I totally did not miss posting this yesterday... nope of course not haha. Enjoy some Chrom!

/Zen

Chrom ran a hand through his hair. With Arkelle gone from the tent, he sunk down into his chair and exhaled heavily. He stared at the map without really seeing it. Black smudges of ink on his hands went unnoticed as well.

His arm tingled slightly from where she'd touched him, and he reached over with his opposite hand. Resting his fingertips over the spot, he was glad he'd sent her out.

He felt so many conflicting emotions right now. He wanted to kill Gangrel and avenge Emm. He wanted to scoop Arkelle up in his arms and take her away from here. The memory of their almost-kiss the day of the storm haunted him. He wanted to take her so far away they never had to think about war or Ylisse ever again. But he couldn't do that.

From a very young age he'd been taught he couln't run away from responsibility. Ylisse was his to oversee, and this was his war. Emm was his to avenge.

And he would avenge her.

He curled his hand into a fist over the arm of the chair and clenched his jaw. Yes, that much he could do, and he'd do his best to rule in a way she'd see fit. He knew she hadn't condoned violence, but sometimes there was no other way. Maybe if he was a better person, if he'd been more like her, maybe then he could see another way.

Right now, he wanted Gangrel's head on a platter. Or a stake, whichever was more convenient.

"Brother?"

He looked up and saw Lissa peeking through his tent flaps.

"Lissa, is everything alright?"

"I was going to ask you that," she said, stepping through. She tiptoed into the tent like she was stepping on eggshells.

"I'm fine," he told her, forcing a smile. She frowned.

"You can try to tell me that, but I'm not stupid. I'm actually pretty smart you know, even if I'm not very good at being a lady."

He laughed softly. "I know you're smart, and you will be a fine lady one day."

She wrinkled her nose and moved around the table, leaning back against it with her hands folded in front of her. She looked almost shy, but glanced up and met his eyes with a strength that surprised him. She'd grown up in the time she'd been gone.

"You can tell me what's wrong you know," she said. "I know that technically you're the one that will rule in place of Emm, but you'll need me. I want to help you."

"I don't want to burden you with-"

"You don't get to decide that," she said, cutting him off. Her blue eyes held an edge he wasn't used to. "You can't decide to protect me all the time. I'm going to get hurt," she added, reaching up to touch her shoulder, "and I'm going to worry just like you. But I can make it through. I'm made of stronger stuff than you might think, and I don't want you to do this all by yourself."

He reached out and took her hand, squeezing gently. "I know, I'm sorry. I do want to protect you – I want to keep you safe so that- "

"So that what happened to Emm won't happen to me?"

"That," he agreed, "and so that at least one of us is okay. But I know I won't be doing this all by myself. I have you and Arkelle and Sully and all the other Shepherds. I've got Frederick breathing down my neck," he added with a wink.

She giggled and he smiled back, relieved to see some of the seriousness gone from her face.

"We are lucky to have Arkelle," she said, "don't you think? Aren't you glad we found her?"

"Of course I am."

She looked at him slyly out the corner of her eyes. "Do you like her?"

Chrom couldn't hide his surprise. Had he been that obvious? He answered slowly, choosing his words. "I don't think that it's a good idea to –"

"You do!" she crowed, dancing on her toes and grinning. Her blonde hair bounced, brushing her rosy cheeks.

"Lissa!"

"I can tell! I can see it in your eyes."

"Lissa," he said again, waiting for her to calm down. "I like Arkelle, but... it's not like that. She is my tactician –"

His sister rolled her eyes. "That doesn't really matter."

"Nor to me, but it's also that... I believe she is not interested. And the battlefield isn't the right place for such things as declarations of love or marriage... It has little place here."

"This is where it has the most place!" she cried. "This is where you need to be reminded that you are surrounded by family and people that love you. You're the prince of Ylisse – how can she not be interested? Are you sure?"

"Lissa... trust me I am sure," he said, softening it with a smile. If she had wanted me, she wouldn't have looked so frightened the day of the storm. "And it is a good thing to have family around you and people you care about, but it is hard to remember you might lose any of them at any given moment. Out here... we're at war. Each battle brings us closer to the end, but it could easily be our end as well. Would you want to lose someone you just confessed to loving?"

"But if we don't know how much time we have left," she said quietly, "shouldn't you want to be honest? Shouldn't you want to tell the truth?"

He shrugged, sinking back into his chair. He suddenly felt very tired. "I don't know. I only know there are too many other things that need my attention. Right now... I need to focus on the fight with Gangrel. Maybe after that I can think about affairs of the heart."

She pouted for a minute then sighed. "I suppose you are right."

"Of course I am, I'm the older brother."

"Oh that doesn't mean a thing," she said, laughing.

"Does so."

"Does not!"

He smiled at her. "How's your shoulder by the way?"

"Totally fine. I don't know why you keep asking, it was just a little cut," she said. "And Gauis stitched me up good as new."

"Yes, he does have surprising talents doesn't he?"

She nodded, smiling absently. He raised an eyebrow, but she didn't seem to notice. Whatever she was thinking about, it had her full attention. A thief, hm? Chrom made a mental note to talk to Gauis and try to see what else he could find out about the candy-lover.

As for Arkelle... he valued her too much to press something she clearly did not want. They worked so well together and she had proven herself time and again. He trusted her, and if she was going to trust him they needed to stay friends. If her feelings changed... if they changed, he would be there with open arms.