Chapter Text
A quiet beep from the coffee maker stole Hubert’s attention away from the gray morning sky, clouds beginning to form quickly over the north Atlantic sea. It seemed today would be another day spent inside their lighthouse, but luckily Petra had collected samples from the ocean a few days ago for them to continue looking at.
Pouring his coffee, Hubert looked at yesterday’s newspaper sprawled across the kitchen table. The crossword and sudoku puzzle were already completed--likely by Linhardt--and the arts section was heavily annotated with Edelgard’s handwriting and notes; ideas, perhaps, for her upcoming date with Dorothea. Unsurprisingly, whatever recipe the paper recommended was gone, likely in Petra’s possession at this point.
Hubert snorted when he saw that the science section was in perfect condition. For a group of marine biology majors, he would have figured that it would have been missing by the time Hubert got to it today.
At the moment, he was the only one awake. Dorothea had stopped by last night and insisted that they all join her in a movie marathon in Edelgard’s room, with everyone crashing at different points in the night. Only Hubert managed to stay up long enough to cover the others in a large enough blanket, turn off Netflix, and put away the assortment of junk food brought in. In the end, he should be grateful alcohol wasn’t involved--apparently the reminder of Professor Byleth’s upcoming visit was enough to keep the other three from wanting to be hung over as they presented their project to the man.
Not that Hubert was complaining. He certainly didn’t want to be responsible for herding a group of three people in their early twenties around as they tried to fight off the impending headache that came with being hung over.
Setting his mug down, Hubert stole another glance outside. The wind was beginning to pick up and Hubert groaned when he saw that some of their laundry was still hanging outside. Hubert distinctly remembered telling Linhardt to remember to bring in his clothes yesterday evening, but it seemed the younger man got distracted by whatever experiment he was conducting.
Hubert grabbed his coat and slid on a pair of slippers, hoping that a laundry basket was still outside for him to use. If it rolled off the cliff, then Hubert was going to let Linhardt suffer the consequences for his actions. He didn’t feel like tip-toeing around the house to find a suitable basket to carry Linhardt’s extensive coat collection.
“I better get a thanks for this,” Hubert grumbled. Thankfully, the basket was still there and Hubert began unpinning Linhardt’s clothes from the clothesline, folding them and then placing them within the basket. By the time he finished, the sky was getting darker, as well as the clouds.
“It looks like a storm is coming,” Hubert said to himself, staring up at the dark clouds above him. He wondered if the Professor’s visit was going to be delayed by the weather or cancelled all together. He’d prefer the latter, but the universe rarely listened to his desires.
Just as he finished folding the last of Linhardt’s clothes, the rain started to pick up. Muttering a curse under his breath, Hubert grabbed the remaining coats and threw them into the basket, not caring if they got wrinkled. If Linhardt had any complaints, then the man should have remembered to grab the laundry himself.
Once he was inside, he set the basket of coats down on the ground by the door and grabbed one of the kitchen towels resting nearby, trying to dry himself off as much as possible. He might work with water all day, but Hubert preferred not tracking in any excess water through their home.
Walking past the other’s rooms, he clicked his tongue when he saw Linhardt’s door still shut. Edelgard and Petra, at least, had theirs cracked open and he could hear the soft sounds of Edelgard typing away at her laptop and Petra’s music. At least two people knew what it meant to get up at a decent hour.
Grabbing one of his towels from the bathroom, Hubert dried off his hair and padded down his clothes. The rain was light at the time, so thankfully he wasn’t soaking wet. A few more minutes though and Hubert would have walked in and gotten mistaken for one of those shadowy monsters in Petra’s horror movies.
His phone chiming momentarily took his attention away from the task at hand and he saw it was a text message from their Professor, alerting them that his drive would be delayed on account of not wanting the papers he prepared to get wet from lugging it in and out of the car.
Well. It would seem he had to make himself look presentable today after all.
Professor Byleth was a strange combination of being incredibly effective at his job while also being one of the oddest people Hubert had ever met.
Aside from Professor Seteth, Professor Byleth was one of the most well-respected professors within their major at the university. His classes were fairly popular due to their interesting topics, as well as the fact that the Professor seemed to understand best how to keep a group of twenty-something year olds entertained for a nearly two-hour lecture.
That didn’t, of course, stop him from being one of the strangest people Hubert has met. The man had a mildly unsettling stare and enjoyed fishing far too much, oftentimes starting his lectures off with his latest catches on weekend fishing trips if he wasn’t busy grading assignments. He also seemed heavily invested in his student’s lives and was willing to give advice when asked, which Hubert didn’t know how he felt about that.
He was, however, the main reason why Hubert, Edelgard, Petra, and Linhardt were given the opportunity to experience a program like this. It was through his recommendation and connections that they were able to secure a lighthouse to live in for the summer, as well as have a laboratory to do their assignments at. It was unfortunate that the only two catches was that Professor Byleth needed to check-in on them from time-to-time and that they were being funded primarily by Edelgard’s uncle, Volkhardt Arundel.
The last time Hubert saw the man was before Edelgard was whisked away to another country by her mother. He remembered the man being good friends with Hubert’s father, already making him unpleasant to be around. Hubert recalled how he tried to reassure him that Edelgard was fine, but sounded patronizing and disingenuine the entire time.
Definitely the type of man that would associate himself with his father.
Edelgard had been particularly upset about realizing her uncle was their sponsor, nearly quitting the program in protest. Dorothea had convinced her otherwise, stating that if she let her uncle’s presence influence her decisions, then she might as well switch majors. The man was responsible for donating a large amount of money every year to the university’s science departments. It was hard to escape the man’s looming presence with that knowledge in mind.
Professor Byleth had reassured them, however, that Arundel’s presence would be kept to a minimum. He couldn’t, unfortunately, prevent Arundel from the scheduling visits to make sure the money he donated was being used properly. Edelgard still didn’t like it, but her greatest concerns seemed to die down with Professor Byleth’s strong reassurance. Hubert, too, had relaxed after that. If Edelgard wasn’t going to argue against it, then Hubert wouldn’t cause her any troubles.
So now here all four of them were, living in a mildly spacious lighthouse by the ocean working on their own separate--yet “cohesive,” as Professor Byleth put it--projects. They had until the end of the summer to turn in their assignments and then would receive their grade afterwards. The program was worth a good amount of credits too, which made up for just about everything else.
It was… pleasant to say the least. He didn’t expect to have a good time so far, but perhaps life can surprise you in miniscule ways.
“And that covers the topic for today,” Byleth concluded, closing down the PowerPoint presentation and turning to face them. “Does anyone have any questions?”
He heard Petra ask the man something in the background, but Hubert was too busy evaluating his notes to pay attention at the moment. If Hubert had to guess, it was likely a vocabulary question rather than something pertaining to the lecture topic itself. Most of the lecture had been materials from last semester’s class, which Petra passed as one of the highest scoring students in their class.
Edelgard was sitting next to him, nodding to herself as she looked over her notes as well. Specific parts were highlighted in yellow (important for later), blue (something to look into later), and orange (likely to show up on the exam) with the occasional note scribed on the side. She was as organized as ever, he thought, the corner of his mouth quirking up into a proud smile.
“Feel free to call or email me if you have any questions,” he said, stuffing his laptop in its case and gathering up the rest of his supplies. “As a reminder, the first check-in date for your projects is next Friday. Please have an outline of what you would like to cover, as well as any sources you found to help support your project. Have a good evening, everyone.”
“You as well, Professor,” Edelgard said, giving him a friendly smile. The man nodded back, a slight smile forming on his face as well as he passed by them and out towards the car.
It was at that moment Linhardt yawned, stretching his arms out like a cat and rubbing his eyes. “Well that was a good nap,” he announced, picking up his phone and turning the recorder off. “I didn’t miss anything important did I?”
Edelgard sighed, shaking her head. “Nothing that won’t be covered on the recording,” she answered. “Linhardt, you really should try to stay awake during these lectures. If not for your own sake, then out of politeness for our professor.”
“I’m sure if he had any problems he would say something,” Linhardt drawled, putting away his blank notebook. “Professor Byleth is pretty blunt when he wants to be about these sorts of things.”
“Maybe he’s given up on it,” Hubert muttered, earning a look from Edelgard.
Linhardt snorted, shrugging it off. “I doubt that. I’ll probably get ambushed when I’m alone,” Linhardt said casually, shrugging the last of his belongings away. “Anyways, I’m going to go copy these down and look more into those books the library delivered. If you need me, please don’t.”
With that, the younger man left and headed down the stairs towards their living space on the first floor. Hubert rolled his eyes and he heard Edelgard sigh in annoyance next to him. The issue of Linhardt’s laziness was something they both shared and complained about.
“I must also be going,” Petra announced, standing near the door. “I will be video-calling my parents before it becomes too late for them.”
“Of course, Petra,” Edelgard said. “We’ll try to keep the noise down to a minimum for you.”
“Thank you Edelgard,” Petra said gratefully, flashing a warm smile. “I will join you all for dinner later! I have not forgotten my duty to cook tonight.”
“It’s fine, Petra,” Edelgard reassured. “Take as much time as you need to talk to your parents. I’m sure Hubert here doesn’t mind cooking tonight if it becomes necessary.”
Petra turned to face Hubert, wanting to make sure that he was fine with it. He nodded because, truthfully, it wasn’t a problem for him to switch days with Petra this week. One day early or one day later wouldn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.
“You have my gratitude!” Petra cheered, beaming at both of them. “I will be seeing you all later this evening!”
“Have fun Petra!” Edelgard called, waving goodbye as Petra disappeared down the staircase as well. Turning to him, she said, “And then there were two.”
A crack of thunder could be heard outside, causing both of them to flinch--Edelgard more violently than Hubert.
Frowning, Hubert laid a hand on Edelgard’s shoulder. “Will you be alright?” He asked, voice nearly a whisper despite being the only two in the room.
“Yes, I should be…” she answered, eyes looking towards the window nervously. “I might use some music to block out the storm.”
“A wise choice,” he agreed, steering them towards the door. “I doubt there will be any pressing matters needing your attention, but I can try to keep the others from entering unannounced.”
Edelgard’s shoulders sagged in relief. She reached her hand up to rest on top of Hubert’s, a show of gratitude for his understanding and comfort. While he may not be as good at giving comforting words or gestures like Dorothea, Hubert and Edelgard had an understanding that was built upon years of knowing each other. They didn’t always need words to understand the feelings being conveyed to each other.
Another crack of thunder made itself known, reminding the duo of the storm raging outside. The likelihood of the power going out seemed higher now--no wonder the Professor wanted to hurry along with their lecture today.
Edelgard gave him a small smile before pulling away, exiting out of their make-shift lecture room and towards her bedroom. He had no doubt that she would be tuning out the rest of the world until the storm ceased.
Hubert turned to face the window, looking out to see the storm raging outside. He had no doubt that Linhardt’s laundry would have been soaking wet by now, especially given how strong the wind looked. They probably would have spent a couple of hours tomorrow looking around for where the clothes managed to fly off to.
He walked out of the room and pondered what to do now. Everyone would be preoccupied in their rooms, giving Hubert the perfect opportunity to start preparing dinner without any interruptions (or complaints about Hubert’s picky taste buds limiting their dinner options tonight).
According to the Professor’s email, they were expecting a package to arrive at their front door in the morning. The man had hinted at it being a “wonderful surprise,” which was met with optimistic enthusiasm (Petra), amusement (Edelgard), indifference (Linhardt), and wariness (Hubert). It was decided at dinner last night that, because of his ability to wake up early, Hubert should be the one to check for its arrival.
His protests went ignored last night, Hubert citing that he didn’t always wake up before everyone, which had earned him blank stares from the others. He eventually agreed, but only under the circumstances that if the package arrived later than expected then one of the others would grab it instead.
So here he was, awake bright and early, for a package that he didn’t even have an idea about what it was for. As long as the Professor had sent them something worthwhile, then Hubert would cease his complaining. Last time, the man had sent them a series of books about oceanic mythology after Petra had requested it. That served a purpose instead of the sorry excuse for a paper weight that the man had sent them just the month prior to that.
(“Why,” Hubert had asked, pulling out a fish statuette from the box and holding it up for everyone to see.
“It looks like some sort of trout,” came Linhardt’s helpful observation.
“But why,” Hubert hissed, handing the object to Petra’s outstretched hand.
“Professor Byleth did mention something about the lighthouse needing more decorations…” Edelgard pondered. He felt thankful that she seemed as puzzled as he did about it.)
The coffee maker beeped, snapping him out of the memory. He continued to grumble under his breath as he poured himself a mug and then took a seat at the kitchen table. The crossword from yesterday was still present; nearly finished from what he could see. Hubert almost wanted to finish it as spite, but decided against it. It wasn’t worth it if it meant receiving Linhardt’s annoyed glares later on.
After a few more minutes of drinking his coffee and scrolling through an online news article about the current events happening, he set his mug down and got up from his seat, grunting as he did so. It was 7AM and, according to the Professor, the package was meant to be dropped off by a close “friend” of his.
Grabbing his coat and sliding on his shoes, Hubert stepped outside and scrunched his nose up at the cold wind that rushed past him. Vaguely, he wondered if this was worth it or if he should wait a few more hours. His phone buzzing with a notification put that thought to a halt when he saw that the Professor texted him that his friend was close to pulling up near the lighthouse.
Indeed, a black SUV pulled up near the pathway leading up to the lighthouse and a pale blond-haired man stepped out of his car, grabbing something from the backseat. The man closed the car door and made his way towards Hubert, meeting him halfway.
“Are you one of Byleth’s students?” The man asked. His voice was deeper than his appearance let on and he talked with slow purposefulness. “I was told to bring this here.”
“Yes,” Hubert answered, holding his arms out. “I can take it from here.”
The man nodded, nearly dropping the package in Hubert’s waiting arms and making it fall to the ground due to the unexpectedness of the act. Before Hubert could say anything in return, the man was already close to his car and opening the driver’s seat door. He gave one last look and nod over the top of the vehicle before driving off.
“Well that was fun,” Hubert muttered. He looked down at the package, surprised by both the size and weight of it. It was small, but weighed quite a bit. He sighed, hoping it wasn’t another “house gift” from their professor. He grumbled under his breath as he turned back towards the front entrance of the lighthouse, already prepared to write a long email to the man if this was what he thought it was.
The sound of a splash, however, caused him to pause.
Looking up, Hubert turned his head to stare out towards the cliff side. The ocean looked still this morning, which is why the sudden splashing noise confused him. He didn’t think there were any aquatic mammals nearby either that would cause that noise to happen, which only furthered the mystery.
Narrowing his eyes, Hubert approached the cliff side and steeled himself for having to look down from such a high vantage point. He wasn’t a fan of heights, but with his interest peaked right now and he could, hopefully, ignore his phobia long enough to investigate where that came from.
With the package tightly in hand and nerves steeled, Hubert looked down and expected to see some sort of seagull or whatever resting on the rocks below.
What he didn’t expect was an amber-haired, darkly tanned man resting on his stomach on the rocks.
“What the--” Hubert exclaimed, eyes widening at the sight. The man was half-naked and had the audacity to be tanning or sunbathing or whatever near their home!
“Excuse me,” Hubert growled, loud enough to catch the man’s attention. When he saw the stranger lift their head from their arms to stare up at Hubert, he continued, “What do you think you’re doing? Not only is this private property but--”
His rant was cut off by the man's eyes widening in shock. He could hear him make some sort of distressed noise before sliding back down in the water.
"Now where do you think you're going?" Hubert demanded, trying to look for a safe pathway down the rocks. "I'm not done with you!"
Just then, the man dived down into the water. His upper body getting replaced by an orange tail, which also disappeared into the water not too long after.
Hubert stood there, shocked and dumbfounded with his mouth hanging open as he stared at the rocks the man (merman?) had previously occupied.
"Merpeople are real?" Hubert thought. He vaguely registered the sound of the package dropping to the ground. His mind, however, was too preoccupied with trying to wrap itself around the fact that he saw a real life merman relaxing outside of his home.
And Hubert had no idea what to do with that information.