Pairings: Gaius x Female Robin

Timeline: Modern AU

Warnings: Clichéd situations and TONS of awkward encounters; eventual smut.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem: Awakening OR the new cover photo!

Authors Note: This is the third time I've reworked this chapter OTL their relationship was progressing too fast so I figure some awkward sexual tension before the big ski trip would be in order. (JUST kidding, they won't take thirty chapters to admit they like each other.)

Gently, as if setting down a newborn baby, Robin packed her laptop and put it aside. After triple checking her suitcase and purse, she flopped on her bed and sighed. A part of her still couldn't believe she got roped into going on a ski trip with her fake husband but considering the plethora of lies that preceded the trip, it really wasn't that surprising.

She glanced at the digital clock. 1:25 PM. A few days ago, after hammering out the details of the trip, Gaius asked if she would be okay leaving at two. It didn't matter to her when they left but she was still slightly touched that he bothered to ask. In any case, the drive to Ferox was only a couple of hours and Robin was beginning to wonder if they would even have anything to talk about during the drive.

Nibbling on her lip, she got up and rolled her shoulder. There was no time like the present to drag her few bags to the door while she waited for Gaius's text to let her know he was here. Squeezing the plastic handle to her suitcase, she couldn't help feeling she'd forgotten something. Going through her mental checklist left her more confused than before.

Just before she was about to rip apart her suitcase, her phone buzzed. Robin narrowed her eyes at her suitcase before retrieving her phone off the counter.

Here.

She'd forgotten just how concise Gaius was while texting – not that it bothered her. Although, perhaps if he used more than three words whenever he texted her, it wouldn't feel like such a chore to continue the conversation.

Nevertheless, Robin stuffed her phone in her pocket, slung her plum coloured parka over her suitcase, wrapped a white scarf around her neck and left.

Stabbing the ground floor button in the elevator, a man slid on with an apologetic smile on his face. He ran his fingers through his messy black hair and repeatedly pushed the door close button as though it would speed up how fast the doors shut.

"GET BACK HERE YOU –" the doors shut and the woman's voice was swallowed.

Robin wearily peaked at the man. She knew enough that it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what he'd done.

"Going on a trip?" he said cheerfully, motioning to her bags. Had the elevator always been this slow?

"Yup," she replied, trying to be as casual as possible when she shifted away from him. Something about his smile made her skin crawl and she wasn't about to ignore her intuition to engage in menial conversation with this stranger.

He seemed to take the hint and basically sprinted from the elevator before the doors had even fully opened. Robin rolled her eyes and dragged her bag out to the street where Gaius stood, leaning against his car door. He watched the man race down the sidewalk and chuckled when he nearly slipped face first into a pile of snow.

"Scared another one off?" Gaius asked with a quirk to his lips.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Robin grumbled, lugging her bag to his trunk. He clicked the button and the trunk popped open. She carefully manoeuvred her bags underneath his snowboard and shut his trunk with a satisfying slam.

Gaius shook his head but the smile lingered. "Alright, get in the car before you break somethin'."

She laughed humourlessly but climbed into the passenger seat without another word. She managed to close the door without him commenting on it. Wow. The last time she was in his car, Robin really didn't take the time to observe his complicated stereo system. Oh and heated seats but she had clicked that the moment she noticed it the last time she was in his car.

Gaius snapped his seatbelt in place and dropped a couple of blank CD cases on Robin's lap. She stared at them, her hands frozen on her seatbelt.

"Why are they blank?"

"Music roulette," Gaius answered gleefully, turning his hundred watt smile on her.

Her eyebrows pinched together and she looked at him. "It's exactly what I think it is, isn't it?"

His waggled his eyebrows and started the car. "Most of the CD's have what I consider to be decent music – however, a handful of them contain some of the best-worst songs out there." He pulled away from her apartment complex. "Go on, pick one."

Robin grinned, clicking her seatbelt in place before scrutinizing each blank case. What could possibly be on the 'best-worst' CD's?

"C'mon, Bubbles, they aren't gonna bite," he teased.

"Oh hush," Robin said, sticking her tongue out. He laughed. Giving up, Robin plucked a random CD from the pile and put the CD in. They both waited eagerly for the disk to load.

It took them both a moment to realize what song it was and Gaius burst into uncontrollable laughter. Robin laughed right along with him.

"Really Gaius? Friday?" she asked between her giggles.

He sobered but the chuckle remained in his voice. "Best of the worst," he sang and morphed the end of his sentence into the chorus of Friday. Robin smothered her laughter long enough to sing along with him. She was genuinely surprised by how well they knew the lyrics but she figured that since the song was so bad, they could have made up the lyrics and it would have sounded right enough.

Even though there was still a good minute left of the song, Robin eagerly anticipated which song would come next. They weren't even on the highway yet, there were still a couple of hours to go, but suddenly, the trip didn't seem so bad. Actually, Robin was beginning to look forward to her time alone with Gaius – and maybe they'd get to know each other better.

"How does this even happen?" Robin grumbled, squatting next to the flat rear tire. Gaius hovered behind her, his hand halfway in his pocket for his phone or something.

A handful of minutes ago, their back tire somehow caught on a bunch of nails and popped. Neither of them noticed immediately until it became apparent the car was drifting. So Gaius pulled over, turned the hazards on and then, Robin discovered a nail embedded in the tire.

She stood up. "Do you have a spare tire?"

"Mm… yup," he responded, holding his hands, "but let me warn you now, Bubbles, I've never changed a tire before."

That certainly was surprising. He came off as such a handy guy Robin just assumed he knew how to change a tire. He was probably handy in other categories, though, she mused. Nevertheless, it would have to be done. "Well, good thing I have. Get the jack and tire out so we can get this show on the road."

Gaius nodded but suddenly a frown marred his smile. "I don't have a jack."

Robin froze, her hand lingering on the door handle. "What?"

He shrugged, turning pink and Robin wasn't sure if it was from the cold or embarrassment. "Guess I never thought I'd need it."

"Who has a spare tire on them without a car jack?!" Robin demanded, letting go of the car to fully turn to her husband. Her anger lessened when she saw the sheepish look on his face.

"Well, ya know, I figured I could just… lift it?" he said, arching his eyebrow to compose himself.

Despite how frustrated and cold she was, Robin couldn't help but chuckle. "What are you, the Incredible Hulk?"

Gaius grinned and stepped closer to Robin with a suggestive eyebrow wiggle. "I don't know about 'hulk' but I'm definitely incredible."

Robin flushed, shoving him lightly. "Oh my god, just call Triple A already."

Gaius put on a big show of sighing and fished his phone out to call Triple A before Robin could say anything more. She looked away when he tugged her against his side.

"You know we really don't have to do this when we're not around your friends," she muttered, shaking him off. "I'm going to wait in the car."

"Bubbles –" he stopped short when the tow truck guy got on the line. Robin hurried into the car. Maybe she should have stayed outside, she was hot enough to survive in the Arctic without clothes and being inside Gaius's stuffy car was only making it worse.

He was so casual about touching her and she was starting to question just how much of it really was an act. Well, and she was wondering how much she didn't want to be an act.

A while later, once her body had cooled down and Gaius had re-joined her in the car, the tow truck showed up and told them they wouldn't be able to get back on the road until tomorrow. Since it was a Sunday during the holiday season, all the mechanic's places closed at four and the tire couldn't be changed until then.

Wholly frustrated, when the tow truck driver offered to drop them off at a motel in town and they reluctantly accepted. They grabbed their suitcases from the trunk and watched the driver cheerfully drag Gaius's car to the shop before trudging into the lobby to book a room.

Robin almost jinxed them when she jokingly said, "Wouldn't it be awful if they didn't have any vacancies?" and they found out there was only one room available.

"Despite the… less than decent TV, I'd say this is an all-around okay trip," Gaius said, flipping through the channels absentmindedly. Most of the channels were static and the few that worked were so poor in quality, it was hard to make out what was even on. The one bed was somewhat lumpy and an indescribable scent lingered in the air.

Gaius had a point though, even with the flat tire and shitty motel, it was still fun.

They were both lounging in different positions on the bed, with Gaius lying on his side at the foot of the bed and Robin at the head with her legs stretched out in front of her.

Robin paged through an ancient looking phone book, searching for something they could order for dinner. "What do you feel like?"

Rather than answering her immediately, he rolled over, discarded the remote and shifted until he could rest his head on her lap. She quirked her eyebrow as she peered at him from under the phone book.

"Just you, baby," he said, grinning like an idiot.

"What happened to Bubbles?" she replied, sarcasm dripping from her voice. A blush stained her cheeks and she cleared her throat. "Anyways, how about pizza?"

"Sure," he agreed easily and the lollipop clinked loudly against his teeth. Under his rather scrutinizing stare, Robin felt like an exhibit in a museum and she was very tempted to drop the heavy book on his face. His ginger hair fell away from his face, his grin boyish.

They stare at each other for a long moment before Robin turned away, reaching for the motel phone. Without meeting his eyes, she pressed the phone against him, her heart thundering in her chest. Gaius took the phone cautiously, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at her. "That took a turn," he muttered. She feigned ignorance and waited for him to get off her lap. Once he moved to dial the number, she touched her chest and her eyes widened. Her heart leapt against her ribcage so hard she could feel it with the lightest of touches.

She'd written enough romance novels to guess where this fake relationship was leading her. The inevitability of it all astounded her. The stirrings in her heart wouldn't lie to her; she was beginning to like him. Gazing at his handsome profile, she tried to wonder what it would have been like had she never met him.

And Robin couldn't.

"Rock, paper, scissors!" they cried at the same time, and Gaius pouted in defeat. Robin smirked triumphantly. The last bout had ended in a draw but Robin predicted he would use rock again, merely because she assumed he would try to trip her up.

Grumbling, Gaius pushed off the motel bed, snagged the thirty dollars from her outstretched hand and answered the door. The pizza guy slouched in the doorway, the bag of pizza in his arms. His eyes flickered between the two and held out his hand.

"That'll be twenty-three sixty seven," he said, and promptly yawned. Gaius forked over the cash, sending Robin a wolfish grin over his shoulder which left her gawking at him. What was he so jovial about?

Gaius took the pizzas and the guy muttered goodbye, leaving without another word. Gaius kicked the door shut, returning to the bed with gusto.

"You're freaking me out right now," Robin said, warily taking her pizza. Rather than agreeing on a large to share, they just decided to get two separate medium ones.

He flipped open his plain cheese, taking a piece. "Now why would that be," he responded.

She arched her eyebrow, retrieving her own piece of mushroom pizza. "I'm not entirely sure but I'm sure it has to do with your smile."

He gasped in mock offense, holding his hand over his heart, "Perish the thought, Bubbles!"

Robin bit into her pizza, narrowing her eyes at him, calculatingly. "You're up to something."

Gaius's emerald eyes shimmered and he leaned closer. "I am a lawyer, lest you forget, so I'm always, as you put it, up to something." She wasn't used to him speaking so formally and was probably gawking at him. He chuckled and fell back. "Eat your pizza before it gets cold… Bubbles."

She kicked him. "You're sleeping on the couch, by the way."

"Aw c'mon, don't be like that," he pleaded teasingly and was otherwise ignored.

In the end, Robin was the one sleeping on the couch.

They were on the road again the next morning. Last night Gaius had texted Chrom after they were done with their pizza to let him know what happened and to make sure they wouldn't lose their room. Chrom had assured them the room was secured and that they could, take their time at the motely as he so aptly put.

"Hopefully we won't get another flat," Gaius said cheerfully, thrumming his fingers on the steering wheel. Robin shot him an exasperated look but nevertheless settled into her seat. She'd kicked her boots off twenty minutes ago, crossed her legs and got to work editing her manuscript.

"Hopefully," she echoed sarcastically and tapped her pen against the thick bundle of paper.

"Is that the same thing you had when we met?" he asked a few minutes later.

She nodded, correcting a glaringly obvious spelling error. Her editor had, for the most part, pointed out all the mistakes and highlighted paragraphs that either made no sense or were plot holes. Robin liked to fix her mistakes on page before going back on her laptop to fix them. She anticipated repeating this at least one more time before it was publication ready.

He waited a while for her to elaborate before asking, "Well, what's it about?"

Robin flushed. "Luna – the heroine – ends up saving the hero, Curtis, from pirates and she, as a bounty hunter, is hired by him to help avenge his murdered brother. It's a little, historically inaccurate that a woman would be so open about being a bounty hunter back in the 1700's but for the sake of the story, she is one."

Gaius glimpsed at Robin. "It sounds good."

"Thank you," Robin beamed. She thought about it for a moment and shifted her pages away from him. Of course Gaius noticed.

"Oh ho? What's on that page?" Gaius teased. He was openly staring at her now and not the road, which was honestly the stupidest thing a lawyer could do in Robin's opinion.

"Eyes on the road," she scolded, before clearing her throat. "It's a… sex scene." Gaius blinked owlishly then he burst into laughter. Robin grew red again. She wasn't a prude – not in the slightest – but for some reason talking about sex with Gaius just seemed dirtier than usual. Not that he showed too many perverse tendencies but Robin still didn't know much about him so it was probable he very well could have been a pervert.

When he finally calmed down enough speak, he said, with a tinge of amusement to his voice, "Didn't take you for the type to write smut, Bubbles."

She managed to stop blushing and rolled her eyes, "What's that supposed to mean?"

He smirked and slowed the car to turn. They were still about forty minutes away from the Ferox Ski Resort. "Okay, read it to me then."

Robin sputtered, "What?!" Could Robin really read out the sex scenes she's written in her novel to Gaius? Wait, she was a grown woman who knew plenty enough about sex and wasn't shy about it – obviously – so what did it matter? She cleared her throat. "You know what? Fine, I'll read it to you."

She flipped to a page that she knew had some raunchy sex. "Curtis bends me over the table, his warm hands tugging my pants down. He palms my clothed sex and I moan into my fist. He leans down to nibble on the shell of my ear.

'Do you want me to fuck you?' he mutters, flicking his tongue out, needing my sex.

'Curtis,' I moan wantonly, shaking my hips against him…"

Robin trailed off; her face so red one might assume she had a fever. Reading it out loud, it almost sounded silly. She'd never thought about it – like really thought about it – but her sex scenes were rather cheesy. Real sex wasn't like she was making it out to be and man was it glaringly obvious now. She quickly drew a star in the upper left corner, promising she'd come back to adjust this monstrosity.

"Well…" Gaius said, clearly at a loss for words. That was a first. "It was interesting." He finally settled on and cleared his throat.

"I'll fix it," she muttered, covering up the rather poorly written sex scene with the other pages. Gaius just smiled, albeit awkwardly, and returned his full attention back on driving.

Robin's boot sunk significantly lower than the other the moment she stepped out of Gaius's car. Severely unbalanced and somewhat nauseous from the sharp turns, she nearly toppled over. Thankfully, she was able to maintain her equilibrium by grabbing the car door. Gaius chuckled at her expense.

"Come on Bubbles, I want to get on the hill before sun down," he urged, already pulling their bags from the trunk. Robin sighed but nevertheless shut the door and went around to help him. He held his snowboard like a newborn baby.

He'd already swung his duffle bag over his shoulder so really all that was left was Robin's suitcase. She closed the trunk for him.

"You wanna reach into my pocket to text Stumbles?" he motioned to his left jean pocket with a wiggle of his hips.

Robin furrowed her brows, wondering who 'Stumbles' was. Undeterred, she did as Gaius asked and fished the phone from his pocket. Shockingly, there was no password. Tapping the notification-less message icon, Robin looked for Stumbles.

"Do you save all your contacts as nicknames?" she asked sarcastically when she noticed a Bubbles and could only assume that was her.

Gaius snickered. "Rather professional, dontcha think?" They neared the lodge. "Stumbles is Sumia; ask her to meet us here."

Robin highly doubted Sumia wouldn't be skiing but after consideration of her pregnancy, she might just be relaxing somewhere. "On the contrary," Robin retorted, typing out the message, "it's rather childish." She had the decency to laugh.

He smirked and a part of her wanted to kick him. Inside the lodge, Robin slipped his phone back into his pocket as the man behind the counter checked them in. Gaius's fairly large snowboard balanced against the counter.

Not even a second after Sam handed them their keys, Sumia rounded the corner, holding the signed copy of Robin's book. Robin turned a little red with that observation.

"Robin, Gaius!" She waved enthusiastically with the hand holding the novel and nearly tripped over nothing. Robin was beginning to understand why her nickname was Stumbles. "Once you guys get your bags to the room you just have to get out there! Chrom and Lucina have been out since daybreak and Naga knows they'll be there until I drag them back in." Her smile was the very definition of sunshine.

Gaius snorted. "Hopefully ol'Blue doesn't kill himself."

Sumia merely laughed and tapped Robin with her book. "I'll be in the lounge if you're not up for skiing today." Robin returned her radiant smile.

Waving at the retreating couple once again, Robin turned to Gaius and said flatly, "I'm a horrible skier."

His mouth twitched upwards. "I'll teach ya to snowboard then."

Robin seriously doubted she would be any better at snowboarding than skiing but… she was here pretending to be Gaius's wife when he's been looking forward to this trip for a long time. "Okay," she agreed easily to which he gaped at. In the short period of time he's known Robin, she wasn't really the easy going type – even if it was her fault they were in this situation.

"Tomorrow then," Gaius said, just to confirm she was crazy.

"It's a date," Robin replied and completely missed the flare of blush that graced Gaius's face. Once they dropped their bags in the doorway, Gaius quickly changed his boots, grasped his goggles and shouldered his board.

He left her at the lounge entrance and did something that astounded them both; he kissed her. It was a quick kiss, he barely touched his lips to hers before he darted off to the mountain but it left Robin's heart in disarray. The only times they'd kissed so far, they had an audience so why he suddenly saw it fit to kiss her was beyond her. Though, she was somewhat glad he did.

Touching her lips, she laughed a little. "Scoundrel."

She shook her head and went to find Sumia. Sumia sat with her face practically buried in the novel near the fire place. She grabbed a hot chocolate before joining her fake husband's boss's wife – she swore she would refer to Sumia as her friend from now on because that was a mouthful.

"Ah, Robin, this book is really fantastic; I can barely tear my eyes away," she said, sparing Robin a quick look and promptly returned her eyes to the pages.

"Thank you," Robin replied sincerely and clasped the hot cup between her hands. They sat in confortable silence; Robin scrutinized the slopes, wondering if she would be able to learn without killing herself. She wasn't about to give up before she began, however.

The lounge doors flew open and Chrom sauntered in with Lucina in his arms. Frederick trudged behind him with what appeared to be five sets of skiing equipment in his arms while Severa yanked on his snow pants for attention. Frederick was somehow able to pat Severa's head despite the equipment in his arms. Sumia's grin shifted from comradelier to motherly as she positioned her bookmark. Leaping to her feet, she crossed the short distance to her family and lifted a giggling Lucina.

"Did you have fun?" she asked, peppering kisses all over Lucina's face. Lucina's laughter grew louder and Chrom smiled apologetically to the people in the lounge. He spotted Robin and waved.

"Frederick and I are going to get back out there," Chrom said exuberantly, quickly kissing Sumia. Sumia nodded and returned to her seat. She helped Lucina out of her snow pants, jacket and boots, ultimately deciding it wasn't worth the trip.

Lucina waved shyly to Robin and the older woman smiled back. Frederick handed Cordelia their equipment as well as – Robin could only assume – Lucina's before heading back outside with Chrom. Cordelia sat down, bringing Severa with her and did the same thing Sumia had moments earlier.

"I know you said earlier it was too soon to be thinking of kids," Cordelia said suddenly, "but haven't you always wanted kids?"

Robin pondered this for a moment while she observed her newfound friends fawn over their daughters. Even when she was a child herself, she never really thought of herself getting 'married' let alone having children. Her father pretty much warded her off the idea, however… seeing Sumia and Cordelia with their daughters made Robin feel somewhat, lacking. Not that she needed children to complete herself but maybe one day down the road she'd like a little one to play with and nurture.

She decided it wasn't worth the explanation and replied evasively, "Not really."

Cordelia looked about ready to press her for more information but ultimately gave up. The three women discussed nothing and everything, though the two little girls seemed to be the center of attention.

"Did you have fun?" Robin asked when Gaius trudged into their room hours later. At around six, the rest of the group came in for dinner and afterwards, everyone wanted to go down to the recreational room to play billiards – or in the kids' case, video games. Robin politely declined and retired to their room to work on her novel. She got a fair chunk down and was rather proud of herself.

Gaius massaged his shoulder. "Yup." His eyes twinkled. "I won – most of the rounds."

She hummed in acknowledgement, returning to her novel. Gaius stripped off his shirt, tossing it in the general direction of his suitcase. Robin pretended not to notice.

"I'm going for a shower," he told her. She found it a little odd he would tell her he was going to shower but whatever. "Also, we're just going to share the bed, capiche?"

When her head snapped up for her to gawk at him, he'd already ducked into the bathroom and shut the door. Robin blushed a little, shaking it off. She'd shared a bed with a man before, this was no big deal. Plus, he was her fake husband so it only made sense they would share a bed.

Ten minutes later Gaius reappeared with a towel around his waist and one on his head. Robin, in her nervousness, had changed into fuzzy white pyjama pants and a long sleeved green cotton sleep shirt. She didn't expect him to be practically naked though when he returned from the shower.

He winked at her, grinning deviously. "Like what you see?"

Robin chucked a pillow at him. He caught it easily and tossed it back, hanging the towel around his neck. Unintentionally, Robin watched him dig through his bag, unable to tear her eyes away from his surprisingly toned abs. With all the sweets he ingested on a daily basis, she expected him to be flabbier.

Gaius found his flannel pyjama pants and underwear before turning to Robin with an unmistakable blush on his face. "Look, I know I'm good looking but I really don't think you want to see my junk." Robin went red and glanced away immediately. She didn't see why he didn't just go back into the bathroom but whatever.

He plopped down on the bed a moment later, roughly drying his hair with the towel. Robin stole a peek and couldn't help the overwhelming thought that he smelt rather good after a shower.

He smirked at her, a lollipop in his mouth once again and discarded the towel. She averted eye contact and suddenly, he pushed her down and hovered over her. His semi-wet hair fell in his face and his green eyes burned. A mass of freckles peppered over the bridge of his nose and his shoulders were also covered in a copious amount of freckles.

"You really ought to stop staring at me so much, Bubbles," he murmured, dipping his head down to whisper in her ear, "otherwise a guy might start to get the wrong idea." Robin trembled, unable to disagree with him. He smelt so damn good – like cinnamon and soap – and he was so damn attractive… she swallowed thickly.

"Gaius," she basically moaned. Gaius chuckled warmly in her ear and rolled off her onto his back. She froze.

"Goodnight Robin," he said, his voice hoarse. He turned away from her a moment later and flicked off his lamp. She gazed at the celling, uncomprehending. She turned off her lamp as well and faced away from him.

Then it struck her. He was just as affected by her nearness as she was. Warmth flooded her and she closed her eyes, willing her beating heart to slow so she could sleep. Butterflies fluttered annoyingly in her stomach.

"Goodnight Gaius," she whispered and was lulled into sleep after he crunched down hard on his lollipop.

Damn skippy this chapter was a chore. Not that I didn't enjoy writing it – believe me I did – but I restarted it three times before I was satisfied with it. Alright so there was a lot of Gaius x Robin in this chapter (but I suppose that's what you guys are here for) so woo raise the roof, am I right? Some more clichéd hijinks are to come in the next chapter when Gaius teaches Robin to snowboard and perhaps some Sumia x Robin bonding? Who knows and here's to hoping I update soon! Let me know what you thought in the reviews and I can't wait to see you again ( ˘ ³˘)

~Emerald~