Chapter 10: To Kill a Robin

Chrom was sitting behind the grand desk of the Exalt, paper littering the desk in an unorganized manner. Chrom was idly spinning a pen in his hand and it seemed he had not done any of his work today, as no paper truly sat in front of him. Lucina and Robin took two chairs from the sides of the desk and sat down. Chrom smiled at his daughter and attempted to shuffle the papers together to look like he knew what he was doing. He still wore his original combat gear from his time with the Shepherds, as it was the most comfortable to him.

"What can I do for you two?" Chrom asked his daughter with a smile. Robin started feeling the liquid courage flowing through his veins, and he decided he might as well be reckless, wanting Chrom to get on with his rage before feeling returned to his body. Lucina looked down at her lap and blushed.

"Well, Father, Robin and I wanted to tell you that-" She began before Robin interrupted her.

"Morgan is on the way" Robin said, rather bluntly. This earned a somewhat shocked look from his wife, as she could not believe that Robin would word their pregnancy announcement like this. Chrom seemed to not change his look, still keeping the smile on his face.

"Oh? I thought her and Sumia were supposed to be gone for the whole day. Well that's nice to know, I guess? Though I don't think it was really necessary to come tell me" Chrom smiled at his best friend and wondered why that was what they wanted to say.

"No Chrom. Lucina is pregnant, the second Morgan is on the way" Robin finally told the Exalt. Lucina remained silent. Chrom's smile slowly faded from his face, to the point that he was just wearing a blank face. He showed no emotions. He folded his hands onto the desk and sat up straight, staring at the door rather than the two in front of him.

"Very well. I am happy for you two. Lucina, dear, would you mind stepping outside for a second so I can congratulate your husband?" Chrom spoke in a slow, monotone voice. Robin was more fearful of this Chrom than the raging Chrom, even with his drunken state. Lucina finally looked up from her lap.

"No, Father. I'm not letting you hurt Robin again. You should be happy for us! After all, you knew this would happen! And we are very happy about this! I am a grown woman, Father, you can't treat me like a little kid" Lucina was clearly trying to hide her fear that was evident in her eyes by speaking in an angry voice. Chrom still did not look at either of them. He stood up from his chair in slow, exaggerated movements. He folded his hands behind his back and slowly walked to the bookshelf behind him. He removed the legendary blade, Falchion, from its stand on the middle shelf. Turning back around, he set the blade down across the table, still sheathed, and sat back in his chair.

"Robin. Do you know what this is?" Chrom asked in a deep, slow voice, no emotions showing.

"Yeah, and I have a feeling I am about to be reintroduced to the hilt of that sword" Robin had a hint of annoyance in his voice, wanting Chrom to get through his "overprotective dad" episode so that the two friends could celebrate. To his surprise, Chrom cracked a grin that seemed more genuine than sadistic.

"You are partially right. You will only be reintroduced to the hilt if you break one of two conditions. Morgan can't call me any form of the word 'grandfather' for at least twenty years, and you can't pull an episode like I have with the guys Morgan brings home" Chrom smiled brightly at his daughter and her husband, who both seemed to be in utter shock at the Exalt being so calm.

"But….but what happened to all the anger at the thought of me touch-…..being with your daughter?" Robin asked, thankful he caught what he was about to say in his drunken state.

"I was given some…..divine intervention, so to speak" Chrom answered, wincing as he remembered the beating Sumia had given him after the beating he gave to Robin upon the tactician's official return. Robin broke out in a smile, realizing what Chrom meant, while Lucina still looked lost.

"I guess I will have to thank the Queen for this then. It sure is nice knowing you aren't going to go psycho on me the next time you walk in on-" Robin was cut off by the Exalt holding up a hand, signaling Robin to stop that train of thought. "Nevertheless, I'm happy you've come to terms with all this"

"Yes, but now is not time for talking" Chrom smiled, pulling out a bottle of whiskey from under his dark brown oak desk. "I say we celebrate! Well, I guess Lucina can't because of the baby, and Robin is already drunk…" Chrom suddenly began to lose his smile and started mumbling, realizing he wouldn't get to celebrate as he wanted to.

"You have my gratitude, Father. I am sure this Morgan will bring as much light into the world as the other. I can only hope we can keep up with the two" Lucina smiled, looking knowingly at her husband, sharing a mental note about Morgan's energetic personality. Robin wrapped one arm around his wife, beaming.

"Thank you Chrom. Now we have to go find Sumia and Morgan to break the good news to them, I'm sure they should be getting into town soon. I spent a lot more time preparing for this battle than I should have apparently" Robin scratched his head, smiling embarrassedly.

"Well, I can't help but feel I gave you good reason" The Exalt shared in Robin's embarrassment. Seeing the two men act this way caused Lucina to burst out in laughter, the thought of two of the world's most powerful men being embarrassed by their own actions and presumptions was preposterous. The two men looked at her for a second before breaking into laughing fits of their own. After the laughter died down, Lucina went and took her husband by the arm and began to lead them out, confident that her mother had returned by now.

The two rushed to the front of the castle in time to see Morgan and Sumia unpacking a few things from their cart, it being obvious that their shopping trip was a success. Morgan was struggling to walk, bags wrapped up along her arms as she held a "T" pose, trying to bring in everything at once.

"She sure is lucky she didn't inherit any clumsiness" Robin thought to himself as he watched his daughter carefully take steps towards the castle doors. Just as she was about to reach the door, she turned and saw her mother and father staring lovingly at her from the courtyard. She dropped all her bags at once and ran towards her parents, eager to tell them of the days' events.

"And then Grandmother bought me a new dress! It is the same color as my hair and the same style as Mother's dress that she wore for her birthday!" The young tactician eagerly explained the events of the day while eating dinner with her grandparents and parents. She took a large bite of the fresh roll in front of her, feeling as if she hadn't eaten in days. She glanced up to see nothing but smiles from her parents and grandfather and became curious as to what was so amusing. Suddenly her father cleared his throat, however his smile never left.

"I would like to tell you guys something important. It is one that requires a lot of attention, attention that cannot be had while trying to stuff an entire roll into one's mouth" Robin said jokingly, trying to get Morgan to stop eating things whole.

"What is it Dad?" Morgan asked excitedly. She bounced around in her seat, anxious to know what was on her father's mind. She had always been amazed by her father's intelligence and her mother's strong spirit, and as such became enamored whenever they had spoken with her.

"Your mother is now carrying a certain younger version of an energetic girl that we have come to love" Robin said with a smile. It took Morgan a second, but when she understood his meaning her eyes shot wide open, along with her grandmother's. Morgan rushed around the table and dove into a hug with her mother, while Sumia stood to do the same.

"Really!? I'm so excited! I can teach her…er…myself? I don't know, I'll figure that out later. I can teach her tactics and how to play and the perfect time to prank Father and I will introduce her to everyone and AAGGHHH this is going to be great!" Morgan was beaming and rushing off, talking at a mile a minute. Sumia was softly offering congratulations to her daughter, an evil smile on her as she was glad to finally be getting a young grandchild. She also seemed to look slightly shocked at the lack of damage on Robin, believing that Chrom probably would have lashed out on the tactician again. Sumia let out a sigh, happy that everything was going well for her family. Suddenly, the Exalt arose and tapped Robin on the shoulder, indicating to come with him and leave the three ladies alone to be excited and plan for the coming baby. Robin followed Chrom and closed the kitchen door behind him, still able to hear the shrill excited voices of Morgan and Sumia behind him.

"Thanks for getting me out of there. I fear my eardrums might have ruptured" Robin quipped, rubbing his right ear. Chrom broke out into a smile and punched his friend in the shoulder, earning a wince of pain from the tactician.

"Don't think you are out of the woods yet. We still have that celebration to get through" Chrom continued to smile widely. Robin let out a loud groan, knowing he was going to come back to his newly pregnant wife smelling of booze and waking in the morning with a massive headache. Luckily for him, these hangover headaches were all that plagued him anymore, the migraines that had struck him during the war had disappeared with Grima.

"And here I was thinking the noble Exalt of Ylisse was about to take me on a first date. Who would have guessed he only wanted to fill me with liquor and cause me to slip in judgement" Robin said in a playful tone. Chrom got a worried look on his face immediately.

"Please don't say that. It is bad enough when I find Sumia's stories she writes that already suggest that sort of thing" Chrom said with a shudder. Robin laughed at the wreck on a man before him, and started off towards the office he had been in that afternoon. Chrom quickly caught up to him as the tactician entered to commence the celebrating. The two men began to down as many shots of liquor as they could, never breaking their gaze at the other and never finding themselves without something to laugh about. The night waned on as the two finally reached the end of the stash Chrom had under his desk. All the time spent in war had built a tolerance to alcohol, so it often took a while to get to the level on drunkenness Chrom was looking for. The Exalt began to hiccup as he stood from his chair.

"I think that tis time to *hiccup* get back to the ladies that are soooo very nice" Chrom held a smile on his face, thinking of his wife. He stumbled a little before Robin stood to catch him.

"Ugh, why are you so heavy Chrom? It's like you haven't trained in months!" Robin grimaced, his strength having been replaced by the drunk sensation in his head. The two collapsed on the floor before beginning to giggle like little girls. Suddenly, they both stuck serious looks and glared at each other.

"Race you to our wives?" Chrom asked in a fierce, hushed voice. Robin narrowed his eyes and held a stern look.

"If you think you can keep up"

"Too loud" Robin muttered as he clutched his aching head, feeling the pain of last night's decision making coming to haunt him. Lucina had begun getting dressed and made no attempt to be quiet about it.

"This is what you get for last night. You know bad things happen when you drink with Father" Lucina said as sternly as she could, but broke into a small smile at the sight of her husband grabbing his head.

"I told you, I'm sorry for crashing into the table. I ran a little faster than I thought. Plus I had to prove to Chrom that he was still the inferior" Robin sighed as he recalled the kitchen door bursting open, much to the surprise of the three women that were cheerfully talking inside, and two drunken men racing to reach the table first. Robin had tripped and was sent sailing onto the table, sliding across it and knocking the empty plates to the ground, all while not missing a beat. He had stood and started celebrating his victory, unaware of the harsh gazes he was receiving for making a mess. His recollection stopped when he heard Lucina poorly stifling a laugh as she remembered her husband flailing about on the table. Robin smiled as he brought his head back into his pillow, happy his wife was still laughing at the whole spectacle.

Lucina stared out their window, looking out at Ylisstol.

"I hope someday we may be able to have our own home out in this world. It's not that I don't enjoy living with Mother and Father, I just don't feel welcome here. And I want to start out a life of my own, one with you and Morgan….and the new joy on the way" Lucina said warmly, rubbing her stomach. Robin smiled as he laid one arm over his eyes to shield the light.

"Lucina, you know you are welcome here. But I understand what you are saying. I promise that I will find us a new place to live as soon as I can" Robin said with a smile as he embraced the darkness that would cool his burning head. He heard shuffling in the silence that answered him. He then felt a familiar warmth being pressed to his lips, then heard the shuffling resume as his wife walked to leave the room.

"Thank you, Robin. I really do love you" He heard his wife say to him before continuing out the door.

"I love you too, dear" Robin replied, unsure if his wife had even heard him.

Lucina had been helping her father look over the military plans in regards to keeping the peace all throughout the continent of Ylisse when her husband came knocking at the door. She had left him in the morning and now dusk was slowly approaching. She was curious as to if he had ever even gotten out of bed.

"Lucina, I need you for a….urgent matter" Robin said in a calm voice.

"Urgent?" Both blue haired royalties replied at the same time, worried they might be under attack.

"Uh…not like that. Just a family matter" Robin attempted to calm the two down, realizing his initial wording could have been better. Lucina looked to her father, who motioned for her to go along, able to handle the remaining paperwork himself. Lucina walked out and took the waiting arm of her husband in her own as the two moved towards the entrance of the castle.

"What is so urgent?" Lucina asked inquisitively.

"It's a secret that I cannot spoil, even if you were to offer your heart and soul, the secrecy of this mission would never leave my lips" Robin responded in his best Virion impression, a smile stuck on his face.

"Very well, but beware that such secrets can be coaxed out of you with….certain methods" Lucina gave a sly wink, which brought a deep blush to her husband's face and causing him to drop the accent.

"Er…..I sure wish we had time for that. But with the sun setting I fear we cannot...implore these methods"

The two came to find a wagon waiting for them, Morgan already inside. Before Lucina could say a word, Robin lifted her into the passenger seat, then climbed into the opposite side and took the horses' reigns. He gave a swift call and the wagon lurched forward. The trio moved in the wagon for around half an hour, the whole time Morgan had never stopped asking if they had arrived yet. They had travelled at a slow pace, travelling only a short distance outside of Ylisstol to a hill that overlooked the city. Upon the hill sat a house with a base made of large, light grey stones, then was finished with a fine marksmanship of oak wood. The house had two stories and had a large window in the front that gave a view upon all of Ylisstol. Robin helped his wife and daughter out of the wagon, both of which stopped to stare at the house, amazed at its beauty. Robin stepped forward and motioned towards the house.

"Now, the urgent manner I wanted to discuss with you is our relocation" The tactician smiled as what he said rang in the ears of his two favorite girls. "This is to be our new home from here on out"

Morgan let out a squeal and ran in to check out her new home. Robin had been worried she might have been disappointed about leaving the castle, but clearly the thought of having a home alone with just her family, as well as only being a short march away from Ylisstol, brought much cheer to his energetic daughter. Lucina had brought a hand to cover her mouth as tears began to form in her eyes.

"Robin….it's so beautiful…but how did you find this? I only mentioned wanting a home this morning….how could you even afford this place?" Lucina asked confused, although her happiness was still flowing out of her in the form of happy tears and a smile. Robin wrapped his arms around her waist and smiled, whispering in her ear.

"Never question a tactician's ways. Unless, of course, you want to use those methods you mentioned earlier"

Lucina blushed before turning her face up and giving her husband a long kiss, wrapping both her arms around her neck. As the released, she pressed her head against his chest and stared happily at their new home. This had been the reason she had fought so hard. She was finally getting the life she had dreamed of, and had found a man that had renewed love in her heart. A man that she had been through so much with. A man that taught her to stop being negative about the future and find happiness in life. Little did he known that he would be the happiness that she found.

A/N: Sorry that this took so long. I started this chapter the way I wanted, then hit a serious writer's block but continued to trudge on, trying to get this chapter written. I am hoping the chapter is the same quality that you all have come to love. Anyways, announcement time. I have gone back and updated the author notes in chapter 1 to sound more professional. Good news-Woo! 10,000 views! That is some crazy stuff, considering this story is about 2 weeks old! Thank you for all the reviews that have come in! They mean everything to me! Also-I have decided how I am going to end this story and I give a warning; it is going to be pretty damn emotional. So be ready whenever I decide to post the finale. I am also considering writing a prequel alongside this story, which would basically be a retelling of FE:A. It would be a much larger project and I would begin writing it immediately, which would likely have the side effect of this story and the prequel story only getting about one chapter a week, probably both released over the weekend. But before I even decide to do that, I would like every reader's input on if I should write that story. PM or review with your thoughts, please! I am not sure when the next chapter will come out, but as always it won't be longer than a week and could be as short as a day. Until next time,

-Austin