Inigo shaded his eyes from the sun with his hand, envying Morgan. She had a coat, so all she had to do was pull her coat's hood over her face but he had to use his hand, which was proving to be an ineffective barrier against the might of the sun.
Inigo looked down at Morgan, who, sure enough, had pulled her hood over her face. A small tuft of her blue hair hung in her face though she made no move to tuck it back. Her eyes scanned the rows of vendors on either side of the street though she would glance at him every few seconds or so to check if he was still there.
They were on a date and searching for a restaurant to dine at. Inigo had to admit that he felt a little weird about this date, mostly because instead of him asking her, Morgan had requested he take her out. So, technically, she had asked him out on a date; he couldn't wrap his head around the concept that someone had asked him out on a date instead of it being the other way around.
He glanced over his shoulder, searching for Lucina. He hadn't told her he was taking her daughter out, and he was unsure if Morgan had mentioned it, so he was keeping an eye out for the princess. He wasn't worried about Morgan's dad showing up; he was a gentle man, which conflicted with his rugged appearance, and he was mostly laid back. If he came, it would probably be to either kindly inform Inigo that he was not okay with him taking his daughter out or to chaperone the two.
On the other hand, if Lucina showed up, it would most likely be so she could neuter him with Falchion. She knew him all too well to trust him around Morgan. Inigo was hoping that she would give him the benefit of the doubt but that probably wasn't going to happen.
Morgan let out a deep sigh and she wiped sweat off her face. It was hot yet Morgan had worn her coat anyways. It was a precious keepsake, he knew, but even he would have contemplated leaving it at the barracks if he were her. The hood shaded her eyes but that was the only benefit it offered.
"Morgan?"
She turned her face towards him. "Yeah?"
"Don't you want to take your coat off? You're sweating."
She shook her head. "I'm fine."
"At the very least, you could roll up your sleeves. Unbuckle the front, maybe."
She undid the front of the cloak and pushed up her left sleeve, leaving the right one down. Inigo raised an eyebrow, eyeing her right sleeve but said nothing.
They turned left, entering an empty street. Abandoned stalls lined it and no one was wandering about.
"Did we take a wrong turn?" Morgan inquired.
"Maybe," Inigo said. "But I was positive that I saw some restaurants at the end of this street." He scratched the back of his head nervously. "I must've misremembered. Oh well, at least it gives me a chance to do this."
"Do what—hey! Inigo, stop!"
Inigo had knelt down in front of her and had started to push up her right sleeve. She was struggling to pull away and looked about ready to plant her boot in his face.
"This is ridiculous. If you're going to roll up one sleeve you might as well do the—"
He became silent. He had managed to push up her sleeve for the most part. He stared at the inside of her forearm. Below her hand, there was a symbol that looked familiar but he couldn't place where he'd seen it before. The symbol was purple and consisted of six open eyes.
"What is…? How long have you…?" Inigo took a deep breath, trying to compose himself. "What is this? How long have you had it?"
Morgan stared at the mark, frustrated. "I-I don't know. It's been there since I was born, I think…at least, that's the feeling I get." She looked off in the distance for a moment before continuing. "Can you keep a secret?"
Inigo nodded earnestly. "Of course."
"My dad's got this exact same symbol on his right hand," she said quietly, as if afraid someone on this empty street could hear her. "I asked him about it. He doesn't know what it is either. But it gives me and him a sense of foreboding. So we both keep our marks covered. The only people who know about Dad's are Chrom and Mom…well, Lissa might know but I'm not sure about that."
Inigo rubbed his finger on the mark, causing Morgan to visibly shiver. "Who knows about yours?"
"My dad and mom. Possibly Grandpa Chrom." She chuckled humorlessly. "And you. But that's it."
Something in her voice made him look up at her. Instead of her usual smile, she wore an expression of anger and shame. When she caught him looking at her, she tried to give him a reassuring smile, to let him know she was fine but it came across rather forced.
Inigo grinned. "I think it's kind of cool looking," he told her, hoping it would cheer her up.
Morgan stared at him blankly then suddenly started laughing. Inigo was unsure how to react to this so he just kept grinning.
"Thank you, Inigo," she said gratefully.
Inigo shook his head. "Don't mention it."
There was a small moment of silence before Morgan spoke again. "…Inigo?"
"Yes?"
"You can stop kneeling now."
Inigo stood up hastily, a blush creeping onto his face.
Morgan giggled. "C'mon, let's go."
Inigo saw Morgan pull her sleeve back down before starting off. He grabbed her wrist, stopping her in her tracks
"What are you—"
"I've got an idea."
He dug around in his pockets until he found a clean, white handkerchief. He pushed up Morgan's right sleeve again and she began pulling away again.
"Don't even think about—"
"I haven't blown my nose on it," he assured her. "It's new."
He wrapped it around her wrist, covering the mark. She looked down at the handkerchief in confusion.
"You can take off your coat now."
Comprehension soon dawned on the young tactician. She shucked off her coat and wrapped it around her waist.
"Now we can go."
"Y'know, you're actually really sweet," Morgan said unabashedly. "Thank you."
Inigo face flushed once more and he his ran his hand through his hair. "Sweet enough for a kiss?" he said, trying to come across as charming.
Morgan rolled her eyes and punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Don't push it."
"Had to try."
They turned back onto the street they had come off of. They wander around until they saw a large, busy restaurant at the end of the street. Inigo asked for a table and they waited patiently while the host searched for a table inside. He came back out, asking if they would mind sitting outside. They said that would be fine and they followed him to a table under an awning.
They talked for a while about the war and about their friends and family. They joked around, taking bites of food in between.
Inigo sighed happily then wiped some sauce off the corner of his mouth. Morgan was still munching on a chicken leg. She glanced up and winked.
"This was fun. We should do this more—"
Inigo suddenly noticed a couple sitting two tables away from them. The man was talking, trying to catch the woman's attention. She would nod every once and a while to let him know she was listening but kept her piercing blue eyes firmly locked on Inigo and Morgan. The woman was, of course, Lucina.
Inigo averted his eyes, looking determinedly at the table. Morgan noticed the behavior. She looked around, trying to discern what was making him uncomfortable, her gaze landing on her mother and father.
"Mother! Father!" She jumped out of her chair and pulled Inigo out of his. She rushed over to them with Inigo in tow.
Lucina stood, hugging her daughter close. Her father wrapped his arms around them both.
She broke away from them, a huge smile plastered on her face. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Spying on—oof!" Cassidy began but was quickly cut off by Lucina's sharp elbow hitting him in the side.
"We were having lunch," Lucina answered. "It's quite the coincidence we ended up at the same restaurant."
"Quite the coincidence, indeed," muttered Cassidy.
He received another jab in the side for the comment.
"So, how was your day?"
Morgan shrugged. "It was alright."
Inigo's jaw dropped open and he felt like he'd been run through the heart with a javelin.
"I was just joking!" she said, elbowing him. "Today was pretty fun."
Lucina grinned. "I'm glad," she said, ruffling Morgan's hair. She glanced at Inigo then Cassidy. "I need to talk to Inigo for a moment. Would you mind leaving us alone for a minute?"
Morgan frowned slightly but didn't argue. "Sure."
Her father grabbed her hand and gestured to a stall selling books in the distance. "C'mon, kiddo."
Morgan held up a finger, telling him to wait for a second. She approached Inigo, gulping nervously before standing up on her tiptoes, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"See ya later, philanderer!"
Morgan grabbed her father by the hand, dragging him down the street.
Lucina stared at her daughter in shock, her eyes slowly sliding over to look at Inigo. He had a hand at his cheek, an expression of disbelief on his face.
Lucina cleared her throat loudly, bringing the boy back to reality.
Inigo wrung his hands, his eyes glued to the ground. He couldn't muster the courage to look his friend in the eye. "Listen—"
Lucina held up a hand, cutting him off. "You seem to make Morgan happy," she admitted. "As long as you don't have any untoward intentions towards her, I'll allow you to see her. But I swear to Naga if you hurt her, ever, so help the gods I will murder you, bring you back to life, then kill you again. Are we clear?"
He gulped. "Crystal."
"Honestly, I don't know why you're pursuing her. A relationship between you two would be complicated. I mean you're both from different timelines for gods' sake—"
Lucina stopped, her face reddening.
"Didn't wanna be hypocrite, huh?"
"Inigo?"
"Hmm?"
"Shut up."