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Dimitri stared at Byleth’s front door and took a deep breath. It was a perfectly normal front door to a perfectly normal single-story brick house, but he felt as nervous as if he were about to knock at the door to a dungeon.
I can do this, he told himself, squaring his shoulders and trying to get up the courage to ring the bell. It’s not that big a deal. People do this all the time, meet their girlfriend’s parents.
Of course, he’d never done this before. He’d never dated anyone else long enough for meeting their family to make sense. But he knew Byleth was close to her parents, and she always spoke of them so warmly, and he was completely in love with her, and he really wanted this to go well but had no idea what well would look like.
He heard a soft crunching sound and looked down to see that he’d accidentally crumpled the corner of the corsage box as he worried. Wincing, he tried to fix it, but only succeeded in tearing part of the flap.
Oh, no. I’ve already ruined her flowers. Next I’m going to ruin something else and they’re going to hate me and say she can’t go to prom with me, and then Byleth will dump me and…
“Dimitri!”
Dimitri jerked his gaze from the crumpled box to Byleth’s door and stood up ramrod-straight. He felt his eyes go wide as he took in the woman standing there. She had Byleth’s rounded cheeks and delicate chin, and she was holding out her arms with an enormous smile on her face, as if she’d never been so happy to see someone.
“Come in! Come in! I’m Sitri. You’re a bit early! But I think Byleth’s almost ready. Can I get you a glass of water?”
Dimitri almost said yes, but a vision of himself spilling the water all over his tux flared bright in his mind. “No, thank you,” he said politely. “But it’s very nice to meet you.”
“And it’s lovely to meet you,” Sitri said as he stepped into their home. She was wearing a soft white cable-knit sweater over jeans, and she had long green hair that she wore loose over her shoulders, and her eyes looked so much like Byleth’s that Dimitri had to stop himself from staring.
“Hey Sitri, do you know whose car the kids are taking tonight? Hers is making that noise again, and I just can’t seem to…”
A man in a grey t-shirt and jeans walked into the entryway, wiping his hands on an oil-stained rag and frowning down at it as though it might hold answers. He was as tall as Dimitri and broad-shouldered, with dark blonde hair and a slightly scruffy beard on his weathered face. He stopped talking when he saw Dimitri.
He raised an eyebrow. “Ah. So. You’re the boyfriend.”
Dimitri gulped. “I am. Hello. Dimitri Blaiddyd. Sir.”
“Jeralt Eisner,” the man said with a nod. “Byleth’s dad.”
“We’re taking my car,” Dimitri said, trying to look responsible. “Er. I hope that’s OK. You said her car is making a noise, so…”
Jeralt looked at him for a moment. “Yep, that’s fine,” he said, when it became clear Dimitri wasn’t going to find a way to finish that sentence. “Probably for the best. I can keep working on her car while you’re gone. You know much about cars?”
“... no,” Dimitri admitted, feeling worse than useless.
“Dimitri!”
Dimitri turned towards the sound of Byleth’s voice. She was emerging from the bedroom at the back of the house, her hair pulled up and her smile a bit nervous, and Dimitri felt his heart begin to beat faster.
“Wow. Byleth. You look so beautiful,” he breathed as she came closer.
Byleth blushed and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She’d chosen a long black lace dress with thin shoulder straps, and she wore a striking gold necklace and matching earrings that glinted in the light. He had never seen her so dressed up and he was nearly undone by the sight.
“You look beautiful too,” she said shyly. “Um. Handsome, I mean.” She held up something in her hand—a little bundle of white and blue flowers. “Here. This is for you.”
After some fumbling, she managed to fasten the boutonniere to his jacket. Dimitri started to apologize for the state of the corsage box, but then he got lost in the task of sliding the spray of pink flowers around her wrist, and she beamed and said she loved the color and suddenly the box didn’t matter any more.
“Oh, honey. You’re just a vision. Both of you,” Sitri gushed. “Come on, you two. I have to have a picture. Humor me, please.”
“Moooooom,” Byleth groaned—but it was a playful groan that functioned as a “yes.”
Sitri posed them carefully in front of the prettiest tree in the Eisners’ backyard and snapped at least ten photos before proclaiming them “released.” Throughout it all, Jeralt watched quietly, saying nothing, his face completely neutral. Dimitri tried not to read anything into that but it was hard.
“Have fun, kid,” Jeralt told Byleth as they re-entered the house. “You look great. Curfew’s midnight.”
“Curfew’s two tonight, honey,” Sitri corrected him. “It’s prom!”
Jeralt made a slightly grumpy face but didn’t argue. “Fine, two. Drive safe.” He turned his gaze on Dimitri. “Call us if your car starts making a weird noise.”
“We will, sir,” Dimitri said quickly. “And. Um. Maybe next time you can tell me something about fishing? Byleth said she wants to take me, and I don’t really know much about it, and, um…”
Oh, Goddess. What made me say that? Byleth had offered to take him fishing, and he wanted to go, but why bring that up now? Admitting he knew nothing about the Eisner family’s favorite hobby definitely wouldn’t impress Jeralt.
Jeralt made a sound that sounded like a laugh. Or maybe it was just a grunt. “Sure, I’ve got some beginners’ advice. Tell you what, you can borrow some of my old gear. Take a look next time you come over.”
“Thank you, sir,” Dimitri said as Byleth began pulling him towards the door.
“And call me Jeralt, not sir!” Byleth’s dad yelled as they started down the front walk towards Dimitri’s car.
Dimitri tried not to die of embarrassment as he opened Byleth’s car door for her and then climbed into the driver’s seat. But when they were safely inside the car, he turned to his girlfriend apologetically. “By, I’m so sorry.”
She tilted her head. “About what?”
“About your parents. Well, really just your dad.” He sighed. “I don’t think I made a very good impression. With the ‘sir’ and everything. And admitting I don’t know anything about cars. Or fishing.”
Byleth stared at him, her wide eyes blinking. A little wrinkle appeared between her eyebrows. Dimitri assumed she was replaying the conversation, perhaps identifying the moment when he’d completely ruined any chance of Jeralt liking him.
After a long pause, Byleth finally replied. “Dimitri, what are you talking about?” she asked, clearly baffled. “My dad loved you.”
“What?”
“He offered to loan you his fishing gear.” Byleth said that as if it were obviously the final word on the matter.
“His old fishing gear,” Dimitri pointed out.
“All his gear’s old, Dimitri.” Byleth reached out and squeezed his hand. “That went great. I promise. Now come on, I don’t want to be late for dinner.” Anticipation sparkled in her eyes. “Ingrid and I have a bet about whether this place really means it when they promise infinite breadsticks.”
With a smile on his face, and feeling a hundred pounds lighter, Dimitri started the car. “I would never keep you from a breadstick-eating contest,” he assured her with a laugh. “Let’s go.”