Tadah! so i decided against the all nighter so this is a little bit later then i would have liked to have post this but, eh i'll live. I've ran out of stuff to say for now so enjoy this disclaimer.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Song suggestion: Counting Stars by One Republic
Months had passed since the battle against the mad king and Robin had since been working tirelessly with the Sheppards to start repairing the damage of the war. Together they rebuilt homes and businesses, drove out the remaining brigand that terrorized small villages, and restored order to the throne. Robin walked through the cold snowy streets of Ylisstol bundled up in her winter uniform as she happily enjoyed watching the citizen bustle about shopping for food and gifts.
"Lady Robin?" Robin heard a voice from behind her ask causing her to turn around to face one of Ylisse's many soldiers.
"Yes, that's me." Robin replied tilting her head slightly from confusion. Chrom had just dismissed her three days ago for a two week break from duty so the soldiers presence was quite alarming for her. "Please let everything be ok." Robin mentally pleaded, hoping that her coveted break from work wouldn't be stripped from her.
"The exalted wished to speak with you in the court. He says it's urgent." The soldier relayed the message which caused Robin to tense up a little.
"This can't be good." Robin thought before dismissing the soldier to his prior duties. "I really hope it's not another war so soon." Robin mentally pleaded as she turned to start briskly walking which quickly changed into a full on sprint so she could make it as fast as possible to the castle's court room.
"Robin, good to see you." Chrom greeted as he walked across the room to his good friend who was now quite winded from her run.
"Good to see you as well." Robin replied as she composed herself then straightened her coat. "Is there something urgent that needs to be talked about?" Robin asked curiously, wondering if maybe the soldier had exaggerated the importance of the meeting.
"Yes, I'm sorry to have to cut your vacation short but I need your help." Chrom replied with a nod before Gesturing over to the large three dimensional model of the continent in the middle of the court.
"Dang it all." Robin thought as she followed Chrom over to the model.
"I want to send you and a few sheppards on a mission into Ferox." Chrom stated as he looked over the map.
"You what?" Robin asked in disbelief. "What's wrong in Ferox?"
"Nothing. There is rumored to be a tear of Naga in hidden the ruins of time in this area over here." Chrom explained as he pointed to the far left side of Ferox. "It gives soldiers strength before battle and it would be valuable to have. Peace does not last and I want to be prepared for the next fight when it comes." Chrom added to his explanation, leaving Robin flabbergasted.
" Chrom I have to advise against this. Plegia could take that as a sign of aggression. Not to mention just walking into Ferox and taking something so valuable from them? I'm sorry but I must refuse." Robin replied concerned that Chrom might have lost some of his marbles until she heard the laughing of the East and West Khan.
"She is an honest one is she not?" Flavia asked as she and Bastillio walked over to the map.
"Looks like she passed for you Chrom, the Tear is yours if you can find it." Bastilio added with a witty smirk causing Robin's jaw to drop before she looked back to a smiling Chrom.
"I knew you'd pass." Chrom stated happily. "The tear is now a gift and won't be seen as a sign of war to Plegia. Although, I do still need you to go and get it. I have to stay here to take care of the people." Chrom stated as he scratched his head while laughing lightly.
"If it is what you command then it will be done." Robin replied feeling much lighter now that worry did not plague her. "I'll gather a few troops now so we can head out in the morning. How long should I expect to be away?" Robin asked curiously though she was certain it wouldn't be a short term mission.
"Thank you Robin." Chrom replied gratefully then pondered over her question. "1 month? Maybe 3?" Chrom replied not certain either. "It depends how long it take you to find the ruins. You don't have a set time where you have to come back by. Just send a note every once in a while?" Chrom requested as a very light blush threatened to cross his face.
"I think I can manage that." Robin replied in a light but cheeky sarcastic ton. "I'll make sure to update you on our progress regularly." Robin added before walking out with Flavia and Bastilio.
"Distance makes the heart grow fonder. Right?" Chrom thought before going back to his duties as the Exalted.
"You know I always knew there was a reason I took a shine to you, kid. Turning down the proposal of a Prince? That's the action of a strong Feroxi woman for sure." Flavia stated with a laugh once they were out of ear shot of Chrom causing Robin's face to heat up from embarrassment.
"Sure you think it's funny Flavia, who do you think the kid went to after he got rejected asking for rejection advice?" Bastilio asked, catching robin's interest.
"You've been rejected?" Robin asked stunned, it just didn't seem possible that someone with such a strong personality could be rejected. Oh, right she just did that; just not to him.
"Yeah on multiple occasions." Flavia stated through her laughing. "Theres a reason I respect you for what you did you know." Flavia added, causing Robin to connect the dots that Bastilio had at least at one time held a torch for Flavia who must have flat out rejected him as well.
"I just did what I felt was right. He was following his heart so I followed mine." Robin replied diplomatically before entering the barracks of the Sheppards. Robin walked out to the training grounds to find everyone working together to spar and grow stronger. Robin smiled as she fired a small blast of wind magic at a large bell on the other side of the room which created a loud resonating bellow of sound which gathered everyone's attention.
"Hey Robin, Welcome back. Did you decide to come back early?" Ricken asked happily as he walked over to her.
" Thanks Ricken, sadly no. I was asked to come back early." Robin explained before waiting a few more minutes for everyone else to gather. "Ok so I'm not gonna candy coat or fluff this. We've got a mission to go on." Robin stated bluntly not sure of how else to tell everyone without sounding like a pompous air bag. "Chrom has asked that I take a small group to Ferox for the next few months to find Naga's Tear. I understand that it's the holiday season though so rather than choosing for you I figured I'd let you work amongst yourselves to figure out who goes. If none of you want to go I understand. I can always go on my own." Robin explained willing to take on the responsibility by herself. "I'll be leaving at sunrise tomorrow from the northern gate. Let me know before then if you're willing to go." Robin finished and started to turn to leave only to stop when Fredrick stepped forward.
"I will go with you." Fredrick announced surprising Robin causing her to smile in gratitude.
"Thank you Fredrick. It will be nice to have the company." Robin replied happy that she wouldn't have to be alone for so long.
"Count me in. this place is getting boring." Gaius said shortly as he walked over to Robin. "You ok with that bubbles?" Gaius added calling her by her nickname openly which embarrassed her highly.
"I don't mind at all. It will be nice to have someone that's good with locks on the team." Robin replied pretending that she wasn't embarrassed by what he called her.
"Two men alone with my Robin? I don't think so. I'm coming too." Tharja stated bluntly causing Robin to laugh lightly before walking over and hugging her.
"Thanks Tharja. It will be good to have you with." Robin replied happily before releasing Tharja and looking at the three. "Well I'm gonna go pack. I'll meet you in the morning." Robin said before turning to leave and hurrying back to her barrack. Robin happily opened the door to her one room home and looked around for her rucksack. She'd have to pack lightly and yet have enough for the next few months all in that one bag. After finally finding it under her bed Robin packed a spare winter uniform, some soap, a few elixars, along with her tombs, some paper, a quill, a vile of ink, bandage cloth, two skins of water, some of her favorite snacks, her small tent, a few medium bullions and a large bullion that she managed to save up. She was saving them for a rainy day but a snowy month would have to do instead. For the rest of the day Robin studied her maps to see if she could find any sign of the ruins on them but to no avail. Robin awoke early the next morning to find that she had fallen asleep at her desk with maps all over her floor. Groggily Robin rubbed her head as she walked over to her sword and attached it to her hip before putting on her oversized coat that she knew well would keep her warm even in Ferox and finally slung her bag over her shoulder. With a yawn Robin opened her door to start the cold walk to the northern gate only to find a strange sight outside of her door. Sleeping against the wall just to the left of her door was Lon'qu, dressed in heavy winter gear with a rucksack at his side. Robin smiled as she quietly sat on her knees next to him and slowly moved to put her hand on his shoulder only jump slightly in surprise as Lon'qu grabbed her wrist and twisted it slightly causing her to wince. Once Lon'qu opened his eyes and realized that he had grabbed Robin he quickly let go and looked away.
"You'll need a guild if you're going to survive in the Ferox forests in the middle of winter." Lon'qu stated quietly before standing up and taking a few steps towards the exit allowing Robin to have enough time to get up as well.
"Thank you." Robin stated quietly as they walked through the barracks towards the exit.
"I'm doing this to visit my homeland. Not for you. Got it?" Lon'qu stated his face turning a bright pink.
"I understand." Robin replied with a smile knowing differently since his blush betrayed him. The two continued their trek in a comfortable wordless silence that was only disturbed by the sound of the falling snow until they made it to the gate where Gaius, Fredrick and a shivering Tharja were waiting for them.
"Yo bubbles. What's slicer doing here?" Gaius called as he and Lon'qu locked in a glaring match for a split second causing Lon'qu to smirk a bit.
"I figured you wouldn't want to get lost and freeze to death." Lon'qu stated flately before continuing through the gate to the trail followed by Fredrick and a grumbling Gaius.
"Well this is an interesting twist." Tharja announced quietly to Robin who look to Tharja confused but decided against asking. The group had been traveling for at least two hours with Lon'qu leading the way up the mountain before Robin looked back to see Tharja shivering and falling way behind from the pack.
"Tharja is that all you brought to wear? You'll freeze to death." Robin stated as she hurried over to the practically naked woman and removed her coat then help Tharja put it on.
"Hey what about me? I'm cold too. What am I chop liver?" Gaius asked only half serious.
"You're a man yes?" Robin asked curiously causing Gaius to look down then back to her.
"Yeah, I think that's a bit obvious." Gaius replied slightly confused by where Robin was going with her question.
"Then suck it up and deal with it. You should have planned better." Robin replied as she walked past him causing Lon'qu to let out a short but loud laugh before he regained control by letting out a quiet snort. Gaius and Lon'qu got into another glaring match as Robin led Tharja to Fredrick.
"Fredrick, can she ride with you until we can get her proper gear?" Robin asked receiving a nod in response before Fredrick helped Tharja onto his steed giving Robin enough time to walk back to her place beside Lon'qu.
"You know, it won't do use much good to have you freeze instead." Lon'qu stated in his best attempt to show his concern while trying to not show his concern.
"I'll be fine without my coat for a few day." Robin replied with a smile "At least this way we won't have to turn back and lose our progress. " Robin pointed out causing Lon'qu to smirk lightly causing an discreet blush to bloom on Robin's face as she looked away slightly.
"I guess maybe that's why I don't fear you. You're more of a man then the theif." Lon'qu stated quietly so that Gaius couldn't here.
"I don't know if he was trying to complement me or just diss Gaius." Robin thought as she deadpanned from Lon'qu's statement. After another 4 hours of travel passed by the group took a short break for lunch then continued for another 6 hours before setting up camp. The four worked hard to make the camp before dark by setting up four tents and fire pit to keep them warm at night and after a few hours of talking over their roasted deer dinner the problem of fire duty came up.
"So, who take first shift and who takes last?" Fredrick asked curiously causing everyone to stare at the fire.
"Um well I guess I can take the late shift." Robin offered first even though she'd much rather not.
"Then I'll take that shift as well." Gaius and Tharja stated at the same time causing the jealous girl to glare at Gaius as Robin sighed and walked to a nearby tree and plucked off a few dead branches. Breaking some so there were two sets one set of medium length the other short and one branch that was different from both of them. Robin then poked the end of one stick from each set except for the unique one in to the deer giblets. She then let the two dyed stick dry by the fire as the 4 waited curious to see what Robin was up to. Robin picked up the small sticks then concealed the ends in her hand and shifted them around so that they were mixed up. "We each take one stick. There will be four short shifts and two of us at each shift. Short with blood is first shift and last shift, Short without blood is first and third. Medium with blood is second and fourth while medium without is second and third shift. The one who pulls the long stick gets to sleep all night." Robin explained and looked around. "Does everyone agree to this?" Robin asked and everyone nodded.
"Well ladies first then." Tharja stated before grabbing the first stick. " Medium with blood." Tharja announced. Then put her stick by the fire. Fredrick pulled next.
"Long stick." Fredrick stated sounding slightly disappointed as he put his stick by the fire as well.
"Short with blood." Gaius announced following the procedure by putting his stick in the pile before Lon'qu drew his.
"Short without blood." Lon'qu said quietly as he put his stick in the pile as well.
"That leaves me with Medium without blood" Robin stated as she placed her stick with the rest by the fire.
"Well goodnight boys. Play nice." Tharja stated with a laugh as we walked over to Robin's tent. "Come on Robin we should get what sleep we can." Tharja pointed out before walking into the tent .
"Oh, um. Ok." Robin replied as she got up and walked over to the tent not realizing that she would be sharing for the entire trip.
"Good night." Robin stated to Fredrick, Gaius, and Lon'qu before entering. Fredrick just sat there for a second looking between Gaius and Lon'qu before standing up with his hands signaling surrender.
"I'm not involved." Fredrick stated simply before going to his own tent to sleep as well. For the next hour and a half Lon'qu and Gaius just sat across from each other, glaring.
"So." Gaius spoke first. "I guess you and I are, rivals of sorts?" Gaius asked deciding to face the issue head on.
"It would seem so yes." Lon'qu replied shortly since he wasn't really interested in talking to Gaius anyways.
"Sweet." Gaius replied simply as he leaned back after putting a new candy in his mouth.
"How is this sweet?" Lon'qu asked unamused.
"Because I know that I don't have to worry if you're the only other person left." Gaius explained as he shrugged causing Lon'qu's glare to harden. "You can barely talk to women how are you going to get one to fall for you?" Gaius pointed out causing Lon'qu to look away. "Wait let me guess your sparkling personality?" Gaius joked with a smirk knowing that he was already well on his way to winning Robin's heart.
"And I guess you plan to use your impressive job resume?" Lon'qu retorted causing Gaius to sneer unhappily. "You're a pathetic excuse for a man." Lon'qu stated enraging Gaius causing him to shoot up from his seat, daggers ready.
"You wanna try say that again dastard?" Gaius asked threateningly which only caused Lon'qu to sigh as he took his time to stand as well.
"Are you always this stupid or is today a special occasion?" Lon'qu asked while he drew his blade to point it at Gaius as he glared.
"If you ask me you're both a special kind of stupid if you think this will help." Tharja stated with a yawn causing the two to look over and find her sitting by the fire not far away. "But by all means continue. That just means there will be one less moron in Robin's life and I am A OK with that." Tharja added with a chuckle causing the two to go back to glaring at each other as they both sheathed their weapons and sat back down before Robin walked out of the tent.
"Sorry I took so long to wake up. I couldn't find my other boot." Robin explained as she tiredly plopped down next to Tharja as the two men went to their tents. The two sleepily sat by the fire having short conversations every once in a while before Tharja finally stood up two hours later.
"I'm gonna go and wake up the grumpy swordsman. Just wake me if you want me to take over your shift." Tharja said as she got up and went to wake Lon'qu by kicking his tent before she walked back into Robin's tent.
Robin shakily got up from her seat in search of more firewood to return not long after with a large arm full of thick branches to find that Lon'qu did wake up and was now sitting by the fire. Lon'qu did his best to keep from staring but it was just so strange for him to see Robin look anything close to feminine, Usually her shapeless coat would help him by hiding her figure. Robin on the other hand was blissfully unaware of the attention she was receiving as she put down the large pile and picked out a short but thick branch and started breaking off the twigs after she sat down a little ways away from Lon'qu. Once she was satisfied with the branch Robin pulled out her small whittling knife and started scraping of the bark in inconsistent chunks. Curious, Lon'qu stood so he could move to sit next to her, making sure that he was far enough away so that he wouldn't get hit by the blade.
"What are you trying to accomplish by doing that?" Lon'qu asked curiously causing Robin to stop her potential mutilation of the piece of wood.
"Well I figured that if I was just going to be sitting here for another 2 hours that I might try making another figure for my maps." Robin explained then pulled out her miniature figure of herself from her pocket and handed it to Lon'qu as an example. Robin couldn't help but stare at his soft smile as he looked over the small figure before handing it back to Robin.
"Would you mind if I gave it a try?" Lon'qu asked curiously causing Robin to smile.
"Of course not, here." Robin replied as she handed him the piece of wood she was working with and her knife then watched in amazement as he skinned the bark off with ease leaving nice clean surface before handing it back to Robin. "How did you do that?" Robin asked as she looked over the piece of wood causing Lon'qu to smirk when a light bulb went off in his head.
"Would you like for me to teach you?" Lon'qu offered as he got up and grabbed a similar branch to the one that Robin picked up.
"That would be great. I always have such a hard time with that part." Robin admitted sheepishly only to be surprised as Lon'qu sat down right next to her and fixed up the branch so it was ready to be debarked before handing it to her.
"Do what you normally do and I'll help correct it." Lon'qu explained quietly which only made Robin nervous.
"He's acting strange. What's going on?" Robin thought curiously as she started to cut away the bark in her usual manner.
"There's the problem you're carving with the blade at the wrong angle" Lon'qu explained as he put his hand over hers, moving it so that the knife was at the right angle and helped guided her knife across the stick only to frown in frustration and let out a small grunt. "This could be a lot easier." Lon'qu mumbled as he shifted around uncomfortable before wrapping his arm around Robin so he could help steady her other hand then went back to teaching her.
"Is this the same Lon'qu that I've known for the past 6 months?" Robin mentally asked herself as her face turned red. Though he was talking Robin couldn't concentrate enough to hear, his warmth mixed with the warmth of the fire was just enough to make her start feeling sleepy.
"Are you feeling ok Robin? You look flushed." Lon'qu asked causing Robin to look up at him as he looked down leaving there faces dangerously close to each other. Instinctively Lon'qu started to mentally panic. "This is bad she's way too close to me. What do I do?" Lon'qu thought though his subconscious was pushing for him to make a move. "I can't. what if she rejects me? What if I get hurt again? Women only cause pain." Lon'qu's phobia countered though his subconscious seem to have gained some control of his body as his face slowly moved closer to hers.
"Lon" Robin started but couldn't seem to finish his name as he stroked her check with his thumb and lightly kissed her lower lip causing a light shutter to go down her spine.
"See look she's afraid of you. Good job big guy. See where your action got you?" Lon'qu's phobia argued and regained control of his body causing him to pull back and blush feverously.
"I- I think you've gotten a hang of carving." Lon'qu stuttered by accident as he stood up and started walking away. "I believe it's Gaius and Tharja's shift now. Good night." Lon'qu stated quietly before retreating into his tent.
The next month followed a similar pattern where they would travel for 4 hours take a lunch break then travel 4 more hours before resting for the night. Until one day Gaius managed to break the comfortable pattern that everyone had gotten into by rushing far ahead of the group.
"Hey Robin! Robin come check this out!" Gaius called as he pretended to be looking down a somewhat step slop.
"Gaius be careful that doesn't look like a safe place to be-" Robin started to reply only to see some of the ground become uneven under Gaius's feet causing him to fall down the slope. "Gaius!" Robin yelled as she ran as fast as she could to the slop and looked around. The others still hadn't caught up yet so she'd have to go without letting them know what's happened. Robin sat down on the slope and gave herself a little push causing herself to slide down the same path as Gaius until she reached the bottom with a tumble and a thud causing Gaius to laugh.
"Hate to say it bubbles but I have to give that landing a 6 out of 10." Gaius joked as he helped her up.
"Gaius you jerk, I thought you were hurt dang it all." Robin replied giving him a light shoved before looking away from him.
"You know I really do have something to show you." Gaius stated with a chuckle causing Robin to look back at him curiously only to find him holding up some Mistletoe with a smirk.
"You jerk, you tricked me twice now." Robin replied only half serious as she rolled her eyes. "Ok I have to admit that is kinda attractive. No bad Robin. Bad." Robin thought as she mentally battle with herself.
"Aw come on, it's just a little fun. What harm is one little kiss on the lips gonna do?" Gaius asked as he waved the mistletoe around a little bit.
"What on earth has gotten into you?" Robin asked skeptically. "I don't think I should trust him." Robin's subconscious warned her she knew he was a more a trickster than anyone else she knew, it could easily be a prank.
"I ran out of candy." Gaius replied honestly. "Just give me a little sugar and I'll be good for the rest of this trip I swear it." Gaius added while making a cross over his heart causing Robin to roll her eyes even though this was starting to amuse her.
"Just a little one?" Robin asked curiously, completely fallen into the spiders web. "Robin what are you saying girl? that's not like you at all!" her subconscious yelled trying to gain control and go back up the slop.
"Just one."Gaius confirmed with his signature smirk.
"Fine but if you do this again I'm lighting your butt on fire instead is that clear?" Robin stated not playing games. Robin walked over to him and leaned in only to have him grab the back off her head and pulled her close, causing her to hold onto the arm that was pulling her for stability, as he crashed his lips against hers. Gaius broke the kiss for air thought he left his forehead against hers so that he could sweep in and steal another long kiss causing the rampant butterflies in Robin's stomach to flutter around even more leaving her knees weaken causing her to lean into Gaius allowing him to wrap his other arm around her waist.
"Well I hope you're proud of yourself that's the third guy that's kissed you this year what would your mother say?" Robin's subconscious chided her as they parted once more though Gaius still held her in his arms. "Um. You go girl?" Robin mentally replied, her thought process in complete shambles.
"Well I think that ought to cover me for a while." Gaius stated cockily as he took a step back to see the stunned blushing Robin who was still trying to process her thoughts. "You know I'm pretty sure you taste sweeter they any candy I've had in a while." Gaius added with a smirk before walking past so he could find a clear path back up to the trail.
"Wait a minute what was I thinking?" Robin thought as her brain turned back on while climbing back up to the trail. "I just gave him an open invitation to potentially black mail me!" Robin realized that he would now have dirt on her if he wanted to use it that way.
"Congrats, you woke up. Nice job you moron." Robin's subconscious rubbed it in as she finally made it back to the trail and continued at a slower pace so the others could catch up with her.
Hopefully you've enjoyed this chapter. What's up next you ask? I think you know. The grand entry of Morgan awaits! I wonder what color his hair will be. (make sure you vote. maybe that will help?) well until tomorrow. good night.
comment response section:
Pelgainaltercake: First off I love your username. 3 now that that's out of the way, thank you for not only being my first commentator for this story and complementing me ;^; but continuing to show your support. it means a lot ^_^ I ran into the same issue what I ended up doing was leveling all the guys from chapter 1 to 11 all the way to the point where they could gain s support with robin then continuously turned off the power so i could see them all. ( I still use that file as my s class support library XD) i have to say Fredrick is one classy guy and actually put Gaius to shame in my mind. XD
ASiriusWriter01: Yeah I probably woulda cracked too. Actually I'd probably barricade myself in my tent. that or gain a fear of men.
ShadowDragon: Ffffff~, I love your user name too! ;-; maybe I should rename my account. your vote has been accepted ^_^ i'll make sure to add it in before i write the final chapter. hopefully you guys are all ok with it being a mystery until the end.
to Guest: It would be interesting to see what he'd do. i wouldn't be able to use the s support either. hmm. i guess we'll have to wait and see what happens.
to Lyn: your vote has been added. i have to agree with you there are a lot of Chrom Robin fics.