3He'd spend hours getting the muck out from under his fingernails. Okay, that wasn't true. But it didn't stop him from wrinkling his nose in disgust as he picked mud out.
"See?" Flayn said, holding up her gloved hands. "I told you so."
Hubert rolled his eyes. He could do without the lecture from the woman. Child? Damnation, how old was she?
"Yes, you were right, I was wrong," he grumbled. One of the pegasi in the stables knickered, as if laughing at him. He glared at it, but when it looked back at him, his gaze softened.
"Stupid creature," Hubert muttered without malice.
Flayn giggled. "Careful, or they'll throw you off when you ride one."
"Good thing they don't let men ride them, then." A sentiment he wasn't fond of, not that he would admit it.
A decade ago, he'd asked his father if he could ride a pegasus. His father had sneered, telling him the adage. "They hate men, boy," his father had said. "You can never ride one."
Hubert had protested. He'd cried, if he was being honest with himself. But the reprimand had stuck, and he'd never attempted.
Flayn cocked her head to the side. "Who made that rule, the horses?"
He blinked. "Well, I suppose they did. They're the ones that don't like men."
His shorter companion waved a hand dismissively, a very un-Flayn thing to do. "That's just superstition. I've seen plenty of men ride pegasi in all my years," she said, matter-of-fact.
"That's not many," he said, trying to deflect (and ignore) how that made his heart leap. Surely she was full of it. Yes, that was right. There was no way he'd missed that.
She blushed and nodded. "Quite right, not so many years. But! I am still correct, there is nothing stopping men from being pegasus knights."
Despite himself, he glanced at the pegasus that had knickered earlier. They looked back at him, almost challenging him to do something about it.
"Why don't you ride one?" Flayn suggested. "Then you'll see I'm right!" She looked indignant, like she had to prove herself to him.
Hubert bit his lip, a rare moment of indecision coming over him. "I have no training. There's no point."
Flayn huffed. "Then I can teach you!"
He glanced at her. "Why?"
She froze before blushing again. "We've been doing stable duty for a week. You always look so sad when you look at them."
Hubert closed his eyes. Stupid, stupid Hubert. Letting your guard down in front of someone. Everyone is a threat, Vestra. Everyone except Edelgard. Do not compromise.
She'd walked closer to him. "If you're afraid, I won't tell anyone."
No, he shouldn't. Couldn't. It wouldn't be proper. He could not compromise. This would be a distraction from the plan, from Edelgard's ambition. He'd sworn himself to her, he'd promised. This would only hinder things.
"The wind in your hair is nice," Flayn said. "There's nothing quite like being so high in the sky."
His resolve crumbled.
"Very well," he said, keeping the eager edge from his voice. "But our secret."
She smiled. "Yay! Saffron is already saddled up, so get on."
He blanched. "Now?"
"Of course! No time like the present. Take the front of the saddle, I'll ride in the back."
Hubert protested, but found himself pushed toward Saffron. Reluctantly, though not completely, he got onto the pegasus. Flayn hopped on behind him, putting her hands around his stomach. That made his heart beat a few ticks faster.
"So it's just like riding a horse, but with wings," Flayn explained. "Hold the reins and..."
Her ramblings continued as Hubert tried to follow them. Five minutes later he had no idea how to ride a pegasus or interject that he'd only ridden a horse twice before in his life.
Another five minutes later, and Flayn had taken the reins and gotten Saffron into a running start. Hubert sucked in a breath and sat stock still as Flayn got Saffron into the air, high in the sky.
When he finally came back to his senses, they were above the monastery. Saffron lazily flapped her wings, coasting as Flayn guided her.
"Is that a smile?" Flayn asked.
Hubert quickly squashed it. "No."
"Uh huh," Flayn said, not believing him. "Ready to take the reins?"
"Are you sure?" he asked, his demeanor falling prey to his excitement.
Flayn giggled. "Let's fly!"
He took the reins and Flayn wrapped her arms around his torso again. Saffron whinnied and picked up a bit of speed, showing off. Hubert marveled at the monastery, so far below them.
"Flayn," he said, "thank you."
"I'm happy you're happy," she said.
And he was.
Author Notes: I promised this fic to Cookie like a century ago. I told him I'd write any pairing he wanted from 3H (before it came out) and he's a sucker for crack pairings and rarepairs. I should have known he'd pick people like these two.
The setting for this was actually pretty easy to come up with, but I struggled with how to make them kiss for the longest time in just a oneshot. Then I realized that they never would that quickly, so I went with a pre-romance vibe, but would lead into it. Hope you liked it, Cookie.
Update: Cookie liked it so much he wrote a sequel! You can read 'Misunderstandings' by COOKIECHEESEMAN now, following up on this wacky pairing. Give it a read, give it a review!