It's the smell of peppermint that warns her he's near before his arms encircle her waist.
"Gaius," she greets him without turning around.
"That's the only thing you have to say to your husband? Who you haven't seen since last night?"
Robin reaches back, finding the top of his head, and pats it. "I trust you. Besides, I thought you didn't like it when I nagged you."
He sighs, bending down to rest his chin on her shoulder. "Yeah, well… a little more concern would be nice."
She turns at that, looking him up and down. An eyebrow raises. "You're not hurt. At least not as far as I can see. Did you get into a brawl?"
"…No."
"Did you attempt to pilfer a lollipop from a child in town again?"
He bites down on the one he has in his mouth. "No. And I'll never try that again."
She rolls her eyes. "Then I don't know what you expect me to say. I'm sorry you didn't get hurt? Is that it?"
"No, it's—" He straightens up and busies himself with flipping through one of her books. "I'm just not used to someone trusting me like you do."
"Chrom trusts you. That's why he recruited you," she points out, setting her quill down.
"Yeah, but in my line of business trust can be bought. People will trade away one of their friends' lives for a bit of coin." Gaius sits down on their shared sleeping pallet, reclining back on his elbows. "I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I'm not used to people treating me so…"
"Nicely?" she guesses, falling down beside him.
"Yeah, that's one way to put it."
"Does it bother you?"
"Bother me? Nah. I just have to get used to it. I asked him if he'd like to hit the town sometime and surprisingly he agreed. I guess it didn't cross his mind that I'd take it as an opportunity to line my pockets…"
"Gaius."
He holds his hands up in surrender. "I'm kidding! Kidding."
"I should warn Chrom beforehand about your underhanded schemes… although some small part of me is glad it's just sweets you're after and not money."
"A bit of money wouldn't hurt, either—"
She gives him a little shove, frowning. "I'm serious! Chrom has enough to worry about without you dragging him around town and making him pay for everything."
He sighs, seeing the weariness she's been trying to hide for the past week in the defeated slump of her back. In one swift movement he has an arm wrapped around her shoulders and his chin placed atop her head. "Don't worry. I won't make any more trips into town, I promise. For now, anyway…"
She shoots him a look from under her eyelashes.
"Easy, easy. I just can't go forever without a stash, you know? But I do know this war is being hard on everyone—especially you. Did you even sleep last night?"
"I slept a bit. But… I stayed up most of the night drawing up tomorrow's route," Robin admits. "And checking the armory with Frederick."
"Geez, no wonder you look dead on your feet. Well, master tactician—" He stands, keeping a hand on her shoulder. "As your husband it's my duty to look after you when you fail to do so yourself. So, I think it'd be best if you went to sleep now and just saved all this—" He waves a hand toward the map she has laid out, "For tomorrow."
She gives an exasperated sigh. "I can't do that. The upcoming battle hinges on whatever plan I can come up with now. There's no time for me to rest."
"Poppycock, I say! Everyone needs their sleep."
"Well, tell that to Frederick then. I'm sure he doesn't get any rest at all." She looks him in the eye. "But… I do see your point. I suppose I can spare a few hours—"
"Great!"
"But!" Robin holds up a finger. "Only a few. I honestly need to figure out a route. And draw up a plan for…" she trails off, eyebrows knitting together. "For something. Everything's a bit….muddled right now. Your suggestion is sounding more inviting with each passing moment, really."
"See? You're stressing yourself out. Overworking! Crivens, I didn't know that was possible until Blue enlisted me and I met Frederick."
Robin laughs, waving a hand but stops when Gaius twists his fingers between hers. Startled, she eyes him warily. "Gaius?"
"I'm being completely serious right now. You need a break."
"But—" she falters under the look he gives her. It's uncharacteristically serious.
"You're going to sleep for, say, eight hours. Nine would be even better. While I," he draws away, rolling up her papers and stacking the books, "take these to Blue."
"Chrom shouldn't take it upon himself to do my job," Robin says, temper flaring. "I told you, he has enough riding on his shoulders already. I have to do this; if I don't—"
He silences her by leaning forward and pressing a kiss to her lips. It's quick and a bit sticky (she blames the caramels he's hidden seemingly everywhere) but it gets the job done. Stunned to silence, she watches with wide eyes as he hefts his heavy load (formerly hers) into his arms and starts to make his exit.
Gaius winks. "Blue is just as capable of figuring out a route. …I think. Besides, I'm sure he'd understand you need some sleep. He's not that much of a slave driver. Just… take it easy, yeah? For me?"
She resists the urge to touch her mouth. He's always surprising her with his out of the blue displays of affection. Closing her eyes, she nods. "Alright. I'll give you this one. But tell him I'll be up as soon as possible—oh, and not to choose the northern road. It'd give the caravan too much trouble with the snow from the mountains. It'd also be best if he didn't choose—"
"Bubbles."
Robin looks at him, surprised to hear the nickname she asked him to ditch back when they got engaged. He's been good at keeping his word and has refrained from using it (until now). "Y-Yes?"
"Go to sleep."
"…I think I'll do just that, thank you."
―――
When Gaius peeks in only minutes later, he's not at all surprised to find her passed out under the covers. Smirking, he heads towards Chrom's tent while whistling some off-key tune Stahl taught him.
It looks as if Vaike will be missing his share of dessert for the next week. Or two.
notes: ...i don't know where this came from. i like gaius and robin with other people, but i also like them together. and there's not that many gaius/robin fics floating about. or gaius fics in general. (does gaius have a nickname for frederick? because if he does i'm not aware of it. if he doesn't, like i think, i have to admit i don't feel comfortable trying to give frederick a nickname. the only one that i think could fit would be pyromaniac.)