Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem

The white-haired man narrowed his eyes in smug satisfaction as he saw the blue-haired girl get up on stage. Oh yes, she was quite a sight to behold. Her dress was cut perfectly, her figure slim and pretty. He was aware of how he wasn't supposed to be looking at her the way he did. Her father would never approve, as good of friends they were. Someone of her class should never be with someone like him.

Even as her song floated through the air, he was distracted by the impatient movement by the bar. With a flash of minor annoyance, he headed back to his shift by the bar. Annoying old men, their eyes lingering too long on her, sat down. He disliked them immediately. They seemed like the type to cause unnecessary trouble.

They all ordered beer and he grudgingly served them. But what really bothered him was the vulgar conversation they were having.

"Do you see her up there?"

"Yeah. Pretty thing, too."

"Wouldn't mind fucking her."

"Maybe I'll catch her backstage."

"Perhaps I'll stick it in her, whether she wants it or not." The fourth man grinned after saying it, and Robin was sure he really meant it.

Robin leaned between them. "Excuse me. If you have no problem with your language, I'd like you to leave."

The man laughed. "Come on! It's just a joke. Why don't you have a beer and join us?"

Robin scowled at them. "I'm afraid I must decline. Not only am I on shift, but there's also the matter of you leaving."

The fourth man stood up, now scowling like Robin. "Look, if you know what's good for you, you'd let it go."

"Try anything and my buddies by the entrance will disable you," Robin said coolly.

The man's face flashed angrily for a second, then settled down. "Come on, guys. Let's find a place where the staff doesn't harass us."

Robin looked away calmly as they stormed out.

"Hey, you make another troupe of customers storm out?"

Robin turned around to see Gaius. "Rape jokes are never funny. Especially when they're an actual threat."

Gaius frowned slightly. "I see what you mean, but Chrom's gonna kill you when he finds out you drove away more customers."

"Not when he finds out I intervened when they were talking about raping his daughter," he muttered.

"What?"

"... Nothing."

Gaius sighed and leaned against the bar. "Look, I know you're into her."

"What?"

"You know who. Lucina."

Robin instinctively looked upward toward Lucina singing in front of the crowd. Her eyes are really luminous when up on stage, he noted. "She's just my friend's daughter."

"Yeah. A friend's daughter who happens to be your age. A friend's daughter who you always stare at. A friend's daughter who you tend to her every need. A friend's daughter-"

"Okay, I get it!" he snapped. "You think I like Lucina."

"Oh, I don't think you like Lucina; I know it."

Robin looked away and crossed his arms petulantly, perfectly aware of how childish he looked. "I'm not into her."

"Whatever," Gaius shrugged. "All I know is that if you two are going to have sex, please do it away from the bar."

Robin struggled to hide the red rising up on his cheeks from the remark. "We're not going to have sex, okay?" He noticed Lucina had finished her song and had gone backstage for a break. "Anyway, I'm going to get her a drink."

"Just don't get too carried away backstage!" Gaius called out as Robin walked away.

Lucina looked up as he walked towards her. "Ah, Robin. Why are you here?"

He smiled and handed her the drink. "This is for you. When are you scheduled to go on next?"

She smiled gently, her eyes distracted. "In about 15 minutes, I think." She looked at him. "Hey, do you know where my dad is?"

Robin looked at her, surprised. "Chrom? I think he's in the back. Why?"

"No reason." She seemed distracted as she said it.

That smile reminded him of the day long ago when they were both just average, working class people. Though they were both cleaning people, he remembered how she'd always talk about wanting to perform. When the club manager had finally heard her, he had hired her right on the spot. Eventually, they'd made so much money, Chrom just bought the whole place and promoted Robin to a job at the bar.

"Fine. Just…please see me at the bar after," he said, struggling not to betray the even tone in his voice.

Lucina smiled and put a hand softly over his cheek. "Thanks for the offer. I'll make sure to stop by."

He could only look after her as she walked away.

"So, how was it?" he inquired.

She remained oddly silent for a moment. "... Fine," she replied eventually.

He handed her a margarita with a slice of lime and a cherry at the bottom of the glass, the stem sticking out above the surface of the drink temptingly. She tipped the glass toward her lips, saving the cherry for last. Robin smiled slightly as he waited for her to finally set her attentions to it. Within a moment, she casually plucked it from the glass prison it was held hostage in and ate it.

"I can't see how my father's making me get married," she finally said.

"What?!" Robin said, struggling not to look too shocked.

"He's making me get married. The club is starting to run out of money, so he wants me to marry a wealthy boy across town." She frowned. "However, my sights are not fixated on him. I'm interested in somebody else."

Robin hadn't heard her last statement. He was still mulling over in shock about what happened. "Excuse me. I have this shift off. I'll go have a word with Chrom on my paycheck."

She nodded sullenly in reply as he walked away. Robin threw the door open as he strided in. "What's going on?"

Chrom looked up from the deck of cards he was playing. "Hey, Robin. What are you here for?"

"Why are you forcing Lucina to marry someone she doesn't like?!" he demanded.

Chrom frowned and sighed. He remained quiet for a few moments. "It's not like I want to marry off my daughter for money. It's just that some…news has been in their possession for a little while now. If that news were to be released to the public we'd be ruined."

"That's still no reason to marry Lucina off to a guy she's not interested in!" he protested angrily.

Chrom smirked softly and chuckled. "... And that's why you're my friend."

"What are you talking about?" he demanded crossly.

"Your attitude. To most who see, you're a quiet, polite man who keeps an eye on his own business and doesn't meddle in others'. However, when you take a closer look, you have a fiery passion about you that drives you to stick up for others and fight for them as fervently as you would yourself. That's why you're my friend."

Robin sighed. "Thanks, but we're talking about Lucina here! What's so important about this 'news'?!"

A trickle of nervous sweat dribbled down Chrom's brow. "Well, it's not exactly the news that's what's troubling."

"What is it?!" Robin persisted.

"They have connections to the mafia," Chrom admitted.

Robin froze, his heart pounding from all the adrenaline. "I thought the mafia didn't exist anymore."

"Oh, it's still around," Chrom replied. "And, unfortunately, a prominent family has an eye on my Lucina. If I don't force her to marry, they'll probably kill us both."

Robin remained silent for a moment, his storm gray eyes fixated on the floor. "There's gotta be a way," he finally insisted.

Chrom sighed and intertwined his fingers under his chin. "Sometimes you're so stubborn." He grinned. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you felt something towards my little Lucina."

Robin swallowed nervously and averted his eyes from Chrom's. "That's preposterous," he stammered.

Chrom's eyes glimmered and his tone was soft and gentle as he said, "You know, if we get out of this alive, you can be with her if you really want to. That is, if she likes you back."

"That's not going to happen. She said she was interested in another guy."

"You told her?"

"No." He blushed. "She was telling me how she was into someone else while she told me about having to get married."

Chrom smirked but said nothing more. "Anyway, how are we going to deal with out little problem?"

Robin paused for a moment. He knew one option, but to dare suggest it was taboo. He knew he'd sound like a horrible person if he spoke it out loud, but nevertheless, he forced himself to open his mouth. "What if...I convinced my twin sister to marry him?"

Chrom stared at him open-mouthed. "You can't, Robin. She's your sister! Plus, what if he doesn't like her?"

Robin smiled ruefully. "Trust me: she's quite a sight."

Chrom frowned and remained silent. "But still… She has her whole life ahead of her. I don't want to be the one who wastes it."

"So does Lucina," Robin muttered.

"Do you really want to choose between Lucina and your own twin sister?"

He looked down at the floor once again, ashamed of himself. "Sorry; I wasn't thinking. I just…don't know what to do."

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to ask her. I doubt she'll say yes, but you never know."

Robin looked up. "She'll be here soon to pick me up. We can talk to her then."

Chrom's gaze held a slight determination in it that Robin had never seen before. "Sounds like a plan."

The girl looked at them with confusion in her eyes. "Are you saying you want me to marry a guy I've never met?"

Robin didn't say anything for a moment. "Yes," he replied.

She furled and eyebrow for a moment. "You're joking, right?"

"I wish," Robin sighed. "A friend of mine is in a pinch and I need you to marry a guy so she doesn't have to."

She glared at him. "Gods, are you that daft?! I'm not going to throw my life away just so you can help a friend out!"

Robin nodded solemnly. "I understand. We knew it was a shot in the dark anyway. I just don't know how to help her."

"Wait, 'her'?" Rosa grinned deviously. "Looks like my little brother has a crush!"

"Shut up!" he snapped, his cheeks turning a slight rosy color. "One, you're only older by two minutes! Two, are we five? It's not a big deal if I like a girl I know. You don't need to tease me about it!"

She crossed her arms and huffed. "Whatever. Anyway, I'm going out with someone at the moment. He's a nice guy and I don't want you to ruin it for me. Unfortunately, his family tends to meddle in his love life, so he's warning me that it might not work out if they don't approve."

Robin rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Sorry to bother you."

"No problem," Rosa replied with a knowing wink. "Anyway, I'm going to visit my boyfriend. You're just going to have to suck it up. If you don't want to suck it up, get a car of your own instead of freeloading off of me."

He sighed in an overly-exasperated way, but the twinkle in his eyes betrayed how much he cared for his sister. "Whatever. I'll go with you."

She smiled and they went to the car. She put it into reverse and they pulled out of the parking lot. As they drove away, Robin looked out the window at the bar shifting behind them. With it, his fears and worries sat there and waited for him to come back patiently. They entwined themselves around Lucina, imprisoning her in a cell of despair. For a second, the thought seemed so real that Robin almost bit his tongue and opened the door. Instead, he stopped himself and stared gloomily into the distance as they drove away. Anything for you, my love, he thought to himself as the brown building faded in the brilliant sunset.

Rosa soon parked the car and they exited. Robin exhaled in disbelief. Whoever her boyfriend was, he was rich! The yard was grandiose and several fountains spewed forth crystal clear water. They knocked on the door and a butler answered. After a few minutes, they were allowed in. A sulky man about Rosa's age sat and stared out the window.

"Inigo?" Rosa inquired.

The man, apparently known as Inigo, straightened up. "Oh, Rosa! Sorry, I was just thinking." He put on a huge smile that seemed so genuine, Robin would have never known it was fake had the conditions been different. "Welcome!" He looked at Robin. "Oh? Is this your brother?"

She smiled and wrapped her hands around his arm. "Yep! We're twins. Inigo, this is Robin. Robin, this is Inigo."

They shook hands and the three stood around together. Inigo grinned. "Hey, why don't we eat?"

They agreed and soon a whole table was set with food for them. "I don't wish to be probing, but how did you come onto such money?"

For a split second, a shadow flitted across Inigo's face. Then, it was gone. He smiled and said, "Just family business."

Robin knit his eyebrows, but said nothing further. Until the end of the meal, it was mostly Rosa and Inigo's talking that fueled the happy atmosphere. It wasn't until the end of the meal that Inigo said he wished to talk to Robin privately that anything of interest happened. He pulled Robin aside and, at once, he frowned and a near desperate look appeared on his face.

"Hey, I need to tell Rosa something."

"Ok-ay?"

"I mean, will she kill me if I do?"

"What?"

He paused and sighed. "It's not working out. My parents, as you've probably guessed, are quite wealthy. They want me to marry this girl across town. Some kind of bar singer. I've met her, and while she's really kind, she's just not my type. I don't want to marry her, but I don't have a say in things. Do you think Rosa will kill me?"

But Robin wasn't listening. Bar singer, bar singer… He clenched his hands into fists. "You're the bastard that's ruining her life!" he roared.

Inigo took a step back. "I wouldn't say I'm ruining Rosa's life. And it's not like I'm choosing to leave her! Should I just not tell her?"

Robin shoved him into the wall. "Not Rosa; Lucina!" he shouted. "She doesn't want to marry you! She's in love with somebody else!"

"Who?" he stuttered.

"That damned bar singer you're talking about!" he yelled. "She doesn't want to marry you! She loves someone else! You did this! You damned her to this fate!"

"Are you in love with her?" he asked quietly.

Robin immediately silenced himself and looked down at the floor. "I am but merely a loyal coworker and friend. Anything for her," he replied quietly, his eyes filled with resentment and anger.

Rosa ran around the corner. "What the hell are you doing?!" she shrieked. She yanked Robin off of Inigo and pushed him away. "Are you okay?" she asked Inigo, her eyes looking over him in concern.

Inigo looked up at her, his eyes showing that he was completely lost in thought. "I don't want to marry her," he murmured.

A confused look crossed over Rosa's face. "What are you talking about?"

Inigo looked deep into her eyes. "Rosa, I want to marry you."

A few different emotions crossed her face: Astonishment, confusion, bewilderment, joy. "But what were you just muttering about?" she asked.

He sighed. "Well, my family's making me marry a bar singer across town."

"Her name's Lucina," Robin replied darkly. "She works at the same club as I do."

Rosa's eyes widened. "So that's why you were so angry!" She turned towards Inigo. "But that means…"

"Sorry, love. We can't get married."

For a moment, all was silent. Then, "I'm sure they'd rethink it if they saw Rosa," Robin said.

They all looked at each other. "You think it'll work?" Inigo asked, a bit of blind hope beginning to sound out through his voice.

Robin grinned. "I'm sure."

"So that actually happened?" Robin asked.

"Yeah," Lucina replied. "I was really lucky. I don't know how exactly, but someone convinced the guy's family that he'd be better off marrying some girl with white hair."

"Interesting," Robin mused. "Anyway, now you can go back to pursuing the one you like."

"Most definitely," she agreed. "Speaking of which…" She looked at him shyly. "Will you go out with me?"

He stared at her, his mouth agape. "You mean I'm the one you like?"

"Gods yes, Robin. Haven't you ever noticed. I've made it so obvious time and time again, but I guess you're just oblivious. Since I need to make it this obvious, I will. I repeat: Will you go out with me?"

He smiled gently at her and kissed her hand. "Anything for you," he replied.

Fin

This officially is the longest I have ever taken to write a fic. It's like a few weeks to a month, I think. Anyway, it's not that school's been bothering me. I just got my ass kicked by writer's block. My muse has just finished being a bitch and giving me the silent treatment. Shout out to SonicRomance15 for the request! I think this turned out okay, but I could've done better. Since I haven't written stuff in a while, I should have an extra long note commentary to make up for that. Oh well. Deal with it! Still... Hope y'all enjoyed~

Listening to: "Tsuki Akari" by Sora Amamiya