Work Text:
“I Promise”, He Lied
Robin knew he was going to die.
It was very apparent from the moment he learned that he was the vessel of Grima. He’d known when he learned that it was his hand that had killed his beloved Chrom in the future. He’d known when his beautiful daughter Lucina had faced him with tears in her eyes to cut him down, if only to save their friends and family. Robin had been ready then. He’d faced Lucina with open arms and told her that his life was and had always been hers.
But Lucina hadn’t been able to do it. She’d lain Falchion down and sobbed, lamenting at the fact that she’d nearly killed her own father.
Robin forgave her in a heartbeat. He was proud of his daughter for having the courage to stand up to him like that.
However, there was no changing what must be done.
“Father? Are you okay?”
Robin looked up and smiled at his second daughter. The two were reading together in the camp’s library, talking strategy— a family tradition. However, tonight, Lucina and Chrom had not joined them. “I’m fine, Morgan. Just… lost in thoughts.”
“Well… okay.” She glanced down at the tome she held. “Y’know, I think in our coming battle with Grima, we should be prepared— if we send in a few mounted Shepherds, we might have an advantage. Since, you know. We’ll be on the back of a dragon.”
Robin chuckled. “That’s a good idea, Morgan. I’ll make note of that. We’ll bring plenty of pegasus knights and wyvern riders.”
Morgan smiled. Robin’s heart ached at his beautiful daughter’s happiness. He wondered how she would fare without him. All of the memories she had of her old life were of him.
He grimaced at the remembrance of the fact that it was because of him that his children had no memory of their father, amnesia or no.
“Father? You’re drifting off again.”
Robin chuckled dryly, the humor having gone completely from his voice. “I’m fine, sweetheart. I’m afraid the weight of this war is… weighing on me, though. I’m a bit tired.”
“Oh.” Morgan screwed up her lips, her brown eyes darting to the side; an indication that she was going to say something serious. “Well… I know this is our final battle. It’s only going to get harder from here on out. I know that I don’t know… don’t remember… what it was like to live in the future ruined by Grima. I don’t have the same future to fight for as the others.”
“Morgan…”
Robin’s daughter’s eyes met his. He was always amazed by her eyes— so soft, yet so full of life, mirroring his almost perfectly. “Father, I want to fight for you. For Father. For Lucina. For my friends and family and all the people I love.”
Robin paused with slight shock, but, slowly, a smile graced his lips. “I’m so glad, Morgan. And, just know… I’m fighting for all of you too.”
“I know,” Morgan answered, though the tone of her voice was more… somber than usual, which was completely unlike his bubbly, footloose daughter.
“Are we interrupting?”
The two of them turned to find Chrom and Lucina standing at the entrance. The two looked solemn, but they were still smiling. Robin assumed they’d had a good chat.
He knew what they’d been talking about. Were Chrom to fall in battle, a new Exalt would have to take the throne. Robin assumed they’d also met with Lissa’s family.
Though Robin had not said why, he’d expressed that if Chrom died, he would not and could not take the throne. Morgan had also agreed, having already told Lucina she wouldn’t prepare for the deaths of his loved ones.
Robin lamented the fact that he was all but forcing her to prepare for his.
“Papa! Sister!” Morgan said, rising from her seat and running to them. She met her father with a powerful hug.
“Whoa, Morgan!” Chrom laughed, embracing his daughter. “How’s my girl?”
“I’m positively splendid, Papa,” Morgan answered.
“Is everything alright?” Robin asked, standing, his chair pushed back from the table as he did so.
Chrom and Lucina shared a glance.
“Ah… we were hoping you could join us on a walk,” Lucina answered. “Just the four of us. Before the final battle.”
Robin gazed at his family. Chrom, his husband, was staring at his children with pride. Morgan was watching everyone attentively, but with a look of longing as she stood in her father’s arms, as if she didn’t want to let go.
And Lucina?
Lucina stared directly at Robin, with a look that was a combination of love, loss, and melancholy all rolled into one.
She deserved more. She deserved a life well-lived. She deserved a future that didn’t tear her apart and spit her out. She deserved a family that hadn’t been torn and broken and shattered.
A family was all Robin could give her right now.
The four of them had wandered far from camp, talking strategy and about their fellow Shepherds, exchanging stories and words of encouragement. It was all in good fun, but there was an unshakable aura of sorrow and dread overhanging the entire event, as though this were the family’s last outing.
Only Robin knew that it very well could be.
Soon, Chrom and Morgan began a debate about whether or not Chrom’s one-shoulder policy was tacky, and Lucina and Robin began to drift back away from the two of them.
“Papa…” Lucina began once they were far enough to still see Morgan and Chrom but remain out of earshot.
“Lucina,” Robin answered. “Is something wrong?”
“No… yes…?” Lucina sighed, wrapping her arms around herself. “I don’t know.”
Robin wrapped an arm around his oldest child as they walked. “It’s alright to not know. Not everything is always quite as clear as we’d like it to be.”
Lucina smiled sadly. “Papa… you always know exactly what to say. I’m… I’m saddened at the thought that some of us might not make it out alive… the two of us included.”
Robin’s heart twinged. Still, he feigned a smile. “Sweetheart, nothing could ever drive us apart.” He stopped just long enough to turn and face his daughter, wrapping her in a hug. “Whatever happens, no matter if I live or die, you have to go on.”
“…Father, I…”
“Promise me,” Robin begged, tightening his grip around Lucina’s waist and in her hair as he buried his head in his daughter’s shoulder, forcing the tears to remain at bay. “You have to go on. For your father and sister. For me.”
“I…” Lucina drew in a shaky breath. “I promise.”
Robin smiled and leaned back, holding Lucina’s shoulders. “That’s all I could ask.”
Lucina’s eyes were filling with tears, her trembling jaw clenched. Robin knitted his brow. “Oh, my lovely Luci…” he brushed strands of blue hair from his daughter’s face. “No matter what happens, I will always be with you.” Robin kissed Lucina’s forehead and hugged her one last time. Then, he grabbed his daughter’s hand and pulled her along to rejoin the rest of their family.
“This was good!” Chrom announced as they headed towards camp to rejoin the fray once more. “I think this was a wonderful family bonding experience as a whole.”
Lucina and Morgan agreed, walking side-by-side, having just ended a conversation about swords and why Morgan should stop using Falchion to cut various fruits and kill cockroaches.
Robin had decided not to ask.
He and Chrom, in the meantime, were hand in hand, ready to retire to their tent, before Chrom said, “You know, I think I’m going to do one last check on the other Shepherds before bed.”
“Alright,” Robin replied, nodding. “I don’t think I’ll join you, however. I’d… like some time alone.”
“That’s fine,” Chrom answered. He removed his hands from Robin’s and instead wrapped his arms around his husband’s waist. “I’ll just see you later,” he informed him before planting a soft kiss upon his lips.
“Ugh,” Lucina groaned, looking away as she put a hand over her sister’s eyes.
“Hey!” Morgan protested.
Their parents laughed.
“Don’t worry, I have plenty of kisses for you, too,” Chrom joked, puckering his lips at them as he released their father.
Robin smiled at his children’s laugher as Chrom wrapped them both in a bear hug and showered them with kisses over their foreheads and cheeks. He reveled in their mirth and joy, knowing full well that this could be his last look at his smiling family, all together.
Lucina wiped her face as her father released her and Morgan, chuckling as he walked away, waving “goodnight”. “Well… I think I’m going to bed.” She pursed her lips, then threw her arms around Robin, nearly knocking the both of them over.
“Lucina…”
“I love you,” she sobbed quietly, her voice almost a squeak. She released her father and turned to Morgan. “And I love you, too.”
“I love you, too, Lucina,” Morgan said, opening her arms and hugging her sister tightly. When they released each other, Lucina ran a hand through her sister’s blue hair, nearly identical in hue to hers, brushing it out of her eyes as she smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I’ll count on it.”
Before walking away, she glanced between her father and sister, nodding as her face returned to being stoic. She gave them one last smile before retreating.
“…So,” Morgan began, now that she and Robin were alone, “I guess this is goodnight.”
“It is,” Robin answered. “Do I get a hug?”
Morgan grinned slowly. “Of course, Father.”
She wrapped her arms around him tightly, and he reciprocated the gesture. However, when he loosened his hold, she did not do the same.
“Um… Morgan?”
“You’re not coming back, are you?”
Her voice was barely a whisper in his ear, but she may as well have shouted it. He should have known he couldn’t keep it from her; she was as bright as they came.
He returned his arms to her back, sighing. “No… I’m not.”
“You’re not going to tell Lucina or Papa?”
“No. But... even if they don’t know, I think they suspect.”
Morgan was silent, her breathing remarkably calm in Robin’s ear, her face resting softly on her father’s shoulder.
“I… I’ll miss you so much,” Morgan answered finally, sniffing. “The world won’t be the same without you.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“I know,” Morgan cried. “I am, too… oh, Father…”
“There, now,” Robin sighed, tears stinging his eyes as he rubbed her back soothingly. “I’ll always be with you, you know.”
“I know…”
“And you’ll always have Lucina and your father. You have to take care of them now, okay?”
“I… I can’t,” she sobbed.
“You can. I believe in you, Morgan.” He paused. “Do you know my tactics book?”
“The… the leather-bound one with all of your notes.”
“Yes. When I’m gone… it’s yours.”
“Father, I can’t… I can’t prepare for your death…”
“I know it hurts,” he reassured her, “but one day, this pain will just be another scar, another memory, another past that can be used to shape the future.”
“I want you in my future…”
“I know. And I’m so, so sorry.”
Morgan lifted a hand to wipe her eyes. “Father… I hope that one day, we’ll see each other again.”
“I know we will. And I’ll pray for that day, whenever it shall come.”
After consoling Morgan, Robin had taken a lap around the camp. Lovers consoled each other, parents fussed over their children, siblings squawked at each other, and everyone said their “I love you”s.
Nobody had to say goodbye. Nobody wanted to admit that they might not live to see another day.
Robin was different.
Robin was alone.
He sat on a bench in the middle of the camp, his hood pulled up over his face. He watched his friends and comrades go by, one by one; return to their tents, one-by-one; lanterns go out, one-by-one. He loved to sit and watch the camp go by; this nighttime ritual had always been comforting.
Now, it was lonely.
He wrapped his arms around himself, closing his eyes. This was the last time he would watch the others go by; the was the last time he would be here, in the midst of all his friends and loved ones.
No longer was he comforted by the notion of everything going on around him without his intervention.
It wasn’t long before Robin’s thoughts were interrupted; two strong arms wrapped around his waist from behind, a chin resting on his shoulder, warm breath on his neck.
“How’s my favorite tactician?” Chrom chuckled, placing gentle kisses upon his husband’s neck and face.
Robin sighed and raised a hand to wrap around Chrom’s head. “I’m tired, and quite frankly, I’m ready for bed.”
“Oh? If you’re so tired, I’ll just carry you to our tent.”
“Wait—” Robin laughed as his husband scooped him up into his arms, swiveling to carry him back to their tent.
They were already prepared to retire, for the most part; upon arrival, Chrom had set him down, and they’d both changed into nightclothes before falling into their shared bed, reaching for each other after the lantern had been blown out, finding each other under covers and embracing.
Chrom wrapped his arms around Robin as he huddled close. “…You know, we’re going to be alright.”
Robin paused. “I know.”
“Robin… I can read you like a book. I know that you don’t believe that for a second.”
The tactician chuckled humorlessly and buried his head in his husband’s chest. “Chrom… bad things happen sometimes. We can’t always win every battle and suffer no losses.”
“I know that.” He leaned down, pressing their foreheads together. “But I also know that someone I love very much holds it to be true that there is no such thing as scripted fate.”
Robin smiled. He should have known Chrom would use his own words against him.
“Robin… fate can be changed. I know you might not have hope, but… just know that somewhere, even if not in this world, you survive this battle. And you will survive this battle, in this world.”
“Chrom…”
“Do you promise?”
Robin pursed his lips. He wrapped his arms around his husband and kissed him before leaning into his ear and whispering,
“I promise.”