He ran out of the school, through the pouring rain which began to feel like bullets piercing his skin after a while, and up the stairs to his dorm. He probably should've taken the elevator but his only thought right now was to get his clothes as dry as possible. He hated the feeling of wet clothes sticking to his skin, it just felt... bad. And so, he figured running up the stairs instead of standing still in a cold elevator might be the better option. Sure he might be completely out of breath afterwards, but it was worth it. Kinda.

Zelda, meanwhile, had received his earlier message that he was on his way, and had prepared everything necessary for him to relax once he got home. A nice, warm bath infused with essential oils, warm clothes laid out for him to change into, and a nice, warm cup of tea awaiting him.

The door suddenly slammed open after a set of beeps and there Robin was. Still completely drenched, despite all that running. He was panting heavily, still holding the door open as he said, "Help."

"Follow the towel path to a great world, where a warm bath awaits," Zelda smiled.

"Thank you," he sighed, taking off his shoes and backpack then rushing his way to the bathroom using the towel path. As soon as he shut the door behind him, he took off his clothes and slowly slid himself into the bath, letting out a sigh of relief once he was fully submerged. How relaxing. The sweet lavender scent of the room combined with the warm water was really the perfect place to relax. He could almost fall asleep, even. That is, until the self-confidence train decided to take a ride around his train.

He got out of the tub and dried himself, wrapping the towel around his hips. Then, he stared himself down in the mirror, frowning, while holding on to the sink with both hands. He wasn't ugly. Just painfully average. Well, white hair wasn't average, but in a world where things like dragons exist, he was average. He couldn't make up for the lack of looks with his body either. He was tall, sure, but there was no muscle. His arms were atoned, but that was from certain... activities, and from doing all the heavy work around his houses since his father was... well, it wasn't important. Maybe he should go to the gym. Nah, too much work.

"Robin, come out soon or the tea will get cold!" Zelda said from the other side of the door.

"I'll be out soon!" Robin said. He sighed and decided the pity party could be resumed later. Right now, he wanted to enjoy a nice cup of tea then clock out for the day.

There was a knock at the front door, to which Zelda attended. She opened it and found none other than Claude, looking rather panicked. He grabbed both of her shoulders, muttering, "Help."

Zelda raised a brow. "What did you do?"

"How rude of you to assume I was the one that did something. What if I was being tracked down by a serial killer and needed a place to hide?" Claude said jokingly.

"And is that the case?"

"No, obviously. I just have a horrible roommate," he groaned.

"Nervous?" Robin said with a raised brow. "Why would he be nervous?"

"Perhaps you intimidate him," Zelda smiled, taking a seat on one of the office chairs around the desk.

"Me? Intimidating?" Robin said as he took a seat as well. His eyes moved away from Zelda's for a moment, darting around the room, then around himself, until they met with Zelda's again. "I'm intimidating?!"

Zelda handed him his cup of tea and only smiled in response. Robin felt something in his stomach, and it did not feel good. "So, how did it go with Chrom?"

He raised a brow at the sudden change in topic but sighed. "Nothing happened, really, we just talked for a little bit while I cleaned up then I came home." Robin's face turned serious, yet a slight tinting of his cheeks showed his true feelings. "W-why would something have happened anyway?"

"Oh I don't know," Zelda said as she sipped on her tea, "Maybe because you like him?"

"I wouldn't say like-"

"-But there's something there, right?" Zelda smirked.

"...you're not wrong."

"Soooo?"

"Nothing happened, he just asked me how my day was going and we talked for a little and that's it," Robin huffed, focusing on drinking his tea rather than listening to Zelda's nonsensical questions.

"Well that's boring," she sighed. "But I suppose you had no chance with him anyway since he's, you know, married-"

"-And at least twice as old as me."

"That too, but hey, at least you have a chance with Lucina."

"She's dating someone else though."

"Who knows, maybe they'll break up tomorrow."

"Don't jinx it."

"That's exactly what I'm trying to do."

"How evil!"

"Yes, yes, 'tis my true nature!"

Robin let out a chuckle, which quickly turned into a short-lived, yet beautiful laugh. His eyes closed, showing the slight yet clearly there smile lines around his eyes. Zelda's heart warmed up at the sight. She'd been trying to make him laugh from the moment they first met, and in every attempt, she was met with a crude, almost pitiful chuckle. But this time, it was genuine, and boy did it make her feel things. She almost wished to capture it in a jar and keep it as a keepsake, but unfortunately she didn't have magic to be able to do that.

A sudden, unexplainable urge rose up in her, and her hand soon found itself on top of Robin's head. He stopped sipping his tea, slowly looking up at her with wide eyes. She looked at him with equally wide eyes. "Um," she said, retracting her hand. "Sorry, that was, uh, a reflex and, uh, yeah."

"At least try making a good excuse," Robin smiled.

"I did try! It just... didn't come out the way I wanted it to," Zelda said, "I have trouble articulating words, you see."

"I don't think someone who has trouble articulating words would be able to say the word 'articulating,'" Robin said. "Also, that's probably not the right term."

"Whatever! You know what I mean," Zelda huffed.

Once again, he let out a short laugh. He was silent for a moment, his cheeks slightly flaring up. "You can pat my head, if you want. Just, try not to do it so suddenly."

"I understand," Zelda nodded. "Then, can I pat your head now?"

"Sure," he shrugged, his cheeks deepening in color. Slowly, she placed her hand on his hair, feeling the softness and fluffiness of it. It was a bit curly yet untangled, despite him having just come out of the shower. She moved it around a bit, being as gentle as possible as she styled it. He flinched every so often, but didn't tell her to stop, nor gestured anything that said he wanted her to stop. It was almost like he was enjoying it.

"I feel like a mom," Zelda said.

Robin snorted at the suddenness of her words, moving his head away and covering his mouth as giggles threatened to escape his lips. "Sorry, that just, pfft, came out of nowhere."

"I am your mother now, I hope you're happy," Zelda smiled.

And he couldn't help but smile too. This girl was really something. It was weird, he felt cared for, but they had only known each other for two days. Is it really possible to develop such a close bond in two days? He'd say no, yet he was already so used to talking to her, he felt comfortable, safe even. As she was patting his head, he was trying his best to hold back tears because that feeling triggered something within him, something nice, something he hasn't felt in a long time. Warmth. And he certainly didn't want to let go of that feeling.