Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem Awakening, all rights to the owners.

Minor: Dark Flier, Immortal, Exploitive, Swordmaster, Tripping, Perpetual Cheer, Chef, Blacksmith, Pegasus Knight, Teacher, Librarian, Masochist, Literal-Minded, Authoritative, Phobia, Thicc, Tsundere, Damsel in Distress, Gangrel's Child, Communist, Bomber, Bear Cavalry, Flying, ADHD, Super Strength, Patriotic, Sassy, One Liner, Seamstress, Shephard, Speedy, Cool, Shy, Bookworm, Sweet, Kung Fu, Buff, Lazy, Wingless Flight, Blunt, Elf, Dwarf, Scottish, Melancholic, Punny, Dark Mage, Dragoon.

Standard: Elemental, Deaf, Nurse/Medic, Valmese Tactician, Medusa, Gift from Validar + Evil to Good, Mimic, Emotionless, Crippling Overspecialization (Idiot Savant), Coward, ESP, PTSD, Magician, Handicapped, Secret Helper, Morpher, Dreamwalker, Twins, Animal Whisperer, Tiki Assistant, Deadly Touch, Mind Reader, Doppelganger, D&D magic, Dominatrix, Songstress, Kinky, Matchmaker, Androphobic, Illusionist, Attraction Aura, Ring Maker, Teleporting, Crippled, Depressed, Slave, Love Curse, Geokinetic, Trauma, Siren, Changeling, Shapeshifter.

Unlikely: Chrom's child, Minotaur, Paladin, Werewolf, Future Soldier, Bounty Hunter, Weather control, Kleptomaniac, Druid, Steampunk, Shadow Familiar, Magic Augmentation, Lucky, Exile, Piper (Charmer), Gladiator, Witch Doctor, Centaur, Drunk, Punk, Harpy, Revenant, Luck Manipulation, Demon Summoner, Megalomaniac, Kitsune, King of Plegia, Mood Ring, Reverse Aging, Hammerspace, Prostitute, Demon Hunter, Cyborg, Deadlord, Rebellion, Einherjar, Trap, Yandere, Living Weapon, Size Shifter, Queen of Plegia, Gluttonous, Stretchy, Alchemist, Protoss, Spirit Manipulation, Invisible, Plegian Honor Guard, Mecha, Kryptonian, Creator, Orc, Memory Stealing Respawn, Racer, Khan, Misfortune, Vampire Hunter, Imaginary Actualization, Death, Resurrection, Force, Merchant, Background Music, Variable, Civilian, Natural Disaster, Mental Noise Projection, Hidden OP, Summoner, Cyclops, Teleporter, Cryokinetic, Genie, Judge, Intangibility, Fortune Teller, Serial Killer, Magic Fixit, Drakengard Restoration, Ying-Yang, Childhood Friend, Cyberpunk, Chrom's Mother, Obsessed, Berserker, Phase Shift, Gravity Manipulation, Hallucinating, Bladesoul, Zombie, Double Entendre, Shared Body/Two Souls, Cannibal, Violent, Waterbender, Casanova, Cupid, Undertaker, Master Thief, Guard, Faceless, Shadow, Age Control, Cradle Snatcher, Emo, Nun, Courier, Haunted Knight Armor, Egyptian, Sentient Object, Shit Lord, Court Wizard, Naga's sibling, Mad Queen, Artist, Predator, Cheshire Cat, Radio Host, Chimera, Wendigo, Witch, Symbiote, Hivemind, Hammerspace, Anna, Mother Nature, Psychopath, Stripper, Painting, Grima Parts, Knightmare, Super, Swimsuit, Bunny Outfit, One Punch, Idol, Chef, Rampage, Housewife, Determination, Vessel of Naga, Instant Expert, Time Travel, Hermit, Alternate Dimension 'Twin', Legendary, Resistance, Memory Regain, Umbra Witch, Naga, Aquatic, Hexblade Warlock, Dragon, Demon of Choice, Demon of Temptation, Affliction, Good Samaritan, Gallant, Rosannite Tactician, Leeroy, Dungeon, Apparition, Unwilling, Wildlife Commander, Consistent Kidnapee, Grenadier, Magic Creature, Alternating Mind Control, Sothis in the Mind, Exalt, Unicorn, Pegasus, Alicorn, Star Lord, Slenderman, Bird Laguz, Junk Dealer, Gate Guardian, Shaman, Ghostbuster, Exorcist, King, Soldier, Bird Wings, Failed Vessel, Of the Corn, Valentian, Harem, Car, Incubus, National Personification, Gravity Magic, Kraken, Zora, Kirby, Moon, Quadruplets, Unnoticed, Inventor, Bastilio's Kid, Treasure Hunter, Future, Mind-Swapping, Criminal, Hunter/Tracker, Biker, Gigantic Sword, Miracle, Medium, Warlord, Greater Good, Acrobat, Mother of Chrom, Soul Stealer, Mid War Memory Loss, Reverse Memory Loss, Sentient Item, Necron, ARMS, Naga's bride, Titan Sinkhole, Squire, Anti-Magic, Tomesmith, Dimensional Traveler.

Detective Robin, suggested by Invisible Prince. Goofy styles of Robin are always a lot of fun. This one is a complete moron, and it was entertaining to write him the whole way through.

Two figures walk down a hallway in the castle at a brisk pace, heading for the training grounds. The figure on the left is a short girl with light brown hair pulled up into pigtails and similarly-colored eyes. The figure on the right is male and slightly shorter than the girl. His right eye is a bright green and his left dull and glazed with some old burn tissue surrounding it. His hair is a dusty orange, with a silver streak above his blind eye. If one studied him closely, they might also notice he has a limp due to his left leg being prosthetic.

"It's really quite simple Cynthia." The man, named Robin, explains to her. "The large crack in the wall was covered up by a bush with some branches deliberately tied back to hide it, meaning it was intentionally hidden away! The damage is mostly on the inside, indicating it was not a breach attempt from an outside force!"

"Okay…" Cynthia nods. "So it was sabotage from the inside?"

Robin sticks up a finger in a 'I'm going to stop you there' sign. "Not so! You see, the damage is old. There's no sign of any leftover stone from the time of the time of the crack being created, and the ties holding the branches in the right place are slightly weathered as well! T'would be unnecessarily risky to sabotage so far in advance and simply hope no one would notice. In addition, the crack is near the training grounds. I think it most likely that someone accidentally damaged the wall while training!"

"Ohh, that makes sense!" Cynthia says. "Good catch."

"I know." Robin says with a confident grin. "And I also know who is responsible!"

"Who?" Cynthia asks eagerly. She has a few guesses of her own. Vaike certainly is reckless enough to do that, but Prince Chrom also has a reputation of destroying his surroundings when training, so he seems most likely.

"The one responsible is…" Robin pauses for a moment, drawing out the tension for dramatic effect. "Your very own mother! Sumia!"

Cynthia blinks in surprise. "Mother?" She asks hesitantly. How on Earth did he come to that conclusion.

"Indeed." Robin says. He has a grin on his face and his head held high. "It all makes sense! Who else has a reputation of being so clumsy?"

"Well…" That's not exactly wrong, Sumia is clumsy, but Cynthia is not convinced that's the answer to this particular mystery. "Mother-"

"Is also quite strong, I know." Robin interrupts, beaming with pride. "Clumsy and strong? We have our culprit Cynthia!"

"Mother is strong in the sense of fighting skill. Not so much raw power." Cynthia thinks to herself, but she says nothing. No need to rain on Robin's parade. He's having fun. "If you say so detective."

"I do!" Robin cries. "And now to confront her, and extract a confession! Only then can we consider this case truly resolved!"

"Oh dear." Cynthia purses her lips. "Um, Robin."

"Yes, assistant detective?"

"Are you sure there are no other possibilities?"

"Of course I am! I never misinterpret clues." Robin preens. "I am a master detective after all."

"Alright then." Cynthia says. "He's bringing this onto himself."

They walk over to Sumia and Frederick's room in the castle. Cynthia's room is actually directly next door. Frederick is probably out with Chrom somewhere, but Cynthia knows her mother doesn't have any duties at the moment and is probably in her room enjoying some reading she's been missing out on.

Robin confidently knocks on the door. Cynthia schools her expression to something neutral, prepared to watch Robin get totally shot down but not wanting to embarrass him by laughing. He is her friend after all.

Sumia answers the door rather quickly. "Oh, hello Robin; and you too dear, are you two having fun today?"

Robin smirks. "You cannot distract me from-"

"Yes." Cynthia interrupts. "Robin has been explaining a mystery he's solved."

"Oh, I see." Sumia smiles knowingly. "What part of that brings you here then?"

"Because you are the culprit!" Robin cries. "Confess now, and be spared more embarrassment!"

"You can't expect me to confess when I don't even know what I'm being accused of." Sumia smiles.

"You are responsible for causing that crack in the castle wall around the training grounds!" Robin accuses. "You're the only one clumsy enough to do that!"

"I'm afraid I'm not quite sure what you're talking about." Sumia says honestly. "I wasn't even aware there was a crack in the wall. You should probably tell Chrom about that."

"Oh." Robin visibly deflates. All his bravado leaves him in an instant. "Okay, I'll do that."

"I'm sure you'll figure out who the real culprit was." Sumia reassures. Cynthia is fairly sure her mother is trying not to laugh. Like mother like daughter, they both find Robin quite amusing and cute.

Cute in different respects, but that's neither here nor there at the moment.

As Robin and Cynthia leave Sumia to her reading, Robin wracks his mind, trying to figure out what went wrong. "I don't understand Cynthia, I put all the clues together perfectly! I'm the city's best detective, and I was… wrong!"

"Oh no, how normal." Cynthia thinks with a silent roll of her eyes.

"If it is not Sumia, it must be someone with similar traits." Robin concludes. "Who else is clumsy and strong and either lives at or frequently comes to the castle?"

"Perhaps it is the prin-"

"The princess, exactly!" Robin smiles. "Lissa!"

"...what?"

"We saw her not a few days ago, practicing with axes!" Robin announces, clearly proud of his deduction. "She accidentally chipped the weapon rack with a reckless swing. She makes perfect sense!"

"Except, just like Mother, she's not that physically strong." Cynthia thinks silently. "Robin…"

"I know, I'm incredible, but hold your praise until after the confrontation Cynthia." Robin says with a wide smile.

"Okay then." Cynthia says. "Should we tell the Prince about this too? Mother did suggest we do that."

"We shall do it after a confession has been extracted from Lissa!"

"If you say so."

Just as Cynthia expected, Lissa isn't responsible. It's only when they finally talk to Chrom that they learn that he was responsible, just like Cynthia had suspected.

###

Robin's genius knows no bounds! Through the power of his expert deduction skills, he has figured out exactly what Cynthia wants most for a birthday gift!

Cynthia, much like her mother, is an avid reader. Robin knows this! He has seen her doing reading before when he occasionally comes to find her in the morning in her room. Not only that, but she spoke about some of her favourite books when they were sent shopping before!

But Robin wasn't done yet! He needed more information! He made sure to borrow Cynthia's favourite books to determine exactly what Cynthia likes about them in order to find the best book to gift to her that would be closest to her tastes.

All of Cynthia's favourite books were romance novels, but Robin isn't fooled! He noticed how all of those novels contained fantastical elements! Dragons, unrealistic magic, and all sorts of fantastic creatures like manticores, chimeras, elves and dwarves and so on! Romance novels they may be, but Robin, using his expert and infallible deductive reasoning, knows that what Cynthia really wants is a fantasy adventure story! Why else would her favorite tales contain those elements, sometimes at the expense of the romance itself?

Not only that but Robin is well aware of Cynthia's activities in the Justice Cabal, where fantasy settings are commonplace for their roleplay! It all adds up, there's no other possible explanation! Robin has read Cynthia's mind like a book!

"Genius Robin. Utter genius. The true work of a master detective." Robin congratulates himself. He brought all his intelligence to bear to get his companion the perfect gift, and he has succeeded wildly! He has no doubt that this gift will amaze Cynthia into speechlessness, as she will be in awe that he read between the lines and understood not just the obvious signs that point to her enjoying romance, but the deeper truth hidden behind her words and in the pages of her favourite novels.

Not only did Robin figure out which genre Cynthia really wanted, but he also put in extensive effort to find the perfect novel in that genre. He made sure he wouldn't be giving her any doubles of novels she already had, or anything Sumia has either as Cynthia has mentioned before that she borrows her mother's books. He asked for recommendations from every bookstore he could find and narrowed down the most critically acclaimed action adventure story he could find that Cynthia didn't already own.

He put as much effort into this gift as he would a battle plan, and that's why he's so completely confident it is the perfect gift! No clue was left unaccounted for!

For Cynthia's birthday celebration, many people show up, if just for an hour of two. Cynthia will admit that she looks forward to her gifts a bit more than she should. She can't be blamed! Who doesn't like getting gifts? Mother always gives great gifts as well, as does Severa and Owain. She likes getting gifts from Robin too, though his gifts tend to be… misguided. Not bad, they're usually still good gifts, but they're all just a bit off.

For someone who is an "expert detective" he sure does get a whole lot of things wrong. Cynthia doesn't get how he can be so smart yet always overlook something vital or go too far in his logic when trying to solve a mystery.

So Cynthia waits through her celebration, enjoying the food and company and cake, before they finally get to the gifts. She isn't exactly surprised when her father gets her a new set of armor for herself and her pegasus. He's always very practical. Mother's gift is a set of romance novels she's been trying to get her hands on for a while new (Cynthia suspects the gift is as much for her mother as herself, as Sumia has wanted an excuse to buy the expensive series for awhile now as well, but Cynthia isn't about to complain). Owain gives her a brave lance he's named "Crimson Whisper" (because the accents on the shaft are crimson you see) which Cynthia happily accepts (and resolves to just call it "Whisper" because it sounds less outlandish that way). Lastly, before Robin, Severa gifts her a very nice dress that has Cynthia's father raising his eyebrows at the short skirt length and not-so-conservative neckline. Cynthia is overjoyed with it though, and Sumia giggles and approves when she sees it displayed.

Robin's gift is also a book. A very large book in fact. Cynthia knows Robin is aware of her preferences when it comes to novels, she let him borrow her favourite series after all, so she's curious how he's going to misinterpret what she likes this time. A quick glance at the title and synopsis tells her exactly how. It's clearly a fantasy adventure novel, and a very famous one at that. Cynthia has been considering trying it out for a while, but the high price tag always dissuaded her, and combined with the fact that she's more partial to romance than fantasy only solidified that decision.

Clearly Robin assumed she liked fantasy over romance somehow. Maybe because there were so many fantastical elements to her favourite series? Either way, she's not at all surprised, but she accepts the gift graciously and lets Robin assume he succeeded. No need to embarrass her friend in front of a crowd after all.

###

All things considered, Cynthia would like to think she isn't subtle. She's not exactly trying to be subtle either, but somehow Robin is still completely oblivious to her various attempts to charm him.

She's not doing something vague like expecting him to read random intricacies of her body language, or understand that "I want to be alone" really means "please comfort me" (which is actually something Severa tried, and it didn't work because Brady, like most people, can't read minds and did the polite thing of leaving her alone like she asked).

No. Cynthia has been a bit more obvious than that. Ignoring the fact that she spends most of her free time with him, she… well, maybe the point will be made better when showing rather than telling.

Contrary to popular belief, Robin does not spend all his time failing to solve mysteries. Sometimes he and Cynthia do normal things like talk about hobbies. Right now they're sitting against a tree in the courtyard.

"People-watching is a very important hobby for any aspiring detective." Robin says. "I sometimes do it on my days off. Any good detective needs to understand the psychology of the people around him."

"That sounds like fun!" Cynthia says. People are weird, so she can imagine just watching people would be entertaining.

"It is!" Robin agrees. "One can improve their analytical skills while simply sitting in place."

"We should do it sometime then." Cynthis suggests. "Just us."

"Do not be absurd!" Robin gasps in exaggerated surprise. "Two people? That would draw far too much attention! A detective must be discrete!"

"Ah, alright." Cynthia murmurs. So much for that idea. "Well, for me, I like going through skit ideas before I present them to Owain for when we do Justice Cabal stuff. It's nice to have some idea of what you're doing before you start, though we do improv sometimes."

"That sounds cool!" Robin says. "Have you gotten some good ideas from that?"

"Of course! I'm creative!" Cynthia huffs. "Are you trying to imply I can't come up with good ideas?"

"Of course not!" Robin says. "I have full faith in your creativity."

"You know though…" Cynthia says slowly. "You'd probably fit in well with the Justice Cabal, and if you wanted to you could totally come over and we could brainstorm together."

"I wouldn't want to interrupt your private time." Robin says with a shake of his head. "And I would not want to intrude on your activities with Owain. That would be quite rude of me."

Cynthia would like to say this is a one-time thing, but Robin always seems to deftly avoid any and all of her attempts to spend more time with him. Not out of malice, but sheer dumbfounding obliviousness and luck.

Those aren't the only hints he somehow manages to miss entirely despite usually being rather astute (even if he usually misinterprets what he notices). Her suggesting they stop for lunch while shopping? No, it's a waste of money and they're expected back at the castle soon. Cynthia wearing something nice and eye-catching? Oh, she must be going somewhere today and they should cut their usual activities short so she's not late, even though Robin should know full well she has nowhere to be anytime soon because they always talk through their schedules a day or two in advance.

Does Robin think her Mother keeps deciding to do things last minute? Is that it? Or is Robin's memory just that bad?

One thing is for sure, he's an expert at dodging any and all of her attempts to flirt with him, and it's mildly infuriating.

"When it comes to people-watching, I need to pay particular attention to women." Robin says sagely. "They tend to be much more complicated than men, and a good detective needs to know the female mind."

"And you're failing on all fronts there Rob." Cynthia sighs. "Really? So you can tell what I'm thinking then?"

"You think… that you're busy, and need to be somewhere!" Robin says. "I can tell because you just sighed, and seem tired, so I'm boring you. Sorry to keep you then."

He gives her a polite nod, then leaves. Cynthia groans to the sky and flops into grass. Of course he noticed that, and misinterpret it to think she was tired of him, but somehow didn't see her extremely blatant attempts to spend more time with him.

###

Cynthia is a good friend, of this Robin is certain. Who else would accompany him on all his extremely important detective cases where he solves the mysteries of the Ylissian Royal Palace? Who else would spend their free time in his company, simply for the pleasure of conversation with all other things being a bonus?

Yes, for certain, Robin holds Cynthia in very high regard. That is why he spent so much effort in finding her the perfect gift, of which he is certain she must have been ecstatic to receive! Robin feels slightly lucky that the war with Grima was over in time for Cynthia's birthday, else the Shepherds would have been on the move and he would have had to settle for a lesser gift, and that would not do for such a valued companion who has enriched his life both on and off the battlefield!

(He'd rather not think about the number of times Cynthia had to swoop to his rescue because he could not see a foe approaching. Losing sight in his left eye was much more of a detriment than he expected, and he still hasn't fully gotten used to moving around with his prosthetic despite his months of practice.)

In any case, it is only natural he bring his incredible intelligence to bear in understanding his companion! If anyone deserves to be understood and their wishes respected, it is she. Robin has learned much over the last year on behaviour and motives from watching others, and he has applied those lessons in their fullest in order to be a good friend!

Most of those lessons are simple and common sense. Always be kind, be inclusive, don't forget birthdays, simple things like that. Some specific cases, however, Robin has learned from observing other people and applying those lessons he saw when they occur with Cynthia.

Most of these lessons he admittedly learned from watching Severa. For example, Severa has a hobby of dressmaking. She's quite a talented seamstress, which from what Robin can tell is something she learned to do when opportunities to shop became sparse but she still wanted nice clothes, so she started making it herself. More importantly, she was always vocally opposed to anyone else being around when she was sewing. She did not want to teach and she did not want company, and the one time she allowed company from her mother she was noticeably more irritated afterwards.

That was Robin's first lesson from her: never intrude on someone's hobby. People value their alone time, and it is rude to try and take that away from them. Even if they invite you to participate, refuse, because they are simply being polite and you are still intruding.

The second important lesson has to do with appearance, and the purpose of changing appearance. Severa would sometimes wear her creations, or other outfits she had managed to purchase from elsewhere. Robin at first, naturally, thought the purpose of changing her outfit was to draw attention and compliments.

Not so! In fact, she did not seem to want attention at all! Both Cordelia and Inigo both offered compliments, and Severa angrily rejected them! She went on to claim that she was wearing the dress "for herself" and did not want their insincere compliments. In addition, she would snap at Inigo, Brady, or really anyone just for looking at her for too long, and she always knew that they were seeing some fault in her appearance.

That was Robin's second lesson: Never stare, especially when someone is wearing something new, because it is rude! They are wearing their new outfit for personal reasons, and not so you can scrutinize them. Compliments and criticism are both unwanted, so say nothing and look elsewhere! This does not only apply to new outfits though. It is generally rude to stare, and Robin can empathize with that. People stare at him all the time because of his burn scar and blind eye, and he certainly doesn't appreciate that.

Robin then brought these lessons to bear when Cynthia became a constant companion! She was always happy to talk about her hobbies, and Robin would show interest as of course he wanted to know more about his good friend, but when those polite invitations were offered he remembered his lessons and refused! He even explained why so there would be no miscommunication!

Similarly, as of recent Cynthia began to experiment with her outfit, and Robin, being the polite friend he is, remembered what he learned from Severa and completely ignored it and avoided making any sort of comment! Comments are unwelcome, and staring is rude! Although he has to admit some of her outfits were rather distracting for… reasons… and it if he's not wrong it almost seemed like Cynthia was intentionally trying to catch someone's attention with them sometimes.

So Robin, naturally, concluded it must be a test! One he passed with flying colours by sticking to his resolve! Though, admittedly, he did sometimes take an early exit whenever he found an outfit particularly distracting. Better to cut their time together short than risk staring, even if he did have to use a flimsy excuse to do so. At the very least Cynthia has never called him out on that excuse.

The point is, education is important! If he had not taken the time to learn, he would have made all the wrong moves and surely ruined a very valuable friendship! He has his people-watching skills to thank for that, which is why he now knows that people-watching is vital for any good detective because it allows one to learn and analyze the behaviours of others!

###

A new mystery is afoot and one which he, Robin, the city's best detective, is the center of!

The clues are sparse, consisting of a pegasus feather quill found on his bedside table alongside a nice new notebook that's bound with dark leather and has intricate patterns stitched into the cover in black thread. A fitting book for a detective!

Robin can deduce a few things from his clues, more specifically from the pegasus feather.

For one, whoever dropped this off has access to his room, or at least knows someone with access to his room. Second of all, the pegasus feather has to be a hint! They could have gone with any other feather, including others of higher quality that are much less expensive and difficult to obtain than pegasus feathers.

The list of people that have access to his room is short. It consists of some of the cleaning staff, and Emmeryn with her master key to all the doors in the castle, and Frederick (who has all the keys the servants have).

Robin ponders this information as he fiddles with the quill. He has been at a meeting that went well past lunch and just ended now, about twenty minutes before dinner. That means he doesn't know when this person got into his room.

"A mysterious gift with unknown significance!" Robin muses. "Or so they thought! But I am too smart for that! Clearly this gift… is actually a challenge! It is to mock me for my inability to ride a pegasus! A declaration of female dominance!"

It all makes sense! Someone is jealous of his incredible intelligence, and thinks he is invalidating them by… erm… by… Cynthia! Of course! It's his incredible intelligence and Cynthia that this person is jealous of! Not only is he an expert detective, but he has the approval and support of a powerful pegasus knight, and this other mystery individual disagrees strongly with this sentiment, and therefore taunts him with this "gift", claiming that his successes are not his own and only due to Cynthia's support!

"I will show them just how incredibly intelligent I am!" Robin smiles to himself. "I will solve this mystery without even telling Cynthia about it, and then I can amaze her later with my fantastic deductions!"

A brilliant plan by an even more brilliant detective! Cynthia will be amazed that he could do such a thing without any sort of aid!

Though… now that he thinks of it, usually it is only him who makes deductions and she just listens, so his solutions are all his own in the first place. Perhaps he needs to be a bit more inclusive in the future, because that would mean Cynthia is effectively not doing anything most of the time and just listening to him talk. He needs to do better by Cynthia.

In any case, his success will still be amazing and she will be impressed!

"Who would want to send me a challenge?" Robin asks himself. That seems like a logical place to start. "Perhaps Sumia? Perhaps she feels like I am taking advantage of her daughter's incredible incredibleness? The pegasus feather would be very fitting in that case, for mother and daughter. A similar case could be said for Cordelia or Phila, who might also disapprove of me taking advantage of Cynthia."

Phila seems unlikely. If she had a problem with him she'd tell him directly or bring the issue to Emmeryn. That leaves Cordelia and Sumia, and out of the two Sumia is the obvious choice. She must disapprove of him exploiting her daughter. She could also get the keys to his room from her husband. Clearly, obviously! Robin doesn't know how he didn't expect this before! He should have seen coming from miles away!

The logical thing to do now is to confront Sumia, and show he has overcome her trivial challenge and proven his unbridled genius and detective skills!

"It always comes back to Sumia!" Robin says to himself, smiling with all the smugness of a god lording over his domain. "I should have known, I do know! Haha, this victory will be sweet!"

When he knocks on Sumia's door he feels supremely confident. Sumia, on the other hand, looks rather confused. She looks like she was just in the middle of preparing to leave for something important, maybe a fancy dinner? That would explain the sleek dress, though her hair doesn't look styled yet. He must have interrupted her in the middle of that. "Robin? What are you doing here?"

"I've figured out your challenge!" Robin announces. "And I have succeeded, as you are clearly the one who issued the challenge!"

"What challenge?"

"The pegasus feather quill and notebook!" Robin announces. "Clearly a challenge, with the quill representing female superiority because I, as a male, cannot ride a pegasus! It also has the additional meaning of implying that Cynthia is the only reason for my successes, and-"

"Robin." Sumia interrupts, and places a hand on his shoulder that effectively shuts him up. "Did you look on the first page of the notebook?"

"I- no. I didn't." Robin says. "Why does that-?"

"Do it, now." Sumia urges, and lightly pushes him back towards his room. "You're going to be late."

"Late? Late for what?" Robin asks in confusion. He was wrong? A message on the first page? How did he miss that?

"Go." Sumia insists, and Robin stumbles his first step before scrambling back to his room.

"And you are sure you approve of him?" Frederick asks with a sigh as he comes up behind his wife and casts a judging look on Robin's retreating form.

"He means well dear. He's a bit of a fool-"

"That is an understatement."

"-or maybe a complete idiot." Sumia acquiesces. "But if Cynthia likes him, Robin wants the best for her, then who are we to interfere?"

"We could insist Cynthia raise her standards." Frederick grumbles. "Or that she find someone who won't bumble so much that she has to take the lead herself."

"Dear…"

"I won't say anything." Frederick sighs. He hugs his wife from behind. "Cynthia is an adult. She can choose for herself."

Robin, in the meantime, is rushing back to his room to see this vital clue that he missed. A threat? Was the pegasus quill a red herring? Is his challenger actually a writer, hence the quill? Or does the notebook itself have some symbolism he missed? Clearly he got the wrong person!

When he gets to his room, he nearly slips on his carpet as he moves to the notebook and flips open the front cover to see the message within.

"The Noble Sword, seven o'clock."

The Noble Sword is a restaurant. It's not particularly expensive, but not cheap either. Perhaps the name is significant? A sword… is his challenger a sword user? A sword user with a connection to pegasus knights. Severa. Of course. Severa makes perfect sense! She must want to challenge him because she doesn't believe in his detective skills!

He's also going to be late, so he needs to run.

###

Cynthia is starting to have second thoughts.

She assumed her hint was obvious enough this time that even Robin couldn't misinterpret it, and even if he did he'd come to the appointed spot anyway and she'd be able to explain. She didn't account for him flat-out not showing up.

She thought her plan was well thought out this time. Just enough of a mystery to engage him, just for a bit of fun, but with the failsafe of an appointed time and place so no matter whether he properly interpreted the clue or not he'd show up and she'd be able to set things straight.

Cynthia is glad, at the very least, that she didn't make a reservation and waste her money. She's also starting to think she might need to yell in Robin's face that she's into him while shaking him violently before he actually gets the message.

Or maybe he'll overthink it and come to some other random conclusion and she'll have to clarify that, no, this was not an elaborate trick to… she doesn't know. Robin comes to some really random conclusions sometimes.

She's about to outright leave when Robin comes rushing to the restaurant entrance, out of breath, with… a sword? Why does he have his sword? Cynthia is almost afraid to ask what he thinks is happening.

"Cynthia!" Robin calls out as he approaches her. "What are you doing here? Did you receive word of the challenge I was issued?"

"What challenge?"

"I received a pegasus quill and a notebook." Robin says. "And it informed me to be here at seven. I had originally not seen the message, so I was a bit delayed. Is Severa here?"

"Why would Severa be here?"

"Because this place is The Noble Sword, and it was a pegasus quill. So who do we know that has a connection to swords and pegasi? Severa! And the pegasus quill was clearly also a declaration of female dominance, reminding me of my incapability of riding a pegasus, and also implying that you are the only reason for my successes and that I must solve this mystery on my own!"

Cynthia stares at him for a solid three seconds, sighs deeply, and then grabs him by the arm and leads him to the restaurant. "That's not what's happening."

"It isn't?" Robin asks in shock. "Do you know something about the challenge?!"

"I gave you those gifts and wrote in the notebook."

"You challenged me?!"

Cynthia is consistently dumbfounded by the mental gymnastics Robin will go through to avoid obvious conclusions. Perhaps he has a complexity addiction. "It's not a challenge Robin."

"It isn't?" Robin frowns. "Then are you declaring your superiority?"

"No." Cynthia says flatly. "Robin, this isn't that hard."

"Then it's… it's…" Robin wracks his mind, but comes up short. What could it possibly be?

"Robin, this is a date." Cynthia says firmly. "That's what this is."

Robin freezes in place. Cynthia can see a variety of emotions cross his face in a matter of seconds. Confusion, shock, surprise… and it eventually settles on something she thinks is disbelief. "Oh."

That's not quite the reaction Cynthia was hoping for, but all things considered she's not surprised. "Is it really so surprising? I wasn't even subtle Robin! Did you think all those times I wore a cute dress in front of you when you knew I had nowhere else to be was an accident?"

"Not exactly." Robin says. "I assumed you were doing it for yourself and my seeing it was incidental."

Cynthia isn't quite sure what she expected, but that seems very in-line from what she's come to expect of Robin. "Well it wasn't. It was totally intentional."

"Oh." Robin frowns. "Why?"

"Why wouldn't I want to show myself off to someone I'm into?" Cynthia huffs.

"Show off?" Robin says, confused. "You want people to look at you?"

"I want you to look at me, yes." Cynthia says. "This isn't a hard concept Robin!"

"But I don't get it." Robin admits. "I know I wouldn't want people staring at me."

"You wouldn't? No one?" Cynthia questions.

"Of course not!" Robin says. He points to his blind eye and the scar tissue around it, and then his prosthetic leg. "My disabilities are not entertainment for others!"

"Who said people would be staring at your eye or your leg?"

"What else is there to look at?" Robin asks honestly, and clearly intending it as a rhetorical question. "I mean maybe my coat, it is a great coat, but aside from that there's nothing."

"I disagree." Cynthia says instantly. There's plenty to look at, she would know, and it's not like appearance is everything in the first place. "I like looking at you after all."

From Robin's expression you'd think she just told him that the earth is actually a pyramid and not a sphere. He really shouldn't be this shocked in Cynthia's opinion. Did he always think he was this repulsive to look at? How did this never come up before?

"Look, we can talk about this later." Cynthia huffs. "I'm getting hungry, and you must be too. Let's eat, alright?"

"Alright." Robin agrees quietly. "Let's eat."

I feel like this chapter could have benefited from being much longer. I think I didn't do Cynthia enough justice here. Because she was playing straight-man to Robin, her usual bubbly personality didn't get a chance to shine. Still, I liked this chapter.

devo342: :D

LoveGlutton: Indeed!

Firehedgehog: Not really. I'll put it down though.

Kyroshiroryuu: It is a great mental image. A cat was exactly what I had in mind actually!

carsonclaudelindsey: I'm not good with numbers. She's not even up to his knee so… maybe a foot and a half? She's really small.