A/N

Updates will probably start to slow down. I was able to bust out the first three chapters because I was on vacation, but now that I'm back it's gonna take time to review/edit my stories.

I wrote the above text before I got swamped at work, and if the last six months of nothing haven't been an indication, my upload schedule is going to slow down a lot. It is what it is. Please excuse any spelling/punctuation errors you see, this hasn't been reviewed thoroughly. If I see anything crazy, I'll fix it when I get the chance.

All that said, if you've liked/favourited/reviewed/revisited, I appreciate it! It means a lot to me. Hope you enjoy the next chapter.

Robin awoke once more to the sight of Lucina's blue hair, but unlike the first time, he woke up in much more alarm.

The reason being that his shirt was off, and Lucina's was pushed up so his hand could rest across her stomach.

"I don't remember taking it off." He thought as his eyes lifted to the headboard, where he saw his shirt in a small pile above the pillows on his bed.

He stayed still as Lucina stroked the back of his hand gently, wondering how long ago she'd woken up. Did she not mind? It was one thing for him to keep her company through the night when she needed the comfort, but surely this was crossing a line. His hand was almost at the hem of her smallclothes. It was probably because she thought he was still asleep, he figured. Then she shifted slightly, closing the distance between them and bringing her back flush to his front, exhaling as she did so, and he blinked. Slowly, he relaxed so he didn't disturb her, and thought about his conversation with Chrom a few weeks ago.

None of the things he'd done before defeating Grima he'd done with the intention of courting her. And thinking back to how he'd interacted with all of the Shepherds, the same could be said of all his interactions with women - he wanted to help, to be friends, to take care of them. Same as any of the guys, of course. He was a leader in Chrom's army, and forming strong bonds with his soldiers had been instrumental in the victory over Grima, and his return. Was anything different with Lucina?

A memory came to the front of his mind - early on, before the battle against Gangrel had even been won, the Shepherds had had a guys night out. As the drinks started flowing, Vaike had made a joke; one sexual in nature that had gone completely over his head due to his amnesia. He'd been teased at first, but after realizing he was serious, a drunken troupe of soldiers tried to explain what he didn't know - and beneath all the lewd gestures and vulgar innuendos, it had been mostly accurate to what he researched later. Mostly.

Maybe he was just too naïve to understand what being 'in love' actually meant. If he was being completely serious, when the Shepherd's had started pairing up, he couldn't understand what had drawn them together. Miriel's scientific efforts were nothing to scoff at, nor was Maribelle's efforts to bring balance to the scales of justice. Aside from the occasional physical attraction, none of the women in the Shepherd's had ever drawn his attention, as Chrom had pointed out. He just couldn't imagine a future with them - they were near and dear to his heart, but he couldn't imagine coming home to any of the women in the Shepherds.

But those thoughts often crept up when Lucina was involved, even after they'd had a falling out. When she'd told him about the bleak future they were trying to avoid - it was like nothing he'd ever heard. No tragedies penned nor sad stories shared under inebriation had ever struck a chord with him the way Lucina's desires to see a better future did. Whenever she'd had a rough night with terrible dreams, or he'd caught her in her doldrums while she was training, his first and only desire was to find some way to make her happy. He put everything he had into saving her from her dark future, literally.

But surely that didn't mean he was in love with her, right? Everyone had fought for her cause.

But who else aside from her parents had put forth as much effort into her personal happiness as he had?

Maybe he really had fallen in love with her, and just hadn't realized it.

"I can practically hear you thinking, you know."

Robin's eyes opened wide as Lucina turned, his hand lifting while hers settled along his chest, running up and down.

"What's wrong?"

He swallowed nervously. "Uh, I'm not decent?" He rolled onto his back, letting his hand fall to his side.

"You woke up in the middle of the night complaining about the heat and took it off." She told him. "Did I not tell you that were warm? You're practically your own fireplace." Then, she turned and settled in between his legs, resting both hands beside him and resting her cheek on his chest. Her eyes closed, and he could feel her warm breathing tickle him.

"And it's improper." His tone of voice evident of the hint he was trying to give. He reached back with one hand, but Lucina looked up at him, and he stopped.

"It's nothing I haven't seen before. I've seen you in rags and bloodied bandages while you were last in line to receive the clerics tending." She reminded him softly. She lifted her head and shifted forward, and her hands came to his sides, then up his ribs, then across his chest.

He inhaled quietly. "M-Maybe. But times like that were after long battles, not when we were... Alone in my room..." He trailed off as Lucina peered up at him with a small smile.

"Why are you blushing?"

"I'm not blushing!"

"Your scarlet face says otherwise." She chuckled lightly. One hand came up to cup his cheek, and she looked between his eyes as though she was studying him.

His Adam's apple moved as he swallowed. He gripped her wrist gently, as though to pull it away, but stopped... then slid up along her arm, to her shoulder, before falling down to stop at her lower back, where his other hand joined it. "How are you feeling?"

She blinked, then rested her head against his shoulder as she lay down on him. "Much better. I... I apologize for my distressed state last night." Lucina closed her eyes. She hated showing weakness - She was the Exalt, she was the leader of the last remnants of humanity, and she had a mission to save the world. Showing weakness was not something she did often. She'd only wept a handful of times in her life, and in her blighted world her tears hadn't fallen in years - as more and more people died, she'd become more and more numb to her feelings as she focused solely on saving the world. It wasn't until properly reuniting with her father that the walls around her heart had started falling. Though she'd remained mostly composed since, there had been other times where her emotions had gotten the better of her. Like last night. "If I must confess... Falling asleep with you seems to be a surefire way to ward off my bad dreams. Do you remember that one night by the campfire some weeks before the final confrontation with Walhart?"

He nodded as he recalled the memory. "I remember being sore after sitting against the tree all night."

"I apologized! But, back then, I remember thinking about the restful sleep I had gotten despite the circumstances. I never ascribed anything to it, but now..." She shifted and wrapped her arms around him. "You're like a good luck charm."

A sad, half-smile formed on Robin's face.

Lucina looked up as she sensed his mood shift.

"I'm not."

She sat up quickly. "I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay." He assured her quickly. With a sigh, he sat upright, leaning against his headboard.

But as she sat sat up with him, she wrapped her arms around his neck. "No. It's not. I was selfish before, Robin - I turned my back on you to focus on ensuring the world was saved. Please, promise you'll tell me if something is bothering you. I don't wish to see you suffer anymore."

His gaze dropped, and he shook his head. "I just - it seems like trouble follows me no matter what. It wasn't long after Chrom found me that you showed up warning of the dire future. Then Emmeryn was nearly killed when Plegia tried to assassinate her, plunging us into war. Then Validar took over Plegia and it just... Now I find out I'm to be married off, because those two bastards didn't care what they were doing while they were trying to end the world. They don't call Grima the wings of despair and the breath of ruin without reason. I'm the herald of bad news because of the fell blood in me."

"You have no fell blood." She lifted his hand and pressed the back of it against her chest. Her heart beat strongly. "You are human. And you are not now nor were you ever responsible for the crimes of Grima, or Validar." She brought her legs up and rested his knees on either side of his hips, sitting on his thighs. "Nor are you responsible for Gwyn bringing trouble to our doorstep." She lifted his hand and pressed her lips to it, where the Mark of Grima once was. Tingles ran down his arm.

"And if I don't go with him, it's another war?"

Lucina shook her head and lowered his hand. "He is bluffing. Plegia is still too weak to mount any kind of serious attack against us. It would be for naught, and in the end he would accomplish nothing but the slaughter of his own people. You aren't going anywhere. I promised, didn't I?" She leaned down and pressed her lips to his cheek. In spite of himself, Robin smiled. "What?"

"Usually, I'm the one cheering you up." He pointed out. "'Us', 'Promised'... It sounds nice."

She laced fingers with him. "You're important to me. I- You... You're... W-We're friends." She hesitated. He nodded slowly. She cleared her throat.

"Is that all we are?" He asked as he lifted their hands up.

Her heart hammered in her chest. She looked between his eyes and saw something, and her breath caught.

"You don't think they're actually going to refuse, do you?"

Gwynevere sat across from her father, sipping from a cup of freshly brewed tea beneath the royal tent.

"I hope not." Gwyn answered.

"But if they do, would you really try and hold Robin and Ylisse accountable for everything that's happened to our country?" She asked.

"If I don't, someone will."

Gwynevere shivered, face scrunching up. She knew exactly the people he talked of - warmongers would always be welcome in the Plegian King's court, whether the King wanted them there or not. "I hope it doesn't come to that. We had enough war when I was growing up to last an age." Memories of anxiously reading letters while waiting for her father to return occupied her mind for a moment. She sighed before asking, "Do you really think we could win?"

"No." Gwyn stood up. "Not on our own, and we have no strong allies to help us. But I'll not sit on the throne as my kingdom collapses beneath me. Robin will help us, whether through marriage or by lack of it angering the masses of Plegia to rise against Ylisse once more. Hopefully, we can convince him of the former. Though judging by everyone's reactions yesterday, we should prepare for the latter."

"I would like to visit with him once more. I didn't get the chance to speak with him privately yesterday, especially with his little guard dog around." She scowled as she remembered how the other princess had treated her.

Gwyn scowled right back. "Watch your tongue. Princess Lucina is still royalty, and the future Exalt."

"R-Right. My apologies, Father." She coughed into one hand awkwardly. "But perhaps I can use my feminine charm to convince him to join us. Or find some blackmail to hold against him so he comes along 'willingly'." She winked.

"...Do as you wish. Robin will supply us with an answer one way or the other. If you wish to go to the castle, Frederick has organized a group of Ylissean soldiers to be on standby in order to escort us should we need to visit. You can ask one of the guards to take you. I have letters to send." With that, he left the tent.

For a moment, Gwynevere rested her chin on hand. "I wonder what I should do..." She thought. "Obviously, I can't actually seduce him till our wedding night... And it's not like I brought anything with me to impress him." She tapped her index finger against her cheek. "Well, I'm sure it'll all work out in the end." She stood up and walked outside the tent, wincing as her eyes adjust to the sunlight. A small number of other tents to house the members of the royal guard were nearby, and the flat grassland they were on made it easy to see where the Ylissean camp was. Getting on her pony and heading to it, she pointed at the first guard to look at her. "You!"

He pointed at himself. "Me?"

"Yes, you." She grinned brightly. "I wish to visit Castle Ylisstol and see Robin. You will escort me there at once."

"My Exalt, I have brought Princess Gwynevere of Plegia." Frederick announced as he approached Chrom.

Gwynevere curtsied, smiling brightly. "Good day, your excellency. Is Sir Robin around?"

Chrom glanced at Frederick, and they both shared a frown - but neither could come up with a good excuse. "I haven't seen him around this morning. Why don't we go look for him together?"

"That sounds wonderful. I'm grateful." As they walked through the castle corridors, Gwynevere cleared her throat. "And I would like to apologize for yesterday, on behalf of my Father. I am sure it was not easy for Robin to suddenly find out in the way he did."

"The threat of war certainly didn't help either." Frederick grumbled, and she gave an awkward laugh.

"You're right about that. Things were looking up for once, and now..." Chrom sighed. "Well, it's hardly your fault. I know you weren't there when Grima and Validar came up with this farce."

Gwynevere pursed her lips as she thought, "Well, it wouldn't kill you to just hand the Plegian prince back over to Plegia, would it?" But all she did was shrug. "Come now milord, you act as though Plegia is full of nothing but barbarians, bandits, and cultists. You haven't seen it from our side - there is plenty to like. Plegia has as rich a history as Ylisse. I'm sure Robin will feel the same way once he returns to his homeland."

She could practically hear Chrom's teeth gritting, and there was no missing the way his neck muscles flexed as he smiled a little too wide. "Yes well... Hopefully we can find a solution that makes everyone happy."

They found Robin in the Courtyard, sitting at one of the stone tables with his hands on his face, an open book in front of him.

"Oh Robiiiiin~!" Gwynevere sang as she ran ahead of Chrom and Frederick to sit beside him. "How are you, my betrothed?" She wrapped both hands around his arm and rested her head on his shoulder.

The tactician winced and frowned. "I'm fine." He muttered as he tried (and failed) to gently get out of her grasp.

Chrom smiled - as annoying as the whole situation was, he still found Robin's initial reaction funny. Then he noticed Robin was frowning a little too deeply, his eyes a little too overshadowed. He reached forward and clapped him on the shoulder. "We didn't see you at breakfast this morning. Sleep in?"

"Uh... Yeah, I guess."

Chrom raised a brow, but before he could say anything, Gwynevere spoke again. "I was thinking Robin, why don't you and I go for a walk? I could tell you some of the more fascinating events that have happened in Plegia since your last visit!" She was already on her feet, pulling him up and tugging insistently.

Robin rolled his eyes, and Chrom gave him a half hearted thumbs up and mouthed the words, "Just play along for now."

"Has she been training all morning?"

"I'm not sure you'd call that training..."

"Yeah, I walked up to see if she wanted to spar and she nearly bit my head off. I've never seen her this angry."

Sumia, Cynthia, and Kjelle stood behind a pillar and watched as the Parallel Falchion glowed brightly with Lucina's swings.

"Son of a-"

***THWACK***

"Stupid! Blasted!"

***CRACK***

"Foolish! Naïve!"

***SCHWACK***

"IDIOTIC!"

No less than a dozen training dummies had met violently cruel ends as Lucina swung and spun and hacked at every piece of wood she could reach. Though she was panting heavily and sweat clung to her forehead, she didn't stop.

Unsure what to say, the trio could only hide behind the pillar as they watched Lucina continued taking her frustrations out on anything she could hit.

"And so, after several duels, my Father came out on top, and through trial of combat proved his claim to the throne!" The Plegian bride-to-be finished with a chirp and a fist pump.

Robin had only been half listening at first, but he had to admit, it was intriguing hearing how Gwyn had taken the throne after Plegia had been left in chaos. Gwyn has some relation to Validar as some 'nth cousin xth removed' or something, and though it was distant he technically had a claim to the throne. "Well, from what I heard yesterday it seems like he was capable enough for the job. It certainly could've ended up in worse hands... I guess."

Gwynevere smiled. "Thank you. I'll be sure to let him know he has your approval. Though I suppose it should be the other way around... And technically, you should have the approval before you get married, but you're also not supposed to disappear and come back to life, and... Hmm... How did that whole thing work, anyways?"

"They didn't tell you? I was supposed to be Grima's heart, and so killing him ended up killing me too when he connected to the Grima of this time. As for how I actually ended up as the heart, you'd have to ask a Grimleal, assuming any are still around."

"Well, I've never been one for religion, if you must know. I slept through most of the ceremonies they had for me growing up. And just between you and me, I find the whole ordeal of Plegian religious affairs boring when they aren't dreadful. 'You cannot render undo Grima that which he will one day destroy!' Like, what does that even mean? That we shouldn't even bother worshipping him? Kind of a bad idea to build a religion around not giving worship, you know?"

Robin snorted, and Gwynevere gleamed at lifting his mood. "Well, Libra's sermons dragged on for a long time too. He's a friend and fellow Shepherd. He was the one who married most of the couples here, actually. But I dreaded them every time - he always takes too long to preach. The ceremony was always nice, but when he got to the 'till death do you part' bit, I always felt like it would be literal." Gwynevere chuckled, and Robin smiled despite himself. "They're supposed to be getting married man, and we all have other places to be."

"I'll take note of that. Our ceremony will be short, sweet, and to the point."

He looked to hide his frown.

"What?"

"Listen..." He sighed, then shook his head. "Nevermind."

"I'm not unsympathetic, you know." The sudden seriousness to her voice caused him to turn to face her. "But unlike you, I know exactly where I came from. I watched the people who lived under my father go from penniless to destitute, I lost contact with one friend after another as noble house after noble house fell to support the foolish ambitions of deranged kings. But for the first time in a long time, the court has an opportunity to make things better for our country, without bloodshed. Surely that is preferable to war?"

Robin looked between her eyes. He knew she was telling the truth - he wasn't naïve enough to believe the people of Plegia would just roll over for Ylisse forever. Gwyn was right, at some point another king or rogue general or lucky bandit and unlucky noble would force a war, no matter how much Chrom or Gwyn might not want it.

Before he could respond, Gwynevere smiled at him. "And don't you think you're immediately assuming the worst? You act as though you will never see your friends again, when we both know that isn't true. You'll be the crown prince, by birthright and marriage, and you will play a direct role in helping keep your friends safe by ensuring peace between our kingdom and Ylisse." She put her hands on her hips and smirked. "And besides, I may end up growing on you."

"I've certainly made friends with stranger people than her." He noted. "It's not like I have anything against you, or Lord Gwyn. But my place is here, with the people who wanted me to come back from the brink so badly it actually happened. And I'll be totally honest with you - I will find a way to get out of this arranged marriage. So I hope you don't get too attached to the notion of being my future wife."

"We'll just see about that." She turned, and they began walking again. "So tell me, what was Valm like? I have heard tells told about these 'chopsticks' they eat with, and I want know if it's true or not."

Robin reached down and grabbed a couple of sticks. "It's true. You hold them like this, and pick up your food like this-"

"But what about soup? Surely they do not pick up each ingredient one at a time and eat it that way?"

"Well, they do have spoons and forks there, but it's just common to use chopsticks. You know, as part of their tradition and culture." He clicked the ends of his sticks together a few times as he thought back to the campaign against Walhart, and sighed. He chucked the sticks ahead of them, but when they hit the ground they made an odd clink sound that caught his attention. As he stepped forward, he scanned the ground, wondering if they'd hit a stone that'd ended up here, and he almost missed it.

Almost.

Reaching down, he moved some of the earth with his hand and pulled out one half of Lucina's old mask.

"What's that?" Gwynevere asked as he suddenly began digging with fervor. "Robin? You'll tear up the courtyard!"

"Ha! Found it!" He stood up, holding both pieces in his hands. The mask was clearly damaged from exposure, with much of the old blue having faded or worn away entirely, but it was still intact enough to not crumble to pieces in his hands.

Robin smiled at his success, and Gwynevere watched as it slowly fell to a more forlorn, melancholic smile, before it faded completely. A few moments passed in silence as he contemplated the pieces in his hands, and his frown became more intense. "Robin, what is that?"

His head snapped up. "Oh, uh... It was a mask that Lucina used to wear. She was pretending to be the old Hero King Marth to inspire us, but during an assassination attempt against Emmeryn several years ago, it broke and we learned she was actually a woman."

Gwynevere had heard bits and bobs of the tale that had led to Grima's downfall, time travel being among them, but she still had a hard time believing it all. Then, her mind was drawn to how Lucina had acted yesterday. "I take it you too are close?"

His sad smile returned. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess. It was hard when she found out I was her sworn enemy, and that the future me had killed her parents. Things weren't really the same after that." He sighed, gently placing the mask pieces in his coat pockets.

"Oh... Were you that close? I mean, really close?" She raised her brow suggestively, and Robin groaned. Gwynevere couldn't help but giggle a bit.

"We were just friends!" He replied.

"Okay, okay!" She held up her hands in mock surrender. "I'm just saying, based on all the romance novels I read, a couple of warriors on the long sea, marching together everyday, fighting side by side in battle? At some point you have to cut loose after winning the war, right?"

"Oh, hush." Robin walked ahead of her.

"Wait, he's never - OH MY GODS!" She thought as her hands flew to her face in realization.

"Oh, good to see you dear." Sumia smiled and gave Chrom a kiss on the cheek as he approached.

"What's everyone - Oh, I see."

Lucina had stopped robbing innocent dummies of their lives some time ago, and had fallen to her knees, Falchion held loosely in her hand.

"What happened?"

"We dunno." Cynthia said quietly. "She blew past Kjelle earlier, then Kjelle came and told me, so I went and told Mother, but we haven't actually, um..." She trailed off sheepishly.

"Maybe she just needed to blow off some steam?" Kjelle wondered aloud. "I mean, right when she hooks up with Robin a new girl shows up and tries to get hitched with him? I'd be pissed too." She felt all eyes on her and looked up. "What?"

"Who told you they got together?" Sumia asked.

"Cynthia."

Chrom looked at his second daughter quizically. "A-A-A Well, that's what I heard from Mother!"

"I didn't mean they'd slept together!"

"Who's there!?"

All four heads snapped to Lucina, who heard their loud whispering. Chrom rolled his eyes and stepped out from behind the pillar, with Sumia and the others following behind him.

"How long have you been out here?" Her father asked.

Lucina took his offered hand and stood up, sheathing her weapon. "I don't know. Since morning." She mumbled.

"You've been training all morning?" Chrom asked in disbelief.

Swallowing thickly, she gave a jerky nod.

"You're a terrible liar, you know."

Lucina sniffled as she looked up, then shot an accusatory glance at the other three women.

Sumia came forward with her hands clasped in front of her. "What's wrong, dear?"

Several quiet moments passed as she contemplated what to say with her gaze downcast. "I've never been out of my depth like this." She finally said. "I haven't felt this emotional since I was a child."

"Is this about you and Robin?" Cynthia asked hesitantly.

Lucina sighed as she hugged herself, turning away. "Yes. We... Had an argument this morning."

"You were with him again this morning?" Chrom asked. He saw Lucina tense up, and Sumia angrily wacked his arm.

"I couldn't sleep. I've felt guilty, and wanted to clear the air with him, but I fear I've just made things worse."

"Surely it can't be that bad. Just apologize for whatever was said and put it behind you." Kjelle said. "War is on the horizon, we can't afford to be throwing temper tantrums whenever we argue with one another." Cynthia glared at her and she asked, "What?"

"She's right. Sort of. Tell us what happened." Chrom pressed gently, reaching forward to turn her around.

Lucina sighed as she composed herself, then lifted her head to look at the others.