Title: I Can See The Wildflowers
Fandom: Fire Emblem: Awakening
Characters/Pairings: Chrom/Robin (Female)
Rating: T
Length: 844 Words
Content notes: Hurt/Comfort, Implied Suicidal Thoughts, Fluff
Author notes: Contains minor spoilers for Awakening. Written for the "Scenery" prompt.
Summary: Robin is haunted by bad memories and ideas of a future she and her husband fought so hard to escape. Chrom teaches her a way to bring herself back to reality.


The soft thudding of bare feet on the cold floor stirred Chrom from his sleep. It was the early hours of the morning, judging by the faint orange glow on the horizon and the faint chirping of a lone bird. His bleary eyes peered over to the window, where he saw his wife pacing back and forth, soft sounds of shuddering breath reaching his ears. Robin noticed his tired gaze and looked away, embarrassed. She moved to the windowsill, sitting on the edge and resting her forehead against the freezing glass.

Chrom crawled out from the embrace of the covers and approached her. He placed his hand on her shoulder, but she retreated back into herself as she continued staring down at the grass below.

"What's wrong, love?"

Robin sighed; a long, drawn-out sound that almost resembled a sob, before answering.

"I can't stop thinking."

"About what?"

Robin turned to face her husband. "About what I did. What I could have done."

Chrom knew what she was implying. He knelt down to her level, face close to hers. He took her hand, the one that once brandished the symbol of Grima, and held it in his own.

"Robin, none of that was your fault. You didn't have a choice, and you know this." Chrom's voice was hardly a whisper.

Robin scoffed and shook her head. She leaned back against the window. "Still, I remember all the people we lost and I just..." a tear trailed down her face, "I just think that all of this could have been avoided if I-"

She paused, swallowing hard.

"If I weren't here."

Her words made Chrom's face grow pale, and he prayed that she didn't notice.

"Gods, Robin," He said as he gripped her hand tighter, "why would you think that? If you weren't here, Ylisse would have been annihilated in the war. It's you that guided us."

"It's me that started this war in the first place!"

Robin was sobbing openly now; heavy, racking sounds that scraped through her lungs and shook her entire body. She pulled her nightgown tighter around her shoulders and shrunk further towards the window, as if she could disappear if she huddled into herself far enough. Her voice broke as she fought tears that tried to choke her words.

"My entire existence only served to destroy all of you. What makes you think this won't happen again? How can you be certain that I won't turn on you? What if it somehow controls me again and I kill every single one of you? And I know how this sound but- is our love, our family, really worth the lives of an entire kingdom?"

Robin's words became more frantic with each breath she took. Chrom wrapped his arms around her, not letting go despite her meager struggles. Anything to keep her tethered to reality.

"It is not going to happen again." He spoke, softly smoothing her hair with his palm. "We have made sure of that."

"No, it's not-" Robin began, "We can't be certain. I don't know- Chrom, I-" Her brow furrowed tightly, hands grasping at her own hair, "I'm scared!"

"Hey, hey, look at me." Chrom cupped her cheek, turning her head to face his gaze. He paused for a minute, thinking, wondering what he could do to make his wife feel better.

Then he remembered.

"You know, when I was a boy, sometimes I would get lost in my own head, just like this. Emmeryn taught me something to calm myself down." He gestured to the window, and Robin returned her focus to the sight of the rising sun. "What do you see out there?"

"The sun, the city, the trees..." Robin began to smile. "I think I can see the birds flying between branches."

"I see them too." Chrom leaned his head against his wife's shoulder. "Oh, Robin, what about the wildflowers? Did you notice the purple and white ones growing along the wall of the castle?"

Robin got onto her knees to peer down at the very bottom of the stretch of grass that hugged the castle. The wildflowers danced slowly in the early morning wind, swaying left and right as the breeze changed course. The two stayed silent for a moment, entranced by the movement of the young plants. Eventually, Chrom looked Robin in the eye, expression soft and gentle.

"Do you feel better now, my love?" He asked.

"Yes. I'm sorry you had to see that. It was unlike me."

Chrom leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss against her lips.

"You don't need to be embarrassed. I think we're far past that phase." He chuckled, and Robin grinned in return.

"Now let's get some rest. It's still very early." Chrom said. He and Robin sank back into their bed, embraced in each-others arms.

"I love you." Robin spoke. "You know, if I ever get like that again, I should just look at you."

"Really, and why is that?"

"Because you're so handsome."

"Be quiet and sleep, love." Chrom laughed, tugging her body closer to his.