A series of short stories for Chrobin Week 2016. Each story is inspired by and titled with a line from a different song by a different artist.

Day 6: Domestic

Song: Strawberry Swing by Coldplay

LUCI, SOS, SOS!

Lucina was trying to concentrate; she didn't have time for Morgan's dramatics. She shut her phone off and put it aside, turning back to her open textbook. It took her several minutes to find the paragraph she was on.

In 1673, the Anglo-Dutch war...

"LUCINA!"

She groaned and pushed herself up from the floor.

"Can a girl have one minute of silence to study for her history final?" she asked as she grudgingly opened the door to her room. It was Owain; of course it was, and he looked panicked.

"Lucina! HOW CAN YOU BE STUDYING AT A TIME LIKE THIS?!"

"I'm studying because I'm a student and because it's exam week next week. And what are you doing here, Owain? How'd you get into the dorm?"

Lucina's younger cousin merely shook his head.

"Don't ask questions and I won't have to lie," he said mysteriously. "But if you must know, it included the scaling of a great wall while avoiding the ever-vigilant eyes-"

"Got it, you broke in," she interrupted, annoyed. "Aunt Lissa will have a fit," she warned.

Owain gulped. "P-please don't tell my mom; she thinks I'm at soccer practice."

"I can see that," she sighed. His muddy cleats had left a very visible trail all the way down the hall. "Well, come in then, before the RA comes by and asks why there's a kid hanging around."

"I'm not a kid," Owain huffed, but he still accepted Lucina' invitation. "I'm fifteen, only two years younger than you, Miss Genius."

"Yeah, but I'm also a college student, and you're not supposed to be here. I know you live nearby and your school is only a block away, but you really need to stop coming on campus to bother me every other day."

"I'm not bothering you!" he said, clearly offended as he sunk to the floor next to her books. "I bring highly classified information that concerns all of us," he added, looking dead serious.

"Let me guess, Uncle Lon'qu threatened to take away your PS4 and you need me to stash it for you. Again."

"That was ONE time," Owain complained, but he shook his head. "Are you telling me you haven't heard from Morgan?!"

"If you mean that overly dramatic message he sent me ten minutes ago-"

"Oh my God. Lucina, don't you know Uncle Chrom and Aunt Robin are getting a divorce?!"

Lucina stared at him blankly, utterly lost. It was such a ridiculous statement that she couldn't process it at all.

"What?"

"Your dad got kicked out of the house this morning, Morgan was there. He says your mom is furious and they were yelling and throwing stuff all morning." He pulled out his phone and tossed it to Lucina. She input the password (Owain had given it to her ages ago) and quickly scrolled through the chat with Morgan.

-Owain, mom and dad r fighting

-HELP

-HOW DO I MAKE THEM STOP?

-omg she just threw a glass at him?

WHAT-

Wats going on why r they fighting?-

-idk I just walked in and they were yelling and stuff

-I'm scared

holy crap uncle chrom and aunt robin never fight-

what did uncle chrom do?-

-IDK

-OWAIN MOM SAYS SHE'S GONNA DIVORCE HIM

-SHE KICKED HIM OUT?

-SOS! LUCINA WON'T ANSWER HER PHONE, HELP!

OMW-

"They... they're fighting?!" Lucina asked, her mouth agape. "Mom and dad never fight!"

"That's what I said!" Owain said, gesturing wildly with his hands. "I mean, no offense, but your parents are honestly kind of disgusting. They're like the ultimate couple. I mean yeah, they're always teasing and messing with each other but it's like they're just playing, you know?"

"I know," Lucina said, still staring at the messages. "What the heck did dad do?!" she muttered to herself. A thousand different possibilities ran through her head, from forgetting an anniversary to adultery, but they all seemed just as ridiculous.

Dad, cheating on mom?! Impossible, no way in hell. And MOM is the one who forgets anniversaries, not dad.

"I need to call Morgan," she said, hurriedly turning her phone back on and finding her brother on speed dial.

"Put me on speaker," Owain said, and Lucina obliged.

It rang twice before he picked up.

"LUCI!" he cried. He was obviously very upset.

"Morgan, what's going on?! Owain just broke into my dorm to tell me mom and dad are fighting?!"

"I don't knowwww! I just woke up for school like usual and they were screaming at each other in the kitchen," he paused and Lucina was sure she heard a sniffle. Oh Morgan... Her little brother was only 13, and he'd always been a sensitive kid.

"Did you hear anything that might have clued you in on what the argument was about?"

"No, they were just calling each other names. Mom said dad is an irresponsible idiot and dad said mom is a hypocrite. They said some other stuff too but I don't wanna repeat it," he said miserably.

"Did Uncle Chrom come back?" Owain asked over Lucina's shoulder.

"No, mom kicked him out... she threw a bag of clothes after him and told him to stay out... Luci, Owain, what are we gonna doooo?!"

"Well if I were you, I'd pick your dad in the divorce, to be hone- OUCH!" Lucina had elbowed her cousin in the ribs.

"Don't say things like that to Morgan," she hissed. "Listen, mom and dad are not gonna break up, okay Morgan? They're crazy about each other, you know that."

"You weren't here," Morgan moaned. "It was awful, mom threw stuff. I've never seen her so angry."

Lucina groaned.

"Listen, Mor, go to school, okay? I'm going to catch a train and see if I can get there before tonight."

"Really?! You're gonna come?!"

"Of course, I can't leave my little brother to fend for himself. I'm coming to see if I can get mom and dad to patch things up."

"Hold it, I'm coming too!" Owain said. "I've got the week off at school. I've only got soccer practice, but this is way more important."

"Is Aunt Lissa gonna let you come?" Morgan asked.

"Uh... maybe...? But I'm coming anyway!"

"I can't wait to see Uncle Lon'qu's face when he finds you're gone," Lucina grinned. "Anyway, make sure you go to school, Mor. I'll see you tonight."

"Okay... you're the best, Luci. Love you."

"Love you too."

She hung up and sighed.

Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to get to study at all this week?

Owain went home to grab some clothes while Lucina checked the price for tickets back home. Her college wasn't very far from her parents' house, but without a car it would likely take most of the afternoon to get there. It would have been another story if Lissa and her husband could have driven her back, as they sometimes did, but it was the middle of the day during the work week and they were probably both busy.

About an hour later she trudged down the street and saw Owain waiting for her at the usual corner. He'd showered and changed into casual clothes and was carrying a small duffel bag.

"Yo," he said, waving at her.

"Hey," she replied, and they set off toward the bus stop.

"I managed to scrounge up a bit of change, so I can pay for my own way," he explained. "Mom wasn't home so I couldn't ask her for anything."

"Did you at least leave a note?"

"Yeah, and when we're on the train I'll send her a text so she doesn't worry."

Lucina snorted. "Yeah, right. Aunt Lissa is gonna freak."

"Okay, but this is important, Luci! I don't mind being yelled at, this is family! FAMILY!"

"Alright, alright, I get it. No need to shout," she winced.

"So, what are we gonna do when we get there?" he asked as the bus pulled toward the curb.

"Huh?"

"I mean, what's the plan of action?"

"Why would I know?!"

"You always have a plan!"

"Not this time. I just don't wanna leave Morgan alone at home when things are this bad."

"I know you love Mor, but that seems pretty rash for you... unless..."

Owain gave her a rather sly look.

"Are you homesick?"

"What?!"

"You are," he said, grinning. "Ha HA, imagine that, the great Lucina, Uncle Chrom's pride and joy, Aunt Robin's little genius go-getter, homesick!"

"Sh-shut up!" she said. She would never admit he was right; she was a little glad to be going home, even if it was only because her parents were threatening to split up.

Robin couldn't remember the last time she and Chrom had fought this badly. They had known each other their whole lives, been childhood friends and neighbors since birth. At some point friendship turned seamlessly into love, and they started dating while in high school. Chrom was a year Robin's elder, so he graduated one year before she did and started college just one city away; not long after, Robin discovered she was pregnant.

It had been the scariest moment of her life. They'd always been extra careful with birth control, and Robin cursed her awful luck. She knew there was always a risk, but she never expected it to happen to her, especially not when she'd just been accepted to so many good colleges, most of them with full tuition paid.

She kept her secret to herself for a long time. She was torn between quietly getting an abortion without telling anyone, which seemed the logical choice, and her emotional reluctance to pretend nothing had happened. It was Chrom's child, after all. Chrom, the boy she'd loved for as long as she could remember, the boy who had played at swords and dolls with her, the boy who had snuck sweets from his house to hers when she was in a bad mood. He was the boy who had hugged her close and covered her ears whenever her parents fought, and the one who was always there to wipe her tears away. He'd been her best friend, her confidant, her other half. How could she quietly terminate his child without even telling him? How could she make a decision without him?

But while she worried and fretted, the time to get an abortion was running out. With less than a week left, she finally gathered her courage to go see him; whatever they decided, she wanted them to figure it out together.

When she arrived, unannounced, outside his dorm, he happily came out to meet her. But as soon as he saw her drawn, pale face, he seemed to understand that she had something important to talk about. He took her hand and led her to a bench, his expression concerned.

"Is everything alright?" he'd asked before she could say anything.

"...Is it that obvious?" she said, fidgeting with her hands.

"It is to me," he said, gently tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Want to talk about it?"

She took a deep breath to steady herself. "Chrom, I... I'm... I'm pregnant." The silence that followed was unbearable. She couldn't bear to look at him, and she had to fight back the thick knot in her throat that was threatening to drive her to tears.

The sound of a strangled cry startled her, and she looked up to see huge tears were rolling down his cheeks.

"Ch-Chrom?! What the-?!"

"I'm so-sorry," he hiccuped, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "I'm just- overwhelmed, I don't know... I don't know what to feel!"

"God, no don't cry! I'm the one who feels like cr-crying!" she said, and before she knew it they were both in tears, his arms tightly wrapped around her waist.

"What do you want to do?" he asked after they'd calmed down a bit. His face was buried in her hair, her cheek pressed to his chest.

"I... I don't know. I'm supposed to be going to college next year," she said quietly. "And you only just started... We're too young to have a baby."

"Yeah..."

"And I don't know that I'm cut out to be a parent... I mean, I'm awkward and only good at studying... what if I turn out to be a terrible mom?"

"You won't," he said, but he let her continue.

"You don't know that... besides, what are our parents going to say? Can we support a kid on our own, without even having a college education?"

"Hold on, I can quit school. But you should go, Rob," he said, pulling away slightly to look at her eyes. "You've always wanted to go, and you're so smart, it'll be a waste if you don't."

"But you shouldn't quit either!" she said. Before he could argue, she shook her head. "Wait no, we haven't even decided if we're keeping the baby yet... but we're already talking about what we're going to do as if we've already decided we will."

"Right," he sighed and rested his chin on her head gently. "Maybe this is irresponsible, but I think you should choose. To be honest, I'm kind of happy... but it's your body, after all. I don't want to force you to do anything you don't want to do."

"You...you're happy?"

"Mm," he said. "It's kind of hard to explain... but even though I'm kind of freaking out, there's this warm feeling... I don't think I ever realized just how much I love you, Rob."

"Chrom..."

"But, because I love you, I want you to be happy too. If you really want to abort, I will hold your hand the whole way through. If you want to go through with it, I will do everything to make sure you won't have any regrets. I'll make sure you go to college. I'll be a stay-at-home dad, or take the baby to class with me if I have to, whatever it takes."

The thought of him sitting in a lecture, earnestly taking notes with a baby sling over his shoulder made her laugh.

"Really?" she asked, smiling into his collarbone.

"Really. So the question is, Rob, what do you want? Don't worry about anything else, just tell me what you want, from the heart."

"I..." she hesitated, searching herself. But when she did, she found she'd already made up her mind. "I want to start a family with you, Chrom..."

He was quiet for a moment, then hugged her so tightly she thought she might break.

"My roommate is gone for the weekend," he whispered.

"O-Oh."

He loved her like he never had before. He kissed her throat, the nape of her neck, each shoulder, every bit of skin he could reach. They were gentle kisses, each one sending a wave of warmth through her. Her fingers wound in his hair as he traced a slow line from her ear to her to the hollow at her throat with his tongue, her heart pounding in her ears. He ran his hands down her back, around her waist, pulling her close and laughing softly whenever she shivered at his touch.

"You're taking your time today," she noted quietly, her face burning.

"I'm treasuring every moment with you," he replied seriously, kissing her nose and her eyelids. His thumb brushed against her breast, very very lightly, and she gasped slightly. He kissed her deeply, for as long as he could. She was breathless when he pulled away, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

"You're teasing me," she realized. His eyes were shining.

"A little, maybe. It's adorable," he muttered into her ear. The vibrations of his voice made her shudder. He nibbled her earlobe slightly, and she made a soft whining noise in response.

"Stop it, I can't anymore," she moaned, clinging to him tightly. He gently pressed her down against the bed and kissed her forehead.

"I'll stop... on one condition," he said, running his fingertips softly over her thigh. He was grinning, but it was a warm, loving smile, with just a hint of mischief behind it.

"What is it?" she asked, too flustered to rebuke him. He caressed her cheek and kissed her again.

"When you turn eighteen... marry me, Robin."

She hadn't had to think twice about the answer.

Chrom couldn't believe how stupid he'd been. It was such a dumb thing to let happen, and as he stormed away from the house on foot, his anger quickly dissipated, only to be replaced by guilt.

She's right, it was my fault, he gritted his teeth. It's just been years since we've fought about anything, I got carried away.

As kids, they'd gotten into plenty of fights with each other. Robin was no pushover, especially not in a fist fight, and they often had to be pulled apart by their parents, covered in bruises and scratches. But they always made up and were back to being the best of friends within hours, and it was the same as they got older and eventually started a family.

In fact, it was Lucina that made them stop arguing so violently. From the moment she was born, he and Robin fell so deeply in love with her that it seemed to make their relationship far stronger than it already had been. Contrary to all the warnings they'd received about children making their parents' lives hell and destroying young marriages, Lucina only made Chrom and Robin grow closer, and that didn't change when Morgan arrived four years later (just in time for Robin's graduation from college), or for the thirteen years they spent married after that. They argued from time to time, but never at the same intensity as they had as kids or teenagers. In fact, they hardly ever fought; the worst altercations they had could only be called mild disputes.

So when they'd had a disagreement in the kitchen that morning and Robin told him he needed to get his act together, he wasn't sure where all the anger came from. He just suddenly felt like she was one-sidedly blaming him and before he knew it he'd responded with a rather aggressive and cruel remark.

And then the ten year old Robin broke loose and he'd been pelted with every object she could get her hands on.

"How dare you?!" she cried, furious tears in her eyes as she lobbed a wooden spoon at him.

"OW! Watch it! What the hell are you doing?!"

"This is all your fault, and you think it's okay to say something like that?!" she shouted, and he only narrowly dodged a mug. It shattered to pieces behind him.

"You always blame me for everything!" he responded angrily. "Not everything is my fault!"

"BUT THIS IS, AND YOU. ARE. A HUGE. JERK!"

"GODDAMMIT ROBIN, YOU HYPOCRITE!" She paused, a terrible, pained expression on her face.

"What?" she asked, so quietly that anyone who didn't know her might have thought she wasn't angry. Chrom heard the danger but was too upset to heed his instincts.

"It's true!" he shouted, throwing caution to the winds. "You always conveniently forget that you're human and make mistakes too! You always crucify me about mine, but what about yours, huh?! You think you're a perfect mom?!"

"Get out."

"What?"

"Get. Out." she repeated, her eyes glinting dangerously.

"I'm not going anywhere-"

"GET OUT, YOU IRRESPONSIBLE IDIOT, YOU... YOU SAD EXCUSE FOR A FATHER!"

"WHAT?!"

"I DON'T EVER WANT TO SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN! GET OUT, GET OUT!"

Frankly, he fled for his life.

Lucina and Owain were on the last bus to her neighborhood when Owain suddenly grabbed Lucina's sleeve.

"Hey, isn't that your dad?!" he said, pointing out the window as the bus pulled at a stop. She craned her neck to get a good look and saw a man sitting on a low wall, his head in his hands.

She stood up suddenly. "Excuse me! We're getting off," she said loudly to the bus driver, who was about to start driving again. She pulled Owain to the doors and mashed the button repeatedly until it opened. "Thank you!" she called hurriedly as she jumped onto the curb.

"Luci, stop pulling, you're choking me!" Owain complained, but she ignored him. They ran all the way back up the street toward Chrom, breathless.

"Dad," she wheezed. He looked up, obviously confused.

"Lu-Lucina?! What are you doing here?! And Owain, what the-"

Owain coughed and massaged his neck. "Hey Uncle Chrom," he said.

"We heard about the fight," Lucina said, without prompting. "Morgan is freaking out, we got on the first train back."

Chrom groaned. "I didn't even notice that Morgan was there... I never meant for either of you to get involved."

"Is it true? Are you and Aunt Robin getting a divorce?!" Owain asked.

"What?!" Chrom looked genuinely shocked. "Of course not, why would-" but then he smacked himself in the forehead and muttered to himself. "Of COURSE they think that, she said it, after all..."

"So it's true?!" Lucina said, aghast.

"No, no!" her father said, waving his hands hurriedly. "We won't get a divorce. Probably," he added in an undertone. "Your mom was just really upset, she always says whatever she wants when she's that mad."

"Always?" Owain asked, confused. "You two never fight!"

Chrom chuckled. "We don't fight now, but we did when we were young."

"I don't remember that," Luci frowned.

"Before you were born," he explained. "Your mom and I argued about everything. And I don't mean the kind of arguments you saw growing up. I'm talking really nasty fights; I can't count the times she beat me to a pulp as a kid," he shuddered.

"I can't imagine you guys so much as yelling at each other," Owain said.

"Having Luci made us grow up a bit, I guess. But I did something dumb today, and we both sort of... snapped. I've been wandering around for hours. I dunno how to go back and face her."

Owain and Lucina exchanged a glance.

"Dad... let's go home," she said, taking one of her father's arms.

"Yeah, Uncle Chrom, the sooner you get it over with, the better," Owain said, taking the other.

"How do you know?" Chrom asked bitterly.

"Mom hasn't been mad at you in years, but that doesn't mean she hasn't been mad at us," Lucina grinned. "And we learned a long time ago that the best way to get back on her good side is to apologize like your life depends on it."

"Which, if your stories are true, it probably does," Owain added. "But c'mon, you two are crazy about each other, she's probably feeling just as bad about the whole thing now."

Robin did seem to be feeling rather strongly at the moment, but as far as Morgan could tell, those feelings seemed rather... murderous.

"M...mom..."

"What?" she asked sharply, cutting a cucumber with short, violent strokes. Morgan felt kind of bad for it.

"Are... are you really gonna divorce dad?" he asked, his voice slightly trembling.

She made an exasperated sigh and threw down her knife.

"No," she said, wiping her hands on a towel. Morgan was about to express his relief when she strode over to the fridge and said, "I'm going to kill him."

Eeep! Hurry, Luci, it's getting scarier!

Lucina unlocked the front door.

"Wait, hang on a minute-" Chrom said desperately, but Owain merely pushed him forward.

"C'mon, Uncle Chrom, you can do it."

"Mom! Morgan! I'm home!" Lucina called as soon as the door was open. Morgan immediately came sprinting down the hall and threw himself at his big sister.

"LUCI! THANK GOD YOU'RE BACK," he cried, and Luci hugged him back.

"Hey Mor, we brought a souvenir," she grinned, pointing at Chrom. Morgan went pale.

"No! DAD, RUN FOR IT!" he said and burst into tears.

"What the-" Owain began, but he was cut off by a strangled noise behind him.

"Well, well, look who decided to come back," came a cold voice, and they all looked to see Robin glaring at Chrom like she was looking at a bug.

"R-Rob..."

"Kids, upstairs," Robin ordered, and no one even considered disobeying. They scrambled down the hall as fast as they could.

"So," she said, crossing her arms, anger seething through her.

Chrom seemed to be at a loss. He shuffled slightly on the mat, looking a bit like a boy caught doing something he shouldn't have.

"I told you to get out," she said sharply.

"Robin... Look, I didn't mean anything of what I said today," he began. She clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"It's going to take more than that to dig yourself out of this one, Chrom," she warned.

"I know, I messed up. It wasn't even a big deal, I just... I don't know, I felt like you were blaming me. I already felt bad enough about it, and it didn't help that you pointed it out. I shouldn't have taken my frustration out on you."

Hmph.

"Is that all?" she asked, her eyes narrowed.

"No. I'm sorry, Rob. I was out of line, calling you..."

"A bitch?"

"Yeah, that," he winced. "I really didn't mean it, I promise. And I didn't mean what I said after either. You're right, I'm an idiot and a jerk, and I deserve to be kicked out."

She sighed and rubbed her temples. "I'm not going to kick you out," she said flatly.

"Huh?"

"I'm still mad, but I went overboard too," she admitted. "You were right, I always rub all your mistakes in your face. And... I shouldn't have thrown stuff. We're not kids anymore."

"Rob..."

"I'm... I'm sorry. I always feel like I'm not a good enough parent... and I end up letting that anxiety get the best of me whenever you mess up even a little. It's like, I feel like less of a failure knowing I wasn't the one who messed up," she said quietly, her stomach aching. The more she spoke, the worse she felt.

"You're not a failure, Robin," he said. He walked toward her and took her shoulder gently. "You're a great mom. You've always been a great mom; look at Luci, she's at college a whole year ahead of her age group, and Morgan is the sweetest kid you could ask for. They both take after you, and no one knows better than me how hard you work every day to be there for them."

"I can't help it, sometimes I just feel... inadequate," she said. Without thinking, she clutched at the front of his shirt, tugging at it nervously.

"That's a good thing," he said, taking her chin. "If you thought you were the best, you'd never get better. But I'll tell you as many times as you need to hear it; you're a wonderful parent. Me on the other hand, I have some work to do, right?" He grinned and kissed her cheek.

She couldn't help it; she laughed. "You're an idiot. Just go pick the dumb present up already, it's still another week to Luci's birthday, you have plenty of time to make up for it. Forgetting to pick up a gift is hardly-"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

They both jumped at the sudden shout and looked up to see Lucina standing on the stairs, glaring at them.

"You two had such a big fight over something so... so stupid?! You scared Mor half to death! I TOOK A TRAIN TO GET HERE, AND I HAVE EXAMS NEXT WEEK THAT I SHOULD HAVE BEEN STUDYING FOR!"

"Lucina-" Chrom began, but Lucina was already stomping down the stairs, pulling her bag over her shoulder.

"I'm going back, I can't believe this. IF I GET A B ON THIS HISTORY EXAM, I'M NEVER SPEAKING TO EITHER OF YOU AGAIN!" she shouted, and slammed the door behind her.

Chrom and Robin stared at the door in silence for a good minute.

"I think we fucked up, Rob," he finally said.

"I think we really fucked up, Chrom."

They caught each others' eye.

"Terrible parent truce?" she asked.

"Terrible parent truce," he nodded, and they both hurried after their daughter, throwing the front door open.

"LUCINA, WAIT! WE'RE SORRY!"

Owain and Morgan could hardly breathe; they were laughing too hard at the top of the staircase.

"Now the sky could be blue
I don't mind
Without you it's a waste of time

Could be blue
Could be gray
Without you I'm just miles away

Without you it's a waste of time."