Welp, this is my first attempt at Chrobin-
I hope it's not too terrible aha
Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem.
"Chrom… Lissa… And all of my people… know that I loved you."
The exalt steps forwards on the platform, her headpiece glinting in the sunlight, blonde hair curling over her shoulders.
Robin simply stares – she cannot tell what's about to happen. But Chrom rises to his feet and runs with such urgency that her heart sinks as she realises what she's about to witness.
Emmeryn takes another step forwards, slowly, gracefully, and Chrom's running becomes desperate.
He's too late.
The exalt takes one final breath, and then she's falling, falling, falling.
To Robin, she looks like an angel, cloak billowing out around her, eyes closed, a soft smile on her lips. It's almost surreal, a dream.
But Lissa's scream brings her back to reality, and she realises it is not a dream, not an angel in mid-flight – it's a nightmare, a kind and beautiful leader plummeting to her death.
And it's her fault.
Her strategy brought them here – she just wasn't wise enough to think ahead.
Emmeryn hits the ground with a sickening thud, and Robin can barely breathe as she watches Chrom fall to the ground, shaking, sobbing.
She can't bring herself to comfort him.
Chrom becomes distant after that, unfocused, unreliable.
Robin's soul is crushed at every sad smile, every 'I'm fine', every sob she hears at 3am when everyone else is asleep.
And she knows, oh she knows she should comfort him – she wants nothing more than to scoop him into her arms and tell him everything's alright.
He doesn't talk to her much anymore, though. She supposes he has his reasons – it was, after all, her doing that caused all of this.
It's 4am, and the air is cold, the wind howling.
Robin sits up in her tent, her candle flickering over the book – but she's not reading, not really, because all she can hear are the terrible, shuddering sobs that the Prince is so desperately trying to keep to himself.
She can't take it anymore.
Any resolves to distance herself from him are lost as she pulls on her coat and ducks out her tent.
He's sitting alone, head between his hands, in front of a simmering fire, the light drizzle of rain extinguishing it bit by bit.
"Chrom."
The name startles him and his head snaps up, tired eyes looking her wearily in the face.
"Chrom," she says again, "it's 4am."
"…I- sorry." He mumbles, wiping an eye with his already damp sleeve, "did I wake you?"
"No." She says softly, sitting next to him, "I don't sleep much."
"Well… I should probably be going." He nods, standing up as if to leave.
"No." She repeats, grabbing his hand to pull him back down – and despite the situation, all she can seem to think is that his hands are soft, and warm, and she never wants to let go.
So he sits down again, looking at her curiously, their hands still pressed together.
She knows she has to speak before it gets awkward, and she has so many questions, but they're selfish, about her – she settles for murmuring, "Don't say you're fine."
"I…" He pulls his hand away from hers, his face turning slightly red, "why do you care?"
It comes out harsher than expected, and her eyes brim with tears as she whispers, "Because I care about you."
He frowns, "do you?"
"Yes, I do!" She snaps, her eyes fixed on the remains of the fire, "I care about you more than anyone else in this army, but I'm clearly wasting my time."
She rises to her feet, and this time it's him who pulls her back, and she crosses her arms, staring angrily at the ground.
"What makes you say-" He starts, but she cuts him off.
"You couldn't care less about me, Chrom, face it!" She hisses, "I'm just some random girl you found lying in a field, whose stupid tactics led to your sister's death!"
The silence after is awkward, uncomfortable, but what's the worst is the look on Chrom's face.
"Chrom… I-I'm sorry-" She begins, but stops when his arms wrap around her.
She knows he's saying something, but she can't hear – she doesn't know why, but all she can focus on is him, the feeling of her body against his, and it's stupid, childish, inappropriate – but at the same time, she never wants it to end.
"You can't change destiny, Robin." Is all she hears, and she frowns at this, because she's never been a big believer in fate – she always saw it as an excuse.
"Destiny isn't real, Chrom." She finds herself saying, "What happened that day was a stupid mistake on my behalf."
She sniffs, tears threatening to spill over her eyelids once more, and he pulls away from her, not quite letting go.
She continues, "But it won't happen again, because once this war is over, I'm leaving… so I'll never have to mess things up again. I… I don't know where to, but I don't plan to stay. I don't expect I'll be missed."
He stares at her, and for a minute she thinks he's going to get up and leave, or laugh, or slap her.
But then he's kissing her, and the world falls apart.
A voice in her head is screaming at her to stop, to pull away and go back to her tent, because a prince and his tactician could never be.
But at the same time, she knows that'll never happen.
Her hand reaches up to his hair, and she feels him smile against her lips. It's perfect, so perfect, even though his lips are chapped and her eyes still gooey from tears.
And when they finally break apart, he whispers, "Please don't leave me."
She knows that she couldn't, even if she tried.