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Premonition: Springtime

"Please don't tell me we're actually near Southtown." He said, letting go of Lissa's embrace. Chrom smiled and pulled him into a brisk hug, the former almost brought to tears. But it didn't take long for doubt to overcome every shred of joy that existed in Mark's head. If he were to describe what happened in percentages, there was a ninety-nine percent chance of him never returning and a one percent chance of him even having the chance to return.

Was this a ruse created by the oblivion that surrounded him? The windy day made him shiver. The sun that shone above Chrom's shoulder blinded him. His strong grip startled him. Lissa's embrace stunned him. And their appearances? Gods, he had to admit he could never find a shred of evidence of Chrom or Lissa aging, even with the stresses of two wars. Everything around him was obviously not from a replayed memory, since the accursed Mark of Grima no longer tainted his skin.

"Peace Mark. The groundskeeper told me that he was planting daisies until he saw you lying down on one patch." The Exalt chuckled, tears already forming on the corners of his eyes. "I-I couldn't believe it. I rushed to Lissa and the moment the news reached her ears, she outran me!"

For a moment, Mark thought Lissa would say something but instead remained silent. Mark sighed in relief, despite his hands trembling with excitement and joy. With everything happening at the courtyard, it further enforced the fact that he's back in his world and not in some "oblivion construct", as he would later call it.

"By Naga, Mark!" Chrom said. "How did you get back after all this time?"

"I don't know. All I remember was falling asleep and—wait. 'After all this time'?" He took one deep breath to gather his composure. Chrom's brow furrowed and his smile faded into a slight frown. "What do you mean—My gods, how…how long was I gone?"

"About a year." He sighed; a grim expression befell Mark. "Everyone looked at every place we thought you could end up in: Ferox, Plegia—Hells, Walhart personally took the initiative to look for you in Valm. But over the months, it really felt like we were chasing our own tails."

Mark was at an absolute loss for words. A full year? Without any way of telling time in that place, he felt that his time lasted—at most—a full day. He returned to them after near impossible odds and all he did was lie down and attempt to sleep. If he had tried to do that earlier, could he have gotten out sooner? He felt he had put an immense amount of stress on his companions. Gods, he didn't even want to know the amount of resources it took just to look for him.

"But the good thing is we didn't give up, right?" Lissa said softly. "And I think," And she once again buried her head on her husband's chest. Her voice was muffled. "That's what brought you back here…"

The heat from her body overpowered the heat his coat brought. At first Mark knew that given the chance, she would have jumped and tackled him down, emblazoning his face with kisses at any moment. Instead, he was exposed to the subtle jumps of her shoulders and the heat of her breath warming up his cotton shirt. She twisted and nuzzled, and her breath began to act uneven, sporadic. A soft wince enticed his ears, cues that her tears were ready to flow out. He reached for her head and ran his hands through her hair.

Though Chrom was never known for his ability to read situations that he was witnessing, he knew what he needed to do. As the couple was locked in a tender embrace, Chrom looked straight into his friend's eyes and nodded. Since Mark had always given him the same courtesy when he and Sumia needed to be alone; it was only proper that he return the favor. With a certain regal flair, Chrom turned his back on the couple and returned to the grand hall, leaving the two of them under the high sun and the daisies in the courtyard. Their—as Vaike would phrase it— "man-to-man talk" can wait until later.

Mark never said a word, but appreciated his gesture and returned his attention to his wife. He wanted to tell her everything that happened in the oblivion. How his memory returned, how everything began to unfold. He was excited, yet like Chrom, he could not read situations like this

"Lissa, I—" He began excitedly, but was cut short with a firm pound from her.

"I thought Chrom told you to not do something THAT stupid!" Lissa doted on him. She was definitely angry. At least, that's how he thought she sounded like. "What were you thinking?"

"If it was to keep you and our family safe for the next few eternities," He wrapped his sleeved arms around her small body. Lissa felt his arms tighten around her. She struggled as his hug overpowered her resistance, yet she felt safe. His embrace was necessary warmth against the cool springtime breeze. "I'd be glad to do it again."

"Did you forget you're my husband? You promised we'd be together forever." She squeezed her grip on his shirt tighter. He closed his eyes and smiled. His nose was tickled by the strands of her hair. Lavender, he smelled from her hair. "You don't just back out, chump."

"Love makes you do stupid things, right?" He let out a soft chuckle and she pounded on his chest.

"You're so lame." Lissa felt the heat rise to her cheeks once more after a yearlong endeavor. She loved the man with all her being and his lameness was one of his most attractive points.

"I keep my promises. Why else would I do that?" Silence came over again. Lissa basked in the presence of her beloved husband, although she had the urge of putting something inside his shirt; all their well-meaning prank wars were as just as important as any kisses and compliments between lovers.

Still locked in their embrace, they both gently fell to their knees onto the soft grass. She quickly released her grip from his shirt and quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, vowing to never, ever let go. Their heads gently touched and leaned on each other like the roof of a house. They felt each other's warmth and relished in it. Mark took to rocking themselves side to side for a short moment.

"…How much did I miss?" He finally said, choking at the end. Lissa's chest tightened. Though the urge to say "not much" came, she never sugarcoated anything.

Lissa did her best to keep those feelings under her infallible sprightliness through the months and seasons. Even so, she was also human. She was subjected to base feelings, too. Without Mark by her side and his return uncertain, she felt that a part of her had been ripped out. It was just as bad—no—worse than Emmeryn jumping from Plegia Castle. And she hated him for it. For months, she had no shoulder to lean on to. She had no one to cry to—even Maribelle was unable to bear the weight of everything happening to her. Even with the amount of suitors that came by Ylisse after the first two months, she never considered remarriage despite an unending and brooding feeling of loneliness. She knew no one could ever replace Mark and that rubbery thing she found incredibly attractive. She was first to never lose hope when he was gone and first to proudly to say: "My husband saved the damn world! We'll find him soon!" every time a blasted suitor came to her and offered marriage and empty happiness. Before long, she was at her most delicate but she was stronger than any fort ever made in Ylisse, Ferox or Valm.

For months, she sang lullabies that let their son sleep easy at night. She nursed Owain by herself, refusing to allow some wet-nurse to take over her natural duty as a parent. For months, she entertained her son from a future so grim and gave him the love that he never had the chance to have. Heck, she finally named her staff "Twitchy", after her son's often used battle cry. And though it was acceptable, it was still to the Scion of Legend's chagrin. She cried with their daughter when they thought the man they loved so dear died. She took her to trips around Ylisse, showing her the kingdom that her father treasured and called home. Although Morgan did not recall any obvious memories of her from the future past, Lissa strove to create new memories with her daughter to make up for those she lost.

She kissed and hugged all her children and she stood by their side when everything looked so bright yet felt so bleak and incomplete. She swore to get even with him after this. No one makes her go through all of that and gets away with it.

"You missed Owain's first words." Her voice was but a murmur yet he heard it as clear as day.

Mark bit his lip. "What did he say?"

"Papa." And her voice began to shiver and break; the fort she had built for one year had finally begun to fall. A year's worth of uncertainty, fear, sadness and hope began crashing down with shoulders convulsing and tears finally flowing. Her soft palms combed through his dark brown hair as if to make sure that he wasn't some illusion.

As she cried, Mark heard her say his name over and over again. But not from that moment. Rather, it was the moment before he "left". Like a broken record, it looped in his mind. A years' worth of memories were gone before him and he could do nothing to get them back. He gritted his teeth, holding himself back. No words would come from his mouth as no explanation or excuse will be enough. All he could do was promise to stay by her side, his children's side and make the most of every moment for as long as he breathes. And that was it for Mark. He did not whimper or yell but embraced his wife tighter. The first drop of tears finally flowed down his cheeks after a long, long time.

"I was so scared…I thought…you'd be gone…forever." She managed to say in between her sobs.

He knew it wasn't enough but he still said it, "I'm so sorry, Lissa…I really am."

And then, there were no words left to say.

Chrom saw everything from the hall from towards courtyard. When he saw Mark embrace Lissa, it reminded him so much of Emmeryn he couldn't help but smile. Sumia, his beloved wife, was next to him, holding his hand. She too was relieved that Mark had returned; excited to greet her friend back. But after watching everything, she knew their book sharing could wait a little while longer.

"When Lissa found out about Mark coming back, I expected," Chrom cringed, despite knowing for years that his best friend was already married to his sister. "Something a bit more violent. Something less—I don't know—romantic?"

Sumia giggled. Her husband was never one for lovey-dovey things, unless it was between himself and her. "Like what?"

"Stomping his foot?" He shrugged. "Punching him? A slap maybe?"

Sumia sighed. "Well, I think Lissa would probably do something like that later."

"Probably? She will." And the royal couple laughed.

"Let's leave them alone." Sumia said. "They have a lot of catching up to do."

"What do we do until then?" He asked.

Sumia giggled. "Well, we have to tell everyone of the good news."

When grandfathers tell the tales of men and women who willingly gave their life for others, they always describe their return with the utmost emphasis in camaraderie and love. The heroes who return to their brothers-and-sisters-in-arms were always met with welcoming brotherhood and sisterhood accompanied by clanking jugs of ale. While those one who return to their families would see the tearful, yet joyful, cries of their spouse and feel the warm embrace of their children.

Before all of that would greet Mark with open arms, that very moment in the courtyard where gentle gusts and soft sobs were the only sounds, husband and wife shed tears for something they both lost and finally found.

Author's Note: The English language. The struggle is legit.

An interesting point here is that Owain was born during the events before the Fire Emblem was stolen by Validar. Yes, this is clearly not part of the "canon" that we are all aware of, but having him around should reveal the finer points in Mark and Lissa's relationship and how the family unit acts as a whole. Plus, he makes every moment adorable.

Here's a standard description of the timeline I conjured up:
A year and a half for the Plegian campaign, two years for the Valmese Campaign, five months when Grima got up and running. So, overall, approximately six years once you include the time-skip.

And since we just revealed that Mark went to Elibe, we'll assume that happened two years prior to him being discovered.