Off-topic: Hey guys. A few words to you people. First of all: Thank you to all that favorited and reviewed my work, it has been very encouraging and kept me writing even faster. Secondly, I fear that this chapter may be the weakest one of them all. I am not sure, and I will wait reviews on it, but we shall see. It still has it's moments(just watch our for Morgan), and I really liked writing it. I hope it shows.

The next project will begin when I figure out what to write(I'd like to write a story about Robin that happens during chapters 13-25 in the game, with Robin/Lucina pairing and some Morgan hijinks included), but for now I'll enjoy a well deserved weekend.

Have a nice read.

Redemption

The price paid

".. .. ….. .. …"

Who's there?

"… ….t"

What? I can barely hear you.

".ods …sa, do.. .et .im di.!"

Fine, have it your way then.

"GET UP, IF YOU HAVE THE GUTS TO DO IT!"

Something very painful hit Robin's ribs, making him shout and forcing him to take a pained breath afterwards. I swear, when I open my eyes I will kill that dastard of an exalt, Robin thought angrily. Oh, and that person who kicked me, too. I'll rip his legs off, I swear this to all gods of Ylisse, Regna Ferox and Plegia. Might as well add Valm's gods to it. Actually, no, Tiki's far too merciful; she let me live, even after knowing what I was.

Another kick hit his side, this time more urgent in its delivery. Robin thought he could hear something snap.

"I'll KILL you, you son of a…" he bellowed, opening his eyes and rising up from the grass that he had been lying legs were far too weak to carry him, and thus Robin fell down to his back with an expression that could have been nothing but rage. His head was spinning around - perhaps for the loss of blood - but he still forced himself to take a look around.

The one who was nearest to his bloodied ribs was Owain.

Yeah, definitely not finishing that sentence, Robin thought grimly after glancing at Lon'qu who stood by Lissa's side. Then he started to take notice of other people around him. Cynthia was there alongside Owain, then there was Morgan – Robin began to feel ashamed for his cursing – and Lu with her, and finally the royal couple that consisted of Chrom and Sumia.

Robin gazed at his wife. Lucina's eyes had apparently seen a years' worth of tears. She still seemed shaken about all the stuff that was going on, proven by the fact that no words left her lips. Robin's wife did seem a bit more relaxed - whatever a bit meant to someone in her state – but she was not - by any means - alright.

Right, I was in the middle of sending Chrom to grave, he thought and tried to rise again; his feet didn't seem to care all that much for his lust for revenge. How very unfortunate, Robin thought.

"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know", he heard Chrom say. A hand was extended unto Robin. Chrom, you wouldn't dare, he almost said aloud, but then a devious idea crossed Robin's mind. Tactician put on his best smile and grabbed the hand that had been extended at him.

"Welcome back. It is o-" Chrom said, but could get no further as Robin's fist hit his jaw in a perfect angle. And down he goes, Robin thought to himself, as both of them fell backwards in equilibrium.

"There is no way it is over!" Robin shouted to Chrom from the ground,"You tried to kill me!"

"Actually, he didn't", Lissa interjected. "It's just that he's the most idiotic brother that I ever could have hoped for", she added harshly.

"Let's hope that you get no additional siblings, eh, Owain", Cynthia jabbed at her companion, and got one of those 'I am above your ridicule' stares. Robin wondered whether Virion had been giving him lessons on the subject. He suspected that Owain did have other siblings in the future, but had no information to base it on. It was basically a hunch, the infamous thing that killed most fledgling tacticians during wars. Battles had no place for inane conjecture.

"As she said… Robin", Chrom said awkwardly from the ground. "I was not trying to kill you."

Robin actually thought about it for a second, and surprisingly, he could see some sense in their claim.

"You brought Lissa downstairs because… she can heal", he said, still not understanding the reasons behind Chrom's attack. Lissa had certainly saved the tactician, but its Chrom's antics that put Robin's live in grave danger. It was no wonder that she told him to run.

"Right. But the reason behind it…" Chrom said, cutting his sentence off while catching Sumia's helping hand. He grunted in pain, and rose up to his feet with some extraneous movement. Must have been some punch, Robin congratulated himself.

"…Is something that can only be shown. Lucina, would you lift your husband up?"

And we come a full circle. Oh the irony. Robin did however grab his beloved's hand, surprised once again by the strength that her slim features hid. Then again, Lucina never skipped on her training with the sword.

"Bring him to me, please", Chrom said.

"I think I'd rather not come", Robin answered him.

"I am not going to hurt you."

"That's what they all say", Robin retorted, shaking his head at Lucina. She hearkened to his request and stopped, staring angrily at Chrom. His father sighed at them both, unconsciously lifting both of his hands up, and ending up losing his grip on Sumia. He would have fallen down, if not for fast Lon'qu that helped him steady up once again.

"On my word, no harm shall come to you."

I still don't see any sensible reason to come over there, he thought bitterly. Nothing would change after a short discussion.

But Lucina started dragging her husband towards the not-so-imposing figure of Chrom. It didn't take long, only a couple of steps, and Robin did not fight against her pull. Or at least he gave in more ground to her than took.

Then Robin was there, facing his friend – whom he had so craftily landed a punch on – and staring quietly at his eyes.

"You say that you cannot forgive yourself for striking me", Chrom said to him, his eyes flashing curiously in the moonlight. "Do you understand what I just did to you, moments ago?"

Robin had an answer ready immediately; "Yes. You wanted to remove my guilt by striking me back in return." As Chrom started smiling, he continued, "But you failed to place your strike correctly."

"I do not really like this conversation, it has too much violence in it", Morgan murmured to herself, and got more than a few raised eyebrows. She was too concentrated on the conversation to mind, even with her claim that she did really not like the subject.

"How so?" Chrom asked Robin, ignoring Morgan's snarky comments. He was smiling widely.

"Believe me Chrom, I do wish that you were right in your reasons to smile. However, you did not remove my guilt", Robin said to him. "How could you have, when you stabbed me to the right side of my chest whereas I pierced your heart!"

"You are right, Morgan", Lon'qu confessed to the young tactician. "I also do not like this conversation."

"You had no intention to kill!" Robin continued shouting. "But I practically wrote your name on that lightning bolt!"

Chrom had not stopped smiling. Robin could sense something off about his actions. Why's he so-

The exalt of Ylissia lifted his left hand in a sudden movement, and tore open Robin's ripped shirt. Tactician narrowed his eyes. Beneath the bloodied cotton shirt there was a disgusting – if clean looking – scar that was just about as wide as Falchion.

Robin looked at it, then back at Chrom, and finally at the scar again. Why hadn't Lissa healed it?

"What is this for?" Robin asked of Chrom. He was confused, and – he had to admit – slightly curious. Why was he left with such a distinguishing scar?

"That is your atonement", Chrom said to him dramatically.

"This?" Robin asked, not believing his ears.

Then he started laughing.

It was the type of laugh that no one would ever want to hear; the type that made ears ring and raised questions about the person's sanity.

Then the laughter stopped, as fast as it had begun. "No. This is stupid", Robin said, loosening himself from Lucina's hold. He took care to avoid meeting her eyes. There was only so much of his sorrow that she could carry with him.

"I am not done", Chrom said adamantly.

"But I am!" Robin shouted, turned around and marched towards his house. Or would have, if not for the two hands that grabbed his arms so firmly that it felt like they'd been made of iron.

"I said I am not done, Robin", Chrom said slowly. Apparently, looks had been very deceiving.

"You faked injury", Robin said to him, surprised. It seems that I got outplayed, he thought.

"Couldn't have you jumping off the cliff all of a sudden", Chrom said solemnly. Could I really have jumped off the cliff at some point of the conversation, Robin asked himself. Once again he shuddered at the fact that the word affirmative had become so deadly these days.

"But, as I was saying…" he said turning Robin around to face him, "I am not done."

Robin didn't bother to say anything to him. Let's get this done with, then, he thought.

"You'll see why I wounded your right side, rather than your heart. If you stand there facing me like that", Chrom said, touching the left side of his own chest with a closed fist, "then you'll see that it was indeed the same place that you were wounded to." To demonstrate, Chrom brought his first to touch the scar that was now a directly opposite to his heart.

Robin was confused, again, but his baffled look did nothing to stop Chrom's words from overwhelming him.

"Had your heart been wounded, you would have to face away from me to be considered my equal. However, now that your right side is wounded", he said bumping Robin's scar, "we can truly call each other brothers, as you can face me and say that we are the same; we've practically been wounded to the same place, now."

Robin thought about Chrom's words. They certainly had a strange kind of logic to them. Robin had become a mirror-image of sorts, the kind that would always show what Chrom could have been. Robin wasn't dead, but then again, neither was Chrom.

It is strange how inane tirades start to make some sort of sense when you're in the pits of despair, he thought to himself.

Better that, than a long flight down from the cliff.

"So, you never intended to actually pierce my heart?" Robin asked, feeling some kind of weight release its grip on him. He was now sure that Chrom would stand by him till the end of time, as his friend and father-in-law. He was that kind of a person, after all.

Robin smirked. Perhaps I should start calling him my brother, see what kind of reaction that causes in the court, he thought, and stored that idea into his mind, making sure to bring it up at a later date.

He looked at his "brother." Chrom was looking strangely nervous. Couldn't he just admit that he never even considered piercing my heart, and be done with it, Robin thought.

"Actually… The thing is…"

"Piercing your heart would have been instantly fatal", Lissa said. "And it was my brother's go-to-plan, at least until I managed to make him give up on it."

Waaaaaait a minute…

"Chrom, you dastard!" Robin shouted. "You tried to killed me!" Chrom backed off looking extremely apologetic, not that it helped much. Robin was infuriated.

"I think we already established the fact that he almost killed you", Lissa said tiredly. She gave Lon'qu a quick glance.

"No, sister, you don't seem to understand", Robin said to her. "He was going kill-"

"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait! What did you say?" Lissa asked incredulously.

"Look, if Chrom's going to be my brother, then doesn't that automatically make you my sister too?" Robin asked from her innocently. This is actually a lot of fun, now that I've tried this, he thought amused.

"If we go with that line of thought, then wouldn't that make Lucina your-"

"Nephew", Morgan finished, grinning wolfishly. "Indeed. How wonderful, father, it seems that you do really love your family after all."

"Moooooorgaaaaaaaaaaaan!" a vicious shout came, giving the subject no room for doubt what would happen if Lucina ever caught her daughter. Even Robin was appalled by his wife's reaction, and ceased his murderous actions for the terror of it. After all, he knew what it was like to be caught in her teeth; one might even say that he knew it in more ways than one.

"Oops, got to run!" Morgan shouted and bolted down the stairs that led down from the hill.

As the two were having their moment of bonding, the others concluded unanimously that Robin couldn't actually call Chrom his brother. The tactician had absolutely no objections to that, as he knew that jokes like that gave birth to rumors that could in turn destroy the Ylissean dynasty.

Robin wished that his wife wasn't so busy running away from him at the moment, even if it was only to chase after Morgan. However, this did give him some time to ready some surprises for her. He made a few schemes with Chrom, and promised then with all sincerity that his family would not go to Valm. Both of them went back to their beds on good terms with each other again.

Robin's heart carried a much lighter load now. He waited for the sleep to come, and drifted off faster than he had ever done during these three years of guilt and shame.

He was free now.

And there was no reason for Robin to go back into the man that he had been.

He had all that he needed here and now, and as a tactician Robin made sure that he would not ever forget that again.

He woke up again when Lucina entered the bed. She probably thought that Robin was sleeping, because he noticed that she kept some distance, even after everything had been resolved today. Then again, Lucina had been chasing Morgan when most of the problem-solving had happened.

Robin snuggled sneakily closer, and gently turned her face around to meet his.

Yeah, she's surprised, Robin thought.

As he drew Lucina closer to himself, he wondered how surprised she would be when told that it was too late to heal the scar now.

Better leave that for tomorrow, he thought, and couldn't probably have made a better decision.

Sinking into her eyes made this night for him.

Off-topic: It is AMAZING what some proof-reading can do you your chapters. This thing turned from a mediocre chapter into a solid finisher for my first big story. I am quite new to this community, but I have already noticed how the feedback really encourages me to write more. Also, people here are VERY supportive. I'll be writing some more after the weekend(might even write a bit during it).