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“I can taste this…”
Ashe had honestly thought he misheard the statement at first. He had thought it was Dimitri stating the opposite, as was usually the case. It wasn't until Dimitri repeated himself in excitement that it suddenly Ashe began to register what exactly was said.
“Ashe… I can taste this!” Dimitri said, sounding amazed. He was looking at his bowl and its contents with a sort of disbelief, as if he was afraid it was all a figment of his imagination and it would disappear if he looked away from it.
Meanwhile, Ashe was staring at the blond-haired man in shock, his mind finally processing what his boyfriend had just said. He took in the way Dimitri’s one visible eye was wide with wonder as he continued to chew, causing Ashe’s heart to pound against his chest like a drum.
He watched as Dimitri excitedly scooped another portion of the saghert and cream onto his utensil and shoveled it into his mouth. Chewing and swallowing, he looked at Ashe with a bright expression, saying, “It tastes even better than I remember!” His voice was full of awe.
Ashe suddenly felt overwhelmed with emotion right then. Tears of joy filled his eyes, unbidden. He dropped the plate and glasses he had in his hands, which fell with a great crash below him, but he couldn’t bring himself to care about that now, tears leaking from his green eyes and sobs escaping his throat.
“A-Ashe?” he heard Dimitri stammer out, concern evident in his voice. He heard the sound of Dimitri standing up and pushing his chair aside, the man practically babbling, “Are you okay? Do you need help with those? I am sorry if I-”
“You… you can finally taste,” Ashe sniffled, causing Dimitri to stop midsentence.
It had been years since Ashe had found about Dimitri’s condition. The two of them had been having tea together and when Ashe had asked him which tea he would prefer, Dimitri had off-handedly waved him off, saying he could pick anything, as he wouldn’t be tasting it anyway. When Ashe had questioned him, Dimitri had gotten dodgy, but ultimately admitted he hadn’t been able to taste food or drinks for a while.
Ashe had immediately done research into the subject. Being unable to taste… was that even possible? Apparently it was. According to the books he found in the library, it was a condition that prevented those afflicted from being able to taste at all. There were a variety of factors that could cause it, but the ones that Ashe found most relevant were depression and anxiety.
That made him sad. How long had Dimitri been sad for? Dimitri deserved to be happy. He was kind and polite and friendly and didn’t treat Ashe like he was lesser even though he was just a mere commoner.
Food was important to happiness. Ashe should know, as someone who used to not always have food readily available when he was younger. So to not be able to taste, to not be able to enjoy what one was eating, that was a fate Ashe wouldn’t wish on anyone.
It was a fate Ashe was going to try and help Dimitri escape.
So, Ashe decided to make it his mission to bring back Dimitri’s taste.
He had gathered information on what the man liked to eat. He took note whenever Dimitri offered such information, and when Dimitri closed himself off completely for a period of time, he got his information from other sources, like Ingrid, Sylvain, Felix, and Dedue.
Whenever it was his turn to cook, he always made sure to make something the man liked, ignoring any protests he got from Dimitri. After all, if Dimitri was going to get his taste back, he wanted it to be something Dimitri actually liked to eat. How shoddy would it be to regain taste only to eat something disgusting?
He did this for years. He did it back when Garreg Mach had been a normal school environment. He did it five years later, when both Garreg Mach and Dimtri had changed dramatically. He continued to do it when Dimitri finally opened up to people again. He continued to cook for Dimitri even after Dimitri admitted his feelings to him and he got to move into the castle. He kept cooking and cooking and cooking in the hopes one day he would hear those words…
And now he finally heard them and he couldn’t help but get emotional about it. He’d actually done it. His plan and hard work paid off.
He flinched when he suddenly felt a pair of large arms wrap around his midsection, pulling him close to Dimitri’s chest. Looking up, he found his heart pounding again when he saw Dimitri smiling down at him, the sight enough to take Ashe’s breath away. He loved it when Dimitri smiled. It still didn’t happen often enough in Ashe’s opinion, and that was another thing he wanted to set about changing if he could.
“Yes, I can and it’s all because of you, Ashe. Thank you for never giving up on me.” Dimitri murmured softly, and Ashe found himself sobbing all over again, clutching onto Dimitri for dear life.