Disclaimer: Fire Emblem and all characters and concepts belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.
Characters and Pairings: Chrom/Robin.
Author's Notes: For the Chrobinweek prompt 'Dancing.' Be forewarned that I know absolutely nothing about dancing myself, so I purposefully kept things as vague as possible. Ahhh, it's been too long since I last wrote these dorks. Help me remember to write more of them even after Chrobin week ends.

Stepping on Toes

...and if she had the Pegasi ferry a couple of archers towards the flanks of the enemy, she could thin them out with minimal risk... Thus creating an opening for her cavaliers to smash through! Robin slammed the table in triumph, writing it down and packing away her miniature soldiers, considering her studies for today concluded. And with them, unfortunately, the only tasks she was comfortable with today. She sighed, drawing the attention of her partner for the day. "Are you alright, Lady Robin?" she asked, looking at her liege with concern. "It's not like you to take a victory so negatively. Did I not put up enough of a fight?"

"Oh, no," she hurried, "You were great, Cordelia. The best partner I've had in a long time, in fact." She finished packing, storing the make-belief soldiers under the table they'd used to practice. "I have to go see the tailor about my dress for the ball."

"Oh, of course," Cordelia said, realisation in her gaze. "You mentioned you needed a new dress for it. Did you have a falling-out with the tailor?"

"No, not at all, I just... I'm dreading the ball itself, and anything that reminds me it's coming." She spoke truly. Although the memories of her youth were still missing from her mind, if Validar had spoken truly then Robin had been raised on the run with her mother. That meant that even though she was the Exalted Queen of Ylisse now, she had never been raised to shoulder the responsibilities of one. Of course, she was happy to help Chrom with his administrative duties as the Halidom's ruler, and she was in her element when coordinating military activities. But public formal events were the bane of her existence. She hated being the centre of attention when she wasn't issuing orders. But as Chrom's wife, she would be the centre of attention. And then his vassals would criticize how she was a commoner, how her proficiency in wartime strategy made her savage (how did that make sense?), that she was Plegian and generally unsuited for the Exalt...

She sighed again, brushing a strand of black hair out of her face. "I wish I could skip it, but that would only damage my reputation more, and by association Chrom's as well. We can't have that." But that didn't mean she had to like it.

At least her gown was alright, she supposed as she tried it on and the tailor made adjustments so it would flatter her form better. It didn't conceal her like her long coat did, but the fabric and colour was more Ylissean and noble in appearance, more fitting for the Exalted Queen. Fortunately, this particular tailor was sympathetic to her wishes to keep her wardrobe simple and practical rather than beautiful and fancy. It was the reason she'd allowed him to stay after she'd sent away a handful of others who had tried to push an image onto her that she didn't want.

"...huh," she said, her thoughts interrupted by what she saw in the mirror. "Did you widen out the skirt?"

"Yes," the tailor said, his worlds slightly muffled by the pins between his teeth. "You mentioned you didn't like the shape of your legs, so I thought to conceal them while still leaving you enough freedom of movement to dance." To dance. Robin's heart sank. Of course, she had known that at a royal ball, there would be dancing involved. She had never danced in her life, she was sure of that. The only thing that came close was dodging incoming attacks on the battlefield, and those movements were hardly applicable to the ballroom. And all eyes would be on them... dear Naga, at least Chrom had experience with this and knew how to dance. With luck, she could just let him drag her around and turn her brain off for the duration of the ordeal.

She certainly hoped it, anyway. The less she had to think about the people staring at them, the better it would be.

"Hey Robin, is this where you went?" She jolted, causing one of the pins in her skirt to poke into her skin and provoke a yelp. Think of the devil, she thought as she turned her head to look at the doorway, where her husband stood scratching his head with one hand and holding a sheaf of papers in the other. "The numbers don't add up on this- Oh, eh... you look good. What was I doing again?"

She sighed. Chrom's antics could be endearing, but he could be a terribly frustrating man to work with when he got distracted by the sight of her. Although she supposed she could cut him some slack this time considering he didn't exactly see her in ballgowns every day. She sighed as she turned around, carefully lifting up the hem of the skirt so she wouldn't step on it –they had yet to agree on the exact length- and walked over to him to take the papers from him and inspect them herself. "You were saying something about numbers not adding up," she reminded him as she glanced at them. Almost immediately, she frowned. "Which isn't surprising considering you're a page short. Honestly, Chrom, how do you not notice these things sometimes?"

"I'm running on only a few hours of sleep," Chrom defended himself. It was true- Robin was at his disposal if he needed help, but he knew how she despised a lot of the work he currently had, so he tended to shoulder all of it. Which led to a lack of sleep. And stupid mistakes. Robin resolved to scold him for that when next they were alone. As if on cue, he yawned broadly. "This should be the last of the batch, so I can hit the hay early tonight at least."

"I'll hold you to that," she said as she handed the papers back to him, turning back towards the tailor. "Will I see you at dinner tonight?"

"Probably, yeah. Like I said, last of the batch. Anything I don't finish this afternoon I'll give to Frederick, promise." He reached behind him for the doorway, presumably to ensure he wouldn't run headlong into the wall –that would hardly be the first time, with his head in the clouds- taking another long look at her. "And eh, Robin? You really do look good in that."

"You just go finish your work," she said, hoping he wouldn't see her blush, "And I'll finish mine."

"Yes, ma'am." He finally left, and she sighed in relief. Well, at least he thought her dress was flattering. That was a victory, even if Chrom thought she looked great in anything.

Her husband kept word, meeting her both for dinner and in their bedroom. He took the following day to himself by Frederick and Lissa's urging –which Robin may or may not have had a hand in- for health reasons. By Robin's request, he met her in the large ballroom where the ball would be held later that month. "Hey, Robin?" he said as he entered, "You said you wanted to see me here... is there a reason for that?"

"There is," she said, turning around and briskly walking towards him to snatch his hands up in her own. "Chrom, I need you to teach me how to dance."

"Eh?" Shock overtook his face. "You don't know how to dance?"

"Don't look so surprised. If Validar was to be trusted, then I've lived my entire life on the run," she said, exasperated that he had forgotten this. "Muscle memory saved me in battle, but I don't think my body ever learnt to dance. So I need you to teach me so we don't look like complete juveniles during the ball."

"Right, right... well..." He took her hands and took the lead, gently pulling her across the floor with a look of intense concentration on his face. "I'll have to lead, just follow me." Robin shut her eyes, trying to find a rhyme and reason to their movements. It felt strange, as if Chrom had no pattern to his steps, which made no sense- dancing was nothing more than following a pattern and a rhythm, she knew that much. Just as she thought she'd found a rhythm, though, Chrom stepped on her foot spectacularly and her subsequent jolt and his failed attempt to restore his balance resulted in both of them crashing to the floor beneath them.

"Chrom!" Robin cried, indignant, "What is this supposed to be?!"

"Eh… c-confession time," Chrom said, scrambling to his feet and holding out his hand so he could help her up too. "I've never really been big on dancing either. You're probably going to be the first woman I dance with during a public thing."

"Wait, really?" She let him help her up. "I swear, Chrom! I thought you were the scion of a noble family- how did you never once dance?!"

"I always managed to get out of it somehow," he said. "This is as embarrassing for me as it is for you, I promise." The look on her face was something between horror, disappointment, and amusement, and he hurried to add: "I'll work on it. Promise. I'll do what I can to not make us look like idiots at the ball."

She sighed, turning around. "I'm afraid you'll have your work cut out for you, then." Shaking her head, she walked away, probably about to drown herself in paperwork to forget the ball existed at all. Chrom watched her leave, feeling her disappointment sting him. He knew she was terrified of scrutiny, so he understood her frustration and dread, but it was his responsibility to prevent her fears from coming true…

He walked out after her, though taking off to a different room in the palace. He had to send a message to Themis. The sooner the better.

At least Robin had to admit her dress was borderline comfortable, and she and Chrom had managed to look and act the Exalted pair throughout the reception and the banquet that night. Chrom had all but completely culled his normal antics, managing to behave like a model ruler and diplomat all evening, much to Robin's surprise. She realized that this was the first time she'd seen him in a grand-scale public event in his position as Exalt. Apparently, more of his education had stuck than she had thought.

"You wear smiles well," he suddenly said, quietly enough that only she could hear it. "I'm glad you don't want to disappear yet."

"You're a better Exalt than a dancer," she admitted, kissing him on the cheek. "I'm pleasantly surprised."

"I am a man of many surprises," he insisted, returning her smile and taking her hand in his. "Come. Let's get this over with." She swallowed painfully, not having practiced with him since their mishap. She'd long forgiven him and felt a little silly for having overreacted as she had, but now that it was time to actually bite the arrow, she felt her face turning red with preliminary shame. Chrom placed his free hand around her waist and she draped hers over his shoulder, taking a deep breath. "I'll lead," he whispered into her ear as the people fell quiet and the musicians started playing, "Trust me." She nodded wordlessly, shutting her eyes and letting him take charge.

To her immense surprise, this time he led them across the floor perfectly – at least, as far as she could judge with her own limited knowledge. Chrom had made a sudden leap forwards in a very short amount of time, and by the time their dance finished, she couldn't resist using the murmur of people taking to the dance floor themselves as cover to ask him, "Who are you and what have you done with my husband? When- how-"

"Maribelle is a fantastic teacher," Chrom said, smiling warmly and nodding his head towards his vassal and friend. Maribelle had a smile of her own, proud and accomplished, before she allowed a noble to take her hand and lead her towards the floor. "I contacted her that same day and begged her to teach me, for your sake, mine, and that of the Halidom itself. I'll probably never enjoy it, but at least you don't have to worry about our reputation anymore."

She laughed, kissing him again. "Good to know my overreaction did something good after all. Thank you, Chrom."

"Anything for you, my lady."