Hello, all! Just a few things about this story before I begin...

This is my attempt at a legit(?) Robin and Lucina fic, so if you happen to enjoy that pairing then hopefully this will be the story for you! Ever since Robin and Lucina were both announced for Smash Bros and after watching their support conversations (especially the DLC Hot Spring Scramble one - it's adorable if they're married), I've gotten really into this pairing and felt the need to write something about it with all of the ideas swimming in my head. I think it adds a whole new deeper element to the plot of Awakening by pairing these two, so I enjoy it because of the conflict it brings up.

I aim to follow the general plot progression throughout the second half of Awakening, starting a little before the attack on Walhart and Valm Castle, but adding in a bunch of little scenes of my own. I'm also planning to do scenes after the game is completed, kinda like an epilogue of sorts. Should be about 20-ish chapters when it's done and hopefully more.

I hope to keep it regularly updated as long as time regarding high school permits, so be sure to stay tuned!

EDIT: The chapter has been updated with less grammar fixes and slight changes that will hopefully make the story flow better!

In which Robin talks about his family and Lucina awkwardly watches him eat

Chapter 1 – Remember to Smile

Robin stood by the flap of the mess tent as the Shepards piled in for dinner, all eager for a full meal after their most recent battle. The warm rays of the sun were losing their intensity as night took hold over camp. It was sort of a habit that Robin had developed, likely stemming from his tactician duties, to keep watch over everyone. If the Shepards were a band of misfits, they were a close knit band of misfits, and not a single one could be defined as a "normal" soldier. All of the Shepards were unique in their own ways; even Stahl, who called himself average, had quirks that made him who he was. After fighting alongside someone in a life or death situation, it was hard not to get along. These relationships were what gave the Shepards their strength: everyone looked out for one another, and no one was left to die on the battlefield if it could be helped. Robin always checked after every skirmish that everyone made it back alive and safe. Even now with the dire stakes of Valmese campaign, the nostalgic feeling of fighting off simple street thugs with the original Shepards still remained strong.

Robin reminded himself to mentally add one more member to the army's ranks tonight. The Shepards had discovered Lissa's theatrical future son Owain in the Sage's Hamlet, who promptly joined them once he recognized his parents. There was also something about "steadying his sword hand," but Robin had yet to discover what that meant. To Robin, the heartwarming reunion between parent and child was such a beautiful sight. Lissa was crying joyful tears for ten minutes straight when the realization that she was a mother finally sank in, and her son was just as happy to see her again. Despite the fact that their parents didn't even know their future children yet, the familial connection was still there, a bond that transcended the rivers of time. Robin made sure to double his efforts to keep the Shepards out of harm's way every time one of the future children arrived. If he put any of the parents in a risky situation and they fell in battle, he would be responsible for the children having to relive their parents' deaths all over again. He would never be able to forgive himself. Even though he knew the Shepards were his family, Robin briefly wondered what that feeling actually was, to be a parent. The very notion of him having a child arrive from the future was impossible anyway, so he pushed the thought out of his mind.

He ran through the list in his mind of all the names of those who had passed him. Everyone was accounted for, except one: Lucina had not shown up to eat again. She rarely ever came and barely spoke when she did, and it seemed like she only appeared to reassure Chrom that she was indeed eating and not starving to death. Robin glanced over what he could glimpse of the campsite, scanning to see if she was just running late, but like he expected Lucina failed to appear. Was she not getting along with the rest of the group? The other future children seemed to acclimate just fine within a few days, easily integrating and finding their places within the Shepards' ranks. Lucina had been a part of the army the longest of all of them, but she didn't appear to be adjusting well in comparison. Robin sighed at the thought. He knew that she liked her space, but not eating for long periods of time wasn't healthy. After poking his head briefly into the mess tent both to give Chrom a silent indication he would join them in a little while and to make one more final check that everyone else was accounted for, Robin set out to search for the elusive young woman.

Fortunately, Robin was not completely in the dark regarding the habits of the blue-haired princess. He knew that Lucina spent much of her free time practicing her swordplay, so he decided to check the training field first. The clash of metal striking metal confirmed his assumption. Getting close enough so that he could view the field in its entirety, he caught sight of Lucina slashing away at a practice dummy. Her skill with her sword, the Falchion that paralleled the one owned by Chrom in this timeline, was spectacular, easily far superior to his own and definitely a match for that of Lon'qu's. If Lon'qu wasn't such a gynophobe, he would probably be challenging her to sparring matches constantly.

Robin couldn't help but be mesmerized by the strength and determination that Lucina conveyed with every swing of her weapon. One could learn quite a bit about someone's personality from their fighting style, a technique that he had become quite good at given the colorful diversity of the Shepards, but Lucina's was especially hard to pin down. She was relentless, hacking away at her helpless target as if she had an intense quarrel with it, yet every attack was remarkably controlled and accurate, allowing her to connect her blows with little to no error.

One part of him didn't want to interrupt her devoted endeavor to annihilate what was left of the training dummy, but Robin figured that Lucina getting a proper meal first was more important. Trying to approach obviously as to not startle the girl, Robin called out to her.

"If that dummy could speak it would be begging for mercy," he joked.

Lucina instantly grew tense and whirled around, blade ready to fight off an intruder, but she dropped her fighting stance when she realized it was no foe.

"Oh, hello Robin." Lucina sighed, sheathing Falchion. "Don't sneak up on me like that when I'm training," she scolded. "If you had been any closer, I probably would have assumed you to be an enemy."

"Sorry! I tried to be as conspicuous as I could, but I guess I wasn't good enough," Robin grinned. "I must be hanging around Kellam too much," he joked in an attempt to lighten the mood, but was only met by a blank gaze. Whether she found the joke unamusing or she just didn't get it Robin couldn't tell, but he made a mental note not to crack another one.

"What brings you here at this hour?" the girl asked, sitting down on a large crate to catch her breath. "Shouldn't you be eating with the others?"

"That's actually why I came. I wanted to bring you to have some dinner with us. You don't show up that often, and I'm worried you aren't getting enough to eat," he explained.

Lucina frowned, her brow furrowed as if in thought, and she broke eye contact with him, taking a sudden interest in a small rock on the ground. "I... am fine," she hesitated, shuffling the rock in between her feet. "I eat enough to sustain myself. My father knows. I do not have time for a large meal."

"Well that's just insane!" Robin exclaimed. Lucina turned towards him again in surprise. "You can't practically starve yourself when we have more than enough food!" he argued. "It's not healthy! You're going to work yourself to death!"

"I assure you I can manage, Robin. I need to focus on my training," Lucina responded definitively. She got up off the crate and took a few steps away in an attempt to end the conversation there, trying to avoid Robin's gaze.

"You can take a break, you know," Robin softened his tone, recognizing that she was clearly unsettled by his comment. "Everyone needs rest."

Lucina stood in silence for a moment, then finally replied. "Not me. I cannot afford it," she said firmly.

"Lucina..." Robin attempted to argue.

"Really, I'm fine," she cut him off. "I appreciate your concern for me, but I really must get back to work."

Robin frowned, annoyed that he was unable to convince her otherwise, but he wasn't the kind of person to admit defeat so easily either. The tactician in him kicked into high gear, and he quickly formulated a new approach to the problem.

"I guess I'll go and grab a bite to eat then myself. I'll see you around," he threw his hands up in mock failure as he turned to leave.

"Goodbye, Robin," the girl replied distractedly, already focused on assembling a new sparring target.

Lucina gritted her teeth and imagined her target to be a much more threatening foe as she assumed her battle stance, which she had modeled off of her father's but had altered slightly to fit her smaller body frame. Holding Falchion close to her face, she glared at the dummy with a burning intensity, the image of one of the walking corpses that haunted her future materializing in her mind. It's just one more Risen, she told herself. One less monster that could bring harm to her friends. One little step closer to protecting them. This was why she was here, why she had been sent to this world. Nothing would stop her second chance. Pointing Falchion's tip directly at her target's chest, she lunged forward.

"Lucina!"

"Gah!" she shouted, losing her focus and skidding to halt. She turned around in annoyance to search for whoever had called her. "Not while I'm... Robin?" Sure enough, it was Robin again, striding towards her holding two trays of food. "I thought you left to eat dinner with everyone."

"No way. Not while someone I know is working hard. So I figured that if you wouldn't come to dinner, I'd have to bring the dinner to you!" he held out one of the trays he was carrying to her, smiling triumphantly.

Lucina stared at him, more curious than angry. Did he really care that much? She caught a whiff of the steaming meal held out right under her nose, and her mouth began to water a little. It did look really good. Gods, I must look like an utter fool, drooling over some food, Lucina reprimanded herself.

"I guess... I'm a little bit hungry," she admitted. She was slowly reaching out to take the tray from him when her stomach let out a growl far too loud for their quiet surroundings, causing her cheeks to turn bright pink in embarrassment.

"Ha! I knew it!" Robin laughed. "The stomach never lies!"

Lucina sat down with the tray in her lap, looking mortified. "I'm sorry! That was very rude of me," she apologized.

"Don't be sorry! That's just you telling yourself you need food." As if on cue, Robin's stomach let out a low moan as well. He fell silent for a second, then burst out laughing again. Lucina tried to maintain a straight face, but couldn't help giving a small smile. "Speaking of being hungry!" Robin exclaimed. "Do you mind if I sit?"

"Oh, not at all!" Lucina replied, still a little flustered, and shifted herself over on the crate so Robin could take a seat next to her.

"Well this looks delicious, doesn't it? Go on, dig in!" he told her, picking up a fork and starting to jab at a mound of potatoes.

Lucina didn't know how to react to Robin's sudden concern over her, and absentmindedly just watched him attack his plate. He eventually caught her, looking a bit puzzled as to why she was staring at him and not devouring her own meal, and motioned with a nod of his head that it was okay to start eating. Lucina blushed deeply again and immediately shifted her attention to her own plate as if nothing had happened. Fork in hand, she piled on a little bit of everything before taking a bite. The warm meal tasted fantastic, much better than any of the cold scraps from the leftovers she would grab once everyone had left the mess tent, and she eagerly took another bite. The two ate quietly for a while until Robin finally broke the silence.

"That was nice, you know," he said, staring off into the distance.

"Hmm?" Lucina swallowed what was in her mouth, and questioningly looked at him. "What was?"

"That was the first time I think I've ever seen you smile. You always seem so serious and stressed out, so it made me happy to see you relaxed for once, that's all. I guess that sounds a little weird when you say it out loud," Robin realized.

"No, that's...," Lucina was at a loss for words. "I guess I don't smile much, do I?"

"Not much," he agreed. "But your smiles are genuine, and that's not a bad thing at all. I wouldn't be smiling all that much if I came from the awful world you described." Robin's tone was immediately much more somber and serious.

"There was nothing to be happy about," Lucina contemplated sadly. "With every passing day there was more misfortune, more suffering..., more death..." She inhaled deeply before finishing, looking down at her almost empty plate and squeezing her eyes shut. "You wake up one day and find that your whole world... fell apart overnight."

Lucina's eyes shot open when she realized that Robin had put a hand on her shoulder. She tried to avoid all forms of physical contact unless absolutely necessary, so the touch of someone else was foreign to her. If she hadn't been talking about her future she would have brushed him off immediately, but the warmth of his hand gave her an unknown comfort.

"Hey, it's okay now," he told her softly. "You're here, and you made it through the worst. Chrom and Sumia are here too, and neither of them are going anywhere on my watch. I couldn't even imagine losing my parents in such a way..."

"But what about you?" Lucina objected, eager to avoid the topic of her father's death. "It must have been hard for you too. At least I have childhood memories of my parents. You... don't have that, much less even memories of who your parents are." She met his stare to find his auburn brown eyes deep in contemplation.

"That's true," Robin admitted. "I don't know what a mother and father's love feels like, so I'm not the best judge of what you felt by any means." He paused, eye catching on the first faint star appearing in the evening sky. "It was scary," he said at last. "Not knowing who I was, where I came from, or what I was meant to be. But ever since the day I woke up and your father found me, I was able to create new memories and dreams. It's okay that I don't remember my old family, whoever they were, because I made a new one. Everyone here is very special to me, and no matter how strange they can be sometimes, I wouldn't trade them for anything, even my old life back."

"I have it easy, because I don't have to forget," Robin continued, looking back at her. "People like us, we have to make new happy memories to replace the old, and find new things to smile about."

"Do you really think so?" she asked in awe, struck both by how much he seemed to understand and how genuine his words seemed.

"One hundred percent positive," Robin replied assuredly, placing dirty plates back on his tray and tucking his utensils underneath them. He slowly hoisted himself up, clutching the tray in one hand.

"Well, I'm going to bring this back to the mess tent," he sighed, gazing off in its direction. "You're important to a lot of people, Lucina, myself included. Please don't make those people worry too much, okay?" He looked back at her with a gentle smile. "I'll leave you to your business then. I apologize if you felt uncomfortable by my intruding." He turned to leave as Lucina hurriedly replied.

"No! Don't be sorry! It... it was nice talking to someone for a change. Thank you for dinner."

"Anytime," Robin looked over his shoulder. "Let me know if you need anything else. Good night!" he spoke, giving a small wave before continuing on his way.

"Good night," Lucina quietly repeated at Robin's receding figure, already disappearing into the darkness of night. She ran her gloved hand through the strands of her cobalt blue hair, and found herself already missing the other hand on her shoulder. What Robin had said about making new memories... Could what he had said be true? Trust was something she had seemingly lost along with her smile, but both seemed to want to return to her tonight. He had said that she was special to him, but how so? Was it just because she was his best friend's daughter, or did he mean something else entirely? And why was it that she had been so embarrassed around him? Robin had left her with more questions than answers, and already her mind was racing to piece together reasonable answers. Lucina felt something warm in her heart, and there was one thing she knew for sure: it wasn't her meal.

So there's their first actual conversation together - nothings happens just yet, but...

What do you guys think? I'd love to hear what people have to say about my writing and such, so what you like about it or what things could be changed/improved a bit to make them better!