This chapter is going to be more about Robin and Stahl. Some good ol' angst for ya!

Robin opened her eyes, the sunlight peeking through the drawn curtains and onto her face. She shielded her eyes for a moment, allowing them to adjust to the light, before glancing over Stahl's shoulder to see him still in slumber. Gently, she leaned forward and gave his shoulder a gentle kiss. The night before had been wonderful, and she made a mental note to thank the girls later for their advice. Quietly, she got up and put on Stahl's shirt and underwear so as not to scar either Cordelia or Kellam; she did not know they had crashed over at Henry's and Donnel's place, so she went to the kitchen, cell phone in hand. She always kept it on ring for a certain reason, and she didn't want to chance waking Stahl up. Her stomach growled in protest. Indeed, they had made dinner as she had planned, but after last night's passion, of course she'd be hungry. She knew Stahl would be when he woke up, so she decided to make scrambled eggs, bacon, and pancakes.

Once in the kitchen, she checked her phone. There was a message from Cordelia: Have fun, okay? And don't worry. We're staying over at Henry's and Donny's. She felt herself blush; it was obvious Stahl had let them know that something was happening, but she couldn't help but be thankful for it. Her muscles ached from the night's endeavors as she reached up to a space in a cabinet for a coffee mug. Stahl and Kellam had put some glasses and mugs on a shelf to which Cordelia and Robin could reach.

Just as she was to put the coffee on, she heard a yawn behind her, and arms draped around her shoulders.

"Mornin'," Stahl sleepily greeted.

"Morning," she smiled. "Hungry? Oh, wait."

Stahl laughed. "What's on the menu?"

She started to answer, and her phone rang. She picked it up and looked at the number, confusion instantly on her face.

"I don't know this number." She swiped her phone to answer the call and put it up to her ear. "Hello?... This is she." She was quiet a moment, Stahl leaning on his hands on the countertop. "I... I see." Her voice was solemn, and this caused him to direct all attention on her. "Yes. Yes. I'll be there. Thanks." With that, she hung up and slumped back against the fridge, her eyes distant.

"What's wrong?"

"My father..."

Stahl stood upright. "Is he all right? I know you two are distant, but..." Robin nodded slowly. "That's good, isn't it?"

She shook her head slowly this time. "He's in jail."

The viridian-eyed man's heart felt as though it missed a beat. "Jail? For what?"

"...Stahl... we have to go."

He nodded. "Of course."

As they quickly got ready, Robin's quiescence was all too disturbing for Stahl. Bubbly, usually with a smile, and talkative, it was apparent this wasn't good. Despite Robin not getting along with her father, she wouldn't wish any harm or ill will to come to the man. Sure, when her mother passed, he had all but deserted her, yet... he was her father. Her movements were as though she were on autopilot, her face void of emotion. Her love knew; she had started to shut down. Any time her father was involved with anything, her emotions were nonexistent. It was how she coped.

In order to get some therapy in for Stahl's leg, they chose to walk instead of driving. They made their way to the subway, paying for their tickets and getting on. As it was still somewhat early, the subway wasn't all that crowded. Sitting side by side, Stahl held onto her hand, letting his actions take over instead of his words. There was nothing he could say to help her, he knew this.

At the police station, Robin identified herself. Wordlessly, she and Stahl were led to a room with a table and two chairs. They let her in but stopped Stahl-

"It's okay," she spoke softly. "I need him."

The two policemen let him into the room with her, bringing in a chair for him to sit beside her. For a moment, they sat there in silence. Hands wringing, Robin stared into the nothingness. To the side, they heard a door open, and a policewoman walked inside, her hand gripping the arm of Robin's father as she brought him into the room. The sounds of chains clanking together and shuffling feet drew nearer, and Stahl had to bite his lip as he saw Robin's father for the first time. Robin looked nothing like him. She had no pictures of him, but had a couple of her mother; her features were very much like hers. Her father was dark, almost otherworldly when compared to Robin. Robin and her mother were serene and beautiful. Such a stark contrast made Stahl wonder just what her mother had seen in her husband. Perhaps, for a time, he was once a great man. However, Robin never knew of this. It was believed by her mother that her father hated her and had wanted her dead, and when Robin's mother discovered a plot on Robin's new life, she had fled with her and reported him to the police. Nothing ever came from it, oddly enough, but Robin's mother held fast onto ensuring her daughter's safety. Not the one to keep a father away from a daughter, she would allow her husband to see Robin from time to time, as long as she was there to observe. It was during these times, Robin remembered, that her father was somewhat a kind man, playing with her while ignoring her mother all the while.

And then, when Robin was around thirteen or so, he had hurt her in a drunken stupor. While jerking her away from her mother in an attempt to take her with him, there was a loud popping sound that came from Robin's wrist. Just from that jerk, he had twisted and broken her wrist. Robin's mother, furious, wanted Robin to never see him again. That lasted two years... and she passed away in a car accident in which Robin lost some of her memories due to head trauma. For a time, she had forgotten what her father had done and the kind of person he was. With nowhere else to go, she went to live with him. At this time, she met Gaius, and he helped her to move on and become stronger. When things became too much around her father, who was constantly drunk, belligerent, and causing issues, she would go over to Gaius' house. She met Chrom and Sumia there, and to help her was also her longtime friends, Olivia and Cordelia. It was obvious Cordelia loved Chrom, but...

When she was sixteen, she was between staying at Cordelia's, Olivia's, and Gaius' in order to stay away from her father. However, there can be love when there is distaste. As much as she hated the kind of man her father was, he was still her father. Many times, she would return home just to help him out of a drunken stupor or to clean to messes he made. Beer bottles, cans, trashy food, as well as trashy women- she had seen it all. And when Gaius broke up with her, despite being broken, she kept a smile on her face and endured it all. If it hadn't been for Cordelia and Olivia, she would have truly been lost. College was a godsend to her, being able to distance herself from her father. But Stahl knew she still worried.

This was the first time he had ever seen the man, and it was in a jail. Robin was humiliated.

He sat in front of them, unable to look them in the eye. A clock on the wall, ticking as time dragged on, reminded them that they were limited in time. Robin's eyes cast down on her hands, no longer wringing. The longer he went without talking, the angrier she became.

"Well? You wanted me here," she spoke up, her voice expressing the anger, disappointment, and resentment towards him. "Here I am."

She waited for him to say something... anything. No words came.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" she asked. She still couldn't bring herself to look at him. "Why did you have them call me here if you're not going to speak?"

He finally looked up, but not at her. At Stahl.

And smiled.

Robin stood up, visibly upset. "What is wrong with you?!" she shouted. Stahl reached for her to calm her down. The policewoman in the room took a step forward. "Do you not realize what you've done?! You killed someone, Dad! All because of your damned drinking!" She slammed her fist on the table. "And you smile?! Now?!" She clenched her fists, shaking. "Why... why should I care about you when you never cared about anyone but yourself?"

Her father's eyes were still on Stahl. "What is your name?"

Stahl's hair stood on end. "Stahl."

"I am to guess... you are in love with my daughter?" he asked. Stahl gave a single nod. "I am Validar. It is nice to meet you."

"I'm right here!" Robin yelled, leaning forward. "Look at me!"

Validar paid her no mind. "I believe... I am cursed."

"Cursed?"

"For the decisions I made," Validar replied. "You will... take care of her?"

Stahl nodded. "Yes."

"She is in your hands then."

Robin grit her teeth. "Look at me. Look at me! LOOK AT ME!" Her nails dug into the table. "You wanted me here! I came just like you asked, just like I always do!" Validar was no longer looking at Stahl, his eyes distant. She noticed this and slumped her shoulders, her head hung low. "Answers... give me answers, Dad. Please." Nothing. She shook her head. "I don't care. I don't care." She stood upright, glaring down at her father. "You can rot in hell."

Turning on her heel, she stormed out of the room.

"R-Robin!" Stahl cried out. He glanced at Validar then chased after Robin. She was fast, already out on the street. Stahl took off in a jog, his Achilles' tendon shooting in pain, eyes scanning the area. Ahead of him, he saw Robin taking a right into an alley.

"Robin, wait!"

He entered the alley... and found her sitting on a random porch to someone's apartment. Out of breath, he walked to her and sat down beside her, no words spoken for a minute or two. Passing cars, the distant chattering of people... it all seemed so unreal as he waited. As her life seemed to pause, the world was still moving on, thoughtless and unknowing of her burdens. It was how life was.

"Robin," he whispered, "we can't just sit here. This is someone's home."

"Right..." She rose to her feet, Stahl rising with her. "Let's go home."

She took hold of Stahl's hand, and they started their way home.

XXXXXX

They entered the apartment, Cordelia and Kellam greeting them from the living room. Cordelia was playing Fallout 4, on her way to romancing Hancock, Kellam making fun of her for "liking beef jerky". They had no idea what had just happened, and their joking and laughter was foreign. Robin walked out onto the porch, closing the sliding doors behind her. Cordelia and Kellam knew at once something was wrong as they watched her lean on the banister. A minute or two passed before Kellam looked to see Stahl massaging his leg.

"She okay?"

"No."

"What happened?" Kellam asked. When Stahl said nothing, Cordelia knew.

"What did he do?"

"He... killed someone while drunk driving."

A small gasp, almost inaudible, came from Cordelia, and Kellam couldn't help but watch Robin as she stood outside. Stahl then walked to the sliding doors, sliding them open as he stepped out, then slid them closed.

"Robin?"

"I was right there..." she breathed. "He couldn't even face me."

"I think he was scared."

"Scared?" she hissed, looking out at the horizon. "He should be."

"Robin..."

She moved her right leg behind her left one, her hands clasped together. "I have wasted so much of my life trying to help a man who hated me. Who wanted me dead the moment my mother conceived me." She laughed. "And for what? Hmm? For this? For him to spit in my face? To not even give me a fraction of his attention when I came to him after he called me there?" Without warning, she punched the banister, blood exploding from her knuckles. Stahl rushed toward her as she started to punch again, catching her fist.

"Robin, stop! What good will this do?"

Opening her wounded hand, she exhaled. "I hate him. So much."

Stahl stared at her bleeding knuckles. Splinters were here and there, and he worried about the possibility of a boxer's fracture or broken bone. Gently, he lowered her hand to the banister, resting his hand underneath it.

"For what it's worth... I think he was trying to apologize." This made Robin look at him, her eyes questioning every word. Stahl's soft eyes were out to the horizon, a gentle appearance on his face. "He couldn't look at you because of the guilt. You endured years of torture, but I really believe this instance was more on himself than it was to you." He rubbed the the skin on Robin's hand. "He asked me to take care of you, after all. He knows he failed. He sees another life for you with me." He turned to Robin and placed his other hand on her cheek. "He made his mistakes, but this is one choice he made right. Don't you think?"

Robin's eyes bored into Stahl's own eyes, as if searching his soul. Then, tears began to well up in them. Before long, they started spilling out, and she grasped onto him, sobbing openly. Stahl held her, rubbing his thumb on her cheek as she held tightly onto him. After some time, the sobbing turned into soft whimpers, muffled by Stahl's shirt.

"You'll take care of me?" she questioned, her voice quivering.

"You bet."

"Promise?"

"Mm-hm."

"I'm glad..."

"Yeah," Stahl smiled as he hugged her. "You're stuck with me, Robin."

She looked up at him, her eyes puffy, swollen, and red from crying. "That's not so bad."

He laughed. "Not so bad, huh? I guess you're pretty okay, yourself." This made her chuckle. "There we go." He wiped some tears away. "That's the smile I love." He glanced at the glass sliding doors. "I hope you know we've been snooped on this whole time."

"Of course I know," Robin laughed. "I'm used to it, to be honest."

Stahl placed his chin on top of her head. "Just... don't leave it like this with your father."

"I won't," Robin nodded. "I'll... try to reconcile. It won't be easy, but... as long as you're here, I'll be fine."

"Yeah. I'm not leaving. Ever."

"Sounds like marriage is in the future." Robin giggled.

The word "marriage" made his heart race. "Seems that way, doesn't it?"

There they stood, the two of them. As it would always be.