I wrote this for my bro and decided to post it here to fill the void since there aren't any fanfics dealing with Chrom and Frederick. This was written for Valentine's Day so, uh... pretend it's Valentine's Day or something.
Yeah.
I guess I should put a disclaimer? Yeah. I don't own Fire Emblem or anything so nothing here is actually mine aside from the actual fanfic itself. Have a very lovely day.
It wasn't too long ago that Chrom had found Robin in the field outside of the Ylisstol, nor had it been long since the he allowed her into the Shepherds as their head tactician. Despite all of the shared battles and the constant bonding between the two, Chrom still found himself surprised when the silver-haired woman left a small package wrapped in faded red paper and tied with a thin piece of twine in his hands.
Robin frowned, easily reading the confusion on the lord's face as she prepared to walk back to her tent. With a sigh, the tactician gestured to the gift and spoke.
"You're wondering what it is. Don't worry, they're just chocolates. You know, I'm surprised that you're not drowning in gifts by now." Robin's expression softened, giving Chrom a warm smile, "We've been spending so much time worrying about fighting the Plegians, I guess Valentine's Day has been the farthest thing from your mind. I don't blame you. Either way, we're partners, you said so yourself. I felt this would be an effective way to show my appreciation."
"Valentine's Day…?!" Chrom blinked, suddenly feeling himself being pulled back into reality. His life had been consumed by so many other things that he had lost track of time. "Gods! With getting over Emm's death and worrying about fighting that dastard, Gangrel, I guess I have forgotten all about it. Thank you, Robin. I really appreciate this."
"The pleasure is mine." the tactician sang as she spun on her heel, giving the lord a wave before retreating to her tent.
The Ylissean royal swore he had seen the faintest of blushes on Robin's face, but shrugged it off as if it were nothing. Even so, he truly did appreciate the gift. It had been a long while since he last had chocolate. With the Shepherds fighting a harsh war against Plegia, Chrom often found him and his men feasting upon bear meat or whatever else was on hand. Even when there was candy in the camp, it often found its way into Gaius's hands and inevitably, his stomach.
Feeling it was best to hide the small gift in his own tent to keep it out of the hands of certain thieves, the Ylissean royal silently walked off. However, Chrom certainly did not expect to find a particular knight folding blankets in his tent upon arrival. Within, Frederick stood in full armor, folding up that damned peach-colored blanket that he had claimed went well with the prince's complexion. Where the knight had gotten his sense of fashion, Chrom would never know, but that wasn't an issue as of now.
"Good day, milord. I see you've returned from your walk around the camp. I highly suggest resting up for the next battle; just allow me to finish tidying up here first before you do anything. A messy bed is not suitable for Ylissean royalty." Frederick spoke in his usual, stern tone as he finished folding the blanket. Making sure the folds lined up perfectly before placing it down on the cot, the knight stood up straight, facing his lord, "The preparations have been completed, milord. You are free to rest-… Pardon me, milord, but may I ask what that is you are holding?"
Lifting a hand to point at the wrapped chocolates, Frederick's brow furrowed. He already had an idea as to where it had come from.
"These? Nothing to worry about Frederick. Robin just gave me some chocolates for Valentine's Day-!" Chrom hadn't even finished speaking before the package was roughly snatched from his hands.
Holding it up by the neatly tied piece of string that held the wrapping together, Frederick observed the object before shaking his head.
"I will have to take these for inspection, milord. There is a chance that they could be poison. I've seen enough Ylissean royalty die, I would rather it that you don't take any risks. The world is dangerous, milord, whether it be chocolates or the reeds on the way to Robin's tent."
It was strange, Frederick had never been this careful about such things before. Of course, no doubt that it could be because of Emmeryn's recent death, as much as it pained Chrom to think about it. A feeling of uneasiness washed over the prince as he extended his hand towards Frederick, hoping the knight would cooperate and hand back Robin's gift. Yet, as expected, the brunette did not comply, shaking his head and using his free hand to lower Chrom's.
"This is serious, milord. I refuse to hand this back. It's awfully suspicious that out of all the possible times, Robin would bestow this gift of 'chocolates' upon you."
"Frederick, this is getting ridiculous! Robin gave those to me for Valentine's Day. Surely if she had any intention of poisoning me, she would have done it already! If you were really that concerned about my well being, you would have taken Sully off of cooking duty last week. I was as sick as a dog after eating that 'stew' she made!" Chrom's tone was sharp as he spoke, each word practically piercing Frederick's heart as they rolled off of the Ylissean lord's tongue, "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself and I know this isn't the first time I've said something like this to you. You need to relax, Frederick. Nothing is going to happen to me. I'm not going to be poisoned, I'm not going to trip over something, and I am surely not going to be killed!"
The crinkle of paper filled the soundless void that was left once Chrom finished speaking. Frederick's fingers started to close tightly around the package of chocolates as the prince's words sunk in. As opposed to the previous time in which Chrom had informed him of such things, this time seemed to actually hurt. Forcing himself to relax, the knight brought his hands behind his back. Releasing the gift and letting it fall to the dirt with a soft thud, dust scattered and rose around Frederick's armored boots before quickly settling, coating the lustrous metal.
"But I do have an explanation, milord. This isn't something I can simply ignore."
"Alright then," Chrom sighed, willing to accept the knight's chance to explain himself, hoping that he'd get his chocolates back, "tell me what it is you want to say."
"Don't you see that I'm doing this because I care about you?!"
Not what Chrom had been expecting to hear. Yet he bit his lip, allowing the paladin to continue speaking before intervening.
"If, somehow, those chocolates were poisoned, or those reeds did trip you, or something else caused injury to you...We would all be devastated! ...I would be devastated. Milord, I know you're a commander and perfectly able to take care of yourself, but sometimes you seem to throw caution into the wind, and at those times, I can't help but intervene. Please understand, Milord..." Once he finished speaking, Frederick got down to one knee, picking up the package of chocolates. His vision was trained on the ground for a brief moment before he stood.
"Wait, when you say that you care about me, do you mean…?!" Shocked and flustered, the lord took a step away from Frederick; he had never expected the brunette's actions to be born from jealousy. Sure, Chrom and Robin had grown rather close, but something as trivial as jealously certainly would never fit into Frederick's character. Regardless, it had.
Sensing the confusion coming from his commander, Frederick bit his lip. He didn't really know any other way to repeat it. Instead, gut instinct took over, leaving the brunette to blurt out the first thing that popped into his head without a second thought.
"Milord, whenever I look at you, my loins are afire!"
Suddenly, the knight found himself alone in the tent once more, left to question what words had thoughtlessly escaped from his lips. A flustered and beet red Chrom was already on the other side of the camp, taking refuge in Robin's tent.
It took weeks for the awkwardness to even begin to fade between the two men. Both men danced around the issue, hardly speaking to each other until eventually, Chrom came to terms with Frederick's feelings and finally accepted them to some extent. While the prince did not return those feelings, Frederick was pleased regardless, a heavy weight lifted from his shoulders. The knight continued to selflessly serve and protect the Ylissean lord until his last breath.
Frederick was eventually eaten alive by a pack of wild bears. My, how the tables have turned.