Fandom: Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Pairing: M!Claudeleth (Claude / Male Byleth)
Rating: Explicit
Summary: Claude thought he had a good grasp on the meaning of life. It was merely a game of survival; you start from nothing and build yourself up until you have a home, a family, and all the riches a man could ask for. At least... that's what his dreams seemed to have hinted at. A life he seemed to have known so well danced at the tips of his fingers, close enough to touch but still too far to grab. But every morning he would wake up to the same four walls, that version of his life left behind to his dreams until he saw the man that haunted those vision standing right before him. Now Claude is forced to confront his dreams and this man to figure out what exactly fate has in store for him.
The ocean was as deep as it was vast. It held many creatures, many different types of fish, sharks, dolphins, and creatures no one has ever seen. However, there was one such creature that sailors and fishermen were said to have seen, but remains elusive, merfolk. No one has ever been able to catch one to prove one another wrong. Not until recently anyways.
Claude swam through the deep seas, communicating with all sea life. Being their prince, he made it a point to talk to everyone he could. Even though he talked to everyone, the one creature he was never allowed to talk to were humans. They always intrigued him, especially one human that he saw. Claude always saw him sitting on a pier, or sitting in sand on the beach. This man always had a fishing pole with him and he always looked so serene. Sometimes he was with someone, sometimes he wasn’t. The man fished at the same time everyday. It was odd to Claude, but it was interesting to him at the same time.
On one particular day, Claude swam until he saw the pier, where the man was in one of his usual spots by himself. Every time the man fished, he wouldn’t get much. Just some small fry fish that probably won’t last him, and his family, very long
It gave Claude an idea. He dove back into the ocean, finding, and catching, any big fish that he could. When he went over to the pier, he placed the fish on the hook, smiling as the line disappeared. He continuously gave him fish until he had enough chasing them. He bobbed part of his face over the water to see the man’s reaction. Claude became confused, because his expression hadn’t changed. Was it the fish that he caught and gave away? Or was it something else. The human he had focused his attention on perplexed him. He was so odd, he only interested him more.
The next day, Claude saw the man again, only with someone else this time. He did the same thing as the day before. The only difference between the two days was that the older man was happy with the bounty. Why was the one man he was interested in so indifferent and the older man with him so excited about it? Claude wanted to know why the man was acting like this deep down in his bones, but the repeating words of his parents echoed in his mind to never talk to humans.
He shook his head, he didn’t care, he was going to talk to him the next time he was alone on the beach. The day the fisherman was alone, a grin swept across Claude’s face. He swam close to the shore, letting part of his face appear over the water. At first, the man didn’t realize; he only noticed Claude when he tugged at the fishing line.
“Hello,” Claude said, swimming closer to him.
“Hello,” the man said, calmly.
“What’s your name,” Claude asked, tilting his head.
“Byleth,” he responded, reaching his hand out.
Claude shook his head. “Why are you here everyday?”
“Because it’s nice,” Byleth said, reeling his line back in. He placed down his fishing pole next to him, stopping his fishing for the day. “What’s your name?”
“Claude,” he smiled.
“What a nice name,” Byleth said, nonchalantly.
“Thank you, my parents gave it to me,” Claude chuckled. He looked at Byleth with confusion. His expression had changed.
Byleth gave him the same expression. “What is it?”
“You seem sad,” Claude replied. “Is everything alright?”
Byleth sighed.
“Is it the older man that’s always with you,” Claude asked, swimming back and forth.
“Oh, hmm,” Byleth paused. He let out a little sigh before speaking again. “He is my father.”
Claude became confused. He swam closer to him, reaching out his webbed hand out towards him. “Did something happen to him?”
Byleth moved his face away from him.
Claude retracted his hand quickly back into the water, swimming backwards.
“Sorry,” Byleth sniffed. “Touch isn’t my strong suit right now.”
Claude let out a little sigh as he backed away from him.
“My father passed away,” Byleth said, trying to hold back tears. He wiped off the tears that still fell from his eyes.
Seeing the man cry, Claude felt sad. He swam back into the ocean, looking deep into the vast waters, searching for something. He searched and searched until he found one thing that might pique Byleth’s interest. When he swam back to shore, he saw him clutching onto his fishing pole.
“Here,” Claude said, holding out his hand. “For you.”
Byleth dropped the pole, rushing over to the fish, placing it in his bucket full of water. “Wh-What kind of fish is this? I’ve never seen it before.”
“It’s called a Leafy Sea Dragon,” Claude replied, faintly smiling.
“I will cherish it,” Byleth smiled.
Claude looked around, seeing the setting sun.
“Is something wrong,” Byleth asked, wiping the tears off his face.
“I have to go, before I get in trouble,” Claude huffed. “I will be back tomorrow.”
Byleth reached out to him as Claude swam away, seeing his tail.
Swimming up to the beach the next day, Claude saw Byleth, giving him a big smile. He held out his hand, handing him a seashell. “When I was younger, my parents would find abandoned shells and give them to me to make me feel better.”
Byleth smiled as he took the seashell. He held it close to his ear, hearing the wispy wind that flowed through it. “My father did the same.”
“What are you doing,” Claude asked, titling his head.
“Hearing the wind in the shell,” he replied, holding it out to him. “It sounds like the ocean is with you wherever you go.”
“For you that’s more than true,” Claude chuckled, taking the shell from him.
Byleth laughed a little harder than he should when he saw Claude’s face.
“It really does sound like the wind!” He said in shock, giving Byleth back the shell.
Byleth smiled, holding the item close to his chest. He let out a sorrowful sigh, remembering that his father won’t be around anymore.
“Are you okay,” Claude asked, swimming closer, making his way to the sand.
“Wait, don’t!” Byleth said, bruskly. “Don’t let yourself be seen, you’ll get hurt.”
Claude nodded, moving his way back into the ocean.
Byleth took off his boots before walking into the water.
“Anyway, are you okay,” Claude said smiling as he re-asked the question.
“I, I don’t know,” he sniffed, feeling tears roll down his face.
Byleth sat in the shallow part of the waters, Claude swam closer to him, sitting between his legs. “It’s going to be alright,” he reassured him, wrapping his arms around Byleth’s neck.
“Thank you,” Byleth sighed, moving Claude to his side.
“Hey, Byleth,” Claude asked as he turned to face the ocean.
“Hm,” he hummed.
“Do you want me to take your mind off of everything,” Claude smiled.
“Yes, please,” Byleth said.
“How well can humans see underwater?” He asked, swimming into the ocean.
“Not very well, it’s all blurry,” he replied, following him. “We also can’t hold our breaths underwater very long either.”
“Well, we won’t go very deep into the ocean or stay down there for very long,” Claude chuckled.
Claude took his hands, jerking him into the water. As Byleth dove beneath the waters, he held his breath, moving his body around until he saw a giant blue glowing light.
“Over there is my home! That’s where a lot of merfolk live,” Claude said, pointing into the direction of the light. “One day-” He was cut off when Byleth started to gasp for air. He laughed some more when Byleth moved his head above the water. “Heheh, you weren’t kidding when you said humans can’t hold their breaths.”
“Glurbel gurlble, bleh,” Byleth coughed hardly. “Some, gurlble, gurlble, some people are better than others.”
“Hehe, you’re a fisherman, you should be well equipped,” Claude said, pulling him closer to the shore.
“I have never actually been on a boat before,” Byleth replied, feeling the after effects of his coughing.
“Hehehe, that is so weird,” Claude laughed. “A fisherman that never goes out to sea on a boat to fish.”
“My father never took me on one and I never had any care to be on one.” Byleth moved his body, scooting his way back to the water. “He never took me because he was fishing one day, and when he came back home, my mother had died.”
Claude felt his heart sink. He never lost his parents, both were alive and well. He couldn’t imagine how it would feel to lose not one, but two parents. “By, I’m...I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright, my mother died shortly after I was born. I have no real memories of her,” Byleth said, softly, reassuring him. “By the way, what were you saying? When we were underwater,” he added, trying to change the subject.
“Oh! That!” Claude smiled as he looked around the area. With the sun setting, there were less and less people. When he thought he was in the clear, he placed his head on Byleth’s chest. “One day, I want to be able to show you my home!”
Byleth sighed. As much as that sounds nice, to escape the pain and the sorrow, it wouldn’t last long. “How would that work if I can’t breathe in water?”
“Hm,” Claude said, sitting up and placing his hand on his face. “There is one way! I can give you a kiss and you can turn into a merman!”
Byleth stayed silent. His offer was very tempting.
“The only problem with it is you will be a merman for the rest of your life.”
He was not helping his case.
“I don’t know. I have a few friends here that I don’t want to leave.” Byleth looked at the darkening sky. The stars were slowly starting to appear.
“I know the feeling. My mother told me of a story of a mermaid that met a sailor fishing on his boat and how hard it was to leave,” Claude started. He laid on his back, enjoying the star gazing. “The two fell in love and the woman told her friends. She also told them that she didn’t want to leave them since she was so close to them.” He looked over to Byleth and smiled, the story having piqued his interest. “But mermaid and sailor’s love was forbidden. They weren’t supposed to interact with each other because of a war that had been waged between each other.”
Byleth started to laugh as he positioned himself to face Claude. “How is that even possible? Both humans and merfolk would be at a disadvantage.”
“Heheh, I know. It’s a bit more complicated when you get down to the nitty gritty of it,” Claude smiled, facing him as well. “Anyway, the royal family wasn’t pleased with it. She pleaded her case again and again, since they were the only ones who can change merfolk to humans and humans into merfolk. Eventually the royal family caved in. They gave her the wish she desired and she became a human. She lived happily with the sailor she fell in love with. She felt a hole in her stomach as she left her friends, but knowing that she would make new friends, the hole didn’t last very long.”
“What a wonderful story,” Byleth smiled. “Do you think it would be the same for us?”
“Only if you allow it,” Claude responded, moving closer to him.
“Do you know whatever happened to the woman?”
“Ah, I think my parents told me that she died sometime after she became a human,” Claude sighed. “They never specified when or how.”
Byleth felt a pit in his stomach. He looked around, hearing some footsteps.
“By,” Claude softly said. “Are you okay?”
“I-I’m fine,” he sighed. “I have to go.”
Claude nodded as he watched Byleth leave.
The next coming days, Claude would talk to him, asking him many questions about his life, and Byleth would do the same to him. He would come back time and time again, to talk to him and to watch him. There were days where he wouldn’t show up, and Claude would just shake it off. It was just him trying to deal with his father’s death and him having to bury him. After a while, however, he became more and more concerned when Byleth wouldn’t show up, though he made sure to show up every day on the off chance he wanted to talk.
From afar, he would watch Byleth when he couldn’t talk to him. He would watch him talk to a few other people. From what he saw, it would be the same fisherman, or sailors. It always ended up with everyone yelling at each other. Were these the people that Byleth said were his friends?
Claude swam up to the shore, letting part of his face bob over the water, waiting for everyone to leave.
“Claude,” Byleth said, rushing into the ocean.
“Hm,” he asked, swimming towards him.
“We can’t meet anymore,” Byleth told him, clutching him close to his body.
“What, what do you mean,” Claude asked, moving his head out of his grip.
“They are out for you,” he started, catching his breath. “Those people you saw me yell at, they are out for you. They are going to hunt you and kill you!”
Claude held onto Byleth’s body tightly. “That can’t be true!”
“It is, and, and I’m sorry…” Byleth released his grip on Claude’s body, slowly backing away from him.
Claude could hear the twinge of sorrow coming out of his mouth. “What? Where are you going?”
“The sailors,” he said, tears flowing down his cheeks. “They are getting suspicious of us and trying to make me hunt with them. They want me to lead them to your friends...your family. Please...Please don’t come back here.”
Claude watched Byleth leave the ocean, walking back to the city.
Claude came back to the shore every day after the conversation. Byleth was nowhere to be found. He could feel his heart breaking into a million pieces. He didn’t want to believe what Byleth said was true.
He didn’t believe it until he came back to the shore one evening. Claude watched as the sailors forcefully carried Byleth onto the boat. When the boat left the harbor, he followed it from afar, not losing sight of them. As they kept floating, Claude noticed a big storm brewing. He swam as fast as he could, weaving through the waves. He saw Byleth being led to a part of the boat where there was a plank that they surely would throw him off the boat.
His eyes became wide as he started to swim faster, being thrusted around by the waves. His heart sank as soon as Byleth was thrown into the stormy waters. Claude dove into the ocean, quickly rushing over to him. He did everything he could to wake him up, to see him gasp for air, but nothing was working.
In a last ditch effort, Claude pressed his lips against Byleth’s. After a few seconds of nothing, Claude felt his heart seep into his stomach. As his eyes fell down to Byleth, Claude could see the seashell he gave clutched in his hand.
With a green glow, Claude could see Byleth’s body changing. His skin was becoming scales, his hands were becoming webbed, his legs were becoming a tail. When his eyes opened, Claude clutched onto his body, swimming in a circle.
“By! You are alright,” Claude sighed in relief.
“How, how am I breathing,” Byleth asked, looking at his hands. “I’m, how?”
Claude smiled at him with more of his scales falling off.
“You are...royalty,” Byleth softly asked in shock.
Claude nodded as he took Byleth’s hand. “My parents won’t be pleased, but I’m happy to see you alive.”
“Me too. I’m also happy I finally get to see your home,” Byleth said, placing his forehead against his, and taking his other hand.
“Yes, let’s go,” Claude said, leading the way.
Byleth took one last look in the direction of his home. He looked at his hand, smiling as he looked at the seashell. He could only hope that his friends, and his Leafy Sea Dragon, would do okay without him as he followed Claude to his new home.
“By the way, are you going to be okay without your pet fish,” Claude asked, looking back at Byleth.
“Yes,” he sighed. “They are in good hands with one of my close friends.”
sdfgadsjk;gkljdslafk my second piece I wrote for the Claudeleth Zine I modded and participated in. While coming up with ideas for an AU, I couldn't just pick one, I had to do this one too. Even if there was someone else doing a mermaid au.
Again, this fic was beta read by the lovely Blahzor.
You mean to tell me that Yuri, a male who openly flirts with M!Byleth throughout the side and main story, has an S-Support option, but Claude, another male who openly flirts with M!Byleth and constantly tells you how much you mean to him, is only able to S-Support F!Byleth? And Dimitri, who was saved by both M! and F!Byleth from his trauma, who also has a shit ton of romantic subtext in his dialogue throughout the story, is only able to S-Support F!Byleth? What kinda fuckery is this? Also can y’all stop sleeping on M!Claudeleth and M!Dimileth?
