she wondered if she’d ever feel those things again.
Flushed, Dimitri asked softly, “But there is something, isn’t there?”
“Hm?” She looked up through the greenish fringe of her bangs.
“There is something you want me to apologize for?” He took a careful step closer.
A lump had formed in her throat sometime between his foot lifting and finding earth again. How could she say it without giving herself away? It was not wise to risk such emotion on the eve of battle. And yet, in this moment, her King stood close enough to smell, salt and wind, torn earth and man .
She could not help herself, she met his stare once more and bared herself, “Even before this bloody war I found myself drawn to you, Dimitri.” He drew in a sharp breath, but she did not stop, “When I found you in Garreg Mach all those months ago, I didn’t find the prince of five years passed. I found a man, and it all came back which such intensity I… I tried to ignore it. That didn’t work very well, though.”
Giving the faintest of smiles she continued, “That night when I went to you… what we did… I had never wanted anything more. I knew it was wrong but Goddess— then it happened again, and a third time. It wasn’t the sex that hurt me Dimitri, or the rumors, it was how you ignored me between each tryst.”
He nodded head bowed in shame.
“The point I’m trying to make,” she whispered, edging closer, bracing for refusal but praying for the opposite, “I could deal with the coldness then, because you were not yourself. But then you came back to us, and despite everything I feel for you, you ignored me. Even once you reconciled with the others, you left me out.”
Letting out a shuddering breath, he whispered into the narrowing space between them, “How you feel for me?”
Byleth could see the awe in his eye, how the flicker of the lantern made his iris seem to swim, handsome mouth parted in anticipation. But she gave no further explanation, it was his turn to give something now. She had laid out as much as she could.
“I… the reason I did not come to you until now is because I feel the same. I could not bear the thought of having hurt the person I— I care for most in this world. I was sure you must despise me. Now I see it was a mistake to wait so long.”
Somehow they were chest to chest, face to face. She could taste him in the air between them, see the carefully done stitching of his doublet. Her shaking hand reached out to stroke along the length of one lion, but Dimitri caught her wrist.
“Professor?” His lips were parted, eyes wide with question and apprehension.
Byleth let the blanket drop into a pool at her feet. She ran her free hand up the length of his torso, fingers stopping to play at the top button of his doublet, “This could be our last chance, my King. Let us not squander it.”
This time is was she who took the initiative, crushing her mouth to his in a deep kiss. Broad palms found her waist, pulling her close as he moaned into her mouth. She could already feel the hard press of his cock against her hip, it made her shudder in anticipation.
When they broke apart panting they made quick work of Dimitri’s doublet and trousers, relegating them to the floor along with Byleth’s forgotten blanket. The Tactician stumbled backwards toward her cot, dragging Dimitri along with her by the band of his smalls. He was beautiful in the low light of the lanter, the flickering flame catching casting shadows over his musculature.
Byleth sat on the edge of the cot as Dimitri leaned over her, his lips brushing patterns into the pale skin of her shoulders and neck. Her hands roamed his torso and back, feeling how his muscles rolled and flexed. When his teeth grazed her throat she gasped and oriented him back into another wet kiss. When they parted she bit her lip, pupils blown wide with lust. Her heart thundered and her cunt ached. With hasty hands she yanked her chemise over her head, leaving her completely bared to him.
Dimitri huffed, eyes wandering, lingering over her breasts, “Professor…”
She shook her head, “No, it’s Byleth now. Call me Byleth.”
Standing up she kissed him again, his hands wandered over her. He cupped her ass, then dragged his fingers up her ribs to her breasts. He seemed enamored by them, and his touch was gentle but firm. She sucked in a sharp breath when he tweaked her nipples, smiling against his mouth.
“Where did you learn that?”
He hummed and did it again, “I’ve thought about this a lot.”
She kissed his throat in answer and trailed her hand down his abdomen, following the trail of fine blonde hair past his waistband until she took firm hold of his cock. He nearly squawked at the sudden contact and Byleth stifled a laugh as she began to gently stroke him.
He was velvety and hard and pulsing in her palm. It made her feel hot, flush all over, and he was still teasing her breasts. She kissed up the column of his throat, standing on her tiptoes to nip at his jaw then kiss his lips once more.
Every tryst they had shared up to now had been fast and brutal and he had always led them, tonight would be different. If there was a chance of death come morning, then they would spend the night in slow, easy, ecstasy. They deserved that much, after everything.
Byleth shifted their bodies so Dimitri’s back was to the cot, then she helped him out of his smalls, freeing his cock so it could bob eager and red between them. She stroked him again, smearing clear beads of precum over his shaft and making him moan her name.
“ Byleth .”
The sound of it spoke by his voice, low and sweet and reverent, sent a jolt of flaming arousal straight to her core.
Wordlessly, she pushed him back onto the cot and settled over him, crouching over his middle.
“I want to try something,” she whispered, leaning down to kiss a trail across his chest, “But you can’t come yet, okay?”
He nodded, eye once more trained on her chest. His boyishness made her smirk and flush. Then she shifted positions, flipping around so that her ass wiggled in his face and his dick bobbed in hers. She wasted no time in pressing a kiss to his crown, then her tongue, tasting the saltiness of him.
Dimitri startled and froze for a breath before he seemed to understand, and Byleth nearly collapsed when he gripped her hips and licked a long stripe over her pussy, tongue teasing at her folds.
“Ah,” she panted, “A— at the top, there’s— oh!” He found her clit without further instruction, fingers circling as he worked enthusiastically with his lips and tongue.
Satisfied that he knew what he was doing, Byleth took the first few inches of his cock into her mouth, dragging her tongue along the underside. She felt Dimitri huff into her folds and his hips tilted upwards, the head of him bumped the back of her throat and she gagged slightly, pulling back.
Spit dripping from the side of her mouth she stroked him again, then dove down once more, hand working furiously over the inches she couldn’t swallow.
At her rear Dimitri’s tongue lapped her entrance and she felt two fingers beginning to join in. She hummed around his cock and felt it twitch in her mouth. He was getting close.
Pulling off, she kissed the purpling head of him and gave his balls a gentle, massaging squeeze. Then she sat up, leaned back, and allowed herself to savor his mouth for a moment. His tongue parted her folds, two fingers circled eagerly around her clit while another pressed into her opening, thrusting shallowly, prepping her for what would come next.
It was hot and wet and any unfortunate soldier to pass the tent would know what was unfolding within. Her breath grew shallow and her noises erratic as he pushed deeper and circled harder. Lewd, wet noises filled the tent and Byleth’s entire body felt awash in flame, her cunt fluttered and tightened and she rocked back onto his face.
The orgasm was short and tight and did little to take the edge off, but she still squeaked groping at her own breasts as his tongue and fingers fucked her through it.
She didn’t allow herself a moment to recoup once is was through. There was still a king to be serviced, and she wanted to see his face when she made him come. Sticky with sweat she spun herself overtop of him once more face to face with him. His eye was nearly black with need and his face with shiny with her come.
“Fuck.” She breathed, because his hair was tousled and his cock thick and insistent against her ass. She’d never seen him look so utterly depraved before, soaked from eating her pussy and half mad with need.
He didn’t look anything like a king.
Byleth snaked a hand behind herself and positioned his needy cock at her entrance, “Are you ready, Dimitri?”
With a hard swallow, he nodded and she sank back onto him without further pretense. They moaned in unison, and Dimitri’s fingers dug hard enough into her hips to bruise. The pain only spurred Byleth on.
Wanton, she didn’t bother with any slow pretense. She was soaked and filled to the brim, and oh so eager to feel her king moving under her. Throwing her arms behind her head, she gnawed on her lip as his eyes followed the steady sway of her breasts in time with her hips.
“Good?” She panted, because Seiros was it sure good for her. Dimitri was a big man in every way, and sitting astride him allowed for her to feel that size more acutely than ever before.
“So good.” He groaned, eyes rolling as his rough, broad palms pawed at her hips. Guiding her to a more strenuous pace, “You feel so good, Byleth.”
She faltered at the sound of her name on his tongue, she felt molten, more fiery than Ailell. There was nothing like it, the sound of her name breathed by the man beneath her at the height of his pleasure.
The lewd slap of his balls against her rear filled the tent. Accompanied by the wet sound of their joining, combining into a carnal symphony that only carried them higher.
Shutting her verdant eyes tight, Byleth leaned back, allowing herself to simply feel as her muscles began to bunch up. Heat pooling between her legs and tension in her back. She could feel Dimitri’s cock swelling within her, and knew that he would surely follow close behind.
“I’m going to come.” He panted, voice hoarse and urgent. Perhaps he was ahead then, it hardly mattered, she would follow him over.
Byleth buckled forward, bracing herself on the bunched muscles of his chest. Meeting his icy eyes she bid softly, “ Inside. I want it inside.”
And that was enough to send him careening over the edge. Byleth watched entranced as Dimitri’s handsome face scrunched in pleasure. She felt his cock swell and stiffen within her and then she felt a rush of wet warmth between her legs.
Cursing, she ducked her head into his chest and followed him over. Dampening her moans into his flesh as he fucked her through his orgasm and into her own. It was sudden and white hot, her vision flashing behind her lids and she went taut for a moment before all the tension was released in a great, shuddering wave.
Collapsing fully onto his chest, they kissed through the aftershocks. Until his dick slipped from her in a rush of mixed fluids, and their heartbeats began to regulate. It was stupidly romantic, but she swore they pounded in unison.
Caressing her hair, Dimitri shifted them so that they were more comfortably situated on the cot. Byleth tucked her head into his shoulder, smiling.
“That was…”
“Good, right?” She teased, tracing a finger over his sweaty pectoral.
She heard him swallow and knew he would be like a blushing virgin once more. Her Dimitri.
“Yes, very, very good.”
“It’s little moments like these ones that we must savor,” she said. “We are at war and tomorrow—
Dimitri hushed her, hand gliding soothingly over her side, “I don’t want to think about tomorrow. You’re right, let’s savor now.”
He was right. Tomorrow would come no matter how she might try to stave it off with prayers or worries or sweet dreams. This moment was what they had, what was assured to them. And if it was the only tender moment she ever shared with Dimitri, she would still be happy for it.
“I think I love you.” She admitted. It was easy to do so into the dimness of the tent.
The beat of silence which passed between them was nerve wracking, but when he replied his deep voice was replete with unrestrained emotion, “ I love you, too. ”
Shuffling in the dark they kissed again. Slow this time. Unrushed.
All of it could be lost in Enbarr, at daybreak. But Byleth chose not to think of that when her king was so alive and lovely in her embrace.
She loved him, she loved him, she loved him.
And he loved her in return. She could feel it in the press of his lips and the slide of his tongue, the gentle caress of his hands over her naked body. He loved her.
Byleth gasped as he rolled her onto her back, hovering over her with his single eye begging permission. Already recovered in his virile youth.
Laughing, she nodded, kissing him again as he angled into her pliant body once more.
They had only until dawn but it felt like all the time in the world, so long as it was spent in the company of one another.