Outtake Eleven: Surprises

Game: Awakening
Spoilers: Halfway through the game.
Summary: It's Silver's birthday, but Chrom's having a hard time finding the perfect gift for his lovely wife.
Note: So it was my avatar's birthday when I decided to write this, coinciding with my sister's birthday. Being the nerd I am, I thought, what would happen if it was Silver's birthday...? And my mind went out of control. This is the result. Due to certain circumstances presented here in the story, Silver's birthday is Feb. 2nd. Enjoy!

Lissa's day began with a strange question from her brother. Well, it was more of a statement, but it was still odd. "Lissa," the blue-haired man began, "you're a woman."

"Well done, Chrom," Lissa replied sarcastically. "Did you just figure that out now?"

Chrom scowled. "No. I say that because I need some…womanly advice."

Lissa raised her eyebrows and helped herself to some eggs. At the moment it was only her and Chrom at the breakfast table. She reached for the toast, and Chrom pushed the dish towards her. "Thanks. So what's this about? What advice do you need from your all-knowing sister?"

"You? All-knowing? Yeah right." Chrom slouched in his chair, looking over the brim of his coffee mug. "It's Silver's birthday later this week and I have no idea what to get her."

"Oh, well how about we go out to the market when we're done eating? We can get her a present together. There are some good book and jewelry sellers we could check out."

Chrom nodded with a smile and sipped his drink. "Sounds like a plan," he said.

"What does?"

The siblings turned and saw Silver walking into the small dining room where the members of House Ylisse usually ate when there were no high functions of society to attend. "Oh, nothing," Chrom replied as Silver sat next to him. They shared a quick kiss, making Lissa frown.

"Ugh, you guys are making me miss Ricken." The blond princess sighed, thinking on the man she had been courting the past year.

"He's coming back tomorrow," Silver pointed out, snatching a biscuit from a plate next to the eggs.

"Has he mentioned anything to you about getting married yet?" Chrom asked.

Lissa looked up in surprise, her cheeks reddening. "What? He was going to propose?!"

Her brother looked rather embarrassed. "I-I thought you would have known…"

"Chrom, you're so oblivious!" Silver scolded semi-teasingly, lightly hitting her husband. "Proposal is a surprise! You surprised me, remember?"

"Did I?"

Silver rolled her eyes. "Yes."

"Wait, Chrom, how do you know Ricken was going to propose?" Lissa asked, still rather stunned.

"Well…"

"He came to Chrom," Silver interrupted. "Ricken wanted his permission to marry you."

Lissa's eyes widened and looked down at her breakfast, her face getting redder by the second.

"I thought that it was supposed to be a secret," Chrom said.

"Not after you blew Ricken's cover."

"Well, aren't we snippy this morning?"

Silver scowled at Chrom's teasing voice and his wide grin. "You know very well I was up half the night. The kid kept me awake." She switched her scowl to her stomach, which was larger and rounder than normal with pregnancy.

"Still feeling nauseous?" Lissa asked with concern. Silver nodded reluctantly – she could tell that the cleric was thinking about some remedy. She let Lissa thinking, and turned back to Chrom.

"Anyway, what are you hiding, Chrom? You and Lissa were talking about something."

"N-nothing!" the exalt stammered.

Silver smirked. "I'll find out." She wiggled her fingers. "I have my ways."

Chrom sighed. "I should have never told you I was ticklish."

Lissa snorted into her drink in a poor attempt to hide her laughter. She earned herself a glare from her brother and her sister-in-law.

"Listen, Silver," Chrom began, focusing on his wife. "Lissa and I are going to the market this morning. You know, for some brother-sister bonding or something…like that."

"This has to do with what you're hiding, doesn't it," the tactician asked, reaching for her second biscuit and munching on it.

"For the last time, I'm not hiding anything. I just have something I don't want you to know."

"It's a surprise," Lissa explained. Silver nodded.

"Fine." She narrowed her eyes at Chrom. "I will find out. But you two have fun in the market. I'm going to go back to bed and see if I can rest."

Chrom nodded. "I'd rather have you resting than wandering around the market anyway. We'll try to be back around lunch – maybe you and I can have a picnic out on the grounds."

Silver nodded eagerly and stood, snatching a final biscuit off the plate. "I'm going back up. See you at lunch." She bestowed a kiss on her husband's head and left.

Lissa scooped the last forkful of eggs into her mouth. "Might as well get going ourselves."

The market was bustling as usual. Being exalt, Chrom had a small armed escort. But he could choose who would accompany him, and so the Shepherds banded together once more on the most important mission of helping their leader find his wife a suitable birthday gift.

"We could get her a weapon," Vaike suggested. "She always talks about how she wants to get better with the sword."

Sully scowled. "Yes, Vaike, because training with the sword is the best thing to be doing while with child," she said sarcastically.

The tough yet oblivious axman shrugged. "Hey, it was just a suggestion. No need to chew the Vaike's head off."

Sully looked just about ready to do so, but Chrom interfered. "Come on, if you don't want to help me, then at least do a decent job of being my escort. Like Frederick here."

Said stoic knight grinned at the praise. "Always a pleasure, milord."

Sully gave her husband an exasperated looked. "Why I put up with you, Freddy, I'll never know."

That sentence caused Frederick to frown in embarrassment as the rest of the group stifled snickers at the name. He pulled Sully close and said in a quiet voice, "I thought you promised not to call me that in public."

Sully merely smirked, and freed herself from Frederick, going over to a nearby jewelry stall. Lissa, still laughing, followed her. "Oh, Chrom, how about this?"

The exalt stopped and looked. Lissa held up a small silver charm shaped like a shepherd's staff. "What is it?" he asked. "I mean, is it a necklace, or a bracelet or…?"

The stall owner spoke up. "Either, depending what you would like, milord. It has been rather popular among the ladies of Ylisstol to wear several on a single bracelet. If I may ask, milord, who is this gift for?"

"My wife," the exalt replied.

Lissa gasped with a grin. "We could get her a charm bracelet, Chrom!"

"Oh, great idea!" Cordelia added. "We can each get her a charm!" The other Shepherds we quick to agree. Before Chrom could blink, his escort was crowded around the stall. He grinned.

"Alright, and I'll get the bracelet," he said.

Ten minutes later, the group had come up with the bracelet. There was a lightning bolt for Silver's chosen type of magic, a shepherd's crook for (obviously) the Shepherds to which she belonged, a heart for her dedication to her friends and family, a book for her love of reading, and the Ylissean brand for the nation she loved and served. All the charms, and the main bracelet to which the charms attached were made of silver.

"Well," Stahl said, admiring the completed charm bracelet as he paid for his portion of gift, "there's her present. Mission accomplished!"

Chrom studied the bracelet as well. "Yes, but this is a gift from all of us. I want to get her something special…just from me." The merchant wrapped up the jewelry and handed it to Chrom, who tucked it safely away.

"Lead on then, Captain," Cordelia said, leaning on her lance. The group started off through the market once more.

By the time noon came, Chrom had found his wife a gift. It was a book of legends and lore of ancient heroes, the most prominent of them being the Hero-King Marth. He knew she loved these legends. She would adore this book.

When the moment for the gift giving came, Silver was utterly surprised at the thoughtful presents she was given. She hugged each of the Shepherds who had chosen a charm for her new bracelet and bestowed a kiss to her husband for the book of legends. As soon as she could, she buried her nose in her book, her new bracelet dangling from her wrist.

Chrom got a surprise a few months later – as if in return – when he became a father to not one, but two children: twins. A girl and a boy.

Author's notes: I'm still going with Lucina and Morgan as twins, but they won't always be twins. You'll see. Anyway, I'm still looking for requests! Playing Awakening multiple times has given me ideas, but still. I would love to write requests!

Published 8/2/2013