The Pond Behind the Kitchen [Ashe x Dedue]

Those Three Words

When Ashe opened his eyes, he found himself lying in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He tried sitting up, but pain rushed through his body, causing any movement to be unbearable.

"Hey hey, let me help you," someone said on his side before putting a couple of pillows behind his back to make sitting up easier. Ashe turned to look at the voice and saw Mercedes sitting next to his bed in a chair. "That's better," she smiled, "are you feeling alright?"

"I feel as though I got run over by a carriage," he mumbled. He sighed, "I guess I had that coming for me tho..."

"No, you did not!!" Annette spoke up, she was so silent that Ashe hadn't noticed her there. "My father is a no-good scum, you did nothing wrong! So what if you kissed Dedue, so what if you like men, who cares! You're not hurting anyone! Seteth said himself that the Goddess does not care!!"

Ashe got quiet before going red and hiding his face, "The kissing part does- does everyone know?"

Mercedes and Annette were silent for a moment before they nodded. Mercedes spoke up for the two of them. "After word got around of what Gilbert did, people kind of put the pieces together. The Duscur man is very obviously Dedue. It doesn't help that Sylvain went to him for details after everything went down."

"Don't worry tho!! Nobody is against you two being a thing! We all support you two," Annette added with a smile. "Seteth and the professor took my father away to talk to him, but nobody knows what happened between them yet."

Ashe looked between them before looking away, he had felt tears forming in his eyes. "Thank you, for assisting me after.... All of that."

Mercedes laughed and stood up, "It's what friends are for! The two of us have to leave, but I have a feeling the others will come to visit you throughout the day. And I'll be back later to help change the bandages. Annie, can you give him our gift while I set up his ointments?"

"Of course!" Annette pulled the chair closer to the bed and put a plate from the desk on it. "We baked you some cookies while you were out, as a little get well gift!"

"Oh, thank you, again. Both of you," Ashe smiled. The two girls said their goodbyes before walking out of the room, leaving Ashe alone.

But Mercedes was right, the others did stop by throughout the day. First was Sylvain, who wanted to get the juicy details about himself and Dedue. But his visit was cut short when Ingrid came by to talk and pull Sylvain away with a quick apology. Next was Felix, followed by Cyril. Ashe sat in silence with each of them respectfully, but it was a silence of comfort, nothing awkward. Mercedes came back in midday with lunch, and to change the bandages on some of his injuries. Later in the day came Flayn and the professor, each holding a bouquet of flowers and self made cards. The professor had tried to apologize, but Ashe was not having any of it. Even Dimitri had stopped by on his way to the chapel to grunt a "get well".

It had started to get dark when Mercedes came in for one last time to adjust the last few bandages. She was nearly done when someone had knocked on the door, inviting themselves in. Both Mercedes and Ashe turned to see Seteth and Dedue walk into the room. Mercedes finished up and excused herself, glancing back into the room before she left for the night.

"Ashe, is now a good time to speak?" Seteth asked, sitting down on an open chair once he saw the nod of approval. Dedue stayed standing by the door, as if on watch. "I can not speak for Gilbert, but on behalf of the church... I apologize for his sinful views. The Goddess does not hate you for your ways, nor does she-"

"Seteth, it's okay. You don't have to apologize for him. Even if he apologized himself, well, let's just say it wouldn't really mean anything to me." Ashe looked up from his hands and directly at Seteth with a shrug, his gaze glancing to Deude once or twice.

Seteth frowned but nodded, he cleared his throat. "I've come to discuss something important with you however. Me and the professor talked about it, and we decided that you should have the final say in what to do with Gilbert."

"Why me!?"

"Obvious reasons, but don't worry. There's only two options to choose from. Professor proposed throwing him off the knights and off monastery grounds, for he disgraced the Goddess in multiple ways. I proposed that he stay, under strict watch. He would not be able to go on missions, and would have a guard on him at all times to pull him back if he lashed out again."

Ashe was silent for a moment, staring down at his hands. Gilbert's future depended on his choice, his life depended on him. On one hand, Ashe would love to never see him again, but on the other Gilbert was like a third father to him, he couldn't just send him to the wolves. After a minute of silence and thinking, he bowed his head. "He can stay."

"Ashe-" Dedue spoke up.

"Under a few conditions," Ashe continued.

"Speak your conditions," Seteth spoke.

"He can still fight in training battles, that I don't care about. But I never was to see him again, so him having a guard would be beneficial for everyone, especially for mine and Dedue's safety."

"That I can do. I shall talk to the professor and make arrangements immediately. Should you choose to change your mind, feel free to tell either of us and we shall act on it when we can." The sound of a chair scratching the floor filled the room. "Please, rest well Ashe. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Ashe said back, keeping his head down. The door closed shut and the room was silent again. It wasn't until he looked up that he realized Dedue was still in the room with him. "AH! Say something next time, please!"

Dedue nodded and lit a candle, taking the chair that Seteth was just in and pulling it closer to the bed. " I'm sorry."

"You haven't done anything wrong Dedue."

"I should've paid more attention to our surroundings that night, and I should've arrived sooner so I could have helped you before you got more injured."

"Dedue?"

Dedue looked at him, a sad look in his usually unreadable eyes. Ashe felt his own eyes water up but he couldn't help but smile. "You didn't know, nor did I. You have no reason to apologize for something that we had no say in whatsoever."

He nodded, gently grabbing Ashe's hand with his own. "I'm glad you are okay."

"I wouldn't have been if my knight in shining armor didn't get me at the correct moment," he laughed, gently squeezing Dedue's hand. "I can't say I regret anything."

"You could have died though."

"A kiss with you would've been worth it."

"Ashe-"

Ashe chuckled before looking down at their hands. "Maybe I lost yet another father figure from my life, but I gained you. Gilbert was... he was problematic. But he took me in during the war so I looked up to him. Deep down, I feel like it's a relief that I never have to see him again."

"The Goddess works in mysterious ways, does she not?"

"Yeah... I guess she does," he laughed, looking up at Dedue. "I thought you weren't that much of a believer."

"I wasn't, until the war. Praying to her for your safety kept me calm. Even now, I prayed to her all day for your recovery. I don't know how beneficial she'll be, but it was worth a shot."

"Dedue?"

"Yes?"

"Lean in please."

Once they were close together, Ashe leaned in for a kiss. It was short, but soft, meaningful. Full of emotions and passion.

"I love you, Dedue."

The man smiled softley and he tucked a bit of hair behind Ashe's ear. "The feeling is mutual."

"Say it back then," Ashe chuckled.

"I love you too."