Author's Note: Yeah I don't know. Even though Lucina and Owain are cousins, I think they're adorable together. Therefore, I honestly have no idea why I decided to write such an angsty fic about them. Enjoy :D
we missed our chance
(in this world, there are no second chances.)
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Owain's room was plain and minimal, so very unlike him. The bed, in the far right corner next to the window, consisted of only plain, clean white sheets that looked like they had been washed yesterday. The walls were whitewashed and the linen curtains were drawn to let some soft sunlight in.
But surprisingly, the room still smelled of him: the faint scent of flowers in springtime.
.
.
Once, Lucina had laid in the fields outside camp with him, watching the lethargic white clouds float across a wide blue sky, not saying anything because after all, they didn't need to. They never did. When the afternoon finally drifted by and they were getting ready to return to camp, Owain gave her a handful of daisies he had picked.
Since then, she'd always associated him with their fresh scent.
"You're the best, Lucina," he had told her, an affectionate smile on his face, and she held the flowers to her heart.
Hesitantly, he opened his mouth to say something more, but then he changed his mind and they walked along in silence.
.
.
Now that she looked back on it, Owain had always been different from the other boys she knew, who practically fought each other to win her love. When it came to romance, he was uncharacteristically quiet, admiring her from a distance but never expressing his true feelings to her. Maybe because it was forbidden, or maybe he didn't think he was worthy enough.
Whatever the reason, she tried to hide her disappointment. They would always stay friends after all, no matter what happened.
.
.
For a while, Lucina thought that nothing could ever break the bond between them.
She thought she would be safe for eternity if she was just with him. After all, he had promised to protect her at all costs. Even though there was really no need for that, the thought itself was sweet. She had told him so, giggling at his inexorable blush.
.
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Now, she walked over to the table next to the bed, which contained a family photo and a vase filled with fresh flowers. Somehow, she knew Lissa had been the one to put the flowers there.
Lucina picked up the photo of her family and was ashamed to see her arm tremble. Looking at it always made her heart break, but each time, she couldn't bring herself to tear her gaze away. That was when Owain had been alive. He had his arm thrown around her shoulders, permanent smiles etched onto their faces, happiness that could transcend time itself.
She put the photo down and, before she could stop herself, burst into tears.
.
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Sometimes, she found herself cursing fate, but more than anything else, she regretted that she had never told him she loved him.
She knew it was forbidden, but she couldn't care less about things like that.
.
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At the time, she hadn't known why Owain was so determined to protect her.
He had jumped in front of her and taken a swing of an axe that was meant for her, and Lucina could only watch in horror as he fell to the ground clutching his side in agony. There was so much blood, it was all spilling out of his wound faster than she could stop it, and she frantically tried to call over a healer, anyone, but it was too late.
It was clear that Owain was in a world of pain, but he still had a smile on his face. As she leaned over him in a panic, he told her that he was proud of himself for keeping his promise of protecting her at all costs, even his life.
She shook her head fervently, disbelievingly, but couldn't hold back her tears.
He was about to say something else, but he only got as far as her name before he went limp in her arms, and that was when her world began crumbling apart.
.
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"He loved you, you know," Aunt Lissa told her one day, as they both stood in front of his grave. Lucina could only nod in response, too choked up to speak.
"He told me. He loved you more than anyone else in the world."
She knew.