DISCLAIMER: I OWN NONE OF THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERS OR MATERIAL. NO PROFIT IS BEING MADE ON THE PUBLISHING OF THESE STORIES.
Hello and welcome to my latest writing project. This will be a series of roughly connected one-shots based in between chapters of Fire Emblem: Awakening. There are some elements of AU involved here, as I will be playing with future event timing in an effort to remove as much weirdness from the Robin/Lucina pairing as possible (namely the huge potential future age gap). If anyone wants to know what pairings I'm using from this, I'll be more than happy to drop them in a note at the start of the next one of these. Now, I've yacked long enough, on to the actual story. Please, if you find any glaring spelling or grammar errors, point them out in reviews, so I can fix them. I've read this enough times that I'm seeing what I expect to see.
Lucina sighed. The constant rocking of the ship made sleep impossible for a light sleeper, and living in hell had driven that trait into her very being with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Her hand drifted to the Falchion, an instinct that also was slow to fade. Still, the deck of the ship was empty. No doubt everyone else was sleeping off the terror or Robin's latest plan. He might have been brilliant but the young man was utterly insane.
"At least some things never change." She mumbled under her breath, moving in the direction of the prow of the vessel, trying to distract herself from the Tactician. He was the last thing her mind needed to drift to at this hour of the night.
"One of these days I will discover decent sleep." His voice, however tossed that notion aside, drifting from beside the railing. Lucina stopped, holding her breath so as not to startle him. Another habit from the future. "Then again I've been saying that for months."
Although Lucina couldn't see his face, she knew a grimace was twisting his lips, alongside his eyes narrowing, one of his few signs of frustration. She remained still, not wanting to risk the terrible might of his magic being unleashed upon her.
"I don't suppose you have a good suggestion for insomnia Lucina?" His words shocked her, she'd been so careful not to make a sound. He turned, facing her with the same bland, impersonal expression he wore in this time, yet a whirling fire danced behind his eyes. Lucina quelled the shiver that wracked her. This wasn't her Robin, she reminded herself.
"On boats no." Lucina shook her head, taking in the Tactician in a whole new light. Robin always had an air of power and authority, not unlike her father, although Robin's was softer than Chrom's. Tonight though, under the moon, he seemed less imposing than usual. Perhaps the lack of weapons, or maybe, Lucina thought, it was the memories. Time as well. Robin was so much younger now, hadn't had the time to develop his older self's aura of authority. He had seen less war in this time. Fewer things had hardened his heart.
"Hmm." The noise was so typical of Robin. I suppose I should have guessed as much. Lucina mentally translated. She moved to stand at the railing beside him, an effort to avoid meeting his eyes, and drawing out the agonies of the future that couldn't be.
"It's funny, you know." He mused, seemingly from nowhere. "When I saw you fight Chrom in that Arena back in Ferox, I could have sworn you were his child. Perfect mirrors of each other. Except that you actually fixed that one backslice he stubbornly refuses to." Bland amusement colored Robin's words, as though he found both humor and a lack thereof in a single facet of life. Lucina closed her eyes, tears threatening to form. This isn't my Robin. She reminded herself. The thoughts resurged with a strong undercurrent of the same feelings, mixed with new ones, one's Lucina wasn't familiar with.
"A tenth of an inch higher at the elbow. Yes." Lucina could remember Robin telling her that, back in the future, years ago even then. He chuckled. Lucina flashed a brief smile, hearing Robin even give the slightest hint of amusement was rare back in her time. From the short time spent in his company now, the same was true in this time.
"Exactly. I gave him grief over that for a week." Silence. "It's funny, really, how little hunches turn out correct." he wasn't talking to her now, instead letting the word flow into the salty air.
Lucina remained silent, content to listen, deliberately avoiding any chance of meeting his eyes. She didn't need to see to know his expression. He'd be staring up into the stars, eyes clouded and out of focus.
"I never told Chrom that hunch. Or anyone in the army. When you called him father not to long ago, I..." he snorted. "In fairness I almost blew you in half." Lucina shivered. Surprising Robin was beyond unwise. He had been known to unleash horrible magic on those unlucky enough to succeed at such a feat in the future, a trait this Robin had as well. "My second thought was vindication."
"I appreciate the restraint." Lucina muttered, knowing he wouldn't answer. She watched the stars dancing on the waves, a long growing in her heart. Every fiber of Lucina's being wished she could tell Robin everything. The man was a genius, she reminded herself, brilliant beyond compare. He could, he would, prevent the future she had lived. But at a price she wasn't willing to accept. And, this isn't my Robin. She repeated the mantra. That doesn't change my feelings though. Came the addendum.
"What was your life like before Grima?" The weight of his attention built against her shoulders. Lucina gulped. Robin didn't ask idle questions, there was, somewhere a rational behind the sudden question. "Based what Cynthia, Severa and the others we've encountered have told me, Grima was a decently recent occurrence in your life, enough you had a life before him."
For a long time Lucina didn't answer. Robin, she knew would be waiting patient, and undeterred by silence. "My life was idyllic." She replied at last, the words forming leaden, and falling heavily from her lips. "As a child I had no cares and wanted for nothing. The Ylissiean Princess... guarded by the best warriors the nation could procure, I had no need to fear assassins. I learned swordplay from Father, how to ride from Mother. You taught me more swordplay when you were around." Some part of Lucina knew that was a detail she would regret including, but it was an important one, which served the dual purpose of probing Robin a small amount.
"I did?" She gulped. Apparently her probing hadn't been wise. Having been surprised, and his interest piqued, Robin would, and probably could, pry every detail from her.
"You did. You weren't around very often, and were younger than you are in this timeline, but when you weren't playing Father's military adviser or diplomat, you taught me about swords, magic...the world." Lucina smiled a little. "At age nine, nothing was more amazing that hearing tales of the far away Valm, or stories of the greatest battles of the Shepherds."
"Hm." Seems rather out of character for me . She translated to herself. "You would have been what...twelve when the wars started?" She closed her eyes. And so it began. Robin was on a mission now. Desperately, she scrambled to mitigate what he would learn. This isn't my Robin. I can't pay that price again. She repeated over and over mentally.
"Yes. I wanted to fight, but Father wouldn't let me. I remember the first time he didn't I ran square into you." Her eyes closed. "I was crying, and angry as on any emotional teenagers can be." That day had been unpleasant, being the first time Lucina saw her father rattled.
Hmmmm." I'm sure I handled that well. Was the translation.
"You calmed me down, and let me vent at you, and life went on." Lucina hoped Robin would be to distracted by all the new information he would stop asking personal questions. He can't know. She reminded herself.
"Until Shepherds started to die. Until the world fell apart " he filled in. She cursed his intellect, wishing there was a way to outfox him. This is Robin. She thought. He isn't the same, but he still can read me like a book.
"Yes. And Father died. And Mother. All of them except you."She exhaled, fighting tears. Unbidden shivers wracked her, born of the strong breeze and spray. Robin was silent, an odd comfort.
Something warm and heavy dropped across her shoulders, causing Lucina to gasp. The wind pushed the tails of Robin's cloak, causing it to engulf her in the weight and warmth. Turning her head she was stuck by the oddity of Robin without his trademark garment, or armor. Something about the Tactician without his defining garb made him seem vulnerable, and more open. He isn't my Robin, so why? She demanded of herself.
"I was the only one alive for a long time wasn't I? Of the Sheppard?" he asked. She nodded, meeting his eyes, and regretting it at once. Memories assaulted her defenses. Aided by the distinct Smokey ozone smell that often surrounded Robin, which his cloak had acquired as well, the sight of mangled bodies danced, half visible shades. In the center, HER Robin, covered in blood, skin seared black in some cases, carrying the body of her father. Robin's wild, untamed magic flashing as they fought hordes of Risen, pursuing her mother's killers. Robin's eyes filled with a different wild fire on a night she never forgot.
The flash of swords, every parry and stroke matched. Magic snapping and hissing, followed by curses. The scent of blood, and the scream of pain. The pained eyes, the gleam of silver, and lightening flashing. The pleas, falling on deaf ears.
"Yes." She whispered. "You died only a few short months before we came back in time." He didn't speak, eyes asking the question.
"Grima, knowing you posed the greatest threat to him, tried to possess you. Partially succeeded." His breath sucked in, every muscle in his jaw tensed. Genius that he was, Robin knew what was coming next. " We...we...we fought you. And..."
"You killed me." His words stuck Lucina like a physical blow. Of course she had killed him, no one else was going to. It had to be her. It was what he would have wanted. Not that she would have let anyone else regardless.
"Yes. I shoved Falchion through your heart, and held you as you bled to death." Tears formed in her eyes, at least blurring the shade of Robin, sword agleam lunging towards her. "She...I..."
One of his arms slid around her, gently pulling her to his chest as the tears poured out. In her minds eye the picture solidified, of Robin impaled by Falchion looking up at her, his eyes overflowing as they always did with emotion. She remembered every minute detail of the moment. From the powerful stench of ozone and blood, mixing with crushed flowers, to the pattern of cuts laced across his chest and arms. The half smile on his face, hiding a grimace of pain, and the way his lips formed the words.
"That won't happen this time." His words rumbled deep from his chest, causing Lucina to hear as much as feel them.
"How can you prevent that?" She demanded, still fighting sobs. "If it's so far away...if...if..." She knew what his answer would be, and knew the flaw. This wasn't her Robin. This was a different Robin, so similar and so different. This Robin, Lucina didn't know what he wasn't capable of out thinking.
"Because, Lucina Daughter of Chrom, Daughter of Sumia, I am not good at losing." There was a long pause. One of his arms shifted, then she felt the blistering warmth of his hand on her chin, lifting her head up, until their eyes locked. He wasn't so much taller than her this time. Only a sparse few inches.
"That can't change time though." She argued. He rumbled a laugh, which danced up, igniting a wild fire behind his eyes.
"Bah." Before Lucina could perform the mental translation, he leaned down and kissed her. It wasn't a long kiss, but carried the same fire that Robin always had in the future, perhaps less restrained in this time. "Time is elastic, it will figure things out." He smirked, drawing back a little, so that she could meet his eyes once more. "Besides, you came back in time to undo that time, might as well get a head start."
"Head start?" Lucina's head whirled, totally unprepared for any of what had just occurred. Robin wasn't making a lick of sense. Head start on what? Turning back the future? I already failed at that. Lucina thought. I couldn't save Father's sister.
"Head start." His grin faded a little, replaced with a more sober expression. "You are very like your father, Lucina. You both have the same little ticks." He paused, weighing words. "Especially when dealing with people you care about." That treat back upon more familiar territory to Lucina, although she remained clueless as to how it applied.
"What do you mean?" She'd been so careful, he couldn't have known about the future, what he really meant to her. It was impossible. Then again, Robin was a genius.
"Do you know how long it took Chrom to admit that he cared for Sumia?" The rapid change of conversational direction left Lucina baffled a third time. Robin didn't bother waiting for an answer, one of his few habits that tended to annoy her. "Months." Robin snorted. "I thought he was just denser than a rock, but after a while, I figured out he was playing at dense, because he didn't, and still doesn't, want to drag her into his issues." A vague ghost of a smile flashed across his face. "I forget who it was that got him to admit his feelings."
"According to him you threatened to ensure Cordelia walked in on him naked if he didn't pull his head out of his ass." Lucina offered; recalling a recent conversation with her father, as she had tried to establish what other, subtle things were different in this time. That hadn't been one of them. The tactician gave a snort.
"That I did. Not sure that's what got him to admit anything though." He shook his head. "That's getting far afield. My point is, you and your Father do many of the same things beyond just sword-fighting." From anyone else Lucina found that remark chiding. Robin though, despite his love of biting words, made the statement plain and unaccusing.
"Such as?" She asked, curious what his answer would be. Robin turn away from her, eyes drifting to the stars.
"When you are hiding an emotion, you both unconsciously grip your Falchion, the stronger the emotion the tighter the grip., sometimes to the point I can see you wince in pain. When confused, your head tilts a very exact eleven degrees to the left. You hide your fears and doubts behind facades of seriousness and control. After battles you both go and hide away from anyone. You both hate rhubarb, and despise the usual court foolery that goes on in the capitol. The telling factor this time however, is the same fire that danced in Chrom's eyes when he looks at Sumia flares behind your eyes even now."
Lucina shivered, despite the warmth of Robin's cloak. His future self wasn't that observant, despite knowing both her and Chrome longer. "It's funny." She whispered. "So many of the Shepherds are the same as I remember them. Except for you. In the future, you never noticed those things." She gulped. "You were and are a brilliant strategist, but never half as observant of people." Robin nodded.
"I doubt I am any more observant, just I've studied you, analyzed you even, and my future self probably never had a reason to to bring those things up." He paused. "My guess is the others are different too, in their own way." His eyes fluttered closed, as one hand drifted up, brushing a lock of his hair back into place. Lucina stifled a gasp, at the small, infinitesimal cue that despite the changes, this was Robin. "I'm drifting away from my point, Lucina." Silence lapsed between them, Lucina content to let Robin work out his words. "Goddamn I'm hopeless." He grumbled, allowing the small curse to slip past him. He pulled away from her, talking a few faces down the deck of the ship, and into a patch of moonlight.
Lucina didn't answer, eyes fixed on the network of scars that covered Robin's suddenly visible arms. Normally invisible, hidden by his cloak and armor, she'd only seem them occasionally in the future. Now, she had time to study and memorize them again, as some of them were ones she wasn't familiar with, no doubt souvenirs of battle.
That is a morbid thought. Being familiar with Robin's scars. She shook the notion off. Most of Robin's wounds were legacies of battles in the past. A sparse few he didn't know the origin of. Six of the scars though, Lucina didn't know how he'd earned.
"I will never be the Robin you fell in love with in your future." He began, words slow and deliberate. "I'm not sure how I fit into the puzzle that you are, around that. But..."he trailed off again. Lucina felt a smile form on her lips. This isn't my Robin. My Robin is dead. But I feel the same way about this one.
"I fell in love with you Robin, just ad I did with the you from my future. Each if you is unique." Lucina cut him off, taking his hand in her own. The words seemed heavy, falling with the proclamation of weighty consequences, and for a moment, Lucina was afraid she had spoken to soon. It was true, she loved this Robin. Little surprised her about that fact, having watched the Shepherds for a long time before intervening to defend her father, some part of her had known the feelings were developing. Robin stepped from the moonlight, pulling her into an embrace once more. She looked up, meeting his eyes.
He smiled a little, from the corner of his mouth. "I promise Lucina, your future will not come to pass." The words rumbled, deep in his chest, and for the first time since Exalt Emmyrn died Lucina believe that was possible. "Something I'm sure we will speak of later." His eyes drifted off, in the direction of the Valmesse port. "You had best sleep," he advised her. "Tomorrow will not be a day of rest for anyone."
Lucina nodded, just a little, before leaning against his shoulder. Robin's arm snaked around her, a silent gesture from the Tactician that meant more than any of his words.