FIC: Retrieval [Fire Emblem: Three Houses – Bernadetta / Byleth (F) (Mature)]

[gershom_onyx]

Title: Retrieval @ AO3
Fandom: Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Pairing: Bernadetta / Byleth (F)
Rating: Mature
Prompt: 267 – Dare
Word Count: 920
Summary: Bernadetta and Byleth reconnect over a memory of a prank Bernadetta almost pulled.

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Note: Set after the events of the Crimson Flower route.

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Byleth returned to her chambers to find a humming Bernadetta sitting on her bed, stitching up a black half-cape that had once belonged to Byleth in her former role as a teacher at the Academy, five years in the past.

"Revisiting the scene of a crime?" Byleth asked, her face neutral.

"The scene of a dare," Bernadetta amended, finishing up her repairs. "I told you before, and I stand by it to this day: Hubert put me up to it." She grimaced, folding her hands in her lap. "And I did say I was sorry."

"I'm not judging you, Bernie," Byleth said, sitting down next to her. "I'm not angry. I think it's funny, these days." She took two fingers and pushed up the corners of her mouth, forming the mockery of a smile. "See?"

Bernadetta shuddered. "It's creepy when you do that." A long sigh. "And, anyway, it wasn't a success. I had to steal a pair of your –" She coughed to avoid saying it. "– and bring them back to show him what color they were. It was the kind of thing Sylvain would have had me do if he'd been in our House." She blushed. "You came back too soon for me to do it."

"In fairness, stealth's never been your strong point." She looked down at the half-cape. "You're better at making things. Thank you for that."

"Eh, you're welcome. I couldn't leave it like that, you know – big tear in it and everything." Bernadetta half-smiled. "You've never been good at taking care of your things. Sure, you'll organize 'em, fold 'em up, keep 'em all together, but you'd let 'em fall apart while you're still wearing them." She looked at Byleth, shaking her head. "You're not a mercenary any more."

"There are some parts of that I'll never shake," Byleth admitted. She smiled – not a mockery, this time. "You'll just have to get used to it."

Bernadetta took her by the hand. "Oh, stop it. No matter how many times you tell me that you haven't changed, I'll never believe you. You've changed more than any of us." She reached up to pat Byleth on the cheek, smooth her hair. "Except your heart, but Edelgard says that even that is different now. You know what I mean. Your soul, maybe. Something like that."

"They're black, by the way." Her face had gone neutral again.

"Black? What're you talking about? You mean –" She rolled her eyes. "– right. Very funny. Of course they'd match the rest of your outfit, even if Ferdinand was dead certain they were white." That made Byleth raise a brow. "Come on. You know that he's in on it if Hubert's involved."

A moment of silence before Byleth said, "You all have changed, too, but –" She squeezed the hand that Bernadetta had offered her. "– you're all still the same in the important ways, I think. Especially you. Your soul." Another genuine smile. "Your tiny soul that likes to hide all the time."

"Don't ... tease me." Bernadetta tilted her head back, and Byleth kissed her – a kiss that lasted a little while. "You're way too good at that."

"Hmm? Well, that's your fault. You've given me too many opportunities to practice since I came back." She reached up, tempted to muss her hair, decided instead to pat her on the head. "I've glad you've gotten so much taller in the past five years, though. Makes it really easy to kiss you."

"What? You don't miss having a Bernie small enough to tuck into your pocket?" Bernadetta blushed, averted her eyes. "Dorothea used to joke about that – about the big, strong mercenary just picking me up and toting me around like a pet bunny or something." She wrinkled her nose. "But I'm actually taller than you now. Not strong enough to pick you up, though."

"The woes of all these muscles," Byleth joked. "So heavy."

"It's not your muscles that are heavy." The prompted Byleth to make a face of exaggerated disgust. "I don't know how you lug those ... things around!"

"They have gravity. It's what draws all of you to me." Perfect deadpan.

"Stop." Bernadetta shook her head again. "It's still weird to hear you crack jokes." Another smile. "That being said, I really have missed you. As if, you know, me running up and hugging you as soon as I saw you again didn't give you a clue. I don't usually ... do that, you know. Personal space."

"I understand." Another moment of silence. "It's getting late. You can stay if you want." A gleam in her eyes. "You can even be the little spoon."

Bernadetta skipped directly from blushing to turning as red as the flag of the Empire. "Don't just come out and say it, Professor! I mean, really!"

"You're allowed to call me by my name, Bernie."

"I feel like, if I do that, it'll –" Bernadetta took a deep breath. "– it'll sound so strange to actually say it, like something'll happen, a curse or something."

"You might be cursed to spend more time with me. That's all." The gleam in her eyes turned seductive. "Try saying it, Bernadetta. I dare you."

"Dares never end well," she murmured as Byleth kissed her on the neck. "B-But this one, maybe, I'll accept." She sighed. "... B-Byleth."

"There. That wasn't so hard." Byleth knocked the stiched-up half-cape to the floor, and it lay there, all but forgotten, for the rest of the evening.

END.