Proposals and Warm Thoughts
Lucina and Cordelia have a small chat after Robin's proposal to Lucina.
Lucina smiled as she sat in one of the rooms within the barracks, admiring the golden ring set with sapphires and diamonds. It was absolutely beautiful, she thought contently, much like how the man who gave it to her made her feel. Marriage was a bit of a foreign concept for her- she had spent her entire life fighting. The idea that she'd eventually be able to just live was a distant dream, but here she was, with a living family and soon, a husband: a man who truly was giving it his all to make her life as wonderful as possible- starting with ending the war, and securing their future.
She closed her eyes and smiled openly, but the clacking of footsteps and a long sigh from another woman's voice pulled her from her thoughts. "Oh, Cordelia. I didn't expect to see you…" Lucina said, turning to face the other woman, "Especially not this late."
"Lucina?" Cordelia responded, "I'm just returning from patrol." A quick glance from her noticed Lucina's smile, which immediately struck her. Lucina was often times the most somber woman in the shepherds, and easily the one who smiles the least. "But… you look so happy for a change."
"Oh it's nothing." Lucina's smile quickly faded and she slipped her hand under the table.
"No, I'm sure you're happy about something… Did you meet the love of your life?" Cordelia asked with a wink.
Lucina promptly blushed and turned away, sliding her hands together. "N-no…"
"You did, didn't you?!" A wide grin appeared on Cordelia's face as she knelt by Lucina. "So who is it..? Wait… is it Robin?"
"H-how'd you know?!" Lucina gasped.
"Well besides you just telling me, I saw you two together the other evening."
"What?" Lucina said, "Oh gods… you didn't tell anyone, did you?"
"No. Of course not."
"What did you see—"
"Well…" Cordelia smiled as she spoke, placing her right hand on Lucina's shoulder.
A Few days Previous
"How are you feeling, Lucina?" Robin said with a smile, letting himself sit down beneath a tree.
"Pretty exhausted." Lucina responded truthfully.
"Well, that's normal, since we did spend all day training. Though, I think I could do with a few less bloody noses." Robin said with a smile.
"S-sorry." Lucina was swift to apologize, but Robin shook his head signaling a lack of a need for such.
"After that incident with your hair catching on fire, I probably deserved the pummeling you gave me today." He chuckled, and after a few moments, so did she. "But… I did notice something. You are sleeping, right?"
"When I can."
"Ok, that response worries me slightly." Robin said as she sat down next to him. "…Do you have trouble sleeping? Be honest— you know I'll help however I can."
Lucina took in a deep breath and her mind flashed. She didn't want to tell him the truth- to add to his worries. He was her father's chief tactician, and she had seen firsthand how hard he works- many nights she'd find him slumped over a mountain of scrolls and texts, snoring lightly, having worked himself to the point of such extreme exhaustion that he'd fall asleep where he stood. She was the same way, but for her it was different. On nights like that, her sleep was silent: no ill thoughts to give her nightmares. Just inky blackness and her body shutting itself down, forcibly. It wasn't healthy, and she'd be told frequently of such, but part of her preferred to enter sleep that way since it didn't bring with it other issues. "No. I'm fine, Robin. Thanks for your concern, though."
Robin sighed and pulled her closer with his left arm, which prompted a blush from her. Shaking his head, which immediately signaled to her that he saw right through her bluff, he said, "You're still having nightmares aren't you? That concoction Panne gave you didn't work?"
"It helped somewhat, but I still get them. Every night. Save for rare moments, where instead I'm allowed to dream of peace… of you." Lucina smiled and then promptly nuzzled herself against Robin.
A slight grin appeared on Robin's face as he wrapped Lucina in his arms, sliding his coat off his back and around her. "A strategy to fight dreams. Hmmm…" Robin said under his breath, "An enemy that I cannot overcome with any normal tactic— but perhaps I just got the information I need." He promptly tilted himself and gently kissed Lucina's forehead, which impelled her to softly coo.
"You're… warm, Robin" Lucina said softly "and for some reason, I don't think I'll have nightmares tonight."
"No, I'm sure you won't." Robin said smiling. "I've got a bit of a plan to make sure of it— and it goes for every night from here on out."
"You saw all of that?" Lucina exclaimed, clearly embarrassed.
Cordelia nodded. "I'm sorry to have eavesdropped, but patrol put me right by where you and Robin were."
Lucina covered her face with her hands, letting out a long groan. She had heard from Severa that Cordelia was a hopeless romantic, and of course, she would've watched had she caught wind of the relationship, but she never figured the woman actually would've spotted them. At least, she thought, it wasn't Frederick. Alternatively, Cynthia.
"Wait— did he propose to you!?" Cordelia said as she spotted the ring on Lucina's finger. "Congratulations!"
"Please don't tell anyone…!" Lucina said, "I don't want this getting out until I've had a chance to talk to father. I don't want him exploding on Robin."
"I don't think he will. If anything…." Cordelia words trailed off before suddenly turning back. "When's the wedding?"
Lucina shook her head, "Probably after Grima's been stopped. I don't think we have time for such festivities right now— not with the future at stake."
"Well, that's probably for the best, but you should enjoy love while you can." Cordelia smiled and nodded at Lucina, a somber smile on her face as they parted ways for the night.
Lucina simply smiled and looked back at the ring. There was plenty to look forward to in her life now.
Author's Note: Written for Maplebar as part of Nagamas. Geez I wrote like 8 different things for that, with at least 20 rewrites. Ultimately decided with this with the deadline drawing near.