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The golden light of the sun’s rays shimmered down upon the white, cool surface of the winter’s first snow fall in Rosanne. A huff of hot breath made an imprint into a section of the soft snowfield as a large, black beast shivered slightly before the sharp scales along its back and tail bristled lightly to fling the new flakes of snow off its body. Its golden eyes then looked upward to find more wyverns roaming about, colors of greens, blues, reds, and dark violets all shaking white soot off their scales before flying out to hunt the reindeer hidden within the forest of bare, snow covered trees. Minerva decided to follow suit, spreading her wings wide. However, she paused momentarily to glance towards the home of her beloved owner before lifting herself into the air and taking off.
While the hunt for carnivorous meat began, two lone warriors remained asleep within the small country home just a short way from the marvelous open field of Wyvern Valley. The beige shingles of this cottage were already covered over with dripping, fresh snow as the sapphire butterfly chimes hanging above the wooden doorway musically rang out with the continuous, light gusts of wind. A quiet snuffle suddenly elicited from the warrior princess tucked cozy under the thick mounds of a yellow and white comforter inside the home as her partner beside her continued to doze on, his arm loosely wrapped around her waist.
Slowly, bright blue eyes blinked open wearily, the white shine of the Brand of the Exalt sparkled from the left as Lucina sat up groggily with a quiet groan. Stretching her arms wide, a heavy yawn escaped passed her lips as she rubbed tiredly at her bleary eyes before chancing a glance at her bedroom window. With a quiet gasp, she immediately pulled back the covers before racing forward and pressing her face right into the cold, transparent glass. At the sudden movement, a whine was heard from the king-sized bed before a mess of light, red hair turned to face the half-dressed girl staring out the window with glee.
“Luci…dear me, woman, come back to bed. It is much too early to be up. Minerva hasn’t even come to nudge her nose into our front door, yet, meaning she must still be out feasting with the others. Come on, now.”
With a swift turn, her light, frilly pink gown ruffled about Lucina’s bare legs before she bounded over to the unamused male propped up on his elbow as he held the blanket up for his wife to come back in and join him. However, she merely stopped short in her tracks right at the edge of their shared bed.
“Oh, Gerome! The first snow fall must have happened during the night! Get your lazy bum out of bed so we can have breakfast ourselves! Oh…good thing Father presented me with those ice-skates last month as an early Winter Celebration gift! I’m sure the lake in the Valley has frozen over already…,” the princess spoke excitedly to her husband before grabbing for his hands and pulling the reluctant wyvern rider from the comfort of his bed. With a roll to those light, rose-colored eyes, a small smirk tugged at Gerome’s lips as he followed his eager blue-haired lover out their bedroom doorway and into the warm, welcoming décor of their kitchen.
“Alright…set the table for me, love, while I make us something.”
Lucina obliged happily, pressing a tender kiss to the other’s lightly flushed cheek before bustling about the small space to collect their festively designed plates for the oncoming winter season, along with the appropriate silverware. She then went ahead and pulled out the remainder of their soft, auburn cloths left over from the Day of Thanks when her brother along with Severa and Nah had come to visit Valm and feasted with them. After everything was neatly placed along the table, Lucina quietly rummaged through one of the lower cabinets behind the light red-head before a smirk plastered onto her lips as she pulled out what she was in search for. Quietly, the Ylissean royal tiptoed up to her husband before quickly wrapping her arms around him and successfully tying the mysterious attire around his waist.
Gerome gave a start, nearly dropping his frying pan of steaming eggs and bacon as he blushed furiously as he looked down to what he was adorned in. A smooth, oatmeal white apron stitched with an image of the black face of a wyvern stared back at him, reading the words “I only cook for my Wyvern” written just above the poorly sewn in creature. Although his face was almost blooming with the color of his own hair, the Poleaxe wielder lowered the temperature of the stove before turning to his wife. He then cleared his throat to hide the embarrassment in his voice,
“U-Uh…honey…?”
Lucina giggled gleefully as her own cheeks tinted pink,
“I…since you do most of the cooking around here…w-well…your mother helped me come up with an idea when I had gone to visit her last week to gather more mineral nutrition treats for your Minerva. Sh-She taught me to sew it herself…and since it’s just you and I here, I uh…didn’t think you would mind it.”
Glancing down to the distasteful apron and up to the hopeful, blue eyes of his wife, Gerome gulped unsurely before he leaned forward and pressed his warm lips into Lucina’s own,
“It is absolutely horrendous. But I will wear it only for you.”
The bluenette giggle softly at the other’s shy form of affection, as well as his blunt judgement before she left her husband to finish up his preparation of their early morning breakfast. Said male turned towards his wife as he fondly watched her slim and well-toned silhouette leave out the kitchen and back towards their bedroom to dress for the day. He then shook his head ruefully as he flipped their chocolate chip pancakes one final time before turning off the stove top completely.
Back in their shared bedroom, Lucina held a hand to her chin as she tried to see what warm clothing would suit her best today when her and Gerome were to go out into the snow later. Already dressed in her thick, white leggings, the princess looked down at them once more before eyeing the variously colored shawls and coats she had hanging up in her closet. Her blue eyes set fondly on a light gold scarf that was dazzled about in miniature, sparkly wyverns. It had been her absolute favorite ever since Gerome presented it to her the very first winter after they had settled down in Rosanne together.
Reaching for the soft, delicate fabric, Lucina admired it lovingly before holding it tight in one hand and reaching for her heavy, light periwinkle winter coat that she planned to drape over her pink blouse once they were outside. Of course, Severa would most likely scold her for her failure to color coordinate her clothing, but the bluenette simply could not take the time to care for such things. With a nod in satisfaction, Lucina waltzed right out of her bedroom and back over to her awaiting husband who was just about finished setting their breakfast along the center of their dining room table.
“It smells heavenly in here.”
Gerome chuckled at the compliment before quirking a brow at all the clothing items held within his wife’s hands. Silently questioning all the various colors, the wyvern rider didn’t say a peep as he simply reached forward to grab Lucina’s scarf and parka before walking over to hang them on their coat hanger beside the front door for the time being. Gerome honestly had to laugh on the inside, for his wife was the same perky and bizarre girl he had always known her to be, ever since childhood. The light red-head quietly took a seat across from the other before they together dug into their food.
“Clearly, breakfast was not truly your priority, was it?”
Lucina stuffed a full bite of pancake into her mouth before looking up at her lover with innocent, wide blue eyes, which then instantly flickered towards the window showing the open Wyvern Valley beyond all covered in snow. Gerome just shook his head in amusement, swallowing down some more bacon as he quietly admired his wife as she continued to look out the window, her gleeful eyes full of hope and excitement. To him, it was a relief and quite the miracle to see such a look on Lucina’s face again. Always around this time of year, it never failed to give the light red-head his own fulfillment of joy. His wife’s happiness was a pure reminder that they not only survived a war, but a war that led to the saving of their parents.
It was a time later, where both warrior’s plates were practically licked clean when they suddenly heard the familiar knock of Minerva’s scaly nose bumping itself into their front door. Lucina smirked playfully up at Gerome as her husband swiftly stood up in a flash to go meet his dear draconic steed, his cheeks pink with how bashfully eager he was to see the dragon he’s been with since birth. As he did so, the younger bluenette went ahead to tidy up their dining table before walking along back to the kitchen to rinse and scrub their dishes clean and resting them on the drying rack.
Just as Lucina was wiping down the last of their silverware, a warm pair of arms suddenly came up to wrap themselves around her waist as a head buried itself into her shoulder and pressed soft kisses along her neck. The Ylissean giggled softly at the intimate display, before she nuzzled her thick blue bangs into the light red messy hair still present atop her husband’s head. Gerome hid a smile at that before he lifted his shy face from the woman’s shoulder and graced her with one of his rare smiles that have been more present ever since the Fell Dragon’s final defeat.
“So…ice-skating, huh?”
Blue eyes sparkled up into a soft pair of rose before Gerome was presented with a wide grin. Skating on the frozen lake in the center dip of Wyvern Valley was one of his wife’s most favorite things to do during the winter season. However, the wyvern rider himself was never much for wanting to participate in such absurdity. But, seeing the glistening smile of the bluenette each year as she skated gracefully atop the icy bed always found a way to warm the cold, closed off front Gerome always had up to protect himself and to shield his true emotions. Lucina was the only one ever successful enough to break down his walls and build them into something anew with a spirited forthcoming.
Lucina sighed softly as she gave a pat to the other’s cheek, “Now that I have a pair of my own from Father, we no longer need to take that long trip to the general rental shop in the village. And, yes, I know you and Minerva will sit and watch as always—.”
“A-About that…”
The princess raised a brow as Gerome interrupted before pulling himself from her person, his cheeks flushed pink once more. Untying the forgotten apron from around his waist, the Poleaxe wielder gently rested it on the kitchen counter top before taking Lucina’s hand and guiding them back to their bedroom.
“I uh…actually have a surprise for you this year.”
Lucina tilted her head in curiosity as she was pulled along before Gerome gently sat her down on the edge of the soft bed. Then, pressing a kiss to her bangs, the light red-head walked back over to their shared closet and shimmied himself underneath all the princess’ clothes to reach behind his array of boots and pants to pull out something hidden within. The bluenette gave an immediate hop and a squeal of delight when her husband sheepishly showed off a clean, polished pair of black ice-skates.
“My mother wasn’t the only one giving you friendly advice…Before your father gave you those ice-skates, Prince Chrom had pulled me to the side right after dinner that evening and presented me with these. However, we both planned to keep it a secret from you until the day of the first snow fall this year. And, well, as you already noticed by waking me up so blasted early this morning…that day is today.”
Albeit being incredibly shy, Gerome could not help but match the bright smile of his wife’s own as she did her best to remain sitting still in order to not overly crowd her reserved husband in all her excitement. However, after a beat of silence, the wyvern rider relented,
“Come here.”
He didn’t even have a chance to put the skates down before he had his arms full of a very chipper Lucina. The sharp, athletic footwear fell to the floor with a thump as Gerome happily took the cheerful woman into his chest, a soft chuckle escaping past his lips as the princess leaned upward to mash their lips together in a passionate kiss. Releasing it, Lucina kept her grin bright as she locked her arms tight around the other’s neck.
“Aaah! Oh…oh Gerome…It’s about blasted time you skate with me. Honestly, how many more winters was I to go alone out there on the lake? Don’t fret…Minerva will be just fine alone playing in the snow as she watches us.”
Rose-colored eyes just rolled in playful annoyance as the light red-head squeezed his excited lover tightly before removing himself from their embrace. He then poked the younger swordswoman’s nose with his index finger,
“And, don’t you fret about your Winter Celebration gifts. This is not the only one you will be receiving. But, let us depart, for this is a conversation not due until the actual day of the celebration itself arrives.”
Lucina just giggled happily before she suddenly grabbed for Gerome’s hand and began pulling him towards the front door.
“L-Lucina, wait! I…I am unclothed, you fool!”
Stopping short in her speedy steps, the bluenette looked bashfully up to her equally blushing husband. She completely forgot the man was still dressed in his own soft, maroon sleepwear before she shyly retracted her hand from his own. But Gerome just gave her a warm smile, despite his embarrassment and fluster,
“Not only that, someone also forgot to put on their own snow boots.”
Lucina looked down, eyes widening in surprise to find her own bare feet beneath her.
“O-Oh my…”
Gerome chuckled fondly at that before he once more took his wife’s hand and led the two of them right back to their bedroom.
Two pairs of snow boots crunched together in the heavy fluff of snow while a larger stomping of feet trudged loudly behind them, where Minerva blocked out most of the sunlight that shined brightly from above. Her thick black, scaly muzzle suddenly poked playfully behind Gerome’s head, almost causing the other to fall forward and lose the black mask covering his face. Lucina laughed fondly at the two, quickly reaching out to stop the light red-head’s descent into the icy surface of the lake they had just arrived at. The wyvern behind them also gave out some sort of grunt, eliciting her own sound of amusement at almost knocking over her owner.
The draconic steed was surprisingly the most playful during the winter season, most likely due to the lack of humidity that usually tends to wear her out. Catching his balance with the help of his wife, Gerome gave his wyvern a stern glare before he got himself caught looking out to the frozen lake before them. He gulped nervously. Although Lucina made ice-skating look easy, it certainly was not. However, said bluenette happily released the other’s hand, reaching up to scratch kindly at Minerva’s favorite spot on her neck before plopping down onto the plush snowy surface as she tugged off her light blue snow boots.
Gerome reluctantly followed suit, watching as his wife quickly replaced her footwear with that of her white ice-skates, where the patterned Mark of Naga glistened in navy blue on each ankle side. Grumbling quietly to himself, the Poleaxe wielder slowly pulled on his own skates, the black a strong shine of contrast compared to his lover’s own. Steadying herself with one arm on Gerome’s head and one on Minerva’s offered wing, Lucina carefully rose to her feet before pushing herself away from the two and onto the ice. The light red-head huffed at his wife’s playful use to balance on him before his rose-colored eyes nervously looked down as he hesitantly reached for his wyvern’s wing. Minerva gratefully helped her owner to his feet before the two together watched Lucina gracefully skate back over to them.
She then held out her hand to Gerome,
“Come on! It’s a ton of fun once you get used to it. Father and I loved skating together when I were much younger, don’t you remember?”
Of course, he did. The wyvern rider remembered most things from their childhood, especially his early fondness over the gleeful princess before him. He would truly do anything to keep that smile alive. Even if it meant he had to finally endure this so-called “fun” he was about to embark on with the love of his life. Hesitantly, he reached out to clasp both his larger hands around Lucina’s own before the younger woman gently pulled both of them together onto the ice.
“How could I n-not?” Gerome answered as he cautiously looked down at the frozen lake beneath them, his words stumbling out unconsciously as he couldn’t help but tighten his grip on Lucina, “Y-You hooligans always went about such brash activities without another thought to those hard heads of yours.”
Gerome was rewarded with a pout as Lucina suddenly released her hold on him. Immediately, the light red-head went wobbly as his skates slipped beneath him as he tried to purchase himself all on his own,
“L-Lucina…!”
However, the princess just skated around him, her head held high as that pout from before remained on her face,
“The war is over, Gerome. No need to allow yourself to frown upon the subject of ‘fun.’ It has been three years now…it is okay to allow yourself this enjoyment. I do.”
Stilling in his motions, the older male stood shakily in his ice-skates before looking towards his wife at what she had just spoke. He knew she was right. And, he knew that it was very hard for Lucina to even learn to relax at first, as well, even with her mother, father, and younger self perfectly safe back home in Ylisstol. Gerome looked down shamefully behind his black mask before thin fingers suddenly came up to push the face wear gently up to rest atop his light red hair.
“And, there truly is no need for this anymore, is there?”
Sorrowful blue eyes looked into a shy pair of rose, the wyvern rider’s cheeks a soft pink as he looked at his questioning lover. He was aware they were safe, that there was no harm nor apocalyptic world bestowed upon them any longer. But he still had nerves whenever they were out of the comfort of their home, even when the two were alone like this. His mother was safe, and so were all the remainder of the Shepherds. There was no longer a need to hide his identity, let alone his true emotions.
“I…I suppose not.”
Lucina smiled softly before poking her skate blades into the ice in order to reach up and gently press a soothing kiss to her husband’s lips.
“You know…you are quite handsome without it, as well.”
Gerome’s face quickly converted to three shades of red darker than his own hair as he stubbornly shoved his hands over it with a groan. Lucina laughed out loud before she kindly tugged the other’s hands away from his face before she slowly started to have them skate around on the lake once more. Gerome’s eyes were squeezed shut in full blown embarrassment, but he was failing to bite back the bashful smile tugging at his lips. The Ylissean royal simply giggled on continuously as she helped the Poleaxe wielder learn to skate as gracefully as herself.
Within an hour’s time, the two were laughing together and sharing fond memories of their early childhood, something they always chose to reminisce about this time of year. Pressing a sweet kiss to the other’s golden circlet, Gerome smiled fondly down at his wife as he adjusted the mask still resting atop his own head. Then, he looked over to see how Minerva was fairing when both warriors gasped in shock. The black wyvern was not only watching her owner skate around happily with his partner, she was also trying to imitate the two, as well.
Her thick claws scraped desperately at the ice, her front legs slipping and stretching forward while her hind legs failed to keep her purchased from behind. She grunted in frustration as she continued to frantically flap her large wings, hoping they would aid her struggle in some way. Lucina looked up to Gerome, seeing the worry crossing over his features as he watched his poor wyvern attempt to skate.
But, suddenly, he laughed.
His rose-colored eyes filling with tears of amusement as he could no longer hold back his mirth at the sight he was seeing. However, the bluenette’s blue ones spilled over with joy at hearing the rare form of exuberance from her husband. On most occasions, Gerome would let out a chuckle here or there, but never loosened himself up enough to fully embrace the feeling of laughter. But, now…here he was.
And, Lucina couldn’t be merrier.
She laughed along with him as the two skated their way over to Minerva, the wyvern’s golden eyes seeming unamused for being the butt of her owner’s humor. Together, warrior princess and wyvern rider carefully steadied the draconic steed before playfully pushing her more onto the ice. Minerva huffed out a breath as she curiously watched what the two were up to, her thick scaled tail whipping happily behind her. Gerome was still laughing, his eyes sparkling as he looked up to Lucina on the other side of the dragon.
The princess returned the smile, her grin as bright as day as the sun shined down on the three, through the clouds and from over the horizon.
They were happy.
They were free.