AN- It happens to be my good internet friend Panda-chan1358's birthday, so happy birthday to her, and I wish her the very best in the year to come. So, I decided to write her a present, and upon asking what kind she'd like, she said Shulk x M!Robin fluff. Therefore, I wrote this, trying to emulate the tone and style of her Holidays at the Mansion story a bit with it. Thank you, I only own my own ideas, and enjoy! –Twilight Joltik
Quiet Denial
By Twilight Joltik
Robin had heard several of his friends claim that reading helped them to go to sleep. He didn't get this line of thought in the slightest. In fact, reading did exactly the opposite for him. After getting caught up in a good book, it was so remarkably impossible to tear his eyes from it that he often ended up staying up until he either finished the book or collapsed from exhaustion.
Luckily, at the Smash Mansion, he was at least always able to take solace in the fact that Shulk got every bit as wrapped up in literature as he did. They were always the last two in that beautiful, huge library the place had, and it had almost become a sort of competition between the two to see which could read longer before giving into exhaustion and being forced to head to bed, or on occasion, falling asleep amidst the huge piles of books.
This was a routine he was used to by now, but normally, it played out a bit differently than it was at the moment. For one, the two normally sat across from each other at a table, not right next to each other on the ridiculously ornate and also fairly small couch.
He'd just on a whim decided to sit somewhere other than their normal table, figuring he'd just move whenever Shulk got there. That did not happen, however, as the blond seer simply sat down next to him without a word. Such a thing struck him as very odd, given Shulk normally didn't like people touching him, and after a minute, decided to ask him what in Naga's name was compelling him to break his normal policies on physical contact.
"Why… er, why are you sitting next to me?", he questioned, hoping he wasn't sounding terribly rude.
It took a moment for Shulk to acknowledge him, but apologized once he did. "Oh, sorry. I just figured since we always sit together…" He trailed off, looking away from the tactician. "I can move if you want."
"No, it's fine," Robin assured him, suddenly feeling the warmth and presence of Shulk's body a lot more acutely. Was it his imagination, or did his cheeks suddenly feel hot?
After a minute, he forgot about his sudden embarrassment and got eaten up by his books again. He had no idea how long he was reading for, but around the two-thirds mark, his eyelids started feeling rather heavy. He managed to look up and saw that the grandfather clock across the room had its short hand at the one and the long one around the seven. The revelation or something made a small yawn escape from his mouth, and a small chuckle came from beside him.
"You getting tired?", Shulk questioned, and Robin noted the small yawn that came along with that.
"Not really," lied the tactician, waving the fatigue away with the words on the page. A little sleepiness rarely got in his way, and he'd just gotten to a good part of the book, so he simply kept reading.
Gradually, however, he stopped being able to totally focus on the story, as if he were drifting in and out of a dream. Something about the cushioned couch and Shulk beside him stopped him from acting on the vague realization that he really ought to go to bed. He simply decided in the back of his barely functioning mind that it seemed like a perfectly nice place to fall asleep, and the last thing he was able to consciously think is that he was glad the person beside him was wearing something soft enough for him to rest his head on.
He awoke with the sound of rather obnoxious laughter. It took him a moment to fully register what was going on. First, he noted that light was trickling in from the windows of the library, making him vaguely wonder how long he'd been out. Then, he realized that he was still next to Shulk, who was both still asleep and had a shoulder that was currently acting as his pillow. And finally, as he raised his head awkwardly, he realized that people were standing in front of them, staring at the scene.
Well, to be fair, most were doing more than staring. Dark Pit was laughing his head off, Lucina was practically glaring at them, and Zelda simply seemed to be watching the two wordlessly. Robin, realizing that he was blushing rather heavily, quickly exclaimed "This isn't what it looks like, I swear!"
"What is it, then?", Lucina questioned, practically yelling. "Because if I find out you two have been seeing each other and you didn't tell me about it-"
"No, we aren't-!", he started to cry back, but was stopped by sudden movement next to him.
"What's all the shouting for?", inquired Shulk quietly, stifling a yawn as he assumed a more normal sitting position.
Lucina took a few steps towards the seer before asking, far more politely this time "Why were you and Robin sleeping like that?"
"Sleeping like what?", Shulk sleepily asked.
An awkward quiet settled over the room, with even Dark Pit finally shutting up, but that was more likely due to stomach pain or lack of oxygen. Finally, Zelda broke it with "Well, considering you were awfully cuddly with Robin, and I don't think I've ever actually seen you willingly be so close to anyone before, there is reasonable ground for us to assume there is something going on between you two."
"You two have something you want to tell us?", Dark Pit questioned between chuckles.
It took a moment for Shulk to answer, and Robin was a bit annoyed by this, but couldn't find the words to speak himself. "Nothing's going on, he just fell asleep while we were reading here and I didn't want to wake him up," Shulk assured them, adding with a chuckle "Guess I fell asleep too, though!"
After a pained moment of the three staring at them, Zelda finally sighed and began to walk away. "Whatever you say," she muttered under her breath.
"Why won't you believe us?", Robin exclaimed after her, but didn't receive a response. Instead, Dark Pit continued to give an odd snort of laughter, while Lucina looked rather like she was sizing up prey.
Finally, Lucina said in an almost sweet tone "As your friend, you know you can tell me anything, right?"
"Th-there's nothing to tell!", Robin assured her, with Shulk staying oddly silent. This seemed to be enough to make her sigh and give up on trying to elicit a confession out of them.
Dark Pit, thankfully, followed her, adding "You lovebirds really ought to get ready. Matches star in an hour."
Glancing at the clock, he noted that was true and would have gotten up to go get breakfast if Shulk hadn't already started to get comfortable again. "We have a minute, right?", he questioned.
The ticking of the clock made the tactician a bit uneasy, but he nodded all the same. "I guess so."
"Good, 'cause I'm still sorta sleepy," declared Shulk with another yawn, resting his head on Robin's shoulder. This act made him turn somehow even redder than Lucina's accusations had, but also made his chest flutter oddly.
After a moment, the seer's breathing noticeably slowed, indicating he had fallen back asleep rather easily. Robin didn't even bother, as he was a bit too afraid they'd end up oversleeping, someone would try to come find them, and the whole thing would start over again. So, he just sat there, wondering why exactly Shulk had no qualms against being so close to him.
As he pondered this, he looked at the sleeping blond beside him, and felt an odd increase in his heart rate. He'd been so quick to deny that there was anything between them when Lucina had asked about it, but he felt oddly comfortable being so close to him.
"Plus," he added under his breath, casually brushing the seer's bangs to the side "I suppose he's rather cute."
He'd actually said that out loud, he quickly noted, and he felt his cheeks somehow grow even hotter. Those were words he'd formed with his mouth, that his vocal chords produced, and now they couldn't be taken back, even if they were true.
"You really think so?", a soft voice responded, and Robin realized with a terrifying jolt that it had been Shulk's. The seer had opened his eyes slightly, and horror filled his body once he realized that he probably hadn't even been fully asleep in the first place.
"That came out wrong!", Robin quickly and quietly said. "I- I- that sounded really creepy, didn't it?"
"It's fine," Shulk assured him, closing his eyes and repositioning his head a bit. "Besides, you're cuter."
AN- I would like to mention that I am aware of Fiora's existence. Also, this is Smash, where nothing is canon and everyone is a trophy clone of the character from the actual game they're from. And I wrote Dark Pit basically as Kano from KagePro, and everyone else is a bit OOC as well. Because reasons. Anyways, thanks for reading, and happy birthday once more to Panda-chan1358! –Twilight Joltik