[A single blue eye slides to the gloved hand on his knee, and it takes all of his willpower not to jolt away from it. Like an animal that has not seen a gentle touch in years, Dimitri watches warily, his whole body tense and held only by the knowledge that this is the professor, and if Byleth desired to kill him... there are better ways to do it than lie and feign concern. This does not make it easier to bear. The gentleness is so foreign, yet so familiar. The place on his knee burns after Byleth has withdrawn the touch.
Will you wait for me?
In this context, the question is benign. To Dimitri, who wishes it did not reflect the desperation of his despair all those years he was alone, he almost cannot find it within himself to reply. His voice is a raspy whisper when he finally manages.]
Yes. I'll wait.
[He has nowhere to be but here. If he left, he suspects Byleth would follow him through Garreg Mach like one of the many other ghosts that haunt him, persistent to the end. He still can't fully convince himself the other man is real and whole in front of him now.]
no subject
Will you wait for me?
In this context, the question is benign. To Dimitri, who wishes it did not reflect the desperation of his despair all those years he was alone, he almost cannot find it within himself to reply. His voice is a raspy whisper when he finally manages.]
Yes. I'll wait.
[He has nowhere to be but here. If he left, he suspects Byleth would follow him through Garreg Mach like one of the many other ghosts that haunt him, persistent to the end. He still can't fully convince himself the other man is real and whole in front of him now.]