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Robin had been careless. She had kept a support log to track the growing relationships within the Shepherds. It was more like her private hobby, a way to keep tabs on how close each member was to each other, something to help her understand group dynamics better. But then it also turned into something more as she grows closer to the members and saw who liked who, as she quietly observed them on and off the battlefield. Of course, her own relationship had grown with Chrom as it proudly was an S-rank, a proof of their marriage. She didn’t expect anyone else to find it, until one day. It began innocently enough. Breakfast. A calm morning. The Shepherds, for once, weren’t running from risen, enemy kingdoms, or aggressive feral rabbits.
Then, Frederick found it.
A thick parchment binder with scrawled notes, crammed under a pile of provisions. Across the front, in all caps:
TACTICIAN’S SUPPORT LOG – PRIVATE. DO NOT READ.
Which, naturally, meant read immediately.
Frederick, ever the dutiful knight, was tidying up the mess hall when his gaze landed on the binder. His brow furrowed, and without hesitation, he reached down and picked it up.
“Hmm. Private, you say?” He turned it over in his hands, examining the bold writing. "This doesn't seem like a good idea..."
Before he could think any further, Robin entered the room, immediately spotting Frederick with her support log in hand. Her heart skipped a beat.
“Frederick, no—!” Robin cried, her hands shooting out as if to snatch it away.
But Frederick, with his usual calm, held it high above his head, well out of her reach.
"Support ranks?" Frederick’s voice was stern, but the glint of curiosity in his eyes was unmistakable as he flipped it open. "Robin, what is this?"
Robin could feel her face flushing deep red. She wanted to disappear into the floor. She wasn’t ready for the chaos that would follow.
“S-support ranks?” Inigo leaned over Frederick’s shoulder, raising an eyebrow. “Robin’s been pairing people up in secret?”
“No!” Robin exclaimed, her hands flying up in protest. “It’s not like that—it’s for battle efficiency! As a Tactician, it’s my duty to—”
Frederick cut her off, reading aloud in dramatic fashion. “‘Chrom – S-Rank – Robin…’”
The room froze. The quiet hum of the camp was replaced by the deafening sound of stunned silence. Robin’s face flushed bright red as she buried her face in her hands. She could feel the eyes of every Shepherd on her, and there was no escaping this disaster.
And then someone screamed.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN CHROM AND ROBIN HAVE AN S-RANK?!” cried Sumia, dropping her fork in slow motion.
Chrom walked in just then, cheerful and oblivious. “What’s going on here? Everything okay?”
A few steps behind him, Sumia dropped her tea in slow motion. The mug shattered on the floor, but no one seemed to notice.
“What does S-rank mean?” Chrom blinked, genuinely confused.
That was all it took.
Lissa, who had been quietly nibbling on some bread, shot to her feet with a look of utter disbelief. She grabbed the support log from Frederick’s hands as if it were a dangerous weapon.
“CHROM!” she shrieked, her voice louder than usual. “YOU MARRIED ROBIN?!”
Chrom blinked again, utterly lost. “Yes? It’s been months. We—wait, how do you—?”
“Why wasn’t I invited to the wedding?!” Lissa’s eyes widened with panic as she glanced at Sumia, then back at Robin. “When? Where? Was there a ceremony? Was it private? Was I really that far out of the loop?”
Robin stepped back, overwhelmed. “Lissa, I—this isn’t what it looks like—!”
Lucina, who had been standing silently in the corner, watching all the chaos unfold with a raised eyebrow, blinked. “But… why is this so… important?” she asked, clearly baffled by the commotion. “It’s just a ranking, right?”
At her words, the entire tent froze again.
“Lucina,” Robin started, shaking her head in disbelief, “you really don’t—”
But before she could finish, Lucina calmly turned around and walked out of the tent, muttering something about “unnecessary drama.”
“Well, this is awkward,” Fredrick muttered under his breath, crossing his arms.
“Wait, wait,” Inigo suddenly grinned, eyeing the open pages. “What about me? I’m sure I’m in here somewhere! Ahh, let’s see…” He leaned in closer to Frederick and began flipping through the pages with exaggerated interest. “I’ll bet I’m right here. My charm’s probably earned me a few high ranks!”
“Inigo,” Robin groaned, covering her face. “No!”
Inigo ignored her, his eyes sparkling as he scanned the pages. He found his name and whistled. “Oh, wow! A-Rank with Cordelia already?” Then Henry came over and turned the page. "Ohh! And S-Rank with Olivia, huh? I knew it! I’m just too irresistible, aren't I?"
Olivia, who had been quietly observing the scene from a corner, suddenly stood up, her face flushed with embarrassment. “I… I’m not paired with you, Henry! I—I haven’t even, we fought together once!”
“Well, well,” Lon’qu who hasn’t said anything, chimed in, glancing over Inigo’s shoulder. “Seems we’ve got a lot of secrets here, don’t we?”
The tension was palpable. Everyone was reading the support ranks, whispering among themselves, while Robin wished she could simply disappear into the ground.
Finally, after what felt like hours, Lissa folded her arms. “Well, it’s nice to know what’s really going on around here. But I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me, Chrom! And you two, married? Seriously?”
“I mean-it just-happened!” Chrom finally protested, throwing his hands up. “But this it’s just a battle rank! I I—I didn’t even know this was a thing!”
“Well, now you do,” Robin said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Congratulations, we’re all caught up.”
Inigo shot her a grin. “I think I speak for everyone when I say that the Tactician has some very interesting hobbies.”
The group continued to laugh and chatter amongst themselves, but Robin, now a deep shade of crimson, silently cursed her own carelessness.