Author: Rapis-Razuri
Beta: ObsessiveCompulsiveValkyrie
Prompt: Holding Hands (from ericandy's 30 Day OTP Challenge on tumblr)
Word Count: 1,095
Game: Awakening
Characters/Pairings: Inigo/Lucina, Henry/Olivia & Chrom/f!Robin for background
Notes: My first Awakening story. Since this takes place during the two's childhood (before Chrom died and everything went to hell), their personalities are quite different from what we see during the game.

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Inigo had never been inside a castle before which was why he decided to sneak away and explore when his parents weren't looking.

Now he regretted leaving his parents' sides as he was lost and had no idea how to find his way back. Unfortunately for him, his shyness prevented him from asking any of the soldiers or maids for help so the boy ended up walking in what seemed to be circles. Every corridor looked the same to him and there were simply too many turns to keep track of.

Eventually though, Inigo found himself at the training field. A training field that was currently empty, save for a single blue-haired girl close to his age – a blue-haired girl trying to lift a sword that was obviously too big and too heavy for her.

Finally, she gave up and left the sword lying where it was with a frustrated huff. She turned around and froze when she realized he was there. After a moment of just standing there and staring, she started to make her way towards him.

Almost reflexively, Inigo's cheeks reddened and he moved to hide behind a nearby pillar. The girl wasn't deterred by this as she came up to him anyway.

"Hello," she said, "I've never seen you around before. What's your name?"

"I-Inigo." the timid boy managed to stutter. Quietly. The girl frowned and leaned closer. Having never been so close to a girl who wasn't his mother before, Inigo shrunk back and pressed himself closer to the pillar, as if hoping he would just suddenly vanish into the marble like how a dryad from one of his mother's stories would into a tree.

"Sorry, what?"

"Inigo." he tried again.

"Inigo?" He nodded, glad he made himself heard. "I'm Lucina," the girl introduced herself. She looked around, almost cautiously. "Where are your parents?" He shook his head in response.

"I don't know," he replied, "I got lost."

"Oh...good," seeing his puzzled and slightly panicked expression (it was good that he was lost?), she added, "I'm not supposed to be here. I'm supposed to be studying, but it was boring so I came here instead." Inigo only nodded to show he was listening.

"I'll help you find your parents if you promise not to tell." He nodded again. Lucina took his hand and pulled him along.

"Do you remember where you last saw them?"

"Well..."

Lucina knew her way around the castle well enough to work with the vague details he gave her. After several mishaps – like knocking over a bespectacled boy and making him drop the stack of books he was carrying ("Sorry, Laurent!"), attending a tea party ("Uh, okay Cynthia. We'll have anouther cup before we go."), and helping Lucina's cousin hide his father's sword in the pegasus stable for some reason ("Why is Aunt Lissa's name on it?") – Lucina asked Inigo about himself.

"Can you use a weapon yet?" Inigo shook his head. Olivia had promised to teach him how to wield a sword when he was bigger (which he was looking forward to) and Henry had very enthusiastically announced that he will be teaching him everything he knew about identifying, casting, and removing curses shortly after (which he wasn't. Dark magic was scary).

"Can you?"

"A little," Lucina replied, "but its not enough. That's why I was in the training field today. I have to be strong so Falchion will pick me. Then I'll be able to protect everybody like Father."

"Why?"

"Not just anyone can use Falchion. Aunt Lissa can't." She looked down and kicked her feet. Inigo though she looked really sad, so he tried to think of something to say to make her happy again.

"I think it will pick you."

Lucina raised her head to look at him. "Really? You think so?"

"Uh-huh." It worked. She smiled. She was really pretty when she smiled, not that she wasn't pretty when she didn't but...Inigo's realized what exactly he was thinking and blushed to the roots of his silvery hair again. Oh well, at least she was happy again.

They finally managed to locate Inigo's parents, as well as a woman wearing a black and purple cloak. "That's my mother," Lucina explained quietly. Inigo had no idea why she suddenly became so nervous at the sight of her.

"Inigo!" Olivia cried with relief when she saw her son, clearly worried when she noticed he had disappeared.

"See, Henry," Lucina's mother said to the dark mage, "told you there was no need for a scouring spell." With her hands on her hips, she then turned from Henry to the girl his son was still holding hands with. "As for you, young lady..."

"Politics is boring!" Lucina burst out before she could speak further, "I want to be a Shepherd like Father!" The cloaked woman knelt down to her level and spoke in a voice that indicated that she was disappointed but not angry.

"I know sweetheart, but even your father had to attend his lessons too."

Inigo felt Lucina's grip on his hand – which must be getting clammy and sweaty and gross – tightening. Was she in trouble? Inigo had never truly gotten into trouble with his parents before and he didn't want Lucina to get into trouble after she helped him.

"Um..." he attempted to speak up, but nobody heard him.

"Promise not to skip anymore of your lessons?"

"Yes Mother," Lucina said, "I promise."

"Alright then," Robin said smiling and running a hand down her daughter's hair, "Why don't you go introduce your new friend to the others?"

"But he's already met everyone!" the young girl exclaimed, "except Brady and Noire because they were at the healer's and Maribelle said they were sick and if we saw them then we would also get sick." She stopped long enough to catch her breath, "And I can't find Morgan."

"I see." The tactician said, her eyes brimming with laughter, "I think Morgan is in the library. Why don't you go tell him to take a break?"

"Okay!" Lucina finally let go of Inigo's and ran off to find her younger brother. He stared after her and wondered if she will come back. He liked holding her hand.

Would she let him hold it again some other time?

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Review? Let me know what you think.