Fire Emblem 1. Chapter 1

**Pairings: **Gaius X Female Robin

**Timeline: **Modern AU

**Warnings: **Clichéd situations and TONS of awkward encounters. Eventual smut.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Fire Emblem: Awakening

**Authors Note: **I really like those fake marriage clichéd contract things so I decided to write my own. I tried to make it a tad bit more original but heck, it's probably been done before. Anyways, enjoy!

**.x.**

Adjusting her tan messenger bag securely around her shoulders, Robin left her publishers' office with a pep in her step. Her agent had just sold her newest manuscript to the publisher and signed her on for another series. She hadn't expected this one to be pushed through to the contract so quickly, considering her last series (an epic romance between a doomed princess and her assassin in Victorian England) took over three years of rejection to get the first book on the shelves. This time, her novel took a steamier route, an action packed story between a dashing heroine who saves the hero from pirates before things start to get hot and heavy when they set out to avenge his murdered brother.

Her agent expected _Lustful Caribbean Nights _(title still pending) to fly off the shelves.

Robin held a stack of folders in her arms, varies copies of her novel with notes in the margins from her editor, and weaved through the crowded Ylisse streets. She had only moved to Ylisse a few years ago and the large city greatly reminded her of New York. Her hometown, Plegia, wasn't nearly this large and only half as nice.

She shifted her folders to her other arm to take a sip of her coffee, just as her name rang out from somewhere behind her. She considered ignoring it – after all, Robin is a rather common name – but the high pitched voice which had called her name vaguely reminded Robin of high school. She blamed her curiosity for the following white lie that would eventually blow out of proportion and swallow her in a sea of lies.

Aversa clamped her hand down on Robin's shoulder almost immediately after Robin had turned around. A part of her briefly considered throwing her folders in Aversa's face and running but she managed to supress that thought.

"Robin, it's a _pleasure _to see you again," insincerity rolled off her tongue. Robin resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

She forced a smile, "Aversa, how have you been?" Unfortunately, Aversa dragged Robin somewhat off to the side to avoid the crowd, obliging Robin to finish the meaningless conversation.

"Wonderful, as it should be. Do you remember Gan-Gan from high school? We're married now and oh he is just a dear. He opened up a branch here in Ylisse to compete with that damned Exalted Inc. that's stealing all of our business. Anyways, long story short, I've been lovely," Aversa said. 'Gan-Gan's' real name was Gangrel and if Robin recalled correctly, he was relatively creepy back in school… that and Aversa absolutely despised him.

"That's great, Aversa, but I really should be going, I have—"

"Nonesense!" the white haired woman interrupted. "I'm sure you're not busy as it is." _That _offended her. It's not like Aversa had anything to do so what makes her time more valuable? "Listen, I was thinking we should have lunch." Robin's mind ran a mile a minute endeavouring desperately to come up with an excuse out of going.

Robin fidgeted, "Uh, I actually already have plans."

A cruel smirk toyed at the corners of Aversa's lips, "With who? I'm sure they won't mind if you cancel, as long as you mention who I am." Even her innocent tone couldn't cover up her 'subtle' superiority.

So, just to get Aversa to shut up, she blurted out, "I can't cancel on my husband. He's been overseas on a business trip and he just got back this morning."

"Oh…? And who's this mystery man? You should have mentioned him sooner," Aversa chastised, shaking her head in mocking. She didn't believe her. (Not that Robin would have – she's always been a shoddy liar on the spot.)

Impulsively, Robin grabbed the arm of a man who just walked next to her with her free arm and practically yelled, "Oh darling, you really shouldn't have come to get me from work! I'm only a few minutes late."

"_This _is your husband?" Aversa scoffed, folding her arms over her ample chest. "He looks just as confused as I do." A few people around them laughed, shook their heads and moved on.

Robin twisted quickly to apologise to the stranger and accept her fate of spending a lunch with Aversa, when the stranger bent and kissed her. Robin blinked, shocked, and stood rigid while he kissed her. Pulling back, the man smirked, wrapped his arm around her shoulders and offered his hand to the equally stunned Aversa.

"The name's Gaius," he shrugged when Aversa couldn't manage to shake his hand.

"Aversa," she finally said, shaking off some of her astonishment. Robin still couldn't wrap her head around the fact this complete _stranger _just went along with her lie.

A charming smile pulled at his mouth, "Don't think Bubbles here ever mentioned ya, but it's nice to meet you."

Aversa giggled obnoxiously, ignoring him – _Gaius_, "Well I suppose I shouldn't keep you from your lunch then, dear Robin, but I do look forward to seeing you again. Here's my card," she tucked it away in one of Robin's folders. "I do hope we do lunch sometime. Give me a call; I anticipate our next visit and I expect you bring your dashing husband with you. Gangrel's going to want to talk sports." Aversa waved. "Ciao."

Both Gaius and Robin waved and once she was out of sight, Robin sighed heavily.

Gaius let his arm from around her and tipped an imaginary hat to her. "Well as fun as this was, I have work –"

"Wait!" Robin interjected. "Didn't you hear her? She's expecting to have lunch with me and my '_husband_'' soon!"

"That really isn't my problem, Bubbles, you got yourself into this –"

Cutting him short again, she said, "Please, I'll do anything. Just have lunch with me and you'll see it's not so bad. I'll pay! Um… whatever you want."

Gaius quirked an eyebrow, "Those aren't words pretty little things like yourself should be throwin' around. But… you have a deal, Bubbles."

Robin's shoulders sagged in relief, "C'mon, let's get something to eat and we'll work out the details."

**.x.**

Quirking her eyebrow, Robin watched – albeit amused – as Gaius devoured his _third _chocolate cake slice. She almost regretted her decision to pay for their lunch considering all Gaius seemed interested in eating was sweets and it was beginning to get pricy for a simple lunch.

"Are you only going to eat cake?" Robin asked. An exasperated sigh followed not long after when he grinned at her and swallowed his last bite.

"The first thing ya need to know 'bout me, Bubbles, is there ain't nothing I won't do for sugar," he beamed, signalling the waiter over – only this time for a strawberry cheesecake. Even the waiter was growing increasingly concerned for Gaius's molars.

Her lips twitched upwards, as though she were attempting to suppress her smile. "What a great influence you'll be on our child." Robin's eyes widened as her words began to sink in. She covered her beat red face with trembling hands.

Thankfully, Gaius laughed, "Don't think _that _far ahead, babe. We _just _got married after all." Peering through her fingers, Robin wanted nothing more in that moment than to smack that shit-eating grin off his face.

"How did I fall in love with such a _moron_?" she grumbled.

"It was love at first sight, I stopped you from buying a bran muffin and what a dashing hero I made too, if I do say so myself," Gaius suggested, though his tone rang far more serious than Robin liked.

She rolled her eyes, "Why do I have to fall in love with you first? Maybe I saw _you _looking at nudey magazines at the convenience store and convinced you to change your lecherous ways."

"Well that addition _was_ rather tempting; she had whip cream all over her p–"

"Please stop," Robin interrupted, turning a distinct shade of green. She may write mommy porn but she didn't want to hear her 'husband' talk about whip cream in such a phallic way.

He smirked, "Listen, _you _dragged me into this so you could at least have the courtesy to fall in love with me first."

"You wish," she retorted. The waiter returned with Gaius's cheesecake and Robin deflated against the booth. "Fine, you win. I fell in love with you over a bran muffin."

Gaius clapped and dug into his cake. Robin fiddled with her messenger bag. This was _not _the direction she had planned her day on taking. In fact, she'd much rather be at home sprucing up her manuscript and maybe change a few scenes to better fit the steamier direction her novel was taking. Instead, she was sitting in a café, hammering out the details to the fake marriage she got herself caught in.

"I say we eloped not too long ago. That way Aversa can't ask why she didn't get an invite," Robin said, folding her hands on the table. She'd long since finished her soup and didn't have quite the appetite for sweets that her 'husband' did.

"Why exactly do we have to pretend to be married jus' cause of that woman?" he asked through a mouthful of cake.

Robin pressed her lips together, "It doesn't matter." She paused. "So we eloped…?"

He waved, consenting to her idea. "What else do we have to do to convince her?"

Chewing on her lip, Robin considered his question. "Hmm… get to know each other a little better by the time she calls and… rings I guess."

Gaius glanced up at her through narrowed eyes, "Look lady, I just met you. I ain't buying you a damned Tiffany diamond or something."

"I'm just amazed you knew Tiffany," Robin jested, her eyes sparkling. "But no, no diamonds. I was thinking… Target?"

**.x.**

Robin tapped her foot incessantly outside the Target, checking her phone for the umpteenth time. After they talked for ten more minutes, Gaius suddenly stood up, announced he had to get to work, tapped his number in her phone and left with a promise of meeting up at Target later that evening to get their rings. It's been fifteen minutes and there was no sign of her 'husband'.

She ground her teeth. All she learned about him was he loved sugar, was a 2/3rd Irish, a lawyer (how this was possible was beyond Robin) and had a penchant for being an obnoxious imbecile. And irritatingly enough – despite the bill that was higher than what she usually spent out in a week – she enjoyed his company. She's not entirely sure how long she could actually stand being around him but she figured it wouldn't be much longer than a few hours.

"Bubbles!" Gaius called weaving between a cart and an old couple. He joined her next to the red concrete balls. A bit of pink dusted his cheeks.

"Let's go in already," she grumbled, "I'm freezing." A part of her wondered _why _she didn't just wait inside considering it was _December _but at this point in her day, she just didn't care.

Gaius clicked his tongue and followed the aggravated brunette into the store. His shamrock green eyes flickered over to the candy canes and before Robin realized it, he had gravitated over and was comparing brands. Throwing her hands up and letting out a disgruntled sound, she stomped over to her 'husband', smacked the candy from his hand and dragged him over to the jewellery.

"Stop pouting and I'll buy you a cake pop," she snapped, crouching down in front of the display case to peruse the rings. Gaius immediately dropped next to her, although she could tell he was more interested in the cake pop than buying fake rings. How did he manage to become a lawyer?

Pointing absentmindedly to a pair of simple rings, Gaius said, "Those?"

It was a set; fake rose gold bands for all three rings, an engagement ring with about five white cubic zirconia gems and matching wedding bands. Staring at the rings for an unnecessarily long time, Robin finally nodded. They were pretty – for fake, twenty-five dollar rings.

"Excuse me," Robin addressed the sales associate. The woman quickly hurried over to the couple with a large, phony smile on her face.

"What can I do for you… sir?" she drawled, brushing her fingers over the glass and her eyes scanned Gaius.

Robin smiled sweetly, though the slight curl to her lip threw off the whole innocent thing she was going for. This woman literally had _no _reason to be so dismissive of her.

"Can we see those rings? I'm _sure _you have them in lots of sizes, right?" Robin inquired tightly. The woman turned her attention to Robin.

"Of course," she shrilled and unlocked the case. Robin peered at Gaius.

He held up his hands innocently.

She rolled her eyes, "Do you have an idea of what your ring size is?"

"Do you?" he countered, dropping his hands to the counter top. The sales woman – whose name tag read Alyssa – placed an assortment of the same rings on the counter. Robin reached out for the 6, unsure of her size now that she thought about it. Sliding it on her finger, she realized it was way too large.

Snickering Gaius snatched an 8 and lo and behold, it fit him perfectly. Groaning, Robin tried the next size down and it was still slightly too big.

Flushing, she fit the 4.5 on her finger perfectly. Until now, she didn't realize her hands were _this _small. She held her hand up to the light, admiring the sparkle from the rings.

Gaius snatched her hand out of the air, smirking. He pressed their palms together and curled his fingers overtop of hers. "Your hands are _really_ small," he sang.

Feeling her face grow even warmer, she took her hand back and slid the rings from her finger. "We'll take these." Robin dug around in her purse while Alyssa eyed them suspiciously.

"Why are you two buying fake wedding rings?"

"Because we're cheap and didn't want to buy real rings?" Robin replied sarcastically. "Why do you think?" She paused. "Didn't your manager ever teach you to mind your own business?"

Gaius flicked the side of her head, "Reel it back in there, Bubbles." He smiled apologetically to Alyssa. "Excuse her, she hasn't had her daily dose of sugar and gets a little grumpy when she doesn't." Robin kicked him in the shin. He grimaced, emphasising his original point further.

Alyssa nodded understandingly and rang their purchase through. Robin forked over the money, shaking her head when Alyssa offered them a bag. As they walked away, Robin handed Gaius his ring.

"Thanks," she said suddenly. Gaius glanced down at her, a smile growing on his handsome face.

"Nah, don't mention it," he told her sincerely, slipping the ring in place. "The unlimited cake is really worth it."

For what felt like the hundredth time that day, Robin rolled her eyes and adjusted the rings on her finger. Her phone buzzed deafeningly in her bag and she yanked it out.

"Hello?"

"_Robin, darling, it's Aversa._"

Her eyes widened. Gaius wandered over the candy, giving her privacy. "How did you get my number? I haven't even called you yet."

"_Gan-Gan has amazing connections. Anyways, I just found out that we'll be in Bali for the next month or so and I insist that we have lunch sooner rather than later._"

"You don't have to do that –"

"_So Gan-Gan and I will see you and your husband tomorrow at the NoMad – don't worry, we'll pay. See you at noon sharp!_" a beep followed and then silence. Despairingly, Robin held her phone and willed Aversa to call back and cancel. A moment later Robin realized it was futile (and she was being a moron) and shuffled over to Gaius.

He had a stack of candy canes and lollipops in his arms. He arched his eyebrow.

"I hope you're free tomorrow at lunch," Robin said tiredly. "Aversa just called and informed me we have lunch plans tomorrow."

"You're lucky my boss is such an understanding guy," Gaius jested, snagging another bag of caramels.

Robin wrinkled her nose. "Do you like fancy food?"

**.x.**

"Niiiiiice," Gaius drawled, shifting the lollipop to the other side of his mouth. Robin winced at the distinct click the hard candy made against his teeth.

She glanced down at her outfit – a lacy indigo dress with sheer shoulders and a black belt around her waist. A pair of black flats accompanied her somewhat formal dress and the fake wedding rings felt foreign on her hand. Her chestnut brown hair tumbled passed her shoulders in waves. Her gaze flickered up to meet his.

"You clean up nicely yourself," she remarked, sliding her arm through his. He wore a black suit with a navy blue tie. His ginger hair had been gelled back, though a few stray strands still fell in his face.

Gaius chuckled and led her into the restaurant. They gave Aversa and Gangrel's name to the receptionist who led them to a semi-secluded table with a gorgeous view of Ylisse.

Aversa stood to greet them, wearing a devilishly low cut crimson red dress that clung to every curve Aversa owned. She put on a show of kissing Robin's cheeks.

"Don't you look just adorable?" she chirped, sweeping her hand out to let them sit down at the table. "Your ring is simply _you_."

Surprisingly – at least for Robin – Gaius pulled her chair out for her. She muttered a quick thank you and sat down.

"You look lovely as well, Aversa," Robin quipped and if Aversa noticed the peeved undertone, she didn't mention it.

Gangrel had barely glanced up from his phone since they showed up.

"I believe introductions are in order. Gangrel dear, you remember Robin, this is her husband Gaius…?" Aversa trailed off, remembering she didn't _know _Gaius's last name.

"Flanagan," Gaius supplied, taking a sip of water, casually hiding his lollipop stick under his napkin.

"Ah, yes, Gaius Flanagan," Aversa purred. Robin felt a shiver of disgust run down her spine.

This seemed to interest Gangrel. He looked up for the first time since they sat down. "Do you happen to work for Exalted Inc.?"

"Directly under ol'Blue," Gaius said, a touch of pride to his voice. His face scrunched up ever so slightly, as though it clicked who he was talking to. "Ah, you're the CEO of King Enterprise?"

Sipping his whiskey, Gangrel merely mused, "Indeed."

Awkwardly, Robin fumbled for a topic. Too bad Aversa beat her to it. "So how did you meet our lovely Robin here?"

"She was going to buy a bran muffin at the shop on 60th and I talked her out of it. Naturally, she was head over heels for me since," Gaius declared, winking secretively at Robin. She kicked him. She almost couldn't believe he used that lie. _Almost_.

Aversa giggled obnoxiously loud. She squeezed Gangrel's forearm, although he was preoccupied by whatever was on his phone – which was evidently far more amusing than the conversation happening around him.

"So… when did you two get married?"

Before either of them could provide the lie they agreed on, a fifth voice Robin had never heard before interjected. Gaius stiffened visibly.

"I'd like to know that too," a blue haired man added, walking up to the table with a gorgeous ash-haired woman on his arm. "I would have thought you would have told your _boss _of all people that you decided to get married."

Robin's stomach twisted. Everything was going to be ruined and she'd _never _hear the end of it.

"Wait, Blue – I can explain!" Gaius tripped over his own words. "We eloped!"

"A week ago!" Robin added, nervously glancing at Aversa and Gangrel. A slight, closed lipped smile found Aversa's face and Gangrel glared at Gaius's boss with open disgust.

The intruder smiled at Robin briefly before returning his displeased eyes to Gaius. "That's nice and all, but when were you going to tell me you had a girlfriend in the first place?"

_Fuuuuuuck_.

**I really **shouldn't be starting another series until I finish all my other ones but I'm pretty much blocked on all of those ones and this plot bunny wouldn't go away until I wrote it. I've always been curious to try out my own fake marriage thing with high copious amounts of clichés and awkward situations. (Plus I don't think I've ever seen them buying rings before they're 'married'.) Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the first _overly clichéd_ chapter and look forward to more in the future!

~Emerald~


	2. Chapter 2

**Pairings: **Gaius x Female Robin

**Timeline: **Modern AU

**Warnings: **Clichéd situations and TONS of awkward encounters. Eventual smut.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Fire Emblem: Awakening

**Authors Note: **I'm happy everyone enjoys a little cliché once in a while! I did try to make it 'less' cliché but what can you do when you intentionally set out to write a cliché?

**.x.**

"I didn't realize my personal affairs had anything to do with my boss," Gaius snapped, rather defensively. Robin laughed, gripping the arms of her chair tightly.

His boss held out his hands, "Of course, of course." And just like that, everything was right between the two. Whatever relationship existed between Gaius and his boss, it must have been a close one. "Seeing how my lawyer is incapable of introducing me, I'm Chrom Howard, reigning CEO of Exalted Inc. It's a pleasure to meet you…?"

"Ah, Robin S—Flanagan," Robin caught herself before she messed up and thankfully, no one noticed. She managed to pry her hand off the chair and offer it to Chrom weakly.

The gorgeous ash haired woman shoved Chrom out of the way to shake Robin's hand enthusiastically, "And since my husband is a dunce, I'm Sumia. I'm so happy to know Gaius has finally settled down! He's been alone for such a long time I thought he would never find someone!"

Gaius rolled his eyes and Robin eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly, "Uh, thanks?"

"Anyways," Chrom broke in, a charming smile gracing his lips, "I look forward to seeing more of you, Robin. After all, it's not only a courtesy that I get to know my friend's wife." He glared pointedly at Gaius who was suddenly very interested by a doily on the table. "We're having a company Christmas party on Wednesday; I anticipate seeing _both o_f you there." Gaius paled but he kept his eyes trained on the doily.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Robin forced an awkward smile, "Right, see you then."

Aversa laced her fingers underneath her chin, watching Chrom and Sumia leave with an indiscernible expression on her face. Robin was suddenly very interested in the gold decals on the silverware in front of her and Gaius cleared his throat.

"Didn't you say that Gaius was on a business trip, Robin?" she recalled, rubbing her thumb along the side of her hand.

"So?" Robin countered, narrowing her eyes at the tablecloth. Gaius shot her a quick look of puzzlement.

Aversa clicked her tongue, "Why on earth would a lawyer go on a business trip?"

"Blue wanted me to check on our client in Ferox to make sure she was keeping out of trouble," Gaius supplied, picking up his menu to peruse the deserts.

The corners of Aversa's lips fell. Her lips twitched as she endeavoured to come up with another pestering topic.

"Bah! Aversa, just order yer food," Gangrel grunted, irritation worming its way onto his face and he signalled the waiter over. Robin scrambled to find something to eat. She wasn't even sure what half of the stuff on the menu was so she just pointed at a picture of some kind of salad that looked mildly appetizing. Gaius ordered a cake.

Awkwardly enough, Gaius seemed to be getting along with Aversa rather well. They chatted about politics – of course Gangrel jumped on _that_ topic – and the cons behind capital punishment. Robin toyed with her salad, wishing she knew more about politics or the justice system to join in on the conversation and couldn't help but envy Gaius's adaptability. Gangrel zoned out, tapping away on his cellphone with a slight curl to his lips.

"Oh Robin!" Aversa gushed when lunch was drawing beginning to draw to a close. "Gaius is just a delight! How did you catch yourself such a man?"

"I wonder that myself," Robin mused under her breath. Gaius snorted. "Oh, you know, muffins and all that jazz," she said lamely, answering Aversa's question.

Aversa blinked then she laughed obnoxiously and dabbed the corners of her mouth with the monogrammed napkin. "I can't quite get over that unusual humour of yours."

Robin forced a smile, unsure of how to properly answer Aversa without sarcasm. Instead, she speared the last few pieces of lettuce and popped them into her mouth. She kept up the feigned smile and leaned back in her seat. Gaius's arm pressed against her shoulders. He rested casually back in his chair, twirling a red lollipop between his fingers.

"We should get going," Robin prompted after a few minutes of silence. Aversa clapped her hands together like a child and snatched her purse off the back of her chair. She smacked Gangrel with the bag, lurching him out of his preoccupation with his phone. He pocketed his device and stood.

"I'll handle the bill; it was good to see you, Robin… Gaius," Gangrel said wearily, scratching the underside of his jaw.

"The pleasure was ours." Gaius got up from his chair and Robin followed closely behind. She slipped her hand into his, waving at Aversa and Gangrel.

"Thanks again, it was good to see you!" Robin put in, not so subtly tugging Gaius in the direction of the door.

Urgently, Aversa added in, "We should do this again!" before Gangrel hauled her off to pay.

Gaius reluctantly let Robin drag him from the restaurant, "Woah, not so tight, Bubbles – you're cutting off the circulation." Outside in the crisp, mock wintery air (Ylisse never got colder than about ten degrees Celsius) Robin sighed.

"I'm beginning to think you don't even know my name," Robin complained. She weaved them through the crowds, heading to the back alley parking lot she deposited her car at.

Her reply came in the form of a brutal crunch and a slight jest, "Wait, it's _not _Bubbles?"

"Oh my god Gaius," she groaned, fishing her keys from her outer purse pocket to listen for the beep from her car. Taxi's darted in between cars in the streets, horns erupted from every direction and cries from irritated drivers added to the tension in the crowded Ylisse streets. Shockingly, the back parking lot felt like it was miles away from the busy streets.

"Oh my god _Robin_," Gaius mocked, squeezing her hand. Robin felt her cheeks warm involuntarily and she cleared her throat, yanking her hand from his firm grasp. She pressed the unlock button harder than necessary and the reassuring sound of her horn drew her away from the embarrassment she felt stirring in her stomach.

"Do I really have to go to the Christmas party?" she asked, stopping at the trunk of her car.

Gaius shot her an exasperated look, "You made your bed, now _lie _in it."

She groaned. He had a point – no matter how unfortunate she found it to be – and it was only fair they played along until enough time had passed for them to draw up fake divorce papers. She wondered if Gaius could make them, regardless or not that he's a corporate lawyer.

"Alright, fair point," she agreed half-heartedly.

"Give me your address, I'll pick you up on Wednesday at five," Gaius said before she turned to get in her car.

Robin arched her eyebrow, "Why?"

He rolled his eyes, "It'd look pretty suspicious if my _wife _showed up in a different car, now wouldn't it?"

_Again_ he made sense. She rattled off her address to him and he quickly tapped it into his phone. Then, with a mischievous grin, he winked at her and went whistling off to his car. Robin rubbed her arms, wondering why her face was so warm when she was so cold.

**.x.**

Robin flopped down against her bed, absentmindedly rubbing her hair with a fluffy towel, staring blankly at the ceiling. She'd spent most of the day editing the same page of her novel, distracted by the party she had to go to that night. Gaius hadn't told her whether or not she had to dress up and at this point, she really didn't care. So she spent the last hour in the bath, flipping through a murder mystery novel she had sitting next to her bed for months with a cup of tea.

They must be crazy for continuing the charade. What sane people would let it go this far? Next they really will be having kids based on how easily they went along with the lies. She hoped it wouldn't come to that. Getting off her bed, Robin padded over her closet and rifled through it.

She came up with a red knit sweater, a collared white shirt underneath and black skinny jeans. While she dressed, she decided curling her hair lightly wouldn't be such a bad idea. After her hair and makeup was finished, she rolled on a pair of fuzzy pink socks, clasped a gold chain around her neck, slipped on her rings and went to wait in the kitchen.

As she peeled an orange, she hummed a little tune and let her mind wander to her book. Robin couldn't help but think her situation resembled numerous tropes she's read before in other harlequin erotica. She laughed.

A loud knock at her door startled her. Robin sighed, disposed of the last two slices of her orange in the garbage and answered the door. Thankfully, Gaius was dressed as casually as she was. His hair fell messily in his face and he wore a collared grey sweater, blue jeans and black boots. He looked… rather nice in casual wear.

Robin stuffed her feet in brown riding boots and grabbed her ivory parka just in case it got cold later that night.

"I'm honestly shocked you're ready," he commented once Robin locked her door. She shot him an irritated look. Shoving his hands deep into his pockets with an innocent whistle, he added, "Most women take about ten years to get ready for a party."

"I'm not most women," Robin snapped, jabbing the elevator button unnecessarily hard.

Gaius chuckled, "Clearly."

**.x.**

The car ride over to Exalted Inc. was relatively uneventful except for their constant fight over the radio station. Gaius claimed that the driver should be allowed to listen to classic rock and Robin insisted that the passenger should get to listen to classical. They eventually came to an uneasy agreement on some heavy metal rock station which oddly, both of them enjoyed.

"This building is massive," Robin exclaimed, craning her neck to take in more of the skyscraper. She'd seen it numerous times while driving to her publishers but she'd never had the chance to stand in front of it.

Gaius smirked, holding his arm out to her after he tossed his keys to the valet. She placed her left hand in the crook of his arm and let herself be led into the huge building.

Marble lined the floor as far as the eye could see and a huge circular desk sat in the center of the room with a hologram floating in the center with Exalted Inc. spinning around languidly. Potted plants decorated the lobby and security guards chatted with receptionists.

"Mr. Flanagan, good to see you," a security guard said cheerfully, stopping them before they could get on the elevator. He glanced sideways at Robin with a tight-lipped smile.

"You too, Jerry," Gaius responded lightly, inclining his chin in Robin's direction. "This is my wife, Robin."

Immediately, Jerry's smile turned genuine and he held out his hand to shake Robin's enthusiastically. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Flanagan." He released her, stepping back with a polite bow. "I don't want to keep you from the party any longer. Have a nice day!" Jerry waved and meandered over to a receptionist.

Inside the elevator, Robin sagged against Gaius's side. "I don't think I'll ever get used to being called 'Mrs. Flanagan.'"

"The feelings mutual," Gaius chirped, digging a caramel from his pocket. She pinched his forearm. The numbers on the elevator went all the way up to fifty and Gaius had stabbed the big five zero when they got on. Apparently, Chrom liked the view.

The doors slid open and the smell of gingerbread cookies wafted into the elevator. White Christmas lights dangled from the ceiling and a man carrying a tray of champagne offered the couple a drink. Robin took one but Gaius politely declined and led her further down the hall. The decorations got more elaborate the further they went and Robin counted at least fifteen Christmas trees in the span of twenty feet. At the end of the hall, beyond a door, Christmas music seeped into the hall and voices were more audible than the music.

Gaius grinned and opened the door. Instantly, men and women swarm the couple, separating them before Robin had a chance to speak. The men demanded loudly when Gaius managed to find a woman and Sumia had Robin by the upper arm as she hauled her over to the biggest Christmas tree she'd seen yet. Gaius discreetly blew her a kiss. Was he really mocking her right now?

"Robin! It's so good to see you again!" Sumia beamed. Only now did Robin notice the slight bulge to her stomach. She jostled her into a group of women and the ones that had tried to ambush her moments earlier hovered outside the group.

Some of the most beautiful women Robin's ever seen constitute the group.

"Where did you meet Gaius?" a gorgeous red haired woman asked.

"At a bakery," Robin answered lamely.

A dark haired woman giggled, though the sound itself came off rather ominous. "How long have you known him?"

"A while," Robin said vaguely, wondering just what the hell she'd gotten herself into. As the endless stream of questions she didn't really have the answers too and her champagne warmed, a question finally came up that had nothing to do with Gaius.

"What do you do for a living?" Olivia asked. After the initial barrage of questions, Robin had finally gotten the names out of the women.

Robin smiled, "I'm an author. I'm working on my second series right now."

Sumia's eyes lit up, "Oh do tell us what you've written!"

Turning pink, Robin responded, "The Princess and the Assassin."

Sumia's hand flew to her mouth with a sharp intake of breath. "You're _Robin Stark_." All of the women gasped collectively. Robin laughed nervously. Of course her books would have made it into the hands of these women. They were notoriously popular with women who loved to read harlequin romances.

"How on _earth _did Gaius manage to land you?" Lissa demanded. The tiny blonde grasped Robin's hands. "I've never read a better hero than Jack. He was just to die for."

"I'm sure you're just saying that," Robin said though she couldn't stop her smile.

"She's right," Sumia spoke up. "I can't believe I'm talking to you right now."

"Mommy! When's Santa going to be here?" A little girl with startling blue hair pushed through the group and clung to Sumia's skirt. Robin thanked the heavens for the interruption.

A bunch of other children followed Sumia's daughter and clung to their mothers. A teal haired girl tugged on Sully's hand with anticipation, a brown haired girl pouted in front of Cordelia and a blonde girl hid behind Tharja's legs. A white haired boy peeked around Olivia's dress, a dark brown haired boy glanced at Robin suspiciously while standing in front of Lissa, a black haired boy gripped Cherche's hand ignoring the other children, a greenish brown haired boy buried his face in Maribelle's skirt and the most collected of the children was a blonde boy standing next to Miriel with a cool expression on his face.

Sumia smiled mysteriously, "Oh Lucina… Santa's very busy this time of the year."

Lucina's lip trembled and Sumia knelt in front of the girl, pressing her finger against her quivering lip. "But Santa always has time for you, my darling. He'll be here soon." Lucina's face lit up into a brilliant smile and Robin felt an odd feeling in her stomach.

And just like that, the kids ran off, following Lucina, chattering about what they wanted from Santa. Robin giggled.

"Do you and Gaius want children?" Olivia asked, staring at Robin with an unabashed curiosity.

Robin flushed. "Ah… don't you think it's too soon to think about kids?" _Oh_ what had she gotten herself into?

Sumia laughed, "Maybe you're right." Sumia drew Robin close, as if forgetting she was star struck by the woman merely moments ago. "Our dear Panne here is pregnant and Nowi just got married but she's already thinking babies." Robin nodded, though a part of her wondered if Sumia really should be sharing this information with her.

"Where's Gaius?" the question she hadn't meant to voice caused the group of women to giggle obnoxiously loud.

"You'll see," Tharja said, a slight, unnerving edge to her voice. Robin raised her eyebrow, interested.

"Ho, ho, HO!" a deep chuckle bellowed over the crowd. The children practically screamed with excitement and bolted over to the man in a red suit.

Cordelia snagged Robin's arm before she ran over to retrieve her daughter before the girl attacked Santa. "My husband, Frederick, just adores playing Santa but ever since Severa's realized it was her father, it's just taken the fun out of it. Excuse me." Robin pinched her lips together. Although she's known these women for all of five minutes, it feels like she's known them forever.

"Gaius, we go through this every year. You have to give the kids candy canes," Chrom said gruffly. Robin turned and dissolved into laughter at the sight of her 'husband.'

He'd changed out of the jeans and sweater into a full on elf costume with pointy shoes and a hat with a bell attached to it. Someone had even taken the liberty to rub copious amounts of rouge on his cheeks. He caught her eye and winked.

Robin wandered over to the display, leaning against a cubical somewhere off to the side. Frederick was clearly too young and fit to be playing Santa but the kids seemed to enjoy it…

Lucina perched on the edges of Frederick's knees, her parents on either side of her as she rambled off a list to Santa. Chrom tapped away on his phone, recording each of his daughter's requests.

Next was Sully, her daughter and her husband. Sully's husband, in his poofs and wine, looked frail next to his wife who clearly worked out on a daily basis. After Sully, Olivia helped her son up onto Santa's lap; her white haired husband hovered behind her, making faces at their son with an eerily large grin on his face.

While Olivia's family got their pictures taken, a zing of difference ran down her spine. She didn't know anyone here aside from Gaius and even_ that _was iffy. She didn't have a family to call her own nor could she truthfully relate to these families. Robin was twenty-six, sure she was still plenty young to have that family she craved but while playing a charade like this, could she?

"Why the long face, Bubbles? You _were _smilin' a minute ago," Gaius observed, shoving a candy cane in her face. Robin accepted it, flashing him a grateful smile.

"How old are you?" Robin inquired, peeling off the wrapper carefully and sucked on the candy. She had almost forgotten about his elf costume. Miriel and her family were up next and Robin couldn't help but think her taller, bulkier husband kind of stood out from his wife and son.

Gaius stared at her weirdly for a moment before answering. "Twenty-seven."

He was younger than she thought he was. "Oh. Well anyways, nice costume."

Gaius rolled his eyes, ignoring her sudden topic change and flicked the bell hanging off his hat. His large grin threw off his annoyed look. "Oi, I'm the best dammed elf around."

Robin touched her mouth, attempting to smother her giggles. "Of course you are." He tapped the candy cane, pressing it against her lower lip.

Sumia bounced over to the couple, clutching Lucina in her arms. "Robin, I heard you have a book signing this weekend?" Gaius peered at Robin out of the corner of his eye.

"It's more of an interview, but yes," Robin confirmed, sheepish that she had actually almost forgotten. She hadn't done a book signing in a while and had been looking forward to it but since this whole fake marriage debacle, she hadn't gotten around to preparing for it.

Sumia's eyes sparkled. "Do you mind if I go? I'd just love to have a signed copy of your books."

Robin laughed, "You don't have to go if you don't want to, Sumia. I can just sign it for you now."

Sumia pouted, lightly shoving Robin's shoulder. "We're _friends,_" she stressed, "so I'm going to support you, how's that?"

"Oh alright," Robin agreed, unable to prevent the grin from over taking her lips. Sumia squealed.

Then Sumia turned to Gaius, jabbing his chest. "You. Don't forget about the ski retreat."

Now it was Robin's turn to stare incredulously at Gaius. Would Sumia…?

"Since you're married I expect to see Robin there, no if ands or buts. But I guess you've already told her, huh? In any case, see you on Saturday Robin!" Sumia chirped, giving the couple a quick wave and wandered over to Chrom.

Gaius groaned. "Shit… I was looking forward to that…"

Robin chewed on her lip, "Do you want me to fake illness? I don't want to ruin your trip just because I don't know when to keep my mouth shut."

He huffed, rubbing his face and smudged the rouge. "It can't be helped. Sumia'd get on my case for leavin' ya alone if you were sick." He snagged a few candies from a jar on his co-workers desk. "I'll change and I'll fill you in about the retreat after." He disappeared to what Robin presumed was his office.

Ever since that dammed little lie, their lives have revolved around this charade and it was _exhausting._ All she had time for lately was remembering she was 'married' and keeping all the lying accurate. She had a book coming out for heaven's sake and he had a job to do but all they did as of late was run around to keep a lie going that should have been snuffed out before it had a chance to burn. She considered telling Sumia it was all a lie… but what would be the consequences of that?

When Gaius returned, Robin stopped him, licking her thumb to wipe away the last remnants of the rouge on his face. He smirked, his eyes flickering off to the side before he swept in and stole a kiss from her lips. Hollers from Gaius's co-workers and friends broke them apart.

"Gotta keep up pretences, no?" he whispered, a hair away from her. He grinned, pulled back to wrap his arm around her waist and wave. "Later."

As he led her out, she pinched his side hard, trying to keep her face cool. He merely clicked his tongue and laughed.

**.x.**

Robin unbuckled her seatbelt, "Thanks for the ride… and sorry about everything."

Gaius leaned back in his seat, sliding his gaze over her. "It's all good. 'Sides, it's fun so I've got no complaints." Her mouth curved slightly. "Didn't take you for the author kind."

"Back at you, Mr. Lawyer," she retorted. "What did you _think _I did?"

He tapped his chin. "You _really _gave off the 'naughty librarian' vibe," he told her earnestly. She punched him though her laugh was inevitable.

"Well there's a lot you don't know about me," she said finally, not knowing what else to say. Awkwardly, she reached for the door handle.

"I'm sure I'll find out, _Mrs. Flanagan_," he teased yet there was something picking at his tone that suggested otherwise. "Good night."

Robin squinted at him in the dim car light. His dark green eyes were strangely the brightest thing in his car aside from the dashboard. "Good night." She got out, standing on the sidewalk to wave good bye.

Everything was changing so fast and Robin wasn't sure she was steady enough to keep up.

**Keeping **the clichés coming! I've been watching a lot of Kdrama's lately and well, I've been sponging up a bunch of clichéd, soap-opery ideas. If you watch Korean dramas, you'll be familiar with a few troupes I'll be introducing. Ahhh… sorry if this chapter dragged in parts, I tried to keep the whole thing entertaining but there was just so much I wanted to jam into this chapter. (Bonus points if you can guess who's married to who!) See you next time!

~Emerald~


	3. Chapter 3

**Pairings: **Gaius x Female Robin

**Timeline: **Modern AU

**Warnings: **Clichéd situations and TONS of awkward encounters. Eventual smut.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Fire Emblem: Awakening

**Authors Note: **I got some really good feedback in regards to the last chapter so I'll be trying to implement that into the story. I genuinely appreciate the time and effort all of you took into analyzing my story to give me some constructive criticism. Hopefully I was able to fix some of the problems and if not, well, I'll get it right soon! As for who's married to who, the anon almost got all of them right! Just two were wrong and the results will be revealed shortly. Enjoy! (ALSO this chapter is more serious than the previous two. It'll get humorous once again after this chapter but there was no getting around the serious parts. After all, there has to be some notion of seriousness even in such an absurd setting.)

* * *

By this point Robin figured she'd be used to the chaos introduced into her life thanks to the lie she came up with, but when she woke up to find Gaius pilfering her cupboards, to say she freaked out was an understatement. Before all _this _she had a dedicated schedule and having it thrown off really shouldn't have surprised her now.

"How the _hell _did you get into my apartment?" Robin demanded, unconsciously tightening the cord to her robe. Gaius barely spared her a second glance as he scoffed at the food in her cupboards. Or rather _lack_ of food.

"Does a hermit live here? Where's your flavour?" he asked, gesturing to the bare shelves. Aside from a few cans of corn and a questionably old box of spaghetti, she didn't have any real food. She had a few oranges left from last week but she'd rather take her chances with the spaghetti. He opened her fridge and grimaced; three water bottles, an apple and some moldy cheese were the only things in there. Now he stared at her. "Do you eat?"

Flushing, Robin raised her chin, "Of _course _I eat. I just haven't gone grocery shopping in… a few weeks." Narrowing her eyes, her expression bordered on suspicion. "Once again, _how _did you get in here? And what kind of person goes through another person's kitchen?"

Gaius flicked a small sliver object at her. Robin caught it and sighed; it was her spare key.

"I wouldn't consider taping your spare key under your mailbox the safest place," Gaius said, kicking the fridge shut. Why would he even _think_ to look underneath the metal box outside her apartment door? God damn lawyers.

"Why are you here?" she snapped, irritated to have been woken up so early by him destroying her kitchen. Gaius held out his hands, letting out a low whistle and gestured to a plastic bag she overlooked with his chin.

"Brought you a treat," he said, dropping his hands. "Also, we've got that ski trip to talk about." Robin sighed.

"Alright, go sit in the living room. I'll go change."

Gaius whistled. "What's wrong with what ya got on now, Bubbles?" Making a sound in the back of her throat that sounded like a cross between a dying chicken and a growl, she stomped off to her bedroom.

She couldn't even remember the last time she really worked on her novel and it bothered her down to her core. The corkboard she'd tacked countless post-it notes on seemed to glare down at her ominously, as if mocking her situation. The little notes were plastered in reminders, due dates and other story ideas. Robin had _wanted _to go through at least ten of them before her interview at three but now that idea seemed so far away.

Tossing on a pair of grey sweats and her dark purple hoodie from Plegia City University, she wandered back into the living room. Amusement flooded her at the sight of Gaius helplessly holding his bag of treats trying to find a location to deposit it on. Her coffee table was overrun with manuscripts, notebooks, mugs and her laptop which whirred in the background.

"Just put that wherever," she told him, plopping down on the couch. Gaius complied after a split second of hesitation and almost knocked over a cup. He caught it. "Nice, break into my house, go through my stuff and almost break my favourite cup. You're off to a good start. Know any good lawyers?"

Gaius sat next to her, a glint in his eyes. "There's only one lawyer good enough to put me behind bars, which is me. So the answers no." Robin couldn't help but smile.

"Ski retreat?" Robin prompted, riffling through the bag of candy. She'd hoped for something more substantial than sugary sweets but her prayers were in vain. Deciding that she wasn't going to waste anymore of her time moping about the lack of real food (who was she to talk anyways when she had less food than a grocery store after an apocalypse) she grabbed a plastic bag of gummy bears and tore into it.

Gaius swirled the lollipop in his mouth, carefully formulating his thought out speech. "Well, as Sumia said, there's a company ski retreat in two weeks from today. It'll be for three days and Chrom's booked most of the hotel rooms for it." He grimaced. "Which means we'll be sharing a bed."

"It can't be helped," Robin said, popping another candy in her mouth. Gaius shot her an incredulous look. "What?"

"You're awfully easy-going," he replied suspiciously, "you ain't falling for me, now are ya Bubbles?"

Heat flooded her cheeks, "Of course not, I've just accepted the current situation and adapted; something you clearly could learn to do." She let her eyes drop, fiddling with the ratty hem of her hoodie.

"Riiiiight and why exactly am I in this situation?" Gaius retorted, crushing the candy between his teeth more violently than necessary.

Robin bristled. Why was he being so bitter? Sure none of it would have happened if she'd just kept her mouth shut but _he _went along with it. If he hadn't, she would have looked like a moron in front of Aversa, but it never would have spiralled out of control like this. "You didn't have to go along with it, Gaius," Robin retorted.

"You're right, I didn't," he answered, cracking his knuckles – perhaps just to irritate her further. "_But _I did because you looked lost as all hell and what kind of man would I be if I just let you get humiliated, hmm?"

She opened her mouth to formulate a response but her words were swallowed up by her insatiable guilt. She clamped her mouth shut and picked at the fraying ends of her hoodie to calm down before she said something she would seriously regret. Before meeting Gaius, she was _always _cautious with her words to make sure she didn't push away the few people close to her. But he was just like a spark. Even the tiniest bit of him could set her on fire and Robin was _terrified _of what that meant. He riled her up and unlike a lot of people she's met, challenged her. What that could mean baffled her.

For someone who's dedicated her life to writing romance novels, she sure was atrocious when it came to dealing with real life relationships.

So instead of pushing him away when they were starting to be friends, she reached out to take his hand. He let her, mostly because he was stunned by her gesture in the first place. "I could argue with you but where's the point in hurting your feelings when this whole conundrum was my fault? So I'm sorry for being defensive over nothing. Also, I'm sorry for getting you into this," Robin said, a bit of anxiousness picking at her voice. She fidgeted, waiting for his response.

Gaius gazed at her for a long time, as if he was _just _looking at her for the first time. Something chewed on Robin's insides the longer her took to answer. Finally, a smile lethargically pulled at his mouth and he squeezed her hand in return. "Apology accepted Bubbles." He hesitated, a slight crinkle in brow. "I'm sorry too, for what it's worth."

Relief coursed through her and her shoulders relaxed. "Thank you, for everything."

He chuckled, releasing her hand. A pang shot up her arm which she promptly smothered when he continued speaking. "So _anyways_, about the ski trip…"

* * *

Robin met up with her agent near the back of the bookstore. Her slightly frazzled agent, Tiki – who admittedly had the appearance of someone who'd just woken up twenty-four/seven – drew Robin close for inspection.

"You're on time – for once," Tiki commented, tugging on a strand of Robin's hair. Robin resisted rolling her eyes. "For this particular signing, all you have to do is answer the questions for the interviewer, a few from the audience and sign some books. It's pretty much already rehearsed as it is."

"So it's just like the last few signings I went to?" Robin asked, adjusting her skirt. She never really cared for the a-line type skirt Tiki always had her in but after all the late manuscripts Tiki had to put up with from her, Robin figured she could at least wear the skirt for interviews. Tiki nodded in affirmation and absently ran her fingers through her startling jade green hair.

She shifted from foot to foot, wondering just when she'd have a chance to take a moment to reflect on every crazy thing that's been happening in her life. At the moment, she felt rather… dejected from her life as though she was just a stranger glancing in through the window of someone else's life. It just didn't feel real.

"Robin?" Tiki's concerned voice drew Robin from her thoughts. "Is something bothering you?"

She gnawed on her lip, concentrating on unwinding the knot in her stomach. "Not really, there's just so much happening at once that I have to take a moment to step back."

Tiki nodded an odd sort of looking blossoming on her face. "Well you did just finish the _Shades of England*_ series and now with this one coming out, I understand it's a lot of fame in short period of time."

Robin laughed, somewhat uneasily. She should have seen the misunderstanding from a mile away considering she had yet to tell Tiki about her 'marriage'. Or really anything in her life for that matter.

"Oh, it's time for you to go on! Good luck," Tiki cheered, shooing Robin out of the backroom. Robin collected herself, put on a smile and walked out into the bookstore front. Smaller bookcases were pushed off to the side though the large ones remained in their original position. Two giant, red leather arm chairs were set up in front before a long line of women – and the odd man – clutching Robin's novels in their arms. They all stood behind a grey folding table where an empty stand sat on top of, waiting for Robin to reveal her newest book cover.

The women cheered when they saw Robin and she caught the briefest glance of Sumia in the swarm of women. Robin waved, making her way over to the big, squishy armchairs. A slim, attractive dark haired woman sat in the closest arm chair, a radiant grin on her face. On her lap were a few sheets of paper with space for notes.

Once Robin settled into her chair that practically engulfed her, the interview began. "Welcome to Ylissian Pages, our guest today is the lovely Miss. Robin Stark, the author of the beloved _Shades of England* _series. We have her answering questions, signing books and later, a big reveal which is coming up shortly. I'm your host, Hailee Bell and let's get started!" She faced Robin with her thousand watt smile and asked, "The fans are dying to know if there was anyone who inspired Wesley's character?"

Robin pursed her lips. "No, Wesley was born from my desire to create a character that was equally flawed in his aspects. He knew what he was doing was wrong but to support his ailing sister, especially in that day and age, he was willing to do almost anything. Ultimately, when Wesley met Charlotte, his morals were lost and she showed him how to find them again. Despite his position as an assassin, he was a compassionate character and that's what I found so irresistible about him."

Hailee scribbled down most of what Robin said and turned to the audience. "Wasn't that beautiful?" She took a second to glance at her questions. "What inspired the relationship between Wesley and Charlotte? Why an assassin and a princess?"

"At first, their relationship is what I would have characterized as love at first sight but after the multiple revisions to where it's at now, I would never call it that. In the beginning, Charlotte's role as a princess merely meant that Wesley was beginning to get desperate to pay for his sister's medical bills. However, once I realized that Wesley being attracted to Charlotte wasn't enough motivation for him to stop everything and spare her life, I had to give her more depth and I had to draw out Wesley's compassionate side. By giving Charlotte the same disease as Teresa, he was unable to kill her," Robin explained, crossing her legs. "Two complete strangers in such an unfamiliar situation, stuck between a rock and a hard place, forced them to get along and grow together. Wesley couldn't collect the award without Charlotte's death and Charlotte wanted to live, so they made a trade. He could have her life if he showed her the parts of the world she missed by living in her castle. I chose the assassin/princess route because I've always been compelled to write a novel where the characters were pitted against one another but managed to overcome the odds."

Many of the women in the audience sighed dreamily and Robin swept her eyes over the crowd. She made eye contact with Sumia, who waved inconspicuously. After explaining elements of her novels, she couldn't help but compare parts of it to her life right now. How peculiar.

Hailee jotted something down and scratched out a paragraph. She readjusted her posture, and moved onto the next question. "Now Robin, we've all been wondering this, you must have a poignant love life to write such a beautiful love story. So the question is do you have someone in your life to inspire love stories like the _Shades of England _series."

Robin almost gave Hailee the same speech she's been giving interviewers for three years now. She was single at the moment but that didn't hinder her imagination. However, _Sumia _stood in the crowd, waiting for her autograph. If Robin was to tell the people in this room she was single, how would she explain that to Sumia? Authors – especially _romance _authors – were hardly shy about admitting they were married. Robin wet her lips.

"I actually got married recently," she announced. The words felt bitter on her tongue. Women gasped and Robin swore she saw Tiki mouth '_what the hell are you doing?_' out of her peripheral vision.

Hailee dropped her pen and quickly retrieved it before anyone noticed her shock. Usually, Tiki advised interviewers beforehand on what Robin would roughly say to prevent a real reaction from them. Tiki claimed it kept things professional but Robin knew it was to keep stuff such as this from happening.

This lie was digging her deeper into a hole and it was only a matter of time until it was no longer able to dig. Robin wanted nothing more than for the chair to consume her whole and the burn in her cheeks to settle.

"W—well this is a shocking development!" Hailee broke in shrilly, slanting her eyes toward Robin as though she'd grown a second head. "Next question…"

* * *

After she answered the remaining questions, signed the books, revealed her new series and listened to Tiki's livid rant over not telling her about Robin's nuptials, she collapsed in her bed, thoroughly exhausted. Tiki commanded Robin to go home, change the dedication for her new novel and edit her acknowledgments. She complained about having to change Robin's biography to include her husband.

Robin scrubbed her face, unfettered by the makeup caked on her eyes. Her nerves were absolutely _shot._ Her emotions were raw and festering the longer she stared up at the roof. Earlier today when she was talking with Gaius, she was so detached from the situation she didn't even care about sharing a bed. This whole time she's been stringing them both along when she was completely cut off from everything that happened. Sure she went along with it willy-nilly but what _choice _did she have when it was her fault? _Her fault._

She rolled onto her side, drawing her knees against her chest, quivering. The ring on her finger seemed to corrode away at her skin. A lump the size of her fist formed in her throat and she was having difficulties breathing. Robin stared at the wall, her eyes wide and watery.

Robin ached to run through the streets announcing her lie but she was in too deep. All of her fans – thanks to damned social media – knew by now she was 'married' and Tiki flat out told her she was changing her biography. Before she'll know it, this charade will carry her into her late thirties and she'll be welcoming Gaius home with babies on her hips. How does one _end _something like this? _Can _someone end something like this?

A few stray tears slid down her cheeks and just like that she was full out sobbing. One way or another, either Robin or Gaius will be getting hurt because of this and there was no stopping it. They were on a train going full speed towards a dead end and only one of them was going to get off before it was too late.

She _needed _to be able to just go with it as easily as Gaius but after seeing so many failed relationships in her life, how could one built off of lies work even in regards to friendship? After knowing him so such a short time, yes he was still a complete stranger, she coveted his friendship nonetheless.

Gaius was unlike anyone she'd ever met, passionate and easy-going bundled with a very playful and sarcastic nature. However, thanks to their fake marriage, once it ended, she doubted they could ever be friends. She already felt the icy hand gripping her heart and the metaphorical blade cutting up her insides at the prospect of losing his friendship.

Wiping her tears away roughly, she decided, to remain his friend, she would keep this up until everything was exposed and they would ultimately have to go their separate ways. Besides, if she was already selfish enough to plead with him to go along with her initial lie, lying a little more to keep him around wouldn't be such a bad thing, would it?

* * *

**Wooo**, that was waaaay less humorous than the previous two chapters. But not all character development can be hilarious. So now we have Robin, a character with a complicated backstory (of which I've yet to explain) who pushes other's away but for some reason is compelled to keep Gaius around as a friend. Hopefully it was clear she's very overwhelmed by the whole situation and upset due to the fact she's becoming friends with Gaius but she's afraid of losing that. (Poor friendzoned Gaius…) Anyways, thanks for reading and I'm always looking forward to feedback! (I don't know, it's like 2AM here lol – no excuse but what I'm saying is if it ever got long in parts, let's blame the night.)

~Emerald~

*Shades of England, the title which I random came up with is actually similar to the Shades of London series which I did not realize at the time. The Shades of England is merely made up and purposely set up to parallel parts of Gaius and Robin's relationship as well as to mirror Gaius's introduction in the game in chapter six because the irony is my favourite thing.


	4. Chapter 4

**Pairings: **Gaius x Female Robin

**Timeline: **Modern AU

**Warnings: **Clichéd situations and TONS of awkward encounters; eventual smut.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Fire Emblem: Awakening OR the new cover photo!

**Authors Note: **This is the third time I've reworked this chapter OTL their relationship was progressing too fast so I figure some awkward sexual tension before the big ski trip would be in order. (JUST kidding, they won't take thirty chapters to admit they like each other.)

* * *

Gently, as if setting down a newborn baby, Robin packed her laptop and put it aside. After triple checking her suitcase and purse, she flopped on her bed and sighed. A part of her still couldn't believe she got roped into going on a ski trip with her fake husband but considering the plethora of lies that preceded the trip, it really wasn't that surprising.

She glanced at the digital clock. _1:25 PM._ A few days ago, after hammering out the details of the trip, Gaius asked if she would be okay leaving at two. It didn't matter to her when they left but she was still slightly touched that he bothered to ask. In any case, the drive to Ferox was only a couple of hours and Robin was beginning to wonder if they would even have anything to talk about during the drive.

Nibbling on her lip, she got up and rolled her shoulder. There was no time like the present to drag her few bags to the door while she waited for Gaius's text to let her know he was here. Squeezing the plastic handle to her suitcase, she couldn't help feeling she'd forgotten something. Going through her mental checklist left her more confused than before.

Just before she was about to rip apart her suitcase, her phone buzzed. Robin narrowed her eyes at her suitcase before retrieving her phone off the counter.

_Here._

She'd forgotten just how concise Gaius was while texting – not that it bothered her. Although, perhaps if he used more than three words whenever he texted her, it wouldn't feel like such a chore to continue the conversation.

Nevertheless, Robin stuffed her phone in her pocket, slung her plum coloured parka over her suitcase, wrapped a white scarf around her neck and left.

Stabbing the ground floor button in the elevator, a man slid on with an apologetic smile on his face. He ran his fingers through his messy black hair and repeatedly pushed the door close button as though it would speed up how fast the doors shut.

"GET BACK HERE YOU –" the doors shut and the woman's voice was swallowed.

Robin wearily peaked at the man. She knew enough that it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what he'd done.

"Going on a trip?" he said cheerfully, motioning to her bags. Had the elevator always been this slow?

"Yup," she replied, trying to be as casual as possible when she shifted away from him. Something about his smile made her skin crawl and she wasn't about to ignore her intuition to engage in menial conversation with this stranger.

He seemed to take the hint and basically sprinted from the elevator before the doors had even fully opened. Robin rolled her eyes and dragged her bag out to the street where Gaius stood, leaning against his car door. He watched the man race down the sidewalk and chuckled when he nearly slipped face first into a pile of snow.

"Scared another one off?" Gaius asked with a quirk to his lips.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Robin grumbled, lugging her bag to his trunk. He clicked the button and the trunk popped open. She carefully manoeuvred her bags underneath his snowboard and shut his trunk with a satisfying slam.

Gaius shook his head but the smile lingered. "Alright, get in the car before you break somethin'."

She laughed humourlessly but climbed into the passenger seat without another word. She managed to close the door without him commenting on it. _Wow. _The last time she was in his car, Robin really didn't take the time to observe his complicated stereo system. Oh and heated seats but she had clicked that the moment she noticed it the last time she was in his car.

Gaius snapped his seatbelt in place and dropped a couple of blank CD cases on Robin's lap. She stared at them, her hands frozen on her seatbelt.

"Why are they blank?"

"Music roulette," Gaius answered gleefully, turning his hundred watt smile on her.

Her eyebrows pinched together and she looked at him. "It's exactly what I think it is, isn't it?"

His waggled his eyebrows and started the car. "Most of the CD's have what I consider to be decent music – however, a handful of them contain some of the best-worst songs out there." He pulled away from her apartment complex. "Go on, pick one."

Robin grinned, clicking her seatbelt in place before scrutinizing each blank case. What could possibly be on the 'best-worst' CD's?

"C'mon, Bubbles, they aren't gonna bite," he teased.

"Oh hush," Robin said, sticking her tongue out. He laughed. Giving up, Robin plucked a random CD from the pile and put the CD in. They both waited eagerly for the disk to load.

It took them both a moment to realize what song it was and Gaius burst into uncontrollable laughter. Robin laughed right along with him.

"Really Gaius? _Friday_?" she asked between her giggles.

He sobered but the chuckle remained in his voice. "Best of the worst," he sang and morphed the end of his sentence into the chorus of Friday. Robin smothered her laughter long enough to sing along with him. She was genuinely surprised by how well they knew the lyrics but she figured that since the song was so bad, they could have made up the lyrics and it would have sounded right enough.

Even though there was still a good minute left of the song, Robin eagerly anticipated which song would come next. They weren't even on the highway yet, there were still a couple of hours to go, but suddenly, the trip didn't seem so bad. Actually, Robin was beginning to look forward to her time alone with Gaius – and maybe they'd get to know each other better.

* * *

"How does this even happen?" Robin grumbled, squatting next to the flat rear tire. Gaius hovered behind her, his hand halfway in his pocket for his phone or something.

A handful of minutes ago, their back tire _somehow _caught on a bunch of nails and popped. Neither of them noticed immediately until it became apparent the car was drifting. So Gaius pulled over, turned the hazards on and then, Robin discovered a nail embedded in the tire.

She stood up. "Do you have a spare tire?"

"Mm… yup," he responded, holding his hands, "but let me warn you now, Bubbles, I've never changed a tire before."

_That _certainly was surprising. He came off as such a handy guy Robin just assumed he knew how to change a tire. He was probably handy in other categories, though, she mused. Nevertheless, it would have to be done. "Well, good thing I have. Get the jack and tire out so we can get this show on the road."

Gaius nodded but suddenly a frown marred his smile. "I don't have a jack."

Robin froze, her hand lingering on the door handle. "_What_?"

He shrugged, turning pink and Robin wasn't sure if it was from the cold or embarrassment. "Guess I never thought I'd need it."

"Who has a spare tire on them without a car jack?!" Robin demanded, letting go of the car to fully turn to her husband. Her anger lessened when she saw the sheepish look on his face.

"Well, ya know, I figured I could just… _lift _it?" he said, arching his eyebrow to compose himself.

Despite how frustrated and cold she was, Robin couldn't help but chuckle. "What are you, the _Incredible Hulk_?"

Gaius grinned and stepped closer to Robin with a suggestive eyebrow wiggle. "I don't know about 'hulk' but I'm definitely incredible."

Robin flushed, shoving him lightly. "Oh my god, just call Triple A already."

Gaius put on a big show of sighing and fished his phone out to call Triple A before Robin could say anything more. She looked away when he tugged her against his side.

"You know we really don't have to do this when we're not around your friends," she muttered, shaking him off. "I'm going to wait in the car."

"Bubbles –" he stopped short when the tow truck guy got on the line. Robin hurried into the car. Maybe she should have stayed outside, she was hot enough to survive in the Arctic without clothes and being inside Gaius's stuffy car was only making it worse.

He was so _casual _about touching her and she was starting to question just how much of it really was an act. Well, and she was wondering how much she didn't want to be an act.

A while later, once her body had cooled down and Gaius had re-joined her in the car, the tow truck showed up and told them they wouldn't be able to get back on the road until tomorrow. Since it was a Sunday during the holiday season, all the mechanic's places closed at four and the tire couldn't be changed until then.

Wholly frustrated, when the tow truck driver offered to drop them off at a motel in town and they reluctantly accepted. They grabbed their suitcases from the trunk and watched the driver cheerfully drag Gaius's car to the shop before trudging into the lobby to book a room.

Robin almost jinxed them when she jokingly said, "Wouldn't it be awful if they didn't have any vacancies?" and they found out there was only one room available.

* * *

"Despite the… less than decent TV, I'd say this is an all-around okay trip," Gaius said, flipping through the channels absentmindedly. Most of the channels were static and the few that worked were so poor in quality, it was hard to make out what was even on. The one bed was somewhat lumpy and an indescribable scent lingered in the air.

Gaius had a point though, even with the flat tire and shitty motel, it was still fun.

They were both lounging in different positions on the bed, with Gaius lying on his side at the foot of the bed and Robin at the head with her legs stretched out in front of her.

Robin paged through an ancient looking phone book, searching for something they could order for dinner. "What do you feel like?"

Rather than answering her immediately, he rolled over, discarded the remote and shifted until he could rest his head on her lap. She quirked her eyebrow as she peered at him from under the phone book.

"Just you, baby," he said, grinning like an idiot.

"What happened to Bubbles?" she replied, sarcasm dripping from her voice. A blush stained her cheeks and she cleared her throat. "_Anyways, _how about pizza?"

"Sure," he agreed easily and the lollipop clinked loudly against his teeth. Under his rather scrutinizing stare, Robin felt like an exhibit in a museum and she was _very _tempted to drop the heavy book on his face. His ginger hair fell away from his face, his grin boyish.

They stare at each other for a long moment before Robin turned away, reaching for the motel phone. Without meeting his eyes, she pressed the phone against him, her heart thundering in her chest. Gaius took the phone cautiously, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at her. "_That _took a turn," he muttered. She feigned ignorance and waited for him to get off her lap. Once he moved to dial the number, she touched her chest and her eyes widened. Her heart leapt against her ribcage so hard she could feel it with the lightest of touches.

She'd written enough romance novels to guess where this fake relationship was leading her. The inevitability of it all astounded her. The stirrings in her heart wouldn't lie to her; she was beginning to like him. Gazing at his handsome profile, she tried to wonder what it would have been like had she never met him.

And Robin couldn't.

* * *

"Rock, paper, scissors!" they cried at the same time, and Gaius pouted in defeat. Robin smirked triumphantly. The last bout had ended in a draw but Robin predicted he would use rock again, merely because she assumed he would try to trip her up.

Grumbling, Gaius pushed off the motel bed, snagged the thirty dollars from her outstretched hand and answered the door. The pizza guy slouched in the doorway, the bag of pizza in his arms. His eyes flickered between the two and held out his hand.

"That'll be twenty-three sixty seven," he said, and promptly yawned. Gaius forked over the cash, sending Robin a wolfish grin over his shoulder which left her gawking at him. What was he so jovial about?

Gaius took the pizzas and the guy muttered goodbye, leaving without another word. Gaius kicked the door shut, returning to the bed with gusto.

"You're freaking me out right now," Robin said, warily taking her pizza. Rather than agreeing on a large to share, they just decided to get two separate medium ones.

He flipped open his plain cheese, taking a piece. "Now why would _that _be," he responded.

She arched her eyebrow, retrieving her own piece of mushroom pizza. "I'm not entirely sure but I'm sure it has to do with your smile."

He gasped in mock offense, holding his hand over his heart, "Perish the thought, Bubbles!"

Robin bit into her pizza, narrowing her eyes at him, calculatingly. "You're up to something."

Gaius's emerald eyes shimmered and he leaned closer. "I am a lawyer, lest you forget, so I'm always, as you put it, up to something." She wasn't used to him speaking so formally and was probably gawking at him. He chuckled and fell back. "Eat your pizza before it gets cold… Bubbles."

She kicked him. "You're sleeping on the couch, by the way."

"Aw c'mon, don't be like that," he pleaded teasingly and was otherwise ignored.

In the end, Robin was the one sleeping on the couch.

* * *

They were on the road again the next morning. Last night Gaius had texted Chrom after they were done with their pizza to let him know what happened and to make sure they wouldn't lose their room. Chrom had assured them the room was secured and that they could, _take their time at the motely _as he so aptly put.

"Hopefully we won't get another flat," Gaius said cheerfully, thrumming his fingers on the steering wheel. Robin shot him an exasperated look but nevertheless settled into her seat. She'd kicked her boots off twenty minutes ago, crossed her legs and got to work editing her manuscript.

"Hopefully," she echoed sarcastically and tapped her pen against the thick bundle of paper.

"Is that the same thing you had when we met?" he asked a few minutes later.

She nodded, correcting a glaringly obvious spelling error. Her editor had, for the most part, pointed out all the mistakes and highlighted paragraphs that either made no sense or were plot holes. Robin liked to fix her mistakes on page before going back on her laptop to fix them. She anticipated repeating this at least one more time before it was publication ready.

He waited a while for her to elaborate before asking, "Well, what's it about?"

Robin flushed. "Luna – the heroine – ends up saving the hero, Curtis, from pirates and she, as a bounty hunter, is hired by him to help avenge his murdered brother. It's a little, historically inaccurate that a woman would be so open about being a bounty hunter back in the 1700's but for the sake of the story, she is one."

Gaius glimpsed at Robin. "It sounds good."

"Thank you," Robin beamed. She thought about it for a moment and shifted her pages away from him. Of _course _Gaius noticed.

"Oh ho? What's on _that _page?" Gaius teased. He was openly staring at her now and not the road, which was honestly the stupidest thing a lawyer could do in Robin's opinion.

"Eyes on the road," she scolded, before clearing her throat. "It's a… sex scene." Gaius blinked owlishly then he burst into laughter. Robin grew red again. She wasn't a prude – not in the slightest – but for some reason talking about sex with Gaius just seemed dirtier than usual. Not that he showed too many perverse tendencies but Robin still didn't know much about him so it was probable he very well could have been a pervert.

When he finally calmed down enough speak, he said, with a tinge of amusement to his voice, "Didn't take you for the type to write smut, Bubbles."

She managed to stop blushing and rolled her eyes, "What's that supposed to mean?"

He smirked and slowed the car to turn. They were still about forty minutes away from the Ferox Ski Resort. "Okay, read it to me then."

Robin sputtered, "_What_?!" Could Robin really read out the sex scenes she's written in her novel to Gaius? Wait, she was a grown woman who knew plenty enough about sex and wasn't shy about it – obviously – so what did it matter? She cleared her throat. "You know what? Fine, I'll read it to you."

She flipped to a page that she knew had some raunchy sex. "_Curtis bends me over the table, his warm hands tugging my pants down. He palms my clothed sex and I moan into my fist. He leans down to nibble on the shell of my ear. _

_ 'Do you want me to fuck you?' he mutters, flicking his tongue out, needing my sex. _

_ 'Curtis,' I moan wantonly, shaking my hips against him…"_

Robin trailed off; her face so red one might assume she had a fever. Reading it out loud, it almost sounded silly. She'd never thought about it – like really thought about it – but her sex scenes were rather cheesy. Real sex wasn't like she was making it out to be and man was it glaringly obvious now. She quickly drew a star in the upper left corner, promising she'd come back to adjust this monstrosity.

"Well…" Gaius said, clearly at a loss for words. That was a first. "It was interesting." He finally settled on and cleared his throat.

"I'll fix it," she muttered, covering up the rather poorly written sex scene with the other pages. Gaius just smiled, albeit awkwardly, and returned his full attention back on driving.

* * *

Robin's boot sunk significantly lower than the other the moment she stepped out of Gaius's car. Severely unbalanced and somewhat nauseous from the sharp turns, she nearly toppled over. Thankfully, she was able to maintain her equilibrium by grabbing the car door. Gaius chuckled at her expense.

"Come on Bubbles, I want to get on the hill before sun down," he urged, already pulling their bags from the trunk. Robin sighed but nevertheless shut the door and went around to help him. He held his snowboard like a newborn baby.

He'd already swung his duffle bag over his shoulder so really all that was left was Robin's suitcase. She closed the trunk for him.

"You wanna reach into my pocket to text Stumbles?" he motioned to his left jean pocket with a wiggle of his hips.

Robin furrowed her brows, wondering who 'Stumbles' was. Undeterred, she did as Gaius asked and fished the phone from his pocket. Shockingly, there was no password. Tapping the notification-less message icon, Robin looked for Stumbles.

"Do you save all your contacts as nicknames?" she asked sarcastically when she noticed a Bubbles and could only _assume _that was her.

Gaius snickered. "Rather professional, dontcha think?" They neared the lodge. "Stumbles is Sumia; ask her to meet us here."

Robin highly doubted Sumia wouldn't be skiing but after consideration of her pregnancy, she might just be relaxing somewhere. "On the contrary," Robin retorted, typing out the message, "it's rather childish." She had the decency to laugh.

He smirked and a part of her wanted to kick him. Inside the lodge, Robin slipped his phone back into his pocket as the man behind the counter checked them in. Gaius's fairly large snowboard balanced against the counter.

Not even a second after Sam handed them their keys, Sumia rounded the corner, holding the signed copy of Robin's book. Robin turned a little red with that observation.

"Robin, Gaius!" She waved enthusiastically with the hand holding the novel and nearly tripped over nothing. Robin was beginning to understand why her nickname was Stumbles. "Once you guys get your bags to the room you just _have _to get out there! Chrom and Lucina have been out since daybreak and Naga knows they'll be there until I drag them back in." Her smile was the very definition of sunshine.

Gaius snorted. "Hopefully ol'Blue doesn't kill himself."

Sumia merely laughed and tapped Robin with her book. "I'll be in the lounge if you're not up for skiing today." Robin returned her radiant smile.

Waving at the retreating couple once again, Robin turned to Gaius and said flatly, "I'm a horrible skier."

His mouth twitched upwards. "I'll teach ya to snowboard then."

Robin seriously doubted she would be any better at snowboarding than skiing but… she was here pretending to be Gaius's wife when he's been looking forward to this trip for a long time. "Okay," she agreed easily to which he gaped at. In the short period of time he's known Robin, she wasn't really the easy going type – even if it was her fault they were in this situation.

"Tomorrow then," Gaius said, just to confirm she was crazy.

"It's a date," Robin replied and completely missed the flare of blush that graced Gaius's face. Once they dropped their bags in the doorway, Gaius quickly changed his boots, grasped his goggles and shouldered his board.

He left her at the lounge entrance and did something that astounded them both; he kissed her. It was a quick kiss, he barely touched his lips to hers before he darted off to the mountain but it left Robin's heart in disarray. The only times they'd kissed so far, they had an audience so why he suddenly saw it fit to kiss her was beyond her. Though, she was somewhat glad he did.

Touching her lips, she laughed a little. "Scoundrel."

She shook her head and went to find Sumia. Sumia sat with her face practically buried in the novel near the fire place. She grabbed a hot chocolate before joining her fake husband's boss's wife – she swore she would refer to Sumia as her friend from now on because _that _was a mouthful.

"Ah, Robin, this book is really fantastic; I can barely tear my eyes away," she said, sparing Robin a quick look and promptly returned her eyes to the pages.

"Thank you," Robin replied sincerely and clasped the hot cup between her hands. They sat in confortable silence; Robin scrutinized the slopes, wondering if she would be able to learn without killing herself. She wasn't about to give up before she began, however.

The lounge doors flew open and Chrom sauntered in with Lucina in his arms. Frederick trudged behind him with what appeared to be five sets of skiing equipment in his arms while Severa yanked on his snow pants for attention. Frederick was somehow able to pat Severa's head despite the equipment in his arms. Sumia's grin shifted from comradelier to motherly as she positioned her bookmark. Leaping to her feet, she crossed the short distance to her family and lifted a giggling Lucina.

"Did you have fun?" she asked, peppering kisses all over Lucina's face. Lucina's laughter grew louder and Chrom smiled apologetically to the people in the lounge. He spotted Robin and waved.

"Frederick and I are going to get back out there," Chrom said exuberantly, quickly kissing Sumia. Sumia nodded and returned to her seat. She helped Lucina out of her snow pants, jacket and boots, ultimately deciding it wasn't worth the trip.

Lucina waved shyly to Robin and the older woman smiled back. Frederick handed Cordelia their equipment as well as – Robin could only assume – Lucina's before heading back outside with Chrom. Cordelia sat down, bringing Severa with her and did the same thing Sumia had moments earlier.

"I know you said earlier it was too soon to be thinking of kids," Cordelia said suddenly, "but haven't you always wanted kids?"

Robin pondered this for a moment while she observed her newfound friends fawn over their daughters. Even when she was a child herself, she never really thought of herself getting 'married' let alone having children. Her father pretty much warded her off the idea, however… seeing Sumia and Cordelia with their daughters made Robin feel somewhat, lacking. Not that she needed children to complete herself but maybe one day down the road she'd like a little one to play with and nurture.

She decided it wasn't worth the explanation and replied evasively, "Not really."

Cordelia looked about ready to press her for more information but ultimately gave up. The three women discussed nothing and everything, though the two little girls seemed to be the center of attention.

* * *

"Did you have fun?" Robin asked when Gaius trudged into their room hours later. At around six, the rest of the group came in for dinner and afterwards, everyone wanted to go down to the recreational room to play billiards – or in the kids' case, video games. Robin politely declined and retired to their room to work on her novel. She got a fair chunk down and was rather proud of herself.

Gaius massaged his shoulder. "Yup." His eyes twinkled. "I won – most of the rounds."

She hummed in acknowledgement, returning to her novel. Gaius stripped off his shirt, tossing it in the general direction of his suitcase. Robin pretended not to notice.

"I'm going for a shower," he told her. She found it a little odd he would tell her he was going to shower but whatever. "Also, we're just going to share the bed, capiche?"

When her head snapped up for her to gawk at him, he'd already ducked into the bathroom and shut the door. Robin blushed a little, shaking it off. She'd shared a bed with a man before, this was no big deal. Plus, he _was _her fake husband so it only made sense they would share a bed.

Ten minutes later Gaius reappeared with a towel around his waist and one on his head. Robin, in her nervousness, had changed into fuzzy white pyjama pants and a long sleeved green cotton sleep shirt. She didn't expect him to be practically naked though when he returned from the shower.

He winked at her, grinning deviously. "Like what you see?"

Robin chucked a pillow at him. He caught it easily and tossed it back, hanging the towel around his neck. Unintentionally, Robin watched him dig through his bag, unable to tear her eyes away from his surprisingly toned abs. With all the sweets he ingested on a daily basis, she expected him to be flabbier.

Gaius found his flannel pyjama pants and underwear before turning to Robin with an unmistakable blush on his face. "Look, I know I'm good looking but I really don't think you want to see my junk." Robin went red and glanced away immediately. She didn't see why he didn't just go back into the bathroom but _whatever._

He plopped down on the bed a moment later, roughly drying his hair with the towel. Robin stole a peek and couldn't help the overwhelming thought that he smelt rather good after a shower.

He smirked at her, a lollipop in his mouth once again and discarded the towel. She averted eye contact and suddenly, he pushed her down and hovered over her. His semi-wet hair fell in his face and his green eyes burned. A mass of freckles peppered over the bridge of his nose and his shoulders were also covered in a copious amount of freckles.

"You really ought to stop staring at me so much, Bubbles," he murmured, dipping his head down to whisper in her ear, "otherwise a guy might start to get the wrong idea." Robin trembled, unable to disagree with him. He smelt so damn good – like cinnamon and soap – and he was so damn attractive… she swallowed thickly.

"Gaius," she basically moaned. Gaius chuckled warmly in her ear and rolled off her onto his back. She froze.

"Goodnight Robin," he said, his voice hoarse. He turned away from her a moment later and flicked off his lamp. She gazed at the celling, uncomprehending. She turned off her lamp as well and faced away from him.

Then it struck her. He was just as affected by her nearness as she was. Warmth flooded her and she closed her eyes, willing her beating heart to slow so she could sleep. Butterflies fluttered annoyingly in her stomach.

"Goodnight Gaius," she whispered and was lulled into sleep after he crunched down hard on his lollipop.

* * *

**Damn **skippy this chapter was a chore. Not that I didn't enjoy writing it – believe me I did – but I restarted it three times before I was satisfied with it. Alright so there was a lot of Gaius x Robin in this chapter (but I suppose that's what you guys are here for) so woo raise the roof, am I right? Some more clichéd hijinks are to come in the next chapter when Gaius teaches Robin to snowboard and perhaps some Sumia x Robin bonding? Who knows and here's to hoping I update soon! Let me know what you thought in the reviews and I can't wait to see you again ( ˘ ³˘)

~Emerald~


	5. Chapter 5

**Pairings: **Gaius x Female Robin

**Timeline: **Modern AU

**Warnings: **Clichéd situations and TONS of awkward encounters; eventual smut.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Fire Emblem: Awakening OR the new cover photo!

**Credits: Permission was granted by the artist! **The cover photo belongs to seascribbler who drew it after reading this story. I am so grateful and please check out her other works! She's a wonderful artist! You can find her on tumblr seascribbler . tumblr . com (just remove the spaces) Once again, thank you so much!

**Authors Note: **I love all of you (｡ ‿ ｡) I also changed my username recently, just to let you all know.

* * *

_Has it always been so hot in the mornings?_ Bleary eyed and near feverish, Robin jolted awake. She felt grossly sweaty… and heavy. She managed to make sense of her surroundings, heating up more when she realized the position she was currently in. She almost regretted not building a pillow barrier. _Almost._

Gaius slept on, ignorant of the fact he was practically draped over her with his head resting atop the slope of her breasts. He wasn't clinging to her by any means but his right hand had slithered partway up her top, touching nothing more than her side. She noticed with a start that before she woke up her arms had been around his shoulders, as though she pulled him against her.

She stared down at him for a long moment. _He was really cute when he slept._ She reached out to gently touch the bridge of his nose, tracing an invisible – not to mention _impossible_ – line between his freckles. He stopped breathing for a spilt second and Robin worried she woke him but his breathing returned to normal a moment later and snuggled closer into her breasts. Robin should have been embarrassed yet all she could think about was touching his hair to see if it was as soft as she thought it was.

When did she turn into such a creep?

_No_, she reprimanded herself. Gaius _was _her husband – real or otherwise – so touching his hair should be no problem especially when considering the suggestive position they were in. So, she carded her fingers through his hair. It was softer than she expected but nevertheless wonderful to the touch.

His eyes fluttered open on the third or so time she ran her fingers through his hair. She froze for a second before continuing the action.

"Now _this _is a wake-up call I could get used to," he said, his voice somewhat raspy from sleep. He smiled, closing his eyes, leaning into her touch. Her cheeks warmed slightly.

"I wouldn't get too used to it if I were you," she warned, teasingly, "don't expect this every morning."

"Oh?" he hummed, his smile twisting. "You're my wife, aren't you?"

She snorted, "Your _wife_, not your slave."

"Fair point," he agreed easily. Their eyes met and her overwhelming urge to kiss him flared up violently. Robin laughed awkwardly, trying to determine the best way to pry herself away unless she did something she might forget. Her fingers were still in his hair – should she remove them? –, she wet her lips. Gaius reached up, touching her check tenderly and Robin tossed all hesitations out the window. She was a grown woman dammit so why should she be so reluctant? Robin tugged him toward her, pressing her lips against his.

He tensed for a moment before sliding his fingers into her hair, returning her kiss with zeal; with their bodies pressed together, Robin grew dizzy from the heat and his passionate mouth. Her stomach twisted and she involuntarily gripped at his shoulders. He groaned, slipping his tongue into her mouth. His fingers worked feverishly under her shirt, brushing against the underside of her breast, blistering hot against her skin.

Robin moaned –

"Gaius, Robin?" came the voice through the door and the consequent loud knocks.

Robin shoved Gaius off, scrambling to her feet, her heart thundering in her chest and without thinking, threw open the door. Chrom stared down at her with his smile half-frozen on his face, glancing from her dishevelled and flushed person to the sighing ginger on the bed behind her before turning about fifty shades of red.

"I—sorry I just… you were late for breakfast… I uh, didn't mean to interrupt," Chrom sputtered. "T—take your time!" he spun on his heel and stomped off down the hallway. Robin quietly adjusted her shirt, shutting the door with a deafening silence.

Gaius burst into laughter. A moment passed before Robin began laughing as well, joining him back on the bed. He was just as red as she but somehow managed to look _less _embarrassed than she did.

When the laughter subsided and Gaius had gotten into a seated position, he ran his fingers through his hair. "Guess we should get something to eat before I teach you to snowboard, huh?"

She twisted her rusting twenty-five dollar ring, nodding. Gaius got off the bed, offering Robin his hand. She grinned ruefully and took it, allowing him to pull her to her feet. They stared at each other for a long moment before Gaius swooped in for a quick kiss. Robin's head spun a little and she was quite tempted to pull him back in for another, longer kiss but she figured they wasted so much time already – and there was plenty of time during the day to steal a few kisses – that going for breakfast wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

Chrom was the worst at subterfuge. He _completely _avoided eye contact and basically stared at the roof when Robin and Gaius sat down. Vaike smirked knowingly at them.

"We didn't have a honeymoon," Gaius proclaimed loudly and dug into his various small cakes. Robin flushed and snuck a few fruits on Gaius's plate. His coworkers watched in mild horror when he ate the fruit without complaint.

Ricken leaned over, using his best stage whisper, and asked, "So what witchcraft did you have to use in order to get Gaius to eat fruit?"

Robin glanced at the man incredulous. "What does he never eat fruit?"

Gaius elbowed her, a gesture that looked playful enough to someone who wasn't watching closely enough but to Robin, she realized she almost blew their cover. "I've been encouraging Gaius to eat more fruits lately."

"I'm rewarded heavily," he added, winking at her. Ricken blushed a little, still a little green behind the ears even though his wife was pregnant, and turned to Panne with such a swiftness Robin had to laugh.

"You devil," Robin countered. She wiped a smudge of chocolate off the corner of his mouth and licked it off her own finger. Gaius smirked and smeared chocolate over her mouth. Before he could lean in and kiss it off, Frederick interjected.

"There are children here," he scolded, covering his daughter's eyes. Gaius and Robin chuckled, with the latter licking her lips to remove the chocolate coating.

Gaius touched her jaw. "Later," he promised with a devious grin. Warmth spread through Robin and she leaned into his touch, sighing into the loving touch.

"Gregor!" Nowi whispered loudly. "Take notes." The man in question flushed.

"Alright," Chrom interrupted, "before things get too PG-13—" Gaius snorted and Chrom shot him a glare, "—I'd just like to thank everyone for making the trip up to Ferox and I anticipate a great rest of the weekend."

Vaike, Stahl and Henry cheered.

Later, when the sun peaked, Gaius helped strap Robin into the rental snowboard at top the bunny hill. Robin, admittedly, was a little embarrassed she was the only adult at the bunny hill that hadn't a clue what she was doing but all those thoughts flew out the window when Gaius pressed a kiss to the corner of her knee. She might have fallen backwards out of shock if she had been shocked but she was merely aroused now.

Robin held her arms out stiffly for balance when Gaius shifted away to help her get into the proper position.

"Aren't there instructors for this?" she asked weakly, staring down at the slight slope that may or may not be her downfall. "I _really _don't want to break anything."

Gaius snickered, popping a caramel in his mouth. "Trust me, you'll be _fine _Bubbles."

Unease blossomed in her stomach and she could feel the growing urge to vomit rise up. Gaius grasped her by the shoulders, touching his forehead to hers. "I won't let you fall Bubbles."

"How can you promise that?" she whispered. And suddenly, she felt like such a fool. It was just snowboarding, it wasn't like they had to save the world from a fire breathing dragon, yet she was scared. Her brown eyes flickered down and Gaius gently brushed his gloved fingers along her jaw. She let out a shaky breath, meeting his eyes. They were warm, steady and reassuring.

"Because I'm your husband," he muttered, never taking his eyes off her face. All of her fears – towards _snowboarding _– her insecurities and hesitations melted away. That wasn't to say she knew where her relationship with Gaius was going (or even what the outcome would be) but at least she figured she wouldn't die snowboarding.

His words were oddly reassuring when she didn't even have him as her husband, truly. Nevertheless, when Gaius pulled back, Robin listened attentively when Gaius explained the basics of snowboarding. Once they both took an educated guess she had the theory down, it was time to practice.

Gaius stepped back, letting her go completely. She felt a little shaky but managed to stay upright.

"It's a piece of cake, right?" Robin said to Gaius before she shifted her weight forwards. A little squeal escaped her lips before she lowered herself slightly into a more comfortable position and a moment later, the ground was flat again. Gaius joined her a short few seconds later, an elated grin on his semi-flushed face.

"How was it?" he asked, breathless.

Adrenaline coursed through her veins and she ached for the brief thrill of going down the bunny hill again. Maybe she was getting ahead of herself but she wouldn't mind going higher up to keep the momentum going. (Well and the adrenaline high but that's a different matter.) She grinned back, practically bouncing on her board. "It was amazing!" Gaius reached out to steady her slightly.

"Woah, calm down a sec before you hurt yourself, Bubbles," Gaius said, his grip on her forearm warm even through the layers of fabric.

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks, but I think I'll be okay." He let go of her. He reached down to unbuckle his boots and Robin followed suit. She attempted to emulate him as he swung his board effortlessly over his shoulder and nearly clocked Chrom in the face. She grinned apologetically, laughing a little when he made an 'I'm watching you' gesture.

Gaius leaned closer to whisper in her ear conspiratorially, "I shouldn't be doing this, but how do you feel about graduating to the blue square?"

Robin blinked owlishly. "_What_?"

He chuckled. "The intermediate hill area. You're a beginner but I'm sure you can handle it."

She puffed out her chest. "If I can handle the bunny hill, I can handle _anything_."

"Cocky little thing, ain't ya?" he said, arching an eyebrow though his signature shit-eating grin remained on his face. Robin slapped his arm lightly.

"You wouldn't like me very much if I wasn't," she replied cheekily, getting on her toes to press a warm kiss to the underside of his jaw. He rolled his eyes, his smile turning more playful.

"You've got a point there, Bubbles." He took her free hand and led her to the overly simplistic lift. She wasn't entirely sure what it was called but all you did was hold the rope to slide up the mountain to reach the intermediate hill. She glanced at the ski lift off to the right, wondering how it possibly could have felt to get her feet swept out from under her like that.

Gaius winked at her, clicking one boot in place before adjusting himself to grab the rope. His body jerked as he was forcibly dragged up the side of the mountain. Robin watched a couple of kids go ahead of her while she stood there dumbly, trying to figure out the best way to go about this. She almost felt a little ridiculous standing there.

"Do you need help?" a woman asked, rather expressionlessly, from behind Robin.

Robin jumped slightly and whirled around to face Tharja. Tharja's small blonde daughter clung to her snow pants and her husband smiled kindly.

"Yes," Robin admitted, eyeing the rope with apprehension.

Tharja's grin was slightly unnerving but nevertheless nodded. "Excellent." Her consequent laugh sent shivers down Robin's spine. "It's Noire's first time as well."

Red blossomed beneath Robin's scarf. Tharja helped Noire get into the position, repeatedly looking back to make sure Robin was observing properly.

"I shall do my best to assist you as well," Libra said softly. Robin smiled gratefully. She was genuinely stunned by how kind Libra turned out to be. He may have had delicate facial features and long hair but he was tall and muscular so who was Robin to judge.

_Anyways_, with Libra's assistance, Robin was able to ride the rope up without too many hardships. She _did _almost fall getting off but Gaius was there to catch her.

"Jeez, I was just about to board down to get you," he said, though the smug grin on his face gave Robin the impression he was anything but annoyed. "I thought you might've gotten into a fight with a seven year old or somethin'."

She slapped his arm lightly, rolling her eyes. "Let's do this already."

"Oh ho? _Someone's _impatient," he teased, swooping down to steal a kiss. His lips were cool and minty – he must have been eating a peppermint candy. As quickly as he kissed her, it was over and he was kneeling over to help strap her into the snowboard. Once she guessed he was done, she tapped his shoulder. Gaius glanced up and Robin bent to kiss him.

"Gross," Tharja chimed in, having just helped Noire into her skis. Libra chuckled quietly.

Gaius, mature as ever, stuck his tongue out at the dark haired woman. Straightening, he gestured rudely towards Tharja when Noire was looking elsewhere, earning a dark glare from the woman. He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Shall we?" he said, ignoring whatever other look Tharja may be sending his way, although Robin wasn't fortunate enough to miss Tharja's even _ruder _gesture – if that was possible.

Robin nodded and together they got into position. Robin let her body do most of the work as she slid forward. The air rushed passed her, whipping loose sections of her hair behind her. Adrenaline shot through her veins – _such _an incredible rush! – and she peeked out of the corner of her eye to see where Gaius was.

"Ah, Bubbles, watch out!" Gaius exclaimed suddenly, jerking to the side to intercept her. She felt the impact before she really understood why he was saying what he said. There were a couple of kids in her direct path and she had been so caught up in the adrenaline of snowboarding, she hadn't noticed.

They lay sprawled out on the side of the hill. Robin's feet had popped out of the boards latches the moment Gaius hit her so she was relatively unharmed, aside from feeling completely winded. Gaius groaned.

At the sound of his groan, Robin forced herself upright. His right leg hadn't detached from the snowboard and was bent at an incredibly awkward angle.

"Are you okay?!" she panicked, touching his face.

"Think I mighta broke somethin'," he grumbled. Sweat rolled down his temple and he spat out the mint candy in his mouth.

She had no idea what to do in this situation. A part of her wanted to haul him to his feet but _that _would probably do more harm than good. She could hunt down Frederick or someone Gaius worked with but she guessed the best thing to do here was…

"I'll be right back with help," she told him. His response was a breathy groan. She hopped to her feet and sprinted down the last ten or so feet down the hill. Luckily, she almost ran right into an instructor.

She grabbed the rather built man's arm. "Um, sorry, but my husband is hurt!" She gestured wildly to where Gaius was lying, wondering how on earth no one noticed his fall. He stopped his lesson immediately, called for an ambulance and told her to go wait with him.

Robin ran back to him and he clutched her hand as soon as she collapsed on her knees next to him.

"This is pretty lame, huh?" he moaned, squeezing her hand hard when he moved his leg slightly. A small group began to congregate around them.

She smoothed his hair away from his sweaty forehead. "I think what you did was pretty cool," she told him earnestly. She chewed on her lip. If… if she had been paying more attention…

He smiled at her softly. "This isn't your fault, you know."

Blinking owlishly, it took Robin a moment to scowl. "You don't have to lie to me, Gaius."

"_Robin_," he stressed through clenched teeth and her heart sped up at the sound of her name, "it is _not _your fault."

His eyes darkened, although there wasn't a shred of malice in them. She stared back before she sighed. "If you insist." She was almost positive he was going to blame her for his injuries – or at least _tease _her over it – but she guessed that wasn't really in his personality.

"What's going on over… _Gaius_?!" Chrom exclaimed. Gaius groaned again, although the cause that time wasn't clear, and buried his face in her lap.

"Great, I can't believe Blue is seeing me like this," he said, his voice muffled by her snow pants. Robin's face remained neutral as she brushed her fingers through his hair though her insides twisted.

Chrom rushed over with Frederick, Cordelia, Lucina and Severa on his tail. "Robin? What happened?"

"It's hard to explain," she said, "but I think his leg is broken." She motioned to his awkwardly twisted leg. Chrom winced.

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here," came Gaius's somewhat agitated and breathy retort.

Frederick tsked. "I would have helped him sooner had I known. I'm assuming an ambulance is on its way?" Robin nodded. "It can't be helped. Once Gaius is in the ambulance, I shall drive you to the hospital."

"Wouldn't I just go with Gaius?" she asked, her eyebrows pinched together.

The brown haired man shook his head. "How would you get back?"

"I never thought about that…" she trailed off. She considered smacking Gaius when she heard him snicker but he was in enough pain as it was. Besides, she didn't really have it in her to smack him, playfully or otherwise.

Frederick smiled kindly. "It's quite alright."

"No, no, Frederick, I'll take them. You do quite enough for the company as it is so it's only fair I give you a well-earned vacation. I'm the boss so this is on me," Chrom broke in. "Can you take Lucina to Sumia and explain what's going on?"

Frederick appeared like he wished to argue but he sighed and did as Chrom asked. Chrom paid his thanks and knelt next to Gaius.

"Showing off?" he teased.

"Shut up," Gaius replied, the tips of his ears pink. Even though that isn't what happened, entirely, it didn't seem quite wrong either. Robin giggled.

The ambulance showed up a few minutes later. Chrom ushered Robin into the back of the ambulance with Gaius.

"Before you say it, go with him. I know you're worried so this is the best place for you. I'll follow behind," Chrom explained before stepping aside to let the paramedic close the door. One of the paramedics had already injected Gaius with some morphine once he was on the stretcher. They kept his boot and board on, just in case it was broken in a way that removing the boot now would disrupt his leg as is.

"They got me so high doped up on these drugs that it makes me feel like I'm in critical condition," he slurred. "Am I goin' to the ICU?"

She laughed, holding his hand. "No, you're going to be fine Gaius."

"It's a funny," he said slowly, "usually the girl is the one to get injured."

Robin mentally rolled her eyes though she decided to indulge him. "Why, so you could be the hero?"

"'Course," he whispered.

She kissed his forehead. "Sorry, Gaius, but this isn't a story. So let me be the hero today, okay?"

"S'okay." He dozed off a second later. Robin laughed a little, though her nerves were tense. She was beyond worried – which didn't even really make sense, it's just a broken leg – and she couldn't help but blame whatever deeper feelings she was developing for him.

Not that she _really _minded, however.

* * *

"So, Doc, what seems to be the verdict?" Gaius asked, rather nonchalantly considering he'd just been out of his mind on drugs twenty minutes earlier, picking at a loose thread on the hospital sheets. The doctor had already gotten his leg into the cast (once they deemed the boot had to be cut off) and for some reason waited until after the cast was on to tell them what happened to his leg. Robin suspected he wasn't the greatest doctor around but up on the Ferox mountains? He was the best they could get.

The doctor slid two x-rays onto the screen. It was broken in two places.

"Guess I gotta be more careful when I board, heh." He folded his arms behind his head. Robin figured he was only this calm because of the amount of morphine running through his system.

"Yes, well, I'll give you a prescription for some painkillers and we'll get you some crutches. Don't expect to be walking normally for weeks." The doctor excused himself.

Robin huffed, "He was unusually useless in the 'help' department. What kind of doctor says everything so casually like he did?"

"Calm down there tiger, this ain't my first rodeo," he said, "I've broken a leg or two before."

"'A leg or two'," she snorted, using her best 'man' voice to imitate him.

"Although," Gaius interjected quickly before she could direct another stab towards him, "I see where you're coming from and he _was_ pretty unhelpful." He tugged on her hand to get her closer. "Reach into my pocket."

Robin flushed. "_What_?"

He smirked. "My arm is still a little sore from the IV so I need _you _to get me out a lollipop."

She deliberated for a moment then figured, what the hell, where's the harm? They _were _married, albeit fake, so for all intents and purposes, she wasn't doing anything too strange. Robin slipped her hand into his pocket and her eyes widened. There was no conceivable way he could fit as many sweets in his pocket that he did, yet the evidence proved otherwise. It seemed as though the lollipops had sunk down passed the caramels and peppermints.

"I have your crutches, Mr. Flanagan," the doctor said, although he froze in the doorway. It must have been a rather compromising picture they made, with Robin's hand deep in Gaius's pocket – who _knows _what it looked like to the doctor. He cleared his throat. Robin extracted her hand, bright red, a cherry lollipop in hand.

Gaius, in his drugged state, was completely oblivious to the bug-eyed look from the doctor and the red staining his wife's cheeks. He took the lollipop from her, tearing the wrapper off with his teeth to pop the confectionary in his mouth. "Could've picked a better flavour, Bubbles – like strawberry."

"Oh hush," she reprimanded and stood, walking around his bed to accept the prescription papers and crutches. "Thank you, doctor. I'm sorry about all this; my husband can be a little high maintenance at times – especially when he's not in the right frame of mind – so once again, thank you for all you've done for him."

The doctor blushed and scratched the back of his neck.

"Bleh get a _room _you two," Gaius exclaimed, popping his lollipop from his mouth.

"_Gaius_," Robin scolded, exasperated. The doctor all but sprinted from the room. She marched over to him, thrusting the crutches to him. "What are you, five?"

He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, snickering under his breath. "God I _hope _not." Gaius caught her wrist, bringing it to his mouth to brush his lips over the inside of her wrist. His green eyes were like liquid emeralds. "Otherwise I wouldn't be able to do the things I _want _to do to you."

Her mouth fell open as a blush slowly consumed her face. Her heart was pounding in her chest, loud enough she was sure Gaius could hear it. Hell he could probably feel her pulse through his lips. Gaius pulled her down gently, kissing her. His lips were searing hot, slightly awkward thanks to the lollipop, and devoured any thoughts running through Robin's head.

They were still practically strangers but giving into attraction wasn't so unusually, was it? Robin slid her free hand over his shoulder, knotting her fingers in the base of his hair. She was careful when she sank against him, despite how her thoughts had flown from her head and together, they deepened the kiss.

His crutches clattered against the floor. Robin broke the kiss, out of breath, completely ready to get his crutches and go but her heart and Gaius had other plans. He tossed the lollipop in the trash next to the bed and drew her back against him, his hot palm against the small of her back as he desperately kissed up her neck to find her lips.

The moment before his lips covered hers, a small moan escaped her lips and she had to balance herself with her knee between his legs on the bed. She wasn't sure for how long it was they kissed but she was willing to go along with any whim Gaius could have proposed.

Surprisingly, it was Gaius who ended it. "As much as I'd like to continue," he murmured in her ear after she buried her face in his shoulder junction, "we should probably go."

"You're right," she panted, trembling. Kissing Gaius was so intense, like she was inching closer to an open flame to see how close she could get without burning. He held her, peppering kisses along her jaw line while he waited for her to regain her equilibrium. Finally, when Robin was able to extract herself from Gaius, she helped him stand and positioned his crutches. She was even generous enough to place a caramel on his tongue, although the cheeky devil closed his lips around her finger and sucked.

That was the moment Robin figured she'd never blushed harder.

Outside in the waiting room, Chrom's face was equally red. "You guys… you're not very quiet you know."

Gaius grinned from ear to ear. "Oh I know." Robin sighed heavily. What was she going to do with him?

* * *

At the request of Robin, Chrom had pulled into a pharmacy parking lot so she could pick up Gaius's prescription. She denied Gaius's request to come in with her, smartly assessing the neglected snow piles too much of a hassle for his crutches. Gaius handed her his wallet without a word, even though his eyes flickered uncertainly.

When she quickly kissed him, she whispered quiet enough from Chrom not to hear that she wasn't going to steal his money. He clicked his tongue, as if that wasn't what he was worried about and waved goodbye.

Robin loosened her scarf the moment she stepped through the doors to the pharmacy and made a beeline to the back where the pharmacy was. Thankfully, there wasn't a line at the drop off counter. A woman stepped up when she noticed Robin hovering by the counter and her name tag read Raimi.

"Hi, I need to get this prescription filled for my husband," she said, handing the papers to the woman as well as setting Gaius's wallet down on the counter so she could get her own wallet out in case Raimi required ID.

Raimi typed the prescription into the computer. "Okay, I'll just need his Akaneia Health Card." Robin nodded and flipped open his wallet, picking through the various credit and debit cards before she came across the familiar insurance card. "When do you need it?"

"As soon as possible," Robin replied.

"Hmm," Raimi pondered, tapping on the keyboard, "it'll be about half an hour."

"That's fine," Robin assured her, "I'll be back then." Robin stuffed the insurance card back into Gaius's wallet and returned to the car. Gaius was prodding Chrom in the arm, demanding the AUX cord. Robin dropped Gaius's wallet on his lap as she climbed in behind him. "We have to wait thirty minutes."

Chrom drummed his fingers along the steering wheel, having already given into Gaius's request, nodding. "That's quicker than most places. I'm surprised."

"It was slow," Robin said. She had already stripped her snow pants off when they first got into Chrom's car and she always carried her wallet in her inside pocket of her parka when she didn't have a purse. Her phone, however, was stuffed under the bible in the drawer of her nightstand back in their room.

"What are you going to play?" Chrom asked, eyeing Gaius wearily as said ginger scrolled through his music list with a devilish grin on his face. Robin leaned forward, resting her chin on his shoulder. He was so tall, however, that this action was somewhat uncomfortable for her.

Finally, Gaius picked a song. A gentle melody Robin would recognize anywhere drifted from the speakers. It was canon, a classical favourite of hers. She narrowed her eyes at him, suspicious. "I thought you didn't care for classical?"

He shrugged. "Yeah but you do." Delighted, Robin kissed his cheek and sank back in her seat to relax.

Chrom wrinkled his nose. "Gods, were Sumia and I this bad when we first got married?"

Gaius snorted. "If I recall, Blue, you were _far _worse."

His blue haired boss flushed and grumbled under his breath about Gaius's insubordination and if he wasn't such a damn good lawyer, he'd fire him. Gaius merely laughed.

* * *

After they got back to the lodge, Gaius was exhausted so Robin excused the both of them to return to their room. She had no intentions of babying him over the next few days but she figured she could make the exception today. Robin helped him change into his pajamas and she shed her coat.

"Are you comfortable?" she asked. She had just spent the last ten minutes meticulously adjusting pillows behind his back and under his broken leg to keep it up so he better be comfortable.

He smiled. "Yes."

She nodded and sat on the edge of the bed to peruse the instructions of his medication.

"Y'know," he began nonchalantly, "you're really starting to feel like my wife."

Robin didn't take her eyes off the paper in front of her, even though a bitter cold seized her heart. "Isn't that the point?"

Gaius chuckled. "I suppose." He let the silence linger for a moment. "Come 'ere. Let's watch a movie and order room service."

She pursed her lips, wanting to argue about the importance of reading his instructions but when she glanced over her shoulder to reprimand him, he had the cutest, most innocent expression on his face with his hands out towards her. She couldn't have stopped the smile even if she wanted too.

"Okay," she whispered, folding the paper and tossing it on the night table. Robin crawled into his arms. He adjusted her against his side and she curled against him, careful not to jostle his injured leg. He absently clicked through the movie channels, searching for something decent while Robin listened to the rhythm of his heart.

He finally decided on some cheesy Christmas movie since the holiday was rapidly approaching. (She still isn't sure why the company had the Christmas party on December second but that wasn't really any of her business.) It was the eighteenth today and Robin was starting to wonder if she should get something for Gaius for Christmas.

Twenty minutes into the movie and Robin's internal deliberations, Gaius spoke up, "Robin?"

"Hmm?"

"We should go on a date on the twenty-fourth."

Robin smiled. "Okay."

* * *

**There **was a LOT of kissing in this chapter (ノ°▽°)ノ ` I hope it was satisfactory ;) Anyways, apologies for the late update (I'm so bad at updating…) but I hope it was worth the wait? (I SWEAR there will be Sumia x Robin moments in the next chapter with both Gaius and Robin interacting with some other characters.) See you next time!

~Emerald~


	6. Chapter 6

**Pairings: **Gaius x Female Robin

**Timeline: **Modern AU

**Warnings: **Clichéd situations and TONS of awkward encounters; eventual smut.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Fire Emblem: Awakening OR the new cover photo!

**Credits: Permission was granted by the artist! **The cover photo belongs to seascribbler who drew it after reading this story. I am so grateful and please check out her other works! She's a wonderful artist! You can find her on tumblr seascribbler . tumblr (just remove the spaces) Once again, thank you so much!

**Authors Note: **what century is it

* * *

"_Robin,_" Gaius said for the fifth time, greatly amused by the dark haired woman's antics. She had been frantically making sure his crutches were in place, that the sock she had managed to fit over his cast was still okay and that nothing seemed too out of place. "You've done enough. Thank you."

She chewed on her lip, fighting the blush creeping up on her cheeks. "Ah… sorry."

He tapped her nose. "It's fine."

She managed a smile and straightened, giving him some space. Unsure of what to do with her hands, she decided to fold them behind her back so as _not _to hinder Gaius further. His smile was gentle enough but Robin wasn't foolish enough to think he was entirely okay with this situation. An apology got caught on her lips but she forced the words to stay back. She couldn't risk hurting him anymore than he was already hurt and she isn't quite sure she's ready for a full scale confrontation right at this moment.

"Breakfast?" she suggested, quietly a moment later, looking anywhere but at him. It was starting to feel like she took one small step forward and three big ones back. There's no harm in relishing in whatever this is for the present but at the same time, Robin _knows _they'll have to talk about it sooner or later. This façade can't go on forever.

Gaius nodded, already making his way to the door as if he weren't on crutches. "I'm thinking pancakes with extra syrup and whipped cream… actually, forget the pancakes, the syrup and whipped cream will be enough…" Gaius shot Robin a devious smirk over his shoulder. "With a side helping of _you_."

Robin rolled her eyes, though she couldn't stop the blood rushing to her cheeks. "You're such a dork."

He winked, lacking a witty comeback for once, and said, "Come on."

She felt the urge to roll her eyes once again. She got her boots on and opened the door for Gaius. "Oh, did you remember your medication?"

This time, Gaius rolled his eyes. "_Yes_, Bubbles. Now would ya quit worrying already?"

"It's just because I care," she muttered under her breath. Gaius grinned, walking passed her. He was slightly awkward in his movements but he was able to get a steady rhythm going when moving his crutches. She watched him get ahead of her before closing the door, feeling her heart sink. Even though he constantly told her not to worry about it, that it wasn't her fault, it really was and Gaius was just too nice of a guy to tell her like it was.

She caught up to him and he didn't say anything about her delay.

* * *

Gaius slumped in a squishy chair in the lounge, moody and bitter. His bitterness wasn't in any way directed towards Robin but rather to his snowboard. He _knew _the thing was faulty and he shouldn't have continued using it, but he did, like a fool. After breakfast, Robin had kissed him and told him she was going to spend the day with Sumia and Olivia. Before she went though, she asked him about six times if he was _sure _he would be okay without her.

He said he lived this long without her so a day wouldn't really make a difference. The look of hurt that flittered across her face gutted him and she turned on her heel before he could apologise. Gaius _really _hadn't meant to take it out on her; he just wasn't used to someone caring this much about him. When Gaius was young, his mother told him repeatedly not to leave a conversation angry and here he was, pouting while his wife was no doubt ranting to her friends.

Woah, when did he start to think like that?

He laughed quietly to himself, fiddling with a lollipop wrapper. He was tempted to text Robin to find out where she was but he figured he should probably give her some space for the time being. He popped the lollipop in his mouth, resting his cast on the low coffee table. There were quite a few lounges in the lodge and Gaius had inexplicably chosen one that was completely empty.

He ran his fingers through his hair. They've only known each other for a few weeks at most and this whole charade had completely consumed his life. He couldn't quite remember his life as a bachelor – frankly, he'd forgotten what life was like without Robin. Gaius absently toyed with his phone, contemplating his life choices, when Lon'qu stomped in.

"This is where you are," he said, throwing himself into a chair across from Gaius. Gaius arched his eyebrow.

"And why were _you _looking for me?"

Lon'qu made a sound of disgust. "You're my friend… probably."

Gaius rolled his eyes, crunching down on his lollipop. "Gee thanks, you really instil confidence in a guy." Nevertheless, he _was _curious as to why Lon'qu was here and what the generally stoic man wanted.

They sat in silence for a long time, waiting to see who would crack first and Gaius smiled to himself. He once waited twenty minutes for a kid to set the last bear shaped lollipop down before he could snag it, he could out-wait Lon'qu. (That wasn't one of Gaius's… _finer m_oments and the look he received from that kid's mother was so cold he shivered but he did get his favourite lollipop out of the deal, so…) In fact, the man in question was beginning to fidget while Gaius leisurely peeled anew lollipop and tossed away the stick from his mouth.

"Listen," Lon'qu finally began gruffly, "do you really love your wife?"

Gaius arched his eyebrow. "Uh… come again?" What. The. Actual. Fuck? Was Lon'qu actually able to see through their elaborate rouse?

Lon'qu rolled his eyes. "Do you love Robin?"

"Yeah," Gaius found himself saying, "of course I do, she's my _wife _ain't she?"

Lon'qu made a disbelieving sound in the back of his throat. "Funny you would say that, since none of us met her beforehand."

"Hey now, I don't really think my personal life is any of your business," Gaius snapped, without really meaning to and he sat there in silence for a long moment wondering why the hell he just barked at his friend.

"Why do you keep saying that?" Lon'qu replied, exasperated.

Gaius frowned. "I—I don't know," he decided, absently plucking at a loose thread on the leather chair he was sitting in. He really isn't sure why he kept on insisting to vehemently that the people in his life had no business poking around his life outside of work – maybe it shouldn't be with his job as a lawyer at stake – but they were his friends.

Lon'qu stared at him for a long moment. Gaius couldn't decide if Lon'qu was going to judge him or offer him some cryptic advice – like a shaman. Either way, Gaius figured he wasn't going to _like _what Lon'qu had to say next. If he didn't know what the hell was going on with Robin, Lon'qu's likely unhelpful question sure as hell wouldn't make him any less confused.

Finally, Lon'qu said, "Let's play chess."

Reluctantly, Gaius agreed, though he couldn't get his mind off how easily he agreed to loving Robin and how quickly he defended their fake relationship.

* * *

"What colour do you want to get, Robin?" Sumia asked, flipping through a little book of nail decals. Sumia had decided rather brusquely that she wanted a Christmas manicure and marched them off to the salon. Olivia was already getting her French manicure gel nails touched up and was surprisingly talkative to the woman doing her nails.

"Green," Robin said absently, since she had never really been one for getting her nails done.

Sumia squealed, "You're doing Christmas themed too!?"

Robin shook her head, humming. "No… it's more like Gaius's…" Robin trailed off, blushing profusely. Sumia smirked and returned to flipping through the catalogue. Robin snatched a different catalogue, looking for something she could do with green. She wasn't really satisfied with her results, however, and frowned. She had never gotten gel nails before – and her chewed nail buds could attest to that – and she didn't even know if she really wanted them.

Disappointed, Robin sighed and sank back in her seat. Sumia eyed her, unsure of what to tell her to encourage her. Sumia froze on one idea in particular (most of the images from the books were blatantly stolen from Pinterest) and slapped the book over top of the one on Robin's lap. Robin raised her eyebrow and Sumia repeatedly jabbed a picture.

"Robin you should get this one!" Sumia squealed, moving her finger so Robin could get a look. All of the fingers, excluding the ring finger, were painted white with scarlet red swirls reminiscent of peppermint candies. The ring finger maintained the same pattern, but was a startling shade of emerald green in place of the red. Robin blinked.

Sumia hesitated. "Do you not like it?" without giving Robin a chance to even open her mouth to answer Sumia had seized the book back, rapidly shuffling through the pages. "Don't worry Robin, I'll find you one you're sure to like! There has to be _something _you like in here and I won't –"

"Sumia," Robin interrupted and Sumia screwed up her face, "I loved it, thank you." Sumia visibly relaxed.

"Oh… good," she said, her voice wobbly. She smiled. "Well once we're all done here, let's get lunch."

"I'll pay," Olivia said over her shoulder. They laughed.

Later, once their nails were done and they had filed into a restaurant at the lodge. Initially, Robin had been overwhelmed by the sheer amount of restaurants and timidly pointed at a steak house. Olivia's smile was reassuring. Robin likened her smile to that of sunshine.

After ordering some water and paging through their menus, Robin admired her newly manicured nails. She would have to ask Gaius if he had any peppermint candies so she could see if her nails measured up. She had long since decided on a bacon burger, Olivia was wavering between a mushroom burger and a Greek salad and Sumia was folding her napkin over her lap, preparing for the steak she picked out.

"Gods I love being pregnant," Sumia said, "I can eat like this without feeling judged."

Robin grinned. "No one is going to judge you if you eat steak every day." Olivia nodded fervently in agreement.

Sumia groaned, "Okay, but if I want _two_ steaks?"

"Who cares?" Robin replied and the waitress returned to take their orders. Olivia decided on the mushroom burger ("It's a cheat day okay?") and Sumia had almost ordered a second steak but decided against it at the last second.

Both Olivia and Sumia were a little despaired about their choices and Robin couldn't just watch anymore. "Don't worry about what you eat; you'd still be beautiful if you weighed a thousand pounds or ten. Weight is just a number but what's in here," Robin said gently, placing her hand over her heart, "that's what's eternal."

Her friends blinked owlishly. "I love you," Sumia blurted, blushing a little. Robin grinned.

"I love you too," Robin said, a little surprised she actually meant it. She hadn't even known Sumia all that long but she already couldn't imagine life without her. In fact, remembering what it was like before Sumia in her life was a little strange, like there was a hole in her memory.

They all shared easy smiles. Although Robin hadn't known Olivia nearly as long as she'd known Sumia, she still really liked her.

"How did you and Henry meet?" Robin found herself asking while she popped a fry into her mouth. Olivia wiped a bit of sauce off her chin, red dusting her cheeks. Robin had already pried from Sumia that she worked for Chrom's sister and they met through Emmeryn.

Olivia twisted the diamond ring on her finger. "W—well in high school my parents wanted me to get some more people skills so they had me volunteer at a local pet store. It was like their big adoption week and they needed more people. Henry worked at the pet store but I, uh, didn't realize that at first since he was in a Goth phase and I thought he was going to sacrifice this dog to Satan or something so I… yelled at him." Olivia's face was really red. "It was okay though because he just laughed it off and told me he worked at that pet store." Despite the sheer amount of redness to her cheeks, she managed to look a little wistful. "That dog never got adopted but right after we moved in together a month after graduation, we adopted him."

Sumia blew her nose into her napkin. "No matter how many times I here this story, I always tear up!" She wiped her eyes roughly. She had finished her meal before Robin and Olivia and was working her way through a piece of chocolate cake when Robin posed her question.

"That was really beautiful," Robin said, feeling regretful. Her first time meeting Gaius was nowhere near as romantic as Olivia's or even as most couples. It was just something surreal, like a moment right out of a romcom and if Gaius hadn't been walking passed her (if he was a literal second later) it could have been a completely different scenario that played out. She supposed she shouldn't be so bitter, since she got to meet all these amazing people and kissing Gaius was really a highlight of her day.

Though his comment this morning still stung, even if it was just a little, it was still there.

* * *

"Gaius!" Robin exclaimed, basically bouncing over to him. He arched his eyebrow, a little stunned by her less than character behaviour, but returned her enthusiasm with an easy smile. She had gotten over his harsh comment after spending the rest of her afternoon with Olivia and Sumia.

"Hey Bubbles," he greeted and she stretched up for a kiss. It was almost like second nature to her now, demanding kisses from him.

She stepped back, holding her hand in front of his face. "Do you like my nails?" Gaius scrunched up his face, scrutinizing her nails.

"They look good enough to eat," he decided, kissing her fingers. Robin's eyes widened. Blush bloomed across her cheeks.

She cleared her throat. "Thank you." She frowned a little. "Oh, you should sit down, sorry, I wasn't thinking." She gestured for him to follow her into the billiards room where she had parted with Sumia and Olivia five minutes ago in search of Gaius. Vaike and Lon'qu were engaged in a heated billiards game while the rest of Gaius's friends mingled. Kids ran around, playing with toys they brought from home.

Robin forced Gaius into a seat before pausing, wondering if she was being too pushy. He had already told her countless times that it was okay and that he really wasn't too upset over losing his ski trip, but even though she had decided not to apologize anymore, the word sorry stuck to her lips. She sat with him, resting her head against his shoulder while she played with his fingers. His fingers were long and kind of bony.

"Hey," she murmured, "we're leaving tomorrow huh?"

Gaius hummed, kissing her forehead. "Yup."

"I guess I'm driving," she said, threading her fingers with his. She would never get over the feeling of their cheap rings against hers or how large Gaius's hands were.

He chuckled. "S'long as you don't get us killed, Bubbles." She pouted. This conversation wasn't really going anywhere, Robin knew that, but she would rather the baseless small talk than addressing the real elephant in the room. When would this charade end or did they care enough about each other to really date? These were the questions, but for the time being, this was fine.

"Gaius," Frederick said, appearing out of nowhere. Gaius nearly jumped thirty feet, startling Robin.

"Jesus Fred, don't do that to a guy or we might need to call an EMS," Gaius exclaimed.

Frederick frowned. "My apologizes," he said, "but Chrom wanted to know if we could use your apartment for Emmeryn's birthday on the 23rd?"

Gaius groaned, but he was a little distracted by his conversation with Frederick to notice Robin trying to subtly tug on his hand. "Why can't we just use the office building or, you know, _Blue's_?" He glared at the Vice President. "And why are _you _asking?"

Frederick shifted. "Chrom just wanted to use your apartment, I don't ask questions." He frowned, turning to Robin. "Ah, sorry, it's your house too now, isn't it Robin? I should be asking you too."

Gaius, as if realizing his mistake in even _considering _letting them use his place, stuttered. How could he say no? "I… guess so," he said begrudgingly and Frederick nodded approvingly.

"Excellent, I'm sure Chrom will work it out with you at work," Frederick said, leaving the couple alone.

Robin groaned. Gaius grinned sheepishly. "Sorry Bubbles, I didn't think that through." He scratched his chin. "I guess we have to move some of your stuff in." He had lowered his voice in case someone was eavesdropping on them, for whatever reason.

She let out another groan. "Yeah."

Why did fate like to mess with them so much?

* * *

**Sorry **this chapter is way shorter than the other ones but I've decided to abandon my idea of lengthening each chapter by going passed the previous chapters word count because that's way too much and if I do this, I'm hoping for quicker updates. Sorry this chapter was kind of lame, I wanted more bonding than anything (this just in, everyone is gay for Olivia). Next time, they get back to Ylisse, Aversa may reappear and there will be _way _more kissing ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Either way, thank you so much for all the love and support you've given this story and I really hope to update sooner next time. Adieu~!

~Emerald~


	7. Chapter 7

**Pairings: **Gaius x Female Robin

**Timeline: **Modern AU

**Warnings: **Clichéd situations and TONS of awkward encounters; eventual smut.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Fire Emblem: Awakening OR the new cover photo!

**Credits: Permission was granted by the artist! **The cover photo belongs to seascribbler who drew it after reading this story. I am so grateful and please check out her other works! She's a wonderful artist! You can find her on tumblr seascribbler . tumblr (just remove the spaces) Once again, thank you so much!

**Authors Note: **merry christmas?

* * *

When Robin woke up the next morning, the other side of the bed was cold and vacant. She shivered remembering just mere weeks ago when she'd wake up alone and move on with her life. Now, it felt a little sad. She sat up, bleary-eyed, looking for her husband, when he appeared out of nowhere, throwing himself down on her lap. His crutches got a little twisted up underneath him and the grunt of pain that followed was entirely his fault.

"What are you doing?" Robin asked, more amused than concerned, running her fingers through his messy ginger locks. While they cuddled last night, Robin decided Gaius was probably right in that she didn't have to baby him.

He smiled up at her boyishly. "Well I _was _trying to sneak back into bed but _someone _had to wake up all cute and sleepy that I had to throw myself at you."

She rolled her eyes. "Does it ever get tiring being so… _you _all the time?"

"The word you're looking for is 'charming'," he replied cheekily, adjusting himself off her lap. He successfully manoeuvred himself so his cast was stretched out off the bed and his hand was on her thigh. Robin almost rolled her eyes again but settled for kissing his cheek. He pouted. "What, that's it?"

"I'm not kissing you with morning breath," she said hurriedly, wondering if his feelings were really hurt or if he was teasing her.

Gaius snorted. "_That's _never stopped you before." She pinched his forearm.

"As much as I enjoy this playful banter of ours, I think we should get ready," she said, already making a move to throw the covers off. Gaius's eyes twinkled. She narrowed her eyes. "Gaius…?"

"I really want to kiss you right now, Robin," he muttered, running his tongue along his lower lip. "Like, really bad." He was blushing so hard she could barely make out the spattering of freckles across his cheeks.

Robin smiled softly, ignoring the blush that had surely blossomed across her own face. "Just a second," she told him, touching his lip with her finger and hoped out of bed. She all but sprinted to the bathroom, squeezed the toothpaste onto her brush and quickly brushed her teeth. She even gargled quickly for extra protection against bad breath.

She returned to Gaius and practically fell into his arms, pressing her lips against his. His arms went around her waist, almost naturally and drew her closer against him.

It's hard to believe that just a few days ago, they were leaving the resort in a panic, trying to figure out what the hell they were going to do. Unanimously, they decided that over the next couple of days, Robin was going to 'move' into Gaius's apartment – and live there, just in case. So when they got back into Ylisse three days ago, Robin filled a bag of clothes, grabbed some of her other essentials and drove over to Gaius's. She made trips throughout the past three days, bringing items she figured should belong in Gaius's home.

"I should go soon," he muttered, his warm lips finding their way down her jaw. Although Chrom had given Gaius time off (_with _pay mind you) he insisted on going to the meeting. Most of what he said to Robin was complete jargon but from the gist of what she understood, it was a fairly important meeting. She pulled back, eyeing his closet where he cleared some space for her clothes (and had to move on of his candy stashes).

"Do you need help getting dressed?" she asked, her eyes flickering down to meet his and her breath caught. His eyes were dark, smoldering and enticing Robin to lean back down and kiss him senseless.

He smiled. "More like help getting _un-dressed_," he purred and Robin rolled off his hips. He propped himself up on his elbows, his smile curling at the corners. She knew what _that _particular smile implied.

"Okay you devil, you're being counterproductive. I was going to go pick up some more of my stuff, maybe raid some home décor stores because, Gaius, seriously? Your house is seriously lacking in pillows," Robin said, folding her legs under her. Gaius arched his eyebrow.

"If you find some candy patterned ones, I'm not going to say no," he decided and dramatically sits up to get ready. She watched him laboriously decide between two suits, lament a little about his seriously limited movement, and change without much assistance from Robin.

She's just thankful Tiki was able to secure an extension for her newest book and had more time to carry out this charade. Maybe they could just come clean but honestly? At this point there was no way to stop this train wreck. Either way, once Gaius had his briefcase in order, Robin kissed him at the door and got ready herself. After a quick shower, a light breakfast and a fun struggle with some old jeans of hers, Robin headed out.

Her apartment was getting sadder and lonelier with each trip but Robin didn't _feel _as bothered by it as she felt she should have. Collecting some more of her clothes, she left and immediately ran into her landlady in the hallway. Phila was only about fifteen years older than Robin but she owned multiple buildings in this area. She was also an avid fan of Robin's books and always requested sneak peeks of the sexier scenes. (And who was Robin to say no? Whenever Robin indulged Phila, she always had some amount off her rent.)

"I heard you got married," she said, in way of greeting.

For a second, Robin didn't know what to say. Not that she forgot about her situation, just that she didn't really expect Phila to keep up with her interviews. "Ah, yes."

Phila nodded, eyeing the bag slung over her shoulder. "Well… not to be rude or nosy or anything… but do you plan on keeping the lease?"

_Oh fuck_. "I…"

"Because if not," she interjected, "I have some people who are interested in this building."

Robin cursed ever meeting Aversa. "Oh, Phila… Can I get back to you on that? My husband and I have quite decided where we're fully moving to yet – since it was a spur of the moment thing – and well, can I let you know?"

Phila smiled patiently. "Of course dear, take your time." She patted Robin's shoulder. "Just don't forget rent is due at the end of the month." Phila's smile changed, slightly, before she took off down the hall and taped an eviction notice to the door of Robin's neighbour. As ominous message as that was, Robin merely shook it off and tried to find the nearest Pottery Barn on her phone.

* * *

Robin may have been indulging herself. Gaius had given her his card on his insistence but she had no real intention of using it. Regardless, she had a couple of ultra-soft throw blankets (since Gaius's house was _seriously _lacking), a beautiful stained glass vase, some coloured plates and adorable penguin shakers. She found herself in the pillow section, squeezing a peppermint pillow to her chest, looking for a few more to tie Gaius's living room together.

"Oh Robin, I didn't know you shopped at Pottery Barn!"

Robin stiffened at the sound of Aversa's voice. "Hey… Aversa," she said, turning around. Avera gave her a once over, focusing in on Robin's nails that matched the pillow in her arms.

"That husband of yours is a really big influence on you, I see," she said, cradling some ridiculously gaudy table lamp. "So Robin, I was curious to know if you had any wedding photos I could see? Since you eloped I'm _dying _to know if it was an Elvis impersonator or not."

Robin's mouth went dry. "Uh… no, sorry Aversa we didn't get any printed yet." Translation:_ we didn't fucking think of it._

The white haired woman pouted. "That's too bad." She grinned. "But tell me, was it Elvis?"

"Unfortunately, when we went, the Elvis was sick so we just went to city hall to fill out the paperwork." Robin paused. "We did get some photos taken at a church though."

Aversa pursed her lips, shifting the lamp. "Well I'd love to see them when they get developed." She tilted her head in consideration. "I'll call – we can go for lunch again sometime. I can't wait to see the photos! Adios~"

And just as quickly as she blew into Robin's day, she was gone to leave a hole in her finances. Robin threw the pillow into her cart, understandably fed up with shopping and dug her phone out of her purse to text Gaius.

_We overlooked something important._

* * *

When Gaius got home a few hours later, having been briefed by Robin over text, he informed her that he scheduled them a photographer for the following morning.

"I can't believe we didn't think about that," he sighed into her lap, wrapped up in the various throws she bought and was sprawled out on the couch. "I feel kinda stupid to be honest."

Robin ran her fingers through his hair. "Don't feel that way. We both forgot that's something married couples have. Pictures of themselves. Together." She sighed. "Do you have a Christmas tree?"

"Nope," he said, readjusting the blanket over her legs. "Should we get one for the party?"

"Definitely." Robin had her eyes set on the empty corner of his living room for a beautiful white Christmas tree. "What time is the party tomorrow?"

Gaius groaned. "Seven, so thank god I don't have to work. I don't know how we're going to get everything done by then." They had a photoshoot at 7;30, had to find a tree and decorations, get the photos printed, framed and staged; someone was going to have to help the caterers set up and there was still decorating to be done.

Robin tapped his nose, unwrapping a peppermint to slide between his lips. "I have no fucking clue but god dammit Gaius, we're going to pull it off. We've already come this far."

He kissed her fingers that lingered by his mouth. "It's always so much easier in the movies," he decided with a dramatic huff.

"Yeah… but easy doesn't always mean rewarding."

"Oho? Bubbles I gotta say you're a _lot _more receptive to some sugar lately," he teased, blowing a kiss to her. Robin pinched his cheek.

"That's not what I meant," she protested, though the lie was obvious enough for a child to catch. Gaius rolled his eyes and sat up abruptly, wincing slightly before pulling Robin to him. He kissed her with such a ferocity, she forgot how to breathe. His achingly sweet candy tongue traced her lips, urging her to part her lips. The kiss grew deeper and they took pleasure in swapping the peppermint back and forth. The clack of the candy against their teeth and Robin's soft moans were the only sounds in the living room. Gaius's sneaky hand found its way under Robin's sweater, gently massaging his fingers across her hips, slowly making his way up. Robin's fingers clenched at the back of Gaius's dress shirt, urging him closer.

The kiss ended abruptly, leaving Robin's gasping quietly with a peppermint in her mouth as Gaius kissed down her jaw, leaving little bite marks along the column of her neck. He shifted, trying to get into a better position before he hissed and pulled back.

"Fuckin' leg," he grumbled, fixing his position, slipping his hand out of her shirt. Guilt swelled up in Robin before she forced it back into the hole it belonged in and kissed his forehead.

"Take your time," she whispered along his hairline, kissing his temple softly.

He groaned, consecutively and _loudly_. "Wake me up when my leg is healed," he commanded, though he sounded more like a petulant child than a grown man.

Robin was torn between making a kind of shitty joke and chastising him. She chose the joke. "Can't wake up," she muttered into his ear. His eyebrows furrowed before the joke hit him and he dissolved into a mess of high pitched giggles.

"You're incredible, Robin," he said, though there was no hint of mockery in his voice. She flushed and kissed him to shut him up. That'll show him.

* * *

**Ha** ha haaa… I have no excuses but the promise that chapter 8 (and maybe 9) will be served to you over the course of the next few days before I disappear again…

Lol I'm just kidding I'll try to update more frequently but… well, I deeply apologize for the appalling wait.

~Emerald~


	8. Chapter 8

**Pairings: **Gaius x Female Robin

**Timeline: **Modern AU

**Warnings: **Clichéd situations and TONS of awkward encounters; eventual smut.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Fire Emblem: Awakening OR the new cover photo!

**Credits: Permission was granted by the artist! **The cover photo belongs to seascribbler who drew it after reading this story. I am so grateful and please check out her other works! She's a wonderful artist! You can find her on tumblr seascribbler . tumblr (just remove the spaces) Once again, thank you so much!

**Authors Note: **a promise is a promise and I deliver

* * *

They met the photographer outside a candy shop. Gaius hadn't told Robin where they were going until it had become painfully obvious. Robin didn't recognize the area either, from her horrible knowledge of the city outside of her area and where she has gone to more than once.

"This doesn't look like a church," she said when they pulled up in front of a vintage styled candy shop. She had driven and listened to Gaius's kind of shitty directions tell they ended up here. "Can we even talk pictures here?"

Gaius chuckled, "Oh ye of little faith, my friend owns this place and as long as I buy what I 'contaminate' we're good to go."

Robin stared at him for a long, _long _time before she burst into uncontrollable giggles. "I don't know why I'm surprised," she laughed, her sides aching when the giggling finally subsided. Gaius pouted, though his eyes sparkled, giving Robin a different impression of what he was feeling.

The photographer was a short, balding man with a red face and multiple professional cameras strapped to his waist that Robin couldn't even begin to guess the names of.

"I'm going to have to charge extra for the rush fee," he said, fiddling with his camera as Gaius's friend, a pretty red head named Anna let them into the shop.

Gaius waved him off as well as he could with his crutches. "That's fine, just make sure every photo you take is above the knee." Unprofessionally, the photographer eyed him suspiciously. Gaius gestured to Robin with his chin. "I can't be taking wedding photos with my gal here all dressed up while I've got this ugly cast."

As if that was the answer the man wanted or he just wanted to weasel more money from Gaius, he smiled and started to get his equipment set up. His taller, more gaunt assistant ran in a few minutes later as he struggled with a light. He barked a few orders and the assistant scrambled to keep up with his long list of tasks. Robin leaned against the counter where Anna was meticulously counting her profits from the day before, probably cursing Gaius for the sales she would lose in light of the photoshoot. (Although Robin had no doubts when Gaius was through with this place, Anna would be more than satisfied with her sales.)

"How long have you known Gaius?" Robin asked, watching her husband pick through Anna's selection of fancy lollipops. He combed through the racks, his shopping basket aside and growing in volume.

Anna glanced up from counting twenties. "Mmm, a good few years, I'd say. Ever since I opened I think, since I'm the largest candy shop in Ylisse." She looked over to Gaius with a devious smile curling her lips. "He's by far my best costumer."

Thinking of how many secret stashes Robin found at Gaius's and his addiction in general, Robin really isn't surprised. "I don't doubt that." Gaius padded around, searching for what Robin could only guess what he was looking for, and kept snagging things off the shelf. It was almost comical to watch him push a basket of candy along the floor with his crutch or his uninjured foot.

"How did you two meet?" Anna asked, as if realizing it was a politer course of action than counting her profits.

Shit… what was the story they came up with again? She was going to have to make cue cards for all these lies. "A coffee shop," Robin said, hoping Anna didn't pick up on the twinge of uncertainty in her voice, "a really nice one. He ordered the last slice of cake that I wanted." This story sounded so wrong that it left her mouth feeling dry.

Anna grinned. "That sounds like Ol'Gaius to me."

"Oi, did you just call me old?" Gaius snapped from across the store, nearly tripping over a cable for the lighting. Robin giggled and he shot her a pouty look through the shelves of candy. "Are you almost done getting set up?" he asked the photographer.

"Ah, momentarily," the photographer responded, messing around with a few of his cameras. His assistant was basically juggling the ones he discarded.

Gaius pushed his nearly overflowing basket to the till, a huge grin on his handsome face. "I'm ready to go – Robin you should pick out some stuff for us to use in the pictures."

Robin made a face. "Isn't that what you were doing?"

He scoffed. "Of course not, gotta replenish the stock." Robin rolled her eyes, but she couldn't have prevented the smile from filling her cheeks even if she had wanted to. "I did get these though." He dug around the pile of candy, finding two ring pops. Robin's smile grew. "Which one did you want?"

He was holding a blue raspberry one and a watermelon one. Robin snatched the blue raspberry one from his left hand. "Thanks, blue raspberry is myfavourite." They share a smile and the photographer ushered them over to start.

* * *

An hour and a half later, the photoshoot was over and the printed photos would be ready for pick up around five. They loaded up the car, grinning like kids again and drove off Wal-Mart in search of a Christmas tree and decorations. Gaius had spent a ridiculous amount of money at the candy store, ignoring Robin's offer to pay for it – _or at least some of it_ – and he had bought Robin fifteen ring pops.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with all those ring pops," she admitted, thinking of the bag in her purse. They were still wearing the ring pops from the photoshoot, their fake rings comfortably in Gaius's pocket. Gaius reached out, gently taking Robin's left hand in his and licked her ring pop. "Hey!" she laughed, tugging her hand lightly as Gaius smirked and kissed her fingers.

"You've got fifteen of those in your purse, you can share," he teased, licking the candy again, his tongue already turning blue. She leaned closer, kissing him over the ring. His tongue slipped between her lips, the blue raspberry taste flooding Robin's senses almost overwhelmingly. The kissing absorbed Robin's thoughts, drowning her as Gaius's free hand came up to cup Robin's neck. He pulled her closer, their intertwined hands going to the console between them for support. Robin tried to twist her body, kind of getting stuck on the steering wheel before they pulled apart. Out of breath, red faced and lips wet with sugar and saliva, Robin sat back in the seat.

"We've got to stop kissing in such awkward positions," she said, smirking, "otherwise we won't be able to… continue." Gaius swallowed thickly.

"Bubbles you are too tempting for your own good," he replied, hoarsely. Robin smugly put the car in drive, a little too pleased that she put such a look on his face. It wasn't often she was able to render Gaius speechless and the times she did, she might have reveled in the 'glory' a little too much.

The trip to Wal-Mart was fairly short, all things considered. They were able to secure the last white Christmas tree, find a bunch of blue and silver decorations and one hideous elf with overly rouge cheeks and a half-caved in face. They loved him and planned to make him a centerpiece on their tree. They even bought matching ugly Christmas sweaters with an excessive amount of tinsel hanging off the sweater in the shape of a wreath to wear on their date. After finding the Christmas tree, they picked out some beautiful silver frames for their wedding photos and some miscellaneous decorations for Emmeryn's birthday.

"We're lucky to find all this stuff two days before Christmas," Robin said as they paid, blushing a little when the cashier commented on their wedding rings about how cute she thought they were. Gaius shifted on his crutches, a little pouty since Robin insisted on paying this time.

"Yeah, well good thing we'll be set for next year," he added, off-handed and apparently missed how Robin dropped her card on the conveyer belt.

Robin collected her card, staring down at the pin-pad while the last of their purchases rolled through. "You're right," she said, though she had a difficult time making eye contact with Gaius.

Sometimes this whole fake marriage business felt more like a punch in the throat than fun.

* * *

Gaius and Robin were in the middle of putting the tree together when the caterers arrived and immediately took over Gaius's kitchen. Robin ran out at five to pick up their photos while Gaius decorated the tree (she made him promise not to put their elf up without her) and when she got back half an hour later, he was stretched out on the couch with the elf decoration in his mouth. She grinned and they got back to decorating, hanging Christmas lights to better set the ambiance. Even though it was for Emmeryn's birthday, they still had to have a fair amount of Christmas decorations up. They'd even gone to the trouble of buying fake present boxes that were prewrapped.

The smell wafting from the kitchen was heavenly and Robin, who had just finished getting dressed for the party, caught Gaius not-so-sneakily trying to snag some hors d'oeuvres from the kitchen. He looked dashing in his white suit and purposely messy hair and honestly watching him attempt to steal hors d'oeuvres with his crutches was comical. So, Robin took pity on him and snuck around him to grab a few from the tray.

"Thanks baby," Gaius said, grinning as Robin popped a quiche into his mouth. "You look amazing, Bubbles."

She winked at him and fed him another. She was wearing a sparkly gold shirt and a knee-length burgundy skirt with a longer, sheer skirt on top. "Thanks." She kissed his cheek and fed him the last quiche. "People will be arriving soon, so you should probably stop trying to steal hors d'oeuvres."

He winked. "I'll never stop," he told her scandalously and she rolled her eyes and dragged him to the couch. They settled down, a moment of peace and quiet (excluding the sounds coming from the kitchen) and Robin curled against his side. "Hey, Bubbles?"

"Hmm…?"

"I've gotten so used to having you in my life… I… I'm not sure how we can go back to before," he confessed. Robin sat back, merely to look at his face and gently touched his cheek.

"Do you want to go back to _before_?" she asked, a whole pool of emotions swirling in her heart she had no names for. Gaius considered this before shaking his head.

"No… but how long are we going to keep doing this? Or are we actually going to get married," he said, meeting her eyes. His green eyes were hurricanes of raw emotion.

Robin's hand fell to his shoulder. "I don't know how long this is going to go for but… Gaius, I don't want to lose you."

He tugged her towards him and she let him pull her into his arms. His lips sought hers like a man searching for an oasis. The kiss didn't last long, nor did they stay in that position much longer but when they broke apart, Gaius muttered against Robin's jaw, "I don't want to lose you either, Robin."

They went back to cuddling in silence until guests started arriving. Robin wasn't feeling that excited about talking but she put on a face. Things were really starting to get complicated and this charade has brought them together but… for how long before it all falls apart?

"Robin! I love your wedding photos," Olivia gushed, gesturing to the largest framed photo hazardously hung above the couch. Gaius was hugging Robin from behind, kissing her neck and their fingers were interlaced, ring pops in place of actual rings. Robin smiled, ignoring the twinge in her heart. Sumia was holding a folded frame with three different pictures in the frames. One where they were laying in a bed of candy cuddling, a second where they were holding a Hersey kiss between their lips and a third where he was kissing her forehead and she was stealing a pink bear lollipop from his jacket pocket.

"Thank you, we have so many there's hardly enough frames for all of them!" Robin laughed and Sumia set the frame down.

She touched Robin's arm. "I'm so glad you've spruced up Gaius's place. Before you it was so empty. Like he came home, slept and left again. There's a lot of life in his home now."

Robin glanced at the décor quickly, thinking back to how much of a shell his apartment was before. "Yeah, well a trip to Pottery Barn fixed that. Did you see this vase I bought the other day?" At the shake of Sumia and Olivia's heads, Robin directed their attention to the stained glass vase filled with roses.

Robin made her rounds, talking to all of Gaius's friends and co-workers, finally meeting Emmeryn who seemed a little shy but after a little prodding, Robin had her laughing and fully enjoying herself. Things were going great and she kept making eye contact with Gaius through the party guests.

Her phone buzzes on the table and she grabs, it, excusing herself for a moment. In their bedroom, she checks the caller ID and her heart plummets.

"Robin? Oh good you finally answered, I've been calling for the last ten minutes."

She swallowed, suddenly feeling ill. "Hey… dad."

* * *

**Introducing, **Robin's dad! For what reason does he have for calling our heroine and what's going to happen next? Stay tuned~!

~Emerald~

(Thanks for putting up with all my crap guys)


End file.

Fire Emblem, Humor, Romance