When everyone left and the Eisner bar opened, Byleth, Claude, and Jeralt worked at the bar together.
"You know, you can go home," Jeralt said from
where he was washing the dishes. Luckily, the bar wasn't too busy; probably because it was a Wednesday. "...Claude. You don't need the money, why are you here?"
"I know," Claude shrugged, mixing up the drink someone had ordered. His smile was soft, a little forced, but still there. He looked worn out and tired, but at the very least, he was still smiling. "But I like it here. I'm going to miss it."
"Well, it'll miss you too," Byleth brushed her hands off before walking over to Claude. She intertwined their fingers, making a tingly feeling ride all the way through her body. She couldn't believe that he had started working more than half a year ago, and now, he was done. It had felt like an eternity that they had been together, and Byleth couldn't have been happier. Literally. "But you have grander things to do. We understand."
"I know...but this is definitely the best job."
"I already like you, Claude, you don't need to keep up with false compliments," Jeralt chuckled as he dried his hands. "I'm sure singing has to be more fun than this, and the power you get at Leicester is surely unmatched."
"True, but I met the best people here," Claude said sincerely as he squeezed Byleth's hand. "Don't tell El and Dimi that, though."
"...Definitely have no plans of doing that," Jeralt said gruffly, but his voice was chiseled with amusement. He pat Claude's back twice. "Come back anytime you want. You're always welcome."
"I know."
"Ah! We're not too late, are we?"
Leonie and Shamir walked through the door, much to Claude's surprise. He tilted his head quizzically.
"What are you guys doing today? You don't even have work."
"Yeah, but Byleth told us this was your last official day," Shamir folded her arms. "You weren't even going to say goodbye?"
"I...didn't want to make it awkward. I hate goodbyes," Claude shrugged apologetically. "Sorry. Thanks for coming."
"Of course! We'll miss you around here. I don't know who Captain Jeralt will hire now..." Leonie pondered. "Hopefully not that guy with the mask. He was...weird."
"You really have to talk about a new hire right in front of Claude's face?" Shamir just scowled before her eyes began to wander. For the first time, she actually glanced around the rest of the bar; and her eyes fell upon a tanned female with blonde hair chatting away with the brunette Alois. "...Who's that?"
"One of my bodyguards, Catherine," Claude explained. Shamir feigned disinterest, but Claude saw the slight hint of curiosity in her eyes. Claude chuckled. "She's single."
"That's nice."
"Ah, forget Catherine!" Leonie's eyes lit up. "Alois!"
She rushed over to embrace her former teacher, and much to Claude's amusement, Shamir followed.
"Calling it now," Claude nudged Byleth with a wink. Byleth laughed.
"Yeah, okay. Sure. I've known them both my whole life, and neither of them have ever shown any interest in anyone before."
"Yeah, well..." Claude snickered as Catherine noticed Shamir. "I think that's about to change."
The bar began to fill out slightly, and a boy with short, green hair just passed out at the counter. He was sound asleep, and Byleth wasn't sure if she should wake him or not.
"You know, Teach..." Claude bit his lip before pausing and shaking his head. "No, never mind."
"Hm? Come on, you can tell me," Byleth smiled, turning to face him. He played with the end of scarf, his emerald eyes lowered to the floor.
"I just...I just wanted to say I love you," Claude muttered, a bright pink flushing onto his cheeks as he continued to play with his scarf. "It's...random to say it right now..."
"I love you too," Byleth just responded with a wider grin. It was weird to see the usually confident guy so flustered over words he'd said before. It wasn't like it was the first time they'd said those three words, so she didn't really know why, but it was...cute. Endearing. "It might be random, but I don't care. I could say it a million times."
"True," Claude brought his eyes back up to her. "...I really am going to miss this place. Miss getting time to spend with you...I mean, this is where you got your nickname."
"Well, it's just the end of you working here. This is the start of something much better, right?" Byleth smiled. Her attention was focused on him and only him...so she didn't notice how the wind howled outside, how the autumn leaves hit the ground. More importantly, she didn't see the two purple eyes that were staring inside of the bar...
Just as oblivious, Claude smiled back at her before embracing her in a kiss.
"Yes. Definitely..."
YOU ARE READING
Race Against Time
Fanfiction"BYLETH, YOU'RE DYING." Those were the words Byleth Eisner had heard her entire life...but it had never rang true. She had always known that the doctors were wrong, that she was going to keep living, but the fear of death was constant. Born with a h...
