Tuesday's an odd day for uploading, innit? Oh well.

Page 2

I winced at the light.

"…do SOMETHING."

"What do you propose we do?"

"I—I dunno…"

I carefully blinked my eyes open. The sunlight was blinding.

Two figures stood over me. One of them chuckled. "I see you're awake now," he said.

The other leaned in close, eclipsing the sun, and smiled at me. "Hey there," she said softly.

"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know. Give me your hand." He offered his hand.

I hesitantly reached for it, my arm stiff from disuse, and took it.

I blinked. My hand. Something was different about it.

Something that should have been there, but wasn't…

He lifted me to my feet; I stumbled, but held my ground.

He smiled at me. "Welcome back. It's over now."

I blinked rapidly, grasping my head; I felt a headache coming on. "Agh…"

She sighed. "Don't tell me he has amnesia again."

"C-Chrom…" I muttered, leaning on him for support. She gasped.

Chrom frowned grumpily. "Don't get your hopes up, Lissa, that doesn't mean anything." He nodded aside. "Frederick, could you help me out?"

"Of course, milord," the knight said, lifting me up. "Back to the capital, then?"

Chrom nodded, and they started walking, with me lying in Frederick's arms.

Sleep came over me again.

I blinked again. "Chrom…?" I muttered.

"He's not here, Robin," I heard.

I sat up a little, rubbing my head. "Where am I…?"

"Ylisstol," she spoke again. "R-Robin… look at me."

I faced her. "Y-Yeah?"

It was Lissa again. She wore a deep, sad frown. "Robin, do you know who I am?"

I blinked. "You're…" My head hurt, and my thoughts were sluggish.

A tear ran down her cheek. She hastily wiped it away. "No, no, it's fine. Don't strain yourself." She stood. "I'll be back soon, 'kay?" She started toward the door.

"Wait."

Lissa hesitated.

"Lissa," I said. "Lissa. Your name… is Lissa."

She turned around slowly, shaking.

"Your name is Lissa… you're the princess of Ylisse," I said. "You're Chrom's sister… and Emmeryn's… and you're a cleric. And…" I smiled. "And you're my wife."

She was frozen.

"And I love you."

She burst into tears, rushing at me and enveloping me in an embrace. "I missed you so much!" she cried, sobbing into my shoulder.

I reciprocated the hug, though I now realized I was quite sore. "I'm back," I said. "I'm home."

She pulled back, hitting me on the chest. "You bastard!" she sobbed. "You hypocrite! You don't get to leave either! We're a family, Robin! You had no right to make that choice!" She broke down again, embracing me.

"I'm sorry," I murmured.

I ran my hands through her hair comfortingly. I frowned, grasping one between my fingers.

A grey hair.

"How long… How long was I gone?" I asked nervously.

Lissa sniffed several times, pulling away slowly. She averted her eyes. "There's… someone you should see."

I froze in horror. "Is… Is that…"

Lissa nodded. "Yep." She reached her hand into the crib, letting the baby hold her finger. "Meet Owain." She looked at me. "Your firstborn son."

"When was he…?"

"Born, or conceived?" Lissa asked wryly.

"Uh… let's go with born."

She smiled. "He's two months old, now."

"Two months…?" I breathed. "So… I've missed quite some time, haven't I?"

"Oh, it's been less than a year," she said. "You'll acclimate in no time."

I looked down at my child. "Owain," I murmured. I let him grab my finger.

I grinned up at Lissa. "Glad you stuck with that name," I said.

"Well, er…" Lissa said, "I was dead-set on naming him Marth… mostly just to spite you. But then, come the day he was born, they asked me, 'what's his name?' And I just…" She shrugged. "I told them Owain. I couldn't see him as anything else."

I looked back down at my perfect child. "And… what about future Owain?" I asked.

She lit up. "He's here. I'll take you to him, if you want."

"I can't leave now," I said. "I just met this little guy!"

Lissa put her hands on her hips, smiling warmly down at me. "Okay, then. I'll bring him here."

"Bring… bring everyone," I said. "I want to see everyone again. I want to remember."

Lissa nodded. "Okay. I will." She leaned down and kissed me.

I grabbed her by the shoulder and held her in that embrace. We were there for a long time.

She finally pulled away, standing straight and stretching. "Agh, that was an uncomfortable position. At least stand up next time, geez…"

"Fine." I stood and swiftly took her by her shoulders. Her hands came up defensively in surprise, and I pulled her close and kissed her again.

She pulled back, grinning. "That's better, you sly dog," she said. She kissed my cheek. "Now, I'll be right back, 'kay?"

"'Kay," I said. I kissed her again, and let her go. "Don't take too long. Please."

"You're one to talk," she said wryly. She started to leave.

"Oh!" I said. "And if you see Chrom…" I grinned. "Tell him 'I told you so.'"

She rolled her eyes and left.

I turned my attention back to the crib, and knelt by my son. He was beautiful. I couldn't believe I'd missed even a second of this amazing child's life.

A great melancholy rose through me. All that lost time. I felt disowned by it.

"Owain," I whispered. "I don't know how future-me raised big-Owain, but I'm going to one-up him. I'm going to love you more than any father ever has for their child, okay? I'm never leaving again." A tear ran down my cheek; I tried to stave it off. "W-We are going to have s-so much fun, Owain. And w-when your sister Morgan arrives… we'll be a whole family, at last." I sniffed. I wouldn't be able to hold it off much longer. "Please forgive me, son. You don't know how much—! I… I l-love you, so much. I love you."

I gave in.

-END-

Happy-ish ending no jutsu!

When writing, I try listen to music that fits the mood, but man, I had to switch around constantly because of all the mood whiplash. One minute I'd be listening to "Aquarium Park Act 1" or "Dragon Force," in the next "……" or "In Pitiful Silence," and in the next, "Marlon's Gym" or "Such bonds are the true strength of this army." I'm now very familiar with the first thirty seconds of those songs.

No, this isn't what I meant when I said the story felt 'unfinished.' I'd already written this page out, but I'd just stare at the story as a whole and be like, "it's not done," but could never figure out what I meant. Maybe it'll suddenly occur to me long after I've stopped caring.

I wasn't sure if I was going to upload this page. Let me tell you, it underwent heavy deliberation! I actually wrote out a Pros/Cons table. Seriously.

Probably not going to do another Afterword. It was fun last time, but loses its novelty if I make it a trend.

Thanks for all the reviews! Loving the constructive criticism.