Chrom never missed a day to tell her his feelings and it always came in the form of a letter, properly sealed in an envelope and waiting patiently on top of Robin's desk. That happened daily, and Chrom never once missed a day.
When he first decided to write to his tactician, he was as careless as he always was. Very insistent and excited to try something new, he wasted tons of parchment, ink and wax. One could even wonder why he even used wax in the first place, as the letter was something he could just casually hand out. It didn't help that he poured it all over the envelope, dripping comically as Frederick held it in his hands with a worried sigh. Robin would have scolded the king.
It had been two years since he started writing to Robin and he had yet to miss a day. The same with the past year, he was as careless as ever, one time, knocking over a gas lamp as he wrote and burning his study and office. Chrom was not an airhead so one would think that he'd certainly notice the fire eating his room that could potentially burn down the whole castle, but alas, the king never once looked up from his writing, too busy deciding if the line 'you were in my dreams again last night as always' was better than 'there is not a day when I don't think of you'. Frederick was exasperated, having barely rescued the king from his room, who looked triumphant after finishing his last sentence. Robin would have scolded him.
Three years and he was still writing to his tactician. After repeated scoldings and accidents, Chrom had agreed to calm down, taking the letter writing slowly. And yet he still hasn't missed a day. He knew everything there is to know about literature at that time and had gotten the nickname, the Poet King too after Gaius had stolen a few of his many poems and published it for Chrom. Unsurprisingly, the people welcomed it heartily, complimenting the King's ever growing talent for writing and they had grown to ask for more works from him like a celebrity.
During his fourth year of writing, he still has'n't ran out of things to say to Robin. Chrom kept writing, despite his busy royal schedule. A compilation of his works were secretly taken and published by his biggest fans, the Shepherds, and his people rejoiced for the small yet precious thing created that never failed to inspire them. Chrom kept writing for Robin's sake nevertheless. Poems and letters that contained his love for his beautiful and smart tactician that would have embarrassed her no doubt. He did not know how long he will keep writing, but he just felt like it and he vowed never to skip a day for her.
The fifth year had rolled by and Chrom was no longer just known as the Shepherd boy turned king, but he was also starting to make his way to the list of Ylisse's prized poets. He had been contributing a lot to his halidom's literature and everyone was sure his works would stay for centuries on end. He kept on writing to Robin still and everyone knew of his long lasting love for her and that no woman, however beautiful and skilled, could take the place of his beloved tactician.
On his sixth year of writing, trouble began brewing in Valm as a coup de'tat had formed. His requested assistance had him sailing to the neighboring continent and he fought as valiantly as he had before, all while writing to his beloved Robin. Despite his injuries, he never failed to tell her of his love for him and although his hands and fingers had been broken, he fought and found a way to continue writing to her.
In the next year, peace was restored and Chrom sailed back to Ylisse all while telling Robin of his unchanging, unwavering feelings. One would think that the tactician would be sick of seven years of love-confessing, but maybe she wasn't. She didn't complain. It continued on in the next year and nobody could say just how long Chrom would keep writing. Nobody complained either, because it wasn't as if he was neglecting his duties as the King. If anything, every letter he sent out to Robin seemed to give him strength.
On his ninth year, Chrom had an accident. While going through the streets of Ylisstol, an untamed horse crashed towards him and knocked him back, giving him a hard blow in the head. Lissa and Frederick had panicked, as he had lost quite a lot, if not most of his memories. Surprisingly, it only took one look at Robin's face for him to remember her name and his love for her. Lissa had laughed at the irony, because before, it was the tactician who had no memories, only Chrom's name and face to get her by. Chrom only laughed and started writing again. Thankfully, he didn't become a lesser king.
Ten, eleven, twelve and thirteen years had passed and no memories came back. He remembered little by little, but on top of it all, he remembered Robin and his love for her. The sad thing about that was, she wasn't there in Ylisstol with him. It had been years since she had gone to Plegia and all he could do then was write some more. Still, the letters that he had been asking Frederick to send to her were left unanswered.
Fourteen years of writing to her and receiving no reply was maddening. Chrom wrote everyday and hoped that Frederick would give him a reply soon but none came. He had only thought of this now, but fourteen years of not seeing her was eating him away."How long will she keep staying in Plegia?" Chrom would ask all the time and everyone would give him vague answers. It was the worst. He felt so lost. Robin was all he remembered and even then, her memories of her weren't clear either. Since she wasn't with him, he felt something he had never felt before since meeting her: fear.
"Frederick. Here." Chrom had just finished putting on the seal on the envelope of yet another letter addressed to his tactician. His ever-loyal knight, Frederick received it without a word and only nodded. Chrom eyed him intently and the knight then felt compelled to say something, yet the king beat him to it.
"Do you think she receives my letters?" he asked and the knight gave him a placid expression. Something Chrom does not often see on Frederick's face. It took a while before he got to answer and even then, he sounded hesitant. "I could only hope that she does milord. Maybe... It's just... She couldn't reply as of yet?" the knight coughed before taking his leave. Once Chrom was alone in his study, he stood up and went to the tall glass windows by the other side of the room. Fifteen years. If Lissa was saying the truth, then he had been writing to Robin for fifteen years now. He has yet to receive a reply. He was beginning to wonder what was it that Robin was doing in Plegia that made her so busy that she couldn't even reply to her husband for fifteen years? She couldn't be cheating... Right?
As soon as the thought formed in his head, he dashed out of his room in pursuit of Frederick. The sound of the knight's armor easily guided Chrom and before he knew it, he was watching Frederick stand in front of Robin's office.
That room was always locked. Not even Chrom, with all his authority could get inside. He wondered what business Frederick could possibly have in Robin's study. It wasn't long til the knight came out again and before he could walk away, Chrom had called him sternly and Frederick looked absurdly pale then.
It took a while, but he had managed to haggle Robin's office key from his knight. When he finally opened the door, Frederick stayed in place outside and Chrom stepped int, met with boxes perched everywhere. At first, he thought of them as his wife's books, but upon closer inspection he realized that they were envelopes; letters upon letters, stacked among each other. All of them were addressed to Robin. All of them were written by him.
"Frederick... These are the letters that I've been writing to Robin! Why are these-"A tear slipped down his cheeks before he could finish talking and Frederick looked uncharacteristically panicked then.
Ah, Robin. His beloved wife and tactician. The mother of his children. The love of his life.
He had last seen her fifteen years ago, back in Plegia. Standing on top of the fell dragon's back, he had watched her disappear from this world and from his life.
"May we meet again, in a better life." her last words to him left him with so many things left unsaid. Maybe that's why he started and kept writing to her in the first place.
Fifteen years and counting. Chrom was still writing to his wife. 'I'll keep looking for you. In this life and in all the others to come.' was what he'd always use to end his letters.
On his sixteenth year of writing, the number of letters inside Robin's study grew steadily, without any sign of stopping. His children, Lucina and Morgan were teenagers already and his children form the future had already married and settled down somewhere. He kept writing.
On his sixteenth year of writing, a letter appeared on his desk, addressed to him that said:
Chrom,
I know I have been gone for so long, but sixteen years of letters would take just as many to read. Still, despite how annoying it could be, I suppose that it's a heart-warming welcome gift nonetheless.
Robin
A.N.
Just a short one shot based on VY2's A Cling Boy Sticking For Fifteen Years. It's been years since I last heard that song and I'm still impressed with it. Talk about a plot twist. I can't believe I just wrote this when I'm supposed to be finishing a ton of homework. Ugh.
