Milestones - Chapter 1
Robin stared absently at the night sky, sheets pulled up covering her practically naked body, her chin resting on her hands. Whenever she was with him, the intellect she prided herself in seemed to go out the window and her heart ruled. Never in a million years would she have imagined that she would end up where she is now: her boss's right hand and his girlfriend, though the latter label came first.
They were classmates in college and met in the strangest of circumstances. She had arrived early for class and wound up sleeping on the ground, book falling from her hand and covering her chest. Amid the hustle and bustle of students and teachers arriving, the noise was a dull, faint rhythm in her half-asleep world. Except his voice, that was crystal clear.
"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know. Give me your hand." Robin woke up with a start, sitting up with her hair sticking out at odd angles and grass stuck on her back and palms. She looked up, embarrassed to be seen, biting her lower lip as she took his proffered hand. As she stood up, a wave of dizziness took over and she started to fall forward, landing on his chest. "Oopsie daisy…"
"Ah! I'm sorry." Robin's face was red, movements jittery as she tried to brush away the bits of grass that transferred from her hands to his chest. He laughed. It was soft, deep, and comforting, a little hypnotic too. "I'm sorry…"
"Chrom." He smiled again, his hands reaching over, dusting off whatever was on her back. His fingers seemed to dance innocently in between her shoulder blades then running up and down her spine, absently switching between picking off grass and rubbing small circles down her back. Robin's body jerked slightly as she leaned into his chest again, this time grabbing fistfuls of his shirt. "Hmmm…?"
"You. Jerk." She hissed, looking up at him with tears in her slightly glazed over eyes. Her lips were quivering. Robin was about to say something again when he pressed down a sensitive spot in the small of her back, just off center from her spine, making her help, her knees starting to buckle. She hit his chest with her fists weakly, her forehead slumped against him as she mumbled jackass…
"Sorry, couldn't help it. You're too cute and defenseless like this." Chrom smiled again, pushing her away slightly but this time his hand dropping down and deftly interlacing his fingers with hers. He bent down and picked up her bag and her book, carrying them along with a pretty heavy bag of his own. "Come on, we'll be late if we don't hurry."
"Now whose fault is that?" Robin grumbled, but letting herself be led by him anyway. His back was wide, the skin on his neck lightly tanned. Her eyes wandered to his arms, a curious mark peeking through. As if to break her out of her daze, she felt his hand squeeze affectionately. "Robin."
"Hm?" Chrom looked back for a second before turning his head forwards again, pulling her along gently as they made their way to the auditorium. He easily maneuvered through the crowd, managing to find an easy path all while holding her hand tightly and clutching two bags and a book.
"You're Chrom right? My name is Robin."
"Not anymore love."
"L-l-love?" Robin stared at Chrom incredulously. They knew each other all of ten minutes and he was calling her love? She hoped it was just his pet name for all the girls in his life. She assumed he'd already had a few girlfriends at this point, but something about his tone told her that this was different, that she was different.
"Love," he repeated firmly.
Robin reddened further, her ears growing hot. Who was this wildly charismatic young man and why was he so interested in her?
"Love?" Chrom's voice snapped her out of her reverie. He climbed into bed behind Robin, pulling her close, his arm resting just under her chest. "What were you thinking of?"
"The day we met," she replied lazily.
"Oh so the day you fell in love with me?" Robin shivered, feeling his breath on her nape.
"As if," she laughed, pulling away from him and started for the bathroom.
"Where are you going little miss?" Chrom's tone was laced with mischief as he attempted to grab her hand but to no avail.
"To shower. Unlike you, I'm still a mess and we have work tomorrow." Robin stuck her tongue out playfully, picking out one of his clean undershirts from a basket and her clean underwear in a pile right beside it.
"Do we have to? Can't we just stay here and cuddle all day? Preferably with no clothes on. It's a bit hot." Chrom complained unabashedly, starting to dry his hair.
"Pervert." Her lips turned up slightly as her feet stepped onto the cool marble of the bathroom.
"Think I'll join you in the shower, might've missed a spot anyway." He was about to stand up when he heard a click. Chrom cursed loudly, making sure Robin could hear. She only laughed in reply.
When Robin was done showering, she made her way straight to the bed, hand half over her mouth as she attempted to stifle a yawn. His shirt slipped from her shoulders, revealing the swell of her chest. I should probably buy some nightgowns soon. These shirts are too big...
"Chrom?" She barely managed to stifle another yawn when she climbed in, Chrom shifting and lifting his arm as she wriggled herself into his embrace. He let his arm drape over her shoulders, rubbing her hair in between his fingers. Robin looked up at his slightly furrowed brows. "What are you reading?"
"Just looking over the report for tomorrow one last time." He set the papers aside and shut the lamp off. Chrom pulled her close and gently kissed her forehead, Robin's eyes fluttering closed as she curled up against him. Their legs started to tangle together as they pulled themselves even closer, as if needing reassurance that they weren't alone.
"Good night love," she whispered before finally letting herself go. Chrom smiled against her hair, breathing in the fruity scent of her shampoo. Robin was usually too embarrassed to be openly affectionate in her language but when she was, it only made hearing her speak that way warm his heart even more.
"Night love," he whispered back. Chrom gazed at the woman sleeping in his arms, his eyelids growing heavier and heavier. He used to hate the evenings because sleep always evaded him. Apparently Robin had the same problem but when they were together like this, they savored the peace they suddenly seemed to find.
-x-
Chrom woke up to a warm but empty bed. He slowly blinked away the bleariness, yawning as he got out. "Robin?"
He made his way to the kitchen, the smell of coffee too good to stay away from. He sat down on one of the bar chairs, picking up the french press and poured a hefty mug of coffee. As he sipped his morning brew, he picked up a neatly written note, her beautiful cursive outlining a short message.
Morning. Made you some coffee and breakfast. Just turn the toaster on, the bread's already in it, and there's scrambled eggs in the pan. Don't skip. I'll know. Left for work early. Robin.
Chrom chuckled, setting down his mug as he started the toaster and transferred the eggs to his plate. They were still warm. He pulled out butter from the fridge and started to set his own place on the kitchen's bar. She already ate. Her plate, silverware, and mug were already washed and set down to dry.
"Why we still have to leave for the office separately, I don't know." Chrom poked at the eggs with his fork, deftly picking up his toast when the alarm rang. They lived together. It's not like they were keeping it a secret anyway but even if they were, Chrom was pretty bad at sweeping it under the rug. Still, insisting that they leave for the office was not an argument he felt like having. They had few serious arguments and he never liked how they progressed. Their first one very nearly tore them apart.
"Come on, we'll share the rent. I'll even let you pick out the decorations, whatever we can afford and whatever we have space for anyway," Chrom argued brightly, as if the matter of decor was going to be enough to sway her.
"But I don't have to worry about food if I stay here," countered Robin, her eyes narrowing. She refused to budge.
"Can't cook?" I thought there was nothing the great and powerful Robin can't do?" Robin hurled a throw pillow at his face. "Hey, that hurt!"
"I can too cook," she muttered angrily.
"Then why don't you want to live together?" Chrom's voice lost all of its playfulness.
"We don't even have the same schedule, plus I have a part time job that takes away some of my nights." Robin sounded tired, slumping in the chair as she rubbed her temples.
"You make it sound like you're avoiding me, like you don't even love me anymore." His eyes narrowed, his tone laced with bitterness. A loud crack echoed in her quaint room. Chrom's head turned back towards her, his eyes wide in shock, as his hand cradled his now reddening cheek.
"Get out." She was furious. How could he come to that conclusion? He was so used to moving at his own pace that he didn't even think about how terrifying it was for her. No one ever asked her how she felt about anything and out of everyone in the world, she thought he would.
"I didn't mean-" He started to regret what he said, annoyed at himself for even doubting her.
"Get out." Her voice cracked and tears started to fall. "Just get out Chrom. Leave me alone."
He stood up wordlessly and made his way out, barely managing to contain his emotions. When he turned around to apologize, Robin shoved him out and slammed the door in his face. They both fell to their knees and started to cry, their hands clutching uselessly against the door.
For weeks they avoided each other, talking only when they had to meet up for a class project. For weeks they couldn't sleep, Robin barely managing to hide the dark circles and red eyes with makeup. Chrom spent his nights in his apartment, either working on papers or tossing and turning in bed. Their fight ended as quickly as it started, as soon as Chrom found himself drinking one too many glasses of whiskey.
"Robin?" No answer. He shouted again, banging his fists against her door. If her neighbors woke up, he didn't care. "Robin?"
"What?" The door jerked open. Her hair was disheveled, her eyes tired, her voice raspy, but he didn't care. Chrom teetered forwards, pushing her down in the entryway as he shoved the door closed. He wasn't going to try anything, all he wanted was sweet and blissful sleep. "Get off me."
"Nope, not going to." He buried his face in the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent. He grew heavy on her, pinning her down as he started to doze off. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."
"Then why did you?" Robin stiffened, the hurt coming back. "And are you drunk? Chrom we still have class tomorrow."
"I dunno, just scared. Thought you didn't even think I was serious about me, about us." His whiskey-soaked breath was hot against her skin. He rolled off of her but kept one arm on top as she squirmed over to look at his red cheeks and half-lidded gaze. "Do you think about us?"
"Of course I do. I was just hurt you didn't even want to consider my feelings, that the only choice I could make was the one you wanted or we were over." The fact that he admitted he was scared softened her gaze. She pushed his arm away from her but held his hand tenderly. "Come on, this is no place to sleep."
"I love you." Her heart stopped as she looked at his face. His eyes were wide open but his lids were threatening to close. "I'm sorry I hurt you. We don't have to move in together if you're not ready. I'll wait. Meantime, I need to sleep and it seems the only way I can is knowing we're okay."
"Let's start looking for a place tomorrow, but for now, let's go to bed." Robin stood up as Chrom managed to push his tired body up,stumbling through her small apartment with her help. "Turns out I can't sleep either when we're fighting."
They had other fairly big arguments since then. They grew very heated but they learned with each one. They learned that it was usually because they weren't trying to understand each other or they weren't listening. They learned that they needed to give each other space to cool down a little bit but should always try to fix things sooner rather than later because in the end, they only had each other.
-x-
"Meeting's in ten minutes." Robin scrolled through the primer the prospective client sent over, hardly lifting her gaze as Chrom sauntered in. He leaned over her, glancing at the figures printed on the sides, the sharp smell of his aftershave a bit strong today. "What's that-"
Robin pushed him away, her stomach unsettled from the slightly alcoholic scent. Chrom raised an eyebrow as she rushed off, barely making it as she leaned over and started to throw up.
"You okay?"
She threw up again. He made his way to her bathroom, finding her slumped on the floor, her hands pushing her hair back against her slick forehead. Chrom sat down beside her, holding back her hair as he started to rub circles on her shoulders. Robin smiled appreciatively before turning her head away to throw up again.
"Maybe you should just go home and rest. You look a bit feverish."
"But the meeting…" Robin sounded weak. If she couldn't convince herself, there was no way she could convince him.
"Go, I can handle it." Robin raised an eyebrow. "I'll listen to them and I'll even ask questions, your questions. I won't make any decisions without you. You're not feeling well. They'll understand why you're not there."
They set up shop soon after graduating, Chrom the boss and Robin his practically-equal second. Every day was always so busy because of all the groundwork they had to do. Almost five years since then, just finally starting to be in the black, there was no rest for the weary. They were busy but they loved it. Their growing consulting firm was starting to get more and more projects and they finally started to have a say as to which projects they'd accept.
"Go home Robin, it's fine to take a day off every once in awhile, especially when you're sick." Robin was trying to save face but barely managed even fifteen seconds before throwing up again. "Once you're feeling better, I'll have Frederick take you home. I'm not taking no for an answer."
Robin raised her hands up in surrender. Truth be told, lately she hadn't been feeling so well in the mornings, barely managing to hide it from Chrom.
"Good girl." Robin's face finally started getting back some color when Chrom decided she was fine. He stood up before helping Robin to her feet, flushing the toilet. He had her lean against the wall as he took a towel and dampened it, pressing the cool cloth to her cheek. "I'll go home when the meeting is over, not a busy day today anyway after this. I'm sure the rest can handle it."
"Okay…" Chrom raised an eyebrow. She was being unusually submissive. Robin shooed him away. "Go on, I'll be fine."
Chrom gently kissed her forehead before leaving. His heart aching slightly as he walked towards the conference room.
"I guess I should probably buy one of those too," Robin mumbled to herself as soon as Chrom was out of earshot, one hand resting on her stomach, the other tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Seems I'm a little late."
-x-
So, here I am, suddenly back to writing fanfiction. I started… more than 13 years ago (apparently), stopped around 9 years ago because I started college. Other things happened that prevented me from writing again, or writing more than a few pages of anything really. Just recently, a friend encouraged me to get back into writing, so I did and here I am, with a new account to start anew.
FE:A has a special place in my heart because I was going through some rough times and playing this game helped alleviate some of the stress and anxiety I was feeling. Taking a few liberties with the general personalities of Robin and Chrom but I'll try to keep these deviations as little (and as logical) as possible.
Here's to hoping people take kindly to this and that I get back into doing one of the things I love most: writing.