Title: Robcina Week Day 2 - Heroes' Journey
Description: It is Robin and Lucina's turn to take the night watch. While the cold that night proved unpleasant, the clear skies give them the perfect stargazing opportunity.
Notes: Takes place a few weeks after Robin and Lucina's S support and a couple of days before Morgan's recruitment paralogue.
Words: 837
Robin gazed out into the vast sea of stars that stretched out into the endless heavens above. Like countless thousands of candles, they seem, flickering points of brilliance in the darkness.
He felt Lucina grip his hand tighter through their gloves, seeking warmth against the cold northern night. He'd already shared his coat with her, draping it over both their shoulders like a blanket as they remained close to stay warm on their hour of watch.
With packs of Risen spotted in the region, the Shepherds dared not light any fires lest their rest become interrupted by yet more conflict with the undead. That was something, Robin at least, was thankful to leave for the light of day. He'd had more than enough fights with the undead in the darkened night to last a lifetime.
Still, it was not all bad. The chill night was a fine excuse as any to cuddle close with the woman he loved. An opportunity he knew Lucina relished as well.
"Do you think we'll see a shooting star?" Lucina asked, her gaze locked on the heavens just as he was.
"Maybe. If we're lucky," Robin said, unable to help himself but smile like a fool as Lucina shifted to lean against him. "If we do, what will you wish for?"
"I am not sure…" Lucina said, shaking her head, a soft, almost melancholic note entering her voice. "I used to stare out many nights, searching for stars to wish upon for the safety of my world. I'd always feel rather foolish afterward… I was so desperate for any way to save all those I swore to protect…"
"Ah…" Robin intoned, his smile fading as he felt an all-to-familiar pang in his chest as he thought about all the suffering and hardship Lucina had endured. How could he be happy then, with how much joy their relationship had brought him when Lucina was still shackled by her duty and the trauma of her future-past.
"Never anything for yourself? A wish I mean," Robin asked.
Lucina shook her head. "No, it always seemed selfish of me to do so. My own happiness came second to my duty. It had to." She sighed, staring for a moment longer before looking at him and trying to smile. "But what about you? What shall you wish for."
"I don't know. I haven't really done this before," Robin answered. That was a lie and he knew it. He'd wish for the one thing Lucina deserved more so than anyone else: to be happy and a chance to live her life not in service or duty to others, but for herself.
Not that he dared admit that desire out loud. He already felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment at even the thought itself. He'd never be able to say it without making a fool of himself.
"It seems then we both must come up with one," Lucina exclaimed, her smile less forced than before, the genuine expression putting Robin's heart at ease.
"If we are fortunate enough to see one," Robin said. He slipped an arm around her shoulder even as Lucina slipped her own around his waist. For a long while, they sat in silence, watching the stars.
Then, right as their watch neared its end, Lucina suddenly gasped, pointing upwards. Robin saw it too, a sparkling trail of light that streaked across the sky, dancing off into the starry sea beyond sight.
"Make a wish," Robin whispered, silently beginning to make his own silent prayer on Lucina's behalf.
"I wish-" Lucina started to say, her words lost as this time the two of them gasped in unison.
A second shooting star streaked across the sky. Then another. Then another. Glittering streams of light filled the entire sky like raining jewels, such that the heavens became a dazzling stream of lights. Robin held Lucina close through it all, the two fully entranced by the beauty of the scene that had taken hold of the celestial sea above, their wishes forgotten. They simply basked in the magic of that moment, taking in the scene completely and fully, sharing it together.
Then the last shooting star vanished into the star-filled ocean, the skies returning to their previous stillness marked only by the gentle twinkling of the still points of light that remained as they always did out of reach.
"That… it seems I did not need that wish after all," Lucina said at last. She did not need to explain it. The wonder and joy in her expression said it all.
To have shared such a stunning experience together was a memory he'd treasure forever. It was more than he could have wished for.
Perhaps, in the happiness, it had brought Lucina then, if only fleeting, had fulfilled his own wish upon the first star. So too, then, maybe all those other shooting stars would grant countless more moments of joy in the lifetime that he dearly hoped they'd share together.
That, then, was something he truly wished for.