Outtake Ten: Late Night

Game: Awakening
Spoilers: Second half of the game
Summary: It's a late night and Chrom is looking for his wife. I mean, seriously, it's time for sleep, not time for more planning of sieging a fort.
Note: This one is kinda maybe similar to Outtake Eight, but I couldn't resist. See, it's inspired by what Chrom says if you visit the barracks at night, if the avatar is married to him. I thought it was sweet, and a certain plot bunny. Enjoy!

The candle flickered low as if in an invisible wind. It was barely a candle – more like a pile of melted wax. It still provided enough light for the tactician to read and write by. Her pen scratched across the paper, pausing every now and then as she turned a few pages and read some of her other notes.

Chrom watched the scene from the entrance to the tent, wondering when, exactly, his wife would notice he was standing not two feet away from her. The desk was littered with papers, and a dish with the remains of dinner. Had she really eaten here? He hadn't noticed – he had been busy sorting out a squabble among the children from the future.

During the battle earlier that day in which they had recruited Vaike and Panne's son, Yarne, Lucina had been too wounded to fight on and had to retreat. She had later chewed the young Taguel out, saying he was almost not worth the trouble. Yarne snapped back and that, of course, had sent the whole situation in a downward spiral, with the rest of the children taking sides. Chrom and the other parents sorted them out, and sent them off to their tents.

It wasn't easy, Lissa had stated, having to grow up so fast as the children had done.

With his children hopefully asleep – it was almost midnight, when the camp was for the most part, in bed – Chrom now faced the challenge of getting his stubborn wife away from her tactics and into bed.

He watched the pages of the book in front of his wife turn, and heard her give a sigh. The quill was set down, but the silvery head remained bowed, focused on the task.

Chrom figured now was as good a time as any. He stepped forward and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Silver."

She jumped, turning quickly to face him, one hand flying to the Arcthunder tome next to her. Then she realized who it was. "Oh, Chrom. Don't sneak up on me like that."

"Forgive me, my love, but it's getting late. Why don't we turn in for the night?"

Silver cocked her head and glanced at her papers and books. Chrom knew she was coming up with a battle plan for their siege of one of the Valmese forts. They would need all the help they could get, he realized, despite their massive army.

Chrom looked at his wife again, trying to figure out a way to pull her from her books. He noted the dark circles under her eyes and the slump of her shoulders. "You look exhausted," he said. "You need sleep."

Silver sighed. "Fine." She marked and closed her books, stacking the papers into neat piles before extinguishing the candle and picking up her tome. The tent was thrown into semidarkness, as the light of the full moon and stars provided some means of seeing. Hand in hand, the couple left the tent.

Crickets chirped in the night, accompanied by the rippling of the stream they had made camp by. The shining light of the moon reflected off of the water and set the tents of the camp glowing white.

Silver paused to take the scene in. Chrom stopped, looking at her and admiring the way her eyes sparkled even through her exhaustion. "It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" she asked.

"Not as beautiful as you," her husband replied.

"Ugh, Chrom, that was just plain cheesy."

Chrom, the mighty and noble exalt of Ylisse, stuck his tongue out at her. She laughed. "Come on, cheese-man, let's get to bed." She started walking toward their tent.

Chrom grinned and followed her.

Author's note: I also wanted to give a shout out to passwordrawr for their reviews. They're my most avid fan for this fic. *hugs*

Published 7/24/2013