Fire Emblem A-Weight-Gain-Ing: Severa

Cordelia always worked hard to achieve the best results in whatever field she ventured into. Every field but that of love. Before meeting her husband, she was hopelessly in love with Chrom, a prince. Something that, despite her abilities elsewhere, she was never able to act upon. A regret she thought she would take to her grave. But something changed all of that: the arrival of her daughter.

Due to a mad, time travel/split universe/loop, kinda thingy that Cordelia had to chart out to understand completely, several children from this doomed future arrived in this time in order to help change the timeline... or at least that was the short of it.
Two of these children claimed to be Cordelia's child, one bringing her wedding ring, given by her husband Robin, as proof. Not that she needed it. This girl, Severa, shared Cordelia's fiery red hair, something that very few people in the world shared. The second child, Morgan, seemed to have lost her memories in transit, but was the spitting image of her father's genius, and an energetic bubbly girl.

But unlike the other children, Severa didn't seem to loving towards Cordelia at first:

“Dammit, Cordelia! It's always 'Chrom' this, and 'Chrom' that with you! Even in my time! Stop and think about US for a second!”

Words that pierced Cordelia's heart.

Cordelia didn't give a thought to yearning for Chrom, even in front of her family. But  until she heard from the lips of Severa just how obsessive she was on the subject, she never even thought what it was doing to them. How Robin would sulk off elsewhere when she'd bring up Chrom, how Severa's scowl would intensify.
For a fleeting minute she even thought Robin was cheating on her out of anger (turned out to be a spell by Tharja, which was quickly put a stop to by Chrom).

Even in the future... she ignored her family's feelings in order to live in the past? For such a stupid statement, it hurt Cordelia to know she never grew out of this childish dream. She had a husband who loved her dearly, and who she adored as well. And now, children, who Cordelia barely knew. Morgan didn't seem to mind, not remembering her childhood, and latched on to Cordelia as if she were her 'real' mother who raised her.

Severa on the other hand, was cold and distant, often hiding any signs of affection under harsh words and attitude. She was angry at Cordelia, and not just for the whole Chrom thing, but after digging around, she found that Severa was in mourning. For in the terrible future she came from, Cordelia died... went of to fight and never returned, leaving Severa and Morgan alone.

“And that's why, Morgan, I'm going to be the best mother Severa could ever ask for!” Cordelia announced, slamming her fists on the counter in front of her, making the multitude of pans, pots, and bowls to rattle and shake violently.

“Right!” Morgan agreed, smiling wildly, and carrying a large stack of books behind her mother. The volumes teetered dangerously, as Morgan searched for somewhere to place them.

Cordelia, however, had never been a mother... or anything close to it. She had no rightly idea on how to be 'motherly'. But with a little help from Morgan in the research department, she found and answer deep in one of the books she carried around herself, “Make Him Fall for You in a Fortnight”.

-

“The way to the heart lies through the stomach! Mom, this should do it!”

“Excuse me?”

“Just be a good cook! Make things Severa likes, and she'll love you in no time!”

“Seems... awfully stereotypical. I've never spent much time in the kitchen. Are you sure?”

“Of course! Besides, I'm sure she already loves you. You are her mom after all. Just butter her up a little, and she'll open right up!”

“O-ok! Now what does Severa like?”

“Sweet things. Dad took us out for dinner last night as a treat before his trip, and she ordered right off the desert menu!”

“Right! Then we'll get to work!”

-

Even with Morgan reading instructions directly from the cookbooks she'd carried with her, Cordelia's first few attempts at cooking were met with abject failure. Cakes made from 60% char (“Don't worry, we'll just get the fire going hotter and put it in for less time!”). Eclairs filled with spoiled cream (“You have to keep it iced!?”). And pies with no real place on this Earth (“Why settle for apple OR meat? I'll make it half and half!”).

“Mom, you're gonna have to listen if you wanna do this. Calm down and take your time.” Morgan chided, her short red hair filled with spatterings of flour. She'd taken off her long coat long ago in order to make up for the heat of the kitchen, and now her tunic was covered in dusty handprints.

“Y-you're right. Let's try for something simple though. Something small... like a fruit tart.” Cordelia looked worse off than her daughter, her long hair pulled back and tied off to keep it out of the food, and a too large apron covering her everyday attire, the beige actually working well with the deep red of her shirt. But the large black stains marred both layers of her over clothing, and bits of all sorts of things, including a particularly nasty beef and apple hybrid, had made their way into her hair, as well as her apron.

The kitchen itself was fairly clean for what had transpired there. Cordelia insisted on doing her dishes as they were used and cleaning her space after each step. This was one of the few things done right, however, as certain dishes were ruined, used in the wrong place, at the wrong time, for something it wasn't even made for. The stonework oven was burnt out, smoke escaping from it, happily find its way out of the window into the castle courtyard.

“Yeah, but let's take a break, ok?” Morgan insisted, walking over to the window. It was so pretty outside. And a dream come true... or so she hoped. Living in a castle tower was something she certainly thought she would have dreamed  of. So when she made her own bucket list, she'd have something she could check off right away! She had her parents to thank for that though. Cordelia's position in the army, and Robin's job as tactician (as well as no former home) gave Chrom great reason beyond being his close friends to allow them to live in such a place. Sure, it was in one of the towers, not the main hall. But it wasn't the barracks. And it wasn't a small wooden house on the edge of town. Morgan truly loved this place. Access to the royal library, the ability to watch her father at work, and watching the royal family at work, repairing the kingdom in front of a loving populace. Now if only there was a dragon to fight. She'd kick its butt three ways from Sunday. Maybe she could convince Nah to come over to play...

“Here we go!” Cordelia shouted, breaking Morgan from her thoughts.

Cordelia's finger pointed at a page in one of the smaller cookbooks. A small strawberry tart, a recipe for a dozen or so.

“Better make a few batches... just to make sure I get it right.”

-

“Well, they're a bit sloppy. But-” Morgan picked up one of the many tarts stacked on the tray in front of her. Tiny things, she could probably fit three in the palm of her hand. Flaky, golden brown crust, fresh berries, a bit of strawberry jam, and a layer of white frosting. No special design. No gourmet ingredients. Hell, she wasn't sure if it actually qualified as a tart. That book was suspect. But when taking a bit of it. “They tashe grea'! You' offta a goo' star'!” Morgan announced, her cheeks full of the small treat.

“Great!” Cordelia shouted, springing up to action and picking up the tray.

“Aren' ya 'gulp' Aren't you going to try one yourself?” Morgan asked, swallowing her own sample. Cordelia shook her head.


“No, if you like them that's good enough. The rest go to Severa.” With that, not stopping to tidy herself up, Cordelia sped out of the room, in a hurry to put her 'mother' skills into action.

“Ok then! Good luck!” Morgan shouted, before turning back to the window.

“Hey! Owain! Is that you!? … You'll do what with your hand!? I don't think rage works like that!”

-

“Yeah, whatever. Thanks.”

Severa slammed the door behind her, not wanting to look at Cordelia's face longer than she had to. It was too painful.

Severa could have left and gone off on her own. She didn't have to live with her parents. And sometimes she'd wish she had just wandered off. But she could live here for free, and get what she wanted for just doing a few chores around the house.
Now, if only she could do it without seeing her.

Severa looked at the tray she'd taken from Cordelia. Dozens of tarts, all stacked with care.

“So she's started cooking? Give it til tonight. She'll have it perfected, pfft.”

Tossing the trey on her bed, Severa turned to her dresser. She had no intention of eating them... none at all. Instead she wanted to try on her new dress. Hopefully, she had estimated correctly and her bust had grown just enough to fit in. Compared to Morgan, or even Cordelia, it was one of the only things she had over them. And she was soooo tired of wearing her 'battle' clothes. It was all she'd brought with her, so it was all she had for the longest time. Detached sleeves, three panel beige tunic, with a chest window exposing her flexible undershirt, and vertical striped leggings... she'd grown so tired of it. At least she'd been able to take off the heavier armor sections to make it wearable in everyday life.

But fashion aside, throwing a platter of loose tarts isn't the best of ideas. The little snackers flew off onto the bed, smearing her sheets with frosting and red jam.

“Oh, DAMMIT!” She shouted, stomping to the scene of the mess. She had just cleaned up too. Spent all day folding her clothes, dusting the furniture, washing her linens... if she was gonna live here, she was gonna live nicely. And here she was, picking tarts off her sheets.

“Cordelia... messing up everything...” Severa fumed, pinching up the treats one by one, and throwing them back on the tray. “Wasting my time and her time making-”

Severa's rant stopped abruptly, as she took the time to look at the last tart she picked up. White frosting with a single red dot in the middle and a single crack in the side of the crust. Reaching down, she plucked it up and got a closer look.

-

“It's ok, Baby, it's ok! Mommy'll fix it up then give it a kiss, alright, Honey?” Cordelia was attempting to soothe her crying daughter. So far, she was met with no success. On her knees to match the girl's height, she was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable. Little over five, Severa was not easily quelled when she began to wail. For once, it seemed to be justified... a little bit at least. The scrape on her left knee could make a grown man tear up. Cordelia has cleaned it out already, and was just getting the bandages wrapped. The crimson was already beginning to soak into the thick white strips... poor thing.

“It huuuuuurts, I don't wanna kiss! I'm sweaty, I'm hurt, and I'm huuuuuuuungry!” Severa shouted, rubbing her eyes raw with tiny fists, one of her scarlet twintails gripped in each hand.

Cordelia finished up the job, and looked back at the kitchen counter. A tray of tarts lay on it, cooling and ready for dinner that night. She had hoped to surprise everyone... it was the first time she'd attempted baking. But for this, she'd make an exception.

Picking one of tarts off the edge, she knelt back down and presented it to Severa.

Severa stopped crying, and began to sniff heavily staring at the treat with tear filled eyes.
“I-I can have it?” She asked, releasing her hair.

Cordelia nodded.

Severa's tiny hands reached out and grabbed it. For a second she just looked at it, taking in the white frosting, and the little red bit Cordelia had added to the middle for decoration. Turning it Severa found a small crack in the side, but that hardly seemed to matter. Within a second it was shoved into her tiny mouth, bits of strawberry and frosting around her mouth.

“There, feeling better?”

“A-a bit.”

-

Tears began to build up, and she began to shake. “M-mommy...” She muttered, fingers closing over the top of the tart. “I can't do this again.”
Then she crushed it. Jam oozed between her fingers, and her palm was a mess of strawberries, sugar, and crust.  
And then the tears wouldn't stop.

Sad, bawling, and hand covered in filth, Severa sat for a while, unable to move, and unable to do anything but let old memories flood over her like rubbing salt on a fetid wound. Things she'd done her best to forget. To shut out. The same reason she stayed so distant from Cordelia. She didn't... she just...

Her hand was gross.

Taking her mind off of it, she looked at the mess of tart in her hand.

“She... made this for me *sniff” Severa felt a twinge of guilt. It wasn't on purpose. It was an accident. But to see Cordelia's hard work- no, not hard work. She was 'perfect'. There was no way it was hard. Yet... Severa thought back to when Cordelia was at the door, apron blackened, and hair in a mess. Maybe she truly did work hard for it... not that was an excuse. She was just trying to justify her rudeness at this point.

“I-I guess I'm hungry...” She concluded, blushing a bit, while attempting to convince herself, embarrassed about her actions. Bringing her hand to her face, she began to lick it clean. No better place to start. Not like she could just wash it off... someone might see her red eyes or dried tears.
It was... nostalgic. It wasn't particularly the best thing she'd ever had by any stretch, but it wasn't nearly bad either. It was the draw to her past, to happy memories, that made her lick off her hand, leaving a wet, sticky film behind in a matter of seconds.
Afternoons spent picking strawberries with Morgan so that mother would have all the ingredients she'd need. Smells of baking dough on the weekends when mom was home and baking. Dad taking over watching the fire so Cordelia could play with both of them.

Wiping her hand on her pants, she looked at the tray in front of her.

“No reason to waste them, right?”

-

“So how'd it go? Is plan Sugary Sweet successful? Should I get out the party hats? Oh daggers, I haven't made the party hats yet. Get back in there and take the tarts back til I finish the hats.”

Cordelia shook her head at Morgan's ramblings, as she trudged back into the kitchen.

“She slammed the door on me. Took the tray, and not more than a halfhearted thanks. I don't know if this is a good plan, Morgan.” Cordelia took a chair next to the preparations counter, and propped up her head in her hand.
She'd taken quite a while to walk back to the kitchen. She'd gone at quite the lethargic pace, a bit depressed on the outcome.

“Oh... well...” Morgan seemed to be affected by her mother's mood, unsure of what to say.

But the silence was broken for both of them as footsteps pattered down the hall. Someone not wearing shoes. Both of them turned to the doorway, to find Severa taking the last few steps into the kitchen, silver tray in hand, cleaned off completely. A small bit of frosting dabbed at the corner of her mouth, and clearly visible with the shade of cherry red her face was turning.

“So, yeah, thanks... it was good. Just bring some milk next time, alright?” Severa announced, head turned to the side so she didn't have to look directly at the both of them. She seemed to be embarrassed to say the least, forcing herself into a scowl to not expose her emotions, but for a split second, she could swear she saw a small hint of a smile flash on her face. Cordelia would take it. It was a good start.

Reaching over, she took the tray from her daughters hands, and smiled. It was all worth it.

“Of course, Dear.”

“D-Don't call me that!”


-

Robin hadn't been home in quite a while. Weeks even. He'd been in Feroxi, watching to see which Khan would come out on top this year. Given the friendliness of both of the Khans to the kingdom now, there really wasn't a problem on whoever won. But, it was still important to- aw, who was he kidding. He was helping Chrom participate secretly.

Fun where they could get it, now.

Still, being away from his family this long tugged at Robin's heart. He missed them dearly. And he was arriving late at night, so they weren't even awake.
It was best to wait til morning, he decided. Let them sleep. Severa at the least would give him a good one two for awaking her, he was sure.

Slipping his coat and boots off at the door, Robin wiped the sweat off his brow from the walk upstairs, making his own short ruby hair rustle for a sec. Quietly he snuck into the kitchen and into the hallway, not wanting to make a sound. If he was gonna wake up anyone, it was gonna be Cordelia, and it would be a nice little surprise. So he crept.
Tiptoe, tiptoe across the floor making not a noise.

“GRRRRROOOOOOOAAAN”

Or so he thought. Since when did the floor groan? Or was it his feet?

“MOOOOOOAAAAAAAN”

This time, Robin was still. He didn't make that noise... so what did? All that was next to him was Severa's room.

“Daaaaaaaaaaaddy...”

That was his cue. Weak and droning, she sounded more asleep than distressed, but she did sound like she was in pain. No way he was gonna ignore that.
Leaning against her door, he slowly let it creak open.

“Honey? Are you ok?” Robin peeked in, only to find Severa lying under the sheets in her bed, curled up with what seemed to be a pillow or two. It was hard to make out in the dark, with nothing but the scant moonlight giving only a dark silhouette, and a quickly dying candle on her bedside giving light to only her fiery locks, her lantern out. But she was definitely shivering, and making noises, uncomfortable.

“G-go away... wait. Dad?” Severa didn't seem too happy to hear a friendly voice at first, but she seemed to change face pretty quick. And she showed her face pretty quick as well, turning to Robin, she lit the lantern with the pitiful candle. “You're back? Owww...”

“Yeah, I'm here.” Robin walked to the bed, and motioned for Severa to sit up. Still wrapped up, she struggled for a bit, but eventually swung herself with enough force to sit up at the foot of her bed, huffing and puffing all the while.

Robin took a seat at the head, and gave his daughter a caring smile. “Tell me what's wrong. If I'm here, I might as well do my job as your father, no? Help me help you.”

Severa's face took a variety of expressions rather quickly. Robin could read anger, embarrassment sadness, and oddly enough, a bit of happiness in her rapidly changing face, as she attempted to find the right words.

Finally, with a sigh, Severa seemed to decide that a few lousy words wouldn't do her situation justice. And with great hesitation, she removed her sheet.

“I... ate too much tonight.”

That much was obvious to Robin. His daughter seemed to be a whole new girl from when he left. Or at least had enough for one added to her frame, stuffed into a pair of far too small pajamas. What he originally assumed was a pillow was her stomach, now large and fluffy, sitting happy in her lap reaching for her knees, the buttons on her shirt unable to meet past her chest. Her leggings were stuffed with her two plump thighs, the seams far from held together. She was wider, fuller, and something of a shock to Robin.

“Um... I-I see. Severa, how long have I been gone? Did I black out again? What year is it?”

“Don't make fun of me! You said you could help!” Severa shouted, grabbing the sheet and pulling it back over her. She winced at the movement, doubling over and grabbing at her tummy.

“I can, I can, don't worry dear. I won't make fun of you.” Robin insisted, reaching over, he took the sheet off of her, and rested it in his lap, along with one of her actual pillows. Patting the pillow, he gave Severa a little stare until she rested the back of her head on it. With a single hand, Robin began to massage his daughter's midsection, trying to relieve some of the stress, and help digestion. Severa seemed to relax immediately, closing her eyes and letting out a deep calm sigh. Robin smiled, despite the situation. He was surprised, but he wasn't one to judge without information.

“Now, Severa... what happened? I want the whole story. I find it hard to believe you'd just let yourself go like this for no reason.” Not to mention how unlikely she'd be able to get so chubby in such little time. But he'd get to that. Robin didn't raise his voice, but he did add a hint of sternness Severa oft needed to take him seriously. Severa's head turned away from Robin, trying not to look him in the eyes.

“It's all Cordelia's fault!” Severa claimed, crossing her arms on over her chest in a huff. “She and Morgan have been baking all day every day since you left. And they give it all to me.”

'So Cordelia picked up baking huh? Shouldn't have taken her long to get it right. Still, there was a lot missing in that little tale.' Robin wondered, continuing his massage.

“But why did they spend all this time baking?” He asked, genuinely curious. He never took Cordelia the type to obsess over a task for a long time. She picked up on things rather quickly, practiced when she needed to, and moved on. She needed a reason. “And surely you didn't need to eat it all, eh? No is an answer, Sweetie.”

“I-I don't know. I guess she was trying to be nice or something. And I guess I ate it all because... I wanted her to be.”

-

Cordelia's treats and gifts didn't let up after the tart tray. Without a doubt they sped up. Just this morning, Severa had woken up to a cake being shoved in her face as she walked to the washroom, still in her baggy nightgown.

Of course, she didn't deny it. Over the past few days, she'd gained quite the taste for Cordelia's cooking. But honestly, eating seemed to be all she was doing now. After the cake was finished, Morgan was already playing delivery girl, and passing on a small cream pie. Which, she ate quickly.

When she finally got a break from it. She stripped off the nightgown and took a look at herself in her mirror.

She'd gotten fat. Alright, not fat. But she'd put on a bit of weight. To her, she was fat. Her waist was thick now, not flabby, or anything, but it definitely had some meat to it. Her chest and bottom had gotten quite a bit of it, but she wasn't too upset on that. In fact, she kind of approved of parts of her new figure. While her waist was thick, her bottom was pushing her black small clothes to the limit, nice and round, plump and holding a nice shape. Given it's new size, she could pass off her waist as smaller, given the comparison. But her chest she took the most pride in. Barely restrained in her bra, they were positively spilling out. She grabbed them and pushed them up and together ever further smiling. Here was something Cordelia could never hope to have.

If her body stayed like this, she could deal with it. It was easy to work back into something thinner from here, she was sure. She was good at everything, including exercise. So... no prob, right?

She just didn't want to stop accepting the constant stream of pastries. While she viewed it as an annoyance the first couple days, she grew to enjoy it very quickly.

And for reasons she really didn't understand, yet.

But she didn't have time to consider it at the morning. Cordelia was at the door, with a tray of fritters.

-

She was fat now. She couldn't justify it anymore. Plump was the nicest way to put it. Her belly had developed into a little round paunch, and was beginning to hang over into her lap when sitting. Her butt had kept growing since her last weigh in, and was now a bit too soft and gravid, hanging over the edge of the cotton ever so slightly, the cloth digging a little groove into her plumpness. Her thighs were thick and were even touching around the top, something she'd never thought possible on her. But worst of all was her bust... which had quit growing. She'd assumed if she continued to put on any weight, quite a bit would go to her chest, and that would be something of a silver lining. But no, now it was one of the smallest parts of her anatomy.

Yet here she was, still shoving an eclair into her mouth. Was she addicted to sweets? Was that it? Severa didn't even feel like she was tasting it anymore, but she still felt a rush each time Cordelia showed up at her door.

With her new size though, she refused to show herself. Her nightgown had been ruined by a jelly filled doughnut, and tossed out, and the only clothes she had that would fit anymore was a pair of pajamas she could barely button all the way, and her battle clothes, that were nice and stretchy.
Now both of these things did nothing but show off her growing tummy and bubbly behind.

No way she was showing Cordelia and Morgan how much of a piggy she was now. Morgan was small and cute, and now Cordelia was a million times more perfect than her, instead of just a thousand. She was the freak now. She would hide in her room during the day, and sneak out at night to clean and tidy herself up.

But despite this kind of life, she still ate and ate.

And why? Cause... she felt love in it.

-

The chair broke. Just before her dad was supposed to come back home. She'd told herself she'd lose some of it before then. As much as she could. But instead, she was polishing off a cake, and busting the arms off of chairs with her ample hips. The back of it couldn't support her weight and gave up the ghost as well.

Her shelf of a butt hung off the sides of the chair, and not for just an inch or two, either. She could honestly fit right in two seats with her one big cushion behind.

Her uniform was used during the day now, as to save her more comfortable pajamas for sleep. Her belly wasn't exactly contained in it now, as her gut pushed the three sections of fabric to their absolute limit now, multiple handfuls of chubby fluff asserting their way out into the world while she sat.

She could barely take standing anymore. Not because she was tired, but to see her belly hanging over the fork of her legs like it did... it didn't settle right with her. The way it tugged at her outfit, forcing the cross lacing on the sides to strain and beg to be ripped in two, to let that pendulous tummy out.

The belt holding on her sleeves held it's own creating a trench in her upper arm as it pushed into her pristine jiggly flesh was nothing she could ignore. But having to see her plump arms create more rolls as they flexed and pushed together from normal tasks, even at her wrists... too much for her to handle.

She was a porker, and was gonna getting fattened up like prize hog.

-

Severa finished her recounts,  and reached down and grabbing her gut's sloshy sides, sliding back into her own love handles. She just kinda gave in to it all. Like a good piggy.

“So, you liked getting pampered? Should have expected as much.” Robin smiled, knowing how Severa loved the idea of a luxurious lifestyle. “But that's not all is it?”

“N-no...” Severa admitted. “It wasn't so much the food, I think, Daddy.”

“ Oh really?”

“No, I just... I just wanted Cordelia to dote on me.” Severa's face matched her hair, a phenomenon barely visible in the candle light.

“Now, why would you...” Robin's line of questioning was stalled as he looked into his daughter's eyes.

She was tearing up.

“Severa?”

Rolling over, forcing Robin's hand off her stomach Severa grabbed his shirt and began to sob into it. Hot tears soaked into his clothes, but Severa was doing her best not to make a bunch of noise, probably forcing herself as to not draw Cordelia's attention. But she was heaving and a river of tears still flowed down her cherubic cheeks. Quiet while crying had never been her strong suit.

Indeed, as Severa continued crying, Robin looked at the door and watched Cordelia step into view, rubbing her eyes, still wearing her white robes from being in bed. Robin kept his mouth shut as she walked in. Severa probably didn't want this heard by anyone, Cordelia in particular.
As Cordelia noticed what was going on, her mouth opened in shock. But before anything could be said, Robin opened his eyes wide, and put a finger over his mouth, alerting Cordelia to not let her prescience to be known. Cordelia hadn't seen anything but Severa's face in quite a while, so this was likely a surprise to her, but she needed to just let it ride for now.
Severa didn't want this heard, but it was probably a good idea that it was. These two had some issues to fix.

And finally, Severa tried to speak. After a few stuttering attempts, she was finally able to scream it out of her system.

“Because I miss her, Dad! I miss her more than anything in the world!” Severa's words were mixed with blubbering, but she was set on saying it. “She left me! She went off and died, and left me to look after Morgan on my own. I was no replacement for her! She was the best Mom anyone could ask for!”

“Oh...” Robin took hold of Severa, and pressed her against his chest, attempting to console her.

Cordelia on the other hand was in no condition to do so. Tears were welling in her eyes as well, and her lips were trembling.

“I-I didn't want to get close again! I wanted to keep her away! So I said things I didn't mean. Things I knew would hurt her! If I lost her again, I couldn't take it! But she was always here, treating me like her 'real' daughter, and being just as loving and charitable as she always was! You know how hard it was to ignore her? To stay distant? When all I've wanted to do was latch on and never let go?”

“I-I see.” Robin was a bit shocked. Severa had been distant, and sometimes downright mean to Cordelia. It was all coming together now. “And this way... she was coming to you huh? Without you having to do anything?” Robin looked up at his wife, and motioned for her to get nearer with his eyes, looking back between her and Severa.

“Yeah... 'sniff'. I wasn't trying to get any closer, but she was... so I just let her. I ate up the attention... among other things. I knew it was going to end badly. I was gonna break down eventually... but I stayed quiet. Because I wanted it so bad. And as long as she was the one doing it, I felt like it was alright.”

“Oh, Honey...”

“Help me, Dad... what should I do?”

Robin didn't speak for a while. He let Severa calm herself. She'd vented a lot in just a minute. She was still breathing heavily, and she stayed latched on to him, her soft form pressing on him, growing and receding with each breath. But she was regulating.

“Severa, the best thing to do would be to tell Cordelia how you feel. You need her. Don't push her away anymore.”

“But... I can't. I can barely tell you.”

Robin smiled up at Cordelia, patting Severa's back. “I wouldn't worry about that.”
With a bit of elbow grease, Robin heaved up his hefty little girl into a proper sitting position at his side. And it came with a good view of Cordelia as well. Through her red eyes, Severa's expression began to fall again, but before she could cry again, she was met with a gentle peck on her forehead from Cordelia's lips.

Cordelia  took the spot to Severa's right, and placed her arm over her daughter's shoulder. Taking the opportunity, Severa launched herself into her mother's arms, and grabbed hold of her tight. Tears resurfaced upon Severa's cheeks, but she had a much easier time of speaking. She only had a single thing to say.

"Mom!”

“Severa, I promise I'll never leave you again. Not until I'm old and wrinkly at the very least.”

-

The next morning, Cordelia was greeting with her whole family finally sitting down at the same table to eat together. She was going to put her cooking skills to good use this morning, and was already preparing the sliced ham, freshly bought at the crack of dawn. She was sparing no expenses. It was going to be the first and only time in quite some time they'd all be there, as Severa decided to take a little trip.

“I'm gonna go visit Kjelle... she'll help me work it all off. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to look at another sweet ever again after going through her training.”

At least she had conviction. Cordelia insisted that the added weight was her fault, and she'd stand by Severa no matter what, but she was proud she was willing to get it off. Severa was proud of her body. (And Robin voiced his happiness, knowing the money he'd put into her wardrobe wouldn't go to waste.)

“Wow, you really did get fa-... umm... roooouuuuund.” Morgan observed, walking around a rather unamused Severa. She wasn't exposed anymore, wearing one of Robin's spare robes to cover up.

“Shush, Morgan. Or I'll strap you down and feed you cupcakes til you can't move.” Severa shot back, red in the face.
Morgan smiled weakly and backed off at the threat, and instead turned to Robin.

“I'm so glad you're home, Dad! I have a lot to go over with you on how to fight Manaketes. I think I had a real breakthrough. On another note completely different note, Nah doesn't want to talk with me right now...”

Robin raised an eyebrow in concern and continued buttering the biscuits for the meal. No sense making Cordelia do all of the work.

“I'm glad to be back, Baby. But that does make me wonder...” Robin looked over at Severa who had her plate pushed towards the center of the counter, empty. “Severa, how come you didn't push me away from your life?”

Severa looked opposite of Robin, a trait he knew meant she didn't really want to say what was on her mind.

“Severa...”

“Well, Morgan was always closest to you, not me.”

Robin looked at his youngest daughter, wearing a set of robes that matched his in her size, carrying around one of the books from his own personal stash, and smiling eagerly at him for his return. He smiled back. Yeah, he could see that.

"And, you weren't home all the time. You were always working with Chrom. 'pft'. Always Chrom with you.”

Cordelia laughed from the other side of the kitchen, still turning the ham in the pan.

Robin cringed at the sound. “Ouch.”