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"Why don't you tell her how you feel?"
Edelgard sat across her desk from Hubert. She was smiling as she spoke, the glimmer in her eyes mischievous. Her smile was warm, inviting, and well-deserved after the end of the war. But also… ominous.
Hubert raised his eyebrow at Edelgard, giving her a quizzical look.
"I saw the way you looked at her as she left. Longingly, as if you were going to miss her," Edelgard added, her tone gently mocking.
The 'her' in question was the mercenary Shez, who had wormed her way into Hubert's heart. She was at the meeting as a representative of the commoner class that was burgeoning in power, thanks to the Emperor's reforms. For now, it was merely a ceremonial position, but they intended for it to be a full voting position on the council once all of the details were sorted.
It had been an otherwise unexciting meeting in the Emperor's office. After Rhea's death and the fall of Thales, they had made a peace treaty with Faerghus and headed back to Enbarr. There had been matters of state to discuss — who would ultimately be in charge of the Church of Seiros after the fall of the Immaculate One, what parcels of land would be distributed to which lord in the aftermath, how to prevent the re-consolidation of the Western territories in Faerghus. This particular meeting had representatives from the territories that had sided with them. They all wanted to stay part of Faerghus as their traditional land, but not fall under its King's wrath.
He raised his eyebrow back at the Emperor, who knew how he felt about expressing his feelings. Truthfully, the idea of telling her how he felt was more difficult than winning a war. He… liked things the way they were, with the two of them practicing swordsmanship and magic together daily. It had become part of his routine since the war had ended.
"No," he replied tartly. "I am not ready to even consider a relationship with the amount of work I have to do," Hubert added.
"How long will you continue to make excuses, Hubert? At first, there was a war to win, and then now there is too much paperwork. But there will always be too much paperwork, and not enough time to do other things in our lives. And plus, you seem to have enough time to train with Shez every day since the war ended, without fail," Edelgard added with a smirk.
"She is an excellent sparring partner. Dedicated, hardworking…"
"And cute?"
Hubert felt a lump form in his throat. Edelgard was right, of course. There were many people in this army who were dedicated and hardworking, and she was quite attractive... He breathed in after glaring at the Emperor, who raised her eyebrows at him expectantly.
"And cute," he spat out.
"Don't be such a grump, Hubert. It's okay for you to be in a romantic relationship. I know that you take your role seriously — and I appreciate that! — but you can't spend your days only working. After all, I have made it work. I know Dorothea is frustrated with how much work I have to put in on matters of state, but she understands and wants to support me and help me. I'm sure Shez will feel the same way," Edelgard said, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
Hubert knew that Lady Edelgard was correct where Dorothea was concerned; the songstress had confirmed as much to him. But then, Lady Edelgard was easy to love… unlike him.
As if she read his mind, she added. "You know she cares for you too, Hubert. Even if you distrusted her at the start of the war, she always went out of her way to connect with you, and now she always speaks of you glowingly. But I can’t imagine she will make the first move; I don’t think she has any idea how you feel."
"What do you suggest I do, then? How does one just… ask someone out?"
Edelgard threaded her hands together. "So you'll consider it? Honestly, I am not an expert either. I just… asked Dorothea one day, out of the blue, after she flirted with me enough that even I noticed.” She gave a slightly embarrassed smile at the memory. “Maybe you should ask for her advice, not mine."
As it turned out, Dorothea's suggestions had been very reasonable. She encouraged him to ask about it during the end of their training session, while they were patching each other up. She argued that it was an intimate time for both of them, for all that Hubert found it a task incumbent on any who finish training together, rather than one of people who were close with one another.
And yet, as of late, Hubert had found some emotion stirring in his chest when he touched her skin, even if it was merely to bandage her.
"Hubert! You're off your game, buddy! That's your tenth loss in a row," Shez said, smirking. She threw his practice lance back at him. "You're hardly putting up a fight." The inelegance of her words was one of the things he found charming about her, as odd as it was. Perhaps it was simply because it was unfamiliar to his ear.
Hubert caught it. "I'm aware. Painfully aware," he added, as he watched blood run down his arm. It seemed that he would be the one who would be patched up today.
"All of us have tough days, Hubert.
"I do not permit myself to have 'tough days' in my service to Lady Edelgard," he snapped back.
"Well, looks like this one didn’t ask your permission. Wanna call it early, Hubert?"
He let out a sigh, conceding defeat. "Fine, if you insist."
The two of them walked over to the bench near the first aid area, where Hubert sat down. This was not going exactly as planned… or was it? Perhaps him being humiliated in battle and treated was a perfect opportunity to confess his feelings, if she did not consider him to be an incompetent oaf after his poor showing.
"If you have something to say, Hubert, spit it out. Are you suspicious of me again?" she asked. Hubert supposed he had been altogether too mistrusting of her over time, and that perhaps she would assume the worst of him. So… was it worth the bother to ask her for a romantic endeavor? Was it destined for failure?
No. He had to. It was interfering with his productivity, and his training, to be so distracted by romance. Despite his nerves, he spoke.
"Not at all, Shez. You have proven yourself to be an exceptionally capable individual, and your service to Her Majesty has been exemplary. Truth be told, you… your…" Shez looked up at him as she was dressing his arm.
"You're turning red, Hubert. What's going on in that brain of yours?" She moved her hands, quickly sealing his wounds with bandages. The touch of her rough fingers on his skin… he was embarrassed to admit how much he was enjoying it.
He needed to say it before he lost his nerve. "Ahem. Perhaps we could spend an afternoon together. Or we could meet up at a café in Enbarr after-hours."
"Hubert, are you asking me on a date?" Shez asked bluntly. He would have laughed, if he wasn’t mortified. Leave it to Shez to always cut right to the heart of the matter.
"If you'll have a man like me," he replied curtly. Hubert's heart was thumping so loudly that he could hear it thundering in his ears.
Shez, on the other hand, was as casual as she always was. "Give me a break, Hubert! Of course I'd love to have a 'man like you'. You might be smart and fancy and I don't always understand what the hell you are talking about, but you're a good dude. I don't have much experience with this kind of thing, but I'd love to spend more time with you." She reached her hand out to him.
Feeling a little lightheaded after he had asked the question, and how easily Shez had taken it all in, he reluctantly grabbed her hand and smiled. "Thank you, Shez. Shall we go for dinner tonight, or another night?"
Shez shrugged her shoulders. "Tonight sounds great. I hope you don't expect me to dress up too much, Hubert. You know I don't like to."
Hubert responded by kissing her on the top of her hand. "You can wear whatever you'd like. Truthfully, your company is all I need."
Hubert's cold heart seemed as if it were thawing in his chest as his lips touched Shez's fingers. Perhaps even his icy exterior was breaking, or had already broken. Fortunately, he no longer cared.