#maribert

Oooh, a cute rarepair!

It had been gone for seven days since he left the monastery for a mission. And to distract herself, Marianne threw herself into her work. She'd taken lessons from the new medic, mastering potions and curatives for conditions she'd never seen or heard of. Lady Medee said she had a natural gift for potion craft. Though she couldn't see it herself.

It was a troubling quality in herself she'd started to resent. Any time she was given a compliment, she struggled to truly accept it. She'd been trying to fix it. Allow herself to really hear the compliments and see those qualities in herself. It was difficult, though. When she looked in the mirror, she still found it hard to see herself as those things.

To her surprise, one day, Hubert had given her a bit of advice.

'Every morning and night, as soon as you rise and before you go do bed. Look in the mirror, and repeat all the things people have complimented you on. You might start to believe it.'

And so she did. And as she stood in front of her mirror in the washrooms, she tried to focus on that.

"'You are very skilled with the horses.' 'It's so cool that you can talk to birds.' 'You are very kind'. 'You are quite skilled at potion craft'. 'You are so delightful to talk to'. 'You have a lovely smile.' 'We're so lucky to have you with us'."

It was awkward, at first. She'd felt quite ridiculous looking at herself and saying these things. But over time, she had grown more relaxed, and it soon became routine. As easy as breathing. Though she still struggled to believe the words were genuine, she was starting to like hearing them. She felt more comfortable hearing them at least.

Once she had finished up, she started to make her way back towards her room. It was late. The stars were already shining, and the moon was high in the night sky. A delightful, delicate sliver.

As she turned and walked past one of the entrances to Abyss, Marianne froze. She glanced at the dark path, so certain she'd seen something.

"Hello? Is someone there?"

A small movement. Dark. Tall. Waiting, as if wanting her to pass.

"Hubert? she called out. "Is that you?"

Silence. Cold silence.

She took a deep breath. ❛Hubert....if it is you, then please. Give me a sign, let me know that you're there."

After a minute, the figure slowly stumbled out of his hiding place. Hubert was limping. His eyes were tired. And he kept a hand on his left side.

"Apologies, Marianne," he groaned. "I did not mean to interrupt you."

"You're hurt!" She hurried over to him, grabbing his arm and forcing him to sit on one of the nearby crates. "Hold still. I'll heal you."

"That isn't-"

"I'm not taking no for an answer. Now stay still."

Hubert blinked, but didn't protest. Instead, he lifted his free hand to gently caress her cheek.

"Who knew you could be so forceful. I quite like this side of you."

Marianne blushed. The usual churning sensation in her stomach never came. She smiled, and turned her attention to her work.

Hubert Rare Pair Week Day 4: Bloody Path, Marianne/Hubert

Summary:

Hubert continues down the bloody path. The howls that had woken him are starting to sound more like screams, branches cracking nearby. She’s close. Hubert hurries.

<----- has only seen the C support for Hubert and Bernadetta

Uhhhhhhhhhh

I do like to think Hubert would try to help Marianne out of her shell, pre timeskip. Saying it's for the sake of Lady Edelgard, but he genuinely thinks Marianne has potential, if she stopped beating herself down so often.

Hello Hello, my my my, what have we here?