A/N: Sorry for the long break. College hit me like a bus and I hardly had any free time between classes and band. Regardless, I hope you enjoy the chapter :D

Locking the door behind her, Edelgard and Dimitri stayed close by her side. Edelgard held her book in both hands and walked on the right besides Byleth, whereas Dimitri walked on her left and held her hand with his own; Claude walked in front of the three, per Byleth's request that she wanted to be able to see him so he wouldn't run away again. Honestly, Byleth had a strong feeling that she should invest into baby leashes if she was taking these kids out of her house.

They walked in the late morning sun, Dimitri tugging at her hand occasionally. Whenever the teenager would look down at the blond boy, he would always be looking away, making Byleth wonder if the kid had even been aware of his constant pulling. Edelgard seemed occupied with taking in her surroundings, perhaps never having seen this neighborhood before today, and Claude was practically bounding ahead of them. Byleth had a feeling he was up to no good, but with Dimitri tugging at her and Edelgard hardly walking in step with her, Claude was an accident waiting to happen.

They rounded the corner and the park was in sight. Byleth could recall her own childhood memories from when Jeralt would take her here. She didn't have many friends to play with and the other kids there would be weirded out by how lacking her emotional expression was, so she mostly found herself playing by her lonesome. Now that she thought about it, it was mostly her father who would push her down the slide or push her on the swing or held her so that she could climb the monkey bars. A strange mix of nostalgia, love, loneliness, and sadness struck her and she hadn't realized that she had gripped Dimitri's hand back in her bout of emotion.

He glanced up at her with big, blue eyes. "Miss Byleth?"

Realizing what she had done, she fell back into her familiar poker face. "It's nothing. Let's hurry up and go to the park."

They stopped at the crosswalk, waiting for the light to turn red. Of course, when the light was still yellow and the cars were only slowing down, Claude began to run across the street. Byleth ran after him immediately with a shout, dragging Dimitri along with her and leaving Edelgard to follow closely behind. The cars honked and beeped at her, and all Byleth could do was yell out an apology before she finally caught Claude on the other side of the street.

"Claude!" She all but yelled, arm wrapped around him to keep him from running. "You can't keep running away from me - especially not into oncoming traffic!"

Edelgard sighed from behind her. "Maybe he's trying to get you killed."

Byleth was somewhat surprised at Edelgard's offhand comment about the prospect of death, but in retrospect, she shouldn't have been surprised. The girl was smart and no nonsense - only her age belied her capabilities. Dimitri stayed silent, averting his eyes.

Byleth recalled Claude's father mentioning that he would get too excited sometimes. He definitely seemed filled with boundless energy. She just wished he would contain that energy and not run across a street with cars raring to go on either side.

She took in a deep breath, reverting back to her expressionless demeanor. "Just... just don't do that again, alright?"

Byleth was sixteen, broke as it was, and had her whole life ahead of her. She didn't need charges for child abuse and negligence, and perhaps secondhand manslaughter. Claude seemed like a smart kid, surely he would understand not to endanger his life like that. Maybe his energy was so boundless that his wit couldn't compete with the raw adrenaline in his veins. Regardless, he - and the other two kids - were her responsibility and she could be held accountable should anything happen to them.

Nudging Claude forward, she began walking towards the park. Dimitri had taken her hand again whereas Edelgard walked close to her other side. As sassy as Edelgard could be, at least she was well-behaved and not running into oncoming traffic. Dimitri, on the other hand, had gotten back into his shell, all confidence forgotten. Byleth felt like a real babysitter would do a better job at keeping the kids in line and happy, but for it being her first day, she should have been grateful that she hadn't lost any of them. Yet. Emphasis on the yet, especially with the yellow-wearing rascal practically bouncing in front of her.

Once they were on the playground, Claude ran off before she could even send the kids off. Edelgard left her side, book still in hand, and sat herself on one of the swings. Expectantly, Byleth looked to Dimitri, waiting for the kid to run off and do kid things with the other kids... like a kid was supposed to. His head was down and she could almost hear him muttering something.

"Dimitri?" His head shot up, mouth snapping shut when he met her eyes. "Aren't you going to go play?"

Byleth wanted to say that she wanted to send him off to enjoy her now-lukewarm coffee and comic book, but seeing the fear in Dimitri's blue eyes caused her to hesitate. Wasn't this kid confident? What had happened? He looked shaken to his core.

He glanced towards the playground briefly before looking back at his babysitter. "R-Right..."

He left before she could question it, stalking off to climb the ladder to the slide. Compared to Claude expending his energy by dangling from the monkey bars and even to Edelgard swinging slowly on the swing as she read, Dimitri looked like he was a prisoner walking to his execution. Byleth felt sick to her stomach. What kind of kid could be so unhappy at a park? He looked downright miserable.

Byleth, not sure what to do out of inexperience in babysitting and, perhaps, emotional support in general, found herself seated on a nearby bench where she could still see the three kids. She set their backpacks beside her and began to sip at her travel mug. She wasn't sure she liked having such a big responsibility, to be honest. She'd much rather be cutting lawns or being the local granny's tech support. She wasn't sure she could handle being in charge of children, especially when these three obviously didn't get along as well as she hoped.

"Edel," Claude began, chubby hands pulling him through the gaps in the monkey bars so that he was sitting with his legs folded beneath him. The girl looked up, slowing her swing with a small seed of curiosity. Claude leaned backwards, legs wrapped around the wood supporting the bars, leaving his torso to dangle upside-down above Edelgard. He put his hands on his head, splaying his fingers so they looked like deer antlers. "Bet you can't do this."

Edelgard cringed at his wink, turning her amethyst gaze back to her book with a disinterested expression on her face. "I bet I can't - and I'd rather not risk the injury."

Claude frowned, crossing his arms across his chest. "You're no fun." He debated on hopping down and ripping the book from her hands for the second time that day, but he refrained. The blood was beginning to flow to his head and his impulse control was going with it.

Byleth continued reading, missing the conversation between the two kids. She figured there would be yelling or crying if something was wrong, so if none of the three were trying to get her attention, she was sure nothing was wrong. Edelgard seemed content with her book, Claude had all of these mediums to expend his energy, and Dimitri… well. Maybe Byleth needed to keep an eye on him.

She glanced up from her comic book, half surprised to see Claude dangling upside-down from the monkey bars but honestly she should have expected it. He seemed to be trying to get Edelgard's attention, but the girl seemed extremely more interested in her book than in Clause's shenanigans. Dimitri was sitting at the top of the slide, obstructed by the small house-like structure at the top that connected the slide with the other playground attractions. Only his shoes stuck out of the structure, bright blue contrasting against the dull plastic and worn-out wood.

She looked longingly at her comic book. She had to be a good babysitter, didn't she? With a wistful sigh, she shoved her bookmark in between the pages before placing the book down on the bench next to her. She took one last swig of coffee before walking towards the small building at the top of the slide.

"Dimitri?" She asked, a small seed of concern lacing her tone. She climbed up the pegs of the ladder two at a time until she could see the inside of the platform. "Is everything okay?"

The boy turned away from her, hiding his face. His arms were crossed and grabbing at his sides, almost like he was trying to keep warm. It was a warm summer day, there was no way he could be cold. Maybe he was sick? He wasn't sick when she had brought the kids here all of fifteen minutes ago.

She heard him mutter, still facing away from her. Byleth decided to pull herself up into the room, dragging her knees so that she could fit and not hit her head. She was starting to worry. "Dimitri?"

He jumped, seeming to hear her for the first time. He turned to her, eyes wide with fear and hands trembling. "M-Miss Byleth!"

Byleth found herself crawling towards him, placing her hands on his forearms. He shuddered at her touch and - Goddess he was freezing! He looked pale - more pale than usual - and honestly, he looked like a beaten puppy. Before remembering herself, she pulled him into a hug, hoping to warm him up and give him comfort through… whatever was ailing him.

They stayed like that in silence for a while, Dimitri's chubby fingers gripping at her shirt as he pressed his face into her shoulder. Byleth let him, some kind of motherly instinct rooting her in place, and figured she would wait until the boy pulled away.

Of course, Claude had decided to try and play on the slide at that moment. He froze at the top of the ladder with an overly-thematic gasp. "Dimi and Miss Byleth are a thing!"

Byleth blinked before the words registered. By the time that they did, Dimitri was already pushing away from her, his face beet red. He was fumbling with his fingers, acting like he wasn't just gripping to his babysitter like she was his entire world. Byleth turned to Claude to correct him, but by the time she turned, the energetic rascal was gone. She glanced around wildly, realizing that Dimitri was gone as well. How had she lost two kids in all of five seconds?

Dimitri had all but thrown himself down the slide, trying to escape the situation. Claude, watching the motion, jumped down the ladder and into the wood and pellets that lined the playground. He ran towards the blond boy, tackling him to the ground.

"Did you two kiss?" He asked wildly, panting from the excursion. Dimitri, although he could easily fling the other boy off, let his lethargy consume him. He lay flat, defeated, limbs splayed underneath Claude. He pressed his forehead to the ground, feeling the small bits of wood prick at his skin and leave marks.

"No, of course not," he rebutted weakly. His face was still red, embarrassment from being found about to cry (again, he reminded himself bleakly) but also from… something else? He thought of Byleth's warmth but shooed the thought away when the idea of hugging her again made his ears go red.

Claude, as intuitive as always, felt a sly grin crawl into his face. "You definitely like her."

Dimitri turned his head as best he could, only able to see Claude's dangling braid. "No I don't!" He frowned. "And please get off me before I throw you off."

Claude seemed to remember Dimitri's accidental strength from when the blondie had torn Claude and Edelgard apart earlier, and crawled off of Dimitri with little thought. Whatever. He had new intel and the thought of knowing someone else's secret made him feel almost giddy.

Edelgard glanced over at the two, oblivious to what had happened before Claude got to his feet and off Dimitri. "Is there a reason you two are there?"

Claude locked his fingers behind his head, leaning backwards leisurely. "What, are we not allowed on the playground?"

Dimitri pushed himself up to his knees, brushing wood pellets off his legs with slight annoyance. "Maybe she's talking about you tackling me."

Claude raised his eyebrows with a lopsided grin. "Is there any laws against it?"

The blond immediately went to say no but held his tongue. Were there any laws prohibiting tackling children at a playground? He was six, he didn't know these things! He hoped Claude wouldn't get in trouble - worse, get Miss Byleth in trouble.

Edelgard spoke before his thoughts could catch up. "Not unless they were approved fairly recently," she placed her bookmark adorned with cute stickers of birds before standing up from her seat on the swings. "Why don't you guys try the swings instead of trying to kill each other?" While she seemed indifferent, the true meaning of her words was sincere.

"And what will I get out of this?" Claude asked with a mischievous glint in his verdant eyes, but he was already striding towards the swings. Kids were still kids.

Edelgard leveled him with an even stare, violet gaze piercing. "A good time?" She meant it as a statement but the lilt in her voice made it sound more like a question. Claude was truly an enigma to her.

She turned back to Dimitri, who continued to stand off to the side and wring his hands together. Something about how bashful he was irked her. Wasn't he supposed to be confident and charismatic? "Are you coming over here or not?"

Dimitri's eyes widened, surprised that he was being talked to. He had been zoning out and hardly even realized that Edelgard had been addressing him in the first place. He averted his eyes, embarrassment creeping up his face. "I uh…" How could he put this without sounding stupid? "I need someone to push me…"

He frowned when Claude stifled a laugh and Edelgard sighed in disappointment. "How pathetic," she muttered, but then the malice left her voice. "Do you want me to push you?"

Dimitri shuffled his feet, blue shoes contrasting against the dull colors of the ground, unwilling to make eye contact. "I would like that."

Claude, somehow back at his side, slang an arm across his shoulders. "Wowie! You somehow melted the ice queen's heart!"

Edelgard went red in the face, stamping her foot. "I am not an ice queen!"

Claude gave another one of his trademark winks as he took a seat on one of the swings. "Coulda fooled me."

Edelgard huffed, crossing her arms with a pout as Dimitri made his way over to the swing she had been sitting in. "Whatever."

Dimitri sat down, hands around the chains. He hated being between Edelgard and Claude; they always seemed to be fighting and he would get caught in the middle of it. He liked Miss Byleth, he just wished it was just him and not the other two. Was that wrong? Maybe.

His thoughts were forgotten once Edelgard began to push him and he gripped onto the chains on the swing like his life depended on it. "N-Not so high!"

Edelgard pushed harder and he could hear the annoyance in her voice. "You're only a foot above the ground at most!"

Claude was already going twice as high as Dimitri, legs swinging beneath him like he was a natural. Maybe he would make a good stuntman with how little things he feared. He had one hand on the bars and the other straight up, like he was on a roller coaster or something. "C'mon, Dimi! There's nothing to be afraid of!"

He continued to crush the metal beneath his fingers, knuckles going white with how tight he was holding on, and the weightlessness in his stomach almost made him feel woozy. Edelgard continued to push him, going higher and higher until he was almost starting to like the feeling. This wasn't so bad after all!

Suddenly, Edelgard screamed. Before Dimitri could look back at her, she pushed him with more force than she had been giving him and was running away. "Edelgard? What's wrong?"

"RAT!" She screamed, her voice an octave higher than usual. "KEEP IT AWAY FROM ME!"

Dimitri tried to look down to see the rodent, but he realized too late that looking down was a mistake. The ground seemed to be fifty feet below him and fear filled his veins, anxiety bubbling in his stomach as he watched himself get further and further away from the ground. Before he knew it, he was crying, holding onto the chains for dear life and begging for mercy.

Claude, unfazed by Edelgard's screaming and Dimitri's crying, knelt down and began to poke at the rat with a stick he found. The rat headbutted the stick but Claude continued to get its attention. He stuck his tongue out in concentration, eyes narrowed in determination. In a flash, he grabbed the rat, holding its torso between his hands. He perked up instantly. "Gotcha!"

He hid the creature by closing his palms together, making his way towards Edelgard, who seemed like she was only beginning to calm down. "Hey Edel, I got you a present."

The girl, still panting from her screaming, looked to him with weary eyes. "A present?"

He opened his palms, presenting the rat to her. "Surprise! It's Mr. Twitch!"

Edelgard began to scream again, running away from Claude. Of course, Claude began to chase her with Mr. Twitch around the playground.

Perhaps being attracted by all the noise, Byleth approached the swing set. Claude was chasing around a screaming Edelgard with a rat in his hands and Dimitri was crying to himself as he swung dangerously high on the swings.

She needed more coffee, a raise, and divine help from the Goddess Sothis.

A/N: I would apologize for making so much of the focus Dimitri but I'm BIASED ALRIGHT. And I feel like the scene at the end is like the gif of the guy walking in with the pizza and the room is on fire. Byleth, I don't think you're very good at this job...