The Next Morning

"So this is my new place…" Ragna the Bloodedge, The Grim Reaper of Ylisse, and the Guardian of the Realm said aloud to himself as he walked through the hallways of the estate he'd been gifted by Chrom. "If I gotta find a word to describe this thing… then humble ain't gonna be one."

The place was massive to Ragna even if he was familiar with both the Shepherd's barracks and the castle itself. This wasn't just some place that housed countless people, this was an estate meant solely for him. As someone who could only be considered either an orphan, an outlaw, or a soldier in the past… this was a noticeable step up. Lavish rugs, a large open fireplace, a fully equipped kitchen with an even larger food pantry. Upstairs there was a few drawing room, a few bed chambers, and even a lightly furnished library.

"...Dammit, it almost feels kind of lonely here," Ragna said with a mutter.

"If you wanted, you could always bring a few of the Shepherd's in and start charging them rent," his sister advised. Robin had been backed up in paperwork for long enough so she decided that it was time for a break. Providing her surrogate sibling with a small tour of his new abode would suffice nicely… even if it wasn't so much a tour as the two of them exploring the place together. "At the very least, you dodged the issue of them finding the library's… material."

When the two had discovered the library, they had found a few… suggestive books placed far out of the way. Ragna (out of morbid curiosity) decided to try reading few passages out of one of them... That had prompted the Reaper's first short use of his new fireplace, using a Fire spell as a source of ignition.

"...I don't know, they've already got a place to stay don't they?" Ragna asked. "Sides, acting like some sort of landlord over everyone leaves a bad taste in my mouth." The Reaper gave a small sigh. "Maybe I'll have 'em over for a meal or something, but what the hell am I supposed to do the rest of the time?"

"You could always try and start a family," Robin suggested slyly. Ragna's face was immediately flushed with a deep crimson as he began sputtering nonsensically at the tactician's- ...No actually, he didn't say a word in response, appearing oddly serious at the suggestion. "...You've been considering it then?"

"Recently, yeah…" he admitted with a sigh. "Holding everyone at an arm's length isn't exactly necessary for someone like me anymore and I've surrounded by plenty of people I'd trust with my life… It's been hard to push the thought aside and harder still to convince myself that it wouldn't make me happy." He then looked at Robin. "What about you?"

"What do you mean what about me?" she questioned, confused rather than angry. "I'd think that you in particular would know that much."

"I'm not just talking about your upcoming marriage to Chrom," Ragna told her. "I'm asking about any possible kids you're thinking of." Truth to be told, the run in he'd had with Marth had told him enough that the two would have a child together, but he couldn't help but wonder his own sister's feeling on the matter.

"Even if I wasn't expected to… produce a royal heir," she began, immediately showing hatred towards the phrase, "I would still want to have at least one child… maybe more if Chrom and I felt it was right."

"Seriously?" Ragna asked, kind of impressed with her sense of maturity on the topic. "So what kind of mother did you think you would be?" He gave a small chuckle. "I can probably see you being the type of strict yet caring and nurturing one; the teacher type and an ideal role model for a future Exalt."

"You… You mean that?" she asked him. "That… that might be one of the nicest things anyone's ever said to me."

"It's the truth," the Reaper told her warmly before considering. "When you put it that way though, it reminds me that you never did tell me about how Chrom proposed."

"It… it honestly came as a surprise," Robin told him with a happy blush as she thought back. "In our pastime, Chrom and I have taken to reading together whenever we have a chance… in fact he always loves it whenever I read to him."

"...I can see it," Ragna admitted, thinking back to the slightly more innocent side of his best friend. "So he used that as his chance?"

"More than that, he actually came up with a clever cover for the proposal; literally," she said. "We'd just finished reading our last book together and Chrom had asked if he could select our next one. He brought his selection to me one morning and I remember being a little surprised with his selection. A Message to the Woman I Love."

"So a romance book?" the Reaper asked.

"That's what I thought too, and I never figured he was into those things so it came as a surprise. When I asked him about it he told me 'it seemed like the right time to read it.' Then I opened it and found the book was hollowed out with a ring inside; one bearing the crest of House Ylisse." Robin smiled. "To be honest, it looked like he would try to say more to convince me, maybe he even had an entire speech ready, but it didn't matter to me. I nearly screamed Yes! as I ran into his arms…"

"Must've been one of the happiest days of your life… for the both of you," Ragna guessed with a genuine smile of his own.

"It actually got even better actually," she said to him, almost seeming to tear at the memory. "Later that afternoon, on the very same day… that was when I got my brother back."

"Heh… Get over here," he finally said and surrogate brother and sister exchange a warm hug one another. "...I'm proud of you, you know that?"

"I know," she said to him. "...It's still going to be a bit before we make the announcement."

"Yeah, but the ball's less than a week away now," Ragna said with a groan as their hug ended. "Meaning I've got to go and get ready for it."

"You'll have to figure it out then," Robin told him with a smile.

"...Speaking of the ball though, funny thing I saw the other day," the Reaper said with a smirk. "I caught Chrom in the hallway talking to a few of the lady nobles that were asking if he had plans for it. You should have seen how angry they looked when he had to tell him that he already had someone he was taking. Didn't help that he couldn't tell them it was you."

"As long as he knows that he's mine, we've got nothing to worry about," the tactician told him, smirking as a picture of said event popped into her head. "Back to you though…"

"Oh boy…" Ragna gave a short groan, dreading being put on display.

"I've only got one question for you, and it's not too specific," Robin told him. Ragna didn't say anything, reserving judgement until he heard it. "If had to choose someone to spend the rest of your life with today… would they be someone from the Shepherds?"

"...Is there anyone else?" he responded truthfully.

"A possible maiden or two that you've rescued?" Robin suggested as a bit of a tease. "The dashing knight, carrying off a maiden to a life of love and adventure."

"Please, that sounds like the complete fantasy that you'd find in those books I just burnt," the Reaper responded with a chuckle. "Nah, I'd rather spend what's left of my life with a woman that can kick as much ass as me... that would feel right."

"So they need to be strong, physically?" Robin asked.

"Ah, ah, you got your one question," Ragna told her off with his own teasing tone. "Don't expect a free handout from me every single time you ask a question, sister."

"Aw…" Robin said with a fake sigh. "I need to get going, I can't let that paperwork pile up any more than it already has."

"Take care of yourself, let me know if anything comes up," Ragna told her with a smirk. With one last smile and a wave, Robin headed out the door and began he walk back to the castle, leaving Ragna in the massive space that was his new house. "Family, eh? ...I guess mine's started to get a lot bigger recently… Always room for more though."

Support Rank A Obtained with Robin