Chapter 3
A giggle is her only warning before Lucina jumps on the bed and worms her way under the covers. Robin blinks blearily at the mess of blue hair peeking out next to her. Lucina huddles against her side, squirming little hands tickling her as Lucina settles down into a comfortable position.
"Lucina!" she laughs, tugging the covers down to see her face.
Lucina shrieks and tries to wiggle further down the bed to avoid being seen. Robin plays along, chasing her until Lucina stops at the foot of the bed, the covers piled on top of her.
"Uh oh, I've got you cornered," Robin says playfully.
"No, Mommy, no!" Her shout is muffled a bit, but Robin gets the idea when Lucina slides off the bed and onto the floor slowly, head first. There's a thump that has Robin gasping and scrambling to the edge of the bed, but the sight of Lucina struggling to find her way out of the whole bed set she'd pulled with her draws a breathless laugh.
Robin stretches her arm out to help and soon enough Lucina is free, bedhead even worse and cheeks red.
"I win," she declares smugly.
The expression is straight from her father, though Robin finds it a hundred times more endearing on Lucina than on him.
Speaking of which—she peeks over the right side of the bed. There's no sign that anyone has even slept there, and then she notices light peeking out from under the bathroom door.
She figures she should get herself and Lucina ready for the day, so she makes another game of it and chases the girl back to her room, leaving the mess of sheets behind for Chrom to find.
Lucina's already given her a tour of her room, from her toys to her books to everything single detail she could think of, but she's enthusiastic all the same when she reminds Robin where to find her clothes. She demands to be dressed in blue, patiently stepping into her tights and raising her arms up for her shirt. Lucina settles down on the floor next to pile of half-arranged building blocks, claiming she hadn't finished her castle yesterday. Robin joins her, spending more time watching the look of concentration on Lucina's face rather than helping, before she decides to make herself decent.
She steps into the room and immediately stumbles back into the doorjamb at the sight of Chrom's bare back. He startles and half-turns at the thud, but it's too late and her eyes have already traced down his spine to his well-fitted jeans and back up to his damp messy hair without meaning to.
Look away, Robin, look away!
She does, maybe peeking as he hurriedly throws a shirt on, but she's all business by the time he's done. She turns to the closet as calmly as she can, even if the image of his broad shoulders and the curve of his bicep is likely burned into her mind forever.
She tells herself it's fine—normal, even. No one would deny that Chrom is an attractive man, so getting an eyeful (of nothing, because really, she'd hardly seen a thing) would be attention-grabbing. Especially if she's newly married and weirdly aware of said attractiveness at all times.
"So…" he starts conversationally after an extended silence. The bed creaks when he sits, and he throws his damp towel toward the center of the bed. "Lucina's up?"
Robin digs out an outfit from the closet and heads toward the dresser. "You think I threw all the blankets to the floor myself?"
Chrom watches her cross the room and chuckles. "I guess not."
His eyes are still on her while she tries to sneak a pair of underwear into her pile of clothes without him seeing. They fall into silence again.
"I'm going to shower," she says finally.
"Er, right." He clears his throat and stands. "I'll...go start breakfast."
She nods, and he hesitates a moment before he goes, calling for Lucina almost immediately. Lucina's muffled laughter brings a smile to Robin's face again. She supposes she'll have to get used to the awkward extended silences between her and Chrom. It was better than arguing, at least. And who knows? If things stayed like this, maybe being married wouldn't be the worst thing.
-X-
For how uncomfortable he thought it would be to have a woman in his home again, he's a little relieved that he's hardly noticed Robin. It helps that he's been busier at work than ever trying to secure a new keystone project for the firm. But even with the early mornings and late nights he'd put in this week, they hadn't made much progress convincing the City Council to give them the contract yet.
He eyes his watch and groans when he notices it's almost six already. Frederick had wanted to go over the proposal one more time before Chrom left the office, but he's tired and frustrated and he's missing Lucina after only being able to catch glimpses of her sleeping all week.
He makes up his mind. He leaves all his documents on the desk, knowing Frederick will be around to sort them out. He pulls his jacket off the coat hanger, but doesn't bother closing the door to his office. Some folks working late wave him off, and Chrom waves back.
He's almost home free through the double doors when he hears a voice that makes him tense instinctively. A heavy palm claps him on the shoulder, and he suppresses a sigh when he turns to Vaike.
The man is the picture of relaxation in his tank top and flip flops. The dress code at the firm is lax, but Vaike takes that to a new level.
Apparently, Vaike feels differently, heaving a huge sigh and declaring, "I'll tell ya, Chrom, this was the longest fucking week of my life."
"You're telling me," Chrom gripes, shaking his head. "I don't know how we're still waiting on approval."
"Who knows?" Vaike shrugs. "If Frederick can't get them to approve the budget, then maybe it's a lost cause."
"Don't say that. We're building that community center sooner or later. I'm just hoping it's sooner."
"Ain't we all," Vaike snorts.
There's enough of a pause that Chrom thinks the conversation is over, but Vaike brightens the second Chrom takes a step toward the doors.
"So. I know you're the boss, but why are ya headin' out so soon? Me and the crew are getting together at the Khan's Room. Rumor has it Basilio is taking challengers tonight."
Chrom rolls his eyes and has to laugh. "When have you known me to join you on your drunken escapades, Vaike?"
"That's the point! Before you were all like, 'I gotta leave early to pick up Lucina' or some other parent excuse, but don't think the Vaike hasn't noticed you working late every night this week." Chrom stiffens and continues walking to the door, swinging one open forcefully.
"The old ball and chain," Vaike continues smugly, following close behind.
"Vaike," Chrom says as a warning.
"What? I'm just sayin' that now there's someone to watch Lucina. No reason ya can't take a Friday night off from parenting, right?"
There's something about the way he says it that rubs Chrom the wrong way. Before Robin, getting Lucina ready for school and spending his evening with her were easily among the highlights of his day. The guilt sits like a weight on his chest. He'd taken too many nights off of parenting as it was, and he hadn't heard a word of complaint from Robin.
"Not tonight. Sorry, Vaike," Chrom finds himself saying, leaving his friend standing in front of the doors.
-X-
Robin had whipped up the simplest dinner she could – reheated soup from the day before – since Lucina had been cranky from hunger almost immediately since they'd gotten home. Chrom had mentioned offhandedly that he'd be working late most of the week, and Robin isn't sure if she finds his prolonged absence more annoying than if he'd actually been home.
Sure, she's good with kids. It's her job, after all. But doing her job all day and then coming home to care for Lucina with nary a word of support from her dear husband had been irritating. His routine had been to show up after Lucina had been put to bed, mumble hello, and then rummage around the kitchen for dinner. Rather than stand around to soak in the awkwardness, Robin would say goodnight and hole up in the bedroom, Chrom dutifully leaving her alone until an appropriate bedtime.
She sighs. Is this what married people do?
"Mommy, can I have ice cream?"
Robin looks up from where she is stirring her own bowl of soup and smiles. "Did you finish everything already?"
"Yes! It's all in my tummy!"
Robin giggles at Lucina's newly restored mirth and pats her head. "Okay, after ice cream it's bath time."
"Yes, mommy," Lucina replies excitedly, on her best behavior for to receive her treat.
Lucina had taken to having Robin around like a duck to water. If she noticed the tension between Robin and Chrom, she didn't vocalize it. Of course, not having seen them in the same room for so long helped. Robin knows things can't stay this way forever—avoiding each other and communicating through silences—and she fervently hopes that this…thing that they're doing for Lucina's sake doesn't affect the girl negatively.
She tries to put Chrom out of her mind for the time being and focuses on enjoying her time with Lucina.
Lucina brings exactly six of her toys into the bath with her, and she splashes around for almost an hour before starting to get sleepy. Robin dresses her amidst yawns and sleepy giggles and then tucks her in bed, pulling her favorite blanket snug around her.
Lucina yawns a tiny little yawn that has Robin cooing and leaning down to peck her forehead one final time. Robin makes sure to turn her night light on and leaves the door ajar.
The apartment is eerily still when Lucina is asleep. Robin feels antsy and doesn't want to settle down in the bedroom just yet. There are a few boxes of her things still stacked in the corner of the living room, so she decides to take a look and see what she can bring herself to unpack.
She picks one box from the pile, settles down on the plush carpet, and tears it open. She purses her lips—it's full of child development books. Despite Chrom's apartment being well-decorated, it's clear he's not a bookish type of guy.
"How basic is a damn bookshelf?" She grumbles to herself, pulling each book out one by one and stacking them to the side of the box. She pouts and runs her fingers over the cover of one of her newer purchases. "This might just have to be where they stay."
Before she can get to the second box, the lock on the door clicks.
"Oh." She cranes her neck slightly to see Chrom standing in the doorway behind her. "You're back."
"Yep."
"…Welcome home."
"Thanks."
He stands in the foyer as if it weren't his own home, but Robin ignores him and turns back to her books. She doesn't hear him move, but when she looks back, he's gone.
Geez, he comes and goes like a ghost—
"You put her to bed already?"
Robin inhales sharply, putting a hand to her chest. "God! A little warning please?"
Chrom frowns down at her. "It's only 7."
She cranes her neck to narrow her eyes at him. "Almost 8."
"Whatever," he says, waving her correction away. "Don't you think it's a little too early?"
She shakes her head and stands to fully face him. "She could hardly keep her eyes open."
"Well, she could've stayed up to wait for me at least," he grumbles, crossing his arms across his chest.
"She would've been cranky then. You know how she gets when her sleep is delayed."
Chrom rolls his eyes. "Of course I know. I'm her father."
"Exactly," Robin agrees slowly. "That's why she's in bed. You don't talk to me all week, and suddenly you get to criticize my parenting choices?"
"What did we have to talk about, Robin?" he asks. "I know you'd rather have as little interaction with me as possible."
"That doesn't matter!" she replies exasperatedly, trying to keep her voice down. "The least you could do is communicate with me! How the hell was I supposed to know you were expecting Lucina be up and waiting for you? I didn't even know when you'd be back!"
"Well—"
"I guess you don't have to be here now that you have a nanny to raise your daughter," she finishes sharply, the words falling out of her mouth before she can stop them. The disbelief crosses Chrom's face instantly, and guilt hits her almost as quickly, settling deeper when Chrom recoils from her outstretched hand.
"I didn't mean that," she sighs.
His jaw is tight with tension, eyes incensed. "Right."
"I'm sorry, Chrom, okay?"
He shakes his head and sweeps out of the room. She hears a door slam, and then the apartment is still again. Robin sinks down onto the carpet, leaning her head back against the seat of the couch, books strewn around her.
Another night this week she ends up alone.
