It was clear to anyone watching the swordmaster marching down the streets of Ferox that he was not okay. He looked like he was seconds away from murder if someone so much as looked at him wrong.
Jaw clenched, fists tense and eyes sharper than the blade at his hip, Lonâqu looked to be a force of nature. A demon, in all honesty. But if you knew him in any personal manner, it was obvious he wasnât angry at all.
Rather, he was deeply worried and verging on a full-on panic attack. Such was Lissaâs observation as she tried to keep up with him, though he was far more adept at rushing through deep snow than she was.
âH-hey, do you mind slowing down a little bit?? Itâs nearly impossible to keep up with you in a blizzard!!â
âThereâs no time.â Lonâqiu barked, âItâs bad enough I had to leave Robin alone to get you out of that damn carriage.â
âHey, if we couldâve gotten here easier, you know I would have! But the snow is just crazy this time of year. Even Feroxi transport struggles! I donât know why you sent for me, anyway.â
âThere are healers that have traveled from Plegia to try and alleviate the demand because of this illness.â Lonâqu explained briskly, âI donât want to wait for someone to show up. Youâre the only one I trust with Robin-â
âWow, thatâs so nice-â
â-Thatâs available. Libra and Maribelle are already working with others in Ferox.â He continued, earning an annoyed scoff.
âI see your arrogance hasnât changed! Thatâs no way to talk to a woman who just risked life and limb to help your wife.â
Lonâqu brushed her off, pushing open the gate to the home heâd left for far too long. The smoke billowing from the chimney still seemed steady, which was odd. Heâd been gone for an hour. The smoke should have thinned out due to logs burning away, unlessâŠ
âDamn that woman-â Lonâqu grabbed Lissaâs hand as she trudged through the gate, practically yanking the poor princess up the hill to the house.
âW-whoa!! Slow down, you canât just grab at me like that, you ass-â
âRobin!!â
Lissa stalled when Lonâquâs hand left her, finding the house in disarray all around her. It looked as though it hadnât been cleaned in days.
Worse yet, the subject of his exclamation was on her feet, poker trembling over the fire held by shaking, pale hands. Glassy eyes passed over the princessâ face, but Robin didnât seem to register that she was looking at her dear friend.
âWhat the hells are you doing?? Youâre supposed to be in bed!â Lonâqu snapped at his wife, taking the iron poker from your grasp and quickly directing you away from the flames. His ire quickly redirected to the princess. âAnd shut the door!!â
It jolted her back into focus, the door hastily shut and latched to prevent the ice from blowing in. Lonâqu busied himself with his wife.Â
âYou know what, I donât even want to know why youâre out of bed.â He grumbled, throwing a blanket over you that was lopsided on the recliner. âYou swore to me that youâd sleep.â
âIâŠwoke up.â You swallowed thickly, wincing at the pain down your throat. Lonâqu shook his head, carefully lifting you off your feet. He carried you from the den, jerking his head to motion Lissa to follow.
The princess set her outerwear aside, snow and ice dripping into a puddle on the floor. Lonâqu had yet to change out of his freezing clothes, but it was clear his own health was the lowest priority.
âIt gotâŠcoldâŠâ Your voice was trembling harder than your hands were. Lissa quickened her pace, hurrying into the bedroom just as Lonâqu settled you into the quilts.
The bedroom was in just as rough a state; it was clear Lonâqu had been neglectigng just about everything except for his wife.
âIâm sorry. I tried to get back before the fire burned out. But you shouldâve stayed in bed, regardless.â Lonâqu added with a growl, tucking the blankets around you as tightly as he could. âLissaâs here to take care of you now; so donât even think of getting up until youâre better.â
He looked up at said royal, who was swift in joining you at the bedside. She pressed her hand to your forehead, testing for temperature. Calling it a fever would be an understatement.
âNagaâŠhow are you that hot but still so pale??â She was incredulous; this illnesss was severe in every sense of the word.
âHow long has she been like this, Lonâqu?â She pulled the pouch around her waist to the front, digging for the vials of dried herbs she needed first.
âIt started a week ago, and itâs only gotten worse each day that goes by. She started deteriorating about five days ago,when I first sent word to you.â
âThank goodness you called when you didâŠthis isnât good.â She mumbled, âFive days of fever and goodness knows what else. Iâm starting to understand why the healers are preoccupied.â
He stood back to give her needed space. âThis season is always hard for our clerics, but this yearâs spread has been especially brutal. Seven people died in the last two weeks, alone.â
âWell, Robin wonât become one of them. I promise.â She assured him, popping the cork on her vial of dried moringa. âI need a mortar and pestle, and hot water.â
âUnderstood.â
Sheâd barely measured the ingredients out on the bedside table before Lonâqu was back, a piping kettle in one hand and the heavy stone bowl in the other.
So the work began. Lonâqu lingered at the foot of the bed, switching between pacing and looking over Lissaâs shoulder to make sure she was working hard.
For a couple of minutes, it seemed to be effective. Your face relaxed as Lissa gently smeared some sort of ointment along your neck, and your breathing deepened.
He noted that your doctor seemed quite pleased with the immediate response, before she got back to work grinding herbs away in the mortar. She cast her gave back at your husband, who seeme dincapable of calming down even for a second.
âSo, whatâs going on, anyway? Youâre talking about this like itâs some sort of seasonal disease. Is it common in Ferox?â
âIt is; the common name is Feroxi Flu.â
âCreative.â
âIt has a proper title, but since itâs a strain that only hits this region due to Feroxâs set up, youâll hear the common name a lot more.â
âWell, the âfluâ part is quite accurate in her case. All the symptoms are pointing to a severe infection, but itâs nothing that canât be reversed with rest, constant care and a wathcful eye.â
âTell me what she needs.â
Lissa smiled softly, seeing determination burn brightly in his eyes. She couldnât think of the last time sheâd heard him utter anything with that level of emotion, except for the day she and Chrom brought you back to your husbandâs side in Ferox after your sacrifice.
The reunion was an ocean of tears and promises never to abandon him again, and he had been quite bashful about the royals witnessing his outburst when he regained himself.
So to see him with that same fire in his eyes again made her realize that this was very seriousâŠat least, to him. From what Lissa was able to see in the medical examination suggested otherwise.
âWell, if Iâm being honest itâs a lot worse than it should be given her age and general health. So Iâm fairly confident in saying itâs this bad because of Robin pushing herself too hard.â
âI havenât been-â
âSheâs gotten out of bed nearly every single day since she got sick.â Lonâqu confirmed, glaring sharply at his wife. She wilted under his reprimanding gaze, amusing to the healer.
âSo Robin, youâre going to start with some good, long rest and penty of fluids. Vegetable and chicken broth will be best. Ginger tea will be a good drink optionâŠshe hasnât been eating a lot, right?â
âShe throws up nearly everything she eats. Iâve been able to get her to keep bread and some tea down. Iâve had trouble with anything hardier.â
âThen letâs do ginger tea first, and then introduce the broth. So long as she can eat, sheâll regain her strength. As for the congestion and other symptomsâŠâ
The princess rattled off a number of remedies and herbal mixtures he would be tasked with grinding and preparing for you while you recovered. The state of you was certainly concerning, but nothing that you couldnât bounce back from.
You coughed through a thank you, knowing what a trek it must have been just to tend to one patient. You offered for her to stay the night with you, but she had already prepared accommodations in the city courtesy of the Khan (who also demanded to know how you were doing when they found out the reason for the princessâ/ visit).
Lonâqu led her to the door, and once again the house fell silent against the whipping winds of Feroxâs blizzard.
You nestled back into the pillows, fending off another coughing fit. The soft thuds of your husbandâs feet caught your attention, and he passed back into the room with a number of warm-looking dishes on a tray.
âIâm sure that all smells delicious, if I could smell.â You joked, pushing yourself up some to sit up properly. Lonâqu set them on the bedside table one by one, before he sat down beside you once more.
âEat this. Lissa said it will help ease the congestion.â
The gentler, softer side of Lonâqu was always such a sweet thing to experience. Even in your currnet state, a smile crept up your lips as you watched him spoon a mouthful of soup from the bowl for you.
âI could feed myself, you know.â
âLissa said rest was key. That means youâre not lifting a finger, if I can help it.â He replied gruffly, holding it up. Obediently you accepted the food, earning a satisfied expression. âGood. Once youâre done, take this medicine-- then you can sleep.â
âIâll take it on one condition,â You held up a finger as he presented another spoonful of broth. His eyes narrowed, suspicious.
âAre you seriously trying to bargain with me right now?â
âYou have to read to me until I fall asleep.â
âTch.â He clicked his tongue, pressing the spoon to your mouth. You tried not to splutter a laugh, knowing heâd only be more agitated if you spat out the food. âWhy would you want me to read to you? Iâm no good at it and I have half the speed you do.â
âBut you really do such a good job⊠I love listening to you read. It gives me joy.â You spoke earnestly, watching his ears burn brighter with every word. He looked away with a groan, the glare sharpening over his frown.
âDamn youâŠfine, if it matters so much to you, Iâll do it just this once! But only because youâre ill, got it??â
âThank you, my love.â
âGhâŠ! S-shut up and eat.â He snapped, all but shoving the next spoon into your mouth. You grinned behind the wood utensil, finding delight in how easily you could fluster such a prickly man.Â
You finished the rest of your food promptly, and without any further bartering. And of course the bitter medicine came after, but as promised, Lonâqu reluctantly trudged back to the bed with your latest novel, opened to the page you last read and started stumbling through the paragraphs.
If you were bothered by his lack of literary skills, you didn't say it. Instead you leaned into his side, and threaded your fingers with his, listening to the tale that unfolded while Lonâqu continued on.
He did not know when you fell asleep, but he did not stop reading until darkâŠand not beccause he liked holding your hand for so long, or anything.
No, that wasnât it at all.
While you wouldnât make a full recovery for another week and a half, Lonâqu was there to support you through every minute of it (and maybe possibly secretly hold your hand when able, as well).
I am still obsessed with Robin x Lon'qu after shipping it for several years so I wrote a fanfic about it. Check it out if you're interested. Summary below the link:
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Rating: T
No archive warnings apply
Summary:
Lon'qu doesn't understand Robin. She's the most important and talented person in the army, and yet she always finds time to chat with him and fights side-by-side with him in battle. These feelings confuse and scare him, but he can't deny them as the war comes to an end.
~ A one-shot compilation of scenes that set up the relationship between Robin and Lon'qu during the first part of the story leading in the timeskip ~
For twitter hush tag " ăăłă«ăăŠăŁăŒăŻïŒLONBIN weekïŒ "
I'd like to see the scenes of them fighting back to back, more and more, again and againđ