A/N: I don't own Fire Emblem Awakening, but I do own a copy of the game! I am also the author of the crack-fic "When Using New Products, Read the Instructions Carefully"! And the titles of all my FE13 stories will be named in a similar fashion from now on so you know it's me!

The Chrom/Tharja and Chrom/Miriel pairings are impossible due to game mechanics, but after multiple play-throughs I can see that the FE13 writers had done their best to write unique convos for the really "out there" pairs in the game so I thought, maybe I could try and write these two pairs? Besides, everybody already writes Chrom/Cordelia so I'd like to try something else.

Chrom/Panne can't happen because then there would have to be a Taguel!Lucina, so that's understandable. Chrom/Cherche can't happen because Chrom is "destined" to have a child some time during the two-year time skip, and Cherche only appears after that.

And so, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you this fanfic, in which I explore the possibilities of the Chrom/Tharja ship (Tharja will be first, because I still can't speak Miriel that well and I don't think I can do her justice).

Chrom/Tharja C Support

"Beware of Men Who Break Things 24 Hours a Day and Seven Days a Week"

It had taken but a few short hours for Tharja to perfect the special potion that would help her win the affections of her precious Robin. It wasn't a exactly a love potion - and while she was certainly capable of making one, she didn't like the fake love that other dark mages brewed in their cauldrons, and preferred those sweet and pink feelings to grow naturally. But she wasn't averse to using a potion or two to get the ball rolling...

In just ten days the Shepherds and the Feroxi soldiers would be marching right back into Plegian territory in order to catch Mad King Gangrel off guard and finish him off once and for all. Tharja's plan was to secretly feed Robin the potion she made over the next few days and then stick close to him during the battle they were preparing for. With the potion's help, the tactician's burdens of the heart would lighten for just enough to time to see all of her good traits as they fight side by side, traits that would only be amplified thanks to the high tensions of the battlefield.

Once they'd won against Plegia, the potion's effects would have worn off by then but the tactician would already be so in love with her that he'd profess his feelings to her on the spot!

Tharja rubbed her hands together, cackling softly to herself. This plan was foolproof.

Soon, very very soon... Robin would be hers!

She just needed to wait for the right moment to slip out of her hiding spot and slip the potion into his canteen while he wasn't looking.

But she'd been waiting in this small closet for over half an hour now... Robin was ceaselessly slaving over battle formations, terrain disadvantages and each individual solder's dossier, trying to put together all the pieces of a very complicated puzzle that had terrible consequences waiting if not done properly enough. Tharja respected him for how hard he was working to unite everyone into one cohesive force, and seeing him suffer at his desk made her even more resolute about what she was about to do.

Once this war was over and they began their married life together, Tharja would do everything she could to make him happy, and make up for all the times he'd been physically and emotionally hurt during this campaign.

"Robin, can I come in?" A voice asked from outside the tactician's room. When Robin did not respond, the voice warned, "I am perfectly capable of breaking this door down, as you are very much aware. And I know you can hear me so don't make this situation any worse, for both of our sakes."

Tharja frowned. That new voice belonged to the general of the army and the scion of Ylissean royal family, Chrom. To be more specific, he was the man who'd spoken to her in the middle of an important battle and recruited her, even though she was an enemy. She'd meant it when she said that she would lend her dark talents to his cause (for now), but that didn't mean she ever understood him. To Tharja he was too straightforward, naive and chivalrous to really work with, and she seriously doubted his intelligence. Poor Robin, she could only imagine how much trouble the Ylissean prince was giving him.

No one could stand Chrom's badgering for long, and the amnesiac stood up from his desk at last. When he unlocked the door and pulled it open, he hissed, "Break down the door and risk provoking Khan Flavia's wrath again?! The first time you broke something in this castle she gave you a pass only because you were wracked with despair, and even then it had taken a lot of time on my part to convince her to spare your life!"

"Oh, but I think she would forgive me breaking down another door in this case. Need I remind you how you collapsed the day before yesterday from fatigue?" Chrom pointed out, brushing right past Robin into the room. "I don't want you working yourself to the bone, Robin. And I'll be the one convincing Flavia to spare your life and your money this time, if it comes to that."

"She's going to be furious with you, not me."

"She'll be more than furious with you if you don't show your face in the mess hall today. Come and eat with me and the others, please. They all miss you, and they definitely don't blame you for... for what has happened. And I don't blame you either."

Robin closed his eyes, and for a moment Tharja thought that the man would faint (he looked pale). But in the next moment he opened his eyes again and smiled at the noble.

"...Okay. You've convinced me."

"Great! Then let's go."

The two men left the room together, speaking more animatedly than before.

"I can't wait to see the look on Flavia's face when I tell her what you told me about breaking down my door..."

"U-um. Can we keep that conversation a secret, please?"

Tharja waited until she could no longer hear their voices and their footsteps before sneaking noiselessly out of the closet, bottle in hand. This was her chance to slip the potion into Robin's personal water flask! She tiptoed towards the table the amnesiac had been seated at a moment ago and picked up the flask. The potion itself was both odorless and tasteless, almost as undetectable as poison. In fact, she had to study the chemical composition of a few poisons in the process of creating the "love potion" in order to balance it out, and she was very pleased with herself and the results - she was confident that it could not be traced back to her.

The liquid was carefully poured into the leather flask, and no drop was left behind. Tharja couldn't control her excited giggling - now she just needed to just wait for Robin to take a drink, and-!

She heard the heavy footsteps outside, quickly approaching the bedroom. Tharja left Robin's flask on the desk where she'd found it and jumped back into the closet, shutting it closed just as the intruder entered.

"Where is it...?" Tharja heard Chrom say out loud. "He said it was- ah, here it is."

The dark mage peeked out through a crack in the door at the Ylissean prince as he picked up the leather flask she'd so generously spiked with the "love potion" a few seconds ago. Chrom turned his head this way and that and spotted a large map of the continents. With the map and the flask in hand, Chrom quit the room just as quickly as he'd come.

Tharja wasn't sure what to think about what she'd just witnessed.

The general had made off with the fruit of her hard labor - why?

...To give it to Robin, perhaps? Yes... yes, that seemed to be the case.

A wicked smile stretched across her lips. It looks like her plan was going into motion much earlier than she anticipated - and frankly, she was even more excited than before.

She didn't like Chrom all that much, but now she was eternally grateful for the naive man for speeding up the process of winning Robin's heart.

"Gods, but I sure am thirsty. I hope Robin doesn't mind."

Chrom hadn't had anything to drink since his training session earlier this morning, and he was feeling parched. He'd gone to Robin's room to pick up the tactician's forgotten items in his stead because he didn't want his best friend to leave the company of the other Shephers; not now, when the noble had finally coaxed him out of his bedroom and his little world of tactics.

Looking at the leather canteen in his gloved hand, the prince felt sorely tempted to drink it all up.

So he did.

And hoo boy, did that water taste good! Before Chrom had realized it, he'd already guzzled every last drop.

He scratched his head sheepishly. He had decided to drink only half and leave the other half for Robin but he'd ended up drinking down everything in the end anyways. This was what Emmeryn meant when she said that he had a hard time restraining himself. She never scolded him for it, only reminded him, and she did it with a peaceful and happy smile on her face. At times, she would even pat his arm comfortingly, laughing at-

Chrom stopped in his tracks, his head and his vision suddenly swarming with thoughts and memories of his dead sister. Only a few days before, he had witnessed her fall to her death so he wouldn't have to make a choice between her life and the Fire Emblem. And for some time after that, it felt as if he'd been trapped in swirling vortex of pain and despair. The mere mention of her name was enough to set him off on a warpath, and many unfortunate trees, bushes and Risen received the brunt of his rage-filled sword swings.

But for some reason, at this very moment, there were no such gut-wrenching feelings even as he said his dear departed sister's name in his head. And he could clearly recall his memories of her without any grief or regret. Earlier when he had conversed with Robin, he had valiantly swallowed his own sadness and forced himself to act strong for his best friend's sake. Now, the prince felt almost... lighthearted, optimistic even. Like all of his worries had vanished like morning mist. Like he had just taken a powerful happiness-inducing drug. He did not know why he felt this way, but he was relieved.

Without the burden of his painful emotions wracking his insides every few minutes, he felt that he could really focus on his new objective: to defeat Gangrel, once and for all.

The sound of soft footfalls coming slowly down the hall towards him roused him from his thoughts. He turned around to see who was behind him-

Tharja had deemed it safe to leave Robin's private quarters at last, and made sure to take the longer route just to be extra careful. This way, if anyone saw her wandering around the hallways then they would immediately assume that she had come from her room. No matter how excited she was to see the results of her efforts, she needed to make sure that nobody would suspect her of anything shady.

Finally making her way to the mess hall, she came across Prince Chrom standing absolutely still in the middle of the hallway. She didn't really think much about him until he turned around and started staring at her.

The first thing that came to her mind was: what is he doing here, I thought he'd be sitting with Robin right about now?

She noticed the map and Robin's canteen in the noble's clutches so her hypothesis was confirmed - he definitely hadn't been to the hall yet.

"..."

She had nothing to say to the prince (he was still staring at her, what did he want? she didn't care about that right now) and did not slow her pace, but she grudgingly offered him a small nod, acknowledging his presence before walking around him and continuing her way down the hall. The last thing she needed was some stupid royal tailing her because she ignored him and hurt his fragile ego in the process. But she didn't feel like smiling and bowing like the other female Shepherds, so a nod was fine, right?

Apparently it wasn't.

Tharja had only taken six or seven steps when she felt her skin prickling under an intense gaze. The heavy footsteps echoing right behind her was not very reassuring, either. Still, she carried on, unwilling to deal with the person who was following her.

...

Wait, following her? How did her mind come up with that fanciful idea?

There was just no way he was following her.

To prove it to herself, at the next junction she purposely took a wrong turn and started walking away from the mess hall the other Shepherds were currently at. The mage was positive that the man would simply continue on towards the hall-

The footsteps behind her were still trailing after her, damnation!

Tharja hugged her spellbook even closer to her chest in agitation and annoyance.

Four detours later, the man was STILL FOLLOWING HER.

She whirled around to face the Ylissean royal. "What do you want?" She hissed indignantly. "I'm tired of you following me around like a puppy dog. And if you don't give me a good reason for this foolishness, well... I don't care if you're a prince. I'll curse you up to your eyeballs, and you'll be sorry you ever tried to mess with me..."

"Tharja, you may think me mad for what I'm about to say, but please hear me out," Chrom began, determination in his eyes.

"...What?"

"I'm in love with you."

"...WHAT?!" Tharja sputtered in disbelief. Unbidden, her gaze flickered to the water flask Chrom was still holding. She noticed that the cap was off, and it was turned nearly upside-down, yet nothing was dripping out.

No... Don't tell me this buffoon drank the potion?!

"I've loved you ever since I first laid eyes on you across that castle courtyard," Chrom continued, seemingly oblivious to Tharja's nervous breakdown. "Please fair lady, I must know if I have even the slightest chance of winning your heart?" Without warning he reached out and grasped one of her hands.

"AAAAAAUUGH!" Tharja screamed, unable to cope with her failure and Chrom's sudden strong attentions at the same time. She smacked his hand away, spun around on her heels and fled down the hall as fast as she could - the more distance she could put between herself and the dangerously enamored prince, the better.

To her increasing horror, she could hear him running after her. Oh gods, was he chasing her down?!

"Tharja, wait!" He pleaded. "I know I'm coming on like a wyvern in heat, but at least hear me out!"

She ran even faster.

Chrom and Tharja attained support level C

A/N: I will never get tired of Chrom's "wyvern in heat" line, seriously.