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“That’s it!” Shez jumped off the sofa, too excited to sit still. “I’m a genius!”
Reus didn’t even bother to look up from his textbook. “Yes. Of course you are.”
“Hey!” Shez turned to his boyfriend with a pout. “You don’t need to make fun of me.”
Pausing in his work, Reus removed his glasses and looked over at Shez with a slow tilt of his head. Others might find his blank gaze unnerving, but Shez thought it was pretty cute. Well. He did now. He tried not to think about how intimidated he’d been when they first met at a martial arts tournament back in high school, when Shez was defeated by Reus and his terrifying twin sister in back-to-back matches.
“I’m not making fun of you,” Reus said, deadly serious. “You might not be a genius in the traditional academic sense, but your emotional and physical intelligence is astounding, my little grapenut.”
Shez looked away with a blush. Grapenut. Ever since Annette told Reus that cutesy nicknames were necessary for a successful relationship, his boyfriend had been determined to find the perfect name. Unfortunately, Reus’s idea of cutesy was invariably food-related, but he was so sincere about the whole thing that Shez didn’t have the heart to make him stop. At least he wasn’t calling him his “little eggplant” anymore.
“Well. Thanks,” Shez muttered. What were they even talking about before…? Oh, right! Shez bounded back, enthusiasm restored. “Anyway, I’ve just come up with the best idea ever! So you know how Dimitri’s having that problem with his uncle trying to marry him off, right?”
Honestly, Shez had trouble believing that was a problem anyone had in the modern day, but ever since finding himself at the prestigious Garreg Mach University (courtesy of a sports scholarship – and maybe a little nepotism from dating the dean’s grandson), he’d learned that rich people did not live in the same world as everyone else.
Reus only looked vaguely confused, but really that wasn’t too surprising. He barely paid attention to anyone outside of Shez, his twin sister, and the few friends he’d made in the math department.
“Okay, well the details aren’t important,” Shez continued, refusing to be deterred. “But my friend Dimitri – you know, the tall blond one from the hockey team? – his family’s throwing a charity ball next week, and his evil uncle made an ultimatum that if he doesn’t have a proper girlfriend by then, he’ll be forced into an arranged marriage with some rich heiress!” Shez began to pace back and forth, the plan all coming together in his mind. “Dimitri’s right upset about it, but I just came up with the perfect solution.” Pausing, he turned to Reus with a grin. “He can go with Byleth!”
Reus didn’t reply at first, just staring at Shez blankly. “…My sister?” he finally said, scepticism clear even in his flat voice. “Have they met before?”
“Well. No,” Shez admitted. “But she’s perfect! She doesn’t talk much, so it’s not like she’ll give away the secret. And she’s, you know,” Shez gestured vaguely, “pretty, so people probably wouldn’t think it’s weird for her to be dating some rich guy.” Reus still didn’t look convinced, so Shez decided it was time to bring out the big guns. “And you’re always talking about how worried you are that she’s lonely. Dimitri’s super nice. A great guy. They could talk about like…the history of swords or something. Maybe even hit it off for real.”
Reus’s stony expression finally began to waver. Shez tried not to grin. His boyfriend’s soft spot for his twin sister was always adorable – and right now, useful.
“Fine. I’ll ask her,” Reus stated curtly. “But,” he continued, eyes flashing with uncharacteristic darkness, “this Dimitri had better treat her right. Or else.”
“No worries!” Shez replied, brimming with confidence. “This night is going to go perfectly. I just know it!”
Standing outside the doors to the hotel, impeccably dressed in a suit and tie, Dimitri was desperately trying not to panic as he waited for his date to arrive. He still couldn’t believe that Shez had actually talked him into this ridiculous scheme – a fake girlfriend? One he’d never even met? There was no way this night would end in anything other than disaster, but well – Dimitri was out of options. It was either attend the ball with a fake girlfriend and hope his uncle fell for the ruse, or just give up and accept his fate of marriage to a woman he couldn’t stand.
Dimitri just wished he could have met his co-conspirator before the night arrived. He had no idea what to expect of this Byleth, and the lack of certainty wasn’t helping his nerves. All that he knew of her was purely superficial facts from Shez. Her major was in history, with a specialty in late medieval Faerghan weaponry. She had a fluffy white cat named Sothis who hated Shez with a passion. And she was the twin sister of Shez’s boyfriend Reus, a man who Dimitri found oddly charming despite his unusual manners.
“Hey.” A quiet voice interrupted his panicked musings, even and flat. “You Dimitri?”
“Yes, I am Di- ”
Oh.
Words suddenly failing him, Dimitri could only stare at the woman before him. She was gorgeous. More beautiful than any woman he’d ever met, with her dark hair and eyes, her delicate features contrasted by generous curves. She wore a sleek black dress that left nothing to the imagination, far simpler than most outfits to be worn at the ball, but she held herself with such confident poise that it hardly mattered. This woman could have worn anything and looked like a queen, he was certain.
“I’m Byleth,” she stated, reaching out a hand to shake his, businesslike and brisk. Dazed, Dimitri brought it to his lips for a kiss instead, only noticing his inappropriate action after it was too late. Mortified, he dropped her hand.
“A-ah. Please excuse me, Byleth.” He smiled awkwardly, rushing to change the subject. “Thank you for agreeing to accompany me tonight. I appreciate your sacrifice, and hope the experience will not be too trying for you.”
Byleth shrugged, unfazed. “Reus said there’d be free food.”
Dimitri laughed, already feeling hopelessly charmed by her serious demeanour. Offering Byleth his arm, he led her into the hotel. “That there will be,” he replied. “And plenty of it.”
“Good.” Byleth glanced up at him, the hint of a smile on her lips. Dimitri swore his heart skipped a beat.
Unfortunately, arriving in the ballroom meant greeting the countless attendees. Dimitri forced his best polite smile, graciously thanking each person for donating to their charity and dodging overly personal questions about his new girlfriend. Byleth stayed by his side through it all, for which Dimitri was deeply grateful. Despite only having just met, her calm presence was strangely comforting, grounding him whenever his emotions began to run too high. He could certainly get used to this – though of course, he shouldn’t. Byleth was just pretending to be his date for the night. Nothing more. It wouldn’t do to forget that reality.
Still, he might as well enjoy the night as best he could. When a lull in visitors finally came, Dimitri turned to Byleth with a smile. “Would you care for a dance, my lady?”
“No,” Byleth replied bluntly. “I want to eat.”
Goddess, she was perfect. Dimitri grinned. “Well, then. Let us dine.”
Still walking arm in arm, the couple made their way over to the buffet table. Dimitri watched in awe as Byleth piled her plate high with more food than he’d ever seen a human being consume, his amazement only growing as she set about devouring her prize with enthusiasm. The way her eyes sparkled with delight as she ate, no care for etiquette in her manners…was this love? Dimitri wondered, his mind feeling dazed.
“Boy.”
Dimitri blinked, awareness slowly returning to his senses at that horribly familiar voice. Dread coiled in his stomach as his uncle approached, rage clear in his cold blue eyes. Beside him, Byleth stilled, her gaze fixed on Rufus.
“Uncle Rufus.” Dimitri nodded his head politely, desperately trying to calm his nerves. Now was the moment of truth. “I hope you are enjoying the ball so far. Please, allow me to introduce you to By-”
“I don’t care about some whore you picked up off the streets,” Rufus snapped. He shot Byleth a disdainful look, though his lecherous eyes lingered regardless. Dimitri clenched his hands into fists, teeth grinding together. The urge to punch his uncle had never been stronger, but the vile man cut him off before he could respond. “No one’s fooled by your little scheme, boy. All you’ve succeeded in doing is to upset Kleiman and his daughter. Ruining everything I’ve built up so carefully, just like always.” Rufus scoffed. The hatred in his eyes made Dimitri wince despite himself, some buried part of him still desperately wishing for his uncle’s love. “You’re a disappointment, Dimitri. Everything would have been better if you’d just died alongside your useless father and – ”
Dimitri wasn’t sure what happened next. All he knew was that Byleth was suddenly moving – suddenly jumping at his uncle – suddenly…holding him in a headlock, forcing his much larger body to twist down painfully to her height.
Rufus was screaming obscenities, drawing the attention of the entire ballroom, but Byleth remained deadly calm. She tightened her grip around his neck, stifling his cries, and leaned down.
“This is your only warning,” she whispered, so quietly that Dimitri was certain only he and his uncle could hear. “Speak like that to Dimitri again, and I will break your neck.”
Releasing his uncle, Byleth turned back to Dimitri and smiled. It took everything in him not to drop to one knee and propose.
An hour later, Dimitri and Byleth sat in a nearby café. His own coffee long forgotten, Dimitri rested his chin on his hand and watched as Byleth devoured yet another meal. She seemed unaffected by her brush with the law, saved from assault charges only by his intervention. Normally Dimitri hated to throw about his family name, but for her, anything was fair game.
“Byleth, would you…” Dimitri trailed off. No. He shouldn’t. He wasn’t worthy of someone so divine.
Byleth took another long drink of tea, smiling faintly when she lowered the cup. “I like you,” she said easily, oblivious to his inner turmoil. “We should date.”
“O-oh. Um.” Dimitri blushed furiously, but blissful joy rose in his heart. He couldn’t stop the bright smile spreading across his face, only vaguely noticing the way Byleth’s gaze fixed eagerly on his expression. “Yes. Yes, we should.”
Gently holding Byleth's hand in his, Dimitri vowed that he would never doubt Shez again.