Oh… my… god… I am SO sorry I haven't been writing or updating ANYTHING for the past… um…. Long time…? I'M SORRY! At first my computer was broken, then school started and I was bogged down with homework! Then I just got lazy…

Guy: Liar! You just have a writer's block! ADMIT IT!

FireEdge: Grr, that too. Anyway, I'm back now, but I won't be writing as much as I would like. Either way, I'm going to finish this story. Finally. So, here is the epilogue that you have all been waiting for (I hope). Wait, you guys DID know that there'd be an epilogue, right? O.o

Oh yes, also since there is now that review reply button thingy, I don't need to reply to your reviews from here! Saves a lot of scrolling time! Haha, I'm sorry to say that I won't be replying to your reviews this time, sorry. It's been too long since I last updated and I can't tell which ones are for this chapter. But I'll be sure to reply to any for this chapter!

Guy: … That was a loooong author's note.

Matthew: Shut up, you. Let the readers read the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem.

Stay By My Side

Epilogue

Sain strode nervously up and down the cobblestone pathway outside of the castle drawbridge. It was the morning of the seventh day since Kent's leave, and he was waiting for his friend's return. His hazel eyes flicked up the road nervously every few seconds. Mind racing with different views of Kent's arrival. In fact, there were so many that his head was beginning to hurt.

Oh! Where IS he! Kent's NEVER late! He's not SUPPOSED to be late! It's MY job to make HIM worried! AHHH! Why do these things always happen to ME? Just as the knight was thinking of banging his head against the stone walls of the castle, his ears picked up the sounds of faint and distant footsteps.

Jolting up, his head spun around and stared intently at the horizon. There! He could see two figures riding at a leisurely pace towards him. It was them! Kent had returned, and with Lyn at his side nonetheless!

Kent sighed and slapped a hand to his face as he started to make out a small figure jumping up and down; his arms waving in the air above his head. Beside him, Lyn laughed out loud whole-heartedly.

"That's Sain, isn't it? I haven't seen him for so long! Oh, he certainly looks happy to see us," she smiled, nudging her horse to go faster. The woman raised one arm and waved back.

"I'll bet that he's been standing there all morning, waiting for my return. He's probably not even touched the work for today!" Kent replied, thoroughly annoyed already. Lyn just let out another laugh and urged him to go faster. Letting out a long, slow breath, Kent followed the woman toward the, practically bouncing with joy, knight.

Soon the three companions were sitting in a small meeting room in the castle. The room was cozy with thick drapes hanging in front of the open windows. They were each seated in large cushioned chairs made of mahogany at the big oak table. Sain and Lyn were chatting enthusiastically as they faced each other from across the table. Kent sat at the other end, leaning back as he watched his two friends. It had been a long time since they had been with each other in the same room.

Kent shot straight up in his seat when Sain said something that hadn't been a part of the conversation with Lyn. It was addressed to the two of them and had come out of nowhere.

"So, when's the wedding!" Both the steward and former lady of Caelin turned deep shades of crimson and gaped open-mouthed at Sain. He stared back at them with a wide and ignorant smile, completely unaware of the possible consequences of his action.

"S… Sain…" Kent shut his eyes and forced himself to calm down… to no avail. He could begin to feel his blood rising and the red in his face was starting to became more anger than embarrassment. Just as his friends faces were red, Sain's slowly became white. Suddenly, he realized his mistake. It was so obvious; he should've seen it when he first saw Kent. When Sain had first seen them, he had been so overjoyed with his reunion with Lyndis that he didn't notice that Kent was not how he should've been: Happy. He was more nervous. A man who should've just admitted his deepest feelings shouldn't be nervous, he should be excited.

"Y-You m-mean…" the green-clad cavalier stammered, wide-eyed. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he felt cold sweat run down the back of his neck. "You didn't tell her…?" Kent's answering glare said everything. In precisely two seconds, Sain was out of his overturned chair and through the door, slamming it shut behind him. His boots could be heard faintly outside as he ran.

When they couldn't hear Sain's footfalls anymore, the room erupted with laughter. Kent had one hand on his face, trying to control his fit of hysterics, while Lyn was doubled over with giggles. The look on the brown-haired knight was priceless… and exactly what they had expected. They couldn't believe what an opening Sain had given them.

Yes, they had planned that. The whole time, they had pretended that Lyn was still clueless to Kent's feelings, and they had waited for Sain to bring it up. Then Kent would scare Sain just like he had done. Why they had did that. Well, it was simple, it was Kent's revenge. For he had a gut feeling that Sain probably hadn't touched ANY of the work he was supposed to do during the week, and then Kent would've had to catch up on the piled up papers. And yes, it was a juvenile reason to prank Sain on, but satisfying nonetheless.

As Kent started to breathe properly again, he felt a burden lifted off his shoulders. When was the last time he had played any kind of joke and laughed like that? He then noticed that Lyn had stopped laughing now also. Turning to face her, he saw that she was still smiling, but with a more serious air.

"You know, Kent, I still haven't heard it from you," she remarked, gazing at him with her clear eyes. He felt that infamous flustered feeling in his stomach once more as he realized what she was saying. He hadn't really told Lyn had he felt. Well, he hadn't said it himself. When they were back in Sacae, Lyn had pretty much pulled the meaning of his stammers and half-constructed sentences. They reached an understanding, and he didn't need to tell her in words how he felt. In fact, he was hoping that he wouldn't really have to anymore. "Well?"

"Ah…" He clenched his hands nervously on his lap. Lyn stood and strode towards him, bending down to look him in the face, smiling sweetly. Kent observed her from under his lashes and he decided to just shut down the practical part of his mind. Lyn basically knew his feelings anyway, what was there to lose? He stood up abruptly and Lyn barely had time to catch herself from stumbling backwards before Kent caught her. The man pulled her closer to him and he planted a kiss on her lips. Quick and passionate, it was over in an instant. "I love you."

Lyn blinked several times, she thought that she was seeing stars. That had completely caught her off guard. When had Kent become so bold? She had merely been teasing him and didn't really mind if he told her his emotions in words or not, but that had been… unexpected. Deciding to try and retain her dignity, she forced a mocking grin on her face and jabbed a finger into Kent's chest.

"Some honourable and devoted knight you are! Going around kissing ladies!" she laughed as she escaped his arms and started towards the door. Turning her head to look behind her, she felt satisfied with the look on Kent's face. She still had the last laugh. "Let's go. We should go tell Sain that we were just joking. I'm sure the poor thing is probably cowering in a corner."

Kent grinned and followed her out of the room, searching for their lost companion.

Sain sat at the Kent's desk… or should he say: Kent's former desk? His hazel eyes were two large saucers lodged in his face. How could this be happening? HOW! Had Kent really become so imprudent as to let such a thing happen! Ah, but alas, love did strange things to people. Strange things such as riding off into Sacae with his lady love and assigning Sain to become the steward of Caelin.
"It's time that I 'retired', but Caelin needs a new steward, and I've decided to pick you. Yes, it seems a foolish thing to put someone like you in such a position. However, you are my best friend, and I know you will have the people's best interests in heart. Also, it wouldn't hurt to dump some responsibility on you to settle you down… But don't worry Sain, I haven't lost all my wits. More than half the stewarding powers will be commanded my counsellors and you're basically there to sign papers and be a pretty face," Kent spoke matter-of-factly, pacing the long of the room.

Sain sat in the chair, his hands gripping the arms so that he wouldn't fall out. His jaw was to the floor and his eyes bulged out of his head.

"Yes, Sain, I'm serious," the redhead turned to face the cavalier, barely blinking at the expression on his face. "Like I told you before, you'll be guided by my counsellors. Until they think that you'll be capable to do the job yourself, that is. Believe me, Sain, you'll thank me for this opportunity in the future."

"Wh… WHAT!" Sain finally managed to exclaim. "You… You can't DO this to me! KENT!"

"I have faith in you, my friend," Kent replied, clamping a hand on the other knight's shoulder. "I trust you won't disappoint me." Sain inwardly shrank back from the glint in Kent's eyes. Oh yes, his mind was set alright.

"If it'll make you feel better, just remember that you brought this upon yourself," Kent added with a shrug.

"That's supposed to make me feel BETTER!"

Sain looked down at the desk, his eyes still as wide as ever and not seeming to blink. It really had happened… Kent and Lyn were gone. They had married, and the whole town had attended the wedding (along with some special guests). Then they had bid everyone farewell, with the two of them making a speech. Kent had told them of what would happen to Caelin after and then they had ridden off, just like in some fairytale.

Finally, Sain let the full impact of reality hit him. He really was the steward of Caelin. His head thumped against the wood as he let his forehead fall and smack onto the desk. Kent was right; he had brought this upon himself. Maybe he shouldn't have forced Kent to go looking for Lyndis. Then he wouldn't be in this position.

Turning his head so that his cheek rested against the hard surface, he gazed out the open window. He grinned ruefully. Well, this was what he wanted, wasn't it? To see his friend happy, right?

"I guess it's my turn to be stuck with the hard work… Oh well, he did say he would visit every month… Time to think of a plan to worm my way out of this! Sain, my friend, you are a genius!"

End

Oh yes, I know, that wasn't what you all expected was it? But, yeah, I'm lucky I was able to even write that up (after just barely recovering from my horrid writer's block). Actually, though I quite liked it, minus the fact that there was hardly any romance in it, and then the romance was really bad and wasn't emotional or anything at all. I'm also aware that Kent and Lyn were probably completely OOC, but that's okay. People change, and this is almost ten years after the end of FE7, and if that doesn't satisfy you, let's just go with that they changed because they finally saw each other again. Hahaha, yeah you didn't buy that did you?

Guy: I hope they didn't!

FireEdge: Oh, shut up! Anyway, I basically had fun with this chapter (as if you couldn't tell), mostly with the parts with Sain. I though that he deserved a bigger scene, after all without him none of this would've happened:) Either way, I hope you liked the ending of this… somewhat at least. And if you didn't, well, there's compensation! I'm starting a new fic! Yay! For FE9! It's going to be a HaarJill one, and it'll be longer than this one! So, I hope you'll check it out when I get it up.

Matthew: Until then, please review and feel free to express your "feelings".

--FireEdge--