So this is no longer a one-shot. Thank you to Sub-Atomic Grape for betaing!
Chapter 2
Getting married isn't the worst thing, but demons from Chrom's past are.
Chrom doesn't intend to speak to his father at all that night or the next night or ever.
He's done and he's furious and the fact that he can see his father every time his pacing leads him back to the mirror burns him up even more. Lissa bawls loudly in the room next to his, and if he strains his ears, he can hear Emm murmur in that tone that makes his stomach hurt with how soft it is. He's heavy with guilt, too, because he'd snapped at Emm out of his own frustration, seen the little wrinkle between her eyebrows deepen in hurt at his words.
God, none of this was Emm's fault or his, and somehow they were the ones that always had to deal with the damage.
He kicks at his desk and makes up his mind.
Frederick is long-used to his brashness, so when Chrom demands he be driven to City Hall, he gives in without complaint. There's no speech about propriety, no warning that it's his duty to protect Chrom even from himself-just a sharp nod and a door held open for him. Chrom storms down the halls with Frederick hot on his heels. He can hear voices when he closes in on the office, the only noise in building at this time of night.
"-finally got that son of a bitch, Eldred!" he hears one of his father's advisers say. A glass clinks.
There's a laugh, and he recognizes it as his father's only after he begins to speak. "I want nothing more than to watch that bastard will rot in prison and then hell for what he's done."
Chrom lifts his hand to knock, and he swallows, hesitation freezing him.
Frederick hovers nearby, frowning a deeper frown than usual. "Sir, are you certain-" he begins, eyes pained.
"Yes!" Chrom snaps, and Frederick watches him carefully. "He can't keep doing this to us. We deserve better than this."
With a hardened gaze, Frederick nods, stepping forward to squeeze Chrom's shoulder briefly. His loyalty to Chrom's father may run deep, but his loyalty to Emm, Chrom, and Lissa is fathomless.
Chrom takes strength from the gesture, remembering Lissa's face and Emm's quiet resignation at their father missing another piece of Lissa's childhood. He turns the knob and throws the heavy door hard against the hinges.
The two men inside fall silent immediately, his father's triumphant smirk shifting to an angry curl of his lip for a moment before Eldred sees it's just him.
"Chrom!" His tone is damn near delighted compared to every other time Chrom has tried to speak to him, and Chrom's anger flares. "I've taught you manners, haven't I?"
"You missed it," Chrom seethes in response, fists clenched at his side. His father's expression doesn't show recognition of any kind. "Can you do anything for Lissa? For any of us?"
His father's gaze narrows, and the glass in his hand clicks loudly against the desk as he sets it down. "Everything I do is for you and your sisters," he argues, stepping around his desk menacingly.
Chrom stands his ground, even as his father towers over him. "That's a lie! If you cared about us, you'd be at home and going to her recitals or my games or...anything!"
Fury seeps into his father's expression. "If I missed her insipid little performance, it was because I was busy taking back the city to make it safe for her. For you, Chrom. But you're 14-what do you know of-"
"You haven't done a thing!" Chrom yells, heart racing as he met his father's blazing blue eyes. "You've just made her cry, night after night! And Emm, too! Emm can't even-"
"That's enough!" his dad bellows back, grabbing him by his skinny shoulders hard enough to bruise. Chrom forces himself to not look away, even as he can feel fear settling into his bones. "You don't know a thing. You just a boy who thinks he knows better than his father."
"I do!" Chrom protests, voice cracking as he struggles against the hold.
"You don't." He says it with finality and releases Chrom. He stumbles and tries to stand tall against the ache in his shoulders.
"You wish to know what I did instead of being home with my ungrateful children?"
Chrom is silent, tears pooling in his eyes.
"The man that orchestrated your mother's murder…" his father continues. "He was caught today. That's what I've done for us."
Tears spill down his cheeks, but his next words still burn with defiance. "You did that for yourself. Not for us."
"You disrespect your mother's memory," he accuses with his next breath, and Chrom flinches, finally dropping his gaze. "Frederick! Take the boy home. You'll face disciplinary action tomorrow."
Frederick comes to Chrom's side and bows his head. "...Sir."
Without another word, Frederick gently guides Chrom out of the building and back into the car. Chrom waits until the door has closed to wipe at his eyes.
He doesn't know what to tell his sisters, so he doesn't say anything. He crawls into bed and dreams of his mother.
-X-
Goddammit.
Why are there so many people? He's sure he doesn't recognize most of the guests that are currently swarming the reception hall, and he's doubly sure that Robin invited even fewer people than he did. And that means, if he's having the worst time fending off well-wishes from practically strangers, then Robin is probably planning his murder in her head while she grins away.
Well, maybe he's not having the worst time. It's actually not that bad to be tucked away at their newlywed table with an excuse to pull his arm around his new wife's shoulders. She smells nice, like flowers or something else sweet, and she's very...pliable under his touch, which he finds interesting.
He's tried a few times to catch her off guard, slipping his palm down her exposed arm or on the skin revealed by the low back of her gown, but she never startles and just kind of goes with it, tilting her head toward him or smoothing her hand over his tie. Of course, she knows as well as he does that there are eyes on them from every direction, and she (or rather, they) are acing the newlywed test so far. And naturally, when she leans in after their latest visitor has turned to leave, he plays along until he feels her pinch his side hard.
He yelps and widens his eyes at her meaningfully.
Robin smirks. "Sorry. My hand slipped."
"So did mine," he argues, expression innocent.
She shoots him an unimpressed glance, her eyes even darker with the way they're made up. "Don't test me. I know at least 50 ways to make myself a widow."
He chuckles, deliberately tugging her closer to see her reaction. "I hope you teach that in your class. It's very practical knowledge for four-year-olds."
She huffs and then makes a grab for his free hand when a guest walks a little too close to their table. He eyes the rings stacked neatly on her finger and almost misses when she mutters, "Well, at least you're having fun."
"It's at least bearable with you," he admits.
She gives him an odd look, and her voice comes out a little sharp. "You don't have to keep doing that, you know. I already married you. The ink is dry and everything."
Chrom's lips turn down at the corners. "I'm not lying, Robin."
She's silent, and she leans away from him to rearrange the skirt of her dress, so he can't see her expression. He drops his arm and feels a flash of irritation at her. They had a habit of turning the semi-nice things the other did or said into reasons to argue, but Chrom had also assumed that they'd made progress in the two-ish weeks since he'd politely and not at all desperately asked her to marry him.
He's about to take the bait and say as much when she hesitantly sits back in her seat. She blinks at him, surprised his arm isn't draped along the back of the chair.
"Okay," she sighs, relaxing.
He'll take it.
He gingerly brings her close again.
They sit in companionably silence for a few minutes, and Chrom takes a quick survey of the room to see if he can spot the tell-tale signs of mischief Lucina leaves behind. Lissa hadn't sounded too promising when she'd volunteered to keep an eye on Lucina all night, so he knows if he looks hard enough he'll find trouble.
Robin finds it first, though it's not in the form of his bouncing baby girl.
"What is going on over there?" she asks quietly, and Chrom follows her gaze across the room and curses.
Blonde, elegant, and with all the charm of a pit viper, Marion Themis is staring down Robin's mother, Morgana, who looks none too happy herself. The guests closest to them are openly staring because of whatever has already been said between them, and the tension draws tighter on their faces as the blonde leans in closer.
"We have to go." He doesn't have time to explain further, so he just pulls her to her feet and starts moving. Robin's heels click quickly on the polished floor as she keeps pace with his long strides. The crowd parts for the two of them, and it's silent enough that Marion's next words ring loud and clear, dripping with condescension.
"And it makes no sense why Chrom would have so little acumen as to invite you over his own flesh and blood."
Morgana's response is measured and even. "What my daughter and her husband choose to do is not your concern."
Marion's sneer becomes a little more apparent at that, and before Chrom can speak, Robin demands, "What is happening here?"
Marion rounds on them, her eyes wide and only on him. Her pinched expression shifts into a tight smile. "My goodness Chrom," she begins sweetly. "Don't you make a dashing groom! I apologize for not getting around to greeting you sooner. You see, we were having this lovely conversation-"
"You were insulting my mother," Robin snaps. "At my wedding, no less."
Marion looks taken aback for a moment, like she's surprised Robin is standing there, much less speaking to her still, but soon enough she's returning Robin's frosty glare. "I was simply explaining how impressed I was with how well this affair turned out."
She sounds impressed all right, if you can sound impressed and patronizing at the same time.
"Chrom caught everyone off-guard, after all. Divorced, remarried in months-all very impulsive and par for the course for him." She looks back to Chrom with a knowing smirk. "Eldred sends his best. I'm sure he would've like to tell you in person, but seeing as he was not invited-"
"My father can go to hell," he interrupts angrily. "And seeing as I'd like to see his sorry face as little as possible, I'm going to ask you to deliver the message."
Marion purses her lips to argue, but Chrom stands his ground. "Now."
She eyes Robin and Morgana, and Chrom almost wants her to speak, so he can have an excuse to make a bigger scene as he kicks her out. Instead, she hums distastefully and stands up straighter. "Still so hot-headed. Your father will be disappointed to know you haven't changed at all."
"I won't ask again."
She scoffs at his threat but turns her back and heads toward the exit. Guests slowly start to murmur around them again, and he can feel Emm's eyes on him. By contrast, Robin won't look at him at all, tense like a coiled spring. Her hand is slick with sweat in his, and the second Marion is out of sight, she's taking her mother by the shoulders and asking if she's alright.
Morgana seems slight next to her daughter, who only has a few inches on her but stands like she's supposed to command the room. Morgana rubs at Robin's shoulders, and Robin's frown softens.
He can't help it-a hard knot of jealousy settles in his gut. He's been motherless since he was 10, but it hits him hard as he watches the two talk.
"I'm sorry," Chrom says and it comes out a little harsh. He fidgets as his new mother-in-law's eyes fix on him. "She shouldn't have been here, and whatever she said-"
"There's no need to say anything," Morgana sighs, and she squeezes his arm tentatively. He stares at where she touched him before looking back up. "I assumed there might be...dissidence, so it was nothing I wasn't prepared for. I should apologize for causing a scene like that."
"Mom," Robin says weakly, eyebrows knitted. She throws her arms around the older woman's shoulders. "I'm so sorry. It wasn't you. It was all that hag's fault. Who does she think she is?"
Chrom sighs and checks to make sure guests are lingering too close to them. "Marion Themis," he explains, "is a long-time business and political ally of my father's and allegedly a family friend."
Robin pulls away from her mother and scoffs. "With friends like that…"
He pinches the bridge of his nose. "My thoughts exactly."
"Wait, Themis, you said?" Robin frowns. "As in related to Maribelle?"
He nods. "Her mother, if you can believe it. They're not close, thank god."
"I can see why. She's a nightmare," Robin mutters.
That's why they make a perfect pair.
He almost says it aloud, instead he just shakes his head, remarking without thinking, "Finally something we agree on."
It's too exasperated and out of character for newlyweds, but he only realizes it when Robin's eyes widen in warning. She playfully smacks his arm-hard-to cover for him, and Chrom, hoping he doesn't look too panicked, laughs.
"Kidding, of course!"
Morgana narrows her eyes for a moment, like she's trying to decipher something. He's met Robin's mother once before, and that time, too, it'd felt like she could see right through him. In return, all Chrom knows about her is that she's Robin's mother, and that she had no qualms about her daughter getting married on such short notice. Neither of those things do him any good here.
He wants to fidget under the scrutiny again, but he reigns the impulse in and conspicuously takes Robin's hand back.
Robin, of course, has a plan (one of many, he assumes) to throw her off the trail. "Mom, why don't we go find Lucina? You haven't even met her properly!"
Morgana lights up, her suspicion seemingly forgotten. "Oh, I would love to. I believe I saw her around the cake…"
-X-
Her mom leads the way to where Lucina may be hiding, and Robin pulls Chrom alongside her to follow a few steps back.
"Try to remember we're supposed to be in love," Robin hisses.
"It just slipped out!"
She's tempted not to let it go. Robin keeps seeing that Marion woman's face in her mind, and it turns her stomach to imagine what it was that she said to her mother. The derision is nothing new, not with her mother being who she is, but knowing that her mom anticipated it at the wedding makes Robin feel naive and useless.
She's entirely within her rights to blame Chrom for all of this, but it's caught him off-guard, too, if his genuinely contrite expression means anything.
She can't call him out on it, anyway, without risking an argument, and she's not going to let him blame her for that, so the best course of action is none at all.
"Mommy! Daddy!"
The sudden sound of Lucina's voice makes her smile, the ease with which Lucina calls for her settling like a warm weight around her shoulders. The first time Lucina had called her mom, her voice hesitant at first and then elated, Robin's heart had nearly pounded out of her chest. Funny that now she can't imagine going back to being Ms. Robin.
Lucina wriggles out from under the nearest table and hugs her around the legs. "Mommy, your dress is pretty!"
Robin's gotten quite a few compliments on it, but it's Lucina's sincerity and adoration that warms her the most.
"Thank you, sweetheart. Yours is beautiful, too."
Lucina smiles wide and stands a little straighter. The powder blue dress matches Chrom's sisters and a crown of baby's breath stands out brightly against her dark hair. The blanket tucked into the neck of her dress is an odd addition to the look, but it's so perfectly Lucina that it makes Robin want to gather her up and squeeze her.
Chrom beats her to it, scooping her up into his arms with a laugh. "And what have you been up to? Sneaking frosting off the cake?"
"No!" Lucina denies, eyes wide and telling.
"Where's your Aunt Lissa?"
Lucina shrugs.
Morgana, who'd been watching them carefully, steps closer, and one glance at her has Lucina hiding her face against Chrom's neck.
"Luci, don't you want to meet my mom?" Robin prompts, causing Lucina to peek out from her hiding spot.
"Your mom?"
Robin nods and holds her arms out for her. Lucina reaches out almost instantly, and Chrom reluctantly hands her over.
"Hello, Lucina," Morgana says, her eyes shining. "I'm your mom's mom, and I'm so happy to meet you."
Lucina stares, her brow scrunched. "You're my gramma?"
Morgana nods happily, and Lucina looks back to her parents like she can't believe this is happening.
"Daddy, I have a gramma," she whispers seriously, pulling on his lapel. "I never had a gramma before!"
Robin almost laughs, but she catches a flicker of sadness on Chrom's face before he forces enough excitement to match Lucina's and bites her lip. She sobers up quickly, guessing that Lucina hasn't known any of her grandparents, whether by choice or otherwise, and she finds herself setting Lucina down and drifting closer to Chrom.
He hardly reacts to her touch on his arm as he watches Lucina talk about anything and everything with Morgana. Robin's throat is tight with emotion, the sight of her mother warming up to her role as grandmother bringing up memories of her own childhood. It's not the same for him, of course, and Robin is definitely not the person to talk to him about his parents.
Instead she steps in front of him, so he'll have to acknowledge her and says, "I'm getting tired. What do you say to cutting the cake and ducking out?"
His eyes focus on her slowly, but eventually he nods and offers to find his sisters.
Emmeryn and Lissa (well, mostly Lissa) harangue them into a first dance, too, which Robin agrees to for the sake of her sanity. Emmeryn is much too kind to tease them about wanting to leave as soon as possible, but Lissa is relentless until they cave.
When he sweeps her into his arms with a cheeky smile, Robin smiles back to hide her nerves. It's not even that he's touching so much of her-she's a little appalled at how quickly she's become accustomed to the heat of him against her, which she doesn't want to think about ever-but how everyone watches them. She's never had a day of formal dance class in her life, so she's pleasantly surprised when he leads her through the steps well enough to pass for some semblance of knowledge.
It doesn't mean that she doesn't relish in the look of complete shock on Chrom's face when there's cake smeared all over it.
She's sure she has something to get revenge over, and it's oh so sweet.
-X-
That relief goes up in smoke less than an hour later when she's standing at the threshold of her new home.
Chrom manages to get the door unlocked while balancing a sleeping Lucina against his chest, and he steps inside, moving to Lucina's room before he notices Robin hasn't followed.
He turns back and adjusts his grip on Lucina. He sighs. "Are you waiting for me to carry you inside?"
Robin glares. "No." To make her point, she steps inside and locks the door behind her. "I just…"
Chrom starts walking away before she can finish her thought, and she huffs in irritation. They'd been married less than six hours, and they were already a cliche! At any other time, Robin might have laughed at their dedication to their craft, but in the moment, she just wants to lie down and pretend she's going to wake up in her own apartment when morning comes.
Even if her own apartment is tiny and run-down and filled with second-hand things while Chrom's is bright and expensively decorated while simultaneously being child-proof.
"Welcome home," she grumbles and kicks off her modest heels.
She hits the lights, dipping the room into instant darkness, and moves down the hall, pausing to peek into Lucina's room to watch Chrom tuck her in. He really is sweet with her, brushing her hair back, kissing her temple...it says a lot that Lucina is a darling child despite everything she's gone through. She gets the feeling that he wants to be alone and that suits her just fine, so she continues to the master bedroom despite how nervous she feels.
Chrom's apartment is spacious, but with two bedrooms it's meant for a small family, not two co-parents and a child. At first, Robin had argued that she could take the couch or sleep in Lucina's room, but eventually they'd decided that there'd be fewer questions if they simply shared the master bedroom. Neither of them had to clarify that they wouldn't be sharing a bed, and Robin is thankful to every god in existence for that small miracle.
Waking up to him was one thing, waking up with him-she forces the thought to end there and focuses on practical things. Things like how to get out of her dress...and what might happen if Chrom walked in on her...or if she needed help with the zipper.
Robin pulls the dresser drawer with her sleep clothes in it open with more force than necessary, and the loud rattle that sounds makes her curse under her breath. It must be something about the idea of the wedding night getting her riled up without reason. She certainly hadn't been like this any time before this point.
"Stupid societal expectations," she grumbles to herself while she easily takes care of the zipper on her own.
The threat of Chrom barging in makes her move quickly, stripping down and getting changed in seconds flat. It's not a moment too soon because the second she finishes straightening her old t-shirt, the door opens.
"You could knock, you know." She gathers up her dress and moves to the closet to find a garment bag for it.
"It's my room, you know," he shoots back, undoing his tie and who knows what else as if she weren't standing right there.
She turns her back resolutely to give him privacy. "Our room, remember?"
He mumbles something in reply and moves toward the bathroom with a handful of clothes rolled up under his arm.
Well, she might as well get used to talking to herself.
She tries to busy herself making plans for the next day to keep her thoughts from straying to her new husband. In the stillness of the night, though, she's hyper-aware of him readying himself for bed only a few feet away. She's tense all of a sudden, awkward about where she should be in the room. She can't bring herself to relax and rest on the bed or lean against the dresser now because everything feels too distinctly his and too nice to touch.
When he finally emerges-thankfully all covered up in sleep pants and a t-shirt-she jumps at the chance to lock herself in the bathroom. Her nighttime routine calms her nerves, and by the time she's finished the lights are out in the bedroom.
The bed is empty, though the sheets are pulled back on the left side for her. She climbs in gingerly and slides toward the center, tugging the covers up to her chin. The stress of the day hits her heavy all at once, and she yawns into the comforter. She shifts onto her right side to get more comfortable and then she can make out the shape of Chrom lying next to the bed.
He's so quiet she thinks he's asleep until she sees him roll onto his side to face her, too. "Hey, what, uh…" he starts haltingly, voice hushed. "What was bothering you earlier?"
Oh, now he wants to talk. It's a mild annoyance when all she wants is to sleep, but she mumbles anyway, "What was I saying before you completely ignored me, you mean?"
"I had to set Lucina down. My arm was falling asleep."
Robin snorts. "...I was thinking about how real it all seems now that I'm here."
"It didn't feel real when we signed the paperwork?"
"Not so much. Now that I have to live here and share all this with you...it seems overwhelming."
He's quiet again, his breathing almost imperceptible until he says, "...Thank you again."
"Chrom-"
"I know...Um, sleep well."
He turns his back to her and settles down. Robin's asleep before his breathing evens out.
Thanks for reading!
