#hanneleth

Hanneman's upper body looked much the same as before Byleth had left, though it was rare to see it bare outside their bedroom. Hanneman's lower body, on the other hand, had changed drastically. He now sported a russet brown fish tail instead of legs, with tail fins the same green as his usual cravat.

The gills on Hanneman's hips flared as he huffed again. "That was the end result this time but it was far from my intention." He gestured at the pair of vials on the dock beside them and began explaining how he had created a substance from a crushed up Crest stone to test his hypothesis.

As he outlined the process, Byleth sat on the dock, looking more than listening. Fish in the pond periodically came up to investigate Hanneman's tail only to swim away when it flipped or twitched. Byleth wondered how much control Hanneman had over his tail. Did it feel cool and slick like a fish's scales? Or warm and firm like Hanneman's human legs?

Hanneman's voice sped up as he got to the meat of his research, as it always did, and his tail swirled underwater excitedly. Byleth smiled.

"And that was when I portioned out how much equalled a single dose and discovered-- What is it?" Hanneman cocked his head at Byleth's smile.

"You're adorable," Byleth said simply.

Hanneman made a series of stuttered noises. "I most certainly am not!" He finally cried. He punctuated this with a fist against the dock, which didn't really help his case.

Byleth picked up a vial. "Listen, we don’t have to fight, we can both be adorable."

"What? No!"

"Yes."

"Dearest, I cannot allow that. I am still testing the substance. I do not even know when my dose will wear off-- Byleth!"

For Byleth had uncorked the vial, tipped his head back, and downed the whole thing.

And promptly blacked out.

When he opened his eyes, he was at the bottom of the stock pond. Or rather, he assumed that was where he was-- he was certainly under water and the dock far above him certainly looked like the stock pond dock. Confirmation came in the form of his dear husband hovering over him with crossed arms.

"Never do that again," Hanneman stated. His tone was furious and worried all at once.

Byleth pushed himself off the sandy ground and swam a lap around Hanneman. The tail-- a dark teal like his original hair color-- was surprisingly easy to adjust to. "How do I look?" He asked, holding his arms out for Hanneman to assess.

Hanneman continued to glare for a few more moments before sighing out a line of bubbles. "You look adorable, my dear."

Byleth swam close and kissed his cheek. "Thank you. I guess it doesn't help your research, though, does it? We both have Crests already. I can't give you new data."

"On the contrary-- you possess a different crest, and a rare one at that! The more experiences I can record the better." Hanneman took Byleth's hand. "Let us go to the surface. Alois should have fetched my notebook by now. I want to hear every detail of what you're feeling!"

With that, Hanneman began pulling Byleth up towards the dock. The next time he left for a trip, Byleth resolved, he was taking Hanneman with him.

A few short months after being given the title, Byleth had resigned as Archbishop of the Church of Seiros and passed the position to Mercedes, instead taking over as Captain of the Knights of Seiros. Hanneman and Byleth had developed a comfortable routine since then. Byleth liked coming to see Hanneman after training all morning, and so Hanneman always made sure to move from his desk in the early afternoon to a space where they could spend time side by side.

They settled now into peaceful quiet-- Hanneman reading and Byleth catching is breath and drinking.

Eventually, Byleth laced their fingers together. “Good afternoon,” he replied at last. He seemed more or less recovered.

Hanneman hummed. “How was today?”

“A few of the new recruits are having trouble with one of our basic formations.” Byleth put down his waterskin and ran a hand through his soaked hair. “I had to demonstrate... five times? Maybe six. I lost track.”

“No wonder you look especially worn. I suspect Shamir would not mind if you asked to push back your strategy meeting so you could rest.”

Byleth sighed. “That is tempting.” He rubbed his thumb over Hanneman’s. “What are you reading?”

Hanneman passed Byleth the first page of Linhardt’s research. “After observing King Dimitri during the war, Linhardt wondered if he perhaps had a major Crest instead of a minor one. He tested a blood sample and found it was, indeed, a minor Crest of Blaiddyd, but that begged the question-- what exactly is the disparity between major and minor Crests? Are some minor Crests more powerful than others?”

“Does Dimitri know Linhardt has a sample of his blood?” Byleth asked as he read.

“Never ask a fellow scholar how he gets his materials.” Hanneman was only half kidding. In truth he had hoped that, by not asking Linhardt such questions, Linhardt would not ask any in return.

Byleth gave an amused huff. “Well, it certainly must have piqued his interest if he was willing to work so closely with blood.”

“I concur.” Hanneman looked up at Byleth. “You don’t have to read the whole thing. I simply wanted to satisfy your curiosity.”

“You know I like keeping up with what interests you.” With his eyes still on the page, Byleth leaned against Hanneman. Their hands remained clasped between them. Smiling, Hannemen returned to his own page. He was all too happy to serve as a pillow. 

The clock rang out again as Hanneman passed Byleth the second page and picked up the third for himself. “Do you mind me resting here for a while longer?” Byleth asked suddenly.

“I treasure any time spent with my favorite subject.” That earned Hanneman a mock glare. Chuckling, he added, “Shamir is sure to come looking for you when you don’t arrive at the appointed time.”

“She knows to check here first. Everyone does.”

Hanneman felt a swell of pride. “I suppose you’re right.” He turned his head to press a kiss to Byleth’s cheek. “Stay as long as you wish, my dear.”