Sometime after Chapter 11. Anna

"She really is the cutest baby I've ever seen..."

"Showing a bit of bias, are you, dear?"

"Hush. You know it's true!"

Chrom chuckled and kissed my forehead, wrapping one arm around my shoulders and the other one resting on our newborn daughter. "Yeah, she is really adorable... She must get it from her father."

I rolled my eyes and settled into my husband's embrace, hugging Lucina closer. "Whatever you say, moron."

Chrom let out an over exaggerated gasp. "Such foul language! And in front of the baby as well!" he exclaimed.

"Ugh! You're such a dork!" I pried my attention away from him and gazed back at my sleeping infant. Warmth flooded my heart. "Remind me again why I married you?" I made one last attempt to shut down his dorky remarks.

"Because you love me." He pressed a gentle kiss to my cheek. "And I love you. And you complete me. And we have a beautiful daughter to call our own." He kissed my face in various locations between each sentence. "You have made me the happiest man in all the worlds. I am so lucky to be married to you; to have your heart."

With that, he lifted the arm that was on Lucina and cupped my cheek, pulling my face to his and kissing me sweetly. I was happy to oblige.

Lucina, on the other hand, was not.

She squirmed about in my arms and whimpered at the loss of warmth. "Alright, alright. Calm down," Chrom chuckled, fixing the blanket covering our legs and pulling Lucina and me back into an embrace.

"Looks like I'll have to compete for your affection, now," I laughed, gently rocking my baby.

"I wouldn't say that," Chrom smiled. "Earlier today, we were fighting to have your attention."

I giggled and pressed my forehead against his chest. "Fine. I guess we'll both have to work hard in order to pay attention to one another."

He hummed in agreement and rested his chin on the top of my head.

Everything was perfect. Everything was as it should be. Chrom and I finally happily married, peace in Ylisse, and our very own family together. Everything fell into place today and I couldn't be any happier.

"I still can't believe that I'm a father." Chrom suddenly broke the silence. "It's such a foreign concept to me. The fact that I am now someone's father is overwhelming!"

I nodded. "I understand. Motherhood is new to me as well," I said, closing my eyes. "Think we'll do a good job?"

Chrom sighed and leaned back a little. "...I don't really know the answer to that. Sure, we'll do our best to be amazing parents, but nothing will be absolutely perfect. All that truly matters is that we love her and give her the best possible home we can offer."

"I see..." A pain struck my heart. "Chrom? Will we be able to be...involved? You know, in Lucina's life? Help her grow up and be with her every step of the way?"

Chrom was silent for a bit. Then, he let out a breath. "While it's true that most royal families aren't very hands-on in the lives of their children, there are a few that have." He ran his fingers through my hair. "Us, for one, actually love each other and had a child willingly. We'll be able to spend as much time as we want with Lucina. Most of Ylisse's royalty married out of an arrangement; as soon as they had children, they avoided their spouses and children and went on with their lives."

"That's terrible!" I hugged my daughter close. "Were...were your parents...?"

He sighed. "That's a complicated topic. I'll tell you about it some other time." He kissed my forehead. "But long story short: my parents did love each other at one point. It wasn't until a few months before I was born when Father started becoming more distant. But...Mother loved me and Emm very much; she even gave her life so Lissa could safely come into the world."

"I...I'm so sorry..."

"Don't be." He smiled, tears forming in his eyes. "We can talk about this later. Right now, let's give our utmost attention to Lucina."

I silently giggled and gazed at my daughter. "...Chrom? How many kids do you want?"

He said nothing for a moment. "...Well, I wouldn't be opposed to a large family. I mean, my main wish is to have a son and daughter, but it's really up to how you feel."

I hummed in agreement. "Yeah, I would like to give Lucina a little brother someday..." I grinned. "A little you bounding around and causing trouble."

"Hush." Chrom kissed the side of my head. "So at least two?"

I shrugged. "Two would be ideal, but I wouldn't be opposed to a large family either. Three or four?"

"Four's a good number," he breathed. "Well, maybe we should see how we handle one first."

I laughed and hugged my daughter close. "True, true."

We stayed like this for a while. Everything was perfect. Then, I let out a yawn.

"Tired?" Chrom asked.

"I've been in labor for 20 hours. Of course, I'm tired."

"Then why haven't you slept?!" He laughed.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Because I don't want to miss a second... I don't want to take my eyes off of Lucina and miss something. I'm afraid that if I sleep, something will happen..."

My husband chuckled lightly. "Well, why don't I take Lucina while you get some shut-eye. I'll wake you up if there's a noteworthy event, ok?"

"Promise?"

"I promise."

I handed our infant to him. My arms were relieved to have lost the weight that has been in them for the past few hours, but my heart wanted me to take her back.

"Rest, Anna." Chrom pulled the covers over me and allowed me to use his shoulder as a pillow. "We'll be right here."

I fought to keep my eyes open. "Ok..."

Seconds later, I lost the fight.

*****

IT WAS THE DAY SHE WAS BIRTHED SO IT COUNTS. This was my only idea. Family fluff. Fite meh. Happy 6th anniversary, Awakening. That makes me feel really old 😅. Thank you so much for reading and look forward to reading more!

Next Prompt: April 25th - Absence

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