Chapter 0 - pent up

The most frustrating part about Frederick has to be how attracted Robin is to him, not that she's ever going to admit that. He's an incredibly frustrating man for a variety of reasons, and one of the most prominent is the fact that he refuses to trust her, despite how many times she's proven herself to be trustworthy. She doesn't understand why, if she's good enough for Chrom and if she's good enough for Lissa, that she can't be good enough for him as well.

Frederick is simply too stuck up himself, too by-the-book and certain that his way is the only way, that he can't be won over so easily. He's stiff and cautious and so goddamn annoying about it that she doesn't even understand why it is that she's so attracted to him, but she is, and he can't stand her. The most frustrating part about him has to be just how much she wants him, and even wants to be with him, when she can barely stand him and he certainly can't stand her.

Not to mention the fact that there's so many more important things to worry about besides whatever it is she's feeling for the knight. The fact that her memories are gone, for one thing, or the fact that she's recently been employed as Chrom's tactician, or perhaps the war they're approaching. Her love life, or lack thereof, shouldn't even rate as a concern.

Even so, she can't ignore the way her eyes linger on him when he isn't looking, or the thoughts that keep her from sleeping at night, and she doesn't know what she's going to do about this stupid, impossible attraction. She knows better than to let it consume her, and yet she finds that she can't avoid that, even as she fights to keep it a secret. No matter what, she refuses to let anyone else see how hard she is falling.

One night, after hours of tossing and turning, she realizes that sleep isn't going to come easy, and she decides that it might be best to go for a walk in the woods to try and calm herself down, and hopefully take her mind off of Frederick enough to allow her to fall asleep. She slips out of her tent quietly and starts off, the night air cool and comfortable around her.

When she's a suitable distance from their camp, she sighs to herself. “What's wrong with me?” she mumbles. “Why can't I just get over this?”

“Talking to yourself?” asks a voice behind her, and she jumps, whirling around to see the one man she least wants to see in that moment. Still, she feels a thrill go through her and mentally curses the part of her that always reacts to him in such a way. “Or maybe there's a spy hidden out here?”

“You nearly scared me to death, Frederick!” she scolds. “And you can look around all you want, there's no one but me. I was just taking a walk.”

The knight scowls and replies, “At this hour of the night? Why on earth are you awake, milady?”

“I could ask you the same question!”

“I was keeping watch,” he says, “when I saw our mysterious tactician sneaking off into the woods. Now, again I have to ask, why are you awake? What are you doing out here?”


“I really was just taking a walk. I was having trouble sleeping, so I just came out here. That's all.”
“Hmm...” He really seems to think on this for a bit, before saying. “Well, if there's anyone hiding out here with you, I doubt they've stuck around this long. Still, I want you to stay right here while I take a look around.”

“You're being ridicu-”

“Just let me check.”

Robin falls silent, clenching her fists at her side. She can feel her anger growing, but she tries to suppress it, not wanting to make the situation any worse. If she just lets Frederick do as he wants, things will be easier, but she doesn't understand what she's done to make him not believe her. She doesn't understand why he's always treating her like she's planning to betray them, and she doesn't understand why she cares so much what he specifically thinks about her.

Finally, he walks back over to her. “Now, are you absolutely sure that you don't have anything you want to tell me about why you came out here so late?”

“I already told you, it was just for a walk!”

He leans in suddenly, uncomfortable close as he studies her face. “Well, you don't appear to be lying-”

“-because I'm not!”

“-but I'm still not so sure. I'm not sure about anything with you, and I don't like that.”

Glaring at him, she leans in a bit herself. “What is your problem with me? I haven't done anything to you, or anybody else!”

“But what's stopping you? The problem, Robin, is that I don't trust you. Not at all.” He leans a bit more, trying to intimidate her. “And that isn't going to change.”

“That! That sort of stuff is why I can't stand you!” she snaps. “You have no idea how hard it is to put up with somebody like you.”

“Why? Because I'm careful?” he asks. “Because I don't want to put Chrom and Lissa at risk for a total stranger?”

“You haven't even given me a chance! All the time, you just act like you hate me and no matter what I do, it never changes anything!”

“I never said that I hated you,” replies Frederick, his tone matter-of-fact. “I simply said that I don't trust you.”

“It's practically the same thing! Okay? It is, and it hurts, and maybe you don't hate me, but...but I hate you!” she lies, so desperate to say something to hurt him even though she's sure that he won't care either way.

Looking angry, he leans in even further, so close that she can feel his breath, that she can hardly breathe herself. “You hate me?” he asks.

“So what if I do?” she replies, and inches her face closer to his, until their foreheads are touching and they're staring one another in the eye. It's the closest she's ever been to Frederick, and she can't ignore the heat stirring up in her or the excitement it's causing, and when that mixes with her anger, it feels explosive and she knows that she has no hope of controlling herself.

Even so, she can't say which one of them moves first, or if they maybe moved at the same time. But her lips crash against his and his arms fall around her waist while hers wrap around his neck, and she lets out a pathetic, needy moan while he kisses her. They both press their bodies together, though neither get much out of this due to his armor, and still they keep kissing like they're starved for it, neither one of them willing to be the one to break it.

Robin has no idea what the hell is going on, but she's wanted this for so long that she doesn't want to have to stop and question it. She's a bit afraid of what will happen once they separate, and what explanation she will have to offer, and what he will say in return. 

It takes Frederick so much time to get out of his armor that the mood starts to slip just a little bit. As it turned out, there had been nothing to say in the end, and their desire had still been so palpable that words weren't necessary for either of them to convey what they wanted to happen next. She had begun removing her clothing and he had started with his armor, but now, as he meticulously removes the remaining pieces, she stands and watches, arms crossed over her chest in an attempt to cover herself.
 
It's awkward as all hell, standing out in the open, exposed like this, while he isn't, both of them in dead silence. A few moments ago, they were kissing, and a few moments before that, they were arguing, both with nearly equal passion, but now there is only silence. Robin wonders, now, if she should speak up after all, and as her senses catch up to her, she wonders what they're doing and if they should even go through with this. She turns away, suddenly self-conscious, and she hears the knight clear his throat.
 
"Perhaps..." he starts. "Perhaps we got a bit carried away there."
 
"Why did you kiss me?" she asks.
 
"Why did you kiss me?" he asks in return.
 
"No, we are not doing this!" she snaps, whirling to face him without thinking about her state of undress. "I don't know if you kissed me first or I kissed you first or whatever happened, but I do know that you were kissing me when I was kissing you, so we are not playing the blame game. Before that, you were telling me how awful you thought I was, so just answer me!"
 
"I never said you were awful." He seems taken aback by her words, and he doesn't look directly at her. His blush reminds her that she's naked, and she crosses her arms over her chest again. "Milady, I think...I think there might be more to my feelings than meets the eye. But you were the one who told me that you hated me."
 
"I don't hate you," she says. "I feel like I should, and I don't, and that's what I hate."
 
"If you don't hate me, then how do you feel about me?"
 
"How do you feel about me?"
 
Frederick gives a low chuckle, shaking his head. "I think that should be obvious by now. I'm ashamed to admit that I've been using my initial distrust for you as an excuse to hide from my growing affection, but I care a lot about you...I think I may even be falling for you."
 
The desire that had started to falter returns all at once, with the same intensity that had led her to kiss him. She closes the distance between them, her fingers shaking as she goes to unbutton his vest, and all she says is, "Me too," in a voice so soft that, if they weren't standing so close, he might not be able to hear. He helps her until his clothes are on the ground, and then he backs her into a tree and she wraps her legs around him, and they resume their kiss from before. This time, there is nothing to separate their bodies and she can feel the warmth radiating off of him. It isn't a particularly cold night, but this is a comfort nonetheless.
 
As he moans into her mouth, he holds her up to support her, pressed so close that it would only take a little shift in movement and then...she can hardly breathe thinking about it, and she wants him so terribly she can't stand it. She can feel just how badly he wants her as well, and she pulls away to whimper, “Frederick, please, I...”

“Yes, Milady?” His eyelids are lowered, a look of lust on his face, and he supports her as he helps her shift, until he's posed to enter her. “Is this what you want?” She nods, so breathless that she doesn't dare to try to speak. Frederick gives her a reassuring look before slowly pressing into her.

She cries out in surprise, and though she knew that it was going to hurt at first, it still takes her time to adjust. Frederick remains steady the whole time, however, and surprises her with his endurance, though she supposes that she shouldn't be surprised at all. He takes deep breaths as he takes things as slowly as possible, doing everything in his power to avoid hurting her and letting her adjust to him.

When he is at last able to move, he still keeps his movements steady, the rhythm of his hips gentle. She relaxes as her body adjusts to the fullness, and she is able to lose herself in the pleasure. This is what she's wanted for so long, since discovering her attraction to the knight, and now she finally has him. He fucks her slow and easy, the awkwardness of the encounter melting away with the pain, and she knows that nothing can be the same between them after this. She isn't sure how they're going to go from here, but she knows that they can't continue on as they have and she's glad. More than anything, she wants that change to occur.

He rests his head on her shoulder and cups the back of her head in his hand; she had bumped against the tree a few times, and though she hadn't complained or even really minded, it seems he wants to try to protect her from that anyway. It's touching, and she wonders how he managed to hide his feelings so well up until now. His hand grips at her and his breathing becomes increasingly more ragged, and, likewise, she feels herself going tense, losing her ability to think straight.

She trembles and still he supports her, even as she starts to go weak, even as she can do nothing to support herself, giving entirely into the pleasure. He is not far behind her, his voice sounding weak as he murmurs her name against her shoulder and comes, and he falters for only a moment before becoming stable once again, never letting either of them fall. In fact, he even makes sure that she will be able to stand on her shaky legs before he sets her down and lets himself lean against the tree for support.

There is silence, but it is a comfortable silence, and when they make a move to get dressed, it is only because practicality has set back in and there is a wordless understanding that they need to make themselves more presentable before they talk about this, just in case anyone else might happen by. The fact that anyone could have caught them excites Robin a little more than she expected, nearly outweighing the potential shame. She wonders how Frederick feels about that, but decides to wait until another time to talk about that with him.

“Would you like to walk back together?” she asks, when she finds her voice. “We could talk then.”

“Of course,” he replies. “I wouldn't dream of making you walk alone in the dark! And we do have a lot to discuss, though...I have to confess, that isn't all that's on my mind right now.”

Blushing, she says, “That isn't all that's on my mind either.”

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