How They Stopped Worrying and Fell in Love
Chapter 1:
The Middle of Everything as The Beginning of it All
"It's not that it makes me a pedophile, but Naga, it makes me feel like a pedophile. So when I started to feel these things, I thought it'd be best to come to you. I have changed little Lucy's diapers, but now that I know what kind of girl, er, woman she grows up into, how could I ever hold her again? She was my niece! But know all I can think of when I think of Lucina is how strong and beautiful and, well, sexy she is. Chrom is like a brother to me, and Sumia is one of my closest friends. But if I'm being honest… I want to fuck their daughter. Really bad. And I've never even been a lustful man, at least since I can remember. But I can't get her out of my head. My body is doing things that it has never done before, so many desires. And it's not just lust. It's pure affection too. She's so wonderful. I've never known any like her. Every small pleasure in the world is a wonder to her, it reminds me of when I woke up and Chrom and Lissa and Frederick took me in. But it has to be wrong, right? I feel so dirty every time I see her, because she brings me such joy. And so that's why I came to you, I feel like you would know best, given your situation."
Robin stared intently at his pot-headed companion. Donnel sat opposite him, thinking intently. The two sat in Robin's cabin, candle light revealing the several dozens of books strewn about randomly.
"Shucks Robin, I dunno. I reckon Cap'n Chrom would be awful mad if he found out you was lookin' at his little girl like that. I know Maribelle is plenny older than me, but I ain't no baby like Miss Lucy. 'Course, she ain't a baby neither, but I see yer point about being icky with the whole happenstance. I think I'd talk to Ricken, he oughta know a bit more about bein' with an older woman, or even just talk Nowi, if'n you don't mind talkin' to a lady 'bout your man problems."
Donnel smiled and stood up, prompting the tactician to do the same.
"Now, it's awful late, an' I did promise the missus I'd be home early, so I'll let you hit the hay. You can talk to me any time Robin, you an' Chrom have done so much for me, I'll help anyways I can."
The pair shook hands before Donnel made his way out of the tent. Robin found himself exhausted, so he laid down to rest. The prior conversation and a battle earlier in the day had worn on him greatly.
He grew to understand, that while he loved tactics, he hated war. It was shame, being the perfect tool to build what he despised. During the war in Plegia, the toll on his spirit wasn't so great. Robin had essentially been born into that war, and it was to protect the very people who birthed him, his new family.
Valm was a different story to Robin. Chrom was a grateful man, so when the Khans came to him seeking help, he offered it without question. But Robin wasn't so altruistic. Walhart had not come for Ylisse, so why were they engaging him at all? He knew it was sound logically, to assist an ally and it was just, to free the people of Valm and Roseanne, but he was selfish. Robin didn't like being being a mass murderer.
And then there was Lucina. She was going to be the death of him. Not a single moment could pass by where Robin wouldn't dream of her. Was it shameful, forbidden even? Of course. Time travel was a finicky thing. Liquor might help Robin forget she was Chrom's daughter late at night when they walked together, pretending that friends held hands the way they did, but he could not be drunk at family dinners with the royals as he and Lucina snuck glances. He knew in his heart that she loved him too, and her lust was not lost on him either.
Robin sat back in his bed, smiling. Reaching to the side of the cot, he pulled out a lute that Gaius had given him for his birthday. Strumming one at a time, Robin searched for the proper tension in each string, sucking his teeth as the notes slowly pulled into place. It was a small refuge for him, playing and writing songs to escape.
"Robin?" A familiar female voice whispered from the other side. Putting the instrument aside, Robin shook his head.
"Come in, my Queen." Robin's voice fluttered with a sarcastic but kind quality to it. As he teased his friend, he stood, threw open his tent and beckoned her inside with a deep and wholly insincere bow. Sumia laughed, playfully slapping at the back of his neck to end her tactician's playful mockery.
"Must you always?"
"Is that not the proper way for a knight to greet his queen?"
Sumia giggled, letting her body relax as she sat at Robin's desk. It was really quite a feat, a few months ago, she would have tasted dirt before she even fully entered. Robin sat across from her, searching her intent. He loved her visits, when they would speak about literature and how she accidentally recommended him an erotic novella for the sixth time. But the war had made those visits farther and fewer between, and despite her best poker face and playing along with his jokes, he could tell she had something important to say. The best thing to do was to break the tens-
"Lucina is in love with you." Sumia smiled, staring intently at her friend, her hands supporting her chin. "So you have my permission."
Robin's mind drained of any coherent thought.
"She told me tonight. I came straight over to give you my blessing."
A smirk grew on Robin's face, but Sumia could see his nerves taking over as he grabbed his lute to absentmindedly pick at the strings.
"What's the catch, my liege?"
Sumia grabbed an empty paper from his desk. She scrawled something quickly and handed it over.
"Easy. I get to write it all down."
On the page, Robin read a few simple words.
A Master Tactician and the Future Princess, written by Queen Sumia of Ylisse
Underneath that, he read a subtitle, which made his heart grow a thousand times.
How They Stopped Worrying and Fell in Love.
"Deal. Now, let's start from the very beginning."
Author's Note:
This is late. Very late. I meant to write this story about two years ago, or whenever Awakening first came out. But here it is and I am writing it now, so I hope a few wayward eyes land on it. Now, in regards to this story, I want it to be a bit different than other stories that I have seen, as we all do. The general focus of the story is that Sumia wants to write down the love story between Robin and Lucina as a sort of swashbuckling erotic novella, which we all know she would be so fond of. I specifically note the word erotic, because sex and sexuality will be very important to the story. Not in a lemon/smut way, but as a core theme. Robin was essentially dropped into early to mid-adulthood with no memory or real experience, and I really want to explore how this affects how he internalizes his sexuality and learns who he is and who he can love. Similarly, Lucina is a young woman who never had any time for romance to be on her mind, aside from an early childhood crush which I will get into later. When she emerges into a world where she is afforded some downtime, how would a conservative young woman explore her sexuality and learn that it is even okay to want to find love? Of course, this story is meant to be just as comedic as it is mushy and philosophical, so there will be comedy involved with them finding their sexuality, and I plan to use characters like Gaius and Cynthia to help bring the two leads out off their shells in less than graceful ways.