#hudue

DONE! Had this whole plot outlined but it took a while to figure out a starting point. Hope it was worth the wait!

(Currently accepting rare ships! Click here for the info post!)

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Dedue found Hubert shin-deep in the river, pant legs rolled up to his knees and both hands in the water. The Kingdom-Empire-Alliance army camp sat a good distance away. Finding Hubert this far from Edelgard after a battle with the Agarthans was strange enough-- it was stranger still to see him apparently sifting through a river.

There was no particular reason Dedue had gone looking for Hubert in the first place. By rights, Dedue should be helping Dimitri sort through the aftermath or plan their next move. But Dedue always made sure to find Hubert after a battle. It had become a habit not long after the countries teamed up against Slither. Something about seeing Hubert, sometimes wounded or tired but still standing, always set Dedue at ease. 

Coming to a stop beside Hubert's boots at the water's edge, Dedue spoke. "What are you doing?"

Hubert pulled a flat rock from the river bottom, scowled at it, and flung it over his shoulder back into the river. "According to your report, this is where you were struck in the head. Therefore this is the most likely place your earring would have fallen off,” Hubert said.

why are you people like this

SO F I N E let’s imagine, for a moment, that after Dedue kills Hubert, Hubert is forcibly tethered to Dedue after his death

Let’s imagine how at first Hubert would think it some divine joke, the goddess deciding to mock him further in his failures by letting him be so close, yet so far from the one person he’d considered abandoning everything for. 

Let’s imagine as the days, weeks, months pass, Hubert seeing Dedue continuing to be wracked with guilt for being the one to kill him, despite there being no other option thanks to Hubert’s damned stubbornness.

Let’s imagine Hubert himself growing increasingly upset and even sorrowful seeing Dedue still guilt-ridden over his death, berating himself for not taking Dedue’s hand when it was offered to him so long ago. 

Let’s imagine as time goes on, Hubert begins thinking of his situation as less of some sick joke by the goddess, and more of a punishment - one he wished Dedue wasn’t a part of. 

Let’s imagine that sometimes, when Dedue sleeps, Hubert watches over him, even lies beside him if he can, for once wishing that he had been selfish.

Let’s imagine that Hubert hates himself for his decision to ignore Dedue’s hand in favor of trying to follow what he believed was his fate.

Love any excuse to come back to these two. 

(Currently accepting rare ships! Click here for the info post!)

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Dedue watched as Ignatz trod on Dimitri’s foot for a third time. With a wave of her hand, Dorothea signaled for the violinist to stop playing and moved forward to correct Ignatz’s position. Red bloomed on Ignatz’s cheeks but Dimitri seemed more amused than anything else. Under Dorothea’s instruction, the couple readjusted their arms, then the dancing began again. Dimitri leaned forward and murmured something to Ignatz that made them both smile.

“Too much work for a first dance if you ask me.” Felix had appeared at Dedue’s side, leaning back against the wall with disinterest-- though his eyes were trained on the king and his fiancé. “You’re off duty,” Felix continued.

“I merely came to check their progress,” Dedue said. There had been some improvement since yesterday but he was still glad Dorothea had stepped in to assist them.  

Felix grunted. Crossing his arms, he said, in a low voice Dedue only barely heard above the violin, “How many times has he told you he doesn’t love you?”

P LE A SE, WE D E S PE RA T ELY NEED THIS

Gods, it’s been ages since the last time Mocha the Pegasus got featured on this blog, I really need to find ways to slip her into more asks, haha

Anyway, if Hubert had gotten Mocha during the Academy phase, I imagine him introducing Dedue to her after mission leaves Hubert a little more roughed up. He can't quite take care of Mocha like he thinks he should, but rather than ask someone from his class...he finds himself asking Dedue.

"She got through the last mission unscathed, but she's still roughed up. I need you to...help me clean her up," Hubert would say, forcing out the last part.

"She's quite beautiful," Dedue would comment, seeing how obviously cared for the pegasus is, "Although I don't believe you mentioned her name. What was it?"

"....it's Mocha."

"Pardon?"

"Her name is Mocha."

Hubert would expect to hear Dedue at least chuckle hearing the name Hubert chose for her, but to his surprise, Dedue simply smiles and comments on how the name fits her.

FRIEND I THANK YOU S O MUCH FOR THIS CLEANSER IT IS VERY MUCH NEEDED

This isnt going to be fic style simply because my brain isn't in fic mode, it is in headcanon mode, SO THATS WHAT WE'RE GOING WITH ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

So Dedue sees Hubert hesitating with his spell casting, and realizes Hubert doesn't truly want to fight. And in that moment...he makes a choice. He knocks Hubert out, rather than killing him, and proceeds to take him back to camp.

Dimitri is admittedly surprised by this...but he trusts Dedue's judgement. And so Hubert is allowed to stay (even if not everyone is happy about it, Dedue is beyond grateful).

Once the war is over, Dimitri practically forces the two to spend more time together. And by that, I mean he gives Dedue a mandatory vacation, which gives Dedue and Hubert time to reconnect.

They end up finding a little home together, and that's where the Delicious Domestic Fluff Begins.

I like to think they've got a couple pets - if Hubert has Mocha and Cinnamon, they're definitely there, as is a cat or two. They absolutely get to have their garden together, and they often spend afternoons together working in the garden. Dedue slowly shows Hubert how to live a life that truly is his own, and Hubert in turn gets to spend time with the man he loved and thought he'd have to leave behind.

Imagine, if you will, one day, Dedue wakes up to Hubert actually quietly humming as he works in the kitchen, trying to surprise Dedue one morning. Wanting to thank Dedue for all of the love he'd given him, not able to truly put it into words but still wanting to be able to express the gratitude and love he felt for Dedue. Only for Dedue to surprise him with a quick peck on the cheek, and after learning what Hubert had been planning to do, Dedue simply telling him that he didn't need to do anything - simply having Hubert with him and knowing Hubert loved him as well was enough.

I'm just soft for these two now, you know?? All the angst I've had to write for these two has given me a soft spot fhrjfb

A ser*hauls my dumbass out of the no-motivation pit* I LIIIIIIVE HHHHH IN ALL SERIOUSNESS THOUGH IM S O SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG, life came and whacked me upside the head ;w; But I’m back! At least, sort of! I’m gonna try and answer these as best I can, apologies if they turn out wonky ^^;;

Also war? Don’t know her sorry

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Truth be told, Hubert never expected to get to where he is now. He had spent the entirety of his life serving Lady Edelgard, and he expected it to remain that way until the day he died.

He never expected Dedue to come stumbling into it, with his overwhelmingly gentle nature despite what others said about him. Dedue, with his fondness for gardening and cooking, and a loyalty to the now-King Dimitri that even rivaled Hubert’s own. And despite that, still finding time to devote to others.

Dedue, who came into Hubert’s life and pulled him along with the intent to get to know him, even spending time with him just to help him find hobbies that didn’t involve Lady Edelgard one way or another. All because he wanted to. That had baffled Hubert beyond belief.

Though really, that didn’t matter to him right now. What did matter was the fact that he had no idea how to show just how much he appreciated Dedue. Not to mention that this was the Day of Devotion - it’s not like he could just sit by and do nothing. In desperation, he had actually gone to King Dimitri and...asked if he knew what Dedue would like. 

King Dimitri actually laughed at that, and Hubert had been ready to just leave when he spoke. “My apologies, I wasn’t laughing at your plight. I was simply amused.”

“Amused? And by what, pray tell?”

“Simply the fact that you thought that Dedue would want anything other than your company.”

That had been bouncing around Hubert’s mind ever since King Dimitri said it. Was that true? Was his company truly enough for this man that had helped him find more worth in his life beyond serving Lady Edelgard? It...It couldn’t be. He deserved so much more than that.

And yet, lo and behold...

“Did you truly think I needed anything more?” Dedue’s tone was light, as was the smile on his face. Any other time, Hubert would have treasured it, but now he just felt embarrassed.

“Well...you’ve done so much for me,” Hubert reasoned, trying to fight down the blush that was no doubt appearing on his face. “I simply thought that you would have wanted something more. Surely my company alone isn’t enough.”

“It is more than enough, love,” Dedue said softly as he took Hubert’s hands in his, and oh how Hubert’s heart soared at his words, “How could I ask for anything more than simply spending time with you?”

All of the words that Hubert had been ready to say simply vanished into thin air. The only thing his mind was able to comprehend was his love for the man before him; apparently, words were completely secondary in this case.

Dedue seemed to catch on, and he chuckled a bit. Admittedly, Hubert’s heart did flutter a tad at it - though really, how could it not?

“Come now,” and as he did when they first began truly speaking, Dedue began to tug Hubert along, “let’s go make cookies. I believe we have some of those heart-shaped sprinkles I know you’re fond of.”

(And later, when they were busy making cookies together, Dedue couldn’t help but stop and stare at Hubert as he began rolling out the dough for the cookies. Despite his insistence that he was not at all fond of those sprinkles, it was easy to tell that he was. 

Anon. Anon I hope you understand that this is what you wrought. THIS IS WHAT YOU BROUGHT UPON YOURSELF BY ASKING, I HOPE YOU’RE HAPPY BECAUSE I A M N O T

this was all written late at night and it shows bU TI NEED TO GET IT OUT

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Hubert gazed around him civilians fled, attempting to escape the carnage only to fall prey to it. Despite himself, he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of guilt - ridiculous, considering all he had done to practically drown in blood. And yet, he couldn’t help but ask himself. Had this truly been what Lady Edelgard wanted? Innocents falling left and right as Imperial soldiers put up one last fight against the Kingdom troops? 

If this had been what he wanted went unasked, because he did not deserve to ask for anything. Not when...

Hubert looked up from his musing to find the man who he had not seen for the past five years, and yet foolishly, foolishly still allowed to stay in his heart. The man who, once upon a time, had tried to help him find pastimes beyond serving Lady Edelgard. The man who, all those years ago, had somehow found his way into Hubert’s heart without Hubert even realizing.

Dedue Molinaro. The right hand of Prince Dimitri. Hubert almost wanted to laugh - of course they would end up facing one another here and now. Why wouldn’t they? Why wouldn’t fate throw what he himself had left behind right in his face, right within his reach and yet so far out of it all the same? 

Tch. Here he was getting distracted by his own thoughts. He had more important things to focus on over waxing poetics about fantasies. (Never mind how a voice in the back of his mind insisted they weren’t fantasies, they were what he willingly threw away like a fool.)

“Hubert, stand down. You know as well as I do that fighting at this point is futile,” Dedue said to him, slowly approaching him with a hand on his axe. 

“In your own words,” Hubert began, raising his hands for a spell, “you should know as well as I that I cannot do that.”

And thus their battle began - though, honestly, he couldn’t in good conscience call it a fight. Hubert knew. Hubert knew, he knew, he knew that he is much faster with spell-casting, more accurate with his spell-casting. He had been training with it for the past five years, after all. And yet, yet, somehow this time was different. Dedue managed to strike him down, just as Hubert fired off his first spell - only for it to miss entirely.

The first and only time Hubert ever missed a spell. On purpose.

Pathetic, wasn’t it? As Hubert laid on the floor, pain radiating through his system, he couldn’t help but laugh to himself. Sacrificing everything, leaving everything behind for his liege - and yet here he was, throwing away a chance to at least weaken the Kingdom army simply because he was too weak to harm the Duscurian that still held a place in his heart. He expected to be left behind, expected to hear the clanking of Dedue’s armor as he walked away and left Hubert to the solitary death he more than deserved. He closed his eyes, simply waiting for death to come for him.

And yet. 

Hubert’s eyes opened in surprise as Dedue gently picked him up, holding him close. The surprise was enough to dull the pain that Hubert felt at the motion.

“I could still try and heal you,” Dedue quietly spoke, “and I could bring you back with me.”

At that, Hubert simply laughed, only ending in a cough that left a coppery tang in his mouth. “You know that would not work.”

Dedue’s grip tightened, if only slightly. “I do.”

Hubert simply stared up at Dedue, truly taking in his new appearance. His face was much more scarred than it had been when he last saw him five years ago, and yet still as handsome as ever. His hair was different as well. They both stayed silent, knowing that Hubert would be dying soon enough. He was fine with that. He deserved death for all he had done after all - and yet, despite that...

“Before this war began,” Dedue said quietly, “I had planned to ask Lady Edelgard if I could court you properly. If I could bring you with me to the lands of Duscur, once His Highness had begun returning the land to my people.”

“Oh?” Hubert felt a faint surge of surprise at that. A small grin appeared on his face. “I admit, I did not know much about Duscur before meeting you.”

“That would have changed.” Dedue’s gaze had grown soft, a warm smile on his face - if Hubert hadn’t been forcing himself to stay so focused, he would have said it was the same as the smiles he gave him during their Academy days. “I would have shown you the lands I grew up in, would have taught you our culture...”

Dedue trailed off there, though the silence wasn’t for long. Hubert chuckled. “Seems I would’ve become...quite the expert.”

Even if his vision was beginning to fade in and out, he couldn’t miss the way Dedue nodded in that slow and sad way, the way one does when they’re lost in thoughts. All the same, Dedue still kept his gaze focused on his.

“Perhaps. And perhaps we could have settled down together. No doubt we would have to travel often for Lady Edelgard and His Highness, but we would have somewhere to settle down when we were not needed.”

Hubert hummed. A future where he and Dedue could have lived together, spent their days and nights together when they were not needed by their respective lieges. 

(A future you could have had, had you not been so cowardly, a voice in the back of his mind hissed.)

“Perhaps...I imagine there would have been...a garden...” and even if Hubert knew he did not deserve it, did not even deserve to think of it, he was selfish enough to want to indulge himself in this fantasy.

“There would. I would have you help me, though you’d likely complain on the odd occasion.” Dedue chuckled, and how quiet and sad that chuckle was. Not at all like how Dedue’s laughter should be. 

“Hm...only sometimes...”

“Only sometimes,” Dedue repeated, and through the haze Hubert imagined Dedue could see that he was slipping under. “Though I imagine there would be some plants you’d have liked to grow.”

“...Dedue?” 

“Yes?” Dedue sounded almost frantic for some reason. Why? Hubert would be dead soon. It’d be better for Dedue if Hubert was dead, which he would be soon. He wouldn’t have to fight him ever again.

“...’m sorry ‘bout all this,” and Hubert choked out a laugh, no matter how it hurt him, no matter the last dredges of pain crawling their way through his veins. “...wish I was...was braver...”

Dedue tensed. All the same, Hubert continued.

“...could’ve...could’ve been with you...n’ matter how selfis’..” and Hubert knew he was slurring, knew he was mumbling, knew his time would be up soon but he had to get it out. “..’n I’m sorry...for doin’ this t’you...”

His vision was nearly gone now, but he could still see Dedue’s expression twist at that. He couldn’t understand what made him look so upset, so hurt. 

“Hope....hope you find someone...someone who deserves you...’n better than me...” Hubert managed one last breath, just to finish his selfish, selfish statement. “...l..love you...”

Of course, it’d only be when he was on his deathbed that Hubert would finally say how he felt. He could scarcely feel Dedue’s shaking. “I...I love you as well...”

And that was the last thing Hubert knew.

(Dedue was quiet, still holding Hubert close to him. No, not Hubert anymore. Hubert’s body. Because Hubert was dead now. Dedue felt his body shaking, but he could barely even think about that when Hubert was dead and gone, never to come back. And Dedue had been the one to kill him.

He heard the clanking of His Highness’s - of Dimitri’s armor as he approached.

“Dedue...?” He heard him call cautiously, but Dedue did not move.

“Please...Please leave. I...I need a moment alone.” He forced his voice to be as steady as possible, tried to force down the sobs that wanted to crawl and fight their way out of his throat. He did not hear anything for a few moments. He only held Hubert - Hubert’s body - closer as he hunched in on himself.

“Please..” He heard himself shakily ask. There was another pause before he heard Dimitri walking away.

It was only once he could no longer hear Dimitri’s footsteps that a sob choked him as it climbed out of his throat. Then another. And another.

This. T h i s. T h i s h u r t s.

Anon you need to go sit in the corner aND THINK ABOUT WHAT YOUVE D O NE

HHHH H H H H HH fair warning I have not and probably will never complete Crimson Flower for the same reason that I will never actually complete a run of FE3H - the H E A R T B R E A K

HhHhhhh I CAN BARELY EVEN T H I N K OF ANYTHING JUST THE CONCEPT IS

H UR T

Hhhh this

This would probably cross a line for Hubert he didnt even realize he had. Up until now, he probably thought he was willing to leave everything behind for Lady Edelgard, no matter how it hurt, but seeing Dedue force himself to transform into a beast, into something so horrifically wrong and different from the warm smiles and gentle touches that Hubert knew at the Academy?

Thatd honestly break a part of him, deep down. I can imagine him stewing in his regrets - even more so than he would have already just having had to leave behind Dedue.

perhaps, sometimes, hubert can even see dedue's form, twisted between human and monster but eyes burning with an uncharacteristic hate all the same, asking hubert is this is what he had wanted.