He stood in the doorway, arms folded across his chest, his mouth set in a contemplative frown. His dark red hair and bright blue eyes were a pleasant contrast to the white walls around him.

His father paused in his packing, turning toward him. "Are you just going to stand there doing nothing or are you going to help us?"

He sighed, straightening up. "Sorry, Father. I just..." He hesitated, biting his lip. Considering his age, his following statement would be rather embarrassing to admit. But his parents had raised him to be an honest man, and that included telling the truth about his feelings. "I think this is unfair," he deadpanned. "You deserved more than a one-night notice!"

His mother laughed softly. She spoke while folding up a map. "I would've liked an earlier notice, yes, but I wouldn't exactly call it unfair. It's our job, getting called in for duty." Her blue eyes twinkled humorously. "I think you're just jealous that you weren't called in for duty yourself."

He pursed his lips. "That's not true." His mother laughed again, shaking her head. "Really, Mother, I'm not jealous! As a matter of a fact, I find it an honor to stay behind and protect my country! It's just...I'm..." He trailed off, sighing. "I'm worried about you two, alright?"

His parents exchanged looks. His mother slowly set the map down and turned fully towards him. "Why is that? Your father and I have plenty of experience on the battlefield. We're always out there."

"But those are bandits you deal with, Mother," her son persisted. How could she not see where he was coming from? "And you're not handling some measly bandits tomorrow; you're handling the Bernese army!"

His father let out something between a snort and a laugh. "Son, the Bernese are grains of dust compared to what your mother and I have seen throughout all our years."

He knew instantly that his father was referring to their battle against the dragons. He'd heard of their stories ever since he was a child. "But that was twenty years ago!"

His mother arched an eyebrow high. She placed her hands against her hips. "And just what is your point, Nathan?" Nathan's father snickered like a child. "And just what are you laughing at, Raven?"

Raven cleared his throat. "Erm, nothing, Jasmine, dear."

As amusing as it was to see his father get in trouble, Nathan knew he was in trouble when his mother referred to him as Nathan instead of Nate. "I-I'm just saying you two don't have the same...physique...you had when you were younger."

Raven unsheathed his longsword. "You've yet to best me, boy, but if you think you can, I'll give you the opportunity to prove it."

"Uh...maybe some other time," he mumbled, tugging on the collar of his shirt, sweat beading up on his forehead. His mother giggled softly. "You and Mother still have quite a lot of packing to do, don't you?"

"It can wait." He took a step forth, tightening his grip on the sword.

"Oh, alright!" Nate huffed, throwing his hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! You're both in terrific shape! It's just...it's just...I..." He ran his fingers through his hair, sighing. "I can't help but worry." It would be the first time his parents would truly be a long distance away from him, and it frightened him that he would not be there, battling by their sides.

"...Y'know," his father said, sheathing his sword and stepping toward him, "I was just like you, so many, many years ago. When I found out your mother was going into battle without me, I'd just about lost my mind." He glanced towards her, but she said nothing. "I feared that something terrible would happen to her, and I wouldn't be there to stop it. And I was so stubbornly stuck to that idea that it took none other than Lord Hector himself to snap me out of it." Nate raised his eyebrows in surprise. "He said to me: 'Worrying won't solve anything. You're just going to have trust that we will take care of her. You're going to have to believe that she is capable of herself. You're going to have to let go of your fears and simply trust us.'" Raven paused. "I remember his words, word for word. They're words that I still live by today, and you should learn to live by them as well."

"...You never told me that," Jasmine muttered softly, stepping toward Raven. He smirked slightly.

"Do you really think I would tell you something like that? It would ruin my reputation!"

She laughed softly and wrapped an arm around his waist, kissing him softly on the cheek. "Well, I would've found it rather endearing."

"You always did have the strangest taste."

She glared up at him, and he laughed. Nathan was silent, though he did smile slightly at the way they bantered.

Raven cleared his throat, returning his attention to his son. "Now, unless there's anything else you need or would like to say, your mother and I still need to finish packing, and you need to get to sleep."

Nathan pouted childishly. "Can't I help you two pack?"

Raven shook his head firmly. "You still have to get up bright and early for tomorrow's training, don't you? Your mother and I'll go say a quick goodbye before we head off."

"But–"

"No but's! Go on now!"

He puffed out his cheeks the way he always did whenever he got in trouble. "Fine," he muttered. "Good night, Father. Good night, Mother." He paused before heading out the door. "...Thank you, Father, for those words. I...I do believe in the two of you. I think you'll do a wonderful job in Lycia."

Raven nodded at him. Jasmine smiled softly.

"Thank you, darling. We'll be back before you know it," she reassured. Nate smiled and nodded before exiting the room, closing the door behind him.

"...So the day's finally come," Jasmine sighed gravely, as soon as Nate was out of earshot. She slumped down on the edge of the bed, her eyes becoming distant. "I'd always hoped that it wouldn't come to this...it's unfortunate that Lord Athos's prophecy had to come true."

Raven smiled softly, sitting down beside her and taking her hand. "But didn't he also say that Lycia brings hope?" Her eyes flickered. "We'll beat those Bernese, you'll see."

She sighed, leaning her head against his shoulder. "I hope so. I really hope so."

He kissed the top of her head. "Woman, you've survived the breath of a fire dragon. Surely you can handle some mere Bernese?"

She laughed, raising her face to look at him. "And not to mention the fact that I've survived nearly twenty years of marriage with you." She giggled harder at the glare he sent her.

"I think we both deserve to be applauded for that," he grumbled.

"Not yet," she grinned, shaking her head. "After another twenty years. Then we can congratulate ourselves." She squeezed his hand, smiling up at him. "Are you ready to take another adventure with me, love?"

Raven smiled at her words, fragments of memories flying through his head.

She stood there, squished in between her comrades as they cheered and clapped and sobbed, swaying slightly in place. Her clothes were tattered (as a matter of a fact, they appeared to be scorched) and her face was covered in blood and grime, but she was grinning, grinning wider than he'd ever seen her grin. He ran to her, and she practically screamed in joy as she flung herself onto him, nearly toppling him over. He just laughed and held her tight, burrowing his face into her bloody cloak.

"You did it," he laughed, "You did it!"

She kissed him hard. "Don't act so surprised. I told you I'd come back, didn't I?"

That had been the end of their first adventure with one another. And although it had been an long and grueling adventure, it had only been their first of very many to come.

He swept her off her feet bridal style, just like a bride ought to be carried, smirking when she squealed in surprise. As he carried her down the steps, their family and friends cheered and clapped behind them. He turned towards them before he reached the carriage. Many familiar faces greeted him – Rebecca and Wil were waving and grinning like fools, Lady Lyndis and Lady Ninian, standing in for both themselves and their husbands, waved them off (and it appeared that Lyndis was tearing up) – but there were a few that stood out. Priscilla waved through her tears, while Sain had an arm around her. Lucius was also crying through his smile, and he nodded at Raven when the two met eyes.

And then there was Mark, hiding near the back. He was smirking that irritating smirk, one that said 'I told you so'. The only thing Raven could do was laugh, since, indeed, Mark had been right all along. Jasmine shouted goodbye before they settled themselves into their carriage and towards their future.

Marriage had indeed been an adventure in itself. It had been a crazy and emotional ride, which had been taken to the next level when their son was born.

"Oh, how could you have let this happen?!" Jasmine scrubbed the three year old's head with shampoo, her mouth set in a deep scowl.

Raven gaped. "How could I have known that a skunk was going to spray him?!"

"If you'd been watching him more carefully, you would've noticed it approaching!"

"I WAS watching him! The thing came out of nowhere!"

"Daddy..."

"What, you expect me to believe that it came out of thin air? I thought you were a trained soldier, Raven; you should've seen it coming!"

"Momma..."

"It was dark out! I–"

"Stop fighting!" Little Nathan slammed his hands against the bath water, making it spray out. Jasmine yelped as the water hit her, but Raven merely blinked when the water reached him. There was a brief moment of silence. And then Jasmine began to laugh.

"Raven..." She giggled. "Your hair is soaked!"

He cracked a smile, taking a lock of her hair. "I could say the same for yours!"

And they didn't argue for the rest of the night.

Raising a child certainly had been a challenge, but knowing that they had each other had made it all worthwhile.

And now, here they were, so many years later, still ready to take on the world. Jasmine stared up at him expectantly, awaiting his answer.

"With you," he smiled, leaning down to kiss her, "everyday is an adventure."


Aww, an adorable ending, right? I gush every time. Now before I get into all the sentimental stuff, I feel like I need to explain the Epilogue better. So here it is:

So Raven and Jasmine moved to Etruria after they got married (they get married pretty early, like a few months to a year after the battle ended) because of the job opportunities for Jasmine (basically I didn't want her working in Lycia, and certainly not Bern, so basically Etruria was the only one left :P) and she becomes the Tactician for the Etrurian army. Raven decides to enlist as a soldier and eventually makes his way through the ranks to become a pretty important General. They have a kid about two years into their marriage (I wanted him to be a few years older than Roy) and their son, Nathan, is also a soldier in the army.

In this timeline for the Epilogue, it's twenty years after FE7 and the events of FE6 are taking place. Raven and Jasmine are heading off with Cecilia and Perceval (I haven't actually played FE6 so this is based off Wikia) to save Ostia, which has become overrun while Roy's been gone. Yeah, I know that's a pretty long explanation that I found very difficult to transition into the Epilogue itself, so here it is now.

So here comes the sentimental part of my A/N. Honestly, I don't think it's really hit me yet that I'm actually done with this story. It's crazy. I worked on this thing for three years, people, three years! I just can't believe it's over. It'll probably really hit me tomorrow and I'm gonna end up getting sad :/ And, to top it off, this might just be my very last FE fic - not sure, though, so don't quote me on that! It's just that, well, I started writing on this site as a freshman in high school and now, as a freshman in college, I don't has much free time as I once had. So I don't think I'll really have much time to work on fanfics (although that is a problem when it comes to my HP story that I'm not even half-way through...ahem, sorry, getting off topic). Maybe, if I'm really feeling it, I'll just publish a one-shot or two...but again, not sure.

Thank you all for coming on this wonderful journey with me. I've grown a lot as a writer over these years, and it has both to do with all the practice I've had, and, of course, my lovely reviewers. Your feedback and critique has helped me become a better writer, so thank you so very much for supporting and helping me improve my story. This has been amazing to journey with all of you and with my characters...really, it's been a blast. Maybe I'll see you all again someday, but, for now, it's farewell.

~dogsrock101