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The evening air was cool to your skin, now void of the afternoon heat, taking some of the humidity with it. You sighed, touching the trunk of a gnarled tree, the bark rough against your skin. To the average person, this was just a tree, but to you, it was composed of memories.
The lake was blue, still, calm and soothing, lapping quietly at the shore. You closed your eyes, breathing in the familiar scent of earth and flora. It felt nostalgic.
“_____?”
You looked behind you, your husband Chrom approaching. He stood tall, head held high, his legendary sword Falchion strapped at his side. There was always pride in his eyes — it was the way he was raised. Yet, you saw gentleness, too, a tender gaze that was reserved for close friends and family, specially for you.
“Hi,” you said.
“What are you doing out here?” he said. “It’s late, and you really shouldn’t be out here alone.”
“It’s not that far from camp, Chrom. Don’t tell me you never wish for a moment of solitude, away from the bustle of it all.”
“You know I do. The quiet is so hard to come by.”
“You’re right — peace is hard to come by. But we did it.”
“Victory, but at a heavy price,” he said with a sigh. “Sometimes I wonder when I’ll stop feeling it.”
“No, Chrom,” you corrected, smoothing the bangs from his eyes. “You should always feel it, that pang, that burden on your heart. It means that you’re still human, still worthy of the throne. It will never be easy, fighting a war, but when it begins to, when it starts to fade into numbness, that’s when you know you’re in trouble.”
“You’re right. You’re always right.”
“I know.” You laughed.
He tilted his head to the side, giving you a small smile. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
You leaned against his shoulder in response, and he wrapped his arm around you in an affectionate gesture. You both stared at the lake, the moon and stars reflecting upon the surface, only disturbed by the most subtle fluctuation of the water.
“I knew you’d come here,” Chrom said.
“Did you?”
He chuckled, pulling you closer, his hands running along your waist and to your hips. “Did you think I’d forget?”
His eyes were blue, so, so blue — they were beautifully clear, almost like a pool, a portal to the purest spring. The evening starlight enhanced his eyes, bringing a desirous gleam. He was handsome, his chest firm, arms strong as they held you, fingers sliding along your skin as his hands dipped beneath the hem of your shirt.
“Chrom,” you said, your voice a playful warning. Your body betrayed you, however, as you leaned in, not even bothering to fight him.
“What?” He leaned in for a kiss, a soft brush of his lips. “No one’s going to see us. No one even knows we’re here. It’s just us, _____.”
“I’m surprised you remember. It seems so long ago.”
“Only a couple of years.” He kissed you again, gently pulling you toward the tree. “It was here I fell in love. Of course I’d remember. What kind of a husband do you take me for?”
“One with an awful memory,” you said.
“I am not.”
“You don’t even remember how you walked in on me in the bath. Last time I mentioned it, you denied it.”
“Oh, I remember.” He looked pensive. “We were talking when it happened.”
“No. You were talking, and you strolled in on me as if discussing our next strategy was more important than my privacy, even though I told you not to come in.”
“Eh. They really need to label those tents better.”
“I told you to wait outside.”
Chrom shrugged with a sheepish laugh. “What’s so wrong about walking in on my wife’s bath?”
“It’s not right to walk in on anyone’s bath, and I wasn’t your wife back then! We weren’t even romantically involved at that point. That was the beginning of our relationship.”
“Ah, minor detail,” he said. “It all turned out all right, didn’t it?”
“Sure.”
“Sure?”
“It was still inappropriate at the time.”
“If I recall, you might have done something similar.”
“That was an accident,” you said, laughing.
“You started chucking things at me.”
“Okay, so I was inappropriate, too. We were both inappropriate teenagers who’ve grown up.” You snuggled into his chest, feeling less like a queen and more like the young woman who fell in love, not with a prince, but with a man.
Chrom kissed your head, his hands running down to the small of your back. “I wouldn’t mind being inappropriate again,” he said.
You looked to the lake, remembering the chill of the water on your skin that night, the warm contrast of his body on yours, around yours, in yours. It was a time of passion, the pursuit of an ethereal experience that could take you away from the despair of the battlefield. You would never forget the scent of death, the blood and gore that soaked the very ground you walked on — victory was hardfought, and it belonged to those who gave their lives.
You came here, looking for solace, time to yourself to meditate and refocus your energies. The Shepherds needed you; Chrom needed you. Little did you know, you would find Chrom already here, staring into the pristine wilderness, in much the same disposition as you. One thing led to another — a word of encouragement became a touch, and then the touch became a kiss. An embrace followed, and his tenderness consumed you.
The memory was precious, a secret between you and Chrom. No one else knew. No one ever would, and you prefered to keep it that way.
You were about to respond to Chrom’s suggestion, when a rustling in the bushes alerted you to a presence nearby.
“Who’s there?” Chrom said, his hand defensively on his sword.
“Oh, it’s just me, Father!” Morgan stepped out of the bushes. “Me and Lucina! We were looking for you. Everyone back at camp is wondering where you and Mother went off to.”
Lucina followed. “This place is beautiful. I’m not surprised you chose to come out here.”
You exchanged glances with your husband before nodded at your children. “Yes, it is,” you said. “It’s my favorite place, actually.”
Chrom touched both Morgan on Lucina on the shoulders, escorting them away. “You mentioned everyone was looking for us. What do they need?” he said.
As Morgan chattered away, you trailed behind them. Chrom was a good father; he was also a good husband.
You didn’t think you’d mind being a little inappropriate — in fact, you grinned, blushing at the thought. That would have to wait, though, until you were able to return to the lake tonight.