unethical

“I only want to know from an...ethical standpoint,” Langley says, adjusting their glasses as they speak. “Your relationship with your students...well, let’s just say, there are a few that you are particularly close with, and, as your fellow professor, it is only natural that I’m curious about the meaning behind that.”

Byleth can’t count on both hands how many times they have pestered them about this. Always, Langley is approaching them to question their closeness with their students, because it seems that Byleth must be the first professor in the history of the world to try and take a personal interest in how their students individually grow and learn. To Byleth, that means getting to know them on a personal level, which is no easy task, when they struggle so much with interacting with and relating to others.

So this means that they have to go the extra mile to be able to get to know their students, which means that professors like Langley have questions. But it is only Langley that takes it upon themselves to ask these questions, and so frequently, and with so much accusation behind them. It isn’t hard to see that Langley assumes there is something more indecent going on, and perhaps with more than one of them, but Byleth knows by now that there is nothing they can say to convince them otherwise. The questions will just keep up like always.

So they have decided the best thing to do is ignore them, when they get off on another tangent about the “ethics” involved in student-teacher interactions, and the proper ways to build bonds with students, and how absolutely unethical it is to invite them to private tea parties. Langley has never taken into consideration that the “private” tea parties take place in the gardens, where there are always several other students, as well as members of the faculty, milling about.

“Are you even listening to me?” they ask, and truthfully, Byleth has not been. They’ve been thinking about how they will keep Annette from exhausting herself on her next assignment, and how they will deal with Linhardt sleeping through nearly ever lesson, and how they will ensure that Bernadetta shows up to class next week, even though she has somehow become convinced that Hubert has it out for her.

Truthfully, Byleth has too much to think about with each of their unique students to worry what Langley may think about their relationship, and they really don’t even have time to humor them. With a sigh, they prepare to tell them to leave them alone, that if they really have that much of a problem with Byleth’s teaching style, that they can feel free to go above and report it.

But before they can say any of this, Langley continues, and in their frustration, perhaps reveals a bit more than they intend to. “I just fail to understand why you relentlessly pursue your own students , when you could be focusing your attention on someone more appropriate! What on earth is so wrong with me ?!”

Immediately, they look as though they wish they could take it back, but it’s too late for that. Suddenly, Byleth understands everything.

~X~

The harassment from Langley started not long after they took this job. In fact, it started so soon that Byleth should have known that something was up with them, but at the time, they were so busy trying to settle in that they did not concern themselves with the concern of their coworker. After all, they seemed popular enough with their students, so if what they were doing was any real problem, then they doubt they would have seen such results, and likely would have heard complaints from others.

Byleth takes the time to get to know their students and every quirk and interest that they have. They have never had to deal with so many people at once, and even the people they have had to deal with in the past, they have never dealt with on such a personal level. Truthfully, they don’t know the first thing about teaching, but as they slip into their new role, they find that their students bring out a side to them that they never knew existed before, and they want to know more about this side to themselves.

And so, it becomes a mutually beneficial relationship. Byleth develops actual social skills while taking an interest in their students’ lives, and becomes a much beloved professor as a result of that. But even before things start to really take off, Langley is critical, and the others tell Byleth to ignore it.

They’ve always been so uptight. More than likely, they’re just trying to haze you because you’re new. Ignore it, and they’ll have to get bored eventually.

Except Langley doesn’t get bored. Langley becomes nearly obsessed with trying to prove that Byleth is doing something unethical , as they put it, by spending too much time with their students. Ignoring the fact that most of Byleth’s students are old enough to take care of themselves, and that Byleth hardly has the sort of cunning needed to take advantage of their position, they are relentless in their pursuit of some sort of evidence that this has gone too far.

It only takes off more when students from other houses begin requesting transfers. At first, Byleth simply teaches the Black Eagle house, and the eight students that come with that, but it isn’t long before the bulk of the Blue Lions and the Golden Deer have made the transfer, and even Seteth sees fit to let Flayn take classes, so long as Byleth is teaching. One would assume that if he would approve, anyone would be able to see their worth, but Langley just latches onto the idea harder, thinking that they are not only charming their students, but attempting to blind the faculty to their schemes .

And Byleth continues ignoring them, because the year is starting to get difficult, and there are serious things going on, and they are allowed to think whatever they want, so long as they don’t actually get in the way of schoolwork. (And, though they are not quite sure how to put this into words, they find the heckling amusing in a strange way; they know that it is completely unfounded and mostly annoying, but somehow, they get the impression that they would really miss it, if it were to stop.)

Byleth can barely understand their own feelings most of the time, preferring to focus on the feelings of their students, and to help with those matters as much as possible, so they do not bother to question why they don’t mind Langley’s attention as much as they probably should.

~X~

But now the truth finally comes out, and Byleth should have seen this coming, but they didn’t. Now that they are being faced with it, it is so obvious that it is painful, but what do they know of romance? Contrary to popular belief, they do not know a damn thing about how to handle those sorts of things, and it really is laughable that Langley would think they were trying to seduce their students, when they are too dense to figure out when someone has a crush on them.

Now, though, all the attention begins to make sense. After all, why would they focus so much on Byleth’s supposed unethical behavior, when Manuela is sometimes getting carried home by students after getting too drunk to find her way back? Dense as ever, Byleth had written that off to Langley deciding Seteth handled lecturing her well enough, rather than realizing that Langley just isn’t as interested in Manuela as they are in Byleth.

“You’re not saying anything,” they say, and Byleth realizes that they’ve allowed themselves to space out for far too long. “You’re not saying anything, even though what I just said probably surprised you, and you should probably have a response at the ready!”

“Are you even going to criticize how I respond to love confession?” they ask, their voice without tone because they don’t know what tone they should use, much less what tone they want to use.

Langley appears to blush, their eyes widening as they purse their lips, fists clenched at their side. “Snarking now, are we? I...honestly, you are just...if you could, would you please just explain to me what I’m trying to figure out? My own...slip of the tongue aside, you absolutely have no reason to dodge the real question. Why them? Why students?”

“I’m not trying to snark,” Byleth replies, “and I’m not trying to have that sort of relationship with my students. I’m just trying to have a strong relationship with my students. All of them have really unique needs, and most of them come from backgrounds where they didn’t get the kind of support that they needed. I don’t know a lot about...people...but I want to be able to give them whatever support I can, and that requires getting to know them.”

“W-well...yes, but…” They seem at a loss for words now, perhaps feeling foolish for using all of this as a cover for their own feelings, when there was nothing worth criticizing to begin with.

“But, with that in mind,” Byleth continues, “that means I am not currently pursuing anyone. So that position is still open.”

If Langley were speechless before, that is nothing compared to now.