Stronger than Steel

Fire Emblem Awakening (c) Nintendo.

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For Fenix: being Cupid means having several playthroughs on FE:A.

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In the end, he doesn't wake her with lute playing every morning.

But since Stahl, in his own quiet, unassuming way, is as much a perfectionist as Cordelia when it comes to certain things, often finds himself humming to her in the morning. Always, after a long, slow night of soft skin under rougher palms and fingers, lips having outlined every border and area they possess, both their scents and sensations intermingled into some sort of raw essence (an apothecary's son is always an apothecary's son, he thinks ruefully) no one else will ever be aware of, he slides over to her side (if she isn't still curled up against him) and as he kisses the bow of her pale ear, softly sings an old Ylissean melody. It's a new song each time, but they come and go in cycles like the seasons. He'd hummed this to her on their third night as newlyweds, he recalls.

"Shepherds wake to the song of the sun," he murmurs, gently nuzzling her throat where her pulse beats evenly in her slumber.

His hand follows the fall and rise of her body, dipping where her waist is, rising again with her hips, then back again over her waist. "'Your frail charges wait; tarry not long."

"'To me, to me, till your labour's done," he continues, smiling when her reluctant stirring begins, giving into the urge to kiss her ear again.

His rendition halts for some minutes as he watches her wake. Her eyes blink open with uncharacteristic languidness; the drowsiness of the night clearly finds it difficult to leave her. He couldn't blame it – who could leave her so easily?

But she is still his wife, and so he brushes his lips against hers – chastely it must be said, for it's just turned morning after all – chasing away the remnants of sleep with his touch.

Her smile of greeting is soft, warm, and all his. "Go on," she says in a muted whisper.

"'Then off again home where you belong,'" he sings quietly. She hums along with the last line as she sits up from their mattress, fingers already working to untangle her hair. Not for her the prolonged grogginess of someone who's just woken up. Cordelia, he knows, doesn't take more than a few minutes to retrieve all her senses, readying for the day ahead.

The soft light of pre-dawn, just barely getting through the canvas of their tent, dimly illuminates her form. He lies back, leaning on one elbow, head resting against his bare shoulder. When she notices him just watching her, she tilts her head slightly. Usually, he's out of the bed to do his stretching, giving her time to wash her face first.

"What is it?"

"You're beautiful." He smiles when she shakes her head. "You are."

One of her pale hands involuntarily comes to rest between her breasts. She looks down at them then back at Stahl, ruefully questioning.

"They're fine, Cordelia. They're a part of you, so they're fine."

She seems to come to a standstill, taking another closer look at her husband's face. He doesn't know how the sincerity of his soft-spoken tone has struck her suddenly.

"…You mean it, don't you."

It's not phrased as a question, but he answers anyway. "I do." The smile is as heartfelt as it is gentle. "Besides, it's too early in the morning to tell untruths." When her mouth drops open in mock-surprise, he can't help laughing. "I was joking about that last bit. I'm sor-"

His apologies are abruptly cut off – he's been pushed back down onto the mattress, his mouth fully covered by his wife's. He does not, can never, refuse such sweetly unspoken requests; he knows she knows this weakness (is it really though? He can't think of it as one). Her long red hair, still rather tousled and tangled from the night before, slides over her shoulders, aided by his fingers running themselves up and down her smooth back. Her hands can't resist tracing the shape of his face, the length of his neck, the muscles of his collarbone and shoulders. She moves to cover his body with her own, and hearing him hum in satisfaction beneath her makes her want to laugh. She'd always thought she had built too much muscle from constant training, but Stahl's natural build exceeds hers, even if he is the perfect mean of soldiering.

Though she has to concede that in some areas, she thinks with a delighted moan when he moves his hips unabashedly upwards against her, Stahl is above average.

Despite the strong temptation to continue, they eventually separate. Pinker in her cheeks and rather breathless, she looks down at him with a bright smile.

"Any more remarks, smart aleck?"

He grins slightly. "If it means more of this, then yes."

She giggles despite herself. "Any more of 'this', and we're going to be late."

Stahl grimaces as he reaches up to tuck a lock of red hair behind her ear. "I really don't think I can attend Frederick's drills in this condition, dear. I'd rather face his lectures on punctuality than embarrass myself."

Cordelia, drawing circles on his chest, pulls her face into a sympathetic frown. "Poor thing. Surely your armour will hide any… embarrassment."

"It probably will." He exhales, struggling to continue. The sensation of Cordelia's fingertip against his (suddenly) hyper-sensitive skin is disrupting any control he has over vocabulary and grammar. "But! That won't help if I can't… walk straight to begin with."

Her fingers move upwards, sifting his perpetually messy hair, stroking his scalp. He's almost thankful for this reprieve.

Then she shifts her weight deliberately, letting her abdomen graze against her stomach, rubbing her thighs against his hardened muscles. It's like silk caressing steel, though in this case, the gentler the touch, the more likely the metal will snap.

The look on his face almost sets her off laughing. "Well… is there anything I can do to help?"

The stare he gives her, and the way he flips her onto her back (Marriage has taught her that he can be insistent when he wants to be, and this morning, he's definitely insisting), is irresistible. He declares his newfound inability to give a damn about how much punishment Frederick will mete out afterwards.

"So if you don't mind, Cordelia," he says, eyes gleaming with as much affection as it does with intent, "I'm going to kiss you senseless now."

The sight of her bright eyes accompanied by an impish smile gives him all the approval he needs. He can feel the thrum of her voice against his lips, interrupted efficiently by his fingers and a breath sharply taken in, as she hums.

"Shepherds watch by light of the moon…"

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End.

Epilogue:

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"Y'know," says Vaike with a large grin as he watches his comrade vigorously rub a cloth against a shield. "He could've given you a month's worth of polishing duty instead of just ten days."

Stahl pauses to wipe his brow, pondering that. "I guess that's true. He gave you kitchen duty for three months when you turned up half an hour late last time."

Vaike growls, "Just can't catch a break with that ol' stick-in-the-mud."

The other man laughs. "To be fair, everyone knew you'd been boozing in town the night before."

"Like how we all know you and Cordelia have been married a full month yesterday?"

That remark stops Stahl cold. He stares up at Vaike who smirks knowingly.

"I… didn't think anyone else but me and Cordelia noticed…"

Vaike doesn't bother restraining a laugh. "We were bettin' on you bein' an hour late at least, not just ten minutes!" When Stahl reddens, he laughs again. "Gotta be honest with you, Stahl, I'm feelin' kinda sorry for Cordelia now…!"

"Hey, that's kinda below the belt!"

Still sniggering, Vaike raises his hands in an apology nonetheless. "Alright, alright. But anyways, when he just gave you ten days, I figure Stick-in-the-Mud's kinder than I thought. Either that or gettin' hitched to Sumia's finally taught him a thing or two…"

For all his patience, Stahl nearly throws the polishing cloth at him. "You don't know the meaning of danger, do you Vaike?"

"'Course I do." Vaike snorts even as he grins widely. "I married Maribelle, didn't I?"

There is a pause. Then, Stahl chokes on a laugh. "Fair enough," he says. Turning back to the shield, he silently thanks Frederick for such consideration.

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End.

A/N: I cannot be sorry for characterising Stahl like this when he's alone with his wife. I try to be sorry but I can't. I am sorry for any other characterisation and grammar mistakes though.

While Lon'qu/Cordelia is my forever ship, my friend's requested Stahl/Cordelia is something I really enjoyed writing since their support conversations are, as Sully might say, pretty damn sweet. It doesn't have the potential drama that is Frederick/Cordelia (which I have been dying over of late due to the relentlessness of certain writers in their apparent quest to break my heart in a myriad of different ways, all of which are epic), but it has charm of its own and it shows the characters in different lights which is always good.

It also helps that I'm determined to have Stahl be my F!MU's husband if and when I ever play this game. I mean, I love you Chrom, but Stahl, in my book, has surpassed your princeliness to untold heights.

I say nothing about Stahl's above-averageness. Cordelia's happy so I'm willing to just leave it at that. Take it whichever way you like.

…I'm also not sorry for punning.