A Different Kind of Courage

Falling in love (and eventually proposing, which somehow took even more courage than he'd ever needed in his entire life) was one thing; getting over his longtime phobia was completely different.

Lon'qu did his best to improve. He held his future wife, sometimes kissed her – all in the quiet and comfort of their own tents, of course. He was often glad that Robin, as the army's head tactician, had one all to herself so she could work without distraction.

That being said – he thought he was getting better. Thought, until the day he came back from a particularly difficult battle, covered in scratches and blood and sweat. The camp was bustling with activity – healers at work, others rushing to find medical salves, Chrom shouting commands and trying to bring back order. Lon'qu, although injured, wasn't in mortal danger and passed quietly through the chaos.

And something suddenly latched around his middle.

"Oh, thank the gods," a familiar voice – muffled by his front – said. "I heard there were so many injuries, and-"

Lon'qu's chest seized up. Robin was still speaking, but her voice was muddled now, quieter to his ears. He thought he could see the others watching them, thought for sure they could see the way he froze up when his fiancée simply hugged him.

"Er… Robin-"

"Oh! Right." She disentangled herself, but still stood close. "I'm sorry. I was just-"

"It's all right." His voice was tense, but her concern softened something in him. "I'm not badly hurt. I'll be fine."

Robin gave him a quick once over. Her fingers skimmed over his arms, his chest – it sent an uncomfortable chill up his spine, though the feeling wasn't nearly as unpleasant as it had been before.

"Hm. You're right, but I still want you to have some of these bandaged. Just in case."

"If you wish."

She gave him a look. Lon'qu responded with a quiet, monosyllabic chuckle.

And the camp life continued on around them. Lon'qu felt as though they were in their own private bubble now – secluded from the others, separated. Lissa, Libra, and Maribelle were still running to and fro between waiting patients; Miriel was doling out handfuls of herbs and treatments she'd researched in her books; Henry was being somewhat less than helpful as he wandered about the tents, laughing, covered from head to toe in a combination of his own blood and that of their enemies.

"You're absolutely sure you're okay? No massive cuts I didn't manage to find?" Robin asked. She was moving around him in another slow circle.

"No," Lon'qu said. "Why are you so worried? I've done perfectly fine in the hundreds of other battles I've been in. And all I did before this war was fight for the khan."

"I know, I know. It's just… I've always been in those battles, too. This time I had to sit it out – and then I heard all these rumors about how there were more Risen than I anticipated, and things were going badly…"

"You worried?"

"Of course I did! I mean, if something…awful happened to someone because of poor planning on my part…"

…Now, this was different. How often did he have someone else worrying about him? Lon'qu looked down on Robin for a moment, his arms hovering in midair, trying to decide if he wanted to put them on her shoulders or not; he was still at a complete loss when it came to comforting others.

Robin peeked up at him. She couldn't suppress a grin when she saw the helpless expression on his face.

"You don't have to do anything, if you want," she said. "But maybe some verbal reassurance would work?"

"I…um…don't worry," he said.

"I'll try. It's hard not to, though… Even when your fiancé is a champion in Regna Ferox."

"Hm."

Robin opened her mouth to say something else – when Chrom called her from across the campsite.

"I should go for now. Don't forget to have those cuts looked at," she reminded him. "And what are you doing later?"

"It's my turn to make dinner tonight."

Another smile. "Potatoes?"

"We'll see."

"Mhm. Maybe we can meet at my tent later. To…you know, practice? Only if you want, of course."

Something in the tone of her voice sent another shiver up his spine – though not the unpleasant sort this time.

"I… We'll see," Lon'qu managed after a moment's hesitation. And he turned around, almost too quickly – but not before Robin saw the flush that ran up his neck and to the tips of his ears.