"You dropped this again."
"Oh, so I did."
Hubert flashed a small grin as he took the quill out of the professor's hands. Her smooth, lovely... you're doing it again, Hubert.
She giggled, waving to him as she ran back off to wherever she was headed. He looked down at the small, thin writing quill. He had been forgetting his belongings a lot more, recently. He wasn't entirely sure if it was because his mind had been foggy and scattered the last few days, ever since his talk with Edelgard, or if he secretly hoped it would let him see her more.
His fingers rubbed at the feather. He had found her habit of returning items annoying when they first met... how had he ever found any part of her annoying? It would be better if he went back to that, now that he was forbidden from ever being with her. He sighed and put the feather in his pocket. There were more important matters at hand.
"Little flustered, Hubie?" Dorothea's voice chirped behind him. He groaned and looked at her. "Not now, Dorothea."
She gave a small laugh. "Why not? That was adorable." she put her finger to her cheek, "It's funny, I didn't think the professor would be your type... but looking back on it now..."
"Dorothea." he growled, making her pause. "I said not now."
She frowned, then shrugged, "If you're sure. Sorry I bothered you." As she walked off, Hubert wondered if she would mention any of that to Edelgard. He hoped not. He really, truly hoped not.
He let out another sigh as he walked down to the greenhouse, hands behind his back. How long would these feelings last before they finally disappeared? He couldn't take it much longer.
The greenhouse was empty, which surprised him. Usually, at least, the greenhouse keeper was there. Maybe she was in the dining hall. Or asleep. It was still fairly early in the morning, and he wasn't sure when she usually showed up.
In fact, he rarely went to the greenhouse. He just hoped something would maybe distract him from his feelings, and he had to admit, the flowers were surprisingly lovely. He had never been one for appreciating gardens, in fact, he found himself bored to tears whenever anyone discussed gardening, but something about the way the sun hit these particular ones appealed to him today.
His eyes landed on a bush; with the brightest, loveliest roses he had ever seen blooming out of it. They were unspeakably beautiful, and the longer Hubert stared at it, the more one thought crossed his mind.
He had to give these to the professor.
The only problem was that he wasn't sure if he was allowed to be harvesting flowers without permission. Still, the keeper wasn't here... and those flowers would be such a lovely surprise... she had given him so many gifts and he hadn't given her anything in return...
With not much more than a quick glance over his shoulder, Hubert withdrew the dagger from his belt and harvested a handful of the roses with a perfect slice, hiding the flowers under his cape as he gently brought them to his room. When could he give these to her? Surely, Edelgard would be upset if she found out... and who could blame her, after telling him... forbidding him from speaking with her.
Well, he could keep them safe until the moment arose. He decided that this would be his final farewell. He just wanted to give the professor one last thank-you for all she had done for him before he gave her up forever. Even if it was short-lived, he had felt more like a person around her than he ever had.
He wouldn't take that back for anything.
He hummed softly to himself as he wrapped the roses together with a small black ribbon he had taken from one of his more formal outfits. He had hardly worn it, and there were so many ugly ribbons decorating the sleeves, that he didn't mind yanking one out and putting it in a much nicer place. He had to admit, they did look lovely when bundled together.
Afterwards, he walked over to the pitcher of water on his bedside table and poured a small amount into one of the glasses beside it, then gently placed the roses in it. That should keep them alive long enough, he thought. He just hoped it kept them full and pretty.
Once he was satisfied, he left his room and headed into the dining hall for breakfast, surprised at how many people were already there. He knew everyone would soon enough be heading back home, now that the war was over, but there was something oddly comforting about having them here. It made him feel as though he really were back at the monastery before the war.
Before his feelings for her.
He sat down by himself, not even grabbing something to eat. He wasn't really hungry, but he felt if he skipped meals, it would seem suspicious. Someone might tell Lady Edelgard, and if someone told her, she'd know something was bothering him.
It wouldn't take long to find out what.
"Hey, Hubert!" He grimaced at the familiar loud, obnoxious voice, turning around to look Caspar in the face.
"Hello, Caspar." he sighed. They hadn't spoken since the hallway exchange a few days ago, and that was fine with Hubert.
Caspar held up a few loose papers. "I got the tactics from my dad. He delivered 'em today. I mean, this isn't all of them, but... Edelgard said you were handling most of the paper stuff, so I..."
"Now's a bad time." Hubert leaned into his hands. "Now" was understating it. Every day he had to coexist with Edelgard and the professor was a bad time. "Could you perhaps put them in my room later? I'll go over them as soon as possible."
"Yeah, no problem! I can do that tonight!" He gave a thumbs up, his cyan hair bobbing as he turned around and ran off. Hubert gave another small sigh, running a hand through his own hair as he stood up. His mind had drifted away from the aftermath of the war almost entirely, which was fairly humiliating.
In fact, up until just now, his biggest concern was figuring out when to give the professor his roses.
He could give them anonymously. She wouldn't have to know it was him, and Edelgard would never know...
Edelgard would know instantly, what was he on about?
This whole thing was starting to wear him out. Nobody ever spoke about how tiring love was. In fact, they seemed to only speak of how it was fun and exciting.
Because they probably have a chance with the ones they adore, Hubert grimaced inwardly as he passed the professor, sitting by herself on a bench, looking over some book. Goddess, she was beautiful... keep walking, keep walking, keep walking.
Still, dropping them off secretly wasn't a bad idea. He could do it later today, when she was on guard duty with the knights. That was probably his best bet. There were plenty of men here who'd leave her something like that, so he could probably pass of suspicion relatively easily, even if Edelgard herself tried to confront him. The professor was popular beyond belief, now more than ever, so of course she'd have suitors throwing themselves at her feet.
As if the thought had summoned a prime example, Hubert caught Ferdinand sitting himself down right beside her out of the corner of his eye. He paused and glanced over his shoulder, unable to hear what the noble was saying to her, but seeing the clear discomfort on her face as he said it.
He contemplated walking away, but Ferdinand's flirting was a fate worse than death. He wouldn't wish it on anyone. Hubert let out a muffled groan as he stalked back over and tapped him on the shoulder. Ferdinand jumped in place and looked up.
"Hello, Ferdinand." Hubert gave a thin smile. "Didn't Lady Edelgard put you on stable duty? Should you not be doing that?"
"Oh, I finished that within moments. That's why she put me on it." He smiled at Hubert, then at Byleth, who seemed more amused by the exchange then by anything Ferdinand was saying.
Hubert simply rolled his eyes. "Well, perhaps you could find some way of making yourself busy, rather than bothering others who have already completed their work?"
"Alright, if you insist, I won't argue. However, if, uh, if you'd consider my offer, professor, I..." he frowned as she shook her head in response. "Right. Well, then. Goodbye, you two."
Once Ferdinand had left, Hubert went to make his leave as well. The fewer words exchanged, the better.
Byleth's voice snapped him out of that hope. "Thanks for that. He's been much more... persistent the last few days."
"Persistent?" Hubert glanced back at her. He knew he should be leaving, but he was genuinely curious as to how far Ferdinand was taking this.
"You know... trying to get me to accept his proposals and stuff." she sighed, fiddling with her book. "He's very set on making me his wife before he returns home."
"I see." He could feel his blood boil just picturing it. "You should inform someone. At the very least, if he does it again."
She chuckled. "That feels a little wrong. He hasn't done anything unspeakably evil. Just occasionally flirts here and there. It's not even as bad as Sylvain's flirting was."
"I mean it. Such behavior towards Fodlan's savior will not be tolerated."
"Don't call me that." she sighed. "It's too big a title. I don't feel like a savior. I feel like... well... me."
He nodded slowly. "I can understand that."
"You always understand. That's why I tell you these things." She yawned as she closed her book. "That's enough reading for now. I should probably see what has to be done around the monastery. Bye, Hubert."
Hubert didn't respond, his face burning from the last statement. He always understood? Did she... did she really believe that? How much trust did she put in a man who had said not long ago he was prepared to kill her if it came to it?
Had she always been this wonderful and he was just too blind to see? Had Edelgard blinded him herself? Why was he asking so many questions about something he wasn't allowed to think about?
He let out a small exhale as he left, remembering once more the cruelty of his situation.
Just drop off the roses. Drop them off, and then leave her forever.