Amadeus stood out on the deck, enjoying the fresh sea breeze. They were on the ships, making their way back across the sea towards Regna Ferox, and eventually, Ylisstol. The morning was still a light, dark blue; the sun hadn't come up yet. He leaned against the railing, pushing his head over it ever so slightly to take in the dark, waving water beneath the wooden ship. He replayed the past few days in his mind. After Cordelia had spent most of the night teaching him to dance on the dirt road of Clera, they'd returned to their room to retire for the night. They hadn't actually slept together before; the most they'd done was nap together in the medical tent when Amadeus had been injured, and both were a bit nervous about it. Amadeus had changed into his nightclothes and just finished shaving, and exited the washroom.

Cordelia lay there on the bed, looking half asleep already. He stood in front of the washroom door, a bit unsure of what to do.

Gods, you're such a dolt sometimes. Why didn't you just go over?

He stood for what seemed like an eternity, before she tossed and murmured over to him.

"Amy? How long have you been standing there? Come to the bed and sleep." She sleepily beckoned him over, and he finally made his way over. Lifting the sheets, he climbed in and lay next to her. They lay awkwardly next to each other, neither really knowing where to put their hands, how to conform their bodies to each other's, and so they fell asleep.

While on the march, they still slept on separate cots; although they now shared a tent, neither really knew what sleeping with each other consisted of, as that night had shown; add that to the fact that they wanted Morgan and Severa to live with them, so they decided that sleeping in the same room but on different beds was as far as they wanted to advance their relationship for now.

However, before they'd gone to sleep the night before, he'd gotten the sense that she wanted to try going further. She'd pulled him towards her cot, and nuzzled against him before quickly falling asleep; she'd also seemed reluctant to let him go back to his own cot, asking him to massage her multiple times throughout the night. He wanted to do more, but his own ineptitude at these matters kept him from mustering up the courage to try anything.

"Amadeus! Morning." He turned and saw Stahl, yawning and, predictably, eating. He took up a spot next to Amadeus and they stared out at the sky, now tinged orange with the rising morning sun.

"Stahl, I have a question..it might seem awkward to you." The green-clad cavalier turned to face him. "Er...how do I phrase this properly. Um.."

"Amadeus, are you okay? You're turning awfully red right now, you know." Stahl looked at him with concern.

"Oh, don't pay attention to him. He's wondering how to approach Cordelia in the bedroom." Sumia apparently had heard them, and invited herself to the discussion.

"Well..um...yes? In a sense; not, you know, that sense, but, er, what do you do when you...share a bed?" He took a breath, before accepting the embarrassment that he was bringing on himself. "I don't know anything; where do my hands go? What do I do with them? Anything! I don't know what I'm doing…" He spoke quickly and softly, lest anyone else hear him on the boat. Sumia and Stahl both had to stifle their laughter before they answered.

"Well, I'm sure every girl's different..maybe Sumia can tell you more about that. But I can tell you how Maribelle enjoys being held? Normally...so if you're spooning-"

"Wait, what's spooning?"

"Really now. Are you so clueless that you don't even know what spooning is? C'mon!" Sumia couldn't believe what she was hearing, but Amadeus' eyes showed that he really had no clue. She sighed. "It's when the two of you are lying..er, kind of like spoons. So her back is against your chest, and you lie kind of like this." She gestured with her hands to show Amadeus.

"OH! Okay. Well, that helps. So I'd put my hands…" The three of them continued the discussion, the other two Shepherds having fun at the expense of Amadeus' inexperience, but ultimately helping him out.

"So I let her snuggle her backside against my chest, and then put my arms around like this?" Stahl and Sumia nodded.

"Oh, but Amy, don't forget to let her rest her head on your shoulder. You know, if it's not too bony. Girls like that."

"I'll try to remember that. Oh, and Sumia? Could you please stop calling me Amy? It's...kind of embarrassing."

"But that's exactly why I'm going to call you that, Amy. Better get used to it. Soon the whole camp's going to be calling you that. It is much easier than Amadeus, to be honest." She smirked. "Anyways, I think Chrom's going to be waking up soon, the sleepyhead. I'll see you guys around! Oh, and, Amadeus, if you want some tips, I could drop some books in your room. I do have some romance novels that might be helpful." He nodded at her as she left.

"Well, good luck when you go for it, Amy." Stahl winked at him, and Amadeus looked at him, aghast.

"N-no, I'm not trying to..you know! I just want to know what I'm supposed to do when we share a bed. That's all. I'm not..going there yet. I want to take it slow." Stahl shrugged his shoulders.

"You never know. Sometimes..it gets out of control. Anyways, how're the kids?" Stahl asked. "It's weird, kind of. They're our age..and yet since they haven't had parents, now that they've met us, it's almost like they automatically revert to being children again, because in their future we were all dead. Even though the future made them grow up so much faster than anyone ever should have to, now it's almost like they're living the childhood they missed." Amadeus mulled this over.

"You're right..I never thought of it that way. They never really had parents..even when they did, according to what Severa's told me, we were almost always out fighting. I guess it's all a new experience for them." Stahl nodded, and Amadeus caught himself before going on; he'd forgotten that Stahl had a child too. "Well, how's yours?" Stahl laughed.

"Oh, Brady? You've met him. Heart of gold, but people can only see what's on the outside. Maribelle's been trying so hard to teach him her 'proper' manners and mannerisms, and he's going along because he's missed her so much, but, you know, he's just not wired that way."

"I see. Don't worry, Maribelle will catch on to that. Or, maybe not. I don't know." The two friends shared a laugh.

"You know, it's going to be nice to go home and settle down for a while. Start a family, you know." Amadeus nodded.

"Well, we've all kind of had a head start on starting families now...it's going to be a bit awkward, huh? Imagine having a child in this timeline, while your child from another timeline is here." Amadeus winced and grabbed at his head. "All this time traveling has me confused. Ugh." He resumed his gaze out towards the rollicking sea as Stahl nodded his agreement.

"Yea, I don't really try to understand it much. All I know is that we're here, they weren't here, and now they're here, so now we're all together. Well, I'd better get going. Maribelle's morning tea is soon, and if I'm not 'punctual and presentable', she'll have my hide. By the way, Maribelle wanted me to invite you and Cordelia to tea tonight, so I'll see you later, Amy." He sprinted off before Amadeus could give him a punch on the arm.

As he smelled the sea breeze, he noticed that it had changed; it carried a distinct scent of lavender.

"Cordelia!" He could feel a smile spring to his lips as she ambled towards him, still a bit sleepy.

"Mm..Amy, why are you up so early? I woke up and you were gone." She fell into his arms.

"Oh, you know. A bit of fresh air. Remember last time we were on these boats? I was teaching you how to take care of Aster…" His mind suddenly flashed as he remembered the wyvern. With all the new developments in his personal life, he'd barely paid any attention to the poor thing. She was probably going to give him quite the treatment the next time he spent time with her.

"Oh, I remember. I also remember that you were still too craven to tell me how you really felt about me!" Even in her sleepy state, she was sharp.

"Heh. Well, you never told me, either. I was under the impression that you were always going to have feelings for Chrom, and I'd be stuck here chasing you for the rest of my life." She slapped him lightly on his chest.

"I guess I'm glad you're wrong, for once. By the way, you never did tell me. When did you start having feelings for me?" She gave him a teasing look, and he countered with a cheeky smile.

"Well, you never told me either, so I guess if I tell you, then you'll have to tell me."

"W-what! Fine. But you first."

"It was actually after we sparred that first time. Remember? When I caught you staring off at Chrom and Sumia?" Her eyes widened.

"It was that long ago? Why didn't you just say something earlier! You would have saved me a lot of emotional stress…" He chuckled and pulled her closer for a quick peck on the forehead.

"Well, I wasn't too sure at that point. I thought you were just about the most beautiful person I'd ever seen before, and I was an idiot for missing it up until then, but I had yet to really get to know you. And then you started opening up to me...and just, everything you did made me feel even more strongly for you."

"Well, I never." He nodded and chuckled.

"Now, your turn. Tell me how this woefully lacking man managed to attract the Knight-Paragon of the Ylissean pegasus knights, and don't leave out any details!" She gave him another light slap.

"Amy, don't ever refer to yourself as lacking. You're so much more than you know…" She looked off into the distance. "Anyways, that first time I talked to you, I actually did so because you were the first person who'd actually offered; you said that if I ever wanted to talk about anything with you, I could, so I took you up on the offer..and then I found that you were so understanding, and it was so comforting to talk to you. And that was when I started feeling something..and I guess when we were on the ship, we got a lot closer, and after seeing how you struggled with your inner demons and helping calm you down about it, you know, I guess that's when it really started." He smiled.

"Well, why didn't you ever tell me? Then maybe we could have gotten started a bit earlier." He gave her a naughty smile, and she laughed back at him.

"I don't know, I didn't really have the best record with men at that time. Maribelle actually told me some interesting tricks to get you to notice, but I'll be honest, I didn't actually try them out; I was too shy, and some of them were rather..risque. Not to mention none of them worked on Chrom." Amadeus guffawed at his mental image of what Maribelle would have Cordelia do.

"That's...I'm glad you didn't listen to her. And, you know, I couldn't be happier that we're together right now."

"Me, too."

He pulled her in closer, and she closed her eyes and rested against him.


There really wasn't much to do on the boat, as Amadeus had learned from his last sea voyage. Cordelia returned to their cabin after a while, and Amadeus said he wanted to spend some time with Aster before going back in. He whistled, and she dutifully flew over from the mounts' ship.

"Hey there, girl." He reached out to pet her gleaming purple head, but she turned her head away. "I know, I know. I'm sorry, okay? Here, I have some treats for you." He took out a large chunk of meat from his robes, and offered it up to her. "Let's go for a ride?" She chomped noisily on the food and lowered her back, but before he could get on, he felt a tug on his robes.

"Daddy? Can I go with you?" It was Severa.

"Of course, dear." He helped her climb on, and with a beat of Aster's mighty wings, they were off.

"So, Severa. Tell me about the future?" He was quite curious.

"Ugh, it was just fighting Risen all day and all night. We never got any real rest."

"I meant before that; you must have remembered what it was like before that war started, yes?"

"Hm..well, I remember some things. I remember you and Mother taking care of me and Morgan, and being really...you guys were the worst parents ever."

"Were we now?" He was genuinely hurt by this.

"N-no! Okay, I was lying. You and Mother were perfect...Oh, and I always thought that Mother still had something for Chrom." Amadeus stiffened. This was the exact thing he'd been dreading to hear.

"W-what? Er, what do you mean?" Severa looked satisfied at the effect.

"Well, you would often talk to yourself, and a lot of times, you seemed insecure about whether or not Cordelia really had feelings for you, or whether she'd just settled because she couldn't have Chrom. Now that I think of it, how do you know for sure that the same thing isn't going on here? How can you be so sure she really is fully devoted to you?" She gave him an intense stare.

"Er...well-"

"Has she..ever given you reason to doubt your feelings since the two of you got together?"

"N-no! Never!" He insisted. "When I got together with your mother, I made it clear that if she ever felt herself going back towards Chrom, she would have to be honest with me, and I trust your mother." He said it in a tone that clearly told her not to challenge him.

"Well, then. I admire you for not doubting."

"Thanks. Now, then...did you ever ride on Aster as a child? Did I ever introduce you?"

"No. You were never home, and when you were, you were always studying your books or attending meetings." He sighed, sensing a bit of resentment in her voice.

"Well then, when we get back on land, I'll take you into the village and we can have some father daughter time, alright?" He smiled at how her face lit up at the suggestion.

"Ooh! Can we go shopping again? I'm sure that the fashion of the times now is much better than what I knew…"

Amadeus put a hand up. I guess that's why she got so excited.

"Er..no, Severa. We just bought you plenty…why don't you enjoy the things you bought for now? When you really need new things, we can go shopping."

"What? Daddy...did I do something wrong? Are you..mad at me?" Her lower lip jutted out in a pout, and her face had changed to an expression of despair.

"Severa..spare me the wounded treatment. No means no. We just bought you plenty…enjoy what you have!"

"Ugh, FINE. I'll just walk around in RAGS then. Gawds…" She started sniffling, changing her offensive.

"Severa..now, I'm not saying I won't buy you anything ever. I'm just saying that if you want something, you'll have to earn it. Unless, of course, it's something you absolutely need. If you help around with chores, like maybe helping your mother out with taking inventory, or sharpening weapons, or just keeping the garrison organized, then I'll reward you with something nice."

"GAWDS! What is this, my allowance? I'm not a child, you know!" Amadeus shook his head.

"No? Then stop acting like one. Honey, we won't just keep buying you things whenever you like. You have to earn it, and that's final. A little hardship in one's youth builds one's character."

"I had QUITE enough hardship in the future, thank you! Gawds, you don't think fighting Risen every day and fighting for my life wasn't enough hardship? And then I come here with Lucina to help you guys prevent that very future, and now you're saying I need MORE hardship in my life?"

"Severa…" Amadeus regretted his words; this was a lesson he needed to teach his daughter, but he'd made a serious mistake in overlooking his words.

"Hmph." She turned her face away from his, and the rest of their flight was in silence. Aster weaved through the air, and the fresh breeze was nice and cool in their faces, but every time he turned to speak to Severa, she would look pointedly away. Eventually, Aster rounded back to the boat, and Severa slunk off towards the cabin without a word after they landed. He heard the door slam behind her as he sent Aster back to her ship.

"Amy? Did you and Severa have an argument?" Cordelia had probably been in the room when Severa had returned, and presumably had read the slammed door as something gone wrong.

"Yea…" He held his head in his hands. "I need to be more careful of what I say in front of them..they've all gone through so much, even more than we have, probably. I forgot about that, and..I said something stupid and insensitive and now she hates me." He shook, and felt his eyes watering. Cordelia moved next to him, putting her arm around him. He hadn't expected to feel so strongly; was this what being a parent was like? To be so emotionally invested in someone that when they were angry at you, it was enough to rip you to shreds?

"Do you want to talk about it? If you want, I can talk to Severa about it as well, you know." He shook his head.

"No, I need to be the one to talk to her. She was asking to go on another shopping spree.." Amadeus chuckled through his tears. "She wanted to go shopping again, and I told her that we wouldn't just keep buying her whatever she liked, and that she had to earn it. She seemed okay with it, of course she protested at first, but then I said something that I shouldn't have; I said she needed more hardship to build character…" He buried his head back into his hands. "And she's been ignoring me ever since."

"Ah...well, give her some time. Maybe you can explain to her later? I'm sure she'll understand if you just try to talk nicely to her. Anyways..it looks like you're not the only one who's having trouble with the girls." He raised an eyebrow at her. "You know how Morgan doesn't remember anything from her past?" He nodded. "Well, she actually remembers a lot about you. She remembers almost everything you guys did together..But she has no memory of me." There was a tear making its way down her cheek. "For some reason, she can describe down to the last detail all the times the two of you studied together, and all the things you talked about..but she doesn't even remember my face." She was sobbing now. "What kind of mother must I have been for my own daughter to not even remember me?"

Amadeus put a reassuring arm around her. "There, there. I don't think she forgot because you were a bad mother-"

"But then why does she remember you so clearly? She obviously likes you more…not just the us from her timeline, but in this timeline too; she spent the whole morning talking about you, and not one mention of me!" Amadeus winced. "Cordelia, dear, I'm sure she loves you just as much-"

BANG. A sudden, loud noise that came from the general direction of their cabin rang out.

"Morgan! Severa!" The two rushed over, fearing the worst.

"Morgan! What are you doing?" Cordelia covered the cabin in two long strides and held back Morgan, who'd been bashing her head against the wall. "Morgan! Honey, are you okay? What were you thinking?" Cordelia was besides herself with fear, and Amadeus quickly pulled out his handkerchief to staunch the blood flowing from Morgan.

She was crying; whether from the physical pain or from something else, Amadeus didn't know, but he knelt down to his child as he held the handkerchief to her wound.

"Morgan, dear, er..why were you banging your head against the wall?" She sniffed loudly, before gathering herself for an answer.

"B-because...I feel bad b-because I d-don't remember anything about M-Mother! And I know it makes her sad, but I swear it wasn't because she was a bad mom! I don't know why I don't remember anything but you...Mother..I'm so sorry...I love you just as much as Father, I promise! I t-thought that..maybe I could knock some of my memories back..." She broke down crying, and Amadeus looked at Cordelia, as if to say I told you so. She didn't even notice him; she was looking at Morgan with such a tender expression, and tears were running down her face as well.

"Morgan...I don't care if you don't remember anything from your timeline about me. What matters is that we'll make new memories here, just like we have for your father since he joined us. And those memories are the only ones I expect you to remember about me, okay?" The girl nodded tearfully and buried her head into her mother's chest as her father looked on with a satisfied smile on his face.

"I love you, Mother. And you too, Father."

"We love you too, Morgan."


Morgan had a sizeable bump on her head from the debacle, but it would fade in time. They'd shared a laugh about it between each other, and even Severa managed to break from her facade of annoyance to crack a smile at her sister's antics. But while Cordelia and Morgan now got along well, especially due to their nightly sessions of what Morgan termed "Get Memories of Mom Back", Severa remained cold and even more snarky to Amadeus for the duration of the trip since they'd had their discussion. She'd also become cold towards Cordelia; Cordelia had to trade in her dessert in order to spend time with Severa, but Amadeus didn't even get that option.

They were to make land the next day in Regna Ferox. Severa still wasn't speaking to Amadeus, despite Cordelia's not-so-subtle suggestions. Amadeus was pacing the room while Cordelia watched.

"Cordelia, why won't she talk to me? I understand that she's upset about something, but why won't she just let me apologize for what I said?" She shook her head.

"I don't know. She won't tell me anything...and I doubt Morgan would tell us if Severa told her not to." Amadeus sighed, before coming to a decision.

"You know what. I'm going to go find her." He said it with a finality, and his girlfriend knew better than to try to deter him.

"Good luck." He nodded, and stepped out the door.

Where could she be?

"Gah! Not again!"

Severa?

He followed towards the source of the voice to find Severa in the weapons storeroom on the boat.

"Gawds! Why does nothing ever go right for me?" He saw her wince in pain.

"Um, Severa? What are you doing here?" She looked up at him, and her face instantly took on a scowl.

"I'm sharpening these stupid weapons that won't stay sharp! What does it look like I'm doing, Daddy? You told me to help out. So I'm helping out." She turned her head and stared at a corner of the room.

"And..that pile of broken swords behind you?" He gestured towards the back corner of the room. She snorted.

"It's not my fault those are defective! They're all bad! They fell apart and stuff when I tried to sharpen them! I'm pretty sure they're all too old to be of use anyways."

"Se-"

"Sorry I'm not so PERFECT at everything, like Mommy is! Sorry I'm so STUPID! Sorry I'm such a useless sack of bones! You should just throw me over a railing now and drown me in this stupid sea…"

"Severa, I-" He was cut off again.

"I burned the meal I tried to cook for you yesterday...I bought you something from a small village we passed, but then I lost it...I'm no help to anyone, and I'm useless! I'm just a bunch of dead weight you and Mommy have to drag around. Even Morgan is more help, and she has no memories! You must have had high hopes for me, given Mom's history. You must think of me as such a disappointment…" Now it was Amadeus' turn to wince. He had no idea what had been troubling his baby girl, and now that he knew, he cursed himself for not catching on, or at least not making enough of an effort to make sure she was okay. "Well? Any complaints? IF you have something to say, then just say it now before you run me through."

Okay, that was a bit harsh.

"Severa. Let me finish this time, okay?" She nodded. "I'm not disappointed at you in any way, Severa. I couldn't be happier that you came back to us. When Lucina told us that she had friends who made the time jump with her, I was with your mother, and the first thought that came to my mind was, what if one of them is my child? And it turns out I've been blessed with two beautiful daughters. I couldn't be happier that you came back to us"

"Oh, please. Stop mocking me. You really think I'm that stupid to fall for your words? Every time I messed up, someone would compare me to Mother. 'Oh, Cordelia did this so well, why can't you?' And you're closer to Mother than anyone! I know you think I don't measure up to her."

"Listen, dear. I wouldn't compare you to anyone, not even your mother. You're my daughter and my treasure, and I know that your mother feels the same way about you. We want you to grow up as your own woman." He paused. "I love you, honey, and I'll support you no matter what you do or how well you do it. So no more talk of you being a disappointment! It makes me feel like I failed you as a father, whether now or in your own timeline." Severa sniffed.

"What? N-no! Daddy, you didn't.." She sniffed again. "I'm so sorry! I..I didn't…" The tears flowed from her eyes now.

"There, there, honey. Don't cry. You've been through a lot, and it was wrong of me to say you needed more hardship. But I promise I'll do all I can to keep you from suffering ever again. And you have been doing your chores..how about that reward when we get back on land?" Her answer caught him by surprise as she threw her arms around him.

"No, I don't want it, Daddy. I just want you to promise me that you and Mommy won't leave me this time…"

"I'm sure we can arrange that." Cordelia had just entered the room with Morgan. "Honey, can we make a promise to Severa and Morgan?" She nodded as she made her way towards them.

"Severa, Morgan. As your parents, the two of us promise that we'll never leave you with a sad farewell again, and that we'll do whatever we can to keep you from suffering again."

"Is that an absolutely absolute promise?" Amadeus couldn't help but chuckle at Severa's question.

"Absolutely." He felt her little arms tighten around him.

"Well, I guess I can trust you now…" Amadeus and Cordelia looked at each other in surprise.

"Erm..you didn't trust us before?" Severa shook her head. "But you did, right, Morgan?" Morgan nodded in response.

"I've wanted to trust you guys basically since I met you...I wanted to tell you everything. But...then I remembered how much it hurt to lose both of you in the future...I don't want to be alone again! What if I trust you this time, and then both of you die on me again? I'd be..all alone again…but now I can trust you. I love you, Mommy, and I love you, Daddy."

"We love you too, Severa."

The family hugged tightly in the center of the room, the pile of broken weapons forgotten.


Night had fallen by the time the scout in the bird's nest spotted Port Ferox on the horizon. Having happily solved their disagreements and having learned of each other's insecurities, Amadeus could feel that his small family of four was much tighter now. He and Cordelia tucked the two young girls in, giving each a kiss on the forehead, before heading out to the tea that Maribelle had 'invited' them to. Neither really wanted to go, but with Maribelle, and 'invitation' was really only an invitation in the sound of the word; it's meaning really more closely resembled something like, perhaps, summoned.

Maribelle and Stahl's room was above theirs, so they climbed up the stairs and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" It was Stahl who answered the door. The two walked over to the table that someone had set up (Maribelle, presumably), and sat down.

"Ah, Cordelia and Amadeus! Thanks for coming. I really just wanted to know how the two of you are doing." Maribelle sipped her tea as she eyed the two.

"Er, well, we're doing fine!" Cordelia said. Amadeus wasn't really too sure what to say, so he grunted agreement before taking a sip of tea.

"Amadeus, dear, please sip like a person of class, instead of chugging the tea as if it's water from a canteen. Cordelia, I'm so glad it's worked out for you! This dolt of a man finally noticed that you were interested in him."

"H-hey, I'm not a dolt!" Maribelle waved him off.

"You know, Cordelia used to come to my tent to cry and sob over Chrom. Then, one day, she was suddenly talking about you, Amadeus." He raised an eyebrow. "Yes, she started talking about you, and how amazing you were. And then, when you didn't notice my poor girl's advances..she started sobbing and crying to me about you. You really are quite oblivious, aren't you? You have one of the most beautiful women in the world all over you, and you can't even realize it until Sumia tells it to your face?" He opened his mouth, but words wouldn't come out. Cordelia was laughing at how dumbfounded he looked. "Anyways, this girl was crying over you for a good two weeks before you somehow summoned enough common sense to ask her out. Lucky you, I should say; why she settled for you, I'll never know."

"Maribelle, that's enough." They spent the rest of the hour chatting and teasing a mortified Amadeus, before he and Cordelia excused themselves to go sleep.

"That was..embarrassing. Was I really so clueless? And did you really go to Maribelle to cry about me?" He couldn't help but smile at this revelation.

"...Yes. I wanted so much for you to at least show some sign of reciprocating…"

"But I did! You just didn't catch my signs!" She only shrugged in response before planting a kiss on his lips. "Heh. Well, Severa was trying to prey on my doubts from before, but Maribelle seems to have inadvertantly assuaged my fears."

"Hm?" She looked up at him curiously.

"Oh, apparently, in the future, you weren't really over Chrom, and Severa was saying how I couldn't be sure if you were really over Chrom in this timeline…" He said it unaccusingly, but at the same time implied that he wanted a solid answer.

"That girl. She really is a handful, isn't she? Well, if what Maribelle told you isn't enough to sway you…" She took a deep breath.

"I..I love you, Amadeus. I really do. I love you with all my heart, and nothing will ever change that." She looked up at him, and the earnest look in her eyes told him that she wasn't lying.

The eyes never lie.

He took a deep breath of his own before replying with the phrase he'd wanted to say to her for so long, but that he wanted to say at the right moment. Something told him this was it.

"I love you too, Cordelia."


Amadeus reached his cabin filled with a sense of accomplishment. He'd smoothed over his relationship with his children, and had assuaged any lingering doubt about Cordelia's true affections. However, there was one more thing he wanted to accomplish.

As he climbed into his cot, he noticed Cordelia glancing over at him. He waited for the children to fall asleep before he put his plan into action. Quietly, he made his way to Cordelia's cot, shaking her lightly to wake her up.

"Mmm?"

"Mind if I join you?" He said with a grin.

"Mm..please do." He lifted the covers and gingerly made his way onto the bed. The warmth of their bodies instantly filled the space under the blanket, but he didn't mind. He gently put one hand around her waist, and wedged his other arm underneath her head, just as Stahl and Sumia had suggested. She nuzzled her body into his.

"Amy...hehe, this is comfy." She murmured into his ear before going back to sleep. He smiled to himself and left his arms wrapped around the woman he loved, and soon followed her into a deep slumber.


And next chapter is up! This one was a lot more fun to write; obviously, I based the conflicts off of conflicts that ocurred in their supports with each other. I thought that having conflict would be a good way for the young family to bond together and to really get tighter. I'm considering having this story end when they reach Ylisstol, and then starting a new part that skips ahead to Grima's return; let me know what you guys think of that in the comments! Another option is to follow the timeline of the game, where they go directly to perform the Awakening to fight Grima, who was reawoken pretty much right after they got back to Ylisse.

We also see that Amadeus and Cordelia finally say the three magic words! Honestly, I thought I was making it too big of a deal and making them wait for too long, but then I realized that it really is that significant; those aren't words that should just be thrown around. And the timing, right after Amadeus has been assuaged of any real lingering doubts, signifies a turning point in their relationship; Amadeus has no more reason to doubt his girlfriend, which should stop holding him back.

The accounts of not knowing what to do when sleeping together are somewhat based on my experience. No, I was NOT so clueless as to not know what spooning was; I was, however, that clueless when it came to where the heck to put my hands (Needless to say, I'm much more experienced and knowledgeable now).

The conflict with Morgan was pretty easy to decide on; she feels bad about not remembering her mother, and she lets on that she knew how it affected Cordelia so. The conflict with Severa has more depth, and I'll explain why.

Severa and the other children came from Lucina's future, where Grima had taken over and destroyed the world. As a result, they're a lot more..pessimistic. A lot of them have Severa's problem; having seen a future where none of their parents survived, and having felt the pain of losing not one, but both parents, and essentially everyone close to them, they don't want to have to go through it again. But they don't know how to avoid it, so they try the only way that they can think of: distancing themselves from their current parents, so that if they are lost, it won't hurt as much. But as they spend more time together, they realize that maybe, this time is different, and eventually, they will open up to their new parents in the current timeline. They realize that they crave the love and affection that they lost, and after receiving that from their parents, they learn to hope once more and be optimistic that maybe, just maybe, this world will be different.

Morgan is a different case. With her amnesia, she doesn't have all the memories of gloom and doom. Instead, she just has happy memories with her father, so she's much more eager to connect with and get close with her parents, which is why her conflict is a lot less overblown/dramatic.

ALSO, I would like to emphasize that Amadeus and Cordelia are just sleeping together. I'm not having them go that far just yet. It's just personal preference, I don't think they're ready yet.

Now for the reviews!

Jozern: I agree with you on that! I actually thought that I could set it up like this because at the initial meeting, everyone was so happy to meet the others in their family that it pretty much overshadowed everything; hopefully, in this chapter, we see some issues as they settle down together. It's kind of like when you get a new toy, and you think that everything about it is amazing, but as you play with it longer, you realize that there are some kinks and flaws in it; it doesn't make it any less amazing, but you're just getting to know it that much better. I'll try to put in some more conflict; shouldn't be hard with Severa being her snarky self.

Astrofur: Hopefully this chapter shows you some of the depth! I'm trying hard to develop some more in the upcoming chapters, so hopefully I won't disappoint you/other readers! Look for your suggestion or something similar to it in the next two chapters, most likely once the family returns to Ylisstol.

To the guest reviewer: I actually haven't really thought about a child romance..perhaps another story?

If you guys have any ideas for child romance pairings/whether I should integrate that into this story, or whether it could be a separate story that I could write, let me know in the comments!

Thanks again for reading, and enjoy! 3