Hi, I'm back! After a very, very long time. I don't even know if anyone's interested in this anymore, but if they are, I'm really, really sorry for the delay. There were a lot of problems at my house, and on top of that I wrote almost the whole chapter, then accidentally deleted it, and had to write it all over again, which sucked :-(
But enough of my rambling, here's a new chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.
According to Anna the merchant, the Outrealm Gate was perfectly safe to use. She and her sisters had been through it several times with no ill effects, or so she told Chrom.
The Shepherds had initially been hesitant about the gate, but once passing through it, they had merely found themselves in a small village. Some sort of celebration had been going on; however, they hadn't been there for more than a moment before Revenants attacked.
Lucina wondered whether they had some sort of homing signal that attracted the monsters to them. Don't think like that, she grimly told herself. Cutting one Revenant down, she jumped over another, avoiding its clawing arms. Quickly, she turned and hacked its head off. Panting with exertion, she quickly ducked into one of the side streets, hoping to throw the monsters off so that she could get a moment's rest.
The streets were deserted, the people having locked themselves up in their homes. Lucina leaned against the back of a house, trying to regain some of her strength. After a few moments, however, she immediately straightened up. As long as the fight was going on, she couldn't really sit around taking her time.
She inched around the building to make her way back to the fray, when she heard someone cry out:
"Ow, ow, ow!"
Lucina froze. That was Inigo's voice.
"Quiet, would you? I'm almost done." That sounded like Gerome. Lucina frowned. What was going on? The house was some distance away from the square, a large bungalow with a garden and lots of trees, and she couldn't see Inigo or Gerome, as they were around the corner with a fair amount of foliage in between. Slowly, carefully, she peeked through the bushes. Inigo and Gerome were standing close to the wall, and they were doing… something. There was some rustling, and Inigo winced again.
"Oh stop that!"
"I can't help it if it hurts!" Inigo cried out.
"Hold still! You're making this harder than it has to be!"
"I'm sorry! I'm just… not used to being manhandled like this! Please Gerome, just promise you'll be gentle!"
Lucina gasped and drew back. As if in response, Minerva roared. Lucina quickly turned and ran off, before they could see her. Not till she was in the middle of the town square did she stop; leaning against a stall, she chewed her lip.
What were they doing? Why were they doing? WHAT WERE THEY DOING?!
A sudden crash made her jump. She looked around; some distance away, Revenants were causing mayhem. She shook her head. "Focus, Lucina," she muttered. "Focus. The Revenants are your problem. Whatever Inigo and Gerome were doing… that's their problem."
She took a deep breath, raised her sword, and rejoined the fighting.
"Lucina, are you alright?"
Lucina blinked, and looked up at the concerned face of her father. She realized with a start that the fireworks, which they'd been watching, were over, and that she'd been staring off into space.
"Yes, yes, I'm fine," she said quickly.
"Are you sure? You seem a little distracted." Chrom indicated something in her lap. Lucina looked down. She was holding a banana, its peel ripped to shreds. She looked back up at her father and gave him a weak smile.
"If something's wrong, you should tell me," Chrom said, looking concerned.
"Oh, no, no, everything's alright father," she said, standing up. "I'm just tired, I'll… go to bed. You should do that too. We don't often get a chance to relax."
Chrom smiled. "Well, you're right. We should get as must rest as we can." He put an arm around her shoulder, pulling her to her feet. "Come on, I'll walk you to your tent."
Lucina followed her father happily; spending time with him was enough to make her forget everything else. But later that night, as she lay on her cot, her thoughts turned once again to Inigo and Gerome.
What were they doing? She thought. I didn't really hear much… He- it was probably nothing. I probably misheard stuff.
It gave her a strange feeling to think of them being together. Lately, she had been thinking about Inigo a lot, and she knew that she was a little attracted to him. But it wasn't anything serious, she wasn't in love, or anything like that.
But she still had a strange feeling of betrayal, and a strong desire to bash something on Inigo's head.
Telling herself that she was being ridiculous, she drifted off to sleep.
A few days later, she couldn't find Inigo. Everyone was in the camp, except for him.
No, not entirely true. Gerome was missing as well.
Lucina wandered around, feeling disconsolate. She spotted Severa, and headed towards her.
"Severa," she said. "Have you seen Inigo?"
"Yeah," Severa answered, grinning. "He was with Gerome. It was rather an interesting sight."
Lucina frowned. "What do you mean?"
"He was carrying Gerome," Severa said. "Inigo was. Over his shoulder, like a sack of potatoes. I'm fairly sure they were headed towards town.
Lucina's jaw dropped. "W-you didn't ask them what they were doing?" She said.
Severa snorted. "Who cares what crazy antics they get to?" she said. "As long as they're not, like, burning the camp down or something, it's not really my business." She shook her head. "I have to admit, though, it looked kinda cute. Like one of those evil warlocks carrying off princesses. Except with no princess, of course."
Lucina nodded absently. "I'm going to train," she said, walking away. She felt confused again, a hollow painful feeling in her chest radiating throughout her body.. Just yesterday, Inigo had spoken to her. He'd been nice, and she'd really thought…
She rubbed her head. Forget it, she thought. It was probably nothing. Inigo… joked around. Wasn't he interested in women? He was always hitting on them. And besides, she argued with herself, even IF they're together, what do I care? Sure he's cute, and nice, and sweet, but I probably really don't like him. He's too unserious. This is just a phase.
But the hollow feeling wouldn't go away. The more she tried to convince herself it was nothing, the stronger it became.
The training ground was empty. Lucina trained till she was utterly exhausted, till all she could do was crawl back to her tent and collapse onto her cot, drowning her apprehensions in her sleep.
"I'm telling you, I saw him dancing!" Yarne exclaimed to Brady. Lucina stopped involuntarily. She dropped to one knee, pretending to be doing something to her shoe.
"Yeah, well, we all know Inigo dances," Brady grunted. "It's the worst kept secret in this entire army."
"Yeah, but Gerome was watching him," Yarne said. "Him and Minerva. Inigo never lets us watch."
There was a pause. Lucina pulled at her gauntlets.
"Well, whatever they're doin' is their problem," Brady finally replied.
"Yeah," Yarne said. "It just… looked so odd!"
As the two men moved away, Lucina stood up slowly. That did it. Something was definitely going on between them.
But Inigo's been different towards me, a small voice in her head whispered. It was true. Ever since the flowers, he had seemed to be… attracted to her.
But he'd never voluntarily let her watch him dance. It had just been talks, and smiles, something Inigo did for everyone.
She felt angry, stupid. But it's all my fault, she thought. I was over thinking things. This is a sign, Lucina, a clear sign that my true goal is to help Ylisse, and my parents! All others things come after!
But you love him, the voice said. Love doesn't go away that easy.
"No I don't," she muttered. "I never did. It was just a stupid feeling."
She trained long and hard that night.
It wasn't her fault. She had wanted to let them be together. After all, romantic love was a very, very low concern on her list, and besides, she wasn't even in love with him!
But the pain wouldn't go away. Her heart couldn't be fooled.
Every time she saw Inigo, her chest would suddenly seize up. Every time he smiled at her, talked to her, every time he helped her out in battle, she felt as if someone had lit up a fire in her heart. She hated herself for this, hated the fact that she was 'falling for' Inigo like some silly school girl. Her country was at war, Grima was on the verge of taking over, and yet all her spare thoughts were of him, as if he mattered more than any of these things!
"I don't love him," she told herself, swinging her sword as she trained even further. "I don't!"
But, as she saw him get closer to Gerome, she had to admit that maybe, maybe, she did.
She started trying to avoid him. Gerome as well, because whenever Gerome was around, Inigo showed up sooner or later.
Yet, it seemed as if they had decided to haunt her. He was haunting her. On the battlefield, around the campfire at night, he was there. She kept herself busy; organizing the supplies, attending the war-meeting, training, doing everything she could to stop herself from dwelling on the subject of Inigo, trying to make herself forget the fact that he existed. It was like one of those silly tales, so silly that she sometimes laughed at the ridiculousness of it all, but the pain always came back, and sometimes tears. The tears angered her, and she would bury her face in her pillow and force herself to sleep.
Late one night Lucina lay in bed, willing herself to go to go to sleep, when a discordant yelling started up outside. She sprang up immediately, and quickly pulling on armor and sword, she ran out, fully expecting an attack.
What she saw surprised her.
It was coming from Gerome's tent. Or, to be more specific, it was coming from the gaggle of females standing in front of Gerome's tent. They appeared to be singing.
There was a sizable circle of Shepherds standing around when Lucina arrived. Some were staring in shock, most were giggling. A few were trying to get the girls to leave, and were being ignored.
"What's going on?" Lucina whispered to Severa, who was one of the bystanders.
"It looks like our resident loner has attracted some fangirls," Severa said, smirking. "They're serenading him."
"He's inside the tent?"
"Yup." Severa tilted her head to one side. "I wonder how long before he sets Minerva on them."
Lucina shook her head and looked around. Minerva was missing, and she assumed that the wyvern was out of her nightly flight. Presumably she wouldn't be pleased once she got back and saw how Gerome was being treated.
Then she saw Inigo. He was standing at the back of the crowd, looking angry and upset. Even as she watched, he turned and strode away towards his tent.
The next morning, Lucina woke up feeling tired. Despite the Shepherd's best efforts, Gerome's admirers had sung well until dawn. Between them, and her unwelcome thoughts about Inigo, she hadn't been able to sleep.
She wasn't the only one who'd been kept awake all night. Gerome himself looked tired, and he'd received a stern talking to from Chrom, on behalf of all the shepherds.
Inigo had merely looked upset. At breakfast in the mess tent, he'd pretended to be aloof and high handed with Gerome, but the wyvern rider had merely ignored him, and left the tent, whereupon Inigo had followed him. Surreptitiously, Lucina followed them, so see them arguing.
None of my business, she had told herself, quickly turning away.
She had decided to let it go, to stop herself from making a fool of herself.
Making her way to the stream they were using as a communal washing place, she chose a spot further from where everyone usually washed up. It was deserted at the moment, everyone being at breakfast, but even if someone came by, she didn't feel like talking to anyone.
Slowly, she sank to her knees, looking at her reflection in the water. She looked terrible. She splashed some water onto her face, when she heard the sound of someone. She turned to see Inigo walking up to the stream. His face red, and she could tell that he'd been crying.
"Inigo?" She called out in shock.
Inigo stopped, looked at her. His eyes were red too, and he quickly wiped at them.
"Oh hey, Lucina," he said. "Um… what's up?"
"...were you crying?" she asked.
"What? Oh, no, no, of course not," Inigo said, rubbing his face self consciously. "Why would I be crying?"
"Because of Gerome?" Lucina said. "I-I saw you two in the mess hall." None of your business! A voice in her head screamed. She ignored it.
Inigo hesitated for a moment, then gave a weak laugh. "Yeah, no, that was nothing," he said quickly, coming towards her. "I wasn't crying… er, does it look like I was crying?"
"Yes, it does," Lucina said firmly.
Inigo scowled. "Well… its nothing," he said, defiantly. "I'm fine. I'm not mad at Gerome or anything. See?" He gave her a small smile, so obviously fake that even he had to know that it wasn't any good. Whatever had happened between them had hurt Inigo deeply. And it broke her heart to see him like this.
"Inigo," she said softly, putting her hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to pretend. I know what was going on. I know you're upset about the girls around Gerome's tent last night.
Inigo's eyes widened. "Er- you know about that?"
"Yes," Lucina said. "But you should understand; it wasn't his fault."
"Of course it was his fault!" Inigo exclaimed. "I mean, he just walked up in the middle of them, all broody and silent, and they fell over him."
"He can't help it," Lucina insisted. "He's a good looking guy, you know that."
Inigo gave her a baleful look. "Yeah, I know," he muttered, crossing his arms. "That's all the village girls wanted to talk about. 'Oh, Gerome, you're so handsome, so dark, so dangerous, oh love me!' And he wasn't even trying! I mean- he's not even trying, and yet all the girls fall for him, and never me! What do nice guys like me get, huh? None of them even noticed me!" He threw up his arms angrily.
"Inigo, that is not true! I notice you! I love you!" Lucina blurted out.
There was a pause. Lucina bit her lip and closed her eyes, well aware that she was quickly turning red.
"W-what did you say?" Inigo asked slowly.
"I like you," she repeated a little defensively.
"No... you said... love," Inigo said. "I mean, what kind, like- I… did you really say that?"
Lucina sighed. She could take it back, pretend she had meant something else entirely… or she could tell him.
"Yes," she said. "I love you. Even though I know that your affections lie el-"
"I love you too," Inigo said.
"-sewhere, that you love- what?" Lucina stopped short and stared at him. He reddened and looked away, scratching the back of his head. "I shouldn't have said that," he mumbled.
Lucina suddenly felt very hot and cold at the same time. She shook her head. "What are you talking about?!" she said, confused. "You love Gerome!"
"What?" Inigo looked startled. "Why would I love Gerome?"
"Then why were you mad at him?"
"Because he stole all the women!" Inigo exclaimed. "I took him with me four times, to be my wingman, and four times, he completely outshone me!"
"But you danced for him!" Lucina said, bewildered. "And that day... in the harvest festival, you were... close."
"What, I- you know about that too?!" he exclaimed, looking mortified. "How, what-"
"Yes, but that's not important," Lucina said. "What's important is, why were you dancing for him?"
I danced for him because Minerva likes my dancing- and she would eat me if I didn't!" Inigo said quickly. "And what did we do at the harvest festival? I don't-" he shook his head. "Whatever I did, nothing, there is nothing between us!" He took hold of both her hands. "Lucina… I- you probably won't believe this, but I have been in love with you since I was a child," he said, desire clear in his voice. "Seriously. I… I just never had the courage to tell you."
Lucina stared at him tearfully… then frowned as something he'd said earlier filtered through her head. "If you truly love me," she said slowly, "Why were you mad for the village girls not paying attention to you?" Glaring at him, she pulled her hands away. "If you loved me, you should have- not gone after every other girl in Ylisse!"
"No, no, no!" Inigo said, quickly grabbing her hands again. "See, that was…" he trailed off, looking at her despairingly. She glared back questioningly. He sighed, dropped her hands, and covered his face with his own. "It was my mother," he said in a small voice. "See, when we were little… I couldn't even talk to you properly. I always wanted to be… heroic and suave and, you know, be your knight in shining armor. But I always goofed up. I was too shy, I was terrified, of talking to people… of talking to you. So I asked my mother what I should do. And she told me that I should try to talk to other girls, that would help me be more comfortable around them." He dropped his hands to his sides and shrugged. "I tried it out… and it worked. But not with you. I-I still couldn't tell you how I felt." He gave a small laugh. "So I told myself that I would talking to every other girl that I came across, and the day that I managed to get all of them, would be the day that I would finally… be worthy of you."
"But that's stupid," Lucina said. "You really thought that? That by being a massive flirt, you could somehow win me over?"
"I don't know what I was thinking!" Inigo exclaimed. "It was stupid, I know that now. But… I was really young. And it seemed like a grand idea. But then, our parents died, and everything went to hell, and… it just became a habit. A means of coping. I mean, the chances of both of us surviving seemed so slim, and I thought, even if we win one day, even if we defeat Grima, I still wouldn't be worthy of you." He laughed again, a small bitter laugh, and threw his hands up. "So I thought, what does it matter?"
Lucina looked at the ground, trying to make sense of what he'd told her. "But I still don't get it," she said finally. "Why wouldn't you be worthy of me?"
Inigo stared at her, then smiled sadly. "Lucina… you're of the blood of the Exalt, the champion of Naga… and I'm the son of a thief, and a dancer. How would that even work?"
Lucina looked at him for a moment. Then she swiftly stepped forward and punched him in the arm. "Don't say that! Don't ever say that!" She seethed. "You- you are a warrior, a brave and honorable warrior, equal to the noblest of knights anywhere in the world! And your parents too! They-they help my father, help the Shepherds fight the darkness, you really think they're inferior to us in any way?! You really thought that I wouldn't consider you as my-my husband because of your blood, after all you and your family have done for us? You really think I'm that shallow?!" She paused, panting in anger, then shook her head. "Inigo," she continued in a softer voice, "I love you… but if you think that, you really are an idiot."
Inigo blinked. Then he lowered his head. "Wow. Um… I've always been an idiot," he said. "The way this conversation is going should tell you that. I'm sorry, I-I should just go." He gave her a defected sort of wave, then turned to leave.
Lucina watched him, angry and frustrated. "Wait!" she said suddenly, grabbing his arm. "Inigo, just-" shaking her head, she pulled him into a kiss. It was clumsy and badly aimed, but the moment his lips touched hers, it felt as if a bolt of lightning was going through her body. Inigo stumbled against her, his arms automatically encircling her smaller form. For a moment, they kissed each other, then broke apart, blushing hard.
"Well, that's it," Lucina said, flustered.
"So… I'm guessing you're not mad at me?" Inigo asked, slowly, a grin slowly dawning on his face.
"N-not that much," Lucina said. She looked at him, and smiled. "I guess we could… make this work. No more girls though," She added fiercely.
Inigo laughed. "No, no girls," he said, drawing her close again. "Not for as long as I have you with me."
Well, here it is. I'm not good with all-out romantic scenes, and this was a bit difficult to write. I'm sorry if it seems a bit OOC, but I really did the best I could! I hope you guys like it, and please review!