Hey so here's a quick mini-collection of 3 fics I initially posted to Wattpad and AO3, all three of which have romantic themes. the whole collection is rated M, but that's only cause one fic is truly M, so I set the whole collection's rating to the highest one's by default. I'll give prefaces for each one's respective summary and rating before the regular author's notes.

Also, I decided to post these in this collection cuz they're what I call Speculative Smash Fics, so I'll not tag any characters cause some aren't technically in yet (and if pass 2 is truly the last pass, may not be. unless they like, decide to jump back in, or resume later, or even make an Ultimate Deluxe or something). Those characters are: Elma (Xenoblade Chronicles X; established as part of my fic universe since Training Exercise; focus of first fic which has hints of Captain Falcon/Elma and Elma/Lucina); Octoling (established as part of my fic universe since the epilogue of Hiding in my Skin, Broken from Within); KOS-MOS (established since the final chapter of the aforementioned fic); T-elos (see Octoling; is a major part of the latter two fics whose prominent pairing is Sephiroth/T-elos); Crash Bandicoot (from a Smash DLC rumor); Reimu Hakurei (from the same DLC rumor as Crash); and Ahri (from a different DLC rumor that says a League of Legends character is coming to Smash but I'm doubting that now unless pass 3 happens. Still, I got a bit invested in LoL thanks to that and would be so cool with Ahri in Smash).

anyway, for this particular one:

Summary: Elma was happy her two close friends, Captain Falcon and Lucina, were getting married. And yet... she also had feelings for them both, and it was certainly hard to deal with.

Rating: K+

Genre: Angst/Family/Romance

Pairings: Captain Falcon/Lucina (Mentioned), Captain Falcon/Elma (one sided), Elma/Lucina (one sided), Captain Falcon/Elma/Lucina (one sided)

Other characters: Young Link, Octoling Girl

Hey so im not sure when in my "timeline" of my Smash main fic "universe" this happens, it'll probably happen during the span of the sequel to my Falconcina longfic Hiding in my Skin, Broken from Within. Tentative title for the sequel: Within Glowing Shadows.

But enough about that

I didn't put this in the Falconcina oneshot collection cause – get this – they're not the focus. The focus… is Elma. Who I've established as part of my universe and I'm STILL hoping she gets in… pls Xenoblade needs another playable rep badly and I love X

But anyway… you'll see what goes down. And yes, Lucina and CF adopt the Octoling Girl and Young Link. YL is referred to from here on out as Linky, and Octoling Girl is named Bridgett (she was INSPIRED by Viantastic's Bridgett, but she's NOT THE SAME as Viantastic's Bridgett. Just putting that out there.)

If Only

It was the end of a long week. While Captain Falcon and Lucina were away, they asked a good mutual friend of theirs, Elma, to take care of their two adopted children for them: Young Link, or Linky ever since he was adopted; and the Octoling Girl, or as she preferred to be called, Bridgett. The three were waiting for the bus back to Smash Tower after watching the new movie Linky and Bridgett were anxious to see.

When she wasn't helping them train for battles, she would take them wherever they wanted to go (that was safe, of course), or even just stay in and watch their favorite cartoons or play games with them. The two youngsters took a liking to the BLADE Colonel, affectionately calling her "Aunt Elma" from the get go.

It's nice, Elma thought. This feeling of… belonging. Finding a tight-knit group of people that you see like… family. And who welcome you as such, too.

Sighing as she looked up at the sunset sky, she pondered, And yet… I don't feel… all that happy. Why?

The bus pulled in, its doors opening.

"Come on, Aunt Elma!" Linky tried to snap Elma out of her daze.

"Amiya!" Bridgett echoed, albeit in her own Octoling dialect.

"Oh…right." Elma and the two youths boarded the bus.

…

Young Link and Bridgett sat on two seats on the left side, while Elma sat on the farthest right seat opposite them, looking out the window and watching the city scenery pass her by.

It just… doesn't feel right, she thought. For me to be this close to…something that isn't really mine. She blinked. Isn't… really mine? What do I mean by that? Why am I feeling this way?

She overheard Linky and Bridgett conversing about something. Shifting over slightly, she tried to listen in better.

"Hey, Bridgett, you looking forward to mom and dad's big day?"

"Oonah?" Bridgett didn't seem to understand what Linky meant.

"You know… their wedding day?"

"Oh…"

"You don't know what a wedding is?"

Bridgett shook her head.

"W-well," Linky began, "When two people love each other so much that they never want to be apart…"

It was at those words that Elma felt a slight pang in her chest.

That's right… their wedding. Shifting back to the extreme window-facing end, she resumed vacantly looking out the window, seeing a happy couple walk by. They're… meant for each other. I could tell ever since I met them. And yet…

She sighed momentarily. Captain Falcon… You're a man of honor, one of the most noble people I've ever met. Your strong, confident exterior belies a gentle, wounded soul who only sought to make things right with her, and you did. And yet… She felt her heart skip a beat as she imagined herself in the Captain's strong embrace, the two about to kiss. She quickly shook her head. And yet… this isn't right. Because it's not like I want her out of the picture or anything… very much the opposite, in fact…

Feeling sorrow start to creep up on her, she closed her eyes and thought, Lucina… you, too… an honest young woman who's overcome so much, tries to be strong but sometimes it's too much… I want to be there for you, too. I saw how you tried to resist Dharkon claiming you again after we saved Bayonetta… your determination to live a happy life with the Captain and be free at all costs… If only I, too, could have been… that pillar of support. This time around, Elma imagined herself holding Lucina in her arms lovingly, longingly gazing into each other's eyes, their foreheads about to touch.

…No.

This is wrong!

Elma opened her eyes, and to her surprise, they were flooded with tears. Tears that didn't seem to want to stop falling.

Tears of true love…and heartbreak. Because she loved them both. And she knew she could never have either of them.

Because they only had eyes for each other.

It's not fair… I'm happy for you both, but… I wish I could be a part of the love you two share.

If only I'd have met both of you sooner…

She let out a remorseful sigh, her voice slightly cracking, as tears streamed down her face.

…If only.

"Hey?" Bridgett called out to Elma. Snapping out of her tearful trance, Elma noticed the Octoling looking sad.

"Bridgett…?" Elma questioned, her voice still sounding like she was crying. "Right… you… don't like to see people sad…"

"Memiyouwanaa…" Bridgett sorrowfully hugged Elma.

"I'm sorry for worrying you, sweetie…" Elma told Bridgett. "You… wanted to know why I'm sad, right?"

"Peh…" Bridgett nodded, trying not to cry.

Such empathy… Patting the Octoling on the head, Elma explained, "It's… something you probably won't get until you're older, but… I can give you the gist of it."

"Mee." Bridgett sat down and listened intently.

"Don't get me wrong," Elma began, "I'm happy for your foster parents, truly. They deserve this chance to stay together after all they've been through. And obviously, I'm one of their closest confidants who helped them along that journey. And yet… how can I explain this…" Sighing, Elma admitted, "I wish… I'd be able to… share that joy with them firsthand…" She looked away as she felt her heart breaking, tears raining from her eyes as her voice began to crack again. "Loving them as well, and… receiving their love in return. If I had met them sooner, maybe. But…" She buried her face into her hands as she wept. "It just… isn't right… who am I… to get in between what they've… rightfully earned…?"

Bridgett said nothing, only giving Elma space as she let out her true feelings.

Once she was done sobbing, Elma wiped her tears away and looked to her side, expecting Bridgett to have backed away. But to Elma's surprise, Bridgett was still there… and Linky just came up to them too.

"You… understood what I meant, I take it…?" The children nodded.

"A-and… you're not… upset at me for feeling the way I do?" The kids shook their heads calmly, with an accepting smile.

"You'll always be our Aunt Elma," Linky told Elma.

"Both of you…" Tears gathered in Elma's eyes again, but this time, they were tears of joy. "Thank you…" She extended her arms for an embrace, and Linky and Bridgett immediately obliged.

"You're right… I'm still… very much a part of your family, right?"

"Bwee!" Bridgett happily affirmed. "Unaleeee!"

"Heh… thank you…" Elma wiped her tears away. "Your parents should be home soon… why don't I take you guys home?"

"Veemo!"

"I hope we can hang out again like this, Aunt Elma!"

"Anytime…" Elma looked ahead with hope in her heart.

I'm so glad… that despite everything, I still belong. And… even though I met both of you a bit too late to become a greater part of your lives... I hope you two find everlasting happiness together.

You both deserve that happiness.

Fin

Yes, ELMA IS A DISASTER BISEXUAL.

AND YES, YOUNG LINK AND OCTOLING GIRL SAY BI RIGHTS.

And basically I wanted to explore the idea of someone having unrequited love for both sides of a couple sooooo yeah

Hope you guys enjoyed. Also the non-Falconcina ships hinted at here are called Elmacon, Elmacina, and Elmaconcina. You're welcome.