I know some of you wanted me to update more quickly, so I'll try my best to do so at least monthly. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!

After another long day of marching back to Valm Harbor, the Shepherds decided to spend the night in one more town before they arrived at the harbor the next day. Many of the Shepherds were off doing their own thing as Robin and Say'ri had another date. It was now night and the two were walking down the street and back to the inn after a great dinner.

"That dinner was quite exquisite." Robin said.

"Aye, Robin." Say'ri nodded with a soft smile on her face. "Not since the feasts I had with my family have I had a meal like that."

"I really enjoy our dates."

"As do I."

Robin looked at Say'ri and noticed she was fidgeting a bit. She was fiddling with her thumbs and it looked as though she was blushing for some reason.

"Say'ri, are you okay?" Robin asked.

"H-huh? Yes, I am fine."

"You seem a little uneasy."

"I-'Tis nothing… Robin?"

"Hm?"

"What do you feel for me?"

"That's… an oddly-worded question."

"Fie! Never have I had to say something like this! What I mean is… I can't find the right words!"

"Are you asking if I have feelings for you?"

"M-Mercy…" Say'ri sighed with relief. "Aye, that's what I was asking."

"W-well…" Robin had a blush appear on his face. "Yes, I do. You're inspiring, strong and beautiful. I bet you got a lot of marriage proposals before Chon'sin fell."

"Aye, I did, but all my suitors had to offer were war merits. They cared only for the position they could gain, not for me in the least."

"Well, know that I love you for you, Say'ri."

"What did you just say?"

"Huh?"

"You said… You love me?"

"Uh-I-" Robin's face turned completely red. "I didn't mean to say that yet. I know it's too soon. It was just a slip of the tongue-"

Say'ri quickly leaned toward Robin and kissed him on the lips, rendering him completely quiet. She kept her lips on his and after a few seconds, he started kissing her back and they could both feel their hearts skip a beat. After a few more seconds, they finally pulled their faces away and stared into each other's eyes.

"Father, there you are!"

Morgan tackled her father into a hug and snuggled into his cloak.

"I was getting worried about you, not that I had anything to worry about since Mom's with you. But it's getting late and we're leaving bright and early tomorrow morning, so I wanted to make sure you and Mom got enough sleep. Wouldn't help if our lead tactician falls asleep as bandits ambush us."

Robin blinked at Morgan for a few seconds before playfully ruffling her hair.

"You definitely have your father's mind." Robin giggled.

Even though Say'ri was giggling at Morgan's spontaneity, she felt a little disappointed as all three of them headed back to the inn for the night.

The following morning the Shepherds left town for Valm Harbor with Chrom, Robin and Frederick at the front.

"We'll be home soon enough." Chrom said.

"Valm has been nice, aside from the power-hungry warlords and Risen." Robin said. "But after two months, I really want to go back to my bed in Ylisstol and take a long nap."

"Remember, Robin." Frederick spoke up. "We have to search for the last gemstone before we can all finally rest."

"Do you ever rest, Frederick?" Robin asked almost as a joke.

"Lissa tried to get me to relax once…" Frederick answered seriously. "It was exhausting. Said I needed to be lazy more often."

"That's… hilariously ironic." Robin retorted.

"Yo."

"Bah!" Both Chrom and Robin exclaimed.

They were both startled by Gaius, who snuck in behind them and just started talking to them.

"You scared the crap out of us, Gaius!" Robin shouted.

"Sorry, Bubbles and Blue." Gaius shrugged. "I just came up to talk."

"If you hadn't already proven your loyalty, I would've impaled you to the ground by now." Frederick said.

"Lucky for me that I'll do anything for sweets then." Gaius smirked. "Anyway, how's it going with Blades?"

"Things went very well last night." Robin answered.

"When are ya planning on getting in her pants?" Gaius inquired.

"Beg pardon?" Robin asked.

"Do I need to spell it out for you? There's no other way I can word it without people raising eyebrows."

"Gaius, it isn't that important in relationships. What matters is the connection between two people."

"I'm not gonna lie, that IS more important, but in all my experiences with women, they all want it at some point just as much as guys."

"He's right, Robin." Chrom chimed in. "Even Sumia wanted that shortly after we confessed. You can't avoid it forever."

"Really, because Frederick seems like he'd avoid it forever." Robin said.

"Yeah, but he's… well, Frederick." Gaius retorted.

Robin sighed with exasperation and as he placed his hands in his pockets, he felt something rubbery and glared at Gaius who was just dexterously moving his fingers in front of the tactician.

Within the span of six hours, the Shepherds arrived at Valm Harbor and spent the next two to three hours loading up the ships with their remaining supplies, soldiers and any food rations they would need for the long trip back to Ylisse. While Robin was making a count of inventory, he looked over at all of the children they had met in since Lucina first appeared. Cynthia the second daughter of Chrom and Sumia, Yarne the son of Frederick and Panne, Nah the daughter of Nowi and Ricken, Owain the son of Lissa and Vaike, Brady the son of Maribelle and Stahl, Kjelle the daughter of Sully and Virion, Laurent the son of Miriel and Kellam, Inigo the son of Lon'qu and Olivia, and most recently Gerome the son of Gaius and Cherche. Then he looked to his three daughters, Rei'qu, Morgan and Severa. His attention was then drawn to the docks where Say'ri was speaking with the members of the Resistance who came to see her off.

Morgan, who was collecting food rations from the marketplace with Severa and Rei'qu, stopped walking with them and noticed that her father was looking at Say'ri.

"No slacking, Morgan." Rei'qu said to snap Morgan out of her trance. "We need to leave as quickly as possible."

"What's the rush, Rei'qu?" Severa asked.

"I'm eager to see Father's homeland." Rei'qu replied.

"You've never been to Ylisse?" Morgan inquired.

"After the Risen started to roam the lands, I spent time training with Mother while Morgan went with Father to learn about strategy." Rei'qu answered.

"Must have been nice living in a palace most of your life." Severa said.

"It wasn't as prosperous as you may think." Rei'qu stated. "Most of my days were spent training in the ways of the sword and how to lead the people of Chon'sin. When Risen are constantly on the prowl, life is far from easy."

As they dropped off their current boxes of rations, Rei'qu noticed that Severa's hands were tightly clenched and she was biting down hard.

"… I'm sorry." Rei'qu said. "I know talking about Risen is hard for you after what happened to your mother."

"It's… it's fine." Severa said, trying her best to keep calm. "… I'm sorry I lashed out at you that day."

"I forgive you." Rei'qu said. "I would have probably felt the same way if I were in your position."

"Really?" Morgan questioned. "You seem so calm all the time, Rei'qu."

"Well… Thanks for making me feel better." Severa said with a blush on her cheeks. "But don't think this makes us all buddy-buddy now!"

After their ship had set off, Robin lied down on the bed in his chambers of the ship, feeling strangely uncomfortable and warm as his conversation with Say'ri the previous night and Chrom and Gaius earlier that day permeated his thoughts.

Knock, knock.

"Robin, may I come in?" Say'ri asked from the other side of the door as she did just that.

"Usually, people wait for a response before coming in." Robin chuckled.

"Oh, I'm sorr-"

"It's okay, Say'ri. I'm only messing with you."

"Uh… uh, aye…"

As Robin sat up, Say'ri sat on the side of the bed next to him.

"I was speaking with my friends in the Resistance before our leave. I told them I had fallen for you."

"What did they have to say?"

"Some responded by saying 'he'll make a great husband' and 'I hope you two will be happy together', but one response has… unsettled me."

"Why? Did it sound like foreshadowing?"

"No, nothing of the like. The response was 'I'm sure you'll make worthy heirs to the Chon'sin throne'." Say'ri was clearly blushing repeating those words.

"'Make'… um…" Robin started blushing.

"I hadn't even thought about doing… 'the mating process' with someone before in my life… Until last night."

"Huh?"

"After we kissed and I gazed into your eyes, I felt a strange sensation. So I asked the other women in the Shepherds what it was about and… You can probably figure out the rest."

"Chrom and Gaius were giving me a similar conversation earlier this morning. They told us that we need to have…'protected mating' to keep our relationship afloat."

"'Protected'?"

Robin pulled out something from his pocket that left Say'ri confused as she tried to examine it.

"A snake skin?" She asked.

"Actually… It's… How do I put this? It's allows us to… experience the process of mating without worrying about getting you pregnant."

"What is the point of that if there is no intent of making a child?"

"From what I heard from Chrom and Gaius, they say it's about pleasure."

Say'ri thought about it for a few moments, all while her face was completely red. "… Then let's do it!"

"What?"

Say'ri embraced Robin and the two started passionately kissing each other while she was removing his clothes.

Robin and Say'ri were lying on the bed, naked, sweaty and completely out of breath. They turned their heads toward each other, unable to say anything since they were too busy trying to reclaim their breaths.

"… So?" Robin asked. "How did I do?"

"… You were… good…"

"I… wish I… had some… more stamina… though…"

Say'ri sat up and covered her body with the bed sheet. "That's why I took over for a bit."

Robin sat straight up, resting his arm against his leg. "I never pegged you as someone that wild when you took control."

Say'ri blushed furiously. "I-I was just feeling… some sort of rush."

"Hahaha."

Say'ri looked down at the bed. "I only wish my life was more like this. No war, no worries, only joy."

"You won't have to feel that anymore, Say'ri." Robin placed his hand on her shoulder. "Once we stop Grima from resurrecting, we can-"

The sound of the door opening interrupted him as Chrom walked in.

"Robin, we-Oh, gods!" Chrom looked away while covering his eyes. "I'm terribly sorry about this! You really should've locked the door!"

"Father, what is-" Lucina then walked in and saw Robin's crown jewels. "Ah!" She looked away with a bright red tint on her cheeks.

"Any more people want to barge in on this?" Robin rhetorically asked.

"Hey, Daddy, I was wonderin-" Severa then came in and slapped her hands over her eyes. "Oh, GAWDS!" She started to dry heave.

"I wasn't serious about that!" Robin exclaimed to no one in particular.

"So…" Chrom spoke up in an attempt to break the awkward silence. "Say'ri… I know you're the one who's used to doing the stabbing… How does it feel to something impaled in you?"

Despite the immature nature of the joke, Lucina tried his best not to laugh but she couldn't help but let out a stifled snicker. Severa had a different reaction as she was looking sicklier than she did when she first entered the room.

"I think I'm gonna-Urp!" Severa held her puffing mouth and dashed out to the deck.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I had the rest of this story completely laid out and I'll tell you that it'll go for about 25 chapters. Hopefully I can get to the end before the year is up so I can get to write some other stories. Anyway, stay tuned for next time!