Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Fire Emblem.

Intimacy and Trust

Her fingers dancing along Robin's back, Maribelle felt her face heat up. Although they weren't doing anything inherently wrong, the young noblewoman had never expected to find herself in this position. They weren't even married yet. The war with Valm had started up before a date for their wedding could be decided upon. It left them in the position that no decent noblewoman wanted to face. An in between state where they were not officially bound to one another, yet they refused to be apart; no matter what society said about them.

It was why she was still here, despite having stumbled upon the man while he was in a state of undress. Having taken up a slightly different role within the Shepherds, Robin had shifted to a more frontline position; a role he took after much deliberation with her. No longer staying behind and casting magic while fighting, he would now be standing right beside Lord Chrom.

Cinching the leather straps tightly around her fiancé's shoulder, she secured his shoulder plate into place. Dressing him in the armour that came with his new position, Maribelle felt a thrill as she took advantage of the opportunity to feel up her husband-to-be. It was rare that they could manage to spend time together alone, what with the war waging around them, and she was eager to take advantage of what could possibly be their last moment together.

They were to march upon Demon's Ingle in a few hours' time. The next major battle, Maribelle had no doubt about that. With this clash between the Valmese forces and the united Feroxian and Ylissean forces approaching, she wanted to be right there with him for as long as possible. There was no guarantee that both of them would live through the day, and she would rather not spend their last moments separate.

"Love, you know that you don't need to do this," Robin said, interrupting her thoughts. "I was doing well enough on my own."

His face was dusted a light pink, a sure sign that he was feeling some embarrassment over the situation, but Maribelle continued as if he hadn't said a word. Picking up his breastplate, she placed it over his chest, cinching the straps tightly; ensuring it wouldn't fall off as he moved.

"Pish, this is nothing. I… I want to make sure that you are well prepared for the battle today," she said.

"But, are you sure that coming in here was wise. Don't you want to prevent rumours?"

Robin's question was valid. Despite being betrothed, it was unseemly for an unmarried woman to be alone inside a man's tent. Maribelle was aware of that, but at this moment she didn't care. Right now, she wanted to make sure that her husband-to-be was as safe as possible. And ensuring it by her own hand would make her far more comfortable than allowing him to do it himself.

"I would rather have you safe darling," she replied. "Rumours we can deal with together. Losing you, I couldn't deal with that."

Robin sighed, but Maribelle knew that he was smiling. As the lead tactician of the combined forces, her fiancé was busy almost all of the time. She couldn't even begin to count the number of times she had found him passed out on his desk, papers strewn all around him. Being able to take this moment to help him, it was one of the only times she had been alone with him since the war had started.

The fact that Robin had been struggling to get his armour on by himself, apparently a typical occurrence, had been all the excuse she needed. Inviting herself into his tent, she proceeded to take over in assisting him with getting the armour onto his body.

It was an immensely intimate act. Her mother had told her about how she had done this for her father when the first war with Plegia had been at its peak. Anytime that he was to ride out, her father would spend a moment with his wife, and she would help him. The troubadour loved the story and decided that when she was married, she would do the same. Having finally been able to perform the action, she understood what her mother was talking about.

This act was one of complete trust. Robin's safety was being put into her hands. If she failed to attach even a single piece of his armour properly, it could lead to his death on the battlefield. It bound them to one another in a way that only intercourse could surpass. If he fell, then it would be as if a piece of her had been torn apart. They were united, and this action cemented that fact.

Placing the last piece onto his back, she smiled as she stepped away from him.

"All finished," she said, keeping her eyes on her fiancé's form.

Standing up, Robin turned to face her, a nervous smile on his face.

"So it looks proper this time?" he asked.

"Of course darling," Maribelle answered. "You look dashing."

Robin blushed at her words, scratching the back of his head as she watched him.

"Thanks. Well… I should probably go meet with Chrom, finish up the plans for the assault on Demon's Ingle," he said, chuckling slightly.

Before he could move away, Maribelle pulled him to her; wrapping her arms tightly around him.

"Stay alive," she said. "Don't show up at the medical tent and make it through to the end. I'll be waiting for you."

Burying her face into his chest, she felt the cool metal of his armour shift as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I promise you Maribelle, I won't be going anywhere. We'll win this fight, we'll win the war against Valm and we'll go home. There's no way that I would pass up staying by your side for eternity. Not a single one," Robin said.

"Yeah," she replied, squeezing him tighter. "You better."

Robin laughed as he released his grip on her. Moving away, he grabbed his cloak, throwing it on over top of his armour, giving her a big grin as held open the entrance to his tent.

"After you milady," he said.

Maribelle smiled to herself as she walked past Robin stepping back out into the camp. As the bright light of the morning sun filled her vision, she felt a wave of comfort flow over her. Robin would be fine, she was certain of it. And if it required her to help him with his armour before every battle, just to feel this sense of comfort, she could easily make the time to help. Blushing as she thought about it, Maribelle found herself even more eager to be properly wed to her tactician.

End Intimacy and Trust

A/N: It has been over two years… wow, I cannot believe it took that long to write another of these; my deepest apologies for that. While I cannot assure that there will be a steady influx of additions to this collection, I do plan on adding more Fire Emblem Awakening fics soon, so look forward to that. As to the story here, well after a lot of deliberation, I decided I wanted to do something that played off of the fact that I class changed Robin to a Hero during the playthrough that he was paired with Maribelle. That and I remember a scene in Ironclad (if I'm remembering the right film) where the nobleman's wife helps him into his armour. As I watched that scene I always found it to be a lot more intimate than I think it was supposed to be, but I thought I'd play off of that idea here. Hopefully it was an enjoyable read. Anyway, until next time:

Nanashi Wanderer