"I'm not sure about this, Lissa."
Robin stood nervously in front of the mirror in her tent as she carefully brushed out her long purple hair. She turned to look at Lissa, who rolled her eyes.
"C'mon Robin! You and Frederick have been dancing around this issue for too long now. Don't you think you guys have been oblivious to each other's feelings for long enough?" Lissa said, crossing her arms over her chest and frowning.
"I guess, but...how can you be so sure that he feels the same way? Did he tell you or something?" Robin said as she fidgeted with the sleeves of her robes.
"No, but Chrom and I have noticed changes in Frederick's demeanor since you two started spending so much time together. It seems you've helped him to pull that stick out of his ass and he's finally learned how to relax." Lissa said with a laugh.
Robin's eyebrows furrowed as she contemplated Lissa's words. Her relationship with Frederick had come a very long way since their first meeting, from being wary of each other, to mutual respect over their training sessions, to friends as she helped him fight his aversion to bear meat, and now to best friends that were tiptoeing that line that led to more than friends. Robin had been harboring growing feelings for him since their first meeting. She had dismissed them as shallow, unmerited feelings at first, but as time grew on, the feelings grew also, and Robin found herself the happiest when she was spending time with Frederick.
But did he feel the same way? Robin had to agree with Lissa in that Frederick seemed different than when they first met. Plus, Lissa had known him far longer, so if she noticed big changes too, then it must be really noticeable. As she slowly began to earn his trust, those differences became more apparent. She found him smiling more, and when he had laughed in front of her for the first time, Robin thought that it was the most wonderful sound she'd ever heard. She now realized that if she wanted a chance to truly be happy, she would have to overcome her uncertainty and tell Frederick how she felt.
"Okay. You're right. I'll try to tell him today after lunch." Robin said, a determined look crossing her face as she turned to look at Lissa. The cleric smiled and pulled Robin into a hug.
"You can do it Robin! You guys are good for each other, so I'm rooting for you!" Lissa said as she pulled away. "But you should probably get going. You're meeting with Frederick soon right?"
"Oh, right! I didn't realize it was almost lunchtime already. I need to gather up the food..." Robin said as she bid farewell to Lissa and left her tent. Lissa giggled as she watched Robin leave.
Frederick was standing at the edge of the camp, waiting for Robin to meet him for lunch. He was staring intensely at the ground, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. His jaw clenched as he took a deep, calming breath through his nose. He was normally nervous about their lunch meetings, mostly due to the fact that they usually turned into Robin trying to help him get over his issues with bear meat, but today was different.
When he left his tent this morning, he had been surprised to see Virion waiting outside for him, a suspicious grin plastered on his face. The archer had gotten straight to the point and had asked Frederick when he was going to stop beating around the bush and tell Robin his true feelings for her. Frederick had tried feigning ignorance, but unfortunately Virion was not stupid. He called his bluff immediately by saying that if Frederick wasn't going to make a move then Virion would instead, earning a seething glare from Frederick that gave his true feelings away.
"Frederick, my good man," Virion had said as he placed a hand on Frederick's shoulder which made the knight stare warily at him, "Time is fleeting. Every moment that you waste fretting about what may happen is a moment that you could be spending with the love of your life." Frederick's face flushed a bright red. "I promise you that you will not regret telling Robin how you feel."
Frederick sighed and ran a hand through his wild brown hair. He hated to admit it, but Virion was right. He had fallen hard for Robin. He knew that they had become great friends, much to his surprise. She was a smart and strong woman, with a good sense of humor. She was also one of the most beautiful women that he'd ever met. His face grew hot at the thought.
When she had first come to him for training, he had been surprised, but agreed to help her out. He was glad that he did, because he really enjoyed her company. Soon they were spending a large amount of time together, even outside of training. She began joining him during his morning rounds every day, and he welcomed the help. They had also started eating meals together, and sometimes Robin would help him out with his bear meat problem. It was during one of these meals that she had made him laugh for the first time, and that is when he realized that his feelings had crossed that line of mere friendship and into the unfamiliar realm of romantic attraction.
He had decided, with a push from Virion, that he would tell Robin today of this feelings for her. The fear of being rejected loomed in the back of his mind, but he needed her to know. Even if she didn't feel the same, they could just go back to being friends. Hopefully.
Hi Frederick! I hope you weren't waiting too long."
Frederick looked up to find Robin walking towards her, carrying a large picnic basket. She was smiling broadly, and his face flushed at the beautiful sight. He cleared his throat to hopefully hide his nervousness.
"Not at all, Robin. Would you like me to carry that for you?" Frederick asked, his gaze moving to the basket she carried.
"Oh, it's alright Frederick. You don't have to." Robin said, shaking her head. She tried to stay calm, but her heart was beating so fast in her ears that she was finding it hard to concentrate. This whole confessing her feelings thing was going to be harder than she thought.
"I insist, Robin. You went to all the trouble of putting this together, so this is the least that I can do." Frederick said, reaching out towards her. He could feel his hands shaking a bit; he hoped that it wasn't noticeable to Robin.
"Well, okay. Thank you." Robin said as she handed him the basket. He took it and grasped the handle with one hand.
"Shall we?" Frederick said as he offered up his other arm for her. Robin stared at it for a moment before realizing what he was implying.
"O-oh, yes." Robin sputtered nervously as she placed her hand on his arm. He cleared his throat again and they began walking. Robin hoped that Frederick wasn't catching a cold or anything.
They found a nice spot on a hill outside of camp to set up their picnic. They had opted to eat lunch together outside of camp, especially when Robin had plans to continue helping Frederick with his bear meat problem. This was because the first time she had helped him in camp, Vaike had walked by and made fun of Frederick when he gagged on a piece of meat. It had embarrassed Frederick so much that it had taken Robin ages to convince him to try again, away from prying eyes from then on.
They ate a simple lunch of sandwiches as they talked about whatever came to their minds. Both had noticed the awkward air between them. Robin found that she was unintentionally avoiding eye contact. Frederick was clearing his throat nervously after every other sentence, which prompted Robin to ask him if he was feeling okay.
"Ah...I'm fine Robin, no need to worry." he said quickly, and he impulsively cleared his throat again. He blushed madly and shoved his sandwich into his mouth to prevent anything stupid from coming out of it. Gods, this wasn't going well. His mind was a mess, and he didn't know how to proceed. It didn't help that his heartbeat sped up rapidly when Robin giggled at his reaction.
Robin bit into her sandwich to stifle her giggling. Gods, he was so cute when he was flustered, it took all of her willpower not to just grab him now and kiss him breathless. That may shock him a bit too much.
After they finished their lunch, Robin pulled out a variety of meats from the basket and laid them out in order of gaminess, with the dreaded bear meat waiting at the end of the line. Frederick's eyes burned with determination as he began eating each type one at a time, like the many times before. He was determined to keep the bear meat down this time, because if he could muster the strength for that, then he knew he could use that strength to tell Robin how he felt.
"You're doing great, Frederick! Just the bear meat is left!" Robin said excitedly as he managed to keep down the crocodile jerky. Frederick looked at her with a fiery determination in his eyes that made Robin's heart melt.
Frederick took a deep breath as he picked up the bear jerky. He glared at it for a few moments before he shoved it into his mouth and chewed. He squeezed his eyes shut as he concentrated hard on suppressing the automatic gag reflex as he chewed the gamy meat. When he had chewed enough, he winced as he gulped down the meat. He opened his eyes in surprise as the meat slid down his throat and did not come back up. Robin was beaming at him.
"Frederick! You did it! You've overcome your phobia of bear meat!" she exclaimed. Frederick couldn't believe he'd done it. Robin couldn't contain her excitement as she threw her arms around Frederick's neck and pulled him into a hug.
Frederick thought his heart was going to stop. Her hands were resting on his neck as his head was pulled to rest on her shoulder. Her soft purple hair tickled his face and smelled wonderful. He definitely would not mind hugging her more often.
Robin thought her brain was going to melt. What was she doing? She had one hand around the back of Frederick's neck, and the other had found its way onto the back of his head, her fingers buried in his soft, messy hair. This was too forward. She was going to scare him away.
"Oh, sorry Frederick, I got overly excited." she said quickly as she began to pull away from him. She was stopped, however, when Frederick wrapped a hand around her back, and used the other one to cup her face. Robin froze as her eyes met his.
Frederick did not give himself time to think and change his mind as he lowered his face to Robin's, his lips lightly touching hers. His eyes were closed, and his heart was beating so fast he thought it was going to burst from his chest. When Robin didn't move, he opened his eyes again and started to pull away.
"F-forgive me Robin, that was rather forward of me-" he began, but Robin silenced him as she pulled him back into a deeper, more passionate kiss. His eyes widened and then closed again as he sighed into her mouth, cursing himself at waiting so long to do this.
Robin smiled against his lips as she pushed her tongue into his mouth to tangle with his. She felt like she was weightless and floating on air. All of the nervousness and tension she had felt moments before melted away in the passion of this moment. She felt silly for worrying all this time. This felt right, like they belonged together.
After a few moments, the two parted, panting as they tried to catch their breath. Frederick thought she looked so beautiful, with her cheeks flushed and her eyes bright as she smiled broadly.
"Ah, Frederick, you have no idea how long I've wanted kiss you like that." Robin said, giggling sheepishly. Frederick raised an eyebrow.
"Well now I'm curious. How long?" Frederick asked as he took her hand in his. Her fingers automatically became entwined with his, and they fit together like the pieces to a puzzle.
"Ah, well...Remember the day we met? That night, when I couldn't sleep and you talked with me around the fire?" Robin said, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment.
"Really? Honestly Robin, we had just met. You should be more wary of strangers." Frederick said with a frown.
Robin laughed. "Only you would turn this into a lecture, Frederick. Besides, it's your fault for being so handsome." she said, reaching up and tracing Frederick's jawline with her fingers.
"Ah...well...that's..." he sputtered, blushing as he became flustered. She smiled and dropped her hand, a serious look crossing her face.
"Frederick, I care about you, a lot. I was so nervous about telling you, because I didn't know if you felt the same. I think I'm safe to assume that you do?" Robin said as she looked him in the eyes and tilted her head. Frederick smiled and nodded.
"Yes Robin, I do feel the same. I have for a while now, I'm sorry it took so long for me to do anything about it." Frederick said sheepishly. "I'm embarrassed to admit that it took advice from Virion of all people to get me to take any action."
"Well, Virion does seem to have quite the reputation with the ladies. We're all glad that he's found a woman that he wants to focus his attention on." Robin said with a chuckle. "So...um...I guess we're a couple now."
"Yes, milady. My heart is yours." Frederick said, as he brought Robin's hand to his lips. He placed a kiss on her knuckles, and she looked at him with adoration in her eyes.
"You're quite the gentleman, Frederick. In turn, my heart is definitely yours." Robin said as she pulled herself into Frederick's lap. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him again, and he gladly reciprocated. They would have to thank Lissa and Virion respectively for giving them the push to overcome the obstacles that stood in the way of their love.