#when they babyface seteth !!!!!

[derireo]

jeralt - memory

ive been having a bit of a depressive episode for a while; getting up to write is a bit difficult at the moment, i apologize.

wanted to write something about papa jeralt since the game heavily lacks jeralt n byleth family tings. it's upsetting.

gloomy ruth hours boiz

slight sylvain x f!byleth & claude x f!byleth i love those two men a little too much

it was a quiet night at the monastery as knights, her former students, and professors alike decided to retire to their rooms quickly. even when the moon was illuminating the black sky so beautifully, no one seemed to want to admire it.

save for one person.

byleth was resting on her back at the end of the dock in her casual sleeping attire; a pair of baggy grey shorts and a slightly oversized sweatshirt to keep her warm.

above her, the stars were twinkling prettily, while the sound of water being disturbed by dirt caked feet did nothing to soothe the neverending ache in byleth's heart.

just another lonely night.

it's been years since the passing of jeralt (although it didn't feel like it), but byleth still continues to find herself in the exact same spot every night since she awakened to reminisce the distant memories she had made with her father when she was younger – memories she could only vaguely remember.

memories of running through fields, memories of hunting game, and memories of starry nights like these, where they would just lay on the ground with the rest of their mercenary band and stare in awe. happy, but vague memories that byleth wanted to cherish for the rest of her life.

byleth may be a favourite at the monastery, but the way her students and colleagues treat her – as if she were still someone they could never hold a candle to, completely isolated her from the rest of the garreg mach community.

it was lonely. rhea, who had disappeared, and seteth, who is too busy working in his office to spare any time for sweet, hardworking byleth.

a shame, really. she thought. the transition from having someone know what you're thinking without you needing to utter a word to having nobody understand at you all was gut wrenching. byleth didn't know how to cope with losing something important as that, and she wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to find another.

byleth loves her students. adores them, so much. but she can't bear to share the weight of her burdens amongst them; and even if they asked her to, she'd never be comfortable enough to truly open herself up to anyone.

quietly, she reached out towards the stars with one hand, her free arm cushioning the back of her head as she stared back at the moon that was watching over her. she made a grabbing motion, as if she was grabbing that light that kept the stars company when no one else would.

the gentle chirps of crickets and the occasional rustle of water kept byleth warm as she slowly opened her fist and twisted her hand, palm facing the sky as she splayed her fingers apart to peek through the cracks.

she eventually let her hand fall back against her chest when her arm began to numb, letting a wistful sigh escape her mouth as she swayed her feet in the water.

when byleth was still a young child, she'd look up at the sky as jeralt shared exciting fodlan folklore, his gravelly voice, full of adoration for his daughter, lulling her to sleep every night. and sometimes, byleth would pretend to fall asleep on nights like those, just to feel the comforting warmth her father had to offer as he'd hold her to his chest, bringing her back to the cot they shared.

byleth smiled at the memory.

she gasped.

a memory?

she quickly jolted into an upright position, her now clean feet kicking at the water and undoubtedly causing a slight ruckus for the people who were getting ready for bed.

"why now?" she whispered quietly to herself and held her own face in her hands, eyes staring owlishly at the ripples in the water through the spaces between her fingers, hair falling forward and over her shoulders.

the tears were spilling from her eyes without her even knowing it, and the warm droplets splattered onto chilly knees.

"dad..." her voice came out as a whimper, and the weak sobs that fell from her mouth was lost to the night breeze, carried away to the sky only for it to fall on an absent goddess' deaf ears.

her body shook as the emotions she held in had finally overwhelmed her while she tried to wipe away the stream of her tears in vain, her skin glistening under the moonlight that was so brightly shining.

she was crying so much, that, she didn't notice the two people who came to check up on her.

claude was the first one to notice. he was looking out the window that faced the dock because he loved watching the stars twinkle at night, and it was almost a daily part of his evening routine before going to sleep.

he was there to watch byleth reach for the stars, his smile fond as her feet swayed in the water. when she had suddenly sat upright, it startled claude, and when she held her face in her hands, a twist in his gut immediately alarmed him, and he strode towards the stairs as quickly as he could, catching the attention of a loitering sylvain who had followed him when he saw the alarmed look on claude's face.

for the two young men, it was easy to forget that five years for them, was merely a few weeks for byleth, and their beloved friend's cry for her long deceased father sent an emotionally uncomfortable chill down their spines.

sylvain made the move to reach out to byleth first. his hand, warm from always crossing those arms of his, brushed along byleth's shoulder. his graze was so slight that he didn't think he would be noticed, but claude had tried to hook his fingers into the neck of his shirt to pull him away. not fast enough it seems.

byleth's form had very visibly straightened in claude's eyes once sylvain was close enough, but his reaction to get sylvain out of the way wasn't as quick as he'd like it to be, the former mercenary's body becoming a blur. by the time both claude and sylvain knew it, the redhead was already being pinned to the wooden planks by her knee to his chest, and the handle of her dagger digging into the column of his throat, blade dangerously close to the cut of his jaw.

sylvain gulped, despite the breath that was mercilessly knocked from his lungs, at the sight of byleth's eyes; flooded with large, unshed tears, but with an eerie clarity, as she stared down at him with a piercing gaze, her other hand clenched in his hair to push his head back against the dock.

claude, quick-witted as he is, didn't know what else to do without setting byleth off, and restraining her or moving too fast could be a move that may leave sylvain as collateral damage.

"hey, by.." sylvain whispered quietly, keeping himself from wincing as her blade pressed against his skin when he spoke. the redhead was still wearing his casual outerwear, a teal button up and his everyday pants, and so his body involuntarily shivered as the cold seeped through the thin cotton and to his skin.

he could only sigh in relief when byleth blinked at the call of her name, her warm tears startling sylvain when they fell onto his face.

"sweet byleth.." claude murmured as the clink of her dagger falling to the ground gave indication that everyone was safe now, and he stepped around his two friends to carefully pry byleth off of sylvain's form, his arms warm and gentle around her waist.

the woman could only let herself be pulled away as her body fell limp against claude's chest, and sylvain tucked the dagger away in his back pocket while he got back up on his two feet, wiping away the now cold tears that chilled his face.

claude held her closer. "it's okay, sweetheart."

his reassurance was faint, but the comfort of his whisper nearly sent byleth into tears again, and a hiccup came in one after the other as her body began to tremble once more.

"i'll carry her back to her room." sylvain offered claude as he watched byleth with a twinge of sadness making his heart ache, the young woman seemed to fall into a second pit of tears. she was a blubbering mess, and her babyface did much to remind sylvain and claude of a small child; lost, and looking for their parent.

hesitantly, claude lifted byleth into sylvain's awaiting arms, and both men were (quite pleasantly) surprised to see her reach out for the redhead, her whimpers quiet and sniffles occasional while sylvain tucked her against his body. his arm secured itself around her waist while the other went to cradle the underside of her thighs.

claude's expression showed how curious he was as to how sylvain knew how to carry someone like this, and the man answered him with a reminiscent smile.

"when we were younger, i used to hold dimitri and felix whenever they cried. they were a little too big for me, so i couldn't hold them for very long. and, well– ingrid just refused to be held."

"ah. i always forget you're the oldest childhood friend." claude said, amused. the almyran prince quietly looked around after that, and picked up byleth's shoes when he spotted them, sylvain patiently waiting for him to lead the way to byleth's room once he picked up anything else that belonged to her.

sighing wistfully as byleth curled her arms around his neck and hid her face against his throat, sylvain could only press a quick and comforting kiss to her forehead, her mournful crying quieting down by a fraction. "i tend to forget as well. it gets a little boring now that they don't rely on me anymore, but i suppose having someone new to hold isn't so bad."

byleth whimpered as sylvain and claude walked up the steps that led them to her room. the redhead grimaced as a new trickle of warm tears dripped down his neck, and sylvain and claude decided to quicken their steps and cut the conversation short.

"pa.." byleth cried against his skin, and her salty tears began to flood her mouth as they continued to fall. "papa.." she choked out, whining sadly as she clutched onto sylvain a little tighter, who was rubbing her back to soothe her.

"hey, now.." sylvain hummed into her ear as claude opened the door to byleth's bedroom, that had the floor messy with unorganized books and papers. "we're here, it's okay." he cooed at her affectionately and lifted his arm from her waist to cradle the back of her head, claude clearing the footpath for him before removing more books from byleth's bed.

as sylvain began to lower byleth onto her bed, the girl squirmed uneasily when she felt the warmth of his arms escape her. she gasped in a shaky breath of air and refused to let him go, leaving claude and sylvain unsure of what to do.

sylvain's hands were stuck pressing into the mattress with byleth clinging onto his body while claude was frozen in the motion of pulling the duvet from it's surprisingly neat position.

"don't leave me," she whispered through her tears; and it seemed as if she were talking to someone else. "not again. please."

with steady, strong arms, sylvain immediately reaffirmed his presence to a weeping byleth, his mouth printing gentle kisses to the side of her head. "never. i would never." he reassured her and carefully climbed into her bed, his back against the headboard while byleth rested against his chest.

"go to sleep, sweetheart." claude crooned as he leaned over the edge of the bed to brush away light coloured hair from her heated nape, his smile soft as he brushed his fingertips over her already fluttering eyelids. "you will not be alone in the morning."

the sunlight filtering through the window roused byleth from her comfortable slumber, its warmth caressing her as if the sun decided to continue to give her the comfort the moon had so graciously blessed her with the night before.

eyes bleary and aching, byleth awoke to an uncomfortable stretch in her wrist, and a warm body enveloping her. she glanced around, and was pleasantly surprised to open her eyes to a slumbering sylvain, who still had her cradled to him; and claude, who was snoozing beside the two, the fingers of her left hand intertwined with his as the back of it was against his mouth in a kiss.

she rubbed her eye with the hand that was not occupied, and sighed in contentment, once again leaning into the solace of sylvain's chest as she squeezed claude's hand.

a happy memory had decided to grace byleth then, and it was the memory of jeralt holding her close when she was a child, in the darkness of their tent. he would whisper offerings of comfort to soothe the ache in her heart, and kiss her hair as he told her he loved her.

and that he would never leave her. he'd always be watching.