The Cold Winter Night

Disclaimer: I do not own Super Smash Brothers. That belongs to Nintendo.

Summary: It was that horrible day in December. Both Pit and Rob knew what that meant but Pit still insisted that Rob not go. The fight they had still lingers in Rob's mind but he knows that he has to comfort his best friend and former crush…because every time this year, Shulk falls into despair remembering the deaths of his parents and the trauma that came from learning the truth of their deaths.

Pairing: Pit/Rob, one-sided Rob/Shulk and implied Shulk/Corrin

Rated: T (for teen)

Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Drama and Friendship

Warning: Cursing, mentions of character death, Xenoblade Chronicles spoilers in AU form, depression and unintentional OOC

Prompt from Tumblr (Admins °M° & Chamomile) and for the AUideas Advent Calendar "I Want to Dry Your Tears" AU.

I'm going to pretend that I knew what the last prompt was (I actually don't know what Lord of the Flies was, my friend had to explain it to me and then I realized how I shouldn't do that prompt because of how dumb I was). This one is way easier because it means going back to the main OTP in the AU verse. Enjoy!

This is when the main trio is in college. Pit and Shulk are 22, Rob is 21 and Corrin is 23.

Rob knew that Pit would be mad at him and for good reasons. They were already in a relationship. Why would you insist on visiting your former crush in the middle of the night when you were with him? Rob cursed to himself how selfish he was being, but he couldn't leave Shulk alone. Unlike Pit, he had sympathy for his crush. They were friends for a reason and he wasn't going to let a friend suffer alone.

The argument they had before Rob found himself walking to Shulk's place in the middle of a cold winter night. Rob made sure to wear multiple layers of bulky clothes to keep him warm. He wore his earmuffs, gloves and scarf. He even wore snow boots to keep a steady body temperature. Alas, this could have all been avoided if Pit had been sympathetic toward Shulk. Rob sighed thinking about Pit's childish nature.

"Shulk's a big boy now. He already has someone taking care of him. Stop trying to win his favor!"

"Shulk is my friend, Pit!"

"And you're my boyfriend! You think it's odd how you still insist on going to his place despite that?!"

"Pit, if you can't even understand why I would even bother, then I'm sorry."

"Dammit, you're selfish and impossible!"

"You're the one who is…never mind. Arguing is pointless. I'll talk to you tomorrow…"

Looking back on the argument, maybe Rob should have made it clear on why he would bother going over to Shulk's. Expecting Pit to remember the finer details was asking too much from the brunette. Pit only remembered dates important to him. Recalling anything concerning Shulk was something Pit could never do.

It didn't take long for Rob to reach Shulk's apartment. How ironic that despite the bitter rivalry Pit and Shulk shared, they lived close enough to where they were in walking distance. It was a wonder that Pit never bothered to walk over in the middle of the night just to start something. Rob needed to climb up a few steps before reaching Shulk's apartment. He didn't need to knock. The blond student had given him a key to allow him access to his apartment in case he needed anything. In this case, Rob needed to come in and check up on Shulk. Today wasn't the best day for him.

Once Rob allowed himself to enter the apartment, he already, he knew something was wrong. The lights were off. Clothes were scattered across the room. Shulk's trademark sweater lay messily on his couch. Shulk's notes were either crumbled up into a ball and thrown into the trashcan or left strewn on the carpet.

If Shulk has everything like this, then he's really not doing well today. Rob told himself.

Shulk was known for being an organized person. His major required him to keep everything neat and tidy. One small mistake could result in deadly consequences in the work field. Alas, once this day hit, Shulk forgot what it meant to be organized. Rob had to check Shulk's kitchen just to make sure there were no alcoholic beverages lying around. He let out a sigh of relief seeing that there weren't any beer bottles like there was last year. That in itself was an improvement.

The second thing Rob had to check was the bathroom before checking up on Shulk. Alcohol bottles and the sleeping pills were the most dangerous things in the house. While his friend wasn't the type to hurt himself with physical items such as kitchen knives or scissors, Shulk would try to damage his body with things like alcohol and sleeping pills. Rob didn't understand how Shulk survived the previous years doing that. It's like his body was made to reject death…

Again, Rob sighed in relief that there were no traces of sleeping pills. Unless the pills were in Shulk's room, Rob could confirm that Shulk hadn't made an attempt on his life again. The bedroom was the last place in the apartment to check.

Sobs could be heard once Rob approached Shulk's room. He froze hearing the pathetic crying on the other side. Gulping, Rob knocked on the door.

"…Shulk…I'm here now."

"R-Rob?"

He's responsive this time around. Rob told himself. "I'm letting myself in."

Rob expected Shulk's room to be a mess. He wasn't surprised that his prediction was correct. More homework assignments were distributed on Shulk's floor. His pencils somehow found themselves on the higher to reach places. The notebook that had the most important notes in his classes was surprisingly in good condition. Rob could conclude that Shulk made an attempt to not go crazy this for once.

As for Shulk himself, the younger male was curled up in a ball with the blanket wrapped around his body. The heater wasn't on so it made sense that Shulk was cold. Compared to the heat, Shulk couldn't handle the cold that well and for good reasons.

"…Wasn't someone supposed to visit you?" Rob had to ask as he approached Shulk.

"Corrin couldn't come today…" Shulk muttered. "Something with his family came up so…"

"Figures…" Rob snarled. "Really, why am I the only person who will take care of you? Where is Fiora? Where is Reyn? Where is Melia? Why didn't you tell them?"

"I did…I told them I was going to be okay today…" Shulk mumbled. "I'm…not…"

"Really, how do you expect to get over the incident when you won't let the others know what is really going on," Rob started. "I got into a fight with Pit just to make sure you're okay."

"…I'm sorry…" Shulk apologized. "I had no right to ask…"

"Nah, it's okay. I would have visited you anyway. I know how tough it is for you to take care of yourself."

Rob waded through the mess before sitting on Shulk's bed. The younger male flinched but made no attempt to move. If Shulk wasn't going to talk, then Rob would sit in silence. His friend just needed someone next to him.

"How are you holding up?" Rob asked as he broke the silence.

"Terrible…" Shulk muttered. "I…it's hard…"

"I know."

"…My parents…Dickson…urgh…my head hurts thinking about it."

Rob knew the story about Shulk's parents and his guardian. It was terrible to think about. At a young age, Shulk's parents had taken him to the mountains for an expedition with a few other researchers. The mountain proved treacherous during the winter. Rob didn't know the details but the place they sheltered at proved to their undoing. Everyone on that expedition froze to death. Only Shulk managed to survive had it not been for Dickson finding him.

That was where the problem came. Recently, Shulk found out that there might have been some strings attached. Someone had set the expedition team to die just so they wouldn't discover the truth that they had been searching for. Shulk continued to be vague on what happened but apparently, Dickson had set the trap and Shulk surviving was just out of dumb luck. To not look like a prime suspect, he had taken Shulk in and helped raise him along with Dunban to the side. Suffice to say, Shulk didn't take Dunban being involved in his parent's death as well as finding out that this man had no problem wanting to oft him well.

The truth hurt so much that Shulk had tried to kill himself a few years ago. He was taken to the hospital for his injuries to be treated. His mental state proved to be Shulk's undoing. For the first year, he had stopped going to classes, had stopped taking care of himself and overall, did not want to deal with anyone he cared about. His paranoia nearly killed him. The people who cared for Shulk the most managed to snap him out of it and put him back on the right track. Because of Shulk's intelligence, he managed to catch up on the classes he had skipped that year but it might take him an extra year to actually graduate. Not that it mattered. Rob prioritized Shulk's life over his classes. Even if Pit wasn't all that pleased with how Rob acted like he cared for Shulk more than Pit, it clearly wasn't the case. No one in their right mind would abandon Shulk in time of need.

That was why Rob was here for Shulk. If Corrin couldn't be a good friend and help Shulk, then he would do it. Shulk needed to get better…

"…Thank you…" Shulk muttered softly to himself. "I don't know what I would do if you weren't here…"

"You'd probably just allow yourself to be snowed in," Rob replied in a snarky tone. "Really…I'll stay here until you feel better."

"Oh…"

"Have you cried yet?"

"…No…I…tried to hold back."

"…Well, I'm here now. You don't need to hold back in my presence. I don't mind."

And Rob didn't. Like water breaking a dam, Shulk finally let his fears and insecurities out. He had suddenly sat up and embraced the shorter male. Rob felt a blush creep to his cheeks. However, his heart aches hearing the pathetic sobbing from the younger male. Shulk needed a good cry. If it meant not isolating himself, then Rob would allow his clothes to get all messed up. Alas, he should have probably taken his jacket off. No one likes wet clothes on the bed. Then again, Shulk wasn't in a position to care.

Shulk doesn't cry until this time of year. Rob thought to himself. I wish he just told everyone how he really felt…

Rob stayed with Shulk even when he stopped crying and fell asleep in his arms. The white haired student couldn't find it within himself to even push Shulk off of him. The plan was to just to take care of Shulk and then leave once he felt better, but he feared that if he left, Shulk would still be left in a bad state. The only thing he could do was stay the night and take care of him. Hell, he could probably clean up the place once Shulk was awake and functioning.

Rob slowly dug into his pocket and grabbed his cellphone without waking up the younger male next to him. He saw a few missed calls mainly from Pit but a few were from his sister as well. He sent a quick message to his sister on where he was. With Pit, he had to do more than just that. He needed to reassure his boyfriend that nothing happened between him and Shulk besides being a good friend to him.

I'm okay Pit. I'm at Shulk's place. He cried himself to sleep because it's that time of the year again. He's worse off than he was last year. I'm staying over for the night and going to help clean up. You can swallow your pride and come over tomorrow or you can continue to think that I would even think of cheating on you.

The snowy haired male stopped to look at his text message before sending it. He didn't want to worsen Pit's mood but his refusal to see anything but his way was something that Rob had grown to get used to. Unless Pit changed his opinion of Shulk, the relationship wouldn't last. Rob had every right to visit his friend after all.

I'll just deal with Pit's attitude tomorrow. Rob told himself as he placed the phone down on Shulk's nightstand. He then slowly pulled the covers higher for Shulk. He needed the heat in comparison to him. The shorter male observed Shulk's sleeping face. Despite it being stained with tears, Shulk had fallen into a deep sleep. Rob couldn't help but smile. He could only hope that when Shulk woke up, he would start to feel better again. With that in mind, he rested his head against Shulk's pillow and drifted off to sleep.

Me: Done with 2498 words. Notes!

1. In this universe, Shulk learns about his parents at the beginning of college. He doesn't take the reveal well but is able to function until it gets closer to that day. Then he just stops. Also, because Shulk is involved with the more supernatural aspects of the universe, it means that a lot of reveals are kept secret from Rob and a couple others. Pit is aware of the details but continues to be a dick.

2. Shulk's backstory is pretty much the same as it was in Xenoblade Chronicles. The Monado doesn't exactly exist in this AU, so what they were researching was different. If a prompt demands it, I could go into detail. This is still bits and pieces of what happened.

3. In an older fic, I implied that Corrin crushed on both Shulk and Volga. Rob refers to Corrin and Shulk as friends unaware of Corrin's crush. Corrin has his own issues though that prevent him from acting on his feelings.