Wow. This chapter is so long (over 1000 words longer than usual). Well, Florina's braver side has a lot more lines in this chapter. So if you don't understand something written in bold, don't go ask your parents what it means. Time for reviewer responses.

z-animatr: Haha, my sentiments exactly. Yes, pity the waiter, but at least he notified them of company policy. Of course Florina's up there, she just has some self-esteem problems. Your favorite? I'm honored.

Lemurian-Girl: 1.Thank you. 2. We understand; we need all the signatures we can get, but we don't go around sniping those who don't sign. We use a broadsword instead. 3. I'm glad to hear it, and I can't wait to read it.

Dairokkan: Haha, the answers to your questions will be revealed in this "episode."

TweekinTinkaToy: Come back! Stupid time difference means I hardly get to talk to you! Ok, just had to get that out of my system. Yes, I consider the voices one of my better ideas as well. Thanks for the plot bunny, and I hope your power adapter keeps working.

JSB: Yay, I'm glad. I'll have to review it. I don't mind that it's Sain-Fiora, it'll provide a little variety, and we'll take any Sain fics we can get. She won't go insane (she's already there, hahaha). Sain gets a little closer from here on out.

Black Lord 500: Don't worry about it, last chapter was a really quick update. Good luck with High School; remember to have fun. You're right; she's not that type.

Nightmare3: Glad you liked it. Hope you didn't hurt your tongue too badly. Thanks for signing the petition, and welcome to the team.

Cheese Police: Wow, I'm honored to recieve your first review. Please continue.

aznidiot324: Another new reviewer. Glad you liked it. Please keep reviewing.

renzokuken-sama: Wow, that was deep. I never analyzed it quite that throughly, but you were pretty accurate. I enjoy our conversations immensely.

Thank you as always for the reviews. I was so happy to see the number of my reviewers who read my author's notes. I'm proud of you. The petition will be closing soon, so sign while you can. We'll always be accepting new members of the Sain-author community. Now, onto the story!

Chapter 8

"Okay, I'm going to answer your questions one at a time; it's easier that way. Why did I pick you? Well, I like to think of it as destiny. I doubt this could ever have happened if I hadn't rescued you during that blizzard. If I hadn't found you there, either from different actions on your part, or from someone else finding you first, we'd probably still be where we left off after we defeated the dragon. I really did like you then, but I didn't have any way to get close to you."

"Oh, Sain, I'm sorry." Florina said, regretting her actions that had caused him pain during that time. Both mental and physical pain, since Lyn had attacked Sain a couple of times when he had tried to approach her. 'Yeah, I don't think he's the type to be into that kind of stuff.'

"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're with me now. On the hordes of women, it really depends on your definition of horde. But that doesn't really matter, because none of them really knew me. They only knew my reputation. And any woman who wants me because of my reputation probably isn't looking to settle down, if you know what I mean." Sain grinned. 'Forget about settling; I just want him down, if you know what I mean.' Florina blushed.

"Why did I stay with you after the storm? Mostly because of the time we shared in the cave. I really didn't have a definite plan; I was just wandering, and going with you sounded better than continued solitude."

Florina's face fell, "Is that all I am to you, company for when you get lonely?" 'Shut up, girl! After all these years, I'll take what I can get.'

"No! Please, Florina, don't ever think that again. I've already told you I was interested you during our time together with Lyn. That time we spent in the cave only strengthened those feelings. It also gave you time to think of me as something more than just a man. I knew this was a once in a lifetime chance; I bet this is the first time you've been this close to a man."

Florina smiled, she shouldn't have worried. "Well, other than Hector." Florina commented. 'Big oaf. S-scary man.

"Hector?" Sain exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yeah, I sorta used him as a landing pad when Laus took over castle Caelin." Florina explained. 'He was kinda hard to miss'

"Oh, ok, I'll overlook that instance. But it better not happen again; you're my lady now." Sain said, trying to sound stern.

"Ooh, my savior is the protective type, it seems." Florina grinned.

"Who wouldn't be, with such a lovely lady?" Sain responded, "But onto the next question; why are we together now? Well, that's hard for me to answer. Although I can't tell you why we're together, I will tell you why I'm with you. First, you let me close to you in the cave. That told me you were comfortable around me, if nothing else. Second, you stood up to your sisters for me, and then you kissed me. That's when you removed any doubt I had about your feelings concerning me. As for why we're together right this minute, I have no answer to that. I doubt anyone would have blamed you for leaving after I came close to disgracing you." Sain said, ashamed of his behavior.

"It's ok, Sain. I take full responsibility for my actions. Don't worry yourself over it; I'm sure it won't happen again." Florina reassured. 'Right! Ri-i-ight'

"Thank you; I won't betray your trust." Sain said gratefully.

"I know." Florina said simply. 'Dang. Oh well, merely a small hinderance.

"And now for the hardest question. What's so special about you? Wow, where to start? Ah, I know, your personality. You were the only woman in the entire army not to treat me differently than the other men. Of course, that's probably because you were deathly afraid of all of them. But all kidding aside, you have a wonderful personality, and I like every aspect of it. I love your shyness, and how you overcome it to stand up for what you believe in. It makes everything you do for me even more special, in my mind. But I one of your best aspects, because it complements your other attributes, is your humbleness. You're one of the best in your field, yet you don't ever brag. You're naturally beautiful, yet you don't flaunt it, and sometimes even seem embarrassed when I stare at you."

"I'm not all that pretty. I wasn't even the prettiest in Eliwood's army." Florina looked down at her feet.

"Stop it right now." Florina looked up. "I don't want you to ever insult yourself again, especially in front of me. When you do that, you're insulting me as well, because there's nothing I know better than a woman's beauty. And I think you're gorgeous." Sain told her, making her look him in the eyes.

"You-you really think I'm beautiful? You're not just saying that?" Florina said shyly.

"I have no need to lie to you. I only tell you what I see. I am glad you don't show off your looks; I don't know if I could hold back the crowd of suitors. Hmm, I guess I could always enlist the help of your sisters and Lyn; they've been doing that for years already." Sain mused.

"Sain, you're so silly.' Florina giggled.

"I'm serious. I don't want to be run over in a stampede because I was unprepared." Sain said honestly.

"I wouldn't want that either. I doubt any of them could compare to you." Florina said softly.

"If I ever find one, I'll be sure to send him far, far away." Sain replied.

"I don't think you have to worry about that. I'd probably be too scared of him anyway." Florina laughed. 'Thank goodness; I'm not sure if I could take being around more than one man. Who knows? It could make things interesting'

"That's the best thing about you." Sain said.

"What's that?"

"No competition: past, present, or future. You're all mine." Sain said, pulling her close and leaning down to give her a kiss.

Florina tilted her head back to meet his lips with hers. "And I wouldn't have it any other way." She replied.

Sain leaned back. "Now it's time for you to fulfill your end of the bargain." He said.

"What do you mean?" Florina asked, puzzled.

"You have to answer my question." Sain responded.

"Oh, of course. Ask away." Florina said, awaiting his response.

When it came, it startled her. She never would have guessed that he, of all people, felt this way. "I was glad you asked first, because I want to know the same thing. Why? Why did you let me close to you in the cave? Why did you invite me to come with you to your village? Why didn't you treat me like the womanizer everyone else thinks of me as? Why did you stand up to your sisters for me and then kiss me? Why did you defend me in front of the crowd? What do you see in me? Why am I so lucky?" Sain had no trouble asking, since he had been asking himself the same questions from the moment they left the cave.

Florina burst out laughing, "Oh Sain."

"What's so funny?" Sain looked hurt.

"I'm not laughing at your question, Sain." Florina gave him a kiss to attest to her words, "It's just that both of us consider ourselves so unworthy of the other's affection. I can't think of a better feeling to share in a relationship." Florina explained.

"Me neither, and I hope that never changes." Sain said quietly.

"Dang, I'm actually gonna have to think to answer your question. Unlike you, I never expected to have to answer that." Florina looked deep in thought. 'It's because he's HOT. You know it's the truth. Even if he is, that's not why I love him.'

Sain laughed, "Don't think too hard; just tell me how you feel. That's all I want to hear."

"Easy for you to say; you won't find anyone with more internal conflict than the person in front of you." Florina said with a smile. 'Isn't that the truth.'

"You hide it well." Sain said, "Most of the time." He chuckled.

"Okay, I'll try to answer your question now. Although you probably still won't understand a lot of my reasoning; even I don't understand most of it. Why did I let you close to me in the cave? First, you rescued me; I didn't want to seem ungrateful. Second, you were so sweet in the cave; I just couldn't resist your charm, no matter how hard I tried." Florina said with a smile. 'Aka, you think he's hot. Would you lay off that topic?'

"Ah, I should've known. Women always have that problem around me." Sain said with a straight face.

"Well, they had better learn soon, because now you're all mine." Florina said, bringing Sain close for a short kiss. 'Which makes him mine as well, Hehe.'

"Looks like I'm not the only one that's protective. I'm not sure if it's possible for a lady to resist my allure. I guess I'll just have to hold back around other women." Sain said thoughtfully.

"I guess you will." Florina smiled, "Onto the next question, why did I invite you to come with me to my village? There were a couple of reasons. One, I could see that you wanted to come with me." 'You owe me for convincing you back then.'

"Am I that obvious?" Sain said, feigning disbelief.

"You always have been; that's one of your best qualities, in my opinion. But back to the question at hand. Two, you saved me from the elements. I felt indebted to you. But most importantly, I wanted you to come with me." Florina said. 'Me too.'

"I knew that." Florina looked at Sain skeptically, "Well, after you saved me from you sisters." He admitted.

"Fair enough. Now for the easy question. Why didn't I treat you like the womanizer everyone else thinks of you as? Because you gave me no reason to. From what I have seen, you just have some harmless quirks. And they had better stay that way." 'You never know when those quirks are gonna come in handy Huh? Don't worry about it; you're afraid of men anyway.'

"Yes, ma'am." Sain saluted.

"Next question: why did I stand up to my sisters and then kiss you? Because you saved my life; it would have been ungrateful of me if I let them kill you." Sain's face paled at the memory of his close call. "But the kiss was…" 'good, for a rookie. Don't worry; you'll get better with experience. There's not going to be any experience! Just keep telling yourself that.' Florina blushed, but continued, "to thank you for all you did for me."

"If you ever need to thank someone again, I'm your man." Sain said.

"Thank you Sain, I'll take that into consideration."

Sain's face fell, "What, no kiss with that thank you." Florina leaned forward and gave him a peck on the cheek. "That'll do. For now."

'I like this guy.' Florina spoke quickly before her braver side could say anything else, "Why did I defend you in front of the crowd? Because you did the same for me. You wouldn't have even been out there if I hadn't asked you."

"At least until I needed something to eat. Which means I left your house about…three minutes earlier than I would have otherwise." Sain replied.

Florina giggled. "Next question. What do I see in you?" 'I see that he's, how do you say, well endowed.' Florina looked down before she realized what her braver side was saying.

Sain followed her stare, then grinned, "I understand, my lady; you need not say more." Sain notified her.

Florina blushed, "You know that's not what I was going to say."

"Why would you? You obviously didn't have to say anything." Sain said with a grin.

Florina continued through the blush that was deepening by the moment, "That's one of the things I see in you. You have a wonderful, if not always tactful, wit about you. You always help those in need, and never take advantage of them."

"Unless you're into that kind of thing." Sain commented.

Florina shook her head, but continued, "You are known far and wide, although most of that fame came from certain…other aspects of your personality, as opposed to your skill as a mercenary."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I just want to know who's been spreading rumors about me." Sain said, acting offended.

"Now for your strangest question, in my opinion. Why are you so lucky? You're not. You've worked hard to earn anything from me." 'You can thank me for that' "And you've earned my company, my trust, and… my affection." Florina said, finishing quietly.

"I don't care what you say; in my opinion, that makes me a lucky guy." Sain remarked.

'He's a lucky guy, you're a lucky girl; why don't you two get lucky together. Huh? Don't ask.' "And last," 'Although certainly not least' "I suppose you could be considered…handsome." Who are you kidding? He's downright HOT. Don't you think about anything else? Sorry, that was a stupid question. You got that right.'

Sain looked at her for a moment, causing her to blush and look down. "Thank you." He said simply. But being Sain, he couldn't leave it there, "Did you know the phrases describing attractiveness originated as expressions expressing the chances of a person of the opposite gender of becoming a mate?"

'Ooh, hot and smart. I have to say, for letting that fool stay in control for all these years, you certainly have good taste. I heard that!' "You started it by calling me beautiful." Florina countered, flustered.

"And I meant it." Sain said in a low voice, pulling her in for a deep kiss. Florina was surprised, although not as surprised as Sain when she returned the kiss with equal or greater fervor. When their lips separated, Sain too the opportunity to ask a question on his mind, "You haven't been in the oysters and wine again, have you?"

Florina smiled, "Not at all; see what you do to me?" 'That's not all he can do to you. I-I don't like the way she said that.'

"I'm glad you told me that. Saves me a ton of money on oysters and wine." Sain informed her as he brought her close for another kiss.

A/N: Sheesh, thatwas a long chapter. You guys had better appreciate it (aka: go review).