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Sylvain added Ingrid to the chat!
Sylvain added Felix to the chat!
Sylvain added Annette to the chat!
Sylvain added Mercedes to the chat!
Sylvain named the chat Operation AsheDue.
Felix left the chat.
Sylvain added Felix to the chat!
Felix
[ fuck you ]
Sylvain
[ im sure ur all wondering why ive called you here today ]
Felix left the chat.
Sylvain added Felix to the chat!
Sylvain
[ CAN U DONT THIS IS SERIOUS ]
Ingrid
[ What the hell is operation ashedue? ]
Sylvain
[ im getting to it now if fe would stop being a dick ]
Annette
[ hi guys !!!! ]
Mercedes
[ this isn’t all of our friends is it ? :0 ]
Sylvain
[ SHUT UP LET ME TALK !!!!! ]
Felix
[ is this about the silver haired one being in love with dedue and dedue being in love with the silver haired one but they think the other’s in love with the boar ]
Ingrid
[ Felix, do you know a single person’s name in our friend group or..? ]
Sylvain
[ damn you type fast but yeah ]
Felix
[ who the hell is mercedes ]
Mercedes
[ :( ]
Sylvain
[ guys ]
Annette
[ omg its like a love triangle!!!!!!!! ]
Ingrid
[ I don’t think it can be a love triangle if not all the sides touch. ]
Annette
[ schrodingers love polygon djfgdhfgjk ]
Mercedes
[ dimitri’s in a secret relationship with khalid isn’t he though ]
Felix
[ “secret relationship” ]
Sylvain
[ GUYS THIS IS SERIOUS ]
Felix left the chat.
Sylvain added Felix to the chat!
Sylvain
[ i love yall but none of yall love me back ]
Mercedes
[ sorry sylvain :( what’s going on ? ]
Sylvain
[ are you guys all done being rude as hell because im talking about our friends and i just want u guys to pretend to care ]
Annette
[ sowwee ]
Sylvain
[ so we all know that ashe like. like likes dedue and dedue likes him back right ]
Felix
[ i fucking hate you. what the hell is “like like likes” ]
Sylvain
[ he like!! has a crush on him idk!!!! ]
Ingrid
[ I wasn’t aware of this. ]
Sylvain
[ yeah well they do but anyways they both think the other’s in love with dimitri for some reason so theyve been pushing dimitri towards the other ]
Sylvain
[ like dedue always leaves a conversation w ashe when dima comes up so they can have alone time or ashe pretends to be sick when he has to do smth w dima so he has dedue do it for him ]
Annette
[ yAH ITS SO SAD !!!! i asked ashe abt it and he told me that he just wants dedue to be happy ]
Mercedes
[ dedue said the same thing :,0 ]
Annette
[ f ]
Felix
[ this is so stupid ]
Mercedes
[ @annie what does f mean ?? ]
Annette
[ you type f when smth sad happens !! ]
Ingrid
[ I guess I have caught Ashe sighing longingly at Dedue once or twice. ]
Sylvain
[ dont you guys feel bad for them? ]
Felix
[ no ? ]
Sylvain has removed Felix from the chat.
Annette
[ it’s super sad !!!! ]
Annette
[ djfhgjkh felix has been banished to the shadow realm ]
Mercedes
[ f ]
Sylvain
[ what does felix’s annoying ass know abt love anyways ]
Ingrid
[ Can we move on? I have a lecture in ten minutes. ]
Sylvain
[ right! So operation ashedue. ]
Sylvain added Dimitri to the chat!
---
Dedue checks his watch and double checks the texts he received from Dimitri.
Dimitri
[ Hey, Dedue! I just wanted to say thank you. I noticed you’re always giving me and Ashe a push together, and I really appreciate it. I think we’re making some big strides in our relationship because of you. Let me take you out for tea tonight. It’s the least I can do. ]
Dedue
[ It’s nothing worth mentioning. Please do not trouble yourself. ]
Dimitri
[ I insist! I’ll be waiting, so please do not stand me up. ]
Dedue glances around the cafe. It seems like he is the one being stood up. His tea is getting cold and Dimitri had stopped answering his texts half an hour ago. He leans back in his chair at his table for one and sighs majorly.
He’s happy Dimitri and Ashe are getting closer. He’s happy Dimitri and Ashe are getting closer. He’s happy Dimitri and Ashe are getting closer.
...or so he continues to chant to himself to trick himself into believing it.
Up until now he’s always said that as long as Ashe was happy, he’d be happy, and if Ashe was happy with Dimitri, then so be it.
So why does his throat feel so tight? Why does the idea of them being together make him feel like his heart is going to burst out of his chest? Why does the image of Ashe in Dimitri’s arms make him feel so empty?
He throws back his cold cup of tea. Chamomile is supposed to have calming effects, but he’s contented himself with knowing it’s just not going to work for him. His fingertips shake as he grips the mug.
Dedue knows he never had a chance to be with Ashe to begin with. He’s so lovely. He shines in everything he does, down to even the little things like taking notes in class. He speaks softly, and loves gently, caring for everyone he’s ever met. He’s so passionate about the things he loves and his smile is infectious.
Dedue? He thinks he’s too tall and scary-looking. Not good with conversation. Uninteresting, even. No one would look at him twice other than to wonder why he was hanging with the crowd he was with. Compare the color of his skin to that of his friends’.
Dedue remembers the day he and Ashe met, all those years ago in high school. Ashe was a timid little thing. He tripped over his own name and stared at his shoes the whole time they introduced themselves. He was probably afraid of him. Of course he was afraid of him. Of course he wouldn’t want to be seen with him.
Of course he would want the affections of someone as brilliant as Dimitri. He could never hold a candle to that man.
Dedue sighs.
He’ll give Dimitri a few more minutes before he can call it a day.
---
Dimitri
[ Hey, Ashe! I just wanted to say thank you. I noticed you’re always giving me and Dedue a push together, and I really appreciate it. I think we’re making some big strides in our relationship because of you. Let me take you out for tea tonight. It’s the least I can do. ]
Ashe
[ Oh don’t worry abt it ^w^;; it’s the least I can do! We’re friends after all. ]
Dimitri
[ I insist! I’ll be waiting, so please do not stand me up. ]
Ashe sits on his park bench alone, feeding birds with the cookies he’d baked earlier. He supposed he’d give them to Dimitri but remembered he didn’t like sweets all that much. It doesn’t look as if he was going to show up any time soon either, so he might as well give it to someone who’d appreciate them before they go bad.
He sticks his neck out and sees no one approaching. It’s getting dark. It’s just him, the pigeons, and a couple squirrels.
He shoots off another text, asking Dimitri if he’s still coming or not. He doesn’t respond.
Maybe this is for the best.
When he got Dimitri’s first message, he was in the middle of his econ class. So Dedue and Dimitri were… almost officially a couple. He couldn’t tell what he was feeling. Was he disappointed? Was he jealous?
Whatever it was, it was too intense to put into words, so Ashe gathered his things, slid out of the lecture hall, and cried in a stall in the bathroom.
It felt like he was losing someone that was never his to begin with.
Ashe met Dedue through Dimitri in high school. They were apparently childhood friends, and Ashe wondered why Dimitri didn’t introduce the two of them sooner. It was like he fell in love at first sight.
Dedue was so tall and handsome, with strong facial features and broad shoulders and quite possibly the kindest eyes he had ever seen. Ashe thought he pretty much ruined his first impression of him. He messed up saying his own name, and he was blushing so hard he had to look away.
But of course, the first impression didn’t mean anything anyways, because Dedue was in love with Dimitri. He probably forgot when they met anyways. Ashe thinks he’s too boring to leave an imprint in someone’s mind. Dimitri is dependable and handsome and… everything he’s not, basically, and he should be happy Dedue is getting together with such a great guy.
“I’m happy for him,” Ashe says to the pigeons. He’s run out of cookies and if he doesn’t get out of there soon, the raccoons are probably going to start pestering him. “I am.”
He gets up and starts to head back home. The park is pretty much empty now, save for a jogger or two and a number of couples walking hand in hand. The sun has gone completely down, and lamps light the path before him. As he exits the park, he spots a cafe, its golden yellow lights looking warm and inviting. It’s about dinner time, so he checks the cash he has in his wallet and decides why not.
There’s a bell on the door, and it chimes every time someone enters or exits.
Dedue chastises himself every time his head perks up as he hears it jingle. The staff have already asked him more than once if he needed anything, but he knows they’re telling him he’s overstayed his welcome. He sees they’re uncomfortable.
The bell on the door sounds again and in walks in--
“Ashe?”
His classmate turns his sea green eyes towards him in his corner. He smiles immediately upon seeing him and something in Dedue’s chest tightens.
“Oh! Dedue!” Ashe makes his way over, fixing his messenger bag over his shoulder. “What’re you doing here?”
Dedue simply gestures to the empty seat across from him. “I am waiting for someone.”
“Ooh, a date?” He asks, pushing past the knot that has suddenly formed in his throat.
“...not exactly.” Dedue shakes his head. “What about you? Your apartment is not in this neighborhood.”
“I, uh…” Ashe rubs his forearm and glances at the floor. “You could say I could I got stood up.”
“I am sorry to hear that,” the older man says. “I think I am actually in the process of being stood up as well. We were supposed to have met an hour ago and he is not answering my texts.”
“Can I sit here?”
“By all means.”
“That’s so funny.” Ashe pulls out the chair across from Dedue and makes himself comfortable. “We’re both getting stood up…. If you don’t mind my asking… uhm, who is it you’re waiting for?”
“I am waiting for Dimitri,” he replies.
Ashe frowns. “That can’t be right.”
“Excuse me?”
“I just got stood up by Dimitri,” he tells him.
Dedue is now just as confused. “I received a text from him asking me to meet him here at seven…”
Ashe is fumbling through his pockets to pull out his phone. “He texted me asking to meet him at the park at seven.” He reads out their messages, omitting the parts that mention any sort of relationship between him and Dedue.
The frown on Dedue’s face deepens even further. “He sent me the exact same thing.”
“What is going on here..?” Ashe gives a shaky laugh. His phone buzzes in his hand. “...Hey, wait, I just got added to a group chat--”
Sylvain added Ashe to the chat!
Sylvain added Dedue to the chat!
Sylvain
[ operation ashedue phase 1 complete! ]
Dimitri
[ Have fun on your date, you two! ]