The World of Awakening, or perhaps 'worlds' would be a more accurate moniker, as one world is always doomed to fail so that another may have a chance at living. In the altered timelines that survive, the actions of Chrom, Robin, and a displaced Lucina would echo throughout history as the key factors in averting the catastrophe that was Grima. We all know the story (and have our own preferences for the nature of the trio's relations to one another), but today we take a glimpse at our heroes in a certain world long after their battle is won. Where they all were able to live their lives free from the burdens they shouldered during the story we've all seen time and time again (and Robin and Lucina get together, this IS a Robcina Week story after all).
Robin woke up to the most breathtaking sight in the world as he almost always did; his beautiful wife Lucina who's looks captivated the snowy haired man even after nearly thirty years together. Her chest gently rose and fell with each breath she took, safe and sound in a world that hadn't seen a major conflict since the Fall of Grima all those years ago. A few strands of graying blue hair rested on her nose as she slept and a few extra lines marked her face as time continued forward, but he knew Lucina was glad to have a chance to grow old. Robin never disturbed Lucina from her slumber, even if it occasionally caused them to run behind schedule. He still remembered the first few years when she'd have trouble sleeping, first from the trauma of Grima, then from fear of losing him again. Even after all this time Robin could never bring himself to cut her rest short.
Such a state would not last long, as Lucina awoke with a yawn and saw her dashing Robin staring back at her with pure adoration in his eyes. He chuckled as she came to her senses, always lighting up whenever they saw each other after any time apart. Time seemed to affect Robin less due to his hair being naturally white. He definitely didn't move like he used to, her poor hubby suffering from back problems in recent years. Nothing debilitating, but it was something they had to keep in mind now. Robin also had a more noticeable crow's feet around his eyes, which Lucina teased was from all the extra reading he did over the years. She wrapped her arms around him like she always did when she woke up next to him. The love radiating off of Robin never ceased to warm her heart, which had made for a wonderful way to start many of her days.
"Good morning my love."
Robin was the first to break the silence. No matter how many times he said those words, Lucina had never grown tired of hearing them.
"And good morning to you my darling."
Lucina's voice was still a little raspy from just waking up. Her husband reached over to move the strands of hair from her face, giving him an unobstructed view of the woman he loved more than the world. The two shared a quick kiss then snuggled together. Once the happy couple was positioned in a wonderfully cosy way they simply laid there together, content to bask in each other's presence. All good things must come to an end eventually however, as Robin began to stir from Lucina's embrace.
"Just a few more minutes darling~" Lucina whined as she reached for her lover.
"Normally I would my love, but we have plans for today. Surely you haven't forgotten?"
Lucina knew what he was talking about, but she wanted her cozy hubby more than that now.
"We've been a little late before. Besides, what's Father going to do; shun his loving daughter and best friend/son in law?" she patted his spot on the bed, beckoning Robin to return to her.
Robin shook his head and smiled. His wife had a point.
Once the two fifty somethings finished their lay in, they got up and prepared to set out for the day. Robin continued to wear the same style of cloak he had when Chrom and Lissa found him in a field all those years ago. Lucina never lost her iconic fashion sense despite having learned about fifteen years ago that many found it off putting. Robin never seemed to mind, so Lucina still had the same brightly colored dresses with clashing highlights and patterns of them. However today she opted to wear a plain white blouse with a brooch resembling daisies. With the pair dressed, they made their way outside into the woods that surrounded their home, where the first bunch of family they'd see today awaited.
"Gramma and Grampa!" yelled a trio of blue haired younguns as they charged the aged couple.
Luckily Robin was prepared with a charm he'd developed alongside Tharja for the overzealous grandchildren. As they were about to crash into their grandparents, they began to slow down and float a few inches (about ten centimeters for those of you who hate freedom) off the ground as they let out shrieks of excitement.
"Looks like it works." smirked Robin
"I had no doubt darling." Lucina smiled back as they approached the still floating children who were now reaching for the ground.
"Did you do this Grampa?" said Marshall, the oldest of the floating kids.
He was six years old and already had his mother's boundless energy and optimism. He had his blue hair cut short and wore a dark tunic with leggings to match, he also had a mole on his left cheek.
"I did, considering how last time you did this it sent me tumbling over you." Robin said as he ruffled Marshal's hair.
"Please let me down! They DRAGGED me into this!" bellowed the middle child of the group; Francine.
She was five years old. While physically resembling a much younger Lucina with shorter hair and some scattered freckles, but inherited most of her personality from her mother. She often tried, and failed, to be the voice of reason among the three older grandchildren, but Marshall's energy always won out in the end. Francine wore a green dress with long black socks, complimented by a Yellow bow in her hair.
"Boys. What did we tell you about forcing your cousin into your antics?" Lucina faux scolded.
"She never said 'no'!" cried out Matthew, the youngest of the trio.
Younger than both his brother Marshall and his cousin Francine, Matthew was only four. He adored his older brother, and wholeheartedly supported whatever idea he came up with for the trio. His outfit was entirely orange (his favorite color) and he had curly blue hair in contrast to his brother's short and straight hair.
"That doesn't mean you get to make her go along with whatever you two want. We need to be nice to each other." Robin explained as he pulled out the charm from his pocket. "If you two say you're sorry to Franny and promise to calm down, I'll cancel the spell."
"We promise." said Marshall and Matthew in unison.
"And?" Lucina reminded them.
"We're sorry Franny."
Francine just floated there with a nervous look on her face while Robin dispelled the charm's effect. The two boys moved toward their grandfather to hug his legs while Francine walked over to her grandmother and squeezed her hand. Lucina looked down to see a smile bloom on her eldest granddaughter's face which made her own grow even bigger. She still had a hard time believing all this was real sometimes. Her family, her world, her husband, they were more than she could ever imagine when she was still in her original world. The former warrior felt a tear run down her cheek and Francine started to worry.
"Is something wrong Gramma?"
"No Francine, things couldn't be more right." replied Lucina as she lifted her granddaughter in her arms and walked towards Robin and the boys.
As she drew close, they all heard someone running towards them. The group turned towards the noise and saw Laurent stopping to catch his breath. The two boys shouted for their dad and ran to him just in time for Laurent to brace himself as they slammed into him much like they would have done to their grandfather. Having grown up in a peaceful world, this Laurent didn't have the moderately trained body his alternate counterpart from Lucina's timeline needed to survive in combat. Thankfully that wouldn't get him killed in this world, but it left him vulnerable to his energetic sons who showed no restraint in showing their love and affection for their father. Lucina smiled and tilted her head down toward her granddaughter.
"I think it's time for you to go save your uncle."
As Lucina put Francine down to plead with her other grandchildren for some kind of sanity, she saw Morgan not far behind him with a grin that reached both her ears watching the chaos unfold. While still a daddy's girl like her alternate self, this Morgan wore her hair down and dressed like her mother (minus the deranged fashion sense, only the other Morgan inherited that). Her devious nature was still as strong as her "big sister's" though. She loved watching her two boys nearly flatten her husband, though at the moment there was more to this maneuver than just her usual trickery. If one were to look below her chest, they would see a prominent baby bump on her belly. They were expecting the next member of their family in a month or so now, so Morgan couldn't afford to take a frontal assault from her two sons right now. Francine made it over and convinced her cousins to let their father get up while Morgan congratulated her kids on a successful ambush. Even though Laurent was brushing the dirt off his clothes, he couldn't help but smile. He loved his wife's brilliant mind and his sons' eagerness to have fun, and if that meant he took the brunt of their love, he was happy to do so. Robin and Lucina took in the sight of their daughter and her happy family. Their little girl had grown up, and they couldn't be more proud of her.
While the middle aged couple looked on with pride, they failed to notice a figure slowly approaching from behind. He was a young man with blue hair, wearing a purple tunic with one sleeve missing which showed off his muscular arm. He wasn't bulging with muscles, but they clearly showed his preference for swordplay over magic. His lower half was adorned with black graves and gray pants which were fashioned similar to his father's. Unlike the playful sneakiness that Morgan had arrived with, he moved carefully so as to not disturb either of the sleeping babes he carried. When he was no more than ten feet from Robin and Lucina, the man cleared his breath and introduced themselves.
"Hello Mother, Father. I see Franny's here with Morgan's family."
"Marc!" Lucina said as she turned to face her boy "So glad to see you. And our newest grandchildren."
In Marc's arms were his and Noire's infant twins; Daniel and Madelynn. They were only born a few months ago now but Francine adored her younger brother and sister like nothing else. The two little bundles of joy with soft tufts of blue hair slept peacefully as the three adults looked at them with adoration. Noticing that her younger siblings were now here, Francine took on a much more assertive attitude with her cousins.
"Okay! You two better knock it off now before you wake my baby brother and sister up, or I'll shut you up myself!"
Hearing that their baby cousins were now a part of the equation, both boys ceased playing rough with their father immediately and stood calmly next to their parents. About a month ago, they had woken the twins up from a nap while wrestling near their cribs which resulted in the babies bawling. When Francine heard her siblings crying louder than ever, she stormed into the room, dragged her cousins out, and yelled at them in a way that scared them more than either of their parents could. Ever since then Marshall and Matthew never dared do anything that might frighten or upset their baby cousins, lest they earn the ire of the normally timid Francine again. Morgan snickered at her boys as she led them and her husband towards the others. Francine made her way over the fastest while making sure not to wake the twins from their nap. She hugged her father's leg and looked up at him and the babies.
"Well now that everyone's together we should make our way to Noire so we can get going. Grandma, Grandpa, and everyone else should be getting started soon." Marc said.
"I still think you'd be missing someone!" a voice from seemingly nowhere chimed in.
Morgan's face lit up with joy as everyone looked around for the source of the voice. Then in the middle of the group warped in a cloaked woman with long blue hair not dissimilar to Lucina's.
"I can't believe you were gonna leave out your cool Auntie Mo-Mo!"
The Morgan who was already there rushed to hug her big sister, who was also her alternate self. She grew up adoring her big sister, who never ceased to amaze her with tales from her travels around the world. Not finding herself interested in romance or anything of the sort, the older Morgan poured all her energy into traveling all around in search of new texts and techniques to sharpen both mind and magical abilities. She still wore her tacitian's cloak, but had it remade to match the color of the tunic her mother wore when Morgan had first arrived in this timeline. She retained her hair color better than Lucina, though if one looked closely they could see the color begin to gray. The alter-Morgan also wore a few trinkets she'd collected from her adventures, many of which she claimed enhanced her already potent abilities or warded off malicious entities like Risen. Even after thirty or so years Morgan had remained the same rambunctious girl she was when she first crashed into her families' lives.
"I don't think we could ever forget you Morgan." Robin spoke in a tone that somehow conveyed both love and exhaustion.
"Indeed" Lucina added "I'll never forget my daughter who is only a few years younger than myself."
"Good! Now that that's out of the way, let's all meet up with Noire and the rest!"
"Wait, what do you mean Noire and-"
Before her younger brother could finish, the older Morgan raised her hand and enveloped the rest of her family in a bright light before they all disappeared entirely.
Any magic involving teleportation was unpleasant to experience firsthand, not to mention incredibly taxing on both caster and target of such spells. That's why Robin only implemented it in the most dire of circumstances during his tenure as the Shepherds' tactician. As the very same former tactician now stumbled over himself as the light dissipated and revealed a very different surrounding. Gone were the thick trees and scattered rays of sunlight piercing through the roof of the forest, and in their place were wide open plains with the sun pouring its light on the scenery with abundance. Robin would have admired the landscape if he weren't busy picking himself off the ground. To his left he could hear Lucina cursing under her breath as she stumbled to her feet, she always hated teleportation spells. The sounds of Laurent offering assistance weren't far off, with the kids exclaiming with either joy (Morgan's boys) or fear (Francine), and finally the cackling of both his gremlin daughters could be heard. The older Morgan stood triumphantly with Marc and Noire's twins safely in her two arms while the younger one had almost doubled over in laughter at her parents.
Cough* *cough* "Well, that answers one question." Robin said as he moved to help his wife up. "Now what did you mean about-"
"ARE YOU CRAZY! GIVE ME THE TWINS BACK!" Marc shouted as his alter sister wore a carefree expression.
"Relax, I just wanted to show off my newest charm!" she motioned to a purple necklace which suddenly ceased glowing. "It stabilizes the magic used to transport the wearer and anyone younger than thirteen, so there's no risk to the kids."
Marc breathed a sigh of relief in seeing that neither Francine or the twins were harmed. The twins hadn't even stirred, somehow remaining asleep through their father's yelling also. Francine was a little startled, but no real harm was done.
"Fine Mo-mo, just don't scare me like that again." Marc received the twins from his devious sister "I assume you did the same to Noire?"
"Yep! She was much more cool about it. Why couldn't you focus more on magic like her?"
Marc shrugged and turned to his parents and nodded apologetically.
"My apologies for yelling on such a special day."
"It's fine Marc" Lucina put a hand on her son's shoulder "your sister really shouldn't have surprised us like that."
The older Morgan's smile quickly faded at the sight of the one thing that she was scared of: her mother's anger. A quiet "sorry" was all she muttered as she approached her mother. Lucina's scowl softened at the sight of her eldest daughter looking so down.
"It's ok Morgan, just no teleportation without asking us first."
She pulled her daughter in for a hug which Robin wasted no time joining. Lucina remembered when Morgan first came into their lives. Robin and her were just a young couple learning to navigate what just might be the most complicated relationship of all time, when this blue haired ball of mischief appeared out of nowhere and only made things harder to understand. The older woman wouldn't change a single thing though, nothing could be better than the crazy family she had. Speaking of, Lucina could swear she heard the sound of someone approaching. The three broke up their group hug and saw Noire making her way to Marc.
"Oh Marc, I missed you my love!"
The Noire of this world turned out much differently than the one in Lucina's. After seeing what her other self had done to her daughter, Tharja swore that she'd never harm her daughter in any conceivable way. Keeping the younger Noire away from any curse or hex, she instead showered her with love and affection, as well as all sorts of treats. Noire wasn't huge or anything, she just had a noticeable layer of softness to her figure. She wore the garb of a mage colored silver to match her hair, with just a touch of her Plegian ancestry in how her black cloak reached closer to the ground. In keeping with her other self she had a feather on her head, but instead of being held up in a headband it was nestled in the gap between her head and left ear. She carried herself with a quiet confidence, but Noire never had difficulty expressing the love she felt for family. Noire wrapped her husband and their babies with a gentle hug as their eldest ran to join them.
"I see Morgan brought you, your sister, your parents, and all the kids here in one piece."
Marc kissed his wife on the forehead and answered. "In her own Mo-Mo way, she did."
"Please don't let her do that again Mama. My entire life flashed before my eyes!" Francine cried as she hugged her mother tighter.
"But you were a brave girl as always. And you made sure your little brother and sister were safe like you always do." Noire responded.
Francine's face softened as Noire smiled at her daughter, she always knew how to cheer her little girl up.
"And Morgan got you all here late, as usual."
The group turned to see the older Marc make himself known. Unlike his sister, he liked to be very punctual. This wasn't to say he was a stick in the mud. Nah made sure her husband always maintained a sense of fun, he just had it much more responsibly than his twin sister did. His tactician's cloak wore the scars of many battles… or so it looked. In reality the burn marks and scattered holes towards the bottom of it were just for show, Nah liked to pretend he was a warrior sent to slay a dragon only to fall for her instead. He was more physically inclined like his other self, but he was still more than proficient in magic due to growing up in a much harsher world. Thankfully all that was behind him as he had enjoyed making a new life for himself in this world with Nah and their children, children which all wound up nearly pure blooded Manakete like their mother.
"Marc. It's great to see you." Robin was the first to welcome his older son into the fray "Despite her best efforts, Morgan got us all here in one piece."
The older Marc looked at his twin with slight amusement.
"Teleportation charm?"
"Yep!" Morgan answered back.
"You'd think with magic like that you'd have everyone here early, not late"
"It's not my fault! I made it to Mom and Dad's before anyone and it still took HOURS for them to get up!"
"Oh really?" Marc turned and looked at his parents. "If the Mom from way back when heard she was running late, she'd be apologizing profusely for the rest of the day."
"What can I say? My time here with you all helped me let go of all the worry and anxiety from my world." Lucina leaned into her husband who wrapped his arms around her.
"We've all continued growing since Grima's defeat. Being together with everyone makes that all the more apparent. Now let's go meet everyone else. I'm sure we've kept them waiting long enough."
Robin waved over the younger twins and their families and the group walked forward for about a minute when their destination manifested into view.
They were still in the plains they were teleported to, but for years now the Exalt and her family had employed a magical field that hid its contents from the outside world so they may enjoy some of their outings with privacy. Almost immediately the group was beset by Nah and her two kids who all swarmed Marc with excited hugs. Behind them were none other than Chrom, Sumia, and the rest of their kids; the younger Lucina and Cynthia, as well as the older Cynthia. While the older Marc struggled to escape from his wife and kids, the rest of the group walked over to join the rest of the family.
"Robin!" Chrom stepped forward first and grabbed his friend's hand in a strong grip. "It's great to see you all again. Still too cool for your old man Lucina?"
"Father, you were the one who suggested I was fretting over you, mother, and my younger siblings so much." Lucina rolled her eyes as she continued "I still love and admire you just as much as I always have."
"I know, I know. It's just a normal dad thing to embarrass his daughter. I figured you'd be happy we could at least experience that as father and daughter."
As Chrom pulled back from the couple, he looked at them similarly to how Robin had looked at his and Lucina's twins earlier. Despite the fact that Chrom's musculature wasn't as pronounced as when he was younger, or how his hairline both began to recede and turn gray, his love for his family hadn't diminished in the slightest. The former Exalt still insisted on wearing the same outfit from when he first discovered Robin and met Lucina even though it was a little loose on him. That was Chrom though, and neither Robin nor Lucina would change anything about him. Sumia wasn't far behind him, and she pulled her daughter into a big hug when she got there. Sumia's face was a lot like Lucina's and her natural silver hair had hardly changed a shade since she married Chrom. Sumia left her armor behind long ago, donning a comfortable white tunic that matched her daughter's. Once she and Lucina finished their embrace, the older woman turned to Robin.
"And hello Robin, glad to see you and Lucina are as happy as ever."
Sumia finished with a kiss on her son-in-law's forehead.
"Now, you'd better have finished reading that series we both promised to finish from our last family gathering."
"Don't worry Mom. I read the whole thing twice." Robin answered back with a grin.
"Robin, it's been like this for over around thirty years now. Calling us 'Mom and Dad' doesn't phase me anymore. I'm a great grandfather now for Naga's sake!"
As Chrom finished the two couples shared a good laugh. Things had changed so much from when peace finally began, it was wonderful. The laughter began to die down as the current Exalt and loving daughter/sister joined the conversation.
"It's so great to see you again Uncle Robin and Auntie Lucina."
This Lucina, or Luci as she went by when around her biggest sister, was much more upbeat than her older self had been when she was her age. She wore a magnificent blue dress with white highlights, but it wasn't the sort of dress that one would wear to show off rather to differentiate herself from her big sister. The Exalt also had her deep blue hair up in a bun making it look much shorter than it actually was. While not as serious or strict as her other self, Luci still had a compassionate and humble heart that won over subjects and allies alike. Luci also had a somewhat lighter voice that made her sound younger than she really was. Lucina was the first to embrace her younger self, holding her tightly as tears welled in her eyes. The older Lucina was always so happy to see that her little sisters would never know the tragedy and suffering that she, Cynthia, and their friends lived through when they were younger. When the two Lucinas finally released one another they were met with their parents beaming at them, Chrom with the biggest smile possible and Sumia unable to hold back tears of joy from seeing her two "oldest daughters" so happy. Robin gave the Exalt a hug as well, always finding his wife's counterpart endearing like a younger sibling.
Before they knew it, everyone else in their party had been drawn to the heartwarming reunion. As Robin returned to his Lucina's side, she pulled him in for what was the biggest hug anyone had given all day.
"I love you Robin, and thank you for this wonderful family you've given me."
"You gave me this family just as much as I gave it to you, you know?" Robin moved to kiss his wife before he continued speaking. "What matters is that neither of us would be here if it wasn't for the other. We did a good job Lucina. I love you too, and I look forward to the latter years of our lives with each other and our beautiful family."
The happy couple turned away from each other to face the rest of their family, who couldn't wait for another idyllic day together.