The Pond Behind the Kitchen [Ashe x Dedue]

A Kitchen Argument

[CONTENT WARNING: HOMOPHOBIA, HOMOPHOBIC SLURS (they're cens*red but still are in the story), POORLY WRITTEN VIOLENCE, AND BLOOD. PLEASE READ TO YOUR COMFORT LEVEL!]

Ashe woke up the next morning with butterflies in his stomach. He could've sworn last night was just a dream, a highly realistic dream. He couldn't believe all of that happened. The confession, the honesty, the kiss- His face burned red just thinking about it.

"Oh we were going to meet for breakfast! I hope I'm not too late!" Ashe said before jumping out of bed. A sharp pain ran through his injured leg and he sat back down for a minute until it subsided. He forgot all about it yesterday, too much on his mind. Not long after, he quickly got dressed into something more presentable and pinned his hair behind his ear. "Alright, look the same but just nicer," Ashe noted when he saw his reflection. He headed out of his room and to the dining hall. For a minute, he felt as if he heard arguing down near the greenhouse. He couldn't make out the voices, but it could've just been gardeners arguing over what seeds to plant this month.

He walked into the hall and looked around, the only other people there were Sylvain and Felixs. "Good morning you two! Have you seen Dedue yet?" Ashe asked as he grabbed some breakfast and joined them at their table.

"Dedue? Nah not yet, Ingrid was in here earlier though," Sylvain said. "What do you need him for?"

"We were supposed to meet up here, that's all."

Sylvain raised an eyebrow but laughed it off when Felixs gave him a glare.

"He usually came in around this time before the war, but I'd imagine he probably slept in a little because his body is exhausted," Felixs mumbled as he ate.

Ashe nodded, "that makes sense, thank you."

The three of them continued to eat in silence. The arguing Ashe had heard earlier felt as if it was getting louder, and he wasn't the only one to notice it either.

"Who could possibly be arguing this early in the morning?" Sylvain groaned. "It really kills the "moment of peace during a war" vibe I had going on here."

"It sounds an awful lot like Gilbert," Felixs added as he got up to put his dishes away.

As if on cue, Gilbert slammed open the doors to the hall, causing the three boys to turn to look at him. Annette was behind him, tears in her eyes as she tried to pull him back. Felixs and Sylvain stopped what they were doing to watch, wanting to see what happened next.

"Father please it's not what you think at all!" she cried.

Ashe and Gilbert made eye contact and he walked over towards the young man. "Ashe Ubert!"

"Yes Sir!" Ashe stood up and saluted him with a smile, but the smile didn't last long.

Gilbert drew his fist back, and before anyone realized what he was doing, he punched Ashe right in the jaw, causing him to stumble back a bit.

"Father!" Annette shouted.

"Hey!" Syvlain jumped up from his chair, but Felixs reached out a hand to stop him.

Ashe gained his balance back and rubbed his jaw, "that definitely hurt, was it a training exercise? I see I need to work on my reflexes!" He laughed it off, but his voice sounded slightly more detached than normal.

"Are you really going to laugh this off?" Gilbert grabbed Ashe by his shirt, lifting him off the ground a bit. "You're going to act as if you have no idea what the fuck you did?"

"Pardon? There must be some misunderstanding-" Before he could finish his sentence, Gilbert had punched him in the gut, and nearly threw him down to the ground.

"I took you in to help raise a man!" He yelled at ashe, kicking him again and again until he grabbed him by his hair. "But it seems I raised a f****t instead." He swung a punch at Ashe's nose, causing blood to drip from it.

Ashe tried to fight back, but he couldn't get his arms around Gilbert before he would throw a punch or twist his limbs. There was a moment where he could've sworn he heard a snap in his arm, but the pain was screaming in his ears. "Sir stop! I-I promise there is some misunderstanding!"

"How!? I saw you kissing that Duscur man last night, you can't fucking deny it you fucking whore! You're no man, no soldier! Just some low blood scum who will kiss anyone's shoe to raise in the ranks!" He punched Ashe in the throat, causing him to cough aggressively.

Ashe dropped down to the floor, his body sore, bruises already starting to form. His nose was dripping blood, when he coughed, he could feel the taste of metal. He looked up at Gilbert, tears in his eyes. "Sir I-" He couldn't hear his own words, pain was roaring in his veins. He couldn't see where the others went, couldn't tell where they were based off of sound.

Gilbert reached down and grabbed his throat with his hands, starting to squeeze. "You saw me in that disgusting way of yours, didn't you? You saw all the young soldiers as just a dick you could suck to move up in the ranks? Huh?" He squeezed tighter, laughing slightly as Ashe tried to pull him off. "Well suck on this!" He let go with one hand, punching him in the jaw and mouth with the other, then another punch at his gut.

Ashe felt more blood in his mouth, his internal body feeling weaker and weaker as the lack of oxygen started to kick in. This is how I die, he thought, at the hands of a man he considered yet another father of his. He had just started to accept his fate when Gilbert's grip on him let go suddenly, as if someone pushed him away. He coughed, gaining oxygen back into his body. He felt secure arms around him, the sounds slowly coming back to him as the pain was no longer a constant receiver. Ashe blinked through the tears and coughs to see a blurry picture of what was going on.

"Gilbert, back off!!" The professor yelled, holding Gilbert back with the help of Seteth.

"He's a fucking f****t! A man whore! Him and the Duscur scum!!"

"The Goddess does not care about homosexuality Gilbert!" Seteth raised his voice, which shocked everyone but Gilbert. Him and the professor dragged Gilbert out of the hall, his cursing echoing against the monastery walls. Then chaos erupted in the dining hall itself.

Ashe blinked again and saw the blur of people rushing around. Sylvain rushed over and picked him up, taking him out of the secure arms that were holding him

"Is it serious?? Should we take him to the infirmary?"

"Take him to his room!" Annette's voice came from somewhere. "I'll grab Mercie!"

"She's on her way, tell her to go to his room!"

Ashe couldn't tell who the last voice was, but it didn't matter to him. He felt his head slump against Sylvains chest, his eyes closing. The last thing he thought he saw before he passed out was the large frame of person standing in the middle of the hall, eyes on him.