Chapter 7 - Growing Up

Author's Note: Don't worry, shippers, I'll get to the GeromexMorgan part soon enough. Maybe after two more dreams I'll make the Paralogue(though when it happens, it'll be written to synchronize with this chapter, so forgive the odd beginning).

After the lovely confession with Gerome earlier, Morgan had retreated back to her tent. The good thing was that nobody saw them when the mass exchange of feelings occurred. Except maybe Kellam, but he usually sees everything without being spotted.

"Okay...I'm cool. Just going back to the tent, everything will be fine." she thought to herself.

While on her way there, Morgan remembered an off-hand comment from Robin before she even began the whole dream walking thing. "Maybe you'll find your love the same way." his voice said in her mind. Somehow, it ended up being true, but not in the same way. Robin and Lucina got together from watching each other sleep talk. She and Gerome somehow found out by literally talking to each other in sleep. It was inevitably bizarre, but it happened.

Arriving at her tent, she noticed the candle emitting light inside. That was odd. Robin never left the candle on when nobody was inside. Dismissing the thought, she entered the tent.

"Surprise!" said two voices simultaneously on both sides.

Morgan's face was drained of color as she tumbled to the ground, stunned from the suddenness of the act. She didn't even feel the impact on the ground as she blacked out, and for once, not in a dream.

Soon enough, voices started bringing her back, causing her to slowly open her eyes.

"...you okay? Morgan?"

"...she's coming to."

Opening her eyes fully, she saw her parents standing above her, still in the tent. Both of them looked scared to death.

"I told you that was a bad idea, Robin." said Lucina.

"You're right." said Robin. "But at least she's fine. Morgan, give me your hand, I'll help you up."

Morgan complied as Robin helped her up, slowly. She still felt a bit lightheaded, and felt her vision tilting slightly. It wore off after a few moments, however.

"What...what happened?" asked Morgan, still regaining composure.

Robin and Lucina looked at each other, awkwardly. "We...wanted to congratulate you on your confession." said a Robin, turning to Morgan. "The whole surprise thing was my idea, but I realize that this wasn't the best way to do it. I sincerely apologize on behalf of both of us. I should have listened to Lucina."

Morgan finally looked up and saw her father's face of remorse. He really did feel sorry for it.

"It's fine, Father. But...you just mentioned congratulating me for a confession. You didn't actually see that, did you?" asked Morgan.

"Actually, we didn't." said Lucina. "Ricken overheard you and whoever you were with confessing and told us shortly before you came. We're fine with whomever it was, so don't worry. You only deserve to be happy."

Morgan thought not so much of the acceptance of her love by her parents as she did of the one to spill the beans: Ricken. He didn't care for love, did he? Morgan didn't care, since she had her next target now. Though, Morgan's mind quickly returned her to the fact that her parents were still in front of her. She turned to face them.

"Mother...Father...thank you. I didn't expect the secret to be spotted by a third party, but now that it has, I'm grateful that you know." said Morgan. "Can we get some sleep?"

Both Robin and Lucina were all but willing to oblige to Morgan's wish, getting ready to sleep.

Finally in bed, Morgan put on the amulet once more and thought of her target.

"Ricken's a pretty nice guy. He casts spells and isn't afraid of anything. He might have some sweet dreams to visit."

Morgan allowed the desire to sleep to take over and send her on her way.

The usual darkness enveloped Morgan as she let the subconscious take her in wherever Ricken was dreaming. The sound around her this time was...a distant amount of voices. Opening her eyes, Morgan found herself laying face down in her tent, fully dressed. Getting up, she exited the tent and looked around. It was empty everywhere, except for a large clearing close to camp. There were tables everywhere, and everyone appeared to be eating together. Curious, Morgan walked towards it.

Everyone was chatting, not noticing Morgan as she walked towards the little gathering. Getting closer, she realized that it looked like a celebration. For what or whom, unknown, but it was.

Finally getting close to the gathering, Morgan looked around to see if she could find answers. Nothing really telling, sadly. Except for the fact that Robin and Lucina were strangely absent...

"Hey, Morgan! Over here!" yelled a voice.

Turning to her caller, she found it to be none other than Ricken himself. Something was different, however. He looked noticeably taller and older. The voice wasn't exactly identical, either. Morgan walked up to him.

"Hey...Ricken. What's all this about?" she asked.

"A shame you didn't know beforehand. It's my eighteenth birthday!" answered Ricken.

For once, a dream that wasn't a memory felt logical to Morgan. Ricken was always the one acting mature and all, so him dreaming about being older was something that made perfect sense.

"That's pretty nice, Ricken! Happy birthday to you!" said Morgan, now understanding fully.

"Thanks, Morgan. Although...there is something I must ask you." he said.

Morgan was surprised. "Is about a present? Because it's meant to be a surprise, you know."

Ricken let out a small laugh. "No, actually. What I'm going to ask you is better than any present you could give me." he said, smiling.

Morgan's face changed from surprised to nervous. It was sounding very much like a proposal at this point.

"And...what would that be, Ricken?" she asked.

Ricken took a deep breath, clearly nervous as well.

"How...did you confess your love to whoever that was the other night?" he asked.

Suddenly, it just got a whole lot more intriguing for Morgan. Somehow, Ricken's dream was also combining recent memories to form a rather interesting situation. He saw her confess to Gerome. Morgan theorized that he wanted to pull something similar off.

"It wasn't anything special, really." said Morgan. "He just called me over, we talked, he lead up to it, and we both kinda spilled out right them and there. Why ask?"

Ricken began to blush.

"I'm...similarly in love with someone, Morgan. I don't know what she thinks, though, and I want to confess. I just don't know how." he said, nervously.

The intriguing dial had just been turned up to eleven. Who did Ricken like?

"And who is that, Ricken? You saw my little secret and told my parents, how about sharing yours?" she asked.

A light sweat accompanied Ricken's blushing.

"...Lissa." he said, lightly.

Morgan's eyes widened considerably, but it still made sense somehow. They were both of similar age, barring dream rules, and in battle, followed similar roles, since they were both mages and clerics. Morgan couldn't think of a better woman for him.

"I honestly think your interest is sweet, Ricken." said Morgan. "What's stopping you from confessing?"

"Chrom." said Ricken. "Every time I think of how to confess to her, the thought of Chrom's reaction always stops me in my tracks. I don't know what to do." he added.

The mention of Chrom reminded Morgan of how Lucina told her that she feared the exact thing; having her desires rejected. Though, in that case, it was with his daughter and not his sister. Couldnt be that much different.

"It's funny, actually." said Morgan. "My parents had the exact same troubles, though it was with my mother more than my father."

"Lucina, huh?" asked Ricken. "What I'd give for Chrom's acceptance of her marriage to Robin..."

Morgan felt sad for Ricken. He should be able to enjoy a relationship was well without worrying all the time about a second party.

"Don't you talk well with Lissa, Ricken?" asked Morgan. "I think that'd be important in Chrom being fine with you proposing to her."

"We do, actually. She already knows of Chrom's little rescues of me years ago. And she does seem to care for me." said Ricken.

"Then ask her already!" said Morgan. "The longer you wait, the harder it's going to get, don't you think?"

Ricken's bummed expression changed slightly. "You're right, Morgan. When I see her, I'll do my best to propose." he said. "I'm just so new to this, and-"

A distant voice interrupted both of them.

"Oh, I'm not late, am I?"

Ricken's face went pale. Lissa had arrived.

"Oh god. I-I can't do this, Morgan. I'm just too afraid of Chrom!" said Ricken.

Morgan was not amused.

"Oh, come on, Ricken! You muster the courage to tell me about your secret, and when the perfect time comes, you're just going to wimp out? Aren't you a man now?" asked Morgan, trying to snap him out of it.

Ricken realized that she was right, and took a few deep breaths. "Alright...sorry. I'll just go and find Lissa now, and-"

"Hi, Ricken!" said Lissa, already behind him.

Ricken's face froze when the person he wanted to look for snuck up on him with no warning. Snapping out of his brief trance, he turned to face the woman of his dreams. Lissa was cheery as she was around everyone, but was rather oblivious to the fact that Ricken liked her.

"H-hi, Lissa! How's it going?" asked Ricken.

"It's all great, Ricken! I almost forgot about the party today, so happy birthday!" she said, hugging him. Ricken began to blush hard. He turned to Morgan, now sitting on a nearby table.

"Go on!" she whispered to him. "Don't waste your chance!"

Ricken let out a smile and turned back to Lissa.

"Lissa? There's something I need to talk about with you." he said. Lissa released him from her embrace, surprised.

"What is it, Ricken?" she asked.

Ricken took a deep breath before continuing. "I've been thinking this over for the past few weeks...I know it's my birthday, but...I want you to have this." he said, pulling something from his pocket.

Lissa looked at the object, curious. "A ring?" she asked.

"It's a signet ring, passed on in my family for generations." said Ricken. "I'd like you to wear it, and be with me...well, forever."

Lissa sported a mischievous smile. "Ah, I see how it is! You want to be close to me and Chrom, don't you?" she said, winking an eye.

"N-no, it's not like that!" said Ricken. "I mean, I see Chrom as my hero and all, but I'm really in love with you!"

Lissa let out a small giggle. "Oh, Ricken, I'm just teasing you!"

Ricken's face lightened up as his blush grew. "So is that a yes?" he asked.

"Of course!" said Lissa, bringing him in for the kiss.

Ricken hadnt felt this happy for a long time. He'd grown into a man, and his biggest wish had basically fulfilled itself. After Lissa finally finished kissing him, Ricken fainted from sheer happiness on the spot.

"Man, it really got to him, didn't it, Morgan?" said Lissa.

Morgan looked at the unconscious Ricken and figured that he'd be getting up soon in the real world.

"Yup. It really did." said Morgan, getting up. She walked to the happily fainted Ricken and gave him a pat on the back. "You've done me proud, boy." she said.

As she congratulated Ricken on his achievement, Chrom approached the small scene, seeing Lissa with a smile and Morgan tending to Ricken. He let out a laugh.

"So, what's gotten into him? Must've been a big shock." said Chrom.

Lissa turned to her brother, happy to deliver the big news. "Ricken proposed to me, Chrom. We both love each other!" she said, gleefully.

Chrom raised his eyebrows. "Is that so?" he asked.

"Yup!" said Lissa. "I honestly wasn't expecting this. What's your take on it?"

Chrom put a hand to his chin and thought. "Well...it reminds me a lot of when Lucina wanted to marry Robin, to be honest. There I wanted what made her happy, and it was likewise an unforeseen event. Now that my sister was finally proposed to...I see no problem here since you and Ricken have been around each other for quite some time. You have my approval."

Lissa made a cute expression as she turned to Ricken, as did Morgan.

"Well, if only he were awake to hear that." thought Morgan. Speaking of being awake, he'd probably get up soon. Morgan saw nothing but a peaceful awakening this time around.

"Well guys, I'm gonna take a nap here." said Morgan. Mind getting me up when he gets up, Lissa?"

Lissa nodded to her. "Sure!"

Morgan laid down on the table, crossing her arms and closing her eyes, awaiting a return to the real world.

Ricken slowly opened his eyes, waking up. He sat up in his bed, remembering the dream in its entirety, and sported a small smile. How he'd kill for that to actually happen.

"At least I have an idea of what to do." he thought.

Ricken laid back in bed, happily thinking of the wonderful dream he just had and how much he thanked Morgan for helping him, oblivious to the fact that she actually did help him.

On Morgan's end, for once, she didn't awake in a rush, and she wasn't paralyzed. Finally, a light, happy dream amongst the bizarreness of the rest. Even though it was a dream and not reality, she still felt great for helping someone out.

"If everyone's dreams were this happy, I'd visit every night." she thought to herself.

Morgan laid back in bed, happy with her achievement.

End Chapter Notes: Well first of all, I didn't update yesterday due to block and Thanksgiving :P And second, this is probably another shipping moment that I'll resolve in a side chapter. On that note, a big shout out to TheWerdna for the idea in this chapter. Love ya for that ;)

Leave any thoughts in a review, it's highly appreciated!