black and white and red all over

Chapter 28

There is a little bit more risk involved with adding someone else to their relationship, but Ferdinand is just as good at keeping the secret once he is a part of the secret. He kept his mouth shut up until now, so they really never had much to worry about. Still, things do change once he becomes a part of things, and even if he doesn't give anyone reason to suspect that all four of them are dating, he definitely makes it known that he is a part of their friend group now.

At school, he becomes a lot clingier, hanging around at least one of them at every possible opportunity, finding them between classes, chasing them to and from lunch, and buzzing around them after school so that they can all go home together. He starts insisting on picking them up in the morning so that they can arrive together, so that soon enough, Byleth-Edelgard-and-Hubert becomes Byleth-Edelgard-Hubert-and-Ferdinand.

To some, at least, but to others, they become Byleth-and-Hubert and Edelgard-and-Ferdinand. The rumors involving potential coupling in their group- and there will always be rumors, as long as Hubert continues to stand out as much as he does, and as long as Edelgard is the junior class president with the odd taste in friends- but now that Ferdinand has joined the picture, there is no longer a question of who it is that's involved.

After all, Ferdinand was the one to try and take Edelgard to the dance just before winter break, and Ferdinand has been tagging along behind Edelgard since they were children, though in an entirely different way than Hubert has. If she and Hubert have never been anything more than friends, then perhaps Ferdinand's pestering was what she actually liked.

At least, these are the sorts of things that Caspar relays to her in the mornings, while he and Byleth laugh over it. She hasn't told him the truth, of course, but even from the perspective of the lie- "We're all just good friends, nothing more.- it is still rather funny. When Byleth comments on how he's never seemed like the type to care about the rumor mill as much he does, Caspar replies that things have just been more interesting this year.

"Plus, I'm keeping an ear out for you! If it's something involving one of my friends, then I'll figure out everything that I can," he says.

"So, should I be keeping an ear out for you too?" she asks. "Maybe if I hear anything about you and...Petra?"

"Hey, cut that out!" Caspar snaps, but pauses a moment before adding, "Well, have you heard anything?"

~X~

Rumors aside, they continue as normal, and February turns to March. Spring is coming, which means that the days will grow longer again, something that Edelgard is not looking forward to.

"I'll be back to staying at school as late as I possibly can," she says with a sigh.

"Huh? Why do you have to do that?" Ferdinand asked.

"Because the sun will be out longer. Didn't you notice I started going home sooner back in November? You usually keep tabs on everything," she replies.

Blushing, Ferdinand says, "Well, I just thought you ran out of things to do, or maybe you'd given up on whatever your plan was."

"And now that you know there was never any plan..."

"Well, yes, now I guess it does make sense that you were just avoiding the sun," he says. "Sorry, sometimes I just forget..."

"You forget that one of your significant others is a vampire?" Hubert asks in an almost condescending tone of voice, but of course, that's just how he teases.

"It is a lot to take in," Ferdinand says, looking a bit sheepish.

"Honestly, it says a lot that you're able to forget so easily," says Byleth. "It might actually be better for you that way."

~X~

Though Ferdinand adjusts well, mostly due to sometimes forgetting about Edelgard's status entirely, there are times when the whole situation nearly becomes too much to bear. Every now and then, Edelgard still has to feed, and the next day, once the victim has been discovered, the story hits the news and their fellow students are tense, which means that Hubert will be at the center of more wild stories about him being some serial killer or vampire.

Byleth is so used to this by now that she doesn't consider that Ferdinand might not be. Even if he hasn't been a part of things for very long, he's heard the rumors a million times since school started, and knows by now that people have that opinion of Hubert. She didn't think that the relationship would change things, but they hear about what happens before he has a chance to explain himself.

"Ferdinand took it really personally," is the way Caspar explains it to Byleth one morning. "I didn't know you guys were that close."

"It's pretty recent, but he spends a lot of time with us. Still..."

"It wasn't like they got in a full on fight or anything like that, Ferdinand just snapped at the girls who were talking about Hubert being creepy and stuff. He said he was really mad that they would talk about someone they went to school with like that, or something."

Edelgard ends up hearing the same thing from somebody else, and during their art class, they bring it up to Hubert, making sure to keep the conversation neutral, never mentioning anything beyond Ferdinand taking it oddly personally. Never mentioning the reason why it's so personal, or why that rumor in particular is so harmful. It's difficult not to bring it up to Ferdinand at school, but when they get home that day, Hubert immediately questions him.

"Just what makes you think you can play the part of my champion?" he asks.

"What are you talking about?" Ferdinand replies, looking perplexed.

"I am perfectly capable of defending myself if I think it's necessary," Hubert says. "I don't need you jumping in on my behalf."

"Oh, you're talking about yesterday." Immediately, he looks ashamed. "I just...it's always bothered me a bit, to hear them talking about you like that, and now it bothers me even more, because...well."

"Because of us," Edelgard finishes. She does not say because of her, but everyone knows that's what she's thinking. "You don't need to think about it like that. Nobody knows, they're just talking like that because that's how they are. If you let it get to you, then they might become more suspicious, and that's what we're trying to avoid."

"Exactly," Hubert says. " That is why I just let it roll off me. If it wasn't me, they would just make things up about someone else."

"I know, but it isn't just that." Now, Ferdinand looks truly guilty. "It's just...before, a while back, I...I would join in sometimes. So I feel like I have to speak up now, to make up for those times and to make it known that I do not agree with them!"

"Is...is that really all?" asks Hubert. This time, it's his turn to look perplexed, but that doesn't last long, before he laughs. "You don't have to worry about that , Ferdinand, honestly. I mean, I already knew about that, anyway."