This is a very quick Dimitri/Byleth fic that I wrote and edited in like three or four hours max. I may add more instalments to this story later, because my heart is pretty set on the ice king at the moment.

The hunt had gone badly. Dozens of miles from the monastery, Dimitri and the Professor had found no game slow enough for their arrows. They had lost their horse when she was spooked by a bear and bolted. Worst of all was the weather. Large, grey flakes swirled in a pale pink sky, and the Professor's breath rose in clouds as she drew her hands up around her shoulders, protected only with thin leather gloves.

"We can't make it back to the monastery before nightfall," Dimitri said, surveying the dusk with his good eye, "not at the pace you're capable of."

"Yes, w-we have to rest somewhere," the Professor agreed, hoping her chattering teeth couldn't be heard. Dimitri glanced her way, and stopped when he saw how pale her face was.

"You're not used to this cold," he said, eyebrows lowering, "I shouldn't have taken a weakling like you out here to begin with."

The Professor was about to protest, but then a breeze lifted loose snow from the packed ground. The icy air permeated the Professor's thinner garments and she shuddered violently. The coldness hovered over her skin like a vapor as the wind eddied, and she realized some of her hair was frozen. Dimitri sighed, a long cloud of steam vanishing as he gestured to a rocky area in the distance.

"There's an alcove nearby. We can stay there until the morning. I don't think you're fit to do anything else in this state, anyway."

In a few minutes, the Professor and Dimitri huddled in a crevice that barely fit them both. It wasn't comfortable, but the cruel wind had lessened and fewer flakes fell on the Professor's face. Yet the icy walls against her were as chilling as the winter air. Her face was as white as the hills of snow and Dimitri could feel her trembling.

"Professor, here."

"Huh?"

When the Professor opened her eyes, her vision was blocked by grey fur. The warmth told her that Dimitri had spread his cloak over her. No, over both of them, judging by how he was holding the Professor to his chest. She stared at Dimitri in wonder, and he looked away, a trace of color in his countenance.

"You'd freeze to death if it weren't for me. I'm used to this. Just… stay close to me, Professor."

Dimitri's voice was impassive and husky as usual, but he didn't move as the Professor rested her head on his vast chest. She was too tired to open her eyes again, but she felt his hand on her cheek. He may only have been checking for frostbite, but when the Professor murmured, "thank you", Dimitri let his hand rest on the back of her head. She was still shivering slightly, and he stroked her hair until the Professor grew stiller and her breathing slowed.

Dimitri stared at the skyline for a long hour as the Professor slept in his arms. Had she been awake, she would have felt the hesitant caress of fingers on her cheek a few times during the night, and heard Dimitri whisper, "You're the one I should thank, Professor."