Author: Rapis-Razuri
Beta: N/A
Prompt: Cuddling Somewhere (ericandy's 30 Day OTP Challenge)
Word Count: 820
Warnings: Mood whiplash. Awakening supports are surprisingly good at it.
:.
:.
Oh sweet almighty Naga...
What was she doing in Inigo's tent, in Inigo's bed (technically cot, for those who are splitting hairs), snuggled up at his side, and asleep?
At least they were both still fully clothed, which should, if anything, be a consolation, but Lucina didn't really care about that right now. What if someone noticed she didn't spend the night in her tent and then noticed her leaving his? What if they put two and two together and come to the obvious (and wrong) conclusion? What would people think? Especially with his reputation as a shameless womanizer.
Inigo was still asleep. If she left now, she could probably tell anyone that happened to see her that she was simply checking up on him after he had taken a hit for her in their last skirmish, which wasn't exactly a lie. Lucina quickly disentangled her limbs from his and managed to take all but two steps before–
"Leaving already?" Inigo was sitting up now, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Lucina briefly recalled the previous night's events. She was checking up on him as it was her fault he got hurt in the first place. Exhausted from the battle, she had decided to just close her eyes for a minute or two and then...
"Why didn't you wake me up last night?"
Inigo blinked a few times as he tried to remember. "Well...you were pretty tired so I figured you needed the rest." At least he had the decency to look slightly embarrassed, "Should I not have?"
She nodded. "I didn't mean to impose."
"You weren't imposing," he assured her, "and personally I think that was the best night of sleep I've had since..." His eyes darkened as he stopped mid-sentence, but Lucina was able to finish it because after the initial shock of finding herself literally sleeping with the man she recently developed feelings for, she had thought the same thing.
"...since Grima, right?" No nightmares, no waking up in the middle of the night screaming or in a cold sweat, no sleeping with one eye open out of fear that a horde of Risen were hiding in the shadows less than ten feet away, ready to attack at any moment. No nightmares of Grima, taunting her on her desperate attempts to save a doomed world. No visions where she lost everyone she loved in this time despite doing everything she could to keep them safe. Coming back in time added a new recurring nightmare to the ones she already had. In this new one, she still saw people running away in fear, but they were not running away from Risen because they were running away from her. Was it the same for Inigo? Looking into his eyes, she knew the answer was yes.
Still, he was right about one thing. For once, she actually had a full night of uninterrupted, dreamless sleep and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't thankful for that.
Inigo stood up and straightened his clothes the best he could. "On the bright side," he began with his usual cheerful disposition that didn't seem all that genuine to her anymore, "at least you're all rested up and ready for whatever today has in store for us." He turned to leave the tent, "you should probably wait a few minutes if you don't want to be seen."
"Inigo."
"Huh?"
"Um..." The truth was, she wanted to tell him now he felt, but there where so many things that could go wrong. Perhaps she worried that she would just become anouther conquest for him. There was the possibility that he didn't feel the same way. It would make things so awkward between them she was afraid it would damage what they already had. True, he annoyed her at times, but it didn't change the fact that he was one of her best friends. So instead of saying I love you, she said "thank you."
He cocked his head to one side, confused. "For what?"
"For always being there for me," she explained, suddenly feeling very shy especially since she was well aware of what that phrase really meant. "Just yesterday, it was my fault I didn't notice the archer and you got hurt protecting me because of my carelessness."
"Oh, that?" He was deliberately avoiding her gaze now. Was it her or the lighting because it looked as though he were blushing? "Don't worry about it, okay?"
"But still–"
"We better hurry up before Kjelle's father eats all the leftovers!" he interrupted, wildly changing the subject. He was definitely blushing now. "you know how much it sucks to march on an empty stomach?" With that, he slipped outside.
Alone in his tent, Lucina found herself smiling despite her best efforts.
:.
:.
:.