A couple quick notes about this story before diving right in:

- This story features a couple that is not possible within the game itself. I won't say who right now, but please be assured that it's not anyone too terribly important. This was done mostly because I hate odd numbers when it comes to matchmaking, and the pairing in question seems reasonable enough that it doesn't stretch the bounds of believability too much.

- This story does not take into account the events that occur in Paralogues 18-23. Since they don't appear in the process of the main story like Paralogues 1-4 do, I personally don't consider them to be part of the game's canon. Sorry if that's bothersome.

Some days, Gaius felt like the universe just had it out for him.

There had been nary a cloud in the sky earlier, but they had rolled in like a tide as soon as the sun hit the rooftops of the town, and they'd brought just as much water with them. With one last look outside the tavern window, he scowled, sighed, and then threw his head back and gulped down a huge swig of sweetened grape juice. There was no way he'd be able to pull off a job under these conditions – his pastries would get soaked. He'd just have to hope that the weather cleared up by tomorrow night.

Besides, he thought as he finished off the bottle and let it dangle idly from his fingers, it's not like he was pressed for time or anything. Ever since the end of the war, jobs had been few and far between. Oh, sure, people had more of everything to spare, but that included time and resources to dedicate to keeping an eye on it. That tended to make things a little trickier.

Gaius wiped some of the juice off his lips with his free hand and reminded himself that life after the war it wasn't so bad. He wasn't hurting for sweets, and he could always find a roof over his head. The recognition sometimes backfired on him, but overall, he didn't think that getting to tell the tale of when he stood atop an ancient fell dragon on the verge of destroying the world as it nosedived into the deserts of Plegia was a bad price to pay for all the free drinks it had gotten him. Gaius still marveled at the fact that nobody had fallen off the damn thing, though thinking of that story made him scowl whenever he was alone. Just because no one had fallen off of the dragon's back didn't mean everyone had made it home safe and sound…

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden silence all around him, followed by a surge of hushed whispers. Gaius blinked in surprise – this place was usually louder than a pack of scrapping cats, and that's why he liked it here. The noise helped drown out his more disquieting lines of thought. As his eyes fell on the entryway, he let out a low chuckle and lazily flipped the bottle in his hands and set it on the table. "Well, well, well, this certainly isn't a visit I ever expected to have." he said slowly as the cause of the disturbance approached his small table in the corner. "The Exalt of Ylisse himself, come down to mingle with the commoners. I thought you'd learned to count your blessings, Blue. 'Course, if you want me to treat ya to another night on the town, I'm all for –"

"Gaius, will you please stop talking for just a minute?" Chrom grumbled. "I've been looking all over the city for you."

Gaius looked Chrom up and down. He certainly looked like he'd been out for a while – he was soaked to the bone, his hair and cloak sopping wet and dripping all over the floor, forming rather large puddles around his similarly waterlogged boots. "Haven't seen you in ages, Blue." Gaius commented, leaning back in his chair. "It's been what…six months? A year?"

"A year and a half." Chrom answered roughly. "And that's precisely why I've been looking for you."

Gaius stretched his arms behind his back, thoroughly unimpressed by all the incredulous stares the other patrons were giving him. He had to admit, if something like this was happening to someone else, he'd probably stare too. "What, another war come up? Can't say I blame ya for wanting such a skillful bloke like myself back on your side, but – "

"No, Gaius, we're not at war." Chrom sighed, rubbing his eyes.

Gaius smirked. Clearly, the royal bird's feathers were starting to ruffle. "Then what tempts the Exalt of Ylisse out of his gilded cage, hm? Surely you've got more important things to tend to than social calls to ol' Sticky-Fingers Gaius."

"It's not what tempts me out of the castle," Chrom said, finally looking Gaius straight in the eye, "but what tempts you in there."

Gaius cocked his head. "Listen, Blue, I've broken into the palace treasury before, and while it's a nice place and all –"

"I'm not talking about the treasury."

"You guys install a royal pastry bakery in there then or something?"

"Not quite."

"Lissa got any more of those little candies?"

"She's fresh out at the moment."

"Then there ain't nothing your palace has got that's much in the way of tempting."

Chrom snorted. "That's not true and you know it. What about your son?"

Gaius finally flinched at the mention of his son. His face darkened, and he broke Chrom's gaze to let it drift to the floor. "He's a good kid. He's already learned all he can from me. Besides," he muttered darkly, "he's not even really born yet, anyway. Hell, the kid might not even get to be born now."

Chrom's hand clenched at his side, though he was clearly making an effort to stay calm. "Shouldn't that be all the more reason for you to make sure and spend time with him? He may not be born in this time, but he's already had to go without a father once. You owe it to him now, when you're alive and that future has been averted, to at least pretend to care about him."

Gaius scoffed, but still refused to meet Chrom's eye. "What does he need a dad like me for? In case you forgot, Blue, I'm a thief. Me hanging around the palace isn't any good for anyone."

"You're his father, Gaius." Chrom said sternly. "He'll always need you. And besides…he's not the only one who will."

Gaius eyes snapped open as he froze, his very veins turning to ice despite the roaring fire on the other side of the room. The only indication that time itself had not stopped dead in its tracks were his hands - usually steady as a rock under any amount of sugar, they had now begun to tremble ever so slightly in his gloves. Satisfied that he had not turned to a block of ice, he slowly lifted his head back up to stare at Chrom. "What d'you mean?" he asked, voice suddenly tight and strained. "He's the only one you got up there…isn't he?"

Chrom's expression finally softened from annoyance to a gentle smile. "Not anymore." he said, reaching out and placing it firmly on Gaius' shoulder. "That's why I came looking for you. We found her."