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Chrom and Robin laid in bed, limbs tangled together. Dawn’s soft light streamed through thin cotton curtains. Based on the usual schedule, Robin figured it must be about 7:30. Morgan hadn’t woken up yet, thank the gods. But Lucina was usually awake by this time. By some miracle, was she sleeping in too?
Ah. There it was. The pitter-patter of small feet against the floor. It grew louder and louder until the doorknob clicked. The door flung open, and a small body slammed onto the bed, crawling up to the pillows.
Lucina shook her parents' shoulders. “Mooooom! Daaaad! Wake up!”
Chrom attempted to roll over. “Five more minutes, Lucina.”
“Nooooo.” She squeezed herself between her parents. Robin found herself at the edge of the bed. “Now.”
The three of them laid there. Lucina kicked her legs, her toes jabbing into Robin’s shin. Ow. Ow. Ow.
“Can we go to the park now?” Lucina asked. “Please, please, pleeeease?”
“We’ve gotta wait for your brother to wake up,” Robin mumbled. “Then we have to feed you.”
“But why can’t you feed me now? I’m not asleep anymore.”
Chrom groaned, almost as if to say “she’s got a point”. He rolled over the other direction and sat on the edge of the bed. Lucina shifted to the side, and Robin was able to make herself comfortable again.
“Alright. Let’s go get you your—”
Static buzzed from the baby monitor. Morgan began to cry.
“And there he is.” Chrom stretched his arms up in the air. “I think I’m on diaper duty, so I’ll go get him.”
Lucina smiled. “Eww, diapers!”
“Hey, don’t laugh,” said Chrom. “Unless you want to do it.”
Lucina ran off in a fit of giggles.
Robin sat up. Her eyelids were sticky as she blinked. “You’re actually volunteering for diaper duty?”
“Hey, I’m a man of my word,” said Chrom. “As much as I hate it sometimes.”
Robin popped some frozen waffles in the toaster while Chrom got Morgan’s milk out of the fridge. Neither one of them ever mastered the art of cooking. That wasn’t to say they didn’t try. Fredrick came over once a week for cooking lessons, bringing his wife and child along for a playdate. So far they’d gone two weeks without setting off the fire alarm. Robin considered that a win. She stirred up the almond butter while waiting for the waffles to cook.
“Lucina,” she asked, “Can you get me the blueberries?”
“Sure.” Lucina went over and opened the fridge. Robin made sure to place Lucina’s favorites within her reach. The top shelf was reserved for all the gross stuff, like leftover spaghetti and opened baby food. She grabbed the blueberries and placed them on the counter. “Here you go.”
“Thank you, Lucina.”
Bing. The waffles popped out of the toaster. Robin placed them on a plate and spread the almond butter on thick. A growing girl needed good amounts of protein. She rinsed off a handful of blueberries and arranged them in a smiley face on the waffles. “Hello!” they said. “Please eat me! I’m nutritious!”
Chrom sat Morgan in his high chair. “Alright. What should we try you on this morning?”
Robin glanced over her shoulder. “What have we tried so far?”
“Uh…” Chrom counted on his fingers. “Sweet potato, banana, green bean, chicken… he really hated spinach…”
“How about peach?” Robin handed Lucina her plate. “Or anything blueberry. We’ve got to teach him to like those young.”
The entire “blueberry family” thing had started as a joke. Back when Lucina was born, one of the first things they’d noticed about her were her father’s blue hair and eyes. “Hah,” Lissa had said. “You’re gonna be a big ol’ blueberry family”. Then it turned out Lucina just happened to really, really like the tiny fruits, and so the name stuck.
“Do we have blueberry?” Chrom asked.
“I think so,” said Robin. “Check the back.”
Chrom booped Morgan on the nose, then went back to the fridge. He rummaged around the back. “Uh… I see peach, cinnamon pear, beef…”
Lucina handed her plate back to Robin. “All done!”
Robin blinked. “You ate it that fast?”
Lucina nodded.
Chrom closed the fridge and held a jar up. “Found it.”
“Alright,” said Robin. “Well, um… we’ve still got to feed Morgan, so would you go get dressed and play with your toys while you wait?”
“Dad already fed Morgan,” Lucina whined. “With the milk.”
“Well, yes, but we’re going to try solid food now. He needs to learn to eat it.”
Lucina gagged. “Eugh, baby food!”
“Yep. Baby food.” Chrom opened the jar. “If you don’t want to be subjected to its presence, I suggest you leave now.”
Lucina rushed off.
“Yeah, that’s right,” Chrom said. “Run! Run from the horrors of fruit puree!”
“To think, she used to love that stuff,” Robin said. “I wonder when that changed.”
“I mean, she’s five now, so I assume she doesn’t remember liking it.” Chrom glanced down at the spoon. “Do you ever wonder what this stuff tastes like?”
“Chrom, no.”
“Alright,” said Robin. “We’ve got everything we need?”
Chrom sorted through his backpack. “Water, snacks, first aid kit. I’ve got sunscreen in here too, but if we leave before noon we might not need it.”
“Eh,” said Robin. “Better safe than sorry.”
“The soccer ball’s already in the trunk. You got the diaper bag all loaded?” He stopped and snickered. “Loaded…”
She patted the side. “This thing’s always loaded.” There wasn’t a trip where they didn’t need it. The perks of having a six-month old, everyone!
Lucina grinned. She jumped up and down on her toes. “Can I bring Grima?”
Robin and Chrom gave each other a look.
Back when Lucina was born, Robin’s father somehow found their address and sent them a custom plush as a gift. They shoved it away somewhere and forgot about it. One day Lucina stumbled upon its hiding spot and brought it back into their lives. She’d grown strangely attached to it in a short amount of time. So now their daughter carried a polyester effigy of the world devouring dragon with her wherever she went. Fun.
“Sure. Just make sure not to lose him.” This was less about the plush itself and more about Lucina. She’d be devastated if she lost it. For all Robin cared, that thing could get thrown off the side of a canyon and trampled by an eighteen wheeler.
Lucina squealed. She rushed to her room to grab it. Robin grabbed the diaper bag and Morgan’s carrier and loaded them into the backseat. Morgan waggled his arms at his mother.
“Gwaah, bwah gah,” he said.
“Don’t worry, you won’t be in there long,” said Robin. “We’ll get to the park and I’ll put you in the other carrier. Then you’re stuck with me.”
Morgan drooled. “Guuuabah maaa.”
Lucina buckled herself in and placed Grima on the diaper bag. She kicked her feet back and forth. “Park! Park! Park!”
“Let’s get going,” Chrom said. He revved up the car. “I don’t think Luce is going to be able to wait any longer.”
The park was about as crowded as you’d expect for a Saturday morning. Robin sat at a picnic table with Morgan while Chrom and Lucina played with the soccer ball. Chrom passed it to Lucina, who launched it back.
“Come on, Luce!” Chrom cheered. “Kick it harder! I know you can!”
The ball went back once more, and Lucina gave it her all, sending the ball hurtling past her dad.
Chrom ran back to get the ball. He picked it up and walked back, then gave Lucina a high five. “Great job, Luce! That would have been a goal.”
Robin clapped. “You’re doing amazing, sweetie!”
“Thanks,” Lucina said. “Can I go play on the playground now?”
Chrom smiled. “Sure. You’ve done more than enough.”
Lucina rushed off to the playground, her little “yaaaaay!” getting fainter the farther she got.
“She’s a natural, just like you,” said Robin.
“Runs in the family.” Chrom sat and leaned back on the picnic table. “Maybe she’ll win State like I did.”
“It’s a little early to be predicting that,” said Robin. “She’s five. Who knows what she’ll be like as a teenager. Speaking of early, what time is it?”
Chrom checked his watch. “Eleven thirty.”
Robin pursed her lips. “Yeah, I’d say we should go get lunch once Lucina’s finished.”
“What if Lucina’s never finished?”
“She’ll get hungry. We just have to hope she realizes that before she gets cranky.”
Just then, a man with a dog walked by. The dog sniffed Chrom’s legs, then Robin’s.
“C’mon boy,” said the man, gently tugging the dog along. “Sorry about that.”
“Oh, it’s alright,” said Chrom. “I like dogs.” He turned to Robin. “You know, we should get one.”
Robin rolled her eyes. (In truth, she wanted one too.)
Chrom pulled into the Burger King drive-thru. “Okay, a whopper for me, a junior whopper for Luce, and a chicken sandwich for you?”
“I think so,” said Robin. She leaned in. “How about we get some ice cream as a treat?”
“I’ll never say no to that. Though we’ll have to see if the ice cream machine is working.”
“It should be. This isn’t McDonalds.”
Chrom placed his arm on the console and looked over his shoulder. “Luce. Do you want vanilla or chocolate ice cream?”
Lucina’s eyes lit up. “Vanilla!”
“Alright then.” He turned back to his wife. “How about you, Robin? I want chocolate, but I’m not sure Morgan can have it this early.”
Robin shrugged. “I don’t care. But if you’re worried, then I’d go with vanilla.”
Chrom inched the car forward. His face fell. He stared into the distance, much too pensive for a man about to devour a hamburger and fries.
Robin curled her lip. “You really want that chocolate, don’t you.”
Chrom mumbled in response. “Yes.”
“Just get it.”
Lucina lounged on the couch, refurbished Game Boy Advance above her head. Chrom and Robin were far from perfect parents, but even they didn’t like the idea of Lucina having access to a phone. Too much crazy stuff on there. Instead, Robin scrounged up used games and parts from eBay, garage sales, and used game stores and restored that GBA herself. She also refurbished a 3DS and Wii. They did debate letting her use Chrom’s switch, but were worried Lucina would break it on the go and freak out. That one could wait. But she’d be fine. She had enough games to last her until her teens.
“Mooom, look! I beat the dungeon!” Lucina rolled off the couch and shoved the GBA in her mother’s face. Robin squinted. Curse her aging eyesight. She leaned back and the screen came into focus. It was Link’s Awakening DX. That one had been a favorite of hers growing up.
“Good job, sweetie,” she said. “How many instruments do you have left?”
Lucina put a finger to her chin. “Um… three, I think?”
“You’re getting close to the end, then,” Robin said. “But don’t worry. There’s a bunch more Zelda games to enjoy. I’ll show you the two that come after that one.”
“Two more?” Lucina gasped.
“Yep! And I don’t think you’ve started on any of the 3D ones, have you? There’s five of those.” Well, seven, but those two were off limits for now. And they were different enough that they could be considered a different genre altogether.
“Three-Dee?” Lucina asked. “What’s that mean?”
“Um…” Robin searched for the right words. “3D stands for three dimensional. It’s when there’s depth. 2D means two dimensional. That’s when everything’s flat. Think, uh, Mulan compared to Tangled. Mulan is 2D and Tangled is 3D.”
“Ooh, oooh!” Lucina jumped. “Can we watch a movie tonight?”
Robin looked to Chrom, who was making silly faces at Morgan. “I don’t think we have anything planned, so why not?”
After a dinner of leftover spaghetti, Robin popped a bag of popcorn and put on Mulan. Lucina absolutely adored that movie. Sometimes she’d take the child-sized broom and swing it around like a sword. Either Robin or Chrom would have to steer Morgan’s pack-n-play away from her. If she was this enthusiastic about swords because of Mulan, then how would she be with Star Wars?
Thankfully, she’d decided against swordplay tonight, opting to sit between her parents instead. Morgan sat in Robin’s lap, much more interested in his bottle than the movie.
“Man, I don’t remember this movie being so dark,” whispered Chrom. “Did she just kill a thousand men?”
“What do you mean you don’t remember?” Robin hissed. She put down Morgan’s bottle. “We watch this movie all the time.”
“Usually I zone out, or Morgan starts crying and one of us has to put him to bed.”
“Okay, fair.”
Lucina took a piece of popcorn and tried to feed it to Morgan. Robin gently lowered her arm.
“Lucina, he can’t eat that yet,” she said. “He’s got no teeth.”
“Oh. Sorry.” Lucina popped it in her mouth. “When’s he gonna get teeth?”
“Soon. But even then, you’re not supposed to eat popcorn until you’re older. It’s a choking hazard.”
“Oh.” She squished Morgan’s cheek. He raised his arm and curled a little fist around her finger. “Hey! He’s holding my hand!”
A warm, fuzzy feeling washed over Robin. She leaned over and rested her head on Chrom’s shoulder. Oh, how this moment could last forever…