Soft Drops
Chapter One: Don't Smile
Robin thought her heart would be torn asunder.
She heard soft, muffled sobbing; a faint, choked gasping. She clenched her right hand tightly, overcome by a sudden, irrational anger. With shaking hands, she steeled her heart and marched inside, tossing aside the thin tarp, with the capacity of a soldier ready for battle. She stopped short, her offenses halted and defenses broken.
Inigo turned, startled. He quickly rubbed at his cheeks. "O-oh, love, I hadn't thought you would return so early. The meeting was shorter than I thought," he said, laughing uneasily. He cast his face away.
"You," Robin said, anger tapering off, "you were crying." Her voice faltered.
"Oh, that." He laughed again. "This, this is embarrassing. You needn't worry though. That—that was a bit of, ahem, emotional venting." As if receding into himself, his body curled inwards. A strained expression crossed his face.
She took two steps. "Don't." She dropped to her knees. She took his face into her hands. "Don't smile," she choked. Anything would had been fine, she thought—she would rather be knocked down, for one—but not this painful exhibition.
Inigo smiled tiredly. She flinched, wondering when had that happened. "I'm not sure what else to do," he finally said. He suddenly grinned and placed his hands over hers. "Besides, you're the one crying now."
Her vision blurred. She hadn't noticed the burn of her tears yet. "Y-you said—" She gasped for breath. "You, you wouldn't smile unless it was real," she muttered miserably. "Don't smile for my sake, Inigo." He hold loosened on him, as she sunk forward. "Don't smile," she said again, softly.
She felt his body tremble. He tried to laugh; yet his laughter was broken by choked sobs.
"I'm sorry, love," he said in between breaths, "but I guess I'm not strong after all."
He chuckled bitterly. Robin felt her throat tighten, struggling for air. Once again, she thought her heart would be torn asunder.
A/N: Hello, hello, everyone! I am alive, active, and brain dead. Of course, the first thing I don't do is updating any of my multi-chaptered stories, but post a one-shot of my current Fire Emblem: Awakening OTP (I love Inigo as a crybaby). Priorities, thy name are irresponsibility and procrastination. I'm trash, I admit it. I was originally going to post this when I had three chapters prepared, but ehhhhh. This is also going to be updated when I need help getting off my writing rut.
Well, I am thinking of re-doing them anyways. After all, if you can't move on, then start over! I didn't build a very good foundation to begin with (what the heck is a setting), and I don't have the patience for long stories either (I could probably do connected one-shots, but that's about it for now). Also, AP English has really been messing with me when it comes to metaphors and allusions, as well as tenses. So, now, I'm super confused and frustrated that I cannot write like Charlotte Bronte (this is part sarcasm and part truth).
As always, I strive to improve! If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out—either in reviews or through PMs. This makes it a lot easier for me when I go back and re-edit for better viewing.