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“You’ve been working too much lately,” Robin suddenly tells him, once they leave the throne room. After having meetings with several nobles and dealing with their needs and complaints.
“Says the one who stays up late reading,” Robin doesn’t say anything in response, instead grabbing his hand and leading him down the hall. “Where are we going?” he asks in amusement, “Our study is in the opposite direction,”
She stops immediately and turns to face him.
“You’re going to take a break,” she says, jabbing a finger at his chest. “You’ve been overworking yourself this past week.”
Chrom blinks at her before letting out a small laugh, and Robin glares at him, offended.
“Don’t laugh at me!” She smacks his arm.
“You know, usually I’m the one who has to remind you to take a break from work.”
“And I always listen… eventually.”
“Not until I find you passed out at your desk over a book or some paperwork,” he reminds her. “I dare say you need this break more than I do.”
Robin doesn’t argue, not when he takes her hand in his and oh so gently presses a kiss to her palm, then to her wrist with a warm and loving expression.
Robin’s love for him unfurls like a flower in the garden of her heart, full of already blooming hyacinths and roses, each representing her love for her other half. She surges forward to kiss him before taking his hand again to lead him away from the palace.
Their children are already waiting for them when they reach a field a little ways away outside the palace. Six-year-old Lucina sits perched on older Morgan’s shoulders, and older Lucina holds a wiggling three-year-old Morgan in her arms.
Morgan shows them all a few magic tricks he’s taken to learning the past few weeks. His coat sleeve catches fire in the middle of a magic trick but he quickly snuffs it out with a panicked pat of his gloved hand.
Chrom chases around little Morgan and little Lucina, while Robin braids flowers into older Lucina’s hair.
Chrom’s smile never falters, bright and warm as he pulls the two into a hug.
Chrom sleeps peacefully, head resting in Robin’s lap as she reads, her back leaning against a tree. Occasionally, her hand will come to rest in his hair, fingers threading through the blue locks as she hums.
Further away, Robin can see Lucina and Morgan, play fighting with their younger selves. Lucina dramatically falls to the ground when little Morgan jabs her side with a toy sword. Morgan and little Lucina stand to the side, cheering little Morgan on. The flowers in Lucina’s braid have fallen out, scattered across the grass, flattened by the trample of boots.
Not for the first time, Robin finds herself thinking about how lucky she is, to be able to have this second chance at life.
Those thoughts come to her in the middle of the night, sleeping in Chrom’s embrace, or during the quiet moments in the family lounge, the fire crackling as they play chess or their children listen to Chrom or herself regale them with stories of their travels.
Robin wishes she could capture this moment in time, this moment spent with those she loves most in the world.
“What are you thinking about?” Her book is plucked out of her hands and Robin glares down at Chrom.
“I’m thinking about how you made me lose my place in the book,” she answers with a huff. She’s not really angry with him of course. A little annoyed maybe, but she could never stay that way with him for long.
“You’ve been staring at the same page for the last five minutes.” Robin doesn’t correct him that it was actually fifteen minutes. “What’s on your mind?”
His question is one of concern, and though Robin would normally tell him, ‘I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong.’ with a smile and a reassuring kiss to his cheek, she can’t find it in herself to lie to him right now.
She takes a few moments to gather her thoughts, the jumbled mess that they are, and Chrom waits patiently for her to speak.
“I sometimes wonder-” Robin starts, “About how different things would be. If I hadn’t come back.” She stares up at the tree, watching the leaves rustle when the wind blows, the sunlight peeking through the foliage. Chrom is silent, so she continues, “If Naga hadn’t pieced me back together- if she hadn’t called upon Lucina to bring me back to this world.”
“What brought on this line of thinking?”
She looks down at Chrom, who gazes up at her, and she can see the concern in his blue eyes.
She feels guilty for suddenly bringing up the topic, especially when they're enjoying a pleasant afternoon together but...
These thoughts were always at the back of her mind, and she knew it would always be there and continue to fester if she didn't talk about it.
“If I hadn’t been brought back… Our children would have to grow up on only the memory of me. Would they listen bright-eyed, quiet, as someone told them stories of me? Or would their interest in me fade away with time?” She picks at the little pile of flowers that little Morgan and little Lucina picked for her. “Morgan wouldn’t even exist if I wasn’t here.”
“Luci put that down!” Robin looks up to see little Lucina running with the parallel Falchion in her little hands as older Lucina chases her with a look of horror on her face.
“She would remember you,” Chrom says eventually, “We would make sure of it.” He reaches up to tuck a stray hair behind her ear. “And there’s no point on dwelling on the what-ifs and what could have been. You’re here now, and I will thank Naga every day for the rest of my life that you were brought home to us. To me.” He pulls himself up to lean back against her, pressing a gentle hand to her cheek. Robin turns her face to press a kiss to his palm.
“Mom! Dad!” little Lucina calls out to them, and Robin looks up to see her waving one of the wooden swords at them.
Robin is relieved to see parallel falchion is back in older Lucina’s hands,
“We’re hungry!” she yells, “Can we go home and eat now?”
“It's about time for lunch isn't it?” Chrom stands up, holding a hand out to Robin, helping her up onto her feet. “Do you think Frederick will let us eat before he lectures us for leaving the palace without any guards?”
Robin rolls her eyes. “Not before he yells at us for ditching all those meetings we had to attend.”
Chrom sighs, “I quite honestly forgot about them.”
“Good.” She flicks his forehead with her free hand, the other still in his. “That was the point of coming here.”
“We’re bound to get an earful from him you know.”
“As long as he does it over lunch then I’m fine with that.” She smiles, kissing him before pulling away and leading him to their children. “Now let’s go. If we stay here any longer he might send out search parties to look for us.”