Byleth and Edelgard fic gonna be next month + Teaser

I forgot my own rules for the Edeleth fic and it turned into an actual whole fic instead of a shorter, lower-effort one. Whoopsies.

I'm still gonna post it as a fifth-of-the-month Patreon exclusive dealio that Book Ghouls will have access to too, but I'm going back to my original plan of starting the fifth-fic-a-month thing next month since I need to start focusing entirely on this month's exclusive.

I'm also still gonna do next month's second place as a shorter fic in the same month (that's the plan for now, at least). It WILL be a shorter fic this time though, I swear to all that is tum on this Earth.

Also, my non-oc fics are gonna start having pics of some characters attached 'cause dang am I bad at remembering to slide in physical descriptions sometimes.

Still, I figured that I should at least give y'all a taste of the Edeleth fic since I promised it'd be this month, so I'll upload roughly the absolute max length that the fic SHOULD have been if I hadn't gotten carried away. It's not fully edited, but should still be fine to read. Enjoy~

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Spoiler Note: This takes place after the events of the Crimson Flower route in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. I avoided as many spoilers as possible, but if you’re at all worried about that kinda thing, consider skipping this short for now.

“Where are we going? You’ve dragged me halfway across the city!” Byleth demanded, laughter dancing in her tone.

Edelgard tightened her grip on Byleth’s hand and simply cast a knowing smile over her shoulder. “I've already told you; somewhere very special for us to enjoy privately.”

“That doesn’t tell me anything other than that you want to spend some time alone with me. What’s so special about this place, El?”

“If I told you, it would spoil the surprise.”

Byleth laughed as she persisted in trying to weasel their destination from the empress, but the pale woman kept her lips clean of her secret. Where was she dragging Byleth this time? Last time had been a strangely endearing bar on the edge of the former refugee camp, and the time before that had been a conservatory filled with beautiful foreign flowers that an immigrant family had started. The teal-haired woman wasn’t sure when her closest friend managed to find the time to stumble across these wonderful places in the depths of her city and she doubted she would get a proper answer if she asked. All Byleth could do was let herself be pulled along while wondering what oddity she was in for that day.

Today, as it so happened, was less odd than usual. El gave Byleth one last good yank out of an alley and Byleth blinked from the sudden sunlight in her eyes. When she could see again, she just smiled. El had brought her to a beautiful park that Byleth had been to before while patrolling the city with the empress’ guard. It had been a hotspot for criminal activity before since the thick growth of trees and well-maintained bushes and flowers made for an easy time hiding illicit activities, but as crime in the city overall went down, so too did the crime here. Now it was just a lovely park.

“Did you drag me all the way here just to see the park, El?” Byleth chuckled, “I love it, but I’ve seen it before-”

El started to drag Byleth again. “It’s not for the park, dummy. It’s for what’s in the park.”

What’s in the park, huh? Looks like Byleth might still get her surprise after all.

Getting led through the cool shade of the park by her lovely empress wasn’t a bad day to spend an afternoon in the slightest. Byleth could feel the stiffness in her shoulders lessening just from the relaxing atmosphere. While not nearly as bad as it used to be, being a forerunner in the reformation of the empire was still a stressful and taxing position. The fact that the empress and her closest confidant were able to sneak away like this from time to time was a sign that things were getting calmer, but there was still much to do.

Byleth shook her head. Enjoy the now, don’t ruminate on what comes later. Walk through the park, hold hands with a pretty lady, and appreciate the time spent with your best friend.

Edelgard suddenly took a turn off the park’s path and started pushing through a gap in the bushes. Byleth, of course, was pulled along behind her. The branches and leaves kept trying to snag on her cloak and yank off her hood. What was the silver-haired woman doing? Where was she-

They broke into a clearing. Byleth sucked in some breath as she took everything in. It was a gorgeous little clearing sequestered away in between the trees and blooming bushes. A small but exceptionally clear stream ran through the edge of the clearing, enveloping the whole area in the sound of bubbling water. Sunlight filtered in through the sparse leaf coverage above, dappling the ground in an entrancing pattern of dancing shapes. And there was a bench. A natural-looking and well-crafted bench that sat right in the middle of the clearing, facing the stream. Byleth blinked. Sure, the bench looked nice and fit the scene well, but why was it here…?

El released Byleth’s hand and walked further into the clearing, pulling her hood off her head and letting her long, seemingly glowing hair pour down around her shoulders. She ran her hand along the back of the bench slowly while saying, “I found this clearing some time ago and instantly knew that I wanted to bring you here. I also knew of other things that I would wish to do here, so had a quite agreeable group of tight-lipped soldiers bring what I would need in.”

“What you would need?” Byleth inquired. She approached the bench and looked around its back. She smiled. “Ah, I see. I’ll admit, the flowers here do compliment me well. I can see why you’d want to go to all this effort just so I can be your nature goddess~.”

A hint of blush colored El’s pale cheeks. “I’d prefer the term ‘natural model’ if you would. I need no goddess in my life.” Then she cleared her throat as she started to move the things that were resting on and near the bench. An easel with a few spare canvasses, an unused palette, many sealed paints, a cup, a towel, a scraper, and a pitcher. Byleth had to question the pitcher since there had never been one before while she’d been modeling for El, but she figured that it might just be for staying hydrated. They were going to be out here for a long time, assumedly, so it made sense.

Byleth strolled further in the clearing, linking her fingers together and stretching her arms far above her head. “What should I do today then?” Byleth asked. She spun on her heel next to the stream and crossed her arms under her chest. “What would you like this time? A heroic pose? Oblivious beauty? Or maybe…” Byleth pulled her cloak off and tossed it to the side, giving El a small smile. “...you brought me out to such a natural area for a natural painting?”

The blush on El’s face brightened, but she didn’t say anything. She just avoided Byleth’s eyes as she continued setting up. Byleth started to sweat. Oh boy. She’d just been joking with that, and it wouldn’t be the first time she’d be seen au natural by El, but… to be like that outside like this… and to pose nude for El for so long… to be recorded like that… to have El stare at every part of her body… painting it… uh…

Byleth felt her own face start to heat up. She quickly glanced down at the stream. She felt thirsty all of a sudden. It was usually taboo to drink from shallow water, but this stream was deeper than it appeared at first glance, and it was also crystal clear and flowing swiftly, so it should be alright to have a drink to cool her head. Byleth knelt down and dipped her hands into the water. It was blissfully cold. She brought it to her mouth and slowly drank. Just as she’d thought; it tasted as crisp and clear as most river water did. She was about to go for more when El’s voice called over, “If you need to drink, please drink from this.”

Byleth turned around. El was holding up the pitcher that Byleth had noticed before. El continued, “It’s been enchanted to bless any water put inside, purifying it. I trust the water in the land to be clean, but I shouldn’t leave the health of one as important as you to my trust alone.”

Byleth stood up and retrieved the pitcher. She gave it a once over, noting a strange clear gem embedded in the neck of the pitcher. “I’ve never heard of something like this. Is it new?”

“I received it as a gift from an emissary,” El responded. “Two of them, in fact. One is being studied so that we might recreate its effects for use across the empire. I took the other for… personal use.”

Byleth returned to the stream and dipped the pitcher in. The gem glowed momentarily, then the glow transferred to the water. Then it stopped. Byleth stood back up and took a small sip from the pitcher. “It… tastes no different. I can’t tell if it worked or not.”

“As I said, I trust the water to be free of disease,” El responded. She’d sat down on the bench and was watching Byleth. She seemed to be contemplating something.

“What are you thinking about?” Byleth asked. She took another drink from the pitcher.

El sighed. “Oh, it’s nothing. I was just… considering how I’d like to paint you today…”

Oh. Right. With the… uh… right. Byleth glanced away. “S-So… Well, I’m fine with it so long as you want it…”

“Hm? But I haven't even asked you yet?”

Byleth looked back at El, an eyebrow raised. “You wanted to paint me ‘naturally’, didn’t you?”

El blinked. “Well, yes, I do, but I’d also like to paint you looking…”

“...looking…?”

“Looking…” El bit her lip. She hid her mouth and nose using her palette, though she failed to completely hide the rising blush on her face. “Oh, how to phrase this…”

Byleth could feel herself getting embarrassed just from El’s hesitation. “You can just say it. I swear, no matter what it is, I won’t think it’s strange or… whatever else you might be fearing.”

El glanced away. “You will, though. I know you will. That’s the issue…” After a few moments of silence, El took a deep breath. “Fine. However, you better hold to your word.”

“Of course, I will. If I’m willing to let you paint me nude in the middle of the park, then I can’t think of much else I wouldn’t be willing to let you paint.”

“Then… if you could… I’d like to… paint you… swollen…”

Byleth stared at El for a few seconds, as if waiting for the woman to elaborate, but no explanation came. She just hid her face behind her palette. Finally, Byleth broke the pregnant pause. “Sorry, could you… repeat that?”

El peaked over the top of her palette. “Swollen… that’s the reason I bright the pitcher… and why I considered this such a perfect spot… I’d like you to help yourself to as much of the stream’s bounty as you feel comfortable with… and then I’d like to paint you as you are then…”

Ok, so Byleth hadn’t misheard. “I, uh… w-well, I must admit, I hadn’t been expecting that. Can I ask why…?”

“Because…” El’s fingers were clutching hard at her palette, slowly scraping in a small path from her nails. “This ashamed me to admit, but… I’ve found myself often looking at you, especially as you model for me, and wishing that you were… fuller.”

Byleth couldn’t help but feel a little insulted. She covered her chest with her arms and faintly scowled. “I’ll admit that I’m not the most well-endowed woman around, but I don’t see that as a reason for-”

“No, no, that’s not how I meant it!” El panicked, dropping her palette and shaking her hands ‘no’ at Byleth. Her face was entirely red, from the tip of her nose to the top of her ears. If Byleth was mildly irritated, she’d consider ti adorable. “I meant specifically your middle! I think little of the excessive weight of piggish nobles and the wealth of one’s chest means little to me compared to yours! I simply find myself dreaming from time to time about you with a heftier midriff!”

A pressing quiet filled the space between the two women as El’s words sank into the greenery around them. El’s eyes seemed to quiver as she realized what she’d just said. She pulled her easel in front of her while Byleth covered her mouth with one hand. The irritation was gone. Byleth’s brain was racing, trying to decode what exactly El was saying. She’d also fully noticed that El had just professed her love for Byleth’s chest, but she could tease the empress thoroughly about that later. For now…

“You’re… You’re serious about this…?” Byleth asked.

A third of El’s face slid around her easel. “Y-Yes… fully…” El replied with her voice just barely audible over the creak’s bubbling.

Byleth looked at El. Then at the pitcher. The pitcher. El was absolutely serious. Studying this pitcher’s magic would help the entire empire, yet she’d kept one specifically for ‘personal use’. She wouldn’t need it at all at the palace, and it would be difficult to carry along on field missions, which meant… she’d planned to use this. On a day exactly like today. She was serious.

The stream drew Blyeth’s attention once more. She bit her lip and lowered a hand to her flat stomach. She didn’t understand what the appeal of a larger stomach was, but… as far as things that her partner could have found endearing, that was FAR from the worst it could have been. Plus, for El to be so embarrassed about it? As far as Byleth was concerned, this was more than just fine.

“So… how much?”