Chapter 0 - crossing blades

Byleth moves as silently as she can. It’s been a few weeks since she’s been back here, having had a lot of business to attend to at the monastery. Serving as the new archbishop in such turbulent times while her husband has his own land to govern leaves her with little time to actually spend with her husband, but she makes it home whenever she can, just as Felix visits her whenever he has the chance.

There are two things that they miss the most, whenever they can’t see each other, and she rarely reunites with him in any other way than this. He hasn’t been told that she’s coming, because then he would be on his guard, and he would accuse her of not giving him a true challenge. She silently searches their home, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword.

When she finds him, she wastes no time, drawing her blade and charging at him. Felix is rarely unarmed, and even taking him by surprise does not give her much of an advantage. They clash swords for only a few minutes, evenly matched now- somehow, his schedule allows for more training than hers- but then he manages to disarm her, and with his blade to her throat, he finally allows himself to smile and say, “Welcome back.”

“You’ve gotten better,” she says, in between breaths.

“You say that every time,” he replies. “You don’t have to sound like such a teacher all the time.”

“Old habits.”

“You said that every time too,” says Felix, letting his blade fall to the floor with a clatter. Closing what little distance remains between them, he pulls Byleth into a kiss, and she wraps her arms around him as she returns it.

They’ve only been apart for a few weeks, but that much time apart is agony when it comes to the sleepless nights spent alone. She’s been waiting for this moment with just as much excitement as their confrontation- in fact, she would say that this is the necessary conclusion, or that crossing blades is simply a form of foreplay for them. Fortunately, they’re alone right now, so they don’t have to hide their passion and make their excuses, and he can have his way with her here and now.

Felix fucks her against walls more often than he does in their own bed, but he’s always been impatient, and she doubts that will ever change. He tears at her clothes, more familiar with them than he used to be, stripping her from the waist down rather quickly. Byleth is not quite as quick about undressing him, and she wonders if he takes pride in beating her in this as well, as he swats her hand away and does it himself.

“You weren’t going easy on me, were you?” he asks, pressing her against the wall and putting a hand between her thighs. She can’t count on both hands how many times he asks that after he bests her at sparring. It’s flattering, in a way, that he still thinks so highly of her that he sees her as a nearly untouchable goal, but the truth of the matter is, he’s put in the hard work necessary to be her rival and equal. Felix is no longer her student, not just because he’s become her husband, but because she doesn't feel he has much left to learn from her.

“I told you last time, and a few times before that,” she manages to say between breaths, “that you’re never going to believe me either way.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll always think what I want to,” he mutters, resting his face against her shoulder and nipping at her skin. Byleth inhales the familiar scent of his hair, and is once again so glad to finally be home.

Felix isn’t able to keep this up for long before his impatience overtakes him, and he shifts their positions, pushing Byleth up so that he can line up with her. She wraps her legs around him as he shifts her weight against the wall, and with a rough thrust, he pushes up into her with a grunt. He only gives her a moment to adjust before he falls into a rhythm, pushing her up and down against the wall as he thrusts.

“You shouldn’t stay away for so long,” he mumbles, when he’s regained his composure enough to speak.

“You should visit me more,” she replies, breathless.

“Easy for you to say...I do have some business to attend to here.”

They bicker between moans, and all the while, Felix never lets up. Even with the energy he expended sparring with her, he shows no sign of exhaustion. Byleth had felt a little tired from traveling, but as soon as she had drawn her sword, she’d forgotten that. Now, she can’t imagine sleeping any time soon.

Soon, they aren’t able to keep up playful arguments, and Felix loses his rhythm, becoming more and more erratic as he grows close. He tenses, resisting as he tries to outlast her, but he is rarely able to beat her at this. No matter how much he can train in other regards, this is one thing that she almost always surpasses him at. His endurance is simply not at her level, and the more he fights, the more obvious it becomes that his fight is in vain.

With one last, needy moan, he loses. Byleth clings to him as he comes, and his legs weaken, but he remains stable even so. While he is recovering, before he can pull out of her, she arches her back as she comes, crying his name with her head tilted back. She didn’t beat him by much, but he will take any loss as a loss, and see it as a reason to work towards improvement, though this isn’t something he can train on his own so easily.

Slowly, he pulls out and sets her down, and Byleth leans back against the wall to catch her breath for a minute. Felix smirks and says, “You’re not already tiring out on me, are you?”

“Not a chance,” she replies. “Just catching my breath. Still...why don’t we take this somewhere more comfortable? I’ve been traveling all day.”

“Of course.” They both straighten their clothes, before Felix picks Byleth up, putting her over his shoulder. Though she protests from the start, he ignores her, carrying her all the way to their bedroom and laying her down. She sits up, and this time, she is able to undress for good, with Felix doing the same before joining her in bed.

“I did think of a solution to you being so busy here,” she says. “But it would take so long it might not be worth it.”

“Hm? What do you mean?” he asks, searching her face when she doesn’t answer. He contemplates this for a moment before realization dawns on him and he sneers. “You mean an heir, don’t you? You silly woman…”

“Like I said, it might not be worth it.”

“Did I say that? It’ll definitely take too long, but...that just means we need to get started as soon as possible,” he replies, blushing as he looks off to the side.

“So, right away, then?” she teases.

“Yeah, that’s what I meant...besides, it’ll give me another chance tonight. I’ll win this time for sure.” 

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