He'd had a good feeling about Lonato when Count Rowe introduced him to a group of nobles, scolded him for not talking loudly enough, and Lonato had firmly told him to pay it no mind. Then he'd met the kid Lontato had taken in, seen the smile on his face, and known the man wasn't like most other nobles.

Ashe had a habit of trying to see the best in everyone, even the ones who smiled gallantly in public so no one would realize they were actually bastards, but Lonato was the real deal. Worth every gushing praise the kid could offer, even when Yuri realized it was only a matter of time before the man struck out against the Church. He'd kept it to himself, hoping that maybe the professor or even Ashe could talk Lonato down, but no such luck. Ashe's heartfelt pleas fell on deaf ears, Lonato refused to fall back, the Thunderbrand piercing his chest as he fell from his horse. Whispering for his sons to forgive him with his last breath.

Yuri knew he should hurry back down to the Abyss before someone caught him on the surface and sicced the knights on him, but he was too worried about Ashe. He hadn't seen him since they returned, and when he'd asked Prince Dimitri where he was he hadn't known either. He's either in his room, or the cathedral.

He didn't know what made him go for the cathedral first, but he did. Sure enough, there was Ashe, slumped over on a bench with his face buried in his hands. Yuri quietly sat down next to him, and Ashe's head jerked up. He quickly rubbed at his eyes, swallowing, trying to look like he hadn't been crying.

"Oh...hey, Yuri. Did Prince Dimitri send you to look for me?"

"No, I figured I'd find you here on my own." Yuri sighed. What can I do? I should be angry that something could hurt him this badly, but that doesn't change anything. It wouldn't bring back Lonato, anyway. It wasn't that he was bad at comforting people, he just wasn't exactly a genius at it. He wasn't gentle and nurturing like Mercedes or a good listener like Dedue. "Sorry. I mean...I'm sorry for your loss and all."

"I feel like I failed him," Ashe muttered. "Even though I know it was his choice and all, if I'd tried harder-"

"Exactly, it was his choice." And even if he'd survived, Lady Rhea would have him executed anyway, but Ashe didn't need to hear that. "There's nothing you could've done short of bringing Christophe back to life." Ashe sniffled, rubbing at his cheeks.

"I know. Prince Dimitri said we did what we had to, the professor said this is the reality of battle," he said. "Everyone's gotta face reality sooner or later, right? Especially guys like me." Yuri clenched his fist, then moved to embrace Ashe tightly, smoothing his messy hair.

"Guys like you are an example of what the world should be like," he said. "Just because it's cold and harsh and gritty doesn't mean that's right. Someone like you shouldn't have to raise a weapon to his own father because the Church said so." Or lose his parents at such a young age, have to steal to survive, have his happy found family life wrecked by the death of yet another person he loved.

You don't deserve this pain, Ashe, not you. You've never done anything wrong, even when you stole it was to help your siblings. You've had too much taken from you already.

He'd grown up among people who knew how ugly the world could be and gleefully rubbed it in the face of anyone naive enough to think otherwise. But Yuri, born into lower than poverty, selling his body the moment it started to change, killing without a second thought to protect his people, wished anyone naive enough to think otherwise could just be right for once.

"Sorry," Ashe muttered, looking up from the damp spot on Yuri's jacket. "I must seem pretty pathetic right now. I can't let it go..."

"You're hurting. You're allowed," Yuri said, pulling him closer. "I just wish there was something I could say or do to help right now, I'm not good at this sort of thing."

"You're here with me. I know the professor or Prince Dimitri or Dedue or the others wouldn't look down on me, but they're all so worried about the fake assassination note and I don't want to be a burden on them," Ashe said quietly. "I wish you could stay the night with me, but..."

"I could take you down to the Abyss with me...if you were okay waking up before dawn so I could sneak you back to your room." The very idea invited even more risk than an Abyssian staying above overnight, but Yuri was used to taking risks and sneaking around. And he wanted to leave Ashe even less than Ashe wanted him to leave. "It's just a thought, but-"

"I'd like that." Ashe offered the barest hint of a smile. "Sorry to put you out, but-"

"Hey, hey, if you were putting me out I wouldn't have offered." Yuri helped him up and they slipped from the cathedral into the night, cloaked in darkness as he led the way towards the Abyss. The shfity merchant only nodded towards Yuri, paying little mind to his guest. Luckily, Hapi was asleep, Balthus was chatting up a middle-aged woman in the tavern, and Constance was too busy in the library; he doubted Ashe wanted any questions or curious looks right now. Before tonight, the professor was the only one who ever bothered to visit the Abyss.

"So here's the guys' dorm," he said as they took off their shoes. "Balthus'll either be back within the hour or not at all depending on whether or not the lady's got a ring on her finger." He could see the curiosity in Ashe's eyes, the concern, but thankfully he didn't say anything. The last thing he wanted was for Ashe to worry about him when he'd just been dealt such a hard blow.

"I'll take the floor, so I'm not displacing anyone," Ashe said, but Yuri pulled back the covers of his bed and patted the space beside him. "Wait, you-"

"You need a hug. And it gets cold down here at night, so..." Why was his face warm? He was comforting an old friend, nothing more or less. Ashe seemed to hesitate before sliding under the covers with him. Yuri's arms wrapped around him and Ashe immediately buried his face in his shoulder, fresh tears wetting the fabric of Yuri's jacket. "There, just let it out. You don't have to be okay right away, you know?"

"But-"

"They'll understand. Yeah, you'll have to move on, but who says it's gotta be sooner than later?" He toyed with a few strands of Ashe's messy hair. You shouldn't have to grieve at all, but anyone who tries to tell you to get over it right away is an asshole. "At least for tonight, don't worry about it." Ashe sniffled, pulling closer to him; Yuri couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this protective of anyone who wasn't his mother or the Ashen Wolves. But even if it was just for one night he wanted to take Ashe away from all the bullshit above ground.

Ashe relaxed in his arms, his tears slowly dying down as he fell asleep. Yuri's own eyes felt heavy, but he stayed up to watch over him anyway.

You don't have to be okay right away, but I know you will be.