DISCLAIMER: FIRE EMBLEM AND ITS CHARACTERS BELONG TO NINTENDO.

A/N: Here's a short little chapter for you all. I had planned to make a single chapter taking place before the Shepherd's arrival at the Mila Tree. I decided to make this its own chapter as this segment's tone is more humorous in comparison to the rest of the original chapter I had written. This takes place during the morning, while the next chapter will continue with the rest of the day.

A Shot in the Dark

Lucina awoke to the sounds of birds calling to one another. Judging by how the fabric of the tent glew only slightly, the sun must have only just begun to rise. She then realized that something amiss about the whole situation.

She had not been in her own tent.

Rubbing her eyes, she glanced around the room to realize she had fallen asleep in Robin's tent last night. Her back ached slightly, having dozed off in her seated position while reading her favorite book.

Robin was still sleeping soundly on his bedroll. The conflicted look on his face had been lost to the peacefulness of slumber.

Today was when they would advance towards the Mila Tree. Basilio and Flavia's divisions had no doubt been lying in wait for the Shepherd's arrival, avoiding the Valmese's attention. There was hardly time to spare.

Lucina walked over to Robin and nudged his arm softly with her foot. He mumbled in his sleep, shifting his legs around.

"Robin, get up. We need to pack. We're leaving before noon." she said, crouching down to shake him gently.

He lay silent.

Lucina pouted when he had no intentions of waking up. She got up and plopped down to sit on top of him.

Robin's eye shot open as he gasped at the weight on his chest. He flailed his arms at her. "L-Lucina!? What do you think you're doing?"

"Waking your stubborn butt up." she said casually.

"Well I'm up now! So why don't you get your stubborn butt off of me?" He said, pushing his hands against her side.

Lucina slowly got off the annoyed Tactician.

Robin sat up, scratching his messy hair. "...I ought to Mjolnir your sorry..." he mumbled.

"What was that?" she asked sharply, slightly pulling out Falchion from her scabbard.

"Not gonna work princess. Your daddy's been pulling that one on me for years." he said as stood up grudgingly to stretch.

Robin was apparently not one to be woken up in the morning. Sure, he got up by himself at the crack of dawn from time to time, but being woken by others this early was one his peeves. He preferred his internal clock to get his day going.

Robin rubbed his eyes and noticed the book on his desk, still open. "Wait, did you fall asleep here?"

"Oh, I apologize. After you had fallen, I took a moment to reread the story from the beginning. I guess sleep took me by surprise." she said bashfully.

"No, it's fine. I just wish I had a spare bed roll lying around. Your back must be killing you." he said as he gave her a pat on the back causing her to wince.

"If you figured that much, why slap my back?" she asked irritably.

"You sat on me," Robin deadpanned.

Lucina sighed. "Fair enough."

Robin folded his bedroll, looking around his quarters and deciding he'd leave the rest of the packing for later.

"Let's go get something to eat." he said rubbing his stomach. Before he exited, he turned back to her. "Umm, thanks for last night."

"Your welcome. I enjoyed the story as well." she said with a smile. She left it at that, not wanting to press on the sorrow that most likely plagued his mind. She could tell he was handling it to the best of his abilities, which was surprisingly well. Last night, he just needed a helping hand.

They heard someone just outside the tent.

"Robin? Sorry to bother you this earl-" Chrom had walked in to find Robin and Lucina in the same tent so early in the morning. "What's going on?" he asked, eyes shifting between the two.

Robin groaned, "Huh, so it seems waking me up early runs in the family."

Chrom raised a brow. "What?"

"I spent the night here." Lucina explained casually.

Robin let out a yawn. "She came to retrieve some book Sumia gave me and ended up falling asleep at the desk while she read it."

The two of them having nothing to hide, felt no guilt in coming clean about what happened the night before.

Lucina narrowed her eyes at Robin. "Don't make me sound so carefree." She turned to her father. "I was reading the manchild over here a bedtime story to help get his mind off a few things."

Robin glared at her. "Who are you calling a manchild?"

Chrom shook his head. He would have been suspicious had they not begun a verbal spat right before him. They also made no effort to hide what had happened. He smiled at his friend and daughter's honesty, believing them.

Chrom chuckled. "This reminds of when I had to stay with Robin for a night back during our campaign in Plegia."

Robin smiled at the memory. "That's what you get for pissing off your wife. When Sumia's rare flashes of anger spring up, no one's spared, royalty or not."

"I've never seen mother angry before." Lucina said with a curious expression.

"Try spilling wine on any of her books." Robin laughed.

"It's her fault for lining the entire desk with them! Where am I supposed to put my stuff?" Chrom defended.

"I'm sure Frederick wouldn't mind holding all of it." Robin joked.

Lucina giggled lightly, as a childish scene played out in her head. She imagined Frederick standing in the corner of her parents tent in the dead of night, her father's belongings hung all over the man.

Chrom laughed as well. "Well anyways, I was going to consult you about our trip to the Mila Tree."

"Sure. Why don't we talk about it over breakfast? Is Libra up?" Robin asked.

Chrom nodded. "He's already begun preparing the meals."

The three headed out towards the mess hall.

Sumia bounced around on her bunk. "Cordelia! Cordelia! Lucina hasn't come back yet!" she whispered loudly.

Cordelia looked around the lodging house as she put on her boots, finding Lucina's bed still made. "Oh? Are you sure she just didn't head out already? She does get up pretty early."

"No! I woke up in the middle of the night and she still wasn't back."

"A daughter disappearing is sure to be unsettling news to any mother. So tell me why is it you look positively bubbly?"

"Before we all went to bed, Lucina said she'd be dropping by Robin's tent for something."

Cordelia felt one of Sumia's fantasy driven delusions coming. "Oh dear, don't tell me..."

"Grandchildren? Am I going to have grandchildren!?" she squealed.

Cordelia slapped her forehead. "That's ridiculous even for you, Sumia. They've known each other for a few weeks at most. Surely you're jumping to conclusions."

"Is it ridiculous, Cordelia? Is it?" Sumia asked smugly, as if the answer was plain as day.

"Quite." Cordelia deadpanned.

"That doesn't change the fact that she wasn't here, and she last went to Robin's."

"So? I've stayed the night at Robin's when he helped to craft my spears and nothing happened."

"All that proves is you're not his type."

Cordelia wanted to give her best friend a good slap right about now. "Neither of them seem like the type to rush into anything like that anyways. If you ask me, they just seem like good friends at this point. And that's a good thing. These things take time." she said with sage like wisdom.

"Have you noticed they've been teaming up for the last few battles? That's proof of progress right there!"

"Lon'qu and Vaike often pair up, yet you don't see Lissa pulling her hair out."

"Oh come on, just think about it. A strong, mysterious princess lost in time, and an amnesiac war hero with a brilliant mind. Doesn't it just sound like a romance novel?" Sumia asked with starry eyes.

"More like a story some fan came up with based on the original material." Cordelia stated bluntly.

"You're no fun, Cordelia." Sumia said, sticking her tongue out.

"As cute as I think they would be together, you're simply reading into this too much. I told you I'd help you it with this little mission of yours, but I can't let you go and mess it up over something we lack any solid evidence on. ...Why don't we just ask them about it later?"

"Right!" Sumia exclaimed, putting on her boots as well.

The two pegasus tamers prepared for the day and went to grab breakfast.

Sumia and Cordelia opened the flaps to the mess hall. Only a handful of Shepherds were awake this early.

Libra walked up to them, greeting them good morning and handing over their trays of food.

The two spotted Lucina and Robin seated at a table eating together.

Cordelia heard Sumia's breathing getting louder. "This doesn't prove anything." she said as she went to have a seat next to them.

"Good morning aunt Cordelia, good morning mother." Lucina smiled.

"Mornin'," Robin said with a mouthful of eggs.

"Good morning you two." Cordelia smiled back.

Sumia sat down beside Lucina.

"Mother? Are you well? You're breathing quite hard." Lucina said as she reached a hand to feel her mother's temperature.

"I'm fantastic dear. But how are you?"

"I slept well given the position I was in." Lucina said, biting into a piece of toast.

"P-p-p-p-position?" Sumia muttered with wide, glossy eyes.

Cordelia groaned.

"Good morning you two." Chrom said as he sat down at the table, kissing his wife on the cheek. "Are you feeling alright, dear? You're breathing quite hard." he asked, putting a hand to her forehead.

"Of course I am." Sumia smiled. "Sooo... Lucina, I noticed you didn't come back last night."

Lucina straightened up. She looked guiltily at Sumia. 'Did I keep her waiting all night?' she thought. "I'm sorry mother..."

"It's fine honey. I've got a pretty good idea what you went out for." Sumia said with a sly smile.

"Really?"

"Mhm. Call it a mother's intuition."

"Well... you did have a knack for telling fortunes." Lucina said thoughtfully.

Sumia leaned into her daughter's ear. "So, what was your favorite part?" she whispered mischievously.

Lucina thought about. "Definitely the climax." she said with a grin.

Sumia rubbed her cheeks as she grit her teeth, smiling like a fool.

Cordelia kicked Sumia's foot under the table, but to no effect. Seeing as her friend had completely succumbed to her unsavory fantasies, she decided to clear the air once and for all.

"Lucina, where were you last night?" Cordelia asked plainly.

"I fell asleep in Robin's tent." she explained.

"She was reading a book and dozed off in a chair." Chrom added, sipping some coffee.

Sumia snapped out of her twisted thoughts. "Book? Chair? What do you mean?"

"I thought you said you had it figured out." Lucina said in confusion. She pulled out the book on her lap. "I went to Robin's to retrieve this. It's the same book you read to me as a child. Who would have guessed that in this timeline, it found its way into Robin's possession?"

Sumia's face fell in disappointment.

Lucina continued, "Like I said, the story's climax was by far my favorite part of the book. How the wizard chased the princess throughout the castle, only to confront the hero and be defeated... It may not sound like much, but that scene always held a special place in my heart. ...I remember father would dress up as the wizard, chasing me through our own castle as we reenacted the scene..." Lucina blushed.

Sumia's frown slowly turned upwards. She realized she was being quite ridiculous over the whole affair. She was a tad disappointed, but at the news that her daughter at least got to live some happy moments in that terrible future, her other worries paled. She wrapped her hands around her daughter, pulling her close. "That's... that's lovely sweety. Would you like for me to read it to you sometime?"

Lucina's smiled with soft eyes. She heard Robin chuckling next to her.

"...and you called me a manchild?" she heard him mumble.

Lucina flushed, before snapping her attention back to her mother. "I appreciate the offer mother, but I'm far too old for such things," she said loudly for all to hear.

Sumia offered her a smile, try to hide her disappointment.

Robin shrugged as he continued eating.

Lucina looked her mother in the eyes and nodded very subtly.

Sumia caught the small gesture and smiled at her daughters agreement to her offer.

Cordelia giggled to herself, happy the whole event hadn't been blown out of proportion.

The five Shepherds enjoyed the rest of their meals.

A/N: Like I said, this part didn't fit the rest of the chapter I had planned out. The next chapter will continue during their meal, as Chrom and Robin speak about their upcoming battle.

Owain, Severa, and Kjelle will get a moment to reflect on the events of their recent battle.

Overall, I guess I just wanted a bit of Robin/Lucina fun, without actually having any Robin/Lucina, so Sumia's perverted fantasies were the way to go.

Next chapter will be much longer, the events taking place from where this one left off, to the Mila Tree.

Til next time!