Chapter Eleven

Yes Means Yes


Robin had no luck getting sleep as his thoughts spiraled into madness. The television had turned off on its own from inactivity. "I need to catch my breath." He thought as he struggled to move. Cordelia unconsciously retaliated by tightening her grip on his shoulders. Robin let out a grunt as he scooped Cordelia in his arms and lifted her off his chest before she started to stir. He slowly placed her back on the beige couch, the pale moonlight reflecting off her nightgown. "I'll be right back." He whispered in her ear and kissed her on the forehead. Robin buttoned up his cloak and pulled his brown boots up before opening the door, frigid air blasting his nerves with a cold sensation. Barely a second passed after he quietly shut the brown door before Chrom emerged.

"You going for a midnight stroll?" He whispered, his blue hair disheveled and frayed.

"Why yes, I am," Robin responded as he noticed Chrom was fully dressed, which was quite peculiar for someone who had sleep problems.

"Mind if I join?" Chrom asked as he grabbed his white coat.

"Fine by me." Robin noticed that Cordelia was shivering and pulled Chrom outside as he closed the door. He started to walk down the dirt path as Chrom walked beside him. "So is there a reason why you're fully clothed?"

"I'm what you would call a night owl," Chrom responded as his boots thudded along the snow-covered dirt. "Which really is a fancy way of me saying I have a hint of insomnia."

"I presume Olivia is an owl as well." Robin watched as snow accumulated on the ground, the waxing crescent moon shining in the sky.

"Sorta. She can stay up until two in the morning without crashing," Chrom sighed as his mind wandered. "Damn she gives the best lap dances."

"I didn't know you were a connoisseur of them." Robin laughed quietly as the dirt path they walked on merged into a gray cobblestone path.

"Until we met I wasn't, but goddamn her ass is phenomenal." Chrom started to blush.

"You always had more balls than brains, Chrom." Robin laughed to himself and Chrom laughed as well. "Surely you like her for her personality, and not just her posterior."

"Duh. Olivia's like an exquisite salad and her butt is the ranch dressing on top." Chrom realized that maybe a salad wasn't the best way to describe his girlfriend. "I can see why you love Cordelia though."

"And that is?" Robin asked while he furrowed his brow.

"Her caring personality. What, did you think I was going to ramble on about your girlfriend's butt?" Chrom smiled as he continued to walk.

"Well, no. But I was expecting it." Robin massaged his closed eyes with his thumb and index finger. "I really do love her, though." A sigh escaped Robin's lips as he pondered Cordelia's message.

"I feel the same way about Olivia. In fact, I was thinking, maybe after college, we could settle down or something." Chrom gazed into the distance.

"Wait, seriously!?" Robin's brown eyes went wide. "But you're only nineteen years old!"

"Doesn't matter," Chrom stated. "We both love each other, and I already know a married man."

"And that would be…?" Robin asked.

"You." Chrom locked eyes with him.

"How the hell?!" Robin was taken aback.

"Why else would you take a midnight stroll without Cordelia?" Chrom replied, his intellect surprising Robin.

"Well, maybe I needed fresh air and she was asleep." Robin's eyes darted around the nearby trees. Chrom firmly placed his hand on his purple-clad shoulders.

"You proposed to her, didn't you?" Chrom asked, his eyes seemingly peering into Robin's very soul.

"No. It's much more complicated than that," Robin sighed as he explained what happened. "Cordelia thought I was asleep, and whispered 'let's get married' in my ear. I was not asleep, and I won't be for the rest of the night."

"Oh my God, you lucky… Do you realize how much good fortune you have?" Chrom asked as he released Robin's shoulders from his iron grip.

"But we're both college freshmen, and I don't have any money." Robin turned around and started walking back to the house.

"So we'll all pitch in for the wedding, problem solved," Chrom smiled. "Besides, you said you love her, right?"

"Yes," Robin muttered as looked down at the gray colored path.

"So why are you hesitating? You two both love each other, so seize the moment." Chrom stated while he patted Robin's shoulder.

"But this is our first relationship. What if we grow bored of each other?" Robin asked as his voice hitched.

"Robin, you got Cordelia, the most faithful person I know, to love you. So shut up and put a ring on her finger already." Chrom locked his blue eyes with Robin's while he clasped his shoulders.

"Okay, okay. But are you serious that you guys will help pay for the wedding?" Robin broke from Chrom's grip and continued walking.

"Of course we will. Olivia thinks you two are adorable, Sumia will because it's her sister, Gaius can pitch in or else," Chrom laughed to himself. "I can convince Lissa to donate, and Stahl would help because he's a nice guy."

"Wow, when you put it like that…" Robin stood in front of the house door.

"Just don't sweat it," Chrom said as he grabbed the doorknob of the brown door and pushed it open. Cordelia sat on the couch, the blanket wrapped around her and a coffee mug in hand as she looked up from her book.

"Oh, you're finally back." She intoned dryly as she lowered the book onto the table. Chrom hung his coat up and walked up the stairs without saying a word.

"I didn't know you were up," Robin said as he pulled his boots off his feet and sat on the beige couch next to her.

"So how was your little walk?" She asked while she removed her blanket, pale moonlight continuing to reflect off her nightgown.

"Just fine," Robin sighed as he rested his head on the end of the couch. Cordelia slowly scooted her way over him, her soft palms resting on his chest as she laid atop his front.

"So did you hear what I said earlier?" Cordelia asked, her maroon eyes full of curiosity.

"I would be the happiest man alive if you married me," Robin smiled and felt something plastic drop on his head. He picked it off his white hair and saw it was a wrapped Ring Pop candy. His gaze drifted upwards and he saw Gaius leaning over the balcony, shirtless and half awake.

"Have fun, you damn kids." He groaned as he trudged back to Sumia's room. After opening the door, he slowly crawled into bed and noticed that Sumia was still awake.

"What happened?" She asked, her brown hair disheveled and bunched.

"Robin and Cordelia got engaged." The very instant Gaius finished his sentence Sumia's eyes became as wide as planetoids.

"But they're college freshmen!" Sumia half whispered/half yelled as Gaius shushed her. "Those two are in for some seriously grueling college years," She stated while she laid on her side.

"They'll find a way to make it work, I'm sure of it." Gaius smiled optimistically.

"Now I know this is unrelated, but would you mind if I asked you about your childhood?" Sumia clasped his hand tightly.

"Why do you care?" Gaius' tone became deeper and more serious while Sumia was taken aback.

"Because I like to know more about people I'm in a relationship with." She hugged his torso while she answered his question.

"Alright, but I don't believe in something-for-nothing. You need to promise you'll tell me about your childhood after this." Gaius felt the warmth of Sumia's body while he dug up his childhood memories.

"Of course. That sounds perfectly reasonable." Sumia kissed him on the cheek.

"Also you might want to grab some tissues because this is a real sob story." Gaius drew a sharp breath as he began to narrate.

"I grew up in a different town. My earliest memories are of my original family. I forget what they looked like, but all I remember is them dropping me off at some crummy orphanage. They must've said something about how they needed to disappear or something before they rode off in their car, which my five-year-old mind couldn't comprehend. I spent two years in that orphanage, and I built myself a reputation of 'The Unwantable' as no sane couple would adopt me. Unfortunately for me, the people who eventually did adopt me were not sane." Gaius looked at Sumia, who had a shocked expression on her face. "I moved into their house when I was seven, and little did I know they lied to the orphanage about loving me. The couple ran a bakery, and they needed a cheap source of unpaid labor. They figured they could adopt a kid for a purpose, and pay for their education so they didn't look suspicious."

"This sounds horrible." Sumia gasped.

"It gets worse, much worse. They never cooked a meal for me or told me that they love me. The only time I saw them was when they were hitting me for doing a lousy job at preparing the sweets. Speaking of which, my only source of fuel in there was stealing food when they weren't looking. Every school day I walked two hours in the morning, and two hours in the afternoon just to go to and from there. This whole neglect thing continued until I was eighteen."

"Why didn't you tell the police?" Sumia asked.

"Hang on, I'm not done yet." Gaius reminded her as he continued his story. "Anyway, one day somebody leaves a flier for this place called 'Ylissean University' and I figured that I could go to college. I did moderately well at school considering I taught myself in between work shifts. So after graduation, I needed money for the tuition. Then I remembered, there's this safe in their room that has all their profits. They weren't smart enough to put it in a bank, and they were dumb enough to leave me alone one night while they went out to drink. I learned how to crack safes just to ensure my own future wasn't horrible, and I succeeded. They had enough money for tuition in there, and I took the money and ran. I ran faster than what I thought was humanly possible to the police station where I reported my adopters. I felt the most satisfaction in my entire life as I sat there and watched as they walked in, handcuffed and glaring at me while they were thrown in a holding cell. Turns out they had a drug history and multiple felons on top of unethical child labor. The cops let me go and gave me a bus ticket to Ylisse, and after grabbing as many things from that God-forsaken bakery as possible, I took the bus. And that's my story." Gaius panted as he drew breath. Sumia was on the verge of crying.

"I'm so sorry that happened to you," Sumia said in between sobs while she feverishly pecked him with her soft lips.

"To be honest," Gaius smiled while he stared deep into her eyes. "Meeting you and everyone here was the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Oh my God, you're gonna make me cry! Stop it!" Sumia wailed as tears soaked their bedspread.

"That's all in the past, and you don't have to worry about it. You're actually the first person I've ever shared that story with." Gaius comforted her while she continued to cry. "But I digress, now what's your childhood story?"

"Well," Sumia dried her eyes while she sniffled. "Growing up was pretty normal for me. I've been friends with Cordelia for as long as I can remember, and her parents were good friends with mine. Lissa was also a close friend, and Maribelle too. Nothing tragic really happened, except for when my fish Bubbles died. Cordelia, Lissa and I held a funeral for him in my backyard the day after he passed away. There was also that time Cordelia was going to ask Chrom out to prom, but she bailed at the last minute. We spent that night eating ice cream and watching episodes of The Bachelorette." Sumia recounted her childhood as her sniffling began to stop.

"I think that's enough depressing stories for a lifetime. Good night." Gaius kissed her on the forehead while he closed his eyes.

"Good night." Sumia held him tightly in her embrace as she drifted off into slumber.


I'm legitimately terrified at how many fucking similarities there are between this fanfic and the Donkey Kong Country TV Show.

Case in point: /uHH6kUwU0m8

If you want to go the extra mile, compare the Diddy Drop Rap to chapter nine of Awakening.