Day 7 of YWSL FE Pairing Week. It took forever to get some inspiration.

The last of my FE pairings is from Awakening. Why. I could have picked from any of the Fire Emblem games, and most of my stuff comes from Fates and Awakening. Ah well.

An Inigo x Gerome AU

Theme: Masquerade

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Masquerade

For a formal event thrown by his family... Inigo thought that they went too far this time. The halls were decked with lots of decoration, there was way too much food, and everyone had to wear a mask to add an air of mystery to the dance.

That thought made Inigo feel self conscious. Girls rejected him upon seeing his face, and discovering him behind a mask was a spell for disaster, as they saw right past his mask.

As the couples twirled on the dance floor , Inigo stood to the side, adjusting the mask on his face. He watched his sister Lucina dance with Severa, and felt something tug on his heart. He would love to be on the floor, but rejection taunted him. He stayed to the side, avoiding his parents and helping himself to the punch. He sighed, wondering if he can get away with slipping away from the dance.

"What is this dance even for?" He asks as he walks to the terrace. He leans against the railing, closing his eyes and feeling the wind ruffle his hair.

Inigo felt someone lean against the railing and he jumps away, only to see a tall man with a black mask stare back at him. As Inigo looked over him, he thought, He's hot.

He realized he was staring, as the masked newcomer frowned at him. Inigo panicked and tried to think of something to say, but he froze.

So naturally, he ran back inside.

Inigo felt pathetic. He can't flirt with girls, and handsome men made him nervous. He was truly a pathetic prince. Maybe he should be a priest and take an oath of celibacy.

Inigo leans against a wall, lost in his thoughts all alone. He loses track of time until someone places a hand on his shoulder. He jumps and turns, only to see the hot masked man from earlier.

"Prince Inigo," the man begins, but Inigo backs away.

"Please, leave me alone," Inigo says. "I don't want to know if I pissed off your sister or anything."

"I don't have one," the man replies. "I'm here to talk to you."

"About what?" Inigo snaps.

"If you would join me on the dance floor."

"WHAT?!?"

The man looks to the side, somewhat embarrassed. "It's so that women don't go after us!"

Inigo blinks and realizes that the man needed an excuse to not dance with women. (Completely unaware that the masked man was crushing on him big time). He offers his hand. "Alright. May I get your name?"

"Gerome."

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And so I finally finished FE Pairing Week super late with another really short one shot. Inspiration left me.

Also?!? I just realized that Inigo and Lance remind me of each other. They both flirt with women and have bad luck with them to the point were they get tied up to trees. They both have self-esteem issues. People get mad at them a lot. They both can be ridiculous at times. And people ship them with close friends (Keith in Lance's case (you could also argue Shiro or Hunk if you want to have a fight with the Klance fangirls), literally every other person Inigo has been shipped with).