Author's Notes
- Everything belongs to it's respective owners. Right then, now that that's out of the way~
- Right so, this randomly came to me one summer night while trying to sleep and ward off hearing the party chatter from Xenoblade (hey, everyone's SUPER chatty in that game and it gets stuck in your head when you play for a few hours). So when trying to change the subject I figured; hey, what would happen if Lucy decided to ask her friends for advice when talkin' 'bout feelings? This would end soooo well~. As a result, you get the thing in front of you.
- Just doing this ahead of time in case you can't figure it out for the trivial detail that is "hair color"; Owain is Henry's son (Super Dark Mage boisterous Sword Hand GO! AND IT WORKS!) Cynthia is Chrom's Daughter (Because they fit. They just do.), Inigo is Virion's son (so fitting it almost hurts), Severa is Lon'qu's daughter (must be me, I think the two with emotional problems of the sorts fit well together), and that's it. The other kids that show up aren't important to this, so use the imagination. Just as long as Gerome turns out as Frederick Jr BU
(I digress though, I kinda like Inigo and Lucy as siblings...)
- Finally, in case the summery hasn't said it yet, minor Fates spoilers involving Owain, Severa, and Inigo. Though I'm debating if that's even a spoiler since it's kind of...obvious...well, when you look at it...
- Alright, I've babbled on long enough. Hope you enjoy~
It was a…strange feeling.
Strange, yet at the same time it was…warm. Fuzzy. And quite comforting at that matter.
And yet at the same time it felt so wrong. She had a duty to see through; ensure that the future would turn out differently than the timeline she and the other children grew up in. Yet in the process, here she was, crushing on her father's best friend like a schoolgirl.
Is it so wrong though? I mean, he's handsome, intelligent, always listens to me when I need a friend to be by, and I'm certain father wou-
Lucina pushed that particular thought away from her head. Father was the last person on her mind to tell about this…feeling. Sure, her mother would probably understand (and DEFINITELY offer advice…or worse, try and pair them together).
The thing in question?
It took some time to admit it to herself, but Lucina found herself attracted to the army's tactician. The Snow Haired devil. The "could probably pass as a woman and no one would barely notice" guy. The lord of niceness. The Tome Toting Strategist. Robin.
The thing is, due to being from a different timeline, Lucina had fully convinced herself that once all this was over, she would have to return to her own time to help rebuild from the ashes. That meant even if Robin, by some bizarre chance returned her feelings, he would be unable to go with her.
Such was the fate of being a time-traveler…or at least, that was her mindset.
But of course, a rather…secretive… part of her toyed with the idea of telling him, having him return her feelings, then living happily ever after. With of course, some added complications to make her fantasy more entertaining;
Puerile things, like watching Robin duel her father for her hand (and losing on in the process, as having someone like Robin defeat her father was impossible. Right?) and then getting his blessings regardless; Attempting to kill him over a very misguided attempt to protect the future (which is something that would never, ever, cross her mind...) reuniting with him after an extended period of time, and finally, their first daughter…
…who she promptly named "Shiida". According to her, that was the name of the Hero-King's wife, although Robin argued it was "Caeda". (AN: For the uninformed since this is a bit of a stretch; that's Marth's girlfriend/wife. And no, she isn't dressed up like Roy in a drag.)
That part matters not. The point is, I'm certain we'll love our daughter regardless of her name, even if it was something that stands out like Marc, or Morgan-
Lucina mentally slapped herself. STOP THIS TRAIN OF THOUGHT RIGHT NOW! Repeat after me, you are NOT going to try and get Robin's attention. You are here to save the future, then after return to your time to rebuild. Nothing less and nothing more. Again. You are NOT-
That part of her couldn't be helped. Her mother, Sumia, was a bit of a romantic (and hopeless at that…until she managed to win Chrom over…) that she got from reading a whole lot. She must have inherited part of it from her mother…well, that and that absurd flash to move again quickly after dispatching a foe to attack another one. What did Aunt Cordelia call it again? Gale-something?
Speaking of Cordelia, her mother was still tame compared to Aunt Cordelia when it came to hopeless romantics…not that she'd ever admit that. Sure, while it'd be worth it to watch Severa blow up saying that near her, it would then end a very, very long rant about her mother. Mostly about how pitch perfect she would claim Cordelia to be and how she has to show up and beyond her expectations. One would only wonder what would happen if, in the odd event, she mothered a daughter that looked exactly like Cordelia…
As she continued her train of thought (which was just repeating that same phrase over and over in her mind…) Lucina bit her lip. This was going over badly; as hard as she tried to try and ignore her feelings for Robin, they continued to surface up.
This must be what being in love is like… she sighed to herself. Such a nice feeling, yet I find myself hating the very idea of it. I…I just can't-
"LUUUUCCCCYYYY!" came a shriek from her tent door. Lucina's eyes widened, and by instinct she gripped Falchion in its, and quickly turned towards the tent flap. That was her sister's voice! Had a Risen infiltrated the camp, and was attacking her?! Or maybe something had happened to father?! Maybe he stumbled upon the dress she got for her mother with all of the polka dots of late Aunt Emmeryn on them (which, by the way, ended about as well as you'd expect. It took Robin fanning him a few times with Elwind, constant healing and hand holding by herself, her mother, and Aunt Lissa to get him to stop foaming at the mouth after the shriek)
Quickly discarding her train of thought, she faced the flap, placed a hand on it, and sprung it open-
-and her sister practically glided in, an enormous grin on her face. Cynthia *almost* crashed into her sister, but apparently still had enough of foresight to avoid doing so. Instead of crashing into her sister, Cynthia crashed into the floor. Lucy stared at her sister in confusion for a moment, and then noticed a pebble on the floor.
Tripping over a pebble…? What sort of sorcery is this..!?
Lucina frowned. "Cynthia. Why were you screaming? That type of shriek made me think that you were being assaulted by a Risen."
"Hey! My shrieks are never that of terror! This was a squeal!" Cynthia replied, her voice muffled by the ground.
"That sounded more like a shriek to me, Cynthia."
"It was nooooooot!"
Lucina rolled her eyes, noticing someone else familiar walking in. "No, that was more of a shriek to me, Cynthia."
The princess looked up and saw the familiar face of her silver-haired ladies-man wannabe friend. "Inigo." She greeted, smiling at him. "What brings you two here? Does father need me?"
"Not at all, my second favorite princess!" Inigo responded with his trademark smile. "We're just here to announce the grand news!"
"What is it?" Lucina replied, now curious. "Are we entering some sort of celebratory occasion in the area?" she asked, referring to the last occasion the Shepherds had encountered.
It was a nice Harvest Scramble, with Aunt Lissa wearing a party hat, everyone having fun and meaningful conversations with each other, great food, reminiscing on good times, Inigo getting manhandled…and zombies. Plenty of zombies.
Good times, as Uncle Henry would say. Along with his laugh.
"Not at this time." Cynthia stated, rising up from the dirt in an over-dramatic fashion. "I finally got Inigo to stop chasing girls!"
Lucina let out a very audible gasp. Getting Inigo to stop chasing girls felt…well..
"W-what?!" she gasped out, clearly surprised.
"Yep! We're in looooove! Now, he's my partner in heroism!"
Inigo frowned. "Cynthia, honey, we went over this-"
She nudged him. "We're even thinking of new awesome duo hero things to do together! Owain even came up with a hero-analysis for him!" she continued, her tone bubbly.
Lucina rose an eyebrow. "Oh? What have you come up with?"
"He's going to be Lazward, the mighty dancing mercenary of justice! Swooning over enemies with his graceful mov—"
She was cut off by a madly blushing Inigo, placing a hand over his apparent new girlfriend's mouth. "Wh-what she's trying to say, Lucy, is that we've gotten together. She's won me over, heh-heh.."
Inigo glared at Cynthia. "And we went over this, Cynthia. Please don't bring it up." He whined, pouting at her.
Cynthia pouted back. "Awwww, but I like Lazward! It sounds heroic!"
"Right now, I think I'd rather just be "Inigo", alright? I like the name, I admit that much-"
"I like it too!" Lucina chipped in, smiling. "It has a nice ring to it. Might be a good name when you're masquerading as someone else."
"Thanks, Lucy!" Cynthia stated, grinning. Inigo merely chuckled. It was certainly going to take some getting used to.
Cynthia got out of Inigo's grasp and walked over towards her sister. "Anyways sis, we just wanted to tell someone that's not dad. Don't really think he'd take it too well…" she mumbled at the last part, scratching her azure hair sheepishly.
Inigo, meanwhile, looked around the room. "Hey, Lucy? Why are you in here all by yourself, anyway? Normally we'd see you training, or talking with Robin or Chrom…"
Lucina blushed and shook her head rapidly. "Nothing. Nothing at all! You can't prove that I've been doing nothing at all, for that is what I've been doing the past few hours!" she said a little too quickly, her blush growing at the mention of Robin.
The duo blinked at her momentarily. "You've been standing around in this room doing nothing for the past few hours?" Inigo replied, scratching his silver hair. "Counting the specks of dirt or something?"
"Oh please." Cynthia said with a rather sly grin on her face. "She's probably just conflicted because she's got a giant crush on Robin!"
As if she hit a nerve, Lucina's eyes widened (again) and her blush grew. "WHO TOLD YOU?!" she stopped momentarily, realized the hole she just dug herself in, the quickly formed a denial response in her head.
"I-I mean, Robin's just a good friend. A good, nice, handsome, kind, listens to me, best, amazing, friend."
A pause. It took her a moment, then Lucina realized the rather…long…description she had just described her crush in. She bit the inside of her lips.
"I-I mean JUST A FRIEND!" she cried out, a liiitttllle too loud for her own tastes. Whoops.
To her surprise, both Inigo and Cynthia merely stared at her nonchalantly for a few moments before both of them let out light chuckles. Well, at least it wasn't roars of laughter…
"To what, may I ask, is so funny?!"
"Oh please, Lucy." Cynthia responded, her face beaming. "Of course we know you've got a crush on Robin."
Lucina nearly felt faint. "H-how…how did you-"
"I'm your sister, silly! These sorts of private things are something I'm supposed to know!" she replied, grinning. "Besides, you know how long I've had a crush on Inigo, right?"
She nodded slowly. "I thought everyone did…"
"Precisely! We're a tight-nit group, so these sorts of things are easy to spot with each other!"
Lucina sighed, then her face took a serious turn. "This is serious, sister. I can't disrupt the stability of the timeline by falling in love with someone here. After we defeat Grima, I need to try and return home to help rebu-"
She was cut off by Cynthia making a "Psssssh" sound with her tongue. "Heya sis, nothing wrong with falling in love!"
"But, the timelines! He's carried me as baby, I bet! Maybe even changed my diapers!"
Inigo chuckled. "Lucy. Pretty sure we're going with the "split timeline" theory thing that Laurent described to us earlier."
That was a good point. Back in her time, she remembered her mother pointing out that her father had taken some injuries from stopping Mad King Gangrel. They had (somewhat) worsened after stopping the Conqueror, and as far back as she could remember, her father had occasionally looked more tired than need be.
Yet here, he looked like he was in great shape. Maybe it was Robin's tactics that kept him in such great shape…and Laurent was extremely smart…
"Yeaaaah! Us being here is already a different future, so what's the harm in getting an awesome boyfriend like Robin?!" Cynthia declared, her tone awfully 'heroic'.
"But-"
"If it's our opinions you're worried about, then don't." Inigo responded, placing his hands on his hips like usual. "Robin's everyone's friend. He's the go-to guy when it comes to getting someone to listen." He smiled at that sentence. "Why, he's listened to me describe my failures with the ladies and even given me words of inspiration to get me right back on my feet!"
Cynthia hopped next to her boyfriend. "Yeah! Robin's even helped me plan out a few totally heroic actions! He's a cool guy, I can see why Mom and Dad like him so much!"
"Didn't one of his plans end with you covered in mud?" Inigo subconsciously said out loud, not really noticing the pouty and upset look he made his girlfriend give off. Her loud "HEY!" snapped him out of it.
"What?"
Lucina frowned. "Well, point being is that…even if it would be okay-"
"Lucy, come on!" Cynthia implored her sister, both her and Inigo flashing big smiles at her sister. "You'll never know if you don't try! For all you know, Robin's crushing on you riiiiight back!"
The blue haired princess looked down. "W-well…I guess…" she mumbled, not meeting the stares of her sister and friend. "But don't you see? This is all new to me." She sighed.
"Gods…I don't even know how to get his attention. How am I supposed to get him to like me?"
As if she said the magic word, Cynthia chipped up and made her sister look her in the eyes.
"Easy peasy, sis! I'll help ya get his attention!"
Lucina smiled back at her sister. "You have my gratitude. Thank you, Cynthia."
Cynthia let go of her sister and beamed.
"But…what did you have in mind?"
Cynthia's Suggestion: Dramatic Hero saving from the "Bad Guys"!
"Now you see, sis," Cynthia began, her tone dripping with her imagination at work. "You need to do something really heroic for Robin!
Lucina listened eagerly, sitting with Inigo on her cot as her sister explained her methods to try and get Robin's attention. "What makes you think he'll like it?" she asked, tilting her head in question.
Cynthia let out a hero's laugh (as she called it). "Easy! Remember he helped me plan some of my BEST hero work!"
"And got you landed in the mud."
"AND got me land-HEY! Lazward, NOT COOL!"
Inigo frowned. "Please don't call me that."
Cynthia rolled her eyes, ignoring that. "An-yways, you just have to do something super heroic in front of Robin, and he'll totally fall head over heels for you!"
"Like what?" Lucina suggested, getting a rather devious grin from her sister.
Not sure I enjoy that look Cynthia's giving me…came a thought to Lucina's head.
Oh no, not that look again. Gods only knows what she's got planned for poor Lucy…Inigo thought, feeling a bead of sweat fall down his neck.
Later
"Ah-ha! There he is!" Cynthia declared, after she had set her eyes on the tactician in question.
The snow haired man was stirring a pot full of…something. From the distance she couldn't tell what it was, but the smell…the smell was lingering over in her chosen hiding spot.
"Gods, what is that smell?! Is he cooking dead Risen parts or something?!" Inigo gasped out, wrinkling his nose.
Lucina gasped. "Wh-what?! No! Robin would never resort to devouring the flesh of Risen! HE JUST WOU-"
She was cut off by Inigo shushing her. "Relax, Lucy. I was kidding."
"Oh."
"Besides, I asked Yarne how Risen taste. Just ghastly."
Lucina let out another gasp, about to overreact to it as badly as possible when Cynthia cut her off. "Hey, shush up! The absolute PERFECT opportunity for Lucy to win Robin's heart is coming up!"
Lucina and Inigo glanced over Cynthia's shoulder and into here peaking place; Nah walked up to Robin and started making idle conversation with him.
"AH-ha! There is your target, Lucy! You need to defeat her and win your man's heart!"
A pause.
"Cynthia, that's just Nah-"
"Nuh uh! That's Nah, the Draconic Queen of Darkest Darkness! And she's seducing Robin right under your nose! She's ROBIN'N him!"
Inigo and Lucina stared at Cynthia in bewilderment. Mostly a mixture of that utterly dreadful pun she just made, but also a bit at the overly long nickname she gave Nah.
"Pretty sure they're just talking, Cynthia…" Inigo replied, scratching his head. That was cut off when the trio heard Nah scream…
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH MMMMMM! YEAH!" Nah all but roared out, her tone absolutely bubbly. "This is DELICIOUS, Robin!"
The tactician smiled. "Thanks. Took a couple of tries, but I did manage to make something…edible."
Nah's smile grew. "Is there more?"
"Course, hold on." Robin replied, walking away to go retrieve the extra he cooked just in case.
"Le gasp! Robin is running away in terror! Perhaps he is resisting her temptations!" Cynthia declared in a heroic tone (or about as heroic as you can get in a situation like this…), pumping her fist. "Quickly, Lucy! Get her to leave him alone!"
Lucina nodded, her face determined. "Right then! Here I go-"
"And don't forget to shout out a heroic battle cry!"
"Right! TIME TO CHANGE FATE!" Lucina cried out, rushing towards Nah…
Nah licked the bowl almost giddily, with a big smile on her face. That was absolutely delicious and rejuvenating; who knew Robin could cook?!
Her mouth watered at the thought of seconds. Soon, stomach, soon…
"TIME TO CHANGE FATE!" came a familiar voice, one belonging to Lucina. Nah let out a nonchalant "eh" in confusion before noticing Lucina…tackling her to the ground.
It took her a few minutes to wrap her head around what just happened, but then her mind came back into motion. "Lucina?! What are you-"
"Quiet, you Draconic Darkness Queen of Dark Dark! My hero senses can see through your charade!"
Nah blinked a few times. Draconic Dark Queen….wait.
"…what?"
"You're trying to seduce Robin!" Lucina declared, a light blush appearing on her face. "A-and as acting Hero who worries about his personal safety, I must defeat you!"
Nah frowned as Lucina prepared to…well…do something. Perhaps hit her? Maybe slap her on the knee? Use your imagination; just keep it tame, dammit. "…Lucina, nothing's going on between Robin and I."
Lucy paused in her tracks. "Huh?"
"You've been talking with Cynthia, haven't you…" Lucina nodded in response. That got a groan from the dragon.
"Look, nothing's been going on between us. Robin just made lunch and asked me to taste it. Besides, the hero approach kinda doesn't suit you."
Lucina frowned and got up from on top of Nah. "I'm so sorry. Did I hurt you…?"
Nah chuckled. "Hey, water under the bridge. You must really like Robin, don't you?"
The Princess blushed. There was her answer. "Well, don't worry about it! Maybe he likes you too?"
Lucina's eyes widened at that comment. "Y-you think so?"
"No idea! But it's certainly a maybe!" Lucina smiled in response, then it faded quickly as she noticed Robin coming back into view. She quickly grabbed Nah's shoulder and told her in a harsh whisper;
"Don't tell him! Just please, let me handle this!"
Nah blinked, confused, as Lucina ran off into the bushes. Presumably, that was where Cynthia was also hiding, but she decided not to press into the issue. Mostly because free food, but right now she'd save her fearless leader the additional embarrassment.
"Alright, here's the rest of it. What was Lucina doing?" Robin asked, tilting his head as he set the pot down. "And why did she pin you down earlier?"
Nah laughed and scratched the back of her reddish hair. "Oh, just something her sister put her up to." She grabbed her bowl, and got some seconds of Robin's delicious food.
Robin chuckled. "Huh, must have taken it too seriously."
There was a pause as Nah engulfed more of Robin's delicious food.
Right then, now to get her back. Wow, that sounds mean...eh, whatever. Lucy needs a push in the right direction.
"Hey, uh, so I think Lucina likes you…"
"Awwww, man! I thought that'd that work for sure! AND we'd have finally gotten the evil Draconic Queen of Dark Darkness defeated!" Cynthia pouted, upset her "plan" didn't work as planned.
After a failure the trio returned to Lucy's tent, to plan the next move in helping her win Robin's heart.
"We never should have aimed for a back attack! We should have had Lucy attack when Robin was in the open! That would have worked for sure!"
Inigo chuckled and rolled his eyes at the same time. "Cynthia, sweetie, I don't think a, erm, heroic approach would be suited for this sort of thing."
Cynthia gave her boyfriend a death glare as Inigo ignored her response, turning his attention to Lucina. "Lazward, you traitor…" she mumbled under her breathe.
"What you really need to do, Lucy, is flirt with him so he gets the idea that you like him!" He said, flashing his trademark smile.
"But that never worked for you, Inigo." Lucina responded, placing a hand on her hip. "Well, at least until you two-"
"Well, that's only because the ladies clearly had better things to do! Besides, Robin probably actually likes you!"
Lucina felt a bit unsure at "probably". Well, that was comforting…
"Not too sure about this…" Lucina mumbled.
"Me neither!" Cynthia interjected. "This is the kind of situation that needs to be directed head on, not zigged-zagged around! That's what a real hero would do!"
Inigo snorted. "Your suggestion failed, so it's my turn, Cynthia."
"Heeeeey!"
Inigo placed his hands on his hips and grinned stupidly. "No worries Lucy, Sir Inigo the Ladies' Man is here! I'll give you all the pointers of being a flirt!"
"I…I think I need an adult."
"Lucy. We ARE adults." Inigo responded, still grinning.
Lucina bit her lip nervously.
Inigo's suggestion – Flirty Lucy
"…Walhart's forces are getting a bit more desperate. At this rate, we should consider attacking the capital to retake it…"
Chrom nodded, as he and Sumia watched Robin point to some figures on the map of Valm. "Of course, blindly charging in is a foolhardy decision, so I've come up with a strategy around that."
Chrom smiled. "Heh, always like you to keep a backup strategy. Good work, Robin."
The tactician grinned in response. "Heh, well it's certainly not going to be easy." He tapped his finger to a castle on the map. "This outpost here is where we're going to deal with first, giving us a nice footing on the Valm."
"Sounds good!" Sumia chipped in, smiling. "Though if it's not too much to ask, can we change the subject? I'm a little tired of hearing about tactics…"
Robin nodded. "Sure, I haven't thought up a proper strategy to approach this, so a break sounds good. What's up?"
"We really need to find you a girlfriend, Robin." Sumia nonchalantly replied, getting a chuckle from her husband and a look of surprise from Robin. "You seem to love to talk about tactics so much I think you're in LOVE with them!" she said in a teasing tone, giggling at her friend's flustered attitude.
Robin rolled his eyes. "Sumia, that's nonsense-" he cut himself off as he noticed Sumia's change in tone. "-well then, if it's such a concern to you, then why don't I date your daughter then? Huh? That might get your mind off of me in love with tactics?"
"Which one?" Chrom replied, looking a bit…threatened…Sumia, meanwhile, had a dreamy look on her face, seemingly tickled at the idea of Robin dating one of her daughters. He would make the PERFECT son-in-law, just like out of a special fantasy!
…though he could do with a little better fashion sense…maybe a red and black vest and shirt ensemble with red shorts and some accessories…oh, and a big red-blue sword thing on his back. And a British accent. Can't forget that!
"Well…probably Lucina." He admitted, scratching the back of his head. Pick your next words carefully, Robin. He thought to himself, noticing Chrom's glare. "She's more of a mature type, which I enjoy-"
Robin was cut off by Lucina's voice. "Ah, there he is! Robin! I've been looking for you and your…"
Robin, Chrom, and Sumia turned around to see Chrom and Sumia's daughter, fumbling with her pockets and producing a small note card.
"Your fascinating locks of white hair! It's like you've been rolling around in the snow!" she said with a rather fake grin, closing her eyes and trying really hard not to blush (and failing).
The trio merely stared at her in confusion as Lucina approached Robin. "Look at you, all tense~"
Robin scratched the back of his head. She's aware that her parents are right here, right…?
"Well, we are…in the middle of a war…" he replied sheepishly. Why is she acting like… Inigo?
The princess smiled goofily, closed her eyes, and placed both her hands on her hips. Yeah, defiantly Inigo…
"That, my snow haired handsome devil is PRECISELY the reason why you and I should take a tea break!" she said with a grin, although her tone suggested she had barely any idea of what the heck she was doing. Which made sense, seeing as how serious and flirty don't seem to mix well.
Robin felt his cheeks warm up slightly, mostly out of embarrassment. Key word here being "mostly", thankfully. "Lu-lucina, why are you-"
"Come on, just a quick touch of tea! Maybe some chocolates to get a smile on your face!" She interrupted, placing a hand on Robin's coat sleeve and tugging gently. Robin threw a sheepish glance at Chrom, who looked more amused then angry. If Robin should be thankful or nervous at this, he had no idea.
The tactician bit his lip, and thought of a way out of this embarrassing mess without any sort of anger. He glanced about the area, then noticed Sumia drooling slightly, probably having a day-dream of the sorts. A light clicked in his head.
"Well, why not bring your mother along?"
As if Robin pressed the emergency escape button of some sorts, Sumia snapped out of her fantasy and noticed her eldest tugging at her husband's best friend's coat sleeve. To say she lit up would have been an understatement; Sumia was positively glowing with excitement over her daughter trying to get a potential boyfriend.
"Oooooooh! That is soooooo sweet! Chrom, Chrom! Look at this!" she said in a bubbly tone, getting her husband's attention.
"I know." Chrom replied smugly. "I've been watching this little display for a few minutes now. And been thoroughly entertained."
Lucina's confidence suddenly flew into the range of an archer and died horribly. Or, just died if that metaphor is lame to you. "M-mother…" she fumbled out, letting go of Robin's cloak, just in time for Sumia to cheerfully grab her daughter's hands.
"Come on dear, you just need to tell me ALLLLLL about this! Oh, it's so cute! I've always wondered what kind of man you'd think was attractive, but I never would of thought it'd be someone like Robin…" she blabbered on, dragging her eldest away to spoil her secrets.
Robin let out a heartfelt laugh as he saw the display of family bonding (or embarrassing family bonding) he was witnessing. It was good to see such parental embarrassment. Or whatever it was called.
"You stink, Chrom." He finally said, glancing at his best friend. "Leaving me up like that was…"
"Hey, it was entertaining, wasn't it?"
"….no."
"Bah, one day we'll look back at this and laugh. Maybe after you yourself get married."
Robin rolled his eyes, and prepared to exit the area when Chrom placed a hand on his shoulder, staring at Robin with the "concerned and potentially angry father" look on his face.
"Hold it, you're not getting off that easily."
The Next Day!
"Ugh, I cannot believe Mother made me tell her everything…now she and presumably father know about…" Lucina said in a rather defeated tone, laying on her cot and staring absently at the roof.
Inigo frowned. "Sorry, Lucy. I thought for sure that direct flirting would work, but…in hindsight, we shouldn't have gotten you to try that while both of your parents were around…"
He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "My bad."
Cynthia rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's display and pouted at her sister. "Come on, sis! You can't just give up yet! Heroes don't KNOW the meaning of defeat!"
Awkward silence. "…it just makes things harder and more rewarding! Now Dad won't flip a lid when you tell him you're dating!" Lucina glanced at her sister in annoyance.
"Cynthia, have you told father that you are dating Inigo yet?"
Cynthia let out a panicked gasp at that and entered a down head of woe, causing Lucina to at least smile at that. Nice to see her sister in a similarly hard situation.
"Oh come on now. Your father's a swell person, Cynthia!" Inigo stated with his usual smile, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Who wouldn't love me dating their daughter?"
There was a very awkward pause and both sisters seemed to be holding laughter. Inigo frowned at this display. "Well, let's not all start at once…"
"Eh, at least you tried." Cynthia replied, looking up and smiling. "Thanks, Lazward!"
Inigo rolled his eyes as Lucina rose from her cot with a somewhat happier smile on her face. "Well, you're right. I can't just give up now. The three of us will surely find a way to help me win Robin's heart!"
At the mention of "three of us" Cynthia grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, uh, about that sis…"
Lucina's eyes widened. "Cynthia, who did you-"
She was cut off by a boisterous voice. "Hoi there, fabled cousins of mine! Tis I, the fabled scion of legend, son of the healing mistress mother of Owain AND the Mage of darkest darkness with a smile on 90 percent of the time, OWAIN DARK!" Owain declared in his usual tone, bursting down the tent flap with his usual happy face.
Lucina facefaulted at the sight of her cousin. "You didn't…" Cynthia only kept grinning in response.
"We have heard tales of your plea, dearest cousin of mine! Pleas of having difficulty telling our famous tome toting stagiest of your feelings for him!"
Owain struck a dramatic pose. "NEVER FEAR! The brand new dynamic duo of Odin, wielder of the Sword Hand of heroes and awesome critical attacks, and Luna, the overly competitive can't-stand-losing ruby haired mercenary with a heart of gold SHALL AID YOU-"
And then was cut off by Severa slapping him. "Hey! We went over this, you idiot! Do NOT call me that in public!"
Owain pouted. "Awww, but Severa. It took me hours to think of those awesome names for you, me, and Inigo! AND I STILL gotta come up for a heroic pseudonym for Cynthia too!"
Inigo rolled his eyes. "Yes, thank you for that." He said in a sarcastic tone, crossing his arms. "Anyways, Lucy, relax. Owain and Severa are the only ones that would be able to support us fully in this since you went and…attacked…Nah like that."
"What about Gerome? Yarne? Kjelle? Any of the others?" Lucy replied, a bit confused.
Inigo frowned. "Yes, let's ask the super serious friends to help us set you up romantically with someone."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be."
Severa crossed her arms in her usual manner. "Pfff. So, Lucy. Is it true that you of all people have a crush on our TACTICIAN?!"
Lucina felt her cheeks heat up. A dead giveaway. "Umm—"
"Oh my gods. Owain wasn't kidding!" Severa's tone went from bitter to smug in a flash. "Hahah, this is priceless! Our fearless leader has a crush on a guy like a schoolgirl!"
"Severa—"
"Man, this is just great! And at the same time it's despicable! We can't have our fearless leader be a nervous school girl! That's just YUCK!"
Lucina glared at her as she continued ranting.
"Buuuuut, I suppose since Cynthia begged me so badly-"
"Hey! I did NOT beg! I just asked several times!"
Severa turned towards her. "On your knees?"
Cynthia frowned. Before she could snap back, Owain cut in. "Hoi there, comrade! Tis my fault the wings of justice tripped!" This got everyone glancing at the white haired swordsman/mage/IMGINAAAATION! Period. (Putting a period after an exclamation point looks weird, shaddup.)
"For you see, while I was entertaining the dread queen Luna with RIVETING tales of how I defeated a Risen Bear in gentlemen's game of arm wrestling-"
"HEY! Don't CALL ME THAT!"
"-I smacked sword hand into my fellow ally of justice's face, causing her to fall FLAT onto the ground, and into a position one would deem "begging"!"
A pause, while Severa was still steaming at Owain. "So, you accidentally slapped my girlfriend in the face, then Severa considered that begging."
Owain nodded while Severa got more upset. "Heeeey! No fair! You too, Cynthia?!"
"Yup!" Cynthia replied, grabbing Inigo's arm cheerfully. "I even got him to stop flirting with random girls!"
"Ugh. Odds of that staying put are just…ugh. This is disgusting." Severa replied in a dry tone, rolling her eyes and walking towards Lucina.
"Well, we've got nothing better to do, so Owain and I are going to give you some advice."
Lucina smiled. "Thank you. This is kind of difficult for me, so your help is appreciated."
Severa smiled back and placed a hand over Lucy's shoulder. "All right, listen up. If you REALLY want a guy to like you…"
Severa's Suggestion: Act like a bit-
"HOOOOOOLLLLDDD!" Owain declared pushing Severa aside in his dramatic voice. "Dearest cousin! Allow me to assist you first, before Severa!"
"HEEEEEEY!" Severa cried out, angry at her friend and checking her dark brown hair for signs of dirt. "You don't just hit a lady like that!"
"Owain needs no restrictions on the aiding of justice! For Owain is gender neutral!"
Severa stared at him in confusion while she got herself up. "…how are you three related again?" she asked Cynthia, who merely stared on in wonder.
"Try not to think about it too hard." Inigo replied, preparing for the best. "Besides, this one shows promise. Owain's always good about taking serious things serious…well, most of the time…"
"NOW!" Owain declared, his tone…well, the usual. "In order to win our powerful tome-toting tactician's heart, you must declare it in the most epic way imaginable!"
Lucina stared in wonder before cutting in. "But, ah, I tried the hero approach. I ended up attacking Nah by accident."
"Yes, Cynthia told me about it. Did she tell you Nah chased her later?"
Lucy glanced at her sister. "When was this?"
"Nuh uh! No! You guys don't need to know about that! That's between me and the Draconic…dark…dark…ah! It's between me and Nah!" she spat back, pouting.
"BESIDES!" Owain continued, a glow behind his eyes. "I have something much more interesting in mind for you…"
Lucina blinked. "Oh?"
"Yes. It involves THAT legendary item of legend!" Owain responded, pointing to Falchion. "And THIS OTHER legendary item of legend! Only MORE LEGEND!" he continued, pulling out…
Owain's Suggestion: Zounds! I hath lost my weapon!
Robin walked through the camp, holding up a few tomes consisting of unusual spells (and by unusual I mean mundane) and walking towards his tent with a giddy smile on his face.
"Fun magic…hmm." He mumbled to himself, remembering the conversation he had earlier with Laurent about finding other, productive ways to use magic. "This still worth looking into! Would be interesting when I need some time to myself!"
As he got closer towards his tent, a familiar voice got his attention. Though, said voice was still acting…well…
"Ah! There you are, my comrade in arms! I have been seeking you out!"
Robin turned his head with a slight pang of dread (and happiness, mind you) and saw Lucina to his side, with a rather…dramatic look on her face.
Regardless of the past behavior Lucy has shown towards him, Robin still smiled (albeit sheepishly) to Chrom's eldest. "Ah, Lucina….is, ah, something wrong?" he replied.
She laughed out in a dramatic fashion. "Ah, nothing ails me dear tactician of legend! I do require your aid with something!"
"Oh? What's up?" Robin said with a smile, setting his tomes near his tent flap.
"I-ah," Lucina replied, feeling a bit nervous looking the tactician in the eyes with his sincere smile and handsome brown eyes.
So, to avoid some potential embarrassment (and of course not break character), she closed her eyes and started talking in a louder manner.
"I require your aid to help me locate Pointy Demonspanker! I have misplaced it!"
Robin blinked a few times. Did she really…
"Ah, well, sure! I can help. Where'd you lose it?"
Lucina smiled back. "Come with me, my ally!" she replied, motioning the snow haired man to follow.
In the bushes…
"Zounds! This is all going according to plan!" Owain said boisterously, grinning stupidly. "Once she gets him to the barracks…heh! Heh!"
"I must admit, I never would've have thought you to have a hidden romantic side." Inigo stated. "Getting Lucy to drag Robin on a "quest" to find her sword, then she pulls out a bouquet of flowers for him?"
"Bah!" Severa stated, rolling her eyes. "That's far too sickeningly sweet for my tastes!"
Owain glared at her. "Better than your idea…."
"What was that?"
"I said that mine plan to set up the legendary tactician of tactics and the warrior from a doomed future is FAR MORE SUPERIOR to your misguided plan of acting jerky to him!"
Before Severa could bite Owain, Cynthia quickly interjected. "Guys, look! They're in the barracks!"
In the barracks
"Where was the last place you saw…ah…"Pointy Demonspanker"? Robin asked, that last part coming out sheepishly due to the unusual name Lucina seemingly gave her sword. I really hope that's not the name she suddenly gave Falchion…I don't think Chrom would like that-
"Tis was SOMEWHERE around here! Here, you look in that corner my dear friend, and I shall search this corner with great justice!"
Robin scratched the back of his head as Lucina got to work in her corner, digging around for something. He sighed quietly and started searching.
Now, if I were Lucina…where would I put Falchion…?
As Robin dug through the area, something caught his eye. Something delicious.
He glanced behind him and noticed…a pie.
What the…
"No, no, where is it-OOOOOH! What's this?!" Lucina declared, as she found a doll. Robin turned away from the pie and glanced at the doll.
It looked just like Chrom. Well, mostly.
"Oh gods. One of the Tickle Me Chroms…" Robin said with a tone of shock, biting his lip. "Someone must of brought it with us…"
"Tickle…Me…Chrom?" Lucina asked, glancing at her friend.
"Yeah, uh…about a year ago these got created by Ricken and Miriel when Frederick asked to create something to 'further improve milord's image amongst the youth' or something." Robin replied, scratching the back of his head.
Lucina noticed a string behind it, and pulled it. "Your end has come!" The doll declared, mimicking her father's voice perfectly. Well, almost perfectly. It was awfully high pitched…
"LE GASP!" Lucina cried out, shocked. "This thing is…an abomination! T-tis a mockery-I mean, this thing is a mockery! Father does NOT look like this!" she cried out, nearly breaking the character she established herself with.
She shoved the doll in Robin's face. "Does this thing look ANYTHING like father to you, Robin?!"
The doll itself was dressed up in a Great Knight's costume. Probably because it wanted Luna, but still. To her, it wasn't dressed up like 'Lord' Chrom. "Well, kind of…"
Lucina threw the thing outside the barracks. "NAY! This THING need not interfere with our epic quest to lovecate—erm, LOCATE mine sword! BEGONE WITH IT!"
Robin winced a bit as it flew outside. "Ugh, hold up. Let me go get it so Cordelia doesn't find it by mistake…last thing Lon'qu needs is to think his wife's still obsessed with Chrom…" he replied, rushing outside.
Lucina seemingly didn't notice, still digging around for "Pointy Demonspanker". After a few minutes of searching, she located Falchion, very hastily buried down underneath various other weapons. And along with it…
"Ah-ha! Behold! POINTY DEMONSPANKER!" she declared, showing her sword up dramatically for the world to see. "And what's this?! Something special for the tactician!"
Lucy digged back down and pulled out a bouquet of flowers. "Ah! The elusive "Loving flowers of lovey-dovey"! This is something you would find extremely useful, my epic partner in-"
She cut herself off when she noticed Robin was missing. "Hey…where'd he go?"
Outside, about a minute earlier…
"Oh good. It didn't go out too far." Robin mumbled, leaning down to pick up the Tickle Me Chrom. Right before grabbing it, he noticed the pie from earlier.
Noticing no one else was around, he dipped a finger in the pie and tasted it. Liver and Eel?! MY FAVORITE!
Robin licked his lips, looked both ways, and took a bite out of the pie. Ten seconds later, he fainted instantly. Turns out someone drugged the pie…
As if on cue, Tharja and Noire walked up towards the KO'D Robin and noticed him, with the pie in his hands.
"Oh. So that's where that ended up. Hmmm, not a bad first try for a teleportation hex." Tharja mumbled, picking up the pie.
A pause.
"Oh, lucky me. Christmas came early this year…heh heh heh heh heh…"
"M-mother!" Noire squeaked out. "I thought you said you were done with Robin! You're married now!"
Tharja chuckled sinisterly. "Oh, no worries…I would never cheat on your father. This is an "experiment"."
Awkward silence.
"…besides, I was going to ask your father to help."
"M-MOTHER!"
"Heh heh heh."
More later…
"I don't see how sparring is a good husband and wife bonding activity." Cordelia said solemnly, walking alongside her husband. "Can't we do something more…I don't know…romantic?" she asked in a worried tone, surely not sensual in any way. I think.
Lon'qu scoffed. "We need to stay in tip-top shape to ensure we are successful in this war. Besides, Severa is off helping Lucina with something, and this can qualify has 'romantic'."
Cordelia smiled. "Well, I suppose-"
She was cut off when she noticed the Tickle Me Chrom on the floor. Lon'qu blinked in confusion, and then noticed that accursed doll on the floor. A few weeks ago, when he and Cordelia were out shopping at a passing by Anna, the couple noticed one for sale. When he saw the look in his wife's eyes at that doll, he felt a pang of dread, and soon-to-be-loveless marriage. That and Severa would never let him hear the end of it. So, Lon'qu did what any sane person would have done and assassinated the doll.
Literally assassinate it too, as in "use Lethality on a doll" and everything. Of course, he had to pay for the destroyed item, but…
Upon noticing the hand his wife placed on her mouth. He panicked. Biting his lip, he worked up enough courage and grabbed Cordelia's free hand as strongly as he could.
"Don't. You. Dare."
Cordelia let out a very un-Cordelia like squeal and ran towards the doll in slow motion. Lon'qu gasped and placed a hand on his sword; he had to act fast to save his marriage…
*SCHWING!* (That's the critical hit sound. I think. Something close to that)
"How well will you die?!"
That was the last thing the doll saw before being on the receiving end of Lethality. And nothing of value was lost!
Back with our protagonists!
"Ugh, did she really?"
Severa nodded, her eyes in an annoyed "half open" fashion. "Yep, really. Noire ran and got me as soon as her mother pulled out the mind altering hexes book, ugh. Which was REALLY creepy, by the way."
Lucina sighed. Turns out it was just a stroke of bad luck that caused Robin's "mysterious" disappearance, not disinterest. When he came back later, he apologized and explained everything to her, offering to help her to his fullest ability next time something like that came up.
"An-y-ways, I figured since the others all a bunch of idiots, I'd grace you with my presence and give you MY special pointers." Severa continued, having a smug smile on her face. "Besides, my parents are busy doing 'romantic things' or something-"
"WHYYYYY?! Not another one!"
"Cordelia, we went over this! If you got one of those things it would no doubt in the long run ruin our marriage!"
"N-no it wouldn't!"
Lon'qu frowned. "Don't vex me. I saw how you stared at that thing. We ALL did."
Cordelia pouted at him. "But it's so cute and loveable! Look at it!" She stated, retrieving the head of the Tickle Me Chrom, and pulled the string on its back.
"My best friend can totally pass as a woman!"
Lon'qu shuddered at that sentence; Robin was the last person in his mind to qualify as a woman.
…Sure, maybe if he had pigtails…
In response, he slapped the doll into the air, drew his sword, gave the "SCHWING" sound effect, and…
"BE SILENT!"
"Nooooo! Not again!"
"-and don't want me around right now. Bleg, romantic stuff." She glanced at Lucina. "I'm assuming your mom and dad do that sorts of things too, right?"
Lucina blinked. "Not that…I'm aware of?" She was confused. "I don't think Father's ever sent me away when he wanted to spar with Mother-"
"Ugh, forget it." Severa interrupted, as the pair reached a secluded area. "Now, listen and listen good; this is a once in the lifetime experience from someone grateful enough to give you romance lessons. Consider yourself lucky."
"Severa?" Lucina interrupted. "What do you know about romance…?"
She grew upset at her leader. "HEY! Remember who my Mother is!"
"Oh, right…well, at least it's a healthier hobby than Uncle Henry's rather…stranger…hexes…" Lucy mumbled to herself, shuddering and remembering the time he created a Frankenstein "Tickle Me Marth" out of a Chrom.
"Carry on, I'm listening."
Severa licked her lips. "Oh goodie."
Severa's Suggestion: Be grateful I did something like this, baka
After washing the stains of whatever horrible, yandere related thing Tharja did to him out of his skin (thankfully, Noire said it was nothing…sensual…she said she'd rather him be awake for that…thankfully…), Robin was eating some lunch in the mess hall, some delicious food. Delicious, tasty, scrumptious food. Use your imagination, what would our dear friend Robin the sexy tactician be eating?
The main thing on his mind was, of course, the rather unusual mindset Lucina was going through.
Well let's see, we've gone through heroic…meaning she's been talking to Cynthia…flirty, meaning she was hanging out with Inigo, then there was the boisterous talk she had going on earlier…
He swallowed a bite. Which probably has "Owain" written all over…Huh.
As he ate another bite of delicious food, another more peculiar thought came to him. Maybe Nah was right. Maybe she does likes me…
Robin blinked. …well, that sounded…good. Huh. Well, I wouldn't be surprised if she did, we do spent a lot of time together. Fighting alongside each other, laughing, making sure she's happy, watching her smile-
He shook his head. Wait, do I like her?...good question, Robin.
"Ahem."
I mean, that would be…well, Chrom said that if I did like her, then…agh, no, I don't…
"Hey!"
No-no, I can't have…I mean, I do like her, a lot, but- ARGH!
"ARGH!"
Robin was snapped out of his thoughts by Lucina slamming an object down in front of him. "GAH! L-lucina! How long have you-"
"Here. This is for you."
Robin glanced at the object and noticed it was a pie. "Uh."
"Uh?! D-don't think I made that special for you, you, you…" Lucina fumbled with her words for a moment, her thoughts conflicting and pointing out that this was not the best way to get Robin's eyes. Then the word she was looking for came to her.
"B-baka!"
Robin blinked, feeling a bead of sweat come on his forehead. Huh. There's…and now she's been talking with Severa.
"Uh, Lucina? Thank you for the pie and all, but…are you feeling okay?"
"Of course I am!" She replied, blushing madly and not looking him in the eye. "You just need to be grateful someone like me has a spare pie lying around!"
Robin blinked a few more times. These past two days have been nothing short but weird for him. "Umm-"
"Come on, taste it! This thing was hard to by, so consider yourself lucky!" In the corner of the mess hall, Severa gave a fist pump, so proud of her student.
Robin sighed mentally. He placed a fork into the pie, took a bite out, and ate the piece.
"G-gah!"
"Oh no! Did I put too much sugar in it?! D-darn it, I'm an idiot!" Lucy said, biting her lip and looking around in a panic. "My apologizes!" she stated, bowing a few times. (Sheesh, she sure switched from "Tsun" to "dere" quite quickly…)
Robin swallowed the bite and quickly interrupted her. "No no, it's not that! It's just…what did you put in this?!"
"Oh, that?" Lucina replied, staring at him. "Well, I used the recipe Mother placed at the bottom of her favorite cookbook-"
Robin bit his lip. "Oh wow. Lucina, she put that recipe there because it's a diabetes attack waiting to happen. Waaaay too much sugar."
Lucina looked down. "I…I'm so sorry." She replied, her tone flat out depressed. Before Robin could re-assure her that it was nothing wrong (and ask her what exactly was up with her attitude) she ran away, getting out of the mess hall ASAP.
Robin felt a pang of guilt, figuring that this was somehow his fault. The pang was intense, hating seeing her like that. That was a mistake. Here she was, just trying to do something nice for me…even if it was influenced by Severa…Gods, I hate seeing her like that.
Wait, I hate seeing any ally like that. But this is…this is different. I feel like my heart itself is…crying…
Then, it hit him.
Oh gods. I guess I did fall for her.
He stared at the pie for a few more moments before deciding what to do. He had to clear the air with her and see if her feelings were genuine.
But first, he was going to need something…special.
"Oh, wow. I did NOT see thing coming." Severa mumbled from her corner in the mess hall. "Huh. Probably shouldn't have asked Lucy to make something with THAT much sugar in it-"
Severa cut herself off when she noticed Noire's Dad, Gaius, walking by and noticing the pie.
Ten seconds later (she counted, yes), Gaius gave off a "Yoooink~" sound and stormed off with the sugar-diabetes fantasy pie.
She blinked a few times to herself, then rolled her eyes.
"Gawd, why does Noire have such WEIRD parents?!"
"Hey, don't knock my lifestyle until you've tried it yourself, pig-tails." came Gaius' voice, appearing right behind her.
"GAH!"
Lucina lay on her cot, her friends around her trying to cheer her up. All of their attempts had failed in some asinine way or the other, and she was feeling down in the dumps about attempting to tell Robin how she felt.
"Come on, sis! You can't just give up now!" Cynthia exclaimed at her sister, trying to get her to cheer up.
"Hoi!" Owain chipped in, Sword hand trembling. "The bravest and strongest of us, our fairest leader, cannot just admit defeat in an hour of need! She must persevere and push through even the SMALLEST of hope holes!"
Inigo started laughing at that analogy while Severa hit Owain in response. "You're NOT helping!"
"Aw, but Luna! I need to-"
"AND STOP CALLING ME THAT!" Severa fumed, getting upset with her companion.
Lucina rose from her cot and sat down on it. "Thanks guys, but…I don't this would have worked out between Robin and I. I think I scared him off…"
She let out a rather long sigh. "I suppose it's for the best. After all-"
"OOOOOH NO. We are NOT hearing the "different timeline" excuse again, Lucy!" Severa fumed out from her corner, having Owain in a headlock. "Someone like you DESERVES a special fantasy avatar guy like Robin! That's how storybooks go or something, right? RIGHT?!"
"But-"
"No buts, Lucy!" Inigo chipped in, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You can't just give up now~! When have seen me ever give up when it comes to the ladies?"
Lucina bit her lip. Just as she was about to respond, a yawn was heard, loud enough that all five of the children heard it.
A figure rose up from a cot opposite side Lucina's, revealing a familiar green-haired manakete.
"Ugh, so much noise…"
Lucina frowned. "Oh, right. I forgot I was letting Lady Tiki bunk with me. My apologies."
"Heehee, don't worry about it." Tiki responded with a smile. "I was getting a bit bored with sleeping-"
Tiki glanced around, noticing Lucina's friends all in the area. "Oh, ah, am I interrupting something…?"
A pause, then Inigo spoke up. "Not really. We're just trying to convince Lucy here not to give up on her feelings for our tactician."
Lucina glared at Inigo, blushing. "Hey!"
"What?" Cynthia spoke up for her boyfriend. "That is EXACTLY what we're doing! Cheer up session, yaaay!"
"But I do not think Lady Tiki is concerned with such…trivial…matters…as feelings! Especially when it's unlikely he would even bother returning my feelings!" Lucina spat back, blushing furiously now.
She turned to Tiki. "I apologize my lady, it's just…I…well…"
Her words died in her throat when she noticed the rather…starry…look Tiki had on her face. "Oooh, this is so cute! It's just like that time all those centuries ago, when Mar-Mar was acting around Lady Caeda when I caught them getting romantic!"
"Wait, it's Caeda? I thought it was-"
Tiki giggled giddily. "Nevermind that. Lucina, did you tell him how you feel?"
She shook her head in response. "No. I asked the others how would be a good idea to try and tell him, but…" she motioned around the tent, giving Tiki an idea of her friends' colorful attitudes. "…well, I think I scared him off."
Tiki smiled in response. "Now, now. A lot of the talks I've had with Robin have had talk of how important you are to him. I was the first one who he admitted that he might feel something for you."
Lucina's eyes widened. "R-really?!"
"Yes, really. Don't give up that easily. You are quite important to Robin, I doubt he would give up on you that easily."
Lucina bit her lip again. "But…how do I go about telling him?"
Tiki smiled.
Tiki's Suggestion: Cuddle up to Mar-Mar and tell him he's the bestest big brother figure ever-
"Just be yourself."
Lucina blinked. "What?"
The manakete continued to smile. "You don't need to pretend when it involves something like love. Allow your true self to come through…that's what Robin wants."
Lucina looked away, trying to form a sentence when Cynthia got her attention. "Heya, Sis! Robin just came by, he wants you to come by his tent."
The princess bit her lip harder. "I…"
"Go on! And just be yourself. No one else."
Lucina nodded.
Robin kicked a rock away meaninglessly, trying to settle his nerves. Behind his hands stood a bouquet of flowers; Sumia had told him those were her eldest daughter's favorite, and that it was adorable that he was going to at least give this a try.
That was the gist of it, anyway. Robin managed to sneak away before Sumia could gloss about how cute it was.
Alright, come on. You can do this. You've done far more impossible before; faced hordes of Risen…and took them out with ease…rebels…also with ease…Gangral himself…and defeated him in two shots…
Robin blinked. Was there ever a legit time he found himself facing death in the face? Because most of the time enemies just waltzed up to him, overconfident in themselves, and died in one, maybe two shots.
Before he could answer that, the blue haired princess of the hour walked into his sight.
"Ah, Lucina! There you are!" he greeted, trying to keep his cool.
Just give her the flowers…that's the ice breaker…
"Robin? My sister said you called for me…"
"Y-yeah. Here, these are for you."
Robin blushed, and revealed the flowers Sumia helped him pick. Lucina's face lit up when she saw them.
"Oh, Robin! For me? What's the occasion?"
"Oh, well…no real reason. Just one question…"
Robin took a deep breathe, and looked her directly in the eyes. "Are you feeling okay? You've been acting weird around me these past two days, and I'm worried about that."
It was Lucina's turn to blush. "O-oh! Well, you see, it's just…ah…"
Words failed her. Thankfully, Robin was the one to break the ice.
"Lucina?"
"Y-yes?"
"Do…do you like me?"
Welp, so much for subtly. Blunt phrases always seemed to work the best.
"Wh-what?!"
Robin took a deep breath and continued to stare her in the eyes. "Well, that's what I've deduced. You acting weird, the flirting, and, well…you know…" he stated, moving his hands around in a nonsense manner, blushing himself.
"I'm, uh, asking because…" he looked away, still blushing.
Here's the hardest part…no, no! Time to tip the scales!
Robin took another breath.
"…I'm in love with you."
Lucina gasped. Those words she was not expecting to hear from Robin's mouth. Yet here he was, saying what she has longed to hear for such a long time.
…strange, she thought it'd come in a more dramatic manner. Oh well, we can't always have epic fantasies for romances.
"Y..you…you do?"
Robin bit his lip and nodded slowly. "H-honestly? Yes! Yes!" he exclaimed, placing his hands on her shoulders.
"I've fallen hopelessly in love with you! I tried REALLY hard not to, but…it's just…"
He looked away. "I suppose it was just a given. All that time we spent with each other…watching each other's backs…keeping each other safe…our talks about the future…"
"R-Robin…"
Robin looked her in the eyes. "I understand if you won't return my feelings, b-but they won't change. I love you, Lucina. With all my heart."
She blinked a few times, trying to absorb all this information, then laughed and smiled. "Th-thank you…I've waited a long time to hear those words." She replied, wrapping her arms around the man.
"You are dear to my heart too."
Robin smiled, a joyous smile full of happiness. Instead of saying more words, he kissed the princess on the lips gently, yet with plenty of tenderness in it.
Lucina felt herself fall into the kiss quickly. It certainly wasn't the high emotion passion like she had read about in the romance novels, it was simple, just trying to project feelings onto it. A kind, first kiss that she would remember for the rest of her life.
When the separated, the duo smiled tenderly at each other before embracing each other.
Lady Tiki was right…this turned out better than expected. I'll have to thank her when I see her-
"Just, uh, one quick thing, Lucina."
"Hmmm?"
"Next time you want my attention? Don't ask your friends for advice." He replied, chuckling. "I'm certain your mother and father were entertained, as were some of the others, but, really. Just be you."
She blinked in response. "Uh-"
"Because the real you is the one I've fallen in love with you."
Lucina smiled and tightened her hold on Robin. "Deal."
"…and THAT's how your mother and I fell in love."
Morgan stared at her father cheerfully, the blue haired tactician in training listening attentively to her father. "Wow, that was a fun story! Hard to believe Mother would go to such lengths to try and get your attention."
Robin chuckled. "Yeah, well, that's one of the reasons that attracted me to her. It's endearing."
Morgan chuckled. "Is it true that she attacked Nah, though? I mean really attacked her and everything?"
"Huh?" Robin replied. He didn't get that part.
"She sure did." Nah replied nonchalantly, walking by Robin and his daughter. "Next time I'd like it better if the girl that fell for our team nice-guy wouldn't take everything seriously."
Robin and Morgan stared at Nah for a few moments, then the pair burst out laughing. Nah stared at them back, then crossed her arms.
"…I was being serious, Robin. You've got weird tastes in women."
"You're one to talk." Robin replied. "You're the one who has a crush on Brady."
"Yeah, but I'm not the one willing to go to absurd lengths to get his attention. I just need to cry a few times in front of him and he's mine."
Robin let out a loud laugh as he heard that, smiling brightly as Nah stared at him and Morgan with a straight face. "What? It's true."
As Robin's laughter died out, Morgan tugged her father's shoulder. "Father? I have another question." He turned towards his daughter.
"How did you tell Grandpa Chrom about this?"
Robin bit his lip, holding in laughter. By the looks of things, Nah was trying to do the same thing. "Does…does Chrom know you call him that?"
"Yeah! He didn't seem to like it…"
"Good. Keep doing it then. And don't forget to call Sumia "Grandma Sumia"."
Hoi, there we go. 10k+ words is far enough for something like this. Hoped you enjoyed a nice dish of silly in your fanfic reading, since I happened to enjoyed writing it. Especially the part with Tiki, hahahahaha.
Later gaters. Maybe one day I'll put on a POV chappie staring Bin-Bin that total white haired dreamboat, but I dunno.