Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to FE: A.
May I have this Dance?
"Robin, may I h…have this dance," Olivia stammered out, a bright scarlet blush adorning her face.
Nervously giving his affirmative, the white haired young man allowed himself to be led off to the dance floor by the blushing pinkette. From the back of the room, Maribelle watched the duo with disdain.
"A pair of fools," she muttered to herself, running a hand through her golden blonde hair.
However, her eyes remained focused on the duo. Watching them closely, she noted the space between them and the familiarity that they held with one another. Clearly, Robin had been spending a lot of time with her, the strumpet. Scowling fiercely, she didn't even notice her closest friend walk up beside her.
"Is there something bothering you?" Lissa's cheerful and energetic voice broke Maribelle out of her reverie.
Startled, the blonde troubadour turned to face the cleric. Placing a hand over her chest in an attempt to calm her racing heart, she finally managed to pull off a playful glare.
"You know darling, you shouldn't sneak up on a lady like that. I could've had your head if you weren't careful," she chastised friendlily.
"Of course milady," Lissa acquiesced, giggles following her statement. "Though, that doesn't deter my original question. Are you alright?"
Maribelle let out a sigh. She knew her friend wouldn't leave her alone to her thoughts. Speaking about what she was feeling was going to be a required activity now that Lissa had found her. Gathering up her needed courage, the young woman finally decided to speak.
"I don't think Robin should be out there like this," she began. "As the Ylissean military's tactician and Chrom's advisor, he should be holding himself to a higher standard than…that!"
Lissa tilted her head to see what Maribelle was pointing at. Finding Robin dancing cheerily with Olivia, a sly smile spread across her face. Checking to make sure that her brother was still doing what he had been when she last saw him, the cleric mentally nodded her confirmation for her plan of action.
"Well, Chrom's over there making a fool of himself with his wife. So, I don't see any issue with Robin's actions. He actually seems to be a lot more respectful of his station than my brother," Lissa said with a smirk.
Looking over to see what her friend was speaking about, Maribelle knew that her excuse was forfeit as she watched Chrom fawn, very unprofessionally, over his bride, Sully. The temptation to palm her face grew strong, but she resisted it. Even though, as she claimed, the two leaders of the Shepherds didn't act their station, she would not fall to their level. Yes, that was a valid excuse.
"Darling, while you may be right, that doesn't change the truth," she stated confidently.
Lissa's smirk grew wider. She was leading Maribelle into her trap and it was a very satisfying feeling; almost as satisfying as pranking Robin.
"Well, then I hope you don't mind if I go and cut in with them. I want a chance to dance with Robin before the nights over," she said saucily, knowing all too well how Maribelle would react.
"Go. Right. Ahead." She ground out, her teeth clenching and grinding (a very unladylike act) as she gave Lissa an awkward smile.
Giggling, Lissa scampered off to where Robin and Olivia had just finished dancing. A sly smile on her face, she sidled up to Robin and latched her hands around his arm.
"Do you mind if I cut in?" she asked, hoping not to embarrass the nervous dancer.
"I…I don't mind," she stuttered out, a pleased smile on her face.
"Thank you!" the cleric replied before dragging Robin away. "Suave one, aren't you?"
The question startled the tactician. They were out of earshot of the dancer, but it was still an unexpected question to hear. Contemplating how to answer (without sticking his foot in his mouth) Robin finally decided upon his answer.
"I don't understand."
He grimaced as he spoke, but Lissa seemed to find it amusing. Laughing at his words, she moved him into an opportune position before beginning to dance. Moving somewhat gracefully with one another, Robin was curious as to why Lissa chose a spot so close to the back wall.
"Chrom's wedding was spectacular, wasn't it?" Lissa finally spoke up again.
"Yes, that it was," Robin answered her. "Though, I think they both would have preferred to have it in the barracks with only the other Shepherds around."
Lissa giggled. Robin clearly knew Chrom well. Sully too from the sounds of it. This pomp and circumstance surrounding the wedding was overwhelming for the newlyweds. They would've been much more at ease if they had been allowed less of a spectacle and more of a celebration.
Shaking her head, she refocused her thoughts on what she was trying to do. Moving so that Robin would get a good look at the sulking Maribelle, her eyes lit up when she saw his drawn to her.
"Why isn't Maribelle dancing?" he asked her, confusion lining his expression.
"No one's asked her," Lissa offered sadly.
Robin's confusion grew stronger at that comment. Why would no one ask Maribelle? Deciding that this fact wasn't what was important, he focused his attention on Lissa.
"Excuse me, but would you mind if I went and asked her for a dance?"
Lissa struggled to keep a thoughtful expression, as if contemplating whether or not she wanted to let him go, but inwardly she was overjoyed. Robin had caught on to what she was wanting. Not that he knew how she had manipulated him over here, but it worked!
"I think I could get Gaius to replace you," she said forlornly, hoping that she wasn't overacting the part.
"You don't mind?" Robin pushed.
"No, I do not mind. Go ahead and ask her to dance," Lissa finally said.
Releasing her once they were standing steady, Robin rushed over to speak with Maribelle and Lissa watched with satisfaction.
"Very manipulative princess didn't know you had it in you," Gaius said as he walked up behind her, a piece of cake hanging from his mouth.
Lissa didn't respond and just watched the events unfold.
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Maribelle's breath caught in her chest as she watched Robin come towards her. She didn't want to hope, but couldn't stop herself from doing so. Practically praying that he'd ask her to dance, she fought to keep an even and somewhat apathetic expression. She had a reputation to protect and tripping over herself to get him to dance with her was not an option.
"Maribelle!" he nearly shouted out. "Why aren't you out there with everyone else?"
Robin's question threw the young woman off guard. Though she was hoping for him to immediately ask her to dance, she did not expect the concern that he showed her. A scarlet blush spread across her face as he watched her, waiting for an answer.
"I had no urge to go out there and join the masses. It was far more enjoyable to just watch from back here," she answered haughtily.
Robin laughed lightly; he seemed to not buy what she was saying it and it caused her blush to darken.
"Well, I hope that milady will be willing to stray into the realm of the uncouth with me as I ask her for a dance."
Accentuated with a bow, Robin's request melted her heart further.
"O…of course," she stuttered out.
However, at this point she didn't care if she stuttered or not. Robin had actually asked her to dance. Not any of the other women, he had come to her. A new blush adorning her face she held out her hand and waited for him to take it.
When he did, the two glided out onto the dance floor. Robin was doing his best to stay in rhythm, allowing Maribelle to carry their dance at many opportunities. Despite how ungentlemanly that was, the troubadour couldn't find it in herself to care.
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Panne, Lissa, Cordelia and Sumia watched from a short distance away as the tactician and the troubadour danced. Sighs of contentment and joy escaped from the three humans while the tageul just watched with a pleased smile on her face.
"He seems to finally be figuring it out. You're a very sly one," she told Lissa.
"I know," was the response that the princess gave, her smile growing wider as she watched the two's movements.
"Yes, she seems to be enjoying herself. How wonderful," Sumia added, her eyes sparkling at the sight.
Cordelia tried her hardest not to blush as she watched. This reminded her of something out of one of the romance novels she had, secretly, read. To see it play out before her was astounding and too good to be true.
"Do you think they'll actually move forward in their relationship?" she asked finally.
"Who knows? All I know is that both sides are truly paying attention to one another now. All we can do now is wait and see if anything amazing comes from it," Lissa answered sagely.
This got all of the others to turn to face her with looks of shock.
"Um, what did I do?" the princess asked confused by the looks she was receiving.
"You must become a relationship guru! Help me out!" Cordelia nearly cried out.
Sumia responded the same way and soon Lissa was engulfed by the two Pegasus Knights.
From the dance floor, Robin watched the event from over Maribelle's shoulder. Lissa was getting her just deserts for meddling like this. That was for sure. However, compared to the woman in his arms, he could care less. Turning his attention back to Maribelle, he gave her a soft smile.
"Thank you very much milady for this dance," he said.
"You're very welcome," the blushing noblewoman replied.
End of May I have this Dance?
A/N: And here is my first Fire Emblem: Awakening fic. Man, this took a huge amount of work to get right. I tried numerous other ideas, but they just didn't seem to work and then I put together this one and… voila! It worked! Now, I think I'm the first person on here to post a Robin x Maribelle fic and I will tell you that this will not be my last one with this pairing.
As much as I love Lucina's character, on my second playthrough I felt myself compelled towards Maribelle. And boy I am glad that I did. She's such a wonderful character and the supports are so damn charming. So, I really wanted to write something with this pairing and contemplated putting together one from Morgan's perspective, but that didn't work out. So, one night earlier this week, I randomly started thinking about dances and celebrations. Particularly things like the festival in Tangled and then I got my idea; why not a jealous Maribelle watching as Robin is dragged around by other women. From there, it just flowed!
So, that's how you all ended up with this story. I hope you enjoyed and that you'll look forward to anything else that I put into this fandom. I'll mostly be doing oneshots like this as I work on a couple of other multi-chapter fics, but I'm so hooked on this game, that it may seem like I'm working on multi-chapter fics with how much I want to post.
Oh, and let me know if you want to see more of this pairing in this timeline. I have ideas buzzing around for more Robin x Maribelle that takes place following and preceding this fic.
Anyways, I think I'm starting to ramble and don't really want to do that. So, if you enjoyed, please let me know. A review or PM is always appreciated and I'll try to get back to you as soon as possible (if it's a PM). So, until my next fic,
Nanashi Wanderer
P.S. I mentioned Robin x Lucina before and I have to say that if you haven't already checked it out, I'd recommend checking out 'Time Matters Not' by Gone2GroundEX. It's pure fluff and fun fluff at that. While I may not write that pairing myself (I've fallen in love with Lucina x Gerome) it's still an amazing read and highly recommended.