Title: Robcina Week 2018 - Hugging

Description: Being apart for so long was painful for Lucina. But once Robin returned, she swore that she'd never let go of him again.

Notes: Written for Day 4 of Robcina Week 2018

The very moment she saw him again would forever be etched into her memory.

On the day of his return, she'd woken up crying. She'd had the same dream she'd always seemed to have, reliving those final moments as he'd vanished before her eyes. Then she'd find herself lying alone in bed, in the room the two of them had meant to share.

The room always felt too cold. Not like she'd remembered it.

After two years it had almost become routine. Yet that morning had been different. Worse. It had been the anniversary of Grima's defeat.

The anniversary of the day the man she loved had given his life to defeat that evil for good.

She'd wandered the castle alone, trying to keep her mind off of the too present reminder of her loss. Her parents, her aunt, Frederick, several of the other Shepherds, they had all left the night before to once more search for Robin. They'd asked her to come, but Lucina had refused. She'd accompanied them on several past searches throughout the first year, only to feel her heart crushed as each time they returned empty handed. The last trip she'd taken part of, a year ago to the day, had nearly destroyed her. She couldn't bear putting herself through that pain all over again.

The morning had been a empty haze of going through the motions. Nothing seemed to carry any point or purpose. Everything only reminded her of his absence.

Then Morgan had come bursting into her room, uttering the words Lucina had so long wished to hear, but had all but given up hope for.

They'd found him. Robin was back.

The cup of tea she'd been holding had fallen from her grasp, shattering on the floor as she'd fallen to her knees. She'd slipped nearly into shock in that moment, clasping her hands over her face as she shook and hyperventilated. She'd cried the second time that day, unable to process that any of it had been real. She expected to wake up at any moment, finding herself alone once again.

But she didn't wake up. She hadn't been dreaming. It had been real.

The next several hours had been the longest of her life. She'd found her mother waiting outside the entrance to the palace, having been the one to fly ahead and deliver the news. She was thankful for her mother's company, as well as Morgan's, during that agonizingly slow wait. She feared she would have gone mad had they not been there.

Then, just when Lucina had almost given up all hope, the search party entered the front gate. For a moment Lucina couldn't find him among their number, and just as she almost feared they'd all lied to her for some cruel purpose, they parted ranks to reveal the man she'd hoped and dreamed to see for two long years.

Her husband. Her one and only love.

Robin.

In the span of an instant she'd sprinted across the distance, throwing herself into the tightest embrace she'd ever been a part of. For the third time that day she'd found herself crying, only this time the tears were not of grief, nor were they of shock, but finally were tears of happiness. She clung to him like a one drowning would to a lifeline thrown to them in a storm tossed sea, fearing he'd vanish the very moment she'd let go.

For the rest of that day she never once left his side, the two of them finding themselves in each other's embrace at every opportunity. Lucina revealed in the closeness and the feeling of being loved and belonging that had been absent for far too long.

"You know, you don't need to hold onto me the whole time, Lucina" Robin had told her later that evening, smiling as he leaned forward to plant kiss on her cheek to punctuate his words.

"It can not be helped. I fear the moment I let go, you may slip away from me again. I don't think my heart could bear it," she argued, nuzzling closer against him. "No, I think I'll stay like this. I want to treasure every moment now that we are together once more."

At that Robin had only nodded, pulling her closer still. Perhaps he too didn't want to be seperated all over again.

For the first time in two years, Lucina no longer felt cold. She was no longer alone.

Again she had found the embrace of the man she loved.

This time, she would never let go.