"Your mind is made up?"

Lucina stood behind the tactician. They were separated by several feet at the edge of the camp, where she'd followed him in order to speak with him in private. It was a moment before he spoke.

"You mustn't tell Chrom, or the others."

Crickets chirped, and the wind rustled through the leaves. The stars shone brightly overhead. Had it not been the eve of the most important battle of their lives, it would have been a lovely night.

"You intend to sacrifice yourself, yet you would keep it a secret from all but I? Pray tell, do you truly think I would keep my father in the dark about this?" She gripped the hilt of Falchion with white knuckles.

He sighed. "Please."

"No." Was her immediate answer. "In fact, were it possible to keep you from the battle at all, I would have father order it in a heartbeat. As it stands, I will fight by your side - to keep you safe, and to stop you."

He turned around to face her with a frown. "You would truly let this plague fall to another generation?"

"I-"

"The tale of your ancestor stopping Grima may be embellished in certain regards - but we've all seen the might Grima wields. That was no embellishment. Your ancestor was barely able to stop Grima, and it cost him hundreds of thousands of lives. When it came to our generation, we couldn't stop him. We had to rely on help from the future. There is no guarantee of victory tomorrow. And what if a thousand years from now, the descendants of the Exalted bloodline can't cross through time? Would you truly risk damnation on our descendants because you couldn't spare one life?"

She scowled, and crossed the clearing to stand toe to toe with him. "I would not let my best friend sacrifice himself when there is a chance to save him. You know how many times people have needlessly sacrificed themselves for my sake in my time. Do not become another marker I must weep in front of." Her hands were clenched into fists at her sides. "Do not-" Her voice broke, and in the dim moonlight, tears were visible in her eyes. "Do not kill yourself. Must I say it again? Must all of us!? You are guilty of nothing. You deserve happiness as much as I do. Please Robin, let my father end this war tomorrow. I beg you."

He looked to the ground, unable to keep her gaze. His best friend, his closest confidant, the girl who filled his idle daydreams and was on his mind long into the night, was begging him not to do the one thing he knew he had to in order to save her. "I'll come back. I promise." Was all he could say.

She lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him. He returned the embrace, but it brought neither of them comfort.

For a moment, there was a chance for Chrom to land the final blow.

But as Grima stood exposed to the awakened Falchion, a Deadlord managed to break through Sumia and Cynthia on the left flank and cross blades with Chrom. Several blows later, Chrom was pushed back, and another Deadlord began to assist the first.

"Father!" Lucina screamed as she held off two Risen.

"Lucina, go!" Robin shouted as he raised his Thoron tome to attack a nearby Risen.

For a split second, she was torn - then turned and sprinted to her fathers aid.

The clashing of metal, the howling of wind, and Grima's roar was all that could be heard for several minutes.

Then all at once, the Risen went limp and collapsed.

Lucina turned with wide eyes as her blood ran cold, and she and her father both watched Grima disappear.

Robin lifted his hand to bid his farewell, thanking them and promising to meet again in a better life, and his form was pulled away with the wind.

"Nooooooo!"

"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know."

Slowly, Robin opened his eyes. He winced as the blue sky and bright sunlight overwhelmed him.

"Here, give me your hand."

Tears clouded his vision - first at seeing Chrom and Lissa looking over him, then at the sight of his right hand as he lifted it to take Chrom's; the mark of Grima was gone.

He was human.

"Welcome back. It's over now."

"Yay!" Lissa threw her arms around Robin and her brother, and Chrom smiled as his friend pulled them close.

"It's really..." Robin's voice caught in his throat as tears escaped him. "It's really you..."

Chrom wrapped his arms around the two; beside them, Frederick and Sully stood by, watching with smiles on their faces. "I promised I'd find you. And to think, you'd be back in the same old field we first found you in!" He laughed.

"We missed you so much!" Lissa sniffled, her eyes red as she struggled to hold back her tears. "It's been so long..." She laughed and cried at the same time, and pulled Robin into another tight hug.

Robin rubbed his eyes with his sleeve. "How long?" The question was hesitant. He looked at the rest of his friends, glad to see they didn't appear too much older to him, and he was relieved when Frederick stepped forward to answer.

"About three years, Sir. Give or take a couple of weeks." Frederick extended his hand, but Robin pushed it aside to wrap his arms around the taller knight. "Oh, er... Welcome back, Robin." He awkwardly gave him a pat on the back, and Robin pulled away.

"Not going to accuse me of being a Plegian actor this time, are you?" He asked with a grin, much of his composure regained.

"I think not, Sir. Not after your service to milord, and to the people of the world."

"Enough with the 'Sir' stuff - how many times have I told you to just call me Robin?" The tactician turned to Sully, who raised her hands to clap Robin on the shoulder.

"Told ya you could do it. Sure gave that dumb lizard a good ass kicking. And the reaper too? Not bad." She playfully slugged him on the arm before pulling him into a hug. "Looks like the rest of the Shepherds are going to have to turn things up a notch if they want to be legends like you."

Behind them, Lissa gripped her staff pensively. "Do you remember anything? A-About being... you know?"

"Lissa." Chrom shook his head at her.

"It's alright." Everyone turned to look at him, and he put a finger to his chin in thought. "I remember we were on the back of Grima. And the Risen were everywhere, swarming everyone in numbers we hadn't seen before." He tilted his head to the side. "Then Grima and I fought - and I struck him down." He shrugged. "And then it's like I fell asleep, and just woke up."

Chrom sighed. "Well, it's good to hear that, at least. Oh! Do you remember anything else? From before you met us, I mean."

Tilting his head the other way, Robin frowned and his brow furrowed. "...No. I still don't remember anything about my past." His face fell and his shoulders slumped.

"Well, one thing at a time. We have you back, so we need to gather the Shepherds together to celebrate." Chrom gave him a pat on the back, and the group turned around, following the road back to Ylisstol.

Lissa's talkative nature filled the silence as she told him of recent events, but as they followed the road back, there was only one thing Robin wanted to know.

"Chrom."

The Exalt turned to his friend with a raised brow.

"Is Lucina still in this time? Is she here?"

Behind Robin, Lissa exchanged a knowing look with her brother and Sully. Sully's face scrunched up when Lissa beamed up at her, and Frederick merely nodded his head knowingly.

"Yes, of course." Chrom said with a nod. "She's usually the one leading the search for you, though I try to assist whenever possible. Whenever I lead the search for you, she takes over the duties of Exalt. She's back in Ylisstol right now."

Robin visibly relaxed, and Chrom's brow raised as he saw Robin grin brightly.

Lucina stood in the entrance hall beside her mother, pacing back and forth with one hand on Falchion.

The news had arrived by carrier pigeon just a few minutes ago: Robin had returned, and Chrom was bringing him back to the capitol immediately. Her free hand tapped mindlessly against her leg, and it took a concerted effort on her part to stay where she was. Half of her was insisting she run through the streets of Ylisstol and reunite with him sooner, and the other half of her was still numb from the news.

Three long years of searching, waiting, and hoping had paid off, and it felt unreal now that the moment was here.

She sighed and grit her teeth, and Sumia smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Relax, dear." Lucina looked up in surprise. "He'll be here soon."

Turning to her mother, Lucina opened her mouth to say something, but just gave a small smile instead and nodded her head once before turning to look back at the doorway. However, her movements didn't stop. The only reason she was in the capitol at all was to take over as the acting Exalt while Chrom led the search; whenever her father was here, she was the one leading the search. And as often as she could, she'd been traveling, searching every field, town, and site of battle Robin had ever been to hoping she would find him. Sighing, she kicked at the ground. Now that it had come to the last few hours, it felt like eternity.

Sumia smiled, shaking her head. "She's so excited..."

She was as close to Robin as any of the Shepherds were and was equally excited to be reunited with her old friend, but in the weeks leading up to the final battle neither she nor her husband had failed to notice just how close the tactician and future princess had become. A few rumours had run through the camp, thanks to the idle gossip of friends with too much time on their hands, but it seemed the rumours didn't spread far enough to reach back to them. She had always wanted to ask, but the fear of butting in and upsetting her daughter gave her pause, and after he disappeared, the pain of losing Robin had never faded from Lucina, and she couldn't bear to bring up any bad memories on the basis of rumours.

Finally, bells began to ring and the gatekeepers called out, "The Exalt has returned!"

Eyes widening as her father appeared first, Lucina's breath caught in her throat and she let out a strangled cry of, "Robin!" As soon as she saw him. He was looking at one of the Shepherd's behind him, laughing while walking, but when he turned his attention forward the world fell away and his eyes lost sight of everything but her the moment he saw her. She was already moving when he began running forward, but her short, numb steps quickly turned into a run as he got closer. Meeting in the middle, the two instantly pulled each other into a hug, gripping tightly the others cloak and cape. "You're back, you're really back!"

"It's good to see you again..."

Hearing his voice after three years, even as soft a whisper as it was, made her eyes water. She burrowed her head into his coat and nodded, refusing to cry and sour the moment. Instead she focused on his warmth, and how real it felt, and she couldn't get enough of it. "I couldn't leave. Not until I knew you were okay." Her voice was as quiet as his, but it was shaky and thick with emotion. "We searched for you for so long... I never gave up."

"I wish there had been some other way." Robin sniffed and tilted his head down so his voice could only reach her. "I'm sorry. Finishing Grima was the only way. But I kept my promise, didn't I? I came back to you."

Her arms shifted and linked behind his neck and she lifted her head, letting her forehead rest against his as their eyes drifted shut. In the back of her mind, she realized how close their faces were to each other, but she pushed that thought down and instead whispered, "Promise me you'll stay. Promise you'll never leave me again." In that moment it was the one thing she needed to hear - not his apologies or what had happened, just that he'd stay with her.

"I promise."

There was no hesitation in his answer to her, and Lucina's lips lifted into a small, blissful smile. His arms wrapped around the small of her back, bringing her flush against him as she rose onto her toes slightly. A single tear fell down her cheek, one she was unable to hold back after hearing his vow. Their noses touched. She could feel his breath on her lips, and thought maybe for one second that-

Sumia let out a quick, awkward cough. "Oh Robin! It's... So nice to have you back!" She said, awkwardly getting in between Lucina and Robin. Her daughter wiped her tear away and her expression darkened as she slowly and reluctantly let go of Robin.

It escaped no one how Lucina glared at her mother, or how Robin only gave her a quick hug and clap on the shoulder before he stepped back, or how Robin and Lucina turned to look at each other as Sumia pulled away. The rest of the Shepherds had watched the entire ordeal with raised brows, and Lucina slowly became aware of the fact that they had just jumped into each others arms in front of the entire company. She managed to hold back a blush, instead choosing to cross her arms over her chest and give Robin another smile. He didn't seem to notice or care that the rest of the Shepherds were giving them the look.

Chrom and Sumia held eye contact just long enough for a silent conversation to pass between them, and he clapped his hands together to bring everyone's focus onto him.

"Alright everyone, just like I promised! We're having a weeklong celebration for Robin's return, all on me!" The Shepherd's currently assembled cheered, and he continued once the commotion had died down enough for his voice to be heard. "We'll gather our friends and family not in Ylisstol, and send word to Lady Tiki and Lady Say'ri in Valm to alert them of the good news. More likely than not, it'll be at least a month before everyone has gathered here in the capitol but then - the celebrations begin in earnest!"

There was another round of cheering, but the evening had given way to sunset and the sky was beginning to darken. Everyone gave Robin another hug or a clap on the shoulder before turning away to return to their homes.

"Are you sure you feel fine? No aches? No chills? No cannibalistic urges?" Lissa asked as she looked over Robin one last time.

"I'm telling you, I'm fine." Robin kept a wary eye on Lissa as he sat on the edge of a bed in the infirmary, having gotten one last check up after a quick dinner. His coat and shirt were off to the side, and as happy as he was to be back, he doubted her prankster nature had changed while he was gone.

"Well, we'll do another check in the morning just to make sure. But all things considered, you seem to be in perfectly fine condition." She said as she pulled her staff back.

Chrom and Lucina stood by the foot of the bed. Lucina had watched in relative silence, taking in his broad shoulders with an appreciative eye, but gently cleared her throat as he pulled his shirt over his head. "Surely there's no need for that, Aunt Lissa. You've checked him twice now; surely the Gods would not return him to us with tragedy in tow."

"Hmph." Lissa turned to her niece. "I'd hope so, but as far as I'm aware, this is the first time someone's come back from the dead and not been a horrible zombie. At the very least, we should be checking on him once a week to make sure his condition doesn't deteriorate."

"Another helping of food wouldn't hurt." Robin mumbled as he stood up.

"Well, at least our cooks won't be out of work." Chrom said. "Be careful you don't put on weight; with the war long over, it'll be harder to lose it now that you won't be in battle anymore."

Robin scoffed. "You said the same thing when we defeated Gangrel. I seem to remember eating just the same and being in shape for our battle against Walhart."

"He just wanted to be the one to say it to someone else, rather than hear Mother scold him again." Lucina teased her father.

Chrom laughed, elbowing his daughter gently. "Well, hopefully I won't start hearing it from you, too."

Lissa walked forward and stopped in front of the duo, putting her hands on her hips. "Well, you're going to get an earful if you keep the Queen waiting much longer! I told you you didn't have to come here, you know."

The other three looked out the window and saw how late it had gotten; where it had been early evening when they'd first arrived, night had now fallen and darkness blanketed the castle, broken only by the stars and crescent moon.

"I suppose the hours have slipped away in all the excitement." Chrom mused. "But there'll be plenty more as the rest of our friends learn of your return and start turning up themselves." He lifted with one hand to gesture to the door, and everyone filed out into the hallway and began walking away from the infirmary. "Well, your room is still where you left it. Hopefully its been dusted recently."

Robin blinked. "You kept it the way it was?"

"Were we supposed to get rid of the stuff in it?" Chrom asked disbelievingly. The corner of his lips twisted up into a half smirk. "We all know how much you don't like people messing with your stuff-"

"It's not messy, it's organized messily!" He and Chrom said at the same time, then started laughing.

After the moment ended, Chrom wrapped one arm around Robin's shoulders. "It's great to have you back, truly. I can still scarcely believe it, and we've been talking all day."

They stopped at a junction in the hallways, and Robin recognized the split lead one way to the Exalts chambers and another way to his chambers. "Well, we'll have plenty of time to talk in the morning." Robin said as he watched Chrom yawn and stretch. "For now, why don't we turn in?"

Chrom nodded, giving a glance to Lucina, who was still with them. She looked between them, and then turned to Robin. "I'd like to speak with you. In private." She stated, careful to keep her gaze neutral and to not look at her father.

"Sure thing." Robin said with a smile, giving a wave to Chrom.

The Exalt watched them both go with a raised brow, wondering if he should stop them or if he was reading too much into the situation, then decided on the latter and went to find Sumia.

Robin had a feeling she didn't want to talk at all, and as he stepped into his room, he was surprised to see it just as he'd left it. "Three years... Hard to believe it." He murmured as he ran his fingers along the edge of his desk. Chrom was right, someone had been through to keep his room clean.

"It felt like an eternity." Lucina sighed, standing in the doorway.

He turned to face her, taking a few steps forward. He opened his mouth to apologize, but for some reason the words didn't feel like enough in that moment. "I..." His gaze dropped, and he squared his shoulders out of sudden nervousness. "I'm glad you didn't leave for your own time. Words can't express..."

Lucina stepped forward and pulled him to sit down beside her on his bed, then wrapped her arms around him.

It felt like the distance between them was closing, truly. After realizing he would be Chrom's killer and drew her sword on him, a rift had opened between them that had never gone away. Conversations were strained, greetings were stiff and formal, and where once they would swap shifts with friends so they could go on patrol together or perform cooking duties together, suddenly they hardly saw one another despite their positions keeping them so close to Chrom's side.

Only after learning that Robin could give his life to stop Grima forever and that was what Robin intended did Lucina finally make efforts to repair their friendship. One more cynically inclined might have said 'too little too late'; but really, once he'd learned of his true nature, the damage had been done and nothing Lucina said or did made him feel any worse than how he felt about himself.

What right did he have to be friends with such a good person, when he was a monster only meant for destruction?

He sniffed, and tried to blink back his tears, but his sudden shuddering drew Lucina's attention, and she pulled back. "What's wrong?"

Quickly wiping his eyes with the back of his sleeve, he forced a smile. "Nothing. I-I'm just happy, like I said." One of her hands came to his cheek, her thumb gently brushing underneath his eye. He lifted one hand to cup hers, and let his eyes drift shut. "I missed you." He told her quietly.

She smiled, though he couldn't see it, and leaned forward to press her lips against his other cheek. "I missed you, too." She pulled one leg up to sit on so she could kiss his forehead. "I prayed every day you would be returned to us." She gave him a gentle tug, and they fell onto their sides in his bed. Their fingers intertwined in the space between them. "I don't want to go now that you're here." She admitted. "I want to stay with you."

Robin hesitated for only a moment, before he tugged the covers over the two of them, stopping just long enough so they could kick their shoes off. "I want you to stay, too. Whatever may come tomorrow, let us have this evening with each other." He lifted her hand to kiss her knuckles, and she squeezed his hand. "I'll be right here in the morning. I promise."

Lucina smiled, and her eyes closed slowly as she said his name. "Robin..." Two syllables, but that name meant the world to her.

He let his eyes close too, and began telling her things he wanted to do now that he was back, the places he wanted go, what he thought the Shepherds would get up to once they were all together again. She fell asleep before him, and he followed suit, reveling in her warmth and scent enveloping him and reminding him that this was real, she was real and with him and they would always be together.

In the Exalt's chambers, Chrom was changing into his sleepwear while Sumia lay in bed, having occupied her time waiting for her husband by reading by the candlelight. "Does Lissa really think he'd turn into a zombie?"

Chrom scoffed and laughed. "Yeah, I don't know what she's thinking. I think she just wanted to mess with him."

"Slip a frog down his shirt and scare him back to the great beyond?"

"Ha! It'd take more than that to bring down that man. The only thing strong enough to end him was himself." He shuddered as he got into bed. "As macabre as that is. But at least we needn't worry. It was difficult enough losing him the first time, I don't think my heart could take it a second time."

"Hm." Sumia nodded beside him. "Lucina certainly couldn't handle it."

The Exalt nodded as he fluffed his pillow. "She certainly seemed the most thrilled to see him again. You saw how she ran at him this afternoon."

"Yeah... Hmmm..."

"What? What is it?"

Sumia turned towards him, resting her head on one hand. "They ran to each other." She pointed out, raising one brow.

Chrom blinked. "Uh, yeah... I suppose they did."

She nodded slowly. "Yep. And..." She drawled, then fell onto her back and looked up at the ceiling. "You remember how close they became during the campaign against Walhart."

"I still think you're exaggerating. Or reading too much into things. Or you've been reading too many romance novels." He said as he lay down beside her. Sumia sighed and shook her head. Chrom knew he shouldn't have said anything but he couldn't hold his tongue. "What? Do you really think Lucina of all people engaged in a tryst with Robin? He doesn't know any better since he has no memory, but she certainly does."

"Do you really think a man and a woman stuck in a long march together, winning a war together, and going on a voyage across the sea and back, would not develop feelings for each other?" Sumia turned her head and narrowed her eyes at him. "How many of our friends coupled together because of that exact situation?"

"I think Lucina would have told us if something was going on. We're her parents, alternate timelines or not, and she's a good daughter who wouldn't keep a secret like that from us. And as we've talked about before, once the final battle came upon us, she and Robin drifted apart."

Sumia scowled and hit him with her pillow. "Because she tried to kill him to save you!" She pointed out.

Chrom shielded himself by holding the blanket up. "Yes, and they forgave each other and now he's back, so they'll go on just as they had before."

"Mm-hmm. Just as before. Let me guess: She went to his room to catch up with him?" She asked knowingly.

"Well, she said she wanted to speak to him..."

"As if all the talking they did today wasn't enough, right?" Sumia said with a sly tone.

Chrom lowered the covers as he turned to face his wife. He glanced between her eyes, then sighed. "I suppose we should talk to them tomorrow."

Her brow raised. "To stop them?"

It was a moment before he spoke, as he readjusted the covers and looked up at the ceiling. "No." He answered softly. "They do make each other happy. And they compliment each other well. Maybe I'm wrong and they are in love with each other and haven't told us, but... That's no problem. She's only a year younger than us, and she could do worse than Robin. If they're together, I'll just ask them not to keep it a secret. They have nothing to hide."

Sumia smiled at her husband's response. "Yeah. And we'll have plenty of time to interfere in our Lucina's love life, once she's old enough." She let out a little giggle, and Chrom chuckled.

"We'll see how things play out in the morning, then."

A/N

The idea for this fic came to me way back two years ago, and I've been sitting on it since then. I have a few scenes planned out and written already that just need to be inserted into their respective chapters, but those chapters need to be written so... I'm just gonna publish them as I complete them. My original idea for this fic was to be more lighthearted and comedic, but as I think about scenes I'll be adding, it looks like it'll be a tad more on the serious side. For some reason, I just can't write a long scene with comedic undertones for Awakening.

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