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Dimitri entered the sauna, hopeful that the heat treatment might help his aching shoulders. If that didn't work, he'd have to resort to a hot bath rather than a cool one. The mere idea of taking a hot bath right after going in a sauna made him feel dehydrated. It was mostly empty at the time but that didn't bother Dimitri. It gave him time to be alone with his thoughts. He leaned back and stretched his arms above his head carefully then entered a more relaxed position.
'Professor Byleth has at least been coming out of his room every now and then. The shock must still be plaguing him. I hope it does not consume him, I have to admit that I miss his lectures and-'
Dimitri stopped that thought in it's tracks once he heard the sauna door open. Standing in the doorway was Byleth, who looked a little worse for wear. The shadows under his eyes eased up since the last time Dimitri spoke to him but he looked like he struggled to upkeep his appearance.
"Oh. Sorry I didn't know this was in use." Byleth turned to leave.
"Ah wait Professor! It's okay I don't mind. I was just lost in my thoughts is all. You are free to join me if you wish. If not that's understandable." Dimitri truly did want the Professor there but he didn't want to force him to stay.
Byleth looked at Dimitri's reassuring smile and quietly shut the door behind him.
"Thank you." Byleth slowly walked over and sat relatively close to Dimitri.
Dimitri couldn't help but smile and tried not to stare at Byleth too much. All the room in the sauna and Byleth decided to sit next to him.. Did Byleth trust him this much? He hoped so. His other guess would be that his presence was comforting to Byleth during this time of his life. Dimitri wouldn't say it out loud but if that were true, he'd probably blush. He snuck a few glances at Byleth and decided to break the ice a little.
"Have you been sleeping better?"
Byleth stared into the steam rising to the ceiling, "A bit. Manuela gave me some tea to drink that helps put me to sleep. It feels a little silly to need such a thing."
"Professor there is no shame in needing something like that to help you. Even I need those teas every now and then."
"Oh right. You have nightmares too. Sorry I didn't mean to bring those up."
Dimitri shook his head, "It's quite alright. I entrusted that information to you so it's okay for you to talk about it. Besides, we aren't out in public."
To Dimitri's surprise, Byleth's expression changed and he gave Dimitri a small smile. Despite it looking tired, any smile from Byleth was mesmerizing to him. Just then, Dimitri noticed something protruding from the side of Byleth's shirt. From what Dimitri could see, it looked like bandages were wrapped around Byleth's chest.
"Professor, pardon my intrusion but..were you injured?"
Byleth's eyes got wide and he quickly fixed his shirt to hide his bandages.
"No. It's complicated."
Dimitri looked at the heated stones in the center of the room and thought hard before opening his mouth again.
"You don't need to go into it if you do not want to. I just want you to know that you can confide in me if and when you want to. There are plenty of people here too that would be willing to lend an ear to you. Though sometimes keeping it to yourself feels safer at times. No one can judge you if they never know."
Byleth looked over at Dimitri in mild surprise. Despite Dimitri not knowing a thing, he sounded as if he truly understood the weight of his secret. Only 2 other people knew of it and their view of him had not changed in the slightest. Manuela had some choice words for him but that was all he could really complain about. He could only guess what words Sothis would have for him.
'Obviously he's safe to confess in. What are you waiting for? Tell him!'
Yeah that sounded right to him. Byleth folded his hands in his lap and averted his gaze from Dimitri before he spoke.
"I'm not hurt. The bandages are there for another purpose," Byleth hesitated for a moment, "To bind."
'To bind..?' Dimitri thought, 'But what could they-'
The placement of the bandages reappeared in Dimitri's mind and the pieces slowly fell together. While he did not know the professor so closely, it did make some sense given his demeanor at times with certain activities. He had figured Byleth just really liked privacy, which still held true, but it seemed like a necessity with such a secret.
"Does anyone else know?"
Byleth sighed, "Manuela. She eventually found out after tending to my wounds. My father knew of course and quickly accepted the fact. I think Rhea knows too.."
"That's right, she was there for your birth. I remember hearing about that during our mission in Abyss. I can't imagine how awkward that must feel, her knowing without even having to tell her."
"Honestly." Byleth leaned his head in his hand.
Byleth looked over at Dimitri once again. This was the first time he'd casually spoken about his status with someone. With Manuela it was more medical than anything and with his father...His father had just accepted that he was his son. Here was Dimitri, accepting it just as quickly as Jeralt once did. It was a little jarring but comforting in a sense. Instead of a tired smile, Byleth smiled genuinely in Dimitri's direction.
"Thank you."
Surely it was the sauna that made his face turn so red, at least that's what Dimitri would say. He returned the smile and the wheels in his head turned as they sat in silence.
"Professor, if I may," Dimitri sat up a little, "I know someone who could make you a safer binding garment as a replacement for those bandages. I've heard its a much safer and less painful alternative."
"If it's a stranger I don't think I could do it."
Dimitri shook his head, "No it isn't. It's Mercedes. She's already made such a garment for someone in the academy already. I won't out them because its up to them if they want to say it or not, but I digress. She'd quite fond of you and I believe she will have a similar reaction as I did. It's up to you but I highly suggest you at least consider it. For your safety. You should be allowed to do what you must to feel comfortable in your body, but you should also be allowed to have access to safer measures to achieve such comfort."
Dimitri was right in every sense. If such a thing existed, Byleth badly wanted it over the bandages and the chest pain they caused him. He couldn't just approach her by himself on such a matter. Would it be too much to ask Dimitri to accompany him for some of it? The last thing he wanted was Dimitri to see him without any bindings on. The question had a really hard leaving Byleth's lips the more he thought about it. He internally counted to 3 and let it leave him on 3.
"Dimitri would you mind coming with me to ask her?" Byleth said rather quickly, thankfully Dimitri appeared to understand him.
"Of course! I'd be honored." He smiled from ear to ear.
They left the sauna and separately went to go clean up. Dimitri couldn't stop smiling at how quickly Byleth's mood changed. He felt safe enough to tell him such an intimate secret and he even accepted his offer to help. If it wasn't such a secret, he would have gushed to Dedue. He quickly tried to come to his senses and finish rinsing his hair in case he made Byleth wait. Just as he was about to leave he could see a faint figure standing a few feet away from him.
"Do you deserve to be so happy? To feel such a way about your Professor.." He heard Glenn almost spit out.
Dimitri scowled and turned away from him.
"I'm making The Professor happy in his time of need," Dimitri muttered to himself, "I don't need any other reason to continue doing that."
He quickly got dressed and left the bathhouse without listening to another word of the dead. There sat Byleth in his usual attire with a book in his hand. He looked like he barely had time to really get into it. Byleth looked up at Dimitri, put his book away and got up from the bench.
"Sorry I made you wait."
Byleth shook his head, "No need."
Dimitri couldn't help but smile at his Professor's blunt tone. Anyone else might have seen it as a little rude, but Dimitri could tell at this point how Byleth was trying to come across. He simply joined Byleth on their walk to the Cathedral. They passed by a few other students but made it a point to not get side tracked. Mercedes sat in a pew with her head bowed in what seemed like a prayer. Marianne was not far away from her but Dimitri and Byleth made sure to not disturb her. Mercedes raised her head once she saw Dimitri and Byleth nearby.
"Oh! Professor, Dimitri, hello. Have you come to join the afternoon prayer?"
"Not today Mercedes. If it is not too much trouble, we'd like to ask for your assistance with something."
"Oh?" Mercedes slowly rose out of the pew, "With what?"
Byleth glanced around to see all who was in the Cathedral and shook his head.
"Could you meet us outside? It isn't something I want to say in front of other people.."
Mercedes smiled warmly and nodded, "Of course. I'll finish my prayer and meet you outside. I won't be long."
Dimitri bowed a little as thanks and departed with Byleth as they sat outside near the bridge. Just like Mercedes said, it didn't take her long to wrap up her prayer, and she quickly found the pair tucked away in a more private spot.
"Alrighty, I'm all ears. I don't know how much help I'll be, depending on what you want."
"Oh it's nothing outside your skills." Dimitri looked over at Byleth.
Byleth took a quick glance at Dimitri then at Mercedes. She was trust worthy, everything about her said so. Dimitri even told him that she's done this for someone before. Byleth got the assumption that Dimitri was not going to ask on his behalf. With a heavy sigh, Byleth tried to find his words.
"Would it be possible if you could make me a binding garment?" Byleth said quietly but loud enough for her to hear.
Mercedes' eyes widened for a moment then they almost seem to light up as she radiated a warm energy.
"Of course. I'm happy you came to ask me, Professor. I know it hasn't been easy for you this month, so you can count on me to make this as painless as possible. If you're free after dinner, I can take your measurements. I just need a few of them so it won't take me long and we can do it in my dorm so nobody sees."
Byleth smiled lightly in relief and nodded, "Thank you Mercedes."
"It's no trouble at all. I'll wait for you after we eat. I'm on greenhouse duty for today so I have to get going, I'll see you then!" Mercedes waved as she walked off to complete her chore for the day.
Dimitri grunted, "That's right, I completely forgot about weeding the courtyard with Sylvain today. I must apologize Professor, I have to get going right away or Sylvain will never let me hear the end of it."
"It's alright Dimitri. I won't take points off for this. You were a big help to me today so..Thank you. For everything," Byleth's brows raised in mild concern, "Dimitri are you still dizzy from the sauna? Your face is red."
"Ah! Ahaha I guess so. I better finish my task and perhaps rest for an hour or two," Dimitri turned back to Byleth, "Before I forget, thank you for confiding in me Professor. I hope it takes some weight off your heart to know you have people you can trust this secret with. I'll see you at dinner I hope. Good day, until then."
Dimitri smiled before walking off, leaving Byleth in the glow of the conversations he just had. Byleth held his hands to his chest and sighed in disappointment. If his heart had a beat, would it have been beating loudly right then? If only. He smiled to himself and leaned against the church's walls. His father would have been happy to see him like this, Byleth thought. He was getting closer to being happy in his own skin. Perhaps, he felt more alive in the presence of people who supported him. His lions had made him feel a variety of new emotions, perhaps one in particular made him experience a new one just then. Perhaps.