Author's Note: Hello, all! My first Smash story. I'm pretty fond of both characters, and I decided to try first person, from Robin's perspective. Also, for those wondering, the title is in reference to chess - "Queen captures Knight", referring to Lucina and Robin, respectively.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
QxN
A weird silence had overtaken the room some time ago, but neither Lucina or myself are making any sort of effort to break it. Through my peripheral I can see Lucina only pretending to be nose-deep in a fantasy novel; her eyes are darting back and forth mysteriously, and more often than not, they land on my person.
Uncomfortable, that's the word I was looking for. It's an odd sensation, and one that I've never experienced in Lucina's presence. We've been friends even before the tournament, our personalities meshing excellently. Sitting in silence with Lucina, reading books or doing some last minute preparations before a battle, isn't a new concept, but this sort of silence, accompanied by Lucina's jittery movements, is starting to make me itch.
Carefully placing a bookmark between the pages of my book, I slowly close the text and stand up from my desk. Lucina's currently occupying my bed, sitting on its side and now tapping her foot in what I can only assume is a beat to a song I haven't yet heard of. Still, it's something she doesn't normally do, which concerns me.
Taking a chair and sitting in front of her, she barely acknowledges me at all. I can't ask her outright, 'What's wrong?' No, that would likely make her nervous. Lucina's not exactly grace under pressure. I mentally recall a time where she broke a vase and was distraught for the entirety of the day. All for nothing, of course - they don't kick you out of a tournament for breaking vases.
"How's your book?" I decide to test the waters with a question that can't be answered with a 'yes' or 'no.' If she's as distracted as I think she is, she'll probably answer with something…
"Oh u-uh, it's fine."
Generic.
There is definitely something on her mind. Maybe she's too afraid to talk about it. I don't see why she would be, considering that it's only me. On some mornings, we'll do each others' hair when the other is unable to manage it. You can't let another woman do your hair and not trust them one-hundred percent. Only those of the highest level of trust are allowed that sacred privilege.
Which leads me to my next question: What is this girl hiding? I struggle to conceal a crafty smile, the need to satiate my curiosity threatening to take total control. I like to think of these discussions as the true test of my deduction skills; it's a battle of wills, almost like a board game. I always win, in both cases. "You don't seem to be enjoying the book. Anything on your mind?" I go all in anyway, now sensing that she's keeping secrets. Secrets that she must share. Because friendship.
For a second, she brings the book closer to her face, as if trying to block out my existence. Ouch. That's both rude and hurtful. She quickly gives up, sighing as she places the book onto the bed, not bothering to close it. She takes a lock of her blue hair and twirls it around her index finger. This is definitely uncharacteristic of her, but I let it go, since she seems like she's ready to talk.
"Robin, can I ask you a question?"
"Was that the question?" I can't help but playfully tease her. She leaves herself open, and I have to take the chance to lighten the mood with a little teasing whenever possible. My plan is successful, the faint hint of a smile making its way across her face.
"No, silly." She giggles as she says this. Suddenly, her personality flips, and she's right back to being awkward.
Without thinking, I take her hand in mine, her slender fingers wrapping around my own. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" I was under the impression that that was a given, but considering the strangeness of this ordeal, it's best to remind her anyway.
However, her eyes don't shift to look at me, instead focusing far too long on our hands. The act was swift, but I don't think the gesture of hand-holding warrants this much careful study. I say as much to her, jokingly, and her eyes widen before snatching her hand back.
O…kay.
"Uh…?"
"S-Sorry, Robin. You startled me, is all."
"That's okay."
It wasn't really - it was weird; voicing this thought to her would definitely be unwise. "So, you had a question for me?" I try to move the conversation along as much as possible, mostly because she looks too flustered to do so herself. I begin to subconsciously play with my own hair for a minute as she thinks. A nervous habit that needed to die long ago, and one that we share, apparently.
She inhales sharply, mentally readying herself. "I notice you and Shulk spending a large amount of time together lately and I was wondering if there was something going on or if you two are simply friends and nothing more."
She says it all in one breath, making it difficult for my brain to immediately process all of her words. Nevertheless, the root of her question begins to sink in. Shulk? I haven't paid enough attention to the amount of time we spend together. It doesn't strike me as anything out of the ordinary, but to Lucina, who I also spend an inordinate amount of time with, this might be a big change for her.
And did she ask if Shulk and I were together?
"Lucina, Shulk and I aren't 'together.' We're just friends." The last part seems to make Lucina brighten up a bit, her breathing becoming more rhythmic and her fidgeting dying down a little. I still haven't the slightest idea as to what is happening.
"That's good. That you're making friends, I mean." Though she says that, it doesn't sound like what she meant to say. "So… there's absolutely nothing going on between you and Shulk?"
Smacking my hand to my forehead sounds fitting right now, but I refrain from doing so. This has been bothering Lucina for a while, I can tell, so I should at least be a good friend and take her seriously. Why is she so concerned about my relationship, or lack thereof, with Shulk? She couldn't be…
Jealous?
Now that I think about it, that would make sense. In fact, it makes total sense. Lucina has a crush on Shulk. That's cute. Lucina does far too many cute things for someone so serious. "Don't worry, I won't steal Shulk. He's all yours." I wink at her, and begin to rise from my seat. Her hand drags me back down, however, and I am facing her (the side of her face, anyway) once again. This time, she seems adamant, as if she's been arguing with herself and has finally made a decision.
I'm confused. Did I not crack the code and solve the case? All dreams of becoming a lawyer if my time were to expire as a tactician are ruined.
This time, it's her who grabs my hands and holds them in her own. "Shulk. H-He's not the one I like." She looks crestfallen, like she just admitted to leaving her homework in her bedroom in front of an entire classroom. She also looks ashamed, her eyes now staring at my bed sheets, but maintaining a steady hold of my hands.
The confusion grows stronger within the confines of my mind. I try to run through this logically. If she doesn't like Shulk, then why did she come across as jealous? She clearly takes issue with me spending so much time with Shulk. My brain can only come to conclusion.
She likes me.
Oh.
Huh.
This is not what I was expecting at all, but it does make sense. My face must be telling her that I've figured it out, because her cheeks have grown a very dark shade of red. Lucina is the person I've grown the closest to here, and our relationship has always been strong, even back in our home. But I've never thought of her in any romantic way. Actually, I've never given any thought to the idea of romance in general.
In Ylisse, during my time as Chrom's tactician, my only goal was to provide the army with battle strategies; keeping everyone alive, as blunt as that sounds, was my number one priority. I had little time to socialize, or consider the possibility of falling in love. Accepting Master Hand's invitation to live here only cemented the fact that love was nothing but a fleeting afterthought. I figured that everyone here would be too engrossed in the ongoing fights to talk about matters of the heart.
I was wrong on that front.
Relationships are a lot more common in this mansion than one would think. Or maybe I underestimated just how seriously people were taking everything. Heck, half of the fighters already had established relationships before entering - Link and Zelda immediately come to mind. Those two are, for all intents and purposes, attached at the hip.
In all of my deep thought, I realize that I've neglected to address Lucina for a while. Oops. "So. How long have you, well…?"
'Been infatuated with me,' is how I want to end that sentence, but the awkwardness of it all is too much for me to handle. As red as Lucina is, I must be ten times worse, which I'm sure she's become aware of by now.
"I'm not entirely sure myself." She still refuses to look me in the eyes, out of embarrassment I'm sure. I want to tell her that there's nothing to be embarrassed about, but I struggle find the words, or any words at all. The lump in my throat doesn't allow me to speak, but luckily she continues. "I've liked you for so long, I can't even remember when it started. Long before we both traveled here, that I know for sure."
"So even back home?"
She gives me a quick nod, and returns to silence. She's waiting for me to either return or reject her feelings. Honestly, I'm not sure if I can do either. We've been such close friends for so long, it's hard to imagine my life without her, but that doesn't mean I can just say, 'Hey, I like you! Let's date now!' does it? On the other hand, we tell each other everything, we spend nearly all of our time together, and we've shared a bed more than once. But isn't that what friends do?
Okay, maybe friends don't share beds with friends. It was cold, the heating was malfunctioned, I needed body heat. More than once. That's logical.
"I wish I could say that I see you in the same romantic light, but I can't. N-Not because I don't think that I c-could." Gods, I'm stumbling over my words left and right, like a verbal Sumia. At this point, I don't even know where I intended to go with this train of thought. I pause, taking a moment to calm down. "I've never looked at anyone in a romantic light before, because romance has always been far from my mind."
I open my mouth to go on, but Lucina raises a hand, signaling me to stop. She doesn't appear to be surprised, not that I expected her to be.
"I understand. In that case, we should spend more time together, and perhaps then you could begin to see me in 'that way.'"
"Spend more time together? You'd probably have to live with me if we wanted to accomplish that."
I bite my tongue, wondering if that was an appropriate joke to make under these circumstances. Lucina laughs regardless, my lack of tact going by unnoticed.
"Thank you for letting me speak my mind. I should probably be going now. It's rather late."
I turn to face the window, noticing the night sky. How much time did we spend talking about feelings? This must be a new record. We both stand from our seats, and I begin to lead Lucina to the door. Before she leaves, she does something that sends shivers down my spine.
Lucina gracefully places her lips onto mine.
My body doesn't offer any resistance.
We close our eyes.
And then, after mere seconds of sheer bliss, she pulls away.
I look at her in shock, wondering why she ended it so quickly; her face is beaming. "Goodnight, Robin." Just like that, in one swift motion, Lucina's trapped me, and I think even she knows it. Nothing in the world makes sense to me anymore, but the simple fact remains:
She's won.