Thanks for the ask! Since I already answered this for him I am going to post some headcanons I have about one of my favorite ships with him in it, Hondy which I adore because I am firmly of the belief that Dundy needs someone with whom he can relax and not have to be the carefully put together, responsible lieutenant that he is when he’s doing the work of three lieutenants on Erebus and that Hodgson deserves someone who will love and pay attention to him, given how often he’s ignored.

Headcanon: Hodgson’s bi-weekly reports from Terror are the only indulgences that Le Vesconte has to look forward to anymore. Dundy is a man who likes his comforts, but over the months they’ve been frozen in he has slowly had nearly all of them stripped away.

In the beginning, when spirits were high and everything still golden, he had his enjoyments, the small things that kept him warm and happy in spite of the chill. He had his co-lieutenants, men he liked and knew he could depend on, be it for a bit of good cheer or to save his life. He had his small rituals: taking leisurely meals with his fellow officers—reveling in the food and lively conversation, reading a chapter or two of a novel (usually a hopelessly romantic one, he’s a softie like that) before bed. Now he can’t even remember the last time he didn’t have to scarf down a meal to get back to work on time or got more than a few hours of sleep in one stretch, let alone had the time to read. Even his opportunities for conversation with James have diminished with both of them now far too busy for the long, sometimes brandy-soaked chats they would have in their down time aboard the Clio or in the early days of the expedition.

His meetings with Hodgson are the only times where he can really unwind and not be the steadfast, dutifully applied lieutenant that he is now asked to be 24/7. Of course, they handle their business first, discussing the needs of Terror and Erebus, the situation on the ice, all the reports expected of them, but George will often linger a little while after that just to talk. They sit close together—closer than is proper for two men but they hardly care—and just chat. Dundy just likes listening to him talk, it doesn’t matter what about, and Hodgson is happy to oblige. They can never stay for very long, both of them have duties on their respective ships, but for those brief moments both of them are finally content (side note: Hodgson volunteers to go over to Erebus every time through the ice and the cold just to see Dundy, it’s very sweet. Irving and Little still have no clue that that’s why he volunteers)

Heartcanon: Dundy enjoys picking Hodgson up and carrying him around just for the fun of it. George absolutely loves it. Is it an incredibly bad idea on an ice-bound, tilted ship with very little traction on her hardwood floors? Yes. Does that stop them? No! More often than not they both end up slipping and toppling to the ground, giggling like schoolboys. Fitzjames would probably reprimand them for their reckless conduct if he wasn’t so relieved to finally see his friend laughing and smiling genuinely again.

Gutcanon: Le Vesconte never learned that Hodgson wasn’t with the mutineers of his own volition. When Hodgson disappeared he didn’t want to believe that he would throw in with Hickey’s men, but the thought was always there in the back of his mind. He didn’t know which was worse, presuming George was dead and carried off or hoping that he had joined that group of devils to save himself.

In a story where they’re together perhaps that contributes to why he was so against the plan to rescue the captain. He doesn’t want to have to shoot the man he loves.

Junkcanon: I just really love the vaguely cursed idea of Hodgson dirty talking in Latin or something because he has a very skewed view on what he thinks is attractive. Even more cursed, Dundy is genuinely turned on by it.

Spleencanon: Not to cop out and use the same thing for two different ships, but screw canon, I like the thought of the two of them surviving and just getting up to fancy rich-boy shenanigans together. Getting champagne drunk in the middle of the day, buying each other stupidly extravagant gifts just to see the other smile, living their lives to the fullest together because, by God, they deserve it and all the silly indulgences they want after what they’ve been through.