Tremble
Summary: On a late-night walk after studying, Lon'qu finds something on the roof of his dorm he really wishes he hadn't. [College AU Fire Emblem: Awakening fic. Lon'qu x Robin.]
The cold, stale air made Lon'qu shiver as he ascended the stairwell. It's frozen, concrete steps and platforms never seemed to warm up, even when the heat was turned on throughout the entire dorm. Not that it bothered the man, of course- He had hailed from further north than where he was now, and it got far colder there in the fall than it did in the winters of Pennsylvania. However, the warmer summer had left him susceptible to the cold, which he never recalled being this vulnerable to. However, it wasn't enough to faze him, and he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt after opening the door to the roof and stepped outside.
The town of Indiana, PA was somewhat bustling beneath him, even at 11:45 at night. College students and other adults were either stumbling home, hailing a taxi, or still partying it up in the distance, and across the campus he could see the lights of one of the commons still on, and one or two students still nestled in the chairs. He stood at the edge, and took in a deep breath of air, scanning the horizon for nothing in particular.
Everything was at peace.
He was alone, there were no women around, he had finished viewing all the material he had to cover, and it was fine.
Until a subtle, quiet sniffle from his right caugh his attention, and he turned his head to find a small, huddled figure crouched against the wall of the stairwell. In the moonlight, he caught a glimpse of snowy, unruly hair, and immediately recognized the figure as Robin, a student who he shared a few classes with, and stayed in the same dorm as he did. Feeling some strange sense of obligation, he slowly forced himself to shuffle forward and approach the other man, who, once he got close enough, he recognized to be crying.
"... Is everything alright?", he asks, voice gruff and piercing through the night.
Robin jerked his head up and turned to where the noise had came from, and quickly wiped his eyes whilst letting out a shaky, transparent laugh. "E-Erm, y-yeah! Everythings fine, j-just fine! Uh, L-Lon'qu, was it? Yeah, I-I'm doing great-!"
The ever-preset scowl that was on the brunette's face deepened into an unconvinced frown, and he snorted. "Yeah, right. You can hardly speak, and your eyes are redder than Cordelia's face when she speaks to Chrom. Spit it out."
The mention of the theatre-major was cause for another round of tears, and Lon'qu quickly pieced together what might have happened. He crouched down, awkwardly placing a hand on the forlorn man's shoulder, giving it a small pat.
Robin looked up from his arms, and brushed a few clumps of hands out of his eyes. The art student sniffed, rubbing his eyes whilst speaking.
"I just... I can't believe he rejected me."
Well, Lon'qu thought, it wasn't a breakup, but close enough.
"After leading me on since sophomore year in highschool, and everything we went through together- I t-tell him how I feel an he pushes me away-" He has to stop talking to take in a shaky, much-needed breath. Lon'qu groans, and pushes off his own thighs to stand, then offers a hand to Robin while turing his head to avoid looking at him.
"L-Look," He began, asking himself why he was even bothering. "You're gonna freeze out here. Lets... Lets go grab some coffee. Sheetz is open, and is just down the road. C'mon."
Robin stares at him for a second, mouth shaking with bottled-up sobs, but takes his hand and pulls himself up.
After a quick, silent walk, the pair arrived at the gas station-slash-café. Lon'qu gets a cup and fills it up to the top with straight black caffeine before putting a lid on it (he never could drink it with all of the sugar and flavoring added), and Robin goes straight to the mocha machine, fixing himself a warm, frothy drink before sealing it up.
They go to the counter and pay(or rather, Lon'qu does. It felt like the right thing to do), then make their way outside.
It had started to snow once again, which left a small aura of calm on the street. Robin cups his drink with his now-gloved hands and sips, wincing at the heat of the sweet drink against his tongue, and followed his companion to the right to take a seat on one of the outdoor chairs. Lon'qu took the chair opposite to him, and took a drink of his coffee before setting it down and taking a seat.
"... Would you like to talk about it?", he asks. Robin inhales through his nose and adjusts his scarf, fidgeting in his seat.
"Er... There's not much to talk about. I... I told Chrom about my feelings for him, expecting him to feel the same. Obviously he didn't, and... I didn't react well, to say the least."
Lon'qu snorts. Robin glares at him, but continues.
"You... You didn't have to do this. Thank you, Lon'qu."
The english-major shakes his head. "No need to thank me. Nobody deserves to be left alone feeling as you did in the cold. Anyone else would have done the same."
Robin blinks, and cracks a smile. "... Still. You have my appreciation."
The man nods stiffly, but doesn't respond otherwise.
At the arrival of the dorm, the snow had quickly bruied the streets in a 3 inch layer of ice, and the duo hurried inside to escape it. They kicked off their shoes to avoid tracking it, and stood in front of each other in awkward silence in front of Robin's door.
"... Thank you. Really." Robin says again. "I needed."
Once more, Lon'qu shakes his head. "No need for thanks, I rea-"
He's shushed by a finger against his lips, which leaves the aspiring author grimacing.
"Just accept it, alright?" The ivory-haired student grins, bidding the man goodnight before entering his dorm room and leaving the brunette to his own thoughts.
On the walk back to his own room, Lon'qu recalls feeling a fair bit more satisfied than he did earlier that night.
The next few days pass uneventfully. Lon'qu starts to notice Robin just a little bit more because of their acquantce, and finds out that they shared a calculus block(and a hatred for math), and an english block. They never spoke much, because both professors were adamant on workload, but they could exchange notes or assist the other if it was needed.
After the bell rang to symbolize their calculus class had finished, Lon'qu heard his name being called as he moved towards the door. Normally, the future author would ignore it and continue to walk; but he recognized the voice as Robin's and turned just in time for the artist to come up to him.
"Lon'qu!", he calls, a smile present on his face. The man stops a foot in front of the brunette, looking up at him. "Er, how've you been? We haven't really spoken in a few days."
Lon'qu grunts. Apparently, any semblance of awkwardness from their encounter was gone, on Robin's part at least. For Lon'qu, it was still a bit strange, but he managed to keep it hidden. Perhaps Robin was doing the same...
"I'm fine," he answers, shifting his weight and switching which arm his bag hung off of. "And yourself? Have you... Recovered?"
Robin goes a little red, and adjusts the strap on his shoulder. "Ahem... I am feeling alright, yes. It's... A little sad, seeing as how I've liked him for a few years, so it's strange having to let go... But that's to be expected, huh?" At the end, Robin grins and tries his best to look cheerful. Lon'qu can't help but smile.
"... I suppose it is. Was there something in particular that you needed?" He asks, trying to hurry things along. Robin perks up, and nods in response.
"Yeah! Er... Seeing as how you bought me coffee last time, I was wondering if..."
Was Robin...
-... you wanted to come with me to Cafe Amadeus? I'll pay."
... Offering to take him out to coffee?
Well, this was certainly a surprise. While it wasn't underlined with romance, Lon'qu had never been asked out on a date before.
The Alaskan-native pondered for a minute, thinking over his schedule, and then accepted.
"Sure," he replied. "I'm free."
They walk to the cafe- Everything was so close together that nobody in IUP bothered taking a car unless it was absolutely needed. It took a good thirty minutes, but the weather kept them cool so they didn't perspire or overheat from the march.
The coffee shop is pretty empty. Most other college students were still in class, and the highschoolers were hardly reaching lunchtime. Thus, they got a seat quickly. They each get the same order as they did the night before- Lon'qu; a straight black coffee, and Robin; a warm, chocolatey mocha. Whilst waiting, they make small-talk. As luck would have it, they have a lot in common. Both were voracious readers (though their taste in literature differed); both enjoyed things such as old architecture and monuments; and (Robin was very excited about this) both enjoyed playing chess.
"I dunno, Lon'qu. I'm pretty good- They used to think I'd be the next 'Grandmaster' in highschool. I would wipe the floor with you," Robin exclaimed. Lon'qu grunted, and grinned despite himself. "... If you say so, Robin. You must show me someday." The other student smirked, and sat back as their drinks arrived. "Perhaps the next time we see each other, I will bring a board, and show you I mean what I say."
The stoic student chuckles, unable to help himself, and rests his chin on his palm with a sly smile dominating his features,
"Yes, perhaps you shall."
They arrive back at their dorm later, laughing and chatting as passionate as before. At the door, Robin pulls out his phone, and blanches at the time.
"Son of a- Crap, I lost track of time! I have to study for an exam tomorrow!" He looks up at Lon'qu, who stood there; complacent and understanding. "Sorry, man, but I really have to run- Oh, I know! Give me your number, and I'll message you or something later."
The English-major blinks, surprised. "My... Phone number?" With a sigh, he reaches into his back pocket and withdraws his own cellphone, pulling it up and reading it out. Robin nods, and types it into his contacts.
The ivory-headed teenager grins, and turns to rush off to his room. Though, not before calling behind him a happy; "Goodnight, Lon'qu!"
Said man stands there, momentarily dumbfounded, before sighing and returning to his own quarters.
