~Chapter Thirteen: Days Past~

Chrom drew a ragged breath as he retreated for a moment's rest into the midst of the group; the Shepherds had all but hacked their way across the borderlands, defeating any who still chose to oppose them. It had been surprising for everyone once they realized that many of the soldiers fighting for Gangrel were giving up-already several had thrown down their arms only to either desert the borderlands entirely.

As he surveyed everyone, he heard a loud shout and turned to look to his left. His blue eyes took in the sight of Robin blasting her way through a group of mages, Libra following up with an axe behind her. Noticing Chrom staring over at the tactician, Frederick bumped the young lord on the shoulder to grab his attention.

"Milord, it's our turn again soon."

"Of course," Chrom said, tearing his gaze away from Robin to look at his ever-faithful knight. "Robin said that Gangrel's bound to jump the gun and come to us after all-and I'll be ready when he does."

The young lord tightened his grip on Falchion, already mentally preparing himself for the inevitable battle against the mad king; ever since the group had stepped onto the field, Gangrel had done nothing but spit threats at them, raging and swearing he'd kill every last one of them and get the fire emblem if it was the last thing he'd do.

Glancing down at Chrom's hand, Frederick murmured, "Patience, Milord."

"It's so hard to be patient with that monster," Chrom growled, readying himself to say more when a shout caught his attention.

Quickly turning his head, the young lord's eyes widened as he took in a nightmare-like situation; Gangrel stood in front of Robin, his cloak flapping behind him in the wind as he cackled insanely and raised a Levin sword to the sky.

The tactician glared, but even at a distance Chrom could see there was a mixture of surprise and terror in her eyes. Cursing under his breath, Chrom muttered obscenities as he remembered that Robin hadn't brought any tomes along with her.

"Not so cocky now, are we?" the mad king leered, waving his sword threateningly at Robin as she backed up next to Libra. "We'll see how your pathetic army fares once I cut you out of the picture!"

A bolt of lightning flashed instantaneously; Libra grunted as he was hit, stumbling backwards as his body shook with tremors from the attack. Grabbing onto his arm, Robin shouted, "Libra, hold on! I've got you!"

The tactician began to pull the priest backwards, half dragging the poor man while grumbling under her breath, a panicked look on her face; it was obvious that she hadn't anticipated on Gangrel attacking anyone else but Chrom.

As Chrom watched anxiously, he saw Gangrel raise his sword again to the sky. Quickly Robin pushed Libra away, sparing him from another blow; unfortunately she was not as lucky, and with a loud gasp of pain she clutched at her right arm, the sword in her hand slipping as she fumbled to keep it in her grip.

"Where's your precious princeling now?" Gangrel smirked, stepping even closer to the tactician as he completely ignored Libra, kicking him to the side. With a defiant look on her face, Robin steadied herself and glared at the mad king as if daring him to come within swinging range.

As he came even closer to Robin, Chrom's vision seemed to turn red-before he knew it, the young lord had left Frederick behind, breaking formation once more as he ran towards Robin. He managed to reach her just in time; as Gangrel raised his sword once more, Chrom barreled into him.

Tripping backwards, the mad king cursed as he nearly fell over backwards, while Chrom hurried to Robin's side. Supporting her easily, he put an arm around her waist and straightened her up, fussing over her before Gangrel could attack again.

With a small chuckle, Robin muttered, "Is this becoming a habit of yours? Breaking my pretty formations and doing whatever you please?"

"Shush," Chrom grumbled, tearing off his cape and wrapping her bleeding arm with it. "He was supposed to fight me, not you. This is just an adaption."

"Right," Robin grinned wryly as she flexed and stood up straight. "An adaption. Shall we then?"

Breaking off of his fussing, Chrom glanced up to see her eyes looking into his earnestly. In a silent understanding, the young lord straightened up as well and drew Falchion, before turning to the mad king.

"Gangrel!" Chrom yelled, catching the trickster's attention. "My sister only wished for us to know peace…would you not seek that now, and forgo this war you've started?"

"Peace?" Gangrel spat back, glaring as Chrom and Robin shifted into fighting stances. "What would you and your people know of peace? No, what I seek now is much better than that-something that no one else deserves but me!"

"I see that there is no reasoning with you," the young lord said quietly, his voice falling as his expression grew hard. "So be it."

It was all over within a second; stepping forward Chrom made a quick slash at the king and caught him off-guard, before Robin ducked under and around to deliver a final stab. As the tactician retreated to her place beside Chrom, Gangrel sank to his knees in defeat.

Groaning, the mad king gasped out, "You…fools….all of you…"

Drawing his final breath, the mad king fell; a resounding thud echoed around him, signaling that the war was finally, finally over.

"How's Libra?"

Turning from where she'd been watching the others on the field, Robin saw Chrom standing behind her with a serious look on his face.

With a little smile, Robin tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before answering, "He's fine; Lissa's really got a way with that staff of hers you know."

"Yeah."

The two took deep breaths, before exchanging grins. After Gangrel had fallen the rest of his army had given little to no resistance-many had laid down their arms, and the few that had resisted were easily taken care of when they had insisted on continuing the fight.

As everyone around them celebrated, glad the war was over, Chrom turned to look over the battlefield once more. After a moment of silence, Robin joined him, the two of them standing side by side quietly as they surveyed the land in front of them. So busy were they watching that they failed to notice everyone exchanging looks, before the rest of the group slinked off and left them alone.

With only a slight breeze whistling through the grass, the two stood without saying anything until Chrom took a deep breath.

"Robin?"

"Mmmm?"

"I…I owe you an apology."

Startled, the tactician looked over at her friend to see him frowning at the ground. Wondering what he'd meant by that, she opened her mouth to ask when Chrom continued, "I dragged you into something awful-a war that was never yours to begin with. I'm sorry for that."

"You didn't drag me," Robin pointed out, sidling even closer so that she could elbow Chrom lightly. "I'm the one who shoved my way into your army."

"Still. All I've been thinking about is stopping Gangrel at all costs. Even my own life wasn't too high a price to pay."

Chrom watched as Robin scrunched her nose, a frown on her face as she muttered, "Too high a price indeed-it would have been devastatingly costly, for everyone…especially me."

"Well...in that same manner, I guess I found out that despite my determination I wasn't willing to give you up-even if it meant stopping Gangrel."

"O-oh?" Feigning disinterest, Robin tried desperately to push down the blush she felt threatening to make its way across her face. She had hoped that their brief romance would not be forgotten; before everything the two had grown close in so many ways, although after his confession neither one had said much to each other on the subject. "I didn't think you would have let me die anyways, but I guess it's nice to know that."

"Let you die? Never!" Chrom burst out adamantly, before sobering a bit and continuing, "I never…I never want to let you go. Does that make me selfish?"

Robin laughed a little, avoiding Chrom's gaze as she replied, "If you're selfish than I am too. I share your sentiments after all…that is, I'd rather not leave you at this point. I've grown quite fond of you, you know."

"Just…fond?" As he spoke in halted tones, Chrom took a step closer, winding an arm around Robin's waist as he did so. "I was hoping you meant what you said before the battle."

"Of course I meant it," Robin fumbled with her words nervously, trying hard not to stammer as she felt Chrom moving in for a kiss. "I meant every word."

"Good."

Slowly, delicately, he cupped her cheeks in his hands and kissed her; savoring the way she felt, he pressed her as close as possible, wanting nothing more than to remain in the moment for as long as possible. As their lips brushed and their breathing aligned, everything suddenly seemed to make sense.

Pulling back to catch his breath, Chrom caught one of the tactician's hands and kissed it gently before murmuring, "I meant every word too."

His words brought a smile to Robin's face; lighting up entirely, the tactician seemed to glow in a way that had Chrom breathless all over again, the young lord wondering why it had taken him so long to realize how much she meant to him.

Squeezing her hand, Chrom took a deep breath before saying, "We may have met under unusual circumstances, but the bond between us has been like nothing I've ever experienced before. You're my best friend, my confidant, and the person I've come to trust the most…the person I've come to love."

Quietly, Robin watched as Chrom paused, her heart threatening to pound right through her chest as she waited for him to continue with baited breath.

Picking back up again, Chrom said softly, "My sister always followed her heart-and now I'll follow mine. Well…What I mean to ask you is…what I want to say is…will you marry me?"

Blushing furiously, the young lord bit his lip as he waited for Robin's reply. A blush painting her face as well, the tactician smiled before squeezing his hand and replying gently, "Yes."

There was a moment's hesitation, before Chrom laughed out loud with relief. Without a second thought his hands went to Robin's waist, and the tactician found herself hoisted into the air as the young lord exclaimed, "You've made me the happiest man alive with one word!"

"Ch-Chrom!" Robin laughed, "Put me down!"

Setting the tactician on her feet, Chrom kissed her on the forehead and said, "I'll need you to be patient in the near future…I've got scars to heal and a kingdom to lead before we can begin our life together."

With a grin Robin twined her arms around his neck, leaning back and allowing him to hold onto her waist as she reminded him, "That's just fine. I'm a tactician, remember? We'll figure this out together."

"Thank you," he pressed another kiss onto her cheek, before giving her one on the neck.

Giggling, Robin fended him off before reflecting, "Strange isn't it, how fate brought us together?"

"Call me crazy, but I was pretty sure it was some sort of fate from the beginning," Chrom admitted, pulling back a bit to look at Robin.

"Crazy."

"Ha, thanks." Chrom smiled as Robin poked one of his cheeks, watching her with fond eyes as she laughed again and grinned at him. Kissing her on the nose lightly, he leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes for a moment, feeling like nothing could ruin how happy he was at that moment.

In a low voice, he said, "I love you, Robin, and I'll do anything to keep you safe and happy."

"I love you too," she replied easily, her own eyes closed as well. "Let's find happiness together, okay?"

"Together," Chrom agreed, kissing her once more on the forehead. "From now on, and forever-together."