One Year

Morgan was not happy. Cordelia knew that much as soon as she stepped inside the shop. For once, the girl did not rush towards her when their eyes met. Morgan only stared at her with gloomy eyes for a few seconds before she went back to moping on the couch.

"Welcome. Here, let me take your stuff." Robin came out of the back room and gestured a hand to her.

Cordelia thanked him as she handed her bag to him. "Something wrong with Morgan? Did you two have a fight or something?"

"Hmm? Oh, don't mind her, Her best friend had to move to a different town. Today was his last day at school. The usual?" Robin was already behind the counter, taking out a pair of cups and plates from the shelf.

"Sure." Taking a seat in front of the counter, Cordelia nodded. "Can't say I blame her though. It sucks when your friend disappears for no reason in the middle of the year."

"No, you don't get it." Robin placed a cup of coffee in front of her, and rotated the plate so the handle would be at her right side. "Today was his last day at school."

Cordelia frowned at Robin's weird emphasis on the gender of Morgan's friend. It took a few sips of coffee before a bulb lighted in her head. She chuckled. "She's broken heart? Aww, poor baby. You need to talk to her. First break up is the worst."

Robin frowned. "Why would I want to do that? Look at her. She's quiet."

"Robin…"

He shrugged. "She ignored me earlier. I'll try again later."

"Maybe I should talk to her?"

"Yeah, no. I don't think that's a good idea. Remember the last time you were heartbroken?"

"Hey, cheapshot. It'll just be two girls talking. Nothing fancy. I promise"

Robin stayed silent for a moment before he finally gave in. "Go ahead. Just don't tell her she can move in with him or anything."

"They're six."

"Kids grow up fast these days."

"Clearly not fast enough. I'm gonna need two hot chocolates, and maybe some cakes."

"You said nothing fancy."

"Chocolates aren't fancy, it's tradition."

"Want me to put marshmallows in them?"

"They're not gonna get in by themselves."

Rolling his eyes, Robin went back behind the counter and took out two large mugs with cats motifs on them.

Morgan grabbed a hold of her and buried her face on Cordelia's laps as soon as she sat beside her. Cordelia smiled as she gently patted the girl's head. "I heard what happened. Are you okay?" Rubbing her face on her skirt, the girl moved her head left and right a few times. "Hey, don't be like that. You're a big girl now. Big girls don't cry. Come on, get up. Look at me." Reluctantly, Morgan looked up towards her. Her eyes were red, and her nose wet. Cordelia reached for the tissue on the table in front of them, wiped the girl's eyes and asked her to blow her nose. "There, better?" Still looking at Cordelia, Morgan shook her head.

Cordelia chuckled, and flipped the girl over so she would sit properly on her lap. Resting her chin on the girl's head, she squeezed her in a tight hug and rocked bodies to the left, and to the right as she hummed Morgan's favorite song. "The boy that moved today, is he nice? Do you like him?"

Morgan nodded. "He hates me."

"Don't say that. You know he doesn't."

"Then why did he leave?"

Smiling gently, Cordelia took another piece of tissue and wiped Morgan's eyes. "I'm sure he wouldn't if he had a choice, but that's what happens in life sometimes. Suddenly not being able to see someone you love is hard, but the most important part is, we learn something from this. That's how we grow up."

Morgan pouted. "Then I don't want to grow up."

"You may not want to, and you may not realize it when it happens, but it will come all the same. And one day, you'll stop for a moment and look back to this day, and see how far you had walked. Then, you will know how much you have grown today."

Morgan only stared at her, eyes wet and brows pushed together in confusion. Cordelia smiled and kissed the girl on top of her head. "Maybe someday you'll grow up enough to understand… so until then you can just come to me whenever you feel this way. And I just have the right thing for these kinds of days. Come on."

Morgan nodded and followed in silence.

Robin was on the phone when they reached the counter. He smiled. "Good timing. Mo, here. Someone wants to talk to you."

Frowning, Morgan looked at the phone in Robin's hand for a moment, before finally saying just one word. "Granny?"

"Not exactly."

Her frown went deeper from Robin's answer, but she took it regardless. Her face went brighter as soon as she said hello. Finally smiling, she looked at both Robin and Cordelia for a moment, before dashing back to the couch with the phone glued to the side of her head.

"Is that who I think it is?"

"Yup."

Cordelia sighed, and lightly punched Robin on his shoulder. "Seriously? All it takes is just one phone call?"

"I told you, she ignored me earlier. Anyway, since she's gonna be busy for quite some time now," he handed her a mug filled to the brim with hot chocolate and chunks of melted marshmallow, and clinked it with his own. "Cheers."

Cordelia rolled her eyes, and took a sip as she looked at Morgan, smiling.

She spent the rest of the day listening to Morgan's stories about her friend, until the last of the customers walked out of the shop and Robin flipped the card hanging at the door backwards. Today was the end of the month, and as usual, Robin needed to do the inventory. Cordelia decided to help, which Morgan took as an offer to play instead. The girl giggled as she ran around the store and stacked the cans of milk into pyramids and re-arranged the bags of coffee beans they had piled on the counter. She stopped when she saw the boxes of chocolates Robin put at the end of the counter.

"No."

She pouted and buzzed her lips when Robin firmly told her, and dragged Cordelia from her side of the shop with the cans of mixed fruits and sweetened juices. They had to take turns watching Morgan just so she won't waste their efforts as the evening turned to night and the risk of them doing it all over again was getting higher, until finally Morgan decided to drop to the floor in the middle of the shop.

Robin let out a relieved sigh and picked the girl up. "Sorry. Why don't you take a break for a bit. I'll come back in a few minutes."

"Don't worry about me. I'll just finish this stack and rest. Take all the time you need with her."

Robin smiled and nodded, before going to the back room with the sleeping Morgan over his shoulder. Cordelia waited for both of them to disappear beyond the door before returning to her unfinished task. She counted the boxes of napkins on the counter, searched for the name on the list in her hand, and put a check mark at the end after making sure the quantities matched. Finished, she did exactly what she told Robin she would do.

Resting her face on the cold marble counter, Cordelia found it hard to keep herself awake. She drifted in and out of her consciousness, and was engulfed in total darkness, only to jump with a scream when she felt something slithering around her neck.

Robin was looking at her, with a startled look on his face and a blanket raised half-way to his chest.

She sighed. "Sorry. You kinda scared me there."

"Pretty sure that's my line." He went ahead and draped the blanket over her shoulders. "Something to drink?" He was about to move back behind the counter when she grabbed his hand instead.

"Wait… stay? Just for a little bit?"

He smiled and took the seat right next to her.

Cordelia offered one end of the blanket to him and rested her head on his shoulder. He took her hand in his, and gently rubbed her palm with his thumb. They did not say a word, only content with enjoying each others' warmth in silence.

It could be ten, fifteen minutes later when Robin spoke. "You know, I still have some cleaning to do, or we'll be here all night. And you still need to work tomorrow." Cordelia nodded, and started to open her mouth when he stopped her. "Enough. Rest." He went to the back of the counter, brought out a piece of strawberry shortcake and poured her a cup of warm cocoa. He pointed to them before grabbing a broom and went outside.

Cutting into the cake with a fork, Cordelia couldn't help but smile when she remembered the night they first met. She was an idiot. Thinking back, she refused to believe she actually downed a bottle of hard liquor by herself just because someone she had a crush on had gotten married. That was definitely the stupidest thing she had done for a crush. A crush. Chrom being engaged to her best friend aside, they never even had a proper conversation before. She didn't realize it earlier when Robin said it, but being able to joke about the day her heart shattered, without feeling like burying herself was something she never imagined would finally come.

And it was all thanks to Morgan.

Morgan. The sweet little girl that seemed to never forget how to smile. The girl that would just run straight to where she wanted to go, ignoring anything not caught in her eyes. The girl that would come banging on her door whenever she would lock herself in. Cordelia couldn't help but wonder, had she met Morgan before Chrom married Sumia, would the girl's energy rubbed on her like it had now? Would she be able to ignore Sumia, and at least get Chrom to notice her? Or to actually bring her feelings out, and finally confessed? She shook her head lightly, taking control of her thoughts. If that did happen, this past year would never happen. She wouldn't change it for anything.

It would be about a year now since Robin stumbled on her, drunk, miserable, and was literally about to spill her guts out. A lot could happen in a year. And a lot did happen. She got promoted at work, which came with more responsibility and not enough raise. Sumia gave birth to a healthy baby girl last week, when Cordelia finally had a real conversation with Chrom, and was able to be truly, genuinely happy for the couple.

She was halfway through her cake when the door to the backroom creaked open and out came Morgan, dragging the white bear she got her. Through closed eyes, Morgan moved her head to the left and right, as if the surrounding was visible to her. Cordelia smiled, and went over.

"Hey, what's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?" Morgan looked up at her, and shocked her head. Through the tiny slits on her eyelids, Cordelia could actually catch the glimpse of the girl's brown eyes. "Do you need to go to the bathroom?" Morgan nodded, as she groggily rubbed her eyes. "Daddy's busy. Come on. You can go with me." She gently pried the white bear out of Morgan's arm, and put the girl's hand inside her. She waved to Robin as they walked right in front of the door, and pointed towards Morgan and the bathroom.

He just smiled and nodded.

Five minutes before the alarm would sound, Cordelia already found herself turning it off. Lately, she seemed to be able to wake earlier than usual. Sometimes even fifteen minutes earlier than her phone. She stretched for a few minutes, prepared herself for work, and went to the kitchen to fix some breakfast. She had a sip of the hot coffee, and was about to bite into the toast when the door to the master bedroom opened, revealing Robin and Morgan, still in their pajamas.

"Good morning," she said to the awestruck Morgan at the entrance of the kitchen, staring at her with a questioning look. Of course, it wasn't long before the girl found her smile again, and rushed towards her.

"Are you here to play? We can color together, or we can go to the park. Let's go to the park!"

"No, no coloring, and no park. You have school today."

Morgan pouted and stared at Robin for a moment, before coming closer and rested her face on Cordelia's lap. "Cordy…"

"I'm sorry, Morgan, but I'm with him on this one. You don't want to abandon all your friends at school, right?" Morgan's pout became longer, and her frown deeper as she gave her a frustrated look. "Hey, don't be like that," she broke off a piece of her toast, fed it to Morgan, and patted her head. "I'll come back right after I finish with work today. How does that sound?"

Morgan nodded. "And you'll stay," she said in-between chewing.

"You know you don't have to keep saying yes, right?"

Cordelia pondered for a moment, and shrugged. "Sure, why not. Tomorrow's the weekend anyway. Uh-oh, look at the time. I'm sorry, Morgan, but I need to go now, or I'm gonna be late."

With the frown still on her face, Morgan followed Cordelia to the front door, with Robin right behind them. Cordelia lowered herself to Morgan's height and pushed both edges of the girl's mouth upwards. "Today won't be long, I promise. You go to school, read your books, play with your friends, and you'll see me again soon after, okay?"

Morgan only nodded in silence, only for Robin to groan behind them. He scooped her in his arms and brought her upwards. "Go, or you'll really be late today."

Cordelia gave them one last smile, and waved her hand as she walked away from their apartment. Morgan was still looking at her with the frown and pout on her face, so Robin just took her hand inside his, and waved back.

So, how's everyone doing? Hopefully staying safe in this hard(?) time. Sorry this one took so long. Enjoy.

BTW, what do you think about the cover art. That's all I could manage for now. It was supposed to be a lot wider, but I screwed up Cordy's face, so...