Author's note: This story takes place sometime after Noire and Morgan are recruited.
Parental Advice
It was an average day in the Ylissean army and most of the shepherds were busy training to improve their skills for the upcoming battles. This meant that the army's camp was filled with the sounds of clashing swords, screeching wyvern and magical incantations.
As the soldiers steeled themselves for the war, their tactician Robin was sitting inside his tent at his desk working on strategies as always. To some the tumult going on would be way too distracting to work properly, but Robin had been with the shepherds for long enough to be able to mentally fade out the noises from outside.
His mind was completely captured by his books, ignoring all of the sounds of the battling soldiers, when suddenly someone stormed loudly into his tent, making him jump up in shock.
"Hey father, what are you doing and can it wait for a minute? I want to ask you something."
Robin would recognize this cheery voice anywhere. Morgan, the younger one of his two children, had just entered his tent, as energetic and lively as always. He turned around to see a big smile on his daughter's face.
"Well, I was working, but of course I will gladly answer your question." Robin answered, though after a moment of thinking he added. "Unless this is about borrowing my tomes for your stacking games again, in which case the answer is no, you can't have them."
Morgan giggled, presumably thinking about the last time she built a tower of books.
"No, it has nothing to do with that. You see, there is this boy that I'm interested in, but even though I have already spent a lot of time with him, he seems oblivious to the fact that I like him. I thought that you as master tactician would have some tips when it comes to strategies in love. What do you think I should do?"
Robin was slightly taken aback by this. He would have never expected Morgan to ask him a question about boys, let alone in such a direct and casual manner.
"You are interested in a boy? Do you mean that in a romantic sense?" He asked, trying to make sure he had understood her correctly.
"Well of course, what else could I mean? Now tell me father, what do you think is the best way to make him my boyfriend?" Morgan asked eagerly. Once again, her casual tone surprised Robin. To him romance was something very intimate and private, so hearing Morgan talk about this in such a nonchalant way was a bit off-putting for him. She must have gotten this from her mother.
"Make him your… Don't you think you are a bit too young to have a boyfriend yet? Maybe you should wait a few years before you start dating anyone." Robin said, unsure how he should approach this situation that he had suddenly found himself in. This was all going a bit too quick for him.
"Why? We don't even know how old I really am so how can you even say that I'm too young? Besides, Noire has a boyfriend and I don't see you telling her to wait." Morgan argued.
"That is because Noire is clearly older than you." And also, because Noire can be very scary and I don't want to anger her, Robin added in his head. Though he felt it was better to not let his daughter know about this.
"She is not that much older." Morgan replied a little grumpy.
"I'm just very concerned for you. While I am often impressed by your intelligence and creativity, you also tend to have poor judgmental skills at times. I mean, how can you know if this guy is even the right one for you? I think that it would be better if you wait until you matured a bit, so that you can make more clear-headed decisions."
"I can be mature. I just need to put on my serious face and then I can make very clear-headed decisions. I already know that I am in love, I just don't know how to approach this situation properly. That's why I need some advice."
"Love is such a strong word… Say, what's his name anyway?" Robin asked in an attempt to change the subject a little bit. Gaining more information about Morgan's love-interest would be very beneficial for him in this discussion.
"You know what? I think I don't want to tell you that. You are acting very strange today, father. I fear that if I tell you, you will end up sending him into the front-lines." Morgan said with a stubborn expression on her face.
"So it is someone from this army." Robin concluded, making Morgan gasp, as she realized that she had given away more information than intended.
"But Morgan, do you really believe that I would risk the life of one of our soldiers just because my daughter has a crush on him?"
"No, but I also believed that you would be supportive when I ask you for help, but instead you act as if you have no trust in me at all. I can make my own decisions and I can take care of myself!"
Robin had never seen Morgan so annoyed. It was making him almost a little uncomfortable, but he still tried to explain himself.
"It's not that I don't trust you to make your own decisions…" He stopped and thought. Technically, that was exactly what was going on. Morgan had a tendency to not think things through, which could occasionally end badly for her and / or the people around her. He wasn't sure if he wanted her to dive into something as complicated as love with her current mindset.
While Morgan continued to glare at him with a frustrated expression, Robin struggled to explain himself to her. "Look, I just don't want you to do something that you might regret later."
"But if I want to start dating someone, then I have to take action now. I can't just sit around and wait for the opportunity to pass and if you don't want to help me, then I will just do this on my own." With that Morgan stomped out of her father's tent angrily, glancing one last time at him before leaving completely. Robin considered calling after her and telling her to come back, but decided against it. She seemed unusually mad at him and currently he didn't know what to say to calm her down, so maybe it was smarter to let her go let off some steam and then attempt to talk to her again a few hours later, when they both had collected their thoughts some more.
The tactician tried to return to his strategy-book, but thoughts about his daughter still lingered inside his head.
Morgan stomped through the camp, missing her signature smiling expression. She was angry at her father for being so overprotective, but at the same time she felt awful for being mad at him. Why has she gotten so furious? Even she herself was a little surprised by that. She and her father had always worked together so well and they had always understood each other perfectly. She didn't remember them ever getting into an argument before, so the fact that they disagreed with each other so drastically just now, made her feel a bit down.
But she needed to keep looking forward. If her father wouldn't help her out, then she should try to get advice from someone else and she already knew exactly who that someone would be. Morgan managed to find her smile her again and started looking for her mother.
The young tactician considered where she could be at this time of the day. She knew that her mother spent the vast majority of her free time either clinging to father or doing magical experiments (or both), so seeing how father had been alone just now that meant that mother must be working on her hexes somewhere.
This meant that the most likely place for her to be was near the tent where the shepherds kept all of their magical inventory. Tharja was basically responsible for managing and organizing all magical items that the shepherds used. A task that she had taken from Robin at some point after their marriage, so that he would have less work to do.
When Morgan reached the tent, her assumption was confirmed. She found her mother inside, mixing some kind of potion in a big cauldron in front of her. The red liquid was steaming, filling the tent with an unpleasant smell. A few very small eyeballs were swimming in the potion and Morgan could have sworn that she had seen a tentacle popping out of the brew for just a moment.
She managed to tear her eyes from the strange concoction, as she remembered the reason why she was here in the first place. Morgan turned to the dark mage, who had still not noticed her daughter's presence and announced herself. "Hey mother. You look like you would just love to answer a few questions that I have for you."
"Not really, but I get the feeling you are going to ask them anyway." Tharja answered without looking up from her cauldron, making Morgan question whether she really didn't notice her before or if she simply didn't acknowledge her presence.
"I thought you could help me get the attention of a guy that I'm interested in. I wanted to ask father, but he is acting very obnoxious for some reason, so I came to you for help. Surely you can tell me how you won father's love." Morgan explained with a hopeful expression.
Now her mother finally decided to look up from her work and into her daughter's puppy-eyes. She seemed surprised at Morgan's words, but the young tactician couldn't tell for sure, since her mother's facial expressions were very hard to read. "I don't think that I am really the most qualified person to ask for help. Honestly, I have no idea how I won your father's affection. I tried so many different things… Not everything always worked and it's hard to say what did and what didn't." Tharja explained in a dismissive tone, but Morgan was not ready to give up just yet.
"Then just tell me about everything you did. I have time."
Her mother rolled her eyes, but she complied. "Fine, I guess I can briefly go over a few things that I did to get your father's attention. But I can't guarantee that anything I tell you, will help you in any way." She took a moment to remember her early relationship with her husband. "Let's see, at first I simply tried observing him. I studied his every movement, memorizing each detail about his behavior no matter how insignificant. I even watched him while he slept."
While her mother was talking, Morgan had pulled out a notebook and started writing down notes about her mother's advice.
"So, I am supposed to get as much information about my crush as possible? Makes sense. It actually reminds me of one of the most important rules of being a tactician. Knowing your opponent is the key to victory! Father taught it to me, when we were studying war-strategies together. But I am sure that these rules apply to romances as well, right mother?"
"Uhh… I guess?" Tharja said, clearly having no idea what Morgan was talking about.
"Anyway, after I had a private conversation with your father, I realized that simply observing him is not going to help me in the long run. This is why…"
The dark mage's story was interrupted by a wet plopping sound and Morgan noticed that a tentacle had fallen out of the cauldron and was winding itself on the ground as if it was trying to escape. Tharja simply picked it up and threw it back into the red liquid without a word, then she continued as if nothing has happened.
"Well anyway, after just observing him for so long, I figured that the next best step for me would be to try being normal and acting like everyone else. I thought that this was what Robin wants, but I can already tell you that trying to be normal doesn't work. All I ended up doing was pretending to be someone I was not and that didn't help me at all. I advise you to just stick to being you and don't try to be someone else."
"Well, that one is easy. I'm awesome at being myself. What else did you do?"
Tharja sighed. "You really are very persistent with this, aren't you? I'm honestly surprised that you of all people need help to get someone's attention. You never seemed like the type of person who struggles with making friends. I have seen you interact with the other shepherds. Everybody loves you. You are probably the most popular person in this army."
"Oh, that's very nice of you to say, mother." Morgan thanked her, while blushing a little. It was true that she made friends with almost everyone in this army, but she had never considered the thought that she might be the most popular person here,
"I'm not being nice. I'm just stating facts." Tharja clarified.
"I still think it's nice, so thank you for the compliment. But anyway, even if I made a lot of friends, I don't have any experience with making guys fall in love with me. You meanwhile managed to do it at least once, so that makes you more experienced by default."
"I feel like there is a flaw in your logic somewhere, but I guess I can spare a few more minutes for you."
"Yay!" Morgan readied her pencil, knowing that she would take advantage of every minute she could get. Her mother was being much more cooperative than her father, which was very unusual, but she was happy that at least someone was helping her.
After he had finished studying the content of his newest strategy-book, Robin decided that it has been enough time for Morgan to calm down a bit and that he should start looking for her. Their conversation earlier had ended in less than ideal terms and he hoped that Morgan has had some time to think about what he had said, so that they could talk about the subject again. Hopefully with a better conclusion than last time.
While trying to find out where his mischievous daughter was hiding, he stumbled across Tharja, who seemed very pleased to see him.
"Hello my love, you are just the person who I was looking for. I have a little request for you."
"Uh… Can your request maybe wait a few minutes? I am a little busy right now and I really need to find Morgan. Do you have any idea where she could be?" Robin asked.
"She came to me about an hour ago and asked for advice on getting some guy's attention. You know that I am not really good with that sort of stuff, so I simply told her about all the things that I tried to get your attention before we married." Tharja explained. Robin's heart nearly skipped a beat when he heard that.
"You did what!? Where is Morgan now?!"
"She said something about wanting to apply her new-found knowledge. I don't know where she went, though."
Robin screamed internally and his mind was racing. "This is really bad. I need to find her quickly. See you later Tharja." With that he already stormed off to prevent a potential disaster, leaving a slightly confused Tharja behind. He loved Tharja, but he couldn't imagine her giving anything that even resembled good advice when it came to romance.
Luckily for the tactician, it didn't take long for him to find his future child. She was simply walking through the camp, her head still in her notebook eagerly writing, scratching words out and rewriting them, while not paying nearly as much attention to her surroundings as would be necessary.
"There you are Morgan." Robin said, while trying to catch his breath. "You have been talking to your mother, right?"
"Yup, she just gave me some useful tips, so that I can win my crush over. Unlike a certain someone who wasn't willing to help me." She remarked, making it clear that she was still not quite over their conversation from earlier.
"Oh gods, what did she tell you?" Robin asked, preparing himself for the worst.
"She just told me that I should start by getting to know him better. I should try to be supportive and help him out if I notice that he has a problem. She also said that it is important for me to always be myself when talking to him and not to make up a fake persona."
That… That actually wasn't such bad advice. Robin was a little surprised by what he had just heard. Maybe he had underestimated Tharja.
"Now, if you would please excuse me. It is getting late and I need to make the necessary preparations so that I can observe my crush's sleeping habits tonight."
Or maybe he had been completely right not to trust Tharja when it comes to romance.
"Morgan, can you even hear what you are saying? You really shouldn't listen to everything that your mother told you. I will admit that it sounds like not all of her advice was awful, but I can already tell that she is not the best influence for you."
Yet Morgan didn't look like she wanted to agree with him. "First you refuse to help me and now you don't even want to let others help me? What do you want from me?"
"Morgan, I do want to help you, but you can't just stalk someone to make them love you."
"Well, it worked on you, didn't it?"
"I… That doesn't… You can't… I didn't marry Tharja because she stalked me, I married her despite her stalking."
"But then what is the reason you married her? This all would be a lot easier if you would just tell me!" Morgan exclaimed, clearly fed up with the fact that their conversation was once again going nowhere.
Robin sighed, but she was probably right. Maybe if he opened up to her a bit more, she would be able to understand why he acted the way he did.
"Fine I will tell you. But it is a bit of a long story, so listen carefully. It all started after Chrom recruited your mother from the Plegian army. She fell in love with me almost instantly, but she clearly wasn't used to being in love and her signs of affection made me very uncomfortable. I was incredibly creeped out by her and the fact that she used to belong to our enemies didn't make things better.
Don't tell Chrom, but I don't always trust his judgment when it comes to new recruits, which is why I usually try to keep some of the shadier people he recruits in check. And due to her creepy behavior Tharja was the shadiest and most questionable new recruit that the shepherds had gotten so far.
But as I kept my eyes on her during the next few weeks to check if she was truly being cooperative and not just a Plegian spy, I was surprised by what I found out. While she was acting rude and had a tendency to threaten people, I also noticed that she would often help everyone who had a problem and do nice things to others. I was taken aback by how much of a positive impact she had on the shepherds."
"So that's the reason why you fell in love with her!" Morgan concluded.
"Oh, no, far from it. That was merely enough for me to not be so creeped out by her anymore. I started to see Tharja in a new light and while I still thought that she was very weird, I also decided to tolerate her around me. I wanted to give her a chance, since I knew that she meant well, even if her methods of helping were a little unorthodox at times.
Then one day, I passed out in the open due to a fever as well as unhealthy amount of work that I did in the last few days. Tharja helped to nurse me back to health and I could tell that her affection for me was genuine.
In the following days I would often notice a lot of little things that made my life easier. Sometimes when I was working on a cold day, a hot cup of tea seemed to appear out of nowhere next to me. And whenever I would fall asleep while reading late at night at my desk, I would wake up with a warm blanket wrapped around me. Even though I never saw her, I could tell that this was Tharja's doing. As time went on, she became like some sort of unofficial assistant to me."
"You mean like Frederick to Chrom?" Morgan asked curious. Her little grudge from earlier seemed to have been completely replaced by a fascination about her parents love-story.
"Kinda I guess…" Except that Frederick doesn't watch Chrom while he sleeps. Probably…
"Well, as I was saying, I really grew to appreciate all the things that she did for me. She took care of me when I was sick, she always tried her best to make me relax a bit, she even cooked for me from time to time. Not to mention that we were practically unstoppable when we fought together on the battlefield.
I did realize that at times Tharja went a little too far with the things she did to help me, but I had way more important things to worry about. I was under a lot of stress during that time. Heck, I'm still under a lot of stress most of the time.
Chrom always told me that I should let others help me, because it would be bad for me to try and do everything by myself. And even though I felt guilty for dumping my problems onto someone else, I realized that Chrom was right. I did need someone to support me and Tharja was the one who was willing to take any burden for me. She essentially became my right-hand woman.
As time went on, my appreciation for her turned into a dependence. Soon I wasn't sure what I would do without Tharja. With her dedication and her magic, she managed to make my life a lot easier and I deeply cared for her as well, which is why there was only one logical course of actions. I decided to propose to her."
"Oh, that is adorable!" Morgan squealed with excitement.
"Well, I'm not quite sure about that. I actually have some regrets about my proposal to your mother…"
"What?! Are you saying you don't want to be married to mother anymore?!" The young tactician was visible shocked by the idea that the spark of her parent's love had already faded. But Robin quickly corrected her.
"No, that's not what I meant. I just think that I proposed to her too early. I appreciated and depended on her, but at the time I asked for her hand in marriage, we hadn't really bonded in the romantic sense. It wasn't until we spent more time together as a couple and grew closer and more intimate with each other that I realized what it really meant to be in love with someone.
I know that I am not a very romantic person. That is one thing that I have in common with your mother. Neither of us really knew what true love was and that let to many awkward moments during the beginning of our relationship. I still remember how Tharja acted after I proposed to her. She was so nervous and uncomfortable, she couldn't even look me in the eyes. Clearly, we haven't been ready for marriage yet, but we didn't know any better. I should have waited until we grew more comfortable with each other before I asked her to be my wife."
"But everything worked out fine, didn't it? I can see that you are happy together now."
"Yes, I would consider myself truly lucky to find someone who loves me as deeply as your mother does, but our relationship had been a very bumpy road.
Your mother and I have made a lot of mistakes in the past. She was a little bit too overzealous when trying to get my attention and I might have been too tolerant of her behavior sometimes. She confessed her love to me way too early and I ended up proposing to her way too early. The early days of our marriage were a bit of a mess and it took quite some time until we managed to form a functional romantic relationship.
This is why I was a little scared when you said that you were interested in a boy. I just don't want you to make the same mistakes that I did. But the more I think about it the more I realize that I still know barely anything about how love works. It's beautiful, but also very confusing. If there is one advice that I can give you, then it is to take things slow and don't try to rush it and I'm sure you will find the right person as well." With that he ended his story about Tharja and him and looked at his daughter who seemed to be thinking about what he had just told her. After a short moment of silence, she spoke.
"Thank you for telling me this, father. I'm sorry that I got angry with you earlier." Morgan gave him a sad smile, then she ran up to him and trapped him in a hug.
"I didn't want to be mad at you, I really didn't. I should have known that you only wanted what is best for me."
Robin was a little surprised by Morgan's sudden change in demeanor, but he happily reciprocated the hug and patted her gently on the head. "It's not your fault. I shouldn't have tried to interfere with your love-life. You are a smart woman, Morgan, and you are capable of making your own decisions." He released her of their hug.
"But uhm… Okay, I have to ask this... You weren't actually going to watch your crush while he sleeps, right? Please tell me you were only messing with me."
"Well, I thought if it worked for mother it would maybe work for me too, though I admit it did seem a little odd. Maybe it's for the best that you stopped me. Otherwise that probably would have ended up being the second-weirdest thing I have ever done."
"Yeah, I can imagine that that would… Hey, wait a second. What is the weirdest thing that you have ever-" Before Robin got the chance to finish his sentence, his daughter interrupted him.
"Well anyway, thanks for the advice father. It was really great talking to you. I have to go now, bye!" Morgan exclaimed before quickly running off.
"Morgan wait!" Robin tried to stop her, but she was already gone. He sighed. Hopefully she would take the things he said seriously. He really wanted to trust her with this, but he couldn't deny that a part of him still had doubts. Was he really making the right decision by letting her handling this all by herself?
"Oh Morgan…" Robin mumbled to himself. Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted, as he heard a familiar cackle from behind his back.
"Tharja, is that you?" He asked the source of the laughter, already knowing the answer.
"Who else?" The sorceress responded as she appeared from behind a tent. "I see that you have finished talking to Morgan. That means that you have time for me now, right? I already told you that I need your help, remember?" She laid her hands onto Robin's shoulders and looked at him lovingly. "Also, I should tell you that I think that you are a very romantic person. I always feel like I am in heaven when you try to make me happy. So, I don't want to ever hear you saying that you're not romantic again."
"Wait… You were listening just now?!" Robin asked, surprised, questioning how long Tharja had been hiding in the shadows.
"I am always listening." Tharja answered with a smirk. "Now tell me, do you have time to come to my laboratory and test a potion for me? I made it earlier today. It's supposed to heighten the senses and reflexes of anyone who drinks it and I need to observe the effects in action so that I know how well it works."
Robin stared into the dark mage's purple eyes, considering her suggestion. Testing Tharja's magic potions wasn't exactly his favourite activity. Primarily since almost all of her concoctions taste worse than rotten milk. But after having just talked about all the things that she had done for him in the past, he decided that Tharja probably deserved that he would help her out more often as well. It's the least he could do for the person who always tried to support him whenever she could. Besides, this particular potion sounded like it could be quite useful in the upcoming battles.
"How can I say no to you if you look at me like that, my little cuddle-witch." He gave her a little kiss on the nose. Then, much to Tharja's surprise, he decided to pick her up into his arms. Tharja was visibly startled by her husband's unexpected actions. "Robin, what are you doing?"
Robin simply grinned at her. "If you really think that I am a very romantic person, then I should try a bit harder to be someone worthy of this kind of praise. And a truly romantic husband wouldn't let his own wife walk home by foot. He would carry her on his bare hands to show just how much he cares!" He exclaimed in a slightly more exaggerated tone than Tharja was used to, but she started giggling anyway. It wasn't often that Robin showed his goofier side (at least not intentionally), but that made it only more satisfying for her to know that she was allowed to see this side of him.
Robin noticed that his wife seemed to enjoy his enthusiasm, even though she probably had no idea where it was coming from. As he carried Tharja towards her laboratory, which was placed in the tent where the shepherds kept their magical equipment, he decided to ask her a question that had found its way into his mind just now.
"Hey Tharja, did Morgan tell you who she has a crush on?" He asked his wife, hoping to sate his curiosity.
"No, she didn't. Should we try to find out who it is? I'm sure she went to talk to him after your conversation with her." Tharja proposed.
"Are you suggesting that we spy on our own daughter?! We can't do that! I just managed to convince her that stalking is wrong!"
"Fine." A devilish grin formed itself on Tharja's face. "Then how about we make a little bet instead?"
Robin looked at his wife in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"We both try to guess who Morgan's crush is. I assume that we are going to find out eventually and when we do and I am right, then you will have to spend one- No, three days just with me and no one else."
Robin thought about Tharja's proposal. "Okay, but if I am right, then you will have to stop following me for three whole days and spent some time socializing with the other shepherds instead." He responded. "I feel like you have been improving in this regard already, but I also think that you could need another push."
Tharja didn't seem quite so happy with Robin suggestion. "I will have to stop stalking you for three days?! That's harsh, but I would say that it is still worth the risk."
"I guess that means we have a deal." Robin concluded.
"I guess it does. Speaking of guesses, what is your guess on who Morgan has a crush on?" Tharja asked.
"Hm… I say it's Yarne. I think I have seen them hang out a few times. Maybe she developed feelings for him during that time." Robin speculated, but a part of him hoped that he was wrong. He liked Yarne, but the fact that he was so obsessed with wanting to continue the Taguel-race made Robin want to keep him away from his daughter. Though he quickly realized that that was just the paranoid parental side of him thinking. Yarne is a good kid, he should be so judgmental.
"The Taguel? Bold choice. My bets are on Miriel's kid. The one with the glasses and the big hat. I forgot his name."
"You mean Laurent?" Robin asked.
"Yeah, that guy. If Morgan is anything like me, then she will go for the intelligent one." Tharja explained with a smile.
Robin found Laurent actually very helpful when it comes to keeping order in this army, so the idea of Morgan potentially dating him wasn't that unappealing to the tactician. Laurent was much more serious and concentrated, so he could be a really good influence for Morgan.
They reached Tharja's laboratory and Robin gently let his wife down. Tharja was much heavier than he had expected, so he was quite glad that they had finally reached their destination. He wasn't sure for how much longer he would have been able to carry her.
"Now let's stop wasting time and start with the experiment." The dark mage exclaimed, eagerly awaiting the chance to test her newest potion as she entered the tent.
Even though he wasn't really looking forward to it, Robin complied. Maybe he could convince Tharja that her next experiment should be a hex that makes potions taste better. He made a mental note to talk to her about this later and followed her into the tent.
Author's note: I finally found the time to write another chapter and this time it's about falling in love and growing up. Dealing with hormones and getting in arguments with your parents is part of becoming an adult and even someone as upbeat as Morgan can't escape this.
As much as I love Robin x Tharja, their S-support does not make it seem like they were ready for marriage yet, but that is not really a problem for me. It makes the beginning of their relationship a bit more flawed and also more interesting.
Thank you so much for reading my story, I hope that you liked it. Have a nice a nice day. Bye.