Hiding in my Skin, Broken from Within

Prologue: The Real Me

Hey there. I figured I'd write Smash Bros. for once.

So uh, this is a Falconcina (Captain Falcon x Lucina) fic that is gonna be several chapters, likely some angst and emotional depth and character development. There's most likely gonna be some sensuality in some chapters, and a fair share of violence, so I'm rating M to be safe. Don't judge me ok ;; if this isn't your cup of tea, feel free to click the back button. But if you like this ship and/or angsty hurt-comforty storylines by all means stick around. Content warnings will appear in appropriate chapters.

This chapter was named after "The Real Me" by Natalie Grant (the title of the fic itself is taken from the lyrics too)

Hiding in my Skin, Broken from Within

Prologue - The Real Me

"Agh!" Lucina gasped, jolting awake and sitting up in bed. Sweat covered her face and her breath was shaky. She clenched her fist and held it to her chest, trembling.

This is the third time I've had nightmares like this, she thought. Even though the chain of events in those nightmares were different each time, like on one occasion she had her leg pinned under rubble, two things remained constant: the crowd of people, including some people she cared about, merely looking on and then walking away; and then, there was always that same shadowy figure running toward her. Whether that person was going to save her or not remained unclear, as she always awoke with a shout when that happened.

The future Ylissean princess looked at the window. Moonlight shone through very faintly, and Zelda, her apartment mate, was sleeping in the bed across from hers. Zelda seemed to be in a deep sleep, as she did not stir when Lucina awoke from her night terror.

I don't even know why I have these dreams. I know that in the future I come from, even though my parents were slain, I fought bravely alongside my comrades. But I wouldn't know what to do if I lost any of them... She stepped out of her bed barefoot and walked across the carpeted floor to the small study the two princesses' apartment had. As she walked quietly she continued to ponder, I think what would be even worse would be to become abandoned by those you care about. Which is what I thought at first, but what if something bad did happen to me? And the people I loved would willingly walk away?

She shook her head. No, don't be silly. I fought bravely in my father's place that day to enter the Smash tournament, and Robin came along too, and I met so many friends...they wouldn't do that. Walking over to a bookshelf, she thought, And what about that person that always comes running to me at the end? Something about it seems...familiar.

She grabbed a book from the bookshelf, turned on the reading lamp on the desk, and sat down and began to peruse the tome. Maybe if I just read something, anything to get my mind off this, I could feel better...

____________________________________________________________

On the topmost apartment suite of Smash Tower, Captain Falcon lay on the couch in the TV room of the flat he once shared with Snake, staring at the ceiling. He wasn't usually one to let regrets and worry weigh him down. In fact, in his days of F-Zero racing, he projected himself to the public as an optimistic, confident man who could do almost anything. But lately, he began to feel insecure because those appearances were just a facade, even in the Smash tournaments. As long as he wore the helmet, no one would really know who he was inside.

What's more, he started experiencing feelings of remorse and regret, something he didn't think he would experience until now.

Why am I having these thoughts? Why do I feel so guilty over that day...?