After the battle at the winter festival, it took forever for Robin to replace the presents that'd been taken away. Fortunately, Chrom and Lissa were both there to lend him their aid; Tharja offered to help, but Robin insisted for her to return to Ylisse, concerned that whatever illness she had would only worsen if she stayed out with them (he was pretty certain that she didn't listen to him, considering that when he went through his sack at the end of the trip, he discovered several presents that'd mysteriously appeared without him having any recollection of purchasing them).

And thus, that was the story of how he stumbled back to the Shepherd's barracks tired, dirty, and with a Santa coat that looked like it'd seen better days.

"Nyahaha! Wow birdie, looks like you took quite a beating out there!"

Robin grimaced as his husband smeared some sort of purple goop on the cuts on his cheek. They were both sitting on the shared mattress in their tent, Henry tending to Robin's injuries with some salves and potions he'd been saving up "just in case." Briefly, Robin considered asking Henry about what sort of recipes he'd used to create those ointments (and whether they were actually safe to use), but he was interrupted by Henry poking his cheek with his finger.

"Ow!" Robin shot Henry a half-hearted glare, too tired to actually do much more than that. Henry giggled and screwed the lid back onto the ointment jar, tossing it over his shoulder.

"There ya go! All done!" Henry said cheerfully. Grinning, he reached up and ruffled Robin's hair, which had already been mussed up by the battles he fought beforehand. "Geez, how come you don't take me on the fun shopping trips? All we ever do is look at wares and haggle!"

Robin couldn't help but snort. "Hey, I seem to recall a certain someone going to a fall festival and wearing their vampire costume for a week." He retorted without any actual bite in his words. As he spoke, he felt the salve on his cheek seep into his wounds, and it took all of his willpower not to scratch at the uncomfortable sensation.

"Can ya blame me, though? That coffin raised my defense a hex of a lot!" Henry replied, his fingers busying themselves with picking at Robin's red-furred coat. "Mmm, fuzzy…"

Without warning, Henry rested his head on Robin's shoulders and rubbed his cheek against the soft furs, a blissful smile on his face. Robin laughed and ran his fingers through Henry's white hair, amused at his husband's antics. "It is, but it's not so fun when you're wearing it in battle. Do you know how warm it gets?"

"Not as warm as your heart, though," Henry replied dreamily. He lifted his head and nuzzled Robin's neck, pressing his lips against his flesh. "By the way, have you've noticed how soft your skin is right now? It's like feeling a baby Risen's tummy…"

Robin snorted again and playfully shoved Henry off him. "Nice try, but I'm not telling you what you got."

"Awww, c'om!" Henry pouted and threw his arms around Robin dramatically. "Not even a hint?"

Chuckling, Robin turned towards Henry and kissed his cheek, feeling the usual chill that clung to his husband's skin. "Sorry, sweetheart. You gotta wait until tomorrow." He started to stand, bringing Henry to his feet alongside him. "How about we go to bed and I'll—"

Without warning, Henry's fingers attacked Robin's sides, skittering up and down as he tickled Robin mercilessly. Robin let out an undignified (but still very manly, thank you very much) shriek and tried to squirm away from his husband, only succeeding in falling back on the mattress in a heap of uncontrollable laughter.

"H-H-Henry—! K-knock it—hahahahaha! —off…!"

"Nyhahahaha, nope!" Henry giggled, straddling Robin as he continued to attack his overly-sensitive sides. "Not 'til you tell me what I got!"

"Why, you little—! Hahahahahaha!"

Gaius was in the middle of his pre-midnight midnight candy run when he heard the howls of laughter coming from Robin and Henry's tent. Out of morbid curiosity, he paused and glanced over at the tent, noticing how the fabric glowed from the lantern inside it.

"Nyahahahaha! C'om birdie, give—! YEOW!"

Gaius started at Henry's shriek (and damn, Junior had a powerful pair of lungs), but any concern he might've had evaporated when he heard the fresh peals of laughter coming from the tent.

"Awww, you got me! Should've known you'd find a way to get out of that!"

"Hahaha, never challenge a tactician, darling! Now, what am I'm going to do with you…?"

"Wellllllll, I can give you a few ideas, birdie…."

Okay, yep. That was Gaius's cue to run and block out that particular event with the rich savory chocolates he'd pinched from the sack Blue was hiding.

It wasn't until later that Gaius realized the chocolates were probably his gifts for the next day.

Gods damn it.

"Well, you weren't kidding, Robin," A slightly disturbed Chrom watched as Henry eagerly dashed over to Nowi to show off the present Robin gave him. "He… really likes his gift."

Next to him, Robin smirked as he nursed a mug of hot chocolate. "What kind of husband would I be if I didn't know what my partner liked?"

"Can't argue with ya there." Lissa said with a grimace. "Still… was it really necessary to get him another skull? I mean, he already has a hundred of 'em!"

"First off," Robin lifted a finger in the air to emphasize his points. "He only has twenty skulls. I checked before we left yesterday. Secondly, I thought he'd appreciate how it was painted like a candy cane. I mean, it's a commentary on how fragile life is and the cheerfulness of the holiday season! That's the kind of irony he can get behind."

Chrom and Lissa simultaneously blinked and stared at Robin.

"... Henry's sense of humor is rubbing off on you, Robin," Chrom finally said, his voice as grave as it'd been the time Lucina found Frederick's "Chrom Wants You!" posters. "And I'm not entirely sure that's a good thing."

Robin had to concede that Chrom might've had a point there. Still, when a beaming Henry ran over to the three Shepherds and gave Robin a huge, sloppy kiss out of gratitude, Robin found it difficult to care.