Fun fact: This was one of the first chapters I ever had a concept for. It's undergone a lot of changes, and I hope it's still good. It's cheesy as hell, I know :)

I gave up on even trying to make sense on getting the kids together. My best guess is little groups went back to Ylisse scouting for 'em and brought them over to Valm to be with the Shepherds, so just roll with that idk

Shh... Easy now, girl. I won't hurt you.

"What happened?" Disappointment and confusion seeped into Chrom's voice as he stared in awe at his only daughter. There she stood, not far from him and his wife, with... Inigo. Smiling. Laughing, even! The prince simply didn't understand. "Just last week she hated him!"

Robin, however, seemed far less concerned. "You know what they say about the fine line between love and hate," she explained with a light smile.

"That it's too fine?"

"Oh, come now." Robin grasped her husband's shoulder as he sat by her side, a plate of food in front of him turning cold. Carefully, she tried to pull him out of his sour mood in the best way she knew how: gentle reasoning delivered in the most soothing voice she could muster. "She's smiled more in this last week than in the whole time we've known her."

Chrom's eyes remained fixated on the boy pursuing his daughter, brows lowered. The dancer's smile alone seemed to pull one in almost equal measure out of Lucina. "Yes, I know."

"She's practically been sprightly."

"She was sprightly before," the stubborn father protested. Immediately after speaking the thought, however, he realized even he didn't have any truths to back the statement up if his wife were to challenge him.

"Yes, dear. She was practically singing as she took weapon inventory alone two weeks ago," Robin replied sarcastically. "The ecstatic crease in her brow nigh brought a tear to my eye."

"There's no need to be so sarcastic."

Robin let out an amused puff of air before leaning closer to her partner, her white eyebrows raising in the middle in a gentle plea. "Just be happy for her, Chrom. Inigo is a fine boy when you get to know him."

Chrom's eyes couldn't break away from Lucina and Inigo as the latter pinched the former's cheeks, making her playfully swat him away.

"Shh... Easy now, girl," Inigo's voice could be hear joking in the distance, holding his hands up as one would to a horse to calm the swatting girl in front of him. "I won't hurt you."

"I can't promise the same if you don't stop grabbing my cheeks!" Lucina retorted, a coy smile resembling her mother's growing on her face.

"And her retainer, by all laws of knighthood!" Chrom retorted with more annoyance than before. As the son of the Exalt's knight, Inigo was technically bound to serve Lucina. Frederick never would display such behavior with Lissa... In a lowered tone, Chrom complained, "You'd think Frederick would've taught him a thing or two about boundaries."

"I don't quite think we're in a position to judge on that front," Robin replied with a scoff. Chrom's glance finally left his daughter and focused with a confused expression on his wife. She stared him hard in the eyes, daring him to continue on a rant about propriety. Evidently it was too easy for him to forget just what Robin had been to him prior to their marriage. "Status has never been of concern to you before. Why now?"

He let out a slow breath, calming himself back down. Gently closing his eyes, he almost looked defeated. That is, until he continued.

"This is different. We were different," he said, his voice calmer now, but still insistent. "We were in love! Based on trust and mutual respect. The only thing that dandy respects is her looks and the fact that she isn't answering his every word with a slap in the face."

Robin pulled away slightly, a slightly perturbed expression on her face. Did he mean to say Lucina had no other qualities that might have drawn a boy to her? Was he saying the love between himself and Robin was based on nothing but sensibility? And not to mention the implications about poor Inigo (no matter how strong a ring of truth they had to them)...

"I'm not sure who I'm most offended for right now," said Robin with a quizzical smirk. With the way his eloquence seemed to elude him when he worked himself up, he sometimes made winning bickering matches almost too easy.

"I can't talk to you when you're like this!" Chrom threw his hands up not unlike a child before attempting to withdraw from the argument. Swinging his legs around the bench, he stood up and left his untouched food behind him.

Robin couldn't help but laugh, partially incredulously and partially from amusement. It was rare she got to see him reach a point where his stubbornness ran out.

"Like what, Chrom? Reasonable?" Leaving her seat as well, she followed her husband into their tent just on the edge of the common area. As they entered the relative privacy of their "room", she tried to reason with him from behind his back. "She likes a boy. It happens sooner or later."

"Yes, but why him, of all the boys in the world? In camp, even?" Chrom whipped around and gestured disappointedly in the direction of his daughter and her new... interest outside their doors. His face seemed less angry now as his blue eyes became tinted with a sadder, more vulnerable quality.

"She's such an incredible girl, Robin," he began, his expression softening – as it often did when it came to his daughter. He began pacing the room and waving his hands as he spoke, admiration and pride in his voice. "She left behind all she knew, she lead a country, she's almost able to beat me when we spar now – did you know that?"

"I did not," Robin replied simply, taken slightly aback by his sudden onset of enthusiasm.

"She deserves a prince!" Chrom declared with conviction. "Or – or a god!"

"She deserves whatever makes her happy." Robin took a cautious few steps towards her husband, carefully placing both hands on his shoulders as she moved in for her closing point. Her brown eyes bore into his as she said with finality, "Be that the god of all gods or her retainer."

Chrom had been beaten. He was far from won over, but nonetheless he released the tension in his shoulders and relaxed into his wife's hands, his head hanging and eyes closed in defeat.

Robin began once more, now speaking to comfort rather than to convince. "Listen to me, she loves you more than either of us can even fathom." Chrom stared into her widened eyes, his attention held.

It was true, he had no experience on which to base an understanding of love for one's father. From what he could remember of his own – a sword, a cape, a strong back leaving him behind to fight on another far off battlefield – all he ever felt was resentment and possibly hints of fear. Robin, on the other hand, remembered nothing at all of her father. However, knowing now who he truly was – the king of an enemy country, a worshiper of evil, and a man who lead an assassination attempt on Emmeryn – she felt nothing but hatred, disgust, and (like her husband) fear.

But Lucina loved her father; that much was clear to all. In her eyes, he was on the highest pedestal there ever was.

"No one will ever be able to take your place."

Chrom took a moment to stare into Robin's eyes, letting her word's sink in. She didn't blink or flinch; she was serious. How was it that she was always able to see straight through him to the core of his worries? More often than not, before he even realized what they were?

He let out a small scoff, the corners of his lips pulling upwards as his poor mood visibly melted away – slowly but surely. He lifted his hands to Robin's waist, gently resting them there as he began to take in the comfort of having her near. "You make me sound like an envious child."

"Well..." Robin's lips pursed as her eyebrows raised. Her point remained unspoken, but her face relayed every implication in her careful silence.

The prince's small smile morphed into an unamused smirk, and he replied with a lighthearted threat: "Just you wait until it's Morgan we're having to worry about! I have a sneaking suspicion your tune will change rather quickly."

"Oh, please. Morgan's practically an adult!" answered Robin. What reason did she have to worry about Morgan? It was only natural that he'd like a girl someday, she told herself. And when he did, Robin would be sure to behave maturely; doting and hovering did no good to grown boys. "He can do as he wishes."

"Morning!"

Robin's hands left the strategy board she'd been setting up at the table in the strategy tent, her demeanor visibly perking up. She and Morgan had taken to playing a tactical simulation game every morning over breakfast before their lessons, and she'd been setting up as she awaited his arrival. Upon hearing his greeting, her face had brightened considerably.

"Good morning, Morgan," she greeted him back with a smile that turned into a knowing smirk. "What traps are on the agenda for today? Should I check to see you haven't swapped the salt and sugar before I make my breakfast? Or perhaps you've swiped my wedding ring straight off my finger and have hidden it or me to find."

Morgan passed up his mother as she teased with him and headed straight for the chest of maps behind her. Gently, he rummaged through the many papers before stuffing one in the bag his shoulder.

Just thereafter, he was sure to turn around and pay Robin some attention with his usual chipper smile on his face. "Oh, nothing on the plan today!" he told her cheerfully before resuming his rummaging through the tent. Distractedly, he continued. "I was actually hoping we could maybe skip our tactics lesson today. Where is my canteen?"

"Skip...?" Robin blinked once or twice, quite thrown off by the notion. Morgan was normally so excited for their lessons... Not to mention, she'd just finished setting up their game. And what was that about needing his canteen? "Y-Your canteen? Morgan, why do you need your canteen? We're staying in camp today."

"I've gotta go out and find something for Nah." His voice sounded distant, almost as though he were hiding something from her. Worry began to grow in Robin's stomach; Morgan didn't lie to her. Not unless is was a prank of his.

"Find what?" she probed further. Her eyes narrowed in examination of her son, donning her 'threatening look of authority' she'd developed since becoming a mother. "How far are you going?"

"Ah! Found it!" Morgan temporarily disregarded his mother's question, hoisting a canteen into the air victoriously. As he lowered it and fastened it to his belt, he casually replied, "Not far. I'll be back before nightfall!"

Before Robin could protest or ask any further questions, the boy was heading outside in a rush. His purple robe flew behind him, followed closely by the flap of the tent and a call of, "Wish me luck!"

Robin chased after him for a few steps, her hand pushing the tent open as she called after her son. Though before he gotten too far, he'd turned around with an ear-to-ear smile. His mother froze, stopping just short of running into him.

She recognized the look on his face. It was giddy, excited, confident and somehow nervous rolled into one. She'd seen it before on his father when they were both a bit younger. "With one word, you've made me the happiest man in the realm." Her feet went cold. Somehow she knew what was coming before Morgan had even said it.

"I think Nah likes me."

She hadn't the chance to even say 'Oh' before he'd darted off again, off on a search for – as she could only assume – something to win over the girl he liked. And no matter how she tried to withstand it, her heart sank.

She stood in place for a short moment. She didn't know what else to do; she'd planned to be with her son for at least a few hours. Now, there lay a game set for two in the tent. She couldn't go back in there – it would just be too pathetic.

Before long, Chrom had approached her from the side. Robin hoped he hadn't seen too much, but from the gentle way he rested his hand on her arm and the look of sympathy on his face, she figured he'd seen almost everything.

"I'm fine," she said, though a lack of strength behind the words made them particularly unconvincing. "I told you, Morgan's... an adult. I'm fine."

There wasn't much ability to lie left in her, so she hoped Chrom would push the point no further. She just needed to concentrate on talking some sense into herself.

How could she be thinking like such a child? Had she not had this same discussion with Chrom less than a week past? She should take her own advice – just be happy for her son. He had found a sweet, young girl to spend his time with. One that wasn't his mother... Though, how young was Nah really? Manaketes looked younger than they were in reality... Oh gods, what if she was far older than Morgan? What if he couldn't handle the maturity?

Naga help her, she really was turning into a hovering mother...

For as well as Robin could deduce Chrom's worries at a glance, he could deduce her thought processes almost just as well. The slight pinch in her brow, the way she poised her jaw, the frown that would look disapproving if he didn't know her better... She was fighting off sadness, and he knew too well by now that she needed distraction, not discussion if she wanted to feel better.

"Come on." He placed an arm around her shoulders and grabbed her gloved hand with the other. Keeping his voice low and comforting, he told her, "I heard Stahl's cooked breakfast. There's bound to be something good to eat."

She looked up into his eyes, soft and kind, and allowed a halfhearted smile to grow on her lips. She grasped his hand a little bit tighter, and arm in arm they made for the common area to eat and move on with their day together. Though a pit remained in Robin's stomach, worrying about where her son was going – that day in particular and in the days to come as well.

All day, Robin fretted over Morgan, hoping he would be alright wherever he was. She went about her duties distractedly, one eye always remaining on the horizon and watching for her son to return. By now, the sun was setting. He promised he would be back by nightfall, but still there had been no sign of him. She shouldn't ever have let him go out on his own, no matter how safe the area was...

Morgan was a strong boy, Robin reassured herself. She had no doubt he'd be able to handle himself. However, forcing herself to get up and focus on something besides him was difficult. Distracting herself even as the sun went down was even more so. Eventually, she resolved to retire to her tent to wait with Chrom, knowing he'd be able to calm her down and get her mind off things as he'd done that morning.

The cool evening breeze blew over her sweat-covered comrades, all of them just having returned from their evening sparring rounds. She bid each of them goodnight with a wave as she made her way to her tent.

Though when she got there, she heard through the walls her husband's voice, enthusiastic as he spoke to an unknown someone.

"... and before I can even distance myself, she's opening the blasted thing!" he said enthusiastically, as if he himself almost couldn't believe the tale he was telling.

Robin awaited a response, which came quickly from a young woman. "Haha! She must've been quite confident in herself."

Lucina.

Robin hadn't heard much of her daughter's voice in the past few days, what with all the time she'd been spending with her new closest friend. The girl still insisted there was nothing between her and Inigo, but as of that moment, he'd been hearing from her more than her own parents. Robin simply smiled, glad Lucina was visiting her father, and she listened on. What could they have been talking about?

"Indeed," said Chrom, a slight chuckle in his voice. "And for her first spell cast, she completely obliterated that bandit in front of her. Even Frederick was shocked."

Somehow, this story was sounding awfully familiar. A smirk grew on Robin's face as she realized just what story her husband was telling.

"What happened then?" asked Lucina, her voice full of excited curiosity.

"Well, we managed to fight off the bandits," her father answered simply. "And the rest is history."

A short stall followed before Lucina demanded with a laugh, "You must tell me more than that!"

"You know the rest. You showed up yourself that very evening!"

"Only briefly! I left for Ferox the morning after my arrival. I missed almost everything!"

Robin herself thought back to the first night she'd spent with the Shepherds, how a mysterious warrior had fallen from the sky, how that same warrior wound up in the Feroxi Arena weeks later...

Now, she wanted to join in on the story-telling as well. Slowly, she peeled open the flap of the tent to see Chrom and Lucina seated across from one another, each sitting on a pillow near the double bedroll.

"You two wouldn't happen to be talking about me, would you?" she asked slyly as she entered the light of the lanterns within.

"Mother!" Lucina called, following her father's vision to see her mother and send her a smile.

"Do you mind if I join?" Robin was already heading over to the pile of blankets and pillows as she asked. She picked a spot in the middle, sitting down cross-legged with a pillow supporting her back.

"Not at all. Father was just telling me the story of how you two met."

With an amused smile, Robin cocked an eyebrow. "Really?" Such a story would be sure to get her thinking about something besides Morgan.

"This one finally beat me at a sparring match," Chrom explained, a proud smile on his face despite the defeated tone of his voice. "These were her terms."

"Haha! It was only a matter of time." With the how well their daughter fought in battle, both Chrom and Robin were surprised she hadn't beaten him long ago. Though both suspected she was merely dragging out their sessions all along in an effort to find more ways to spend time with her father. "How far did you make it in the story?"

Chrom answered, "We had just defeated the bandits in Southtown." Though Robin had already overheard as much, she pretended she hadn't been eavesdropping long enough before entering the tent.

"Ah," she replied, looking back fondly on the day despite the events in the village. That was the very day that defined the rest of her life. "That was when you invited me to join the Shepherds."

Lucina's eyes lit up with curiosity as she turned expectantly towards her mother. "What did you say?"

A low laugh escaped Robin's mouth as she answered in an obvious tone, "Well, clearly I didn't say no!" Though at her daughter's continued look which expected more detail, she continued honestly. "I said it would be an honor."

"Frederick was furious with me," Chrom said, unable to decide whether he found his statement funny or a troubling reminder of reprimanding. Likely, the memories of the knight desperately trying to talk sense into his liege were in themselves a mixture of humorous and harrowing.

"You did a good enough job of silencing him," Robin pointed out, reminding him of how he'd used insistence and put Frederick in his place. For Chrom, being younger and on one of his first real missions as prince, it had felt good to exercise his authority where it actually mattered for once. It felt even better in retrospect, knowing that it had brought him Robin.

The tale went on far past simply how Chrom and Robin had met, and the oil in the lanterns ran lower and lower with each passing hour. Night had long since officially fallen, but through the telling of the story, Robin had completely forgotten to worry about Morgan.

He came back two hours past nightfall, not a scratch on him, but a smile on his face as he found his way into his parents' tent.

"Wow are you guys still awake?"

"Morgan!" The conversation halted briefly as three heads turned to greet the youngest member of the family.

"I'm glad to see you made it home alright," said Robin, a tensity leaving her chest that she had forgotten was present. Finally, her muscles could all relax once more; he was alright. "Did you find what you needed?"

A blush – barely visible in the dim lighting – crept onto Morgan's face, accompanying a sideways smile not unlike his mother's. "Yeah..." he said bashfully as he made his way towards the group. He remained standing behind his sister's back as he asked, "What are we talking about?"

"Mother was just about to talk about Father's coronation," Lucina informed him over her shoulder.

"Ooh, can I listen too?!"

Robin removed the pillow from behind her back, beckoning her son to sit between her and Lucina. "Come," she patted the ground gently. "Sit down."

Morgan eagerly took his seat as Robin's voice continued, regaling the children with the story of the day Chrom became 'King' – though he was still referring to himself as Prince two years later. The subject of the story took over every few lines before passing it back to his wife. Lucina listened particularly intently, her eyes slightly wider and revealing her Brand. After a while, she began to feel drowsy and leaned on her brother's shoulder.

By the end of the story, caught up to the present, Morgan had fallen asleep on his stomach, head rested on his pillow. Lucina was quickly fading as well until her head finally rested on the back of her brother's shoulder and her arm draped across him protectively. The candles around them were burned down almost to their bases, and the moon had already traveled halfway across the sky.

"That's a good story," Robin whispered, careful not to wake up the sleeping children. She was met with a tired smile from the man leaning against her shoulder. "Don't you think?"

Chrom lifted his head and placed a kiss on his wife's cheek. "Definitely," he whispered with a smile. Gently and drowsily, they leaned their heads together, fighting sleep on one another's cheeks.

Robin laughed almost silently, almost giving into sleep herself. As she felt herself about to nod off, she was jolted back awake by the feeling of Chrom leaving her arms. She opened her eyes to see him reach behind them to the bedroll and take a blanket from the top. Drowsily, he shifted forward onto his knees to place it over Morgan and Lucina's sleeping figures.

A smile came to his face as he let the blanket fall, running his hand through Lucina's hair as he did so as though she were the most precious treasure the world had to offer - much as he did to his baby daughter at home in the palace. Robin smiled at the scene as well and stretched her fingers towards Morgan's sleeping head. Gently, she ran her fingers through his blue hair, eliciting a tired moan of confusion from him.

"Go back to sleep," she whispered, slowly drawing her hand back. Seconds later, his breathing deepened, and Chrom took his place at Robin's side once more.

Together, they observed their children – quiet, sleeping, and delicate for a change. As incredible as it was to see the might with which they could fight, seeing them relaxed and at peace (as children their age should be) was a lovely change of pace.

As Robin and Chrom leaned against one another and clasped their hands together, their thoughts went unspoken but understood. They met each other's eyes with smiles that calmed all their worries of the past few days. Come hell or high water, come dancers or manaketes, these children were born of the love between their parents, and that love had grown to extend between all four of them. That love would, through any timeline and any relationship, remain the strongest bond of all.

God I did everything short of end this with "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, and as long as I'm living my baby you'll be."