PART 2

The mess hall was nearly emptied out by the time Robin arrived. The few soldiers who were on cleaning detail finished their duties and left moments later. Robin scanned the area and noticed Chrom, along with a few familiar faces, sitting at a table on the far side of the room. He didn't see Lucina among them, which made Robin feel relieved, but also concerned for her whereabouts.

"ROBIN! OVER HERE! COME SIT WITH US!" A high pitch voice squealed in his direction.

"Cynthia, no need to yell sweetheart." Her mother reminded her.

"Oops, I'm sorry mother." Cynthia apologized, as she adjusted herself in her seat.

Robin smiled as he walked towards Chrom and his family. He was curious why they were still here, and with plates of untouched food in front of them. He closed his eyes for a second and chuckled to himself, as the answer was blatantly obvious. Chrom made it a habit to always share at least one meal a day with Robin. It was a routine they had practiced ever since the day they met. He knew Sumia and Cynthia would not mind him being there, as Robin was practically family to them. He felt the same, as he had hardly any memories of his mother, and his father Validar turned out to be a nemesis of theirs. Robin finally reached his seat, and was met by Lissa who placed a plate of food before him.

"Robin! You're late for supper!" Lissa said with a stern face, while simultaneously sticking her tongue out at him.

"Forgive me Lissa. I was…preoccupied with something earlier." Robin said. He had hoped Lissa wouldn't have pried him for more details on the matter. She gave him a soft nudge with her fist on his shoulder and lean in close to his ear.

"Chrom already filled me in on the details. Are you sure it won't be awkward when Lucina arrives?" Lissa asked concerned.

Robin had grown close with Lissa over the past two years. He became more of a mentor to her, someone she could look to for advice. Especially after the tragic loss of her older sister Emmeryn, Robin was one of the few she confided in after Chrom. Lissa even joked sometimes that Robin was almost a second brother to her. It wasn't unusual to see her worry about him, like he did about her. He found her concern for him touching, and he smiled back at his pseudo sister.

"It's fine Lissa, it's nothing I can't strategically handle!" Robin joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Lissa gave him a playful glare, as she knew he was affected to a certain degree. Not everyday does one admit their love to another with a blade pointed back at them. Before she could sink deeper into her thoughts, a loud noise snapped her back to reality. The site of a knight who appeared to have a younger man latched to his boot, came towards the table. The sounds of the young man being dragged by the knight across the floor filled the mess hall.

"Stop it Owain! We've trained enough for today, now it's time we eat supper." the man scowled.

"Alas Father! We have not named your weapon yet! You promised me we would do so before supper time!" Owain complained

The knight dragged Owain to the very end of the table where he stopped and looked down at his son. Lissa came over to pull Owain off his father.

"Come on Owain, let go of your father. It's time we eat supper now." Lissa pleaded her son

Owain did as his mother demanded, and sat down next to his cousin Cynthia. Lissa quickly went to retrieved two plates of food for her son and husband. She placed the plate of food in front of her husband accompanied by a quick peck on the cheek.

"Hi Frederick! I made your favorite today." Lissa gleefully said to her husband

"Thank you my love." Frederick shyly said. His cheeks were pink for the display of affection his wife had given him.

"AHEM!"

Chrom cleared his throat loudly after witnessing the display of affection between Lissa and Frederick. He was an overprotective brother, something Lissa hated and appreciated at the same time. He gave a quick glance over at Frederick, who was sweating bullets upon making eye contact with his Lord.

"I...forgive me my Lord...I shouldn't have..."

"Relax Frederick, it was only a jest." Chrom said with a devilish grin.

Everyone at the table let out a small chuckle after seeing the interaction between Chrom and Frederick. Even in a time of war and despair, they found time to enjoy themselves. That was something Chrom implemented among the ranks; cherish everyday the Gods blessed them with, as tomorrow is not a guarantee. Especially after they lost Emmeryn 2 years ago, Chrom yearned for everyone to one day be able to live their lives to the fullest. Looking up at the far end of the table, Chrom noticed the final guest for supper had just arrived.

"HEY LUCINA! HERE COME SIT WITH US!" Chrom shouted to his eldest daughter.

"Chrom, no need to yell my darling." Sumia reminded her husband.

"Oops, I'm sorry my dear." Chrom apologized as he adjusted himself in his chair.

Sumia giggled to herself after seeing what appeared to be the same performance from both her husband and youngest daughter. Lucina walked slowly towards the table as she scanned the room to see more than just her immediate family. Chrom sat at the end of the table, to his left was Sumia and Lucina's younger sister Cynthia. Lissa's seat was to Chrom's right, followed by Frederick and then Lucina's cousin Owain. Next to Owain, to Lucina's surprise was Robin, the last person she wanted to see this evening.

"Robin! I...um...good evening." Lucina said struggling to find the words.

"Good evening Lucina." Robin replied to the first born princess.

A few moments of awkward silence filled the room, as the rest of the family was witnessing an unexpected scene. Chrom and Lissa were the only two who knew the situation from earlier, in order to keep supper as enjoyable as possible. Lissa quickly rushed to retrieve a plate of food for Lucina and placed it at her seat next to Cynthia. Lissa made some silent gestures to her niece to come and sit. Lucina made her way around the table to sit next to her sister, which happened to be across from Robin. Thousands of thoughts ran through Lucina's head, as she was unsure if making it through supper was something she was capable of accomplishing. Beads of sweat began to form on Lucina's brow, and slowly began to slide down her face.

"Um...hey Lucy? Are you feeling alright? You don't look so good." Cynthia asked her older sister.

"Of course...I'm fine Cynthia. No need to worry." Lucina quickly replied.

That was the best answer Lucina could provide to Cynthia at the moment. How could she tell both her sister and their mother, she almost killed Robin just hours ago. Not only that, but he confessed his true feelings to her. He was in love with her, or how Robin phrased it "madly" in love with her. She pondered about how long he had felt this way, and why hadn't he told her sooner. She didn't know how to react to this revelation. She always enjoyed his company whenever they were together, and always went out of her way to seek him out if they had not made prior arrangements. She found herself stealing quick glances at him throughout their meal. She watched him converse with everyone else at the table, laughing and being merry. The interactions among everyone at the table, felt almost dream like. It felt very natural to Lucina, as if this is how things are meant to be. Robin and Owain were chatting amongst themselves, when Robin let out a genuine laugh at Owain's statement. The emotion in his face ended up making Lucina blush. She quickly hid her face, muddled why she reacted in such a way. A moment later Robin made eye contact with her, making her pulse race uncontrollably.

"Excuse me...but I'm afraid I'm not hungry." Lucina said as she quickly rose from the table.

"Are you feeling alright Lucina? I can pack it away so you can eat it later if you want?" Lissa said concernedly.

Lucina came around the table and was met by her concerned aunt. Lissa could see Lucina's cheeks were flushed, so she reached up to feel her forehead for a fever. The amount of heat radiating from her niece's forehead made Lissa gasp.

"I feel fine Aunt Lissa." Lucina said

"You are burning up Lucina! You need to get to bed at once! I'll go pack your supper for you." Lissa exclaimed

"Like I said, I...feel..."

Lucina suddenly lost her balance and fell towards the table. Before her head made contact with the table's edge, Robin moved just in time to catch her, preventing a much more fatal injury.

"LUCINA!" both Chrom & Sumia shouted as they jumped from their chairs. Both of Lucina's parents darted towards their weakened daughter.

"Quickly, let's get her to bed!" Robin declared as he scooped Lucina in his arms and hastily left the mess hall.

Part 2 is complete & re-uploaded! Thank you to the reviewer who pointed out my previous mistake of mentioning Grima & Robin's relationship. I had my timelines mixed up (just finished playing FE Fates Revelations, so I'm a little rusty on my Awakening story placement), and have corrected the mistake. I hope everyone enjoyed it! I was initially planning on making this story longer, but I plan on ending it at Part 3! I intend to bridge other Awakening stories with this one, so please look forward to those when I post them. Once again, thank you for taking the time to read it.