Chapter Text
Byleth still hated funerals.
At Jeralt’s funeral, everything was black and gray and miserable. She felt like she was having an out-of-body experience, trapped between the heavy truth of Dad’s body in a coffin and the need to disappear into herself.
Edelgard’s funeral was the same, only with a little more pomp and circumstance. The Hresvelg heir deserved no less, according to her parents and Hubert.
But Byleth still couldn’t believe it. Edelgard of all people, dying from a fall down the stairs at her condo. Byleth heard the maintenance personnel were being sued by the Hresvelg family for failing to place a wet floor sign by the stairs.
It was so ridiculous, so stupid, but the reality of Edelgard’s dead body rested in front of her, forever asleep in a coffin.
The last time they spoke ended terribly, and now, Byleth never had the chance to make amends with her.
“Byleth, are you alright?” Dimitri asked.
No, Byleth wanted to say. No, I hate funerals, and I fucking hate that my friend died and now I can never tell her how much I regret our last conversation.
But Dimitri looked so earnest that she didn’t have the heart to spit all her vitriol out at him.
“I’m fine.”
He said nothing, but she felt his hand—pleasantly larger than hers—grip her own.
She appreciated that.
Dimitri was a stalwart source of comfort all throughout this grueling procession. When she found out about Edelgard’s death, he didn’t berate her when she sobbed into his shirt. He didn’t question her depressive lethargy. He helped her get out of bed, bathe, and eat when everything became too much for her to do.
Byleth wasn’t sure she’d still be here if it wasn’t for him.
…She’d never admit it to him, but she had a weirdly vivid dream where she begged him to stay—begged him to fuck her into her mattress—and against all odds, he pounded into her and said he loved her.
There was a part of her that hoped he actually meant it—that it wasn’t his code, but his soul speaking to her. Though, it was most likely just her mind projecting fantasies during grief again, as Manuela pointed out once.
And now was not the time to dwell on such things.
“...I’m tired of losing people,” she whispered. “Nobody ever stays.”
Dimitri held her hand tighter, and she reveled in the warmth.
“You’ll never lose me, Byleth,” he said, and he smiled like she gave him the world on a platter. “I made sure of it.”
Congratulations! You are now the proud owner of a DIMA-1220 unit.
In order to maximize your use of the DIMA-1220 unit, please read the user manual attached. The manual contains the information necessary for the correct and proper use of the DIMA-1220 unit. Keep this manual handy for easy access at all times.
The DIMA-1220 unit and its optional parts are shipped to our customers only after being subjected to the strictest quality controls, tests, and inspections to certify its compliance with our high-performance standards. Product malfunctions resulting from normal handling or operation will be repaired free of charge during the normal warranty period.
Please contact [email protected] if you have any additional questions. We hope you enjoy your DIMA-1220 unit to the fullest!
IMPORTANT: Please call XX-XXX-XXXX immediately if your DIMA-1220 shows any sign of deviance. A brand-new, fully-patched and debugged DIMA-1220 unit will then be delivered to your home to replace the previous unit.
— Agartha Systems, Inc.
Byleth Eisner
Byleth: hey dad
Byleth: i doubt you’ll ever read this and even though it’s stupid of me to text you like this after so long i just…
Byleth: i don’t know. maybe by some miracle, you’ll see this message wherever you are right now
Byleth: i miss you
Byleth: it’s been hard without you here
Byleth: but i think… i’m slowly getting better. i thought i would spiral back into the rut i was in last year
Byleth: but i’m okay. more okay than i thought i’d ever be
Byleth: i think it’s because i’m not alone anymore
Byleth: dimitri’s here with me now
Byleth: it doesn’t feel so suffocating. i feel like i don’t have to keep drowning
Byleth: maybe i’m getting ahead of myself, but i think he understands me—really understands me, the same way you do
Byleth: i kinda feel bad for relying on him like this. i hope he can rely on me like that, too
Byleth: i think you’d like him a lot. he’s a good person, probably the kindest i’ve ever met
Byleth: it would’ve been fun to go fishing with him. dimitri knows how to work a grill, so i think we’d stuff ourselves silly with all the fish we’d catch
Byleth: anyway i just…
Byleth: i miss you
Byleth: and i love you, dad. so, so much