a/n: double update! yay!

Robin liked the kiss. Hell, she loved it. It had been passionate and gentle… the only way for her to describe it was flawless. Chrom's lips had fit perfectly against hers. It was almost as though it was meant to be.

Her hand cupped his on her cheek and she leaned into the caress as their lips pressed together. Their fingers intertwined in the grass and it was amazing.

That was until everything came to a screeching halt. They both recoiled as if the other burned. What had they been doing? Robin got to her feet and Chrom got to his. She pressed her fingers against her lips where the warmth from his mouth lingered. It was crazy, but she wanted it again. She would have given anything to have that moment again.

"Wow, that…" She started, but trailed off, unsure how to finish.

Chrom shook his head. Even though it was midnight, she could see the regret and anger in his eyes. A pang jolted through her chest and she fought the tears threatening to rise to her eyes. "That is never going to happen again. Are we clear?"

She shoved her feelings down and forced an awkward smile. "As crystal. Never again."

Who cares anyway? It was only a kiss. Her brain pressed her, though, her the pain in her heart reminded her with a cold brutality, You do, stupid…

She knelt to pick up her cup from the grass. Robin straightened out and looked at Chrom once more before turning around. "Chrom?"

"Hm?" was his response from behind her.

I love you. "Be sure to get some sleep."

~!~

The next morning, Robin purposely wore her hair up in two braids that lead into a high ponytail. She had even attempted to do everything she could to flatten down the one strand that was too short to do anything with. Instead, it laid on her forehead. She put on a touch of makeup and the best façade she could.

Cheerfully, she walked into the dining hall and joined the others for breakfast. She had planned to sit with Sumia to talk about decorations a bit more, but the Pegasus Knight had already left to go get her dress tailored. Which meant she was stuck sitting across from Chrom.

Politely, she greeted him. He returned it, though it came out sounding awkward. He wouldn't even glance her direction all throughout the meal. A weight settled on to her shoulders and she pushed her breakfast around with her fork, no longer hungry. After a moment, she spoke when a thought came to mind, "Chrom?"

"Yes?" He briefly glanced up at her and their eyes met. Her breath caught in her throat as the memories from their kisses flooded back into her mind. It was followed by an intense chest pain when she recalled the expression that had been in Chrom's eyes the night before.

"Well, it's just that you're getting married in a month and haven't even had an engagement ball." She pointed out.

He pursed his lips. "I suppose not."

She pushed a smile onto her face. "I was thinking we could do it on Friday, if that's alright. I can see if anyone has plans."

"I'll talk things over with Sumia. Then we can start planning." He nodded.

Robin stood, grabbing her untouched plate and walked off to the kitchens. She put it by the wash basin to be cleaned and greeted the staff in a chipper tone. They returned the greeting and she left. She began to make her way back to the room she was using to plan the wedding in. As she walked up the stairs, she had to pause to catch her breath. She leaned against the wall, trying to regulate her breathing.

The sooner I finish planning, the sooner I can leave. She told herself. The sooner I leave, the sooner I can get medical treatment.

~!~

It wasn't until it was almost noon that Robin was interrupted. A knock on the door pulled her from her studying the medical habits of the Plegians. She closed the book quickly and put several others on top of it. Turning her chair around to face the door, she called out, "Come in."

"Good afternoon." The greeting was in total synchronization by Chrom and Sumia. They looked at each other and smiled.

Robin tugged on her ponytail, tightening it. She glanced between the two and gestured for them to sit at the table in the center of the room. "You talked it over, then?"

Sumia sat down at the table, but Chrom remained standing. She nodded. "Yes, we talked it over. When Chrom brought up engagement ball after you told him, I thought it was a great idea! When did you say that you wanted to have it?"

"I had Maribelle and Lissa help me out today and we double-checked with everyone. Monday would be alright, but Friday seems to work the best out of any night available though." Robin picked up a sheet of parchment off of her desk. She ran her finger down the page and nodded again. "Yes, Friday works the best."

Robin set down the guest list and grabbed the color scheme. "I was thinking maybe a pale lavender and silver for the colors? Although, gold wouldn't be bad. Even a pale orange may go well. Oh- And for decorations, I was thinking we could do flowers and change the curtains? I figured we could choose the main color for the curtains and then use the contrasting color to be the flowers. I'm not sure though. There's also the tables, and the table cloths, and the seating arrangements, if we choose to have them and- and-"

"Breathe, Robin." Sumia laughed and the tactician took a deep breath.

"Sorry, I just got excited." She replied sheepishly.

"It's fine, but be sure to breathe." The Pegasus Knight giggled. "Anyways, I'm really impressed with how much you've thought out. When did you start thinking about the engagement ball?"

"This morning." She shrugged.

Sumia's eyes went wide. "Damn, you're a great planner."

"The very best." Robin looked over at Chrom, who was watching her with an expression that made her flush. She didn't know what was in his eyes that made her blush, but there was something there. Something tender and gentle.

"Oh, um, well, I'm not that good." She fumbled, reaching out to grab something off of her desk. "You both have dance lessons tomorrow and then, you have to get your outfits for the ball tailored. Here are some of the designs that Levvia gave me."

She passed the journal to Sumia. "Go ahead and both of you take a look. There are several unique ones that I think both of you will like."

Chrom groaned. "Great. Clothing."

Sumia and Robin both laughed and leaned together over the journal. "Let's get started."

~!~

They ended up deciding on the colors silver and lavender, like Robin had suggested in the first place. They had both also picked their outfits for the ball on Friday. The ideas for decorations had been settled, and Robin had picked the musicians and promised she would finish the rest of the planning for the two.

She stood from her seat and stretched. "My goodness, look at the time. It's already time for supper."

"Is it really?" Sumia asked, standing as well. "Wow, we were having so much fun, I suppose I lost track of time."

Robin smiled and the girls' eyes met. They both burst into giggles. Chrom looked back and forth between them. "What? Am I missing something?"

That only made the two laugh harder. Robin was laughing so hard she had to sit back down in her chair. Both of the girls' giggles turned into breathless hiccups. It took them several minutes to calm down because every time they looked at each other, the cycle would begin all over again.

"What that about?" Chrom asked when they both had finally calmed down.

"Let's say it's a girl thing." Sumia grinned. A long silence settled into the room after that. Robin looked over to the window where the sun was starting to set. Her gaze drifted over to Chrom, who was looking at Sumia. Quickly, she looked away by scanning the room. She really needed to organize it.

Robin drummed her fingers on her leg and looked around a bit more. The silence choked the air out of her lungs and she was desperate to break it, but there wasn't anything for her to say. They had already gone over everything they needed to, and there wasn't anything left that she couldn't decide on her own.

Her throat felt tight and her fingers curled into fists. A wave of dizziness crashed into her, even though she was sitting. Her head spun and she had to close her eyes to keep the room from doing the same. Robin took a deep breath and raised her hand to brush through her hair. She took down her ponytail and wove her hands through the silver-blue locks. Carefully, she put it back how it had been before glancing between the betrothed couple again.

Finally, someone broke the silence. That someone happened to be Chrom. "We should probably get some dinner, don't you think?"

Robin and Sumia both nodded. Robin stood up and followed Sumia and Chrom to the door. Her head was spinning and she threw an arm out for support as everything started to spin. She swore internally and attempted to orient herself. She took another step forward, but her legs crumpled beneath her. Her body fell to the stone floor as everything went black.

~!~

Everything was dark. Robin's mind spun as she tried to orient her thoughts before opening her eyes. Her fingers twitched against something soft and it occurred to her that she was laying on a bed. Warmth spread through her toes and all the way up to her face as voices filled her ears.

"Will she be okay?" A feminine voice came from her left and was soft, almost timid. It was familiar, but Robin couldn't quite remember who it belonged to.

There was a sigh. "She should be fine. She just seems to be exhausted."

The words all seemed to blur in Robin's mind, though she was somehow able to understand. Her eyes weighed down against her as she attempted to open them. Nodding internally, she let them stay closed. It was too much effort to open them.

"Is… is that really all? How did she become so exhausted so quickly?"

"Well, though stress can disturb sleep, I highly doubt it's from work. Do you know if she's getting any sleep?"

A third voice chipped in. "No."

"How do you know that, Chrom?" The feminine voice turned a bit harsher than before.

The gentle sweep of fingers across Robin's forehead brought her comfort as she listened to the conversation. "I've… ran into her more than once in the middle of the night."

"What? When? What happened? What do you mean by 'the middle of the night?'"

"Sumia, that's enough. Give Chrom a moment to explain." That was a voice that registered in her mind as Ricken.

A silence fell over the room and Chrom took a deep breath. "There was a night, a few days ago, that I couldn't sleep. I thought a walk through the courtyard might help me relax. Robin was outside as well, sitting in the grass. She looked unnaturally pale, but I had thought it was just the moonlight. Figuring we could both use some company, I sat down next to her and we talked for a while. She told me I should go inside and get some sleep."

His voice went into a trance as though he wasn't paying attention to his words, but speaking his thoughts. With what little consciousness she had, Robin prayed he wouldn't say something that he would regret. "I haven't been sleeping much this past week or so and every night I can't, I see her outside in the courtyard. Most times, Robin isn't even aware of my presence. But I always see her. She's been acting so strange ever since…"

"Since what, Chrom?" Ricken asked.

There was a stiff silence to follow it. This is bad. was the only thing that Robin could think. Sumia didn't seemed too pleased with the silence either. "Since what, Chrom?"

Chrom cleared his throat. "Do you remember when I went to visit her after she was in the rain and got sick? You visited her before me?"

Sumia visited me? She's such a sweet person.

"Well, she woke up and told me that I should go to bed. She insisted that she could handle herself for the rest of the night. I refused and she got of bed. She's so stubborn." There was a slight laugh in his voice. "I picked her up and put her back in bed, and she pulled me down with her. We tussled for a bit, but something happened in the middle of it."

"Oh, Chrom." Ricken sighed.

"Wait- Are you telling me that you-" Sumia cut herself off.

"Sumia, I promise you it was an accident. She was delirious with fever, I'm not sure she even remembers. I'm certain that if she does remember, she regrets it as much as I do."

"I-I-" Sumia's voice was soaked in different emotions. "I'm not sure what to say."

A new voice spoke up from the back of the room. "I truly believe it was an accident, darling. Robin would never dare to kiss a betrothed man, and Chrom would never intentionally betray your trust."

"Maribelle? When did you-" Ricken was cut off.

"You must have been distracted. I've been in here the whole time."

There was a pause. "Right. Well. My diagnosis is most likely insomnia."

"Insomnia?" Multiple people spoke at the same time.

""Insomnia is the inability to obtain an adequate amount or quality of sleep. The difficulty can be in falling asleep, remaining asleep, or both. People with insomnia do not feel refreshed when they wake up." That sounded like something out of a book, Ricken. So intelligent…

"Oh."

Robin finally managed to force her eyes open. As she did, she released a soft groan. Four sets of eyes turned to her, but she first looked to only one. Chrom. After, she averted his gaze and instead, met Ricken's worried eyes. He stood above her and squeezed her hand, once, twice. "Nn… Where… Where am I?"

"The infirmary." Chrom spoke in a soft tone.

"Why?" Robin's voice croaked. She moved to sit up, but Ricken stopped her. He lifted her slowly and propped her up to lean against her pillows.

"You collapsed right as we were heading to eat supper." Her gaze moved to Sumia who was watching her with concerned eyes.

"Oh."

Ricken looked over at Chrom and Sumia. Alarms started to go off in Robin's mind. "You two go eat some supper. Mira and I can take care of Robin. She'll be fine."

Chrom seemed reluctant to go, but when Sumia grabbed his arm, he went along willingly. As soon as the infirmary door shut, Ricken whipped around to look at her. He pointed a finger. "You lied to me."

"I didn't lie to you." Robin managed.

"But you didn't tell me the truth, either! It's called lying by omission, Robin." He sighed and rubbed his temples. "Why didn't you tell me you were still sick?"