Chapter 12 – The King and the Rabbit-Hearted Girl

Morning came, bright and wet, the rain pattering against the shutters of the castle's window. For the Shepherds, it was their last night in the fort, their last day of feather mattresses and warm rooms, the last day of any permanence. They were headed westwards, through the open fields of farmland, towards the capital, even though they were a bare skeleton crew of what they had once been. They hoped to meet others on the road, or in the city, where they would stay a few nights before winding in a more easterly direction, riding north at pace.

Whether Lon'qu would meet them on the road or at the Feroxian border was unknown; news travelled slowly, relying on word of mouth and the few messengers who battled through the harsh winter of Regna to the softer, more temperate land of Ylisse. For the general, this journey was impromptu, for his tactician, it was hectic.

The moment she was awake, Robin was dragged to and fro across the grounds, first checking the new weaponry, then analysing the maps with Frederick, then instructing the servants on what to pack. It was all too much, all much too overwhelming, so when the chance finally came for a break, she took it. By then, it was long past noon, and, motivated largely by hunger, Robin headed towards the hall.

She was alone in the dappled hallway as she walked, her steps made louder by the slight echo present in every chamber made of stone, but she was glad it was quiet. A cup of tea, some fuel, and she would be up and running again, even if she just wanted to curl up and doze.

Luck had other ideas for her however, and just as Robin reached the wooden doors leading towards lunch, her eye fell on a glint of silver barely visible through the slightly ajar door next to her. If the door had been at a more acute angle by even a degree, she wouldn't have seen it, but as it was, she couldn't stop her eyes being drawn to it. The shine was the gleam of the sun hitting metal, intense enough that Robin had to look away and blink several times before the spots stopped dancing before her eyes. Now curious, she laid her hand on the door handle and silently pulled on it, drawing the door towards her.

Before her a sight not seen by many, and even though she knew she shouldn't, she smiled to herself, something akin to a flush colouring her cheeks. Chrom, Prince of all the Realm, High Exalt of Ylisse, King of his House, was asleep at his desk.

The candle marks from last night had run down completely, marking almost eight hours in the stubs alone, and Chrom, blue hair askew, was laid across his folded arms as his chest moved in deep, even breaths.

She could've left, she could've pretended she had never seen him like this, but Robin was far too tempted. Crossing the room, she sat without a sound and watched her liege and husband sleep. She wondered what falling in love with him was like, whether she fell quickly into his arms or danced only slowly with him. She wondered what he was like, not as a king or leader, but as a man. She wondered what their past had held, and remembered how when she questioned Morgan, how often his reply was,

"Ask Chrom, mother, he's the only one who can tell you that."

And so, as the rain slowly cleared, the tactician fell for her Lord just a little more.

"Robin…?" still bleary from his long slumber, he wasn't sure it was her. Especially when she appeared to be napping in the chair opposite him, hair pooling in little rivulets along his desk. "I have definitely missed something here."

Grinning down at his tactician Chrom wondered at the wicked sense of humour the gods had. First for him to fall into riddled sleep during his work, and then to wake to this sight? He wasn't sure whether to thank or curse his deities.

"Robin," he said, noticing the beginnings of her waking, "how, exactly, did this happen?"

Her eyes shot open and she sat upright in a rapid movement, hair whipping backwards.

"Oh gods," she blurted, "I have no idea."

Slowly, he began to laugh, the kind of contagious chuckle that is passed around the room at the retelling of a friend's antics, and Robin found herself caught up in the sound, listening to it spread the blush across her cheeks.

His chuckle quietened, and Chrom looked at her again, noted how her head ducked down as her face flamed.

"Did you need anything?" he asked, more gently.

A heartbeat passed, the moment she hesitated, thought about saying no.

"A few things," she said, smile soft enough to make his heart do flips, "just questions, really."

He paused, hesitated just as she had, considered her proposition, and weighed it up.

"I made Morgan tell me, by the way, just in case you thought he told willingly."

Her eyes flashed upwards, meeting his head-on in surprise.

"Oh," she said, "I knew that. I was just … wondering how long?"

"Almost two years," he didn't match her gaze, his eyes on the past as he looked straight through her.

Robin looked at the ring on her hand, wondered how it could've bound her to this man across the desk for two years.

"And… was it real? I mean-"

Now he looks at her and cuts her off.

"Yes." Steadily their hearts beat in unison.

She flushed to her ears, could no longer even look at the air around him. Chrom smiled, almost knowingly, at her blush.

"I have to go," he rises, takes his papers with him, "I believe I was due at a meeting exactly an afternoon ago."

She nods, still turning away her eyes.

"Goodnight, Robin," he ends this with the word he started it with and as he walks around his desk and as he makes as if to leave, she drops her guard. He steps in, gloved hand at her neck as he swiftly drops a kiss on her burning cheek.

They freeze, for a moment, but soon he is out of the door, gone away to his work.

Robin's heart jackhammers against her ribcage like a wild animal trying to escape.

"Dammit," she says, as she manages not to collapse into a puddle on the floor.

Holy crap guys, we reached 150 reviews. I'm going to go laugh and cry and hide in the corner now, you lovely people, because I am too busy having an overload of feelings. I would like to say a massive thank you to all those people who have helped me get so far, it's really the readers who motivate me to write. Have a cookie and a hug, because you are all amazing 3

Also, I let my friend (who made me do this whole thing in the first place), name this chapter after her favourite FatM lyric. And on top of that, I have yet another question (I ask a lot don't I? I'm sorry .), am I putting them together too quickly in this chapter? Because I feel like my ultimate OTP may have just made rocketfire progress in a slow paced fanfiction.