Chapter 0 - guidance

Hand in hand, they leave together; it just comes naturally. Perhaps it has been a long time coming, perhaps she has only resisted because it never seemed like the right time. But now, no time could be better. Dimitri needs her, as he puts on a brave face for everyone, and they set forth on the long road to rebuilding, and reclaiming what was lost.

Byleth has always planned to support him in whatever way he may need,at first taking responsibility for him as his teacher, then caring for him as his friend, but now...this has been a long time coming, but now Dimitri, who has lost and gained so much, is ready to reciprocate.

He asks her to stay close to him that night, when all of the celebration has begun to wind down and he can finally be alone. Confessing that he doesn’t want to be completely alone right now, he asks her to stay with him for just a little while longer. She takes his hand again, and he smiles at her; she hopes that he will be able to keep smiling from now on.

She could never get tired of looking at his smile.

“Byleth,” he says, when they are alone. Not professor anymore. He’s calling her by name and she likes how it sounds when he says it. “I’ll never be able to thank you enough for…” He trails off, unsure of where to start, but she understands.

“You don’t have to thank me. I did everything because I wanted to, because…”

“I know. Because I was your student once, and because we’re friends. Even so, I want to thank you. You went above and beyond what a friend should do,” Dimitri replies.

“It isn’t just that,” she says. “It isn’t just because you were my student.”

And just like that, it’s out in the air. Just like that, their relationship shifts so naturally that she knows then that it was bound to happen. She kisses him, or he kisses her, and then they can’t stop, with her arms around his shoulders and his fingers tangled in her hair. His armor was removed not long after the battle, and she had put on a plain shirt around that time as well, so there is hardly anything separating their bodies, and nothing to prevent them from feeling the heat from one another.

Intimacy was a foreign concept to Byleth for most of her life, but she was never immune to loneliness, even if it was easier to swallow in the past. Growing close to Dimitri has made it impossible to ignore, until her need to be close to someone, to be close to him was always present in the back of her mind. Tonight, she is starving for him, and she never wants to let go of him again.

It slowly becomes clear that Dimitri feels the same way, and as each kiss ends, another begins, more hungry than the last, until she finds herself on her back, on his bed, with Dimitri on top of her. Without any more experience than he has, it’s difficult to guide him through this, but she manages, the two of them figuring their way through this together.

They struggle as they hastily try to undress one another before settling on each undressing themselves, and then she guides his hands over her body, with Dimitri paying close attention, as if this were another lesson.

He’s nervous, that much is apparent, and so Byleth is as detailed in her “lesson” as she can be, hoping to reassure him. No words are spoken, however; everything is purely physical. How long has he wanted this? How long has she? It’s hard to tell, and with all that has transpired between the two of them, it only grows more complicated to track when and how their relationship has shifted.

Dimitri touches her wherever she directs him, in whatever way she wants, and he picks up on it quickly, though there is hesitation in everything that he does. She has sensed hesitation from him from the beginning, and she knows where it stems from, and that is why she does all she can to help him along. No matter what, she wants him to know that he has nothing to fear with her.

She touches him a bit too, though he doesn’t guide her through that, allowing her to figure it out, but he has obvious tells that make her task a simple one, until he is breathless and finally speaking, suggesting that it might be time they move forward. She agrees with him, but again, he hesitates.

“But I…” he starts, and pauses before starting again. “I don’t want to do anything that might hurt you.”

“You’re not going to hurt me,” she assures him.
“How do you know that? I’ve never-”

Byleth gives him a quick kiss to interrupt him. “It’s going to be just fine.”

He still looks as though he wants to hesitate, but he trusts her enough to put his worries aside. Shifting their positions, he presses against her, and she looks up at him, meeting his gaze as he bites his lip. She gives him another nod of encouragement, and finally, he pushes forward, with a slow, cautious thrust. Dimitri softly groans, struggling to hold back, but again, he has Byleth there to guide him through it.

He doesn’t hurt her, not with her guidance and his caution, but it isn’t long before he doesn’t have to worry, and doesn’t have to let his caution dictate his every movement. It isn’t long before he can lose himself in it, finding a rhythm in his thrusts that Byleth matches, rocking her hips against his, drawing out more and more moans from Dimitri. She’s never seen such expressions on his face before, and she is glad to have this side of him all to herself.

“I-I love you,” he says, his voice nearly cracking as he does. It occurs to her then that they never actually said it, but she’s known, perhaps for longer than even today.

“I love you too,” she replies, her voice nearly a whisper, and Dimitri gives her a warm smile before his face suddenly contorts, and any attempts to fight against his pleasure fail him. He comes with a low moan, going weak for a moment, but Byleth is able to support him as he catches his breath, steadily recovering.

She holds him close then, gentle and assuring, and he mumbles an apology, saying, “I don’t think I did enough for you, did I? We can...I can...if you just give me a minute, I can…”

“You don’t have anything to worry about,” she murmurs, not minding if this is where they stop for the time being. In truth, she is happy just to be able to be close to him like this, in the moment. Whatever the future brings, they’ll face when the time comes.

“I insist,” he replies, embracing her and pulling her close. “Just let me hold you for a little while, and then...once I’ve rested a little bit, I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

And, despite her insisting that that isn’t necessary, he certainly does. 

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