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“Father?”
Grumbling quietly, Chrom scrunched his nose at the soft whisper as a finger began poking at his side. He had done some training earlier this morning, along with attending several council meetings throughout the day. So, he was very much looking forward to this nap. Today and tomorrow were his leisure days for the week, and as the Exalt now, he didn’t get them too often. But, unfortunately, since Frederick was currently patrolling the lower floors of the castle, Chrom’s chambers had been easily accessible to anyone nearby.
Although, locking his door also would have been a wise and obvious decision.
With a heavy sigh, Chrom gently placed his hand over the one nudging at him before he blearily looked up at his intruder.
“…What is it, Lucina?”
Blushing lightly, the princess bit her lip before glancing towards the doorway, “I… I apologize for disturbing you, but I have an urgent matter to discuss.”
Frowning, the older swordsman rubbed a clumsy hand at his tired eyes before slowly sitting up, “What’s wrong?”
Taking a quiet seat beside her father on the bed, Lucina twiddled her thumbs before glancing up at him sheepishly.
“Tomorrow is the Day of Devotion.”
Confused, Chrom raised a brow at her, “And…?”
“How… How does it work?”
Scrubbing a hand over his face, the Exalt sighed quietly as he continued frowning at his daughter, “This is the urgent matter you wanted to discuss?”
Lucina mirrored his frown, “Yes… Because, I’ve never celebrated it before. And, you have known Robin much longer than myself, so you must know what he likes best. I don’t wish to disappoint him, Father, so I need your help. Of course, he likes books and studying, and Aunt Lissa told me he surprisingly loves bear meat. He also loves chamomiles, but I don’t want to gift him with the same flowers he had gifted me. Perhaps he likes sweets—.”
“Lucina—.”
“But then, there are so many to choose from in that candy store in the village, how could I know which one Robin fancies? He does make an excellent carrot stew, so maybe he would like carrots—.”
“Lucina!”
Startling from the other’s sudden outburst, the princess glanced up at her father apologetically. Chrom, however, was smiling as he looked to his frazzled daughter in amusement, “First of all, relax. There is no need to get so worked up. Secondly…none of those things are going to work.”
Lucina’s face nearly crumbled at that.
The Exalt chuckled at that look before he kindly patted Lucina on the shoulder, “No, no… It’s alright. What I mean to say is, those gifts are not tradition.”
Letting out a relieved sigh, the princess looked at the other curiously, “Tradition…?”
Chrom nodded, “Per the Ylissean tradition of which I grew up with, on Valentine’s Day—or Day of Devotion—women present a special kind of chocolate to men who they fancy. My mother… W-Well, your grandmother used to actually make these chocolates herself for your grandfather when I was very young. Of course, I had no clue what the recipe entailed, but I did know that the name of this particular chocolate was called, ‘Honmei-choco,’ or ‘true love chocolate.’”
Lucina gasped quietly in awe, thrilled to be learning something new about her father, as well as gaining more knowledge about the Day of Devotion, “Oh, Father…that sounds so lovely. Do you think your…I-I mean…my…my grandmother might have left the recipe in one of the journals in the kitchen? Maybe we could make them together!”
Chrom bit his lip at that. It could be a possibility, most definitely. But, neither him nor Lucina knew how to cook, nor bake for that matter. And, the people he knew that had any culinary ability were currently residing in their homelands, and had been ever since peace had been restored to the continent. With the Day of Devotion being tomorrow, there was no possible way a pegasus messenger would be able to fly out and send a letter and return by the morning.
Thus, that only left one other person they knew that had some sort of kitchen know-how.
Robin.
“As much as I would love to make them with you, Lucina… We both know the two of us would be a very destructive pair in the kitchen. However…I do have another idea,” Chrom spoke quietly.
Lucina tilted her head in question, “What is it?”
Smiling fondly, the Exalt kindly tucked some loose hair behind her ear.
“I think it would be best if you and Robin made the chocolates…together.”
Blue eyes suddenly came alight at that, “Oh, Father! That idea is splendid!”
Chrom chuckled at his daughter’s excitement as she lightly bounced on the bed, just like her younger self who was currently taking her usual afternoon nap on the castle floor above them, “I thought you might like it. I believe if Robin could make such an excellent stew, he may be a great help in making those chocolates, as well. In the mean time, the two of us can head downstairs and see if we can find my mother’s recipe.”
Lucina smiled gratefully at that before looking worried, “Oh… But, your rest…”
Sitting up a bit more, Chrom gave a small yawn with a stretch before he started to slide off of his bed, “Mmm… Don’t worry. If it wasn’t you, your younger self would be waking me up instead once her own nap is over. …Which should be soon, so I suggest we hurry.”
The younger woman giggled quietly at that as she followed after her father, “Speaking of children… You are still okay with watching Morgan this evening and tomorrow morning while Robin and I spend the night at the newly built inn in the village?”
Chrom groaned as he pushed open his bedroom door.
“Gods, I nearly forgot I was a grandfather, too.”
Setting down three bowls, Lucina gleefully walked to the other side of the kitchen island before grabbing three separate bags of chocolate. She then felt a playful kiss to her cheek as Robin grabbed two of them, allowing Lucina to excitedly open the pink one, “I didn’t really think Chrom would be so knowledgeable about the Day of Devotion… N-Not that he isn’t romantic! Er… W-Wait…”
Lucina chuckled quietly at her now flustered husband as she generously poured the bag of strawberry chocolate into one of their bowls, “Don’t tell me you fancy Father, now?”
Robin blushed with a huff as he poured both the milk chocolate and white chocolate pieces into their respective bowls, “N-No! You know that’s not what I… Oh, Gods, just hand me the dough scraper before I humiliate myself even more.”
The princess let out a fond laugh as she kindly handed over the baking utensil, “I only tease, dear. Now, please be careful using the stove. I don’t want you to get hurt…”
Embarrassment fading, Robin smiled softly at her as he picked up the bowl of milk chocolate, “I’ve cooked for us plenty of times before, love, so this will be no different.” He then pressed another kiss to her hair before walking over to the stove and pouring the pieces into the readied double boiler. Gently using the dough scraper to push the chocolate around, the tactician turned to Lucina again, “…Would you like to watch how I melt the chocolate? Then, you can try.”
Lucina perked up at that before walking over and curiously peeking over Robin’s shoulder. She then patiently watched on as her husband gently pushed around the milk chocolate, being mindful not to let it burn as he leaned over and lowered the stove’s temperature, “The goal is to melt it evenly so that it doesn’t burn nor separate. It should take about three minutes to smooth out before we pour it into the molds you picked out.”
The younger swordswoman nodded in understanding, a small smile pulling at her lips as she quietly admired Robin’s technique. He was concentrating quite hard, but his furrowed brows only brought the princess more joy. She then looked over at the chocolate molds resting atop the island in the center of the kitchen, their cute design making her smile even brighter.
Before picking up Morgan from the castle after the two had spent such a lovely night at the inn, they stopped at the village market to gather some supplies. And, to their surprise, there was a plentiful amount of Day of Devotion items on sale, including kitchen ware. Of course, among all of them, the first ones that caught Lucina’s eye were the heart-shaped and butterfly-shaped chocolate molds.
Even if the their intended purpose was to be for Robin, she couldn’t leave the market without them.
Suddenly, a finger dabbing chocolate onto her nose pulled Lucina from her thoughts.
Confused, the princess glanced down at the smudge of milk chocolate. Robin chuckled fondly at her before pulling on his oven mitts and separating the top boiler bowl from the bottom and holding it out to Lucina, “Want to try it? It tastes delicious.”
With a soft smile, the younger woman happily poked her own finger into the melted chocolate.
Before purposefully wiping it on Robin’s cheek.
The silver-haired strategist gasped in surprise before letting out a laugh, “Hey!”
He then tried wiping it off with the back of his hand before rubbing that hand onto his wife’s own cheek. Lucina sputtered with a blush before taking the bowl away from him, “R-Robin!”
Robin laughed all the more at that, finding the other’s sudden pink cheeks to be adorable as he once more dipped his finger into the melted chocolate. However, he snuck himself a taste instead of wiping it on Lucina this time. The younger woman huffed, but couldn’t keep back the small giggle that bubbled from her chest as she looked down at the chocolate on her nose, “You are ridiculous.”
The silver-haired strategist snorted, “Only says you. I’m fun, admit it.”
Letting out a quiet sigh, the swordswoman shook her head in amusement as she retrieved the dough scraper that Robin had left near the double boiler. She then gently began to scrape the melted chocolate into the heart molds, her smile growing as she filled up half of them before suddenly stopping. Eyes soft, Lucina admired the molds silently for a moment, not realizing the overwhelming joy that filled her at such a simple task. Her hands were quite messy now and so were the molds, but she could see the tiny, chocolate-filled hearts so clearly.
“Robin…”
Successfully wiping the chocolate off of his cheek with a wet cloth, the tactician turned to his wife. However, he frowned at seeing her just standing there and staring at the molds, “What’s the matter?”
“They’re… They’re so cute.”
Robin was about to give a warm smile at that before he noticed the sudden tears brimming in Lucina’s eyes. Confused, the silver-haired strategist kindly rested a hand on her back before leaning his head down so he could look at her properly, “They very much are, but…why are you upset?”
Lucina blinked before blushing sheepishly as she swiftly swiped at her eyes, “O-Oh! I… I’m not! M-My apologies, dear… I hadn’t… I-I mean… I’m actually…u-um…”
“Happy?” Robin questioned with a soft chuckle.
The princess smiled shyly at him before gently reaching a hand to her husband’s cheek, effectively getting chocolate on it once more.
“Yes.”
This time, Robin was the one to sputter as his wife playfully smudged the chocolate more so than before as she let out a quiet giggle. Although very much enjoying her first Day of Devotion celebration with her husband, Lucina couldn’t help but feel emotional. Their lives were so different now. They could celebrate their love without war looming over their heads. They even had a child and family of their own.
And, just as Robin went in to smear chocolate onto Lucina’s forehead…
She kissed him.
