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It was raining, on the day Ferdinand died.
He remembered it clearly.
Every agonizing second of it.
He could recall the crippling fear he felt when he saw his fiance go limp on his horse and fall to the ground, gracefully, without making any sound. He remembered rushing to his side and cradling him in his arms, desperately pressing his free hand on the gaping wound on Ferdinand's abdomen as his angel stared at him with the saddest expression he had ever seen in his face, still so beautiful, even on the brink of death, until the brightness that had never, ever, failed to sparkle his eyes left them, forever.
And Hubert cursed himself for not being by his side.
He cursed himself for not being able to perform healing magic.
He cursed himself for falling in love and, immediately after, for having wished to have never fallen in love just a moment before.
He cursed himself for what he was about to do, because there was no way he would give up on Ferdinand.
Tampering with the dead was a taboo that even Hubert could not break, but something could be done. He had no proof that what he was about to do would work, but he had nothing to lose.
It was raining, on the day Hubert gave up everything to have the possibility of meeting him again, in another life.
Reincarnation was a shot in the dark, but it was his only hope. With forbidden magic, he did what he could to try and have them been reborn in the same place and time, sacrificing his own life and betraying lady Edelgard, the only other person, apart from Ferdinand, he had sworn to serve and protect, and walked alone down the path of darkness, never looking back, like the selfish man he was.
He was sure his empress would understand, but if she had not, at that point, he wouldn't have cared. He could do without forgiveness, but he, who had always lived in the shadows, could not live without his light anymore.
It was raining, on the day Hubert, the medical student, remembered everything.
He was in his new house, studying for an exam, when he looked outside the window and saw two little girls playing in the mud. Nothing was out of the ordinary, until the sight of the younger girl, who had long ginger hair, tripping and falling face first in a puddle with a burst of laughter, made something click in his head. And suddenly, a wave of images and sounds flooded his brain, bringing back memories of a long forgotten past, of another time, of another life.
And he remembered everything.
His past.
His purpose.
Ferdinand.
And he could not hold back his tears, because he felt, once again, the pain of losing his loved one, but also because reincarnation was real, and maybe he had another chance. He believed in his past-self abilities. He had to. Ferdinand had to be somewhere, in his same world, at his same time.
The sun was shining, on the day he found him again.
He was walking down the street that connected his house to the clinic he was doing his internship at, when he felt the sudden urge to look towards the park.
And there he saw him, right in front of the entrance, staring at him in all his shining glory.
He walked, and walked, without even realising it, in trance. He did not dare to blink, in fear that if he had, his beloved would have just disappeared again. His hand reached for the place he remembered the fatal wound to have been and rested on it, just like the last time he had seen him, to make sure that, this time, nothing was going to take him away from him.
He grabbed his shoulder to take a better look at his beautiful face, and the man tilted his head up, watching him with those sparkling bright eyes he had loved for two lifetimes.
And everything, every sacrifice, every betrayal was finally worth it.
"I...finally...found you," he whispered at his light.