preynot·:
claudeâs a perceptive guy. he kind of assumes most of the people around him are as wellâ itâs hard not to when you grow up in that kind of environment, with a million eyes scrutinizing your every move at every given moment in time. heâd rather overestimate than underestimate peopleâ heâd rather assume byleth noticed than not.
and, well. goddamnit.
because all that regardless, claudeâs still gonna ignore it. because he may be perceptive, but he doesnât have the guts to just out and confront his feelings like that when it took months to get byleth to even go on a date with him.
naturally, his feelings disappear from his throat and back into the bottom of his stomach the second he takes note of bylethâs face at the festival, though. claude admittedly doesnât know as much as heâd like about bylethâ only little tidbits and details here and there, admissions from the boy himself. the rest were simply things claude had inferred from the months of spending time with byleth, and his preference for quiet and solitary places was⊠definitely one of those things, now that he thought about it.
maybe this wasnât the best idea. good job, claude.
byleth seems determined to give a shot though, and claudeâs never been a coward; so he swallows his fears and gives his best award-winning smile. âdo you have anything you want to try? thereâs plenty of options.â there was dozens of options to choose from, from crepes, to kebabs, to turkey legs, to gyros, and even a bustling ramen stall down the way.
whichever byleth chooses, claude guides him over gently, careful to direct him away from the worst of the⊠excitement. âyou really havenât been to many festivals or anything like that, then?â he asks while they stand in line, making small talk.
of course not. normally claudeâs brain works better than this, but itâs short-circuiting a little with the close proximity.
it seemed claude had picked up on his discomfort; unfortunate but unavoidable. at least he wasnât insisting they leave either, and byleth silently followed his nose, the familiar presence of claude staying close and comforting in all the hubbub. the stall they found themselves at boasted savory crepes, and with the sign in front of him byleth was able to identify cooked mushrooms as the source of the scent.
at first he only shook his head at claudeâs question, but after a beat, he realized a better answer was probably warranted. claude had indulged his questions, after all, and it wasnât as if byleth had anything to hide.
âbefore i came to this school, i hadnât been.. anywhere. iâm very thankful for the opportunity to see beyond the churchâs walls, but i donât even know what all i donât know, the world is so much larger than i can fathom... and everything moves so quickly.â years, decades, he had spent in the same unchanging halls. even that someone could finish an education in just four years felt alien to him, when he saw students graduating he had to wonder if they had truly learned anything in such a short time.
âitâs.. iâm very curious, but thereâs so much to see before i go home, i worry iâll miss...â he trailed off, uncertain of what he was getting at himself. â..something important, i suppose.â














