Quick disclaimer: The title and general idea for this story were inspired by the DC Comics miniseries, Flashpoint.

Oh, and since it's the only pairing that can't happen in the actual game, do know now that CordeliaxSumia is present here.

With that out of the way, enjoy.

Stahl let out a smile as gazed upon the sun before him.

It had been three days since Robin sacrificed himself to take out Grima once and for all. While Stahl, along with the entire army, was devastated by the loss of Robin, they were also ecstatic that the war was finally over. It had been a rigorous and harsh effort, but they defeated the Fell Dragon for good – and the bad future Lucina and the other children hailed from would not come to pass.

After the fall of Grima, the army had a celebration to themselves, one that would ultimately pale in comparison to the one that would come when they returned to Ylisstol. They had marched nonstop for the past three days, and though they were only two or three hours away from the capital of Ylisse, Chrom had decided that that the Shepherds could use a break. They had this night to breathe and relax, and to prepare for the overwhelming celebration tomorrow.

Stahl let out a sigh of relief as he took a good look at the lush and wonderful forest that laid not too far from the Shepherds' campsite. It felt nice to feel this peace and quiet, without the pressures and horrors of war glooming down on his shoulders.

His thoughts were briefly interrupted when Nowi came running towards the cavalier knight, a bright smile illuminating from her face.

"Hey, Stahl!" the tiny manakete burst out to Stahl. "Have you seen my delightful Gregor anywhere?"

Stahl chuckled. "Last I saw, he was chatting with Anna in the mess tent about something."

"Thanks!" Nowi replied, and the enthusiastic woman left to find her husband.

Stahl was glad to see that Nowi wasn't gloom or depressing, but every now and then, he had to wonder how she maintained her bright and cheerful outlook on things. Let alone was she forced to watch as the people she got to know eventually aged and died, but she had lived a rough life, having been sold and traded into slavery at various points in her life. Stahl didn't like to think about it too much, feeling it wasn't really his business.

Stahl began thinking about his wife, Lissa. They had been married for over two years, and sometimes, he still couldn't believe he married a princess. He was technically a part of Ylisse's royal family, and he still needed to get used to the citizens treating him as if he's above them. While he found it a bit daunting to be related to the likes of Chrom and Lucina, if only through marriage, his son Owain was the one who really made Stahl raise an eyebrow. Growing up, Stahl didn't really think about what his children would be like, but he never expected them to be as hammy and theatrical as he was.

"Stahl! Get your ass over here!" Stahl turned around to see Sully sitting at a table, with Donnel standing right by it.

Stahl laughed at Sully's comment. He had trained alongside Sully, so he knew that she lacked malice whenever she cursed to him like that. He took a seat next to Sully, and it was only when he sat down that he noticed her husband, Kellam, sitting next to her. Stahl wished he could notice Kellam more easily, but he was glad to see the knight. Sully, Donnel, and Kellam had grown to be his closest friends during the war, and it was nice to be with them once more.

Just then, he noticed Cordelia and Sumia walking over towards their group. The two Pegasus Knights were married, to the surprise of almost no one – except Ricken and Vaike, who had both developed crushes on Cordelia before she hooked up with her childhood friend. It wasn't long after Stahl noticed the two that Sumia tripped onto the ground, something the entire army had long gotten used to. Cordelia helped Sumia up, and the imposingly statuesque redhead leaned in and pressed a kiss towards the top of her much shorter wife's forehead before Sully invited the two to sit with them.

After a few minutes of the six chatting with each other, Donnel brought a question. "So…what are y'all doing with the rest of yer lives?"

Sumia was the first to answer. "Well, Cordelia and I will be granted a stretch of pasture out west and we're gonna begin raising Pegasi together!"

Cordelia stepped in for some clarification. "I'll help out with the Pegasus farm, of course, but I also plan on continuing my service in the army. Serving the people of Ylisse as a knight has been a lifetime goal of mine, and I don't plan on giving it up anytime soon."

Kellam sighed. "Well, I plan on continuing my service as knight, too…and I gotta work on making people notice me. I feel like my name's just gonna be lost to history."

"Ooh," Sumia replied. "Kellam. I didn't notice you were there. I'm so sorry!"

"It's alright." Kellam replied in an assuring voice, but he was still upset by it - as exemplified by his second, deeper sigh.

Sully scoffed at Kellam's quarrel. "Don't worry, babe. I will always love the freaking crap out of you, regardless if anyone ever notices you!"

"And besides, Kellam," Cordelia piped in, "It's not about the fame. It's about the journey you take yourself on, and the friends you make along the way. My advice: Just focus on living a good life."

Kellam smiled, having been reassured, before Donnel spoke up. "Well, and I know you and Stahl are continuing yer service, Sully….man. You guys wer' all fantastic, but I'm just gonna retire to my village and help out my Ma. Fightin' just ain't for me."

Stahl chuckled. "That's fine – live the life you want to live." Stahl was very happy to be here with his friends. He planned on visiting most of his Shepherds whenever he could over the years, but he didn't know how much time he would have for that, having to live life as a prince and all.

Before Stahl could delve in his thoughts any deeper, Sumia piped in with a book recommendation. "Hey, everyone! I almost forgot!" she said as she placed a book onto the table. "This book here, The Ocarina of Time, is simply fantastic! The story is so deep and compelling, and gosh darn it, the atmosphere is simply breathtaking! I cannot recommend it enough!"

As Stahl looked back on his time in the army, he did realize there would be a few things he had already come to regret, and one of them was not getting closer to Sumia. They had always gotten along well, but as he thought about it, Stahl felt that could've had a wonderful friendship given their traits and quirks. Lissa would always have the key to his heart, but he would try to see if they could visit the two Pegasus Knights on occasion.

Speaking of Lissa, he saw her and their son Owain dashing towards them. Stahl actually hadn't talked to his son all day, and he was lambasting himself for that. He told himself that he had to make an effort to be a better father from here on out.

"There you are, Father!" Owain exclaimed with his usual boldness. Stahl still could not believe this was his son.

"Hey, son…how you doing!"

"I am doing excellent! I just wanted you to know that after the great celebrations tomorrow, I will going away, on an epic quest to stay my sword hand!"

It was then that Stahl noticed a deadpan expression on his wife's face. "Dear, can you please talk him out of it?"

"Uh…" Stahl was obliged to follow through with Lissa's request, but he wasn't quite sure what to say. "Well, Owain, you see…." And then it finally clicked to him. "Think about it Owain. You've had a rough life. You came from a future where everything went to hell, and we just vanquished the source of all the misery and suffering you had to endure. That's some pretty heavy stuff. I advise you stay in Ylisstol for a while and try to live a peaceful life."

Owain cupped his chin as he thought about it. He had to concede that his father had a point – he had been through a lot in his life, and he had technically already gone on an epic quest with his friends to prevent a full-blown apocalypse. He decided that his father was right. "You know what, father…I'll tone it down for a while. But mark my words – an epic quest will call my name!"

Stahl chucked. "Well, that's good enough for now, I guess…" And with that, Owain dashed away. He had plans with Inigo and Brady right about then.

'Huh. That actually worked.' Stahl couldn't help but think to himself. Lissa stayed behind and hugged Stahl from behind, kissing his cheek.

"You look handsome as always, love!"

Stahl couldn't help but blush when she said that, and grinned like a child. "Thanks, Lissa…actually, I was thinking we could go out for a bite! I know dinner's not for too long, but I'm so hungry I could eat a Pegasus!"

Sumia gasped when she heard that while Cordelia widened her eyes. Kellam sighed and shook his head, and everyone else was aghast at Stahl making that comment in front of the two. Stahl was initially confused as to why everyone was looking at him funny, before it quickly hit him.

"Oh, shoot! Cordelia, Sumia, I am so sorry! Pegasuses – erm, Pegasi -, are very beautiful creatures. While I have always had a soft spot for horses myself, I have great respect for Pegasi and those who ride them. I would never eat one. …I swear."

Before Cordelia or Sumia could respond, Lissa groaned. "Come, on Stahl. Let's go eat."

"Erm, right…uh, see you all at dinner." Stahl smiled nervously as he quickly departed with his wife.

They walked silently for about a minute, before Lissa finally mustered up something to say to her partner. "Stahl…I love you to death, but sometimes you make me facepalm so hard."

Stahl smiled nervously as he looked down at his petite wife. "Sorry, honey. I swear, something like that won't happen again."

"…Well, at least it wasn't anything too bad. And Cordelia and Sumia are forgiving people."

Stahl continued to let nervousness color his mood. "Yeah, I hope they do…" Just then, they saw Severa and Cynthia passing by them. The daughters of Cordelia and Sumia looked to be bickering with one another as they walked, which was also something the camp was used to. As Stahl watched them passed by, the thought of how the girls came to be pondered through his head.

"Speaking of Cordelia and Sumia…uh, how are they going to have children?" Stahl had actually been wondering that ever since Severa and Cynthia joined the Shepherds, but he never brought it up until now. Lissa let that deadpan look shine through her again.

"Was that a real question? We live in a world of magic! Spells and hexes are common fact! That's how!"

"Okay, okay, I was just wondering…." Stahl began thinking about his future with Lissa. He was always confident that the Shepherds would prevail against Grima and prevent the Risen and the Grimleal from overwhelming humanity and bringing about its end, but he never thought about what the future would hold until a few days before the final battle. He always tried to stay on the optimistic and brighter side of things, but he couldn't pretend that the new future would be sickeningly perfect. Lissa picked up on her husband's uneasiness.

"Hey, relax. You know I was just giving you a hard time…"

Stahl jumped briefly, having been snapped back into reality by his wife. "I know you were. It's just…what do you think the future will be like? I mean, I'm very glad Grima's gone, even though Robin had to give his own life for it, but…I just can't help but wonder what the new future will be." Stahl let out a deep sigh.

Lissa grabbed his hand, and Stahl always loved how warm and soft her hands were. "Look, the future won't be perfect. But then, nothing is. I won't worry about the future, because I have some of the best people I could ask for by my side. There's Chrom, and Owain, and Maribelle…and you. The most fantastic husband a girl could ask for. Yeah, I know I sound a bit corny right now, but I mean it. As long as you are by my side, I'm confident the future will be spectacular."

Stahl's cheeks were burning. It felt good to have someone he could share his devotion and passion with. He leaned down to give Lissa a tremendous kiss. As he thought about what she said, he realized that his wife was right. As long as he had people like Lissa and Kellam to support him and help him out, he felt he was going to do fine. Yes, the future would have some scary moments, but he felt he could get through it with the help of the relationships he had built over the last few years.

Just as Stahl leaned back up from their kiss, he could see Chrom behind him. Chrom had reassured Stahl that he was a great brother-in-law, but Stahl still hoped the Captain didn't see too much of that.

"Lissa! I need your help on something!" the bluenet said to his little sister. Lissa leaned up kiss Stahl's chin before following her brother. Stahl walked away, smiling brightly as he walked on, content. He unknowingly passed by Gaius. And Gaius…well, he looked to be in a much dourer mood.

I normally wouldn't put disclaimers at the end, but I'll make a exception here. I just want to say that the first four chapters are basically a prologue. The number of chapters will reach the high twenties, so it won't be too bad *I hope*. Just wanted to give a heads up.