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Ashe couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was Lonato, pierced by Catherine's blade, bleeding and falling off his horse. That day, he lost his family for the second time. The Lonato that took him and his siblings in, that taught him how to read, never had he expected him to be the Lonato that rose against the church, that was killed before his eyes. Before he knew it, he was crying again. After what felt like an eternity of quietly sobbing to himself, there was a gentle knock on his door.
“Ashe?” That voice could only be one person.
“Dedue? You can come in. In fact, please come in.”
Dedue stepped inside and what he saw broke his heart. Ashe was a mess, his eyes and nose red and his hair disheveled. His bright green eyes had noticeably less life in them, and his freckled face was void of his usual smile. He looked so different from the usual bright-eyed boy that showed him, a man of Duscur, the same incredible kindness he showed everyone else.
“Did you hear me crying? Was I bothering you? I can try and stop. I'm sorry if I annoyed y--” Ashe started, but was cut off.
“No. You don't bother me. But I did hear you crying, and I want to know if you needed anything. I know how you feel. I want to help.” He said.
“Could… could you stay?” Ashe asked sheepishly. “I don't think I should be left alone with my thoughts right now.”
“Of course.” Dedue replied with an attempted smile as he sat on the bed next to Ashe, who had curled himself into a ball.
“Why does it have to hurt so much?” He said, sitting up and leaning into the older boy.
Dedue felt an urge to put his arm around him, and in an impulsive decision, he did. He felt his face flush, and based on the way Ashe buried his face into his larger frame, he was sure he was blushing too. They stayed like that for a while, Dedue gently rubbing Ashe’s arm as he talked some, cried some, and sat in silence at times. Eventually, Ashe began to give in to his drowsiness.
“Dedue?”
“Hm?”
“How… how did you get through it?” He asked, exhaustion lacing his voice.
“Well, I wasn't entirely alone, since I had Dimitri with me.” He began. “But I remembered what someone had once told me. That there will be sometime in our lives when we will lose our way. But eventually, we get back up again.”
There was a small smile on Ashe’s face as he fell asleep in Dedue’s arms. Dedue laid him down in his bed and began to leave, stopping when he heard a whimper from the silver haired boy. He turned and saw the smile that was on his face just a minute ago was gone. It was as if something about Dedue made him feel protected. Well, he couldn't leave him now. Slowly, he slid next to the smaller boy and took him in his arms, holding him as tightly yet as gentle as he could. He could feel Ashe relax and cuddle closer.
That was when Dedue realized he was in love.