Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem. Fire Emblem belongs to Intelligent Systems and Nintendo.
"We must fight this war on our own terms. You gave me this chance, and I'll not stand idly by. Now go!"
The world was darker than the underside of a raven's wing.
It was cold.
So very cold.
And her heart hurt.
So very much.
Robin crouched down and curled into herself, cradling her heart as though she could somehow ease the pain.
But no matter how hard she squeezed her eyes closed, she was haunted by the memory of Emm.
Emm's final smile.
The understanding glint in her eye.
Outlined in gold.
Flesh turning into light.
That melted into sparks.
That fell away into nothing.
Robin muffled her sobs as best she could. Emm had been right there! Both in Plegia and in the Mirror Realm. If she could have just stretched herself a little further, moved a little faster, then everything could have been all right.
But now . . .
How could she face the Shepherds?
The courtiers?
Him?
The image of his face came so clearly to her mind. As if she had only to extend her hand, just a little bit, and she could touch him. But just as she had nerved herself up to try, he, too, turned into sparks of golden light before vanishing as though he had never been.
The pain in Robin's heart throbbed harder.
Sharp and bright.
Bright and sharp.
Until she couldn't breathe.
She couldn't breathe!
Her eyes flew open as she gasped for air, hand clutching at the phantom pain burning in her chest.
She could make little out as the world had been blurred away by her tears, but though her heart had been on the verge of breaking, it now felt warm and protected.
"It's all right," Chrom murmured, stroking her hair gently. "I'm here."
Robin's breath shuddered through her as joy and elation fought with guilt and grief. He shifted his grip a little, holding her more securely as she frantically tried to remember how to breathe.
That place . . .
. . . It had seemed so real . . .
Gradually, she came fully awake. As the horror of her nightmare faded away, mortification soon took up residence.
Robin snuck a peak at Chrom, trying to gauge how much more her heart was going to break. To her surprise, while his eyes were slightly darker than usual, there was no accusation. No disappointment. No anger. No hatred. His gaze was soft, and he smiled at her.
"Awake now?"
She nodded, not quite sure what to do with herself.
"Good." His gaze deepened, and soon it was all she could see. "Because I've missed you. A lot."
By some sleight of hand or magic spell, Robin suddenly found herself in his arms. He still smelled of sunlight, and faintly of clover, and he also smelled of dust and stone.
But most of all, he felt like home.
At that thought, Robin's heart broke a little more. She tried to hold her breath, but despite giving it her best, her body still trembled with the tears she tried to keep from falling.
She swallowed hard, forcing her feelings into a tight little corner of her heart. Now was not the time. She had to be strong.
For him.
Chrom's hold tightened before he let go enough to look at her properly. His thumb brushed away her tears, which only served to make them fall faster. She clenched her hands into fists. She could not be weak now. She had no standing to cry.
So why did there seem to be no end to her tears?
"I had hoped you would be happy to see me," he said, his tone light. When he smiled at her, Robin forgot about her dignity. About her responsibilities. About her guilt.
She hugged him back then, as though she'd become an awkward appendage that stemmed directly from his heart.
He laughed. The sound chased away that last few remaining tatters of her nightmare. "Is it safe to assume that you are happy to see me too?"
Robin nodded as she buried her face into his shoulder. In that moment, though their separation had been short, the weight of all the longing she'd felt for him crashed down on her in a single, decisive wave.
No matter how much she cared for the others—even the Chrom-that-shall-not-be-named—they weren't hers.
They weren't home.
They weren't him.
He waited until she'd gained control over her emotions before he pulled away. His eyes, however, never left hers. "If I were to hazard a guess, I would say that it has been a while since your last meal."
Robin's gaze dropped as she fought to remember the last time she'd eaten anything. So far, she was coming up blank.
Great. Just . . . great.
Chrom shook his head before resting his forehead against hers. "We have a few hours before we need to report to the war council. Why don't we see about finding you a bite to eat?"
She swiped her sleeve across her face before shaking her head. I'm fine. For now, it's more important for you to fill me in—
His hands gently engulfed hers. The look in his eyes told her that she'd have an easier time convincing Sumia's demonspawn to be the best of friends than to talk tactics and strategies before she ate anything.
She huffed a sigh, but nodded.
Let it never be said that she never sacrificed for her country.
Chrom helped her to her feet. There was a moment there when the room spun a little bit, and it felt as though the floor beneath her was buckling and heaving, but her head managed to come to terms with gravity quickly enough.
For one terrible second, the memory of the nightmare raked its claws across her soul. Then she looked up to see Chrom smiling at her, even though he was frowning. In that moment, she found her footing.
"Why don't I see about bringing your meal to you?" His voice had softened, and time seemed to freeze as the world around her was swallowed in his gaze.
Robin had forgotten how beautiful his eyes were. The purest shade of blue.
Warm.
Kind.
The essence of home.
He in turn, made no sign of moving. Instead, the smile in his eyes deepened until she could almost feel his joy spilling over.
How? How could there be joy, and yet . . .
There were no words adequate to describe what she felt. Only that the empty place within her had been utterly and completely filled. The fears crowding inside her heart drew back and slunk away. Even if she were to forget everything once more, she had only to look in his eyes to find herself again.
"So, er, while this is . . . interesting and everything, your food's gonna get cold if we just keep standing here. Like brainless Risen."
Lissa's voice shattered the moment, and Robin's cheeks blazed accordingly. Lissa held a large basket that smelled wonderful, now that Robin had noticed it.
"When did you arrive?" Chrom asked, a light pink dusting itself across his cheeks. He blinked at his little sister as though she'd grown a second head.
Lissa made a face at him. "A while ago, but you two were too busy having the world's most boring staring contest."
Chrom laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck, looking everywhere and nowhere at once. "I wouldn't call it a staring contest, per se . . ."
Lissa snorted.
Robin hid her face in her hands.
At least there weren't any frogs this time around.
"Wait—that isn't what I meant! Staring at Robin isn't boring! At all!"
"Suuuure, Chrom." Lissa giggled. "Whatever you say."
"No, really! I—"
To spare them both a little embarrassment, Robin caught him by the arm and shook her head. One of the first lessons any tactician worth her salt learned was that arming your opponent was just stabbing yourself in the foot.
"You make this too easy, big brother." Lissa didn't even try to hide her glee as she handed him the basket. "But because I'm the best little sister in the whole world, and because I love you both so very much, I'll help you out just this once."
"Help us . . . how?"
Robin looked at Chrom with approval. He had finally learned how to be cautious and suspicious.
By way of answer, Lissa walked over and unlatched the window. "There's a long line of Shepherds and courtiers waiting to accidentally run into you the moment the two of you show your faces. You can either try your luck out there," she nodded toward the door, and then pushed open the window, "or you can take your chances out here."
It only took a glance for Robin to understand the situation. In all the princess tales she'd come across, the villains had a tendency to stuff the princess up in a remote tower somewhere precisely to put as much distance between the princess and the ground as possible.
Whoever had built the tower they were currently standing in had really outdone himself.
"Robin." The sound of her name on his lips suddenly warmed her—enough so that plunging to their deaths from a very high window didn't seem so bad after all.
He shook his head. "We'll figure something else out. Maybe a diversion of some sort . . ."
Robin drew in a deep breath. She'd fallen from taller heights before.
And survived.
"Chrom, you've met the courtiers, haven't you? And short of a full-fledged dragon, I don't think the Shepherds would be easy to trick."
She hadn't even thought twice when she'd used the Wind to fly up to—to try . . .
He frowned. "Maybe if we . . . Hmmm."
Robin shook her head. From the looks of things, neither Chrom nor Lissa had been sleeping well. And if she could give him a few more moments of quiet peace before the whole of Ylisse descended upon them, then she could do this.
For him.
She reached for the tomes she'd stashed in her belt, only to realize she was wearing a purple gown that matched the drapes flourishing across the windows.
In a room that was . . .
Well, it was purple, that's what it was.
As her fingers closed around nothing but air, her heart quivered. The belt didn't matter. She could always buy another. The same with the tomes. But the little packet Emm had given her . . .
Perhaps noticing her look of desperation, Lissa clucked something under her breath. She reached for the small table next to the bed. "It took three of us to pry this out of your hands," she said, holding out the packet to her. "Maribelle broke a nail over this, so I'd steer clear of her for the next little while."
Thank you! Robin sketched hastily. Her fingers curled around the packet as she waited for her heart to calm down enough so that her next bout of heroism wouldn't cause it to stop completely.
"Yeah, well, you owe me for that one." Lissa canted her head to the side. "I'd say you've got about ten seconds before . . ."
Right.
Robin swiped a Wind tome off the table, tucked the packet into her pocket, and grabbed Chrom's arm.
"Robin, what are you—what are you doing?" He shouted in surprise as she secured her arm around his waist and tipped them both out the window.
Her stomach flipped, and right when it was about to flop, she managed to call up a Wind strong enough to catch them and carry them safely down to the ground.
At least, that was the plan.
It turned out that having time to think about it hadn't really been all that helpful. In fact, she could only hope they were * gently * headed toward the ground since she'd squeezed both her eyes shut and couldn't find the courage to pry them open.
Down was good, right?
They were . . . going . . . down . . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
Right?
"Robin," Chrom murmured. "You didn't have to—ah! Tree!"
She only had time to brace herself before they crashed into something hard, leafy, and unforgiving.
It was only when she was certain they had "landed" that she was finally able to open her eyes.
Which had been a giant, colossal mistake.
They were nowhere near down. In fact, there were still a great many branches between them and down. They might have been pinned against the sky with an entire forest between them and down at the rate they were going.
"Robin," Chrom's voice was somewhere between winded and hoarse, "try not to move."
Oh no! Chrom! What if she had impaled him with the tree? Oh why—why!—hadn't she worked something out like a normal human being? She was fairly certain that normal people didn't hurl themselves out of windows of extremely tall towers simply to avoid running into people they were trying to avoid!
"Robin, hold very still. I'm going to try to—"
Something latched itself onto her arm. She startled, flinging her arm out reflexively. It was only after she'd upended herself that Robin realized Chrom had been trying to keep her from falling any further.
Just as she started to panic, his arm slipped around her middle, pulling her into him while he twisted around to bear the brunt of the tree's assault as every branch and twig whipped past them the rest of the way down.
Why, oh why, did every tree in Ylisse have to be so darn tall!?
They landed with a bone jarring thud. Chrom—and the basket, now flattened—had managed to cushion her fall somewhat. Even so, Robin felt as though she'd just fallen victim to a herd of stampeding wyverns.
For a long moment, both were too occupied with catching the breath that had been smashed out of them to do more than remain cautiously hopeful that they'd survived more or less intact.
Chrom groaned right about the time Robin realized she was sprawled awkwardly on top of him. This triggered another flurry of movements that caused every inch of her body to complain loudly and viciously.
In the end, the best she could do was to flop to the side of him like a thrice dead fish that hadn't quite caught on to the reality of its situation yet.
Chrom turned his head so he could look at her. "I can't believe you threw us out the window," he gasped, wincing with every syllable.
Robin felt as though her face had suddenly caught fire. After a few useless tries, she finally remembered that her voice didn't work in this realm.
She tried to sketch out an apology that didn't require much movement, but gave up halfway through. Where were the healers when they needed them?
"You actually threw us out the window," Chrom murmured.
A plausible explanation immediately worked its way across her fingers, only for her to stall midway through. Every word crumbled from her fingers into an incomprehensible heap. She couldn't exactly claim it was a mistake—even though she fervently knew that it was once she'd done it—because her actions had been deliberate.
She'd meant what she'd intended, and no amount of regret was going to change that.
Somewhere, she was quite certain, Frederick stood vindicated by his earlier impression of her. For how else could knocking the Prince of the Halidom, and future Exalt, out of a really high window be otherwise construed than a deliberate attempt on his life?
"You actually . . ." Chrom's expression rippled as he fought valiantly—and lost heroically—to hold in his laughter. ". . . the window . . . !"
Robin sat up, studying him down to the minutest detail. Had he perhaps hit his head against the trunk when they'd landed in the tree? She narrowed her eyes, but other than a few mild scratches, his head didn't seem to have suffered any injury. Although a person could become concussed without a gaping head wound or blood . . .
"And then . . . and then . . . the—"
Robin stiffened. Chrom was laughing so hard that his face had turned red and—were those tears? She frowned. Had the grief, the pressure, the loss, all become too much? Perhaps she ought to persuade him to come with her to the healers' ward.
"The tree!"
She froze, her eyes narrowed. Clearly he had lost his mind if he dared to bring up the tree. The fact that he was wearing their picnic did nothing to lend itself to his dignity either.
And yet . . . He was the Prince of the Halidom. She had a duty to make certain he was all right. Even if he had brought up inconsequentials like trees.
What if he was really hurt?
Right as Robin had decided to seek out a healer just in case, Chrom wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. He nestled his cheek against hers and breathed in deeply.
"I'm sorry," he murmured, his words buzzing in her ears, making her heart feel as though they had just jumped out of another window. "I've just missed you so much, and now that you're finally here, it's as though a great weight has been lifted from me."
The careful facade she'd created cracked. Robin's fingers curled into her palm as she forced back the fire she could feel building in her throat and the corners of her eyes. She had to be strong. Had to help him get through this, though she could never repay him all that he had lost on her watch.
After they dealt with the Mad King . . . Well, she really didn't dare to think about the after, so she bent her focus upon the here and now.
Chrom sighed, resting his chin against her shoulder. "I don't even really remember the journey from that abandoned village in Plegia back into Ylisse. But it was the thought of your return that helped me put one foot in front of the other. I had to make it back home for you. That is a promise I could never break."
Robin's lips trembled as a sheen of tears she'd promised not to cry obscured her vision. If he had reprimanded her, shouted at her, named and recounted every one of her failings—past, present, and future—she could have remained an impenetrable mountain.
But she had no defenses against his gentleness.
"When you appeared so suddenly, I thought I had lost you." He tightened his hold a little, and she could feel the thump of his heart against her back. "I honestly don't know what I would have done if that had been the case."
Robin wanted to scrub the tears from her traitorous eyes, but she didn't dare move. They still had a war to win. Chrom needed the strength of his people more than anything else right then. He couldn't falter, not now, which meant she couldn't either.
"You know, whenever you're trying to hide how you really feel, your ears give you away."
He chuckled when Robin slapped her hands over her ears and turned her head to glare at him, only to realize too late that by turning to him, she'd exposed herself.
"No, really, they do." He brushed his thumb against her cheeks, carefully collecting every tear. "When you're embarrassed, they turn bright red. When you're plotting something, the right ear always sits a little higher than the left. When you're happy, your ears smile. And when you're sad, they droop down."
Even if Robin hadn't been using her hands at the moment, she would still have been struck speechless. How long had he been staring at her ears when she wasn't paying attention?
More importantly, of all things, why her ears?
"What?" Chrom's gaze softened. "It's true."
Well, you do the same thing, but with Falchion. Robin shivered at the memory of Falchion in the Mirror Realm. Which was odd, as that one hadn't been the Falchion who'd run her through.
For some reason, Chrom's smile widened as though she'd handed him all the keys to the kingdom. "Really?"
She nodded, doing her best to fight the pull of his gaze. The more she looked, the more she wanted to keep looking. And the more she kept looking, the more the world around her disappeared until all that was left was him.
It was just that after all that had happened, after her heart had broken into a million pieces, looking at him—and being able to see into his soul—well, it was the first time she'd felt such peace in a long while.
But if she didn't look away, then she'd be in danger of losing all sense of her surroundings. Chrom needed people who were level-headed. People who could think ahead. People he could rely on to lead him to victor—
It took a moment for Robin to realize that Chrom had pressed his lips against hers. That he wasn't really looking at her anymore, because his eyes had closed, which was only normal. She didn't think she'd ever come across any illuminations of people kissing with their eyes open.
Wait.
Kissing.
They were . . . kissing!
Robin pushed away from him as her mind caught up with the magic fizzing against her lips and unleashing a whole swarm of dracoflies in her heart.
Two whole swarms.
Chrom's eyes fluttered open, but they looked on the verge of closing again any second.
She couldn't let that happen. Robin caught him by the sleeve to get his attention. We, we can't right now.
He brushed a few stray hairs off her face and tucked them behind her ear. "Technically, being engaged does allow us to take some license—"
Robin waved her hands frantically. But—but the war. We've got to go plan the war. And then fight the war. Hopefully win the war—
"Robin." Chrom gently took her hands in his. The intensity of his gaze drew in her attention and kept it there. "You're right. There is a war going on. A great many things are happening—some good, some ill—all around the Halidom. I want to, when you're ready, talk about what is behind each and every tear you've cried. But for now, this very moment, I just want to be happy in the knowledge that you've finally come home. That you're safe and sound. That you're here with me."
He paused then, looking deep into her eyes as though searching for her permission to continue. Her head went all wobbly, but she managed to nod.
"The moment we head back, we won't just be Chrom and Robin anymore. We'll be general and tactician, the visible representation of the hope of Ylisse. We won't be able to put each other first then. There won't be any time to just . . . be. So I want to treasure this moment. I want to just be you and me. I want to tell you how much I love you—how much I've missed you. And honestly? At the moment, I don't want to talk anymore. There will be plenty of time for that later."
Robin nodded again, trying to sort out the bewildering array of dracoflies that were doing a very fast polka across the boundaries of her heart. Despite common sense shrieking at her to insist on focusing on the important things, she shoved those concerns aside in favor of focusing on the most important things.
Or, in this case, person.
Unable to tell, or care, if she was breathing or not, Robin nestled herself into Chrom's side. Because she might as well go for a goose and a gander, she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head right above his heart. The steady rhythm calmed her almost as much as looking into his eyes did. She closed her eyes and let out a happy sigh. Fine, they would talk later. The quiet, in his arms, was most definitely a fine alternative.
"I think," Chrom gently lifted her chin, "I wasn't clear enough."
Robin had time enough to open her eyes in confusion before he pressed his lips against hers once more.
Oh, so that's what he—
He shifted slightly to get a better hold, deepening the kiss in the process. Robin felt a moment of panic as the world faded away completely—and she didn't. Mind. At all.
But Chrom proved most persuasive, and her cares and concerns quietly flitted away until all that was left was her.
And him.
And an uncertain future filled to bursting with wonder and sweet anticipation.
(And dracoflies.)
A/N: Author: Bwahaha ha! *sits down and settles in* So, here's what we've got to do with this chapter: they come, they laugh, they cry, they get ready for the war. We've got this! It's going to be beautiful! *conjures up some tissues*
Characters: *reading the script* . . . . . . . o.O
Author: All right. So, the dream's been drafted in, now comes the heart rending moment when Robin [REDACTED] and then Chrom [REDACTED]! It's going to be awesome!
Characters: . . .
Author: The *feels!*
Characters: *quietly approach author with rope, a blindfold, and some cheesecake.
Author: And then we do *this* and then-wait! What's happening?! Why are you all-murphle mimphle meemful!?
Characters: *quietly drag author away*
Reflet: *sighs* I'm so sorry you had to see that. *shrug* She, uh, she doesn't get out much. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I mean, work with what you've got, right? She'll get there. Eventually. (I think.)
O.O
Aaaand that is why this chapter is radically different from what I thought it was going to be. I thought this would have been the perfect opportunity for the two of them to get some closure over Emm.
Ha.
I'd forgotten that out of the two, Chrom was the more romantic one *flashbacks to Awakening DLC* and the one most likely to initiate the kissing. Even if they're in the middle of a battle.
Especially if they're in the middle of a battle. O.O
So, Chrom. He's not going to push for information. He's really missed Robin, and has been worried after her. The last thing he's going to want to do is head back to another *urgent* war council. As for Robin . . . So, Robin hasn't really yet figured out what the presence of dracoflies careening through her chest means. I never thought I would see the day when *Chrom* is the more astute when it comes to relationships, but here we are. :p *has horrible(ly hilarious) flash forward of Robin trying to flirt back in the future after she-thanks to Sumia-has done the requisite research necessary* o.O
After staring at a painfully blank screen, then trying to entice it with more words and failing miserably, I eventually figured out that I needed to get out of my own way and just let Robin and Chrom be who they are.
Also, I wanted to have a lighter chapter this time around. One that wasn't full of duty and obligation and life and death. I wanted it to be filled with light and fluff and wonderful stuff to make the aforementioned responsibilities all worth it.
Because I take after Robin in the romance department, I apologize for the cheesey (cake) ending. It could have been worse. *clears throat* It actually was a lot cheesier originally. .
As for now, I hope you enjoy-and continue to enjoy-the story! Thank you so much for stopping by! Have a great week, for in the next chapter we smite! (Or are at least a lot closer to smiting a certain Plegian king than we were here. :p)
Daisy Party: Aww, thank you very much! Heehee, I'm really, really happy that Chrobin are finally back together! I hadn't realized how much I'd missed that particular dynamic. Having Reflet underfoot is definitely going to be *interesting* I can almost feel Frederick's migraine from here. :p
RoastedButter: *snicker* I bet Anna could come up with a way to monetize Emm & Emms. :p I wouldn't say fated, exactly. This was an Emm decision rather than an authory conclusion. Emm, being who she was, was always going to choose to sacrifice herself whenever she felt it was necessary. This happened when she was a child and was crowned the Exalt, and it happened here in a more literal sense. Now, because of how the realms work (which will all be thoroughly examined in the Robin Arc) and Robin's unrecognized abilities, by saving her the way she did, Emm would not be able to keep on living for very long. If any of the other mages had pulled off Robin's desperate rescue attempt, things would have worked out differently. The author part of me really hopes Robin doesn't ever even think in this direction, because she already feels horrible enough for not being able to save Emm, but I have a feeling it'll be brought up sooner or later.
Re: Risen Chrom: Yes, very close. His reasons are entirely sound for pursuing the path he's chosen. This Chrom has been there. He knows how it ends. And he knows why Robin succumbed to Grima. He knows what she's become, and he is doing all in his power to spare her that fate. The silly boy just misses the very obvious fact that not a single Robin is ever going to go along with his plan. And her being the tactician of the two . . .
Haha! No worries. The Mirror Realm is definitely a mirror realm in more ways than one. :D I'm looking forward to more Chrobin fluff as well! O:)