Chapter Text
A loud noise woke Chrom from his sleep. The prince bolted upright and his years of combat training made him instinctively reach towards his falchion, which rested in its usual place against the tent wall next to his bedroll. What in the Gods name was that?
In the darkness he could just make out the shape of his canvas tent corner flapping frantically in the wind. The shrill whistling of the gale outside and the smacking noise of the thick material confirmed what had happened. He silently cursed to himself and withdrew his arm from the blade. On Frederick’s daily inspection of the prince’s living quarters and gear he had pointed out the loose peg at the corner of his Lord’s tent. And once inside, Chrom was too slow to hide his scuffed boots in time so they were the main target of the man’s scolding. Frustrated at the knight’s fussing and coddling Chrom had insisted that he would be the one to fix the peg and his shoes would be ‘polished and princely’ by the next day. After all, Frederick’s time would surely be better spent chasing Lissa after her pigsty that she called her tent? Unfortunately, Vaike had shown up soon after Chrom had dealt with his boots with a challenge in the training yard that he just couldn’t refuse. He promptly forgot all about the tent peg, leaving him in his current situation.
Chrom pulled himself into a sitting position, still drowsy from his rude awakening. The faster he fixed it the faster he could get back to sleep. He quickly yanked on his boots, polished to an almost mirror-like sheen thanks to Frederick’s eagle eye, and wrapped his cloak around himself before slipping through the tent’s canvas door into the chilly night. The icy breeze was like a cold icy slap to the face (not unlike the blow of a certain Pegasus knight), fully bringing Chrom to his senses. The sky was cloudless and dotted with thousands of pinpricks of light. A full moon bathed the campground in a gentle silvery light. But now wasn’t the time to be appreciating scenery. Chrom tightened his white cloak and stepped gingerly round to the back of the tent, careful not to let a misstep send him sprawling into his neighbour (Virion)’s tent. He crouched at the loose canvas corner. There the blasted thing is , he thought irritably, looking down at the stake that had broken free a few minutes ago. Unfortunately glares weren’t enough to drive the peg back into place so he had to do it manually. Naturally this would have been much easier in the daylight, but it was too late for that. He forced the peg into a patch of fresh earth with the tent’s cord wrapped tightly around.
There, fixed. He got to his feet and exhaled, inspecting his work. With one last stomp from his heel It looked as though it would hold until morning. Chrom turned around to start side-stepping back towards the front. But something suddenly caught his eye. It happened too quickly to be sure but he swore he caught a glimpse of a flash of light two rows of tents over. Strange . He stayed looking in that direction to see what might have caused it but the night stayed still and dark. He dismissed the flash as a figment of his imagination and turned ba- wait! There it is again! He was sure of it this time. Two rows over, 3 down. The women’s side. One, two, three… wait… wasn’t that Robin’s tent?? What on Naga’s Earth..? If there was even one tiny chance that she might be in danger, well, Chrom wasn’t prepared to take that risk.
The prince slipped through the gap of the two tents that were behind his belonging to Stahl and ???.. -Another knight Chrom felt bad for always forgetting the name of. He swiftly made his way round to the front of the tacticians tent. There was no noise suggesting a struggle coming from inside. He paused and shuffled nervously with his hand raised to open the flap.
Robin … Chrom hadn’t had much time to speak to her one-on-one recently with all of their time being taken up with various preparations in the army. And even when they were together- well, there was this unspoken tension between them. Things were different now. Finally, after what felt like decades of pining, of hoping, and just falling head-over-heels for the amnesiac woman, he had been able to tell Robin how he felt. And Gods!!! Amazingly, miraculously, she had said she felt the same way! It had felt as though a great weight had been lifted from him. No more secrets. But then, what Robin said after… Although he hated to admit it, and wished they could just be a couple in love sharing sweet moments together, she was right and it truly was best for the cause if they stayed focused on their battle tactics and the well-being of the soldiers rather than each other. The painful feeling of unrequited love may have been over, but it was soon replaced the agony of being so close to the woman he loved, knowing she loved him back, but not able to act on it. Every day of this blasted war grew weary on his shoulders.
After the Prince and his tactician had confessed their feelings that one afternoon they had shared a tight embrace, with Chrom lifting the smaller woman into the air in his excitement. They had both laughed at how silly it seemed that they had been hiding their feelings for so long, worried the other didn’t feel the same. Chrom treasured the memory of that moment and had used the hope of many such more in his future with Robin to drive him in his fight for peace.
Chrom unclasped the front of the tent and pulled back the flap slightly, careful not to let the wind take it and cause more havoc. “Robin?” Chrom said quietly to the darkness inside.
“Chrom?!” a voice, unmistakably the Shepherd's tactician, replied in a hushed tone. The young woman appeared at the entrance of her tent clutching her purple robe tightly around herself. Her long white hair fell loose against her face rather than tied back in her usual pigtails.
“It’s the middle of the night- what are you doing here?” Robin questioned, her brow furrowed in confusion.
Had he been wrong?... She seemed perfectly normal and unharmed. It seemed likely all he had done was disturb her from her sleep. “I- I thought I saw something- like a fire in your tent. I thought you might be in danger so I wanted to check.” Chrom said sheepishly. He shuffled his feet, preparing to make a quick exit back to his own tent.
Robin’s eyes widened and she looked down. “Oh… that was- I didn’t realise people would see that… I was trying to cast a fire tome but i-”
“A f- a fire tome?!” Chrom interrupted, forgetting to watch his volume. “In a tent?!” He continued in a quieter tone.
“I know.. I know..- it was a stupid thing to do.” Robin whispered. “But my hearth had gone out and I didn’t have any lighting flint. I really should have just gone down to the supply wagon… but well- the fire didn’t take anyway so it wouldn’t have made much difference.” She exhaled and twisted her lip, an expression the Prince was used to seeing when the Tactician was in thought or doubting herself.
“You’re shivering” Chrom said softly noticing the woman’s trembling fingers tightly gripped onto her robe. “Will you let me take a look at the hearth? I’m no Frederick but- maybe I could help?”
“Well, since you’re already here.. Thank you, Chrom, that would be nice.” Robin stepped back to let the man pass. “It was working just fine when I fell asleep…”
Chrom ducked under the entrance and stepped inside the Tactician’s dwellings. He could just barely make out the black shape of the standard-issue cast iron stove by the right wall amongst piles of worn books, armour, and boots. Ha, so I’m not the only one who doesn’t keep their quarters tidy... she’s lucky Frederick doesn’t inspect all of the soldier’s tents. He knelt down next to the hearth and placed his hand against it. Cold. It didn’t take him long to realise the wood inside was damp and wouldn’t catch fire. There must be a drip coming into the tent somehow.
Chrom rose and made his way behind Robin. He was close enough to see in the dark that she had some loose hairs stuck to the side of her face from the weather and had to fight back the urge to gently brush them away from her cheeks.
“It’s too wet to light. You should find somewhere warm to spend the rest of the night. Maybe you could wake up Lissa,.. Or” Er? What other women in the army was Robin close to? Chrom trailed off.
“No, I don’t want to bother them.” Robin replied. “I’ll be fine. I have my robe for warmth. It’s just one night.” Her words sounded decisive but her shaking fingers betrayed how the cold was really affecting her.
Chrom shook his head. “Please, Robin, you can’t stay here. What would I tell the others if they woke up to their tactician as an ice block? Why don’t you warm yourself by my fire- for just a little while before you go back to sleep? I’ll be up all night worrying about you if you try and sleep like this.”
She paused for a moment biting her lip. “Well I don’t want to intrude…”
“And you aren’t.” The man said firmly.
Robin paused in thought, chewing her lip again. “Okay, I’ll- just for ten minutes whilst I warm up. Then we both need to get back to sleep. I’d get a hiding from Sully if she caught me being dozy in our sparring drill.” She nodded firmly, thinking of the red-head’s temper.
“Great!” Chrom smiled and gestured towards the outside. “Let’s get going then.”
They walked in comfortable silence to the front of Chrom’s tent, mindful of their sleeping comrades around them. Chrom undid his outer tent fastenings and motioned with his arm for her to go inside first and he quickly followed after. The temperature difference was immediately obvious, as if they were suddenly wrapped in a warm woolen blanket. The white-haired woman visibly relaxed and her shoulders dropped back into a more natural position as she released her hold on the sides of her robe.
Robin had never been inside the Prince’s tent; their strategy sessions had always been held in a common area. She looked around the interior curiously, drawing Chrom’s attention. He felt uncomfortably aware in that moment that as the prince, the leader of the Shepherds, he had superior dwellings than most of the soldiers. Taller support poles meant you could comfortably stand and the thicker lining material on the canvas, and a larger, plush bedroll made the winter weather far more bearable. Given the choice, Chrom would have preferred to live as the rest of his troops did but this arrangement wasn’t exactly up to him.
Robin’s eye caught onto the heating hearth, very much working, unlike her own. She knelt down on the small fur rug at the base and stretched her hands towards its warm surface. Relief washed over her as her numbed fingers began to regain feeling. Chrom settled down next to her. “Better?” He asked, a slight smile turning the edge of his lip. The glow of the flames cast a sunset orange light on her face.
“Much” Confirmed the tactician. She turned her head to face the Prince.
“It’s unusually cold for this time of year. I’m sure we’ll be seeing better weather in no time.” Chrom said. A comfortable silence settled over the two of them before he continued. “You’d like the springtime in Ylisstol. We hold a festival in the main square, flowers, dancing, chocolates. You should see Lissa!- One year she ate so many sweets she was sick the whole night. Em found it too funny to tell her off really. Frederick was always wary of the three of us mixing with the townspeople so much but he’d always secretly enjoy it too. It’s- I can’t wait to show you. There’s so much I want to show you when we finally have peace. We can go back to our old lives just like it was before…”
Robin had been smiling as Chrom described his home. He sounded so genuine and happy and clearly cared a lot about where he grew up and his family. But her face froze at his last words. “Old lives…” She said softly. Looking away. “Of course most people have a home to go back to, fami-”
“Oh No I-” Chrom realised his mistake. “I didn’t mean to bring that up. Of course you er- You’ll make a new life! I hope you know that you’d be welcome with us- Lissa, Em, Frederick. We’ve all grown fond of you. Lissa sees you as a second sister at this point, which may not be a good thing considering her pranking habits.. And, well-” Chrom swallowed thickly. His heartbeat began to race as he mentally prepared himself for what he was going to say. He wasn’t sure how she would react. They’d agreed not to speak of it, after all. “I-I hope you know my feelings for you haven’t changed. I still care for you. I would wish for you to stay with me if, if- you’d want that of course.”
The tactician looked at him with wide eyes, a light flush barely visible on her cheeks. “I- Chrom… That means the world to me. Living in Ylisstol… if it’s as you’ve described- it sounds wonderful.” She had shifted closer to him at some point. Their shoulders almost touched now. “To be with you, away from the fighting, armies, marches- to just be us… there’s nothing I want more”. Chrom became aware of a gentle pressure against his shoulder, so light that it was almost like a feathers touch at first. She was leaning her head against him. Her next words were so quiet he barely caught them over the crackling sound of the hearth. “...I love you”. Chrom’s breath caught in his throat. His heart couldn’t possibly be beating faster. He gently raised his hand to cup her cheek.
“Robin, I lo-”
The shrill sound of a particularly strong gust of wind made the two startle and pull away from each other. “I! I should be getting back to my tent!” Robin rose suddenly. “Thank you for letting me warm up, Chrom, I feel so much better now. I’ll see you in the-”
“Wait! Robin!” Chrom stood up too as the white-haired woman walked towards the tent entrance. “Why don’t you stay here to sleep, you can have my bed and I’ll take the floor. There’s more than enough bedding. Then you can fix your fire in the light tomorrow.”
Robin’s face turned towards him, her hand on the opening flap stilled for a moment. “That’s- thank you for the offer but I think I should go. I… Thank you again, Chrom.” She flashed a quikc grateful smile and slipped outside before the man had a chance to say anything else. He stood still for a moment staring at the entrance. Her abrupt departure had taken him by surprise and he hadn’t had the chance to say.. Well there were a million and one things he wanted to tell her. But at least for now he knew she felt the same way. That she yearned for the end of this war with the same intensity as he did. Robin…
Chrom tucked himself back into bed, certain that the night’s events had come to a close. He hoped the lack of rest wouldn’t be noticeable tomorrow on their march and fortunately, he was quick to fall back into a sound and dreamless sleep.