A.N: Well, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it's finally arrived. The final chapter is here for your enjoyment (aren't you impressed by the speediness of the update too?)

I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who's stuck by this trifle (or maybe more of a fruit salad) of a fic to the end, and to those who have given me reviews, kind words, support and encouragement. Your words truly mean a lot, and any author, I'm sure, will tell you the same.

Just a warning for this chapter, there is some foul and provocative language in this chapter.

Now, on with the finale...

Kratos and Raine

Sunlight streamed into the room through delicate mesh curtains hung over the balcony doorway, filtered now into a pattering of thin rays that created delicate patterns on rumpled cotton sheets. The light was strong, however, and the material did little to keep the warm rays from falling across the occupant of the bed's face.

She turned over, pressing her face into a pillow and mumbling incoherently in an attempt to get the light to leave her alone.

The sun does not obey the desires of one woman though, and moments later she flipped over onto her back, rubbing her eyes and stretching, yawning inelegantly.

Blinking owlishly, Raine surveyed her bedroom as though she'd never seen it before, her mind blank as she waited for her thoughts to catch up with her body. She felt great, more alive than ever and ready to start the day.

Throwing aside the covers, she stood up and stretched again, walking to the balcony. Before she had walked through the mesh curtain, however, she caught a glance of herself in the mirror by the bathroom door and she walked backwards to look in the mirror at her reflection.

Several things caught her attention as she looked at her reflection:

1) She looked as great as she felt, her eyes clear, bright and bluer than they had been in a long time. Her skin was as pale as ever, but had an attractive glow that made it seem she was emitting light and her hair, messed up it was, was shiny and sleek. Or it would be when she had brushed it.

2) She was naked (and how this had only just caught her attention was a complete mystery to her).

3) There was someone else in her bed.

At that second, the memories of last night came rushing back to her with such force that it almost gave her a headache. Not quite though, they were far too pleasant memories to cause her pain.

She recalled standing on the balcony, walking into the woods, getting lost and panicking. Then the relief as she saw Kratos, the arguments, the confession of love (and she flushed and smiled as she thought of this, with a sense of complete happiness engulfing her), the revelation of the scars that adorned Kratos' body, the kissing and embracing, the swimming, the flying and then…oh my.

Raine put a hand to her mouth, giggling behind it like a school girl whose biggest crush had just smiled at her, using the fingers of her other hand to trace the hickey on her neck, just below her ear, then the light bite mark on her collar bone.

Still smiling she turned back to the bed, approaching it quietly so as not to disturb the remaining occupant, who still slumbered on peacefully. She pulled back the covers and slid underneath them, lying on her side, she propped herself up on her elbow to watch her lover as he slept.

That peaceful look he had worn last night as they flew to the moon was settled over his features again, not a hint of anxiety or his true age present. He looked as though he could be 18, and Raine wondered what he had been like as a boy, a young man, and then the man he was before 4000 years had taken their toll on his now battered mind, body and soul.

Kratos stirred, as if sensing that she was watching him, and he opened his eyes, raising them to meet hers the second they were focused. His awakening was so different from hers that it made Raine realise that he really was a different species. He was focused and alert immediately, but that look of bliss was still there, and it made her relax.

The angel smiled and stretched, arching his back and flexing his muscles in a way that alerted her to just how masculine he was.

Seconds later, Raine was on top of him, straddling his waist, her forearms crossed as she rested them on his marred chest.

"Good morning Ms. Sage," he smiled, pulling himself into a sitting position with her still on top of him.

Raine leant forward and kissed him gently on the mouth in response.

"You're gorgeous," she informed him "Did I ever tell you that?"

"Not in those words precisely. Or in words at all, for that matter, but I got the message from last night," he replied, raising an eyebrow in a pseudo-seductive manner.

She smacked him lightly on the chest, her lips pursed in a way that admitted she wasn't really angry with him as he slipped his arms under hers, resting his hands on the warm skin of her back.

Raine shuffled, squaring her shoulders as she responded "It's not my fault that…"

"Morning Rai…"

The door had burst open, revealing a Sheena who had drunk one cup of coffee too many this morning, now looking mortified as she stood in the doorway, red-faced, staring at the couple.

Raine quickly reached for the edge of the sheets, tugging them over her and Kratos, thankful that the position of his arms meant her bare chest wasn't exposed completely, even if it was only to Sheena. It was fortunate that it was Sheena who was giving her the wake up call and not Zelos.

Almost as if there was someone in heaven who wanted to play a cruel joke on her and Kratos, the speedo clad red-head appeared in the doorway beside Sheena a second later.

Zelos stared at Raine, before his blue eyes slid over to Kratos.

"MAHAHAHAHHA! I KNEW I HEARD RUMPY-PUMPY GOING ON EARLIER THIS MORNING!" he exclaimed, bounding down the hall, singing.

"Raine and Kratos sitting in a tree, doing what they really should be, f-u-c-"

"ZELOS! QUIT IT WITH THE LANGUAGE!" Sheena yelled down the corridor. She turned back to Kratos and Raine momentarily. "Um..sorry, but, uh congrats, you know…um…I'll leave you in peace." She gushed, and then pulled the door shut.

Kratos and Raine remained quiet, listening to the thuds as Sheena ran after Zelos, who had now twisted the song into something so perverse that no-one, not even Colette, could mistake its meaning.

"Kratos and Raine, lying in a bed, they've been doing it all night and she's been giving him he-"

The tune was cut off abruptly as a loud smacking sound reverberated around the house, telling them that Zelos had just been tripped over by the ninja.

"That's…not quite how I was hoping for everyone to discover we're together," Kratos murmured, still looking at the now closed door.

"I think we should get up and repair any damage he's done to our reputation," Raine answered, rolling of him and lying beside him on the bed.

The angel murmured an agreement, then got up and disappeared into the bathroom whilst Raine got dressed and fixed the bed, humming to herself as she did.

She stopped halfway through a particularly bad rendition of 'Why do birds suddenly appear' when she hit an excruciating note, making herself wince. Instead, she crossed, silently, to the vanity dresser, brushing her hair and checking herself over.

"You don't need to do that. You always look beautiful." Kratos stated, walking out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist. The skin that was on show was wet, water running down his body sensually, his dripping hair pulled back from his face for a change.

"Thank you." She crossed over to him, giving him a peck on the lips before she wandered into the bathroom herself.

As she closed the door, she noticed Kratos tweaking at his wet hair, staring at his reflection in the mirror with a ridiculous expression of concentration.

Chuckling to herself, Raine walked over to the pail of warm water set beside the wash basin and poured it from one container into the other. She washed slowly, savouring the warm water, then dried off quickly, noticing that she had still managed to spend half an hour in there.

She wondered how Kratos had managed to tell everyone that they were together without a big fuss (considering that there had been no shouting from downstairs), but as she walked back into the bedroom, she realised he hadn't; mainly from the fact that he was still in the bedroom.

The seraph was dressed now, in a long sleeved but considerably lighter outfit than usual, standing in front of the mirror and, with the precision of a lunar landing operation, was combing layers of hair into its usual style, and fixing the still damp hair with large amounts of wax and 'style hold spray'.

"You're still here….styling your hair." Raine stated, with a tone that made it clear she couldn't believe he could spend the best part of 30 minutes preening.

"So I am," he tweaked a strand into place before standing back and turning his head so he could examine the style from various angles. "Done." He stated.

"I'm so glad," she snarked "I'm going to use this knowledge as blackmail against you if I need to."

"Yeah, sorry, Yuan's already taken that one. You're going to have to find another flaw to use against me."

"I don't think they exist."

Kratos lifted an eyebrow quizzically, then extended a hand to her "Shall we enter the arena?"

Raine smiled, nodded and took his hand.

Leaving the bedroom, they walked hand in hand down the stairs, with the intention of heading into the kitchen for breakfast.

Before they had even reached the bottom step however, a small crowd, consisting of the rest of the household, had formed at the bottom of the stairs, as if they were all proud parents watching their child going on a first date descending from their room.

The couple on the stairs stopped and glanced at each other, still hand in hand.

Lloyd and Genis were at the front of the apprehending party, both wearing looks of stern disapproval. The others, however, were fidgeting, seemingly unable to contain their apparent pleasure…whether that pleasure was caused by Raine and Kratos finally getting together, or a prank was about to be played, was anyone's guess.

"OK," Raine started, letting go of Kratos' hand and taking a couple of steps further down "What's going on?"

Lloyd took a couple of steps up so that he was at eye-level with her. Brown eyes, almost identical to those of his father, stared into ice blues, only glancing away to meet with his father's for a split second. The youth stared at his teacher unwaveringly for what seemed like years, before shrugging his shoulders and proclaiming "Nothing!" and jumping down the stairs he had just walked up.

He landed lightly, turning back to the two adults and giving them an impish grin "Just one thing," he stated.

"What is it?" Kratos asked, and though he used a tone that indicated he was annoyed with the boy, it was apparent that he was greatly relieved that his son didn't begrudge his choice.

"If you're going to, you know," he whistled and made a vague motion with his hands "keep it down."

"Yo, Lloyd, I think that would be a contradiction. I mean they can't if -" Zelos quipped from somewhere near the back of the group.

"Stop right there!" Genis cried, holding his hands up. "I so do not wanna think about that." He stared up at his sister, despite addressing his words to Zelos, and his gaze made it quite plain he was not completely happy with the idea of the two adults being together.

The grin on Lloyd's face faded quickly, and the rest of the group took a few steps back from the younger half-elf.

The white haired boy continued to stare at his sister, then turned his cold glare onto the man standing behind her.

"I'm going outside," he muttered, leaving the house and slamming the door behind him.

All eyes that had been on the door now turned back to Raine and Kratos, and all traces of excitement and happiness over the newly formed couple had disappeared with the youngest member of the party.

Kratos was the first to make any real movement, descending a few steps so that he stood directly behind Raine. He leaned forwards and murmured in her ear "Go after him,"

"He's going to have to learn that I'm not pandering to him on this."

"Raine. He's your brother…Go talk to him,"

She turned back to look at her lover before nodding slowly and walking after her brother, giving her friends a grim smile as she left the house.

"I sense that Genis may fear that he will no longer have Raine's attention." Presea stated, looking up at Kratos.

"But…Raine'll talk to him, and it'll be OK, right?" Colette asked, ever optimistic.

"I would imagine that she will be able to make him understand," Regal answered "Genis is young, and despite the fact that he can be very mature, he is still just a child. It is likely he believes, as you said, Presea, that with Kratos being in a relationship with her, he will no longer have her full attention."

"Well, he won't," Zelos stated bluntly "But he can't cling on to her forever. He has to grow up and let her have her own relationships."

"Guys, let's just leave it for now, yeah?" Lloyd suggested, heading for the kitchen "They'll work it out I'm sure."

The group murmured in concurrence, and dispersed. Zelos, Sheena and Regal headed outside, whilst Colette and Presea returned to the living room where Colette was, apparently, teaching Presea about flowering arranging.

Kratos, now left on his own, followed Lloyd into the kitchen. Making breakfast, the angel studiously avoided his son's stare, until he sat down at the small table to eat and was forced to acknowledge the questioning gaze.

"What?"

"Nothing…just…"

"Just?" Kratos repeated, sipping his coffee.

"This is gonna sound really sappy but….I'm, happy," he stated, meeting his father's eyes "for you two."

"But?"

"But…you still love mom, right?"

"Of course I do. There's no question of that but…she's gone. It probably seems strange that I can care for two people in that way."

His son shrugged "Not really. I mean, you're supposed to only have one true love or whatever but…well...that's a bit dumb. There should be more than one person that you can love. Just in case."

Kratos smiled behind the newspaper he was now flicking through "I suppose so."

"You don't agree?"

"I think that there are certain people in the world that go together well, I don't necessarily think you should only love one person, but if you do, you should be loyal to that person."

"Except for when they're dead?"

"If your partner loves you enough, then they can accept the fact that if they pass away prematurely, you may find someone else."

"Mom would be ok with you being with Raine. I know it."

Kratos looked at his son, considering him "Yes, I think she would."

"Plus, I have a full family now! I have 2 dads, a step-mom and a brother!"

"Uncle," Kratos corrected, scanning the puzzle page.

"Huh?"

"If Raine is your step-mother, and Genis is your step mother's brother, then that makes him your uncle. You would, by law, be Genis' nephew."

"Crap. Don't tell him that. He'll start trying to boss me around," Lloyd joked, devouring a slightly burnt pancake that was part of his breakfast. Or second breakfast to be exact.

"I imagine that Genis has worked that out already,"

"About him being my uncle?"

Kratos nodded.

"That only applies if you and the professor get married though. Until then it's all…whadd'ya call it? Metaphorical?"

"Don't remind me. I'm waiting to see how long it takes Colette to mention that subject."

"Marriage?"

The seraph nodded again, taking another sip of his coffee and half-heartedly filling in the cryptic crossword. It was clear that the complex clues didn't tax even a small percent of his grey matter.

"You don't wanna get married?" Lloyd asked.

"Not straight away. And not under a false religion."

"Ah, that's right. The church of Martel isn't real, so the marriages don't really count."

"Exactly."

"Is that why you and mom never married?"

"Yes, that's right. Although I never told Anna that of course."

"Didn't she want to marry?"

"I think she may have one day. But at the time, we were far too preoccupied with running away from Cruxis, so it never really came up."

"Gotcha." Lloyd took another large bite out of the pancake, gazing out of the window thoughtfully as he chewed.

"How d'you think the professor's doing with Genis?" he asked, turning to his father.

"No idea. I suppose we'll find out in a while."

Raine ran up the beach, following the tracks her brother had made in the sand, and having a strange sense of deja-vu as they headed towards a line of trees.

How much time of her life was she going to spend chasing males?

The tracks veered off to the left suddenly into a cluster of rocks that formed a semi-circle.

Slowing to a walk, Raine approached the arc from behind, looking down to see her brother hugging his knees to himself and staring blankly out at the sea.

It didn't surprise her that he had chosen this mini-fortress like structure. He was trying to shelter, having been on the attack and just as he had done when he was younger, he had ran and found a secluded, secure place to defend himself.

Shaking her head and walking to the open front of the arc, she wondered what she was going to say to him.

"Genis."

The boy looked up at his sibling as she said his name, glancing up at her, then returning his attention to watching the tide without replying to her.

Raine sighed and sat in front of him, just outside the shadow that the fortress created, obscuring his view of the sea.

"Genis, look at me. I'm not leaving until this is resolved, so you may as well speak to me."

"You're gonna be waiting a long time here with me then."

"Why? You're not going to talk to me?"

"Oh, I am. Just we're not going to 'resolve' this." He muttered, squaring his shoulders as he said the word 'resolve' mocking it.

"Why not?"

"Because I won't accept him as part of my family."

"Kratos? Why not? I thought you liked him. You always got along well with him when we were travelling together," she raised a hand, cutting of the boy's interruption "Even after he betrayed us. You got along with him better than Lloyd sometimes."

"Doesn't mean I have to like him now."

"Genis, I know you're 13 now, and officially a teenager, but don't pull the hormone fuelled argument on me just yet."

"Don't treat me like a child," he sulked

"Stop behaving like one then."

"I'm not!"

"No? Being enraged over a decision of who I choose to have a relationship with and then refusing to tell me why isn't being childish?"

The boy sniffed derisively.

"You're usually so mature. What's so bad about this?"

"It's nothing. Go and snog your boyfriend." He muttered, glaring at a stone between him and Raine, refusing to look at her.

Raine leant back from her brother, alarmed and angered at his comment. He was usually so placid, so laid back and this was extremely out of character for him, to such an extent that Raine was worried about him.

Ignoring his comment, Raine leant forwards, putting her hand out in front of her to support herself as she tried to look into her little brother's eyes.

"Please, Genis, tell me what's bothering you. I'm your sister…your family and I don't want this to cause a problem."

"Don't go out with Kratos then."

"No can do. Why are you so determined to separate me from someone I love? I'm an adult Genis, I need a relationship, I need someone to settle with. You will always be my brother, nothing will change that, but what's going to change is the fact that you'll grow up and you'll go your own way. You'll get your own partner, and I'll be left alone because you made me choose…and that would be something that would come between us."

"Say I decide that I don't mind you being with Kratos…what then?"

"I…have a relationship with him."

"And…how will that develop, Raine?"

"We'll be together. What's your point?"

"He'll live with you."

"Why is that a problem?"

"It's a problem because, until I live in the academy's dorms, as a proper student, which won't happen until I'm 16, he'll be living with the both of us. Or we'll be living with him. Whichever."

Raine gave him a look that clearly said she couldn't see a problem with that.

"So we'll be living together, like a family," he explained "and he'll start feeling like he should be all parental because he'll essentially be my step-father and he'll treat me like he did Lloyd when they first met!"

"You think he's going to try to be a father to you? Be disciplinary and infringe on you?"

Genis shrugged "I don't see why not. He did it to Lloyd."

"Kratos was just looking out for his son…trying to get him to better himself. It benefited Lloyd. I don't believe he'd be hard on you, or try to father you…and I don't honestly believe that you do too…"

The younger half-elf fidgeted uncomfortably, informing Raine that she was right.

"OK…I know he wouldn't…I talked to Lloyd about that."

"What's the real problem then?"

"It's dumb…and I can't believe I actually feel this because it's irrational and I know, I know it's not true but…"

He looked up into his sister's eyes, the mirror of his own.

"I feel that…with Kratos in your life, there won't be any room for me. You won't have time for me, and I'll get in the way, and you'll be annoyed….I'm scared that he'll cause us to drift apart…" He whispered the last part, trailing his fingers in circles on the small stone in front of him.

Raine sat back, her hands resting on her thighs as she stared at her younger brother, distressed at his fear of losing her.

"It's just been you and me for so long," Genis mumbled "that it doesn't seem right for anyone else to be there."

Reaching out, Raine placed her fingers beneath the boy's chin and used them to tilt his head up so that he could see the sincerity in her eyes.

The immaturity in that confession had made her realise just how young he was. Like her, his mature attitude made him seem older than he actually was.

"Genis, I want you to listen to me as I say this, because this is more important than anything else. I will never, never push you away. There will never be a time when I don't have time for you, or that you don't matter to me. Kratos being around will not change that, ever."

"I know."

"So…do I have your blessing?" she joked and the boy in front of her cracked a smile.

"Yeah, I suppose so…just, like Lloyd said if you're going to…" he coughed "ahem. You know…I don't wanna know about it."

"I don't want you to know about it either, really."

"I'm relieved about that."

Smiling, Raine stood, brushing off the back of her sarong. "Well, now. It seems to be nearing midday and I haven't had breakfast yet. Are you coming back to the house with me?"

Genis shrugged "Yeah. I need lunch anyway…wonder if Kratos and Lloyd are done with their whole 'father-son' talk?"

"They were having a father-son talk?"

The younger half-elf stood "Probably."

"How…what does Lloyd think about me and Kratos?"

"Huh? Oh, he's fine with it. I think he wants Kratos to be happy and get over Lloyd's mom."

Raine nodded. "That's good."

"Are we going back or not?" Genis asked Raine, seeing her staring out over the sea in thought. A smile curled her lips.

"Sure, let's go."

The boy and woman walked back along the beach together slowly, aware of just how important their relationship as siblings was, one comforted by the reassurance that he was not going to be abandoned, the other by the his acceptance of her choice.

In the corner of her eye, Raine could see Regal, Sheena and Zelos sitting near the water, clearly in deep discussion. When they noticed her and Genis approaching, they stopped, but, seeing the relaxed atmosphere between the two, started gossiping again, waving to the two as they passed.

Raine waved back before turning her attention back to Genis.

"You do know that Kratos won't be moving in straight away?"

"Well…yeah."

Raine nodded, not wanting to push the issue further and upset her brother again.

"I'm OK, with it." The boy added "I mean…it'll take a while to get used to but…it's OK…for you two to be together."

Stepping up to the front door of the house, Raine put her hand on the handle and turned back to him.

"I know."

She pushed the door open, stepping into the hall and heading for the kitchen.

When she entered with the room, she was greeted with a plate of pancakes, set on the countertop ready for her. On her right, at the kitchen table, Kratos was seated, idly filling in the crossword. Lloyd sat opposite him, his feet on the table, whittling a figurine from a chunk of driftwood he had found the day before.

"Um, are these for me?" Raine asked, gesturing towards the pancakes.

Kratos looked up from the newspaper and nodded. Raine noticed a similar, but slightly depleted pile near the mercenaries elbow.

Lloyd also seemed to have noticed the unfinished stack, for he was staring at it.

"Are you going to finish those?" he asked his father, gesturing to the plate.

The seraph looked away from his newspaper to the plate and shook his head, pushing it over to his son. The latter pounced on it, immediately devouring the remaining pancakes.

"Wow Lloyd, that's real nice," Genis commented dryly, watching his friend stuffing food into his face.

"Fuddup!"

"Genis is right; you really could do with some manners." Raine advised, delicately cutting into her own stack of food and chewing slowly.

"See, mouth closed when you're eating." Genis, now nibbling an apple, pointed out his sister as an example.

"'L ea 'ow I wna"

"Gross."

"Fascinating as this display of maturity is," Kratos interjected, ending the argument and folding away his newspaper as he spoke "I'll ask you to stop."

He looked over to the elder teenager "And Lloyd, please, close your mouth. I don't want to see masticated food rolling around in there…or anywhere, for that matter."

Lloyd closed his mouth with an audible click of his teeth, chewed, swallowed, then asked "What does 'masticated' mean?"

"Chewed," Raine answered.

"Oh."

"Ah, well," Genis exclaimed "I'm gonna go see what Colette and Presea are doing. You coming Lloyd?"

The brunet, having an intuitive moment (not least caused by Genis' glance between Kratos and Raine) nodded and followed the younger boy out of the room.

"I take it that everything went well then?" Kratos asked after a moment.

Raine nodded "Yes, it's all sorted out now," she reached for the cup of coffee on the table and drank a sip, before explaining "He felt that with you around, I wouldn't have time for him anymore."

"And you told him?"

"The truth. He's my brother…the only blood I've ever had to associate with. Nothing will change between me and him just because I have a love life now."

Kratos smiled "Well said."

"Thank you…everything's fine with you and Lloyd, isn't it?"

The angel nodded at his lover "He was fine with it from the beginning."

"He can be very mature sometimes," Raine commented, standing up from the table and clearing away the dishes.

"Yes, sometimes."

Raine smiled "What do you plan to do with the rest of the day?"

Kratos stood up, stretched and walked over to the window, looking out over the landscape.

"No idea, "he replied and turned to look back at her "care to help me find a way to pass the time?"

Smiling, the silver haired woman took her angel's hand and pulled him out the house, onto the beach.

A week later

The orange glow of sunset played across the horizon and stretched up towards the heavens, spreading its warmth and turning light blue sky to dusky pink. The sun sank low in the sky, resting just above the great expanse of water.

Pink turned to orange and then brilliant, vibrant red, casting crimson light that turned the sea to wine as the sun gave its phoenix display.

Fire sparks flashed into the sky, while the main body of a bonfire writhed and danced, surrounded by the party that saved the world.

Colette sat by Lloyd, resting her head on his shoulder while the boy continued to whittle his figurine by the dying light.

Genis, edging slowly towards Presea in an attempt to strike up a conversation with her, looked briefly over to the couple, rolling his eyes.

Zelos stood behind the nearby barbeque, extinguishing the dying embers and throwing them onto the fire.

Regal and Sheena watched the chosen, amused, as he burnt himself on the still smouldering pieces of charcoal.

The former tethe'allan chosen then walked into the middle over the group, narrowly avoiding setting his hair aflame as he stood in front of the roaring fire. He clapped his hands, attracting the attention of everyone seated by the fire.

Kratos and Raine, sitting in a slightly secluded spot, stopped their conversation as one by one, the group turned their attention to Zelos.

"Ladies, Gentlemen, boys and girls. I would like to the opportunity, on this wondrous night lit by a dying sun, and where Sheena looks absolutely phenomenal in that skimpy red bikini,"

Sheena blushed and grabbed a picnic blanket that was lying nearby, wrapping it around herself and glaring at the red-head as he give her a smile that could blind a dead man.

"…to say a few, well chosen – see how I slipped the chosen joke in there, eh? – words.

The first of these words is to say that it has been a great week spent here, with you all, and especially you," he looked at Sheena "I'd also like to give the very best of luck to you all, with uh…whatever it is you're doing.

Now…I have a few things to say to all of you:

Sheena – thanks for looking so fantastic…your womanly beauty has kept this week entirely fruitful.

Regal – good job with the cooking.

Presea – carry on growing up, my hunny darling, 'cos you are turning out to be damn fine.

Brat – You're approaching an age where you're going to start approaching girls…come to me if you need any help with that." He gave Genis a sly wink, then flinched his head towards Presea slightly.

The half-elf immediately glared at the older male, turning a rather fetching shade of red.

"Lloyd and Colette – would you two hurry up and get together already? I mean, c'mon, the tension's right there…you could cut it with a knife…go on Lloyd, ask her out, you know you want to."

The aforementioned couple looked to each other, then at their positions, Colette still resting her head on Lloyd's shoulder, his arm around her.

"Yeah, that's right, you know what I'm talking about…

Now, finally the biggest piece of gossip, like, ever, Kratos and Raine."

The couple, who had been trying to edge into the shadows so that they might have some privacy, looked up sheepishly, Raine sitting bolt upright and smoothing out the light blouse she was wearing. Kratos straightened himself out at a more leisurely pace, rising from the ground like a zombie.

"That's the spirit!" Zelos exclaimed, dragging all the attention onto the duo "So, what I was gonna say was, truly, congratulations.

You have no idea how long we've been waiting for you two to get together, and I think that everyone here will agree, that there are no two people in the world who will make prettier children…except maybe Sheena and I…but seriously, you deserve each other…and Kratos…you don't know how lucky you are."

The seraph looked at his lover, and then turned back to Zelos, stating "You know, I think I do."

"Yeah, yeah…just remember who's organising your stag night when the two of you decide to get married.

All in all, I would like now, to make a toast to Raine and Kratos, may you love each other 'til the end of your days…which'll be a long time from now, so don't ruin it kiddies."

Zelos reached down to the floor, grabbing his drink of now warm champagne and holding it up, the others following suit.

"To Kratos and Raine," he intoned, raising his glass further to the couple

"Kratos and Raine."

Well, there you are. Another fic completed, but fear not, for I have another ToS fic on the way (and a Zelda one if you're interested)...check out my homepage for more info, or e-mail me if you wanna know more (plug, plug).

So, I hope you enjoyed it...and now I can go and have a week of relaxation on holiday...with grandparents (sob, that's never gonna work).

Reviews are, as always, appreciated.