DISCLAIMER: FIRE EMBLEM AND ITS CHARACTERS BELONG TO NINTENDO.

Calm Tides

The Ylissean Fleet made their way towards Valm Harbor.

However, due to wind conditions, they would be delayed by a day or two.

The wind had suddenly fallen flat after their battle yesterday, leaving their pace at half the speed they had normally been moving.

The superstitious among them saw it as an ill omen, while most of them just saw it as a free day to catch a breather.

Some Shepherds had elected to stay in their rooms to rest, while many others occupied themselves with whatever activities were available onboard.

The battle had been brief, but very taxing on them. Many had at least a few minor injuries, but some like Chrom were in bed for the remainder of the day.

But perhaps, the one who had payed the biggest toll at the end of it all was Robin.

Robin sat in his cabin alone, reading over the documents that Gaius had recovered.

He had momentarily allowed himself to be consumed by guilt yesterday.

He felt it was only right to feel such a way, as no matter what the reason, he had still murdered all those soldiers.

However, he had bounced back from it quite fast. He had Lucina to thank for that. She had told him it was dishonorable to them to have done such a thing without strong conviction, and he had fully believed in her words.

Robin stood strong. He felt terrible for what he did, but he had no room for regrets. He would keep moving forward.

He continued compiling the info from the papers.

Lucina had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with her mother and some of her friends. She had been quite comfortable with them, as they had been like family to her in the future.

The five of them had one of the ship's cabins to themselves.

"So how are you holding up? I mean I've taken a few hits to the legs myself, but you took it like a champ." said Sully.

"Hehe, no, no! It's not that bad! Really!" said Sumia as she stood up to expose the bandaging around her leg. "And besides, I was much more worried about my darling pegasus."

"That poor thing, I hope she gets better. " said Olivia softly.

"You've got to be more careful Sumia!" Cordelia said with worry.

"Yes. She's right mother, even the most wary of fighters can be caught off guard. Even father.." Lucina said. She felt guilty speaking to her mother in such a manner, but she spoke out of concern.

Sumia took notice and wrapped her arms around her daughter, pulling her into a hug. "Oh, I'm sorry everyone." she spoke from atop Lucina's head. "And I'll be sure to give your father a nice, long talk later." she said. Lucina smiled.

Chrom was in for a long night.

"Well what's done is done, and you're back all the same." said Sully. "So moving this along, how's it feel to have a family Sumia?" she asked, attempting to brighten the mood.

"Oh it's simply a dream! I never would've even imagined any of this 2 years ago." Sumia gushed.

"And only 2 years in, and you've got a newborn and a.. um, how old are you now, Lucina?" Cordelia asked.

"I turned 20 this year." she said.

"Man, to find you've got a daughter not much younger than yourself has got to be some shock, eh?." Sully said.

Lucina shuffled nervously.

"Hmm, well it is a bit odd.. but no matter what, she's my little angel." Sumia said, as she kissed her daughter's cheek.

"Mother.." Lucina happily said as she closed her eyes, accepting the kiss.

"Well little angel or not, she's a fully grown woman. And quite a fine one, I might add. She's got the best of both of you." said Cordelia.

"And she's real tough to boot." added Sully.

Lucina lightly blushed at their compliments.

"I'd be lucky to ever have a girl of my own.." Cordelia finished quietly.

"W-what about Gaius?" Olivia added. She blushed furiously at her boldness.

Cordelia took it a step further, her face now nearly as red as her hair. "G-Gaius? ..I don't know what y-"

"C'mon, you really gonna bother trying to hide it? We've seen how you are with him. I don't suppose you two just got picked together for scouting at random?" Sully said with a smirk.

"I-I.. He's re.. " Cordelia stuttered.

"How about you and Stahl?" Sumia innocently asked Sully, coming to her best friend's rescue.

"Hah! I haven't got the slightest clue what you're on about." Sully said, trying keep a straight face.

"I don't suppose y-you two got picked together for training everyday at random?" Olivia boldly mirrored Sully's earlier point, earning her a thankful look from Cordelia.

"You cowards. Teaming up on me, huh? W-well what about you, Olivia?" Sully pointed to her.

"M-me?" the dancer shuffled in her seat.

"Yeah you. You're always bandaging up that new guy. You know. That creepy one."

"H-he's not creepy!" Olivia cried.

Sully smirked. Olivia had now topped Cordelia in terms of blushing.

"Wait a minute. Wouldn't she know?" Cordelia asked as she pointed.

The four women turned to Lucina.

Lucina gulped.

"That's right! Don't you know who they end up with, dear? " her mother asked politely, but Lucina could see the mischief in her eyes.

Lucina sat quietly.

This was a problem. True, she had already chosen the path in which she accepts the changes she brings to this world, but she was now faced with a new threat. If she were to interfere with their personal lives too much, there's a chance that... that they would never come to be. "I know." she spoke calmly.

The women waited for her to continue.

Sully feigned disinterest, but her eyes showed wanting.

Cordelia had bitten her lower lip nervously.

Olivia had her arms curled to her chest.

Sumia was visibly bouncing with anticipation to hear of her friend's soul mates.

Lucina breathed. "I know, but... I can't tell you. It would bring too much trouble. I know this sounds much like my old way of thinking, but..I ask that you trust me on this."

The four women wore looks of disappointment.

Even Sully, before she again tried to pass it off.

"I will tell you one thing,"

The women's ears perked up.

"All of you... you were all, very happy in the future."

They all smiled softly, before joining each other in a round of laughter.

Lucina was unsure of their reactions at first, but soon found herself smiling as well.

To be honest, seeing these women get into such a ridiculous yet playful fight reminded her a lot of her cherished moments with her own companions. ...Her friends.

'They are their children after all...' Lucina thought happily.

As the laughter settled down, Cordelia spoke up. "Now, I believe it is a bit unfair that only you get out of this unscathed." she said to Lucina with a smile.

Lucina had a very bad feeling about this.

" Have you got someone over there in the future?"

Sumia turned to her with wide, hopeful eyes.

It was Lucina's turn to blush. Not out of denial, but rather of embarassment of having to talk about such matters with her mother present.

"I-I do not. With the future in the state it was... I'd say such ideas were not exactly at the forefront of my thoughts. " Lucina replied as calm as she could.

"That's a shame. " Sully said. "Strong and pretty? You'd have any guy you wanted." Sully concluded warmly.

"...How about someone from here?" Olivia blurted out. Although she later figured that Robin most likely didn't have any hidden meaning in what he had said during the battle , the cuteness of the thought couldn't leave her be.

The three women and Lucina looked at her in shock.

Olivia instantly felt regret. She had always sought to be a bit less soft spoken, and was making great progress. But now, she had already gotten away with spouting some extremely bold things in the last 5 minutes alone.

After the brief silence, Sumia squealed with excitement. She had always been a hopeless romantic, so she had been delighted when she entertained the thought of possibly helping her grown daughter with her love life.

Cordelia also thought the idea appealing, but didn't reveal it as openly as Sumia had.

Sully put a hand to her forehead as she let out a small laugh, knowing very well just how enthusiastic Sumia and Cordelia could get about such things. "Olivia, apologize. Apologize to Lucina immediately. " she laughed.

"I'm sorry!" Olivia panicked.

Lucina had clenched her fist, and gazed downwards, the redness still on her.

She slowly began to wonder how she emerged from such a fierce battle just yesterday, and ended up in such a ridiculous situation only one day after.

She was unused to such sporadic moments of carefreeness.

As she slowly looked up, the four had already been conjuring up suggestions on who would best match her.

"How about the blacksmith's son?" Cordelia asked.

"No way! My little girl deserves the best!" Sumia denied.

"Mother!"

"Mother's busy right now, honey." said Sumia as she brushed her objection off.

Lucina wanted to die.

Figuring that they would be at it for a while, and knowing for sure she didn't want to stick around for the rest of it, she got up and left.

The women continued on with their little 'inventory check' without noticing.

"Ricken? " Olivia thought aloud.

"I don't think so... He looks too young for Lucina, and I think he's a bit attached to Nowi."

"How about Donnel? "asked Sully.

"Nooo, Stahl was telling me that Robin had finally got him to talk to Maribelle."

Cordelia thought for a second. " How about... Robin?" she asked.

"BWAHAHA! Robin? My son in law? HAHAHA." Sumia cried with tears in her eyes.

The girls all laughed at the idea.

As it died down, Sumia had actually given it some thought.

"But you know, I actually wouldn't mind."

"Ohhh?" the women cooed.

"I mean he's a wonderful guy. I'm sure he of all people could find a way to make her happy." Sumia smiled.

"Haha, you might be right. Robin's a real pal." said Sully.

Cordelia and Olivia nodded in agreement.

"But, I'm still not sure it could work out." Sumia said thoughtfully.

"Afraid Chrom'll kill him?" Sully laughed.

"Oh, I suppose that would be another problem. But it's just that I've noticed ever since she's joined us, Lucina's seemed a little standoffish towards Robin."

"Really? I think they'd at least make a strong team. They did take down that Valmese General together." Cordelia reassured.

"I guess. But... Oh what am I saying? I shouldn't be thinking about this." Sumia said as she sobered up from her excitement. "As fun as this, my girl's all grown up. She can find someone for herself, and I'll support her in whatever she chooses to do."

"Haha, is this really Sumia saying this? Man, being a mother sure changes you." Sully chuckled.

Sumia laughed. As cute as the idea was, Robin was a good friend of her's and Chrom. All she could hope for was that the two would at least get along.

After finally taking notice of Lucina's absence, the friends continued talking to one another for a while longer.

Lucina was leaning against the railing of the ship.

She had been thoroughly embarrassed with her mother and friend's conversation, so she was out here to try and clear her head.

The thought of her falling in love was something she had rarely pondered. Although, when she was younger, she loved reading stories of princesses being rescued by brave knights, wishing one day that she too would be whisked away by such heroes. Lucina's cheeks tinged red at remembering her child self.

But those were days long past. Her happiness was fleeting as the world slowly crumbled around her. One might say that the crisis had forced her to abandon such innocence. She had grown into a strong woman who had led her own squad of fighters, much like her father.

She had focused her thoughts on her mission to distract herself, when she noticed someone walk by.

It was Robin.

"Hm? What are you doing out here, Lucina?" he asked as he walked up beside her.

Lucina turned to him. "Just getting some fresh air."

She looked at his face. He seemed much healthier compared to yesterday.

"I see you've gotten over it." she stated.

"Yeah, well, I couldn't get hung up over it forever. If I didn't pull myself together, more lives could be lost. " He said as he leaned his elbows on the railings. "Thanks again, by the way."

"Hm?"

"It was you who helped me overcome such thoughts to begin with. Actually, I don't know what I would have done without your words of wisdom." he said gratefully.

"Think nothing of it. You are an important comrade after all. This war would be lost without you."

"Yeah, but I owe you one" Robin said, a little disappointed she had referred to him as a 'comrade' rather than as a friend. He had thought they had just started to open up to one another.

"There's no need. Just make sure you stay focused on our goal. We have a long road ahead of us."

"I will."

The two stood together on the deck in silence, looking out at the sea.

"Have you had anything to eat yet?" she asked.

Robin turned to her in surprise. "Um not yet, I've been cooped up in my room all day."

"That won't do, you need to make sure you're properly fed or your performance will begin to degrade."

"Thanks, mom" Robin smirked.

Lucina shot him a look of annoyance. "How a man like you managed to best Gangrel, I'll never know."

"Haha, I bet you're not the first to think that."

"I've no doubts about that." she said as she let out a small smile. "Well, lets go get something to eat shall we? I've yet to have lunch myself."

"Sounds good." he said as the two walked off to the mess hall.

Unbeknownst to them, Sumia had seen the two and spied on their conversation.

She smiled as she peeked her head around the corner.

"Sumia? What're you doing? Sully's already at the stables." Cordelia called to her.

"I-I'm not spying on anyone! You can't prove that!" she jumped.

Cordelia shook her head and continued on her way.

"Cordelia, wait up!" she said as she chased after her friend.

As they made their way to the stables, Sumia thought happily to herself, 'Maybe they aren't as distant as I remembered..'

A/N: Think of it as the aftermath of their battle. It's a some Lucina/Robin indirect fluff and also a bit more light hearted in comparison to the ending of the last chapter.

A mother really knows best huh?

Next arc is the siege of Valm Harbor.

Til next time!