Chapter 11: Surprise

Frederick acknowledged Chrom's presence by tucking his phone into his jacket's breast pocket. He possessed the confidence of a man who had nothing to hide. Then, he stopped a couple steps in front of Chrom.

"Chrom, good morning." Frederick checked his watch. "You're here rather early."

The bouquet crinkled in his tightening grip. Frederick's eyes shifted to the flowers in Chrom's hand before staring him down again.

"Visiting Robin, I presume?" asked Frederick.

Chrom's heart pounded in his chest. For all the questions he wanted to demand of Frederick, he couldn't string the damned words together into coherent sentences. So, he waited before answering and gauged Frederick's own reaction.

To the untrained eye, the slight quirk of the brow and microsecond squint may have been too subtle to label as surprise, but Chrom had become expertly proficient at reading people over the years. (It was a necessary skill to have when one's father was a conglomerate tycoon, who put his son under constant scrutiny and held him against impossible standards.)

The man Robin was hiding was just as, if not more, surprised as he was to see him here at the hospital. He wasn't at a complete disadvantage.

"Frederick." The name slipped off the tip of Chrom's tongue at a note higher than he wanted. He cleared his throat. "I'm surprised to see you here."

Frederick's shirt was crumpled, an aberration from usual smart, crisp attire.

"You look like you stayed the night," said Chrom. "Is there something you know here?"

"There is."

The firmness in those two words spoke volumes about his position. He wasn't going to share any additional information and he was putting an end to this conversation.

However, Chrom couldn't fight the urge to peel apart Frederick's thoughts and intentions layer by layer. He wanted to excavate every last morsel of information about their relationship.

"Are you the one Robin—"

"There's a cot in the room. Get some shut eye. I'll see you at work," interjected Frederick.

That was the last thing he wanted to do.

"No, I have questions," said Chrom.

"You need to get some sleep so you don't fall asleep during the meeting today. It's an important meeting, Chrom," said Frederick. As he passed Chrom, he patted Chrom on his shoulder. "We can talk later. You need to be alert for eleven."

Then the one of the biggest reasons why Robin refused to return to him walked away.

Chrom's feet were cemented to the spot, forced to listen to Frederick's retreating steps grow quieter behind him. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath.

Frederick had neither confirmed nor denied anything. He could be visiting another fellow businessman or businesswoman. But that didn't make any sense at all. Why visit them this early?

It could be nothing. No, it couldn't be nothing. Chrom wasn't stupid.

Maybe he could turn around now and confront Frederick. But then what?

Whether she kissed him back or not the other day, Robin and him were no longer together. It was clearer than the infamous disappointed look his father gave him whenever he didn't meet his expectations. Another supporting piece of painful evidence was that she had picked running into oncoming traffic than be with him for another second.

But was she trying to establish distance because she was afraid of his father's retaliation and following through with whatever threats he had Libra deliver? Or was it that she truly didn't love him anymore and Frederick had filled the gaping hole that he had left behind?

His heart sank. He had come to the hospital with the purpose of promising Robin he'd give her space, but Chrom had based that decision on the assumptions that she would return to him and that she was lying about seeing someone.

Throwing in the towel would be the right answer. The smart answer. But he wanted to compete.

Damn Frederick.

How did his mentor remain so compared and professional the entire time? If Chrom had been in his position, he would've throttled the man, mentee or not, if he was pursuing his girlfriend. Great. Were things going to be awkward between Frederick and him now too?

Chrom had grown fond of Frederick, even if he could be blunt at times. Chrom always got the sense that he was looking out for him. That he always had his back.

"Do you need some assistance?" asked a nurse, pulling him back into reality.

Chrom shook his head. "No, I'm fine. Thank you."

He mentally kicked himself. He must've looked like an absolute dumbass standing in the middle of the hallway blanking out. He needed to get it together.

No, what he really needed right now was sleep. Guilt-free sleep, to be specific.

The disoriented heir traced the path Frederick had taken. And when he stood at Suite 1803, he shifted from one foot to the other before mustering the courage to knock. Slowly, he raised his hand and knocked.

"Come in!"

Chrom hadn't expected Robin to respond at all. This time of day was way too early for her. He paused. What exactly had he expected? He guessed he lucked out since he didn't have a plan for visiting her when she was still fast asleep.

When he entered the room, he found her sitting up in the bed, scrolling through her new phone. The Falchion, rose gold edition. If this is what his mom meant by replacement, she probably went above and beyond and replaced everything that Robin had had with her at the accident with the best of the best. Chrom knew that would've bothered Robin. (But he would've done the same. It was probably their way of soothing their guilt—throwing money at things. They had a ridiculous amount anyway.)

"Teddy bear, did you forget something? That's unlike you. If you're back for more, I don't think it would be appropriate for Mr. Long to watch." The ends of her lips curled into that mischievous smile she reserved for teasing. "Gimme a sec. Just responding to an email." She picked her head up from her phone and she did a double-take before her face paled. "Chrom?"

She calls him 'teddy bear', thought Chrom bitterly. Well, Frederick did look like he could take down a bear if he really wanted to.

"I come in peace," he said awkwardly coupled with a small wave.

"W-What are you doing here?" stuttered Robin.

Chrom closed the door behind him and timidly walked over to her side. "I brought you some flowers." He offered them to her.

"You didn't have to," she murmured. She didn't accept the bouquet right now. Instead, she stared at them for a moment before putting aside a giraffe stuffie to receive the flowers. "Wow, these are ranunculus flowers, right?"

"Yeah, your favorite." Chrom smiled.

"You must be confusing me with someone else. Sunflowers are my favorite," she said quietly. "But these are nice too."

Shit. He knew that. Why did he say that?

"Cute giraffe," Chrom blurted out.

"Thanks." Robin studied the bouquet in her lap. "It was a get-well gift."

"I should've thought of that. Flowers don't last as long."

She stretched to one side to put the flowers on the bedside table and returned back to sitting up straight in the bed. The moment her dark brown eyes met his, he slipped into the false pretenses that they were okay. There was a warmth to them that he never found in anyone else.

"You look like you haven't slept in a while," said Robin.

"How could I? Especially after what happened?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Can I sit?"

"Sure."

Robin watched him make his way around the bed and settle in the armchair closest to her.

"So…I saw Frederick."

Her eyes flicked up to him, the previous warmth absent. One look gave it all away. It confirmed everything.

"It's him, isn't it?" asked Chrom.

"Chrom, don't you dare hurt him. Don't drag him into the our mess."

"Robin, relax."

It stung to see her be protective of him. She used to be like that with him in the past. Coming to accept that she did have strong feelings for Frederick was beyond difficult. It was like swallowing a cup of those damned thumbtacks Libra always used to pin reminders on his bulletin board at home.

"I came to say good-bye."

"Good-bye?" Concern knitted into her brows.

He didn't like worrying her, but it felt nice to know that she still cared for him.

"Are you leaving again?" she asked.

Sleep weighed down on his eyelids. His head felt fuzzy, like a bad hangover. Chrom brought his hands up to his face and tried to rub the sleep out of it. He didn't know how much longer he could keep his thoughts straight for. He was so fucking tired.

"I'm not going anywhere. I just came to the conclusion over the last couple nights that I need to give you space," said Chrom. "You have my personal number on your new phone now, so we won't be isolated from each other like the past years. Send me a text or call me when you're ready. I'd love to go grab a coffee. Catch up. I want to hear about what you've been up to the past couple years. And I'd like to share what I've been up to. I don't know about you, but I'm sure has hell curious."

Chrom wished that he could let her go, but if life were that easy, Robin wouldn't have ended up hospitalized and his father wouldn't be a overshadowing nightmare. He had tried desperately though. He met with other women while he was abroad, on his own terms. Their company soothed his loneliness and numbed the edge of drinking by himself whenever his heart ached. Every time they had sex, he'd forget how miserable he was for that short moment. But then Robin would always appear in his thoughts after, reminding him that only his physical needs have been met and nothing more.

It was complicated.

Did she see through him? Did she know?

His sleep-deprived brain used jealousy as a self-inflicting weapon. Its partner in crime: his imagination.

Robin's naked body bounced up and down in Frederick's lap. Her arms wrapped around his neck. Her fingers tangled in his hair. Her smooth back, glistening from perspiration. Her reserved intimate moans, climbing the octave. Frederick spotted him and mouthed, 'She's mine'.

Chrom shook his head, trying to clear the thought. Robin didn't belong to him anymore. She could do whatever she wanted with whomever she wanted.

"You okay?" Robin inquired, cocking her head to the side.

They never slept together when they were together, which was fine, since sex wasn't the reason why they had had gotten together. There had been numerous occasions where they had gotten close—in bed breathless and clad only in underwear—but Robin always withdrew and apologized that she just couldn't. She never did tell him why though. But the thought of another man potentially making love to her rubbed him the wrong way.

"Chrom, there's a cot in the closet. Why don't you set it up and take a nap? Please? We don't need a second person in the hospital," said Robin. "Your mom will absolutely lose it if you ended up hospitalized too. I'm begging you to take a nap before you leave."

"Frederick said the exact same thing. I can't. I need to go to work." He yawned, getting up from his seat. "Money isn't going to make itself."

Damn. He sounded like his father.

Robin grabbed his hand. "Are you going to make the injured patient force you to sleep? Do you want me to set it up for you?" demanded Robin.

He missed that stubborn pout. Chrom squeezed her hand. "Alright."

"Good."

It took longer than he had anticipated to set up the cot. Robin commented on how tired he must be to struggle with unfolding a cot. At one point, Robin tried to get out of bed to help him, but he stopped her.

Once it was done, Robin set an extra pillow on the cot. When Chrom finally laid his head down, his body gave out. He had needed this so bad. Robin threw an extra blanket over him from her bed.

"Do you have anything important today? I'll wake you up," said Robin.

Chrom chuckled, settling onto his side. "Like the old days," he mumbled. "You sure you're okay though?"

"I'm fine. Don't blame yourself. It won't change anything, Chrom. I'm seriously okay, so rest easy. We both know you need your sleep. You can't function like half a human without it. Your father will have your head if you're not at your one hundred fifty percent."

He smiled. "You know me so well." His eyes started to close and he pulled the blanket over his shoulder. "Are you still there?" He reached out a hand.

It took a while, but cold fingers slipped into his hand. "I'm still here. You didn't answer my question yet. Do you have anything important today?"

"I have a meeting at eleven," murmured Chrom.

Robin's hand started to draw away from him and he tightened his grip. "Let me be selfish. I thought I lost you."

A quiet sigh was the last thing he heard before falling asleep. And she let him have her comfort.

Based on Chrom's snoring, Robin knew he was beyond exhausted. He only snored when his physical had been drained to negative nine thousand. Once he had fallen asleep, she had tucked his hand under the blanket and sent a couple texts to her mom, notifying her that she was, indeed, still alive. (A miracle, as her mom sarcastically put it.) Then she read over some work emails. She really needed to get back. The team was not as cohesive without her bossing them around.

Around ten, Robin grabbed Mr. Long and used his muzzle to poke at Chrom's cheek. "Chrom, you need to get up. You need to get to work so your father doesn't disown you and adopt himself as a son."

One of the many qualities Robin admired about Chrom was his ability to wake up. When he was woken up, he didn't fight the alarm clock or the person waking him. He simply got up. (Robin was a complete bitch in the mornings if she didn't have enough sleep.)

"I'm up. I'm up," said Chrom, sitting up on the cot. "Morning, babe." He had the same goofy, drowsy morning smile on his face. The one that had always made her climb on top of him and push him back into bed to snuggle.

Robin bit her lip.

Chrom grimaced, realizing his mistake. "Sorry, I didn't mean that, Robin. Just a habit." His words were rushed, but the damage was done.

"It's fine." She tried to brush it off.

He yawned and ran a hand through his hair. His blue locks stuck out in gravity defying angles. She smiled. Chrom did always have awful bed head.

"Fix your hair before you leave," said Robin.

"How bad is it?" asked Chrom.

"Chrom, has there been a single day where your bed head didn't look atrocious?" asked Robin.

"I don't have time for a shower." He combed his fingers through his hair, attempting to tame his hair. "How about now?"

"Still looks awful." Actually, it looked worse. It looked like someone had concentrated on blowing his hair from the behind only.

"Can you fix it for me?" asked Chrom. "You were always better at it whenever we were late for work."

"Sure, I can try." What harm would come out of it? "I don't think it will make a difference though. Come here."

Yawning, Chrom moved to sit down on the edge of the bed. Robin threw off her covers to scoot closer to him. She straightened out her broken leg and her normal leg dangled off the bed. The fabric of her hospital gown had ridden up past her mid-thigh and tickled the purple welts on her tan skin.

"Does it hurt?" he asked, his fingers brushing against marring on her skin.

She slapped his hand away. "No touching. I haven't shaved in forever and for all I know, this might be you trying to seduce me."

Chrom chuckled. "I would never."

She shot him a suspicious look before trying to pat down his untamable hair. She didn't have anymore luck than Chrom. "I think you should just dunk your head under the sink. Actually, the shower has a detachable head. When was the last time you showered?"

"I don't remember."

"Wow, Chrom. How do you always have women throwing themselves at you? Oh. I see now. It's because they've never seen the real you."

"Stop teasing. Just do something about my hair!"

"I can't"—Robin forcefully pressed his hair down—"fix it. Actually, do you just want to take my headband?"

"The nasty old one you always used to keep your hair out of your face when you washed your face?" asked Chrom.

"You remember it! Frederick brought it for me. It should be in my bag."

"That's a great idea, Robin. Let's pair that off with a stripper's thong and I can have my father crucify me," said Chrom sarcastically.

She threw her head back and laughed. "Oh my gods. This needs to happen now. Just go to work like that. You're the president's son. And your great-great-great-grandfather started Exalt, so they can't say shit to you," said Robin.

"I guess," said Chrom. "You know, I missed this."

Any traces of amusement on her face evaporated. She shifted away from him.

"So…" He chuckled nervously.

That wasn't the smartest move he could've made and he knew it.

"How'd you get him to break the company policy of employees internally dating? I've only known Frederick for a little while and he's a stickler for rules."

Robin was internally screaming. He was making it worse.

"Do we have to talk about this?"

"Sorry."

"You promise you won't do anything, right?" asked Robin.

"Robin, I like Frederick. He's a good man. I look up to him. And I wouldn't dream of screwing him over, because it would affect you too," said Chrom. "And I'm not my father."

"Thank you," said Robin.

"Frankly, I'm embarrassed. I kept going on and on about us to him. He has an impressive poker face."

"You what?"

No wonder the poor man was driven to jealousy. Chrom was blabbering away about their intimate relationship to her current significant other. Robin wanted to shake Chrom and demand what the hell was wrong with him. But she already knew the answer to that: everything.

"You two are pretty serious, huh? He stayed over."

Robin's eyes flicked up at him. If that was how he was going to assess how serious a relationship was, Chrom and her had been essentially married, considering he practically lived at her tiny apartment (before shit hit the fan). She hoped he would stop before ruining the kind moment between them.

"Chrom, I'm going to give you the chance to back yourself out of this." Robin warned.

"Right. Okay. I need to head to work."

"You do. Also, can I please go home?"

"You're going to have to persuade my mom that you're fine," said Chrom. "Not me."

Robin groaned. Liana probably told the doctors that she wasn't to leave the hospital until her leg was fully heeled, which would take two months. She'd just have to finish her sentence here.

Chrom leaned in with open arms and wrapped them around her. "I'll wait for you, okay?"

Robin hissed and pushed at him. "Chrom, you're hurting me."

He quickly released her. "Right, the bruises. Sorry."

"Go already."

"You have my number."

"Goodbye, Chrom. Your father will kill you if you don't get your ass to work."

"Okay. Thanks for the nap."

Robin watched Chrom fold and pack away the cot again and disappear into the washroom to try to fix his hair again. He didn't look any different when he came out.

"I guess we'll talk when we talk."

"Good-bye, Chrom," Robin emphasized.

At the door, Chrom turned back to look at her one last time. He looked like he had more to say, but he finally left. Robin sank back into her bed.

All the executives were seated around the perimeter of the table in the conference room. Frederick was the youngest amongst the group of executives in their fifties and above. Suzanne sat across from him and was unsubtly staring at him with a smile that made him uneasy. He kept his eyes down on the glossy surface of the table. So this was what it felt like for women when perverts were gawking at them, undressing them in their head.

There was an empty seat to the right of Carlisle Exalt. The head of the Exalt conglomerate was at the head of the table, impatiently tapping a finger on his leather folder. His disapproving frown emphasized his wrinkles. The men and women uncomfortably shifted in their seats, waiting for the last person to join them.

Frederick had his eyes fixed on the main hallway. He trusted Robin. Chrom? Not so much yet. But he knew how important this meeting was.

Another five minutes dragged on and Carlisle gestured to Libra, who was always loyally nearby, to come closer. Libra leaned in and Carlisle whispered something to him. He nodded once after he got his instructions from the president and stepped out.

Frederick checked his watch. 11:13 am.

Chrom was late. This would not bode well.

Another six minutes passed before a young man with the typical blue hair of the Exalt lineage came running down the hall with a blond man at his heels. Frederick's lips pressed into a thin line. Chrom was still tying his tie when he walked into the conference room. His hair was an atrocious mess.

"How wonderful for you to join us," said Carlisle.

"Sorry to keep everyone waiting. I was working on our next venture project and lost track of time," said Chrom.

A blatant lie.

Chrom quickly took the empty seat beside his father and Libra took his position behind the president again.

Carlisle was not a forgiving man. If Chrom wasn't already having a bad day, this blunder had sealed the deal.

Prior to the meeting, Carlisle Exalt had requested some of Frederick's time. Carlisle Exalt wasn't a man you declined.

The talk was brief: he wanted updates on Chrom.

He knew the president wanted the best for both Chrom and the future of the Exalt conglomerate; however, he wasn't fond of the idea of disclosing all of Chrom's weakness and flaws before he had the opportunity for growth. To his father. He gave neutral praise to keep the father at bay and fed him enough critique for the president to be satisfied.

While Chrom was pursuing his girlfriend, work was work. And Chrom did have potential. He was being drowned and smothered by his father's constant disappointment and disapproval that the poor kid couldn't realize his own potential.

That was number two—the second time he had protected Chrom. The first was not tackling him to the ground this morning. If he had, that would've made him look immature and unprofessional. Not to mention, it probably would've knocked him out. And he knew Robin would've been beyond pissed.

Frederick peered through the glass walls of the conference room, watching the president talk to the next heir. Even though the president was seated and Chrom was standing up, anyone looking in could tell that Chrom was being lectured. Chrom wore a blank face and Frederick saw the words from the president enter one of Chrom's ears and leave through the other ear. He was used to these lectures and simply waited for them to be over.

"Good afternoon, Director Knight." Libra appeared beside him.

Frederick glanced over at the president's secretary. "Good afternoon to you too, Libra."

"Was Chrom with you this morning?" asked Libra.

"I met him briefly this morning."

"So he was at work then," said Libra.

Not quite, thought Frederick. But close enough.

"Do you have any idea where he was?"

"Work, I'd presume," said Frederick. "Sometimes, he finds little niches around the building on the more creative floors to focus. You must've missed him."

That made three.

Frederick withheld a sigh.

"I must've," Libra agreed.

Carlisle finally waved the boy off and Chrom stomped around the long table to the exit. Frederick stretched his neck as his eyes followed Chrom stalk away.

"I must be getting back to work," said Libra.

"I need to follow up with Chrom about his project," said Frederick, turning on his heels to catch Chrom. They needed to talk. He knew too much now and he probably had a lot of questions. "Chrom, wait up."

Chrom turned around and waited for him to catch up. "Frederick…hey."

"Have you had lunch yet?" asked Frederick.

"No, not yet, but I'm not hungry," said Chrom.

"Did you get your nap?" asked Frederick.

Chrom tipped his head at an angle, his brow furrowed and his eyes boring into Frederick. "You know what? I'm suddenly hungry. Let's grab lunch. You're paying."

Author's Notes:

I don't know if everyone reads the end notes or not. (I've been told that most people don't.) I'm hoping people will read them, especially the people going, "WHERE DA FUQ IS THE EXTRA 4000 WORDS?"

I know that long chapters is a huge characteristic of my stories. I love reading long chapters and my inability to shut up are two main reasons for why my chapters are monstrous. However, a huge drawback for long chapters is that you end up exhausting your creative juices in one go AND it takes a long time. As most of you know, I'm a full-time student (*whispers* September is coming) and usually I'm working at least one job and have several other commitments (because I MIGHT be an over-achiever and I can't really put down 'I write sexy bang bang times for fictional characters on the interwebz' on my resume...my friend said I should anyway).

Don't freak out. This isn't me saying I'm going on hiatus. You probably know that those are unannounced after a cliffhanger since I'm an asshole like that. ;)

Okay, I need to stop rambling. I have decided (bitterly and unwillingly) that if I want to make regular posts, I need to write shorter chapters so I have material to continually update. I may very likely not follow my personal lowered goal for 3000-4000 word chapters, but I'm hoping it will help with maintaining a consistent readership and not starving my readers out. So yes, my chapters will be shorter, but I'm hoping that once I get into the groove of things, I'll be able to update all three stories somewhat consistently, or I'll be writing them 5ever.