#sylvleth

Apologies for the slight angst I cannot seem to escape it.

She'd lost track of how many times she'd talked through these halls. The clack of her boot heels against the stone. Sometimes the weight of the Archbishop's robes weighed heavily on her shoulders. Other times, it was a crown that pricked at her brow sharper than thorns. This was the first time in a while in which it was only her own clothes. The same ashen garb she'd adorned the very first time she stepped foot in the monastery.

And over and over again, she found herself drawn to his side.

Today, he stood on the bridge leading up to the chapel, looking up at the sky. The wind lightly tussling his hair. He'd grown it out a little, and partly tied it back with a deep blue ribbon. He'd only done this once before. It was nice to see it again.

"Can't sleep?" she asked.

Sylvain looked away from the stars, practically beaming as Byleth came to stand beside him. "Just admiring the night sky. It feels strange thinking how these are the same stars they probably saw during the War of Heroes. Never changing. Yet, we keep moving forward."

Byleth tried not to wince. Sylvain wasn't exactly wrong. All their friends, if they survived the war, moved forward with their lives. This time, Mercedes and Ashe were travelling to Almyra. Ingrid was busy managing Galatea territory. They rarely got a moment's reprise. She glanced at her beloved's sword, and her stomach twisted as she saw the familiar Crest of a man now no longer with them. Sylvain didn't leave his room for a month after that battle.

Hesitantly, she reached out, taking his hand and lacing their fingers together.

"If you could do it all over again, would you? Rather than forwards, go back?"

Sylvain stared at her. "What brought this on?"

"Just wondering. That's all."

He pondered this for a moment, before letting go of her hand and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Nah. I don't think so. We can't change the past, so why dwell on it?"

You can't change the past, she thought. I can. I could have saved him. Saved them. I could have done something different. Run to him first. But instead, I-

"There's nothing you would change, if given the chance?"

He shrugged. "I mean, yeah, there are some things I'd change if I could. But only if I knew it wouldn't affect one thing."

"Which is?"

"Us." Sylvain smiled, pressing a kiss to her temple. "You've been by my side, every step of the way. Every time I feel I'm about to fall, you always seem to catch me. I don't want to lose you."

"You won't. Ever."

"I hope not." He turned his eyes back up to the sky. “I don't usually believe in it, but...I think destiny wants us to be together, and you should never argue with destiny. Right?”

Destiny. Such a cruel way to describe it.

Byleth: Don't touch it. You'll hurt yourself.

Sylvain: In other words, the rest of the professor is fair game.