#febert

Hubert can feel any words he might’ve had completely die in his throat. Every time he attempts to pull them out, to try and say something, anything, he feels them crumble to dust. Behind him, he can hear Mercedes gasp as Caspar whispers out an honest “what the fuck?”

But really, what other response could there have been? What other response could any of them have had to the sight of Felix - Felix, who Hubert thought dead, who he mourned, whose sword he’d kept by his side since that awful day he’d been informed of his death - the sight of Felix chained up in one of the cells. And Felix...barely looked like himself. His hair, which even during the war had been so well kept, was now long and tangled. He was thin, far thinner than what was healthy, and there were scars - new scars - and fresh wounds littered across his body.

Hubert had seen many people be tortured before - in fact, he was usually the torturer. So this was not a sight that should have made him sick to his stomach. But with how his mind kept betraying him with thoughts of Felix’s time here, of what must have entailed not to mention the memories Hubert hoped to bury long ago...

Hubert forced the bile back down his throat, instead rushing forward to try and free Felix from his shackles. As soon as he got his hand on the cuff to try and break them off - because he really did not have time for the process of trying to actually pick the lock, Felix’s eyes snapped up to look at him.

They were cold. Cold with a fury that lighted itself as he began trying to thrash away from Hubert with a snarl on his face; more out of shock, and perhaps hurt, than anything else, Hubert let go and stepped back.

“I told you to just kill me dammit, you aren’t getting anything else out of me,” Felix gritted out, and momentarily Hubert was stunned. What on earth was Felix talking about?

Then it dawned on him why Felix would be talking to him like that, and a cold stone made its presence known in his stomach.

“What the fuck Felix, it’s just us! We gotta get you out of here!” Caspar said, stepping forward as soon as Hubert stepped back. Hubert grabbed him by the shoulder before Caspar could get any closer.

“...They probably used our images to torment him further,” Hubert said quietly, a pained expression appearing on his face as a horrified, if not angry one appeared on Caspar.

Mercedes approached slowly, Felix watching her carefully with a guarded gaze. “Felix, I know it’s very difficult to believe, but it truly is us,” she said quietly, a sad expression on her face as she spoke. “Would you like it if we proved it to you?”

“Tch. Stop trying to prolong this stupid facade, I know it isn’t you!” Felix spat, venom dripping from his words.

To her credit, Mercedes seemed largely unaffected. Hubert wished he could say the same for himself. She looked into Felix’s eyes, making eye contact with him as she spoke again. “Please watch carefully Felix, I hope this will be enough to convince you that we are who we truly are.”

She went to go heal Felix from where she stood, and as she did, the Crest of Lamine appeared, its glow temporarily lighting the dim cell. Despite that, Hubert could still see Felix’s eyes widen. 

Hubert wished he had thought of it sooner. Of course. None of the copies that those Snakes would have created could bring up the Crests of the people they were attempting to copy. Felix stayed silent for a while.

“...a-are you really here?” His voice was so quiet, so weak and so unlike Felix that Hubert wanted to never hear him speak in that tone again. 

“It really is us, Felix! I swear, I’m gonna go kick those Snakes’ asses when I get ahold of them!” Caspar spoke fiercely, fury infecting his words. Not that Hubert could really disagree with his sentiment - right now though, his concern was getting Felix to safety. As soon as the cuffs were broken from their chains, Hubert caught Felix as the latter practically fell into him and held him close.

As much as he hated these circumstances...Hubert couldn’t deny how glad he was that Felix was alive. His desire to get Felix out of these dungeons to a much safer area must’ve shown on his face - Mercedes cast another healing spell to try and close up the last of the fresh wounds, before instructing Hubert to get Felix out of these as soon as possible. Hubert nodded, and proceeded to run out of the dungeons with Felix held tightly in his arms.

Hubert was filled with so many emotions, all of them swirling about his head as he ran out of the dungeons in order to warp back to base. And as selfish as it might be, among the strongest was relief - relief that Felix was alive at all, and not dead as Hubert had thought. 

Another part of Hubert hated himself for being so relieved, because at least if Felix had been dead, he wouldn’t have had to deal with the horrors those Snakes must have put him through.

He could feel Felix shaking against him, though whether it was due to a storm of emotions or simply the chill, Hubert couldn’t tell. Regardless, Hubert managed to maneuver his cloak enough to wrap it around Felix.

“Please stay awake,” Hubert found himself staying, his attempts to keep his voice level completely failing. “At least until we get back to base. Just....please don’t fall asleep yet.”

Or you might not wake up, and I can’t go through losing you when I’ve just found you again, went completely unspoken.

Felix nodded against him, a dazed expression on his face - at least he was awake.

Well, there was one thing Hubert could say for sure. He would not be leaving Felix’s side until the latter was recovered. Apologies Lady Edelgard, but...he wouldn’t be able to choose duty over the man he loved a second time.

(Despite his efforts, and he honestly did try, Felix ended up falling asleep again, the thumping of Hubert’s heart being what finally lulled him to sleep. When he opened his eyes again, he was in a cot with Hubert asleep in what had to be in an uncomfortable position. He was almost sure that he was dreaming, or that some new torture method by Those...whatever their name was. 

As soon as he so much tried to sit up - not that he really could, his whole body felt heavy and numb - Hubert shot up from where he’d been sleeping. There were darker bags under his eyes than Felix could ever remember seeing, and somehow Hubert looked paler than usual. In short, he looked like shit.