I fell in love with Fire Emblem Awakening and if you haven't played it you should because it is really awesome man. I don't think enough people appreciate how adorable Inigo and Lucina's support conversations were, and how much I think these two are perfection together. Also it has been years since I took a dance class and it shows in this pretty clearly. Oh well. I don't own Fire Emblem.

Dull Edge

Inigo grew up loving dance. He'd heard all sorts of things from his family friends about his mother and her dancing. She was shy-just like he was. Inigo caught glimpses of her dancing for the front lines and had absorbed every minute he spent learning to dance from her. He had been young when she hadn't come back from the war. All he had gotten from her was a ring and a tales of her beauty and a dance that he would never knew the end to.

'What a dancer she was!'

'Truly, she was a sight to see!'

'You take after her in looks-Such a pretty face!'

Inigo heard it from everyone. It didn't particularly matter. The wound was still fresh. He would take his sword and armor, slink off to the forest, and then put any thoughts of war and death out of his mind to just dance.

To dance was to forget and do what he loved. It was time spent with his mother before everything became war.

Spin. Reach out and pull around. Leap forwards and a double step to the side-crouch and slide and then-

He freezes midstep.

"I'll show you the rest when I get back, alright darling?"

Instantly the world crumbles around him and he bursts into tears. He grabs his sword and swings wildly, hacking into whatever he can. Tree branches fall and animals chatter in the grove as they scurry away. He is blinded by tears as he swings his sword into a tree trunk. It sticks and he attempts to yank it free but his arms feel like rubber. He's been ignoring his training in his grief. His hands slip from the grip and he slides down to the ground, hands grasping at the tree trunk. His sobs are ragged and loud.

He doesn't know the end of the dance. He can't pretend it's okay without the end of it.

"Inigo?"

He swings his head up, hand reaching for his sword, still embedded in the tree. He blinks, clearing his eyes to see a head of dark blue hair. A form as regal as can be, with all the grace a 13 year old can have. He knows exactly who it is.

"Lucina-I'm sorry, but I wasn't really expecting-"

"Anyone to find you? I figured as much," her voice is even where his is wobbly. She makes even strides over to him, a hand at her hip, fingers wrapped around a sword hilt. She leans against the tree that Inigo crumpled in front of. Her brow furrows as she looks at the sword, "I noticed that you had been leaving camp and I was concerned. Are you well?"

Inigo's laughter is watery. Lucina speaks so well, so eloquently that knows anything he says in response is going to seem lackluster.

"No, I suppose I'm not," he finally decides to respond. He looks up at his sword and then to the grove he practiced in. He winced at the sight of hacked wood and scars in the growth. "What a mess I've made."

Lucina hums in response, her fingers curling around the grip of his sword and with a low grunt she pries it loose. She weighs it in her hand before handing it to Inigo, "Your sword is dull. When we get back to camp you may want to sharpen it. I'm sure Owain wouldn't mind joining you in the task."

Inigo's fingers tighten around the sword as he looks down the blade. When had it gone dull? How long had it been since he'd taken proper care of his gear? He couldn't remember. He placed the sword on the ground and he knew without looking up Lucina must be grimacing, because if her parents had taught her anything it was to not place your weapon down and he had learned the lesson too-but he wasn't in the mood to stand on proper form.

They listen to the sounds of forest for a few moments before Lucina looks around the grove, "This is where you dance, isn't it?" When Inigo's head snaps up she shrugs, "The ground is well trodden-as if you had spent a great deal of time here. And there are patterns in the grass. Repeated steps, I would assume?"

Inigo has to bite back a retort denying what she said, but he thinks better of it. Lucina's mother is a genius and she is her daughter after all. He stares at the grass beneath his feet as he replies.

"No one is out here so…it's a good place to clear my mind and dance. It's far enough away from camp that-That I don't have to think about-"

It's still too fresh, too raw, and Inigo is glad Lucina doesn't offer her apologies. With both of her parents still alive she isn't able to feel what so many of their friends were feeling. So many of their parents were dying under her parents' orders and plans. She knew that much. Inigo knew it wasn't her fault. But that hadn't stopped some of their friends from lashing out at Lucina in the past.

"Would you teach me how to dance Inigo?"

The request is so soft that Inigo almost misses it. It startles him and he stares up at his friend with wide eyes. She flushes slightly, averting her eyes. "I have taken lessons in court on how to dance with a partner but I always wanted to learn how your mother danced. I hoped to join your lessons but then we all joined the cause and…" she trails off into an uncomfortable silence.

Inigo sits there silently for a few moments, and Lucina shifts uneasily.

"If I'm overstepping my bounds, I apologize. I just thought that perhaps you might-"

"You'll need to take off your sword belt," Inigo interrupts her, a small smile on his face. He stands, "As well as your cape," he runs a few fingers down the length of the cape, marveling that only a year or so ago this girl was wearing court dresses and getting ready to start accepting suitors.

When the war took a turn for the worse, she picked up the sword full time and joined her parents on the field. He knew the cape weighed her down. He could see it in her step. He can see her shoulders lift a little once she places her weapon and cape to the side. She looks at him anxiously, her face determined.

He can't help but laugh at her. She looks at him as if they are about to spar, muscles tense and coiled for attack. He smiles honestly for the first time in days.

"You need to relax. Dancing is all about feeling the movement come to you. You can't force it or it'll never work." He leads her to the middle of the grove and stands beside her, "You need to be light on your feet, like in battle."

He places a hand on her shoulder and another around her hip and he feels her stiffen under the touch. Her eyes flicker to his but he smiles again, just the way his mother had to him when he had just started and he was unsure. He moves her frame to mimic his.

"This is a simple dance. Basic steps," he murmurs, "Right foot goes forward." As they step forward he lets his hands drop from her form. As he quietly teaches her the steps and hand gestures he forgets about the dance he doesn't know the end to and focuses on the way his mother had taught him this dance. How beautiful she had looked when she showed him, and how clumsy he was when he first tried it.

They run through it until Lucina insists she can do it alone and Inigo steps back to watch her. Her attempt was better than his first attempt alone, but he can feel the tension in her body. It's shocking to see the prodigy not excel at something right away. He clucks his tongue and Lucina stops, flushed.

"You need to let go Luci. Just let it flow from your limbs," he explains, "Here-see?" he takes a step back and begins the simple dance, keeping time in his head. He spins and steps and moves his hands about and when he stops Lucina is staring at him with her mouth slightly agape. He coughs and she is startled out of it. She coughs in response and grimaces.

"It would appear I would need to practice more."

Inigo smiles and closes the space between the two of them. He ruffles Lucina's hair and as she beings to bawk he laughs.

"Well, practice makes perfect, after all."

She smiles at him, a small thing, but still there. For a moment they stand there, smiling, before a flock of birds swoops down from above. Inigo looks to the sky, a light orange and whistles.

"It's getting late. We should head back. People will notice we've gone," Lucina straps her sword back on and dons her cape and turns to make leave. She stops and cocks her head to look back at Inigo, "Thank you, Inigo." She whispered, before hurrying off in the direction of camp.

Inigo watches as the princess left and feels his heart clench in a way that was different from the heartache he was becoming familiar with. As he gathers his things, he finds himself smiling without forcing it. He remembers Lucina's timid and clumsy steps and remembers his mother's patient laugh. He reckons that this was way to heal. Learn one step at a time, just like a dance.

The title for this series a lyric from 'One Step Closer' from The Little Mermaid musical. It fits man. It really fits. It also shows how much time I spend listening to musicals. There's still more after this-so stay tuned for more teenage angst and dancing. So much dancing.

Reviews are lovely-as are you reader. You are so very lovely.