Disclaimer: The usual, I do not own -Man nor any of the characters

Ch 25: The Honeymoon's Over

The wedding had been more than Lyssa had ever dreamed that it would be, despite the fact that it was a relatively small affair, and even in spite of every hardship that she knew that she and Nicholas were going to face she was still unbelievably happy. Having her master and her best friend with her while she took the plunge had only served to make things all the better, even if Cross was determined to be a sourpuss about the whole thing. Lyssa knew that he was just worried and that this was really the only way that he could show that fact.

So she could forgive him for it.

After the small and intimate ceremony she and Nicholas had taken a trip, just the two of them, so that they could relax and enjoy the first days of married life. It was a brief respite from the war that both knew there was no way to escape but all the same it was greatly enjoyed.

By both of them.

All good things must come to an end however and after four days spent lounging on a beach and just enjoying each other's company Lyssa and the Musician made their way back so that they could again meet up with Cross and Maria, to further discuss their options. The Musician was now more determined than ever that he was going to end this war once and for all, fighting against the side to whom he had been allied for so long, in order to protect something that was far more precious to him.

Lyssa.

He never would have expected to fall in love with an Exorcist and yet that was exactly what had happened, be it for better or for worse. Currently he was thinking that it was going to be better, he was happier than he could remember being in a very long time, but only time would tell just how long that happiness would last.

"I still think you're both out of your damn minds," Cross said in a grumpy tone of voice when the pair of newlyweds returned to the hidden little cottage. Cross and Maria had been staying there since the wedding, taking care of Sorana and just generally waiting for Lyssa and the Musician to return so that they could get back down to business. Cross waiting impatiently and Maria trying in vain to soothe his frazzled nerves and remind him that Lyssa was hardly more than a kid and deserved to have a little fun in life.

Especially considering the life that she had lead up to this point.

"That has been established," the Musician said with a smirk, his gaze going to Cross. "And I still think you are a blowhard so we are even." There was a slightly taunting tone to his voice as he said this, more or less trying to get a rise out of the Exorcist General because that was simply the way that he operated. Giving Cross grief was one of his favorite past times at this point though he never took it far enough that the redheaded Exorcist would want to end him.

Not that he thought the man could but he felt that fighting with his new wife's master might be a source of problems for the two of them.

Problems that he would much rather avoid.

"Why you little…" Cross growled, clenching his hands into fists as he glared at the brat, thinking that he'd like nothing more than to wipe that smug look from his face.

"Hey," Lyssa said as she shifted a reproachful look back and forth between the two of them. "If you really want to fight how about we channel that energy and fight someone actually worth the effort, hm?" Her gaze was focused on the pair of them, both of whom she cared deeply for but both of whom were capable of causing brief thoughts of homicide.

Not that she would actually do it in either case but sometimes it was fun to fantasize about.

"She's right you know," Maria said in her own gentle way, her gaze focused squarely on Cross because she knew if she could get him to heel then Lyssa would be able to take care of the Musician herself. "We have more important things to do than squabble amongst ourselves so how about you two focus for a little while?"

The Musician just offered the blond Exorcist a charming smile and a half bow in response to her words.

Cross on the other hand just offered up grumpy words that were muttered under his breath so that no one could really understand what it was that he was saying. Which was how he usually reacted when Maria stepped in because she seemed to be the only one that his quick and often sharp tongue was held for. Which went a long way toward defining just what sort of relationship they had but that was something that no one ever pointed out.

Because everyone that knew Cross knew just how he would respond to that and none of them wanted to deal with it.

"Okay, fine, let's get to work," Cross said finally, issuing a huff and deciding that it would be easier just to concede defeat on this one and see if they couldn't get things wrapped up quickly. "Sooner we do then the sooner we get finished, I'm too sober for this."

A statement that got an eye-roll from Maria but she decided to just let it go.

It was easier that way.

"Some things are always gonna be the same," Lyssa said with a chuckle and a roll of her own eyes when she heard her master pointing out that he was too sober to be dealing with this. She knew that his words translated into he was too sober to be dealing with them but far from being angered by that she was more amused than anything else.

She was well familiar with Cross and his moods.

"Maybe I should offer you a drink," the Musician suggested as he gazed at the redhead through calm and calculating eyes. "You may be easier to deal with while intoxicated."

Looking over at the brat through a single, narrowed eye Cross countered with, "Maybe I should shoot you and save us all a lot of trouble." As he said that his hand twitched toward the sheath that held his Anti-Akuma weapon Judgment.

No one really seemed worried that he was going to go through with this however.

As was made evident by the way that they all just stared at him.

"You could do that, but I believe that Lyssa may not appreciate it," the Noah said with another infuriatingly smug smirk appearing on his face. He was quite amused by this entire situation and he was doing nothing to hide that fact from anyone. Much to the contrary he was making a great show of teasing Cross just so that he could get a rise out of the man.

"If you keep taunting him like that I may just let him," Lyssa said with a chuckle, walking over to her husband and smacking him lightly on the chest, just as a way to make sure that she had his attention. "Please stop teasing Master Cross and focus, we have things that we need to get accomplished."

"Okay, okay," Nicholas said with a chuckle, holding up his hands in a placating manner as he gazed at his wife. "I'll be serious now."

"Thank you," Lyssa said with a chuckle of her own, her gaze shifting from one inhabitant of the room to the other, locking gazes with each of them briefly. "Okay so now we need to figure out what our plan is to finally get the Earl and make sure that he can never hurt anyone else, ever again." There was determination in her voice as Lyssa said this, that same determination burning in her eyes as she thought about the war that they had been fighting for so long.

A war that had cost the lives of her family and had robbed her of her innocence.

Figuratively speaking of course.

The Musician was as always impressed with the determination that his young wife was showing as she spoke about the war and the end result that they were all aiming toward. Nicholas himself knew that it was going to be difficult, there was no way to be in denial about that, and it could very well cost all of them their lives but still the Musician knew that there was no way that they were going to be able to get out of it.

In order to gain their freedom and be able to live their lives the way that they wanted to the Earl had to fall.

And the Musician was determined that he was going to see that happen.

The traitor of the Noah Family had resolved that he was going to see their downfall and there was nothing that was going to dissuade him from following through with his plan. He would risk anything and absolutely everything to see his precious Lyssa safe.

Even his own life wasn't too high of a price.

Looking over at Nicholas and noticing the serious look on his face Lyssa rubbed her hand against his chest as she asked, "Are you okay?" There was concern in her voice as she said it, not used to seeing him this serious.

"Hm? Oh, yes, I'm fine," the Musician said to her, offering Lyssa a reassuring smile, or at least what was meant to be one. "I was simply lost in thought, that's all but I promise you have my complete and undivided attention now."

Lyssa wasn't quite sure that she believed the words that her husband was saying to her but after a few moments of debate on that matter the young woman decided that it was probably for the best if she just let it go. "Okay, I'll take your word for it…but if there's something that you want or need to talk about you know I'm always willing to listen, right?" She wanted to make sure that he knew, that he didn't feel as though he needed to hide things from her.

She got the impression that Nicholas wanted to shelter her but Lyssa had been fighting in this war since she was practically a kid so as far as she was concerned she didn't need to be protected from it.

She needed to end it.

"I know Lyssa and if I need to talk I promise I will," the Musician said to her in a quiet but at the same time sincere tone of voice. HE offered her a smile as he said this, in the hopes that he would be able to ease her fears that there was something wrong with him right now. Really it wouldn't help to tell her of his fears, all it would serve would be to give her one more thing to worry about and in his mind she did not need that. So he was going to keep his concerns to himself and just hope that things somehow worked out for the best.

Hope…

Such a foreign word and yet this was the first time that he had felt it in such a long time. It was a refreshing feeling really and the Musician was hoping that it was a good sign of things to come. A sign that his life was finally going to make a turn for the better.

A/N: End of another chapter and it's back to work. I have decided to leave this story here, no cliffhangers or anything of the life and the wedding in the last chapter was a nice happy scene that probably would have sufficed as an ending but I wanted to wrap it up like this. Hope you enjoyed the story. And yes, I am aware that the 14th's name is wrong in this but I started writing it before that was revealed and I'm not going to change it so just go with it. Thanks for reading.