Title: Robcina Week 2025 Day 5 - Travel
Words: 1381
Lucina extended a hand down to him. Taking hold of it, Robin scrambled up the steep rocky slope, grabbing for the lip of the ledge with his free hand to drag himself up even as Lucina half pulled, half lifted him the rest of the way.
Breathing heavily, Robin plopped himself down on the ground the moment he was fully on the ledge. Sweat beaded his brow, a few stray droplets running down to string his eyes. Wiping them away with the sleeve of his coat, he fought to return to less labored breathing.
"Here," Lucina said, offering him one of their waterskins. Silently nodding his head in thanks, he took a long draft before returning it to her. He'd underestimated just how out of shape he'd gotten over the past few years of peace and quiet. They were only halfway through the climb and already he was close to overexerting himself.
Lucina, on the other hand, was faring far more gracefully than he was. While the first signs of sweat had appeared on her face as well, her breathing had remained level through the whole hike so far. Not to mention the fact I highly suspect she could comfortably double her pace if she wasn't concerned about leaving me in the dust, Robin mused.
He shouldn't have been surprised though, ever since Morgan and Marc had gotten old enough to begin training in swordplay, Lucina had been practicing with them nearly every day. Moreso with Marc than Morgan, as he seemed to have taken to the art more just as his future-counterpart had. Sure, it was not as though she'd entirely abandoned keeping up with her own training in the time prior. Lucina had very much continued to keep her skills sharp, just not as fervently as she had during wartime. But, it did not change the fact she'd done far more to stay in shape, while in comparison Robin had allowed himself to become quite the homebody.
Not that he didn't help with the twins' combat training too. It was just that Lucina always was the more skilled fighter when it came to raw swordsmanship, so his involvement was a more occasional affair, leaving most of it to her extremely capable hands. Perhaps he should get more involved, if only to do better to stay active himself.
"Are you ready to continue, or do you still need a moment?" Lucina asked, crouching down next to him.
"I'm ready. Just needed a moment to catch my breath," Robin assured her.
Nodding, Lucina stood and offered her hand again, helping him up. She retrieved her pack, having set it down while waiting for him to rest, reshouldering it with one smooth motion. "Let's keep moving then. We still have a ways to go if we are to reach the mountaintop by nightfall," she said, tightening the straps.
"Yeah. Wouldn't want to defeat the entire purpose of us being out here," Robin agreed.
Perhaps, in hindsight we should have given ourselves an extra day or two. Cutting things a little close, Robin thought, not wanting to bring down the mood by voicing it aloud. Then again, he felt more than a little guilty leaving the twins in the care of their grandparents for so long. They were such a handful at times, so subjecting Chrom and Sumia to that seemed almost cruel. But it had been those two who had insisted that he and Lucina take this camping trip for themselves to see the meteor shower when it came.
Won't be another thirty-eight years until we have this chance again. That was why they had traveled far out into the wilderness for several days of camping, making their way to the closest mountain range. From there behan the climb to the nearest peak, from which they'd have an unimpeded view of the shower when it came. This wasn't the first meteor shower the two had seen, but it would certainly be the largest and most spectacular. And with this shower's infrequency, Robin did truly want to make this occasion special.
It had been awhile since he and Lucina took a trip for themselves.
"The curse of being parents. Particularly to children, so young," Lucina said, as if reading his mind. Not that she truly needed to. Lucina simply knew him well enough to usually know what he was thinking, just as he could for her.
Robin chuckled. "And to think we thought we had a good idea of what we were getting ourselves into after meeting Morgan. And Marc later," he said, referring to their children's time traveling counterparts.
"The past years have certainly dispelled that assumption," Lucina agreed, joining his laughter with her own. "Still, I very much appreciate having found the time to do this. Just the two of us."
Reaching a small stream, Lucina deftly hopped between the exposed rocks. Robin followed after, his movements far less elegant. At one point he nearly slipped, just barely managing to flail around regaining his balance to avoid a watery doom. Okay, doom was a strong word. Watery inconvenience? Watery unpleasant experience? Nah, those don't have the same ring to them, Robin mused as he at last made it to the other side. It was a good distraction for the fact he couldn't blame his performance on lack of practice. Lucina simply was always more agile and well suited for this task compared to him.
Looking up, Robin could see the summit drawing closer now. Within the hour they'd reach it, provided there were no more delays. The sun was just starting to sink down towards the horizon now. With luck they'd have just enough time to set up their camp and prepare supper before the meteor shower began.
Adjusting his pack, Robin set off close behind Lucina, trusting her to pick out the path up the steep and winding slope. Just a bit further now.
. . . . .
Robin rubbed his hands, warming them over the smoldering coals that remained of their campfire. They had intentionally let the fire burn itself out after they, well, Lucina mostly, had made their dinner. While its warmth would have been welcome in the chilly mountain-top night, the light would have spoiled the meteor shower.
Lucina rested against him, her head against his shoulder, a blanket wrapped around them both while they waited. They had sat in silence for some time, not out of any lack of things to talk about, but simply both enjoying each other's company.
Got to get the quiet moments to themselves while they could. Having twins to look after made such opportunities vanishingly rare. Robin couldn't help but chuckle aloud at this thought, Lucina lifting her head to look at him in response.
"Hmmm?" she hummed in the otherwise unspoken question.
"It's nothing, just thinking," Robin told her.
Accepting this, Lucina returned to resting her head on his shoulder, resuming her vigil at his side.
The night sky was clear and cold, without a single cloud or even the light of the moon to spoil was what to come. A perfect night.
Any moment now.
Then the first one came. A single azure light streaking across the sky, haloed in while like a flaming jewel. Then another streaked across the sky. Then another. Then another. Glittering streams of light filled the entire sky, as if a rain of sapphires had come from the endless night beyond. Some were brighter, others more dim. Some sparkled like silver in moonlight, others shimmering like ice crystals in a winter sun, others still flickering like the flames candles dancing in the gloom.
Neither spoke, fully transfixed by the heavenly dance above. Robin recalled the meteor shower the two had witnessed almost a decade prior now. That had taken his breath away then, but now? If not for the memory of sharing that moment with the woman he loved, it would have paled in comparison to the moment the two shared now.
Though perhaps he shouldn't compare the two moments. For every moment with Lucina was special in his heart.
Robin reached down, taking her hand in his as they continued to watch the lights filling the sky. Taking in the moment together while they could. Before it too would become but another treasured memory they would share.
Author's Note: So, as a heads up, I will be skipping day 6 this year… for now. I have an idea I want to do for one of the prompts, but it needs a lot more time in the open (also it will most likely end up being very long in comparison to the others). So look out for that.