In my story "Who's the Father" I did a little contest to see who could find out which couple was from my play through and Pink Shimmer had discovered a pairing I had forgotten about and was correct. So for winning she got to choose a couple and I would write an oneshot.

I hope you like this little story.

I'm Not a Child

It was no secret that Ricken wanted the world to see him as an adult. He was always known to do outrageous things in an attempt to make him seem grownup. He was even willing to drink strange potions that claimed to help him grow taller, though they never did. It took him, far longer than he would have liked, but everyone stopped treating him like a child; all but the most important person.

Nothing the young mage did seemed to convince the chief tactician, Robin, that he was an adult, let alone a man. All his attempts to come off as a strong, tough man only earned him lectures about his recklessness or without even tying or aware of it she was able to upstage him. It didn't help that she was often with Chrom, who was the pinnacle of manliness in Ricken's eyes.

Attempted battle heroics weren't working and his miracle growth potions were failing so he needed to do something else to make him stand out. When it came to magic the women outclassed him and anything that required physical strength was out of the question. So he needed something without competition but what?

Tactics was the answer he came up with. He knew he couldn't beat Robin, and he didn't want too, but he was convinced it was the key to impressing her because showing off his newly acquired knowledge might finally get her to realize he was a full-blown-adult. Though after a mere week of studding he realized just how difficult tactics was. His plan was going to take much longer then he would have hoped.

Three excruciating months later and still no improvement in getting Robin to realize that he was a man but he was finally confident enough to talk to her about tactics. Confidence was written all over his body and a smug smile planted itself on his lips. Not only did he believe he had a firm grasp on some strategies, he also grew two inches. He was ready to wow Robin and sweep her off her feet.

He strutted into her tent, without permission as he often saw Chrom do. Just when he was about to shout his manly greeting he realized that she wasn't alone, another man was in the tent; Virion, the womanizer, jealousy quickly ruined Ricken's good mood. With his cheer completely gone he was able to realize that the two "lovers" were currently engaged in battle, a battle of tactics no less. He could only helplessly watch as the archer defeated the tactician and it became painfully aware to him that he still had a very long way to go before he could even begin to think of impressing Robin.

Sitting at his make-shift desk of crates Ricken lazily rolled his head over it. He stopped when a familiar white object came into view, an envelope; seconds ticked by and he just stared at it as if it would vanish at any moment. Finally a sigh escaped his lips and he picked it up, relief somewhat washed over him as he felt the odd weight. Despite it never leaving his side, he was terrified that its contents would be lost. The little comfort that the weight provided did nothing to calm his nerves.

He had been so focus on getting the object that he didn't really think about what he would do next. With cheeks ablaze he tried to come up with scenarios on how to give the letter to Robin. But because of his nervousness every scenario he could think of always ended with rejection. Sighing he just decided on trying to impress her a bit more, though he hadn't really gotten far to begin with.

Wallowing in his misguided misery the mage was unaware of his visitor. Robin called for him several times but he just assumed it was his imagination and never answered her. Slightly annoyed she spied the envelope, with her name so carefully but beautifully written on it. Plucking it from his grasp the reaction she received was much more dramatic than what she was expecting. After his desperate flailing there was no way she couldn't resist the urge to tease him. With an evil, little grin she bolted out of the tent leaving poor Ricken stunned.

When he wasn't searching for the tactician his eyes always seemed to find her with the greatest of ease but now that he was actually looking for her, finding her was turning into the most difficult thing he had ever done in his life. He cursed his short legs as he had convinced himself that their size was the reason why he was so much slower than her. The longer she remained hidden the more his frustration grew, and it didn't help that no one seemed to know where she was. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity he found her relaxing against a tree without a care in the world.

Puffing out his chest and standing straighter than normal he struts over to her in an attempt to show off his manliness and anger. His bravado quickly deflated when he saw her reading the letter and holding the precious gem, he worked so hard to retrieve. A squeak escaped his lips and his legs gave out, dropping him to the ground. She wasn't supposed to read it yet at least not until he worked up the nerve to give it to her.

The noise grabbed Robin's attention but Ricken's embarrassed dazed made him unaware of her gaze. She spoke to him softly but he was still too of out of it to even register her face right in front of his. Calling for him wasn't working so she did the next sensible thing, grabbed him and shook him violently until he came too.

A massive blush spread across the mage's face and in a second he was on his feet and created some space. He wanted to run away and put off that embarrassment for as long as possible but he couldn't do that; that's not what men do. He wanted-needed her to see him as a man, and much to his dismay that moment was the perfect opportunity. So once again he puffed out his chest and stood perfectly straight (but he was still smaller than her) and looked her right in the eye, catching her off guard.

Briefly his eyes flickered to the stone in her hand. Clearing his throat he pointed to the stone and spoke, "That is a precious stone found only on the slopes of the Ghoul's Teeth." He was quite surprised at how steady his voice was despite the butterflies in his stomach having a field day. Horror flooded the silver-haired woman's features but before she could voice her concern he held up a hand to silence her.

Keeping his eye contact he decided on just asking the question that he had been wondering for so very long. "Robin, what do you think of me?" The confusion on her face didn't help his confidence. "Do…Do you see me as a man?" His cheeks were so hot, he was afraid that his face would catch on fire.

A smile graced her lips and the orange haired youth could feel his fear and nervousness fading away. "Of course. I know you are not a child anymore…I know because I've watched you grow into a remarkable young man."

It took everything he had to not jump around in joy so instead his settled for a cheesy grin glued to his face. Confidence swelled inside him, pushing him to ask his second question, "If I put this stone on a ring and offered it to you, would you accept?"

Her smile grew and so did his. "Yes. Nothing would make me happier than becoming your wife."

That was it. He lost all control. He started to jump around cheering showing off his childish side that he used to try so hard to deny. She didn't care and even joined him in his cheering. After so long and so many different, pointless attempts he finally got her to see him as the way he wanted to her too. He just ignored the fact that if he had just asked her sooner he could have avoided all that stress. The important thing now was planning their future, something he greatly looked forward too.

So, what do you think? Did you like it? Pink Shimmer, if you didn't just let me know and I'll write another one.

Please leave me a review. It will make me very happy.