In many ways Robin felt like a child, still gaining an understand of the world and how it worked. So, even though certain concepts seemed second nature it took her a while to get a grasp on any others. She wasn't sure if she could blame it on her anesthesia or having a genuine lack of knowledge on the subject, but Robin's pride made her believe the former option.
For example, she immediately understood how pairing two individuals in battle would be both beneficial to their success on the battlefield and to their relationship. Each pair would cover for one another's weakness, which in turn would amplify the other's strengths. Continuing to pair the same individuals would not only increase the respect and trust they held for each other, but encourage time spent together whether that meant training to work better on the battlefield or a conversation over a meal. It felt good each time she saw two former strangers become close friends thanks to her strategic placements, like a mini victory in favor of boosting morale among the troops. In no means was she pairing units for their potential friendship, but it was a nice bonus to see an effective duo become even stronger because of their connection.
It did take her a while though to figure out that just because a pairing looked good on paper didn't mean it would work out. It wasn't as if Robin was insensitive to her allies' feeling, but more so that she was naïve in thinking everyone felt the same way she did. To her, she saw each troop among the Shepherds as a potential friend and therefore, made it a goal to get to know each and every one of them. Robin always saw positive results for her efforts, even if some started out rockier than others, so she figured it would be the same for everyone else. She began getting the hint this wasn't the case when certain individuals would still act polite but distant to someone she had been pairing them with for a couple of weeks, as if no progress had been made between the two, leading to average results on the battle's final report and Robin reassigning partners. However, it wasn't until she witnessed Lon'qu chasing Virion with his katana drawn around camp, daring the archer to make one more attempt at setting him up with a women or so help him he'll "cut the creep down where he stands", that Robin began taking into account a soldier's personality along with their skill set when making decisions on who to put together for battle. Thankfully, that incident occurred only a couple of months since Robin had been found in a field so not many poor groupings were made.
It took her almost 6 months after that to discover yet another thought of hers was naïve: that all relationships to grow on the battlefield would be solely friendships and remain platonic. Robin didn't want to be delusional into thinking her ability to correctly pair troops together not only caused new friendships but relationships as well. So, when Kellam and Miriel announced their engagement she didn't even think to connect it to them fighting together ever since Kellam was picked up at Longfort. Besides, Chrom had commented that Miriel was always watching Kellam in an effort to debunk his ability to disappear, making Robin assumed the scholar had always liked the quiet man and her efforts to learn more about him made him fall in love as well. Several weeks later, when Ricken and Maribelle became the second couple to get engaged, she silently applauded herself for believing they liked each other. Ricken stubbornly going against his prince's wishes to save his friend was like something from a fairytale, and to her the young boy's actions screamed "I love you Maribelle!". And it seemed like she wasn't the only one who thought so from overhearing Lissa tease her best friend while they were waiting in line to eat. Robin, chuckling over the young princess's words and shaking her head, finally secured her food and sat down to a table where Sully and Sumia were having a discussion over which was the better for battle: a horse or Pegasus. But a comment that Lissa made to Maribelle stuck in her head. "You know", Lissa began while trying to hide her giggles with a smirk and her hand, " I bet if you guys weren't made to spent so much time together in battle Ricken would be writing you love letters anonymously while you'd keep inviting him to drink tea with you and failing to admit your feelings!". Although Robin was sure the two would have confessed with or without a war going on, it was true that she had been placing them together a decent amount of times. She'd like to think she was the cause of a couple admitting their feelings, bur Robin eventually settled on dismissing the notion Lissa made in favor of contributing to her friends' conversation, stating both were great mounting units for different reasons. It wasn't until Sully herself and Virion stated they were now fiancés that Robin thought again to Lissa's comment and realized there was a connection between who she was pairing to fight along side each other and who was getting engaged. Sully even told her that fighting with Virion made her discover he was more then ruffles and fancy words, leading to her to give him a chance as a person and surprisingly falling in love. Robin also noticed the more she placed Virion with Sully the less he flirted with anyone but the fierce paladin.
In all honesty, Robin was solely pairing the three engaged couples together because they made sense. Kellam protected Miriel from any swords, axes, or lances that came their way while Miriel could counter magic that heavy armored units like he were weak to with magic of her own. Maribelle's horse allowed Ricken to travel around the battlefield delivering devastating strikes to the enemy and give Maribelle some defense, while she could quickly heal him after any attacks. Like the idea behind the troubadour and the mage, Sully's horse allowed Virion to constantly move around shooting arrows and taking down any long distance attacks Sully was susceptible to while she in turn took down enemies that got to close. However, now that Robin realized she had the power to play cupid, she was going to take full advantage of it to bring love into all of her friend's lives. She decided that from now on, pairing would be done with both strategy and romance in mind. The only problem was, she wasn't sure who would actually like each other.
Although Robin had discovered she was a huge hopeless romantic thanks to reading all of the sappy romance novels Sumia had lent her, she was terrible at deciphering an action as either a friendly gesture or something more. Two people could be flirting up a storm, being as obvious as possible, and for a second Robin's heart would grow warm witnessing the cute display before her. But then she'd begin to second guess her assumption and decide she was just watching a couple of people talking, which herself being corrupted by her choice of literature into thinking it was anything more. So, even though it had been almost two months since the last couple announced their engagement, Robin had been unsuccessful in bringing anyone else together. She tried observing varies duos to see if there could be any spark or potential romance, but she had no idea if she was actually witnessing something or at this point was just desperate to prove she did in fact have the ability to bring people together in love.
Robin refused to give up, which is how she found herself watching intently and making mental notes on top of a hill as Frederick helped Lissa onto his horse with her loudly complaining about how much her muscles hurt and that she was going to make them relax for an hour longer than was apparently previously discussed between the two. The tactician was torn between the possibility of the two being a possible match. On one hand, they were the textbook example of opposites attract. Even though there was a 5 year age gap between the two, Lissa's childish personality and Frederick's seriousness made the gap seem wider. However, Robin noticed that Lissa was becoming more responsible thanks to the knight while he was slowly unwinding in how uptight he previously was due to Lissa's constant demands for him to relax. They allowed each other to grow as people but not change who they were, which she found adorable. Plus on the battlefield, Frederick protected Lissa from heavy attacks while she administered her healing. It was a win-win. But the problem was she didn't know if she was misinterpreting a relationship of a princess and her sworn protector who only thought of each other as honorary brother and sister. Even if Chrom did tease his sister every now and then about a crush on a certain knight, Lissa could have lost those feeling years ago and now Chrom's teasing was only a reminder of a young girl's silly first crush.
Robin was so caught up in her thoughts and listening to Frederick's reminder to his liege of how much work they have to get done that they can't spare another hour for nothing she didn't hear footsteps coming up behind her. Before she could register someone was standing next to her a finger lightly tapped her shoulder, causing Robin to let out a startled squeak and jump a little higher than a seasoned soldier should. As she brought her hand to feel her racing heart, she turned to see a chuckling Stahl who unsurprisingly had a large piece of bread and an apple in his hand. "Sorry there Robin, I didn't mean to startle you." He took a bite of his apple before pointing at the spot of grass next to her. "Mind if I join you?" Robin gave a quick laugh and motioned for him to go and sit. "No worries, I was too deep in my thoughts for my own good. I'm assuming you just finished training?" Stahl gave a nob and took another bite of his apple. "Donnel and I finished sparing so I wanted to take a snack break. I was going to go back to my tent for a nap as well but I noticed my favorite tactician was sitting all alone and thought I'd join her." He gave her a goofy smile, which made her laugh again and nudge his shoulder. He broke off some of the bread he brought and handed to Robin, then nodded to the duo across the field. "I'll never not be surprised that those two haven't told each other how they feel yet. At this point I'm almost tempted to sit them down and tell them myself." Robin turned to her friend with a puzzled look on her face. "How are you so sure they're in love?" She looked back to watch as Frederick and Lissa rode off into the distance and waved her piece of bread in their direction. "For all you know Frederick is in love with Chrom." Stahl quickly finished chewing the last bit of bread he managed to scarf down while Robin wasn't paying attention and gave a hearty laugh. He then pointed his thumb at himself, a confident smile growing on his face. "I'm good at reading people remember? Plus, those two make it so obvious it hurts. The blushes, unnecessary touches, the staring while they think the other isn't looking; they practically have a sign proclaiming their love whenever they talk." Before Robin could ask him anymore questions, she caught her name being called. Looking in the direction of the source, she saw Vaike waving his axe up in the air. Remembering the commitment she made, she gave a quick "ah right" and then shouted back that she's coming. Noticing the confused look on Stahl's face, she explained that she promised Vaike she'd referee a match between him and Chrom which caused Stahl to chuckle and give a nod of understanding before standing up and giving Robin his hand. After pulling her up, he stretched his arm out to the direction where a certain impatient fighter was waiting. "Shall we milady?" Robin, after giving a small giggle, placed a mock serious expression before telling him to lead the way.
After a few weeks of pairing up Frederick and Lissa in battle, Robin wasn't shocked when they became the next couple to tell everyone they're engaged. However, she was still shocked by how easily Stahl caught onto their hidden feelings. Maybe she just wasn't good at telling who-liked-who, but even when the messy-haired paladin pointed out all the signs of how he figured it out, Robin was barely able to see it. The blushes were faint, the touches as rare as they were quick, and the staring only perhaps a millisecond longer than they would be for anyone else. Chrom himself was surprised, and he knew the two better than the back of his hand. Although her desire to matchmake was slightly embarrassing, she decided maybe it'd be a good idea to recruit Stahl's help in figuring out who'd be the right combinations to bring together. He'd be able to tell her if the couples she wanted to pair actually liked each other, and she'd take care of the rest. Robin thought on it for a couple of days and when she wasn't able to think of any others nor a good reason to not reach out to her friend, she immediately went to find him. It didn't take long, since thanks to perfect timing he was leading his horse past her tent and back to the makeshift stables. Robin quickly called his name, which thankful he heard and stopped walking. He turned and gave her a smile, which was instantly replaced with a mix of worry and confusion once he saw her pleading eyes and nervous smile. "Listen," she started, her eyes flickering around to see if anyone was listening, "Do you have time? I need to ask you for a favor."
Stahl honestly wasn't sure what Robin was going to ask of him, but he definitely didn't think it'd be to play matchmaker. The tactician rarely looked nervous or unsure, so whatever it was he figured would be something serious. However, as she explained her realization of her ability to make good pairings but her inability to figure out if their feelings were romantic or platonic, Stahl couldn't help but begin to laugh, causing a strong blush to settle on Robin's cheeks. "I understand it's a little silly, but I want everyone in this army to be happy and if I can make that happen I want to try!" She folded her arms over her chest and looked away, eyes closed and the blush still prominent on her face. Stahl, still chuckling, wiped a tear from his eye and raised his hands defensively. "It's not every day you get asked to help your friends get laid." Robin eyes shot opened and she punched his arm, which only made a loud clank noise against Stahl's armor and her to release a small gasp of pain, accompanied by a wince and Stahl's laughter. Once Robin clenched and unclenched her throbbing hand, she began to laugh with him. "I guess that's kind of what I'm doing." Stahl let out a couple of more laughs before asking, "So is this why you've been cycling through who we get paired in battle with lately? Because I hate to break it to you, but Sumia and I will never end up together no matter how much you try." Robin gave a heavy sigh and threw her hands up. "You see? This is why I need your help! I'm terrible at figuring this stuff out. I can't tell who's actually falling in love, who's going to stay friends, and who's annoyed at the people I'm pairing them up with. But you're great at it! If we work together, we can become the ultimate matchmaking duo: I find the potential couples and you tell me if it'll work." Stahl thought for a second, and then gave her a nod. "I'll help, but only on one condition: don't try pairing me up with anyone, at least without me knowing." Robin let out an excited gasp and pulled him in for a hug. "Oh thank you! And I promise I won't." She pulled away from her hug to give him a large smile. "So, any ideas you already have?"
He'd be lying if he said he never thought of who would be a good couple in the army. He wasn't a die hard romantic, but when certain people made their emotions as obvious as they did it was kind of hard not to root for them. So in the past several months he had been helping Robin, Stahl was able to test out some of those he'd been secretly hoping they'd get together. He originally tried persuading Robin to get Chrom and Sumia involved, since it was no secret the young Pegasus knight highly admired the prince and to Stahl they'd be perfect together, but she said no. In Robin's eyes, they'd never help each other grow, or as she stated "they'd be too comfortable with one another to help each other develop as a person". She did, however, want to pair Sumia with a certain candy loving thief. On the battlefield, Gaius could help his partner deflect arrows and anyone coming from her blind spots while Sumia could bring him to strategic spots that'd be the best to use his bow in. Off the battlefield, Sumia could soften him up and fulfill his sugar craze while he could help her feel more confident as well as be more adventurous. Stahl had to hand it to Robin, when he would watch the two interact they had some chemistry. Not as much as she had with Chrom, but Stahl had a feeling his partner had a little crush on the prince. Plus, he noticed Sumia spending more and more time with Gaius as well as talking about him to her friends, which earned him an "I-told-you-so" smirk from Robin, an even bigger one when Gaius asked her to keep pairing him up with Sumia during battle, and one so big he didn't even know it was possible after the two got engaged. However, most of the couples they could agree on from the beginning. Stahl wouldn't tell it to Robin, but a good majority of the time her initial intuitions on pairing were spot on. If she didn't second guess herself so much, she probably wouldn't need his help to begin with. But, he honestly was having too much fun with her to end it, even if it did find him in peculiar situations.
"So exactly why are we hiding in a bush?" Robin quickly hushed him, bringing a finger up to her lips, then pointed to an opening in the branches for him to look. Stahl peered ahead, then looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Lon'qu and Panne? Really?" He turned his attention back to the couple in question, watching as the taguel poured the swordsman a cup of tea. Robin rolled her eyes, telling him in a as-a-matter-of fact tone, "Think about it, he helps her get more comfortable with humans and she helps him get comfortable with him. Plus, I barely paired them together and they're already having private tea parties. You can't tell me they don't like each other, even it's a little bit." Stahl looked again a third time, and from how close Lon'qu and Panne were sitting, each with faint blushes and small smiles, he had to give it again to Robin. He was about to commend her on her newest match when he noticed how close she was sitting next to him, most likely to share the bush's opening. Robin was in her own little world, most likely deep in thought, and Stahl couldn't help but study her. It was no secret Robin was pretty, but he didn't realize how pretty until now. Long, full lashes, subtle dimples on her cheeks, captivating eyes. Before he knew it, he felt his face turn hot and his heart pick up. He was so caught up in his daze that it took Robin a few snaps of her fingers to get him to focus. 'Er, Stahl, you with me?" Stahl stuttered out an apology and told her the news she wanted to hear. Robin beamed, then stated they were good to leave now. Stahl nodded, figuring it was perfect timing since he was feeling weird, probably from camping out in a cramped bush. Also, he kept catching Panne's ears twitch like she knew they were there and didn't want her and Lon'qu to find them. Robin grabbed him hand, encasing it in hers, and led him stealthily out of the bush and towards the mess hall, talking about how excited she was to see what will happen. All Stahl could think about was her hand.
He should have saw it coming. For close to a year, Stahl had spent almost every waking moment with Robin whether it was fighting, strategizing new matchmakings, eating together, going on patrol with one other, or whatever else the two could do that allowed them to stay side-by-side. Even when they lost Emmeryn, he was there to comfort her. Most people in the army began to notice it too, sometimes making comments about them being attached to the hip, or if "you're looking for one try finding the other". Stahl was honestly unsure when exactly during all this he fell in love with Robin, but he knew when he figured it out. Looking back, he should have known when he was acting weird in the bush, or after getting butterflies whenever she smiled, or how he could spend so much time with her and immediately miss her when she was gone. That he constantly felt the desire to hold her hand or kiss her, to hold her tight and never let go. However, he dismissed all of it due to seeing couples everywhere, thanks to him and Robin, and him happening to be best friends with the most gorgeous woman in the army. It wasn't until Olivia, a dancer from Ferox, offered to help guide the Shepherds that Stahl finally clued in.
When Robin first asked Stahl to protect Olivia, he thought nothing of it. Every now and then Robin would join forces with someone besides himself in battle and she in turn would find him a temporary partner. It would never last more then two battles, and on the rare occasion it did it never was for that long anyways. However, it had almost been two weeks since he was initial placed with the shy guide that he was beginning to get worried. Sure, Olivia was nice and it was great getting to know her, but he was confused why Robin was still pairing herself with Chrom. He in truth was beginning to feel a little jealous and hurt, but it wasn't until Robin came up to him, still giggling over something Chrom said, and asked him what he thought of Olivia that he became straight up angry. Even though she promised him she wouldn't pair him up without his permission, here she was, out of the blue, throwing him together with the latest new girl so Robin could go cuddle up with her ~dreamy~ prince. So, he yelled at her. He yelled at her for trying to set him up and he yelled at her for leaving him in the dark. He yelled at her for not telling him about Chrom and finally he yelled at her for being insensitive. Her emotions changed several times, from surprised to confused to hurt and finally to being just as angry as he felt. "I was never trying to pair you up with Olivia," she said, speaking through her teeth in a low whisper. "If you'd use those people-reading skills you're so proud of then maybe you see that I'm in love with-".But he interrupted her, honestly unsure why he was this angry in the first place. "I'm not an idiot Robin." He then stormed off to his tent, and it wasn't until late into the night he realized he was angry because he wasn't Chrom. That he disillused himself into thinking that those looks of being in love that Robin began to develop were for him and not for the Shepherd's leader. That he was hopelessly, over the moon in love with her and he would never be worthy enough of her love. And that no matter what he did, he would be the average soldier in love with his best friend and there was no way she could ever love him back.
Stupidly, Stahl thought it'd be for the best if he separated himself from Robin for a while. He felt too prideful and sorry for himself to apologize, and even though he could sometimes see her staring at him with a forlorn look in her eyes she wouldn't approach him either. Maybe things weren't going well with Chrom and she was debating on asking for his help, or she wanted to go back to matchmaking. Stahl couldn't care less what her reasoning was, after only a couple of days of not talking to her he was ready to push his pride aside and go back to how things were. But then he would see Robin with someone else, laughing and feeling care-free, and would believe she was probably better without him. He guessed others saw the tension between the two, since he would be asked why he wasn't with Robin all the time anymore. He'd give a fake smile and a white lie, stating that she was just busy but everything between them was fine. He'd overhear Robin give the same excuse when she was asked, so at least they were on the same page and he wouldn't have the entire army shooting him signs of sympathy.
When it had been close to a whole three weeks since the duo talked, Stahl found Sully outside his tent. She had their horses on either side of her, geared up and ready to ride. "C'mon" she said, as she trusted the lead to his horse into his hand. "We need to talk." They got a little ways past the camp before Sully began talking again. "So when are you going to stop being an idiot and apologize to Robin? She's been so mopey since you guys stopped talking but refuses to admit anything is wrong." She then turned to him, an accusing glare shooting his direction. "You do realize she's as much in love with you as you are in love with her? I mean, for the longest time she'd always manage to bring up how great you are, or a funny joke you said, or ask if anyone was in love with her while having the same love sick expression she got whenever she looked you. I never thought I'd say it, but I'd take that Robin over the gloomy one who keeps sighing and stating no one is ever going to love her that we have now." Stahl scoffed and shook his head, although a little part of him wanted to believe his friend. "You're confused Sully, Robin's in love with Chrom. Besides, she's doing fine without me. I don't want to burden her." Sully stared at him for a while. "You truly are an idiot."
When Chrom announced that he was engaged several days later, Stahl gave a quick congratulations and then excused himself. He knew it was coming and tried to prepare himself, but he still felt like someone ripped out his heart and set it on fire. He made his way back to his tent, determined to hide from the engagement festivities, when he managed to bump into Robin. Just his luck, he thought, before giving her a sad smile and a congratulations of her own. "I'm happy for you, truly. You deserve it." He was so wrapped up in his misery that he failed to notice Robin's extremely confused expression, or when she began to call his name as he walked off.
Although she was in the middle of a battle, Robin's thoughts were still on her interaction with Stahl from a few nights ago. Why was he congratulating her? What did she deserve? She grew a little angry, taking it out by cutting down an enemy that charged her left and releasing a cast from her tome to another on her right. Did he truly not want to be her friend anymore? Was she that obvious that she was in love with him that it made things awkward for him? For the past month, Robin tried to scramble what made him angry with her in the first place. She would apologize, but she didn't know what she'd be apologizing for. Robin quickly focused her sword on several Plegian mages, then ordered some troops to go get themselves healed before returning to her worries. She truly was pathetic. She helped to pair up almost every couple in the army and could take down waves upon waves of enemy soldiers but she couldn't even muster the courage to talk to the man she loved. Robin became so focused on what she was thinking that she missed the mercenary coming from behind. Before she knew what happened, she heard a grunt, clashing of swords, and a thud. She turned to see the back of Stahl's armor, who then turned himself to reveal a concerned frown. "Are you ok? I know you like to day dream but now's not the time." Robin opened and closed her mouth, unsure of what to say, before settling on a warm smile and a thank you. The green paladin returned her smile and turned his attention back to the battle. However, each time he wielded his lance Robin could hear him let out a groan but would insist he was fine each time she yelled out to see if he was fine. It wasn't until they finished defeating the rest of the enemy soldiers and Stahl fell to his knees, gasping in pain and clutching his side, that Robin saw the alarming amount of blood coming from his right. Quickly thinking, she called for a healer as she fed him the vulnerary she always carried and prayed that some color would come back to his face. Thankfully, Libra was in the vicinity and heard Robin's cry. He helped her lift Stahl onto his horse before he jumped up and rode to the medical tent, leaving a worried tactician behind.
Robin wasn't sure how long it took for him to wake up, but it felt like eternity had passed when she saw Lissa peeking into her tent to inform her Stahl was awake. She quickly ran over and gave a sigh of relief when she saw him looking happy and healthy, slurping down a bowl of stew and a fresh bandage wrapped around his chest and side. Robin's relief was soon replaced with anger and grabbing a pillow from the cot next to the medical tent's entrance, began whacking Stahl. "Ow! Robin, what gives?! Shouldn't you be nicer to the guy who saved you?" She stopped hitting him and stared at him with a wild look in her eyes. "What gives? You could have died! You should have gone to get yourself healed the second you got stabbed." Stahl scoffed and glared back. "And leave you by yourself so you'd get killed? Like I was going to let that happen. I think saving the future exalt is more important than the life of an average soldier." Now Robin was angry and confused. "No life is more precious than anothers. And what on earth are you talking about?" Before Stahl could respond Libra began to gather up Maribelle and Lissa to lead them outside. "We'll give you two some space." The two blonde friends looked annoyed, as if they wanted to see how the conversation would play out, but didn't argue with Libra's judgment. Robin and Stahl gave him grateful smiles and waiting until the three healers left. Stahl then turned to Robin. "If you marry Chrom that'll make you an exalt. Haven't you thought of that?" For a moment Robin was quiet, and then began to laugh loudly. "Marry Chrom? Where on earth did you get that idea? He's marrying Olivia, and even if he wasn't I don't think I'd ever marry him." She shook her head, still chuckling at Stahl's misunderstanding. Stahl looked embarrassed, running a hand through his hair and turning away from her. He didn't think about it at the time, but Olivia and Chrom did spend a lot of time together off the battlefield and after he yelled at Robin the pink-haired dancer was placed with the prince. It was a rather fast engagement in his opinion, but Stahl wasn't one to judge. "Then why were you pairing me up with Olivia?" Robin placed both hands on her hips and looked at him like the answer was obvious. "I guessed that Chrom and Olivia liked each other, but Olivia would always be so nervous that she'd do something embarrassing. So, I figured I would work on them getting comfortable around each other off the battlefield and on the battlefield you could make her more confident. And it worked. She became less insecure while fighting and stopped worrying so much about impressing Chrom. But I should have told you what I was planning instead of having you figure it out on your own. I'm sorry." Stahl reached out and grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry for overreaching and never talking to you about what was bothering me. But I hope you know no matter what happens I'll always be there to protect you. You're my best friend and I couldn't bare to have anything hurt you." Robin pulled him in for a hug before responding. "Same to you, which is why you have to promise me that you won't put yourself out on the line like that for me again. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." She wanted to say more, but she just got Stahl back and didn't want to scare him off with a confession. "You know I can't promise that, but I can promise I'm not going anywhere soon." He finished his sentence with a squeeze and Robin sighed, but then grinned and pulled away to give him a peck on the cheek. "I guess I can live with that."
A month had passed and Ylisse was now celebrating both the end of the war and the wedding of their prince. However, the majority of the army was still trying to figure out how to have Robin and Stahl admit their feelings for each other. It was no secret the two were involved in bringing together a majority of the couples in the Shepherds; they weren't exactly the stealthiest or quietest of individuals. Although some were annoyed at first, everyone was grateful for Robin and Stahl's dedication to finding them matches. They wanted to repay the duo by doing a little matchmaking themselves but the couple in question was making it extremely hard to do so. They tried being subtle at first; making little comments or gestures. But the two would either be oblivious to what their friends were saying or dismiss it. So, they got more aggressive. Straight up telling the two they'd make a great couple, asking when they plan on confessing to one another, even setting up romantic outings for them. However, the most Stahl and Robin would do was blush or stammer, giving awkward chuckles and shrugs like they didn't know what their friends were talking about. Finally, they had enough. They all sat down and finalized a plan: Frederick would assign the two for patrol duty, even if they were at a time of peace it was never a bad idea to stay wary. Before their shift Robin would be sat down by the girls while Stahl would be by the guys. Each group gave their subject an ultimatum: tell the other his/her feelings during the patrol or they would do it for them. After some protests the two finally agreed, resulting in the situation their friends found themselves in now. As they watched from the trees and bushes they were hiding behind, they could see Stahl and Robin had stopped at the top of a hill next to the castle and its woods. They couldn't hear what the two were saying but judging from the couple's stances and nervous gestures they were trying to confess. When the sun was beginning to set and nothing had happened, the group was ready to give up. Giving a frustrated sigh, Sully got up and started walking back to the castle with several others following her lead. However, they stopped when Nowi let out an excited gasp and Sumia whispered a quick "Look!", pointing her finger out ecstatically in the direction of Stahl and Robin. The messy-haired knight was on one knee holding up a small object, with Robin giving him a wide smile. She then began nodding aggressively before Stahl got up off the ground to slip the object, which was apparently a ring, onto her finger. Robin marveled at it for a little, then with a energetic leap she threw herself at Stahl to give him a big hug, bringing her arms around his neck. As Robin then began to cup his cheek with one hand and bury her other in his hair, Stahl brought his to her hips and pulled her in for a kiss. The moment was short lived, however, when Vaike began to cheer obnoxiously which startled the newly engaged couple. They pulled away and looked to see their friends had begun to emerge from the forest, joining in with the Teach's cheering. Robin and Stahl turned to each other, before laughing as the group swarmed them, giving them hugs and words of congratulations with several people telling them "It's about time".
Two years later, when some of the Shepherd's children began coming back from the future, no one was surprised to see Stahl and Robin's son pairing and matchmaking his friends together.
Author's Note:
I hope you all enjoyed the story! This is the first time I ever wrote a fanfic so I apologize if it's not the best. Also I was unsure about the exact timeline of some of the battles or the ages of certain characters so I used my own interpretations. If there's anything I can improve on please let me know and don't be afraid to leave a brutal review in the comments! Have a Happy New Years!