A/N: I'm pretty sure this is the first every FE13 fic in this section. Woot! As I wait for an Amercian release, I'm doing some research on this game. Apparently, MyUnit can marry the main character, Krom, which is pretty sweet. I knew I had to type something for this. It may not be good, so constructive criticism is welcome.
I do not own Fire Emblem. The game and its characters are owned by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. I only own my OC, Tucker. I think...since MyUnit is...a legit character...nevermind.
Tucker was completely inexperienced when it came to love. She had heard testimonies about people's hearts fluttering, recurring dreams of that special someone, or the best happiness in the universe. Since none of those symptoms applied to Tucker, she was quite startled when she had that foreign feeling inside and mistook it for an illness, for she never felt it before. She told this to the cleric Liz one night in hopes of getting some answers and possibly a cure, but Liz just gave her a confused look and said that there was nothing wrong with her. The cleric then asked for the tactician to describe this feeling and when she did, Liz was able to put two and two together.
"Sounds like you're in love!" Liz exclaimed, laughing.
Tucker blinked. Was that what being in love was like? If that was the case, then she didn't like it one bit. The conversation then got more awkward when Tucker was asked who the "lucky man" was. Since Tucker couldn't identify the fact that she was in love, she couldn't exactly place a name on anyone. Liz decided to help her, and by help, that would mean keep pressing for details.
"Ooh, is it Frederick? He's pretty cute. Or what about Sal?"
Tucker shook her head at both names. Frederick was attractive and Sal was very nice, but they just weren't her type.
"...Ronku?"
Tucker widened her eyes as if she was about to wretch, which earned a snicker from Liz.
"Haha, of course not." Liz sighed. "He's hopeless. Well, Tucker, I'm stumped. Maybe it's Krom, I don't know. Whoever it is though, I'll be glad to help you out with this."
Tucker thanked her and left Liz's tent, still confused and not feeling helped at all. When Liz mentioned her brother's name though, that did spark something inside of her. Just thinking about him made her blush. That was when Tucker stopped dead in her tracks. Inexperienced? Yes. Stupid? No. It was clear; Tucker had fallen in love with Krom. And it wasn't just a simple crush that would be there today and gone tomorrow, this was pure, full-out love. However that didn't relieve Tucker in the slightest. Having lost her memory, Tucker had no idea where she came from or her life before. She was able to figure out that she was most likely not from the same continent as everyone else because she was the only foreigner that stuck out from the other members of the army. Did she have a lover from her home continent? Was she engaged? Or was she already married? She really hated being in the dark of these things. She would gladly trade her strategic or sword skills just to get a portion of her memory back. Her thoughts drifted back to Krom again. She could recall in many skirmishes how he tried to place himself by her side, or maybe it was the other way around. She also noticed how often he wanted to talk to her, not just about battle tactics, but about just personal, simple things. During these times, he loosened up and seemed to enjoy talking with her, and being around her. Did Krom feel the same way?
Speak of the devil. Tucker thought when she saw Krom about to cross her path. Her face immediately heated up as he drew near so she pulled her hood over her to prevent being recognized. Unfortunately...he had already seen her.
"Tucker?" he inquired. "What are you still doing up?"
Tucker half-groaned, half-sighed as she stood, removing her hood to confirm her identity.
"I couldn't sleep." That was true; those mindboggling feelings kept her up. "What are you still doing up?"
"Me? Oh, um, just went for a walk. Trying to get focused for the next battle."
"Ah." Tucker pretended to not notice the small tint of red appearing across his nose. The two did not talk for a while, until Tucker couldn't stand the silence and the suspense eating at her. She needed answers.
"Krom, can I talk to you?" she asked. "Somewhere private?"
Krom raised an eyebrow, but then nodded. "I found this place as I was walking. I'll take us to it."
Krom was about to offer her his hand, but quickly caught himself and offered his arm instead. Tucker still saw it as an affectionate gesture and shook her head. Krom withdrew his arm and motioned for Tucker to follow. It wasn't a long journey away from camp. They went through a trail of tall grass before entering a small clearing near a pond. Tucker was in awe of the scenery at first. She loved how the moonlight reflected off of the surface of the water, and the crickets' chirping was very soothing to hear. They were completely alone, and it would make a wonderful, romantic setting. Tucker cut her mind off there as soon as she thought "romantic." She and Krom sat down on the bank of the pond, watching as a few critters scattered out of the way and retreated to the water.
"What do you want to talk about, Tucker?" Krom asked, becoming slightly anxious. Over the past few days, Krom felt himself growing closer to Tucker and started to develop feelings that were more than friendly for her. He was afraid he made himself too obvious and Tucker was now catching on.
Tucker took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I've noticed...during the battles that you are always near me the entire time. Why is that?"
"I'm protecting you." Krom responded.
"I may be a strategist, but that doesn't mean that I can't defend myself." Tucker gestured to the sword at her belt. "I'm experienced with the sword and I am able to care of myself."
"I still worry for you."
"Me? Just me? What about your sister? She runs across the battlefield armed only with a staff and no one to protect her. Do you worry for her?"
Krom contemplated his answer. "Well...yes that worries me, but I..."
"Then why don't you protect her? I assign her to the back for her safety until she needs to heal someone. But no one guards her as she goes out. How come you look after me and not her?"
"...does that anger you?"
"No it doesn't. But it spikes my curiosity. Besides, I didn't position you to be near me in my plans."
"Tucker, I..." Krom shook his head. He couldn't hide this any longer, not when she had him cornered. Those pesky strategists... "Look. There's a reason why I've been closer to you than usual. I understand you can defend yourself if need be, but the truth is...I want to be by your side whenever I get the chance. I've...been having feelings and well...I can't deny them anymore. I-I'm in love with you, Tucker."
Tucker didn't seem surprised, nor relieved. She just closed her eyes and nodded, which unnerved Krom a considerable amount. She remained quiet for about five minutes, making Krom more nervous by the second, and he started to assume the worst.
Does she...not feel the same way for me? Krom thought with dread. He was so deep in his thinking that he almost didn't feel Tucker take his hands into her own.
"Krom." she simply said. "There's something you must know. I have no idea what being in love is like. It might have happened to me before, but if it did I wouldn't remember. But every time I'm around you, I feel different. It's not those common love feelings. I go into deep thinking. I consider what it would feel like to rest my head against your chest. I wonder what would life be like we were to spend it with each other. After pondering this for quite some time, I realized that I'm never like this. I even sought Liz for a cure. She said there was nothing wrong with me, and after I explained it to her, she deduced it to be love. I realized that it makes so much sense now. I'm in love with you too, Krom."
Krom felt as though his heart would burst with excitement. He started to lean in to plant a kiss on Tucker's forehead, but the tactician recoiled and placed a finger on his lips, keeping him from moving closer. He pulled back and gave her a questioning gaze.
"Why did you..." he started to say.
Tucker frowned and let out a deep breath. "Krom...we have mutual feeling for each other, however that is not a good thing."
"It's not?"
"I really appreciate that you feel that way about me, but I'm afraid it could never work. For starters, you are a prince, royalty and divine. I, on the other hand, am a nobody; just a mere swordfighter-slash-tactician."
"Our status should have nothing to do with..." Krom said, but Tucker interrupted.
"Secondly, well let's just say we were to get married. Since you are a prince, you have the responsibility of producing an heir. But I...cannot do that for you."
"Huh?" Krom raised his eyebrows.
"You see, I was born without the proper reproductive system that triggers body changes. Because of this, I look more like a boy than a girl, and it makes me incapable of having offspring."
Krom's pupils dilated. He never knew that about her, but that explained everything now. "Oh..."
Tucker sighed and continued. "So the people wouldn't approve because of our classes and I cannot produce an heir for you. And the third thing is... I have no memories from my past. Everyone figured out by now that I am not from this continent. I don't know if I'm currently courting someone back at home, am engaged, or already married to someone. What if I was? I can't risk making that sin."
Krom closed his eyes and slowly nodded. "I see."
Tucker laid a hand on his shoulder. "Krom, I do love you. I really mean that. But it wouldn't work out for us." She let out a humorless laugh. "Heh, I mean your future daughter is in our army. You and I both know now that I couldn't possibly be the mother."
"I...understand." Krom clenched his eyes tighter. The reasons she gave were legitimate reasons, even though he disagreed with every one of them. If he could, he would try to find a loophole in all of her statements, but it might not have changed anything. He knew that she loved him, but his heart still hurt and he soon realized that he was biting down on his bottom lip and his breaths were more shaky. When he opened his eyes, his vision was blurred and he could feel something wet run down his cheek. Tucker placed a thumb to his face and swiped away the tear tracks.
"Please, don't shed tears for me." Tucker said, blinking back her own tears. "I don't like seeing you so sad."
Krom slowly composed himself, stifling any hiccups that tried to come out, and dried his eyes with the back of his sleeve. "I'm sorry. I just...it breaks my heart that Fate has to keep us apart."
Tucker hummed in agreement. "If I didn't care as much and was certain I was single, I would definitely remain with you in a heartbeat. Krom, I'm sure there will be another woman for you, one that will satisfy your needs better than I could ever have."
Krom managed a weak smile and clasped one of Tucker's hands with both of his.
"That may be, but there will always be a place in my heart for you."
"As will mine." Tucker responded.
The two stared sadly into the other's gleaming eyes and both of them slowly began to close the distance between each other. Instead of their lips meeting, however, they merely kissed each other on the temple. When they pulled away, there was nothing but sorrow in their hearts, but despite the achiness, they stood up from their spot and dusted their legs off.
"We better head back to camp before anyone notices our absences." Krom noted.
He offered Tucker his arm and this time, she didn't refuse.
A/N: I hate writing romance. I'm more interesting in angsty kinds of stories. By the way, I made Tucker's background kind of shady in this. I'm working on a story right now. Tucker is the tactician in FE7, and then goes to be MyUnit in FE12, which is why she handles a sword. Hope that clears some things up. R&R