Not This Time

Forgiveness

Days passed, and Claude hadn't come to visit Byleth once.

Byleth couldn't help but admit that she was disheartened by this fact. The aching in her chest grew stronger every day, with no sign of those painful sparks. Yet, Byleth kind of...missed those.

Sure, they were painful...but it was something. Something besides the constant ache in her chest. Byleth had gotten closer to Edelgard, mostly to fill her free time now that Claude wasn't here to seek her out. Edelgard's presence dulled the ache, and Byleth was grateful for that.

But it had never disappeared completely. And despite Sothis's insistence, Byleth found herself missing Claude's presence.

How was that possible? Byleth didn't know. After all, Claude was a menace; he had bothered her and made her rightfully angry. Yet, Byleth somehow missed that. At least she could feel emotion when he did that.

Without him, everything was just...null.

So Byleth sat glumly in her Black Eagles classroom. Sure, she could go visit him, but her pride wouldn't let her do that. After all, he was the one who had been fake to her this whole time. Why should she have to patch that up? Byleth should just let him go. Accept that he wouldn't change from his scheming ways.

But Byleth didn't want to.

A knock on the door resounded, and Byleth could only hope that it was who she thought it was.

You certainly are acting so strange, Sothis mused quietly. I don't understand you at all for once!

Much to her disappointment, Monica walked inside instead. She was accompanied by Edelgard and Hubert, of course. Edelgard and Hubert stood at the door, pensively gazing outside. Byleth didn't really like Monica; she just seemed suspicious. But Edelgard trusted Monica, so Byleth couldn't really protest.

"Hi, Professor!" Monica said cheerfully, an upbeat smile on her face. Byleth sort of felt as if it held the same amount of insincerity as Claude's smile, but she figured it was a figment of her imagination. "I was just wondering, what sort of weapon do you think I should use?"

"Well, I don't know. I'd have to see you train," Byleth said matter-of-factly, raising her brow at the slightly stupid question. "I need to know what you excel in."

Monica nodded, going off into another tangent. Behind her, Byleth could hear Edelgard's irritated tone. Byleth tuned Monica out, trying to listen to what Edelgard was saying.

"I don't think...wishes to see...right now," Edelgard folded her arms, a cross look on her features. "She's...busy..."

"Sorry...you don't speak for...Teach."

Byleth watched as the Golden Deer house leader pushed past Edelgard and Hubert. Claude's shining emerald eyes landed on Byleth, lighting up as he saw her, and he walked closer. Monica placed her hands on her hips indignantly.

"Excuse me-"

"Sorry," Claude interjected, an awkward expression on his face. His insincere smile was gone, replaced with a guilty frown. "This is important."

"My teacher, I tried to stop him," Edelgard rolled her eyes, irritated with Claude's presence. She didn't want him anywhere near her; especially because of her theory about Claude hurting her professor. "My apologies. Claude, just go."

"It's important," Claude repeated again, not giving so much of a glance over to Edelgard. His gaze remained fixed on Byleth, and for some reason, she felt a small, pleasant shiver run down her spine.

Byleth didn't really know what to do. She paused, before raising her hand slightly. "Okay. I'm sorry, Edelgard, Monica, Hubert. Could we continue this another time?"

"My teacher, you can't be serious-"

"Please," Byleth requested, and Edelgard sighed loudly. She eyed Claude carefully with her suspicious lavender irises before turning away.

"Alright. You two, let's go."

The two followed her obediently, like servile dogs following their owner. Now that they were gone, Byleth looked back to Claude. He was on the other side of her desk. Byleth felt uncomfortable sitting and looking up at him, so she stood, walking over so they were facing each other.

"Teach...I think you deserve the truth," Claude told her, and Byleth watched as he pulled an arrow from his uniform and began to twirl it. "...You were right. I was interested in you because of your power. I was just trying to get on your good side, in hopes that you'd change houses..."

There it was. His confession. Byleth already knew this, but hearing it aloud just made it worse. She felt the ache in her chest swell to the point where Byleth felt she couldn't breath.

"...But you're also wrong," Claude said softly, and Byleth raised her eyes to meet his. His eyes were genuine and warm, a far cry from their usual insincere normalcy. "...I do care about your emotions. I do care about you, Teach. I'll admit, that wasn't part of the plan...but it's the truth. The honest truth."

Byleth remained quiet, feeling the ache in her chest slowly shrink. Claude placed the arrow back in his quiver, giving Byleth his full attention.

"I know, I always seem like I'm lying..." Claude sighed, irritated with his own lack of credibility. "But I promise. Once I distanced myself, I realized..well...how much I missed you. How much I want to see you happy, to finally feel something. I've never...felt this way about anyone before."

"Me neither," Byleth replied softly, not noticing the salient lack of pain in her chest. She knew he was being honest. Why? His eyes were...genuine. Not calculating with that insincere smirk. "..I missed you coming to bother me."

"Bother you?" Claude chuckled slightly at this, running a hand through his dark, chocolatey locks. "I'd call it...gracing you with my presence."

"Sure," Byleth shrugged, feeling her lip twitch. What the hell? Claude reached forward, delicately taking her hand. A spark flew into her chest, but Byleth couldn't even be phased anymore. It felt...good compared to the previous ache.

His thumb rubbed over her palm before he intertwined their fingers together. The sparks kept growing stronger, especially as Claude gazed into her eyes, a strange look in his irises. Byleth felt warmth rise from her chest, heating up her entire body. Her lip twitched again as he squeezed her hand.

"I'm sorry for everything, Teach," Claude said softly, and Byleth suddenly noticed how good-looking the boy was in front of her. His genuine emerald eyes shone against his darker skin, and Byleth noted his wild, untamed hair that suited him perfectly. "I care about you...in ways I shouldn't," Claude paused in surprise at his own words, but continued on when Byleth didn't react. "...do you forgive me, Teach?"

The sparks in her chest continued to swell. She continued to gaze at him, unable to control herself. For the first time in her life, she felt her mouth move into a wide smile.

"Yes, Claude. I forgive you."