Chapter 0 - take it slow

Byleth was never able to explain her interest in Ignatz in the beginning, but the two of them have always been close. From day one, he interested her, as she could tell that there was more to him that he didn’t show, and, as she learned more about him, they grew closer. She could pass off her attachment as wanting to encourage him as his teacher, pushing him to follow his own dreams, but then, it became harder to pass it off as just that.

Waking up after five years, she was surprised that one of her first thoughts was of Ignatz, wondering what had become of him and worrying about what she had missed, and being reunited with him made it harder to ignore what her feelings have become. As time went on, it became more clear that her feelings were not unrequited either.

But war is war, and they haven’t had many opportunities to act on their feelings. They’ve gotten too close only to pull back or be interrupted, and though she knows that’s for the best, she wishes that they could go a little too far, even just once. The fear of never seeing him again or of disappearing without a trace again spur her on.

One night, unable to fall asleep, she decides to pay him a visit. She knows that he will be in his room, since he rarely stays out this late, but when she knocks, he doesn’t answer. After giving it a few minutes, she tries again, receiving no answer. Realistically, she knows that he’s probably asleep, but there is one other reason he wouldn’t answer, and she decides to take her chances, trying the door.

She turns the knob and it opens, and, sure enough, Ignatz is at his desk, staring intently at his sketchbook, a candle lit so that he can see. Though she isn’t exactly quiet, he doesn’t notice her entering his room at all, and she sits on his bed, wondering if she should say something, or if that would mess up his sketching. Byleth likes watching him work, even if she can’t see what he’s working on, because of how happy and at peace he appears to be. She doesn’t mind sitting in silence, simply watching Ignatz until he notices that she’s there.

This takes several more minutes, but he pauses in his sketching, losing himself in thought for a moment before suddenly jumping.
“P-professor!” he cries. “I...how long have you been there?”

“Just a little while,” she replies. “I’m sorry for intruding. I tried to knock, and you didn’t answer. Since the door was unlocked, I wanted to check on you, but I didn’t want to disturb you while you were drawing…”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t even realize...you could have said something,” he says, not seeming at all bothered that she came in without him letting her in. Another sign of their closeness, she supposes. “Did you need something?”

“Nothing in particular. I just wanted to see you,” she says, noticing the way he blushes at her words.

“W-well, I was pretty much done with this for now, so we can spend some time together,” he says, not mentioning the late hour. Does he know what it is that she’s hoping for? Whatever the case, he rises from the desk, coming to sit beside her on the bed, not making eye contact.

“We’ll have to set off again soon,” she says. “Are you prepared for our next battle?”

“As prepared as I can be,” he replies. “But, as long as you’re leading us, I’m not really worried. At least, not too worried.”

“Even so, I...each battle is another risk, another chance that we might not…” she trails off, and Ignatz frowns.

“Please, don’t talk like that. I understand your fear, but to hear you talking like that, I…I-I’m so afraid of losing you again,” he confesses.

Another night, it might have taken more than that, or another night, they might have been interrupted before she could do what she does next. But tonight, his words are all she needs to close what little distance remains between them, and kiss him. A few times, they’ve gotten close enough to almost kiss, but this is the first time one of them has actually gone for it. And tonight, Byleth does not intend to stop there.

Ignatz stiffens, not sure how to respond to her lips on his, but then, he relaxes, clumsily attempting to return the kiss. It takes them some time to figure it out together, but then they do, and they remain like that for some time, neither of them wanting to end it after it took them so long to get here.

At the same time, it feels like they’re rushing things, but Byleth doesn’t mind. As she said, each battle is another risk, and she isn’t going to take that risk without making sure that she has made her feelings clear to him. She doesn’t want anymore regrets, no matter what may happen. Ignatz is indecisive and soft-spoken, often very shy, and if she does not take the lead, then they won’t ever get anywhere.

As she kisses them, she gently pushes him back, until she has him laying down, with her on top of him. His face is flushed as he stares up at her, struggling to catch his breath once she’s broken the kiss. He looks unsure of what to say or do, waiting for her to give him some sort of instruction.

“I don’t want any regrets,” she says, putting her thoughts to voice. “No matter what might happen, I don’t want either of us to be left wondering what could have...I-I think I love you, Ignatz.”

His cheeks darken at her words, and he stammers a bit before he says, “I...I feel the same way, profe- ah, Byleth, I...I’ve fallen in love with you.”

“I don’t want to do anything you aren’t ready for,” she says, “but at the same time, I’m afraid of what might happen if we wait.”

“I want...I want everything with you,” he confesses. “I really do, I just...all at once, isn’t it a bit much? I-I don’t mean that I don’t want to! It’s just that...I’m not even sure what I’m ready for...sorry if that’s not what you wanted to hear…”

“No, that’s...I wanted you to be honest, and I’m glad you did. I hope it didn’t look as if I was pressuring you,” she says. “I’ll never push you farther than you’re ready.”

“Can we just...see where it takes us?” he asks. “I don’t think I’ll really know what I want until we try…”

“Of course,” she agrees, and for the time being, she remains on top of him, kissing him again. The two of them spend a good while just kissing, but that alone is fantastic to her, especially after so long with nothing. She can only imagine how difficult it must have been for him.

With their bodies so close, she can feel how he wants her, and that only makes her want him more. Whenever they stop to breathe, she can’t take her eyes off him, waiting for him to tell her what he might want next. After a little while, they’ve sat back up again, their passion not cooling off in the slightest, and that is when his hand starts to wander, lower and lower.

He hesitates, and starts to pull his hand back, but Byleth grabs it, placing it over one of her breasts, over the shirt she wore in place of her usual chestplate. Ignatz stiffens for a moment, but when she lets go of his hand, he does not pull back, hesitating for a moment before gently squeezing her. This first step does him a world of good, and with her encouraging him not to hold back, he presses on, until he has the courage to move his hand beneath her clothing, and feeling his touch leaves her whimpering, desperate for more.

“I can touch you,” he finally says. “I don’t know if I’m ready for much beyond that, but I can touch you, a-and...you can touch me. If you want to!”

“Of course I want to,” she replies, and even if it is just a start, the thought leaves her unbearably excited. He’s nervous about exposing himself to her, and even closes his eyes as she takes off her shorts, but when their clothes are out of the way, he is so torn between looking at her and looking away that he is not nearly as worried about her impression of him.

“I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do...you know that, right?” he asks. “I-I mean, I have a little bit of an idea, but…”

“I can show you a few things, if you watch,” she says, not minding to get things started off for him. And though he blushes furiously as he does, he still watches her intently as she spreads her legs, showing him how she fingers herself. After her brief demonstration, Ignatz hesitantly agrees to try it for himself, and they switch off. He places his hand between her legs, mimicking her movements.

Being shown once is enough for him to figure out how to press a finger inside of her, using his thumb more externally, and she gasps, the pleasure of simply having someone else take care of things for her more than she expected. Ignatz freezes, asking if he’s hurt her, but she assures him that everything is fine, that she wants him to keep going.

Slowly, he continues, until he has Byleth moaning, and with this encouragement, he starts to get a little bit of confidence in it. He is a quick study, but she’s always enjoyed teaching him for this reason. It’s strange to think about that right now, thinking about how far they’ve come since they first met, but she can barely think at all. Before she completely loses herself in the moment, she reaches out, wrapping her hand around the base of his cock.

Ignatz yelps at the sudden contact, blushing after he realizes it, and Byleth has to resist commenting on how adorable he can be. Instead, she lets him adjust to it, gathering his thoughts enough that he can continue fingering her, before she begins moving her hand up and down, slowly at first, then picking up speed as she watches the shifts in his expression, seeing how much he is enjoying it.

Her voice cracks as she moans, and she knows that she is already getting close. Maybe it’s for the best that they started small; she isn’t sure how much she would have been able to take, and even after a few pumps of her hand, Ignatz seems near his limit as well, just barely holding it together.

Even after starting on her first, even after getting her so close before she even began, Ignatz is the first to come, halting his movements, as he tenses with a sudden cry, then relaxing as his orgasm overtakes him. It takes him a few moments of resting and panting before he comes back to his senses, realizing that he’s left her somewhat neglected.

“I-I’m sorry, I just…”

“It’s alright,” she murmurs, her voice breathless. “I was just happy to see how much you liked it.”

“R-right, well, let me just..” With that, he resumes, his movements clumsy for a moment before he gets back into the same rhythm, and Byleth arches her back reflexively, her heart racing and head swimming the more he continues, until she is right on the edge, balling her hands into fists before she is suddenly overcome by her climax.

For a moment, she feels nothing aside from the pulse of her orgasm, sending shocks of blinding pleasure throughout her entire body, and even as it begins to fade and she starts to come back to herself, it leaves a pleasant tingle in its wake, and she relaxes, her breathing heavy.

She doesn’t know what to say to Ignatz even once she has recovered enough to speak again. There are plenty of things that she wants to say, about how nice it was or how that was great for now, she doesn’t mind waiting and taking things slower, but in the end, nothing comes to her. Ignatz speaks first, asking her if she wants to stay with him tonight, and she eagerly agrees. 

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